OF THE 
 
 U N I VER.5ITY 
 OF ILLINOIS 
 
 385.4 
 
 ItUNOIS HISTORICAL SURVR
 
 Ifl
 
 *^OT^M!^^^^W^BE 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL STATION, CHICAGO.
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Illinois Central Railroad Company 
 
 AND 
 
 REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE GROWTH AND DEVELOP- 
 MENT OF ONE OF THE LEADING AR- 
 TERIES OF TRANSPORTATION IN 
 THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 From Inception to its Present Mammoth Proportions, 
 
 TOGETHER WITH THE 
 
 BIOGRAPHIES OF MANY OF THE MEN WHO 
 
 HAVE BEEN AND ARE IDENTIFIED WITH 
 
 THE VARIED INTERESTS OF THE 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 RAILROAD HISTORICAL COMPANY, 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. 
 
 1900.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 DN ISSUING the History of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, the publishers, according 
 to custom, desire to give expression of a few words of explanation regarding the work. In 
 compiling a history of a railroad we were treading unknown paths which might lead to suc- 
 cess or failure as it met with the favor, or the reverse, of the army of operatives to whom 
 we looked for encouragement. We are happy to announce that those to whom we appealed for 
 support have looked with favor upon our enterprise and have accorded us a liberal and hearty sup- 
 port for which we extend our sincere thanks. 
 
 We are under especial obligations to Mr. William K. Ackerman for his generous permission 
 ^ to use his excellent "Sketch of the Illinois Central Railroad Company," which is as complete and 
 authentic as a work of this character can well be. No better commentary op his effort can be 
 < made than that appearing in the Railway Age at the time the work was first issued, which says : 
 
 ,., "Mr. W. K. Ackerman, for many years president of the Illinois Central Railroad Company 
 
 and for nearly thirty-two years connected with that corporation in various capacities, has availed 
 
 > himself of his well earned leisure to prepare an extremely interesting brochure which he entitles, 
 
 'Historical Sketch of the Illinois Central Railroad; together with a brief biographical record of 
 
 its incorporators and some of its early officers.' No man living is so competent as Mr. 
 
 Ackerman to chronicle the early and latter days of this great enterprise, whose inception dates as 
 far back as 1835 An admirable feature of the work is the entire absence of censorious- 
 ness or the indication of personal feeling on the part of the writer against any of the numerous 
 officials with whom he was associated during his long career, or of his successors whose adminis- 
 tration he might possibly be tempted to criticise. On the other hand, a kindly and appreciative 
 spirit marks the reference to the numerous officers of the company who are specially named, and 
 some of the sketches of persons both living and dead are extremely interesting." 
 
 We desire to return thanks to the chief officials of the various railway orders for their court- 
 esy in assisting us to compile creditable sketches of the orders over which they preside. E. E. 
 Clark, Grand Chief Conductor of the O. R. C.; Mrs. J. H. Moore, Grand President of the L. A. of 
 O. R. C.; F. P. Sargent, Grand Master of the B. of L. F.; Mrs. Georgie M. Sargent, Grand Presi- 
 dent of the L. S. of B. of L. F.; Mrs. Ray Watterson, Grand Mistress of L. A. of B. R. T.; C. H. 
 Salmons, Editor B. of L. E. Monthly Journal; Mrs. W. A. Murdock, Grand President, and Mrs. 
 ^ Harry St. Clair, Grand Secretary of the G. I. A. to B. of. L. E. have given us their hearty co- 
 operation. 
 
 We desire, too, to extend our thanks to the many officials and army of operatives of the Illi- 
 nois Central for their generous patronage, without which our efforts would have been in vain. To 
 them is due what credit there may be for the success of the work, for without it only a dismal fail- 
 ure would have ensued. We realize that there are many whose names should appear within our 
 pages that do not, but owing to indifference at the time our representative called or absence at re- 
 peated endeavors to secure an interview the facts could not be obtained and of necessity must 
 be omitted. 
 
 We have spared no effort nor expense to make this volume the most superbly illustrated 
 work of its kind ever issued from an American press and have endeavored to raise and hold the 
 biographical section up to the high literary standard set by the historian. 
 
 Trusting that a generous and discriminating public will give due credit for the excellencies 
 of our efforts and judge lightly that wherein we may have fallen below the standard we had set, 
 \vc place in its hands the fruit of our endeavor a History of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, 
 with biographical sketches of the men who have made it. 
 
 THE PUBLISHERS. 

 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 HISTORY OF THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHIES. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 PRESIDENTS OF ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 MILEAGE AND EQUIPMENT OF ROAD. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 PERSONNEL OF THE MANAGEMENT OF THE ROAD. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 RAILROAD FRATERNITIES. 
 
 PART IV. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS MATTER.
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY, 
 
 BY W. K. ACKERMAN. 
 
 DN undertaking a brief sketch of the origin 
 of the Illinois Central Railroad, it is nec- 
 essary to refer somewhat in detail to the 
 correspondence of two men closely identi- 
 fied with its early progress, and whose names 
 stand out prominently in the history of the 
 state ; I need hardly say that these are the Hon. 
 Sidney Breese and the Hon. Stephen A. Douglas. 
 In writing upon the subject, if one were to con- 
 fine himself to the contentions indulged in by 
 these two gentlemen, for the credit of either 
 originating or advocating the scheme, consider- 
 able time and space would have to be given up 
 in the endeavor to reconcile their respective 
 claims. From the most careful examination 
 made of the correspondence that passed be- 
 tween them upon the subject, it does not ap- 
 pear, however, that either of these gentlemen 
 actually originated the plan of a central road ; 
 indeed Judge Douglas lays no positive claim 
 to this, but Judge Breese, in his letter to the 
 Illinois Slate Register, Dec. 23, 1850, says: "I 
 must have the credit of it, for I originated it in 
 1835." And in his famous letter to Judge 
 Douglas, written Jan. 25, 1851, to the latter at 
 Washington, -while in the senate, he says, "I 
 claim to have first projected this great road in 
 my letter of October, 1835," meaning his 
 letter to Judge John York Sawyer of Oct. 16, 
 1835. But even in this letter, he gives credit 
 
 for the plan to "an intelligent friend in Bond 
 county," who was William S. Waite of Green- 
 ville, and who proved himself an ardent sup- 
 porter of the road until its final completion. 
 These claims of Judge Breese are referred to 
 by Judge Douglas in a somewhat sarcastic as 
 well as a facetious manner in the voluminous 
 correspondence* which was carried on during 
 1850 and 1851, but the latter modestly abstains 
 from claiming any connection with the measure 
 until December, 1843 the year in which he 
 entered the house of representatives and the 
 same year in which Judge Breese entered the 
 senate or any exclusive credit for the consum- 
 mation of the scheme. What Judge Breese did 
 claim, was undoubtedly true, viz: that he had 
 "said and written" more in favor of the plan 
 than anyone else, and for this he was entitled 
 to great credit. 
 
 The daily Illinois State Register of Dec. 19, 
 1850, published an article, quoted from the 
 Benton Standard, stating that Judge Breese 
 favored what was known as the "Holbrook 
 charter," to which particular reference will be 
 made hereafter. This stirred Judge Breese to 
 a reply in which he stated that he was in favor 
 of accepting the release of the Cairo company 
 on condition that their rights were to be re- 
 
 * "Early Illinois Railroads. By W. K. Ackerman, 
 Chicago, 1884," 

 
 12 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 spected. In the same letter, he claimed that 
 he was entitled to the credit of the whole 
 scheme of a central road, having "originated it 
 in 1835." The editor of the Register, while 
 willing to accord him all due credit, reminds 
 him that the efforts of Senators Douglas and 
 Shields, and Representatives Wentworth, Mc- 
 Clernand, Richardson, Bissell, Young, and 
 Harris, must not be overlooked : that they all 
 did their duty and were deserving of praise. 
 On Jan. 5, 1851, Senator Douglas replied to 
 Judge Breese in the columns of the State Reg- 
 ister, assuring him that no injustice was in- 
 tended to be done him, and reminding him of 
 the fact that when the people of Chicago 
 tendered him and Gen. Shields a complimentary 
 dinner for the part they had taken in procuring 
 the grant of land from the general government, 
 they modestly declined it, and in their letter 
 declining the honor awarded the principal merit 
 to their colleagues. 
 
 To go back of the claims of both of these 
 distinguished gentlemen, I suppose it is an 
 historical fact that although Judge Breese 
 brought the plan prominently before the people 
 of the state by newspaper publications and 
 letters to prominent men, still the credit of 
 originating it really belongs to Lieut. Gov. 
 Alexander M. Jenkins when in the state senate 
 in 1832.* This was three years before the in- 
 telligent friend from Bond county whispered in 
 Judge Breese's ear. Senator Jenkins' plan 
 was to build the road from Cairo to Peru. 
 Judge Breese's plan contemplated a line from 
 Cairo to Galena, but when the plan was fully 
 developed, Judge Douglas wrote Chicago as 
 the northeastern terminus. Judge Breese said 
 that the reason for this was because Judge 
 Douglas had been investing in Chicago real 
 estate and on that account wanted the road 
 extended to that point. This was an unfair 
 imputation, but a natural one, for Judge Breese 
 to make, because his plan of a central road 
 which was a local one, did not contemplate a 
 
 * One year after the first act relating to the con- 
 struction of railways was passed by the general assem- 
 bly of the State of Illinois, Jan. 28, 1831. 
 
 branch to Chicago. Many opposed the enter- 
 prise in the central part of the state, fearing 
 that a north and south line would divert traffic 
 that that section might derive from an east and 
 west line through the state. It must be borne 
 in mind, that the prevailing idea at that time 
 was to have the products of Illinois shipped to 
 the south via Cairo and the Mississippi river; 
 but Judge Douglas, who took a broader view 
 'of the enterprise, saw the necessity of connect- 
 ing the lakes with the Mississippi, and the St. 
 Lawrence with the Gulf of Mexico, as well as 
 a connection at Chicago with the various rail- 
 ways then projected or in process of construc- 
 tion from the principal cities of the east, so 
 that the measure would commend itself to con- 
 gress as a national work tending to benefit the 
 whole country and not a local enterprise for the 
 particular benefit of the state of Illinois. Only 
 in this way could the votes of the members of 
 congress from Pennsylvania, New York, New 
 England and other portions of the Union be 
 secured, as they did not of course favor any 
 proposition having for its tendency the diver- 
 sion of trade from the upper Mississippi toward 
 Mobile alone. 
 
 Judge Breese was named as an incorporator 
 in the first charter granted by the state in 1836 
 for a central road and having taken so deep an 
 interest in the subject, he felt a commendable 
 pride in the ultimate success of the measure. 
 He was naturally jealous of his position in the 
 matter, hence he could not brook a younger 
 and more active rival. But he was entirely too 
 sensitive in supposing that Judge Douglas had 
 not properly recognized his early efforts in the 
 matter. This feeling he describes in one of his 
 letters to Douglas, in which he says, "In the 
 outset, I will candidly confess that, upon the 
 subject of the Illinois Central Railroad, with all 
 its concomitants, I am very sensitive, the more 
 especially since I thought I had discovered a 
 studious endeavor on your part and on the part 
 of those with whom you have acted, to conceal 
 from the public my agency in bringing the 
 measure into favor and in opening the way for 
 successful legislation in regard to it. In none
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 13 
 
 of your speeches and letters you, and others 
 who have enjoyed your confidence, have made 
 and written, has there been the least allusion 
 to the part I have acted in the matter, nor in 
 any of the papers in the state, supposed to be 
 under your influence. Seeing this, and believ- 
 ing there was a concerted effort to appropriate 
 to yourselves, exclusively, honors to which I 
 knew you were not entitled, I deem it my duty, 
 for the truth of history, to assert my claim, and 
 in doing so, have been compelled, much against 
 my will, to speak of myself and of my acts in 
 regard to it. My whole life will show that it 
 is the first time I have ever exposed myself to 
 the charge of egotism, and under the influence 
 which actuated me, I may have claimed too 
 much." 
 
 The first act incorporating an Illinois Cen- 
 tral Railroad company was passed by the legis- 
 lature of the state of Illinois, January 18, 1836. 
 It was a special charter and granted many valu- 
 able privileges. It contemplated rail communi- 
 cation only as far north as the Illinois and 
 Michigan Canal. The scheme proved an utter 
 failure. 
 
 Under the internal-improvement act passed 
 Feb.i 27, 1837, its construction was undertaken 
 by the state, without success, as there was 
 neither credit to ensure, or capital to complete 
 it. The appropriation under this act, $3,500,- 
 000, was in any event totally inadequate. 
 
 The Cairo City & Canal company was in- 
 corporated March 4, 1837. It was authorized 
 to hold real estate in Alexander county, but 
 more particularly the tract of land incorporated 
 as the city of Cairo. They were to proceed to 
 lay it off into lots for a town to be known as 
 the city of Cairo ; they were also empowered 
 to construct dykes, canals, levees and embank- 
 ments for the security and preservation of said 
 city ; also to construct a canal to unite with 
 Cache river, and to use water for a canal run- 
 ning to and through the city. Reference to 
 this scheme is made in order to show in a 
 gradual way the origin and progress of the 
 Illinois Central Railroad ; its connection with 
 the canal company was only incidental, Darius 
 
 B. Holbrook, who afterward figured conspicu- 
 ously in the effort to obtain a charter for a 
 central road having been connected with the 
 canal company. 
 
 Five years later, March 6, 1843, the state 
 having abandoned the attempt to build any 
 more railroads, the legislature incorporated the 
 Great Western Railway company. This was 
 known as the "Holbrook charter," so frequently 
 referred to in the correspondence between 
 Judge Breese* and Judge Douglas. This char- 
 ter contemplated a "pre-emption right" only, to 
 Holbrook and his associates, in which the state 
 was to have no interest, instead of a direct 
 grant of land to the state. This company was 
 to consist of the president and directors of the 
 Cairo City & Canal Company, and the board of 
 directors were to be chosen by that company. 
 
 The road was to be commenced as previ- 
 ously contemplated at the mouth of the Ohio 
 river, and was to run in about the same direc- 
 tion via Vandalia, Shelbyville, Decatur and 
 Bloomington, and to the same objective point, 
 the Illinois and Michigan canal. Rates of toll 
 were to be established by the directors. The 
 company was authorized to issue bonds, which 
 were to be countersigned by the president and 
 treasurer of the Cairo City & Canal Company. 
 Section 14 provided that whenever the whole 
 indebtedness of the company was paid and 
 liquidated then the legislature should have 
 power to alter and amend the charter as the 
 public good should require. 
 
 An estimate was to be made by a person 
 appointed by the governor of the value of the 
 work already done by the state, under the 
 internal-improvement act of Feb. 27, 1837, and 
 this was to be paid for by the newly-organized 
 company at any time during the progress of the 
 work. When all the obligations of the com- 
 pany were paid, then the railroad company was 
 thereafter to forever pay the state, annually, as 
 a consideration for granting the charter, one- 
 fourth of the net annual income, after the share- 
 
 * Judge Breese was elected to the United States 
 senate, Dec. 18, 1842, for full term commencing 
 March 4, 1843.
 
 14 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 if? 
 
 : 
 ::. 
 
 -'. -~i ' 
 '
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 15 
 
 holders had received in any one year twelve 
 per cent on their investment ; and the act ex- 
 pressly provided that no legislature should at 
 any time so reduce the tolls as to produce less 
 than twelve per cent per annum net to the 
 shareholders. 
 
 The Great Western Railway company, after 
 spending large sums of money in doing work 
 which eventually inured to the benefit of the 
 state, became insolvent, and this third attempt 
 to build a central road proved a signal failure. 
 On March 3, 1845, its charter was repealed by 
 a special act, passed for that purpose. 
 
 That Judge Breese favored what was 
 known as the Holbrook charter is shown by 
 the fact that on Dec. 27, 1843, he presented in 
 the house of representatives a memorial of the 
 Great Western Railway company, praying the 
 right of pre-emption for Holbrook and his 
 associates to a portion of the public lands over 
 which the proposed road was to be constructed. 
 Judge Douglas, who was in the house of repre- 
 sentatives at this time, declined to give this 
 bill his support, very properly insisting that 
 whatever grant was made should be conferred 
 directly upon the State of Illinois, and not 
 upon an irresponsible private corporation that 
 he did not believe would carry out the project, 
 and which he stigmatized as a "stupendous 
 private speculation to enable the Cairo com- 
 pany to sell their chartered privileges in Eng- 
 land." This opposition of Judge Douglas was 
 probably what first excited the hostility of 
 Judge Breese toward him. Judge Breese re-, 
 fused to coincide with the views expressed by 
 Judge Douglas, and the bill failed of passage. 
 His reason for wishing the pre-emption to run 
 to a private corporation was, because he had no 
 faitli 'in tlie ability of the state to complete the 
 7, <>;/>. This was quite natural considering the 
 fact that they had so signally failed in all pre- 
 vious efforts to build the road. At the next 
 session on Dec. 12, 1844, in deference to the 
 views expressed by Judge Douglas, Judge 
 Breese introduced a bill which substituted the 
 words state of Illinois for the Holbrook com- 
 pany, as the party to whom the pre-emption 
 
 right was to pass; but he appears to have given 
 it a luke-warm support and it did not pass. At 
 the next session, Jan. 15, 1846, Judge Breese 
 reported another bill to grant to the state of 
 Illinois certain alternate sections of the public 
 lands to aid in the construction of the Northern 
 Cross and Illinois Central Railroads in Illinois, 
 but it does not appear that he ever moved to 
 take up this bill. At the next session, Dec. 17, 
 1846, still another bill was introduced by Judge 
 Breese, covering a right of way and a pre- 
 emption right. It omitted the donations to the 
 state, but permitted it to purchase the lands at 
 a dollar and a quarter per acre upon the con- 
 dition that it would build a railroad through 
 them. This bill failed also. 
 
 In these various efforts, it would appear 
 that Judge Breese was in favor of granting pre- 
 emption rights only, and a right of way, either 
 to a private corporation or to the state. Judge 
 Douglas, on the other hand, insisted that an 
 absolute donation to the state should be made. 
 This was one of the principal points of differ- 
 ence between them. Judge Douglas stated to 
 Judge Breese that if he would consent to this 
 change he would allow him to take all the 
 credit. Another point of difference was in 
 regard to the terminus at Chicago. It is evi- 
 dent that Judge Douglas particularly favored 
 this plan, regardless of whether the road was 
 built to Dubuque or not. And indeed the 
 eastern members also favored this plan be- 
 cause it contemplated a connection with the 
 lakes ; the line from Cairo to Galena being 
 regarded in the East as a sectional scheme, 
 calculated to throw the trade upon the Gulf of 
 Mexico at the expense of the cities on the lakes 
 and the Atlantic seaboard. 
 
 Judge Breese, on the other hand, did not 
 favor Chicago, as he freely admits. He says 
 in one of his letters: "You will recollect that 
 my bills, all of them, established the roads on 
 the routes defined by our internal-improvement 
 system of 1836 and 1837, on which the state 
 had expended such large sums of money ; and 
 that fact was a strong argument, as I thought, 
 in my report. In 1847, you made choice of
 
 16 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Chicago as your home, and, as I understood, 
 purchased a large amount of property there. 
 Now neither of my bills touched Chicago ; they 
 confined the roads to the old routes the Ill- 
 inois Central Road, as then understood, from 
 Cairo, by Vandalia, Shelby ville, Decatur, Bloom- 
 ington, Peru and Dixon to Galena. A new 
 light broke in upon you when, in conjunction 
 with Mr. Butterfield and others interested in 
 Chicago, a great movement was set on foot to 
 disturb my plans and to change the route of 
 the Illinois Central Railroad, so as to make it 
 run to Chicago and thence to Galena. You can 
 not have forgotten how much surprised I was 
 when you informed me of your intention, after 
 you had taken your seat, in December 1847, 
 to bring forward this proposition, how earnest- 
 ly I urged upon you, while admitting the im- 
 portance of the change, an adherence to the old 
 plan." 
 
 On Feb. 10, 1849, the charter of the Great 
 Western Railway was renewed by the legisla- 
 ture of Illinois, to take effect April 13, 1849, 
 the grant running as in the first act, to the 
 "president and directors of the Cairo City & 
 Canal Company," with certain others to be 
 associated with them, but under the name and 
 style of the "Great Western Railway." Among 
 the names of the associate directors will be 
 found those of Justin Butterfield, John B. 
 Turner, Mark Skinner and Henry Corwith. 
 The new board was reinstated with all the 
 powers and privileges contained in the first act, 
 the act repealing the charter to the contrary 
 notwithstanding. Many additional and valuable 
 privileges were conveyed by the state, includ- 
 ing a grant of the right of way and of all the 
 work and surveying done at the expense of the 
 state. The new company was to expend at 
 least one hundred thousand dollars within three 
 years, and two hundred thousand dollars in 
 each year thereafter until the line was com- 
 pleted from the city of Cairo to the city of 
 Chicago. 
 
 The governor of the state was to hold in 
 trust, for the benefit of the company, whatever 
 lands might be donated by the general govern- 
 
 ment to the State of Illinois to aid in the con- 
 struction of the road, anticipating, as it were, 
 the action of the general government, the 
 question of a land-grant having already been 
 freely discussed in congress. 
 
 Simultaneous with this, Judge Breese, from 
 the committee on public lands of which he 
 was chairman during the last four years of his 
 term as senator reported the following bill in 
 the United States senate, February 1, 1849 : 
 
 "A bill to grant the right of way across 
 the public lands and to dispose of said land in 
 aid of the several states in the construction of 
 railroads and canals. 
 
 Be H enacted by the senate and house of 
 representatives of the United States of America in 
 congress assembled, That whenever any state in 
 which public land is situated have, or shall 
 authorize the construction of any railroad or 
 canal, and the route of the same shall have 
 been surveyed and returned to the secretary of 
 the treasury, the right of way on said route, so 
 far as the same is situated on the public land, be 
 and the same is hereby granted for said purpose; 
 and also the right to take stone and timber and 
 materials for said erection on any of the public 
 land adjacent, so long as said land is unsold ; 
 and the land for the space of one hundred feet 
 on each side of the middle of said route shall 
 be and remain for that purpose, so long as said 
 canal or railroad is sustained. 
 
 "SECTION 3. And it is further enacted, 
 That when the survey of said route shall have 
 been returned to the secretary of the treasury, 
 he shall, at the request of the governor of said 
 state, reserve from public sale all or so much of 
 the public lands within ten miles of said route, as 
 said governor, by direction of the legislature of 
 said state, shall request, and the same shall be re- 
 tained for said state, and shall be sold and con- 
 veyed to said state or to whoever said state shall 
 direct, at and for ihc minimum price per acre, in 
 such quantities and at such times as said state 
 shall desire, in aid of said construction. Provided 
 nevertheless, that said route shall be so surveyed 
 and returned, and said land so reserved, within 
 three years from the passing of this law ; and
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 17 
 
 POPLAR STREET STATION', MEMPHIS, TENN. 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL DEPOT, COR. MAIN AND CALHOUN STREETS, 
 MEMPHIS, TENN.
 
 18 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 all of said land not actually so purchased and paid 
 lor by said state, within ten years from the pass- 
 ing of this act, shall be subject to sale and 
 private entry in the same manner as if the same 
 had not been reserved. And provided further. 
 that this shall not extend to any land but such 
 as is subject to private sale at one dollar and 
 twenty-five cents per acre: and nothing in this 
 act contained shall be so construed as to grant 
 to any state such right of pre-emption to any land 
 heretofore set apart or reserved for schools, 
 nor to any public land which may have been 
 reserved by the United States for military or 
 other public purposes, nor to mineral lands, 
 nor to any to which a right of pre-emption may 
 previously have been acquired by any person 
 or persons." This bill passed the senate, 
 February 13, 1849 was presented in the house 
 by Jacob Collamer from Vermont but met 
 with considerable opposition, and failed of pass- 
 age there. This bill also, it will be noticed, 
 contemplated only a pre-emption of lands. 
 
 As far back as 1848, Senator Douglas had 
 introduced a bill in the United States senate, 
 granting alternate sections of the public land 
 to the state of Illinois to aid in the construction 
 of a railroad from Cairo to Galena with a branch 
 to Chicago. This bill was reported from the 
 senate committee on public lands of which Sid- 
 ney Breese of Illinois was chairman. It was 
 subsequently taken up and early in May was 
 passed by the senate. The representatives in 
 the house from Illinois all gave it their cordial 
 support, but toward the close of the session it 
 was laid on the table by a small majority. At 
 the next session, 1848-9, Douglas again intro- 
 duced his bill in the senate, but before any 
 action was had in that body, the Illinois repre- 
 sentatives in the house had succeeded in having 
 the bill of the last session restored to its place 
 on the calendar; but congress adjourned with- 
 out any further action on the bill by the house. 
 
 In December 1849, Douglas, with his col- 
 league, Gen. James Shields, who had succeeded 
 Breese, and the Illinois delegation in the house 
 matured a bill looking to the construction of 
 the Illinois Central Road and its Chicago branch. 
 
 That bill, which all the Illinois members had a 
 voice in framing, was introduced in the senate 
 by Douglas in January 1850. During its pend- 
 ence in the senate, besides receiving the support 
 of the Illinois senators, it was advocated by 
 Henry Clay, William H. Seward, John C. Cal- 
 houn, William H. King, Thomas H. Benton 
 and Gen. Lewis Cass. 
 
 While the bill was pending, the Cairo City 
 & Canal Company induced the legislature of 
 Illinois to pass a measure ceding to that com- 
 pany all lands that might at any time be granted 
 by congress to the state, to aid in the construc- 
 tion of the Illinois Central Railroad. Senator 
 Douglas was still unwilling that the grant 
 should pass to a private corporation direct, and 
 finally induced Darius B. Holbrook of Cairo, 
 111., the president of the Cairo City & Canal 
 Company to release to the state of Illinois all 
 the rights of that company, which he did, ex- 
 ecuting on Dec. 24, 1849, on behalf of his com- 
 pany as president, a full release and surrender 
 to the state of Illinois of what was known as 
 the Holbrook charter with all the rights and 
 privileges therein contained ; in accordance with 
 which, the legislature on Dec. 17, 1851, passed 
 an act accepting this release and repealing all 
 the acts which they had before granted to this 
 company Jan. 16, 1836, March 6, 1843 and 
 Feb. 10, 1849. 
 
 Judge Douglas in his letter to Judge Breese 
 of March 13, 1851, well says: "I can well con- 
 ceive that it might prove better for Mr. Hol- 
 brook and his partners, and more effectual for 
 their schemes of speculation for them to have 
 had a pre-emption than for the state to have 
 had a grant ; but I apprehend that you will find 
 it difficult to convince any citizen of Illinois 
 who was not a partner in the speculation, that 
 it was better for tlie state not to have tlic lands 
 t/ian to /tare them, or to he required to pay a dollar 
 and a quarter an acre (or them, instead of receiv- 
 ing them for nothing under the act of last session . 
 
 The same act accepted the act of congress 
 of Sept. 20, 1850, granting the lands to the 
 state of Illinois to aid in the construction of a 
 railroad from Chicago to Mobile. The Mobile
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 \ ( >hio Railroad was not however fully com- 
 pleted from Columbus, Kentucky, to Cairo, 
 until 1874. In 1872, the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road company extended its aid to the Mississippi 
 Central Railroad company, and that line was 
 extended from Jackson, Tennessee, to Fillmore, 
 a point nearly opposite Cairo; and thus for the 
 first time was completed an all rail communica- 
 tion from the lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 The bill making a grant of lands to the 
 states of Illinois, Mississippi and Alabama, 
 passed the United States senate on May 2, 1850, 
 by a vote of 26. to 14, and was passed in the 
 house on Sept. 17, 1850, by a vote of 101 to 
 7.S. Mobile was inserted as the objective point 
 by Thomas Childs, Jr., of New York, who was 
 at that time largely interested in the Mobile & 
 Ohio Railroad company. 
 
 Hon. John Wentworth, in his "Congression- 
 al Reminiscences," gives an interesting account 
 of the proceedings attending the passage of this 
 bill in the house and the state of Illinois is 
 largely indebted to him for the efforts he put 
 forward in that direction but the claim that he 
 once owned one-fourth of the capital of the 
 Illinois Central Railroad company, must be 
 regarded as an extravagance of speech. Hon. 
 George Ashmun of the Springfield district, 
 Mass., and a friend of Daniel Webster, distin- 
 guished himself among the non-resident sup- 
 porters of the bill. It was largely through his 
 influence in the house that the bill was passed. 
 On their return to Illinois at the close of the 
 session, Judge Douglas and Gen. Shields were 
 tendered a public dinner by the citizens of Chi- 
 cago in consideration of their services in obtain- 
 ing the passage of this act. In declining the 
 honor, they modestly awarded to their colleagues 
 in the house the full measure of credit for having 
 successfully carried the bill through to comple- 
 tion. John S. Wright of Chicago, worked 
 most faithfully to secure the land-grant from 
 congress to aid in the construction of the Cen- 
 tral Road. He wrote and had printed and dis- 
 tributed at his own expense, circulars stating 
 briefly the necessity of the road to the welfare 
 of the nation, and six thousand copies of peti- 
 
 tions to congress urging the passage of the act. 
 These petitions were prepared in three different 
 forms, so as to meet the wishes of the South, 
 the East and the state of Illinois, and set forth 
 the advantages to be gained by each section. 
 At that time, such documents were mailed free 
 to postmasters, and he kept a clerk busy for 
 weeks sending these to every postmaster be- 
 tween the lakes and the Gulf. The requests to 
 the postmasters to get signers and forward the 
 petitions to their congressmen were promptly 
 attended to, and the petitions came in by thou- 
 sands, and had much influence with members. 
 Wright also went to Washington and spent* 
 considerable time laboring for the passage of 
 the bill ; he also published a pamphlet in which 
 he took the ground that the grant was of such 
 immense value, it should go direct to the state 
 and that it should hold the lands and build the 
 road from the proceeds of their sale. He wrote: 
 "the state would be everlastingly dishonored if 
 the legislature did not devise laws to build the 
 road, and disenthrall the state of its enormous 
 debt besides, out of the avails of this land grant. 
 The suggestion was not altogether unfeasible, 
 but it is exceedingly doubtful whether the state 
 could have carried out the project as success- 
 fully as a private corporation ; judging retro- 
 spectively, it is fair to presume that it would 
 have made another and signal failure in such 
 an attempt. 
 
 On Sept. 20, 1850, the act passed by the 
 thirty-first congress, on the 17th of that month, 
 was approved, "granting the right of way and 
 making a grant of lands to the states of Illinois, 
 Mississippi and Alabama, in aid of the con- 
 struction of a railroad from the southern termi- 
 nus of the Illinois and Michigan Canal to a 
 point at or near the junction of the Ohio and 
 Mississippi rivers, Cairo, with a branch of the 
 same to Chicago, and another ria the town of 
 Galena to Dubuque in the state of Iowa." Gov. 
 William H. Bissell, afterward a solicitor of the 
 company, was in the house at the time this act 
 was passed. This was accomplished after 
 
 cago 
 
 Address of Augustine W. Wright before the Chi- 
 Historical Society. 
 
 '
 
 20 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 repeated attempts had been made, beginning 
 in the year 1843, under the leadership of Sidney 
 Breese. George W. Jones, senator from Iowa, 
 suggested the amendment providing for the 
 termination at Dubuque. 
 
 In order to aid in the continuation of this 
 road from the mouth of the Ohio river to 
 Mobile, similar rights were conferred upon the 
 states of Alabama and Mississippi. Mobile 
 was the objective point on the south, and the 
 Mobile & Ohio Railroad participated in the 
 advantages of the grant, receiving its share of 
 the public lands through the states of Alabama 
 and Mississippi. The evident design was to 
 promote traffic, particularly in food products 
 
 Central Railroad company afterward accepted 
 payment for such lands from actual settlers at 
 the government price. The act further provided 
 that the construction of the road should be com- 
 menced at Cairo on the south, and at the Illi- 
 nois and Michigan Canal on the north, simul- 
 taneously, and continued from each of said 
 points until completed, after which the branches 
 to Chicago and Dubuque, Iowa, were to be 
 extended. The provision, as to the extension 
 to Dubuque, was a singular one to apply to a 
 road that depended upon the state of Illinois for 
 its charter it assumed that a bridge was to be 
 constructed across the Mississippi river between 
 Dunleith and Dubuque connecting the two 
 
 First check used by the baggage department. Exact size. 
 
 from Chicago and the Northwest and cotton 
 from the Gulf states to the South and to Europe 
 tvV? Mobile, but the shallowness of the water in 
 Mobile Bay and the consequent expense of 
 lighterage and of other charges was an insuper- 
 able objection to foreign shipments via that 
 point, and to this extent, the plan of connecting 
 the lakes with the gulf was a failure. The con- 
 struction of the jetties at the mouth of the 
 Mississippi river, at a later date, placed New 
 Orleans in a more favorable position. Besides 
 the immense traffic carried to that point by rail, 
 a large quantity of corn is shipped to the latter 
 city in barges from St. Louis for trans-shipment 
 abroad. The grant of lands referred to was to 
 cover alternate sections in even numbers within 
 six miles, if vacant lands to this extent could 
 be found; if not, then within fifteen miles. All 
 pre-emption rights were to be respected, and in 
 accordance with this provision, the Illinois 
 
 states, but made no requirement as to its con- 
 struction. In point of fact, this bridge was not 
 built until nineteen years after in 1869 thir- 
 teen years after the railroad was completed, 
 and then under a separate charter.")" Fifteen 
 years after its completion, the railroad company 
 acquired a controlling interest in it, thus fully 
 perfecting the original design of a continuous 
 railway from Cairo to Dubuque.* 
 
 t The Dunleith & Dubuque Bridge Company. 
 
 * October 13, 1867, the Illinois Central Railroad 
 company leased the Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad 
 extending from Dubuque to Iowa Falls, a distance of 
 143 miles, for twenty years with privilege of taking the 
 same in perpetuity. The lease included the Cedar 
 Falls & Minnesota Railroad extending from Waverly 
 north to Mona, a distance of 75 'j miles. A year later, 
 it leased, upon the same terms, the Iowa Falls & Sioux 
 City Railroad extending from Iowa Falls to Sioux City, 
 a distance of 184 miles. In 1887 it constructed the 
 Cherokee & Dakota Railroad from Onawa to Sioux 
 Falls, a distance of 155)4 miles, and the Cedar Rapids 
 & Chicago Railroad from Manchester to Cedar Rapids, 
 42 miles.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 The grant of land was to apply to the main 
 road and branches, respectively, in quantities 
 corresponding to the length of each, and only 
 to be disposed of as the work progressed. All 
 lands that had been previously granted to the 
 state in aid of the Illinois and Michigan Canal 
 were to be reserved from the operations of the 
 
 Baggage check used by the Illinois Central 
 for many years. 
 
 act, and the price of these was to be increased 
 to double the minimum price of government 
 lands. So that one effect of the grant was to 
 immediately enhance the value of the canal 
 lands. 
 
 The grant from the United States govern- 
 ment was to go direct to the state of Illinois 
 
 for the purpose named. The railroad and 
 branches when completed were to remain a 
 "public highway" for the use of the government, 
 free from toll or other charge upon the trans- 
 portation of any property or troops of the 
 United States. That is to say the use of the 
 road bed should be allowed the government, 
 but the railroad companies should not be obliged 
 to furnish equipment and men to handle the 
 business. Consequently it was mutually agreed, 
 
 Present check used by the Illinois Central baggage 
 department. 
 
 that the government should be entitled to a 
 reduction of thirty-three and one-third per cent 
 from the regular tariff rates on all transporta- 
 tion conducted for their account, this percent- 
 age representing the value of the use of the 
 highway or road bed. The United States 
 mails were also to be transported over the road 
 for such compensation as congress might direct. 
 In case the road was not completed within ten 
 years, the state of Illinois was to be required 
 to pay back to the United States the amount 
 which it might have received upon the sale of
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 any part of the lands and to reconvey any lands 
 unsold. 
 
 In a small and dimly-lighted room at No. 1 
 Hanover Street, a little narrow street leading 
 out of Wall Street, in the city of New York in 
 the early spring of the year 1851, there met a 
 number of gentlemen who were known in law 
 as the incorporators of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad company. It was no new scheme that 
 they met to consider, but an old one they were 
 about to revive. In entering upon this great 
 work, they were not indulging in mere specula- 
 tion or experiment; many of them had been 
 connected with other successful enterprises and 
 this experience helped them to form a proper 
 judgment in the prosecution of the work they 
 were about tp undertake. Probably no body of 
 incorporators, or directors as they afterward 
 became, was ever imbued with more earnest 
 determination, confident reliance, pride of 
 undertaking, and honesty of purpose. And it 
 may be added that no corporate body was ever 
 formed that was composed of men of more 
 indomitable energy, integrity of character, 
 business capacity, sagacity and foresight. 
 They were men who lived and moved in the 
 healthy atmosphere of commercial probity and 
 stood high in the estimation of their fellow- 
 men. In social life, their established reputa- 
 tions gave them a standing among men that 
 could not be disputed. In the prosecution of 
 their trust, the interest of the shareholders 
 they represented was regarded as identical with 
 their own. The shareholders in turn appreci- 
 ated this and whatever mistakes were made 
 were promptly overlooked. This feeling of 
 mutual confidence strengthened the hands of 
 the board in all they undertook and gave char- 
 acter to the enterprise abroad. The enterprise 
 upon which they pinned their faith, they pro- 
 moted and sustained to a large extent with 
 their private fortunes. It is true that they had 
 much to stimulate them in their efforts a 
 promise of two million and a-half of acres of 
 beautiful, rich and fertile prairie land was no 
 mean incentive to urge them on. Yet it cer- 
 tainly required no little amount of courage to 
 
 take up a project that had already been thrc-j 
 times attempted, twice by organized corpora- 
 tions and once by the state of Illinois, each 
 time with the same result disastrous failure. 
 But in this instance, whatever might be their 
 fate as individual investors, the benefit to be 
 conferred upon the state of Illinois by the suc- 
 cessful accomplishment of the work would not 
 be less marked. When the dark days of the 
 panic of 1857 overshadowed them, they might 
 have abandoned their trusts and sold their re- 
 spective interests for what they would bring, 
 but this would have been to them a poor sub- 
 stitution for the realization of their plans, and 
 such an idea does not seem to have entered 
 their minds. They knew, moreover, that there 
 were those who had been induced to invest 
 their money in the enterprise because their 
 names had been identified with it, and they felt 
 that they were resting under a moral obligation 
 to save these from pecuniary loss if possible. 
 
 ORGANIZATION OF THE LAND DEPARTMENT. 
 
 All the requirements of the act of incor- 
 poration having been complied with, the deed 
 conveying the lands from the state of Illinois 
 to the Illinois Central Railroad company was 
 executed March 24, 1851, by his excellency 
 Augustus C. French, governor of the state. 
 Simultaneously with the delivery of the deed, 
 a deed of trust was executed by the president 
 of the company to Morris Ketchum, John 
 Moore and Samuel D. Lockwood, conveying 
 to them, in trust, all the lands granted by the 
 government of the United States under the act 
 of congress referred to, and all the other prop- 
 erty of the company, as security to the state 
 for the faithful performance of work to be 
 undertaken, and to secure the bonds to be 
 issued. This was an important trust and it was 
 of the utmost importance to the interests of 
 the state that it should be confided to those 
 who would wisely and faithfully administer it 
 on its behalf, and probably not in the whole 
 state of Illinois could there have been found 
 two more fit persons for this purpose than John 
 Moore and Samuel D. Lockwood.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 23 
 
 The state had the appointment of two 
 trustees of the lands and the railroad company 
 one; the latter selected Morris Ketchum of the 
 banking-house of Ketchum, Rogers and Bement 
 of New York, who was also the second treas- 
 urer of the company. He was a brother to 
 Hiram Ketchum, the celebrated lawyer. Mr. 
 Edward Bement of the same banking-house 
 being the first treasurer elected. Mr. Ketchum 
 was also connected with the locomotive works 
 of Rogers, Ketchum and Grosvenor of Pater- 
 son, New Jersey, who supplied the first one 
 hundred locomotives used by the company ; he 
 was also interested in the New York & New 
 Haven Railroad company, and was the author 
 of the plan of raising money on "preferred 
 stock," the first issue of which was made by 
 that company during Mr. Ketchum's connection 
 with it. It was a clever device invented to 
 enable railway companies to raise money with- 
 out increasing their mortgage debt, and, while 
 at the same time it apparently weakened, it did 
 not necessarily impair the value of the common 
 stock. The land-commissioners have been 
 John C. Dodge, who took part in the platting 
 and selection of the lands; John Wilson, 
 formerly land-commissioner of the general 
 land-office, Washington; John W. Foster, 
 author of the "Mound Builders," and other ar- 
 chaeological works ; Chas. M. Dupuy, Walter 
 M. Phillips, John B. Calhoun and Peter Daggy; 
 L. P. Morehouse is the present incumbent. 
 His long and faithful service in the engineering 
 department was rewarded by his appointment 
 as land-commissioner. Mr. Daggy, though re- 
 tired as commissioner upon a liberal pension, 
 still continues to act as secretary of the land 
 department. 
 
 Of the lands entrusted to them, the soil 
 for the most part was of a rich, black, deep 
 mould, of unsurpassed fertility, capable of 
 producing in the greatest abundance wheat, 
 rye, corn, oats and fruits and vegetables of all 
 kinds. But, with all their productiveness, the 
 quarries and mineral wealth had remained com- 
 paratively unsettled and uncultivated until this 
 road was constructed, and would have continued 
 
 so in all probability for many years to come, 
 but for the facilities of travel and transportation 
 furnished by it. These lands had been in the 
 market subject to private entry for a third of a 
 century at a mere nominal value, and yet in 
 very few instances were purchasers found for 
 them. Remote from markets, without facilities 
 for transportation, and with roads almost im- 
 passable, the cost of handling the products of 
 the lands to a market, and the time employed 
 therein, amounted almost to as much as the 
 value of the land. 
 
 The total grant of land to the state of Illi- 
 nois was 2,594,115 acres which were donated 
 to the company, being at the rate of 3700 acres 
 per mile. The grant of lands referred to was 
 not, strictly speaking, the first act of congress 
 making a grant of lands directly and specifically 
 to aid railroad building, but was among the 
 first in importance. Of the land donated by 
 the state to the Illinois Central Railroad com- 
 pany, 107,614 acres were first conveyed to pre- 
 emption claimants. Gov. Joel A. Matteson, in 
 his inaugural message to the eighteenth general 
 assembly, convened Jan. 3, 1853, referring to 
 this, says: "I have not heard that any settler 
 upon the company's land has had occasion to 
 complain, but, on the contrary, when the time 
 by law had passed for proving pre-emptions 
 upon the company's land by the settler upon 
 the lands, the company took no advantage and 
 allowed the lands to be entered on proof being 
 made, the same as if directed by law. This 
 course pursued in, can not fail to awaken in 
 the minds of the people of this state strong 
 feelings of reciprocal good-will." The rapid 
 settlement of the railroad lands stimulated the 
 sale of the government lands, alternate sections, 
 which for years had been in market, but re- 
 mained unsold, though for a considerable time 
 they could have been obtained with land- 
 warrants at about one-half the government 
 price. After the location of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral Railroad, a large portion of them were 
 immediately sold for from $2.50 to $5 an acre, 
 and the line of the road began to fill up with 
 hardy and enterprising settlers, enabling the
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 25 
 
 government to elose its land-offices. Up to 
 January 1, 1890, of the lands donated to the 
 company, 2,456,829 acres had been disposed of 
 to about 30,000 actual settlers, yielding $28,- 
 742,002.93. The population of the state when 
 the grant was made was 851,470. The popula- 
 tion of Chicago was less than 40,000. By the 
 recent census (1900) it is found to be nearly 
 2,000,000. 
 
 The landed interest seemed for a time to 
 be regarded as of greater importance and value 
 than the railroad itself. Said a member of the 
 English Parliament the Hon. Lawrence Hey- 
 worth of Liverpool who visited Illinois in 
 1856, and went over the line of railway shortly 
 after its completion, "This is not a railway 
 company; it is a land company," and so im- 
 pressed -was he with the future value of the 
 lands, that he went back to New York and gave 
 his bankers a cartf-blanchc to purchase all the 
 Illinois Central Railroad company's shares that 
 were offered for sale, and they did not stop 
 purchasing until they had acquired for his 
 account an interest amounting to over $1,000,- 
 000. I mention this to show how pleasing a 
 picture the beautiful open prairies of our state 
 presented to the eye of a foreigner at that time, 
 and what a deep impression they made upon 
 his mind. But Mr. Heyworth failed to reap 
 pecuniary advantage from his investment, for 
 the reason that, like the projectors already 
 referred to, he had anticipated too much. The 
 country indeed made the railroad, but the rail- 
 road did not respond quickly enough in making 
 the country. The promise of the enormous 
 traffic, that it was believed these lands would 
 supply to the railway, was not fulfilled soon 
 enough to yield sufficient revenue to meet the 
 early matured interest on the debt. The esti- 
 mates and predictions made by the friends of 
 the road told a flattering tale of wealth, and 
 indeed they were all realized, but not within 
 the time expected. The difficulty was that 
 these rich promises pre-supposed a larger emi- 
 gration to the state and a more rapid settlement 
 upon the lands than could possibly take place 
 within the time specified. The cry went out to 
 
 the farmers of England, Germany, vSweden, 
 Norway, Holland, and other countries, at the 
 cost of many thousands of dollars, to come 
 over and settle in this new and beautiful coun- 
 try, but for a time it was scarcely heeded. 
 Special agents were employed to go to these 
 countries to explain the advantages of settling 
 in our state, and pamphlets printed in their 
 respective languages, describing the attractive- 
 ness of the country and the fertility of its soil, 
 were scattered broadcast over Europe. The 
 dismal failure of Morris Birkbeck and others to 
 establish English colonies in Illinois was still 
 fresh in the minds of many of the English 
 farmers, and, with few exceptions, they could 
 not be induced to leave the mother country. 
 The kind words spoken of Illinois by Birkbeck 
 in his "Letters from Illinois," and "Notes on a 
 Journey to America," both published in 1818, 
 were savagely attacked by other Englishmen 
 who warned their countrymen not to be deluded 
 by his statements. Later on, however, many 
 Scandinavians, Poles and a few Germans and 
 Russians, found their way over and located 
 upon these lands, but for the most part they 
 were settled by people from the adjoining, and 
 older eastern states, who were perhaps better 
 qualified to judge of their resources and could 
 cultivate them to greater advantage. 
 
 MEMORIAL FOR CHARTER. 
 On January 15, 1851, Governor Augustus 
 C. French sent a communication to the house 
 of representatives transmitting a memorial of 
 which the following is a copy :* 
 
 *Although this was the only plan for the comple- 
 tion of the road submitted to the legislature, another 
 plan was seriously agitated by some of the leading men 
 in 'the state in conjunction with certain men in New 
 York, who had figured considerably in Illinois matters, 
 and a bill was prepared in accordance therewith. The 
 design was to have the state virtually control the road, 
 and one of the provisions of the bill was that the stock 
 should be made a basis for banking under any law 
 establishing a general system of banking. There were 
 other curious provisions which are interesting as show- 
 ing the condition of things at that time, and especially 
 the opinions of men as to the best means of raising 
 millions of money by a bankrupt state. The press of 
 the state discountenanced the project and favored giv- 
 ing the lands to actual settlers. The bill for this pro- 
 ject may be found in the Chicago Daily Democrat of 
 January 11, 1851,
 
 26 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 " To tlie honorable the senators and representatives 
 
 of the people of the state of Illinois in general 
 
 assembly convened: 
 
 "The memorial of Robert Schuyler, George 
 Griswold, Gouverneur Morris, Jonathan Sturges, 
 Thomas W. Ludlow and John F. A. Sanford of 
 the city of New York; and of David A. Neal, 
 Franklin Haven and Robert Rantoul, Jr., of the 
 city of Boston and vicinity, respectfully repre- 
 sents : 
 
 "That, having examined and considered an 
 act of congress of the United States, whereby 
 land is donated by the United States for the 
 purpose of insuring the construction of a rail- 
 road from Cairo, at the mouth of the Ohio river, 
 to Galena and the northwestern angle of the 
 state of Illinois, with a branch extending to 
 Chicago on Lake Michigan, on certain con- 
 ditions, therein expressed ; and, having exam- 
 ined also the resources of the tract of country 
 through which it is proposed that the said rail- 
 road shall pass, and the amount of cost, and 
 the space of time necessary for constructing the 
 same, the subscribers propose to form a com- 
 pany, with such others as they may associate 
 with them, including among their number per- 
 sons of large experience in the construction of 
 several of the principal railroads of the United 
 States, and of means and credit sufficient to 
 place beyond doubt their ability to perform 
 what they hereinafter propose, make the follow- 
 ing offer to the state of Illinois for their con- 
 sideration : 
 
 "The company so formed by the subscribers 
 will, under the authority and direction of the 
 state of Illinois, fully and faithfully perform 
 the several conditions, and execute the trusts, 
 in the said act of congress contained. And will 
 build a railroad with branches between the ter- 
 mini set forth in said act, with a single track, 
 and complete the same, ready for the transpor- 
 tation of merchandise and passengers, on or 
 before the fourth day of July, which will be in 
 the year of our Lord, eighteen hundred and 
 fifty-four. And the said railroad shall be, in 
 all respects, as well and thoroughly built as 
 the railroad running from Boston to Albany, 
 
 with such improvements thereon as experience 
 has shown to be desirable and expedient, and 
 shall be equipped in a manner suitable to the 
 business to be accommodated thereby. And 
 the said company, from and after the comple- 
 tion of the said road, will pay to the state of 
 
 Illinois, annually, * per cent of the gross 
 
 earnings of the said railroad, without deduction 
 or charge for expenses, or for any other matter 
 or cause ; provided, that the state of Illinois 
 will grant to the subscribers a charter of incor- 
 poration, with terms mutually advantageous 
 with powers and limitations, as they, in their 
 wisdom, may think fit, as shall be accepted by 
 said company, and as will sufficiently remuner- 
 ate the subscribers for their care, labor and 
 expenditure in that behalf incurred,' and will 
 enable them to avail themselves of the lands 
 donated by the said act to raise the funds, or 
 some portion of the funds, necessary for the 
 construction and equipment of said railroad. 
 "ROBERT SCHUYLER, 
 GEORGE GRISWOLD, 
 GOUVERNEUR MORRIS, 
 
 of Morrisania, 
 FRANKLIN HAVEN, 
 DAV. A. NEAL, 
 ROBERT RANTOUL, JR., 
 JONA. STURGES, 
 THOS. W. LUDLOW, 
 JOHN F. A. SANFORD. 
 "December 28, 1850." 
 
 It was laid on the table and ordered to be 
 printed. 
 
 On January 14, 1851, Asahel Gridley intro- 
 duced in the senate a bill for an "act to incor- 
 porate the Illinois Central Railroad company," 
 which was referred to the committee oh internal 
 improvements. After various decisions and 
 references from day to day, James L." I). 
 Morrison, on February 5, following, offered a 
 substitute for the original bill, to which various 
 amendments were offered, and, on the next 
 day, February 6, it was finally passed in the 
 senate by a vote of 23 to 2. Four clays later 
 
 * John \Ventworth said that it was proposed to (ill 
 this in ten per cent but that he opposed it.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 27 
 
 February 10, 1851, it passed the house of repre- 
 sentatives by a vote of 72 to 2. The final pas- 
 sage of the bill was celebrated in Chicago by 
 the firing of cannon and other demonstrations 
 in honor of the event. That clause in the char- 
 ter making the governor of the state an r.v- 
 oiliiio officer was suggested by John Went- 
 worth. 
 
 The incorporators named were, George 
 Griswold, Franklin Haven, David A Neal, 
 Jonathan Sturges, Joseph W. Alsop, Robert 
 Rantoul, Jr., John F. A. Sanford, Leroy M. 
 Wiley, Robt. Schuyler, Henry Grinnell, William 
 H. Aspimvall, Thomas W. Ludlow and Gou- 
 verneur Morris. The four last named never 
 took a very active part in the affairs of the 
 company. Of the others who formed a part of 
 the first board of directors, the most active and 
 prominent were Messrs. Sturges, Alsop, Gris- 
 wold, Neal and Sanford. 
 
 The act was accepted by the company, 
 March 19, 1851. The charter was a special one, 
 and in its bearing upon the future welfare and 
 prosperity of the state, probably the most im- 
 portant it ever granted. It conferred as was 
 supposed at the time valuable privileges, al- 
 though it exacted unusual benefits in return. 
 Among the privileges granted were those con- 
 tained in the eighth section, which -authorized 
 the board of directors to establish such rates of 
 toll for the conveyance of persons and property 
 as they should, from time to time, determine. 
 A singular provision in relation to this right to 
 fix rates was, that it was to be governed by the 
 by-laws of the company. The language of the 
 charter is, "as they shall from time to time by 
 their by-laws determine." Ordinarily, the ob- 
 ject of a by-law is to serve as a regulation of a 
 society or corporation in a manner agreed upon 
 by the members, but, as rates of transportation 
 are necessarily frequently changed, to make 
 them valid and binding in this particular case, 
 would necessitate as frequent a change of the 
 by-laws, and as this could only be done by the 
 board of directors, it would require an assembl- 
 ing of that body so often as to practically make 
 it a freight and passenger department of the 
 
 company. Had any one of the corporators 
 supposed for a moment, that the day would 
 ever come when this right to fix rates would be 
 questioned, and that the highest court in the 
 land would decide that the police power of the 
 state must override the right to fix rates, it is 
 very doubtful whether the charter would have 
 been accepted at the time it was, and the road 
 would not probably have been constructed for 
 many years after. 
 
 The work of constructing 700 consecutive 
 miles of railroad was about to be commenced. 
 Although overshadowed by more modern 
 achievements, it was a gigantic undertaking 
 for that day, and not a few of those who had 
 witnessed previous failures, believed that a 
 similar fate awaited this. The mortgage upon 
 2,000,000 acres of the lands and the property of 
 the company, to secure an issue of construc- 
 tion bonds amounting to $17,000,000, was exe- 
 cuted September 13, 1851. Of these, $5,000,000 
 were negotiated in London, and such was the 
 confidence reposed in the directory of the com- 
 pany that the bonds were eagerly taken up at a 
 premium before construction work was fairly 
 commenced. The bonds carried with them the 
 right to subscribe to the share capital in the 
 proportion of ten shares to each bond, and as 
 the outlook for the shares was very promising 
 at the time, this proved a very popular feature. 
 At this time, the bonds of the state of Illinois 
 were selling at a large discount, so that in the 
 Eastern states confidence in any Illinois project 
 was too limited to command any financial aid 
 in that direction. At this time and for many 
 years after, foreign capital was sought to carry 
 out all the leading enterprises in the West. 
 
