Portrait and Biographical Album of Fulton County,
Illinois: containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of
prominent and representative citizens of the county: together with
portraits and biographies of all the presidents of the United States,
and governors of the state; Biographical Pub. Co., Chicago, IL; 1890;
page 207-211; Transcribed by Margaret Rose Whitehurst
James H. McCall. This gentleman was a conspicuous figure
in the history of Central Illinois for nearly forty years. He was
a resident of Peoria, and later of Canton, the latter city being his
home when his career was cut short by death. In addition to a
brief outline of his life, we append some notices from the press, and
fraternal resolutions which sufficiently indicate the place which he
held in the mind of the public. We also present to the reader
portraits of Mr. and Mrs. McCall.
James Harvey McCall was born in 1809, in the city of Baltimore,
Md., of Scotch parents. In 1814, he removed with his parents to
York County, Pa., and lived on a farm until he was sixteen years of
age. In 1825 he went into Lancaster County, of the same State,
and was there engaged in farming and sawmilling until the spring of
1835, when he with his eldest sister, emigrated to Peoria, Ill.
In the fall of that same year he rented a grist and sawmill on Kickapoo
Creek, and after working there for six months, returned to town, and
followed carpentering for a year, then alternating that with farming
until 1839, when he, with John Monroe, built and loaded a flatboat with
produce, which they took to New Orleans. After returning he
engaged in feeding cattle and hogs, and built the first pens in Peoria,
feeding with the slop from Capt. A. S. Cole’s distillery, which was the
first distillery erected in Peoria.
Mr. McCall, in April, 1846, received injuries, and was unable to
work for several months. In the spring of 1847, he entered into a
partnership in the sawmill business, and continued there for two years,
then they built an addition of a gristmill, and just as it was
completed it burned to the ground. In the fall of 1850, he had
rebuilt on the old site, and was running a custom mill, and in the
spring of 1852, the first co-partnership of Moss, Bradley & Co.,
(the company being McCall, and afterward McCall & Frazer) was
formed. Here he was interested until the fall of 1862, when he
removed to Canton, Ill., to take personal supervision of a distillery,
which he had previously bought. Here he helped to establish the
First National Bank of Canton, of which he was President from the time
of its establishment to the day of his death.
On June 10, 1845, Mr. McCall was married to Miss Louisa Raymond,
and to them were born four children, daughters, whose record is as
follows: Maggie L., wife of Dr. James Entwistle, of Chicago; Carrie G.,
who married George A. Black, and resides in Omaha, Neb.; Josie E., wife
of William Babcock, Jr., of Cantons, and Agnes M., who became the wife
of Charles Levings, of Chicago. Mr. McCall cast his first vote
for Andrew Jackson, and was during his entire life a stanch
Democrat. He was always an active politician, and as such was
influential in the councils of his party.
During the fall of 1872 Mr. McCall went to California on
business, and on his way back home met men whose acquaintance gave him
the desire to investigate part of the mining interests of the Western
county, and on June 16, 1873, he started to do so. From that time
he was among the mounts, and although it was a disagreeable task to
him, he wrote more often than usual to his family, always saying he was
enjoying good health and spirits, and the day before he was taken sick,
wrote home the same good news, which letter was not received until the
day after the telegram announcing his death. The following
extracts from the different papers will partially show the high regard
in which he was held in the community, and also give many items of
interest, for trifles assume an importance not their own when connected
with those who have been loved and lost: From the Canton Register, September 5, 1873:
Sad Affliction - Sudden Death of
J. H. McCALL
On Tuesday last the citizens of Canton were startled and pained
by a report that Mr. James H. McCall was dead. An inquiry
developed the fact that the report was in all probability true,
although the dispatch announcing the fact was very unsatisfactory, not
to say mysterious. It was as follows:
Elko, Nevada, September 1st 1873.
George A. Black Canton, Ill.:
I leave here on the 5 P.M. train with the remains
of J. H. McCall. Meet me at Bureau Junction.
(Signed) A. B. Chapman.
Nothing more was learned by, or known to the family concerning
the matter. A letter was received from Mr. McCall on Tuesday
evening, dated August 27, in which he writes concerning some business,
and this letter was written by Mr. McCall in the clear and concise
manner peculiar to him in business matters.
