CLARK (Gen.) George Rogers, soldier, was born near Monticello, Albemarle County, Va., Nov. 19, 1752. In his younger life he was a farmer and surveyor on the upper Ohio. His first experience in Indian fighting was under Governor Dunmore, against the Shawnees (1774). In 1775 he went as a surveyor to Kentucky, and the British having incited the Indians against the Americans in the following year, he was commissioned a Major of militia. He soon rose to a Colonelcy, and attained marked distinction. Later he was commissioned Brigadier-General, and planned an expedition against the British fort at Detroit, which was not successful. In the latter part of 1777, in consultation with Gov. Patrick Henry, of Virginia, he planned an expedition against Illinois, which was carried out the following year. On July 4, 1778, he captured Kaskaskia without firing a gun, and other French villages surrendered at discretion. The following February he set out from Kaskaskia to cross the "Illinois Country" for the purpose of recapturing Vincennes, which had been taken and was garrisoned by the British under Hamilton. After a forced march characterized by incredible suffering, his ragged followers effected the capture of the post. His last important military service was against the savages on the Big Miami, whose villages and fields he laid waste. His last years were passed in sorrow and in comparative penury. He died at Louisville, Ky., Feb. 18, 1818, and his remains, after reposing in a private cemetery near that city for half a century, were exhumed and removed to Cave Hill Cemetery in 1869. The fullest history of General Clark's expedition and his life will be found in the "Conquest of the Country Northwest of the Ohio River, 1774-1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark" (2 volumes, 1896), by the late William H. English, of Indianapolis.
CLARK, Horace S., lawyer and politician, was born at Huntsburg, Ohio, August 12, 1840. At the age of 15, coming to Chicago, he found employment in a livery stable; later, worked on a farm in Kane County, attending school in the winter. After a year spent in Iowa City attending the Iowa State University, he returned to Kane County and engaged in the dairy business, later occupying himself with various occupations in Illinois and Missouri, but finally returning to his Ohio home, where he began the study of law at Circleville. In 1861 he enlisted in an Ohio regiment, rising from the ranks to a captaincy, but was finally compelled to leave the service in consequence of a wound received at Gettysburg. In 1865 he settled at Mattoon, Ill., where he was admitted to the bar in 1868. In 1870 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Legislature on the Republican ticket, but was elected State Senator in 1880, serving four years and proving himself one of the ablest speakers on the floor. In 1888 he was chosen a delegate-at-large to the National Republican Convention, and was long a conspicuous figure in State politics. In 1896 he was a prominent candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor. Died April 11, 1907.
CLARK, John M., civil engineer and merchant, was born at White Pigeon, Mich., August 1, 1836; came to Chicago with his widowed mother in 1847, and, after five years in the Chicago schools, served for a time (1852) as a rodman on the Illinois Central Railroad. After a course in the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, N. Y., where he graduated in 1856, he returned to the service of the Illinois Central. In 1859 he went to Colorado, where he was one of the original founders of the city of Denver, and chief engineer of its first water supply company. In 1862 he started on a surveying expedition to Arizona, but was in Santa Fe when that place was captured by a rebel expedition from Texas; was also present soon after at the battle of Apache Canon, when the Confederates, being defeated, were driven out of the Territory. Returning to Chicago in 1864, he became a member of the wholesale leather firm of Gray, Clark & Co. The official positions held by Mr. Clark include those of Alderman (1879-81), Member of the Board of Education, Collector of Customs, to which he was appointed by President Harrison, in 1889, and President of the Chicago Civil Service Board by appointment of Mayor Swift, under an act passed by the Legislature of 1895, retiring in 1897. In 1881 he was the Republican candidate for Mayor of Chicago, but was defeated by Carter H. Harrison. Mr. Clark is one of the Directors of the Crerar Library, named in the will of Mr. Crerar.
CLARK COUNTY, one of the eastern counties of the State, south of the middle line and fronting upon the Wabash River; area, 513 square miles, and population (1910), 23,517; named for Col. George Rogers Clark. Its organization was effected in 1819. Among the earliest pioneers were John Bartlett, Abraham Washburn, James Whitlock, James B. Anderson, Stephen Archer and Uri Manly. The county seat is Marshall, the site of which was purchased from the Government in 1833 by Gov. Joseph Duncan and Col. William B. Archer, the latter becoming sole proprietor in 1835, in which year the first log cabin was built. The original county seat was Darwin, and the change to Marshall (in 1849) was made only after a hard struggle. The soil of the county is rich, and its agricultural products varied, embracing corn (the chief staple), oats, potatoes, winter wheat, butter, sorghum, honey, maple sugar, wool and pork. Woolen, flouring and lumber mills exist, but the manufacturing interests are not extensive. Among the prominent towns, besides Marshall and Darwin, are Casey (population 2,157), Martinsville (1,500), Westfield (927), and York (109).
CLAY, Porter, clergyman and brother of the celebrated Henry Clay, was born in Virginia,
March, 1779; in early life removed to Kentucky, studied law, and was, for a time, Auditor of Public
Accounts in that State; in 1815, was converted and gave himself to the Baptist ministry, locating at
Jacksonville, Ill., where he spent most of his life. Died, in 1850.
CLAY CITY, a village of Clay County, on the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad,
12 miles west of Olney; has one newspaper, a bank, and is in a grain and fruit-growing region. Pop.
(1900), 907; (1910), 837.
CLAY COUNTY, situated in the southeastern quarter of the State; has an area of 466
square miles and a population (1910) of 18,661. It was named for Henry Clay. The first claim in the
county was entered by a Mr. Elliot, in 1818, and soon after settlers began to locate homes in the
county, although it was not organized until 1824. During the same year the pioneer settlement of
Maysville was made the county-seat, but immigration continued inactive until 1837, when many settlers
arrived, headed by Judges Apperson and Hopkins and Messrs. Stanford and Lee, who were soon followed
by the families of Cochran, McCullom and Tender. The Little Wabash River and a number of small
tributaries drain the county. A light-colored sandy loam constitutes the greater part of the soil,
although "black prairie loam" appears here and there. Railroad facilities are limited, but sufficient
to accommodate the county's requirements, fruits, especially apples, are successfully cultivated.
Educational advantages are fair, although largely confined to district schools and academies in
larger towns. Louisville was made the county-seat in 1842, and, in 1890, had a population of 637.
Xenia and Flora are the most important towns.
CLAYTON, a town in Adams County, on the Wabash Railway, 28 miles east-northeast of
Quincy. A branch of the Wabash Railway extends from this point northwest to Carthage, Ill., and Keokuk,
Iowa, and another branch to Quincy, Ill. The industries include flour and feed mills, machine and
railroad repair shops, grain elevator, cigar and harness factories. It has a bank, four churches, a
high school, and a weekly newspaper. Pop. (1900), 996; (1910), 940.
CLEAVER, William, pioneer, was born in London, England, in 1815; came to Canada with
his parents in 1831, and to Chicago in 1834; engaged in business as a chandler, later going into the
grocery trade; in 1849, joined the gold-seekers in California, and, six years afterwards, established
himself in the southern part of the present city of Chicago, then called Cleaverville, where he served
as Postmaster and managed a general store. He was the owner of considerable real estate at one time
in what is now a densely populated part of the city of Chicago. Died in Chicago, Nov. 13, 1896.
CLEMENTS, Isaac, ex-Congressman and Governor of Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at
Danville, Ill., was born in Franklin County, Ind., in 1837; graduated from Asbury University, at
Greencastle, in 1859, having supported himself during his college course by teaching. After reading
law and being admitted to the bar at Greencastle, he removed to Carbondale, Ill., where he again
found it necessary to resort to teaching in order to purchase law-books. In July, 1861, he enlisted
in the Ninth Illinois Infantry, and was commissioned Second Lieutenant of Company G. He was in the
service for three years, was three times wounded and twice promoted "for meritorious service." In
June, 1867, he was appointed Register in Bankruptcy, and from 1873 to 1875 was a Republican
Representative in the Forty-third Congress from the (then) Eighteenth District. He was also a member
of the Republican State Convention of 1880. In 1889, he became Pension Agent for the District of
Illinois, by appointment of President Harrison, serving until 1893. In the latter part of 1898, he
was appointed Superintendent of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home, at Normal, but served only a few months,
when he accepted the position of Governor of the new Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, at Danville. Died
May 31, 1909.
CLEVELAND, CINCINNATI, CHICAGO & ST. LOUIS RAILWAY. The total length of this system
(1898) is 1,807.34 miles, of which 478.39 miles are operated in Illinois. That portion of the main
line lying within the State extends from East St. Louis, northeast to the Indiana State line, 181
miles. The Company is also the lessee of the Peoria & Eastern Railroad (132 miles), and operates, in
addition, other lines, as follows: The Cairo Division, extending from Tilton, on the line of the
Wabash, 3 miles southwest of Danville, to Cairo (259 miles) the Chicago Division, extending from
Kankakee southeast to the Indiana State line (34 miles); the Alton Branch, from Wann Junction, on
the main line, to Alton (4 miles). Besides these, it enjoys with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad, joint ownership of the Kankakee & Seneca Railroad, which it operates. The system is uniformly
of standard gauge, and about 280 miles are of double track. It is laid with heavy steel rails
(sixty-five, sixty-seven and eighty pounds), laid on white oak ties, and is amply ballasted with
broken stone and gravel. Extensive repair shops are located at Mattoon. The total capital of the
entire system on June 30, 1898—including capital stock and bonded and floating debt—was $97,149,361.
