USA > Illinois > The makers of Illinois; a memorial history of the state's honored dead > Part 2
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Don. John Day
his writing. He was graduated from Brown University in 1858 and during his college days he wrote poems and various articles which brought him fame in authorship in later years. Several decades had passed, however, before he would consent to publishing his writings in book form. In his early manhood he showed some tendency toward entering the ministry but family persuasion influenced him to take up the study of law. Prior to this, however, he spent some time in Pitts- field, Illinois, where John Nicolay had a newspaper office, and while there he not only formed the acquaintance of Mr. Nicolay but also of General Clark E. Carr, of Galesburg, afterward minister to Den- mark, thus entering upon connection with distinguished citizens of the state. He became a law student in the office of his uncle, Milton Hay, a prominent lawyer who was associated in practice with Abra- ham Lincoln at Springfield, and while pursuing his law studies there John Hay formed the acquaintance of the martyr president. The story of the friendship thus begun has become a matter of history. He was invited to continue his preparation for the bar in Mr. Lin- coln's office and he entered heartily into the work of supporting the Illinois presidential candidate during the campaign of 1860. That Mr. Lincoln was appreciative of his services is shown by the fact that after going to Washington he invited Mr. Hay to become assistant secretary to John G. Nicolay. From that time forward he rendered much able assistance to Mr. Lincoln, performing important tasks that had direct bearing upon the administration and the nation's welfare. He was often entrusted to carry messages too momentous to commit to paper.
Although a warm admirer of President Lincoln, it was with reluct- ance and regret that Mr. Hay turned from his chosen profession of the law to enter the political field, but Lincoln had recognized his discernment, his judgment, his tact and his discretion and realized that his services might be of the utmost value to the administration in Washington. He was constantly with the president in close confer- ence throughout the four years of his term save for the brief period when he served, more as the president's personal representative, on the staffs of Generals Hunter and Gilmore, after which he was brev- etted lieutenant colonel. Speaking of this period of Mr. Hay's life, Grandon Nevins has written: "No man in the president's official household was more overworked than the young major. He slept when he could and ate when he had the chance, and when he was not at the front he lived at the White House, always at the call of the president." Mr. Hay was but twenty-six years of age at the time of Lincoln's assassination, but so thoroughly had he proved his
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Don. John Day
worth that it was decided to retain him in the government employ and he was sent abroad to become secretary of the legation at Paris under Minister Bigelow, in which capacity he served from 1865 until 1867. In the succeeding year he became charge d'affaires in Vienna and later was secretary of the legation at Madrid under Minister Sickles, there remaining until 1870. He refused a very advantageous offer from Horace Greeley, then editor of the New York Tribune, saying that he did not think it proper to turn his work over to other hands until it was completed. The same spirit of loyalty and fidelity to duty characterized his entire life. When he returned to the United States, free to accept the position, he became an editorial writer for the New York Tribune. In the meantime he was for a few months connected with the Springfield (Ill.) Journal, after which he suc- ceeded Charles Dana as editor of the Republican at Chicago, Illinois. For five years he was connected with the New York Tribune and demonstrated his right to rank with the leading American journalists. He also became known as an author of considerable literary merit and ability. He brought forth a volume of poems, including Jim Bludso, Little Breeches and many others, which were published under the name of the Pike County Ballads.
On severing his connection with the New York Tribune, Mr. Hay went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained for some years. He declined a position as editor in chief of the New York Herald, then published by James Gordon Bennett. He was afterward again for a brief period connected with journalism, having charge of the New York Tribune in 1881, during a brief absence of the late White- law Reid in Europe. Much of his time during fifteen years was devoted to writing, in collaboration with John G. Nicolay, a history of Abraham Lincoln, which is beyond doubt the most exhaustive, accurate and authentic biography of the war president. Mr. Hay's writings altogether have embraced a wide field, for he is the author of various works, political and otherwise, and many attribute to him the authorship of a novel which appeared anonymously in 1893 under the title of The Bread Winners.
