Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 77

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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MOORE, John, Lieutenant-Governor (1842-46) ; was born in Lincolnshire, Eng., Sept. 8, 1793; came to America and settled in Illinois in 1830, spending most of his life as a resident of Bloom- ington. In 1838 he was elected to the lower branch of the Eleventh General Assembly from

the McLean District, and, in 1840, to the Senate, but before the close of his term, in 1842, was elected Lieutenant-Governor with Gov. Thomas Ford. At the outbreak of the Mexican War he took a conspicuous part in recruiting the Fourth Regiment Illinois Volunteers (Col. E. D. Baker's), of which he was chosen Lieutenant-Colonel, serving gallantly throughout the struggle. In 1848 he was appointed State Treasurer, as succes- sor of Milton Carpenter, who died in office. In 1850 he was elected to the same office, and con- tinued to discharge its duties until 1857, when he was succeeded by James Miller. Died, Sept. 23, 1863.

MOORE, Risdon, pioneer, was born in Dela- ware in 1760; removed to North Carolina in 1789, and, a few years later, to Hancock County, Ga., where he served two terms in the Legislature. He emigrated from Georgia in 1812, and settled in St. Clair County, Ill .- besides a family of fif- teen white persons, bringing with him eighteen colored people-the object of his removal being to get rid of slavery. He purchased a farm in what was known as the "Turkey Hill Settle- ment," about four miles east of Belleville, where he resided until his death in 1828. Mr. Moore became a prominent citizen, was elected to the Second Territorial House of Representatives, and was chosen Speaker, serving as such for two ses- sions (1814-15). He was also Representative from St. Clair County in the First, Second and Third General Assemblies after the admission of Illinois into the Union. In the last of these he was one of the most zealous opponents of the pro-slavery Convention scheme of 1822-24. He left a numer- ous and highly respected family of descendants, who were afterwards prominent in public affairs .- William (Moore), his son, served as a Captain in the War of 1812, and also commanded a company in the Black Hawk War. He represented St. Clair County in the lower branch of the Ninth and Tenth General Assemblies; was a local preacher of the Methodist Church, and was Presi- dent of the Board of Trustees of Mckendree Col- lege at the time of his death in 1849 .- Risdon (Moore), Jr., a cousin of the first named Risdon Moore, was a Representative from St. Clair County in the Fourth General Assembly and Senator in the Sixth, but died before the expiration of his term, being succeeded at the next session by Adam W. Snyder.

MOORE, Stephen Richey, lawyer, was born of Scotch ancestry, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept. 22. 1832; in 1851, entered Farmers' College near Cin- cinnati, graduating in 1856, and, having qualified

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himself for the practice of law, located the fol- lowing year at Kankakee, Ill., which has since been his home. In 1858 he was employed in defense of the late Father Chiniquy, who recently died in Montreal, in one of the celebrated suits begun against him hy dignitaries of the Roman Catholic Church. Mr. Moore is a man of strik- ing appearance and great independence of char- acter, a Methodist in religious belief aud has generally acted politically in co-operation with the Democratic party, though strongly anti- slavery in his views. In 1872 he was a delegate to the Liberal Republican Convention at Cin- cinnati which nominated Mr. Greeley for the Presidency, and, in 1896, participated in the same way in the Indianapolis Convention which nomi- nated Gen. John M. Palmer for the same office, in the following campaign giving the "Gold Democ- racy" a vigorous support.

MORAN, Thomas A., lawyer and jurist, was horn at Bridgeport, Conn., Oct. 7, 1839; received his preliminary education in the district schools of Wisconsin (to which State his father's family had removed in 1846), and at an academy at Salem, Wis .; hegan reading law at Kenosha in 1859, meanwhile supporting himself by teaching. In May, 1865, he graduated from the Albany (N. Y.) Law School, and the same year com- menced practice in Chicago, rapidly rising to the front rank of his profession. In 1879 he was elected a Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court, and re-elected in 1885. At the expiration of his second term he resumed private practice. While on the hench he at first heard only common law cases, but later divided the business of the equity side of the court withi Judge Tuley. In June, 1886, he was assigned to the hench of the Appel- late Court, of which tribunal he was, for a year, Chief Justice.

