Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 95

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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Senate, but without limitation as to term of office. By the Constitution of 1848, and again by that of 1870, that officer was made elective by the people at the same time as the Governor, for a term of four years.

SECRET TREASONABLE SOCIETIES. Early in the War of the Rebellion there sprang up, at various points in the Northwest, organizations of persons disaffected toward the National Govern- ment. They were most numerous in Ohio, Indi- ana, Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri. At first they were known by such titles as "Circles of Honor," "Mutual Protective Associations," etc. But they had kindred aims and their members were soon united in one organization, styled "Knights of the Golden Circle." Its secrets having been partially disclosed, this body ceased to exist-or, it would be more correct to say, changed its name-being soon succeeded (1863) by an organization of similar character, called the "American Knights." These societies, as first formed, were rather political than military. The "American Knights" had more forcible aims, but this, in turn, was also exposed, and the order was re-organized under the name of "Sons of Liberty." The last named order started in Indiana, and, owing to its more perfect organi- zation, rapidly spread over the Northwest, acquiring much more strength and influence than its predecessors had done. The ultimate author- ity of the organization was vested in a Supreme Council, whose officers were a "supreme com- mander." "secretary of state, "and "treasurer." Each State represented formed a division, under a "deputy grand commander." States were divided into military districts, under "major-generals." County lodges were termed "temples." The order was virtually an officered army, and its aims were aggressive. It had its commander-in- chief, its brigades and its regiments. Three degrees were recognized, and the oaths of secrecy taken at each initiation surpassed, in binding force, either the oath of allegiance or an oath taken in a court of justice. The maintenance of slavery, and forcible opposition to a coercive policy by the Government in dealing with seces- sion, were the pivotal doctrines of the order. Its methods and purposes were to discourage enlist- ments and resist a draft; to aid and protect deserters; to disseminate treasonable literature; to aid the Confederates in destroying Government property. Clement L. Vallandigham, the expat- riated traitor, was at its head, and, in 1864, claimed that it had a numerical strength of 400,- 000, of whom 65,000 were in Illinois. Many overt

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acts were committed, but the organization, hav- ing been exposed and defeated in its objects, dis- banded in 1865. (See Camp Douglas Conspiracy.)

SELBY, Paul, editor, was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, July 20, 1825; removed with his parents, in 1837, to Van Buren County, Iowa, but, at the age of 19, went to Southern Illinois, where he spent four years teaching, chiefly in Madison County. In 1848 he entered the preparatory department of Illinois College at Jacksonville, but left the institution during his junior year to assume the editorship of "The Morgan Journal," at Jacksonville, with which he remained until the fall of 1858, covering the period of the organization of the Republican party, in which "The Journal" took an active part. He was a member of the Anti-Nebraska (afterwards known as Republican) State Convention, which met at Springfield, in October, 1854 (the first ever held in the State), and, on Feb. 22, 1856, attended and presided over a conference of Anti-Nebraska editors of the State at Decatur, called to devise a line of policy for the newly organizing Repub- lican party. (See Anti-Nebraska Editorial Convention.) This body appointed the first Republican State Central Committee and desig- nated the date of the Bloomington Convention of May 29, following, which put in nomination the first Republican State ticket ever named in Illinois, which ticket was elected in the following November. (See Bloomington Convention.) In 1859 he prepared a pamphlet giving a history of the celebrated Canal scrip fraud, which was widely circulated. (See Canal Scrip Fraud.) Going South in the fall of 1859, he was engaged in teaching in the State of Louisiana until the last of June, 1861. Just two weeks before the fall of Fort Sumter he was denounced to his Southern neighbors as an "abolitionist" and falsely charged with having been connected with the "underground railroad," in letters from secession sympathizers in the North, whose per- sonal and political enmity he had incurred while conducting a Republican paper in Illinois, some of whom referred to Jefferson Davis, Senator Slidell, of Louisiana, and other Southern leaders as vouchers for their characters. He at once invited an investigation by the Board of Trus- tees of the institution, of which he was the Principal, when that body-although composed. for the most part, of Southern men-on the basis of testimonials from prominent citizens of Jack- sonville, and other evidence, adopted resolutions declaring the charges prompted by personal hos- tility, and delivered the letters of his accusers into

