Fulton Township (part 2 of 2)

As A College

As it seemed too good a building to stand idle, various schools have been organized, flourished awhile, and then declined. Col. D. S. Covert opened a military academy in 1861, and conducted it for five years with success. The art of war was in demand, and young men sought proper drill. The government furnished muskets and accoutrements, and a band discoursed music at dress parade. In 1866 the Illinois Soldiers' College was organized to enable disabled soldiers of Illinois regiments to continue their education. Col. Leander H. Potter was president, and remained in charge until 1873, when he resigned, and at a meeting of the stockholders, the name was changed to Northern Illinois College. Under this name, Rev. W. D. F. Lummis became president with a faculty for different branches. In the fall of 1875, Mr. Lummis resigned, and Rev. J. W. Hubbard was placed at the head, remaining until 1875 when he, too, following the example of his illustrious predecessors, gave up command. Next came Prof. .Allen A. Griffith, formerly of Batavia Institution, author of an Elocution, and for many years well known as a reader or reciter throughout the northern part of the state. While in charge, Mr. Griffith occasionally appeared at institutes to give readings and advertise his school. On one occasion at a teachers' gathering at Emerson. After Griffith gave up control, other changes succeeded, until in 1879 A. M. Hansen, A. M., LL.D., the present head assumed management of the concern. According to the catalog before us, 1906-1907, he is assisted by a strong faculty for the various departments. L. B. Beers, science and mathematics; C. R. Hansen, literature and commercial law; D. L. Hamilton, commercial course; J. D. Rishell, ancient languages; F. H. Long, mechanical drawing and common branches; Mrs. Hansen, oil painting; Adolph Wiese, music. A gymnasium, regular drill, literary societies. Expenses moderate, board and tuition for the school year being $300. Among the students enrolled at the college in the various years of its existence are some who rose to position. Major General McArthur, John Stowell, professor in Leland Stanford University, J. L. Sullivan, assistant superintendent C. & N. W. Railway, Oscar L. Triggs, late professor in University of Chicago. The buildings are surrounded by a spacious campus, giving the boys plenty of playgound.

The Cemeteries

As you walk north from the college, the street begins to climb the hill, and soon reaches the Catholic cemetery. Numerous handsome tombs, the names telling the nationality. Eagan, O'Neill, Keegan, Doyle, Riordan, Flanigan, Collins, Foley, Ryan. On Mary Hurley's stone the lines:

Here and there a soldier's grave. McLaughlin, Co. C, 3rd N. Y., died 1880, age, 33 ; Hugh Burt, 1906 at 63. Hansen in 1890 at 49. Andrew Eagan in 1891 at 49, Co. A, 4th U. S. Artillery. Around the graves are numerous evergreens, chiefly Norway spruce.

Several rods southeast in a grove of oak is the Protestant cemetery. Here we read the names of the men and women who moved about Fulton and our county a generation ago, and with whom we often held sweet converse. James McCoy, 1811-1891. Elizabeth McCoy, 1819-1892, surviving her husband just a year. Judge McCoy, Virginia, was a resident of Fulton from 1839, and filled many offices of trust, Judge, presidential elector, delegate to the constitutional convention of 1869. A genial man, always receiving his friends with a smile. Jesse Johnson, 1876, aged 78, a native of Troy, N. Y., who came in 1838, living on his farm five miles east, and in 1853 making his home in Fulton. Several children. Two of his sons well known lawyers, Charles J., deceased, and Caleb C., member of the Sterling bar. Some Holland names, Dirk Buis, Deweerot, vroow van Jan Deweerot. Several old citizens. Lyman Blake, 1809-1893. Orrin Cowles, 1808-1887. Elisha Roberts, 1813-1898. A. M. Dutcher, 1879, aged 71. John Phelps, 1853, aged 72. Bradstreet Robinson, 1812-1889. On the tomb of John Kolk :

Another familiar name. Henry C. Fellows, 1813-1899. He was from New York, coming in 1837, was one of the original proprietors of Fulton, filled, responsible positions, deputy sheriff, justice of the peace, supervisor, alderman. A man of noble public spirit. A special plot is devoted to the heroes of the wax, who lie in rows side by side. Wm. Cole, Co. H, 8th N. Y. H. A. George Baxter, Co. A, 34th 111. Martin Ohler, 39th Ohio Inf. Franklin Marcellus, 1862, wounded at Perryville. Wm. Radigan, Co. B, 51st N. Y. Inf. W. W. Erhardt, Co. E, 46th 111. Alva Henson, Co. I, 75th 111. R. B. Myers, Co. F, 93rd 111. Inf. A retired spot, completely hidden in summer by the over arching trees. The association was formed in 1874 by Charles N. Wheeler, Wm. J. McCoy, Wm. C. Snyder, John M. Fay, and F. E. Marcellus. There was an old graveyard, but the association added five acres, and improved the grounds.

Some Old Steamboats

The railroads have spoiled the romance of the river. They cross it, and even run parallel tracks on each side, so that "Othello's occupation's gone." The stately steamers moving in majesty with the current, the excitement at the landing, the coming of passengers, the unloading of freight, the racing of rival boats, the social diversions and acquaintances of a long trip, the lively dining table, the music and hop at night, are gone forever.

During the season the Diamond Jo line run four boats, St. Paul, Dubuque, Sidney, Quincy, between St. Paul and St. Louis. The round trip takes a week, and one of the boats calls every other day. Bennett, American Express agent at Lyons, formerly on the river, received as a present an album with photographs of thirty river steamers that belong to the glorious past. Among them are the Henderson, the Alex Mitchell, Belle of LaCross, Clinton, War Eagle, Natchez, Robert E. Lee, Sucker State, Phil Sheridan, Minneapolis, Gardie Eastman, Everett, Silver Wave, J. W. Van Sant, Pilot, Verne Swain, Jo Long, Jennie Gilehrist, the ill-fated steamer which went down at Davenport in 1882, Keokuk, Gem City, Quincy, and many others.

One card in particular is of interest. It is that of the Henderson, which is shown at the levee in Bellevue, with a company of soldiers drawn up on deck ready to leave for the front in 1861.

And the raft boats will soon be a memory. Only three on the river in 1908. They are the North Star, the Lizzie Gardner and the Hershey. Last year there were five boats going over the LeClaire rapids. Ten or twelve years ago there were over sixty raft boats on the upper river and at one time the number in commission was over ninety. The white pine industry for this section has faded and the fleet of raft boats with the hundreds of pilots have gone never to return to these waters.

The Artesian Well

The present well was begun in December, 1890, and completed in six weeks. The contract called for $2.15 a foot, the well to be drilled to the depth of 1,200 feet and $200 additional for a guaranteed flow of twenty-six pounds pressure. The provisions at that time were that the well should be eight inches in diameter and cased down to solid rock. The flow pipe, which is six inches in diameter, was carried down 235 feet and securely calked. A flow was obtained at a depth of 480 feet.

The well was drilled to a depth of 1,214 feet and when completed and accepted it had a flow of 300 gallons a minute and had sufficient force to raise water to the height of nearly sixty feet. As an increased supply is needed, at a late meeting of the city council, it was voted to enter into a contract with J. D. Shaw, of Clinton for a ten-inch well with an eight-inch flow pipe to the depth of 1,200 feet for $2.25 a foot and if the flow pipe was carried below a depth of 225 feet he was to receive $1.40 a foot for additional depth.

This committee also reported the bid of the Smedley Steam Pump company of Dubuque for a steam pump, $075, be accepted. This report was received and it was voted to purchase the pump.

A special election will be called to vote upon a proposition to bond the city so as to raise money to pay for a well and pump and for extensive additions to the pumphouse.

Fulton has the facilities afforded by three great railroads: Chicago and Northwestern, which crosses the Mississippi at Clinton, six miles below, the Milwaukee and St. Paul, striking the river at Savanna above and running to Rock Island, and the Burlington, which, with its numerous branches connect in every direction. The Burlington station is on the river bank, the Milwaukee at its intersection with the Northwestern in the extreme east of the city, and the Northwestern not far from the lower section of the city. All through trains on the Northwestern do not stop, and it is necessary to board them at Clinton.

The Churches

Time has dealt severely with some of the societies that had once a fair membership. The old families have died out, and no others were ready to take their places. Christ Episcopal church, started in 1869 by Orrin Cowles, Dr. and Mrs. C. A. Griswold, W. H. Pratt, A. J. Webster, F. L. Norton, E. Wyatt, Mrs. Sayre, continued but a few years when it was given up.

The Baptist church was organized in 1855 with Rev. and Mrs. A. H. Starkweather, A. McFadden, J. Peterson, Mrs. Meeker, James and Maria Booth, Mrs. Webb. A brick church was started in 1856, and worship was held in the basement. As the people were in debt, Rev. A. A. Sawin was invited to fill the pulpit and also to solicit funds to complete the building. His labors were successful, and in 1860 Dr. Evarts of Chicago assisted in the dedication. Among the ministers were Storrs, Roney, Burnham, Evarte. But the membership, always feeble, gradually declined, and ceased to have pastoral supply. The edifice, the result of so much struggle and devotion, is now the headquarters of the Mystic Workers.

