The biographical encyclopedia of Illinois of the nineteenth century, Part 85

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

USA > Illinois > The biographical encyclopedia of Illinois of the nineteenth century > Part 85

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

OAL, ROBERT, M. D., was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, November 15th, 1806. When five years of age he removed with his parents to Cincinnati, Ohio. He received his literary education in the Cincinnati College, and in 1830 graduated from the Medical College of Ohio. He removed subsequently to the village of Reading, in the same State, where he practised his profession, and also in the city of Cincinnati, until IS36.ª He then removed to Illinois, and settled in Lacon, Marshall county, of which town he was one of the founders. In 1844 he was elected to the State Senate, and in 1854-56 to the House of Repre- sentatives from the district of which that county was a part. In 1857 he was appointed one of the Directors of the Illi- nois Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb,

380

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

at Jacksonville, a position which he held for a period of | carried out to the letter, and to-day the hum of many seventeen years. In 1863 he was appointed Examining Surgeon to the Board of Enrolment of the Fifth Congres- sional District, and served in this capacity until honorably discharged at the close of the rebellion. In 1865 he re- moved to the city of Peoria, where he still pursues the practice of medicine. He possesses the respect of the community in general, and is one of the oldest practitioners in the State.

OCHRAN, HON. JOSEPH W., Lawyer and Judge of the Ninth Circuit, was born in Ohio, in IS36. He is the son of John M. Cochran and Martha J. (Wilson) Cochran. He studied law in his native State, and graduated at the law department of the Ohio University, in Cincin- nati. He moved to Peoria, and there commenced the practice of his profession. In 1873 he was elected Judge of the Ninth Circuit, comprising the counties of Peoria and Stark, which office he still holds. He was married in 1861 to Martha H. Cox, of New York State.

LARK, RODERIC, Builder, was born in Granby, Massachusetts, on May 15th, 1829. His father, Asahel Clark, was a farmer and manufacturer, who died when the son was but ten years old. IIis death left the family in very limited circum- stances, and while a mere boy this son went to the neighborhood of Niagara Falls, where he learned the trade of a carpenter. When nineteen years old he started with five dollars in his pocket, working his way on rafts and boats down the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, and up the Illi- nois river to Morris, Illinois, where he located, and turned in to help build up the town, then just starting, giving his time and labor to help build the first church in the place, and assisting to lay out a portion of the town. Here he was married in 1851 to Mary Ryall, of Morris, by whom he has now four sons nearly grown, and of great assistance to him in looking after his various duties and interests. After he had stayed here seven years, and materially assisted in the prosperity of the place, he moved in 1857 to what is now the town of, Marseilles, on the Illinois river. An LA, JOHN W., Lawyer, was born in Meredith, New Hampshire, and is about forty-eight years of age. He received a liberal education in his native State, and entered the Law School of farvard, Massachusetts, from which he gradu- ated before he had attained his majority. Upon returning to his home he became a partner of Judge Bur- roughs, of Plymouth, New Hampshire, with whom he re- maincd until 1862, when he entered the service of the United States as Captain of the 15th New Hampshire attempt had been made here years before to build up a town, and had signally failed. Another village farther up on the river was in a very dormant condition. Mr. Clark had no- ticed a natural fall herc in the river of sixteen feet in onc mile, and with that shrewd forecast, quiet patience, and energy, which a few men only possess, located himself at this spot, began farming, and, as opportunity offered, purchased about all the land in the vicinity, determined, when he should have accomplished that end, to develop the water power, and to lay out and build up a new town of Marseilles. This he Infantry. He was in active service during the succeeding

factories, the presence of five hundred operatives, and homes of a population of twenty-five hundred souls attest the energy and wisdom of this man-the father of Marseilles. It took him several years to buy up the lands; then, in 1868, he induced capitalists from Chicago and Peoria to help him construct a dam across the Illinois of eight feet height, and one thousand feet length, which gives, perhaps, the best water power in the State; and laid out a town. This power they lease to the manufacturers. The business and railroad station of the old village was soon removed to the site of its new and prosperous neighbor, and Mr. Clark became Station Agent, which position, and that of Presi- dent of the Water Power Company, he still holds. In addition to this he is still a practical builder, and largely engaged in farming. He has also filled the office of Town Treasurer, and various other important trusts in the place, which has thus grown up in the past seven years.

