St. Clair County, Illinois - Chapter 11: The Bench and Bab, 1881

Chapter 11: The Bench and Bab

MONG the men who took part in laying the foundations of the great State of Illinois there is, perhaps, no class which stands out with greater prominence than the early members of her bench and bar. To them pre-eminently belongs the credit of shaping the public sentiment of the commonwealth. The legal profession, then more than now, brought its members into public life. Every lawyer, according to the breadth of his mind and the sagacity of his views, was either statesman or politician. To him every honorable position in the gift of the state opened its doors. In every movement of the times he was the pioneer of thought and the advanced guard of action. Of many of these eminent men St. Clair county was the home, and of those who practiced at her bar a large proportion reached positions of prominence and distinction, and acquired reputations wider than the boundaries of their state.

Previous to the organization of St. Clair county there were no regular courts in Illinois. The administration of law was very imperfect, and consisted of a mixture of the civil law as adopted by the French, the arbitrary enactments of the British commandants at Fort Chartres, and such regulations as had been instituted by the Virginia authorities.

By the ordinance of 1787, the common law of England was extended over the North-west territory, of which Illinois was then a part. The French inhabitants who had professed themselves citizens of Virginia were allowed to enjoy their laws and customs relative to the descent and conveyance of property. St. Clair county, on its organization in 1790, was divided into the three judicial districts of Cahokia, Prairie du Rocher and Kaskaskia. The judges were John Edgar, of ^Kaskaskia ; Jean Baptiste Barbeau, of Prairie du Rocher ; and John De Moulin, of Cahokia. Though the judges, sheriff, and clerk, had jurisdiction over all three districts, still each district had its own grand jury, and the citizens of one district could not be sued in another. A writ dated at Cahokia would not run at Kaskaskia.

The court of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions, held at Cahokia in the year 1790, had on its docket sixty-five cases, of which sixty-two were of a civil nature. The civil cases covered actions in debt, trespass, covenant, attachment, and ejectment. In seventeen of these cases Philip Rocheblave was plaintiff. In the first suit tried by this court, Bridget O'Hara was plaintiff, and John McGarr defendant. Of the three criminal cases two were for assault and battery, and one for larceny. John Sullivan and Hugh Crisholm were the unfortunate individuals against whom the proceedings were had for assault. The charge of larceny against Jeau Baptiste Menard could not be sustained.

and came thence to Cahokia. He had a liberal education, and was well-versed in the civil law. For several years he was also colonel (if the St. Clair county militia. He had a large and portly figure, and took great pride in his appearance on parade days, on which occasions he wore, generally, a fine military dress. His character and conduct were those of a gentleman, and he was not unfitted to head the long list of able judges who have occupied the bench in Ht. Clair county.

Early Lawyers At Cahokia

The first lawyer to practice before the courts of St. Clair county, was John Rice Jones, who was born in Wales in 1759, received a classical education, studied law in England, and became a resident of Kaskaskia in 1790. He was the pioneer member of the bar of this state. His practice extended from Kaskaskia to Vincennes and Louisville. Previous to his coming to Illinois he had practiced his profession in Philadelphia, and in 1787, removed from that city to Vincennes. He possessed a sound and active mind, was an accomplished scholar, and especially fond of the science of mathematics. His legal attainments were profound, and he would have been conspicuous at any bar. As a speaker, his capacity for invective under excitement was extraordinary. His excellent knowledge of the French language was of great advantage in enabling him to transact business for the French population. He never permitted himself to be idle, nor engaged in light or frivolous amusements. He was a man of strong passions, and had a high degree of personal courage. In the year 1802, he moved back to Vincennes, and in 1810, became a resident of Missouri. He was chosen one of the judges of the supreme court of that state and died in 1824, while holding that position.

The first resident lawyer of St. Clair county was Isaac Darnielle who opened an office at Cahokia in the year 1794. His early life had been spent in Maryland. Nature had given him a strong intellect, and in early life his faculties had been well-disciplined by study. He was an agreeable speaker, his manners and appearance were prepossessing, and he became conspicuous and popular at the bar, though lack of attention to his profession prevented him from becoming an able lawyer. The courts and juries of that day were not, however, remarkably well-versed in technical learning, and before these tribunals he could figure with ease and safety. He became well acquainted with the land titles of Illinois, and bought and sold large tracts of land. He is said to have been educated for the ministry, and at one tiaae to have occupied the pulpit. He had no ambition to become wealthy. He was indolent in disposition. His greatest weakness was a conspicuous fondness for the fair sex. At the court of Venus he practiced with consummate art and with more studious assiduity than was given to the legal profession. He never married, and yet apparently was never without a wife. He was large and portly in person, easy and graceful in manners, and paid much more attention to his dress than was common at that day. He never indulged in drinking and gaming, and with the exception of his one failing, was moral and correct in his deportment. He had no malice or bitterness in his composi- - tion. His only aim seemed to be to lead an easy and luxurious life. At one time, while in the zenith of his glory, he was the beau ideal of Cahokia ; but his course of life brought its inevitable consequences. He was compelled to abandon his profession, and when an old man, was left without means of support or sincere friends. Toward the close of his life he taught school in the western part of Kentucky, where he died in the year 1830, at the age of sixty.

this country, he taught school some time in Pennsylvania. While in that state he read law. He then came West, and, according to Gov. Reynolds, reached Cahokia as if he had dropped down from the clouds - without horse, clothes, books, letters, or anything except himself, a rather singular and uncouth-looking Irishman. In early days he was not a scholar, but by application and severe study acquired a sound knowledge of the law. Gov. Edwards in 1814 appointed him attorney-general for the territory of Illinois. He made an able and efficient prosecuting attorney. When the county seat was removed from Cahokia to Belleville, he moved to the latter place, where he died in 1826. He was elected at one time clerk of the House of Representatives. He made a comfortable living from his practice, but had no talent for speculation or acquiring wealth. In 1809 Samuel D. Davidson, a lawyer by profession, settled at Cahokia. His attempts to practice law did not meet with success. He was a young man of upright deportment, but of slight force of character. A fine hand-writing was about the beginning and end of his talents. He taught school for a time in Cahokia, entered the military service during the war of 1812, and affer the war left Cahokia for "parts unknown."

Among the lawyers who attended the St. Clair county courts about the year 1808, were Benjamin H. Doyle, James Haggin, and John Rector. Doyle came to Kaskaskia from Knox county, Tennessee, in 1805. He possessed a good address, and by careful study would have made a good lawyer. Haggin was also a Kentuckian. He settled at Kaskaskia in 1804, and practiced in the courts of Randolph and St. Clair counties. He was a young man of considerable promise. After trying life on the frontier for a few years, he returned to Kentucky, where he became very prominent. Rector settled at Kaskaskia in 1806, but only remained a few years.

Sessions of the Court at Belleville. - The first session of court at Belleville was presided over by Jesse B. Thomas, one of the United States judges who held the territorial courts in Illinois. Judge Thomas was a man of talented mind, though his inclinations rather fitted hipi for the active field of politics than the dry subtleties of the law. In 1818 he was elected from St. Clair county a member of the convention which framed the first constitution of the state, and was chosen the president of that body. The same year he was elected to the United States Senate. He was a gentleman of fine appearance and address, and whether in the senate, on the bench, or in any public assemblage, possessed a dignified and respectful bearing. William Sprigg was the colleague of Judge Thomas, and with him presided over the Illinois territorial courts.

