Rivoli Township (part 3 of 5)

The matter that follows, much of it of a very important character, was recieved too late for insertion in the portion of the book originally designed for it. Some of the sketches were held for revision by friends until the sheets containing the matter most appropriate for them had gone to press.

Early Courts

The holding of court was the signal generally for the gathering together of the larger part of the able bodied male inhabitants of the county, and as the accommodations at the county seat were rather primitive and scanty, they were at times brought into close proximity. Good nature was the ruling element, and what is termed fun was largely indulged in by old and young. Court generally despatched all of the business in one and a half or two days. The members of the bar, and a goodly number they were, the names of many of whom the old settler recalls with emotions not unmingled with pleasure, followed the court through its peregrinations of an extended circuit embracing nearly a dozen counties.

After Judges Ralston and Lott, Judge Brown became the presiding genius. A large bodied, large headed and good natured man of the old school, whose early days were probably spent south of the great dividing line. His make up did not enable him to master all the Jifiesse of law, and as a consequence those lawyers whe believed in law as a science, and as such were disposed to use it before his court, were ^'erv liable to be snubbed. C'urtis K. Ilarvev, of Knt)xville, a man who worshiped law because it was Jaw, was always very unfortunate, while such men as Jo. Knox, John Mitchell, Bill Kellogg, and one or two others whose law, perhaps, may have been rather loose, as advocates always appeared to have the ear of the court, jury and populace. Joseph Knox, of Rock Island, commonly known as Jo. Knox, of the firm of Knox & Drury, probably had the inside track of all practising here at an early period, though among the members of the bar were Brown, of Quincy ; Manning, of Knoxville ; A. C. Harding, of Monmouth, and others who have since become eminent in their profession. Knox was an able advocate, not at all choice of his words or of his epithets when a witness was so unfortunate as to stand in his way. No doubt but there was jealousy existing in the hearts of other members of the bar at his success. AVhisperings first went around that Drury made up his cases for him, finall}- that Drury furnished the brains, and as Drury was always invisible the tendency was, as is usually the case with the uncomatable, to magnify the powers of Drury. Curiosity became excited ; all were desirous of seeing the great incognito ; the members of the bar most of any. Finally on a frosty day late in the fall word was conveyed into the filled court room that a " ship was in the offing."" It had been previously announced tliat Drury was expected on that day. Court adjourned without the usual formality, wdiether to do honor to the expected arrival oi" to take his measure, the historian sayeth not, but as the eager crowd got into .the street they descried in the distance a large bay horse approaching, well caparisoned with an immense bear skin housing to the saddle, in which sat a small figure of what it was difficult at the distance to tell, but upon near approach it proved to be the ardently expected Drury, ensconsed in an immense buffalo overcoat, whiskers of mammoth proportion for the man (for be it known Mr. Drury is of a very small pattern, physically), and something on his head, witness can't say whether hairy or not. Eyes were staring, mouths were agape. Bill Kellogg, afterward judge and member of congress, was first to break the spell when he exclaimed, mtto voce^ ''by G - d, a pocket edition of humanity, bound in liar!" He was a Kentuckian. The quaintness and aptness of the illustration excited a smile of approval. The new comer was heartily welcomed.

The following list of graduates (1882) from the Aledo high school was inadvertently omitted : Scientific course, Birt Fargo, Ned Abercrombie, Cora Pullen, Ina Pinkerton, Zelda Bell, Maggie Thomson, Lou Richmond, Jennie Fulton ; classical course, Robert McKinney. Amos Cole, Lew L. Walker, Logan Stejjliens, Alma Bickett.

Jajvies M. Emerson (deceased), for many years a respected and successful business man of New Boston, was born January 22, 1815, in Wayne county, Indiana. His father, Edward Emerson, was a natiye of Massachusetts, but became an early settler in the Hoosier state, where he became owner of a large tract of land and died. The early life of James was such as a new country aftbrded in his day. His school-room was chiefly in the free air without enclosure, and his teacher was nature. Altliough of so limited an education he became quite efticient in business arithmetic, excelling many scholars. In 1839 he located at New Boston, Mercer county, Illinois. Here lie labored at whateyer head and hand found to do, the two always employed to assist each other. He contracted cutting cord wood, made several trips to Indiana, bringing the first traveling threshing machine to Mercer county. He was on a ferry awhile, also piloted on the Mississippi riyer for a time. In 1848 he established the first lumber yard in New Boston, although some lumber had been sold here prior to this. He carried on the lumber business till his death. He also purchased considerable land. In 1876, lea^'ing a foreman in his lumber yard, he moved to liis farm, about two miles northeast of New Boston. Here he spent his remaining years improving his farm, while suttering from a stroke of paralysis. His career ended in death April 20, 1881. He left a family and large circle of friends to mourn their loss. Mr. Emerson was a plain, unassuming man, attentive to his business and regardful of his family. Politically he was a whig, and later a republican, but never became politically excited. Mr. Emerson was married September 30, 1847, to Miss Han-iet Bridger, daughter of Thomas and Mary ('\Yoodham''s) Bridger. She was born October 10, 1824, in Northiam Parish, Sussex county, England. She came with her parents about 1827 to New York state, wlio settled on a farm near Troy. In 1838 they emigrated to Mercer county, Illinois, and settled on Pope creek, in Suez township, where Mr. Bridger died about a year afterward, followed in nine days by his wife. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Emerson began housekeeping in a new house erected in New Boston by Mr. Emerson. There they lived till 1876, and there eight children were born to them, viz : Myra Y., born August 5, 1848 ; Dora A., born June 7, 1850 ; Iva, born July 8, 1855 ; Charles O., born September 11, 1858, and died July 12, 1865 ; Alma T., born January 18, 1861 ; Effie, born January 11, 1863, and died January 27, 1863 ; Warren D., born July 13, 1865 ; PuiljJi Waldo, born January 20, 1869, and died February 5, 1880. The father and husband is fondly remembered. His j^ortrait is in its special place.

Additioxal Ala.Tter

Augustus Y>. Ciiir.Ds, subject of these memoirs, is a son of Horace and Lucy M. (Barker) C'hilds. He was born in Oneida county, New York, October 31, ISKi. He is a descendant of one of three brothers who came from Wales to Amei-ica before the revolution. Mr. Childs' life has been largely one of farm-labor ; not. however, altogether. His youth till fifteen was spent on a farm in Connecticut. In 1838 Mr. Childs emigrated to Mercer county, settling in Eliza township. He rode a borrowed horse to Mercer county when he came, not being able to buy. On his return eastward he left the horse with its owner, and walked a long distance to Indiana]>olis, where he stopped to work sufficient to pay for a horse. He then rode to Sandusky, Ohio. Like many poor boys he came to be in good circumstances. He at one time owned 1,300 acres of land. Not only industry, but also temperance and good habits have aided him in his financial success. Mr. Childs was a grand juryman of Mercer county at the first settling of the court at Aledo. He has been married twice. His first wife, Catharine Reynolds, he married in Morgan county, Indiana, June 28, 1840 ; she died June 5, 1878. Mr. Childs' present wife, Lucy E. (Willits), is a daughter of Isaiah Willits, of Keithsburg. Mr. Childs has traveled considerably, in his career visiting California. Late years he visited Florida, where he purchased a large estate, intending to plant an orange grove, but soon sold.

George S. Wolf, farmer, Keithsburg, was boi-n in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, Kovember 7, 1818, and is the son of Chiistian and Sarah (Sterner) Wolf, and a grandson of Henry Wolf, who emigrated, when a mere boy, to America near the middle of the seventeenth century. He was the only one of his father's family sufficiently actuated by a spirit of adventure to leave childhood's home and visit a foreign land. During our subject's early youth his time was constjintly employed in agricultural pursuits on his father's farm. During the meantime he received about twenty months' schooling, in the veritable log-cabin school-house, taught by an eccentric old school-master, whose ])roficiencv in teaching equaled only his salary. September 6, 1838. Mr. Wolf was united in marriage with Miss ^Mary C. Amweg, daughter of William and Hannah (Spirow) Amweg, also a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Mr. Wolf has devoted his life to fai-ming, up till 1869, in his native state and since that time on his neat, little farm immediately adjoining the village of Keithsburg. Besides this farm he owns another of 168 acres in Henderson county. Lie had born to him seven children, five of whom are living: William B., John H., Adam A., Jacob L., Isaiah S. ; and Edward and Hannah E. (deceased), aged respectively sixteen and twenty-seven years. His son

TVilliara B. served four rears clurins: the war of 1861-5 : was mustered into service as an orderly, and honorably discharged with a captain's commission, and was wounded in one of the battles of the Wilderness. His son Adam A. is a minister in the United Brethren church, Mr. Wolf and wife are members of the Presbyterian church. Though his school advantages were very meager, he is now one of our best posted men.

William B. Larue, hotel-keeper, Keith sburg, was born in Hardin county, Kentucky, August 13, 1824. His father, who was of French birth, came to America in liis early youth. He died in Kentucky August 27, 1824. Mr. Larue, with his mother, step-father and brothers, emigrated to Illinois in 1832, landing at Oquawka April 15 and at Monmouth April 24 of the same year. September 4, 1851, he was married to Miss Catharine M. Roberts. She was born February 21, 1835, and died April 14, 1882. Mr. Larue has no children of his own, but has creditably raised seven orphans.

