Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 75

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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Rebellion, including such names as John A. Logan, Richard J. Oglesby, M. K. Lawler, James D. Morgan, W. H. L. Wallace, B. M. Prentiss, W. R. Morrison, L. F. Ross, and others. The cost of the war, with $15,000,000 paid for territory annexed, is estimated at $166,500,000 and the extent of territory acquired, nearly 1,000,000 square miles - considerably more than the whole of the present territory of the Republic of Mexico.

MEYER, John, lawyer and legislator, was horn in Holland, Feb. 27, 1852; came to Chicago at the age of 12 years; entered the Northwestern Uni- versity, supporting himself by labor during vaca- tions and by teaching in a night school, until his third year in the university, when he became a student in the Union College of Law, being admitted to the bar in 1879; was elected from Cook County to the Thirty-fifth General Assembly (1884), and re-elected to the Thirty-sixth, Thirty- eighth and Thirty-ninth, being chosen Speaker of the latter (Jan. 18, 1895). Died in office, at Free- port, Ill., July 3, 1895, during a special session of the General Assembly.

MIAMIS, The. The preponderance of anthor- ity favors the belief that this tribe of Indians was originally a part of the Ill-i-ni or Illinois, but the date of their separation from the parent stock cannot be told. It is likely, however, that it occurred before the French pushed their explo- rations from Canada westward and southward, into and along the Mississippi Valley. Father Dablon allndes to the presence of Miamis (whom he calls Ou-mi-a-mi) in a mixed Indian village, near the mouth of Fox River of Wisconsin, in 1670. The orthography of their name is varied. The Iroquois and the British generally knew them as the "Twightwees," and so they were commonly called by the American colonists. The Weas and Piankeshaws were of the same tribe. When La Salle founded his colony at Starved Rock, the Miamis had villages which could muster some 1,950 warriors, of which the Weas had 500 and the Piankeshaws 150, the re- maining 1,300 being Miamis proper. In 1671 (according to a written statement by Charlevoix in 1721), the Miamis occupied three villages: -one on the St. Joseph River, one on the Mau- mee and one on the "Ouabache" (Wabash). They were friendly toward the French until 1694, when a large number of them were massacred by a party of Sioux, who carried firearms which had been furnished them by the Frenchmen. The breachi thus caused was never closed. Having become possessed of guns

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themselves, the Miamis were able, not only to hold their own, but also to extend their hunting grounds as far eastward as the Scioto, alternately warring with the French, British and Americans. General Harrison says of them that, ten years before the treaty of Greenville, they could have brought upon the field a body of 3,000 "of the finest light troops in the world," but lacking in discipline and enterprise. Border warfare and smallpox, however, had, by that date (1795), greatly reduced their numerical strength. The main seat of the Miamis was at Fort Wayne, whose residents, because of their superior num- bers and intelligence, dominated all other hands except the Piankeshaws. The physical and moral deterioration of the tribe began immedi- ately after the treaty of Greenville. Little by little, they ceded their lands to the United States, the money received therefor being chiefly squan- dered in debauchery. Decimated by vice and disease, the remnants of this once powerful abo- riginal nation gradually drifted westward across the Mississippi, whence their valorous sires had emigrated two centuries before. The small rem- nant of the band finally settled in Indian Terri- tory, but they have made comparatively little progress toward civilization. (See also Pianke- shaws; Weas.)

MICHAEL REESE HOSPITAL, located in Chicago, under care of the association known as the United Hebrew Charities. Previous to 1871 this association maintained a small hospital for the care of some of its beneficiaries, but it was destroyed in the conflagration of that year, and no immediate effort to rebuild was made. In 1880, however, Michael Reese, a Jewish gentleman who had accumulated a large fortune in Cali- fornia, bequeathed 897,000 to the organization. With this sum, considerably increased by addi- tions from other sources, an imposing building was erected, well arranged and thoroughly equipped for liospital purposes. The institution thus founded was named after its principal bene- factor. Patients are received without discrimi- nation as to race or religion, and more than half those admitted are charity patients. The present medical staff consists of thirteen surgeons and physicians, several of whom are eminent specialists

MICHIGAN CENTRAL RAILROAD. The main line of this road extends from Chicago to Detroit, 270 miles, with trackage facilities from Kensington, 14 miles, over the line of the Illinois Central, to its terminus in Chicago. Branch lines (leased, proprietary and operated) in

