Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 62

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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JONES, Michael, early politician, was a Penn- sylvanian by birth, who came to Illinois in Terri- torial days, and, as early as 1809, was Register of the Land Office at Kaskaskia; afterwards removed to Shawneetown and represented Gallatin County as a Delegate to the Constitu- tional Convention of 1818 and as Senator in the first four General Assemblies, and also as Repre- sentative in the Eighth. He was a candidate for United States Senator in 1819, but was defeated by Governor Edwards, and was a Presidential Elector in 1820. He is represented to have been a man of considerable ability but of bitter passions, a supporter of the scheme for a pro-slavery con- stitution and a hitter opponent of Governor Edwards.

JONES, J. Russell, capitalist, was born at Conneaut, Ashtabula County, Ohio, Feb. 17, 1823; after spending two years as clerk in a store in his native town, came to Chicago in 1838; spent the next two years at Rockton, when he accepted a

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clerkship in a leading mercantile establishment at Galena, finally being advanced to a partner- ship, which was dissolved in 1856. In 1860 he was elected, as a Republican, Representative in the Twenty-second General Assembly, and, in March following, was appointed by President Lincoln United States Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois. In 1869, by appointment of President Grant, he became Minister to Belgium, remaining in office until 1875, when he resigned and returned to Chicago. Subsequently he declined the position of Secretary of the Interior, but was appointed Collector of the Port of Chi- cago, from which he retired in 1888. Mr. Jones served as member of the National Republican Committee for Illinois in 1868. In 1863 he organ- ized the West Division Street Railway, laying the foundation of an ample fortune.

JONES, William, pioneer merchant, was born at Charlemont, Mass., Oct. 22, 1789, but spent his boyhood and early manhood in New York State, ultimately locating at Buffalo, where he engaged in business as a grocer, and also held various public positions. In 1831 he made a tour of observation westward by way of Detroit, finally reaching Fort Dearborn, which he again visited in 1832 and in '33, making small investments each time in real estate, which afterwards appreciated immensely in value. In 1834, in partnership with Byram King of Buffalo, Mr. Jones engaged in the stove and hardware business, founding in Chicago the firm of Jones & King, and the next year brought his family. While he never held any important public office, he was one of the most prominent of those early residents of Chicago through whose enterprise and public spirit the city was made to prosper. He held the office of Justice of the Peace, served in the City Council, was one of the founders of the city fire depart- ment, served for twelve years (1840-52) on the Board of School Inspectors (for a considerable time as its President), and contributed liberally to the cause of education, including gifts of $50,000 to the old Chicago University, of which he was a Trustee and, for some time, President of its Executive Committee. Died, Jan. 18, 1868 .- Fernando (Jones), son of the preceding, was horn at Forestville, Chautauqua County, N. Y., May 26, 1820, having, for some time in his boy hood, Millard Fillmore (afterwards President) as his teacher at Buffalo, and, still later, Reuben E. Fen- ton (afterwards Governor and a United States Senator) as classmate. After coming to Chicago, in 1835, he was employed for some time as a clerk in Government offices and by the Trustees of the

Illinois & Michigan Canal; spent a season at Canandaigua Academy. N. Y. ; edited a periodical at Jackson, Mich., for- a year or two, but finally coming to Chicago, opened an abstract and title office, in which he was engaged at the time of the fire of 1871, and which, by consolidation with two other firms, became the foundation of the Title Guarantee and Trust Company, which still plays an important part in the real-estate business of Chicago. Mr. Jones has held various public posi- tions, including that of Trustee of the Hospital for the Insane at Jacksonville, and has for years been a Trustee of the University of Chicago .- Kiler Kent (Jones), another son, was one of the found- ers of "The Gem of the Prairies" newspaper, out of which grew "The Chicago Tribune"; was for many years a citizen of Quincy, Ill., and promi- nent member of the Republican State Central Committee, and, for a time, one of the publishers of "The Prairie Farmer." Died, in Quincy, August 20, 1886.

JONESBORO, the county-seat of Union County, situated about a mile west of the line of the Illinois Central Railroad. It is some 30 miles north of Cairo, with which it is connected by a short, direct line. It stands in the center of a fertile territory, largely devoted to fruit-growing, and is an important shipping point for fruit and early vegetables. The local business supports a bank. There are also two or three churches, and one weekly newspaper, as well as a graded school. Population (1890), about 2,000.