The total earnings in Illinois for the year were $3,773,193, and the total expenditures in the State
$3,611,437. The taxes paid the same year were $124,196. The history of this system, so far as Illinois
is concerned, begins with the consolidation, in 1889, of the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis &
Chicago, the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis, and the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railway
Companies. In 1890, certain leased lines in Illinois (elsewhere mentioned) were merged into the system.
(For history of the several divisions of this system, see St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute, Peoria &
Eastern, Cairo & Vincennes, and Kankakee & Seneca Railroads.)
CLIMATOLOGY. Extending, as it does, through six degrees of latitude, Illinois affords
a great diversity of climate, as regards not only the range of temperature, but also the amount of
rainfall. In both particulars it exhibits several points of contrast to States lying between the
same parallels of latitude, but nearer the Atlantic. The same statement applies, as well, to all
the North Central and the Western States. Warm winds from the Gulf of Mexico come up the Mississippi
Valley, and impart to vegetation in the southern portion of the State, a stimulating influence which
is not felt upon the seaboard. On the other hand, there is no great barrier to the descent of the
Arctic winds, which, in winter, sweep down toward the Gulf, depressing the temperature to a point
lower than is customary nearer the seaboard on the same latitude. Lake Michigan exerts no little
influence upon the climate of Chicago and other adjacent districts, mitigating both summer heat and
winter cold. If a comparison be instituted between Ottawa and Boston—the latter being one degree
farther north, but 570 feet nearer the sea-level, the springs and summers are found to be about five
degrees warmer, and the winters three degrees colder, at the former point. In comparing the East and
West in respect of rainfall, it is seen that, in the former section, the same is pretty equally
distributed over the four seasons, while in the latter, spring and summer may be called the wet
season, and autumn and winter the dry. In the extreme West nearly three-fourths of the yearly
precipitation occurs during the growing season. This is a climatic condition highly favorable to the
growth of grasses, etc., but detrimental to the growth of trees. Hence we find luxuriant forests near
the seaboard, and, in the interior, grassy plains. Illinois occupies a geographical position where
these great climatic changes begin to manifest themselves, and where the distinctive features of the
prairie first become fully apparent. The annual precipitation of rain is greatest in the southern part
of the State, but, owing to the higher temperature of that section, the evaporation is also more
rapid. The distribution of the rainfall in respect of seasons is also more unequal toward the south,
a fact which may account, in part at least, for the increased area of woodlands in that region. While
Illinois lies within the zone of southwest winds, their flow is affected by conditions somewhat
abnormal. The northeast trades, after entering the Gulf, are deflected by the mountains of Mexico,
becoming inward breezes in Texas, southerly winds in the Lower Mississippi Valley, and southwesterly
as they enter the Upper Valley. It is to this aerial current that the hot, moist summers are
attributable. The north and northwest winds, which set in with the change of the season, depress the
temperature to a point below that of the Atlantic slope, and are attended with a diminished
precipitation.
CLINTON, the county-seat of De Witt County, situated 23 miles south of Bloomington,
at intersection of the Springfield and the Champaign-Havana Divisions with the main line of the
Illinois Central Railroad; lies in a productive agricultural region; has machine shops, flour and
planing mills, brick and tile works, water works, electric lighting plant, piano-case factory, banks,
three newspapers, six churches, and two public schools. Pop. (1890), 2,598; (1900), 4,452; (1910),
5,105.
CLINTON COUNTY, organized jn 1824, from portions of Washington, Bond and Fayette
Counties, and named in honor of De Witt Clinton. It is situated directly east of St. Louis, has an
area of 487 square miles, and a population (1910) of 22,832. It is drained by the Kaskaskia River and
by Shoal, Crooked, Sugar and Beaver Creeks. Its geological formation is similar to that of other
counties in the same section. Thick layers of limestone lie near the surface, with coal seams
underlying the same at varying depths. The soil is varied, being at some points black and loamy and
at others (under timber) decidedly clayey. The timber has been mainly cut for fuel because of the
inherent difficulties attending coal-mining. Two railroads cross the county from east to west, but
its trade is not important. Agriculture is the chief occupation, corn, wheat and oats being the staple
products.
CLOUD, Newton, clergyman and legislator, was born in North Carolina, in 1805, and,
in 1827, settled in the vicinity of Waverly, Morgan County, Ill., where he pursued the vocation of
a farmer, as well as a preacher of the Methodist Church. He also became prominent as a Democratic
politician, and served in no less than nine sessions of the General Assembly, besides the
Constitutional Convention of 1847, of which he was chosen President. He was first elected
Representative in the Seventh Assembly (1830), and afterwards served in the House during the sessions
of the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Thirteenth, Fifteenth and Twenty-seventh, and as Senator in the
Sixteenth and Seventeenth. He was also Clerk of the House in 1844-45, and, having been elected
Representative two years later, was chosen Speaker at the succeeding session. Although not noted for
any specially aggressive qualities, his consistency of character won for him general respect, while
his frequent elections to the Legislature prove him to have been a man of large influence.
CLOWRY, Robert C., Telegraph Manager, was born in 1838; entered the service of the
Illinois & Mississippi Telegraph Company as a messenger boy at Joliet in 1852, became manager of the
office at Lockport six months later, at Springfield in 1853, and chief operator at St. Louis in 1854.
Between 1859 and '63, he held highly responsible positions on various Western lines, but the latter
year was commissioned by President Lincoln Captain and Assistant Quartermaster, and placed in charge
of United States military lines with headquarters at Little Rock, Ark.; was mustered out in May, 1866,
and immediately appointed District Superintendent of Western Union lines in the Southwest. From that
time his promotion was steady and rapid. In 1875 he became Assistant General Superintendent; in 1878,
Assistant General Superintendent of the Central Division at Chicago; in 1880, succeeded General
Stager as General Superintendent, and, in 1885, was elected Director, member of the Executive Committee
and Vice-President, his territory extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
COAL AND COAL-MINING. Illinois contains much the larger portion of what is known as
the central coal field, covering an area of about 37,000 square miles, and underlying sixty counties,
in but forty-five of which, however, operations are conducted on a commercial scale. The Illinois
field contains fifteen distinct seams. Those available for commercial mining generally lie at
considerable depth and are reached by shafts. The coals are all bituminous, and furnish an excellent
steam-making fuel. Coke is manufactured to a limited extent in La Salle and some of the southern
counties, but elsewhere in the State the coal does not yield a good marketable coke. Neither is it in
any degree a good gas coal, although used in some localities for that purpose, rather because of its
abundance than on account of its adaptability. It is thought that, with the increase of cheap
transportation facilities, Pittsburg coal will be brought into the State in such quantities as
eventually to exclude local coal from the manufacture of gas. In the report of the Eleventh United
States Census, the total product of the Illinois coal mines was given as 12,104,272 tons, as against
6,115,377 tons reported by the Tenth Census. The value of the output was estimated at 811,735,203, or
$0.97 per ton at the mines. The total number of mines was stated to be 1,072, and the number of tons
mined was nearly equal to the combined yield of the mines of Ohio and Indiana. The mines are divided
into two classes, technically known as "regular" and "local." Of the former, there were 358, and of
the latter, 714. These 358 regular mines employed 23,934 men and boys, of whom 21,350 worked below
ground, besides an office force of 389, and paid, in wages, $8,694,397. The total capital invested in
these 358 mines was $17,630,351. According to the report of the State Bureau of Labor Statistics for
1898, 881 mines were operated during the year, employing 35,026 men and producing 18,599,299 tons of
coal, which was 1,473,459 tons less than the preceding year—the reduction being due to the strike of
1897. Five counties of the State produced more than 1,000,000 tons each, standing in the following
order: Sangamon, 1,763,803; St. Clair, 1,600,752; Vermilion, 1,520,099; Macoupin, 1,264,926; La Salle,
1,165,490.
COAL CITY, a town in Grundy County, on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway,
29 miles by rail south-southwest of Joliet. Large coal mines are operated here, and the town is an
important shipping point for their product. It has a bank, a weekly newspaper and five churches. Pop.
(1890), 1,672; (1900), 2,607; (1910), 2,667.
COBB, Emery, capitalist, was born at Dryden, Tompkins County, N. Y., August 20, 1831;
at 16, began the study of telegraphy at Ithaca, later acted as operator on Western New York lines, but,
in 1852, became manager of the office at Chicago, continuing until 1865, the various companies having
meanwhile been consolidated into the Western Union. He then made an extensive tour of the world, and,
although he had introduced the system of transmitting money by telegraph, he declined all invitations
to return to the key-board. Having made large investments in lands about Kankakee, where he now
resides, he has devoted much of his time to agriculture and stock-raising; was also, for many years,
a member of the State Board of Agriculture, President of the Short-Horn Breeders' Association, and,
for twenty years (1873-93), a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. He has
done much to improve the city of his adoption by the erection of buildings, the construction of
electric street-car lines and the promotion of manufactures.
COBB, Silas B., pioneer and real-estate operator, was born at Montpelier, Vt., Jan.
23, 1812; came to Chicago in 1833 on a schooner from Buffalo, the voyage occupying over a month. Being
without means, he engaged as a carpenter upon a building which James Kinzie, the Indian trader, was
erecting; later he erected a building of his own in which he started a harness-shop, which he conducted
successfully for a number of years. He has since been connected with a number of business enterprises
of a public character, including banks, street and steam railways, but his largest successes have been
achieved in the line of improved real estate, of which he is an extensive owner. He is also one of
the liberal benefactors of the University of Chicago, "Cobb Lecture Hall," on the campus of that
institution, being the result of a contribution of his amounting to $150,000. Died in Chicago, April
5, 1900.