The early history of the Presbyterian church is united with that of the Congregational, as members of both societies were in the same organization. The First Congregational church was organized in 1854 with Mr. and Mrs. D. Reed, Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Rice, Mr. and Mrs. Bradstreet Robinson, Mrs. Sayre, Mrs. Woodward, and Mrs. Bassett. In 1856 Rev. Josiah Leonard became pastor, continuing twelve years. The church was erected during his ministry at a cost of $6,000. In June, 1862, the society adopted the title of the Second Presbyterian church at Fulton. The First had been organized in 1856 by Rev. W. C. Mason, with a membership of thirteen. Mr. and Mrs. D. Miller, Mrs. McCoy, Mrs. Sayre, Mrs. Curtiss, and others. Their church was dedicated in 1864, and cost $16,000. In 1868, these two churches were united. It was then that Rev. A. Keigwin of the First, and Rev. Josiah Leonard of the Second, withdrew from their charges, and assisted in the organization of the Presbyterian church of Fulton, and in 1868 voted to occupy the edifice of the First Presbyterian, the building owned by the Second, having been sold to the Methodist. Additions to the structure were made in the form of a bell tower and spire. The last minister to occupy the pulpit was Rev. Gary F. Moore, who after a ministry of several years, resigned to accept a call in Kentucky. The oldest member associated with the society is W. P. Culbertson, born in 1819, who came to Fulton in 1855. A venerable gentleman with faculties in good preservation, and who enjoys his daily promenade on the streets. The present membership of the church is 181, with 90 in the Sunday school. The ladies have a missionary society and a thimble

At a congregation meeting of the Presbyterian society of Fulton, held in the church auditorium Thursday, April, 1908, Rev. W. C. Crofts of Morrison presided as moderator. By a unanimous vote a call was extended to A. R. Zeimer, of the McCormick theological seminary of Chicago, to accept the pastorate of the Fulton Presbyterian church. The trustees selected were Oscar Summers, J. M. Fay, Jr., Samuel J. McCullaugh, Mrs. Nathaniel Green and Mrs. Almet Chapman.

The installation of Rev. A. H. Zeimer took place in May; The church was handsomely trimmed with flowers, and there was special music for the occasion and a solo by Mr. Townley.

The Rev. Smiley of Geneseo, the moderator of the Presbytery, presided ; the Rev. McAuley of Lyons, Iowa, offered the opening prayer; Rev. C. G. Richards of Sterling read the Scriptural lesson ; Rev. J. W. Stuart of Garden Plain delivered the sermon, followed by the ordination and installing service ; charge to the pastor by Rev. Crofts and to the congregation by Rev. Richards.

The sermon founded on Ephesians 3:5 was an eloquent plea for Christianity and membership in the church and the need and effect of the church in the world. The charges to pastor and people were exceedingly timely.

The new pastor, Rev. A. H. Zeimer, a recent graduate of the McCormick Theological seminary, comes to the church, his first pastorate, under the most favorable circumstances. Of fine pulpit presence and address, in his few Sundays here has pleased and attracted the church and congregation, and seems well fitted for his profession and to carry forward the work of the late pastor.

Before 1840 services were held in Fulton by the early circuit riders. School houses or log cabins furnished a meeting place. From 1842 to 1852, Union Grove circuit included all the Methodist appointments in the county. In 1856 the Fulton circuit was established with Rev. M. Hanna as resident pastor. He was followed by a long line of ministers, who remained two years or sometimes only one : Among them W. H. Smith, M. H. Plumb, Schoonmaker, David Bales, Davis, Griffin, Larash, Snyder. The new church was built under the pastorate of Rev. M. M. Bales, at a cost of nearly $6,000, and dedicated in fall of 1888 during ministry of Cass Davis. The parsonage by the church has been recently refitted by the ladies, and the whole property is now in excellent condition. The Sunday school has an enrollment of 140 with nine teachers. There are fifty members in the Epworth League, and 50 in the Junior. Three societies managed by the women : Ladies' Aid, Dorcas Sewing Circle, Young Ladies' Guild, with fifteen in each of the first two, and thirty in the last. Also, a Woman's Home and Foreign Missionary Society. An enthusiastic choir of twenty men and women, sopranos, altos, tenors, bassos. The present pastor, Rev. Wilmer Jaggins, is in his first year, and new in Illinois, having spent 17 years of his ministry in the Wilmington Conference, embracing part of Maryland and Virginia.

A small frame church is occupied by the Christian society, one of the later organizations, but the membership although earnest, about fifty with a

Fronting to the south, standing on a hill, is the brick church of the Immaculate Conception. The first building was erected in 1862, the present has 1906 on the corner stone. There are seventy or more members. The parsonage is near. Father J. L. Maloney has been in charge for fourteen years. Originally from Ireland, but educated at the Jesuits College in Chicago.

The largest church building in Fulton and the largest congregation is the Dutch Reformed. There are 300 members, six elders and six deacons. Sometimes a thousand present at the morning services. Preaching in Dutch, both morning and evening because the members prefer the tongue of the fatherland. About 300 members in both Christian Endeavors. William Wolvius, the pastor, is much attached to his people, and as most live in the country, he devotes a part of each week to pastoral visitation. He was born in Holland, but educated in this country. The Dutch Reformed, it will be remembered, is Roosevelt's denomination. It is not strong, although dating from 1628 in United States, having only 600 ministers. A large parsonage.

Further south on the extreme edge of Fulton is a branch of the same denomination, calling themselves Christian Reformed. It is younger than the other, and one essential point of difference is opposition to secret orders. There are 83 families, with a Sunday school of 100. In the young people's societies are fifty, a Ladies' Aid of sixteen, and a catachetical class of eighty. Rev. E. J. Krohne is in his fifth year, educated in Michigan, and preaches in Dutch. A linguist, at home in English, German, and Dutch. These Hollanders are generally farmers, a substantial class of citizens, too much inclined perhaps to keep up their native traditions in America, as is shown by their favor to Dutch in the pulpit.

First Newspaper In Whiteside

A. W. Bastian, editor of Fulton Journal, has kindly loaned the writer for examination a copy of the Whiteside Investigator. It is the second number, and bears date March 4, 1854. Published weekly in the second story of Phelps & McCoy's brick building, by Alfred McFadden. Terms, two dollars per annum. This copy shows the effect of age, and is yellow, creased and torn. On the first page is Burns' "Man Was Made to Mourn," and the bill of Senator Foot of Vermont for the construction of the Pacific railroad, occupying four columns. The paper has four pages, six broad columns to a page. On the fourth page two columns of advertisements. Four men have bought lots at tax sale, and give notice that the time of redemption will expire June 14. The name is signed below each notice. Wm. J. Benjamin, James McCoy, John Phelps, H. C. Fellows. Merrill and Son are proprietors of the City Hotel. J. L. Briggs has a good assortment of furniture. James McCoy is attorney at law, solicitor in chancery, and notary public. The second page of the paper is editorial and miscellaneous. W. H. Knight has purchased a new steam ferry boat, to ply between Fulton and Lyons, beginning to run April 15. This is the shortest ferry on the river below St. Paul, being less than half a mile from bank to bank. On the third page, A. W. Benton, M. D., keeps a full assortment of drugs and medicines, also a few pure liquors expressly for medicinal use. This Dr. Benton was previously in Sterling. There is a corner for the markets. Flour $7.50 per barrel, wheat 90 cents, potatoes 25, beef 5 to 6 cents, pork 4, smoked hams 9, lard 10, butter 15, eggs 10, wood $3.00 per cord. A half column of foreign news, fifteen lines from the legislature speaking of a debate on the Rock Island ferry. Some advertisements from outside. W. C. and B. Snyder, Union Grove, have domestic and fancy dry goods, A. Fassett of Sterling, endless chain pumps. The weather was pleasant, ice moving off the river, and steamboats were expected to run in a few days.

The Mystic Workers

In an old church fitted with offices for the purpose are the headquarters of a secret order that has grown more rapidly than any other in the west. In Fulton alone there are over 600 members, and in the order 45,000 members in good standing. Doctor Clendenin owns the ancient church which survived its devotees, and has leased it to the association.

The Mystic Workers of the World, a fraternal benefit society with headquarters at Fulton was organized temporarily by Dr. G. W. Clendenin and his associates in 1891, but owing to circumstances beyond their control, little was done in perfecting the organization until during 1895. Edmund Jackson having at this time become interested in the society, employed solicitors, set them at work and began the prosecution of the plans for securing a charter from the state. By February, 1896, a sufficient number of applicants had been secured for this purpose and on the 24th of that month, the charter was issued by the proper state authorities.

From this time on the growth of the society was prosperous and steady. Each year saw a material increase in membership and assets and during all the time since it received its charter it has been the proud and truthful boast of its managers that no person has ever come to its office .with a just claim and proper proof and gone away without his money.

It has paid out in benefits to the first of January, 1908, the time of this article, $1,653,795.33 and is now paying benefits at the rate of over a thousand dollars each day.

Benefit certificates are issued for five hundred, one thousand, and two thousand dollars, as applied for and approved by the Supreme Medical Examiner. These certificates are issued on the accumulative plan, by means of which if a member dies during the first year of membership, sixty per cent is paid on his certificate ; if death occurs during the second year, seventy per cent is paid and during the third year, eighty per cent. After the close of the third year no further deductions are made for this reason. All such deductions are placed in the surplus fund as are also all interest earnings and all amounts on hand in the benefit fund at the close of each calendar year after making provision for pending claims. This surplus fund now amounts to over two hundred thousand dollars and is increasing at the rate of over six thousand dollars per month.

The society publishes a monthly fraternal paper with a present issue of fifty thousand copies with which the family of every member is supplied and in which is printed monthly statements of the financial and numerical condition of the society and such other details in relation to its business as may "be of interest to the membership. Social, fraternal and news columns are also maintained that the paper may be a welcome visitor to every family and T)e interesting and instructive.

Both men and women are accepted on equal terms, at the same rates and enjoy equal privileges and benefits which is considered a great advance over the plans of similar societies which confine their membership to one sex.

