USA > Illinois > Macon County > Decatur > Past and present of the City of Decatur and Macon County, Illinois > Part 96
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On the 30th of July, 1842, Mr. Pedicord was united in marriage to Mrs. Adamson, the widow of John A. Adamson and a daughter of Jacob and Isabelia (Watson) Oglesby. Her mother was a sister of Governor Oglesby. Five children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. l'edicord: Woodford W., Isabelle, Emaline W .. Richard O. and Valette O., and the fam- ily circle remained unbroken until the death of the husband and father.
In his social relations Mr. Pedicord was a Mason, belonging to Macon Lodge, No. 8, A. F. & A. M. He became one of the char- ter members of Macon Chapter, No. 21, R. A. M., and his life was in consistent harmony with the teachings and tenets of the craft. During the carly years of his residence in Decatur he became a charter member of Stapps Chapel, an organization of the Meth- odist denomination, and later he was for many years a member of the Grace Methodist Episcopal church, in which he long served as a trustee. This church was organized in one of the big rooms of the bank conducted by the firm of Pedicord, Burrows & Company. To church work he contributed generously and his personal efforts were always felt for good in the development of the church and its work.
In his early manhood he was an advocate of the Democratic principles put forth by An- drew Jackson and he continued to vote with the party until the inauguration of the Civil war. Being a stanch adherent of the Union cause and an opponent of slavery he joined the ranks of the party formed to prevent the further extension of slavery into the north and was allied therewith up to the time of his demise. Political honors and emoluments were never sought by him, but his fellow
citizens recognized his fitness for office and his fidelity in public affairs and elected him to a number of positions of public trust and responsibility. Twice he served as mayor of the city and his administration of municipal affairs was most creditable and satisfactory to the public, winning him high encomiums. He never ceased to take an active interest in political affairs and his commodious home at No. 226 North Franklin street was long the headquarters for visiting statesmen from Illinois and other sections of the country. In manner he was most genial and cordial and he had a keen sense of humor, appre- ciating a joke on himself as well as upon some one else. Truly he may be called one of the builders of Decatur for he came to this city when it was but a cluster of log cabins and no business man here contributed more liberally toward enterprises tending to im- prove and develop the city than did Jasper Pedicord. He died on the 27th of July. 1899. and yet the force of his character is still felt in commercial circles and will be a factor here as long as the institutions which he established are representatives of the business life of this city. Every interest for the social. intellectual and moral welfare of Decatur also elicited his attention and hearty co-operation. He was a inan of broad mind, generous heart, kindly and sympathetic and his friends were legion.
WILLIAM H. STARR.
In 1856. Joseph G. Starr removed with his family from Pennsylvania to Decatur, Illinois. and started a harness shop on the southwest corner of the Old Square, now known as Lincoln Square. In 1869 he admitted his son, William H. Starr. to partnership. After hav- ing spent a life of industry and usefulness, he died. leaving a widow and three sons, William H .. Joseph S. and Harry C.
Upon the death of the father, the manage- ment of the business passed to William H.
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Starr, who extended its field. In order to more properly care for increasing business and to retain the prestige of the name of J. G. Starr & Son, the firm was incorporated in 18gt under the name of J. G. Starr & Son Ilarness Company, since which time its busi- ness has grown with vigor and expanded until its field is now virtually limited only by the confines of the United States.
J. G. Starr was a man who practiced the principles of integrity and truth. William II. Starr has followed his precepts and has great- ly increased the business heritage from his father. He has consistently manufactured harness on the principle of honesty and has truthfully represented them to be just what they are. On these principles he has created and developed a mail order harness business. whose patrons are dealers in every state, from New England to the Rocky Mountains. The retail business is still conducted by Mr. Starr in the same location where it was established by his father forty-seven years ago. In addi- tion to his large trade interests, Mr. Starr is at present vice president of the Citizens Na- tional Bank.
William H. Starr is a man of public spirit and has been identified with various industries which have done much to promote the ma- terial interests of Decatur and Macon county. He has also taken an active interest in the moral and social welfare of the community and has done much which contributed to bet- ter civil government in city and county af fairs. While he is a man of positive char- acter, he is withal affable and accessible. He is true to his friends and bears in his daily life an exemplification of the truly good citi- Z011.
