Adams County, Illinois - Chapter 11, 1879

Chapter 11

Eakly Settlements - By Whom and How Made - First Settlers - Old Settler's Society - List of Members - Early Experiences - First Ferry - Early Customs - Lost Children - First Mill - Their Life AND Work.

Wherever the traveler chances to wander over the wide West, he encounters the great army of immigrants moving towards the setting sun. The cry is "Still they come." Along the whole chain of the Alleghany ridge they may be seen crossing into our valley by every pass which nature or art has rendered practicable; they are thrown in shoals upon the shores of the great lakes of the North; they ascend in steamboats from New Orleans, and the sentiment expressed by all who have arrived before them is, "Let them come, there is room enough for all, and tliey can never eat us out of house and home." The universal Yankee nation might be conveniently settled upon the plains of Illinois, and all the free whites that can be spared from the South would find elbow room in Missouri.

The delightful season in which we are writing brings these scenes forcibly to our recollection ; the weather dry, the sky serene, the atmosphere mild, the roads dry and smooth, the corn ripe, the cattle and hogs fat, and the land teeming with abundance. It is the season of the year in which the emigrant may travel with the greatest facility and cheapness. We have seen them, at this time of the year, strung along the roads of Illinois in such numbers that there seemed to be no end to the long cavalcade. Here is a little train of wagons loaded with furniture and farming tools. The owner, a stout, sunburnt man, walks before; the wife and children are stowed away among the baggage; the tall girls and great, muscular boys, each of the latter with a rifle on his shoulder, are strolling in the rear. They are from Tennessee. At night they halt by a spring or on the bank of a stream; a fire is kindled, the beds and pallets are spread upon the ground, and after a hearty supper, the whole party repose comfortably in the open air. There is another party from the same State; they are more wealthy; the men ride on horseback, the females are in carriages or on horses, and there is a train of negroes. They are going to Missouri. Here is a family from Kentucky. They are very much like those that have just passed, except they are better "fixed," they carry more household goods, and are a grade further advanced in their notions of comfort. All these that we have described are reputable farmers, who will enrich themselves and do credit to the State. There is a band of a different character; several families are together; not because misery loves company, for, wretched as they seem, they are as liappy as tlie others. They are all on foot, except a decrepit matron, who is mounted on a lean pony, with a child in her lap, and a half naked, wicked boy behind. Their "plunder" is carried in an oxcart; the men carry axes, guns and knives, and are a half-clad, hungry, ferocious-looking set, who, in older and wealthier countries, if not taken for robbers or Gypsies, would be arrested for the crime of poverty. Yet except their poverty, and the indolence that produced it, there is no harm in them. Among them is a widow and nine children, all bare-footed and bare-headed. She lost "her man" lately, and finding it hard to get along in the world, is going to try a new country. These are from North Carolina. A little covered wagon is seen - a creaking, crazy affair almost worn out, drawn by - one horse whose last debt to nature seems to be nearly due. Within are seated a young man and woman; they are man and wife, and are as like each other as two peas. They have had the ague regularly every year, and are as sallow as a dried corn-stalk. They have no property along, nor any baggage except a few blankets, a pot, or skillet, a gun and an axe, and as a fit companion for their horse, a half-starved, long-eared hound. They meet a gentleman -who happens to be a lawyer in his circuit. The man hails him, and stops his lean pony, who straightway pokes down his head, and falls to cropping the tall grass: "Stranger, can you tell me of a good jilace to settle?"

" Nowhere in particular. Me and nay wife thought we'd hunt a place to settle. We've no money nor plunder - nothing but ourselves and this nag - and we thought we'd try our luck in a new country. "

Sometimes a dozen or twenty families collect in the evening at the samQ'camping ground. They build their separate tires, and circle around them. Whole acres are covered with beds, tents, wagons, and horses and cattle. The men mix together, the women interchanging civilities, and the whole scene is one of lively and picturesque interest. While the weather is open there are few hardships to encounter in such a journey; but occasionally it rains, the wind changes, and cold, driving showers pelt the defenceless travelers. They cannot travel in the storin. Some crawl into their carriages and wagons, some make shelters by suspending sheets and coverlets upon poles, and some fare no better than the domestic animals, who turn their backs to the wind. At the rude and primitive taverns and houses of entertainment are to be met strangers of another class - gentlemen on horse-back, families who are not accustomed to camping out, merchants, lawyers, and wealthy farmers, all floating along in the great stream of emigration. They are mostly from the Southern and Middle States. But, where is the Yankee all this while ? He is on the way ; no mistake about him; wherever there is money to be made by hard labor, Jonathan will find out the place. But he has no notion of camping out, and traveling by land is expensive to those who stop at taverns. He counted the cost before he came forth to this battle of life; he traced the various routes upon the maps, read all the books he could borrow touching the subject, and wrote to divers postmasters in the West with whom he could correspond without the expense of postage. He even strained a point, and paid the postage upon a few letters of inquiry. He therefore not only knows where he is going, but has ascertained the cheapest route, and most eligible conveyance. He is floating along the lake, or patiently meandering the Ohio. To look at him yoii would not suppose him worth a cent, nor does he care what you think about the matter; he knows to the contrary. He has sold out all he had, and put the whole concern into his purse. He is a small, active, grave man, and most probably has been a deacon. That decent, neat old lady who is traveling with him has been his partner in the joys and sorrows of life for many years. She takes great interest in everything she sees, and makes many inquiries about fevers, Indians, alligators, etc. Poor lady I she will never like the West a whit better than she does now. She is too old to degenerate, and too good to get better. There is more hope for the rosy, buxom girls who come from the same section. They have come to the West to do good, and they will succeed - they will teach school for six months or a year, and then they will get married, which is better for them. Those slim young men, sons of Jonathan, are graduates and they are coming West to be lawyers and doctors. They are going to supply the waste places, and become the teachers and leaders of the sections wherein they may drive their stake.

The First Settlement

The first settlement of the county, as near as we can ascertain, was commenced by Justus I. Perrigo, an old soldier, on the land received from the Government for his services in the war of 1812, in 3 south 8 west, in Mill Creek district, in 1821. In the autumn of the same year, or the winter following, Daniel Pyle settled in 2 south, 6 west, in Wigle district; in March, 1823, Jno. Wood and Maj. Rose located at Quincy, and raised the first crop without fencing; having to travel thirty miles to get a plow sharpened, and forty miles^to mill. During the same year, Maj. Campbell and Wm. Worley made an improvement in town, 1 north, 8 west, in Center District. Settlements were commenced in Bear Creek District in 1826; in Clayton and North East, in 1829 or 1830.

The Old Settlers By Sarah Edwards Henshaw

The old settlers of Adams and Brown counties effected a temporary organization, which was found to be imperfect and incomplete, in the year 1869. In the following year, 1870, on the 1st day of September, a permanent organization was perfected. The meeting was held at Clayton, and a large number of old settlers, with their families, were in attendance. The constitution adopted was substantially as follows:

Article 1. This organization shall be known as the Old Settlers' Association of Adams and Brown counties. The objects of the Association are to preserve the facts, occurrences and recollections in regard to the early settlement of the country ; state of the society in the early days ; to recall the hardships, and learn the lessons to be drawn therefrom; nothing shall be put down in malice, and no old story shall be revived that does injury to the living or dead.