MORGAN, James Dady, soldier, was born in Boston, Mass., August 1, 1810, and, at 16 years of age, went for a three years' trading voyage on the ship "Beverly." When thirty days out a mutiny arose, and shortly afterward the vessel was hurned. Morgan escaped to South America, and, after many hardships, returned to Boston. In 1834 he removed to Quincy, Ill., and engaged in mercantile pursuits; aided in raising the "Quincy Grays" during the Mormon difficulties (1844-45) ; during the Mexican War commanded a company in the First Regiment Illinois Volun- teers; in 1861 hecame Lieutenant-Colonel of the Tenth Regiment in the three months' service, and Colonel on reorganization of the regiment for three years; was promoted Brigadier-General

in July, 1862, for meritorious service; commanded a brigade at Nashville, and, in March, 1865, was brevetted Major-General for gallantry at Benton- ville, N. C., heing mustered out, August 24, 1865. After the war he resumed husiness at Quincy, Ill., being President of the Quincy Gas Company and Vice-President of a hank; was also Presi- dent, for some time, of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland. Died, at Quincy, Sept. 12, 1896.

MORGAN COUNTY, a central county of the State, lying west of Sangamon, and bordering on the Illinois River-named for Gen. Daniel Mor- gan; area, 580 square miles; population (1890), 32,636. The earliest American settlers were probably Elisha and Seymour Kellogg, who located on Mauvaisterre Creek in 1818. Dr. George Caldwell came in 1820, and was the first phy- sician, and Dr. Ero Chandler settled on the pres- ent site of the city of Jacksonville in 1821. Immigrants began to arrive in large numbers ahout 1822, and, Jan. 31, 1823, the county was organized, the first election being held at the house of James G. Swinerton, six miles south- west of the present city of Jacksonville. Olm- stead's Mound was the first county-seat, but this choice was only temporary. Two years later, Jacksonville was selected, and has ever since so continued. (See Jacksonville.) Cass County was cut off from Morgan in 1837, and Scott County in 1839. Ahout 1837 Morgan was the most populous county in the State. The county is nearly equally divided between woodland and prairie, and is well watered. Besides the Illinois River on its western horder, there are several smaller streams, among them Indian, Apple, Sandy and Mauvaisterre Creeks. Bituminous coal underlies the eastern part of the county, and thin veins crop out along the Illinois River bluffs. Sandstone has also heen quarried.

MORGAN PARK, a suburban village of Cook County, 13 miles south of Chicago, on the Chi- cago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway; is the seat of the Academy (a preparatory branch) of the University of Chicago and the Scandinavian De- partment of the Divinity School connected with the same institution. Population (1880), 187; (1890), 1,027.

MORMONS, a religious sect, founded by Joseph Smith, Jr., at Fayette, Seneca County, N. Y., August 6, 1830, styling themselves the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." Membership in 1892 was estimated at 230,000, of whom some 20,000 were outside of the United States. Their religious teachings are peculiar. They avow faith in the Trinity and in the Bible (as by them

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interpreted). They bebeve, however, that the "Book of Mormon"-assumed to be of divine origin and a direct revelation to Smith-is of equal authority with the Scriptures, if not supe- rior to them. Among their ordinances are baptism and the laying-on of hands, and, in their church organization, they recognize various orders -apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangel- ists, etc. They also believe in the restoration of the Ten Tribes and the literal re assembling of Israel, the return and rule of Christ in person, and the rebuilding of Zion in America. Polyg- amy is encouraged and made an article of faith, though professedly not practiced under existing laws in the United States. The supreme power is vested in a President, who has authority in temporal and spiritual affairs alike; although there is less effort now than formerly, on the part of the priesthood, to interfere in temporalities. Driven from New York in 1831, Smith and his followers first settled at Kirtland, Ohio. There, for a time, the sect flourished and built a temple; but, within seven years, their doctrines and prac- tices excited so much hostility that they were forced to make another removal. Their next settlement was at Far West. Mo .; but here the hatred toward them became so intense as to result in open war. From Missouri they recrossed the Mississippi and founded the city of Nauvoo, near Commerce, in Hancock County, Ill. The charter granted by the Legislature was an extraordinary instrument, and well-nigh made the city independent of the State. Nauvoo soon obtained commercial importance, in two years becoming a city of some 16,000 inhabitants. The Mormons rapidly became a powerful factor in State politics, when there broke out a more bitter public enmity than the sect had yet en- countered. Internal dissensions also sprang up, and, in 1844, a discontented Mormon founded a newspaper at Nauvoo, in which he violently assailed the prophet and threatened him with exposure. Smith's answer to this was the de- struction of the printing office, and the editor promptly secured a warrant for his arrest, return- able at Carthage. Smith went before a friendly justice at Nauvoo, who promptly discharged him, but he positively refused to appear before the Carthage magistrate. Thereupon the latter issued a second warrant, charging Smith with treason. This also was treated with contempt. The militia was called out to make the arrest, and the Mormons, who had formed a strong military organization, armed to defend their leader. After a few trifling clashes between the soldiers