John McKinney, Sr., was born JSTovember 2, 1801, in Lincoln county, Kentucky; son of George and Ann (Kiley) McKinney; father of Scotch, and mother of L*ish, descent. In 1803 his father removed to Casey county, Kentucky, where he continued his business, farming. John's educational advantages were very limited, being only those aiforded by the common schools, which he attended less than eighteen months, all told. In December 1821 he went to Hamilton, Butler countv, Ohio, and for the next live vears made his home with an uncle, John Kiley. Mr. Kiley was clerk of the court of common pleas of Baiter county, clerk of the supreme court of Ohio, and postmaster at Hamilton, and Mr. McKinney wi*ote for him in his office, and had charge of the postoffice. While thus employed he made good use of every opportunity to increase his store of knowledge, and secm'ed a fair practical, if not theoretical, business education. On the death of his father, in 1825, he was recalled to Kentucky, to settle the estate, and while thus engaged he entered the office of Hon. John Pope, at Springfield, Kentucky, as a law student. (Mr. Pope had represented his state in the L^nited States senate, and was afterward appointed governor of Arkansas by General Jackson.) Finding the bar already overcrowded with young and briefless attorneys, and having no })atrimony to sustain him, Mr. McKinney abandoned the bar, and returned to active labor. In November, 1827, he married Miss Elizabeth Goode. While in Ohio, Mr. McKinney had imbibed the political ideas of the abolitionists, and on his return to Kentucky he found himself in a hopeless minority, politically and socially. This, coupled with the fact that he was pool', and there seemed no chance to better his condition there, made it incumbent upon him to seek a new home, where better opportunities might present themselves. During his absence many of his associates had removed to Missouri, and his first impulse was to follow them thither, but as Missouri was a slave state, and as he expected by removal to better his condition, he feared that the profits of slave holding might overcome his abolition scruples, and rather than place himself in the way of temptation he decided to settle in the young and promising State of Illinois, and in the spring of 1832 he left Kentucky with his wife and two young children, and opened a farm in what was then a part of AVarren county, but when that county was divided he found himself within the limits of the new county of Henderson. Here he conducted farming operations for twelve years, and with such success that he was at the end of that time the owner of 800 acres of land, and a fair competency in addition. In 1S44 he removed to Oquawka, and went into business with Edward E. Adams, under the firm name of McKinney 6z Adams. They conducted a large diy goods and general store, and bought and sold grain, pork and produce of all kinds. The latter were shipped for the most part to St. Louis, the Mississippi river being the only available public highway, although some sales were made in New Orleans. The dry goods were purchased in New York, Boston and St. Louis. The firm also engaged largely in pork packing, in company with Mr. Alfred Knowles, running what was at that time a very large establishment for this country, em])loying during the packing season from fifty to sixty hands, and handling daily from 500 to 1,000 hogs. In 1854, after ten years of prosperity and success, the firm of McKinney & Adams dissolved partnership, tlie latter retiring, his share amounting to not less than $25,000, which had all, and more, legitimately been made during the decade, thanks largely to the business tact of Mr. McKinney. Mr. McKinney continued the business, associating with himself his oldest son, Hiram, under the firm name of McKinney & Son, until about the beginning of the war, when he turned the entire merchandising business over to his three oldest sons, Hiram, John and George, and devoted his time to loaning money. The new firm, however, did not long continue in trade. Hiram died in December, 1861 ; John raised a company and went with it, as captain, in the 91st HI. Inf. ; and George, whose health rendered necessary a change of climate, sold the stock back to his father, and went to California. Mr. McKinney did not restock the store long, but gradually sold out as opportunity ofiercd. At the time of the great Chicago fire he boxed up and shipped a large quantity of clothing and remnants to the sufierers, and again did the same for the sufferers from the drouth and grasshoppers in Kansas.

His wife died in 1846, leaving him with a family of six children, and in the following year he married Miss Mary Ann, daughter of Rev. Wm. K. Stewart, of Macomb, Illinois, who is yet living. His children by his first wife were: Hiram, died in 1861 ; Ann, wife of Luke Strong, of Aledo ; Elizabeth, widow of James Moir, now resides in Paris, France ; John, present postmaster of Aledo ; George, doing business in Chicago, and resides in one of the suburbs ; Collin, resides near Hot Springs, Arkansas ; and William, died in infancy. The two first named were born in Kentucky, the others on the farm in Henderson county, Illinois. Collin volunteered in 1861 in the 10th 111. Inf, Co. E. ; was commissioned second lieutenant, and rose to the rank of captain. With his regiment he re-entered as veteran, and served throughout the war. Children by his second wife were : Adelaide, still at home ; Lucretia, died in infancy ; James, married, cashier of Aledo bank ; Archie, loan clerk for his father ; Mary Isabel, at home y Maggie, died in infancy; and Robert Riley, still at home. These were all born in Oquawka. Mr. McKinney united with the Cumberland Presbyterian church in 1833, but on coming to Aledo he connected himself with the First Presbyterian church (known as the Old School), of this place. He is an earnest christian, rigid in the observance of all the rules and religious customs of the church, a regular attendant upon all her ordinances, and a liberal supporter of church and Sabbath school. He has for many years served his church as deacon or elder, and as trustee. He removed to Aledo in May, 1873, and in April, 1874, purchased an interest in the Aledo bank, where he is still the senior member of the lirm. He was an old line whig, until the organization of the republican party, since which time he has acted with the latter. During the war he was, a strong union man, and was appointed by President Lincoln commissioner of enrollment for the then sixth congressional district, comprising the counties of Adams, Hancock, Henderson, Mercer, Rock Island, and AVarren.

Cornelius Springer Richey, son of John and Mary (Douglass) Richey, was born September 9, 1 828, in Salt Creek township, Muskingum county, Ohio ; father born in Pennsylvania ; mother in New Jersey. His parents had emigrated from Fayette county, Pennsylvania, in 1814. His youth was spent on the home farm until the age of twenty. His education he received in the common schools and in Muskingum college. New Concord. He taught school in the vicinity of his home until 1854, when he came to this county, settling in Ohio Grove township. He was elected county surveyor in 1855, and followed surveying, teaching during the winter months, until 1862, when he went into the mercantile business, first at Bridger's Corners, Suez township, for about a }'ear, and at Sunbeam, Oliio Grove townsliip, until 1868, wlien he removed to Aledo, and lias ever since continued the business here, first as a member of the firm of C. S. & J. C. Kichey, with his brother, J. C; next with Richey Bros. & McGufhn, J. (t. McGuffin having jmrchased an interest ; then alone ; again with Jesse Markee and I. jST. Dunlap, as Richey, Markee & Co. ; with Dunlap, as Richey & Dunlap, and now as senior member of the firm of Richey, Frew & Dunlap, S. J. Frew having recently purchased an interest in the business. The firm deal in dry-goods, clothing, millinery, and groceries, and have a good custom. January 17, 1865, he married Miss Susan IL, daughter of Joel Lee, Esq., of Galesburg, Illinois. They have two children living, Arthur, aged thirteen, and Olive, aged five years. He was reelected county surveyor in the fall of 1879 and still holds the office. He has always voted the republican ticket.

J.oiES MrCoRMicK WiLsox. About the close of the last century David B. AYilson, then only about sixteen years of age, emigrated from his native place in the Shenandoah Yallcy, Virginia, and settled on a partially opened farm near Fayette City, in the Rehobath valley, Pennsvlvania. The location was about thirtv miles above Pittsburtfh, and ten miles below Brownsville, the point where the old national road crossed the Monongahela river. Here he married Mary McCormick, raised a family, and remained until his death in 1863. Among his children was James M., the subject of this sketch, who was born December 1, 1822. James remained upon his fathers farm until twenty-four years of age, receiving only the educational facilities of the public schools of that day, which would illy compare with those of the present. Upon leaving the farm he learned the carpenter's trade and followed it for five years, and could frame a barn or finish a parlor in good style, as occasion might require. November 23, 1853, he was married to Miss Mary Smith, of Flat Woods, Pennsylvaipa, and in the folhjwing May he came to Galesburg, remaining during the summer and returned to Fayette City in the fall. In the spring of 1855 he removed with his family to Galesburg, where, with W. B. Patterson, he went into the furniture business, under the firm name of Patterson & Wilson, continuing until July, 1857, when ^Ir. Wilson removed to Aledo, erected, with Mr. D. V. Reed, the building on the corner of College avenue and Eighth street, now occupied by L. F. Jt)busch, and opened a furniture store in one-half of the building, in connection with undertaking, continuing until 1862. In 1861 he was appointed postmaster by President Lincoln. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Co. K, 102d reg. 111. Vol. Inf , and in the s]>ring of 1863 was honorably dis- charged at Gallatin, Tennessee, on account of disabilit^s and returned to Aledo. He was elected supervisor of Mercer township in 1860, 1863 and 1864. In the fall of the latter year he was elected circuit clerk, and resigned the offices of postmaster and supervisor to enter on his duties, being succeeded as postmaster by Horace Bigelow, of the "Record." Pie served as circuit clerk until December, 1868. Notwithstanding his limited educational advantages in youth Mr. W. early resolved to become a lawyer, and with this end in view he availed himself of all means of improvement within his reach by general reading and persistent study. During his last 3'ear as circuit clerk, upon application, he was admitted to the bar and licensed to practice in the several courts of the state. During the same year he was appointed master in chancery by Hon. A. A. Smith, then circuit judge, and reappointed in 1870 for the succeeding two years. In May, 1869, he formed a partnership with John C. Pepper, one of the oldest as well as ablest attorneys of the county, under the firm name of Pepper & Wilson, which continued until April, 1882, when it was dissolved by mutual consent, both continuing to practice, however, in their own names. During the residence of himself and wife in Aledo, nearly a quarter of a century, they have reared a family of five children : Sarah C. (wife of James II. Pamsey, dealer in jewelry and silverware, Aledo), Mary R. (wife of Joseph Boyd, firm of Boyd Bros., dealers in groceries and hardware, Aledo), Nannie M. (wife of Joseph M. Wallace, M.D., of Coal Valley, Rock Island county, Illinois), Cora C, and Fannie L., both at home and attending the public schools of Aledo, in which their sister Nannie once held a position as teacher. While Mr. W. has not attained great wealth, he has a commodious and comfortable residence, occupying an entire block of ground between Fourth and Fifth streets, west of College avenue, so highly cultivated and improved as to make it among the most desirable homes in the village, and in addition to the complete furnishing pro]>er, in his house may be found one oflhe best and perhaps one of the largest private libraries in the county. Politically he is a re23ublican. He has for years been connected with the Presbyterian church. He is a Mason of high degree.

