Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 28

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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The last and principal affair of this kind of historic significance, in which a citizen of Illinois was engaged, though not on Illinois soil, was that in which Congressman William H. Bissell, after- wards Governor of Illinois, and Jefferson Davis were concerned in February, 1850. During the debate on the "Compromise Measures" of that year, Congressman Seddon of Virginia went out of his way to indulge in implied reflections upon the courage of Northern soldiers as displayed on the battle-field of Buena Vista, and to claim for the Mississippi regiment commanded by Davis the credit of saving the day. Replying to these claims Colonel Bissell took occasion to correct the Virginia Congressman's statements, and especi- ally to vindicate the good name of the Illinois and Kentucky troops. In doing so he declared that, at the critical moment alluded to by Seddon, when the Indiana regiment gave way, Davis's regiment was not within a mile and a half of the scene of action. This was construed by Davis as a reflection upon his troops, and led to a challenge which was promptly accepted by Bissell, who named the soldier's weapon (the common army musket), loaded with ball and buckshot, with forty paces as the distance, with liberty to advance up to ten-otherwise leaving the pre- liminaries to be settled by his friends. The evi- dence manifested by Bissell that he was not to be intimidated, but was prepared to face death itself to vindicate his own honor and that of his comrades in the field, was a surprise to the South-

ern leaders, and they soon found a way for Davis to withdraw his challenge on condition that Bissell should add to his letter of acceptance a clause awarding credit to the Mississippi regi- ment for what they actually did, but without dis- avowing or retracting a single word he had uttered in his speech. In the meantime, it is said that President Taylor, who was the father-in-law of Davis, having been apprised of what was on foot, had taken precautions to prevent a meeting by instituting legal proceedings the night before it was to take place, though this was rendered unnecessary by the act of Davis himself. Thus, Colonel Bissell's position was virtually (though indirectly) justified by his enemies. It is true, he was violently assailed by his political opponents for alleged violation of the inhibition in the State Constitution against dueling, especially when he came to take the oath of office as Governor of Illinois, seven years later ; but his course in "turn- ing the tables" against his fire-eating opponents aroused the enthusiasm of the North, while his friends maintained that the act having been performed beyond the jurisdiction of the State, he was technically not guilty of any violation of the laws.

While the provision in the Constitution of 1848, against dueling, was not re-incorporated in that of 1870, the laws on the subject are very strin- gent. Besides imposing a penalty of not less than one nor more than five years' imprisonment, or a fine not exceeding $3,000, upon any one who, as principal or second, participates in a duel with a deadly weapon, whether such duel proves fatal or not, or who sends, carries or accepts a chal- lenge: the law also provides that any one con- victed of such offense shall be disqualified for holding "any office of profit, trust or emolument, either civil or military, under the Constitution or laws of this State." Any person leaving the State to send or receive a challenge is subject to the same penalties as if the offense had been committed within the State; and any person who may inflict upon his antagonist a fatal wound, as the result of an engagement made in this State to fight a duel beyond its jurisdiction-when the person so wounded dies within this State-is held to be guilty of murder and subject to punishment for the same. The publishing of any person as a coward, or the applying to him of opprobrious or abusive language, for refusing to accept a chal- lenge, is declared to be a crime punishable by fine or imprisonment.

DUFF, Andrew D., lawyer and Judge, was born of a family of pioneer settlers in Bond

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County, Ill., Jan. 24, 1820; was educated in the country schools, and, from 1842 to 1847, spent his time in teaching and as a farmer. The latter year he removed to Benton, Franklin County, where he began reading law, but suspended his studies to enlist in the Mexican War, serving as a private; in 1849 was elected County Judge of Franklin County, and, in the following year, was admitted to the bar. In 1861 he was elected Judge for the Twenty-sixth Circuit and re- elected in 1867, serving until 1873. He also served as a Delegate in the State Constitutional Convention of 1862 from the district composed of Franklin and Jackson Counties, and, being a zealous Democrat, was one of the leaders in calling the mass meeting held at Peoria, in August, 1864, to protest against the policy of the Government in the prosecution of the war. About the close of his last term upon the bench (1873), he removed to Carhondale, where he con- tinued to reside. In his later years he be- came an Independent in politics, acting for a time in cooperation with the friends of temperance. In 1885 he was appointed by joint resolution of the Legislature on a commission to revise the revenue code of the State. Died, at Tucson, Ariz., June 25, 1889.