 Among the first and largest expenditures 
 made were those for procuring the right of way 
 into the city of Chicago. This difficult task 
 was entrusted to James F. Joy and Mason Bray- 
 man. General Brayman wrote me on Novem- 
 ber 14, 1890, as follows: "My relation to the 
 projectors of the Illinois Central Railroad began 
 in the autumn of 1850. My retainer as their 
 professional adviser dates November 10, 1850. 
 The history of the company so far as
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 relates to Illinois, and especially to Chicago, 
 during the contention for entrance on the Lake 
 Front was almost dramatic in its incidents." 
 
 On June 14, 1852 (Walter Smith Gurnee, 
 being then mayor of the city) an ordinance was 
 procured from the common council of- the city 
 of Chicago, granting permission to the company 
 "to lay down, construct and maintain within 
 the limits of the city, and along the margin of 
 the lake within and adjacent to the same, a 
 railroad with one or more tracks." This ordin- 
 ance was confirmed by an agreement entered 
 into between the railroad company and the city 
 
 by purchase and through condemnation pro- 
 ceedings. The company afterward acquired by 
 purchase most of the riparian rights pertaining 
 to the lands. 
 
 On March 22, 1851, the board of directors 
 by a unanimous resolution appointed Roswell 
 B. Mason of Bridgeport, Conn., engineer-in- 
 chief with jurisdiction over the entire line. No 
 person could have been selected better qualified 
 for the work. Mr. Mason was born Sept. 19, 
 1805, in the town of New Hartford, Oneida 
 county, New York. In 1822-3 he was in the 
 engineering department of the Erie Canal ; in 
 
 THE LARGEST LOCOMOTIVE IN THE WORLD. 
 
 GENERAL DIMENSIONS: Cylinders, 23 inches- in Diameter x 30 inch stroke. Driving wheels, 57 inches in Dia- 
 meter. Boiler, front end, 82 inches in Diameter. Weight on drivers, 193,200 pounds; weight on trucks, 39,000 
 pounds; total weight, 232,200 pounds. Tender, loaded, 132,700 pounds. 
 
 of Chicago March 28, 1853. Lands for depot 
 purposes, north of Randolph street, were ac- 
 quired by purchase from the United States 
 government and from private owners,* and the 
 right of way south of Park Row was obtained 
 
 * Various and persistent attempts have been made 
 by different parties representing the heirs of Jean 
 Baptiste Beaubien, Mark Noble and others, to get 
 possession of the lands in fractional southwest quarter 
 of section 10, extending north and south of Randolph 
 street . 
 
 April 5, 1872, under a special act of congress, 
 there was issued to Thos. B. Valentine and wife, of 
 San Francisco, scrip for about 13,000 acres of land, in 
 pieces of forty acres each, in consideration of their 
 having quitclaimed to the United States a similar quan- 
 tity of land in the county of Sonoma, near the city of 
 San Francisco, to which Valentine had acquired some 
 title. These lands were included in what was known 
 
 as the "Miranda Grant" (granted in 1844 to Juan 
 Miranda, and from whom Valentine had received his 
 title) , which the government had inadvertently disposed 
 of. 
 
 The scrip received from the government was 
 locatable on any public lands (not mineral) unappro- 
 priated and unoccupied. October 18, 1875, Valentine 
 filed a claim in the land-office at Springfield, 111., on 
 fractional section 10, claiming that it was public land 
 and that he was entitled to a patent therefor. This 
 was the first location attempted on the company's 
 depot-grounds under "Valentine Scrip." Feb. 12, 
 1878, he applied to the commissioner of the general 
 land-office for a patent; the application was allowed, 
 and the patent ordered to be issued. An appeal was 
 taken by the city of Chicago (which claimed an interest 
 in a portion of the ground) to the secretary of the 
 interior, Hon. Carl Schurz. February 28, 1879, the 
 secretary reversed the decision of the commissioner, on 
 the ground that no part of section 10 was "public land" 
 upon which scrip of such character could be located ; 
 that it could only be located upon "lands that are in a 
 state of nature."
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 1824 was assistant engineer on the Schuylkill 
 Canal ; in 1825 was assistant engineer on the 
 Morris Canal and until 1831, when he took 
 charge of part of the Pennsylvania Canal. In 
 1833 he became superintendent of the Morris 
 Canal, and left it in 1837, when he became 
 chief engineer of the Housatonic Railroad, and 
 held that position and that of superintendent 
 until 1848. From 1848-51 he was chief engi- 
 neer, and superintendent of the New York & 
 New Haven Railroad. 
 
 He commenced his journey to Illinois on 
 May 14, 1851, accompanied by a corps of engi- 
 neers. Their route west was as follows : by 
 steamer from New York to Albany, thence by 
 railroad to Buffalo, by steamer from Buffalo 
 across Lake Erie to Detroit, by railroad thence 
 to New Buffalo on the east side of Lake Mich- 
 igan the Michigan Central Railroad, at that 
 time, being completed only to this point and 
 thence by steamer to Chicago ; arriving through 
 in about five days. A few days after his 
 arrival, he organized several surveying parties, 
 divided the line into working divisions and 
 appointed over each a competent division 
 engineer, the work being apportioned as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 N. B. Porter, from Chicago to Rantoul. 
 
 L. W. Ashley, from Rantoul to Mattoon. 
 
 C. Floyd Jones, from Mattoon to Main- 
 Line Junction, and north of Centralia and 
 the main line from Ramsey's Creek to 
 Richview. 
 
 Arthur S. Ormsby, from Richview to Cairo. 
 
 H. B. Plant, from Ramsey's Creek to 
 Bloomington. 
 
 Timothy B. Blackstone, from Bloomington 
 to Eldena. 
 
 B. B. Provost, from Eldena to Dunleith. 
 
 B. G. Roots had charge of surveying 
 parties between the Big-Muddy river and 
 the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad. 
 
 Nearly all the important bridges on the 
 line were constructed by Stone & Boomer, 
 bridge builders, of Chicago. 
 
 Shortly after Col. Mason's arrival in Chi- 
 cago, he was joined by Mr. John B. Calhoun 
 
 of Bridgeport, Conn., who had been connected 
 with the Housatonic Railroad company, and 
 who took charge of the accounts and finances. 
 Col. Mason, writing of him several years after, 
 says: "He was a competent, faithful and reli- 
 able man." Mr. Calhoun remained in the ser- 
 vice of the company for many years and became 
 its land-commissioner. He was a genial and 
 courteous gentleman, unpretentious and thor- 
 oughly honest, and a man of such an ingenuous 
 nature that he despised anything like deception. 
 Millions of dollars passed through his hands 
 during the work of construction without the 
 loss of a cent to the company. Very heavy 
 settlements had to be made with contractors 
 during the progress of the work, and most of 
 these were made by Mr. Calhoun personally, 
 in the capacity of paymaster. As currency 
 was scarce in the state and most of that in cir- 
 culation was practically irredeemable, it was 
 necessary to send to the eastern banks to pro- 
 cure a monthly supply. In this way the notes 
 of many of the Hartford banks were put in 
 circulation along the line; but as these banks 
 all redeemed in specie, it was not long before 
 they found their way back for redemption. 
 
 Mr. Calhoun named almost all the stations 
 that were opened for business on the road after 
 its completion. The names are mostly of Indian 
 origin, but a few were named in a peculiar 
 manner. "Tolono," for example, was con- 
 structed by placing the vowel o thrice repeated, 
 and alternating arbitrarily with the three conso- 
 nants which the word contains, producing a 
 name sufficiently unique. 
 
 On March 16, 1853, in addition to his other 
 duties, Mr. Mason was charged with the care 
 of the transportation' department of the com- 
 pany's road, covering such portions of the line 
 as were completed and in operation, with addi- 
 tional title of general-superintendent, and in 
 March 1855 additional executive powers were 
 granted him in Illinois. 
 
 In the early prosecution of the work, great 
 difficulty was experienced in procuring laborers; 
 the country through which the line was surveyed 
 was of course entirely unsettled. Southerly
 
 30 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 from Chicago for about 130 miles, it \v;is an 
 almost unbroken prairie, inhabited only by deer, 
 wolves and other wild animals, with no settle- 
 ment in view. There were not half a dozen 
 places on the entire line of sufficient import- 
 ance to be known on the map of the state ; so 
 that men had to be brought a great distance to 
 do the work and they had to be cared for along 
 the line. Indeed with the exception of LaSalle 
 and Galena on the main line, and Jonesboro in 
 southern Illinois near the line, there were no 
 places of importance along the proposed route. 
 Nearly 80,000 tons of iron rails of a superior 
 quality had been purchased in England by 
 Capt. David A. Neal, the vice-president, and 
 these began to arrive early in 1852. There 
 were no rail-mills of importance in this country 
 at that time. The cost of the rails purchased 
 ranged from $38.50 to $43.50 per ton, f. o. b., at 
 Wales or Liverpool. These rails were for the 
 most part exceptionally good in quality, and 
 some of them were in track for thirty years ; a 
 much longer period than the steel rails now 
 manufactured will last under ordinary traffic. 
 Considerable portion of the line was located 
 and construction was well under way by the 
 fall of 1851. Maps and profiles were prepared 
 and these were deposited with the commissioner 
 of the general land-office at Washington, as 
 required by law, in February 1852. The final 
 approval of location and selection of lands was 
 secured a month later. The last contract was 
 let Oct. 13, 1852. In May 1853 the first portion 
 of the road from LaSalle to Bloomington, 61 
 miles, was put in operation, a temporary 
 bridge was erected over the Illinois river, and 
 cars were hauled to the top of the bluff with 
 ropes and chains by means of a stationary 
 engine. In July 1854, 128 miles of the Chicago 
 branch from Chicago to Urbana were finished 
 and trains were running. A few years after- 
 ward the company donated $50,000 toward the 
 construction of the industrial college at this 
 point, now known as the Illinois University. 
 In November of the same year the communi- 
 cation from Freeport to Galena was completed. 
 In the same month for the first time, passen- 
 
 gers were carried from Chicago to Cairo ria 
 Chicago & Mississippi Railroad to St. Louis, 
 thence east by the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad 
 to Sandoval on the main line of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, from which point the road 
 was then open to Cairo, a distance of 118 
 miles. 
 
 The writer was a passenger on the first 
 train that passed through southern Illinois to 
 Cairo and remembers well how the "Egyptians" 
 turned out to witness the novel sight, to them, 
 of a locomotive engine and train of cars. They 
 lined the track on both sides at every station, 
 the men dressed in their snuff-colored jeans, 
 and the women with gaudy-colored calicoes, 
 check-aprons and big sun-bonnets. They stood 
 dumb with .amazement. Many of them looked 
 as though they had come out "between the 
 shakes" of fever and ague. 
 
 When the road was located not a single 
 railroad track crossed the right of way between 
 Chicago and Cairo, a distance of 365 miles. 
 The first work put under contract was that por- 
 tion of the line extending from Chicago to 
 what was then known as Calumet Station, now 
 called Kensington. This was done in order to 
 enable the Michigan Central trains to enter the 
 city, and that company made a temporary loan 
 to the Illinois Central Company to enable the 
 latter to complete this fourteen miles more 
 promptly. Their first train passed over this 
 new track on May 20, 1852, running north as 
 far as Thirteenth street, where a temporary 
 passenger depot was constructed and which 
 was used for nearly a year thereafter. The 
 road from about Sixteenth street to Randolph 
 street was afterward constructed upon piles 
 driven in the bed of the lake, and this piling 
 was maintained until shortly after the great 
 fire of 1871, when the right of way was filled 
 with debris from the fire. 
 
 The line into Chicago was originally located 
 through section 10, T. 39, N. R. 14, east of 3d 
 p. m., to t/if Cln'eaffo river, so that north of 
 Randolph street it passed through a portion of 
 Fort Dearborn addition then owned by the 
 United States government. The map showing
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 the location \v;is Hied in the general land-office 
 at Washington, the local land-office at Spring- 
 field and in the registry of deeds for Cook 
 county. The company claimed a right of way 
 through section 10, north of Randolph street, 
 under the act of congress of Aug. 4, 1852, 
 entitled, "An act to grant the right of way to 
 all rail and plank roads and macadamized turn- 
 pikes passing through the public lands belong- 
 ing to the United States incorporated by any 
 of the states." That act gave such a right for 
 ten years after its passage. The company, 
 however, acquired the right of way through 
 section 10, from the United States government 
 by purchase on Oct. 14, 1852, at a cost of $45,- 
 000 which was then a very high price. After- 
 ward the railroad company brought suit against 
 the United States for the repayment of the 
 moneys paid for the land acquired in Fort Dear- 
 born addition, on the ground that the act of 
 congress applied to the lands reserved by the 
 government for military purposes as well as 
 other public lands, but the court of claims 
 decided adversely to the railroad company. 
 
 The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad did not 
 enter the city over the Illinois Central tracks 
 until Nov. 17, 1874. 
 
 That portion of the "main line," as it was 
 called between Cairo and LaSalle, a distance 
 of 300.99 miles, was completed Jan. 8, 1855. 
 
 With its southern terminal in close proxim- 
 ity to Dixie's land, the road offered ready 
 means of escape for slaves, of which many 
 were not slow to avail themselves whenever 
 the opportunity offered. This they did by 
 crossing the river at Bird's Point, Kentucky, to 
 Cairo, and secreting themselves.in freight cars 
 or under passenger coaches just prior to their 
 departure for the north. When discovered, if 
 the conductor of the train happened to be friend- 
 ly to the slave, his escape was winked at, but 
 in a few instances they were returned to their 
 masters, under the law as it existed at that 
 time.* 
 
 Up to Oct. 29, 1889, the transfers of freight 
 and passengers between the north end of the 
 
 * Fugitive-slave law, repealed June 13, 1864. 
 
 New Orleans line and the Illinois Central at 
 Cairo, were made by transfer steamers which 
 conveyed the cars from one point to another, 
 but on this date the Cairo bridge was opened 
 for traffic, forming a continuous rail route from 
 Chicago to New Orleans, a distance of 938 
 miles. The length of the bridge is 3 miles and 
 4,720 feet, and its cost to date has been about 
 $2,700,000, which will be further increased by 
 expenditures in the way of filling approaches 
 and of additional tracks. 
 
 The Galena branch, LaSalle to Dunleith, a 
 distance of 146.73 miles, was completed June 
 12, 1855. 
 
 The city of Galena in 1850 lay principally 
 on the north bank of the river, and had in that 
 year a population of 6000 ; the whole population 
 of Jo Daviess county was only 18,600. The 
 road was located at first on the south side, 
 because of very hostile opposition on the part 
 of the people of Galena, to the extension of 
 the line across the river, owing to a fear that 
 their trade would be injured, which at that time 
 was quite large. After the bridge was con- 
 structed across the river by the railway com- 
 pany, one of the old settlers sat at the south 
 end and swore that he would shoot the first 
 engineer who attempted to cross ; a little kindly 
 persuasion on the part of some of the more 
 conservative citizens induced him to retract 
 this oath. 
 
 Some idea of the value and magnitude of 
 the business of the city may be gathered from 
 the following table of exports for 1851 : 
 
 Lead, 
 
 Flour, - 
 
 Barley, 
 
 Pork, 
 
 Lard, 
 
 Bacon, 
 
 Butter, 
 
 Eggs, 
 
 Hides and skins, 
 
 Horses, 
 
 Cattle, 
 
 Lumber, 
 
 Shingles, 
 
 33,082,190 pounds, 
 
 value $1,417,151. 
 39,385 barrels. 
 42,731 bushels. 
 3,185 barrels. 
 125,000 pounds. 
 312,568 pounds. 
 87,618 pounds. 
 - 22,880 dozen. 
 9,326 
 
 800 head. 
 1,500 head. 
 5,085,684 feet. 
 - 2,470,000 bundles.
 
 32 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 W 
 x 
 
 CO 
 
 Ct, 
 
 K 
 
 o 
 
 K 
 
 B 
 
 o 
 is 
 
 W 
 
 W 
 
 > 
 
 W 
 - 
 
 K 
 

 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 33 
 
 The town was laid out in 1827 and incor- 
 porated as a city in 1839. 
 
 The fear, as to constructing a railway 
 through the city, was certainly well founded, 
 for the completion of the road to Dunleith 
 now called East Dubuque 17 miles north, 
 proved almost the ruin of Galena as a business 
 centre ; the trade being transferred to Dubuque. 
 The road from Galena to Dunleith was opened 
 Monday, June 11, 1855; and the first passenger 
 train passed through on that day. No railways 
 were at this time constructed from Dubuque 
 west, and all the merchandise for the upper 
 Mississippi and the northwest was transferred 
 to steamers at Dunleith, where large and sub- 
 stantial stone warehouses were erected to 
 receive and store it. This gave for the time 
 being quite an impetus to the place ; the price 
 of city lots rapidly advanced; a fine, large 
 hotel, called the "Argyle House," which many 
 old Illinoisans remember well, was erected by 
 Frederick S. Jesup, a banker of Dubuque, 
 besides many stores and dwellings. 
 
 A connection with Chicago at Freeport was 
 made by using the tracks of the Galena & Chi- 
 cago Union Railroad, which, in 1864 became a 
 part of the Northwestern Railway system. 
 When the Chicago & Iowa Railroad was built 
 in 1872, from Aurora to Forreston on the main 
 line, its tracks were used and the arrangement 
 via Freeport discontinued. The Chicago branch 
 between Chicago and the junction with the 
 main line, a distance of 249.78 miles, was com- 
 pleted September 26, 1856.* Sections of the 
 different divisions were operated as fast as 
 completed. 
 
 On Saturday, September 27, 1856, Col. 
 Roswell B. Mason, engineer-in-chief, having 
 been notified that the last rail was laid on the 
 705.5 miles of road and that the construction of 
 the Illinois Central Railroad commenced Decem- 
 ber 25, 1851, was an accomplished fact, im- 
 mediately sent a dispatch to the board of direct- 
 
 *The original plan was to have the Chicago branch 
 leave the main line at a point between Decatur and 
 Vandalia. 
 
 ors in New York informing them of the circum- 
 stance. 
 
 Shortly after he tendered his resignation 
 to the board and it was reluctantly accepted. 
 In 1861 he was appointed comptroller of the 
 land-department and retained that position 
 until 1867. In 1865 he was appointed by the 
 state legislature one of the members of the 
 Chicago board of public works to superintend 
 the lowering of the summit of the Illinois and 
 Michigan Canal. In 1869 he was elected mayor 
 of the city of Chicago, and held that office at 
 the time of the great fire, Oct. 9, 1871. 
 
 In 1857 what was known as the Peoria & 
 Oquawka Railroad was constructed from Gil- 
 man on the Chicago branch to El Paso on the 
 main line, thus forming a connection between 
 these two important divisions. The Oilman, 
 Clinton & Springfield Railroad, connecting- the 
 branch with the capital of the state, was opened 
 for business on December 3, 1871. 
 
 The early estimates as to the cost of con- 
 struction of the Illinois Central Railroad proved 
 erroneous: it was supposed that the proceeds 
 of the $17,000,000 of mortgage debt created, 
 secured by 2,000,000 acres of land, would be 
 amply sufficient to construct the road, and that, 
 immediately upon its completion, the traffic 
 offering would yield sufficient revenue to pay 
 the interest on the bonds issued so that no 
 large contribution from share capital would be 
 necessary ; but this proved a disappointment, 
 and it was found necessary to call in not only 
 the entire amount of the share capital, but to 
 .increase the capital, all of which was paid up 
 in full. The charter provided that the capital 
 stock should be $1,000,000, which might be 
 increased from time to time to any sum not 
 exceeding the entire amount expended on 
 account of the road. The capital was fixed at 
 $17,000,000, corresponding to the amount of 
 the mortgage debt, but this has been gradually 
 increased to meet the necessities of the com- 
 pany. It is now $60,000,000. The dependence 
 placed upon the value of the lands granted also 
 proved a disappointment. The entire proceeds 
 of these, so far as received, during the construe-
 
 34 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 tion of the line and until its completion were 
 not sufficient to make up the deficiency in in- 
 terest on the funded debt. 
 
 To refer again to the clause in the charter 
 of the company requiring the payment of a tax 
 of seven per cent on the gross earnings, its 
 great importance to the state may be better 
 understood when it is stated that, up to April 
 30, 1899, no less than the enormous sum of 
 $17,652,930.00 has been paid into the state 
 treasury under this requirement. It may not 
 be uninteresting to the tax-payers of Illinois to 
 show what this sum practically represents in 
 assets of the State. In a recent report prepared 
 by Hon. C. W. Pavey, state auditor for the 
 United States census department, the value of 
 public buildings owned by the state is shown as 
 follows : 
 
 State-house, Springfield, $4,000,000 
 
 Northern Insane Hospital, Elgin, 535,000 
 
 Eastern Insane Hospital, Kankakee, - 1,211,000 
 
 Central Insane Hospital, Jacksonville, - 800,000 
 
 Southern Insane Hospital, Anna, - 643,000 
 Institution, Deaf and Dumb, Jacksonville, 385,000 
 
 Institution for the Blind, Jacksonville, 171,000 
 
 Asylum for Feeble-Minded, Lincoln, 182,000 
 
 Soldiers' Orphans' Home, Normal, 148,000 
 Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary, Chicago, 84,000 
 
 State Reform School, Pontiac, 220,000 
 
 Soldiers and Sailors' Home, Quincy, 235,000 
 
 Northern Penitentiary, Joliet, - 1,500,000 
 
 Southern Penitentiary, Chester, 750,000 
 
 Normal University, Normal, 250,000 
 
 Illinois University, Urbana, 270,000 
 
 Southern University, Carbondale, 200,000 
 
 Executive Mansion, Springfield, - 50,000 
 
 Supreme Court, Ottawa, - 50,000 
 
 Supreme Court, Mount Vernon, - - 55,000 
 
 State-Arsenal, Springfield, 15,000" 
 
 $11,754,000 
 
 In the constitution of 1870, the following 
 reference is made to the payment of this tax : 
 "No contract, obligation or liability whatever, 
 of the Illinois Central. Railroad company to pay 
 any money into the state treasury, nor any lien 
 of the state upon, or right to tax property of, 
 said company in accordance with the provisions 
 of the charter of said company, approved 
 February 10, in the year of our Lord 1851, 
 
 shall ever be released, suspended, modified, 
 altered, remittee! or in any manner diminished 
 or impaired by legislative or other authority ; ' 
 and all moneys derived from said company, 
 after the paying of the State debt, shall be 
 appropriated and set apart for the payment of 
 the ordinary expenses of the state government, 
 
 and for no other purpose whatever." 
 
 The act of 1869, known as the Lake Front 
 act, contains this clause: "This act shall not 
 be construed nor have the effect to release the 
 Illinois Central Railroad company from the 
 payment into the treasury of the state of Illi- 
 nois of the per centum on the gross or total 
 proceeds, receipts or incomes derived from 
 said road and branches stipulated in the charter 
 of said company." 
 
 The year 1861 was a memorable one in the 
 history of the Illinois Central Railroad. Ten 
 
 i years had elapsed since its charter was obtained. 
 The road was fully completed and thoroughly 
 equipped, but the results of operating it were 
 disappointing. In April of that year, the gov- 
 ernment placed a force of troops at Cairo. 
 Communication with the south being prohib- 
 ited, the through business was cut off, and the 
 interests of the company suffered for a time 
 both in the loss of traffic and the failure of the 
 farmers to pay for their lands. To add to the 
 difficulty, the bank issues in Illinois were large- 
 ly based upon the securities of the southern 
 states. The overthrow of this currency caused 
 the withdrawal of $12,000,000 of paper from 
 circulation with great loss to the holders. The 
 tax payable to the state upon the gross earnings 
 was, at that time, payable in gold, and the 
 company was obliged to pay a premium of 
 twenty-five per cent for a draft on New York, 
 payable in coin. As .the farmers indebted to 
 the company could not meet the payments due 
 on 'their lands in cash, the land-department 
 adopted the alternative of accepting pay from 
 them in corn, with which their cribs were over- 
 flowing. Commencing August 1, in that year, 
 there were received 1,860,000 bushels of corn 
 for lands, and a large quantity was received in 
 the following year.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 35 
 
 With the necessities growing out of the 
 war, sorghum, or Chinese sugar cane, began to 
 be successfully cultivated in Illinois in 1861, 
 and about 1,500,000 gallons of syrup were pro- 
 duced. Cotton was also raised to a consider- 
 able extent in southern Illinois, the price of 
 that staple having reached one dollar per pound. 
 Many of the settlers on the company's lands in 
 
 hay and oat crops of 1861-2 were unusually 
 good, and the prices of these products advanced. 
 The demand from the south, though not of the 
 character looked for, was very great, and all 
 the corn, oats and hay that could be transported 
 to Cairo, found a ready purchaser at extraordi- 
 narily high prices in the person of Uncle Sam's 
 quartermaster. Corn sold at one time at $1.50 
 
 COURTESY OF WATERLOO COURIER ' 
 
 WATEKPOWER DAM AT WATERLOO, IOWA. 
 
 southern Illinois were from the south, and 
 were, therefore, familiar with the cultivation 
 of both these products. 
 
 The loss of the southern traffic was soon 
 compensated for in the extraordinary impetus 
 given to every branch of business by the equip- 
 ment and movement of the vast number of 
 men placed in the field. It is estimated that in 
 Illinois alone that year 65,000 men were with- 
 drawn from the ordinary occupations of civil 
 life to engage in warlike pursuits. The corn, 
 
 per bushel at Cairo and hay and oats were cor- 
 respondingly high. 
 
 The offerings of freight were beyond the 
 carrying capacity of the line : and traffic was 
 tendered at various points, with a certainty that 
 it could not be moved, in order that claims for 
 damages for refusal to receive might be made. 
 Several hundred thousand dollars were paid 
 out on this account. The movements of troops 
 and munitions of war were so large that at 
 times whole regiments had to be transported in
 
 36 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 freight cars. It was no uncommon thing for 
 the passenger department to receive an order 
 to move 10,000 troops at a few hours' notice. 
 From this time on the revenues of the line were 
 immense and the interest on the bonded debt 
 of the company was no longer a source of 
 anxiety to those who had stood by it so heroic- 
 ally through the struggles of the preceding 
 decade. The first dividend on the shares, two 
 per cent, was earned and paid that year, six 
 years after the completion of the line. 
 
 The road was placed at the service of the 
 government, which at times had practical pos- 
 session, and the number of troops transported 
 over it was very large, as was also the quantity 
 of munitions of war and stores. Most of the 
 Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin troops were 
 sent south via Cairo. The first detachment of 
 Illinois volunteer troops, under orders of 
 Governor Richard Yates and in command of 
 Brig-Gen. Swift of Chicago, was carried south 
 in April, 1861. It was rumored that the con- 
 federates intended an attack on some of the 
 bridges on the road south of Centralia, and 
 these men were sent there to defend them. 
 Such was the haste with which they were dis- 
 patched, that most of them were unprovided 
 with arms. For these and many other bodies 
 of troops forwarded, the company did not wait 
 to obtain proper requisitions from the state, 
 and consequently no compensation was allowed 
 for the service. A large sum of money due 
 from the state remains unpaid to this day. 
 Free transportation was given during the war 
 for all supplies forwarded to the sick and 
 wounded in the hospitals in the south. During 
 the war, not only slaves and refugees from the 
 south, but deserters from the southern army, 
 and, I am sorry to add, a few from the Union 
 army escaped by crossing the river at Cairo. 
 
 The demands upon the road-bed and rolling 
 stock of the company, from 1861 to 1865, were 
 so heavy that at the close of the war, the track 
 had been so overtaxed as to be in an almost 
 unsafe condition, and it was restored only after 
 many years of labor and the expenditure of 
 large sums of money. 
 
 Many of the Union officers and privates, 
 previous to the war, occupied positions in the 
 service of the Illinois Central Railroad com- 
 pany. Among them were : 
 
 N! Maj.-Gen. George B. McClellan was engi- 
 neer-in-chief in 1856 and vice-president in 1857- 
 9. The financial resources of the company at 
 this time were quite limited, so that the posi- 
 tion proved a most trying one to fill. In that 
 year the company was compelled temporarily 
 to make an assignment of its property, and the 
 then Capt. McClellan was appointed one of the 
 assignees. This trust he administered with 
 great faithfulness. He was courageous tinder 
 difficulties, exceedingly tender-hearted, just and 
 considerate in his treatment of those placed 
 under him, and was beloved by all with whom 
 he came in contact. He had charge of Chicago 
 Harbor in 1843 and superintended the removal 
 of the sand-bar across the Chicago river. 
 
 'J Maj.-Gen. Ambrose Everett Burnside was 
 cashier of the land-department in Chicago and 
 treasurer of the company. He was a director 
 of the company from 1865 to 1868. Upon the 
 breaking out of the war in 1861, he was called 
 by Gov. Sprague of Rhode Island to take 
 charge of the state troops, and from the 
 colonelcy of the First Rhode Island Regiment 
 he rapidly rose to the rank of major-general. 
 His distinguished services in North Carolina 
 caused him to be promoted to the chief place 
 in command of the army of the Potomac. He 
 afterward served his state many years and 
 until his death as United States senator. 
 
 / Maj.-Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks was resident 
 director in Chicago from September 1860 to 
 June 1861. He left this post to enter the 
 army. 
 
 i Brig. -Gen. Thomas E. G. Ransom was 
 station agent at Farina, a small station in 
 southern Illinois, at the time the war broke 
 out. He lived, fought and died a brave man, 
 every inch a soldier. I last saw him alive in 
 his tent at Bird's Point, in May 1861. He was 
 anxious to be ordered to the front. 
 
 Brig. -Gen. Mason Brayman was one of the 
 solicitors of the company. He did good service
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 37 
 
 for the company during its early organization 
 and was instrumental in securing most of its 
 right of way. 
 
 Brig. -Gen. John Basil Turchin, colonel of 
 the Nineteenth Illinois Volunteers and author 
 of "Chickamauga," 1889, was engaged in the 
 land-department. He induced a large number 
 of his countrymen to settle upon the lands of 
 the company near Radom station. 
 
 \J Brig. -Gen. H. L. Robinson, for whom 
 President Lincoln showed some friendship, was 
 a conductor on one of the suburban trains. He 
 rose to the position of colonel and quarter- 
 master. 
 
 Col. John B. Wyman, colonel of the Thir- 
 teenth Illinois Volunteers, lived at Amboy; 
 was division superintendent of the north divi- 
 sion ; he was killed at Chickasaw Bayou, Dec. 
 27, 1862. 
 
 Col. David Stuart was one of the solicitors 
 of the company. 
 
 Lieut. Wm. DeWolf was engaged in the 
 land-department. He died June 2, 1862, from 
 injuries received at the fight at Williamsburg, 
 Va., May 4, in that year. 
 
 ^Maj. Joseph Kirkland, for some time 
 auditor of the company, entered the volunteer 
 service in 1861, in the first levy of troops. He 
 served faithfully and gallantly as private, lieu- 
 tenant, captain and major, successively, and 
 was with Gen. McClellan in his Virginia cam- 
 paign and remained in the service until 1863. 
 
 Col. James T. Tucker, who was aid to 
 Gen. Banks while the latter was in charge at 
 New Orleans, was an assistant-treasurer of 
 the company. He was commissioned by Gov. 
 Richard Yates in 1861. He was a most gener- 
 ous-hearted young man, and every one who 
 met "Jimmy" Tucker learned to love him. 
 After the war he was the company's general 
 southern agent at New Orleans, which position 
 he filled most acceptably. He died in that city 
 April 15, 1874. 
 
 Sergt. Charles W. Everett, of Battery A, 
 Chicago Light Artillery, had been employed in 
 the land-department ; he received a fatal wound 
 
 at the battle of Belmont, Ky., and was brought 
 to his home at Woodlawn and died there. It 
 was my privilege to watch with him during his 
 last night on earth. 
 
 - Irving W. Carson, the celebrated scout 
 who served in the army of the Potomac, had 
 been conductor on the Hyde Park train, and 
 was killed while serving under Gen. Grant at 
 Vicksburg. 
 
 There were hosts of others, principally 
 privates, but many of whom rendered meritor- 
 ious service, that enlisted from the ranks of 
 the Illinois Central Railroad. In truth, during 
 the early part of the war, enlistments by the 
 employes were so numerous that it was difficult 
 to find men to take their places. 
 
 LAKE FRONT ACT OF 1869. 
 
 I suppose a history of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, however brief or condensed, would 
 be incomplete without a reference to the lake 
 front act. It will perhaps be a revelation to 
 many to learn that the Illinois Central Railroad 
 company was not the first in the field in the 
 effort to acquire the lake front, and it will per- 
 haps be a matter of interest to many to learn 
 just how the plan originated. As far back as 
 1866, an organization known as the Chicago 
 Harbor Improvement Company, and which was 
 composed of many of the leading citizens of 
 Chicago, attempted to obtain from the legisla- 
 ture of the state of Illinois certain rights which 
 can be more clearly defined and understood by 
 certain articles of agreement entered into by 
 those interested in it, which were as follows: 
 
 CHICAGO HARBOR AND IMPROVEMENT COM- 
 PANY. 
 
 "Articles of agreement and association 
 made and entered into by and between the re- 
 spective subscribers hereto, each with the other, 
 for the uses and objects and upon the declara- 
 tions herein contained and stated. 
 
 "First: It is hereby declared to be the 
 object of this association to secure by legisla- 
 tive, and other grants, franchises, immunities, 
 easements and privileges, the right to create,
 
 38 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 39 
 
 fill in, construct, build, dredge, excavate and 
 dig out, own and possess, lands, piers, wharves, 
 breakwaters, sea-walls, canals, slips, docks, 
 warehouses, elevators, stores and buildings of 
 every name and description, within and upon, 
 and off from the limits, or any part thereof, 
 now covered by the waters of Lake Michigan, 
 or the Chicago river, lying and situated opposite 
 and east of fractional sections 22 and 15 and that 
 portion of fractional section 10 lying south of 
 the Chicago river, in township 39, north range 
 14, east of the third principal meridian, within 
 one mile of the shore of said lake, or within so 
 much and such part of said limits as may be 
 feasible and expedient, and therein and there- 
 upon, to create, fill in, construct, build, dredge, 
 excavate and dig out, own and possess, lands, 
 piers, wharves, breakwaters, sea-walls, canals, 
 slips, docks, warehouses, elevators, stores, and 
 buildings of every name and description, and 
 do all and singular, such other work and per- 
 form such other acts as may be necessary to be 
 done to carry out and effectuate the object and 
 ends of this association. 
 
 "Second: This association shall be known 
 and called 'The Chicago Harbor Improvement 
 Company.' 
 
 "Third: The officers of the association 
 shall consist of a president, vice-president, 
 treasurer, secretary and an executive committee 
 composed of five members of the association, 
 to be chosen by the association. ' Said officers 
 and executive committee to hold office during 
 the pleasure of the association. The duties of 
 the executive committee shall be to obtain the 
 legislation, grants, franchises, immunities and 
 easements mentioned in the first section of 
 these articles. 
 
 "Fourth: All grants, franchises, immuni- 
 ties and easements obtained by the association 
 shall run to individuals composing said associa- 
 tion, and shall be owned and possessed by the 
 several members thereof in equal undivided 
 pro-rata proportions ; and each member thereof 
 shall have the right, upon the organization of 
 any corporation under and by virtue of such 
 grants or franchises, to subscribe for and re- 
 
 ceive an equal proportion with each and every 
 other member chereof of the capital stock of 
 such corporation. 
 
 "Filth: It is hereby agreed by and be- 
 tween the parties hereto, that each member 
 hereof is liable for and hereby promises to pay 
 to the treasurer hereof his equal pro-rata pro- 
 portion of all assessments made to defray the 
 expenses incident to the obtaining of the legis- 
 lation, grants, franchises and easements afore- 
 said. 
 
 "Sixth: All assessments under article 
 fifth shall be made by the association at a meet- 
 ing called by the secretary thereof by written 
 or printed notice to each member thereof, such 
 notice specifying the time, place and purpose 
 for which such meeting is called. For the pur- 
 pose of this section, one-half of the members 
 of said association shall constitute a quorum, 
 and a majority vote of such quorum shall be 
 sufficient to create a valid assessment. 
 
 "Seventh: Any member of the association 
 failing to pay each and every assessment made 
 against him in accordance with sections fifth 
 and sixth after notice and demand by the 
 treasurer shall forfeit to said association all 
 interests in -its grants, franchises, immunities 
 and easements, and may by resolution be de- 
 clared expelled therefrom. 
 
 "Chicago, March 10, 1866, A. D." 
 
 The organization that sought to obtain this 
 franchise was composed of many of the leading 
 citizens of Chicago, but they were governed by 
 selfish motives, and could give nothing in 
 return it is even doubtful whether they would 
 have carried out their scheme. They failed to 
 procure the privileges they sought to obtain, 
 and at the next session, in 1869, the legislature 
 conferred similar rights upon the railroad com- 
 pany by the passage of an act of which the 
 following is a copy : 
 
 LAKE FRONT ACT. 
 
 "An act in relation to a portion of the sub- 
 merged lands and lake-park grounds, lying on 
 and adjacent to the shore of Lake Michigan, on 
 the eastern frontage of the city of Chicago.
 
 40 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 "SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of 
 the state of Illinois, represented in the General 
 Assembly, That all right, title and interest of 
 the state of Illinois in and to so much of frac- 
 tional section 15, township 39, range 14, east 
 of the third principal meridian, in the city of 
 Chicago, county of Cook and state of Illinois, 
 as is situated east of Michigan Avenue and 
 north of Park Row, and south of the south line 
 of Monroe street, and west of a line running 
 parallel with, and four hundred feet east -of the 
 west line of said Michigan Avenue being a 
 strip of land four hundred feet in width, includ- 
 ing said avenue along the shore of Lake Mich- 
 igan, and partially submerged by the waters of 
 said lake are hereby granted, in fee, to the 
 said city of Chicago, with full power and au- 
 thority to sell and convey all of said tract east 
 of said avenue, leaving said avenue ninety feet 
 in width, in such manner and upon such terms 
 as the common council of said city may, by 
 ordinance provide : Provided, that no sale or 
 conveyance of said property, or any part there- 
 of, shall be valid unless the same be approved 
 by a vote of not less than three-fourths of all 
 the aldermen elect. 
 
 "SECTION 2. The proceeds of the sale of 
 any and all of said lands shall be set aside, and 
 shall constitute a fund, to be designated as the 
 "park fund" of the said city of Chicago, and 
 said fund shall be equitably distributed by the 
 common council between the south division, 
 the west division and the north division of the 
 said city, upon the basis of the assessed value 
 of the taxable real estate of each of said divis- 
 ions, and shall be applied to the purchase and 
 improvement, in each of said divisions, or in 
 the vicinity thereof, of a public park, or parks 
 and for no other purpose whatsoever. 
 
 "SECTION 3. The right of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad company, under the grant 
 from the state in its charter, which said grant 
 constitutes a part of the consideration for 
 which the said company pays to the state at 
 least seven per cent of its gross earnings, and 
 under and by virtue of its appropriation, occu- 
 pancy, use and control, and the riparian owner- 
 
 ship incident to such grant, appropriation, 
 occupancy, use and control in and to the lands 
 submerged or otherwise lying east of the said 
 line running parallel with, and four hundred 
 feet east of the west line of Michigan Avenue, 
 in fractional sections 10 and 15, township and 
 range as aforesaid, is hereby confirmed, and all 
 the right and title of the state of Illinois, in 
 and to the submerged lands constituting the 
 bed of Lake Michigan, and lying east of the 
 tracks and breakwater of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad company, for the distance of one mile, 
 and between the south line of the south pier 
 extending eastwardly, and a line extended east- 
 ward from the south line of lot twenty-one, 
 south of and near to the round-house and 
 machine-shops of said company, in the south 
 division of the said city of Chicago, are hereby 
 granted, in fee, to the said Illinois Central 
 Railroad company, its successors and assigns : 
 Provided, however, that the fee to said lands 
 shall be held by said company in perpetuity, 
 and that the said company shall not have the 
 power to grant, sell or convey the fee to the 
 same ; and that all gross receipts from use, 
 profits, leases, or otherwise of said lands, or 
 the improvements thereon, or that may hereafter 
 be made thereon, shall form a part of the gross 
 proceeds, receipts and income of the said Ill- 
 inois Central Railroad company, upon which 
 said company shall forever pay into the state 
 treasury, semi-annually, the per centum pro- 
 vided for in its charter, in accordance with the 
 requirements of said charter : And provided, 
 also, That nothing herein contained shall au- 
 thorize obstructions to the Chicago harbor, or 
 impair the public right of navigation ; nor shall 
 this act be construed to exempt the Illinois 
 Central Railroad company, its lessees or assigns, 
 from any act of the general assembly which 
 may be hereafter passed regulating the rates of 
 wharfage and dockage to be charged in said 
 harbor: And provided, further, That any of 
 the lands hereby granted to the Illinois Central 
 Railroad and the improvements now, or which 
 may hereafter be, on the same, which shall 
 hereafter be leased bv said Illinois Central
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 41 
 
 Railroad company to any person or corporation, 
 or which may hereafter be occupied by any per- 
 son or corporation other than the said Illinois 
 Central Railroad company, shall not, during 
 the continuance of such leasehold estate, or of 
 such occupancy, be exempt from municipal or 
 other taxation. 
 
 "SECTION 4. All the right and title of the 
 state of Illinois, in and to the lands, submerged 
 or otherwise, lying north of the south line of 
 Monroe street, and south of the south line of 
 Randolph street, and between the east line of 
 
 provided for in the charter of said company 
 shall forever be paid in conformity with the 
 requirements of said charter. 
 
 "SECTION 5. In consideration of the grant 
 to the said Illinois Central, Chicago, Burling- 
 ton & Quincy and Michigan Central Railroad 
 companies of the land a's aforesaid, said com- 
 panies are hereby required to pay to the said 
 city of Chicago, the sum of $800,000, to be 
 paid in the following manner, viz: $200,000 
 within three months, from and after the passage 
 of this act, $200,000 within six months from 
 
 PHOTOGRAPH BY A. W. ADAMS, WATERLOO, IOWA. 
 
 A representative of the type of Freight Engines used on the West End of the Illinois Central. 
 
 Michigan avenue, and the track and roadway of 
 the Illinois Central Railroad company, and 
 constituting parts of fractional sections 10 and 
 15, in said township 39, as aforesaid, are here- 
 by granted, in fee, to the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road company, the Chicago, Burlington & 
 Quincy Railroad company, and the Michigan 
 Central Railroad company, their successors and 
 assigns, for the erection thereon of a passenger 
 depot, and for such other purposes as the busi- 
 ness of said company may require, Provided, 
 That upon all gross receipts of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad company from leases of its 
 interest in said grounds or improvements there- 
 on or other uses of the same, the per centum 
 
 and after the passage of this act; $200,000 
 within nine months from and after the passage 
 of this act, $200,000 within twelve months from 
 and after the passage of this act; which said sums 
 shall be placed in the park fund of the said city 
 of Chicago, and shall be distributed in like man- 
 ner as is hereinbefore provided for the distri- 
 bution of the other funds which may be ob- 
 tained by said city from the sale of the lands 
 conveyed to it by this act. 
 
 "SECTION 6. The common council of the 
 said city of Chicago is hereby authorized and 
 empowered to quitclaim and release to the said 
 Illinois Central Railroad company, the Chicago, 
 Burlington & Quincy Railroad company, and
 
 42 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 the Michigan Central Railroad company, any 
 and all claim and interest in and upon any and 
 all of said land north of the south line of 
 Monroe street, as aforesaid, which the said city 
 may have by virtue of any expenditures and im- 
 provements thereon or otherwise, and in case the 
 said common council shall neglect or refuse 
 thus to quitclaim and release to the said com- 
 panies, as aforesaid, within four months from 
 and after the passage of this act, then the said 
 companies shall be discharged from all obliga- 
 tion to pay the balance remaining unpaid to 
 said city. 
 
 "SECTION 7. 'The grants to the Illinois 
 Central Railroad company contained in this act 
 are hereby declared to be upon the express 
 condition that said Illinois Central Railroad 
 company shall perpetually pay into the treasury 
 of the state of Illinois the per centum on the 
 gross or total proceeds, receipts or income 
 derived from said road and branches stipulated 
 in its charter, and also the per centum on the 
 gross receipts of said company reserved in this 
 act. 
 
 "SECTION 8. This act shall be a public 
 act and in force from and after its passage." 
 
 This act was accepted by the board of 
 directors of the Illinois Central Railroad com- 
 pany July 16, 1870, and the secretary of state 
 advised accordingly. 
 
 This bill was returned to the house of 
 representatives April 14, 1869, by Gov. John M. 
 Palmer without his approval. The reasons 
 given for the veto were that the consideration 
 for the grant was insufficient that the rights 
 that were confirmed to the railroad company 
 were too vaguely enumerated that the act was 
 not, in his judgment, coupled with such restric- 
 tions as would protect the rights of the state 
 that the act did not require the Illinois Central 
 Railroad company to place improvements on 
 the submerged lands that the price named for 
 the three blocks of land between Randolph and 
 Monroe streets intended to be used for a 
 passenger depot $800,000 was below the 
 market value. 
 
 On April 16, 1869, however, the act was 
 passed in the house over the governor's veto 
 by a vote of 52 to 31, and in the senate by a 
 vote of 14 to 11. A careful examination of the 
 act will show that, although the railroad com- 
 pany was to receive an extraordinary grant, the 
 interests of the state at least were very well 
 guarded. The railroad company could not part 
 with the fee, and were obligated to pay perpet- 
 ually to the state upon all gross income derived 
 from the property the same percentage that 
 they pay on the gross earnings of their railway, 
 7 per cent; also taxes to the city of Chicago 
 upon any of the lands acquired under the grant, 
 that might be leased to other parties. There 
 was also a provision in the act that the general 
 assembly should reserve power to regulate the 
 rates for dockage. The view taken by many 
 senators and representatives who voted for this 
 measure was, that the state was simply utilizing 
 its interest in the submerged lands by constitut- 
 ing them a source of permanent income to it 
 and incidentally to the city of Chicago. The 
 ownership of docks by municipalities has never 
 proved very profitable, and their construction 
 and maintenance have been fruitful sources of 
 corruption. It is possible, therefore, that what 
 was regarded by some, at that time, as a tre- 
 mendous "steal" might have proved a large 
 and permanent benefit to the city and to the 
 state. 
 
 The construction of piers at that time 
 would have afforded splendid facilities for the 
 shipping interest of Chicago, and a strong 
 effort was made to induce the Michigan avenue 
 property owners to consent to their erection, 
 but many of them owning comfortable and 
 costly homes were reluctant to surrender them 
 to the demands of business, and relinquish 
 rights which they had acquired under original 
 purchase, as well as under a special act of the 
 legislature of the state of Illinois, passed in 
 1863 which is as follows : 
 
 "The state of Illinois, by its canal com- 
 missioners, having declared that the public 
 ground east of said lots should forever remain 
 open and vacant, neither the common council
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 43 
 
 of the city of Chicago nor any other authority, 
 shall ever have the power to permit encroach- 
 ments thereon without the assent of all the per- 
 sons owning lots or land on said street or 
 avenue." 
 
 The great need of the city of Chicago is 
 increased dockage ; the accommodation offered 
 by those on the Chicago river and its branches 
 is entirely inadequate to the wants of a great 
 city of nearly 2,000,000 inhabitants. The loss 
 of time and great expense to which vessels are 
 subjected by reason of being compelled to pass 
 through the numerous bridges spanning the 
 Chicago river are very great, and have inflicted 
 incalculable injury upon the shipping interest 
 of the port of Chicago, while the delay caused 
 by the opening and closing of the bridges has 
 also proved a serious inconvenience and loss to 
 her citizens. With each section of the city now 
 supplied with a park, and some of them but 
 partially completed, the necessity for an addi- 
 tional one in the business portion of the city, 
 and which can only be created at great expense, 
 does not seem as pressing or important as the 
 construction of additional docks, which the city 
 under its charter has the right to construct. 
 
 On July 3, 1871, with a view of preventing 
 encroachments upon the shore of the lake, cer- 
 tain proceedings were commenced by the United 
 States by information filed in the United States 
 circuit court and a temporary injunction was 
 obtained. A year later, a stipulation was 
 entered into between the railroad company and 
 the war department upon the recommendation 
 of the engineer officers of the United States 
 government, establishing certain dock lines on 
 the east, to which point, those authorized, 
 should be allowed to construct piers. 
 
 Two years later, April 15, 1873, the follow- 
 ing act was passed: "An act to repeal an act 
 entitled 'An act in relation to a portion of the 
 submerged lands and Lake Park grounds, lying 
 on and adjacent to the shore of Lake Michigan, 
 on the eastern frontage of the city of Chicago ; 
 in force April 16, 1869.' 
 
 "SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of 
 the state of Illinois represented in the general 
 
 assembly, That the act entitled 'An act in re- 
 lation to a portion of the submerged lands and 
 Lake Park grounds, lying on and adjacent to 
 the shore of Lake Michigan, on the eastern 
 frontage of the city of Chicago ; in force April 
 16, 1869,' be and the same is hereby repealed." 
 
 The subsequent litigation growing out of 
 the passage of these various acts culminated in 
 the decision rendered by Judges Harlan and H. 
 W. Blodgett, February 23, 1888, in the United 
 States circuit court. This decision confirmed 
 to the Illinois Central Railroad company its 
 title to all lands held by it north of Randolph 
 street and also all its rights as riparian owner 
 south of Park Row. As to the distance be- 
 tween Park Row and Randolph street, the fol- 
 lowing extract, from the opinion referred to, 
 will perhaps give the reader a clearer view of 
 the decision rendered by the court : 
 
 "Upon the whole case, we are of opinion 
 that the effect of the repealing act of 1873 was 
 to withdraw from the railroad company as well 
 the grant of the submerged lands described in 
 the third section of the act of 1869, as the 
 additional powers therein conferred upon it, by 
 implication, to engage in the business of con- 
 structing and maintaining wharves, piers and 
 docks, for the benefit of comierce and naviga- 
 tion generally, and not in the prosecution of 
 its business as defined and limited by its 
 original charter; saving to the company the 
 right to hold and use, as part of its way ground, 
 or right of way, the small part of the submerged 
 lands, outside of its breakwater of 1869, be- 
 tween Monroe and Washington streets, ex- 
 tended eastwardly, which was reclaimed pre- 
 sumably upon the faith of the act of 1869 from 
 the lake in 1873. Such appeal was attended 
 with the further result, that while the city of 
 Chicago may, under its charter, preserve the 
 harbor, prevent obstructions being placed 
 therein, and make wharves and slips, at the 
 ends of streets, the exercise of those powers, 
 and the whole subject of the development or 
 improvement of the harbor by a system of 
 wharves, docks, piers and other structures, is 
 with the state, subject only to the paramount
 
 44 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 authority of the United States under the power 
 of congress to regulate commerce." 
 
 An appeal to the United States supreme 
 court may be taken by any one of the parties 
 interested, viz: the Illinois Central Railroad 
 company, the city of Chicago, or the s'tate of 
 Illinois, at any time within two years after 
 entry of decree Sept. 24, 1888. 
 
 VISIT OF FOREIGN DELEGATES. 
 
 The year 1876 brought new misfortunes to 
 the affairs of the company. Restrictive legis- 
 lation in Iowa, of the most aggressive character, 
 compelled a large reduction in local tariff rates 
 
 fierce trunk-line war between the Baltimore & 
 Ohio Railroad and the Vanderbilt lines, and in 
 which the Pennsylvania Central was necessarily 
 involved. It was largely a struggle for suprem- 
 acy between cities, but much personal bitter- 
 ness was also engendered. Mr. Garrett boasted 
 of his shorter line to the seaport and his cheap 
 fuel, and made his demands accordingly. Mr. 
 Vanderbilt pointed to his curveless and grade- 
 less four-track line as more than an equivalent. 
 The battle waxed sore. Freight was moved 
 for some time at rates below the cost of carry- 
 ing. Practically, at Chicago, both of these 
 systems entered into competition with the lakes 
 
 UNION PASSENGER STATION USED BY THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL AT Siorx CITY, IOWA. 
 
 on the lines in that state, and, incidentally, on 
 all through traffic to and from all points within 
 the state. The difficulty was aggravated by a 
 loss of revenue consequent upon a failure of 
 crops both in Iowa and Illinois. Added to 
 this, there had been a large number of new 
 lines constructed throughout the west, but par- 
 ticularly in the states of Illinois and Iowa, for 
 which there was no remunerative traffic. The 
 division of the limited traffic over so many 
 lines was, as Mr. Wilson G. Hunt aptly ex- 
 pressed it, like giving "one bone to two dogs." 
 Competition became very sharp and rates were 
 forced so low that many of the weaker lines 
 were driven into bankruptcy. 
 
 The crowning folly of this dark year in 
 railroad history was the inauguration of the 
 
 and canal. The result was a loss, and both 
 sides, weary of the fray, came out of it with 
 largely exhausted resources. The introduction 
 of larger grain-carrying vessels on the lakes, 
 and the reduction of tolls on the Erie Canal, 
 soon proved to the trunk-lines the folly of 
 attempting to compete with water-carriage. 
 The effect upon all the weaker east and west 
 lines was most disastrous they were compelled 
 to carry freight from all junction points south 
 of Chicago at the same rates as prevailed at 
 Chicago. This, of course, seriously affected 
 the operations of the Illinois Central Railroad, 
 as it deprived them of the haul to Chicago. 
 The result was that their traffic, at all the junc- 
 tion points in Illinois, was confined to short 
 hauls between the stations, changing, in fact,
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 45 
 
 the entire working of this part of the line by 
 reducing it to a local business. This division 
 of traffic, with the loss of the long haul to Chi- 
 cago which had for so many years proved so 
 certain and profitable a source of income to the 
 company proved very injurious to its revenue. 
 
 The unsatisfactory condition of the affairs 
 of the company which, however, reflected in 
 no degree fairly upon the management, being 
 due entirely to circumstances over which they 
 had no control produced a feeling of restless- 
 ness among the foreign holders of its shares 
 who coxild not so well appreciate the conditions 
 which led to it as those on this side of the 
 Atlantic ocean. 
 
