History of Madison County, Illinois With biographical sketches, Part 89

Author: Brink, W.R. & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Edwardsville, Ill. : W. R. Brink & co.
Number of Pages: 698

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prominent man, was a member of the Territorial Legisla- ture, and a member of the convention that framed the constitu- tion for the State in 1818. He was a Democrat and a strong Jackson man. He removed to Quincy, which was then a trading post, and there died, June 12th, 1836. He married Martha Harris, who was also of English ancestry. She was born in Norwich, Connectient, and died in 1823, leaving twin children, Thomas J. and John A .; the date of their birth was May 4th, 1822. John A. received his primary education in the log school-houses of the pioneer days of Illinois, where he learned to read, write and calculate ordi- nary examples in arithmetic. He always had a passionate love for study, and read every book that fell into his hands, and being blessed with a very retentive memory, soon acquired a knowledge of algebra, physics, chemistry, and

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

the Latin language. His education therefore was mainly acquired by self-culture. The habits of study formed and nurtured in his youth still abide with him, and through life he has read voluminously and closely, books upon scientific sub- jects, travels, memoirs, and the authors of the past and present. His library, comprising over one thousand volumes, contains many rare books, and the standard authors, and all exhibit refined taste, and excellent judgment in their selection.

After the death of his father he was placed in charge of an uncle, who was a lawyer by profession, and who designed to prepare young Prickett for entrance upon the profession, but owing to domestic tyranny, he ran away and engaged as a cabin-boy on a steam-boat. Before he entered upon his engagement, however, he was intercepted by his brother, who prevailed upon him to return home, offering as an in- ducement that he should attend school. He returned, en- tered school, studied diligently, and made rapid progress, un- der the idea that he was a burden to others, and above all things he desired to be self-supporting. He left school and entered upon an apprenticeship to learn the saddlery and harness trade, which he followed closely for six years. About that time the Mexican war broke out He was induced by Gov. Ford and other friends, to assist in raising a company of men for the service. He complied with their request, the company was raised, and enlisted for one year, and upon its organization he was elected First Lieuten- ant. It became known as Co. E, of the 2d Regiment of Illinois Vols., Colonel, afterwards Governor Bissell, com- manding. Mr. Prickett remained with the regiment, and participated in the battles and skirmishes in which it was engaged up to and including the battle of Buena Vista, where he was wounded, the bullet shattering his left shoul- der. In consequence of the wound he returned home before his enlistment expired. In 1847 he was elected Recorder of Deeds, a position he held for two years. In 1849, he

was elected County Clerk, and twice became his own succes- sor, and held the office for twelve years. His official career was marked by a close attention to the business of the office and an honest and faithful discharge of the duties apper- taining thereto. In 1864 he purchased a flouring mill in Edwardsville, which he operated until it was destroyed by fire. In 1869, he embarked in the banking business, in which he still continues in connection with his sons, under the firm name of J. A. Prickett & Sons.

Politically, Mr. Prickett was originally a Whig, and voted that ticket until 1855, when he became a Democrat, and from that time to the present has been active in support of the principles of that party. In matters of religious belief he subscribes to none of the formulated creeds or dogmas, but believes that the truths enunciated and enjoined by the teachers of old and reiterated by our Saviour, are perfectly adapted to the wants of man, and that from them have grown manifold blessings that are enjoyed by the human family. He is a member of the orders of A. F. and A. M. and I. O O. F., and is the only surviving charter member of the Odd Fellows, instituted in Edwardsville in 1849.

Mr. Prickett was Chairman of the first Board of Super- visors under township organization, and the first Mayor of the city of Edwardsville.

In 1847 he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth M., daughter of Julius L. and Mary M. (Gonterman) Barns- back, a native of Madison county. Mr. Barnsback was a native of Germany, educated at the University of Gottin- gen, and emigrated to America early in this century. They have five children living, Clara J., wife of W. H. Jones, Jule L., Minna M., wife of Cyrus Happy, Harry E., and Jessie E. This is but a brief sketch of Mr. Prickett. His life has been one of energy and industry, by the aid of which he has risen to an enviable and honorable position in life.