Article 2. The officers of the association shall be a President, two or more Vice- Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer and Historian. An executive committee shall be appointed whose duty it shall be to carry out all the measures of the society committed to them. The officers and the executive committee shall serve for one year.

Articles. The manner of conducting the meetings of the association shall be in accordance with the customary proceedings of parliamentary bodies. The Historian of the society shall be the custodian of all the historical papers and relics of the association.

Article 4. Annual meetings shall be held at such a lime and place as the association, at any of its meetings, shall direct. At any meeting a majority vote may require each member to Y)Ay such sum of money, not to exceed one dollar, as may be found necessary to \)ay for the printing and other absolute expenses of the society. Twenty members shall con.stitute a quorum at any regular meeting.

Najies. Date Of Arrival

Section 1. The Old Settlers' Society shall hold their meetings annually, on the first Thursday, and the Friday next thereafter, in the month of September.

- Section 3. At the appointed hour the President shall call the society to order; and if he be not present, the oldest Vice-President shall preside.

Section 4. Special meetings of the society may be called by the President on the written application of at least twenty members of the'scciety; and in case of the death, absence, or inability of the President, the oldest Vice-President shall act. The time and place of such meeting shall be named in such call, as also the object of such meeting.

Section 1. The Secretary of the society shall keep a correct record of all proceedings of the society, which shall be furnished for publication to the Historian; and it shall be the duty of the Historian to publish, in connection with the minutes of the Secretary, all the historical facts collected by such historian, under the care and supervision of the Executive Committee.

Section 2. The Treasurer shall collect and take care of all moneys of the Society, and pay it out on the order of the Committee of General Arrangements, properly attested and approved by the Finance Committee.

Section 1. The elections for officers shall take place and be held at the hour of 4 o'clock, p. M., of the second day's meeting (nevertheless the society, for convenience, may hold said election at some other hour, if so determined by a vote of the society), annually, and may be by ballot, if so desired by the society, at the time of such election, a majority of all the votes cast being necessary to a choice.

Section 1. The Standing Committee shall be an executive committee, as provided in the constitution, and a finance committee, consisting of three (3), whose duty shall be to look after and properly take care of the finances of the society, and see that all claims against the society are correct before the same is paid, and they shall report the condition of tlie finances annually to the society.

special committees. Section 3. There shall be a committee of general arrangements, consisting of ten, to be appointed (as well as all other committees not otherwise provided for), by the president, or in case of his disability to act, the oldest vice-president, at least one month before the annual meeting, whose duty it shall be to appoint such other committees as may be necessary, and make all necessary arrangements for the comfort and accommodation of the society.

Section 1. All persons who are residents of Adams or Brown counties may become members of this association by registering their names on the journal of the society and paying fifty cents as an admittance fee to the treasurer, and thereafter annually twenty-five cents, "which funds shall be applied to defray the expenses of the society, and 'if there be a surplus fund it shall be disposed of as may be directed by the society.

State. State Early Experience

Lorenzo Bull, speaking of courts m 1833, says, R. M. Youno^ was -judge of the Circuit Court ; Henry II. Snow, clerk, recorder and clerk of Commissioners' Court; he was also yjrobate judge, notary public, police magistrate, and had been post-master. Snow only made a meager living out of all his offices. Mr. Bull, at six dollare a month and board, did the bulk of the work and soon began to accumulate money. The sons of the Nutmeg State almost always thrive in new countries, and Mr. Bull has become a brilliant exponent of the general rule.

The court was held in those days in a two-story log building, that stood on the corner of Maine and Fifth, afterward Dimnocks', and now Huft'mans' business stand. It had a puncheon floor and a carpenter shop in the second story, which was also used as a town hall. This building was burned and nobody seemed to regret it.

Mr. Bull describes the seal of Adams county as being of very ])rimitive construction. The seal was fixed into a rough frame against the wall, and a walnut rail used for a lever to bring the impression out upon the paper ; upon the extreme end of this, it was the custom of Mr. Bull to throw his avoirdupois, and thereby produce the seal of the county of Adams. For two years all the records are still seen in Mr. Bull's handwriting.

Gov. Glenn's history of early times embodies some remarkable incidents of pioneer days, and he says, in an address before the old settlers :

" Mills were very scarce in those days. I can remember my father going sixty miles to mill, but then he took as much grain as ten yoke of oxen could haul, and did not have to go again for six months. Hominy was a very convenient substitute for the staff of life, and the labors of the day were often supplemented by a course of hominy beating after supper."

" This process of obtaining food was common among all the men of early days, and the hominy morter, and later the hominy mill, was an institution of the land. There was also a variety of this food known as hulled corn or lye hominy, and this use of chemical agents, instead of laborious mechanical appliance, was very popular with the young and rising generation.

" Many of the agricultural implements used by early settlers were of a unique character and suited to the exigencies of the times. Harrows were constructed from the fork of a tree, and supplied with wooden teeth. Plows were of divers pattern and various shapes. Wooden mold boards, made from a tree that twisted against the sun, or with it, as yon desired to turn the furrow to the right or left, fastened on the plowshare and attached to the stock, furnished the implement for plowing the ground. ,

"The wheat was cut with the old-fashioned sickle or reap-hook. Cradles afterwards superseded the sickles, although at first bitterly opposed by many as an innovation.

" The clothing of the pioneers was all of domestic manufacture. Wool, flax, and even cotton were products of the country. These the women wove and spun into various kinds of cloth such as linen, linsey, jeans, and cotton cloth."

Mr. Wm. D. Dodd in his remarks at one of these meetings stated that his was the ninth family in Quincy. He described the old bar-shear plow, and stated that he had marclied behind one of them many a day with no other clothing upon his person than what is generalh^ worn beneath a man's vest. His father traded a clock for an acre of ground at the corner of Twelfth and Maine streets, and GovernorWood afterwards bought it for$100.

Liberty Townsihp

He could not complain of hardships in particnlar, the people of that day were generally of the right kind. When yon went to a neighbor's house then, the first thing asked was, "Have jou been to dinner?" and hospitality always prevailed. He spoke of the big snow in 1830, and said he was in Morgan county, and wanted to get home. The storm was blinding, and it was almost impossible to face it. After several trials he got a good hold of the tail of one of the oxen, and told him to go. The ox went dragging him on the snow and finall_y landed him at the house. Daring these times it is said that two and a-half bushels of shelled corn would buy one j'ard of domestic or one pound of coiFee. In August the settlers were very liable to take the ague or "shakes," as they were called, which is a malarious disease not yet entirely driven from the country.

" He came to this country in 1829, and had lived here ever since. He was poor like some of his neighbors, but always had something to eat. He went a bee-hunting once, and got into a nettle patch, and thought at first he was walking on snakes. He looked for snakes three times and that ended his bee-hunt. He lay on the west side of the branch north of Clayton one winter night without any covering except his coat. He went to sleep, and he waked up in the night and found that he was cold, and had to roll around on the grass before he could limber himself up. He traveled 609 miles from Quincy to Kentucky and back on six bits and didn't sponge or beg."

