USA > Illinois > The biographical encyclopedia of Illinois of the nineteenth century > Part 95
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and he felt it his duty to enter the Union service. He en- [ lantry was so conspicuous and so signal as to secure distin- tered as a private in Company D, 16th Regiment Illinois guished mention in general orders. On April 12th, 1864, he was assigned to the office of Adjutant-General of the 14th Corps, under General John M. Palmer, of Illinois, and shortly after accompanied that corps in its campaign against Atlanta, with its five months of almost incessant action. Three weeks prior to the fall of Atlanta Major-General Jefferson C. Davis relieved General Palmer, and requested Captain McClurg to retain his position at the head of the staff, at the same time applying to President Lincoln to assign him as Adjutant-General with the rank of Lieutenant- Colonel. The War Department at once complied in making this appointment, and in general orders Captain McClurg was declared Chief-of-Staff. General Davis based his appli- cation for this promotion on the captain's brave and gallant conduct at the battle of Jonesboro'. In the capacity to which he was formally assigned he participated in the memorable chase of Hood and Sherman's march to the sea, participat- ing in all the principal reconnoissances and skirmishes, and in all the actions which marked the progress of that splendid achievement in the heart of the enemy's country. Ile was at his post when the army triumphantly entered Washington. In a short time he was offered by telegraph the Adjutant- Generalship of the Department of the Tennessee, then in command of General Stoneman, but declined it. He par- ticipated during the war in the engagements at Perryville, Stone River, Liberty Gap, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Mis- sion Ridge, Ringgold, Resaca, Adairsville, Big Shanty, New Hope Church, Kenesaw Mountain, Chattahoochie River, Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, Jonesboro', Savannah, Averasboro' and Bentonville, in addition to skirmishes and dangerous reconnoissances too numerous to be here enumerated. Ilis ability as an officer, as a disciplinarian and strategist, was the subject of flattering comment from many of his superior officers, and he was urged by General Davis to attach him- self to the regular army, receiving a letter from that officer to Secretary of War Stanton recommending him for a high position. But he never used this communication. Gencral Sherman sent him a letter which merits reproduction in part. He said : " It is both proper and right that I should personally acknowledge my sense of personal obligation to the . many young gentlemen who came into the volunteer army from civil life to serve our common country at a time of her greatest peril, and who filled their positions with so much credit to themselves and the service. Among these I recognize yourself, especially during the time you were the Adjutant-General of the 14th Corps, under the command of General Jefferson C. Davis, during the siege of Atlanta, the march to Savannah, and the subsequent campaign which closed the civil war. Accept my best wishes for your success in civil lifc." General Thomas in a letter addressed to him said : " I always recognized in you a very active and able officer, as well as a courteous gentleman." Upon his return from the field Mr. McClurg re-entered the firm of S. C. State Militia, then commanded by Captain, now General, Bradley, of the regular service. His regiment was intended for three months' service, but it was not needed, and after drilling for nearly this time it disbanded. Mr. McClurg for a short period resumed business, and upon the second call of President Lincoln he, as Captain of the Crosby Guards, which he had partially raised, joined the 2d Board of Trade Regiment, which, under the command of Colonel Frank Sherman, left for Louisville on September 4th, 1862. The regiment first moved to the defence of Cincinnati, which was threatened by Kirby Smith, and returned to Louisville in time to participate in the battle of Perryville, within one month from the date of its leaving Chicago. Upon its ar- rival at Nashville Captain McClurg was detailed as Judge Advocate of an important court-martial, of which General Woodruff, of Kentucky, was President. His duties were so ably discharged in this station as to attract the attention of Major-General McCook, who in May, 1863, placed him upon his staff as Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. In this capacity he served through the eampaigns of General Rosecrans against Tullahoma and Chattanooga, participat- ing gallantly in the battles of Liberty Gap and Chickamauga. Upon the rcorganization of the army after the latter engage- ment General McCook was relieved of his