Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 13

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Gale, W. Shelden
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1388

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BULKLEY, (Rev.) Justus, educator, was born at Leicester, Livingston County, N. Y., July 23, 1819, taken to Allegany County, N. Y., at 3

years of age, where he remained until 17, attend- ing school in a log school-house in the winter and working on a farm in the summer. His family then removed to Illinois, finally locating at Barry, Pike County. In 1842 he entered the preparatory department of Shurtleff College at Upper Alton, graduating there in 1847. He was immediately made Principal of the preparatory department, remaining two years, when he was ordained to the Baptist ministry and became pastor of a church at Jerseyville. Four years later he was appointed Professor of Mathematics in Shurtleff College, but remained only two years, when he accepted the pastorship of a church at Carrollton, which he continued to fill nine years, when, in 1864, he was called to a church at Upper Alton. At the expiration of one year he was again called to a professorship in Shurtleff College, this time taking the chair of Church History and Church Polity, which he continued to fill for a period of thirty-four years; also serving for a time as Acting President dur- ing a vacancy in that office. During this period he was frequently called upon to preside as Mod- erator at General Associations of the Baptist Church, and he became widely known, not only in that denomination, but elsewhere, Died at Upper Alton, Jan. 16, 1899.

BULL, Lorenzo, banker, Quincy, Ill., was born in Hartford, Conn., March 21, 1819, being the eldest son of Lorenzo and Elizabeth Goodwin Bull. His ancestors on both sides were of the party who, under Thomas Hooker, moved from the vicinity of Boston and settled Hartford in 1634. Leaving Hartford in the spring of 1833, he arrived at Quincy, Ill., entirely without means, but soon after secured a position with Judge Henry H. Snow, who then held most of the county offices, being Clerk of the County Com- missioners' Court, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Recorder, Judge of Probate, Notary Public and Justice of the Peace. Here the young clerk made himself acquainted with the people of the county (at that time few in number), with the land-system of the country and with the legal forms and methods of procedure in the courts. He remained with Judge Snow over two years, receiving for his services, the first year, six dol- lars per month, and, for the second, ten dollars per month, besides his board in Judge Snow's family. He next accepted a situation with Messrs. Holmes, Brown & Co., then one of the most prominent mercantile houses of the city, remaining through various changes of the firmn until 1844, when he formed a partnership with

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

his brother under the firm name of L. & C. II. Bull, and opened a store for the sale of hardware and crockery, which was the first attempt inade in Quincy to separate the mercantile business into different departments. Disposing of their business in 1861, the firm of L. & C. H. Bull embarked in the private banking business, which they continued in one location for about thirty years, when they organized the State Savings Loan & Trust Company, in which he held the position of President until 1898, when he retired. Mr. Bull has always been active in promoting the improvement and growth of the city; was one of the five persons who built most of the horse rail- roads in Quincy, and was, for about twenty years, President of the Company. The Quincy water- works are now (1898) owned entirely by himself and his son. He has never sought or held political office, but at one time was the active President of five distinct business corporations. He was also for some five years one of the Trustees of Illinois College at Jacksonville. He was married in 1844 to Miss Margaret H. Benedict, daughter of Dr. Wm. M. Benedict, of Milbury, Mass., and they have five children now living. In politics he is a Republican, and his religious associations are with the Congregational Church. - Charles Henry (Bull), brother of the preceding, was born in Hartford, Conn., Dec. 16. 1822, and removed to Quincy, Ill., in June, 1837. He commenced business as a clerk in a general store, where he remained for seven years, when he entered into partnership with his brother, Lorenzo Bull, in the hardware and crockery business, to which was subsequently added dealing in agricultural implements. This business was continued until the year 1861, when it was sold out, and the brothers established them- selves as private bankers under the same firm name. A few years later they organized the Merchants' and Farmers' National Bank, which was mainly owned and altogether managed by them. Five or six years later this bank was wound up, when they returned to private bank- ing, continuing in this business until 1891, when it was merged in the State Savings Loan & Trust Company, organized under the laws of Illinois with a capital of $300,000, held equally by Lorenzo Bull, Charles H. Bull and Edward J. Parker, respectively, as President, Vice-Presi- dent and Cashier. Near the close of 1898 the First National Bank of Quincy was merged into the State Savings Loan & Trust Company with J. H. Warfield, the President of the former, as President of the consolidated concern. Mr. Bull

was one of the parties who originally organized the Quincy, Missouri & Pacific Railroad Com- pany in 1869-a road intended to be built from Quincy, III., across the State of Missouri to Brownsville, Neb., and of which he is now (1898) the President, the name having been changed to the Quincy, Omaha & Kansas City Railway. He was also identified with the con- struction of the system of street railways in Quincy, and continued active in their manage- ment for about twenty years. He has been active in various other public and private enter- prises, and has done much to advance the growth and prosperity of the city.

