The biographical encyclopedia of Illinois of the nineteenth century, Part 47

Author: Robson, Charles, ed
Publication date: 1875
Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy
Number of Pages: 770

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9 ASE, HON. WILLIAM G., Lawyer, and Member of the Legislature of Illinois, was born in Rush- town, Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, Au- gust 7th, 1839. His father, William H. Kase, of German parentage, was a native of Pennsylvania, AYLOR, JULIUS S., M. D., was born at Saratoga Springs, New York, March 4th, ISOS. His father, Ziba Taylor, was engaged in commercial pursuits ; his mother was Sarah (Searing) Taylor. His education was acquired equally at Saratoga and in New York city. Upon the completion of his ele- mentary and preparatory studies, he decided to embrace the medical profession, and in 1828, under the able guidance of Dr. E. L. B. Wales, an old and extensive practitioner at Tuckahoe, Capc May county, New Jersey, commenced the study of medicine. He subsequently matriculated at the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in IS31, and in 1833 graduated from that institution. He then commenced at once the practice of his profession at Cape Island, New Jersey, whence, after a residence of about one year, he removed to May's Landing in the same State, where he established himself, and practised until 1837. At the period last mentioned he decided to proceed farther to the West, and accordingly removed to Carrollton, near Dayton, Ohio, where, during a space of twenty-seven years, he was and for twenty years acted as Major-General in the Pennsylvania State troops, also for many years he was largely engaged in the iron trade. His mother, of English extraction, was Elizabeth (Haighawoat) Kase, a former resi- dent of New Jersey. He was educated primarily at the Danville Academy, and thence transferred to the Lewisburg University of Pennsylvania. Upon abandoning his prepara- tory student life, he engaged in teaching as principal of the Danville High School for one year. Subsequently, having decided to embrace the legal profession, he commenced reading law with Judge Joseph H. Campbell, prosecuting his studies under the supervision of that tutor during the ensuing three years, at the expiration of which time he was admitted to the bar, January, 1863, at Danville, Pennsylvania. In the following spring he camc West and connected himself in a law partnership with his brother, Spencer M. Kase, at Belleville, Illinois, an association enduring until the follow- ing year, when he established his office in East St. Louis, commencing the practice of his profession, April 23d, 1864. IIe was the first attorney permanently resident in that place, the possessor of a very extensive and remunerative practice,

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and the possessor also of the esteem and affection of the surrounding country. In April, 1864, he abandoned his practice in Ohio, and moved to Kankakee, Illinois, where he has since permanently resided, for the major portion of that time secluded from active life. He was married in 1831 to Margaret T. Gray, of Cape May county, New Jersey.

OWLEY, GENERAL WILLIAM R., was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, in 1824. His parents were Aaron Rowley and Martha (Campbell) Rowley, of Vermont. In IS31 he removed with his parents to Erie county, New York, and there received his education. In 1840 he left New York State, and removed to Brown county, Ohio, near Georgetown. He was engaged in this locality in teaching school for about three years, and in 1843 went to Scale's Mound, Illinois, a small village situated at a dis- tance of about ten miles from Galena, where he continued at his avocation of teacher until 1849. He was then appointed Assessor and Collector of the county, which office he filled for the term of three years, and at its expiration in 1852 he entered the office of the Circuit Clerk in Galena, as Deputy Clerk. In 1854 he was elected Sheriff of the county, the term of this office being for two years. In 1856 he was elected Circuit Clerk and Recorder of the county, and since has held this office continuously up to the present time, per- forming its duties during his service in the army by deputy. In 1861, on the outbreak of the war, he entered the United States service in the 45th Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, with which he remained until February, 1862, when he was commissioned as Captain, and attached to the staff of General Grant. In April of the same year he became Major, and in 1864 received his commission as Lieutenant-Colonel. In the ensuing fall he resigned, in consequence of enfeebled health, immediately after the battle of Petersburg, and as a recognition of his services was brevetted Brigadier-General. He then returned to Galena, where he has since been con- tinuously engaged in the performance of the duties attached to his position as Circuit Clerk and Recorder of the county. He is the only surviving member of the original personal staff of General Grant.