ARTHING, WILLIAM D., Attorney-at-Law, was born in Marion county, Illinois, February 15th, IS47. His father, a native of Virginia, moved to Illinois in 1829, and settled in Marion county, where he engaged in farming. His mother was a native of Tennessee. He was educated pre- liminarily at the Washington Seminary, Richview, Illinois. Hle commenced life as a teacher, an avocation which he followed for seven years, and during this time studied law under the instructions of Thomas E. Merritt. In 1872 he was admitted to the bar, and entered upon the practice of his profession at Odin, where he still resides, possessing a fair practice, and the good opinion of his professional brethren. In 1864, then but seventeen years of age, he entered the service of the United States as a private, and after serving two years was honorably discharged. He was a participant at the battles of Lookout Mountain, Dallas, Resaca, Kcnesaw Mountains, Atlanta, Savannah, and Fort McAllister. He was married in 1874 to Sarah E. Phillips; of Central City, Marion county, Illinois.

381.

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

eighteen months, participating in that time in some of the | father purchased a farm, and here, after relinquishing his hottest battles of the war. He was then appointed Provost Judge in the Gulf Department, a position which he held until the close of the rebellion. He subsequently came to Chicago, and entered upon the practice of his profession in this city. His specialty is real estate and bankruptcy law, in which he has few superiors.

ORRISON, NAPOLEON B., Merchant, Mill Oper- ator, ex-Member of the Legislature, Odin, Illinois, was born in Bath, Grafton county, New Hamp- shire, February 12th, 1824. Ilis parents, of Scotch-Irish extraction, were natives of New Eng- land, and his earlier ancestors came to America in the famous vessel, the " Mayflower." His father, Dr. Moses F. Morrison, practised the medical profession in New Hamp- shire until his death in 1853. He was educated at the New- bury Academy in Vermont. On leaving school he became engaged as a civil engineer, a calling which he followed for fifteen years. He was employed by the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad; by the Buffalo & New York City Railroad ; by the New York & Erie Railroad ; by the New York Central Railroad, and by the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, being employed on the major portion of these roads until their completion. He subsequently moved to Iowa and interested himself in real cstate operations, con- tinuing in that business for five years. He then removed to Illinois, and settled at Odin in 1862. Later he became engaged in the lumber and grain business, and there nearly all the business in this line has been controlled by him. In 1872 he engaged in the milling business, while continuing to conduct his operations in grain in company with Mr. Smart. In 1875, however, he purchased his partner's interest in the establishment, and at the present time is sole owner and controller of its affairs. His mill, known as the Odin City Mill, is excelled only by the larger mills existing in the principal centres. In politics he has always been attached to the Democratic party, and in 1872 was elected a member of the Legislature from Marion county, and served through that session. He was married in 1854 to L. M. Smart, of Greenfield, Ohio.

RESHAM, CHARLES D., Merchant, was born in Crawford county, Indiana, March 6th, 1827. His parents, natives of Virginia, emigrated to Kentucky in 1815, and from there moved to In- diana, and subsequently to Illinois, returning finally to Indiana and settling in Clark county. His father continued to reside in this county until the time of his death. Charles was educated primarily in the common schools of Indiana, and later at the Commercial College in Louisville, Kentucky. When fourteen years of age his

studies, he passed one year, occupied in the labors attendant on agricultural life. At the expiration of that time, finding himself unsuited for the proposed vocation, he served an apprenticeship at the tinning trade in Louisville, working at it until 1853. During a portion of this time, however, he was employed as a bookkeeper. Afterward finding his trade more profitable he returned to it, and continued to work at Louisville until he removed to St. Louis, where he resided until 1858. He then removed to Marion county, Illinois, where he had purchased a farm, which he culti- vated during the following two years. He eventually dis- posed of the farm, and at the outbreak of the war was en- gaged as Assistant Quartermaster and Commissary at Auna, where the newly recruited troops were being provided for. He afterward did similar duty at Shawneetown. In the fall of 1862 he entered into copartnership with John Cunning- ham, the present State Senator, in conducting a general merchandise establishment. This association continued until 1868, at which date the latter retired, leaving him to conduct the business alone. He is one of the leading mer- chants and citizens of Salem, and is intimately identified with its prosperity. He has filled the office of City Coun- cilman, but, unwilling to become a participant in the politi- cal struggles of the hour, has never sought any public position of emolument. He was married in May, 1853, to Jane C. Sloss, of St. Louis, Missouri.