JOSLYN, Merritt L., lawyer, was born in Livingston County, N. Y., in 1827, came to Illi- nois in 1839, his father settling in McHenry County, where the son, on arriving at manhood, engaged in the practice of the law. The latter became prominent in political circles and, in 1856, was a Buchanan Presidential Elector. On the breaking out of the war he allied himself with the Republican party ; served as a Captain in the Thirty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and, in 1864, was elected to the Twenty-fourth General Assembly from McHenry County, later serving as Senator during the sessions of the Thirtieth and Thirty-first Assemblies (1876-80). After the death of President Garfield, he was appointed by President Arthur Assistant Secre- tary of the Interior, serving to the close of the administration. Returning to his home at Wood- stock, Ill., he resumed the practice of his profes- sion, and, since 1889, has discharged the duties of Master in Chancery for McHenry County.

JOUETT, Charles, Chicago's first lawyer, was born in Virginia in 1772, studied law at Charlottes-

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ville in that State; in 1802 was appointed by President Jefferson Indian Agent at Detroit and, in 1805, acted as Commissioner in conducting a treaty with the Wyandottes, Ottawas and other Indians of Northwestern Ohio and Michigan at Maumee City, Ohio. In the fall of the latter year he was appointed Indian Agent at Fort Dearborn, serving there until the year before the Fort Dear- born Massacre. Removing to Mercer County, Ky., in 1811, he was elected to a Judgeship there, but, in 1815, was reappointed by President Madi- son Indian Agent at Fort Dearborn, remaining until 1818, when he again returned to Kentucky. In 1819 he was appointed to a United States Judgeship in the newly organized Territory of Arkansas, but remained only a few months, when he resumed his residence in Kentucky, dying there, May 28, 1834.

JOURNALISM. (See Newspapers, Early.)

JUDD, Norman Buel, lawyer, legislator, For- eign Minister, was born at Rome, N. Y., Jan. 10, 1815, where he read law and was admitted to the bar. In 1836 he removed to Chicago and com- menced practice in the (then) frontier settle- ment. He early rose to a position of prominence and influence in public affairs, holding various municipal offices and being a member of the State Senate from 1844 to 1860 continuously. In 1860 he was a Delegate-at-large to the Republican National Convention, and, in 1861, President Lin- coln appointed him Minister Plenipotentiary to Prussia, where he represented this country for four years. He was a warm personal friend of Lincoln, and accompanied him on his memorable journey from Springfield to Washington in 1861. In 1870 he was elected to the Forty-first Congress. Died, at Chicago, Nov. 10, 1878.

JUDD, S. Corning, lawyer and politician, born in Onondaga County, N. Y., July 21, 1827; was educated at Aurora Academy, taught for a time in Canada and was admitted to the bar in New York in 1848; edited "The Syracuse Daily Star" in 1849, and, in 1850, accepted a position in the Interior Department in Washington. Later, he resumed his place upon "The Star," but, in 1854, removed to Lewistown, Fulton County, Ill., and began practice with his brother-in-law, the late W. C. Goudy. In 1873 he removed to Chicago, entering into partnership with William Fitzhugh White- house, son of Bishop Whitehouse, and became prominent in connection with some ecclesiastical trials which followed. In 1860 he was a Demo- cratic candidate for Presidential Elector and, during the war, was a determined opponent of the war policy of the Government, as such mak-