After retiring to Cleveland Mr. Hay was again called to public office, in 1879, to serve as assistant secretary of state under Evarts and continued in that position until the end of the administration. Sixteen years passed and he was once more in office, having in March, 1897, been appointed by President Mckinley ambassador to England. His diplomatic service constitutes an interesting chapter of American history. He managed international affairs during the Spanish- American war with a delicacy and tact, combined with force and dis-
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Đơn. John Day
cretion, that gained for our government the support of England, and that country held in check the other powers of the world. Near the close of the war he returned to the United States and became secretary of state in the cabinet of President Mckinley, in which position he was continued by President Roosevelt, thus serving to the time of his death, which occurred July 1, 1905, when he was nearly sixty-seven years of age.
In 1874 John Hay was married to Miss Clara L. Stone, a daugh- ter of Amasa Stone, a prominent citizen of Cleveland, Ohio. They became the parents of four children. Mr. Hay passed away at the summer home of the family at Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire. Of him it has been written: "There was perhaps no man in Washington or in diplomatic circles more greatly loved, owing to his personal traits, and no man at the nation's capital was the object of more gen- eral affection than he * * *. No man in public life has had so few enemies. Even those opposed to him politically entertained for him the warmest personal regard and admiration. It is said that he never forgot a friend; the playmates of his boyhood, the associates of his early manhood, those with whom he labored in diplomatic circles, in journalism and in the department of state were alike remembered through all the years, with their added responsibilities and honors."
DR. CHARLES HAY
Charles Day, M. D.
D JR. CHARLES HAY attained to an honorable old age. Mueh of his life was spent at Warsaw and in Haneoek eounty, and all who knew him bore testi- mony of his many splendid traits of character and his nobility of purpose. He was born in Fayette county, Kentucky, February 7, 1801, and on the paternal side eame of Seotch aneestry, the line being traeed baek to John Hay, who with his four sons emigrated from the Rhenish Palatinate to America in the eighteenth century. This John Hay was the son of a Seotch soldier who had left his own country about fifty years before and had attached himself to the army of the eleetor of the Palatinate. Following their arrival in the new world the four brothers separated, John Hay, the eldest, becoming a resident of York, Pennsylvania. There he prospered in business and aeeumu- lated considerable property. He also served as one of the magistrates of the state during the Colonial period. He was interested in the great questions which called forth publie opinion prior to the Revolu- tionary war and advocated the cause of liberty. He filled several important offiees on the organization of the patriot forees preparatory to the Revolution and when the war broke out joined the military organization and won promotion to the rank of colonel. Following the establishment of a republic he represented York county in the assembly. Another brother, Adam Hay, who like his brother John had received military training in Europe, became a resident of Berk- elcy county, Virginia, and when the colonists attempted to throw off the yoke of British oppression he, too, joined the American army and aided in the establishment of independence. He was a friend and associate of Washington and one of the earliest recollections of his son, the late John Hay, of Springfield, Illinois, was of their meeting Washington on a country road and seeing him grect Adam Hay as an old eomradc.
It was the John Hay just mentioned who became the father of Dr. Charles Hay, of Warsaw. He was born February 13, 1779, and spent his youthful days at home, but when a young man decided to set out in life on his own aeeount. His father provided him with
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Charles Day, M. D.
money sufficient to enable him to take up a good piece of land in Fayette county, Kentucky, and he made further arrangements for having a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Jemima Coulter. As the years passed children were added to the household to the num- ber of fourteen. For thirty years John Hay remained in Fayette county, Kentucky, but his opposition to the institution of slavery determined him to take his family from that state and when fifty-five years of age he removed to Sangamon county, Illinois, accompanied by all of his children except his eldest son, Dr. Charles Hay, who had already begun the practice of medicine in Indiana. It was the inten- tion of John Hay to engage in the manufacture of cotton goods in Illinois and he brought with him machinery and appliances necessary for such an undertaking, but it proved unprofitable and he later turned his attention to other things. He dealt to a considerable extent in land and won success in that way. He was a devoted personal friend of Lincoln and was acquainted with many of the prominent citizens of the state ..