COBDEN, a village in Union County, on the Illinois Central Railroad, 42 miles north
of Cairo and 15 miles south of Carbondale. Fruits and vegetables are extensively cultivated and
shipped to northern markets. This region is well timbered, and Cobden has two box factories employing
a considerable number of men; also has several churches, schools and two weekly papers. Pop. (1890),
994; (1900), 1,034; (1910), 988.
COCHRAN, William Granville, legislator and jurist, was born in Ross County, Ohio,
Nov. 13, 1844; brought to Moultrie County, Ill., in 1849, and, at the age of 17, enlisted in the One
Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteers, serving in the War of the Rebellion three
years as a private. Returning home from the war, he resumed life as a farmer, but early in 1873
began merchandising at Lovington, continuing this business three years, when he began the study of
law; in 1879, was admitted to the bar, and has since been in active practice. In 1888 he was elected
to the lower house of the General Assembly, was an unsuccessful candidate for the Senate in 1890, but
was re-elected to the House in 1894, and again in 1896. At the special session of 1890, he was chosen
Speaker, and was similarly honored in 1895. He is an excellent parliamentarian, clear-headed and just
in his rulings, and an able debater. In June, 1897, he was elected for a six years' term to the Circuit
bench. He is also one of the Trustees of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home at Normal.
CODDING, Ichabod, clergyman and anti-slavery lecturer, was born at Bristol, N. Y.,
in 1811; at the age of 17 he was a popular temperance lecturer; while a student at Middlebury, Vt.,
began to lecture in opposition to slavery; after leaving college served five years as agent and
lecturer of the Anti-Slavery Society; was often exposed to mob violence, but always retaining his
self-control, succeeded in escaping serious injury. In 1842 he entered the Congregational ministry
and held pastorates at Princeton, Lockport, Joliet and elsewhere; between 1854 and '58, lectured
extensively through Illinois on the Kansas-Nebraska issue, and was a power in the organization of
the Republican party. Died at Baraboo, Wis., June 17, 1866.
CODY, Hiram Hitchcock, lawyer and Judge; born in Oneida County, N. Y., June 11, 1824;
was partially educated at Hamilton College, and, in 1843, came with his father to Kendall County, Ill.
In 1847, he removed to Naperville, where for six years he served as Clerk of the County Commissioners'
Court. In 1851 he was admitted to the bar; in 1861, was elected County Judge with practical unanimity;
served as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1869-70, and, in 1874, was elected Judge of the
Twelfth Judicial Circuit. His residence (1896) was at Pasadena, Cal. Died in Chicago, Dec. 16, 1907.
COLCHESTER, a city of McDonough County, on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad,
midway between Galesburg and Quincy; is the center of a rich farming and an extensive coal-mining
region, producing more than 100,000 tons of coal annually. A superior quality of potter's clay is
also mined and shipped extensively to other points. The city has brick and drain-tile works, a bank,
four churches, two public schools and two weekly papers. Population (1890), 1,643; (1900), 1,635;
(1910), 1,445.
COLES, Edward, the second Governor of the State of Illinois, born in Albemarle
County, Va., Dec. 15, 1786, the son of a wealthy planter, who had been a Colonel in the Revolutionary
War; was educated at Hampden-Sidney and William and Mary Colleges, but compelled to leave before
graduation by an accident which interrupted his studies; in 1809, became the private secretary of
President Madison, remaining six years, after which he made a trip to Russia as a special messenger
by appointment of the President. He early manifested an interest in the emancipation of the slaves of
Virginia. In 1815 he made his first tour through the Northwest Territory, going as far west as St.
Louis, returning three years later and visiting Kaskaskia while the Constitutional Convention of
1818 was in session. In April of the following year he set out from his Virginia home, accompanied
by his slaves, for Illinois, traveling by wagons to Brownsville, Pa., where, taking flat-boats, he
descended the river with his goods and servants to a point below Louisville, where they disembarked,
journeying overland to Edwardsville. While descending the Ohio, he informed his slaves that they were
free, and, after arriving at their destination, gave to each head of a family 160 acres of land. This
generous act was, in after years, made the ground for bitter persecution by his enemies. At Edwardsville
he entered upon the duties of Register of the Land Office, to which he had been appointed by President
Monroe. In 1822 he became the candidate for Governor 6l those opposed to removing the restriction in
the State Constitution against the introduction of slavery, and, although a majority of the voters
then favored the measure, he was elected by a small plurality over his highest competitor in
consequence of a division of the opposition vote between three candidates. The Legislature chosen at
the same time submitted to the people a proposition for a State Convention to revise the Constitution,
which was rejected at the election of 1824 by a majority of 1,668 in a total vote of 11,612. While
Governor Coles had the efficient aid in opposition to the measure of such men as Judge Samuel D.
Lockwood, Congressman Daniel P. Cook, Morris Birkbeck, George Forquer, Hooper Warren, George Churchill
and others, he was himself a most influential factor in protecting Illinois from the blight of slavery,
contributing his salary for his entire term ($4,000) to that end. In 1825 it became his duty to welcome
La Fayette to Illinois. Retiring from office in 1826, he continued to reside some years on his farm
near Edwardsville, and, in 1830, was a candidate for Congress, but being a known opponent of General
Jackson, was defeated by Joseph Duncan. Previous to 1833, he removed to Philadelphia, where he married
during the following year, and continued to reside there until his death, July 7, 1868, having lived
to see the total extinction of slavery in the United States. (See Slavery and Slave Laws.)
COLES COUNTY, originally a part of Crawford County, but organized in 1830, and named
in honor of Gov. Edward Coles, lies central to the eastern portion of the State, and embraces 520
square miles, with a population (1910) of 34,517. The Kaskaskia River (sometimes called the Okaw)
runs through the northwestern part of the county, but the principal stream is the Embarras (Embraw).
The chief resource of the people is agriculture, although the county lies within the limits of the
Illinois coal-belt. To the north and west are prairies, while timber abounds in the southeast. The
largest crop is of corn, although wheat, dairy products, potatoes, hay, tobacco, sorghum, wool, etc.,
are also important products. Broom-corn is extensively cultivated. Manufacturing is carried on to
a fair extent, the output embracing sawed lumber, carriages and wagons, agricultural implements,
tobacco and snuff, boots and shoes, etc. Charleston, the county-seat, is centrally located, and has
a number of handsome public buildings, private residences and business blocks. It was laid out in
1831, and incorporated in 1865; in 1900, its population was 5,488. Mattoon is a railroad center,
situated some 130 miles east of St. Louis. It has a population of 9,622, and is an important shipping
point for grain and live-stock. Other principal towns are Ashmore, Oakland and Lerna.
COLFAX, a village of McLean County, on the Kankakee and Bloomington branch of the
Illinois Central Railroad, 23 miles northeast of Bloomington. Farming and stock-growing are the
leading industries; has two banks, one newspaper, three elevators, and a coal mine. Pop. (1910), 965.
COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS, located at Chicago, and organized in 1881. Its
first term opened in September, 1882, in a building erected by the trustees at a cost of $60,000,
with a faculty embracing twenty-five professors, with a sufficient corps of demonstrators, assistants,
etc. The number of matriculates was 152. The institution ranks among the leading medical colleges of
the West. Its standard of qualifications, for both matriculates and graduates, is equal to those of
other first-class medical schools throughout the country. The teaching faculty, of late years, has
consisted of some twenty-five professors, who are aided by an adequate corps of assistants,
demonstrators, etc.
COLLEGES, EARLY. The early Legislatures of Illinois manifested no little unfriendliness
toward colleges. The first charters for institutions of this character were granted in 1833, and were
for the incorporation of the "Union College of Illinois," in Randolph County, and the "Alton College
of Illinois," at Upper Alton. The first named was to be under the care of the Scotch Covenanters,
but was never founded. The second was in the interest of the Baptists, but the charter was not
accepted. Both these acts contained jealous and unfriendly restrictions, notably one to the effect
that no theological department should be established and no professor of theology employed as an
instructor, nor should any religious test be applied in the selection of trustees or the admission
of pupils. The friends of higher education, however, made common cause, and, in 1835, secured the
passage of an "omnibus bill" incorporating four private colleges—the Alton; the Illinois, at
Jacksonville; the McKendree, at Lebanon, and the Jonesboro. Similar restrictive provisions as to
theological teaching were incorporated in these charters, and a limitation was placed upon the amount
of property to be owned by any institution, but in many respects the law was more liberal than its
predecessors of two years previous. Owing to the absence of suitable preparatory schools, these
institutions were compelled to maintain preparatory departments under the tuition of the college
professors. The college last named above (Jones-boro) was to have been founded by the Christian
denomination, but was never organized. The three remaining ones stand, in the order of their
formation, McKendree, Illinois, Alton (afterward Shurtleff); in the order of graduating initial
classes — Illinois, McKendree, Shurtleff. Preparatory instruction began to be given in Illinois
College in 1829, and a class was organized in the collegiate department in 1831. The Legislature of
1835 also incorporated the Jacksonville Female Academy, the first school for girls chartered in the
State. From this time forward colleges and academies were incorporated in rapid succession, many of
them at places whose names have long since disappeared from the map of the State. It was at this time
that there developed a strong party in favor of founding what were termed, rather euphemistically,
"Manual Labor Colleges." It was believed that the time which a student might be able to "redeem"
from study, could be so profitably employed at farm or shop-work as to enable him to earn his own
livelihood. Acting upon this theory, the Legislature of 1835 granted charters to the "Franklin
Manual Labor College," to be located in either Cook or La Salle County; to the "Burnt Prairie Manual
Labor Seminary," in White County, and the "Chatham Manual Labor School," at Lick Prairie, Sangamon
County. University powers were conferred upon the institution last named, and its charter also
contained the somewhat extraordinary provision that any sect might establish a professorship of
theology therein. In 1837 six more colleges were incorporated, only one of which (Knox) was
successfully organized. By 1840, better and broader views of education had developed, and the
Legislature of 1841 repealed all prohibition of the establishing of theological departments, as well
as the restrictions previously imposed upon the amount and value of property to be owned by private
educational institutions. The whole number of colleges and seminaries incorporated under the State
law (1896) is forty-three. (See also Illinois College, Knox College, Lake Forest University, McKendree
College, Monmouth College, Jacksonville Female Seminary, Monticello Female Seminary, Northwestern
University, Shurtleff College.)
