McLean County, Illinois - The whole text, 1879 (part 12 of 42)

Immense sums were given in aid of the families of soldiers in the early part of the war ; but later, the public sympathy was mainly directed through the Sanitary Commission, to the assistance of those in the field. In 1864, as much as $10,000 was sent in money in one donation, of which Isaac Funk gave $5,000. There was a constant stream of charity pouring in this direction, whose dimensions in the aggregate must have been magnificent.

At the Presidential election, in 1864, there was tremendous excitement. Many of the soldiers were at home ; some discharged for disability, others by expiration of three years' enlistment, and many were at home on furlough. These were well aware that during the whole time of their absence there had been a "fire in the rear; " and from a variety of causes, great feeling was manifested. At that time, the whple township of Bloomington, polling 1,774 votes, had one voting place - the old jail-building, on the northwest corner of the Court House square. The election, after all, was one of the quietest on record, though probably one-third of the voters carried pistols, ready for any outbreak that might occur. The Judges of the election were A. B. Ives, John Dawson and J. H. Burnham. In spite of the rapidity with which they were obliged to decide all cases of challenged votes, their decisions were acquiesced in by the leading men of both parties most cheerfully, and their feat of taking votes at the rate of three per minute, at a time of such a hot contest, can scarcely be paralleled. Mr. Lincoln had a majority of about six hundred in the township of Bloomington.

During the winter of 1864, Company K of the Twenty -sixth Illinois Regiment of which Gen. I. J. Bloomfield was the Captain, returned to this county on " veteran furlough," and were kindly welcomed by the citizens of Bloomington.

On the 14th of March, 1864, the entire Thirty-third Regiment Illinois Volunteers arrived at Bloomington on their "veteran furlough," on their way from Texas to their different homes in Illinois.

There were over four hundred of these heroes, of whom quite a number were from Bloomington. The citizens gave them a warm-hearted reception at Royce Hall, which was unlooked for by the veterans, and was a fitting tribute to the brave men who so nobly continued in the service of the country. This class of soldiers, entitled to more praise than any other, have generally been treated like ordinary volunteers. Now the fact is, they really stand the highest in the list of the nation's defenders. Their volunteering in the face of danger, after three years' service, was convincing proof to the rebels that they never could succeed in their undertaking.

The day before the Presidential election, in 1864, large bodies of suspicious looking men came from Southern Illinois to this city, and changed cars for Chicago. James

Allin, Jr., then Postmaster, telegraphed the circumstances to John Wentworth and others, and the result was, that the men were arrested before they reached the city. It afterward transpired that they were concerned in the famous plot to rescue the rebel prisoners at Camp Douglas, and the dispatch from Bloomington was one of the indications that proved something unusual was being attempted.

In the early part of the war, it seemed that the volunteers paid little attention to filling the muster-rolls correctly, and\jt often happened that nearly a whole company would be credited to Bloomington, when, in fact, it was raised in the county at large. Besides this, all who lived in three or four of the adjacent townships whose post-office addresses were at Bloomington, were generally credited as residents, and the result was that the city's quota was more than filled. When the first draft was threatened in McLean County, in 1864, it was discovered that Bloomington's quota was already made up, and a good deal of bad feeling resulted. By a liberal county bounty, and the general co-operation of the citizens of both city and county, the first draft was avoided. February or March, 1865, the last draft barely touched a few districts in McLean County. Most of the towns, as well as the wards in Bloomington raised liberal subscriptions, which, in addition to the county bounty, proved effectual. In Bloomington, out of a good many thousand dollars raised, quite a large proportion, in some of the wards, was returned to the subscribers. ,

The news of peace, or rather the surrender of Gen. Lee, the capture of Jeff Davis and the surrender of Gen. Joe Johnston - the whole equivalent to a declaration of peace - caused intense satisfaction and extravagant rejoicing in the same manner as Union victories had done previously. The usual way was for a few men to run around the public square, call for a collection, buy some powder, which Pres. Butler would burn in his cannon, while the boys would join in a general rejoicing. Sometimes we fired a little too soon, or the news would turn out to be unimportant, but we kept up the practice till the news of the last surrender.

In those days, the Associated Press dispatches usually arrived at the Pantagraph office a little before noon, and any very special news was printed speedily on slips of paper and sold by boys as '- extras." On the morning after the assassination of President Lincoln, J. H. Burnham, editor of the Bloomington Pantagraph, was at Chicago. He saw the news in the morning paper there, and knew at once that the Pantagraph could not possibly have the dispatch. He went to the telegraph office before it opened, and sent the first dispatch of the morning, telling his paper, over his own signature, in about sixty words, the terrible news. This was known on the streets of Bloomington at about 9 o'clock, and it caused intense grief and astonishment. Mr. Lincoln was known and loved in Bloomington as well as anywhere else in the world, and for several hours, grief, anger and revenge swayed the public, crowds of people being in the streets, discussing the sad event. A man of the name of John Hinzey, boarding at the Ashley, was heard to rejoice over Mr. Lincoln's death, and thoughtlessly applauded, or was understood to applaud the assassin. When this was reported on the streets, the whole mass seemed carried away by frenzy, aad at once moved toward the Ashley House to take out the offender to be hanged. His life was in such danger that it was only saved by the stratagem of a few of the cooler heads, who organized a committee to give him a trial, to which the crowd consented, and while this was going on, Mr. Hinzey was hustled into a carriage, several blocks west of the hotel, having been passed out in disguise at the rear, and he was driven rapidly toward Peoria. In a few hours after his escape, the crowd became glad it had not taken human life.

As it takes many people to make a world, so various methods for doing good have been organized, and will be carried on till the end of time. One of the oldest, and, perhaps, one of the most permanent, of the different orders or societies that we can mention, is that of Freemasonry. This Order was established in Bloomington at an early day. In 1847, Peoria Lodge recommended the application for a new lodge in Bloomington. The first meeting of Bloomington Lodge, No. 43, was March 1, 1847. Its first Master was John Foster. The first member admitted was W. C. Hobbs, who became the second Master, and, afterward, was Master of the Grand Lodge, being the only member from Bloomington who has ever attained this distinction. Dr. Hobbs was one of the leading citizens of Bloomington from this time down to the time of his death, February 10, 1861. He was, perhaps, the most genial, the kindest-hearted, most generally useful man who has ever lived in Bloomington. The Masters of this Lodge who followed Dr. Hobbs were E. Thomas, M. C. Baker, John M. Scott, Goodman Ferre and others. The Masonic Order has always included a large proportion of leading citizens, making it one of our " institutions " of merit, and it has accomplished a vast amount of good. There are three lodges, all meeting on different nights in one hall, which, since 1877, has been in the upper part of the fine building at the corner of Center and Front streets, where may be found one of the most completely fitted lodgerooms in the State. Besides the three lodges of inferior degrees, there are two or more of the higher, made up mostly of those who belong to the lower lodges, of which we will mention the Chapter of Ro\al Arch Masons and the Commandery of Knights Templar. Bloomington Chapter, No. 26, Royal Arch March Masons, was organized March 19, 1855. Its leading officers are : High Priest, J. Brewster; Treasurer, Goodman Ferre, and its Secretary is John D. Fowle.

De Molay Commandery, No. 24, was constituted October 22, 1867. Its officers are Charles F. Webb, Eminent Commander; James Clark, Generalissimo; William M. Stevenson, Captain General; Jabez Brewster, Treasurer, and J. D. Fowle, Recorder. These Knights are well drilled, and make a fine appearance when seen in public.

Bloomington Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, held its first meeting, as we have stated above, March 1, 1847. Its present officers are W. R. Bascom, Master; Thomas W. Stevenson, Senior Warden ; Michael Gee, Junior Warden ; N. N. Winslow, Treasurer ; Charles Strehorn, Secretary. The Lodge has about two hundred members.

Wade Barney Lodge was organized August 8, 1866, and now contains 123 members. Its Master is L. L. Burr ; Senior Warden, C. W. Kirk ; Junior Warden, A. M. Goodfellow ; Treasurer, J. E. Eastman ; Secretary, C. J. Northrop.

Mozart Lodge, No. 656, is composed of Germans, and contains about forty members. It was organized in October, 1870. This Lodge transacts all busineis in the German language.

Closely allied with Masonry is the Order of the Eastern Star, composed of Freemasons, their wives and daughters. Bloomington Chapter, No. 4, was organized January 1, 1870. Worthy Patron, W. C. Stevenson ; Worthy Matron, Mrs. A. Kettle; Treasurer, Mrs. W. Stevenson; Secretary, Mrs. E. C. Roberts. There are 110 members.

Independent Order Of Odd Fellows

There is perhaps no more systematic charity than is dispensed through the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. This society is peculiarly fortunate in Bloomington, having been established at an early day, and its first members being men of high moral aims ; their successors have followed in the way first marked out by the original members, have always kept the ancient landmarks well in sight, and have attained great proficiency in all the proper work of the Order.

Remembrance Lodge, No. 77, was organized October 20, 1851. Among its charter members we find the names of H. S. Herr and William Nightwine. John M. Scott was initiated the same night the Lodge was instituted, and has with the above-named continued a member until the present time.

