St. Clair County, Illinois - Chapter 12 (1 of 2 so headed), 1928

Chapter 12

eRASTUS Wentworth was born m Stonington, Connecticut, August 5, 1813. In his early youth he attended the Congregational Church at Norwich, Connecticut, hut in 1831 was converted in a Methodist revival and from that time on he was a Methodist. In 1832, he became a student in Cazenovia Seminary in New York State. In 1834, he entered the Wesleyan University at Middletown, from which institution he graduated three years later. He then taught natural science in the academy at Gov, erneur. New York, for several years. In 1841, he joined the Black River Conference, and was appointed to teach m Troy Conference Academy at Poultney, Vermont. In 1846, he was elected president of McKendree, in which position he remained four years. In the summer of 1846, after a temporary suspension of a few months on account of financial diificulties, the Board of Trustees decided that the college must open as usual that fall. So they acted on the suggestion of Rev. Davis Goheen and advertised for professors who, instead of salaries, would be willing to accept the regular Methodist itinerant preachers' allowance, estimated in the usual way, according to the size of his family; and to be raised by the people in collections and contributions of cash and provisions, but chiefly the latter. A considerable number answered the advertisement and out of these the Board selected the faculty. Dr. Wentworth, writing in the "Central Advocate" thirty years after, gives a very interesting account of his experience at McKendree.

""The writer was not an applicant, but was chosen president without previous consultation. The position was readily accepted, though at a pecuniary sacrifice, as a providential opening to get a consumptive wife out of cold Vermont into the milder Mississippi valley. A move which doubtless prolonged her life several years. The kindly ex-president, Dr. John W. Merrill, whom I met at the Eastham Camp Meeting that summer, said to me. Take a library with you and devote the next few years to study. It will be a perfect burial without books.' The advice, alas, could not be followed. But it was hardly necessary. The next four years were the busiest of a busy life. I was constantly preaching, lecturing, teaching, writing, dedicating churches, attending camp meetings, conferences, conventions, and conducting a weekly paper, the Lebanon Journal, the modest bud which at length bloomed into the full flowered and richly flavored 'Central Christian Advocate.'

"The voluntary support system worked well. My "allowance' was less than three hundred dol lars a year, on which I laid up money, while I ran in debt at Dickinson on a salary of a thousand. Our neighbors, the prairie farmers, were especially liberal to the new professors who preached every Sunday m their school houses, bringing m corn and 'side meat' more than we could possibly make use of. One brother put into my log crib forty bushels of Indian corn for five dollars. "I give you the corn," he said, 'I only charge you a bit {i2}4 cents) a bushel for hauling it.' We had a cow and her keeping, pigs, poultry, and a vegetable garden which it was next to impossible to protect from the wolfish hogs that ranged the woods, and made no bones of forcing pickets and could scale a six rail fence with the agility of a raccoon. Lovely were those years in that broad college campus with Its sunlit lawns, its graceful swells, its huge trees, the home of contemplation and retirement, yet made lively by the shouts of students with their games of 'shinney' and foot ball. Cottages nestled among the trees, as cosy, if not as handsome, as those provided for the accommodation of the guests at Saratoga. The college building itself was spacious, but a terrible eye sore. It took a fancy to burn down a few years after and everybody said, in view of its past utility, 'Pax cineribus.' Built in early times before the age of saw mills, it was sheathed with rived clap boards and looked like a superannuated distillery. On its front gable rested a little bell from which the rope dangled to the ground between the front doors. One of our first improvements was to build a cupola and remove the bell to the center of the building. We remodelled and reseated the chapel, made the library and recitation rooms cheerful with paint, paper, and whitewash, doing much of the work with our own hands.

"We followed the bad habit of the olden time, now happily abandoned, of early morning prayers; and compelled the boys to get up in the dark and cold, to go through, with freezing fingers, yawning muscles, drooping eye-lids, and empty stom- achs, the forms of devotion which it was deemed an act of piety to shirk as often as possible. We commiserated the offenders against this barbardus college regulation, made justice do homage to mercy, and occasionally excused a poor wight for sleeping over. The bell, small as it was, waked the old building at six in the dark winter mornings, as it would wake the dead; and yet many a drousy youth escaped debt marks with the plea 'Didn't hear the bell.' One day dry "Tom Harrison' of Belleville presented himself at the office with a lugubrious face as a candidate for excuse from prayers the morning previous. 'What is your excuse, sir?" 'Didn't hear the bell, sir !' 'What ! You rooming away up among the rafters, right under the cupola, why didn't you hear the bell?' 'Because, sir,' said he with imperturbable face, but with lightning glance of waggery from his sharp blue eyes, 'The rope made so much noise, sir.' He was excused."