 The average shareholder will rest in sub- 
 lime contentment and with a confidence born 
 rather of calm indifference than of intellectual 
 comprehension, regarding the affairs of his 
 company, so long as other brains are working 
 out successful results for his benefit. He will 
 saunter into the treasurer's office semi-annually 
 or qiiarterly, if notified, scrawl his name on the 
 dividend-book in a more or less legible style, 
 receive his check in silence or perhaps with a 
 little growl, and saunter out again, scarcely 
 troubling himself to inquire whether his divi- 
 dend is earned or only paid. But woe be to the 
 luckless wight of an official, who, through an 
 error of judgment or unforeseen circumstances, 
 fails to accomplish all that he attempted in the 
 way of cash returns, even though he be fortified 
 with the aforesaid shareholder's proxy. A 
 shareholder's meeting is a tame affair with the 
 shareholders with dividend checks in their 
 pockets absent ; but a meeting of shareholders 
 to consider ways and means will soon resolve 
 itself into a warring demonstration. So, in 
 this case, this temporary check to the com- 
 pany's prosperity happily apparent rather than 
 real was first felt on this side of the water 
 where the circumstances of the case were better 
 understood, and its effect was soon discounted. 
 London and Amsterdam slowly responded to 
 the shock. 
 
 A meeting was held in London on January 
 26, 1877, to consider existing difficulties, which 
 
 was presided over by Sir John Rose, and at 
 which were present a large number of English 
 shareholders, and representatives of the admin- 
 istration office for American railroad securities 
 in Amsterdam, at which some unnecessary 
 denunciation was indulged in. Their action, 
 however, resulted in the sensible conclusion 
 to appoint a joint-committee to select delegates 
 to proceed to New York, to confer with the 
 directors and to examine into the financial con- 
 dition of the company, and then to visit Illinois 
 and the south to make a critical examination of 
 the company's property and report upon its 
 condition and resources. Captain Douglas 
 Galton was appointed on behalf of the English 
 shareholders, and H. de Marez Oyens on behalf 
 of the Dutch shareholders. They sailed for 
 New York and held a series of lengthy and 
 very satisfactory conferences with the directors, 
 resulting in a complete dissipation of the un- 
 founded fears which had been entertained. 
 They then proceeded to Illinois and went over 
 the entire line with the officers of the company, 
 making a very thorough and critical examina- 
 tion of the property and of its assets. As a 
 result of their inspection, they prepared and 
 submitted to their respective bodies of share- 
 holders, April 27, 1877 three months after their 
 appointment a very elaborate report covering 
 the conclusions at which they had arrived and 
 giving their reasons in detail. It was in all 
 respects highly complimentary to the directors 
 and officers of the company, and justly so, and 
 most reassuring to the shareholders. In this 
 report, they made various suggestions, which, 
 if carried into effect would, in their judgment, 
 prove advantageous to the interests of the com- 
 pany. Stringent economies were introduced 
 into the operations of the line, and the recom- 
 mendations of the delegates were, so far as 
 circumstances would permit, carried out. The 
 price of Illinois Central Railroad shares, which 
 had fallen to forty cents on the dollar, rapidly 
 recovered. 
 
 The office of president had been vacant 
 since July 1876, at which time Mr. John M. 
 Douglas resigned, and on October 17, 1877, the
 
 46 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 writer, who had filled the office of vice-presi- 
 dent and had been acting president, was elected 
 to fill the vacancy, which position he held until 
 August 15, 1883, afterward again serving as 
 vice-president until January 1, 1884, at which 
 time he retired from the service. 
 
 The year 1877 gave promise of better 
 things for the railways of Illinois. The corn 
 crop of that year in this state amounted to 
 about 270,000,000 bushels and the wheat crop 
 was about 32,500,000 bushels. The price of 
 iron and steel declined to a very low point, and 
 railway supplies were correspondingly low. In 
 Iowa the indications of public sentiment toward 
 railways were, temporarily, somewhat more 
 favorable, as the effects of injudicious legisla- 
 tion on the interests of the state were begin- 
 ning to be felt by the people. The unwise and 
 restrictive laws, which had been passed, began 
 to cripple the railways and forbid further in- 
 vestments of capital and this had its effect 
 upon the legislature of the state. 
 
 RIOTS OF JULY 1877. 
 
 The dark spot in railway history this year 
 was the inauguration of the great railway strike 
 which occurred in July. "Railway strikes at- 
 tended by riots were at that time in progress in 
 several of the states, but the first demonstration 
 in Chicago was at a mass meeting of working- 
 men, so called, held Monday evening, July 23, 
 at the corner of Madison and Market streets, at 
 which there were about 5000 people present. 
 The first indication of mob violence occurred 
 next morning, Tuesday, when a mob of men 
 and boys, armed with clubs and sticks, moved 
 down South Canal street, compelling all work- 
 men in the lumber-yards and factories to quit 
 work. They were dispersed by the police but 
 later on in the day another mob collected near 
 Remington's gun-store on State street. This 
 was dispersed also by the police. In the after- 
 noon mobs congregated in different parts of 
 the city. The first actual violence occurred on 
 Wednesday, when the rioters began driving 
 men from their work and destroying property 
 in the lumber district, and massed a large force 
 
 near McCormick's reaper factory on Blue Island 
 avenue. A second mob congregated at Van 
 Buren street bridge and still another in the 
 vicinity of the Illinois Central elevators. This 
 latter was most effectually dispersed by the 
 police under Lieut. Bell and Sergt. Brennan, 
 who dealt with the leaders in the most summary 
 manner. Before noon several outbreaks oc- 
 curred in various parts of the city and the street 
 cars were compelled to stop running. At the 
 Chicago, Burlington & Quincy freight depot, 
 five rioters were shot dead. That evening the 
 rioters raided a gun store and appropriated the 
 stock. Thursday morning, 26th, the rioters 
 were massed in the vicinity of the 16th street 
 viaduct and several sanguinary conflicts took 
 place. At noon the rioting culminated and the 
 police, who were greatly exhausted from their 
 efforts of the four previous days, were no 
 longer able to cope with the rioters, and it was 
 found necessary to order out the military. The 
 first and second regiments reported for duty; 
 two six-pound guns and two companies of 
 cavalry were also brought into service. These 
 troops were stationed in different parts of the 
 city and had a quieting effect upon the surging 
 crowd, but in one instance they were obliged 
 to fire upon the rioters. By Monday, July 31, 
 the riot was practically at an end. Owing to 
 the prompt measures resorted to and the effi- 
 ciency of both the police and the military, the 
 city of Chicago happily escaped with small 
 loss."* 
 
 The whole demonstration had none of the 
 elements of a strike, the men were simply in- 
 timidated and feared to go to work. The prop- 
 erty of the Illinois Central Railroad, as was 
 that of many others, was imperilled by the 
 action of lawless mobs that visited the freight 
 yards and shops of the company and ordered 
 the engineers to stop moving trains and men to 
 quit work. These demonstrations were made 
 in most instances by men not connected with 
 the railroads. Almost all the Illinois Central 
 men took a stand and gave proof of their loyal- 
 ty and devotion to the company against the 
 * "History of Chicago," by A. T. Andreas, 1885.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 47 
 
 rioters, and assisted in preserving the property 
 of the company. Indeed, it is greatly to the 
 credit of the men to record the fact that, during 
 this trying ordeal, the company suffered no 
 loss whatever beyond detention of traffic. All 
 of its rolling stock was removed to a place of 
 safety, south of the city. 
 
 A company of militia was organized by 
 volunteers from the different departments of 
 
 Oliver A. Berry, and other faithful men, at that 
 time in the service of the company. 
 
 In 1878 a contract was entered into with 
 the Pullman Palace Car Company for the use of 
 their sleeping cars. Previous to this the com- 
 pany had constructed and used its own sleeping 
 cars. For a number of years after the road 
 was constructed it was not regarded as a pas- 
 senger line. Indeed, it is very doubtful whether 
 
 COURTESY J. R. L'LLY 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL LOCOMOTIVE No. 942. 
 
 the service, muskets were purchased for their 
 use and Col. James Noquet, chief draughtsman, 
 was placed in command of the force which was 
 placed on duty in the freight yard. Many of 
 the men had fought in the Union army, and 
 Col. Noquet had been a soldier in the French 
 army and had led troops against a mob in the 
 city of Paris. These facts being made known 
 were sufficient to deter the rioters from com- 
 mitting depredations. Col. Noquet was as- 
 sisted by Thomas J. Tustin, William Wilkinson, 
 
 the passenger receipts were sufficient to pay 
 the expenses of keeping up this branch of the 
 traffic. It had no through connections of im- 
 portance, but after the acquisition of the south- 
 ern lines leading to New Orleans and to other 
 important points in the south, the character of 
 the business of the line was materially changed 
 and it gradually began to take its place among 
 the first-class passenger lines of the country, 
 and it became necessary to devote greater at- 
 tention to this class of traffic. The introduc-
 
 48 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 tion of the elegant coaches of the Pullman 
 Company greatly improved the service of the 
 company, a fact which the travelling public 
 were not slow to appreciate. 
 
 May 26, 1880, ground was broken for the 
 construction of the works of the Pullman Palace 
 Car Company on land adjoining the Illinois 
 Central tracks, about one mile north of Kensing- 
 ton station. The establishment of this model 
 manufacturing town of Pullman upon the road, 
 at so convenient a distance from the city, gave 
 an immense impetus to the suburban traffic 
 which, though carried on for many years, had 
 not, up to this time, proved very profitable. 
 
 In 1879 the company constructed a bridge 
 across the Chicago river under authority con- 
 tained in an ordinance which had been passed 
 many years before, Dec. 1, 1862, entitled "an 
 ordinance approving the plans for a bridge to 
 be erected by the Illinois Central Railroad 
 company across the Chicago river." This con- 
 nected its depot grounds on the south side with 
 the lands of the Chicago Canal & Dock Com- 
 pany on the north side. The construction of 
 this bridge added immensely to the facilities of 
 the road, enabling it to reach important con- 
 nections on the north side, theretofore only 
 reached by the circuitous route afforded by the 
 St. Charles Air-line crossing at Sixteenth 
 street. 
 
 In 1880 the Kankakee & Southwestern 
 Road, a branch line running southwest from 
 Otto, was extended to a junction with the north- 
 ern division at Minonk, thus giving an inde- 
 pendent connection between that division and 
 the Chicago branch. 
 
 Steel rails were purchased this year to 
 complete in steel the entire original line, and 
 when laid soon demonstrated that the most re- 
 munerative employment of capital in a railway 
 is in perfecting its condition. 
 
 In 1881 a brick elevator, with a capacity of 
 600,000 bushels, was erected at Cairo; and in 
 Chicago two new docks, and the substantial 
 iron viaduct at the foot of Randolph street 
 were completed. In the following year addi- 
 tional terminal facilities were provided by the 
 
 construction of additional tracks from the Chi- 
 cago yards south, which provided two tracks 
 for freight trains, two tracks for passenger 
 trains, and allowed two tracks to be devoted 
 entirely to suburban business, giving the road 
 the finest and safest entrance into a great city 
 possessed by any railway in the world. 
 
 In 1883 the South Chicago Railroad was 
 completed which afforded a double track con- 
 nection, about five miles in length, with this 
 important manufacturing town and added large- 
 ly to the suburban traffic. 
 
 RAILWAY COMMUNICATION WITH THE SOUTH. 
 
 For many years after the completion of 
 the Illinois Central Railroad, the directors 
 made repeated attempts to carry out the origi- 
 nal intention, as contemplated in the act of 
 congress granting the public lands to the three 
 states, by effecting an all rail communication 
 with the Gulf of Mexico. Traffic to and from 
 the south was gradually increasing; and tran- 
 shipment of produce and merchandise at Cairo 
 by ferry to Columbus, Kentucky, a distance of 
 twenty miles, there connecting with the Mobile 
 & Ohio Railroad, was attended with both un- 
 necessary delay and expense. Accordingly in 
 1872, a contract was entered into with the lines 
 that were then known as the Mississippi Cen- 
 tral Railroad, 232 miles in length, and New 
 Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railway, 
 206 miles in length which were operated under 
 one management providing for the extension 
 of the former line from Jackson, Tennessee, to 
 a point opposite Cairo, a distance of 108 miles, 
 and for a mutual interchange of traffic. Under 
 this contract, the Illinois Central Company was 
 to invest annually, one-eighth of its earnings 
 from traffic to and from those lines, in their 
 consolidated mortgage bonds to the extent of 
 $100,000 per annum for ten years. This con- 
 tract was afterward modified to the extent of 
 an engagement to purchase outright $200,000 
 of these bonds at par, annually, to the extent 
 of $6,000,000 in all. This was done in order to 
 enable the two southern lines to negotiate the 
 bonds so as to procure the necessary means to
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 49 
 
 construct the new intermediate road and make 
 certain necessary improvements. The Miss- 
 issippi Central road was extended to Cairo 
 work being completed so that it was opened 
 for traffic December 24, 1873. This supplied a 
 most important link in the direct chain from 
 Chicago to New Orleans, a distance of 913 
 miles. 
 
 The Illinois Central Railroad company sub- 
 sequently exchanged $5,000,000 of its five per 
 cent bonds for the same amount of the seven 
 per cent, southern bonds with the engagement 
 to purchase attached, thus practically taking up 
 its own obligation with a bond bearing a re- 
 duced rate of interest. 
 
 The opening of an, all-rail route to the 
 south had the effect of largely diverting traffic 
 from the Mississippi river; but the southern 
 roads had scarcely recovered from their im- 
 poverished condition following the close of the 
 war, and, lacking the means to properly equip 
 and maintain them, they were not in a situation 
 to handle the large traffic offering. Steel rails 
 were selling at nearly $100 a ton at this time, 
 and many other articles of railway supplies 
 were correspondingly high. Added to this, the 
 financial panic of 1873 affected all railway enter- 
 prises throughout the country, so that this and 
 the year following were years of unusual de- 
 pression; the results of the particular arrange- 
 ments referred to did not therefore immediately 
 prove as satisfactory as was expected. 
 
 In 1876 the roads between New Orleans 
 and Cairo defaulted on their interest, and on 
 March 10, in that year, both lines were placed 
 in the hands of a receiver. Forclosure proceed- 
 ings followed, and as a result, the Illinois Cen- 
 tral Railroad company became, after about two 
 years of litigation, practically the owner of 
 both lines, under purchase, and the name of the 
 company owning the consolidated New Orleans 
 line was changed to the Chicago, St. Louis & 
 New Orleans Railroad company. It was 
 thought by many, who were unfamiliar with 
 the resources? of the south, that the additional 
 obligation assumed by the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road company would prove an onerous burden, 
 
 4 
 
 and, for the time being, it had the effect of de- 
 pressing the market-price of its shares. After 
 the Illinois Central company obtained full con- 
 trol of the two lines, it completed their restora- 
 tion to the standard of first-class railways, and 
 then what was feared at one time might prove 
 a serious burden to the Illinois Central Railroad 
 company became in reality the best paying por- 
 tion of the line. 
 
 The remainder of the story can best be 
 told by producing verbatim the report of Mr. 
 William H. Osborn, chairman of the executive 
 committee, who, through all these trying years, 
 never lost faith in the ultimate success of the 
 undertaking, and to whose sagacity and fore- 
 sight, aided by the indomitable energy of Mr. 
 James C. Clarke, who was in charge of the 
 lines, and the remarkable legal ability displayed 
 by Judge James Fentress, now the general 
 solicitor of the company, maybe attributed the 
 very satisfactory termination reached. This 
 report contains an epitome of the entire trans- 
 action and is as follows: 
 
 Report of Mr. William H. Osborn, chair- 
 man of the Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans 
 Railroad Company: 
 
 "NEW YORK, Dec. 30, 1882. 
 
 "To THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE ILLINOIS 
 CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY : 
 
 "Gentlemen: This railway, consisting of 548 
 miles of main track, 31 miles of branches, with 1(X> 
 locomotives, 2,241 cars, and all other property and 
 rights attached to it, with $1,000,000, five per cent, 
 1951 bonds, $125,000, six per cent bonds and $623,043. 70 
 in cash will be surrendered to you on the first proximo, 
 in pursuance of the lease of this property to the Illinois 
 Central Railroad company, dated June 13, 1882, thus 
 completing your system with a well finished railroad 
 and plant from the lakes to New Orleans. 
 
 "The Hon. Stephen A. Douglas introduced in the 
 senate of the United States in 1848, a bill 'granting to 
 the state of Illinois the right of way and donation of 
 public lands for making a railroad to connect the 
 waters of the upper and lower Mississippi with the 
 chain of lakes at Chicago." This motion resulted in 
 the granting of lands to Illinois and similar grants to 
 Mississippi and Alabama in order to effect the comple- 
 tion of this important connection. 
 
 "It was the subject of earnest debate in the senate 
 in 1850 and was supported by Senators Lewis Cass of
 
 50 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 
 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 SI 
 
 Michigan, Henry Clay of Kentucky and William H. 
 Seward of New York. The latter gentleman, speaking 
 of the proposed railroad, said: 'I regard this work as 
 a great national enterprise a great national thorough- 
 fare.' The bill, after the advocacy of these distin- 
 guished statesman, passed the senate by a vote of 
 nearly two to one. 
 
 "In 1851 the state of Illinois accepted a proposal 
 to build the road, made to it by a prominent body of 
 New York and Boston gentlemen, all of whom, with 
 but two exceptions, have passed away. 
 
 "The act of the general assembly of Illinois, ap- 
 proved Feb. 10, 1851, constituted your present corpora- 
 tion. Most of the directors named in the charter 
 became the active managers of the company, and, 
 before the Illinois Central Road was completed, the 
 directors communicated with those of the Mobile & 
 Ohio Road, and upon several occasions endeavored to 
 promote the completion of that line to Cairo; but the 
 Mobile & Ohio Road did not reach Cairo until a recent 
 period. The public events which arrested the progress 
 of the country for so many years left the railroads 
 south of the Ohio river in the most dilapidated and 
 ruinous condition. There was no railway communica- 
 tion from Cairo south until 1874. 
 
 "Previous to your line reaching Cairo, the products 
 of Louisiana were shipped by steamboats to St. Louis, 
 trans-shipped up the Illinois river by smaller steam- 
 boats, trans-shipped again to canal-boats, and reached 
 Chicago by the Michigan Canal. These three transfers 
 caused a delay of a month or six weeks. The grain 
 and provisions, which were so indispensable to the 
 south, were sent in the same circuitous way. Later on 
 this traffic was connected with your road at Cairo but 
 in a very unsatisfactory manner, as most of the com- 
 merce upon the lower Mississippi was destined for St. 
 Louis and Cincinnati; Cairo was not of sufficient im- 
 portance to command exclusive lines of boats upon the 
 river. Moreover, this river communication was often- 
 times very expensive; the frequent transfers required 
 expensive packing of provisions; grain was sent in 
 bags; and upon the north-bound freight, chiefly sugar 
 and molasses, the waste and shrinkage was serious. It 
 is a singular fact that the rates of rail transportation 
 to-day from New Orleans to Chicago, and from Chi- 
 cago south, are not equivalent to the loss by shrinkage 
 and waste upon the sugar and molasses in former 
 times, or to the cost of packing the provisions sent 
 south, which is not now required under the present 
 modes of shipment by rail. Thus the producer is 
 brought close to the consumer at least expense. It is 
 a moderate estimate to say that the prices of provisions 
 and grain, hay and other products of the north, now 
 ruling in the south, are lessened one-third by the ad- 
 vantage of the present rail communication. 
 
 "The Illinois Central directors, in 1872, unanimous- 
 ly agreed to advance about $5,000,000 toward the ex- 
 tension of the .Mississippi Central Road to Cairo, and 
 to the improvement of the Jackson Road to New- 
 Orleans. It is not pleasant to waste words upon the 
 failure in the expectations of the company. These ad- 
 vances at one time appeared to be lost through the 
 failure of the southern lines to pay the interest upon 
 the bonds purchased. It may be well to remember 
 that in February 187G, the board of directors were will- 
 ing to take the control of the property burdened with 
 a debt of $18,372,834, with an annual interest charge 
 of $1,404,655.97, and to spend $2,000,000 additional in 
 the necessary improvement to the property. Negotia- 
 tions to this end failed, and foreclosure proceedings 
 were commenced by filing a bill in the federal courts 
 in the spring of 1870. These proceedings terminated 
 happily in 1877, and the two roads were purchased 
 that year in behalf of the bondholders on equal terms 
 the Illinois Central holding a majority of the bonds 
 in default. The legal steps in the foreclosure were 
 directed by the Hon. John A. Campbell and the Hon. 
 .lames Emott. and later, by the Hon. Jas. Fentress of 
 New Orleans. Suffice it to say that, under the counsel 
 of these eminent lawyers, we have not had to retrace 
 our steps in any one instance. Repeated legislation 
 was required from all four of the southern states, and 
 ordinances from the city of New Orleans and other 
 municipalities, all of which were obtained promptly 
 and honestly. The desire of the southern people to 
 have a first-class railroad was expressed through the 
 governors of the states and the legislatures, who gave 
 every assistance which could consistently be granted. 
 This new company is now constituted a corporation in 
 perpetuity with the right to lease other roads or to 
 lease its own road to the Illinois Central Company. 
 The acts, deeds and papers have been carefully 
 examined. Your possession of this property is as 
 absolute as if the original charters had been granted 
 to the Illinois Central Railroad Company directly. 
 
 "I have, therefore, the satisfaction of concluding 
 the active existence of this corporation which has had 
 only five years of duration. Your road constitutes the 
 most important north and south trunk line in the 
 world. The traffic is chiefly in the interchange of 
 commodities, the exclusive growth of the south for 
 commodities grown in the north, and is of indispens- 
 able necessity to a population of six or eight millions 
 of people. The location of the line is so direct that 
 this traffic is perhaps less open to competition than 
 that of any other line on this continent. 
 
 "Soon after the appointment of receivers in 1876, 
 I induced those gentlemen to appoint Mr. James C. 
 Clarke the general manager of both lines. It required 
 the whole term of the receiverships to catch up with 
 arrears. The employes were unpaid for several months; 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 ILLIM
 
 52 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 there were not fifty tons of spare rails upon the road; 
 no supplies in the machine shops; no fuel on hand. 
 The demoralization of unpaid employes is always dan- 
 gerous, leads to accidents, puts the lives of all the 
 passengers in peril and causes the death of some. 
 There was a fatality attending these lines at that time. 
 The route was avoided; many travelers preferred to 
 take their chance upon the river rather than face the 
 dangers of the track. Mr. Clarke had not the power 
 to restore order and discipline to the management of 
 this property until the termination of the receiverships, 
 January 1, 1878. From that date full control of the 
 working of the line has rested upon him. Knowing 
 him for many years, his experience, his perfect integ- 
 rity, his thoroughness in every detail of railroad con- 
 struction and management, I have never interposed 
 my comparatively imperfect knowledge of railway 
 affairs. 
 
 "Mr. Clarke has rebuilt this line from its ashes. 
 At the machine shops were piles of broken cars; and 
 the remnants of locomotive boilers, which had been 
 exploded for years, were still maintained on the books 
 of the company as engines. The bridges all required 
 renewing; the ties were rotten and defective. From 
 this confusion Mr. Clarke now delivers to you a well 
 constructed and equipped railroad. 35 engines and 
 1200 cars have been built in the shops of the company; 
 2\}/i miles of bridging have been built; 3,'i miles of 
 open trestle-work have been rilled up with solid em- 
 bankments; 1,341,500 new cross-ties have been put in, 
 equal to 2,080 ties per mile on this whole road and 
 side tracks. The road has been extended 3 ,'-2 miles to 
 East Cairo; a spur line of 12 miles to Lexington is 
 nearly completed; the passenger equipment renewed 
 and doubled; the wooden truss bridges replaced with 
 iron; every bar of iron has been taken from the track, 
 which is now laid entirely with steel; 200 miles of track 
 ballasted with stone or gravel, and over 100 miles of 
 the road have been fenced. It was indispensable to 
 change the gauge, adopting the standard gauge of the 
 north, which of course required the change of all the 
 motive power and rolling stock. This has been done. 
 The side tracks were insufficient 15 miles of new side 
 track have been added, the shops furnished with new 
 machinery sufficient for the repair and construction of 
 engines and cars at both of the principal machine 
 shops; new shops have been built at Jackson, Tenn. 
 The improvements to the road render it safe; the trains 
 are now running from New Orleans to Chicago, about 
 the same distance as from New York to Chicago, at 
 about the same speed. Passengers going to St. Louis 
 were formerly two nights and one day on the road; 
 they are now taken through in twenty-nine hours. 
 The station grounds on the river bank at New Orleans 
 were insufficient; large and valuable property has been 
 purchased, and a freight station, which accommodates 
 
 the West Indian and Mediterranean freight business, 
 built near the river front. 
 
 "These betterments, which have cost about $5,000, - 
 000, have been paid for out of the earnings of the 
 property. The road is not overlaid with debt to cor- 
 respond to these outlays. On the contrary, its im- 
 proved condition and the increase of traffic benefitted 
 the credit of the corporation to such an extent that it 
 has been practicable to issue and sell five per cent 
 bonds to take up the older issues of six's, seven's and 
 eight's. In this way the interest charge upon the prop- 
 erty, which is intrinsically worth $5,000,000 more than 
 it was in 1876, has been actually reduced $370,505.97 
 per annum and its debt from $18,372,834 to $17,000,000. 
 
 "The services of Judge Fentress in arranging and 
 settling the many legal complications which cumbered 
 and afflicted this railway and in securing the legislation 
 affecting its powers for all time, though not as con- 
 spicuous to the eye as those of Mr. Clarke, have been 
 equally valuable and of as much permanent import- 
 ance. Annexed to this statement is an exhibit of the 
 legislation in the several states. 
 
 "The company has no engagements with other 
 railway corporations excepting those for the construc- 
 tion of the two lines in Mississippi, which have been 
 entered into under your direction and by your author- 
 ity. Its recent contract with the Western Union Tele- 
 graph Company is open to revision at short periods, 
 and the engagement with the Pullman Southern Car 
 Company can be terminated at the option of the~com- 
 pany in 1884. It is free from floating debt and free 
 from litigation. 
 
 "You take this productive property with a surplus 
 in hand and with all the powers necessary for its future 
 management. You now own $5,000,000 of the five per 
 cent bonds, for which there is no immediate use as the 
 requirements of the southern line upon capital account 
 are drawing to a close and can readily be met from 
 the earnings of the property. I therefore beg to sug- 
 gest to your consideration the cancellation of this $5,- 
 000,000 of bonds, thus reducing the debt to $13,000,000, 
 upon which the interest charge will eventually be 
 $650,000. This reduction of interest charge will enable 
 you to pay larger dividends upon the $10,000,000 of 
 stock now the property of your shareholders. This 
 step will reduce your entire fixed charges to about 
 $1,350,000 on 1525 miles of railway. 
 
 "For the next thirteen years you have no debt to 
 provide for. $2,500,000 of your bonds fall due in 1895. 
 It seems unwise to hold $5,000,000 of your own executed 
 obligations available at any moment. The experience 
 of nearly thirty years strengthens my impression that 
 prosperity leading to unwise expenditures is often- 
 times as dangerous as adverse crops, with consequent 
 loss of traffic affecting income. The specific for
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 53 
 
 accuracy in accounts and economy in expenditures 
 appears to be to take all expenses including construc- 
 tion out of income and divide the surplus only. 
 
 "I beg to refer to you the annexed exhibits and 
 reports. 
 
 "In retiring from this trust, I have every reason to 
 believe that the New Orleans division of the Illinois 
 Central is in charge of zealous, faithful and experienced 
 men. W. H. OSBORN, Chairman." 
 
 Report of Mr. James C. Clarke, general 
 manager of the Chicago, St. Louis &- New Or- 
 leans Railroad Company: 
 
 Railroad Company now the lessee of this railroad 
 treats of the work which has been done on track, 
 building bridges, engines, cars, ballasting, fencing, 
 depot grounds, side tracks, shops machinery, steel 
 rails, change of gauge, etc., etc., in a general way. 
 It is therefore, considered unnecessary to refer again 
 to them. At the close of the year 1877, there were 60 
 miles of steel rails on the track. On December 31, 
 1882, the whole main track, 548 miles, is laid in steel 
 rails. 
 
 "REDUCTION OF GRADES BETWEEN JACKSON, TENN., 
 AND CANTON. The maximum of grades on this por- 
 tion of the road has been reduced from 60 feet per 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL STATION AT NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 "NEW ORLEANS, LA., January i, 1883. 
 
 "To THE SHAREHOLDERS OF THE CHICAGO, ST. Louis AND 
 NEW ORLEANS RAILROAD Co. 
 
 Gentlemen : I was elected vice-president and 
 general manager of this company in January 1878. 
 At that time, the equipment of the road in motive 
 power and rolling stock consisted of 80 locomotives 
 and 1240 cars. At the present time, this company 
 has 106 locomotives and 2242 cars of all kinds. Many 
 of the engines anJ cars on the schedule in 1878 have 
 been rebuilt and renewed, some were condemned 
 as unsafe for future use. n of the old engines were 
 sold, their capacity to draw heavy trains being too 
 light for profitable use. 
 
 "The report of the chairman of our board, dated 
 December, 30, to the directors of the Illinois Central 
 
 mile to a maximum of 40 feet per mile, few exceeding 
 35 feet per mile. 
 
 "This has enabled our engines to draw over this 
 portion of the road six to eight loaded cars more per 
 train than the engines of the same class were able 
 to do before the grades were reduced, thus largely 
 reducing the expenses in train' service by increasing the 
 earnings per train. 
 
 "The portion of the line between Jackson, Tenn., 
 and East Cairo, no miles, has some grades of 52 
 feet or more per mile. It was constructed with these 
 grades. Evidently the question of economy in operat- 
 ing the lines as a channel of commerce was not con- 
 sidered in adopting such grades. I recommend to 
 the lessee to reduce these grades to a maximum of 
 40 feet per mile. The work may be done gradually, 
 and the outlay spread over a series of years. I am
 
 54 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 sure it will pay to reduce the grades on this portion of 
 the road. 
 
 "In these times of low rates for transportation 
 service, nothing is more conducive to economy in 
 operating a railroad than low grades, steel rails, a 
 well-ballasted track, large engines, and slow speed ' 
 of heavy freight trains. 
 
 "CAPITAL ACCOUNT There is at present nothing 
 to call for any immediate large outlay of money. 
 
 "It is proposed to build four combined brick, 
 freight and passenger stations on the line during the 
 coming year, costing in all about $15.000, and to re- 
 vise and remodel the freight-houses and yards and 
 tracks at the levee station in New Orleans, to adapt 
 them to handle the business with less force and ex- 
 pense than we now incur. The increased facility and 
 decreased expenses in transacting business at this 
 station will compensate for the outlay to be made. 
 
 "MOTIVE POWER. The present equipment of en- 
 gines seems to be sufficient for the wants of the road 
 until the business shall increase to require more power. 
 
 "BALLASTING I recommend to the lessee the 
 continuance of this important matter, gradually, as 
 we have heretofore done during the summer months 
 when the traffic is light and the engines and cars can 
 be spared from service to transport it. 
 
 "FENCING. This necessary precaution to avoid 
 accidents and prevent paying damages for stock in- 
 jured or killed, which, in the past five years, has 
 amounted to upward of $60,000, should be gradually 
 pursued until the whole line is enclosed. 
 
 "MACHINE-SHOPS. MACHINERY, AND TOOLS. The 
 present condition of this plant and its location is all 
 that will be required on this line until its business and 
 traffic shall be increased fifty per cent more than it 
 now is. 
 
 "STEEL RAILS. It will be necessary to buy 150 
 to 200 tons per year to make frogs and switches and 
 provide for those, now in track, which may be broken 
 or rendered unfit for use by reason of accidents. 
 
 "LABOR. During the past five years, this company 
 has employed a large amount of unskilled labor, con- 
 sisting chiefly of negroes. My experience with this 
 class of labor has been very satisfactory. When in- 
 telligently directed, properly treated, and justly dealt 
 with, there is no better laborer than the negro to 
 br found among any race w the world. They are 
 peculiarly fitted for labor in semi-tropical climates, 
 and by nature cheerful, obedient, kind, imitative, and 
 contented. They are fast learning that "freedom" 
 means honesty, industry, and intelligence. They are 
 now a valuable laboring population, and each year, 
 as they acquire education, they will become better 
 citizens. They should be justly dealt with and treated 
 with the respect due all honest laborer*. 
 
 "CAPITAL REQUIRED FOR FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS. 
 From the past five years' experience. I feel I am jus- 
 tified in saying that this property, managed as we 
 have no doubt it will be, will furnish the funds to 
 make the betterments and improvements that may be 
 necessary, as well as to provide for the fixed charges 
 and rentals. 
 
 "The Illinois Central Railroad Company has, to- 
 day, assumed the control and management of this 
 property as lessee. Hereafter its earnings and ex- 
 penses will appear in the accounts of that company, 
 under the head of the 'Southern division of the Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad Company.' 
 
 "CONCLUSION. As you are aware, the managers 
 of this property, during these past five years, have 
 made no published report. All our receipts, during 
 these five years, have been applied to the operating 
 expenses, and reconstruction, and to the interest on 
 the prior liens, styled the first and second mortgage 
 bonds. I have not endeavored to draw a nice distinc- 
 tion between operating expenses and construction ac- 
 count. After providing for the interest on the prior 
 liens, I have used the remainder of the money in 
 rebuilding this road. It is now in such a condition 
 that I feel it safe to say that it can be maintained and 
 steadily improved at about sixty per cent of its gross 
 earnings. The gross earnings, during the past five 
 years, have been as follows : 
 
 1878 $2,842.434.15 
 
 1879 3.357,305.00 
 
 1880 3,716,902.42 
 
 1881 4,059,151.40 
 
 1882. 3,820,996.83 
 
 A yearly average of $3.559,357-96 
 
 "The report of the chairman of the board referred 
 to gives the result of our stewardship of your proper- 
 ty. 
 
 "With a sense of gratitude to officers and em- 
 ployes in every grade of the service for their zeal, 
 anxiety, and devotion at all times to promote the 
 company's interest, and the cheerful co-operation and 
 aid rendered to me in the management, I desire to 
 place my aknowledgements on the records of the com- 
 pany. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 JAMES C. CLARKE, General Manager. 
 
 This report was submitted to a meeting of 
 the board of directors, held January 17, 1883, 
 and the following preamble and resolutions 
 were adopted :
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 55 
 
 [Extract from the minutes:] 
 
 "The report of Mr. William H. Osborn, chair- 
 man of the Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans Rail- 
 road Company, addressed to this board under date of 
 December 30, 1882. accompanied by the report of the 
 Hon. James Fentress, general solicitor, addressed to 
 him, under date of December 8, 1882; and, also, the 
 report of Mr. James C. Clarke, general manager of 
 the Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans Railroad Com- 
 pany, addressed to the shareholders of that company, 
 under date of January I, 1883, having been submitted 
 and read, it was, on motion of Mr. Webster, duly 
 seconded, 
 
 "Resolved, That these reports be accepted by this 
 board, printed, and a copy thereof transmitted to 
 each shareholder of the Illinois Central Railroad Com- 
 pany, and to each holder of the leased line stock' cer- 
 tificates issued against the shares of the Chicago. St. 
 Louis & New Orleans Railroad Company. 
 
 "That this board desires to express and place on 
 record its high appreciation of the wisdom, zeal, and 
 unflagging fidelity with which Mr. Osborn, Mr. Clarke, 
 and Mr. Fentress, and every other officer whose work 
 has come under the observation of this board, have 
 conducted the affairs of the Chicago, St. Louis & 
 New Orleans Company since the property was placed 
 in their hands. And the president of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral Company is hereby directed to express to those 
 officers of the Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans 
 Company the thanks of this board for the gratifying 
 results which their labors have done so much to ac- 
 complish." 
 
 The following, moved by Mr. Elliott, and duly 
 seconded, was also adopted : 
 
 "In view of these highly satisfactory reports, the 
 board deems it desirable to call the attention of the 
 Illinois Central shareholders specifically to the in- 
 creased value of their property resulting from the in- 
 telligent and unwearied efforts of the officers who have 
 been charged with the care and development of the 
 Southern line ; therefore, be it 
 
 "Resolved, That the board recommends to the 
 shareholders, at their next annual meeting, to take 
 such action as they may deem best to express their 
 appreciation of the results thus far obtained and their 
 recognition of the services rendered." 
 
 In obedience to the request of the board of 
 directors, the president addressed letters to 
 Mr. Osborn, Judge Fentress, and Mr. Clarke, 
 expressing- the thanks of the board, of which 
 the following' are copies: 
 
 "ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY, 
 PRESIDENT'S OFFICE. 
 
 CHICAGO, January 24, 1883. 
 "WILLIAM H. OSBORN, Esq., New York: 
 
 "My Dear Sir: At a meeting of the board of di- 
 rectors of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, held 
 on the I7th instant, your teport to them, dated December 
 30, 1882, was submitted, read, ordered to be printed, 
 and copies mailed to each shareholder and leased-line 
 certificate holder of the Illinois Central Railroad Com- 
 pany. 
 
 "The following resolution was offered by Mr. 
 Sidney Webster, duly seconded, and passed unani- 
 mously : 
 
 "Resolved, That these reports be accepted by this 
 board, printed, and a copy thereof transmitted to each 
 shareholder of the Illinois Central Company and to 
 each holder of the leased line stock certificates, issued 
 against the shares of the Chicago, St. Louis & New 
 Orleans Railroad Company that this board desires 
 to express and place on record its high appreciation 
 of the wisdom, zeal, and unflagging fidelity with which 
 Mr. Osborn, Mr. Clarke, and Mr. Fentress, and every 
 other officer whose work has come under the observa- 
 tion of the board, have conducted the affairs of the 
 Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans Company since the 
 property was placed in their hands. And the president 
 of the Illinois Central is hereby directed to express 
 to those officers of the Chicago, St. Louis & New 
 Orleans Company the thanks of this board for the 
 gratifying results which their labors have done so 
 much to accomplish." 
 
 "Also the following, offered by Mr. John Elliott : 
 
 "In view of these highly satisfactory reports, the 
 board deems it desirable to call the attention of the 
 Illinois Central shareholders specifically to the in- 
 creased value of their property resulting from the in- 
 telligent and unwearied efforts of the officers who 
 have been charged with the care and development of 
 the Southern line ; therefore, be it 
 
 "Resolved, That the board recommends to the 
 shareholders at their next annual meeting to take such 
 action as they may deem best to express their appre- 
 ciation of the results thus obtained and their recogni- 
 tion of the services rendered. 
 
 "I do not know that I can add anything that will 
 emphasize more distinctly the sincere gratification felt 
 by the board on the completion of your work and I fear 
 that I shall but feebly convey to you the proper expres- 
 sion of their feeling. Remembering, as I do, the physi- 
 cal condition of the Chicago, St.Louis & New Orleans 
 Railroad six years ago. and the complicated state of 
 its finances and affairs generally, the work which you
 
 56 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 have just completed seems to me the most remarkable 
 exhibition of energy, skill, and untiring perseverance, 
 ever recorded in the history of railroad management. 
 Words fail me to properly express the appreciation 
 which I am sure every member of the board of direc- 
 tors of the Illinois Central Railroad Company feels 
 in reference to the prominent part you have .taken in 
 rescuing this property and in protecting the interests 
 of the Illinois Central shareholders. This work has 
 been to you at times one of great discouragement as 
 well as intense anxiety; but the grand result accom- 
 plished, now commanding the attention of those in- 
 terested with you, will, I am sure, compensate you for 
 your labors and call out from the shareholders a more 
 earnest expression of approval than has yet been given. 
 
 the management of the Illinois Central property for a 
 period of over a quarter of a century. 
 
 "I remain, with great respect, 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 WM. K. ACKERMAM, President." 
 
 "ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY, 
 PRESIDENT'S OFFICE. 
 
 CHICAGO, January 24, 1883. 
 
 "HoN. JAMES FENTRESS, New Orleans : 
 
 "My Dear Sir: At a meeting of the board of 
 directors of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, 
 
 >. 
 
 COURTESY S. 0. HORTON, DURANT, MI98. 
 
 Effects of a collission with a $10 cow. 
 
 Even without this, i am sure that the eminent satis- 
 faction you wiM enjoy arising from the conscientious 
 application of your energies in developing and bring- 
 ing to a successful conclusion so arduous a work as 
 you have been charged with, would of itself amply 
 repay you for the harassing cares which have sur- 
 rounded you in its prosecution. 
 
 "Permit me, in conclusion, to express to you my 
 own sense of the great obligation under which you 
 have placed us, and to express the hope that, although 
 iii the future you may not be engaged in the active 
 management of the line, yet that we may be favored 
 from time to time with your kind co-operation, and 
 may have the benefit of your long experience, gained in 
 
 held on the I7th instant, the very able and comprehen- 
 sive report prepared by you as solicitor general of the 
 Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans Railroad Company, 
 and addressed to the chairman of the executive commit- 
 tee of that company, covering a period of five years past 
 and giving a synopsis of the legislation obtained dur- 
 ing your management of the legal department during 
 that time, was laid before the board, together with the 
 reports of the chairman and general manager. They 
 were read in full, accepted by the board, ordered to be 
 printed, and copies thereof sent to each shareholder 
 and to each leased line certificate holder of the com- 
 pany.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 57 
 
 "The following resolutions were offered by Messrs. 
 Webster and Elliott, duly seconded, and passed unani- 
 mously : 
 
 [Same preamble and resolutions as contained in 
 letter to Mr. William H. Osborn.] 
 
 "From the foregoing, it will be seen that it is 
 made my pleasant duty to convey to you the thanks of 
 the board, as expressed in the above resolutions, which 
 I take great pleasure in doing. There was but a single 
 expression on the part of all the members of the board 
 and that was one of full appreciation of the very able 
 manner in which you have conducted the legal business 
 of the Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans Railroad 
 Company since that line first came into the possession 
 or under the control of the Illinois Central Railroad 
 Company. The management of the department, over 
 which you have so successfully presided during the 
 past five years, has been eminently satisfactory, and 
 the board feel that there is due to you an expression 
 of the high sense of obligation under which you have 
 placed the shareholders of the company for the very 
 happy results that you have obtained. 
 
 "Desiring to add my own personal congratula- 
 tions and good wishes, and trusting that our future 
 relations will be as pleasant and harmonious as they 
 have been in the past, 
 
 "I remain, with great respect, 
 Yours very truly, 
 WM. K. ACKERMAN, President." 
 
 "ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY, 
 PRESIDENT'S OFFICE. 
 
 CHICAGO, January 24, 1883. 
 
 "JAMES C. CLARKE, Esq., New Orleans : 
 
 "My Dear Sir: At a meeting of the board of 
 directors of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, 
 held on the I7th instant, the report prepared by you 
 dated January I, 1883, and addressed to the sharehol- 
 ders of the Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans Rail- 
 road Company, was submitted, read, ordered to be 
 printed, and copies thereof mailed to each shareholder 
 of the Illinois Central Railroad Company. 
 
 "The following resolutions were offered by Messrs. 
 Webster and Elliott, duly seconded, and passed unani- 
 mously : 
 
 [Same pre-imble and resolutions as contained in 
 letter to Mr. William H. Osborn.] 
 
 "From the foregoing, it will be seen that it is 
 made my duty to express to you, as one of the officers 
 of the Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans Railroad 
 Company, the thanks of the board for the efforts put 
 forward by you during the past five years and which 
 
 have resulted in bringing this property to its present 
 very satisfactory condition. Although the board of 
 directors have now by formal resolution more particu- 
 larly called the attention of the shareholders to your 
 efforts in accomplishing so desirable a result, yet I am 
 sure that, during all the time you have been so en- 
 gaged, they have never ceased to feel how great was the 
 obligation under which you had placed them. Of my 
 own personal knowledge, I know full well with what 
 difficulties you have had to contend and the many ad- 
 verse circumstances with which you have been sur- 
 rounded. In 1874, I passed over the line of road which 
 you have practically rebuilt. Comparing my recollec- 
 tions at that time with its present condition, I can bet- 
 ter and more fully appreciate what work you have 
 accomplished. The Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans 
 Railroad from this time on becomes a part and parcel 
 of the old line, which it has been the good fortune of 
 both of us to serve for so many years together. I 
 sincerely trust that our relations, personal and 
 official, will be as pleasant and cordial in the future 
 as they have been in the past. Believe me, dear Mr. 
 Clarke, yours very sincerely, 
 
 WM. K. ACKERMAN, President." 
 
 In addition to the reports made by Mr. Os- 
 born and Mr. Clarke, was one furnished by 
 Judge James Fentress, then of Bolivar, Ten- 
 nessee, giving a concise statement of the legal 
 history of the case. He, with Hon. John A. 
 Campbell of New Orleans ex-attorney-general 
 of the United States and at one time one of the 
 justices of the United-States supreme court 
 had been most active in the management of 
 the company's legal affairs of the South, and 
 with consummate skill had been instrumental 
 in bringing them to a successful result. Both 
 Judge Campbell and Judge Fentress owing 
 to their great ability and thorough familiarity 
 with the laws of Tennessee, Mississippi and 
 Louisiana, the latter unusually, complex were 
 enabled to render most valuable services in ex- 
 pediting settlements of complicated legal ques- 
 tions. Judge Fentress is now the general- 
 attorney of the company, resident in Chicago, 
 having succeeded Mr. Benjamin F. Ayer, who 
 held that position for many years and is now 
 the general-counsel of the company. The law 
 department of the company has always been 
 maintained at a high standard, and among its 
 legal advisers, in past years, may be found the
 
 58 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 names of James F. Joy, Hiram Ketchum, Will- 
 iam Tracy, Wm. Curtis Noyes, Daniel Lord, 
 Charles O'Connor, Judge Ebenezer Lane,* 
 Judge James Emmott, Melville W. Fuller, the 
 present chief-justice of the United States ; W. 
 C. Goudy, Senator William B. Allison, Lyman 
 Trumbull, and John N. Jewett. 
 
 Among' those prominently identified with 
 the history of the road we mention the follow- 
 ing: 
 
 Edward Turner Jeffery who was born in 
 Liverpool, England, procured employment as 
 an office boy with Samuel J. Hayes, superinten- 
 dent of machinery of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road in October 1856. He was afterward 
 placed for a while in the tin and copper shops, 
 and then served as an apprentice in the machine 
 shop, cultivating what might be regarded as 
 an hereditary fondness for the craft of the ma- 
 chinist. He then entered the department of 
 mechanical drawing, and, after he had mastered 
 this science, he was at the age of twenty 
 put in charge of this department, and was also 
 made secretary to the superintendent of ma- 
 chinery, and had charge of all new work done 
 ii> the shops and foundry. From February I, 
 1871, to May 4, 1877, he was assistant-superin- 
 tendent of machinery, and on that date he was 
 appointed general superintendent of the road 
 
 *Ebenezer Lane, jurist, was born in North Hamp- 
 ton, Massachusetts, December 17, 1793, and died in 
 Sandusky, Ohio, June 13, 1866. He was graduated 
 at Harvard in 1811. studied law under the guidance of 
 his uncle, Matthew Griswold of Lyme, Connecticut, 
 in 1814, and was admitted to the bar. After practis- 
 ing for three years in Connecticut, he removed to 
 Ohio and settled in Norwalk, Huron county. He be- 
 came judge of the court of common pleas in 1824, 
 and from 1837 until 1845 was judge of the supreme 
 court of Ohio. After his retirement from the bench, 
 he resumed his profession and was afterward engaged 
 in various relations with western railroads. Decem- 
 ber 6, 1855, he was elected resident-director of the 
 Illinois Central Railroad Company, and was their 
 legal adviser for three years. He withdrew from ac- 
 tive employment in 1859. His ability and experience 
 rendered his advice wise and trustworthy. Like 
 Rufus Choate, Horace Greeley, and some other great 
 nuii. he never learned to write legibly. 
 
 serving as such until December 15, 1885, when 
 Ivj was appointed general manager of the entire 
 line a rare promotion for one of his age, the 
 more so when we consider his humble begin- 
 nings. He resigned as general manager in 
 1889. 
 
 His own advancement, step by step, was 
 fairly won without favoritism or solicitation, but 
 solely on the ground of merit and fitness. His 
 experience not only added to his capacity as a 
 railroad manager, but it likewise broadened his 
 mind and enlarged his heart and sympathies for 
 every honest wage-worker, especially for the 
 young apprentice in the shops. His official 
 career, in the Illinois Central Railroad Company, 
 was singularly successful throughout. His par- 
 ticular strength lay in his thorough adaptation 
 to the company's service and to every branch of 
 it in which he served, as well as in his great 
 industry and energy. (See biography in Part 
 II.) 
 
 It was my good fortune, during the seven 
 important years of my connection with the com- 
 pany, as its executive, to have so able a man 
 with me, and one so loyal alike to me and to the 
 company as was Edward T. Jeffery. He was 
 skillful, energetic, systematic, and economical ; 
 and, in all he undertook, he worked with an 
 intelligent comprehension of the duty in hand. 
 .V harmonious feeling was maintained among 
 the employes, and their devotion to him was 
 something rarely witnessed in corporate opera- 
 tions. 
 
 The seven years, heretofore referred to, 
 were the most prosperous ones in the history 
 of the company. Many important additions 
 and improvements were made to the property 
 during this time, and, as the engineering de- 
 partment had been abolished Mr. Leverett 
 II. Clarke, chief-engineer, having resigned after 
 a faithful service of twenty-five years and 
 the construction account had been closed, the 
 planning and superintending of these new works 
 devolved largely upon the general superinten- 
 dent. The gross earnings were increased, the 
 operation expenses were kept at a very low per- 
 u-ntage, while at the same time, the physical
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 59 
 
 condition of the property was fully maintained 
 and large additions were made to its rolling 
 stock. 
 
 Joseph !". Tucker was born in Saco, Maine, 
 September 2<). 1835. He entered the service 
 oi" the company September 15, 1856, and re- 
 mained until 1884. Five of these twenty-eight 
 years were spent as ticket agent, ten as genera! 
 freight agent, two as general superintendent, and 
 nearly nine as traffic manager. 
 
 that had certain of the freight agents in former 
 years adopted such honorable and conservative 
 principles in the prosecution of their business, 
 it is more than probable that the railway interests 
 of this country would have suffered less than they 
 have at the hands of legislatures. Many a time 
 at meetings and in conventions, did Mr. Tucker 
 warn these railroad managers and freight agents 
 a- to what would be the result of their doubtful 
 dealings. His words were not always heeded. 
 
 PHOTO LOANED BY E. H. GERRY, CHICAGO. 
 
 A representative of the locomotives used by the Illinois Central, in the Chicago suburban service. 
 
 From the foregoing, it will be seen that his 
 education in the traffic department was thorough 
 and the lessons he gained there taught him that 
 earnings for his road meant more than gather- 
 ing a large volume of profitless business for self- 
 glorification. The "rate per ton per mile" was 
 his ever present thought and he aimed to se- 
 cure such a rate as would produce a reasonable 
 net result of profit. In this matter, he was a 
 wholesome example to many in similar posi- 
 tions and they might have studied with advan- 
 tage his conservative course. It is safe to assert 
 
 and when the storm came it swept into bank- 
 ruptcy the properties managed by the reckless 
 or ignorant men who had withstood him. 
 
 There is another thing about "Joe" Tucker 
 that is pleasant to record and that is the esteem 
 i 1 .! which he was always held by the shippers 
 over his line as well as by the craft of traffic 
 ipanagers. It was always said of him that his 
 word was as good as his bond, and so it was. 
 The shippers used to say that if he declined to 
 make concessions, he could always give a good 
 reason for the ground he took and that the re-
 
 60 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 iusal was always made in such a kind spirit 
 that, although they might feel disappointed, they 
 could not go away offended. And in his re- 
 lations to other lines, it required no cast-iron 
 compact of any association of traffic managers 
 to bind him to an agreement as to maintenance 
 of rates. It was this spirit of fairness and in- 
 tegrity that made and kept him host of friends 
 both among freight men and shippers. 
 
 His management of the traffic business of 
 the Illinois Central Railroad Company extended 
 through some very troublous times, particular- 
 ly during the period when railroad commis- 
 sioners were sometimes appointed not so much 
 for their fitness as for political reward. When 
 these men got on the wrong track and attempted 
 to make unreasonable reductions, it was difficult 
 to reason them out of it, for they were dealing) 
 with a subject concerning which they were pro- 
 foundly ignorant, and were governed more by 
 prejudice, and passion, than by sound sense and 
 sober judgment. But Mr. Tucker's arguments 
 before the board of railroad and warehouse com- 
 missioners, evincing as they did a thorough 
 mastery of the subject and delivered with such 
 fairmindedness and honest precision, were us- 
 ually listened to with respectful attention and 
 often carried conviction to his hearers; and, in 
 one instance at least aided by some sugges- 
 tions from his brother officers he prevailed 
 upon the members of the board actually to re- 
 call a schedule of tariff rates which they had 
 ordered to take effect within a few days. He 
 proved clearly to the minds of the commissioners 
 that the practical effect of an enforcement of the 
 schedule would be a confiscation of railway 
 property and that it would also operate to the 
 disadvantage of the public. 
 
 John C. Welling was born near Trenton, 
 New Jersey, on February 24, 1840, and received 
 his education in that city. In 1858 he went in- 
 to business at Titusville, New Jersey, remained 
 there until 1861, when he was appointed clerk- 
 to John W. Newell, paymaster of the United 
 States army. He was in the government ser- 
 vice until August 1866, and then entered the 
 service of the Ironton Railroad and Mining Com- 
 
 pany, whose mines were located near Allentown. 
 Pa., and owned by Robert Lennox Kennedy of 
 New York. He afterward served as Mr. Ken- 
 nedy's private secretary until 1874, when he en- 
 tered the service of the I. C. Railroad Com- 
 pany in the financial department in New York. 
 September i, 1874, he removed to Chicago to 
 take the position of assistant treasurer. Two 
 years later, he was appointed auditor. His title 
 was afterward changed to general auditor and 
 then to comptroller, a title more nearly corre- 
 sponding to the duties performed, his office be- 
 ing charged with the supervision of all accounts 
 of the company. He was later elected vice- 
 president, which position he retains at the pres- 
 ent time. 
 
 Personally, Mr. Welling is held in very 
 high estimation by the board of directors, by 
 every brother officer, and by all the employes of 
 the road, especially by the young men serving 
 immediately under him, who find in him not 
 only an example of good life but a kind and help- 
 ful counsellor. 
 