DUNCAN, Joseph, Congressman and Gov- ernor, was born at Paris, Ky., Feb. 22, 1794; emigrated to Illinois in 1818, having previously served with distinction in the War of 1812, and been presented with a sword, by vote of Congress, for gallant conduct in the defense of Fort Stephen- son. He was commissioned Major-General of Illinois militia in 1823 and elected State Senator from Jackson County in 1824. He served in the lower house of Congress from 1827 to 1834, when he resigned his seat to occupy the gubernatorial chair, to which he was elected the latter year. He was the author of the first free-school law, adopted in 1825. His executive policy was con- servative and consistent, and his administration successful. He erected the first frame building at Jacksonville, in 1834, and was a liberal friend of Illinois College at that place. In his personal character he was kindly, genial and unassuming, although fearless in the expression of his convic- tions. He was the Whig candidate for Governor in 1842, when he met with his first political defeat. Died, at Jacksonville, Jan. 15, 1844, mourned by men of all parties.

DUNCAN, Thomas, soldier, was born in Kas- kaskia, Ill., April 14, 1809; served as a private in the Illinois mounted volunteers during the Black Hawk War of 1832; also as First Lieutenant of

cavalry in the regular army in the Mexican War (1846), and as Major and Lieutenant-Colonel during the War of the Rebellion, still later doing duty upon the frontier keeping the Indians in check. He was retired from active service in 1873, and died in Washington, Jan. 7, 1887. .

DUNDEE, a town on Fox River, in Kane County, 5 miles (by rail) north of Elgin and 47 miles west northwest of Chicago. It has two distinct corporations-East and West Dundee- but is progressive and united in action. Dairy farming is one of the principal industries of the adjacent region, and the town has a large cream- ery and a cheese factory. It has good water- power and there are flour and saw-mills, besides extensive brick and tile works; it also has a bank, six churches, a handsome high school building, a public library and two weekly news- papers. Population (1880), 1,434; (1890), 2,023.

DUNHAM, John High, banker and Board of Trade operator, was born in Seneca County, N. Y., 1817; came to Chicago in 1844, engaged in the wholesale grocery trade, and, a few years later, took a prominent part in solving the ques- tion of a water supply for the city ; was elected to the Twentieth General Assembly (1856) and the next year assisted in organizing the Merchants' Loan & Trust Company, of which he became the first President, retiring five years later and re- engaging in the mercantile business. While Hon. Hugh Mccullough was Secretary of the Treasury, he was appointed National Bank Examiner for Illinois, serving until 1866. He was a member of the Chicago Historical Society, the Academy of Sciences, and an early member of the Board of Trade. Died, April 28, 1893, leaving a large estate.

DUNHAM, Ransom W., merchant and Con- gressman, was born at Savoy, Mass., March 21, 1838; after graduating from the High School at Springfield, Mass., in 1855, was connected with the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany until August, 1860. In 1857 he removed from Springfield to Chicago, and at the termina- tion of his connection with the Insurance Com- pany, embarked in the grain and provision commission business in that city, and, in 1882, was President of the Chicago Board of Trade. From 1883 to 1889 he represented the First Illinois District in Congress, after the expiration of his Jast term devoting his attention to his large private business. His death took place suddenly at Springfield, Mass., August 19, 1896.

DUNLAP, George Lincoln, civil engineer and Railway Superintendent, was born at Brunswick.

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Maine, in 1828; studied mathematics and engineer- ing at Gorham Academy, and, after several years' experience on the Boston & Maine and the New York & Erie Railways, came west in 1855 and accepted a position as assistant engineer on what is now the Chicago & Northwestern Rail- road, finally becoming its General Superintend- ent, and, in fourteen years of his connection with that road, vastly extending its lines. Between 1872 and '79 he was connected with the Montreal & Quebec Railway, but the latter year returned to Illinois and was actively connected with the extension of the Wabash system until his retire- ment a few years ago.

DUNLAP, Henry M., horticulturist and legis- lator, was born in Cook County, Ill., Nov. 14, 1853-the son of M. L. Dunlap (the well-known "Rural"), who became a prominent horticulturist In Champaign County and was one of the found- ers of the State Agricultural Society. The family having located at Savoy, Champaign County, about 1857, the younger Dunlap was educated in the University of Illinois, graduating in the scientific department in 1875. Following in the footsteps of his father, he engaged extensively in fruit-growing, and has served in the office of both President and Secretary of the State Horti- cultural Society, besides local offices. In 1892 he was elected as a Republican to the State Senate for the Thirtieth District, was re-elected in 1896, and has been prominent in State legislation.

