USA > Illinois > Macon County > History of Macon County, Illinois : with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 35
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
commanded a brigade in that fight, and on the afternoon of the first day fell upon the field of battle, as was then thought, mortally wounded, the ball having passed under the left arm, through the lungs and lodged near his spine. He passed six months of intense suffering and danger before he was able to leave his home, and still carries in his body the enemy's ball which brought him so near the gates of death. On his recovery in April, 1863, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General of Volunteers, by appointment of Presi- dent Lincoln, to rank as such from the twenty-ninth of November, 1862.
Still suffering from his wound, although on duty in the field, he tendered his resignation in July, 1863; but it was not accepted. He was, however, granted a leave of absence and returned home, where he was detailed as president of a general court-martial which sat in Washington from December, 1863, until May, 1864. Upon Gen. Oglesby's return to Illinois in this year, he was unanimously nominated as the Republican candidate for Governor, and although the state had gone democratic at the last election, was elected by thirty-one thousand majority.
On his nomination for Governor on May 25th, 1864, the Presi- dent accepted his resignation as Major-General, and he left the field of active hostilities, for which his severe wound had long unfitted him, to enter the arena of political life, where at that time the strife was as bitter as in the fields of war.
Gov. Oglesby is spoken of by the journals of that time as "a liberal-hearted administrator of the high and sacred trust imposed upon him as the official head of a great commonwealth ;" " showing himself eminently faithful, competent and able; combining in an admirable degree the qualities of a very man among men." The Chicago Tribune of January 18th, 1865, says of his inaugural : "The address is a manly, straight-forward document, devoid of pretension, replete with common sense, and admirably written. It clearly proclaims that the same nerve, the same intelligence and the patriotism which marked Gen. Oglesby's conduct at Donel- son and Corinth will distinguish his administration as Gover- nor."
Being at Washington when that awful national calamity, the assassination of President Lincoln occurred, it was Gov. Oglesby's painful privilege to be present at the bedside of his beloved friend, within an hour after the fatal shot was given ; he watched over him until the end, and saw him yield up his noble life in the cause of the country he loved and served so well. Afterward he remained close beside the precious remains, following in the mournful journey back to Illinois, until they were placed in the silent tomb amid the lamentations of a great nation. 17
Gov. Oglesby was made president of the National Lincoln Monu- ment Association organized May 11th, 1865, which labored so assidu- ously until it obtained the means to erect to the martyred president an enduring memorial worthy to mark his last resting-place, and hold the ashes of this noble man sacred. This stately monument was so far completed that it was formally dedicated, and the beautiful statue of Lincoln unveiled, October 15th, 1874. The Springfield Journal says : "There seems a peculiar propriety that Lincoln's ardent friend and admirer, the eloquent and sympathetic Oglesby, should deliver the oration, and that the President and the cabinet should lend dignity by their presence to an occasion which will soon become historic."
Gov. Oglesby was regarded by the returning regiments of soldiers with the warmest affection ; his generous " soldier heart" responded to every demand for assistance or sympathy coming from a man in federal blue. He was ever solicitous for the welfare of all military organizations, and every individual soldier embraced therein.
At the end of his first term he retired to private life ; but again, in 1872, his party required his services, and he was nominated and again elected governor in November of that year by forty-one thousand majority. On the tenth day after his inaugural he was chosen by the legislature United States Senator for the term of six years, from March fourth, 1873.
Senator Oglesby was as cordially admired and respected in the senate as in the other public positions he had occupied so honor- ably. He was an earnest and industrious inember, and his un- blemished integrity and honesty of purpose won for him the highest regard and respect from his brother senators.
" With proper modesty and fearlessness, he bore himself always as became a republican senator, proud of the noble state he repre- sented ;" and his public career was honorably closed by the expira- tion of his senatorial term on the fourth of March, 1879.
He is in private life the same sound and unswerving republican he has ever been-the same patriot,-and has the same high sense of public honor which ought to fill the breast of every man who ac- cepts the public confidence. The fidelity, courage and honesty of purpose with which Richard J. Oglesby has served his country whenever her cause has been intrusted to his hands, certainly pro- claims him worthy to bear the motto of his Scottish ancestors :
" PRO PATRIA."