ing an unsuccessful campaign for Lieutenant- Governor in 1864. In 1885 he was appointed Postmaster of the city of Chicago, serving until 1889. Died, in Chicago, Sept. 22, 1895.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM, THE. The Constitution of 1818 vested the judicial power of the State in one Supreme Court, and such inferior courts as the Legislature might establish. The former consisted of one Chief Justice and three Associ- ates, appointed by joint ballot of the Legislature; but, until 1825, when a new act went into effect, they were required to perform circuit duties in the several counties, while exercising appellate jurisdiction in their united capacity. In 1824 the Legislature divided the State into five circuits, appointing one Circuit Judge for each, but, two years later, these were legislated out of office, and circuit court duty again devolved upon the Supreme Judges, the State being divided into four circuits. In 1829 a new act authorized the appointment of one Circuit Judge, who was assigned to duty in the territory northwest of the Illinois River, the Supreme Justices continuing to perform circuit duty in the four other circuits. This arrangement continued until 1835, when the State was divided into six judicial circuits, and, five additional Circuit Judges having been elected, the Supreme Judges were again relieved from circuit court service. After this no mate- rial changes occurred except in the increase of the number of circuits until 1841, the whole number then being nine. At this time political reasons led to an entire reorganization of the courts. An act passed Feb. 10, 1841, repealed all laws author- izing the election of Circuit Judges, and provided for the appointment of five additional Associate Judges of the Supreme Court, making nine in all; and, for a third time, circuit duties devolved upon the Supreme Court Judges, the State being divided at the same time into nine circuits.

By the adoption of the Constitution of 1848 the judiciary system underwent an entire change, all judicial officers being made elective by the people. The Constitution provided for a Supreme Court, consisting of three Judges, Circuit Courts, County Courts, and courts to be held by Justices of the Peace. In addition to these, the Legisla- ture had the power to create inferior civil and criminal courts in cities, but only upon a uniform plan. For the election of Supreme Judges, the State was divided into three Grand Judicial Divi- sions. The Legislature might, however, if it saw fit, provide for the election of all three Judges on a general ticket, to be voted throughout the State-at-large; but this power was never exer-

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cised. Appeals lay from the Circuit Courts to the Supreme Court for the particular division in which the county might be located, although, by unanimous consent of all parties in interest, an appeal might be transferred to another district. Nine Circuit Courts were established, but the number might be increased at the discretion of the General Assembly. Availing itself of its constitutional power and providing for the needs of a rapidly growing community, the Legislature gradually increased the number of circuits to thirty. The term of office for Supreme Court Judges was nine, and, for Circuit Judges, six years. Vacancies were to be filled by popular election, unless the unexpired term of the deceased or retiring incumbent was less than one year, in which case the Governor was authorized to appoint. Circuit Courts were vested with appellate jurisdiction from inferior tribunals, and each was required to hold at least two terms annually in each county, as might be fixed by statute.

The Constitution of 1870, without changing the mode of election or term of office, made several changes adapted to altered conditions. As regards the Supreme Court, the three Grand Divisions were retained, but the number of Judges was increased to seven, chosen from a like number of districts, but sitting together to con- stitute a full court, of which four members con- stitute a quorum. A Chief Justice is chosen by the Court, and is usually one of the Judges nearing the expiration of his term. The minor officers include a Reporter of Decisions, and one Clerk in each Division. By an act passed in 1897, the three Supreme Court Divisions were consoli- dated in one, the Court being required to hold its sittings in Springfield, and hereafter only one Clerk will be elected instead of three as hereto- fore. The salaries of Justices of the Supreme Court are fixed by law at $5,000 each.

The State was divided in 1873 into twenty-seven circuits (Cook County being a circuit by itself), and one or more terms of the circuit court are required to be held each year in each county in the State. The jurisdiction of the Circuit Courts is both original and appellate, and includes mat- ters civil and criminal, in law and in equity. The Judges are elected by districts, and hold office for six years. In 1877 the State was divided into thirteen judicial circuits (exclusive of Cook County), but without reducing the number of Judges (twenty-six) already in office, and the election of one additional Judge (to serve two years) was ordered in each district, thus increas-

ing the number of Judges to thirty-nine. Again in 1897 the Legislature passed an act increasing the number of judicial circuits, exclusive of Cook County, to seventeen, while the number of Judges in each circuit remained the same, so that the whole number of Judges elected that year outside of Cook County was fifty-one. The salaries of Circuit Judges are $3,500 per year, except in Cook County, where they are $7,000. The Constitution also provided for the organiza- tion of Appellate Courts after the year 1874, hav- ing uniform jurisdiction in districts created for that purpose. These courts are a connecting link between the Circuit and the Supreme Courts, and greatly relieve the crowded calendar of the latter. In 1877 the Legislature established four of these tribunals: one for the County of Cook; one to include all the Northern Grand Division except Cook County; the third to embrace the Central Grand Division, and the fourth the South- ern. Each Appellate Court is held by three Cir- cuit Court Judges, named by the Judges of the Supreme Court, each assignment covering three years, and no Judge either allowed to receive extra compensation or sit in review of his own rulings or decisions. Two terms are held in each District every year, and these courts have no original jurisdiction.