his hands. Returning North with his family in July, 1861, he spent some nine months in the com- missary and transportation branches of the ser- vice at Cairo and at Paducah, Ky. In July, 1862, he became associate editor of "The Illinois State Journal" at Springfield, remaining until Novem- ber, 1865. The next six months were spent as Assistant Deputy Collector in the Custom House at New Orleans, but, returning North in June, 1866, he soon after became identified with the Chicago press, serving, first upon the staff of "The Evening Journal" and, later, on "The Repub- lican." In May, 1868, he assumed the editorship of "The Quincy Whig," ultimately becoming part proprietor of that paper, but, in January, 1874, resumed his old place on "The State Jour- nal," four years later becoming one of its propri- etors. In 1880 he was appointed by President Hayes Postmaster of Springfield, was reappointed by Arthur in 1884, but resigned in 1886. Mean- while he had sold his interest in "The Journal," but the following year organized a new company for its purchase, when he resumed his former position as editor. In 1889 he disposed of his holding in "The Journal," finally removing to Chicago, where he has been employed in literary work. In all he has been engaged in editorial work over thirty-five years, of which eighteen were spent upon "The State Journal." In 1860 Mr. Selby was complimented by his Alma Mater with the honorary degree of A. M. He has been twice married, first to Miss Erra Post, of Spring- field, who died in November, 1865, leaving two daughters, and, in 1870, to Mrs. Mary J. Hitch- cock, of Quincy, by whom he had two children, both of whom died in infancy.

SEMPLE, James, United States Senator, was born in Green County, Ky., Jan. 5, 1798, of Scotch descent; after learning the tanner's trade, studied law and emigrated to Illinois in 1818, removing to Missouri four years later, where he was ad- mitted to the bar. Returning to Illinois in 1828, he began practice at Edwardsville, but later became a citizen of Alton. During the Black Hawk War he served as Brigadier-General. He was thrice elected to the lower house of the Legislature (1832, '34 and '36), and was Speaker during the last two terms. In 1833 he was elected Attorney-General by the Legislature, but served only until the following year, and, in 1837, was appointed Minister to Granada, South America. In 1843 he was appointed, and after- wards elected. United States Senator to fill the unexpired term of Samuel McRoberts, at the expiration of his term (1847) retiring to private

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life. He laid out the town of Elsah, in Jersey County, just south of which he owned a large estate on the Mississippi bluffs, where he died. Dec. 20, 1866.

SENECA (formerly Crotty), a village of La Salle County, situated on the Illinois River, the Illinois & Michigan Canal and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railways, 13 miles east of Ottawa. It has a graded school, several churches, a bank, some manufactures, grain warehouses and one newspaper. Population (1880), 738; (1890), 1,190.

SENN, (Dr.) Nicholas, physican and surgeon, was born in the Canton of St. Gaul, Switzerland, Oct. 31, 1844; was brought to America at 8 years of age, his parents settling at Washington, Wis. He received a grammar school education at Fond du Lac, and, in 1864, began the study of medi- cine, graduating at the Chicago Medical College in 1868. After some eighteen months spent as resident physician in the Cook County Hospital, he began practice at Ashford, Wis., but removed to Milwaukee in 1874, where he became attending physician of the Milwaukee Hospital. In 1877 he visited Europe, graduated the following year from the University of Munich, and, on his return, became Professor of the Principles of Surgery and Surgical Pathology in Rush Medical College in Chicago-also has held the chair of the Prac- tice of Surgery in the same institution. Dr. Senn has achieved great success and won an international reputation in the treatment of difficult cases of abdominal surgery. He is the author of a number of volumes on different branches of surgery which are recognized as standard authorities. A few years ago he pur- chased the extensive library of the late Dr. Will- iam Baum, Professor of Surgery in the University of Gottingen, which he presented to the New- berry Library of Chicago. In 1893, Dr. Senn was appointed Surgeon-General of the Illinois National Guard, and has also been President of the Association of Military Surgeons of the National Guard of the United States, besides being identified with various other medical bodies. Soon after the beginning of the Spanish- American War, he was appointed, by President McKinley, a Surgeon of Volunteers with the rank of Colonel, and rendered most efficient aid in the military branch of the service at Camp Chicka- mauga and in the Santiago campaign.