AULFIELD, HON. BERNARD G., Lawyer and Congressman, was born, October 18th, 1828, in the city of Alexandria, then in the District of Colum- bia, but now in the State of Virginia. His parents were of Irish nationality, and both died while he was quite young. He was educated at George- town College in the District of Columbia, and graduated with the class of 1848. He then removed to Lexington, Kentucky, where he had relatives, studied law at Transyl- vania University, and was admitted to the bar in February,

1850, where he found James B. Clay, son of IIon. Henry Clay, John C. Breckenridge, James B. Beck, and others, since prominent in the profession and the country. He practised law in Lexington, Kentucky, until the spring of 1854, when he removed to Chicago, since which time hc has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession in that city. In the autumn of 1874 he was nominated for Congress in the First District of Illinois, on the Democratic ticket, opposing the administration, and was elected by over 500 majority in a district usually.Republican by over 6000. Before taking his seat his predecessor died, and a new elec- tion was ordered to fill the vacancy. He was again elected by over 3000 majority over both competitors. In religious belief he is a Roman Catholic. He has ever been a staunch Democrat, favors a low revenue tariff, is opposed to all sub- sidies, and favors a return of the government to the old land- marks, simplicity and economy. As a lawyer he possesses considerable merit. His most salient trait is his great cour- tesy ; and he is a finished gentleman as well as lawyer. In his speeches he is deliberate, careful of the selection of his phrases, and clear and forcible in the presentation of his ideas. His personal appearance coincides very exactly with his cultivated manners, and he seems equally at home whether as a lawyer pleading a case before a jury, or as a private citizen interchanging hospitalities at the social board. He was married young, at Springfield, Kentucky, in March, 1853, to Susan Walker, a niece of the late Hon. Felix Grundy of Tennessee; she died in the following August. In December, 1860, he married Laura Deaver, the daughter of one of St. Louis' merchants. She is still living.

IKE, HON. SCOTT, Lawyer, and Representative in Congress of the Eleventh District of Illinois, was born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, April 6th, 1834. His parents are George Wike and Ann (Grubb) Wike, who emigrated to Quincy, Illinois, in 1838, and in 1844 settled in Pike county in the same State. After completing a preliminary course of studies, he entered the Lombard University at Galesburg, Illinois, and there applied himself assiduously to acquiring a thorough knowledge of the higher branches of learning. At the expiration of the usual period of probation, he graduated from the scientific department of that institu- tion in 1857. In the same year, 1857, he commenced to read law, and after grounding himself fairly in legal theories and principles, passed the required examination, and in 1858 was admitted to the bar. In the following year, desir- ous of a greater perfection in the science of the profession which he had embraced, he entered the Law School of Harvard, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and before the close of 1859 became a graduate also of that institution. He then began the active practice of law at Pittsfield, the county seat of Pike, Illinois, and rapidly secured an extensive and re-

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munerative clientage. In 1862 he was elected on the Demo- cratic ticket to the Illinois Legislature, serving two terms in that body, and throughout with marked ability and vigor. In the fall of 1874 he was elected to represent in Congress the Eleventh District of Illinois, comprising the counties of Pike, Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Greene, and Jersey, securing with a single exception the largest majority ever given to any candidate in the State. A talented and skilful lawyer, his proceedings have invariably been characterized by recti- tude and a high sense of honor. In all matters connected remotely or nearly with the social and political interests of his adopted State and county, he has always manifested a warm and generous interest ; and in the halls of the Legis- lature has effectively sustained the interests of his constituents.

