USA > Illinois > The biographical encyclopedia of Illinois of the nineteenth century > Part 91
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" Section I. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That all elections heretofore held prior to April 25th, A. D. 1861, in any regiment of the Illinois Volunteer Militia called into service under the proclamation of the President of the United States, for colonel, lieutenant-colonel, major, or any other officers of said militia, shall be and hereby is declared good and valid, without any reference to any law prescrib- ing the mode of such election.
"Section 2. This act shall be a public act, and shall be in force from and after its passage."
In conformity with the above statute Governor Richard Yates issued a commission to John Cook as Colonel of the 7th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Adjutant-General Hay- nir's report, volume I, reads as follows, page 325 : "The 7th Infantry Illinois Volunteers is claimed to be the first regiment organized in the State of Illinois under the first call of the President for three months' troops. The 8th Illinois claims the same honor. The 7th was mustered into the United States service at Camp Yates, Illinois, April 25th, 1861, by Captain John Pope, United States army. Was forwarded to Alton, St. Louis, Cairo, and Mound City, where it remained during the three months' service." Page 334. " On the 25th day of April, 1861, the 8th Illinois Volunteer Infantry was first organized for the three months' service, Colonel Oglesby commanding. A contest for rank and seniority arose between the 7th and 8th, both being organized the same day. This contest was finally ended · by according to Colonel Cook the first number, 7, as the | he was elected Representative from Sangamon county to
Colonel Oglesby taking the second number for his regiment, with the first rank as colonel." General Cook asserts that it is utterly impossible to sustain this statement ; that while Colonel Oglesby, who affixed his executive approval as Governor of the State of Illinois to the report, may perhaps have done so depending upon the supposed accuracy of his appointee, the paragraph alluded to is nevertheless without foundation in any particular. The question of regimental numbers, as between Colonel Oglesby and Colonel Cook, was never for a moment raised ; over this there was no con- troversy ; consequently there could be ro possibility of the waiver of rank on the part of Colonel Cook. Appreciating as he did the value of rank as an experienced soldier, he would not and did not waive it for any such reason as assigned by Governor Oglesby's Adjutant-General nor for any other. His regiment was ordered first to the city of Alton, and in the absence of camp and garrison equipage was quartered in the old penitentiary buildings, then aban- doned. From there he proceeded to Cairo, from which point his command was ordered to Mound City; from thence to Ironton, where it assisted in driving out Jeff Thompson's and Hardee's forces from the State of Missouri. From Ironton the regiment was ordered to Cape Girardeau, from which point it proceeded to Fort " Joe Holt," Ken- tucky, opposite Cairo, where Colonel Cook was assigned command of a brigade consisting of the 7th Illinois, 28th Illinois, two squadrons of cavalry, and McAllister's Battery of Light Artillery. They were engaged in all reconnois- sances from here, and were held as the reserve at Ellicott's Mills during the attack on Belmont and Columbus. On the 3d of February, 1862, he was assigned to the command of General Charles F. Smith, in the movement up the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. He took part in the attack and capture of Forts Henry and Donelson. After the capture of Fort Donelson he was commissioned Briga- dier General for gallant conduct. He subsequently took part in the battle of Shiloh. During the advance on Cor- inth he was ordered to report to the Secretary of War, and was by him assigned a command consisting of his brigade, consolidated with two brigades from General Shield's division, eleven batteries of artillery, and two regiments of cavalry-the artillery being stationed at different forts and points in the rear of Alexandria, Virginia. After McClel- lan's retreat from Harrison's Landing and Pope's retreat from the valley, he was relieved at his own request, and in the fall following was ordered to report to Major-General John Pope, commanding the Military Department of the Northwest, under whose command he remained until Octo- ber 9th, 1864, when he was assigned command of the Mili- tary District of the State of Illinois, with head-quarters at Springfield, where he remained until he was mustered out of service, having previously been commissioned by Presi- dent Johnson Major-General by brevet. In the fall of 1868
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the Twenty-sixth General Assembly of the State of Illinois, [ his office his deportment and actions, in circumstances occa- in which position he acquitted himself with honor and credit to his constituents, and was chiefly instrumental in procuring the second appropriation for the erection of the new State Capitol, which is now one of the handsomest structures on the continent. His social qualities are of the highest order, and he is universally respected and admired as a fine type of the Western gentleman. His good-nature and pleasant address make him a most agreeable companion.