He has been twice married ; first, in 1859, to Anna E., daughter of Joseph White, of Decatur ; and afterwards, in 1873, to Emma, daughter of John D. Gillett, of Elkhart. He has children by both marriages.
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
M.M.SNYDER
AfGallagher,
AMONG the many able men who have been connected with the Macon county bar none have reflected upon it, greater honor for legal learning or judicial talent, than Arthur J. Gallagher, whose death occurred in June, 1879. He was born at Strabane in the county of Tyrone, North of Ireland, on the 2d of May, 1828. He was the youngest of eight children, of whom, seven were sons and one a daughter. When he was about a year old his father came to America and settled in the city of Philadelphia. His mother died when he was five years old. He lived in Philadelphia till he was twelve. He then came West with an older brother, who established himself in the dry goods business in St. Louis. He soon afterward went to live on a farm in Illinois below St. Louis, and was also employed for a short time in a store in that part of the state. Having but little liking for life on the farm he returned to St. Louis, and for several years was a student at St. Joseph's college, where he secured a thorough education. He had previously enjoyed good school advantages in Philadelphia. He was possessed of a naturally bright and strong mind, and learned with great rapidity. He was unusually fond of reading, and as a boy, read many books, thus acquiring a mass of valnable information which a good memory cnabled him to retain in after ycars. At St. Joseph's college he studied the classic languages, and also became well acquainted with the French and German.
On the breaking out of the Mexican war in 1846, thongh then only eighteen 'years of age, he enlisted in the second regiment
Illinois volunteers, commanded by Colonel Bissel, afterward gover- nor of the state. His time of enlistment was one year, but he served fourteen months. He was at the battle of Buena Vista. After returning from the army he began the study of law at Belle- ville, in the office of Judge Underwood. He devoted his attention to his legal studies with great assiduity. Another young man was his companion in Judge Underwood's office, and it is said that for a period of six months they spent nineteen hours a day in legal study. His clear intellectual perceptions enabled him to learn casily, and he made rapid progress in preparing himself for the bar. He was admitted to practice at Belleville. In 1848 he removed to Vandalia and opened a law office. He made satisfac- tory progress in his profession, and was fortunate in securing several valuable friends, who remained steadfast in their attachment through life. In 1852 he was elected to the legislature from Fayette county. He also filled the position of Register of the United States Land Office at Vandalia, by the appointment of President Pierce.
In the year 1854 he removed to Chicago and began the practice of law in that city. After remaining there about six months he accepted the offer of a partnership with Richard J. Oglesby and Sheridan Wait, and came to Decatur where the law firm of Oglesby, Wait and Gallagher was established. He was a young man of twenty-seven when he became connected with the Macon county bar. Although gifted with brilliant talents and possessed of a
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
mind of great natural vigor, he by no means disdained the results which came from close labor and assiduous study. He devoted great attention to the preparation of his cases, and was accustomed to devote long and uninterrupted hours to patient reading and in- vestigation. It was only a question of time as to when this course of application should bear its legitimate fruits, and by degrees he won for himself a conspicuous position at the bar.
During the second year of the war of the rebellion in 1862, he raised a company of cavalry and offered his services to the govern- ment. His company was attached to the seventh Illinois regiment, commanded by Colonel William Pitt Kellogg, afterward governor of Louisiana. He remained in the army about a year. In 1869 the unanimous voice of the bar urged him to become a candidate for judge of the old sixteenth circuit. To this office he was elected without opposition. He was on the bench till 1873, when he re- sumed the practice of his profession. On the twenty-seventh of June, 1865, he was united in marriage to Miss Rachel Smith, daughter of the Hon. E. O. Smith, one of the early settlers of Macon county. One child, Arthur, was born of this marriage in November, 1870. In politics Judge Gallagher, previous to the war, acted with the democratic party. He subsequently became an earnest republican, and was consistent and devoted in his sup- port of the principles of that organization. His death occurred suddenly of heart disease at his office on the afternoon of the twenty-third of June, 1874.