Benjamin Coleman Taliaferro was born October 9, 1821, in King William county, Yirginia, and is the son of Robert B. and Cecelia H. (Ellett) Taliaferro. His youth was spent on a farm in Virginia until 1836, when, with his parents, he came to Illinois and settled in what was then a part of Warren, but now Henderson county. Here his father died in 1847, and his mother died in 1859, at Young America (now Kirkw(^od\ Warren county. His father was a native of King

William, and his mother of Goochland county, Virginia. Mr. Taliaferro remained on the farm, working and managing it, until the age of twenty-two, when, surrendering it to a brother, he entered the law ofKce of Hon. Charles M. Harris, of Oqnawka, as a student. His early education was limited to the common schools of Virginia and one year in an academy, before coming to Illinois ; since then to what he could "pick up'' by judicious reading and practical business experience. After being admitted to the bar he removed to Keithsburg, and was for a number of Acars in partnership with John (\ Pepper ; then alone; next with J. E. Griffin, and again with Benjamin F. Brock, of Aledo, Mr. Taliaferro having his office in Keithsburg, and Mr. Brock in Aledo. In 1881 Mr. Taliaferro removed to Aledo, and formed a partnershij) with James II. Connell in law and abstract business, which \vas dissolved upon Mr. ConnelFs removal to Pueblo. Colorado, in the spring of 1882 ; and Mr. Taliaferro associated his son, Bobert B., with him in the abstract department of his business. In 1848 he was appointed master in chancery for the circuit court in Mercer county, a position he held for nine consecutive years. During his residence in Keithsburg he held a number of municipal offices, and is the present village attorney for Aledo. In 1876 he was elected to the state senate from the then twenty-second senatorial district, comprising Mercer and Knox counties, and served in the thirtieth and thirty-first general assemblies. He had the honor of presenting to the latter tlie great home-protection petition containing 175,000 names, and of being its special champion in the senate. He has been prominently connected for years with the temperance work, in which he has been ably assisted by his wife, both having frequently lectured on the subject in this and adjoining counties. He was the author of the farm drainage law now in force in this state, and of several other laws, of equal importance, now on our statute books. He also introduced a bill to "establish the Western Institution for the Deaf and Dumb," which failed to pass for want of time for its consideration. He became a Mason in 1850, and is still a member, having attained the Royal Arch degree, and frequently filled important offices in the order. March 15, 1852, he was married to Mary A. Pepper, of Utiea, New York. They have four children : ( 'ora B. (at home), Frank E. (married, resides in Springfield ; secretary State Board of Health), Ralph E., and Robert B. (both still at home). Mrs. Taliaferro and daughter belong to the Baptist church, of Aledo ; no others of the family connected witli any church. Mr. Taliaferro and his sons are all i-epublicans. Mr. Taliaferro is one of the early settlers; has a wide circle of acquaintances and friends ; stands high socially, professionally, and politically.

Isaac Newton Bassett was horn in Lewis county, Kentucky, September 8, 1825. His early life was spent on his father's farm, where he received such educational advantages as were afforded by the common schools of that day. He tried merchandising for a while, but not finding it as remunerative as he had hoped, studied law, and has practiced for over thiity-tive years, attaining a name and reputation tliroughout the state ; one of prominence and honor of which he may well feel proud. In 1852 he removed to Mercer county, settling in Keithsburg, and as a member of the firm of Johnson, Willits & Bassett commenced the practice of law here. In 1855 he was elected county treasurer, holding the office for four years. He removed to Aledo in 1857 when the county seat was removed, and has ever since been a leading and honored resident of the village. In 1847 he married Miss Scienda T. Moore, by whom he had six children, five of whom are still living : Fletcher S., lieutenant United States navy; Thomas W., attorney at law, Lacqui Parle, Minnesota; Flora, wife of William IST. Graham, cashier of Farmers' Bank, Aledo ; iS^ota, and Lulu, both at home. His wife died in 1861. In 1862 he married Mrs. Caroline H. i erty, a sister of J. E. Harroun, who had one child. Miss Clara, who is still at home, and who, with Miss Xota Bassett, is conducting a book, stationery and millinery business, under name of Bassett cfe Yerty. By his second wife Mr. Bassett has liad four children, two of whom have died; Victor Hugo, a boy of eleven years, and Bessie, a girl of eight years. From 1847 to 1870, he was connected with the Methodist Episcopal church, but in the latter year joined the Congregationalists, to which he still belongs. He has also been a Mason for many years. While not what is termed rich, Mr. Bassett has made for liimself a good home, surrounded by the comforts and luxuries of life. His family hold a leading and enviable position in society, and in the church which is honored by their membership. Mr. Bassett is at present the senior member of the firm of Bassett tfc Wharton, the latter now serving his second term as state's attorney, and they enjoy a large and lucrative practice in the circuit, appellate, state, and federal courts.

Samuel Marquis was born in Washington count}-, Pennsylvania, October .2, 1834, and is a son of Thomas and Sarah Ann (Lysle) Marquis. His early life was spent on a farm, where he received a common school education, or so much- of one as could be obtained during the winter months. His mother died about thirty years ago, and his father died in Galva, Kansas, in 1880. In 1855 he came west, stopping for a while in Davenport, Iowa, and in 1857 he came to this county, locating on the home farm in Mercer township. In 1 862 he settled in Aledo, and went into the dairy business, in which he has ever since been engaged. He was married to Miss Anna Signor, November 16, 1867. They have liad six children, all of whom are still living : James Lorell, Dappie, Sarah Kate, Vance, Carrie, and Mavnard M. Mr. Marquis is industrious, honest and conscientious, and while not wealthy he has acquired a comfortable home and his business is sure and safe, fairly remunerative and free from great risks or temptation to speculation. He is a good citizen; one of the kind to honor the place of his residence.

J^uiEs H. CoNNELL was bom in Toronto, Canada, November 5, 1843. His father's name was William Connell, his mother's Isabella Leishman. They were both born in Scotland, and moved to Canada in 18-12. In 1818 they moved to Chicago and from there to Sycamore, DeKalb county, Illinois, in 1819. Mr. Connell's education is such as he received at the Sycamore high school and a commercial college in Chicago. He worked in the "'True Republican" office, in Sycamore, three years ; went to Chicago in 1801, and kept books in the wholesale drug house of H. Scovil. In 1861 he enlisted in Co. F, 132d reg. 111. Inf., and served until the war closed. He went to Aledo in 1865, at the close of the war, and studied law in the office of J. R. and I. N. Bassett, and was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Illinois, in March, 1868. He then went into partnership with I. N. Bassett, in March of that year, and continued until January, 1874. He was married to Lallie Arthur June 8, 1870. She is the daughter of Mrs. M. C. Geiger, and step daughter of John Geiger, of Aledo, Blinois. Mr. Connell was appointed master in chancery, of Mercer county, Illinois, in November 1879, and resigned the same in May, 1882. He owned the abstract books of Mercer county, from 1868 to 1874, with I. X. Bassett, and from 1874 to May, 1882, was sole proprietor, when he sold them to B. C. and R. B. Taliaferro. He was one of the originators of the Mercer County Scientific and Historical Association, and was elected secretary of the association when it was organized, and was re-elected from year to year until the spring session, 1882, when he declined further election as he was preparing to move to Colorado. He was tendered the position of attorney-general of Montana, by President Garfield, in 1881, but declined the office. In August, 1881, he formed a partnership with Senator B. C. Taliaferro, and dissolved the same in May, 1882, for the purpose of removing to another field farther west. ,He left Aledo in May, 1882, and moved to Pueblo, Colorado, where he is now engaged in the practice of law. To Mr. Connell, as one of the members and secretary of the historical society, the publishers are under many obligations, and much of what

William H. Gladman, New Windsor, was born in Fulton county, Illinois, July 30, 1843. His father, Washington B. Gladman, was a native of Ohio, and was among the early pioneers of Fulton county in this state, having come to that county about the year 1820, where he resided until the spring of 1853. He removed to Henry county, Iowa, where he died in the fall of the same year. His mothei*, whose maiden name was Catherine Druinm, was a native of Yii-ginia, and survived her husband until 1879. In 1862 AVilliam H. enlisted in Co. K, 25tli reg. Iowa Vol. Inf., commanded by Col. Stone, and served with that regiment in the Fifteenth Army Corps until the close of the war. He was in twenty-three engagements and escaped without a scratch until the last one, which was at Bentonville, North Carolina, where he received a slight wound in the shoulder. When mustered out of the army he returned to his old home in Henry county, Iowa, remaining there until the following year (1866), when he removed to Oneida, Illinois, where, in connection with his brother, he established a wagon and carriage shop. In 1869 he moved to New Windsor, where he engaged in the same business, which he has continued until the present time. Mr. Gladman is a man of excellent natural meehanicai ability, being able to do what but very few men can accomplish, namely: manufacture a carriage complete, doing the work of the wheelwright, the blacksmith, the painter, the top builder, the trimmer, and upholsterer, and when done it will compare favorably in quality, style and finish with the workmanship of specialists in any of the departments. He was married April 16, 1868, in Oneida, Illinois, to Miss Lizzie T. Conyers, who was a native of Bath county, Kentucky. Her father, Thomas Conyers, was a native of the same county and state, and died there when only twenty-five years old, shortly before the birth of his daughter, which event occurred August 4, 1843. On this account her mother gave her the name of her father for a second name. Her mother, whose maiden name was Nancy Kerns, was a native of Bourbon county, Kentucky. She came from Kentucky to Oneida in 1864, and now resides with her daughter, Mrs. Gladman, in New Windsor. A sister of Mrs. Gladman also makes her home with her. Mr. and Mrs. Gladman have four children living: EmmaF., born January 25, 1870; William K., born December 16, 1871; Lucy E., born April 29, 1873 ; Nellie A., born January 4, 1876.