COOK COUNTY .- The judicial system of Cook County is different from that of the rest of the State. The Constitution of 1870 made the county an independent district, and exempted it from being subject to any subsequent redistricting. The bench of the Circuit Court in Cook County, , at first fixed at five Judges, has been increased under the Constitution to fourteen, who receive additional compensation from the county treas- ury. The Legislature has the constitutional right to increase the number of Judges according to population. In 1849 the Legislature estab- lished the Cook County Court of Common Pleas. Later, this became the Superior Court of Cook County, which now (1898) consists of thirteen Judges. For this court there exists the same constitutional provision relative to an increase of Judges as in the case of the Circuit Court of Cook County.

JUDY, Jacob, pioneer, a native of Switzer- land, who, having come to the United States at an early day, remained some years in Maryland, when, in 1786, he started west, spending two years near Louisville, Ky., finally arriving at Kaskaskia, Ill., in 1788. In 1792 he removed to New Design, in Monroe County, and, in 1800, located within the present limits of Madison

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County, where he died in 1807 .- Samuel (Judy), son of the preceding, born August 19, 1773, was brought by his father to Illinois in 1788, and after- wards became prominent in political affairs and famous as an Indian fighter. On the organization of Madison County he became one of the first County Commissioners, serving many years. He also commanded a body of "Rangers" in the Indian campaigns during the War of 1812, gain- ing the title of Colonel, and served as a member from Madison County in the Second Territorial Council (1814-15). Previous to 1811 he built the first brick house within the limits of Madison County, which still stood, not many years since, a few miles from Edwardsville. Colonel Judy died in 1838 .- Jacob (Judy), eldest son of Samuel, was Register of the Land Office at Edwardsville, 1845-49 .- Thomas (Judy), younger son of Samuel, was born, Dec. 19, 1804, and represented Madison County in the Eighteenth General Assembly (1852-54). His death occurred Oct. 4, 1880.

JUDY, James William, soldier, was born in Clark County, Ky., May 8, 1822-his ancestors on his father's side being from Switzerland, and those on his mother's from Scotland; grew up on a farm and, in 1852, removed to Menard County, Ill., where he has since resided. In August, 1862, he enlisted as a private soldier, was elected Cap- tain of his company, and, on its incorporation as part of the One Hundred and Fourteenth Regi- ment Illinois Volunteers at Camp Butler, was chosen Colonel by acclamation. The One Hun- dred and Fourteenth, as part of the Fifteenth Army Corps under command of that brilliant soldier, Gen. Wm. T. Sherman, was attached to the Army of the Tennessee, and took part in the entire siege of Vicksburg, from May, 1863, to the surrender on the 3d of July following. It also participated in the siege of Jackson, Miss., and numerous other engagements. After one year's service, Colonel Judy was compelled to resign by domestic affliction, having lost two children by death within eight days of each other, while others of his family were dangerously ill. On his retirement from the army, he became deeply interested in thorough-bred cattle, and is now the most noted stock auctioneer in the United States -having, in the past thirty years, sold more thorough-bred cattle than any other man living -his operations extending from Canada to Cali- fornia, and from Minnesota to Texas. Colonel Judy was elected a member of the State Board of Agriculture in 1874, and so remained continu- ously until 1896-except two years-also serving as President of the Board from 1894 to 1896. He

bore a conspicuous part in securing the location of the State Fair at Springfield in 1894, and the improvements there made under his administra- tion have not been paralleled in any other State. Originally, and up to 1856, an old-line Whig, Colonel Judy has since been an ardent Repub- lican; and though active in political campaigns, has never held a political office nor desired one, being content with the discharge of his duty as a patriotic private citizen.

KANAN, Michael F., soldier and legislator, was. born in Essex County, N. Y., in November, 1837, at twenty years of age removed to Macon County, Ill., and engaged in farming. During the Civil War he enlisted in the Forty-first Illinois Voluu- teers (Col. I. C. Pugh's regiment), serving nearly four years and retiring with the rank of Captain. After the war he served six years as Mayor of the city of Decatur. In 1894 he was elected State Senator, serving in the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth General Assemblies. Captain Kanan was one of the founders of the Grand Army of the Republic, and a member of the first Post of the order ever established-that at Decatur.

