Was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1793. His parents were David and Gertrude (Nagel) Anderson. Upon the breaking out of the war of 1812, he offered his services and was accepted as drummer boy. A pension granted him in this behalf served as a constant reminder of his soldier boy days, during the last years of his life. In 1820 he came west and located in the Marine settlement. lu 1822, he married Susan S. Creamer, in Kaskaskia, by whom he had twelve children. By the death of his wife he was left for some years a widower. On the 23d of April 1868, he was married to Margarett L. Creamer, by whom he had two children. Mr. Anderson was eminently successful ; he amassed considerable property, which he improved after a manner worthy of emulation. His houses, barns, orchards, etc, all bespeak his excellent taste. He died April 11, 1875. His widow lives on the old homestead, about two miles from Collinsville, surrounded by such luxuries as a competency can yield. Mr, Anderson was a man of commanding presence ; of unquestioned integrity of character; of excellent business qualifications, and of philanthropic ways.
The life history of him who head.this article, though it has many points in common with that of other men, particularly of that large class, who hailing from the eastern states have contributed so largely to western development, has yet many interesting features peculiarly its own. Born of a highly respectable family, the atmosphere of his young life .seems to have been permeated by influences which tended to the growth of his nobler nature, while the circumstances of his earlier manhood, and the events of his later life have all assisted in the development in him of the true man. M. H. Boals was born in Venango county, Pennsylvania, April 3d, 1833, the seventh in a family of thirteen children. His parents were Lanie F. and Sarah Boals. His father was a thrifty farmer who brought up his children to habits of industry. He remained with him until he reached his twentieth year when he set about to learu the carpenter's trade, which he soon mastered, and prosecuted in all about twenty years. In 1854, he left his native hills for a home in the west and located in Alton. In 1S63, he purchased the planing mill, and in 1866, added greatly to its utility by opening a lumber yard in connection therewith. With the years came experience and added industry in his case. In 1878, he commenced the manufacture of tile which business he continues. He has proven himself one of the few men who can successfully prosecute two or more independent lines of business. He was married to Margaret M. Logan, March 6th, 1857, by whom he had one child. She died February 29th, 1864. On the 10th of April, 1867, he was again married to Juliette Johnson Vaughan, by whom he has six children. Politically he is an ardent and prominent Republican. With the origin of the party in 1856, he espoused the cause, voting for John C. Fremont for President. His contributions to party success have been considerable. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, in whose workings he takes a great interest, also a Knight Templar in the Masonic order. He is a member of the Congregational Church. In a word Mr. Boals is one of the pushing, active business men of Alton. Anything conducive to the public good finds in him a friend and supporter.
The present editor and proprietor of the Edwardsville Democrat, was born in Edwardsville, September 26th, 1847. He is the son of Edward S. and Sarah J. (Lusk) Brown. His father was born in Upper Alton, Nov. 19, 1819, and his mother was born in Edwardsville, Nov. 10th, 1828. They were married April 10th, 1846. The issue of this union was Ansel L. and a daughter, Mary Lucretia, who was born November 14th, 1849, and died September ;26th, 1850. The father was the son of Dr. Erastus and Brittania (Easton) Brown, who settled at Upper Alton in 1818, the former being one of the original proprietors of that place. The mother is the eldest daughter of the late John T. and Lucretia (Gillham) Lusk, who were among the early settlers of Illinois, having located where Edwardsville is now laid off and platted, about the beginning of the present century. At the time of the death of Edward S. Brown, which occurred July 9th, 1850, he occupied the position of assessor of Madison county, and had filled the position for several preceding terms. After the death of Mr. Brown, the widow intermarried with the late John R. Torrence in 1853, and the issue of this union was a son and daughter, Harry L. and Gillian L. Torrence. The subject of this notice obtained his education in the schools of Edwardsville and at the City University at St. Louis, Mo. His earliest business pursuits were in real estate, in which he continued until his purchase of the Edwardsville Times, May 1st, 1882. Immediately after the purchase of that paper, the name was changed to that first mentioned, the material was increased, and the capacity of the office generally was added to ; and under his vigorous management the journal has assumed a respectable and enviable standing.
James R., was the son of James and Ann Brown, and was born in Bedford, England, January 24, 1836. At the age of fifteen he left his native country and emigrated to America. He went direct to St. Louis, and in 1853 came to Edwardsville, Illinois, and here made his home until his death, which occurred after a long and painful illness, April 30, 1882. He learned the printer's trade, and June 1856 started a weekly newspaper in Edwardsville, called the Madison Enquirer. Disposing of the paper by sale he worked at the case until Aug. 11, 1858, and then in connection with Theodore Terry issued the first number of The Madison Press. He soon afterward sold his interest to his partner. In October 1862 he started and issued the first number of th"6 Edwardsville Intelligencer, of which paper he was sole editor and [iroprietor until his death. As a newspaper man Mr. Brown was eminently successful. He had learned every detail of a country printing office, and was not only a good artistic printer, but combined with it good executive ability and management. He was a good ^vriter, and excelled as a paragraphist. He belonged to the positive order of men, and therefore never hesitated to condemn that which he deemed to be wrong. This trait of character sometimes led him to be unusually severe. When his friendship and confidence were once given he remained constant and true. He was twice married, first to Mrs. Sophia W. Cox, a daughter of JIajor Purcell of this county. The marriage occurred Aug. 24, 1858 ; she died May 9, 1871. On the 28th of May, 1874, in the city of Philadelphia, he married Miss Matilda Wolf, daughter of Frederick A. and Caroline Wolf, of Edwardsville. By this union one child, a son, named James, Jr., was born. He died July 15, 1879, while yet iu infancy.
Was the son of Nathan and Sarah Cole, and was born in Ovid, Seneca county. New York, May 9, 1813. He was the third of seven sons. In 1821 his father removed with his family to Illinoistown, now East St. Louis, Illinois, where he became the pioneer pork packer of the Mississippi Valley. Hermon C. received his educational training in St. Louis and Alton. He was a pupil at one time of Rev. John M. Peck, in St. Louis, and afterward in Alton Seminary, which latter became Shurtleff College, and was under the tuition of Rev. H. Loomis, in whose family he boarded. His business education was obtained partly in connection with his father's business, and in employment over a large part of the states of Missouri and Illinois in the purchase of cattle. At the age of twenty-one he opened for himself a store in Illinois town, on a small capital, and in two years accumulated several thousand dollars.
For two or three years after this he was an invalid, and unable to attend to any business. In 1837 his father, with his family, removed to Chester, Randolph county, Illinois, where he built and opened a saw mill, flour mill and beef packing house, and Hermon C. opened and successfully conducted a general store, until 1840, when he sold out, and his father dyiug, he becime a partner, with his brother Abner, in the flour mill. At that time the milling business was very precarious owing to the financial crisis of 1837, and also to the fact that wheat was raised in very limited quantities in that part of the country. In the alternations of trade Mr. Cole came into liabilities, not all his own, such as would have utterly discouraged many men, and led others to accept the relief offered by the bankrupt law, but he steadily pursued the course of integrity and persevering industry, until every debt was paid, and a way opened to complete success. In 1851 he added to his business a general store which soon had the largest trade in southern Illinois. From this time, continued and large successes attended his enterprises. In 1853, the old mill was removed and a new one erected, which was then regarded as a model mill. In 1861 he became sole owner of the mill property, his brother Abner removing to Oregon the following year.
As the business increased, enlargements were made from time to time and, the mill became the leadingone of southern Illinois, with a capacity of grinding three hundred and fifty barrels daily, provided with storage capacity of seven thousand barrels, and grain warehouse with storage capacity of one hundred thousand bushels. An extensive lumber trade was also added to his other business. Mr. Cole's operations were not conducted solely for his own benefit. He sympathized with struggling men, and with broad views of the needs of the surrounding country, he engaged in enterprises for the promotion of its welfare and growth. At his own expense, he improved roads, built bridges, and gave employment to many men. He encouraged the production of wheat, and introduced the Mediterranean variety in 1862. In 1867, in connection with his brother Nathan, he opened the extensive produce commission house in St. Louis, under the name of Cole Brothers, which became and still is eminently successful. In this firm he continued a partner until 1872. His business enterprises in Randolph county, meanwhile continued enlarging, and in 1872 he added to them a banking house.