At the session of the court held at Belleville on the 12th of June, 1815, Jesse B. Thomas acted as judge, and William Mears as prosecuting attorney. In the year 1817 the territory of Illinois was divided into three judicial circuits. St. Clair county was included in the first circuit, over which Jesse B. Thomas presided. At the term of court in 1817, C. R. Matheny attended to the duties of prosecuting attorney. At the March term, 1818, Daniel Pope Cook acted as judge, and at the July term of the same year John Warnock presided over the court. John Reynolds held his first term of court at Belleville in February, 1819, and likewise presided over the following June term. Daniel P. Cook appeared as attorney-general. Joseph Phillips, chief justice, held court in November, 1819, and June, 1820. At the November term, Nicholas Hanson and W. H. Brown acted as prosecuting attorneys, and at the June term William Mears appeared in that capacity. For eleven successive terms, from August, 1820, to August, 1824, John Reynolds held court. At the March term, 1825, Samuel McRoberts presided as judge, and at the August term, 1825, and the March and August terms, 1826, Richard M. Young occupied the bench.

In 1827 St. Clair county became a part of the second judicial circuit. Theophilus W. Smith held court for five terms, ending in August, 1828. Thomas C. Brown held the August term, 1829. Theophilus W. Smith then presided over ten successive terms, reaching up to April, 1834. At the March term, 1835, Thomas Ford occupied the bench in the absence of Sidney Breese. Sidney Breese presided over the terms of court from 1835 to 1842, with the exception that the November terra, 1840, was held by W. B. Scates, judge of the third judicial district, in Judge Breese's absence.

James Semple was judge at the May terra, 1843. At the October term, 1843, and the May and October terms, 1844, James Shields was on the bench. From 1845 to 1849 the sessions of the court were held by Gustavus Koerner; from 1849 to 1855 by Wm. H. Underwood; from 1855 to 1857, by Sidney Breese; from 1857 to 1861, by Williara H.Snyder; from 1861 to 1873, by Joseph Gillespie; and since 1873, by William H. Snyder. St Clair county now forms part of the twenty-fourth judicial circuit. Judge Watts and Judge Wall of that circuit have presided over occasional terms of court at Belleville.

The Early State Courts

The first judges of the supreme court of the state were all young men and without long practice at the bar. Reynolds observes that the law was administered at that day with less form and ceremony, yet with as much equity and justice as at a more modern date.

" The first court I held,' ' says Gov. Reynolds, " was in the spring of 1819, in Covington, Washington county, and it was to me a strange and novel business. I commenced ray official business among my old comrades with whora 1 had been raised - ranged in the war with them, and lived with them in great intimacy and equality, so that it was difficult, in my situation, to assume a different relationship than I had previously occupied with them. And, moreover, I utterly detested a kind of mock dignity, that sometimes is assumed. Both the sherifi" and clerk of the court of Washington county were rangers in the same company with myself, and it seemed we were still in the United States service, ranging on equal terms in pursuit of the Indians. And it appears that the sheriff. Bowling Green, entertained the same opinion, as he opened the court in a very familiar manner. While sitting astride a bench in the court-house, he proclaimed without rising, that 'the court is now opened, John is on the bench.' This was my familiar name in the war.

"Not long after, in Union County, the deputy shc^riff opened the court, (myself presiding), by saying : ' Oh, yes !' three times, and theii in a solemn manner proclaimed : ' The Honorable Judge is now opened.' He mistook the judge for the court. This mistake created muoh mefriioent, when the occasion should have been serious.

I knew that a solemn, serious dignity and decorum were necessary and proper in the proceedings of courts, but in my case, and the officers generally, it was almost impossible to assume that character."

Gov. Ford in his history of the state relates the following of Reynolds : " This same judge presided at a court in which a man named Green was convicted of murder, and it became his unpleasant duty to pronounce sentence of death upon the culprit. He called the prisoner before him, and said to him : 'Mr. Green, the jury in their verdict say you are guilty of murder, and the law says you are to be hung. Now, I want you and all your friends on Indian Creek to know that it is not I who condemn you, but it is the jury and the law. Mr. Green, the law allows you time for preparation, and so the court wants to know what time you would like to be hung.' To this the prisoner replied, ' May it please the court, I am ready at any time; those who kill the body have no power to kill the soul ; my preparation is made, and I am ready to suffer at any time the court may appoint.' The judge then said : ' Mr. Green, you must know that it is a very serious matter to be hung; it can't happen to a man more than once in his life, and you had better take all the time you can get. The court will give you until this day four weeks. Mr. Clerk, look at the almanac, and see whether this day four weeks comes on Sunday.' The clerk looked at the almanac, as directed, and reported that 'that day four weeks came on Thursday.' The judge then said, 'Mr. Green, the court gives you until this day four weeks, at which time you are to be hung.'

The case was prosecuted by James Turney, the Attorney General of the state, who here interposed, and said : ' May it please the court, on solemn occasions like the present, when the life of a human being is to be sentenced away for crime, by an earthly tribunal, it is usual and proper for courts to pronounce a formal sentence, in which the leading features of the crime shall be brought to the recollection of the prisoner, a sense of his guilt impressed upon his conscience, and in which the prisoner should be duly exhorted to repentance, and warned against the judgment in the world to come.' To this the judge replied, 'O! Mr. Turney, Mi*. Green understands the whole matter as well as if I had preached to him a month. He knows he has got to be hung this day four weeks. You understand it in that way, Mr. Green, don't you?' 'Yes,' said the prisoner; upon which the judge remanded him to jail, and the court then adjourned."

It should be said, however, that Reynolds in his work entitled " My Own Times," denies this story, and calls it a "silly fabrication." He says, "I may not have acted in that rigid, unfeeling and mechanical manner that would please heartless and superficial men, who generally write and detail these tea-pot slanders., * * I considered them both (alluding also to Bennett, sentenced at Belleville) guilty, and the judgment of the court was so understood, that they were both to be executed.

Former Resident Lawyers At Belleville

Two of the early members of the bar at Belleville were J. W. Whitney and John Turner, both of whom became residents of the county-seat about the year 1816. Whitney bore the soubriquet of " My Lord Coke,") whether from his physical or mental resemblance to the great English lawyer, is not stated) and removed from Belleville to Pike county. Turner became a resident of Galena, and in 1826 was a member of the state legislature, then in session at Vandalia. He was a gentleman of agreeable disposition and fine talents, but died while yet a young man. Alphonso C. Stuart, a lawyer by profession, settled in Belleville in 1816. He was born at Claremont, New Hampshire, in 1789. He received a collegiate education, graduating from Dartmouth College about the year 1812. On coming to Belleville he entered on the practice of his profession, but

David Blackwell became a member of the Belleville bar about the year 1819, and was a resident of the town till his death. He was a lawyer of good mind and excellent abilities. He was active inhis opposition to the proposed introduction of slavery into Illinois, and during the campaign of 1824 edited a paper at Vandalia, in which he earnestly fought the movement to change the state constitution. John Reynolds, for many years a conspicuous figure among the Belleville lawyers, opened a law-office at Cahokia early in the year 1814. He was born in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, in February, 1778. When he was six months old his parents moved with the family to the vicinity of Knoxville in East Tennessee, when, in the year 1800, they emigrated to Illinois. Reynolds was sent back to East Tennessee, to be educated, and there attended Knox College. In 1807 the family moved to the Goshen settlement, in Madison county, and settled at the foot of the bluff, three or four miles southwest of Edwardsville. He relates that, as a youth, he was active and energetic, attended all the house-raisings and other gatherings of the people, and never missed a horse-race nor a Fourth of July frolic. He was fond of racing, and in his book, " My Own Times," he records that in November, 1811, he made a wager to run a quarter-race at Cahokia for five hundred dollars, an amount equal to several thousand at the present day. The whole country attended to see the sport. He was assisted in making up his stake by Thomas Carlin, afterward governor of the state, and won the bet. Reynolds, wheu eighteen or twenty, was also passionately fond of foot-racing, and by incessant practice became a rapid runner. The first foot-race he ever ran for a wager was at Kaskaskia, in the summer of 1808, again 3t John Scott, of Sfee. Genevieve, afterward representative in congress from Missouri. The last footrace he ran was in Tennessee, for a hundred dollars. He began the study of law at Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1810, under the instruction of John McCampbell.

