Sangamon County, Illinois - City of Springfield 563, 1881 (part 4 of 25)

While in Carrollton, Mr. Baker was married to Mrs. Mary A. Lee. Soon after marriage he united with the Christian Church, and being naturally of an impulsive and enthusiastic temperament, he was very zealous in the discharge of his religious duties, became an able exhorter, and began to entertain serious thoughts of engaging in regular ministerial work. As time passed, his mind becoming occupied with politics, he finally ceased his connection with the religious body. While an active member of the church, he first discovered that boldness of thought, that opulence of expression, that graceful and persuasive manner of speaking, for which he became so justly celebrated in after life.

Shortly after coming to Springfield, Mr. Baker associated himself in the practice of law with Josephus Hewett. Subsequently, he entered into partnership with Stephen T. Logan, and for a short time with Albert T. Bledsoe. It was here that Baker first applied himself seriously to the duties of his profession, and here he won his first laurels as an advocate. Surrounded by the great men already mentioned as comprising the Sangamon County Bar during this Decade, Baker was compelled to struggle for that eminence in his profession which he rapidly attained. Although disinclined to close, continuous study, and often negligent in the preparation of his cases, he had sufficiently mastered the principles and intricacies of the law, as to meet the ordinary requirements of practice, and his native genius supplied any deficiency. His confident, self-possessed air amidst the bustle of a court of law, his quickness of perception, ready wit, fertility in resources and ardent eloquence, enabled him to achieve the victory in spite of the most determined opposition from older or more experienced antagonists. In jury cases he was especially successful, for in these he was less fettered by the legal forms and technicalities which ordinarily curb the reins of youthful imagination. Indeed, a jury to him was butja miniature popular assembly, before which he could pour out his argument and invective at will, or indulge in those exquisite touches of pathos, which failed not to awaken the sympathy and move the hearts of his auditors. Enterprising and ambitious, Mr. Baker early directed his attention to politics as opening the shortest road to preferment. In 183*7 he was elected to the General Assembly from Sangamon county to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Dan Stone. In the following year he was re-elected. In the campaign of 1840 he took an active part in the support of General Harrison. In 1844 he was elected to Congress, and was a member of that body when the war with Mexico broke out. Returning home from Washington, he raised a regiment and was commissioned colonel. In this war he earned a reputation as a brave and gallant commander.

1849. He bore an active if not a conspicuous part in the debates upon those grave National issues, which formed so prominent a feature in the tirst session of the 3 1st Congress. He favored some, but not all the compromise measures passed at that session. The annexed paragraph, taken from a speech made by him on these historic questions, was prophetic of his future fate:

" I have only to say that if the time should come when dissension rules the hour, and discord reigns supreme, I shall be ready to give the best blood in my veins to my country's cause. I shall be prepared to meet all antagonists, with lance in rest, to do battle in every land, in defense of the constitution of the country, which I have sworn to support to the last extremity, against disunionists and all its enemies, whether North or South - to meet them everywhere, at all times, with speech or hand, with word or blow, until thought or being shall be mine no longer."

In 1852 Colonel Baker emigrated with his family to California Establishing himself in San Francisco, he once more commenced the practice of law. His fame as an advocate and orator had preceded him, so that he soon found himself in the midst of an extensive business. Almost at one bound, and with apparently little effort, he rose to the summit of his profession, and to a share in the best practice of the courts of that youthful commercial meti-opolis. Here it was that he achieved his highest reputation as a lawyer, and perhaps his most brilliant renown as an orator.

While living in California, he early identified himself with the Free Soil movement. When Senator Broderick, the chief of the Douglas Democracy in that State was killed in a duel with Judge Terry, it was Colonel Baker that was called upon to deliver the funeral oration, and right royally did he perform that sad duty. The oration has seldom, if ever, been surpassed. S^jace forbids even a quotation in this place.

Shortly after the unhappy death of Broderick, Colonel Baker removed to Oregon. Here he was soon after elected to the United States Senate. Returning to San Francisco, on his way to the East, he was the recipient of a public ovation. In his speech ujion the occasion, he said:

"As for me, I dare not, will not, be false to freedom. Where the feet of my youth were planted, there by freedom my feet shall ever stand. I will walk beneath her banner. I will glory in her strength. I have seen her in history struck down on a hundred fields of battle. I have seen her friends fly from her, her foes gather around her. I have seen her bound to a stake. I have seen them give her ashes to the winds. But when they turned to exult, I have seen her again meet them face to face, resplendent in comp ete steel, brandishing in her strong, right hand a flaming sword, red with insufferable light. I take courage. The people gather around her. The genius of America will yet lead her sons to freedom."

In December, 1860, while en route to Washington, Colonel Baker paid a hasty visit to Springfield, where he was honored with a public reception. On behalf of the citizens, J. C. Conkling, in a neat and tasty speech, formally welcomed him to the scenes of his early labors and triumphs. The Senator elect responded in characteristic style. He expressed the liviliest gratitude at the heartiness and enthusiasm with which he had been received by his old friends, without distinction of party; referring in touching language to his previous history; alluded to the wonderful growth and prosperity of Illinois, and of the great West; and spoke with solicitude of our National difliculties and the impending civil war.

On taking his seat in the Senate, Colonel Baker entered industriously upon the discharge of the responsible duties of his station, and ranked from the outset among the foremost orators and debaters in that dignified body. His addresses on the 2d and 3d days of January, 1861, in reply to Judah P. Benjamin, of Louisiana, was one of the most eloquent delivered during that storm period.

On the 20th day of April, a few days after the fall of Fort Sumter, Colonel Baker spoke in New York City to one of the largest assemblages ever enchained by the eloquence of a single man. In closing his address, he dedicated himself anew to the service of his country in these gi'andly eloquent words, which were greeted with tremendous applause:

"And if, from the far Pacific, a voice feebler than the feeblest murmur on its shores, may be heard to give you courage and hope in this contest, that voice is yours to-day. And if a man whose hair is gray, who is well nigh worn out in the battle and toil of life, may pledge himself on such an occasion, and to such an audience, let me say, as my last word, that as when amid sheeted fire and flame, I saw and led the hosts of New York, as they charged in contest upon a foreign soil for the honor of your flag, so, again, if Providence shall will it, this feeble hand .shall draw a «wui'd never yet dishonored - not to hght for distant honor in a foreign land - but to hght for country, for government, for Constitution, for law, for right, for freedom, for humanity; and in the hope that the banner of our country may advance, and wheresoever that banner waves, there may glory pursue and freedom be established."

Colonel Baker at once raised a regiment, known as the California regiment, and entered the service. At Ball's Bluff, on the 20th day of October, 1861, he fell in battle, pierced by eight leaden messengers freighted with death, from the guns of the advancing foe. Thus heroically the grand and gifted Baker fell.

John D.Urquhartwas from Virginia, and came to Springfield about 1832. He was well read in the law and in the general literature of the day. He Avas a gentleman of the old school, with too much refinement to adapt himself to Western methods, and tlierefore achieved no success as a lawyer at the Bar of Sangamon county.

John C. Doremus was from New Jersey, and first practiced in the courts of this county in 1838. In 1840 he formed a partnership with Schuyler Strong, which continued but a few montns. He never attained any distinction as a lawyer, and early in 1840 went South, studied theology, and became minister in the Presbyterian Church and received the degree of D.D. He died some years ago.

Third Decade

The Third Decade shows in addition to the greater number of those of the Second, the names of Silas W. Robbins, Charles R. Welles, Benjamin W^est, James Shields, William A. Minshall, Justice Butterfield, Justice Butterfield, Jr., Levi Davis, A. K.Smede, James H.Matheny, David Logan, E. B Herndon, A. Parker, William I. Ferguson, William Walker. William H. Herndon, Vincent Ridgely, U. F. Linder, Josiah Lamborn, Archibald W^illiams, O. H. Browning, Israel Crosby, Lyman Trumbull.

What Bar in all the Union can show a greater array of distinguished names than the foregoing, in addition to the best of the Second Decade who still continued to practice before the courts of the county. For great learning, for oratorical ability, and for unsurpassed statesmanship, the Bar during this Decade has never been surpassed. From its ranks were furnished a President of the United States, a distinguished candidate for the Presidency whose memory will always be kept green by lovers of the Union, several United States Senators, one Cabinet Officer, several members of Congress, several distinguished officers in the United States Army - all of whom were honorable men reflecting great credit upon the profession of law and upon the Bar of Sangamon county.

A large and interesting volume could be written of the Bar of this Decade, but in this volume space forbids more than such individual mention as will show the character of those composing it.

General Shields.* - Among the men who have conferred lasting celebrity upon the Capital City of Illinois, by making it the place of their temporary or permanent abode, one of the most remarkable and distinguished was the late General Shields - the man of two nationalities, the ^ eteran of two wars, and the Senator from three States.

James Shields was born at a place called Dunganon, county of Tyrone, Ireland, in the year 1819. Of his family and early domestic history, little or nothing is certainly known; though he appears to have enjoyed fair educational advantages. W^ith that inbred and irrepressible spirit of adventure, which formed the ruling characteristic of his life, he emigrated to the United States while still in his minority, and, propably, first landed at New Orleans. This Avas in 1826, or thereabouts; and in no long time afterward, we find him located in Randolph county, Illinois, engaged in the vocation of teaching. Subseqtiently, he read law, wasadmittted to the Bar in 1832, and began the practice of that profession in Kaskaskia - the ancient "seat of empire" of Illinois under the French Dominion.

