Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 2

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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ADAMS, John McGregor, manufacturer, was born at Londonderry, N. H., March 11, 1834, the son of Rev. John R. Adams, who served as Chap- lain of the Fifth Maine and One Hundred and Twenty-first New York Volunteers during the Civil War. Mr. Adams was educated at Gorham, Me., and Andover, Mass., after which, going to New York City, he engaged as clerk in a dry- goods house at $150 a year. He next entered the office of Clark & Jessup. hardware manufacturers, and in 1858 came to Chicago to represent the house of Morris K. Jessup & Co. He thus became associated with the late John Crerar, the firm of Jessup & Co. being finally merged into that of Crerar. Adams & Co., which, with the Adams & Westlake Co., have done a large business in the manufacture of railway supplies. Since the death of Mr. Crerar, Mr. Adams has been princi- pal manager of the concern's vast manufacturing business.

ADAMS, (Dr.) Samuel, physician and edu- cator, was born at Brunswick, Me., Dec. 19, 1806, and educated at Bowdoin College, where he graduated in both the departments of literature and of medicine. Then, having practiced as a

physician several years, in 1838 he assumed the chair of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry and Natural History in Illinois College at Jackson- ville, Ill. From 1843 to 1845 he was also Pro- fessor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics in the Medical Department of the same institution, and, during his connection with the College, gave instruction at different times in nearly every branch embraced in the college curriculum, including the French and German languages. Of uncompromising firmness and invincible cour- age in his adherence to principle, he was a man of singular modesty, refinement and amiability in private life, winning the confidence and esteem of all with whom he came in contact, especially the students who came under his instruction. A profound and thorongh scholar, he possessed a refined and exalted literary taste, which was illustrated in occasional contributions to scien- tific and literary periodicals. Among productions of his pen on philosophic topics may be enumer- ated articles on "The Natural History of Man in his Scriptural Relations;" contributions to the "Biblical Repository" (1844); "Auguste Comte and Positivism" ("New Englander," 1873), and "Herbert Spencer's Proposed Reconciliation be- tween Religion and Science" ("New Englander," 1875). His connection with Illinois College con- tinued until his death, April, 1877-a period of more than thirty-eight years. A monument to his memory has been erected through the grate- ful donations of his former pupils.

ADAMS, George Everett, lawyer and ex-Con- gressman. born at Keene, N. H., June 18, 1840; was educated at Harvard College, and at Dane Law School, Cambridge, Mass., graduating at the former in 1860. Early in life he settled in Chi- cago, where, after some time spent as a teacher in the Chicago High School, he engaged in the practice of his profession. His first post of pub- lic responsibility was that of State Senator, to which he was elected in 1880. In 1882 he was chosen, as a Republican, to represent the Fourth Illinois District in Congress, and re-elected in 1884, '86 and '88. In 1890 he was again a candi- date, but was defeated by Walter C. Newberry. He is one of the Trustees of the Newberry Library.

ADAMS, James, pioneer lawyer, was born in Hartford, Conn., Jan. 26, 1803; taken to Oswego ' Connty, N. Y .. in 1809, and, in 1821, removed to Springfield, Ill., being the first lawyer to locate in the future State capital. He enjoyed an ex- tensive practice for the time; in 1823 was elected a Justice of the Peace, took part in the Winne-

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

bago and Black Hawk wars, was elected Probate Judge in 1841, and died in office. August 11. 1843.

ADAMS COUNTY, an extreme westerly county of the State, situated about midway between its northern and southern extremities, and bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. It was organized in 1825 and named in honor of John Quincy Adams, the name of Quincy being given to the county seat. The United States Census of 1890 places its area at 830 sq. m. and its popula- tion at 61,888. The soil of the county is fertile and well watered, the surface diversified and hilly, especially along the Mississippi bluffs, and its climate equable. The wealth of the county is largely derived from agriculture. although a large amount of manufacturing is carried on in Quincy. (See also Quincy.)

ADDAMS, John Huy, legislator, was born at Sinking Springs, Berks County, Pa., July 12, 1822; educated at Trappe and Upper Dublin, Pa., and learned the trade of a miller in his youth, which he followed in later life. In 1844, Mr. Addams came to Illinois, settling at Cedarville, Stephenson County, purchased a tract of land and built a saw and grist mill on Cedar Creek. In 1854 he was elected to the State Senate from Stephenson County, serving continuously in that body by successive re-elections until 1870-first as a Whig and afterwards as a Republican. In 1865 he established the Second National Bank of Free- port, of which he continued to be the president until his death, August 17, 1881 .- Miss Jane (Addams), philanthropist, the founder of the "Hull House, " Chicago, is a daughter of Mr. Addams.