He was induced to settle at Cahokia by the fact that a relative of his resided there, Joseph A. Beaird, a wealthy and respectable man. He made his house his home, and rented a room in the village for his office. He says all his law-books could have been easily packed in a common carpet-bag ; they were ranged on the mantel-piece over the fire-place in his office, without filling it. He had considerable business, mostly arising from a traffic in land. He made his first appearance as a practicing lawyer before Judge Jesse B. Thomas, at Belleville, in 1814. He relates that diffidence was with him a chronic disease, and that he was never entirely able to cast it away ; that his first effort to address the court was exceedingly painful, and the more philosophy he exerted to discard this foolish sensibility, the worse the effort made it. At first he also did some business in the way of surveying lands ; but his principal occupation was trading in lands, with his partner, Mr. Beaird. His specutions were so profitable that in four years, he states, that he bought two stores of dry goods, amounting to ten thousand dollars.

He makes the following reference to his election to the supreme bench on the organization of the state judiciary : " At the time of the session of the first legislature I resided in Cahokia, and had not the least intention to visit the seat of government at all. I cared very little who was elected to any office, - one thing was certain, I courted nothing for myself. My friends urged me to visit with them the General Assembly in session at Kaskaskia, and I did so. When we reached the legislature, there was a great excitement and turmoil in relation to the election of officers by the General Assembly. I had been in Kaskaskia only a few days when it was urged on me to know if I would accept of a judgeship, if elected.

This broke in on me like a clap of thunder. I was in truth persuaded to become a candidate for the office. I had a great many personal friends, both in and out of the legislature, who urged me much to consent to offer. The material for the bench was not as good as it ought to be. Human nature ii easier persuaded to mount upward than to remain on the common level. I was elected a justice of the supreme court, which entirely changed my life, as will be seen hereafter."

Reynolds served on the supreme bench till the reorganization of the judiciary of the state in 1824. His previous knowledge of the law had not been comprehensive, and many criticisms were made as to his ability to discharge the important duties of the judicial office. Ford, in his history, remarking on the reluctance of the judges of that day to decide questions of law, and stating that they never gave instructions to a jury unless expressly called for, nor ever commented on the evidence, or undertook to show what inferences and presumptions might be drawn from it, makes the following rather ill-natured reference to Reynolds : " I knew one judge who when asked for instructions, would rub his head and the side of his face with his hand, as if perplexed, and say to the lawyers, ' Why, gentlemen, the jury understand this case ; they need no instructions ; no doubt they will do justice between the parties.' "

In the spring of the year 1825 he resumed the practice of the law. He says : " I entered into a tolerably large practice immediately ; but it was not very profitable, and I must be permitted to say, that I never knew a lawyer in the state who ever became wealthy by his practice alone. It is speculation and the rise of property in the West that has made so many lawyers and others wealthy. I was lean, active and energetic, and could ride horseback days and nights together, without much sleep or rest. But I had been so long on the bench, where public speaking was not practiced, that when I appeared at the bar as a lawyer, my old diffidence also appeared with me, and it was an effort at first to address the court or jury. For some time in the courts I was quite a silent member, and knew well that my silence, in many cases, injured the interest of my clients; but by repeated efforts, I succeeded, to some extent. During ray practice of law I was familiar with the people, got acquainted with almost everybody, and became somewhat popular."

The following sketch of Governor Reynolds' character is from an address of the Hon. Joseph Gillespie before the Chicago Historical Society : " The governor's dislike to appear educated grew out of the contempt the early settlers had for ' book-larnin.' The great aim of his life seemed to be in unison with the multitude. With him, the voice of the people was the voice of God. If he could be on the popular side, that was enough. He never lost sight of his object. It was his guiding star. He always catered to the popular clamor, and indeed went beyond it in most cases. He at one time introduced a bill into the legislature to constitute every man a justice of the peace. He consulted Justin Batterfield, who was a great wag, about it, and he said it was a capital measure, only he did not know where the governor would get his constables. He was a very inaccurate man, and paid little attention to forms and precedents, so that it was a common remark with him that when he filed a declaration, 'in would come a demurrer, and out would go your humble servant.' "

" David J. Baker, of Kaskaskia, who was remarkably accurate as a special pleader, once filed a declaration in court, at Kaskaskia, to which Gov. Reynolds interposed a demurrer. We were all amazed at the step taken by the governor, and none half so much as Mr. Baker. After he had appeared to recover from his astonishment, he said that he had read law with care, and had made special pleadings his principal study, but so abundantly cautious had be been, that, even now, when he liad the forms at his tongue's end, he would not venture to frame a declaration without consulting the precedents. He could say, without boasting, that no demurrer had been sustained to his pleadings for the last twenty years, but now comes forward, at this late day, one who had ventured upon the task of assailing the accuracy of his pleadings. But ' who,' he said, ' is this man ? It is no other than Gov. Reynolds, Tcho, of all men on earth, ought to have the least to say about accuracy. We have all known him as a member of the legislature. "W'e have known him as judge of the circuit and supreme courts, as member of congress and as governor of the state ; and God Almighty only knows how long we shall be afflicted with him hereafter, but in every position that he has held he has been conspieuous as a bundle of injoi-malities.' Mr. Baker gave him a dreadful castigation, which the governor felt acutely, but never 'let on.* Soon after Mr. Baker said to the governor in the goodness of his heart, ' Well, governor, I am afraid I was a little too severe upon you the other day.' ' Why, Mr. Baker,' replied Reynolds, ' have you been saying anything about me ? I was not aware of it. I guess your speech did not amount to very much, or I would have noticed it. There is no need of apologies, Mr. Baker.'