Gifted from the outset with a talent for public speaking, and all the elements of personal popularity, we next find our young adventurer at Vandalia (then the State Capital), representing the county of Randolph in the lower branch of the General Assembly. Here, during the memorable session of 1836-37, he first met Lincoln, Dotiglas, Hardin, and other rising politicians of the i^eriod, with whom he was afterwards to become so prominently associated.

In March, 1841, Mr. Shields was made Auditor of the State of Illinois, and took up his residence in Springfield, to which place the seat of government had been removed from Vandalia by act of the legislature. This was the era of general financial depression, of depreciated paper money, and of slow recovery from panic; and Shields is said to have run the Auditor's office almost entirely on scrip. It was during his incumbency of this office that he became involved in the personal difficulty with Abraham

Lincoln, which led to his challenging the latter to mortal combat. Lincoln accepted the challenge, and under the advice of his friend and second. Dr. Merriman, selected cavalry broad swords as the weapons with which to light. Such a choice necessarily gave to Lincoln, who was much the tallest and longest armed man of the two, greatly the advantage. But our chivalrous son of the Emerald Isle was not disposed to shrink from the encounter, whatever might be the advantage of his antagonist in point of stature, or in the choice of weapons. The parties accordingly repaired to Alton, accompanied by their respective seconds, intending to fight the duel on the narrow tongue of land between the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. But through the timely intervention of common friends, the difiiculty was at last amicably adjusted, without the shedding of human gore.

On August 16, 1843, Shields was commissioned by Governor Ford one of the associated justices of the Supreme Court of Illinois, but did not long retain his seat upon the bench; and, in Apiil, 1845, the ermine for the oiRce of Commissioner of the General Land Oftice, which post he held for nearly two years.

The outbreak of hostilities with Mexico, in 1846, afforded the long-wished-for opportunity of gratifying his martial tastes and ambition, and constituted the turning point, so to speak, in his checkered career. Having announced his intention of taking part in the war, he was, upon the recommendation of the Illinois delegation in Congress, commissioned Brigadier General by President Polk. Taking the field under General Scott, Shields led the Illinois brigade in the victorious march on the City of Mexico. In the battle of Cerro Gordo, on April 18, 1847, he was seriously wounded by a ball which passed through one of his lungs. For a while, it was doubtful if he could survive; but he did recover so as to resume his former command, and served till the end of the campaign. At the sanguinary battle of Cherubusco, fought on the 20th of August, in the vicinity of the City of Mexico, General Shields led the Illinois and New England brigades, and the Palmetto regiment, in the attack upon the Mexican reserve, and drove the enemy from their entrenched position back into the capital. He also fought at the storming of Chapultepec, where he is said to have been again wounded. For his gallantry in these several engagements, he was brevetted a Major-General. Upon the conclusion of the war, he was honorably mustered out of service, and returned home

Declining the appointment of Governor for the Territory of Oregon, General Shields, during the wintei of 1848-49, was elected by the Illinois Legislature to a seat in the United Slates Senate, which he held for the full term of six years from the 4th of March, 1849. His career in the Senate, though not so brilliant as it had been on the " tented field," was creditable to himself and to the party that elected him. During this term, he voted for the Compromise measures of 1850, and also for the Nebraska Bill.

In 1855, he was a candidate for re-election, but his Democratic friends in the legislature found it necessary to concentrate their strength upon Governor Matteson, in order to defeat the candidacy of Mr. Lincoln, and the latter, seeing that he could not succeed, finally withdrew in favor of Lyman Trumbull, who was thereupon elected by the fusion majority.

Soon after this defeat (about the first he had sustained). General Shields transferred his residence to the State of Minnesota, by the legislatui'e of which he was sent to the United States Senate to fill a vacancy, and occupied his seat from May 12, 1858, to March 3, 1859. He then went to California, where he remained for a year or tAVO. What were his motives in going to the Pacific coast, or his occupation while there, do not clearly appear.

When the long threatened civil war broke out. General Shields' martial spirit Avas again fully aroused, and having tendered his services to President Lincoln they were accepted, and he was made a Brigadier, his commission dating August 19, 1861. Early in 1862, he was assigned to the command of a division of General Bank's army, operating in the Shenandoah Valley, Va., and commanded at the battles of Port Republic and Winchester. Some time in 1863, General Shields, owing in part to disability consequent upon the wounds he had received in former campaigns, and partly to his having been overlooked \n the matter of promotion by the military authorities at Washington, resigned his commission in the army, and settled upon a small farm in Carroll county, Missouri. About this tinie, he appears to have married a woman of Irish parentage; but the union was not productive of any addition to his slender fortune. His experience as a tiller of the soil was not particularly encouraging. In the course of a public lecture in one of our eastern cities, he referred to himself as one of the " poorest farm-

During the stormy administration of President Johnson, Shields was elected to Congress from one of the Missouri districts, but was not allowed to take his seat by the party then dominant in the House of Representatives. In 1877, he was elected a member of the Missouri Legislature, and about the same time was appointed Adjutant General of that State.

In 18 78 he was brought forward in connection with the office of doorkeeper of the National House of Representatives; and the Democratic majority. of that body (as a mark of respect for his distinguished services, and to relieve his necessities) \'oted to increase his pension to one hundred dollars per month.

During the winter of 1878-79, General Shields was elected by the Missouri Legislature to complete the unexpired portion of the late Senator Bogy's term in the IJnited States Senate. The term was quite short, (not exceeding six weeks), but it conferred upon him the rare honor of having been a Senator from three States; an honor such as, perhaps, was never before vouchsafed to any citizen of our republic. In these latter years of his life, he traveled more or less extensively through the country, lecturing on his "Reminiscences of the Mexican war," and also upon 'his " recollections " of the eminent statesmen with whom he had associated in the Senate in antebellum days.

At length, however, after a singularly eventful and romantic career of nearly three score and ten years. General Shields was called to meet his last enemy - death. On the night of the tirst of June, 1879, he died suddenly and peacefully in Ottumwa, Iowa, while on a visit to relatives in that city. It was the opinion of those best qualified to judge, that his old wound in the chest, received in the Mexican war, was the primary cause of his unexpected decease. His remains were subsequently removed to his home at Carrollton, Missouri, where they were interred with appropriate civic and military honors.

James Shields, strictly speaking, was neither a great nor a learned man, yet his abilities were far above the average, and no one ever made a better display than himself, of those talents with which the Creator had endowed him. He was, in a certain sense, his own ancestor, and not for him was intended the Latin maxims, Mvito viret honora.

black hairand eyes, and prominent, yet regular, featui'es. His carriage was at all times erect and soldier-like, while his manners were pleasing and "taking" in the extreme. As a speaker, he was graceful, liuent, witty and eloquent, and his fine voice had just enough of the Irish brogue to give it flavor and richness of tone. No more captivating speaker, for the masses, ever mounted the stump in Illinois, unless it may have been the lamented Colonel Baker.

Shields was also a vain man - especially of his martial record - but his vanity was of the innocent and amiable kind, and never took the form of oflfensive and overbearing egotism. He could hardly be called a man of business (being as improvident as Oliver Goldsmith), and was not unfrequently indebted to his personal or political friends for pecuniary aid. Careless of his private affairs, he went up and down the land, like a knight errant of old, seeking renown, and finding it, in diverse ways, and in widely dissimilar spheres of human endeavor.

In party politics, he was a life-long Democrat, but he ever so bore himself, amid the fiercest partisan contests, as to command the respect, if not admiration, of his political foes. His amor loatriae was unbounded, and no truer patriot ever raised his voice in the Amei'ican Senate, or unsheathed his sword upon the blood-stained field of battle. His influence over his fellowcitizens of Celtic birth was great and durable, and was always wielded for good, since in all matters of public policy he was discreet in council, and never permitted his feelings or imagination to transcend his judgment.

As a politician, jurist, warrior, orator, and Senator, he jjossessed many useful, many noble, and many brilliant qualities; and, despite the transitory nature of that which we call fame, his name and exploits will not soon be forgotten by his admiring countrymen. But the valiant and generous hearted Shields is in his grave; after life's fitful fever, "he sleeps well." He has "passed into that still country where the heaviest-laden wayfarer at length lays down his load."

" Loug shall we seek his likeness - long in vain - And turn to all of him which maj' remain, Sighing that Nature formed but one such man, And broke the die in moulding - "

Silas W.Robbins immigrated from Massachusetts to Kentucky as early as 1825, and succeeded admirably as an attorney in that commonwealth, serving some years as a Judge of one of the courts. There being a strong prejudice in that State against Yankees, he left about 1841 and came to Illinois and settled in Springfield, forming one of that strong force of attorneys composing the Bar of that period. He was an excellent lawyer, and soon succeeded in obtaining a lucrative practice, which continued until his retirement in 1852. Judge Robbins was a man of high temper and of a very beligerent disposition, never seeming happy or contented without a "wee bit of a row" on his hands. He could brook no restraints, and would be imposed on by no one, large or small. In 1855 he removed to a farm a short distance from Springfield, and there died about 18*70.

