Quincy Township (part 14 of 74)

and instructive meetings were held in October and I\Iay of each year. We nsed mostly home talent, securing an expert -when we could do so. Our success encouraged other counties to organize, and thus an interest was created throughout the state. But being satisfied that it would be impossible to get the best results from a farmers' institute at individual expense, a number of interested farmers met at the Lelaud Hotel, at Spi'ingfield, Illinois, during the Thirty-ninth General Assembly and formulated the bill which chartered the Illinois Farmers' Institute by an act of the General Assembly. This bill was placed in the hands of Col. Chas. F. Mills to look after its passage. Col. Mills placed the bill in charge of Hon. G. W. Dean, then a member of the General Assembly, with instructions to use all honorable means in his power to have it become a law. The bill was passed. It provided for a Farmers' Institute to be held in each county, not less than two days in each year. The next General A.ssembly appropriated sffoO to every county in the state that held an institute, subject to the conditions of the charter of the said Farmers' Institute. This placed it upon its feet, and every coiinty in the state is organized and holds one or more institutes each year. In every state in the TTnion the farmers' institute is protected by law.

The farmers employ the best available talent at their institutes, which makes it expensive, costing from $30 to $250 each. Considering this, the Forty-second General Assembly increased the appropriation to $75 for each county. The institutes work under rules and regulations adopted by the Board of Directors, and there is a rule that no more than one-third of the appropriation shall be paid to foreign instructors. That means that we can get two speakers from the Agricultural College, who instruct lis on two different agricultural topics each. They cost the institute nothing but expenses, as they are salaried instructors.

The number of institutes were attended by speakers from the College of Agriculture and Experiment Station at I'rbana, season of 190-4-5. These instructors delivered one hundred and fifty-nine speeches, embracing almost every conceivable topic, from soil investigation to the marketing of the crop. The farmers in the locality where the institute is held are interested and take part in the discussions. From, this fact institutes are held at different parts of the county to accommodate the audiences of the different localities.

school children is 20.000, of teachers 2,000, of farmers" wives 10,000 ; and may we not hope that some of the -148,000 farmers who do not attend institutes can be reached by some of the teachers and scholars who are to form the next "generation of farmei'S?"

It is the custom for the director of each Congressional district to call a conference of the presidents of all the counties in his district to meet at some convenient place in the district, to arrange dates iu such a manner that the speakers will have a week's work on one trip. Thus nuniey is saved and time economized.

It is reasonable to expect from the present indications that the time is not distant when the Farmers' Institute will open the way for teaching agriculture in the common schools. Therefore her 27,000 teachers are already falling into line for this coming event, and the elements of agricidtural science are gradually finding their place in the primary and secondary schools through instr\iction of their teachei's.

The value of nitrogen-fixing bacteria has been thoroughly demon.stratecl, and greatly increasing yields of leguminous plants with accompanying production of nitrogen in the soil is one of the great features of soil improvement as taught at our agricultural college and experiment station. At the University we are taught to vise commercial fertilizers, and our institutes have embraced the opportunity and have learned to apply the necessary elements - nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium - to n very great advantage: but commercial fertilizers are costly, and the farmers of Adams county have learned that our soil is of such a nature that these elements can be furnished the land by simply a rotation of crops. These three principal elements in the land of Adams county are absolutely necessary to the production of crops, and in the protection of nitrogen, the principal element in vegetable growth, will add to the soil enough phosphorous and jiotassium for all purposes.

The rich bottom lands of Adams county contain 7,880 pounds of nitrogen per acre, and all the other elements necessary to raise a crop of corn. With these conditions 100 pounds of nitrogen will produce 100 bushels of corn. Thus the land is impoverished only one pound of nitrogen for every bushel of corn raised on the land. But if the corn is gathered from the stalk, and the stalks are left on the field they will return a half-pound or more of nitrogen to each bushel of corn, as the stalk is mostly composed of nitrogen and the ear is composed of other compounds.

most of -rt'liich can be funiished from the ground, perhaps for a thousand years. This land is very valuable. The bluff or table and prairie soils of Adams county are the second best soils known, containing 5.800 pounds of nitrogen per acre, and all the other soil elements necessary to raise a crop of corn. Therefore, three crops of corn can be raised without perceptible injury to the soil, but constant corn raising will wear the land out in time. To obviate this, instead of buying commercial fertilizers a rotatimi of crops is all that is necessary to restore the lost fertility after the three crops of corn. There should be a rotation of oats, followed by wheat, tJien clover in the spring, then let it stand two years, and the soil will be ready for another rotation, each crop paying for itself, and necessary for the regular fariiicr.

The soils of Adams county are a composition of such fertilizers as will grow legumes without inoculation. Clover is grown for this purpose, and where the soil is in good condition and the spring favorable, a catch of clover is almost certain. The nitrogen-gathering bacteria or tubercles on the roots of the clover plant have the power to take free nitrogen from the air ancl cause it to unite with other elements to form compounds suitable for plant food. There are about seventy-tive million pounds of atmospheric nitrogen rest on every acre of land, and it can be obtained in unlimited quantities.

The land situated on a hillside sometimes fails to grow clover. In this ease a light dressing of barnyard manure will almost always insure a stand of clovei', and its nitrogengathering bacteria that live in the tubercles on the roots of leguiniinMis plants will properly inoculate the soil.

Adams county is I'icli in |)lant food, and if it has been used in cnips it has. in and of itself, the elements necessai'y to restore its fertility, all the while bringing profitable returns. This makes her valuable above other counties on account of agricultural wealth, yielding her products with the least possible expense. In comparison with the southern division of Illinois, with 31.80 pounds of nitrogen and half enough potassium and phosphorus to the acre to prodiu'C agricultuial crops, it requires no extraordinary conception to appreciate the diiference. When we consider the northern division, with her 5.800 pounds of nitrogen per acre, with plenty of phosphorus ancl potassium to produce abundantly, it is somewhat surprising that so much

The corn crop of Adams county has always been greatei' than the state average, because the southern division, on an average, raises about one-half as much to the acre as the rest of the State. The State average is (1903) thirty-five bushels, while Adams county's average is forty-two bushels ; and the State average for thirty years has been thirty bushels, and the price ran for the same time fi-oni 58 cents to 20 cents per bushel. In 1!)03 the acreag(> of corn was 99,833, with an average yield of thirty-four bushels per acre, at 4"2 i-cnts |)ei- bushel, making .'1<1.425,615. as its total value. Cost of pi-odm-tion, .+993,338, which leaves a profit for the farmers of the county of ii5438,277.

Although the corn crop of 1903 was hitherto without equal, the crop of 1904 has exceeded it, and the general result is that the farmers have accumulated much more wealth than they ever have done in one year. "One conspicuous item that has contributed to the corn crop" is it produced nearly two and a half million of bushels, and its high price gives it a "farm value" of over one billion dollars. The Secretary of Agriculture says: "With this crop the farmers could pay the national debt and interest thereon one year, and still have enough left to pay the expenses of the national government for a large fraction of a year." An occupation that has produced so unthinkable a sum as one aggregating $5,000,- 000,000 within a year may be better measured l)y some comparisons: All the gold mines in the entire world have not produced, since Cohnnbus discovered America, a greater value of gold than the farmers of this country have pro<luced in wealth in two years. This year's l)roduct is over six times the amoiuit of the capital stock of all national banks: it comes within three-quarters of a million dollars of e(iualinu' the value of the manufactures of 1900 less thi^ cost of the material used; it is twice the sum of our exports and imports for a year; it is two and a half times the gross earnings from the operations of the railways; it is three and a half times the value of all minerals produced in this country, including coal, iron ore, gold, silver and quarried stone."

Adams county, lying geographically in the centei' of tliis gi-eat corn-growing belt, shai-es equally in the hon(u-s extended to the fai'mers in Secretary Wilson's eulogy on agriculture.

The acreage of wheat for the year 1903 was 79,949, and the .yield twelve bu.shels per acre, making 959.388 bushels at the average price of sixty-five cents, .$62,350. Taking out of this four and one-half bushels per capita to feed the eighty tliousand inhabitants of the county, there remains 579,388 bushels for exportation. The average yield of the crop for 1904 is not yet reported ; it was a less estimate than usual, but the average price being one dollar and three cents per bushel, it has brought more money to the farmer than the previous crop.

We do not know why the State Board of Agriculture did not report the oats crop last December, but we do know that it is an important crop and bountifully fed in hot Aveather by the farmers, and that the supply is equal to the demand for both county and cities therein.

The pastiu-es of the county have an acreage of 53.292, with a value per acre of four dollars and twentv-five cents, and the total value of $226.-191 for 1903. The acreage and value have not varied much for many years.

There is a small potato patch of 1,151 acres in Adams county, that yields 39,134 bushels, valued at $33,261: total cost of production, $18,213. and net protit, $15,021 ; besides a sweet potato field of forty-two acres, yielding 2.730 bu.shels. valued at $3,139; also a field of timothy for seed which pi'oduced 1,052 bushels, valued at $1.368 : and a clover patch that produced 1.802 bushels, valued at $9,370.

A large number of small fruits are raised in the county, a few of which I will mention, with their value as reported from the State Board of Agriculture : Grapes, $145 ; wine, $654; other fruits and berries, $6 589. Also some dairv products: pounds of butter sold in 1905. 152.621, valued at $28,998: cheese. 6.426 pounds, valued at $1,028: and 51,853 gallons of milk, valued at $5,185: 8,142 gallons of cream. $6,514.