command, and Captain McClurg, instead of being quietly, as he supposed, allowed to return to his company, was immediately compli- mented with offers of preferment by Generals Thomas, Sheridan and Baird. The latter offered him the Adjutant- Generalship of his division, and this he accepted. The fol- lowing letter testifies to the high estimation in which he was held by General Sheridan : " Winchester, Virginia, Novem- ber 16th, 1864. My dear Captain : . . . I am pleased to tender you my thanks for the valuable services you rendered while with the 20th Corps. I was anxious, immediately after you were relieved from duty with General McCook, to secure your services with me, but the only position on my staff then vacant-that of mustering officer-not being calculated to exercise your military ability, you declined it. Still, I should again have applied for you had not my early transfer to the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac temporarily pre- vented. . . . I will, at the earliest practicable moment, if agreeable to you, be pleased to obtain the services of one so thoroughly competent. . .. I am yours, very truly, P. HI. Sheridan, Major-General United States Volunteers. To Captain Alexander C. McClurg, Acting Adjutant-General United States Volunteers." When this letter reached Captain McClurg his Western command was of too impor- tant a character to permit of his accepting the offer of the hero of the Shenandoah. He continued Adjutant-General of Baird's division while the army was beleaguered at Chat- tanooga by Bragg's forces, rendering valuable services in that section and at the battle of Mission Ridge. His horse was twiee shot from under him in this action, and his gal- | Griggs & Co., and reassumed the prominent position which
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had been kept open for him during his absence. As onc of the junior members of the firm he did much to build up its business, and to heighten its character among the great mercantile establishments of the Northwest. The firm is now Jansen, McClurg & Co.
his de recs from both Oxford and Cambridge, and was the recipient of many distinguished attentions from the prelates of the Anglican Church. As a preacher he was intellectually, rather than emotionally, eloquent, though his finest cfforts were considered to be his extemporaneous ones. Though small of stature he seemed to grow taller when under the influence of excitement, and as a presiding officer was emi- nent for his graceful dignity. On Wednesday, August 5th, 1874, he was seized with fainting fits, and for the first time in twenty years was prostrated upon his bed by sickness. He died five days thereafter.
HITEHOUSE, HENRY JOHN, D.D., LL.D., late Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Illinois, was born in the city of New York in August, 1803. After a preliminary training he entered Columbia College, from which institution he graduated in 1821. Then he entered the General Theological Seminary, whence he was graduated in 1824. He was or- ONES, GEORGE WHEELER, M. D., was born in Bath, Steuben county, New York, in 1831. He is the son of John S. Jones and Charlotte (Wheeler) Jones. He was primarily cducated in part in his native place, and, his parents cmi- grating to Covington, Indiana, in 1848, completed his studies at the Wabash College, in Crawfordsville, In- diana. In 1855 he commenced the study of medicine with his father, a physician, and in 1859 entered the medical de- partment of the. Northwestern University of Chicago. He graduated from that institution in 1862, and immediately settled in Terre Haute, where he began the practice of his profession. At the expiration of about two months he en- tered the service of the United States as Acting Surgeon of the 26th Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, on the call for volunteer surgeons, and at once repaired to Pittsburgh Land- ing. After serving with this regiment during the ensuing four months he returned to his home, and was tendered the position of Surgeon of an Illinois regiment, but declined, accepting afterward the position of Assistant Surgeon of the 63d Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, a step taken with a view to care for a younger brother, a mere boy, who liad enlisted in that body. He then remained in active service until the close of the war in June, 1865. During two years of the time passed in military duty he was detailed on special service on the Operating Board of the 3d Division of the 23d Army Corps. At the termination of the conflict he settled in Danville, Illinois, where he has since been pro- fessionally and successfully occupied, his practice being very extensive and lucrative. He is a member of the American Medical Association, and a member also of the State Medical Society. He has at times contributed to