At this time he was president of the Millers' Association of Illinois. His mercantile business was varied and extensive, and his lands in several counties embraced over ten thousand acres, including several cultivated farms. In 1868, desiring better church and educational facilities, he removed to Upper Alton, where was enlarged and improved at great expense the beautiful home where he spent as much 53 of his time as his business allowed, and where he died after a short and painful illness, October 20, 1874. The character of Mr. Cole occured for him both tlie respect and affection of his associates. While of the quick and impulsive temperament that makes leadership, he was sympathizing and generous. Positive in conviction and expression, he was yet modest and forbearing. Engaged in practical business, he was alive to the enjoyments of refinement and taste and was earnest in promoting family and public education and culture. In Chester he united with the Baptist church, under the ministrations of Rev. U. L. Barber, and added integrity of Christian character to an elevated manhood. In Upper Alton he became a member of the Baptist church, and a liberal contributor to it. He became a trustee and benefactor of Shurtleff College, donating at one time, five thousand dollars, and liberal sums at other times. He was a generous helper of struggling students, and of worthy indigence, wherever he found it. Few men possessed greater energy and will power, and these elements of character united to a sufficient amount of cautiousness, to prevent his engaging in speculations, carried him to the front in business circles, and ultimately crowned his efforts with the highest succ'ess. Mr. Cole was twice married. First in June 1844, to Miss Emily Cox, of Stamford, Conn., who was a faithful companion in his struggle, and successes until her death October 14, 1859, and who left to him six children, named Charles B., Zachary Z., Alice E , Henry C, Eunice E., and Edward E. In February, 1862, he was married to Sarah J., daughter of Rev. Isaac D. Newell, one of the most eminent early Baptist ministers of Illinois, of whom a sketch appears in the history of the Baptist church in this county. She was then the widow of Mr. Joseph S. Flanagin, a young merchant of Bunker Hill. Five children were born of this marriage, viz: Cora V., Grace, Hermon, Newell, and Nathan. His death left his widow with the important and difficult trust of the sole guardianship of the persons and property of their five children, a trust for which she is eminently qualified by natural endowments and educatior, and in the discharge of which her course has been a continued and conij)lete success. November 26, 1879, she was married to Prof. John C. C Clarke of Sburtleff College, and still resides at her home in Upper Alton. The following extract from the records of the Merchants' Exchange of St. Louis, Mo., shows the esteem in which Mr. Cole was held by his brother merchants, and presents a very just view of some elements of his character. St. Louis, October 24, 1874. Mr. George P. Plant offered the following preamble and resolutions : On the morning of October 20, 1874, Hermon B. Cole, a member of the Union Merchants' exchange of St. Louis, departed this life at the family residence in Upper Alton at the ripe age of sixty-two, after an illness of about ten days. Mr. Cole has long been identified with the business in- terests of St. Louis, and of the country adjacent, especially in southern Illinois, and attained to eminence in all the relations of life. He needed no public proclamation, no elevation to office, to determine his standing. His high rank was admitted by common consent, and his innate modesty forbade any other announcement. His business example was regarded a safe call to financial investments. His business habits were an unremitting challenge to young men hoping for success. His integrity and honor did not involve a question. His enterprise and energy were the eagle and lion united, high in purpose and strong to execute. Success was the certain crown of such a life. As a manufacturer his establishments became a market for the produce of a large surrounding country, and as a merchant he made a market for his manufacture, and reflected a good name upon all associated with him. In social life he was humble, genial, mirthful ; a man whom children loved, and the poor approached as a companion and benefactor, who had trod their paths and knew by experience their joys aud sorrows.
Educational and religious institutions had substantial evidence of his sympathy, and the benedictions of friends and the smiles of an approving Providence surrounded, entered, and blessed his home. In a life thus well spent he had the best preparation for the better, eternal life upon which we believe he has entered. To acknowledge unobtrusive worth and to perpetuate the memory of true greatness so beautifully exemplified in the life and character of our departed friend we are called together to day, therefore. Resolved, That the Union Merchants' Exchange of St. Louis in the death of Hermon C. Cole has lost a member of rare business capacity and attainments, of sterling integrity, of unsullied honor, enterprising, energetic, wise and prudent whose good example we commend with confidence to the young men of the west, as a model for their emulation. Res lived, That we regarded him in civil life as a true gentleman, modest, affectionate, genial, considerate of the rights and feelings of others, and tender towards those whom misfortune had humbled. Although dead he yet speaks to us of noble manhood and a good life in the midst of perplexing cares. Resolved, That we tender to the family, the brother and the sorrowing friends of the deceased, our sincere sympathy, assuring them that his loss will be deeply mourned in the business community as well as in the home circle. Resolved, That this preamble and these resolutions be placed upon the records of this Exchange, and that a copy thereof be furnished to the afflicted family. The resolutions were seconded by Gov. Stanard, who spoke of the esteem in which the departed was held by his brother millers, and then unanimously adopted.
Edward Coles, the second Governor of the state of Illinois, resided in Edwardsville. He was an extraordinary man, and was more instrumental in shaping the destinies of Illi- nois (and perhaps of the Nation) than any man who ever resided within her limits. In order to understand the force of this remark, it is proper to premise that the Constitution of the United States contained three provisions that were distasteful to the opponents of slavery. One was that the African slave- trade should not be abolished before 1808 ; secondly that there should be a fugitive slave law, and thereby that five slaves should be reckoned equal to three white persons on the floor of Congress. These clauses were all in [the interest of slavery. In order to induce its opponents, to accept the constitution with these clauses in it, it was agreed that sla- very should be confined to its then limits, and accordingly it was prohibited in the Northwestern territory by the Con- gress of 1787, then in session, cotemporaneously with the Convention, which was all the territory belonging to the United States. In 1802, we purchased Louisiana, in which slavery had been planted by the Spaniards, and French. In 1812 Louisiana was admitted as a slave state without much op- position inasmuch as slavery had existed there from the outset, and as the acquisition of the French possessions was looked upon as a necessity. In 1819, Missouri applied for admission as a slave State, formed out of this French territory, and as slavery was principally introduced from the original thirteen States it was considered, that her admission would be in derogation of the understanding had in 1787, and hence, the agitation of 1819-20, which was finally set- tled by the admission of Missouri, and the compromise, which excluded slavery from all the French territory North of 36°30' latitude except Missouri. Edward Coles, who was a Virginian, inherited a hatred for slavery, and upon the death of his father he determined to manumit his slaves, and in order to do so, and make comfortable provision for their livelihood, he removed to Illinois ; before reaching which, while on the Ohio river, he set all his slaves free, and when he arrived at Edwardsville, he bestowed upon each head of a family, a tract of land, ample for their maintenance within about three miles of this place. Coles was soon appointed Register of the Land office here, and was consequently brought into contact with the people, and became very popular with all classes, particularly with those who were hostile to slavery. Soon it became manifest that an effort would be made to introduce slavery into Illinois, notwithstanding the ordinance of 1787. Illinois could not have been admitted into the Union with slavery, but the proslavery men, ever fertile in resources conceived the idea that the ordinance could be defeated by coming in as a Free State, and then altering the Constitution, so as to admit slavery. An election for Governor of the State coming on in 1822, Coles became a candidate, evidently with a view of frustrating the designs of the slavery propagandists, and was elected. From this moment the Governor set all his energies to work to defeat their schemes. He devoted his time his talents, his money, and risked his life in the cause he had espoused, and never relaxed his exertions until victory crowned his efforts. He gave his salary as Governor to the cause. He was instant in season and out of season. It would be impossible to do half justice to his efforts. He wrote and he rode. He loaded the mails with comments and correspondence. He addressed the people publicly and privately, whenever an opportunity offered. He was harassed with law suits, he was threatened with death, his property was destroyed by fire. He was fined $2000 for not giving bonds that the slaves he freed should not become a public charge, when the law requiring it had not been published fifteen days at the time, and not one in a thousand knew of its existence. The Legislature remitted the fine, but the judge who tried him, held the act to be an ex- post facto enactment. The Supreme Court however gave him the benefit of the law. It may truthfully be said that at that early day he was the most earnest and energetic anti- slavery man in the United States, and to his eflTorts may be ascribed the defeat of the scheme to drag Illinois into the sisterhood of Slave States. Had Illinois succumbed at that time Indiana would have followed suit, and if they had thrown their weight into the scale with the rebels, at the breaking out of the rebellion, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to have suppressed it. So that the contest in which Governor Coles took such an active and efficient part may be said to have been the turning point in the history of slavery in the United States. Governor Coles was on terms of great intimacy with Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Madison, Mr. Monroe and J. Q. Adams. He was appointed bearer of despatches by Mr. Madison when President to Mr. Ad- ams, when Minister to Russia. He could have had any place he desired within the gift of any of those men. He could have basked in the sunshine of official favor, but he surrendered all his prospects for fame and power to the work more congenial to his heart of giving freedom to the oppressed. After he had saved Illinois from the curse of slavery and seen his former slaves comfortably provided for, he removed to Philadelphia, where he married and raised a family, and after a long, eventful, and useful life was gathered to his fathers, honored and beloved by all who knew him. An admirable Biography of Governor Coles has been" written by the Hon. E. B. Washburn, of Chicago. He has done all that man could do with his materials, but it is unfortunate that upwards of half a century should have elapsed, before attempting to rescue from oblivion the life d character of so good and great a man as Edward Coles.