sionally of a peculiarly irritating and wearisome nature, have invariably been characterized by courtesy and un- swervable impartiality. His opinions and judgments merit, and have received in countless cases, the warmest com- mendation, while his reputation for spotless integrity is unassailable. Succinctly, he is a finished scholar, a pro- found jurist, and a useful citizen. While serving with the Congressional body he favored the annexation of Texas, warmly upheld as a valuable right our title to Oregon up to the line of fifty-four degrees forty minutes, and advised the carrying of the war with Mexico into the heart of that country. His action in connection with the land grants for the benefit of the Illinois Central Railroad was productive of considerable benefit to the country at large ; his original plan being, not a grant, but really a pre-emption. He pro- cured also the passage of acts for the sale of the mincral lands which constitute such a valuable resource of Galena and the environing region, and the passage of other acts also relative to similar properties in various sections of the State. To him is likewise due the honor and credit at- tached to that movement which eventually effected the repeal of the five years exemption from taxation of the public lands in the State, ultimately sources of revenue which proved to be needful and valuable aids to Illinois at the period when her energies were sorely prostrated by financial chaos and distress. He made, also, a very able report in favor of a grant of land to a railroad from Lake Michigan to the Pacific.
REESE, HON. SIDNEY, Associate Justice, ex- Chief Justice, and ex-United States Senator, was born about the close of the last century, in Oneida county, New York. He received a thorough general and classical education at the Union College, from which institution he graduated with distinction. He had been the school-fellow of Elias Kent Kane, who was his senior. After the appointment of the latter to the office of Secretary of State, in ISIS, he became associated with him as a fellow-student of law. In IS20 he essayed the practice of his profession in Jackson county, but met with failure in the presentation and conduct of a case in court before a jury. Overwhelmed with morti- fication, he resolved, on the spur of the moment, to entirely abandon the practice of law, and in the ensuing year became the Postmaster of Kaskaskia. In 1822, however, he was appointed to the Circuit Attorneyship by Governor Bond, a position which hc retained under Governor Coles, and until the accession of Governor Edwards. In IS31 he prepared and published " Brecse's Reports " of the Supreme Court Decisions, that being the first book ever published in REENLEAF, CHARLES WILSON, Dentist, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, September 11th, 1835. His great-grandfather, his grandfather, and his father also were dentists, thus making a succession of four generations of the same family engaged in the same profession. The last-named practised in Hartford, Connecticut, and the West for a period extending over forty years. Charles W. was edu- cated primarily at a school in his native place, and when twelve years of age moved with his parents to Farmington, Illinois, where he remained during the ensuing six years. At the expiration of this time he removed to Peoria, in the same State, where he attended school, subsequently bccom- ing a student at the Knox College, in Galesburg, in which institution he was a pupil for three years. He also prac- tised dentistry in this place. Upon leaving the college he settled in Peoria, then opened a dental office in Sing Sing, New York, where he resided for five years, controlling an office also at Peekskill and Tarrytown, in partnership with another dentist. He then moved to New York city, where hc practised during the succeeding two years, until an affection of the throat compelled him to relinquish an ex- the State. In the course of the following year he took part in the memorable Black Hawk Indian war, serving notably and efficiently as a Major. While acting in a military capa- city he was a prominent actor upon several important occasions, and was widely recognized as an intrepid and trustworthy officer. Upon the establishment of the Circuit Court system, in 1835, he was chosen Judge. In 1841 he was elected one of the Supreme Judges. In 1842 he was elected for a full term, from March 4th, 1843, to the Senate of the United States. At the expiration of that term he was, in 1350, elected to the Legislature and made Speaker of the House, a position for which he was admirably quali- fied both by natural abilities and solid acquirements, gleaned during years of service in public stations of trust and honor. In 1855 he was again elected Circuit Judge, and two years later, upon the resignation of Judge Scates, elevated a second time to the Supreme Bench, where he has since rc- mained, a skilful and vencrated cxpounder of the law. In rotation he has reached the position of Chief-Justice. It is on this bench that he has, by his numerous able opinions, secured the lasting regard of the people in general and the members of the bar in particular. In all that appertains to tensive practice. In 1863 he returned to Pccria, and there
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resumed the practice of his profession in partnership with | lawyer. In 1846 he emigrated to the State of Kentucky, his father, and in this town has since permanently resided, in the possession of a very extensive and remunerative busi- ness. He had purchased an office in Chicago, intending to control two separate establishments, but his practice in Peoria speedily assumed such large proportions that he was com- pelled to abandon this purpose and confine himself entirely to one field of operations. Accordingly, after a brief trial, he disposed of his interest in the Chicago branch. In 1868 his father went out from the partnership, and became Assistant United States Assessor for the Fifth District. He made the first set of artificial teeth ever manufactured in Connecticut, and constructed it of a number of human teeth riveted upon a lignum vitæ base. He was one of the organizers of the Illinois State Dental Association, of which he is a member, and has at times contributed articles to various dental journals. He has three children, one son and two daughters.
