USA > Illinois > Greene County > Past and present of Greene County, Illinois > Part 34
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CAPT. WILLIAM M. FRY, OF CARROLLTON.
William M. Fry was not a commissioned captain, but held the office during the war of 1861 to 1865 as district provost marshal in Illinois, receiving pay as captain. He had no active military service, but did equal- ly effective service in the position he held in maintaining the strength of the army in the field.
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BIOGRAPHICAL
JUDGE CHARLES DRURY HODGES.
"The entire state of Illinois m urns the death of Charles D. Hlodges, of Carrollton. one of the ablest among the circuit judges of the state." Thus wrote a Minnesota journalist, and the sentiment was echoed by all who had known this prominent jurist. who for a half century practiced at the bar of Illinois. His name is indelibly inscribed on the pages of the history of our jurispru- dence, and at his death the press, the public and the profession united in honoring the memory of one who had ever been an honor to his adopted state. From the memorial addresses delivered we largely cull the fol- lowing record, as setting forth the opinions of those who were intimately associated with him in the various walks of life.
Charles Drury Hodges was born Feb- ruary 4, 1810. in Queen Anne, Prince George county, Maryland, and died in Carrollton. Illinois, April 1, 1884. He spent his youth in his native city and was an active, intelli- gent, moral and studious young man. . At the early age of nineteen years he was grad- uated at Trinity College, Hartford, Connec- ticut. and then entered upon the study of law with Alexander Randall. a prominent attorney of Annapolis, Maryland, with whom he studied until careful preparation had
fitted him for the bar. He was then adnoi- ted to practice, and soon after entering upon his professional career hi- attention was directed to the west, where he determine 1 to try his fortune. Accordingly he landed in Carrollton in November, 1833. having in the meantime spent a few months in St. Louis, Missouri. Those who remember his arrival in Carrollton tell with interest of the wonder excited by his appearance as he alighted from the stage coach. A young man fresh from an eastern city was a rare sight in those days and his attire and bear- ing were strange to the dwellers of the little town. From that day until the hour of his death Carrollton was his home, from which he was never away save when called by pub- lic duties or for an occasional pleasure trip or vacation. The young attorney did not de- vote himself entirely to his profession in these first years but was for a time a partner in the dry-goods store of Shackelford, Hodges & Company. This arrangement was only temporary, however, and as a coun- selor and advocate he achieved a substantial success, his practice steadily growing m vol- ume and importance until it had assumed extensive proportions. For a number of years he was a partner of Judge D. M. Woodson, the firm being dissolve 1 when the latter was elected to the bench in 1849. Sub-
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sequently Judge Hodges practiced in part- nership with Judge Burr, a relation that was maintained until 1877.
In November, 1853. the subject of this review was chosen county judge, and after serving acceptably for four years was re- elected in 1857 for a second term. In Jan- uary, 1859. he was elected to congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Major Harris and resigned his position on the bench in order to take his place in the council chambers of the nation. In 1867 he was elected circuit judge and performed the dif- ficult duties of that position with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents for six years. On the expiration of that period he was elected a state senator for a four-years' term, serving in the legislatures of 1875 and 1877.
From the beginning of railroad building in central Illinois, Judge Hodges was a zealous advocate thereof, and in 1852, when the books were first opened for sub- scription to the capital stock of the Carroll- ton & Jacksonville Railroad, as it was then called, he was one of those who had charge of the work in this place. In 1858 he was made treasurer of the St. Louis, Jacksonville & Chicago Railroad, and when the property of this company was leased to the Chicago & Alton Company he became a director of the latter and so continued up to the time of his death. Through his professional and railroad interests he acquired an ample fortune, and during the last years of his life his energies were largely devoted to the man- agement of his extensive property and other interests. As a member of the bar Judge Hodges was a safe, wise, judicious counselor. Ile was not carried away by his loyalty to his client, but possessed the rare ability of being able to calmly weigh both sides, and
hence his advice when given was implicitly relied upon and usually found trustworthy. As a business man he was careful, safe and successful, and by steady growth and skillful management gathered together the property which made him one of the heaviest tax- payers of Greene county. He was public- spirited, and in building fine business edi- fices and numerous dwellings and contribut- ing to railroad and other enterprises, he did his share toward improving the town in which he lived. In a set of resolutions passed by the Jerseyville (Illinois) bar is the following paragraph :
"Resolved, That we deeply deplore the loss of one of our profession so long and favorably known, and one so universally re- spected and honored. For nearly thirty years previous to his election to the bench, and dating from the organization of Jersey county, Judge Hodges was constantly in at- tendance at the bar of this court as an at- torney. His attendance upon our court was as certain and regular as that of the judge, and, with the earlier days of our history, was almost indispensable. As a lawyer he stood in the front rank of the profession, and his life and character both as a lawyer and as a man may be pointed out as a model one. From 1867 until 1873 he presided as judge of this court, and he graced the bench as he did the bar. He presided with dignity and urbanity, and he deservedly won the esteem and high regard not only of the members of the bar but also the whole community.'