DOUGLAS D. HILL.
Douglas D. Hill is prominently known in both legal and political circles. It is a no- table fact in the world's history that the law- ver has been more prominent in public affairs
than the representatives of any other class of business. The reason for this is evident and needs no explanation for the qualities which fit him for the practice of law also prepare him for duties which He outside the strict path of his profession. The readiness of resource and keen analytical powers which are essen- tial elements of the successful legal practi- tioner also go far toward accomplishing a given purpose in other walks of life.
Douglas D. Hill, now successfully practic- ing in Decatur, is a son of John W. and Frances J. (Barlow ) Hill, both of whom were natives of Crawford county, Illinois. The Hill family was established in this state in carly pioneer days. In fact, this was a great unbroken territory when John Hill pen- etrated into the state, arriving in the year 1709. He was the great-grandfather of the subject of this review. William Hill, the grandfather. became a resident of Crawford county, Illinois, in 1801. lle married Miss Eve Biggs and amid the scenes of frontier life they reared their family, while in the work of public progress and improvement they took an active and helpful part. John W. Hill was reared to manhood in the old homestead and assisted in the arduous task of developing new land. After arriving at years of maturity he wedded Miss Frances J. Barlow, a daughter of Jesse Barlow, who was also a native of Crawford county, his birth having there occurred on the ist of February, 1702. He became a physician as well as pio- neer farmer and lived a life of great useful- ness in that early community, his efforts prov- ing of much benefit to his fellow men in the alleviation of human suffering. He married Miss Jane Marshall, a daughter of Henry and Jane Marshall. The former was a relative of Chief Justice John Marshall, who was so long at the head of the entire judiciary of the United States and whose ancestors were among the first settlers of Virginia. The father of our subject is still living, but the mother passed away in 1897.
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Douglas D. Hill was reared in the usnal manner of farmer boys. He worked in the fields from the time of early spring planting until after crops were harvested in the late automin. He then found opportunity to at- tend the district school through the coldl months of the winter season when his aid was not needed upon the home farm. In his nine- teenth year he began teaching and followed that profession for two years. He then went to Valparaiso, Indiana, where he attended the Indiana Normal school for a year and later he resumed teaching which he followed, how- ever, merely as an initiative step to other pro- fessional labor. He devoted his leisure hours to the reading of law at Robinson, Illinois, and subsequently he continued his legal stud- ies under the direction of H. E. Callaher and afterward with the Hon. A. H. Jones, who is now serving as state food commissioner under Governor Yates. When he had largely mas- tered the principles of jurisprudence and be- came familiar with everything pertaining thereto he was admitted to the bar in 1886 in Springfield, Illinois, successfully passing an examination before the supreme court. He then formed a partnership with John C. Max- well. of Robinson, Illinois, which connection was continued for six years, when Mr. Hill was elected city attorney and served for two years. In 1892 he came to Decatur and has since practiced in all of the courts here. He has gained a large and distinctively represent- ative clientage and his capabilities are widely acknowledged by the profession as well as by the publie. He prepares his cases with great thoroughness and skill and in the presenta- tion of a ease leaves no doubt as to the cor- rectness of the position. He has won many verdicts favorable to his clients and well merits the large amount of business which is annually given him.
On Christmas day in 1889 Mr. Hill was happily married to Miss Della Kurtz, of Rob- inson, Illinois, a danghter of A. E. and Mar- garet (Sponsler ) Kurtz. Mrs. Hill was born
in Crawford county and by her marriage has become the mother of two children: June Marie and Lyle Kurtz. In his political views Mr. Hill is a Democrat and in 1898 he was a candidate on that ticket for the position of county judge against William C. Hammer. Fle takes great interest in local, county and state politics and exercises considerable influence in political circles. He makes a close study of the questions and issues of the day and his labors in behalf of Democracy have not been without beneficial result. In matters of citizenship he is public spirited and progres- sive, co-operating along many lines pertaining to the general progress and improvement.
