Jefferson County, Illinois - Biographical sketches, 1909 (part 5 of 6)

Mr. Watson was born near Mount Vernon, Jefferson county, Illinois, on the 31st of July, 1846. His father, John H. Watson, a native of Henrico county, Virginia, was one of the pioneer settlers in the county. He was a carpenter by trade and for many years served as Justice of tht Peace in Mount Vernon and also as Master in Chancery, having been appointed by Hon. Silas L. Bryan, father of William Jennings Bryan, now so well known throughout the land. Our subject's mother, Elizabeth (Rankin) Watson, was a native of Tennessee. She attained the age of eightyfive years, passing to her reward at Mount Vernon early in the nineties. She was the mother of nine children, enumerated here in the order of birth. John R., William D., Thomas P., Amelia J., wife of Mr. B. S. Miller; MiUie P., wife of John A. Wall, Samuel H., Joel P., James H., and Virginia, the last named dying at the age of six years.

James H. was reared in Mount Vernon and when fifteen years old enlisted in Company E of the Seventieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He served one hundred days and upon his return from the field, went to St. Louis, where he was employed as compositor on different newspapers for a short time. He was next appointed a member of the United States Detective Police, second services, and remained in that work until the close of the war.

He then took up the study of medicine in the office of Dr. W. Duff Green, and later entered the St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons, graduating in 1880, although he had previously enwall's history of JEFFERSON CO., ILL. 537 gaged in the practice of his profession, chiefly at Woodlawn, where he had located in 1868, being the first person to take up his residence in that village. The first building erected there was the one constructed for his office.

Mr. Watson's married life began at Woodlawn in 1870, being joined to Miss Melissa Wood, who was born in Shiloh township, near Woodlawn, in 1 854. She was the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Buford) Wood, who were also among the pioneers of Jefferson county. They completed their days at Woodlawn and are laid to rest in the Salem cemetery. There were eight children in the family, Melissa, being the sixth in order of birth. Doctor and Mrs. Watson have become the parents of three children, viz., Neva E., Thomas Bertrand, and Fern I. Thomas joined the American forces in the war with Spain, and died while in the service at Jacksonville, Florida, aged twenty-four years.

Doctor Watson has seen much of public service, both locally and in the larger duties of the state. He held for a number of years the office of Supervisor of Shiloh township and has given long service as president of the board of trustees of Woodlawn. During President Cleveland's first administration Doctor Watson was appointed a member of the Board of Pension Examiners, and with the exception of four years has served continuously up to the present time. In the fall of 1 890 he was elected to the thirty-seventh General Assembly of Illinois, and was one of the famous one hundred one who elected General Palmer to the United States Senate. He was re-elected to the lower house of the thirty-eighth General Assembly and was again returned to the Senate during the forty-second and forty-third sessions of that body. In the discharge of these public duties Doctor Watson commanded the fullest confidence of his constituents, and received numerous expressions of gratitude and good will for his fearless championship of such measures as were calculated to further the interests of the people as against those that were partisan and biased in character. He won many lasting friends, also, in the Senate halls, and looks back now with keen satisfaction upon the experiences and associations of those days.

In the advancement of local interests our subject has taken a most willing and appreciative part. He is a member of the Jefferson County Medical Society, and has done much to popularize that organization and promote its efficiency. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, and is one of its most representative and loyal adherents. Thus in a manifold series of activities, has he discharged to the fullest degree all obligations of citizenship, not only to friends and neighbors, but in the larger scope of public service to the commonwealth.

Williamson Carroll Webb

To live for almost three quarters of a century in one locality and be an eye witness to the marvelous growth and development that mark the change from pioneer times to the present day, has been the privilege of Williamson Carroll Webb, of Shiloh township, Jefferson county, Illinois. Mr. Webb is one of the oldest inhabitants in the township, and was one of its earliest settlers, having come hither with his parents in 1 844. He was born in Tennessee on October 27, 1830, and was the son of Bennett and Martha (Hull) Webb, the former being a native of North Carolina, and the latter of Tennessee. As has just been stated they emigrated to Jefferson county in 1844, and were among the earliest settlers. They completed their days here, Mr. Webb attaining the age of seventyfive years and his wife seventy. They were the parents of seven children, all of whom grew to maturity, Williamson being the eldest of the four sons.

as was afforded under the primitive conditions, but which developed within him the strong independent spirit that has enabled him to make life a success. He was married to Miss Mary M. Frost, a native of Shiloh township, and daughter of Newton L. and Emily (Stanford) Frost. She became the mother of seven children, two of whom, Wilford B. and Newton E. grew to manhood. She has passed to her reward.

Mr. Webb's second marriage took place November 7, 1890. His companion was Mrs. Mary Alvis, widow of James F. Alvis, and daughter of Joshua and Nancy (Hall) Stonecipher, both natives of Tennessee. They came to Marion county, Illinois, early in the forties, and ended her days in that locality, and here Mrs, Webb was born, October 17, 1 85 1 . She was among the oldest of a large family, there being fourteen children in all, nine of whom grew to maturity. Her home life and training were of the most wholesome type, the spirit of fellowship and kindly helpfulness having been inculcated into her ways of thinking as she grew to womanhood, having a share in the cares and responsibilities of the household. By her first husband she became the mother of three children, only one of whom, Henry E. Alvis, is surviving.

Mr. and Mrs. Webb are the parents of two children, William C. and Herman W. Mr. Webb has taken an active part in the management of local affairs. Although he has been a very busy man, devoting the majoi portion of his time to the management of his extensive farming interests, yet he has frequently consented to fill such offices his friends and neighbors urged him to accept. He has been Supervisor of the township, and was for nine years its Constable. He was Collector for one term and also sei-ved for six years as Highway Commissioner. He affiliates with the Democratic party, but stands first of all for a fair and honest administration of all duties, public or private.

He has made farming his chief work, and his success in this hne is but a natural consequence, for he has exercised wise discretion and skill in judgment, so that his efforts have been accompanied with commendable results. He has grown with the times and in his riper years has coupled a wide experience with a close observation of the most advanced thought and methods, and this with his neighborly spirit, has made him a valuable and popular member of the community.

John J. Willis

Time swings steadily onward and the years soon troop into centuries. Only a few years ago the veterans of the Civil war were numerous, and for the most part men of vigor and energy. Now their ranks have become thinned and the frosts of many winters have whitened their locks, while the measured tread of their footfalls has given place to the deliberate and careful step that betokens the arrival of old age.

Among those of the boys that wore the blue that still survive and enjoy health and vigor is John J. Willis, of Shiloh township, Jefferson county, Illinois. Mr. Willis was the son of Thomas Willis, who was born on the eastern shore of Maryland early in the last century, and when eleven years old came with his parents to Hamilton county, Ohio, where he was reared to manhood. He became engaged in work on the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers, and followed this until he was about forty years of age. At this time he was still smgle, and concluded to abandon the river and take up farming. He accordingly cast about for a location and finally settled in Jefferson county, and began farming in what is now Shiloh township. Here he was married to Mrs. Melinda (Tyler) Poston, who was born in Tennessee, and came to Jefferson county in 1818.

Mr. Willis passed to his reward, having reached the advanced age of eighty years. Mrs. Willis survived until 1896, attaining the age of seventy years. Three children were born into this family, of whom our subject was the oldest. The second child, Joseph N., died in infancy. The third son was William T., who now lives in Mount Vernon.

Our subject was born in Shiloh township on the 1 1 th of September, 1842, and has made his home in that locality continuously. He learned the carpenter's trade and this has been his chief business, although he has done some general farming in connection with his regular work.

When the Civil war began and the trumpet call for men rang through the land, no heart beat with a more fervent patriotism than did that of John D. Willis. In July, 1 861 , he enlisted in Company D of the Forty-ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry and he remained in active service until the close of the war. It is impossible in this limited space to follow him in detail through his many experiences. He was engaged for the most part in the southwest, and participated in many hard-fought engagements. He was present at Ft. Donelson, Shiloh and Vicksburg, and later fought at Meridian, Mississippi; Phoenix Hill, Louisana; Little Rock, Arkansas; Franklin and Big Blue, Missouri ; Nashville, Tennessee, and numerous other smaller engagements.

On leaving the service he returned to Shiloh township and settled down to farming and carpentry. On March 3, 1867, Mr. Willis was married to Miss Sarah A. Casey, a native of Shiloh township and daughter of Green P. and Peggy (Watkins) Casey, the former being a native of Kentucky and the latter of Tennessee, both early settlers in this community. Mr. and Mrs. Willis are the parents of one son, Wilton C, who is at present County Treasurer of Jefferson county.

Mr. Willis has held the office of Township Supervisor, and has also served as Tax Collector. He affiliates with the Republican party and has manifested his loyalty as a citizen by his exemplary conduct and upright discharge of all duties both public and private.

William H. Maxey

The agricultural interests of Shiloh township are represented by some of the most intelligent and enterprising citizens of this part of Illinois, and none stands higher in the list than the well known farmer whose name appears above. He is descended from pioneer ancestry and in his personality are combined many of the sterling qualities that characterized his forefathers as they braved the dangers and privations of frontier life.