BUNKER HILL, a city in Macoupin County, founded in 1836; on the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, 37 miles northeast of St. Louis, Mo. The city has flourishing mills and a coal mine, several churches, a public school and an academy. The surrounding region is noted for stock and dairy farming and for the raising of fruit and grain. It is the largest milk producing point tributary to St. Louis. Popula- tion (1880), 1,441; (1890), 1,269: (1892), by school census, 1,340.

BUNN, Jacob, banker and manufacturer, was born in Hunterdon County, N. J .. in 1814; came to Springfield in 1836, and, four years later, began business as a grocer, to which he afterwards added that of private banking, continuing until 1878. During a part of this time his bank was one of the best known and widely regarded as one of the most solid institutions of its kind in the State. Though crippled by the financial revulsion of 1873-74 and forced investments in depreciated real estate, he paid dollar for dollar. After retiring from banking in 1878, he assumed charge of the Springfield Watch Factory, in which he was a large stockholder, and of which he became the President. Mr. Bunn was, be- tween 1866 and 1870, a principal stockholder in "The Chicago Republican" (the predecessor of "The Inter-Ocean"), and was one of the bankers who came to the aid of the State Government with financial assistance at the beginning of the Civil War. Died at Springfield, Oct. 16, 1897 .- John W. (Bunn), brother of the preceding and successor to the grocery business of J. & J. W. Bunn, has been a prominent business man of Springfield, and served as Treasurer of the State Agricultural Board from 1858 to 1898, and of the Illinois Uni- versity from its establishment to 1893.

BUNSEN, George, German patriot and educa- tor, was born at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, Ger- many, Feb. 18, 1794, and educated in his native

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

city and at Berlin University; while still a student took part in the Peninsular War which resulted in the downfall of Napoleon, but resum . ing his studies in 1816, graduated three years later. He then founded a boys' school at Frank- fort, which he maintained fourteen years, when, having been implicated in the republican revolu . tion of 1833, he was forced to leave the country, locating the following year on a farm in St. Clair County, Ill. Here he finally became a teacher in the public schools, served in the State Constitu- tional Convention of 1847, was elected School Commissioner of St. Clair County, and, having removed to Belleville in 1855, there conducted a private school for the instruction of teachers while discharging the duties of his office: later was appointed a member of the first State School Board, serving until 1860, and taking part in the establishment of the Illinois State Normal Uni versity, of which he was a zealous advocate. He was also a contributor to "The Illinois Teacher," and, for several years prior to his death, served as Superintendent of Schools at Belleville without compensation. Died, November, 1872.

BURCHARD, Horatio C., ex-Congressman, was born at Marshall, Oneida County, N. Y., Sept. 22, 1825; graduated at Hamilton College, N. Y., in 1850, and later removed to Stephenson County, Ill., making his home at Freeport. By profes- sion he is a lawyer. but he has been also largely interested in mercantile pursuits. From 1857 to 1860 he was School Commissioner of Stephenson County ; from 1863 to 1866 a member of the State Legislature, and from 1869 to 1879 a Representa- tive in Congress, being each time elected as a Republican, for the first time as the successor of E. B. Washburne. After retiring from Congress, he served for six years (1879-85) as Director of the United States Mint at Philadelphia, with marked ability. During the World's Columbian Exposi- tion at Chicago (1893), Mr. Burchard was in charge of the Bureau of Awards in connection with the Mining Department, afterwards resum- ing the practice of his profession at Freeport.

BURDETTE, Robert Jones, journalist and humorist, was born in Greensborough, Pa., July 30, 1844, and taken to Peoria, Ill., in early life, where he was educated in the public schools. In 1862 he enlisted as a private in the Forty-seventh Illinois Volunteers and served to the end of the war; adopted journalism in 1869, being employed upon "The Peoria Transcript" and other papers of that city. Later he became associated with "The Burlington (Iowa) Hawkeye," upon which he gained a wide reputation as a genial humor-

ist. Several volumes of his sketches have been published, but in recent years he has devoted his attention chiefly to lecturing. with occasional contributions to the literary press.