In 1850, Dr. Wentworth left McKendree to become professor of science in Dickinson College. Four years later he was appointed as missionary to China where he spent eight years and saw the opening of what proved to be one of the most successful of Methodist missions in heathen lands. After his return to the United States, he spent some years in the pastorate in New York State and Massachusetts. He was three times a member of the General Conference, in 1868, 1872 and 1876. The General Conference of 1876 elected him Editor of the "Ladies' Repository" and Book Editor of the Western Book Concern at Cincinnati. Also in 1876, he was made a member of the committee of fifteen appointed to revise the Methodist Hymnal. His death occurred May 25, 1886, when he was in his seventy-fourth year, at Sandy Hill, near Troy, New York.

At McKendree in those days, the President was always Professor of Mental and Moral Science. His colleagues were Rev. Anson W. Cummings, A. M., Professor of Mathematics and Natural Sciences; Rev. Spencer Mattison, A. M., Professor of Ancient Languages and Literature; and Rev. William Goodfellow, Principal of the Preparatory Department. At the regular annual meeting of the Board for 1847, the President reported a full year of scholastic work, though on account of the vicissitudes thru which the college had recently passed, there was no graduating class ready. But Rev. William L. Deneen, who on account of ill health rather than age, was on the superannuated list, having availed himself of the privilege provided by a rule passed some years before, had prepared himself and successfully passed examination on the entire scientific course, and on recommendation of the faculty, was granted the degree of Bachelor of Science.

This was the first time that degree was conferred by McKendree and Mr. Deneen was the graduating class for that year. A sketch of his life will be found in the History of the City of Lebanon.

At a later session of the Board, two other members were added to the Faculty. Dr. Sylvanus M. E. Goheen was elected Professor of Physiology and Comparative Anatomy. His name appears on the Faculty page in the catalogue for the year 1847-48. Dr. William Nast of Cincinnati was elected Professor of German, but he evidently did not accept the place since his n<ime does not appear in any of the catalogues. At a meeting in July, 1848, the Rev. Ernest Kern, A. M., of the Missionary Institute of Basle, Switzerland, was elected to the Chair of German, a chair which at that time had no real existence. A notification of his election was sent him, but he also failed to appear. However, in the catalogue of 1849, Michael Mummert is announced as the teacher of German. German was his Mother tongue and he was said to be an efficient teacher, tho he was at the same time a student m the Preparatory department of the college. But after one year the German department was allowed to lapse for a few years. Dr. Goodfellow was a very important member of the faculty since he had charge of the Preparatory Department which contained a majority of all the students enrolled. In 1848, he was charged with the additional responsibility of establishing a Normal Department. However, it did not materialize till many years after. In 1849, he reported his work in soliciting funds for a new building. He was so successful in this work that he was excused from teaching that he might devote his whole time to raising money for the building enterprise. G. N. Poston was appointed to teach in his stead. He (Goodfellow) succeeded in raising $10,000 for the building, which was several times as much as the first building cost. The col lege was now on the upgrade. This was a substantial three story brick building, well constructed and a real credit to the institution for that day. The corner stone waslaidonCommencement Day, 1850. The building was constructed during the following year and completed on June if, US';:. These exact d.ites are established by records in the diary of Capt. Henry C. Fike, who was a student in McKendree at the time. This building now known as "OldMain" is therefore the oldest building on the grounds, and perhaps is still the most substantial of the nine that now compose the group of college buildings. After this successful achievement, Dr. Goodfellow felt that his best work in this field was accomplished and that it would be better for him to pass on to other fields. His father-in-law, Rev. John Dempster, who was one of the founders of Garrett Biblical Institute, and who received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from McKendree in 1 848, had spent a number of his most active years as a missionary in South America. Dr. and Mrs. Goodfellow felt that they would like to carry on the work which Mrs. Goodfellow's father had established. Therefore, not long after leaving McKendree, they sailed for the southern hemisphere and did a monumental work in Argentina, especially in the city of Beunos Ayres. They returned to the United States in 1869, and spent their declining years in Evanston. Sometime in the nineties when Dr. Chamberlin was president of McKendree, the aged Dr. Goodfellow visited the scenes of his early labors by special invitation and spent a commencement with us. Dr. Wentworth also, as previously stated, after a few years more of college work, went to the foreign mission fields. There must have been something of the missionary spirit in the McKendree atmosphere in those days. There was a romance in the life of the circuit rider and the pioneer educator that often fired him with enthusiasm to reach even more remote and more difficult fields, which he could only find in the foreign mission fields. The following incident occurred in Dr. Wentworth's term at McKendree;

