Logan County, Illinois - Biographical sketches (1 of 3 so headed), 1886

Oscar Allen is a native of Massachusetts, born in 1836. He came to Logan County in 1867 and was admitted to the bar in 1871, and has since practiced in Lincoln.

Samuel G. Allen, attorney at law, Lincoln, was born in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, May 1, 1854, his parents, David and Sarah (Grenninger) Allen, being also natives of Pennsylvania, and of English and German descent respectively. When he was ten years old he came with liis parents to Hlinois, they settling on a farm in Orvil Township, Logan County, where he lived till sixteen years old, being educated till that time in district schools. In the spring of 1872 he entered the Illinois State University at Normal which he attended, and defrayed his expenses till 1874, when he was taken sick with malarial fever and was obliged to leave school. On his recovery he engaged in teaching in the district schools of Logan County which he followed till 1877. From 1875 in connection with teaching school he read law during his leisure hours with Hon. Ed. Lynch, of Lincoln. In June, 1877, he was admitted to the bar at Mount Vernon, Illinois, after which he practiced with his preceptor of Lincoln till 1879, when he opened

Timothy Tildson Beach, senior member of the law firm of Beach & Hodnett, of Lincoln, was born at Kosendale, Ulster County, New York, December 18, 1843. His parents, Phineas and Martha (Weldrura) Beach, were both natives of New Jersey, the former being of Scotch and Irish descent, and the latter of German and French descent. T. T. Beach, our subject, was quite young when his parents settled inPoughkeepsie, New York, in which city he attended school till he was fourteen years old. He then learned the carpenter's trade which he followed till the breaking out of the late war. He then enlisted, in June, 1862, as a private in Company B, One Hundred and Fiftieth New York Infantry, in the three-years service. He participated in the battles of Grettysbnrg, Eocky Ford, Kesaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Chattahoochie, Peach Tree Creek, sieges of Savannah and Bentonville, and others of minor importance. He was discharged with jhis regiment in June, 1865, and during his term of service was never off duty from sickness, and was never wounded, although he had some narrow escapes. In July, 1865, he came to Lincoln and began working at his trade. In September, 1867, he entered Lincoln University from which he graduated in the class of 1870. He then studied Jaw with Hon. S. A. Foley at Lincoln, and was admitted to the bar in April, 1871, since which he has been engaged in the practice of law. In the spring of 1872 he was elected city attorney of Lincoln for one year, and the following fall he was elected State's Attorney for Logan County for a term of four years. In 1873 he was appointed by the Circuit Court of Logan County, Master in Chancery, which office he held for six years by reappointment. In June, 1874, he was chosen one of the trustees of Lincoln University, and still holds that position. In 1874 Joseph Hodnett became associated with him, when the present firm of Beach & Hodnett was formed. Mr. Beach has gained an extensive legal reputation, and for the past eight years ne Has taken part in all the important litigations, both criminal and civil, in the courts of Logan County. He was first married at Mt. Pulaski, May 3, 1871, to Isabelle W. Swing, who died at Lincoln, Oct. 13, 1878, leaving two children - Bessie Leona and Flora Belle. Mr. Beach was again married Aug. 23, 1882, to Grace A. Lynn, of Lincoln. In his political views Mr. Beach is a Democrat, and has served as Chairman of the Logan County Democratic Committee. He is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, and belongs to the lodge, chapter and commandery of Lincoln- John L. Bevan, attorney at law of Atlanta, is a native of Logan County, Illinois, born December 15, 1845, a sou of Samuel and Eliza A. Bevan, the father deceased. He was reared on his father's farm till his twenty-first year, receiving his primary education in a district school. Inthefallof 1866 he entered Shurtlefi" College, of Alton, Illinois, which he attended five years, and in the fall of 1871 he became a student at Brown University, an Eastern institution of national importance, graduatinsj therefrom in June, 1872. The following fall he entered the law department of Ann Arbor University from which he graduated in March, 1874. The same year he began the practice of law in Atlanta, 111., where he has built up a large and lucrative practice, and is classed among the leading legal advisers of Logan County. He is at present clerk of Atlanta Township, which position he has filled for years. October 4, 1877, he was married to Armada S. Thomas, daughter of Rev. E. J. Thomas of Atlanta. Of the three children born to this union two are living - Lynn J. and Carl . In politics Mr. Bevan affiliates with the Republican party.

