USA > Illinois > The makers of Illinois; a memorial history of the state's honored dead > Part 16
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Young Coles pursued his studies under private tutors, and when he was nineteen years of age he was sent to William and Mary Col- lege. He became eonvineed during the time he spent at college that the principles of slavery were fundamentally wrong, alike injurious to the master and to the slave.
The wife of President Madison was a cousin of young Coles, and perhaps because of this relationship, though more especially for his fitness, he was appointed private seeretary to the president. At this time Edward Coles was a tall and handsome young man, well edu- eated, with good manners and of exeellent eharaeter. He was the proprietor of a fine plantation, and the owner of twenty-five slaves which was the share of his father's property which he had inherited. He was also related to Patrick Henry, the famous statesman and patriot.
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While secretary to the president Coles was sent to Russia on a mission of a diplomatic character. Upon his homeward journey he spent some time in England and made the acquaintance of Morris Birkbeck, who afterward became a resident of Illinois. After Coles had returned to America, he determined to make his home in some non-slave state or territory. He had visited Illinois Territory on two occasions, once in 1815, and again three years later. He was so favor- ably impressed with the country that he decided to make his home here. He sold his lands in Virginia and taking his slaves with him, in the spring of 1819, he set out on his third journey to the west.
Coles and his party descended the Ohio river in flat boats to a point below Louisville, where they disembarked, and traveled overland to Edwardsville. While descending the river he informed his slaves that they were free, and, after arriving at their destination, he gave to each head of a family one hundred and sixty acres of land. When the announcement of this generous act was made to the slaves "they stood before me," wrote Coles, "unable to utter a word, but with countenances beaming with expression which no words could convey and which no language can describe. After a pause of intense and unutterable emotion, bathed in tears, and with tremulous voices, they gave vent to their gratitude and implored the blessing of God on me." There is a picture representing this scene in the capitol at Springfield.
At Edwardsville Coles entered upon the duties of register of the land office, to which he had been appointed by President Monroe. In 1822, he became candidate for governor with the support of those who desired to frustrate the plans of the pro-slavery party, and was elected in due course. When the state was admitted four years before an article in the constitution provided that "Neither slavery nor in- voluntary servitude shall hereafter be introduced into this state." It was proposed that a convention should be called for the purpose of changing this article and allowing the introduction of slavery. Coles strenuously opposed the calling of such a convention, and an active campaign was carried on during the years 1823 and 1824, in which Coles was efficiently aided by such men as Samuel D. Lockwood, Daniel P. Cook, Morris Birkbeck, George Forquer, Hooper Warren, George Churchill and others. The proposition for a state convention to revise the constitution was rejected at the election of 1824, by a sufficient majority to insure its absolute and permanent defeat for all future time. Governor Coles contributed his salary for his entire term, four thousand dollars, towards the expenses of the campaign.
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The success of the party lieaded by Coles who would prevent any change in the organic law regarding slavery settled an issue that had deeply stirred the people throughout two years of Governor Coles' administration. The question, "Shall Illinois be ranked among the slave states?" was settled once and forever. In commenting upon the victory, Professor Harris, in his "Negro Servitude in Illinois," says: "Emigration from the south was checked, because southerners would not go to a country where the prospects for retaining their slaves was extremely limited. On the other hand, the door was more effectually opened to emigrants from the north and from the east, and within six years they had poured into central and northern Illi- nois so numerously as to preclude the possibility of the pro-slavery element ever gaining supreme control in state affairs. It was a great advantage economically, moreover, that the institution of slav- ery was thus early excluded from the prairies of Illinois. If it had been encouraged, slave labor would have driven out all other labor, the want of independent, energetic, and progressive farmers would have been felt, and the development of the country very materially retarded."