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

355

Il Grofoman

WAS born in London, England, September 29th, 1828. In 1834 he came with his parents to America, and settled in New York City. While yet a mere boy, he came west to Cincinnati, and there learned the printer's trade. In 1854 he removed to Alton, in Madison county, and engaged in the printing business, as foreman of the Alton Telegraph. The Telegraph office was subsequently sold ont to Geo. T. Brown of the Alton Courier, and Mr. Crossman became superintendent of the office. During his connection with the Courier it was one of the best equipped offices in Illinois, and did a large business in book and commercial printing. Subsequently, in connection with others, he published that paper for a short time. In 1860, at his suggestion and earnest solicitation, the Alton Telegraph was revived, and he became one of the proprietors, under the name of L. A. Parks & Co. In the establishment of the Daily Telegraph also he took an active part, and secured sufficient subscribers by personal solicitation to guarantee its success. Parks & Crossman coutinued together until 1864, when the latter withdrew. He then, in connection

with James H. Hibbard, established a job office, and con- tinued job printing until 1869, when he removed the office to Edwardsville, and here established the Edwardsville Re- publican, with which he was connected until his death, which occurred June 17, 1875. Mr Crossman was a dis- tinguished member of the Masonic fraternity, and belonged to the several orders of Blue, Royal Arch, Cryptic and Templar Masonry. In religious faith he was a Methodist, and attached himself to that religious organization in 1862. He took a great interest in Sunday-school work, and was superintendent of the M. E. Sunday-school in this city and in Alton for a number of years. On the 27th of February, 1849, he was united in marriage with Miss Ellen Alice Mor- gan, with whom he lived happily until Jnly, 1873, when she died. Eigbt children were the offspring of that marriage, five of whom still survive the parents. Their names in the order of their births are: Charles C., Thomas M., William R., Kate, Ellen E., Eva, Samuel V., Jr., and Edward V. Cross- mau.

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

ALITTLE

A NATIVE of Virginia, was born May 2, 1814, and is the son of Tilghman H. West and Mary A. nee Mitchell. His ancestors emigrated from England to Maryland, previous to the Revolution. His paternal great-grandfather held an office under the British government, and when war was declared returned to England ; but his grandfather, Benja- min West, and his mother's father, Edward Mitchell, entered the service under General Washington, and con- tinued till the close of the revolutionary war. The history and many incidents of the war, as related by his grand- fathers, made a strong impression on the youthful mind of the subject of this sketch. His father, who was a large slaveholder, becoming dissatisfied with the institution of slavery, manumitted his slaves, and in 1818 removed to Illinois, and settled four miles west of Belleville, which contained about half-a-dozen houses. Here he was assisted

in building perhaps the first school-house erected in the county.

The hardships incident to a frontier life, instead of dis- couraging, tended to strengthen the resolution to succeed in life, and gave to him when a boy, that decision of character which has marked his life. There is nothing more instruc- tive and significant than a record of the early experiences and influences which develop the character and direct the lives of snecessful men. When only twelve years of age, he was hoeing corn in the field, and there passed along the road near where he was at work, Governor Ninian Edwards and two other gentlemen, one a lawyer, the other an office- holder under the general government. They were talking of General Jackson and Henry Clay as having risen from farmers to men of the highest standing and influence. Then and there the boy determined, that if unfailing effort ou

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

his part would achieve success, he would do so, and he never lost sight of the object to be attained. Leaving home the next year, he spent two years in the recorder's office in Springfield, and recorded all the deeds made in Sangamon county during that time, also attended to the post-office, and cultivated the garden of his employer.

In 1833 he obtained a clerkship in the land office in Ed- wardsville, in the office of William P. McKee, register, where he spent two years, working fourteen hours a day, at a salary of twelve dollars a month. Saving one-third of his wages, and having acquired a knowledge of book-keep- ing, he opened a store in Edwardsville in the early spring of 1835. With almost no capital except industry and energy, and with a sense of rectitude which governed all his thoughts and actions, he had so trained his mind to right thinking, and his will to right feeling and right doing, that it became a part of his intellectual and moral nature. He soon established the reputation of a reliable business man, and by industry, fair dealing, pleasant manners and prompt attention to all the details of his business, built up the largest trade in the town.