On his retirement from the bench the members of the bar of Morgan county ac- companied a handsome gift to Judge Ilodges with a letter containing this paragraph : "We need not testify to your integrity as a man, your accomplishments as a lawyer, and your fidelity as a judge, as these are univers-
PAST AND PRESENT OF GREENE COUNTY.
ally acknowledged ; but we desire with grate- ful hearts to thank you for the courtesy and kindness which, through all the trying an- noyances that necessarily arise in the dis- charge of the duties of a judge, have on your part never failed."
In the early years of his residence in Carrollton. Judge Hodges became acquainted with Miss Ellen C. Hawley, of Jer- seyville, and they were married on the 8th of January. 1839. She was a daughter of Samuel P. Hawley, and was born in Onondaga, New York. Feb- ruary 20, 1821. At the age of twelve she accompanied her parents to Vermont, whence they removed to Illinois in her six- teenth year. Judge and Mrs. Hodges be- came the parents of nine children, namely : Virginia, who died at the age of two years; Louise, widow of William A. Davis ; Belle, wife of J. D. Wright, a grocer of Peters- burg, Illinois : Charles H1., a sucessful grocer of Carrollton: Adele, wife of Charles 11. Weagley. a member of the dry-goods firm of MeFarland. Weagley & Company, of Carrollton : Morean, who died at the age of nine weeks: Beverly C., a banker of Car- rollton: Henry M .. ensign in the United States navy ; and flattie, at home.
Judge Hodges was a member of Trinity Episcopal church, which organization was largely sustained by his contributions and by the labors of himself and family. He was always a stanch friend of the public schools, and stood by and defended the system in early days when the popular voice was against it. For many years he ably and efficiently served as school director. Hle availed himself of every opportunity to aid in the development and progress of the city. and through his last years his fellow towns- men were continually giving evidence of
their appreciation of his worthyand devotion to the public good. On the onion of his seventieth birthday his fellow member - i the bar assembled at his ressilence gol pre- sented him with a handsome chons cong the gold head of which was appropritel: di- graved. In presenting the gift Judge J. W. English said :
"I know that I speak the honest thoughts 01 the gentlemen who accompany me when I say that we realize that you have just finished the three score and ten year- allotted to the ordinary man, and we rejoice that there is yet the strength in you requirel to sustain you up to, and we hope beyond, the four score fixed as the limit of human ex- istence. In the life through which you have passed we know of no portion which we could desire to have changed. Commencing your career at a period in American history when purity of life and rectitude of conduct were considered desirable characteristics, we congratulate you that you have been able, amidst the trials and temptations which sur- round us all, so to live that you may now en- joy the blessings consequent upon a well- spent life and die in the hope of a blessed immortality.
"You have represented us in both branches of our state legislature and in our national congress. You have for years pre- sided over our probate, our county and our circuit courts, and even more, during the whole of your manhood you have lived among our people practicing your profession, and yet in all your actions even the tongue of slander could find no fact on which to fasten that did in any way tarnish your good name You have as a husband and father di- tinguished yourself as a man worthy vi imitation. You have reared a family which is a credit to you, and we regard each nem-
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ber of it as an honor to us, their fellow citizens. You can take it as a matter to re- joice over that your children's children rise up and call you blessed.
