History of Sangamon County, Illinois, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 19

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Inter-state publishing company
Number of Pages: 1084

USA > Illinois > Sangamon County > History of Sangamon County, Illinois, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 19

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

In 1874, Mr. Springer was elected Represent- ative to Congress for the Twelfth District, com- posed of the counties of Cass, Christian, Menard, Morgan, Sangamon and Scott, and re-elected in 1876, 1878 and 1880, being nominated the first time on the first ballot, and each subsequent time by acclamation, the delegations from each county being instructed to support him. This, in the face of the fact that Sangamon county has furnished the Representative from this district for twenty years consecutively, speaks well for the popularity of the present incumbent. In the Forty-fourth Congress, Mr. Springer was a mem- ber of several important committees. When the bill was introduced, in that session, to grant a million and a half dollars by the Government to the Centennial Commissioners, Mr. Springer offered an amendment, that upon the close of the Exposition and the sale of the property, the Government should be reimbursed by that amount from the proceeds before any dividend could be made to the stockholders. The bill became a law, as amended. The Centennial

Board attempted to evade the payment of the money into the United States Treasury, through a supposed defect in Mr. Springer's amendment clause, but he, being selected by the Attorney- General to prosecute the cause, fought it through the United States Supreme Court, and obtained a verdict sustaining the act, and recovering to the Government fifteen hundred thousand dol- lars. For this valuable labor he has not, as yet, received a dollar compensation, though he has asked Congress to allow him to go before the Court of Claims and prove the value of his ser- vices.

In the Forty-fifth Congress Mr. Springer served on several prominent committees, among them the Potter Election Committee and the committee to investigate Mr. Seward's official records while Minister to China, and which re- ported twelve articles of impeachment against him. In the same Congress Mr. Springer bolted the cancus nomination of his party and supported General Shields against Mr. Field, the party nominee.

Ile was the only Democratic member from the Northwest who voted against the Birchard and Hardridge resolutions, declaring that neither the courts nor Congress possessed the power to dis- turb Mr. Hayes' Presidential title, his action creating great excitement at the time. Mr. Springer believed that a wrong had been done in giving Mr. Hayes the Presidency, while he opposed all revolutionary measures, thought the Government had the power to right that wrong. Mr. Springer was the Chairman of the Commit- tee on Elections in the Forty-sixth Congress, and opposed the majority of his party in their effort to unseat Representative W. D. Wash. burne, of Minnesota, and substitute Ignatius Donnelly in his stead. He thought the claim of Mr. Donnelly unjust and the proceedings dis- honest; and although great pressure was brought to bear, through threats and slanderous charges of bribery, from which he was triumphantly vin- dicated, to coerce him to support the measure, he persistently opposed it, and was conspicuous in its defeat. The object of the movement was to secure a Democratic majority in the House, so that the party could elect the President in 1880, in case it should be thrown into the House of Representatives.

Mr. Springer married the daughter of Rev. Calvin W. Ruter, a prominent Methodist clergy- man of Indiana. They have but one child, Wil- liam Ruter Springer, aged eighteen years, who was graduated from a private military academy in Virginia in 1880. Notwithstanding her deli-

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cate health, Mrs. Springer is an author of recog- nized ability. The most noted productions of her pen are "Beech Wood," which appeared several years ago, and "Self," published in 1881, both from the press of Lippincott, of Philadel- phia. She has also contributed a number of poems to the columns of current magazines.

William E. Shutt, Attorney, of the law firm of Palmers, Robinson & Shutt, was born in Water- ford, Louden county, Virginia, May 5, 1840. Ilis parents, Jacob and Caroline (Leslie) Shutt, moved to the city of Springfield in November, 1842. They were natives of Louden county, Virginia. Father died here in 1866, mother in in 1865. Mr. Shutt was educated in the city schools, and read law with Judge James H. Ma- theny, and was admitted to the Bar in 1862, commencing practice immediately. In 1864 he was elected City Attorney on the Democratic tieket; was chosen Mayor of the city in 1868, by the same party In 1874 he was elected to the State Senate, for four years ; and was re-elected in 1878, his official term expiring in 1882. The law firm of Robinson, Knapp & Shutt was formed July 1, 1869, composed of Hon. James C. Rob- inson, Anthony L. Knapp and Mr. Shutt; and has existed until the death of Mr. Knapp, in May, 1881, after which Robinson & Shutt formed a part- nership with J. M. and J. Mayo Palmer, under the firm name of Palmers, Robinson & Shutt.