and the "Saints," Smith was persuaded to sur- render and go to Carthage, the county-seat, where he was incarcerated in the county jail. Within twenty-four hours (on Sunday, June 27, 1844), a mob attacked the prison. Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed, and some of their adherents, who had accompanied them to jail, were wounded. Brigham Young (then an apostle) at once assumed the leadership and, after several months of intense popular excite- ment, in the following year led his followers across the Mississippi, finally locating (1847) in Utah. (See also Nauvoo.) There their history has not been free from charges of crime; but, whatever may be the character of the leaders, they have succeeded in building up a prosperous community in a region which they found a vir- tual desert, a little more than forty years ago. The polity of the Church has been greatly modi- fied in consequence of restrictions placed upon it by Congressional legislation, especially in refer- ence to polygamy, and hy contact with other communities. (See Smith, Joseph.)

MORRIS, a city and the county-seat of Grundy County, on the Illinois River, the Illinois & Michigan Canal, and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, 61 miles southwest of Chicago. It is an extensive grain market, and the center of a region rich in bituminous coal. There is valu- able water-power here, and much manufacturing is done, including builders' hardware, plows, iron specialties, paper car-wheels, brick and tile, flour and planing-mills, oatmeal and tanned leather, There are also a normal and scientific school, two national banks and three daily and weekly news- papers. Population (1880), 3,486; (1890), 3,653; (1898) estimated, 4,500.

MORRIS, Buckner Smith, early lawyer, born at Augusta, Ky., August 19, 1800; was admitted to the har in 1827, and, for seven years thereafter, continued to reside in Kentucky, serving two terms in the Legislature of that State. In 1834 he removed to Chicago, took an active part in the incorporation of the city, and was elected its second Mayor in 1838. In 1840 he was a Whig candidate for Presidential Elector, Abraham Lincoln running on the same ticket, and, in 1852, was defeated as the Whig candidate for Secretary of State. He was elected a Judge of the Seventh Circuit in 1851, hut declined a re- nomination in 1855. In 1856 he accepted the American (or Know-Nothing) nomination for Governor, and, in 1860, that of the Bell-Everett party for the same office. He was vehemently opposed to the election of either Lincoln or |

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Breckenridge to the Presidency, believing that civil war would result in either event. A shadow was thrown across his life, in 1864, by his arrest and trial for alleged complicity in a rebel plot to burn and pillage Chicago and liberate the prisoners of war held at Camp Douglas. The trial, however, which was held at Cincinnati, resulted in his acquittal. Died, in Kentucky, Dec. 18, 1879. Those who knew Judge Morris, in his early life in the city of Chicago, describe him as a man of genial and kindly disposition, in spite of his opposition to the abolition of slavery-a fact which, no doubt, had much to do with his acquittal of the charge of complicity with the Camp Douglas conspiracy, as the evidence of his being in communication with the leading con- spirators appears to have been conclusive. (See Camp Douglas Conspiracy.)

MORRIS, Freeman P., lawyer and politician, was born in Cook County, Ill., March 19, 1854, labored on a farm and attended the district school in his youth, but completed his education in Chicago, graduating from the Union College of Law, and was admitted to practice in 1874, when he located at Watseka, Iroquois County. In 1884 he was elected, as a Democrat, to the House of Representatives from the Iroquois Dis- trict, and has since been re-elected in 1888, '94, '96, being one of the most influential members of his party in that body. In 1893 he was appointed by Governor Altgeld Aid-de-Camp, with the rank of Colonel, on his personal staff, but resigned in 1896.

MORRIS, Isaac Newton, lawyer and Congress- man, was born at Bethel, Clermont County, Ohio, Jan. 22, 1812; educated at Miami Univer- sity, admitted to the bar in 1835, and the next year removed to Quincy, Ill .; was a member and President of the Board of Canal Commissioners (1842-43), served in the Fifteenth General Assem- bly (1846-48) ; was elected to Congress as a Demo- crat in 1856, and again in 1858, but opposed the admission of Kansas under the Lecompton Con- stitution; in 1868 supported General Grant-who had been his friend in boyhood-for President, and, in 1870, was appointed a member of the Union Pacific Railroad Commission. Died, Oct .. 29, 1879.