 Benjamin Franklin Ayer was born in 
 Kingston, Rockingham county, New Hamp- 
 shire, April 22, 1825. His family is one of the 
 oldest in New England, he was descended in the 
 eighth generation from John Ayer, who had 
 settled in Haverhill, Mass., in 1645. After 
 preparing himself at the Albany, New York, 
 Academy, Mr. Ayer entered Dartmouth College 
 where he was graduated in the year 1846. He 
 afterward attended the Dana Law School of 
 Harvard College to perfect himself for the pro- 
 fession of the law. In July 1849, he was ad- 
 mitted to the bar and practised in Manchester, 
 New Hampshire being endowed with natural 
 abilities for the profesion, he soon made a high 
 reputation. He was elected to the legislature 
 in 1853. In 1854 he was appointed prosecut- 
 ing attorney for Hillsborough county, New 
 Hampshire, and held that office until his removal 
 to Chicago in 1857. He was admitted to the 
 bar of Illinois on May I5th of the same year, and 
 he as rapidly rose in the regard of our people 
 and of the profession as lie had in his Eastern 
 home. In 1861 he was appointed corporation
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 IU 
 
 counsel and served as such five years, during . 
 which time, he prepared the revised charter of 
 Chicago in 1863. He was afterward of the law 
 firm of Beckwith, Ayer and Kales. When 
 Judge Corydon Beckwith withdrew to accept 
 the general solicitorship of the Chicago & Alton 
 Railroad Company, the firm was continued by 
 Ayer and Kales. In 1876 he was tendered the 
 position of general solicitor of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral Railroad Company. Prior to this, he had 
 devoted his attention to corporation and railroad 
 law and had distinguished himself in this class 
 of legal practice. He accepted the offer of the 
 Illinois Central Railroad, gave up all other prac- 
 tice, and has since devoted himself to the legal 
 department of this company. He was elected 
 a director of the company, April 25th, 1877, 
 which position he still holds. In 1890 his title 
 was changed to that of general counsel. Mr. 
 Ayer was for several years president of the 
 Western Railroad Association, which was or- 
 ganized many years since to pass upon the vali- 
 dity of patents affecting railways and which in- 
 cludes in its membership all the leading railways 
 of the West. 
 
 Timothy B. Blackstone, late president of 
 the Chicago & Alton Railway, was one of the 
 division engineers who assisted Col. R. B. Mason 
 in surveying, locating and constructing the line 
 of the road and was with him from May 1851, 
 to December 1855. 
 
 Mr. Marvin Hughitt was born in August 
 1837, and may be said to have begun his railroad 
 experience with the Chicago & Alton Railroad 
 in 1856, in the capacity of superintendent of 
 telegraph and train dispatcher. He entered the 
 service of the Illinois Central Railroad Company 
 in 1862, and occupied the positions of superin- 
 tendent of telegraph, train dispatcher, assistant 
 general superintendent, and general superinten- 
 dent, successively. He was appointed general 
 superintendent in 1866 succeeding W. R. 
 Arthur, who had held that position for about 
 seven years and remained in that position un- 
 til 1870. The period of his connection with the 
 company was a somewhat trying one. It was 
 during the stormy days of the rebellion, when 
 
 the railway service was a hard field to occupy. 
 The demoralization incident to the war seemed 
 to permeate every part of the line and unfortu- 
 nately it was not confined to the subordinates. 
 Many of the men in the different departments 
 having enlisted in the army, their places had to 
 be supplied by new and inexperienced hands. 
 Perfect discipline was practically impossible. 
 The earnings of the line were very large, but 
 all supplies and materials had to be bought at 
 war prices. The equipment, both in quantity 
 and quality, was inadequate to the demands up- 
 on it, and these demands were all the more diffi- 
 cult to meet with an unballasted road-bed upon 
 a prairie soil. These disadvantages, particular- 
 ly at time when the resources of the road were 
 greatly overtaxed, required about as much hero- 
 ism as any that was displayed on the field of 
 battle, and reflected great credit upon those who 
 could bring good results out of such compara- 
 tively disordered conditions, and Mr. Hughitt 
 was well entitled to a share of this credit. 
 
 For awhile, the United States government 
 hesitated about making payments to the com- 
 pany for transportation of troops and munitions 
 of war. Hon. Elihu B. Washburne, then a 
 member of congress from Illinois, took the 
 ground that the company was obliged under its 
 charter to carry them free. If congress adopted 
 this view, it meant bankruptcy for the road. 
 The matter was very thoroughly discussed and 
 exhaustively examined by congress, and a con- 
 clusion was reached in exact accordance with 
 the charter that the road-bed should remain 
 open a "public highway" free for the transpor- 
 tation of troops and war materials for the 
 government; but that the company was not ex- 
 pected to furnish equipment, supplies and men 
 free. 
 
 The year after the close of the war, 1866, 
 there was a large decline in the passenger traffic 
 consequent upon the discontinuance of hostili- 
 ties. The south had been desolated by the war, 
 its labor system was disorganized and its in- 
 dustries were not yet reconstructed, so that its 
 impoverished people were unable to purchase 
 much. The southern states not taking their
 
 62 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 x 
 
 A, 
 
 CJ 
 x
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 usual supply of food from the north, traffic in 
 that direction decreased. The road-bed and 
 equipment, owing to the heavy traffic of the five 
 years preceding, were greatly deteriorated and 
 this called for large expenditures in the way of 
 reconstruction, sadly affecting net results. 
 
 October i, 1867, the Dubuque & Sioux 
 City Railroad was leased ; but all the traffic at 
 1 hmleith had to he transported across the river 
 to Dubuque by ferry. This year the construc- 
 tion of the Dunleith and Dubuque bridge was 
 commenced, but it was not opened for business 
 until January i, 1869. In 1869 the corn crop 
 in central Illinois was a failure. 54 miles of 
 Cedar Falls & Minnesota and 49 miles of the 
 Jowa Falls & Sioux City railroads were con- 
 structed this year but both lines the former 
 to Mona and the later to Sioux City were 
 not completed until the following year. In 
 1869 the Iowa system reached the total length 
 of 402 miles. 
 
 In 1870 an arrangement was made with the 
 Ijelleville & Southern Illinois Railroad for run- 
 ning through trains between Cairo and St. 
 Louis. 
 
 In 1871 Mr. Hughitt was succeeded as 
 general superintendent by Mr. Abram Mitchell 
 having resigned to accept the position of assist 
 ant general manager of the Chicago, Milwaukee 
 & St. Paul Raihvav. In the same vear, he be 
 
 emne superintendent of the Pullman Palace Car 
 Com pan\'. In February 1872, his connection 
 with the Chicago & Northwestern Railway com- 
 menced, in which company he held with great 
 credit to himself and to the material prosperity 
 of said company the various positions of super- 
 intendent, general manager, and second vice- 
 president, and finally rose to the presidency. 
 
 The present managers of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral Railroad Company have a goodly heritage. 
 '1 hey have emulated the example of their pre- 
 decessors in carrying along a work born in in- 
 tegrity of purpose and prosecuted with heroism 
 under every conceivable adversity to a success- 
 ful completion. 
 
 The construction of the Illinois Central 
 marked a new era in the history of the 
 slate of Illinois, an era in which it could turn 
 from the mortification of broken pledges, and 
 despair of insolvencey, to the bright realiza- 
 tion of restored credit at home and abroad. 
 Well has the state profited by its sad experience, 
 "internal improvement" need be no longer 
 dreamily indulged in as a joyful anticipation of 
 childish fancy for it is now being worked 
 out to its fullest completion. Well may its 
 sons rejoice, and let them not forget to honor 
 the memory of those who filled important parts 
 in the work of construction and commercial 
 progress.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHIES.
 
 HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHIES. 
 
 Among: those who were most prominent in bringing to a successful termination the organization and 
 early development of the Illinois Central Railroad, we mention the following: 
 
 JONATHAN STURGES was one of the 
 incorporators of the company, and a 
 director from February 10, 1851 to May 
 28, 1862; he was again elected, May 17, 
 1868, and held the office until the time of his 
 death, Nov. 28, 1874. He was also acting-presi- 
 dent at one time. In the management of this prop- 
 erty, he applied the same rules of commercial in- 
 tegrity that were employed in his own business. 
 In the days of its sorest trials, Mr. Sturges 
 proved the main-stay of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road, and in the time of its greatest financial 
 depression when the price of its shares declined, 
 his great fear was that some who had been in- 
 duced to purchase them, owing to his official re- 
 lation with the company, might suffer loss. Mr. 
 Sturges was born at Southport, Ct., March 24, 
 1802. He was one of the honored merchants 
 of the city of New York. His business-house 
 was established about 1834 and was then Reed 
 and Sturges ; afterward it became Reed, Hemp- 
 stead and Sturges, and later Sturges, Bennett 
 and Company, wholesale grocers at No. 125 
 Front street. He was elected a member of the 
 Chamber of Commerce, July i, 1834, and was 
 elected its vice-president in 1863, and retired 
 from that office in 1867. The following is an 
 extract from a letter addressed to Mr. Sturges 
 by his brother merchants, Dec. 30, 1867, on the 
 occasion of his retiring from business and invit- 
 ing him to meet them at dinner : "Your life among 
 uj. of nearly half a century in the same locality 
 in Front Street, we can truly say has been such 
 as commends itself to every one both old and 
 
 young, who regard that which is -true, just, and 
 noble, in mercantile character." * * * * 
 
 On December 3, 1874, the directors of the 
 Chamber of Commerce ordered the following 
 minute to be entered upon their record : 
 
 "In 1868, Mr. Sturges retired from active 
 business with an ample fortune and a reputation 
 for probity and honor which is better than earth- 
 ly riches. He had come to be regarded as the 
 foremost man in the tea and coffee trades which 
 he had followed for so many years, and was 
 recognized as a wise counsellor, and a warm 
 and steadfast friend. The good example which 
 he lived doubtless did much to impart to the 
 whole body of traders, of which his house was 
 a conspicuous member, that character for integ- 
 rity and upright dealing which it has always 
 borne which it still maintains. * * * Mr. 
 Sturges was a promoter of many important un- 
 dertakings, as well as an able coadjutor in all, 
 and in the discharge of his various and responsi- 
 ble duties, he was always governed by a recti- 
 tude of purpose and unswerving fidelity to his 
 trust. Good sense and a sound judgment were 
 the distinguishing characteristics of his great 
 worth in all corporate bodies. As one of the 
 founders and directors of the Bank of Commerce, 
 as director and acting-president of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company, as one of the pro- 
 prietors and directors of the New York and New 
 Haven Railroad Company, and as vice-president 
 of this association, he was widely known and 
 held in high regard. Nor was it in the walks 
 of business, in the counting room, and in the
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 exchange, that he was chiefly honored and be- 
 loved he was a recognized patron of art. In 
 the church, he manifested the virtues of a Chris- 
 tian ; in society, the unostentatious attributes of 
 a gentleman ; in the service of his country, the 
 devoted zeal of a true patriot ; as a citizen, the 
 love of the philanthropist, never forgetti'ng his 
 obligations to the poor, the sick, and the crippled, 
 but extending to all the benefactions of a warm 
 heart and of an open hand. The homage we 
 paid to the good man when living we desire to 
 perpetuate in hallowed memories, and to this end 
 
 being signed by the officers of the chamber." He 
 died in the city of New York, November 28, 
 1874. 
 
 York. 
 
 EORGE GRISWOLD was of the firm 
 of N. L. and G. Griswold who occupied 
 a rough-granite store at No. 71 and 
 72 South street in the city of New 
 
 This building was a fitting emblem of 
 
 the standing and credit of the house. They 
 
 COURTESY B. A 0. R'Y. 
 
 THE HERCULES" 1837. 
 
 This was the first locomotive in the world with equalizing frames and levels. 
 See article Transportation Advancement. 
 
 we inscribe on our minutes the sentiments that 
 are graven on our hearts of gratitude for this 
 life of uncommon beauty, of sincere sorrow for 
 our own great loss, and of our sympathy for the 
 family of the bereaved to whom it is ordered 
 that a copy of the foregoing be transmitted after 
 
 were egaged in the China trade, sailing the good 
 ship Panama, and did a very large business, sel- 
 ling Canton goods, teas, etc. J. N. A. Griswold, 
 son of George Griswold, who in 1855 became 
 president of the Illinois Central Railroad com- 
 pany, was sent as super-cargo on the Panama to
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 69 
 
 China, and resided there for many years. Mr. 
 Griswold came to New York from Lyme, Conn., 
 in 1794, and in 1796 the house was established. 
 In those early years, the merchants ruled the city, 
 and participation in politics was regarded not 
 only as honorable but as an imperative duty. 
 He made an excellent presiding officer at politi- 
 cal or popular meetings for any purpose. He 
 was always ready to promote the interests of the 
 city and added largely to its prosperity in his 
 day. He had many noble traits of character, 
 and more than one young merchant owed his 
 success to the help and counsel Mr. Griswold 
 afforded. Although well advanced in years at 
 the time, he took part in the organization of the 
 Illinois Central Railroad company, in 1851, he 
 was a man of such wonderful energy for his 
 years and possessed of such remarkable will 
 power, that many of the younger men engaged 
 with him in this important work, found it no 
 small task to keep up with his movements. He 
 was "a director in the Bank of America for many 
 years, and was also interested in many institu- 
 tions of a public character in the city of New 
 York. He was a member of the Presbyterian 
 church, attending Dr. Pott's church. He died 
 in New York, September 18, 1859, in the old 
 homestead which he had occupied for so many 
 years at No. 9 Washington Square. 
 
 LEROY M. WILEY was born in Han- 
 cock county, Georgia, on October 30, 
 1794. His father was born in South 
 Carolina, and his mother in Mecklen- 
 burgh county, North Carolina; they were both 
 of Scotch-Irish descent and were among the 
 early settlers in Hancock county, Georgia. 
 About the year 1807, they removed to Baldwin 
 county and resided on a farm near Milledgeville, 
 which had been made the capital of the state. 
 Here his father died, leaving his widowed mother 
 with seven children with limited means to fight 
 the battle of life alone and to provide for their 
 
 support and education. Under these circum- 
 stances, Leroy the eldest son, then only fifteen 
 years of age, was placed in a dry-goods store 
 in Milledgeville to earn his living and make his 
 way in the world. With a limited education, 
 by industry and integrity, faithfulness and close 
 application to business, he soon gained the con- 
 fidence of all those with whom he came in con- 
 tact and laid the foundation for his success in 
 life. 
 
 Upon his arrival at manhood, Mr. Wiley 
 entered into business with Thos. W. Baxter, 
 who had married his eldest sister, under the 
 name of Wiley and Baxter, and for many years 
 this firm continued in Milledgeville doing a 
 large and profitable business. After the settle- 
 ment of Macon, they opened an additional store 
 in that city where they were equally successful. 
 In 1832 the firm was dissolved, Baxter mov- 
 ing to Macon, and Wiley went to Charleston, 
 S. C, at the invitation of the Messrs. Parish 
 of New York and became associated in business 
 with them under the firm name of L. M. Wiley, 
 Parish and Company in Charleston, and Parish 
 and Company in New York. They did a large 
 and lucrative business extending throughout the 
 Southern States, and thus Mr. Wiley became one 
 of the leading merchants of the South and a man 
 of wealth. After the retirement of the Messrs. 
 Parish from business, Mr. Wiley removed to 
 New York and became the head of the house 
 under the name of L. M. Wiley and Company, 
 and afterward as a special partner in the firm of 
 W. G. Lane and Company, continuing in business 
 until 1854. 
 
 In the winter of 1853, he was called on an 
 urgent engagement to St. Louis, and through 
 the exposure of that journey, then partly made 
 by stage-coaches, and from general overwork, 
 he had a slight attack of paralvsis, and at the 
 earnest solicitation of his friends and relatives, 
 he retired from all mercantile pursuits. From 
 this time, he devoted his time and energies to 
 the management of his large estate and to various 
 enterprises in which he was engaged. He estab- 
 lished a large flour-mill and iron-works on the 
 Etowah River near Cartersville, Ga., and became
 
 70 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 interested with others in various railroad com- 
 panies, and these, together with his plantation 
 interests, occupied his time. He was one of 
 the original corporators and directors of the 
 Illinois Central Railroad Company from 1851 
 64. He was also a director and largely inter- 
 ested in the Great-Western Railroad Company 
 of Illinois, afterward the Toledo, Wabash & 
 Western Railroad Company. At the commence- 
 
 York, resumed his old quarters at the Astor 
 House, and engaged again in the various railroad 
 enterprises in which he was interested. The 
 board of directors of the Illinois Central Railroad 
 Company, out of respect to Mr. Wiley and in 
 recognition of his valuable services to the 
 company during its early organization, again 
 elected him a director. May 29, 1867, which 
 office he held until the time of his death. 
 
 COURTESY B. A 0. R'Y. 
 
 THE "ATLANTIC." 1832. 
 
 This is the first of the "Grasshopper" class, and is the oldest American locomotive in existence. 
 
 See article Transportation Advancement. 
 
 ment of the war, influenced by education, associ- 
 ation, and sentiment, he removed South to 
 protect his interests and to cast his lot with his 
 brothers and sisters, and remained quietly at 
 his plantation near Eufaula, Ala., which hence- 
 forth became his home. During his absence 
 South, his seat in the board was declared vacant. 
 May 19, 1864, on account of absenteeism. After 
 the restoration of peace, he returned to New 
 
 Mr. Wiley was a man of fine physique and 
 indomitable energy and a gentleman of the old 
 school. He was scrupulously honorable and just 
 in all his transactions, never seemed to know 
 what fatigue was, and his invincible will power 
 was felt among his subordinates in all the ram- 
 ifications of his extensive business. In society, 
 he was courteous and polite, and among his 
 relatives, he was exceedingly kind and generous.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 71 
 
 His three sisters were all left widows with large 
 families, and two of them without means. 
 The families of these two he supported, and 
 educated their children, and all of his nieces he 
 educated, giving them the very best advantages 
 the country afforded. At the commencement 
 of the war, he had by his own exertions and 
 without entering into any speculations, accumu- 
 lated a fortune estimated at two millions of 
 dollars, at a time when millionaires were not 
 so plentiful as they now are. During that un- 
 fortunate struggle, much of his property was 
 greatly depreciated in value, and this, together 
 with the effects of emancipation, swept away 
 one-half of his estate, which, when he died, was 
 valued to be about one million of dollars. Having 
 never married, he gave his entire property to his 
 three sisters and the children of his deceased 
 brothers. In January 1868, Mr. Wiley, while 
 on his journey from Georgia to New York, was 
 again attacked by disease of the brain, and his 
 friends, finding him in this condition, removed 
 him to the home of Mr. Gresham, who had 
 married his niece, in Macon, Ga. But he did 
 not improve, and was carried to Welanee the 
 name he gave to his beautiful home in 
 Alabama and there, under the tender care of 
 his sisters and nieces, he quietly passed away, 
 April 16, 1868, and his body lies at rest in 
 Macon, by the side of his mother. 
 
 OBERT RANTOUL, JR. was an 
 American statesman, born in Beverly, 
 Mass., August 13, 1805. He was 
 graduated at Harvard College in 1826 
 and was admitted to the Essex bar in 1827. In 
 1837 he was appointed a member of the Massa- 
 chusetts board of education. In 1838 he re- 
 moved to Boston, and in 1843 was appointed 
 by President Tyler collector of that port, and in 
 1845 United States district attorney for Massa- 
 chusetts. Hiram Ketchum a celebrated lawyer 
 of New York, and an intimate personal friend 
 
 of Daniel Webster, and who strenuously advo- 
 cated his nomination to the presidency, suggested 
 the latter's name as a fit person to draft the char- 
 ter of the Illinois Central Railroad, but Webster 
 could not give it attention and named Rantoul, 
 who did most of the work at his Boston office. 
 Hon. George White, now judge of probate for 
 Norfolk County, was then a student in Rantoul's 
 office, and copied out the first draft in his hand- 
 writing. Probably Ketchum aided Rantoul in 
 formulating the charter; there were, however, 
 radical changes made in it before its final passage, 
 which Mr. Rantoul personally superintended in 
 Springfield. By a coincidence, while thus en- 
 gaged, he was elected by the Massachusetts legis- 
 lature to serve out Daniel Webster's term in 
 the United States senate, which had been tem- 
 porarily filled by Robert C. Winthrop under an 
 appointment of the governor, entering the senate. 
 February 22, 1851, twelve days after the Illi- 
 nois Central Railway charter was passed. He 
 wrote to his son on taking his seat a letter in 
 which occurs this passage "I arrived this fore- 
 noon from St. Louis, my mission to Illinois has 
 been completely successful. I have obtained a 
 charter which the western senators here call 
 worth five or six millions. This however is 
 to be ascertained by the result of the experiment." 
 After Mr. Rantoul's services of a few weeks 
 in the senate, he was succeeded by Charles 
 Sumner for the long term. He was elected to 
 the house of representatives the same year, 1851, 
 for the first time, and died before his term ex- 
 pired, August 7, 1852. 
 
 Said his historian : ''Of the great men who 
 in 1852 were summoned to "put on immortality," 
 Robert Rantoul, Jr., in all the elements of moral 
 worth, intellectual activity, practical usefulness, 
 and beneficence to mankind, was one of the 
 greatest. His life was a scene of incessant labor 
 in the cause of liberty, justice, and humanity. 
 Of every subject to which he directed his 
 attention gaining with unparalleled . facility a 
 profound knowledge, a thorough mastery, he de- 
 voted his acquirements with honest and inflexable 
 purpose to advance the welfare of society; yet 
 lie sounded no trumpet before" him. His manners
 
 72 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 were gentle, quiet, and unostentatious. * * * 
 Few men have been called from the scenes of 
 American civil life whose death caused more 
 unaffected sorrow and tender grief." 
 
 One of the laudable acts of his life was the 
 effort he made for the abolition of capital punish- 
 ment and his report is still one of the standard 
 authorities on the subject. In politics, Mr. Ran- 
 tou! was a democrat and an earnest advocate 
 
 but he was unsuccessful. When in 1863, Ran- 
 toul's son the present mayor of Salem, Mass., 
 was introduced to President Lincoln at the White 
 House, the latter referred to this fact and ac- 
 knowledged he did all he could to stop it, but 
 added with a laugh and slapping his lank thighs, 
 "Your father beat me, he beat me!" 
 
 Rantoul was the author of an interesting 
 pamphlet entitled : "Letter on the value of the 
 
 COURTESY B. A O. R'Y. 
 
 THE "MT. CLARE." 1845. 
 Named after the oldest railroad shops in the world. See article Transportation Advancement. 
 
 of free-trade. He defended the first fugitive 
 slave arrested in Massachusetts under the act 
 of 1850. 
 
 At the time application was made to the 
 legislature of Illinois for the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road charter, there . were certain Western capi- 
 talists who desired to secure it, as they did not 
 wish the project to go to Eastern capitalists. 
 Abraham Lincoln was employed on their behalf 
 
 public lands of Illinois" which he wrote in 1850. 
 It was an inquiry as to the prospective value of 
 lands in Illinois and an examination of the con- 
 siderations which would probably influence the 
 settlement of the state. In this pamphlet, he com- 
 pared the lands of our state with those of the 
 older states and .showed how the latter had been 
 affected in value by railway construction. The 
 pamphlet teems with valuable statistical infonna-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 73 
 
 tion, and we quote extensively from it. At that 
 time, 1850, it appears that the unsold lands in 
 Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, were as follows : 
 
 Ohio, containing 25,576,960 acres, had unsold 367,742 
 Indiana, " 21,637,760 " " " 1,511,266 
 Illinois, " 35,459,200 ' 11,449,471 
 
 He estimated that eleven million acres of land 
 not taken up in Illinois would supply a popula- 
 tion of little more than four hundred thousand 
 persons with twenty-eight acres each, and pre- 
 dicted that this increase at the ordinary rate 
 would occur in six or s'even years, and that if 
 the rate of increase should not be checked, five 
 hundred and sixty-five thousand persons would 
 be added to the population in eight years, and 
 nine hundred and five thousand in twelve years, 
 this at the ordinary rate. He then went on to 
 show what, in his belief, would be the effect of 
 the settlement of the Illinois Central Railroad 
 lands, and estimated the following increases in 
 population by land districts : 
 
 District. Rate of increase. Pop, I860 
 
 yuincy and Chicago, 66% per cent, 525,225 
 
 Dixon, Danville and Vandalia, 240 " 640,009 
 
 Other five, 80 " 633,620 
 
 1,798,854 
 
 His estimate was very nearly reached. The 
 population of our State in 1850 was 851,470 and 
 in ten years, 1860, it had reached 1,711,951. 
 
 Referring to the debt of Illinois and its 
 effect upon emigration to that State, he says : 
 
 "During the last ten years, Illinois has la- 
 bored under a debt of a magnitude absolutely 
 overwhelming, when compared with her re- 
 sources at the commencement of that period. 
 She had then before her a very gloomy alterna- 
 tive. If she endeavored to meet even the in- 
 terest of her obligations, she would be crushed 
 under the weight of an intolerable taxation, from 
 which her most able and enterprising citizens 
 would have fled into other states. If she aban- 
 doned the effort in despair of the possibility of 
 success, then she must suffer all the consequences 
 of the total loss of credit consequent on her bank- 
 ruptcy. In neither case, did it seem to be prob- 
 able that her public works could be made avail- 
 able toward the discharge of .the debt incurred 
 
 for them or aid to develop the resources of the 
 State. Why should an emigrant from the old 
 world, or from the states, with the broad valley 
 of the Mississippi open before him where to 
 choose, voluntarily assume a full share of these 
 embarrassments by becoming a citizen of Illinois? 
 The answer which the emigrants have given to 
 this question may be seen in the settlement of 
 Wisconsin which state, with a colder climate and 
 harder soil than Illinois, has added to her popu- 
 lation more than eight hundred and eighty per 
 cent in the last ten years a progress unpre- 
 cedented in the history of the world in any agri- 
 cultural community. 
 
 "Ten years ago, Illinois, borne down with 
 debt, had not only not a mile of railroad, or canal, 
 or plank road, in operation within her borders, 
 but no reasonable plan had been agreed upon 
 by which she could hope to diminish her debt, 
 discharge her interest, or acquire facilities of 
 communication. She has now her canal debt 
 rapidly approaching toward extinction, revenues 
 sufficient in a very short time to discharge her 
 whole interest without increasing the rate of 
 taxation, one hundred miles of canal, and a still 
 geater length of railroad in highly profitable 
 operation, with plank roads in great numbers 
 paying dividends large enough to insure the ear- 
 ly construction of several thousand miles more. 
 Not only so but she has before her the certainty 
 that she will be supplied with more than twelve 
 hundred, perhaps it may be safely said, more 
 than fifteen hundred miles of railroad in the 
 next five or six years ; and channels are already 
 constructed to convey her products, transported 
 to her borders on these railroads, through Michi- 
 gan, Indiana, and the Eastern states, to the sea- 
 board and abroad. If, paralyzed as she was for 
 the last ten years, her growth was at about the 
 same rate as that of Michigan, having less than 
 half as dense a population, with her railroads and 
 her lake borders and her steamboats ; about the 
 same as that of Missouri with only two-thirds as 
 dense a population, and with the Queen Citv of 
 the Great River in her centre receiving the whole 
 current of emigration up the Mississippi ; about 
 the same numerically as that of Wisconsin and
 
 74 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Iowa together, these two starting with a hundred 
 thousand square miles of land unoccupied, whol- 
 ly unencumbered with debt and accessible from 
 the lake and from the river why should she 
 not, in her present healthy condition, her limbs 
 unshackled and her pathway free before her, ad- 
 vance with the step of a giant refreshed, toward 
 her natural position among the first in popula- 
 tion, power, and wealth of the North American 
 
 is not worth so much as a bushel of corn costing 
 twenty cents which can be carried for tea cents 
 to the same market and sold for the same price 
 of thirty-six cents. A saving of twenty cents 
 per bushel on the transportation of your corn 
 is the saving of ten dollars on the crop of an acre 
 reckoned at fifty bushels ; and this sum is twen- 
 ty per cent interest on a first cost of fifty dollars 
 per acre. It will be better economy, therefore, 
 
 COURTESY B. A O. F.-Y. 
 
 THE "DRAGON." 1848. 
 This is one of the oldest examples of the Baldwin Locomotive Works extant. See article Locomotive Advancement. 
 
 confederacy of states? * * But, it may be 
 asked, will not a larger portion of the additional 
 population coming into the valley of the Missis- 
 sippi, diverge into the new states and so be drawn 
 off from Illinois? 
 
 Certainly not to the inaccessible portions 
 of those states - because a bushel of corn cost- 
 ing six cents which can be carried for thirty cents 
 to a market where it will sell for thirty-six cents, 
 
 taking the article of corn as a criterion, to buy 
 land in the south part of the Danville district at 
 fifty dollars per acre, when the prices by compe- 
 tition for it shall have been raised so high, and 
 you have a double-track railroad within twelve 
 miles of your farm, than it would have been 
 to buy the same land at a dollar and a quarter 
 per acre when there was no practicable outlet 
 for your produce.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 75 
 
 "Corn was carried during the summer from 
 a point several miles above the mouth of the Illi- 
 nois River down to the Illinois, thence up that 
 river to the canal, thence to Chicago, and thence 
 to New York, and there sold at a profit. Corn 
 was not low in Illinois last summer, but in New 
 York is was considerably lower than the average 
 of the last four years. Corn will go to market 
 cheaper from the lands in the Danville district 
 on the line of the Chicago branch of the Central 
 road than from the point of shipment on the 
 Mississippi first referred to. Corn is so cheap 
 and bulky that all other agricultural produce 
 may be carried much further on the railroad 
 without too great an addition to its price. All 
 produce for which a market can be found at the 
 seaboard will bear the cost of transportation from 
 Illinois. 
 
 "Xor need we be alarmed at the vast amounts 
 of produce which these unsettled tracts are capa- 
 ble of yielding. The Northwest never received 
 so great an accession to its population in any 
 equal period as in the last five years ; the emigra- 
 tion from foreign countries, most of which passes 
 to the Northwest, having risen to 299,610 in 1849. 
 and to 315,333 in 1850, instead of less than 
 50,000 a year as it was formerly. Yet with this 
 unparalleled increase of laborers cultivating the 
 richest soil of the world, with the new avenues 
 to market that have been opened during that 
 time, all pouring to the seaboard the surplus of 
 a succession of bountiful harvests in quantities 
 unheard of before, and at much lower freights 
 than before, the supply has not kept pace with 
 the demand as is shown by the fact that agricul- 
 tural products, almost without exception, have 
 borne much higher prices during the last four 
 years than during the four next preceding. The 
 following are the average prices of the whole 
 quantities of some of the principal articles ex- 
 ported from the United States during the two 
 periods : 
 
 Flour, 1843-4-5-6, $4.79 1847-8-9-50, $5.77 
 Wheat, " " .96V l - 2S ^ 
 
 Corn, " " .55 -71>4 
 
 'The prices of pork and other animal pro- 
 ducts differ also in about the same proportion. 
 
 The difference extends also to southern products, 
 so that labor will not be diverted at the South 
 from their peculiar staples, to wheat, corn, pork, 
 and the articles which now employ Northwestern 
 labor. The prices were : 
 
 Cotton, 1843-4-5-0, $ .068728 1847-S-9-50, $ .08417 
 Rice, " " 17.66 22.24 
 
 Tobacco, " " 52.1.5 59.47 
 
 ''Stimulated by this rise of prices, the ex- 
 ports of the last four years exceeded those of the 
 four years previous in vegetable food and the 
 products of animals alone by about one hundred 
 millions of dollars in the total : 
 
 The animal products, exported from 1843-46 
 
 inclusive, were valued at - - - $24,153,331 
 And the vegetable food at 47,335,438 
 
 Making an aggregate of $71,488,769 
 
 "But, during the period from 1847-50 in- 
 clusive, the exports of animal products 
 were about doubled and amounted to $ 47,354,655 
 
 The vegetable food was more than doubled 
 
 being 123,720,738 
 
 Total - - $171,075,393 
 
 Subtract amount for previous four years, 71,488,769 
 
 $ 99,586,624 
 
 "The demand for Northwestern products 
 for exportation is, however, far from being the 
 only dependence of the producer. The home 
 demand increases and must continue to increase 
 in a ratio even greater than the foreign demand. 
 As the country grows richer, a larger proportion 
 of its population is withdrawn from agricultural 
 pursuits to be employed in manufactures and 
 mining, and in fhe management of internal ex- 
 changes and transportation, and foreign naviga- 
 tion and commerce. All these persons ceasing 
 to grow their own food and consuming freely, 
 since, taken as a whole, they have ample means 
 to purchase, create a continually expanding de- 
 mand, which for the last five years at least, has 
 not been overtaken by the supply. This progress 
 in this country is far beyond that of any other 
 part of the world in the rapidity with which it 
 proceeds. This communication would extend to 
 too great a length if I should collect all the ele- 
 ments which would be necessary to judge ac- 
 curatelv how fast this change goes on. But for
 
 76 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 the present purpose and with a view to contrast 
 the multitudes of men devoted now to other than 
 agricultural pursuits with the small numbers of 
 a time not far distant, let us compare a few par- 
 ticulars of the years 1830 and 1850. 
 
 In the year 1830, the anthracite coal sent to 
 market from the mines of Pennsylvania was less 
 than 175,000 tons. In 1850, it was about twenty 
 times that amount. In 1830, the iron produced 
 in the United States was about 165,000 tons or 
 
 "The instruments of transportation compare 
 as follows after an interval of twenty years only : 
 
 Miles of canal in operation, 
 Miles of railroad in operation, 
 Miles of railroad in construction, 
 Tons of shipping, 1 
 
 Tons of shipping built in the 
 
 year - - - - 
 Number of steamers built in 
 
 last five years - 
 
 1830 
 
 1,277 
 
 73 
 
 338 
 
 191,776 
 
 1850 
 
 3,698 
 
 8,779 
 
 11,000 
 
 3,535,454 
 
 58,094 272.218 
 
 196 
 
 965 
 
 COURTESY B A 0. R'Y. 
 
 THE "PERKINS." 
 
 The first of the type of heavy ten-wheel locomotives. See article Transportation Advancement. 
 
 about as much as Great Britain produced in 1800. 
 In 1850, the United States produced about four 
 times as much as in 1830 or about the same 
 quantity that Great Britain produced in 1830. 
 The cotton manufacturers in the United States 
 consumed in 1830, 45,000,000 of pounds of raw 
 material ; in 1850, 270,000,000 of pounds or six 
 times as great a quantity. 
 
 "The imports of the year 1830 were $70,- 
 876,920, but in 1850 they had risen to $178,138,- 
 318. This increased purchase of course took off 
 increased quantities of products to pay for it. 
 The imports in the four years ending with 1830 
 were $313,363,339 ; for the four years ending with 
 1850, they were $627,519,323, while the exports 
 for four years ending in 1830 were $300,797,692,
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 77 
 
 and for the four years ending in 1850, they were 
 $610,339,598. The imports having doubled in 
 twenty years, the exports have doubled also. 
 Has the whole demand, both domestic and for- 
 eign taken together, been sufficient to keep up 
 the prices of the surplus products of the North- 
 west, as compared with the prices of manufac- 
 tured and imported articles which the farmer 
 purchases with the disposable portion of his crop? 
 The answer to this question determines whether 
 the inducements to settle in the Northwest are 
 gaining strength ; for it is the amount which his 
 surplus 'Mill purcliase that determines the ques- 
 tion whether the fanner will grow rich or poor. 
 
 "If we compare the four years with the four 
 preceding, we shall find: i. That goods 
 manufactured in the Eastern States have become 
 much cheaper. 2. That imported articles have 
 grown cheaper. 3. That agricultural products 
 command much higher prices than before. 4. 
 That the cost of transporting agricultural pro- 
 duce from the West to the seaboard, and manu- 
 factured and imported articles from the seaboard 
 to the West has been materially diminished and 
 i". likely to be still more so. 
 
 "Each of these four changes is of vast im- 
 portance to the settlers on public lands, and their 
 combined influence has caused wealth to pour 
 in like a flood into those sections of the North- 
 west having convenient access to the markets 
 of the world. Of the effect of this tribute of 
 wealth upon the accumulations of those com- 
 munities who receive it, I give as an instance, 
 that the wealth of the thirteen northern counties 
 of Illinois was six times as great in 1849 as it has 
 been nine years before in 1840, as follows. 
 
 Population and valuation of the thirteen 
 counties on the line of the Chicago & Galena 
 Railroad in 1840 and 1849 : 
 
 L-OI-STIES POP. 1840 1850 VAL. 1840 VAL. 1849 
 
 Jo Daviess, 6,180 18,767 383,715 2,785,225 
 
 Stephenson, 2,800 11,666 125,485 837,685 
 
 Winnebas<o, 4,609 11,731 222,630 1,564,617 
 
 McHenry. 2,578 15,800 88,930 1,545,277 
 
 Lake, 2,634 14,134 95,385 1,222,088 
 
 DeKalb, 1,697 7,544 66,945 720,108 
 
 Kane, 6,551 16,242 289,565 1,442,001 
 
 DuPage, - 3,535 9,290 196,290 943,503 
 
 Cook, - 
 Boone, - - 
 Kendall, 
 Carroll, 
 Ogle. - 
 
 10,201 
 1,705 
 new 
 1,023 
 3,479 
 
 43,280 
 7,627 
 7,730 
 
 4,58(1 
 10,020 
 
 1,864,205 
 55,990 
 
 7,617,102 
 717,292 
 1,205,739 
 370,372 
 971,230 
 
 85,345 
 
 175,555 
 
 46,992 178,417 3,630,040 21,942,239 
 
 Population in 1840, 46,992. Valuation, 
 $3.630,040; per head, $77.25. 
 
 Population in 1850, 178,417, by United 
 States census. 
 
 Deduct 15,000, increase 1849 to 1850. 
 
 Population in 1849, 1 ^>3,4 1 7- Valuation, 
 $21,942,239; per head, $134.27." 
 
 The town of "Rantoul" 114 miles south of 
 Chicago was named after him. 
 
 JOHN F. A. SANFORD was an incorpora- 
 tor of the Illinois Central Railroad com- 
 pany and one of its directors from Feb. 
 10, 1851 to March 18, 1857; he was of 
 the firm of Pierre Chouteau, Jr. and Company, 
 extensive traders in furs and other commodities 
 with the far-northwest country they had ware- 
 houses in St. Louis and New York. Chouteau 
 was also a director of the company from 1857 to 
 1860. He was born in St. Louis, Jan. 19, 1789. 
 He was of French extraction, his father and 
 uncle, Auguste, were the founders of the city 
 of St. Louis and gave > it its name; they were 
 both born in New Orleans. Pierre was at first 
 a clerk with his father and uncle, who were then 
 largely engaged in the fur trade with the Indians, 
 but soon entered into business for himself. May 
 i, 1813, Berthold and Chouteau opened their new 
 firm in St. Louis with a general stock of mer- 
 chandise. This was the origin and foundation 
 of what afterward, by the addition of two new 
 partners John P. Cabenne and Bernard Pratte, 
 Sr. with their added capital, became the great 
 and wealthy "American Fur Company" to trade 
 with the Indian tribes on the Upper Missouri; 
 and which for many years almost monopolized 
 the fur trade of the upper country and acquired
 
 78 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 large wealth. Following the Indians as they 
 receded from point to point, Chouteau established 
 himself at different points on the Missouri river 
 and finally at Fort Benton, Montana, at the head 
 of navigation of the Missouri river. In 1806, 
 he visited Dubuqne to trade with the Sacs and 
 Foxes, ascending and descending the river in 
 canoes. He also followed the Indians as they 
 receded up the Osage river, and up the Missis- 
 
 U the Falls of St. Anthony, and northwestward 
 to the Blackfeet country ; monopolizing the fur 
 trade of the entire region east of the Rocky 
 Mountains and also controlling the trade of Santa 
 Fe in New Mexico. This business necessitated 
 the employment of a large amount of capital, 
 and large transactions in the Eastern cities were 
 carried on, so that Chouteau was finally obliged 
 to take up his residence in New York ; but he 
 
 THE FIRST PASSENGER "MOGUL." 
 WINAN'S "CAMEL-BACK" IN BACKGROUND TO RIGHT. 
 
 The "600" was regarded as representative of the highest type of American locomotive twenty-five years ago. 
 
 See' article^Transportation Advancement. 
 
 sippi from Keokuk to St. Paul, having trading 
 posts all along the rivers. In 1834, he and his 
 associates purchased the interest of John Jacob 
 Astor in the American Fur Company, and in 
 1839 they formed the trading company which, 
 under the firm name of P. Chouteau, Jr. and 
 Company, extended its operations southward as 
 far as the Cross Timbers in Texas, northward 
 
 afterward returned to St. Louis. In 1808, act- 
 ing under the instructions of Governor Lewis, he 
 concluded an important treaty with the Osages 
 fixing the boundary between them and the 
 whites. In 1819 he was a member of the con- 
 vention which framed the first constitution for 
 the state of Missouri, but with this exception, 
 he never engaged in politics. Both Chouteau
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 70 
 
 and Sanford were exceedingly just in their deal- 
 ings with the Indians, and by this means gained 
 their confidence and were enabled to carry on 
 their trading with them amicably, and through 
 these transactions amassed a large fortune. 
 Chouteau died in St. Louis on Sept. 8, 1865. 
 Fort Pierre, 1300 miles above St. Louis on the 
 west bank of the river, was named in compli- 
 ment to Pierre Chonteau. 
 
 Owing to his generous treatment of the In- 
 dians and the great confidence placed in him by 
 them, Sanford was appointed by the United 
 States government Indian-agent for the Man- 
 dans, Rickarees, Minatarees, Crows, Kniste- 
 neaux, Assineboin, and Blackfeet tribes, and 
 made frequent trips up the Missouri and went 
 among the Indian tribes, and his very presence 
 among these hostile people always restored con- 
 fidence and courage. The speech of Ha-wan- 
 je-tah the one horn, a Sioux chief,* will serve 
 to show the estimation in which Major Sanford 
 was held by them : 
 
 "My father, I am glad to see you here to- 
 day : my heart is always glad to see my father 
 when he comes our Great Father who sends 
 him here is very rich and we are poor. Our 
 friend who is on your right hand meaning 
 Pierre Chouteau we all know is very rich and 
 we have heard that he owns the great medicine- 
 canoe. He is a good man and a friend to the 
 red man. My father, I hope you will have pity 
 on us, we are very poor." After these words, 
 he took off his beautiful war-eagle head-dress, 
 his shirt and leggings, his necklace of grizzly 
 bear's claws, and his moccasins, and tying them 
 together, laid them gracefully down at the feet 
 of Major Sanford as a present. Major Sanford 
 made a short speech in reply, thanking him for 
 the valuable present which he had made him, 
 and for the very polite and impressive manner 
 in which it had been done, and sent to the steamer 
 for a quantity of tobacco and other presents 
 which were given to him in return. 
 
 He frequently visited Washington with 
 representatives of these different tribes ; an amus- 
 
 228. 
 
 * "Catlin's North American Indians," Vol. 1, page 
 
 ing and interesting story is told also by Catlin 
 of a young Assineboin, Wi-jun-jon the pigeon's 
 egg head, who was selected by Maj. Sanford 
 to represent his tribe in a delegation which visited 
 Washington City under his charge in the winter 
 of 1832. With Major Sanford, the Assineboin, 
 together with representatives of several others 
 of those Northwestern tribes descended the Mis- 
 souri river on their way to Washington in a 
 Mackinac boat from the mouth of the Yellow 
 Stone. Wi-jun-jon and another of his tribe, at 
 the first approach to the civilized settlements, 
 commenced a register of the white men's houses 
 or cabins by cutting a notch foe each on the side 
 of a pipe stem, in order to be able to show when 
 they got home how many white men's houses 
 they saw on the journey : as the cabins increased 
 in numbers, they soon found their pipe stem 
 filled with marks, and they determined to put 
 the rest of them on the handle of a war-club 
 which was soon marked all over likewise. At 
 length while the boat was moored at the shore, 
 Wi-jun-jon and his companion stepped into the 
 bushes and cut a long stick upon which they 
 afterward attempted to copy the notches from 
 the pipe-steam and club, but the cabins increased 
 so in number that they, after consulting a little, 
 pitched their sticks overboard. Wi-jun-jon was 
 absent a year on his trip to Washington and when 
 he returned to his tribe with Major Sanford, 
 he was decked in a full suit of colonel's uniform 
 which had been presented to him in Washing- 
 ton. He wore with it a beaver hat and a blue 
 umbrella. Catlin frequently accompanied Maj. 
 Sanford in his visits to the different Indian tribes 
 and in this way procured the interesting views 
 and 'portraits with which his works are illus- 
 trated ; and to the correctness of which Major 
 Sanford certifies. It took about three months 
 for a steamboat to reach the mouth of the Yel- 
 low Stone from St. Louis. The steamer, Yel- 
 low Stone, on her first trip up .the Missouri, had 
 Catlin and Sanford on board. As she approached 
 the Mandan village, she fired a salute of twenty 
 guns, which caused great alarm among the In- 
 dians. When they stepped aboard they met, 
 to their great surprise and delight, their old
 
 80 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 friend Major Sanford, their agent, and this put 
 an end to all their fears. Mr. Sanford married 
 Miss Emilie, the daughter of Chouteau. He was 
 a genial gentleman of polished and graceful 
 manners, and of fearless nature, which mani- 
 fested itself either when driving a spirited horse 
 or facing an hostile savage. The cares and 
 anxieties of the immense business transacted by 
 his firm, but largely devolving upon him, 
 weighed heavily upon his mind, and at last it 
 succumbed to the strain. He died in New York 
 in 1857, much beloved and respected by all who 
 were brought into commercial or social relations 
 with him. 
 
 to purchase large tracts of land, "they both be- 
 ing in affluent circumstances." Whilst Richard 
 was living in New York, a son was born to him, 
 in 1672, and called Lewis, after his uncle. "Six 
 months after this child's birth" so runs the 
 old record - "the father, Richard, died, and in 
 a few weeks the mother also died, and this child, 
 the sole one of the family and name at that 
 period in this country, was left at nurse among 
 strangers at Harlem." Such part of young 
 Lewis' papers and other property as had escaped 
 the pillage of servants and soldiers was placed 
 by the Dutch then in possession of New- 
 York under the care and management of some 
 
 PHOTOGRAPH LOANED BY GEORGE E. PETERS. CHICAGO. 
 
 The present type of switch engine used by the Illinois Central R'y Co. 
 
 OUVERNEUR MORRIS of Morrisa- 
 nia, was the only child of Gouverneur 
 Morris and Anne Cary Randolph, 
 and was born at Morrisania, New 
 York, on February 9, 1813. 
 
 The earliest record of the Morris family in 
 America dates from about the time of the 
 Restoration, 1660, when Colonel Lewis Morris, 
 having played a bold and daring part in opposi- 
 tion to King Charles, being then in the Island 
 of Barbadoes, and thinking it imprudent to re- 
 turn to England, directed his thoughts and 
 aspirations toward America. Accordingly, he 
 sent his brother Richard to New York empowered 
 
 of the principal inhabitants, and a guardian was 
 appointed for the infant. When New York was 
 restored to the British in 1674, Lewis Morris, Sr., 
 came from the Barbadoes, took charge of his 
 nephew, and settled upon his lands in New 
 Jersey, improving at the same time his estate 
 in Westchester Co., which by the royal patent 
 of 1676 was called the lordship or manor of 
 Morrisania. Before leaving Barbadoes, Lewis 
 Morris, Sr. had unfortunately married a woman 
 of low extraction and bad conduct whom he 
 brought with him to America. During Morris' 
 last illness, this woman destroyed all the family 
 papers she could lay her hands on, and so re-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 81 
 
 modelled his will as to leave herself and one 
 P.ichley, her accomplice, the whole personal es- 
 tate and all the negroes and silver. The fraud, 
 however, was so evident that when young Lewis 
 came of age, some years after his uncle's death, 
 the legislature gave him possession of the 
 estate as his uncle's heir-at-law. Lewis Morris 
 married Isabella Graham, a near relative of the 
 Marquis of Mont rose, by whom he had fifteen 
 children, of whom five daughters and two sons 
 survived him. At different times, he held the 
 offices of chief justice of New York and New 
 Jersey, state councillor and acting governor in 
 1731 and governor of New Jersey in 1738. 
 
 In the quaint old family record kept by 
 himself, Lewis Morris says : "I begin the year 
 the 25th of March. I was born at Tintern in 
 New Jersey in 1698, Sept. 23, and I was married 
 by Wm. Vesey [the first rector of Trinity 
 Church] on March 17, 1723, to Mrs Sarah 
 Staats." The issue of this marriage was three 
 sons and one daughter. Lewis, the eldest son, 
 was "born the 8th day of April 1726." He was 
 afterward one of the signers of the Declaration 
 of American Independence. Sarah Staats, the 
 first wife of Lewis Morris, died in 1731, and 
 Morris married, November 3, 1846, "Mrs. Sarah 
 Gouverneur," and the issue of this marriage 
 was four daughters and one son Gouverneur, 
 who was born on January 30, 1752, and who 
 played so distinguished a part in the struggle 
 for American freedom and in the formation of 
 the constitution, and who, during the stormy 
 days of the revolution in France, stoutly main- 
 tained the integrity of his government in the 
 fulfilment of his duties as accredited minister 
 to the' French court. In the autumn of 1798, 
 Gouverneur Morris returned to America after 
 an absence of ten years, and rebuilt the house at 
 Morrisania in which he had been born, and,/ 
 which having been within the enemy's lines 
 during the revolution, had seen so many stormy 
 days. In 1809 Gouverneur Morris married Miss 
 Anne Gary Randolph, the daughter of Thos. 
 Mann Randolph, Esquire, of .Tuckahoe, Virginia, 
 and in 1816 Morris died, leaving to her the care 
 
 6 
 
 of his son and also of his estates, in which she 
 was to have a life interest. 
 
 Morrisania was far removed during the 
 early part of the century from the busy parts of 
 New York city, and communication was only 
 easy by means of the family carriage. Occa- 
 sional trips into town and rare journeys not 
 comfortable and often dangerous through New 
 \ork state to Jefferson County to inspect lands 
 called the "Morris tract," lying along the St. 
 Lawrence River seem to have been the principal 
 breaks in the life of of young Gouverneur, who 
 with only the companionship of his mother, and 
 occupied by the various interests connected with 
 his farm, grew to man's estate. On May 28, 
 1837, Mrs. Morris died and Morris became 
 possessed of his father's estates and responsi- 
 bilities. After Mrs. Morris' death, the house 
 at Morrisania was closed for some years and 
 during this period Morris mingled somewhat 
 in the society of New York and among his 
 numerous kinsfolk. 
 
 -i The extensive field for men of intelligence 
 and enterprise which was opened by the project- 
 ing and building of railways, early attracted Mor- 
 ris' attention ; he foresaw the great effect they 
 would have in helping to build up and develop the 
 varied interests of the whole country, and there- 
 fore devoted himself earnestly to the work. His 
 first effort in this field was in connection with the 
 New York & Harlem Railroad. The company 
 had by herculean efforts completed the road in 
 1838 from the city hall to Harlem, I25th street, 
 in the course of which it had blasted its way 
 through many deep rock cuttings, and had per- 
 formed the wonderful feat, for that early day, 
 of driving a tunnel of several hundred feet in 
 length through the rock at Yorkville hill, and 
 had built a long and high viaduct across the 
 Harlem flats at great expense. The road was 
 made a double track and had cost so much that the 
 company found its finances completely exhausted 
 on reaching this point, as also were its powers 
 to proceed further under its charter. About 
 this time, 1838, another company was chartered 
 by the legislature of the State of New York, 
 called the New York & Albany Railroad Com-
 
 82 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 pany, empowered to build a road from New 
 York to Albany. Gouverneur Morris and other 
 gentlemen interested in the Harlem road, con- 
 ceived and carried out the idea of purchasing this 
 charter and consolidating it with the Harlem, 
 which being accomplished, opened the way for 
 extending the Harlem railroad beyond the 
 Harlem River. Railroads were then in their 
 infancy and people were timid about investing 
 
 H. Morris. Morris had the satisfaction of see- 
 ing the completion of this extention and its 
 opening for business in 1841. From this time 
 forward for many years, he acted as a director 
 in the company, taking a very active part in con- 
 ducting its affairs, and at one time held the 
 office of vice-president. He exerted himself in 
 having the road extended from time to time Un- 
 til it reached its final completion in 1852, by a 
 
 THE LAST OF THE "CAMEL-BACK" TYPE. 
 
 money in them so that it seemed probable that 
 the extention would have to be abandoned. In 
 this emergency, Morris came forward and per- 
 sonally supplied the means with which to extend 
 the road as far as Williamsbridge in Westchester 
 County, about seven miles, making use of the 
 railway bridge built for wagon travel across the 
 Harlem River at the head of Fourth avenue, 
 that bridge being owned by Gouverneur Morris 
 and his cousins Gerard W. Morris and William 
 
 connection with the Boston & Albany Road at 
 Chatham Four Corners in Columbia county, New 
 York, one hundred and thirty miles from the 
 city. The last fifty miles of the road from Dover 
 Plains to Chatham Corners called the "Albany 
 extension" were built in 1851-2 by Morris in 
 partnership with George L. Schuyler and Sidney 
 G. Miller as chief contractors. Seeing the im- 
 portance to the Harlem Railroad of having a 
 connection with deep water tide at its southern
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 83 
 
 terminus, Morris undertook and completed in 
 1850 the construction of the Port Morris branch 
 road from a point near the Melrose station on 
 the main line to a point on the East river oppo- 
 site Flushing Bay, including the building of 
 ample wharf accommodations for large vessels. 
 This road was built upon Morris' own lands and 
 with money supplied entirely by himself. He 
 was one of the incorporators of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral Railroad company and a director from the 
 date of its incorporation to August 4, 1854. 
 
 In 1850, with George Barker and others, 
 Morris built the Vermont Valley Railroad, twen- 
 ty-two miles long, from Brattleboro to Bellows 
 Falls on the Connecticut river. He became a 
 director in the company and subsequently was 
 chosen president. His career as a railway pro- 
 jector and builder ended when he retired from 
 the presidency of the Vermont Valley Road about 
 1879. Morris, in 1852, commenced to build the 
 Treverton & Susquehanna Railroad in Pennsyl- 
 vania. This road, sixteen miles long, including 
 a very long bridge over the Susquehanna river, 
 was a most difficult work, requiring much time 
 and care in its execution. It was, however, very 
 satisfactorily completed in 1855. Associated 
 with George L. Schuyler, J. S. Stranahan, Josiah 
 W. Baker, Charles G. Case, and Sidney G. Miller, 
 Morris entered into contract with the Albany & 
 Susquehanna Railroad Company in 1853, to build 
 its road from Albany to Binghamton in Broome 
 county on the Erie Railway, a distance of one 
 hundred and forty miles. The work was com- 
 menced soon after the contract was signed, and 
 the grading was quite far advanced when, in 
 1854, a difference of opinion arising between the 
 company and the contractors, work was stopped, 
 the contractors considering themselves justified 
 in abandoning it. As early as 1839, Morris be- 
 came persuaded that the progress of railways 
 through the country could not be arrested by 
 the timidity of persons unwilling to put their 
 money in them, and to a number of gentlemen 
 averse to subscribing for the completion of the 
 New York & Albany road, he plainly stated 
 this conviction. "Gentlemen," said he, "it makes 
 no difference how dilatory you are in the matter, 
 
 within thirty years there will be steam communi- 
 cation from Boston pierhead to the Pacific." 
 The less far-seeing among this group of gentle- 
 men were inclined to treat the prediction as a 
 flight of the imagination, but many of them lived 
 to see the prophecy fulfilled, for, exactly thirty 
 years and four months after it was made the last 
 spike was driven in the Pacific Railway. 
 