Edward D. Blinn, attorney at law, senior member of the firm Blinn & Hoblit, Lincoln, Illinois, was born at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, September 12, 1844, a son of Charles and Lefee (Harrington) Blinn. His father was a native of Canada, of English descent, and his mother of Vermont, of English and French descent. He was given a good education, and when eighteen years of age left home and went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where for eighteen months he was employed as bookkeeper in a pump manufactory. In 1864 he began the study of law in the office of Kebler & Whitman, and in 1866 was admitted to the bar by the Superior Court of Cincinnati. He remained with Kebler & Whitman till the following September, when he came West and in November located at Lincoln. In January, 1869, he became associated with Silas Beasou, and the firm of Beason & Blinn continued till April, 1882, when James T. Hoblit succeeded Mr. Beason, and the name was changed to Blinn & Hoblit. In 1875 Mr. Blinn was a member of the County Board of Supervisors, representing East Lincoln Township. In politics he is a Republican, and lias been chairman of the Logan County Republican Central Committee several years. In 1880 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention at Chicago, and in 1884 was one of the Presidential electors for the State of Illinois. Jan. 1, 1869, Mr. Blinn was married at Cold Sprina;, Kentncky, to Nettie L., daughter of John C. Youtsey, a prominent citizen of that place. They have three children - Edith, Eva and Nettie L. Mr. Blinn is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Lincoln Lodge, No. 210; Lincoln Chapter, No. 147, and Constantine Commandery, No. 51.

Albert Douglas Cadwalladbr, postmaster at Lincoln, and attorney at law, is a native of Ohio, born in Harveysburg, July 25, 1846, a son of John T. and Kachel (Farquhar) Cadwallader, the former a native of Virginia, of "Welsh and Scotch descent, and the latter of Ohio, of Scotch descent. "When nine years of age he accompanied his parents to Canton, Illinois, they removing when he was thirteen to Havana. When sixteen years old, in August, 1862, he enlisted in Company B, Eighty-fifth Illinois Infantry, and served till May, 1865. In the spring of 1864 he was promoted to First Lieutenant of his company, and soon after receiving his commission took command of his company. He participated in the battles of Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Resaca, Rome, Buzzards' Roost, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Greek and others of minor importance. At Peach Tree Creek, July 19, 1864, he lost his arm, and received his discharge in May, 1865. After regaining his health, in the winter of 1865-66, he took a course at the Commercial College of Indianapolis, and in the summer of 1866 studied telegraphy at Corwin, Ohio. The following fall he came to Lincoln, where his parents were then living, and soon after was appointed operator in the office of the Chicago & Alton and the Toledo, Peoria & Western railroads, at Chenoa, Illinois, remaining there about a year. In 1867 he was given charge of the passenger and telegraph department of the Chicago & Alton Railroad at Lincoln. In the spring of 1868 he was elected City Clerk of Lincoln, and performed the duties of his office iu addition to his other duties. In May, 1869, he was appointed postmaster of Lincoln, and resigned his position with the railroad to assume the duties of his new position, which he has fulfilled with efficiency and to the satisfaction of the citizens of Lincoln. He began the study of law with Beach & Hodnett, attorneys of Lincoln, and was admitted to the bar in May, 1883. Mr. Cadwallader was married May 5, 1869, to Sevillah E., daughter of John Wyatt. She died, leaving one child - Albert Clifford, who is also deceased. December 24, 1873, he married Yesta Meguire, of Oquakwa, Illinois. They have one child - Imogene Farquhar. Mrs. Cadwallader is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is an attendant. He is a member of Lincoln Lodge, No. 204,1. O. O. F.; Leo W. Myers Post, No. 182, G. A. R., and the American Legion of Honor.