MORRISON, a city, the county-seat of White- side County, founded in 1855; is a station on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, 124 miles west of Chicago. Agriculture, dairying and stock- raising are the principal pursuits in the surround- ing region. Although a small city, it has good I water-works, thorough sewerage, electric lighting

and several manufactories, including car and refrigerator works; also has numerous churches, a large graded school, a public library and ade- quate banking facilities. Two weekly papers are published here. Population (1880), 1,981; (1890), 2,088; (1898) estimated, 2,500.

MORRISON, Isaac L., lawyer and legislator, born in Barren County, Ky., in 1826; was edu- cated in the common schools and the Masonic Seminary of his native State; admitted to the bar, and came to Illinois in 1851, locating at Jacksonville, where he has become a leader of the bar and of the Republican party, which he assisted to organize as a member of its first State Convention at Bloomington, in 1856. He was also a delegate to the Republican National Convention of 1864, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency a second time. Mr. Morrison was three times elected to the lower house of the General Assembly (1876, '78 and '82), and, by his clear judgment and incisive powers as a public speaker, took a high rank as a leader in that body. Of late years, he has given his attention solely to the practice of his profession in Jacksonville.

MORRISON, James Lowery Donaldson, poli- tician, lawyer and Congressman, was born at Kas- kaskia, Ill., April 12, 1816; at the age of 16 was appointed a midshipman in the United States Navy, but leaving the service in 1836, read law with Judge Nathaniel Pope, and was admitted to the bar, practicing at Belleville. He was elected to the lower house of the General Assembly from St. Clair County, in 1844, and to the State Senate in 1848, and again in '54. In 1852 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Lieutenant-Gov- ernorship on the Whig ticket, but, on the disso- lution of that party, allied himself with the Democracy, and was, for many years, its leader in Southern Illinois. In 1855 he was elected to Con- gress to fill the vacancy caused by the resigna- tion of Lyman Trumbull, who had been elected to the United States Senate. In 1860 he was a can- didate before the Democratic State Convention for the nomination for Governor, but was defeated by James C. Allen. After that year he took no prominent part in public affairs. At the outbreak of the Mexican War lie was among the first to raise a company of volunteers, and was commis- sioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the Second Regiment (Colonel Bissell's). For gallant services at Buena Vista, the Legislature presented him with a sword. He took a prominent part in the incor- poration of railroads, and, it is claimed, drafted and introduced in the Legislature the charter of

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the Illinois Central Railroad in 1851. Died, at St. Louis, Mo., August 14, 1888.

MORRISON, William, pioneer merchant, came from Philadelphia, Pa., to Kaskaskia, Ill., in 1790, as representative of the mercantile house of Bryant & Morrison, of Philadelphia, and finally established an extensive trade throughout the Mississippi Valley, supplying merchants at St. Louis, St. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau and New Madrid. He is also said to have sent an agent with a stock of goods across the plains, with a view to opening up trade with the Mexicans at Santa Fé, about 1804, but was defrauded by the agent, who appropriated the goods to his own benefit without accounting to his employer. He became the principal merchant in the Terri- tory, doing a thriving business in early days, when Kaskaskia was the principal supply point for merchants throughout the valley. He is de- scribed as a public-spirited, enterprising man, to whom was due the chief part of the credit for securing construction of a bridge across the Kas- kaskia River at the town of that name. He died at Kaskaskia in 1837, and was buried in the ceme- tery there .- Robert (Morrison), a brother of the preceding, came to Kaskaskia in 1793, was appointed Clerk of the Common Pleas Court in 1801, retaining the position for many years, besides holding other local offices. He was the father of Col. James L. D. Morrison, politician and soldier of the Mexican War, whose sketch is given elsewhere .- Joseph (Morrison), the oldest son of William Morrison, went to Ohio, residing there several years, but finally returned to Prairie du Rocher, where he died in 1845. - James, another son, went to Wisconsin ; William located at Belleville, dying there in 1843; while Lewis, another son, settled at Covington, Washington Connty, Ill., where he practiced medicine up to 1851; then engaged in mercantile business at Chester, dying there in 1856.