Mr. Joseph Turner stated that^he came to Adams Co. in 1834, and was informed by George Campbell that the first white man who built a house in Adams was named Lyle. Mr. Campbell was the only neighbor to Lyle for many j^ears.

Mr. Wm. M. Dodd also related his experience. He said among other things tliat his father bought a lot of Ed. Pearce on the corner of Fourth and Maine streets (which included what was lately Dr. Kallston's propertv) for $130 in trade.

Mr. Harrison Dills told of the summary punishment of a thief who was ordered to run the gauntlet, and right where the Virginia house used to stand the double line of men was formed, each armed with a hickory stick, and after the peculator had made the trip through those lines he was ready to "go west," or anywhere to be away from Quincy.

Solomon Wigle related that in the year 1828, three stray cattle came into the neighborhood where his father resided, and Mr. Wigle, Sr., took them up and advertised them as the law required. One of them proved to be so unruly that he could not be restrained in auj' ordinary enclosure, and roamed over the country at will, annoying the community until forbearance ceasing to be a virtue, they held a consultation, at which it was decided that something must be done; and as they believed in the principles of justice, they concluded to give him a trial for his life. Accordingly a regular court was organized, with judge, sherifi", jurors and attorneys, and a fair and impartial trial was held at the new log schoolhouse, which resulted in verdict of guilty and the penalty of death to the ofiending steer. He was to be slaughtered and properly dressed upon a given day and the beef divided per capita among the families of the neighborhood. The hide was to be converted into a rawhide belt for Mr. Wigle's horse grist-mill. The sentence was executed to the letter, this being the first case of capital punishment in the county.

Col. C. A. Warren relates tliat when he lirst came to Adams county he and his niece crossed the Mississippi river July 4, 1836, where Keokuk and his followers, ten in number, had pitched their tents and were worshipinoj tlieir S})irit Maniton by sacrificing a black dog. On the corner of their tent hung a string of ten scalps - taking scalps was the corner-stone of tlieir civilization. Tlie chief took the hand of Mr. Warren's niece and countintj the rings u[)on her fingers said, " How many scalps 3'ou take." That was the nature of civilization then.

Col. Warren refers to the time when Qaincy lawyers, in the days of "Sacketts Harbor," rode from Qaincj' to Springfield on horseback. He says that Judge O. C. Skinner. Hon, O. H. Browning, Hon, A. Williams and himself frequently got stuck in the " Harbor" (now the site of Mound Station) and had to help each other out.

Robert Becket, of Clayton, spoke of the open prairie where Keokuk Junction now stands. He has hunted wolves on that identical spot, and was positive at that time that it would never be settled up. The settlers then came to a new country singl}^ and by families, but now the case is difl:erent, for they go in gangs, which latter method he considered a great improvement on the former.

A. T. Stone, of Quincy, in speaking of the early times in Adams county says that when he came, which was in 1822, Gov. Wood lived in a small cabin in Quincy, where the Tellico mill is now situated. Henry Lyle lived at Liberty, and these, with a few other families, constituted the population of Adams county. In Schuyler county, Rushville only contained half a dozen .families. At Atlas, the county seat of Pike county, which county included an immense territory, not more than three families resided. He knew all the families that lived in the military tract. Up to 1830 the emigration was very scarce. The deep snow of that year was very severe, and prevented many from coming, as they had fears that the snow would cause loss of life. Settlei's did not commence coming in until 1S33. The wood was never prepared in those days in the fall, but a tree was cut as needed in the winter. The tree was hauled to the cabin and used up as required.

First Ferry

In the year 1838, May 16, Woodford Lawrence in company with two other men, built the lirst ferry boat that probably ever crossed the Mississippi river in the vicinity of Quincy. It was constructed of two canoes, a platform connecting them, around which a railing was built to keep the animals and other ])assengers from falling oft' into the water. The first passengers were three horses which were safely carried across one at a time. This primitive ferry made the trij) across the river at the mouth of Mill creek. It was built for the purpose of carrying the horses across the river, their owners being desirous of taking a trip in the State of Missouri.

As showing the extreme cold weather of the winter of 1843, it is stated that on the 3rd of April, Jacob Abbott, and Jacob Hunsaker crossed the Mississipjn' on the ice. They made the trip on foot, leaving the Missouri shore at Hannibal, and arrived safely at their homes in Payson and Liberty townships, returning from a visit in Missouri. They had long poles to assist them in case the ice gave away, but the ice was found to be safe.

Early Customs

While the early settlers toiled hard, they were not averse to a little relaxation, and had their season for fun and enjoyment. If they did not re- ceive the visits of the theatrical or minstrel troop, they contrived to break the monotony of their daily life. Among the more general forms of amusement were the " quilting bee," the " corn-husking," or "corn-shucking," and the " apple-paring." The " quilting-bee," as the name would indicate was where the industrious qualities of the busy little insect that " improves shining hour" was exemplified in making quilts for the household in which the " bee " was held. In the afternoon the ladies for miles arouTid gathered at the appointed place, and while their tongues would not cease to play, their hands were kept busy in making the quilt. A great desire was always felt by all present to complete the work as soon as possible, for then the real fun began. In the evening the gentlemen came, and their arrival was the notice to commence some boisterous yet innocent game in which all joined. ' The dance also constituted a part of the evening's amusement.

"Corn husking" was where both sexes joined in the husking. They assembled in a large barn which was prepared for the occasion, and when each gentleman had selected a lady partner the husking began. When a lady found a red ear she was entitled to a kiss from each gentleman; if a gentleman found one he was allowed to kiss every lady present. This feature of the programme was a source of unlimited fun and frolic. After the corn had been husked, the floor was cleared and the old violin brought into requisition, when the merry dance followed, continuing until broad daylight in the morning.

" Apple paring" often called the young people together, on which occasion the apples were pared for the winter's sauce. The same concluding festivities followed the apple paring as was the case with the- " quilting bee " and " corn husking."

Hunting was a favorite amusement of the men. Game was killed as much for the pastime it afforded as to supply the wants and necessities of the families.

House-raising furnished another occasion for assemblages and enjoyment. Buildings were then made of such massive timbers as to require a large force of men to erect them, which was done solely by muscular power, all the appliances of modern times for such purposes being entirely ignored, if not unknown. On these occasions liquor was always free to all present. These raisings were cheerfnlly performed by all the neighbors, knowing the assistance would be returned should occasion require it. Log rolling was another source of profit and recreation combined. When a man had felled tlie timber on a considerable space of groimd, it was impossible for him, without aid, to get the logs together so as to burn them. He therefore invited all his neighbors, who came with a good will, and brought the logs together. The work ended with a supper and a social good time.

Election day was observed as a holiday. The men came to the polls, voted, drank, wrestled, ran foot races, and otherwise enjoyed themselves.

