History of Fulton county, Illinois, Part 40

Author: Chas. C. Chapman & Co
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Peoria : C.C. Chapman & co.
Number of Pages: 1096

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Hon. John Reynolds was a native of Pennsylvania, of Irish descent, and was reared amid pioneer associations and imbibed the characteristics, manners and customs of the pioneers. He disliked polish, condemned fashion, and was addicted to inordinate pro- fanity. These, garnished by his varied reading, a native shrewd-

Datoratt -

STATES ATTORNEY

LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.

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ness and a wonderful faculty of garrulity, make him, considering the high offiees he held, one of the public oddities of Illinois. He was one of the Justices of the Supreme Court when he held court at Lewistown.

Hon. John Y. Sawyer. By the Constitution the terms of office of the Supreme Judges were to expire with the close of the year 1824. The Legislature re-organized the judiciary by creating both Cireuit and Supreme Courts. The State was divided into five judicial circuits, providing two terms of court annually in eaelf county. The salaries of the Circuit Judges were fixed at $600. Judge Sawyer was the first Circuit Judge to hold court in this county. He was chosen for the First Cirenit.

Hon. Richard M. Young was appointed Judge of this Cireuit in 1828 and remained in the office till January, 1837, when he resigned to accept a seat in the U. S. Senate. Judge Young was a native of Kentucky, and was one of the first settlers of Northern Illinois. He ranked high in his profession, and his counsels did much to shape the policy of the State. In his manners he was gentle, courteous and entertaining, which qualities rendered him attractive and pop- ular. He was generous in his feelings and liberal in his views ; pos- sessed liberal endowment of intellectual ability and literary and le- gal acquirements, and these, with his other qualifications, admirably fitted him for the post he was called to fill. He died from insanity.

Hon. James H. Ralston, a native of Kentucky, was elected by the Legislature in 1837, and in August of the same year he resigned on account of his health, with a view of going to Texas, whither he went but soon returned to Quincy. In 1840 he was elected State Senator. In 1846 President Polk appointed him Assistant Quar- termaster of the U. S. army. Having discharged his duties faith- fully during the war with Mexico, he returned home and soon after emigrated to California.

Hon. Peter Lott, a native of New York, was elected the successor of James Ralston, and continued in the office until January, 1841. He was subsequently appointed Clerk of the Circuit Court of Adams county, and served until 1852; he then went to California and was appointed Superintendent of the U. S. Mint in San Francisco by President Pierce, and was removed in 1857 by President Buchanan, and afterwards moved to Kansas and lived in humble life.

Hon. Stephen A. Douglas was elected Judge by the Legislature in 1841. The life and career of this great man is so well and widely known as to render any extended notice of him useless. It is suf- ficient to say that the circumstances upon which he entered upon the duties of his office were such as to thoroughly try the scope of his ability. The Circuit was large; the previous incumbent of the office had left the "doeket " loaded with unfinished " cases," but he was more than equal to the task. He "cleaned out the doeket " with that dispatch and ability which distinguished his subsequent course ; and so profound was the impression he made upon the

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people that, in the first Congressional election which occurred after he was established in his character as JJudge, he received nomination as a member of Congress, and was elected.

Hon. Jesse B. Thomas was appointed in Ang., 1843, and continued to hold the position until 1845, when he resigned. Judge Thomas possessed high legal abilities and acquirements, and discharged the duties of his office with honor to himself and to the satisfaction of the people. After his resignation he was appointed to another Cir- cuit and soon after died. He was a delegate to Congress from Indi- ana as early as 1808. His district was what are now the States of Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. He was one of the first U. S. Senators of Illinois.

Hon. Norman H. Purple was the next incumbent of the office. He was elected in 1845 and served till May, 1849, when he resigned. The probable cause for this was the insufficiency of salary. The people of this district were anxious to retain him as Judge, and probably would, but for the cause stated. He was distinguished for high legal abilities and executive talents, and the office was ren- dered the more honorable for his having occupied it.

Hon. William A. Minshall was elected in May, 1849, and contin- ued to hold the office till his death, in October, 1851, although in 1850 he was cut off from this district. Judge M. was a native of Tennessee, and came early into the State. He was an active and successful lawyer and attained distinction in his profession. Previous to his election as Judge he had been a member of the Constitutional Convention and also a member of the State Legislature.