Officers Of The City

Mayor, W. H. Mitchell; Aldermen in first ward, Thomas Bennett and Henry Burt; second, M. W, Ingwersen and B. E. McElhiney; third, J. H. Allen and Peter Sparck. Attorney, C. C. McMahon. Treasurer, Peter Lorenzen. Clerk, John Sanger.

The Public Schools

The public school work of Fulton is done in two buildings. The north "building. It contains the high school assembly room and recitation rooms, of the city and much of the surrounding country. It adjoins a beautiful park, which makes a very suitable school ground. This building has recently been remodeled and now is as conveniently arranged as it is possible to make a building. It contains the high school assembly room and recitation rooms, the superintendent's office and six grade rooms. The south school has four grade rooms.

The teaching force are Harry B. Price, superintendent; Miss Clara M. Penstone, principal of the high school ; Miss Fae Wharton, high school assistant ; Miss Nellie Rennie, teacher of the eighth grade ; Mr. G. Frank Townley, principal of the south school and teacher of the seventh grade ; Miss Anna Long, sixth grade; Miss Amy Westbrook, fifth grade, Miss Nina Wheeler, fourth grade ; Miss Elfreda Kliensly, third grade ; Miss Katherine Stichter and Mrs. Lizzie Heller, second grade; and Mrs. Ella M. Cowan and Miss Elnora Farley, first grade.

The high school course requires four years for completion, all the subjects of which are accredited by the University of Illinois, thus making it possible for a graduate to enter any college in the University without examination and unconditioned. The school is well equipped with apparatus and working library, and the pupils have access to the city library of 500 well chosen volumes. There have been approximately 200 graduated from the Fulton High School, all of whom have become useful men and women, occupying responsible places. The present senior class are Irene Mathers, Zella Rathgeber, Joseph Ferry, Peter Starck, Roy Wythe and William Rice.

During this year the school has conducted a course of literary and musical entertainments which was of an excellent character. This course has been well patronized and has been highly appreciated, proving a means of general social and educational profit.

The Athletic Association supported during the fall a football team which won every game played. Both a boys' and a girls' basketball team played in the winter. At the beginning of the spring term, track work and baseball is being organized. The athletic games have proven a real benefit to the school by stimulating loyalty to the school and pride in its good standing.

In a recent visit, the superintendent of public instruction paid a high compliment to the neatness of the rooms by saying there is not a cleaner building in the state.

The board of education consists of J. M. Eaton, president; J. C. Snyder, secretary; and Dr. L. Barber, Peter Lorenzen, Dr. \V. H. Durkee, Frank Dana, and Dr. H. J. Hensinkweld.

For this article, both in its facts and preparation, the writer is indebted to Prof. Harry B. Price, superintendent, whose labors are highly appreciated by his pupils and by the entire community.

The present building dedicated in the summer of 1858, is of brick, and occupies a commanding position on a plateau, in the central part of the town. It is three stories, and contains seven rooms with the usual halls and laboratories. The total cost was $14,643. G. G. Alvord was the first principal, with numerous successors, the best known being George C. Loomis. The first school in Fulton was taught by James McCoy in 1840. Various persons taught independent schools. In 1847 the district was organized and called number one, and a stone building erected, then considered the finest schoolhouse in the county.

The largest manufacturing industry in Fulton is the Chicago Stove & Range Company, operating in the old Mississippi Valley Stove Company building, a long three story structure south of the Northwestern railroad. A hundred men are employed. All classes of stoves and ranges are made, and displayed in engraved catalogs which are issued for the trade. Their product is sent to Chicago for distribution, and the wares find sale as far west as Seattle.

The youngest industry is the Patent Novelty Company, which make small specialties in hardware for five and ten cent stores. The best seller is a tin dust pan with a broom handle so that the good wife can sweep up dust without bending her back. Thirty-six hands employed. Of these 3,000 are made a day.

Chip Of The Old Block

Sometimes an old settler disappears and his entire family scattered, so that nothing is left but a memory. However if you look into the Fulton Journal, you will find an advertisement of lime, coal and wood, and if you walk along the river, you will find in his office, J. C. Snyder, who has inherited much of the courteous bearing of his father, Dr. Wm. C. Snyder, who was one of Fulton's representative citizens for over forty years. Prominent in every public call, supervisor, drainage commissioner, postmaster during several presidential terms. An active and honorable politician. He came from New Jersey, and settled in Fulton in 1854.

The Woodman In Arms

New York had her Astor Place riot in 1849 when Forrest and Macready's friends met in mortal combat. Fulton, although a city of brotherly love, had her little scene of violence, in which no one was hurt, but which for awhile raised a tremendous excitement. Dr. C. A. Griswold, who was a witness of the semi-tragedy, courteously furnishes the following graphic account:

The first camp, Pioneer Camp No. 1, was instituted in that city Jan. 5, 1883. The second camp, No. 2, -was established in Fulton, 111., on Feb. 10, 1883. Plans were soon arranged for obtaining a charter for the Order from the State of Illinois, and a formal certificate of association with application for a charter - the majority of the incorporates being citizens of Fulton - was sent to the Secretary of State, Springfield, Illinois, April 29, 1884, and on May 5 the charter was issued and executed.

The Order thus cradled and nursed in Fulton with its head office and place of business located here for several years, was remarkably successful, rapidly increasing in membership and number of camps. From some errors in management or unfortunate circumstances creating a dissension in the Order, a change in the directors and head offices was affected, resulting in the formation of the "Woodmen of the World" by the founder. Under its new management, its success continued, gaining such a growth and standing among the beneficiary orders as to excite larger cities to covet its location, and the plotting of its head officers and directors for ite removal to some larger place with more ample means for gratifying their luxurious tastes and early environment, and more modern hotel accommodations and gilded plates to dine off.

As schemes developed for removal much bitterness and ill feeling was excited between the citizens and the Order, resulting in the "Woodman Fight," heralded far and wide by the public press, as far as the Order extended, giving Fulton "a name and local habitation." The case finally reached the courts in many legal battles - one of the causes celebres of Whiteside county with injunctions - upon Ossa - ad infinitum. To recount all the ludicrous semitragic scenes and incidents in the riotous proceedings for the stealthy removal of the office, the pranks of the small boys played upon the state officials connected with the office, the repulse of the assailants with the hose, the holding the train mob in durance vile till they were glad to escape, and the ordering of a company of the state militia to the scene of conflict only to find a Sabbath quiet reigning in the city, and to be hospitably received and entertained, quietly returning to their camp with unfixed bayonets, smelling the battle from afar would be a humorous story, more fitting for reminiscence and the fireside than the page of classic history.

Though long and strenuously contested by the citizens at much expense and time, its removal was finally adjudged, and a peaceable transfer of the office and effects to Rock Island was effected, Sept. 30, 1897, where in gilded housing - the dream of its management - its success has placed it among the first of the beneficiary orders, though the fact remains its founding and growth was started and assured in Fulton. The echoes of its removal have ceased, and like the Blue and the Gray, the contestants have shaken hands across the bloody chasm.

Whatever may be the judgment pro or con upon the efforts and action of Fulton and the county to retain the Order and resisting its transfer, to the honor, be it said, of Whiteside county, it has never sent an organized mob into an adjoining county to obtain by force what it coveted.

Oldest Couple In Fulton

At the foot of the hill south of the public school is the humble cottage of Milo Jones and wife. He was born in 1818 near Middlebury, Vt, and she in 1820. When the writer entered the kitchen, the old lady was in a chair by his side, sewing a button on his coat. In earlier years he farmed, and then opened a blacksmith shop in Fulton where he has lived for forty years. Last summer he cultivated his garden, raising potatoes enough for his use, and selling $18 worth of sweet corn. This winter he has split two cords of maple wood. From his fourteen chickens he gets six to eight eggs a day. She does her housework. A record hard1 to beat. Two such aged people keeping house alone.

Some Early Settlers

John Baker, a sort of Daniel Boone, made his claim in 1835 to" the land where Fulton stands. His cabin had only three rooms, but he was always ready to entertain travelers, giving them plenty to eat, and when beds were exhausted, the guests would encamp about a flaming fire in the woods. He died in 1863 at 63. Another Baker, John W., from Maryland also, came in 1836, and assisted in the primitive hospitality, to strangers. A large delegation appeared in 1837, and many familiar names will be noticed. James McCoy, Henry C. Fellows, Daniel Reed, Lyman Blake, Jesse Johnson, Humphreys, Booth, Briggs, Baker, Ross, Redfern. In 1838 were Edward Church, Jacobs, Clark, Rev. John Prentiss. In 1839 Hollis Chenery, Augustin Phelps, Colin, Fowler, Grant. Miss Elizabeth Skinner was the first of the emigrants to die in 1837. The simplest of funerals. A coffin made from a wagon box, and the wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen. The grave was made on a bluff, and the spot was doubtless used for interment until the present cemetery was laid out. In 1839 a petition against license to retail ardent spirits in Fulton precinct was presented to the county commissioners, signed by Daniel Reed, Hollis Chenery, A. Phelps, John K. Prentiss, Henry Bond,

Two Retired Scholars

It will hardly do to put Dr. C. A. Griswold on the retired list, as he still responds to calls from patients, and shows as much activity in mind and body at 78 as younger men. He believes with 0. W. Holmes that it is better to be seventy years young than forty years old. In his spacious second story rooms he spends most of his time, surrounded by his books and magazines, and keeping in touch with the best thought of the day. He is another Weir Mitchell who does not believe that a profession should prevent a man from ranging over the wide fields of the world's best thought. He has been editor, and when the spirit moves, sends occasional articles to the press.