Ferdinand L. Oapps, attorney at law, Atlanta, came to America with his parents, who first settled in Wisconsin, and shortly after, in 1858, located in Logan County, making their home in Atlanta. They had a family of six children, five of whom are still living - Henry F., August L., Emil, Eliza and Ferdinand L. Our subject was reared to manhood in Logan County, and there obtained a good education. In January, 1864, he enlisted in Company H, Seventh Illinois Infantry, Army of the Tennessee. On October 5 of the same year he was wounded in the thigh at Allatoona Pass, and was taken to Rome Hospital, Georgia, remaining there till a few days prior to the battle of Nashville, when he reported for duty and was assigned to the provision corps which consisted entirely of convalescents, and embraced several hundred men, included in the command of General Steadman. A few days after the battle of Nashville he was sent back to his regiment, which was then with General Sherman near Goldsboro, North Carolina, with which he continued till his discharge in July, 1865. He then returned to Atlanta, and some years afterward read law in the office of ex- Judge Dicks, of Logan County. Having passed his legal examinations he was admitted to the Logan County bar, and in 1877 he opened his present law office in Atlanta. He is a successful practitioner, and is at present serving his fourth term as city attorney. October 23, 1879, he was married to Ella Collins, of Atlanta. Mr. Capps has served one term as supervisor of Atlanta Township.

Edd E. M. Cochran, attorney at law, a member of the firm of Harts & Cochran, Lincoln, Illinois, was born near Piketon, Pike County, Ohio, September 9, 1857. When he was seven years of age his father, William T. Cochran, died, and from that time be was obliged to rely inainly on himself for maintenance. Until fifteen years of age he was variously employed, attending as he had opportunity the public schools. From his fifteenth till his nineteenth year he was employed as bookkeeper in Chillicothe and Waverly, and in September, 1876, came to Illinois and was employed in the abstract office of Randolph & Leutz six months. He then began to read law in tlie office of Harts & James. They paid him a small salary for his services to them and while there ho wrote up a set of abstract books for him- self, his time for study being nights. A part of the years 1879 and 1880 he was employed as bookkeeper by the Lincoln Coal Mining Company. June 11, 1881, he was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court at Springfield and began his practice at Lincoln. In November of the same year he became associated with his former preceptor, David H. Harts, forming the present law firm of Harts & Cochran. Politically, Mr. Cochran is a Democrat. He was married June 20, 1883, to Mattie E. Arnold, of Eminence, Henry County, Kentucky. They have two children - Laura Edwina and Lulu Arnold. Mr. Cochran is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church.

Chaeles H. CtJETis, attorney at law, was born March 15, 1862, in Laenna Township, Logan County, 111., and was educated in the high school at Mount Pulaski. At the age of seventeen he began reading law with Beach & Hodnett, Lincoln, 111. In 1882 he graduated from the law department of the State University of Iowa, and has since practiced law in Mount Pulaski. He is a Democrat in politics, and is town clnrk. He was married in Mount Pulaski to Ora L., daughter or Dr. M. P. Phinney. She was born April 11, 1862, in Mason City, 111. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis have had two children. Their first-born, a son, Major L., died at the age of six months. They have one daughter. Ruby May, born in Mount Pulaski. Mr. Curtis is a son of Enoch Curtis, a native of Virginia. He removed to Pickaway County, Ohio, where he lived sixteen years and married Polly Dunnuck. They came to Logan County in 1850. Four of their five children were born in Pickaway County, Oiiio - Rebecca, the widow of J. P. Evans, residing in Dakota; William L., a Kansas farmer; Samuel T. and Hiram W. both farming in Logan County.

Hon. Stephen Andeew Foley, County Judge, and one of the prominent business men of Lincoln, Illinois, is a native of Logan County, born Aug. 27, 1840. His father, William Foley, was a native of Clarke County, Ohio, moved to Logan County in 1834, where he died in 1848. His mother, Sarah J. (Downey) Foley, was also a native of Ohio, and came with her father, James Downey, to Illinois in 1828, locating in what was then McLean County. She died at Atlanta in 1857. Our subject has spent his entire life in Logan County. He lived on a farm till fourteen years of age, receiving a common-school education. When seventeen years of age he began life for himself and for four years was employed in the postoffice at Atlanta. In 1861 he came to Lincoln and made the first abstracts of title in Logan County, which he sold in 1865. He attended the law department of the University of Albany, New York, and in 1866 formed a law partnership with James T. Hoblit, which continued until each began to hold public positions when a dissolution was necessary. In 1877 he "was elected county judge, a position he has since held. In July, 18Y7, he became interested in banking and was elected president of the Lincoln Saving, Loan and Trust Bank, which in 1885 was merged into the Lincoln National Bank, of which he was also chosen president. In 1878 he became proprietor of the Lincoln gas plant, which he owned until 1884, when the Lincoln Gas and Electric Light Company was organized and he became its president. In 1880 he beca.-ne interested in the Citizen's Coal Shaft, of which he owns a large share and is one of its directors. In 1885 he built the Lincoln Roller Mills, which have the capacity of manufacturing 150 barrels of flour daily. He is also proprietor of the Mendota, Illinois, gas plant. He owns about 2,500 acres of farming land in Logan County, all of which is occupied by tenants. Judge Foley's remarkable success in life has been wholly due to his clear judgment and natural business ability. He gives his numerous business interests his personal and untiring attention, and his integrity and honesty have gained for him a high rank in the opinion of the business men, who do not hesitate to place him in positions of honor and trust. He is one of the enterprising and self-made men to whom Lincoln owes its growth and present prosperity. Judge Foley was married Nov. 7, 1867, to Hannah Hahn, daughter of William B. and Sarah (Woodman) Hahn, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Foley died Sept. 23, 1880. She was an active member and one of the founders of Trinity Episcopal Church, of Lincoln, Judge Foley and his children being members of the same organization. He has been one of the wardens since 1871, and is Chancellor of the Diocese of Springfield. Judge Foley has three children - William H., Edna and William. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, lodge, chapter and commandery at Lincoln.