Mr. Chapman, who sends the dispatch, formerly lived in Joliet,
Ill., and Mr. McCall became acquainted with him when in the West a year
ago. The family knew nothing of him, only that he is engaged in
business at Mountain City, Near Elko, Nev.
Mr. George A. Black, a son-in-law of Mr. McCall, started for
Omaha, Tuesday, to meet the remains, and bring them home; and Col. A.
C. Babcock, Mr. McCall’s partner, will also meet them there. They
are expected to arrive in the city today, Friday.
Up to noon of Thursday, there had been nothing further in
relation to Mr. McCall’s death received, and there is a hope yet
indulged that there may be a mistake.
Mr. McCall has been one of the most enterprising and
public-spirited citizens of Canton, and all have felt that not his
family alone, but the whole community have sustained an irreparable
loss. His remains will be interred in the Canton cemetery.
From the Canton Register, September 12, 1873:
Death of J. H. McCall
His Funeral
The reported death of Mr. H. J. McCall, mentioned by us last
week, proved to be only too true, dispatches from G. A. Black
confirming the sad news being received on Thursday evening, just after
our paper was printed.
A. B. Chapman, Esq., a merchant of Mountain City, Nev., who was
with Mr. McCall, the greater portion of the time since the latter has
been in the West, has furnished us the following particulars:
Mr. McCall had been in his usual good health up to the morning
of the 29th ult., when he was taken at Mountain City with what appeared
to be a congestive chill, from the effects of which he was unconscious
for some time. After coming out of the chill, consciousness
returned, and he at once announced to Mr. Chapman and his attendants
that he would not recover, and that it would be useless to send for as
a physician. A team and driver had been procured by Mr. Chapman,
and was just ready to start, when Mr. McCall told them to stop, as he
would not live long enough for a physician to reach him. Mountain
City is only a mining town, and to obtain a physician it was necessary
to send to Elko, on the Union Pacific Railroad, distant eighty-six
miles from Mountain City. The stage time between the two points
is two days.
After giving directions to Mr. Chapman concerning some business
matters, sending messages to loved ones at home, and requesting that
Mr. Chapman accompany his remains to Canton, at 3:30 p.m. on the 30th,
he died.
It was impossible to get a coffin, or even lumber to make one,
at Mountain City, and Mr. Chapman was compelled to put the body in a
rough box, packed in ice, and haul it over a rough mountain road in an
open wagon to Elko. He started at 11 o’clock p.m., on the 30th,
arriving at Elko at 1 p.m., on the first of September. Not being
able to obtain a casket there, a coffin was procured, sealed in zinc,
and then enclosed in a box, and at 5 p.m., on the 1st inst., he started
for Omaha. At Omaha he was met by Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Black, and
Col. A. C. Babcock, who accompanied the remains home, arriving here at
10:45 a.m., Friday, the 5th.
The remains were met at the depot, and taken in charge by a
committee, consisting of Messrs. William Babcock, J. W. Ingersoll, C.
T. Heald, A. B. Hulit, and H. L. Wright, on the part of the citizens,
and W. B. Gleason, S. Y. Thornton, J. H. Stipp, W. H. Craig and J. C.
Brinkerhoff, on the part of the Masonic fraternity. The remains
were taken into the depot building, the coffin opened, and the body
identified. An examination was also made, at the request of
friends, by Drs. Swisher and Wright, to ascertain if death had ensued
from natural causes.
The remains were then conveyed to his late residence where they
were cared for until Saturday, at two o’clock, when the funeral took
place.
The Masonic fraternity met at their hall at half-past one
o’clock, and formed in procession under direction of W. B. Gleason, as
Marshal, with C. N. Henkle and W. H. Craig as assistants.
Preceded by the cornet Band, they marched to the late residence of the
deceased, where they were met by the committee of citizens above
mentioned. The remains were taken in charge, and conveyed to the
Congregational Church, J. H. Stipp, J. M. Fox, G. S. McConnel, S. P.
Slocum, W. H. Smith, and J. R. McQuaid, acting as pall bearers.
The funeral services at the church were conducted by the Rev. H.
B. Smith, of Peoria, who delivered an impressive and feeling address,
basing his remarks on the second and third verses of the seventh
chapter of Ecclesiastes:
“It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the
house of feasting; for that is the end of all men; and the living will
lay it to his heart.”