After an extremely strenuous term of four years as governor of the state, Coles retired to his home at Edwardsville, busying himself with the care of his farm. Agricultural pursuits were attractive to him, and he aided in promoting a general interest in farm life by founding the first agricultural society of the state. In 1830 he again entered the political field and became a candidate for congress, but being known as an opponent of General Jackson, then the idol of the democracy, he was defeated by Joseph Duncan.
Suffering from ill health he removed in 1832 to Philadelphia and thereafter made that city his permanent home. He died there July 7, 1868, having lived, however, to see the total extinction of slavery in the United States.
Captain William E. Adams
N THE year 1830 a little caravan of covered wagons I wended its way into Coles county. In one of these wagons rode the Adams family, bringing with them an infant son whose birth had occurred in Bedford county, Tennessee, October 15, 1830. This child was destined to play an important part in shaping the history of the county as a member of the bar and as judge upon the county bench. His parents were John Jefferson and Martha (Gammill) Adams, natives of North Carolina and Tennessce respec- tively. On coming to Illinois they settled in the vicinity of Farming- ton, in what is now Pleasant Grove township, Coles county, where the father purchased a tract of wild land from the government. They lived in their wagons the first winter and when the weather became warmer built a log cabin which the family occupied until they could afford to erect a house of hewed logs. This, during the period of the Civil war, was replaced by a brick residence which is still standing. The father participated in three wars of the country, the Black Hawk, the Mexican and the hotly contested struggle between the north and south, in which he was a member of the Fifth Illinois Volunteer Cav- alry, holding the rank of lieutenant. Patriotism was one of his marked characteristics and at all times he manifested a public spirited devotion to the welfare of the community in which he lived. Coles county lost one of its valued and representative citizens when in 1879 he passed away at the age of seventy-two years.
Captain William E. Adams was the oldest of six children, the others being: Elizabeth; Eliza, deceased; Martha; Margaret; and John. The last named died while serving in the Fifth Illi- nois Cavalry during the Civil war. Captain Adams attended the subscription schools of an carly day until fifteen years of age, when he went to Grandview, Illinois, to continue his studies and later went to Madison, Wisconsin, where he entered upon the study of law. Following his graduation there he was admitted to the bar and located for practice in Mattoon, Illinois, in 1858.
It was in August of the same ycar that he married Olive Amelia Holton, who was born in Hyde Park, Vermont, September 18, 1833, a daughter of David and Olive (Green) Holton, who were also
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natives of the same state and in 1854 removed to Wisconsin, where they resided until death. Mr. and Mrs. Adams became the parents of five children: John, who is deceased; Jennie, who is the wife of William Miles, of Charleston; Sarah, a widow; William E., who is connected with the Adair Abstract Company; and Helen, the wife of Hugh Johnston, of Charleston.
Following his marriage Captain Adams continued in the practice of law in Mattoon until the spring of 1862, when he could no longer content himself to remain at home while the country was involved in civil war and began raising a company which became Company I of the One Hundred and Twenty-third Illinois Infantry. As its captain he went to the front and served until the close of hostilities, being mustered out with the rank of major. The first engagement in which the regiment participated was at Perryville, Kentucky, where heavy losses were sustained. The regiment did most of its fighting in Kentucky and Tennessee and Captain Adams was ever in the thick- est of the fight, inspiring and encouraging his men with much of his own zeal and valor. At the close of the war he returned to Mattoon and the same year was elected county clerk, after which he removed to Charleston, occupying the position for two terms. At the close of his service in that office he was elected county judge and remained upon the bench for four years, making a most creditable record by the impartiality of his decisions, his comprehensive knowledge of the law and the correctness of its application to the points in litigation. He then took up the practice of his profession, which he followed until failing health obliged him to retire and he ever maintained a prom- inent and creditable position at the Coles county bar.