COLLIER, Robert Laird, clergyman, was born in Salisbury, Md., August 7, 1837;
graduated at Boston University, 1858; soon after became an itinerant Methodist minister, but, in 1866,
united with the Unitarian Church arid officiated as pastor of churches in Chicago, Boston and Kansas
City, besides supplying pulpits in various cities in England (1880-85). In 1885, he was appointed
United States Consul at Leipsic, but later served as a special commissioner of the Johns Hopkins
University in the collection of labor statistics in Europe, meanwhile gaining a wide reputation as
a lecturer and magazine writer. His published works include: "Every-Day Subjects in Sunday Sermons"
(1869) and "Meditations on the Essence of Christianity" (1876). Died near his birthplace, July 27,
1890.
COLLINS, Frederick, manufacturer, was born in Connecticut, Feb. 24, 1804. He was the
youngest of five brothers who came with their parents from Litchfield, Conn., to Illinois, in 1822, and
settled in the town of Unionville — now Collinsville — in the southwestern part of Madison County.
They were enterprising and public-spirited business men, who engaged, quite extensively for the time,
in various branches of manufacture, including flour and whisky. This was an era of progress and
development, and becoming convinced of the injurious character of the latter branch of their business,
it was promptly abandoned. The subject of this sketch was later associated with his brother Michael in
the pork-packing and grain business at Naples, the early Illinois River terminus of the Sangamon
& Morgan (now Wabash) Railroad, but finally located at Quincy in 1851, where he was engaged in
manufacturing business for many years. He was a man of high business probity and religious principle,
as well as a determined opponent of the institution of slavery, as shown by the fact that he was once
subjected by his neighbors to the intended indignity of being hung in effigy for the crime of assisting
a fugitive female slave on the road to freedom. In a speech made in 1834, in commemoration of the act
of emancipation in the West Indies, he gave utterance to the following prediction: "Methinks the time
is not far distant when our own country will celebrate a day of emancipation within her own borders,
and consistent songs of freedom shall indeed ring throughout the length and breadth of the land." He
lived to see this prophecy fulfilled, dying at Quincy, in 1878. Mr. Collins was the candidate of the
Liberty Men of Illinois for Lieutenant-Governor in 1842.
COLLINS, James H., lawyer and jurist, was born in Cambridge, Washington County, N. Y.,
and taken in early life to Vernon, Oneida County, there he grew to manhood. After speeding a couple
of years in an academy, at the age of 18 he began the study of law, was admitted to the bar in 1824,
and as a counsellor and solicitor in 1827, coming to Chicago in the fall of 1833, making a part of the
journey by the first stage-coach from Detroit to the present Western metropolis. After arriving in
Illinois, he spent some time in exploration of the surrounding country, but returning to Chicago in
1834, he entered into partnership with Judge John D. Caton, who had been his preceptor in New York,
still later being a partner of Justin Butterfield under the firm name of Butterfield & Collins. He was
considered an eminent authority in law and gained an extensive practice, being regarded as especially
strong in chancery cases as well as an able pleader. Politically, he was an uncompromising anti-slavery
man, and often aided runaway slaves in securing their liberty or defended others who did so. He was
also one of the original promoters of the old Galena & Chicago Union Railroad and one of its first
Board of Directors. Died, suddenly of cholera, while attending court at Ottawa, in 1854.
COLLINS, Loren C., jurist, was born at Windsor, Conn., August 1, 1848; at the age of
18 accompanied his family to Illinois, and was educated at the Northwestern University. He read law,
was admitted to the bar, and soon built up a remunerative practice. He was elected to the Legislature
in 1878, and through his ability as a debater and a parliamentarian, soon became one of the leaders
of his party on the floor of the lower house. He was re-elected in 1880 and 1882, and, in 1883, was
chosen Speaker of the Thirty-third General Assembly. In December, 1884, he was appointed a Judge of
the Circuit Court of Cook County, to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Barnum, was
elected to succeed himself in 1885, and re-elected in 1891, but resigned in 1894, since that time
devoting his attention to regular practice in the city of Chicago.
COLLINS, William H., retired manufacturer, born at Collinsville, Ill., March 20, 1831;
was educated in the common schools and at Illinois College, later taking a course in literature,
philosophy and theology at Yale College; served as pastor of a Congregational church at La Salle
several years; in 1858, became editor and proprietor of "The Jacksonville Journal," which he conducted
some four years. The Civil War having begun, he then accepted the chaplaincy of the Tenth Regiment
Illinois Volunteers, but resigning in 1863, organized a company of the One Hundred and Fourth
Volunteers, of which he was chosen Captain, participating in the battles of Chickamauga, Lookout
Mountain and Missionary Ridge. Later he served on the staff of Gen. John M. Palmer and at Fourteenth
Army Corps headquarters, until after the fall of Atlanta. Then resigning, in November, 1864, he was
appointed by Secretary Stanton Provost-Marshal for the Twelfth District of Illinois, continuing in
this service until the close of 1865, when he engaged in the manufacturing business as head of the
Collins Plow Company at Quincy. This business he conducted successfully some twenty-five years, when
he retired. Mr. Collins has served as Alderman and Mayor, ad interim, of the city of Quincy;
Representative in the Thirty-fourth and Thirty-fifth General Assemblies—during the latter being chosen
to deliver the eulogy on Gen. John A. Logan; was a prominent candidate for the nomination for
Lieutenant Governor in 1888, and the same year Republican candidate for Congress in the Quincy District;
in 1894, was the Republican nominee for State Senator in Adams County, and, though a Republican, was
twice elected Supervisor in a strongly Democratic city. Died July 29, 1910.
COLLINSVILLE, a city on the southern border of Madison County, 13 miles (by rail)
east-northeast of St. Louis, on the "Vandalia Line" (T. H. & I. Ry.), about 11 miles south of
Edwardsville. The place was originally settled in 1817 by four brothers named Collins from Litchfield,
Conn., who established a tan-yard and erected an ox-mill for grinding corn and wheat and sawing lumber.
The town was platted by surviving members of this family in 1836. Coal-mining is the principal industry,
and one or two mines are operated within the corporate limits. The city has zinc works, as well as
flour mills and brick and tile factories, two building and loan associations, a lead smelter, stock
bell factory, electric street railways, seven churches, two banks, a high school, and a newspaper
office. Population (1890), 3,498; (1900), 4,021; (1910), 7,478.
COLLYER, Robert, clergyman, was born at Keighly, Yorkshire, England, Dec. 8, 1823;
left school at eight years of age to earn his living in a factory; at fourteen was apprenticed to a
blacksmith and learned the trade of a hammer-maker. His only opportunity of acquiring an education
during this period, apart from private study, was in a night-school, which he attended two winters.
In 1849 he became a local Methodist preacher, came to the United States the next year, settling in
Pennsylvania, where he pursued his trade, preaching on Sundays. His views on the atonement having
gradually been changed towards Unitarianism, his license to preach was revoked by the conference,
and, in 1859, he united with the Unitarian Church, having already won a wide reputation as an eloquent
public speaker. Coming to Chicago, he began work as a missionary, and, in 1860, organized the Unity
Church, beginning with seven members, though it has since become one of the strongest and most
influential churches in the city. In 1879 he accepted a call to a church in New York City, where he
still remains. Of strong anti-slavery views and a zealous Unionist, he served during a part of the
Civil War as a camp inspector for the Sanitary Commission. Since the war he has repeatedly visited
England, and has exerted a wide influence as a lecturer and pulpit orator on both sides of the
Atlantic. He is the author of a number of volumes, including "Nature and Life" (1866); "A Man in
Earnest: Life of A. H. Conant" (1868); "A History of the Town and Parish of likely" (1886), and
"Lectures to Young Men and "Women" (1886).
COLTON, Chauncey Sill, pioneer, was born at Springfield, Pa., Sept. 21,1800; taken
to Massachusetts in childhood and educated at Monson in that State, afterwards residing for many years,
during his manhood, at Monson, Maine. He came to Illinois in 1836, locating on the site of the present
city of Galesburg, where he built the first store and dwelling house; continued in general merchandise
some seventeen or eighteen years, meanwhile associating his sons with him in business under the firm
name of C. S. Colton & Sons. Mr. Colton was associated with the construction of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad from the beginning, becoming one of the Directors of the Company; was
also a Director of the First National Bank of Galesburg, the first organizer and first President of
the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank of that city, and one of the Trustees of Knox College. Died in
Galesburg, July 27, 1885. —Francis (Colton), son of the preceding; born at Monson, Maine, May 24, 1834,
came to Galesburg with his father's family in 1836, and was educated at Knox College, graduating in
1855, and receiving the degree of A.M. in 1858. After graduation, he was in partnership with his
father some seven years, also served as "Vice-President of the First National Bank of Galesburg,
and, in 1866, was appointed by President Johnson United States Consul at Venice, remaining there
until 1869. The latter year he became the General Passenger Agent of the Union Pacific Railroad,
continuing in that position until 1871, meantime visiting China, Japan and India, and establishing
agencies for the Union and Central Pacific Railways in various countries of Europe. In 1872 he
succeeded his father as President of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank of Galesburg, but retired in
1884, and the same year removed to Washington, D. C, where he has since resided. Mr. Colton is a
large land owner in some of the Western States, especially Kansas and Nebraska.