Canada, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois swell the total mileage to 1,643.56 miles. - (HISTORY.) The company was chartered in 1846, and purchased from the State of Michigan the line from Detroit to Kalamazoo, 144 miles, of which construction had been begun in 1836. The road was completed to Michigan City in 1850, and, in May, 1852, reached Kensington, Ill. As at present constituted, the road (with its auxiliaries) forms an integral part of what is popularly known as the "Vanderbilt System." Only 35 miles of the entire line are operated in Illinois, of which 29 belong to the Joliet & Northern Indiana branch (which see). The outstanding capital stock (1898) was $18,- 738,000 and the funded debt, $19,101,000. Earn- ings in Illinois the same year, $484,002; total operating expenses, $540,905; taxes, $24,250.

MICHIGAN, LAKE. (See Lake Michigan.)

MIHALOTZY, Geza, soldier, a native of Hun- gary and compatriot of Kossuth in the Magyar struggle; came to Chicago in 1848, in 1861 enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illinois Volunteers (first "Hecker regiment"), and, on the resignation of Colonel Hecker, a few weeks later, was promoted to the Colonelcy. A trained soldier, he served with gallantry and distinction, but was fatally wounded at Buzzard's Roost, Feb. 24. 1864, dying at Chattanooga, March 11, 1864.

MILAN, a town of Rock Island County, on the Rock Island & Peoria Railway, six miles south of Rock Island. It is located on Rock River, has several mills, a bank and a newspaper. Popula- tion (1880), 845: (1890), 692.

MILBURN, (Rev.) William Henry, clergy- man, was born in Philadelphia, Sept. 26, 1826. At the age of five years he almost totally lost sight in both eyes, as the result of an accident, and subsequent malpractice in their treatment. For a time he was able to decipher letters with difficulty, and thus learned to read. In the face of such obstacles he carried on his studies until 12 years of age, when he accompanied his father's family to Jacksonville, Ill., and, five years later, became an itinerant Methodist preacher. For a time he rode a circuit covering 200 miles, preach- ing, on an average, ten timesa week, for $100 per year. In 1845, while on a Mississippi steamboat, he publicly rebuked a number of Congressmen, who were his fellow passengers, for intemperance and gaming. This resulted in his being made Chaplain of the House of Representatives. From 1848 to 1850 he was pastor of a church at Mont- gomery, Ala., during which time he was tried for heresy, and later became pastor of a "Free Church." Again, in 1853, he was chosen Chap-

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lain of Congress. While in Europe, in 1859, he took orders in the Episcopal Church, but returned to Methodism in 1871. He has since been twice Chaplain of the House (1885 and '87) and three times (1893, '95 and '97) elected to the same posi- tion in the Senate He is generally known as "the blind preacher" and achieved considerable prominence by his eloquence as a lecturer on "What a Blind Man Saw in Europe." Among his published writings are, "Rifle, Axe and Sad- dlebags" (1856), "Ten Years of Preacher Life" (1858) and "Pioneers. Preachers and People of the Mississippi Valley" (1860).

MILCHRIST, Thomas E., lawyer, was born in tlie Isle of Man in 1839, and, at the age of eight years, came to America with his parents, who settled in Peoria, Ill. Here he attended school and worked on a farm until the beginning of the Civil War, when he enlisted in the One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois Volunteers, serving until 1865, and being discharged with the rank of Cap- tain. After the war he read law with John I. Bennett-then of Galena, but later Master in Chancery of the United States Court at Chicago -was admitted to the bar in 1867, and, for a number of years, served as State's Attorney in Henry County. In 1888 he was a delegate from Illinois to the Republican National Convention, and the following year was appointed by Presi- dent Harrison United States District Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Since retiring from office in 1893, Mr. Milchrist has been engaged in private practice in Chicago. In 1898 he was elected a State Senator for the Fifth Dis- trict (city of Chicago) in the Forty-first General Assembly.