D. H. Harts came to Logan County in 1856. He was reared on a Logan County farm and studied in Chicago University Law School. He was admitted to the bar in 1866 and has since practiced in Lincoln. He formed a partnership with E. E. M. Cochran in 1882.

January 23, 1857, at Bethlehem, Hamilton County, Indiana. His parents, Joseph S. and Louise (Woland) Hilscher, were natives of Pennsylvania, and of German descent. They came to Logan County and located in Eminence Township the same year our snbiect was horn. He lived there on the farm with his parents until his seventeenth year, when he left his home and went to La Salle, Illinois. Arriving there among total strangers, and without a cent, he sought and soon found work on a farm. In the following fall, 1874, he came to Lincoln, and entered the preparatory department of Lincoln University, which he attended two terms. lie then returned to La Salle, and again worked on a farm till the next fall, after which he taught school for one year at Dimmick Station, in La Salle County. He then taught two terms in a district school, near Dimmick, and in the fall of 1878 entered Knox College at Galesbnrg, Illinois, and went through the Freshman and Sophomore years, he, with his own earnings, paying the expenses of his tuition, etc., both at Lincoln and at Galesburg. In 1880 he taught a school at Hartsburg, and at the same time commenced the study of law. He continued to teach school and study law until June, 1883, when he made application and was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court at Springfield, and immediately formed a partnership with S. J. Woland at Lincoln, since which time he has been engaged in the practice of his chosen profession. In politics he is a Republican. On the 3d of December, 1884, Mr. Hilscher was married to Hetta Anderson, of Lincoln, daughter of William and Caroline (Martin) Anderson. He and his wife are both members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church at Lincoln.

J. T. HoBLiT was born near Atlanta, Illinois, and was reared in Logan County. He was admitted to the bar in 1865. Was in partnership with S. Beason a year. From 1867 to 1878 was with Stephen A. Foley; then formed a partnership with W. W. Stokes. He spent 1881 in California. The firm of Blinn & Hoblit was established in 1882.

Joseph Hodnbtt, junior member of the law firm of Beach & Hodnett, Lincoln, was born March 5, 1849, in County Limerick, Ireland, a son of Thomas P. and Elizabeth (Halliman) Hodnett. His father was a merchant by occupation, dying in his native country in December, 1848. Joseph Hodnett received his education first in the primary schools, and later attended the Catholic University at Ennis, Ireland, remaining in his native country till fifteen years of age. He then came to the United States in 1864, and first ena;aofed in clerking in a store in New York for a fewmonths. He then went to "Washington, District of Columbia, and from there went to San Francisco, remaining on the Pacific coast five years. In 1870 he located at Lancaster, Wisconsin, and there entered the law office of Barber & Clementson as a student. He was admitted to the bar at Lancaster in 1872 when he came to Lincoln, Logan County, where he made his home with his brother, Rev. T. P. Hodnett, Rector of St. Patrick's Catholic Church. In 1875 he was admitted to the bar at Lincoln, and at once began the practice of his profession with T. T. Beach with whom he has since been associated. December 3, 1876, he was married at Lincoln to Mary E. Shay, daughter of the late William Shay, an old settler of Logan County. They have four children - Thomas P., Elizabeth G., Joseph and William E. Mr. Hodnett and wife are members of St. Patrick's Catholic Church at Lincoln.