 In February 1842, Mr. Morris married his 
 cousin, Miss Martha Jefferson Cary, of Virginia, 
 and by her had ten children of whom five survive 
 him. Mrs. Morris died in 1873, and in 1876, 
 Mr. Morris married his cousin, Miss Anna Mor- 
 ris. After his second marriage, he lived quietly 
 at Pelham, where he died after a long illness, 
 August 20, 1888, aged seventy-five years. 
 
 The period of one hundred and thirty-eight 
 years covered by the lives of the two men, father 
 and son, was one of vast interest to the civilized 
 world. It embraced the American revolution for 
 independence, the revolution in France for liber- 
 ty, the development of the far-reaching power 
 of the press, the perfecting of the locomotive- 
 engine which has opened up the immense re- 
 sources of America, and the unfolding of the 
 amazing power of the electric telegraph. With 
 keen intelligence, the two Morrises, father and 
 son, conceived and prophesied the development 
 of their country, and each, in his generation, 
 labored earnestly for its advancement. 
 
 Mr. Morris was a man of powerful physi- 
 que, had a robust and generous nature, and pos- 
 sessed broad views regarding matters of public 
 policy. He was somewhat negligent of his per- 
 sonal appearance, but with commendable pride, 
 he always signed his name "Gouverneur Morris 
 of Morrisania."* 
 
 FRANKLIN HAVEN was born May 30, 
 1804. When the Merchants Bank of 
 Boston was incorporated in 1831, Mr. 
 Haven accepted the office of cashier. 
 He was elected, 1836, its president, which office 
 he continued to hold until Jan. 1884, having 
 
 * "Gouverneur Morris," by Anne Cary Morris, 
 Genealogical and Biographical Kecord, January, 1889.
 
 84 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 served the institution in the two capacities for 
 over half a century. At the time of his resigna- 
 tion, he was succeeded by his son Franklin 
 Haven, Jr. He continued a director, however, 
 until March 1885, when he resigned that position 
 and was succeeded by Abbott Lawrence. 
 
 In 1838, he was appointed pension agent 
 for New England and held that office seventeen 
 years. He was also appointed sub-treasurer at 
 
 recognition of his services. Mr. Haven is a gen- 
 tleman of striking features, tall and erect, of 
 courtly bearing and possessed of great dignity 
 of manner as well as kindly feeling, and is per- 
 fectly upright in all his business relations. 
 Among the people of New England and especial- 
 ly among the bankers and merchants, none stand 
 higher in the estimation of their fellowmen than 
 he. 
 
 A "CAMEL BACK." 
 
 Boston in 1849 an ^ resigned in 1853, but at the 
 request of President Pierce continued a year lon- 
 ger. As chairman of the commission on public 
 lands of the state in 1859, an d many years sub- 
 sequent, he had much to do with the growth and 
 development of the city of Boston over what is 
 known as the Back Bay, now the most beautiful 
 part of the city. He enjoyed the acquaintance 
 and esteem of Daniel Webster, and after his 
 death and that of his son Fletcher, became guar- 
 dian of Fletcher's children. He was an incor- 
 porator of the Illinois Central Railroad Company 
 and a director from Feb. 10, 1851 to May 28, 
 1862, and gave much of his valuable time to the 
 affairs of the company. As he resided in Bos- 
 ton, he was obliged to make a journey to New 
 York each time he attended a board-meeting, 
 which he did with frequency. When he retired 
 from the directory, the board made a handsome 
 
 JOSEPH W. ALSOP was for many years 
 of the firm of Alsop and Chauncey of 
 New York, formerly Alsop, Wetmore 
 and Cryder, one of the greatest of New 
 York's old mercantile houses. The Alsops trace 
 back their ancestry to Richard Alsop, who was 
 lord mayor of Dublin in 1597. Joseph W. Al- 
 sop was descended from one of the oldest fami- 
 lies in Connecticut, which had settled at Middle- 
 town before the revolution, early in the eigh- 
 teenth century ; Middletown being at that time 
 a commercial seaport doing more business than 
 New Haven and Hartford combined. 
 
 Joseph W. Alsop was born in Middletown, 
 November 22, 1804. He received a common- 
 school education. At the age of fifteen, he en- 
 tered the commission-house, of which his father 
 was senior partner, as clerk. The house then 
 commanded a large share of the West-Indian
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 85 
 
 and South-American trade, and in the capacity 
 of agent, Alsop made several voyages to Santa 
 Cruz and other commercial ports. 
 
 He came to New York in 1824, and soon 
 thereafter began business in his own name. 
 Branches of the house of Alsop and Company 
 were established on the western coast of South 
 America, where they are still conducted under 
 the same firm-name and where they now, almost 
 alone, maintain the repute of American com- 
 merce in fields from which it has been driven by 
 our own stupid legislation. In 1842, on the re- 
 turn of Henry Chauncey at that time one of 
 our first merchants from South America, the 
 firm of Alsop and Chauncey was formed. The 
 partnership continued until the death of Chaun- 
 cey about fifteen years ago. Shortly before the 
 discovery of gold in California, William H. As- 
 pinwall, in connection with the old house of How- 
 land and Aspinwall, started a line of steamships 
 to run in connection with the Panama R. R. In 
 both of these enterprises, the New York branch 
 of Alsop and Chauncey took a prominent part. 
 Aspinwall, upon whom the principal labor of 
 establishing the railroad devolved, subsequent- 
 ly said that had it not been for the sagacity, in- 
 tegrity and capital of Alsop's firm, the road would 
 not have been finished. Besides the firm of 
 Howland and Aspinwall, John L. Stephens, 
 Gouverneur Campbell, Joseph W. Riley, Edward 
 Bartlett, and Samuel Comstock, were associated 
 with Alsop in the Panama enterprise, several of 
 whom were successively connected with the 
 house of Alsop and Chauncey, and all of whom 
 were familiar with the Southern coast and with 
 the wants of commerce, and who understood 
 the usefulness of this road to American trade. 
 
 Mr. Alsop was the first president of the 
 Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, and was receiver 
 of it for ten years and retired in favor of Gen. 
 George B. McClellan. He was one of the in- 
 corporators of the Illinois Central Railroad Com- 
 pany and a director from February 10, 1851 to 
 May 27, 1863. He was a director of the Sea- 
 men's Savings Bank and was its treasurer for 
 many years, and was also director of the 
 Woman's and St. Luke's hospitals. Mr. Alsop 
 
 had not been actively engaged in business for 
 about seven years at the time of his death, 1878, 
 but had remained in the city during the winter 
 and at the old homestead in Middletown during 
 the summer. 
 
 Mr. Alsop was always a warm friend to the 
 deserving poor, and young men of principle and 
 integrity who got into business embarrassment, 
 he helped, often at great inconvenience to him- 
 self. He always declined to accept any political 
 office. He was an earnest friend to the demo- 
 cratic party, but never permitted his political 
 principles to influence or disturb his social rela- 
 tions. He died at his residence, No. 32 West 
 Washington Place, New York City, February 
 26, 1878. He left a wife and one son, Dr. Joseph 
 W. Alsop of Middletown, Connecticut. He was 
 an exceedingly conscientious and upright man, 
 and died as he had lived, deeply loved and re- 
 spected. His remains were taken by special 
 train to his native town for burial. The funeral 
 services in New York were conducted by Dr. 
 Eaton and Dr. John Cotton Smith, and at 
 Middletown, Bishop Williams officiated. Thus 
 passed away one of the greatest of New York's 
 old merchants. 
 
 APT. DAVID AUGUSTUS NEAL, 
 the first vice-president of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company, was one 
 of the incorporators of the company 
 and a member of the board of directors from 
 February 10, 1851 to March 19, 1856. He was 
 born at Salem, Mass., in June 1793 ; his life was 
 an exceedingly eventful one. He received a 
 thorough elementary education and left school 
 early. At the age of twenty-two, he made his 
 first voyage to Calcutta as super-cargo in the 
 brig Alexander, a small craft of two hundred and 
 fifty tons burthen, owned by himself and his 
 father. In 1817 he made a voyage to Batavia, 
 a city of Java the capital of the Dutch posses- 
 sions in the East Indies, in command of the 
 same vessel. This voyage he always said was
 
 86 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 without doubt the first voyage ever navigated 
 on tee-total principles. As he had come to the 
 command of his vessel, as the phrase is "through 
 the cabin window," that is to say through the cir- 
 cumstance of part ownership and without the 
 rough discipline, delay, and experience of the 
 lower grades of service, his crew at once began 
 to presume upon this fact and to test his quality. 
 When a few days out, the men sent back, by one 
 of their number, the usual allowance of grog 
 which had been served, stating that if they could 
 
 Halifax, in July 1814, he sailed in a transport, 
 one of a fleet convoyed by the Goliath, Capt. 
 Maitland, for Dartmoor prison in England. 
 While in the fogs of the Grand Banks of New 
 Foimdland, he took part in an attempt to get pos- 
 session of the transport, was severely wounded 
 and had his hand dressed by Surgeon Barry 
 O'Meara of the Goliath, who, soon after, joined 
 C'apt. Maitland on the Bellcrophon, going with 
 him to St. Helena in charge of the captured 
 Bonaparte. Surgeon O'Meara afterward wrote 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL LOCOMOTIVE No. 383. 
 
 not have more, they would not have any. The 
 young captain took them at their word, directed 
 the ship's steward to "cut off the tap," and navi- 
 gated his brig without further trouble. His com- 
 ment was, "the rum came home safe and so did 
 the men." 
 
 During the war with Great Britain in 1812, 
 he embarked in privateering and met with con- 
 siderable success. In May 1814, he was cap- 
 tured and taken to Halifax, where he spent his 
 freedom birthday in a Britis* prison. From 
 
 a famous memoir of the Emperor. Capt. Neal 
 carried with him the evidence of this attempted 
 escape until his dying day. He was released 
 from Dartmoor by the treaty of peace of 1815. 
 Later, he was a shipmaster in the merchant ser- 
 vice and commanded ships until the summer of 
 1826, making several voyages to the Mediterra- 
 nean, the East and West Indies, South America ; 
 and incidentally visiting a great deal of the in- 
 teresting scenery and a great many of the his- 
 torical spots in Europe and Asia. He was an
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 87 
 
 observant traveller and gained much valuable 
 knowledge in his trips abroad. These were sin- 
 gularly free from disaster with the exception of 
 one trip to Sumatra, undertaken in 1818, where 
 his crew fell sick and some died. Failing to 
 ship fresh hands there, he made the best of his 
 way around the Cape of Good Hope to the is- 
 land of Saint Helena in hopes of a supply of 
 provisions, medicines, and able bodied men. But 
 here Napoleon was a prisoner, and access to the 
 harbor was so jealously guarded that he suc- 
 ceeded in obtaining nothing but supplies for his 
 depleted medicine-chest. He returned from 
 this place with his vessel in charge of himself, 
 one old sailor, and two chinamen, they being 
 the only able bodied seamen on board. In this 
 miserable condition, he at last, reached the coast 
 of Virginia in the tempestuous January of 1820 
 with his remnant of a crew on short allowance 
 and here he suffered total shipwreck in sight of 
 the lights of Cape Hatteras. The shore, being 
 white with snow, had misled them as to distance. 
 Capt. Neal made his way to Norfolk and Balti- 
 more, where having settled the disastrous voy- 
 age with his owners, he took passage for Phila- 
 delphia, early in March, in a government mail- 
 wagon. 
 
 On retiring from the sea, he became a com- 
 mercial partner in the house of Neal and Sons, 
 which was founded by his father, an old revolu- 
 tionary veteran, privateersman, and prisoner of 
 war, and finally became head of that house on 
 the retirement of Capt. Neal, Sr. He became 
 president of the Eastern Railroad of Massachu- 
 setts in 1841, when it was extending its lines 
 from Massachusetts into New Hampshire and 
 Maine, and subsequently took charge also of 
 the Reading Railroad of Pennsylvania, the affairs 
 of which were much disordered and which was 
 then in control of Eastern bankers. Both of 
 these positions he resigned in 1851 to become 
 vice-president of the Illinois Central Railroad 
 Company, of which he was one of the original 
 incorporators and in which he held a large pe- 
 cuniary interest. He remained in that position 
 four years. He was director for five years until 
 1856. In 1851, he visited Illinois and went over 
 
 the proposed route with Col. Roswell B. Mason, 
 was very favorably impressed with the country, 
 and made a very elaborate report to the board 
 of directors on the value . of lands and on the 
 resources and probable amount of traffic that 
 would be controlled by the line when completed. 
 He also paid considerable attention to the organi- 
 zation of the land department and to the platting 
 and selling of the lands which had been donated 
 to the company. During the period of the con- 
 struction of the road, he made two trips to Eu- 
 rope, spending a considerable portion of his time 
 in Liverpool, where he purchased about 80,000 
 tons of iron rails of a most excellent quality 56 
 pounds to the yard.* In London, he took part 
 in the negotiation of the first issue of sterling 
 bonds made by the company. They were sold 
 at a premium. 
 
 Capt. Neal was a man of robust nature, of 
 indomitable energy and of great physical endur- 
 ance. In his religious views, he was perhaps 
 inclined to be somewhat heterodox, or, even 
 skeptical ; he was brought up in the midst of 
 tendencies and influences which may have been 
 intensified by his early acquaintance with orien- 
 tal life and thought, of which in his autobiogra- 
 phy, left in manuscript, he writes most under- 
 standing!)'. Capt. Neal never held political 
 office of any kind. He died at Salem, Massachu- 
 setts, in August 1861. 
 
 ILLIAM H. ASPINWALL, one of 
 the incorporators of the company, 
 was born in New York, December 
 16, 1807; he was a nephew of Gard- 
 ner G. Howland, and, at an early age, he entered 
 the old shipping house of Gardner G. and 
 
 * The receiving and forwarding of these rails was 
 entrusted to a commission-house established in New 
 York in 1852, under the firm name of Clark & Jesup, 
 being composed of Charles G. Clark and Morris K. 
 Jesup. This was the inception of the present firm of 
 Crerar, Adams & Co. (John McGregor Adams, Edward 
 S. Shepherd), extensive manufacturers of railway 
 supplies, Chicago, whose senior partner, John Crerar, 
 recently died, leaving such a munificent sum to the 
 city for a public library, and other liberal bequests.
 
 88 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Samuel S. Howland, and was taken into the firm 
 in 1832. In 1837 the new firm of Howland and 
 Aspinwall was established. This house had the 
 largest Pacific-coast trade of any firm in New 
 York, besides doing an extensive business with 
 the East and West Indies, England, and the 
 Mediterranean. Shortly after the discovery of 
 gold in California, he retired from the active 
 management of the firm and secured the contract 
 for a line of mail-steamers to run from the Isth- 
 
 enterprises, Mr. Aspinwall was eminently suc- 
 cessful and he held the office of president of 
 the company for many years. He founded the 
 city of Aspinwall, at the eastern terminus of the 
 railway. Besides his brief connection with the 
 Illinois Central Railroad, Mr. Aspinwall was in- 
 terested in the construction of the Ohio & Mis- 
 sissippi R. R., extending from Cincinnati to St. 
 Louis. This was built as a broad-gauge road, 
 but afterward changed to the standard gauge. 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL LOCOMOTIVE No. 638. 
 
 mus of Panama to San Francisco, Cal. This 
 line was established under the name of the Pa- 
 cific-Mail Steamship Company. He and his 
 associates also organized the Panama Railroad 
 Company, and constructed its road. In aid of 
 its construction they received a liberal conces- 
 sion from the government of New Granada. 
 Owing to the unhealthy climate of the country 
 through which the line passed, the construction 
 proved an expensive work, but after many diffi- 
 culties the road was completed and opened for 
 business February 17, 1855. In both of these 
 
 Mr. Aspinwall traveled much in the last twenty 
 years of his life, and being a liberal patron of the 
 fine arts, made an important collection of paint- 
 ings. These were sold by his family in 1886. 
 Mr. Aspinwall was a man of fine presence, a 
 courteous gentleman, an earnest Christian, and 
 justly ranked as one of New York's great mer- 
 chant-princes ; he was remarkable for his gen- 
 erosity and his lenience to the debtors of his 
 house. He died in his native city, January 18, 
 1875, in the sixty-eighth year of his age.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 89 
 
 k HOMAS WILLIAM LUDLOW, a son 
 of Thomas Lucllow and Mary Ludlow, 
 was born in his father's house, on the 
 northeast corner of Garden street (now 
 Exchange Place) and Broadway, New York, on 
 June 14, 1795. He was a great-grand-son of the 
 founder of the New York family of Ludlow, 
 Gabriel (arrived in New York, 1694), who came 
 of the old English stock to which belonged the 
 republican general. Sir Edmund Ludlow, and the 
 great Puritan statesman and jurist, Roger Lud- 
 low of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Thomas 
 W. Ludlow graduated with credit from Columbia 
 College in the class of 1811, and served as a trus- 
 tee of his alma mater from 1833 to 1836. After 
 graduating he read law with Martin Wilkins. 
 In 1825 he went to England with his cousin, 
 Frances Mary Ludlow, wife of Philip Thomas 
 and mother of Ludlow Thomas, in connection 
 with her claim to the Harison succession, then in 
 the English courts, and was successful. How- 
 ever, he soon withdrew from general practice of 
 his profession. His brother-in-law, Gulian Lud- 
 low, recommended him, toward the close of his 
 active life, to his family connections of the great 
 banking-house of Crommelin of Amsterdam, and 
 to his English correspondents as well, and for 
 many years Mr. T. W. Ludlow had charge of 
 their important commission business in America, 
 and conducted it so much to their satisfaction 
 that, upon his retirement, the Crommelins sent 
 him a large sum of money, with which he pro- 
 cured, as a souvenir, a splendid service of plate. 
 For the account of the Dutch house, Mr. Ludlow 
 had much to do with a loan of the District 
 of Columbia, an affair of considerable importance 
 at that time. He represented also the Holland 
 Land Company, and was at one time instrumental 
 in saving the interests of his clients, which were . 
 menaced by an adverse sentiment in congress. 
 
 From early manhood, Mr. Ludlow's mental 
 grasp of the prospects and promises of the 
 country, which was then almost wholly unde- 
 veloped, was remarkably comprehensive, and 
 with bis immediate associates, many of them at 
 that time or since distinguished in the fields of 
 public or of private affairs, he took an active 
 
 part in the inception of a number of business 
 enterprises which have continued to be highly 
 prosperous, and have several of them contributed 
 not a little to the national progress. Thus he 
 became one of the incorporators of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company, February 10, 1851, 
 and was a director of that company from Feb. 
 10, 1851, to August 25, 1854. He was the first 
 president of the Panama Railroad Company ; 
 a director of the New York Life Insurance Co. ; 
 and one of the founders of the New York Life 
 Insurance and Trust Company. Of the last 
 corporation, Mr. Ludlow served as vice-president 
 up to the time of his death. This corporation 
 has been managed so well that the shares ori- 
 ginally issued at $100 now sell for $700. 
 
 Mr. Ludlow married, in 1828, Frances 
 Wickham Morris, a beautiful and accomplished 
 daughter of Robert Morris of Fordham (Mor- 
 risania), and established a charming home in 
 the then fashionable quarter of the Fifth ward 
 of the city, at the southeast corner of Varick and 
 Laight streets, Hudson Square, opposite St. 
 John's Park, which is now the site of the freight 
 station of the New York Central Railroad. Soon 
 afterward he acquired a large tract of property 
 south of Yonkers, adjoining the new station of 
 the Hudson River Road which bears his name, 
 Ludlow. 
 
 Mr. Ludlow died at his country-seat, 
 Cottage Lawn, Yonkers, New York, July 17, 
 1878, leaving behind him the memory of a 
 thoroughly just, upright, liberal, and temperate 
 life. 
 
 ENRY GRINNELL was born in New 
 Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1800, was 
 graduated at New Bedford Academy 
 in 1818, and during the same year 
 became clerk in a commission house in Pine St., 
 New York. In 1825 he was made a member of 
 the firm of Fish and Grinnell, afterward Grinnell, 
 Minturn and Company. He was much interested 
 in geography, and especially in Arctic explo- 
 ration, and in 1850 at his own expense, fitted. out
 
 90 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 an expedition to search for Sir John Franklin, 
 from whom nothing had been heard in five years. 
 The expedition sailed from New York in May 
 1850, under command of Lieut. E. J. DeHaven, 
 with Dr. Elisha Kent Kane (whose second 
 cousin, Elias Kent Kane, was a senator from 
 Illinois) as surgeon and naturalist. It dis- 
 covered land in latitude 75 2^ 2i x \ which was 
 named Grinnell Land an island north of Corn- 
 
 graphical Society in 1852-3, and a vice president 
 from 1854-72. His daughter, Sylvia, married 
 Admiral Ruxton of the British navy, and in 1886, 
 presented to that society a crayon portrait of 
 her father framed in wood taken from the 
 Resolute. Mr. Grinnell was also one of the 
 merchant princes of New York and died in that 
 city, June 30, 1874, universally loved and re- 
 spected. 
 
 Illinois Central bridge over the Missouri River between Council Bluffs and Om,aha. Double track 17 ft. above 
 high water 1707 ft. long span 520 ft., the longest in the world. 
 
 wallis Island which should not be confounded 
 with the better known Grinnell Land bordering 
 on the frozen sea. In 1853, in conjunction with 
 George Peabody, he spent $50,000 in the equip- 
 ment of the second Franklin search expedition, 
 .giving it also his personal supervision. This 
 expedition was placed in charge of Dr. Kane, 
 and the government bore part of its expenses. 
 Mr. Grinnell also contributed freely to the Hayes 
 expedition of 1860, and to the "Polaris" expe- 
 dition of 1871. He was one of the original in- 
 corporators of the Illinois Central Railroad Co., 
 and named in the charter; but, as he was about 
 retiring from active business at the time the 
 company was being organized, his connection 
 with it was brief. Throughout life, he was 
 an earnest advocate of the interests of sailors. 
 He was the first president of the American Geo- 
 
 JOHN MOORE was an Englishman by 
 birth, having been born at Grantham, 
 Lincolnshire, September 8th, 1793. Up 
 to his fourteenth year, he attended the 
 common school and all his subsequent education 
 was obtained without a teacher. He often 
 studied while at his work at his trade as a wheel- 
 wright, to which he was apprenticed at an early 
 age. In 1817 he sailed for America. He settled 
 first in Virginia but remained there but a short 
 time, when he removed to Harrison, Hamilton 
 County, Ohio ; here he worked at his trade ; 
 March 9, 1820, he married a Kentucky lady, a 
 Mrs. Misner. They had a family of eight chil- 
 dren. In October 1830 he moved to McLean 
 County, 111., and settled on a farm at Randolph 
 Grove. There he entered forty acres of land and 
 afterward purchased considerable more land, and
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 91 
 
 did some farming. He also worked at his trade ; 
 and here he endured the privations to which all 
 the early settlers were subjected. In 1831 he was 
 elected a justice of the peace, this being the first 
 office he held. In 1835 he was elected to the 
 legislature, which then held its. sessions at 
 Vandalia. In 1839 he was elected to the senate 
 of the State and in 1840 he was elected lieutenant 
 governor; this office he held up to 1846. At the 
 close of his term, at the outbreak of the Mexican 
 War, he enlisted as a private in the 4th Regi- 
 ment of Illinois Volunteers, which he had been 
 active in forming, and was almost immediately 
 chosen lieutenant colonel ; he bravely and honor- 
 ably served during that war and participated in 
 several engagements Cerro Gordo, Rio Grande, 
 and Vera Cruz. When he returned from the 
 Mexican War, the State of Illinois presented him 
 with a sword to show its appreciation of his 
 distinguished services. In 1848 he was appointed 
 state treasurer by Governor French, to fill the 
 vacancy caused by the death of Milton Carpenter. 
 At the expiration of the term in 1850, he was 
 elected to hold the same office and was reelected 
 in 1852. In 1854 he was again a candidate, but 
 was defeated on account of an absurd prejudice 
 which sprang up at that time against foreigners. 
 In 1853 Mr. Moore was appointed by Governor 
 Matteson to settle the difficulty between the 
 State of Illinois and the firm of Thompson & 
 Foreman, growing out of a contract by which that 
 firm was to deliver to the State of Illinois a cer- 
 tain amount of railroad iron. This difficulty was 
 arranged by Mr. Moore to the entire satisfaction 
 of all parties. He was appointed one of the 
 trustees of the Illinois Central Railroad Company 
 in 1851, and held that position up to the time of 
 his death in 1866. 
 
 Mr. Moore was nearly six feet in height 
 and heavily built ; his shoulders were broad, and 
 his carriage erect and his complexion ruddy. His 
 health was remarkably good, and this doubtless 
 contributed to his cheerful, happy disposition. 
 He was a man of great natural force of character 
 and an honest man, and was familiarly known 
 throughout the State as " Honest John Moore." 
 The State of Illinois never had a more faithful 
 
 guardian of her interests. His power of memory 
 and of conversation was wonderful. He was a 
 fine presiding officer and the chair of the senate 
 has never been filled by a more accomplished 
 parliamentarian. His death, which occurred at 
 Boston, September 23, 1866, was the result' of a 
 surgical operation performed upon his eyes for 
 cataract. His remains were interred in the old 
 burying ground at Randolph Grove.* 
 
 JUDGE SAMUEL DRAKE LOCKWOOD 
 was born at Poundridge, Westchester 
 county, New York, August 2, 1789; 
 when quite young, his father died, leav- 
 ing his mother with three small children and 
 with but slender means of support; by this 
 event, Samuel's plans for a liberal education 
 were broken up and he was thrown upon his own 
 resources. At twelve years of age, he spent 
 a few months at a private school in New Jersey, 
 where he says of himself, "I acquired some 
 knowledge of arithmetic and enough of Latin 
 to be able to decline a few nouns and conjugate 
 a few verbs." Lessons in arithmetic were given 
 orally and written out by the pupils. In 1803 he 
 went to live with his mother's brother, Francis 
 Drake, a lawyer of Waterford, New York, where 
 he remained as a law student until February 
 1811, when he was licensed to practise law and 
 opened an office in Batavia, New York. It may 
 be said of Judge Lockwood as was said of John 
 Quincy Adams, that he never had a boyhood. 
 In early years, he met the stern realities of life 
 which left no time for boyish or manly sports 
 and, as a consequence, he had no relish for such 
 things. But he was preeminently a home man, 
 in full sympathy with everything that would 
 increase the happiness of home, and bring en- 
 joyment to the family circle. The first four 
 years of his professional life was a hard struggle 
 with disease and pecuniary embarrassment. In 
 
 * "Good Old Times in McLean County, Illinois," 
 by Dr. E. Dnis, Bloomington, 1874,
 
 92 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 a new country, he found the legal profession 
 well filled and in it some men of reputation and 
 experience able to absorb all the business. 
 
 On March 12, 1813, however, he was ap- 
 pointed master in chancery by Gov. Tompkins, 
 a circumstance which, as he wrote at the time, 
 enabled him, with his. other practice, to support 
 himself decently and to pay the debts he had con- 
 tracted before he got into business. This period 
 included the war time, when everything was 
 
 for Illinois, reaching Shawneetown, December 
 20. He made the journey in company with 
 William H. Brown and others on a flat-boat down 
 the Alleghany and Ohio rivers. From Shaw- 
 neetown, Lockwood and Brown made the trip 
 to Kaskaskia, a distance of 120 miles, on foot 
 and arrived December 26 ; entire strangers to the 
 country. On their way, they were met by two 
 young men bound for the same place. These 
 were Thomas Mather and Sidney Breese, both 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL LOCOMOTIVE "1156." 
 
 depressed to the lowest point. Judge Lockwood 
 naturally diffident and retiring, feeble in physical 
 constitution, with a tendency to self-depreciation, 
 and far separated from all family friends, must 
 have passed through many trials, and his final 
 success is an evidence of that sterling worth of 
 character with which in after life he was univer- 
 sally credited. From a letter to his mother, 
 written in May 1815, we learn that he remained 
 in Batavia about a year, then removed to Auburn 
 in that year and practiced law with George B. 
 Throop until the fall of 1818, when he started 
 
 from New York. Judge Lockwood remained 
 in Kaskaskia a year, and then removed to Carmi, 
 spending a year there. In 1821, at the second 
 session of the legislature held at Vandalia, he 
 was elected attorney general. This election to 
 office necessitated his removal to Edwardsville. 
 In 1822 Governor Coles appointed him secretary 
 of state, but in the same year, President Monroe 
 appointed him receiver of public moneys at 
 Edwardsville and he accepted the latter position. 
 In 1823 he was appointed an agent of the board 
 of canal commissioners. In 1824 he was elected
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 93 
 
 associate justice of the supreme court, and in 
 1824-5, assisted in a revision of the criminal code 
 of the state which, with a few amendments, 
 has continued in force ever since. He remained 
 on the bench until the adoption of the new state 
 constitution in 1848. Judge Lock wood was 
 therefore a resident of Illinois from 1818 to 1874, 
 and for over fifty years was in public service, 
 holding during that period, under state and 
 national appointment, the following positions 
 of trust and responsibility, attorney general, 
 secretary of state, receiver of public moneys in 
 the Edwardsville land-office, associate justice of 
 the supreme court. He was state trustee of the 
 I. C. Railroad from the organization of that 
 company until his death in 1874, and was charter 
 trustee in each of the state institutions estab- 
 lished for the benefit of the insane, deaf and 
 dumb, and blind. 
 
 This brief outline indicates something of 
 Judge Lockwood's standing in the state, some- 
 thing of the esteem with which he was regarded 
 by his fellow-citizens, and something of the in- 
 fluence he must have exerted in that period of 
 our State history, when a few of our good and 
 wise men were laying the foundations of those 
 civil, social, and educational institutions, which 
 have secured for us our present prosperity and 
 are a standing proof of the wisdom and fidelity 
 of the great men into whose labor we have 
 entered. 
 
 ,OSWELL B. MASON, chief engineer 
 of the Illinois Central from 1851 to 
 to 1856, was born in New Hartford, 
 Oneida county, New York, Septem- 
 ber 19, 1805, and died in Chicago, January i, 
 1892. He was reared on a farm and attended 
 the district schools until the age of sixteen. In 
 the summer of 1821 our subject's father took a 
 contract to furnish stone for a section of the 
 
 Erie Canal, and the boy was set to work hauling 
 stone. It was here he met Edward F. Gay, 
 assistant engineer of the canal, who offered him 
 ii position of rodman for the engineering party, 
 and he remained with Gay until the completion 
 of the Erie Canal. In the spring of 1824 he 
 joined the engineering party that was engaged 
 in the construction of the Schuylkill Canal, but 
 on account of sickness was compelled to return 
 home in August of that year. In the spring of 
 1825 he joined his old employers on the Morris 
 Canal in New Jersey. Here Mr. Gay resigned 
 his position as assistant chief engineer, and our 
 subject was given his place. He was engaged 
 on this work for six years, the latter part of the 
 time as chief engineer and superintendent of the 
 canal. He was engaged on various canals in 
 New Jersey and the east until the spring of 
 1837, when he became interested in the surveys 
 of the Housatonic railroad, one of the largest 
 of the early railroads. During the follow- 
 ing fourteen years he served as engineer and 
 superintendent of the railroad, making his head- 
 quarters at Bridgeport, Conn. 
 
 In the spring of 1851 he came west and took 
 charge of the construction of the Illinois Central 
 railroad, which he completed in October 1856. 
 He then resigned his position as chief engineer 
 and was engaged in the construction of other 
 roads in Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota until the 
 spring of 1861, when he was appointed comptrol- 
 ler of the land department of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad and retained this position until August 
 1867. He then took charge of the Dubuque 
 bridge which was completed in December 1868. 
 In November 1869, he was elected mayor of 
 Chicago and it was during his administration 
 that the great Chicago fire occurred. In 1873 
 he was appointed one of the trustees of the Illi- 
 nois Industrial University and held that position 
 ten years. He was an important factor in the 
 early growth and development of our present 
 svstem of railroads.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PRESIDENTS OF THE 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY.
 
 PRESIDENTS OF THE 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY. 
 
 Robert Schuyler ................................................... March 19, 1851 to July 11, 18S3. 
 
 William P. Burrall, ................................................ July 28, 1853 to Nov. 23, 1854. 
 
 John N. A. Griswold ............................................... Jan. 10, 1855 to Dec. 1, 1855. 
 
 Wm. Henry Osborn ............................................... Dec. 1, 1855 to July 11, 1865. 
 
 John M. Douglas .................................................. July 11, 1865 to March 14, 1871. 
 
 John Newell, ..................................................... April 14, 1871 to Sept. 11, 1874. 
 
 Wilson G. Hunt ................................................... Sept. 11, 1874 to Jan. 28, 1875. 
 
 John M. Douglas, . . . .............................................. Jan. 28, 1875 to July 17, 1876. 
 
 Wm. K. Ackerman, ............................................... Oct. 17, 1877 to Aug. 18, 1883. 
 
 James C. Clarke, ................................................. Aug. 18, 1883 to May 18, 1887. 
 
 Stuyvesant Fish, .................................................. May 18, 1887. 
 
 ( OBERT SCHUYLER, first president of 
 the Illinois Central Railroad Company, 
 was a grandson of General Philip 
 Schuyler of revolutionary fame; he 
 served from March 19, 1851, to July 3, 1854. He 
 became interested in Illinois railways through 
 the purchase of the finished portion, 24 miles, of 
 the Northern Cross Railroad from Jacksonville 
 to Meredosia, the first railroad constructed in 
 the State. It was sold at public sale, April 26, 
 1847, ar >d purchased by Nicholas H. Ridgely of 
 Springfield, who soon after, through the nego- 
 tiations of Thomas Mather of the same city, sold 
 it to a construction company organized in New 
 York in which Schuyler was interested. Its 
 name was changed to the "Sangamon & Morgan 
 Railroad" and it was rebuilt, work being com- 
 pleted July 22, 1849. 
 
 The record of Robert Schuyler in his con- 
 nection with American railways is an interesting, 
 but a sad one, to dwell upon. He was a pioneer 
 in American railway construction and justly 
 deserved the title of the first railroad king. He 
 was at one time the president of five railways, 
 viz. the New York & New Haven, the Harlem, 
 
 the Illinois Central, the Rensalaer & Saratoga, 
 and the Sangamon & Morgan, and these various 
 positions he held up to a certain period with great 
 credit to himself. He was a man of unusual 
 business ability, aided by a sound judgment and 
 a liberal education. In his devotion to duty, he 
 was no less remarkable ; though broken in health, 
 he was frequently found laboring in his private 
 rooms until an early hour in the morning in a 
 conscientious effort to serve the best interests 
 of his share-holders. His versatility of mind 
 enabled him to accomplish great results in a 
 short space of time. He was a man of keen 
 perceptions, clear and comprehensive views, and 
 these constituted him a wise counsellor. His 
 unaffected dignity, courteous bearing, and refined 
 manner, commanded the respect of all who knew 
 him, and these included many eminent persons 
 of his day. Such qualities lent a peculiar charm 
 to his office and station, and gave him the 
 presence of an American gentleman. There was 
 a provision in the charter of one of the railroad 
 companies with which he was connected that 
 required its completion within a certain time 
 under a penalty of forfiture. In an effort to
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 complete it within the specified time, as was 
 supposed, he in an evil moment of his mistaken 
 ztal, resorted to very questionable measures, 
 which in the end proved his down-fall. In addi- 
 tion to holding the office of president of the New 
 York & New Haven Railroad Company, he was 
 the transfer agent of that company. At that 
 time, the share certificates of railways were not 
 countet signed as they now are; consequently 
 there was nothing to prevent irregularities. 
 Transfer agents had it in their power at that time 
 
 ture of the State of New York, familiarly known 
 as the "Schuyler Act," making the over-issue 
 of capital stock in that state a felony ; for up 
 to this time there was no statute covering such 
 a breach of trust. A final examination of the 
 books of the New Haven company and a return 
 of all certificates showed that there had been an 
 over-issue of the stock of that company amount- 
 ing to about $2,000,000. The discovery was 
 made by mere accident. Schuyler was taken ill 
 on June 29, 1854, and remained away from his 
 
 COURTESY A. H. RALPH, VICKSBURG, MISS. 
 
 "The Freight Conductor En Route." 
 
 to over-issue the shares of a railway, and it 
 was done in this instance. The first irregular 
 issue was made in Oct. 1853, and others followed 
 until the irregularity was discovered, July 3, 1854. 
 This occurrence resulted in the action that was 
 afterward taken by the New York stock ex- 
 change, requiring that all certificates be signed 
 by two officers of a company, and registered 
 and countersigned by a third disinterested par- 
 ty, which must be a banking or trust company. 
 This has proved a wholesome check upon similar 
 dishonest transactions. It also resulted in the 
 passage of a special law, in 1855, by the legisla- 
 
 office until July 3rd; the vice-president, Mr. 
 Worthen, being called in to act as transfer agent, 
 the fraud was discovered by the presentation of 
 some of the spurious certificates issued by Schuy- 
 ler. The case, which was brought by the holders 
 of these irregular certificates, many of whom 
 claimed to be innocent holders, was continued in 
 the courts for ten years, but finally resulted in a 
 decision in the New York court of appeals, in 
 1864, against the railroad company, which com- 
 pelled it to reimburse every holder the value of 
 his shares.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 Schuyler, in his pride and ambition to suc- 
 ceed, and lacking the moral courage to acknowl- 
 edge his needs and mistakes, fell into the fatal 
 blunder which brought ruin to his reputation, 
 sorrow to his friends, disgrace to his family- 
 name, and disaster for the time being to the 
 financial world. Flattered by apparent success 
 deficient in caution failing properly to 
 measure his resources and withal, lacking the 
 principle with which he had been credited, he 
 dissipated large sums of money in an attempt 
 to resuscitate failing properties. In an effort 
 to retrieve himself, he committed this terrible 
 wrong. However questionable his procedure, 
 or reprehensible his conduct may appear to the 
 minds of those unfamiliar with all the circum- 
 stances of the case, a careful investigation into 
 his conduct shows that he was at least in part 
 actuated by unselfish motives. It does not appear 
 that he took advantage of his position merely 
 to enrich himself. The trust imposed in him was 
 unlimited, and the burden laid upon him very 
 great ; but there is a limit to human accomplish- 
 ment, and there ought to be a limit to the 
 responsibility laid upon human intellect. If 
 there is not, those who impose excessive burdens 
 in hopes of obtaining impossible results, should 
 at least be willing to share in the responsibility, 
 and to accept the outcome with resignation. In 
 this instance, the zeal to promote the interest 
 of one corporation tempted him to draw tem- 
 porarily, as he no doubt regarded it upon the 
 resources of another. The redeeming feature 
 of the case laid in the fact that, when the trans- 
 action was laid open, he did not attempt to 
 palliate his offence and meet his accusers with 
 brazen effrontery. His sense of personal honor 
 was so shocked, and his mortification so great, 
 that he could not face his friends, and hence 
 his flight to a strange land, to find relief in death. 
 He fled the country from Quebec in a stray 
 vessel : had he been a polished villain instead of 
 a blunderer, he might have covered his tracks. 
 But he had not studied the art of fraud, and so 
 he put a very honest construction upon his own 
 dishonesty. He attempted too much for his day, 
 and failed. Many have gone further since and 
 
 succeeded, as the world counts success. But 
 his was not a day of "trusts," when transactions 
 quite as dishonest, and involving many more 
 millions, can be so deftly hidden as to defy dis- 
 covery. The world might indeed say that 
 his sin partially lay in the fact of his being found 
 out. The subtleties of finance had defeated him, 
 because in his blindness he could not see his peril 
 ir time to be warned ; and so, in the meridian 
 of an otherwise bright and extraordinary career, 
 his light went out. A life was extinguished 
 that could not well be spared at that juncture 
 from the railway world. He died in a foreign 
 land, poor and friendless ; the concealed worm 
 had fed upon him, until he was wrecked mentally 
 and physically, and he became the mere shadow 
 of his former self. 
 
 ILLIAM PORTER BURRALL was 
 the second president of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company, having 
 succeeded Mr. Schuyler under whom 
 he had acted as vice-president. He was born 
 in Canaan, Conn., September 18, 1806; died at 
 Hartford, Conn., March 3, 1874. His father, 
 William Morgan Burrall, was a lawyer by pro- 
 fession, a graduate of Yale, a prominent member 
 of the bar of Litchfield county, Conn., an associate 
 judge of the county court from 1829-36, and 
 after that, chief judge for ten years. His an- 
 cestors were among the original settlers of the 
 town of Canaan, and his mother, Elizabeth 
 Morgan, was a member of the well known 
 Hartford family of that name. William P. 
 I'.urrall's mother was Abigail Porter Stoddard, 
 a descendant of the Porter and Stoddard families 
 of Salisbury, Conn., both of them prominent 
 in the early history of the town and state. 
 
 Mr. Burrall was graduated at Yale College 
 in 1826, among his classmates being President 
 Sturtevant and Elizur Wright; he studied law 
 at the Litchfield law-school ; also in the office of 
 the late Chief Justice Church, where he was 
 associated as a law student with O. S. Seymour,
 
 loo 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 late chief Justice, and was admitted to the bar 
 of Litchfield county in 1829. He practiced law 
 in his native town until October 1839, when he 
 removed to Bridgeport, Conn., to accept the 
 presidency of the Housatonic Railroad, which 
 position he held for fifteen years. This railroad 
 had just become an accomplished fact by the 
 exertions of Alfred Bishop, a gentleman of great 
 energy and personal power, father of Hon. W. 
 D. Bishop. Mr. Burrall was called from its 
 
 views were broad and generous. He favored no 
 mean or stingy policies. He held in just esti- 
 mate the rights and responsibilities of railroad 
 companies, believing that the true secret of suc- 
 cess in railroad management is found in fair and 
 courteous treatment of the traveling and trading 
 public. He desired the best, safest, and quickest 
 accommodation for all patrons of his roads. He 
 withheld no proper information from his stock- 
 holders. He kept his promises and asked of 
 
 FHOTO LOANED BY MRS. C. K DIXON, CHEROKEE, IOWA. 
 
 CENTRIFUGAL SNOW PLOW OWNED BY THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL R'Y Co. 
 
 management to the Illinois Central Railroad 
 Company as treasurer, and became president. 
 He was afterward connected with the New York 
 & New Haven Company as vice-president, then 
 with the Hartford & New Haven as vice-president 
 and president, and finally was made vice-pres- 
 ident of the New York, New Haven & Hartford 
 at the consolidation of the companies. He was 
 several times a member of the house of repre- 
 sentatives and also filled the position of state 
 senator. 
 
 In his business relations, Mr. Burrall was 
 a man of singular honesty and accuracy. His 
 
 those with whom he came in contact that they 
 should keep theirs. He was faithful to every 
 trust reposed in him. As a draughtsman of 
 railroad contracts, he had no superior in the 
 country. There was no ambiguity in the lan- 
 guage he employed ; every sentence was so clearly- 
 expressed as to leave no room for doubt as to 
 its meaning. 
 
 As a citizen, he favored honesty and truth 
 in all public matters. The stain of corruption 
 never was upon his hands in his extensive deal- 
 ings with legislatures, courts, and commissions.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 101 
 
 In the sphere of private life, Mr. Burrall's 
 course was usually charming. Courteous, un- 
 obtrusive, pure, gentle, tender-hearted as a child, 
 he kept a "peaceful tenor" in all his dealings 
 with his associates. He was benevolent, but 
 his benevolence was unostentatious. He was 
 courageous, but his courage was always tempered 
 with consideration for others. His word was 
 as sacred as if sealed as a covenant. 
 
 Into the privacy of domestic grief we may 
 not enter, but we may say that Mr. Burrall's 
 large family found in his affectionate heart a 
 faithful response in all the tenderest relations 
 of life, and that his sudden death sundered many 
 sacred cords. Such a life as his was an honor 
 and a blessing to our common nature, and the 
 cpmmunity in which he lived mourned his loss 
 with no common grief. One of his daughters 
 is the wife of Henry H. Anderson, a prominent 
 lawyer in the city of New York. 
 
 The revelation of the Schuyler incident 
 shocked the confidence of the financial world 
 and placed under suspicion every enterprise with 
 which he had been connected. The unfortunate 
 affair happened at a critical time in the history 
 of the Illinois Central Railroad Company. On 
 the day following the disaster, Mr. W. H. Osborn 
 was called to the council of the board of directors 
 and he was afterward (Aug. n, 1854), elected 
 a member. On Dec. i, 1855, he was elected 
 president of the company. He entered with 
 remarkable energy upon the work of restoring 
 confidence to this great enterprise. A resume 
 of his services to the company and incidentally 
 to the State, is given below. 
 
 JOHN N. A. GRISWOLD, third president 
 of the Illinois Central Railroad Com- 
 pany, served the corporation in that ca- 
 pacity from January 10, 1855 to Decem- 
 ber i, 1855. 
 
 ILLIAM HENRY OSBORN, was 
 born in Salem, Mass., Dec. 21, 1820, 
 and received a high school educa- 
 tion in that venerable New England 
 town. Shortly after leaving school, he entered 
 the counting room of the old East India house 
 of Peele, Hubbe 1 ! and Company, founded by 
 J. Willard Peele, engaged in the East India 
 trade. After remaining there a while, he was 
 sent to Manilla, (under the auspices of Stephen 
 C. Phillips who was a member of the house), 
 to represent the business at that place. He re- 
 sided there several years, and afterward became 
 the head of the firm and engaged in business 
 on his own account. He traveled extensively 
 in Europe and on his return to the United States 
 in 1853, took up his residence in the city of 
 New York, where he shortly after married the 
 daughter of that most estimable man and up- 
 right merchant, Jonathan Sturges, the senior 
 member of the firm of Sturges, Bennett and Co., 
 at that time one of the largest mercantile houses 
 in the city of New York. Mr. Sturges was one 
 of the incorporators of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road Company, and had unbounded faith in the 
 future development of the State of Illinois. He, 
 in company with other men of large means and 
 reputation, had entered with great energy upon 
 the work of constructing the Illinois Central 
 Road upon a sound financial basis. The high 
 character of the men engaged in the work of 
 reviving a scheme that was destined to prove 
 of such great advantage to the State, inspired 
 confidence both at home and abroad. But the 
 undertaking proved to be a more formidable one 
 than even the minds of those sagacious men 
 had calculated upon. 
 
 In 1854 while the work of construction was 
 well under way, it became apparent that much 
 larger expenditures would be required than had 
 been estimated, and to carry it through to a 
 successful completion more vigorous measures 
 must be adopted. Up to the end of 1854, only 
 300 miles of the whole 704 miles to be built were 
 completed and these in detached portions, so 
 that they were operated at great disadvantage 
 and cost, and the entire amount of net earnings
 
 102 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 derived from their operation for the last half 
 of the year was, as appears by one of the early 
 reports of the company, only $149,744.16. While 
 the road was earning so little, the interest ac- 
 count on the bonded debt, already incurred, was 
 rolling up so heavily as to threaten to engulf the 
 whole enterprise. To add to the "paucity of 
 events," the crops of Illinois in this year, 1854, 
 were almost a total failure, checking the sale of 
 lands which had been donated to the company, 
 
 earnestly demanded. It was therefore necessary 
 at this critical juncture, to find immediately some 
 one who could go to the scene of active operations 
 in Illinois and personally superintend the closing 
 up of the gaps between the unfinished portions of 
 the line, as economically and as expeditiouslv 
 as possible, so that it could be placed in a tho- 
 roughly equipped condition to earn money for 
 the shareholders. At that time, the demand for 
 men of such capacity was beginning to be felt 
 
 COURTESY JOHN H. WILSON. 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL DEPOT AT FREEPORT, ILL. 
 
 as well as diminishing the amount of collections 
 for those already sold. To add to the compli- 
 cation of affairs, the "Schuyler fraud" over- 
 issue of the stock of the New York & New 
 Haven Railroad Company was made public July 
 3. 1854, and completely unsettled business affairs, 
 making it almost impossible to negotiate railway 
 securities, however good. The directory, though 
 composed of men of such high standing in the 
 community, were all residents -of the Eastern 
 States, and they could not give that close per- 
 sonal attention to the affairs of the company 
 which its peculiar condition at that time so 
 
 all over the country, but in no instance was it 
 more urgent than in the case of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company. In this dark hour 
 for those who had ventured so largely and with 
 such sanguine expectations upon this first land- 
 grant project, (and which threatened for a 
 while to prove even more disastrous than had 
 other successive attempts that had been made 
 to construct a road through the center of the 
 State), Mr. Osborn was called to the command, 
 and took up for a time his residence in Chicago. 
 It was a herculean task imposed upon him and 
 one which would have daunted almost any other
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 103 
 
 man. The people of the State of Illinois have 
 never known what a debt of gratitude they owe 
 to Mr. Osborn for his successful effort in sav- 
 ing the road to the State. It is perhaps no 
 exaggeration to say, that if it had not been for 
 the extraordinary exertions made by him at that 
 time, the road would not have been brought to 
 a successful completion, certainly not within the 
 time it was, for, if foreclosure proceedings had 
 been instituted then, it is extremely doubtful 
 whether any new corporation which might have 
 been formed would have been willing to accept 
 the onerous conditions imposed by the original 
 charter; and so in this way the essential ad- 
 vantage in the matter of tax on gross earnings 
 would have been lost to the State. 
 
 Even after the ordeal of 1854 had been safe- 
 ly passed and the company's financial condition 
 greatly improved by the successful negotiation 
 by Mr. Osborn of a temporary loan of three mil- 
 lions of dollars, new and unlooked for difficulties 
 arose. The income of the road had scarcely be- 
 come sufficient to pay its running expenses, for 
 the country along its line had not sufficiently 
 developed to yield an adequate traffic for its sup- 
 port when the panic of October 1857, with all 
 its disastrous accompaniments, swept over the 
 country. Mr. Osborn had sailed for Europe, a 
 month previous. The financial skies were com- 
 paratively clear when he left, but on Oct. 9th, all 
 the banks in New York, with the exception of 
 the Chemical Bank, and most of those through- 
 out the country, suspended specie payment. The 
 wheels of commerce became clogged, and dis- 
 trust everywhere so prevailed that it was impos- 
 sible to negotiate a sterling bill at any rate of ex- 
 change. At this time, Mr. Osborn was in Lon- 
 don in conference with English bankers with a 
 view of placing the finances of the company on a 
 more substantial footing. This he would have 
 undoubtedly succeeded in accomplishing at once, 
 but for the circumstances referred to. The sud- 
 denly changed condition of affairs compelled his 
 immediate return to this country. The Atlantic 
 cable was not in operation at that time, and on 
 his arrival at Sandy Hook, he was startled to 
 
 read in the New York papers an announcement 
 by the treasurer of the company in these words : 
 
 "OFFICE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD Co., 
 NEW YORK, October 9th, 1857. 
 
 "The Directors of THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAIL- 
 ROAD COMPANY are under the painful necessity of 
 announcing that, notwithstanding the most strenuous 
 exertions to avert such a result, the company is forced 
 to suspend payment. 
 
 "The existing derangement in the financial affairs 
 of the country surprised the company with a large 
 floating debt incurred for the completion and equip- 
 ment of the road. To provide for its payment when 
 the usual credits became unavailable, an assessment of 
 ten dollars per share was promptly made, and upon 
 this side of the Atlantic, largely paid in advance, 
 enabling the company to meet its engagements in 
 September. The installments upon the stock held 
 abroad, have been in rapid progress of payment, but 
 the negotiation of the bills of exchange drawn against 
 them, difficult at first, has at length become impos- 
 sible. 
 
 "All other and usual modes of raising money are 
 'well known to be entirely unavailable. It would be in 
 *: vain at this time to call in another installment on the 
 stock; "fcs the same difficulties which prevent the realiz- 
 ing of the proceeds of the one already called, in season 
 to meet the accruing obligations of the company, 
 would attach to any other immediate assessment. 
 
 "The directors have therefore yielded to the stern 
 necessity of the case reluctantly, but with a clear con- 
 viction that the true interests of both creditors and 
 stockholders would be promoted by the legal steps 
 which, under the advice of able counsel, have been 
 taken to secure their respective rights. 
 
 "The coupons due on the construction bonds, 
 October 1, have been paid to a large extent, and a 
 provision has been made to receive the balance out- 
 standing in payment of unpaid installments, if desired 
 by the holder. No serious inconvenience will probably 
 result therefrom. 
 
 "All possible exertions will be used to pay off 
 every liability without unnecessary delay; and to re- 
 lieve the company from its present embarrassment. 
 
 "As this has not risen from any difficulties intrinsic 
 in the enterprise, but from the extraordinary condition 
 of the money market, the directors see therein no cause 
 to abate the confidence they have heretofore felt and 
 expressed in the value of the road and the lands of the 
 
 company. 
 
 By order of the Board, 
 
 J. N. PERKINS, Treasurer."
 
 104 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 The coupons falling due on the large bonded 
 debt then outstanding, were being presented by 
 anxious holders, and, to satisfy these and to 
 prevent further complication, Mr. Osborn upon 
 his personal responsibility for the credit of the 
 company was entirely exhausted negotiated 
 loans to a large extent from banks and indi- 
 viduals, and with the proceeds paid the coupons 
 and held them until the company was able to 
 redeem them. He then provided a plan for the 
 re-establishment of the company's credit by the 
 issue of a new loan of about $5,000,000. From 
 
 came connected with the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road Company in 1854, it had a bonded debt of 
 nearly $20,000,000, and a floating debt in addi- 
 tion of $2,500,000, as shown by the annual re- 
 port of that year, and the future of the enter- 
 prise was an unsolved problem. When he retired 
 from active participation in its affairs in 1877, 
 its bonded debt was $10,508,000, the road was 
 and had long been paying regular dividends, and 
 it had a large amount of assets on hand available 
 for any contingency. During the frequent visits 
 of Mr. Osborn on the other side, he had occasion 
 
 PHOTOGRAPH BY A. W. ADAM6. WATERLOO, IOWA. 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL LOCOMOTIVE No. 223. 
 
 the proceeds all the outstanding, floating in- 
 debtedness of the company was paid in full, prin- 
 cipal and interest, the assignees discharged, and 
 the business of the company placed once more 
 in the hands of its officers. 
 