Justin Butterfield was a citizen of Chicago, and often appeared in the Springfield courts. He was one of the most learned, talented and distinguished members of the Bar during this Decade. A case in which Mr. Butterfield partici^^ated is thus described by Isaac N. Arnold:

"In December, 1842, Governor Ford, on the application of the Executive of Missouri, issued a warrant for the arrest of Joseph Smith, the Apostle of Mormonisra, then residing at Nauvoo, in this State, as a fugitive from justice. He w^as charged with having instigated the attempt, by some Mormons, to assassinate Governor Bogg, of Missouri. Mr. Butterfield, in behalf of Smith, sued out, from Judge Pope, a writ of habeas cor2nis,2iYi<\ Smith was brought before the United States District Court. On the hearing it clearly appeared that he had not been in Missouri, nor out of Illinois, within the time in which the crime had been committed, and if he had any connection with the offense the acts were done in Illinois. Was he, then, a fugitiv,e from justice? It was pretty clear that, if allowed to be taken into Missouri, means would have been found to condemn and execute him. The Attorney-General of Illinois, Mr. Lamborn, appeared to sustain the warrant. Mr. Butterfield, aided by B. S. Edwards, appeared for Smith, and moved for his discharge. The Prophet (socalled) was attended by his twelve Apostles and a large number of his followers, and the case attracted great interest. The court-room was thronged with prominent members of the Bar and public men. Judge Pope was a gallantgentleman of the old school, and loved nothing better than to be in the midst of youth and beauty. Seats were crow^ded on the Judge's platform, on both sides and behind the Judge, and an array of brilliant and beautiful ladies almost encircled the court. Mr. Butterfield, dressed a la Webster, in blue dress-coat and metal buttons, with buff vest, rose with dignity and amidst the most profound silence. Pausing,

"I appear before you to-day under circumstances most novel and peculiar. I am to address the 'Pope' (bowing to the Judge) surrounded by angels (bowing still lower to the ladies), in the presence of the Holy Apostles, in behalf of the Prophet of the Lord."

"Among the most lovely and attractive of these 'angels' were the daughters of Judge Pope, a daughter of Mr. Butterfield, Mrs. Lincoln, Miss Dunlap, afterwards Mrs. General John A. McClernand, and others, some of whom still live, and the tradition of their youthful beauty is verified by their lovely daughters and grandchildren.

" But the chief actors in that drama, on the issue of which hung, not only the life of Smith, the Prophet, but of his followers, and perhapsthe peace of two States, the dramatis persoa- have all, or nearly all passed away. The genial and learned Judge, the prisoner and his able counselor, so full of wit and humor, the eloquent Attorney- General, the Governors of both States, the Marshal and Clerk, and nearly all of the distinguished lawyers and public men - have each paid the debt of nature."

Mr. Butterfield was a native of the State of New York, and at the breaking out of the war of 1812, he was in some office in that State, and opposing the w'ar it destroyed his popularity. When the war broke out between this country and Mexico, some jDerson asked him if he was opposed to it. "No," said he, "I oppose no wars. I opposed one war and it ruined me, and henceforth I am for icar, 2)estilence and faminey

During the contest between Harrison and Van Buren in 1840, some Federal ofiice-holder met Butterfield in debate. The latter charged the hard times that then afflicted the country to the course pursued by the Administration. The ofiice-holder replied, denying that there was hard times, and declared that he never saw better times in his life. Butterfield, in his rejoinder, used the following language: "Fellow-citizens, I believe, in my soul, that if it rained fire and brimstone, as it did at Sodom and Gomorrah, these locofocos would exclaim, 'What a refreshing shower I'"

Mr. Butterfield was perfectly familiar with the Scriptures and used Scriptural quotations and illustrations with great effect. While he was District Attorney, Ben Bond was United States Marshal, and as two of his brothers were depu- ties, and were quite annoying to him, his patience at one time being tried beyond endurance. He remarked to some one: "I would to God tliat not only Thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost and altogether, such as I am, except these Jionds.''''

David A. Smith, of Jacksonville, who had in some way incurred the displeasure of Butterfield, was sitting one day in the United States Court room, sleeping, the sun shining upon his bald, slick head. Some one directed Butteriield's attention to him, when he instantly exclaimed, in his gruff voice: "The light shineth upon darkness, but the darkness comprehended it not."

The best Scriptural illustration made by Butterfield was when he was defending the constitutionality of the Shawneetown Bank. The Constitution of Illinois of 1818, provided that there should be no bank exce}»t the State Bank and its branches, and also the banks tbat were then in existence. The Shawneetown Bank was chartered before that time, but in 1835 its charter was extended. A writ of quo 'warranto was sued out against the bank, and in the argument it was contended by counsel who sued out the writ, that the extension of the charter was in fact the creation of a new bank. Butterfield was restive while this line of argument was being pursued, and he arose to reply with an expression of contempt upon his face. He said he would like to be informed by the gentlemen, if they had met with it in their reading, which he very much, doubted, however, whether when the Lord lengthened out the life of Hezekiah fifteen years he had made a new man, or was he the same old Hezekiah !

Of Justin Butterfield, Jr., but little can be said. He came to Springfield in 1842, a young man of great promise, formed a partnership with B. S. Edwards, which continued about one year. He returned to Chicago on the dissolution of the co-partnership, and soon afterwards died.

U. F. Binder was a native of Kentucky, and born within ten miles of the place whei'e Abraham Lincoln first saw the light of day. He came to Illinois in 1835, and settled in Coles county, but, like all other lawyers of that day, traveled the circuit. He was one of the most eminent lawyers of this Decade, and the party securing his legal services was fortunate indeed. As an orator he had few equals. He was quick iu repartee, and few cared to encounter him in debate. He was withal a trifle vain, but just enough to spur him on to action.

Linder says of him: " Intellectually, I know no man of his day who was his superior. He was considered by all the lawyers who knew him as a man of the tersest logic. He couid see the point in a case as clear as any man I ever knew, and could elucidate it as ably, never using a word too much or one too few. He was exceedingly happy in his conceptions, and always traveled the shortest route to reach his conclusions. He was a terror to his legal opponents, especially to those diffusive, wordy lawyers who had more words than arguments. I heard Judge Smith, of the Supreme Court, say that he knew of no lawyer who was his equal in strength and force of argument." Lamborn was a native of Kentucky, and received a liberal education. He possessed high social qualities, and his conversational powers were of the very highest order. As a prosecutor he was a terror to criminals. He was inclined to be vindictive, and very resentful of any slight offered him by an opposing attorney. On one occasion he was prosecuting a man for murder in Christian county. E. D. Baker was defending. In the course of the trial Lamborn asked Baker tc yield some point. Baker refusing, he turned to him and said, "Baker, I'll hang your man." In his speech at the close of the testimony, Baker made one of his most powerful pleas, exciting the jury, spectators, and even the judge to tears. He closed with a brilliant peroration, such as he only could make. When he sat down it was about time to adjourn for supper, and Lamborn asked an adjournment until after supper, before beginning his closing speech for the prosecution. His request was granted. After supper he went to the sheriff and told him he only desired one candle to be placed in the court room, and that in a position that would place the jury in the shade. If the Judge said anything about the matter, the sheriff was to inform him that all was done at Lamborn's request. At the hour for court to convene the court room was filled to hear the prosecutor's speech. Lamborn, who was slightly lame, hobbled into the room, slowly and painfully, coughing meanwhile as if half gone with consumption, thus exciting the pity of both the jury and spectators. On the call to order he passed in front of the jury, who could but dimly witness his movements, and, placing his lame foot upon a chair, in a hollow sepulchre tone of voice said: " Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." He then stopped for some moments, while a cold chill passed over every individual in the audience. Slowly and painfully, apparently, he resumed his speech, taking up and reviewing the points in the case, and with so much effect that at its close the jury, after being out but a few moments, brought in a verdict of guilty, and the man was condemned to be hung.

Laniborn was once prosecuting an old and gray-haired man for stealing hogs. Stephen T. Logan was defending him, and made a powerful plea in his behalf, describing the accused as a man with hair blossoming for the eternal world, with one foot in the grave and the other tottering upon the brink. The illustration was so apt that it had a wonderful effect upon the jury which was quickly dispelled when Lamborn rose to reply. "Yes, gentlemen of the jury," said he, "his hair is whitening for that place which burns with liquid fire; one foot is in the grave, and the other is in his neighbor's hog pen."

Levi Davis came to Springfield in 1839 as Auditor of the State and served until 1841, when he commenced the practice of law, having been admitted to the Bar before his appointment as Auditor. He was a good lawyer, a fine business man, courteous and affable to all whom he met. He removed from here to Alton, where he now resides.

A. K. Smede was a young but highly educated man from Mississippi who practiced law here between 1843 and 1845. He never met with much success and returned to his native State.