Another gentleman, who has seen much service in various fields, receives his friends in the parlor of his neat residence among the trees on one of Fulton's beautiful slopes. George C. Loomis was widely known throughout the county thirty years ago when he was superintendent of schools. Time has been kind, and except the silver hair and mustache, little to indicate the advance of age. He fills the familiar couplet, gentleman and scholar. The writer spent a delightful hour in reviewing the men and events that had a common interest in the days gone by.

For a small library of 2,000 volumes, Fulton certainly has a noble collection of the best authors in every department, history, fiction, poetry, science, general literature. Encyclopedias and standard books of reference. Mary Mitchell is librarian. Regular additions are made yearly from the choice publications of the season. The library is under the common direction of a board of nine citizens, of whom Dr. Griswold is the leading spirit, and is given the privilege of selecting the books.

The city is lighted by an electric plant installed twelve years ago. The light is used in all the new residences, and many of the old, and in all the business houses.

Fulton is deeply interested in the scheme in progress to secure the drainage of the Cattail slough, which will benefit ten thousand acres of land of inexhaustible fertility, but now impossible of cultivation on account of frequent overflow. Rich corn ground producing eighty bushels to the acre. One crop would pay the cost of the improvement. As the Journal declares in a recent issue:

"The citizens of Fulton are highly in favor of this scheme of drainage. We are cut off on the west by the river, while the land adjoining on the east, northeast anl southeast has largely been waste for years. Any plan that will bring about the redemption of such a vast territory adjoining our city should meet with the hearty approval of every enterprising citizen."

The Fulton Bank is the leading financial institution with a capital of $50,000, and deposits in August, 1907, of $388,736. It began as a private bank in 1876. Gustav Gradert is president, and M. W. Ingwersen, cashier.

The Ferry

Before the bridges that rise in graceful arches over the flood, were the boats to carry passengers from shore to shore. . The first between Fulton and Lyons was a skiff. In 1838 John Baker, Dr. Reed, M. W. Jenks, A. and J. Humphreys, secured a license to run a flatboat ferry. In 1844 Augustin Phelps had control, and used horse power. W. H. Knight in 1850 introduced steam, and the boat was called "The Sailor." In 1840 the prices were: 25 cents for footmen, two-wheel carriage $1, horse and wagon same, cattle 25 cents per head. A ferry for a time between Fulton and Clinton. Since the new wagon bridge, little demand for the ferry. One now runs, however, every season. The Nina Dousman leaves Lyons every morning, except Sunday morning, at six o'clock, making regular trips from that hour until eight o'clock p. m.

Fulton City Lodge, No. 189, A. F. & A. M.

In the Masonic Directory before us for 1907 J. M. Fay, jr., is W. M. and J. M. Eaton, secretary, with 69 members on the register. Fulton Chapter, No. 108, R, A. M., charter dated Oct. 4, 1867, has John Wolters, H. P., and G. H. Thompson, secretary, with 35 members on the register. Merton Chapter, No. 356, 0. E. S., charter dated Oct. 15, 1896, has Miss Marie Lorensen, worthy matron ; Miss Effie M. Carpenter, secretary, and Mrs. Lutie Green Lines, organist, with 90 members on the register.

A Noble Landmark

There is London Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, and the splendid bridge over the Mississippi. Its four enormous and graceful arches are seen far up and down the stream. It is easily the glory of the landscape. The following concise description of the structure in its origin and completion is from the pen of Dr. C. A. Griswold, veteran, scholar, physician, and essayist:

The Lyons and Fulton Steel Highway Bridge is the property of the Lyons and Fulton Bridge Co., a corporation organized under the laws of the state of Iowa.

The erection of a permanent highway bridge spanning the Mississippi river at Fulton - long the dream of the residents upon its shores - for an open transit at all seasons, engaged the active attention of the enterprising and progressive citizens of the two cities early in the year 1889. After several preliminary and enthusiastic meetings and agitation of the subject through the local press and special contributions urging the project, on March 22 a committee was appointed to draft articles of incorporation, which were adopted by the incorporators on the 29th. a body of influential business men and prominent citizens of Fulton and Lyons. At this meeting the franchise or charter granted by congress permitting the location and construction of a high bridge across the Mississippi river between the cities of Lyons, la., and Fulton, 111., was accepted. Feb. 4, 1890, books were ordered opened, and subscriptions to the capital stock solicited. Prior to the soliciting of stock, the city of Lyons by a large majority had voted a tax of five per cent upon its assessed valuation of property in aid of its construction, one per cent to be paid annually for five years. On July 9th the stockholders elected a board of directors and elected officers for the corporation. During the month of July correspondence was opened with several bridge companies for plans, and proposals for construction, and on the 21st awarded the contract for building the entire bridge to the Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Mr. Horace L. Horton, the president and designer of the plans, being present.

In less than nine months from the driving of the first pile, the graceful and imposing structure spanned the river 2,817 feet in length with its approaches, built with three spans 330 feet each, one 362 feet, and one deck span 200 feet, the channel span 55 feet above the highest stage of water known. The cost of construction $100,000. Placed at one of the most picturesque points on the river; from its deck span is presented a lengthy expanse of the river, dotted with its numerous islands and water courses, and an extended landscape - a rare touch" of nature - affording a charming scenic view of the mingling of water scenery and landscape.

The bridge was opened to the public July 4, 1891 - a dual Independence Day, "the day we celebrate" and the completion of the bridge, in a public celebration at Lyons, with the usual custom, thousands crossing the bridge on foot and in carriages. The late Hon. Walter I. Hayes, of Clinton, who as congressman was influential in procuring the charter, and the Hon. Robert G. Cousins, of Iowa, were the orators of the day.

Various Events

Fulton was organized as a village in 1855, and the first trustees were Henry C. Fellows, W. C. Snyder, Dr. A. W. Benton. In 1859 it became a city under special charter with James McCoy, mayor, and aldermen, Leander Smith, David E. Dodge, Lyman Blake, Chas. A. Chace.

The first building in the city limits was in 1837, and although intended for a store, was used the first summer as bachelors' hall by McCoy, Fellows, and other unmarried men in the new settlement.

Robert Booth built the first hotel of logs and clay in very rough style, and was a popular landlord with boarders and travelers for his good table and cordial reception.

Another store with a general assortment of goods was opened in 1839 by Chenery and Phelps. They dealt largely in grain, pork, and produce, and their liberal prices attracted a wide trade.

The first brick building was erected in 1847, and stood for many years. The third brick was erected by McCoy and Phelps for a printing office.

The postoffice was established in 1838 under Van Buren, and pioneer John Baker was appointed postmaster. In May, 1861, Dr. Snyder was appointed by Lincoln, and held the place by successive reappointments, establishing the office in permanent quarters on Base street.

The year 1839 was long remembered as the sick year, as hardly a person in the place escaped the prevailing malady. Dr. Daniel Reed and wife were going day and night.

John Dyer, who came to Fulton in 1857, was one of her earliest patriots, enlisting at Washington in the Lincoln regiment, 1861, and afterwards in the 93d Illinois Volunteers.

The Fulton Journal has the honor of being the first paper published in Whiteside county and has been issued regularly for over fifty-four years. It was first published Feb. 25, 1854, as the Whiteside Investigator. Two publicspirited citizens, namely, Judge James McCoy and John Phelps, in the fall of 1853. purchased in St. Louis a press and type for the enterprise, but they were shipped so late in the season that the steamboat was stopped at Rock Island by the ice. The outfit was brought in a sleigh across the country and installed in a brick two-story building still standing near the corner of River and Union streets.

The first editor was A. McFadden, who got out a very creditable paper. He bought the plant and soon after took G. A. Laighton as a partner and the name was changed to the Fulton City Advertiser. Laighton later became sole owner and was ably assisted in the editorial department by Dr. C. A. Griswold.

In the campaign of 1856 the Advertiser advocated the election of James Buchanan. Then Laighton sold out and G. I. Booth in 1859 was editor and publisher and the name was changed to the Weekly Courier and the paper became republican in politics, advocating the election of Abraham Lincoln.

In 1863 Mr. Booth again changed the name and this paper has since been called The Fulton Journal. Three years later his son became a partner and conducted The Journal under the firm name of G. J. Booth & Son until 1872, when George Terwilliger, a ready writer, bought the Booths out, and in the fall of the same year sold a half interest to Dr. W. C. Snyder, who became business manager.

In March, 1876, Dr. Snyder bought Mr. Terwilliger's interest but retained him as editor. The same fall T. J. Pickett, Jr., leased the office of Dr. Snyder and soon after formed a partnership with I. C. Snyder and purchased the paper.

In 1878, W. R, Cobb, a versatile scholar and gifted writer, bought Mr. Pickett out, and two years later Cobb went to Sterling and became associated with the Sterling Gazette Company and that firm purchased The Journal.

In April, 1881, Fred K. Bastian, who was local editor on the Gazette, was placed in charge of The Journal, and in August of the same year with his brother, A. W. Bastian, as partner bought the plant and business, and the politics of the paper was changed to democratic. In the fall of 1882 The Journal was made a semi-weekly and for over twenty-six years it has been issued twice a week without missing an issue.

In April, 1887, The Journal office was burned out, but the proprietors immediately purchased new presses and material and, not being able to secure suitable rooms, built the building on Cherry street where the paper has since been published.

In 1892 A. W. Bastian sold his interest to Fred K., who conducted the paper until September, 1898, when A. W. Bastian became sole proprietor and editor, Fred K. selling out and retiring.

The Journal is now in its fifty-fifth volume and with largely increased circulation, a well equipped office, giving employment to eight persons, it ranks as one of the leading papers of the county, reflecting credit on the business ability and journalistic aptitude of the editor and proprietor.

