Madison County, Illinois - Biographical sketches (2 of 2 so headed), 1882 (part 1 of 12)

Biographical sketches

EDWARD COLES* Edward Coles, the second Governor of the state of Illinois, resided in Edwardsville. He was an extraordinary man, and was more instrumental in shaping the destinies of Illinois (and perhaps of the Nation) than any man who ever resided within her limits. In order to understand the force of this remark, it is proper to premise that the Constitution of the United States contained three provisions that were distasteful to the opponents of slavery. One was that the African slavetrade should not be abolished before 1808 ; secondly that there should be a fugitive slave law, and thereby that five slaves should be reckoned equal to three white persons on the floor of Congress. These clauses were all in [the interest of slavery. In order to induce its opponents, to accept the constitution with these clauses in it, it was agreed that slavery should be confined to its then limits, and accordingly it was prohibited in the Northwestern territory by the Congress of 1787, then in session, cotemporaneously with the Convention, which was all the territory belonging to the United States. In 1802, we purchased Louisiana, in which slavery had been planted by the Spaniards, and French. In 1812 Louisiana was admitted as a slave state without much opposition inasmuch as slavery had existed there from the outset, and as the acquisition of the French possessions was looked upon as a necessity. In 1819, Missouri applied for admission as a slave State, formed out of this French territory, and as slavery was principally introduced from the original thirteen States it was considered, that her admission would be in derogation of the understanding had in 1787, and hence, the agitation of 1819-20, which was finally settled by the admission of Missouri, and the compromise, which excluded slavery from all the French territory North of 36°30' latitude except Missouri. Edward Coles, who was a Virginian, inherited a hatred for slavery, and upon the death of his father he determined to manumit his slaves, and in order to do so, and make comfortable provision for their livelihood, he removed to Illinois ; before reaching which, while on the Ohio river, he set all his slaves free, and when he arrived at Edwardsville, he bestowed upon each head of a family, a tract of land, ample for their maintenance within about three miles of this place. Coles was soon appointed Register of the Land office here, and was consequently brought into contact with the people, and became very popular with all classes, particularly with those who were hostile to slavery. Soon it became manifest that an effort would be made to introduce slavery into Illinois, notwithstanding the ordinance of 1787. Illinois could not have been admitted into the Union with slavery, but the proslavery men, ever fertile in resources conceived the idea that the ordinance could be defeated by coming in as a Free State, and then altering the Constitution, so as to admit sla- very. An election for Governor of the State coming on in 1822, Coles became a candidate, evidently with a view of frustrating the designs of the slavery propagandists, and was elected. From this moment the Governor set all his energies to work to defeat their schemes. He devoted his time his talents, his money, and risked his life in the cause he had espoused, and never relaxed his exertions until victory crowned his efforts. He gave his salary as Governor to the cause. He was instant in season and out of season. It would be impossible to do half justice to his efforts. He wrote and he rode. He loaded the mails with comments and correspondence. He addressed the people publicly and privately, whenever an opportunity offered. He was harassed with law suits, he was threatened with death, his property was destroyed by fire. He was fined $2000 for not giving bonds that the slaves he freed should not become a public charge, when the law requiring it had not been published fifteen days at the time, and not one in a thousand knew of its existence. The Legislature remitted the fine, but the judge who tried him, held the act to be an expost facto enactment. The Supreme Court however gave him the benefit of the law. It may truthfully be said that at that early day he was the most earnest and energetic antislavery man in the United States, and to his eflTorts may be ascribed the defeat of the scheme to drag Illinois into the sisterhood of Slave States. Had Illinois succumbed at that time Indiana would have followed suit, and if they had thrown their weight into the scale with the rebels, at the breaking out of the rebellion, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to have suppressed it. So that the contest in which Governor Coles took such an active and efficient part may be said to have been the turning point in the history of slavery in the United States. Governor Coles was on terms of great intimacy with Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Madison, Mr. Monroe and J. Q. Adams. He was appointed bearer of despatches by Mr. Madison when President to Mr. Adams, when Minister to Russia. He could have had any place he desired within the gift of any of those men. He could have basked in the sunshine of official favor, but he surrendered all his prospects for fame and power to the work more congenial to his heart of giving freedom to the oppressed. After he had saved Illinois from the curse of slavery and seen his former slaves comfortably provided for, he removed to Philadelphia, where he married and raised a family, and after a long, eventful, and useful life was gathered to his fathers, honored and beloved by all who knew him.

An admirable Biography of Governor Coles has been" written by the Hon. E. B. Washburn, of Chicago. He has done all that man could do with his materials, but it is unfortunate that upwards of half a century should have elapsed, before attempting to rescue from oblivion the life

Among the old settlers and prominent men, who have for many years been identified with Madison county, is Joseph Gillespie. He is to-day perhaps the most conspicuous figure in her history. He is one of the connecting links between this and the pioneer era of Illinois, and comes down to us from a former generation. In his active life he was the contemporary, associate, and friend of men who have grown great and added a page to the world's history. He is of Scotch-Irish parentage, and the son of David and Sarah Gillespie, who were born, raised and married in county Monaghan, Ireland. The ancestors of the Gillespie family were originally Scotch. They left their native country two years after the battle of the Boyne and settled in Ireland. They were Presbyterians in religion, and, it might be said, Kepublicans in their politics. Mrs. Gillespie even belonged to the " United Irish Society," which had for its object the liberation of the Irish people from the yoke of British tyranny ; and her brother was so particularly active in the rebellion of 1798, that he had to make his escape to the United States in order to save his life. The parents of ^Nlr. Gillespie were warmly attached to America and her people, and, when the opportunity offered, quickly embarked for this country. They landed in New York in 1807, and located in New York city, where they remained until 1819, when they removed west and settled in Madison county, Illinois. Here Mr. Gillespie followed the occupation of tilling the soil. In 1831 his wife died. In 1834 he moved to Grant county, Wisconsin, and died there in 1855. There were two sons born to David and Sarah Gillespie - Matthew and Joseph. Matthew died in 1861. Joseph, the subject of this sketch, was born in New York city, August 22, 1809. His education in schools was limited, and ceased entirely in his eleventh year. In those days schools were the exception, and at best were provided with incompetent teachers. His mother, however, who was well-informed and extremely fond of reading, in a measure supplied the want of suitable opportunities. She gave her sons all the instruction she could impart, procured the best reading matter that the county afforded, and

Joseph remained at home until 1827, when he went to the lead mines at Galena, and spent that season and also the seasons of 1828-29. A change in the tariff about that time made the sale of lead difficult, and the business of mining it became unprofitable. He returned home and remained there until 1831, when he went to Edwardsville. The same year he was invited to read law with Hon. Cyrus Edwards, at his*.re8idence on Wood River. This kind offer he hesitated to accept, on account of his lack of early educational training, but Mr. Edwards overcame his (Gillespie's) fears, and persuaded him to accept the offer. He lived in the family of Mr. Edwards for two years, and in that time read law under the direction and tuition of his generous benefactor.

During that time the Black-Hawk War broke out. He volunteered and made the campaign of li^Sl and 1832. About the time he was ready to commence the practice of his profession, he was elected probate judge of the county, which position he held for two years. After the expiration of his term as probate judge, he began to travel the circuit. The bar of this circuit at that time, as well as the bench, consisted of an array of learned and talented men. Judge Breese was on the bench, and such men as Alfred Cowles, Gustave Koerner, J. M. Krum, George T. M. Davis, A. P Field, Abraham Lincoln, James Shields, William H. Underwood, Governor Bissell, J. L. D. Morrison, Lyman Trumbull, U. F. Liuder, and others, composed the bar. There were, indeed, giants in those days, and it required courage and confidence to enter the list against such an array of talent; but, nevertheless, Mr. Gillespie did enter, and proved himself a foeman worthy of their intellectual steel.

In 1840 he was elected on the Whig ticket to represent Madison county in the State Legislature. His colleagues from this county were his preceptor, Mr. Edwards, and James Reynolds. The Whigs being in a hopeless minority, there was but little to do. After his return, he again went to the practice of his profession, in which he was not disturbed until 1847, when he was elected a member of the State Senate, in which body he continued until 18-57. During that time the bill for chartering the Illinois Central Railroad came up. It was managed by Mr. Rautoul of Boston, the company's agent. It had passed the house as he had drawn it up, to wit : That the company should pay to the State seven per cent, of its gross earnings and no taxes. Thirteen senators, among whom was Gillespie, determined to preserve the principle of taxation, and they struck out " seven per cent." and inserted "five per cent.," providing that the com. pany should pay State taxes at the rate of seventy-five cents per hundred dollars; and if that did not equal two per cent. of its gross earnings, the company should make it up to that ggure, - so that it was not to pay less than seven per cent, in the shape of bonuses and taxation ; but, as they understood it, it might have to pay more. Mr. Gillespie, and the other senators were favorable to, and desired to charter the road ; but desired, above all things, to retain the principle of taxation, and by no act of theirs show that they in any manner surrendered that principle. Their action was misunderstood at the time, and no little abuse was heaped upon them ; but time has proven that they were right, and their position well taken. The Supreme Court afterward decided that seven per cent, was the maximum the company was to pay. During his time in the Senate, what was called "State Policy" originated. The Terre Haute and Alton Railroad had been chartered, and about $1,000,000 were invested in its construction, when a charter for the Atlantic and Mississippi Railroad, between nearly the same termini, was asked for. More than two-thirds of the district represented by Mr. Gillespie were in favor of the Terre Haute and Alton road, and he saw that the chartering of the Atlantic and Mississippi Railroad would forever destroy the former road, unless the latter was first built (as the Atlantic and Mississippi was a much shorter and straighter route), after which the second could be constructed, - maintaining that you could build a straight road after building a crooked one, but never a crooked one after a straight one was completed between substantially the same termini. He was then, and is yet, in favor of building all the roads possible, and letting competition reduce rates and regulate traffic, without the interference of legislative bodies In 1861 he was elected to the ofiice of Judge of the Twenty-fourth Judicial Circuit of Illinois, and occupied that position for twelve years. While upon the bench his judicial opinions were marked by great clearness, exhibiting thorough research, careful analysis and a sound knowledge of the principles of elementary law. Since his retirement from the bench he has practiced his profession.