"This cane I now tender you is presented by us in no sense as an idle compliment, nor as a reward for any favor you have rendered us or either of us in the past. But we merely wish you to know that we have watched your career, that we respect and honor you for the 'course you have pursued, and we wish you to feel the kind and affectionate regard in which you are held by each and all of us."
When the Greene county court first met after the death of Judge Hodges, out of re- spect to his memory, court was adjourned and remarks were made by many members concerning the one whom they had long known and honored,-the senior member of the profession in Carrollton. The chief speaker on that occasion was Thomas Hen- shaw, who said: "Man has found it neces- sary in all parts of the civilized world to in- stitute tribunals called courts for the puropse of protecting human rights and enforcing human laws. In order to aid the courts in performing the great and sacred duties al- lotted to them, it was found necessary to establish the legal profession, whose mem- bers were called lawyers, and who have, since the origin of the court, been officers thereof. When we consider that the mem- bers of the legal profession are required to deal with, to care for, and to protect the property, the lives and the honor of their fel- low beings : when we reflect that all human- ity labors for, lives for and hopes for in this world, is at all times placed under the con- trol and in the hands of the lawyers, we are led to the inevitable conclusion that the true lawyer should be a man whose character is above suspicion, whose legal ability is 11-
questioned, and whose name is a synonym for honesty and integrity.
"Measured by this standard Greene county is not and has not been without her true lawyers. Among her true lawyers was one whose name is as familiar to the in- habitants of this county as household words, and whose reputation as an able jurist and a good man is held sacred through central Illinois. For half a century Greene county looked to this true lawyer - the Hon. Charles D. Hodges-for counsel and guid- ance in her affairs. During that period she time and again honored him with official positions, and always found him true and faithful to the trusts committted to his care. Sucessful as a lawyer, fortunate in business transactions, happy in his domestic and 'social relations, he was quietly and peace- fully enjoying the fruits of his labor when the angel of death called him to the unseen. By the death of Judge Hodges we have a striking illustration of the inevitable in this, -- that esteem, admiration, friendship or love can afford no protection against the shafts of death. It has been truthfully said: 'It matters not if every hour is rich with love, and every moment is jeweled with joy, each and every life must at last end in a tragedy, as dark and sad as can be woven from the web and woof of the mystery of death.'"
HON. HENRY T. RAINEY.
Hon. Henry T. Rainey, member of con- gress and representative of the bar of Greene county, stands today as one of the distin- gnished citizens of Carrollton. Few lawyers have made more lasting impression upon the bar of the district, both for legal ability of a
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high order and for the individuality of a personal character which impresses itself upon a community. He is. moreover, a recognized leader in political circles, whose devotion to the general good is so marked that even his political opponents entertain for him the highest respect.
Henry T. Rainey was born in Carrollton, August 20, 1860, and comes of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Will- iam C. Rainey, was a native of South Caro- lina and served under Colonel Hardin during the Mexican war. Ile won the rank of lien- tenant and at the close of hostilities was brevetted major. After residing for some time in Kentucky he came to Greene county, Illinois, about 1832. and located near Car- rollton. He was the owner of a farm from which Rainey's first and second additions to Carrollton have been set off. He exerted strong and beneficial influence in public affairs and for forty consecutive years he served as justice of the peace, discharging his duties with the strictest impartiality. His death occurred in the year 1877.
John Rainey, father of Henry T. Rainey, was born in Lexington. Kentucky, and ac- companied his parents on their removal to Illinois. He was reared to the occupation of farming and made it his life work. He, too, was a public-spirited citizen. deeply in- terested in the general progress and up- building of his community and as the cham- pion of many measures so largely promoted the general good that his death was the oc- casion of deep and sincere sorrow throughout the locality in which he made his home. He was several times an alderman of Carrollton, and he occupied a very enviable position in the public regard. His death occurred in 1888, when he was sixty-two years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of
Catherine Thomas, wa Tanabut three and a half miles southwest of carrollton. a daughter of Samuel Thomas, the first settler of Greene county, arriving Here m 1818.