WILLIAM C. ARMSTRONG.
In viewing the mass of mankind in the varied occupations of life, the conclusion is forced upon the observer that in the vast ma- jority of cases men have sought employment not in the line of their peculiar fitness but in those fields where capriee or circumstances have placed them, and thus have come the large number of failures among those who enter commercial and professional circles. Nature certainly intended that Mr. Armstrong shoukl enter a field of commercial activity for he has displayed marked aptitude in his work in this direction, being able to plan and to perform and determined in the execution of ideas concerning his own business interests. He is now the general manager of the Decatur Coal Company and the success of this enter- prise may be attributable in large measure to his labors.
Mr. Armstrong came to Illinois from Ten- nessee. He was born near Knoxville, on the 17th of July, 1845. his parents being Wil- liam and Hettie (King) Armstrong, the for- mer a native of Virginia, and the latter of Tennessee. After their marriage they settled near what was then the village of Knox- ville and the tather became connected with
PAST AND PRESENT OF MACON COUNTY.
merchandising and also with farming. the city of his birth the son spent his boyhood days and acquired his early education. When quite young he came to Greene county, Ili- nois, and for a time continued his studies in the schools of Carrollton. He made his home, however, upon his father's farm until eighteen years of age, but not wishing to fol- low the plow as a life work he resolved to connect himself with some industrial or com- mercial line in the city of Decatur. Accord- ingly he sought employment here and be- came a clerk in the store of Roberts Brothers, with whom he remained for seven years, he- ing one of the trusted employes of that house. In fact, such was the confidence reposed in him and the good will extended to him by his employers that at the end of seven years he was admitted to a partnership under the firm style of Roberts & Armstrong and this firm was one of the leading busi- ness concerns of Decatur for a mumber of years. At length, however. Mr. Armstrong bought out his partner and eight years later he disposed of his interest to E. A. West. On disposing of this enter- prise he turned his attention to the coal busi- ness and became a partner in the Decatur Coal Company. This company owns three mines, one being in the city, one at its north- ern boundary and the third near Decatur. In 1883 the Decattir Coal Company was incor- porated with O. B. Gorin as secretary and treasurer and Mr. Armstrong as general man- ager. The mines are profitably worked. the latest improved machinery is used in the pros- ecution of this business and there are also good shipping facilities which enable the product to be readily placed upon the market. During the winter months the output of these mines is very extensive and the control of the business devolving upon him, Mr. Armstrong shows that he is a man of resource in business affairs, of keen insight into situations and of strong determination in carrying forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes.
In 1873 Mr. Armstrong was united in mar- riage to Miss Ida Gorin, a sister of his part- ner, O. B. Gorin. They now have four chil- dren : William J., who is with his father in the coal office: Ida E., the wife of 1. F. Funk, of Bloomington, Ilinois; , Florence. who is now a student in an eastern college : and Eleanor, at home. In Masonic circles Mr. Armstrong is prominent and popular and is now a worthy exemplar of lonic Lodge, No. 312. A. F. & A. M .: Macon Chapter. No. 21, R. A. M .: and Beaumanoir Com- mandery. N. o. K. T. He has gained a dis- tingnished position in connection with the im- portant industries of the county and his ef- forts have been so discerningly directed along well defined lines of labor that he has accomplished the most desirable results. . \ man of distinct and forceful individuality, of broad mentality and mature judgment, he has left and is leaving his impress upon the in- dustrial workl. For twenty years he has been an important factor in the development of the natural resources of this portion of the state and his efforts have been of value in promot- ing the general welfare and prosperity of the city in which he makes his home.
SULLIVAN BURGESS.