DUNLAP, Mathias Lane, horticulturist, was born at Cherry Valley, N. Y., Sept. 14, 1814: coming to La Salle County, Ill., in 1835, he taught school the following winter; then secured a clerkship in Chicago, and later became book- keeper for a firm of contractors on the Illinois & Michigan Canal, remaining two years. Having entered a body of Government land in the western part of Cook County, he turned his attention to farming, giving a portion of his time to survey- ing. In 1845 he became interested in horticulture and, in a few years, built up one of the most extensive nurseries in the West. In 1854 he was chosen a Representative in the Nineteenth Gen- eral Assembly from Cook County, and, at the following session, presided over the caucus which resulted in the nomination and final election of Lyman Trumbull to the United States Senate for the first time. Politically an anti-slavery Demo- crat, he espoused the cause of freedom in the Territories, while his house was one of the depots of the "underground railroad." In 1855 he pur- chased a half-section of land near Champaign, whither he removed, two years later, for the

prosecution of his nursery business. He was an active member, for many years, of the State Agri- cultural Society and an earnest supporter of the scheme for the establishment of an "Industrial University," which finally took form in the Uni- versity of Illinois at Champaign. From 1853 to his death he was the agricultural correspondent, first of "The Chicago Democratic Press," and later of "The Tribune," writing over the nom de plume of "Rural." Died, Feb. 14, 1875.

DU PAGE COUNTY, organized in 1839, named for a river which flows through it. It adjoins Cook County on the west and contains 340 square miles. In 1890 its population was 22,551. The county-seat was originally at Naperville, which was platted in 1842 and named in honor of Capt. Joseph Naper, who settled upon the site in 1831. In 1869 the county government was removed to Wheaton, the location of Wheaton College, where it yet remains. Besides Captain Naper, early settlers of prominence were Bailey Hobson (the pioneer in the township of Lisle), and Pierce Downer (in Downer's Grove). The chief towns are Wheaton (population, 1,622), Naperville (2,216), Hinsdale (1,584), Downer's Grove (960), and Roselle (450). Hinsdale and Roselle are largely populated by persons doing business in Chicago.

DU QUOIN, a city and railway junction in Perry County, 76 miles north of Cairo. It has a public library, a public park, a graded school, a foundry, machine shops, salt-works, flour mills and numerous coal mines. Four newspapers are published here, one daily. Population (1880), 2,807; (1890), 4,052: (1893) estimated, 4,500.

DURBOROW, Allan Cathcart, ex-Congress- man, was born in Philadelphia, Nov. 20, 1857. When five years old he accompanied his parents to Williamsport, Ind., where he received his early education. He entered the preparatory department of Wabash College in 1872, and graduated from the University of Indiana, at Bloomington, in 1877. After two years' residence in Indianapolis, he removed to Chicago, where he engaged in business. Always active in local politics, he was elected by the Democrats in 1890, and again in 1892, Representative in Congress from the Second District, retiring with the close of the Fifty-third Congress. Mr. Durborow is Treasurer of the Chicago Air-Line Express Com- pany.

DUSTIN, (Gen.) Daniel, soldier, was born in Topsham, Orange County, Vt., Oct. 5, 1820; received a common-school and academic educa- tion, graduating in medicine at Dartmouth Col-

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lege in 1846. After practicing three years at Corinth, Vt., he went to California in 1850 and engaged in mining, but three years later resumed the practice of his profession while conducting a mercantile business. He was subsequently chosen to the California Legislature from Nevada County, but coming to Illinois in 1858, he engaged in the drug business at Sycamore, De Kalb County, in connection with J. E. Elwood. On the breaking out of the war in 1861, he sold out his drug business and assisted in raising the Eighth Regiment Illinois Cavalry, and was com- missioned Captain of Company L. The regiment was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, and, in January, 1862, he was promoted to the position of Major, afterwards taking part in the battle of Manassas, and the great "seven days' fight" before Richmond. In September, 1862, the One Hundred and Fifth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was mustered in at Dixon, and Major Dustin was commissioned its Colonel, soon after joining the Army of the Cumberland. After the Atlanta campaign he was assigned to the com- mand of a brigade in the Third Division of the Twelfth Army Corps, remaining in this position to the close of the war, meanwhile having been brevetted Brigadier-General for bravery displayed on the battle-field at Averysboro, N. C. He was mustered out at Washington, June 7, 1865, and took part in the grand review of the armies in that city which marked the close of the war. Returning to his home in De Kalb County, he was elected County Clerk in the following November, remaining in office four years. Sub- sequently he was chosen Circuit Clerk and ex- officio Recorder, and was twice thereafter re-elected-in 1884 and 1888. On the organization of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at Quincy, in 1885, he was appointed by Governor Oglesby one of the Trustees, retaining the position until his death. In May, 1890, he was appointed by President Harrison Assistant United States Treasurer at Chicago, but died in office while on a visit with his daughter at Carthage, Mo., March 30, 1892. General Dustin was a Mason of high degree, and, in 1872, was chosen Right Eminent Commander of the Grand Commandery of the State.