Several of those most prominent in the Grand Lodge of this jurisdiction have been members of Remembrance Lodgs, among whom we will mention H. S. Herr and Thomas F. Mitchell, both of whom have been Grand Officers. Mr. Mitchell has been delegate to the National Grand Lodge, where he was one of the most active and efficient representatives. The present Noble Grand of Remembrance Lodge is C. S. Strayer ; Vice Grand,

C. M. Ross ; Recording Secretary, Amos Kemp ; Permanent Secretary, L. B. Elledge ; Robert Thompson, is Treasurer, a position he has filled for twenty years. Evergreen City Lodge. No. 265, was instituted September 30, 1858. Its present number of members is 100. Its Noble Grand is George T. Heritage; Vice Grand, E. Huhn; Recording Secretary, F. B. Augustus ; Permanent Secretary, H. J. Higgins ; Treasurer, Peter Rockwell.

Uhland Lodge, No. 805, was organized July 1, 1863. Its charter is in the German language, and its meetings are all conducted in German, and its membership made up of that nationality. A. Schlegel is Noble Grand ; Fred. Kersten, Vice Grand ; H. Moratz, Recording Secretary ; W. D. Penner, Financial Secretary and William A. Gerken, Treasurer ; Representative to Grand Lodge, Charles Lamp.

McLean Encampment, No. 29, was organized April 11, 1855. It contains at present about seventy-five members. This Lodge is made up from members of the other lodges, being a higher degree of the same Order. William McComb is C. P.; George T. Heritage, H. P.; Charles Lamp, S. W.; A. C. Atkins, Scribe ; R. Thompson, Treasurer. Remembrance Lodge owns a business house, next to the northeast corner of Main and Washington streets. It was purchased in 1878, at a cost of nearly $10,000. This purchase was made from the permanent funds of the Lodge, and shows a financial standing that is to be commended. The amount of funds on hand in the different lodges of the Order amounts to about $14,000. This money is a revenue to be used in case the annual dues shall not be equal to the demands of its members who may happen to be sick or disabled, and indicates a flattering degree of prosperity.

Many of the wives of Odd Fellows, with their husbands, are members of the Order of the Degree of Rebecca. Bethlehem Lodge, No. 32, was incorporated November 11, 1870, though a lodge was in existence previously. Its Noble Grand is Oliver Beebe ; Vice Grand, Mrs. Nelson Taylor ; Mrs. E. R. Hallett is Recording Secretary ; Mr. W.

Abraham Lincoln Lodge, No. 85, of the Degree of Rebecca, meets at the hall in Liberty Block. These Rebecca Lodges are mainly for social purposes, though there are some obligations and duties imposed upon the members.

Various Secret Societies

One of the most important of our secret organizations is the Knights of Pythias, which meets at 112 and 114 South Main street, in Liberty Block. It contains 109 members. Richard Osborne, P. C. ; M. B. Jeter, C. C ; J. E. Espey, V. C. ; C. D. Myers, Prelate ; William Van Schoich, M. of E., and Frank Johnson, Jr., M. of F. Its Trustees are J. W. Fifer, J. W. Trotter and Dr. 0. R. Karr. Whenever this society appears in public in uniform, it invariably attracts great attention, the appearance of its members being highly indicative of discipline and good fellowship.

The " Universal Brotherhood " organized Lodge No. 4 in Bloomington, February 3, 1878, about which time representatives from all over the United States met here to perfect their organization. This institution is of a fraternal nature, and its main feature is insurance, its policies being at the members' option, in sums varying from $500 to $5,000. The Order in this State has been incorporated as the "Grand Commandery of the Universal Brotherhood of the World." The officers of No. 4, are R. F. McCabe, Illustrious Commander ; W. G. Nichols, Captain General ; A. O. Grigsby, Chief of Records ; W. H. Phillips, Registration Chief; H. N. Cutshaw, Chief of Exchequer ; J. A. Beason, Master of Ceremonies.

The Knights of Honor organized in July, 1878, with fourteen charter members. It is mainly for mutual life insurance, though it has social features. The Grand Lodge of the State controls 110 subordinate lodges. Assessments are made so that upon the death of a brother, his heirs obtain $2,000. The Grand Lodge of Illinois, of which J. C. S. Miller, a Bloomingtonian, is Grand Dictator, meets here in June, 1879. The Bloomington organization is known as Independent Lodge K. of H., No. 706. Its officers are: Past Dictators, Frank White, I. N. Littel, E. D. Miller; Dictator, C. A. Brooks ; Vice Dictator, B. G. Cash ; Asst. Dictator, S. B. Cooper ; Treasurer, E. D. Miller ; Reporter, C. E. Baker ; Financial Reporter, C. L. Camp ; Medical Examiner, Dr. N. B. Cole; Chaplain, W. R. Bascom ; Guide, M. Plumley ; Guardian, George Harman ; Sentinel, Adam Hess.

The Ancient Order of United Workmen is a secret benevolent society with an insurance feature that highly commends itself. Upon the death of any member anywhere in the State, the assessments realize enough to pay $2,000 to the family of the deceased. The Bloomington Lodge was organized April 17, 1877. Its number is 63. Its officers for the past six months were J. D. Dodge, Past Master ; F. M. Fowler, Master Workman ; T. W. Pelton, General Foreman ; Julius Johnson, Overseer ; J. L. Beath, Receiver ; James Lonney, Financier ; F. W. Coe, Recorder ; D. Hemmele, Guide ; G. B. Bossie, Inside Watchman ; J. S. Izaat, Outside Watchman. There are about ninety members and the Order is in a flourishing condition.

The Independent Order B'nai B'rith has one Lodge, Abraham Lincoln, No. 190. E. Ganz, is President; M. Lange, Vice President; W. Greisheim, Secretary; M. Heilbrun, Financial Secretary. This Order equals the Masons or Odd Fellows in the thoroughness and completeness of its organized charity. The Bloomington lodge was started October 27, 1872, with twenty-two members and now contains thrity-three.

The Ancient, Free and Accepted York Masons have a lodge - Evening Star Lodge, No. 4 - organized September 12, 1864. J. A. Hill, Master; Z. T. Baker, Senior Warden ; J. Ward, Junior Warden ; R. Holley, Treasurer ; R. Allin, Secretary.

Benevolent Societies

Bloomington boasts of better organized charitable associations than almost any other place in this State. Besides those which have secret organizations, we have a number that work publicly, though in an organized form. Of these we might mention the German Benevolent Association, which was formed May 1, 1857 ; has a present membership of seventy-four, and has become one of the oldest of its kind in the State. John Breckbeller is President ; C. Haker, Vice President, and William D. Penner» Treasurer.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians of Bloomington was chartered April 20, 1874, and contains at this time about sixty members. Michael Martin is President : James Costello, Vice President ; William Nihin, Treasurer, and Daniel Haggarty, Secretary. The Hibernian Benevolent Society was incorporated March, 1869. It has seventy members. George Burns is President; John Sullivan, Sr., Treasurer, and Dennis Mahoney, Secretary. These beneficial organizations have been supplemented by the Father Mathew Total Abstinence and Benevolent Society, and the St. Patrick Total Abstinence and Benevolent Society.

It is quite difficult, in a city like Bloomington, to learn of all the different societies and organizations. Our modern life seems to be adapted to all these various bodies ; they are readily formed, and often more easily dissolved. We know of the Conductors' and Engineers' Brotherhood, and of the Firemen's and Brakemen's Associations, as well as of several trades-unions and other societies, but our space will not allow us to publish all the particulars which we might easily obtain. There are other societies ; for instance, the German Free-School Society, with a good schoolhouse and lot at the corner of West and Front streets, well worthy of more particular mention ; but we have already exceeded the space allotted to these matters, and have, perhaps, even as it is, descended to more particulars than our readers will care to examine.

Important German Organizations

The first appearance of Germans in Bloomington in any considerable numbers, dates from 1854 to 1858, and we find that during these years some of our best German organizations had their origin. Among these, we will mention the Turners, who commenced August 20, 1858. They have become one of the most powerful societies in Bloomington. They now occupy the building which was, previous to 1856, the Baptist Church ; but this is too small and inconvenient for the Turners, who are forming their plans for the erection, as soon as possible, of a building that will be a credit to the society and an ornament to the city. Their ability to carry out the project has been but very slightly impaired by the hard times through which we are passing, and when the Society moves we may expect to see something accomplished. The present officers of the Bloomington Turnverein are as follows : President, William Gerken ; Vice President, C. Brohm ; Recording Secretary, P. Horermann ; Corresponding Secretary, E. Riebsame ; Treasurer, C. Trimpter.

October 12, 1874, saw the first organization of the Bloomington Maennerchor, which now contains a membership of 120. This number includes several honorary members, the active, or singing members, being about one-half of the whole society. The success of the organization has been quite remarkable. It now contains some of the best voices in the West, well trained, and ready to take a high position in the musicaf world. This society contains a large proportion of the best educated of the Germans in Bloomington, and it represents the wealth, culture and refinement of the German nation as well as any single organization in Central Illinois. Its officers are : Peter Gratz, President ; Carl Wehrstedt, Vice President ; Henry Behr, Secretary ; George H. Mueller, Financial Secretary, and Jacob Jacoby, Treasurer ; H. P. Seibel is Musical Director, and Arnold Rigger is Librarian. Prof. H. Von Eisner, who died in July, 1878, was, for some time, musical director, and is spoken of by the members as having been a fine musician, to whom the society is under obligations for quite a large portion of its present efficiency.