His political allegiance was given to the republican party, of which he was a stalwart advocate. He was both an Odd Fellow and a mem- ber of the Grand Army of the Republic and he was a prominent and influential member of the Presbyterian church, in which he served as elder. His widow and his children all belong to that church and the family has been an active force in promoting Christian prog- ress. Mrs. Adams still occupies the old home at No. 834 South Tenth street in Charleston, where she has lived since 1876. When they took up their abode there Charleston was a small village and in the vicinity of Mrs. Adams' present home there were only two or three houses on the street. In every relation of life Captain Adams made a record for upright manhood and honorable citizenship and in civic office and in all private relations was as loyal to his country as when he followed the old flag on southern battlefields.
ApRulismo
Relson J. Rulison
T HROUGH the stages of consecutive development and progress Nelson J. Rulison passed toward the goal of success. The interests and activities which occu- pied his time and attention were ever of an honor- able and useful character and brought him at length to a position as a representative of commercial and financial interests in Seneca. He was, however, known throughout northern Illinois as a leading business man, for his activities covered a wide scope and brought him an extended acquaintance. There is much in his life history worthy of emulation and also illustrative of what may be accomplished when energy, determination and honesty constitute the foundation stones of character. Mr. Rulison was born November 6, 1827, in Jefferson county, New York, a son of Cornelius and Catherine (Ellwood) Rulison. The parents were both natives of Montgomery county, New York, and passed away in the Empire state. The father, who was born in 1804, died in 1835 when his son Nelson was but seven years of age, and three years later the son began providing for his own support at farm labor in Schoharie county, New York, where he was employed until he reached the age of four- teen years. He then returned to his native county and for about two years acted as assistant to his uncle, Nelson Rulison, who was a sur- veyor. Realizing his lack of educational advantages he used a part of his earnings to meet the expense of a course of study in the acad- emy at Gouverneur, St. Lawrence county, New York, during the spring and summer of 1843. Moreover, studious habits in his youth promoted his knowledge and during the fall and winter following his academic course he was employed as a teacher in one of the rural schools of St. Lawrence county. In the spring of 1844 he went to Montgomery county, New York, where he engaged in farming and was also employed during a part of the summer on the Erie canal, that being his initial experience in canal work, with which he was later long connected. The next winter was passed in the lumber districts of Steuben county, New York, and through the succeeding summers he was again upon the canal. In 1850 he taught school at Port Jack- son, Montgomery county, New York, and then spent two more sum- mers on the canal.
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It was in the fall of 1852 that Mr. Rulison left the Empire state and went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where in the following winter he attended Grundy's Commercial College, devoting his leisure hours while thus engaged to soliciting subscriptions for books and periodi- cals in order to meet his daily needs. In February, 1853, he went to St. Louis, where he established a book agency employing several men. In the same year he was married and subsequent to that event he established a general book agency in Chicago, remaining there, how- ever, for only a short time. In August, 1853, he became captain of a canal boat on the main line running between Chicago and St. Louis, spending five years in that way. In 1859 he was appointed general freight agent for the Union Line at La Salle, Illinois, and in the fall of the same year purchased an interest in a boat and the following spring again went upon the canal, being thus engaged for about eight years or until 1867. He then purchased a canal steamboat and at the same time was the owner of large interests in other boats. Mr. Rulison was the pioneer in introducing the system of barge boating which he followed for three seasons prior to its general introduction, during which period he won substantial success, laying the foundation for a most comfortable fortune. In 1872 he abandoned active canal enter- prises although he still retained large interests in boats. He was a well known figure during the period when the canal was largely used as a means of transportation through the state and became widely known in that connection.
