Henry County, Illinois - The whole text, 1885 (part 3 of 31)

At the last mentioned place young Grover commenced going to school in the " good, old-fashioned way," and presumably distinguished himself after the manner of all village boys, in doing the things he ought not to do. Such is the distinguishing trait of all geniuses and independent thinkers. When he arrived at the age of 14 years, he had outgrown the capacity of the village school and expressed a most emphatic desire to be sent to an academy. To this his father decidedly objected. Academies in those days cost money; besides, his father wanted him to become self-supporting by the quickest possible means, and this at that time in Fayetteville seemed to be a position in a country store, where his father and the large family on his hands had considerable influence. Grover was to be paid $50 for his services the first year, and if he proved trustworthy he was to receive $100 the second year. Here the lad commenced his career as salesman, and in two years he had earned so good a reputation for trustworthiness that his employers desired to retain him for an indefinite length of time. Otherwise he did not exhibit as yet any particular " flashes of genius " or eccentricities of talent. He was simply a good boy. But instead of remaining with this firm in Fayetteville, he went with the family in their removal to Clinton, where he had an opportunity of attending a high school. Here he industriously pursued his studies until the family removed with him to a point on Black River known as the " Holland Patent," a village of 500 or 600 people, 15 miles north of Utica, N. Y. At this place his father died, after preaching but three Sundays. This event broke up the family, and Grover set out for New York City to accept, at a small salary, the position of '' under-teacher " in an asylum for the blind. He taught faithfully for two years, and although he obtained a good reputation in this capacity, he concluded that teaching was not his calling for life, and, reversing the traditional order, he left the city to seek his fortune, instead of going to a city. He first thought of Cleveland, Ohio, as there was some charm in that name for him; but before proceeding to that place he went to Buffalo to ask the advice of his uncle, Lewis F. Allan, a noted stock-breeder of that place. The latter did not speak enthusiastically. " What is it you want to do, my boy ? " he asked. " Well, sir, I want to study law," was the reply. " Good gracious ! " remarked the old gentleman ; " do you, indeed ? What ever put that into your head? How much money have you got?" "Well, sir, to tell the truth, I haven't got any.

After a long consultation, his uncle offered him a place temporarily as assistant herd-keeper, at $50 a year, while he could "look around." One day soon afterward he boldly walked into the office of Rogers, Bowen & Rogers, of Buffalo, and told them what he wanted. A number of young men were already engaged in the office, but Grover's persistency won, and he was finally permitted to come as an office boy and have the use of the law library, for the nominal -sum of $3 or $4 a week. Out of this he had to pay for his board and washing. The walk to and from his uncle's was a long and rugged one ; and, although the first winter was a memorably severe one, his shoes were out of repair and his overcoat - he had none - yet he was nevertheless prompt and regular. On the first day of his service here, his senior employer threw down a copy of Blackstone before him with a bang that made the dust fly, saying "That's where they all begin." A titter ran around the little circle of clerks and students, as they thought that was enough to scare young Grover out of his plans ; but in due time he mastered that cumbersome volume. Then, as ever afterward, however, Mr. Cleveland exhibited a talent for executiveness rather than fewchasing principles through all their metaphysical possibilities. " Let us quit talking and go and do it," was practically his motto.

The first public office to which Mr. Cleveland was elected was that of Sheriff of Erie Co., N. Y., in which Buffalo is situated; and in such capacity it fell to his duty to inflict capital punishment upon two criminals. In 1881 he was elected Mayor of the City of Buffalo, on the Democratic ticket, with especial reference to the bringing about certain reforms in the administration of the municipal affairs of that city. In this office, as well as that of Sheriff, his performance of duty has generally been considered fair, with possibly a few exceptions which were ferreted out and magnified during the last Presidential campaign. As a specimen of his plain language in a veto message, we quote from one vetoing an iniquitous street-cleaning contract: "This is a. time for plain speech, and my objection to your action shall be plainly stated. I regard it as the culmination of a most bare-faced, impudent and shameless scheme to betray the interests of the people and to worse than squander the people's money." The New York Sun afterward very highly commended Mr. Cleveland's administration as Mayor of Buffalo, and thereupon recommended him for Governor of the Empire State. To the latter office he was elected in 1882, and his administration of the affairs of State was generally satisfactory. The mistakes he made, if any, were made very public throughout the nation after he was nominated for President of the United States. For this high office he was nominated July n, 1884, by the National Democratic Convention at Chicago, when other competitors were Thomas F. Bayard, Roswell P. Flower, Thomas A. Hendricks, Benjamin F. Butler, Allen G. Thurman, etc.; and he was elected by the people, by a majority of about a thousand, over the brilliant and long-tried Republican statesman, James G. Blaine. President Cleveland resigned his office as Governor of New York in January, 1885, in order to prepare for .his duties as the Chief Executive of the United States, in which capacity his term commenced at noon on the 4th of March, 1885. For his Cabinet officers he selected the following gentlemen: For Secretary of State, Thomas F. Bayard, of Delaware ; Secretary of the Treasury, Daniel Manning, of New York ; Secretary of War, William C. Endicott, of Massachusetts ; Secretary of the Navy, William C. Whitney, of New York ; Secretary of the Interior, L. Q. C. Lamar, of Mississippi; Postmaster-General, William F. Vilas, of Wisconsin ; Attorney-General, A. H. Garland, of Arkansas.

The silver question precipitated a controversy between those who were in favor of the continuance of silver coinage and those who were opposed, Mr. Cleveland answering for the latter, even before his inauguration,

HADRACH BOND, the first Governor of Illinois after its organization as a State, serving from 1818 to 1822, was born in Frederick County, Maryland, in the year 1773, and was raised a farmer on his father's plantation, receiving only a plain English education. He emigrated to this State in 1794, when it was a part of the "Northwest Territory," continuing in the vocation in which he had been brought up in his native State, in the " New Design," near Eagle Creek, in what is now Monroe County. He served several terms as a member of the General Assembly of Indiana Territory, after it was organized as such, and in 1812-14 he was a Delegate to the Twelfth and Thirteenth Congresses, taking his seat Dec. 3, 1812, and serving until Oct. 3, 1814. These were the times, the reader will recollect, when this Government had its last struggle with Great Britain. The year 1812 is also noted in the history of this State as that in which the first Territorial Legislature was held. It convened at Kaskaskia, Nov. 25, and adjourned Dec. 26, following.

While serving as Delegate to Congress, Mr. Bond was instrumental in procuring the right of pre-emption on the public domain. On the expiration of his term at Washington he was appointed Receiver of Public Moneys at Kaskaskia, then the capital of the Territory. In company with John G. Comyges,

Thomas H. Harris, Charles Slade, Michael Jones, Warren Brown, Edward Humphries and Charles W. Hunter, he became a proprietor of the site of the initial city of Cairo, which they hoped, from its favorable location at the junction of the two great rivers near the center of the Great West, would rapidly develop into a metropolis. To aid the enterprise, they obtained a special charter from the Legislature, incorporating both the City and the Bank of Cairo.

In i8r8 Mr. Bond was elected the first Governor of the State of Illinois, being inaugurated Oct. 6, that year, which was several weeks before Illinois was actually admitted. The facts are these: In January, 1818, the Territorial Legislature sent a petition to Congress for the admission of Illinois as a State, Nathaniel Pope being then Delegate. The petition was granted, fixing the northern line of the State on the latitude of the southern extremity of Lake Michigan ; but the bill was afterward so amended as to extend this line to its present latitude. In July a convention was called at Kaskaskia to draft a constitution, which, however, was not submitted to the people. By its provisions, supreme judges, prosecuting attorneys, county and circuit judges, recorders and justices of the peace were all to be appointed by the Governor or elected by the Legislature. This constitution was accepted by Congress Dec. 30. At that time Illinois comprised but eleven counties, namely, Randolph, Madison, Gallatin, Johnson, Pope, Jackson, Crawford, Bond, Union, Washington and Franklin, the northern portion of the State being mainly in Madison County. Thus it appears that Mr, Bond was honored by the naming of -a, county before he was elected Governor. The present county of Bond is of small limitations, about 60 to 80 miles south of Springfield. For Lieutenant Governor the people chose Pierre Menard, a prominent and worthy Frenchman, after whom a county in this State is named. In this election there were no opposition candidates, as the popularity of these men had made their promotion to the chief offices of the Slate, even before the constitution was drafted, a foregone conclusion.

The principal points that excited the people in reference to political issues at this period were local or "internal improvements," as they were called, State banks, location of the capital, slavery and the personal characteristics of the proposed candidates. Mr. Bond represented the " Convention party," for introducing slavery into the State, supported by Elias Kent Kane, his Secretary of State, and John Mc- Lean, while Nathaniel Pope and John P. Cook led the anti-slavery element. The people, however, did not become very much excited over this issue until 1820, when the famous Missouri Compromise was adopted by Congress, limiting slavery to the south of the parallel of 36° 30' except in Missouri. While this measure settled the great slavery controversy, so far as the average public sentiment was temporarily concerned, until 1854, when it was repealed under the leadership of Stephen A. Douglas, the issue as considered locally in this State was not decided until 1824, after a most furious campaign. (See sketch of Gov. Coles.) The ticket of 181 8 was a compromise one, Bond representing (moderately) the pro-slavery sentiment and Menard the' anti-slavery. An awkward element in the State government under Gov. Bond's administration, was the imperfection of the State constitution. The Convention wished to have Elijah C. Berry for the first Auditor of Public Accounts, but, as it was believed that the new Governor would not appoint him to the office, the Convention declared in a schedule that "an auditor of public accounts, an attorney general and such other officers of the State as may be necessary, may be appointed by the General Assembly." The Constitution, as it stood, vested a very large appointing power in the Governor ; but for the purpose of getting one man into office, a total change was made, and the power vested in the Legislature. Of this provision the Legislature took advantage, and declared that State's attorneys, canal commissioners, bank directors, etc., were all " officers of the State " and must therefore be appointed by itself independently of the Governor.