Our Highest Officials

Bloomington was not very ambitious for high political honors in its younger days. It never aspired to fill high offices in the State or nation ; was content to be well governed at home, and to take care of as many of the county and legislative offices as possibler ever ready to help elect good men from other portions of the State to its highest offices. Even when John Moore, of Randolph's Grove, was made Lieutenant Governor in 1840, it did not seem to rouse our other politicians to any degree of individual ambition. There was a spasm at the time Owen Lovejoy was nominated for Congress in 1856, McLean being then in the same district with Bureau County, but nothing came of it, and our voters swallowed their pride, and assisted Mr. Lovejoy to the position he desired. Up to 1870, no citizen of McLean County had ever been elected to Congress^

In 1856, James Miller, of Bloomington, was chosen State Treasurer, being the first Bloomingtonian to fill a high State office. Mr. Miller was one of our most respected citizens, and has left his mark upon our city, very particularly in the Methodist Church, of which he was a consistent, liberal and enthusiastic member. In 1874, Samuel M. EUer, who had for some time been City School Superintendent here, was elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

In 1872, Gen. John McNulta, whose brilliant record as Colonel of the Ninetyfourth Illinois Regiment is set forth in its proper place, was elected to Congress from the district composed of the counties of McLean, DeWitt, Logan, Tazewell and Mason, being the first of our citizens ever elected to Congress. He was followed in 1874 by A. E. Stevenson, who is our present member, having been again elected in November, 1878.

Judge Thomas F. Tipton, another Bloomingtonian, was chosen to Congress in 1876. Our city is now rather noted for its willingness to furnish Congressmen, or, in fact, candidates for almost any position. We believe Bloomington has always had the Judge of this judicial district ever since it was first filled by David Davis in 1848. He was succeeded in 1862 by John M. Scott, who was promoted from the Circuit to the Supreme Bench in 1870. Thomas F. Tipton was our Judge from the latter date until he was sent to Washington, as noted before, and Owen T. Reeves was then chosen to fill the vacancy. Our judges have been distinguished for their ability and impartiality.

i Hon. John M. Scott was elected to the Supreme Bench of Illinois in June, 1870. He had been Circuit Judge here from 1862. He had also filled several offices in this eity and county, having been, when a young man, City Clerk and City Attorney, and, previous to his election as Circuit Judge, he had, in 1852, filled the position of Judge of Probate, and had held other appointments. He never sought office, but has been one of those careful, competent, well-balanced men who are so rare that, when met with, the public insist upon elevating them to offices of honor and trust. Judge Scott is a native Illinoisan, having been born near Belleville, St. Clair County, in 1823. He has been honored with the above-mentioned offices, while at the same time he has conferred dignity upon every one he has filled, being a cultured gentleman whom people have always been proud to refer to as a model official. For two years of the nine during which he has been upon the Supreme Bench, he was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois.

Judge David Davis, one of the oldest and foremost of Bloomington's pioneers, is a gentleman who has heeu highly promoted different at times, and we will refer to him by a quotation from the carefully-prepared article in " The Good Old Times in McLean County," by Prof. Duis, which does him justice in better terms than we can command.

The greatest legal light of Bloomington is Judge David Davis. He was born in Cecil County, Md., on the 9th of March, 1815. He graduated at Kenyon College, Ohio, on the 4th of September, 1832, and commenced the study of law at Lenox, Mass., in October following, in the office of Judge Henry W. Bishop. After studying there for two years, he went to the New Haven Law School, where he remained until the fall of 1835, when he removed to Pekin, Tazewell Co., 111. After practicing law for one year in Pekin, he removed to Bloomington, which has ever since been his home. Here he succeeded to the law business of Mr. Jesse W. Fell, who became much interested in operations in real estate. He took possession of Mr. Fell's old office, which was one door east of what is now Espey's drug store. Mr. Davis succeeded in the law at the very outset. He was not a great orator, nor ever a very fluent talker, but he was a clear-minded man, and soon took a front rank in his chosen profession.

On the 13th of October, 1838, Juilge Davis married Miss Sarah Walker, at Lenox, Mass. She is a daughter of Judge Walker, of that State. Judge Davis has two children living - a son and a daughter. The former is living with his family near Bloomington. In the year 1840, Mr. Davis was the candidate of the Whigs for the office of State Senator against Gov. Moore, but the latter was successful. The Senatorial District then embraced the counties of Moultrie, Macon, Piatt, De Witt, McLean and Livingston. In 1844, Mr. Davis was elected to the lower house of the Assembly, but declined to be a candidate for re-election. In 1847, he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention; and, in 1848, was chosen by the people, without opposition, to be Judge of the Eighth Judicial Circuit, embracing fourteen counties. This was a position for which Judge Davis was eminently fitted. It has been said of him, that his leading characteristic is love of equity, and this, combined with a strong will, quick perceptions and the very clearest judgment, made his decisions universally respected. His decisions were seldom appealed from, and more seldom reversed.

The Eighth Judicial Circuit, which embraced, at first, fourteen counties, contained an array of talent rarely equaled among the same number of lawyers. Judge Logan was the leader of the bar, but, following him closely, were Lincoln, Stuart, Baker, Linder, Gridley, Judge 0. L. Davis, Judge Thornton, Hon. 0. B. Ficklin, Judge Emerson, C. H. Moore, Judge Benedict, Judge Parks, Judge Edwards and others, some of whom have since become immortal in history. Lincoln was the constant companion of Judge Davis in their travels around the extensive circuit, and at the close of their journey each day, Lincoln related those humorous stories which have made him so famous. Mr. Davis traveled in a two-horse buggy, and Mr. Lincoln rode in his own conveyance, drawn by his celebrated horse '- Buck." the one which followed the great martyr in the funeral procession to his final resting-place.

The year 1860 was one of memorable interest in Illinois. Some years before this, many prominent citizens of the State resolved to press Abraham Lincoln as a candidate for President of the United States, and during this year the excitement was so intense that nearly all law business was at a standstill, because the lawyers and judges devoted all of their time to the campaign. Judge Davis was, by far, the most active and influential of Mr. Lincoln's supporters, and his labors were almost herculean. Perhaps some idea may be given of the labors of Judge Davis by giving an extract from a letter written by Mr. Jesse W. Fell to a late distinguished Senator of the United States, in regard to a question by the latter as to the part taken by Mr. Fell in the campaign of 1860. The question was suggested by an autobiography of Abraham Lincoln, of which Mr. Fell was the proprietor, recently published by Osgood & Co., of Boston. The following is the extract :

" Before responding to your inquiries, allow me to say, you give me much more credit than I am entitled to for the part I took in bringing before the American people the name of Abraham Lincoln as a candidate for the Presidency. Your original impressions were originally correct. To Judge Davis more than to any other man, living or dead, the American people are indebted for that extraordinary piece of good-fortune - the nomination and consequent election of that man who combined in his person, in so high a degree, the elements necessary to a successful administration of the Government through the late most critical period in our national history. It is quite possible Mr. Lincoln's fitness, or, rather, availability, as a candidate for that position may have occurred to me before it did to the Judge ; but at an early date, as early, I think, as 1858, it bad his earnest approval ; and, I need not say, his vastly superior influence gave to his opinion on this subject a weight and character which my private and humble opinion could not command. It is well known that Judge Davis, though not a delegate, was one of the leading men at the Decatur State Convention, in May, 1860, which elected delegates to the Chicago National Convention ; that he was there selected as one of the Senatorial delegates to the latter body ; that, for more than a week prior to the nomination, he had, in connection with other friends of Mr. Lincoln, opened the ' Lincoln Headquarters,' at the Tremont House, Chicago, where, and throughout the city, wherever delegates were to be found, he labored day and night, almost sleeplessly, throughout that long and dramatically-interesting contest, working with a zeal, assiduity and skill never surpassed, if ever equaled ; and that when those herculean labors culminated in the choice of his trusted and most confidential friend, his feelings so overpowered him that, not only then but for hours after, in grasping the hands of congratulating friends, he wept like a child. Whilst it is undoubtedly true that without the hearty and vigorous co-operation of quite a number of equally eminent men, the prestige attached to the names of Seward and others could not have been broken and this nomination secured, no one as familiar as I was with what was then and there enacted, can doubt for a moment the pre-eminent part there played by the Judge. Among Lincoln hosts he was emphatically the great central figure ; the great motor of the hour. ' Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's.' "

In 1861, Judge Davis, Judge Holt and Mr. Campbell were chosen by Lincoln to investigate the management of Quartermaster McKinstry, who held his office under Gen. Fremont. The investigation was thorough and laid bare the corruption and mismanagement of affairs in St. Louis.

In 1862, Judge Davis was appointed by Abraham Lincoln one of the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. This appointment was not made by any personal solicitation of Judge Davis, but simply on account of Mr. Lincoln's knowledge of the man and by the effort of friends. At the time of his appointment, he was well known in Illinois as a man of great judicial learning and the best of judgment, but his reputation had not gone beyond his State, as he had never filled a position where his decisions would be published. But, when he came to the Supreme Bench of the United States, his reputation as a jurist went beyond the most sanguine expectations of his friends. A writer in the American Law Times, in discussing the character of Judge Davis, says, " Judge Davis is a natural lawyer, a character so truly great that to doubt him would be impossible. His mind is all equity and as vigorous as it is kind. He is progressive, and yet cautious ; a people's judge, and yet a lawyer." His opinion in the

Milligan case has attracted more attention from the people at large than any decision since that of Judge Taney in the Dred Scott case. Judge Davis lays down some fundamental principles of constitutional law which will stand as landmarks for ages after he shall have been gathered to his fathers. Judge Davis has been remarkably successful as a dealer in real estate, and in all of his purchases and sales has shown the very best of judgment. His first purchase of real estate was made in Chicago ; but as he was associated with others and the disposition of the property was in a great measure beyond his control, the speculation was not fortunate. Nevertheless, he had great faith in the future of Chicago, although it then numbered but a few hundred inhabitants, and he purchased an eighty -acre tract of land about three miles from the harbor. It now sells by the foot, so far as it is offered for sale. It is to this fortunate investment that he is indebted in part for the ample fortune he possesses.