COLUMBIA, a town of Monroe County, on Mobile & Ohio Railroad, 15 miles south of St.
Louis; has a machine shop, large flour mill, brewery, five cigar factories, electric light plant,
telephone system, stone quarry, five churches, and public school. Pop. (1900), 1,197; (1910), 2,076.
COMPANY OF THE WEST, THE, a company formed in France, in August, 1717, to develop
the resources of "New France," in which the "Illinois Country" was at that time included. At the head
of the company was the celebrated John Law, and to him and his associates the French monarch granted
extraordinary powers, both governmental and commercial. They were given the exclusive right to refine
the precious metals, as well as a monopoly in the trade in tobacco and slaves. Later, the company
became known as the Indies, or East Indies, Company, owing to the king having granted them concessions
to trade with the East Indies and China. On Sept. 27, 1717, the Royal Council of France declared that
the Illinois Country should form a part of the Province of Louisiana; and, under the shrewd management
of Law and his associates, immigration soon increased, as many as 800 settlers arriving in a single
year. The directors of the company, in the exercise of their governmental powers, appointed Pierre
Duque de Boisbriant Governor of the Illinois District. He proceeded to Kaskaskia, and, within a few
miles of that settlement, erected Fort Chartres. (See Fort Chartres.) The policy of the Indies Company
was energetic, and, in the main, wise. Grants of commons were made to various French villages, and
Cahokia and Kaskaskia steadily grew in size and population. Permanent settlers were given grants of
land and agriculture was encouraged. These grants (which were allodial in their character) covered
nearly all the lands in that part of the American Bottom, lying between the Mississippi and the
Kaskaskia Rivers. Many grantees held their lands in one great common field, each proprietor
contributing, pro rata, to the maintenance of a surrounding fence. In 1721 the Indies Company divided
the Province of Louisiana into nine civil and military districts. That of Illinois was numerically
the Seventh, and included not only the southern half of the existing State, but also an immense tract
west of the Mississippi, extending to the Rocky Mountains, and embracing the present States of
Missouri, Kansas, Iowra and Nebraska, besides portions of Arkansas and Colorado. The Commandant, with
his secretary and the Company's Commissary, formed the District Council, the civil law being in force.
In 1732, the Indies Company surrendered its charter, and thereafter, the Governors of Illinois were
appointed directly by the French crown.
CONCORDIA SEMINARY, an institution located at Springfield, founded in 1874; the
successor of an earlier institution under the name of Illinois University. Theological, scientific and
preparatory departments are maintained, although there is no classical course. The institution is under
control of the German Lutherans. The institution reports $125,000 worth of real property. The members
of the Faculty (1898) are five in number, and there were about 171 students in attendance.
CONDEE, Leander D., lawyer, was born in Athens County, Ohio, Sept. 26, 1847; brought
by his parents to Coles County, Ill., at the age of seven years, and received his education in the
common schools and at St. Paul's Academy, Kankakee, taking a special course in Michigan State
University and graduating from the law department of the latter in 1868. He then began practice at
Butler, Bates County, Mo., where he served three years as City Attorney, but, in 1873, returned to
Illinois, locating in Hyde Park (now a part of Chicago), where he served as City Attorney for four
consecutive terms before its annexation to Chicago. In 1880, he was elected as a Republican to the
State Senate for the Second Senatorial District, serving in the Thirty-second and the Thirty-third
General Assemblies. In 1892, he was the Republican nominee for Judge of the Superior Court of Cook
County, but was defeated with the National and the State tickets of that year, since when he has
given his attention to regular practice, maintaining a high rank in his profession.
CONGER, Edwin Hurd, lawyer and diplomatist, was born in Knox County, Ill., March 7,
1843; graduated at Lombard University, Galesburg, in 1865, and immediately thereafter enlisted as a
private in the One Hundred and Second Illinois Volunteers, serving through the war and attaining the
rank of Captain, besides being brevetted Major for gallant service. Later, he graduated from the
Albany Law School and practiced for a time in Galesburg, but, in 1868, removed to Iowa, where he
engaged in farming, stock-raising and banking; was twice elected County Treasurer of Dallas County,
and, in 1880, State Treasurer, being re-elected in 1882; in 1886, was elected to Congress from the
Des Moines District, and twice re-elected (1888 and '90), but before the close of his last term was
appointed by President Harrison Minister to Brazil, serving until 1893. In 1896, he served as
Presidential Elector for the State-at-large, and, in 1897, was re-appointed Minister to Brazil, but,
in 1898, was transferred to China, where (1899) he now is. He was succeeded at Rio Janeiro by Charles
Page Bryan of Illinois. Died March 18, 1907.
CONGREGATIONALISTS, THE. Two Congregational ministers — Rev. S. J. Mills and Rev.
Daniel Smith—visited Illinois in 1814, and spent some time at Kaskaskia and Shawneetown, but left
for New Orleans without organizing any churches. The first church was organized at Mendon, Adams
County, in 1833. followed by others during the same year, at Naperville, Jacksonville and Quincy.
By 1836, the number had increased to ten. Among the pioneer ministers were Jabez Porter, who was also
a teacher at Quincy, in 1828, and Rev. Asa Turner, in 1830, who became pastor of the first Quincy
church, followed later by Revs. Julian M. Sturtevant (afterwards President of Illinois College),
Truman M. Post, Edward Beecher and Horatio Foci. Other Congregational ministers who came to the State
at an early day were Rev. Salmon Gridley, who finally located at St. Louis; Rev. John M. Ellis, who
served as a missionary and was instrumental in founding Illinois College and the Jacksonville Female
Seminary at Jacksonville; Revs. Thomas Lippincott, Cyrus L. Watson, Theron Baldwin, Elisha Jenney,
William Kirby, the two Lovejoys (Owen and Elijah P.), and many more of whom, either temporarily or
permanently, became associated with Presbyterian churches. Although Illinois College was under the
united patronage of Presbyterians and Congregationalists, the leading spirits in its original
establishment were Congregationalists, and the same was true of Knox College at Galesburg. In 1835,
at Big Grove, in an unoccupied log-cabin, was convened the first Congregational Council, known in
the denominational history of the State as that of Fox River. Since then some twelve to fifteen
separate Associations have been organized. By 1890, the development of the denomination had been
such that it had 280 churches, supporting 312 ministers, with 33,126 members. During that year the
disbursements on account of charities and home extension, by the Illinois churches, were nearly
$1,000,000. The Chicago Theological Seminary, at Chicago, is a Congregational school of divinity,
its property holdings being worth nearly $700,000. "The Advance" (published at Chicago) is the chief
denominational organ. (See also Religious Denominations.)
CONGRESSIONAL APPORTIONMENT. (See Apportionment, Congressional; also Representatives
in Congress.)
CONKLING, James Cook, lawyer, was born in New York City, Oct. 13, 1816; graduated
at Princeton College in 1835, and, after studying law and being admitted to the bar at Morristown,
N. J., in 1838, removed to Springfield, Ill. Here his first business partner was Cyrus Walker, an
eminent and widely known lawyer of his time, while at a later period he was associated with Gen.
James Shields, afterwards a soldier of the Mexican War and a United States Senator, at different times,
from three different States. As an original Whig, Mr. Conkling early became associated with Abraham
Lincoln, whose intimate and trusted friend he was through life. It was to him that Mr. Lincoln
addressed his celebrated letter, which, by his special request, Mr. Conkling read before the great
Union mass-meeting at Springfield, held, Sept. 3, 1863, now known as the "Lincoln-Conkling Letter."
Mr. Conkling was chosen Mayor of the city of Springfield in 1844, and served in the lower branch of
the Seventeenth and the Twenty-fifth General Assemblies (1851 and 1867). It was largely due to his
tactful management in the latter, that the first appropriation was made for the new State House, which
established the capital permanently in that city. At the Bloomington Convention of 1856, where the
Republican party in Illinois may be said to have been formally organized, with Mr. Lincoln and three
others, he represented Sangamon County, served on the Committee on Resolutions, and was appointed a
member of the State Central Committee which conducted the campaign of that year. In 1860, and again
in 1864, his name was on the Republican State ticket for Presidential Elector, and, on both occasions,
it became his duty to cast the electoral vote of Mr. Lincoln's own District for him for President.
The intimacy of personal friendship existing between him and Mr. Lincoln was fittingly illustrated
by his position for over thirty years as an original member of the Lincoln Monument Association. Other
public positions held by him included those of State Agent during the Civil War by appointment of
Governor Yates, Trustee of the State University at Champaign, and of Blackburn University at
Carlinville, as also that of Postmaster of the city of Springfield, to which he was appointed in
1890, continuing in office four years. High-minded and honorable, of pure personal character and
strong religious convictions, public-spirited and liberal, probably no man did more to promote the
growth and prosperity of the city of Springfield, during the sixty years of his residence there,
than he. His death, as a result of old age, occurred in that city, March 1, 1899.—Clinton L.