During Gov. Bond's administration a general law was passed for the incorporation of academies and towns, and one authorizing lotteries. The session of 1822 authorized the Governor to appoint commissioners, to act in conjunction with like commissioners appointed by the State of Indiana, to report on the practicability and expediency of improving the navigation of the Wabash River; also inland navigation generally. Many improvements were recommended, some of which have been feebly worked at even till the present day, those along the Wabash being of no value. Also, during Gov. Bond's term of office, the capital of the State was removed from Kaskaskia to Vandalia. In 1820 a law was passed by Congress authorizing this State to open a canal through the public lands. The State appointed commissioners lo explore the route and prepare the necessary surveys and estimates, preparatory to its execution; but, being unable out of its own resources to defray the expenses of the undertaking, it was abandoned xd? until some time after Congress made the grant of land for the purpose of its construction.

On the whole, Gov. Bond's administration was fairly good, not being open to severe criticism from any party. In 1824, two years after the expiration of his term of office, he was brought out as a candidate for Congress against the formidable John P. Cook, but received only 4,374 votes to 7,460 for the latter. Gov. Bond was no orator, but had made many fast friends by a judicious bestowment of his gubernatorial patronage, and these worked zealously for him in the campaign.

In 1827 ex-Gov. Bond was appointed by the Legislature, with Wm. P. McKee and Dr. Gershom Jayne, as Commissioners to locate a site for a penitentiary on the Mississippi at or near Alton.

Mr. Bond was of a benevolent and convivial disposition, a man of shrewd observation and clear ap- y preciation of events. His person was erect, standing six feet in height, and after middle life became portly, weighing 200 pounds. His features were strongly masculine, complexion dark, hair jet and eyes hazel ; was a favorite with the ladies. He died April ir, r83o, in peace and contentment.

Go Vernors Of Illinois

DWARD COLES, second Governor of Illinois, 1823- 6, was born Dec. 15, 1786, in Albemarle Co., Va., on the old family estate called "Enniscorthy," on the Green Mountain. His father, John Coles, was a Colonel in the Revolutionary War. Having been fitted for college by private tutors, he was sent to Hampden Sidney, where he remained until the autumn of 1805, when he was removed to William and Mary College, at Williamsburg, Va. This college he left in the summer of 1807, a short time before the final and graduating examination. Among his classmates were Lieut. Gen. Scott, President John Tyler, Wm. S. Archer, United States Senator from Virginia, and Justice Baldwin, of the United States Supreme Court. The President of the latter college, Bishop Madison, was a cousin of President James Madison, and that circumstance was the occasion of Mr. Coles becoming personally acquainted with the President and receiving a position as his private secretary, 1809-15. The family of Coles was a prominent one in Virginia, and their mansion was the seat of the oldfashioned Virginian hospitality. It was visited by such notables as Patrick Henry, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, the Randolphs, Tazewell, Wirt, etc. At the age of 23, young Coles found himself heir to a plantation and a considerable number of slaves. Ever since his earlier college days his attention had been drawn to the question of slavery. He read everything on the subject that came in his way, and listened to lectures on the rights of man. The more he reflected upon the subject, the more impossible was it for him to reconcile the immortal declaration "that all men are born free and equal " with the practice of slave-holding. He resolved, therefore, to free his slaves the first opportunity, and even remove his residence to a free State. One reason which der termined him to accept the appointment as private secretary to Mr. Madison was because he believed that through the acquaintances he could make at Washington he could better determine in what part of the non-slaveholding portion of the Union he would prefer to settle.

The relations between Mr. Coles and President Madison, as well as Jefferson and other distinguished men, were of a very friendly character, arising from the similarity of their views on the question of slavery and their sympathy for each other in holding doctrines so much at variance with the prevailing sentiment in their own State.

In 1857, he resigned his secretaryship and spent a portion of the following autumn in exploring the Northwest Territory, for the purpose of finding a location and purchasing lands on which to settle his negroes. He traveled with a horse and buggy, with an extra man and horse for emergencies, through many parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, determining finally to settle in Illinois. At this time, however, a misunderstanding arose between our Government and Russia, and Mr. Coles was selected to repair to St. Petersburg on a special mission, bearing important papers concerning the matter at issue. The result was a conviction of the Emperor (Alex- ander) of the error committed by his minister at Washington, and the consequent withdrawal of the the latter from the post. On his return, Mr. Coles visited other parts of Europe, especially Paris, where he was introduced to Gen. Lafayette.

In the spring of 1819, he removed with all his negroes from Virginia to Edwardsville, 111., with the intention of giving them their liberty. He did not make known to them his intention until one beautiful morning in April, as they were descending the Ohio River.- He lashed all the boats together and called all the negroes on deck and made them a short address, concluding his remarks by so expressing himself that by a turn of a sentence he proclaimed in the shortest and fullest manner that they were no longer slaves, but free as he was and were at liberty to proceed with him or go ashore at their pleasure. A description of the effect upon the negroes is best desciibed in his own language :

" The effect upon them was electrical. They stared at me and then at each other, as if doubting the accuracy or reality of what they heard. In breathless /+> silence they stood before me, unable to utter a word, \ but with countenances beaming with expression which > no words could convey, and which no language ^Qs can describe. As they began to see the truth of i=i what they had heard, and realize their situation, there 5? came on a kind of hysterical, giggling laugh. After *a; a pause of intense and unutterable emotion, bathed rat in tears, and with tremulous voices, they gave vent to \£b their gratitude and implored the blessing of God of freedom, and afterward conformed more particularly with the law of this State requiring that each individual should have a certificate. This act of Mr. Coles, all the more noble and heroic considering the overwhelming pro-slavery influences surrounding him, has challenged the admiration of every philanthropist of modern times.

March 5, 1819, President Monroe appointed Mr. Coles Registrar of the Land Office at Edwardsville, at that time one of the principal land offices in the State. While acting in this, capacity and gaining many friends by his politeness and general intelligence, the greatest struggle that ever occurred in Illinois on the slavery question culminated in the furious contest characterizing the campaigns and elections of 1822-4. In tne summer of 1823, when a new Governor was to be elected to succeed Mr. Bond, the pro-slavery element divided into factions, putting forward for the executive office Joseph Phillips, Chief Justice of the State, Thomas C. Browne and Gen. James B. Moore, of the State Militia. The anti-slavery element united upon Mr. Coles, and, after one of the most bitter campaigns, succeeded in electing him as Governor. His plurality over Judge Phillips was only 59 in a total vote of over 8,000. The Lieutenant Governor was elected by the slavery men. Mr. Coles' inauguration speech was marked by calmness, deliberation and such a wise expression of appropriate suggestions as to elicit the sanction of all judicious politicians. But he compromised not with evil. In his message to the Legislature, the seat of Government being then at Vandalia, he strongly urged the abrogation of the modified form of slavery which then existed in this State, contrary to the Ordinance of 1787. His position on this subject seems the more remarkable, when it is considered that he was a minority Goverrjor, the population of Illinois being at that time almost exclusively from slave-holding States and by a large majority in favor of the perpetuation of that old relic of barbarism. The Legislature itself was, of course, a reflex of the popular sentiment, and a majority of them were led on by fiery men in denunciations of the conscientious Governor, and in curses loud and deep upon him and all his friends. Some of the public men, indeed, went so far as to head a sort of mob, or " shiveree " party, who visited the residence of the Governor and others at Vandalia and yelled and groaned and spat fire.

The Constitution, not establishing or permitting slavery in this State, was thought therefore to be defective by the slavery politicians, and they desired a State Convention to be elected, to devise and submit a new Constitution; and the dominant politics of the day was " Convention " and " anti-Convention." Both parties issued addresses to the people, Gov. Coles himself being the author of the address published by the latter party. This address revealed the schemes of the conspirators in a masterly manner. It is difficult for us at this distant day to estimate the critical and extremely delicate situation in which the Governor was placed at that time.

Our hero maintained himself honorably and with supreme dignity throughout his administration, and in his honor a county in this State is named. He was truly a great man, and those who lived in this State during his sojourn here, like those who live at the base of the mountain, were too near to see and recognize the greatness that overshadowed them.

Mr. Coles was married Nov. 28, 1833, by Bishop De Lancey, to Miss Sally Logan Roberts, a daughter of Hugh Roberts, a descendant of Welsh ancestry, who came to this country with Wm. Penn in 1682.

After the expiration of his term of service, Gov. Coles continued his residence in Edwardsville, superintending his farm in the vicinity. He was fond of agriculture, and was the founder of the first agricultural society in the State. On account of ill health, however, and having no family to tie him down, he spent much of his time in Eastern cities. About 1832 he changed his residence to Philadelphia, where he died July 7, 1868, and is buried at. Woodland, near that city.