His policy in dealing in real estate has been to purchase property in the suburbs of a growing town in order that it might become valuable with the increase of the place in size and prosperity. He was always careful to buy land intrinsically valuable, considering what it would produce, so that in any event his speculation would be a safe one. As is well known, Judge Davis is a man of great public spirit, but thinks public matters should be managed as other business matters are, on a good financial basis. He has been charged with being indifferent in the matter of subscribing to build railroads. His theory with regard to railroads is that they should be built where it will pay to build them as an investment, and that the idea of voting aid from towns, counties and States, or donating lands along the line of the proposed road is wrong in principle.

He believes that capitalists are always sharp enough to see where it will pay to invest their money and are ready to build railroads which will return a fair profit to the investors. He thinks that the voting of aid by towns and counties and making land-grants result in many cases in building roads which will not pay running expenses, and in others of putting roads in the hands of unprincipled managers who care nothing whatever for the people who have helped them and the towns that have voted them aid. Under these circumstances, he has always been very conservative and cool about assisting railroads, and some fault has been found with him for so doing, but many of those who have blamed him in times past, are now very much of his way of thinking. Bloomington and Normal have been very much benefited by their State institutions - the Normal School and the Soldiers' Orphans' Home. The location of these institutions here was due in a great measure to Judge Davis, who donated forty acres of land to the Normal School and sixty acres to the Orphans' Home. The former donation was worth at the time when given, $4,000 and the latter $12,000. It will be remembered that great exertions were made to have these institutions taken elsewhere, and Judge Davis' example and influence did very much to prevent their transfer. So far as matters of charity are concerned it is not usually safe to speak definitely of any one. People who have the greatest reputation for charity usually only deserve part of the credit they receive, as a suspicion is sometimes aroused that their charities are performed to be seen of men. Judge Davis does not indulge in ostentatious charity, but his friends assert that very few can be found anywhere so liberal, even when judged by the proper standard - ability to give.

Judge Davis was, at one time, enabled to do some service to the city of Bloomington by saving to it the machine-shops of the Chicago & Alton Railroad. These shops secure a monthly disbursement of $50,000, and the matter is of the greatest importance to Bloomington. When they were burned down, Judge Davis was holding court in Chicago ; he there learned that it was the iutention of various parties to make an effort to transfer the machine-shops to another point. He immediately gave notice to the citizens of Bloomington, who took active measures to save them.

There was more danger of the shops going to Chicago than the public in Bloomington generally imagined, but Judge Davis understood the real state of affairs better than any one else, and Bloomington is deeply indebted to him for his services on this occasion.

For the benefit of future historians, we will explain Judge Davis' connection with the famous Cincinnati Convention of May 2, 1872. There were in the Republican party a large number of men who were very much opposed to the renomination of President Grant. Some of these were disappointed office-seekers, but the majority of those who were in the foreground of the movement were men who were of the purest motives, looking for " civil-service reform." It was thought that if a Republican could be agreed upon at Cincinnati who was likely to carry a large number of votes from his own party, he would be nominated by the regular Democratic Convention and elected President ; while it was seen that the nomination of a regular Democrat, with no supporters except from his own party, would insure his defeat. From Judge Davis' independent position, he having been known for years as a Republican, having been one of Abraham Lincoln's warmest friends, being the executor of Mr. L.'s estate, being well known all over the country for his high standing as a Judge in the Supreme Court of the United States, there is little doubt that, had he been nominated at Cincinnati, he might have proved much stronger than Horace Greeley, who was the choice of that Convention, and was accepted by the Democrats at their National Convention soon after. When it was seen that a strong effort would be made at Cincinnati to secure the nomination for Judge Davis, his personal friends in Bloomington rallied with wonderful enthusiasm. A special train of eight passenger- coaches left this city for Cincinnati carrying nearly three hundred Bloomingtonians, who were full of zeal for their candidate. Probably Bloomington never experienced such a peculiar excitement as during the few days that preceded this excursion, and the time that elapsed till May 3, when the result at Cincinnati became known. Judge Davis' friends were fully persuaded that he would be nominated, and that, in that event, he would be the next President. His life-long friends were rejoiced at the prospect of such good-fortune, while the citizens generally, whether personally or politically friendly or not, were pleased at the prominence that would be given to Bloomington in case of his success.

The Bloomingtonians at Cincinnati, strengthened by the other delegations from' Illinois, infused great enthusiasm into the movement, and, on the first ballot, Judge Davis carried a large vote in the Convention. He was not regarded as sufficiently known all over the Union, and Horace Greeley was the fortunate, or, as the event proved, unfortunate, nominee.

But this event was not needed to prove the strong hold Judge Davis has upon the affections of his neighbors, who well know the many instances in which he has assisted the home of his adoption in nearly all plans that have been inaugurated for the publio good. During his whole career in this place, he has been one of the foremost in nearly every public enterprise, so that particular enumeration here is entirely unnecessary.

In the winter of 1877 and 1878, at the Senatorial election, when the Legislature was called upon to choose a successor to Gen. John A. Logan, there was a long contest before a choice was effected. The Republican party in the Legislature lacked several of a majority. The balance of power between the Democrats and Republicans was held by five or six Senators and Representatives who were called Independents, though sympathizing more with the Democrats than with the supporters of Gen. Logan, who had been voted for by the Republicans for several days in succession. The Republicans balloted for other persons - Judge C. B. Lawrence among others. Finally, the Independents proposed Judge David Davis, whose political sentiments were almost unknown, though he was supposed to lean slightly to the Democratic side, and to be very much in sympathy with the Independents. After a few ballots, the whole strength of the Democratic party, with one or two exceptions, added to the votes of the Independents, elected David Davis to the United States Senate for the six years commencing with the 4th day of March, 1878.

His high standing as a Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States taken in connection with his well-balanced judgment, which is seldom at fault on political questions, gave him an enviable position in the Senate, where he wields an influence of which his constituents may well be proud. He has continued impartially to fill the political position he was expected to occupy - that of an Independent, with a decided inclination to the side of the Democracy. Bloomington, as well as the whole State of Illinois, may well feel honored in being represented in the United States Senate by David Davis.

Our city has always claimed that the great Republican party of the nation had its birth at Major's Hall in 1856. At the risk of being attacked for our audacity, we will undertake to declare this a spurious claim. In the fall of 1854, the opposition to the Nebraska bill all over the country fought its battles under different names, generally as Free-Soilers, Anti-Nebraska Democrats, the Whig or American party; though in Massachusetts the Free-Soilers and Anti-Nebraska Democrats had declared themselve3 to be Republicans. The election of Speaker in Congress in the winter of 1855 and 1856 resulted in the choice of N. P. Banks, who had been elected as a Republican and American, in 1854. It is, however, a fact that a convention called as the ;' Anti- Nebraska State Convention " assembled in Major's Hall, in Bloomington, May 29, 1856, which nominated William H. Bissell for Governor, which was a most enthusiastic convention, was addressed by Abraham Lincoln, and was practically the first Republican State Convention ever held in the State of Illinois.

Let us examine a letter signed "Anti-Nebraska," published August 9, 1854, in the Bloomington Pantagraph : " I am in favor of issuing a call for a Slate Convention, signed by Whigs, Democrats, and persons of all other political faiths. Let all opposed to this Nebraska outrage come together upon equal footing, and when together, let them organize and devise plans by which to carry the State. As to the name under which we might organize and fight, I should care but little. The one adopted in Massachusetts, viz., ' Republicans,' is, perhaps, as unobjectionable as any other.

There was a meeting at Potter County, Penn., July 4, 1854, when the Hon- Joshua R. Giddings and others organized those present into the " Republican " party of that county. The proceedings of this meeting were recorded in the Potter County Journal, as we are informed by William Perry, Esq., of this city, who was present at the meeting, and well remembers that Mr. Giddings spoke of the organization of the Republican party as a " new movement " being inaugurated all over the country. These references to what was being done in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania are sufficient proof that the Republican party did not " originate " solely in Bloomington ; and we might also mention that one of the first Republican meetings in this State was held in Aurora, Kane Co., in the month of August, 1854.