Several of the students who had an appreciation of good music were anxious to hear the famous singer, Jenny Lmd, who was to appear m St. Louis. President Wentworth having learned that a request for permission to make the trip to St. Louis was likely to come to him (a rule of the college in those days required a student to secure permission before leaving town), and feeling that the parents of the students might not approve the two days absence from their studies which a trip to St. Louis required at that time, decided to avoid an unpleasant refusal by hastening his own departure a few hours. The trip was made in those days by stage or private conveyance. The boys found the President had gone and his representative had no authority to grant the desired leave of absence. So they decided to take the risk of going without It. They procured a team of some sort for the drive to St. Louis and the late afternoon found them in the city where Jenny Lind was to sing. But being mud-spattered and hungry, they sought a moderate priced hotel where they might clean up and refresh themselves a little before time for the concert. There in the lobby of the hotel to which they happened to go they found the President himself, whiling away the hours before the concert with some acquaintances. The recognition between the boys and their President was immediate and mutual. Neither could ignore the other. So the leader of the truant music -lovers, with great presence of mind and a serious countenance, walked up to the President and told him they had come all the way to St. Louis to ask his permission to attend the Jenny Lind Concert. The President could see a joke himself, especially when it was as plain as that, and perhaps feeling that he had been outwitted in his effort to avoid an unpleasant duty, generously granted the permission and immunity from discipline, on their return home next day. And so the boys and their President heard the famous Jenny Lind together.

The Class Of 1848

THE CLASS OF 1848 In the class of 1848, there were eight regular graduates besides two who had received their Bachelor's Degree at the Indiana Asbury University, at Greencastle, but were receiving their master's degree from McKendree with this class. These were Rev. James A. Jaquess and Rev. Oliver S. Munsell. The former was the first president of the Illinois Women's College, at Jacksonville, and later Colonel of the 73rd Regiment, Illinois Volunteers, during the Civil War, and the other was for eighteen years President of the Illinois Wesleyan University, at Bloomington. In 1876, he moved to Kansas and in 1880-81, he was a member of the Kansas Legis' lature. The regular members of the class were Thomas Ogles- by Harrison, Cornelius Gooding Harrison, George Huston Holliday, George Lunceford Phelps, James Henry Roberts, Henry Clay Talbot, Samuel Kinney Thomas, and Daniel White.

The Harrison fimily were among the early settlers of Belleville and will be found prominently mentioned in the history of St. Clair County. There are no less than eight Harrisons of this particular family in the roster of JMcKendree students, and Mrs. Charles Harrison may be considered the ninth. She was Ida Blanck of Lebanon before her marriage.

Thomas Oglesby Harrison

THOMAS OGLESBY HARRISON Thomas Oglesby Harrison was born at Belleville, May i , 1827. He graduated from McKendree, July 19, 1848, and in the spring of 185c, he and his brother went to California, when so many were .seeking their fortunes in the gold fields. They went overland by the slow travel of the covered wagon. However, he did not find a fortune nor a permanent residence, but came near losing his health. The next year, he returned, not across the plains, but by steamer around Cape Horn. A year later he was married to Eliza J. Calbreath. Their oldest child, Hugh, had Wentworth for his middle name, in honor of Dr. Wentworth, who was President of McKendree when the Harrisons were graduated. They had six other children, tho two of them died in infancy. After engaging in the milling business until i86o, he moved to Hastings, Minnesota, where he lived until his death which occurred Feb. 20, 1863. His widow returned to Belleville to live.

Cornelius Gooding Harrison

CORNELIUS GOODING HARRISON Cornelius G. Harrison, brother of Thomas, was in the same class with him, and went to California with him. Later he returned and they engaged in the milling business to, gether. But after the death of the elder brother in Minnesota, the younger went back to California, where he made his permanent home and engaged in the banking business at San Jose. He was married to Sarah J. Spruance in 1857. They had five children, of whom two grew to maturity. His death occurred in 1904.