David Logan, while a youth, came with his father to Springfield, here studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1843. He was the son of Judge Logan and inherited many of the brilliant qualities of his father. He was a man of very superior talents. He practiced law in this circuit until 1847, when he went to Oregon where he took high rank as a criminal lawyer, obtaining a large and lucrative practice. It is related that after he had become well established in Oregon his father was desirous of his returning home, and as an inducement wrote him that if he would come he would take him into partnership. The young man answered the letter, thanking his father very kindly for his generous offer, and closed by inviting him to Oregon, and as an inducement offered to take him into partnei'ship. In 1860 on the election of United States Senator, he secured the majority of the Republican members of the legislature in his interest, but the party not having a majority, the Republicans united with the Douglas Democrats and elected E. D. Baker, the Democrats of that wing feeling favorably disposed to Colonel Baker for his gallant defense

William I. Ferguson was a Pennsylvanian by birth, and came to Springfield when a mere child, afterwards studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1843. He was a very brilliant young man, and a first-class forensic lawyer. After his admission to the Bar, he soon secured a good practice, and for some time held the office of attorney for the city of Springfield. About the year 1850 he went to Memphis, Tennessee, where he remained one year, and then returned to Springfield and resumed the practice of law. Becoming dissatisfied he emigrated to Texas in 1853, from which place he drifted on to California. In politics Mr. Ferguson was originally a Whig, and afterwards became a Democrat. In California he took an active part in politics and was elected to the State Senate, and was a candidate for the United States Senate in 1855, but failed of an election. In the exciting canvass growing out of the differences between the Administration and Stephen A. Douglas in 1858, Senator Broderick was the leader of the Douglas faction, and Mr. Ferguson was a staunch adherent and defender of Broderick and Douglas. In his defense of the latter he incurred the displeasure of a man named Johnson, who challenged him to fight a duel. The challenge was accepted and Ferguson was slain. Colonel Baker delivered a funeral oration over his dead body, which was only equalled, a few months later, by delivering the oration on the death of Senator Broderick, who fell in the same cowardly and disgraceful manner.

Archibald Williams, of Quincy, was frequently in attendance on the Springfield courts at this time, and his honest, homely features once seen were never forgotten. He was one of the most profound lawyers that ever practiced in the courts of the State. Linder, in his " Reminiscences of the Bar," has this to say of Williams:

" He was a member of the Illinois Legislature in 1836 and 1837, and of the same House with Lincoln, Douglas and myself. He was over six feet high, and as angular and ungainly in his form as Mr. Lincoln himself; and for homeliness of face and feature surpassed Mr. Lincoln. I think I never saw but one man uglier than Archie, and that was Patrick H. Darbey, of Kentucky, also a very great lawyer, who once had a brace of pistols presented to him by a traveler he met upon the road, both being on horseback, who suddenley stopped, and asked Darbey to stop also, and said to the latter gen- tleman: "Here is a brace of pistols which belong to you." " How do you make that out? " said Darbey. " They were given to me a long time ago by a stranger, who requested me to keep them until I met an uglier man than myself, and I have carried them for over twenty years ; and I had begun to think they would go to my heirs when I died, but you are the rightful owner of the pistols. I give them to you as they were given to me, to be kept until you meet an uglier man than you are, and then you will present them to him; but you will die the owner of the property, for I am confident there is not an uglier man than you in the world, and the Lord did his everlasting best when he created you."

"Darbey accepted the pistols, and I never heard of them passing out of his hands. I know not what might have occurred had he and Archie \Villiams ever met. If there had been a jury trial of the right of property between them, I think it altogether likely it might have resiilted in a 'hung jury.'

"Archie Williams sat near Mr. Lincoln in the southeast corner of the old State House in Vandalia, on his left, and I remember one day of a friend of mine asking me 'who in the world those two ugly men were.' Archie and Mr. Lincoln were great friends. I recollect Mr. Lincoln asking me on one occasion if I didn't think Archie Williams was one of the strongestminded, clearest headed men in Illinois. I don't know what reply I made at the time, but I know 3Ir. Lincoln said that he thought him the strongest-minded and clearest headed man he ever saw."

Archie Williams has long since passed to his reward, but he has left a noble record, and one of which his descendants will always be proud. He made the race for Congress in 1854 as a Free Soil candidate, but failed of election. When Lincoln was elected, he appointed him one of the Federal Judges of Kansas.

O. H. Browning is another Quincy lawyer that was often seen before the courts of Sangamon Covmty. He came to this State from Kentucky. As a lawyer and a statesman he obtained a high and enviable distinction. He was often employed in the largest cases before the Supreme Court of the State and the United States Courts. He w^as ajDj^ointed to fill the vacancy in the United States Senate, caused by the death of Senator Douglas, and served as Secretary of the Interior under President Johnson.

"Minshall, I believe, was a native of OhiOy and studied law with Judge McLean. In his early days he was given to dissipation. He courted a most beautiful woman, and on proposing marriage to her, she promptly rejected him, on the strength of which he got most gloriously drunk, and in his crazy mood put on seven clean shirts, and in that condition went over to see her again, letting her know that it was impossible for him to live without her. The young lady, being far from indifferent to the suit of Minshall, finally concluded that she would try and make a man of him, so she said to him: 'Mr. Minshall, I will never marry a drunkard, and if I had a husband and he should become one, I would leave him on the instant, if I loved him as I loved my life, but I have come to the conclusion I will marry you on one condition : If you will reform your habits, and give me satisfactory proof of the same, and make a solemn vow that you will never drink again. So, now, you go home and divest yourself of all those shirts but one, and come back in a month from now, and we will consummate this agreement.' Minshall gladly took her at her word, and after a month's probation he returned, took the vow, and they were married, and he religiously lived ujj to his pledge to the day of his death; and I know of no happier couple than they were in the whole circle of my acqiiaintance. He had a reputation of being one. of the kindest."

Benjamin West came to Sangamon county in 1841, and settled in the village of Rochester. He was a man of fair talents, and was a good lawyer. In 1846 he was elected to the legislature, and died before the expiration of his term.

William Walker studied law, and was here admitted to the Bar. He soon afterwards went to Camden, and from thence to Havana, Mason county. From the latter place he emigrated to Missouri, where he was afterwards elected Circuit Judge. He was regarded as above the average in ability.

Elliott B. Herndon was born on Silver creek, Madison county, Illinois, in 1820. In company wnth his parents, he came to Sangamon county in the spring of 1821. His parents first settled about four miles northeast of Springfield, and in 1823 erected a cabin on the lot where Mr.

Herndon now resides, where they lived the remainder of their lives. Elliott B. read law in Springtield, and was admitted to the Bar in the winter of 1842-3, and was one of the three first young men admitted in the county. He at once commenced an active practice, which continued until 1868, when he retired, but resumed practice in 1873, continuing until 1878, when he permanently retired. Joseph Wallace, in a local paper issued February, 1880, thus speaks of Mr. Herndon:

"At present he belongs to the retired list of our barristers, and enjoys his othmi cum clignitate; but still appears in court in special cases, and his opinion is often sought upon difficult and abstruse questions of law. He has always been recognized as the possessor of one of the soundest legal minds at our Bar, and if he had been prompted more by the spur of necessity, would have risen to yet higher rank as a lawyer.

"Though not a classical scholar, Mr. Herndon is a person of wide reading and multifarious knowledge. He is fond of philosophizing, that is, of penetrating beneath the surface of things to ascertain their hidden origin and bearing. To illustrate, he tells us that he read through Don Quixote three times; first, for the story or stories; secondly, for the humor and pathos; and, thirdly, for the deep philosophy and insight into human nature contained in that incomparable production. He is also an earnest admirer of Shakespeare's inimitable creations, but does not approve of the lengths to which some ingenious commentators go in searching after new and far-fetched interpretations to the text of that author, such as the great bard himself never dreamed of. Among his other acquirements, Mr. Herndon is no bad judge of horses and dogs, and he is (or at least affects to be) skilled in gardening and horticulture."

Politically, Mr. Herndon is a Democrat " of the strictest sect of our religion." For many yeai's he was engaged in the promulgation of Democratic doctrines, both from the stump and through the press. From 1857 to 1860 he edited the Illinois State Democrat, J. J. Clarkson, proprietor, a paper started to contend for Democratic doctrine, " pure and undetiled," in opposition to what he regarded as heresies in the Douglas wing of that party.

Mr. Herndon has held several very important offices, both elective and appointed. He has served as City and County Attorney, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. In 1858 he was appointed Disbursing Agent by the General Government for Illinois.

In 1876 Mr. Herndon was married to Jerusha Palmer, in Springfield, Illinois. In the same article already quoted Mr. Wallace further speaks of Mr. Herndon:

" Physically and intellectually he is quite unlike his brother, William H. - the one inheriting the characteristics of the mother, while the other more nearlj'^ resembles the father. In person, Elliot B. is of medium height, broad shouldered and heavy set, with a tendency, of late years, to obesity. His cranium is massive and finely developed, and his face square rather than oval. His style of speaking is deliberate and sententious, his jestures few, and his voice keen and penetrating rather than ore rotimdo.

"In manner or demeanor, he is not always the same, being subject to moods. Sometimes he is taciturn and morose; at other times talkative, jovial and full of anecdote, yet always more or less sarcastic. Upon the whole, he is a man of marked ability, of striking individuality, of pronounced likes and dislikes, and of sterling integrity - in a word, he is one whose place at the Bar and in general society, if once made vacant, could hardly be supplied."