“Sorrow is better than laughter, for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.”
At the close of the services the hymn “Scotland,” a favorite
tune of Mr. McCall’s was sung by the choir, and a procession was again
formed, the band and Masonic fraternity in the front, followed by the
hearse and family then a long line of citizens on foot and upwards of
fifty vehicles in the rear. The procession proceeded to the
cemetery, where the remains were interred with the beautiful funeral
service of the Masonic fraternity, conducted by Dr. Sylvester Stevens,
of Knoxville, an old and esteemed friend of Mr. McCall’s.
During the funeral services the banks were closed, and business
to a great extent suspended. A number of the Masonic fraternity
from Lewistown, Fairview, and other places, besides many others, came
to pay the last tribute of respect to their departed friend.
And thus was laid to rest one of nature’s noblemen. It is
but seldom that one is called upon to record the decease of a man who
will be as greatly missed, in all the walks of live, as James H.
McCall. Although a resident of Canton only some ten or twelve
years, he had so identified himself with all the best interests and
material advancement of the city and of the county that he was perhaps
more widely known than many of our older citizens; and where known, his
name was synonymous with integrity, justice, honor, and business
capacity. Possessed of ample means, he was ever ready to use them
in public enterprises, and for general good.
In his private life he was known far and wife for his generous
unostentatious hospitality, his extensive charities, and benevolent
nature. In his domestic life he was noted for the almost
idolatrous love for his family. Of a happy and joyous nature
himself, he impressed himself so upon all who came in contact with him
in the family circle, and never was too much occupied, or ever too much
troubled in spirit to endeavor to make all about him happy. And
never did he appear more lovable than in his last days at home, when
surrounded by the young friends of his affectionate children, he showed
that his heart was as young as any there, and that he could and did
enjoy the sports and esteem the friendship of the youngest
present. His was a heart that never would grow old, and a warm
loving nature that nothing could ever chill so long as the life current
coursed through his veins. He was a good man. Peace to his
ashes.
From the Fulton Count Ledger, September 12, 1873
Further Particulars of the Death of
James H. McCall.
We last week informed our readers of the death of James H. McCall, Esq.
of this city, but could give none of the particulars, as nothing was
known except the dispatch from Mr. A. B. Chapman, of Mountain City,
Nev., one of the men interested with him in mining operations in that
vicinity.
The body of Mr. McCall arrived her on Friday morning,
accompanied through by Mr. Chapman and met at Omaha by his son-in-law,
Mr. George A. Black, and Col. A. C. Babcock. A committee from the
Masonic Lodge, and also of citizens, and a large number of our people,
were at the depot when the train arrived. The remains were taken
to the house, where they remained until Saturday afternoon, when they
were interred in the Canton cemetery.
At one o’clock p.m., on Saturday, Morning Star Lodge A. F. &
A. M. met in their rooms and formed in procession and marched to the
house preceded by the Canton band, which had volunteered for the
occasion, and escorted the remains to the Congregational Church, where
services were held, the Rev. Mr. Smith of Universalist Church, Peoria,
preaching the sermon. The church was crowded.
The attendance at the cemetery was the largest we have ever seen
at a funeral in this city. The entire city seemed to turn out to
pay this last tribute to him who was one of our best, most liberal and
enterprising citizens. A number of Masons were here from
Lewistown and Fairview Lodge.
James H. McCall was sixty-four years of age in June last.
He was born in Baltimore, Md.; came West in 1835, soon after settling
in Peoria. In1845 he married Miss L. Raymond, of Peoria, who with
their four children, daughters, survive him. In the fall of 1862
he removed his family to Canton, and has since resided here. He
has been one of our most active business men, and by economy, industry
and uprightness had amassed a large amount of property. At the
tie of his death he was President of the First National Bank of this
city, and the owner of a large amount of stock. Early last spring
Mr. McCall had a severe attack of congestion of the liver, and his
attending physician, Dr. Fleming, then informed him that if he should
ever have another attack of the disease, it would cause his
death. About the last of May or the first of June, he went West
to prospect as to the value of certain silver mines, in which the Mr.