Beef Cattle

Hogs numbered 49,469 : average weight, 207 ; average price per hundred pounds, $5.55 ; value, live weight, 471,706. The number of sheep, 12,018 : average live weight, 100 lbs. Total live weight. 264.400 : price per hundred. $4.15. Wool, number of pounds shorn. 1903. 43,185 : price per pound, ISc : total of the product. $7,773. Wool has been running 18c per pound for a long time.

The number of colts foaled since 1893, up to the year 1902. averaged 1,252 annually, and in 1903 there were 1,340 : from 1892 up to 1897 there were horses and colts, 11,894 annually; from 1897 to 1900 there were 13,913 annually; in 1901 there were 17,546; in 1902, 16,665; in 1903, 16,214. Although horses have in the main been on the increase, a good horse now (1905) will command a fabulous price, and any horse will bring his worth. The Secretary of Agriculture in his repoi't says: "Farm horses have increased slightly in number, and more in value, and in the aggregate thej' never were so valuable as in 1904, with a total of $1,136,940,298."

"The value of farm mules also reached its highest point in 1904. $217,532,832." A deficiency of 5 per cent in the number of mules in the State this year as compared with 1903 exists, but the mule interest is manifest and in sympathy with the horse interest.

Poultry

The rapid increase of poultry in numbers and in quality, together with the increase in value of products, leads to some astonishing results for 1904, when compared with former years. The Secretary of Agriculture reports: "The farmei-s" hens are now producing one and two-thirds billions of dozens of eggs yearly, and these hens during their busy season lay enough eggs in two weeks, at the high price of eggs that have prevailed during the year, to pay the year's interest on the national debt." The value of poultry sold in the county in 1903, $10,650: eggs" sold. $9,848.

Horticulture

As horticulture does not belong to agriculture, except so far as the cultivation goes, it will not be discussed here. There is a manifest interest in the county that would lead to a great system of orcharding, if a means of spraying eoidd be devised to etfectually destroy the insects that are so injurious to the apples from year to year. If a perfect apple could be thus assured, the possibilities are thei'e are thousands of acres of land in Adams county not very profitable as plow lands that would grow good apples. There are large orchards now which have been profitable, and horticulture is on the increase. But restore the perfect apple again, and horticulture would be comparatively in its infancy.

there are uo railroads accessible to haul farm products to market, and it all must be done b.y wagou. The farmers under existing conditions build their own road in some localities. Burton township is setting apart foi'ty cents on the $100 of assessment as a .special tax for hard roads; this has been in existence ten years, and with the money thus obtained they have made a good road on the roads running into the city of Quinc.y on Broadway and State streets, almost through the township. The highways could be nuide very much better if they were graded high enough to run the water oft' the roads. If this wei'e done, there would be less complaint. This spring we crossed three townships ; in two of them about one-half of the water ran in the middle of the road, and they were impassable with a load; the other was nicely graded and the road was good all the way through.

jMay we not hope that b.y levying a tax to the full limit of the law all our roads may be graded high enough to drain all the water oft" on their sides? If a hard road law ever passes in the State of Illinois, in all probability it will provide for submission to the people by townships or counties, in which case Illinois is likely to be as old as the Roman Empire was when she made good roads before a general system of road making will be established. If the roads are first well graded, tlie.v will be in good condition for a permanent improvement when the time comes.

The Board of the Western Society of Engineei's report that Illinois has "unlimited material for the manufacture of Portland cement." This being true, may we not hope that the hard road problem is solved b.y finding a road buihling material that will be economical and durable and that can be reached.

In conclusion we want tn say by way of repetition, that becaiise of the i;eneral farming on the soils, the great agricultural central west is the present, and we may say, "the future, granarv of the world." The land whose fertility can be kept up by rotation of crops is as good as Abraham's choice to dwell in the land of the plain of Jordan, annulling the woi'ld's historic verdict, "Westward the coiirse of empire takes its way," and substituting therefore, "Here a permanent agriculture holds swa.v. "

It has been the tendency heretofore in the civilized world for the farmers to run their land down and then cry "Westward ho, young man!" The farmers did not know that lost fei'tility could be restored. As the farmer's stock is fed the products of tlie farm to produce to sustain the Imm.m liod\-. even so the soil nnist be fed the elenuMits necessary to retain its fertility. He who speaks differently knows not whereof he speaks. Two years ago this was more noticeable because the South is enjo.ying prosperity owing to the increased value of her cotton crop in addition to her general progress in agriculture. The Eastern farmer, who has been long in the background in competition with the rapidl.y expanding upper Mississippi River Valle.y, is enjoying nornud conditions on account of varied industries. The Pacific coast is prospering with its "world famed specialties." The mountain States glor.y in the fruits and prospects of irrigation. In the early settled prairie States the farmer bought much of his land at $1.25 an acre, which now sells at $100 ; and the American Desert, very lately nothing but a buft'alo range, is now settled b.y prosperous farmers, making mone.v from the proceeds of their products. The fertility of the Adams county soils need not and ought not be reduced below its original productive capacity.

May we not hope that the farmers will assist to establish a system of farming which will insure a profitable aiul permanent agriculture. Let us not repeat the history of the great Mohawk \'^alle.y in New York, or the James River Valley in Virginia, both of which were once famous for tlieii' fertilit.y and productive capacity.

Prof. Joseph Carter, of Champaign, said not long ago, in a public address, that he reeentl.y traveled through the valle.y of the James River in old Virginia, and he found there that some of the beautiful farm lands which once grew crops of tobacco which made Virginia rich, are now absohitely abandoned, and no man will own them. A well-regulater system of rotation of crops woidd have saved this once fertile land, and old Virginia would be growing tobacco yet.

To whatever instinct is due the development of horticulture, the passion for gain or the passion for beaut.v, it is certain that the histor.v of horticulture in Adams count.v is practically synchronous with its earliest settlement : more particularly is this true of Quiney. whose founder. Governor John Wood, was also the fii'st tree planter. It is hard today to estimate what the city owes to this truly great citizen: l,)ut not the least of the debts it owes to the loviug- care and remarkable foresight of its founder is his estalilishiiient of its lirst orchard and the beautiful shade trees which kindled a love more enduring than brass in our people, and an enthusiasm which has reached the heart of every dweller in the town whose first walls he reared, so that it might almost be said that every child who is born in the town is baptized into a love of trees. This passion which his love first kindled has so taken root and spread that today Quincy is one vast park of beautiful shade trees, prominent among all the cities of the west in this regard. But if it owed so nnieh to him, its debt is hardly less great to a line of men who, coming later, liave had his passion for the beauty of trees in no less remarkable a degree. Among these whose names I cannot forbear to mention are Loi'euzo Bull, one of the city's greatest benefactors ; Henry Whitmore. who personally planted many of the trees that are now the glory of the beautiful east end ; Edward J. Parker, the father of the city parks and the untiring preacher of the gospel of civic beauty. If Quincy owes much to Governor Wood as the pioneer, it owes more to Mr. Parker in its uplift to higher ideals of civic beauty and practical plans for realizaing those ideals. These men have left and are leaving monuments that will carry their names to the ages. In passion for rare and beautiful trees., and in generous sympathy with every aim that added to the city's ti'ee wealth and beauty, I cannot forbear to mention Richard F. Neweomb. A richness of delight in tree beauty made him a center of infectious enthusiasm. Not least among those whose example has been contagious and inspiring are the honored names of Henry Bull, O. H. Browning. Nehemiah Bushnell. Willard Keyes. Henry Asburv. But these names, incomplete as they are in a roster of those who have deserved well of their city in respect of its beauty, are but a part of the story. That is the most remarkable that the whole city is leavened with the same spirit, and that the beauty of the city is not .sporadic and a thing of parts, but of all parts and generic. Quincy 's outward l)eauty is the outward and visible sign of a deep and inward sense for things beautiful that is universal, and touches not some, but all.

But if horticulture is in its deepest and truest sense the outward res\ilt of the inward craving for the beautifid, and therefore first to be mentioned, it is not less true that it has a practical sense, and that an honorable one. For if such men as I have mentioned deserve well of the city, not less to be remembered and revered are the pioneers in practical horticulture - such men as William Stewart, Sr., of Payson ; Deacon Scarborough, of the same town; Clark Chatten and Robert Rankin, of Fall Creek ; Henry Kent and Edward Sinnock, of Ellington; D. C. Benton, and Harges & Sommers, of Quincy. And in this line, too, as I have before indicated, stands first Governor John Wood. It was he who planted the first orchard. In 1820 he was living near Atlas, in Pike county, when as the earlier history of the county tells us, he and Willard Keyes, both young and unmarried men, were temporarily housekeeping and farming in i>artnership.

In the spring of that j^ear he made a .journey on foot to the orchard ot one Avery, who lived a short distance above St. Louis, and bought of him one pint of apple seed, paying a dollar for it. He planted these seeds and just three of them grew. This did not satisfy his appetite for tree planting nor discourage his determination to have an orchard.