As previously stated Mr. Rulison was married in the year of his removal to St. Louis, Miss Margaret Fleming of that city becoming his wife on the 23d'of June, 1853. She was born in Ireland, May 2, 1837, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Fallen) Fleming, who were also natives of the Emerald isle, where they spent their entire lives. Their daughter Margaret was a maiden of ten summers when she came to the United States, crossing the Atlantic with her uncle. The family were the owners of sailing vessels on one of which Margaret Fleming and her uncle made the voyage to the new world. She after- ward lived with her brother in St. Louis. By her marriage she became the mother of six children of whom three are yet living. Ada C. became the wife of George Garden, who died in 1902, leaving two daughters, Edna and Margaret, who are with their mother in Seneca. Alida M. is the wife of James J. Conway, of Ottawa, and they have one son, Nelson J. R. Conway, born June 19, 1904. Edna is the wife of James J. Farrell, a prominent business man of Ottawa and a leading factor in municipal affairs, having twice served as mayor of that city.
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In the year 1868 Mr. Rulison removed with his family to Ottawa and there resided for five years or until 1873, when he went to Seneea. He was thereafter prominently identified with the business interests of that place, becoming a leading grain merchant there. He also did business on the board of trade for himself and others and was always successful in his operations. He likewise bceame a factor in the financial eireles of Sencea, establishing a banking institution which is now a state bank, although he conducted it as a private bank. He owned the building in which the business was carried on and his widow is still owner of some of the bank stock. His realty holdings included one hundred and seventy-nine aeres of land in Brookfield township, La Salle county, this farm being one of the tangible evi- denees of the success which he achieved in an active and well spent life. He possessed good executive foree and administrative ability and in business eireles enjoyed the highest regard of his colleagues and contemporaries. While his commercial and financial interests grew in volume and importanee he did not allow these to so absorb his time as to preclude the possibility of aetive cooperation in public movements In fact he was the leader in many projeets for the good of the community in which he lived. He served for four years as a trustee and for two years as president of the board of Seneca and while acting as a member of the sehool board was instrumental in securing the election of a splendid sehool building in the town. His politieal allegiance was always given to the republican party, for he deemed its platform a foreeful element in good government. He continued active in business in Seneea to the time of his death, which occurred October 4, 1896, when he was laid to rest in the Ottawa Avenue cemetery of Ottawa. When a young man he had become a member of the Odd Fellows society of which he remained a loyal adherent. He was preeminently, however, a home man, doing every- thing possible in his power for the welfare and happiness of his family, who stood first with him in all things. He was an ideal husband and father as well as a progressive citizen and an enterprising and pros- perous business man and finaneier. His life record is another proof of the fact that in this country labor finds its just reward when elose application and energy constitute the salient features of success. Such a rceord is not uneommon, yet it never fails to elieit attention and commendation. The world admires the vietor and in a successful business eareer a struggle is waged constantly for supremaey over adverse conditions, competition and the obstacles which arise through the subversion of plans through outside influenee. Without special
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advantages at the outset of life, Mr. Rulison made continuous prog- ress resulting in the attainment of an enviable position among the business men of northern Illinois.
Victor 3 acob Peltier
A LIFE span of seventy-seven years was accorded Victor Jacob Peltier and the record which he made through the decades which covered his active business carcer was a most commendable one. He was the pio- neer in the glass industry at Ottawa and in that con- nection held to the highest ideals, conducting his interests along the line of improvement and artistic development. He was born February 3, 1833, in Lorraine, France, a son of Jacob Peltier. The father's birth also occurred in that province, and he was connected with glass manufacturing there. He never came to this country.