Mr. Maxey was born in Shiloh township, Jefferson county, Illinois, on the 5th day of August. 1853. His father, William T. Maxey, was born in the same township, being the son of Rev. Joshua C. Maxey, a Methodist minister. Our subject's great-grandfather, William Maxey, was a pioneer settler in the township, having come hither when the wilderness was still practically undisturbed, taxing to the utmost the courage and fortitude of the new-comer.

Mary M. (Cummins) Maxey, mother of our subject, was also born and reared in Shiloh township. She was the daughter of Samuel Cummins, a well known and respected farmer.

William H. Maxey was the first of three children, the other two being Jehu Marshall, who married Ella Moss, and Laura E., who married William A. Piercy. Mr. Maxey received such education as was afforded by the local district school, and as he grew to maturity formed the habits of industry and steady application that have been such important factors in his success as a farmer. He has made an intelligent study of agriculture and has familiarized himself with the most modern methods of handling crops as well as kept abreast of the times in the scientific phases of soil study and seeds culture. His farm of one hundred twenty-six acres is well improved, equipped with good buildings and fences, and is well drained. With careful attention to the rotation of crops Mr. Maxey has been able to get the maximum of production with the least exhaustion of the soil.

Mr. Maxey's matrimonial career began on March 6. 1873, when he was joined in marriage to Miss Martha L. Harper, who was born in Shiloh township, June 7, 1 852. She was the daughter of Claybourne B. and Matilda S. (Bateman) Harper, who were also classed as old settlers of this locality. They probably came hither from Tennessee and were the parents of ten children, of whom Mrs. Maxey was the sixth.

Our subject and wife are the parents of one son, Ashley E., who was born January 20, 1 880. The Maxey homestead is one of the best known in the community, not only because several generations of the same family have occupied it, but because the social atmosphere here is most genuine and pleasant, and when once enjoyed is not soon forgotten. Mr. Maxey is well known also in the general affairs of the township, having taken a deep interest in the advancement of matters pertaining to the common welfare. He has been asked at various times to serve the township in its offices, having filled those of Township Supervisor, Clerk, and School Trustee. He affiliates with the Democratic party, and stands squarely on the principle so long maintained by that organization, but he does not at any time lose sight of the fundamental maxims of justice and equity that form the foundation of all good government.

Thomas Jefferson Holstlaw

With the progress and development along all industrial lines in modern times, there has come also a marked awakening in agricultural pursuits, and the problem of the farm is now being made the subject of special study not only on the part of those directly engaged in farming, but also by scientific men and special institutions. This has come about in a natural way.

A greater knowledge is needed in the question of plant foods as well as their care and culture. Without going into detail in this fascinating subject we here make mention of the growth of Farmer's Institutes and kindred organizations, having for their purpose the acquisition of a more intelligent view of the question of agriculture and its associated industries.

As an active worker in this field and an effective promoter of the institution feature in Jefferson county, mention should be made of Thomas Jefferson Holstlaw, a resident of Shiloh township, and at present secretary and treasurer of the Jefferson County Farmers' Institute. Mr. Holstlaw was born in the above mentioned township on the 26th day of August, 1862. His father, Henry J. Holstlaw, was a native of Barren county, Kentucky, and after coming to Jefferson county, Illinois, was married to Miss Lucretia E. Johnson, who was bom in Rome township, this county. After marriage they settled upon their farm in Shiloh township, where they both ended their days, Mr. Holstlaw attaining the age of seventy years, while his companion reached the age of seventy-four. Four children were born of this union, of whom our subject was the second. He was reared in Shiloh township, and received his early education in the neighboring district school. He later attended Ewing College two years. Although thus limited by circumstances, he did not permit these limitations to hinder his independent study and observation.

and as he grew to maturity he became a close student of the things that lay next door, and consequently he has become a leader in attacking the difficulties that are now being so intelligently faced by farming committees.

Mr. Holstlaw was married on the 28th of October, 1896, to Miss Sarah A. Whitlock, who was born in Field township, June 8, 1867. She was the daughter of George L. and Margaret (Patton) Whitlock, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Kentucky.

Mr. and Mrs. Holstlaw are the parents of one child, Ida Muriel, who was born February 7, 1903. Mr. Holstlaw has taken an active interest in the management of local affairs, and has been a factor in promoting a good public spirit in the community. He has held the office of Township Assessor, and affiliates with the Demo-> cratic party. He is enterprising as a farmer and stock raiser and enjoys prestige among his neighbors and friends. His farm has good buildings and fences and is well drained.

Our subject and wife are active workers in the United Missionary Baptist church and contribute liberally of their time and means to its support. Mrs. Holstlaw is secretary and treasurer of Household Science, the domestic branch of the Farmers' Institute.

Curtis Williams

Three generations of the family of this name have taken part in the development of Illinois. The founder. Rev. S. M. Williams, a pioneer missionary Baptist minister, was born in North Carolina, January 28, I 792, and located in Franklin county, Illinois, in 1837, dying there in 1875. He married Frances Shaw, also a native of

North Carolina, who died at Franklin county homestead in 1874. This pioneer couple had fourteen children. Next to the youngest of these was Stephen L. Williams, whose birth occurred in Frankhn county, Ilhnois, November 13, 1839. He remained at home until he reached his twenty-fourth year, when he started out to make his own living as a farm hand. He remained in Franklin county until 1865, when he went to Cincinnati and entered as a student in the Physio-Medical College and, after finishing the course, returned to his native county to begin the practice of medicine. Soon afterward he located at Spring Garden, in Jefferson county, which has been his home ever since. In 1877 he graduated from the St. Louis American Medical College, January 22, 1 869. Doctor Williams was married to Margaret J., daughter of James M. and Nancy (Felts) Arnold, of Robertson county, Tennessee. After an active practice of many years. Doctor Williams is now living in peaceful retirement at Spring Garden. His wife was a native of Tennessee and came to this county when fourteen years old. Doctor and Mrs. Williams had four children: Hugh, deputy Sheriff of Jefferson county; Viola May died in infancy; Curtis and Alsa, who is an optician in business in Jefferson county.

Curtis Williams, the third child, was born at Spring Garden, Jefferson county, Illinois, July 21, 1873. After the usual term in the district schools, he entered Ewing College in Franklin county, when seventeen years old and remained there during four school years, graduating in 1 905 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He taught school for seven years, during and subsequent to his college career, his educational work being mostly done in Jefferson county. He was a teacher in the Mount Vernon high school one year, at Woodlawn for three years and Opdyke one year. In the fall of 1901 he entered the University of Missouri at Columbia and was graduated in the class of 1904 with the degree of Bachelor of

Laws. The next year he located at Mount Vernon, having been admitted to practice law by the Illinois Supreme Court, December 13, 1904. He has since been steadily engaged in prosecuting his profession, his office being in rooms 1 -2-3 of the Rockaway and Emmerson building. He is attorney for the Fidelity & Casualty Company, of New York, and has other prominent clients, including the Home Insurance Company of New York.

June 11, 1907, Mr. Williams was married to Miss Maud L., daughter of Alvin and Anna (Watkins) Gilbert, a farmer and stock raiser, of Waltonville. One child, Alvin Lacey, was born March 13, 1908. Mr. Williams has served as deputy grand chancellor of the Knights of Pythias. He is also a member of the Masonic order and is prominent and popular both in fraternal and social circles. He is a member of the Republican County Central Committee and takes an active interest in politics.

George L. Ore

The gentleman of whom the biographer writes in this connection is a native of Tennessee and inherits many of the chivalrous qualities and characteristics of the Southland. He is descended from an old and highly esteemed Southern family that figured in the early history of North Carolina and subsequently became prominent in the annals of certain parts of Tennessee, the people having been among the influential Whigs of the latter state. Jacob Ore, the subject's grandfather, was born in North Carolina, but when a young man went to Tennessee, where he married and reared a large family of twelve children, all of whom became well known and respected in their various places of residence. By occupation Jacob Ore was a farmer. He succeeded well at his calling and lived a long and useful life which was terminated about the year 1878, leaving to his descendants the heritage of an honorable name.

Among the children of Jacob Ore was a son by the name of Ransom, who was bom in East Tennessee and in 1879 moved to Illinois and settled near McLeansboro, and engaged in the pursuit of agriculture. He was a Union soldier during the great Rebellion, serving in the Sixth Tennessee Infantry and taking part in many of the most noted battles of the war, among which were Perryville, Franklin, Chickamaugua, Murfreesboro, the various engagements of the Atlanta campaign and numerous others, in all of which he nobly upheld the government and did valiant service for the Union.

Caroline Hedgcock, wife of Ransom Ore, was born near Knoxville, Tennessee, and belongs to an old family that settled in that state shortly after the Revolutionary war. She was married near the place of her birth and with her husband is now living in Jefferson county, Illinois, having moved to this part of the state in the year 1 904. Ransom and Caroline Ore are the parents of eight children, five of whom are living, namely: George L. of this review; Samuel E., with the Car Manufacturing Company of Mount Vernon; John E., who is engaged in the mail service in the same city; Robert F., a carpenter and builder, of Mount Vernon, and Mattie, a teacher in the city schools.