INIAN EDWARDS, Governor from 1827 to 1830, was a son of Benjamin Edwards, and was born in Montgomery County, Maryland, in March, 1775. His domestic training was well fitted to give his mind strength, firmness and honorable principles, and a good foundation was laid for the elevated character to which he afterwards attained. His parents were Baptists, and very strict in their moral principles. His education in early youth was in company with and partly under the tuition of Hon. Wm. Wirt, whom his father patronized and who was more than two years older. An intimacy was thus formed between them which was lasting for life. He was further educated at Dickinson College, at Carlisle, Pa. He next commenced the study of law, but before completing his course he moved to Nelson County, Ky., to open a farm for his father and to purchase homes and locate lands for his brothers and sisters. Here he fell in the company of dissolute companions, and for several years led the life of a spendthrift. He was, however, elected to the Legislature of Kentucky as the Representative of Nelson County before he was 2 1 years of age, and was reelected by an almost unanimous vote.

In 1798 he was licensed to practice law, and the following year was admitted to the Courts of Tennessee. About this time he left Nelson County for Russellville, in Logan County, broke away from his dissolute companions, commenced a reformation and devoted himself to severe and laborious study. He then began to rise rapidly in his profession, and soon became an eminent lawyer, and inside of four years he filled in succession the offices of Presiding Judge of the General Court, Circuit Judge, fourth Judge of the Court of Appeals and Chief Justice of the State, - all before he was 32 years of age ! In addition, in r8o2, he received a commission as Major of a battalion of Kentucky militia, and in 1 804 was chosen a Presidential Elector, on the Jefferson and Clinton ticket. In 1806 he was a candidate for Congress, but withdrew on being promoted to the Court of Appeals.

Illinois was organized as a separate Territory in the spring of 1809, when Mr. Edwards, then Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals in Kentucky, received from President Madison the appointment as Governor of the new Territory, his commission bearing date April 24, r8o9. Edwards arrived at Kaskaskia in June, and on the 1 ith of that month took the oath of office. At the same time he was appointed Superin tendent of the United States Saline, this Government ! ! interest then developing into considerable proportions » - in Southern Illinois. Although during the first three fr "j years of his administration he had the power to make 0 \ new counties and appoint all the officers, yet he always (9) allowed the people of each county, by an informal ^ vote, to select their own officers, both civil and military. The noted John J. Crittenden, afterward United States Senator from Kentucky, was appointed by Gev. Edwards to the office of Attorney General of the Territory, which office was accepted for a short time only.

The Indians in 1810 committing sundry depredations in the Territory, crossing the Mississippi from the Territory of Louisiana, a long correspondence followed between the respective Governors concerning the remedies, which ended in a council with the savages at Peoria in 1812, and a fresh interpretation of the treaties. Peoria was depopulated by these depredations, and was not re-settled for many .years afterward.

As Gov. Edwards' term of office expired by law in 1812, he was re-appointed for another term of three years, and again in i8r5 for a third term, serving until the organization of the State in the fall of 1818 and the inauguration of Gov. Bond. At this time ex-Gov. Edwards was sent to the United States Senate, his colleague being Jesse B. Thomas. As Senator, Mr. Edwards took a conspicuous part, and acquitted himself honorably in all the measures that came up in that body, being well posted, an able debater and a conscientious statesman. He thought seriously of resigning this situation in i82r, but was persuaded by his old friend, Wm. Wirt, and others to continue in office, which he did to the end of the term.

He vwas then appointed Minister to Mexico by President Monroe. About this time, it appears that Mr. Edwards saw suspicious signs in the conduct of Wm. H. Crawford, Secretary of the United States Treasury, and an ambitious candidate for the Presidency, and being implicated by the latter in some of his statements, he resigned his Mexican mission in order fully to investigate the charges. The result was the exculpation of Mr. Edwards.

Pro-slavery regulations, often termed "Black Laws," disgraced the statute books of both the Territory and the State of Illinois during the whole of his career in this commonwealth, and Mr. Edwards always maintained the doctrines of freedom, and was an important actor in the great struggle which ended in a victory for his party in 1824.

State, and the white settlers, who desired the lands and wished to exasperate the savages into an evacuation of the country, magnified the misdemeanors of the aborigines and thereby produced a hostility between the races so great as to precipitate a little war, known in history as the "Winnebago War." A few chases and skirmishes were had, when Gen. Atkinson succeeded in capturing Red Bird, the Indian chief, and putting him to death, thus ending the contest, at least until the troubles commenced which ended in the " Black Hawk War " of 1832. In the interpretation of treaties and execution of their provisions Gov. Edwards had much vexatious work to do. The Indians kept themselves generally within the jurisdiction of Michigan Territory, and its Governor, Lewis Cass, was at a point so remote that ready correspondence with him was difficult or impossible. Gov. Edwards' administration, however, in regard to the protection of the Illinois frontier, seems to have been very efficient and satisfactory.

For a considerable portion of his time after his removal to Illinois, Gov. Edwards resided upon his farm near Kaskaskia, which he had well stocked with horses, cattle aud sheep from Kentucky, also with fruit-trees, grape-vines and shrubbery. He established saw and grist-mills, and engaged extensively in mercantile business, having no less than eight or ten stores in this State and Missouri. Notwithstanding the arduous duties of his office, he nearly always purchased the goods himself with which to supply the stores. Although not a regular practitioner of medicine, he studied the healing art to a considerable extent, and took great pleasure in prescribing for, and taking care of, the sick, generally without charge. He was also liberal to the poor, several widows and ministers of the gospel becoming indebted to him even for their homes.

He married Miss Elvira Lane, of Maryland, in 1803, and they became the affectionate parents of several children, one of whom, especially, is well known to the people of the " Prairie State," namely, Ninian Wirt Edwards, once the Superintendent of Public Instruction and still a resident of Springfield. Gov. Edwards resided at and in the vicinity of Kas_- kaskiafrom 180910 1818; in Edwardsville (named after him) from that time to 1824; and from the latter date at Belleville, St. Clair County, until his death, July 20, 1833, of Asiatic cholera. Edwards County is also named in his honor.

4, was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Feb. 26, 1788. His father, Robert Reynolds and his mother, nee Margaret Moore, were both natives of Ireland, from which country they emigrated to the United States in 1785, landing at Philadelphia. The senior Reynolds entertained an undying hostility to the British Government. When the subject of this sketch was about six months old, his parents emigrated with him to Tennessee, where many of their relatives had already located, at the base of the Copper Ridge Mountain, about 14 miles northeast of the present city of Knoxville. There they were exposed to Indian depredations, and were much molested by them. In 1794 they moved into the interior of the State. They were poor, and brought up their children to habits of manual industry.

In 1800 the family removed to Kaskaskia, 111., with eight horses and two wagons, encountering many hardships on the way. Here young Reynolds passed the most of his childhood, while his character began to develop, the most prominent traits of which were ambition and energy. He also adopted the principle and practice of total abstinence from intoxicating liquors. In 1807 the family made another removal,

On arriving at his 20th year, Mr. Reynolds, seeing that he must look about for his own livelihood and not yet having determined what calling to pursue, concluded first to attend college, and he accordingly went to such an institution of learning, near Knoxville, Tenn., where he had relatives. Imagine his diffidence, when, after passing the first 20 years of his life without ever having seen a carpet, a papered wall or a Windsor chair, and never having lived in a shingle-roofed house, he suddenly ushered himself into the society of the wealthy in the vicinity of Knoxville! He attended college nearly two years, going through the principal Latin authors; but it seems that he, like the rest of the world in modern times, had but very little use for his Latin in after life. He always failed, indeed, to exhibit any good degree of literary discipline. He commenced the study of law in Knoxville, but a pulmonary trouble came on and compelled him to change his mode of life. Accordingly he returned home and recuperated, and in 1812 resumed his college and law studies at Knoxville. In the fall of 1 812 he was admitted to the Bar at Kaskaskia. About this time he also learned the French language, which he practiced with pleasure in conversation with his family for many years. He regarded this language as being superior to all others for social intercourse.

John Reynolds

From his services in the West, in the war of 18 12, he obtained the sobriquet of the " Old Ranger." He was Orderly Sergeant, then Judge Advocate.

Mr. Reynolds opened his first law office in the winter and spring of 1814, in the French village of Cahokia, then the capital of St. Clair County.

In the fall of 18 1 8 he was elected an Associate Justice upon the Supreme Bench by the General Assembly. In 1825 he entered more earnestly than ever into the practice of law, and the very next year was elected a member of the Legislature, where he acted independently of all cliques and private interests. In 1828 the Whigs and Democrats were for the first time distinctively organized as such in Illinois, and the usual party bitterness grew up and raged on all sides, while Mr. Reynolds preserved a judicial calmness and moderation. The real animus of the campaign was " Jackson " and " anti- Jackson," the former party carrying the State.

In August, 1830, Mr. Reynolds was elected Governor, amid great excitement. Installed in office, he did all within his power to advance the cause of education, internal improvements, the Illinois & Michigan Canal, the harbor at Chicago, settling the country, etc.; also recommended the winding up of the State Bank, as its affairs had become dangerously complicated. In his national politics, he was a moderate supporter of General Jackson. But the most celebrated event of his gubernatorial administration was the Black Hawk War, which occurred in 1832. He called out the militia and prosecuted the contest with commendable diligence, appearing in person on the battle-grounds during the most critical periods. He was recognized by the President as Major-General, and authorized by him to make treaties with the Indians. By the assistance of the general Government the war was terminated without much bloodshed, but after many serious fights. This war, as well as everything else, was materially retarded by the occurrence of Asiatic cholera in the West. This was its first appearance here, and was the next event in prominence during Gov. Reynolds' term.