OTZ, FERDINAND C., M. D., Eye Surgeon and Professor of Ophthalmology and Otology, was born in Wertheim, Germany, July 12th, 1843. His parents are Godfrey Hotz and Rosa (Muschaweek) Hotz, both natives of Germany. Ilis preliminary education was acquired at the lyceum of his native place. At eighteen years of age he entered the Jena University, where he prosecuted his studies for a period of about eighteen months, subsequently taking a four years' course at Heidelberg, passing through the regular classical and medical departments, and graduating from that institu- tion in 1865. He was then attached as Surgeon to the Sur- gical Department of the University Hospital at Heidelberg, and remained there thus occupied during the ensuing year. The war then breaking out between Prussia and Austria, he was appointed a Surgeon in the Austrian army, and served efficiently until the termination of the conflict. The next two years he devoted particularly to the study of surgery of the eye, prosecuting his researches at Berlin, Prague, Vienna, and Munich. In the fall of 1867 he returned to the Univer- sity of Heidelberg, and became House Surgeon in the Eye Infirmary, remaining there until the spring of 1869. Ile then came to the United States, previously passing some time, however, in Paris, London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Dub- lin, availing himself of every advantage pertaining to his special practice. Upon arriving in this country, he travelled westward, and established himself in Chicago, Illinois, where he has since permanently resided, the possessor not only of an extensive and ever increasing practice, but also of the csteem and confidence of all with whom he has been placed in contact. In September, 1870, he was appointed Oculist to the Cook County Hospital, and filled this position until June, 1875, when he resigned to enter upon his duties as Surgeon to the State Eye and Ear Infirmary, in association with Dr. E. L. Holmes. In 1871 he was appointed Profes- sor of Ophthalmology and Otology in the Women's Medical College of Chicago, and has since continued to fill that chair. Ile was lately clected one of the associate editors of the

Chicago Medical Journal and Examiner by the Chicago Medical Press Association. In July, 1875, he was appointed by the Mayor and Common Couneil a Director of the public library. IIis rapid rise to the prominent position he now occupies in the medical profession is attributable to an unusu- ally comprehensive knowledge of all the various principles and details governing and connected with the particular branch of medical science to which he devotes himself with such notable success, and also his store of varied and schol- arly attainments, which makes him an interesting and in. structive companion to professional and non-professional alike. He was married in 1873 to Emma Rosenmerkel of Chicago.

GALE, JAMES V., Merchant, was born, November 2d, 1806, in Concord, New Hampshire, and is a son of Benjamin and Prudence (Varnum) Gale. His father was a man of considerable prominence in his State, and closely identified with its early history; he lived to the ripe age of eighty-six years. James V. Gale received his preliminary education in the schools of his native town, and in 1824 entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he remained about a year. In 1828 he went to Boston, where he was engaged in the mercantile business until the spring of 1835, when he disposed of his interests there, removed to Illinois, and in the month of May located in Ogle county, and erected the first house in what is now Orcgon City. He followed the occupation of farming until 1848, when the town having increased considerably, he embarked in the mercantile business with a partner, which they carried on very successfully for four years, and then sold out the estab- lishment and erected a saw-mill. This they opcrated for three years. In 1856 he removed to Chicago, where for four years he carried on a wholesale business, and in 1860 disposed of the same and retired from active mercantile pur- suits. He is the oldest living resident of Oregon, and has held many responsible positions. He was the first Recorder of Ogle county, and held the office for eleven years ; he was also the first Justice of the Peace, and the first Public Ad- ministrator. He was Supervisor of the town for 1853-4, and also from 1857 to 1868. Ile was the second Postmaster of Oregon, being appointed thereto by President Harrison, in 1841, and held the office two years, when he was removed on account of politics, not being a " Tyler " man. In 1863 he was elected by the Republican party a Representative to the State Legislature, and acquitted himself in a creditable manner. In 1870 Oregon became an incorporated city, and he was elected its first Mayor, and served in that capacity for two years. In the same year also he was elected a Di- rector of the Chicago and Iowa Railroad Company, and sub- sequently Vice-President of the same. Ile is at present, also, a Director of the First National Bank of Oregon. From the foregoing record it will be perceived that his has been a

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life of continued and determined effort and toil, and al- | Springfield, where he studied under Rev. Francis Springer, though he is fast approaching the three-score years and ten, he is still as hale, hearty, active, and energetic, as many men who are a score of years his junior. He is fully posted in the history of Oregon, having for the past thirty years kept a journal, wherein he has noted down the important events occurring during that time. He was married in 1832 to Caroline Gibson, of New Hampshire, and has two daughters living, the only survivors of several children.