Since the year 1824 there had been no bank in Ed- wardsville, and the business in the town having largely increased, the want of such an institution was felt; and in 1867, in connection with his son-in-law, Major William R. Prickett, he erected a fine building, and established the banking house of West & Prickett. The institution has ample capital, and is conducted on strict business princi- ples, and has met with that success which must follow a business conducted on a sound basis and honorable dealing. In the financial panic of 1873, when almost every bank in the county suspended payments, the house of West & Prickett continued to pay and to discount as usual during the whole time; and at the close of the panic the number of their depositors was largely increased, and they had more money in their vaults than at the beginning.

Notwithstanding his elose attention to business, Mr. West has devoted much time to reading and self-culture. An earnest student, and with great fondness for literature, he has collected a fine library, comprising some choice and rare books. Among them may be found Ossian's poems, Herodotus, Plato, Locke, Sir William Hamilton's Meta-

physics, Bacon, Brown's Philosophy, Thiers, Wiseman, La- martine, Guizot, De Tocqueville and others. In recognition of his literary attainments the board of trustees and faculty of the oldest college in the state conferred on him the de- gree of Master of Arts. When the Illinois National Guards was being formed he was commissioned captain in the 15th Battalion. In political affairs Mr. West has taken an active interest, and has received many expressions of confidence from his fellow-citizens; he has been a candidate for office fifteen times, and with two exceptions, has always been elected. He was a member of the State Constitutional Con- vention in 1848, and took an active part in the debates of that body. and commanded the respect of the members of the convention. He was on the finance committee, and it was by his efforts in that committee that the article for the payment of the state debt was reported, and by its opera- tion the state debt was paid. He also drafted the article "On Counties," by which a stop was put to the evil of dividing counties and removing county seats. His ambi- tion, however, has not been for political distinction, pre- ferring rather the pursuits of business and the quiet of domestic life. In business he has been remarkably suc- cessful, never having had but one suit at law in the county, where he has been in constant business nearly fifty years.

In politics he was formerly a Whig, but since that party became extinct, has acted with the Democratic party. For years he has been an active and prominent member of the Methodist church, and for fifty years engaged in Sunday- school work. In 1835 he was married to Miss Julia A. Atwater, in whom he found a worthy companion and wife, for fifty-two years. Only three of his children arrived at age: Virginia, wife of Major W. R. Prickett, Mary, wife of W. F. L. Hadley, and Norah, the youngest, who is with him at home.

Mr. West is now sixty-eight years of age, and although possessed of ample means, may be found every day at his place of business, with the energy and quickness of a man of fifty years. A man of pleasing address ; social and hos- pitable ; generous and liberal in his sentiments ; retaining the activity, vivacity and cheerfulness of youth, his life re- veals the success that may be attained by self-reliance, integrity and persevering industry.

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

David belleapie

WAS born in Edwardsville, Ill., September 30, 1828. He was the eldest child of Matthew and Nancy (Gordon) Gil- lespie. His mother died during his early childhood. David in his youth had but few of the advantages for obtaining an education that are now enjoyed by nearly every child in the land. The State was then in its infancy, and the school system but imperfectly operated. His education was there- fore mainly obtained at the select or subscription schools, with a short time spent at Shurtleff College. As a boy or man he was always a careful student, and by his industry acquired a vast fund of general information. So thorough and complete was his system of study that he could at any time call to mind and into practical use anything that he had ever read or learned. He had a remarkably retentive memory, and was well-versed in the sciences and literature of the day. He was in the broadest and most liberal sense of the term a self-made man, which, in after years, was fully demonstrated by his powers of clear thinking, prac- tical reasoning and self-reliance. Several years before he had attained his majority he had conceived the idea that he would like to follow the profession of law. He accordingly

became a student of law in the office and under the direc- tion of his uncle Joseph Gillespie. Here he obtained the mental food that stimulated his active mind. The intrica- cies of the proper government and conduct of man with his fellow man, as laid down by Blackstone, Kent, Story, and other eminent jurists, found a fertile field in the mind of the young student ; and on arriving at twenty-one years of age he was admitted to practice at the bar. He had, however, previously attended a course at the law school in Cincinnati, Ohio. From the time of his enrollment as an attorney-at-law until the day of his death he was actively employed in his chosen profession.