George Huston Holliday

Hugh G. Harrison, an uncle of the two above mentioned, attended McKendree as early as 1842, but did not graduate GEORGE HUSTON HOLLIDAY George H. Holliday was born at Harrisburg, Kentucky, August 5, 1824. After finishing his course at McKendree in 1848, he settled in Macoupin County, Illinois, and for several years served as County Surveyor. Later he published the "Spectator" at Carlinville, the County Seat of the same county. During the term i8';5-i857 he was a member of the

Illinois Legislature. In 1867, he was appointed a member of the commission to erect a new court house. He was married to Cinderella Chism in 1852. To them, six children were born, four boys and two girls.

George L. Phelps

GEORGE L. PHELPS George L. Phelps was born in St. Clair County on a farm near the boundary line between St. Clair and Monroe Counties. He grew up in rural districts, took a course in mathematical studies under Rev. Wm. L. Deneen before he entered McKendree. He was a cousin of Col. Risdon M. Moore. He was a member of the Philosophian Society. After his graduation, he returned to his agricultural pursuits which he followed with great diligence and a high degree of success. He lived only ten years after his graduation. He was never married. His death occurred December j, 18^8

Henry C. Talbot

Henry Clay Talbot was born in Louisville, Kentucky, August 14, 1825. He came to Monroe County, Illinois about 1840. After his graduation, he engaged in newspaper work in Waterloo, 111. In 1853, he was the publisher of the "Monroe Advertiser," and in 1858, he became the publisher of the "Monroe Patriot." Later he was admitted to the bar. In 1862, he was elected to the Illinois Legislature. Beginning in 1868, he served four years on the State Board of Equalization. In 1872, he became County Judge of his county and held this office for four years. In his earlier life, he spent some years teaching, and he was always interested in educational affairs. He died Sept. 29, 1874.

Samuel K. Thomas

Samuel Kinney Thomas was born at the residence of Hon. William Kinney, four miles northeast of Belleville, who was his kinsman. He left college to enter the Mexican War. He was in the battle of Buena Vista. After the war, he returned to college and graduated in 1848. He was a member of Philo. He received the B. S. Degree, but he desired to do the necessary work in the classics to entitle him to secure the A. B. Degree, so he entered college again, but before he had time to accomplish this purpose, he died from an attack of cholera, July 23, i84q.

James Henry Roberts

James H. Roberts was born at Kaskaskia, Illinois, December 12, 1825. His ancestors on his father's side came from England with William Penn, and both parents were descended from Quakers. When his grandmother Gibson was a little girl, she sat on General Washington's knee when he made his temporary headquarters at her father's house just after the Battle of Brandywine. His father was a merchant, and in his youth James assisted in the store, but he never seemed drawn toward that Hne of work. For a time he attended a private school kept byRev.Hubbell Loomis who was afterward prominently connected with Shurtleff College. While a student at McKendree, he was a member of Philo and took great interest m debates. Even before he graduated in 1848, he visited the Law School of Transylvania University at Lexington, Kentucky. While|_ there. ,he, heard Henry Clay make his great speech on the WilmotProviso. Some of his relatives wished him to be a physician, and to please them, he gave the matter a try-out. He says, "For weeks I read works on human anatomy with a naked skeleton before me." But he failed to get any inspiration in that line, and he soon took up the law in earnest. He studied law with Hon. Edward Bates, who was afterward Attorney General in Mr. Lincoln's cabinet. He first established a law office as a member of a law firm in Vincennes, Indiana. A year or two later, in 1855, he began practice in Chicago, the city which his father had helped to lay out m 1829 when he was a member of the Illinois Canal Commission. Mr. Roberts had very little to do with public life or office holding. He was for two years a member of the City Council of Chicago. He soon became disgusted with the political methods he saw practiced there. He says, "I resolved to seek no further public position, believing that in the practice of my profession lay my happiness and welfare." He was admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court in 1864. His first term in this court enabled him to hear arguments by some of the great lawyers of the country, such as Reverdy Johnson, William H. Seward, James T. Brady and others. He says, "During my stay in Washington in that court session, I saw Abraham Lincoln for the last time. I scarcely remember how early I came to know him as a boy; but early in the thirties, when I lived in Springfield, I saw him almost daily. I heard him debate with Douglas in Springfield in 1854. Again I heard them debate m 1858. I heard Lincoln's great speech in Chicago in 1861, just at the outbreak of the Civil War. I was also a personal friend of Douglas, and was at his home when he received Lincoln's challenge to a joint debate in 1858."