South Carolina nullification coming up at this time, it was heartily condemned by both President Jackson and Gov. Reynolds, who took precisely the same grounds as the Unionists in the last war.

On the termination of his gubernatorial term in 1834, Gov. Reynolds was elected a Member of Congress, still considering himself a backwoodsman, as he had scarcely been outside of the State since he became of age, and had spent nearly all his youthful days in the wildest region of the frontier. His first move in Congress was to adopt a resolution that in all elections made by the House for officers the votes should be given viva voce, each member in his place naming aloud the person for whom he votes. This created considerable heated discussion, but was es- sentially adopted, and remained the controlling principle for many years. The ex-Governor was scarcely absent from his seat a single day, during eight sessions of Congress, covering a period of seven years, and he never vacillated in a party vote; but he failed to get the Democratic party to foster his " National Road" scheme. He says, in "My Own Times" (a large autobiography he published), that it was only by rigid economy that he avoided insolvency while in Washington. During his sojourn in that city he was married, to a lady of the place.

In 1837, while out of Congress, and in company with a few others, he built the first railroad in the Mississippi Valley, namely, one about six miles long, leading from his coal mine in the Mississippi bluff to the bank of the river opposite St. Louis. Having not the means to purchase a locomotive, they operated it by horse-power. The next spring, however, the company sold out, at great sacrifice.

In T839 the ex-Governor was appointed one of the Canal Commissioners, and authorized to borrow money to prosecute the enterprise. Accord'ngly, he repaired to Philadelphia and succeeding in obtaining a million dollars, which, however, was only a fourth of what was wanted. The same year he and his wife made at our of Europe. This year, also, Mr. Reynolds had the rather awkward little responsibility of introducing to President Van Buren the noted Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith, as a " Latter-Day Saint!"

In 1846 Gov. Reynolds was elected a member of the Legislature from St. Clair County, more particularly for the purpose of obtaining a feasible charter for a macadamized road from Belleville to St. Louis, a distance of nearly 14 miles. This was immediately built, and was the first road of the kind in the State. He was again elected to the Legislature in 1852, when he was chosen Speaker of the House. In i860, aged and infirm, he attended the National Democratic Convention at Charleston, S. C, as an anti-Douglas Delegate, where he received more attention from the Southern Delegates than any other member. He supported Breckenridge for the Presidency.- After the October elections foreshadowed the success of Lincoln, he published an address urging the Democrats to rally to the support of Douglas. Immediately preceding and during the late war, his correspondence evinced a clear sympathy for the Southern secession, and about the first of March, 1861, he urged upon the Buchanan officials the seizure of the treasure and arms in the custom-house and arsenal at St. Louis. Mr. Reynolds was a rather talkative man, and apt in all the Western phrases and catchwords that ever gained currency, besides many cunning and odd ones of his own manufacture.

Illiam Lee D. Ewing

ILLIAM LEE D. EWING, Governor of Illinois Nov. 3 to 17, 1834, was a native of Kentucky, and probably of Scotch ancestry. He had a fine education, was a gentleman of polished manners and refined sentiment. In 1830 John Reynolds was elected Governor of the State, and Zadok Casey Lieutenant Governor, and for the principal events that followed, and the characteristics of the times, see sketch of Gov. Reynolds. The first we see in history concerning Mr. Ewing, informs us that he was a Receiver of Public Moneys at Vandalia soon after the organization of this State, and that the public moneys in his hands were deposited in various banks, as they are usually at the present day. In 1823 the State Bank was robbed, by which disaster Mr. Ewing lost a thousanddollar deposit.

The subject of this sketch had a commission as Colonel in the Black Hawk War, and in emergencies he acted also as Major. In the summer of 1832, when it was rumored among the whites that Black Hawk and his men had encamped somewhere on Rock River, Gen. Henry was sent on a tour of reconnoisance, and with orders to drive the Indians from the State. After some opposition from his subordinate officers, Henry resolved to proceed up Rock River in search of the enemy. On the 19th of July, early in the morning, five baggage wagons, camp equipage and all heavy and cumbersome articles were piled up and left, so that the army might make speedy and forced marches. For some miles the travel was exceedingly bad, crossing swamps and the worst thickets; but the large, fresh trail gave life and animation to the Americans. Gen. Dodge and Col. Ewing were both acting as Majors, and composed the " spy corps " or vanguard of the army. It is supposed the army marched nearly 50 miles this day, and the Indian trail they followed became fresher, and was strewed with much property and trinkets of the red-skins that they had lost or thrown away to hasten their march. During the following night there was a terrific thunder-storm, and the soldiery, with all their appurtenances, were thoroughly drenched.

On approaching nearer the Indians the next day. Gen. Dodge and Major Ewing, each commanding a battalion of men, were placed in front to bring on the battle, but the savages were not overtaken this day Forced marches were continued until they reached. Wisconsin River, where a veritable battle ensued, resulting in the death of about 68 of Black Hawk's men. The next day they continued the chase, and as soon as he discovered the trail of the Indians leading toward the Mississippi, Maj. Ewing formed his battalion in order of battle and awaited the order of Gen. Henry. The latter soon appeared on the ground and ordered a charge, which directly resulted in chasing the red warriors across the great river. Maj. Ewing and his command proved particularly efficient in war, as it seems they were the chief actors in driving the main body of the Sacs and Foxes, in- eluding Black Hawk himself, across the Mississippi, while Gen. Atkinson, commander-in-chief of the expedition, with a body of the army, was hunting for them in another direction.

It was in the latter part of the same year (1832) that Lieutenant Governor Casey was elected to Congress and Gen. Ewing, who had been elected to the Senate, was chosen to preside over that body. At the August election of 1834, Gov. Reynolds was also elected to Congress, more than a year ahead of the time at which he could actually take his seat, as was then the law. His predecessor, Charles Slade, had just died of Asiatic cholera, soon after the election, and Gov. Reynolds was chosen to serve out his unexpired term. Accordingly he set out for Washington in November of that year to take his seat in Congress, and Gen. Ewing, by virtue of his office as President of the Senate, became Governor of the State of Illinois, his term covering only a period of 15 days, namely, from the 3d to the 17th days, inclusive, of November. On the 17th the Legislature met, and Gov. Ewing transmitted to that body his message, giving a statement of the condition of the affairs of the State at that time, and urging a continuance of the policy adopted by his predecessor ; and on the same day Governor elect Joseph Duncan was sworn into office, thus relieving Mr. Ewing from

On the 29th of December, 1835, Gen. Ewing was elected a United States Senator to serve out the unexpired term of Elias Kent Kane, deceased. The latter gentleman was a very prominent figure in the early politics of Illinois, and a county in this State is named in his honor. The election of Gen. Ewing to the Senate was a protracted struggle., His competitors were James Semple, who afterwards held several important offices .in this State, and Richard M. Young, afterward a United States Senator and a Supreme Judge and a man of vast influence. On the first ballot Mr. Semple had 25 votes, Young 19 and Ewing 18. On the eighth ballot Young was dropped ; the ninth and tenth stood a tie ; but on the 1 2th Ewing received 40, to Semple 37, and was accordingly declared elected. In 1837 Mr. Ewing received some votes for a continuance of his term in Congress, when Mr. Young, just referred to, was elected. In 1842 Mr. Ewing was elected State Auditor on the ticket with Gov. Ford.

Gen. Ewing was a gentleman of culture, a lawyer by profession, and was much in publicjife. In person he was above medium hefght and of heavy build, with auburn hair, blue eyes, large-sized head and short face. He was genial, social, friendly and affable, with fair talent, though of no high degree of originality. He died March 25, 1846.

OSEPH DUNCAN, Governor 1834-8, was born at Paris, Ky., Feb. 23, 1794. At. the tender age of 19 years he enlisted in the war against Great Britain, and as a soldier he acquitted himself with credit. He was an Ensign under the dauntless Croghan at Lower Sandusky, or Fort Stephenson. In Illinois he first appeared in a public capacity as Major-General of the Militia, a -position which his military fame had procured him. Subsequently he became a State Senator from Jackson County, and is honorably mentioned for introducing the first bill providing for a free-school system. In 1826, when the redoubtable John P. Cook, who had previously beaten such men as John McLean, Elias Kent Kane and ex- Gov. Bond, came up for the fourth time for Congress, Mr. Duncan was brought forward against him by his friends, greatly to the surprise of all the politicians. As yet he was but little known in the State. He was an original Jackson man at that time, being attached to his political fortune in admiration of the glory of his military achievements. His chances of success against Cook were generally regarded as hopeless, but he entered upon the campaign undaunted. His speeches, though short' and devoid of ornament, were full of good sense. He made a diligent canvass of the State, Mr. Cook being hindered by the condition of his health. The most that was expected of Mr. Duncan, under the circumstances, was that he would obtain a respectable vote, but without defeating Mr. Cook. The result of the campaign, however, was a source of surprise and amazement to both friends and foes, as Mr. Duncan came out 641 votes ahead! He received 6,32 r votes, and Mr. Cook 5,680. Until this denouement, the violence of party feeling smoldering in the breasts of the people on account of the defeat of Jackson, was not duly appreciated. Aside from the great convention struggle of 1824, no other than mere local and personal considerations had ever before controlled an election in Illinois.

