The biographical encyclopedia of Illinois of the nineteenth century, Part 61

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

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who died in the army during the civil war. At the present time he is also Secretary and Treasurer of the Galena Turn- pike Company, and is an extensive breeder of short-horn stock at his Walnut Ridge stock farm. He was married in IS43 to Phoebe S. Wood, a resident of Galena.

EAMING, JEREMIAH, Lawyer, was born, Jan- uary 20th, 1831, in Dennisville, Cape May county, New Jersey. His father was Jeremiah Leaming, a merchant of Cape May county. He fitted him- self for a collegiate career at the High Schools, at West Chester, Pennsylvania, Mount Holly and Bordentown, New Jersey, passing through all the grades in their respective courses, and securing a broad and liberal academic training before entering college, which very few have attained. In 1850 he entered the sophomore class of Princeton College, and, taking the full course, graduated with honor with the class of 1853. Having early shown an inclination for the profession of the law, he now com- menced its earnest study, reading with Garret S. Cannon, of Bordentown, New Jersey, with whom he remained until his admission to the bar in June, 1856. In August of that year he was married to Miss Scovel, daughter of Rev. Al- den Scovel, of Bordentown, and during the ensuing fall removed to Bloomington, Illinois, where he commenced the practice of his profession, and continued it alone until 1867, when he changed his residence to Chicago, where he formed a law partnership with Colonel R. S. Thompson, present member of the Illinois State Senate from Hyde Parke District, the firm-name being Leaming & Thompson. Their practice is a very large and lucrative one, covering cases in all the State and Federal courts, and is constantly increasing. Mr. Leaming is a prominent member of the Bar Association of Chicago, and takes high rank in the pro- fession as a man of scholarly attainments, legal ability and uncompromising integrity.

ONES, SAMUEL J., A. M., M. D., was born in Bainbridge, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, March 22d, 1836. His father, Dr. Robert H. Jones, was a graduate of the University of Penn- sylvania, Philadelphia, practised many years with skill and success, and died in 1863. His mother, whose maiden name was Sarah M. Ekel, came from Leb- anon, Pennsylvania. In 1853 he entered Dickinson Col- lege, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and graduated from it with distinguished honors in 1857. He soon commenced the study of medicine, and in 1858 became a matriculant in the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, taking his degree of M. D. from that institution in 1860. In the same year he entered the United States Navy as As- sistant Surgeon ; was attached to the United States steamer | cess.

Minnesota, the flag-ship of the Atlantic Squadron, upon which he remained for two years, when he was promoted to the grade of Surgeon. He continued in the naval ser- vice of the country until 1868, when he resigned. During the same year he was chosen as a delegate from the Ameri- can Medical Association to the European Medical Associa- tion, which held meetings at Oxford, Heidelberg and Dresden (in connection with Dr. Samuel D. Gross, and Dr. Goodman, of Philadelphia, and Dr. Barker, of New York). Upon his return from Europe he located in Chicago and commenced practice. In 1870 he became Professor of Ophthalmology and Otology in the Chicago Medical Col- lege, and still holds this chair. fle is also connected with Mercy Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital, and the Illinois Char- itable Eye and Ear Infirmary. For the past five years he has confined his practice exclusively to diseases of the eye and of the ear, and his rare skill, both in his medical and surgical treatment of cases, has won him not only celebrity as an oculist and aurist, but has secured to him a very ex- tensive and lucrative practice. He has closely applied him- self to the development of knowledge pertaining to his special department of the profession, and is an authority generally accepted in questions concerning ophthalmology and otology.

ARNER, EDWARD BATES, Merchant, ex- Mayor of Morrison, Illinois, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, May 26th, 1826. His parents were Jabez Warner and Elizabeth (Conner) Warner. He was the recipient of a common school education. In 1838 he removed with his family to Prophetstown, Whitesides county, Illinois, and, his father being a farmer, was until he had attained his twenty-sixth year irregularly occupied in farming and agri- cultural pursuits, and also in operations in land and im- proved real estate. Upon leaving school he entered a store as clerk, and was employed in that capacity during the ensuing five years, prosecuting in the interim the study of surveying, which science he also practised in a limited degree. In 1851 he established himself in business on his own account in Prophetstown, and continued in it until 1857, when he was elected County Treasurer of Whitesides County, and in consequence removed to Morrison. To that office he was continuously re-elected six times, serving with fidelity and ability until 1869. In 1847 he was elected a member of the Board of Education, and still officiates in that capacity. In 1872 he was elected a member of the State Board of Equalization, for equalizing State assess- ments, and assessing railroads for taxation, and this posi- tion also is still retained by him. From 1873 till 1875 he was Mayor of Morrison. In the course of the latter year he engaged in the grain commission business in Chicago, and has since prosecuted that venture with energy and suc- He is one of the leading spirits of Morrison, and is