Was born in London, England, September '29th, 1828. In 1834 he came with his parents to America, and settled in New York City. While yet a mere boy, he came west to Cincinnati, and there learned the printer's trade. In 1854 he removed to Alton, in Madison county, and engaged in the printing business, as foreman of the Alton Telegraph. The Telegraph office was subsequently sold out to Geo. T. Brown of the Alton Courier, and Mr. Crossman became superintendent of the office. During his connection with the Courier it was one of the best equipped offices in Illinois, and did a large business in book and commercial printing. Subsequently, in connection with others, he published that paper for a short time. In 1860, at his suggestion and earnest solicitation, the Alton Telegraph was revived, and he became one of the proprietors, under the name of L. A. Parks & Co. In the establishment of the Daily Telegraph also he took an active part, and secured sufficient subscribers by personal solicitation to guarantee its success. Parks & Crossman continued together until 1864, when the latter withdrew. He then, in connection with .James H. Hibbard, established a job office, and con- tinued job printing until 1869, when he removed the office to Edwardsville, and here established the Edwardsville Republican, with which he was connected until his death, which occurred June 17, 1875. Mr Crossman was a distinguished member of the Masonic fraternity, and belonged to the several orders of Blue, Royal Arch, Cryptic and Templar Masonry. In religious faith he was a Methodist, and attached himself to that religious organization in 1862. He took a great interest in Sunday-school work, and was superintendent of the M. E. Sunday-school in this city and in Alton for a number of years. On the 27th of February, 1849, he was united in marriage with Miss Ellen Alice Morgan, with whom he lived happily until July, 1873, when she died. Eight children were the offspring of that marriage, five of whom still survive the parents. Their names in the order of their births are: Charles C, Thomas M., William E., Kate, Ellen E., Eva, Samuel V., Jr., and Edward V. Cross
EDWARDS, Ninian, Territorial Governor and United States Senator, was born in Montgomery County, Md., March 17, 1775; fora time had the' celebrated William Wirt as a tutor, completing ; his course at Dickinson College. At the age of 19 he emigrated to Kentucky, where, after squandering considerable money, he studied law and, step by step, rose to be Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals. In 1809 President Madison appointed him the first Territorial Governor of Illinois. This office he held until the admission of Illinois as a State in 1818, when he was elected United Sates Senator and re-elected on the completion of his first (the short) term. In 1826 he was elected Governor of the State, his successful administration terminating in 1830. In 1832 he became a candidate for Congress, but was defeated by Charles Slade. He was able, magnanimous and incorruptible, although charged with aristocratic tendencies which were largely hereditary. Died, at his home at Belleville, on July 20, 1833, of cholera, the disease having been contracted through self-sacrificing efforts to assist sufferers from the epidemic. His demise cast a gloom over the entire State. Two valuable volumes bearing upon State history, comprising his correspondence with many public men of his time, have been published; the first under the title of "History of Illinois and Life of Ninian Edwards," by his son, the late Ninian Wirt Edwards, and the other "The Edwards Papers," edited by the late Elihu B. Washburne, and printed under the auspices of the Chicago Historical Society.— Ninian Wirt (Edwards), son of Gov. Ninian Edwards, was born at Frankfort, Ky., April 15, 1809, the year his father became Territorial Governor of Illinois; spent his boyhood at Kaskaskia, Edwardsville and Belleville, and was educated at Transylvania University, graduating in 1833. He married Elizabeth P. Todd, a sister of Mrs. Abraham Lincoln, was appointed Attorney-General in 1834, but resigned in 1835, when he removed to Springfield. In 1836 he was elected to the Legislature from Sangamon County, as the colleague of Abraham Lincoln, being one of the celebrated "Long Nine," and was influential in securing the removal of the State capital to Springfield. He was re-elected to the House in 1838, to the State Senate in 1844, and again to the House in 1848; was also a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1847. Again, in 1850, he was elected to the House, but resigned on account of his change of politics from Whig to Democratic, and, in the election to fill the vacancy, was defeated by James C. Conkling. He served as Superintendent of Public Instruction by appointment of Governor Matteson, 1854-57, and, in 1861, was appointed by President Lincoln, Captain Commissary of Subsistence, which position he filled until June, 1865, since which time he remained in private life. He is the author of the "Life and Times of Ninian Edwards" (1870), which was prepared at the request of the State Historical Society. Died, at Springfield, Sept. 2, 1889.—Benjamin Stevenson (Edwards), lawyer and jurist, another son of Oov. Ninian Edwards, was born at Edwardsville, 111., June 3, 1818, graduated from Yale College in 1838, and was admitted to the bar the following year. Originally a Whig, he subsequently became a Democrat, was a Delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1862, and, in 1868, was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in opposition to Shelby M. Cullom. In 1869 he was elected Circuit Judge of the Springfield Circuit, but within eighteen months resigned the position, preferring the excitement and emoluments of private practice to the dignity and scanty salary attaching to the bench. As a lawyer and as a citizen he was universally respected. Died, at his home in Springfield, Feb. 4, 1883, at the time of his decease being President of the Illinois State Bar Association.
Was born in Edwardsville, Ill., September 30, 1828. He was the eldest child of Matthew and Nancy (Gordon) Gillespie. His mother died during his early childhood. David in his youth had but few of the advantages for obtaining an education that are now enjoyed by nearly every child in the land. The State was then in its infancy, and the school system but imperfectly operated. His education was therefore mainly obtained at the select or subscription schools, with a short time spent at Shurtleff College. As a boy or man he was always a careful student, and by his industry acquired a vast fund of general information. So thorough and complete was his system of study that he could at any time call to mind and into practical use anything that he had ever read or learned. He had a remarkably retentive memory, and was well-versed in the sciences and literature of the day. He was in the broadest and most liberal sense of the term a self-made man, which, in after years, was fully demonstrated by his powers of clear thinking, practical reasoning and self-reliance. Several years before he had attained his majority he had conceived the idea that he would like to follow the profession of law. He accordingly became a student of law in the office and under the direction of his uncle Joseph Gillespie. Here he obtained the mental food that stimulated his active mind. The intricacies of the proper government and conduct of man with his fellow man, as laid down by Blackstone, Kent, Story, and other eminent jurists, found a fertile field in the mind of the young student; and on arriving at twenty-one years of age he was admitted to practice at the bar. He had, however, previously attended a course at the law school in Cincinnati, Ohio. From the time of his enrollment as an attorney-at-law until the day of his death he was actively employed in his chosen profession. Few, if any, lawyers ever practised at the bar in Madison county who were more thoroughly acquainted with the philosophy and intricacies of the law than he. As a lawyer he worked with zeal and energy for the cause of his client, but he would never resort to any unfair or unlawful means to win a case. He became a successful practitioner from the fact that he possessed legal abilities of a high order, and by his honesty and integrity won the confidence of judges and juries. He participated in several important causm celebre, which have shed lustre upon the jurisprudence of the State of Illinois. As an advocate he was both wittj- and logical, and when his full powers were aroused and called into requisition in the interests of his client, his language became not only ornate, but truly eloquent. In 1861 he was appointed Master in Chancery, a position he filled with credit for twelve successive years. While discharging the duties of that office, he was further honored by being elected to the office of County Judge, which position he filled from December, 1865, to December, 1869. With all the multiplicity of duties devolving upon him as Master in Chancery, he never neglected his extensive law practice, and at the same time made a record as County Judge that his friends may point to with pride, as being among the purest and most economical in the history of Madison county. His death occurred at his home in Edwardsville, after a very brief illness, on the evening of August 1st, 1881. He was married to Miss Minna A. Barnsback, October 8th, 1855. She was the daughter of the late Julius L. Barnsback. His widow, two sons and two daughters survive him. In his social and family relations, he was one of the purest and best of men—ever true to his friends and to the principles that he believed to be right. In politics, he was a Republican.
Among the old settlers and prominent men, who have for many years been identified with Madison county, is Joseph Gillespie. He is to-day perhaps the most conspicuous figure in her history. He is one of the connecting links between this and the pioneer era of Illinois, and comes down to us from a former generation. In his active life he was the contemporary, associate, and friend of men who have grown great and added a page to the world's history. He is of Scotch-Irish parentage, and the son of David and Sarah Gillespie, who were born, raised and married in county Monaghan, Ireland. The ancestors of the Gillespie family were originally Scotch. They left their native country two years after the battle of the Boyne and settled in Ireland. They were Presbyterians in religion, and, it might be said, Republicans in their politics. Mrs. Gillespie even belonged to the " United Irish Society," which had for its object the liberation of the Irish people from the yoke of British tyranny ; and her brother was so particularly active in the rebellion of 1798, that he had to make his escape to the United States in order to save his life.
The parents of Mr. Gillespie were warmly attached to America and her people, and, when the opportunity offered, quickly embarked for this country. They landed in New York in 1807, and located in New York city, where they remained until 1819, when they removed west and settled in Madison county, Illinois. Here Mr. Gillespie followed the occupation of tilling the soil. In 1831 his wife died. In 1834 he moved to Grant county, Wisconsin, and died there in 1855. There were two sons born to David and Sarah Gillespie—Matthew and Joseph. Matthew died in 1861. Joseph, the subject of this sketch, was born in New York city, August 22, 1809. His education in schools was limited, and ceased entirely in his eleventh year. In those days schools were the exception, and at best were provided with incompetent teachers. His mother, however, who was well-informed and extremely fond of reading, in a measure supplied the want of suitable opportunities. She gave her sons all the instruction she could impart, procured the best reading matter that the county afforded, and . by her endeavors awakened in them a thirst for knowledge. She gave them her views upon what they had read, which i strengthened their recollection, created habits of reflection, and made amends for the lack of early scholastic advantages Joseph remained at home until 1827, when he went to the lead mines at Galena, and spent that season and also the seasons of 1828-29. A change in the tariff about that time made the sale of lead difficult, and the business of mining it became unprofitable. He returned home and remained there until 1831, when he went to Edwardsville. The same year he was invited to read law with Hon. Cyrus Edwards, at his*.residence on Wood River. This kind offer he hesitated to accept, on account of his lack of early educational training, but Mr. Edwards overcame his (Gillespie's) fears, and persuaded him to accept the offer. He lived in the family of Mr. Edwards for two years, and in that time read law under the direction and tuition of his generous benefactor. During that time the Black-Hawk War broke out. He volunteered and made the campaign of li^Sl and 1832. About the time he was ready to commence the practice of his profession, he was elected probate judge of the county, which position he held for two years. After the expiration of his term as probate judge, he began to travel the circuit.
The bar of this circuit at that time, as well as the bench, consisted of an array of learned and talented men. Judge Breese was on the bench, and such men as Alfred Cowles, Gustave Koerner, J. M. Krum, George T. M. Davis, A. P Field, Abraham Lincoln, James Shields, William H. Underwood, Governor Bissell, J. L. D. Morrison, Lyman Trumbull, U. F. Liuder, and others, composed the bar. There were, indeed, giants in those days, and it required courage and confidence to enter the list against such an array of talent; but, nevertheless, Mr. Gillespie did enter, and proved himself a foeman worthy of their intellectual steel. In 1840 he was elected on the Whig ticket to represent Madison county in the State Legislature. His colleagues from this county were his preceptor, Mr. Edwards, and James Reynolds. The Whigs being in a hopeless minority, there was but little to do. After his return, he again went to the practice of his profession, in which he was not disturbed until 1847, when he was elected a member of the State Senate, in which body he continued until 1857. During that time the bill for chartering the Illinois Central Railroad came up. It was managed by Mr. Rautoul of Boston, the company's agent. It had passed the house as he had drawn it up, to wit : That the company should pay to the State seven per cent, of its gross earnings and no taxes. Thirteen senators, among whom was Gillespie, determined to preserve the principle of taxation, and they struck out " seven per cent." and inserted "five per cent.," providing that the com. pany should pay State taxes at the rate of seventy-five cents per hundred dollars; and if that did not equal two per cent. of its gross earnings, the company should make it up to that figure,—so that it was not to pay less than seven per cent, in the shape of bonuses and taxation ; but, as they understood it, it might have to pay more. Mr. Gillespie, and the other senators were favorable to, and desired to charter the road ; but desired, above all things, to retain the principle of taxation, and by no act of theirs show that they in any manner surrendered that principle. Their action was misunderstood at the time, and no little abuse was heaped upon them ; but time has proven that they were right, and their position well taken. The Supreme Court afterward decided that seven per cent, was the maximum the company was to pay.