George L. Ore was born January 23, 1869, near the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, and when ten years old accompanied his parents to McLeansboro, where he spent his youth on a farm, attending the public schools at intervals in the meantime. Possessing a decided taste for books and study he made such rapid progress in his school work that at the early age of eighteen he was qualified to teach, which profession he followed with gratifying success during the eight years ensuing, devoting his vacations to the study of law, for which profession he had long manifested a strong preference. Young Ore prosecuted his legal studies under the direction of Judge T. M. Eckley. of McLeansboro, and in 1894 was admitted to the Hamilton County Bar. In casting about for a favorable field in which to begin the practice of his profession his attention was attracted to Mount Vernon and in 1895 he opened an office in this city and in due time gained recognition as a well qualified and energetic attorney with the result that a profitable professional business soon rewarded his efforts.

Mr. Ore's legal career has been successful beyond that of the majority of young lawyers and he forged rapidly to the front, among the leading members of the Jefferson County Bar. In 1904 he was elected on the Republican ticket State's Attorney, the duties of which important and responsible office he discharged with marked ability and commended fidelity until the expiration of his term, in 1 908, when he was re-nominated and was re-elected to said office in November of that year, being the only Republican elected to county office in said county that year.

Before his election as State's Attorney, Mr. Ore served two years as Police Magistrate of Mount Vernon and for one year was Justice of the Peace, having been appointed to the latter office by the County Board. In both positions he demonstrated ability of a high order and a sincere desire to subserve the best interests of the municipality and his record in these offices is without a stain. As a lawyer he is studious, energetic, being well grounded in the principles of his profession and ready in applying his knowledge to practice. In the trial of cases he is alert, quick to detect and take advantage of a weak point in the part of his adversary, but under all circumstances, courteous to opposing counsel and eminently honorable in his methods. He has been identified with much important litigation since engaging in the practice and during his incumbency as State's Attor- ney he left nothing undone in his efforts to enforce the law and bring criminals, his name becoming a terror to evil doers within his jurisdiction.

Mr. Ore is one of the leading Republicans in Jefferson county, standing high in party counsels and contributing much to the strength of the cause which he has so close at heart. He is a gcod campaigner, both on the hustings and as a worker in the ranks, and his influence in political circles is by no means confined to local matters, but has been felt in district and state affairs as well to say nothing of his activity in national contests. As a citizen he is highly esteemed irrespective of party and few men in the county have as many warm friends.

Mr. Ore was married in 1891 to Miss Minnie A. Marsh, of McLeansboro, Illinois, daughter of Frank Marsh, the union resulting in the birth of two children, Lillian, born in 1897, and Frank Marsh, whose birth occurred in 1907. Mr. Ore is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and with his wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church.

Hon. William B. Williams

An enumeration of the men who have won recognition and honor for themselves and added luster to the fair name of Jefferson county, would be incomplete without due notice of the representative citizen and distinguished public servant whose name appears at the head of this article. Of high character and strong mentality, he has played an important part in the recent history of his section of the slate and today few men in Jefferson county are as widely known and favorably regarded. William B. Williams, ex-County Treasurer and present Mayor of Mount Vernon, is a native of Illinois.

bom near the town of Ashley, Washington county, on April 30th of the year 1874. His grandfather, William T. Williams, a Kentuckian by birth and the first representative of the family in Illinois, came to Jefferson county as a pioneer minister and became prominent in religious circles in an early day, besides taking an active part in the material development of the locality in which he settled. He preached for many years among the settlements of this and neighboring counties, established a number of churches in different parts of the country and lived to be quite an old man, dying about 1890, at the age of eighty years.

Among the children of this staunch old pioneer and earnest minister, was a son of the same name, William T. Williams, who was born on the family homestead in Jefferson county and later became an influential citizen and successful business man of Mount Vernon. He served the county twenty-four years as official surveyor and for a number of years was engaged in the real estate business at Mount Vernon, besides being an active and influential factor in public affairs and taking a leading part in the material advancement of the city.

Irena B. Jarrell, who became the wife of William T. Williams, is a native of Jefferson county, and the daughter of a pioneer settler who moved to this state many years ago from Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Williams reared a family of eight children, all but one living, their names being as follows : Mrs. Fannie B. McMeen, of South Bellingham, Washington; George, Mrs. Maud A. Hershey, Albert, Mrs. Gertrude Warran, Mary, and William B., of this review, who is the second in order of birth. With the exception of Mrs. McMeen and Mrs. Warren, all live in Mount Vernon, Mary being still with her mother at the old country home.

schools, prepared himself for a business career by taking a course in the Mount Vernon Commercial College. Later he served four years as deputy County Surveyor under his father and in 1 896 was elected to that office, the duties of which he discharged in an eminently creditable and satisfactory manner for the same length of time. Meanwhile, he had become interested in political affairs and at quite an early age he was recognized as one of the leading and influential' young men of the local Democracy, his services to his party as well as his fitness for the position, leading to his election as stated above. Retiring from the office of Surveyor at the expiration of his term, Mr. Williams, in 1900, engaged in the real estate business, which he has since continued with most encouraging financial results, being at this time one of the most extensive and successful real estate dealers in Jefferson county. His business takes very wide range, including in addition to all kinds of city and farm property in this county, a large and growing patronage in various parts of Illinois and other states, handling every year thousands of acres of land, improved and unimproved, and making deals and effecting trades representing many thousand dollars of capital. In the year 1905, Mr. Williams was further honored by being elected to the responsible office of Mayor of Mount Vernon and so ably did he discharge the duties of the same, that at the expiration of his term he was triumphantly chosen his own successor and is now sparing no reasonable efforts to justify the people in the wisdom of their choice and prove a capable and faithful executive. Since entering the office he has made a splendid record, both in the matter of public improvements and the enforcement of the law, having been instrumental in bringing about the paving of the streets of the city at a cost of over one hundred thousand dollars and making his name such a terror to evil doers that Mount Vernon is now not only the best improved inland town in the state, but it is universally conceded that the city's advancement along material lines has been greater during his administration than under any of his predecessors, much of the growth as well as its advantages in the matter of investments and desirability as a place of residence, being directly attributable to his energy, executive ability and systematic methods of government. He is unwavering in his advocacy of whatever he believes to be right and for the best interests of the people upholds his honest convictions at the sacrifice of every other consideration and loses sight of self in his earnest endeavor to promote the welfare of the public.

The domestic chapter in the life of Mr. Williams dates from October 9, 1898, at which time was solemnized his marriage with Miss Nannie A. Herron, daughter of Wesley and Malinda Herron, of the town of Boyd, Jefferson county, both parents deceased. Three children have come to gladden and make bright the home of Mr. and Mrs. Williams, namely: Roy, born July 22, 1899; Nellie, born December 18, 1901, and William, whose birth occurred on December 11, 1907.

Mr. Williams holds membership with the Knights of Pythias and Modern Woodmen and, with his wife, belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church of Mount Vernon. Both are deeply interested in religious and benevolent work and to the poor, needy and suffering, they are ever ready to extend the helping hand. Mr. Williams is a man of broad general information, a careful reader of the world's best literature and an intelligent student of current events. Conscientious in the discharge of the duties of citizenship, he is a valuable factor of the body politic and his aim has ever been to shape his life according to the highest standard of manly excellence. He is actuated in all he does by noble aims and high ideals and the concensus of opinion in the city of his residence is that he stands before the world a model of the able official and successful business man and a true type of the broad minded courteous gentleman whom to know is to respect and honor.

The efficient and popular Clerk of Jefferson county and for many years one of the leading educators in this part of the state, is a native of Illinois, born in Franklin county, on the 5th day of February, I860. His father, Joseph Phillips, also a native of the county of Franklin and a farmer by occupation, moved to Jefferson county in 1866 from which time until his death, in January, 1907, he was a successful agriculturist and prominent citizen of Shiloh township. At the breaking out of the great Rebellion Joseph Phillips enlisted in Company F, Fortieth Illinois Infantry, and served with an honorable record for a period of four years and eight days, during the greater part of which time his regiment was in the Fifteenth Army Corps and took part in many of the most noted battles of the war. He was with his command in every engagement in which it participated, including Shiloh, Corinth, Vicksburg, Jackson, Mississippi ; Missionary Ridge, the Atlanta campaign, and on one occasion while with several of his comrades had the misfortune to fall into the hands of Texans who with scant ceremony decided to put their prisoners to death. The escape of Mr. Phillips after being taken into the woods and seeing one of his comrades shot down in cold blood and himself receiving the fire of the men who were selected to put him to death borders very closely upon the miraculous' and reads like a tale from the pen of the most extravagant writers of fiction. After being shot through the neck and head, lying stunned some minutes, until he heard the leader of the squad order one of the men to beat out his brains with the end of a musket, with a desperate effort he rose to his feet and much to the surprise of his wouldbe executioners, made a dash for liberty and ran with all the strength he possessed into the woods, but his captors equally on the alert started in pursuit, firing as they ran. In this way the race for life was kept up until the prisoner fell over a high embankment into a stream, owing to the loss of blood, from which he extricated himself with extreme difficulty. Making his way through a dense undergrowth to a ditch near the highway he concealed himself for some time in the mud and water, although the enemy bent upon his capture were standing within a few feet of his hiding place. To narrate in detail how Mr. Phillips eluded his pursuers and after many thrilling experiences finally reached the Federal lines would far transcend the limits of this article, but suffice it to state that the incident, which is one of the most interesting in the history of the war, is worthy of a place in the literature of the period in which it occurred, and should be put in permanent form for the benefit of his family and friends.