In matters of religion, Judge Gillespie is inclined to a liberal belief. Politically, he was originally an old line Whig, and remained a member of that party until its organization was abandoned. He was opposed to slavery, and the intimate friend of men who were the acknowledged leaders of the advanced thought upon that question in that day ; and, so soon as an organized opposition was formed against slavery, that had in it the elements of success, he joined its ranks, and of necessity became a Republican, with which political organization he has remained to the present- He was always ojiposed to the dogma of State Rights, which was one of the cardinal principles of the Democratic party.

In 184.5, at Greenville, Illinois, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Smith. There have been eight children born to them, five of whom are living. Their names are - Cyrus E., Mary J., Charles S., Frank K., and Maria L. Gillespie. His wife was born at Harper's Ferry, Va., and is of English and German descent. Her father's family were from England, and her mother's from Hanover, Germany. Her step-father (Thomas Keyes) and her mother came to Illinois in 1832, and settled near Greenville, in Bond county, where Mrs. Gillespie resided at the time of her marriage.

The subiect of the following brief sketch is a native of Edwardsville. He has beeu for many years, and is yet one of the active business men of this city. He is of English ancestry. His grandfather, George Prickett, emigrated from England to America some time before the revolutionary war. In that struggle he cast his lot with the patriots, and fought for the independence of the colonies. The Pricketts first settled in Maryland, and there George and his brother Jacob married two sisters, by the name of Anderson. Soon after that event they moved to the Carolinas, thence wenl to Georgia, and subsequently removed to Kentucky, and in 1808 came to the territory of Illinois, and settled in what is now known as Madison county. Abraham Prickett, his son and father of the subject of this memoir, was born July 27th, 1790. He was, in the early days of Illinois quite a prominent man, was a member of the Territorial Legislature, and a member of the convention that framed the constitution for the State in 1818. He was a Democrat and a strong Jackson man. He removed to Quincy, which was then a trading post, and there died, June 12th, 1836. He married Martha Harris, who was also of English ancestry. She was born in Norwich, Connecticut, and died in 1823, leaving twin children, Thomas J. and John A. ; the date of their birth was May 4th, 1822. John A. received his primary education in the log school-houses of the pioneer days of Illinois, where he learned to read, write and calculate ordinary examples in arithmetic. He always had a passionate love for study, and read every book that fell into his hands, and being blessed with a very retentive memory, soon acquired a knowledge of algebra, physics, chemistry, and the Latin language. His education therefore was mainly acquired by self-culture. The habits of study formed and nurtured in his youth still abide with him, and through life he has read voluminously and closely, books upon scientific subjects, travels, memoirs, and the authors of the past and present. His library, comprising over one thousand volumes, contains many rare books, and the standard authors, and all exhibit refined taste, and excellent judgment in their selection.

After the death of his father he was placed in charge of an uncle, who was a lawyer by profession, and who designed to prepare young Prickett for entrance upon the profession, but owing to domestic tyranny, he ran away and engaged as a cabin-boy on a steam-boat. Before he entered upon hig engagement, however, he was intercepted by his brother, who prevailed upon him to return home, offering as an inducement that he should attend school. He returned, entered school, studied diligently, and made rapid progress, under the idea that he was a burden to others, and above all things he desired to be self-supporting. He left school and entered upon an apprenticeship to learn the saddlery and harness trade, which he followed closely for six years. About that time the Mexican war broke out He was induced by Gov. Ford and other friends, to assist in raising a company of men for the service. He complied with their request, the company was raised, and enlisted for one year, and upon its organization he was elected First Lieutenant. It became known as Co. E, of the 2d Regiment of Illinois Vols., Colonel, afterwards Governor Bissell, commanding. Mr. Prickett remained with the regiment, and participated in the battles and skirmishes in which it was engaged up to and including the battle of Buena Vista, where he was wounded, the bullet shattering his left shoulder. In consequence of the wound he returned home before his enlistment expired. In 1847 he was elected Recorder of Deeds, a position he held for two years. In 1849, he was elected County Clerk, and twice became his own successor, and held the office for twelve years. His official career was marked by a close attention to the business of the office and an honest and faithful discharge of the duties appertaining thereto. In 1864 he purchased a flouring mill in Edwardsville, which he operated until it was destroyed by fire. In 1869, he embarked in the banking business, in which he still continues in connection with his sons, under the firm name of J. A. Prickett & Sons.

Politically, Mr. Prickett was originally a Whig, and voted that ticket until 1855, when he became a Democrat, and from that time to the present has been active in support of the principles of that party. In matters of religious belief he subscribes to none of the formulated creeds or dogmas, but believes that the truths enunciated and enjoined by the teachers of old and reiterated by our Saviour, are perfectly adapted to the wants of man, and that from them have grown manifold blessings that are enjoyed by the human family. He is a member of the orders of A. F. and A. M. and I. O O. F., and is the only surviving charter member of the Odd Fellows, instituted in Edwardsville in 1849.

In 1847 he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth M.^ daughter of Julius L. and Mary M. (Gonterman) Barnsback, a native of Madison county. Mr. Barnsback was a native of Germany, educated at the University of Gottingen, and emigrated to America early in this century. They have five children living, Clara J., wife of W. H. Jones, Jule L., Minna M., wife of Cyrus Happy, Harry E., and Jessie E. This is but a brief sketch of Mr. Prickett. His life has been one of energy and industry, by the aid of which he has risen to an enviable and honorable position in life.

History 01 Madison County, Illinois

Was born in London, England, September '29th, 1828. In 1834 he came with his parents to America, and settled in New York City. While yet a mere boy, he came west to Cincinnati, and there learned the printer's trade. In 1854 he removed to Alton, in Madison county, and engaged in the printing business, as foreman of the Alton Telegraph. The Telegraph office was subsequently sold out to Geo. T. Brown of the Alton Courier, and Mr. Grossman became superintendent of the office. During his connection with the Courier it was one of the best equipped offices in Illinois, and did a large business in book and commercial printing. Subsequently, in connection with others, he published that paper for a short time. In 1860, at his suggestion and earnest solicitation, the Alton Telegraph was revived, and he became one of the proprietors, under the name of L. A. Parks & Co. In the establishment of the Daily Telegraph also he took an active part, and secured sufficient subscribers by personal solicitation to guarantee its success. Parks & Crossman continued together until 1864, when the latter withdrew. He then, in connection with .James H. Hibbard, established a job office, and continued job printing until 1869, when he removed the office to Edwardsville, and here established the Echvardsville Republican, with which he was connected until his death, which occurred June 17, 1875. Mr Crossman was a distinguished member of the Masonic fraternity, and belonged to the several orders of Blue, Royal Arch, Cryptic and Templar Masonry. In religious faith he was a Methodist, and attached himself to that religious organization in 1862. He took a great interest in Sunday-school work, and was superintendent of the M. E. Sunday-school in this city and in Alton for a number of years. On the 27th of February, 1849, he was united in marriage with Miss Ellen Alice Morgan, with whom he lived happily until July, 1873, when she died. Eight children were the offspring of that marriage, five of whom still survive the parents. Their names in the order of their births are: Charles C, Thomas M., William E., Kate, Ellen E., Eva, Samuel V., Jr., and Edward V. Cross-

A NATIVE of Virginia, was born May 2, 1814, and is the son of Tilghman H. West and Mary A. nee Mitchell. His ancestors emigrated from England to Maryland, previous to the Revolution. His paternal great-grandfather held an office under the British government, and when war was declared returned to England ; but his grandfather, Benjamin West, and his mother's father, Edward Mitchell, entered the service under General Washington, and continued till the close of the revolutionary war. The history and many incidents of the war, as related by his grandfathers, made a strong impression on the youthful mind of the subject of this sketch. His father, who was a large slaveholder, becoming dissatisfied with the institution of slavery, manumitted his slaves, and in 1818 removed to Illinois, and settled four miles west of Belleville, which contained about half-a-dozen houses. Here he was assisted

The hardships incident to a frontier life, instead of discouraging, tended to strengthen the resolution to succeed iu life, and gave to him when a boy, that decision of character which has marked his life. There is nothing more instructive and significant than a record of the early experiences and influences which develop the character and direct the lives of successful men. When only twelve years of age, he was hoeing corn in the field, and there passed along the road near where he was at work, Governor Ninian Edwards and two other gentlemen, one a lawyer, the other an officeholder under the general government. They were talking of General Jackson and Henry Clay as having risen from farmers to men of the highest standing and influence. Then and there the boy determined, that if unfailing effort ou his part would achieve success, he would do so, and he never lost sight of the object to be attained. Leaving home the next year, he spent two years in the recorder's office in Springfield, and recorded all the deeds made in Sangamon county during that time, also attended to the post-office, and cultivated the garden of his employer.