During his time in the Senate, what was called "State Policy" originated. The Terre Haute and Alton Railroad had been chartered, and about $1,000,000 were invested in its construction, when a charter for the Atlantic and Mississippi Railroad, between nearly the same termini, was asked for. More than two-thirds of the district represented by Mr. Gillespie were in favor of the Terre Haute and Alton road, and he saw that the chartering of the Atlantic and Mississippi Railroad would forever destroy the former road, unless the latter was first built (as the Atlantic and Mississippi was a much shorter and straighter route), after which the second could be constructed,—maintaining that you could build a straight road after building a crooked one, but never a crooked one after a straight one was completed between substantially the same termini. He was then, and is yet, in favor of building all the roads possible, and letting competition reduce rates and regulate traffic, without the interference of legislative bodies
In 1861 he was elected to the ofiice of Judge of the Twenty-fourth Judicial Circuit of Illinois, and occupied that position for twelve years. While upon the bench his judicial opinions were marked by great clearness, exhibiting thorough research, careful analysis and a sound knowledge of the principles of elementary law. Since his retirement from the bench he has practiced his profession. In matters of religion, Judge Gillespie is inclined to a liberal belief. Politically, he was originally an old line Whig, and remained a member of that party until its organization was abandoned. He was opposed to slavery, and the intimate friend of men who were the acknowledged leaders of the advanced thought upon that question in that day ; and, so soon as an organized opposition was formed against slavery, that had in it the elements of success, he joined its ranks, and of necessity became a Republican, with which political organization he has remained to the present- He was always opposed to the dogma of State Rights, which was one of the cardinal principles of the Democratic party. In 1845, at Greenville, Illinois, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Smith. There have been eight children born to them, five of whom are living. Their names are — Cyrus E., Mary J., Charles S., Frank K., and Maria L. Gillespie. His wife was born at Harper's Ferry, Va., and is of English and German descent. Her father's family were from England, and her mother's from Hanover, Germany. Her step-father (Thomas Keyes) and her mother came to Illinois in 1832, and settled near Greenville, in Bond county, where Mrs. Gillespie resided at the time of her marriage.
Judge Matthew Gillespie, was born in the city of New York on the 26th of November, 1807, and was the eldest son of David and Sarah Gillespie, there being but two children, Matthew and Joseph. The latter is yet a resident of Edwardsville, and one among its oldest and most honored citizens. They were of Scotch - Irish parentage, the family having emigrated from Monaghan, Ireland, to New York but a short time prior to Matthew's birth. In 1819, the family moved to Illinois when Matthew was but twelve years of age, and with his parents settled in Madison county, where he continued to reside to the time of his decease ; and where the privations and struggles incident to pioneer life tended to develop those strong and leading traits of character, which marked his after life. At that early day, the facilities for obtaining an education were very limited ; he therefore, received no more than a common school education, and even this was mainly due to the instructions of his mother. It was to her, more than all others, that he was indebted for that early training which made him so useful a man in after life.
With his love for books, he became familiar with modern history, and acquired much more than an ordinary knowledge of law and theology. In February, 1827, when he was twenty years of age, he, with his brother Joseph, proceeded to «the Galena lead mines ; from which he returned in the fall of the same year, when he married Miss Nancy Gordon, a sister of the Rev. Joseph Gordon, late of Vandalia. Of this union there was but one child born who lived to maturity—the late Judge David Gillespie of Edwardsville. His wife dying, he again married March 10th, 1839, Mrs. Martha Hynes, nee Mc- Grew, a lady of Scotch parentage. Only three children of this marriage grew to man and womanhood ; Isabella J, wife of Moses B. Sherman ; Nellie, wife of W. R. Brink, both residents of Edwardsville, and Joseph J. living in San Francisco. Judge Gillespie was a man of sanguine temperament and positive qualities. He readily arrived at decided opinions on all subjects presented to his consideration, and ever maintained what he deemed to be right with much ability and zeal. His friendships were strong and enduring, and he was ever found a warm champion for those he loved.
He was a good judge of human nature, and was rarely, if ever mistaken in the character of men. His hospitality and charities were fully commensurate with his means. His social qualities were of the best order ; genial, lively, quick at repartee ; he threw around him a degree of animation that made it impossible to feel dejected in his company. Mr. Gillespie was an able and efficient public officer ; his qualifications were of the first order, and his faithfulness worthy the example of all who are entrusted with public cases. In 1832, he was the elected Coroner of this county from 1836 to 1838, he was engaged in the Land Office; in 1839, was elected Judge of Probate, which office he honorably filled for four years. Was enrolling and engrossing clerk in the State Senate in 1839 and '40; was elected Treasurer and Assessor in 1844, for four years; was appointed by Gen. Taylor, Registerof the Land Office in 1849, for four years ; was subsequently elected Police Magistrate of Edwardsville, which office he continued to fill to the time of his decease. In all his official positions he performed his duties with honor to himself and satisfaction to his constituency. He was strongly imbued with Whig proclivities, and was a great admirer of Henry Clay. After that party became disorganized he affiliated with the Republican party.
He was an old and intimate acquaintance of President Lincoln, and gave him the most ardent support for the office of the Chief Magistracy of the United States. The house of Mr. Gillespie, when Mr. Lincoln was stopping at Edwardsville, was one of the. latter's favorite places of " breaking bread," and where the family and friends enjoyed the rare treat of listening to the fun-loving anecdotes so peculiar to Mr. Lincoln. As a friend to youth, Mr. Gillespie had no superior. He was a zealous advocate of temperance, and by his precepts and example, he labored hard to further the welfare and success of the young men of his time. But of all his excellent memories, his moral, religious, and domestic character is the most pleasant. Early in life he made a profession of religion, and attached himself to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, of which body he continued a consistent and leading member during its organization in this vicinity. In 1836, he united with the Methodist Church, of which he continued a communicant to the time of his decease. His earnest liberality, zeal, and sound judgment made him a valuable member of the church and of society, and at the time of his death he was one of the trustees of McKendree College. As a neighbor, he was obliging and generous to the last degree, and as a husband and father, he was all that affection could desire. He passed to the unknown beyond, on the evening of the 24th of March, 1861. His last words were, " I am gone," and he instantly breathed his last. He was nearly 54 years of age, and had spent a large portion of his life in active, public service, and it can be truthfully said, that the world is better for his living. At this writing, his widow is yet living, and is a resident of Edwardsville. She is now in her sixty-eighth year of age, and is strong physically and mentally for one of her years.*
ARTHUR Gilman was born in Alton, Illinois, June 22, 1837, and died at Atlantic City, New Jersey, December 27, 1909. His father was Winthrop Sargent Gilman, son of Benjamin Ives and Hannah (Robbins) Gilman; grandson of Judge Joseph and Rebecca (Ives) Gilman; great-grandson of the Rev. Nicholas and Mary (Thing) Gilman; great-great-grandson of Judge Nicholas and Sarah (Clark) Gilman; great-great-great-grandson of Councilor John and Elizabeth (Treworgye) Gilman, and great-great-great-great-grandson of Edward and Mary (Clark) Gilman of an ancient Welsh family. The name was Gilmin before the removal of the family to Norfolk, England, when the spelling was changed to Gylmin, Gilmyn, and at last to Gilman. Edward Gilman with his wife and son left Gravesend, England, in the ship Diligent of Ipswich; arrived in Boston, August 10, 1638, and settled in Hingham. Their son, John Gilman, the royal councilor of New Hampshire, 1680-83, and speaker of the House of Representatives, was married June 20, 1657, to Elizabeth, daughter of James and Catherine (Shapleigh) Treworgye. Their son, Judge Nicholas Gilman, held also important offices in New Hampshire. His son, Nicholas Gilman, Jr., was graduated at Harvard in the class of 1724 at the age of seventeen. He was a clergyman, a friend of George Whitefield and Sir William Pepperell, and died in 1748. His son, Judge Joseph Gilman, was chief member of the Board of War of New Hampshire during the Revolutionary War. At its close he joined the officers of the American Army who formed the Ohio Company and founded Marietta in 1788, and was made judge of the Northwestern Territory by President Washington. His son, Benjamin Ives Gilman, grandson of Benjamin Ives, of Beverly, Massachusetts, was a member of the Ohio Convention of 1803 that framed the state constitution, afterwards removing to Philadelphia and New York. His son, Winthrop Sargent Gilman, went from New York to Alton, Illinois, at the age of twenty-one, and established himself in business. On the occasion of the " Lovejoy Riot," in 1837, he was by the side of the anti-slavery martyr when he was shot. It was he who received the printing-press that caused the tragedy. He was in business in St. Louis, Missouri, 1843-49. In 1849 he returned to New York City, where he was prominent in business and banking circles, and in the Presbyterian Church. He married Abia Swift, daughter of the Rev. Thomas and Martha (Swift) Lippincott, descended from the family that came to Boston in 1640. Their son, Arthur Gilman, was, as a child, of delicate health, fond of reading and writing, and by reason of his lack of physical vigor was given no youthful tasks which involved severe labor. He often spent his summers in the Berkshire Hills, Massachusetts. In 1857 he began his business life as a banker as partner in the firm of Halsted & Gilman. His father subsequently joined the firm, which became Gilman, Son & Company. He was married, April 12, 1860, to Amy Cooke, daughter of Samuel Ball, of Lee, Massachusetts, and four children were born of the marriage. After some years of active life in the busiest of financial centers his failing health warned his physician to advise rest for recuperation and he selected the neighborhood of the home of his wife and purchased an estate near Lenox, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, which he named "Glynllyn." Here he gave himself to agriculture and at the same time engaged in literary studies and interested himself in the condition of public education in Berkshire County. He was twice chosen a member of the local school committee, and he spent much time visiting schools and colleges in various parts of the country, lecturing on education in its numerous phases, and studying the various methods of imparting instruction.