Joseph Phillips married Rebecca Phelps, of Franklin county, who bore him ten children, all living but one that died in infancy, their names being as follows: Mrs. Mahala Ingram, of Shiloh township; Mrs. Carolina Wilson, of Casner township; John E., of Shiloh township ; Rev. Charles R. Phillips, pastor of the First Methodist church of Eldorado, Illinois; Mrs. Ida Conway, wife of Doctor Norman Conway, of Franklin county; Orville E., deputy County Clerk of Jefferson county; Lewis E., of Roan township; Mrs. Delia Ripplinger, of Dodds township, and W. B., the subject of this sketch, who is the second in order of birth. The mother of these children is still living and makes her home at this time with her daughter who lives in Dodds township.

William Phillips, the subject's grandfather, came to Illinois many years ago and settled near the town of Akin, Franklin county, where he purchased land, and became a well-to-do citizen ; he took an active part in developing the resources of his section of country and encouraged all enterprises which tended to benefit the community and after a long and useful life was called to his reward with the consciousness of duty well done, dying in the year 1 860.

W. B. Phillips was six years old when his parents moved to Jefferson county and during the ensuing ten years he lived in Rome township and assisted in the labors of the farm. In 1876 the family removed to a farm in Shiloh township where the subject remained until elected to the office which he now holds, attending school in the meantime and making rapid progress in his studies. After finishing the branches constituting the curriculum of the public school, he took the scientific course in the Southern Illinois Normal, the training thus received being supplemented in 1882 by a course in the Northern Indiana Normal University, at Valparaiso, which institution he attended for the purpose of adding to his knowledge and efficiency as a teacher, meanwhile he began his long career as an educator by teaching a term of school in Farrington township, Jefferson county, and during the next twenty years following devoted his attention very closely to educational work, achieving marked success as an able instructor and judicious disciplinarian and earning an honorable reputation among the progressive teachers of his part of the state. During his educational experience Mr. Phillips had charge of a number of the best schools in the county and his retention for many successive terms in the same districts speaks well for his ability as a teacher and for his popularity with pupils and patrons. Among the various places where he exercised his pedagogic talents were the schools at Dryden, Hicks' Chapel, Pleasant Grove, Opdyke, where he was principal for four years; one year as principal of the west side schools of Mount Vernon, and ten successive years in the home district, Shiloh township.

Mr. Phillips continued his school work with gratifying success until the year 1902, when he was nominated by the Republican party for County Clerk, to which office he was elected in the fall of that year, defeating his opponent by a majority of three hundred and fifty-four votes, and being the only successful candidate on his ticket, and the second Republican since the county was organized to be thus honored. Prior to his election to the clerkship he held various township offices and acquitted himself creditably in the discharge of the duties of the same, his record in these positions, together with valuable services rendered his party, leading to his nomination and election to the important trust he now so ably and honorably fills.

The better to attend to the duties of his office Mr. Phillips in 1902 moved to Mount Vernon though he still owns his farm in Shiloh township and keeps in close touch with its management. His election to one of the most important positions in the gift of the people, despite the overwhelming majority of the opposition, is certainly a compliment to his ability and worth, and so fully did he meet the high expectations of his friends and justify the trust reposed in him that at the expiration of his term in 1 906 he was re-nominated and again triumphantly elected. Mr. Phillips is methodical in the management of his office, courteous and obliging to all with whom he transacts business and it is universally conceded by Democrats as well as Republicans, that the county has never been served by a more capable, painstaking and obliging official.

The domestic life of Mr. Phillips dates from 1885, on October 1 st of which year he was united in marriage to Miss Jeanette Lacey, daughter of Samuel Lacey, of Long Prairie, Jefferson county, a lady in every respect well fitted to be the companion of such an intelligent and public-spirited husband. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips are the parents of eight children, whose names and dates of birth are as follows: Pearl A., born September 22, 1887, now the wife of Edward Burnett, of Mount Vernon; Wendell B., January 30, 1892, deceased; Fern, April 24, 1894; Dorothy D., December 5, 1897; Cora L., November I, 1901; Elberta M., September 19. 1903; Mary J., March 14, 1905; and William M., who was born April 9, 1908.

Fraternally Mr. Phillips belongs to the Knight of Pythias, Modern Woodmen, the Court of Honor, the Order of Ben Hur. He is a firm believer in revealed religion and for a number of years has been a sincere and respected member of the Methodist Episcopal church, with which denomination his wife also is identified.

A striking feature of our American civilization is the cosmopolitan character of its people. We find here, blended into one harmonious whole, elements so varied and unlike that it seems scarcely less than a miracle that they should lose themselves in ihe greater unit without sacrificing more of their individuality. The rugged Puritan, with his high ideals and stern views of life, found himself free to realize in the concrete what he set up for himself as the goal of life, while the cavalier of the Southland made the wilderness bloom as the rose, and reproduced in genuine style the lingering vestiges of a bygone chivalry. To both of those elements we owe much of the glory to which we have attained and each figures extensively in the foundation structure of our commonwealth. To the Puritans in particular are we indebted for the magnificent achievements in literature, science, art and religious thought that are so intricately interwoven in the warp and woof of our ideal and aspirations.

It is to this class that belonged the ancestors of Dr. Alexander Rivenburgh, one of the well known citizens of Jefferson county. He was bom in Ripon, Wisconsin, in 1857, the son of Henry Rivenburgh, who was a native of New York state, having removed to Wisconsin prior to the Civil war, remaining there until 1874, at which time he changed his residence to Chicago, where he ended his days. Peter Rivenburgh, grandfather of our subject, was, in point of relationship not far removed from the Van Rensellaers, the Knickerbockers and Livingstons, of New York, and traces one part of his ancestral line to the very members of the Mayflower group. Doctor Rivenburgh's mother, Anna (Brown) Rivenburgh, was also of English extraction. She is also deceased. Our subject was the youngest of the family and he spent his early days in Ripon, Wisconsin. When a small boy his parents removed to Sparta, Wisconsin, where Alexander attended the public schools, graduating from the high school there in 1874, when the family moved to Chicago. He entered the Chicago Medical College, from which he graduated. Following this Doctor Rivenburgh went to Boston. He soon made commendable headway and continued in practice there for two years. He then came to New York City, continuing his medical career there for one year, after which he returned to Boston and took up the practice of dentistry. He continued at this for two years and built up an extensive business, having for patrons prominent families of the city. However, the great distance from his own people disturbed his contentment and he finally decided to return to the Middle West, where his relatives were. Upon his return to Chicago he took up the study of dentistry and made a vigorous and thorough preparation for his work, graduating from the Chicago College of Dental Surgery. He established an office in the city of Chicago and soon built up a lucrative practice, developing unusual skill through his thorough methods and scientific grasp of his work. He continued in his profession until 1 906, when he came to Mount Vernon. Here he opened up an office for the practice of dentistry in the Columbia Block, at the corner of Columbia and North streets. His equipment is second to none in the city, and Doctor Rivenburgh readily established for himself thriving business.

The doctor first married Miss Jennie W. Gardner, of New Haven, Connecticut, who is deceased. One son, Gardner Alexander, graced this union. Our subject's second wife was Miss Agnes Schnitzke, of Waukesha, Wisconsin, a woman of refined tastes and culture.

Doctor Rivenburgh resides on his farm, which is located two and one-half miles south of Mount Vernon. It is a beautiful residence and bears in every way the marks of intelligent and tasteful supervision. It has an atmosphere of sociability and impresses the visitor with its conveniences and carefully planned arrangements.

Doctor Rivenburgh takes an active interest in the welfare of the community and has brought to bear on the public mind the results of his wide experience in previous years. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and also of the Knights of Pythias, and affiliates with the Baptist denomination.

Hon. William C. Blair

The distinguished lawyer and honored official whose name appears at the head of this article holds worthy prestige among the leading men of his profession in Southern Illinois and for a number of years has not only figured prominently in the affairs of Jefferson county, but made his influence felt in various ways throughout the entire state. Judge William C. Blair was born May 24, 1861, at Nashville, Illinois, and is a son of William and Mary J. Blair, both natives of Missouri and early settlers of Washington county, Illinois, the father locating south of Nashville about the year 1827 and subsequently taking up his residence in that town. He was a mason by trade and worked at stone and brick laying in Nashville

Francis Blair, the judge's grandfather, a Georgian by birth, and representative of an old Irish family that came to America in an early day, settled in Georgia, went to Missouri many years ago and later changed his residence to Washington county, Illinois, where in due time he became a prominent citizen.