Missionaries Of Whiteside Edward P. Scott

Perhaps our first missionary from this county was Edward Payson Scott, of blessed memory. He was the son of John M. Scott, who came from Vermont to Lyndon in the summer of 1838. Edward was graduated from Knox College, Galesburg, taught for a while in this county, and after a course of study at the Hamilton Theological Seminary, New York, was ordained as a minister in the Baptist church, and sent to Assam, India. At the end of six years, he returned on account of the failing health of his wife, but after a year's sojourn went back, and died in 1869 of cholera. Edward was a good singer, and while attending our institutes was a regular member of the choir to open the morning exercises. '

Dr. Henry C. Mabie tells a beautiful story of an experience in the career of Scott in Assam. Against the urgent advice of the British officers, Scott felt impelled to visit the Nagas, a wild hill-tribe, three days' journey from his station. He had just begun to study the language, and took with him a Naga teacher. When they approached a native village, they were commanded to halt by a band of fierce natives who threatened violence. The missionary stopped, drew out his violin, and began to sing in their own tongue, "Alas, and did my Savior bleed !" When he had finished the first verse, the warriors' spears had been thrust into the ground. As he sang on of the suffering, the forgiveness, the salvation of the Son of God, the wild men drew nearer, and when he finished, the chief cried out, "Sing us that again. We never heard the like of that before!" Scott's sister, Mary, was a girl of lovely spirit, and after years of devoted service as teacher, sleeps in the home cemetery at Lyndon.

George Paull

Morrison people will remember this noble young minister, who was pastor of the Presbyterian church there for a short time. It was about 1863. He had dark hair and complexion, of ordinary height, active movement, serious expression. He sailed for Africa, but his usefulness was cut short by the fatal climate, and he died at Corisco on the west coast. His life was published by the Presbyterian Board. A fragrant memory.

His sister was the wife of Rev. N. H. G. Fife, pastor of the Sterling Presbyterian church for sixteen years, from 1873, and the bereaved mother lived with her, all much beloved by a wide circle of friends.

John M'Kim

Nearly thirty years ago a young man was taking private lessons to prepare for college from Rev. J. E. Goodhue, then rector of Grace Episcopal church in Sterling. - After a course of theology at Nashotah, Wis., he was ordained, sent to a mission of the church in Japan, where he labored so efficiently that he was promoted to the highest distinction, and for a good while has been known as Bishop McKim. During his regular trips to this country to see his children at school, and attend the church conventions, Bishop McKim always visits Sterling, endeared to him by early associations. At his last visit he preached in Grace church from the text, "And I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision." An agreeable man, a fine organizer, and he has accomplished an excellent work in the cherry land. Japan is yearly opening her doors wider to the iniluences of Christianity.

In a letter which John wrote in May, 1880, soon after his arrival at Osaka, he says : "I study the language with a teacher every morning, and read morning and evening prayer in Japanese at the girls' school. They tell me I am doing very well with the language, but I don't think I shall be able to preach my first sermon for a year more. There is plenty of work to do, however, without preaching. We can do much in the way of talking with people, and in training native young men for the ministry, but I don't think we shall ever be able to do much through our own preaching."

Mary Himes Ebeling

This lady was graduated at the Rock Falls high school in 1898,' and most of the time since her marriage has been engaged in the South Chih-li Mission, Tai Ming-Fu, Chih-li Province, North China. A budget of missionary documents, postmarked Shanghai, received by her friend, Mrs. A. S. Goodell, gives a glimpse of the varied field before these earnest laborers. There are several thin sheets of greetings, indicating different phases of the work. "Picture what it is, if you can, to be in a heathen city, with heathenish sights and sounds and smells, twenty miles from the nearest one who can speak your own language. One day twenty church members came in, each needing personal instruction, bringing with them one hundred inquirers. Figure out how one of you in the homeland could do anything with such a crowd. On Sabbath the power of the Spirit is very manifest in the meetings, as from one to six, crowds of women filled the chapel. The work in the missionary children's school has been going steadily on, and God has blessed teacher and pupils. We praise God, also, for the large measure of health and strength He has given us. Mrs. Ebeling now weighs more than she has ever weighed before. Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth his own chosen ones into this vast harvest field. Faithfully yours in Jesus,

Accompanying the leaflets in English is a copy of "Gospel News," in Chinese, for circulation among the native church members. The characters, of course, are hieroglyphics to an American, and resemble healthy spider tracks. We have all seen them on tea chests. In a corner the contents are given in English, with such topics as On the way of salvation, On Jesus the sin-bearer, the Story of the Creation, On receiving the Lord Jesus, On a clean temple for the Holy Ghost.

Evelyn Cora Marsh

She is the daughter of Rev. William Pinkney, a Wesleyan minister of English descent, and Annie Witmer, originally from Pennsylvania, who spent her girlhood in Whiteside county. Evelyn's education was received at Princeton high school, Bureau county, and at Wheaton, where she took a full course in the collegiate, art, and musical departments. When sixteen, she volunteered for service in the foreign field, preferring Africa, but a call during her senior year came from the Methodist Episcopal church for the establishment of a graded school in Foochow, China. This was for the education of the children of missionaries, and of children resident in the fort. In September, 1897, Miss Pinkney sailed for Foochow, and for three years labored faithfully, carrying all grades of work from kindergarten to college. In 1900 she was married to Ben Herbert Marsh, B. S., a graduate of Northwestern University, who was sent to Foochow to teach sciences in the Anglo-Chinese college, the largest Christian college in South China for the education of Chinese young men. Prof. Marsh died in 1904, and Mrs. Marsh with her two children returned to the homeland. But after a year's rest she crossed the Pacific to renew her work. At the close of the first year, however, her health giving away, doctors advised her return to America, With her two little daughters, Mrs. Marsh is now quietly residing in Sterling, near her parents, but cherishes the hope of entering in due time upon the work in which her heart is absorbed, and to which she desires to give her best energies.

Rev. John. K. Eeed

is the latest of our crusaders against the darkness of heathenism. He attended Empire school west of Sterling from 1863 to 1870, was graduated from Carthage college, Illinois, studied theology at Wittenberg seminary, Springfield, Ohio, and after various pastorates, the last at EvanstonJ where he left a new church as a memorial of his devotion, he offered his services to the board of the Lutheran church as a missionary to darkest Africa. At a farewell meeting in St. John's church, Sterling, whose membership contains many of his early friends, after several addresses and a closing one by Mr. Reed, an offering was made for his benefit, and a Godspeed uttered for his journey. After another farewell reception in Third church, Baltimore, Mr. Reed sailed for Africa in February, spending two weeks on the way in England, and arrived at Monrovia on the west coast, March 23, 1907. Muhlenberg mission, the scene of his labors, is in Liberia, not far inland, pleasantly situated, and well established. Here Rev. David Day gave his life to the work which Rev. Will Beck is now vigorously carrying forward. Besides schools and preaching at the station, trips are made to points in the interior. In several printed letters, John writes encouragingly of his progress, and of much enjoyment in the people and scenes of his tropical world. Early in 1908, however, he was seized with severe sickness, and was obliged to return to America.

Rev. Burton St. John

Burton St. John was born in Genesee township, Nov. 24, 1873. He was converted in childhood, and united with the Methodist church, at Hickory Grove appointment, Coleta charge. With his parents he moved to Sterling in 1888. He attended Central school and graduated in 1893. Took the degree of A. B. at Northwestern University in 1898. In the school year of 1898-9 he was Traveling Secretary for the Student Volunteer Movement, and visited the colleges in the central western states, and Manitoba. In the fall of 1899 he began his divinity course at Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, N. J. In the fall of 1901 and winter of 1901-2 served as private secretary to John R. Mott, and with him visited Japan, China, Straits Settlement, Ceylon, and India, in the interests of International Y. M. C. A. Took his degree of B. D. at Drew in the spring of 1902. He was married July 9, 1902, to Miss Jo Barnes, of Duluth, Minn. Appointed missionary to North China, and sailed from San Francisco, in August, 1902, for Peking and later was appointed to Tientsin. In the spring of 1906 he was sent to Japan to establish Y. M. C. A. work among the Chinese students at Tokyo. In the fall of 1906 was appointed principal of the Chinese Boys' Intermediate School, in Tientsin, and still (1907) is in that work.

Miss Mary Kingsbury

Miss Mary Kingsbury, who has been engaged in active missionary work in India for twenty-six years, was born in Hudsonville, 111., Feb. 7, 1857. Her childhood days were spent in Decatur,' 111., where her parents went to reside in 1860 and where she entered the public school at the age of six.

As a child she was obedient to her parents f kind and loving to her younger brothers and sisters, and showed, at a very tender age, an ability, to decide quickly in favor of what was right and just in all matters that came up in her daily life.

When a girl of 15 she, with her parents, removed to Sterling, Whiteside county, 111., and in September, 1872, she became a pupil of the Second Ward school; graduating from the High School with honors in 1877.

Miss Kingsbury was a very systematic, painstaking student, laboring diligently to excel in her wo>k and early laid the foundation for that marvelous executive ability which has since characterized her labors in foreign lands.

At the age of 16 she became a member of the Christian church and has always been an ardent and energetic supporter of its teachings. Being of a deeply religious nature from her earliest childhood, it was no surprise to her friends, when the call having been sent out by the Christian Women's Board of Missions of Indianapolis, Ind., for four young ladies to volunteer to go out to India to organize and establish a mission field in that far off country, that she was one of the first to respond.

Accordingly on the sixteenth day of September, 1881, she, in company with four young ladies sent out by the National Women's Board, and two gentlemen accompanied by their wives sent by the Foreign Board of the Christian church, sailed for India to begin their great work of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.