BUREAU COUNTY, set off from Putnam County in 1837, near the center of the northern half of the State, Princeton being made the county-seat. Coal had been discovered in 1834, there being considerable quantities mined at Mineral and Selby. Sheffield also has an impor- tant coal trade. Public lands were offered for sale as early as 1835, and by 1844 had been nearly all sold. Princeton was platted in 1832, and. in 1890, contained a population of 3,396. The county has an area of 870 square miles, and, according to the census of 1890, a population of 35.014. The pio- neer settler was Henry Thomas, who erected the first cabin, in Bureau township, in 1828. He was soon followed by the Ament brothers (Edward, Justus and John L. ), and for a time settlers came in rapid succession, among the earliest being Amos Leonard, Daniel Dimmick, John Hall, William Hoskins, Timothy Perkins, Leonard Roth, - -- Bulbona and John Dixon. Serious Indian disturbances in 1831 caused a hegira of the settlers, some of whom never returned. In 1833 a fort was erected for the protection of the whites, and, in 1836, there began a new and large influx of immigrants. Among other early set- tlers were John H. and Arthur Bryant, brothers of the poet, William Cullen Bryant.

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, estab- lished in 1879, being an outgrowth of the agitation and discontent among the laboring classes, which culminated in 1877-78. The Board consists of five Commissioners, who serve for a nominal compensation, their term of office being two years. They are nominated by the Executive and confirmed by the Senate. The law requires that three of them shall be manual laborers and two employers of manual lahor. The Bureau is charged with the collection, compilation and tabulation of statistics relative to labor in Illi- nois, particularly in its relation to the commer- cial, industrial, social, educational and sanitary conditions of the working classes. The Com- mission is required to submit biennial reports. Those already published contain much informa- tion of value concerning coal and lead mines, convict labor, manufactures, strikes and lock- outs, wages, rent, cost of living, mortgage indebtedness, and kindred topics.

BURGESS, Alexander, Protestant Episcopal Bishop of the diocese of Quincy, was born at Providence, R. I., Oct. 31, 1819. He graduated

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

from Brown University in 1838 and from the General Theological Seminary (New York) in 1841. He was made a Deacon, Nov. 3, 1842, and ordained a priest, Nov. 1, 1843. Prior to his ele- vation to the episcopate he was rector of various parishes in Maine, at Brooklyn, N. Y., and at Springfield, Mass. He represented the dioceses of Maine, Long Island and Massachusetts in the General Conventions of the Protestant Episcopal Church from 1844 to 1877, and, in the latter year, was President of the House of Deputies. Upon the death of his brother George, Bishop of Maine, he was chosen by the clergy of the diocese to suc- ceed him but declined. When the diocese of Quincy. Ill. was created, he was elected its first Bishop, and consecrated at Christ Church, Spring- field, Mass . on May 15, 1878. Besides publishing a memoir of his brother. Bishop Burgess is the author of several Sunday-school question books, carols and hymns, and has been a contributor to periodical church literature. His residence is at Peoria.

BURLEY, Arthur Gilman, merchant, was born at Exeter, N. H., Oct. 4, 1812, received his edu- cation in the local schools, and, in 1835, came West, locating in Chicago. For some two years he served as clerk in the boot, shoe and clothing store of John Holbrook, after which he accepted a position with his half-brother, Stephen F. Gale, the proprietor of the first book and stationery store in Chicago. In 1838 he invested his savings in a bankrupt stock of crockery, purchased from the old State Bank, and entered upon a business career which was continued uninterruptedly for nearly sixty years. In that time Mr. Burley built up a business which, for its extent and success, was unsurpassed in its time in the West. His brother in-law, Mr. John Tyrrell, became a member of the firm in 1852, the business there- after being conducted under the name of Burley & Tyrrell, with Mr. Burley as President of the Company until his death, which occurred, August 27, 1897 .- Augustus Harris (Burley), brother of the preceding, was born at Exeter, N. H., March 28, 1819; was educated in the schools of his native State, and, in his youth, was employed for a time as a clerk in Boston. In 1837 he came to Chicago and took a position as clerk or salesman in the book and stationery store of his half- brother, Stephen F. Gale, subsequently became a partner, and, on the retirement of Mr. Gale a few years later, succeeded to the control of the business. In 1857 he disposed of his book and stationery business, and about the same time became one of the founders of the Merchants'

Loan and Trust Company, with which he has been connected as a Director ever since. Mr. Burley was a member of the volunteer fire depart- ment organized in Chicago in 1841. Among the numerous public positions held by him may be mentioned, member of the Board of PublicWorks (1867-70), the first Superintendent of Lincoln Park (1869), Representative, from Cook County in the Twenty-seventh General Assembly (1870-72). City Comptroller during the administration of Mayor Medill (1872-73), and again under Mayor Roche (1887), and member of the City Council (1881-82). Politically, Mr. Burley has been a zealous Repub- lican and served on the Chicago Union Defense Committee in the first year of the Civil War, and was a delegate from the State-at-large to the National Republican Convention at Baltimore in 1864, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency a second time.