RoBEET Humphrey, attorney at law, Lincoln, Illinois, is a native of New York City, born July 10, 1853. His parents came to Illinois in 1855, and lived at Geneseo two years, and in 1857 moved to Lincoln where the father died in 1859. His mother marrying again in 1872 he went with her to Sangamon County and remained till 1875 when he returned to Lincoln. He acquired a good education and when eighteen years of age began teaching school in Sangamon County, and taught there four years, and subsequently taught four years in Logan County. In the spring of 1875 he began reading law and was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court in the spring of 1878. He remained in the office of Beason & Blinn till the spring of 1880 when he began the practice of his profession at Lincoln. In the spring of 1883 he was elected city attorney of Lincoln and was re-elected in 1884. In the fall of 1884 he was elected on the Democratic ticket State's Attorney tor Logan County. From June, 1879, till April 1, 1883, he was librarian of the Lincoln library. He is a member of Cook Lodge, No. 109, A. 0. U. W.

John Johnston, attorney at law, Lincoln, Illinois, is a native of Scotland, born in Glasgow, March 14, 1850. His parents, John and Catherine (Brien) Johnston, were natives of Ireland, but of Scotch descent. When he was three years of age they came to America and lived eight years in Prescott County, Canada. In the spring of 1861 they came to Illinois and settled on a farm in the vicinity of Lincoln. Our subject after graduating from the classical department of Lincoln University in the class of 1877, entered the law department of Harvard College, from which he was called after a few months by the sickness and death of his father. He then went into the office of Beach & Hodnett and read law with them about two years. From 1879 till 1882 he was treasurer of ^tua Township and at the same time was justice of the peace of the township. In the spring of 1882 he was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court at Springfield and immediately began to practice in Lincoln. In politics he is a Republican and in 1884 took an active part in the Presidential campaign. He has for several years been a member of the Logan County Kepublican Committee. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he has been a local preacher three years and class-leader two years. He is treasurer of the Young Men's Christian Association, an organization in which he takes a great interest. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and is senior warden of Logan Lodge, No. 480. Mr. Johnston was married February 28, 1878, to Dora Foster, of Vermont, Fulton County, Illinois. They have one child - Emma Alice.

Hon. Wm. B. Jones. - The following sketch of the life of Hon. Wm. B. Jones, who has resided in Lincoln since the year 1866, has been furnished by a gentleman who has been intimately acquainted with him, before and since his removal from Kentucky to Illinois.