These pioneers first located in Jubbalpur, where they at once began the study of the language, and later they removed to Hurda, which was regarded as a more healthful city, and after two years of faithful study they perfected plans for opening up a permanent mission station at Bilaspur in the Central Provinces.

With bullock carts, provisions and small tents in which to sleep at night, they started through the thick jungle to undertake their new work. Bilaspur was two hundred and twenty miles away, a journey of three weeks, traveling as they then must go. The first part of the trip was pleasant and over ia smooth government road, but after three or four days this was left behind and they entered the dense jungle, which was filled with tigers and other wild animals. At night they would stop for rest and around their tents and trains they would keep large camp fires to protect themselves from wild beasts.

cordial welcome by the chief men of the village. Miss Kingsbury at once began doing zenana work (teaching women in their homes), in which she continued until a year or so later, when she met with a very severe accident, which resulted in a broken ankle and from which she suffered from lameness for many years. This necessitated a change of work, which led to the founding of a girls' orphanage which became Miss Kingbury's individual work.

An interesting story is told of an appeal made to our missionaries in Bilaspur before the founding of the orphanage. An old man and his wife were living near them. They were so poor and miserable they could scarcely live, and the father was so very ill that he did not live very long after this. One day they came to the missionaries bringing their baby boy and telling them they were too poor to feed and care for him and asked them to take him. The missionaries refused several times for they had no orphanage, and they could not understand why the parents would give up such a dear little boy. Day after day the old people came pleading with them to take the child, saying it would die of starvation) if they did not. When at last they were allowed to leave him they went away quite happy, though afterward they found the mother quietly weeping, when she thought she was not seen. The missionaries would have thought she cared nothing for the child had they not seen her. Sirawan, the name of the child, was the first member of the orphanage. Now he is a useful Christian man as a teacher and evangelist in Bilaspur.

This orphanage is now used exclusively for girls and has been a haven of refuge for many a helpless little one. Here they are tenderly cared for and taught to be self-reliant, capable women. All these years Miss Kingsbury has faithfully cared for these orphan girls. Many have married Christian men and now preside over Christian homes, showing their own people what such homes are like. Many have become teachers and many others nurses and helpers not only in Bilaspur station, but in other missions. There are now in the orphanage about one hundred and thirty girls being trained to live useful lives.

It may be interesting to mention that during the many years Miss Kingsbury has been engaged in missionary work she has only made three visits to her native land. The first visit was made in the spring of 1888, when she remained at home with her loved ones for over a year.

Her second visit was made in the summer of 1896 and upon this occasion she made a short visit with friends in Sterling, then going on to Brookings, S. Dak., to spend a few months with her mother, and completing her visit with her sisters and brothers in Butte, Mont.

Her third and last visit was made in the summer of 1905, when she remained for over a year. Upon this occasion she divided her time between Minneapolis, Minn., and Butte, Mont.

In September of 1906 she again sailed for India and to quote from a letter just received from her, dated November 14, 1907, she writes: "A year ago today the good ship Caledonia was gradually drawing near to Calcutta. How quickly the time flies."

Miss Kingsbury's strong personality, genial disposition and kind but firm leadership has greatly endeared her to the girls and her quiet dignity and

Miss J. Edith Jenks

She was born in Fenton township, April 11, 1872, and is a graduate of Wheaton college, 1897. In her early girlhood she consecrated her life to her Savior, joining the Student Volunteer Movement soon after entering college. While pursuing a training course in Bible study at Moody Institute, Chicago, the way opened that she could become a candidate of the Woman's Board of the Northwest. She was accepted in April, 1901, and assigned to India as her field of labor. Her work there has been greatly blessed. Miss Jenks is a member, much beloved, of the Newton Presbyterian church. Not the "little church around the corner" of New York, but the modest frame church of the prairie and the woods.

Hume

David Hume was a philosopher and a historian. Hume's History of England was all our grandfathers knew. David enjoyed life, and died in Edinburgh in 1776, before he could tell how our glorious revolution was to end. Was Hume township named after the Scotch historian? Did any of the original settlers believe in his philosophy? Were they Highlanders, and admirers of their distinguished countryman? We fear not. They were true blue New Englanders.

No, the first settlers were not scholars, simply earnest, industrious men and women. They preferred a good quarter section to all the Humes from the beginning of time. For instance, there was Leonard Morse, who built a log cabin in 1836. Uriah Wood, 1839, who in a sod house with wife and seven children, still had room for boarders. These early cabins were like modern omnibuses, always room for one more. Strangers could sleep on floor, and the table could be set outdoors. Most of the emigrants came after 1840, the Scotts, McKenzie, Paddock, Plumley, Baker, Crook, and others.

Like Newton, LTstick, and some of the other townships, Hume has no central village, no seat of influence with lawyers, doctors, merchants, and politicians. It is a broad district of bottom land, occupied with comfortable homes, fertile fields, and every substantial sign of rural independence. The main road from Rock Falls southwest offers a delightful drive in early autumn. You have glimpses of Rock river. You see the old road that ran to Como when there was a ferry boat moved by the current. Here and there the track is raised over low places that in 1840 must have been mires to stagger a yoke of oxen.

As you turn at the beautiful Ramsay farm to go south, what a vast area of land level as a floor stretches away far as the eye can reach. Doubtless, in the past ages, the bed of a lake, perhaps a greater Michigan. Here is a little, deserted, ragged hut, seven by nine. What a story it could tell of other days. Built, says someone, by Joseph Peckham. This is the South Hume school, Miss J. McNeill with 22 pupils, who as it is recess crowd around the door at our approach. We recall Alice Carey's poem :

Here we turn to the east, and by the roadside embossed in a thicket of evergreens, shrubbery, and coarse grass growing over the stones falling from their base, is a little cemetery. You can hardly read the names so dim and rusty. Not a dozen graves in the half acre. It was started evidently by some people in the neighborhood, who after the burial of their friends, have moved away and left the sacred corner desolate.

Sunday Schools And Societies

We are informed by Mrs. C. F. Rumley there are three Sunday schools, North, South, and West Hume. Once a month preaching at West Hume, Rev. Mr. Durdick of Prophetstown often officiating. Christian Endeavor at North Hume every Sunday night. Mrs. Edward D. demons, secretary, writes that the Good Deed Circle of King's Daughters has 26 members, who meet every four weeks at the homes of the members. The object is to develop spiritual life, and to stimulate Christian activity, as well as to aid home missions in every way. The officers are elected annually, and the present are : Mrs. Frank Russell, leader, and Mrs. Harry Butler, treasurer. Social intercourse is highly esteemed and encouraged by the circle. But some positive work is always on hand. At one meeting two comforters were made, and at another, a box of clothing was packed for the needy. Sometimes a special session-is called to do sewing for a poor family. There is a Ladies' Aid society that meets at the various homes to engage in some useful work, like sewing carpet rags, quilting, or similar domestic diversions. A good supper always closes the festivities of the occasion. The Loyal Circle of King's Daughters sent a quantity of children's clothing to an orphanage in Chicago. Another form of entertainment on winter evenings is the Basket Social. There i# a program of music and recitations, the ladies bringing baskets of dainties which are sold at auction to the highest bidder. At one of these the Christian Endeavor realized eleven dollars.

Ditching For Drainage

decided to have Coon creek line No. 1 ditch deepened and widened. The ditch is seventeen miles in length and has its source in Lee county north of Van Petten and crosses several townships in Whiteside county and empties- in Coon creek below Prophetstown. 241,240 cubic yards of dirt is the estimate to be removed from the mammoth drainage ditch. The ditch will have a twenty foot width at the bottom and will have a good slope. 46,260 acres of land is comprised in the drainage district. The estimated cost of making the improvement is from $16,000 to $20,000. The cost will be more than the excavation work as the ditch passes under the government canal feeder and is also spanned by several bridges which have to be removed before a steam dredge can pass the obstruction.

The ditch was widened and deepened about twelve years ago, and at that time was increased to a water carrying capacity which was ample for the purpose intended. Since that time, sub-districts have been organized and lateral ditches connected with the main ditch, and this with the fill in has caused a demand for a widening and deepening of the stream which will be large enough to carry off the water without causing an overflow.

Representative Pioneers

Perhaps the face of no man was more familiar than that of Charles Wright. He was one of those cheery, companionable souls that seemed to enjoy the good things of life, and aimed to make the world better and brighter. Stout and active, fond of being in the crowd, mingling with his fellows. The writer often saw him on the streets of Sterling. He held several public positions. In 1852 elected sheriff, for nine years supervisor, foi seven years revenue assessor in the district. Like Lincoln, fond of a good story, ready to tell or to listen. Mr. Wright came from Vermont, and settled in Hume in 1840. He died in 1875, not quite 70.

David Cleaveland first came in 1850, and then again in 1852. A large family. He came from Oneida county, New York. His name will be best preserved by the gallantry of his son David, captain in the 34th Illinois, now living near Prophetstown, the liveliest soldier in the post.

Josiah Scott, a genial old man, who died not long ago, >walked in his eightieth year from his home to Sterling to present the writer for the Historical Society a manuscript bearing the signature of an early president. Mr. Scott was born in 1819, and emigrated from Ohio to Whiteside in 1839.

Pond Lily Farm west of Rock Falls was the home for many years of Mr. and Mrs. William Ramsay. She was Lucy A. Church, Oxford, N. Y., and was married in 1845. Five children. Mr. Ramsay died in 1900, Mrs. Ramsay in 1907. Lizzie, Kate, and Luman reside in the old A. P. Smith property, the family home since leaving the farm.