In 1833 he obtained a clerkship in the land office in Edwardsville, in the office of William P. McKee, register, where he spent two years, working fourteen hours a day, at a salary of twelve dollars a month. Saving one-third of his wages, and having acquired a knowledge of book-keeping, he opened a store in Edwardsville in the early spring of 1835. With almost no capital except industry and energy, and with a sense of rectitude which governed all his thoughts and actions, he had so trained his mind to right thinking, and his will to right feeling and right doing, that it became a part of his intellectual and moral nature. He soon established the reputation of a reliable business man, and by industry, fair dealing, pleasant manners and prompt attention to all the details of his business, built up the largest trade in the town.

Since the year 1824 there had been no bank in Edwardsville, and the business in the town having largely increased, the want of such an institution was felt ; and in 1867, in connection with his son-in-law, Major William R. Prickett, he erected a fine building, and established the banking house of West & Prickett. The institution has ample capital, and is conducted on strict business principles, and has met with that success which must follow a business conducted on a sound basis and honorable dealing. In the financial panic of 1873, when almost every bank in the county suspended payments, the house of West & Prickett continued to pay and to discount as usual during the whole time ; and at the close of the panic the number of their depositors was largely increased, and they had more money in their vaults than at the beginning.

Notwithstanding his close attention to business, Mr. West has devoted much time to reading and selfculture. An earnest student, and with great fondness for literature, he has collected a fine library, comprising some choice and rare books. Among them may be found Ossian's poems, Herodotus, Plato, Locke, Sir William Hamilton's Metaphysics, Bacon, Brown's Philosophy, Thiers, Wiseman, Lamartine, Guizot, De Tocqueville and others. In recognition of his literary attainments the board of trustees and faculty of the oldest college in the state conferred on him the degree of Master of Arts. When the Illinois National Guards was being formed he was commissioned captain in the 15th Battalion. In political aflTairs Mr. West has taken an active interest, and has received many expressions of confidence from his fellow-citizens ; he has been a candidate for office fifteen times, and with two exceptions, has always been elected. He was a member of the State Constitutional Convention in 1848, and took an active part in the debates of that body, and commanded the respect of the members of the convention. He was on the finance committee, and it was by his eflTorts in that committee that the article for the payment of the state debt was reported, and by its operation the state debt was paid. He also drafted the article "On Counties," by which a stop was put to the evil of dividing counties and removing county seats. His ambition, however, has not been for political distinction, preferring rather the pursuits of business and the quiet of domestic life. In business he has been remarkably successful, never having had but one suit at law in the county, where he has been in constant business nearly fifty years.

In politics he was formerly a Whig, but since that party became extinct, has acted with the Democratic party. For years he has been an active and prominent member of the ^Slethodist church, and for fifty years engaged in Sundayschool work. In 1835 he was married to Miss Julia A. Atwater, in whom he found a worthy companion and wife, for fifty-two years. Only three of his children arrived at age : Virginia, wife of Major W. R. Prickett, Mary, wife of W. F. L. Hadley, and Norah, the youngest, who is with him at home.

Mr. West is now sixty-eight years of age, and although possessed of ample means, may be found every day at his place of business, with the energy and quickness of a man of fifty years. A man of pleasing address ; social and hospitable; generous and liberal in his sentiments; retaining the activity, vivacity and cheerfulness of youth, his life reveals the success that may be attained by self-reliance, integrity and persevering industry.

Was born in Edwardsville, 111., September 30, 1828. He was the eldest child of Matthew and Nancy (Gordon) Gillespie. His mother died during his early childhood. David in his youth had but few of the advantages for obtaining an education that are now enjoyed by nearly every child in the land. The State was then in its infancy, and the school system but imperfectly operated. His education was therefore mainly obtained at the select or subscription schools, with a short time spent at Shurtleff College. As a boy or man he was always a careful student, and by his industry acquired a vast fund of general information. So thorough and complete was his system of study that he could at any time call to mind and into practical use anything that he had ever read or learned. He had a remarkably retentive memory, and was well-versed in the sciences and literature of the day. He was in the broadest and most liberal sense of the term a self-made man, which, in after years, was fully demonstrated by his powers of clear thinking, practical reasoning and self-reliance. Several years before he had attained his majority he had conceived the idea that he would like to follow the profession of law. He accordingly became a student of law in the office and under the direction of his uncle Joseph Gillespie. Here he obtained the mental food that stimulated his active mind. The intricacies of the proper government and conduct of man with his fellow man, as laid down by Blackstone, Kent, Story, and other eminent jurists, found a fertile field in the mind of the young student; and on arriving at twenty-one years of age he was admitted to practice at the bar. He had, however, previously attended a course at the law school in Cincinnati, Ohio. From the time of his enrollment as an attorney-at-law until the day of his death he was actively employed in his chosen profession.

Few, if any, lawyers ever practised at the bar in Madison county who were more thoroughly acquainted with the philosophy and intricacies of the law than he. As a lawyer he worked with zeal and energy for the cause of his client, but he would never resort to any unfair or unlawful means to win a case. He became a successful practitioner from the fact that he possessed legal abilities of a high order, and by his honesty and integrity won the confidence of judges and juries. He participated in several important causm celebre, which have shed lustre upon the jurisprudence of the State of Illinois. As an advocate he was both wittj- and logical, and when his full powers were aroused and called into requisition in the interests of his client, his language became not only ornate, but truly eloquent.

In 1861 he was appointed Master in Chancery, a position he filled with credit for twelve successive years. While discharging the duties of that office, he was further honored by being elected to the office of County Judge, which position he filled from December, 1865, to December, 1869. With all the multiplicity of duties devolving upon him as Master in Chancery, he never neglected his extensive law practice, and at the same time made a record as County Judge that his friends may point to with pride, as being among the purest and most economical in the history of Madison county.

He was married to Miss Minna A. Barnsback, October 8th, 1855. She was the daughter of the late Julius L. Barnsback. His widow, two sons and two daughters survive him.

In his social and family relations, he was one of the purest and best of men - ever true to his friends and to the principles that he believed to be right. In politics, he was a Republican.

Josias Randle

Was born in Brunswick county, Virginia, Oct. 1st, 1766. Entered the itinerant ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church in early life. Removed to the state of Georgia in 1790, and was married to Miss Ann Thorn in 1795. He continued an itinerant minister in Georgia until 1810.

Becoming dissatisfied with the institution of slavery, and unwilling to raise his family in a slave state, he removed to Illinois territory in 1811, and settled on a tract of land, one and a half miles south of the present city of Edwardsville.

There were at that time only two counties in the territory, Randolph and St. Clair. St. Clair was the northern frontier. Soon after, however, these counties were divided, and Madison county was organized, embracing all the northern frontier. Mr. Randle was appointed by Gov. Ninian Edwards to the offices of clerk of the county, and circuit court and county recorder.

In 1818 the state government was formed, and he was reappointed to the same offices by Gov. Bond. Soon after his second appointment, a great speculation sprang up in what was called the " Military district " of lands granted to soldiers, which so increased the business in the recorder's office that he resigned the clerkship and confined himself to the duties of the recorder's office, which he continued to hold until his death, which occurred on the 15th January, 1824, from acute inflammation of the lungs.

His family consisted of eight children, seven sons and one daughter. Four of the sons died in early life. Rev. Barton Randle, the oldest son, died in Staunton, Macoupin county, January 2, 1882, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. Rev. Richard Randle, the second son, now in his eightyfourth year, resides in Taylorville. The daughter, Mrs. M. P. Ripley, lives in Staunton, Illinois ; and Doctor Peter WRandle resides in San Francisco, Cal.

Mr. Randle's name occurs in the history of the M. E. Church of Madison county, as a prominent and influential local minister from 1811 to 1824, the time of his death.

He was a warm and intimate friend of Hon. Wm. H. Crawford of Georgia, and deeply deplored the difficulty which existed between Mr. Crawford and Governor Edwards, when Crawford was secretary of the treasury in Monroe's administration, and which led to the recall of Gov. Edwards whilst on his way as minister to Mexico.

Mr Randle was of a genial disposition, fine presence, and enlarged hospitality. His death was deeply felt and deplored by all who knew him, and indeed by all the citizens of the county.

Robert Bosomworth

Was born in Yorkshire, England. He is the son of George and Alice (Wright) Bosomworth. His mother died in England. In 1854 he emigrated to America and brought his father with him, who died the same year. Mr. Bosomworth is the only survivor of the family. He settled in Springfield, Ohio, stayed there but a short time, then came west to Morgan county, Illinois, where he remained two years. In 1856 he came to Madison county, and in 1866 bought 160 acres of woodland, where he now lives, cleared ii and opened a farm, and there he still remains. On the 10th of June, 1829, he married Hannah Porter, who was born in Sussex, England, June 30, 1805. By this marriage there were eight children, five of whom are living. George, John, and Robert are dead. Charles lives in Macoupin county. Mary, Alice, William, and James are the names of those living. Politically Mr. Bosomworth has been and is yet a Republican. He has all his life been a hard working man of industrious habits. He has been a resident of the county since 1856, and in that time has made many acquaintances, who all know him as an honest upright man, who at all times strives to do his duty, and fulfil evfery obligation made by him.