During Mr. Jones's boyhood and youth he labored on a small farm, and obtained a good education, of the character afforded by such country schools as prevailed in Southern Kentucky, where he was born and reared, embracing only such branches as are taught in common schools. At the age of twenty-one years he seriously considered the question of selecting a line of work for life, and was much inclined to become a machinist. His love of books and thirst for knowledge, however, turned the scales, and he selected the legal profession. He studied law with Hon. Franklin Govin, a prominent attorney of Glasgow, Kentucky, his fellow-student being Hon. John G. Rogers, npw one of the judges of the Circuit Court in Chicago. For the last forty-five years Mr. Jones has been engaged in the legal profession in Kentucky and Illinois, with occasional migrations into the field of literature, and is a writer of more than ordinary ability. During the time that he practiced law in Kentucky the bar of that State was composed of men of more than ordinary ability, including Hon. F. Govin, Hon. Joseph R. Underwood, Hon. Wm. V. Loving, Hon. Henry Grider, Hon. F. M. Bristow, Hon. Elijah Hise, Hon. Wm. Sampson, and numerous other, who had filled high and honorable positions in the United States Senate, in the Lower House of Congress, and upon the bench of the Supreme and Circuit Courts of the State. With that class of men Mr. Jones, as an attorney, was in constant contact, and his ambition prompted the effort to reach the plane in his profession which they occupied. He was always a close student, and his mind being more logical and analytical than brilliant, his ascent to the head of his profession - which position he finally reached - was not suddenly attained. Prior to 1859 he engaged mostly in civil practice, and was specially partial to land suits and the preparation of business in the equity branch of the courts. Having no taste for politics he never sought any political office. In 1859, however, he permitted his friends to place him before a convention for congressional nomination. There being three other candidates, and the controversy becoming somewhat heated among their respective friends, the convention wisely refused to nominate either, and selected Hon. F. M. Bristow, the father of Hon. B. H. Bristow, late Secretary of the [Jnited States Treasury. During the same year, Mr. Jones was elected attorney for the commonwealth, in a large district, composed of ten counties; and in 1862 was without opposition re-elected to the same office. From 1859 to 1867 he discharged the duties of that office with signal ability and success, this period embracing the entire time of the war, when the politics of Southern Kentucky arose to fever heat, entered into the channels of private and sociaijlife, and crime became rampant. With a cool head and sound judgment he impartially and faithfully discharged the duties of criminal prosecutor during that time in such manner as to never leave the law unvindicated, and yet never to procure an unjust conviction. In his impartiality as a prosecutor the people of the district had absolute confidence. Under a law of Kentucky, which authorized the bar to elect a judge pro tempore, in absence of the regular judge of the court, Mr. Jones was very frequently called to the bench, to preside in the trial of civil causes, and as judge gave universal satisfaction. In politics Mr. Jones adhered to the Whig party, so long as it existed, and in 1860 supported the Bell and Everett ticket. As early as 1859 and 1860, seeing, as he believed, the threatening clouds of secession looming up the political horizon, he made a number of speeches, not of a political character, but to impress upon the minds of the people a sentiment of patriotism and devotion to the Government, and perpetual union of the States. When in 1861 hostilities actu- ally commenced, he promptly connected himself with the Eepublican party, as the only party in the South pledging itself to sustain the Government. During the entire war he boldly and publicly declared his uncompromising devotion to the union of the States, and oppositioQ to disunion. He gave his entire influence and much of his means to promote the Union cause; attended his courts and transacted his oflicial business, often under protection of a guard, furnished by the Federal military authorities; was once arrested by the order of a drunken Greneral named Hindman, of the Confederate army, promptly condemned to be hanged, and saved by the intercession of personal friends, who were secessionists, made to General Hardee who was Hindman's superior in command and rank, and during the latter x'art of the war, to avoid guerrilla arrest or assassination, frequently sought the protection afforded by a forest near his residence, where, wrapped in a blanket, with mother earth for his bed, he spent the night. His adventures, given in detail, many of them of a thrilling character, would read like a romance, and fill a volume. Mr. Jones has been an unswerving advocate of temperance and has delivered many lectures, in advocacy of the principles contended for by temperance workers. He is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and is a quiet, unostentatious Christian gentleman, a social companion and true friend, kind, sympathetic and charitable. This sketch would not be complete without mention of his excellent wife - a kind. Christian woman, of rare good sense and diversified accomplishments, who has for nearly forty years been his companion through the vicissitudes of his checkered life, assisting him to build up a reputation, rejoicing with him in prosperity, and sympathizing with him in adversity. Together they have toiled up life's ascent, passed its summit, and, with affection undiminished, are descending the downward grade to their final rest.

Edmund Ltnoh, attorney at law, Lincoln, was born March 8, 1842, in East Constable, Franklin County, New York, a son of Edmund and Ellen (Dobbin8)Lynch, natives of Ireland. He was reared in his native town, remaining with his parents till twenty years of age, and was educated in the public schools of Constable, and at Franklin Academy, Malone, New York. He left his home for Illinois in 1862 and worked on a farm in Kendall County till the following fall. He then came to Logan County where he taught in the public schools till 1866, when he began the study of law with Colonel W. D. Wyatt. He was admitted to the bar in 1867 and immediately entered upon the practice of hia profession at Lincoln where he has since built up a good practice. He was married at Lincoln, June 21, 1866, to Jeriisha Matthews, of Logan County. They have four children - William Edmund, Mary Ellen, Robert Emmet and Frances Ethel, all at home. In politics Mr. Lynch is a Democrat. In 1868 he was elected city attorney of Lincoln, holding that office during 1870 and 1871, by re-election. In 1876 he was nominated on the Democratic ticket to the office of Attorney General of the State of Illinois, but was defeated. Mr. Lynch is a member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church at Lincoln.

