Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 175

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

USA > Illinois > Knox County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 175
USA > Illinois > Lake County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 175
USA > Illinois > Mercer County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 175
USA > Illinois > Kane County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 175
USA > Illinois > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 175
USA > Illinois > Coles County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 175
USA > Illinois > Clark County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 175
USA > Illinois > McDonough County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 175
USA > Illinois > Schuyler County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 175

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).

A private bank was opened in 1890, by J. M. Nisley. Its capital is about thirty thousand dol- lars, and deposits and loans amount to about forty thousand dollars.

THE PRESS.

The first newspaper to be published was the Knoxville Journal, the first issue of which ap- peared October 5, 1849. Its proprietors were John S. Winter and David Collins, and the edi- torial management was able. It was neutral in politics. Starting as a six column folio the number of columns was increased to seven, on July 9, 1850, and to eight, May 6, 1851. On January 13, 1852, Mr. Winter retired. Mr. Col- lins continued to be the sole proprietor until March 2, 1855, when he sold out to John Regan. Under the new control the paper soon became democratic, and after a few years was discon-

A. B. Charles

To ACharles

861

KNOX COUNTY.

tinued. The pronounced political attitude of his former paper induced Mr. Winter to re-enter the field of journalism, and on October 8, 1856, he issued the first number of the Knox Repub. lican, taking strong anti-slavery ground, and earnestly supporting the principles, policy and candidates of the republican party, then in its infancy. The date of the issue gives the Repub- lican the unquestioned right to claim the dis- tinction of being the oldest paper in the county, in point of continuous publication. The county's political complexion promoted a rapid increase in circulation. John Winter and R. M. Winans were soon taken into partnership, the firm name becoming John S. Winter and Company. On April 7, 1858, they disposed of the paper to Zaccheus Beatty and W. T. Robinson, the first named of whom was later, for many years, edi- tor of the Republican Register of Gales- burg. Within a few years Mr. Beatty re- tired, and in 1875 Mr. Robinson sold out to F. A. Lanstrum. Shortly afterward the paper was bought by the present editor, O. L. Camp- bell, who has very considerably enlarged its size, changing its form from an eight-column folio to a six-column publication of eight, and sometimes ten, pages. The paper appears every Wednesday, and has a circulation of about twelve hundred. It is a clean, family paper, well edited, and aggressively republican. It is now entering its forty-third year, and has been published continuously by its present proprietor for more than a quarter of a century.

The Knox County News was founded in December, 1898, by Charles N. May and Fred O. McFarland. The last named gentleman retired after about three months. Messrs. Harry Campbell and F. Huschinger were then taken into partnership, but withdrew after about a month.

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT.

The municipal government of the City of Knoxville is vested in a Mayor, a Board of six Aldermen, elected from three wards, with nine heads of executive departments, which are named below. The present officers (1899) are: Mayor, A. M. Parmenter; Aldermen, F. E. Buck- ley. F. W. Emery, D. H. Funk, A. C. Barnhart, G. T. Parmenter and Jesse Pickrel; City Clerk, Fred H. Stearns: City Treasurer, H. J. Butt; City Attorney, E. A. Corbin; City Marshall, T. O. Stenson; Police Magistrate, James Godfrey; Street Superintendent, Herod Pierce; Superin-

tendent of Waterworks, Fred McGill; Cemetery Sexton, Seth Crump; City Inspector, E. Codding.

ALANSON G. CHARLES.

Alanson G. Charles is a native of Knox Town- ship, and was born February 21, 1846. His parents were George A. and Dorlinsky (Post) Charles, natives of the State of New York. George A., the father, was a man of great natural ability. With an unerring judgment and quick perceptions, his opinions always car- ried with them the weight of conviction. He was kind and generous, and was beloved by all who knew him.

Alanson G. resembles his father in features and complexion, and the law of heredity is fully exemplified in his generous spirit and benevo- lent disposition. He is a sturdy, thrifty farmer. and is the owner of twelve hundred acres of beautiful rolling prairie land, in one solid body, with a commodious dwelling in the midst. Near by, are three hundred and twenty acres more, which may serve for tillage or pasture land, as the husbandman may think best. Mr. Charles' farm seems to be an ideal one. As one steps upon it, the first impression is extent, magnitude. It is beautifully situated, and from the windows of his homestead, may be seen the spires and belfry towers of the city of Knox- ville. Plenty seems to have its home here, as the abundant crops and the fine stock of horses, cattle and swine attest.