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an active and valuable member of the community amid for Pensions in Stark County, which position he held for which he resides, an esteemcd and honored citizen. In all movements relating to the welfare of his adopted State and county he is a vigorous and an efficient mover and coad- jutor; while all measures and enterprises having for their end the advancement of their interests have his warm and liberal support. He was married in 1852 to Elizabeth C. Bryant, formerly a resident of Jefferson county, Missouri.

cleven years, resigning it last year. His services in this capacity were so acceptably performed that he was highly complimented by the Pension Commissioner for the care, fidelity and ability with which he had performed his duties. He has no political record, a fact for which he expresscs himself devoutly thankful. His chief aspiration seems to have been to do his duty, and this he has done faithfully and well. Especially has he striven to give relief to the sick poor, and of these many will bear him in grateful re- membrance so long as memory has power.

ALL, THOMAS, Physician, was born at Murcell Park, Derbyshire, England, on the 12th day of March, 1805. His ancestors, on the mother's side, were Cockaynes, who came over with the LEMENTS, HON. ISAAC, Lawyer, was born in Franklin county, Indiana, March 31st, 1837. Ilis parents were residents of Maryland, and, moving to Indiana at a very carly date, were numbered among the pioneers and settlers of that State. Ilis grandfather was an active par- ticipant in the war of the Revolution, and his father was a soldier in the war of 1812. ITis education was acquired at the Asbury University, Greencastle, Indiana, and he grad- uated second in his class from that institution in 1859. The current expenses attendant on his collegiate course he mct by employing his leisure time in teaching school. While thus doubly occupied he resolved to embrace the legal pro- fession, and accordingly began also the study of law under the preceptorship of Judge John A. Matson. At the termi- nation of his sojourn in the University, so diligently and profitably had he applied his attention to the acquisition of legal knowledge, he was admitted to the bar. He then during the ensuing six months continued his avocation as teacher, and with the money acquired in this manner pur- chased law and text books. In the summer of 1860 he commenced the active practice of his profession at Carbon- dale, where he has since, with a few exceptions, perma- nently resided. In this place he was professionally and suc- cessfully engaged until the breaking out of the Southern Rebellion, when he entered the United States service as Second Lieutenant of the 9th Illinois Infantry. With that body he served efficiently and valiantly until August, 1864; participated actively in various engagements; was three times wounded and twice promoted before he was mustered out as Captain. Upon returning from the field he resumed the practice of his profession, and, as before, was soon the possessor of an extensive business. In 1867 he was ap- pointed Register in Bankruptcy, acting in that capacity until 1872, when he was elected to Congress from the Eighteenth District of Illinois. That office he filled with energy and marked ability until the expiration of his term, March 4th, 1875, securing universal esteem by the vigorous and fruitful exercise of his talents, his uprightness and his statesmanlike modcration. In the fall of 1874 he was re- Conqueror from Normandy. On his father's side his ancestry is not so clearly traceable. When eight years of age he commenced going to school at HIulland, and continued there until he was ten years old. For the next two years he attended the Weston Grammar School. Then he went to Brailsford School for two years longer ; and from the time he was fourteen until he was sixteen years old he went to school at Quardon. All these schools are in Derby, and at the two last Greek, Latin and French, with the higher branches of mathematics, were the chief studies. Immediately after leaving school in Derbyshire he commenced the study of medicine and surgery at Wol- verhampton, Staffordshire, and finished his apprenticeship in 1826, when he was twenty-one years of age. On the expiration of his apprenticeship he entered as a pupil of Guy's Hospital. This renowned institution was then in its full glory. Cooper, Key and Morgan occupied the chair of surgery, Bright in the chair of medicine, and Addison in the chair of materia medica. Under the instruction of such men as these he studied and worked until he grad- uated in 1828; and we may be sure that, with the natural powers and the faculty for hard work which the young man possessed, and such teaching as these men gave, when he left the institution he left it master of his profession. In- cidental proof of this is the fact that he is entitled to write not only " M. D." but " M. R. C. S. and L. A. C., London," after his name. After graduating he commenced practice in Hulland, October 8th, 1828. He soon established a good and lucrative practice there. On the 14th of May, 1829, he married Matilda Manifold, of Derby, and con- tinued to reside in Hulland in the practice of his profession until March 31st, 1837. In 1837 he left England for America, and on the Sth of July of the same year estab. lished himself as a resident in what is now Stark county, Illinois. Ile was the first Coroner the county had, and has held the office two terms, and was for a time First Sur- geon of the Board of Enrolment for the Fifth Congressional District of Illinois. This position he resigned, because, as he said, " it compelled him to witness acts at which his heart and soul revolted." He was also Examining Surgeon : nominated as a candidate for the same position, and though