the literature of the profession, and is otherwise known as a man of scholarly attainments. He has served as Surgeon for the Chicago, Danville & Vincennes Railroad, but on account of the pressure exercised by his private practice was obliged to decline reappointment. He is also Medical Examiner for a number of insurance companies. He was married in 1865 to Emelyn K. Enos, of Indianapolis, Indiana, by whom he has one child, a son, living. He is an active dained a Deacon during the same year, and received full orders in 1827. His first charge was at Reading, Pennsyl- vania, where he ministered to a parish for three or four years. He then, at the earnest solicitation of Bishop Ho- bart, accepted the rectorship of St. Luke's Church, Rochester, of which parish he remained the Rector for fifteen years. He was called to Rochester during the prevalence of the anti- Masonic excitement, and was chosen by Bishop Hobart as one in whom confidence could be placed to assuage much of the bitter feeling engendered by that strife. In 1844 he was invited to the charge of St. Thomas' parish, in New York city. He accepted the call, and officiated in the capacity of Rector of that church until 1851, when he was elected Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Illinois. To this office he was consecrated on November 20th, 1851. On the death of Bishop Chase in 1852 he succeeded to the Bishopric. He was a man of strongly marked traits of character, wielding a powerful personal influence over those who were brought in contact with him, and, as a conse- quence, making bitter enemies and warm friends. His un- compromising nature, when he looked at a question in the hemen siccum of his clear intellect, made him very positive in asserting his opinions, and in insisting upon their adop- tion by others. He was a man of great and varied learning, with eminently the legal quality of mind, and as a jurist would have attained to the highest position. There could be no possible subject under discussion, in any branch of literature, art or science, upon which he could not converse gracefully and learnedly, whether it was a vexed question in admiralty law, or a painting of Turner's, or the Darwinian thcory. His early theological opinions had undergone a change of late years, his old position of a conservative church- man being left when he joined the ranks of the High Church party ; and to this fact may be attributed the trouble in the Diocese of Illinois, which led to the defection of Mr. Cheney and other clergymen. Bishop Whitchouse was highly admired and respected by English churchmen, and at the Pan-Anglican Council, held in Lambeth Palace in 1867, he preached the opening sermon, at the request of the Archbishop of Canterbury. During this visit he received member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which or-
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ganization he has held various positions of trust, being especially devoted to the Sabbath-school interests. A man of liberal views, he is charitable in word as well as in deed, but in all things he avoids display, bearing himself as a quiet, earnest worker in every good cause.
IXON, WILSON K., Merchant, Manufacturer and Capitalist, was born in Geneva, New York, April 9th, 1826, and removed with his parents and only sister to Cincinnati in the spring of 1830. His education was interrupted and irregular by the delicacy of his constitution, which was not proof against continuous and arduous study. His instruction mainly until his thirteenth year was reached was obtained at home, and he was taught music, in which he exhibited when quite young great taste and proficiency, in order to find in its harmony a relief from too close an application to his books. In 1839 his father, whose health was rapidly failing, was induced to visit Europe, and his son, Wilson, joined him in this pleasant as well as profitable tour, which occupied eighteen months. In the autumn of 1840 they re- turned to Cincinnati, and Wilson was soon afterward en- tered as a student at the Woodward College in that city, and prosecuted the various branches in its curriculum with so much energy and persistence that he was within 1wo years prostrated by a severe illness, which for months thrcat- ened a fatal termination. When he recovered, in the spring of 1843, he was directed by his physicians to leave school and enter upon some active business, and when scareely seventeen years of age forme.l a partnership with a eom- panion, a few years his senior, in the grocery line, under the firm-name of Smith & Nixon. So successfully did these young merchants prosecute this business, that in four years t'ley established the first successful tea trade in the West. They soon, however, disposed of this interest and opened a large piano house, which is still continued by the