SEXTON, (Col.) James A., Commander-in- Chief of Grand Army of the Republic, was born in the city of Chicago, Jan. 5, 1844; in April,

1861, being then only a little over 17, enlisted as a private soldier under the first call for troops issued by President Lincoln; at the close of his term was appointed a Sergeant, with authority to recruit a company which afterwards was attached to the Fifty-first Volunteer Infantry. Later, he was transferred to the Sixty-seventh with the rank of Lieutenant, and, a few months after, to the Seventy-second with a commission as Captain of Company D, which he had recruited. As com- mander of his regiment, then constituting a part of the Seventeenth Army Corps, he participated in the battles of Columbia, Duck Creek, Spring Hill, Franklin and Nashville, and in the Nash- ville campaign. Both at Nashville and Franklin he was wounded, and again, at Spanish Fort, by a piece of shell which broke his leg. His regiment took part in seven battles and eleven skirmishes, and, while it went out 967 strong in officers and men, it returned with only 332, all told, although it had been recruited by 234 men. He was known as "The boy Captain," being only 18 years old when he received his first commission, and 21 when, after participating in the Mobile cam- paign, he was mustered ont with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. After the close of the war he engaged in planting in the South, purchasing a plantation in Lowndes County, Ala., but, in 1867, returned to Chicago, where he became a member of the firm of Cribben, Sexton & Co., stove manufacturers, from which he retired in 1898. In 1884 he served as Presidential Elector on the Republican ticket for the Fourth District, and, in 1889, was appointed, by President Harrison, Postmaster of the city of Chicago, serving over five years. In 1888 he was chosen Department Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic for the State of Illinois, and, ten years later, to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the order, which he held at the time of his death. He had also been, for a number of years, one of the Trus- tees of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at Quincy, and, during most of the time, President of the Board. Towards the close of the year 1898, he was appointed by President Mckinley a member of the Commission to investigate the conduct of the Spanish-American War, but, before the Com- mission had conchided its labors, was taken with "the grip," which developed into pneumonia, from which he died in Washington, Feb. 5, 1899.

SEYMOUR, George Franklin, Protestant Epis- copal Bishop, was born in New York City, Jan. 5, 1829; graduated from Columbia College in 1850, and from the General Theological Seminary (New York) in 1854. He received both minor

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and major orders at the hands of Bishop Potter, being made deacon in 1854 and ordained priest in 1855. For several years he was engaged in mis- sionary work. During this period he was promi- nently identified with the founding of St. Stephen's College. After serving as rector in various parishes, in 1865 he was made Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the New York Semi- nary, and, ten years later, was chosen Dean of the institution, still retaining his professorship. Racine College conferred upon him the degree of S.T.D., in 1867, and Columbia that of LL.D. in 1878. In 1874 he was elected Bishop of Illinois, but failed of confirmation in the House of Depu- ties. Upon the erection of the new diocese of Springfield (1877) he accepted and was conse- crated Bishop at Trinity Church, N. Y., June 11, 1878. He was a prominent member of the Third Pan-Anglican Council (London, 1885), and has done much to foster the growth and extend the influence of his church in his diocese.

SHABBONA, a village of De Kalb County, on the Iowa Division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, 25 miles west of Aurora. Population (1890), 502.

SHABONA (or Shabbona), an Ottawa Chief, was born near the Maumee River, in Ohio, about 1775, and served under Tecumseh from 1807 to the battle of the Thames in 1813. In 1810 he accompanied Tecumseh and Capt. Billy Caldwell (see Sauganash) to the homes of the Pottawato- mies and other tribes within the present limits of Illinois and Wisconsin, to secure their co-oper- ation in driving the white settlers out of the country. At the battle of the Thames, he was by the side of Tecumseh when he fell, and both he and Caldwell, losing faith in their British allies, soon after submitted to the United States through General Cass at Detroit. Shabona was opposed to Black Hawk in 1832, and did much to thwart the plans of the latter and aid the whites. Hav- ing married a daughter of a Pottawatomie chief, who had a village on the Illinois River east of the present city of Ottawa, he lived there for some time, but finally removed 25 miles north to Shabona's Grove in De Kalb County. Here he remained till 1837, when he removed to Western Missouri. Black Hawk's followers having a reservation near by, hostilities began between them, in which a son and nephew of Shahona were killed. He finally returned to his old home in Illinois, but found it occupied by whites, who drove him from the grove that bore his name. Some friends then bought for him twenty acres of land on Mazon Creek, near Morris, where he

died, July 27, 1859. He is described as a noble specimen of his race. A life of him has been published by N. Matson (Chicago, 1878).