Daniel White

In fact, it may be said of this remarkable McKendrean that he lived during some portion of the life of every president of the United States, except Washington, down to Woodrow Wilson. He was born the year before John Adams died, and he died June 25, 1920, just before the end of Wilson's administration. He was personally acquainted with several of them, as well as with other illustrious men who might be regarded as unsuccessful candidates, as Webster, Clay, Douglas, and including William Jennings Bryan, with whose father he was a fellow student at McKendree. Mr. Roberts was twice married. First to Harriet E. Smith, September 16, 1863. Their children were Lucretia B., and James Henry, but the son died in infancy. Some years later his wife died. His second marriage was to Susan M. Slater, November 10. 1870. They had one daughter who died when only a year old. DANIEL WHITE

The Class Of 18-19

The other member of this class, Daniel White, came from a Carlyle family. He belonged to Philo, was a lawyer, and in his later life practiced his profession in San Antonio, Texas. We have not been able to secure further information concerning him, except that he died in 1865. THE CLASS OF 18-19

This class consisted of thirteen members whose names are as follows: Reuben Andrus, Silas Lillard Bryan, William Hugh Corrington, Robert DoUahon, Wesley Davidson, Joseph Windsor Drury, Thomas Asbury Eaton, John T. Foster, Joseph N. King, William W. King, William Spencer Pope, Hiram Sears, and Thomas O. Springer.

Concerning three of these men we do not have sufficient information to justify a separate sketch. These are Robert Dollahon, Wesley Davidson, and John T. Foster. They were all three members of Philo. Davidson enrolled from Jonesboro and Dollahon from Lawrenceville. The former was a lawyer and the latter a farmer. Foster's residence is given in the old catalogue as Pleasant Point, 111. In after years, he became a minister of the gospel. Brief biographies of all the others follow.

Reuben Andrus D. D.

Reuben Andrus was born in Rutland, New York, January 29, 1824. In early life he emigrated to Illinois. He was a student for three years in the Illinois College at Jacksonville, but graduated from McKendree after having completed the classical course in 1849, receiving the degree of A. B. Later he received the degree of A. M. and in 1868 his Alma Mater honored him with the degree of Doctor of Divinity. The year after his graduation, in 1850, he was admitted to the Illinois Conference. Though a minister of the gospel.

he had a long career in educational work. Among the various positions he held were the following: Principal of the Preparatory Department of the Illinois Wesleyan University, President of Quincy College, President of the Illinois Female College, and President of the Indiana Asbury University. In 1867, he was transferred to the Indiana Conference. He was a member of the General Conference of 1876. While in McKendree, he belonged to the Philo Society. He died at Indianapolis, Indiana, January 17, 1887.

Judge Silas Lillard Bryan

JUDGE SILAS LILLARD BRYAN Silas Lillard Bryan was born near Sperryville, Virginia, November 4, 1822. His parents were John and Nancy (Lillard) Bryan. He was one of the younger children of a large family. His parents died when he was about fourteen years of age, and soon afterward he came to Illinois to hve with some older members of the family who had already gone west to hve. He was ambitious to secure an education, and by his own energy and industry, he made his way thru college. An old building is still standing (1912) in the west edge of the city of Lebanon, where he and a fellow student "kept batch" and chopped wood during their college days. He completed the classical course at McKendree and received the degree of A. B. in 1849. Later he received the Master's Degree. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 18^1. He located at Salem to engage in the practice of law. In 1852, he was married to Miss Mariah Elizabeth Jen, nings. To them were born nine children, of whom five grew to maturity. Among them the famous William Jennings Bryan. From 1852 to i860 Mr. Bryan was a member of the Illinois State Senate. From that date till 1872, he was Judge of the Circuit Court. In 1872, he was nominated as a candidate for Congress on the Democratic ticket, but failed of election by a small margin. After his retirement from the bench, he practiced law at Salem for the remainder of his active life. He died at Jacksonville, 111., March jo, 1880.

