Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 142

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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Colonel Carr has been honored by being called to high positions, and he has honored the posi- tions to which he has been called.

Under President Harrison's administration, he was appointed Minister Resident and Consul General to Denmark. While a conference of Consuls General, of which he was a member, was in session in Paris, he received notice from Washington of his promotion to the rank of Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordi- nary, in which position he represented our coun- try at that brilliant court for four years. As Minister, Colonel Carr performed signal service in the interest of the World's Fair and for the commerce of the United States. He served his country faithfully for four years as Minister at Copenhagen, and received the highest com- mendations from the Government.

Colonel Carr is entitled to great credit for the part he took in inducing the Santa Fe Company to build the line of their railway through Gales- burg. The company made several surveys with the design of finding the shortest practical line to Chicago. Orders were issued to adopt the line about twelve miles south of Galesburg. Through the efforts of Colonel Carr, the com- pany was induced to prospect a line through this city, which was finally adopted upon cer- tain conditions. While the citizens contributed generously to the work of complying with those conditions, but for the efforts of Colonel Carr, the Santa Fe Railway would have gone direct from Fort Madison to Streator, leaving Gales- burg to one side.

Colonel Carr also took a deep interest in the Omaha Exposition. He was President of the Illinois commission, composed of twenty mem- bers appointed from different parts of the State. The commission erected a beautiful building on the grounds, which became a pop- ular resort. The affairs of this commission were so well managed as to elicit the highest commendations. An unexpended portion of the appropriation of nearly $7,000 was left in the State Treasury. For this, much credit is due to the president of the commission.

For his faithful, energetic, and effective work in support of the movement to introduce Indian corn into northern Europe as food for man, Colonel Carr was elected president of the Amer-

W.O. Lovejoy

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ican Maize Propaganda, which position he now holds.

Of the family of Colonel Carr, something should be said. An elder brother, Brigadier Gen- eral Eugene A. Carr, graduated at West Point in 1850. He was Major General of Volunteers during the Civil War, took part in many bat- tles, including Vicksburg, Pea Ridge, and Mo- bile, and was wounded several times. Colonel B. O. Carr, another brother, served in the vol- unteer army during the war; another brother, Rev. H. M. Carr, was chaplain; and another brother, George P. Carr, deceased, rose to the rank of Captain. A sister, Mrs. John C. Fahn- stock, is a resident of this city.

Colonel Carr was married December 31, 1873, to Grace Mills, only daughter of the Honorable Henry A. Mills, of Mt. Carroll, Illinois. Mrs. Carr is a sister of Major Stephen C. Mills, of the regular army. To Colonel and Mrs. Carr were born two children, Julia C., horn April 2, 1876; and Lieutenant Clark Mills, born March 16, 1878, who served with credit during the late war with Spain, in the Ninth Illinois Regi- ment of Infantry.

MAURICE JAMES CHASE, M. D.

Maurice James Chase, M. D., son of Benjamin Chapman and Eliza (Royce) Chase, was born in Cornish, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, March 4, 1826. His father was a farmer, and owing to conditions induced by maternal im- pressions, was born into this world bereft of two important faculties-hearing and speech. His mother's domestic feelings were unusually strong, and her tender sympathies made her efficient in the care of the sick and distressed.

The first settlement of Cornish by the Chases is quite romantic. About the year 1700, George Gifford, of Massachusetts, ceded the township to Aquilla and Priscilla Chase, ancestors of M. J. Chase. They took all their personal effects in a row-boat up the Connecticut River and took possession of the ceded grant. Formerly in this township, the Chase family was very numerous. Most of the church and town offices were held by them. It was here that Chief Justice Sal- mon P. Chase was born. It is here that he and very many of that name can trace their com- mon ancestry.

Maurice James Chase received a thorough and practical education in the New England public schools of his time, which fitted him to enter upon a more advanced course of study at the Kimball Union Academy-an institution of na- tional reputation. After finishing his academic course, he commenced in 1845 the study of medi- cine-a profession that he had selected in very early life. He was a student of the famous Dr. Dixi Crosby, who was n'sident of the Medical Department of Dartmouth. He attended a full course of lectures at the Medical College at Woodstock, Vermont, and two full courses also, at Dartmouth. He graduated June 17, 1850, and soon thereafter settled in South Boston, Massa- chusetts, in the practice of his profession. Thinking that there were broader fields of use- fulness and influence in the West, he came to

Indiana in February, 1854, and practiced there for two years. He then removed to Macomb, Illinois, and remained there until July, 1859, when he came to Galesburg, where he has been a successful practitioner for forty years.