The judge's mother, whose maiden name was Mary J. Grain, and who as already indicated, was a native of Missouri, belonged to an old family that migrated to that state in an early period from Tennessee. She accompanied her parents to Illinois as long ago as 1827 and grew to maturity in Washington county, where she married William Blair, and in due time became the mother of eleven children, seven of whom are living, namely: Mrs. Nancy Parker, of Mount Vernon; Mrs. Garoline Piercy, of Jefferson county; James R., a prominent railroad man, formerly president of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company, with headquarters at Kansas City, Missouri; Miss Sallie Love, of lola, Kansas; William C, of this review; Prof. Francis G. Blair, of Springfield, Illinois, superintendent of public instruction; Mrs. Minnie Phillips, wife of Rev. C. R. Phillips, of Metropolis, this state. The deceased members of the family were, Thomas L. and George W., the others dying in infancy.

Judge Blair spent his childhood at Nashville and when a mere lad removed with his parents to Jefferson county, where he grew to manhood and with the history of which his subsequent life has been very closely identified. He was reared to farm labor, enjoyed such educational advantages as the country school afforded and while still a youth decided to make the law his life work. Accordingly he took up the study after the labors of the day were over and spent the evenings pouring over his books, frequently devoting the greater part of the night digging into and unravelling the mysteries of legal science. In this way he prosecuted his studies and researches until his admission to the bar in 1896, since which time he has devoted his attention very closely to his profession in which his career has been eminently successful and in the highest degree creditable. In 1892 he was elected police magistrate of Mount Vernon, which position he held four years, when he was further honored by being elected State's Attorney, proving one of the ablest and most successful prosecutors the county of Jefferson ever produced.

As a lawyer Judge Blair easily stands among the leaders of his calling in Jefferson county and in the line of criminal practice has few peers in the southern part of the state, his high reputation m this branch of the profession causing a demand for his services in many of the most important trials in his own and neighboring counties for years past. During the past fifteen years he has been employed in a number of noted murder trials in different parts of the state, and in the majority of which, although opposed by a formidable array of the ablest talent obtainable, he secured verdicts for his clients and added to his reputation as a shrewd, tactful lawyer and forceful and eloquent advocate. The judge has practiced in nearly every county of Southern Illinois and is as successful in other branches of the profession as in the one to which his talents have been especially devoted, his name appearing in connection with much important litigation in his own and other counties since engaging in the practice.

Politically the judge is pronounced in his allegiance to the principles of Democracy, stands high in the councils of his party and there has not been a campaign within recent years in which he was not subject to call for service and in which he was not found diligently assisting every nominee of the party's ticket. His active political work covers a period of twenty years, during which time his voice has been heard and his influence felt in every part of Jefferson county besides valuable services rendered the cause of Democracy in district affairs and masterly leadership on state and national campaigns. His ability as a forceful and eloquent speaker has long been recognized and appreciated, and as a member of the joint state committee. In the campaign of 1 896 he v^'as sent to meet and answer leading Republican orators in various parts of the state. His familiarity with the political history of the state and nation together with his shrewdness and tact as a leader, and commanding influence as a master of assemblages, renders him a skillful and powerful antagonist, the pride of his friends and the dread of his political foes in discussing the leading questions at issue.

In the year 1906 Judge Blair was elected to represent the Forty-Sixth District in the General Assembly and as a member of that body rendered valuable services to his constituents and to the state, taking an active and influential part in the deliberations of the chamber and serving as a member of important committees. He has been one of the leaders of his party in the Legislature but in the discharge of his duties frequently loses sight of party interest in his efforts to promote the general welfare of the people and it is a conservative statement to say that the Forty-sixth District has never had an abler or more faithful and conscientious representative. His course as a law maker meeting the approval of his party, he was renominated in 1 908 and in the election of that year he was triumphantly elected by an increased majority.

Judge Blair in the year 1883 entered the marriage relation with Miss Laura E. Johnson, daughter of Leander C. and Martha Johnson, natives of Indiana and Illinois, respectively. The union resulting in the birth of five children, namely : Ethel May, wife of George H. Stein, of St. Louis, Missouri, where the husband is practicing law; Mary J., living at home; Katherine L., a teacher in the public schools of Mount Vernon; William Lee, a student in the high school of the same place, and Albert W., who is pursuing his studies in the city schools. Judge and Mrs. Blair have a host of warm friends and admirers in the city of their residence and are highly esteemed in the social circles of the community. They belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, in the good work of which they are both active and influential and all laudable means to alleviate suffering and distress enlist their hearty co-operation and support. Fraternally the judge is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, in both of which he has held important official positions from time to time and he is also identified with the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Court of Honor and Modern Woodmen.

Wilton C. Willis

The efficient and popular Treasurer of Jefferson county and a native son of the same, was born in Shiloh township on the 1 3th day of February, 1 869. A descendant of one of the earliest pioneers in this part of the state and possessing not a few of the sterling qualities of manhood for which his ancestors were noted, he has not only sustained the high reputation which they always enjoyed but by a life of usefulness and a character above reproach, has added to the brightness of the family escutcheon and the honor of the name. John J. Willis, the subject's father, a farmer and well known contractor, is also a native of Jefferson county, born September 1 1, 1842. He was reared to agricultural pursuits and when nineteen years of age responded to the President's call for volunteers by enlisting in Company I. Forty-ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, being subsequently transferred to Company K, and served with his command till the close of the Civil war. He experienced much active duty and took part in all the battles and skirmishes in which his regiment was engaged, including Shiloh, seige and capture of Vicksburg. Nashville and many other notable actions, in all of which he bore himself as a brave and gallant soldier, ready at any time to face danger and if need be sacrifice his life for the perpetuity of the Union.

When a young man John J. Willis married Miss Sarah A. Casey, whose people moved many years ago from Virginia to Tennessee and from the latter state to Southern Illinois, being among the earliest pioneers of Jefferson county. Green P. Casey, the father of Mrs. Willis, for many years a highly esteemed citizen, has gone to his reward.

Thomas J. Willis, the subject's paternal grandfather, was born and reared in Maryland but early migrated to Ohio, where he resided for a few years and then moved to Jefferson county, Illinois, settling on land in Shiloh township, which he cleared and transferred into a good farm and which is now owned by Wilton C. He was a true type of the sturdy pioneer of the olden time and in addition to cultivating the soil, shipped produce at intervals by flat boat on the Ohio river, doing a fair business. He had two sons, and his wife by a previous marriage, was the mother of two children, all of whom accompanied the parents to the new home m the West and assisted in cleaning and developing the farm. Thomas J. Willis lived to a good old age, dying in the year 1 882 ; his wife has also been called to the other world.

Wilton C. Willis spent his childhood and youth on the family homestead in Shiloh township, and early became familiar with the rugged duties of the farm. He grew up a strong and vigorous lad and under the wholesome influence of outdoor life and the discipline which comes from activity in cultivating the soil, acquired habits of industry and self-reliance which furnished a substantial foundation for his subsequent success as a farmer and trusted servant of the people. After receiving a good common school education he devoted his attention exclusively to agriculture and in due time began farming upon his own responsibility, which honorable calling he followed with success and financial profit until elected to the position he now holds in the year 1 906.

Mr. Willis came in possession of the family homestead some years ago and still owns the same. He has made many improvements on the place and it is now one of the best farms in the township of Shiloh, being admirably situated and well adapted for both agriculture and pasturage. As a farmer Mr. Willis ranks with the most enterprising men of his calling in the county, cultivating the soil according to the most approved modern methods, conducting his affairs on business principles and seldom failing to realize liberal returns from time and labor expended on his land.

He began taking an interest in public matters when a mere youth and became one of the well informed and wide-awake young men of his neighborhood. In due time he became cognizant of the fact that to be a true American citizen one must needs be a politician. Accordingly he posted himself in the issues of the day and espousing the principles of the Republican party soon rose to a position of influence in his township and in time was looked upon not only as a safe political leader, but as an available candidate for public favors. In 1 906 he entered the race for County Treasurer and receiving the nomination at the hands of his party, put forth his efforts in the campaign of that year, defeating his opponent by a decisive majority despite the fact that the county was normally Democratic by a safe margin.

Turning his farm over to the care of others, he took charge of the office at the proper time and moving his family to Mount Vernon has since made the city his place of residence. Mr. Willis has dem- onstrated ability of a high order in the mangement of his office and the manner in which he has looked after one of the people's most important interests has met the expectations not only of his friends and party associates, but of the public at large, irrespective of political affiliations. Capable in all the term implies and faithful as well, he lets nothing interfere with his duties and thus far his official record is without a stain, being creditable to himself and an honor to the county which he serves. His personal popularity is unconfined by party lines and the ability displayed in the position he now holds, it is believed, will lead untimately to higher official honors and doubtless to a wider field than the circumscribed limits of a single county.