Silas L. Bryan

"Mr. Bryan was a hard student and stood in the front rank of scholarship, but he was a confirmed tobacco chewer. The expectorations of the young men indulging in this habit, especially in thecoUege chapel. drew down on them a sharp rebuke from one of the New England professors who would not be reconciled to this bad Western habit. Bryan regarded it as aimed at him particularly, as it was well known that he stood at the front, if he were not the very chief offender. The reprimand immediately followed the morning prayer in the chapel service. Thereupon Bryan rose in his place and in a few words vindicated the tobacco habit as almost universal, and said he would not tamely submit to the public reprimand nor the abuse of any man, and especially before the assembled faculty and fellow students, without resenting it. His remarks created consternation among the students, but instead of expulsion, as they had feared, they brought immediate apology from the professor, who admitted that he had spoken sharply, and perhaps without due consideration, and certainly with no intentions of hurting the feelings of Mr. Bryan. It is needless to say that the tobacco habit was not quelled." Mr. Bryan was a man of deep religious convictions and a member of the Baptist church. While on the bench as Circuit Judge, it was his custom to open court with prayer, claiming that altho the practice was without precedent, yet the Senate and House of Representatives, not only of Illinois, but of the nation, were opened with prayer, and the courts equally needed divine aid in the administration of justice. This pious father instilled into the mind of his son, William J., those religious principles which were always carried into his public career without the taint of hypocrisy, even amid the demoralizing associations of party politics, and which secured for him the admiration of even his most inveterate opponents.

Rev. William Hugh Corrington

REV. WILLIAM HUGH CORRINGTON William Hugh Corrington was born in Harrison County, Kentucky, March 28, 1826. He entered McKendree in 1847 and graduated with the degree of B. S. in 1849. Later, he re-entered college, and after completing the classical course, he graduated with the class of i8')j, receiving the degree of A. B. He w.is a member of the Philosophian Society. During the first two years after leaving college, he taught school at Chester and Rockford, Illinois, and acted as agent for McKendree College. In 1855, he was elected president of the Southern Illinois Female College at Salem, which position he held for eight years. He was .idmitted on trial to the Southern Illinois Conference in 1861, but did not become a pastor until 1864, when he was appointed to Vandalia. He served two years each at Vandaha, Flora, and Belleville, and then in 1870, was appointed presiding elder of the Lebanon district. After two years of service on the district, he died at Belleville, June 6, 1872. He was twice married. First to Maria Blackwell, October 31, 1853. Of this union one child was born, Alice Murray. The second marriage was to Mary A. Smith, January 30, 1857. Their children were James Courtney, Herschel Knox, Haller Smith, and Rhoda May.

Joseph W. Drury

Joseph Windsor Drury was born in St. Louis, February 5, 1832. He graduated from McKendree in 1849, receiving the degree of B. S. He was one of the founders of the Platonian Literary Society. During the Civil War, he was Provost Marshal of Monroe County, Illinois; and for three terms, served as sheriff and collector of his county. During the session of the fifty-third Congress, he served as newspaper clerk in Washington, D. C. He was a member of the Illinois Legislature for two terms, and also was a member of the State Board of Equalization. He died at Waterloo, Illinois, March 4, 1902.

Rev. Thomas A. Eaton

Thomas Alexander Eaton was born October 22, 1825, at Anchorage, near Louisville, Kentucky. He was one of the several children given to Thomas and Sarah Eaton. In 1836, the family moved to Illinois and settled near EdwardsviUe. February 22, 1844, he was married to Miss Louisa M. Dougherty. Within a year his wife died, and soon after, their child. In the midst of this great sorrow, the impression was deepened in his mind that he ought to preach the gospel. Feeling his lack of preparation, he once at set about secur- ing an education. He spent several years at McKendree, became a member of the Philosophian Society, and graduated in 1849 with the B. S. degree. He entered the Illinois Conference in 1850, and in the division of 1852, became a member of the Southern Illinois Conference, and was ordained by Bishop Ames. He was a faithful minister of the gospel in active service for 42 years, having served one term as presiding elder of the Lebanon District. He was a delegate to the General Conference of 1868, which met in Chicago. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of McKendree for forty years, until he resigned the post in 1894. The college conferred upon him the degree of D. D. in 1887. The last fourteen years of his life were spent at the home of his son in Kansas City, Kansas. He passed to his reward October 20, 1907. In Carlyle, Illinois, November 6, i8')4, he was married to Miss Joanna Webster, with whom he travelled the journey of life for more than half a century. To them were born seven children, of whom three sons and three daughters survived their parents.