Few, if any, lawyers ever practised at the bar in Madison county who were more thoroughly acquainted with the phil- osophy and intricacies of the law than he. As a lawyer he worked with zeal and energy for the cause of his client, but he would never resort to any unfair or unlawful means to win a case. He became a successful practitioner from the fact that he possessed legal abilities of a high order, and by his honesty and integrity won the confidence of judges and juries. He participated in several important causus celebre,

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

which have shed lustre upon the jurisprudence of the State of Illinois. As an advocate he was both witty and logical, and when his full powers were aroused and called into requi- sition in the interests of his client, his language became not only ornate, but truly eloquent.

In 1861 he was appointed Master in Chancery, a position he filled with credit for twelve successive years. While discharging the duties of that office, he was further honored by being elected to the office of County Judge, which position he filled from December, 1865, to December, 1869. With all the multiplicity of duties devolving upon him as Master in Chancery, he never neg- lected his extensive law practice, and at the same time made a record as County Judge that his friends may point to with pride, as being among the purest and most economical in the history of Madison county.

His death occurred at his home in Edwardsville, after a very brief illness, on the evening of August 1st, 1881.

He was married to Miss Minna A. Barnsback, October 8th, 1855. She was the daughter of the late Julius L. Barns- back. His widow, two sons and two daughters survive him.

In his social and family relations, he was one of the purest and best of men-ever true to his friends and to the principles that he believed to be right. In politics, he was a Republican.

JOSIAS RANDLE

WAS born in Brunswick county, Virginia, Oct. 1st, 1766. Entered the itinerant ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church in early life. Removed to the state of Georgia in 1790, and was married to Miss Ann Thorn in 1795. Hle continued an itinerant minister in Georgia until 1810.

Becoming dissatisfied with the institution of slavery, and unwilling to raise his family in a slave state, he removed to Illinois territory in 1811, and settled on a tract of land, one and a half miles south of the present city of Edwardsville.

There were at that time only two counties in the ter- ritory, Randolph and St. Clair. St. Clair was the northern frontier. Soon after, however, these counties were divided, and Madison county was organized, embracing all the nor- thern frontier. Mr. Randle was appointed by Gov. Ninian Edwards to the offices of clerk of the county, and circuit court and county recorder.

In 1818 the state government was formed, and he was re- appointed to the same offices by Gov. Bond. Soon after his second appointment, a great speculation sprang up in what was called the " Military district " of lands granted to sol- diers, which so increased the business in the recorder's office | obligation made by him.

that he resigned the clerkship and confined himself to the duties of the recorder's office, which he continued to hold until his death, which occurred on the 15th January, 1824, from acute inflammation of the lungs.

His family consisted of eight children, seven sons and one daughter. Four of the sons died in early life. Rev. Barton Randle, the oldest son, died in Staunton, Macoupin county, January 2, 1882, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. Rev. Richard Randle, the second son, now in his eighty- fourth year, resides in Taylorville. The daughter, Mrs. M. P. Ripley, lives in Staunton, Illinois ; and Doctor Peter W. Randle resides in San Francisco, Cal.

Mr. Randle's name occurs in the history of the M. E. Church of Madison county, as a prominent and influential local minister from 1811 to 1824, the time of his death.

He was a warm and intimate friend of Hon. Wm. H. Craw- ford of Georgia, and deeply deplored the difficulty which existed between Mr. Crawford and Governor Edwards, when Crawford was secretary of the treasury in Monroe's ad- ministration, and which led to the recall of Gov. Edwards whilst on his way as minister to Mexico.

Mr Randle was of a genial disposition, fine presence, and enlarged hospitality. His death was deeply felt and de- plored by all who knew him, and indeed by all the citizens of the county.