Dr. Chase has earned an honorable distinc- tion in the practice of his profession. His reputation for careful and painstaking treat- ment is acknowledged. His clinical instruction is full and complete, and his diagnosis of thousands of cases is a proof of his erudition and ability. As a physician, his labors have been crowned with success, and much of that success is due to the sympathy which he feels and ex- presses for his patients. He believes that care and attention are as important as medicine.

In religious belief, he is a Universalist. His creed is the Fatherhood of God and the Brother- hood of man. He says of himself: "From my earliest recollections I have been a firm be- liever in prayer and communion with God, our Heavenly Father. It is a great duty and high privilege to keep and revere the first and the second great commandments of the New Testa- ment."

Dr. Chase is a strong temperance man; never- theless, politically, he affiliates with the repub- lican party.

He was united in marriage to Lucy F. Crocker, March 15, 1849. There were born to them four children, two now living: Henry Maurice, born November 3, 1850, died March 5. 1854; Ella L., born December, 1853, died October, 1854; Henry Maurice, 2d, born February 9, 1860; Ella L., 2d, horn March 30, 1856.

Henry M. Chase was married June 5, 1884, to Jane Ewing Phillips. They have two children: Phillips M., born April 6, 1886; and Margaret Evertson, born December 22, 1889. Ella L. Chase was married March 30, 1874, to Arthur W. Conger, who died in 1890. Three children were born to them: Lucy M., born January 22, 1875; Delia, born December 4, 1886; and Etheline, born October 4, 1888. Her second marriage was with Hon. Howard Knowles, March 4, 1896.

GEORGE CHURCHILL.

"Sow a character and you reap a destiny."

The truth of this maxim finds abundant exem- plification in the life and labors of George Churchill. There is scarcely a department in- augurated for the improvement of this city, or for the bettering of the condition of its peo- ple, without a trace of his handiwork. He has been "part and parcel" of the city of Galesburg and Knox College almost from their very in- ception, and their history would be incomplete and almost worthless without the embodiment of the life-work of Professor George Churchill.

Dr. Churchill, son of Norman and Anna (Eg- gleston) Churchill, was born in Herkimer County, New York, April 2, 1829. His father came to Galesburg early in the Fall of 1836, and purchased a ten-acre lot on West Main street, known as the "Churchill home." Into this "home" he moved with his family in 1839, where he lived and died. an honored citizen, September 20, 1886, at the advanced age of nearly eighty-

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seven years. He was the son of Reverend Jesse Churchill, and was born in Hubbardton, Vermont, November 5, 1799.

The early educational advantages of Dr. George Churchill were of the kind incident to a . new country. At that time, the necessities of the family and home had to be supplied and the culture of the mind was treated more as an incidental matter. However, young George's youth was given to the study of such books as were at his command, and to the contemplation of the open book of Nature for which he had an innate fondness. He entered Knox College as a student in the Preparatory department in the first year of its history. With thorough preparation, he afterwards entered the college classes and graduated in 1851.

After graduation, there was no time afforded him for recreation or rest. His first year was spent as civil engineer on the Central Military Tract Railroad, which afterwards became part of the main line of the Burlington system.

Appreciating the inefficiency of the public schools of Galesburg and vicinity, and desiring to supplant them with a better system, he next made a trip to Europe, in order to make a most thorough inspection of the Prussian schools. For this tour, he had exceptional facilities. Let- ters from the Secretary of State and from other influential men were given him, and he was thus enabled to gain an accurate knowledge of the Prussian system of education. On his re- turn to Galesburg, he addressed himself to the task of arousing public sentiment in favor of an improved school system, that should, in some measure, be comparable to the one he had been studying. Not only his time and energy were lavished without stint, hut his slender salary as teacher was encroached upon to secure the assistance of Honorable Henry Barnard, of Con- necticut, who afterwards received the first ap- pointment as Commissioner of Education for the United States. The co-operation of the various educational interests ultimately resulted in procuring a special charter by which the former district schools were consolidated, and the foundations of the present system, with all its essential features, were laid. The Board of Education has shown a just appreciation of Dr. Churchill's services in this direction, by naming what was called the Grammar School the "Churchill School," and by adopting, January 14, 1896, the following resolutions:

Resolved, That we tender a vote of thanks to Professor Churchill, thus expressing our high appreciation for the efforts he made in securing a higher education for the public schools of Galesburg by a special charter, which passed the Legislature in 1859; and that we extend to him an invitation to be the guest of this Board to visit our schools and see if we have come up to his expectations, both in buildings and in teaching.