John C. Pepper was born in Cambridgeshire, England, September 21, 1829. He came to this country with his parents when about seven years of age, the family settling at Amboy, Oswego county, New

Additional Matter

York, where he passed his early life. When sixteen he left home to attend the academy at Vernon, New York, where he remained two years, after which he entered the Wayne County Institute, pursuing his studies there three summers, and teaching school during the winter seasons. In 1848 failing health induced him to come west; and after staying a year in Peoria he settled in Keith sburg, where he was admitted to the bar January 6, 1851. In the same month he celebrated his nuptials with Miss Mary Ann Martin, who has borne him seven children, three of whom are deceased. In 1862 he raised Co. H, 84th reg. 111. Vol.; being elected captain, he commanded his company with deserved credit at Stone river, and was three times wounded in that battle. Since 1869 he has resided in Aledo. In 1880 Capt. Pepper ran as an independent candidate for circuit judge, but fiiiled of election. During the last two years he has been earnestly and prominently engaged in the temperance movement in this state. W^ith the cooperation of a few friends he started the Illinois State Temperance Alliance, and was president of the organization from September, ISSO, till January, 1882, when it was consolidated with the Illinois State Christian Temperance Union, under the name of the Illinois State Temperance Union.

Dr. Elisha L. Marshall was born near Trenton, New Jersey, September 24, 1823 ; was educated at City University, of iSTew York, and located at Keithsburg, Illinois, August, 1850, at which place he still remains in practice of his profession ; was connected with the 84th reg. 111. Vol. Inf., as a medical othcer in the war of 1861. As a practitioner of medicine and surgery. Dr. Elisha L. Marshall stands deservedly high in the estimation of all, and not the least so in the estimation of his professional brethren. But it is in the department of surgery, perhaps, that the doctor has done his best work, and earned his highest triumphs. But few practitioners outside the larger cities have done a larger number of intricate and capital operations, or met with a more uniform success in operative surgical procedures than has the subject of this sketch. His close observations of pathological conditions, his success in weighing the relations of cause and effect, and his almost intuitive judgment and decision at the bed-side, have secured for him a reputation as consulting physician and surgeon second to none in the county. Generous and hospitable in his home circle, courteous and affable in every day life, strong and enduring in his personal friendships, thorough in his professional attainments, earnest in his warfare against disease, with an almost cliivalric fidelity to the sick and afflicted consigned to his care, Dr. Marshall has stamped the impress of liis stalwart individiialitj upon the history and daily life of the large community in which he has lived and labored for nearly the third of a century.

As the oldest physician and earliest settler as such now resident of this county, we offer the subjoined sketch of the professional life of Dr. Thomas T. Willits, who was born in the state of Ohio December 6, 1805 ; spent the early part of his professional life in the state of Indiana, removing from that state and establishing himself in the vicinity of his present home in 1837, his first location being had a few miles southeast of Keithsburg, at the base of the Mississippi bluffs, at which place he remained in the practice of his profession up to 1840, at which time he removed to tlie town of Xew Boston, where he still resides. Dr. Willits has thus been actively engaged in the practice of his profession for a period of about fifty-four years, forty-five years of which time has been spent, practically, in the same community of people, thus actively in the same avocation for nearly the half century in which he has lived and labored with the co-workers of his profession, inaugurating its inception, as it were ; moving ever in its front ranks ; stamping the impress of liis own ideas and thoughts upon others with whom he came in contact ; all of whom, as members of the medical fraternity, having acknowledged the chieftainship of their great leader and awarded to him the chief place of teacher, tutor and friend, delight to honor him as "the noblest Roman of them all." Having attained more than the allotted "three score and ten " of years, we find him to-day in the fullest possession of a mind sturdy, clear and unclouded, with all of his wonderful power of intellection, without a seeming shadow as reflected from the vast accumulation of hours, days and years since he first saw the light. AVe have but recently had the pleasure of passing a few hours in the society of the subject of our sketch, and although impressed with something of a knowledge of the grandeur of the old veteran's character, through the representations of friends who have known him long and well, we cannot but add our own great admiration of this venerable man, all of which we will try to condense into the one sentence of much meaning when we write that in the person of Dr. Willits we have a fine specimen of an almost extinct species of the c/enus homo, "the typical old school gentleman."

Association

The history of tlie monunient is so interwoven with that of the association, that it woukl be incomplete if treated separately ; but a history of the association would necessarily include all that can be told of the monument. As one who has been intimately connected with the movement looking to the erection of the monument from its incipiency up to the present time, we will endeavor to give a brief and concise history, albeit, much that we nnght wish to say must necessarily be omitted.

About the last of May, 1875, some half a dozen ex-soldiers casually met, and one of their number suggested that it would be a good thing to have a soldiers' reunion at our next fair. After some informal discussion it was decided to call a meeting of the ex-soldiers to further discuss the question, and the Aledo "Record" of June 2, contained a call for a meeting in Aledo on June 11, which call was also published in all the county papers. The dav proved wet and disagreeable and the attendance was small. An adjournment was had to July 1, when the attendance was much larger, but mainly from the central portion of the county. Desiring that the entire county should participate in the arrangements, it was deemed best to call a delegate meeting, and all the townships were requested to choose delegates from among their ex-soldiers to represent them at a meeting on August 12, 1875. At this meeting nine of the fifteen townships were represented.

Up to this time the object contemplated was only a reunion, and possibly the formation of a permanent association, but on August 4: the "Record" published a communication from R. H. Day, of Millersburg township, suggesting that steps be taken to erect a monument, and the suggestion met at once with popular favor. At the meeting on the 12th a number of short speeches were made in its favor, committees appointed to solicit funds, and the amount fixed, to be asked for, at $20,000. A temporary organization was effected, with the following officers : president, Maj. D. W. Sedwick, of Suez ; ^^ice-president, J. E. Harroun : secretary, Capt. E. B. David ; corresponding secretary, L. B. Doughty ; treasurer, J. E. Gilmore ; the last four all of Aledo.

It being deemed inadvisable to hold a reunion during the fair, October 15 was chosen as the date, and the necessarj' committees were appointed to make proper arrangements. It was hoped that the money could be raised and the monument be erected by July Ir, 1876. The work of procui-ing a list of the soldiers from this county who had fallen in the service, was placed in the hands of the officers, who in turn delegated it to the writer. We procured a list from the adjutant general's office in Springfield, but it was necessarily incom])lete, and full of errors, and in order to secure its correction we published it in the "Record'* and "Banner," for a number of weeks, adding names and making corrections as received. The list first appeared in the "Record," of October 13, 1875. Reports were received from canvassers from time to time, and it became evident that $20,000 was too much to ask for, and at a meeting of the executive committee on September 28, it was decided to reduce the figures to $8,000 or $10,000.

The re-union was very largely attended. Through the courtesy of the adjutant general, we were permitted the use of the battle flags of the different regiments represented, and the history of the flags, given briefly by those who fouglit under them, was one of the most interesting features of tlie occasion. Rev. S. Brink made the address, and was followed briefly by lion. A. J. Streeter. Permanent organizatic^n was effected, with the following officers: ])resident, D. W. Sedwick; vice-president, W. ( ). Dungjui ; secretary, E. B. David ; corresponding secretary, Eli Detwiler ; treasurer, J. E. (Tilmore. Books were opened, and 110 ex-soldiers registered their names as members. Constitution was ado])ted and the and Sailors Association " was inaugurated. When the meeting adjourned it was to meet again in reunion on July 4, 1S76, at the unvi-iling of the monument, if it was read}' to unveil. !Mr. Detwiler declined to serve as corresponding secretary, and the writer was aj)pointed by the executive committee at their first meeting. On March T, 1ST6, Major K. W. McClaughrey, warden Illinois state penitentiary, delivered an address in the court-house, in the interest of the monument, and in the evening of the same day spoke in Viola. Meetings were held at diti'erent points in the county, but the work of raising funds was slow, and on April 28 the executive committee employed Mr. Hiram Parkman to make a thorough canvass of the county ; and local canvassers were employed from time to time. In order that the association might purchase and hold grounds for the monument, it was incoi*porated under the general laws of the state, the charter being issued August 21, lS7f'>. This rendered some changes necessary in the constitution, which were made accordingly. We give the following sections I'elating to the object and membership :

^''Preamble. - We, the undersigned, desiring to perpetuate the memory of our fallen comrades and friends, do unite in forming a permanent association for that purpose.

''''Article I. Title. - This association shall be known bv the name and title of "The Soldiers' and Sailors' Association of Mercer County." ''''Article II. Object. - The object of this association shall be the erection and keeping in repair of a monument to the memory of the deceased soldiers and sailors of Mercer county, Illinois, and to buy and hold land for that purpose.

'''-Article III Meinher.'<hip. - Section 1. All honorably discharged soldiers and sailors of the United States anny and navy, residing within the limits of Mercer county, and all who have contribytiod, or may hereafter contribute to the monument fund, shall be eligible to membership in this association.