Lost Children

While David Campbell was away, on a trip to Kentucky on business, in the Fall of 1832, his two sons, James and his next oldest brother were sent by their mother in search of the cows, wdiich, in those days, roamed at will over many square miles of unfenced and uncultivated lands. They were aged six and eight years respectively. They started, and while wandering through the tliickets that skirted Little Missouri creek, became confused and lost their way. After roving about until late in the cool, frosty October night, bare-foot and thinly clad, and leaving much of the clothing with which they started among the brush and briars, they sought the most dense part of a hazel thicket, and breaking some of the boughs, stuck them in the ground to protect themselves from the wind, procured clubs with which to defend then\selves from the wolves and bears, and lay down to rest, each taking turns to warm the other's feet. Their mother became alarmed, searched for them in vain, and went to Obadiah Nixe's, - who was the first settler in Clayton township, - living two miles distant, and notified his family. One of their number rode to the other neighbor, three or four miles farther away, and they united in the search for the lost boys, hallowing as they went. They found them about^four o'clock in the morning, and conveyed them to their almost distracted mother unharmed, but nearly perishing with cold.

The first mill ever constructed within the limits of the city was in 1824, when a Dr. Baker, seeing the necessity of such an invention, contrived a machine for pounding corn, the motive power being the running water of a creek on whose banks the primitive mill was erected. Placing the grain in a mortar, an industrious pestle soon reduced it to a state suited to manufacture " hoe cakes." A tragical incident connected with the history of this, " the first grist mill in Quincy," should not be omitted. One night when the mill was in active operation, an unsophisticated coon, instigated by the gnawings of hunger, or perhaps by motives of curiosity, attempted to penetrate into its hidden recesses. The descending pestle gave him a forcible intimation that his presence was undesii'ed, and knocking him into the mortar, it continued to pound him with a hearty good will until morning, by which time we may conclude that his spirit of exploration was efiectually subdued. The condition of the " grist " may be more easily imagined than described.

The importance of these old settler organizations must be manifest to every one, as considered solely for their historical features. They serve to keep. alive memories of those early days in the settlement of a new country, that become valuable, not alone to those interested by personal presence, but to the general public, as furnishing facts that, without these associations, would remain untold and unpublished.

The lives and hardships of the pioneers are prolific sources of interest, as from their histories we glean the nobility of the human character when tested in the crucible of necessity. As a general rule these early settlers were bold, honest, hospitable, self-reliant, and industrious; in these respects, no matter from whence they came, they assimilated and became one people, united by that common interest, the building of homes and founding a new country. In their lives they exemplified "honest work for to-day; honest hope for to-morrow," and the present time illustrates the success of their undertaking. The populous countrj", with its improved system of mechanical implements, the school-house and the church, scattered over the face of the land, the railroads, connecting with their iron bands the East with the West, the thriving city and the growing town, all bear testimony to the wisdom of the early settlers who built, not alone for themselves, but for posterity. The entire Western world, and more particularly the Western States, is the heritage that these daring, honest and frugal people leave as an everlasting monument to their memory.

Histoey Of Ada3Is County Chaptee Xii

The following interesting account of the judges who have ])resided in ,the Quincy Judicial District, is from the pen of Gen. John Tillson, of Quincy. To his kindness in permitting its publication in the present work, and for other material assistance in furnishing information relating to the earlj history of the city and county, acknowledgment is hereby made.

The Adams county bench and bar have alike sustained a proverbial prominence in the legal traditions of Illinois since the county organization, fifty years ago.

For a score or more of 3^ears subsequent to 1825 the bar stood prominent in public recognition of capacity, acquirement and success. It was the bar of the "Military Tract" - that portion of the State comprehended between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and south of the latitude of Rock Island, which had been reserved by the general government for the soldiers of the war of 1812, and thus acquired the name of "Military Tract" or " Bounty Lands." The unavoidable issues arising from the collision between the claimants to these lands under the government patent and those under State tax title opened at once an arena for the development and display of the highest grade and need of legal talent.

Land law demands for its comprehension and practice a more profound capacity and more devoted learning than any other field of the great profession. Here it was cultivated. Here leading legal intellects gathered and strove. Here and by them were the broad land questions litigated, and herefrom the great lawyers made their periodical tours throughout the " tract" - where their names were as familiar as home words - in attendance on the semi-annual circuits of the court. Their attainments, prestige and success are a fresh existing remembrance to many, especially as there are still among us a number of noted Nestors of the bar, with the proud record of between forty and fifty years of practice, and to whose names have been attached public distinctions additional to their forensic fame.

Of the bench, however, though equally entitled to remembrance, less special knowledge has been preserved. Of the eleven judges who have presided over the Adams county circuit since 1825 the writer remembers all, and has been personally acquainted with all except the first, and it is proposed to give of them a skeleton sketch, with the regret that want of space precludes a more ample delineation of their careers and characteristics.

John Yorcke Sawyer, the first circuit judge, was a native of Yermont. His name appears enrolled as a lawyer December 7, 1820. As a law^'er he must have achieved a good reputation to have secured the appointment of judge at a time when New England men were popularly at a discount in

Illinois. On the bench he sustained an excellent reputation for integrity and ability, and was better educated than the majority of lawyers of his time. He was appointed at the session of 1824-25 and two years later was legislated out of office by the law of '26-Y, which repealed the circuit court system and threw upon the supreme judges circuit court duty.

Judge Savyver's first court was held in July, 1825, in the 16-feet square cabin of Willard Iveyes, on Front street, near the foot of Vermont ; this being selected as the only one of the three cabins then composing Quincy where there were no children. This session was but formal, and the first business term of the court was held on the 31st of October following. Judge Sawyer will be most remembered for his remarkable size. He was really a monster, weighing well up to 400 pounds. Our massive Senator Davis could have sat all day in his shade, while to balance the family substance he was the proprietor of a nice little wife who had hard work to send up the scale at ninety pounds. ,

He was of a jolly nature, as most fat men are, and this genial trait, added to his probity and acquirements, made him popular and respected during his two years' term. His wit was proverbial. " Madam," said he to an old Quincy landlady, " ain't your cows of diiferent colors?" " Yes," said she, ''we've got 'em black, and red, and white and spotted." "I thought so," says the roguish judge, " your butter speckles that way."

After leaving the bench he resumed the practice of his profession at Vandalia, the then State capital, and died March 13, 1836, being at the time editor of the Yandalia Advocate.

Samuel D. Lockwood, who was born in central XewYork, came to Illinois in 1818 ; stopped first at Kaskaskia, and finally settled in Jacksonville, made that place his residence until after being retired from the bench in 1848, he removed to Batavia, in Kane county, where he died about six years since.

He had an excellent education, a very refined mind, studious habits, and proverbial purity of character. Lifted early in life to the supreme bench, he honored the ermine as few others hav^e. His appearance was appropriate and imposing - white-haired while yet young, of graceful form, dignified and courteous in demeanor, he was a model jurist, and if not possessing the higher native intellect of some who graced the supreme bench, in the aggregate of qualification he was unexcelled. No public man of Illinois has passed under a longer period of constant observation and been clothed with as much of general confidence and respect. It might be said of him, as Daniel "Webster said of Chief Justice Jay, that when the spotless ermine of the judicial robe fell on him it touched nothing less spotless than itself. Judge Lockwood's political connections were with the Whig and subsequent!}' Republican party.