Robert L. MeGuire of the firm of MeGuire, Hamilton & Salzenstein, is a native of Missouri, and was born in 1833. He graduated from the Missouri University at Columbia, in the class of 1857. Subsequently he followed the calling of a teacher. In 1861 he came to Springfield, read law and was admitted to the Bar in 1862. He formed a partnership with James H. Matheny in 1866, previous to which time he practiced law alone. This partnership continued until 1874. In May, 1878, he formed a partnership with L. F. Hamilton, and later Mr. Salzenstein was admitted, forming the present firm.

Leonidas II. Bradley, of the firm of Bradley & Bradley, Lawyers, 117} South Fifth street, was born in Galia county, Ohio, July 23, 1841. He is one of a family of four sons and a daugh- ter, of Lewis and Nancy C. Bradley nee Knox, of New York, and the State of Delaware, respec- tively. In 1852 they moved to Clark county, Illinois, where the senior Bradley died in March, 1880, and where the widow and several of the family now reside. Leonidas was educated at Marshall, Illinois, and Ohio Wesleyan Univer- sity, in Delaware, from which he was graduated in the classical course in 1861, being less than

twenty years of age. He at once commenced the study of law with Judge Charles H. Constable, in Marshall, Illinois; in August, 1862, enlisted as a private in the 130th Illinois Infantry. Upon the consolidation with the 77th regiment he was made Quartermaster Sergeant and filled that office till discharged after the close of the war. In October, 1865, Mr. Bradley married Miss Abi- gal L., daughter of Hon. Uri Manley, an early settler and prominent lawyer of Marshall. Soon after retiring from the army Mr. Bradley was ad- mitted to the Bar, settled in Springfield and formed a partnership with W. P. Olden, which continued till June, 1872, when Mr. Olden retired and Isaac K. Bradley took his place. Mr. Bradley has been ardently devoted to his profession, paying little attention to politics, but was elected a member of the Board of Supervisors in 1871, and in 1872 chosen to the City Council; was a candidate, against his wish, for County Judge on the Republican, ticket, but the county being strongly Democratie, was beaten. He was ap- pointed Assistant United States District Attor- ney in 1869, did efficient service in prosecuting fraudulent distillers in this district; resigned in 1871. Ile enjoys an extensive practice in the Chancery and United States Courts. His mar- riage with Miss Manley has resulted in a family of three sons and three daughters, one of the latter deceased.

Isaac K. Bradley was also born in Galia county, Ohio, and is a little more than thirty-two years old. He attended school at Marshall and at Leb- anon, Illinois, completing the classical course in 1869; read law with Messrs. Bradley & Olden, in Springfield; was admitted in May, 1870; be- gan practice as a member of the law firm of Bradley, Olden & Bradley, in 1871. Since Mr. Olden's retirement, the following year, the brothers have continued under the present firm title, and have a large law business in the several courts.

Thomas G. Prickett, lawyer, is the second of five children of Hon. David and Charlotte G. Prickett, and was born in Springfield, December 23, 1837. He was educated at Charlottsville Seminary, from which he graduated in 1858; entered the army with the rank of Captain, in 1862; served about two and one-half years on General MeClernand's staff; read law under the preceptorship of General John A. McClernand; graduated with the title of Bachelor of Laws, from the law department of Michigan State Uni- versity, in 1865; was admitted to the Bar in March, 1865; was elected City Attorney in 1866, and again in 1868. Mr. Prickett was elected

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Alderman from the Third ward in 1874, and again in 1876, serving four years in all.

The two brothers and two sisters own and re- side in the old homestead, opposite the State Capitol, erected by Hon. George Forquer over fifty years ago. The premises include three acres of land, beautifully situated on the corner of Capitol avenue and Second street.

Norman L. Freeman is the present Reporter of the Supreme Court of Illinois, which office he has held, by appointment from that court, since April, 1863.