Sullivan Burgess was born June 6, 1828, in Concord, Massachusetts, and was educated in the common schools of his native town. Having a taste and desire to learn mathematics he made rapid progress with that study, grad- vating at the head of his class at the age of sixteen years. When eighteen years of age he left his home in Concord and went to Wilkesbarre, and accepted a position as a clerk in the dry goods house of his brother- in-law. Two years later he was offered an opportunity to join an engineering corps on the Vermont Central Railroad, which he eagerly embraced, it being more suited to his inclinations, the line being from Windsor,
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Vermont, to Burlington on Lake Champlain. That engagement being completed he then went to Canada to engage in the construction of a railroad from Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence river opposite Montreal, and as- sisted in the preliminary survey for the great Victoria bridge at that point. In the fall of 1852 he left Canada for Illinois, to engage as assistant engineer on the Wabash Railroad and located the line between Springfield and Decatur during that fall and winter. He re- mained on this portion of the road during its construction, as resident engineer, making his headquarters at Decatur, and in the spring of 1854 he extended the survey of the Wabash east from Decatur to Tolono. After the com- pletion of the extension to Tolono he entered into partnership with the late C. A. Tuttle in 1856, as land agents and real estate dealers in Decatur. their office fronting Lincoln Square in the space now occupied by Mer- chant street. That year the city of Decatur was organized and he was appointed city en- gineer, which office he has occupied at differ- ent intervals up to the present. Mr. Burgess was married to Miss Sarah Jane Strobeck, of Potsdam, North Carolina, in 1857.
In April, 1861, he was engaged on the survey of a railroad from Decatur to Cham- paign, but the breaking out of the Rebellion suspended all railroad building. He then pur- chased an interest in the Stafford cultivator and in the fall of 1863, the cultivator having taken the first premium at the State Fair held in Decatur that year, he was largely in- strumental in inducing parties to come from Pekin to Decatur and erect the shop (now owned by Chambers, Bering and Quinlan ) for the purpose of manufacturing the Stafford cultivator. He was one of the founders of the First National Bank and a member of the first board of directors. In 1867 Tuttle & Burgess commenced the survey of Decatur & East St. Louis railroad, now St. Louis division of the Wabash road and located the line the entire length and had charge of its construction
from Decatur to Taylorville. After the com- pletion of that road he made a survey in the spring of 1870 from Decatur to Chicago, nearly an air line, also re-surveyed the same line in spring of 1871. The building of this road was defeated by the intrigue and treach- ery of its false friends. He was also engaged in the winter of 1870 and 1871 with the Chi- cago, Burlington & Quincy in the extension of their lines west of Mendota. In the fall of 1873 he went to Kansas City and located a line of railroad east through Independence in the direction of Booneville, Missouri, but the financial panic which swept the country in that year indefinitely postponed all railroad operations.
In the spring of 1874 Mr. Burgess was elected city engineer and superintendent of water works at Decatur, which position he occupied until 1880. In 1881 he located the line of road from Springfield to Mississippi river, by way of Jerseyville and remained on that line until completed. He made a survey in 1883 and 1884 for Wabash Railroad Com- pany from Danville to the Kankakee river by way of Gilman and Custer Park, also a sur- vey the same winter from a point a few miles north of Jersey Landing down the left bank to the Mississippi river down to Alton, the most difficult survey he ever made. The road has since been built on the same line he ran. In the fall of 1884 he visited California for the benefit of his health, going by way of the Northern Pacific Railroad to Portland, from thence down the Columbia river to San Fran- cisco, spending two months in the vicinity of San Jose. He was so well pleased with the country there, he came back with the intention of moving there as soon as he could make ar- rangements to do so. In the spring of 1887 he was engaged with the Jacksonville & Southeastern Railroad Company in the ex- tension of their line from Centralia to Mount Vernon. His health failing him, he accepted the appointment of city engineer in the sum- mer of 1887, which position he occupied until
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1897. Mr. Burgess was married the second time to Sarah Jane Brown of Abington, Massachusetts, on October 30, 1860. Two children were born to them, a daughter, now Mrs. J. R. Haworth, of Des Moines, lowa, and a son, Silas N. who is in California, near Los Angeles.
WILLIAM L. HAMMER.