It is on record that during this month a County Convention in La Salle County, 111., adopted the same name. Furthermore, Hon. Washington Busbnell, of Ottawa, 111., sent to Mr. A. B. Ives, of this city, printed notices for calling a Republican County Convention here on the 9th of September, 1854. These notices were posted by Mr. Ives. The idea of such a convention was derided by our leading politicians, who regarded this movement as a sort of disguised abolitionism. This convention was held at our old Court House, its proceedings attracting very little attention. The Pantagraph, then a Whig paper, contained an able editorial arguing against the formation of a new party, which is almost the only evidence we find in its files that any movement was in contemplation. It did not even deign to give a regular editorial report of the County Convention, which is thus reported in the Weekly Pantagraph of September 13, 1854 :

Republican

At a meeting of the voters of McLean County, held pursuant to notice, at the Court House in Bloomington, on Saturday, the 9th day of September, for the purpose of appointing delegates to the District Convention to be held at Springfield, on motion, Dr. J. R. Freese was called to the chair, and A. B. Ives was appointed Secretary. On motion, the following delegates were chosen, to wit : Dr. R. 0. Warinner, Dr. J. R. Freese, Oliver Graves, A. B. Ives, Bloomington ; N. N. Jones, Hudson ; W. F. M. Amy, North Bloomington.

The State Convention to which these delegates were appointed, met at Springfield, October 5, 1854. It was attended by only twenty -six delegates, who were mostly Abolitionists, Owen Lovejoy, Ichabod Codding and Erastus Wright having been the moving spirits. On the 5th of October, it nominated John E. McClun, of McLean, as a candidate for State Treasurer. In a short time, the name of James Miller, of Bloomington, was substituted for that of Judge McClun, but the latter gentleman is entitled to the honor of having been the first Republican nominee in Illinois for a State office. This Convention is not generally considered as the first Republican State Convention, its numbers having been insignificant and its organization imperfect, but it is historically the earliest on record.

This is the same State Convention recommended in the Pantagraph 's communication of the date of August 9, 1854, and we have now plainly shown the chain of title from its beginning to its ending, proving that Bloomington assisted the general movement for a new party, but that our city originated very little that was new in this direction.

Very few of the delegates appointed at the Republican meeting at the Court House September 9, 1854, attended the State Convention of which we have spoken, but they were present at the Congressional Convention held at Major's Hall September 12. This district, at that time, was made up of Bureau, La Salle, Will, Kendall, Kankakee, Iroquois, Putnam, Woodford, McLean, Livingston, Champaign and Vermilion Counties. Among the delegates were some of the class known as Republicans, or Abolitionists, while others were u Anti-Nebraska" Whigs and Democrats. The Convention was regarded by the people of Bloomington as a sort of Abolition affair, as in this region the Whig party was supposed to be good enough for all purposes. In the organization of the Convention, the " Republican" element (then considered about the same as Abolitionists) obtained the organization, and the Committee reported and the Convention adopted a full set of Republican resolutions, which were thought to be too strong to please the Whigs, and which were intended to be too radical for the support of Jesse 0. Norton, who was the Anti-Nebraska and also Old-Line Whig candidate for a renomination. To the surprise of all, Mr. Norton planted himself squarely upon the Republican platform.

The supporters of the opposing candidate, Mr. C. Coffin, who was also a Whigr withdrew from Major's Hall and assembled at the Pike House. There was great excitement in Bloomington ; committees conferred between the two wings of the Convention, and, at 11 o'clock at night, the seceders returned from the Pike House, participated in the meeting, and the Hon. Jesse 0. Norton, of Joliet, was nominated as a Republican^ This Convention was large and enthusiastic, and was the real parent of the Republican party in McLean County, although many of the Whigs of that day would not acknowledge themselves as members of the new party.

The platform of this Convention was strongly " Anti-Nebraska," of course, was quite satisfactory to the Abolitionists, and, though not as radical as was then demanded by the latter class, it was agreeable to the " Anti-Nebraska" Whigs and Democrats; and by a union of these three parties the Republican party was formed. In the platform, the " new party," referred* to in the Court House meeting of September 9, was named the Republican party. This was probably the first convention of any note of this new party held anywhere in the West, though, as we have mentioned above, N. P. Banks and others were chosen to Congress as Republicans from Massachusetts at Che same election. The fact seems to be that all over the country, wherever the radical u Anti-Nebraska" men were powerful, there attempts were made, during the fall of 1854, to organize a new party ; and the meeting held in Bloomington was not held in advance of others in different States.

The resolutions of this Convention were not printed in the Weekly Pantagraph, then a Whig paper, which is the only file of newspapers of that date to which we have access. Its report of the Convention is as follows :

Republican Convention

" The Convention in session in this place yesterday, after rather a stirring time, and passing through several phases indicative of the elements of which it was composed, closed its labors at a late hour last night by nominating Hon. Jesse 0. Norton. Of course, as sensible men, honest in their anti-Nebraska sentiments, they were obliged to nominate the man who could be elected. Mr. Norton is now what he has ever been - a Whig - and, as such, he may well expect to be re-elected by a large majority."

The Whigs voted for Mr. Norton as a Whig. The Republicans, referring to their Major's Hall resolutions, which he had indorsed, voted for him as a Republican, and he was elected to Congress in November.

At the same election, James H. Woodworth, of Chicago, was elected to Congress as a Republican, as we see by a dispatch from the Chicago Tribune, dated November 8, 1854, which gives the figures: "J. H. Woodworth, Republican, 2,143 ; Turner

(Nebraska Democrat), 695 ; Mayo (Anti-Nebraska Democrat), 70 ; Blackwell (Whig), 249." In the summary of Congressmen elected, we find Norton classed as a Whig, Wood worth as a Republican, while in one district an Anti-Nebraska Democrat was chosen. All this in 1854 proves that there was a Republican party at that time. The Republican party carried the State of Massachusetts at the election in 1855. When N. P. Banks readied Washington, in the fall of 1866, he and others were willing to be called Republicans, and when the long contest over his election as Speaker ended, in January, 1856, he was known all over the Union as a Republican. In the light of these facts, it is ridiculous for Bloomington to claim that the Republican party had its origin and birthplace here. If there is any historical honor connected with the matter, it attaches itself to the meeting held in our Court House September 9, 1854, whose proceedings we have given above. However, the Republican State Convention held at Major's Hall, May 29, 1856, was of the greatest historical importance, as we shall see.

This Convention was largely attended by delegates from all the principal counties, ai d was a most remarkable gathering. John M. Palmgj presided, and Abraham Lincoln made his celebrated speech. The "Anti-Nebraska" Whigs and Democrats, with the Abolitionists, and those who, in 1854, were willing to be called Republicans, who in this State were not numerous, with a large number of the Americans, coalesced willingly into one party and took upon themselves boldly the name of " Republican," which had now since the election of Speaker Banks, became a name of national importance. The enthusiasm of the convention was most tremendous, and here was started the movement which resulted in the perfect organization of the Republican party of Illinois. The nominees of this Convention were elected. Hon. William H. Bissell was elected Governor, and James Miller, of Bloomington, State Treasurer, while thg^neqch of .Mr. Lincoln resulted in his election to the Presidency.

Ward H. Lamon, a resident of Bloomington from 1857 to 1861 when he became Marshal of the District of Columbia, in his life of Abraham Lincoln, says: " Mr. Herndon drew up a paper to be signed by men of his class in politics, calling a County Convention to elect delegates to the State Convention at Bloomington. ' Mr. Lincoln was then backward,' says Mr. Herndon, ' dodgey,' so and so. I was determined to make him take a stand, if he would not do it willingly, which he might have done, as he was naturally inclined Abolitionward. Lincoln was absent when the call was signed and circulated here. I signed Mr. Lincoln's name without authority - had it published in the Journal. John T. Stuart was keeping his eye on Lincoln, with the view of keeping him on his side, the totally dead conservative side. Mr. Stuart saw the published call, and grew mad ; rushed into my office, seemed mad, horrified, and said to me, ' Sir, did Mr. Lincoln sign that abolition call which is published this morning ? " I answered, ' Mr. Lincoln did not sign that call.' ' Did Lincoln authorize you to sign it ? ' said Mr. Stuart. ' No, he never authorized me to sign it.' ' Then do you know that you have ruined Mr. Lincoln ? ' 'I did not know that I had ruined Mr. Lincoln - did not intend to do so - thought he was a made man by it - that the time had come when conservatism was a crime and a blunder.' - You, then, take the responsibility of your acts, do you ? ' ' I do, most emphatically.' However, I instantly sat down and wrote to Mr. Lincoln, who was then in Pekin, or Tremont, possibly at court. He received my letter, and instantly replied, either by letter or telegraph, most likely by letter, that

At Bloomington, Lincoln was the great figure. Beside him, all the rest, even the oldest in the faith and the strongest in the work, were small. Yet, he was universally regarded as a recent convert, although the most important one that could be made in the State of Illinois. " We met at Bloomington, and it was there," says Mr. Herndon in one of his lectures, " that Mr. Lincoln was baptized and joined our church. He made a speech to us. I have heard or read all Mr. Lincoln's great speeches, and give it as my opinion on my best judgment, that the Bloomington speech was the grand effort of his life. Heretofore, and up to this moment, he had simply argued the slavery question on grounds of policy, on what are called the statesman's grounds, never reaching the question of the radical and the eternal right. Now he was newly baptized and freshly born ; he had the fervor of a new convert; thesmothered flame broke out; enthusiasm unusual to him blazed up; his eyes were aglow with an inspiration ; he felt justice; his heart was alive to the right ; his sympathies, remarkably deep for him, burst forth, and he stood before the throne of the Eternal Right, in the presence of his God, and then and there unburdened his penitential and fired soul. This speech was fresh, new, genuine, odd, original, filled with fervor not unmixed with a divine enthusiasm ; his head breathing out through his tender heart its truths, its sense of right, and its feeling of the good and for the good. This speech was full of fire, and energy, and force ; it was logic, it was pathos, it was enthusiasm; it was justice, equity, truth, right and the good set ablaze by the divine fires of a soul maddened by the wrong ; it was hard, heavy, knotty, gnarled, edged and heated. I attempted for about fifteen minutes, as was usual with me then, to take notes, but at the end of that time I threw pen and paper to the dogs, and lived only in the inspiration of the hour. If Mr. Lincoln was six feet four inches high usually, at Bloomington he was seven feet, and inspired at that. From that day to the day of his death he stood firm on the right. He felt his great cross, had his great idea, nursed it, kept it, taught it to others, and in his fidelity bore witness of it to his death, and finally sealed it with his precious blood."

