St. Clair County, Illinois - Chapter 11 (1 of 2 so headed), 1928

Chapter 11

SHE PERIOD from 1S40 to 1850 w.is one of stress and strain for the young college, and during that time she passed thru one great crisis in her history. As before stated, the year 1839 marked a sort of peak of prosperity, when the new charter had been granted and the scholarship fund of $50,000 had been fully subscribed, which was fondly believed at that time to be an endowment which would produce an income of $5,000 a year and enable the institution to pay Its professors a living salary. So at that time the Board, feeling that their financial problems were solved were inclined to give attention to certain moral problems which they deemed important. In those days the annual Board Meeting was held in August, and then, as now, entertainments were given in connection with it. Up to that time there had been no graduation exercises. One evening some members of the Board saw a play presented which was probably somewhat realistic and tried to show life as it was lived by the common run of humanity. The next day the Board passed the following resolution :

"Resolved that the Board disapproves of the exercises held last evening, in which were portrayed scenes of wickedness, profanity, obscenity, and bloodshed; and that we disallow in the future all purely theatrical and immoral exhibitions."

They voted that the Bible should be used as a text book in the college course, and the works of Ovid were stricken from the Latin course. The reason for the latter is not stated, but it was probably on account of certain passages in the book which were considered obscene and improper reading for modest young people.

A feeling against Theological training for the ministry, which probably the preachers in that body knew nothing about by experience, called forth the following resolution:

"Since the new charter confers authority to establish a Theological Seminary, Therefore, be it resolved, that Theological Seminaries are contrary to the genius, the spirit, and the institutions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Board is determined that no such department shall ever be added to McKendree College. Also we deem it proper that the teachers in this college shall be expected to impress no sentiments upon the students, adverse to the foregoing resolution." Only two or three years after the death of Elijah P. Lovejoy, at Alton, who was regarded as a martyr to the cause of abolition of slavery, we find this resolution in the records:

"Whereas, the Board of Trustees and Visitors deem the advocacy of the cause of abolition, either in the private circle or the public assembly, by the agent, teacher, or member of the faculty of McKendree to be prejudicial to the best interests of the institution, and of the country; therefore, if any one of the persons above enumerated shall so advocate the cause of abolition, the Board will deem it their duty to themselves, the institution, its supporters, and the country, to adopt measures to dispense with the services of such persons."

Of course we are not to infer from this that the college was a pro slavery institution, but it was probably an attempt to keep it neutral on a question which was discussed with great bitterness of feeling in those days. The next paragraph of the record stated that the passages of either of the above resolutions is not designed in any way to reflect upon the agents. teachers, or faculty heretofore employed in the college.

It was about this time that the matriculation pledge was devised. It was a sort of oath of allegiance which had to be taken by every member of the student body. Then every student who violated any of the specific rules of the college was not only a law breaker, but he was guilty in the first place of breaking a solemn pledge to which he had affixed his signature with his own hand. This plan of requiring the students to "sign their rights away" as some of them have expressed it, has been kept up even to very recent years. Formerly the pledge was written at the top of every page in the matriculation register so that each student who wrote his name in the book would of necessity sign the pledge. As a matter of convenience the last book of that kind which was provided, was made to order for McKendree and had the pledge printed at the top of every page. But since it was a printed form very few of the students ever re.id it or even looked at it, or were conscious m the slightest degree that they were signing a pledge at all.

"I do solemnly promise to the Corporation and the Faculty that, during my connection with the institution, I will maintain good moral character, observe quiet and gentlemanly deportment towards all men, settle promptly all my college bills, perform to the best of my ability all my regular college duties, and cheerfully submit to all college regulations and

President Fmley came to the office m 1S41 atter the resignation of President Merrill. There was a feeling of great disappointment when Dr. Merrill left, but Dr. Finley was of more mature age, and highly esteemed in church circles so that most people were confident that he would be able to guide the precious craft through the shoals and keep her from going on the rocks.