He visited England in 1865, to gain data in preparing his genealogical history of the Gilman family, and he extended his visit to Paris and Rome. In 1867 Williams College honored him by conferring upon him the degree of A.M. His health had so far improved in 1870 that he accepted an offer from Houghton, Mifflin & Company, of the Riverside Press, where his first book on English literature had been published, to interest himself in that concern, and he removed to Cambridge and devoted himself more to authorship. He was for a time editor of the publications of the American Tract Society and wrote much for periodicals. At the time of the Centennial Celebration at Philadelphia, 1876, Mr. Gilman's attention was turned towards the education of women. His first wife died in 1875, and he was married again in Cambridge, July 11, 1876, to Stella, daughter of David and Stella (Houghton) Scott, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a woman of high attainments and widely interested in philanthropic movements. He had long been devoted to the consideration of problems connected with the higher education of young women, having in immediate view the wants of his own daughters. This want led him to formulate a plan intended to make it possible for young women to profit by the courses of instruction given to men in Harvard College. After mature consideration and discussion with intimate friends, the plan was communicated to President Eliot. Many members of the faculty of Harvard approved the plan at once, and President Eliot gave counsel without which the first steps could not have been taken. A body of seven influential ladies took charge of the work, and a few years later the "Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women " was incorporated. Mr. Gilman was secretary, executive officer and director. The project was at once nicknamed "The Harvard Annex," and later became Radcliffe College, of which Mr. Gilman was the first regent. The plan, as at first outlined, comprehended as the final issue of the experiment the establishment of organic relations with Harvard University, and Mr. Gilman so set forth the plan to President Eliot at its inception, also saying that when the time arrived he would withdraw from its further management. In 1886 the needs of Mr. Gilman's younger daughters led to the establishment of a school for girls, first known as "The Cambridge School for Girls," but which gradually took the name of its founder and became officially as well as locally known as "The Gilman School for Girls." Mr. Gilman resigned as regent of Radcliffe College in 1896, but he retained his position as a member of the Radcliffe corporation, and was always recognized as an important factor in its growth. At the time of his resignation the students and friends of the college established the "Arthur Gilman Book Fund of Radcliffe College Library," the books, history and literature to be selected by Mr. Gilman. His release from the personal oversight of Radcliffe left him free to give his entire time to the directorship of the Gilman School for Girls. In September, 1896, Helen Keller, the blind, deaf girl entered the school as a candidate for college preparation, with Miss Sullivan as interpreter of the instruction of the teachers. Mr. Gilman carefully trained himself for this work, and gave the preliminary Harvard examinations to Miss Keller, by means of the manual alphabet. His pupil passed them with eminent success. Mr. Gilman was a charter and honorary member of the American Historical Association; charter member of the Authors' Club of Boston and of the Episcopalian and St. Botolph Clubs, Boston, of the New England Agricultural Society and of the Colonial Club of Cambridge; corresponding member of the Wisconsin Historical Society and of the New York Biographical and Genealogical Society; a founder and secretary of the Longfellow Memorial Association and of the Lowell Memorial Society. He also served as secretary of the Cambridge Humane Society for many years; served on the board of visitors of the Episcopal Theological School of Cambridge, of which he was secretary, and on the board of visitors of Wellesley College. Harvard University conferred on Mr. Gilman the honorary degree of A.M. at the Commencement of 1904. Previous to that time he had been for twenty-five years the only member of the governing bodies of Radcliffe College not holding a degree from Harvard. The day after Commencement he was elected an honorary member of the Harvard chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. He was affiliated with the Republican party from its inception, but voted for Mr. Cleveland for President. He was a contributor to " The Atlantic," " The Century" and other magazines. One of his articles which received much notice appeared in " The Atlantic " in August, 1904, under the title, " Rhoda's Teacher and her School." In it he embodied some of his ideas concerning the education of girls. Mr. Gilman edited the " Genealogy of the Family of Gilman in England and America." He edited and contributed to "Boston, Past and Present" (1873); "Library of Religious Poetry" (1880); "The Kingdom of Home" (1881); "Magna Charta Stories" (1882); the "Poetical Works of Geoffrey Chaucer" (3 vols., 1896) for the series of "British Poets" which had been edited many years before by Professor Child of Harvard University, but from which he had excluded Chaucer on the ground that no suitable text existed. The Chaucer Society had since partially supplied the deficiency, and Professor Child gave assistance in the work of Mr. Gilman.
He compiled an "Index to the Complete Edition of the Works of Samual Taylor Coleridge" (1884); and is the author of "First Steps in English Literature" (1870), which passed through many editions; "Kings, Queens, and Barbarians" (1870); "First Steps in General History" (1874); "The Cambridge of 1776" (1876); "Shakespeare's Morals" (1879); "History of the American People" (1883); "Tales of the Pathfinders" (1884); "The Story of Rome" (1885); "Short Stories from the Dictionary " (1886); " Story of the Saracens " (1896); "The Discovery and Exploration of America" (1897); "The Making of the American Nation" (1887); "The Story of Boston" (1889, new ed. 1895); "The Cambridge of 1896" (1896); Dryden's "Palemon and Arcite" (1898). He collaborated with Baring-Gould, Church, Stanley-Lane-Poole, Mahaffy, and Rawlinson in Putnam's "Stories of the Nations" series, — The Story of Germany, with Baring-Gould (1896); The Story of Carthage, with Professor Church (1886); The Story of the Moors in Spain, with Stanley-Lane-Poole (1886); The Story of the Turks, with Stanley-Lane-Poole (1888); The Empire of Alexander, with Professor Mahaffy (1887), and Egypt, with Rawlinson. For the series he wrote "The Story of Rome" and "The Story of the Saracens."
Roland J. Ingham
The Emerald Isle has contributed many of her sons to America who have taken high rank in literature, in art and in science. Among such may be properly classed the Ingham family, who lived in Dublin, and who in their native home were liberal patrons of art. Thomas and Jennie Ingham came to this country in 1813. lauding first in New York city, thence to Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. Thomas was the son of a gentleman, a lauded proprietor of Dublin. He had a family of five sons and four daughters. A son Charles, was an artist, in which pursuit he excelled. Of his paintings at least two, "The Lovers ' and " Death of Cleopatra, have received recognition of critics as masterpieces. Thomas, a retired merchant in New York city, and now the sole survivor of the family; Roland J., the subject of this sketch; Sydney, who was lost at sea in 1841 ; Oscar, who lived with Roland and died here in 1870 ; Florence, Paulina, Augusta and Jane Rowena. Roland J. Ingham was born in Dublin, Ireland, March 6th, 1807. In 1835, with his father's family became west, locating about a mile from the present home of Lucretia Ingham. His father returned to Utica, New York, a few years after, where he died January 9th, 1847. Mr. Ingham's first wife was Rebecca Peutzer, by whom he had five children, three of whom are living. Two of his sons, Charles and Theron B., were soldiers in the United States service during the rebellion. On the 22d of April, 18.53, he was united in marriage by Rev. Washington Wagoner, a Methodist Episcopal minister, to Lucretia M Ragsdale, formerly of East Tennessee, although a Virginian. By this marriage there were b3rn eight chil- dren, seven of whom are living. Names as follows ; Emma Augusta, Thomas Cassius, Julia Paulina, James Arthur, Sydney Roland, Jane Rowena and William Eilward. Mr. Ingham was educated in Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, and brought to his farming operations fair culture and a great love of art. His beautiful home bespeaks his taste. He was an earnest Republican in politics, and a devoted member of the Presbyterian Church in religious faith. Progressive in his views, his days were all days of activity. Eminently social in his home, its attractions were shared by neighbors and friends. Loved and respected and full of years, he died February 2d, 1881 (Jrice History Of Madison).
Few of the numerous residents of the American Bottom are as widely and favorably known as Dr. T. J. Irish. He possesses a firm mental-motive temperament. He is quick, impulsive and decided in character and conclusious. He penetrates a subject at a glance, grasps its minutise — comprehending almost in a single thought what many others would require a long process of reasoning to determine. He has firmness and determination that never yields to disparagement. When he will, he will, and there is no use for the elements to oppose him. He is quick, but not combative ; firm, but not stubborn ; set, but yet reasonable. He is of a kind, generous, sympathetic nature. In his intellectual capacity he has the general element of success. He is a man well calculated to win the good-will of all who are thrown in contact with him; and with his social, genial disposition he can disarm the most inveterate foe and secure his respect and good-will. Dr. T. J. Irish is a native of Livingston county, N. Y. He was born on the 28lh of -July, 1823, and is the first child of Benjamin and Sarah (Tyler) Irish, who were natives of New York. The father of Benj. Irish was a Baptist minister in Auburn, N. Y. Benjamin Irish, the father of Dr. T. J. Irish, was born about the year 1798. He graduated in medicine in his native State, and in 1840 emigrated to Illinois, settling at Equality, near Shawneetown. At this point he remained about two years, and from thence removed to the American Bottom, Madison county, opposite St. Louis, where he en- gaged in the practice of medicine with great success. He rapidly rose to the front rank of his profession, and attained an enviable reputation throughout the State. In 1848, the Pope Medical College of St. Louis conferred upon him the ad eundem degree. He continued the practice of medicine until July, 1851, when he fell a victim to cholera. Dr. T. J. Irish received his education in New York. In 1842 he came to the West, stopping for a short time at Equality, near Shawneetown, Illinois, where he engaged in teaching school. In 1844 he came to St. Louis, and engaged in the study of medicine with his father, graduating, in 1848, in the Missouri State University, of St. Louis, in the same class with the late Dr. John T. Hodgen, who became one of the ablest surgeons of the West. In the same year he graduated. Dr. Irish settled in the American Bottom, on section 8, township 3, range 9, where he at once engaged in the practice of medicine, which he has since followed with fine success. By the death of his father, in 1848, Dr. Irish came in possession of a very extensive practice throughout the American Bottom, and we but echo the universal sentiment of those who know him best, when we say that he is truly " a chip oft" the old block." Dr. Irish was married on the 26th of October, 1848, to Miss Lucinda, daughter of Thomas Elliott, Esq., who was a native of Virginia, and who was descended from one of the more prominent families of that State. By this union Mr. and Mrs. Irish have had born to them a family of eleven children, four of whom are now living. Tyler E., now a practicing physician of Nameoki; William A., a farmer living near by ; Terrie M., now in Texas, and Gillie E., now at home. Dr. Irish started in life with quite limited financial means, and he states, as an incident illustrative of his early financial condition, that when he first visited Shawneetown, he was walking along the street with F. M. Little, and fortunately picked up a dime from the sidewalk, which embraced the sum total of the young men's finances — the dime in question furnishing the cheese and crackers from which the young men made a tolerable dinner. Mr. Little afterwards became Mayor of Salt Lake City, and a man of prominence and independence in that city. He is an own nephew of Brigham Young. As we have stated, the Doctor ranked among the more prominent in his profession, and rapidly accumulated a com- fortable competence. He now, at the meridian of life, owns upwards of nine hundred acres of the celebrated American Bottom land. His fine home place, near Nameoki Station, on the W., St. L. & P., C. A. I. & St. L. Railways, is finely improved, and replete with superior grades of stock of every description. In politics, the Doctor is now, and has always been an admii-er of the principles of the old and historic Democratic party. His first vote was cast for Tennessee's stateeman, James K. Polk, candidate for President in 1844. During the late war. Dr. Irish espoused the cause of the Union, and no man in Madison county was more earnest in his support of the government than he. The Doctor holds a large space in the estimation of his fellow-citizens, and none know him but to honor and respect him.