Joseph N. King

JOSEPH N. KING Joseph Nicholas King was born near White Hall, Illinois, June 28, 1830. He was the son of Joseph and Sarah (Lindsey) King, who were both natives of England, though the mother was of Scotch ancestry on one side. He was the oldest of four children. Both his parents died before he was twelve years of age, and the four children went to live with an uncle, William King, who resided near Jacksonville, Illinois. While still a mere youth, he entered McKendree College and was graduated in the class of 1849, receiving the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society The next year after his graduation, he was married to Elizabeth Rawlins Morrow, March 3, 1850. They located on a farm near White Hall, where they spent the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of nine children, William Joseph, Francis Edward, James Nicholas, Margaret Elizabeth, Mary Lenthall, Sarah Rebecca, Albert Henry, Frederic Charles, and Rachel Ellen. William and James died m childhood. The others grew to maturity, are all married and engaged in various vocations in life. Mr. King was a member of the Methodist Church, Hved a consistent Christian Ufe, and trained his children in the ways of righteous hving. He never accumulated large wealth, but was a successful farmer and a useful citizen. He died at his home February 25, 1885.

William W. King Major William S. Pope

William W. King was born in Green County, Illinois, April 22, 1832. He was a son of Joseph and Sarah King, of whom the former was born in England and the latter in Scotland. His early life was spent on the farm in Green County, where he attended the public schools and afterward McKendree College, from which he graduated in 1849, with the degree of B. S. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. After graduation, he gave his time to farming and teaching for some years. During the years of the Civil War, he gave his services to his country in the Union army. After the war, he was in the mercantile business m Quincy, Illinois for ten years. In 1876, he moved with his family to Lewis County, Missouri, where he resided on a farm till 1905. He then lived three years in Brookfield, and then in Rich Hill, Missouri until his death, which occurred May 17, iqi2, after he had attained the ripe age of full four score years. He was a man of bright mind, a great reader, and possessed inventive ability, having secured patents on several useful inventions. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church from early life till the time of his death He was married April 7, 1852 to Miss Martha F. Benier. Their four daughters are now Mrs. Fanny Hubbard and Mrs. J. A. Bailey of Lewistown, Mo., Mrs. J. E. Bailey of Rich Hill, and Mrs. J. F. Turner of Brookfield, Mo. MAJOR WILLIAM S. POPE

William Spencer Pope was born near Hopkinsville, Kentucky, April 25, 1827,, and died in St. Louis, December 24, 1906, in his eightieth year. His parents were Abraham and Elizabeth (Farley) Pope. They had five children - all sons - of whom William was the third. He became a student in McKendree some time during the forties and in 1849 received the degree of B. S. He then continued his studies in college, devoting special attention to the classics, and in 1852 received the degree of A. M. He was a member of the Philosophian Literary Society. In his last two years in college, he served as tutor in Mathematics and was retained for a time after his graduation as adjunct professor. In 185J, he moved to northern Illinois, and for several years was active as a teacher in Mount Morris College, editor, and public lecturer. He also continued his law studies, begun at McKendree, and was admitted to the bar in Chicago. During the Lincoln campaign of i860, he published a Republican paper at Mt. Morris, Ogle County, 111. Early in the Civil War, Governor Yates commissioned him to go south and look after the interests of the Illinois troops. He fitted up a hospital boat, took it south, and returned with it filled with wounded soldiers, after the battle of Shiloh. Later, Major Pope, as he was now called, accompanied Governor Yates to Washington to see President Lincoln in regard to the prosecution of the war, and the part of their state in it. He was made a paymaster in the army, was brevetted Lieut. -Colonel, and continued in the service till the close of the war. General Grant then recommended his appointment as paymaster in the regular army, but he declined the honor, having decided to return to the practiceof law. He located in St. Louis, and in a short time became one of the leading members of the Missouri Bar. The only public office he ever held was that of member of the 26th General Assembly of Missouri. He was a leader of the Republicans of the lower house, and one of the foremost champions of the act which secured for St. Louis the large tract of land now known as Forest Park. He was married December 20, 1866 to Miss Caroline E. Moore, daughter of Captain Henry J. Moore, of St. Louis. Their three children are Annie E., now Mrs. William L. Boeckeler of St. Louis, Carrie F., now Mrs. George B. McBean of Chicago, and William S. Pope of St. Louis.