" Another instance of how readily the governor would extricate himself from a dilemma is the following: The governor was a candidate for re-election to congress on the democratic side, and was making, as usual with men of that party, a free trade speech at Sparta, where they were interested in the ' castor-bean ' business. An Englishman, named Bradshaw, who was a Whig, made a bet some of the governor's friends that the governor did not know whether castor-beans were protected or not, and he asked the governor whether castor-beans were among the ' h'enumerated h'articles ' or not. The governor did not seem to comprehend what he meant, and made some evasive and unsatisfactory reply, to which Bradshaw triumphantly cried out, ' I told you 'e did not know whether castor-beans were h'among the h'enumerated h'articles h'or not.' The governor by this time discovered what was going on, and said, ' Stop, I am like the boy who was offering a horse for sale, and some one asked him if the horse had the 'splint?' The boy scratched his head and said, ' I don't know exactly what the splint is, but I do know that if it is good for the hr rse, he has got it, and if it is not good for h'm he is devilish clear of it.' ' And that is the way with the castor-beans ; if it is good for them to be among the enumerated articles, they are there ; and, if not they are devilish clear of it.' The governor could make the most rambling and incoherent remarks imaginable. On one occasion he was prosecuting some Covenanters, who were indicted at Kaskaskia for a riot, committed in Sparta, in tearing down a grocery belonging to an old fellow named Turk. Judge Breese was off the bench at the time, and defending the rioters, and he referred in severe terms to the fact that the governor was prosecuting his old friends and supporters. This touched the governor in a very tender place. He denied that his prosecution of these men was any evidence of his want of friendship for them. ' For,' said he, ' gentlemen of the jury, if I should meet any of these men in heaven or in hell, I would run to greet and shake hands with them. 'But,' said he, ' they were not following in the footsteps of their illustrious predecessor, Jesus Christ, when they were tearing down Old Turk's grocery. They say they were afraid old Turk would raise a mob and tear down their churches, if they did not destroy his grocery. Why, sir, so far from poor old Turk raising a mob, he cannot raise anything. I am very much afraid he cannot raise the ten dollar fee he promised to pay me in this case. ' "

"The governor was the most thorough-faced politician I ever knew. He kept a newspaper for his own use. It was the Belleville AdvoQate, in early days. He had a 'standing ' chairmau of all his meetings ; an old gentleman, named McLemore, who always decided as the governor desired."

"The governor was never without a 'hobby.' He was for the Mexican war ; the acquisition of Texas ; ' Fifty-four Forty, or fight;' as well as the conquest of Cuba. Whenever one of these hobbies was to be set goiug, the governor would announce through his paper, that a meeting would take place at such and such a time, at Belleville, to consider the measure. At the appointed time, the governor would nominate McLemore, as chairman, and would make his speech, and then call upon those present to address the meeting; and it was considered a great breach of political etiquette not to ' chime in " with his opening remarks. Sometimes, however, the meeting would be refractory, and the governor would prorogue them. I remember a case in which the old gentleman was unable to control his meeting. He had called one to consider the propriety of taking possession of Texas. It was during the Texas revolution. The assemblage was large, and the governor, at the outset, was in ' high feather.' McLemore took the chair, and the governor opened out in grand style, and insisted that Texas was ours, inasmuch as Spain had gotten the best of the bargain, when we traded Texas to her for Florida, which, he said, she could not have held. He contended that we needed it, and, therefore, had a valid right to take it. He wound up by offering a resolution, setting forth that ' our title to Texas is indispiUable.' "

"A few of us, who wanted some fun, offered an amendment to the effect, that 'this meeting is eminently qualified to decide the question of title to Texas;' which the governor violently opposed, and denounced us as traitors, and as having come there to interfere with and break up his meeting. We assumed that the meeting was composed of the wisest and best men in the world - that parliamentary and diplomatic bodies were composed of ignoramuses, as compared with us ; that every American citizen, and especially every citizen of Belleville, was endowed with wisdom ' from on high,' in reference to all political measures ; and whoever denied that palpable truth was a traitor to his country, and an enemy to mankind ; and that the fiery vengeance of the present and future generations would be poured out on their devoted heads. We drove the governor ignomiuiously from his own sacred ground, for the ' infallibility of the people ' was his ' stock in trade,' generally. We had nineteen-twentieths of the meeting with us, and carried our amendment; but McLsmore paid no attention to the proceeding. The governor moved to adjourn. Three or four feeble ' ayes ' were heard. When the ' noes ' were called for, they made the welkin ring ; but McLemore said, ' Weel, men, the meetin's adjourned anyhow.' Next morning the governor's paper came out with a flaming account of the meeting, and representing the resolution, offered by the governor, as having passed unanimously; and saying nothing about the amendment and other proceedings. I met the old gentleman, and said to him that the account of the meeting did not square very well with the actual proceedings. He replied, ' No ; you damned fellows beat me at the meeting, but I can beat you in the papers.' "

" Adam W. Snyder and Gov. Reynolds were rivals and antagonists. It would not be going too far to say that they were in a state of chronic hostility to each other. Each .looked upon the other as being his ' evil genius,' and neither would have regarded the removal of the other to some other country as a very great evil. A man named Coonce once called upon Snyder, to take the necessary steps to obtain some testimony with a view to its perpetuation.

Snyder never liked the drudgery of the profession, or the officebusiness. He loved to try a case and address a jury, which he could do with great ease to himself and splendid effect. He endeavored to get rid of the task upon various pretexts ; but Coonce was very importunate, and finally Snyder sat down to writing, and asked Coonce whose testimony he wished to take. The latter said, ' That of Gov. Eeynolds.' Snyder looked up in amazement, and broke out with an exclamation, that he never heard of such folly as to go to the expense and trouble to perpetuate old Reynolds' testimony. ' Why,' said he, ' he will never die. I have been waiting for him to kick the bucket for more than a quarter of a century, and his hold upon life seems now to be stronger than it was when I first knew him ; he will live forever, sir. I will not make a fool of myself by seeking to perpetuate the testimony of a man who will outlive any record in existence.' "

Adam W. Snyder, one of the most prominent of the early lawyers of St. Clair county, was born in Pennsylvania, in the year 1799. His boyhood was spent in the vicinity of Columbus, Ohio. Jesse B. Thomas had erected a carding machine at Cahokia, and finding no one in Illinois who could successfully operate it, brought out with him from Ohio young Snyder, then about eighteen years of age, who had been recommended to him as a suitable person to manage the machine. Thomas saw that Snyder was a young man of fine natural talents, took a strong liking to him, and induced him to study law. He was admitted to practice in the year 1824. He first lived at Cahokia, afterward on a farm on the Mississippi, opposite Jefferson Barracks, and in the year 1833, removed to Belleville. He had a strong liking for politics. He was elected twice ' to represent St. Clair county in the State Senate, and in 1836 was chosen a member of Congress. In 1842 he was made the Democratic candidate fur governor, but died while the campaign was in progress. His election as governor was assured had he lived. Ford was substituted as a candidate, and was elected. His health had never been good after returning from serving his congressional term at Washington.

As a lawyer, Snyder was remarkable for his power over a jury. Between the jury and him there seemed to be a feeling of friendly fellowship, and the former nearly always set it down that he was right, and gave him a verdict accordingly. His speeches were always brief, pointed, and forcible. He rarely spoke more than half an hour, but that time was sufficient for him to gain a wonderful influence over the minds of the jurors. In the defence of Gennette, who was tried at Carlyle for the murder of O'Harnett, he spoke one hour, but this was the longest speech to a jury he was ever known to make. This was the last case in which he appeared. It may be remarked that the speeches of Gov. Ford to the court or a jury were also noted for their brevity; their usual length was not more than fifteen minutes.

Alfred Cowles, a native of Connecticut, settled at an early date at Belleville, where he resided till Alton began to come into prominence as a prosperous town, when he removed to the latter place. He was a lawyer of good education and industrious habits. His natural talents were only of an ordinary character, but by close application and persistent study, he reached an honorable position in the legal profession. He was an excellent conveyancer, and thoroughly understood pleading, but was not an elequent speaker. While at Alton, he was, for a number of years, a partner of John M. Krum, now of St. Louis. He cared nothing for politics, and his whole time was given to his profession. He subsequently removed to Oregon.