ITHIAN, WILLIAM, M. D., was born in Cincin- nati, Ohio, in 1799. His parents were George Fithian and Sarah (Mulford) Fithian. He was educated by a private tutor, a Scotchman, who taught in a select school. In IS19 he began the study of medicine at Urbana, Ohio, under the instructions of Dr. Joseph Carter. In 1822 he passed the examination of the Ohio State Board of Medical Censors, and was licensed to practise. Commencing his professional career at Urbana he practised there for about two years, then removed to Danville, Illinois, at that early day con- taining but three or four country houses. From this time to the present day he has been constantly engaged in his profession, and has met with deserved success. Many years ago he was for a period drawn into politics, and served two terms in the lower House of the Illinois Legis- lature, and subsequently three terms in the Senate, having been elected on the old Whig ticket. He was married at Urbana, Ohio, to the daughter of E. C. Berry, who died in Danville, Illinois. He was afterward again married, to Josephine L. Black, widow of Rev. J. C. Black, a talented Presbyterian clergyman, who died in Pittsburgh, Pennsyl- vania, in May, 1850.
and shortly afterward was placed at the head of a flourisli- ing law school connected with a college at Georgetown, Kentucky, which he conducted for several years, Speaker Blaine of the House of Representatives, then a professor in the same college, having been one of his pupils. He subsequently practised his profession in the courts of the famous Blue Grass region of Kentucky, of which Lexington is the principal city, enjoying the reputation of an able law- yer, and holding in the old Whig party the position of an earnest and eloquent advocate of its principles. A short time before the outbreak of the rebellion he removed into the cotton district of the South, and engaged in cotton planting in Alabama, while still actively pursuing the prac- tice of law. In 1864, at the solicitation of the " Friends of Peace and the Restoration of the Union," then a large party in the State of Georgia, including such men as Joshua Hill, Alexander H. Stephens, and Joseph Brown, he assumed the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, published at Augusta, Georgia, and the newspaper organ of the Peace party in this section. While editing the paper he wrote many powerful and pun- gent articles in favor of peace, and an immediate return to the Union, and against the administration and perilous policy of Jefferson Davis, which were extensively read throughout the South, and exerted a palpable influence on the public mind. In his editorial contests he frequently en- countered such spirits of the Southern press as Pollard, of the Richmond Examiner, and other advocates of rebellious measures, and in the course of this journalistic warfare wrote a lengthy and elaborate reply to an address of Howell Cobb to the people of Georgia in defence of the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus by the Richmond government. The only reply which II. Cobb, or his friends, ventured to make to that manifesto was a tirade of abuse against the Chronicle and Sentinel, which was published in an Atlanta paper. His efforts in the cause of peace and re union did much to dispose the Southern mind in favor of a return to the Union, and so alarming were they to the President of the Confederacy that a warrant for the arrest of the publisher of the Chronicle and Sentinel was issued and attempted to be served, but was defeated by the timely action of General Beauregard, then in command at Augusta. In 1862 he officiated as Provost Marshal General, first of western Tennessee, and later of northern Mississippi, holding the rank of Colonel in the Confederate service, and being charged with the administration of martial law, which he administered for the protection and to the satisfaction of the people of those regions at a time of general disorder and suspension of civil law. While officiating in this capacity he treated with remarkable kindness a large num- ber of Union prisoners placed in his charge, his sanitary measurcs for the preservation of their health being so com- plete that scarcely a case of sickness, and not a single
FORRESTER, ROBERT H., Lawyer and Journal- ist, was born at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, of Scottish parents, his father having been an emi- nent scholar and professor of mathematics, and a graduate of the University of Edinburgh. He is about fifty-three years of age. He studied law at Pittsburgh under the direction of Hon. James Dunlop. After his admission to the bar he practised about two years in the courts of that city, speedily acquiring, especially in criminal practice, the reputation of a skilful and promising i death, occurred among them. At the close of the war, in
52
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1866, he was sent by the Confederate Secretary of War on a mission to Memphis, to negotiate an exchange of cotton for provisions, which President Lincoln had invited and en- couraged, as tending to reconciliation by restoring commer- cial intercourse between the hostile sections. In that mission his efforts met with success, General Dana, then in command, giving him a written order guarantceing from attack the steamer chartered to carry on the trade. At the termination of the contest he retired to his cotton plantation in Alabama, on which he continued to reside, practising law successfully in the neighboring courts, until, in 1868, enfeebled health, and the unsettled condition of the country, induced him to remove to Chicago, where he has since re- sided, occupied constantly by professional cares and duties. He has gained many important revenue cases in the Circuit Court of the United States, and has also conducted to suc- cessful endings various important causes in the Supreme Court of Illinois.