Mr. Charles has been a resident of the county from the day of his birth. He has no desire for a better country or a better home. He has lived in peace and quietude, and has never sought position or place. He rather dislikes office, but has, now and then, accepted it at the urgent importunities of friends. For four terms he was elected Supervisor, which office he filled with great credit. For twelve years he has discharged the duties of Treasurer of Knox County Agri- cultural Board, and still holds that office. At present he is President of Knox County Farmers' Institute, which was organized in 1894.

As a man, Mr. Charles is well informed and is thoroughly posted in his business relations. He is reserved, never opinionated, and is able to give an intelligent statement on all subjects coming within the scope of his knowledge. He is a good neighbor, a lover of friends, and is given to hospitality. In politics, he is a demo- crat, but not an extreme partisan. He sees good and evil in all parties; but his honesty forbids his screening the acts of evildoers. He believes that the perpetuity of republican institutions depends upon men of integrity and ability in office instead of strictly party men without these qualifications.

Both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, and according to the prin- ciples therein inculcated, they have lived up- right, Christian lives.

Mr. Charles was united in marriage November 24, 1868, to Lottie Rogers, daughter of Charles and Eliza (Phillips) Rogers. Charles Rogers was a native of Connecticut; and his wife, Eliza.

862

KNOX COUNTY.

of England. They settled in Knox Township in 1844, where Mrs. Charles was born, January 31, 1848.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles have been blessed with six children: George, Albert, Roger, John H., Alice, and Bessie. Albert and Roger are deceased.

THOMAS LEE GILBERT.

Thomas Lee Gilbert, son of Thomas and Annis (Dibble) Gilbert, was born in Oneida County, New York, March 17, 1830. His father was a farmer, and it was on the farm that the son received his first lessons in industry and thrift that have opened to him the pathway of success.

Thomas Gilbert, the father, went with his father's family to Oneida County, New York. when he was only six years of age. He lived there, working on a farm, until he had grown to manhood. He then went to Ogdensburg, New York, and engaged in the mercantile business, until the War of 1812. He enlisted, and was wounded when Ogdensburg was taken by the British. After the close of the war, he went to the headwaters of the Mississippi, as a trader with the Indians. After returning from the Northwest, he lived in Oneida County, until the Spring of 1834. He then went West again, in order to select a location for a permanent home. He traveled on horseback over the State of Illi- nois, and studied the merits and demerits of every portion. He preferred the country between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers; but the land was not then in the market and he returned to New York.

In the Spring of 1835, he was selected as one of a committee to find a suitable location in Illi- nois for a colony. This committee was com- posed of Thomas Gilbert, Nehemiah West, and Timothy Jarvis. A letter of instructions, writ- ten by the Rev. George W. Gale, was given them, which Mr. Gilbert carried in his pocket through the entire trip. The original letter is preserved in the archives of Knox College, from which the following interesting items are tran- scribed:

"First, Health. This may be regarded as a sine qua non. Under this head, the following indications are to be specially noticed: 1. The quality of the water in wells and springs.

"2. The streams, whether rapid, slow or slug- gish; whether they rise in swamps or pass through them, or from springs; the vicinity of marshes; the face of the country. whether level or rolling.

"3. Quality of soil, depth, variety, general character, whether clay or loam or sand; and if mixed, what proportions, probably; slope of the country, and towards what points, and the degree of slope.

"4. Supply of water, timber, and fuel.

"5. Facilities of intercourse; roads and canals, where now made or probably to be made at no distant time; navigable streams."

The sixth article has reference to hydraulic power, mills, and machinery; the seventh, to canals and navigable streams; the eighth, to

state of population and prospect of increase. The main drift of the instructions was to select a healthy location. The letter is dated May 10, 1835, and is directed to Messrs. Gilbert, West, and Jarvis.

During this trip, Mr. Gilbert, the father, en- tered a half seccion of land in Orange Township, and also bought an adjoining claim on which was an unfinished log cabin. He then returned to New York for his family. He went to Chi- cago and tried to sell his horse, saddle, and bridle for the eighty dollars which he paid. He could not get that price, but instead, was offered forty acres of land, which is now the center of Chicago. The land was refused, and at last, his outfit was sold for sixty dollars. He then took a boat at Chicago around the lakes to Buffalo. He started West with his family from Rome, New York, going on the Erie Canal to Buffalo, then hy lake to Cleveland, then by canal to Portsmouth on the Ohio River, then by the Ohio, Mississippi, and Illinois rivers to Cop- peras Creek Landing, and then by team to Knox- ville, reaching that place November 25, 1835. He lived on his farm until 1865, when he sold out and moved to Knoxville where he died in 1872.