The business devolving upon the supreme judges, as they were required to do circuit duty, had so greatly increased that in 1831 a partial reorganization of the system was made and a fifth judicial circuit established, comprising the military tract, to which was appointed Richard M. Young, a Kentuckian by birth, whose legal career in Illinois was almost coeval with the existence of the State. He was a gentleman of exemplary habits, refined and industrious tastes, possessed of strong common sense and very much personal dignity of maimer, Vnit was devoid of mental sprightliness or social magnetism;" It is curious that with his slow, unimaginative mind and nature, seeming to border almost on dullness, he should have trodden such a prominent and successful political and public life. Men more gifted in every way than he were his associates, but they were distanced when they became his rivals ; and it must be said of Judge Young that while never attaining a superior or commanding position, he sustained his public trust respectably and up to a complete public confidence. He was a child of fortune. His service as a judge ceased in 1837, when he took his seat in the United States Senate, to which he had been elected the previous winter. Filling out his full term of six years, during which time he was appointed by Governor Carlin State Agent, and visited Europe in that capacity; at the close of the same in 1841, he was appointed to the supreme bench; and afterward clerk of the House of Representatives in Washington ; also commissioner of the general land office. Later he engaged in a legal and agency business until his mind gave way, and his last days were passed in an insane asylum. His political affiliations were always with the old Jackson, afterward Democratic, party.

The seat vacated by Judge Young, in 1837, was filled by the appointment of James H. Ralston, who had for several years been an active practicing lawyer of Quincy, and member of the legislature in 1836 and 1837. He, like his predecessor, and indeed like most of the prominent men during the early days of Illinois, was a native of Kentucky. His characteristics were industry and caution. His legal acquirements were greater than his success. He was a tall, rather ungraceful man, and not attractive as a speaker. A mistaken ambition for political positions, for which he was not peculiarly fitted, drew him away from the line of professional life, wherein he was gradually attaining success. His reputation on the bench exceeded that which he had as a lawyer. He resigned in 1838, was elected State senator in 1840, ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1841 against John T. Stuart, in the district com])osed of the entire portion of the State north of and including Green county, afterwards emigrated to California, and met with an unfortunate death, "liis remains being found in the woods, where he either suddenly died or was slain by wild beasts. He was succeeded in 1839 by Peter Lott, one of the most genial men that ever graced the Adams "county bench. Judge Lott came to Illinois in 1835 from New Jersey, his native State, locating first at Carthage, Hancock county. A few months later he removed to Quincy, where he resided for the next sixteen or seventeen years. He was a man of more than ordinary ability and attainments, with inherent legal qualifications, but of a rather indolent and pleasure-loving nature, which detracted from his success as a lawyer. Thf se traits did not, however, afi'ect his value on the bench, where he rnade a most excellent record. In person. Judge Lott was above the medium height, powerfully built, of light complexion and hair, with a broad face singularly expressive of humor. He, like Judge Ralston, was a Whig until about 1836, when he joined the Democratic party, of which he became a prominent member. "Retired from the bench in 1841 under the operation of the reorganization judiciary law, he resumed legal practice, was elected to the lower house of the Legislature in_1844, enlisted as a private in Col. Bissell's regiment of Illinois infantry on the outbreak of the Mexican war, soon after became captain, and acquired credit at the battle of Buena Yista. On his return home he was in 1848 elected circuit clerk and recorder. This office he held for four years, and shortly after the expiration of his

The Democratic party in the legislature, dissatisfied with tlie complexion of the supreme court, which was composed of four judges, three Whigs and one Democrat, all of wliom held office by a life tenancy under the constitution, at the session of 1840-41 reorganized the judiciary by abolishing the circuit judge system, mustering them all out and adding five judges to the supreme bench (all Democrats) and im]>osing circuit court duty upon the supreme judges. The appointment from this district fell upon Stephen A. Douglas, who assumed the office in 1841. Judge Douglas' history is so nationally known that it is needless to take space for its repetition. His career as a judge was popular and creditable. While not having been considered as ranking among the leading lawyers of the State, as he had l)een devoted more to political than to legal preferences, whatever defects he may have had from this inattention to the profession was more than atoned for by his acute and powerful native ability. He had several vexatious local questions to determine, connected with the Mormons, and the division of Adams county, which created conflicting feeling at the time, but on which he nianaged to maintain general confidence. On his election to Congress in 1843, over O. H. Browning, after the ablest and most closely contested Congressional canvass ever made in the State, he was succeeded by Jesse B. Thomas, a son of the Jesse B. Thomas who was territorial judge of Illinois from 1809 to 1819, one of the first two United States senators, and the author of the famous *' Missouri Compromise."

Judge Thomas was probablj^ born in Indiana territory. He was a large, plethoric man, not wanting in ability - a gentleman, and well educated, dignified in his manner, and gave general satisfaction ; but his record was not one of especial ?nark, though creditable. He was, like his predecessor. a Democrat in politics. Transferred after a term of two years to a northern circuit, he died a few years later.

His successor in i843 was Xorman H. Purple, the most superior judge in most respects that ever ruled in this circuit, who was a striking illustration of the singular fitness that some men possess for special positions. His rank as a lawyer was high, but his peculiar capacities were best exhibited after his accession to the bench. He was pre-eminently a jurist. Well read, possessed with a quick, clear intellect, and a cold, analytical intuition, that could not be swerved by fancy or feeling, honorable and conscientious as well as sagacious, he poised the scales of justice with an accurate hand. Prompt, precise and brief in his rulings, he held alike the confidence of the bar in professional and its attachment in social relations. He was an agreeable companion, though not disposed to accepting general acquaintance. He was of tall and rather slender frame, with sharp but regularly cut features, and a physiognomy noticeable for the expression of intellect and reserve.

The constitution of 1848 making judges elective, and the circuits being changed at the same time, disuniting Adams and Peoria counties, Judge Purple, whose residence had been at Peoria, declined further service on the bench in this circuit, to the regret of the meml)ers of the bar, who complimented him with a banquet on his retiracy. He was, we think, a native of New York, and after his return to Peoria and retirement from the bench, successfully resumed practice. He died some fifteen years ago.

elected as the whig candidate over William E. Aicher, of Pike county. Judge Minshall was one of the oldest lawyers in the State, of much more than average intellectual strength. He came upon the bench at a late period of life, with his fine native faculties impaired by age and early carelessness. He had for years stood at the head of the bar in his own county, and when lifted to the bench maintained his previously acquired creditable reputation. It was his ill fortune, as it was of all the elected judge of that year, to enter upon judicial eminence attended by the rancor of political strife. Previously, under the old constitution, the judiciary had been removed from immediate connection with party politics. When, however, on the first occasion where the judicial office was made popularly elective, partisan feeling was thrown into the'^ontest with the utmost bitterness, and . at this time, when the elective judiciary system has settled to a condition beyond the control of political interest and feeling, -one can not realize the acrimony that throughout the State attached to and followed these first judicial elections.

Judge Minshall was a heavy-built man, about the medium height, with a countenance indicating solidity rather than quickness of thought. He died at Kushville about twenty years since. He was a native, we think, of Kentucky, and had resided before coming to Illinois in Ohio.