York. He had previously been in the mercantile business. He practiced at Belleville till 1842, or 1843. He laid out Ralph's addition to Belleville. He had a great fondness for politics, to which perhaps he was better adapted than to the law.

In 1840, among the lawyers residing at Belleville were Lyman Trumbull, James Shields, James L. D. Morrison, and Gustavus Koerner. All these men attained positions of honor and importance.

Lyman Trumbull, who began his career as a lawyer at Belleville, was born in Colchester, Connecticut, on the twelfth of October, 1813. Obtaining a thorough education in his native state, in the year 1834, at the age of twenty-one, he went to Georgia where he engaged in teaching school, and meanwhile studied law. He was admitted to the bar in Georgia in 1836, and soon afterward came to Illinois and began the practice of the law at Belleville. He was for some time a partner of Gov. Reynolds. He soon succeeded in securing a large practice. He exhibited great industiy in his profession, and when he had a case, went to the bottom of it. In 1840 he was elected a member of the legislature, and in 1841 and 1842, he filled the office of secretary of state under the administration of Gov. Carlin. He returned to Belleville in the spring of 1843, where he resided till 1848, when he was elected one of the justices of the supreme court of Illinois, and for five years occupied a seat on the bench with distinguished ability. His subsequent political history is well known to the people of the state. In 1854 he was elected a member of Congress. He was one of the founders of the Republican party in Illinois, and in 1855, 1861, and 1867 was chosen United States Senator.

James Shields began the practice of law at Kaskaskia, but in 1837 removed to Belleville. He was born in the county Tyrone, Ireland, in the year 1810, and came to America at the age of sixteen. Finding his way to Kaskaskia in the year 1832, he was admitted to the bar, and began the active practice of the legal profession. On coming to Belleville he formed a partnership with Gustavus Koerner. In 1841 he was appointed state auditor, and two years later was chosen one of the justices of the supreme court of the state. His home was principally at Belleville till 1845, when having been appointed by President Polk, Commissioner of the Land office, he removed to Washington. On the breaking out of the Mexican war he was commissioned Brigadier-General of the United States volunteers. At the battle of Cerro Gordo he was severely wounded by a ball which passed through his lungs and body. The wound was extremely dangerous. He was reported dead, and he had the benefit of many obituary notices in the papers of the day. In 1849 he was elected United States Senator He was afterward elected United States Senator from Minnesota, and also from Missouri. He served in the Union army in West Virginia at the beginning of the rebellion, and afterward retired to a farm in Missouri, where he resided till his death, which occurred at Ottumwa, Iowa, on the first of June, 1879.

James L D. Morrison was born at Kaskaskia, on the twelfth of April, 1816. In the spring of 1832, when sixteen, he was appointed midshipman in the United States navy. While confined in the naval hospital at Pensacola with an attack of the rheumatism, he picked up the first volume of Blackstone, and becoming interested, sent to Mobile for the necessary books, and for seven months read Blackstone and Kent assiduously. In 1836 he returned to Illinois, entered the law office of Judge Nathaniel Pope, at Kaskaskia, and in 1837 was admitted to the bar. He removed to Belleville about 1840. He represented Monroe and St. Clair counties, in both the lower and upper houses of the legislature. At the beginning of the Mexican war he raised a company in St. Clair county, whicli became incorporated with the Second Illinois regiment, of which he was Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1856 he was elected to Congress. While at Belleville he engaged in speculation and politics, as well as in the practice of the law. Since his removal to St. Louis, he has not been engaged in general practice, though he has beeu interested in several important land cases. As a real estate lawyer he has attained much distinction.

Robert Morrison, now chief -justice of the state of California, began the practice of the law at Belleville about 1844 or 1845. He was regarded as a lawyer of much promise, and since his removal to California has attained much distinction in his profession.

Murray Morrison, brother of J. L. D. and Robert Morrison, was admitted to the bar, and began practice at Belleville. He was an eloquent speaker and an able lawyer. He went to California soon after the admission of that state into the Union, and died there.

George Trumbull, brother of Lyman Trumbull, practiced law at Nashville for several years, and was an excellent lawyer, and is now a resident of Chicago, where he is practicing with distinction.

William C. Kinney, son of Geo. Kinney, read law at Belleville, in the office of Koerner and Shields, and began practice about the year 1839. In 1848 he acted as state's attorney. He was a good speaker and a lawyer of respectable attainments, but possessed considerable wealth, and for that reason cared little about business. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1848, served in the legislature, and was very highly respected in 1860.

Judge William H. Underwood was born in Schoharie county, New York, February, 1818. He received his scholastic education at the Schoharie Academy and the Hudson River Seminary, and studied law in his native county. In June, 1840, came to Belleville and began the practice of the legal profession. In 1848 he was elected state's attorney, and was re-elected to the same position in 1843, and in 1844 was chosen a member of the legislature. He had acquired a large and remunerative practive in 1844, at which date he was elected circuit judge. He was on the bench six years. He was elected a member of the state senate in 1856, 1860, and 1870. In 1869 he was chosen a member of the convention which framed the present constitution of the state, in which body he was regarded as one of the ablest men. He was an able lawyer, not only in one, but in all branches of the legal profession. Some of the elder members of the bar speak of him as the most industrious man they ever knew. His close application made him familiar with all the learning of the law. He published a revised edition of the Illinois statutes, and also a revision of the Illinois reports. To his legal attainments were added a generous and genial disposition. He died at Belleville on the twenty-third of September, 1875!

Non-Resident Lawyers

The early sessions of the courts at Belleville were usually attended by the leading lawyers, both of Illinois and Missouri. Among the Illinois lawyers were Elias Kent Kane, who died in 1835, while a member of the United States Senate; Daniel P. Cook, a man of brilliant mind, who died at the age of thirty-six, while in the midst of an unusually successful career; Nathaniel Pope, Thomas Reynolds, William H. Bissell, Sidney Breese, and other distinguished men. Among the lawyers from St. Louis and Missouri, who frequently made their appearance at Belleville were Thomas H. Benton, Rufus Easton, Edward Hempstead, C. 8. Hempstead, Robert Wash, David Barton, Joshua Barton, John Scott, and J. W. Peck.

Of William H. Bissell, afterward governor of the state, and a frequent attendant on the sessions of the court at Belleville, the following interesting sketch is given by Joseph Gillespie in an address delivered before the Chicago Historical Society : '' Bissell was born in New York in 1811, where he studied the medical profession, and removed to Monroe county, Illinois. He had no fondness for his profession, though he had the reputation of being successful. He inclined to politics, where he displayed marked abilities. He was elected as a Democrat, from Monroe county, to the legislature of 1840, and was soon recognized as one of the best speakers of the House of Representatives. He was characterized by the elegance of his style and diction, and a quaint sort of satire which was very cutting and effective. An ungovernable passion soon seized him to abandon his profes«ion, and betake himself to the law. He attended the sessions of the courts as diligently as any of the lawyers ; his mind seemed to be engrossed with all that was going on. His friends, perceiving the bent of his inclination, advised him to procure Blackstone's Commentaries, and go to work. In an incredibly short space of time he was admitted to practice, and was soon appointed prosecuting attorney, and was in his element. He stood at once in the front rank as a prosecutor. He never failed to convict. It shortly came to be considered a hopeless task to defend where he was prosecuting. He was equal to any emergency."

