USA > Illinois > The biographical encyclopedia of Illinois of the nineteenth century > Part 59
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towns with but poor suecess, as even the church members were not very eordial in their support. At length he de- cided to make a trial of the city of Newcastle, saying to his companion, that if they failed to unite the Christian people there in aid of their services they would conelude that they had mistaken the call to preach in Great Britain. Here, however, success, glorious suecess, dawned upon their efforts; the hearts of Christians were united in their help, and very many conversions took place. From that time their success was assured, and the history of their grand evangelistic labors throughout the United Kingdom, lasting for a period of twenty-seven months instead of four, as
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they had anticipated, is familiar to the entire civilized | in Chicago; and the union of Mr. Sankey's service of world. Mr. Moody is not, and never has been, an ordained preacher, but simply a lay evangelist ; and his power does not lie in learning, or oratorical ability, for he possesses little of either, but simply in his plain, homely earnestness, and his whole-souled devotion to the service of Christ, and the conversion of his fellow-men. When asked by friends what he was going to England for, he replied, " For ten thousand souls ; " and the result of his labors proves he had set the estimate far below the realization of them. IIis labors in England have been chiefly among the Christian, or at least church-going, portion of the nation, " strengthening the things that be, and are ready to faint," and putting new life into the religious organizations in that land, as well as preaching also to the poor and degraded. That this will be to those peoples a lesson of ecelesiastical and religious liberty, as our Revolution fought out for them principles of political freedom, which they afterward accepted and availed themselves of, therc can be little doubt. Mr. Moody has just returned to this country, where, after taking a rest at his old home in Northfield, he purposes, with his companion, making a preaching-tour in the United States, and returning to the charge of his old church in Chicago, who are still awaiting his return, and have never given him up. This ehurch now numbers about six hundred members, and is one of the most active in the city.
song and Mr. Moody's fervid prcaching became a new and recognized power for the spread of religion. They visited other cities and towns, and both of them gained constantly in ability deeply to impress large audiences. Just before they left for Europe he was pressed to spend six months in a tour through cities on the Pacific coast, to sing sacred songs; but after seeking divine direction he was convinced that it was his duty to accompany Mr. Moody to Great Britain. The results have shown that he was divinely directed. He accompanied Mr. Moody to England, taking along his wife and two sons, a third son having been born to them while in Scotland, and in his department of sacred song he has been no less effective a worker for Christ than Mr. Moody in his of preaching; and many are the souls that have avowed their first love for the Saviour to have bcen connected with the effect of his singing. He not only sings, but speaks for Christ ; in the after meetings con- versing with the anxious, giving them instruction and counsel. He has rendered great service to the church of Christ by the compilation of his book of " Sacred Songs," and their tunes; and they are being used all over the world, having already been translated into half a dozen languages. Mr. Sankey has a fine, full, soft baritone voicc, well-trained, and over which he has complete mastery, the organ being in his solos used only as an accessory; his singing has no pretension to being artistic, but is perfectly plain and natural, with a distinctness of enunciation and a volume of sound that enables him to fill the largest hall in which they have ever held service. He is very modest in regard to his own merits in the grand tour they have so recently made, ascribing all the glory to God. IIis singing is with the understanding, deep, intense, expressive. Since their return he is taking a rest at his old home preparatory to entering upon a similar campaign with Mr. Moody in this country.