 The restoration of the company to full credit 
 had a very favorable effect upon all American 
 securities abroad, and made the Illinois Central 
 Railroad the most prominent American corpora- 
 tion in the eyes of English capitalists, and, 
 increasing public confidence in it, materially 
 strengthened other companies of a similar kind. 
 It was the turning point in the affairs of the com- 
 pany, and from that time on,. it enjoyed an un- 
 broken era of prosperity. When Mr. Osborn be- 
 
 to consult with the large shareholders of the com- 
 pany, and in this way, he formed the acquaintance 
 of many prominent English bankers and states- 
 men. Among these was Richard Cobden, who 
 had first visited Illinois in 1855, and passed over 
 a portion of the proposed line and who, when 
 he saw the beautiful prairie and examined its 
 fertile soil, became an enthusiast as to the pro- 
 spective value of the property ; so much so, that 
 he invested nearly all his money in it. Morley, 
 in his life of Cobden, refers to a visit made by 
 Mr. Osborn to the great premier in 1858, whom 
 he found in a perturbed state of mind regarding 
 his holding of Illinois Central shares, and whom 
 he aided with his friendly counsel.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 105 
 
 In 1858, the troubles of the previous year 
 were aggravated by another failure of the crops. 
 This bore heavily upon the new settlers on the 
 company's lands, most of whom had made only 
 their first payment. The result was that many 
 of them became so impoverished in their re- 
 sources that they were almost objects of charity. 
 Not a few were entirely destitute of the neces- 
 saries of life. Private contributions of tea, 
 coffee, sugar and provisions were made by the 
 directors of the company and sent to various 
 points on the line to relieve cases of actual suffer- 
 ing. From 1861 on, owing to the great develop- 
 ment of the resources of the country and the 
 consequent rapid settlement of the company's 
 lands, regular dividends were paid on its shares. 
 Mr. Osborn occupied the position of president 
 of the company from December i, 1855 to July 
 u, 1865, and was a director from August 
 n, 1854 to May 30, 1877, so that he practically 
 continued in the management of the company's 
 affairs for twenty-two years, a management that 
 was characterized by prudence and conservatism 
 remarkable skill and executive ability, firm and 
 unceasing devotion to the interests of the com- 
 pany, indomitable will and courage, and, above 
 all, strict integrity of purpose. 
 
 JOHN M. DOUGLAS served as the fifth 
 president and again as the eighth presi- 
 dent of the Illinois Central. Mr. Doug- 
 las was born at Plattsburg, Clinton coun- 
 ty. New York, August 22, 1819. His maternal 
 grandfather, Elijah Weaver, was a second lieu- 
 tenant in the revoluntionary war, and his father, 
 Congdon Douglas, served in the war of 1812 
 and fought at the battle of Plattsburg. At the 
 age of seventeen, John M. Douglas entered the 
 law-office of Sweatland and Beckwith, at Platts- 
 burg, and read law for three years. He then 
 came west and settled in Galena, Illinois. He 
 was admitted to the bar in 1841 and opened a 
 law-office in that city. His first employment by 
 
 the company was to secure right of way through 
 Galena, where he was in practice with R. H. 
 McClellan. In 1856, he came to Chicago, and, 
 in 1857, was appointed one of the solicitors of the 
 Illinois Central road, David Stuart being the 
 other. It never had a more faithful servant 
 than he. Cautious and conservative in tempera- 
 ment, many were the breakers avoided by his 
 wise counsel. Litigation pregnant with danger, 
 he made it a rule to settle ; but where he believed 
 the law and the evidence to be on his client's 
 side, or where he believed there was a principle 
 worth contending for, he would contest, general- 
 ly with success, a case to the end. Knotty prob- 
 lems, such as frequently encompass the opera- 
 tions of a railway, he studied out with untiring 
 zeal. 
 
 Mr. Douglas was a director of the company 
 from May 29, 1861, to May 22, 1872, and from 
 January 15, 1875, to July 17, 1876. On July 
 n, 1865, he was elected president of the com- 
 pany and served until March 14, 1871. He con- 
 tinued in the service as general-solicitor and, on 
 January 28, 1875, was again elected president, 
 serving until July 17, 1876, when he retired per- 
 manently from the service. His presidential 
 terms covered important periods in the history 
 of the road, and, in the course of his manage- 
 ment, he encountered many difficult problems in 
 dealing with which he displayed sterling quali- 
 ties of mind, and in the solution of which he 
 was eminently successful. 
 
 In 1881, he was appointed by Judge Thomas 
 Drummond, receiver of the Ohio & Mississippi 
 Railway Company, the affairs of which he 
 managed with scrupulous fidelity to the owners 
 of the property. Mr. Douglas died March 26, 
 1891. He married Amanda Marshall, of Platts- 
 burg, New York, and left three children, Helen. 
 Anna and John Marshall. He was a democrat 
 in politics but never took a very active part in 
 political life. He made it a rule of his official 
 life never to write a letter concerning any im- 
 portant matter of business, which he could bet- 
 ter explain in person, apparently following the 
 advice of Sidney Smith, "that it was better to 
 walk six miles than to write six lines." Diffi-
 
 106 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 dent and retiring in disposition and exceeding- 
 ly reticent in manner, he was often misunder- 
 stood. The labors of the best part of his life 
 were with singular devotion given to the interests 
 of the Illinois Central Railway Company and it 
 is pleasant to know that they were appreciated.- 
 
 that the supreme court of the state declared it 
 unconstitutional. But, in the mean time, it in- 
 flicted untold hardships upon the railways of the 
 state, and, owing to its peculiar geographical 
 position, none suffered worse than the Illinois 
 Central Railroad. On more than one occasion, 
 
 COURTESY MRS. C, K. DIXON, CHEROKEE, IOWA. 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL STATION FT. DODGE, IOWA. 
 
 'OHN NEWELL, sixth president of the 
 Illinois Central was elected April 14, 
 1871. As far back as 1855, Mr. Newell 
 was division engineer on the main line. 
 His knowledge of engineering and his experience 
 in that profession served him well when he re- 
 turned to the service of the company. During 
 his presidency, he encountered a larger propor- 
 tion of trials than ordinarily fall to the lot of the 
 railway manager. They might be summed up 
 chiefly in three words grangerism, fire and 
 panic. 
 
 In 1871, the legislature enacted the first 
 granger law, which proved so odious in its terms 
 
 lawless mobs undertook to dictate how the trains 
 should be run on the road. If there is any one 
 thing that the average railway manager especial- 
 ly rebels against, it is to have outsiders interfere 
 with the running of his trains. The good sense 
 of the people soon prevailed, and another law, 
 not so objectional in its provisions, was passed 
 two years after. 
 
 The great Chicago fire, of October 8th and 
 Qth, 1871,- destroyed a very large amount of the 
 company's property, including its freight houses 
 with all the valuable goods stored in them ; also, 
 one of the large grain-elevators with its con-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 107 
 
 tents,* and the commodious passenger depot. 
 These severe losses almost paralyzed for the time 
 being the business of the road. As entrance to 
 the company's grounds in Chicago was complete- 
 ly obstructed, it was impossible to receive or 
 forward freight. The company's money loss by 
 the fire was about $300,000. This, fortunately, 
 was largely covered by insurance in a reliable 
 company the Liverpool and London and Globe 
 of London which promptly paid its obligation 
 in full. 
 
 In 1873 a financial panic swept over the 
 country with all its concomitant evils, rendering 
 successful administration of railroad affairs a 
 matter of no ordinary difficulty. The business 
 of the country was greatly unsettled and prices 
 of produce fell to a very low point. Corn sold 
 on the board of trade, Chicago, in June of that 
 year, as low as 27 cents, and, owing to the diver- 
 sion of grain carrying vessels to the ore trade 
 then quite active, it was difficult to make charters. 
 The consequence was that the company's eleva- 
 tors were soon filled and the movement of this 
 class of traffic in the direction of Chicago was al- 
 most suspended. The company was compelled 
 to pay exorbitant lake and canal rates in order 
 to relieve their elevators ; and, in some instances, 
 as high as 33 cents per bushel was paid on wheat 
 to New York vessel owners naturally taking 
 advantage of the situation. 
 
 Mr. Newell, during all these and other vari- 
 ous trials, proved himself equal to every emer- 
 gency ; and the affairs of the company during 
 his connection with its management, April 14, 
 1871 to September n, 1874, were administered 
 with fidelity and on his part with an unflinching 
 adherence to what he believed to be for the best 
 
 * The other elevator was saved through a fortunate 
 circumstance. There happened to be loaded on a flat- 
 car in the freight yard a steam fire-engine, which had 
 been ordered from an eastern manufacturer for Beloit, 
 Wisconsin. The man in charge of it volunteered to 
 assist in unloading it and putting it in position for 
 service, and, by taking suction from the lake, a well 
 directed stream was applied to the huge building just 
 as the flames began to lick up the belting inside the 
 door. The engine, which had done such valuable ser- 
 vice, was purchased by Messrs. J. and E. Buckingham, 
 the lessees of the elevators. 
 
 interests of the shareholders. In 1883 Mr. 
 Newell was elected president of the Lake Shore 
 & Michigan Southern Railway and continued 
 as such until his death in 1894. 
 
 
 ILSON G. HUNT served as the 
 seventh president of the Illinois 
 Central Railway from September 
 11, 1874, to January 28, 1875. 
 
 M. K. ACKERMAN ninth presi- 
 dent of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 way. (See biography and portrait 
 in part two.) 
 
 JAMES C. CLARKE tenth president of the 
 Illinois Central Railway was born in 
 Montgomery county, Maryland, March 
 4, 1824. Like several other Illinois Cen- 
 tral workers among whom may be mentioned 
 John H. Done, Samuel J. Hayes, John C. Jacobs 
 and Charles C. Berry he commenced his rail- 
 way life on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad ; he 
 entered its service in 1844, and was first engaged 
 in the road department and then entered the ma- 
 chinery department as a fireman ; after the usual 
 term of service as such, he was appointed a loco- 
 motive engineer. During this term of ser- 
 vice, he ran the old engine "Arabian," which 
 was on exhibition in Chicago in 1883 and which 
 i;; now used as a switch engine in the yard of 
 Mt. Clare shops, Baltimore. In 1855 at the 
 instance of Mr. John H. Done, who had been 
 master of transportation on the Baltimore &
 
 108 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Ohio Railroad and was called to a similar posi- 
 tion on the Illinois Central Railroad Mr. 
 Clarke accepted the position 08 division super- 
 intendent of the main line with headquarters at 
 Amboy, Illinois. 
 
 Matters were then in a demoralized condi- 
 tion on that division and insubordination existed 
 among the men. Mr. Clarke, coming among 
 them a stranger, did not meet with a very hos- 
 
 ment of his future course. It did not take them 
 long to find out who "that fellow Clarke" was, 
 for, on the succeeding day, on the occasion of the 
 first revolt, every man in the .shops was dis- 
 charged and the shops were closed to await the 
 arrival of fresh men. 
 
 One year afterward, he was appointed 
 general superintendent, and, upon the death of 
 Mr. Done which sad event occurred through 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL STATION AT CHEROKEE, IOWA. 
 
 pitable reception. He tells an amusing story of 
 conversation had in his hearing between some 
 of the men, around the big stove in the depot hotel 
 on the night of his arrival, about "that fellow 
 Clarke" who, they had heard, was coming over to 
 Amboy to straighten things out. As he had not 
 registered his correct name on the hotel book, he 
 enjoyed not only the conversation with its boasts 
 and threats, but, by joining in it, he was enabled 
 to obtain some valuable points for the govern- 
 
 an accident at Hyde Park he was elected to 
 succeed the latter as master of transportation. 
 He remained in the service at that time for three 
 years 1856-1859, and then resigned to accept 
 a position as general superintendent on the 
 Northern Central Railroad, where he remained 
 three years 1859-1862. 
 
 While in charge of the road in the early 
 part of the war, the task of conducting Presi- 
 dent Lincoln in safety from Harrisburg to Wash-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 109 
 
 ington, prior to his first inauguration, devolved 
 upon him. A few years before, Mr. Lincoln had 
 been one of the attorneys of the Illinois Central 
 company. This was during Mr. Clarke's early 
 connection with the road ; and, upon this memor- 
 able trip, their former pleasant acquaintance was 
 renewed. Shortly afterward, Mr. Clarke retired 
 to his farm near Frederick, Maryland, where he 
 was alternately visited by portions of the federal 
 and confederate armies, and was occasionally 
 asked to drink to the success of each side, a con- 
 dition of things that rendered farming in that 
 locality a somewhat dubious occupation. 
 
 After the close of the war, he engaged in the 
 iron business at the Ashland furnaces in 1862- 
 1870. He was then elected president of the 
 Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Company, and, for 
 the first time in sixteen years, he made this canal 
 self-sustaining and paid off in two years more 
 than $600,000 of its preference debts from its 
 net earnings. He remained in charge .of this 
 property for two years 1870 to 1872. Mr. 
 Clarke was then elected vice-president and 
 general manager of the Erie Railway Company, 
 while that road was still suffering from the evil 
 effects of the Fisk management. Here he proved 
 himself faithful among the faithless ; his savings 
 at the spigots were numerous and effective but 
 were sadly offset by waste at the bungs. 
 
 Mr. Clarke was familiar with the use and 
 purposes of the locomotive engine and all ligiti- 
 mate railroad machinery, but the operations of 
 a small printing press quite baffled him. One 
 day, there was submitted to him a mysterious 
 voucher for $50,000 for his approval. All the 
 explanation vouchsafed for the proposed pay- 
 ment was that it was "for legal services;" Mr. 
 Clarke shortly after signed his name, not to the 
 aforesaid voucher, but to a letter pf resignation, 
 after a service of two years 1872 to 1874. 
 
 In 1874 he returned to the Illinois Central 
 service as general manager 1874 to 1877 
 
 and took a very active part in the reorganization 
 and reconstruction of the roads which had been 
 acquired south of Cairo and which have been 
 hereinbefore referred to in detail. He became 
 vice-president and general manager 1877 to 
 
 1883 and president 1883 to 1888 of these 
 
 dependent lines successively. He was also 
 vice-president of the Illinois Central Railroad 
 Company, and in August 1883, became presi- 
 dent. This position he held until May i8th, 
 1887. He resigned as director, December 21, 
 1887. 
 
 Mr. Clarke's record as a railroad manager 
 would fill a respectable sized volume of itself. 
 He is a man of indomitable energy, unswerving 
 integrity, and is possessed of great versatility. 
 His power of adaptation to adverse circumstances 
 and conditions is something remarkable. He has 
 a wonderful capacity for dealing with men, and 
 his tact and discretion in this particular have 
 saved many thousands of dollars to the com- 
 panies he has served. 
 
 It has been said that on the occasion of a 
 strike on one of his roads, a "grievance commit- 
 tee" of locomotive engineers, who visited him, 
 were put in such good humor that they forgot 
 what they came for. Having been a Knight 
 of the Footboard himself, he knew how to sym- 
 pathize with this class, and he could enter into 
 their feelings and grant all reasonable requests; 
 but, at the same time, he could, in his clever way, 
 point a lesson when he believed they were wrong. 
 
 TUYVESANT FISH, the eleventh and 
 present president of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral Railroad Company was elected 
 May 1 8, 1887. (For biography and 
 portrait see part two.)
 
 110 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 DIRECTORS OF THE 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY, 
 
 WITH DATE OF THEIR ELECTION. 
 1851-1890. 
 
 Jonathan Sturges, 
 
 February 10, 1851. 
 
 George Griswold, - 
 
 February 10, 1851. 
 
 Gouverneur Morris, - - 
 
 February 10, 1851. 
 
 David A. Neal, 
 
 February 10, 1851. 
 
 John F. A. San ford, - - 
 
 February 10, 1851. 
 
 Franklin Haven, - - - 
 
 February 10, 1851. 
 
 Leroy M. Wiley, - - - 
 
 February 10, 1851. 
 
 Robert Rantoul, Jr. - 
 
 February 10, 1851. 
 
 Henry Grinnell, - - - - 
 
 February 10, 1851. 
 
 Thomas W. Ludlow, - 
 
 February 10, 1851. 
 
 Joseph W. Alsop, - 
 
 February 10, 1851. 
 
 Gov. Augustus C. French, 
 
 February 10, 1851. 
 
 Robert Schuyler, 
 
 February 10, 1851. 
 
 The foregoing, with the governor of Illi- 
 nois, constituted the first board of directors; the 
 following named were afterward elected : 
 
 Morris Ketchum, 
 William P. Bun-all, - 
 Gov. Joel A. Matteson, - 
 J. Newton Perkins, - - 
 Wiliam H. Osborn, 
 Frederick C. Gebhard, - 
 J. N. A. Griswold, 
 James F. Joy, - - - - 
 Thomas E. Walker, - - 
 Ebenezer Lane, - - - 
 Gov. William H. Bissell, 
 Abram S. Hewitt, 
 Pierre Chouteau. Jr., 
 Gustavus W. Smith, 
 William Tracy, - - - 
 Gov. Richard Yates, 
 Nathaniel P. Banks, - - 
 John M. Douglas, - - 
 James C. Fargo, - - 
 William R. Arthur, - 
 H. H. Hunnewell, - - 
 Edwin H. Sheldon, 
 James Caird, - - - - 
 
 April 15, 1851. 
 
 - March 16, 1853. 
 
 - January I, 1852. 
 August II, 1854. 
 August 11, 1854. 
 October 24, 1854. 
 
 December 5, 1854. 
 
 March 21, 1854. 
 
 - November 7, 1855. 
 
 December 6, 1855. 
 
 January I, 1856. 
 
 March 19, 1856. 
 
 March 18, 1857. 
 
 December 12, 1857. 
 
 - April 12, 1859. 
 
 - January I, 1860. 
 September 6, 1860. 
 
 May 29, 1861. 
 May 28, 1862. 
 
 May 28, 1862. 
 May 28, 1862. 
 
 May 28, 1862. 
 May 27, 1863. 
 
 Cunningham Borthwick, 
 Gov. Richard J. Oglesby, 
 Henry Chauncey, - - 
 Wilson G. Hunt, 
 Ambrose E. Burnside, 
 R. Daniel Wolterbeek, 
 Gov. John M. Palmer, - 
 George Bliss, - - - . 
 J. Pierpont Morgan, 
 Louis A. Von Hoffman, 
 John Newell, - - - 
 Lucien Tilton, 
 William H. Gebhard, 
 William K. Ackerman, 
 Gov. John L. Beveridge, 
 L. V. F. Randolph, 
 Abram R. Van Nest, - 
 Frederick Sturges, - 
 Constantine Menelas, - 
 Gov. Shelby M. Cullom, 
 A. G. Dulman, 
 Stuyvesant Fish, - - 
 Benjamin F. Ayer, - - 
 James C. Clarke, 
 John Elliott, 
 W. Bayard Cutting, - - 
 Sidney Webster, 
 Gov. John M. Hamilton, 
 Edward H. Harriman, - 
 Gov. Richard J. Oglesby, 
 Walther Luttgen, 
 Robert Goelet, 
 S. Van Rensalaer Cruger 
 William Waldorf Astor, 
 Oliver Harriman, 
 Levi P. Morton. - - - 
 John W. Auchincloss, 
 Gov. Joseph W. Fifer, 
 J. C. Welling, 
 Charles M. Da Costa, 
 George Bliss, 
 
 May 27, 1863. 
 
 January I, 1864. 
 
 May 25, 1864. 
 
 June 14, 1864. 
 
 - May 31, 1865. 
 
 December 13, 1865. 
 
 - January I, 1868. 
 
 May 27, 1868. 
 
 May 31, 1871. 
 
 May 31, 1871. 
 
 May 31, 1871. 
 
 May 31, 1871. 
 
 May 31, 1871. 
 
 May 29, 1872. 
 
 - January I, 1873. 
 January 28, 1873. 
 
 - January 26, 1875. 
 October 26, 1875. 
 
 December 15, 1875. 
 
 - January I, 1876. 
 
 - March 16, 1877. 
 
 - March 16, 1877. 
 
 April 25, 1877. 
 
 May 30, 1877. 
 
 - - May 30, 1877. 
 
 - - May 28, 1879. 
 
 April 19, 1882. 
 
 February 6, 1883. 
 
 - - May 30, 1883. 
 2d term, Jan. I, 1884. 
 
 March 12, 1884. 
 
 March 12, 1884. 
 
 , March 12, 1884. 
 
 - March n, 1885. 
 
 March 10, 1886. 
 
 March 10, 1886. 
 
 May 3, 1888. 
 
 January I, 1889. 
 
 - March 9, 1889. 
 March 13, 1889. 
 March 13, 1889.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 Ill 
 
 In 1889 the fiscal year was changed to corre- 
 spond with that of the national government. A 
 report of six months business was reported and 
 the election changed from March to September. 
 Since that time the following have been elected, 
 their term of office expiring as given below : 
 
 Expiring 1890. Oliver Harriman, George 
 Bliss, John Elliott 
 
 Expiring 1891. Stuyvesant Fish, Edward 
 H. Harriman, William Waldorf Astor. 
 
 Expiring 1892. S. Van Rensalaer Cruger, 
 Charles A. Peabody, Jr., Norman Ream, Gov. 
 Joseph W. Fifer. 
 
 Expiring 1893. Benjamin F. Ayer, Wal- 
 ther Luttgen, John W. Auchincloss. 
 
 Expiring 1894. Oliver Harriman, John W. 
 Doane, Charles M. Beach. 
 
 Expiring 1895. Stuyvesant Fish, Edward 
 H. Harriman, John Jacob Astor. 
 
 Expiring 1896. S. Van Rensalaer Cruger, 
 Charles A. Peabody, John C. Welling, Gov. John 
 P. Altgeld. 
 
 Expiring 1897. Benjamin F. Ayer, Wal- 
 ther Luttgen, John W. Auchincloss. 
 
 Expiring 1898. Oliver Harriman, John W, 
 Doane, Charles M. Beach. 
 
 Expiring 1899. Stuyvesant Fish, Edward 
 H. Harriman, John Jacob Astor. 
 
 Expiring 1900. Charles A. Peabody, Jr., 
 John C. Welling, W. Morton Grinnell, Gov. John 
 R. Tanner. 
 
 Expiring 1901. Benjamin F. Ayer, Wal- 
 ther Luttgen, John W. Auchincloss. 
 
 Expiring 1902. John W. Doane, Charles 
 M. Beach, James D. W. Cutting. 
 
 Expiring 1903. Stuyvesant Fish, Edward 
 II. Harriman, John Jacob Astor.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MILEAGE AND EQUIPMENT OF THE ILLINOIS 
 CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY.
 
 MILEAGE AND EQUIPMENT OF THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL 
 
 RAILROAD COMPANY. 
 
 From the original Road of 705.50 Miles it has Grown to its Present Magnificent Proportions of 
 
 5,454.53 Miles. 
 
 NORTHERN LINES. 
 
 MILES. 
 
 East Dubuque to Main Line Junction.. 340. 77 
 Chicago to Cairo, Illinois 364.73 
 
 South Chicago Branch. 
 
 Parkside to South Chicago 4.63 
 
 Blue Island Railroad. 
 Kensington to Blue Island 3.96 
 
 Mound City Railroad. 
 Mound City Junction to Mound City. . . 2.87 
 
 Kankakee & Southwestern. 
 
 Otto to Normal Junction 79.43 
 
 Kempton Junction to Kankakee June. . 41.80 
 Buckingham to Tracy 10.00 
 
 Gilman, Clinton & Springfield Railroad. 
 Oilman to Springfield 111.47 
 
 Rantoul Railroad. 
 
 West Lebanon, Ind., to LeRoy, 111 74.40 
 
 Chicago, Havana & Western Railroad. 
 
 Havana to Champaign 100.58 
 
 White Heath to Decatur 31.04 
 
 Chicago, Madison & Northern Railroad. 
 
 Freeport, 111., to Madison, Wis 61.59 
 
 Cedarville June., 111., toDodgeville.Wis. 57.36 
 Freeport to Clark Street, Chicago 112.14 
 
 Chicago & Texas Railroad. 
 Johnston City to East Cape Girardeau. 73.00 
 Mobile Junction to Garrison Shaft 2.00 
 
 St. Louis, Indianapolis & Eastern R. R. 
 Switz City, Ind., to Effingham, 111 88.51 
 
 St. Louis A. & T. H. Railroad. 
 
 East St. Louis to Eldorado 121.00 
 
 Belleville to East Carondelet 17.30 
 
 Pinckneyville to Brooklyn 98.43 
 
 Harrison to Murphysboro 2.31 
 
 Belleville to East St. Louis 14.40 
 
 St. Louis, Peoria & Northern Railway. 
 Springfield to East St. Louis 97.59 
 
 Total Northern Lines. . 1911.31 
 
 WESTERN LINES. 
 
 Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad. 
 
 Dubuque to Sioux City 326.58 
 
 Onawa, la., 'to Sioux Falls, S. D 153.23 
 
 Cedar Rapids to Manchester 41.74 
 
 Cedar Falls June, to Minnesota State 
 Line 75.58 
 
 Stacy ville Railroad. 
 
 Lyle, Minn., to Stacyville 7.66 
 
 Omaha Division. 
 
 Tara to Council Bluffs. . . . . 131.02 
 
 Total Western Lines. 
 
 735.81 
 
 SOUTHERN LINES. 
 
 Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans R. R. 
 
 Cairo, 111., to Canton, Miss 341.03 
 
 Canton to New Orleans 206.76 
 
 Memphis Division. 
 
 Grenada, Miss , to Memphis, Tenn 100.00 
 
 Durant, Miss., to Kosciusco, Miss 17.20 
 
 Louisville Division. 
 
 Memphis, Tenn., to Louisville, Ky. ...398.12 
 Owensboro, Ky., to Horse Branch, Ky. 42.16 
 Evansville, Ind., to Hopkinsville, Ky.. 129.12 
 Morganfield, Ky., to Uniontown, Ky.. 7.59 
 DeKoven, Ky. , to Ohio River 2.00 
 
 Hodgenville & Elizabethtown Railroad.. 11.10 
 
 Troy & Tiptonville Railroad. 
 Moffat to Troy, Tenn 4.60 
 
 Canton, Aberdeen & Nashville Railroad. 
 Aberdeen to Kosciusco, Miss 89.06 
 
 Total Southern Lines. 
 
 Total of all lines . 
 
 1,348.74 
 3,995.86
 
 116 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 MILES. 
 
 On June 30, 1900, there were in operation, 
 
 Of first main track 3,995.86 
 
 Of second and additional main tracks 248.17 
 
 Total of main tracks 4,244.03 
 
 Of passing and side tracks, including yard 
 tracks 1,209.50 
 
 Total tracks of all kinds 5,453.53 
 
 This mileage is exclusive of the railroad 
 owned and operated by the Yazoo & Mississippi 
 Valley Railroad Company. 
 
 YAZOO & MISSISSIPPI VALLEY RAILROAD COM- 
 PANY. 
 
 The following extract from the report of the 
 President of the Board of Directors of the Y. & 
 M. V. Railroad Company, for the year ending 
 June 30, 1900, shows the mileage operated by 
 that company: 
 
 "The number of miles of railroad operated 
 by the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad 
 Company throughout the past year has been 
 1,000.68." 
 
 Statement of the number of miles of railroad 
 operated by the I. C. Railroad Company 
 and also the number of miles of railroad 
 operated by the Y. & M. V. Railroad Com- 
 pany, respectively, in various states on 
 June 30, 1900. 
 
 STATES. 
 
 MILKS OF 1 
 
 LAILROAD IN 
 JUNK 30, 190( 
 
 OPERATION 
 
 . 
 
 
 I. C. R. R. 
 CO. 
 
 Y. &M. V. 
 R. R. CO. 
 
 BOTH 
 COMPANIES. 
 
 Illinois 
 
 1 769 47 
 
 
 1 769 47 
 
 South Dakota . 
 Minnesota 
 Iowa 
 
 14.95 
 11.40 
 712 19 
 
 
 14.95 
 11.40 
 712 19 
 
 Wisconsin 
 Indiana . . . 
 
 91.31 
 45 17 
 
 
 91.31 
 45 17 
 
 Kentucky. . . . 
 
 506 28 
 
 
 506 28 
 
 Tennessee 
 Mississippi .... 
 Louisiana 
 Alabama 
 
 252.38 
 497.13 
 87.74 
 7 84 
 
 13.11 
 
 817.37 
 170.20 
 
 265.49 
 1,314.50 
 
 257.94 
 7 84 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 3 995 86 
 
 1 000 68 
 
 4 996 54 
 
 
 
 
 
 On September 20, 1850, Congress made the 
 first grant of public lands to aid in the construc- 
 tion of a line of railroad. This grant to Illinois 
 was subsequently transferred to the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, which was chartered February 10, 1851, 
 to run from LaSalle, the terminus of the Illinois 
 and Michigan Canal, north to the Mississppi 
 river, opposite Dubuque, la., and south to Cairo, 
 with a branch to Chicago. There were 2,594,- 
 1 1 5 acres included in this grant. 
 
 The first engineering party was organized 
 at Chicago, May 21, 1851, and began the survey 
 of the Chicago division. ' The whole line was 
 surveyed and located before the end of the year. 
 
 The first contract for grading was made 
 March 15, 1852, for that part of the line between 
 Chicago and . Calumet, a distance of fourteen 
 miles. It was completed May 24, 1852, to let 
 the Michigan Central into the city, making con- 
 nection between Chicago and Detroit. The con- 
 tracts for grading divisions i, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10 were 
 let in June 1852, while those for grading divi- 
 sions 3, 4, 5, 7, n, 12 were let October 14, 1852. 
 
 The following lines were opened for traffic 
 at the times specified below : 
 
 Chicago to Kensington 14 miles. 
 
 Bloomington to Tonica 50 " . 
 
 Kensington to Kankakee.... 42 " . . 
 
 Tonica to Mendota 25 " . 
 
 Freeport to Nora 20.75 " . 
 
 Clinton to Bloomington 22 " . 
 
 Kankakee to Ludlow 52 " . 
 
 Ludlow to Champaign 21 " . 
 
 Nora to Apple River 10 " . 
 
 Decatur to Clinton 21.50 " . 
 
 Apple River to Council Hill. 13 " . 
 
 Cairo to Sandoval 118.50 " . 
 
 Mendota to Amboy 16 " . 
 
 Sandoval to Decatur 86.25 " . 
 
 Freeport to Amboy 47.50 " . 
 
 Council Hill to E. Dubuque. 25.22 " . 
 
 Champaign to Mattoon 43.50 " . 
 
 Mattoon to Main Line June. 77.28 " . 
 
 May 
 
 May 
 
 July 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 May 
 
 July 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 June 
 
 June 
 
 Sept. 
 
 24, 1852 
 16, 1853 
 11, 1853 
 14, 1853 
 6, 1854 
 
 14, 1854 
 13, 1854 
 
 24, 1854 
 11, 1854 
 18, 1854 
 28, 1854 
 22, 1854 
 27, 1854 
 
 6, 1855 
 
 15, 1855 
 11, 1855 
 
 25, 1855 
 27, 1856 
 
 The conservatism, which marked the early 
 operations of the company, later gave way to 
 very active progress. Large expenditures have 
 been made in the construction and acquisition of 
 lines, as well as for additional equipment and for
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 117 
 
 other property. Among the more important 
 works carried out we mention the following : 
 
 The South Chicago Railroad (4.76 miles) 
 was completed, affording a double track connec- 
 tion with this important manufacturing town. 
 
 The Chicago, Madison & Northern railroad 
 was begun in 1886 and the first trains began 
 running in August 1888. It was turned over to 
 the Illinois Central January i, 1889. 
 
 to acquire the line in Illinois. The Illinois Cen- 
 tral railroad secured a clear title to this road in 
 January 1887, and increased it from a narrow 
 gauge to a standard gauge in 1888. 
 
 In 1877 the Oilman, Clinton & Springfield 
 railroad was organized under the name of the 
 Chicago & Springfield railroad and leased to the 
 Illinois Central for fifty years, operations be- 
 ginning January i, 1878. 
 
 PHOTO LOANED BY A. DILLON, CHEROKEE, |OW. 
 
 A partial view of the Coon River trestle on the Omaha division,. 1500 ft. long and 65 ft. high, 
 
 one of the largest in the world. 
 
 The Chicago, Havana & Western railroad, 
 130 miles in length, was acquired in 1887, under 
 foreclosure proceedings. 
 
 The Havana, Rantoul & Eastern railroad, 
 West Lebanon, Indiana, to LeRoy, 111., (74.40 
 miles long) was chartered October 10, 1873, and 
 opened in 1881, being purchased in May of that 
 year by the Wabash. Went into the hands of a 
 receiver with the Wabash in May 29, 1884; de- 
 faulted on interest June I, 1885, and sold under 
 foreclosure in October 1886, being purchased 
 by the Illinois Central and two new companies 
 organized, the Lebanon & Western to acquire 
 the road in Indiana and the Leroy and Eastern 
 
 Between the years 1878 and 1883 the Kanka- 
 kee & Southwestern railroad, 131.26 miles, was 
 constructed and added. 
 
 The Indiana & Illinois Southern railroad, 
 extending from Switz City, Ind., to Effingham, 
 Illinois, a distance of 88.51 miles, was acquired 
 by the Illinois Central in 1899, under foreclosure 
 sale and since January i, 190x3, has been operated 
 by the Illinois Central as the Effingham district. 
 
 April i, 1896, the Illinois Central leased 
 the St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute Railroad 
 for 99 years from October i, 1895, and the 
 Belleville & Southern Illinois Railroad, carrying 
 leases of six small roads.
 
 118 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 The 13 miles of track constructed in 1885. 
 by the Chicago, Burlington & Northern Railroad, 
 on the company's right of way between East 
 Dubuque and Portage curve under condem- 
 nation proceedings, was purchased in 1888, and 
 an arrangement made permitting the Chicago, 
 Burlington & Northern Railroad to use it at a 
 fixed rental. 
 
 Control of the Dunleith an Dubuque bridge, 
 the construction of which was begun in 1867 
 and opened for business January i, 1869, was 
 secured in 1888 by the purchase of all the stock 
 of that company, and the Chicago, St. Paul 
 & Kansas City Railroad and the Chicago, 
 Burlington & Northern Railroad became par- 
 ticipants in its use as joint tenants. 
 
 The control of the Dubuque & Sioux City 
 Railroad 143 miles and the Iowa Falls & 
 Sioux City Railroad 183 miles was obtained 
 through the purchase of the securities of those 
 companies in 1887. 
 
 Between the years 1881 and 1888, the Illi- 
 nois Central built, or had built in its interests, 
 in Iowa, the Cherokee & Dakota Railroad, ex- 
 tending from Cherokee, Iowa, northwesterly to 
 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and from Cherokee, 
 southwesterly to Onawa, a distance of 155.58 
 miles. 
 
 Also the Cedar Rapids & Chicago Railroad, 
 extending from Manchester to Cedar Rapids, 
 Iowa, a distance of 41.85 miles. 
 
 In 1899 the Omaha division, extending 
 from Tara, Iowa, to Council Bluffs, la., (131.02 
 miles) was completed. 
 
 The Cedar Falls & Minnesota Railroad was 
 purchased at foreclosure sale June i, 1896. 
 
 The Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans 
 Railroad was formed November 8, 1877, by the 
 consolidation of the New Orleans, Jackson & 
 Northern and Central Mississippi Railroads. 
 The former road was chartered as the New 
 Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad, 
 April 22, 1852, and opened from New Orleans 
 to Canton, Miss., (206 miles) in 1859. It was 
 sold under foreclosure March 17, 1877, and re- 
 organized as the New Orleans, Jackson & 
 Northern, May 12, 1877. The Mississippi 
 
 Central Railroad was chartered by the states of 
 Mississippi and Tennessee in 1852, and was 
 opened from Canton, Miss., to Jackson, Tenn., 
 in 1860, and extended to the Ohio river opposite 
 Cairo in 1873, making a line 343 miles long. It 
 was sold under foreclosure August 23, 1877, 
 and reorganized as the Central Mississippi 
 River Railroad, November 5, 1877. June 13, 
 1882, the Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans 
 Railroad was leased by the Illinois Central for 
 400 years, and assumed control of the same Jan. 
 i, 1883- 
 
 On September 15, 1897, the owners of the 
 Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern, Owensboro, 
 Falls of Rough & Green River and the Short 
 Route Terminal of Louisville, deeded the same 
 to the Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans Rail- 
 road. Later they were simultaneously mort- 
 gaged to the Illinois Central and leased for 99 
 years from July I, 1897. 
 
 The Ohio Valley Railroad was sold under 
 foreclosure July 13, 1897, and bid in for the 
 stockholders. On August i, 1897, the Illinois 
 Central began to operate the road as "agents for 
 the owners." 
 
 The Chicago & Texas Railroad was secured 
 and is operated under a 25 year lease from Octo- 
 ber I, 1897. The extension from East Cape 
 Girardeau to Gale, a distance of five miles, was 
 completed June 30, 1898. 
 
 The bridge across the Ohio river at Cairo 
 was built to obviate the delays incident to the 
 ferry transfer. 
 
 In 1892 the Illinois Central secured control 
 of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad by 
 purchasing all the securities for $5,000,000 cash 
 and $20,000,000 in bonds. In October 1892 the 
 Louisville, New Orleans & Texas Railroad and 
 the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad were 
 consolidated and since November i, 1892, have 
 been operated by the Yazoo & Mississippi 
 Valley Railroad. 
 
 The Litchfield division, 97.59 miles in length, 
 formerly owned by the St. Louis, Peoria & 
 Northern Railway Co., was leased by the Illinois 
 Central from December i, 1899.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 119 
 
 On August I, 1900, the Illinois Central as- 
 sumed control, by purchase, of the Peoria, 
 Decatur & Evansville Railway, (254 miles). 
 
 Statement showing the number of engines 
 owned by the I. C. Railroad Company for 
 the year ending June 30, 1900, and the 
 years in which they were built: 
 
 WHEN BUILT. NO. 
 
 During years ending Dec. 31, 1854 to 1856 inclusive. 2 
 
 " 31, 1867 to 1871 " 6 
 
 " 31, 1872 to 1876 " 16 
 
 " 31, 1877 to 1881 " 44 
 
 year ended " 31,1882 24 
 
 " 31, 1883 26 
 
 " 31, 1884 26 
 
 " 31, 1885 14 
 
 " 31, 1886 42 
 
 " 31, 1887 54 
 
 " 31, 1888 63 
 
 6 mos. ended June 30, 1889 8 
 
 " year ended " 30,1890 43 
 
 " 30, 1891 99 
 
 " 30, 1892 52 
 
 " 30, 1893 55 
 
 " 30, 1894 52 
 
 ' 30, 1895 23 
 
 " 30, 1896 45 
 
 30, 1897 25 
 
 30, 1898 21 
 
 , " " " " 30, 1899 26 
 
 ! " 30, 1900 47 
 
 Total 813 
 
 Number and classification of cars for year end- 
 ing June 30, 1900. 
 
 PASSENGER CARS. 
 
 Passenger and Chair Cars 388 
 
 Smoking Cars 64 
 
 Cafe Dining Cars 10 
 
 Buffet Library Cars 8 
 
 Baggage and Smoking Cars 21 
 
 Mail and Express Cars 7 
 
 Baggage and Express Cars 92 
 
 Baggage, Mail and Express Cars 34 
 
 Postal Cars 
 Postal Cars (Joint) 
 
 Pay Cars 
 
 Business Cars 
 
 Instruction Cars. . . 
 
 Old Cars 
 
 Test Car 
 
 35 
 3 
 2 
 
 10 
 1 
 
 20 
 1 
 
 FREIGHT CARS. 
 
 Box Cars 16,873 
 
 Coal Cars 10,671 
 
 Stock Cars 1,179 
 
 Fruit Cars 822 
 
 Refrigerator Cars 1,078 
 
 Flat Cars 1,816 
 
 Caboose Cars 530 
 
 Total. 
 
 32,969 
 
 WORK CARS. 
 
 Pile Drivers 
 
 Steam Shovels 
 
 Derrick Cars 
 
 Tool Cars 
 
 Ballast and Construction Cars 
 
 Hart Ditcher 
 
 Scale Cars 
 
 Snow Excavator 
 
 Water Cars 
 
 Dirt Levelers 
 
 Shop Cars 
 
 11 
 
 9 
 
 19 
 
 33 
 
 359 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Total. 
 
 441 
 
 Total of all Cars 34,106 
 
 Statement of revenue freight cars, and their ca- 
 pacity in tons, June 30, 1900. 
 
 CLASS OF CARS. NUMBER. 
 
 Box 16,873 
 
 Stock 1,179 
 
 Fruit 822 
 
 Refrigerator 1,078 
 
 Coal 10,671 
 
 Flat 1,816 
 
 CAPACITY 
 
 460,611 
 28,038 
 17,019 
 28,390 
 
 309,382 
 55,305 
 
 Total 32,439 898,745 
 
 Average per Car 27.7 
 
 Statement of number, classification and tractive 
 power of engines. 
 
 Total. 
 
 696 
 
 CLASS OF ENGINES. 
 
 Year ending June 30, 1900. 
 
 NUMBER. 
 
 TRACTIVE POWER 
 IN TONS. 
 
 
 119 
 33 
 
 180 
 271 
 170 
 39 
 1 
 
 361,136 
 73,535 
 651,423 
 919,018 
 423,027 
 178,161 
 8,472 
 
 
 10-wheel 
 
 
 8-wheel 
 
 
 12-wheel 
 
 Total 
 
 813 
 
 2,614,772 
 3,216 
 
 Average per Engine. . .
 
 120 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 REVENUE PER MILE OPERATED. 
 
 Statement, showing the receipts per mile operated, the Illinois Central system in comparison 
 with that of all other railroads in the United States. 
 
 YEARS ENDED 
 JUNE 30. 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD. 
 
 ALL THE RAILROADS IN THE 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 AVERAGE NO. 
 OF MILES 
 OPERATED. 
 
 GROSS RECEIPTS 
 FROM OPERATION. 
 
 GROSS RECEIPTS 
 PER MILE 
 OPERATED. 
 
 NUMBER OF 
 MILES 
 OPERATED. 
 
 GROSS RECEIPTS 
 PER MILE 
 OPERATED. 
 
 1890 
 
 2,875 
 2,875 
 2,883 
 2,888 
 2,888 
 2,888 
 3,067 
 3,130 
 3,775 
 3,671 
 3,845 
 
 $16,452,022 
 17,881,555 
 19,291,760 
 20,095,191 
 20,657,464 
 19,056,994 
 22,002,842 
 22,110,937 
 27,317,820 
 28,114,690 
 32,611,967 
 
 $5,722 
 
 6,220 
 6,692 
 6,958 
 7,153 
 6,599 
 7,174 
 7,064 
 7,237 
 7,659 
 8,482 
 
 156,404 
 161,275 
 162,397 
 169,780 
 175,691 
 177,746 
 181,983 
 183,284 
 184,648 
 187,535 
 
 $6,725 
 
 6,800 
 7,213 
 7,190 
 6,109 
 6,050 
 6,320 
 6,122 
 6,755 
 7,005 
 
 1891 
 
 1892 
 
 1893 
 
 1894 
 
 1895 
 
 1896 
 
 1897 
 
 1898 
 
 1899 
 
 *1900 
 
 
 * The figures for all the roads for the year ended June 30, 1900, are not as yet obtainable, but in that year 
 the gross receipts per mile of the Illinois Central Railroad showed a further increase of $823. 
 
 CHARACTER AND WEIGHT OF RAILS USED BY 
 THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL. 
 
 All the main tracks and all of the side tracks, 
 excepting 31.66 miles, are laid with steel rails 
 
 The average weight of rails in the main 
 tracks is 69.41 pounds per yard, or 109.08 tons 
 to the mile of single track. 
 
 Exclusive of the rails in 1,209,50 miles of 
 side tracks, the total weight of all the rails in the 
 main tracks on June 30, 1900, was 462,960 tons, 
 an increase over the previous year of 46,839 tons. 
 
 Of the new mileage taken over during the 
 past year, the Omaha division, 131.02 miles, and 
 the second track from Oilman to Otto, 21 miles, 
 are laid with new 85 pound rails. 
 
 The lightest rails in the main tracks weigh 
 50 pounds to the yard, and the heaviest weigh 
 100 pounds. 
 
 There are laid with rails weigh- 
 ing less than 60 pounds 355-6 1 miles 
 
 With 60 pound rails 1,223.79 miles 
 
 With rails weighing from 60 to 
 
 70 pounds 593- miles 
 
 With 75 pound rails 1,578.42 miles 
 
 With 85 pound rails 489.13 miles 
 
 With 100 pound rails 4.08 miles 
 
 Total of main tracks 4,244.03
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 121 
 
 THE "LINCOLN CAR.' 
 
 COURTESY "RAILWAY AGE" AND UNION PACIFIC R. R. 
 
 This car was in the Union Pacific exhibit, Transportation Building, 
 at the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, held at Omaha, 
 Neb., in 1898. It was built to meet President Lincoln's ideas, at the 
 Military Car Shops, Alexandria, Va., in 1864. 
 
 It is iron-clad, armor plate being set between the inner and outer 
 walls to make it bullet proof. 
 
 The largest of the compartments was the President's study. In it 
 was the long sofa, which at night, was adjusted into a bed for Mr. Lincoln. 
 
 The President generally used this car, and in it his remains were 
 taken to Springfield for interment. 
 
 The car was purchased by the Union Pacific in 1866, and is still the 
 property of that company.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PERSONNEL OF THE MANAGEMENT OF 
 
 THE ROAD,
 
 PERSONNEL OF THE MANAGEMENT OF THE ROAD. 
 
 Directors : 
 
 His Excellency JOHN R. TANNER, Governor of Illi- 
 nois, Ex OfKcio. 
 B. F. AYER, 
 
 JOHN W. AUCHINCLOSS, 
 JOHN JACOB ASTOR, 
 CHARLES M. BEACH, 
 W. MORTON GRINNELL, 
 J. W. DOANE, 
 STUYVESANT FISH, 
 EDWARD H. HARRIMAN, 
 WALTHER LUTTGEN, 
 CHARLES A. PEABODY, JR., 
 JOHN C. WELLING, 
 J. D. W. CUTTING. 
 
 STUYVESANT FISH, President New York 
 
 JOHN C. WELLING, Vice-President Chicago 
 
 J. T. HARAHAN, Second Vice-President. .. .Chicago 
 
 A. G. HACKSTAFF, Secretary New York 
 
 WM. G. BRUEN, Assist. Secretary Chicago 
 
 LAW DEPARTMENT. 
 
 B. F. AYER, General Counsel Chicago 
 
 JAMES FENTRESS, General Attorney Chicago 
 
 J. M. DICKINSON, General Solictor Chicago 
 
 SIDNEY F. ANDREWS, Asst. General Solici- 
 tor Chicago 
 
 ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT. 
 
 F. FAIRMAN, Auditor of Freight Receipts. ..Chicago 
 M. D. ROYER, Assistant Auditor of Freight 
 
 Receipts Chicago 
 
 A. D. JOSLIN, Auditor of Passenger Receipts. Chicago 
 CON. F. KREBS, Auditor of Disbursements. .Chicago 
 W. S. PINNEY, Chief Traveling Auditor Chicago 
 
 C. C. WHITNEY, Traveling Auditor Chicago 
 
 WALTER NEWELL, Traveling Auditor Chicago 
 
 W. R. COMSTOCK, Traveling Auditor Chicago 
 
 D. E. WOODS, Traveling Auditor Chicago 
 
 W. D. BRENT, Traveling Auditor, Water Valley, Miss. 
 
 C. B. WEST, Traveling Auditor Paducah, Ky. 
 
 MAURICE REIS, Traveling Auditor of Expen- 
 ditures Chicago 
 
 TREASURY DEPARTMENT. 
 
 E. T. H. GIBSON, Treasurer New York 
 
 J. F. TITUS, Local Treasurer Chicago 
 
 R. S. CHARLES, Local Treasurer New Orleans 
 
 H. D. WARNER, Paymaster Chicago 
 
 L. B. BUTTS, Assistant Paymaster Chicago 
 
 R. S. CHARLES, JR., Assist. Paymaster. .New Orleans 
 
 E. P. SKENE, Land Commissioner Chicago 
 
 W. L. TARBET, Tax Commissioner Chicago 
 
 L. P. MOREHOUSE, Custodian of Deeds. .. .Chicago 
 
 OPERATING DEPARTMENT. 
 
 J. F. WALLACE, Assistant Second Vice-Presi- 
 dent Chicago 
 
 A. W. SULLIVAN, General Superintendent. . .Chicago 
 
 DAVID SLOAN, Chief Engineer '..Chicago 
 
 L T. MOORE, Consulting Engineer Chicago 
 
 WM. RENSHAW, Superintendent of Machin- 
 ery Chicago 
 
 JOSEPH BUKER, Assistant Superintendent of 
 
 Machinery Chicago 
 
 W. H. V. ROSING, Assistant Superintendent of 
 
 Machinery Chicago 
 
 J. W. HIGGINS, Superintendent of Transpor- 
 tation Chicago 
 
 J. G. HARTIGAN, Asst. Gen. Supt. Northern 
 
 and Western Lines Chicago 
 
 M. GILLEAS, Assistant General Superinten- 
 dent Southern Lines Memphis 
 
 W. J. GILLINGHAM, JR., Signal Engineer. . .Chicago 
 H. W. PARKHURST, Engineer of Bridges. .Chicago 
 
 F. T. BACON, Architect Chicago 
 
 O. J. TRAVIS, Superintendent of Bridges. . .Chicago 
 
 T. S. LEAKE, Master Carpenter Chicago 
 
 M. MILLER, Gen'l Foreman of Water Works. Chicago 
 M. D. NELON, Supt. of Floating Equipment. .. .Cairo 
 
 G. M. DUGAN, Superintendent of Telegraph . Chicago
 
 126 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 C. F. ANNETT, Asst. Supt. of Telegraph .... Chicago 
 
 L. L. LOSEY, Chief Claim Agent Chicago 
 
 C. A. BECK, General Purchasing Agent Chicago 
 
 A. J. SIMPSON, Stationer Chicago 
 
 GEO. P. MURRAY, Chief Special Agent Chicago 
 
 G. W. HATTER, Fuel Agent Chicago 
 
 FRED. SCHLINKERT, Supervisor of Scales. Central* 
 JOHN MONOHAN, Supervisor Fire Ex- 
 tinguishers Burnside, 111. 
 
 HUNTER C. LEAKE, General Agent. .. .New Orleans 
 C. F. PARKER, General Agent St. Louis 
 
 TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT. 
 
 T. J. HUDSON, Traffic Manager Chicago 
 
 M. C. MARKHAM, Assistant Traffic Manager. Chicago 
 A. H. HANSON, General Passenger Agent. . .Chicago 
 C. A. KNISKERN, Assistant General Passenger 
 
 Agent Chicago 
 
 S. G. HATCH, Assist. Gen'l Passenger Agent. .Chicago 
 J F. MERRY, Assist. Gen'l Passenger 
 
 Agent Dubuque, Iowa 
 
 WM. ALFRED KELLOND, Assistant 
 
 General Passenger Agent .' .Louisville, Ky. 
 
 JOHN A. SCOTT, Division Passenger 
 
 Agent Memphis, Tenn. 
 
 C. C. McCARTY, Division Passenger Agent.. St. Louis 
 F. W. HARLOW, Division Passenger Ag't. .Cincinnati 
 WM. MURRAY, Div. Passenger Agent.. New Orleans 
 
 W. H. BRILL, District Passenger Agent Omaha 
 
 W. E. KEEPERS, General Freight Agent, 
 
 Northern and Western Lines Chicago 
 
 W. R. BASCOM, First Assistant Gen'l Freight 
 
 Agent, Northern and Western Lines Chicago 
 
 J. R. PEACHY, Assistant General Freight Ag't, 
 
 Northern and Western Lines Chicago 
 
 ROBT. KIRKLAND, Assistant Gen'l Freight 
 
 Agent, Northern and Western Lines Chicago 
 
 GEO. W. BECKER, Assistant General Freight 
 
 Agent St. Louis 
 
 J. S. WEITZELL, Assistant General Freight 
 
 Agent Omaha 
 
 F. W. BOWES, General Freight Agent, 
 
 Southern Lines Louisville 
 
 W. M. RHETT, General Freight Agent.. .New Orleans 
 C. C. CAMERON, Asst. Gen'l Freight Agent, 
 
 Southern Lines Louisville 
 
 W. L. SMITH, Assist. General Freight Agent, 
 
 Southern Lines Memphis 
 
 F. H. HARWOOD, Assistant General Freight 
 
 Agent Evansville 
 
 R F. REYNOLDS, Division Freight Agent, 
 
 Southern Lines New Orleans 
 
 HENRY BALDWIN, Foreign Freight Ag't 
 
 New Orleans 
 
 SLATER & REID, European Agents, 
 
 No. 44 Chapel street Liverpool, Eng. 
 
 W. D. HURLBUT, General Coal Agent Chicago 
 
 J. A. OSBORN, General Baggage Agent Chicago 
 
 W. A. ELDREDGE, Freight Claim Agent Chicago 
 
 A. P. FARRINGTON, Assistant Freight Claim 
 
 Agent Chicago 
 
 GEO. C. POWER, Industrial Commissioner. . .Chicago 
 W. D. MURRAY, Supt. Hotel Service Chicago 
 
 LIST OF DIVISION SUPERINTENDENTS. 
 
 H. McCOURT, Chicago Division Chicago, 111. 
 
 J. C. DAILEY, St. Louis Division Carbondale, 111. 
 
 H. BAKER, Amboy Division Clinton, 111. 
 
 D. S. BAILEY, Springfield Division Clinton, 111. 
 
 H. U. WALLACE, Freeport Division. .. .Freeport, 111. 
 F B. HARRIMAN, Dubuque Division. .. .Dubuque, la. 
 
 C. K. DIXON, Cherokee Division Cherokee, la. 
 
 G A. CLARK, Omaha Division Council Bluffs, la. 
 
 W. S. KING, Mississippi Division Jackson, Tenn. 
 
 J. B. KEMP, Aberdeen Division Durant, Miss. 
 
 O. M. DUNN, Louisiana Division. .. .New Orleans, La. 
 
 A. PHILBRICK, Memphis Division Memphis, Tenn. 
 
 W. J. HARAHAN, Louisville Division. Louisville, Ky. 
 
 Y. & M. V. R. R. CO. 
 
 A. A. SHARP, Vicksburg Division. .. .Memphis, Tenn. 
 A. J. GREIF, New Orleans Division. .Vicksburg, Miss. 
 
 LIST OF MASTER MECHANICS. 
 
 J W. LUTTRELL Burnside, 111. 
 