Charles Dale, an ancestor, was a native of England, who in 1690 removed to Ireland. Samuel Dale, his grandson, and grandfather of M. G. Dale, emigrated from Ireland to America in 1766, and settled in Chester county, Pennsylvania. In the revolutionary war he espoused the patriot cause, and the records show that he took an early and active part in the defense of colonial rights. He was an earnest advocate of the rights of the peojile, and was a member of the House or Senate of Pennsylvania for twenty years. The visitor to the State Capital at Harrisburg, will see on the walls of the Governor's room, in appropriate frames, sundry documents kept as precious relics of the earhj days of the Commonwealth. They are original commissions issued to the Presidents and Vice Presidents of that commonwealth : One to Joseph Reed as President, and William Moore as Vice President in 1782, in the seventh year of the commonwealth, one to the eloquent and gifted John Dickerson as President and James Irvine as Vice President in 1784, and one to Benjamin Franklin as President and Charles Biddle as Vice President in 1786. These are signed by the members of the General Assembly and Supreme Executive Council of the commonwealth, convened in the State House at Philadelphia, and the name of

In 1769 Samuel Dale married Ann, daughter of Samuel Futhey, of Chester county, Pennsylvania. She died in 1835 at the age of eighty four-years. Nine children were the offspring of that marriage, among whom was Samuel F., father of M. G. Dale. He, too, spent years in public life ; was commissioned lieutenant colonel of militia when scarce of age. He represented the counties of Mercer and Venango for many years in the Pennsylvania Legislature. He disciplined and commanded a regiment on the northern frontier in the war of 1812. He devoted much time during his life to the various positions he held as president or trustee of literary and benevolent institutions. He also served as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and Oyer and Terminer of Lancaster county, from 1819 to 1842. He married Eliza, daughter of Michael Gundaker, an extensive and successful merchant of Lancaster City. Her father was the son of Michael and Ann Gundaker (maiden name Smith), from Nassau, Germany ; her mother was Barbara AValter, of York Pennsylvania, daughter of Henry and Magdalena Walter (maiden name Myers), from Basle, Switzerland.

Michael G. Dale, whose name heads this memoir, was born in Lancaster city, Pennsylvania. His youth was spent in the schools of his native city, except one year in attendance at West Chester Academj^ in Chester county. He entered Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg and graduated in the class of 1835, delivering the Latin salutatory of that year. 'An honor which might well be highly appreciated by him was conferred by Pennsylvania College in electing him to preside on the 28th of June, 1882, at the semi-centennial celebration of that Institution. The large attendance, the character of the addresses and the varied exercises made it an occasion of interest. His remarks on taking the chair are favorably noticed in several numbers of the " College Monthly." He commenced the study of law in Lancaster, and was admitted to the bar there in 1837.

Traveling in Illinois in 1838, he was retained at Greenville, Bond county, as counsel in a suit. His success led him to be employed in others. This induced him to remain in Greenville and open a law office. The next year, 1839 he was elected Probate Judge, an office held for, fourteen years or during his subsequent residence in Bond county.

In 1844, he was under the State militia law elected and commissioned Mayor. He, with Colonels Parker and Ferguson, held the military court convened at Alton in 1847. In 1846-7, after the failure of the banks and consequent great scarcity of money, the State being largely in debt from the unsuccessful attempt at railroad building, and the State warrants being at a heavy discount, repudiation of the State debt was openly advocated. Judge Dale earnestly denounced repudiation, insisting that wastefulness and extravagance consequent on an inflated currency had caused the debt, but that a system of retrenchment should be inaugurated by a constitutional convention, and that the debt could in time be honorably paid without serious inconvenience to the tax-payers. A State Constitutional Convention being called in 1847, he was elected a member of that body, and with the friends of reform worked indefatigably in incorporating into the constitution such a system of retrenchment and such provision for the future as assured the gradual reduction of the public debt, and made the new constitution acceptable and welcome to the people of the State. By the convention journal it appears that he was at the organization of the convention appointed a member of the Legislative Committee, subsequently of the Committee of Internal Improvements, and at the close of the convention one of the committee to prepare the address of the convention to the people of the State.

States Land Office at Edwardsville, to which he was appointed by President Pierce. On the removal of this office to Springfield he was elected county Judge of Madison county, which office he held for eight years. As county Judge of Madison county he manifested the same prudence and economy in the management of the county affairs, the same devotion to the interests of the county that had rendered his administration in Bond county successful and popular. After an interval of between eight or nine years he was again elected county Judge, and in 1877 and 1882 re-elected, and at present fills the office.

When Judge Breese was elected Judge of the circuit, he, unsolicited, appointed Judge Dale, Master in Chancery of Madison county ; he held the office during the succeeding administration of Judge Snyder.

In May 1849, at Vandalia, he was united in marriage with Miss Margaret M. Ewing. Her grandfather. Finis Ewing, was one of the founders of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Her maternal grandfather was Col. E. C. Berry, the first Auditor of the State of Illinois. Her father. Gen. W. L. D. Ewing, had filled many public places. He had been Speaker of the House of Representatives of Illinois, had also represented tliis State in the United States Senate, and had been acting Governor of the State. Mr. Dale has four sons living. His eldest son (Erving), having died whilst in the practice of his profession (medicine) in Kansas. Tho.se living are, James B., Charles S., Lee, and Samuel G.

Judge Dale was an early friend and advocate of free schools, believing that our government depended much for its strength on the intelligence and virtue of the people. He rejoices in the wonderful improvement he has witnessed in tlie school system of the State. He has been for nearly forty years an officer under the common school law of the State, and is now President of the Board of Education of 1 the city of Edwardsville.

We have stated some facts in the life of Judge Dale from ' which the reader may infer that he has always possessed the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens. He is known as a man of the strictest integrity ; indeed, throughout his long public life, no man has ever questioned the sincerity of his conduct or the purity of his motives.

Judge Matthew Gillespie, was born in the city of New York on the 26th of November, 1807, and was the eldest son of David and Sarah Gillespie, there being but two children, Matthew and Joseph. The latter is yet a resident of Edwardsville, and one among its oldest and most honored citizens. They were of Scotch - Irish parentage, the family having emigrated from Monaghan, Ireland, to New York but a short time prior to Matthew's birth. In 1819, the family moved to Illinois when Matthew was but twelve years of age, and with his parents settled in Madison county, where he continued to reside to the time of his decease ; and where the privations and struggles incident to pioneer life tended to develop those strong and leading traits of character, which marked his after life. At that early day, the facilities for obtaining an education were very limited ; he therefore, received no more than a common school education, and even this was mainly due to the instructions of his mother. It was to her, more than all others, that he was indebted for that early training which made him so useful a man in after life.

In February, 1827, when he was twenty years of age, he, with his brother Joseph, proceeded to «the Galena lead mines ; from which he returned in the fall of the same year, when he married Miss Nancy Gordon, a sister of the Rev. Joseph Gordon, late of Vandalia. Of this union there was but one child born who lived to maturity - the late Judge David Gillespie of Edwardsville. His wife dying, he again married March 10th, 1839, Mrs. Martha Hynes, nee Mc- Grew, a lady of Scotch parentage. Only three children of this marriage grew to man and womanhood ; Isabella J, wife of Moses B. Sherman ; Nellie, wife of W. R. Brink, both residents of Edwardsville, and Joseph J. living in San Francisco.

Judge Gillespie was a man of sanguine temperament and positive qualities. He readily arrived at decided opinions on all subjects presented to his consideration, and ever maintained what he deemed to be right with much ability and zeal. His friendships were strong and enduring, and he was ever found a warm champion for those he loved. He was a good judge of human nature, and was rarely, if ever mistaken in the character of men. His hospitality and charities were fully commensurate with his means. His social qualities were of the best order ; genial, lively, quick at repartee ; he threw around him a degree of animation that made it impossible to feel dejected in his company.

Mr. Gillespie was an able and efficient public officer ; his qualifications were of the first order, and his faithfulness worthy the example of all who are entrusted with public cares. In 1832, he was the elected Coroner of this county ; from 1836 to 1838, he was engaged in the Land Office; in 1839, was elected Judge of Probate, which office he honorably filled for four years. Was enrolling and engrossing clerk in the State Senate in 1839 and '40; was elected Treasurer and Assessor in 1844, for four years; was appointed by Gen. Taylor, Registerof the Land Office in 1849, for four years ; was subsequently elected Police Magistrate of Edwardsville, which office he continued to fill to the time of his decease. In all his official positions he performed his duties with honor to himself and satisfaction to his constituency. He was strongly imbued with Whig proclivities, and was a great admirer of Henry Clay. After that party became disorganized he affiliated with the Republican party. He was an old and intimate acquaintance of President Lincoln, and gave him the most ardent support for the office of the Chief Magistracy of the United States. The house of Mr. Gillespie, when Mr. Lincoln was stopping at Edwardsville, was one of the. latter's favorite places of " breaking bread," and where the family and friends enjoyed the rare

As a friend to youth, Mr. Gillespie had no superior. He was a zealous advocate of temperance, and by his precepts and example, he labored hard to further the welfare and success of the young men of his time. But of all his excellent memories, his moral, religious, and domestic character is the most pleasant. Early in life he made a profession of religion, and attached himself to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, of which body he continued a consistent and leading member during its organization in this vicinity. In 1836, he united with the Methodist Church, of which he continued a communicant to the time of his decease. His earnest liberality, zeal, and sound judgment made him a valuable member of the church and of society, and at the time of his death he was one of the trustees of McKendree College. As a neighbor, he was obliging and generous to the last degree, and as a husband and father, he was all that affection could desire.