DWIGHT, a city in Livingston County, 74 miles, by rail, south-southwest of Chicago, 52 miles northeast of Bloomington, and 22 miles east of Streator. It has two banks, a weekly news- paper, six churches, five large warehouses and two hotels. The city is the center of a rich farming and stock-raising district. Dwight has

attained wide celebrity as the location of the first of a large number of "Keeley Institutes," founded for the cure of the drink and morphine habits. Population (1880), 1,285; (1890), 1,354. These figures do not include the floating popula- tion, which is largely augmented by patients who come to receive treatment at the "Keeley Insti- tute."

DYER, Charles Volney, M.D., pioneer physi- cian, was born at Clarendon, Vt., June 12, 1808; graduated in medicine at Middlebury College, in 1830; began practice at Newark, N. J., in 1831, and in Chicago in 1835. He was an uncomprom- ising opponent of slavery and an avowed sup- porter of the "underground railroad," and, in 1848, received the support of the Free-Soil party of Illinois for Governor. Dr. Dyer was also one of the original incorporators of the North Chicago Street Railway Company, and his name was prominently identified with many local benevo- lent enterprises. Died, in Lake View (then a suburb of Chicago), April 24, 1878.

EARLVILLE, a city and railway junction in La Salle County, 52 miles northeast of Princeton, at the intersecting point of the Chicago, Burling- ton & Quincy and the Chicago & Northwestern Railroads. It is in the center of an agricultural and stock-raising district, and is an important shipping point. It has seven churches, a graded school, two banks, two weekly newspapers and manufactories of plows, wagons and carriages. Population (1880), 963; (1890), 1,058.

EARLY, John, legislator and Lieutenant-Gov- ernor, was born of American parentage and Irish ancestry in Essex County, Canada West, March 17, 1828, and accompanied his parents to Cale- donia, Boone County, Ill., in 1846. His boyhood was passed upon his father's farm, and in youth he learned the trade (his father's) of carpenter and joiner. In 1852 he removed to Rockford, Winnebago County, and, in 1865, became State Agent of the New England Mutual Life Insur- ance Company. Between 1863 and 1866 he held sundry local offices, and, in 1869, was appointed by Governor Palmer a Trustee of the State Reform School. In 1870 he was elected State Senator and re-elected in 1874, serving in the Twenty-seventh, Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth and Thirtiethi General Assemblies. In 1873 he was elected President pro tem. of the Senate, and, Lieut-Gov. Beveridge succeeding to the executive chair, he became ex-officio Lieutenant-Governor. In 1875 he was again the Republican nominee for the Presidency of the Senate, but was defeated

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hy a coalition of Democrats and Independents. He died while a member of the Senate, Sept. 2, 1877.