" Bissell prosecuted for murder a man named Raney, who lived in Washington county, but was tried at Carlyle, Clinton county, and was defended by Judge Breese, in his own county, where he had boundless influence. Raney was a respectable man, and a leading politician in the dominant party; there was great room to doubt his guilt, and the court instructed strongly in his favor. He had an interesting wife and family. Breese defended him with great zeal and ability. He left no stone unturned ; but after presenting the facts and law of the case with remarkable clearness and force, he ventured upon an appeal to the sympathies of the jury in behalf of the wife and little children of his client. It was a most powerful effort, and the by-standers all believed that he bad saved his man. But not so ; by his efiorts to work upon the sympathies of the jury, he had opened a door which let Bissell in to play upon their feelings. This was his forte. The scene was at night ; the room was dimly lighted, and wore a sepulchral air ; and such wordpainting I shall never hear again as Bissell employed on that occasion. He turned the picture over, and portrayed the murdered man in his grave, his winding-sheet around him, his hair matted with clay, and his shroud clotted with blood, streams of crimson gore trickling still from his gaping wounds. He drew the mother and little children to the edge of the grave, where they could take a last look at the cold and clammy remains of their beloved husband and father. He depicted their agony in such heart-rending terms as to scarcely leave a dry eye in the house. He turned the tide of sympathy, and it became an irresistible torrent in behalf of the bereaved widow and offspring of the dead. The effects of the splendid efforts of Breese were all swept away."

" I realized then, to its fullest extent, the power of language in the mouth of a master over the feelings of mankind. The picture drawn by Bissell on that occasion has stamped itself indelibly on my mind. I see it in visions of the night. I hear his burning elpqueuce, to this day, ringing in my ears. He triumphed, and poor Raney was found guilty. "If that effort had been taken down, and could be read by us - of itself - it would have made the name of William H. Bissell immortal."

vivors of that band of active men who were foremost in shaping the political sentiment of the state forty years ago. He was born in New York in the year 1809, and in 1819 became a citizen of this state. He attracted the attention of Cyrus Edwards, a lawyer who had practiced with distinguished success in Kentucky and Missouri, but who had abandoned his profession on account of bad health, and retired to a farm near Edwardsville. Thinking that young Gillespie had an aptitude for the law Edwards invited him to become his student, and gave him the gratuitous use of his books. He was admitted to the bar, and iu 1837 began traveling the circuit under Judge Sydney Breese. He was elected to the bench of the circuit court in 1861, and served till 1873. He has been one of the leading and prominent lawyers of Illinois for many years, and made a good judge.

Present Membees Of The Bae

Gustavus Koerner, now one of the oldest members of the bar at Belleville, was born at Frankfort, Germany. He studied law in the University of Jena, and was also a student at Munich and Heidelberg, and from the university at the latter place received the degree of LL. D. He was admitted to the practice of the law in Germany in the year 1832. In 1833 he came to America. He studied the common law at the law school at Lexington, Kentucky. In June, 1835, he was admitted to the bar of Illinois, and began practice at Belleville. In 1845 he was appointed by Gov. Ford to a seat on the supreme bench, to fill a vacancy occasioned by the resignation of James Shields, and shortly afterward was elected by the legislature to the same position. He served on the bench till the new constitution of 1848 effected a change in the judiciary of the state. (From 1840 till the adoption of a new constitution, the supreme court judges also presided over the circuit courts.) In 1852 Mr. Koerner was elected lieutenant-governor. In 1862 he was appointed by President Lincoln Minister to Spain. His decisions while on the bench were marked by great clearness and ability, and during his active practice at the bar has gained the reputation of one of the leading lawyers of Southern Illinois.

Judge William H. Snyder, the present judge of the circuit court, began the practice of the law at Belleville in the year 1845. His birth place was Prairie du Pont, St. Clair county. His father, Adam W. Snyder, was in his day, one of the leading lawyers of the St. Clair county bar. He completed his scholastic education at McKendree College. Before reaching his majority he acted as postmaster at Belleville, under the admistration of James K. Polk. He prepared himself for the legal profession in the oflBce of Gustavus Koerner. He served in the Mexican war as adjutant of the Fifth Illinois regiment. He was elected twice to the legislature, and in 1855, was appointed by Gov- Matteson, state's attorney. He was elected judge of the circuit court in 1857, and at that time was on the bench four years and a half. He was a member of the convention of 1870, which framed the present constitution of the state of Illinois. He was elected judge of the circuit court in 1873, and was re-elected in 1879. He is a gentleman of genial manners, and thorough attainments as a jurist ; and has made a popular and efficient judge.

Nathaniel Niles was born in the state of New York, and obtained his education at the Albany Academy, and the College at Princeton, New Jersey. He began his legal studies at Albany, New York, with Messrs. R. W. & G. W. Peckham, and continued in New York city, in the office of Slidell & Livingston. He was licensed as an attorney in 1837. In 1842 he came to Belleville, opened an office, and engaged in the practice of the legal profession. He served as county clerk twelve years. For a number of years he was editor and proprietor of the Belleville Advocate, which in his hands became the recognized organ of the Eepublicau party in St. Clair county. During the war of the rebellion he was colonel of the Fifty-fourth regiment Illinois volunteers, and afterwards of the One Hundred and Thirtieth regiment. He was made brigadiergeneral by brevet. In 1864 and 1865 he represented St. Clair county in the General Assembly.

Theodore J. Kraft was born in Rhenish Bavaria, Germany, and came to America in the year 1832. He began the practice of law at Belleville in 1850.

Theodore E. Englemann, who, is now living near Mascoutah, practiced law at Belleville from 1852 to 1860, as a partner of Gustavus Koerner. The latter year he abandoned the profession and went to farming. He served as clerk of the circuit court and master in chancery.

Jehu Baker was born in Fayette county, Kentucky, and in the year 1829, came to Illinois with his father, who settled on a farm near Lebanon. For several terms he was a student at McKendree College. He studied law at Belleville, and in 1846 was admitted to the bar, and began practice as an attorney. In 1864, and again in 1866, he was elected to represent the twelfth (now the seventeenth) district of Illinois in Congress. He is now Minister from the United States to Venezuela, South America. He is a good lawyer, and fine orator ; his mind is of a very philosophical character.

Edward Abend studied law in the office of Lyman and George Trumbull, and was admitted to the bar in 1842. He was in active practice till 1852, since which time his attention has been devoted to business pursuits. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, came to St. Clair county in the year 1833, and obtained his scholastic education at McKendree College.

John B. Hay prepared himself for the legal profession at Belleville, in the office of Nathaniel Niles, and was admitted to the bar in the year 1852. From 1860 to 1868 he served as state's attorney. He was elected to Congress from the twelfth (now the seventeenth) congressional district in 1868, and again in 1870. He is justly regarded as an attorney of superior abilities.

Thomas Quick is a native of St. Clair county. He obtained his education in McKendree College, studied law in the office of George Trumbull, and was admitted to practice as an attorney in 1846. He practiced at Waterloo till 1855, and then established himself at Belleville. He was appointed bank commissioner by Gov. Bissell, and held that position for several years.

Charles ,F. Noettling was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, He came to St. Clair county in 1856, and took charge of the public high school. After pursuing his legal studies for a time in the office of William H. and J. B. Underwood, he was admitted to practice in 1859. He is regarded as an office-lawyer of fine abilities.