Thomas O. Springer

THOMAS O. SPRINGER Thomas O. Springer was born November 2, 1827, in Madison County, Illinois. He grew up on a farm and attended the public schools; later he entered McKendree and was graduated in the scientific course in 1849. He was one of the founders of the Platonian Literary Society. The death of his parents added new responsibilities, under which he conducted himself as a faithful elder brother, keeping the family together on the farm and assisting in the education of his younger brothers. In 1855, he was married to Miss Emma M. Thompson, who died in 1858. He was married again in 1872 to Miss Ella J. Randle, of Lebanon, Illinois. From 1856 to 1864, he was Clerk of the Circuit Court. He also held the office of supervisor. In politics, he was a Whig until the organiz<ition of the Republican party, and ever after that was a staunch RepuhHcan. He was a member of the Methodist Church, the order of A. F. iif A. M., R. A. M., and Knights of Honor. In 1890, Mr. Springer moved to Thornberry, Texas, and later to Compton, Cahf., where he died in 1909.

Rev. Hiram Sears

REV. HIRAM SEARS Hiram Sears was born April 10, 1825, in Fayette County, Ohio. When he was eleven years of age, the family moved to Scott County, Illinois. Here he grew to manhood with very limited educational opportunities. His father died when he was seventeen, leaving him, the oldest son, as the mainstay of the family. After a lengthy struggle in the matter of personal reHgion, he became an earnest Christian, and felt It his duty to preach the gospel. In preparation for this work, he entered McKendree College and graduated in 1849, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He was a member of the Philo Society. He was married to Miss Mary H. Prentice May 25, 1851. Of their six children, but two survive their parents, namely Mrs. Rosa M. Rinehart and Miss Nellie P. Sears. He was admitted to the Illinois Conference m iS'ji, and in the division of the conference the next year he fell into the Southern Illinois Conference, and received in order the following appointments: Fairfield, Edwardsville, Financial Agency of McKendree College, Alton, Brighton, Graf' ton. President of Southern Illinois Female College, Mt. Carmel, Cairo, Vandalia, Presiding Elder Vandalia District, Carbondale, Agency of McKendree, Upper Alton, Collinsville. East St. Louis. After thirty-two years of faithful service, he was superannuated in 1883. Soon after, he was called to the Agency of the Western Seamen's Friend Society, with headquarters at Cleveland, Ohio. To this work he devoted nearly a quarter of a century of diligent service, preaching the gospel to the seamen of the lake region, promoting their temporal welfare, and once a year canvassing a large district in Ohio and Pennsylvania to secure funds for maintaining the work. In 1908, he suffered an apopletic stroke, which incapacitated him for further work. After lingering for two and a half years as an invalid in the care of his daughters, he passed from earth April 10, 191 1, on his eighty-sixth birthday.

IN THE SUMMER of 1850, Rev. Anson W. Cummmgs took up the task which had just been laid down by Dr. Wentworth, and assumed the responsibilities of the office of president. He had already served on the faculty four years, having been appointed Professor of Mathematics and Natural Science at the same time that Dr. Wentworth was made president. He also devoted a part of his energies to the duties of Fiscal Agent. He served so effectively in every capacity that when they needed a new president, the Joint Board did not look any further. He was a scholarly gentleman and a graduate of the Wesleyan University, of which his brother, Joseph Cummings, was for some years president. He was a strong believer in education, and devoted his best energies to that cause in McKendree's field, and after completing his seven years of service here he returned to the East. After his retirement from active work, he lived in his old age at Wellsville, New York. He was the author of a book entitled "Early Schools of Methodism," pubUshed in 1884, which contains much interesting information concerning pioneer education and sketches all the Methodist schools up to about 1840. When he took the presidency of McKendree, he was automatically transferred to the chair of Mental and Moral Science, or Philosophy, as we would call it now. His associates in the faculty were Spencer Mattison, who came to McKendree at the same time he did, and occupied the chair of Ancient Languages, Dixon Alexander, M. D., Professor of Mathematics, Rev. James Leaton, Professor of Natural Science, Rev. William Goodfellow, still listed as Principal of the Preparatory Department, and his assistants: Risdon M. Moore, just graduated at the last commencement, tutor in the classics, William S. Pope, B. S. and William H. Corrington, B. S., who had both received their degrees from McKendree the year before. President Cummings' salary was fixed at six hundred dollars a year, the other professors at five hundred, and the tutors at two hundred and fifty. Professor Cummings, before he was president, had charge of the college paper, and probably should be regarded as its first editor, tho President Wentworth nominally held that office. As far back as 18 j6, the Illinois Conference had recommended that a semi-monthly periodical be established in connection with the college, though it was specified in the resolution that the conference would assume no responsibility in the matter, but the preachers would act as agents. The paper was finally authorized by the Joint Board in July, 1S47. It