Thomas L. Gilbert has lived a busy life. He has earned not only a competence, but the re- spect and good-will of his fellow citizens. His ambition has been to shun the wrong, and to demand nothing but what is right. His life is an example of good deeds done and is worthy of imitation. In his business relations, he has ever been just and honest, and has never claimed anything but his own. He came into Knox County when only a child, and here has been his home ever since. In youth, he assisted on the farm, attending school as opportunity pre- sented. At the date of his marriage, he settled on a farm in Orange Township, remaining there until the Spring of 1866. He then rented his farm and removed to Knoxville, where he was engaged in the grocery and live stock business until 1868. He next purchased an interest in a hardware store, which claimed his attention until 1871. In 1873, he engaged in the lumber business, which he continued for nearly twenty years. At present he is dealing in real estate.

The early educational advantages of Mr. Gil- bert were such as are incident to a new country. To acquire a thorough business education, he improved every opportunity presented. He at- tended school each winter season until the Fall of 1850, when he entered Knox Academy at Galesburg. He is a well-informed and cultivated man, and shows that he has studied the book of experience with a high purpose and a noble aim.

In politics. Mr. Gilbert is a republican, hav- ing been connected with that party from its organization. In religion, he is a Presbyterian; both he and his wife being members of that church. He was united in wedlock, April 24. 1856, to Harriet T. Hebard, the daughter of Benjamin and Eliza (Clisbee) Hebard, natives of Ohio. They have but one child, a daughter, Effie. who resides with them in Knoxville.

John books.

863

KNOX COUNTY.

DAVID BRAINARD HUGGINS.

David Brainard Huggins was born in Ver- mont, August 31, 1824. His father, David Hug- gins, was a farmer, and his mother's maiden name was Cynthia Bartless.

His father came from Vermont to Knox County in 1834, and settled in Knoxville, where he lived until his death in 1851. At the time of his arrival in Knoxville, only seven families had preceded him and were located there. 1836, at the first Fourth-of-July celebration at Knoxville, his father superintended the dinner for the crowd. He was a kind-hearted and generous man, and aided much in the development of the town and county in which he lived. In his religious views he was a Congregationalist, and held the office of Deacon for a number of years. While living in Vermont, he was Justice of the Peace for twenty years, and served in the same ca- pacity for :everal years in Knox County.

D. B. Huggins' boyhood was passed on the farm. His opportunities for education were Jim- ited, but he availed himself of the instruction afforded in the common school and acquired therein a good, practical, business education. He was brought up a farmer and has followed the occupation of farming and stock-raising all his life. He discontinued the business in 1892 and now is retired.

Mr. Huggins has shown himself a public spirited man. He was largely instrumental in the establishment of the street car line between Galesburg and Knoxville. He headed the sub- scription list with one thousand dollars, and raised most of the money required by hard personal work. Furthermore, he gave bond for ten thousand dollars, to insure its completion. The speakers, on the occasion of the opening of the road, made honorable mention of these facts, and the street car company recognized these services by placing in the hands of Mr. Huggins the first spike to be driven, plated with gold.

Mr. Huggins has shown a disposition to aid in every good cause. For many years, he has been greatly interested in the Knox County Fair. Year after year, the general superintending of the grounds was intrusted to his care-a work in which he showed great judgment and effi- ciency. He made also liberal contributions, as the needs of the Fair seemed to demand.

Mr. Huggins has not been a great traveler. He has visited several States, but has never been abroad. He went to California in 1855, by water, and was more than a month on his way. While there, he took charge of a City Hospital in San Jose.

As a man, Mr. Huggins is quiet and unassum- ing, and is free from the pride of ostentation. He has lived a harmonious life, and has always been regarded as a good neighbor and a good citizen. His kindness of heart and his deeds of charity are an index of the man, and his habits of industry and perseverance will ever com- mend him as a worthy citizen.

In religious faith, Mr. Huggins is a Presbyte- rian. Both he and his wife became members of

that church in 1868, and for more than thirty years have worshipped together in that com- munion. Politically, he is a republican, and has been a faithful worker in the party ever since its formation.

He was married, December 26, 1817, to Har- mony Doty, daughter of Ebenezer Doty. Her father was a soldier in the War of 1812, and her brother, Edward Doty, was one of the "forty- niners."

To Mr. and Mrs. Huggins was born, September 2, 1852, one son, Frank Doty.

CHARLES WESLEY LEFFINGWELL, D. D.

Charles Wesley Leffingwell, Rector of St. Mary's School, Knoxville, is distinguished as an educator and an organizer. In his connec- tion with the cause of education, he is entitled to he remembered as a benefactor of the race.