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failing to secure a re-election, led the State ticket by about one thousand votes. Warmly interested in all that relates to the welfare and progress, social and political, of his adopted State and county, he has, while acting in both a private and a public capacity, been effectively instrumental in contributing to their propulsion. Alike as a legal prac- titioner and a legislator he has evinced the possession of notable talents, and kept his record pure and unblemished. Ile was married, in November, 1864, to Josephine V. Nutt, daughter of Rev. Cyrus Nutt, D. D., LL.D., President of the Indiana State University from IS60 to 1875, a well- known clergyman, scholar and educator.

ALKER, CYRUS, Lawyer, was born in Rock- bridge county, Virginia, May 6th, 1791. His ancestry on the paternal side came to America from Scotland in the seventeenth century, and cast in their lot with the earlier pioneers and colonists of Pennsylvania. On the maternal side his forefathers, leaving their native country, Wales, at about the same period, settled also in the same colony in Chester county. From the latter place his grandfathers on both sides of the family removed subsequently, during the eighteenth century, to the region then called the Valley of Virginia, making their respective homes in Augusta and Rockbridge counties. His father, Alexander Walker, was married in Staunton, Virginia, early in the year 1790 to Mary M. Hamon, and settled in Rockbridge county, where their first child, Cyrus Walker, was born. From that lo- cality they removed in 1793 to Kentucky, locating them- selves in Woodford county, where they remained until 1797, when a fresh removal placed them in Adair county. IIere were passed his earlier years, and here also he secured such an elementary education as was attainable in the schools of that time and place. Under the preceptorship of James Rapier, of Columbia, he acquired some knowledge of Latin, and afterward under the instruction of Samuel Brent, of Greensburg, Kentucky, entered upon a course of legal studies, supporting himself in the meantime by teach- ing school and assisting his father in the many labors and occupations attendant on farming operations. At the com- pletion of his probationary term, he was licensed in 1813 to practise law in the courts of Kentucky. He then repaired to Columbia, where he established himself as a legal prac- titioner, and soon secured an extensive and lucrative client- age, his practice embracing not only Columbia county but also a wide area in the adjoining sections of the State. In 1833 he removed to McDonough county, Illinois, where he has since permanently resided, continuing the practice of law until 1859, when, owing to advanced age and the in- firmities inseparable from it, he retired from active business life to pass in privacy and tranquil repose his remaining years. Ile was twice successively elected a member of the Legis-