He passed to the unknown beyond, on the evening of the 24th of March, 1861. His last words were, " I am gone," and he instantly breathed his last. He was nearly 54 years of age, and had spent a large portion of his life in active, public service, and it can be truthfully said, that the world is better for his living. At this writing, his widow is yet living, and is a resident of Edwardsville. She is now in her sixty-eighth year of age, and is strong physically and mentally for one of her years.*

Is of Irisli descent, his grandfather being a native of Ireland, and came to the United States in 1769, and settled near Philadelphia. When the clash of arms for i-ight and liberty came, he was one of the first in the ranks, and served with distinction throughout the war. He lived to rear a large family, six daughters and four sons ; among whom was William, the father of Nelson. He was born November 20, 1786. As early as 1809, he braved the wilds of the frontier, and came as far west as St. Louis. In 1814, he married Sarah Rattan, and located permanently on Indiana Creek in Madison county, Illinois. By this union eleven children were born. Nelson, the eldest, was born August 1st, 1815. John was born February 7, 1817. William N. January 9, 1819, and died January 20, 1855. Nancy R., January 18, 1821. Thomas J., January 22, 1823. James, February 20, 1825. Paris, February 24, 1827. Matilda, January 10, 1819. Amanda F , June 11, 1830. Hampton, November 10, 1833. Ann, February 20, 1837, Eliza Jane, March 31, 1840. Of the daughters, four are yet living : Nancy R., wife of Thomas J. Barnsback ; Amanda, wife of J. B. Job ; and Eliza J., wife of Thomas Belk, are all residents of the county. Ann, wife of William Loveland, resides at Golden, Colorado. Besides Nelson, there are two other sons yet living, John and Hampton. The latter resides on the old homestead in section 13, Wood River township. John living in Macoupin county. Nelson was married to Eleanor, daughter of George Kinder, one of the earliest and most respectable citizens of Madison county. This union occurred March 22, 1838. By this marriage eight children have been born, six of whom are now living, the dates of their births being as follows : Ann M., born November 30, 1838 ; Nancy J., February 24, 1842; Mary M., August 2, 1844; William L, May 5, 1848, died near Papinsville, Mo., January 26, 1878 ; Sarah Isabel, born October 23, 1850, died February 21, 1851 ; Phebe E., October 26, 1852; Zephaniah J., born July 20, 1855 ; Robert N., October 6, 1862. Ann M., and Francis M. Wood were married May 5, 1870, and reside in Christian county j

Mrs. Isabella Kinder

Nancy J. and John F. Jarvis were married November 4, I 1869 ; Mary M. was married to Henry C Barnsback, Janu- i aryl7, 1877, and lives in Coles county, Illinois; William T., now deceased, was married to Jane Kinder, August 30, 1871 ; Zephaniah married Lillie McKittrick, and now resides near the old homestead.

Mr. Montgomery is one of the staunch and wealthy men of the county. His farm, consisting of 573 acres of very valuable and cultivated land, lies within four miles of the city of Edwardsville, besides other lands in the county, aggregating in all over one thousand acres. He is also the possessor of 320 acres in Coles county, 1,240 acres in Bates county. Mo., and 800 acres in the State of Iowa. His homestead near Edwardsville is one of the finest in the county, and as a stock raiser Mr. Montgomery ranks among the first in this part of the State.

Among his many cares, he does not forget his friends, and delights to entertain all with a generous hand, his hospitality being well known among the large circle of his acquaintances. In politics he is a life-long Democrat, yet so reasonable in his political views, that he desires to give exact justice to all parties, and that political supremacy shall not he attained by intrigue or party machinations.

The name of Montgomery is pioneer in Madison county, and for generations yet to come, will maintain its prominent place as being among the first families of "Old Madison."

Ansel L. Brown

He is the son of Edward S. and Sarah J. (Lusk) Brown. His father was born in Upper Alton, Nov. 19, 1819, and his mother was born in Edwardsville, Nov. 10th, 1828. They were married April 10th, 1846. The issue of this union was Ansel L. and a daughter, Mary Lucretia, who was born November 14th, 1849, and died September ;26th, 1850. The father was the son of Dr. Erastus and Brittania (Easton) Brown, who settled at Upper Alton in 1818, the former being one of the original proprietors of that place. The mother is the eldest daughter of the late John T. and Lucretia (Gillham) Lusk, who were among the early settlers of Illinois, having located where Edwardsville is now laid off and platted, about the beginning of the present century. At the time of the death of Edward S. Brown, which occurred July 9th, 1850, he occupied the position of assessor of Madison county, and had filled the position for several preceding terms. After the death of Mr. Brown, the widow intermarried with the late John R. Torrence in 1853, and the issue of this union was a son and daughter, Harry L. and Gillian L. Torrence. The subject of this notice obtained his education in the schools of Edwardsville and at the City University at St. Louis, Mo. His earliest business pursuits were in real estate, in which he continued until his purchase of the Edwardsville Times, May 1st, 1882. Immediately after the purchase of that paper, the name was changed to that first mentioned, the material was increased, and the capacity of the office generally was added to ; and under his vigorous management the journal has assumed a respectable and enviable standing.

Is a native of Berlin, Prussia. The date of his birth was February 13, 1831. His father, Charles S. Fangenroth, emigrated to America in 1843. He settled in Madison county, Illinois, and there bought an improved farm, in section 16, T. 4, R. 8, where he made his home until the present. He is now in his eighty-fourth year, and is still a vigorous and active man. His wife, Augusta Louise, died in 1854. There were two children born to them, viz : the subject of this sketch and Augusta Louise, who is the wife of Charles Gerting, a citizen of this county. Charles W. received a good education in the schools of his native city. His school-days ended with his coming to America. Here he learned the English language, which he acquired in a very short time, and now speaks it with as much purity as a native born citizen. In 1852 he commenced farming for himself, and has continued in that occupation until the present.

On the 6th of January, 1852, he was united in marriage to Miriam, daughter of Robert McKee. She died in 1854. On the 16th of April, 1862, he married Miss Frances Ann Richards, daughter of William Richards. She is of English parentage, and was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, August 21, 1841. By this union there have been eight children, six of whom are living. Their names in the order of their births are: Alice Frances, born March 21, 1864; Robert Newton, born July 29, 1865; Mary Louise, born February 7, 1867; Ann Jane, born May 14, 1868; Charles W., born August 19,1873; Julia Clara, born August 10, 1875. Katy and Edith H. died in infancy. Both Mr. and Mrs. Fangenroth are members of the Presbyterian church. Politically Mr. Fangenroth was originally a Democrat; but in 1860 he joined the Republican party, and since that time has been a consistent member of that political organization. Mr. Fangenroth has attained considerable prominence and notoriety throughout the county and state as an experimental farmer, and has been the means of adding much to the store of agricultural information. "He who makes two blades of grass grow where only one grew before is a public benefactor." Viewed in this light it may be truly said of Mr. Fangenroth that he has, through his many experiments, benefited his brother farmers throughout the State. He is an active member of the different agricultural societies which have for their object the advancement of the agricultural interests of the county.

Among the representative and successful farmers of Madison county, is the subject of the following brief sketch. He was born in Green county, Indiana, October 24th, 1821. 1 His father, Abner Cotter, was a native of Tennessee, born j near Nashville. He was a farnierby occupation. He re- \ moved to Indiana soon after it was admitted to the Union, and settled in Green county, bought a tract of laud and j commenced improving a farm. He died in March 1827. He married Sarah Kendall, a native of Ohio. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Cotter brought the family to Illinois, and settled iu Edward.sville. The date of their arrival here was October Uth, 1827. The family then consisted of six children. She provided for their support until the fall of 1829, when she married Zadok Newman, by whom she had six children. She died in 1852. By the first marriage there are two sons living, John S. Cotter and the subject of this sketch. William H. had but slight opportunities for receiving an education in his youth. He was compelled to become self-supporting at an age when most youths are in school. He remained at home at work on the farm until the summer of 1842. In 1840, the family removed to Lawrence county, Missouri, where subsequently his mother and stepfather died. In 1842, Mr. Cotter returned from Jlissouri to this county, and commenced work for Mr. Joseph Burroughs. In 1845, he rented land of Mr. Estabrook. Soon after he purchased eighty acres of land of his stepfather. It was the tract now owned by and on which is situated the residence of C. P. Smith. In 185.3, he bought a farm on Ridge Prairie, and lived there until 1866, then purchased his present farm in section 32, 5-8, and there remained until the spring of

1882, when he took up his residence in Edwardsville. On the 18th of February, 1846, he was united in marriage to Miss Eliza J. Harrison, a native of Kentucky. She died November 1846. One child was born to them; it however died in infancy. On the 13th of December, 1849, he married hi.3 present wife. Her maiden name was Miss Mary A. Kimball, daughter of Joseph K. Kimball. She is a native of Madison county. By this union there have been ten children, five of whom are living. Those that are deceased died in infancy. The names of the children living are Sarah E. wife of Warren C. Cushman ; Charles S. who married Rebecca, daughter of Wiley Preuitt ; John E. who married Anna, daughter of Rev. H. Delicate ; Julia I. wife of John M. Livis and Fanny F. who is still beneath the parental roof. Both INIr. aud Mrs. Cotter are consistent and active members of the M. E. Church. He is a member of the order of A. F. and A. M., and also belongs to the chapter in Royal Arch Masonry. Politically he is a Republican, and has voted that ticket upon all state and national occasions since the'organization of the party. He has represented his township in the Board of Supervisors for several terms. In his habits he is temperate, and iu principle a prohibii tionist. Such is a brief sketch of Mr. Cotter's life. He started iu life poor, but by persistent energy and industry with the exercise of good common sense, he has succeeded in carving out for himself and tho.se depending upon him a comfortable competency, and at the same time making and maintaining for himself a name for strict honor and integrity, which is a valuable heritage to leave to his posterity.