former senior partner of the firm of Smith & Nixon. In the summer of 1854 Mr. Nixon married the daughter of Miles Green- wood, proprietor of the Eagle Iron Works, and widely known as an enterprising and public-spirited eitizen of Cin- einnati, whom he joined about the year 1857 and gave up CHUYLER, HENRY N., Real-Estate Agent and Mayor of Pana, Illinois, was born in Glenn, New York, on February 4th, 1844. His father, George S. Schuyler, was a native of New York and oc- eupied in farming ; his mother was Clarissa Van Schrick. He attended school at Glenn, New York, and when nineteen years of age commenced farming, in which he continued for two years, when he moved to the West and located at Hillsboro', Illinois. There he entered the employ of the American Express Company, and re- mained therein for four years and a half, subsequently be- coming the Agent of the Merchants' Union Express Com- the piano business. Prior to this, however, the firm of Smith & Nixon had erected a number of fine edifices both for their individual use and for rental, including three of the fi rest concert rooms in the country. Several of the structures reared by them are conspicuous still on Fourth street. During the rebellion the large resources of the Eagle Iron Works were taxed to their greatest working eapaeity in the service of the government, and manufactured arms upon an exten- sive scale. It put up machinery for rifling the old smooth bore muskets, and commenced experiments in the produe- tion of bronze guns, etc., conducting all its business most successfully, not only for the interests of its proprietors, .pany. In 1870 he moved to Pana and entered into the
Messrs. Greenwood & Nixon, but for the government. In a short time it turned out over 50,000 rifled muskets, 200 cannon, and thousands of war implements. It constructed one of the finest of the sca monitors, but before this great work was accomplished Mr. Nixon severed his connection with the establishment on account of failing health. Acting upon the advice of his physician, he removed to Chicago on December Ist, 1863, and decided to make that city his permanent residence. A long period of inactivity to one of his vigorous energy was extremely distasteful, and shortly after his removal he recommenced his former business- the sale of pianos-and soon received the agency for the finest and most popular establishments in this country. He was called upon by the Messrs. Steinway, of New York, to supervise their business in the Northwestern States, and filled this important business relation with the greatest suc- ccss. This calling, however, did not absorb his entire at- tention. He secured possession of a large lot at the corner of Washington and Clark streets, and erected a handsome structure, 180 feet long by 107 wide, in the centre of which a concert room was set off, and elaborately fitted as well as conveniently arranged. Its accommodations were for 1600 people, and for many years this auditorium, in what was prominently known as " Smith & Nixon's Hall," was the finest concert and lecture room in that city. Eventually, however, the vast increase of his own business compelled him to convert this splendid hall to his own uses. Shortly after he secured the vacant ground between the Chamber of Commerce and his own building, and erected a structure adapted for large stores and offices, which formed one of the most conspicuous ornaments, together with the former hall, of the street. Failing health again required a change of location, and accompanied by his family he visited Europe, remaining abroad for a year and a half. This trip proved highly beneficial, and he returned to his various business pursuits with fresh vigor. IIis enterprise and his integrity of character have secured for him popular commendation, and he is to-day one of the leading and one of the best csteemed eitizens of Chicago.
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hardware line. In this, however, he continued but a short | period he was the legal representative of the Danville & time, when he became the partner of John A. Hayward in the money and real estate brokerage business, in which he is still engaged. In politics he has always been a Repub- lican. In 1872 he was elected Mayor of Pana, and since that year has been three times re-clected, filling that office at the present time with great acceptability. Mr. Schuyler is one of Pana's representative men and enjoys the esteem of all its citizens. His record is clear and his talent as a business man has been demonstrated in a most marked manner. He came West with very little means, but by industry and successful speculations he has been enabled to amass a fortune. On February 25th, 1874, he was married to Adeline II. Hayward, daughter of the late John S. Hayward, one of the most successful men in the State.