Was born in Lincolnshire, England, May 10th, 1810. His father, George Lindley, was a mason by trade, and brought up his family in the ways of industry. At the age of nineteen years William came to America, landing at first in New York City. Thence he went to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he engaged his services in print works. In 1839 he made his way westward, and with his savings entered laud near Carlinville, Macoupin county. Breaking prairie, howevi-r, and waiting for returns until a farm could be made was too slow for him, hence he went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he engaged in the dairy business. Here it was he met Mary C. Straw, now his surviving widow. Engaged in selling milk from house to house he had for a patron a family named Paterson, formerly of Quincy, and who had brought with them as one of the family Mary, to whom he was married November 22d, 1842. She was born in Germany near the river Rhine, and came with her people to America, in 1823. Her family located first in Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio; from thence she went with a sister to Quincy, Illinois, and then to St. Louis Together they continued the dairy business successfully until 1851 when they moved to Madison county, Illinois, where Mrs. Lindley yet lives. There were born to them in all eight children, seven of whom yet live. By name they are Sarah, Mary C , George, William E Horace, John A., and Samuel S. All are straightforward, honest and energetic citizens During his life Mr. Lindley was an earnest Republican and impressed that political doctrine indelibly upon his sons. He was a member of the Episcopal Church. Active and energetic, honest and frank, ever ready to help a friend or do a kindness, he succeeded well in life. He died March 2d, 1869. His widow, a woman of more than ordinary business qualities, survives him and has continued farming with great success. She has cleared a hundred and twenty acres of land since her husband's death, and bought an additional farm in Jersey county. She relates her only transaction whereby she made money without work as being the sale of gold when it was worth two hundred per cent, at a bank in Alton.
WILLIAM MAY Was bora in Bavaria, Germany, March 3, 1833. He came to America in 1847, with his father, Valentine Maj; landed at New Orleans ; came up the river to St. Louis, and in April of the same year came to Madison county, and settled one mile north of Marine, where he bought land, and lived until his death, which occurred August 2, 1878. He married Catharine Steg, a native of Bavaria; she died in 1860. There were thirteen children, seven of whom are living ; William is the eldest He remained at home until his twenty-third year. He then followed teaming for a few years. In 1856 he bought eighty acres of land in section 24 of Pin Oak township, and the next year moved on it and commenced its improvement. To that eighty he has added until he now has about seven hundred acres of as fine land as there is in the township. All of it is improved, with fine buildings. A view of the place can be seen on another page. On the 13th of February, 1856, he married Elizabeth Widmar, a native of Bavaria, born October 22, 1833. She came to America in 1835. Thirteen children were born to tbem—twelve living. Their names and births are given : William, born April 26, 1857; Lena, July 28, 1858; Henry, March 25, 1860 ; Otto, November 17, 1861 ; Emma, born September 23, 1864, died September 14, 1865; Anna, born December 27, 1867 ; Mina, November 7, 1869 ; Louise, July 17, 1871; Karl, April 29, 1873; Albert, March 15, 1875; Daniel, March 24, 1877 ; Leo, January 9, 1880. Both Mr. and Mrs. May are members of the Presbyterian church. He has. been a Republican since 1856, at which time he cast his vote for John C Fremont. He is one of the represen. tative farmers of Madison county, and one of its most successful ones.
For many years a prominent citizen of Alton, was born in Craftsboro, Vermont. In the year 1836, when Alton was engaging so largely the attention of eastern men, he made his way hither. His first pursuit in life was that of schoolteaching which he began in a country school-house in his native State. This business he exchanged for that of handling stoves and tinware. Gradually he extended this business, embracing the handling of hardware and steel. He associated with himself in this John E. Hayuer, which partnership continued until his death, in March 1871. Mr. Nelson was a successful merchant, strict and just in all his dealings ; benevolent without ostentation. He left a large estate, the result of faithful, earnest labor. He was twice married. Had six children by the first wife. His last wife, now Mrs. Crocker survives him.
One of the sub3tantial farmers of Fort Russell Township is the subject of the following brief biographical sketch. He was born in Madison county, October J9, 1818, and is the son of Zadock and Martha (Ewing) Newman. His grandfather, Joseph Newraau, settled in the territory of Illinois as early as 1804. He belongs to the pioneer stock, not only of the county, but of the state. He grew to manhood in the same township in which he now lives, and has followed the occupation of farming throughout his life. In 1845, he married Elizabeth Belk, daughter of Henry Beik. Mr. Newman and his brother, William E., are the only survivors of Zadock Newman's family. The latter (William E. ) was born in January, 1821. He married Martha A. Harrison, and has a family of four children, whose names are Charles E., Eliza, Henry and Mattie Newman. In matters of religious faith, J. Russell Newman is a Cumberland Presbyterian. He is exceedingly liberal to the church, and gives freely of his means to support and sustain it. Politically he is a Democrat. In his habits he is quiet and unassuming, and with a kind and honest heart, he aims to do all the good he can, and that without the least show or ostentation. He is temperate, and an advocate of prohibition. It is with pleasure that we here present this short sketch of one of Madison county's best citizens.
The son of an eminent Presbyterian clergyman and writer the Rev. A. T. Norton, is the able editor of the Alton Telegraph. Like his father, a ready writer, a clear, logical thinker, an independent outspoken citizen, he wields much influence. His father's influence was exercised from the pulpit, and as a minister, whilst his is from the press and of a political character. The Rev. A. T. Norton, and wife, Eliza Rogers Norton, removed from Connecticut to Illinois in 1835. Alton became their home, and here on September 10, 1844, the subject of this sketch was born. His education was obtained in the schools of Alton, and ShurtleS" College, from which institution he graduated in 18(56. During the war his patriotic ardor led him to join a company of students who offered their services to the government, and whose services were accepted. They were placed in the 133d Regiment, Illinois Volunteers. After graduation from Shurtleff' College Mr. Norton entered the office of the Alton Telegraph as associate editor. After a year thus spent he became part proprietor of that journal, and subsequently bought out his partner's interest. The Telegraph, under his eflieient management, has accomplished much in behalf of Republicanism, and ever keeps step in the music of progress, fearlessly condemning wrong and commending whatever is deemed right. Mr. Norton's services in behalf of his party were recognized in 1880, by his being made a Presidential elector from his Congressional district. Affable in manner, pleasing in address, Mr. Norton proves himself well fitted for his profession.
The third son of James and Lucinda (Alison) Pearce, was born in Kentucky, June 20th, 1815. His father and family came into Madison County in 1815, and settled near Edwardsville, so that Mr. Pearce has spent his entire lifetime, with the exception of a few months, here. At a very early age he manifested a taste for hunting, in which he greatly excelled. The broad prairies in the eastern part of the county with their game of deer, turkey, etc., furnished him a fine field. Next to hunting, trading was his passion. When a mere boy he became the proud owner of a pair of match calves ; these he traded for the pre-emption right and improvements of an eighty acre tract of land a part of section 25. The improvements consisted of five acres of land, broken and fenced, and a log cabin. In about two years his earnings enabled him to enter this land. From this beginning he has become one of the largest landed propriei tors in southern Illinois. About one thousand acres of his possessions was the direct result of successful hunting, actui ally made by his unerring rifle. Wriley Pearce married Miss Barbary A., daughter of Isham and Martha Vincent, January 25th. By her he has had five children. Mr. Pearce is energetic in a marked degree ; systematic in his looking after his business interest ; independent in his 1 views on all subjects, and outspoken in their declaration. His personal identity is peculiarly his own, accepting no model but marking out his own course. Possessed of quick perception and sound judgment he is of those who compel success.
One of the proprietors of the Alton Democrat, was born in Alton, Illinois, in 1844. His parents, Harrison and Isabella Perrin, were natives of England. They were among the pioneers of Alton, having located here in 1832. His father was engaged for many years in the transfer business. He died in 1862. His mother is yet living, and is now eighty years of age. T. H. Perrin early availed himself of the opportunity afforded, and learned the printer's trade in the office of the Alton Courier, published by George T. Brown. As printer and publisher, he has made a record of which he feels justly proud. As a journeyman printer he worked in the Courier, the Telegraph, and Democrat offices. His first venture in journalism was the purchase of the Western Cumberland Presbyterian, a weekly religious paper, from Rev. J. B. Logan. This paper he published for many years, when he sold it to the Board of Publication of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In connection with Dr. Logan, he then commenced the publication of a monthly religious paper in the interest of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which was sold to Dr. W. B. Farr, who started the St. Louis Observer, which is now published by T. H. Perrin and Rev. W. C. Logan. In 1875 he entered into partnership with E. A. Smith as general printers. This firm bought the Alton Democrat in 1876, which they have since continued to publish as a daily and weekly newspaper. Under their guidance, the Democrat has become a power throughout jNIadisou and adjoining counties, recognized as it is as being a paper of genuine worth. Mr. Perrin is a most active and zealous member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and devotes much time and means to enhance its well-being. In the church he has held positions of prominence, for the discharge of the duties of which he has proved himself well fitted. At present he is one of the trustees of Lincoln University, Lincoln, Illinois. A friend of education and morality, Mr. Perrin's influence is for the good of humanity.