SHANNON, a village of Carroll County, on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, 18 miles southwest of Freeport. It is an important trade center, has a bank and one newspaper. Popu- lation (1890), 591.

SHAW, Aaron, former Congressman, born in Orange County, N. Y., in 1811; was educated at the Montgomery Academy, studied law and was admitted to the bar at Goshen in that State. In 1833 he removed to Lawrence County, Ill. He has held various important public offices. He was a member of the first Internal Improvement Convention of the State; was chosen State's Attorney by the Legislature, in which body he served two terms; served four years as Judge of the Twenty-fifth Judicial Circuit; was elected to the Thirty-fifth Congress in 1856, and to the Forty-eighth in 1882, as a Democrat.

SHAW, James, lawyer, jurist, was born in Ire- land, May 3, 1832, bronght to this country in in- fancy and grew up on a farm in Cass County, Ill. ; graduated from Illinois College in 1857, and, after admission to the bar, began practice at Mount Carroll. In 1870 he was elected to the lower house of the General Assembly, being re-elected in 1872, '76 and '78. He was Speaker of the House during the session of 1877, and one of the Republican leaders on the floor during the suc- ceeding session. In 1872 he was chosen a Presi- dential Elector, and, in 1891, to a seat on the Circuit bench from the Thirteenth Circuit, and, in 1897 was re-elected for the Fifteenth Circuit.

SHAWNEETOWN, an incorporated city, the county-seat of Gallatin County, 182 miles south- east of Springfield; situated on the Ohio River and the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern and the Louisville & Nashville Railroads. It is one of the oldest towns in the State, having been laid out in 1808, and a place of importance in Terri- torial and early State history-noted for the number of prominent men who resided there. About 1818 it was one of the largest towns in the State. Coal and lead are mined in the surround- ing country, and the city is a shipping point for both coal and farm products. Pork-packing and manufacturing are carried on to a moderate extent. Shawneetown has several mills, a foundry and machine shop, two or three banks and two weekly newspapers. The town has suffered severely from floods in the Ohio River, within the last few years, the most disastrous

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being those of 1883 and 1898. Population (1880), 1,851; (1890), 2,100.

SHEAHAN, James W., journalist, was born in Baltimore, Md., spent his early life, after reaching manhood, in Washington City as a Congressional Reporter, and, in 1847, reported the proceedings of the Illinois State Constitutional Convention at Springfield. Through the influence of Senator Douglas he was induced. in 1854. to accept the editorship of "The Young America" newspaper at Chicago, which was soon after changed to "The Chicago Times." Here he remained until the fall of 1860, when, "The Times" having been sold and consolidated with "The Herald," a Buchanan-Breckenridge organ, he established a new paper called "The Morning Post." This he made representative of the views of the "War Democrats" as against "The Times," which was opposed to the war. In May, 1865, he sold the plant of "The Post" and it became "The Chicago Republican" - now "Inter Ocean." A few months later. Mr. Sheahan accepted a position as chief writer on the editorial staff of "The Chicago Tribune," which he retained until his death, June 17, 1883.

SHEFFIELD, a village of Bureau County, on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, 44 miles east of Rock Island; has valuable coal mines, a bank and two newspapers. Population (1880). 905; (1890), 993.

SHELBY COUNTY, lies south of the center of the State, and contains an area of 776 square miles. The tide of immigration to this county was at first from Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina, although later it began to set in from the Northern States. The first cabin in the county was built by Simeon Wakefield on what is now the site of Williamsburg, first called Cold Spring. Joseph Daniel was the earliest settler in what is now Shelbyville, pre-empting ten acres, which he soon afterward sold to Joseph Oliver, the pioneer merchant of the county, and father of the first white child born within its limits. Other pioneers were Shimei Wakefield, Levi Casey and Samuel Hall. In lieu of hats the early settlers wore caps made of squirrel or coon skin, with the tails dangling at the backs, and he was regarded as well dressed who boasted a fringed buckskin shirt and trousers, with moccasins. The county was formed in 1827, and Shelbyville made the county-seat. Both county and town are named in honor of Governor Shelby, of Ken- tucky. County Judge Joseph Oliver held the first court. in the cabin of Barnett Bone, and Judge Theophilus W. Smith presided over the

first Circuit Court in 1828. Coal is abundant, and limestone and sandstone are also found. The surface is somewhat rolling and well wooded. The Little Wabash and Kaskaskia Rivers flow throngli the central and southeastern portions. The county lies in the very heart of the great corn belt of the State, and has excellent transpor- tation facilities, being penetrated by four lines of railway. Population (1880), 30,270; (1890), 31,- 191.