Mr. Willis on the 3th day of April, 1890, entered the marriage relation with Miss Lou Roach, who was born and reared in Jefferson county. Her father, David Roach, being a su'bstantial and representative citizen of Casner township. Mr. and Mrs. Willis have one child, a daughter by the name of May, whose birth occurred on January 1 5tb, of the year 1 901 , and in whom are centered many fond hopes and bright anticipations for the future.

Hon. Andrew Duff Webb

A man of sterling worth and high professional attainments, who has been honored by his fellow citizens with positions of responsibility and trust, the subject of the sketch occupies an important place in public view and is recognized as one of the leading citizens of his day in the county of Jefferson. According to the most reliable data obtainable the founders of the Webb family in Illinois appear to have been Eli and Lazarus Webb, who migrated from Virginia as early as the year I 790, and settled on the prairie in Franklin coun- ty, which in compHment to them has since been called Webb's Prairie, being among the first men in that part of the state. Eli Webb, the older of the two, was a true type of the sturdy pioneer of the age in which he lived and nobly bore his share of the labor and responsibility incident to the settlement and development of a new country and lived to see Franklin county redeemed from a primitive wilderness to the fair and flourishing conditions for which it has long been noted. He became a sucessful farmer and influential citizen and reared a large family of sixteen children, among whom was a son by the name of Elijah T., who grew to manhood in Franklin county, and in early life entered the ministry of the Baptist church and in due time rose to a position of prominence and wide influence in that denomination. He preached in various parts of Illinois, organized churches in a number of counties and in addition to religious work was also interested in the cause of education, having been one of the founders of Ewing College, in Franklin county, and a trustee of the institution to the day of his death. He also served a number of years as County Surveyor, besides taking an active part in inaugurating and furthering measures and enterprises for the material advancement of the country while all laudable movements having for their object the social, intellectual and moral improvement of his fellow men enlisted his hearty co-operation and support.

Elijah T. Webb was born in 1818, the year Illinois was admitted to statehood, and lived an active and eminently useful life of sixty-one years, dying on the 14th day of January, 1879. His wife, who bore the naiden name of Nancy Clark, was also a native of Franklin county and a descendant of an old and well known Kentucky family, which settled in that part of the state in pioneer times and became actively identified with its growth and subsequent history. Mrs. Webb was a woman of high character and many excellent qualities, not a few of which have been reproduced in her descendants who are now among the most enterprising and highly esteemed people of their respective places of residence. She bore her husband fourteen children and departed this life at the age of sixty-one years, in 1884.

Of the large family born to Rev. Elijah T. and Nancy Webb, seven survive, namely: Mrs. Elijah J. Link, Mrs. Emeline Pierce, Mrs. Thomas Neal, Eli, John C, Andrew D., of this review, and Robert L. The following are the names of those deceased: Mrs. Elizabeth King, Albert C. Webb, formerly a prominent member of the Jefferson County Bar; Dr. L. M. Webb, a physician and surgeon of Mount Vernon, and four children that died in infancy unnamed.

Andrew Duff Webb, the youngest but one of the above named family, was born in Franklin county, Illinois, January 4, 1864, and spent his childhood and youth on the old homestead on Webb's Prairie, where he early became familiar with the varied duties of the farm. After remaining with his parents and attending the public schools at intervals until his fifteenth year, he entered Ewing College, where he pursued his studies for a period of five years, when he became a student of Shurtliff College, Upper Alton, from which he was graduated in 1884. With a substantial intellectual foundation Mr. Webb began life for himself well fitted for its duties and responsibilities and during the year following his graduation gave his attention to the insurance business, in which he met with fair success. Later he taught school one year in Morgan county and after devoting the same length of time to educational work in Aspen, Colorado, he returned to Illinois and took up the study of law at Mount Vernon in the office of his brother, with whom he remained until his admission to the bar in 1 889.

Mr. Webb brought to his profession a well disciplined mind and his abilities being duly recognized he soon built up a lucrative practice and achieved an honorable reputation as a capable and painstaking lawyer. In 1895 he was appointed Master in Chancery for Jefferson county, and after holding the office two years with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the people he was further honored in 1897 by being elected City Attorney of Mount Vernon, in which capacity he served two terms and the duties of which he discharged with ability and commendable fidelity. Later he served two years as corporation counsel for the city, during which time he was untiring in behalf of the interests of the municipality and in 1 906 he was elected Judge of Jefferson county, which office he still holds and the duties of which he has discharged ably and faithfully, his administration proving eminently satisfactory and adding to his reputation as a sound lawyer and judicious public servant.

In addition to his legal practice and official duties Judge Webb is interested in various local business enterprises including the Royal Loan and Building Association of Mount Vernon, which he assisted to organize and of which he has been a director continuously since it was established in the year 1892. He also has an interest in the C. W. Harris abstract, insurance and loan business, besides being identified with all measures that have recently been put forward for the material growth of the city, and the advancement of the community along social, intellectual and moral lines. In politics the judge is an uncompromising Democrat, active and zealous in upholding his principles and to his exertions as much as to those of any of his compeers is due the success of the party in Jefferson county.

Webb is not only a leading member of the Mount Vernon Bar and the peer of any of his professional brethren in all that constitutes an able and progressive lawyer, but he has also found a most capable and faithful official while his high standing as a courteous gentleman and public-spirited citizen have gained for him a reputation which bespeaks still greater public honors as the years go by. A gentleman of scholarly tastes and high ideals, a reader and thinker and careful student of current events. He keeps in touch with the trend of modern thought and is an influential factor in the intellectual circles of his city as well as a moulder of opinion on matters of political and public import. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and takes an active interest in the deliberations of the order, throughout its various branches, being a leading member of the local lodge with which he is identified, besides holding the high position of grand lecturer of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Illinois, being one of the three Masons m the state thus honored. He also belongs to the Order of Modern Woodmen and the Court of Honor and in religion holds to the Baptist faith, belonging with his wife to the First Baptist church of Mount Vernon and demonstrating by his daily life the sincerity of his profession as a disciple of the Nazarene.

On March 14, 1888, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Webb and Miss Clara B. Green, daughter of S. R. Green, of Cobden, Illinois, a union blessed with six children, whose names and dates of birth are as follows: Roger B., June 5, 1890; Helen. April 19, 1892; George, March 14, 1894; Alice, October 11, 1896; Clarella, December 17, 1900, and Andrew D, who was born on March 3d of the year 1 904.

The founder of the family of this name in Illinois was P. E. Kingman, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, who was a railroad contractor of prominence and built many of the roads in the West. It was in 1858 that he left the East, accompanied by his son, A. H. Kingman, then a boy of tender years. The latter, after growing up at Dubuque, Iowa, entered the banking business and was cashier of the First National Bank of Dubuque for many years. In 1 880 he went to North Dakota and engaged in the wholesale grocery business at Fargo. After remaining there four years, he came to Chicago and was one of the owners of the Mosley Folding Bath Tub Company, but eventually sold out his interest and in 1902 located in Mount Vernon, making his home with his son. His health failing, he started north in hopes of recuperating, but died in Chicago on his way in 1 906. He married Lucretia McArthur, a native of Hudson, New York, who came West with her parents in youth. She is now residing in Brooklyn, New York. Two of their five children died in infancy, the surviving being: H. R., Mrs. J. L. Hitz and Mrs. E. S. Shields, both of Chicago.

H. R. Kingman, the eldest of the children, was born in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1 874, and obtained his elementary education in the schools of Chicago, including the grammar grade, the high school, the manual training and the Armour Institute. In the last mentioned institution, he took the course in electrical engineering. In 1895 he accepted a position with the Western Electric Company, of Chicago, and remained with this firm for four years. His next engagement was with the Deering Harvester Company, in whose employ he conducted special investigations to ascertain the suitability of certain domestic fibers for making binder-twine and also in the development of machinery for this branch of manufacturing. After a year with this concern, he was engaged with the McCormick Company for two years in the same capacity. In 1 902 he became interested in the then defunct municipal light and water plant of Mount Vernon, organized a company, took over the entire outfit and added a gas and central station heating plant. Chiefly through his efforts the resurrected business was made first class in every respect and the city furnished with excellent and satisfactory service. The company is now on a substantial basis and enjoying a prosperous business.

When he took charge the reservoir was wholly inadequate, but in its place has been constructed an up-to-date reservoir with a capacity of three hundred million gallons, drawn from a lake three-fourths of a mile long, a fourth of a mile wide and covering seventy acres. It is situated four miles north of the city and is fully equal to all demands for private or public consumption. Being thus so well equipped with this indispensable necessity of life, the thriving city of Mount Vernon is able to negotiate with advantage for new factories by offering an absolute guarantee of an abundance of water. The offices of the Gas, Electric & Heating Company are on the ground floor of the Third National Bank Building and Mr. Kingman holds the position of secretary and treasurer.