Fourth Decade

As Springfield and Sangamon county increased in population, and as the business before the Supreme Court of the State and the United States District Courts inci'eased, the resident members of the Bar became more numerous. It will therefore be seen that between the years of 1851 and 1861, the distinctive local Bar was quite large. Many who had been following the Circuit had ceased their attendance, and only appeared before the courts here on special occasions. The greater number of those heretofore mentioned as making a residence in Springfield, yet remained at the beginning of this Decade, and few left during the time. The Bar was therefore a strong one. Among those who figured during this time whose names have not alreadv been given are John A. McClernand, L. B. Adams, N. M. Broadwell, D. A. Brown, W. J. Black, W. J. Conkling, Primm & Gibson, J. E. Rosette, J. B. White, G. W. Shutt, Thomas Lewis, J. France, D. Mc Williams, Charles W. Keyes, Shelby M. Cullom, L. Rosette, A. Mc- Williams, J. R. Thompson, Charles S. Zane, William Campbell, J. D. Bail, G. W. Besore, Christopher C. Brown, John E. Denny, Milton Hay, L. F. McCrillis, J. W. Moffett, Charles B. Brown, S. C. Gibson, T. S. Mather, J.R.Mather, H. G. Reynolds, E. L. Gross, L. C. Boynton, A. B. Ives, C. M. Morrison, Joseph Wallace, Speed Butler, E. F. Leonard, William Prescott.

Among the number comprising the Bar of this Decade will be noticed the names of some who have since become distinguished as statesmen and others whose names have become so familiar to every reader of history as among the brave men who responded to their country's call when traitors sought to destroy the Union, and who became as adept in the art of war as in the intricacies of the law. Sangamon County furnished the Commander-in-Chief of all the armies, one of whom the Bar of the county may well be proud, one of its brightest ornaments, the great and noble Abraham Lincoln. From the Bar of Sangamon County went General John A. Mc- Clernand, a brave and skillful General who rose to the rank of a Division Commander, Colonel James II. Matheny, Colonel L. F. McCrillis and others. Of the Bar of this period much can be said and only that which is good.

Thomas Lewis, - everybody that lived in Springfield during this Decade knew Tom, - was a character in his way. Originally a shoemaker by trade, he accummulated some money, engaged in banking, and then studied law; was admitted to the Bar, and practiced for a time, though he secured but little business. To crown all he became a newspaper man and was editor and publisher of the Illinois Atlas until its incorporation with the Political Crisis, in 1871. He now resides in Cairo.

D. McWilliams was a young man and had been admitted to the Bar but a short time when he came here. He succeeded in securing a fair practice, but after a time he left and is now residing in Piatt, and is one of the leading members of the Bar of that county.

A. McWilliams, came here from Bloomington where he was regarded as a very talented lawyer, and had fine success in all his professional engagements. The same success attended him here, and had it not been for an unfortunate temper he would have left a highly honorable and proud record. He was States Attorney one term.' He died in 1862, near St. Louis.

C. M. Morrison was one of the most talented young men that have practiced in the court of Sangamon County. He was from Kentucky and came to Springfield about 1856. He very soon secured a lucrative practice and was for several years Prosecuting Attorney for this distinct. As a prosecutor he had few superiors. He had a frail body but a strong mind. He died in the prime of life.

William Prescott was from Wales, read law in Springfield and was admitted to the Bar about 1860. When the war broke out he laid down his law books and took up the sword. He served as Captain in one of the companies of the 130th regiment. While in the service, he was captured and held a prisoner of war for fourteen months. On his return to this county he was elected Coimty Judge and was the immediate predecessor of Judge Matheny. He removed to Chicago about 1879.

L. F. McCrillis came to this county from Calhoun. While a resident of the latter county he served a term in the legislature. He was regarded as a good lawyer. On the breaking out of the war he offered his services to the Governor and was commissioned Colonel of one of the Illinois regiments, and served with credit in the defense of his country. After the war closed he returned to Springfield and shortly after made a business trip to Washington, and while in that city he died very suddenly.

H. G. Reynolds was better known as a Mason than an attorney. He was for some years publisher of the Masonic Trowel, an account of which is given under the head of "The Press."

L. M. Phillips came from Southern Illinois, and remained but a few years, and then returned to his old home. He was a fair lawyer, and secured a good practice while here.

C. D. Harvey was a good bankrupt lawyer, and had a good practice in the bankrupt courts. He only remained a short time, when he removed to California, and now resides there.

William Campbell was Irish by birth, inheriting the social qualities of that fun-loving race. He was strong before a jury, having the natural eloquence of the Irish. He died some years ago.

Fifth Decade

Standard of excellence. "While it may be true that through political intiiience some of those of one Decade may have become more noted, yet as regards standing before the courts, it will be seen no comparison can be made that would detract from the good name of either. The Fifth Decade, embracing the years 1861 to 1871, shows a list of names alike creditable to the period and to the excellent standing of the Sangamon County Bar.

Some of the familiar names of the previous Decade have disappeared, of which it might be said that some bearing them have removed to other points, some have retired from active practice, while others still are now practicing before a higher court and before the Bar of Almighty God. Among the new members of the Bar of Sangamon county during this Decade were William M. Springer, J. K. W. Bradley, W. P. Olden, A. N. J. Crook, James E. Dowling, A. W. Hayes, Richard Wolcott, L. H.

Sixth Decade

During this Decade the Bar of Sangamon County was increased in number by the following named: D. T. Littler, J. A. Kennedy, L. F. Hamilton, James C. Robinson, A. L. Knapp, Bernard Stuve, Bluford Wilson, Loren Hasson, Robert Allen, Thomas C. Austin, John F. Barrow, S. D. Scholes, W. P. Emery, Charles H. Rice, Charles D. Harvey, Robert H. Hazlett, Robert L. McGuire, John M. Palmer, John Mayo Palmer, Alonzo W. Wood, Charles W. Brown, Clinton L. Conkling, Enoch Harpole, W. L. Gross, E. D. Matheny, J. C. Lanphier, Henry H. Rogers, George A. Sanders, J. C. Snigg, Ezra W. White, Charles P. Kane, Henry Kane.

Seventh Decade

The year 1881 is the beginning of the Seventh Decade, and only of this year can anything he said as a matter of history, of the Bar of Sangamon. The following named firms now constitute the resident Bar of the county: L. B. Adams, John F. Barrow, Bradley & Bi-adley, N. M. Broadwell, Frank W. Burnett, James C. Conkling, \V. J. Conkling, Collins & Sprague, A. N. J.'Crook, J. E. Dowling, Ninian W. "Edwards, W. P. Emery, Joseph A. Gill, H. S. Greene, Gi-oss & Conkling, John H. Gunn, Milton Hay, Ralph W. Ilaynes, FJazlett & Kane, Hern don & Colby, W. F. Houston, Frank H Jones, James A.Kennedy, J. R. H. King, David T. Littler, Webber E. Loomis, Jas. H. Matheny, Jas. H Matheny, Jr., McClernand & Keyes, Mc- Guire, Hamilton & Saltzenstein, Murray & Turner, Orendorff & Creighton, Palmers, Robinson &Shutt, Patton & Lan])hier, Rice & Trapp, Robertson & Maxwell, John E. Rosette, Louis Rosette, Sanders & Williams, Scholes & Mather, J. B. Scott, Ired E. Smith, John C. Snigg, Sterling & Grout, H. A. Stevens, Stuart, Edwards & Brown, T. J. Thompson, William A. Vincent, La Rue Vredenburg, Joseph Wallace, E. VV. White, ]31uford Wilson, Wines & Wickersham, Richmond Wolcott, Rogers & Kane.

In reviewing the history of the Bar of to-day, it must be born in mind that the historian is speaking of those who are yet living and in active practice, and therefore he labors under an embarrassment that does not exist when writing of parties that have passed away. "Words of praise, by envious ones, are apt to be construed into words of fiattery, for which reason many things are left unsaid which are rightfully due the parties of whom the historian is writing. In the following sketches care has been taken against such use of terms as Avill lead to even a thought of fiattery, or stating an untruth, with the idea that it will please the one of whom it is written, even if it does not off^end others. But whatever is written is the o})inion of the historian, who reserves the right to speak as he may think best of each individual. The members are introduced in chronological order, as they appeared at the courts, so far as it is really known.

John T. Stuart, the senior member of the firm of Stuart, Edwards & Browai, was born November 10, 1807, in Fayette county, about seven miles east of Lexington. Kentucky. He comes of good old Scotch-Irish stock and has inherited many of the peculiarities and fine qualities of that hardy race. Robert Stuart, the father of the subject of this sketch was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, and early in life adopted the pi'ofession of the Christian ministry. He removed from Virginia to Lexington, Kentucky, and became a jjrofessor of languages in Transylvania University. While a professor in this institution, he was there married to Hannah Todd, daughter of General Levi Todd.