ANKEY, IRA D., Singer of Religious Songs, and Mr. Moody's Co-laborer, was born in Edinburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1840, of pious parents, who now live to rejoice in the blessings that have attended lris labors. At the age of fifteen he became con- verted. He was an early attendant upon Sab- bath-school instruction, and very early developed a love for music. He trained the children of the Sabbath-school in singing, was leader of the church choir, and Superintendent of the Sabbath-school. IIis clear, melodious voice, dis- OWERS, REV. HORATIO N., D. D., was born, April 30th, 1826, in Amenia, Dutchess county, New York, and spent. his boyhood on the farm, where he secured a robust constitution. Begin- ning in the common school, he pursued his studies in the Amenia Seminary, and entered Union College, at Schenectady, New York ; graduating in the class of 1850. After this he taught history and mathe- matics in the Amenia Seminary for two years, and only left to enter the General Theological Seminary of the Prot- estant Episcopal Church in the United States, located in New York city. From this seminary, after three years' study, he, in 1855, went to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as assistant minister to Rev. Samuel Bowman, D. D., having previously been ordained in Trinity Church, New York, by Bishop Horatio Potter. In 1856 he was ordained Presbyter tinct enunciation, and emotional tones in singing, soon attracted general attention, and he was often invited to musical circles, and to conduct the singing at public meet- ings and conventions. His singing often touched the heart, and souls were won for Christ by it. As it is a matter which will interest the public generally to know how he came to labor with Mr. Moody, the facts may be here stated to be as follows : At a national convention of Young Men's Christian Associations, at Indianapolis, Mr. Moody heard Mr. Sankey for the first time, and was impressed with the remarkable adaptation of his voice and style of singing to awaken the emotions, and carry home religious truth to the heart. On conferring together they found that their love of mission work and desire for extended usefulness were mutual, and they agreed to labor together in evangel- istic services. For two or three years they were associated by Bishop Alonzo Potter, of Pennsylvania, and in 1857 he
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was called to be rector of St. Luke's Church, Davenport, Iowa; and when, in 1865, his church was turned over to Bishop Lee, he was made the head of a new and important educational enterprise, which culminated in the establishment of Griswold College, over which he was elected to serve as President. In 1867 he received the degree of D. D. from his Alma Mater. He performed these double duties as pastor and president for three years, and at the end of that time, to the regret of all his friends and associates, he resigned both offices to accept the rectorship of St. John's Church, in Chicago, over which church he has ever since remained. Dr. Powers is acknowledged to be one of the leading clergymen of this city. He is and always has been fearless in declaring his convictions of right and truth ; though in his pastorate in Davenport his outspoken loyalty caused the disaffection and withdrawal of many of his parishioners, and some of the wealthiest among them. IIc is an eloquent, fluent speaker, and a man of varied and thorough learning. His is largely a poetical nature and temperament, and his sermons receive this inborn tincture and coloring of the poetic and ideal. He has recently published a volume of religious essays, entitled " Thoughts Relating to the Seasons of Nature and the Church," Roberts Brothers, Boston. He has in former years been a contributor to the New York Independent, and his sermons are frequently reprinted in the journals of the city. Recently he has been paid the compliment of an American editorship in " L'Art," an art publication issued in France, the only instance of the kind in this country. He has also contrib- uted editorials for the " Round Table," and written for the " Literary World," " Putnam's Magazine," and " Old and New." He is a man whom, for his warm-hearted, whole- souled nature, not only his own family but many intimate friends prize inestimably. He has rare culture and fine religious susceptibilities ; and his power is in the " beauty of holiness," and the polish of refinement. That greater poet, William Cullen Bryant, speaking of his volume of religious essays, says, " It is a genial book : the topics are handled gracefully, the piety is unaffected, and the general spirit of the book truly catholic. You take cheerful views of life and duty-the true philosophy both for the race and the individual. May you write many such wholesome books."
IBBS, A. E., Dentist, was born in Troy, New York, July 12th, 1836, his father being L. E. Gibbs, a prominent merchant. When nine years of age his parents removed to New York city, and he there attended the High School until he reached his eighteenth year. From this time until attaining his majority he acted as a clerk in a grocery store. Upon the expiration of this service he commenced his prepara- tions for following, as a permanent vocation, the profession of dentistry. He studied to this end for one year, and then
moved to Hillsdale, Michigan, where he continued his pre- paratory labors, completing them at length. In the spring of 1860 he went to Lockport, where he opened a dental office. On October 3d, 1861, he was married to Miss E. M. Pettingill, of that place, who died September Ist, 1872, leaving one child. Early in 1864 he settled in Ottawa, Illinois, where he cpened an office, and where he has resided ever since. He was one of the originators of the Illinois Dental Association, and is now one of its leading members. He was also one of the founders of the Ottawa Academy of Natural Science, of which he is a member, and was its Treasurer for a number of years. In the winter of 1867-68 he attended the Rush Medical College, Chicago, to morc thoroughly perfect himself in the profession which he had espoused. Though not the oldest dentist in Ottawa, he ranks with the very best, and has attained an excellent reputation for skill and competency, and a patronage which is both large and remunerative.