MILES, Nelson A., Major-General, was born at Westminster, Mass., August 8, 1839, and, at the breaking out of the Civil War, was engaged in mercantile pursuits in the city of Boston. In October, 1861, he entered the service as a Second Lieutenant in a Massachusetts regiment, dis- tinguished himself at the battles of Fair Oaks, Charles City Cross Roads and Malvern Hill, in one of which he was wounded. In Sep- tember, 1862, he was Colonel of the Sixty- first New York, which he led at Fredericksburg and at Chancellorsville, where he was again severely wounded. He commanded the First Brigade of the First Division of the Second Army Corps in the Richmond campaign, and was made Brigadier-General, May 12, 1864, and Major- General, by brevet, for gallantry shown at Ream's Station, in December of the same year. At the close of the war he was commissioned Colonel of

the Fortieth United States Infantry, and distin- guished himself in campaigns against the Indians; became a Brigadier-General in 1880, and Major- General in 1890, in the interim being in command of the Department of the Columbia, and, after 1890, of the Missouri, with headquarters at Chi- cago. Here he did much to give efficiency and importance to the post at Fort Sheridan, and, in 1894, rendered valuable service in checking the strike riots about Chicago. Near the close of the year he was transferred to the Department of the East, and, on the retirement of General Schofield in 1895, was placed in command of the army, with headquarters in Washington. During the Spanish-American war (1898) General Miles gave attention to the fitting out of troops for the Cuban and Porto Rican campaigns, and visited Santiago during the siege conducted by General Shafter, but took no active command in the field until the occupation of Porto Rico, which was conducted with rare discrimination and good judgment, and with comparatively little loss of life or suffering to the troops.

MILFORD, a growing town in Iroquois County, situated on Sugar Creek, and on the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad, 35 miles north of Dan- ville and 93 miles south of Chicago. The sur- rounding region is agricultural, and wheat is extensively grown. Beds of clay of excellent quality are abundant, and flour, brick and tile manufacturing are the chief mechanical indus- tries of the town. A weekly newspaper is pub- lished here. Population (1880), 612, (1890), 957. MILITARY BOUNTY LANDS. (See Military Tract.)

MILITARY TRACT, a popular name given to a section of the State, set apart under an act of Congress, passed, May 6, 1812, as bounty-lands for soldiers in the war with Great Britain commenc- ing the same year. Similar reservations in the Territories of Michigan and Louisiana (now Arkansas) were provided for in the same act. The lands in Illinois embraced in this act were situated between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, and extended from the junction of these streams due north, by the Fourth Principal Merid- ian, to the northern boundary of Township 15 north of the "Base Line." This "base line" started about opposite the present site of Beards- town, and extended to a point on the Mississippi about seven miles north of Quincy. The north- ern border of the "Tract" was identical with the northern boundary of Mercer County, which, extended eastward, reached the Illinois about the present village of De Pue, in the southeastern

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part of Bureau County, where the Illinois makes a great bend towards the south, a few miles west of the city of Peru. The distance between the Illinois and the Mississippi, by this line, was about 90 miles, and the entire length of the "Tract," from its northern boundary to the junction of the two rivers, was computed at 169 miles, -con- sisting of 90 miles north of the "base line" and 79 miles south of it, to the junction of the rivers. The "Tract" was surveyed in 1815-16. It com- prised 207 entire townships of six miles square, each, and 61 fractional townships, containing an area of 5,360,000 acres, of which 3,500,000 acres- a little less than two-thirds-were appropriated to military bounties. The residue consisted partly of fractional sections bordering on rivers, partly of fractional quarter-sections bordering on township lines, and containing more or less than 160 acres, and partly of lands that were returned by the sur- veyors as unfit for cultivation. In addition to this, there were large reservations not coming within the above exceptions, being the overplus of lands after satisfying the military claims, and subject to entry and purchase on the same con- ditions as other Government lands. The "Tract" thus embraced the present counties of Calhoun, Pike, Adams, Brown, Schuyler, Hancock, Mc- Donough, Fulton, Peoria, Stark, Knox, Warren, Henderson and Mercer, with parts of Henry, Bureau, Putnam and Marshall-or so much of them as was necessary to meet the demand for bounties. Immigration to this region set in quite actively about 1823, and the development of some portions, for a time, was very rapid; but later, its growth was retarded by the conflict of "tax- titles" and bounty-titles derived by purchase from the original holders. This led to a great deal of litigation, and called for considerable legislation; but since the adjustment of these questions, this region has kept pace with the most favored sections of the State, and it now includes some of the most important and prosperous towns and cities and many of the finest farms in Illinois.