Chapman mentioned above and others were interested, and which were
presented to him as very valuable last fall, while he was returning
from a trip to California, by some of the parties, whom he met on the
cars, and who were anxious to get some parties with capital to take an
interest in them. He had assured himself that there was a fortune
in the enterprise. He had himself selected specimens of an
average yield of quartz, and had them assayed, and they produced
$339.32 to the ton, which was considered very rich; and having
satisfied himself of the value of the mines, he had made arrangements
to invest in the enterprise.
On Friday morning, 2 9th ult., he was taken sick with congestion
of the liver, and felt that his time was short in this world. He
sent for Mr. Chapman, told him about his affairs and what disposition
was to be made of what he had with him. That a day or two before
he had received a draft of $1,000, and of this he wanted $600 used to
pay some bills he had contracted, and the remainder to be used in
taking his boy home to Canton. There was no physician nearer than
Elko, in Nevada, a town eighty-six miles north of Mountain City, and
about six hundred miles by rail from San Francisco. Mr. Chapman
proposed to send for a physician, but Mr. McCall said it was no use -
physician could do him no good if there, ad he would be dead before one
could reach him. And in a little more than twenty-four hours from the
time he was taken, he was a corpse. His remains were taken to
Elko where they were placed in a zinc case, soldered tight, and thus
brought home.
His death will be a great loss, not only to his family and
friends, but to our little city also. As we said last week, he
was ever ready to lend a helping hand to the needy, and was one of the
foremost in anything which pertained to the growth and interest of our
little city. But death is no respecter of persons. The rich
and the poor, the high and the low, must all bow before him, and in a
day and an hour that we know not of, are we called upon to yield to his
cold embrace.
We learn from the Peoria Democrat that Mr. McCall served for
several years as a member of the City Council of Peoria, commencing in
1855. The Democrat very truthfully says:
“As a man, as a neighbor, and as a citizen, we can only speak of
Mr. McCall in terms of commendation; sociable, cheerful, amiable, and
generous, his society was sought by all classes, and by the young and
the old. Those who have partaken of his hospitality in the years
that are gone, will not soon forget the pleasant family circle of which
he was the head. It is within the bounds of truth to say that few
men were more greatly blessed in the house which their own exertions
have endowed, than James H. McCall. A spirit of affection and
trust prevailed the whole circle, and those who entered it were
compelled to drink of its influence.”
From the Peoria National Democrat, September 6, 1873:
Another of the Old Men Gone
The friends of James H. McCall, formerly a resident of this
city, but latterly a resident of Canton, in Fulton County, were sadly
surprised on Thursday last, by a telegram published in the Democrat
Of that day, of the death of that gentleman in Nevada, the previous
day. The painfulness of the circumstances was intensified by the
vagueness of the report. None of the attending facts were given,
only the bare mention that he was dead, leaving the imagination to
supply the cause and incidents of death, and these, as the deceased was
known to have in his possession a considerable amount of money,
naturally led to the conclusion that violence had been used, and that
murder had been committed.
Later dispatches, however, relieved the minds of the friends of
that mistake, and state that he died of congestive chills. His
death was sudden and unexpected. On the 27th ult. He wrote to his
family a letter which they received on the day of his death, and gave
directions relative to some business matters, and in it there is no
indication of ill-health. He was taken sick on the morning of the
29th, and died the afternoon of the following day.
We have no information at hand relative to the nativity or age
of the deceased. He first became known to the writer of this
sketch while in the City Council of Peoria, where he served some four
or five years, commencing in 1855. He was then engaged in
business with Capt. W. S. Moss, now of California, and was considered
one of our best and most respected business men. Soon after that
time he removed to Canton, where he has since resided, and there, as
here, his interest in business affairs was reached. Several
months ago his attention was called to a mining operation in the new
State of Nevada, and after due consideration, he concluded to embark in
it, and it was while carrying out that determination that he met his
death. As soon as the fact of his death was announced, his
son-in-law, Mr. George A. Black, started to meet the train on which the
body was to be brought, and it was expected that the sad cortege would
arrive in Canton yesterday, and that there the obsequies would be
celebrated. We may receive intelligence from that place before
this number of our paper goes to press.