In the autumn he made another pedestrian journey to Griffith's orchard, on the river opposite the old French settlement of Portage d Sioux. Here he was permitted to take the pomace from a cider mill and wash out as much seed as he wished. He made these journeys on foot, as he also did many other longer and more difficult ones, because he was then too poor to own a horse. About the same time he came into possession of another small quantity of apple seeds in the following manner: Wood and Keyes had made a quantity of maple sugar, and finding a family by the name of Sprague who were very destitute, and the parents and most of the children sick, Mr. Wood made them a liberal present of sugar, and wishing to express in some way their gratitude, and having nothing else to give, they insisted on his accepting a portion of a supply of apple seed they had brought with them to the county. From the product of these two lots of seed the young men were able to supply not only themselves, but many of their neighbors, M'ith trees for planting. In the spring of 1823 Mr. Wood, who in the meantime had removed to where Quincy now stands, planted a portion of his trees on a tract of land now embraced between Twelfth and Fourteenth and State and Kentucky streets. About the same time he planted some peach seeds, which were set out in the orchard in 1824. In 1827 he gathered fruit from both his apple and peach trees. Some of these apple trees are .still living. About the year 1830 Governor Wood planted a quantity of chestnuts and set the young trees on his grounds. Before the year 1832 Major Rose, Willard Keves, James Dunn. Silas Beebe and others of the early nettkn-s, including several in the eastern part of the county, had planted apple orchards. These trees were all seedlings, except about a dozen in Mr. Wood's orchard, and many of them were obtained from him.

In 1836 Deacon A. Scarborough, of Payson, set out a large orchard of bearing trees, some of which are yet living. In 1839 he planted an orchard of 200 peach trees, some of which were still standing in 1868. In 1855 he introduced the Concord grape.

In 1837 Clark Chatten, of Fall Creek, purchased some grafted apple trees of Charles Stratton, of Pike county, and planted them on his farm. During 1838 and 1839 he continued to add to his orchard until he had 40 acres covered with apple trees, and became the laughing stock of some of his neighbors, who thought a market could never be found for so much fruit as that orchard would produce: but he continued to buy more land and plant more trees.

In 1867 he had in all 2-tO acres devoted to apple trees, and 187 acres devoted to peach trees, the largest orchard in the state, from which he amassed a considerable fortune.

' In 1839 Wm. Stewart, of Payson, planted some peach seeds which he had secured from a small quantity of fruit purchased in Pike county for the purpose, and in the spring of 1840 he transplanted the young trees to a new farm he had purchased adjoining the village. At the same time he purchased one hundred grafted apple trees from a nursery in Pike county, probably at Atlas, and planted them in alternate rows with the peach trees. During the summer he went Ea.st. and in the autumn brought from New York a choice collection of various kinds of fruit and ornamental trees, shrubs, flower seeds, etc., such as his then limited means enabled him to purchase. The next .spring he jilanted these, and grafted some young ai)ple trees grown from seeds planted the previous spring, and this commenced "Stewart's Nursery." which for twenty-five years was the leading one in the county. In 1852 Mr. Stewart started a branch nursery in Quincy under the direction of Wm. Stewart, Jr., whom he had admitted to partnership.

Henry Kent, of Ellington, sent in 1839 to Prince's nursery. Long Island, for a supply of apples, peaches and nectarines, and with these as a beginning started a nurseiy in 1841. He was the introducer of the nectarine, which was for many years after profitably grown in this section.

lie was to the noith half of tiie county what Stewart was to the southern half, and a nuiu of splentlid character and judgment. A later very valuable nursery was that of Deacon A. Scarborough, of Payson.

But the nuseries, valuable as they were as adjuncts to our early horticulture, would have been incomplete as stimuli had it not been for the remarkable work at the county's first Horticultural Society, of which Robert Kankin for many years was the president and moving spirit. Under the active guidance of this society much valuable experimental work was undertaken, and successful exhibits were made at the State Fair and meetings of the American Ponuilogical Society. The first exhibition of Adams county fruit at the State Fair was at Springfield in 1853, when Wm. Stewart and son took a number of premiums, among them that for the largest and best collection of apples named and true to the name.. The first public exhibition east of the AUeghanies was in 1860. by (',. 11. Stewart, who took a choice collection to the meeting of the American Pomological Society in Philadelphia. This fruit attracted much attention and received high conmiendation. About the .year 1863 or 1864 Clark Chatten took the first premiinn of the Illinois Agricultural Society for the "best cultivated orchard."

Ill 18()7 Ira Coe, of Melrose, took ]iremium at State Fair held in Quincy and received as such 100 Jonathan trees, which he planted in his orchard, now the property of the writer of this article. These are believed to be the first trees of this splendid variety brought from the East, and most of the 100 are still living, and are beai-iug in si)leii<lid health and very productive.

The Adams County Horticultural Society was organized in December, 1867, by the electi(ui of Robert Rankin as president and Wm. Stewart as secretary. This soon included all the leading horticulturists of the county. This society did effective work for many years: it made out lists of the various kinds of fruits, based on long practical experience of the members, and recommended these lists to planters: it held outdoor meetings in the summer months, on the grounds of the different members, for the purpose of observing the jiractical woi'kings of the different systems of culture. It also made exhibits, as a society, at various fail's, with the most flattering results. However, it languished: but with a later revival of general interest in horticulture there was establi.shed the ^Mississippi Apple Growers' Association in Quincy, in 1900. Its fouiuler and first president was Henry Clay Cupp, of Fall Creek, the largest orchard- ist iu the L-ountj-. James Handly, of yuiucy, was its secretary, a position he still holds. Mr. Cupp was later succeeded by the Hon. S. N. Black, of Clayton, as president, ilr. Black was a charter member of the Illinois Horticultural Society, and one of the most eminent and widely known horticulturists in the State. On his retiring from the presidency in the present year, 1905, he was succeeded by C. H. Williamson, of Quincy. The society, while local in its origin, was comprehensive iu its aims, and while, unlike the early Horticultural Society, it eonfiued its interest to the apple, it was because in the series of years the apple had come to be the only fruit of importance in Adams comity raised for the distant market. In fact, iu the intervening years even the apple had diminished in importance in the volume of product and in its essential value in the market, and strawberries and peaches, which had in the later sixties and early seventies been shipped in remarkable volume from the various shipping points of the county, had dwindled to insignificance during the eighties and early nineties as far as their production on a commercial scale was concerned. The causes of this remarkable change are not far to seek. In the first place, the culture of strawberries, which had its beginning in 1852 b.v J. II. Stewart and D. C. Benton, of Quincy, and in 1865 had attained to considerable volume, was greatly affected during the eighties by the throwing open by the railroads of new and cheap lands in the Southwest to berry culture, causing a great decline in the market values of strawberries in the markets where our berries were sent, as well at the same time new and better methods of shipping, particularly the use of refrigerator cars, made it possible to ship from more distant points in other directions, so that there was a greatly lessened demand for our berries. This same cause operated against our other small fruits, as well as against peaches. But an even moi'e potent cause came into operation by the industrial expansion of Quincy itself, which withdrew hundreds of those on whom the berry growers depended for picking their fruits, to more lucrative occupations.

In the case of the peach there were at work climatic causes rendering the production less certain, and in the case of the pear, the blight. At one time, indeed, in the eighties, it seemed as if horticulture, even that of the apple, was doomed to extinction, except on a very small scale and for the home market only, and this was due to causes, some obvious, some obscure. In the first place, the soil was no longer virgin, and long continued culture had exhausted certain properties out of the soil very necessary to the life of bearing trees and plants. And no attempt had been made to replace them. The soil I'obber had been at work. The then available horticultural science was not able to point the remedy. In the second place, insect and fungous enemies had vastly multiplied. The codlin moth had appeared very early, probably as early as 1850. So had the scab, the most destructive of fungous enemies that attacked the apple, but the strong trees of our splendid and virile young orchards had been resistant. As the orchards aged and their vitality decreased, and continued production without proper fertilizing had greatly decreased their natural powers of resistance, they succumbed to the growing attacks of their insect and fungous enemies, and no longer produced fruit of a nature to be successfull.v marketed.

The art of spraying was little understood and less practiced. Then, too, the vigorous pioneers had many of them died or moved away where more virgin soils offered more alluring possibilities. Horticulture was in hands less experienced, which did not have the splendid courage of the old order nor the better science of the new order of things. There were ten years moi-e of travail and distress, but gradually men turned in the light of better knowledge to address themselves to the old problem.?" with a freshened understanding and a revived courage, and now Adams county is on the threshold of a better horticulture and a mightier indu.stry. Youug men such as Leeper of Lima, Robbins and Scarborough of Payson, Seymour of Fall Creek, Lambert of Coatsburg, " Montgomery of Melrose, Chatten of Ellington, and some of the elders, as Cupp. Perkins, Heckle, Wharton and Rankin, are applying the knowledge that experimental science affords to a thorough understanding of local soil and climatic conditions that promise great results. Some are already garnering them, and they better understand their limitations. They' know in the first place that they cannot gather where they have not sown. They cannot c(uitinually take wifhovif giving. If file trees are to bear, they must also be fed. They have learned that they must therefore fertilize.

They know in the second place that moisture must "be conserved, that the soil must be stirred to uulock for the trees their potential supplies of food, and that life-giving air may reach the roots. They therefore cultivate. They know that the insect and fungous enemies can and must be combated. They therefore spray. They know that the soil must be enlivened as well as protected from the cold of a severe climate: that the water-bearing capacity of the soil is in proportion to the lioinus content. They therefore sow cover crops. And above all, they know that all soils are not adai^ted to fruit trees; that a tree to live long must root deep in rich soil, and that in the loess soil covering oiir limestone bluffs nature has given Adams county one of those pre-eminent areas of natural adaptation wliich place her unrivaled in readiness to produce fruit tit to enter into that competition of excellence for which the exacting markets of the work are offerina' most suitable reward.