James C. Finley

James C. Finley was born in Somerset County, New Jersey, October 10, 1802, and died at Jacksonville, Illinois, July 27, 1885. He was reared a Presbyterian, like his parents. He received his liberal education at Princeton and then took a medical course m Philadelphia. After this he engaged m hospital practice for a time m Cincinnati. While m that city he was married and then went to Jacksonville, Illinois, where he practiced medicine until 183^. About this time he and his wife, who was formerly a Baptist, joined the Methodist church. Soon after that he abandoned the medical profession and entered the Methodist ministry. He was admitted to the Mississippi Conference in 1837 '"'"i ^^s transferred to the Illinois Conference in 1841. It was at this time that he took charge of the college. He was a man of fine ability and thorough scholarship. He endeavored to maintain the high standards of scholarship established by Dr. Merrill, and in this he was quite successful, but the financial plan by which the college was to be supported, through the interest on the scholarships, proved a dismal failure. After four years of strenuous effort in which the plan was given a thorough trial. Dr. Finley decided that the case was hopeless and went back to the pastorate. He transferred to the Rock River Conference where he labored for the next six years. In 1851, he returned to the Illinois Conference. He was again a member of the faculty at McKendree as Professor of Greek, for a year, just prior to the coming of Dr. Swahlen, in 1865. After that he spent one year as President of the Olney Seminary and one year in the faculty of the Illinois State Agricultural College at Irvington. He then retired and held the superannuate relation until his death in 1885. He lived at Richview till the death of his wife in 1881, and then with his daughter in Jacksonville. The Methodist Church in Lebanon has a memorial window m his honor, which shows that he held the degrees of A. M. and M. D.

He served the college at a time when there were extra burdens to bear. From the time when he took charge there were persistent rumors that the institution would soon be obliged to close up. But there was eternal hope in the hearts of a few of the trustees which no discouragements could subdue. In 1842, the tees were reduced twenty-five per cent in the hope ot attracting more students who did not hold scholarships. At the same time the President's salary was reduced to $400 a year to lessen the expenses of the college. Then the board ordered that all tuition fees shall be paid in advance or secured by note. Each professor was held responsible for the enforcement of this rule, and was required to refuse admission to his classes to all who had not paid. Yet at the end of the year, a committee was appointed to collect unpaid tuition bills. The committee was instructed to require payment in cash or in notes bearing twelve per cent interest. This would make it cheaper for students with unpaid bills and no money, to borrow money and pay cash.

In 1843, there was another reduction of salaries for the faculty. There was an order to sell all McKendree lands to raise money to pay debts. In the same session we also find this resolution in the record:

"Whereas there are many debts pressing upon and humiliating this Board, and whereas it is our ardent desire to relieve the college from its embarrassments. Therefore be it resolved, that all property not directly needed in carrying on the operations of the college, be thrown on the market and offered for sale. And that the Executive Committee be requested to attend to this matter in view of meeting these debts."

Most of their troubles were financial ones, and they deliberated long and earnestly in the hope of finding the solution of their problems. On August 16, 1843, they had a morning session, then an afternoon session, then an evening session. And the record states that they adjourned at 12:30 A. M. August 17. At a meeting in March, 184";, Dr. Finley was requested to act as agent in the hope that he might collect enough money in the field to "keep the sinking craft afloat." It was at the conference session of this year that Rev. W. H. Milburn was appointed as agent. Both students and faculty were leaving the college as rats do a ship that is about to sink. The loss of students, especially from the upper classes, reduced the sue of the graduating classes. The class of 1841 had seven members. The next year there were five, and the next, seven again. But in 1844, there was only one, and in 1845, but two. Of the faculty that graduated the first class^ President Merrill and Professor Brown had gone soon after the commencement of 1841 . After another year Professor Annis Merrill left, and the next year. Professor Sunderland. Each of these men went away with an unpaid deficit in his salary. Their places were supplied by young men who were graduates of the institution and, of course, with little experience. By 184s, there were three McKendree men in the faculty.