MILITIA. Illinois, taught by the experiences of the War of 1812 and the necessity of providing for protection of its citizens against the incur- sions of Indians on its borders, began the adop- tion, at an early date, of such measures as were then common in the several States for the main- tenance of a State militia. The Constitution of 1818 made the Governor "Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy of this State, " and declared that the militia of the State should "consist of all free male able-bodied persons (negroes, mu-

lattoes and Indians excepted) resident in the State, between the ages of 18 and 45 years, " and this classification was continued in the later con- stitutions, except that of 1870, which omits all reference to the subject of color. In each there is the same general provision exempting persons entertaining "conscientious scruples against bearing arms," although subject to payment of an equivalent for such exemption. The first law on the subject, enacted by the first General Assembly (1819), provided for the establishment of a general militia system for the State; and the fact that this was modified, amended or wholly changed by acts passed at the sessions of 1821, '23, '25, '26, '27, '29, '33, '37 and '39, shows the estimation in which the subject was held. While many of these acts were of a special character, providing for a particular class of organization, the general law did little except to require per- sons subject to military duty, at stated periods, to attend county musters, which were often con- ducted in a very informal manner, or made the occasion of a sort of periodical frolic. The act of July, 1833 (following the Black Hawk War), required an enrollment of "all free, white, male inhabitants of military age (except such as might be exempt under the Constitution or laws)"; divided the State into five divisions by counties, each division to be organized into a certain speci- fied number of brigades. This act was quite elaborate, covering some twenty-four pages, and provided for regimental, battalion and company musters, defined the duties of officers, manner of election, etc. The act of 1837 encouraged the organization of volunteer companies. The Mexi- can War (1845-47) gave a new impetus to this class of legislation, as also did the War of the Rebellion (1861-65). While the office of Adju- tant-General had existed from the first, its duties -except during the Black Hawk and Mexican Wars-were rather nominal, and were discharged without stated compensation, the incumbent being merely Chief-of-staff to the Governor as Commander-in-Chief. The War of the Rebellion at once brought it into prominence, as an impor- tant part of the State Government, which it has since maintained. The various measures passed, during this period, helong rather to the history of the late war than to the subject of this chapter. In 1865, however, the office was put on a different footing, and the important part it had played. during the preceding four years, was recognized by the passage of "an act to provide for the ap- pointment, and designate the work, fix the pay and prescribe the duties, of the Adjutant-General

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of Illinois." During the next four years, its most important work was the publication of eight volumes of war records, containing a com- plete roster of the officers and men of the various regiments and other military organizations from Illinois, with an outline of their movements and a list of the battles in which they were engaged. To the Adjutant-General's office, as now adminis- tered, is entrusted the custody of the war- records, battle-flags and trophies of the late war. A further step was taken, in 1877, in the passage of an act formulating a military code and provid- ing for more thorough organization. Modifying amendments to this act were adopted in 1879 and 1885. While, under these laws, "all able-bodied male citizens of this State, between the ages of 18 and 45" (with certain specified exceptions), are declared "subject to military duty, and desig- nated as the Illinois State Militia," provision is made for the organization of a body of "active militia," designated as the "Illinois National Guard," to consist of "not more than eighty-four companies of infantry, two batteries of artillery and two troops of cavalry," recruited by volun- tary enlistments for a period of three years, with right to re-enlist for one or more years. The National Guard, as at present constituted, con- sists of three brigades, with a total force of about 9,000 men, organized into nine regiments, besides the batteries and cavalry already mentioned. Gatling guns are used by the artillery and breech- loading rifles by the infantry. Camps of instruc- tion are held for the regiments, respectively-one or more regiments participating - each year, usually at "Camp Lincoln" near Springfield, when regimental and brigade drills, competitive rifle practice and mock battles are had. An act establishing the "Naval Militia of Illinois," to consist of "not more than eight divisions or com- panies," divided into two battalions of four divi- sions each, was passed by the General Assembly of 1893-the whole to be under the command of an officer with the rank of Commander. The commanding officer of each battalion is styled a "Lieutenant-Commander," and both the Com- mander and Lieutenant-Commanders have their respective staffs-their organization, in other respects, being conformable to the laws of the United States. A set of "Regulations," based upon these several laws, has been prepared by the Adjutant-General for the government of the various organizations. The Governor is author- ized, by law, to call out the militia to resist inva- sion. or to suppress violence and enforce execution of the laws, when called upon by the civil author-