Adams and Hancock counties being created a separate circuit in 1851, Judge Minshall was succeeded by Onias C. Skinner, who for several years had "been a prominent lawyer in Hancock county and equally so in Quincy, his later residence. A singular career was that of Judge Skinner. With a much more than ordinary intellect and legal aptitude, hampered by limited education, his native force of character finally lifted him above earlier defects to a front rank among lawyers and jurists. As a lawyer he was the most daring, speculative and successful litigant that ever practiced in the Adams county bar. j^o stronger or more energetic reliance in doubtful or desperate cases could be found than he. As a counselor he was not so excellent. On the bench his standing was high. Acute, courteous and proud of his position, he fully filled the requisites of his place, and it was a regret to the profession that on a vacancy occurring in the supreme court he offered as a candidate and was elected over Stephen T. Logan and Chas. H. Constable, two highly eminent lawyers - the first named especially being the Nestor of the Illinois Bar.

As before said, Judge Skinner's life was almost a romance. Hardly an occupation can be nanied in which he had not engaged - cabin boy on boat, sailor on the lakes, school teacher, farmer, preacher, finally settling down to his proper profession. He was a member of the House of Representatives in 184S, and also of the constitutional convention of 1870, where he occupied the position of chairman of the judiciary committee. He was born in Oneida county, New York, and died in Quincy in 1877, where he had resided and been conspicuous at the bar for nearly thirty years. Skeptical in many things, but radically set in his own views, he possessed a force, energy and sagacity of character that raised him to a singular eminence.

On his retirement from the bench in 1855, Joseph Sibley was elected to succeed, and has received four subsequent elections, being now in his twenty-fourth year of service. Of these eleven judges who have presided over this circuit since 1825, Judge Sibley, the present incumbent, is the only one living. It is only of those who have gone that we proposed to briefly sketch. There were giants in those days - strong men now passed away. Less learned than tliose who have followed them, yet in intellectual strength they were more than the peers of their successors. The founders and framers of our great commonwealth were the young, ardent, ambitious, adventurous men who lived, struggled and succeeded on their inherent resource. Scores of lawyers' libraries to-day severally contain more authorities than the whole State of Illinois could show a halfcentury since. Hence rudimental acquirement, intuitive capacity, and the sharpened keenness resulting from mental collision and attention formed the brilliant lawyer of early days. Witli the varied and abstruse complications of law attaching to the interests of a populous community as now, they liad but little to do, but the questions that came before them were met and surmounted, and Illinois can safely and with satisfaction, sweeping the dust from its earlier annals and i-ecalling the names of many now half forgotten, point to the same with pride and say, these were our State framers, our early lawyers.

In addition to the eleven judges above named, since the act creating the Appellate Court of this State, and the redistricting of the State, the counties of Brown, Hancock, Fulton, Schuyler, Pike, and McDonough are included in the district of which this county is a part, and the bench is composed of three judges, J. Sibley, C. L. Pligbee, and S. P. Shope being the present members of the bench.

The Bar

The members constituting the legal fraternity at Quincy have always held a higli place in the estimation of the profession, as from its earliest formation, back in 1831, up to the present time, the Quincj' bar has maintained its reputation for superiority. The early bar included names that have since become noted either on the bench or in the legislative halls, while the legal profession at the present day has among its members men who are a credit to any community.

The first lawyer that ever made Quincy his residence was Louis Masquerier, or Masquerre, who came to the tlien village of a few families in about 1827 or 1828. History does not record the fact that his first few years were made notable by being overwhelmed with legal business. It would seem, however, that the location was a desirable one, for in a very short time the bar of Quincy was increased by the arrival of new members who, in prospecting, decided u]ion locating in Quincy. In the year 1831 the bar was composed of J. H. Ralston, who afterward became a judge of this judicial district; Archibald Williams, afterward a noted lawyer of the State; Louis Masquerier, who became noted as the first law- 3'er in Quincy; O. H. Browning, who has since become a lawyer as well as a statesman of national reputation; and a lawyer by the name of Jeff'ries. This number was augmented by the arrival of Judge Young, who moved to Quincy in the latter year, as also did Thomas Ford, then the prosecuting attorney of the circuit, and afterward govinmor of the State. Mr. Hubbard, afterward governor of the State, soon removed to Quincy, and with Henry Asbury and James W. Whitney, known as " Lord Coke," and the others above named, composed the legal fraternity of Quincy and the western portion of the State. They were closely followed by Andrew Johnson, C. B. Lawrence, afterward supreme judge of the State, A. Jonas, C. A. Warren, A. Wheat, and others of later date.

Among the many men at the Quincy bar wlio have distinguished themselves outside of the legal practice may be mentioned Hon. O. H. Browning, of Quincy. As early as 1831 he left his native State of Kentucky and located in Quincy as a member of the bar. He was not slow to be prominently known, even among the great intellects that were accustomed to make the tour of this circuit, which included nearly one half of the present entire State. His reputation for ability being established, political honor sought him. In August, 1836, he was elected to the Illinois Senate and served four years in that body. In 1837 N. Bushnell arriving, he and Mr. Browning formed a law partnership which continued until the death of Mr. Bushnell. In 1842 Mr. Browning was again elected to the State Legislature, serving as a member of the Assembly. He ran as the AVhig candidate for Congress, but was defeated by small majorities.

Upon the death of Senator Douglas, Mr'. Browning was appointed by the Governor to take the vacant seat until a successor could be elected by the legislature. After leaving the senate he opened a law office at the national capital, associating himself with Senator Cowan of Pennsylvania. In 1866 when President Johnson re-organized his cabinet, he called Mr. Browning to the position of the Secretary of the Interior. He retained this responsible position until the close of the administration acquitting himselfi of its duties with signal success. Since retiring from the cabine the ha& lived quietly at his home in Quincy, having a large and lucrative practice. He was elected a member of the last constitutional convention of Illinois, and by his presence and experience did his share in forming the present constitution.

Hon. C. A. Warren, of Quincy, was born in New York in 1807, and received a common-school education. He entered a printing office and served his apprenticeship, and for a time worked side by side with Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune. While working at his trade Mr. Warren completed his legal studies, and was graduated from Transylvania University in Kentucky, in 1834. He received his first diploma from the Supreme Court of Ohio, and commenced the practice of law at Batavia in that State, with Thos. Morris (father of Hon. Jno. K. Morris, of Quincy) afterwards U. S. Senator of Ohio, for a partner. In 1836, Mr. Warren came to Quincy, and after remaining one year, removed to Warsaw. He returned in 1839, and formed a partnership with- J. H. Ralston. He also was in partnership with O. C. Skinner afterwards Supreme and Circuit Judge, and also George Edmonds, Jr., of Hancock county. He served as prosecuting attorney, and is still carrying on his practice.

Gen. Jas. W. Singleton is another prominent man of the Quincy bar. He is a native of Yirginia, and early moved to Illinois, locating in Schuyler county. Here he practiced medicine and also devoted himself to the study of the law. He was elected twice to the Legislature, and also to the constitutional convention in 1848. During the Mormon troubles at Kauvoo, he was assigned by the Governor to take command of the military at that point, and remained there until the troubles were satisfactorily adjusted. In 1852 he came to Quincy, and at once identified himself with the interests of the place. He singly and alone constructed the railroad from Camp' Point to the Illinois river at Meredosia. He served one time in the Legislature from Adams. His mission to Pichmond, Ya., during the late war is well-known, he having visited the rebel capital at the request of

President Lincoln, in the liope of dissuading the confederates from continuing the struggle. His mission failed. In 1S6S he was nominated for congress in the Fourth District, but was defeated. In 1878 he was again nominated and elected by a large majority.