OND, LESTER L., Lawyer, was born in Ravenna, Ohio, in 1830. He passed his earlier days on a farm, and in the practical study of the mechanical arts. With but a fair common school education and the learning acquired in the village academy, where he had been an attendant for a few terms, he applied himself to the study of law, and in 1853 was admitted to the bar. He subsequently practised in Ravenna for one year, and in 1854 removed to Chicago, where he engaged at first in the general practice of law. His prac- tical knowledge of mechanical arts and inventions, however, and his natural liking for the study of mechanics, chemistry, and kindred sciences, induced him eventually to select the law pertaining to patents as a specialty, and to the study and practice of this he applied himself accordingly with unremitting industry and energy. In 1866 he formed a co- partnership with Hon. Edmund A. West, formerly of Wis- consin, and the firm of West & Bond is now engaged in nearly every litigated patent case in Chicago and vicinity, and has now an enviable reputation in Washington, New York, and other Eastern cities. From 1863 to 1866 he was a member of the Common Council, and served in the Legis- lature in the sessions of 1867 and 1869. He was also for several years a member of the Board of Education.
OORE, SAMUEL M., Lawyer and Judge, was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, and is now about fifty-three years of age. He studied law at Cynthiana, in that State, under Hon. James Curry, one of the oldest and most accurate lawyers then at the bar. In 1843 he entered on the practice of his profession, and in 1845 removed to Covington, Ken- tucky, where he was speedily recognized as a skilful prac-
titioner, and took rank with the most eminent men of the time and place. In 1856 he was elected Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Kentucky. In becoming a candi- date for this office he refused to accept the nomination of any political party, and while on the bench studiously avoided taking any part in party politics. ITis decisions were invariably characterized by soundness and learning, and he was distinguished for remarkable industry and his rapidity in the despatch of business, while his decrees were seldom appealed from or reversed. At the close of thic rebellion, his judicial term having expired, he removed to Chicago, and entered into his present law partnership with Hon. B. Caulfield, then in full practice. He has long been a prominent and influential member of the Presbyterian Church, filling the office of a ruling Elder, and is regarded by his church as a man of sterling piety and integrity of character. In politics he has always been attached to the Democratic party, and in Kentucky was one of the most influential and valued leaders of his party. Since residing in Chicago, however, he has declined to take any active part in politics, devoting himself exclusively to professional labors.
cKINNON, JOHN J., Lawyer, was born in Charles- ton, South Carolina, and received his preparatory education in his native city. He is a graduate of the Jesuit College of Georgetown, District of Columbia, also of St. Rheims, France. Upon his return from Europe he began the study of law under the instructions of Nicholas Hill, of Albany, New York, and subsequently with Christian Rozilius, of New Orleans, Louisiana, finally with Swett & Orme, in Bloom- ington, Illinois. In 1848 he came to Chicago from New York, and has since resided permanently in the West. He is a practitioner of superior abilities, and has been intrusted with several very important cases in the Supreme Court of the United States. He converses fluently in several lan- guages, and is thoroughly familiar with the classics.