lature of Kentucky, but the precise date of his entry into pub- lic life-between IS20 and IS30-as a legislator is not now positively known. In 1835 he was living on his farm, sit- uated ou Camp creek, about seven miles south of Macomb, Illinois, and, as Hon. T. Lyle Dickey states, " was then forty- three years old, and in his prime, physically and mentally." He was a valued and prominent member and elder of the Presbyterian Church of that section, and acted zealously and efficiently as a promoter of the cause of temperance ; he was also an ardent supporter of every other class of in- stitutions and movements which promised to develop a higher standard in morals and thought amid the community which loved and esteemed him as an honorable and useful citizen. Although, in general, residing on his farm, he be- came engaged later in an extensive legal practice, attending, in addition to the neighboring courts, the courts in -Spring- field and Jacksonville, occasionally also the courts in Iowa. His fame as a talented and skilful lawyer was widely spread throughout the States of Iowa and Illinois, and as a nisi prius lawyer he was, confessedly, equalled by but few, ex- celled by none. With a mind well stored with the element- ary philosophy of the common law ; a judgment maturcd by long and varied practice and experience ; endowed with a quick, keen and comprehensive power of perception in re- gard to men and character ; possessing a fine address, courtly manners, and clear and forcible diction, he was ever master of the situation in court, whatever might be the character of the point, question or issue under consideration. Ilis most notable and peculiar gifts and characteristics were exhibited in their strongest guise only when called into action by the most formidable and apparently most inflexible opposition ; at such times his abilities and resources seemed to grow at his bidding, and adapt themselves with surprising celerity and effectiveness to the pressing needs of the hour. On one occasion, in Lewistown, Fulton county, he was defending a client against whom the tide of public feeling ran very high ; his adversaries in the case were Hon. O. II. Brown- ing and Hon. C. D. Baker, both men recognized as skilful and talented practitioners. During the opening argument of the first named associate the all-pervading general senti- ment was repeatedly manifested by frequent and prolonged applause from the audience, exhibitions called forth by the assertions and denunciations of Hon. O. H. Browning, and which were suppressed with difficulty by the court. Upon rising to address the jury his first utterances were greeted with hissings from all parts of the house, coupled with other strong and unmistakable evidences of bitter ill will and dis- approbation. For an instant he was silent; then, fired by the unjust revilings and tumult of the opposition, turned upon the hooting crowd, and during the ensuing hour " de- livered the most terrible rebuke to the people for its unbe- coming conduct in a court of justice " ever heard in the State. In the earlier part of this memorable discourse the hisses were frequently repeated, but in the end the most boisterous slunk back, and all seemed to become ashan.ed

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of their ill-advised and unwarrantable deportment. conquered, sweeping all before him with a resistless flow of eloquence, irony mingling with earnest denunciation, sar- casm with rebukc. He then, amid profound silence, took up the subject of the suit, and long before the close of his argument occasional murmurs of applause rose from the environing listeners. So powerful was this address that Hon. C. D. Baker, who followed him in his closing argu- ment, was unable to rouse the sympathies of the audience or jury, and, in fact, labored under such a disadvantage, in being obliged to combat his fiery antagonist, whose fullest powers had been called into play, that his efforts on the occasion fell far short of the ability which he usually por- trayed. By reason of an unfortunate disagreement between him and Judge Douglas while he was on the bench, he subsequently abandoned his practice in Illinois, and, without changing his residence, built up an extensive business in the courts of the eastern section of Iowa, which he main- tained with honor and éclat until his final retirement from the bar. His properties as an orator were remarkably versa- tile, his reasoning was always close and cogent, and his illustrations were abundant and happy ; he was the possessor also of overwhelming powers of ridicule, and in the gravest moments, while retaining intact his line of argument, conld weave into his stirring sentences a weft of pathetic humor that evoked at once a smile and a tear. At the present time, secluded from the turmoil of professional life, and bowed by the weaknesses of old age, he is the owner of the love and veneration of a large circle of friends and acquaintances, and to the younger members of the bar his past achievements are looked upon with admiration, and cited as brilliant models and examples.

He | to the State Legislature on the Democratic ticket. Being a peace man he believed the war to be wrong, and that the difficulties between the two sections could have been amicably settled without the shedding of blood had it not been for ambitious aspirants for power on both sides. In 1865 he removed to Gilman, in Iroquois county, Illinois, which was then a very small place, containing but few in- habitants, mostly employés of the railroad companies. The surrounding country was a vast open prairie, with but few inhabitants for many miles. He improved the first farms adjoining the town, and erected a number of the best buildings in the place, and through his energy induced many people to settle in the town and surrounding country, and thus reclaim a wild and almost valueless marsh. It now ranks with the best lands in the county, supporting a thriving and populous town.