Robert Ceugton Maxwell, attorney at law, Lincoln, Illinois, is a native of Ohio, born in Dhrichsville, Tuscarawas County, August 6, 1849. His parents were Robert and Jemima (Keepers) Maxwell, the former a native of Virginia, of Scotch descent, and the latter of Ohio, of Welsh descent. When he was five years of age his parents moved to Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, where the father died in 1855. His mother then returned to Ohio, where she is still living. After the father's death the family was broken up and our subject found a home with strangers. He mainly supported and educated himself, attending the school of Uhrichsville till seventeen years of age. In 1866 he left Ohio and came to Illinois, and taught school in Logan County till 1872, with the exception of one term in the village of Williamsville, Sangamon County. From 1872 till the spring of 1877 he engaged in farming in the vicinity of Lincoln, and in the meantime studied law under the preceptorship of W. B. Jones and T. T. Beach, and also attended the law department of the Lincoln University one term. He was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court at Springfield in January, 1877, and then went into the law office of Beason & Blinn of Lincoln. In the spring of 1878 he began the practice of his profession, and the same year was elected city attorney. In 1881 he was appointed by Governor Cnllom public administrator of Logan County, a position he still holds. He has at different times held the office of township collector, justice of the peace and township clerk, and has always fulfilled the duties imposed on him faithfully and efficiently. In 1881 he was a member of the City Board of Education. December 25, 1868, Mr. Maxwell married Margaret E., daughter of Charles and Louisa (England)Turley, of Williamsville, Illinois. They have four children - Charles C, Mabel C, Bertha L. and William K. Mr. Maxwell is a member of Glendower Lodge, No. 45, K. P. He and his wife are members of the Christian church, of which he is an Elder. Hie political affiliations are with the Kepublican party. L. C. SoHWEEDTFEGER, attorney, Lincoln, Illinois, is a native of New York City, born July 30, 1856, but was reared in Jersey City, his parents having removed to that city when he was two years old. He received a common-school education in his youth, and at the age of nineteen years he entered the law department of Michigan State University, at Ann Arbor, from which he graduated in the class of 1879. He then came to Lincoln, Illinois, and was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court at Ottawa, after wliich he engaged in the practice of law at Lincoln, which he followed till 1881. He then embarked in journalism, purchasing the Lincoln Daily Record, changing the name to the Lincoln Daily Journal, and in connection with this paper he in 1882 began to publish the Logan County Tribune, a weekly paper, both being still in existence. In 1883 he retired from journalism, renting his office, of which he is still the owner, and again engaged in the practice of law. In October, 1884, he was appointed by the Board of Supervisors one of the examiners of the official accounts of county officers, which position he still holds. In 1883 he was one of the incorporators of the Lincoln Savings and Building Association, of which he has been secretary since its organization. In 1880 he helped re-organize the Union Cemetery Association of Lincoln, a corporation controlling one of the most beautiful rural cemeteries in the State, Mr. Schwerdtfeger being secretary of this association. Mr. Schwerdtfeger has been Secretary of the Central Illinois Beekeepers' Association since 1883. He takes a great interest in bee culture, and is the owner of a valuable apiary, having at much expense secured pure Italian bees. He has also a valuable apiarian library. itTovember 18, 1880, he was married to Amalie Koehnle, daughter of Fred. C. W. Koehnle, of Lincoln. They have two children - Lucile and Albert H. Politically Mr. Schwerdtfeger is a Republican. He has served as secretary of the Logan County Republican Central Committee since 1880. He is a member of Lincoln Lodge, No. 210, A. F. & A. M. ; Lincoln Chapter, No. 147, R. A. M., and of Constantine Commandery, No. 51, K. T., and has served several years as secretary of both lodge and chapter. Mr. Schwerdtfeger's parents, Henry and Pauline (Koehnle) Schwerdtfeger, were both natives of Germany. They came to America in 1851 and settled in New York City, theuce to New Jersey, and in 1882 came to Lincoln, Illinois, where they have pince made their home.

S. L. Wallace, a native of Ohio, came to Lincoln in 1870 from Indiana. He was admitted to practice in 1875. Practiced five years in Mt. Palaski, and since 1880 in Lincoln.