AN BUREN, EVARTS, Lawyer and Judge, was born in Kinderhook, New York, in 1803. He was admitted to the bar in 1827, when he re- moved to Penn Yan, where he was brought into contact with many of the most prominent legal and political men of the day. In 1836 he re- moved to Buffalo, and in 1840 returned to Penn Yan. In 1856 he came to Chicago, and in 1861 was elected Judge of the Recorder's Court. After serving one term he re- sumed the practice of law, in which he is now successfully engaged. He has taken an active part in politics, and in various criminal suits, which at the time of their occurrence attained a world-wide notoriety.
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ANFORD, RAYMOND WHEELER, Lawyer and Judge, of Vermillion county, Illinois, was born in Summit county, Ohio, June 24th, 1829. His parents were John Hanford and Sarah E. (Noble) Hanford. He was educated at the Ken- yon College, in his native State, and graduated from that institution in 1855. He commenced the study of law in the office of Thomas Corwin, of Cincinnati, com- pleting his course under the direction of J. M. Leslie. He was admitted to the bar in Springfield, Illinois, in 1859, and subscquently began the practice of his profession in Danville, the county-seat of Vermillion county. In 1861 hc enlisted in the 12th Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and shortly after was detailed and acted in the Quarter- master's department, ranking as First Lieutenant. Later he became Regimental Quartermaster, and served in this capacity until the termination of the conflict. In 1868 he was elected to the bench to fill an unexpired term of Daniel Clapp, in 1869 was re-elected for the regular terin of four years, and was again elected in 1873. He was married, November 3d, 1866, to Henrietta M. Prince, from Maine, who died in 1869.
MITH, SIDNEY, Lawyer, was born in New York. He began the study of law with Church & Davis, in the western part of the State, and was admitted to the bar in Albion, New York. About eighteen years ago he settled in Chicago, where he has since permanently resided, engaged in the practice of his profession. In the preparation of a case he brings to bear upon it tireless application, a comprehensive knowledge of law and of the authorities, and a keen and logical appre- ciation of what is needed to conduct it to a successful issue. He is one of the most successful practitioners in this section of Illinois.
an interest in it and soon became its proprietor. At this period he entered with great zeal into various manufacturing and commercial enterprises, and while yet a young man was widely known as an active, public-spirited, and influential citizen, and as such was called into public life as a represent- ative of the people. He was readily elected to the Canadian Parliament, where he was twice returned, and during fourteen years, embracing the stormy period of the rebellion of 1836-37, he remained a prominent and respected mem- ber of that body. He was also one of the government commissioners charged with the construction of the St. Lawrence Canal, and the improvement of the river naviga- tion, and assisted in building and testing the first steamboat which descended the St. Lawrence rapids. In 1838 he accompanied the consulting engineer of the Illinois & Michigan Canal to the State of Illinois on a tour of inspec- tion, and became so enamored of the country that he at once removed his family from Canada and settled at Lock- port, in Will county, the hcad-quarters of the canal opera- tions, where he built a fine residence, and took an active interest in the canal work, contributing largely by his practical knowledge and influence to the successful comple- tion of that great undertaking, and also identified himself with many of the prominent interests of the State. After the opening of the canal he entered into extensive business operations at Lockport, and in 1848, in company with his two eldest sons, established the firm of Norton & Co., which is still one of the well-known business houses of the State, in the grain and milling trade at Lockport and Chicago. In 1858 he was sent, almost without opposition, to the State Legislature. With this exception, although controlling great political influence and support, he never sought cr held public office or position in the West. His life, ranging from the destitution and hardships of a homeless boyhood, through trials and triumphs, and the manifold ex- periences of public and private life, to the quiet comforts and grateful honors of a serene and beautiful old age, was a constant cxemplification of the energy, integrity, and sim- plicity which formed the basis of his character. He was a man of the most generous and kindly impulses. Incapable of deceit himself, he was wholly intolerant of all sham and artificc. Coming to Illinois a successful and enterprising man, in the prime of life, he was one of those who were able to meet the highest needs of a new State, and became and remained one of its leading citizens. Not ambitious of political preferment himself he was one of those whose support of other men, or their measures, was always con- sidcred a high indorsement. In Will county, where he resided nearly forty years, his business enterprise and public spirit contributed largely to the general prosperity ; while his sterling character and warm social nature won for him the respect and affection of a host of friends. During the last ten years of his life he left the cares of active business to his sons, though remaining the head and counsellor of
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