ADDISON, a village of Du Page County, 24 miles west-northwest from Chicago. It is the seat of an Evangelical Lutheran School. Popu- lation (1890), 485.

ADJUTANTS-GENERAL. The office of Adju- tant-General for the State of Illinois was first created by Act of the Legislature, Feb. 2, 1865. Previous to the War of the Rebellion the position was rather honorary than otherwise, its duties (except during the Black Hawk War) and its emoluments being alike unimportant. The in- cumbent was simply the Chief of the Governor's Staff. In 1861, the post became one of no small importance. Those who held the office during the Territorial period were: Elias Rector, Robert Morrison, Benjamin Stephenson and Wm. Alex- ander. After the admission of Illinois as a State up to the beginning of the Civil War, the duties (which were almost wholly nominal) were dis- charged by Wm. Alexander, 1819-21; Elijah C. Berry, 1821-28; James W. Berry, 1828-39; Moses

K. Andersou, 1839-57: Thomas S. Mather, 1858-61. In November, 1861, Col. T. S. Mather, who had held the position for three years previous, resigned to enter active service, and Judge Allen C. Fuller was appointed, remaining in office until January 1, 1865. The first appointee, under the act of 1865, was Isham N. Haynie, who held office until his death in 1869. The Legislature of 1869, taking into consideration that all the Illinois volunteers had been mustered out, and that the duties of the Adjutant-General had been materi- ally lessened, reduced the proportions of the department and curtailed the appropriation for its support. Since the adoption of the military code of 1877, the Adjutant-General's office has occupied a more important and conspicuous posi- tion among the departments of the State govern- ment. The following is a list of those who have held office since General Haynie, with the date and duration of their respective terms of office: Hubert Dilger, 1869-73; Edwin L. Higgins, 1873-75; Hiram Hilliard, 1875-81 ; Isaac H. Elliot, 1881-84; Joseph W. Vance, 1884-93; Albert Oren- dorff, 1893-96; C. C. Hilton, 1896-97; Jasper N. Reece, 1897 -.

AGRICULTURE. Illinois ranks high as an agricultural State. A large area in the eastern portion of the State, because of the absence of timber, was called by the early settlers "the Grand Prairie." Upon and along a low ridge beginning in Jackson County and running across the State is the prolific fruit-growing district of Southern Illinois. The bottom lands extending from Cairo to the mouth of the Illinois River are of a fertility seemingly inexhaustible. The cen- tral portion of the State is best adapted to corn, and the southern and southwestern to the culti- vation of winter wheat. Nearly three-fourths of the entire State-some 42,000 square miles-is up- land prairie, well suited to the raising of cereals. In the value of its oat crop Illinois leads all the States, that for 1891 being $31.106,674, with 3,068,- 930 acres under cultivation. In the production of corn it ranks next to Iowa, the last census (1890) showing 7,014,336 acres under cultivation. and the value of the crop being estimated at $86,905,510. In wheat-raising it ranked seventh, although the annual average value of the crop from 1880 to 1890 was a little less than $29,000,- 000. As a live-stock State it leads in the value of horses (883,000,000), ranks second in the produc- tion of swine ($30,000,000), third in cattle-growing ($32,000,000), and fourth in dairy products, the value of milch cows being estimated at $24,000, - 000. (See also Farmers' Institute.)

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

AGRICULTURE, DEPARTMENT OF. A department of the State administration which grew out of the organization of the Illinois Agri- cultural Society, incorporated by Act of the Legislature in 1853. The first appropriation from the State treasury for its maintenance was $1.000 per annum. "to be expended in the promotion of mechanical and agricultural arts." The first President was James N. Brown, of Sangamon County. Simeon Francis, also of Sangamon, was the first Recording Secretary ; John A. Kennicott of Cook, first Corresponding Secretary ; and John Williams of Sangamon, first Treasurer. Some thirty volumes of reports have been issued, cover- ing a variety of topics of vital interest to agri- culturists. The department has well equipped offices in the State House, and is charged with the conduct of State Fairs and the management of annual exhibitions of fat stock, besides the collection and dissemination of statistical and other information relative to the State's agri- cultural interests. It receives annual reports from all County Agricultural Societies. The State Board consists of three general officers (President, Secretary and Treasurer) and one representative from each Congressional district. The State appropriates some $20,000 annually for the prosecution of its work, besides which there is a considerable income from receipts at State Fairs and fat stock shows. Between $20,000 and $25,000 per annum is disbursed in premiums to competing exhibitors at the State Fairs, and some $10,000 divided among County Agricultural Societies holding fairs.