Dr. Leffingwell is a New Englander by birth, and was born December 5, 1840. He is the son of Rev. Lyman and Sarah Chapman (Brown) Leffingwell, natives of Connecticut, His father was brought up on the farm, and received his education mainly in the public schools. After arriving at maturity, he was educated in the higher branches and was fitted for the ministry in the Methodist church. After a successful ministration for many years in different par- ishes, he died in Knoxville, Illinois, in 1880, at the age of seventy-one.

The first of the family in this country was Lieutenant Thomas Leffingwell, who was a leader in the colony which settled in Norwich, Connecticut, in 1635. He was very friendly with Uncas and his Mohegan followers, and once saved this tribe from their enemies, the Pequots. Dr. Leffingwell traces his descent from Lieutenant Leffingwell. His grandfather was Joseph Leffingwell, who was born in Nor- wich, Connecticut.

in his youth, Dr. Leffingwell had the usual advantages of the New England public schools. He supplemented this instruction by attending Temple School at New Haven, where he was fitted to enter Yale College. He finally chose Union College at Schenectady, New York. instead of Yale, entering the Sophomore class. He did not graduate here. By too close applica- tion to study, he had impaired his health, and. consequently, was unable to finish his course. He came to Illinois, whither his parents had preceded him a short time before. On his arri- val, he did not long remain idle, and, although only seventeen years of age, he engaged in teaching near Dundee, Kane County. His next service as a teacher was in the Military Insti- tute at Kirkwood, Missouri, where he remained one season. He then accompanied Rev. Benja- min Eaton to Galveston, Texas, with whom he remained several years. Here he taught a select school, and at the same time, held the office of Deputy City and County Surveyor. He re- mained at Galveston until the commencement of the Civil War, when he returned to Illinois. He then matriculated at Knox College with an advanced standing, and graduated with high

864

KNOX COUTNY.

honors in the class of 1862. His Alma Mater has since shown her appreciation of his scholar- ship and ability by conferring upon him, in 1875, the degree of Doctor of Divinity.

After graduation, he became connected with the Military Institute at Poughkeepsie, New York, as Vice-Principal-Dr. C. B. Waring being Principal. During his three years' service here, his aspirations for the Episcopal ministry seemed to shape the destiny of his future life- work. Immediately he put himself under the instruction of Rev. Dr. Traver, of Poughkeepsie, and afterwards completed his theological course in the Seminary Nashotah, Waukesha County, Wisconsin. He graduated in 1867, re- ceiving the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. After his ordination by Bishop Whitehouse, he became an assistant to Rev. Dr. Rylance of St. James' Church, Chicago, which position he held for four months. He was then elected Tutor in the Theological Seminary at Nasho- tah. His tutorship here was of brief duration. Before a year had passed, he was called by the Bishop of Illinois to establish a school for girls in Knoxville. It was opened on Monday of Easter week, 1868, under the title of St. Mary's School.

This school is under Episcopal supervision, and the property was given to the diocese under the condition that a boarding and day school should be maintained there for a period of five years. Under Dr. Leffingwell's management its growth was marvelous, and within four years, it had outgrown its accommodations. A plan was adopted for the enlargement of the build- ing, and Hon. James Knox came forward with a generous gift of ten thousand dollars. Others readily responded. The church gave four thou- sand, and the Rector advanced the large sum of twelve thousand five hundred dollars. Soon the building was completed and furnished with all the appurtenances which were necessary to make a successful school.

On the morning of January 4, 1883, this struc- ture, which was the pride of Knoxville and the county, with all its contents, was burned. A blackened mass of ruins marked the spot where it once stood, a of

thing beauty. The Rector, undaunted, and with a spirit that did not quail in the pres- ence of misfortune, did not wait for the dying embers to expire, but secured another bunding, the Ansgarius College for his school. An annex. twenty-five by one hundred feet, was built, and within a month, the school was in session again. In May, 1883, the work of reconstruction com- menced, and in October of the same year, St. Mary's was completed on a greatly improved plan and larger scale and opened for work.

St. Mary's School has a wide reputation, and is patronized by the best families far and near. The buildings and grounds are artistically ar- ranged, and an air of neatness and taste per- vades all the surroundings. As a home for young ladies, it has no superior in Knox County. It has been made what it is by that untiring worker and educator, Dr. Leffingwell. By his efforts, he has lifted it to the pinnacle of pros-

perity and success. It has no ups and downs, but is always full and flourishing.

Second only to his interest in his school is his interest in "The Living Church," a paper of which he has been editor and proprietor for more than twenty years. It has won its way to a leading position in the Episcopal Church and has a national circulation. In influence, it is second to none. Only a small portion of Dr. Leffingwell's time, however, is spent away from his duties in St. Mary's. His motive in conducting this enterprise has not been for financial profit, but for the work's sake, and the good influence which might be thus exerted.