Captain John T. Fahnestock, is a native of Lycoming county Pennsylvania. The family is of German ancestry, and are the lineal descendants of Laborious Fahnestock, who was a native of Haarlem in the Province of Westphalia, Germany. Diedrick Fahnestock, an offspring of the fivmily, emigrated to America in 1726, and settled in the colony of Pennsylvania. From him have sprung a numerous progeny. Abner Fahnestock, the father of John T., was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, and there resided until 1852, when he came west to Illinois, and stopped in Alton one year, then purchased a farm in Chouteau township and engaged in farming, in which he continued until his death, which occurred May 4th, 1866. He married Lavina Mc- Carty. She died March 1st, 1834, leaving two sons, William M. and Henry A. Fahnestock. He subsequently married Matilda Brewer, a native of the same county as himself in Pennsylvania. She still survives her husband, and at present is a resident of the county. By the latter marriage there were ten children, eight of whom are living. John T. is I the third in the family. He was born September 24th, 1838. He was reared upon the farm and received a fair education in the public schools of his neighborhood. He remained at home until the spring of 1859, when in company with four others, he went to Pike's Peak in search of gold. After a short sojourn there, he was convinced that a longer residence at the Peak would be unprofitable. He accordingly returned home the following fall, and there remained until the breaking out of the late war, when with patriotic devotion to his country, whose liberties were threatened by armed force, he enlisted under the first call for 75,000 troops. He became a member of Co. I 9th Regt. Ills. Vols. The regiment was stationed at Cairo, Illinois, where it remained the greater portion of its time of enlistment. After the expiration of his term of service he returned home sick, the result of being unused to camp life, and change of water and climate. After he had recovered from his illness, he enlisted for three years in Co. K of the 10th, Kegt. He entered as a private, and passed through the different grades to Orderly

Sergeant, a position he held for two years. In 186-t, he was promoted and commissioned First Lieutenant of Co. K, and held that rank until mustered out of the service, the date of which was July 4th, 1865. He veteranized with the regiment, December 31st, 1863, while the army was in Camp near Rossville, Georgia. He was never absent from his company during its entire service except for a short time, when he was detailed as Provost Marshal, and at another time when he was acting Aid de Camp on the Staff of Gen. Tillson. He participated with his regiment in the battles of Island No. 10, and Fort Pillow. Took part in all the contests of Gen. Pope's Army in moving on Corinth, its capture and subsequent pursuit of the rebel forces to Booneville, the Atlanta Campaign, and then went with Sherman's forces in their memorable "March through Georgia to the Sea." He returned home at the close of the war, and engaged in different occupations until L. W. Moore, was elected Sheriff of Madison county, when he was appointed deputy, and held the position for two years. When James T. Cooper was elected Sheriff he was appointed to a like position, which he held, for eight years. In 1880, he was nominated for the office of Sheriff by the Republican party in convention assembled, and in the ensuing election in November, was elected by a handsome majority, and is now serving the people in that capacity. In his administration he has been efficient and vigilant, and has faithfully executed the mandates and orders of the courts, and has labored to uphold the dignity of the laws he has sworn to execute and obey. On the 8th of November, 1866, he was united in marriage to Miss Angelica Boyd, daughter of James Boyd. She is a native of Edwardsville. Three children have been born to them. Their names are, Alvin E., Mattie L., and Nellie B. Fahnestock. Captain Fahnestock is an honorable member of the order of A. F. and A. M., member also of the K. of P. In politics he is a staunch and active Republican. His first presidential vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, and from that time to the present he has not wavered in his support of that political organization.

William M. T. Springer, (deceased,) the second son of John and Elizabeth Springer, was born on section thirty, town five, range eighty, in Madison county, Illinois, August 31, 1828. He was reared upon the farm and attended the public schools of his neighborhood, and was therein fitted for entrance in McKendree College, at Lebanon, Illinois, which he attended during 1848 and a part of 1849, when his health becoming impaired he returned to the farm. In the spring of 1850 he in company with some of his neighbors fitted out teams and went overland to California, where he remained mining until the summer of 1851, when he returned home and resumed the occupation of farming.

In the spring of 1852 in connection with his brothers, Thomas O. and L. C. Springer, he erected a sawmill on section 30, town 5, range 8, in Madison county, Illinois, of which he took the principal management until about the year 1875 when he sold his farm and removed to Edwardsville. Here he engaged in the business of hardware, farm machinery, etc. In 1855 he was elected School Treasurer of town 5, range 8, and served continuously as such until April, 1876. He was married to Margaret J. Barber, daughter of Rev. John Barber, formerly of Madi.son county, Illinois, January 7, 1857. By this union there were born six children to wit: Lizzie T., Thomas W., Jennie E., Mary E., Josie L., and William B., all of whom are still living except Lizzie T., who died in infancy. Politically Mr. Springer was originally an old line Whig, but on the organization of the Republican party he joined its ranks and continued until his death, an active member of that organization. Both he and his estimable wife were active members of the M. E. Church of Salem. He was Superintendent of and an active worker in the Sabbathschool at that place.

Mr. Springer was a man of generous impulses, strict integrity, and pure moral character, a kind and loving husband and father. In all official positions to which he was called, either civil or religious, he performed his duties with honor to himself and satisfaction to the community in which he resided. He was a member of the order of A. F, and A. M., R. A. M., and also member of the Knights of Honor.

In the latter years of his life he was affected with asthmatic or bronchial troubles, and in the autumn of 1881, started on a trip to Colorado, for the benefit of his health. At Lawrence, Kansas, he stopped to visit a sister, where he was taken ill and died October 9, 1881. His remains were brought to Edwardsville, and interred in Woodland cemetery. His demise was generally felt in the business and social circles of Edwardsville, and his memory is held in great esteem by hosts of friends who knew him as an upright Christian man.

James R., was the son of James and Ann Brown, and was born in Bedford, England, January 24, 1836. At the age of fifteen he left his native country and emigrated to America. He went direct to St. Louis, and in 1853 came to Edwardsville, Illinois, and here made his home until his death, which occurred after a long and painful illness, April 30, 1882. He learned the printer's trade, and June 1856 started a weekly newspaper in Edwardsville, called the Madison Enquirer. Disposing of the paper by sale he worked at the case until Aug. 11, 1858, and then in connection with Theodore Terry issued the first number of The Madison Press. He soon afterward sold his interest to his partner. In October 1862 he started and issued the first number of th"6 Edwardsville Intelligencer, of which paper he was sole editor and [iroprietor until his death. As a newspaper man Mr. Brown was eminently successful. He had learned every detail of a country printing office, and was not only a good artistic printer, but combined with it good executive ability and management. He was a good ^vriter, and excelled as a paragraphist. He belonged to the positive order of men, and therefore never hesitated to condemn that which he deemed to be wrong. This trait of character sometimes led him to be unusually severe. When his friendship and confidence were once given he remained constant and true. He was twice married, first to Mrs. Sophia W. Cox, a daughter of JIajor Purcell of this county. The marriage occurred Aug. 24, 1858 ; she died May 9, 1871. On the 28th of May, 1874, in the city of Philadelphia, he married Miss Matilda Wolf, daughter of Frederick A. and Caroline Wolf, of Edwardsville. By this union one child, a son, named James, Jr., was born. He died July 15, 1879, while yet iu infancy.

The present efficient Circuit clerk of Madison county is a native of Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, born July 6, 1836. His parents were Adam and Cliarlotte (Frankenstein) Daech. His father's family consisted of five children, only two of whom are now living, William and Frank, in Edwardsville. In 1844, Adam Daech emigrated to America, locating in St. Louis, and subsequently sent for his family, who arrived about 1858. He died in Missouri, in 1860, and his wife, the mother of William Daech, died in Edwardsville, in 1863.