Hon. O. C. Skinner succeeded Judge Minshall and occupied the office from May, 1851, to May, 1853, when he was elected to the Supreme Bench, and remained there till 1858, when he resigned. He was a sound, able lawyer and popular as a Judge, and gained emi- nence in his position as a Judge of the Supreme Court.

Hon. Pinkney H. Walker served until his appointment, in 1858, to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Bench. In 1859 he was elected to the Supreme Court for nine years, which position he now holds. Judge Walker is a native of Kentucky and came into the State with his father among the first settlers, and located in MeDonough county. He had only such advantages for obtaining his literary ac- quirements as a newly settled country afforded, but a strong deter- mination, added to high intellectual abilities and good health, carried him over all of the educational wants of the times, and gave him a fair position as a scholar. The same qualifications rendered him thorough as a student of law, and gave him superiority as a coun- selor. His present residence is at Rushville.

Hon. John S. Bailey was the succeeding incumbent of the office and served for three years. Previous to his appointment he was States' Attorney for this district. He was considered a sound lawyer, and made an impartial JJudge. He now resides at Macomb, and yet follows his chosen profession.

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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY.

Hon. Chauncey L. Higbie, of Pike county, was first elected in 1861, and was re-elected twice, each time for six years. His repu- tation as an able lawyer is unquestioned and fewer appeals were made from his decisions than from any other Judge in the State. He was elected to the Appellate Court in 1877, when the present incumbent, Judge Shope, of Lewistown, was chosen.

Hon. S. P. Shope .- Judge Shope, of Lewistown, was born in Mississippi but reared in Ohio. In the spring of 1839 he came to Illinois, read law with Judges Purple and Powell in Peoria, and was admitted to the Bar June 11, 1856. He first opened an office in Metamora, Ill., but in a short time removed to Lewistown, where he still resides. He has had a large practice as a lawyer, not only in his own Judicial District but also in Logan, Mason and Cass coun- ties. In August, 1877, he was elected Judge of this District without opposition. His thorough knowledge of law, quick comprehension and well-known impartiality render him a popular Judge. We re- fer to the Judge again as a citizen of Lewistown.

PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.

During the earliest period of the county's history the Attorney- General of the State acted as Prosecuting Attorney in Circuit dis- triets. At the time the first Court was held in this county, James Turney was Attorney-General. The following term Attorney-Gen- eral Turney not being present John Twing was appointed pro tem. George Forquer was the next Attorney-General. After the expira- tion of his term the Circuit was given a State's Attorney. This mode remained in vogue, although, of course the distriets were often changed and cut down, until 1872, when the county was given a prosecuting attorney, who is known both as State's Attorney and County Attorney. This official is not now, as formerly, called out of the county to prosecute for the people.

The Proseenting Attorneys serving this county are as follows :

Hon. Thomas Ford served for several years previous to 1835. He was possessed of high and noble qualities of manhood, a thorough student, a keen, energetic, untiring lawyer, of strict integrity and laudable aspirations, and was universally esteemed and respected. He afterwards became Judge of the northern district, and when he had become known over the State, was chosen Governor by a spon- taneous movement of the people.

Hon. William A. Richardson, who served till 1837. Mr. Rich- ardson's personal merits and characteristies are too well known to require any delineation. His predominating traits were courage, unyielding perseverance and unvarying adherence to the cause to which he was committed. He had command of a regiment of Illi- nois volunteers during the Mexican war, and in the battle of Buena Vista his eap was carried from his head by a musket ball. He re- turned home and was elected to Congress, and re-elected five times. He was also appointed Governor of Nebraska by Buchanan.

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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY.

Hon. Henry L. Bryant, of Lewistown, succeeded Mr. Richardson, and served until 1839. He is characterized as a gentleman of fine qualities and as an able lawyer. We shall speak personally of Mr. Bryant again in the history of the city of Lewistown.

Hon. William Elliott served from January, 1839, till January, 1848. He was esteemed as a worthy man, a warm friend and a good lawyer. He served in the Black Hawk war, and was wounded in a hand-to-hand conflict with a single Indian, whom he killed. He was Quartermaster in the 4th regiment during the Mexican war, and served through. He returned to Lewistown and continued his practice until about 1856, when he moved upon a farm in Peoria county, near Farmington, where he died in February, 1871.

Hon. Robert S. Blackwell was the successor of Mr. Elliott, and served from 1848 till 1852. Mr. Blackwell was one of the most distinguished lawyers in the State, and is the author of " Blackwell on Tax Titles."