 J H. POLLARD Centralia, 111. 
 
 J. G. NEUDORFER Water Valley. Miss. 
 
 L. L. DAWSON, McComb, Miss. 
 
 M. S. CURLEY, Memphis, Tenn. 
 
 T F. BARTON, Paducah, Ky. 
 
 G. J. HATZ East St. Louis, 111. 
 
 J. H. BANNERMAN, Clinton, 111. 
 
 E. O. DANA Freeport, 111. 
 
 T. W. PLACE Waterloo, la. 
 
 C. LINSTROM, (Y. & M. V. R. R.) .Vicksburg, Miss.
 
 PART II. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL.
 
 STUVVESANT FISH.
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 TUYVESANT FISH, president of the 
 Illinois Central Railroad Company 
 was born in New York City, June 24, 
 1851, and was educated at Coumbia 
 College. He entered the service of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company, October i, 1871, as 
 clerk in the financial office in New York, where he 
 remained until June 20, 1872, when he was ap- 
 pointed secretary to President Newell, in Chica- 
 go, and served in that capacity until October 
 30, 1872. On November i, 1872, he left the ser- 
 vice of the company to accept a position with the 
 banking house of Morton, Bliss & Co., of New 
 York, and later became identified with their Lon- 
 don house, Morton, Rose & Co., remaining there 
 until December 31, 1874, when he returned to 
 New York to become the managing clerk of the 
 house, holding their power of attorney, and re- 
 mained with them until March 15, 1877. From 
 December 14, 1876, to March 6, 1879, he was a 
 member of the New York stock exchange. On 
 the 1 6th of March, 1877, he was elected a direc- 
 tor of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, 
 and was appointed treasurer and agent for the 
 purchasing committee of the New Orleans, Jack- 
 son & Great Northern railroad, and served as 
 such until November 8, 1877, when he was elect- 
 ed secretary of the Chicago, St. Louis & New 
 Orleans Railroad Company, and was thus em- 
 ployed until he was elevated to the vice-presi- 
 dency in March 1882. On January 7, 1883, he 
 was elected second vice-president of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company, serving as such until 
 
 April 2, 1884, when he was elected vice-president, 
 in which position he was retained until May 14, 
 1887, at which date he succeeded James C. 
 Clarke as president of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road Company. 
 
 Up to a decade ago the Illinois Central had 
 the unpleasant reputation of being perhaps the 
 worst regulated and slovenly of the large Amer- 
 can railway companies. The ruling spirit in all 
 that has been done since that time toward placing 
 it in its present enviable position has been Stuy- 
 vesant Fish, of whom a portrait is given here- 
 with. In addition to his position in the railroad 
 world, he is also prominent in social and public 
 affairs, especially in New York. 
 
 EORGE NIMAN, conductor on the 
 Illinois Central Railroad, Amboy divi- 
 sion, is the son of George and Anna 
 Niman. The father, who was a car- 
 penter by occupation, died in 1896. One son, 
 Louis, is a railroad employe, residing in Wil- 
 mette, 111. 
 
 Our subject was born November 26, 1868, 
 at Polo, 111., and was educated in the public 
 schools of his native town. In 1889 he en- 
 tered the service of the I. C. R. R. on the Amboy 
 division, as brakeman, where he served four 
 months, and was transferred to the Freeport div-
 
 132 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ision, serving on that branch for two years in 
 the same capacity, then returned to the Amboy 
 division where he has since remained, having 
 been promoted to the position of conductor, Aug- 
 ust 31, 1899. April 23, 1899, Mr. Niman was 
 married to Miss Bertha L. Palmer, a native of 
 Amboy, and daughter of Walter M. Palmer, an 
 engineer of the I. C. R. R., now residing in Free- 
 port. Mr. Niman is a Protestant in his religious 
 belief. He is a member of the B. of R. T., and 
 a Democrat in politics. 
 
 JOHN.R. GORMAN, passenger conductor 
 between Dubuque and Fort Dodge, be^ 
 gan work for the Illinois Central company 
 in November, 1878. Prior to this, how- 
 ever, he served as a brakeman on the Oil Creek & 
 Allegheny River Railroad for about two years. 
 He entered the employ of the Illinois Central 
 at Fort Dodge as a brakeman, with a run between 
 that city and Sioux City. In 1880 he was pro- 
 moted to the position of freight conductor on the 
 same division, and in 1884 was promoted to the 
 passenger service and transferred to the Lyle 
 branch where he had charge of a mixed train for 
 six or seven years. He was then transferred to 
 Dubuque and for a time worked between that city 
 and Fort Dodge. Later he worked on the Cedar 
 Rapids branch for four years, and May n, 1899, 
 he was again located at Dubuque and has since 
 had charge of a passenger train between that city 
 and Fort Dodge. 
 
 Mr. Gorman was born July 24, 1855, in 
 Salamanca, New York, a son of John Gorman, 
 of Medina, New York, who helped to lay the 
 Oil Creek & Allegheny River Railroad, and 
 was superintendent of construction of that 
 line for some time. Our subject was married at 
 Orchard, Iowa, to Miss M. E. Wright, of that 
 city, and two children, Avilla and John C., have 
 been born to them. Socially Mr. Gorman is a 
 member of Division 93, O. R. C., of Fort Dodge, 
 Howland Lodge No. 274, A. O. U. W., of Water- 
 
 loo ; Knights of Pythias, at Fort Dodge, and the 
 Elks at Waterloo. He has been very successful 
 since being on the road, has never met with ser- 
 ious accident, and is very popular among his fel- 
 low workmen. 
 
 L. WARD, conductor at Waterloo, 
 began his railroad career as a brake- 
 man on the Illinois Central Railroad 
 at Fort Dodge, in October, 1883, 
 running both ways out of that city for six months. 
 Following this short service, came a lay-off of 
 about three months, after which he was at work 
 again for about two months. Mr. Ward then se- 
 cured a position with the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
 St. Paul company as brakeman between Oxford 
 and Jackson Junction until September 1885, 
 when he returned to Waterloo, where he has 
 since made his home and found work with the 
 Illinois Central company. For twenty-three 
 months he served as a brakeman, running out of 
 Waterloo, and in August, 1887, he received his 
 promotion to the office of conductor. As a 
 brakeman, Mr. Ward served under the follow- 
 ing conductors : Harry McCort, Tim Sullivan, 
 John Gorman, F. Welker, and W. Laird ; and 
 while running out from Waterloo, he worked 
 under William Barr, E. W. Sornborger, D. Cot- 
 ter and G. R. Turner. Mr. Ward's first work in 
 the capacity of conductor was between Waterloo 
 and Dubuque, where he spent six years. He 
 then spent several years running both ways out 
 of Waterloo, but for the past two years and a half 
 he has had charge of a way freight train between 
 Waterloo and Dubuque. 
 
 Mr. Ward was born at Strawberry Point, 
 Clayton county, Iowa, a son of Giles and Caroline 
 (Godfrey) Ward, the former a native of New 
 York, and the latter of Bigfoot Prairie, Wis. 
 The father migrated to Iowa in 1849, when there 
 was not a railroad in the state, and for a portion 
 of the journey, at least, the " foot route " was the 
 best accommodation that the traveling public en-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 133 
 
 joyed. He bought a tract of land for which he 
 paid gold, and then for a time was engaged in 
 rafting from the pineries. He then returned to 
 his farm where he was engaged in agriculture 
 for a period of forty years. He is now spending 
 his declining years in retirement at Strawberry 
 Point. The mother died in March 1877. In 
 1887, Mr. G. L. Ward, the subject of this history, 
 returned to his boyhood home for a life com- 
 panion whom he found in the person of Miss 
 Elsie Noble and they are the parents of two sons, 
 E. Wayne and Giles L. Socially he affiliates 
 with Division No. 67, O. R. C. of Waterloo, and 
 also Howland Lodge No. 274, A. O. U. W. Mr. 
 Ward is now serving the first named lodge in 
 the capacity of assistant chief. 
 
 -.**-,'*.**-.**.**-,** 
 
 PRED B. TAYLOR, engineer on the Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad, Freeport divi- 
 sion, was born in Gibson, Steuben Co., 
 N. Y., October 26, 1869. His father, 
 William L. Taylor, deceased, was a carpenter and 
 shipbuilder, and served for many years as justice 
 of the peace and constable. He married Frances 
 E. Lyon, who is now living in Freeport. One 
 son, Burt H., is in the employ of the I. C. R. R. 
 as fireman. 
 
 Our subject, Fred B. Taylor, was educated 
 in the public schools of Freeport. At the age of 
 fifteen he entered the shops of the Henney Buggy 
 Co. and learned the trade of coachsmith, remain- 
 ing in the employ of the company for six years. 
 He then went to Oklahoma as one of the "Boom- 
 ers" and took up a claim which he held two years, 
 then sold and returned to Freeport and worked 
 for the Woodmanse Co. for one year. On the 
 1 4th of August, 1892, he entered the service of the 
 I. C. R. R. as fireman on the Freeport division, 
 and served in that capacity until December 1 1 , 
 1897, when he was promoted to the right side. 
 On the 25th of January, 1893, Mr. Taylor mar- 
 
 ried Miss Clara C. Seifertt, of Freeport, who was 
 born February 22, 1870. To them two children 
 have been born: Clarice C., born June I, 1894, 
 and Charles F., born September 28, 1896. Mr. 
 Taylor is a member of Union Lodge No. 138, B. 
 of L. F., Racine Division 27, B. of L. E., and 
 Rinaldo Lodge No. 97, K. of P. In his political 
 views he is independent. 
 
 JW. MULLAN, freight engineer on the 
 Illinois Central Railroad, Omaha divi- 
 Q sion, first began his railroad service as 
 brakeman at Waterloo, August 1880, 
 and served for about fifteen months under Con- 
 ductor McCabe and others between Waterloo and 
 Dubuque. He then worked for the American 
 Express Co. for a time, first in the office at Water- 
 loo, and later as expressman on the train between 
 Waterloo and Lyle. He began firing for the I. 
 C. R. R. in November 1883, working between 
 Waterloo and Sioux City, and was promoted to 
 engineer in September 1887, running first in the 
 Waterloo yards for three months, and later ran 
 as extra over all the branches of the Iowa divi- 
 sion. In 1894 he was given a regular run be- 
 tween Ft. Dodge and Waterloo, was then in the 
 construction service on the Omaha division, and 
 now has a passenger run between Ft. Dodge and 
 Omaha. 
 
 Mr. Mullan is a native of Waterloo, Iowa, 
 and a son of Charles Mullan, a surveyor and far- 
 mer, who died at his home near Waterloo in 1874. 
 His widow, America (Virden) Mullan, now lives 
 in Waterloo. Our subject has one brother, H. 
 C., who is a passenger conductor on the I. C. R. 
 R. between Ft. Dodge and Sioux City. Mr. Mul- 
 lan was married in 1882 to Miss Emma Thomas, 
 of Waterloo, and has two sons, Fred and Alva. 
 He is a member of B. of L. E., Waterloo Divi- 
 sion 114, K. of P. No. 89, and the Royal Arca- 
 num, of Waterloo. He is a popular railroad man 
 and has never met with anv serious accidents.
 
 134 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ENRY LUSCOMBE, engineer on the 
 Frecport division of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, is a native of Devonshire, 
 England, where he was born November 
 26, 1852. His parents, Henry and Susan Lus- 
 combe, still reside in England where his father is 
 engaged in farming. 
 
 The subject of this sketch had the advantages 
 of a liberal education in the public and private 
 schools of Devonshire, finishing later at Dart- 
 mouth College. In 1872 he came to the United 
 States, locating in Amboy where he was em- 
 ployed in various ways until in 1873, when he ac- 
 cepted a position as helper in a boiler shop of 
 the I. C. R. R. at Amboy. After a few months, 
 in the autumn of 1873, he began firing on the road 
 and remained in that position until 1880, when he 
 left the road and went to farming, which occupa- 
 tion he followed fo'r three years. The next three 
 years were spent at his old home in Devonshire, 
 when he returned to Amboy, re-entered the em- 1 
 ploy of the I. C. R. R., and in 1888 was promoted 
 to the right side where he is now engaged, hav- 
 ing a passenger run on the Freeport division. On 
 the Qth of October, 1879, Mr Luscombe was mar- 
 ried to Miss Netta New, who was born in Galena, 
 Illinois, January 30, 1859. They have one son, 
 Thomas N., born July 26, 1886, who is attending 
 the public school at Freeport. The family are 
 communicants in the Protestant Episcopal church. 
 Mr. Luscombe is a member of the B. of L. E. 
 and the Masonic fraternity, and is a Republican 
 in politics. 
 
 C. NORMAN, station agent at 
 r<\ Winthrop, Iowa, began work for the 
 \\ Illinois Central company in the summer 
 
 of 1 88 1, in the capacity of clerk for C. 
 H. Dodd, then agent at the same station in which 
 our subject is now located. He was there em- 
 ployed about eight months and then went to 
 Cherokee to perform the duties of operator at 
 that station one winter. From there he went to 
 
 Independence and there served two years as 
 operator and two months as agent, ancl Septem- 
 ber 20, 1884, lie was transferred to his present 
 position at Winthrop. Mr. Norman was born in 
 Ohio, July I4th, 1860, a son of N. V. and Mary 
 (Taylor) Norman, both of whom are of English 
 birth. They came to America and settled in 
 Ohio in 1850, and moved from there with their 
 family to Winthrop, Iowa, and are still making 
 that their home. In 1886, our subject was united 
 in marriage to Miss Gelia Adams, of Indepen- 
 dence, Iowa, and two children, Milton B. and 
 Winfred B., have been born to them. Socially 
 Mr. Norman affiliates with the Blue Lodge, No. 
 542 of the Masonic fraternity. He has been 
 quite successful in his railroad career, having 
 risen to an enviable position by his faithfulness 
 and enterprise in spite of the fact that he was 
 reared a farmer. 
 
 
 M. HOLLAND, station agent at Jesup, 
 Iowa, began working for the Illinois 
 Central Railroad company April I3th, 
 1892, as station agent at Peosta in Du- 
 buque county, and from there went to Mason- 
 ville, and on December I2th, 1899, was trans- 
 ferred to his present position at Jesup. He 
 learned the duties that pertain to a station agent 
 at Floyd, Iowa, in the fall of 1891, under Mrs. 
 Martin, who was then agent at that place. 
 
 During the earlier years of his life, Mr. 
 Holland worked on a farm in the vicinity of 
 Floyd, the place of his birth. He is a son of 
 Cain and Mary (Sullivan) Holland, both of 
 whom are natives of Ireland. The parents came 
 to America in 1865 and located at Floyd, Iowa. 
 For twenty-five years he served the Illinois Cen- 
 tral company in the capacity of a section fore- 
 man but is now living in retirement in the village 
 of Floyd. They have ten children besides the 
 one whose name heads this article, namely : 
 Timothy, a milk dealer in Chicago; Dennis, a 
 farmer near Floyd, Iowa; Edward, at home;
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 135 
 
 Nellie, wife of Thomas Silver, of Dearfield.Ia. ; 
 May, wife of M. McParland; Kate, a school 
 teacher, but is still making her home with her 
 parents ; and Sarah, Annie, Hannah and Lizzie, 
 all of whom are still under the parental roof. Mr. 
 Holland is a member of the Catholic church at 
 Masonville. He is very popular among the 
 young men of the Illinois Central employes and 
 enjoys the respect and esteem of all. 
 
 
 Charles, a florist at Cedar Falls, Iowa; Ray, an 
 operator for the Illinois Central company at Earl- 
 ville, Iowa, and Winnie, Richard and Ruth who 
 who are still making their home with their pa- 
 rents. Mr. Simons has an excellent record with 
 the railroad company, a good name among his 
 fellow workmen, and commands the respect of all 
 who know him. Besides his position with the 
 railroad company, Mr. Simons has a valuable 
 farm of forty-five acres of highly improved land 
 near Delaware. 
 
 J. SIMONS, station agent at Dela- 
 ware, Iowa, began work for the Illi- 
 n i s Central company at Earlville, 
 Iowa, October, 1871, where he learned 
 the duties pertaining to the care of a station 
 while working under the direction of C. J. 
 Steever, who had charge of the station six 
 months after our subject began working there 
 and was then succeeded by F. E. Monger who 
 held the position eighteen months. From Octo- 
 ber, 1873, until December, 1876, Mr. Simons 
 had charge of the station at Delaware, Iowa, and 
 was then transferred to Webster City, remaining 
 there two years. On account of failing health, 
 Mr. Simons was then obliged to leave the road 
 for six years, and when he again returned to the 
 company for employment he was placed in charge 
 of the station at Delaware. Six months later he 
 was transferred to Hammond, La., and was agent 
 there for two years. In January, 1887, Mr. 
 Simons was transferred to his present position 
 and for the third time assumed the control of the 
 Delaware station. 
 
 Mr. Simons was born in North Royalton, O., 
 a son of George and Sarah (Short) Simons, both 
 of whom were natives of England. When he 
 was but ten years of age, he moved with his pa- 
 rents to Iowa and settled on a farm near Delaware 
 and subsequently the mother died in their western 
 home. The father died in England. In 1875 
 our subject was married to Miss Lucretia Boone, 
 of Delaware, and of the five children that have 
 been born to them we have the following record : 
 
 ENRY ROONEY, yard master at Du- 
 buque, began railroading in this city 
 in 1871, in the capacity of freight 
 trucker in the freight house. During 
 the following year, however, he began as switch- 
 man and pursued this vocation until 1876 when he 
 was promoted to the position of night yardmaster. 
 Four years later he became general yardmaster, 
 and in 1883 resigned his position and went to 
 Marshalltown and served the Iowa Central com- 
 pany in the capacity of switchman for half a 
 year. From there Mr. Rooney went to St. Cloud, 
 Minn., entered the employ of the Great Northern 
 Railroad, and during the month that he was con- 
 nected with the company made one trip to Fergus 
 Falls as brakeman. Mr. Rooney then returned to 
 Iowa, and during the following eight months was 
 switchman at Cedar Rapids for the Burlington, 
 Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad. From 
 there he went to Waterloo and took charge of 
 the Illinois Central yards one year, after which 
 he spent six months as brakeman, running out 
 from Dubuque in a chain gang. Since then Mr. 
 Rooney has been yardmaster in Dubuque, chang- 
 ing only in 1896 from the night service to the 
 office of general yardmaster. 
 
 The gentleman whose name appears at the 
 head of this article, is a native of the city in 
 which he now makes his home, and first opened 
 his eyes to the light of day December 5, 1855. 
 He is a son of Charles Rooney, a volunteer of the
 
 136 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Civil war, who, after the close of hostilities in 
 the South, enlisted in the regular service and 
 spent many years with the government troops 
 on the plains. He died at the Soldiers' Home 
 in Wisconsin, May 29, 1878. The subject of 
 our sketch was married in Dubuque to Miss Rose 
 O'Hare, and they are the parents of two children, 
 Arthur and Mary. Mr. Rooney is a member of 
 the Ancient Order of United Workmen and also 
 of the Foresters, of Dubuque. During his rail- 
 road career, Mr. Rooney has received but one 
 slight injury by falline from a moving train in 
 the yards. 
 
 D. BURHYTE, an engineer, Illinois 
 Central Railroad, Freeport division, 
 residing in East Dubuque, 111., was 
 born in Jamestown, Wisconsin, April 
 14, 1863. 
 
 His parents were C. T. and Adelaide (Col- 
 lins) Burhyte. His father, a horse dealer by 
 occupation, died February 1899; his mother hav- 
 ing died in 1871. Their family of four children 
 were named as follows : Elizabeth R., married 
 L. P. Boynton and lives in Pasadena, California; 
 A. D., subject of this sketch ; John P., residing 
 in Iowa; Jacob G., an electrician, resides in Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 Our subject received his education in the 
 public schools of East Dubuque, where he after- 
 ward learned the trade of moulder and remained 
 in that business for three years. He then followed 
 the occupation of teaming four or five years, 
 working at railroad construction. October 4, 
 1887, he entered the service of the I. C. R. R. as 
 a fireman, running between Dubuque and Amboy, 
 and on the I5th of January, 1891, was promoted 
 to the position of engineer, and is now running in 
 that capacity between Dubuque and Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Burhyte is a member of the Methodist 
 church. Socially he is connected with the Ma- 
 sonic order, the Knights of Pythias, and the 
 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. He is 
 a Republican in politics. 
 
 'ILLIAM KURTH, a machinist in 
 the Waterloo round house, is a 
 native of the city of Cologne, Ger- 
 many, born December 6th, 1859. 
 He began life on his own responsibility as a rail- 
 road employe in the town of Essen, in his native 
 country, and later spent six months in the Krupp 
 gun works. His first experience as a machinist 
 was in government roads, and later worked in 
 the shops of the Haskell locomotive works at 
 Essen. In 1882 Mr. Kurth came to America, 
 sailing from Antwerp in the "Big John," and 
 upon landing on this side of the Atlantic, came 
 directly to Waterloo and worked four weeks on 
 a farm before he could secure a position in 
 which he could ply his trade. He then worked 
 four months in Robinson's factory, and February 
 4, 1883, he entered the employ of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral company as a machinist and worked in the 
 shops eight years. Subsequently he served as a 
 laborer in the round house a year and a half, and 
 in 1893 was promoted to gang boss of the round 
 house. 
 
 August n, 1883, Mr. Kurth was married at 
 Eagle Center, Iowa, to Miss 'Lizzie Braum, and 
 their wedded life has been blessed by the pres- 
 ence of a family of eight children, whose names 
 in the order of their birth are as follows : Min- 
 nie, Pauline, Harry, Fred, Louis, Gertrude, Clara 
 and Walter. Socially Mr. Kurth is identified 
 with Rowland Lodge No. 274, A. O. U. W. 
 
 FRANK G. WAGNER, foreman of the 
 blacksmith shop at Waterloo, was born 
 in Dubuque, Iowa, his natal day being 
 July 7, 1857. He began learning his 
 trade at Belle vue, Iowa, in 1871, and served an 
 apprenticeship of three years. He then opened 
 a shop at Dubuque and conducted the same 
 about six months, after which he spent three 
 months in the employ of the Novelty Iron Works. 
 Mr. Wagner then worked for a short time in 
 the shops at Earlville, Iowa, and from there came
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 137 
 
 to Waterloo, September 13, 1886, and entered the 
 employ of the Illinois Central company, and since 
 August i, 1894, has served in the capacity of 
 foreman of the blacksmith shop. 
 
 The estimable lady who presides over the 
 household affairs of Mr. Wagner, bore the maid- 
 en name of Miss Annie Evans. They were mar- 
 ried in Springbrook, Iowa, and their wedded life 
 has been blessed by the advent of a family of 
 eight children, whose names in the order of their 
 birth are as follows : Maggie, Sophie, Frances, 
 Henry, Minnie, Cecelia, Lauretta and Louise. 
 Mr. Wagner is a member of Rowland Lodge No. 
 274, Ancient Order of United Workmen. 
 
 HARLES H. MCCARTHY, conductor 
 on the Illinois Central Railroad, who 
 has been in the employ of the company 
 since twelve years of age, began in Ep- 
 worth, Iowa, as water-boy, and was thus em- 
 ployed three years. He then began working on 
 the section at Epworth, and at the end of four 
 years was made section foreman, retaining that 
 position for two years. He then engaged in the 
 grocery business in Epworth for one year, and 
 then took charge of the Cherokee gravel pit as 
 foreman for the Illinois Central, remaining in 
 charge about five months. He then became 
 a brakeman on the Illinois Central for one year 
 and nine months, and then began as conductor. 
 Since 1889 he has been in the freight service on 
 the Cherokee division, running between Sioux 
 City and Fort Dodge. 
 
 Our subject was born in Epworth, Iowa, 
 November 20, 1866, son of Florence, better 
 known as "Flerry," McCarthy, who was section 
 foreman of the Illinois Central for thirty-five 
 years, but is now retired and resides in Epworth. 
 Our subject had two brothers in the service. 
 Thomas O. is a conductor on Waterloo division 
 of the Illinois Central, and John M. was a brake- 
 man on the Illinois Central at the time he was 
 killed at Manchester, Iowa, in 1883. 
 
 Mr. McCarthy married Mary A. Lennon, of 
 Farley, la., and they nave two children, Charles 
 Eugene, and John Morris. Our subject is a 
 member of the B. of R. T., and is master of the 
 lodge. He also holds membership in the A. O. 
 U. W., also Catholic Order of Foresters, all of 
 Fort Dodge. He is a consistent member of the 
 Sacred Heart Catholic church of Ft. Dodge. His 
 residence is at No. 1210 Sixth avenue, south. 
 
 UGENE DAILEY, train master at 
 Waterloo, Iowa, is another of those 
 men who, though they had none of 
 this world's goods for a capital with 
 which to start in life, are endowed with suffi- 
 cient enterprise and tact to soon place themselves 
 among the leading business men of the communi- 
 ty no matter how lowly their first position. Mr. 
 Dailey began his railroad career as a messenger 
 boy at Ackley, Iowa, in August, 1878, and while 
 in that capacity, learned telegraphy. In Febru- 
 ary, 1880, he succeeded in securing a position as 
 operator at Webster City, Iowa, and about two 
 months later became the day operator at Iowa 
 Falls. Subsequently Mr. Dailey, at different 
 times filled various positions for the Illinois 
 Central company, being transferred from one 
 place to another and steadily promoted until he 
 reached his present position. In August, 1880, 
 he was made day operator at Cherokee ; in March 
 of the following year was sent to Ackley ; and in 
 August, 1882, was sent to Waterloo to accept a 
 position in the office of the train despatcher. In 
 February, 1883, he was made train despatcher at 
 Fort Dodge; in March, 1885, chief train de- 
 spatcher of the Waterloo and Mona district with 
 his headquarters at Waterloo; in October, 1889, 
 when the offices of train master and train de- 
 spatcher were moved to Dubuque, Mr. Dailey 
 was sent to the last named city in the capacity of 
 chief train despatcher. In November, 1894, the 
 offices were returned to Waterloo, and at this 
 time, Mr. Dailey was appointed the first " trick "
 
 138 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 dcspatcher of the Dubuque division, and April 
 1 5th, 1898, he became train master of the Dubu- 
 que division, the position which he still holds. 
 
 February 4th, 1891, Mr. Dailey was married 
 at Dubuque, to Miss Jennie Phelan, and to this 
 congenial union has been born a bright, interest- 
 ing little family of three children upon whom 
 they have seen fit to bestow the following names : 
 Joseph Raphael, Eugene Louis and Lois Mer- 
 riam. Mr. Dailey is identified with Lodge No. 
 290, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, 
 of Waterloo, and Knights of Pythias, No. 89, 
 of Waterloo. 
 
 .HARLES H. DJNSMOOR is noted as 
 one of the steadiest men in the employ 
 of the Illinois Central. He is an en- 
 gineer in the freight service on the 
 Cherokee division. For sixteen years Mr. Duns- 
 moor has been in the employ of the I. C., and dur- 
 ing the past six years has not been absent from 
 duty for a single day, an enviable record. He 
 entered the service of the I. C. as a fireman, at 
 Waterloo, Iowa, serving three years under En- 
 gineers O. D. Gray, W. F. Hall and Al. Girard. 
 His ability was recognized by the company, and 
 on September 13, 1887, he was promoted to en- 
 gineer on the Waterloo division, where he served 
 two years. Coming to the Cherokee division in 
 1889, he has since remained there in the freight 
 service between Cherokee and Sioux City. He is 
 one of the most careful employes on the road, and 
 has, during his entire service with the company, 
 never been in the slightest wreck. 
 
 Mr. Dunsmoor was born in Boston, Mass., 
 in September, 1851, and is a son of Thomas 
 Dunsmoor, now a prosperous farmer in Clayton 
 Co., Iowa. Our subject was married to Miss 
 Phoebe L. Sargent, and they have a fine family of 
 six children, four sons and two daughters, viz : 
 Lulu, Nellor, Theo, Dennis, Charles and Earl. 
 He is connected socially with No. 226 B. of L. E., 
 of Fort Dodge, and resides at Cherokee, where 
 he has a pretty cottage near his work. 
 
 JOHN H. FOX is a well and favorably 
 known engineer in the freight service of 
 the Illinois Central, his run being on the 
 Cherokee division. He has been con- 
 nected with the I. C. for twenty years, commenc- 
 ing at Waterloo, Iowa, in 1880, as fireman. Af- 
 ter working there for nearly two years he went to 
 Dubuque, and was promoted to engineer and 
 given charge of Engine No. 78 on the Dubuque 
 division of the I. C. He held this position for 
 four years, when he was sent to Cherokee, and 
 has since been identified with that division. He 
 has never been in a wreck, and sustained only one 
 slight injury during his career on the road. 
 
 Our subject was born in Canada on June 
 17, 1852, and acquired his first knowledge of 
 railroad work there, on the Great Western R. R. 
 John Fox, the father of our subject, was a mer- 
 chant, and resided in Canada, but made his home 
 with his son, John H., for two years prior to 
 his death, at the age of eighty-one years. His 
 mother survives, being seventy-three, years of 
 age, and makes her home with her daughter. 
 Mr. Fox was married to Miss Annie McDonald, 
 and they have had four children, of whom two 
 survive, vtz : Wilbur B., a fireman in the service 
 of the I. C., and John Jr., who is in the drug bus- 
 iness, both residing in Cherokee. Socially he 
 is connected with No. 226, B. of L. E., of Fort 
 Dodge. 
 
 W. FAIRBURN, engineer at Water- 
 loo, Iowa, began his railroad career 
 with the Illinois Central company 
 March I7th, 1882, filing his ap- 
 plication at Waterloo, but did his first work 
 in the yards at Dubuque, where he was engaged 
 until June I3th, of the same year. He then re- 
 turned to Waterloo, where he was employed un- 
 der James McCullen for a short time on the main 
 line. Later he got a regular engine, No 143, 
 which he had for about a year with Engineer J. 
 Battell, and later, was on with different men, 
 among them, Charles Baldwin, with whom he
 
 JjM 
 
 WILLIAM K. ACKKRMAN.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 141 
 
 ran between Waterloo and Sioux City. Mr. Fair- 
 burn then spent one year on a passenger engine 
 between Waterloo and Sioux City, and subse- 
 quently between Waterloo and Lyle. He then 
 spent seven years on a freight run, after which he 
 was again put on the passenger service and spent 
 eight months with G. Martin on the " Clipper " 
 run. July 7th, 1892, Mr. Fairburn was set up 
 to engineer, took charge of a switch engine in 
 the Waterloo yards for a short time, and then 
 went on to the road in charge of engine No. 
 1301, on the Lyle branch. After spending one 
 winter on that branch, he ran extra out of Water- 
 loo for some time, but finally went back to his 
 old run on the Lyle branch. 
 
 Mr. Fairburn was born in Janesville, Iowa, 
 and made his home under the parental roof un- 
 til he entered the employ of the Illlinois Central 
 Railroad company, but moved to Waterloo with 
 his family in 1882. He was married in 1879 *o 
 Miss Mary Pound, also of Janesville, Iowa, and 
 their home has been blessed by the presence of a 
 family of three children, whose names in the 
 order of their birth are Mabel L., Blanche L. 
 and Lula May. In the social circles of Water- 
 loo, our subject is identified with Division 114, 
 B. of L. E. and Howland Lodge No 274, A. O. 
 U. W. He has been very successful as a railroad 
 man, having spent about eighteen years on the 
 road without experiencing an accident and in- 
 cidentally laying aside portions of his earnings 
 until in 1887, he secured for himself and his 
 family a beautiful residence at 216 Logan Ave., 
 where he is now making his home. 
 
 'ILLIAM K. ACKERMAN, who 
 served as president of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad from October 17, 
 1877, to August 18, 1883, was born 
 in New York City, January 20, 1832. His pa- 
 ternal ancestor, David Ackerman, who arrived 
 in New York, September 2, 1662, from Amster- 
 dam, was the first of that name to settle in this 
 country. 
 
 W. K. Ackerman was educated in the Me- 
 chanics Society school, in -New York, afterwards 
 attending the high school. He entered the em- 
 ploy of the Illinois Central Railroad Company 
 May 28, 1852, as an office clerk in the financial 
 department in New York, from which position 
 he was gradually piomoted to secretary and 
 treasurer respectively. On September 30, 1860, 
 he was transferred to Chicago, occupying va- 
 rious positions, among them being the general 
 auditorship. July 17, 1876, he was elected vice- 
 president, and October 17, 1877, was elevated to 
 the presidency of the company, succeeding John 
 M. Douglas. This position he held until Au- 
 gust 18, 1883, when he resigned in favor of 
 James C. Clarke. 
 
 In the annual report of 1877, his election 
 was referred to in the following manner : 
 
 "Your directors have had the pleasure to 
 elect Mr. William K. Ackerman to the presi- 
 dency of this company, a position which he has 
 earned by twenty-five years of faithful service." 
 Upon his retiring from the presidency, the board 
 passed the following resolution : 
 
 "Resolved, that this board having assented 
 to the suggestions contained in the letter of Pres- 
 ident Ackerman to the directors, dated July 18, 
 1883, desires to place on record its unqualified 
 approbation of the integrity, ability, fidelity, zeal 
 and success with which he has throughout his 
 entire time of office, discharged the responsible 
 duties thereof ; and the secretary is hereby di- 
 rected to transmit to Mr. Ackerman a copy of 
 this resolution." This was on August 18, 1883, 
 at which time he was again elected vice-presi- 
 dent, holding the position until December 31, 
 1883, when he finally resigned from the com- 
 pany. 
 
 Mr. Ackerman was also a director of the 
 company from 1874 to 1884, and a trustee of 
 their construction mortgage bonds for many 
 years. On the 5th of August, 1883, the New 
 York Times published the following article : 
 
 "One event of the week deserving notice, 
 is the retirement of Mr. Ackerman from the 
 presidency of the Illinois Central Railroad Com- 
 pany after thirty-one years service. This com-
 
 142 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 pany and its excellent management have been 
 spoken of before. To President Ackerman is 
 largely due the credit. He leaves the company 
 after having placed it foremost among the rail- 
 road properties of the United States, its securi- 
 ties considered second only to government "bonds, 
 its reputation such that it is referred to as one 
 of the model corporations of the country. The 
 history of President Ackerman's management 
 shows that \ye have men, who with great oppor- 
 tunities and abundant excuse to enrich themselves 
 at the expense of their trust, yet administer that 
 trust with soundest sagacity and the highest in- 
 tegrity, making one of the bright spots in a record 
 of corporate abuses for which the country is now 
 paying some of the penalities." 
 
 
 EORGE P. TURNER, foreman of the 
 paint shops at Waterloo, was born at 
 Concord, N. H., February 13, 1833. 
 He learned his trade in the railroad 
 shops of the town of his nativity, beginning at 
 the age of eighteen years. There he spent five 
 years and then went to the Connecticut & Pas- 
 sumpsic Rivers Railroad shops at St. Johnsbury, 
 Vt, where he spent seven years as foreman. 
 December 26, 1864, he began work for the Du- 
 buque & Sioux City Railroad in the shops at Du- 
 buque as foreman of the painting department. 
 When the Illinois Central company leased the 
 line in 1867, he continued in service as the fore- 
 man in the same department, and in 1870, when 
 the shops were moved to Waterloo, he was con- 
 tinued in the same position. 
 
 Mr. Turner was married at Manchester, N. 
 H., in February, 1853, to Miss Susan F. Sweet 
 and they have reared a family of five daughters, 
 whose names in the order of their birth are as 
 follows: Ella F., Hattie H., Mary R., Ida E. 
 and Carrie A. Mr. Turner is a member of the 
 Waterloo Lodge No. 105, F. & A. M. Tabernacle 
 Chapter No. 52. 
 
 T. MORAN, road supervisor at Water- 
 loo, is one of the Illinois Central com- 
 Q pany's pioneer employes. He began 
 his railroad career in New York state 
 on the New York & New Haven Railroad as a 
 track laborer, and assisted in the construction of 
 that road. Later, from 1848 to 1854, he worked 
 in the same capacity for the New York & Har- 
 lem R. R., being located at -Towner Station and 
 Paterson, New York. The man who was per- 
 forming the duties of roadmaster at Freeport, 
 111., for the Illinois Central company at that time, 
 Mr. J. S. Rogers, was a friend of Mr. Moran and 
 it was through his influence that our subject 
 came west and entered the employ of the Illinois 
 Central company at Freeport in 1854. There he 
 was employed as extra foreman for six months, 
 after which he had charge of a section at Apple 
 River for fourteen years, doing section work and 
 helping to build side tracks. October I3th, 
 1867, Mr. Moran was transferred to Waterloo 
 to accept the position of road supervisor, had 
 charge of the track from Waterloo to Dyersville 
 for a time and then was transferred to that por- 
 tion between Waterloo and Iowa Falls. In 1877, 
 C. F. & M. branch was given to his supervision, 
 and this he still retains, also having charge of 
 the track between Independence and Waterloo. 
 
 Mr. Moran was born in Bally mahon, Long- 
 ford county, Ireland, in 1830, a son of Edward 
 and Margaret Moran. Our subject was married 
 the I4th of June, 1852, in Brooklyn, N. Y., 
 to Miss Hannah Hayes, a native of Limerick, 
 Ireland, and of the six children that have been 
 born to them we have the following record : Ella, 
 wife of P. F'. Doherty, of Dubuque, Iowa ; Char- 
 lie, at Kansas City, Mo. ; Hannah, wife of Joseph 
 F. Gunn of Denver, Colo. ; Fred, at home ; Mar- 
 tha, a Sister of Charity at Davenport, Iowa ; and 
 Christopher, a telegraph operator at the Chicago 
 Board of Trade. Our subject has never given 
 attention to any other line of work except rail- 
 road track work ; this he has thoroughly learned. 
 For more than fifty years he has devoted his en- 
 tire attention to railroad track work and the Illi- 
 nois Central company is to be congratulated on 
 securing and retaining so competent a man for
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 143 
 
 the position of railroad supervisor. He is very 
 popular among the railroad employes in the com- 
 munity in which he lives and is held in high es- 
 teem by all who know him. 
 
 LEWIS P. NELSON, better known as 
 " Lew," is an engineer on the extra list 
 of the Illinois Central. He has been 
 in the employ of the I. C. for nine years 
 beginning on the Cherokee division, as a fireman, 
 with the well-known engineer, Sam Chapman. 
 He held this position for seven years with credit, 
 and was then transferred to the Clinton division 
 of the I. C., working there only a few months. 
 Returning to Cherokee, he was promoted Sep- 
 tember 17, 1897, to engineer, and since that time 
 has been running extra on that division. He 
 has been in one or two small wrecks, but was 
 never injured. Our subject is a Canadian by 
 birth, and is now thirty years of age. He has 
 one brother, W. C. Nelson, who is a fireman on 
 the North-Western R. R. His father, a mill- 
 wright by trade, resides in Cherokee. Mr. Nel- 
 son was married to Miss F. F. King, of Chicago, 
 January i, 1896, and their union has been blessed 
 by a bright little daughter, Marie. He is con- 
 nected with B. of L. F. No. 79, of Cherokee, and 
 also with the A. O. U. W. of Cherokee. 
 
 EORGE M. CROWNOVER, general 
 foreman at the shops at Waterloo, 
 was born at McVeytown, Pa., Septem- 
 ber 26th, 1863, and spent his early 
 boyhood in the place of his nativity. In 1877 he 
 came west with his parents, and at the age of 
 seventeen years began learning the machinist's 
 trade at the Waterloo shops under Mr. Place, 
 serving an apprenticeship of four years or from 
 April 4th, 1881, until April 4th, 1885. In 1887, 
 
 he was appointed foreman of the round house at 
 Clinton, 111., but after spending five years there, 
 returned to Waterloo and assumed charge of 
 the air brake department which occupied his at- 
 tention thirteen months. May 1st, 1893, our 
 subject was appointed foreman of the machine 
 shops and held this position until October 1895, 
 when he was appointed to the office of general 
 foreman at Waterloo. 
 
 Mr. Crownover has been twice married. His 
 first wife bore the maiden name of Miss Catherine 
 F. Deady and became his wife September 8th, 
 1887, at Waterloo. One daughter, Ethel, was 
 born to this union. His present wife formerly 
 Miss Martha M. Magee, was wedded to him 
 October loth, 1893, at Mitchell, Ontario. This 
 union, also, has been blessed by the advent of 
 one daughter, Edna. Mr. Crownover is a mem- 
 ber of Waterloo Lodge No. 105, A. F. & A. M., 
 and is Junior Warden at the present time. He 
 is also Venerable Counsel of Waterloo Lodge 
 No. 2059, M. W. of A. Mr. Crownover is a 
 member of the Tribe of Ben Hur. His father, 
 Benson Crownover, taught school in Iowa un- 
 til his superannuation, and is now living in re- 
 tirement at Hudson, Iowa. 
 
 PRANK EVANS, engineer, has been 
 with the Illinois Central company for 
 twelve years, beginning at Waterloo, 
 Iowa, as fireman with Engineer A. M. 
 Place. He was thus employed about seven years 
 and then promoted to engineer, running a switch 
 engine in the yards at Fort Dodge. Since then 
 has had charge of freight engine No. 808 on the 
 run between Fort Dodge and Sioux City, Iowa. 
 For three months in 1898 he ran an engine on the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley division out of New 
 Orleans. 
 
 Our subject was born in Claremont, Iowa, 
 October I7th, 1866, a son of Robert Evans, who 
 is a tailor by trade, now residing in West Union, 
 Iowa. Our subject has one brother (Lewis) who
 
 144 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 is train-man for the Great Northern Railroad 
 company. Mr. Evans married Miss Bertha 
 Willey, of Mount Ayer, Iowa, and they have one 
 child, Rowena. He is a member of the B. of 
 L. F. No. 222, B. of L. E. No. 226, and I. O. O. 
 F. No. 85, of Fort Dodge. Both he and his 
 wife are members of the M. E. church. 
 
 JF. MULKERN, engineer at Waterloo, 
 Iowa, began his railroad career in the 
 Q winter of 1880, at Waterloo, working 
 first under Engineer Wood. He was 
 next with F. A. Hill between Waterloo and Sioux 
 City and also between Waterloo and Fort Dodge. 
 He was placed in charge of the lever and throttle 
 in October 1883, and began work in that capacity 
 in the yards at Dubuque, where he was engaged 
 about a year and then went to Fort Dodge until 
 1885. At the last named date, he went to Water 
 Valley and Jackson, Tenn., remained there two 
 months, returned to the Dubuque yards for about 
 three months, then back to Water Valley for two 
 months, and then returned to his home in Water- 
 loo and entered the employ of the Chicago 
 Great Western Railroad company. Four weeks 
 later, he severed his connection with the last 
 named company and again began work for the 
 Illinois Central in 1887, running between Water- 
 loo and Sioux City and also between Waterloo 
 and Dubuque. 
 
 Mr. Mul.kern was born in Dubuque, Decem- 
 ber 27, 1862, a son of Hon. M. B. Mulkern, a 
 native of Ireland. The father migrated to 
 America in 1848, and located in Dubuque where 
 he was known for many years as one of the lead- 
 ing attorneys of that city. He was state senator 
 in 1870 and '71. His wife was a daughter of 
 John C. Regan, and is now making her home in 
 Dubuque. They were the parents of a family 
 of five children, of whom we have the following 
 record : Rachael, J. F., the subject of this sketch, 
 James A., Daniel and M. B. Jr. J. F. Mulkern, 
 whose name appears at the head of this article, 
 was married October 12, 1887, to Miss Josephene 
 
 Murry, of Independence, la., and the following 
 children have been born to them : J. Frank, 
 Raphiel V., John H. and M. Alice. Mrs. Mul- 
 kern's father, Simon Murry, was a constructor 
 for the Illinois Central company and built a great 
 deal of their road. He fell from a bridge at 
 Cedar Falls, Iowa, and was injured while at work 
 in that place. He died in 1888. 
 
 Socially our subject affiliates with Division 
 No. 1 14, B. of L. E. ; with Howland Lodge No. 
 274, A. O. U. W., and also the Royal Arcanum, 
 all of Waterloo. He has been a very successful 
 railroad man, as is evidenced by the above record 
 and also by the fact that he has performed his 
 duty with such care and system that he has 
 avoided the accidents that so many run into, and 
 has never received the slightest injury since he 
 has been on the road. 
 
 M. FLICKINGER is an engineer in 
 the freight service on the Ft. Dodge 
 and Omaha division of the Illinois 
 Central. He first entered the ser- 
 vice of the I. C. in 1886, at Waterloo, Iowa, as 
 fireman, running on different divisions of the 
 road until 1892, when he was promoted to en- 
 gineer after passing a creditable examination. 
 He was then placed in charge of Engine No. 
 1376, running between Cherokee, la., and Sioux 
 Falls, South Dakota. Our subject first worked 
 with the B. & M. R. R. as brakeman and served 
 also on the Union Pacific with the civil engineer- 
 ing corps, for nearly three years. He was for 
 a time connected with the O. & B. R. R. and with 
 the Vicksburg & New Orleans division of the I. 
 C. In February 1899, he returned to Cherokee, 
 and was assigned to the Ft. Dodge & Omaha 
 division. 
 
 Mr. Flickinger was married to Miss Jessie 
 Lawless, and they have four bright children, viz : 
 Geneva, Glenn, Wayne and Claude. He is a 
 member of B. of L. E. No. 226, of Fort Dodge, 
 Iowa.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 145 
 
 A. TAYLOR, engineer, has been with 
 the Illinois Central company ten 
 years. He began as fireman in 1889 
 on Engine No. 196, and was engaged 
 in that capacity for about seven years. On 
 November 19, 1896, he was promoted to engineer 
 and took charge of engine No. 1398, and ran 
 same in the switch yards at Fort Dodge until 
 December i, 1897, when he began running on 
 the road, and has since pulled both freight and 
 passenger trains. 
 
 He is a native of Dane county, Wisconsin, 
 born December 19, 1861, a son of Thomas G. 
 Taylor, who is a farmer, and now resides on a 
 farm in Dane county. Our subject married 
 Miss Catherine P>owen, of Sioux City. He is 
 very systematic and keeps a record of every trip 
 he makes on the road. Mr. Taylor is a member 
 of I. O. O. F. Lodge No. 85, of Fort Dodge, 
 also of the B. of L. F. No. 222, of Fort Dodge. 
 He resides at No. 526 Fourth avenue, south. 
 
 =x^DWARD P. LISCHER, engineer on 
 the Illinois Central Railroad, Amboy 
 division, was born in Chicago, March 
 29, 1867, whilst his parents were on 
 their way to Iowa. His father, Andrew Lischer, 
 is a farmer living in Griswold, Iowa, and his 
 mother, Catherine (Leffler) Lischer, died in 1886. 
 Edward P. Lischer was educated in Colum- 
 bus City, Iowa. He learned the shoe maker's 
 trade at which he worked eight years, and in 
 November 1891 entered the service of the St. 
 Joseph Terminal Railway association as a wiper, 
 remaining in that position one year, and then be- 
 came a fireman, in which capacity he served until 
 January 19, 1895. Mr. Lischer then removed 
 to Clinton, 111., where he engaged as fireman on 
 the Amboy division of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road, serving in that position until November 
 8, 1896, when he was licensed to run as engineer 
 and is still handling the throttle for the same 
 company. 
 
 Mr. Lischer was married on the first day of 
 August, 1880, to Miss Rose Atchison, of Colum- 
 bus City, Iowa. Mrs. Lischer died in March 
 1895, leaving two children, Florence M. and 
 Nancy B. Mr. Lischer is socially connected 
 with the B. of L. F. and B. of L. E., and in his 
 political views is independent. 
 
 jtjtjtjtjjt 
 
 |HARLES E. JONES, engineer on the 
 Freeport division, Illinois Central Rail- 
 road, is a native of the Keystone state 
 and was born May II, 1865 in Rock- 
 ville, Dauphin county. His parents, William L. 
 and Elizabeth (Vallence) Jones, reside in Pa- 
 ducah, Kentucky, where his father is in charge of 
 a Baptist church. 
 
 Our subject attended the schools of Mechan- 
 icsburg and Middletown, Pa., and Cape May 
 Court House, N. J., and at the age of thirteen 
 entered the printing office of R. H. Thomas, at 
 Mechanicsburg, and served as a printer for six 
 months. When fifteen years of age he learned 
 the blacksmith's trade at Cape May Court House, 
 and followed this occupation for fifteen years at 
 Pottsville, Pa., Philadelphia, and elsewhere. In 
 1884 he came west and located for a time in Do- 
 ver, 111., following his trade of expert horse-shoer 
 there and in various other towns in the state. In 
 1894 Mr. Jones removed to Freeport where he 
 followed blacksmithing until October 20, 1895, 
 and on the nth of November following, entered 
 the service of the I. C. R. R. as fireman on the 
 Freeport division and remained in that position 
 until July 22, 1899, when he was promoted to 
 the right side. 
 
 Mr. Jones was married July 6, 1885, to Miss 
 Elizabeth Hubbard, of Dover, 111. Mrs. Jones 
 was born at Sheffield, 111., October 23, 1868. She 
 is the mother of three interesting children : 
 Frances V., born July 7, 1886; Marguerita 
 Catherine, born February 27, 1888; Charles V., 
 born April 25, 1890. Mr. Jones with his family 
 attends the First Baptist church of Freeport. He 
 is a member of the B. of L. F., and votes the Re- 
 publican ticket.
 
 146 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 i ( mXELIUS B. DEBOLT, is an engineer 
 in the yards of the Illinois Central at 
 Cherokee, running also as an extra. 
 He entered the service of the I. C. 
 in 1890, as bridgeman, then for several years as 
 fireman, and in 1897 was promoted to engineer. 
 He has charge of a switch engine in the yards 
 at Cherokee, and also runs as an extra when 
 called upon. His first experience at railroad 
 work was acquired on the B. C. R. & N. R. R., 
 with which he served ten years as bridgeman 
 and carpenter, resigning to accept a similar 
 position with the I. C. Our subject was born at 
 Juda, Green county, Wisconsin, December i, 
 1862. His father is now a resident of Clarks- 
 ville, Iowa. Mr. DeBolt was married to Miss 
 Martha Miller, and they have two children. 
 Gladys and Henry B. Mr. DeBolt is a member 
 of B. of L. F. No. 79, and is also connected with 
 the Masonic and K. of P. lodges in Cherokee, his 
 home town. 
 
 W. McFARLANE, station agent 
 at Waterloo, Iowa, began work 
 Q for the Illinois Central company 
 in the capacity of car tapper, but 
 soon after secured a position in the freight 
 house. His next situation was that of night 
 ticket clerk, which he retained for two years, and 
 was then appointed bill clerk for one year. In 
 1890 Mr. McFarlane became the cashier at 
 Waterloo, and in January, 1893, he left that 
 position for that of station agent at Cedar Falls, 
 which he retained until April 1894. At the last 
 named date he returned to Waterloo to assume 
 the responsibilities of the position he still holds, 
 that of station agent. Previous to entering the 
 employ of the Illinois Central company, however, 
 Mr. McFarlane was a contractor in Waterloo for 
 about ten years. Our subject is a son of Alex, 
 and Jane E. McFarlane, the former a native of 
 Scotland and the latter of London. The family 
 located in Waterloo in 1857, where the father 
 
 has for many years been a contractor. W. W. 
 McFarlane, whose name appears at the head of 
 this article, was married May 18, 1882, to Miss 
 Emma J. Moss, of Anamosa, Iowa, and their 
 wedded life has been blessed by the advent of 
 three children, as follows : Edward, Arthur, 
 and Carrie. In the social circles of Waterloo, 
 Mr. McFarlane is identified with Howland Lodge 
 No. 274, A. O. U. W., also Helmet Lodge K. of 
 P. and the National Union. He has also always 
 taken an active interest in all local, political and 
 school matters, being now a member of the 
 East Waterloo school board, and was a member 
 of the city council during the past four years. 
 He is very popular among the railroad employes 
 and is widely known as one of Waterloo's sub- 
 stantial citizens. 
 
 EWIS ALBRIGHT, engineer on freight 
 engine, has been with the Illinois Cen- 
 tral company since August 29, 1883. 
 He began as fireman and worked at 
 same until October 17, 1887; was then examined 
 and promoted to engineer and took charge of En- 
 gine No. 195, working in the yards awhile and 
 then began in road service, which he continued 
 until January 28, 1900, when he was promoted 
 to the passenger service on the Omaha division, 
 running between Fort Dodge and Omaha. 
 
 He was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, 
 September 8, 1859, a son f August Albright, 
 deceased, who was a fanner in that county for 
 many years. Mr. Albright has one brother, a 
 carpenter in the Illinois Central shops at Water- 
 loo, Iowa. Our subject married Miss Millie 
 Viers, of Manson, Iowa, who is the mother of 
 three children, Ear], deceased, Ella and Raymond. 
 He was never injured and has never lost a day's 
 work since he began with the company. He is 
 a member of the B. of L. E. No. 226, Olive 
 Lodge No. 85, I .O. O. F., of Fort Dodge, and 
 Wahkonse Encampment No. 53. Both he and 
 his wife belong to the Daughters of Rebecca. 
 He resides at 610 Fifth avenue, south.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 147 
 
 SCAR E. ADAMS, switch engineer 
 at Fort Dodge, Iowa, has been with 
 the Illinois Central company since 
 March I3th, 1880. He began as 
 a switchman in the yards at Fort Dodge, 
 where he worked one year and four months and 
 he then began as fireman with Engineer H. W. 
 Harrington running between Waterloo and Sioux 
 City. He was next employed as fireman in the 
 switch yards at Fort Dodge one year, and then 
 became hostler in the shops for one year. He 
 then fired on switch engine No. 149 in the yards 
 at Fort Dodge until October 12, 1885, when he 
 was examined and promoted to engineer and 
 took charge of his present engine, switching in 
 the yards at Fort Dodge. 
 
 Mr. Adams was born in Rutland county, 
 Vermont, on May 4, 1851, a son of George L. 
 Adams, a carpenter by trade, who died in the war 
 on May 24, 1862. Our subject had one brother, 
 who was brakeman on the Wisconsin Central rail- 
 road and who was killed while working for that 
 company. 
 
 Our subject married Miss Carrie A. Bunnell, 
 of New York state, and is the father of three 
 children, Charles R., Bessie L., and Carlyle. He 
 has been in several accidents and at one time 
 was on his engine on the Lizzard bridge when it 
 went down, but he has fortunately escaped in- 
 jury. 
 