Imc Kendree

Henry H. Homer of class of 1841, George L. Roberts of 1S42, and John L. Scripps of 1S44. EH Robinson, 1841, had also served in the faculty, but had resigned. In the summer of 1845, President Finley also resigned and left Professor Roberts to report the situation to the meeting of the Joint Board. Some of the trustees were in favor of closing the school permanently. But others were determined that it should go on. Before the meeting adjourned. Rev. Peter Akers, who had once before served in that capacity, was recalled to the presidency, and the young McKendree professors were confirmed in their several positions. The school opened as usual in the fall of 1845. We have no means of knowing how many students there were, for the records are lost and probably there was no catalogue printed. At least there is none now accessible for that year. But it must have been a discouragingly small number. It is likely that most of those who did come entered on a scholarship and hence there was no income with which to pay a faculty. A special meeting of the Board was called for November 17, 184'). There is no mention of President Akers. He may have been absent seeking help among the churches, but Professor Roberts, who was also secretary of the Board, announced to that body that the board of instruction had suspended the present session of the college. Benjamin Hypes at once made a motion that it should be resumed immediately. But instead of voting on that motion, they discussed it carefully from every point of view; and since there was no visible means of support for the faculty, it seemed best to let the work stay suspended for the present. So they agreed to meet again the following April and determine then whether conditions would justify resuming work for the second session of the year. No more class room work was done that year, but the Board was active. They did not admit that the college was dead. It had only fainted. It could be easily resuscitated if the proper restoratives were applied. They did not wait till April but held a meeting in January, and another in May. They were continually planning and praying and working. There were no commencement exercises of the usual kind that year and no graduating class, but there was a Board meeting. Their persistent efforts were successful and arrangements were made and carried out for resuming the regular college work in the autumn of 1846. Thus there was a longer vacation than usual and no graduates for the year 1846, yet the college did not lose a year of history, for class room work was actually carried on for a part of the year and the trustees were active all the year. This board did not have much money but they had as much grit and determination as a whole kennel of bull dogs. They balked at no discouraging situation, but decided that the college must open in the fall of 1846. They selected as their new president a rising young preacher and educator from New England, named Erasmus Wentworth.

The Class Of 1842

THE CLASS OF 1842 There were five members of the class - Thomas A. Bradford, Lloyd W. Brown, Jesse Haile Moore, George Lamb Roberts and Nathan Scarritt.

Thomas A. Br.Adford

THOMAS A. BR.ADFORD Thomas A. Bradford belonged to a Lebanon family, though we have very meager information concerning him. He was initiated into the Philosophian Society in 1840 and after his graduation went to California. Later he lived at Springfield, 111. and was prominent in Democratic political

Dr. Lloyd W. Brown Gen. Jesse H. Moore

Lloyd W. Brown became a physician and in after years, practiced his profession in Booneville, Mo., and later in Jacksonville, 111. He was a member of Philo. His last years were spent with some of his children at New Berlin, 111. GEN. JESSE H. MOORE

Jesse Haile Moore had a remarkable career and was distinguished in several different fields. He was an educator, a preacher, a soldier, and a statesman. He was born in St. Clair County, a member of the well known Moore family, his father fought in the Revolutionary War. In September of the year he was graduated, he was married to Miss Rachel Hynes of Davis County, Kentucky. He began his teaching career in the schools of Nashville, lUinois, and later taught in the seminaries of Georgetown, Paris, and Quincy.

The last named afterward became Chaddock College. In 1 846, he was admitted to the Illinois Conference, and in 18^6, changed from teaching to the work of the pastorate. In i86i, he became pastor of the First Methodist Church, Decatur, and a year later he resigned his church and entered the service of his country as Colonel of the 115th Illinois Volunteers. He continued in the service till the end of the war. He was promoted

Jesse H. Moore

"for gallant and meritorious conduct on the field of battle" and was mustered out as a Brigadier General. After the war, he returned to his ministerial duties and later became a Presiding Elder and also served as a member of the Book Committee of the church. He also served two terms in Congress where he was a strong supporter of General Grant in his reconstruction policies. Later he was pension agent at Springfield. In 1881, he was appointed United States Consul to Callao, Peru, South America. Accompanied by his wife, two sons, and a daughter-in-law, he went to this post of duty, where for two years he administered the office with great efficiency, and then he contracted yellow fever which caused his death, July 12, 188 j. An extract from a Callao paper shows the esteem in which he was held by the people among whom he had lived for two years. "Last night. General Moore, United States Consul, died. The public life of the deceased was connected with the greatest poHtical and military events of his country. His voice as a publicist was the highest authority, and only matters of international politics detained him in this port where certainly there was no one holding the position of consul who could so much honor it. With a deep feeling which the death of a useful member of society, and particularly so distinguished a gentleman as General Moore, always inspires, we offer in the name of the public whom we represent, the most feeling expression of sympathy to his respected family." His body was brought back and buried with military honors at his old home in Decatur.