Henry T. Rainey, the eldest of three children, acquired his elementary education in the public schools of Carrollton and was graduated from the high school of this city in 1878. Ile prepared for college at Knox Academy at Galesburg, Illinois, and subse- quently matriculated in Amherst College at Amherst. Massachusetts, from which institu- tion he was graduated with the class of 1883. the degree of Bachelor of Arts being at that time conferred upon him. He began prepar- ation for the legal profession as a student in the Union College of Law at Chicago and was admitted to practice in May, 1885. The degree of Bachelor of Law was conferred jointly upon him by the Northwestern and the Washington Universities in June, 1885, and a short time afterward he received the degree of Master of Arts from Amherst Col- lege for special post-graduate work.
Following his admission to the bar Mr. Rainey returned to Carrollton and entered upon the practice of law. He was devotedly attached to his practice, systematic and meth- odical in habit. sober and discreet in judg- ment, calm in temperament, diligent in re- search and conscientious in the discharge of every duty. His careful preparation of cases and his marked devotion to his clients' inter- ests soon gained him a practice that was ex- tensive and of an important character. llis strong points in the legal profession are best shown while before the judiciary. As an orator he is forceful and while he his excel lent command of the art and resources of rhetoric, he never uses his oratorical ability to cloud the facts in the case, but always endeavors to present them in the clear, strong
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light of reason and common sense. He served as master in chancery for eight years, appointed to the position in 1888 after the death of S. F. Corrington, and he continued to serve in that capacity until 1895. when he resigned. He was for one year, 1895-6, the president of the board of education of Car- rollton. He was a very prominent factor in the control of the democratic party in Greene county. He served as chairman of the democratic central committee for two years and has labored untiringly to secure the success of the principles which he believes contain the best elements of good govern- ment. In 1896 he delivered campaign ad- dresses throughout this state and in 1900 was sent to Illinois, Ohio and Indiana under the management of the democratic national committee. In the campaign of 1904 he made speeches in Vermont, Maine, New York. Illinois and Iowa under the direction of the democratic national committee. In 1902 he was elected a member of the Fifty-eighth congress and is recognized as an able work- ing representative. In 1904 he was re- elected to congress, being the only democrat elected from Illinois to the Fifty-ninth con- gress.
cal environments, in business or in social re- lations, he is always the same honorable and. honored man whose worth well merits the high regard which is uniformly given him.
EDWARD MANFRED HUSTED.
Edward Manfred Husted has been more closely identified with the work of improve- ment and upbuilding in Roodhouse than any other citizen. Financial interests have been promoted by him and the city owes the build- ing of the Kansas City branch of the Chicago & Alton Railroad through here to his and others' efforts. He has co-operated in every measure for the general good and in his labors for the locality he has looked beyond the possibilities of the present to the exi- gencies of the future, making his work of such a practical and permanent character that its beneficial influence and effect will long be felt.
Mr. Husted was born in Addison county, Vermont, September 9, 1830, his parents being Lyman and Emily (Denison) Husted, who had a family of four children. The mother died when her son Edward was but four years of age, and in 1836 the father married again and came to the west by water, making his way to Chicago and thence by the canal and Illinois river to Greene county. He located on Apple Creek prairie, June 24. 1836. He then returned overland to Chicago for his household goods and soon after he had again reached Greene county, died of bilious fever.