''''Sec. 3. Honorably discharged soldiers and sailors, residing w*ithout the limits of the association, may become members of the association and entitled to all the ])rivileges of members belonging to this county. ''

On March 11, 1877, a design was selected by the committee, and on the 23d bids were received and opened. W.W.Webster, of Muscatine, received the award, his being the lowest of nine bids. His figures were $3,110. The highest was $4,635. From the "Market

The Plan Of The Monument

In order to give as correct a description of the monument as possible, we condense from the contract with Mr. Webster the following : The foundation shall be eleven feet square at base, and ten feet six inches square at top, and seven feet deep from top to base ; to be built of good sandstone, of suitable kind and dimension, laid in cement mortar, in a substantial manner. The iii'st base proper of the monument shall be of the best Joliet limestone, ten feet square and eight inches deep or thick. It may be of four pieces or more, finely cut. The second base shall be of the best Joliet limestone, eight feet square and ten inches thick, to be of four pieces finely cut. The third base shall be of the best Joliet limestone, six feet square and one foot thick, and to be in one solid piece, finely cut. All of the monument above the third base to be of the best Italian nuirble for monuments, to be finished with pumice finish, except the granite column, which shall be of red Missouri granite, with glass finish. The plinth for die shall be four feet nine inches square and one foot two inches thick. The die shall be three feet six inches square and four feet high, and after the columns of granite shall be put on corners, the faces of die shall be at least two feet nine inches wide. The caps of granite columns shall be six inches in length and eight inches in diameter. The granite columns shall be three feet long, and six inches in diameter at base and five and one-half inches at top. The plinth of granite columns shall be nine inches in diameter and six inches thick. The die cap shall be four feet six inches square, and one foot two inches thick. The spire shall be two feet six inches square at base and one foot eight inches at top, and fifteen feet in length, exclusive of bands on dap, to be made in three sections of suitable length for good taste. The two bands between the 'sections of the spire shall each be of the same size at spire, and one foot thick or high. The cap of spire shall be two feet six. inches square, and one foot three inches thick. The statue of soldier shall be six feet eight inches in length above column cap, size in proportion. Position in parade rest. The total height from foundation to be thirty-five feet two inches. On the plinth of die shall be in raised letters, this motto,

The names of soldiers on die shall be by regiment and company. Size of letters, three-fourths of an inch in length and of suitable proportion. On the four squares of the plinth spire shall be carvings or figures of sailors or mariners, cavalry, artillery and infantry in raised figures. On the four squares of the band on spire shall be the names of the battles in raised letters. On cap of spire shall be raised stars. All the mouldings, shajjes, etc., shall be finished in good taste, artistic skill and workmanship. The granite columns shall be dowelpinned to cap and plinth of column, also cap of column and plinth of column to cap of die and plinth of die by half-inch brass rods three inches long. The foundation to be raised two feet above the surface ; to be well banked up to top and nicely swarded over. These shall be enclosed by a circular iron fence, eighteen feet in diameter, to be made in a plain, substantial manner of wrought iron, with cast points on each picket, etc. The monument to be com})leted by the first day of November, 1877.

The foregoing account is complete as to how it was to be. The executive committee met October 30, 1877, inspected the monument and unanimously accepted it, showing that Mr. Webster had fulfilled the contract.

The ground chosen for the location is in the north one-half of block 57, village of Aledo, immediately south of block owned by the county, on which are situated the fire-proof county offices. The price paid for ground was $400. The street running between the blocks will be vacated by the village as soon as all arrangements can be completed, and the whole ground enclosed and used as a park. Trees will be planted and walks laid out, and in a few years it will look like the beautiful hallowed place it should be.

After its erecti(m the executive committee had a considerable job in deciding when to have the dedication and unveiling exercises. The near approach of winter and prospective bad weather helped them to decide to postpone it till July 4, 1878, and then to make an effort to have such a gathering and exercises as would long be remembered.

The directors this year are D. AV. Sedwick, E. B. David, II. B. Frazier, J. Y. Merritt, and 11. Parkman, and it is not too much to say that they who have taken so much interest in the cause and spent a great deal of time are among tlie happiest that the work is so near done, and that soon every citizen of the county can point with equal pride and say "'tis ours." But the people cannot soon forget that it is to the untiring energy of the leaders of this movement that it resulted in success at all.

steps for the unveiling of the monument July 4, and it was decided to hold a grand reunion, in which all the citizens of the county were cordially invited to participate, and all soldiers and their friends from adjoining counties. The secretary announced that Maj.-Gen. John A. L(;£ran had been eno;ao;ed to deliver the address.

In addition to the publication of the list for corrections in 1875, it was re-published during the summer of 1877, week after week, and we believe it to be as nearly correct as it is possible to make it.

The reunion and unveiling on July 4, 1878, was an occasion well worth rememberino;. The citizens of Aledo and vicinitv ioined with the executive committee of the association in making the preparations, and everything was perfect. The gathering was the largest ever held in the county for any purpose whatever, the number being estimated foirly at 12,000 to 15,000. Through the courtesy of Col. W. D. Flagler, commander at Rock Island arsenal, and of the secretary of war, a section of artillery, manned by a sergeant and eight men, were sent from the arsenal and lent their aid in the observances of the day. Gen. Logan made a grand address ; the monument was unveiled, toasts given and responded to, and the usual exercises followed, the whole enlivened b}' music from one of the many bands in attendance. It was at once a reunion and a celebration, and as such was enjoyed by all participants.

It would be a pleasure to give a list of the subscribers to the monument fimd, but that is impossible, and we will mention none, for many who gave but little, gave, like the widow with her mite, "more than all these " whose gifts were much larger. One source of revenue, however, from which nearly one-fourth of the entire amount raised was realized, will bear brief mention as the "tax-list fund."

In the fall of 1875 the publishers of the "Record" offered, under certain conditions, to donate the proceeds of the tax list for the next year to the monument fund. A spirit of rivalry led O. P. Arthur, of ^the "Banner," to offer the proceeds for two years, if the list was given to him. His offer was accepted, and tlie amount realized was over $600. In the spring of 1879 Porter <fe Bigelow, of the "Record," published the list, and gave $100 of the proceeds to the fund, to be used in fencing the grounds. The same spring P. F. "Warner, who then owned the " Banner, " proposed to give $100 to the fund, providing enough was subscribed within tliirty-four months to pay off the debt of the association. The money was raised ; he paid the $100, and published the tax list the next spring. Thus the tax-list fund amounted to over $800.

been set to grass and ijlanted with evergreens. They, with the beautiful marble shaft, will ever prove a monument to the patriotism of our citizens, living and dead.

The Soldiers and Sailors' Association has not yet finished its mission. Now that it can point with pride to one of the most beautiful monuments in the state, its further work is to care for, jirotect and beautify the grounds whereon it stands.

The directors for the present year are the same as those last mentioned, and the officers are: D. W. Sedwick, president; J. Y. Merntt, vice-president ; E. B. David, secretary ; L. B. Doughty, corresponding secretary; D. T. Hindman, treasurer. The grounds are in charge of the resident officers : H. Parkman, and secretar}-^ and treasurer. Tlie association is out of debt, has a small balance in the treasury, and there is a considerable amount due in unpaid subscription notes, which will be used, when collected, in improving the grounds.

We can not more fittingly close this article than by giving some extracts from General Logan's dedicatory address, at the unveiling, and giving with it the names upon the monument :

''My friends, this monument that we unveil to-day in commemoration of the virtue and patriotism of the 357 soldiers who fell in the late war, in defense of the principles sanctified by our revolutionary sires, speaks to the world in more eloquent strains than can be uttered by any living orator ; eloquence is not often prompted by depth of feeling, nor as a rule do figures of rhetoric issue from sad and tender recollections. Perhaps one who had less of the jpei'sonal remembrance than myself, might commemorate this event in more fitting language, but none there are whose tribute to the dead has a seat nearer to the heart than the soldier who has felt the warm touch of the comrade's elbow in the fight, and has seen that comrade yield up his life upon the altar of their common pi-inciple. Were this the apj)ropriate time, nothing could afford me deeper satisfaction than to trace the career of every soldier whose name is written upon this stone ; and to recount in the fullest manner the personal history of each one who contributed his part to the privations and sacrifices of a soldier to his country's cause, and sealed the deed thereto by the red drops of life's precious current. You will ])ardon me, however, if in refraining from the detail which each is entitled to in order to prove the full obligation of posterity, I trace a hasty sketch of the organization, progress and achievements of the gallant band of which the fallen dead of Mercer county, with their brave comrades who are here to honor their memories to-day, formed so important a part. After the general rendezvous at Cairo, in 1861, the engagement at Belmont found among others, as particii^ants, the twenty-second Illinois infantry, the twenty-seventh and the thirtieth, in which regiments were some of the soldiers furnished by Mercer county, whose names are now upon this column.

"-From Belmont to Forts Henry and Donelson, where so many brave fellows found an untimely death ; and on to Shiloh and Corinth, at which latter place I had the honor to command a brigade, constituted partly of the thirtieth and forty-fifth Illinois. Of the thirtieth and forty-Hfth regiments, many names of the Mercer county boys are engraved upon the memorial tablets which we unveil to-day.

''The memorable Mississippi campaign, which finally culminated in the fall of Yicksburg, furnished more deaths to the cause of the union, and among these more names for future inscription upon the monument which Mercer county now erects to her sons. Within my command during that campaign were, among others, the thirtieth, forty-iifth, and one hundred and twenty-fourth Illinois infantry.