The first traveled road in Hume was the stage route from Chicago to Rock Island, now the Sterling and Prophetstown road, and one of the finest in the country on account of the numerous improved farms and residences along the entire distance.

John H. Plumley, a Vermonter, got his first house from Charles Mc- Carter by trading a silver watch for it. When he opened his farm, there were no fences or dwellings to be seen.

The Y. P. S. C. E. Of Whiteside

Once a year 'the young people of the county meet in convention to hear reports and addresses, and elect officers. The last convention was held iii Tampico, and the officers for 1908 are: President, Miss Marie Hey, Sterling; vice presidents, Miss Myra Jennings, Rock Falls, Jonas Baer, Sterling, and Miss Fredda Rosene, of Tampico-; secretary and treasurer, Miss Jennie Spoolman, Garden Plain.

The reports of the Endeavorers was made on Saturday afternoon and sixteen of the twenty Endeavor societies handed in reports which were very gratifying. It was very noticeable this year that thirty-six of the forty delegates present were new members of the society. The Junior Endeavor society of Garden Plain was granted the banner for giving the largest amount of money to the mission fund. Their sum given averaged $2.50 for each member. The Garden Plain young people have been granted the banner for the past six years and it is impossible for any of the other Junior societies of the county to beat their record. The next county meeting will be held in Rock Falls next fall.

George H. Fonken, of Sterling, gave a splendid talk on Sunday afternoon on the subject, "The Needs of the Hour," and W. H. Hunt, of Moline, delivered a fine address to a large assemblage of people Sunday evening.

Our Three Railways

We do not appreciate our privileges. We step on the train any hour of the day, and go in any direction. In 1835 there was not a mile of railroad in northern Illinois. Think of our luckless pioneers floundering through the sloughs. In 1836 the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad secured their first charter, and operations began. It was to start in Chicago and run to the Mississippi river. The strap rail was to be used, as T-rail was too expensive. The survey began in 1847, and various branches were completed from time to time. There was the Aurora Branch, the St. Charles Branch. The main line of the Galena road was finished to Freeport, 120 miles from Chicago, September, 1853. Meanwhile work was progressing in other directions. What was called the Chicago, Fulton & Iowa Line was opened to Dixon, Dec. 4, 1854,

That was a wonderful July day for Sterling. The iron horse at last. Preparations were made for a grand jubilee. Why not have an old-fashioned barbecue, feast the world, and make the welkin ring with shout and address? Simeon Coe furnished a three-year-old ox, which was roasted on a primitive arrangement of forked sticks, and then borne in triumph, bedecked with flags and oranges, to an immense arbor of branches near the present Central school. After the banquet, B. F. Taylor, the poet, made a flowery address. The lion of the day was Stephen A. Douglas, who talked to the masses in his own earnest style. Deacon Bross of the Tribune, Long John Wentworth, John B. Turney, railway magnate, governors, judges, editors, all men of note within reach, were on the platform or in the crowd. Estimates of the multitude ran as high as five thousand.

So small wTas the business of the road even in 1858 that the locomotives were named. Easy to do, as they were only sixty. The boys in Sterling knew every engine by its whistle before they saw it. The Pioneer was the oldest, 1848, built by Baldwin, Philadelphia. All kinds of names. Indian and local. J. B. Turner, Shawbeney, Waubansee, Whirling Thunder, Black Hawk, Achilles, Samson, Hercules.

But the Mississippi had to be crossed for westward progress. On Feb. 14, 1857, the Albany Railroad Bridge Company was incorporated by the Illinois legislature with the following stockholders: Barzillia Cottle, William Prothrow, W. W. Durant, Thomas Long, G. H. Parker, E. B. Warner, and A. J. Mattson, for the purpose of building a bridge across the Mississippi between Illinois and Iowa, and for the use of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, and in 1864 this road completed the bridge across the river from Little Rock Island to the Clinton side. In June, 1864, the old Galena company was consolidated with Chicago & Northwestern, and the development of this colossal corporation began. W. B. Ogden was president.

The Peoria and Northwestern Railway is the name given to the branch extending from Nelson in Lee county on the main line to Peoria. eighty-five miles. Its construction was begun in March, 1901, and completed in January 19, 1902.

A generous pension system was adopted by the directors in 1900, by which all employes who have attained the age of 70, and who have been twenty years in the service, shall be retired and pensioned. Larry Gagin, who ran the Sterling passenger train to Chicago and back every day for thirty-six years, and who has been an engineer for forty-eight consecutive years, was retired Feb. 1, 1908, on a pension. He has been thrifty, has property of various kinds, and lives in a modest home in Sterling with a daughter and son, both having enjoyed a good education. With the retirement of Gagin, Philip O'Neill becomes the dean of Northwestern engine drivers, having been on duty during the civil war.

The Northwestern is lavish in outlay to improve its facilities. The opening of the gravel pit near Como and the thousands of carloads hauled for elevation of the track east of the government dam, the new ninety-pound steel rails, the widening of the tracks, the riprapping to protect against encroachments of the river, the new bridge with its twenty-eight piers and abutments over the river at Clinton, all exhibit the ceaseless activity of the great corporation. Picturesque stations of brick at Sterling and Morrison. The lawn at Sterling is gay with the flowers of the season. A pledge, has been circulated among the employes for signatures and went into effect January 1, 1908. A large majority of the employes of the entire system will be teetotalers. Not content with this, the leaders of the movement hope soon to have every man employed from end to end of the 7,000 miles of road a signer of the pledge.

The Burlington Line

This is the only road by which Sterling has communication with Lyndon and Erie, Prophetstown and Tampico. At Denrock the main lines of the Burlington from Chicago, St. Paul, St. Louis, and the West, intersect, and here the traveler can make connection for all points. The Burlington is the successor of the original railroads that were opened and operated for a time under other names, the Chicago and Rock River through the southern townships, and the Rockford, Rock Island and St. Louis down the river. Much litigation, but of no avail. The great corporations always absorb the branches.

For years the Burlington continued its business in Rock Falls, but in 1883 sufficient property having been quietly secured for a right-of-way, the bridge was built, and the track laid across the Northwestern, and along Second street, south of Wallace Hall. Here on the block between Locust street and Avenue A, a substantial station and depot were erected. The traffic of the road has greatly increased, and it now divides the freight business of Sterling with the Northwestern. Much of this prosperity is due the sagacity and perseverance of L. C. Thome, general agent for twenty-eight years, who, like all efficient railroad men, has risen from the foot of the ladder.

On the night of Oct. 23, 1888, Sterling beheld the spectacular event of her history. The Burlington bridge across Rock river was discovered on fire, and as the flames fairly leaped along the arches, the whole structure was speedily a blazing mass. As the catastrophe happened before midnight, the entire population were witnesses of the work of the destroying angel. It was a scene of weird and fascinating excitement. Twelve hundred feet of flame, illuminating heaven above and the waters beneath. The origin of the fire a mystery. As the piers were intact, another superstructure of frame was reared the next year.

The cities of Sterling and Rock Falls within a few years have become an important railroad center, and there is a permanent pay roll of almost four hundred men.

The Twin Cities are the division point of the Shabbona and Sterling line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and are the division point for the

Sterling and Denrock branch of the same line. It is the terminal of the Northwestern & Peoria Railroad, and a part of the administration officers of the Galena division are located here. These officers are the train master, road master of the Galena division and the assistant road master, and the road master of the Peoria line, the traveling engineer and the superintendent of signals.

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy maintains two very large yards, one on either side of the river, and has a total of about seven miles of switch tracks, in addition to the main lines.

The "Q" maintains here the office of the roadmaster of the two branches. The only wrecking crew on the Northwestern between Clinton and West Chicago is maintained here.

The monthly pay roll on the Northwestern has been as high as $80,000 a month, and last year for three inonths it had an extra pay roll of $800 a day. The normal pay roll monthly on the Northwestern is about $42.000 and on the "Q" about $20,000, making the monthly pay roll on the two roads about $62,000 or about $744,000, or close to three-quarters of a million dollars annually. It will therefore be seen that after all is written about the various and varied factories and their pay roll, the greatest factors in the two cities are the railroads. They employ more men and have annually a larger pay roll than any other institution.

The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul

As this strong road skirts only the western edge of the county, striking the Mississippi at Savanna, as it comes from the lakes, and crossing the Northwestern at Fulton, then following the river to Rock Island, it is not a heavy factor in the commercial interests of Whiteside. It gives Albany communication with the world, but there are only two trains a day, one from the north at ten, the other from the south at four. The small station at Fulton is in the eastern end of the city at the intersection of the Northwestern, but the trains of the latter stop only at their own station further west.

Montmorency

This is one of our purely inland townships, no river, no railroad, but one wide stretch of farms and cottages. How did it get its name? Ustick, for instance, is after an early settler, Erie from the lake, Mt. Pleasant for its situation, but Montmorency is French, and the first emigrants were Yankees. It certainly has one merit, it is musical, which cannot be said of Oshkosh.

The main road from Rock Falls southward is known as the Golder road from Alonzo Golder. who opened a large farm in 1856, and became a repre- sentativc citizen, but in later years retiring to Sterling. Here was the second school building called the Banes schoolhouse, a central place for meetings of various kinds and religious services. In the third schoolhouse in the Mc- "Whorter district, Capt. W. C. Robinson, afterwards in the war, taught in the winter of 1860.

Two early roads. One a trail from Dixon to Green river, northeast to southwest. The other was the stage route from Dixon to Rock Island. A familiar landmark was the "Lone Tree," a honey locust, blown down in Camanche tornado of 1860. The first regular rail, laid out in 1854, runs eas» and west through the town.