From the above date Mr. Duncan retained his seat in Congress until his election as Governor in August, 1834. The first and bloodless year of the Black Hawk War he was appointed by Gov. Reynolds to the position of Brigadier-General of the volunteers, and he conducted his brigade to Rock Island. But he was absent from the State, in Washington, during the gubernatorial campaign, and did not personally participate in it, but addressed circulars to his constituents. His election was, indeed, attributed tq the circumstance of his absence, because his estrangement from Jackson, formerly his political idol, and also from the Democracy, largely in ascendency in the State, was complete ; but while his defection was well known to his Whig friends, and even to the leading Jackson men of this State, the latter were unable to carry conviction of that fact to the masses, as mail and newspaper facilities at that day were far inferior to those of the present time. Of course the Governor was much abused afterward by the fossilized Jackson men who regarded party ties and affiliations as above all other issues that could arise; but he was doubtless sincere in his opposition to the old hero, as the latter had vetoed several important western measures which were dear to Mr. Duncan. In his inaugural message he threw off the mask and took a bold stand against the course of the President. The measures he recommended in his message, however, were so desirable that the Legislature, although by a large majority consisting of Jackson men, could not refrain from endorsing them. These measures related mainly to banks and internal improvements.

It was while Mr. Duncan was Governor that the people of Illinois went whirling on with bank and internal improvement schemes that well nigh bankrupted the State. The hard times of 1837 came on, and the disasters that attended the inauguration of these plans and the operation of the banks were mutually charged upon the two political parties. Had any one man autocratic power to introduce and carry on any one of these measures, he would probably have succeeded to the satisfaction of the public ; but as many jealous men had hold of the same plow handle, no success followed and each blamed the other for the failure. In this great vortex Gov. Duncan was carried along, suffering the like derogation of character with his fellow citizens.

At the height of the excitement the Legislature " provided for " railroads from Galena to Cairo, Alton to Shawneetown, Alton to Mount Carmel, Alton to the eastern boundary of the State in the direction of Terre Haute, Quincy via Springfield to the Wabash, Bloomington to Pekin, and Peoria to Warsaw, - in all about 1,300 miles of road. It also provided for the improvement of the navigation of the Kaskaskia, Illinois, Great and Little Wabash and Rock Rivers ; also as a placebo, $200,000 in money were to be distributed to the various counties wherein no improvements were ordered to be made as above. The estimate for the expenses for all these projects was placed at a little over $10,000,000, which was not more than half enough ! That would now be equal to saddling upon the State a debt of $225,000,000 ! It was sufficient to bankrupt the State several times over, even counting all the possible benefits.

One of the most exciting events that ever occurred in this fair State was the murder of Elijah P. Lovejoy in the fall of 1837, at Alton, during Mr. Duncan's term as Governor. Lovejoy was an " Abolitionist," editing the Observer at that place, and the proslavery slums there formed themselves into a mob, and after destroying successively three presses belonging to Mr. Lovejoy, surrounded the warehouse where the fourth press was stored away, endeavoring to destroy it, and where Lovejoy and his friends were entrenching themselves, and shot and killed the brave reformerJ

About this time, also, the question of removing the State capital again came up, as the 20 years' limit for its existence at Vandalia was drawing to a close. There was, of course, considerable excitement over the matter, the two main points competing for it being Springfield and Peoria. The jealousy of the latter place is not even yet, 45 years afterward, fully allayed.

Gov. Duncan's term expired in 1838. In 1842 he was again proposed as a candidate for the Executive chair, this time by the Whig party, against Adam W. Snyder, of St. Clair County, the nominee of the Democrats. Charles W. Hunter was a third candidate for the same position. Mr. Snyder, however, died before the campaign had advanced very far, and his party substituted Thomas Ford, who was elected, receiving 46,901 votes, to 38,584 for Duncan, and 909 for Hunter. The cause of Democratic success at this time is mainly attributed to the temporary support of the Mormons which they enjoyed, and the want of any knowledge, on the part of the masses, that Mr. Ford was opposed to any given policy entertained in the respective localities.

Gov. Duncan was a man of rather limited education, but with naturally fine abilities he profited greatly by his various public services, and gathered a store of knowledge regarding public affairs which served him a ready purpose. He possessed a clear judgment, decision, confidence in himself and moral courage to carry out his convictions of right. In his deportment he was well adapted to gain the admiration of the people. His intercourse with them was both affable and dignified. His portrait at the Governor's mansion, from which the accompanying was made, represents him as having a swarthy complexion, high cheek bones, broad forehead, piercing black eyes and straight black hair.

He was a liberal patron of the Illinois College at Jacksonville, a member of its Board of Trustees, and died, after a short illness, Jan. 15, r844, a devoted member of the Presbyterian Church, leaving a wife but no children. Two children, born to them, had died in infancy.

HOMAS CARLIN, the sixth Governor of the State of Illinois, serving from 1838 to 1842, was also a Kentuckian, being born near Frankfort, that State, July 18, 1789, of Irish paternity. The opportunities for an education being very meager in his native place, he, on approaching years of judgment and maturity, applied himself to those branches of learning that seemed most important, and thus became a self-made man ; and his taste for reading and study remained with him through life. In 1803 his father removed to Missouri, then a part of " New Spain," where he died in 1810.

In 181 2 young Carlin came to Illinois and participated in all the "ranging" service incident to the war of that period, proving himself a soldier of undaunted bravery. In 1814 he married Rebecca Huitt, and lived for four years on _the bank of the Mississippi River, opposite the mouth of the Missouri, where he followed farming, and then removed to Greene County. He located the town site of Carrollton, in that county, and in 1825 made a liberal donation of land for county building purposes. He was the first Sheriff of that county after its separate organization, and afterward was twice elected, as a Jackson Democrat, to the Illinois Senate. In the Black Hawk War he commanded a spy battalion, a post of considerable danger. In 1834 he was appointed by President Jackson to the position of Receiver of Public Moneys, and to fulfill the office

While, in 1838, the unwieldy internal improvement system of the State was in full operation, with all its expensive machinery, amidst bank suspensions throughout the United States, a great stringency in the money market everywhere, and Illinois bonds forced to sale at a heavy discount, and the " hardest times" existing that the people of the Prairie State ever saw, the general election of State officers was approaching. Discreet men who had cherished the hope of a speedy subsidence of the public infatuation, met with disappointment. A Governor and Legislature were to be elected, and these were now looked forward to for a repeal of the ruinous State policy. But the grand scheme had not yet lost its _ dazzling influence upon the minds of the people. Time and experience had not yet fully demonstrated its utter absurdity. Hence the question of arresting its career of profligate expenditures did not become a leading one with the dominant party during the campaign, and most of the old members of the Legislature were returned at this election.

Under these circumstances the Democrats, in State Convention assembled, nominated Mr. Carlin for the office of Governor, and S. H. Anderson for Lieutenant Governor, while the Whigs nominated Cyrus Edwards, brother of Ninian Edwards, formerly Governor, and W. H. Davidson. Edwards came out strongly for a continuance of the State policy, while Carlin remained non-committal. This was the first time that the two main political parties in this State were unembarrassed by any third party in the field. The result of the election was: Carlin, 35,573; Anderson, 30,335 ; Edwards, 29,629 ; and Davidson, 28,- sage spoke in emphatic terms of the impolicy of the internal improvement system, presaging the evils threatened, and uiged that body to do their utmost to correct the great error ; yet, on the contrary, the Legislature not only decided to continue the policy but also added to its burden by voting more appropriations and ordering more improvements. Although the money market was still stringent, a further loan of $4,000,000 was ordered for the Illinois & Michigan Canal alone. Chicago at that time began to loom up and promise to be an important city, even the great emporium of the West, as it has since indeed came to be. Ex-Gov. Reynolds, an incompetent financier, was commissioned to effect the loan, and accordingly hastened to the East on this responsible errand, and negotiated the loans, at considerable sacrifice to the State. Besides this embarrassment to Carlin's administration, the Legislature also declared that he had no authority to appoint a Secretary of State until a vacancy existed, and A. P. Field, a Whig, who had already held the post by appointment through three administrations, was determined to keep the place a while longer, in spite of Gov. Carlin's preferences. The course of the Legislature in this regard, however, was finally sustained by the Supreme Court, in a quo warranto case brought up before it by John A. McClernand, whom the Governor had nominated for the office. Thereupon that dignified body was denounced as a "Whig Court!" endeavoring to establish the principle of life-tenure of office.

A new law was adopted re-organizing the Judiciary, and under it five additional Supreme Judges were elected by the Legislature, namely, Thomas Ford (afterward Governor), Sidney Breese, Walter B. Scates, Samuel H. Treat and Stephen A. Douglas - all Democrats.

It was during Cov. Carlin's administration that the noisy campaign of " Tippecanoe and Tyler too " occurred, resulting in a Whig victory. This, however, did not affect Illinois politics very seriously.

Another prominent event in the West during Gov. Carlin's term of office was the excitement caused by the Mormons and their removal from Independence, Mo., to Nauvoo, 111., in 1840. At the same time they began to figure somewhat in State politics. On account of their believing - as they thought, according to the New Testament - that they should have

" all things common," and that consequently " all the earth " and all that is upon it were the" Lord's " and therefore the property of his " saints," they were suspected, and correctly, too, of committing many of the deeds of larceny, robbery, etc., that were so rife throughout this country in those days. Hence a feeling of violence grew up between the Mormons and "anti-Mormons." In the State of Missouri the Mormons always supported the Democracy until they were driven out by the Democratic government, when they turned their support to the Whigs. They were becoming numerous, and in the Legislature of 1840-r, therefore, it became a matter of great interest with both parties to conciliate these people. Through the agency of one John C. Bennett, a scamp, the Mormons succeeded in rushing through the Legislature (both parties not daring to oppose) a charter for the city of Nauvoo which virtually erected a hierarchy co-ordinate with the Federal Government itself. In the fall of 1841 the Governor of Missouri made a demand upon Gov. Carlin for the body of Joe Smith, the Mormon leader, as a fugitive from justice. Gov. Carlin issued the writ, but for some reason it was returned unserved. It was again issued in T842, and Smith was arrested, but was either rescued by his followers or discharged by the municipal court on a writ of habeas corpus.