Chapter

The early bench and Itar of Adams county had a fame, justly acquired, in Illinois. It was the bar of the "ililitary Tract" - that part of the State between the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and s{uith of the latitude of Rock Island - which had Iteen reserved by the federal government for the soldiers of the War of 1812, whose patriotism was recognized by "Bounty lauds." On the bench in that circuit presided jurists of recognized ability and acumen, and at this bar practiced lawyers of learning, eloquence and skill, whose renown was widespread, all contributing to give to the bench and bar a lustre which time has not dimmed and which will ever be a source of pride to Adams county.

The first circuit judge was John Yorck Sawyer, a native of Vermont, whose name appeal's enrolled as a lawyer December 7, 1820. On the bench Judge Sawyer sustained an excellent reputation f(u- ability and integrity. He was appointed at the session of 1824-5, and two years later was legislated out of office by the law of 1826-7, which repealed the circuit court system and threw upon the supreme judges circuit court duty. Judge Sawyer's first court was held July, 1825, ui the cabin of Williard Keyes, on Front street, near the foot of Vermont, this being the only one of the three cabins then comprising Quincy "in which there were no children. ' ' The session was but formal, and the first business session of the court was held October 31st. following. After leaving the bench. Judge Sawyer resumed his profession at Vandalia, then the state capital. He died ^larch 13, 1836, at which time he was editm- of the Vandalia Advocate.

Judge Sawyer was succeeded by Samuel D. Lockwtxid, of the supreme court, whose name is recorded as the first licensed lawyer in Illinois, the date being ilay 11, 181!). Lockwood was born in Central New York, and came to Illinois in 1818. stopped first at Kaskaskia, and finally settled at Jacksonville, which was his residence initil he retired from the bench in 1848. Then he removed to Batavia, where he died about 1885. Judge Lockwood was a man of excellent education, learning and refinement, who reflected exceptidiial honcir on the position held by him.

In 1831, a fifth judicial circuit having been added. Judge Richard M. Young Avas appointed. Judge Young was a Kentuckian by birth, a man of exemplary habits, refined mind, industrious disposition and good judgment, who held the public confidence and who served out his full term of six years with dignity and credit. After serving his term he was successively United States Senator, Illinois State Agent in Europe, Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, Commissioner of the General Land Office, and finally he engaged in a legal agency business. His last days were passed in an insane asylum.

Janu^s H. Ralston, who succeeded Judge Yoiuig, in 1S37, had been a practicing lawyer in (Juincy, and was also a member of the state legislature in 1836-7. Ralston also was a Kentuckian. His services on the bench, while creditalile, were brief, as he resigned in 1838, and was elected state senator in 1840, and was an unsuccessful candidate for congress a year later, after which he went to California, where he was found dead in the woods, having either died suddenly or been killed by some animal. Judge Ralston 's successor was Peter Lott, who came to Illinois in 1835 from New Jersey, locating at Carthage. Hancock county, whence he soon came to Quincy, where he resided for some sixteen years. Judge Lott had more than ordinary ability and made a good record on the bench. He was a Whig till about 1836, when he joined the democratic party, in which he became prominent. Retiring from the bench in 1841, under the re-organization of the judiciary law, he resumed the practice of law, was elected to the lower house of the legislature in 1S44, enlisted as a private in Col. Bissell's regiment of Illinois infantry (ui the outbreak of the Mexican war, rose to the position of captain and acquired credit at Buena Vista. Retui-ning home, he was elected circuit clerk and recorder for four years, after which he went to California and was placed in charge of the United States mint. He died a few years later, in Central America, while dis-

Under the re-orgauization act, the appointment of the supreme .judge from this district was Stephen A. Douglas, who assumed the office in 1841. The history of Douglas is too well known to call for space in this connection. While on the bench Judge Douglas had several local questions of a peculiarly vexations character to handle, including some connected with the Mormons and the division of Adams county. In these as in other matters. Judge Douglas always retained the confidence of the public, while his exceptional ability is well known to all. On the election of Douglas to congress in 1843 over O. H. Browning, he was succeeded on the bench by Jesse B. Thomas, a son of the Jesse B. Thomas who was territorial judge of Illinois from 1809 till 1819, was one of the first two United States Senatoi's and was the author of the famous Missouri Compromise bill. Judge Thomas, who succeeded Douglas, was probably born in the Indian Teri-itory. He was a democrat. His two years' record on the bench was creditable. He was transferred to a northern circuit and died a few years later.

His successor on the bench, in 1843, was Norman H. Purple, who proved to be a judge of superior ability, lieing peculiarly well adapted for the position of jurist. Judge Purple retired from this circuit in 1848. by reason of the change in the constitiition reorganizing the districts and making judges elective. Purple returned to Peoria and resumed the practice of law. He died about 1864.

William A. ]\Iinshall. of Schuyler county, succeeded Judge Purple, in 1848. Minshall, who was elected as a Whig over William R. Aicher, of Pike county, and was one of the oldest lawyers in Illinois, had stood at the head of the bar in his own county and on the bench maintained his excellent reputation. Adams and Hancock counties being created a separate circuit in 1851, Judge Minshall was succeeded by Onias C. Skinner, who had for several years been a ]>romineut lawyer in Hancock county and then in Quincy, his later residence. While Judge Skinner had lacked educational advantages, such was his force of intellect that he rose to a front rank at the bar, while his standing on the bench was high. Judge Skinner was elected to the supreme court in 185.5. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1870, occupying the position of chairman of the judiciary committee. He died in Quincy in 1877.

18, 1897, in the 79th year of his age. His early life was spent on a farm; he attended the district school and local academy, was admitted to the bar in 1846 and soon after settled at Nauvoo, Hancock county, Illinois, where he began the practice of law, and with success and distinction. He was elected to the state legislature in 1850, re-elected in 1852, moved to Warsaw in 1853, was elected to the circuit bench in 1855 for the 13th circuit and was reelected for three successive terms. When the appellate court was re-organized in 1877, Sibley was appointed by the supreme court to that bench. M'here he served till the expiration of his tenn in 1879. He moved to Quincy in 1865 and made his home here till his death. A man possessing strong individual traits of character, Judge Sibley had good jiidgment, was well versed in the fundamental principles of the law, and these qualities, coupled with his integrity and general ability, made him a good jurist, and, in time, one of the most eminent circuit judges in the state. While to strangers he sometimes appeared cold, with a disposition to bluntness of expression, he was really a kind-hearted man. At the time he retired from the bench he had been presiding judge for nearly half the existence of Adams county.

Judge Sibley was succeeded by Judge John H. Williams, who served with excellent credit until 1885 and is still practicing his profession in Quincy.

William ]\Iarsh, who succeeded Judge Williams, served fi-om 1885 till 1891, Judge Marsh was born in Cayuga county, N. Y., March 11, 1822. attended a private school near Ithaca, took an academic coui-se, then entered Union college at Schenectady, from which he was graduated with honor in 1842. He was admitted to the bar in 1845, practiced first in Ithaca and came to Quincy in 1854, He died April 14, 1894. It was said of him in the bar resolutions on his death that he was "an exemplar of professional virtue and forensic attainments most fittingly calcidated to excite the just emulation of all whose exalted privilege it is to minister at the altar of justice. An honest, able law^'er, a just, pi;re and profound judge, a kind, fond and faithful husband, a polished, scholarly and accomplished gentleman."

Judge Marsh was siieceeded hj Oscar P. Bonney, who served one term, from 1891 until 1897. Judge Bonney was born September 8, 1852, near Chambei-sburg, Clark county. Mo., and died in Chicago, February 14, 1905, When a babe, his parents moved to Putnam county, 111., thence to La Grange, IMo.. thence to Quincy. and thence to Columbus, whei'e

Oscar grew to manhood. After a few years as student at La Grange eolleRe. he came to Qnincy, studied hiw with Ewing, Wheat & Hamilton, was admitted to the bar in 1873, was successively city and state's attorney and was holding the latter office when he was elected circuit judge. In a recent sketch of Judge Bonney this true summary was written: "His moral, upright life; the integrity that characterized his intercourse with all persons and his sterling ability as a lawyer; his professional etiquette and his just and logical rulings and sound judgments while on the bench, so endeared him to his fellows that his memory will be fondly cherished for raan.y years to come." During his term as cii'cuit judge. Judge Bonney was nominated for supreme judge, but was defeated bv Joseph N. Carter.

Judge John C. Broady succeeded Judge Bonney and served till 1903. making an excellent record. Judge Broady continues to reside in Quiney and is practicing his profession. His successor on the bench was Jiidge Albert Akers, v\dio is making a commendable record. Judge Akers resides in Quiney.

The Hon. Chauneey L. Higbee was one of the judges of this circuit and of the appellate court for the third district of this state, and the Adams County Bar records show this fitting memorial tribiite: "That for his many virtues as a private citizen, and his learning and abilities as a lawyer, legislator and judge, as well as for his able and faithful discharge of eveiy duty devolving iipon him, whether in private or official capacity, the deceased will be long remembered, not only by his friends and admirers and the bar. but by the public at large."

Chauneey L. Higbee was born in Clermont, Ohio, in 1820. In 184.5, he published a newspaper at Nauvoo, 111., -whence he moved to Pittsfield, 111., where he began the practice of the profession to which he proved to be such an eminent adornment. He was a representative in the 19th General Assembly and state senator in 1859-61. He was elected circuit judge four times, the first time in 1861, and was elected appellate judge in 1878. Judge Eigbee died December 7, 1884, leaving a memory that will ever be held in honor and esteem, and leaving both a name and a career which are being nobly perpetuated by his able son, the Hon. Harry Higbee, of Pike county. Illinois.