During the earlier years of his life John T. Stuart remained with his parents upon a farm, attending the common schools in winter and assisting his parents in the summer in cultivating the soil. While yet young he entered Centre College, at Danville, Kentucky, pursuing a regular classical course, and graduating from that institution when but nineteen years of age. Immediately upon graduating, Mr. Stuart entered the law office of Judge Breck, in Richmond, Kentucky, and for two years pursued his studies under that eminent barrister. Having heard much of the "beautiful country of the Sangamo," and having relatives living in that favored region, he determined to emigrate there. Starting on horseback, he first made his way to Frankfort, Kentucky, and by the Supreme Court of that Sta'e was licensed as an "Attorney and Counselor at Law." In ten days he arrived in Springfield, weary and worn. A heavy rain had fallen the morning of hi.san-ival which had given to the houses of the village, Avhich were generally of logs daubed with mud, a dreary look, making him feel a little blue. His mind reverted to the pleasant home which he had left, surrounded by all the comforts of a civilized life, and he could but ^Yonder what the future would have in store for him, and whether the joys of the future would compensate for the pleasures left behind.

At this time Mr. Stuart had barely attained his majority, and in looks and actions had retained much of the boy about him. He was kindly received by the generous, open-hearted people, then living in Si)ringfield, but he tells a good story upon himself Avhich goes to shoM^ man's judgment is not always infallible. Billy Fagin, a shrewd, witty Irishman, as all Irishmen are, met him a few days after his arrival, and as common in that day, began to question him as to his past and future. He was asked where he was from, what he was here for, and what were his expectations. The questions were all answered as well as pos8iV)le, considering the surprise manifested at being thus quizzed by an entire stranger. "Noav," says Mr. Fagin, "would you like to know my opinion of you? " Mr. Stuart replied that he would not object to knowing it. " Well," says he, "it is my oj^inion you may be a j^retty fine man, but you stand a mighty poor show of meeting with success as a lawyer." Mr. Stuart laughed, but said nothing in reply.

The attorneys Mr. Stuart found at the Bar on his arrival, were James Adams, Thomas M. Neale, James Strode, Thomas Moffett and Jonathan H. Pugh, men of mark then, but all of whom have since died and have almost been forgotten, they being overshadowed by that brilliant galaxy of lawyers that came a few years after.

" Colonel John T. Stuart may be emphatically denominated the Nestor of the Bar of Springfield, Illinois, a body of men without superiors, if equals, in any State in the Union. We believe there is but one man now living in Illinois, who ante-dates him as a practitioner, and that man is William Thomas, of Jacksonville. John T. Stuart is a native of Kentucky, from whence he emigrated to Illinois in 1828, and located in the future capital. After the manner of the Kentucky school, he was thoroughly grounded in the history and elementary principles of the law, whereby he was enabled to elucidate and apply it to the cases which might arise on the circuit, with the aid of such authorities as one could carry in his head and saddle-bags. John T. Stuart is pre-eminently a man of reason, and if he be tried by the maxim, ' By their works shall ye know them,' he will come out all right. He was the tutor of one of the greatest men who ever lived, Abraham Lincoln, who imbibed his precepts, principles and methods. An important part of Lincoln's great character was the work of John T. Stuart. The leading traits of the subject may be summed up in the attributes of sterling integrity, great forecast, and strong will. In the management of professional business, he seeks first to understand his own side of the case, and next to penetrate the designs of his adversary, in which he never fails. He keeps his own batteries effectually masked, while those of the opposite side are closely scrutinized. He knows their calibre and position completely. It was this quality which made him so eminently successful as a politician. Such was his adroitness and sagacity that bis adversaries could never comprehend how he could obtain a knowledge of their plans; therefore they dubbed him " Jerry Sly." No one, however, ever suspected him of even the slightest breach of faith or dishonorable dealing. He was fastidiously sincere in all his professions and engagements. There wa,8 no trouble in discerning the attitude of John T. Stuart, but in regard to his plans, either political or professional, he was perfectly inscrutable. Whatever you had a right to know he would communicate with the greatest cheerfulness; but whatever he had a right to conceal, no man could find out. Stuart always believed in the efiicacy of labor, and worked his cases well. He was eminently conscientious with his clients, and never allowed them, if he could prevent it, to go to law for a profitable wrong or an unprofitable right. He has done more than any other man in the State to discourage frivolous litigation. He has always taken a great interest in assisting young men, aiding them by his counsel in the management of their cases, and by inspiring them with confidence and laudable ambition. His veneration for the profession of the law is very great, and anything like unworthy conduct, tending to lower it in the estimation of honorable men, calls out his prompt and decided animadversion. There is not a particle of envy in his composition. He deals out equal and impartial justice to all men. He scorns everything like ostentation or display, and desires to gain his cases upon their merits, and not otherwise.

His character for honesty and fair dealing gave him a })ower few hold upon courts and juries, and made him almost invincible. He has passed now into the sere and yellow leaf, and, of course, seldom engages in the active duties of the profession; Ijiit his old clients and friends cannot be induced to dispense with his counsel and advice, and he has not yet been permitted to doif the harness he has so long and honorably worn. It would, perhaps, be enough to establish the fame of John T. Stuart upon a solid and enduring basis, to say, as can be truthfully said of him, that throughout all those long years he practiced with and was the recognized peer of such men as Stephen T. Logan, Abraham Lincoln, Milton Hay, John M. Palmer, and a host of others whose lives will adorn the pages of our judicial history so long as talent and worth shall be appreciated."

In politics, Mr. Stuart is a disciple of Henrj- Clay, and therefore a Whig of the old school. He loved the old Whig party as- he loved his life, and has scarcely yet realized that the party is dead. In 1832, when but twenty-five years of age, he was elected for the first time a member of the legislature, and re-elected in 1834. In the House he made a useful member, ever at his post, and ever looking forward to advance the interests of his constituents. In those days the question of internal improvements was the leading issue before the people, and JVIr. Stuart strongly advocated every measure, that in his opinion, would tend to develo}) the industries of the country. It may be well to remark here, that in these views Mr. Stuart has always been consistent, there hardly being a measure proposed for the advancement of public interests but what has found in him a strong advocate. More enterprises of a public character will be found in which he has figured than any other man in the county.

In 1836, Mr. Stuart was nominated by his party for Representative in Congress, and made the race against VVilliam L. May, of Springfield. In this race Mr. Stuart was beaten, as he reall)' expected to be, he making the race with a view of solidifying his party, which was in a large minority in the district, and doubtless with the hope that it w^ould benefit him in future campaigns, in 1838, he was again nominated in opposition to Stephen A. Douglas, w^ho was even then developing the poM^ers which afterwards made him so famous, and the leader of a great party. In this campaign Mr. Stuart was successful, and therefore became a member of the Twenty-fifth Congress. In 1840, he was again a candidate, and again elected. In Congress, Mr. Stuart made no special effort to become prominent, being content to be recognized as one of the working members of that body, but that he was not without influence is illustrated in the fact that he secured the passage of an appropriation for a harbor at Chicago, the first appropriation, it is thought, ever passed for that purpose. The member from Detroit, Michigan, and Mr. Stuart were the only w^estern members securing an appropriation that session.

In 1842, Mr. Stuart declined a re-election to Congress and again resumed the active practice of law; but in 1848, he was prevailed upon to accept the nomination for State Senator in the district composed of the counties of Sangamon, Mason and Menard. He served the term of four years for w^hich he was elected, with marked ability, but from that time until 1862 he was virtually out of politics, though a firm supporter of Millard Fillmore, in 1856, and Joliii Bell, in 1860, for the Presidency. Fillmore and Bell were both old Whigs, and while representing other parties and running upon other issues, he yet believed them to be sufficiently imbued with the Whig leaven as to merit his earnest support.

Mr. Stuart is by nature a conservative man and a believer in the Constitution of our fathers. While being j^rogressive in matters affecting business interests, in political affairs he has been favorable to no change that would violently affect the convictions of a lifetime. During the dark days of the war, it was always his earnest hope that President Lincoln would pursue a conservative course. He believed in subduing the rebellion, and in a vigorous prosecution of the war, but desired nothing should be done by the Union authorities that would disarrange the existing order of things - the war must be carried on in a Constitutional way; that institution must be kept inviolate by all -Aho had swoi'n to protect it. In 1862, Mr. Stuart announced himself a candidate for Congress in a circular addressed To the Voters of the Eighth Congressional District," in the following terms:

" Fellow Citizens: I announce myself a candidate to represent you in the next Congress. If any apology is needed for my mode of doing so, I offer it in the following facts: My political life dates back to a time anterior to party conventions, to a time when it was the practice of myself and others to come before you for your suffrages self-nominated. I am only doing now what I have repeatedly done before, when I announced myself a candidate for your suffrages, tbree times for Cong-ress and as often for the legislature. Again, I ever, during its existence, belonged to the Whig party. Since the dissolution of that party, I have attached myself to no ^other; I, therefore, can appeal to no party convention, and nothing is left to me but to declare myself a candidate independent of any i^arty organization, and free to serve my country in such manner as duty to her interests may dictate. Frankness further requires me to say, that I become a candidate not because any friends have pressed me to do so, but because ray own inclinations have so prompted, stimulated by the hope that the contingency has now arisen, or soon will arise, when I may be of service to our beloved country in her hour of trial, and aid in preserving that glorious Union which our fathers formed. I aim thus to discharge the obligations which I owe to the country, in the circumstances in which it is placed. Whether you will consider it to be your duty to vote for or against me, is a question for you to decide. Your confidence would be a source of great gratification to me.