Robert A. Halbert is a native of St. Clair county. He was educated at McKendree college, and at Illinois college at Jacksonville. He graduated from the latter institution. His preparatory legal studies were carried on in the office of William H. Underwood, at Belleville, and he was admitted to practice in 1866 at a session of the supreme court at Ottawa. In 1868 he was elected state's attorney for St. Clair and Bond counties, and is one of the ablest lawyers at the bar.

Gustavus A. Koerner is a native of Belleville. In 1862 he accompanied his father, who had been appointed Minister to Spain, and after remaining in that country six months, entered the University of Heidelberg. He returned to America in 1864, and in 1865 was admitted to the bar. In 1867 he formed a partner-

Alonzo S. Wilderman is a native of St. Clair county. He studied law at Belleville, and was admitted to the bar in 1866 ; since which time he has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession, and is a lawyer of recognized ability.

William Winkelman was born in Prussia. He prepared himself for the legal profession under the instruction of Judge William H. Underwood, and was admitted to the practice of the law in 1862.

James M. Hay is a native of Belleville. His education was obtained at the Normal School at Ypsilanti, Michigan. He studied law in the office of his brother, John B. Hay ; became a member of the bar in 1858 ; and has since been engaged in the practice of the legal profession.

James M. Dill, a native of Rhode Island, has been a member of the Belleville bar since 1866, and has attained distinction as a lawyer. Before coming to Belleville he practiced in the courts of Nevada, then a territory. .

Charles W. Thomas was born in Jackson county, 111. He read law at Belleville, and was admitted to practice in 1866, and is an able and skillful lawyer.

Charles P. Knispel comes from Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. He studied Blackstone in the office of Joseph Sloss at Edwardsville, and was admitted as a lawyer in 1860. Soon afterward established himself in practice at Belleville, where he has resided ever since. He has served as state's attorney and master in chancery.

Marshall W. Weir was born in Mississippi. He was educated at the Western Reserve Seminary in Trumbull county, Ohio. He came to St. Clair county in 185^. He began the study of the law in 1861, under the instruction of Spencer M. Kase, and since 1863 has been practicing his profession at Belleville,

Frederick E Scheel is a native of St. Clair county. He secured his education at BsUeville and in the Washington University, St. Louis. He was admitted to the bar in 1866. He is now acting as master in chancery. For a number of years he was the editor of the Stern des Western.

Louis P. Kraft was born near Belleville. He spent two years at school in Germany. He studied law at Belleville in the office of his father, Theodore J. Kraft, and became a member of the bar in 1866.

Edward L. Thomas is a native of St. Clair county. He studied law at Belleville with his brother, C. W. Thomas, and was admitted to the bar in 1S68.

W. C. Kueffiier was born at Rostock, Germany, and came to St. Clair county in 1861. He was Colonel of the One Hundred and Forty-ninth Illinois regiment in the war of the rebellion. He pursued his law studies in the St. Louis Law School from which he graduated in 1871. The same year he established himself in practice at Belleville. He is a good lawyer.

H. R. Challenor is a native of Randolph county. He received his education in the College of the Christian Brothers, St. Louis, and McKendree College, Lebanon. He was fitted for the bar at Belleville, under the instruction of J. B. Underwood, and was admitted to practice in 1866. He is now police magistrate.

George W. Brockhaus was born in Hamilton county, Ohio. He secured his education in the common schools of St. Clair county, and in the Normal School of Bloomington. He was admitted to the bar in 1873, having studied law with Benjamin Mattice at

Frederick B. Phillips was born in New Madrid county, Missouri. His education was obtained at Arcadia College and the College of the Christian Brothers, St. Louis. He was a student in the law department of the University of Michigan, from which he graduated in 1877. The same year he was admitted to the bar of Illinois, and has since been practicing his profession at Belleville.

John N. Perrin was born on Ridge Prairie, St. Clair county. He received his legal education in the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. He was admitted to the bar, both in the states of Illinois and Michigan, in 1876, and began practice at Lebanon. In 1878 he established himself at Belleville.

L. T. Boutcher is a native of Washington county. He studied law at Boulder, Colorado, and at the Union College of Law at Chicago, from which he graduated in 1880.

Don Turner is a native of St. Clair county He was a student in the McKendree College, and Washington University, St. Louis. He graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan in 1873, having previously begun his legal studies in the office of G. and G. A. Koerner.

William J. Underwood was born in South Carolina. He began reading law in 1851, and was admitted to the bar in Alabama in 1855. After the close of the war he came to Louisville, Kentucky, and in 1872 became a resident of Belleville, where he resumed the practice of his profession in 1876. He is the present city attorney.

Franklin A. McConaughy was born at Litiz, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. He read law in the office of William H. Underwood and Charles F. Noettling, and was admitted to practice in March, 1871. He is a graduate of McKendree College.

Robert D. W. Holder is a native of Jefierson county, Illinois. After leaving McKendree college he read law with Judge White and F. A. Lietzel of Carlyle, and in 1872 entered the law department of the University of Michigan, from which he graduated in 1874. He began practice at Mascoutah in 1875, and in 1877 opened an office at Belleville. In 1880 he was elected State's Attorney.

J. A. Willoughby was born in St. Clair county. His legal studies were pursued in the law department of the Uiiiversity of Michigan. He was admitted to the bar in 1876. Since December, 1880, he has acted as Recorder of St. Clair county.

Henry M. Needles was born in Brown county, Illinois. He graduated from McKendree college in 1873. He began his legal studies in the office of Underwood and Noettling, at Belleville, and afterward attended the law department of the Wisconsin University. He was admitted to practice in Wisconsin in 1876, and in Illiuois in 1877. Since the latter date he has practised his profession at Belleville.

John Hay was born at Belleville, and educated in the Washington University, St. Louis. He studied law at Belleville with his father, John B. Hay, and became a member of the bar in 1879.

John N. Hugging is a native of St. Clair county. He prosecuted his preliminary studies in the office of Wilderman & Hamill, and was admitted to the bar in 1880.

Frank Perrin was born at Mascoutah. He graduated from McKendree college in 1878, and afterward fitted himself for the legal profession in the law department of the same institution. He was admitted to the bar in 1881.

Among the prominent lawyers resident in East St. Louis is J. B. Bowman. He was born in Germany, and received a good education in his native country. Coming to St. Clair county, he followed the trade of a blacksmith for a time at Cahokia, taught school in

Canteen village, and then studied law and was admitted to the bar. His connection with the most important events that have occurred in East St. Louis during recent years is well known.

Spencer M. Kase, now practising his profession in East St. Louis, is a native of Northumberland county, Pennsylvania. He received his education at Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, and graduated from that institution in 1855. He studied law with Washington McCartney, at Easton, was admitted to the bar in 1856, and began practice at Danville, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1858, he came to Belleville, and there established himself in the practice of his profession. In 1879 he removed to East St. Louis.

Joseph B. Messick was born in Macoupin county. He was a student for two years'at Shurtleff college. He studied law at Carlinville, Illinois, and was admitted to practice in 1871. After practicing one year at Carlinville, he opened an office in 1872, in East St. Louis. In 1875 he was made Judge of the city court of East St Louis. Judge Messick is a lawyer of ability, and an eloquent and forcible speaker.