George L. Roberts

GEORGE L. ROBERTS George Lamb Roberts was born in Kaskaskia, Illinois, March 16, 1821. His early education was obtained under the care of a private tutor. He then entered McKendree and be, came a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. He was especially proficient in the classic studies. The same year that he was graduated he was licensed to preach, and the next year he was employed as a tutor in the classics in McKendree. He was a member of the faculty for several years, and also was secretary of the Board of Trustees. In 1845, when Dr. Akers was elected president for the second time he spent much time away from the college and Prof. Roberts was made acting president in the absence of the president. When the college suspended its regular work for a part of the year 1845, Professor Roberts took advantage of the opportunity to enter a Divinity School of the Episcopal Church. After a time he became rector of St. James Episcopal church at Vincennes, Indiana. Here he became acquainted with a Bishop and some of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. The diocese was in possession of a valuable library which had been rescued from the chaos of the French Revolution and brought to Vincennes. Mr. Roberts was given the privilege of this library. He was scholarly inclined and of course appreciated the opportunity to delve into the writings of the Church Fathers. These priests were captivated by his intelligence and social qualities, and he likewise by their learning and refinement, the result was that he left the Episcopal Church and went to the Roman Catholic. He remained in the Catholic communion until his death, December 15, 1905. At one time he occupied a Chair m the Roman Catholic College of St. Mary's of the Lake, in Chicago. Afterward he moved to Old Mission, Michigan, on Grand Traverse Bay.

He was married April 28, 1846 to Miss Virginia E. Horner, of Lebanon, a daughter of Nathan Horner, long a trustee of McKendree, and a sister of Henry Hypes Horner, a member of the first class in McKendree. The wedding ceremony was performed by Rev. Thornton Peeples. Their daughter, Virginia L. Roberts was graduated from McKendree in the class of 1872. After the death of Mr. Roberts, his widow went to Los Angeles, where she lived till past the age of ninety. She died February 6, 1920.

Nathan Scarritt, was born near EdwardsviUe, Illinois, April 14, 1821, and died in Kansas City, Missouri, April 22,1890. He was the seventh of twelve children. He grew up on his father's farm and at the age of sixteen entered McKendree. He paid his own way thru college by clearing timber from the campus, sawmt^ wood, and doing other forms of manual labor. He was graduated in 1842 with the highest honors of his class. He was a member of Philo. After teaching two years at Waterloo, Illinois, he went to Fayette, Missouri, where he taught with Dr. William T. Lucky of the class of 1841.

These two McKendreans working together established a high school, out of which grew two successful colleges. Central and Howard-Paine, the latter for women. These are both leading institutions of the Methodist Church South, at the present day. Dr. Scarritt spent the remainder of his life as a member of the Southern Church and made his influence felt in a remarkable manner. His sister married William T. Lucky and his daughter married Bishop Eugene R. Hendrix of the Methodist Church South. His brother Isaac was long a member of the Illinois Conference of the Methodist Church and his brother Jotham was one of the charter members of the Southern Illinois Conference and for half a century a trustee of McKendree. Nathan Scarritt was a trustee and a leading benefactor of Central College as long as he lived. He made some fortunate investments which gave him command of a considerable portion of this world's goods and he always proved himself a good steward. He made a plan before his death which was carried out by his children whereby he became the donor of $40,000 and thus the chief founder of The Scarritt Bible and Training School for Missionaries in Kansas City. He also built at his own expense the Melrose Methodist Church in Kansas City and served as its pastor for many years. He was several times a delegate to the General Conference of his church and was always a wise and able counselor. Kansas City has recognized and honored him by giving his name to one of her fine ward schools, as well as to one of her leading streets and her most beautiful park, which is called "Scarritt's Point."

The Class Of 1843

This class contained nine members and was the second to graduate under Dr. Finley's administration. There are no catalogues extant for the years 1841-1846. We find the names of the graduates of those years in the records of the Joint Board and a few facts are obtainable concerning the later life of some of them.

Thomas S. Dorey

Thomas Sterling Dorey was born April 8, 1821, at Trenton, New Jersey. When he was quite young his parents moved to Ohio, and later to St. Louis, Missouri. From there he came to be a student at McKendree. He became a member of the Philosophian Society, and received his Bachelor's Degree in 1843. After graduation, he entered one of the Medical Colleges in St. Louis, and in due time became a Medical Doctor. He served for some years as surgeon in the United States Marine Corps, which was the Navy of that day, and once made a voyage to China. He lived only ten years after his graduation and was never married. His death occurred February 16, 185J.