(Conkling), son of the preceding, was born in Springfield, Oct. 16, 1843; graduated at Yale
College in 1864, studied law with his father, and was licensed to practice in the Illinois courts in
1866, and in the United States courts in 1867. After practicing a few years, he turned his attention
to manufacturing, but, in 1877, resumed practice and has proved successful. He has devoted much
attention of late years to real estate business, and has represented large land interests in this and
other States. For many years he was Secretary of the Lincoln Monument Association, and has served on
the Board of County Supervisors, which is the only political office he has held. In 1897 he was the
Republican nominee for Judge of the Springfield Circuit, but, although confessedly a man of the highest
probity and ability, was defeated in a district overwhelmingly Democratic.
CONNOLLY, James Austin, lawyer and Congressman, was born in Newark, N. J., March 8,
1842; went with his parents to Ohio in 1850, where, in 1858-59, he served as Assistant Clerk of the
State Senate; studied law and was admitted to the bar in that State in 1861, and soon after removed
to Illinois; the following year (1862) he enlisted as a private soldier in the One Hundred and
Twenty-third Illinois Volunteers, but was successively commissioned as Captain and Major, retiring
with the rank of brevet Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1872 he was elected Representative in the State
Legislature from Coles County and re-elected in 1874; was United States District Attorney for the
Southern District of Illinois from 1876 to 1885, and again from 1889 to 1893; in 1886 was appointed
and confirmed Solicitor of the Treasury, but declined the office; the same year ran as the Republican
candidate for Congress in the Springfield (then the Thirteenth) District in opposition to Wm. M.
Springer, and was defeated by less than 1,000 votes in a district usually Democratic by 3,000
majority. He declined a second nomination in 1888, but, in 1894, was nominated for a third time
(this time for the Seventeenth District), and was elected, as he was for a second term in 1896. He
declined a renomination in 1898, returning to the practice of his profession at Springfield at the
close of the Fifty-fifth Congress.
CONSTABLE, Charles H., lawyer, was born at Chestertown, Md., July 6, 1817; educated
at Belle Air Academy and the University of Virginia, graduating from the latter in 1838. Then, having
studied law, he was admitted to the bar, came to Illinois early in 1840, locating at Mount Carmel,
Wabash County, and, in 1844, was elected to the State Senate for the district composed of Wabash,
Edwards and Wayne Counties, serving until 1848. He also served as a Delegate in the Constitutional
Convention of 1847. Originally a Whig, on the dissolution of that party in 1854, he became a Democrat;
in 1856, served as Presidential EHector-at-large on the Buchanan ticket and, during the Civil War,
was a pronounced opponent of the policy of the Government in dealing with secession. Having removed
to Marshall, Clark County, in 1852, he continued the practice of his profession there, but was elected
Judge of the Circuit Court in 1861, serving until his death, which occurred, Oct. 9, 1865. While
holding court at Charleston, in March, 1863, Judge Constable was arrested because of his release of
four deserters from the army, and the holding to bail, on the charge of kidnaping, of two Union
officers who had arrested them. He was subsequently released by Judge Treat of the United States
District Court at Springfield, but the affair culminated in a riot at Charleston, on March 22, in
which four soldiers and three citizens were killed outright, and eight persons were wounded.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS. Illinois has had four State Conventions called for the
purpose of formulating State Constitutions. Of these, three—those of 1818, 1847 and 1869-70— adopted
Constitutions which went into effect, while the instrument framed by the Convention of 1862 was rejected
by the people. A synoptical history of each will be found below:
CONVENTION OF 1818.—In January, 1818, the Territorial Legislature adopted a
resolution instructing the Delegate in Congress (Hon. Nathaniel Pope) to present a petition to
Congress requesting the passage of an act authorizing the people of Illinois Territory to organize a
State Government. A bill to this effect was introduced, April 7, and became a law, April 18, following.
It authorized the people to frame a Constitution and organize a State Government— apportioning the
Delegates to be elected from each of the fifteen counties into which the Territory was then divided,
naming the first Monday of July, following, as the day of election, and the first Monday of August as
the time for the meeting of the Convention. The act was conditioned upon a census of the people of
the Territory (to> be ordered by the Legislature), showing a population of not less than 40,000. The
census, as-taken, showed the required population, but, as finally corrected, this was reduced to
34,620— being the smallest with which any State was ever admitted into the Union. The election took
place on July 6, 1818, and the Convention assembled at Kaskaskia on August 3. It consisted of
thirty-three members. Of these, a majority were farmers of limited education, but writh a fair portion
of hard common-sense. Five of the Delegates were lawyers, and these undoubtedly wielded a controlling
influence. Jesse B. Thomas (afterwards one of the first United States Senators) presided, and Elias
Kent Kane, also a later Senator, was among the dominating spirits. It has been asserted that to the
latter should be ascribed whatever new matter was incorporated in the instrument, it being copied in
most of its essential provisions from the Constitutions of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. The Convention
completed its labors and adjourned, August 26, the Constitution was submitted te Congress by Delegate
John McLean, without the formality of ratification by the people, and Illinois was admitted into the
Union as a State by resolution of Congress, adopted Dec. 3, 1818.
CONVENTION OF 1847.—An attempt was made in 1822 to obtain a revision of the
Constitution of 1818, the object of the chief promoters of the movement being to secure the
incorporation of a provision authorizing the admission of slavery into Illinois. The passage of a
resolution, by the necessary two-thirds vote of both Houses of the General Assembly, submitting the
proposition to a vote of the people, was secured by the most questionable methods, at the session of
1822, but after a heated campaign of nearly two years, it was rejected at the election of 1824. (See
Slavery and Slave Laws; also Coles, Edward.) At the session of 1840-41, another resolution on the
subject was submitted to the people, but it was rejected by the narrow margin of 1,039 votes. Again,
in 1845, the question was submitted, and, at the election of 1846, was approved. The election of
delegates occurred, April 19, 1847, and the Convention met at Springfield, June 19, following. It
was composed of 162 members, ninety-two of whom were Democrats. The list of Delegates embraced the
names of many who afterwards attained high distinction in public affairs, and the body, as a whole,
was representative in character. The Bill of Rights attached to the Constitution of 1818 was but
little changed in its successor, except by a few additions, among which was a section disqualifying
any person who had been concerned in a duel from holding office. The earlier Constitution, however,
was carefully revised and several important changes made. Among these may be mentioned the following:
Limiting the elective franchise for foreign-born citizens to those who had become naturalized;
making the judiciary elective; requiring that all State officers be elected by the people; changing
the time of the election of the Executive, and making him ineligible for immediate re-election;
various curtailments of the power of the Legislature; imposing a two-mill tax for payment of the State
debt, and providing for the establishment of a sinking fund. The Constitution framed was adopted in
convention, August 31, 1847; ratified by popular vote, March 6, 1848, and went into effect, April 1,
1848.
CONVENTION OF 1862.—The proposition for holding a third Constitutional Convention
was submitted to vote of the people by the Legislature of 1859, endorsed at the election of 1860, and
the election of Delegates held in November, 1861. In the excitement attendant upon the early events
of the war, people paid comparatively little attention to the choice of its members. It was composed
of forty-five Democrats, twenty-one Republicans, seven "fusionists" and two classed as doubtful. The
Convention assembled at Springfield on Jan. 7, 1862, and remained in session until March 24, following.
It was in many respects a remarkable body. The law providing for its existence prescribed that the
members, before proceeding to business, should take an oath to support the State Constitution. This
the majority refused to do. Their conception of their powers was such that they seriously deliberated
upon electing a United States Senator, assumed to make appropriations from the State treasury, claimed
the right to interfere with military affairs, and called upon the Governor for information concerning
claims of the Illinois Central Railroad, which the Executive refused to lay before them. The instrument
drafted proposed numerous important changes in the organic law, and was generally regarded as
objectionable. It was rejected at an election held, June 17, 1862, by a majority of over 16,000 votes.
CONVENTION OF 1869-70.—The second attempt to revise the Constitution of 1848 resulted
in submission to the people, by the Legislature of 1867, of a proposition for a Convention, which was
approved at the election of 1868 by a bare majority of 704 votes. The election of Delegates was provided
for at the next session (1869), the election held in November and the Convention assembled at
Springfield, Dec. 13. Charles Hitchcock was chosen President, John Q. Harmon, Secretary, and Daniel
Shepard and A. H. Swain, First and Second Assistants. There were eighty-five members, of whom
forty-four were Republicans and forty-one Democrats, although fifteen had been elected nominally
as "Independents." It was an assemblage of some of the ablest men of the State, including
representatives of all the learned professions except the clerical, besides merchants, farmers,
bankers and journalists. Its work was completed May 13, 1870, and in the main good. Some of the
principal changes made in the fundamental law, as proposed by the Convention, were the following:
The prohibition of special legislation where a general law may be made to cover the necessities of
the case, and the absolute prohibition of such legislation in reference to divorces, lotteries and a
score of other matters; prohibition of the passage of any law releasing any civil division (district,
county, city, township or town) from the payment of its just proportion of any State tax;
recommendations to the Legislature to enact laws upon certain specified subjects, such as liberal
homestead and exemption rights, the construction of drains, the regulation of charges on railways
(which were declared to be public highways), etc., etc.; declaring all elevators and storehouses
public warehouses, and providing for their legislative inspection and supervision. The maintenance
of an "efficient system of public schools" was made obligatory upon the Legislature, and the
appropriation of any funds—State, municipal, town or district — to the support of sectarian schools
was prohibited. The principle of cumulative voting, or "minority representation," in the choice of
members of the House of Representatives was provided for, and additional safe guards thrown around
the passage of bills. The ineligibility of the Governor to re-election for a second consecutive term
was set aside, and a two-thirds vote of the Legislature made necessary to override an executive veto.