"I am for 'the Union, the Constitution and the enforcement of the laws.' This creed expresses my views in the briefest manner. It is appropriate to the circumstances of the country. I believe in it as a whole, and in every part, without qualification or condition, and to it I pledge myself with every faculty of ray nature. I believe the Union which our fathers formed was designed by them to be perpetual. It owes its origin to a patriotism, statesmanship and wise forecast, of which the world furnishes few, if any, parallels; it has been most benificient in its results; it has secured to us, as a nation, in a most remarkable degree, the blessings of civil liberty, domestic tranquility and safety from foreign aggression. In that Union has been our strength. The advantages flowing from that Union, coupled with our great natural gifts, has Secured to us a growth, as a nation, without a parallel in the history of the world. \Yith this Union preserved we might hope to transmit all these blessings and continued prosperity, to the reraotest generations of our posterity. With the Union dissevered our hopes can linger on no such glorious vision. After so sad a catastrophe the future presents our once united and happy country, divided into two, perhaps raany parts, discordant, warring, drenched in fraternal blood, and finally seeking the strong arm of the despot to save her from anarchy. Such has been the fate of other republics. God grant that such may not be ours, or that of our children.

Need I add that I regard it to be my duty, as it is that of every other citizen, to maintain and preserve it. How is that Union to be maintained and preserved? I answer, by the use, if necessary, of all the ample powers vested by the Constitution in the General Government. Our Union is based upon a written Constitution, embodying the contract by which the people formed a perpetual Union and erected a government limited in power as to the subject matter for its exercise, but supreme wherever given. It is only by virtue of that Constitution that the General Government can claim and enforce the obedience of all the parts and sections of the Union, to such laws and acts as are made and done in pursuance of that Constitution. These powers are ample, if wisely used. Indeed, we have a strong government. That Constitution provides no mode of dissolving the Union. It has no sanction for secession. When, therefore, the people of the South make the effort, by force, to free themselves from the obligations which they owe under the Constitution to the Union, they become rebels and traitors, seeking by revolution to destroy the Union, and it is the right and becomes the duty of the General Government, to put down that rebellion and stay that revolution by the use, for that purpose, of all its constitutional powers. Were it to resort to any other powers, or to means outside of the Constitution, the Government would itself inaugurate a revolution. The Southern revolution threatens us with anarchy; such a revolution by the Government, would lead to a military despotism. I refrain from the discussion of past questions, the tendency of which would be to irritate, and shed no light upon any future duty.

" Whatever may have been our differences of opinion upon such past questions, the one great question which now presses upon us ought to admit of no differences of opinion. In the deadly struggle now existing between the Government and armed rebellion there can be no other alternative left to all such as would preserve the Union, maintain the Constitution, and enforce the laws, but to fight it out to the bitter end - fight, not to gratify a long pent-up hatred and desire for revenge - fight, not as a means of accomplishing some object which cannot be done under the Constitution, but fight to conquer a peace - such a pe.-ice as will preserve the integrity of the Union and the majesty of the Constitution and the law - such a peace as will degrade no section of the Union.

duty, so far as that position would give me the power, to place at the disposal of the Executive, all the resources of the Government, required to enable him to exercise his constitutional powers and perform his duty under the Constitution, or to add to the comfort or efficiency of our gallant soldiers while fighting the battles of the Union.

"One thing further I would add, not necessary, perhaps, in this connection, but I wish to say it, and the occasion is at least not unfit. jNlr. Lincoln and myself, as most of you know, have been closely connected for more than a quarter of a century, by many ties, the recollection of which is very dear to me. Difference in political opinion since 1856, has in no wise diminished my respect for the man, or the unbounded confidence I have ever bad in his personal integrity. I believe he entertains an ardent desire, and is struggling to preserve the Union and Constitution as our fathers made them; and, as a matter of feeling, as well as duty, I would rather aid than embarrass him in all such efforts. If my voice could now reach his ear, I would be glad to say to him: Follow the dictates of your own clear head and patriotic heart, and preserve the Union by the ample powers conferred upon you by the Constitution, and repulse from you any faction, if such there be, which would goad you into a resort to revolutionary means; and for a Union and a Constitution so preserved, history will erect monuments for you by the side of Washington. Your obedient servant,

Mr. Stuart was triumphantly elected, receiving the entire Democratic vote, and that of hundreds of Republicans. In Sangamon county, where he was personally known by every voter, he ran far ahead of his ticket. The people believed in him, trusted in him. In Congress he endeavored to act faithfully to his convictions. The Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln he o^^posed, for the reason he believed it unnecessary, and the objects for which it was issued could more readily be attained in other ways. It is due to him to say that he now believes that " all was for the best."

In 1864, Mr Stuart received the Democratic nomination for Congress, but was defeated by Shelby M. Cullom, From that time he has ceased to take an active part in political life.

It may truly be said of him that he never was a politician in the commonly accepted definition of the term. Politics with him is the science of government, and in his entire political career he

As already stated, Mr. Stuart has always taken an active part in all matters of public interest. No man in Sangamon county is entitled to more credit for the excellent railroad system of this county. He has been prominently identified with each, and has served as President of one or more, Director and Attorney of several of them. In 1866, he was elected President of the Springfield City Railway Company, President of the Springfield Watch Company and President of the Bettie Stuart Boai'd of Trustees. He was one of the three Commissioners for building of the new State House. As Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Lincoln Monument Association, it devolved upon him to do more than any other one man in suj^erintending the erection of that monument to the memory of his life-long friend, Abraham Lincoln,

In educational matters Mr. Stuart has likewise been prominently identified. The old Illinois State University, the predecessor of the German Lutheran Concordia College, took much of his time, and in the Bettie Stuart Institute he has ever felt great interest.

John T. Stuart and Mary V. Nash, a daiaghter of General Frank Nash, and niece of Judge Lockwood, were united in marriage at Jacksonville, Illinois, October 25, 1887. The union has been a happy one. Six children were born unto them - Bettie, afterwards the wife of C. C. Brown, and for whom the Bettie Stuart Institute is named, since deceased; John T., Frank N., Virginia L., Hannah and Robert.

Socially, there is nothing to be said of Mr. Stuart but what is good. As a husband and father, he is kind and affectionate; as a neighbor, he is friendly and accommodating; as a citizen, he is public spirited and helpful. The poor in him have always found a friend, the cry of distress from the unfortunate always touches his heart, and he is ever ready to hearken unto their cry and minister to their w^ants. The young love him; the middle aged trust him; the old lean upon him as a friend; and all trust him. The golden rule has always been the rule of his life. He has shown his love to God by his love of his fellow-man. John T. Stuart is a grand, good man, and when called upon by the Judge of the Universe to a higher court, his place here will remain vacant; it cannot be filled and he will not be forgotten.

born in 1812. He read law and was admitted to practice in his native State; came to Illinois and settled in Springfield in 1834, and has been a resident of the city ever since. In 1838 he was appointed Circuit Judge, and filled the office until 1841. He was then elected Judge of the Supreme Court of Illinois, serving till 1855, when he was chosen to the Bench of the United States District Court, which position he has filled with distinguished ability for more than a quarter of a century. Judge Treat is admirably adapted, both by nature and education, for the bench, and has few equals in the judiciary of this country.

Benjamin S. Edwards, for forty years an honored member of the Sangamon County Bar, is the youngest son of Hon. Ninian Edwards, the first Governor of the Territory of Illinois, afterwards United States Senator and Governor of the State, was born June 3, 1818, in Edwardsville, Madison county, Illinois. He graduated from Yale College in the class of 1838, studied law at the law school connected with that college, in 1839, completed his preparatory studies for the profession with Hon. Stephen T. Logan, deceased, of Springfield, and began practicing in March, 1840, with such competitors as Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, S. T. Logan, E. D. Baker, Jesse B. Thomas, Mr. Mcr)ougal, Mr. Lamborn, and other legal lights. In 1843, Mr. Edwards entered into partnership with Hon. John T. Stuart, in Springfield, which still exists, having continued thirty-eight years. He has studiously and zealously applied himself to the profession, paying little attention to politics. He was chosen a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1862, representing Sangamon county. He was, without his knowledge or consent, nominated for Congress on the Democratic ticket, in 1868, and greatly reduced the ordinary Republican majority, though opposed to Governor CuUom in the contest. At the solicitation of the Bar and the people, Mr. Edwards became a candidate for Judge of the Circuit Court, in 1869; was elected, and discharged the judicial duties with satisfaction to lawyers and litigants. When the circuit was enlarged. Judge Edwards retired from the bench, and has since devoted himself entirely to legal labors. Judge Edwards honors the profession he has faithfully represented, for more than forty years, and has won an enviable reputation, both as a superior lawyer and a thorough gentleman.

Jersey, and prepared for college. He entered Princeton in 1833, and graduated in 1835. He then entered the law office of Henry A. Ford, and read law for three years. In the fall of 1838, he came to Springfield, Illinois, was licensed by the Supreme Court of the State the following winter, and at once commenced the practice of law. Soon thereafter he formed a partnership with Cyrus A. Walker, then one of the leading attorneys of the State, and who, though living at Macomb, in McDonough county, practiced in the courts of Springfield. This arrangement continued for about two years, when he formed a partnership with General James A, Shields, of Mexican war fame, and who subsequently, at intervals, represented three States in the United States Senate.