In the course of some biographical sketches in his "Reminiscences of Quiney." published in 1882, the late Henry Asbury gives this paragraph concerning lawyers: "Our earliest lawyers here before 1831 were John E. Jetfers, Louis Masquerier, George Logan, James H. Ralston, Archibald Williams, O. H. Browning, and soon after Robert R. Williams. James W. Whitney. Thomas Ford, afterwards governor, Adolphus Hubbard, who became lieutenant governor, his remains l.ving in the present courthouse square. Of what might be called our second batch of lawyers here from 1835 to 1847, there were the following: il. D. Browning, Henry Asbuiy, Peter Lott, William Darling, Jaeoby Halleck, Ebenezer i\Ioore, Calvin A. Warren, N. Bushnell ; in 1837. Andrew Johnston; 1836, John R. Randolph, Charles Oilman, Almeron Wheat ; 1839, Charles A. Savage, Horace S. Cooley; 1840, Philo A. Goodwin; 1841, J. Quin Thornton, William H. Ralston, James M. Burt, Louis M. Booth, E. J. Phillips. William H. Benneson ; 1843, Isaac N. ilorris. Egbert A. Thompson, Charles B. Lawrence, Charles H. Milner, Isaac M. Grover, Abraham Jonas. Pei'kins Cleveland ; 1847, Adolphus Engleman, David L. Hough, George C. Dixon. Peachy R. Gilmer, Charles W. Billington, Joseph M. Higbee, George Williams, Seth C. Sherman, Onias C. Skinner; 1845, Jonathan M. Bassett, Bushrod W. Lott. Homer Parr and John Tillson." ]\Ir. Asbury added that only about twelve out of the list of fortysix were known to be living at the time he wrote.

Archibald Williams was born June 10, 1801, in Montgomery county, Kentucky. Having received the first rudiments of an education he was thrown upon his own resources early in life. He first engaged in manual labor, but being of a studious disposition, turned his attention to teaching. His fondness for study caused him to select the law for his profession, and he was admitted to the bar in Tennessee in 1828. A year later he eame to Quiney. During his first six years' practice he achieved the highest rank as a lawyer and jurist and as a man of stainless character. He was elected three times to the state legislature. In 1847 Judge Williams was selected against a democrat in a democratic district to serve in the constitutional convention. He was twice nominated by the whigs for United States senator, but was defeated, and was also the whig candidate for congress in the campaign immediately preceding the birth of the republican party, but was defeated. He was oft'ered a seat on the United States supreme bench, but he declined the high honor on account of his advanced years. In 1849 he was appointed by President Taylor as district attorney for Illinois, and in 1861 he was appointed by President Lincoln as district judge for Kansas.

Judge Williams was a man of strong convictions, but one who entertained great respect for the views of others. He died in Quincy, September 21, 1863, leaving the record of a distinguished, noble and pure life. To quote from the bar resolutions, October 27, 1863, he was "eminently a frank and sincere man. You always knew where he was and what he was. He never deceived a friend or betrayed a trust, or trifled Avith an interest. None ever doubted his word. None ever questioned his honesty. He was alike the ornament of official position and of the private station. The radiance shed by the influence of his moral deportment was not less beneficial upon society than his legal and logical mind and professional courtesy were upon the bar. He lived for others, not himself. He lived for the benefit of his race and country. He was not a seeker of wealth : with all of his energy, untiring industry and great endowments, he died without it, leaving behind him little else but the rich inheritance of his professional and exemplary character."

Xehemiah Bushnell was a native of Connecticut and was graduated from Yale college in 1835. He was admitted to the bar in 1837 and came to Quincy the same year and formed a partnership with 0. H. Browning, which lasted till his death. Soon after cstabli-shing himself in this city, Mr. Bushnell conducted the editorial department of the Quincy Whig for a time. These expressions from members of the local bar on ilr. BushnelTs death show the high estimation in which he was held. Hon. O. C. Skinner referred to him as an "example of a life of patient, public and professional labor, public usefulness and un.sullied fame, distinguished alike by learning and talent - ^a great and good man." Hon. W. A. Richardson said: "He could have adorned the presidency of any institution of learning in the land. He was qiialified to have discharged the duties of any department of their institutions. His talent, his learning, his sense of justice, would have made him conspicuous and eminent on the bench of the supreme court of the I'niterl States." Judge Sibley said: "The needy always found in him a generous giver, the unfortunate a ready sympathizer, and the intelligent conversationalist a mind stored with the richest fruit of miscellaneous knowledije." Mr. Bushnell died in 1873.

Calvin A. Warren was born in New York in 1807, was a newspaper man in early life, was admitted to the bar in 183-4, moved to Quincy in 1836 and went to Warsaw later, but removed to Quincy in 1839. He fir,st formed a law partnership with James H. Ralston, then v\-ith Almerou Wheat, and was once associated with 0. C. Skinner. Warren was at different times engaged in business enterprises, but abandoned them all to follow his chosen profession. As was written of him by the Hon. O. H. Browning, immediately after his death, "He was distinguished as a member of the legal profession for his high legal attainments and for the eminent ability with which he discharged the duties of the important offices with which his name has been honorably associated." Mr. Warren died February 22, 1881.

An excellent biographical sketch is given elsewhere in this work of the late Almeron Wheat, the former county attorney, who rendered such conspicuous service when the eflfort was made to remove the county seat from Quincy.

Charles Oilman, a member of the local bar and reporter for the state supreme court, died July 24, 1849, of cholera. It was said of him that he passed away in the meridian of his life and the full career of his usefulness, and that no man at the bar was better qualified to adorn that branch of his profession. Endowed with a quick and active intellect and possessing a more than ordinary degree of literary and legal attainments, he held a high place in the esteem and afl^ection of his professional biethren.

Philo A. Goodwin was a native of Connecticut, whence he came west and he resided in Qr.incy nearly a third of a century. He died June 13, 1873. ]\lr. Goodwin had a profound respect for his profession, Avas a good lawyer, a safe counsellor, a warm hearted friend and an honest man.

William H. Benneson was born in Newark, Delaware, December 3, 1818. After graduating with honor from Delaware college. 1840, for three jears he taught school in Virginia, studying law at the same time. In 1843 he came west and opened an office in Quincy. His first partner was Stephen A. Douglas, who had resigned froiu the supreme bench of Illinois on June 28, 1843, and who was soon drawn away to engage in his political career. The pers(mal and political friendship of the two continued through life.

In 1849 IMr. Benneson was allured to California gold fielils, where he mined for three years and then returned to again practice law in Quincy. He was IMaster in Chancery under Judge Skinner and Judge Sibley, from 1853- 1861. During the Civil war he was appointed colonel of the 78th Illinois Infantry by Governor Richard Yates. Ill health compelled him to resign, and he resumed his law practice.

galaxy of lawyers who were his contemporaries. He was not engaged iu active practice the last ten or fifteen years of his life, but he still loved the law. lie died at his home near Qnincy, January 27th, 1899, being the last member of the earlier bar of Adams county.

Isaac N. Morris was born January 22, 1812, in Bethel, Clermont county, Ohio, and was the fourth son of United States Senator Thomas Morris of that state. After attending the university at Oxford, Ohio, he studied law in Cincinnati with Judge Wright and was admitted to the bar. lie came to Warsaw, 111., in 1836, and a year later was iniited iu marriage with a daughter of John P. Bobbins. In 1838 he moved to Quincy and formed a law partnership with C. A. Warren and Judge Darling. The next year, in addition to his other duties, Mr. Morris edited the Quincy Argus, now the Quincy Herald. In 1841, by appointment of the state, he was president of the Illinois and Michigan Canal; was a member of the state legislature in 1846, and of congress from 1856 until 1860. By appointment of President Grant he was commissioner of the Union Pacific railroad, in which capacity he rendered valuable service. He died October 29, 1879. The bar resolutions, which were presented by O. H. Browning, read as follows. "Resolved, that we hold in highest esteem the good and noble qualities of the deceased and remember with great satisfaction the zeal and ability with which at all times he discharged the diities devolved upon him by the distinguished public trusts, both state and national, which, from time to time, have been committed to him."

Isaac Mason Grover was drowned in the Missis.sippi river, while bathing, July 27, 1862, being then about fifty years old. He was a native of Sidney. Maine. He was an upright, honest man and was regarded by the bar as one of the ablest lawyers in the state.

Abraham Jonas was born in England. He came to this country at the age of sixteen, living first in Cincinnati, whence he moved to Kentucky, where he was a member of the legislature. He came to Quincy from Kentucky and served in the Illinois legislature. He served one term as Master in Chancery, by appointment of President Taylor, and died June 10, 1864, while serving another, by appointment of President Lincoln. In the public and private life and character of Mr. Jonas the bar recognized his moral qualities, great singleness of mind in advancing the public interests, indomitable energy in executing laudable purposes and his uniform kindness in his private relations.