"To the gal lent men then composing my command was assigned the honor of taking possession of Vicksbiu-g, upon its surrender, just fifteen years ago to-day, an honor not lightly esteemed by those who, at Champion Hills, fought and won one of the sharpest, fiercest, and most brilliant victories of the campaign, the importance of wliich, in the subsequent f;ill of Vicksburg, can only be estimated by a demonstration of the enemy in a precipitate retreat to their stronghold, destined so soon to fall into our hands. Afterward, upon taking command of the Ffteenth Army Corps, the following regiments of Illinois troops, partly made up from Mercer county, embraced apart of my command: The Twenty-Sixth, Thirtieth, Forty -Fifth, and Forty-eighth Illinois infantry. At a subsequent period I commanded the army of the Tennessee, made up of regiments of infantry, cavalry, and batteries of artillery from the States of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Among the regiments from the other states mentioned were thirty-eight from Illinois, and among these, made up in part from Mercer county, were the Ninth, Twenty-Sixth, Thirtieth, Forty-Fifth, Forty-Eighth, and One Hundred and Twenty-Fourth Illinois infantry, and of and from these are many of the names in the roll r)f honor inscribed on this monument, and with these names are many from other and different commands, who were equally brave and patriotic, and entitled alike to all honor and all praise. The famous march to Atlanta and to the sea has passed into history as one of the nu)st brilliant cam[)aigns, considered in detail and as a whole, wliich has ever been recorded in the annals of war. The pen of the historiographer has drawn the picture of that campaign in outline, and has attempted to throw in the details of individual action. Its general results M'ere soon felt and realized, when the army which had cut the confederacy "in two were ad\ancing from the south to meet their comrades under the conquerer of the Potomac, who was driving everything before his invincible hosts. The result in general, I say, has l)een outlined, and some attem])t has been made to do justice in detail. So far as the otticers, who justly won distinction on those memorabk'' fields, are concerned, the attempt has been as successful, perha])s, as might from the nature of things be expected. But the sufferings, privations, hardships, stub})orn perseverances, renuirkable and unexcelled gallantry of the heroes in tlu' i-anks, can never receive the record to which they are entitled, though we may freely accoi-d flu- uwvd of praise, which, regardiuii' the results of their united efforts, hails them as the saviors of this country. From the intrepid conduct at Kesacca, as also at Dallas, at both j)laces the commaiul of which the most of your troops were a ])art, took the brunt of the movement; through the assault on Kenesaw mountain, with its abattis and earthworks, and ci-oss fire of artillery, bullets, rocks and stones, to the celebration of the Fourth of -July, 1864, by an artillery fight with Johnson's rear guard ; from this to the desperate struggle before Atlanta, which eventuated in the fall of that city, where, on July 22, one of the great battles of the war was fought. ISTo pen can describe it in detail, and no orator's vivid imagination can make the mind comprehend the scene. Then through the campaign of the Carolinas witli increased hardships, in swamps and streams, through Columbia, Goldsboro, Fayettville, and Raleigh, where the close of the war occurred, the same lofty spirit of patience under suffering, of hope under discouragement, of increased detei'mination under disappointment, of invincible resolution to win or die, characterized them to a degi'ee which stamped^iem as ])atriots worthy of this great country. In thus j^articularizing the patriotism of the Illinois troops which fell under my more immediate charge and su})ervisi()n, I have no jnn'pose to discriminate against the gallant soldiers from other states, who also formed a ])art of the army. As ' Agamenmon found it an invidious affair to give the prefei'ence to any one of the (-Jrecian heroes,' so should any one of us find it impossible to draw distinctions between union soldiers fighting for the })erpetuity of their government.

But, my friends, we are here to-day not alone in tiie acknowledgment of the services of those who periled their lives for their country, but to dedicate a monument in testimony of the gratitude of the neighbors, immediate friends and fellow soldiers of those who uin e up that for which a man will baiter all othei- things, A/.v //'f/-: a monument which we hope shall stand so long as the principles of free government.

''The roll of honor bearing the names of Mercer county's heroes who fell in defense of their country during the years from 1861 to 1865, and which are transcribed in imperishable letters upon the beautiful monument we are about un yelling, has been placed in my hands and I now avail myself of the privilege of having them read to you."

One Hundred and Tirenty-Sixth Reg.., Company B. - Henry Debaun, Isaac A. Linn, Andi-ew Landreth, J. Martindale, David Yan Meter, James ]\L Rodgers, Jacob Fender, George Lavery, (t. Landreth, James Swartwout, George Yolkal.

One Hundred and Fortieth Reg., Company F. - Edward B. Har-. ris, Jonathan Mounts, Joseph W. Shawyer, John W. Maury, Alfred F. Noble, Z. P. Warren.

Gen. Logan continued: "What a glorious roster to transmit to posterity I Well might thert^ have been i-ngraved upon the stone as representing the united sentiment of Mercer county, the memorable words of the Roman mother: 'These are my jewels." Three hundred and tifty-seven men who deliberately walked up to the rebel cannon's mouth, and swore upon their lives that the union of our fathers should be presented ! That oath was registered on high, and it has been graven upon the works of men. It is here as the indorsement of our o;eneration. Mav it stand for more than a thousand vears, to re-echo it through the future centuries. Three hundred and lifty-seven heroes about represent in number the Spartan band under Leonidas who defended the i)ass of Thermopylae, and gave up their lives for their country. Let this monument speak to the coming ages, as did that of the Spartan heroes, in words which shall bid the traveler go tell their countrymen that they lie upon the iield of battle in obedience to their country's welfare. Such a tribute as is conveyed by this bea\itiful work is an expression of the patriotism of the living in ap])Iauding the patriotism of the dead. It is a shaft to conmiemorate the virtue of the departed, but also signalizes the appreciation of virtue by the living. To the dead it is a token of remembrance, to the living a testimony of character. Valuable as is this work of art, its worth is far greater to the living than to the dead. No panegyric which we may make can reach the body in its luirrow house, nor the spirit in that land where the clash of arms and sound of strife mar not the unbroken peace. But to the living it stands as the representative of a sentiment; it is a declaration of principle, it ratifies a past act, it ])r(> claims a future i)olicy, it enunciates in words which cannot be mistaken the patriotism of Americans and their determination to ]>erpetuate their free institutions, and to u]>hold their motto of "Many in One." It is a token of grief for the departed, but it is also a warning to those who remain I It is a tear of sorrow for the slain, l)ut the promise of })unishment to the future slayer. The men whose names we are hero to-day to honor are forever hidden from our view beneath their mother earth, but from their sacrificed bodies this cohimn rises as a tree from the root, and gives another ilkistration of the truth of the aphorism sanctioned by all the ages of the past, that 'the blood of the martyr is the seed of the church/ Here we understand the purport of this monument and the motive which prompted its creation. As fellowcitizens of our great commonwealth, as fi-iends, we are here to drop a tear of sorrow over our loss, and to extend the word of comfort to the weeping relatives, whose loss is greater than our own.

' ' Does this mass of people come here to-day in obedience to a meaningless formality, or is their presence the representative of a sentiment? Shall these names upon this monument stand as the simple enumeration of 357 unfortunates who rashly rushed to their death ? Or shall they receive the homage of that tribute so beautifully rendered in the lines of the poet Collins :

" ' How sleep the brave who sink to rest, By all their country's wishes blest; By fairy hand their knell is rung,. By forms unseen their dirge is sung; Their honor comes, a pilgrim gray, To bless the turf that wraps their clay, And freedom shall awhile repair, To dwell a weeping hermit there.'

" Fellow-citizens of Mercer county, you have done a noble act ; you have proven that you worthily belong to that great bulwark of our nation's safety, its citizen soldiery. At the sound of danger you left the pursuits of peace and threw yourselves into the breach of war, and when you conquered a principle, you erected an enduring shaft of honor to those who have lost their lives in maintaining it. As one who stood upon the field with those brave fellows, I am here co re-echo your declaration, that their deaths have not been in vain. I am here to mingle my sorrow with yours, and to say, come weal, come woe, I am with you to the end in placing the flag of our country so high as to be beyond the reach of its despoilers, which, in proudly floating on the breeze, shall say to all the world : ''Here dwells the undivided luition of peace. '

Sixty-Fifth Regimknt

This was called the "Scotcli Regiment,"" from the number of that nationality who marched in its ranks. It was organized at Camp Douglas, Chicago, by Col. Daniel Cameron, Jr., and mustered for serv'ice May 1, 1862. In company B were thirty-eight soldiers from Mercer county, belonging to tlie townships of Greene, Mercer, Millersburg, Preemption, and New Boston. The regiment was ordered to Martinsburg, Virginia ; and when Col. Miles surrendered at Harper's Ferry, September 15, it was among the prisoners taken. Being next day paroled, it returned to Chicago and remained there till April, 1863, when, having been exchanged, it was ordered to the Eastern Kentucky army, and, returning to Camp Nelson via Cincinnati, joined Burnside's expedition into East Tennessee for the pur]K)se of co-operation with Gen. Rosecrans, who was at that time m<jviug on Chattanooga. It fought at Knoxville November 25th and 29th, in the defense of that stronghold against Gen. Longstreet, and repulsed him with slaughter. The following winter was one of severe campaigning to this regiment. It "veteraned," and went home on furlough in March, 1S64. On its return it overtook Slierman's army at Kingston, Georgia, and took its place in the second brigade, commanded by Col. Cameron, and the third division, Gen. J. D. Cox commanding, oi' Gen. Schotield's twenty-third coi-ps. The 65th had a shar}) encounter with the enemy between Lost and Kenesaw mountains, June 15. and skirmished briskly every day until the 20th, when tifty volunteers from the regiment charged across a bridge and drove the enemy's infantry and artillery in handsome lashion, and effected a permanent hxlgment on the other side. It continued to tight with spirit until the close of the campaign, taking part in the flank movement around Atlanta and the battle of Jonesboro. It returned north in pursuit of Hood, and was transferred from Dalton to Nashville by rail. It then advanced as far south as Pulaski, and November 25th and 26th was engaged at Columbia, losing tliree otflcers and tifty men. On the 30th it received the attack of Hood's army at Franklin, and when the battle ended 200 of the rebel dead and wounded lay stretched in its front. It carried to Nashville that night the colors of the loth Mississippi rebel regiment as a trophy of the conflict. An equal share with otlier troops was borne December 15th and 16th, in the battle of Nashville, and it went in pursuit of Plood's broken columns, pausing only when it had reached Clifton. From thence, January 15. 1865, it was transferred by boat and rail to Wilmington, North Carolina, assisting in the capture of that place.