Dr. Churchill has been fully appreciated by his fellow citizens, and at their hands has held many positions of honor and trust. For thir- teen years, he was a member of the Board of Education. For twenty-two years, he served in

the capacity of City Engineer. For two terms, he served as Alderman. For eight years, he was a member of the Board of Park Commissioners. For twenty-three years, he held a position on the Library Board, which position he held until his death, which occurred in September, 1899. Besides all these extra duties and labors, which were performed acceptably and well, and which demanded the meed of praise from every citizen, he filled a Professor's Chair in Knox College for the long period of forty-four years.

Dr. Churchill was born to be useful. He was born to do good. He was born especially as an educator of youth. Nobly and grandly, he fulfilled his mission. In his instruction, he was lucid and thorough, and, whatever the subject taught, he never failed to interest. Thousands of men and women, scattered over our land, as the evening shadows fall and as their wander- ing thoughts revert to the scenes of their school days, will picture the stalwart form of Dr. George Churchill. They will recall with deeper affection his peculiar and interesting manner of teaching and his many quaint and always in- structive speeches. They will ever regard his name and Knox College as one and inseparable.

As a citizen, Dr. Churchill was deservedly popular. He was intelligent, and amiable in disposition; honorable in purpose and char- acter; charitable towards the unfortunate; kind and loving in all domestic relations; a friend to the poor and needy; and a lover of all that makes for righteousness and is a benefit to the human race. He was a practical and consistent man and won his way by his urbanity and vigorous common sense.

In religious faith, Dr. Churchill was a Congre- gationalist. When sixteen years of age, he be- came a member of the Old First Church. At the time of his death, September 10, 1899, he was a member of its successor, the Central Church. He served forty years as deacon; twenty-five years as Superintendent of the Sabhath school, and more than twenty-five years as leader of the choir. He was also a member of the building committee of the present church structure. He was director and President of the Mechanics' Homestead and Loan Association since its or- ganization in 1882, the assets and disbursements of which to the present time amount to two and a half million dollars.

Dr. Churchill was thrice married. His first wife was Clara A. Hurd. To them was born one son, Milton E., now Dean of the Faculty of Illinois College, Jacksonville.

His second wife was Ada H. Hayes. Of this union, one daughter and two sons were born: Mary Hayes, who died July 7, 1863; Charles E., a lawyer, in Chicago; and George B., a hard- ware merchant of Galesburg.

His third wife was Ellen Sanborn Watkins. One son was born to them, William David. By a former marriage, his third wife had a daugh- ter, Mrs. Nellie Sanborn (Watkins) Wetherbee.

MERRITT M. CLARK.

Merritt M. Clark, a patriot soldier during the Civil War, was born at Manchester, Bennington

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County, Vermont, January 10, 1835. He was the youngest son of Chester and Saviah (Matte- son) Clark, and was left fatherless when only eleven years of age. In 1851, he came to Gales- burg with his mother, and lived here the re- maiuder of his life.

Mr. Clark acquired the rudiments of his edu- cation in the district schools of his native State. Afterwards, he supplemented this instruction with a more thorough course of study. He matriculated in Knox College, and graduated with high honors in 1857. After graduation, he read law with the firm of Smith and Ford, and was soon admitted to practice in the courts of the State. In the Spring of 1861, a law partner- ship was formed with Judge A. A. Smith and E. P. Williams, which continued until 1862. Im- bued with patriotic fervor, he entered the army as a commissioned officer, and served, though with impaired health, until the close of the war. His patriotism and his love for his com- panions in arms are shown by the following in- cident: A member of the law firm, in which he was once a partner, urged him to obtain a dis- charge from the service on account of his poor health, and with a true Roman spirit offered to take his place. He replied, that he could not ask such a favor, when his companions,- suffer- ing as much as he, could not obtain a release. Having been a partaker with them in the triumphs of battle and the shouts of victory, he could not desert them in an hour of dark- ness, disease, or death. With an heroic spirit and with a manly courage that did not quail in the smoke of battle, he remained at his post until victory was won.