Franklin county, Vermont, September 28, 1830. He came with his parents, in 1839 to Indiaiui, and in 1848 to Hancock county, Illinois. In 1855 Jlr. Delano came to Quincy and entered the law office of Browning & Bushuell, and in 1858 he and E. H. Buckley became law partners. Delano enlisted iu Capt. Mead's Home Guards, was elected captain and was a model officer. He died August 27, 1862, from ett'eets of a wound accidentally received while in the military service of his country. As a lawyer. Captain Delano was rapidly working his way to the front. He gained confidence and regard not merely by his industry and superior ability, but by his uuifnnn cdurtesy and high, excellent bearing.

An extended biographical sketch of former United States Senator William A. Richardson will be found elsewhere in this history. The l)ar"s estimate of the character of and abilities iif this distinguished citizen may be seen from the following resolutions, adopted February 21, 1876: "He was regarded always as one of the strongest and ablest of our members. Of clear head, strong will, great energy and an intuitive and almost infallible common sense and judgment of men, he was a natural leader and these qualities, united with an integrity never ciuestioned, gave him deservedly great power and influence, as well at the bar as in the political arena where he was so highly distinguished."

The resolutions on the death of Frederick V. Marcy, who died July 14, 1884, were presented by Bernard Arntzen, November 10, 1884, and included this sketch: "He practiced law here nearly a score and a half years. While he po.ssessed a mind which was logical in analysis and comprehensive in its grasp, rendering him an adornment to his profession, still it is also true that in a residence among us for nearly a score and a half years his habits were characterized by continued retirement and constant study, so that he enlisted the respect of all and the enmity of none.

"So industrious was he as a lawyer, especially when engaged in an important case re- (juiring care, study and thought, that it might be said of him, 'he never slept.' " This was the view held of Alexander E. Wheat, as expressed iu the bar resolutions on his death. Mr. Wheat was not a brilliant lawyer, but he had few superiors at the trial table, and as an interrogator of witnesses he had no ecpuil at this bar, in the opinion of the association. Mr. Wheat was born at Venice, Cayuga county, N. Y., April 19, 1833. He was aclmitted to the bar in Quincy in 1857 and resided here imtil his death, which occurred Septendiei' 2, 1885.

Till' only lecMird that cini be found of .John M. Cyrus is this expression by the local bar: "The life of Capt. .John 51. Cyrus was cut off while seeking to I'egain his health in a milder clime during the prime of his manhood, and in the midst of labor and usefulness." The resolutions were adopted J\larch 23. 1874.

Wellington S. Lee was born in Erie county, Pa., in 1822, on a farm, lie had some experience in the Mexican war, coming to Quincy about 1850. In the summer of 1861 he enlisted in Co. F., 3d Illinois Cavalry, and served with such distinction as to be promoted to the captaincy. He died August 21, 1863, from effects of the accidental discharge of a pistol in the hands of one of his own men. His only regret at his approaching death was thus expressed: "Oh, why could I not have fallen in battle?" As a lawyer, Capt. Lee was always honorable, courteous and faithful in the discharge of his profession.

"In the life and chai-acter of Jackson (Jrimshaw we recognize a lawyer of eminent ability and learning, and a man of stainless honor and integrity in every station of public and private life. ' ' This is the epitome by the local bar of the character of a lawyer who had won more than local fame. Jackson Grimshaw was born in Philadelphia in 1822. At the age of seventeen years he was a civil engineer for the New York and Erie Railroad company. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and in 1843 located in Pike county, Illinois, whence he came to Quincy in 1857, associating himself in the law with Archibald and John H. Williams. Mr. Grimshaw was a prominent member of the convention in Bloomington in 1856 that organized the republican party : was collector of internal revenue from the beginning of Lincoln's second term, until the election of Grant, after which he resumed the practice of his profession. He died at Quincy, December 13, 1875.

Edward H. Buckley was born in Windham county. Conn., August 3. 1814; went to Chicago in 1832 : thence to Mississippi as government land surveyor; went to Richmond, Ind., in 1834, where he taught school, and where he was admitted to the bar in 1839. In 1841 he located in Columbus, Adams county, 111., where he practiced law until 1848 : was engaged in the county seat agitation: was a representative in the legislature of 1847, fi'om ]\Iarquette, an unorganized portion of Adams county, which aspired to become a new county, but which ambition failed of accomplishment. Buckley moved to Quincy and practiced law; was deputy county clerk under J. C. Bernard ; reorganized the records under the new constitution; was appointed city clerk under Governor

Wood in 1852-53. In 1857 he formed a law partnership with S. P. Delano, at whose death the firm became Buckley, Wentworth & Marcy, Wentworth retired in 1865, and Buckley & Marcy dissolved in 1870. Buckley died January 14, 1890. It was the close of a long and honorable career, lacking but two years of a half a century of law practice and active business life in this county.

i\Iar.yland was the native state of Rufus L. ^Miller, who was born at Ridgville, July 27, 1827. He came to Quincy in 1837 and was admitted to the bar in 1854. Later on he moved to Keosauqua, Iowa, and served through the Civil war in an Iowa regiment. After the war he returned to Quincy, where he remained till his death, July 10, 1881. The bar resolutions describe Col. Miller as a true gentleman, a man of unquestioned integrity, a public spirited citizen, an incorruptible lawyer and a brave soldier and patriot.

John Conover was a native of Warren county. Ohio, where he was born in 1838. He came to Illinois in 1852, and to Adams county in 1877. His death occurred November 11, 1881. Tie was a good lawyer and an honorable, energetic business man.

"As a man he was just, fearless and honorable, and his influence was ever on the side of law and order," is the bar record memorial expre.ssion concerning Aaron McMurray. Mr. McMurray was born near Clayton, 111., September 24, 1840. He enlisted in the 3d Missouri Cavalry, and served three years in the Civil war. On retiring from the service he was admitted to the bar, at which he pi'acticed till his death, October 18, 1887.

(Tcueral James W. Sing]ett>n was born at Paxton, Va., November 23, 1811. He moved in early life to Schuyler county. 111., where he practiced medicine and also studied law. He was twice elected to the state legislature, and also a delegate to the constitutional convention from that county. During tlie Mormon troubles he had charge of the military at Nauvoo; came to Quincy in 1852; constructed the railroad from Camp Point to Meredosia; served one term in the state legislature from Adams county; was an emissary of President Lincoln to the Southern Confederacy on a peace mission was defeated for Congress in the 4th district in 1868 ; was elected to f 'ongress in 1878, but failed of re-election. He died in Baltimore, Md., April 4, 1892, and the resolutions adopted by the Quincy bar April 23, 1892, thus analyzed his characteristics: "He was a born politician and loved the excitement and scramble of politics. He was never more happy than when in the midst of political contests, and yet on great occasions, he was most |ii-ni.lent and cimservative. The coiitideuce of those who knew him best, in his fidelity, integrity and ability was unbonnded. It was in his social life that he was most admired, and Boscobel, his country home just east of Quincy, was celebrated the country over as the seat of the most delightful and charming hospitality. Not many years actively engaged in the practice of his profession, still he was a member of this bar.

Hon. George A. xVnderson was born in Virginia in 1853: while a child, was brought by his parents to this state, and was reared on a farm. He graduated at Carthage, 111., college in 1876 : was admitted to the bar in 1879, and located in Quincy. In 1884 he served as City Attorney, and also served with distinction as a member of the 50th congress. After 1885 he was a member of the firm of Sprigg, Anderson & Vandeventer. Struggling against adverse circumstances in his youth and early manhood, by his patient industry, application and integrity, he rose to the high standing he occupied in this city and nation. He tilled with integrity and honor the various positions awarded him. A.s a lawyer he was cautious, industrious, zealous and unswerving from the lofty standard and high standing of professional ethics, coui'tesy, integrity and devotion to the true interests of his clients. He died January 31, 1896.

William ilcFadon was born in Massachusetts, December 9, 1843. The most of his life was spent in this city, his father and mother having located here when he was a small boy. He was graduated from Harvard University and also from the Harvard Law School, and was admitted to the bar of this state February 3, 1869. Although he was away from the city for nearly seven years preceding his death, he was still regarded as a member of the local bar. He was a lawyer in the highest and best sense of th'> term. In politics he was a republican, but never a blinded partisan; was an upright, public-spirited, law-supporting and law-abiding citizen, aiul was honored among all his neighlinrs and those who knew him. Whether at the h,-ir. in the church, in the political arena, (ir in the citizen's walks of life, he was at all times, in all places, a thorough gentleman. He died at his home in Chicago, March 14, 1898.

James F. Carrott was born in Quincy. July 15, 1849. His whole life was spent here, except the time he w^as away at school at the Indiana Asbury University, where he graduated in the class of 1869. He studied with and in the office of the Hon. 0. H. Browning, and was a favorite of that eminent man. After his admission to practice in this state he took a course of lectures in the Harvard Law School. He returned and continued to occupy a desk in 'Sir. Browning's office until that gentlenum's death in 1881. He succeeded ]Mr. Browning as the local attorney for the "Burlington Route." ilr. Carrott was an able lawyer and an esteemed citizen. He died December 23. 1903, in Quincy.

Chester A. Babeoek was born near Binghamton. New York, January 17, 1849, and at an eiirly age came with his parents to jMatamora. III., where his lioyhood days were spent on a farm. He attended the Chicago University and graduated in 1874 or 1875. Upon graduating he entered the law offices of Wheat, Ewing & Hamilton, and was admitted to practice January 4. 1877. He located in Quincy and practiced law here until his death, August 28, 1899. As a lawyer Mr. Babeoek was capable, active and persistent and was an eloquent speaker.