The list of State officers was increased by the creation of the Offices of Attorney-General and
Superintendent of Public Instruction, these having been previously provided for only by statute. The
Supreme Court bench was increased by the addition of four members, making the whole number of Supreme
Court judges seven; Appellate Courts authorized after 1874, and County Courts were Blade courts of
record. The compensation of all State officers—executive, judicial and legislative —was left
discretionary with the Legislature, and no limit was placed upon the length of the sessions of the
General Assembly. The instrument drafted by the Convention was ratified at an election held, July 6,
1870, and went into force, August 8, following. Occasional amendments have been submitted and ratified
from time to time. (See Constitutions, Elections and Representation; also Minority Representation.)
CONSTITUTIONS. Illinois has had three constitutions—that of 1870 being now (1898) in
force. The earliest instrument was that approved by Congress in 1818, and the first revision was made
in 1847—the Constitution having been ratified at an election held, March 5, 1848, and going into
force, April 1, following. The term of State officers has been uniformly fixed at four years, except
that of Treasurer, which is two years. Biennial elections and sessions of the General Assembly are
provided for, Senators holding their seats for four years, and Representatives two years. The State
is required to be apportioned after each decennial census into fifty-one districts, each of which
elects one Senator and three Representatives. The principle of minority representation has been
incorporated into the organic law, each elector being allowed to cast as many votes for one
legislative candidate as there are Representatives to be chosen in his district; or ho may divide
his vote equally among all the three candidates or between two of them, as he may see fit. One of
the provisions of the Constitution of 1870 is the inhibition of the General Assembly from passing
private laws. Municipalities are classified, and legislation is for all cities of a class, not for
an individual corporation. Individual citizens with a financial grievance must secure payment of
their claims under the terms of some general appropriation. The sessions of the Legislature are not
limited as to time, nor is there any restriction upon the power of the Executive to summon extra
sessions. (See also Constitutional Conventions; Elections; Governors and other State Officers;
Judicial System; Suffrage, Etc.)
COOK, Burton C., lawyer and Congressman, was born in Monroe County, N. Y., May 11,
1819; completed his academic education at the Collegiate Institute in Rochester, and after studying
law, removed to Illinois (1835), locating first at Hennepin and later at Ottawa. Here he began the
practice of his profession, and, in 1846, was elected by the Legislature State's Attorney for the
Ninth Judicial District, serving two years, when, in 1848, he was re-elected by the people under
the Constitution of that year, for four years. From 1852 to 1860, he was State Senator, taking part
in the election which resulted in making Lyman Trumbull United States Senator in 1855. In 1861 he
served as one of the Peace Commissioners from Illinois in the Conference which met at Washington. He
may be called one of the founders of the Republican party in this State, having been a member of the
State Central Committee appointed at Bloomington in 1856, and Chairman of the State Central Committee
in 1862. In 1864, he was elected to Congress, and re-elected in 1866, '68 and '70, but resigned in
1871 to accept the splicitorship of the Northwestern Railroad, which he resigned in 1886. He was an
intimate friend of Abraham Lincoln, serving as a delegate to both the National Conventions which
nominated him for the Presidency, and presenting his name at Baltimore in 1864. His death occurred
at Evanston, August 18, 1894.
COOK, Daniel Pope, early Congressman, was born in Scott County, Ky., in 1795,
removed to Illinois and began the practice of law at Kaskaskia in 1815. Early in 1816, he became
joint owner and editor of "The Illinois Intelligencer," and at the same time served as Auditor of
Public Accounts by appointment of Governor Edwards; the next year (1817) was sent by President
Monroe as bearer of dispatches to John Quincy Adams, then minister to London, and, on his return,
was appointed a Circuit Judge. On the admission of the State he was elected the first Attorney-General,
but almost immediately resigned and, in September, 1819, was elected to Congress, serving as
Representative until 1827. Having married a daughter of Governor Edwards, he became a resident of
Edwardsville. He was a conspicuous opponent of the proposition to make Illinois a slave State in
1823-24, and did much to prevent the success of that scheme. He also bore a prominent part while in
Congress in securing the donation of lands for the construction of the Illinois & Michigan Canal. He
was distinguished for his eloquence, and it was during his first Congressional campaign that
stump-speaking was introduced into the State. Suffering from consumption, he visited Cuba, and, after
returning to his home at Edwardsville and failing to improve, he went to Kentucky, where he died,
Oct. 16, 1827.—John (Cook), soldier, born at Edwardsville, Ill., June 12, 1825,
the son of Daniel P. Cook, the second Congressman from Illinois, and grandson of Gov. Ninian Edwards,
was educated by private tutors and at Illinois College; in 1855 was elected Mayor of Springfield and
the following year Sheriff of Sangamon County, later serving as Quartermaster of the State. Raising
a company promptly after the firing on Fort Sumter in 1861, he was commissioned Colonel of the
Seventh Illinois Volunteers —the first regiment organized in Illinois under the first call for
troops by President Lincoln; was promoted Brigadier-General for gallantry at Fort Donelson in March,
1862; in 1864 commanded the District of Illinois, with headquarters at Springfield, being mustered
out, August, 1865, with the brevet rank of Major-General. General Cook was elected to the lower
house of the General Assembly from Sangamon County, in 1868. His last years were spent near Ransom,
Mich. Died Aug. 11, 1910.
COOK COUNTY, situated in the northeastern section of the State, bordering on Lake
Michigan, and being the most easterly of the second tier of counties south of the Wisconsin State
line. It has an area of 890 square miles; population (1900), 1,838,735; population (1910), 2,405,233;
county-seat Chicago. The county was organized in 1831, having originally embraced the counties of
Du Page, Will, Lake, McHenry and Iroquois, in addition to its present territorial limits. It was
named in honor of Daniel P. Cook, a distinguished Representative of Illinois in Congress. (See
Cook, Daniel P.) The first County Commissioners were Samuel Miller, Gholson Kercheval and James
Walker who took the oath of office before Justice John S. C. Hogan, on March 8, 1831. William Lee
was appointed Clerk and Archibald Clybourne Treasurer. Jedediah Wormley was first County Surveyor,
and three election districts (Chicago, Du Page and Hickory Creek) were created. A scow ferry was
established across the South Branch, with Mark Beaubien as ferryman. Only non-residents were required
to pay toll. Geologists are of the opinion that, previous to the glacial epoch, a large portion
of the county lay under the waters of Lake Michigan, which was connected with the Mississippi by
the Des Plaines River. This theory is borne out by the finding of stratified beds of coal and gravel
in the eastern and southern portions of the county, either underlying the prairies or assuming the
form of ridges. The latter, geologists maintain, indicate the existence of an ancient key, and they
conclude that, at one time, the level of the lake was nearly forty feet higher than at present.
Glacial action is believed to have been very effective in establishing surface conditions in this
vicinity. Limestone and building stone are quarried in tolerable abundance. Athens marble (white
when taken out, but growing a rich yellow through exposure) is found in the southwest. Isolated
beds of peat have also been found. The general surface is level, although undulating in some
portions. The soil near the lake is sandy, but in the interior becomes a black mold from one to
four feet in depth. Drainage is afforded by the Des Plaines, Chicago and Calumet Rivers, which has
been improved by the construction of the Drainage Canal. Manufactures and agriculture are the
principal industries outside of the city of Chicago. (See also Chicago.)
COOK COUNTY HOSPITAL, located in Chicago and under control of the Commissioners of
Cook County. It was originally erected by the City of Chicago, at a cost of $80,000, and was intended
to be used as a hospital for patients suffering from infectious diseases. For several years the
building was unoccupied, but, in 1858, it was leased by an association of physicians, who opened a
hospital, with the further purpose of affording facilities for clinical instruction to the students
of Rush Medical College. In 1863 the building was taken by the General Government for military
purposes, being used as an eye and ear hospital for returning soldiers. In 1865 it reverted to the
City of Chicago, and, in 1866, was purchased by Cook County. In 1874 the County Commissioners purchased
a new and more spacious site at a cost of $145,000, and began the erection of buildings thereon.
The two principal pavilions were completed and occupied before the close of 1875; the clinical
amphitheater and connecting corridors were built in 1876-77, and an administrative building and two
additional pavilions were added in 1882-84. Up to that date the total cost of the buildings had been
$719,574, and later additions and improvements have swelled the outlay to more than $1,000,000. It
accommodates about 800 patients and constitutes a part of the county machinery for the care of the
poor. A certain number of beds are placed under the care of homeopathic physicians. The present
(1896) allopathic medical staff consists of fifteen physicians, fifteen surgeons, one oculist and
aurist and one pathologist; the homeopathic staff comprises five physicians and five surgeons. In
addition, there is a large corps of internes, or house physicians and surgeons, composed of recent
graduates from the several medical colleges, who gain their positions through competitive examination
and hold them for eighteen months.