The boyhood and youth of Victor Jacob Peltier were spent in his native country, where he learned the trade of manufacturing colored glass according to the methods and customs of the old world. He served a regular apprenticeship and was thoroughly acquainted with the trade, as followed in Europe, when he crossed the Atlantic to the new world. For more than a half century he was a resident of the United States. After his arrival here he learned something of the methods of glass manufacturing in this country and at length he established the pioneer business of the kind in the middle west. It was about 1878 that he came to Ottawa and established the industry which has since been continued and has now reached extensive propor- tions, being one of the important manufacturing concerns of northern Illinois. His labors resulted in giving Ottawa the distinction of being the scene of the pioneer as well as the leading art glass factory. of the Mississippi valley. He displayed great perseverance and energy and kept at all times abreast with the progress made by the trade. His plant was thoroughly modern in its equipment, being supplied with the latest improved machinery, while the most modern processes in manufacture were utilized. In the face of difficultics and obstacles which would have utterly discouraged and dishcartened many a man, Mr. Peltier managed his business, showing unfaltering courage at all times, and his power turned threatened disasters into victorics. He regarded his chosen vocation not as a trade but as an art. He loved it as the sculptor who takes the rude block of stone and by the strength of his genius fashions it into a thing of joy and beauty, or as a painter whose brush creates spirit and soul upon a
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canvas. He was constantly studying for improvement and advance- ment, was ever seeking to better manufacturing methods and to pro- duce more artistic results. At length his labors and experiments were rewarded in the production of what no other had been able to produce at that time. He gave to his work the best thought of his active mind and his genius resulted in the production of a glass of rare beauty. He discovered and perfected a method by which he could imprison in perfect form the ever changing lights and colors of the opal and he appropriately called his creation opalescent glass. Today this pro- duct goes forth from Ottawa to all parts of the world and to all art centers, and it is only as others have been instructed at Ottawa that they have been enabled to manufacture a glass of equal beauty and worth. Mr. Peltier certainly deserved much credit for what he accomplished. The word "fail" never had a place in his vocabulary. Patiently persevering, he did not demand immediate results but was content to study and wait, knowing that success must ultimately crown his efforts. His achievements are indeed a monument to his skill and enterprise and place him prominently among America's foremost inventors and manufacturers.
Mr. Peltier was united in marriage to Miss Mary Peltier, of Brooklyn, New York, who, though of the same name, was not a rela- tive. She was born in Lorraine, France, October 18, 1843, about six miles from the birthplace of her husband and was a daughter of Francis Peltier, also a native of Lorraine, where he engaged in the manufacture of glass. After coming to the new world he established a glass factory in Brooklyn, New York, and there he passed away September 2, 1864. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Jeley and was born at Alsace, France. Mrs. Mary Peltier was brought by her parents to the new world in 1857. By her marriage she became the mother of nine children, of whom six are living: Mrs. Theodore Zellers, now of Hartford, Indiana; Mrs. Fred Heiser; Joseph; Mrs. Will S. Zellers; Sellers H .; and Mrs. Charles Pyle, of Aurora. The two sons, Joseph and Sellers, are now engaged in the manufacture of glass, having become successors to their father in the conduct of the business in Ottawa.
When Victor J. Peltier was called to his final rest Ottawa lost one of her most loyal, valued and worthy citizens. From the time of his arrival here he was closely identified with her business interests and her advancement along other lines, and the same spirit of prog- ress actuated him in all of his business relations as it did in his private affairs. His political support was given to the republican party and he was well informed on the questions and issues of the day but he
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never sought nor desired office. He was an honored member of the Starved Roek Council of the Knights of Columbus and in the various relations of life and through his varied connections he won many friends. He made distinct contribution to the happiness and pleasure of mankind by giving to the world something that added to its beauty. In his business he was enterprising and progressive and he was kind and generous to his employes, enjoying their confidence and respect in unusual degree. He was very scrupulous in his dealings and it beeame recognized that his word was as good as a bond. When he was called to his final rest funeral services were held at St. Columbia Catholic church, of which he had been a member, and its large auditor- ium was filled with sorrowing friends, while a long proeession followed the body to its last resting place. He believed in the principles of unity, charity and brotherly love and made these daily factors in his life. He was modest and unassuming, was unselfish and was uni- formly courteous and considerate to others. None doubted the sin- ccrity of his thought or his motive. Life was to him opportunity-the opportunity not only for the achievement of success but also the op- portunity to make the world better. Those who knew him but slightly respected him; those who were more intimate entertained for him warm friendship; and those who came within the closer circles of his life had for him deep love.
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