William G. Kase was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, and received an academic education at Danville, in that state. He came to Illinois in 1859, studied law at Belleville, with his brother, Spencer M. Kase, and in 1862 was admitted to practice as an attorney. He served one term as city judge.

Luke H. Hite is a native of Lancaster, Ohio. His father moved with the family to Illiuois when he was eight months old. His education was obtained in the public schools of Salem, Illinois, and in the Normal University at Bloomington. He studied law with Judge William H. Snyder at Belleville, and was admitted to practice in 1863. He was engaged in practice for two years at Fort Wayne, Indiana, and in 1865 opened an office in East St. Louis, where he has since followed his profession. He served as City Attorney of East St. Louis five years.

Jesse M. Freels is a native of Tennessee. His education was obtained at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and at Amherst College, from which he graduated in 1871. He subsequently attended the law school of the Iowa State University, and was admitted to the bar in Iowa in 1874. The same year he began practice in East St. Louis. Since 1877 he has acted as counsel for the city of East St. Louis.

George F. O'Melvany was born in Monroe county, Illinois. He was educated at the Normal University, Bloomington, and prepared lor the bar in the office of his uncle. Judge H. K. O'Melvany, at Salem, Illinois. He began practice at Salem in 1868, and in 1870 came to'East St. Louis, where he has been practicing ever since, with the exception of five years spent in California.

George W. Brackett was born at Cahokia. He attended the St. Louis' University two years and studied law at Belleville with Nathaniel Niles. He was also a student at the Cincinnati Law School. He was admitted to the bar in 1858, and since 1865 has had an pffice in East St. Louis.

. James J. Rafter is a native of Maine, but has been a resident of this state since he was two years of age. He was a student of the law for two years in the office of Stuart, Edwards & Brown, at Springfield. On his admission to the bar he began practice in East St. Louis.

Charles T. Ware was born at Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence county, New York. He came to St. Clair county in the fall of 1865, and taught school three years at O'Fallon. During his leisure time while teaching he read law. In 1869 he entered the office of Judge William H. Underwood, and in 1870 was admitted to the bar. lu 1872 he received the appointment of Register in Bankruptcy for the southern district of Illinois, and in 1880 was elected Judge of the city court of East St. Louis.

William H. Bennett was born in Sumner county, Tenne-ssee, and obtained his literary culture in the Hartsville Academy and the Cumberland University of Lebauon, Tennessee. Ha studied law in the Cumberland University, and was admitted to practice at Gallatin, Tennessee, in 1838. In 1871 he removed from Gallatin to East St. Louis, where he has since been engaged in practice. He has served as city attorney of East St, Louis.

Edward R. Davis was born at Attica Genesee county. New York. He was admitted to practice as an attorney in 1860, at Corunna, Michigan, where he had been a law student of Luke H. Parsons. He opened an office in East St. Louis in 1865, where he has since practiced his profession, except from 1866 to 1869, during which time he was a resident of Springfield.

George W. Locke is a native of Ross county, Ohio. He received his education at the Asbury University, Greencastle, Indiana. He was admitted to the bar in 1879.

Frank B. Bowman was born in Johnson county, Missouri. He received his collegiate education at the college of the Christian Brothers, in St. Louis, and in Europe. He graduated from the Harvard Law School in 1877, and the next year began practice in East St. Louis, in connection with his father, J. B. Bowman.

Alexander Flannigen is a native of Galena, Illinois, but was raised in Washington county. He received his education at the Illinois Agricultural College. He read law in the office of William G. Kase, in East St. Louis, and was admitted to practice in 1876. He is now serving as city attorney.

Benjamin H. Canby was born in Ohio. At an early age he came to Olney, Illinois and studied law in the office of R S. Canby. He was admitted to the bar in 1877, and the same year began practice in East St. Louis.

AVilliam P. Launtz is a native of Guernsey county, Ohio. He obtained his education chiefly in St. Louis and East St. Louis ; studied law in the latter place, and in 1873 was admitted to the bar,, and began practice in East St. Louis.

J. F. Greathouse was born in Pike county of this state. He read Blackstone and Kent at Louisiana, Missouri, under the instruction of John B. Henderson and D. P. Dyer. He was admitted to the, bar in 1867. From 1870 to 1881 he had an office at Pittsfield, Illinois, and in 1881 located in East St. Louis.

James H. Mannners was born at Highland, Madison county. He studied law with his father,- Joseph D. Manners, who was then practicing in East St. Louis, and in 1876 became a member of the bar. Archibald Lyons, the sole representative of the legal profession at Marissa, is a native of Wayne county, Illinois. He obtained an academic education at Irvington, Washington county, and Carbondale, Jackson county. His instructor in his preparatory legal studies was Isaac Clements of Carbondale. He was admitted to the bar in 1878, and the same year began practice at Marissa.

Henry H. Horner, a native of Lebanon, St. Clair county, Illinois, read law under the Hon. William H. Underwood, deceased, late of Belleville, 111. He was admitted to the bar by the supreme court of Illinois, July 14, 1847, and immediately located at Lebanon, where he has ever since resided. In 1865, he succeeded Ex- Gov. French, as Dean of the Law Department of McKendre© College, situated at Lebanon, which position he now holds.

John Eckert was born in Waterloo, Monroe county, Illinois. He studied law under H. H. Horner, and was admitted to the bar in 1877, and located at Lebanon. He is the present city attorney of Lebanon.

M. W. Schieffer, nativity Troy, Madison county, Illinois. Was also a student of H. H. Horner, and was admitted to practice at the bar in 1879. Is located at Lebanon, and is also engaged in the banking business at that place.

M. M. Lindly is a native of Madison county, 111. He graduated from the Law Department of McKendree College, and was admitted by diploma June 10, 1880.

Louis Zerweck, nativity Cleveland, Ohio, is also a graduate of the Law Department of McKendree College, and was admitted on the same day, and in the same manner as above.

Celebrated Teials

The most celebrated criminal trial that ever took place in the circuit court of St. Clair county, was doubtless that of Timothy Bennett, for the murder of Alphonso C. Stuart. The circumstances which attended this sad affair are related in the history of Belleville. A sham duel was gotten up between Bennett and Stuart. It was intended that the rifles should be charged with powder only, but at Bennett's fire Stuart dropped dead. Stuart's rifle had not been fired at all. This event took place in February, 1819. Bennett escaped from jail, and was not recaptured for two years. He was tried at Belleville in 1821, at a special term of the circuit court, presided over by Judge John Reynolds. Daniel P. Cook was the prosecuting attorney, and the defense was conducted chiefly by Thomas H. Benton of St. Louis. Bennett was hung on the third of September, 1821.

Only three executions have taken place in St. Clair county, and one of these belonged to Madison county, and was tried in this county on a change of venue. Beside that of Bennett in 1821, a man named Orban was executed in 1854, and a man named Guidel (from Madison county), in 1863.

The most noted civil case that was ever tried, was that of St. Clair County against the Wiggins Ferry Company. The Ferry Company, claiming that the legislature had granted to it a monopoly of the ferriage business, brought an action against St. Clair county, to prevent the county from operating a ferry to St. Louis. The case brought forth an eminent array of legal talent, and excited much interest. The trial resulted in favor of St. Clair county. The county was represented by Lyman Trumbull, James Shields, and Joseph Gillespie. For the ferry company there appeared Stephen A. Douglas, Edward Bates, and Hamilton R. Gamble of St. Louis, and Stephen T. Logan.