Harmon G. Reynolds .- From 1852 to 1854, Hon. Harmon G. Reynolds, of Knoxville, held the office. Mr. Reynolds was an attorney-at-law of great ability, and an active man in all beneficent enterprises. He came from Rock Island to Knoxville some time about 1851, where he practiced law, was State's Attorney and Post- master, and held prominent positions in the Masonie order. He moved from Knoxville to Springfield, where he served as Grand Secretary of the order. He now resides in Kansas.

William C. Goudy .- Hon. William C. Goudy, of Lewistown, suc- ceeded Mr. Reynolds. Mr. Goudy was a shrewd Democratic poli- tician in carlier days, as well as a faithful servant of the people as a delegate to conventions, as a member of the State Senate, etc. As a lawyer he is accounted one of the ablest that ever practiced at the bar. He has accumulated large wealth and now resides in Chicago, where he moved in 1859.

Calvin A. Warren followed Mr. Blackwell in the office. Mr. Warren served from May, 1852, until August, 1853. This gentle- man was a popular, fluent speaker and successful lawyer.

Hon. A. M. Craig, of Knoxville, served in 1856. He was elceted to the Supreme Court a few years ago, where he still holds a seat.

Hon. John S. Bailey, of McDonough county, filled the office until September, 1858, when he resigned for a seat upon the bench.

Hon. L. H. Waters was appointed by the Governor to fill the unexpired term of Mr. Bailey. He was from Macomb, and served until the fall of 1860. A year later he entered the army as Lieu- tenant-Colonel of the 28th Illinois Infantry. Resigning, he was commissioned to raise another regiment, which he sneceeded in · doing and received the appointment of Colonel. This was the 84th Illinois Infantry and did excellent service under his efficient com- mand. At the close of the war he returned to Macomb and prac- ticed law, and about four years later moved to Missouri. He now resides at Jefferson City, that State.

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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY.

Thomas E. Morgan was the next incumbent. Mr. Morgan was a lawyer of fine ability and ranked at the head of the bar in this part of the State. He died July 22, 1867.

L. W. James, of Lewistown, was the next incumbent. Mr. James is a lawyer of more than ordinary talent and was one of the best prosecutors in the district, and is said to be one of the most brilliant young men in the State. He now resides at Peoria.

Daniel Abbott .- When each county throughout the Cireuit was given a prosecuting attorney, Daniel Abbott was chosen for Fulton eonnty. He is a native of this county, having been born here May 21, 1838 ; commenced the study of law in 1859; was admitted to the Bar in January, 1866, and has since resided in Canton where he is engaged in the practice of law.

THE BAR.

The Bar of Fulton county has ever stood foremost of all in this great State. Some of the best legal minds, and fairest logicians and finest orators of the age have practiced at this Bar.

In reviewing the Bar of the county our readers must bear in mind that as the prosperity and well-being of every community depends upon the wise interpretation, as well as upon the judicious framing, of its laws, it must follow that a record of the members of the Bar, to whom these matters are generally relegated, must form no unim- portant chapter in the county's history. Upon a few principles of natural justice is erected the whole superstructure of civil law tending to relieve the wants and meet the desires of all alike. But where so many interests and counter interests are to be protected and adjusted, to the judiciary is presented many interesting and com- plex problems. But change is everywhere imminent. The laws of yesterday do not compass the wants and necessities of the people of to-day. The old relations do not exist. New and satisfactory ones must be established. The discoveries in the arts and sciences ; the invention of new contrivances for labor ; the enlargement of indus- trial pursuits, and the increase and development of commerce are without precedence, and the science of the law must keep pace with them all; nay, it must even forecast events and so frame its laws as will most adequately subserve the wants and provide for the necessities of the new conditions. Hence the lawyer is a man of the day. The exigencies he must meet are those of his own time. His capital is his ability and individuality. He cannot bequeath to his successors the characteristics that distinguished him, and at his going the very evidences of his work disappear. And in com- piling this short sketch one is astonished at the paucity of material for a memoir of those who have been so intimately connected with, and who exerted such an influence upon, the county's welfare and progress. The peculiarities and the personalities which form so pleasing and interesting a part of the lives of the members of the Bar, and which indeed constitute the charm of local history, are

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altogether wanting. Unlike the fair plaintiff in Bardell vs. Pick- wick, we have no pains-taking sergeant to relate "the facts and cir- cumstances" of the case. The Court records give us the facts, but the circumstances surrounding and giving an interest to the events are wanting.