Dr. Leffingwell occupies not only a prominent position as an educator, but also in church work. From the time of the division of the Diocese of Illinois until the present, he has been President of the Standing Committee and Deputy of the General Convention of the Quincy Bishopric. During the illness of the Bishop, he has been twice elected President of the Diocesan Convention.

As a citizen, Dr. Leffingwell has lived a re- markable life. Starting in the world without means, he has acquired a competence by his industry and labor in fields of usefulness. While pursuing his studies in the theological school, he supported himself and his family by organ- izing and teaching a select school. His per- sonal characteristics are of the benevolent order. He is is a thorough scholar, and is practical in his dealings and teachings. He is kind in dis- position and agreeable to every one. A trinity of good qualities forms the basis of his char- acter-decision, prudence, and discretion in all things.

Dr. Leffingwell was united in wedlock, June 23, 1862, to Elizabeth, daughter of John Francis. He was formerly of Kent, England, but came to this country, residing in Chautauqua County. New York.

Dr. and Mrs. Leffingwell have been the parents of seven children: Anna and Bertha, who died in infancy; Alice, deceased after graduation and marriage; Warring, Ernest, Hortense, and Gertrude, now living.

JOHN HENRY LEWIN.

John Henry Lewis is a living example of a successful man. With a well-balanced mind, he has pursued the path that leads to fortune and to fame. He has been a prominent citizen of Knox County for many years, residing in the city of Knoxville. He is a native of the State of New York, and was born in Tompkins County, July 21, 1830.

The ancestry of Mr. Lewis reaches back to the period when the times and the events "tried men's souls." The name Lewis will ever be illustrious in the annals of American history. That charter of American liberty, the Dec- laration of Independence. was signed by Francis Lewis, from whom John H. is descended.

Francis Lewis was a native of Landaff, in the shire of Glamorgan, South Wales. He was born in March, 1713. His father was a clergy-

D.L. Gilbert

D. B. Huggins

865

KNOX COUNTY.

man, and his mother was the daughter of a clergyman, the Rev. Dr. Pettingal, who had charge of a parish in North Wales. Francis was an only child and was left an orphan when only five years old. He was left to the care of a maternal aunt, was sent to the Westminster School in London, where he soon became a thorough classical scholar. In the Spring of 1735, when he was only twenty-one years of age, he came to New York with merchandise which he had purchased with his small for- tune. His partner was Edward Annesly. Francis took a portion of the goods to Phila- delphia, where he remained two years. He then returned to New York and married Eliza- beth Annesly, the sister of his partner. When the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, he was unanimously elected a member of that body, April 22, 1775, and continued to hold the office until 1779. He was an uncompromising advocate of liberty, and was one of the first to declare that the colonies could not live under the dominion of Great Britain. For the cause of freedom and the inalienable rights of the colonies, he spent his fortune and died poor at the advanced age of ninety, in 1803.

Henry Lewis, the father of John, was a na- tive of New Jersey, and was born in Sussex County, October 6, 1796. His kinsman, General Morgan Lewis, whose wife was of the noted Livingston family, was once its Governor. The wife of Henry Lewis was Permelia M. Shaver, a native of the State of New York. They were married July 8, 1826, and removed to Illinois in the Fall of 1836, with their two sons, George W. and John H. The day of railroads and steam had not yet dawned, and they were compelled to make their trip in a two-horse wagon, loaded with the implements that would be of service in their new settlement. At length, after fifty- one days of extreme weariness and toil, they reached their journey's end, October 15, 1836. They settled in Ellisville, Fulton County, where were only a few deserted wigwams. Mr. Lewis erected the first frame house in that town, and it was here that the hopes and plans of this little family were blasted by his death, Sep- tember 25, 1837,-within a year of his arrival. At this bereavement, the mother did not sink down in despair, but looked beyond the lower- ing clouds and saw a glimmering ray of hope. In a lone wilderness, without friends or home, she battled nobly to sustain herself and her children, until they should reach a period when they would be self-supporting. George, the eld- est son, left his home, while yet young, and traveled in the Eastern States and in Mexico, and at last settled in southern California, where he died. John H. remained with his mother, until he was eleven years of age, attending school a few months each year, and earning his own subsistence by working on the farm. Then for a period of six years, a contract for his services was made with a South Carolinian family, under the following stipulations: good clothing, three months' schooling each year, a horse, saddle and bridle, at the close of his ap- prenticeship. These conditions were almost

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, Part 175

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