William Daech received his education in the common and high schools of his native province. At the age of sixteen he left his home and emigrated to the West Indies, where he became overseer of a large sugar plantation. While there he was united in marriage to Ann pjlizabeth Wright, a lady of English birth. He remained in charge of the plantation until 1861, when he came to the United States, landing in New York city ou the 4th day of July, in that year. From thence he came to Kirkwood, Missouri, where his mother was then residing. After a few mouths' stay in Missouri, he moved to Edwardsville, Illinois, January 1, 1862, and accepted a clerkship in the distillery of

Ritter & Hunicke, which position he held until the failure of the firm. He was also clerk in Phillip's mill, and for a time engaged in teaming between Alton, Edwardsville and St. Louis. Upon the election of H. Kuhlenbeck, in 1868, to the office of Circuit clerk, Mr. Daech was made a deputy in his office. From December of that year, with the exception of three years as office deputy of sheriff Cooper, he continued as clerk or deputy in the circuit clerk's office until August 1879, at which time he received the nomination of County Treasurer, and was defeated by a small majority. In 1880, he was elected to the Circuit clerkship, which position he at present occupies. Politically, Mr. Daech is a staunch Republican He is a member of the Lutheran church, and was the first clerk of that society in Edwardsville. His wife is a member of the Episcopal church. He is also a member of the United Ancient order of Druids and the United order of Foresters.

Mr. Daech has reared a family of six children - Minnie, deceased wife of Herman E. Wolf, died November 11, 1880 ; William A., Frank J., Edward, Frederick and John H., residing at home.

Restaurant And Property Of Frank Stenzel Ed

The subject of tlie Ibllowiug biographical sketch is a native of Preston, Lancashire, Englantl. He was born Nov. 1st, 1832. He is the eldest sou of James and Ann Parkinsou Newshara. His parents emigrated to America in the fall of 1840. James Newsham had, however, made a trip to America as early as 1817, and remained here until 1821, when he returned to England, and brought his ftiraily here at the time above mentioned. They landed at New Orleans, and came up the river to Harrisonvllle, in Monroe county, Illinois, and. soon after Mr. Newsham purchased land iu Prairie Da Long, and engaged in farming, in which he continued until his death, the date of which was October, 1845. His wife, the mother of Thomas, died in 1844. After the death of his father, young Newshara went to St. Ljuis, and apprenticed himself to John F. Mitchell to learn the carpenter trade. After serving two years he worked under instructions for another year. Four months later his industry and desire to excel earned for him the position of foreman of the shop At the age of eighteen years he commenced business for himself. One of his first contracts was the ereciion of the Convent market-house. He remained in St Louis until 1850, then came to Edwardsville. Here he worked for a short time at his trade, under the direction of other parties, but so m commenced business for himself, in which he continued until the breaking out of the war, at which time he and Capt. J. G. Robinson, under the call for 75,000 troops, organized a company of one hundred and sixteen men, and tendered their services to the government. On the 22d of April, 18(51, they were taken to Springfield, where they were organized into a company of eighty-four men, which was known as Co. I, of the 9t.h Regiment of Illinois Infantry. Mr. Newsham was elected 1st Lieut., and commissioned April 25th, 1861. The 9th regiment was organized at Camp Yates, and soon after received orders to proceed to St. Louis to guard the Arsenal, but before the con. summation of that order, were ordered to Cairo, Illinois, to protect it against a threatened attack by the rebel forces gathered at Columbus, Kentucky. Company I was sent up the river to protect a battery which had command of the river above Cairo.

On the 25ih of May, 18G1, Lieut. Newsham was appointed and commissioned Adjutant of the regiment. Company I remained in support of the battery ijutil the expiration of their term of service, and were mustered out, July 24th, 1861, and mustered into the three years' service, July 26th, two days later. Lieut. Newsham was mustered in as Adjutant of the regiment, and remained with it until Sept. 4th, 1861, when he was detached, and appointed Acting Assistant Adjutant General of the Expeditionary forces that captured Paducah, Ky.; Sept- 5th following. On the 9th of Sept 1861, he was appointed Acting Assist. Adjutant General on the staff of Major-General C F. Smith, and on the 5th of October following was comaiissioned by the President as Assist. Adj't General of Volunteers, with the rank of Captain, and ordered to report to Gen. Smith for duty. He remained upon the staff of Gen Smith until after the battle and capture of Fort Donelson, and battle of Shiloh or Pi'tsburg Landing, Tenn. On the 14th of April, 1862, he resigned his position on account of ill health. His resignation was accepted by Gen. Grant, and a])proved conditionally - those conditions were promotion. He returned home, sick, and remained at home until he had in a measure regained his health. In the summer of 1802, under the call for 600,000 additional troops, he assisted in raising the 117th regiment, and up)n organization was elected and commissioned Major, the date of which was Sept. I'Jth, 1862. He remained with the regiment until Dec. 20th, 1862, when he was detached and took command of the Detachments at Fort Pickering, Tenn. The many honorable positions and commands he held during the late war, are best told in the followirg which is copied from the records on file in the War Department at Washington, and to which is attached the highly complimentary letter of Gen. Sherman, General of the Army :

"With Regiment at Cairo, Illinois .mil Padiicali, Ky , 7ih Sept. 1861. Asst. Adj. Gen. on Stall' of Gen. C. F. Smith, to April 14th, 1SG2. Out of service until Sept. 19th, 1862. With Regiment in the Army of Tennessee, to Dec. 20th, 1862. CommanJing Delaehments at Fort Pickering, Tenn., to January 13ih, IS63. Act. .Asst. Inspector Gen. at Columbus, Ky., to Aug. 19ili, 1863. Gen. Picket officer, 5th Div., IGlli Army Cor|).s, to Oct. 20th, 1863. Commanding Provisional Encampment at Fort Pickering, Tenn., to April 13th, 1S64, when he resigned."

" Headquarters or Army. Washington, D. C, July 19ih, 1876. The above most honorable record is official, and I take great pleasure, in adding that I remember Major Newsham well, when he was on the Staff of Major Gen. C. F. Smith, and hereby certify that he was _

Major New.«ham retains as mementoes and souvenirs of the war, many letters and orders, which in a measure serve to keep alive the memories of the past, and call vividly to the mind the many incidents and perils connected with the years of the war, which were the most eventful of his life. It may he said of him that he was the trusted and confidential aid and comrade of men who then and since have grown great, and who have added a page to the world's history. He was selected by Gen. Grant as bearer of despatches from Headquarters to Washington. In every position which he was called upon to fill, he did his whole duty, and earned the commendation of his superior officers. His health failing him again, he was compelled to resign, and seek rest at home. His resignation bears date April 13th, 1864. He was afterward cammissioned Colonel of the 1st Regiment Florida Cavalry, but owing to his continued ill-health, was compelled to decline that flattering mark of honor and confidence. This closed the record of Maj. Newsham's military service. That he was a brave and gallant soldier, the records and many commendatory letters (if his superior ofiicers amply testify. Alter his retnrn home, and as soon as his health would permit, he re-eiigaged in contracting and building, and has t'ullowed that business to the present.

On the 7ih of Nov. 18.58, he was united in raarrirtge to Miss Mary Jane, daughter of Judge H. K. Eaton, now deceased. iShe was born in Edwardsville, Sept. 28th, 1838. Four children have been born to them. One sou and three daughters. The son died in infancy. The names of the daughters are : Caroline A , who is the wife of John W. Sanncr, a prominent farmer of Shelby county. 111. ; Matilda Alice and Mary Elizabeth are yet beneath thg parental roof, Mrs. >i'ewshain is a member of the M. E. Church. ^lajor

Newsham is a member of the order of A. F. and A. M., and was made a mason in England in 1854, in the Lodge presided over by the Earl of Zetland, and now by the Prince of Wales.

Politically he was originally a member of the Whig party, lu 1860, he voted for Abraham Lincoln, and from that time to the present, has been a Republican. In his habits he is temperate, and an advocate of prohibition. He has been identified with every temperance movement started in Edwardsville since 1850. In his manners he is a pleasant and agreeable gentleman, and in the community where he has long resided, is regarded as an honorable man and a good citizen.