James Riley Monroe Gaskill was born near Troy, Illinois, May 18, 1820. While in McKendree he was a member of Philo. After his graduation, he attended the McDowell

Medical College, and from that institution received the degree of M. D. in 1854. The next year he went to Marine Mills, Minnesota, and there engaged in the flour milling business with the firm of Judd, Walker and Company until 1864. when he entered the Union Army as surgeon of the Forty-fifth Regiment of Illinois Infantry. He served in this capacity till the close of the war and marched with Sherman to the sea. After the war, he returned to Minnesota and engaged in the practice of medicine and the drug business until 1886 when he removed to Stillwater, Minnesota, and continued the practice of his profession until his death, which occurred April 7, 1894. He was a representative in the Territorial Legislature of Minnesota before it became a state and of its State Legislature in 1872-73. He was state inspector of prisons in Minnesota for three consecutive terms, and a member of the State Medical Society of Minnesota from the time of the Civil War. He was married in 1861 to Miss Clara Eldredge Hughs, of Greenville, Illinois. To them were born three sons and one daughter. Of these, only one son, Roy, survived the father.

Judge William H. Snyder

William Henry Snyder, son of Judge Adam W. Snyder, was born near Belleville, July 12, 1825. He spent several years as a student in McKendree, was a member of the Philosophian Society and received his A. B. degree in 1843. He served eighteen months in the Mexican War, holding the rank of First Lieutenant in the Fifth Regiment of Illinois Infantry. He studied law with Governor Koerner of Belleville and was admitted to the bar in 1845 before he went to the war. Later he held the positions of Postmaster of Belleville, State's Attorney of St. Clair County, and member of the Illinois Legislature. He was Judge of the twenty-fourth Judicial District from 1857 to 1861. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of Illinois in 1869-70. In 1873, he was elected Judge of the twenty-second Judicial Circuit and served in this office three consecutive terms of six years each. He was married to Miss Jane E. Champion in June, 1859. He died December 24, 1892.

Frederick A. Snyder

Frederick A. Snyder was born m St. Clair County, December 21, 1828, the same year that McKendree College was founded. Tho three years younger than his brother mentioned above, he came to McKendree at the same time and graduated in the same class, read law and was admitted to the bar at the same time. He also served in the Mexican War and was a Second Lieutenant while his brother was First. He served till thecloseof the war and then went to California and located in San Francisco. Later he was a member of the Legislature of that state and was appointed with two others on a committee to revise the statutes of the state. He died at Lake Bigler, California, July 23, i8'J4, only eleven years after his graduation. A third brother of this family, John F. Snyder, did not graduate from McKendree, but became a physician and practiced medicine for many years in Virginia, Illinois. He was for many years president of the Illinois Historical Society, and the biographer of his father. Judge Adam W. Snyder, who, after a long and useful career, died suddenly after he had been nominated for Governor ot Illinois, with a prospect of almost certain election, had he lived a few months longer.

Dr. John L. Hallam

John Locker Hallam was born near Brassington, Derbyshire, England, m February, 1819, and died at Centralia, Illinois, June 15, 1894. His father's family, consisting of parents and four children, came to Edwards County, Illinois, in 1827, and from that time on he was a resident of Illinois. He graduated from McKendree in 1843,, receiving the degree of A. B. He then took up the study of medicine and in 1846, received the degree of M. D. from the institution later known as the Missouri Medical College, in St. Louis. He began the practice of his profession in Louisville, Illinois, where he was married July 4, 1850 to Sarah G. Green, daughter of Doctor Peter Green, of that place. They had two children, William Locker and Bessie, now both deceased. In 1854, he moved to Centralia, and the same year his wife died. Twelve years after, m 1866, he was married to Mrs. Sarah A. Doyle. To them were born three daughters and one son. The son, John C. Hallam, attended McKendree and then studied medicine, giving promise of a brilliant career. He was assistant for a time to the famous surgeon. Dr. A. C. Bernays. He also travelled abroad. After some years of practice he was compelled by ill health to give up his work and died in 1914. The elder Dr. Hallam, besides being a successful physician, was a useful and public spirited citi2;en. He served several terms as a member of the city council in CentraHa, and also as a member of the Board of Education. He was United States Pension Examiner, physician for the Illinois Central Railroad, a Mason, being a charter member of Centralia Lodge No. 201, established in 1856. He also belonged to the Centrailia Chapter No. 93, Royal Arch Masons, and to the Methodist Church.