EARTHQUAKE OF 1811. A series of the most remarkable earthquakes in the history of the Mississippi Valley began on the night of November 16, 1811, continuing for several months and finally ending with the destruction of Carac- cas, Venezuela, in March following. While the center of the earlier disturbance appears to have been in the vicinity of New Madrid, in Southeast- ern Missouri, its minor effects were felt through a wide extent of country, especially in the settled portions of Illinois. Contemporaneous history states that, in the American Bottom, then the most densely settled portion of Illinois, the results were very perceptible. The walls of a brick house belonging to Mr. Samuel Judy, a pioneer settler in the eastern edge of the bottom, near Edwardsville, Madison County, were cracked by the convulsion, the effects being seen for more than two generations. Gov. John Reynolds, then a young man of 23, living with his father's family in what was called the "Goshen Settle- ment," near Edwardsville, in his history of "My Own Times," says of it: "Our family were all sleeping in a log-cabin, and my father leaped out of bed, crying out, 'The Indians are on the house.' The battle of Tippecanoe had been recently fought, and it was supposed the Indians would attack the settlements. Not one in the family knew at that time it was an earthquake. The next morning another shock made us acquainted with it. . .. The cattle came running home bellowing with fear, and all animals were terribly alarmed. Our house cracked and quivered so we were fearful it would fall to the ground. In the American Bottom many chimneys were thrown down, and the church bell at Cahokia was sounded by the agitation of the building. It is said a shock of an earthquake was felt in Kaskas- kia in 1804, but I did not perceive it." Owing to the sparseness of the population in Illinois at that time, but little is known of the effect of the con- vulsion of 1811 elsewhere, but there are numerous "sink-holes" in Union and adjacent counties, between the forks of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, which probably owe their origin to this or some similar disturbance. "On the Kaskaskia River below Athens," says Governor Reynolds in his "Pioneer History," "the water and white sand were thrown up through a fissure of the earth."

EAST DUBUQUE, an incorporated city of Jo Daviess County, on the east bank of the Missis- sippi, 17 miles (hy rail) northeast of Galena. It

is connected with Dubuque, Iowa, by a railroad and a wagon bridge two miles in length. It has a grain elevator, a box factory, a planing mill and manufactories of cultivators and sand drills. It has also a bank, two churches, good public schools and a weekly newspaper. Population (1880). 1,037; (1890), 1,069.

EASTON, (Col.) Rufus, pioneer, founder of the city of Alton; was born at Litchfield, Conn., May 4, 1774; studied law and practiced two years in Oneida County, N. Y .; emigrated to St. Louis in 1804, and was commissioned by President Jefferson Judge of the Territory of Louisiana, and also became the first Postmaster of St. Louis, in 1808. From 1814 to 1818 he served as Delegate in Congress from Missouri Territory, and, on the organization of the State of Missouri (1821), was appointed Attorney-General for the State, serving until 1826. His death occurred at St. Charles, Mo., July 5, 1834. Colonel Easton's connection with Illinois history is based chiefly upon the fact that he was the founder of the present city of Alton, which he laid out, in 1817, on a tract of land of which he had obtained possession at the mouth of the Little Piasa Creek, naming the town for his son. Rev. Thomas Lippincott, prominently identified with the early history of that portion of the State, kept a store for Easton at Milton, on Wood River, about two miles from Alton, in the early " '20's."

EAST ST. LOUIS, a large city in St. Clair County, on the east bank of the Mississippi directly opposite St. Louis. Its industries are varied, including rolling mills; steel, brass, malleable iron and glass works; grain elevators and flour mills, breweries, stock-yards and packing houses. It is the terminus of a large number of important railroad lines and the leading commercial and manufacturing point in Southern Illinois. There are six public schools, besides a flourishing Roman Catholic College. The city is well supplied with banks and has one daily and four weekly papers. Population (1880), 9,185; (1890), 15,169; (1898). estimated, 25,000.

EASTERN HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE. The act for the establishment of this institution passed the General Assembly in 1877. Many cities offered inducements, by way of donations, for the location of the new hospital, but the site finally selected was a farm of 250 acres near Kan- kakee, and this was subsequently enlarged by the purchase of 327 additional acres in 1881. Work was begun in 1878 and the first patients received in December, 1879. The plan of the institution is, in many respects, unique. It comprises a

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general building, three stories high, capable of accommodating 300 to 400 patients, and a number of detached buildings, technically termed cot- tages, where various classes of insane patients may be grouped and receive the particular treatment best adapted to ensure their recovery. The plans were mainly worked out from suggestions by Frederick Howard Wines, LL. D., then Secretary of the Board of Public Charities, and have attracted generally favorable comment both in this country and abroad. The seventy-five build- ings occupied for the various purposes of the institution, cover a quarter-section of land laid off in regular streets, beautified with trees, plants and flowers, and presenting all the appearance of a flourishing village with numerous small parks adorned with walks and drives. The counties from which patients are received include Cook, Champaign, Coles, Cumberland, De Witt, Doug- las, Edgar, Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, Kankakee, La Salle, Livingston, Macon, McLean, Moultrie, Piatt, Shelby, Vermilion and Will. The whole number of patients in 1898 was 2,200, while the employés of all classes numbered 500.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 28

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