In 1899 Mr. Kingman married Miss EUzabeth, daughter of H. B. Clement, who came West with his family from Albany, New York. Mr. Clement, who was a druggist, located in Chicago and died there in the spring of 1907. His son. Dr. F. M. Clement, is a well known physician of Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Kingman have two children: Marion, born in February, 1900, and Helen, born in May, 1902. Mr. Kingman has been remarkably successful in all his undertakings, has exhibited energy and skill of an unusual order and is regarded by his associates as a business man of the first class. His tastes are domestic, his private life quiet and unobtrusive and he finds his chief enjoyment in the home circle.

Having lost his father by an accident in his native country of England, John J. Gilmore was brought to America when a child by his grandmother, who located in St. Louis. After reaching man- hood, he became identified with the Pullman Palace Car Company and spent his whole business life in Missouri, but he died at Fort Worth, Texas, in 1891. He married Harriet Ann Jackson, born near Knoxville, Tennessee, who, two years subsequent to the death of her husband, removed to Mount Vernon and purchased the property now known as the Mahaffy Hotel, which she conducted until October 18, 1 898, when she also joined the great majority. In March, 1893, she contracted a second marriage with John F. Mahaffy. By her first union she had two children: John J., who died in 1890, and Wilbur H., who was born in St. Louis, October 10, 1879, and who came with his mother at the time of her removal from Missouri. He received his primary education in the schools of the last mentioned city, at Fort Worth and Mount Vernon. After a course in the high school here he entered the University at Lincoln, Illinois, and remained there one year. In the fall of 1 899 he matriculated in the University of Michigan for a course in the medical department, to which he devoted two years. After this he entered Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia and was graduated in 1903 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Locating first at Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, he associated himself with Dr. W. F. Beyer for a while but on January 1. 1905, removed to Mount Vernon, where he formed a partnership with Dr. J. W. Hamilton, which has continued up to the present time. Previous to his graduation he had studied medicine with his subsequent partner during the summers of 1900-01-02. Doctor Gilmore is recognized as a surgeon of unusual ability and has met with success in all his work in that line. He is of pleasing address, of good family and possesses an excellent general education. He has deserved and received well merited recognition in the line of his profession. He is a member of the Jefferson County Medical Society, in which he holds the position of secretary and treasurer. He also holds membership in the Illinois State Medwall's history of JEFFERSON CO., ILL. 575 ical Society and the Southern lUinois Medical Society, the Surgeon's Club of Rochester, Minnesota, also member of American Association of Railway Surgeons. His recognized ability has brought him employment as physician of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad and examining surgeon for the Illinois Commercial Association. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias.

December 21, 1904, he was married to Beatrice, daughter of Dr. S. S. Hamilton, of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and his wife also enjoys the distinction of a medical degree. Their only child was born April 21,1 907, and was christened John Hamilton Gilmore. The family is quite popular in the social circles of Mount Vernon and the doctor enjoys a wide acquaintance throughout the state.

Louis G. Pavey

Mr. Pavey is cashier of the Ham National Bank, Mount Vernon, and a representative of one of the most distinguished families of Jefferson county, was born in the city of which he is now a resident, on the 19th day of October, 1869. His father, Gen. C. W. Pavey, of whom a notice appears elsewhere in these pages, was a prominent pioneer and later became one of the leading men of Illinois, serving at one time as Auditor of State and otherwise taking an active and distinguished part in public affairs. Isabella F. Pace, wife of General Pavey, and mother of the subject, was also of a prominent family the history of which and that of Jefferson county being very closely identified.

Louis G. Pavey received his early education in the public schools of Mount Vernon and later entered the State University at Champaign, where he prosecuted his studies until completing the prescribed course and made a creditable record as a student. Leaving that institution he labored for some time on the home farm, but subsequently discontinued tilling the soil to become a salesman in his father's store. General Pavey having been elected Auditor of State in 1 888. Louis G. the following year entered the office as Warrant Clerk, a position of great responsibility for a young man still in his minority. After serving four years under his father, Mr. Pavey retired from the office and, going to Chicago, accepted a position with the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank, where he demonstrated abilities of a high order, discharging his duties with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the managers of the institution, who parted with his services with much regret when he saw fit to sever his connection with the bank.

Returning to Mount Vernon, Mr. Pavey became identified with the Ham National Bank, one of the leading institutions of the kind in Southern Illinois, and is still connected therewith holding the important and responsible position of cashier, besides taking an active interest in the general management of the business. An accomplished accountant, and financier with a thorough knowledge of monetary affairs and familiar with every detail of the business with which he is identified, Mr. Pavey occupies a prominent place among the financiers of the state and stands high in the esteem of all with whom he comes into contact. From the beginning of his career to the present time, his record has been eminently honorable and upright, never having swerved from the path of rectitude, and he has always proved able to discharge worthily the responsibilities resting upon him in stations demanding the highest order of business talent. He has labored faithfully and earnestly to promote the interests of the important institution with which he is connected, subordinating every other consideration to this one object and it is conceded that much of the success which has characterized the growth of the bank

Mr. Pavey was united in marriage November 17, 1901, with Miss Martha Ham, daughter of Hon. C. D. Ham (see sketch), and occupies a beautiful modern residence in the historic Grant Place, which is a favorite resort for the most cultured and refined social circles of the city. Himself and wife are greatly esteemed for their many excellent qualities of mind and heart, popular among those with whom they mingle and few if any command more mfluence in the social and intellectual life of Mount Vernon, or have shown themselves as worthy of the regard in which they are held.

In politics Mr. Pavey is a Republican, but not a partisan nor office-seeker, nevertheless he takes an active interest in the success of his party, keeps in close touch with the leading questions and issues of the times, on all of which he has well defined opinions and the courage of his convictions and weilds an influence in public affairs second to that of few of his compeers. Religiously, the Methodist church holds his creed, himself and his wife being respected members of the Mount Vernon congregation and liberal contributors to its support, also to various lines of benevolent and charitable work in which both manifest an earnest and abiding interest.

Occupying a prominent position among the leading physicians and surgeons of Southern Illinois and coming prominently into the ranks of the successful self-made men of the state is the gentleman whose name stands for the head of this sketch. Dr. J. W. Hamilton is a native of Jefferson county, Illinois, born April 24, 1871, near Knob Prairie, where hi,s grandfather settled about the year 1839, being among the early pioneers of that part of the country. Josiah A. Hamilton, the doctor's father, was born in Brown county, Ohio, but when four years of age was brought by his parents to Illinois. The family settled originally near McLeansboro, Hamilton county, and three years later removing thence to Jefferson county and founding a home at the north end of Knob Prairie.

Josiah Hamilton was reared a farmer and in due time became one of the successful men of his calling in his community as well as one of the county's widely known and highly esteemed citizens. He served in Company K, Thirty-second Illinoish Volunteer Infantry, during the late Civil war, saw much active service and earned an honorable record as a soldier. Resuming agricultural pursuits on returning from the army, he continued the same on his farm near Knob Prairie until within a short time before his death when he changed his residence to the town of Ina, where in August, 1877, he passed from earth.

When a young man Josiah Hamilton married Miss Hannah E. Boswell, who was born at Knob Prairie, in 1834, and is still living near the place where she first saw the light of day, retaining to a remarkable degree the possession of her faculties both physical and mental. She bore her husband ten children, six of whom grew to mature years, of which one, Mrs. Elnora Webb, the third in order of birth, has since died. Those living at this time are Orange Hamilton, of Waltonville, Jefferson county ; Mrs. Lucretia Mannen, who lives at the same place; Vincent Hamilton, of Sheller, Illinois; Charles, of Emerton City, and Dr. J. W., whose name introduces this review.

The doctor's grandfather was Orange Hamilton, a native of New York City, and as already stated, a pioneer of Jefferson county, locating near Knob Prairie in a very early day and taking an active and influential part in the material development of his section of the country. By occupation he was a tiller of the soil and as such ranked among the most enterprising and successful of the county, besides attaining commendable standing as a neighbor and citizen. He developed a good farm, provided comfortably for his family and departed this life about the year 1857, honored and respected by all with whom he came in contact.

The early life of Doctor Hamilton was spent on the family homestead near Knob Prairie and when a mere boy he learned by practical experience the true significance of honest toil and the value of industry as a means of attaining an honorable position in the world. He was reared on the farm and after attending the public schools until his seventeenth year began teaching, to which useful calling he devoted his attention until his twenty-first year, meeting with flattering success the meanwhile and achieving an honorable reputation as a capable and painstaking instructor. Having decided to make the medical profession his life work, he entered shortly after attaining his majority the office of Dr. A. J. Fitzgerald, of Knob Prairie, where he prosecuted his studies for one year and in 1 902 became a student of Barnes Medical College of St. Louis, which he attended during the three years ensuing and from which he was graduated March 17, 1905.

On receiving his degree Doctor Hamilton began the practice of his profession at Ina, Illinois, but after a year and a half at that place he found a wider and more inviting field for the exercise of his talents in the city of Mount Vernon, where he has since practiced with encouraging success and where he now has a large and lucrative professional business, which is rapidly growing in magnitude and importance. For about one and a half years he was in partnership with Dr. Harold Gee, but at the expiration of which time became associated with Doctor Gilmore, the firm thus constituted being still maintained and at the present time among the best known partnerships of the kind not only in Mount Vernon and Jefferson county, but in the southern part of the state.