UNYAN, EBEN F., Lawyer, was born in Vic- toria, Cuba county, New York, December 3d, IS31, his father, a prominent farmer of that sec- tion, having died before he attained his seventh year. Ile did not enjoy the advantages of a good education, spending a short period in school at Saratoga Springs. By self-application, however, he steadily improved in learning, and secured a fund of prac- tical knowledge which was available in after life. Upon leaving school he acted as clerk in a store at Wilton, New York, remaining in that capacity until 1850. In the spring of that year he moved West, his journey being. mainly accomplished on foot. He first settled in McHenry county, Illinois, and until 1853 engaged in farming during the cultivating and harvesting seasons, and in teaching during the winters. In January of this year he entered the law office of W. S. Searls, of Waukegan, where he remained closely applying himself to study, until his admission to the bar in 1855. IIe then went to Chicago, where he commenced the practice of his profession under the most encouraging auspices. In 1856 he became a member of the law firm of Brown & Runyan, which was dissolved in 1359. In 1860 his former student, D. J. Avery, became his partner, and in 1864 Mr. Comstock, another law student, was added to the firm. The firm as at present composed is known as Runyan, Avery & Comstock, and their practice is a general one in all departments of the law, and an extensive and lucrative one. They have the reputation of handling more cases, and conducting them all ably, than any other law firm in Chicago. Notwith- standing the great pressure upon his time and attention by a daily increasing clientage, every case intrusted to Mr. Runyan is carefully examined in all its details and bearings, and is presented to the court or jury with a clearness and force of argument which rarely fails of a successful issue. Ile assisted in the defence of the eighteen indicted aldermen of Chicago, in 1871, all of whom were acquitted. For a long
Chicago and Pacific Railroad, and is now largely interested in the grain trade of Chicago. He is a member of the West Park Commission, and is lead by his active public spirit to a prominent and influential participation in every movement projected for the moral as well as material pros- perity and progress of that city. IIe was a member of the Board of Education from 1864 to 1874, and was chiefly instrumental in perfecting the system of popular education in Chicago. Notwithstanding his connection with various business interests, he does not slight his practice, and may always be found at his office every day at 8 A. M. Ile is a lawyer of keen penetration and does not hesitate to tell a client, who gives him the details of a case which he desires legally adjudicated, that he has no standing in a court, if he himself is lead to that conclusion from a recital of the cause. If the case proves a sound one, he thoroughly identifies himself with his client's interest, and conducts it with as much care and skill as though it were his own. He is a gentleman thoroughly read in the science which he practises, of great discernment, with a sharp faculty for analyzing evidence; and with a readiness of resource in argument which gives him great prominence as a pleader at the bar. He has won his way to the position of a lead- ing lawyer of Chicago by the exercise of a well-cultivated mind and of energy. He was married January 2d, 1862, to Flora R. Avery, of Chicago.
TALKER, II. J., M. D., was born in Rotterdam, New York, August 11th, 1837. IIe is the son of Joseph Stalker and Mary Ann (McChesney) Stalker, natives of New York. Ilis education was acquired at the Lawrence University, Wis- consin. After the completion of his allotted course of studies in that institution, he moved to Chicago, and was there employed in the wholesale drug house of Post & Badeau, where he was occupied during the ensuing two years. At the expiration of this time he removed to Iowa, and engaged in the retail drug trade, which he pur- sued for about four years. He then began the study of dentistry and medicine, practising at the same time dentistry and applying himself to the study more especially of the latter branch of science. In preceding years he had felt a strong desire to embrace the medical profession, and, bearing that design in view, read with profit many works relative to medicine and the dental art. He accordingly practised his profession for a period of four years. Subse- quently, under the guidance of Dr. S. R. Hewitt, he was professionally occupied until 1873, at which date he re- moved to Chicago in order to complete his studies, and in 1874 was graduated from the Chicago Medical College. He afterward removed to Cairo, where he has since per- manently resided. On his arrival here he became an
Hlasy Iwb, Co. Philadelphia.
Co. Fo Reny are
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assistant to Dr. H. Wardner, one of the leading physicians | of Cairo. At the present time, however, he practises alone, and is regarded as a skilful and talented practitioner. He is a member of the Alexander County Medical Society, and a member also of the Southern Illinois Medical Asso- ciation. During the winters of 1873-74 he acted as an assistant in the Mercer Hospital, of Chicago. IIe was married in March, 1865, to Ellen L. McNeill, of Wiscon- sin, by whom he has had three children, one of whom is dead.
ULEY, M. F., Lawyer, was born in Louisville, Illinois, and is about forty-seven years of age. He removed to Chicago in 1843, began there the study of law, and in 1846 attended the law school in Louisville. He was admitted to the bar in Chicago in 1847. During the Mexican war he served three years in the volunteer service, as First Lieu- tenant of Company F, of the Fifth Illinois Infantry. At the close of the war he went into New Mexico, and re- mained until 1854. During his residence there he filled the position of Attorney General, and served two terms in the Legislature. After 1854 he engaged in professional labor in Chicago, earning high regard both as a gentleman of character and culture, and as a learned and upright lawyer. IIe was elected Corporation Counsel in 1869.
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