BLAKEMAN, Curtiss, sea-captain, and pioneer settler, came from New England to Madison County, Ill, in 1819, and settled in what was afterwards known as the "Marine Settlement," of which he was one of the founders. This settlement, of which the present town of Marine (first called Madison) was the outcome, took its name from the fact that several of the early settlers, like Captain Blakeman, were sea-faring men. Captain Blakeman became a prominent citizen and represented Madison County in the lower branch of the Third and Fourth General Assemblies (1822 and 1824), in the former being one of the opponents of the pro-slavery amendment of the Constitution. A son of his, of the same name, was a Representative in the Thirteenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth General Assemblies from Madison County.
BULKLEY, (Rev.) Justus, educator, was born at Leicester, Livingston County, N. Y., July 23, 1819, taken to Allegany County, N. Y., at 3 years of age, where he remained until 17, attending school in a log school-house in the winter and working on a farm in the summer. His family then removed to Illinois, finally locating at Barry, Pike County. In 1842 he -entered the preparatory department of Shurtleft College at Upper Alton, graduating there in 1847. He was immediately made Principal of the preparatory department, remaining two years, when he was ordained to the Baptist ministry and became pastor of a church at Jerseyville. Four years later he was appointed Professor of Mathematics in Shurtleff College, but remained only two years, when he accepted the pastorship of x a church at Carrollton, which he continued to fill nine years, when, in 1864, he was called to a church at Upper Alton. At the expiration of one year he was again called to a professorship in Shurtleff College, this time taking the chair of Church History and Church Polity, which he continued to fill for a period of thirty-four years; also serving for a time as Acting President during a vacancy in that office. During this period he was frequently called upon to preside as Moderator at General Associations of the Baptist Church, and he became widely known, not only in that denomination, but elsewhere. Died at Upper Alton, Jan., 16, 1899.
PRICKETT, Abraham, pioneer merchant, was born near Lexington, Ky., came to Madison County, III, in 1808; was employed for a time in the drug business in St. Louis, then opened a store at Edwardsville, where, in 1813, he received from the first County Court of Madison County, a license to retail merchandise. In 1818, he served as one of the three Delegates from Madison County to the Convention which framed the first State Constitution, and, the same year, was elected a Representative in the First General Assembly; was also Postmaster of the town of Edwardsville for a number of years. In 1825 he removed to Adams County and laid out an addition to the city of Quincy; was also engaged there in trade with the Indians. In 1836, while engaged on a Government contract for the removal of snags and other obstructions to the navigation of Red River, he died at Natchitoches, La. —George TV. (Prickett) a son of the preceding, and afterwards a citizen of Chicago, is said to have been the first white child born in Edwardsville.—Isaac (Prickett), a brother of Abraham, came to St. Louis in 1815, and to Edwardsville in 1818, where he was engaged in mercantile business with his brother and, later, on his own account. He held the offices of Postmaster, Public Administrator, Quartermaster-General of State Militia, Inspector of the State Penitentiary, and, from 1838 to '42, was Receiver of Public Moneys at Edwardsville, dying in 1844.
PRICKETT, David, pioneer lawyer, was born in Franklin County, Ga., Sept. 21, 1800; in early childhood was taken by his parents to Kentucky and from there to Edwardsville, Ill. He graduated from Transylvania University, and, in 1821, began the practice of law; was the first Supreme Court Reporter of Illinois, Judge of the Madison County Probate Court, Representative in the General Assembly (1826-28), Aid-de-Camp to General Whiteside in the Black Hawk War, State's Attorney for Springfield Judicial Circuit (1837), Treasurer of the Board of Canal Commissioners (1840), Director of the State Bank of Illinois (1842), Clerk of the House of Representatives for ten sessions and Assistant Clerk of the same at the time of his death, March 1, 1847.
JOSIAS RANDLE Was born in Brunswick county, Virginia, Oct. 1st, 1766. Entered the itinerant ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church in early life. Removed to the state of Georgia in 1790, and was married to Miss Ann Thorn in 1795. He continued an itinerant minister in Georgia until 1810. Becoming dissatisfied with the institution of slavery, and unwilling to raise his family in a slave state, he removed to Illinois territory in 1811, and settled on a tract of land, one and a half miles south of the present city of Edwardsville. There were at that time only two counties in the territory, Randolph and St. Clair. St. Clair was the northern frontier. Soon after, however, these counties were divided, and Madison county was organized, embracing all the northern frontier. Mr. Randle was appointed by Gov. Ninian Edwards to the offices of clerk of the county, and circuit court and county recorder. In 1818 the state government was formed, and he was reappointed to the same offices by Gov. Bond. Soon after his second appointment, a great speculation sprang up in what was called the " Military district " of lands granted to soldiers, which so increased the business in the recorder's office that he resigned the clerkship and confined himself to the duties of the recorder's office, which he continued to hold until his death, which occurred on the 15th January, 1824, from acute inflammation of the lungs. His family consisted of eight children, seven sons and one daughter. Four of the sons died in early life. Rev. Barton Randle, the oldest son, died in Staunton, Macoupin county, January 2, 1882, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. Rev. Richard Randle, the second son, now in his eightyfourth year, resides in Taylorville. The daughter, Mrs. M. P. Ripley, lives in Staunton, Illinois ; and Doctor Peter WRandle resides in San Francisco, Cal. Mr. Randle's name occurs in the history of the M. E. Church of Madison county, as a prominent and influential local minister from 1811 to 1824, the time of his death. He was a warm and intimate friend of Hon. Wm. H. Crawford of Georgia, and deeply deplored the difficulty which existed between Mr. Crawford and Governor Edwards, when Crawford was secretary of the treasury in Monroe's administration, and which led to the recall of Gov. Edwards whilst on his way as minister to Mexico. Mr Randle was of a genial disposition, fine presence, and enlarged hospitality. His death was deeply felt and deplored by all who knew him, and indeed by all the citizens of the county.
WEST, Edward M., merchant and banker, was born in Virginia, May 2, 1814; came with his father to Illinois in 1818; in 1829 became a clerk in the Recorder's office at Edwardsville, also served as deputy postmaster, and, in 1833, took a position in the United States Land Office there. Two years later he engaged in mercantile business, which he prosecuted over thirty years— meanwhile filling the office of County Treasurer, ex-officio Superintendent of Schools, and Delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1847. In 1867, in conjunction with W. R. Prickett, he established a bank at Edwardsville, with which he was connected until his death, Oct. 31, 1887. Mr. West officiated frequently as a "local preacher" of the Methodist Church, in which capacity he showed much ability as a public speaker.
WHITESIDE, William, pioneer and soldier of the Revolution, emigrated from the
frontier of North Carolina to Kentucky, and thence, in 1793, to the present
limits of Monroe County, Ill., erecting a fort between Cahokia and Kaskaskia,
which became widely known as "Whiteside Station." He served as a Justice of the
Peace, and was active in organizing the militia during the War of 1812-14, dying
at the old Station in 1815.—John (Whiteside), a brother of the preceding, and
also a Revolutionary soldier, came to Illinois at the same time, as also did
William B. and Samuel, sons of the two brothers, respectively. All of them
became famous as Indian fighters. The two latter served as Captains of companies
of "Rangers" in the War of 1812, Samuel taking part in the battle of Rock Island
in 1814, and contributing greatly to the success of the day. During the Black
Hawk War (1832) he attained the rank of Brigadier-General Whiteside County was
named in his honor. He made one of the earliest improvements in Ridge Prairie, a
rich section of Madison County, and represented that county in the First General
Assembly. William B. served as Sheriff of Madison County for a number of years.
— John D. (Whiteside), another member of this historic family, became very
prominent, serving in the lower House of the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and
Fourteenth General Assemblies, and in the Senate of the Tenth, from Monroe
County; was a Presidential Elector in 1836, State Treasurer (1837-41) and a
member of the State Constitutional Convention of 1847. General Whiteside, as he
was known, was the second of James Shields in the famous Shields and Lincoln
duel (so-called) in 1842, and, as such, carried the challenge of the former to
Mr. Lincoln. (See Duels.)
Albert George Blanks
BLANKS, Albert
George,
real estate and financial agent; born, Marine, Madison
Co., ILL., Feb. 1, 1866; son
of Fred G. and Carolina (Ortgies) Blanke; educated in public schools, Marine,
ILL.; married, St. Louis, Apr. 24, 1901, Lilly M. Verborg; children: Janet,
Albert G., Jr. Came to St. Louis in 1883; was in employ of L. H. Lohmeyer for
several years, then bookkeeper until 1897; went into business for self in 1897,
and has so continued. Director Title Guaranty Trust Co. Member Merchants'
Exchange and Real Estate Exchange. Republican. Clubs: Union, Liederkranz.
Recreation: horseback riding. Office: 803 Chestnut St. Residence: 3241 Copelin
Ave.