PARKS, HON. WILLIAM A. J., Lawyer, Mcm -. ber of Congress from the Sixteenth Congressional District of Illinois, was born near New Albany, Indiana, November 19th, 1828. His parents, natives of Virginia, emigrated to Indiana in 1805. Both were then unmarried, but subsequently their acquaintance resulted in love and marriage. His father was well known as a skilful farmer and an upright and energetic citizen. He, the youngest of ten children, re- ccived his earlier education in the county schools of Illinois, and, left an orphan at a tender age, was unable to secure as thorough an education as he desired. He subsequently commenced to work on a farm, at the same time attending school. He then engaged in teaching school, and after ac- cumulating a sum of money sufficient to defray attendant expenses, entered the McKendree College, from which in- stitution he ultimately graduated. Shortly after he moved to Carlyle, and there began the study of law under the in- structions of Chief Justice Breese. In November, 1850, he was admitted to the bar. In the following winter he was elected Second Clerk of the House of Representatives of this State, and in the spring of 1853 was appointed by Presi- dent Pierce Receiver of the United States Land Office for the Edwardsville, Illinois, District. The latter office he held until all the Illinois offices were consolidated. In

382

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.

IS56 he was elected a Presidential Elector for the Eighth District of the State, and voted for James Buchanan and J. C. Breckenridge. At the same election he was elected a member of the Legislature from the counties of Bond and Clinton. During his term he served as Chairman of the Committee on Improvements. In the spring of 1863 he was elected a State Senator for the Fourth Senatorial Dis- road Company. IIe is also a member of the order of Ma- sons, and for many years was Worshipful Master of Olncy Lodge, No. 140; Junior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of Illinois, and High Priest of the Richland Chapter, No. 48. IIe has been also Eminent Commander of Gorin Com- mandery, No. 14, from its constitution to the present time, and has taken the Scottish Rite degree up to the thirty-second. trict, and in 1868 was a delegate to the National Democratic | Both as a practitioner and as an expounder and interpreter of the law he has invariably exhibited profound knowledge of the matters involved, great powers of concentration and analysis, and an impartial and clement spirit. He was mar- ried in 1852 to Eleanor J. Mccullough, of Ohio.

Convention which met in New York and nominated Horatio Seymour. From the time of his admission to the bar he confined his attention closely to the practice of his profession, and secured a clientage so large and lucrative as to permit of his recent retirement with an independence. He has been a constant attendant at all the Democratic conventions held in the State, and is in Illinois one of the leading spirits of his party. In 1874 he was nominated and elected to Congress from the Sixteenth Congressional District, securing a victory over General Martin of eight hundred votes, while in the previous election the latter had been elected by over two hundred majority. IIe was married, April 16th, 1855, to Julia E. Parker, of Edwardsville.

AYWARD, HORACE, Lawyer, Judge of the County Court, Olney, Illinois, was born in Shrewsbury, Vermont, May 14th, 1824. His grandfather, an Englishman, settled in Vermont at an early day, and served through the Revolu- tionary war. His father, Benjamin Hayward, was born in Vermont, and engaged in farming, an occupa- tion at which he continued until his death in 1865. Horace was educated at the Troy Conference Academy, and also at the Castleton Seminary in Vermont. On leaving school he commenced the study of law in the office of Robert Pier- point, of Rutland, afterward one of the judges of the Su- preme Court of that State. He remained thus occupied during the ensuing eighteen months, and at the expiration of this period moved to California, where he was engaged in mining for about four months. He then returned from the Pacific coast, finished his course of legal studies, and was admitted to the bar: In November, 1850, he removed to Illinois, and settled in Olney, establishing himself there in the practice of his profession, in which he has since been constantly and successfully engaged. He held the office of Trustee of the Town for an extended period ; has officiated as County Supervisor and in various other positions of trust ; his labored for the benefit of his fellow-citizens, and the speedy development of the interests of his county and city. As a professional man he ranks among the ablest, and the office of Judge, to which he was elected in 1873, has never been filled with greater ability or more thorough integrity. Ile is a Director of the First National Bank of Olney, a position occupied by him since the organization of this in- stitution, and is President of the Grayville & Mattoon Ra'l-