The news of his death occasioned universal regret. It was every- where felt that Decatur had lost a distinguished citizen, and the Macon county bar its brightest ornament. His remains now repose in Greenwood Cemetery, and his last resting place is marked by a monument of Scotch granite, twenty-two feet in height, on which is the following inscription :
" SACRED to the memory of
ARTHUR J. GALLAGHER.
Born May 2d, 1828. Died June 23d, 1879. A soldier in the Mexican War in 1846.
A Captain of Cavalry in the War of the Rebellion in 1861. Without opposition, elected Circuit Judge of the Sixteenth Judicial Cir- cuit in 1867. He never failed a friend in time of need, and was regarded as a sure dependence by the unfortunate."
Of Judge Gallagher's qualities of head and heart too much can . not be said in praise. He possessed that rare combination of in- tellectual qualities which, when united with habits of close appli- cation, makes the able lawyer. When he first came to the bar his remarkable clearness and grasp of mind attracted the attention of older lawyers, who predicted for him great success. His industry in mastering the learning of the profession was untiring. He was sensitive to defeat, and profited by his mistakes. His success rested on pure intellectual power and thorough ability as a lawyer. He was not eloquent or fluent in speech, though few lawyers could address either the court or jury more effectively. He was logical and clear in statement, and his appeals were made to the reason rather than to sentiment or feeling. His conduct toward his brother lawyers was marked by kindness and courtesy, and he was especially considerate toward the younger members of the profes- sion. He treated his opponents with fairness and honor. It is said that an unkind word or criticism upon a brother lawyer was never heard to fall from his lips.
A just estimate of his character as a lawyer was given by his successor on the bench of the sixteenth circuit in some remarks made
on the occasion of the presentation of some resolutions to the Cir- cuit Court, relative to Judge Gallagher's death :
" As a lawyer it is not hazarding too much to say that he was the peer of any lawyer in the state. With a marvellously clear and comprehensive mind, habits of industry, a large and varied practice involving great interests, he rose rapidly to a just and honorable distinction in his profession until at last he stood among the fore- most of its known and recognized masters. The law was to him a goddess at whose shrine he constantly worshiped with the most un- relenting devotion. Here he drank deeply and freely from the fountains of learning and wisdom of the ages, until his mind be- came a storehouse filled with the ripest knowledge of his profes- sion, from which he might always draw without stint, and to the advantage of those he sought to instruct. He was never boisterous or rude to his antagonist or the court. Conscious of his strength and power he was dignified and courtcous in his intercourse with all men. Brave and determined in all things as Jove, he was yet modest and gentle as a woman. In nothing did his high character as a lawyer appear more clearly than in his sincere and honest purpose to be a faithful and correct adviser of the court."
" After winning the rewards, distinctions and honors of his pro- fession as a lawyer, he was called to the bench by the almost unani- mous voice of his district, to discharge the more arduous and responsible duties of a judge. Here it was that he justified the partiality and discernment of his friends. Every trait of his cha- racter and his education were but so many arguments in favor of his fitness for the bench. He brought to the discharge of the duties of his office the learning and experience which a large and varied practice had given him. He loved justice and right, and hated all wrong, fraud and injustice with a perfect mind. He carried to the bench that same gentle and patient quality of heart and mind, which had distinguished him at the bar above his brethren. His face was as immovable on the bench as the sphinx. No lawyer could ever tell from any manifestations of his while hearing an argument what the judgment would be. He had that rare quality of listening patiently and quietly to what was said, and determining at once between plausible error and naked truth. No man ever sat upon the bench who was more justly beloved by the bar and the people than Judge Gallagher, nor more deeply mourned by those who knew him best."