(Source: The Book of St. Louisans, Publ. 1912. Transcribed by Charlotte Slater)
CYRUS FREDERICK BLANKE
BLANKE, Cyrus Frederick, importer and jobber of teas and coffees; born, Marine, ILL., Oct. 24, 1862; son of Frederick G. and Carolina (Ortgies) Blanke; educated in public school, Marine, ILL., and one term at commercial college, St. Louis; married, Clinton, Mo., Dec. 26, 1899, Eugenia Frowein; children: Augusta Caroline, Eugenia Linda. At age of 16 became clerk in a retail grocery, and afterward was with three wholesale houses, the last being a wholesale tea and coffee house; in 1890 established for himself as importer and jobber in teas and coffees; now president of the C. F. Blanke Tea and Coffee Co., St. Louis, C. F. Blanke Tea and Coffee Co., Dallas, Tex.; also president St. Louis Tin Sheet Metal Working Co., Blanke-Baer Chemical Co., Universal Exposition Co. Director of the World's Fair. Bought the log cabin built by General Grant near St. Louis, in 1854, in order to preserve it from destruction and save it for public use as a memento of the great Union hero. Member Missouri Historical Society. Republican. Mason, Knight Templar, and Shriner; member Legion of Honor, Royal Arcanum, Knights of Pythias, Elks. Clubs: Union (ex-president), Glen Echo, Million Population (president). Was chairman for the day, entertaining President Taft during his visit to St. Louis, Sept. 23, 1911. Recreation: horseback riding. Officer 7th St. and Clark Ave. Residence: St. Regis Apartments. (Source: The Book of St. Louisans, Publ. 1912. Transcribed by Charlotte Slater)
Richard H Blanke
BLANKE, Richard H., secretary and treasurer C. F. Blanke Tea and Coffee Co.; born, Marine, ILL.;son of Frederick G. and Carolina (Ortgies) Blanke; educated in public schools of Marine, ILL.; married Miss Hazel Thompson, of St. Louis, Apr. 20, 1907. Began business career as clerk in father's store at Marine, ILL., for two years; came to St. Louis, 1888, and was with Steinwender-Stoffregan Tea and Coffee Co., until 1890; since with C. F. Blanke Tea and Coffee Co., of which is now secretary and treasurer; also secretary of St. Louis Tin and Sheet Metal Working Co. Member Travelers' Protective Association. Republican. Club: Union. Recreations: horseback riding and walking. Office: 7th St. and Clark Ave. Residence: 4 N. Kings Highway. (Source: The Book of St. Louisans, Publ. 1912. Transcribed by Charlotte Slater)
WILLIAM F BLANKE
BLANKE, William F., manufacturer; born, Marine, ILL., Apr. 7, 1870; son of William F. and Sophia (Bernbrock) Blanke; educated in public schools at Marine, ILL., until 17; married, St. Louis, June 2, 1008, Alma Trauernicht; one daughter: Alleen Gertrude. After leaving school clerked for two years in country store at Marine; came to St. Louis and was with Missouri Pacific R. R. Co. for fourteen months; then bookkeeper and cashier for two years for Gildehaus, Wulfing & Co., wholesale grocers, two years bookkeeper for Charles Rebstock, wholesale liquors. Member firm of Vogler & Blanke until 1902, since as the W. F. Blanke Can and Manufacturing Co., of which is sole proprietor. Also vice president Blanke Manufacturing and Supply Co., wholesale creamery supplies. Member Civic Improvement League, Universal Exposition Co. Republican. Protestant. Club: Union. Recreations: horseback riding and motoring. Office: 116 Pine St. Residence: 3005 Allen Ave. (Source: The Book of St. Louisans, Publ. 1912. Transcribed by Charlotte Slater)
John A Bruner
BRUNER, John A., general insurance; born, Alton, ILL., May 19, 1861; son of William Henry and Nancy Ewing (Smith) Bruner; educated in public schools of Alton; married, St Louis, Feb. 4, 1883, Tennie Martini. Began business career as clerk for Deere, Mansur & Co., St. Louis, 1876-78; clerk with L. M. Rumsey Manufacturing Co., 1879-83; buyer Bridge-Beach Manufacturing Co., 1883-88; buyer St. Louis Stamping Co., 1889-94; in general insurance business for self, 1895-1910; one of the organizers and first vice president Chas. L. Crane Agency Co., general insurance, since April, 1910. Member Knights of Pythias, Royal Arcanum. Republican. Presbyterian. Club: Missouri Athletic. Recreation: automobiling. Office: 1301 Pierce Bldg. Residence: 5976 Julian Ave. (Source: The Book of St. Louisans, Publ. 1912. Transcribed by Charlotte Slater)
RUDOLPH BRUNNER Was born iu the Canton of Argo, Switzerland, December 20th, 1834. His fother, Henry, died there in 1851. He married Mary Burkhart, by whom he had seven children, four of whom are yet living. In 1854 Rudolph left his native country and came to America. He stopped one year iu Scioto county, Ohio. In the fall of 1857, he came to Illinois, and in 1859 he rented land where he now lives, and continued a renter until 1872, when he purchased eighty acres and improved it, and is yet a resident upon it. He has lived upon those eighty acres as renter and owner since 1859, except three years, when he lived near Greencastle. On the 7th of May, 1859. he married Miss ^lary Bircher, who was born in the Canton of Argo, Switzerland, September 14, 1837. She came to America in 1851, with her father, Louis Bircher. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Brunner, two of whom are living, whose names are Emily and Julia. Gustave died at the age of ten years from an accident Both Mr. and Mrs. Brunner are members of the Lutheran church. He has been a Republican since 1864, when he voted for Abraham Lincoln. He has held several offices in his township, and at present is road commissioner. He has been one of the school directors of the township for the past ten years. Mr. Brunner has been a successful farmer, is a srood citizen, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of the entire community.
George Hotz
Was born in Madison county, April 21st, 1843. As indicated by the name, his parents were of Teutonic origin. They came to America in 1840, locating north of Highland. Christian and Mary E. Hotz (nee Weber) were the parents of fourteen children, of whom ten are living, and who were all, save one, born in this country. Of these, George was the second. Such advantages as were offered in this country thirty years ago, in the way of schools, were made use of by him, and, by perseverance and energy, he acquired a fair business education. He was married to Anna Merkel, May 5th, 1864. By this union there have been born twelve children. Mr. Hotz is a progressive farmer, and, by force of circumstances, somewhat a politician. His neighbors have repeatedly placed him in office, the duties of which he has discharged with satisfaction to all In 1874 he was chosen constable in 1876, assessor ; in 1880, collector ; and in 1881, and again in 1882, supervisor. In politics he is an unswerving Democrat, and has contributed much to his party's success. Upright in his dealings, faithful in the discharge of all duties devolving upon him, he is a man worthy of confidence and position.
Among the prominent and influential Germans of Madison county is the subject of the lollowing biography. He is a native of Bavaria, Germany, where he was born August 3d, 1817. He is the second son of Valentine and Phillapena (Rietzman) Spies, who were also natives of the same country. His father died in 1834, and his mother in 1838. Jacob was reared upon a farm, where he remained until his twenty-third year, then came to America on a tour of observation. He landed in New York April 20th, 1840, and a few days later came west to Illinois, and settled in Belleville, St. Clair county, and there remained for one year. In 1841 he returned to Germany, and in 1843 came back to Ame. ricaand bought a tract of land in sections 32 and 33 of T. 3N. R. 6 W. To that tract he has added, until now he has a large body of as fine tillable land as cau ba found in the county. On the 27th of March 1843, he was united in marriage to Miss Catharine Kauffmann, a native, also, of Germany. By this union there have been ten children, nine of whom are living. Their names, in the order of their birth are, Minnie Rosa, Julia, wife of Alexander Richardson, Caroline Louisa, wife of Charles Yalier ; Charles, Louis, Amelia, who is the wife of Preston Fahnestock ; Bertie, wife of Louis Kolb ; Jacob and Anna Spies. The last two are yet at home. In polities Mr. Spies was originally a Democrat. In 1854, during the excitement attending the Kansas- Nebraska difficulties, when it was sought to introduce slavery' into the territories, he left the party and joined the Republicans, and from that date to the present has been a warm supporter of the latter organization. Mr. Spies has been and is yet a very industrious and energetic man, and much of his success in life is due to those characteristics. He has been a resident of Madison county for nearly forty years, and has a well-earned reputation for honesty and uprightness of character. lu short, few men in the county are more respected than Jacob Spies.
James Squire The present popular supervisor representing Godfrey township in the county board, is a young man possessed of many commendable traits of character. He was born December 11, 1843. His parents were William and Lydia Squire (Widaman). His father, William, was a native of Devon" shire, England, where he was born August 9th, 1814. He came to America in 1835, locating first in Coshocton county, Ohio, from whence he came to Madison county, 111., in 1839. Arriving in Alton he commenced wrk as a laborer, but, upon his refusing to work on Sunday, he quit his employment, and moved to Godfrey, where he became foreman on Godfrey's farm, a place he held for years. His wife, Lydia Widaman, as a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where she was born March 8, 1818. Her father was a teacher—a vocation he pursued first in Germany, then in this country. On the first of March, 1813, she and William Squire were united in marriage by Rev. I. B. Randle, of Edwardsville. James Squire received a fair common-school education, which was aided by attendance at Shurtleff College. It is related that when attending school taught by Miss Corbett, he'and his brother Frank encountered a panther in their pathway. Quite terrified, they hurried home, telling the story to their parents, who thought it incredible ; but the following day parties dispatched the monster, and established the correctness of the boys' story. During the war James Squire enlisted in the service of the United States in the 144lh Regiment Illinois Volunteers. He has been quite uniformly engaged in farming and teaching. In both pursuits he has been successful. He was married to Mattie Braden, March 25, 1874, by whom he has two children living, Vinnie Grace and Mattie Pearl, and one dead, James William. His wife died May 14, 1882. She, was a daughter of Isaac Braden, one of the pioneers of Nameoki township. Politically he is an earnest, outspoken Democrat; is a member of the Democratic Central Committee ; was elected supervisor from Godfrey township in 1877, and has been annually re-elected ever since. When it is considered that this is a Republican stronghold (Garfield's majority being 66), his election can only be accounted for on the ground of personal popularity. He is a member of both the Masonic and Odd Fellow's orders ; has been a justice of the peace, and was deputy sheriff under R. W. Crawford ; has taught thirteen years, and is at present principal of the Godfrey school.
Sources: Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Volume 1 1918 & A Gazetter of Madison County, History of Madison County Illinois,
©2011,2012 Transcribed by Janice Rice