As stated elsewhere in this volume, the Bar of Fulton county has always been an able one, and some of the brightest minds of our State have practiced law in the Courts of this county. Among the' foreign lawyers who have prominently figured here were .Hon. Wm. A. Minshall, of Rushville, William A. Richardson and Gen. Max- well, of Rushville, Abraham Lincoln and E. D. Baker, of Springfield, Cyrus Walker and Gilmore Walker, of Macomb, Hon. Stephen T. Logan, of Springfield, James W. Whitney ("My Lord Coke"), of Pike county, Wm. A. Grimshaw of Pike, Bryant T. Schofield of Han- cock, Julius Manning, of Peoria, James A. MeDougal, of Jackson- ville and Archibald Williams, Peter Lott, O. H. Browning, Nehe- miah Bushnell, W. Johnson and Wheat, all of Quincy, and others whose history is coeval with that of the early days of the county. Of those attorneys who resided in the county at one time and are now either dead, have quit the practice or have moved away, we will speak of first ; afterwards we will speak personally of the present members of the Bar.

H. S. Austin resided in Farmington. He was a fair lawyer. He left the county about 1853 and at present resides in Chicago.

J. P. Boice came to Lewistown from New England at an early day, and at one time, 1841, was associated with John David in the practice of law. He was a good lawyer, but not an advocate of special ability. He was a prominent Whig politician and a shrewd, sharp worker. He moved to Henry, Marshall Co., where he died.

Floyd Brown was a lawyer of considerable ability, and, as we are told, " of considerable whisky, too." He came from Pike county to Lewistown and went from there to Minnesota, where he died.

Thomas H. Bruner came to Lewistown from Ohio, and proved himself in a short time to be not a successful lawver. He soon em- barked in the lumber trade in company with Geo. Humphrey, and he with others built the Willison Hotel and the adjoining block. He left Lewistown in 1869.

John S. Clendennin came to Lewistown in 1842 or '43, but could not get a foothold in his profession here and soon after went to Yazoo City, Miss., and became quite a prominent man. Heis now deceased. His brother, D. R. Clendennin, was a member of the com- mission that tried Mrs. Surratt.

Hugh R. Colter was admitted to practice law by Judge John York Sawyer, at Lewistown, in November, 1825. Mr. Colter, it will be remembered, was the first Circuit and County Clerk of Ful- ton county, and wielded an important part in the organization of the county and in starting its governmental machinery. He was

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also engaged in school-teaching. He never applied himself to the practice of his legal profession here.

Lewis Corbin, although "a good judge of law," to use a "West- ernism," was never noted in any degree for his success. Honest, slow of speech, and not over-enterprising, he was too good a man to be a successful lawyer. He lived at Canton.

John W. David was a member of the law firm of Boice & David, and died about the year 1842, insane. He was modest, unassuming, steady and sober, and highly esteemed. Although not brilliant as a lawyer, he possessed sound judgment.

Asa Lee Davison, for years a partner of Hon. William Kellogg, was a lawyer of more than average ability. A good pleader, full of wit and of commanding presence, he would doubtless have ranked among our foremost men had it not been for his unfortunate love for strong drink. After leaving Canton he occupied a prominent position as a member of the New York Legislature, and finally died at Pekin, Ill.

Caleb J. Dilworth was formerly a partner of Judge Shope, and is a lawyer of great ability. He is at present Attorney General of Ne- braska.

William Elliott was a good pioneer lawyer and served the District as State's Attorney. He lived at Lewistown, then moved over the line into Peoria county, where he died.

Henry B. Evans was quite a land owner in this county at one time but became embarrassed, and about 1861 entered the army as sutler, thinking to retrieve his fortune. He was prospering nicely when the rebels raided the Union lines and took all of his goods. He now resides in Chicago. He served as County Clerk from 1839 to '47.

Robert Farwell read law with Wead & Goudy, and is a good lawyer. He has accumulated a large fortune and resides at Prince- ton, Ill.

William C. Goudy studied law with Judge Wead and was admitted to the Bar while living at Lewistown. He was for many years not only at the head of the Bar in Fulton county, but had an enviable State reputation. He removed to Chicago several years ago, where he still lives, and is regarded as one of the most promi- nent legal gentlemen in the State. He is yet largely identified with the business interests of this connty, especially coal-mining.