Ile is a native of Livingston county, New York, and was born May 9, 1823. His parents, Truman Freeman and Hannah Down, were na- tives of New Hampshire, and prior to their re- moval to the State of New York, had for many years been residents of the city of Concord. After the death of the father, in 1824, the mother, with the younger members of her family, moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she resided many years. While a mere boy, young Norman entered the store of David Cooper, a leading merchant of Detroit, where he remained about three years. Leaving Detroit, he spent a few months in Cleveland, as a clerk, and then entered an academy near that city, from which he passed to Ohio University, at Athens, at which institution he completed his literary education. Upon leaving the university, he went to Kentucky, and for several years taught school in the vicinity of Lexington. While still a teacher he pursued his law studies, and in the winter of 1845-6 entered the law office of Kirtland & Seymour, at Waterford, New York, and in the spring of 1846 returned to Kentucky, was admitted to the Bar at Lex- ington, and began practicing his profession in Morganfield, Union county, in that State. In 1849 he was married to Miss Tranquilla Riche- son, daughter of Alfred Richeson and Elizabeth Dabney Williamson. To them were born five children, four of whom survive, three daughters and one son. In 1851 we find him practicing his profession at Shawneetown, Illinois, where he remained until his removal to Springfield in 1864. In 1855 he published his Digest of the Illinois Reports, in two volumes, a work which went far to establish his reputation as a lawyer and law writer. During the time he has held his present office, he has issued sixty-six volumes of reports-a greater number, it is believed, than has been issued by any other American reporter.

Until the disorganization of that party, Mr. Freeman was a Henry Clay Whig, but since that time his political affiliations have been with the

Democracy. Modest, genial, erudite-a good lawyer, an excellent Court Reporter, and a wor- thy citizen.

Richmond Wolcott is a native of Illinois, and was born in Morgan county, January 10, 1840. He was educated at Jacksonville, where his par- ents moved at an early day, and graduated from Illinois College in the Class of 1859. In 1861, he enlisted as a private in the Tenth Illinois Infantry; was promoted to First Lieutenant, and then Captain. He served until September, 1864, when he resigned and returned to Jacksonville, and resumed the study of law, which he com- menced before he entered the army. In June, 1865, he was admitted to practice, and at once located in Springfield, since which time he has actively engaged in the practice of his profession. He married Jennie Salter, July 11, 1865, by whom he has had two daughters. In politics, Mr. Wolcott is a Republican.

Thomas C. Mather, of Scholes & Mather, has been practicing law in Springfield since the spring of 1865, and has been a member of the present firm since 1871. He first read law with Ilay, Cullom & Campbell, and then attended the law department of Michigan State University, where he completed the course of studies in that institution, in the spring of 1864. He then en- tered the office of a law firm in Chicago, where he remained until the spring of 1865, when he was admitted to practice in the courts of this State, and at once returned to Springfield. Mr. Mather received his literary education in the schools of Springfield, and a partial course in Illinois College, at Jacksonville. His parents dying in his infancy, he was reared by Colonel Mather, since deceased. He is now thirty-nine years of age, and since infancy his home has been in Sangamon county.

Clinton L. Conkling, Attorney and Counselor at law, is a native of Springfield, Illinois, born October 16, 1843. Ile was educated in Yale College, from which he was graduated in the class of 1864. Clinton studied law in the office of his father, Hon. James C. Conkling, of Springfield, and was licensed to practice in the courts of Illinois, November 23, 1866, and the United States in January, 1867. After practic- ing a few years he turned his attention to the manufacturing business, but in 1877 resumed the duties of his profession to which he now gives his whole time, devoting special attention to chancery and real estate law, and to the set- tlement of estates. For some years Mr. Conk- ling was secretary of the Lincoln Monument Association, and has been an active member of

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the fraternity of Odd Fellows in Central Illi- nois, besides being identified with other and similar benevolent societies. He has also been a member of the Board of Supervisors of the county, two terms. In his real estate practice he represents large land interests in this and other States.

In 1867 Mr. Conkling united in marriage with Miss Georgie Barrell, and they now have a family of two danghters, Georgie B. Conkling, and Kate Conkling, aged eight and six years re- spectively.

Lloyd F. Hamilton, of the firm of McGuire, Hamilton & Salzenstein, is a Kentuckian by birth, but was raised in Tazewell county, Illi- nois, his mother having emigrated to that county while he was yet an infant. His father died before they came to this State. He began to study law in 1864, with Judge Schofield, of Mar- shall, Illinois, and the following year entered the Law Department of Michigan University, where he remained one year. Hle then entered the Law Department of the Chicago University, where he graduated in 1866. During the same year he passed a successful examination before the Supreme Court of Illinois and was admitted to practice. Selecting Springfield as a home, he moved to that city and opened an office and has since continued to practice here. In 1872 he was elected States' Attorney and served four years, and was highly successful as a pros- ecutor. Previous to this, during the municipal year of 1869-70, he was City Attorney of Spring- field. Mr. Hamilton has studiously devoted himself to the practice of his profession and stands well with the Bar.