On this Golder road is a small white frame structure with the inscription above the door, M. W. A. Camp 1912, 1896. North of this you come to

The Cemetery

Most of the tombs bear dates since 1866. Among the older names are Cornelius Bachellor, 1829-1899. George Murray, 1815-1881. Elizabeth Murray, 1820-1892. Elizabeth Foster, 1798-1877. Alonzo Golder, 1807-1895. George W. Curtis, 1822-1902. (This name recalls the celebrated editor of Harper's Weekly.) Hullinger, 1820-1897. Then there are Doty, Fitch, Blanchard, Stevens, Ward, Frank, Sawyer. Of the soldiers we noticed G. B. Reynolds, 1841-1887. Francis Brown/ 1872. P. C. Woods, 1880, aged 59. Elijah L. Halsted, 1885, aged 42. Faded flags were drooping over the graves, but some of them had no details of companies, regiments, or battles. This is a satisfaction to the visitor, and is a memorial due the brave boys sleeping beneath.

Within a generation the country has made a remarkable improvement. The primitive buildings have given way to modern dwellings with large barns, hay sheds, and all the smaller structures necessary to convenience and comfort. Some of our prosperous farms today look like a small village. Dwellings generally white, barns red, which is a durable color, warm in winter, and showy in appearance. Soil a black loam with here and there a mixture of sand, which makes heavy travel on the roads. This has been remedied in many places by gravel and embankment. Ditching has been of vast benefit to many sections of the township.

The common roads through Montmorency and Hume cross the feeder of the Hennepin canal by means of high steel bridges, approached by long embankments. They are visible afar, and make graceful landmarks.

A Personal Narrative

buying land south of Asa Scott in 1859, the only pioneer then in the township. The only Indian trail up and down the valley was traveled in the time of California gold excitement, and some days one hundred teams passed along. On the road between Sterling and Prophetstown, George Richmond is the last of the men of 1859. Where the busy town of Rock Falls now is, he could have bought the land at $15 per acre. Near that Lone Tree there was once a graveyard, called the Lone Tree Cemetery, but the friends of the dead moved away, and the bodies were never removed. The land in Hume south of his place was unoccupied for many years.

One of the diversions occasionally is a poverty ball. In order to gain admittance it will be necessary for all guests to be attired in rags and tags. Good clothes will not be tolerated.

To indicate the interest taken in the subject of transportation in these rural districts, this item clipped from a county paper is suggestive:

Twenty-two farmers in the town of Montmorency have been hauling crushed rock for grading and making hard roads in their town. It is expensive as the material has to be hauled several miles, but the campaign for good roads is worth pushing.

Letter From A Lady

Dear Sir: In reply to your request to furnish you with a few facts that exist in Montmorency, I will say that we have six public schools. The buildings are frame buildings, and are in good condition. We employ six teachers at an average of forty-five dollars per month. Each school has a library and such days as Arbor Day, Flag Day, Decoration Day, and Lincoln and Washington days are observed. From these schools are many of the prominent teachers of the county. We have at the present time a student at Urbana who is heading the Junior Class in Botany and Medical Science. There are two Sunday schools and a Home Department Class of twenty members. There is preaching at the Banes Sunday school of the Methodist Denomination. There is a Woodman Hall, and Camp No. 19 hold regular meetings. The Mystic Workers lodge, No. 104 also meet at this hall. This township has twenty-three steel bridges which span its drainage ditches, which have been the means of greatly advancing the value of the land in this township.

Mrs. Eliza Fraxk Familiar Faces Of Pioneers

As the writer's residence in Whiteside dates from 1858, he often met many of the early settlers on the street. Alonza Colder after coming to Sterling was dignified as Judge. He was a thick-set man, good-humored countenance, and plain in his manners. He formed partnership with his son in the lumber and coal trade. His daughter was married to Moses Dillon, long in the elevator business, now in New York. The Judge was a member of the Congregational church, and an estimable citizen in all the relations of life.

Another was Nathan Williams, who, when the writer first knew him, was engaged in a dry goods store, but after three years left Sterling, and devoted his energies to a large farm of 640 acres in Montmorency. In 1871 he was elected to the legislature as representative, serving two years. Faithful to his constituents. To him the writer is indebted for a complete set of the Geological Survey of Illinois, under direction of A. H. Worthen. A third was C. C. Buell, the best educated of all the circle, valedictorian at Madison University, New York. An illustrious record as professor, quartermaster in the Civil war, principal of Second Ward school in Sterling, influential as farmer and dairyman. Mr. Buell was a good writer, ready speaker, and well equipped for the intellectual or commercial affairs of the community.

Asa Scott, who made that peculiar boat trip from Ohio to Como in 1839, where he remained until 1847, when he purchased a farm in this township, had sixteen children, putting him in the class with Susanna Wesley, mother of the famous Methodist founder. Asa's early experience was full of all sorts of hardship. Tyler McWhorter's name was familiar to the citizens of the county, as he was supervisor and member of the legislature. He came in 1854 from Indiana. His widow resides in Sterling. A. A. Church is best known as a raiser of improved stock. Herman Sterling removed to Sterling, and then to California. Henry M. Barnum is now in Sterling. In fact, nearly all of Montmorency's older people are gone. Another generation have taken up their work.

Whiteside Sunday School Association

People and realms of every tongue, Dwell on his love with sweetest song, And infant voices shall proclaim Their early blessings on his name. - -Watts.

No cause has more loyal, efficient, untiring workers than the men and women in the Sunday school movement. A pure and disinterested service, so refreshing in this age of graft and selfishness. The children are the hope of the country, and they should be brought up in the ways of righteousness. When time-servers are forgotten, they that turn many to holiness, shall shine t>* the stars forever and ever.

Rev. D. E. Wells was chosen moderator, and Pay.son Trask, secretary. State Secretary, E. Payson Porter gave an address, Saving of the World. Fourteen townships of twenty-two were represented. D. J. Jenne, Sterling, president; Payson Trask, Fulton, secretary, H. C. Donaldson, Morrison, statistical secretary, were chosen for the ensuing year. The next convention : met in Farwell Hall, Sterling, May 7, 1877. The report showed 52 schools, and 5,430 scholars. The next year the meeting was in the Presbyterian church, Fulton, May, 1878. April 29, 1879, saw the convention in the Presbyterian church at Morrison. Rev. E. Brown was one of the speakers. The next time in the Congregational church, Sterling, May 4, 1880. The report gave 75 schools and 6,404 scholars. Fulton M. E. church had the following session, Dec. 13, 1881. At the next convention in Morrison Baptist church, Dec. 7, 1882, there were 64 schools reported with a membership of 5,160. Jenne, Trask, and Donaldson, after a faithful service of seven years retired, and C. W. Sholes, Morrison, president; Joseph B. Kearns, Garden Plain, sec. ; and G. P. Perry, Sterling, treasurer, succeeded. At the convention in M. E. church, Sterling, Oct. 31, 1883, W. B. Jacobs gave an address on The True Object of Our Work, and How to Accomplish It. Forty dollars was appropriated for the state fund. Next in Morrison, Presbyterian church, Nov. 11, 1884. Erie had the next meeting, in M. E. church, Nov. 2, 1885, and the officers elected were: Pres., Dr. Donaldson; I. M. Phillips, v. pres. ; G. P. Perry, treas; rec. sec., B. T. St. John. Oct. 21, 1886, saw the convention in Fulton, Oct. 25, 1887, in Cong, church, Rock Falls, Dec. 22, 1888, in Morrison, Nov. 21, 1889, in Fulton, Nov. 20, 1890, in Sterling, Nov. 19, 1891, in Morrison, Nov. 1, 1892, in Fulton, Sept. 20, 1893 in Prophetstown, Nov. 13, 1894, in Rock Falls, Oct. 1, 1895, Erie, Nov. 21, 1896, Morrison, Nov. 9, 1897, Sterling, Nov. 9, 1898, Prophetstown, Nov. 7, 1899, Rock Falls, Nov. 20, 1900, Morrison. Rev. Henry Moser, Mary Foster Bryner, and W. B. Jacobs were present. The silver anniversary was observed, 1876-1900, to commemorate the first convention, which was held also in Morrison. Among those present then were W. F. Eastman, Overholser, Tuttle, Payne, Mrs. Hamilton, R. Aldritt, L. E. Mathews, Mrs. Woodruff. At the meeting in Fulton, 1901, Nov. 12, I. M. Phillips was pres. and S. A. Maxwell, secretary. The convention met in Sterling, Nov. 11, 1902, in Oct. 29, 1903, at Erie, Nov. 3, 1904, Presbyterian church, Albany, Nov. 2, 1905, in M. E. church, Tampico, Sept. 20, 1906, in M. E. church, Rock Falls, Sept.. 26, 1907, at Morrison.

County Officers For Nineteen Hundred And Eight District Secretaries

As will be noticed, the conventions have been changed in place every year so that an interest may be aroused in every section of the county. The plan has proved successful, and in every town the convention is the enthusiastic event of the week. Good singing, addresses by prominent educators, discussions that appeal to teachers and people. Today Whiteside has every township organized, and is the banner and star county in the state for S. S. work.

Theodore Trouth, Sterling, statistical secretary, who has furnished much of the material for this sketch, and is himself a pioneer in the movement, has given the writer a long list of the worthy men and women who freely gave their time and talents to the cause. Among the wheelhorses are James P. Overholser, I. M. Phillips, George P. Perry, G. W. Olmstead, H. K. Hostetter, J. K. Chester, N. G. Van Sant, Hugh Miller. For twenty years Perry has conducted every winter a training class in Sterling, in which are presented the best methods of teacher training.