Bernard Arntzen was born in Prussia in 1834, came to this country in 1849 and located in Quincy ; entered the drug business, but later decided to study law; was graduated from the Cincinnati Law^ School, and Avas admitted to the bar in 1857. He was elected city attorney in 1858, in 1860 was the democratic candidate for state auditor; in 1874 was elected state senator and served four years. He was special agent of the interior department to allot lands to Indians. His first work was in Nevada, where his health broke down. During his last years he lived in Duluth, where he died November 2, 1895. He was a capable lawyer and a logical speaker.

Colonel W. AV. Berry was born in Hanford county, yid.. February 22, 1836. He first practiced his profession in Louisville, Kentucky. June. 1861, he enlisted as colonel of the Louisville Legion of the Army of the Cumberland, and made a most brilliant military record. After the war he settled in Winchester, Scott county. III., where he practiced law for several years. On removing to Quincy he natui-ally occupied from the first a prominent ixisition at the bar. He was elected commander of the Illinois Encampenment. (i. A. R.. by a unanimous vote and without his knowledge, lie was a highly influential republican leader, but while always ready to help others, he never st)ught office for himself, although he might have easily secured high position and would have adorned any place. He died IMay 6, 1895. The l)ar resolutions on his death were as follows: "'Ciil. Berry possessed rare ciualities of mind and heart, a bright intellect and a quick perception, a lofty imagination, a clear insight into human character, a just regard for the rights of others, a reverence for hiw and justice and a sympathy for suffering that would have distinguished him in any age. We speak but the simple truth when we say that Col. Berry was an honest and pure man and a just and able lawyer. As a citizen he furnished an excellent example of honesty, integrity, virtue and public spirit. His life was a part and parcel of the development and growth of Quiney. When the Civil war broke out. Col. Berry was of the south and thoroughly southern by liirth, associations and interest, yet without a moment's hesitation and with all the zeal and earnestness of a patriot he espoused the side of the rnion, and upon the field of battle won, and justly won, a place side by side with great soldiers of that war."

Judge Jose-ph C. Thompson was born at Blairsville, Pa.. September 18. 1826, and died in Quiney, III. August 20. 1893. The fifth child in a family of seven, he had to woi'k hard and get such schooling as he could pick up at odd times. At nineteen he was qualified to teach, and he taught two terms of school, tlien read law in Lebanon, Ohio. He came west in 1847 with his uncles, Samuel and Isaac Culbertson, for whom he kept books awhile at Mt. Carmel, Ind.. then he returned to Lebanon, where he attended school and taught another tei'm, then attended law school in Bloomington, Ind. He was admitted to the bar at Anderson, Ind., in 1854. practiced two years at Franklin, Ind.. then went to Macomb, McDonotigh county. 111., where he practiced law till 1868. Then he came to Quiney, which was his home till his death. He practiced law regularly and was also known as a farmer. He was prominent and influential in the democratic party, was a member of the constitutional convention, served four years as county judge of Adams county and made a worthy and honorable record. In I\Iay, 1893, he was appointed by President Cleveland as postmaster of Quiney, which position he held at the time of his death. The bar resolutions on his death declare "that in his professional career he exhibited many of the best and noblest qi^alities and abilities which distinguished the thoroughly honest, honorable and successful forensic praetioner, and was ever alert, diligent and courageous in the defense and protection of his client's interests. Ilis professional intercourse with and deportment toward his brethren of the bar was uniformly chai-acterized by that suavity, firmness and ingenuousness always indicative of manly and generous impulses and pure and elevated principles."

Carthaue. Hancock comity. 111., where he was b(irn October 5. 1838. He died :\Iarch 20. 1902, in Riverside township, Adams county. 111., while engaged in a law suit. General Hamilton served through the Civil war with distinction and at its close came to Quiucy and entered upon the practice of law, which chosen profession he followed until the hour of his death. As the bar resolutions recite: "As a friend he was warm and sincere: as a lawyer, learned and accomplished; as a husband and father, he was kind, loving and generous ; and as a soldier and a citizen, he was brave, loyal and faithful and delighted in the discharge of all his duties."

James H. Richardson was born in New Albany, Ind., in 1834 and came to this part of thecoimtry in 1840. He studied law in the office of Warren & Edwards about 1851 or 1852. On being admitted to the bar he went to Bloomington, 111., where he practiced till 1862. when he returned to Quiney, where he remained till his death. September IS, 1891. He and Bernard Arntzen were law partners for a number of years. While city attorney, :Mr. Richardson revised the city ordinances. He served a term in the state senate about 1870. He was a member of the bar of Quiney for nearly forty years, and the bar resolutions speak well of his ability and standing.

At this writing, Hon. Ira M. Moore is the latest member of the Quiney bar to pass from this life. Mr. iloore was born in 1835, in Fabius, N. Y., where he received a common school education and stiidied law. He resided in Quiney about thirty-three years, was a member of the state legislature, 1872-76, a justice of the peace four years and was the author of several text books on civil and criminal practice in ju,stice's courts. He died in Quiney April 6. 1905.

Orville H. Browning was one of the most illustrious citizens of Quiney. He was eminent as a lawyer and statesman and filled many important offices in state and nation. A fine sketch and portrait of him will be found on another page of this work.

The Quincy Bar Association

THE QUINCY BAR ASSOCIATION. The Quiney Bar Association, a corporation, was organized in 1876, final certificate of incorporation being filed by Joseph N. Carter, Hope S. Davis and Rufus L. Miller in the recorder's office of Adams county. January 20 of that year. The stated object of the association is "to establish and maintain the honor and dignity of the profession of the law, to cultivate .social intercourse among its members and to increase its usefulness in promoting the due adiuinistratiou of justice." The association is directed by seven managers, and these are the names of the managers who were selected for the first year : Orville H. Browning, John H. Williams, Alexander E. Wheat, Ira M. Moore, Frederick V. Marcy, Henry Asbury and William Marsh. Judge Williams is the only surviving member of the first board of managers.

After a considerable period the association became inactive, but was revived a few years ago and re-organized upon the former basis and with a fine spirit of interest, which has already shown important and gratifying results. Following is a list of the present officers of the association : President, Joseph N. Carter; first vice president, H. S. Davis; second vice president, F. M. McCann; secretary, Walter Bennett ; treasurer, George W. Govert. The present board of managers are : S. B. Montgomery, W. L. Vandeventer, M. F. Carrott. L. E. Emmons, Lyman ]McCarl, Carl E. Epler, James N. Sprigg. This is the present roll of members of the association : Albert Akers, Charles L. Bartlett, Walter Bennett, L. II. Berger, John C. Broady, A. J. Brockschmidt. John Q. Brown, Jlatthew F. Carrott, Joseph N. Carter, Harry B. Coffield, W. H. Coon. Clay Crewdson, Hope S. Davis, Homer D. Dines, L. E. Emmons, Sr., L. E. Emmons. Jr., Carl B. Epler, W. G. Peigenspan. Joseph I. Foreman, J. Frank Garner, John T. Gilmer, William PI. Govert, George W. (idvci-t. Joseph H. Hanly, W. J. Henry, John T. Inghi'am, Joseph C. Ivius, Charles A. James. Geori>e il. Janes. IMerle W. Janes, II. II. Jansen, Criah H. Keath. W. Emery Lancaster, W. P. Martindale. Frank I\I. McCann, Lyman McCarl. Charles B. ]Mc- Crory, Edward J. ^litchell, S. B. ^lontgomery, Theodore B. Pape, Frank J. Penick. Elmer C. Peter, Thomas P. Petri. T. C. Poling, Arthur R. Roy, Joseph A. Roy. Thomas A. Scherer. Wm. Schlai;e)ili;Mir. H. E. Schmiedeskamp, Edward SlunuiDn, W. I!. Sheets, James N. Sprigg, David P. Sti'irklcr, Homer :M. Swope, W. L. Vandeventer, John Iv Wall, Almeron Wheat, (Jeorge H. Wilson. Samuel Woods.

One of tlie most siihstaiitial proofs of tlie liiir's renewed intci'i'sl and progressive spirit is the splendid hai' lilirary recently established and to whirh the coiinty lioai'd cf supervisors has allotted a room in the court house. The library already contains about 1^.000 volumes, worth at least .$6,000. It is the largest and best law library in the state outside of Chicago, and valuable works are constantly being added to it. The association furnishes the librarian, the present incumbent being Miss Margaret Wicli. who is n lawver.

Chapter Lii Educational

The history of education in Adams couiity is interwoven with that of the state. JIany intere.sting things pertaining to the early histoi-y of education in Illinois are found hidden away in old newspapers, school journals, rare pamphlets, educational reports and congressional and legislative records, not easily accessible to many. We are indebted to W. L. Pillsbnry, so long registrar of the University of Illinois, who has ferreted out these facts from their various sources, foi- murh of the information here given.