MORRISON, William Ralls, ex-Congressman, Inter-State Commerce Commissioner, was born, Sept. 14, 1825, in Monroe County, Ill., and edu- cated at Mckendree College; served as a private in the Mexican War, at its close studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1855; in 1852 was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court of Monroe County, but resigned before the close of his term, accepting the office of Representative in the State Legislature, to which he was elected in 1854; was re-elected in 1856, and again in 1858, serving as Speaker of the House during the session of 1859. In 1861 he assisted in organizing the Forty-ninth Regiment Illinois Volunteers and was commis-

sioned Colonel. The regiment was mustered in, Dec. 31, 1861, and took part in the battle of Fort Donelson in February following, where he was severely wounded. While yet in the service, in 1862, he was elected to Congress as a Democrat, when he resigned his commission, but was de- feated for re-election, in 1864, by Jehu Baker, as he was again in 1866. In 1870 he was again elected to the General Assembly, and, two years later (1872), returned to Congress from the Belle- ville District, after which he served in that body. by successive re-elections, nine terms and until 1887, being for several terms Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and promi- nent in the tariff legislation of that period. In March, 1887, President Cleveland appointed him a member of the first Inter-State Commerce Com- mission for a period of five years; at the close of his term he was reappointed, by President Harri- son, for a full term of six years, serving a part of the time as President of the Board, and retiring from office in 1898.

MORRISONVILLE, a town in Christian County, situated on the Wabash Railway, 40 miles southwest of Decatur and 20 miles north- northeast of Litchfield. Grain is extensively raised in the surrounding region, and Morrison- ville, with its elevator, is an important shipping point. It also has brick and tile works, two banks, five churches, graded and high schools, and a weekly paper. Population (1880), 748; (1890), 844.

MORTON, a village of Tazewell County, at the intersection of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Terre Haute & Peoria Railroads, 10 miles northeast of Peoria; has a bank and a newspaper. Population (1880), 426; (1890), 657.

MORTON, Joseph, pioneer farmer and legisla- tor, was born in Virginia, August 1, 1801, came to Madison County, Ill., in 1819, and the follow- ing year to Morgan County, when he engaged in farming in the vicinity of Jacksonville. He served as a member of the House in the Tenth and Fifteenth General Assemblies, and as Senator in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth. He was a Democrat in politics, but, on questions of State and local policy, was non-partisan, faithfully representing the interests of his constituents. Died, at his home near Jacksonville, March 2, 1881.

MOSES, Adolph, lawyer, was born in Speyer, Germany, Feb. 27, 1837, and, until fifteen years of age, was educated in the public and Latin schools of his native country ; in the latter part of 1852, came to America, locating in New Orleans, and, for some years, being a law student

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in Louisiana University, under the preceptorship of Randall Hunt and other eminent lawyers of that State. In the early days of the Civil War he espoused the cause of the Confederacy, serving some two years as an officer of the Twenty-first Louisiana Regiment. Coming north at the expi- ration of this period, he resided for a time in Quincy, Ill., but, in 1869, removed to Chicago, where he took a place in the front rank at the bar, and where he has resided ever since. Although in sympathy with the general princi- ples of the Democratic party, Judge Moses is an independent voter, as shown by the fact that he voted for General Grant for President in 1868, and supported the leading measures of the Repub- lican party in 1896. He is the editor and pub- lisher of "The National Corporation Reporter," established in 1890, and which is devoted to the interests of business corporations.

MOSES, John, lawyer and author, was born at Niagara Falls, Canada, Sept. 18, 1825; came to Illinois in 1837, his family locating first at Naples, Scott County. He pursued the vocation of a teacher for a time, studied law, was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court for Scott County in 1856, and served as County Judge from 1857 to 1861. The latter year he became the private secretary of Governor Yates, serving until 1863, during that period assisting in the organization of seventy- seven regiments of Illinois Volunteers. While serving in this capacity, in company with Gov- ernor Yates, he attended the famous conference of loyal Governors, held at Altoona, Pa., in Sep- tember, 1862, and afterwards accompanied the Governors in their call upon President Lincoln, a few days after the issue of the preliminary proc- lamation of emancipation. Having received the appointment, from President Lincoln, of Assessor of Internal Revenue for the Tenth Illinois Dis- trict, he resigned the position of private secretary to Governor Yates. In 1874 he was chosen Representative in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly for the District composed of Scott, Pike and Calhoun Counties; served as a delegate to the National Republican Convention at Phila- delphia, in 1872, and as Secretary of the Board of Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners for three years (1880-83). He was then appointed Special Agent of the Treasury Department, and assigned to duty in connection with the customs revenue at Chicago. In 1887 he was chosen Sec- retary of the Chicago Historical Society, serving until 1893. While connected with the Chicago Historical Library he brought out the most com- plete History of Illinois yet published, in two

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 77

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