RUMMOND, HON. THOMAS, Judge of United States Circuit Court, was born in Bristol, Maine, October 16th, 1809. His father was James Drummond, originally a sailor and sca captain, afterward a miller and farmer, and at one period a member of the Maine Legislature. He at- tended first the common school; then academies, at four different places; after which he entered Bowdoin College in 1826, graduating, after a full course, in 1830. The poet Longfellow, who graduated at the same college the ycar previous to Mr. Drummond's entering it, and has just com- memorated his college semi-centennial by the beautiful poem, " Morituri Salutamus," had just been appointed a tutor in the college, and was one of his teachers. After graduation Mr. Drummond repaircd to Philadelphia, where he began the study of law, first with William T. Dwight, son of Dr. Dwight, of Yale College; and when the latter left the bar and entered the ministry he finished his studies with Thomas Bradford, and was admitted to the bar, at Philadelphia, in 1833. In 1835 he went West, and settled at Galena, Illinois, where he engaged steadily in the prac- tice of law until 1850. In 1839 he was married to Delia A. Sheldon, daughter of John P. Sheldon, of Willow Springs, Wisconsin. In 1840 he was elected to the Illinois Legislature, from a district embracing all the northwestern part of the State. In February, 1850, he was appointed by General Taylor Judge of the United States District Court of Illinois, comprising the entire State. Ilis position was afterward made that of Judge of the United States Cir- cuit Court for northern Illinois, which he continued to be until 1869. In 1854 he removed his residence to Chicago. In December, 1869, he was appointed by President Grant Judge of the Seventh Circuit of the United States, covering 1
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population of nearly six millions of people. This position he has held ever since. In 1868 he removed his residence to Winfield, Du Page county, Illinois, where he now lives upon his farm of a hundred or more aeres, his office remain- ing at Chicago. He is, with his family of six children- two sons and four daughters-an attendant upon St. James Episcopal Church, in Chieago, as they have been for many years. During his residenee at Galena he was one of the original stockholders and direetors of the old Galena & Chieago Union Railroad, the first built in the State, and now constituting a portion of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. Ile has thus been Judge of a United States Court, and had jurisdiction over part of the same territory for an uninterrupted period of twenty-five years. Ile was in former times a Whig, and is now a Republican, but has never been concerned in politieal matters, exeept in the solitary instance above mentioned, when he was elected to the Legislature. But it is mainly with his eharacter as a Judge that the publie is interested, and there he stands almost without a pecr upon the bench in the whole country. When a boy at home he ardently wished to follow the sea as his father had done; but he could not gain parental per- mission, and obediently relinquished the idea. Still the sea was always to him an object of interest, and in after years his studies upon marine law were so thorough and close that his decisions in admiralty have seldom been reversed. Indeed, this is true to a remarkable degree of his decisions upon the beneh on all manner of eases during his judicial eareer of a quarter of a century, that but a very small pro- portion of his judgments have ever been reversed or even appealed from. As a judge he is profound, elear, methodi- eal; his justiee is tempered with mercy; he is thoroughly conseientious in the discharge of his dutics, refusing to sit in judgment on any ease where it could reasonably be sup- posed he might have any personal interest, and upon the bench he is the impersonation of dignity. As a man among men, or in the quiet surroundings of his home, he is readily approached, unostentatious and genial-a simple, noble, republiean type of man.
"USHMAN, COLONEL WILLIAM HERCULES WASHIBURN, Capitalist, Banker, Merehant, and Farmer, was born in Freetown, Bristol county, Massachusetts, May 13th, 1813, being the son of 0 Ilercules and Mary Washburn Cushman, the former being a well-known lawyer. His ancestry ean be traced baek directly to one of the original members of the " Mayflower " eolony, Robert Cushman, who, when their sister ship, the " Speedwell," sprang a leak on thie voy- age to the new world, went baek in her to the mother country, and eame over to Plymouth during the following season. Colonel Cushman first attended a private sehool and subsequently was placed in the military school of Cap-