Hon. Nehemiah Bushnell was a native of Connecticut, and graduated from Yale College in 1835. In 1837, after being admitted to the bar he to Quincy, and the same year formed a partnership with Hon. O. H. Browning, which lasted until Mr. Bushnells death. Shortly after establishinir himself in Quincy, he conducted, the editoral dej^artnient of the Quincy Whig. After leaving this journal he devoted his entire time and talents to liis profession. He was considered a tine lawyer, and was a very energetic and persevering student even to the day of his death in 1874.

Ex-Senator William A. Richardson, an honored citizen of Illinois was a resident of Quincy, where he died on the 27th of December, 1875. He was a native of Kentucky, being born in Fayette county in 1811, He received a liberal education for those early times which included a collesiate course at Transylvania University at Lexington, from which institution he graduated. After leaving college he completed the study of law find was admitted to the bar. Very shortly after his admission, he came to Illinois and located at Shelbyville in 1831. In 1832 he volunteered in the Black Hawk war, serving some four months, when he removed to Bushville, the county seat of Schuyler county, where he continued to reside until 1849, when he removed to Quincy. His positions of honor and trust were many and include civil and military. In 1835 he was elected States Attorney, which position he resigned in 1836 to accept the position of member of the State Legislature for the county of Schuyler to which he was elected. In 1838 he was elected to the State Senate, and in 1844 was a presidential elector. He also was elected to the legislature and chosen speaker. At the commencement of the Mexican war in 1846, Mr. Richardson raised a company in Schuyler county and was made captain. This company joined the troops at Alton, Illinois, and was phwed in the 1st Regiment under the command of Col. J, J. Hardin. During the war the 1st reo-iment engaged in the battle of Buena Vista, where Captain Richardson was promoted on the field for brave conduct. After returning to Illinois, Mr. Richardson was elected in 1847 to Congress, where he continued bv re-elections until 1856. In this latter year he resigned his seat in Cong"ress to make the canvass for the gubernatorial chair of Illinois. Owing to the unpopularity of the Kansas and IS^ebraska bill which he defended, he was defeated by four thousand votes in a poll of two hundred and forty thousand. This was his first and only defeat. In 1857 he was made Governor of Nebraska, where he found the territory in the wildest confusion - no civil laws, and few and imperfect criminal laws. Before leaving the territory he established the criminal code of Illinois, and the civil practice of Ohio. In 1860 he returned to Illinois, and was re-elected to Congress by the Quincy district where he served until elected to the United States Senate to fill the unex])ired term of Judge S, A. Douglas. His term as senator expired in 1865, which terminated his public services of a national character. From 1865 to his death he resided at his home in Quincy, He was elected to the position of supervisor for the Quincy district to use his influence and experience in keeping the county seat at Quincy, when an effort was made to remove it to another portion of the county in the year 1875. His efforts were successful as the county seat question is now settled forever. Senator Richardson was a man of great personal magnetism, and a powerful speaker from the fact that his statements always bore the marks of personal convictions. He was a man that tolerated views and conclusions different from his own, and always gave them a careful and considerate hearing. His political acts were based on the principle, that he believed to be the foundation of the Democracy, while his honesty of intention can never be doubted. While living he worked a potent influence on the political questions of the State and Nation, and his memory, now that he is dead, is cherished by his friends and admirers and respected by his enemies.

Hon. Jackson Grimshaw, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Illinois in 1845, settling in Pike county, where he continued to practice law for fourteen years, at the expiration of which time he came to Quincy. He was associated in Quincy, with Hon. Archibald Williams, the partnership lasting until Mr. William's death. In 1856, Mr, Grimshaw was nominated by the Republicans for Congress, but was defeated. Since that time up to his death, he refused all political honors. In 1865 he became Collector of Internal Revenue for the 4th District of Illinois. He held the office until 1869. He was a fine speaker, a good lawyer and a man full of warm impulses and genial manner. His death occurred in 1875.

Hon. Archibald Williams was born in Montgomery county, Kentucky, June 10, 1801. Having received from his parents the first rudiments of an education, he was thrown upon his own resources early in life. He first engaged in manual labor, but being of a studious disposition, improved all his opportunities for self-cultivation, and finally turned his attention to teaching. His fondness for study caused him to select the law as his profession, and his position as a lawyer in after years showed the correctness of his selection. He ^vas admitted to the bar in Tennessee, in 1828, and moved to Quincy in 1829. During his first six years' practice he achieved the highest rank as a lawyer and jurist, and as a man of spotless charai^er. He was elected three times to the State Legislature. In 1847 he was selected against a Democrat, in a Democratic district, to serve in the Constitutional Convention. He was twice nominated by the Whigs as their choice for [Tnited States Senator, but the opposition being in the majority he was defeated. He was also a Whig candidate for Congress in the campaign immediately preceding the birth of the Republican party, and was defeated. He was offered a seat on the United States Supreme Bench, but refused because he felt that his advanced age made him disqualified for the office. In 1849 he was appointed by President Taylor, District Attorney for Illinois, and in 1861 he was appointed by President Lincoln, U. S. District Judge of Kansas. He was a man of strong convictions, but possessed a great respect for others' views and conclusions. He was generous, kind and forgiving, while his ability as a lawyer was second to none. He died at Quincy, Sept. 21, 1863, and leaves behind him the record of a noble and pure life.

In the early days of the settlement of the western part of Illinois, the bar and the court proceedings were not as well read as at the present day, but their good sense and quick judgment made ample amends for lack of book knowledge. ' As early as 1831 the judicial circuit of Quincy was a part included in the district in which Chicago was situated, and also the Galena district. The judge and lawyers usually made the circuit together, which was then performed on horseback. The cavalcade approaching a town in which court was to be held being the great event of the season, which was looked forward to by all, and afterwards proved the source of general conversation. Gen. John Tillson, in speaking of the early bar, its members and practice, says: Well was and is it known that during all the earlier periods of our State history, the prominence of the Quincy, or Bounty Tract, bar was an admitted Illinois fact. Here were taught, needed, developed the stalwart qualities that attach to and betoken the most complete fruition of legal excellence, as attained in the recognition, study, comprehension and application of the obtuse and limitless principles and history of that noblest portion of jurisprudence - land law.

On this broad field, years since inviting and fast filling with adventurous immigration, where existed land titles of every shade, affected by conflicting legislation, varying as the years, was gained the rare training and reputation of our legal athletes - an arena such as was found in no other section of the State; and in addition to these advantageous themes of practice, the professional necessities of the bar vastly aided its members in their advance to self-reliant supremacy. The reasons for this are novel but conclusive.

Law, in those past oflf days, demanded of its votaries different qualities from now. It exacted the instincts of the smarter men, of genius, and nerve and novelty. It was the intellectual over the educated that led the van. Of books there were few. Authorities and precedents slumbered not in the great handy libraries. The entire resources of the Bounty Tract could hardly to-day fill out the shelves of one ordinary lawyer's library. Hence alike, whether engaged in counsel or litigation, native resources, remembrance of the past reading, but mainly the readiness and aptitude with which legal principles, drawn from rudimental reading or educed by intuition, could be applied to any interest or exigence in ''the infinite variety of human concerns," were the only armories whence were drawn their needed weapons of assured success.