After Mr. Clark's discharge, he returned to his home, where he remained, highly honored, until his death. Immediately, he was elected Police Magistrate, which office he filled until the Spring of 1866. He then formed a law partnership with E. P. Williams, which was dissolved in 1871 on account of Mr. Clark's 11]- health. During 1871, he was elected City Attor- ney, which office he held for one year.

As a lawyer, Mr. Clark possessed certain emi- nent characteristics. He was fair and honest, and a sense of justice and equity seemed to con- trol his actions. He was accurate and pains- taking in cases at court, and his quick percep- tions and versatile mind enabled him to dis- cover the weak and strong points In trial or argument. As a soldier, he virtually gave his life to his country. Disease, contracted on the field of battle, did not quench the fire of patriot- ism that was burning within him, or turn him from the path of duty. His name is worthy to be enrolled on the scroll of fame with the patriots of his time. As man and citizen, he bore an unsullied character. His demeanor was pleasing, but not commanding. He was char- itable in his speech and acts, and his kindly nature drew around him many friends. He lived a life full of kindness and love, and is worthy to have inscribed upon his tombstone this epitaph-an honest man.

Mr. Clark was a Congregationalist, a member of the Old First Church. His political faith was

republican. He was married September 2, 1857, to Celia A. T'inker, a daughter of Rev. Charles E. and Mary (Robinson) Tinker. Rev. Charles E. Tinker was a Home Missionary about 1840.

To Mr. and Mrs. Clark were born seven chil- dren: Mary Ina, died in childhood; Luella M .; Chester M .; Charles T .; Jay C .; Willis J., and Alice Pauline.

CHAUNCEY SILL COLTON.

Chauncey Sill Colton was a remarkable man. His name is as imperishable as the name of the city of his adoption. A halo surrounds it, which will grow brighter and brighter, as the history of Galesburg and its early struggles shall be known and read. Without him, this city of beauty and refinement, of schools and colleges, as it is to-day, could never have been. It was he, with the aid of others, that brought the great Burlington system to this city. Without this railroad, Galesburg would be a "deserted vil- lage" on the plain. He was its chief promoter and the only director living on the line of the road for a quarter of a century, during which time the original railway, of eighty miles in length, expanded to five thousand miles. All the extensions in Illinois were made on his sugges- tion and insistence; and he was the first to urge its extension beyond the Mississippi. All honor is due to him for incessant labors in building up the city of his home. Like many a great man and worker for humanity, he built wiser than he knew; but future generations will enjoy the fruits of his labors.

Mr. Colton was a native of Springfield, Penn- sylvania, horn September 21, 1800. His parents were Justin and Abigail (Sill) Colton and were natives of Massachusetts. They lived for one year in Pennsylvania, and then returned to their New England home. Young Chauncey spent his boyhood at Longmeadow, Massachu- setts, with his grandfather, whose precepts and advice did much to establish his character. He attended the academy at Monson, Massachu- setts, and improved all the means of learning there given. But his large acquirements were obtained in the great school of practical ex- perience in life.

Mr. Colton was of English descent. His American progenitor was Quartermaster George Colton, who came to this country from Sut- tancofield, Sussex County, England, in 1640, and settled at Windsor, Hartford County, Con- necticut. His grandfather, Captain Gad Colton, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.

In 1820, after finishing his course of study at the academy. Mr. Colton went to Monson. Maine, and resided there for ten years. But the opportunities amid the rocks, mountains, and rugged barrenness of New England seemed to him too narrow and confined. He therefore re- solved to try his fortune in the Great West, then an almost unexplored wilderness. In June, 1836, he took up his abode in this city and lived here, an honored and highly respected citizen, the remainder of his life. His first occupation was in the mercantile line, in which he was emi- nently successful. But his chief business, of in-

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terest to this section, was the buying and ship- ping of its staple products. He shipped the first beef and pork, the first wheat and corn from central Illinois. The route of shipments was down the Illinois and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans, thence, by sea, to New York and Liverpool. He favored every enterprise which was for the advancement and interest of the city and State. He was one of the founders of the First National Bank, in which he was a director many years. He was also one of the founders of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank, in which he was the largest stockholder and its first President. His money and his counsel aided much in the erection of Union Block and other buildings. He built and occupied the first house in Galesburg. He also built the first school house in the town, and paid for it himself. Some years later, the frame of the old First Church was raised, but stood uncovered for about two years, until Mr. Colton offered to complete it himself, and let the members of the society pay their subscriptions when able to do so. Indeed, from the day of his arrival to the time of his death, it would be difficult to men- tion a worthy enterprise that he did not favor and assist. Public spirited, high-minded, pos- sessing great native talents and a keen judg- ment, he readily comprehended matters and in every undertaking, knew what was best to be done.