ARTLETT, FREDERIC, Hardware and Iron Merchant, was born October 7th, 1837, in Brook- lyn, his parents being William and Mary (Crie) Bartlett. He received his early education in the common schools, and by a full and comprehen- sive course in the Polytechnic Academy, in his native place, received a substantial knowledge of the arts and sciences, and of the rules so necessary in the transac- tion of general business. Upon leaving school he entered a hardware house, in New York city, as clerk, and sub- sequently became its buyer. In 1855 he removed to Free- port, Illinois, with two clerks, and established a partnership in the hardware business, under the firm-name of Church- hill, Maverick & Buurtlett. In 1858 Maverick retired, and was followed by Churchill in 1865, since which time Mr. Bartlett has carried on the business under his own name. At first the transactions of the house were small, but by the application of Mr. Bartlett, and by his honorable method of dealing, the business soon grew into very large proportions. It now includes, besides ordinary hardware, iron, wagon, and buggy stock, seasoned and ready for use, stoves, hollow-ware, etc., combining several distinct busi- nesses in one, and of almost infinite variety of detail. The sales aggregrate about $200,000 per annum. Mr. Bartlett is a shrewd and careful business man, enterprising, gener- ous in his actions, fair-dealing in all his mercantile transac- tions, and courteous to all who approach him. He has attained high local prominence, and the reputation of his establishment has become fixed in all the leading marts of the country.

a Lutheran clergyman, who prepared him for college; and he matriculated at McKendree College, of which E. Went- worth (now editor of the Ladies' Literary Repository of Cincinnati) was president, and J. L. Scripps, one of the founders of the Chicago Tribune, was professor of mathe- matics. IIe intermitted the term of 1847, and then at- tended the law school of Transylvania University, that institution numbering among its faculty, T. M. A. Marshall, Chief Justice of Kentucky, Hon. George Robertson, ex-Chief Justice, and the warm friend of Henry Clay ; also Justice Woolly. That university, at that time, ranked the second in the country, being only excelled by Harvard. He re- turned in 1848 to McKendree College, where he graduated in good standing in the class of that year. He then en- tered the office of Gamble & Bates, as a student of law. Both of these gentlemen were men of national reputation ; the former was afterwards Governor of Missouri, and the latter was Attorney-General under Lincoln's administration, and, as an orator, second to none in the West. He was admitted to the bar, and commenced the practice of his profession in 1849; but in order to more fully qualify him- self for the position he occupied, he attended the Louisville Law School during the session of 1851-52, then under the management of Chancellor Pirtle and Counsellors Bullock and Pryor; from this school he graduated. He was now located in Vincennes, Indiana, and associated with J. G. Bowman, constituting the law firm of Bowman & Roberts, who had an extensive practice in the courts of Indiana and Illinois. He removed to Chicago in 1855, and resumed his professional duties in that city in connection with B. M. Thomas, the then United States District Attorney of Indi- ana, who subsequently resigned his position and removed to Chicago, and in 1856 the law firm of Blackman, Thomas & Roberts was formed, which lasted for two years. In IS58 IIon. S. B. Gookins resigned his position as a Supreme Court Judge of Indiana, and removed to Chicago. The above-named law firm was then reorganized as Gookins, Thomas & Roberts, and so existed until the death of Thomas in 1864. Since that date the copartnership has been Gookins & Roberts. The junior partner has been variously associated in the practice of law, in Chicago, for the past twenty years, and has acquired a reputation for in- tegrity and ability excelled by few in the profession ; and his practice is extensive and lucrative in all its branches. lIe has been engaged in a large number of important cases in the United States and State courts. IIe managed the

OBERTS, JAMES HENRY, Lawyer, was born December 12th, 1825, in Kaskaskia, the oldest settlement in the State of Illinois, and is a son of Edmund and Susan (Lamb) Roberts. ITis plaintiff's side in the suit of Fisher vs. Stone, which in- volved not only important questions in law, but also in matters of science, and in which the leading medical men of the United States were examined. He has also argued a number of cases before the Supreme Court at Washing- ton, among which were Case vs. Brown ; Brown vs. Selby et al .; Brown vs. Guild. His reputation as a citizen is father was a native of New Hampshire, was one of the pioneer settlers of Illinois, and was a member of the Board of Canal Commissioners who laid out the city of Chicago, and other canal towns of the State ; his mother was a native of Connellsville, Pennsylvania, and his ancestry, on both sides, were members of the Society of Friends. About the year 1832 his parents removed to above reproach. As a counsellor he is thoroughly to be

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relied on, as he fully investigates and prepares his case, readily applies authorities, and is, in all respects, a well-in- formed, painstaking lawyer, who can present a case to judge and jury clearly, and entirely divested of everything foreign to the case in question. He was married in 1863 to Har- riet Eliza, daughter of the Rev. Stephen S. Smith, of Mas- sachusetts, who died in 1866. He was united in marriage a second time to Mrs. Susan M. Slater, of Chicago, who is still living.