tain Alden Partridge, at Norwich, Vermont, where he re- mained two years. He then went to Amherst, where he prepared for college, but before finishing his preparatory studies entered upon a mercantile career. When eighteen years of age he opened a store for the sale of general mer- ehandise, in Middleboro', Massachusetts. In 1833 he was married to Othalia A. Leonard of that plaee, and in 1834 moved to Ottawa, Illinois, where he opened a second store, and beeame interested in a general milling business, the only one of its kind within a circuit of many miles. He continued in this until 1840, when he disposed of this busi- ness. His wife dicd in 1835, and in 1837 he was married to Harriet Gridley, of Ottawa, daughter of Rev. Ralph Gridley. She died in 1841. Colonel Cushman continued from 1831 until 1856 in mercantile life. In the former year he was elected to the State Legislature, and was re-elected in 1842. In 1843 he was married to Anna C. Rodney, daughter of IIon. Cesar A. Rodney, of Delaware. In 1852 he became the owner of an extensive foundry and machine shop, of which he is still proprietor. In 1854 he again be- came concerned in a flouring mill, and maintains this inter- est at the present time. From 1860 until 1865 he owned and controlled the Bank of Ottawa. Colonel Cushman, in 1861, personally organized the 53d Illinois Regiment, which was composed not only of a full quota of infantry, but of a squadron of cavalry and an artillery company of four pieees. This regiment, which was unquestionably one of the finest ever sent to the field, was organized and equipped by the direct authority of President Lincoln, with whom Colonel Cushman was on terms of cordial intimaey, requisitions being made direetly upon the United States authorities. In the spring of 1862, having been all the previous winter en- gaged in recruiting this organization, the 53d was mustered into service with himself as Colonel, and was ordered to the front. The regiment went directly to Savannah, Tennessee, and remained in eamp there until the battle of Shiloh, when they were sent into the field, arriving upon the scene of battle late in the day, and at that moment when by a reverse of fortune the Union forees were driven back by the enemy. General Grant ordered Colonel Cushman to report to Gen- eral Buell, which he did, and his eommand was placed in eamp at Shiloh, and for some time seoured the surrounding country, pieking up stragglers from both armies. The 53d was subsequently at the siege of Corinth, rendering gallant services with Colonel Cushman at its head, and was eon- stantly in the field until it reached Memphis, aud was there cneamped. Here after a short period he was obliged to resign on aecount of ill health and the pressure of his neglected business, and returned to Ottawa. In 1865 he disposed of his banking interest in Ottawa and established a new banking house in Chieago, under the name of Cushman, HIardin & Brother, in which he continued until 1872. He was one of the original Trustees of the township of Ottawa, and one of the School Commissioners of La Salle county. He was one of the three contractors who built the O. O. &
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F. R. V. Railroad, and one of the contractors who con- structed the Chicago & Paducah Railroad, of which road he is now the Treasurer. He is also Treasurer and one of the principal owners of the Ottawa Gas Company, and one of the owners of the Illinois Starch Factory at Ottawa. He has a very large and valuable estate in La Salle county, one of his farms comprising over fourteen hundred acres. Hc is a Director of the First National Bank of Georgetown, Colorado, of which his son William H. Cushman is Presi- dent. He has two large warehouses, and does a very heavy business as a dealer in grain. He is largely concerned in a lumber yard in Ottawa, and a partner in the firm of Cush- man, Calkins & Co., which transacts an extensive and profitable lumber business in Manistee, Michigan. Their mills, stores, barns, and warehouses were destroyed in the great forest fire which occurred in Michigan simultaneously with the conflagration which devastated Chicago in 1871 ; but these have all since been rebuilt and are now in full operation. The very many and very large enterprises which Colonel Cushman has engaged in, and the uniform success which he has achieved in all branches of trade, show him to be not merely a man of untiring energy, but the fortunate possessor of a varied and practical business talent such as characterizes few men of the present day. His financial and industrial interests are of immense propor- tions, involving the use of great eapital and the supervision of keen intelligence. The versatility of his knowledge, the pliability of his capacity, which fits him for the successful achievement of almost any enterprise in which he chooses to embark, is sufficiently apparent from this brief recital of his varied mercantile and manufacturing interests. These have given him great prominence in Illinois, and have won for him a high reputation. He has done no ordinary work in the development of the resources of that State and in advancing its commercial prosperity. All public improve- ments projected for the same purpose have met with his in- dorsement and his aid, which is the most practical evidence of his support. He is a man of culture and of the most attractive social qualitics. He is a generous giver to all needful institutions of merit, and sheds the benefits of his great fortune beyond the circle of his own home. ITis great publie labors, his vast and varied private enterprises, and his many excellent qualities as a simple citizen, have secured for him the enduring estimation and respect of the people of his State.