At SandtowH creek it captured tliree cannon and 350 rebels. March 6 it went to Kingston. From there the first five companies, except veterans, were ordered to Chicago, to be mustered out. On the 21st it entered Goldsboro, where Sherman's cohimns from the south made connection witli Schofield on the 23d. From lialeigh the non-veterans were sent home for muster-out, and the remainder of the regiment went to Greensboro. May 1 four ccnnpanies of recruits were added ; and, in June, four officers and 250 men of the 92d Illinois, two officers and 120 men of the 112th Illinois, and twenty-five men from the 107th Illinois were assigned to the 65th, and Lieut. -Col. Stewart was mustered as colonel. The regiment was mustered out, and started, July 13, for Chicago, where it arrived July 22, and from whence, after final payment, the discharged men returned to their homes.

Eighty-Third Regiment, Company D.

Company D was enlisted in Mercer county, one-fourth of the members being from the southwest corner of Henry county. It was officered with Joshua M. Sn3(ler, of Viola, as captain ; Hugh M. Robb, of Mercer township, as first lieutenant ; and Francis M. Sykes, of Oxford, second lieutenant. The regiment was organized at Monmouth, in August, 1862, by Col. Abner C. Harding, and was sworn into the service on the 21st. On the 25th it proceeded by Burlington and St. Louis to Cairo, and on September 3d moved to Fort Henry. On the 5tli one-half of the regiment marched to Fort Donelson. three companies remaining at Fort Henry, and two at Fort Ileiman. These subsequently moved to Donelson, and the 83d was stationed at that post until September 20, 1863, when the right wing was transferred to Clarksville. Roving bands of guerillas filled the country and lurked particularly on the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers, and skirmishes were of frequent occui'rence ; some of these were especially severe, as the one at Waverly. In October, 1862, accompanied by other troops in })ursuit of Gen. John H. Morgan, it had a sharp fight at Garretsburg, Kentucky, and drove and punished the enemy severely. But it was on February 3, 1863, that it achieved its fame as a fighting regiment. Forrest was threatening the river communication at Palmyra, on the 2d, and Colonel Harding telegraphed to Paducah foi' re-inforcements, his garrison consisting of the meager force of nine com])anies of the 83d, a battalion of the 5th Iowa cavalrv, Flood's battery, and a

At two o'clock on tlie afternoon of the 3d the enemy, coming down the river, confronted the fort on the east and began the attack in force, being 8,000 strong. The fort contained but a small supply of anmiunition, and the men, instructed by their cool and calculating commander, liusbanded what they had with effective care. They wei-e directed to iire steadily and deliberately, so that every shot should count ; while the battery was handled with skill and j)recisioii, single pieces being moved about as circumstances required. Col. Ilai-ding displayed the finest spirit and best judgment, and was at all })<)ints overseeing the defense (a defense sure to be historic), animating and encouraging his followers. The cavalry was dismounted and fighting on foot. The battle had raged with fury for several hours ; in the meantime the rebels had made a number of ineffectual charges, supported by their artillery, which was skillfully used. At length a shout went up in the rebel lines, which told that they had completed the investment on the three sides undefended by the river. And now came a flag of truce from Gen. AVheeler demanding a surrender. This was promptly refused. Then followed a confident and furious onset of the enemy; in charge after charge the rebels rolled u]) against Harding's blazing line, but each time they staggered back with bleeding ranks. The artillery rained destruction upon the thick-set columns, and especially the 32-])ounder was galling the foe with severity, when lie decided u])on its capture. Before the attempt was made a second flag was sent renewing the demand for a surrender, which was met with a firmer refusal, if that were possible, than before. A storming force advanced rapidly ujion the saucy gun. The gunners doubleshotted the piece and waited. AVhen the assailants were close upon the works they swung it round, trained it full in their faces and let go the savage charge, which made a ghastly, gory lane through the solid formation of the terrified foe. They fled in complete rout. No further attempt was directed against the big gun.

At eight in the evening help came at the moment of extremity, when the rebels were massing for a final assault. When Col. Lowe at Paducah received Harding's appeal for succor his forces were away on a scout, but knowing that Capt. Fitch was going uj* the river with his fleet, he sent him word to co(")perate with Col. Harding, and instructed the latter to hold the fort till dark, when assistance would reach him. Fitch divided his gunl)oats, and stationing a ])art above and the i-est below the fort, while Harding ensconced his men in safe places out of reach of the naval missiles, poured grape and shrapnel in enliladiug and pitiless torrents into the writhing lines of rebels. They could not stand it. In twenty minutes not one, except slain and wounded, was left on the Held. Of the former there were 250, of the latter 600. The besieged had taken 105 prisoners. The 83d had 13 killed, 51 wounded, 20 captured. Xot long after, as a recognition of this gallant defense. Colonel Harding was wearing the single star of a brigadier. Lieutenant-Colonel A. A. Smith was immediately promoted to the vacant colonelcy. The former soon resigned to accept a seat in congress. For nearly two years subsequent to the second battle of Fort Donelson the 83d was patroling and guarding communications, of which it had not less than two hundred miles to protect, and at the same time was doing a heavy scouting service, which was prolific of much small fighting. In 1864, when Forrest and AVheeler were making daring efibrts to sever Sherman's communications, the 83d formed a part of the efiicient force so energetically employed by General Rousseau in driving those rebel leaders, with their commands, from Tennessee. In the winter of 186-1-5 the regiment went to Xashville on provost duty, and on the 26th of June it was mustered out in that city, and on the 30th arrived in Chicago where it was finally paid and disbanded. Of 1,050 men who went to the field, 640 returned. The only change in the line ofiicers of Company D was when second lieutenant Sykes resigned in August, 1864. Hugh B. Frazier, who had been promoted from the ranks to sergeant and then to first sergeant, was at once commissioned to fill the vacancy.

One Hundred And Twenty- Fourth Regiment Company

This was sworn into the United States service at Camp Butler, September 10, 1862, with Col. Thomas J. Sloan in command. Company G was raised at New Boston by Lyman H. Scudder and Ezra S. Benedict, of that place, in the last half of July and the first part of August. The members were principally from New Boston township ; some were residents of Eliza and Millei-sburg, and a very few of adjoining townships. The organization took place August 15, and the company was officered as follows : L, H. Scudder, captain ; E. S. Benedict, first lieutenant ; and Benton Pratt, second lieutenant. On the 28th, taking wagons, the company drove to Oquawka Junction, then the nearest raih-oad station, and proceeded from there by way of Galesburg and Camp Point to Springfield. There each man received forty dollars in cash, this being one-fourth of the $100 bounty, two dollars premium, and one month's pay of thirteen dollars, all tendered by the government. Uniforms and arms were drawn, the latter xVustrian muskets, barely tit for practice in the manual of arms. On October (3, the regiment started for Cincinnati ; but on arriviug at J3ecatur the order was countermanded, and its destination was changed to Cairo, from whence it went to Jackson, Tennessee, arriving on the l>th. It advanced to La Grange November 4, and on the 28tli, as a part of Gen. Grant's expedition to the Yocona river,, drove the rebels across the Tallahatchie. The regiment had been assigned to the first brigade, Col. John E. Smith ; thii-d division, Gen. Logan ; seventeenth corj)S, Gen. McPherson. Returning from the Yocona, it reached the Tallahatchie December 24, and La Grange January 7, 1863. The same month it marched to Memphis ; from there it went, February 22, to Lake Providence; and April 18, moved to Milliken's Bend. It was reviewed on the 22d by Gov. Yates and staff, and on the 25th started on the i^^icksbui'g campaign. It was in the engagement at Port Gibson (Thompson's Hill), May 1 ; Raymond, May 12 ; Jackson, May 14 ; Champion Hill, May 16 ; and the siege ofYicksburg, including the fearful assault of May 22, and the still more terrible one of June 26, when the mine at Fort Hill was sprung. The regiment went on the brief campaign to Monroe, Louisiana, under Gen. Stephenson, which left Yicksburg August 21, and returned September 2. From October 14 to the 20th, it was with Gen. McPherson on the Brownville campaign, and participated in the battles at that place on the 16th and 17tli.