AKERS, Peter, D. D., Methodist Episcopal clergyman, born of Presbyterian parentage, in Campbell County, Va., Sept. 1, 1790; was edu- cated in the common schools, and, at the age of 16, began teaching, later pursuing a classical course in institutions of Virginia and North Carolina. Having removed to Kentucky, after a brief season spent in teaching at Mount Sterling in that State, he began the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1817. Two years later he began the publication of a paper called "The Star," which was continued for a short time. In 1821 he was converted and joined the Methodist church, and a few months later began preaching. In 1832 he removed to Illinois, and, after a year spent in work as an evangelist, he assumed the Presidency of McKendree College at Lebanon, remaining during 1833-34; then established a "manual labor school" near Jacksonville, which he maintained for a few years. From 1837 to 1852 was spent as stationed minister or Presiding

Elder at Springfield, Quincy and Jacksonville. In the latter year he was again appointed to the Presidency of McKendree College, where he remained five years. He was then (1857) trans- ferred to the Minnesota Conference, but a year later was compelled by declining health to assume a superannuated relation. Returning to Illinois about 1865, he served as Presiding Elder of the Jacksonville and Pleasant Plains Districts, but was again compelled to accept a superannuated relation, making Jacksonville his home, where he died, Feb. 21, 1886. While President of Mc- Kendree College, he published his work on "Bib- lical Chronology," to which he had devoted many previous years of his life, and which gave evi- dence of great learning and vast research. Dr. Akers was a man of profound convictions, exten- sive learning and great eloquence. As a pulpit orator and logician he probably had no superior in the State during the time of his most active service in the denomination to which he belonged.

AKIN, Edward C., lawyer and Attorney-Gen- eral, was born in Will County, Ill., in 1852, and educated in the public schools of Joliet and at Ann Arbor, Mich. For four years he was paying and receiving teller in the First National Bank of Joliet, but was admitted to the bar in 1878 and has continued in active practice since. In 1887 he entered upon his political career as the Republi- can candidate for City Attorney of Joliet, and was elected by a majority of over 700 votes, although the city was usually Democratic. The follow- ing year he was the candidate of his party for State's Attorney of Will County, and was again elected, leading the State and county ticket by 800 votes-being re-elected to the same office in 1892. In 1895 he was the Republican nominee for Mayor of Joliet, and, although opposed by a citizen's ticket headed by a Republican, was elected over his Democratic competitor by a deci- sive majority. His greatest popular triumph was in 1896, when he was elected Attorney-General on the Republican State ticket by a plurality over his Democratic opponent of 132,248 and a majority over all competitors of 111,255. His legal abilities are recognized as of a very high order, while his personal popularity is indicated by his uniform success as a candidate, in the face, at times, of strong political majorities.

ALBANY, a village of Whiteside County, lo- cated on the Mississippi River and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway (Rock Island branch). Population (1880), 623; (1890), 611.

ALBION, the county seat of Edwards County. Dairying is a leading industry in the surrounding

EXPERIMENT FARM-UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.

EXPERIMENT FARM (THE VINEYARD), UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.

EXPERIMENT FARM (ORCHARD CULTIVATION), UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

country, and the village has a well-managed creamery. It has a bank, five churches, an acad- emy, wagon and plow works, flour mills, an ice factory, and a weekly newspaper. Coal is also mined in the vicinity. It is situated about 56 miles by rail northwest of Evansville, Ind. Popu- lation (1880), 875; (1890), 937.

ALCORN, James Lusk, was born near Gol- conda, Ill., Nov. 4, 1816; early went South and held various offices in Kentucky and Mississippi. including member of the Legislature in each; was a member of the Mississippi State Conven- tions of 1851 and 1861. and by the latter appointed a Brigadier-General in the Confederate service, but refused a commission by Jefferson Davis because his fidelity to the rebel cause was doubted. At the close of the war he was one of the first to accept the reconstruction policy ; was elected United States Senator from Mississippi in 1865, but not admitted to his seat. In 1869 he was chosen Governor as a Republican, and two years later elected United States Senator, serving until 1877. Died, Dec. 20, 1894.