ERCER, FREDERICK WENTWORTII, Physi- cian, was born at St. John, New Brunswick, May 31st, 1838, and is a descendant of the first Euro- pean settlers of this country, his ancestors having been honored residents of South Carolina as early as 1762. Having received an academic educa- tion he was fitted by a private tutor for the study of medi- cine, and after pursuing regular courses at the Harvard
Medieal School, Boston, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, graduated in medicine and surgery at the latter institution, with the class of 1861-62. Directly thereafter he presented himself to the Medical Examining Board of the State of Massachusetts, passing with honor. He served with regiments from that State during the whole of the war of the rebellion, distinguished as chief medical officer of brigade and as an operator upon the field hospital staff of the Second Corps. At the close of the war he rc- ceived a vote of thanks by the Legislature of the Common- wealth of Massachusetts for gallant- service. Removing to the West, he entered the employ of the State of Illinois as Resident Surgeon and Superintendent of the Soldiers' Home Hospital, and after four years' service resigned the position and was appointed one of the Trustees. September, 1873, he was appointed Senior Assistant Physician to the Illinois Southern Hospital for the Insane.
ECKWITHI, CORYDON, Lawyer, was born in Vermont in 1823. ITis cducation was received in Providence, Rhode Island, and in Brentham, Massachusetts. He studied law in St. Albans, Vermont, and was admitted to the bar of that place in IS44. Two years subsequently he was admitted to the bar in Maryland. In 1347 he commenced practice in St. Albans, and remained there until 1853. He then removed to Chicago, where he still resides, engaged in the practice of his profession. During the administration of Governor Yates he received an appointment to a position on the Supreme Bench for a limited term. His professional standing is of the highest. He is generally conceded to be one of the very strongest lawyers at the bar, and as an oppo- nent is known as one of the most dangerous lawyers in the West. He has very profound learning, is master of all the intricate mechanism of the law, knows human nature, is tremendously industrious, and has at ready command all the manifold resources of his profession. As an advocate he is, perhaps, inferior to many others; but in this direction his strength docs not lie. He is pre-eminently an originator and a manager. His "planning" faculty is very largely developed. He originates campaigns and directs their conduct, and so masterly is he in these specialties that his time is fully occupied with the work of this description that is crowded upon him, so that he has no time to bestow upon the details of mere execution, leaving them to others ; although on occasion he has proved that he also has exccu- tive ability equal to the best. IIe is constantly consulted in eases of all kinds, and devises the plans of action on which they are to be conducted, and indicates the operations through which they are to succeed. In many a case he is the hidden force which moves the entire machinery which seems to the observer to be moved by those who appear publicly in the matter. In reality these move only as he
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moves them. He is strong, massive, and full of force, but ence which must have been invaluable to him. He re- moved in 1854 to Chicago, and there he has since remained industriously practising his profession until the time of his promotion to the Supreme Bench of the State. In 1866 he was candidate for Judge of the Superior Court against John A. Jameson, and was defeated. In 1868 he ran for Judge of the Recorder's Court, and was elected by' an overwhelmn- ing vote. In 1870 he was elected a Judge of the Supreme Court, which position he now occupies. There is no lawyer at the Chicago bar who stands higher in his profession than he. He possesses great industry, a minute and comprehen- the characteristic quality of his composition is, perhaps, secretiveness. He is a manager, a diplomat. When the occasion requires he can appear as ingenuously frank as a boy, but it is a frankness that is wholly under control, and extends just so far as it suits his secret purpose to have it extend, and no farther. Those who know him best, in their own estimation, are astonished some day to discover that they do not know him at all. He prefers indirect and unexpected modes of attack, and in that lies much of the secret of his great success. Withal he is a brilliant men, and whatever he has to present to court and jury is sure to sive knowledge of the law, and a high degree of logical be presented in a novel and dramatic manner. As a legal manager he has no superior and but few rivals. He has the reputation of being to some extent a legislative lobbyist ; but that is not his true or most successful sphere. Altogether he is one of the most remarkable lawyers in the country. In fact, he is lawyer and diplomat combined. Defeat does not baffle him; emergency does not unbalance him. He brings to his work secret influences, remote agencies, and a complication of forces that it is almost impossible to combat. Cases in which there are no precedents, and in which he originates or discovers the necessary legal princi- ples, are the cases in which he excels. Withal he is a man of generous impulses and generous actions, and his kind- ness to young lawyers is a matter of frequent and grateful remembrance. In social life he is eminently agreeable, and he is greatly liked by those who are intimate with him. His vast knowledge of men gives him an exhaustless fund of interesting information which cannot but be a rich ele- ment in social intercourse. In personal appearance he shows strength rather than refinement. Intellect and energy are suggested in all his features. He is of very substantial physique, with a large, well-balanced head.
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