Few men have exhibited a greater show of public spirit than the
deceased. He was always ready to assist, with his purse and his
hands as well as his advice, any feasible project for public
improvements, the friend of education, and a leader in many benevolent
and generous enterprises. We might cite hundreds of cases where
he has proven these assertions true, but it is unnecessary to do so,
for his works in this regard were known to all his neighbors and
acquaintances. He was one whom his adopted city can illy spare.
Mr. McCall was a devoted member of the Masonic fraternity, and
until increasing years led him to oftener seek the delights of the home
circle, was a regular attendant of the order, and we have heard him
express the belief that it was one of the best means yet devised to
awaken the hearts of men to the too often neglected virtues of
benevolence and charity. The society of which he was a member
very properly take charge of the remains, follow them in their last
journey, and deposit them in the place appointed for all living.
The blow is a severe one upon the family so suddenly bereaved,
but they have the infinite consolation that the deceased neglected no
duty, shirked no responsibility, nor wronged any individual; that he
goes home with a clear record and the prayers of the needy as his demit
from the earthly lodge. Seldom are we called upon to chronicle
the death of a man in all respects so commendable as James H. McCall.
Masonic Notice
Members of the Peoria Lodge No. 15, are requested to meet at the
Toledo, Peoria & Western depot, at 11:30 a.m., this (Saturday)
morning, for the purpose of attending the funeral of our late brother,
J. H. McCall, of Canton.
J. F. Hazzard, W. M.
From the Peoria Daily Transcript, September 8, 1873:
Funeral of James H. McCall.
The funeral of James H. McCall which took place in Canton on
Saturday, was the largest ever held in that city. The Masonic
fraternity of which the deceased was an honored member, did all in
their power to add by their rites to the solemnity of the
occasion. Rev. H. b. Smith, pastor of the Universalist Church in
this city, officiated as clergyman. The cemetery was crowded with
those anxious to do honor to the memory of a man well known and
respected in the country at large, and revered and loved in his own
more immediate circle of friends and relatives.
From the Elko, (Nev.) Independent, September 13
Died
In Mountain City, Nev., August 30, 1878, J. H. McCall, a native of Canton, Ill., aged Sixty-two years.
Deceased was President of the Peoria Nevada Smelting and
Refining Company, operating in Bruno, and was temporarily sojourning in
Northern Nevada attending to the interest of the company. As it
will be at least some satisfaction to his bereaved family and his
numerous friends to know that in his last moments nothing was left
undone to alleviate his sufferings, we will mention that Messrs.
Chapman, Fisk and Hazeltine, and Mesdames Fisk and Walsh, and others
did all in their power to smooth this pathway “to that undiscovered
country from whose bourne no traveler returns.” Being loth to
leave him in the land of the stranger, far from family and friends,
Col. A. B. Chapman at once started with the remains to Canton, Ill.,
Mr. McCall’s former home. While a large circle of friends will
miss his accustomed cheering presence, let us console ourselves with
the thought that our loss is his gain, and that he has only gone before
across mystic river.
Resolutions of the Masons.
To the Worshipful Master, Warden, and Brethren of Morning Star Lodge, No. 80, A. F. & A. M. Masons, Canton, Ill.:
We your committee appointed to draft resolutions upon the death
of our worthy brother, James H. McCall, would respectfully submit the
following:
Whereas, It has pleased the Grand Master of the universe, in the
dispensation of His providence, to remove from thus world to the Grand
Lodge above, and to rest from his labors here, our worthy and esteemed
brother, James H. McCall:
Resolved, That in the death of brother McCall, the fraternity
has lost a faithful member; the community an enterprising and upright
citizen; the wife a devoted husband, and the children an affectionate
parent.
Resolved. That while we place a record of our brother’s
decease among the archives of this lodge and humbly bow to the will of
our divine Master, we would express our deep regret that we have been
called upon to mourn the loss of our deceased brother, cut down in the
usefulness of his life.
Resolved. That we deeply sympathize with the family of our
late brother in their sudden bereavement, and direct the Secretary to
send them a copy of these resolutions under the seal of the lodge.
Resolved further, That these resolutions be spread upon the
records of the lodge, and the Secretary certify a copy to Peoria Lodge,
No. 15, of which brother McCall was a member.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
(Signed) James
H. Stipp,
J. C. Brinkerhoff,
S. Y. Thorton,
E. H. Curtis,
W. B. Gleason.