OARD, SAMUEL, Agriculturalist, County Judge and ex-Postmaster of Chicago, was born in West- minster, Worcester county, Massachusetts, May 20th, 1800, descending from English ancestry of rank and fortune. When six years old he was deprived of parental care, and was committed to relatives, who subsequently furnished him with the facilities for a common school and academic education, with the aim of fitting him for professional life. He studied law for some time, but, after he had prepared himself for this vocation, having some doubts as to his suitableness for that branch of professional life, he turned his attention to mercantile pur- suits, becoming first a clerk and subsequently a partner in a business house. He manifested considerable interest in politics, and was elected a magistrate, and eventually ap- pointed Judge of the County Court of Franklin County, New York. In 1827 he married Sophonia Conant, daughter of John Conant, of Brandon, Vermont, and sister of Rev. T. J. Conant, D. D., of New York city. In the following year Mr. Hoard, with the co-operation of James Long of Chicago, established the Franklin Republican, and in 1833 he became editorial manager of the St. Lawrence Republi- can, and became associated with Silas Wright, jr., of whose ability as a statesman he was a profound admirer. He was influenced by the popular western movement which occurred soon after this, and moved to Illinois, settling upon a farm in Cook county. In 1840 he was appointed to take the State census of that county, and neither he nor Sheriff Sher- man, who was authorized to take the United States census, could find in Chicago, then ambitious to be called a metro- politan city, five thousand souls ! In 1842 he was elected State Senator, serving in the sessions of 1842-43, and after the expiration of this office was appointed Clerk of the Circuit Court, and moved into Chicago in order more thoroughly to attend to his duties. He engaged also in the real estate business, which he prosecuted alone with much vigor and success until 1845, when he formed a part- nership with J. T. Edwards in a jewelry establishment, which was maintained until the year 1861. He entered actively into all movements for the support of the adminis-

383

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.

tration ; became a member of the Union Defence Committee, and gratuitously gave one year's services to the arduous duties of Secretary of that organization. President Lincoln appointed him Postmaster of Chicago, and he retained that responsible office until the advent of President Johnson. Subsequently he became a member of the Board of Health of Chicago, and in this capacity rendered invaluable services in the successful effort to ward off the scourge of cholera which threatened the city. He has at all times taken a prominent and influential position in politics, and would have served in the Legislature again had not his generosity been practically exerted in behalf of another candidate. He presided at a convention to nominate members of the Legis- lature from Lake and Cook counties, in which William B. Ogden, Ebenezer Peck and others were candidates. A number of ballots had been taken without any decisive re- sult, when Mr. Ogden's friends suddenly changed their votes to Mr. Hoard, producing a tie between him and Mr. Peck. Mr. Hoard decided this issue, as presiding officer, by casting his, the final vote, in favor of Mr. Peck, an action which only increased popular esteem for him. He early manifested great interest in the questions of educational improvements, and became many years since a member of the Board of Education, over which he presided a very long period. He was one of the original corporators of the University of Chicago, having served on its Board of Trustees and on its Executive Committee from the date of its establishment. He is an earnest and conscientious churchman, holding a membership in the First Baptist Church, and for over fifteen years conducting the infant class of the large and flourishing Sabbath school connected with it. Latterly he has held the superintendency of a large class of boys in the Sabbath-school of the Second Baptist Church, of which he is senior deacon. To this school he contributed three fine paintings illustrative of Scriptural teachings, and in many other ways has shown his liberality to the church and its dependencies. He has been eminent for his public spirit, for his genuine and unostenta- tious philanthropy, and in his manner of address, whether as a public or private citizen, he has won the lasting respect of the entire community.

Hamilton, of Salem, and in 1862 was admitted to the bar at Springfield, Illinois. He then entered upon the practice of his profession in Salem, and rapidly acquired an extensive clientage. In politics he has always been attached to the Democratic party, and has attended all the Democratic con- ventions held in this State during the past fifteen years. While officiating as a delegate to the Democratic conven- tions held in Springfield in 1862 he acted as a member of the Committee on Resolutions. In 1860 he made his first " stump-speech," and through that campaign continued to " stump" the State for Stephen A. Douglas. In 1869 he was elected a member of the Legislature from Marion county, and has since been re-elected three times. While in the Legislature he has been ever foremost in debate, and many of his speeches have been reported, notably that on the Lake-front bill, which he opposed, and that on the Canal bill, whose defeat was mainly attributable to his earnest labors. He was married in 1862 to Alice Mc- Kenny, of Salem.