It is not alone for his distinguished ability as a jurist that Judge Gallagher's memory is worthy of preservation. He was a useful citizen and a firm believer in the rigid maintenance of law and order. He was an earnest patriot. He was a soldier of two wars, and proved his bravery on the field of battle. He was a respecter of sacred things, a believer in a Higher Power, and two or three incidents in his own life led him to think that a special supervision is exerted to preserve individuals from danger. Once in St. Louis when a boy an act of courtesy to some elderly people, prevented him from taking a ferry-boat on which otherwise he would have been a passenger. From the landing he saw the departing boat blown to fragments in mid stream. Again, in Mexico a slight cir- cumstance intervened to save himself and a comrade from assas- sination. These incidents made a strong impression on his mind. Though much away from home and exposed to the danger of travel he was without the slightest fcar of injury from any casualty. To his family he was a tender and loving husband and a kind father. He had warm and devoted friends. He maintained such admira- ble discipline over his feelings that he never offended, by a hasty or careless word, or gave a causeless wound. He was modest in his deportment, sincere in his actions, warm in his attachments and true in his friendships.
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
DR. WILLIAM J. CHENOWETH.
AMONG the physicians of this part of the state who have won distinction in the practice of their profession, Dr. William J. Chenoweth, of Decatur, stands among the foremost. He is descend- ed from one of the earliest pioneer families of Kentucky. Two brothers by the name of Chenoweth emigrated from Wales to America and settled, one in Maryland, and one in Virginia. Dr. Chenoweth belonged to the Virginia branch of the family. Rich- ard Chenoweth, his great-grandfather, accompanied General George Rogers Clark on his expedition down the Ohio river in the year 1778. Several members of the expedition, among whom was Richard Chenoweth, with their families stopped on an island at the Falls of the Ohio, near the present city of Louisville. They were unable to cultivate any crops on the main-land by reason of the In- dians, and so planted corn on the island which is still known as Corn Island. This corn is said to have been the first ever planted in Kentucky. It was only a short time previous that Boone had made the first settlement in the state. Richard Chenoweth built a cabin on Corn Island. He was a carpenter by trade, and was employed by the government to build a fort where now stands the city of Louisville. He received his pay in the old Continental money in nse during the period of the Revolution, which proved to be of little value as a purchasing medium, though it was abundant in quantity.
James Chenoweth, Dr. Chenoweth's grandfather, was five years old on the settlement of the family in Kentucky. Subsequently the Chenoweth's moved to Middletown, twelve miles from the river, where they bore their full share of the Indian troubles. James Chenowethli, when he was eleven years old, was wounded in the hip- joint by an Indian's arrow, which was not extracted till nine years afterward. In the year 1791 their cabin was attacked and de- stroyed, and several members of the family massacred. Dr. Cheno- weth's great-grandmother was scalped. Several of her children were killed. The sleeping infant was overlooked, and escaped un- harmed. His grandfather was struck by a tomahawk ; the blow fractured his skull, but he recovered without the aid of a surgeon, though till the day of his death, which took place when past his seventiethi year, he carried the marks of the wound. He married a grand-daughter of James Harrod, famous as one of the bravest of the early Kentucky pioneers, who is said to have built the first cabin ever erected in Kentucky.
John S. Chenoweth, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Shelby County, Kentucky in the year 1803. He married at Lexington, Kentucky, Elizabeth Ross, daughter of Captain Ross, a Scotchman by birth, at one time an officer in the British service, aud a man of ability and social rank at Lexington. John S. Cheno- weth was a man of great natural ability, and carried on the mer- cantile business at Louisville, and afterwards at Cincinnati, Dur- ing the last years of his life he resided at Maysville, Kentucky, and died at St. Louis in 1866.
The little town of Greensburg in Green county, Kentucky, was the birth-place of Dr. Chenoweth. He was born on the first day of December, 1823. Shortly afterward his parents moved to Harrods- burg, where he lived till twelve years of age, and obtained the rudi- mentary part of his education ; his father then removed to Louisville. He entered Augusta College in 1837. and graduated in 1841. After leaving school he entered the store which his father was carrying on at Louisville, and afterward was employed in the same manner at Cincinnati. After attaining his majority he acquired an interest in thic store. On the nineteenth of May, 1846, he married Miss America Lcforgec of Fleming county, Kentucky, daughter of Ayres Leforgee, who was of French Huguenot descent, and removed
to Kentucky from Pennsylvania. Dr. Chenoweth's wife's father is still living in Kentucky in his eighty-sixth year.