In January, 1864, the 124th competed for a i)rize banner offered by Gen. Leggett to the regiment in his division which should excel in drill, and present the most cleanly appearance and soldierly bearing. It bore the legend, " Excelsior Regiment, Third Division, Seventeenth Army Corps," and the 124th received it from the hands of Gen. McPherson. In February the regiment acconipanied Gen. Sherman on his famous raid to Meridian, and at Chunky Station, on the 14th, had a severe fight with the rebels. It returned to Yicksburg, and on May 4, moved with the expedition under Gen. Mc Arthur to Yazoo city, returning the 21st, having fought on the 7th and 10th at Benton. Between July 1st and 9th it was operating on the Jackson campaign under Gen. Slocum, and was in brisk engagements at Jackson Cross Roads on the 5th and 7th. In October it went on the White river campaign, under Gen. Dennis, and was absent from Yicksburg- from the 14th to the 26th. It did provost duty until February 25, 1865, and then was ordered to j^ew Orleans and was assigned to the third brigade, Col. Geddes ; third division. Gen. E. A. Carr ; sixteenth corps, Gen. A. J. Smitli. It embarked, March 12tli, for Mobile, and on the 29th began the siege of Spanish Fort, occupying the left of the investing line and driving the enemy within his works. On April 8 the third brigade and one other of Carr's division, stormed the fort, mounted the ramparts, secured a lodgment three hundred yards in extent, and, darkness having come on, waited for the morning light to continue their progress, but at one o'clock tlie rebels offered to capitulate. Away oft' in Virginia Lee followed suit a few hours after. The regiment marched the 13th with the expedition to Montgomery. There it remained till July 17, when it started for Chicago, where it was mustered out August 15, 1865. The 121:th fought ten battles and fourteen skirmishes ; it went through two sieges of forty-seven days and nights and thirteen days and nights, respectively, and traveled by land and water 7,000 miles. It was drolly called by ''the boys" in the army, " The Bully One Hundred and Two Dozen.*'

One Hundred And Twenty-Sixth Regiment Company

Company B had thirty-four enlisted men, and one commissioned officer from Mercer county, all except one private belonging to Duncan and Perry ton townships. The original officers were Henry D. Cline, ca]3tain; John B. Mitchell, first lieutenant, and James H. Coff'man, of Perryton, second lieutenant. The i-egiment was organized at Alton by Col. Jonathan Richmond, and was mustered into service September 4, 1862. It moved November 20 to Columbus, Kentucky, and from there to Bolivar, Tennessee, reporting at the latter place to Gen. Brayman. On December 11) six companies were dispatched to Jackson, Tennessee, as a reinforcement, and afterward advanced to Humboldt, skirmishing some, being joined there by the other four com})anies early in 1863. On March 25 the regiment returned to Jackson, and was assigned to the second brigade, second division, Sixteenth Army Corps. It was transported by rail to Memphis, where it embarked down the river to assist in the siege of Vicksburg, and landed at Haines^ Bluft" June 2. It did honorable service to the end of the campaign, and on Julv 24 embarked for Helena, Arkansas. From thence it moved with (ien. Steele's army against Little Rock, figliting on the way, and occupying the ])lace on Sei)tember 10. The regiment went next to DuvalFs Bluif', and remained there on (^arrison dutv, with Col. Richmond as i>ost commandant, until August 11>, 1804. On June 26 it was in action at Clarendon. It nuirched to Pine Bluff, going by way of Little Rock; on February 12 it moved to the mouth of White river, and June 4 returned to Pine Bluff', where it was mustered out July 12, 1865.

Company F of this regiment was raised in Mercer county, in May, 1864, by A'^an R. Harriott, of Viola, and George Boone and R. S. Osborn, of Aledo, and was mustered in June 18th, with eighty men, for lOO days. The othcers were : (Jsborn, captain ; Boone, tirst lieutenant, and Harriott, second lieutenant. The company rendezvoused at Rock Island, ]\Iay 9th ; from there it went to Dixon, and thence to camp Butler. The regiment was stationed at Lafayette, Tennessee, and also did duty at Memphis, but was never in action. Some members of company F had a ffght at Lafayette, August 8th, with bushwhackers, and Edward B. Harris, of Perryton, and John W. Maury, of Aledo. were killed, and Alfred F. jXoble, of New Boston, Robert Breakey and Milton M. Jones were wounded, the former mortally. The following died of disease : Jonathan Mounts, Joseph M. Sawyer, and Zachariah T. Warren. The 140th was mustered out October 29, 1864.

This regiment was raised by the famous orator and philanthropist Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, and was rendezvoused at Peoria, and mustered into service in December, 1861. In company C were fifteen or more men from Mercer county, nearly all of them from Suez to\^Tiship. George W. Freeman, then of Galesburg, now of Ambov, Lee county, Illinois, was cajjtain ; Charles E. Johnson, of Ionia, first lieutenant ; and Moses T. Lewman, of San Jose, second lieutenant. George W. Greenwood, of Po])e Creek, was first sergeant, and rose regularly to the ca])taincy.

Company H had in its ranks several men from Henderson county. Capt. John C. Knowlton was a Henderson county man. All the first lieutenants that the company ever had (Francis Le Clair, Henry M. Cornell, James G. Hull, and James R. Reasoner) belonged to the same county. Cornell was first sergeant, and once promoted. Reasoner was second duty sergeant, and promoted first and second lieutenant. Hull was the last of the three captains. Unhappily no memoranda of the movements of the Eleventh have been oflicially preserved, and time is too short for the research that would be necessary for a sketch, brief as it would have to be.

Contributkd Hy .1. Simpson, Esq

Henderson eountv, which once formed a part of Warren county, is situated upon the western border of the state, and is comprised of eight full townships and six fractional townships, aggregating about 400 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Mercer county, on the east by Warren county, on the south by McDonough and Hancock counties, and on the west by the Mississippi river. Numerous streams break the surface in their passage from the eastern part to their outlet, the Mississippi nver. The largest of these streams is Henderson river, which rises north and east of the county, and passes in a southwesterly direction, and empties into the Mississi])pi about midway between Oquawka, the county seat of Henderson county, and Burlington, Iowa. Cedar creek rises in Knox county, and empties into the Henderson in township 12 N., 4 W., in the northeastern part of the county. It is a small stream, but in times of heavy rains it leaves its banks and spreads over a large space, doing great damage. Fall creek, North and South Smith creeks are small streams which empty into Henderson a little east and north of Oquawka. South Henderson rises in the eastern part of the county and enters Henderson a half of a mile north of the town of Gladstone. Farther to the south Ellison creek runs from east to west through the county, and empties into the Mississippi above the town of Carman. Still farther south in the county are Honey and Dugout creeks, running in a westerly direction. The prairies of this county comprise something less than half of its area. The soil of the prairie is excellent for agricultural purposes, consisting of a blackish loam underlaid with a brown clay. On the high lands that bound the streams the soil is lighter and less productive. These high lands were formerly covered with timber ; but improvidence in its use and ravages of lire have, in a great measure, denuded these ridges, and the process of destruction still goes on. The common growth was the different varieties of oak, with some hickory, with an undergrowth of hazel interspersed with some sumac. On the lower lands, and in the bottoms we find the various species of elm, linden, ash.

maple, box-elder, cottonwood, buckeve, black walnut, butternut, honey and black locust, aspen, wild cherry, hackberrv, nnilberrv, coiFee tree, crab-ap})le, redbud, and many other varieties of small growth of timber. From the north end of the county to near Camp creek on the south extends a belt of bottom land of an average width of about two and one-half miles. A portion of this belt is rich black loam, very fertile and producing heavy crops. However, the overflow of the Mississippi in spring time renders business of farming these lands very uncertain. Along this belt extends between the bluflf and river, for nearly the entire length of the county, elevations or sand ridges, embracing many square miles of unproductive land, although a portion of these sand lands are cultivated with success, producing remunerar tive crops. This sandy soil is especially adapted to the culture of sorghum or sugar cane, which is at the present time being (juite extensivelv cultivated. And in view of the success attending the use of improved machinery in other portions of the state, there is every reason to expect that the future value of these sand lands will be greatly enhanced.

This county is favored with numerous springs of excellent water, furnishing a constant and copious supply, sufficient for the necessities of large herds of cattle. Little difficulty is found in obtaining a water supply in wells at a very moderate depth, varying from ten to fifty feet. There have been found some mineral springs of some value, but few, if any, have been subjected to a chemical analysis, so as to determine their medicinal qualities. However, it is known that copperas is the mineral most commonly held in solution by their waters. Henderson county has an abundant supply of building stone, which may be said to be inexhaustible. It is of the species called by geologists Burlington limestone, and is found in and along the blufl^s, extending the entire length of the county, and to some extent along the bluffs of the creeks which find their outlet in the Mississippi. This rock is found to be light colored massive limestone, standing exposure well and the effects of the weathei". There are many quarries of this stone open and worked along the bluffs of Ellison and Henderson creeks. The most extensive (juarry in the county is on South Henderson, and is worked by August Wallbaum, Esq., near the town of (iladstone, on the line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad. Here an extensive business is carried on in quarrying and finishing stone for buildings of all kinds. Many of the best buildings in the state are furnished with material from this (quarry. The court-houses in Freeport and Macomb are built of this stone. The government buildings at Omaha are likewise built of stone from this quarry. As many as seventy -five hands are constantly eniployt'd tlie greater portion of the year in carryino; on this business. This county is so unfortunate as to tind but a yery small supply of coal within her limits. On Sees. 24 and 26, T. U N., 4W., a thin seam has been found, ])Ut this supply is but a scant amount and that of an inferior quality. IVIany hope yet to find coal in adecpiate suj>ply, but scientific examination giyes small })romise for the realization of their ho])es, and this county may expect to depend upon more favored localities for her sup])ly of coal. The soil of the county is well adapted to the prt)duction of corn, wheat, and other grains, and fruit of all kinds, ada])ted to this latitude, is ]>roduced in abundance, although along the bluff lines orchards thriye better than on prairie or bottom lands, and in the bottoms and upon the timbered ])ortion of the sand ridges, the wild grape grows luxuriantly, yielding a grape that produces an excellent wine.

With this brief geograj)hical view of the territory, it is proper now to pass to the organization of the county. As stated in the beginning, this county was formerly embraced in, and formed a part of, Warren county. In the year 1S41 an act was ])assed by the general assembly, and duly ap])royed, creating the county of Henderson, the following being a correct copy of the act :

A/i Act to EstdhJish the County of ITendermi) : - Si:( tion 1. J3e it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the general assembly : that all that part of the now county of Warren lying west of range three of the third principal meridian, be, and the same is hereby created, into a new county, to be called the county of Henderson.