In December, 1841, the Democratic Convention nominated Adam W. Snyder, of Belleville, for Governor. As he had been, as a member of the Legislature, rather friendly to the Mormons, the latter naturally turned their support to the Democratic party. The next spring the Whigs nominated Ex- Gov. Duncan for the same office. In the meantime the Mormons began to grow more odious to the masses of the people, and the comparative prospects of the respective parties for success became very problematical. Mr. Snyder died in May, and Thomas Ford, a Supreme Judge, was substituted as a candidate, and was elected.

At the close of his gubernatorial term, Mr. Carlin removed back to his old home at Carrollton, where he spent the remainder of his life, as before his elevation to office, in agricultural pursuits. In 1849 he served out the unexpired term of J. D. Fry in the Illinois House of Representatives, and died Feb. 4, 1852, at his residence at Carrollton, leaving a wife and seven children.

Go Vernohs Of Illinois

JHOMAS FORD, Governor from 1842 to 1846, and author of a very interesting history of Illinois, was born at Uniontown, Pa., in the year 1 800. His mother, after the death of her first husband (Mr. Forquer), married Robert Ford, who was killed in 1802, by the Indians in the mountains of Pennsylvania. She was consequently left in indigent circumstances, with a large family, mostly girls. With a view to better her condition, she, in 1804, removed to Missouri, where it had been customary by the Spanish Government to give land to actual settlers ; but upon her arrival at St. Louis she found the country ceded to the United States, and the liberal policy toward settlers changed by the new ownership. After some sickness to herself and family, she finally removed to Illinois, and settled some three miles south of Waterloo, but the following year moved nearer the Mississippi ^bluffs. Here young Ford received his first

!>=f=f=esschooling, under the instructions of a Mr. Humphrey, for which he had to walk three miles. His mother, though lacking a thorough education, was a woman of superior mental endowments, joined to energy and determination of character. She inculcated in her children those high-toned principles which distinguished her sons in public life. She exercised a rigid economy to provide her children an education ; but George Forquer, her oldest son (six years older than Thomas Ford), at an early age had to quit school to aid by his labor in the support of the family. He afterward became an eminent man in Illinois affairs, and but for his early death would probably have been elected to the United States Senate.

Young Ford, with somewhat better opportunities, received a better education, though limited to the curriculum of the common school of those pioneer times. His mind gave early promise of superior endowments, with an inclination for mathematics. His proficiency attracted the attention of Hon. Daniel P. Cook, who became his efficient patron and friend. The latter gentleman was an eminent Illinois statesman who, as a Member of Congress, obtained a grant of 300,000 acres of land to aid in completing the Illinois & Michigan Canal, and after whom the county of Cook was named. Through the advice of this gentleman, Mr. Ford turned his attention to the study of law; but Forquer, then merchandising, regarding his education defective, sent him to Transylvania University, where, however, he remained but one term, owing to Forquer's failure in business. On his return he alternated his law reading with teaching school for support.

In 1829 Gov. Edwards appointed him Prosecuting Attorney, and in 1831 he was re-appointed by Gov. Reynolds, and after that he was four times elected a Judge by the Legislature, without opposition, twice a Circuit Judge, once a Judge of Chicago, and as Associate Judge of the Supreme Court, when, in 184.T, the latter tribunal was re-organized by the addition of five Judges, all Democrats. Ford was assigned to the Ninth Judicial Circuit, and while in this capacity he was holding Court in Ogle County he received a notice of his nomination by the Democratic Convention for the office of Governor. He immediately resigned his place and entered upon the canvass. In August, 1842, he was elected, and on the 8th of December following he was inaugurated.

All the offices which he had held were unsolicited by him. He received them upon the true Jeffersonian principle, - Never to ask and never to refuse office. Both as a lawyer and as a Judge he stood deservedly high, but his cast of intellect fitted him rather for a writer upon law than a practicing advocate in the courts. In the latter capacity he was void of the moving power of eloquence, so necessary to success with juries. As a Judge his opinions were sound, lucid and able expositions of the law. In practice, he was a stranger to the tact, skill and insinuating address of the politician, but he saw through the arts of demagogues as well as any man. He was plain in his demeanor, so much so, indeed, that at one time after the expiration of his term of office, during a session of the Legislature, he was taken by a stranger to be a seeker for the position of doorkeeper, and was waited upon at his hotel near midnight by a knot of small office-seekers with the view of effecting a " combination ! "

Mr. Ford had not the " brass " of the ordinary politician, nor that impetuosity which characterizes a political leader. He cared little for money, and hardly enough for a decent support. In person he was of small stature, slender, of dark complexion, with black hair, sharp features, deep-set eyes, a pointed, aquiline nose having a decided twist to one side, and a small mouth.

The three most important events in Gov. Ford's administration were the establishment of the high financial credit of the State, the " Mormon War "and the Mexican War.

In the first of these the Governor proved himself to be eminently wise. On coming into office he found the State badly paralyzed by the ruinous effects of the notorious "internal improvement" schemes of the preceding deca.de, with scarcely anything to show by way of "improvement." The enterprise that seemed to be getting ahead more than all the rest was the Illinois & Michigan Canal. As this promised to be the most important thoroughfare, feasible to the people, it was well under headway in its construction. Therefore the State policy was almost concentrated upon it, in order to rush it on to completion. The bonded indebtedness of the State was growing so large as to frighten the people, and they were about ready to entertain a proposition for repudiation. But the Governor had the foresight to recommend such measures as would maintain the public credit, for which every citizen to-day feels thankful.

But perhaps the Governor is remembered more for his connection with the Mormon troubles than for anything else; for it was during his term of office that the " Latter-Day Saints " became so strong at Nauvoo, built their temple there, increased their numbers throughout the country, committed misdemeanors, taught dangerous doctrines, suffered the loss of their leader, Jo Smith, by a violent death, were driven out of Nauvoo to the far West, etc. Having been a Judge for so many years previously, Mr. Ford of course was non-committal concerning Mormon affairs, and was therefore claimed by both parties and also accused by each of sympathizing too greatly with the other side. Mormonism claiming to be a system of religion, the Governor no doubt was "between two fires," and felt compelled to touch the matter rather " gingerly," and doubtless felt greatly relieved when that pestilential people left the State. Such complicated matters, especially when religion is mixed up with them, expose every person participating in them to criticism from all parties.

The Mexican War was begun in the spring of 1845, and was continued into the gubernatorial term of Mr. Ford's successor. The Governor's connection with this war, however, was not conspicuous, as it was only administrative, commissioning officers, etc.

Ford's " History of Illinois " is a very readable and entertaining work, of 450 small octavo pages, and is destined to increase in value with the lapse of time. It exhibits a natural flow of compact and forcible thought, never failing to convey the nicest sense. In tracing with his trenchant pen the devious operations of the professional politician, in which he is inimitable, his account is open, perhaps, to the objection that all his contemporaries are treated as mere placeseekers, while many of them have since been judged by the people to be worthy statesmen. His writings seem slightly open to the criticism that they exhibit a little splenetic partiality against those of his contemporaries who were prominent during his term of office as Governor.

Governor of Illinois from 1846 to 1852, was born in the town of Hill, in the State of New Hampshire, Aug. 2, 1808. He was a descendant in the fourth generation of Nathaniel French, who emigrated from England in 1687 and settled in Saybury, Mass. In early life young French lost his father, but continued to receive instruction from an exemplary and Christian mother until he was 19 years old, when she also died, confiding to his care and trust four younger brothers and one sister. He discharged his trust with parental devotion. His education in early life was such mainly as a common school afforded. For a brief period he attended Dartmouth College, but from pecuniary causes and the care of his brothers and sister, he did not graduate. He subsequently read law, and was admitted to the Bar in 1831, and shortly afterward removed to Illinois, settling first at Albion, Edwards County, where he established himself in the practice of law. The following year he removed to Paris, Edgar County. Here he attained eminence in his profession, and entered public life by representing that county in the Legislature. A strong attachment sprang up between him and Stephen A. Douglas.

In 1839, Mr. French was appointed Receiver of the United States Land Office at Palestine, Crawford County, at which place he was a resident when

The Democratic* State Convention of 1846, meeting at Springfield Feb. 10, nominated Mr. French for Governor. Other Democratic candidates were Lyman Trumbull, John Calhoun (subsequently of Lecompton Constitution notoriety), Walter B. Scates, Richard M. Young and A. W. Cavarly, - an array of very able and prominent names. Trumbull was perhaps defeated in the Convention by the rumor that he was opposed to the Illinois and Michigan Canal, as he had been a year previously. For Lieutenant Governor J. B. Wells was chosen, while other candidates were Lewis Ross, Win. McMurtry, Newton Cloud, J. B. Hamilton and W. W. Thompson. The resolutions declared strongly against the resuscitation of the old State Banks.

The Whigs, who were in a hopeless minority, held their convention June 8, at Peoria, and selected Thomas M. Kilpatrick, of Scott County, for Governor, and Gen. Nathaniel G. Wilcox, of Schuyler, for Lieutenant Governor.