Although not a church member until late in life, Mr. Colton always considered churches and schools of primary importance in a community.

He was a member of the Old First Church. At the organization of the Brick Congregational Church, under Dr. Edward Beecher, he united with it and remained a communicant as long as he lived, and gave liberally for its support.

He had also a great faith in Knox College, and in the work that this institution would ac- complish for the community here and for the world at large. For forty years, he was a mem- ber of the Board of Trustees, and nearly as long a member of the Executive Committee. No col- lege ever had a more faithful worker; he labored for its prosperity and success, and gave his time and money freely. His services were ever re- garded as valuable, because of his keen percep- tion, sound judgment, and practical knowledge in all business relations.

Mr. Colton never sought office and was not a politician. In early life, he was a democrat, afterwards a free soiler, and lastly, a repub- lican. He believed more in the politics of prin- ciple than in the politics of men.

Mr. Colton was married in Maine, January 5, 1826, to Emily H., daughter of Samuel McLan- athan, of Sangerville. There were born to them four children: Harriet S. (Noteware); Sarah M., of this city; Colonel John B., of Kan- sas City; and Hon. Francis Colton, of Wash- ington, D. C., formerly Consul at Venice, Italy.

In such a life as Chauncey Colton's there is much to admire and commend. His manners were simple and unaffected. He was an example of true manhood and possessed all those quali- ties which ennoble and dignify human nature.

He was intelligent and able to meet any emerg- ency. He had quick perceptions, and was not easily betrayed into difficulties. He neglected no duty; he thrust aside no obligation.

MILTON LEMMON COMSTOCK.

Milton Lemmon Comstock, A. M., Ph. D., was born in Crosby Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, October 19, 1824. There is a tradition that the progenitor of the Comstock family in Eng- land was a German Baron, Kulmstock, who emi- grated to that country about A. D. 1500. A vil- lage named Culmstock exists among the Down Hills, between Exeter and Taunton, and Will- iam Comstock, born in 1608, came with his wife, Elizabeth, from southwestern England to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635. Their fourth child, John, with his wife, Abigail, settled in Lyme, Connecticut. William, the third of the seven children of John, born January 9, 1669, had two children, the second of whom was Will- iam, born January 16, 1695 (Lyme Records, page 428, defective from fire). James, the eldest of William's four children, was the great-grand- father of Milton L.

The parents of Milton L., Joab and Jane (Lemmon) Comstock, were born in Ohio and Maryland, respectively; his paternal grandpar- ents, Joab and Eunice (Willey) Comstock, were born in Connecticut; his maternal grandparents, . William and Margaret (McCaine) Lemmon, were born near Armagh, Ireland; his paternal great-grandparents were James and Thankful (Crosby) Comstock, and Ephraim and Patience (Becket) Willey; on the maternal side, John and Jane (McCrea) Lemon (name so spelled originally), and Archibald and Elizabeth (Trim- ble) McCaine. His grandfather, Joab Com- stock, came with his family from Hadlyme, Connecticut, to Ohio, in 1801, and settled in the northwestern part of Hamilton County, where he made a farm out of a dense forest; he died in Ohio in 1825, and his widow died near Bur- lington, Iowa, in 1858. Joab, the fifth of his children who attained maturity, was born February 9, 1804, removed to Iowa in 1839, and died in Burlington in 1882. He was a farmer, and a local Methodist preacher for nearly fifty years, a kind and faithful man. William Lem- mon, Mr. Comstock's maternal grandfather, came to America in 1801, and to Ohio in 1819; he was a weaver; he died in 1851. His daughter Jane, who became the wife of Joab Comstock, father of Milton L., was born in Maryland, February 15, 1807, and died near Burlington, Iowa, in 1875.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 142

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