It is universally admitted that this great speech was the means of elevating Mr. Lincoln into the prominent position he soon occupied, and which resulted in his elev^ tion to the Presidency.

This Convention thoroughly organized the Republican party of Illinois, and, from its results, has become a landmark in the history of Bloomington - almost as prominent as if it had been, as many seem to suppose, the first movement of the kind in the West.

To recapitulate - we find that September 9, 1854, the first Republican County Convention of McLean County was held at the Court House ; on the 13th of September, 1854, there was a remarkable convention of Republicans of this Congressional district at Major's Hall ; while on the 29th of May, 1856, the second Republican State Convention, but really the first in importance, was also held in Major's Hall, resulting in the perfect organization of the Republican party.

The first nomination of Hon. Owen Lovejoy, to Congress, in 1856, and the " Bolt ing " Convention, held in Bloomington, deserve a place in this chapter. July 2, 1856, a delegate convention of the " Anti-Nebraska " party met at Ottawa to nominate a candidate to represent this district in Congress. This Convention was, in reality, a

Republican gathering, though the name of the new party was at this time used rather sparingly. Its candidates were Owen Lovejoy, Leonard Swett, of this city, and Hon. Jesse 0. Norton, then our Representative in Congress. Mr. Lovejoy was the nominee of the Convention. His nomination was exceedingly distasteful to the more conservative old Whig element, especially in McLean and the southern part of the district. This element formed a considerable portion of the new party, then beginning to crystallize. " Abolitionist " was the most opprobrious of epithets known, and the Whigs had received too many hard blows from Mr. Lovejoy - long known as an Abolitionist - to accept him as their standard-bearer. Consequently, a large number of the delegates withdrew from the Convention, and signed a call for a'' bolting" convention^ to be held at Bloomington, July 16. This call was signed by Gen. Gridley, Isaac Funk, Dr. H. Noble, John J. Price and David Cheney, from this county, as well as by delegates from several other counties.

On the 16th of July, the Convention met in the Court House at Bloomington, Isaac Funk being Chairman,, and nominated T. Lyle Dickey, now Judge of the Supreme Court, as candidate for Congress. In the evening, there was a mass-meeting at the west side of the Court House, in the public square. Churchill Coffin, Esq., of Peru, opened the meeting with a rather heavy speech. He was followed by Judge Dickey, in an argumentative speech, in which he wholly failed to arouse the meeting, although he roundly denounced the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. Gen. Gridley was the next speaker, and he aroused the enthusiasm of his hearers, for he paid his respects to Mr. Lovejoy, the " Abolitionist," in his usual vigorous style, and caused several interruptions from some of the highly-excited auditors. At the conclusion of this speech, Mr. Lovejoy was called for, and, in response, took the stand. He had spent his life in the advocacy of an unpopular cause, many times speaking before unfriendly and hostile audiences. This gathering had been collected by his enemies, and to hear himself denounced. He had been declared an enemy to his country, and a man wholly unfit to be voted for by the members of the new party. He quickly proved himself an unrivaled public speaker, and, in a few minutes, he had the audience completely with him. He showed his hearers that, even if he had been an Abolitionist, he was entirely in sympathy with the newly-awakened Northern conscience which had now organized the new Republican party. He stated his position upon the Fugitive Slave Law, and asserted that every man of his audience regarded the law in the same light. His speech was a masterly effort - the greatest of his life - and had an electric effect upon the immense assembly. Since then, Bloomington audiences have heard Lincoln, Douglas, Corwin and Blaine, but never as effective a speech as that of Mr. Lovejoy that night. It was full of wit, declamation and pathos, and was as eloquent a speech as ever was listened to by our citizens. It killed the " bolting " convention, which was never heard of afterward. Nearly all who participated in it became ardent supporters of Mr. Lovejoy, and developed at once into the best of Republicans, and many of them were ever afterward Mr. L.'s earnest personal friends. To his great success at this meeting, thereby placing the Republicans on an advanced ground, is largely due the Republican majority in McLean County in later years, although the magnetism and popularity of Mr. Lincoln no doubt contributed toward bringing about the same result.

Normal University

The location of the State Normal University at North Bloomington May 7, 1857, marks a period of history that is not only important to Normal Township, but also in an equal degree to the city of Bloomington and McLean County. At the time indicated, Normal was North Bloomington, or " The Junction," the six miles square, now called Normal, not having been named until after the location of the University, its first existence as a town dating from April 6, 1858. The early history of the Normal institution, its location, its first years of struggling effort, its vigorous childhood, belong to Bloomington, and this sketch is as well calculated to honor that city as it is fitted to reflect credit upon Normal. As we proceed with our account, we shall reach a period when the newly-built village became in reality Normal, with a definite future and prospects of its own, after which time, its acts and doings shall be credited to the proper source as zealously as its most earnest friends can desire.

For the sake of greater clearness, we shall here omit any particular mention of the first settlers in Normal Township, and insert that information in another chapter by itself. We might state, that in 1857, the townsbip was generally occupied by farmers, the village of North Bloomington having been platted and a few houses built, but to all practical intents, the entire township was simply an agricultural district.

The Illinois Central and Chicago & Alton Railroads were finished and in running order several years before the location of the University, an excursion train having been run on the 4th day of July, 1854, from Bloomington to Lexington. The cars of the Illinois Central passed this point without stopping, from May 23, 1853, to the time of the completion of the other line. It was thought in 1852 that there would be a railroad crossing near this place, and alter the definite location of the Chicago & Alton line through the western part of Bloomington in 1853, the point for the junction was fixed. North Bloomington was projected and platted in the early part of 1854. There was a sale of lots on the 15th of June, 1854, at which about thirty lots sold at prices ranging between $30 and $50, and public attention was thus attracted to the new town of North Bloomiugton. The sale took place under the auspices of W. F. M. Amy & Co., but it was understood that Mr. Jesse W. Fell was the moviug spirit in the new enterprise.

In 1855, a large addition was made to North Bloomington by a company composed of Jesse W. Fell, R. R. Landon, L. R. Case, C. \V\jlulder and L. C. Blakesly. The place had all the prospects common to a railroad "crossing" or "junction," which were never very brilliant, when it is considered that the important town of Bloomington, with two depots, was only two miles away. Here, at the point of greatest natural beauty, Mr. Jesse W. Fell commenced, in 1855, his family residence, and finished it the next year, when he made it his permanent home.

In the enterprise of building a new town at the "Junction," he had taken into partnership, about this time, the several gentlemen whose names we have given; and in the course of a few years thereafter, acquired from them nearly the whole of their interests in the town site.

Mr. Fell, from the first, had plans for bringing to North Bloomington something more than the ordinary business of a common railroad crossing. He intended to spare no effort to build here a town that should have for its characteristics, sobriety, morality, good society, and all the elements for an educational center. Previous to the passage of the act to establish a Normal University, which dates from February 18, 1857, Mr. Fell was laboring with some prospects of success, to establish at North Bloomington a college or seminary of learning, and was in correspondence with Hon. Horace Mann and others in regard to the matter. Had he succeeded, the institution was to have been located upon Seminary Block, shown on the plat of North Bloomington, as the block next east of Mr. Fell's residence. This particular piece of ground at that time, before the trees and shrubbery had made their appearance, commanded a fine view of all the land in the neighborhood, being a part of that beautifully-rounded elevated prairie upon which Mr. Fell built his family residence. In fact, the whole tract was one of striking beauty, long before North Bloomington was projected, in the days when, for more than a mile in either direction, not a house or improvement of any kind was visible. As long ago as in 1833, when on his way to what is now the township of Money Creek, in company with Mr. Kimler, one of the early settlers of Blooming Grove, Mr. Fell rode over the beautiful elevation which his residence now occupies. The public highway then passed in that vicinity. It was early in the morning, and as they surveyed the beautiful prairie landscape, Mr. Fell remarked, what a fine location this would be, at some day, for a residence. His companion replied, that it was not probable any one would ever be fool enough to build at such a great distance from the timber, echoing thereby the common sentimeut of the early settlers. Over twenty years after, Mr. Fell built his family residence at that point, and commenced to plant trees, which in a little more than another twenty years, have made at that location the most beautiful grove or park that can be found in Central Illinois, and he has lived to see the prairie landscape converted into a beautiful village, shaded by many thousand trees tastefully adorning the whole. We question if the history of our rapidly growing State can furnish a parallel, a town built entirely on the prairie, and, in' so short a space of time, to be covered with more large trees than can be shown in most cities of older growth, though they were built on land originally occupied by those grand monarcbs of the forest, which the early settlers delighted in destroying as fast as possible.