COOKE, Edward Dean, lawyer and Congressman, born in Dubuque County, Iowa, Oct. 17,
1849; was educated in the common schools and the high school of Dubuque; studied law in that city and
at Columbian University, Washington, D.C., graduating from that institution with the degree of Bachelor
of Laws, and was admitted to the bar in Washington in 1873. Coming to Chicago the same year, he
entered upon the practice of his profession, which he pursued for the remainder of his life. In 1882
he was elected a Representative in the State Legislature from Cook County, serving one term; was
elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth Congress for the Sixth District (Chicago), in 1894, and
re-elected in 1896. His death occurred suddenly while in attendance on the extra session of Congress
in Washington, June 24, 1897.
COOLBAUGH, William Findlay, financier, was born in Pike County, Pa., July 1, 1821;
at the age of 15 became clerk in a dry-goods store in Philadelphia, but, in 1842, opened a branch
establishment of a New York firm at Burlington, Iowa, where he afterwards engaged in the banking
business, also serving in the Iowa State Constitutional Convention, and, as the candidate of his
party for United States Senator, being defeated by Hon. James Harlan by one vote. In 1862 he came to
Chicago and opened the banking house of W. F. Coolbaugh & Co., which, in 1865, became the Union
National Bank of Chicago. Later he became the first President of the Chicago Clearing House, as also
of the Bankers' Association of the West and South, a Director of the Board of Trade, and an original
incorporator of the Chamber of Commerce, besides being a member of the State Constitutional Convention
of 1869-70. His death by suicide, at the foot of Douglas Monument, Nov. 14, 1877, was a shock to the
whole city of Chicago.
COOLEY, Horace S., Secretary of State, was born in Hartford, Conn., in 1806, studied
medicine for two years in early life, then went to Bangor, Maine, where he began the study of law;
in 1840 he came to Illinois, locating first at Rushville and finally in the city of Quincy; in 1842
took a prominent part in the campaign which resulted in the election of Thomas Ford as Governor—also
received from Governor Carlin an appointment as Quartermaster-General of the State. On the accession
of Governor French in December, 1846, he was appointed Secretary of State and elected to the same
office under the Constitution of 1848, dying before the expiration of his term, April 2, 1850.
CORBUS, (Dr.) J. C., physician, was born in Holmes County, Ohio, in 1833, received
his primary education in the public schools, followed by an academic course, and began the study of
medicine at Millersburg, finally graduating from the Western Reserve Medical College at Cleveland.
In 1855 he began practice at Orville, Ohio, but the same year located at Mendota, Ill., soon
thereafter removing to Lee County, where he remained until 1862. The latter year he was appointed
Assistant Surgeon of the Seventy-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, but was soon promoted to the
position of Surgeon, though compelled to resign the following year on account of ill health. Returning
from the army, he located at Mendota. Dr. Corbus served continuously as a member of the State Board
of Public Charities from 1873 until the accession of Governor Altgeld to the Governorship in 1893,
when he resigned. He was also, for fifteen years, one of the Medical Examiners for his District
under the Pension Bureau, and has served as a member of the Republican State Central Committee for
the Mendota District. In 1897 he was complimented by Governor Tanner by reappointment to the State
Board of Charities, and was made President of the Board. Early in 1899 he was appointed Superintendent
of the Eastern Hospital for the Insane at Kankakee, as successor to Dr. William G. Stearns. Died
March 17, 1909.
CORNELL, Paul, real-estate operator and capitalist, was born of English Quaker
ancestry in Washington County, N. Y., August 5, 1822; at 9 years of age removed with his step-father,
Dr. Barry, to Ohio, and five years later to Adams County, Ill. Here young Cornell lived the life of
a farmer, working part of the year to earn money to send himself to school the remainder; also taught
for a time, then entered the office of W. A. Richardson, at Rushville, Schuyler County, as a law
student. In 1845 he came to Chicago, but soon after became a student in the law office of Wilson &
Henderson at Joliet, and was admitted to practice in that city. Removing to Chicago in 1847, he was
associated, successively, with the late L. C. P. Freer, Judge James H. Collins and Messrs. Skinner
& Hoyne; finally entered into a contract with Judge Skinner to perfect the title to 320 acres of land
held under tax-title within the present limits of Hyde Park, which he succeeded in doing by visiting
the original owners, thereby securing one-half of the property in his own name. He thus became the
founder of the village of Hyde Park, meanwhile adding to his possessions other lands, which increased
vastly in value. He also established a watch factory at Cornell (now a part of Chicago), which did a
large business until removed to California. Mr. Cornell was a member of the first Park Board, and
therefore had the credit of assisting to organize Chicago's extensive park system. Died March 3,
1904.
CORWIN, Franklin, Congressman, was born at Lebanon, Ohio, Jan. 12, 1818, and admitted
to the bar at the age of 21. While a resident of Ohio he served in both Houses of the Legislature,
and settled in Illinois in 1857, making his home at Peru. He was a member of the lower house of the
Twenty-fourth, Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth General Assemblies, being Speaker in 1867, and again
in 1869. In 1872 he was elected to Congress as a Republican, but, in 1874, was defeated by Alexander
Campbell, who made the race as an Independent. Died, at Peru, Ill., June 15, 1879.
COUCH, James, pioneer hotel-keeper, was born at Fort Edward, N. Y., August 31, 1800;
removed to Chautauqua County, in the same State, where he remained until his twentieth year, receiving
a fair English education. After engaging successively, but with indifferent success, as hotel-clerk,
stage-house keeper, lumber-dealer, and in the distilling business, in 1836, in company with his
younger brother, Ira, he visited Chicago. They both decided to go into business there, first opening
a small store, and later entering upon their hotel ventures which proved so eminently successful,
and gave the Tremont House of Chicago so wide and enviable a reputation. Mr. Couch superintended for
his brother Ira the erection, at various times, of many large business blocks in the city. Upon the
death of his brother, in 1857, he was made one of the trustees of his estate, and, with other
trustees, rebuilt the Tremont House after the Chicago fire of 1871. In April, 1892, while boarding
a street car in the central part of the city of Chicago, he was run over by a truck, receiving injuries
which resulted in his death the same day at the Tremont House, in the 92d year of his age.
—Ira (Couch), younger brother of the preceding, was born in Saratoga County, N. Y.,
Nov. 22, 1806. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to a tailor, and, in 1826, set up in business
on his own account. In 1836, while visiting Chicago with his brother James, he determined to go into
business there. With a stock of furnishing goods and tailors' supplies, newly bought in New York, a
small store was opened. This business soon disposed of, Mr. Couch, with his brother, obtained a lease
of the old Tremont House, then a low frame building kept as a saloon boarding house. Changed and
refurnished, this was opened as a hotel. It was destroyed by fire in 1839, as was also the larger
rebuilt structure in 1849. A second time rebuilt, and on a much larger and grander scale at a cost
of $75,000, surpassing anything the West had ever known before, the Tremont House this time stood
until the Chicago fire in 1871, when it was again destroyed. Mr. Couch at all times enjoyed an
immense patronage, and was able to accumulate (for that time) a large fortune. He purchased and
improved a large number of business blocks, then within the business center of the city. In 1853 he
retired from active business, and, in consequence of impaired health, chose for the rest of his life
to seek recreation in travel. In the winter of 1857, while with his family in Havana, Cuba, he was
taken with a fever which soon ended his life. His remains now rest in a mausoleum of masonry in
Lincoln Park, Chicago.
COULTERVILLE, a town of Randolph County, at the crossing of the Centralia & Chester
and the St. Louis & Paducah branch Illinois Central Railways, 49 miles southeast of St. Louis. Farming
and coal-mining are the leading industries. The town has two banks, two creameries, and a newspaper.
Pop. (1900), 650; (1910), 949.
COUNTIES, UNORGANIZED. (See Unorganized Counties.)
COWDEN, a village of Shelby County, at the intersection of the Baltimore & Ohio
Southwestern and the Toledo, St. Louis & Western Railways, 60 miles southeast of Springfield.
Considerable coal is mined in the vicinity; has a bank and a weekly paper. Population (1880), 350;
(1890), 702; (1900), 751; (1910), 711.
COWLES, Alfred, newspaper manager, was born in Portage County, Ohio, May 13, 1832,
grew up on a farm and, after spending some time at Michigan University, entered the office of "The
Cleveland Leader" as a clerk; in 1855 accepted a similar position on "The Chicago Tribune," which
had just been bought by Joseph Medill and others, finally becoming a stockholder and business manager
of the paper, so remaining until his death in Chicago, Dec. 20, 1889.
COX, Thomas, pioneer, Senator in the First General Assembly of Illinois (1818-22)
from Union County, and a conspicuous figure in early State history; was a zealous advocate of the
policy of making Illinois a slave State; became one of the original proprietors and founders of the
city of Springfield, and was appointed the first Register of the Land Office there, but was removed
under charges of misconduct; after his retirement from the Land Office, kept a hotel at Springfield.
In 1836 he removed to Iowa (then a part of Wisconsin Territory), became a member of the first
Territorial Legislature there, was twice re-elected and once Speaker of the House, being prominent
in 1840 as commander of the "Regulators" who drove out a gang of murderers and desperadoes who had
got possession at Bellevue, Iowa. Died, at Maquoketa, Iowa, 1843.
COY, Irus, lawyer, was born in Chenango County, N. Y., July 25, 1832; educated in
the common schools and at Central College, Cortland County, N. Y., graduating in law at Albany in
1857. Then, having removed to Illinois, he located in Kendall County and began practice; in 1868 was
elected to the lower house of the General Assembly and, in 1872, served as Presidential Elector on
the Republican ticket; removed to Chicago in 1871, later serving as attorney of the Union Stock Yards
and Transit Company. Died, in Chicago, Sept. 20, 1897.
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