In June, 1888, occurred the marriage of Mr. Rainey and Miss Ella McBride, a native of Bureau county, Illinois, and a daughter of W. H. McBride, of Harvard, Nebraska, but now deceased. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Wood- men of America and the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks. Possessing a modest demeanor he nevertheless stands high in his profession. In all conditions and circum- stances he is first of all a gentleman. In Mr. Hlusted of this review was only about six years of age at the time of his father's whatever relation of life we find him. whether in the government service, in politi- removal to the middle west. He was
THE PUBLIC, DIE TARY Astor, L ) .A. Inden
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educated m the common schools of Greene Effie C .. reaching domundoout, was married county, early became familiar with farm to A. J. Lee. of Morgan county. well died in 1894, leaving five daldren has four children, so that Mr. Ilusual his nine grandchildren in all Mrs. Harfrett M Hosted died in 1864 and m 1865 Mr. Hustel was again married. his second union being with Angusta C. Banister, a daughter of Elisha and Olive Banister, both now de- cesed. Her father was killed by a trun June 20, 1882, while her mother died in August, 1885. work, and for any years was actively en- gaged in agricultural pursuits. He has made judicious investments in firm property from time to time and is now the owner of between five and six hundred acres of land in this county, adjoining the city of Roodhouse. This is very rich an I arable, producing abun- dant crops. It is well fencel and tiled and constitutes one of the best farms in Greene county. Grain and stock are raised thereon-the best of each class,-and Mr. Hlusted has given personal supervision to the operation of the farm, at the same time con- trolling important and extensive business interes's of another character. His residence in the north part of Roodhouse, not far from his farm, is a very handsome one. He has figured very prominently in financial affairs, being the president of the Roodhouse Bank, to which position he was elected in 1876, so that his incumbency covers twenty-nine years.
In city and county activities Mr. Husted has lent generous aid and hearty co-opera- tion, and to him is accorded the credit of securing through Roodhouse the Kansas City branch of the Chicago & Alton Railroad and the establishment of the shops and roundhouse here, contributing in large meas- ure to the growth and business activity of the city. He was one of the commissioners representing the Roodhouse interests.
In 1850 Mr. Ilusted was married to Miss Harriet M. Swallow, a representative of an okl Vermont family and a daughter of Guy and Katherine ( Banister ) Swallow. Mr. and Mrs. Husted became the parents of three children, but only one is living-Edgar M .. who resides on the old homestead. Emma died at the age of two years: and
Mr. Husted is one of the oldest and most honored representatives of Masonry m Greene county. He was made a Mason Jan- uary 19, 1853. in White Hall and the fifti- eth anniversary of his identification with the order was celebrated January 19. 1903. on which occasion he was presented with a handsome Knight Templar charm, covered with rubies and diamonds. Most of the of cers and members who were identified with White Hall lodge at that time are now de- ceased. E. M. Husted and Isaac D). Vedder being all that now survive out of the thirty eight. In the half century of his connection with the craft Mr. Husted has been a Mason "with a high sense of honor, has walked on the level, squaring his actions by the square of virtue and the line of rectitude." Ile is one of the founders and charter members of E. M. Husted lodge, No. 706. A. F. & \ MI .. of Roodhouse, which was named in his honor. He also belongs to Carrollton chap- ter, No. 50. R. A. M. : and Hugh De Payens commandery. No. 20. K. T. He has ever been active in the lodge work and to him is clue the elegant lodge rooms in Roodhouse.
Viewed from any standpoint his hfe his been a success, for in business his efforts have been crowned with prosperity and in private life he has won warm personal regard and
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unqualified confidence. The reason for this is not hard to find, for he is a liberal-minded. genial gentleman, of sympathetic nature and progressive ideas ; social, natural and cour- ageous in all his actions, and obliging and helpful. In character building he has erected a permanent and beautiful structure, while as the architect of his own fortunes he has builded wisely and well.
R. S. WORCESTER.
R. S. Worcester has been and is distinct- ively a man of affairs in White Hall and one who has wielded a wide influence. He has figured prominently in financial circles here throughout his business career and is now cashier of the White Hall National Bank. His father, Judge Linus E. Worcester, left the impress of his individuality for good upon the public life of Greene county, aiding in the promotion of its material, moral and political interests. A native of New Eng- land. he acquired his early education in the common schools of Vermont and supple- mented his preliminary mental training by study in the Chester Academy of that state. After putting aside his text-books he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and fol- lowed farming in New England until twenty-three years of age, when he resolved to seek a home in the west and in 1836 came to Greene county, Illinois. Here he followed teaching for three years and later accepted a clerkship in a dry goods store, thuis gaining his first mercantile experience. Two years later he became a partner of Chester Swal- low in the establishment and conducted a reneral mercantile enterprise, but Mr. Swal- low hyed for only'n year after this business
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