BURNHAM, Daniel Hudson, architect, was born at Henderson, N. Y., Sept. 4, 1846; came to Chicago at 9 years of age; attended private schools and the Chicago High School, after which he spent two years at Waltham, Mass., receiving special instruction ; returning to Chicago in 1867, he was afterwards associated with various firms. About 1873 he formed a business connection with J. W. Root, architect, which extended to the death of the latter in 1891. The firm of Burnham & Root furnished the plans of a large number of the most conspicuous business buildings in Chi- cago, but won their greatest distinction in con- nection with the construction of buildings for the World's Columbian Exposition, of which Mr. Root was Supervising Architect previous to his death, while Mr. Burnham was made Chief of Construction and, later, Director of Works. In this capacity his authority was almost absolute, but was used with a discretion that contributed greatly to the success of the enterprise.

BURR, Albert G., former Congressman, was born in Genesee County, N. Y., Nov. 8, 1829; came to Illinois about 1832 with his widowed mother, who settled in Springfield. In early life he became a citizen of Winchester, where he read law and was admitted to the bar, also, for a time, following the occupation of a printer. Here he was twice elected to the lower house of the Gen- eral Assembly (1860 and 1862), meanwhile serving as a member of the State Constitutional Conven- tion of 1862. Having removed to Carrollton, Greene County, he was elected as a Democrat to the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses (1866 and 1868), serving until March 4, 1871. In August, 1877, he was elected Circuit Judge to fill a

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

vacancy and was re-elected for the regular term in June, 1879, but died in office, June 10, 1882.

BURRELL, Orlando, member of Congress, was born in Bradford County, Pa .; removed with his parents to White County, Ill., in 1834, growing up on a farm near Carmi; received a common school education; in 1850 went to California, driving an ox-team across the plains. Soon after the beginning of the Civil War (1861) he raised a company of cavalry, of which he was elected Captain, and which became a part of the First Regiment Illinois Cavalry; served as County Judge from 1873 to 1881, and was elected Sheriff in 1886. In 1894 he was elected Representative in Congress as a Republican from the Twentieth District, composed of counties which formerly constituted a large part of the old Nineteenth District, and which had uniformly been repre- sented by a Democrat. He suffered defeat as a candidate for re-election in 1896.

BURROUGHS, John Curtis, clergyman and educator, was born in Stamford, N. Y., Dec. 7, 1818; graduated at Yale College in 1842, and Madison Theological Seminary in 1846. After five years spent as pastor of Baptist churches at Waterford and West Troy, N. Y., in 1852 he assumed the pastorate of the First Baptist Church of Chicago; about 1856 was elected to the presi- dency of the Chicago University. then just established, having previously declined the presidency of Shurtleff College at Upper Alton. Resigning his position in 1874, he soon after became a member of the Chicago Board of Edu- cation, and, in 1884, was elected Assistant Super- intendent of Public Schools of that city, serving · until his death, April 21, 1892.

BUSEY, Samuel T., banker and ex-Congress- man, was born at Greencastle, Ind., Nov. 16, 1835; in infancy was brought by his parents to Urbana, Ill., where he was educated and has since resided. From 1857 to 1859 he was engaged in mercantile pursuits, but during 1860-61 attended a commercial college and read law. In 1862 he was chosen Town Collector, but resigned to enter the Union Army, being commissioned Second Lientenant by Governor Yates, and assigned to recruiting service. Having aided in the organization of the Seventy-sixth Illinois Volunteers, he was commissioned its Lieutenant- Colonel, August 12, 1862; was afterward promoted to the colonelcy, and mustered out of service at Chicago, August 6, 1865, with the rank of Brevet Brigadier-General. In 1866 he was an unsuccess- ful candidate for the General Assembly on the Democratic ticket, and for Trustee of the State

University in 1888. From 1880 to 1889 he was Mayor and President of the Board of Education of Urbana. In 1867 he opened a private bank, which he conducted for twenty-one years. In 1890 he was elected to Congress from the Fif- teenth Illinois District, defeating Joseph G. Can- non, Republican, by whom he was in turn defeated for the same office in 1892.