AY, JOHN B., Lawyer, was born on the 8th of January, IS34, in Belleville, Illinois, which has ever since been his place of residence. His father, Andrew Hay, was also a native Illinoisan, and was born in St. Clair county. Andrew's father, John Hay, came from Canada, his father boing Governor of Lower Canada. So it will be scen that John B. Ilay comes of a lineage quite ancient for this young country. His mother was born in Kaskaskia, Illi- nois. His education was obtained at the common school in Belleville, and on a farm. Until the age of sixteen hc worked on a farm, attending school at intervals, and making the most of his time in both places. Afterwards he became a printer, working at that business for three years; part of the time on the Belleville Advocate, and part of the time on the St. Louis Republican. Then for a short time he taught school in St. Clair county, and then began the study of law in the office of Judge Niles. In 1851 he was licensed as an attorney, and thenceforward devoted his time and atten- tion to his profession. In the fall of IS6o he was elected State's Attorney for the Twenty-fourth Judicial District for a term of eight years. In September, 1863, he entered the army as Adjutant of the 130th Regiment Illinois Volunteers, and was mustered out at the end of one year's service. At the expiration of his military term he resumed the practice of his profession, and in the fall of 1868 was elected by the Republicans to Congress from the Twelfth Congressional District. IIe was re-elected to Congress in the fall of IS70, and served until March, 1873. He was again nominated for election to the Forty-third Congress, but was defcated by the affiliation of the Liberal Republicans with the Democrats. At the expiration of his second Congressional term he again resumed his professional practice, and this now occupies his time and abilities. In Congress he took an active part in the debates on the revenuc tariff reform,

ENGER, ELIAS, M. D., was born ncar Mount Crawford, Rockingham county, Virginia, April 16th, IS21. He is a son of Abraham and Mary Wenger, natives of Virginia, but of German origin. In 1832 he removed with his parents to Long Meadows, Augusta county, Virginia, where he acquired a common English education in the schools of that county. In IS40 he commenced teaching school and con- tinued in that business until 1843, when he was married to Eliza J. Smith, of Roanoke county, Virginia, after which he removed to Washington, Tazewell county, Illinois, where he tried farming for two years. Not being able to prosecute that business successfully he engaged in the drug business and study of medicine under the direction of Dr. G. P. Wood, and graduated at Rush Medical College, in Chicago, in 1855, and has been engaged in the practice of his pro- fession to the present time, having acquired some reputation as a surgeon. During his residence in Washington he served as Justice of the Peace for many years, having been elected to that office three times. In IS52 he was elected [ and on land reform. IIe was opposed to our high pro-

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tective tariff, and to land grants to railroads-to grants of all kinds, in fact. He was an active debater on all ques- tions involving the interests of the people, and strongly ad- vocated the principle that all Government officers, such as postmasters, marshals, etc., should be elected by the people, to hold the office during good behavior. His experience as a printer has been alluded to. In 1850 that experience was supplemented by a term of editorial service, when he acted as editor of the St. Clair Tribune, and this experience, no doubt, by the peculiar training and discipline it afforded, influenced and moulded his future carcer in no small de- gree. He was married in October, 1857, to Maria Hinckley, of Belleville.

NDERWOOD, WILLIAM H., Lawyer, was born on the 2Ist of February, 1818, at Schoharie Court House, New York, and in his boyhood laid the foundation, in a good common school educa- tion, for the busy and honorable manhood that was to follow. After he had done with the com- mon schools he took an academical course of three years at the Schoharie Academy and Hudson River Seminary, and that finished his school experience. IIe had made good use of his time and opportunities, however, and the com- mon school and academy counted far more with him than does a full college course with many a young man. He read law at Schoharie Court House, finishing his course of reading on the 4th of June, 1840, and immediately there- after removed to Belleville, Illinois, where he has ever since resided. Almost from the first of his residence here he met with marked success. In February, IS41, he was clected State's Attorney for the circuit then including St. Clair county, a position which he filled so acceptably that he was re-clected to it in January, 1343. In 1844 he was elected a member of the lower House of the Illinois Legis- lature from St. Clair. Honors came to him fast and frequently, and in September, 1348, he was elected Circuit Judge for six and a half years, which position he filled to the end of his term. The duties of this office he was peculi- arly fitted to perform, and his service on the bench was one of the utmost ability and honor, his decisions testifying in the strongest manner to his uprightness and ability. In 1856 he was elected to the State Senate for a term of four years, and on the expiration of his term he was again returned to the Senate. In 1869 he was a delegate from St. Clair to the convention to amend the State Constitution, and in 1370 he was again elected a State Senator from St. Clair and Madison counties. IIe found time in the midst of all these numerous and varied official labors for other labors which in themselves might well be considered enough to occupy the time and strength of a man, without the pressure of official daties in addition ; and in 1873 he completed a work on which he had been long engaged- " Underwood's Construed and Annotated Statutes of Illi-

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The biographical encyclopedia of Illinois of the nineteenth century, Part 61

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