Mr. Fell took a remarkable step toward bringing to the new town a desirable class of residents, by providing in all deeds to purchasers of lots in North Bloomington, that intoxicating liquors should never be sold on the premises ; and this stringent prohibition was afterward re-enforced by a town charter, which was intended to be entirely prohibitory. This charter needed amendments, however, in 1867, to make it as fully operative as the inhabitants desired, and a petition was circulated asking the Legislature to make such changes as should perpetually restrain the town or city authorities from ever licensing the sale of intoxicating liquors. It is a remarkable fact that this petition was signed by every man and woman, and every child over seven years old, in a town which then contained 1,800 inhabitants. This incident, though rather out of the proper historical order, is valuable as we thus discover that the foundations for the gathering-together of a very superior class of citizens, were early laid broad and deep, and the subsequent character of Normal can be traced quite plainly to those early efforts. North Bloomington, in 1857, was barely started - scarcely known - called indiscriminately by its proper name, or the " Junction ; " a town site without a town, and with no special reason for its existence. There was one inhabitant previous to 1855 ; this was Mr. McCambridge, whose residence was at the crossing of the railroads, where, as agent, he attended to all the interests of the railroad lines crossing at that point. Mr. Fell moved into his residence in 1856, and, during that year the new town was augmented by the arrival of L. R. Case and family, and a few others, but no great growth took place till after the events of the year 1857.

For the information of some of our younger readers, we will state that from 1848 to 1856, the subject of free schools received a large share of attention in Illinois. Settlers from States where these schools were well established, were rapidly pouring in, and their influence, combined with the spirit of the times, resulted in a wonderful impulse being given to the cause of education. One direct result was the passage of the act of the Legislature for the establishment of a State Normal University, which passed February 18, 1857. The project had been warmly advocated for several years, by the teachers of the State and all friends of education. As originally passed, the act contemplated that an agricultural or industrial college should be attached, and we find that the friends of these particular specialties were among the most earnest laborers for the new institution. One of the reasons why it was called a university, was because the way was thus prepared for future enlargement. Among the most earnest and devoted workers in this, as in other directions, we might mention the noble-hearted Prof. J. B. Turner, of Jacksonville, and Bronson Murray, then of Ottawa, 111., now of New York.

Normal schools were new in the West at that time, Illinois being the pioneer in this grand enterprise. Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey, and a few other States had inaugurated normal schools. None of them were equal to the demands of the times. Still, their success had been such as to warrant the public in expecting that institutions for the education and training of teachers of our common schools would aid the cause of education to a desirable degree. Some of the ablest friends of this new project for the proper education of the teachers of the public schools lived in McLean County, among whom we might mention W. F. M. Amy, Jesse W. Fell, Prof. D. Wilkins and J. H. Wickizer, the latter being member of the Legislature from this district.

The public mind was ripe for the proper appreciation of the needs, designs and scope of such a school, although even its own advocates differed somewhat as to the course of study and plans for its development.

The act of the Legislature provided for a university, although what was established is in fact a normal school. The intention was to gather around the new institution the different colleges - classical, agricultural, industrial, law, medical, and the other departments of a university - until in the end the State should have here a grand university, equal to any in the land. The full design has not been carried out, but there are many who still have hopes that the future may yet see its realization.

The law provided a Board of Education of the State of Illinois, with power to carry into effect its purposes. This Board consisted of N. W. Edwards, of Springfield ; W. H. Wells, of Chicago ; John R. Eden, Moultrie County ; A. R. Shannon, White County ; Simeon Wright, Lee County ; W. Sloan, Pope County ; George Bunsen, St. Clair County ; George P. Bex, Pike County ; Charles E. Hovey, Peoria ; Daniel Wilkins, Bloomington ; C. B. Denio, Galena ; F. Mosely, Chicago ; S. W. Moulton, Shelby County, and J. Gillespie, Jasper County. This Board had full power, and it was made their duty, " to fix the permanent location of said Normal University at the place where the most favorable inducements are offered for that purpose, provided that such location shall not be difficult of access, or detrimental to the welfare and prosperity of said Normal University."

This body of gentlemen soon organized, and it appointed a committee to receive proposals for the location of the Normal University, which committee published notices in several newspapers, stating that the Board would, on a certain specified day, open at Peoria all bids that might be made.

Several cities and towns entered into competition for what was understood to be a valuable prize. That the value of the new institution was thoroughly appreciated by the inhabitants of Bloomington is shown by the following extract from the Bloomington Pantagraph of April 8, 1857, then edited by E. J. Lewis:

The advantages to be conferred by such an institution upon the place of its location are too obvious to need enlarging upon. Richly endowed from a Government fund, collecting within its walls every year the flower of the youth of every part of the State, and organized with a full corps of the ablest instructors, the Normal University will doubtless take rank among the noblest institutions of learning in the country, and give to the town which contains it a degree of prominence at home and abroad scarcely second to that enjoyed by the State capital itself.

Mr. Fell and his co-workers did not rely on appeals made through the public press. On the contrary, they were willing that the competing points should labor under the impression that Bloomington was not thoroughly aroused. These gentlemen labored incessantly with individuals ; argued, pictured, pleaded, taught, both by precept and example. They set the fashion by giving liberal subscriptions, and so far succeeded that they brought the amount of donations in land and money up to $50,000 from private individuals. They had previously obtained a pledge from the members of the County Commissioners' Court, A. J. Merriman, of Bloomington, Milton Smith, of Pleasant Hill, and H. Buck, of Le Roy, who formed the County Court at that time, that they would appropriate from the proceeds of the swamp-lands funds an amount equal to that subscribed by individuals. This made the total offer $100,000, and it was thought amply sufficient to secure the location.

In order to be fully aware of what Peoria - the principal competitor - was doing, one of the most active of our party went ro that city, quietly and rather in disguise, dropped into a back seat of a meeting of the County Board held in aid of the project, mixed with the crowd in the streets, and in various ways learned almost exactly what Peoria was preparing to offer. Its liberality alarmed him ; he returned to Bloomington and aroused his friends to still further efforts. Mr. Fell and other gentlemen increased their subscriptions until they reached $20,000, or $70,000 in all. The County Court was speedily called together again, the county's part increased by $20,000, and when the final effort was completed, at about the last day, in the afternoon, the total offer amounted to $141,000, made up of $70,000 from the first proceeds of the sales of McLean County's swamp-land, and $71,000 in money, lands and town lots from individuals.

But the gross amount was kept a profound secret. Mr. Fell and a very few others were aware of the total, as it was highly important that competing points should remain in ignorance until too late for them to make additional subscriptions.

On the 7th of May, 1857, the State Board of Education met at Peoria to open the bids and decide upon the location. The first offer was that of Batavia. This bid embraced $15,000 in money and the land and buildings of the Batavia Institute. There were between twenty and twenty-two acres of land, and a building seventy by fifty feet, three stories high, the whole estimated at $80,000, making Batavia's bid, in -effect, $45,000. The citizens pledged themselves to raise $25,000, in order to pay a debt of $10,000 now resting on the buildings, and to give the sum of $15,000 for the Normal University direct. There were several propositions from Bloomington, six sites being offered. The tract of 160 acres at the junction was the favorite, and the particulars of that proposition were as follows :

There were offered also, by K. H-Fell, thirty acres west of Sugar Creek; by Judge Davis, ten acres, near his residence ; by William Flagg, ten acres, on the north hill above the city ; by Thomas, Young & Sears, forty acres northeast of town ; by K. H. Fell and John Nicolls, eighty acres, two and a half miles east of the city, each of these on condition the University be located upon them. By the citizens of Washington, Tazewell County and the Trustees of the Washington Academy were offered $12,000 in cash, and the lot 430 by 120 feet, with brick building 47 by 62 feet, and three stories high, of said Academy, in said town ; real estate at $20,000, making the bid $21,000. Peoria offered, in money :

There were several offers of land for sites. Phelps, Conklin & Brady offered 15 acres, of which appraisements were unsettled, the first rating it at $18,000, the second at $30,000 ; the twenty-acre site was valued at $20,000 ; 120 acres two miles from the Court House, at $18,000 ; 200 acres three and a half miles from the Court House, at $20,000, and there were two minor offers. Taking the highset valuation of the principal site, the total bid of Peoria was $80,032.

The bid of McLean County was so far ahead of Peoria, the next competitor, that the Board of Education located the Normal University in accordance with the conditions of the subscription, on the 160 acres of fine rolling land within three-quarters of a mile from the junction of the Illinois Central and Chicago & Alton Railroads.

Great must have been the rejoicing at Bloomington on receipt of the glad news of success, after a contest of such intensity ; but we, who look back over twenty years, can scarcely imagine the interest of the occasion.

The Board of Education made the location upon the condition that the full amount of the McLean County subscription of $70,000 should be legally guaranteed within sixty days, in default of which, the location was to be made at Peoria. They employed Abraham Lincoln to draw up a form of bond or guaranty to be signed by responsible citizens of Bloomington. This guaranty is a matter of such historical interest that we produce it entire, with the list of guarantors, prefacing this with the remark that this bond was thought to be necessary on account of the danger that a future County Court might reconsider the appropriation, and the further doubt whether the swamp-lands would be sold for cash spon enough to meet contracts for the building about to be erected.