Of the other four members of this class we have very slight information. James McAllister hved in St. Louis and Ira Wakefield in Lebanon. Both were members of the Philosophian Society. The names of George W. Leach and Wickliffe Price do not appear m the Philo records, so of them we can only say th.it they graduated in 184J, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

A later word concerning Mr. McAllister is that he went to Washington, D. C. soon after his graduation, and obtained a clerkship in one of the departments of the government. Three years later he died of tuberculosis. He was never

J. L. SCRIPPS The class of 1844 consisted of only one man, but measured by the lasting results attained it was as large as some classes which contained a dozen or a score of members. John Locke Scripps was born February 27, 1818, just a few months before Illinois became a state. He was of English ancestry. His father, George H. Scripps, settled near Cape Girardeau, Missouri where he engaged in the practice of law. He was a member of the convention which framed the constitution of the state of Missouri and later a member of the Legistalure. In 1836, he emancipated his slaves and moved to the free state of Illinois, locating at Rushville. Here John L. worked in his father's tannery and taught school. Later he entered McKendree and graduated with the A. B. degree in 1844. He then studied law and in 1847 went to Chicago and began the practice of his profession. After a few years he decided that journalism was more to his taste and accordingly purchased an interest in the newly established Chicago Tribune. Mr. Bross in his History of Chicago, states that Mr. Scripps was the Tribune's writer and editorial manager. He says, "Mr. Scripps' literary abiUties were of a high order; his style chaste, lucid and simple;his reasoning powers always strong and cogent; his arguments well timed, condensed and straight to the point. His invariably dignified and gentlemanly bearing, joined with these qualities, resulted m the elevation of the Chicago press and formed the foundation of the power it has jqhn LOCKE SCRIPPS since become." For political reasons, Mr. Scripps withdrew from the Tribune and started the "Democratic Press" in i8'i2. However, in iS'io, the "Press" was consolidated with the "Tribune" and Mr. Scripps became the Editorin-Chief In that year he publish- ed a biography of Abraham Lincoln which was used as a campaign document and was doubtless one of the influences that caused his election to the presidency. From 1861 to 1865, Scripps was Postmaster of Chicago. This important post he filled with great acceptabiHty. During the Civil War, he showed his patriotism by organizing and equipping at his own expense. Company C of the Seventy-second Regiment, Ilhnois Volunteers, well known during the war as the "Scripps Guards."

In 1865, he ventured into a new field of activity and became a partner in the banking firm of Scripps, Preston and Kean, of Chicago. His marriage occurred October 24, 1848, when he was united with Mary E. Blanchard of Greenville, Illinois. They had three children, of whom George died in 1902, Mary Virginia died in infancy and Grace married Mr. F. B. Dyche, of Evanston, lUinois. Mrs. Scripps died in January, 1866, and her husband in September of the same year. The class of 1845 had just two members of whom brief sketches follow.

Hon, Francis Hereford

Francis Hereford was born in Fauquier County, Virginia, July 4, 1825. His ancestors were English and Scotch. His grandfather, Francis Hereford, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His father, Francis Hereford, moved from Virginia to Missouri where he practiced law until his death in 1 8-; I. Young Francis attended McKendree and graduated in 1845 with the degree of A. B. He belonged to the Philo Society. He studied law and then went to California in 1849. He was elected District Attorney of Sacramento in 1855. He afterward went to Virginia City, Nevada, where he remained till 1866. He then returned to the East and settled in Union, West Virginia. In 1868, he was Democratic presidential elector, casting his vote for Seymour and Blair. In 1870, he was elected as one of the representatives of West Virginia, to the 42nd Congress. He was re-elected in 1S72, and again in 1874. In 1877, he was elected United States Senator by the Legislature of West Virginia.

He was married in 1858 to Rebecca C. Pearis, of Sacramento, who died in 1866. In 1872, he was married to Alice B. Caperton, in West Virginia. Of this union were born two sons and two daughters. Senator Hereford died December 21, 1891.

Frederick Spies

Frederick Spies was born in Bavaria, Germany, September 8, 1822. In his nineteenth year he came to America, arriving at St. Louis in January, 1842. He entered McKendree and graduated in 184^ with the degree of A. B. He then studied law in Transylvania University at Lexington, Kentucky. He was admitted to the bar at Belleville in 1846, and at St. Louis in 1849. In the latter city he spent the remainder of his life. He was married January 6, 1847, to Miss Julia A. Gray. To them were born seven children, three sons and four daughters, all of whom died young except two, Mary L. and Fannie. His wife died February i, i860. On March i, i86j he was married to Lisette Crecelius, daughter of John P. Crecelius of St. Louis County. To this union one son was born in 1866. Mr. Spies enjoyed the distinction of being the oldest living graduate for many years before his death which occurred in St. Louis, January i, 191 1.