Doctors Hamilton and Gilmore have finely equipped offices in the Youngblood building, where every implement and device of modern surgery is to be found, also the latest results of medical research. Both gentlemen being critical students and in close touch with everything relating to their profession. While eminently successful in the general practice they make a specialty of surgery, to which they have devoted much time and careful study and in which they have achieved more than local repute, being recognized as the leading surgeons of their city and among the most skillful and successful in the state.

Doctor Hamilton is still a young man but he belongs to the school of advanced thought and has spared neither pains nor expense to acquire proficiency in his noble work and become a true benefactor of the race. He has met with financial success commensurate with the energy and skill displayed in his practice and is now not only one of the ablest physicians and surgeons of the city in which he resides, but also one of its well-to-do men and enterprising public-spirited citizens. Doctor Hamilton is a member of the Jefferson County Medical Society, in the deliberations of which he takes a prominent and influential part and also belongs to the Medical Society of Southern Illinois, which he is now serving as president. In addition to those two bodies he is identified with various other organizations including the Illinois State Medical Society, the Ohio Valley Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the American Association of Railway Surgeons and holds a life membership with the Surgeons Club of Rochester, Minnesota. In connection with his large and steadily growing practice he has been for twelve years surgeon of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois

Railroad Company, and is not infrequently called long distances to perform operations requiring a high order of surgical talent. The doctor IS a Democrat but finds little time to devote to political matters, although deeply interested in public affairs and familiar with the leading questions and issues upon which men and parties divide. He has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows during the past twelve years and is also identified with the order of Woodmen, the Court of Honor, the Maccabees and the Knigths of Pythias, holding the title of past chancellor in the last named society. He has never aspired to office or leadership among his fellow citizens and with the exception of serving three years on the city school board has held no public position.

On the 26th day of April, 1891 , Doctor Hamilton was united in marriage with Miss Cora Webb, daughter of Daniel R. Webb, of Horse Prairie, Jefferson county, a union blessed with two children, Clarence O., born December 18, 1892, and Willma Opal, whose birth occurred on June 30th, of the year 1 896. Doctor and Mrs. Hamilton are well known in the social life of Mount Vernon and stand high in the esteem of the best people of the city and county. They are interested in all humanitarian measures for the amelioration of suffering and distress, contribute liberally to charitable institutions and private benevolences.

B. A. Marshall

The founder of the Illinois family of this name was John Marshall, a native of Virginia, who was noted as a sturdy, discreet and industrious farmer, blessed with an abundance of good common sense. He removed with his family to Illinois and finally ended his earthly career at Atwood, in 1 860. During a previous residence in Ohio his son, C. G. Marshall, was born and after growing up settled in Shelby county, Illinois, in 1866. In early life he had learned the trade of millwright, but in later years took up the practice of medicine, which he prosecuted with success. In 1871 he removed to Arthur, Illinois, where he died four years later. He married Elizabeth Griggs, whose parents came from New Jersey to New Lexington, Ohio, where she was born. Her death occurred in 1 898 at Macksville, Piatt county, Illinois. The children by this union were: Mrs. Malissa Ridge, of Hindsboro, Illinois; Rachael, deceased; the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Anna M. Dawson, deceased; Harriet C. Spelbring, of Ida Grove, Iowa, and Elias P. Marshall, of Sentinel, Oklahoma.

B. A. Marshall, the third of this family in order of birth, was bom at New Lexington, Ohio, December 2, 1850. His boyhood was spent in Ohio, Atwood, Illinois and Mexia, Texas, his schooling being obtained chiefly at Macksville, Illinois. After leaving school he was engaged in farming for twelve years in Douglas and Piatt counties, Illinois. In 1 880 he was appointed a postal clerk in the railway mail service, but resigned this position after four years' tenure. Two more years at farming was followed by a trip to Texas, where two years were spent in Mexia. The next move was to Vernon, in the Panhandle and during his sojourn in the Lone Star State, he engaged in the real estate and loan business, holding for a while the position of state examiner of securities for the Texas Loan Agency at Corsicana. September 9, 1903, after a residence in Texas of six years, he came to Mount Vernon, where he has since resided and continuously engaged in the real estate business. He assisted in the organization of the Mount Vernon State and Savings Bank, of which he became assistant cashier, and when this institution was consolidated with the Third National Bank, Mr.

Marshall was made director. He is now associated with G. L. Staley in the real estate business and the firm is among the leading dealers in realty in Southern Illinois. They own a large amount of real estate, including farms and other kinds of property in this line. Mr. Marshall enjoys high rank as a business man of fair dealing and may justly boast that he has never been sued or brought suit against others. He takes an active interest in politics and was at one time nominee of the Republican party for Mayor of Mount Vernon. He served two years in the City Council during the term of Mayor Williams. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and Court of Honor.

August 3, 1870, Mr. Marshall was married to Martha A. Shonkwiler, an Illinois descendant of Indiana parents. The five children resulting from this union were, Nora A., deceased; M. C, foreman of the roundhouse at Sapulpa, Oklahoma; Hattie C, wife of W. C. Plummer, a railway mail clerk, residing at Newton, Kansas; Myrtle, wife of Morton E. Sleet, bookkeeper for the Armour Packing Company at the Union stockyards in St. Louis; Ralph H., bookkeeper for the St. Louis Coffee & Spice Wholesale House, is a graduate of the Mount Vernon high school and the business college in Quincy, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Marshall are members of the First Methodist Episcopal church.

George E. Green

We have here a sample of the farm boy making his way to the city and achieving remarkable popularity both in politics and business. It furnishes additional proof of the frequent claim made in the press, that cities receive their best blood from the farm, the train- ing and discipline of the agricultural life providing a moral and physical stamina that forms the basis of strong characters. The Green family have long been known in Jefferson county, where they have led the quiet and industrious lives characteristic of the tiller of the soil in the great Mississippi valley. Barnette Green, a native of Blissville township, grew up on his father's farm, went through the usual school discipline of the country, learned the routine of farming and in time himself became a general farmer and stock raiser. He was much respected by his neighbors, prospered in his business and was much lamented when his blameless life was terminated December 6, 1897. He married Martha, daughter of William and Margaret (Taylor) Page, also a native of Jefferson county. The old Jewish prayer for a large family was vouchsafed to this worthy couple as before her death, November 1 0. 1 893, Mrs. Green had become the mother of eleven children: Margaret, deceased; N. H., of Jefferson county; Mrs. Mary Eliza Fox, a resident of Jefferson county; James B., deceased; Mrs. Sarah VanDyke, deceased; Mrs. Delia Taylor, of Jefferson county; M. J., of Chicago; Albert M., Supervisor of Blissville township; George E., subject of this sketch; John E., deceased, and Charles E., of New York City.

George E. Green, the ninth in order of birth of this numerous progeny, was born in Blissville township, Jefferson county, Illinois, July 15.1 868. He spent his boyhood on the parental farm, learned what hard work meant, picked up considerable practical knowledge as he walked the furrows and some theoretical information from the country schools, which he attended in winter. When a young man he left the homestead to spend a year with his brother who was in business in St. Louis. Returning home he was elected when a young man, to the office of Assessor of his native township, which position he held for seven years in succession. In 1 900 he became a citizen of Mount Vernon, and in 1905 was elected City Clerk, carrying every ward in the town and two years later was re-elected by almost the same landslide, this time only losing one ward and that by a single vote. He is a Democrat in politics, but not an active worker, his race for clerk being made on the People's ticket. It will thus be seen that Mr. Green's poularity as a farmer's boy was fully sustained as a resident of the city. He does some insurance business, but his duties as City Clerk occupy the most of his time. Mr. Green belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and for many years has been a member of the First Methodist Episcopal church. He has never- married.

Eugene M. Peavler

Our subject, who is City Attorney of Mount Vernon, and one of the leading members of the Jefferson County Bar, is a native of Illinois, and the son of the late Dr. James Warren and Victoria Peavler, the father for many years a successful physician and surgeon and influential citizen. Gabriel Peavler, the subject's grandfather, was born January 27, 1813, on the Holstein river in Sullivan county, Tennessee, where his parents, Jacob and Margaret (Stewart) Peavler, natives of Virginia, settled in an early day. On the paternal side the family is of German extraction, the Stewarts coming from Ireland in Colonial times and settling in the Old Dominion state. At the breaking out of the War of 1812, Jacob Peavler joined a Virginia regiment and while serving at his post of duty fell a victim to an epidemic as did also thousands of his comrades. Gabriel being but seven years old at the time of his father's death, the mother dying five years later, the boy at the age of twelve was "bound out" to a man by the name of Allen, at Montecelio, Kentucky, to learn the trade of making and laying brick, which vocation he followed for many years in various parts of Kentucky and other states. Later he engaged in farming in connection with which he also conducted a mercantile establishment in Washington county, Indiana, to which state he removed in the meantime and in which he lived until changing his residence in 1 850 to Clark county, Illinois, where he continued the same pursuits for a period of six years.