James W. Patton was born February 15, 1840, near Auburn, Sangamon county, Illinois. When but eight years old his father died, leaving his mother with two other children younger than himself. Ilis mother's maiden name was Eliza- beth A. Moore, and she now resides upon the family homestead near the place of his birth. Ilis grandfather, James Patton, was among the first settlers of Sangamon county, having emi- grated from Christian county, Kentucky, in the spring of 1820.

Mr. Patton remained with his mother on the farm until he was sixteen, when he spent two or three years away from home at school. Upon his return he was engaged in teaching for a while. In 1860 he entered the law firm of Messrs. Hay & Cullom, of Springfield, with whom he studied until admitted to the Bar. After that he was engaged with his brother, Matthew Patton in merchandising at Auburn.

At the Presidential election of 1864, he was elected one of the Representatives of Sangamon and Logan counties to the legislature. In April 1866, he located in Springfield, and commenced the practice of his profession.

December 9, 1869, he was married to Francine E. daughter of Hon. Charles H. Lanphier, of Springfield. Mr. Patton has devoted himself to the practice of his chosen profession, in which he has been successful.

Samuel D. Scholes, of the firm of Scholes & Mather, is a native of Peoria county, Illinois, and was born in 1841. He was educated in Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, and began reading law with Johnson & Hopkins, of Peoria. When the war commenced he enlisted and served as Orderly Sergeant in the three months' service, and afterwards as First Lieu- tenant in the three years' service, in the 14th Illinois Infantry. At the close of the war, in 1865, he again returned to his law books, and in January, 1866, was admitted to the Bar, and commenced practice in Springfield. In 1875 he received the appointment of Master in Chan- cery, which office he continues to hold. Since 1871 the present law firm has been in existence. Politically, Mr. Scholes is a Republican, but he has never been actively engaged in politics.

Alfred Orendorff, Attorney-at-law, was born in Logan county, Illinois, 29th July, 1845. Joseph Orendorff, his father, was a North Caro- linian by birth, but came to Illinois with his parents about 1819. Christopher Orendorff, his father, settled on Sugar creek, north of Spring- field, in what was then Sangamon, now Logan county, and built the first water-power grist- mill in that part of the country, making the burrs of boulders obtained in the vicinity of the mill. Joseph Orendorff married Elizabeth Stevens, a native of Henderson county, Ken- tucky. He died when the subject of this biog- raphy was a lad of ten summers, and his widow removed to Lincoln, Logan county. ' Alfred enjoyed the common schools, and subsequently attended the Wesleyan University at Lincoln, a year, and the military school at Fulton, Illinois, a short time. In the spring of 1866 he gradu- ated from the Albany Law School, and spent the succeeding winter in Texas. Returning to Springfield in the autumn of 1867, he engaged in the practice of law in the office of Herndon & Zane; and upon the retirement of Judge Zane from the firm, the law partnership of Herndon & Orendorff was formed, and con- tinned for a number of years. June 22, 1870, Mr. Orendorff united in marriage with Miss

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Julia, daughter of Colonel John Williams, an early settler and prominent business man of Springfield. In 1870 Mr. Orendorff was nomi- nated by the Republicans for the State Senate, but the Democrats being largely in the majority, he was beaten by their candidate, Hon. Alexan- der Starne. In 1872, he was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention, and supported Ilon. Lyman Trumbull for the Presidency. In 1873 he was chosen by the Liberals as candidate for Representative to the General Assembly of Illinois. The choice being ratified by the Dem- ocrats, he was elected, and was made a member of the Judiciary Committee in that body, and took an active part in framing the Revised Stat- utes, made necessary by the adoption of the new Constitution. Mr. Orendorff joined the Odd Fellows in 1874; has filled the various offices in the subordinate lodge; was chosen Rep resentative of No. 465 to the Grand Lodge, held in Peoria in 1875; was elected Grand Master of the State in 1878, and is now Representative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge I. O. O. F. of the World.

The law firm of Orendorff & Creighton was formed in 1879. It has an extensive business, and its members are recognized as among the most successful practitioners at the Springfield Bar.