ALDRICH, J. Frank, Congressman, was born at Two Rivers, Wis., April 6, 1853, the son of William Aldrich, who afterwards became Con- gressman from Chicago; was brought to Chicago in 1861. attended the public schools and the Chi- cago University, and graduated from the Rensse- laer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N. Y., in 1877, receiving the degree of Civil Engineer. Later he engaged in the linseed oil business in Chicago. Becoming interested in politics, he was elected a member of the Board of County Commissioners of Cook County, serving as President of that body during the reform period of 1887; was also a member of the County Board of Education and Chairman of the Chicago Citizens' Committee, appointed from the various clubs and commer- cial organizations of the city, to promote the for- mation of the Chicago Sanitary District. From May 1, 1891, to Jan. 1, 1893, he was Commissioner of Public Works for Chicago, when he resigned his office, having been elected (Nov., 1892) a member of the Fifty-third Congress, on the Republican ticket, from the First Congressional District; was re-elected in 1894, retiring at the close of the Fifty-fourth Congress. In 1898 he was appointed to a position in connection with the office of Comptroller of the Currency at Washington.

ALDRICH, William, merchant and Congress- man, was born at Greenfield, N. Y., Jan. 20, 1820. His early common school training was supple- mented by private tuition in higher branches of

mathematics and in surveying, and by a term in an academy. Until he had reached the age of 26 years he was engaged in farming and teaching. but, in 1846, turned his attention to mercantile pursuits. In 1851 he removed to Wisconsin, where, in addition to merchandising. he engaged in the manufacture of furniture and woodenware, and where he also held several important offices, being Superintendent of Schools for three years. Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors one year, besides serving one term in the Legisla- ture. In 1860 he removed. to Chicago, where he embarked in the wholesale grocery business. In 1875 he was elected to the City Council, and, in 1876, chosen to represent his district (the First) in Congress, as a Republican, being re-elected in 1878, and again in 1880. Died in Fond du Lac, Wis., Dec. 3. 1885.

ALEDO, the county-seat of Mercer County. The surrounding country is rich in bituminous coal, and fruit-growing and stock-raising are ex- tensively carried on. For these commodities it is a shipping point of considerable importance. Three weekly papers are published here. Population (1880), 1,492; (1890). 1,601.

ALEXANDER, John T., agriculturist and stock-grower, was born in Western Virginia. Sept. 15, 1820; removed with his father, at six years of age, to Ohio, and to Illinois in 1848. Here he bought a tract of several thousand acres of land on the Wabash Railroad, 10 miles east of Jacksonville, which finally developed into one of the richest stock-farms in the State. After the war he became the owner of the celebrated "Sullivant farm," comprising some 20,000 acres on the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad in Champaign County, to which he transferred his stock interests, and although overtaken by re- verses, left a large estate. Died, August 22, 1876.

ALEXANDER, Milton K., pioneer, was born in Elbert County, Ga., Jan. 23. 1796; emigrated with his father, in 1804, to Tennessee, and, while still a boy, enlisted as a soldier in the War of 1812. serving under the command of General Jackson until the capture of Pensacola, when he entered upon the campaign against the Seminoles in Florida. In 1823 he removed to Edgar County, Ill., and engaged in mercantile and agricultural pursuits at Paris; serving also as Postmaster there some twenty-five years, and as Clerk of the County Commissioners' Court from 1826 to '37. In 1826 he was commissioned by Governor Coles. Colonel of the Nineteenth Regiment. Illinois State Militia: in 1830 was Aide-de-Camp to Gov- ernor Reynolds, and, in1832, took part in the Black

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

Hawk War as Brigadier-General of the Second Brigade, Illinois Volunteers. On the inception of the internal improvement scheme in 1837 he was elected by the Legislature a member of the first Board of Commissioners of Public Works, serving until the Board was abolished. Died. July 7, 1856.

ALEXANDER, (Dr.) William M., pioneer, came to Southern Illinois previous to the organi- zation of Union County (1818), and for some time, while practicing his profession as a physician, acted as agent of the proprietors of the town of America, which was located on the Ohio River, on the first high ground above its junction with the Mississippi. It became the first county-seat of Alexander County, which was organized in 1819, and named in his honor. In 1820 we find him a Representative in the Second General Assembly from Pope County, and two years later Representative from Alexander County, when he became Speaker of the House during the session of the Third General Assembly. Later, he removed to Kaskaskia, but finally went South, where he died, though the date and place of his death are unknown.