Solomon J. Woland, senior member of the law firm of Woland & Hilscher, of Lincoln, was born near Williamsport, Pennsylvania, February 19, 1845. When he was ten years old he came with his parents, Solomon and Catherine (Radle) Woland, to Logan County, Illinois, they locating in Eminence Township for a short time when they removed to Orvil Township, remaining there till the spring of 1864. Our subject then enlisted as a private in the lOO-days service in Company D, One Hundred and Fortyfifth Illinois Infantry. He was soon promoted to Second Sergeant, but before assuming the duties of that rank he was taken sick. He was discharged with his regiment at Camp Butler, Illinois, in the fall of 1864, having served about five months. He then returned to the homestead, and worked on the farm during the summers, attending the district schools during the winter months, and one spring term in 1866 in Eureka College, till 1866, and during the winter of 1866-'67 he tauglit his first term of school at Buckeye, on the Kickapoo. He then taught four terms in Logan County, and in the spring of 1871 he was employed as clerk in the store of Henry Ruhaak, at Hartsburg, Illinois, remaining with him two years, they together buying grain for Smith, Hippen & Co., of Pekin, Illinois. He then, in 1873, having lost through the treachery of his partner what he had previously made, was obliged to teach school again, and was so engaged till the spring of 1875. He then began the study of law in the office of Colonel Ed. Lynch, at Lincoln, with whom he studied two years. He was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court at Mount Vernon in the spring of 1877, after which he practiced with his preceptor one year. In 1878 he became associated with O. C. Sharp with whom he practiced law at Lincoln till 1881, after which he continued alone till June, 1883, when J. F. Hilscher became his partner, thus forming the present law firm of Woland & Hilscher. Mr. Woland was married January 1, 1880, to Carrie Hall, daughter of Timothy Hall, of Lincoln. They have two children - Frank R. and Maud May. Mrs. Woland is a member of the Baptist church at Lincoln. Mr. Woland is a member of Lincoln Lodge, No. 204, I. O. 0. F.,of Lincoln. In politics he was formerly a Republican but is now a Prohibitionist, on which platform he has been twice elected city attorney of the city of Lincoln, and in the fall of 1884 ran for State's Attorney in Logan County, Illinois, on this same platform, leading all the other candidates who were on the same platform with him for the various county offices.

WiLTOED D. Wtatt, attorney at law, Lincoln, Illinois, was born September 1, 1821, in Morgan County, Illinois, a son of William and Rachel Wyatt, and is the oldest living native of that county. He was the second white child born in the county ; the first child, a girl, died in infancy. He was reared on a farm near Jacksonville, remaining with his parents till fourteen years of age, when, his father dying, he was obliged to depend on his own exertions for his maintenance. He worked at farming in the spring, summer and autumn months, and attended the country schools during the winter months till twenty-one years of age. Being ambitious to obtain a good education he had saved his earnings and in the fall of 1842 entered Illinois College at Jacksonville. Early in 1844 he left school and went to St. Louis, Missouri, and soon after accepted a second clerkship on a St. Louis and New Orleans steamer. In the latter part of June of the same year he obtained a situation as teacher in Phillips County, Arkansas, and taught in that county and in Coahoma County, Mississippi, until the breaking out of the Mexican war, in 1846. In the meantime he had devoted all his spare time,mornings and evenings,and during his vacations to the study of law, and while in Mississippi he for some time was employed in the clerk's office. He enlisted in the war with Mexico in a Mississippi regiment and served until its close. He returned to his home in Mississippi in July, 1848, and remained till the winter of 1849 and then removed to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and opened an office for the practice of law, and also became the editor and proprietor of the Pine Bluff BepvMioan, a Democratic organ. He took an active part in the politics of the State until his health failed, in 1853, when he sold out his printing office, returned to Illinois and located at Carrollton, Greene County, where he practiced law, and also in 1855 and 1856 edited the Greene County Democrat. When the State Legislature convened in 185Y he was elected first assistant secretary of the Senate, and at that time removed to Lincoln, where he has since lived. At the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion he recruited and took to Camp Tates the Lincoln Guards, the first Illinois company in camp. The company was assigned to the Seventh Illinois Infantry, the first infantry of tlie State recruited for the war, and be was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment. At the expiration of his term of service (three months) he returned home and resumed the practice of his profession. In October, 1879, he was appointed master in chancery of the Circuit Court of Logan County and has been re-appointed three times, still holding the position. Mr. Wyatt ranks high in the legal profession, both as a special pleader and as a reliable counselor, and is eminently fitted for the responsible position he now occupies.