KANE, a village of Greene County, on the Jacksonville Division of the Chicago & Alton Railway, 40 miles south of Jacksonville. It has a bank and a weekly paper. Population (1880), 408; (1890), 551.

KANE, Elias Kent, early United States Sena- tor, is said by Lanman's "Dictionary of Congress" to have been born in New York, June 7, 1796. The late Gen. Geo. W. Smith, of Chicago, a rela- tive of Senator Kane's by marriage, in a paper read before the Illinois State Bar Associatior (1895), rejecting other statements assigning the date of the Illinois Senator's birth to various years from 1786 to 1796, expresses the opinion, based on family letters, that he was really born in 1794. He was educated at Yale College, gradu- ating in 1812, read law in New York, and emi- grated to Tennessee in 1813 or early in 1814, but, before the close of the latter year, removed to Illi- nois, settling at Kaskaskia. His abilities were recognized by his appointment, early in 1818, as Judge of the eastern circuit under the Territorial Government. Before the close of the same year he served as a member of the first State Consti- tutional Convention, and was appointed by Gov- ernor Bond the first Secretary of State under the new State Government, but resigned on the accession of Governor Coles in 1822. Two years later he was elected to the General Assembly as Representative from Randolph County, but

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resigned before the close of the year to accept a seat in the United States Senate, to which he was elected in 1824, and re-elected in 1830. Before the expiration of his second term (Dec. 12, 1835), having reached the age of a little more than 40 years, he died in Washington, deeply mourned by his fellow-members of Congress and by his constituents. Senator Kane was a cousin of the distinguished Chancellor Kent of New York, through his mother's family, while, on his father's side, he was a relative of the celebrated Arctic explorer, Elisha Kent Kane.

KANE COUNTY, one of the wealthiest and most progressive counties in the State, situated in the northeastern quarter. It has an area of 540 square miles, and population (1890) of 65,061; was named for Senator Elias Kent Kane. Tim- ber and water are abundant, Fox River flowing through the county from north to south. Immi- gration began in 1833, and received a new impetus in 1835, when the Pottawatomies were removed west of the Mississippi. A school was established in 1834, and a church organized in 1835. County organization was effected in June, 1836, and the public lands came on the market in 1842. The Civil War record of the county is more than creditable, the number of volunteers exceeding the assessed quota. Farming, grazing, manufac- turing and dairy industries chiefly engage the attention of the people. The county has many flourishing cities and towns. Geneva is the county- seat. (See Aurora, Dundee, Eldora, Elgin, Genera and St. Charles.)

KANGLEY, a village of La Salle County, on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway, three miles northwest of Streator. There are several coal shafts here. Population (1890), 934.

KANKAKEE, a prosperous city, the county- seat of Kankakee County, situated on the Kan- kakee River, at the intersection of the Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati & St. Louis and the Indiana, Illinois & Iowa Railroads, 56 miles south of Chi- cago. It stands on a rolling prairie in the heart of a rich agricultural and stock-raising region, near extensive coal fields and beds of bog iron ore. It has excellent water power and numerous manufactories, including flour and paper mills, besides two quarries of valuable building stone. The Eastern Hospital for the Insane is located here. The city has one monthly and three daily and weekly papers Population (1880), 5,651; (1890), 9,025.

KANKAKEE COUNTY, a wealthy and popu- lous county in the northeast section of the State, having an area of 680 square miles-receiving its

name from its principal river. It was set apart from Will and Iroquois Counties under the act passed in 1851, the owners of the site of the present city of Kankakee contributing $5,000 toward the erection of county buildings. Agri- culture, manufacturing and coal-mining are the principal pursuits. The first white settler was one Noah Vasseur, a Frenchman, and the first American, Thomas Durham. Population (1880), 25,047; (1890), 28,732.

KANKAKEE RIVER, a sluggish stream, rising in St. Joseph County, Ind., and flowing west- southwest through English Lake and a flat marshy region, into Illinois. In Kankakee County it unites with the Iroquois from the south and the Des Plaines from the north, after the junction with the latter, taking the name of the Illinois.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 62

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