Henry S. Greene, Attorney for the Wabash, St Louis and Pacific Railway Company, and member of the late prominent law firm of Hay, Greene & Littler, was born in Ireland in 1833. At six years of age he crossed the Atlantic, and grew to manhood on the shore of Lake Ontario in the Dominion of Canada. In 1857 he came to Illinois, read law in the office of Lawrence Weldon, at Clinton, and was admitted to the Bar in January, 1860. Having previously ar- ranged to become a law partner with Hon. C.II. Moore, of Clinton, Mr. Greene entered into and remained in that relation six years. Three years after his admission he was appointed At- torney for the Chicago and Alton Railroad Com- pany for the counties of Logan and MeLean, which position he resigned upon moving to Springfield in 1868, since which time, his law firm has been counsel for the company in San- gamon county, he still retaining that relation. In 1860 Mr. Greene associated himself with Mr. D. T. Littler in the practice of law, and upon the dissolution of the firm of Hay & Palmer by the election of the latter to be Governor, Hon. Milton Hay became a partner, the firm title changing to Hay, Greene & Littler. This part- nership ceased by dissolution January 1, 1881.

For a number of years this firm has had charge of the legal business of the Wabash Railway Company in this part of the State. Some time previously, and since their separation, Mr. Greene has been the General Counselor for the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway Company for Illi- nois, where it owns and controls by lease 1,300 miles of railroad lines, and Consulting Counsel for the outside business of the company, con- trolling in all 3,000 miles of road.

During the last two years of its existence, he was retained as counsel for the American Union Telegraph Company in its extensive litigation with the Western Union Company, previous to their consolidation. In none of the large legal business which Mr. Greene has done for corpora- tions, has he received a stated salary, but simply a fee for the professional labor performed. In view of the great demand upon his time and en- ergies in attending to the legal matters of these companies, he has withdrawn almost entirely, of late years, from general court practice at the Bar. The rapid growth of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Company's, by absorption and construc- tion, in the last few years, has created a large volume of legal business, and extended his duties until they are larger outside of the State than in it.

In 1863, Mr. Greene was appointed District Attorney, by Governor Yates, for the Eighth Judicial District, composed of the counties of De Witt, Logan and McLean, and was subse- quently elected to the same position, but re- signed to take his seat in the legislature, in 1867, I in which he served one regular and two special sessions; and upon moving from the district, re- signed before the close of his term of office.

In the fall of 1854, before leaving Canada, Mr. Greene married Miss Elizabeth Hogle, born in that country, of New Ilampshire parentage. Their family consists of one daughter and one son. In politics, Mr. Greene has always been a firm and active, but not radical, Republican.

A. N. J. Crook is a native of Tennessee, but was reared in Indiana, his parents removing to that State in his childhood. In 1856 he came to Peoria county, Illinois, and from there to Sangamon county in 1862. He spent two years in Pike's Peak, Colorado. After reading law for a time with Herndon & Zane, he was admit- ted to the Bar and commenced practice in Springfield. In 1869 he was elected County Judge and served four years. He also served as a member of the 32d General Assembly from Sangamon county. He is a staunch Democrat and an active worker in its interests.

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HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

James C. Robinson, of the firm of Palmers, Robinson & Shutt is a native of Edgar county Illinois, where he was born in 1824. His father, Richard Robinson was a North Carolinian, and married Sally Dixon, and moved to Clark county, Illinois, in 1820, but removed to Edgar county shortly after. Subsequently he returned to Clark county where James was brought up and educated. Mr. Robinson read law in Clark county, and was admitted to practice about 1850, and followed his chosen profession in that county until 1869, when he settled in Spring- field.

Like many other lawyers, of a past Decade, Mr. Robinson became somewhat of a politician, and in 1858 was elected from the Clark county District, a member of Congress. He was re- elected in 1860 and 1862. In 1868, he was placed in nomination by his party, the Demo- cratic, for the office of Governor, in opposition to his present law partner-John M. Palmer, but was defeated. In 1870 he was nominated for Congress from the Springfield District and triumphantly elected, and re-elected in 1872.

Soon after his settlement in Springfield, Mr. Robinson formed a partnership with A. L. Knapp, and subsequently William L. Shutt was admitted a member of the firm. The firm con- tinued in existence until the death of Mr. Knapp in the summer of 1881. Soon after this a partnership was effected with John M. and John Mayo Palmer, under the firm name of Palmers, Robinson & Shutt, the firm being one of the strongest in the State. The new firm now enjoys, as the old one did for many years, an extensive practice, especially in the upper courts. Mr. Robinson is recognized as an excel- lent jury-lawyer, and as a stump speaker has few equals.

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History of Sangamon County, Illinois, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 19

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Inter-state publishing company Number of Pages: 1084

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Inter-state publishing company
Number of Pages: 1084