In the campaign the latter exposed Mr. French's record and connection with the passage of the internal improvement system, urging it against his election ; but in the meantime the war with Mexico broke out, regarding which the Whig record was unpopular in this State. The war was the absorbing and dominating question of the period, sweeping every other political issue in its course. The election in August gave Mr. French 58,700 votes, and Kilpatrick only 36,775. Richard Eells, Abolitionist candidate for the same office, received 5,152 votes,

Augustus C. French

By the new Constitution of 1848, a new election for State officers was ordered in November of that year, before Gov. French's term was half out, and he was re-elected for the term of four years. He was therefore the incumbent for six consecutive years, the only Governor of this State who has ever served in that capacity so long at one time. As there was no organized opposition to his election, he received 67,- 453 votes, to 5,639 for Pierre Menard (son of the first Lieutenant Governor), 4,748 for Charles V. Dyer, 3,834 for W. L. D. Morrison, and 1,361 for James L. D. Morrison. But Wm. McMurtry, of Knox County, was elected Lieutenant Governor, in place of Joseph B. Wells, who was before elected and did not run again.

Governor French was inaugurated into office during the progress of the Mexican War, which closed during the summer of 1847, although the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was not made until Feb. 2, 1848. The policy of Gov. French's party was committed to that war, but in connection with that affair he was, of course, only an administrative officer. During his term of office, Feb. 19, 1847, the Legislature, by sp'ecial permission of Congress, declared *hat all Government lands sold to settlers should be immediately subject to State taxation ; before this they were exempt for five years after sale. By this arrangement the revenue was materially increased. About the same lime, the distribution of Government land warrants among the Mexican soldiers as bounty threw upon the market a great quantity of good lands, and this enhanced the settlement of the State. The same Legislature authorized, with the recommendation of the Governor, the sale of the Northern Cross Railroad (from Springfield to Meredosia, the first in the State and now a section of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific) It sold for $100,000 in bonds, although it had cost the State not less than a million. The salt wells and canal lands in the Saline reserve in Gallatin County, granted by the general Government to the State, were also authorized by the Governor to be sold, to apply on the State debt. In r85o, for the first time since 1839, the accruing State revenue, exclusive of specific appropriations, was sufficient to meet the current demands upon the treasury. The aggregate taxable property of the State at this time was over $100,000,000, and the population 851,470.

In 1849 the Legislature adopted the township organization law, which, however, proved defective, and was properly amended in 185 1. At its session in the latter year, the General Assembly also passed a law to exempt homesteads from sale on executions. This beneficent measure had been repeatedly urged upon that body by Gov. French.

In 1850 some business men in St. Louis commenced to build a dike opposite the lower part of their city on the Illinois side, to keep the Mississippi in its channel near St. Louis, instead of breaking away from them as it sometimes threatened to do. This they undertook without permission from the Legislature or Executive authority of this State ; and as many of the inhabitants there complained that the scheme would inundate and ruin much valuable land, there was a slight conflict of jurisdictions, resulting in favor of the St. Louis project ; and since then a good site has existed there for a city (East St. Louis), and now a score of railroads center there.

It was in September, 1850, that Congress granted to this State nearly 3,000,000 acres of land in aid of the completion of the Illinois Central Railroad, which constituted the most important epoch in the railroad - we might say internal improvement - history of the State. The road was rushed on to completion, which accelerated the settlement of the interior of the State by a good class of industrious citizens, and by the charter a good income to the State Treasury is paid in from the earnings of the road.

In 1 85 1 the Legislature passed a law authorizing free stock banks, which was the source of much legislative discussion for a number of years.

But we have riot space further to particularize concerning legislation. Gov. French's administration was not marked by any feature to be criticised, while the country was settling up as never before.

In stature, Gov. French was of medium height, squarely built, light complexioned, with ruddy face and pleasant countenance. In manners he was plain and agreeable. By nature he was somewhat diffident, but he was often very outspoken in his convictions of duty. In public speech he was not an orator, but was chaste, earnest and persuasive. In business he was accurate and methodical, and in his administration he kept up the credit of the State.

3:0EL A. MATTESON, Governor 1853-6, was born Aug. 8, 1808, in Jefferson County, New York, to which place his father had removed from Vermont three years before. His father was a farmer in fair circumstances, but a common English education was all that his only son received. Young Joel first tempted fortune as a small tradesman in Prescott, Canada, before he was of age. He returned from that place to his home, entered an academy, taught school, visited the principal Eastern cities, improved a farm his father had given him, made a tour in the South, worked there in building railroads, experienced a storm on the Gulf of Mexico, visited the gold diggings of Northern Georgia, and returned via Nashville to St. Louis and through Illinois to his father's home, when he married. In 1833, having sold his farm, he removed, with his wife and one child, to Illinois, and entered a claim on Government land near the head of A11 Sable River, in what is now Kendall County. At that time there were not more than, two neighbors within a range of ten miles of his place, and only three or four houses between him and Chicago. He opened a large farm. His family was boarded 1 2 miles away while he erected a house on his claim, sleeping, during this time, under a rude pole shed. Here his life was once placed in imminent peril by a huge prairie rattlesnake sharing his bed.

In 1835 he bought largely at the Government land sales. During the speculative real-estate mania which broke out in Chicago in 1836 and spread over the State, he sold his lands under the inflation of that period and removed to Joliet. In 1838 he became a heavy contractor on the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Upon the completion of his job in 1841, when hard times prevailed, business at a stand, contracts paid in State scrip; when all the public works except the canal were abandoned, the State offered for sale 700 tons of railroad iron, which was purchased by Mr. Matteson at a bargain. This he accepted, shipped and sold at Detroit, realizing a very handsome profit, enough to pay off all his canal debts and leave him a surplus of several thousand dollars. His enterprise next prompted him to start a woolen mill at Joliet, in which he prospered, and which, after successive enlargements, became an enormous establishment.

In 1842 he was first elected a State Senator, but, by a bungling apportionment, John Pearson, a Senator holding over, was found to be in the same district, and decided to be entitled to represent it. Matteson's seat was declared vacant. Pearson, however, with a nobleness difficult to appreciate in this day of greed for office, unwilling to represent his district under the circumstances, immediately resigned his unexpired term of two years. A bill was 'passed in a few hours ordering a new election, and in ten days' time Mr. Matteson was returned re-elected and took his seat as Senator. From his well-known capacity as a business man, he was made Chairman of the Committee on Finance, a position he held during this half and two full succeeding Senatorial terms, discharging its important duties with ability and faithfulness. Besides his extensive woolen-mill interest, when work was resumed on the canal under the new loan of $r, 600,000 he again became a heavy contractor, and also subsequently operated largely in building railroads. Thus he showed himself a most energetic and thorough business man.

He was nominated for Governor by the Democratic State Convention which met at Springfield April 20, 1852. Other candidates before the Convention were D. L. Gregg and F. C. Sherman, of Cook ; John Dement, of Lee ; Thomas L. Harris, of Menard ; Lewis W. Ross, of Fulton ; and D. P. Bush, of Pike. Gustavus Koerner, of St. Clair, was nominated for Lieutenant Governor. For the same offices the Whigs nominated Edwin B. Webb and Dexter A. Knowlton. Mr. Matteson received 80,645 votes at the election, while Mr. Webb received 64,408. Matteson's forte was not on the stump; he had not cultivated the art of oily flattery, or the faculty of being all things to all men. His intellectual qualities took rather the direction of efficient executive ability. His turn consisted not so much in the adroit management of party, or the powerful advocacy of great governmental principles, as in those more solid and enduring operations which cause the physical development and advancement of a State, - of commerce and business enterprise, into which he labored with success to lead the people. As a politician he was just and liberal in his views, and both in official and private life he then stood untainted and free from blemish. As a man, in active benevolence, social virtues and all the amiable qualities of neighbor or citizen, he had few superiors. His. messages present a perspicuous array of facts as to the condition of the State, and are often couched in forcible and elegant diction.

The greatest excitement during his term of office was the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, by Congress, under the leadership of Stephen A. Douglas in 1854, when the bill was passed organizing the Territory of Kansas and Nebraska. A large portion of the Whig party of the North, through their bitter opposition to the Democratic party, naturally drifted into the doctrine of anti-slavery, and thus led to what was temporarily called the " Anti-Nebraska " party, while the followers of Douglas were known as " Nebraska or Douglas Democrats." It was during this embryo stage of the Republican party that Abraham Lincoln was brought forward as the "Anti-Nebraska" candidate for the United States Senatorship, while Gen. James Shields, the incumbent, was re-nominated by the Democrats. But after a few ballotings in the Legislature,(i85s), these men were dropped, and Lyman Trumbull, an Anti-Nebraska Democrat, was brought up by the former, and Mr. Matteson, then Governor, by the latter. On the nth ballot Mr. Trumbull obtained one majority, and was accordingly declared elected. Before Gov. Matteson's term expired, the Republicans were fully organized as a national party, and in 1856 put into the field a full national and State ticket, carrying the State, but not the nation.

The Legislature of 1855 passed two very important measures, - the present free-school system and a submission of the Maine liquor law to a vote of the people. The latter was defeated by a small majority of the popular vote.

During the four years of Gov. Matteson's administration the taxable wealth of the State was about trebled, from $137,818,079 to $349,951,272; the public debt was reduced from $17,398,985 to $^,843,- 144; taxation was at the same time reduced, and the State resumed paying interest on its debt in New York as fast as it fell due ; railroads were increased in their mileage from something less than 400 to about 3,000; and the population of Chicago was nearly doubled, and its commerce more than quadrupled.