ities of any city, town or county. This authority, however, is exercised with great discretion, and only when the local authorities are deemed unable to cope with threatened resistance to law. The officers of the National Guard, when called into actual service for the suppression of riot or the enforcement of the laws, receive the same com- pensation paid to officers of the United States army of like grade, while the enlisted men receive $2 per day. During the time they are at any encampment, the officers and men alike receive $1 per day, with necessary subsistence and cost of transportation to and from the encampment. (For list of incumbents in Adjutant-General's office. see Adjutants-General; see, also, Spanish- American War.)

MILLER, James H., Speaker of the House of Representatives, was born in Ohio, May 29, 1843; in early life came to Toulon, Stark County, Ill., where he finally engaged in the practice of law. At the beginning of the Rebellion he enlisted in the Union army, but before being mustered into the service, received an injury which rendered him a cripple for life. Though of feeble physical organization and a sufferer from ill-health. he was a man of decided ability and much influence. He served as State's Attorney of Stark County (1872-76) and, in 1884, was elected Representative in the Thirty-fourth General Assembly, at the following session being one of the most zealous supporters of Gen. John A. Logan, in the cele- brated contest which resulted in the election of the latter, for the third time, to the United States Senate. By successive re-elections he also served in the Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth General Assemblies, during the session of the latter being chosen Speaker of the House, as successor to A. C. Matthews, who had been appointed, during the session, First Comptroller of the Treasury at Washington. In the early part of the summer of 1890, Mr. Miller visited Colorado for the bene- fit of his health, but, a week after his arrival at Manitou Springs, died suddenly, June 27, 1890.

MILLS, Benjamin, lawyer and early poli- tician, was a native of Western Massachusetts, and described by his contemporaries as a highly educated and accomplished lawyer, as well as a brilliant orator. The exact date of his arrival in Illinois cannot be determined with certainty, but he appears to have been in the "Lead Mine Region" about Galena, as early as 1826 or '27, and was notable as one of the first "Yankees" to locate in that section of the State. He was elected a Representative in the Eighth General Assembly (1832), his district embracing the

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counties of Peoria, Jo Daviess, Putnam, La Salle and Cook, including all the State nortli of Sanga- mon (as it then stood), and extending from the Mississippi River to the Indiana State line. At this session occurred the impeachment trial of Theophilus W. Smith, of the Supreme Court, Mr. Mills acting as Chairman of the Impeachment Committee, and delivering a speech of great power and brilliancy, which lasted two or three days. In 1834 he was a candidate for Congress from the Northern District, but was defeated by William L. May (Democrat), as claimed by Mr. Mill's friends, unfairly. He early fell a victim to consumption and, returning to Massachusetts. died in Berkshire County, in that State, in 1841. Hon. R. H. McClellan, of Galena, says of him: "He was a man of remarkable ability, learning and eloquence," while Governor Ford, in his "History of Illinois," testifies that, "by common consent of all his contemporaries, Mr. Mills was regarded as the most popular and brilliant lawyer of his day at the Galena bar."

MILLS, Henry A., State Senator, was born at New Hartford, Oneida County, N. Y., in 1827; located at Mount Carroll, Carroll County, Ill., in 1856, finally engaging in the banking business at that place. Having served in various local offices, he was, in 1874, chosen State Senator for the Eleventh District, but died at Galesburg before the expiration of his term, July 7, 1877.

MILLS, Luther Laflin, lawyer, was born at North Adams, Mass., Sept. 3, 1848; brought to Chicago in infancy, and educated in the public schools of that city and at Michigan State Uni- versity. In 1868 he began the study of law, was admitted to practice three years later, and, in 1876, was elected State's Attorney, being re- elected in 1880. While in this office he was con- nected with some of the most important cases ever brought before the Chicago courts. Although he has held no official position except that already mentioned, his abilities at the bar and on the rostrum are widely recognized, and his services, as an attorney and an orator, have been in frequent demand.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 75

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