Dr. Charles Hay, spending his youth in Kentucky, was provided with the best educational advantages that the state offered. He sup- plemented his common-school training with a course in a classical school in Lexington, Kentucky, and when he had determined to make the practice of medicine his life work he began reading under the direction of Dr. William H. Richardson and afterward continued his studies under Dr. Dudley and others, who were prominent in the medical profession in Kentucky at that day. His college training was received in the medical department of Transylvania University and after winning his M. D. degree he located for practice in Salem, Indiana, where he remained for ten years.
It was while residing there that Dr. Hay was married, in October, 1831, to Miss Helen Leonard, a daughter of Rev. David A. Leonard, of Bristol, Rhode Island, her father being a man of prominence in the beginning of the nineteenth century. Following his marriage Dr. Hay established his bride in his Salem (Indiana) home and while living there had a large practice. He was recognized as a leader in the whig party and in Salem became the editor of a weekly whig paper which he conducted for several years. In 1841 he removed to Warsaw, Illinois, where he remained until his death, and during that period was accounted one of the prominent citizens of his locality. He devoted most of his time and money to the interests of the people at large. He was instrumental in establishing a free library in War- saw and for many years was president of its board. All who knew him-and his acquaintance was wide-entertained for him high and
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Charles Map, M. D.
enduring regard and acknowledged the worth of his labors as factors in the upbuilding of his section.
Unto Dr. and Mrs. Charles Hay there were born six children: Edward Leonard, who died in infancy; Leonard Augustus, a retired army officer who died in Warsaw, November 12, 1904; Mary Pierce, the widow of Major Austin Coleman Woolfolk, a quartermaster of the United States army and afterward a circuit judge in Minneapolis ; John Hay, secretary of state under President Roosevelt; Charles Edward, a captain of the Third United States Cavalry and afterward twice elected mayor of Springfield, Illinois; and Helen, who became the wife of Howard Otis Whitney and died in 1873. Dr. and Mrs. Hay devoted their lives to their children and no sacrifice on their part was considered too great if it would promote the welfare, com- fort and happiness of their sons and daughters. They celebrated their golden wedding in October, 1881, and on the 18th of September, 1884, Dr. Hay passed away. In a letter to one of his sons, written on his seventy-fifth birthday, he said: "I have never been conscious of but one ambition and that I have had all my days. I have always wished to found a family; I mean this, of course, not in any aristo- cratic, still less in any plutocratic sense, but I have hoped to leave behind me children and children's children-and the greater the num- ber the better I would be pleased-with whom intelligence, honor and thrift would be matters of instinct and tradition. I would prefer a certainty of this in the future to any amount of personal distinction for myself, if the choice were left to me." His wish was certainly gratified. Few men live to see such perfect fulfillment of a hope as came to him. His sons and daughters did honor to the family name, one attaining national prominence as a statesman, while the record of each was creditable, conforming as it did to high standards.
MAJOR LEONARD HAY
Major Leonard A. Day
HERE are indecd few families to whom distinetion has T come in so large a measure as to that of Dr. Charles Hay of Warsaw. His sons attained promi- nence in state or nation and his daughters became the wives of eminent men. On the pages of America's military history appears the name of Major Leonard A. Hay, who followed his Civil war service with long connection with the regular army, embraeing arduous Indian campaigning in the west. Later he returned to his old home at Warsaw, Illinois, and did much to establish there an atmosphere of literary eulture and intellectual progress. He was born in Salem, Indiana, December 3, 1834, the second son of Dr. Charles and Helen (Leonard) Hay, who arrived with their family at Warsaw, Illinois, when Leonard was but seven years of age. After aequiring a public-school education he became identified with various business enterprises and had become established in an independent business venture at the time of the outbreak of hos- tilities between the north and the south. On the 2d of July, 1864, hc joined the Union army as a private of Company D, Third Battalion, Fifteenth Infantry, and later was appointed a second lieutenant of the regular army, at which time he was assigned to the Ninth Infan- try, continuing with that regiment throughout the period of his serv- icc. On the 29th of September, 1864, he was commissioned a first lieutenant and on the 11th of March, 1878, was made a captain in the Ninth Regular Infantry. His duty took him to various places on the frontier from the Dakotas southward to Arizona and from the Missouri river to the Paeifie coast. Many Indian uprisings necessi- tated prompt and decisive action on the part of the United States troops to quell the outbreak and his duties were often of a most diffi- cult, arduous and dangerous character. Major Hay continued in command of his company in active service until the 15th of June, 1891, when he was retired bceause of disability incurred in the line of his duty. Campaigning against the Indians on the fronticr in all kinds of weather had impaired his health and he retired to Warsaw to
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Major Leonard A. Day
pass his remaining days amid the scenes in which his boyhood and · youth had been spent. Here, in accord with an act of congress con- ferring additional rank on officers who had served in the Civil war, he was made a major, retired.