ALEXANDER COUNTY, the extreme southern county of the State, being bounded on the west by the Mississippi, and south and east by the Ohio and Cache rivers. Its area is about 230 square miles and its population, in 1890, was 16, . 563. The first American settlers were Tennessee- ans named Bird, who occupied the delta and gave it the name of Bird's Point, which, at the date of the Civil War (1861-65), had been transferred to the Missouri shore opposite the mouth of the Ohio. Other early settlers were Clark, Kennedy and Philips (at Mounds), Conyer and Terrel (at Amer- ica), and Humphreys (near Caledonia). In 1818 Shadrach Bond (afterwards Governor), John G. Comyges and others entered a claim for 1800 acres in the central and northern part of the county, and incorporated the "City and Bank of Cairo." The history of this enterprise is interesting. In 1818 (on Comyges' death) the land reverted to the Government; but in 1835 Sidney Breese, David J. Baker and Miles A. Gilbert re-entered the for- feited bank tract and the title thereto became vested in the "Cairo City and Canal Company," which was chartered in 1837, and, by purchase, extended its holdings to 10,000 acres. The county was organized in 1819; the first county- seat being America, which was incorporated in 1890.

ALEXIAN BROTHERS' HOSPITAL, located at Chicago; established in 1860, and under the management of the Alexian Brothers, a monastic

order of the Roman Catholic Church. It was originally opened in a small frame building, but a better edifice was erected in 1868, only to be de- stroyed in the great fire of 1871. The following year, through the aid of private benefactions and an appropriation of $18,000 from the Chicago Re- lief and Aid Society, a larger and better hospital was built. In 1888 an addition was made, increas- ing the accommodation to 150 beds. Only poor male patients are admitted, and these are received without reference to nationality or religion, and absolutely without charge. The present medical staff (1896) comprises fourteen physicians and sur- geons. In 1895 the close approach of an intra- mural transit line having rendered the building unfit for hospital purposes, a street railway com- pany purchased the site and buildings for 8250,- 000 and a new location has been selected.

ALEXIS, a village of Warren County, on the Rock Island & St. Louis Division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway, 12 miles east of north from Monmouth. It has manufactures of brick, drain-tile, pottery and agricultural imple- ments; is also noted for its Clydesdale horses. Population (1880), 398; (1890), 562.

ALGONQUINS, a group of Indian tribes. Originally their territory extended from about latitude 37° to 53º north, and from longitude 25° east to 15° west of the meridian of Washington. Branches of the stock were found by Cartier in Canada, by Smith in Virginia, by the Puritans in New England and by Catholic missionaries in the great basin of the Mississippi. One of the prin- cipal of their five confederacies embraced the Illinois Indians, who were found within the State by the French when the latter discovered the country in 1673. They were hereditary foes of the warlike Iroquois, by whom their territory was repeatedly invaded. Besides the Illinois. other tribes of the Algonquin family who origi- nally dwelt within the present limits of Illinois, were the Foxes, Kickapoos, Miamis, Menominees. and Sacs. Although nomadic in their mode of life, and subsisting largely on the spoils of the chase, the Algonquins were to some extent tillers of the soil and cultivated large tracts of maize. Various dialects of their language have been reduced to grammatical rules, and Eliot's Indian Bible is published in their tongue. The entire Algonquin stock extant is estimated at about 95,000, of whom some 35,000 are within the United States.

ALLEN, William Joshua, jurist, was born June 9, 1829, in Wilson County, Tenn .; of Vir- ginia ancestry of Scotch-Irish descent. In early

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

infancy he was brought by his parents to South- ern Illinois, where his father, Willis Allen, be- came a Judge and member of Congress. After reading law with his father and at the Louisville Law School, young Allen was admitted to the bar, settling at Metropolis and afterward (1853) at his old home, Marion, in Williamson County. In 1855 he was appointed United States District Attorney for Illinois, but resigned in 1859 and re- sumed private practice as partner of Jolin A. Logan. The same year he was elected Circuit Judge to succeed his father, who had died, but he declined a re-election. He was a member of the Constitutional Conventions of 1862 and 1869, serv- ing in both bodies on the Judicial Committee and as Chairman of the Committee on the Bill of Rights. From 1864 to 1888 he was a delegate to every National Democratic Convention, being chairman of the Illinois delegation in 1876. He has been four times a candidate for Congress, and twice elected, serving from 1862 to 1865. During this period he was an ardent opponent of the war policy of the Goverment. In 1874-75, at the solicitation of Governor Beveridge, he undertook the prosecution of the leaders of a bloody "ven- detta" which had broken ont among his former neighbors in Williamson County, and, by his fear- less and impartial efforts, brought the offenders to justice and assisted in restoring order. In 1886, Judge Allen removed to Springfield, and in 1887 was appointed by President Cleveland to succeed Judge Samuel H. Treat (deceased) as Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 2

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