Before closing this account, we regret that we have to say that Mr. Matteson, in all other respects an upright man and a good Governor, was implicated in a false re-issue of redeemed canal scrip, amounting to $224,182.66. By a suit in the Sangamon Circuit Court the State recovered the principal and all the interest excepting $27,500.

ILLIAM H. BISSELL, Governor 1857-60, was born April 25, 181 1, in the State of New York, near Painted Post, Yates County. His parents were obscure, honest, God-fearing people, who reared their children under the daily example of industry and frugality, according to the custom of that class of Eastern society. Mr. Bissell received a respectable but not thorough academical education. By assiduous application he acquired a knowledge of medicine, and in his early manhood came West and located in Monroe County, this State, where he engaged in the practice of that profession. But he was not enamored of his calling: he was swayed by a broader ambition, to such an extent that the mysteries of the healing art and its arduous duties failed to yield him further any charms. In a few years he discovered his choice of a profession to be a mistake, and when he approached the age of 30 he sought to begin anew. Dr. Bissell, no doubt unexpectedly to himself, discovered a singular facility and charm of speech, the exercise of which acquired for him a ready local notoriety. It soon came to be understood that he desired to abandon his profession and take up that of the law. During terms of Court he would spend his time at the county seat among the members of the Bar, who extended to him a ready welcome.

It was not strange, therefore, that he should drift into public life. In 1840 he was elected as a Democrat to the Legislature from Monroe County, and was an efficient member of that body. On his return home he qualified himself for admission to the Bar and speedily rose to the front rank as an advocate. His powers of oratory were captivating. With a pure diction, charming and inimitable gestures, clearness of statement, and a remarkable vein of sly humor, his efforts before a jury told with irresistible effect. He was chosen by the Legislature Prosecuting Attorney for the Circuit in which he lived, and in that position he fully discharged his duty to the State, gained the esteem 0/ the Bar, and seldom failed to convict the offender of the law.

In stature he was somewhat tall and slender, and with a straight, military bearing, he presented a distinguished appearance. His complexion was dark, his head well poised, though not large, his address pleasant and manner winning. He was exemplary in his habits, a devoted husband and kind parent. He was twice married, the first time to Miss James, of Monroe County, by whom he had two children, both daughters. She died soon after the year 1840, and Mr. B. married for his second wife a daughter of Elias K. Kane, previously a United States Senator from this State. She survived him but a short time, and died without issue.

When the war with Mexico was declared in 1846, Mr. Bissell enlisted and was elected Colonel of his regiment, over Hon. Don Morrison, by an almost unanimous vote, - 807 to 6. Considering the limited opportunities he had had, he evinced a high order of military talent. On the bloody field of Buena Vista he acquitted himself with intrepid and distinguished ability, contributing with his regiment, the Second Illinois, in no small degree toward saving the wavering fortunes of our arms during that long and fiercely contested battle.

After his return home, at the close of the war, he was elected to Congress, his opponents being the Hons. P. B. Fouke and Joseph Gillespie. He served two terms in Congress. He was an ardent politician. During the great contest of 1850 he voted in favor of the adjustment measures ; but in 1854 he opposed the repeal of the Missouri Compromise act and therefore the Kansas-Nebraska bill of Douglas, and thus became identified with the nascent Republican party.

During his first Congressional term, while the Southern members were following their old practice of intimidating the North by bullying language, and claiming most of the credit for victories in the Mexican War, and Jefferson Davis claiming for the Mississippi troops all the credit for success at Buena Vista, Mr. Bissell bravely defended the Northern troops ; whereupon Davis challenged Bissell to a duel, which was accepted. This matter was brought up against Bissell when he was candidate for Governor and during his term of office, as the Constitution of this State forbade any duelist from holding a State office.

In 1856, when the Republican party first put forth a candidate, John C. Fremont, for President of the United States, the same party nominated Mr. Bissell for Governor of Illinois, and John Wood, of Quincy, for Lieutenant Governor, while the Democrats nominated Hon. W. A. Richardson, of Adams County, for Governor, and Col. R. J. Hamilton, of Cook County, for Lieutenant Governor. The result of the election was a plurality of 4,729 votes over Richardson. The American, or Know-Nothing, party had a ticket in the field. The Legislature was nearly balanced, but was politically opposed to the Governor. His message to the Legislature was short and rather ordinary, and was criticised for expressing the supposed obligations of the people to the incorporators of the Illinois Central Railroad Company and for reopening the slavery question by allusions to the Kansas troubles. Late in the session an apportionment bill, based upon the State census of 1855, was passed, amid much partisan strife. The Governor at first signed the bill and then vetoed it. A furious debate followed, and the question whether the Governor had the authority to recall a signature was referred to the Courts, that of last resort deciding in favor of the Governor. Two years afterward another outrageous attempt was made for a re-apportionment and to gerrymander the State, but the Legislature failed to pass the bill over the veto of the Governor.

It was during Gov. Bissell's administration that the notorious canal scrip fraud was brought to light, implicating ex-Gov. Matteson and other prominent State officials. The principal and interest, aggregating $255,500, was all recovered by the State excepting $27,500. (See sketch of Gov. Matteson.)

In 1859 an attempt was discovered to fraudulently refund the Macalister and Stebbins bonds and thus rob the State Treasury of nearly a quarter of a million dollars. The State Government was implicated in this affair, and to this day remains unexplained or unatoned for. For the above, and other matters previously mentioned, Gov. Bissell has been severely criticised, and he has also been most shamefully libelled and slandered.

On account of exposure in the army, the remote cause of a nervous form of disease gained entrance into his system and eventually developed paraplegia, affecting his lower extremities, which, while it left his body in comparative health, deprived him of locomotion except by the aid of crutches. While he was generally hopeful of ultimate recovery, this mysterious disease pursued him, without once relaxing its stealthy hold, to the close of his life, March 18, i860, over nine months before the expiration of his gubernatorial term, at the early age of 48 years. He died in the faith of the Roman Catholic Church, of which he hart been a member since 1854.

J:OHN WOOD, Governoir 1860-1, and the first settler of Quincy, 111., was born in the town of Sempronius (now Moravia), Cayuga Co., N. Y., Dec. 20, 1798. He was the second child and only son of Dr. Daniel Wood. His mother, nee Catherine Crause, was of German parentage, and died while he was an infant. Dr. Wood was a learned and skillful physician, of classical attainments and proficient in several modern languages, who, after serving throughout the Revolutionary War as a Surgeon, settled on the land granted him. by the Government, and resided there a respected and leading influence in his section until his death, at the ripe age of 92 years.

The subject of this sketch, impelled by the spirit of Western adventure then pervading everywhere, left his home, Nov. 2, 18 18, and passed the succeeding winter in Cincinnati, Ohio. The following summer he pushed on to Illinois, landing at Shawneetown, and spent the fall and following winter in Calhoun County. In r82o, in company with Willard Keyes, he settled in Pike County, about 30 miles southeast of Quincy, where for the next two years he pursued farming. In 182T he visited "the Bluffs" (as the present site of Quincy was called, then uninhabited) and, pleased with its prospects, soon after purchased a quarter-section of land near by, and in the following fall (1822) erected near the river a small cabin,

About this time he visited his old friends in Pike County, chief of whom was William Ross, the leading man in building up the village of Atlas, of that county, which was thought then to be the possible TJ? commencement of a city. One day they and others were traveling together over the country between the two points named, making observations on the comparative merits of the respective localities. On approaching the Mississippi near Mr. Wood's place, the latter told his companions to follow him and he would show them where he was going to build a city. They went about a mile off the main trail, to a high point, from which the view in every direction was most magnificent, as it had been for ages and as yet untouched by the hand of man. Before them swept by the majestic Father of Waters, yet unburdened by navigation. After Mr. Wood had expatiated at length on the advantages of the situation, Mr. Ross replied, " But it's too near Atlas ever to amount to anything!"

In 1824 Mr. Wood gave a newspaper notice, as the law then prescribed, of his intention to apply to the General Assembly for the formation of a new county. This was done the following winter, resulting in the establishment of the present Adams County. During the next summer Quincy was selected as the county seat, it and the vicinity then containing but four adult male residents and half that number of females. Sinoe that period Mr. Wood resided at the place of his early adoption until his death, and far more than any other man was he identified with every measure of its progress and history, and almost continuously kept in public positions.

He was one of the early town Trustees, and after the place became a city he was often a member of the City Council, many times elected Mayor, in the face of a constant large opposition political majority. In 1850 he was elected to the State Senate. In 1856, on the organization of the Republican party, he was chosen Lieutenant Governor of the State, on the ticket with Wm. H. Bissell for Governor, and on the death of the latter, March 18, i860, he succeeded to the Chief Executive chair, which he occupied until Gov. Yates was inaugurated nearly ten months afterward.

Nothing very marked characterized the administration of Gov. Wood. The great anti-slavery campaign of i860, resulting in the election of the honest Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the Presidency of the United States, occurred during the short period while Mr. Wood was Governor, and the excitement and issues of that struggle dominated over every other consideration, - indeed, supplanted them in a great measure. The people of Illinois, during all that time, were passing the comparatively petty strifes under Bissell 's administration to the overwhelming issue of preserving the whole nation from destruction.

In 1 86 1 ex-Gov. Wood was one of the five Delegates from Illinois to the " Peace Convention " at Washington, and in April of the same year, on the breaking out of the Rebellion, he was appointed