For almost a half century Judge Ham- mer made his home in Decatur and the emi- nent place which he held in the public regard is indicated by the fact that he was never a candidate for any office to which he was not elected and yet he held many positions of public trust and for eight years was judge of Macon county. He won prominence as a member of the bar and stood as a stanch defender of law and order and the character- istics of his manhood were marked. He gave unfaltering allegiance to any cause which he believed to be right and was a co-operant fac- tor in many measures for the general good. Ile desired strongly to see marked advancement made by the state along material, intellectual and moral lines and as a citizen was most public-spirited and progressive.
Judge Hammer was a native of Kentucky, his birth having occurred in the village of Winchester, Clark county, on the 2d of No- vember, 1817. Ilis parents were Frederick and Elizabeth ( Webb ) Hammer. His pa- ternal grandfather. John Hammer, was an carly settler of New Jersey and married a Miss Warner, who was also born in that state. Subsequently they removed to Kentucky and were numbered among its pioneer settlers. Frederick Hammer was born in New Jersey in 1794 and with his parents went to the Blue Grass state, whence in 1827, following his marriage, he removed to Illinois, settling in Christian county, where he and his wife spent their remaining days.
The Judge began his education in the pub- lic schools of his native state, his instructor
being a private tutor. With his parents he came to Illinois, the journey being made in a wagon drawn by ox teams. The family home was established in Christian county and later Judge Hammer engaged in teaching school in that and in Shelby counties, fol- lowing the profession with marked success for ten years. He had the ability to impart clearly and readily to others the knowledge that he had gained and his work as an in- structor was most gratifying to the patrons of the schools with which he was connected. During the summer months his attention was given to farm work.
In December, 1854. he arrived in Decatur and continued to make his home in this city up to the time of his death, covering almost a half century. Here he was first identified with commercial pursuits, forming a partner- ship with R. A. Newell under the firm name of Newell & Hammer. They established a grocery store which they conducted for eight years and also the Judge was later associated with financial circles of the city as a private banker, belonging to the firm of Smith, Ham- mer & Company. They maintained that bank for eight years, but through much of his active life Judge Ilammer was in public office and his career as an official was one most com- mendlable. Ile never faltered in the faithful performance of duty, but conscientiously put forth every effort for the public welfare and over the record of his official career there falls no shadow of wrong. He was first called to office in 1843, when he was elected constable in Christian county, acting in that capacity for three years, From 1846 until 1854 he was sheriff of the same county and in 1850. following his removal to Decatur, he was elected justice of the peace of this city and thus served until 1860. In the latter year he was chosen circuit clerk of Macon county and filled the office for eight years, while from 1865 until 1874 he was a member of and president of the board of education. In 1869 he was elected mayor of the city and his
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administration, covering two years, proved most acceptable to his fellow citizens, be- canse of its business-like character. He was not only practical but also progressive and yet lie favored no needless expenditure of money. managing the affairs of the city as he did his personal interests, with the purpose of ob- taining maximum result at minimum cost. In 1888 he was again chosen justice of the peace in Deçatur and occupied that position until 1894. when he was elected county judge. For eight years he served upon the bench and his decisions were strictly fair and im- partial. He was not a lawyer and yet he gained a broad and comprehensive knowledge of the principles of the law in the years of his former connection with justice courts and while serving in other offices. A prominent attorney of Macon county har said he never knew of any court in which so few of the decisions were reversed by higher tribunals than in Macon county under the administra- tion of Judge Hammer. He brought to the bench an innate sense of justice and love of the right. His mind was strong and well balanced and his marked intellectuality en- abled him to thoroughly understand a sit- uation and to bring to bear upon the point in litigation the law applicable thereto. At the time of his retirement from office on the Ist of December. 1902. he was perhaps one of the oldest jurists in years in the state.
In 1853 Judge Hammer had been united in marriage to Miss Isabell M. East, of Tay- forville, also a daughter of Thomas and Priscilla East. Eight children have been born of this union, of whom four are living, name- ly: William A., who is paying teller in the Millikin National Bank : Harold C., of De- catur : Ruth, the wife of J. Elmer Groves of this city : and Eva, the wife of J. H. Clark. a resident of LaFayette. Indiana.
The Judge was a prominent Mason, having become a member of the order in 1856 and at the time of his death he held membership in Macon Lodge. No. 8. A. F. & A. M. and
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