Guaranty

Whereas, on the 15th day of May, 1857, the Executive Committee of the Board of Education of the State of Illinois passed a resolution in the words and figures following, to wit :

"Resolved, That we require of the citizens of Bloomington a guaranty that the sum of $14,000 be paid on the 1st day of August next, and the further sum of $14,000 on the 1st day of November next, and the further sum of $14,000 on the 1st day of February next, and the further sum of $14,000 on the 1st day of May next, and the remaining sum of $14,000 on the 1st day of August, 1858, if called for by the Board, to enable them to erect the building of the Normal University, on the McLean County subscription."

Now, therefore, we, the undersigned, in consideration that the said McLean County subscription be accepted by said Board of Education, and the said Normal University be located at the place and in accordance with the conditions indicated in and by said McLean County subscription, do hereby guarantee, each, to the extent of the sum set opposite his name, and no further; the payment to said Board of Education the several sums specified in said resolution, and to be made at the times therein required. And in case of any actual default, we are to share with each other, pro rata, according to the several sums set opposite our names.

Their guaranty was never enforced, as it was found that some of the lands were sold for cash, others on credit and the proceeds used in the building, and it also happened there was no trouble about the county appropriation, as it was confirmed by the new court in the spring of 1 858. This new court consisted of a Board of Supervisors,, the county having adopted township organization at the fall election in 1857. This guaranty, however, was made in good faith, was of great value at the time, and is one of the important steps taken to secure the Normal University.

It will also be interesting to read the list of subscribers, which we give. The following is a list of subscriptions that were nearly all given with the single condition that the institution should be located at some point within one mile of the corporate limits of Bloomington :

Jesse W. Fell, $500, payable in six and twelve months after location is made ; also, ten acres for site, to be selected anywhere, valued at $2,000.

George Dietrich, $50, payable in six and twelve months. Leonard Swett, $100, payable in six and twelve months. W. Thomas, $100, payable in six and twelve months. A. & 0. Barnard, $100, payable in six and twelve months. J. E. McClun, $500, in real estate at cash prices. Isaac Mitchell, $50, payable in six and twelve months. William E. Foote, $100, payable in six and twelve months. James P. Keen, $100, payable in six and twelve months. S. B. Hance, $100, payable in six and twelve months. Hance & Taylor, $100, payable in six and twelve months. Corydon Weed, $100, payable in six and twelve months. John R. Smith, $50, payable in six and twelve months. R. Y. Stockton, $50, payable in six and twelve months. O. Ellsworth, $100, payable in six and twelve months. Lewis Bunn, $100, payable in eight and twelve months.

E. Thomas, $200, payable in one and two years. Denton Young, $100, payable in one and two years. W. W. Taylor, $200, payable in one and two years. K. P. Taylor, $150, payable in one and two years

K. H. Fell, $100, payable in good notes, to be made payable in one and two years from the 1st of June next, provided the said institution is located within two miles of the corporate limits of the city of Bloomington.

Jesse W. Fell, $500, payable by the conveyance of 100 acres of land, of average value, in Range 4 west, of Jackson County, 111., on completion of building.

The list which follows is made up principally of those who limited their subscription to a location within three-fourths of a mile of the junction of the Illinois Central and Chicago & Alton Railroads. These individuals owned land in North Bloomington, or adjoining, or near by, and hence had, most of them, a direct interest -in the location. Several of these made smaller unconditional subscriptions. C. W. Holder, for instance, would give $200, wherever the institution might be located, and $800 more provided North Bloomington were the fortunate point. The most of this, with that in the preceding list, was limited, practically, to the site which was chosen, it being within one mile of the corporate limits of Bloomington, and also within three-fourths of a mile of the crossing of the two railroads :

Jesse W. Fell, $2,000 (including a subscription of $500 already made^, payable in one, two, three, four and five years : Provided, not less than $10,000 more can be added to this subscription, and not less than eighty acres of land ; the first $500 to be expended in making a good side or foot walk to the Junction from University.

Swett & Orme, $1,500 (including a subscription of $200 already made), payable in one and two years : Provided, not less than $10,000 more can be had to this subscription, and not less than eighty acres of land.

C. W. Holder, $1,000 (including a subscription of $200 already made), payable in one and two years : Provided, not less than $10,000 more can be had to this subscription, and not less than eighty acres of land.

F. K. Phoenix, $1,500 (including a subscription of $100 already made), payable one-half in nursery stock or ornamental planting on said site, and the balance in one and two years.

A. Gridley & Co., $1,150, dischargeable by a conveyance of eleven and one-half acres of land, situated in North Bloomington, and in tracts adjoining on the north.

O. M. Colman, $1,000, payable in one and two years, or dischargeable by the conveyance, within one year, of ten acres of land in North Bloomington.

Jsshua R. Fell, $500, payable in one or two years, or dischargeable by the conveyance, within one year, of five acres of land off the south end of my home farm, east of the railroad, at my option.

Thomas Junk, $500, payable in one and two years, or dischargeable by the convyeancc within one year, of five acres of land in the northwest corner of my farm, at my option.

Norvel Dixon, $200, payable in one and two years : Provided, I succeed in getting a good title to the northeast quarter of Section 22, Township 24 north, Range 2 east.

Overman & Mann, $1,200, payable in one, two and three years, one-half in nursery stock, hedging and ornamental planting, first and second years ; and balance cash, second and third years.

L. R. Case, $200, payable in one and two years in cash, or dischargeable within one year by the conveyance of two acres of ground in North Bloomington, and adjoining on the north, at my option.

W. H. Allin, $1,100, payable on the completion of the building, by the conveyance of the following lots : Lot 7, Block 1 ; Lot 5, Block 2 ; Lot 13, Block 13 ; Lots 14 and 15, Block 23 ; and Lot 9, Block 24 - all of Western Addition to Bloomington.

William T. Major, $600, payable on the completion of the building, by a conveyance of Lot No. One (1), Section 16, Township 25, R. 2 east, containing forty acres.

Jesse W. Fell, $7,000, payable, on the completion of the University Building, by the conveyance of 1,450 acres of my Jackson County lands, situated in Towns 8 and 9 south, Ranges 4 and 5 west of the Third Principal Meridian, and to be of average value with my other lands in said townships, to be selected by disinterested persons.

The next list is mostly made of those who subscribed on condition that the institution should be located at some point within three miles of the corporate limits of Bloomington.

D. L. Crist, $100, within one mile of Bloomington, one-half in six months, balance in twelve months, and $100 more if located within one-half mile of Junction.

The subscriptions in this last list, as well as those in the first and second classes, were, by the terms of their subscription, included among the donations to the Normal University.

In addition to the above, we find that Joseph Payne and Meshack Pike donated the site where the institution was located, consisting of about sixty acres, with enough more on the west to make their gift about eighty acres, the whole valued at about $22,000. Mr. E. W. Bakewell and Judge David Davis, each gave forty acres, valued, altogether, at $16,000. The whole of the last-mentioned eighty acres, and some of the other, is west of Main street, and is the land designed to be used by the agricultural department of the institution.

The list we have given speaks for itself. It is a record of liberality, which, at the time it was made, was unparalleled, and caused great comment all over the country. We should not forget that the most valuable part of the subscription - that which really was of the most solid importance - was the county subscription. This was voted by the County Commissioners - Judge A. J. Merriman, of Bloomington, and his Associates, Hon. Milton Smith, of Pleasant Hill, and Hon. H. Buck, of Le Roy, in a quiet, almost private session, with no opportunity to consult their constituents.

In the fall of 1857, these gentlemen were all re-elected to the same positions ; and when the Board of Supervisors, in the following year, ratified their proceedings, appointing A. J. Merriman Swamp-Land Commissioner, it was seen that McLean County fully sustained the County Court in its disposition of so large a portion of the swamp-land funds.

The Board of Education appointed an architect - George P. Randall, of Chicago - who prepared plans and specifications, upon which bids were called for in the papers of Alton, Galena, Springfield, Peoria, Chicago and Bloomington. Fifteen bids were made, ranging in price from $80,000 to $115,000. The contract was awarded to Mortimer & Loburg, and T. H. Soper, of Chicago, for the sum of $83,000, the work to be completed September 1, 1858. The corner-stone was laid September 29, 1857. On this occasion there was quite an impressive ceremony. Rev. H. J. Eddy, of the Baptist Church of Bloomington, offered a prayer. Prof. D. Wilkins read a letter from Gov. Matteson, appropriate to the occasion. W. H. Powell, State School Superintendent, deposited in the corner-stone, a copy of the school laws and of the different educational journals of the day.

Mr. Jesse W. Fell deposited a list of all the contributors to the location of the Normal, and hoped to see the institution develop into a complete State University, with a model farm and agricultural college.

Dr. E. R. Roe, the editor of the Illinois Baptist, deposited all the Bloomington papers of the time, and made a very appropriate speech. Judge A. J. Merriman, of the County Court, placed the upper stone in position when the ceremony was completed.

Before winter, quite a large amount of work had been done upon the stone foundation of the lower story, and about $30,000 was expended before the work was suspended for the winter season.

The financial crisis of 1857, which commenced in the month of September, was the means of causing a discontinuance of the work on the building. The county lands could not be sold for cash ; many of the subscribers were crippled, and it was thought best by the State Board to wait a few years, till money matters might become easier, and hence the buildings were not fully completed until the early part of 1861. During 1859 and 1860, work was pushed with sufficient vigor to see the building inclosed in the winter of 1859, and far enough advanced so that the graduating exercises of the first class were held at the new building in June, 1860.