BUSHNELL, a flourishing town in McDonough County, 10 miles by rail northeast of Macomb, the county-seat. It is a railway junction, and has important manufacturing interests. Wooden pumps, metal wheels, flour, agricultural imple- ments, wagons and carriages are among the manufactures. Beds of excellent clay are found in the neighborhood, and paving, common and fancy brick are made in large quantities. It has two banks, two newspaper offices, a public library, seven or eight churches, graded public and high schools, and is the seat of the Western Normal College. Population (1880), 2,316; (1890), 2,314.

BUSHNELL, Nehemiah, lawyer, was born in the town of Westbrook, Conn., Oct. 9, 1813; graduated at Yale College in 1835, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1837, coming in December of the same year to Quincy, Ill., where, for a time, he assisted in editing "The Whig" of that city, later forming a partnership with O. H. Browning, which was never fully broken until his death. In his practice he gave much attention to land titles in the "Military Tract"; in 1851 was President of the portion of the North- ern Cross Railroad between Quincy and Gales- burg (now a part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy), and later of the Quincy Bridge Company and the Quincy & Palmyra (Mo. ) Railroad. In 1872 he was elected by the Republicans the "minority" Representative from Adams County in the Twenty-eighth General Assembly, but died during the succeeding session, Jan. 31, 1873. He was able, high-minded and honorable in public and private life.

BUSHNELL, Washington, lawyer and Attor- ney-General, was born in Madison County, N. Y., Sept. 30, 1825; in 1837 came with his father to Lisbon, Kendall County, Ill., where he worked on a farm and taught at times; studied law at Pough- keepsie, N. Y., was admitted to the bar and established himself in practice at Ottawa, Ill. The public positions held by him were those of State Senator for La Salle County (1861-69) and Attorney General (1869-73) ; was also a member of the Republican National Convention of 1864, besides being identified with various business enterprises at Ottawa. Died, June 30, 1885.

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

BUTLER, William, State Treasurer, was born in Adair County, Ky., Dec. 15, 1797; during the war of 1812, at the age of 16 years, served as the messenger of the Governor of Kentucky, carrying dispatches to Gen. William Henry Harrison in the field; removed to Sangamon County, Ill., in 1828, and, in 1836, was appointed Clerk of the Circuit Court by Judge Stephen T. Logan. In 1859 he served as foreman of the Grand Jury which investigated the "canal scrip frauds" charged against ex-Governor Matteson, and it was largely through his influence that the pro- ceedings of that body were subsequently pub- lished in an official form. During the same year Governor Bissell appointed him State Treasurer to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of James Miller, and he was elected to the same office in 1860. Mr. Butler was an ardent sup- porter of Abraham Lincoln, whom he efficiently befriended in the early struggles of the latter in Springfield. He died in Springfield. Jan. 11, 1876.

BUTTERFIELD, Justin, early lawyer, was born at Keene, N. II., in 1790. He studied at Williams College, and was admitted to the bar at Watertown, N. Y., in 1812. After some years devoted to practice at Adams and at Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., he removed to New Orleans, where he attained a high rank at the bar. In 1835 he settled in Chicago and soon became a leader in his profession there also. In 1841 he was appointed by President Harrison United States District At- torney for the District of Illinois, and, in 1849, by President Taylor Commissioner of the General Land Office, one of his chief competitors for the latter place being Abraham Lincoln. This dis- tinction he probably owed to the personal influ- ence of Daniel Webster, then Secretary of State, of whom Mr. Butterfield was a personal friend and warm admirer. While Commissioner, he rendered valuable service to the State in securing the canal land grant. As a lawyer he was logical and resourceful, as well as witty and quick at repartee, yet his chief strength lay before the Court rather than the jury. Numerous stories are told of his brilliant sallies at the bar and elsewhere. One of the former relates to his address before Judge Nathaniel Pope, of the United States Court at Springfield, in a habeas- corpus case to secure the release of Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet, who was under arrest under the charge of complicity in an attempt to assassin- ate Governor Boggs of Missouri. Rising to begin his argument, Mr. Butterfield said: "I am to address the Pope" (bowing to the Court), "sur-

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 13

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Gale, W. Shelden Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1388

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Gale, W. Shelden
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1388