ADS, JAMES ADAMS, Lawyer, was born in Ilarrison county, Kentucky, February 2d, 1834, being the son of John and Ellen (MeMillan) Eads. He was educated at Farmers' College, near Cincinnati, Ohio, acquiring there, and very materially by his subsequent studies, a compre- hensive knowledge of the arts and sciences. He com . menced in 1856 his preparations for the profession of law, at Cynthiana, Harrison county, Kentucky, and by rare apti- tude and diligence progressed so rapidly that in the fall of the same year he was admitted to the bar. In March, 1857, he located at Paris, Edgar county, Illinois, and entered upon his professional duties, which have exclusively en- gaged his attention ever since. He has taken rank with the leaders of the profession in that section of the State, and has appeared in very many of the most important cases which have claimed the attention of the courts in Edgar county. Hc has a large chamber practice, and is consulted on all leading issues. He is a brilliant advocate, his forensic efforts being models of rhetoric. He is a fine analyst, and is clear and powerful in presenting evidence to court and jury. In 1862 he was elected to the Illinois Constitutional Convention from Edgar county, and was prominent in secur- ing many needed changes in the organic law of that State. IIe was married in June, 1860, to Clara M. Munsell, of Illinois. Ile is a man of fine literary culture, courteous and affable in his demeanor, and is generally esteemed for his ability as a jurist, and his public spirit and social quali- ties as a citizen.

1836. At this date he moved to Mount Vernon, Illinois, and for two years was employed in merchandising, at the expiration of which time he became identified with the hotel business and also with farming operations. In 1867 he abandoned the hotel business, continuing busied with farming, however, until 1872. In this year the organiza- tion of the Mount Vernon National Bank was effected, he being the prime mover in the enterprise, and to him, by election, was awarded the presidential chair, which he has since continued to fill with fidelity and ability. During the days of the Whig party he was one of its adherents and supporters, but since its dissolution has been a zealous and consistent Democrat. In 1837 he was elected County Surveyor, and filled that office for a number of years. He was afterward elected County Judge, but resigned before the expiration of his term. He was one of the earliest pioneers and settlers of Mount Vernon, and is honored as one of its most enterprising citizens ; upon his arrival there were but four or five houses in the place, and from that time to the present he has constantly and ably exerted him- self to aid in securing to it the full development of its resources.

ENNINGTON, LOT S., M. D., and Pioneer Farmer of Illinois, was born in Somerset county, New Jersey, November 12th, 1812. ITis parents were Elijah Pennington and Martha (Todd) Pen- nington. His earlier education was acquired primarily at an academy located in Somerville, Somerset county, New Jersey, and afterward in an educa- tional establishment of Baskingridge, in the same county and State. At the completion of his probationary course of studies he decided to embrace the medical profession, and prepared himself for it while residing in New Jersey and in New York city. In 1836, believing that in the West was to be found a wider field for the profitable exercise of skill and industry, he removed to Jerseyville, Jersey county, Illinois, and there entered temporarily upon the active prac- tice of his profession. He went subsequently to Macou- pin county, and occupied himself professionally, and with success at Brighton, Woodburn, and Bunker Hill, until 1839, at which date he removed to Sterling, where he prac- tised medicine for one year. In 1840 he purchased a tract of land, and applied his attention to farming and agricul- tural pursuits. In 1841 he commenced the cultivation of fruit and ornamental trees, in the first instance with a view to supply his own requirements only ; but that limited beginning was destined to undergo a speedy development, and he ultimately found himself in a position to command an extensive nursery business, and which, in fact, he did sub- sequently carry on for a period of fifteen years, meeting with great and merited success. His was the second nur- sery established in northern Illinois, and at the present time

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The biographical encyclopedia of Illinois of the nineteenth century, Part 47

Author: Robson, Charles, ed Publication date: 1875 Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy Number of Pages: 770

Author: Robson, Charles, ed
Publication date: 1875
Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy
Number of Pages: 770