SHELBYVILLE, the county-seat and an incor- porated city of Shelby County, on the Kaskaskia River and two lines of railway, 23 miles south- west of Mattoon and 32 miles southeast of Decatur. Agriulture, coal-mining, and lumber- ing are all carried on in the surrounding region. In the city are a foundry, several large flouring mills, a woolen mill, agricultural implement works and other factories, besides a national bank (capital $75,000) one daily, four weekly and one monthly periodicals. Population (1880), 2,939; (1890), 3,162; (1895), 3,320.

SHELDON, a village of Iroquois County, at the intersection of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chi- cago & St. Louis and the Toledo, Peoria & West- ern Railways, 9 miles east of Watseka; has banks and a newspaper. The region is agricultural. Population (1880), 947; (1890), 910.

SHELDON, Benjamin R., jurist, was born in Massachusetts in 1813, graduated from Williams College in 1831, studied law at the Yale Law School, and was admitted to practice in 1836. Emigrating to Illinois, he located temporarily at Hennepin, Putnam County, hut soon removed to Galena, and finally to Rockford. In 1848 he was elected Circuit Judge of the Sixth Circuit, which afterwards being divided, he was assigned to the Fourteenth Circuit, remaining until 1870, when he was elected a Justice of the Supreme Court, presiding as Chief Justice in 1877. He was re- elected in 1879, but retired in 1888, being suc- ceeded by the late Justice Bailey. Died, April 13, 1897.

SHEPPARD, Nathan, author and lecturer, was born in Baltimore, Md., Nov. 9, 1834; graduated at Rochester Theological Seminary in 1859; dur- ing the Civil War was special correspondent of "The New York World" and "The Chicago Jour- nal" and "Tribune," and, during the Franco- German War, of "The Cincinnati Gazette;" also served as special American correspondent of "The London Times," and was a contributor to "Frazer's Magazine" and "Temple Bar." In 1873 he became a lecturer on Modern English Liter- ature and Rhetoric in Chicago University and,

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four years later, accepted a similar position in Allegheny College; also spent four years in Europe, lecturing in the principal towns of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1884 he founded the "Athenaeum" at Saratoga Springs, N. Y., of which he was President until his death, early in 1888. "The Dickens Reader," "Character Read- ings from George Eliot" and "Essays of George Eliot" were among the volumes issued by him between 1881 and 1887. Died in New York City, Jan. 24, 1888.

SHERMAN, Alson Smith, early Chicago Mayor, was born at Barre, Vt., April 21, 1811, remaining there until 1836, when he came to Chicago and began business as a contractor and builder. Sev- eral years later he opened the first stone quarries at Lemont, Ill. Mr. Sherman spent many years in the service of Chicago as a public official. From 1840 to 1842 he was Captain of a company of militia; for two years served as Chief of the Fire Department, and was elected Alderman in 1842, serving again in 1846. In 1844, he was chosen Mayor, his administration being marked by the first extensive public improvements made in Chicago. After his term as Mayor he did much to secure a better water supply for the city. He was especially interested in promoting common school education, being for several years a member of the City School Board. He was Vice-President of the first Board of Trustees of Northwestern University. Retired from active pursuits, Mr. Sherman is now (1899) spending a serene old age at Waukegan, Ill .- Oren (Sherman) brother of the preceding and early Chicago mer- chant, was born at Barre, Vt., March 5, 1816. After spending several years in a mercantile house in Montpelier, Vt., at the age of twenty he came west, first to New Buffalo, Mich., and, in 1836, to Chicago, opening a dry-goods store there the next spring. With various partners Mr. Sherman continued in a general mercantile busi- ness until 1853, at the same time being extensively engaged in the provision trade, one-half the entire transactions in pork in the city passing through his hands. Next he engaged in developing stone quarries at Lemont, Ill. ; also became extensively interested in the marble business, continuing in this until a few years after the panic of 1873, when he retired in consequence of a shock of paralysis. Died, in Chicago, Dec. 15, 1898.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 95

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