UCAS, GEORGE LEE, M. D., was born in Law- rence, Stack county, May 9th, 1823. His grandfather, Isaac Lucas, was a Revolutionary soldier, and served throughout the war of inde- pendence; lis discharge, signed by General Wash- ington at the close of the struggle, is still in the possession of the family. His father, Berridge Lucas, a farmer, removed to Washington county, Pennsylvania, where he resided for a long time. George attended the common school in the vicinity, and also the academy, working at intervals on a farm. IIe subsequently studied medicine in the same county, and in 1852 graduated from the Jefferson Medical College. Before graduating, however, he practised his profession for six years in Pennsylvania, and after, in 1852, moved to Bourbon county, Kentucky, where he was professionally occupied for five years. In 1857 he removed to Brimfield, Peoria county, Illinois, continuing there the practice of medicine. In 1861 he was commissioned Surgeon of the 47th Regiment Illinois Volunteers, and eighteen months later was chosen Surgeon-in-Chief of the 3d Division of the 15th Army Corps, afterward the Ist Division of the 16th Army Corps. In this capacity he served until the latter part of 1864, when he received a sunstroke, and being relieved from field duty was placed in charge of the hospital at Rome, Georgia. After the lapse of a brief period he re- turned to his practice in Peoria, now extensive and remu- nerative. He officiated as President of the Town Council in Brimfield, and in Peoria has been a member of the Board of Supervisors. He was also a member of the committee which established the Peoria County Normal School, the first county normal school established in the United States, and which, now in its seventh year, has met with great suc- cess. He is a member of the Peoria City Medical Associa-

ERRITT, HON. THOMAS E., Attorney-at-Law, Member of the Legislature, Salem, Illinois, was born in New York city, April 29th, 1834. His father, John W. Merritt, was born in Albany, New York, and for many years was engaged in the practice of the law, from which, however, on account of old age, he is now entirely withdrawn. In 1840 he moved to the West, and settled in Salem, Illinois, where he still resides. Thomas attended the common schools of Salem until eighteen years of age, then learned the trade of carriage painting, at which he worked for several years. He subsequently commenced the study of law with P. P. tion, of the Illinois State Medical Association, and a member

384

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

also of the American Medical Association. In his practice, [ the " burnt district" after the great fire of 1871. At the eovering a period of over twenty-nine years, he has won an enviable, reputation and is widely recognized as a skilful physician. He was married in Wade county, Pennsylvania, October 14th, 1846, to Hannah L. Ringland, of that county. He has four children living, one daughter and three sons. B. C. K. Lueas, the oldest son, graduated from the Long Island Medical College, June 24th, 1875, receiving, in obstetrics, the highest honors of his class, and was presented with a fine case of obstetrical instruments, the prize awarded for greatest excellence.

UCK, GEORGE, Pharmaceutist, was born in Ro- chester, England, September 20th, 1827. He is a son of Thomas Buck and Sarah (Adams) Buck. After passing through a regular academical eourse of study he was, at the age of fourteen years, ap- prenticed to a pharmaceutist at Maidstone, Kent, England, with whom he served his full term, and obtained a thorough knowledge of his profession in all its bearings and details. During that period the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain was organized, and he became one of its earliest associates, and eventually, in 1849, after passing the prescribed examination, enjoyed the advantages of a full and regular membership. In 1848 he removed to Bristol and acted as dispenser in the establishment of Ferris & Score, a firm still in existence, and has always been con- sidered the most extensive of its kind in the west of Eng- land. After remaining with those employers until 1849, he returned to his native city, Rochester, and commenced business on his own account, which he earried on for a period of about four years. At the expiration of that time, in 1853, he came to the United States and settled in Brook- lyn, having been for a few months previous, however, in the employ of the old and well-known firm of Thomas & Maxwell, in William street, New York city. Here hc engaged with Mr. Eagleton, a prominent pharmacist, until in December, 1855, he removed to Chicago, where he entered the establishment of J. H. Reed & Co., as dispenser. He remained with this house during the suc- ceeding three years, and then associated himself with J. B. Rayner, his present partner, under the firm-name of Buck & Rayner, locating the pharmaceutical establishment at 93 Clark street. This connection was continued until 1865, when his partner disposed of his interest in the firm, re- moved to New York, and after a short absenee returned, in 1868, and purchased the entire business. In 1869 the old firm-name of Buck & Rayner was resumed, and the affairs of the firm, since conducted by the partners, are now in a highly flourishing condition. They maintain two places of business, one at 117 Clark street, the other on the corner of State and Madison streets. The latter store, as is well known, was the first preseription drug store re-established in

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The biographical encyclopedia of Illinois of the nineteenth century, Part 85

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