He was a luckless lawyer who had to hunt his books to settle a suddenly controverted point, or answer a bewildered client's query; and he was k licensed champion, who, theorizing from his instored legal lore, or instinctive acumen, knew on the instant where best to point his thrust, and was equally ready with every form of parry and defense. The offhand action and advice of such men, nerved by necessity and skilled by contest, became of course to be regarded almost like leaves of law.

One can thus somewhat realize what keen, pliant, incisive resource was attained by such careers; how inspiring and attractive were their conclusions; how refined, and subtle and sharpened their intellects must have become.

It should not be supposed that looseness, lack of accuracy or legal formula marked the rulings of the bench and l)ar. There was friendship and familiarty, it is true; because everybody knew everybody. The courthouses were shambling great log houses; their furniture, chairs and desks - split bottomed and unplaned - would have set a modern lawyer's feelings on edge; but the bench was always filled with character, knowledge and dignity, and the forensic ruling and requirement was governed by as much judicial precision and professional deference as would mfirk the records of the most pretentious tribunal in the land.

The bar, in those early days, was a sort of a family to itself. There was mutual acquaintance. All travelled the circuit, went to every county on court week, came from all quarters. Egypt and Galena had their representatives. Some went there because they had business; some because the wanted to get business, and all that they might learn.

In court, by practice and observation, was acquired much of knowledge that the paucity of books denied the student and young practitioner. Out of court their associations were like that of a debating society or law school. They mingled in common; ate, drank, smoked, joked, disputed together. The judge, at the tavern, had the spare room, if such a room there was, and the lawyers bunked cozily, dozens together, in the " omnibus," as the big, many-bedded room was called, and there they had it. Whatever of law point, past or present, pending or probable, could be raised, they went for it, discussed, dissected, worried, fought over it, until, whether convinced or not, all knew more than when they lirst commenced; and thus struggling over these made-up issues of debate, became sharped, by mutual attrition, the legal faculties that were panting for future and more serious contests. These lawyers were on exhibition and they knew it. Every man in the county came to town court week, if he could. There were but few people in the county then, and court week was the natural periodical time for the farmers to meet, swap stories, make trades, learn the news, hear the speeches, and form their own opinion as to which of these " tonguey fellers it is safest to give business to, or vote for for the Legislature." A pretty good idea of how universal was the gathering, of necessity at the county seats, in those primitive days, may be gleaned from the fact that at the assembling of tlie first court in Adams county, every man in Adams and Hancock (then a part of Adams) was either on the grand or petit jury except two - and one of them was, and perhaps both, under indictment. Most of them were young. They had jolly old times, those limbs of the law, jolly indeed. All were instinct with the very cream of zeal, enterprise and originality that inheres to a new community; and among them, jibe, jest, and fun, and yarn, and repartee, and sell were tossed about like meteoric showers.

An amusing incident is told, in which the judge, prosecuting attorney, and another member of the bar were traveling over the prairie, and, while lighting their pipes, either thoughtlessly or accidentally, set the grass on fire. It spread, swept towards tha timber, destroyed a settler's fences and improvements, and some luckless wight was indicted for the offense. The lawyer who formed one of the traveling party defended the culprit. The prosecuting attorney of course had his duties to perform to the furtherance of the ends of justice. The judge had the outraged interests of law to protect under the solemnity of his position and oath; but it required all the earnest efforts of the gifted counsel, all the generous rulings of the judge, all the blundering action of the prosecuting attorney, the united sympathies in fact, of this secretly sinning legal trinity, to prevent the jury from finding a verdict against the innocent accused.

Bar Association

State of Illinois, [ Adams County, j We, the vmdersigned, being citizens of the United States, desiring to form an association, not for pecuniary profit, pursuant to an act of the General Assembly of the State of

Illinois, entitled ''Au Act Concerning Corporations," approved April 18, 1872, do herehy certify that the followiuf^ is a true statement of the name or title bj- which such Association shall be known in law; the i)ai1icular business and olyect for which it is formed; the number of its managers, and the names of the same selected for the first year of its existence, viz ;

3. Particular business and object is, to establish and maintain the honor and dignit}'- of the profession of the law, to cultivate social intercourse among its members, and to increase its usefulnes in iiromoting the due administration of justice^

4. Names of managers selected for the lirst year; Orville H. Browning, Alexander E. Wheat, Frederick Y. Marcy, William Marsh, John H. Williams, Ira j\I. jMoore, Henry Asbury.

The constitntion adopted, after giving the name as above, and object of organization, provides for membership bj stating that any member of the legal profession, practicing, of good standing, in the city of Qnincy, may become a member, by a vote of the association.

The officers of the Association shall be a President, and a First and Second Vice-President, a secretary, a Treasurer, a Board of Managers of seven members, and a Committee on Admissions to consist of seven members. The officers, after the first election, shall be elected at the annual meeting, to be lield on the second Saturday of January in each year. ''~_ZThe Board of Managers and the Committee on Admissions first chosen under the By- Laws, shall divide themselves into three classes, the first to consist of three and the others of two members each. The first class of each Committee shall hold office for one'year; the second class, two years ; the third class, three years ; the first annual election and every third year thereafter shall be for three members, and all other elections shall be for two members of the Board of Managers and two of the Committee on xidmissions, to hold office three years.

A committee on the amendment of the law, which shall be charged with the duty of attention to all proposed changes in the law, and recommending such as, in their opinion, may be entitled to the favorable influence of this association.

A judiciarj' committee, which shall be charged with the dut}' of the observation of the working of our judicial system, the collection of information, the entertaining and examination of projects for a change or reform in the system, and of recommending, from time tf> time, to the association such action as they may deem expedient.

A committee on grievances, which shall be charged with the hearing of all complaints against members of the association, and also all complaints which may be made in matters affecting the interests of the legal profession and the practice of the law, and the administration of justice, and to report the same to this association, with such recommendation as thej' may deem advisable.

A committee on legal education, which shall be charged with the duty of examining and reporting what changes it is expedient to propose in the system of legal education, and of admission to the practice of the profession in the State of Illinois.

Board of Manrn/ers. - Orville H. Browning, Alexander E. Wheat, Frederick V. Marcy, Uriah H. Keath, Ira M. Moore, Henry Asbury, and William Marsh.

Committee on Admissions. - Ira M. IMoore, William G Ewing, Albert W. Wells, Joseph N. Carter, James F. Carrott, Rufus L. Miller, and George W. Fogg.

Standing Committees

Judiciary. - hXmei'on Wheat, Sen., William McFadon, and Laurence E. Emmons. On Grievances. - Joseph. C. Thompson, Uriah H. Keath, and Oscar P. Bonney. On Amendments of the Zaw. - Hope S. Davis, Bernard Arntzen, and William H. Govert. On Legal Education. - Frederick V. Marcy, William W. Berry, and Aaron McMurray.

The bar association have the nucleus of a law library, and have secured from the Board of Supervisors of Adams county the use of the library-room in the new court-house. This room in future will be used as a librarv and place of meeting of the Quincy Bar Association.