W. H. H. Haskell belongs to the versatile class of men, having great talent for so great a variety of occupations that he has no time to succeed at all of them. Editor, lawyer, artist, teacher, cabinet- maker, book-keeper, and proficient in thirteen (literal fact) other professions or trades, he never shone so well at the Bar as he now does as the editor of the Amboy Journal, which certainly ranks well as a country paper. He resided at Canton.

George S. Hill, formerly of Canton, was one of the class of fussy, flighty men, who succeed only in becoming second-rate attorneys.

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With a fair legal education, some pluck, but no balance, he was not recognized as one of the legal luminaries of Fulton county.

James Johnson was a very eccentric man, and not especially emi- nent as a lawyer or anything else. He came to Lewistown previous to 1840 and was admitted to practice his profession while living there. He went from this county to California, where he is now upon the bench.

S. Corning Judd came to Lewistown about 1852, and was in the profession at the time. He is a brother-in-law of W. C. Goudy, and became his partner in the practice of law, and continued in that re- lation until Mr. Goudy removed to Chicago. He remained here for some years when he too removed to Chicago, and is ranked among the leading legal gentlemen of that city, and has a large and luera- tive practice.

Hon. William Kellogg for many years stood at the head of the Fulton county Bar. His fort was criminal practice, and no lawyer at the Bar was more eloquent in his defense of a prisoner, or better able to select a jury whose sympathies could be touched by his elo- quence. His judgment in civil practice could be fully relied upon, but his besetting sin, a dislike of close application, sometimes lost him cases in which either his interest or sympathy was not aroused. His forensic power made him fully the equal of any Illinoisan who ever graced the Bar.

Wm. Pitt Kellogg was yet young in practice when he quit law for politics, but had already won quite a reputation as a pleader, and one who was at all times ready to take every advantage offered by his adversary's neglect. He would have undoubtedly stood at the head of the Bar had he remained in practice. He is now U. S. Sen- ator from Lousiana.

Myron Kimball was a smart, sharp, nervous man, and obtained his professional training under Hon. O. H. Browning. He was a partner of George Phelps, and left the county during the Rebellion, and we believe resides at Quincy, Ill.

A. G. Kirkpatrick returned to Monmouth, Ill., the place he came from, to Lewistown, about 1864. He remained here about three years. He was a man of some ability in his profession, but of no discretion.

Thomas J. Little was a wiry, still, shrewd man, not famous for ora- tory or pleading, but who saw the weak points in his adversary's mail and had a lance ready to pierce it. His best forte was in the prep- aration of legal papers, and hunting up his case.

Sidney V. McClung was an educated lawyer of more than ordinary native talent, whose sun set in the fog which rum has generated in the horizon of far too many brilliant men.

, Samuel B. Oberlander came to Lewistown from Iowa in 1863 and remained till 1871, when he went to Howard county, Iowa. He never won any special distinction as a member of the Fulton county Bar.

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W. C. Osborn came to Lewistown about the year 1828. He was a well-read lawyer, yet his reputation for fairness was questioned by some. He owned the entire block fronting the square on the west side at one time, where he kept a law office and grocery store. He remained here about fifteen years and moved to Iowa, where he died.

George Phelps, son of the late Myron Phelps, was a member of the legal firm of Phelps & Kimball. He was a student under the eminent lawyers, Browning & Bushnell. He left Lewistown during the war and entered the army as paymaster, and now resides at New Albany, Ind.

Stephen H. Pitkins came from Ohio to Lewistown prior to 1840. He read law and was admitted to the Bar while in this county. He was a medium lawyer and at one time served as Probate Judge of this county. He returned to Ohio during the decade between 1850 and 1860, where, as far as we can learn, he still resides.

John W. Ross, son of Hon. L. W. Ross, began practicing law at Lewistown in 1862 or '63. He rose in his profession rapidly and soon moved to Washington, D. C., where he now resides.

Gen. Leonard F. Ross was admitted to the Bar; and practiced previous to his election to the office of County Clerk, since which time he has practiced but little.

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History of Fulton county, Illinois, Part 40

Author: Chas. C. Chapman & Co Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Peoria : C.C. Chapman & co. Number of Pages: 1096

Author: Chas. C. Chapman & Co
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Peoria : C.C. Chapman & co.
Number of Pages: 1096