The first General Assembly of Indiana Territory (of which Illinois was then a part) at the second session, "begun and held at the Borough of Vincennes" passed, November 29, 1806. "An ;u't to incorporate an university in Indiana Teri'itory," and since this act was, doubtless, passed by the help of Illinois members and bears in addition to the approval of William Henry Harrison, Governor, the signatures of "Jesse B. Thomas, Speaker of the House of Representatives," and "P. Menard, President pro tern, of the Legislative Council," both Illinois men and subsequently fanmus in our territcM'ial and state history, we may fairly claim that it belongs in part to us. Following the enacting clause are numerous "whereases." and a clause creating the corporation and a board of trustees, with Wm. Henry Harrison ;it the head, who are directed to establish the University as speedil.v as may be. and to appoint; "A president and not exceeding fiuu' professors for the instruction of the youth in the Latin. Greek. French and English langnaues. ^Mathematics, Natural Philosophy. Logic. Rhetoric and the Law of Natiire and Nations." It was enacted "That no particular tenets of ri»liiiion shall be taught in said University by the president and professors." But it was provided in the act that there should be established dejiartments of theology, law and ])hysii- wlien the good of the University and the progress of education reciuired their establishment. Two other sections, 11 and 13, provided respectivel.v, the one for "the utmost endeavors of the trustees to induce the aborigines to send their children to the University for education, who, when sent, shall l)e maintained, clothed and educated at the expense of said institution," the other for the establishment of ail institution for the education of females "as soon as in the oinnion of the trustees the funds of the said institution will admit. "

The institution was given the seminary township and granted power to sell 4,000 acres ; it was given power to receive donations and bequests and to hold not exceeding 100,000 acres of land, and to raise $20,000 by a lottery. The trustees organized December 6, 1806, with Gen. Harrison as president; a brick building was erected and the preparatory department put into operation, but it was not so sucee.ssful as Harvard College in attracting the Indians ; not even two were gathered within its walls. Teciimseh was organizing them for his struggle, and they "showed a far greater predisposition for disfurnishing the outside of other people's heads than for furnishing the insides of their own." The female department was not organized until 18-56, and the male and female departments were merged together in 1870. But the subsequent checkered history of Vincennes Univei'sity belongs rather to Indiana than to Illinois.

One other act of the (General Assembly of the Territory of Indiana also concerns us, viz., that of 1808, empowering the Courts of Common Pleas in the several counties of the Territory to lease for not more than five years school lands in their respective counties, not more than one quarter section to one man and with a provision that at least ten acres should be improved. This law was to continue in force until the close of the first session of the next Teri-itorial Legislature, biit this did not meet x;ntil 1810. and meanwhile Illinois Territoi-y had been organized. However, the Governor and Judges of the new territoiy had met at Kaska.skia, June 13, 1809, and had resolved that in their opinion the laws of Indiana of a general character were in force in Illinois so far as applicable: and the first act of the Territorial Legislature at tiie first session in 1812, declared the laws in force in Indiana, March 1, 1809, to be in force in Illinois. So it was more than probable that this law was continued, and that the 16th section lands were leased, if leased at all, by the Courts of Common Pleas, until the State Legislature in 1819 provided otherwise.

The only action taken by our own territorial legislature with regard to schools or school lands, was a joint resolution passed January 4. 1816, which, after reciting the gift of a township of land for a seminary of learning, and that it had not been located yet. and that the registrar and receiver of public lands could not leave their business and make the location, requested them to appoint one or two persons competent to make the selection and to set apart the township chosen by them as the seminary township. The Auditor of the territory was also directed by this resolution to pay the expenses that might be incurred in making the location. The township was selected in 1816; and by whomever made the selection seems to have been a poor one, for it, T. 5 N. R. 1 W., 3d P. M., is in the Okaw bottom in part, and the location was so unsatisfactory that on the plea that "This township now is and ever will continue to be totally valueless for a seminary of learning," the Legislature persuaded Congress to grant, in 1831, the right to surrender the town.ship and select thirty-six sections in lieu thereof.

One other act belonging both to our Territorial and State history should be mentioned here. When the act to enable the people of the Territory of Illinois to form a State Government was luider consideration in the House of Representatives, our delegate in Congress, ;\Ir. Nathaniel Pope, as is well known, secured an amendment fixing our northern boundary where it is, instead of on a line running Avest from the south end of Lake Michigan, for Illinois the territory noAV containing more than one-thiid of the population and wealth of the State and the commercial emporium of the West. It is not so well known that on the same day he procured a further amendment of the act, thus gaining large funds for our schools. Ohio and Indiana, when admitted, had been granted five per cent of the net proceeds of the future sales of government lands within their limit for building roads and canals. There was a similai' pr<ivision in the Enabling Act for Illinois, 'i'lirough Mr. Pope's efforts the bill as amended gave three per cent of the proceeds of such sales for what we now know as "The School Fund Proper" and our "College Fund." That we have to-day these two noble school funds, both together in I'ound numbers .$800,000. is due to Nathaniel Pope's sagacity.

The essential points of the free school idea are: (1) A school system based upon law. (2) A school free of all rates or charges for all children of given ages. (3) Defraying all the expenses of such school, except so far as paid by the incomes of school funds, by a general tax upon all classes of property and all persons. The school law passed by the General Assembly of Illinois. January 15, 1825, embraced all these jioints, with the additional provision that two dollars out of every hunclred received into the State Treasury should be distributed to the counties for the support of public schools organized under the act, in accordance with which the state aid would have been at first about $1,000 a year. The law met with much clamorous ojiposition. which was strong enough to repeal the provision for State aid at the next session of the General Assembly, and to take all the life out of the measure by amending it so that no one should be taxed without his consent.

It was fully thirty years before the advanced position taken by this early law was reached and permanently occupied by the State; for it was not until 1855 that our present free school law was enacted and our schools put upon a sound hnaneial basis. The subject of education was one, however, that was forcing itself upon the people of the State. The press was active in presenting the needs of provision for the establishment of schools by showing that from one-half to three-fourths of the children in the State were destitute of the means of education. Parents whose children were growing up in ignorance were, many of them, restive, and candidates for olifiee who in those days addressed themselves directly to voters declaring their positions u])on questions of public interest, deemed it wise in announcing themselves to proclaim their devotion to the cause of learning. The Sangamo Journal of Jlarch 15, 1832, has a "Comnuinication" signed "A. Lincoln," dated New Salem, March 9, 1832. addressed to the peo])le of Sangamo County. After declaring himself in favor of opening good roads; of building a railroad from Springtield to the Illinois river at an estimated expense of $290,800 and of enacting a law setting a limit to usury, he proceeded at some length, in this "Communication." to express his views upon the importance of educational advantages and their necessity from a civic as well as from a uKtral standpoint.

In February, 1833. there was held at Vandalia what is called the first of the series of educational conventions, which, running up to 1855, served to bring together the friends of education, to harmonize and concentrate their etforts, and rouse the enthusiasm and create the outside pressure so often needed to secure legislation. The occasion seems to have been seized upon to organize an educational society, the movement being led by Rev. J. M. Peck. An address on Education was delivered at the State House by James Hall, and after the address resolutions were adopted expressing the appreciation of the address, good will to Judge Hall and regret at his contemplated departure from the State.

In addition to this a conuiiittee was appointed to devise measures for obtaining information on the subject of education, and to devise a sy.stem of public instruction, and to report on these subjects the following Monday evening. The result of the whole matter was the organization of the Illinois Institute of Fxlucation. A Constitution was adopted and officers were elected. A bill to incorporate an institution inader the name of Illinois University was introduced in the General Assembly in

1833. It failed, however, not alone because of the jealousies of the friends of the three colleges already in existence, though not incorporated, but doubtless from the reasons, also, that the State, not having the courage to levy taxes for its current expenses, had laid hands upon the College fund and proceeds of the sales of Seminary lands, \ised them up and could not pay. Governor Duncan in his message to the next General Assembly, in December, 1834, urged the establishment of a State University, and in one way and another the question was agitated from this time on until the Illinois Industrial Univei'sity was incorjiorated in 1867.

The itinerant school teacher is still known in the land, but the itinerant or circuit school, which had some advocates, and existed in Bond County and perhaps elsewhere about this time, has passed away. The plan was for the teacher to .spend from 8 o'clock a. m. to 12 in the school in one district and then go til the next district, have school from 2 (("clock ]i. m. to 4, and the next morning from 8 o'clock to 12, returning from the afternoon to the first district. Another plan was for the teacher, when the schools were too far apart for him to go from one to the other at noon, to stay two or three days at one school and then the same time at the other, and sometimes the teacher would take charge of three schools in this way. The teacher was expected to furnish books, etc., in part. It is reported that b<ith i)atrons and teachers agreed that on this plan the children nuide as great, or even greater proficiency in the same time than on the plan of all day schools. It is inferred from the fact that there is so little record of them that but few schools were conducted uiioii that plan.

1834, to prepare for the meeting of the legislature in December. The indefatigable Rev. J. M. Peck suggested the importance of a State Education Convention at Vandalia the first Friday in December, which was also the time of meeting of Illinois Institute of Education. This suggestion was followed and over half the counties of the State sent delegates to what is known as the second "Illinois Education Convention." It is inferred that as the jiroceedings make no mention of the Institute that the Institute's meeting was merged into that of the Convention. The immediate eft'ect of the action of this L'onveution was a "'Repoi-t on the Subject of Education," made to the Senate Feb. 5, 1835, by Hon. Wm. J. Gatewood, senator from Gallatin County, "Proposing a plan for a uniform system of common schools and county seminaries throughout the State." The plan was an excellent one, superior in some respects to that now in operation, but it was of no avail. The legislature still believed in keeping taxation at a minimum. The most it would do was to direct the Auditor to ascertain the amount due to the several school funds from the State, computing the interest at .six per cent, and to order that beginning with Jan. 1, 1836, the interest should be distributed annually to the counties, on the basis of the minor white population, to be used in pa.ying teachers' wages, providing that not more than half the wages should be paid in this way, leaving the other half, the incidental expenses and the building of school houses to be provided for by the voluntary efforts of the patrons of the schools.