On the 5th of December, 1869, in New York, was celebrated the marriage of Major Hay and Miss Blanch d'Ormond, whose death occurred about two decades ago. They had no children. Major Hay, however, was particularly fond of children and young people and by them was greatly beloved. He passed away on November 12, 1904, answering to the last roll call and adding one more to the list of Illi- nois' honored soldiers dead. Of him it has been written: "Major Hay was a man of superior intellectual force whose leisure was largely spent in reading and study, and his scholarly attainments and broad culture made him a charming and entertaining companion. He held friendship inviolable and nothing could swerve him in his loyalty to a friend, whose claims upon his time and attention were at all times recognized. He was always interested in the welfare of the city and served on the library board in 1892, but he preferred that his public service should be done as a private citizen rather than as an office holder. In his later years the selection of books for the public library was left almost wholly to him. In manner he was free from ostenta- tion and display, and in all he said and did he had the unfailing cour- tesy of a gentleman of the old school."
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General Thomas J. Henderson
MAN more honest and devoted to the best interests A of his eonstituents never entcred the halls of eon- gress, and those that knew him best do not hesitate to say that he was in every respect a noble type of American manhood," was written of General Thomas J. Henderson; and his course in congress was char- acteristic of his entire eareer. The publie service of few men has extended over a longer period and none has been more faultless in honor, fearless in conduet and stainless in reputation. He passed away on the 5th of February, 1911, in Washington, D. C.,-one of the last of the Old Guard who had personal acquaintance with Lin- coln. He was a native of Tennessee, born November 29, 1824, and his parents were Colonel William H. and Sarah M. Henderson. The father was born in Garrard county, Kentucky, November 16, 1793, and there spent his boyhood and youth. He was nineteen years of age when he enlisted in the regiment of mounted riflemen eommanded by Colonel Richard M. Johnson and served during the War of 1812. For a number of years he followed surveying in his native state and in 1823 he removed to Stewart eounty, Tennessee, where he not only engaged in surveying but also filled a number of offiees of honor and trust. He was sheriff of his county and following his removal to Haywood county of the same state was elected to the state senate, which position he resigned in 1836 preparatory to his removal to Illinois. He also acted as the first register of deeds in Haywood county, recording the first deed the year in which the birth of his son Thomas occurred. Following his removal to Illinois in 1836 he set- tled on a farm in what was then Putnam but is now Stark county. Here his business ability and public-spirited citizenship met with almost immediate reeognition, as indieated in his clection to the gen- eral assembly in 1838. In the succeeding session of 1838-9 the legis- lature met for the last time at Vandalia, and there in the discharge of his offieial duties Mr. Henderson was associated with Lincoln, Edwards and other notable men of that day. He was also a member of the house at its first meeting in Springfield in the winter of 1840-1. During his legislative serviee he was instrumental in the creation and
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General Thomas J. Henderson
organization of Stark county. In 1842 he was made the whig candi- date for lieutenant governor but was defeated. He left Illinois in 1845 to become a resident of Johnson county, Iowa, where he pur- chased and conducted a large farm to the time of his death, which occurred January 27, 1864, when he was seventy-one years of age.