ROBERT BOSOMWORTH

WAS born in Yorkshire, England. He is the son of George and Alice (Wright) Bosomworth. His mother died in Eng- land. In 1854 he emigrated to America and brought his father with him, who died the same year. Mr. Bosomworth is the only survivor of the family. He settled in Spring- field, Ohio, stayed there but a short time, then came west to Morgan county, Illinois, where he remained two years. In 1856 he came to Madison county, and in 1866 bought 160 acres of woodland, where he now lives, cleared it and opened a farm, and there he still remains. On

the 10th of June, 1829, he married Hannah Porter, who was born in Sussex, England, June 30, 1805. By this mar- riage there were eight children, five of whom are living. George, John, and Robert are dead. Charles lives in Ma- coupin county. Mary, Alice, William, and James are the names of those living. Politically Mr. Bosomworth has been and is yet a Republican. He has all his life been a hard working man of industrious habits. He has been a resident of the county since 1856, and in that time has made many acquaintances, who all know him as an honest upright man, who at all times strives to do his duty, and fulfil every

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

LITTLE

M. S. Dacap

CHARLES DALE, an ancestor, was a native of England, who in 1690 removed to Ireland. Samuel Dale, his grandson, and grandfather of M. G. Dale, emigrated from Ireland to America in 1766, and settled in Chester county, Pennsyl- vania. In the revolutionary war he espoused the patriot cause, and the records show that he took an early and active part in the defense of colonial rights. He was an earnest advocate of the rights of the people, and was a member of the House or Senate of Pennsylvania for twenty years. The visitor to the State Capital at Harrisburg, will see on the walls of the Governor's room, in appropriate frames, sundry documents kept as precious relics of the early days of the Commonwealth. They are original commissions issued to the Presidents and Vice Presidents of that com- monwealth: One to Joseph Reed as President, and William Moore as Vice President in 1782, in the seventh year of the commonwealth, one to the eloquent and gifted John Dicker- son as President and James Irvine as Vice President in 1784, and one to Benjamin Franklin as President and Charles Biddle as Vice President in 1786. These are signed by the members of the General Assembly and Su- preme Executive Council of the commonwealth, convened in the State House at Philadelphia, and the name of

Samuel Dale, the grandfather of M. G. Dale, is subscribed to each.

In 1769 Samuel Dale married Ann, daughter of Samuel Futhey, of Chester connty, Pennsylvania. She died in 1835 at the age of eighty four-years. Nine children were the offspring of that marriage, among whom was Samuel F., father of M. G. Dale. He, too, spent years in public life ; was commissioned lieutenant colonel of militia when scarce of age. He represented the counties of Mercer and Ve- nango for many years in the Pennsylvania Legislature. He disciplined and commanded a regiment on the northern frontier in the war of 1812. He devoted much time during his life to the various positions he held as president or trus- tee of literary and benevolent institutions. He also served as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and Oyer and Terminer of Lancaster county, from 1819 to 1842. He married Eliza, daughter of Michael Gundaker, an extensive and successful merchant of Lancaster City. Her father was the son of Michael and Ann Gundaker (maiden name Smith), from Nassau, Germany ; her mother was Barbara Walter, of York Pennsylvania, daughter of Henry and Magdalena Walter (maiden name Myers), from Basle, Switzerland.

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

Michael G. Dale, whose name heads this memoir, was born in Lancaster city, Pennsylvania. His youth was spent in the schools of his native city, except one year in attend- ance at West Chester Academy, in Chester county. He entered Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg and graduated in the class of 1835, delivering the Latin salutatory of that year. «An honor which might well be highly appreciated by him was conferred by Pennsylvania College in electing him to preside on the 28th of June, 1882, at the semi-centennial celebration of that Institution. The large attendance, the character of the addresses and the varied exercises made it an occasion of interest. His remarks on taking the chair are favorably noticed in several numbers of the "College Monthly." He commenced the study of law in Lancaster, and was admitted to the bar there in 1837.

Traveling in Illinois in 1838, he was retained at Green- ville, Bond county, as counsel in a suit. His success led him to be employed in others. This induced him to remain in Greenville and open a law office. The next year, 1839 he was elected Probate Judge, an office held for, fourteen years or during his subsequent residence in Bond county.

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History of Madison County, Illinois With biographical sketches, Part 89

Author: Brink, W.R. & Co Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Edwardsville, Ill. : W. R. Brink & co. Number of Pages: 698

Author: Brink, W.R. & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Edwardsville, Ill. : W. R. Brink & co.
Number of Pages: 698