In 1845 Mr. Conkling was elected Mayor of Springfield and served one term. In 1851 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives of tlje General Assembly of the State, and again in 1866. His object in accepting the nomination was for the purpose of securing an appropriation for the building of a new State House, and by that means forever to secure Springfield as the permanent seat of government of the State. It will be remembered that at this time the question of removal Avas being agitated by the press and people throughout the State. Peoria, Bloomington, Decatur, Chicago and other places were anxious to secure its location. A new State House had become an absolute necessity, the old having become too small for the proper transaction of business of the State. At the session of the legislature, in the winter of 1866-67, Mr. Conkling was made a member of the committee on ])ublic buildings, and also chairman of the Judiciary committee. As a member of the former he drew a bill for an appropriation, which after considerable delay was reported to the House. Here the fight raged furiou>ly between friends and opponents of the measure. Several days were spent in discussion, and while one of the opponents of the measure, who had been selected to close the debate, was making his speech, Mr. Conkling learned tbe bill had no enacting clause, the engrossing clerk having left it off the bill as presented. Calling Isaac Keys. Mr. Conkling proceeded to the office of the engrossing clerk and compelled him to restore the enacting clause, and supply words that had been omitted or changed from the original bill. Returning to the House with the true copy, it was given to the clerk and the vote taken. A majority of two votes was obtained for the bill. Mr. Conkling deserves great credit for his efforts in tKis connection. He had to tight against great odds. Leading men in Springfield who had been working for months to the same end, before the bill was put upon its passage, became discouraged and abandoned the field.

In 1863 Mr. Conkling was appointed by Governor Y^ates, State Agent to settle the claims of the State against the general government for equipments furnished volunteers. The duty was performed to the satisfaction of the State.

As a lawyer, Mr. Conkling ranks among the ablest. He is regarded by many as the most eloquent member of the Bar at the present time, and some of his oratical efforts are considered equal to any of the productions of Edward Everett.

James C. Conkling and Mercy A. Lovering were united in marriage September 21, 1841, in Baltimore, Maryland. Five children were born unto them - Clinton L., Charles, James, Annie v., and Alice.

James C. Conkling is a man of great enterprise and business activity. He has used much of his wealth in building enterprises and for the encouragement of manufactures. He is a member of the Second Presbyterian Church of Springfield, and for many years has been a ruling elder in that body.

James H. Matheny, the present County Judge was born in St. Clair county, Illinois, October 30, 1818. In the spring of 1821 he was brought by his parents, Charles R., and Jemima Matheny, to Springfield, w^here he has since continued to reside. He now lays claim to be the oldest living resident of the city. Judge Matheny's life has been an active one. At fifteen years of age he was employed as clerk in the Postoflice and the Recorder's oflice, transacting the entire business of each, and probably having a little leisure to engage in such sports as were common to the youths of that age. It is well known that he enjoyed a little fun when a boy, and now that time has sprinkled his hair with gi'ay he still enjoys a good joke. In 1839 he was appointed Deputy Clerk of the Supreme Court and served for a time. In 1841 he entered the office of Baker & Bledsoe as a law student, and for two years pursued his studies, being admitted to the Bar in 1843. Instead of seeking a country where he was not known, he "hung out his shingle" in Springfield, where he was raised and where he was known by almost every one. He soon secured a good practice, and from that time to the present, he has never lacked for clients. As a jury-lawyer, he ranks high, and has been retained in many of the most prominent cases before the courts of Sangamon and adjoining counties. He is an effective speaker, with power to move a jury at will. His perceptive faculties are large, and he can quick,ly grasp a point or penetrate the aims of an adversary.

In 1845 he was united in marriage with Maria L. Lee, and by her had seven children - Lee, Edward Dow, Lucy, Nora, James H., Jr., Ralph C, and Robert W.

Judge Matheny has held many important public positions, and has always discharged his trusts in a faithful manner. In addition to those already mentioned, he was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1848, and was elected Clerk o^ the Circuit Court, in 1852, and served one term of four years. During* the war he was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the 130th Regiment Illinois Infantry. After the capture of Yicksburg he was on detached duty, holding military courts until 1864, when his regiment was consolidated with another, and he resigned. In November, 1873, he was elected Judge of the County Court of Sangamon County, and re-elected in 18*77, without opposition.

In the "good old days of the Whig party" Judge Matheny was an earnest defender of its principles, his first Presidential vote being given for William Henry Harrison in the campaign of 1840. During that campaign, in company with nine other young men, he made a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, to hear Henry Clay speak. This journey required about five weeks, as the party went in their own private conveyance and camped out of nights. On the dissolution of the Whig party, Judge Matheny acted for a short time with the American and Republican parties, but on account of the conservative tendency of his mind, he finally drifted into the Democratic ranks, and usually votes that ticket. He is not a modern politician by any means, and never has antagonized the better element of opposing parties. When running for office, he invariably leads his ticket, in consequence of personal popularity, and for the reason he does not antagonize.

In the meetings of the Old Settlers' Society he has always taken a deep interest, and was selected to make the first annual address. This address will be found elsewhere in this work. For several years he has held the position of Secretary of the Society, and no man would be missed more in its meetings.

nois in 1820, and Sangamon County in 182], in company with his parents. The schools of Springtiehl he attended, as the opportunity offered, until 1830, when he entered Illinois College, at Jacksonville, but only attended one year, being removed by his father in conseipience of the Abolition excitement then pending, and which resulted in the death of Lovejoy, at Alton. The elder Herndon was inclined to be pro-slavery in his views, and did not care to have his son have Abolition sentiments instilled in his mind by the professors in the Jacksonville institution. It is probable, judging from later events, that the removal was accomplished when it was too late. After his removal from the college, iie clerked in a store for several years, and in 1842 entered the law office of Lincoln cfc Logan, where he read two years and was admitted to the Bar in 1844. The partnership of Lincoln & Logan now being dissolved, Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Herndon became partners, a relation which was never formally dissolved, and which existed mitil the death of Mr. Lincoln, though other temporary arrangements were effected,by Mr. Herndon after Mr. Lincoln entered upon the duties of the Presidency. Tbe tirst arrangement was a partnershij) with Chas. S. Zane, which continued until Mr. Zane's elevation to the Bench, when a partnership was entered into with A. Orendorff, which continued until Mr. Herndon's removal to the country in March, 186V. Before he left the city, he wrote and delivered four lectures on the character and life of Abraham Lincoln.

Mr. Herndon has always been a great reader, and the questions of political economy and the science of mind have ever been with him favorite studies. The science of law has also been an interesting study to him. He always desires to go to the bottom of every subject, and wishes to reach it the quickest way possible. The little quibbles of the shyster disgusts him, and the red tapeism of the law affords him no pleasure.

In the days of the old Whig party, Mr. Herndon was an advocate of its principles, and the " hard cider campaign" of 1840, was the first in w^iich he participated. He was always an opponent of slavery, and on the organization of the Republican party he became one of its strongest advocates.

Mr. Herndon has never been an office-seeker, and the public positions that he has held have come to him unsought. He has held the offices of City Attorney, Mayor of Springfield, Bank Commissioner for the State, under Governors

William H. Herndon and Mary J. Maxcy was married in Sangamon County March 26, 1840. '1 hey have had six children. Mrs. Herndon died August 18, 1860, and Mr. Herndon was married July 31, 1861, to Anna Miles, by whom he has had two children.

Norman M. Broadwell, attorney-at-law, was born in Morgan county, Illinois, in 1825. Baxter Broadwell, his father, and Mary Lindley, both New Jersey people by birth, married near Cincinnati, Ohio, and were among the first settlers in Morgan county, where they died a number of years ago. Judge Broadwell received his chief literary education in his native county; came to Springfield and commenced reading law with Abraham Lincoln and William H. Herndon, in 1851, and was admitted near the close of the same year. He had begun the study of medicine and continued it some months previously, but not liking it, abandoned the idea. Upon being admitted to the Bar, Mr. Broadwell at once entered upon practice, which he has zealously and successfully prosecuted, with but slight interruptions, nearly a third of a century. He has had several law partners during these years, among them such eminent attorneys as Governor S. M. CuUom, General John A. McClernand and Hon. William M. Springer. The first cause he ever tried in a court of record, Abraham Lincoln was opposed to him as counsel, and the last cause Mr. Lincoln ever tried in the Springfield counts, Mr. Broadwell was his associate counsel. Judge Broadwell has ever been an ardent devotee of his profession, which he honors, and paid little attention to politics. He was, however, elected to the State Legislature in the fall of 1860, from the Sangamon county district, on the Democratic ticket, being the only successful candidate of his party in the county that year. In 1862 he was elected County Judge, served three years, and was chosen Mayor of Springfield in 1867, and re-elected in 1869. Judge Broadwell was united in marriage to Virginia lies, in Springfield, in 1856. She is a native of Sangamon county, Illinois, and is the mother of four daughters and one son. Judge Broadwell is a PastMaster in the Masonic Order.

William J. Conkling was born in New York City in 1826; emigrated to Ohio in 18-31 and to McLean county, Illinois, in 1839. Attended Oberlin College for a time, but left in his junior year. Came to Springfield in 1853, read law for two years and was admitted to the Bar. For some years he had a lucrative practice, but of late years he has devoted himself more to the real estate business.