The public schools of Tennessee afforded General Henderson his early educational opportunities and he also attended the male academy at Brownsville. During his last year there he entered upon the study of law. He accompanied his parents on their removal to Stark county, Illinois, and became a pupil in the pioneer schools of that locality. Subsequent to the removal to Johnson county, Iowa, he spent one term as a student in the State University at Iowa City. In the meantime he had entered upon the profession of teaching in the country schools. On leaving the Iowa University he returned to Stark county, Illinois, and engaged as teacher in the first school building erected at Toulon. For nearly a year thereafter he was employed as clerk in a store and in the fall of 1847 he made his initial step in that public career which was to bring him fame, prominence and honor. At that date he was elected clerk of the county commis- sioner's court of Stark county and continued as the incumbent until the office was changed to that of clerk of the county court. He was elected thereto and served until 1853.
In the meantime General Henderson had established a home of his own through his marriage on the 29th of May, 1849, to Miss Hen- rietta Butler, who was born in New York city, August 11, 1830, and is a daughter of Captain Henry and Rebecca (Green) Butler, of Wyoming, Illinois. They became the parents of four children: Ger- trude R., the wife of C. J. Dunbar; Sarah E., the wife of C. M. Dur- ley; Mary L., the wife of John Farnsworth; and Thomas B., of Princeton.
While acting as county clerk General Henderson continued his law studies until in 1852 he passed examination and was admitted to prac- tice. On the expiration of his term as clerk in 1853 he opened an office in Toulon and entered upon the active work of the profession. He was not long in proving his ability to handle important litigated interests and at the same time he continued active in politics, being elected in 1854 to the state legislature, in which he served for two years. On the expiration of that term he was chosen state senator and was at that time the youngest member of the upper house. He had been elected representative as an anti-Nebraska man; to the sen- ate as a republican. Those were exciting times. The celebrated Kansas-Nebraska act had been passed and the southern states were
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General Thomas J. Henderson
attempting to force slavery upon the newly organized territories. General Henderson entered ardently into the contest to save tlie north from the invasion of slavery. Events eulminated in the inaugu- ration of the Civil war in the spring of 1861, and General Hender- son, fired by unquenehable patriotism, addressed his fellow citizens in almost every schoolhouse in Stark county, urging enlistments and pleading with all to stand by the administration of Lineoln and the Union. He did mueh valuable service in this connection but his strong desire to be at the front prompted his enlistment in the sum- mer of 1862. This required sacrifice of personal interests, necessi- tating leaving his wife and little children as well as abandoning a growing law praetiee. However, duty with him was paramount and he succeeded in raising a company which became a part of the One Hundred and Twelfth Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Governor Yates gave his permission for the regiment to eleet its eolonel and Mr. Henderson was unanimously chosen. On the 22d of September, 1862, the command was mustered in and at onee pro- eeeded to the front. In the memorial of General Henderson pre- pared by the surviving members of his regiment, his war reeord is given as follows: "He commanded a brigade in a cavalry corps of the Army of the Ohio during the winter of 1863-4, and commanded a brigade of infantry in the Twenty-third Corps, Army of the Ohio, from August 12, 1864, to the end of the war. He was severely wounded in the battle of Resaea, Georgia, May 14, 1864. He was recommended for promotion by his superior officers, division, eorps and army commanders for gallant and meritorious service in the Georgia and Tennessee eampaigns, in the year 1864, and especially in the battle of Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864, and was appointed by President Lincoln, brigadier general by brevet, Jan- uary 5, 1865, to rank from November 30, 1864. General Hender- son was a striet diseiplinarian, but he governed by kindness, by appeal- ing to the manhood and patriotism of his men rather than by harsh or severe measures. No member of the One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois ever suffered any humiliating punishment or publie disgrace for offenses committed in the army. There was none of that pom- pous, overbearing, self-superior manner often seen in army officers in their intereourse with their men. He was courteous and kind to his men and took an active interest in their welfare while in the army, as he has done ever since. He was a commander in every sense of the word and enforeed his authority as such; but he was also a eomrade and a friend to every member of his regiment; and every man honored and respected him, and cheerfully obeyed his orders, and loved him
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