The City Of Alton

,HE first settlement on the site of the present city of Alton, seem-j to have been made about the year 1783, by a Frenchman named Jean Baptiste Cardinal. The evidence of this rests on the report made in 1813, by the Board of Commissioners appointed to examine the claims for land within the district of Kaskaskia. The Commissioners state that about thirty years previous Cardinal lived at Piasa, five or six leagues above Cahokia, that he there built a house and resided with his family, but was taken prisoner by the Indians, when his family were obliged to abandon their frontier location and retire to the village of Cahokia There was no proof before the Commissioners that he had placed any land under cultivation. Cardinal appears to have conveyed his claim in the year 1793 to John Edgar, then a prominent and wealthy citizen of Kaskaskia, who was largely interested in the land speculations of the time. The deed was witnessed by La Violette in September, lTi)5, and acknowledged before William Morrison five months afterward. Cardinal affixed his mark to the deed, but Edgar, to show the fairness of the transaction, produced a letter from Cardinal, dated July, 1795, ofiering Edo-ar the land, which letter was signed by Cardinal himself in a very good hand. These facts made the Commissioners suspicious of the transfer, and they recommended that, should the claim (for a tract of land four arpents in front by forty in depth) be confirmed by congress, " the confirmation be to the said Cardinal, or his legal representatives, as the title papers of the said John Edgar appear not to be regular." It is altogether probable that the Piasa where Jean Baptiste Cardinal made this settlement in 1783 was on ground now covered by the city of Alton. While five or sis leagues fdll short of the real distance from Cahokia, a matter of not so much importance when we cDnsider the inaccurate way in which distances were computed at that time, still there could scarcely have been any other Pjasa than at the locality where was depicted upon the rocks the famous Piasa bird, an object of great interest to the French from their first exploration of the countr.v, and the story of which was one of the most familiar of the Indian legends.*

*The figures of the Piasa bird were painted on the face of th' rocky bliiff, just above the city. They are first referred to by Mai quette, who descended the Mi.-wissippi in the summer of 1673. He says : ''As we coasted along rocks frightful for their height and length, we saw two monsters painted on one of the roek«, which startled us at first, and upon which the boldest Indicin dare not gaze long. "They are as large as a calf, with horns on the head like a deer, a frightful look, red eyes, bearded like a tiger, the face somewhat like a man's, the body covered with scales, and the tail so long that it twice makes the turn of the body, passing over the head and down between the leg?, ending at last in a fish's tail. Green, reJ and black are the colors employed. On the whole the.se two monsters are so well painted that we could not believe any Indian to have been the designer, as good painters in France would find it hard to do as well. Besides this lliev are painted so high upon the rock that it is hard to get conveniently at them to paint them." Traces of these figures were visible till some

The tradition connected with this rock existed among all the aboriginal inhabitant-iof the West. No Indian passed up or down tlie river without discharging bis arrow at the painting, and after the Indians became accustomed to lire-arms bullets were substituted for arrows. Tlie marks of ten thousand bullets were on the clifl". Sometimes the Indians left their canoes and proceeded to the bluffs where they held a .solemn war council, concluding the whole with a splendid war dance, manilisiing all tlie while the most exuberant joy in the recolleclion of their deliverance from this great mon-^ter.

Tlie legend of the Piasa is told as follows : " Many thousand moons before the arrival of the pale faces, when the great raegalouyx and mastodon whose bones are now dug up were still in this land of green prairies, the numerous and powerful n.ation called the Illinois, inhabited the state which now bears their name, over the greater portion of which their hunting grounds extended. For many years they continued to increase in numbers and prosperity, and were deemed the bravest and most warlike of all the tribes of the great valley. At length in their most populous districts near the residence of their greatest chief, there appeared an enormous animal, part beast, and part bird, which took up its abode on the rock and banqueted daily upon numbers of the people, whom it bore off in its immense talons. It was covered with scales of every possible color, and had a huge tail, with a blow of which it could shake the earth. From its head which was like the head of a fox, with the beak of an eagle, projected immense horns, and its four feet were armed with powerful claws, in each of which it could carry a buflalo. The flapping of its enormous wings was like the roar of thunder, and when it dived into the riverit threw the waves far up on the land. To this animal they gave the name of the bird of the Piasa, or bird of the evil spirit (according to some, " the bird which devours men). In vain did the Medicine men use all their power to drive away this fearful visitor. He would be satisfied with nothing but human flesh, and day by day the tribe diminished to feed hia insatiable appetite. Whole villages were desolated, and consternation spread through all the tribes of the Illinois.

At length Owatoga, a chief whose fame as a warrior extended even beyond the great lakes, separating himself from the rest of his tribe, fasted in solitude for the .space of a whole moon, and prayed to the Great Spirit, the Master of Life, that he would protect his children from the Plasa. On the last night of his fast the Great Spirit appeared to him in a dream, and directed him to select twenty of his warriors, each armed with a bow and pointed arrows, and conceal them in a designated spot. Near the place of their concealment another warrior was to stand in open view as a victim for the Piasa, which they must shoot the instant he pounced on his prey. When the chief awaked in the morning he thanked the Great .Spirit, returned to his tribe, and told his dream. The warriors were quickly selected and placed in ambush. Owatoga offered himself as the victim, willing to die for his tribe; and placing himself in open view of the bluff, he soon saw the Piasa perched on the cliff eyeing his prey. Owatoga drew up bis manly form to its utmost height ; and, placing his feet firmhupon the earth, began to chant the death-song of a warrior. A moment after, the Piasa rose in the air, and swift as a thunderbolt, darted down upon the chief. Scarcely had he readied his victim when every bow was sprung, and every arrow sjjcd to the feather into bis boily. The Piasa uttered a wild, fearful scream, that resounded far over the opposite side of the river, and expired. Owatoga was safe. Not an arrow, not even the talons of the bird had touched him ; for the Master of Life, in admiration of his noble deed, had held over him an invisible shield. The tribe now gave way to the wildest joy, and held a great feast in honor of the event, and to commemorate it, painted the figure of the bird on the side of the rock on whose summit the chieftain stood.'' railwaj' depot now stands, and was used by the French as a place for trading with the Indians. It was constructed of loose rock, without mortar, and its roof was a covering of elm bark. The early American settlers could not tell how long it had been standing, and it i.s possible that here may have been the original location of Jeau Baptiste Cardinal.

The first to recognize the advantages of the site of Alton as the place for a flourishing town seems to have been Col. Rufus Easton, of the neighboring territory of Missouri. He was born at Litchfield, Connecticut, on the fourth of May, 1774 ; studied law in Connecticut, and after practicing \\\i profession a couple of years in Oneida county, New York, came to St. Louis in the year 1804. He enjoyed the friendship of Gideon Granger, Aaron Burr, and other influential men of that day, and through their influence was commissioned by President JeflTerson, Judge for the territory of Louisiana. In the year 1808 the first post office wa^ established in St. L)uis, and Rufus Easton was appointed postmaster. From ISH to I8l8 he was delegate in Congress from Missouri territory. On the organization of the state government of Missouri in 1821, he was appointed attorney general for the State, and held that office till 1826. He died at St. Charles, Jlissouri, on the fifth of July, 1834. He had fine executive and administrative ability. His son, Alton Rufus Easton, whose Christian name was given to Alton, commanded a regiment, known as the St. Louis Legion, in the Mexican war, and is still a resident of St. Louis.

Col. Easton obtained possession of land in the vicinity, and early in the year 1817 laid out a town which, in ftonor of his son, Alton R. Easton, he called Alton. It is also said that Langdon, George and Alby streets were named after some of his children. The town was laid out on fractional sections eleven and fourteen, of township five north, range ten west.* The old town plat, or Easton's

^ The following is a list of the lands included in the limits of Alton, showing when and by whom each quarter and fracliimal section was entered, together with the number of acre^ in each. These lands are comprised in sections eleven and twelve, and fractional sections ten, thirteen and fourteen, all in township five north and range ten west of the third principal meridian :

27, 181-^. S. W. quarter section eleven, containing 154 28 acres, was entered by William Russell, April 27, 1815. N. W. quarter .section ten, containing 29.13 acres, was entered by Dennis Valentine, April

28, 1815. East half S. E. quarter section 12, containing 80 acres, was entered by James Smith, September 27, 1816. West half ,S. E. quarter section twelve, containing 80 acres, was entered by James Smith,

Alton, extended from Market street on the west to Henry street on the east, and iroin the river north to Ninth street- The firrft step which C.)l. Edston took towards building up the town was tlie establishment of a ferry. As early as the year 1806 a f<rrry was in existence on the Mississippi, just above the mouth of Wood river, conducted by Eli Langford, who carried passeng-TS to the opposite shores of both the Miseissippi and the ilissouri. A man by the name of Piper had a ferry across the Mississippi at the mouth of Hop Hollow, above the site of Alton. This ferry afterward came into the possession of Michael Squire and a man named Smeltzer, and at the time the town of Alton was founded was known as Smeltzer's ferry For much of the time the landing place on the Illinois side was several miles above Alton. Sjneltzer built a brick house on the Missouri side witli brick ma<le on the Illinois side of the river. This house gave the name to the " Brick House Bend," and was in existence till 1SG6, in August of which year it fell down. Smeltzer was a great miser. He was accustomed to ride with a tow-string bridle. Once when sick he told his brother-in law that he had a barrel of silver dollars buried, but died finally without telling where the money was hidden.

In opposition to Smeltzer a man, in the interest of Col. Easton, established at Alton a ferry, which he called the Fountain Ferry. The landing place was at the mouth of the Little Piasa, or as the ferry-man called it, "Fountain Creek." It is likely that the name of "Fountain" was given to the creek and ferry on account of the well-known cave (or fountain) spring in wliich the cave has its source. A few log cabins were soon afterward built, one of which was used as a ferry house to accommodate travelers crossing the river at this point.

The first year gave the town no brilliant promise of future growth. Its conditi iii in the year lrfl8 is thus portraytd by the Rev. Thomas Lippincctt : "In a few days after my arrival in St. Louis I was employed for a little while to do some writing for Rufus Easton, Esfj. One of the jobs executed by me for hira was making a fair copy of a plat, or map, of Alton, a town which he had laid out the previous year, on the banks of the Mississippi, in Illinois. The map was designed for exhibition in the East in order to aflect the sales of lots. I took some pains to make it look well, and, I believe, gave satisfaction. After a few months spent by me as clerk in a store, Col. Easton proposed to me that I should take a stock of goods, in partnership with him, and keep a store at Alton or neighborhood, and accordingly I became a resident, as before said, in Illi-