He began his medical studies while in Cincinnati, attending lec- tures at the Ohio Medical College during the winter of 1849-50. As was almost universally the custom of those days, he began prac- tice after attending his first course of lectures, locating at Fleming county, Kentucky, in March, 1850. He subsequently attended a second course of lectures at the University of Louisville, front which he was graduated in March, 1853. The same year he left Kentucky with the intention of making his home in Texas, but found that his sentiments on the subject of slavery differed greatly from the views entertained by the great mass of the people of that section, and concluded that he would prefer to make his home in a free state. Accordingly in May, 1854, he came to Decatur, then a town of five or six hundred inhabitants, with two railroads, just reaching completion, and supposed to have a great future be- fore it. He at once established himself in practice at Decatur, which has been his home ever since.
In September, 1861, during the war of the rebellion, he was com- missioned as surgeon of the Thirty-fifth Illinois regiment, and served in Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. He took part in the battles of Pea Ridge and Perryville. He resigned in December, 1862, and returned to Decatur to resume his professional practice.
In his early life he was a member of the Democratic party. Though born and raised in a slave state, he held liberal views on the subject of slavery. He favored the colonization of the negroes and the gradual extinction of a system which he believed to be injurious to the best interests of the south. Previous to the war he belonged to the Douglas branch of the Democratic party, and from the position of a strong war Democrat during the rebellion, he logically found his way into the Republican party, with which he has since acted. He has been connected with the Methodist church, though his views on many theological points differ materially from the doctrine maintained by the Methodist denomination. He has two children, Dr. Cassidy Chenoweth, and Eliza, wife of R. H. Piper.
From the start Dr. Chenoweth has maintained a leading position among the physicians of Decatur. His specialties have been surgery, and female diseases. For many years he was a part- ner of Dr. S. T. Trowbridge, then the leading surgeon in this part of the state, and has since had a large practice in surgery, in the course of which he has performed some of the most difficult opera- tions known to this department of the healing art. It is sometimes said, that no man does anything well unless in love with his work. Dr. Chenoweth's great liking for his profession may account in some measure for his success. He has been an enthusiastic student, and among the first to take advantage of the latest reliable results of pro- gressive medical science. In all matters concerning his profession he has taken a deep interest. To him, in connection with Dr. A. R. Small, is principally due the passage of the law of 1877, to regulate the practice of medicine in the state of Illinois, admitting to practice only graduates of medical colleges, physicians of ten years standing, and those capable of passing an examination before a state board of examiners. His attention was called to the subject from the perusal of a similar provision in the laws of California. Other physicians became interested in the measure, and its passage was finally secured. With a strong and vigorous mind, a sound and well-balanced judgment, and an impulsive and earnest nature, he has not only been successful as a physician, but had he chosen, could have won distinction in other fields. His management of a paper, which he published for a year at Decatur, showed marked literary ability. On the few occasions on which he lias addressed
Am. J. Chenoweth
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
public assemblies, he has displayed an excellent command of language, and a strong, earnest and effective style as a public speaker. He has been one of the public-spirited citizens of Decatur, an advocate of improvemeut, and in all the relations of life has sustained the reputation of an honorable man.
DR. CASSIDY CHENOWETH
WHO for the last five years has been a partner of his father, in the practice of medicine, was born on the twenty-eiglith of March, 1848. His education was obtained in the common schools of Decatur. He began the study of medicine at the age of fourteen. He entered Rush Medical College at Chicago, in the fall of 1867, and graduated in the spring of 1869. When he received his diploma, he was not quite twenty-one years of age. He began practice at Decatur, and in August, 1875, went iuto partnership with his father. Part of the year 1874 he spent in England, en- gaged in professional studies in different hospitals in the city of London. He was married on the first day of November, 1870, to Miss Hattie M. Honn of Chicago. He is an aggressive Republican in politics.
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