 He is a member of the B. of L. E. No. 226 
 of Fort Dodge, and now resides at No. 826, 
 Eighth Avenue, North, Fort Dodge, Iowa. 
 
 iHARLES D. GREIG is a well known 
 engineer on the Cherokee divi- 
 sion of the Illinois Central, having 
 charge of Engine No. 1324, between 
 Sioux Falls, S. D., and Onawa, Iowa. He "be- 
 came identified with the I. C. on September 14, 
 1875, as engineer on the Cherokee division, 
 where he worked until 1887, during which year 
 he was appointed to his present run, and has 
 
 since remained there. Our subject acquired his 
 first knowledge of railroad work, in 1869, on 
 the Delaware & Lackawanna R. R. at Scranton. 
 Pennsylvania, where he worked as fireman for 
 two years. He was then examined for promo- 
 tion to engineer, and passing the examination 
 with credit, took a position on the Danbury & 
 Norwalk R. R. in Connecticut. After serving 
 that company for two years, he came west to 
 Fort Dodge, Iowa, and immediately entered the 
 service of the I. C. His record on the road has 
 been satisfactory in every respect, never during 
 his years of service having had a wreck. 
 Mr. Greig was born at Nunda, New York, in 
 1851, and was married to Miss Lois Chapman 
 of Illinois. They have four children, three 
 daughters and one son, viz: Cressa, Helen, Stella 
 and George. He is a member of B. of L. E. No. 
 226, of Fort Dodge, and has his home at Chero- 
 kee, Iowa. 
 
 R. COOLEY, conductor at Waterloo, 
 began his railroad career with the Illi- 
 Q nois Central company at Dubuque, 
 August i, 1886, as a brakeman. His 
 first run was under Thomas Quinlan, for whom 
 he set brakes eight months on a passenger train. 
 Later he served on the " Clipper " run for about 
 five months under conductor Jenness and later 
 under Thomas Quinlan again and under different 
 ones between Waterloo and Dubuque for about 
 six months. Sickness then took Mr. Cooley off 
 the road for a time and when he was again able 
 to resume his work, he was given a run on a 
 passenger train between Dubuque and Lyle un- 
 der John Dougherty for a time, then spent one 
 year as baggageman between Waterloo and Sioux 
 City and then worked on a freight train on the 
 east end under different men until he was pro- 
 moted to conductor in the fall of 1892. Mr. 
 Cooley's first work as conductor was also on the 
 east end for a time, and then spent several years 
 running both ways out of Waterloo. His present 
 run is between Waterloo and Lyle.
 
 148 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Mr. Cooley was born in Lorain county, 
 Ohio, a son of Newell B. and Emeline (Cooper) 
 Cooley, both of whom were also natives of Ohio. 
 The parents always made their home in the state 
 of their nativity, the mother still residing near 
 Oberlin, but the father died in 1897. Our sub- 
 ject located in Waterloo, Iowa, in 1888, and four 
 years later he was married to Miss Annie C. 
 Mathias, of Dubuque, who has since shared his 
 Waterloo home. To this union has been born 
 one child who bears the name of Marion M. Mr. 
 Cooley is a member of Division No. 67, O. R. 
 C. and also of Lodge No. 89, K. of P., both of 
 Waterloo. He has been very successful since be- 
 ing in the employ of the railroad company, his 
 career has been free from accidents and up to 
 the present time he has a clear record. 
 
 
 in 1878 and located in Jesup; lived there about 
 twenty months and then returned to his home in 
 Vermont. In 1880 he again removed to Iowa 
 and entered the employ of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad company. In 1887 he was united in 
 marriage to Miss Myrtle Staunton, of Waterloo, 
 Iowa, and two children, Harry and Leonore, 
 have been born to them. Mr. Robbins has been 
 quite successful since locating in Iowa. He en- 
 tered the employ of the railroad company without 
 any capital whatever, and has gradually worked 
 himself up to a good position. Besides this, by 
 careful management and economy, he has been 
 laying aside something for a rainy day, until he 
 is now in possession of considerable Waterloo 
 real estate, the rent of which adds materially to 
 his monthly income. Socially he affiliates with 
 Division No. 114, B. of L. E., and also the Blue 
 Lodge and Chapter of the Masonic fraternity at 
 Waterloo. 
 
 ROBBINS, engineer at Waterloo, 
 Iowa, began his railroad career April 
 L Q 6th, 1882, as a wiper in the Illinois 
 Central round house at Waterloo. 
 August 2gth, of the same year, he began as 
 fireman between Waterloo and Fort Dodge un- 
 der Engineer James McNeil, working there one 
 year, and then spent four years with Engineer 
 Martin. During the winter of 1886 and '87, he 
 went on a switch engine, and on August 
 20, 1889, he crossed the cab and has since had 
 charge of the levers. For a time he was in 
 charge of a switch engine,. then ran extra out of 
 Dubuque one winter, then seven weeks on the 
 Cherokee & Dakota, later on the line between 
 Waterloo and Fort Dodge, then spent the follow- 
 ing summer at the head of a construction train, 
 but since that time has been employed on a regu- 
 lar run, changing only in 1899 when he was trans- 
 ferred to a passenger run. 
 
 Mr. Robbins was born in Elmore, Vt, a son 
 of Truman and Betsey E. (Preston) Robbins, 
 both natives of Vermont and always made their 
 home in that state. The father died in 1864 and 
 the mother in 1875. Our ? abject came to Iowa 
 
 'ILLIAM J. HAVILAND, engineer 
 for the Illinois Cenral, has been 
 connected with the road since Oc- 
 tober 1890, when he began firing. 
 In 1896 he was promoted to engineer and since 
 that time has had charge of the engine. 
 
 He is the son of William Henry Havilancl, 
 formerly a farmer in Bremer county, Iowa, but 
 who is now deceased. Our subject is a native of 
 Rock county, Wisconsin, and was born February 
 23, 1868. The only railroad man in the family, 
 he came to Waterloo in 1890, and shortly after 
 secured a place in the operating department. 
 
 Mr. Havilancl married Miss Ella Barnard, 
 of Cherokee, Iowa, and they now reside at Fort 
 Dodge. For three months he worked on the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley branch of the Illinois 
 Central, and then returned to Iowa and has since 
 been running out of Fort Dodge. He is a mem- 
 ber of the B. of L. E. No. 226 and the B. of L. 
 !". Xo. 222, of Fort Dodge, also of Waukanzee 
 Lodge I. O. O. F. of Fort Dodge. He has a 
 beautiful home at 1325 Fourth avenue, south.
 
 EDWARD T. JEFFERY.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 151 
 
 COWARD TURNER JEFFERY, presi- 
 dent of the Denver & Rio Grande 
 Railroad Company, was born in Liver- 
 pool, England, on April 6, 1843. He 
 is a son of William S. and Jane (McMullen) 
 Jeffery, of English descent, although his father 
 was born at Greenock-on-the-Clyde, in Scotland, 
 and his mother at Downpatrick, in Ireland. 
 The senior Mr. Jeffery followed the sea, and 
 when not engaged in his nautical avocation, re- 
 sided in the cities of Liverpool, Portsmouth and 
 Woolwich, in the order named, until his death, 
 which occurred when Edward was six years of 
 age. In 1850 the family emigrated to America, 
 and settled first in Wheeling, West Virginia. 
 Here the following six years of Edward's boy- 
 hood were passed in minor occupations and in 
 gaining the rudiments of an education. He was 
 but thirteen when the family removed to Chica- 
 go, in 1856, and in September of that year he 
 entered the employ of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road Company, probably not dreaming of the 
 distinction that awaited him as the future super- 
 intendent and manager of that great corporation. 
 His ambition at that early day did not extend be- 
 yond reaping the rewards of faithful and honest 
 work in the humbler duties of his calling. He 
 entered the office of Samuel J. Hayes, superin- 
 tendent of machinery, where he was employed as 
 general errand and chore boy for about two 
 months, when he was put to work in the tin and 
 coppersmith shops, where he served three or four 
 months, and then entered the machine shops of 
 the company to learn the trade of a machinist. 
 He served in this latter capacity until July 5, 
 1858, when he was given a place by Mr. Hayes 
 in the department of mechanical drawing. From 
 this time, encouraged by the warm heart and 
 good counsel of Mr. Hayes, he developed the 
 ambition to fit himself for the complete mastery 
 of both the science and the art of mechanical 
 drawing and engineering. He entered upon a 
 course of systematic studies which he continued 
 for ten years, with such marked results that the 
 privilege was accorded him of alternating study 
 with his work as his duties permitted and he 
 might feel inclined. At the age of eighteen he 
 
 was on the rolls of the company as one of the 
 regular mechanical draughtsmen. At twenty 
 he was placed in full charge of the department 
 of mechanical drawing. It is worthy of notice 
 here that young Jeffery, at this early stage of 
 his career, had perceived and applied in his own 
 self-training the principle now advocated by the 
 most advanced educators, viz : that of combining 
 the labor of the hand and the brain, the work- 
 shop and the study in the attainment of an edu- 
 cation that shall meet the practical demands of 
 an industrial calling. In this Mr. Jeffery an- 
 ticipated most of our polytechnic and manual- 
 training schools by the force of his own original 
 mind. It does not appear that he took any sug- 
 gestions from any of these schools or their 
 founders. He continued his work and studies 
 with such profit that at the age of twenty-five 
 he was in possession of the entire range of 
 sciences adapted to the highest efficiency in his 
 occupation, and had also gained a wide breadth 
 of general culture. Few men can be found 
 whose talents or acquirements are more versa- 
 tile than his. At the time he was placed over the 
 department of mechanical drawing he was also 
 made private secretary to the superintendent of 
 machinery. At the age of twenty-eight he was 
 appointed assistant superintendent of machinery, 
 by John Newell, then president of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company. Mr. Newell was 
 thoroughly acquainted with Mr. Jeffery's capa- 
 bilities, and being a typical self-made railroad 
 man was not slow to open the way for promotion 
 to deserving and energetic employes. During 
 the six years of his service in this position, Mr. 
 Jeffery was one of the most active and efficient 
 officers of the road. His long experience com- 
 bined with his practical work and study, had not 
 only rendered him familiar with the mechanical 
 departments in all their branches and details, but 
 he had also acquired much knowledge of general 
 railroad operations and management. Accord- 
 ingly, in 1877, he was appointed to the office of 
 general superintendent of the entire Illinois Cen- 
 tral Railroad system. He held this responsible 
 position until January i, 1885, at which time he 
 was appointed general manager of all the de- 
 
 10
 
 152 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 partments of the rpad, a position which he held 
 till he resigned, in September 1889, for the pur- 
 pose of obtaining needed rest, after so long and 
 arduous service in the interests of the company. 
 While he may be called a self-made man in the 
 best sense of that phrase, yet the company was 
 liberal in the recognition of his genius and in' 
 affording him a fair opportunity for its develop- 
 ment. Thus from an office boy he rose by suc- 
 cessive stages to the management of a great cor- 
 poration, and every promotion he received was 
 fully earned by hard and faithful work, and was 
 conferred upon him unsolicited. In 1885, when 
 the international railway congress was held at' 
 Brussels, he was the representative in that body 
 of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, and 
 the only American delegate present. In his 
 younger days he was president for several years 
 of the Young Men's Literary Society, of Chi- 
 cago, an institution which did much to foster a 
 literary spirit among a large number of citizens, 
 and which carried on its roll of membership some 
 of the brightest young men of the city. He was 
 a frequent though anonymous writer in prose 
 and verse, and several of his poems were very 
 generally copied by the press of the country. 
 The following lines written and published by 
 him more than a quarter of a century ago have 
 been reprinted from time to time : 
 
 OUR DUTY. 
 
 The heart that is sad where a heart should be light, 
 
 Or false where a heart should be true, 
 Let us guide through the darkness obscuring the light, 
 And point to the future eternal and bright, 
 And teach it to dare and to do. 
 
 The soul that is darkened by passion and crime 
 
 Let us win from its idols of clay, 
 And lead to the heroes and sages sublime, 
 Whose names are inscribed on the records of time, 
 
 Unfading. Immortals are they! 
 
 Let us fight for the right, though the struggle be long, 
 
 With firm and unswerving desire. 
 Let us manfully battle oppression and wrong, 
 With hearts that are earnest and trusty and strong ; 
 
 With God and the truth to inspire. 
 
 Let Us dare to be noble men, nature's own pride, 
 
 And dare to be true to each other. 
 For the earth is a homestead so fruitful and wide, 
 We can live, we can love, we can toil side by side, 
 
 And each unto all be a brother. 
 
 Mr. Jeffery is a prominent member of the 
 American Railroad Master Mechanics' Associa- 
 tion, a member of the Chicago, Iroquois and 
 Calumet Clubs, being vice-president of the latter, 
 and belongs to the Masonic fraternity. Socially 
 as well as intellectually he is held in high repute. 
 In his political affiliations he is democratic, but 
 takes no active part in political affairs. The 
 three principal ideas which governed Mr. Jeffery 
 in his official railroad career were : First, to es- 
 tablish mutual confidence and kindly relations 
 between the corporation and its employes. Sec- 
 ond, to gain the respect of the general public, and 
 bring about a clearer and more intelligent com- 
 prehension of the relations between the people 
 and the carriers, and of their obligations to each 
 other. Third, to so conduct corporate affairs as 
 to secure and retain the confidence of investors 
 and the financial world. It is believed by those 
 who are qualified to judge, that he met with a 
 large measure of success in carrying out these 
 ideas. With the people and with working men, 
 Mr. Jeffery has always been in close fellowship, 
 and few men have been capable of exerting a 
 stronger influence over railway employes. One 
 instance may be cited. Soon after the strike oc- 
 curred on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
 road, in 1888, and a general tie-up on all the 
 roads of the country was threatened, he was re- 
 quested by a few conservative labor men to use 
 his influence with those who favored a general 
 strike, a large mass-meeting of whom were in 
 session in Turner Hall, on Twelfth street, ready 
 to take radical action in the matter of a general 
 suspension of work which would have been dis- 
 astrous to all the industrial, commercial and fi- 
 nancial interests of the country. Mr. Jeffery 
 met the excited multitude, gained their attention, 
 addressed them for over two hours, and by his 
 powerful and conciliatory arguments succeeded 
 in averting the impending disaster. For this
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 153 
 
 timely service he received public recognition and 
 many letters of congratulation and thanks from 
 the leading merchants and business men of the 
 country. As soon as it was known that he had 
 resigned his position in the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road Company, Mr. Jeffery was selected by the 
 mayor and leading citizens interested in pro- 
 moting the World's Columbian Expostion, to 
 visit the Exposition in Paris, study it and make a 
 report upon it, and at the same time to promote, 
 as far as practicable, the claims of Chicago as 
 the site of the Columbian Exposition. He went 
 to Paris and was entirely successful in his mis- 
 sion, remaining in that city a sufficient length of 
 time to gather and condense a vast amount of 
 invaluable information respecting the Paris Ex- 
 position, which he published in one of the ablest 
 and most concise reports ever prepared upon that 
 subject. This report furnished all the data 
 which have been so freely used by the directors 
 and officers of the Columbian Exposition. It 
 was published in London and has been translated 
 into the French and other European languages. 
 Mr. Jeffery declined to accept any compensation 
 for these and other services in connection with 
 the Exposition. Upon the organization of the 
 directory, Mr. Jeffery was chosen a member of 
 the board. He was strongly urged to accept at 
 a high salary, the position of director general, 
 but he refused the honor. He also declined to 
 have his name used as a candidate for the pres- 
 idency of the board of directors, to fill the va- 
 cancy caused by the resignation of Mr. Lyman 
 J. Gage. He was for a year and a half chairman 
 of the committee on grounds and buildings, and 
 was in every way efficient and influential in or- 
 ganizing and constructing the great interna- 
 tional exposition of 1892-3, giving his time and 
 energies to it without pay. Chicago is very 
 much indebted to his influence for securing the 
 location of the enterprise in this city. In Jan- 
 uary 1890, he was sent to Washington, and made 
 an unanswerable argument before the Senate of 
 the United States in behalf of Chicago as the 
 site for the Exposition. Mr. Jeffery is a close 
 student, a fluent writer, and a ready speaker. 
 He has delivered various addresses on transpor- 
 
 tation and other public questions before state 
 legislatures, municipal councils, boards of state 
 and inter-state railroad commissions and other 
 bodies, which rank among the best literature of 
 their class. For nearly a year and a half he was 
 connected with a new enterprise having in view 
 the construction of large locomotive works in 
 the city of Chicago. Many of the leading citi- 
 zens were associated with him in the undertaking 
 and he accepted the presidency of a company 
 which was organized for the purpose stated. It 
 was natural, however, that his inclinations and 
 the associations and habits of life formed 
 through thirty-three years of continuous railway 
 service would lead him to return to his old pro- 
 fession. Many lucrative offers were made to 
 him by railway companies after he retired from 
 the Illinois Central road, but all were declined 
 until October 1891, when he accepted his present 
 distinguished position as president of the Den- 
 ver & Rio Grande railway, with headquarters at 
 Denver, Colo., where he now resides. The cir- 
 cumstances under which this important change 
 in Mr. Jeffery 's affairs was made, were as fol- 
 lows: Having been solicited in September 1891, 
 to act as arbitrator in a controversy at Denver, 
 he, while there in that capacity, was proffered 
 by the directors of the Denver & Rio Grande, 
 the presidency of that road, and with such a 
 warmth and heartiness that he accepted it. 
 When this became known in Chicago, the press 
 of the city were unanimous in expressions of 
 sincere regret at the loss the community was to 
 sustain at the removal of so valuable and popu- 
 lar a man, though at the same time rejoicing at 
 his new and deserved honors. The following 
 editorial, which appeared in one of the leading 
 papers, is typical of the many that voiced the 
 public sentiment : 
 
 "The Denver & Rio Grande Railway Company is 
 to be congratulated on securing for the difficult office 
 of president and general manager, so able and amiable 
 a man as E. T. Jeffery. The city of Denver is happy 
 in the accession of a good citizen. But Chicago, though 
 extending its felicitations to the fortunate company, 
 and the no less fortunate city, can not let the occasion 
 pass without an expression of regret at the loss we 
 experience in Denver's gain. Mr. Jeffery has lived in
 
 154 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Chicago from boyhood. Here he made that wonderful 
 race from the workshop to the general superinten- 
 dency of a great railroad. In all stages of advance- 
 ment he has been found more than equal to the re- 
 sponsibilities of his position, and a loyal and patriotic 
 citizen. Mr. Jeffery's public spirit has best been illus- 
 trated by his services to the Columbian Fair. As a 
 member of the directors and especially as chairman 
 of the vastly important committee on grounds and 
 buildings, he has been alert, indefatigable, invaluable. 
 It is no disparagement to the other members of the 
 directory to say that Mr. Jeffery has led them all in 
 value of his services, bestowed freely and with no 
 other motive than an admirable public spirit. It will 
 not be easy to fill the place Mr. Jeffery will leave va- 
 cant, it will be harder still to efface the traces which his 
 master mind has left on the records of the fair." 
 
 Mr. Jeffery was married April 2, 1877, to 
 Miss Virgina O. Clarke, of Frederick, Mary- 
 land. They have two children : James Clarke 
 and Edna Turner, aged thirteen and eleven years 
 respectively. 
 
 Mr. Jeffery's career in the West has been a 
 marked success. The railway of which he is at 
 the head consists of 1,900 miles, located almost 
 wholly in the state of Colorado, reaching all the 
 principal mining, agricultural and commercial 
 points of the state. Deep canons, elevated 
 mountain passes, sharp curves and heavy grades 
 are the features of this remarkable railway. His 
 administration of its affairs for the past seven 
 years has been most wonderful in its results. 
 Out of the greatest business depressions, ag- 
 gravated by the unprecedented fall in the mar- 
 ket value of silver, of which metal that state is 
 so noted a producer, and amidst other disturb- 
 ances of trade and commerce that have occurred, 
 and surrounded by bankrupt railways, the Den- 
 ver & Rio Grande has emerged unscathed, with 
 a financial record stronger than at any time in 
 its history. Since he took up his residence in 
 Colorado, Mr. Jeffery has been a factor, and a 
 potent one, in all those affairs which go to pro- 
 mote the welfare of its citizens and its material 
 progress. He is a representative man in the 
 broadest sense of the term. His unprecedented 
 clear and right perception of things, and his in- 
 fluence for peace and harmony have been ex- 
 erted with good results in trying circumstances 
 
 affecting the welfare of her citizens, and particu- 
 larly between employers and employes he has 
 been instrumental in bringing about a better un- 
 derstanding between them, a higher regard for 
 the rights of each other, and confidence based 
 upon the mutuality of their interests. In all 
 movements for the good of the community he 
 has taken an active part since he has been in 
 Colorado, and his eloquence on many occasions 
 has encouraged public enterprise and aided 
 charity. 
 
 JP. REECE, conductor on the Amboy 
 division of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 Q road, first saw the light in Columbus 
 Junction, Iowa, July 28, 1866. He 
 is the son of William and Mary (Colton) Reece, 
 who died October I4th, 1899, an d Novmber I5th, 
 1892, respectively. He attended the schools 
 of Columbus Junction, and at the age of nineteen 
 went to Colorado and drove a team for about two 
 years. He then entered the service of the Denver 
 & South Park R. R. Co. as brakeman, remaining 
 in that position for three years, then served in 
 the same capacity with the Denver & Rio Grande 
 six months, the Colorado Central six months, 
 and with the B. C. R. & N. a short time, after 
 which he went to Rock Island and was employed 
 by the Chicago & Rock Island company as a 
 switchman about eight months, served the C. M. 
 & St. P. as yardmaster at VanHorn, Iowa, six 
 months, then returned to the B. C. R. & N. 
 where he remained about six months. On the 
 22nd of October, 1893, Mr. Reece moved to Am- 
 boy, and entered the service of the I. C. R. R. as 
 a brakeman, and in July 1895, was promoted to 
 conductor, which position he retains at the present 
 time, having removed in 1894 to Freeport where 
 he now resides. 
 
 Mr. Reece was married June i, 1892, to 
 Miss Jessie May Sissley, of Burlington, Iowa. 
 She was born in Walker, Iowa, August 28, 1871. 
 He is a member of the O. R. C.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 155 
 
 IDNEY D. BRISTOW is an engineer 
 in the freight service of the Illinois 
 Central, on the Cherokee division. He 
 entered the service of the company 
 October i, 1888, as fireman on a switch engine 
 in the yards at Cherokee, and was with many of 
 the old engineers on this division. Some years 
 after coming to the I. C. he was promoted to 
 engineer taking charge of a switch engine in the 
 Cherokee yards and serving there for two years. 
 He was then appointed to the regular run which 
 he now holds. During his service, he has never 
 had a member of his crew injured in any way, a 
 record of which he is justly proud. Mr. Bristow 
 was born at Ontario, Canada, June 9, 1867. His 
 father, Isaac Bristow, resides with him and has 
 charge of the store house for the I. C. Socially, 
 our subject is connected with B. of L. E. No. 226, 
 of Fort Dodge, and is also a member of B. of 
 L. F. and A. O. U. W. of Cherokee. 
 
 F. CAREY, passenger engineer, Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad, began in the 
 iO serv i ce f the company in 1865, in 
 the Dubuque offices, where he re- 
 mained for two years under J. T. Farley, and 
 also worked in the freight house about two years 
 under W. F- Blake. March 9, 1869, he was 
 placed in the Dubuque yards where he served 
 the company until 1874. At that time he went 
 on the road as fireman and in the fall of 1879 
 was licensed to handle the throttle and lever, run- 
 ning for sixteen months in the Dubuque yards 
 under T. W. Place, and later worked on different 
 branches of the system until 1885 when he was 
 given a run between Dubuque and Waterloo. 
 April q, 1898 he was promoted to passenger en- 
 gineer, and now runs between Dubuque and 
 Waterloo. 
 
 Mr. Carey married Mary F. Case, of Du- 
 buque, and to them have been born nine children, 
 six of whom are deceased. Those living are Jos- 
 eph, George and Laona. Mr. Carey is a native of 
 
 Vermont, while Mrs. Carey was born in Flint, 
 Michigan. Mr. Carey is a member of B. of L. 
 E. No. 114, K. of P. No. 89, A. O. U. W. No. 
 274, and the Foresters. He has been successful 
 in his railroad career, and is popular with his 
 employers and the patrons of the road. 
 
 I HARLES F. HILDRETH, former agent 
 of the Illinois Central Railroad at Free- 
 port, 111., is a native of the Green 
 Mountain state and was born in Ben- 
 nington county, October 15, 1861. His father, 
 Jerone D. Hildreth, who was engaged in the 
 manufacture of cotton goods, died in 1891, while 
 his mother, formerly Miss Eliza M. Turner, is 
 living at the age of sixty-nine years. 
 
 Our subject attended the public schools of 
 New England and Ontario, Canada, and after 
 two years in the Academy of Prattville, Ala., 
 at the age of fifteen, he began work in the cot- 
 ton factory at that place, of which his father was 
 superintendent, and later was employed in 
 the cotton mills at Cottondale, Alabama. When 
 eighteen years of age Mr. Hildreth studied tele- 
 graphy, and served the Chicago, Pekin & South- 
 western R. R. (now a part of the Santa Fe 
 system) as station agent at Groveland, 111., four 
 months and at Morton, 111., for sixteen months. 
 He then entered the employ of the I. C. R. R. 
 as night operator at Ackley, Iowa, remaining 
 there one month and at LeMars, Iowa, three 
 months. He was then made ticket agent and 
 served in that capacity at South Park, near Chi- 
 cago, for two months, Heyworth, two weeks, 
 Patoka, three and one-half years, and then took 
 charge of the ticket office at Decatur for the I. 
 C. R. R., the Illinois Midland (now Vandalia) 
 and the P. D. & E. for a period of nine months, 
 after which he acted as joint agent at El Paso 
 for the I. C. and T. P. & W. railroads a little 
 more than three years, then went to Pana where 
 he remained as I. C. freight agent about sixteen 
 months. In September 1891, Mr. Hildreth came
 
 156 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 to Freeport as freight agent for the I. C. R. R., 
 and in July 1892, severed his connection with the 
 railroad and is now in the real estate and insur- 
 ance husiness and is likewise interested in the 
 manufacture of paper boxes. 
 
 On the 28th of August, 1889, Mr. Hildreth 
 was united in marriage with Miss Nellie P. 
 McLafferty, of Hutchinson, Kansas, but whose 
 life till within a few months of her marriage was 
 spent at El Paso, 111. 
 
 Mrs. Hildreth received a liberal education at 
 the State Normal School at Normal, 111., and 
 taught school a number of years. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hildreth have no children. They are members 
 of the First Presbyterian church, and Mr. Hil- 
 dreth is a staunch Republican in politics. 
 
 
 OP. ESTEY, engineer at Waterloo, be- 
 gan firing for the Illinois Central 
 11 lAO company September 26, 1886. Pre- 
 vious to this, however, he had worked 
 in the Waterloo shops from April to September 
 of the same year before there was an opening for 
 him on the road. His first run was between 
 Waterloo and Fort Dodge, and the first engineer 
 under whom he served was A. C. DuBois. After 
 a service of ten months on a freight engine, Mr. 
 Estey was promoted to a passenger run and 
 served three years under L. Smith. August 17, 
 1890, he was set up to engineer, worked one year 
 in the yards at Waterloo, then on the main line, 
 running east, west and north out of Waterloo, 
 covering every portion of the Iowa division, un- 
 til 1897, and since then has had a regular run 
 between Waterloo and Fort Dodge. The record 
 f Mr. Estey's railroad career is not dotted 1>\ 
 a single accident. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is a son of Charles 
 and Sylvia (Peck) Estey, both of Vermont. In 
 1885 he went to Nebraska for the purpose of 
 visiting his sister a short time, but on his return 
 he stopped in Waterloo and was there married 
 
 in 1887 and has since made his home there. The 
 estimable lady of Mr. Estey's choice was known 
 in her girlhood as Miss Nellie Armbruster and 
 her native city is Galena, 111. This union has 
 been blessed by the presence of a son, Fred. 
 
 Mr. Estey is a member of the following fra- 
 ternities : Division No. 114 B. of L. E., Lodge 
 No. 274 A. O. U. W. and the Blue Lodge, No. 
 105, of the Masonic fraternity, all of Waterloo. 
 
 AVID L. CHEVALIER, a prominent 
 engineer, residing in Fort Dodge, be- 
 gan with the Illinois Central November 
 3, 1889, as fireman. He engaged in 
 firing seven years and on' November 1896, was 
 promoted to engineer, and since that time he has 
 had charge of an engine running between Sioux 
 City and Fort Dodge. 
 
 He is a native of Dubuque, Iowa, born De- 
 cember 23, 1867, a son of David L. Chevalier 
 who was one of the oldest engineers on the Illi- 
 nois Central and used to run a passenger engine 
 between Dubuque and Waterloo. He is now a 
 farmer and resides in South Dakota. 
 
 Our subject comes from an old and promi- 
 nent railroad family, two of his brothers being 
 in the service, one an engineer on the Chicago, 
 St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha railroad, living 
 in Sioux City, Iowa, and the other a fireman on 
 the Illinois Central. An uncle, H. L. Chevalier, 
 (see sketch elsewhere in this volume) is an en- 
 gineer on the Illinois Central ; another uncle, H. 
 Girard, deceased, was an engineer on the Illinois 
 Central for thirty-eight years ; and a cousin, A. 
 E. Girard, (see sketch on another page of this 
 work) is an engineer on the Freeport division of 
 the Illinois Central. Our subject has been in 
 several small wrecks but. never injured. He is 
 a member of Division No. 222, B. of L. F., Divi- 
 sion Xo. 226, B. of L. E. and the Royal Arca- 
 num, all of Fort Dodge. Mr. Chevalier married 
 Miss Dean Cronenberger, of Fort Dodge, and 
 they reside at No. 603, Third avenue, south.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 157 
 
 LE. ROPER, better known as "Lee," en- 
 gineer for the Illinois Central at Fort 
 Q Dodge, has been with the company 
 since 1887. He first worked with the 
 Iowa Telephone Co. for some time and then be- 
 gan as fireman for the Illinois Central and 
 worked in that position until 1895, when he was 
 promoted to engineer and began work in freight 
 service running between Fort Dodge and Sioux 
 City. Mr. Roper is a native of Fond du Lac, 
 Wisconsin, and is a son of Samuel E. Roper, who 
 was a railroad man and was yardmaster at Fort 
 Dodge for the Illinois Central for nineteen years, 
 at the end of which time he went to Eagle Grove, 
 Iowa, where he is now engaged in business. A 
 second son was "caller" on the Illinois Cen- 
 tral at Fort Dodge, where he died at the age of 
 nineteen years. 
 
 Our subject married Miss Mary Riffenberry, 
 of Fort Dodge, and they have become the pa- 
 rents of four children, Letha, Ionia, Antia and 
 Horatio. Since his marriage he has always lived 
 in Fort Dodge, and he now resides at 603 Sec- 
 ond avenue, where he now has a neat and com- 
 fortable home. 
 
 Mr. Roper is a member of the B. of L. E., 
 No. 226, of Fort Dodge. He has never been in 
 any wrecks, although he was injured once, caus- 
 ing him the loss of two weeks' time. He is well 
 and favorably known along the line. 
 
 HARLES L. SMITH, an engineer of 
 Fort Dodge, began with the Illinois 
 Central in 1889 as fireman, and worked 
 at that seven years, when he was then 
 promoted to engineer. He is a native of Fort 
 Dodge, Iowa, and a son of Loring W. and Caro- 
 line (Gardner) Smith. The father was a farmer 
 near Fort Dodge, where he died in 1891. Our 
 subject was educated in the common and high 
 schools of Fort Dodge, and then began railroad- 
 ing under H. M. Rhodes, engineer, and fired 
 
 for him until he was promoted. His engine at 
 present is No. 1511, and his run is from Fort 
 Dodge to Sioux City. Mr. Smith is a member of 
 the B. of L. E. No. 226, and also belongs to the 
 Royal Arcanum of Fort Dodge. 
 
 He resides at 1216 'Fifth avenue, south, 
 where he has recently built a neat cottage home. 
 
 JOHN DOHERTY, a retired passenger 
 conductor on the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road, at Dubuque, Iowa, began work on 
 this road as a clerk in the freight depot 
 at Cedar Falls under W. B. Boss. He was thus 
 engaged three years and a half from the spring 
 of 1 86 1, and then started as brakeman under S. 
 A. Wolcott, running west out of Dubuque, and 
 for about eight months ran to Cedar Falls. Af- 
 ter being promoted to the position of conductor, 
 he worked between Dubuque and Fort Dodge 
 about twelve years, running the first night pas- 
 senger train west of Dubuque, then worked be- 
 tween Dubuque and Lyle, and later returned to 
 the main line, making an aggregate of twenty- 
 seven years of service for the Illinois Central 
 Railroad. Mr. Doherty has left a splendid 
 record on the company's books, for he has never 
 met with serious accident, and an injury of any 
 kind has never been inflicted upon himself. 
 
 Mr. Doherty was born near Dublin, Ireland, 
 and at the age of eight years came to America 
 with his parents and located in Dubuque, Iowa. 
 One of his brothers, G. F. Doherty, was also a 
 conductor on the Illinois Central for several 
 years. In May 1869, our subject was united in 
 marriage to Miss Mary J. Redfern, of Bedford 
 county. Pa. Since retiring from the road Mr. 
 Doherty engaged in the wholesale liquor busi- 
 ness for two years in Dubuque, and since then has 
 been dealing quite extensively in western lands 
 and Dubuque real estate. He is well known in 
 Dubuque and portions of the West, and enjoys 
 the confidence and respect of all who know him.
 
 158 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 JOHN WILLIAM HANSON, yard fore- 
 man at Fort Dodge, has been in the em- 
 ploy of the company twenty-two years, 
 beginning in 1878 on the section as a 
 laborer. He worked at the same six months and 
 then was " wiper" in the round house at Fort 
 Dodge for two years, and for one year was en- 
 gaged in car repairing in the round house. He 
 then served as switchman in the yards at Fort 
 Dodge until 1885, when he was made yard fore- 
 man and has since continued in that position. 
 Mr. Hanson is a native of Christiania, Norway, 
 born September 14, 1854, a son of John Hanson, 
 who is a carpenter by trade and resides at Fergus 
 Falls, Minn. Our subject married Miss Bridget 
 Daily, who has borne him four children, Mary, 
 Eddie, now in the employ of he Illinois Central, 
 Georgia and Bernidetta. Mr. Hanson has been 
 in several wrecks and was twice injured, once 
 in jumping from the train and was also caught 
 in a "frog" and injured badly. He is a charter 
 member of the A. O. U. W. of Fort Dodge, and 
 a charter member also of the B. of R. T. of Fort 
 Dodge, Lodge No. 171. He now owns a nice 
 residence at No. 603 Fourth avenue, and is a 
 respected citizen and railroad man of Fort Dodge, 
 Iowa. 
 
 'ILLIAM Z. WRIGHT is one of the 
 old and respected employes of the 
 Illinois Central. He entered the 
 service of the company at Fort 
 Dodge, Iowa, on September 9, 1869, as fireman, 
 with Engineer Col. Thomas. He remained in 
 this position three years, and during the follow- 
 ing five years ran an engine between Waterloo 
 and Sioux City. He was then made foreman of 
 the round house where he served about ten years, 
 retiring to accept the position of train master at 
 Fort Dodge, where he spent the greater part of 
 1885. He then returned to his former position as 
 foreman of the engine house, but in 1887 was 
 transferred to Cherokee and given a regular run 
 in the passenger service between Cherokee and 
 
 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which he still holds. 
 Mr. Wright is a native of Willoughby, O., 
 where he was born June 7, 1850. He has an 
 amiable wife and an interesting family of three 
 daughters, viz : May, Bertha and Kittie. ,He 
 is quite prominent in railroad circles socially, 
 being a member of B. of L. E. No. 226, of Fort 
 Dodge, for twenty-five years, and for ten years 
 Chief of the lodge ; is also a member of Cherokee 
 Lodge No. 307, A. F. & A. M., and A. O. U. W. 
 No. 197. He resides in Cherokee, and there is 
 not a better known man all over the Iowa division 
 of the Illinois Central. 
 
 JOYCE, conductor at Waterloo, be- 
 gan his railroad career as a section 
 hand at Cedar Falls in 1880, and was 
 engaged in that line of work for two 
 years. Subsequently he had charge of the 
 freight and baggage rooms at the same city for 
 four years and then began as a brakeman between 
 Waterloo and Fort Dodge and served at different 
 times under the following conductors : Ed. Spear, 
 Henry Mullan, J. Keeler, and his brother, T. M. 
 Joyce. Mr. Joyce was a brakeman for twenty- 
 three months and in the fall of 1887, he was pro- 
 moted to the position of conductor and for sev- 
 eral years thereafter he ran trains out of Waterloo 
 both east and west on the main line and also north 
 on the branch. At present he is running a con- 
 struction train out of Waterloo. Mr. Joyce has 
 been very successful as a railroad employe, hav- 
 ing given his employers satisfaction from the very 
 start as is attested by the unusually short time it 
 required for him to attain the position of conduc- 
 tor. His entire career has also been without re- 
 ceiving the slightest injury. 
 
 Mr. Joyce was born in Forreston, 111., a son 
 of Michael and Margaret Joyce, both natives of 
 Ireland. The father, also was an employe of 
 the Illinois Central company, having served on 
 the section for thirty years. He was killed at 
 Waterloo, in the year 1869, but the mother is
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 161 
 
 still living and is making her home at Cedar Falls, 
 Iowa. Three of their sons, besides the one whose 
 name appears at the head of this article, are rail- 
 road employes : T. M. Joyce, a conductor on the 
 Illinois Central at Waterloo; J. Joyce, a passen- 
 ger conductor on the Sioux City & Northern 
 Railroad ; and P. F. Joyce, yardmaster at Fort 
 Dodge. Our subject was married at Fort Dodge, 
 in 1892, to Miss Ella Harrington, of that city 
 and their home has been made happy by the pres- 
 ence of three children whose names in the order 
 of their birth are Earl, John and Myrtle. Mr. 
 Joyce holds a membership in Lodge No. 67, O. R. 
 C. and also in Lodge No. 274, A. O. U. W. both 
 of Waterloo. 
 
 JAMES D. PLACE, the clerk of the oil 
 room at the shops and round house at 
 Waterloo, Iowa, ranks among the oldest 
 men in the employ of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad. He was born in the town of Acworth, 
 Sullivan county, N. H., his natal day being Aug. 
 17, 1830. He received a common school edu- 
 cation in his native county and was engaged 
 principally in farming until he began railroad- 
 ing at the early age of twenty years, and has 
 pursued that vocation almost continuously ever 
 since. His first experience was with the 
 Northern Railroad of New Hampshire, now a 
 part of the Boston & Maine System, in 1851, 
 serving as fireman on an engine named " Frank- 
 lin " under Engineer James Blaisedell, now de- 
 ceased, and later fired the engine "Blackwater" 
 under James Bachelder, also deceased. In those 
 days it did not tak so long to become an engineer 
 as it does now, and ten months after he entered 
 the service of the railroad, Mr. Place was given 
 charge of the " Shaker Engine." 
 
 After spending two and a half years with 
 the Northern Railroad of New Hampshire, Mr. 
 Place came west and began work for the Illinois 
 Central company, in August 1853, running en- 
 gine No. 9 on construction work from Chicago 
 
 to Kankakee before the bridge at the latter place 
 was built. November 6, 1853, he was trans- 
 ferred to Freeport. 111., with engine No. 13, and 
 at that time the track was not laid as far north as 
 Lena, neither was the road graded south of 
 Freeport, and only ten miles of track was laid 
 on the northern division. 
 
 January i, 1854, a train ran into Warren, 
 and in September, of the same year the first train 
 was run as far west as Scales Mound. October 
 3ist, the first regular train ran into Galena; 
 Rensselaer Smith was engineer of the engine, 
 No. 2, and Conductor William Thayer in charge 
 of the train ; and the first regular train out of 
 Galena to points farther east was one day later 
 drawn by engine No. 45, with the subject of 
 our sketch at the levers and Conductor O. B. Wy- 
 Tian in charge. Mr. Place also took the first pas- 
 senger train into Dunleith (now East Dubuque) 
 with engine No. 37, on the I2th day of June, 
 1855, with L. P. Pettibone, conductor, in charge 
 of the train. Even at this time there were but 
 two regular passenger trains running each way 
 out of Freeport. In the spring of 1856, Mr. 
 Place severed his connection with the Illinois 
 Central company and spent six months in the em- 
 ploy of the Chicago & Galena Union Rail- 
 road, and spent two months in Minnesota, 
 and then returned to the Central road and 
 for a time plied between Amboy and Dunleith. 
 In June 1857, he went south, but after spend- 
 ing a few months on the Memphis & Charleston 
 line, he returned to Amboy and for two years 
 did no railroad work. In 1859, however, he 
 secured a position on the Dubuque & Sioux City 
 Railroad, running between Dubuque and Cedar 
 Falls, and was thus employed until the summer 
 of 1862. 
 
 August 14, 1862, Mr. Place enlisted in com- 
 pany F, Seventy-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infan- 
 try, and served under Buell, Rosecrans, Sher- 
 man and lastly under " Pap " Thomas, partici- 
 pating in the following battles : Perryville, Stone 
 River, Chickamauga, Pine Mountain, Kennesaw 
 Mountain, New Hope Church, Atlanta, Look- 
 out Mountain. Missionary Ridge, Franklin, 
 Tenn., and several other minor engagements.
 
 162 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 He was mustered out at Nashville, June 12, 1865, 
 and was paid off in Chicago, June 3Oth, follow- 
 ing. 
 
 After the close of the war, Mr. Place re- 
 turned to the Illinois Central company and ap- 
 plied for a situation, and was given charge of an 
 engine on the Chicago division running between 
 Chicago and Champaign, but later was trans- 
 ferred to run between Centralia and Cairo. Dur- 
 ing this time he was caught in a collision at 
 Hanging Rock, two miles north of Makanda, 
 March 8, 1866, in which he lost his right leg 
 and was laid up for about a year. As soon as 
 he was able to resume his duties, he was given 
 charge of an engine to run between Chicago and 
 Kankakee, 111., for a short time, and then went 
 to Iowa and took charge of an engine running 
 between Waterloo and Mona until January 7, 
 1894. During this year Mr. Place retired from 
 the road after an engine service of over forty 
 years, and was placed in charge of the oil room 
 at the shops and round house at Waterloo, the 
 position he still holds. Socially he affiliates 
 with Division No. 114, B. of L. E., of Waterloo, 
 and Robert Anderson Post No. 68, G. A. R. 
 
 
 ANIEL J. REARDON, conductor on 
 the Illinois Central, Freeport division, 
 is a native of Freeport, where he was 
 born August 20, 1871. His parents. 
 Jerry and Mary (Flanagan) Reardon, are resi- 
 dents of Freeport, of which place his father is 
 now city treasurer. 
 
 Our subject was a student in St. Mary's 
 parochial school until March 1885, when he en- 
 tered the U. S. mail service at Freeport and re- 
 mained in that position for three years ; served as 
 clerk for a period of eight months in the German 
 Insurance office; then acted as time keeper in 
 the office of E. O. Dana, master mechanic of the 
 I. C. R. R., eight months. At this time he en- 
 tered the service of the C. M. & St. P. R. R. as 
 brakeman, and after two years experience began 
 
 work for the I. C. R. R. in the same capacity, 
 where he remained until September 1899, when 
 his faithful service was rewarded by promotion 
 to conductor, which position he now holds. 
 
 June 23, 1897, Mr. Reardon was married to 
 Miss Sarah Wolf, of Freeport, who was born in 
 Lena, October 27, 1875. This union has been 
 blest with one son, Martin, born June 18, 1899. 
 Mr. Reardon is Catholic in his religious views, 
 is a Democrat in politics, and is socially connected 
 with the B. of R. T. 
 
 G. FLANAGAN, train despatcher 
 for the Illinois Central Railroad, 
 L Q Freeport, 111., was born in Freeport, 
 November 10, 1865. His father, 
 James Flanagan, was born in County Limerick, 
 Ireland, in 1812, and while in his native country, 
 worked on a farm. He was married Feb. 20, 
 1844, to Honora Hayes, also a native of Ireland, 
 and born April 24, 1824. He came with his 
 family to America, landing at New York July 4, 
 1851, and located in Binghamton, N. Y., where 
 he worked for his brother-in-law, Martin Hayes, 
 who was supervisor on the Erie railroad. In 
 1857 he moved to Freeport and entered the ser- 
 vice of the I. C. R. R. as section foreman, and re- 
 mained in that position until he resigned in 1885. 
 He died December 28, 1891, his wife having pre- 
 ceded him January 6, 1889. James Flanagan, 
 by his industry and thrift, had acquired consider- 
 able property. He bought eight lots in Freeport, 
 and erected the house on the corner of Float and 
 Winnesheik streets, where our subject was born, 
 and subsequently built the fine brick house in 
 which subject now resides. 
 
 M. (1. Flanagan attended the public schools 
 of Freeport, and in 1881 entered the employ of 
 the C. M. & St. P. R. R. as an operator which 
 position he retained for about four years, and 
 also served as train despatcher at Racine, Wis- 
 consin, and Aberdeen, S. Dakota, for three and 
 one-half years. He left the C. M. & St. P. R. R.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 163 
 
 and came to Freeport, securing a position with 
 the I. C. R. R. as telegraph operator and extra 
 despatches In 1891 he was appointed train de- 
 spatcher which position he still retains. On the 
 231x1 of November, 1892, Mr. Flanagan was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary Scanlan, of Freeport. She 
 was horn December 24, 1866, and died December 
 25, 1893, .leaving twins, Mary and Margaret, 
 horn December 12, 1893. Mr. Flanagan is a 
 Catholic, and a member of the Catholic Order of 
 Foresters. He also belongs to the M. W. A., 
 is a member of the Train Despatchers' Associa- 
 tion of America, and is a Democrat in politics. 
 
 T. GREGORY, freight engineer on 
 Illinois Central Railroad, at Water- 
 loo, Iowa, entered the service of the 
 I. C. R. R. at Waterloo, December 
 1884, as fireman on the main line, making his 
 first trip with Engineer Bruce. He then fired a 
 short time for J. Griffin between Waterloo and 
 Sioux City, two years for J. D. Place on passen- 
 ger engine between Waterloo and Lyle, and later 
 for other engineers, and was then promoted to 
 engineer July 1888, having previously run a 
 switch engine for about eight months. His first 
 work as engineer was in the Waterloo, Cherokee 
 and Dubuque yards. In 1889 he ran between 
 Centralia and Cairo from May to September, 
 then returned to Waterloo and ran in the con- 
 struction service on the Cherokee division for a 
 short time, and after running extra on the Iowa 
 lines was given his present run from Waterloo to 
 Ft. Dodge in 1895. 
 
 Mr. Gregory was born in Pittsford, N. Y., 
 of which state his parents, Daniel and Emily 
 (Tefft) Gregory, were natives. Mr. Gregory 
 married Miss Jennie White, of Manchester, la., 
 and has one son, Lorenzo E. \Yhile firing, in 
 the spring of 1885, Mr. Gregory had a very nar- 
 row e?cape from death. The engine was struck 
 at Lizzard Tank by a double header train, and he 
 was knocked off the water tank, caught under the 
 train, and dragged for some distance, which laid 
 
 him up for about two months. Since handling 
 the throttle he has been so fortunate as to escape 
 further accidents. He is a member of the B. of 
 L. E., Division No. 114, and the Masonic Lodge 
 No. 105, both of Waterloo. 
 
 J. FAIRBURN, passenger engineer 
 at Waterloo, Iowa, began his railroad 
 career at Fort Dodge, Iowa, August 
 24, 1880, in the capacity of fireman 
 for the Illinois Central company. After spend- 
 ing eight months at Fort Dodge, Mr. Fairburn 
 worked on the main line as an extra for some 
 time. His first regular run was under L. Smith 
 on Engine No. 150, running on the " West 
 End," where he was employed for about a year 
 and then worked on a passenger engine with 
 Henry Colburn between Waterloo and Sioux 
 City for a time. Subsequently he served as 
 hostler at Fort Dodge for two winters, and then 
 fired for C. W. Baldwin on the "West End" on 
 a passenger engine two years. December 18, 
 1885, Mr. Fairburn was set up to engineer, 
 worked in the yards at Waterloo for a short time, 
 and then on the main line as an extra, running 
 over all parts of the Iowa division until it was 
 divisioned off. His sphere was then limited to 
 that portion of the line that lies between Water- 
 loo and Fort Dodge, and in 1898 he was pro- 
 moted to his present position on the right side of 
 a passenger engine running on the same division. 
 Throughout his entire career as a railroad em- 
 ploye, Mr. Fairburn has not met with serious ac- 
 cident. 
 
 Mr. Fairburn was born sixteen miles north 
 of the city in which he now makes his home, the 
 son of Robert and Elizabeth (Churchill) Fair- 
 burn, the former a native of England and the lat- 
 ter of Michigan. The father was a carpenter 
 by occupation and worked for the Illinois Central 
 company for twenty-three years, repairing de- 
 pots, etc., along the entire line. Our subject 
 was married in 1882, at Jancsville, Iowa, to Miss
 
 164 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Fannie Loveland. In the social circles of Water- 
 loo, he affiliates with Division No. 114, B. of L. 
 F., Blue Lodge No. 105, A. F. & A. M., and 
 Rowland Lodge No. 274, A. O. U. W. 
 
 Mr. Fairburn has always been a hard work- 
 ing man, is thorough and systematic in his work, 
 and has been very successful in life. He is 
 known as a man whose moral character is above 
 reproach, and he commands the respect and es- 
 teem of all who have the pleasure of his acquain- 
 tance 
 
 ICHARD WILLIAM ORMSBY, pas- 
 senger engineer on the Illinois Cen- 
 tral Railroad, Freeport division, one 
 of the old reliable engineers, entered 
 the service of. the company as a machinist in the 
 Weldon shops, in Chicago, in 1871, remaining 
 in that position until May 1874, when he began 
 firing on the Chicago division, but after one year 
 in that position he returned to the shops and fol- 
 lowed his trade for two years. He then began 
 firing again, and in August 1878 was promoted 
 to engineer and ran on the Chicago division until 
 September 1887, since which time he has been on 
 the Freeport division. 
 
 Mr. Ormsby is a Canadian by birth, and was 
 the first white child born in Collingwood, Ontario, 
 where he first saw the light May 3, 1854. His 
 father, Richard Ormsby, a carpenter and con- 
 tractor by occupation, was born in Belfast, Ire- 
 land. In early life he came to America and lo- 
 cated in Meaford, Ontario, but later removed 
 to North Platte, Nebraska, where he died in Feb- 
 ruary 1869. His wife, who was Hannah J. 
 Vail, was born in Owen Sound, Ontario, in No- 
 vember 1822, and is now living at Orfordville, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Our subject, who early developed mechanical 
 genius, when but thirteen years of age began run- 
 ning a small stationary engine at Meaford, On- 
 tario, but after eighteen months service, he moved 
 with his parents in October 1868 to North Platte, 
 
 where he went to work for the U. P. R. R. as 
 an apprentice in the North Platte shops, and re- 
 mained until April 1870, when he came to Chi- 
 cago and svas employed by H. Petrie & Son, man- 
 ufacturers of stationary engines, with whom he 
 remained until October 9, 1871, when the plant 
 was destroyed by the great fire, in which the fam- 
 ily lost all their household and personal effects. 
 It was at this time that Mr. Ormsby entered the 
 service of the I. C. R. R. as before stated. 
 
 On the 25th of November, 1875, Mr. Ormsby 
 was married to Miss Margaret E. Kenney, of 
 Chicago, who was born January 15, 1854. Their 
 union has been blest with six children : Kath- 
 erine, born November 15, 1876, was educated at 
 the Hanen and Coleman school, of Chicago, and 
 is now bookkeeper for the American Wall Paper 
 Co. of that city; William J., born January 17, 
 1879, is a machinist's apprentice at the Burnsicle 
 shops, Chicago; Nellie, born August 1884, is at- 
 tending the Hyde Park high school in Chicago ; 
 May E., born October 18, 1886, is attending the 
 Madison Ave. school, Chicago; Richard, born 
 June 25, 1889; Irene, born Nov. 28, 1894. Mr 
 Ormsby is one of the charter members of World's 
 Fair Lodge No. 382, K. P., and also belongs to 
 the B. of L. E. in which he is at present chairman 
 of the Grievance Committee, Division 27, and 
 was formerly Chief of Division No. 10 for two 
 years. He is a Protestant in religion, and a Re- 
 publican in politics. 
 
 O. FERN, an engineer on the Omaha 
 division, began working for the Illi- 
 n i s Central company at Waterloo, 
 Iowa, December 24, 1887, as a fire- 
 man on the main line. He served two months 
 under J. M. DuBois and later under different 
 men. He worked on the Cedar Rapids branch 
 for eleven months and for three years he fired 
 for T. W. Place between Waterloo and Dubuque. 
 In the fall of 1895 Mr. Fern was given charge 
 of a freight engine, worked in the Waterloo
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 165 
 
 yards for a short time and also in the yards at 
 Dubuque, and since then has made his home in 
 Waterloo, serving as an extra, running east, west 
 and north. 
 
 Mr. Eern was born in Dubuque, Iowa, a 
 son of John and Elizabeth S. Fern, both of Eng- 
 land. The parents emigrated from the land of 
 their nativity to America in an early day and lo- 
 cated in Dubuque where the father worked in 
 a smelter. They are the parents of three sons 
 besides the subject of this sketch, who are em- 
 ployes of the Illinois Central Railroad : Frank, 
 an engineer on the Cedar Rapids branch ; Rob- 
 ert, an engineer at Waterloo, and Leo E., a brake- 
 man at Waterloo. 
 
 Mr. C. O. Fern, the gentleman whose name 
 appears at the head of this article, made his home 
 with his parents at Dubuque until 1887, when he 
 entered the employ of the railroad company and 
 located in Waterloo. About two years after he 
 was united in marriage to Miss Cora Banton, of 
 Farley, Iowa. In social circles Mr. Fern is iden- 
 tified with Cedar Valley Division No. 30, B. of 
 L. F., of Waterloo, and also the A. O. U. W., 
 No. 274, of Waterloo. Our subject is very suc- 
 cessful as a railroad man, commanding alike the 
 esteem and confidence of his employers and fel- 
 low workmen, and throughout his entire career 
 has never been injured in any way. 
 
 O. MILLER, conductor at Waterloo, 
 Iowa, began his railroad career with 
 Q the Illinois Central company at Fort 
 Dodge, in September 1881, where he 
 worked three months in the freight house before 
 he went on the line. In August 1882, he secured 
 a position as brakeman between Waterloo and 
 Fort Dodge on a passenger train under the con- 
 trol of Conductor B. Merrill, worked one week 
 and then made one trip on a freight train under 
 W. N. Barr. He then broke on a freight run 
 from Waterloo to Charles City as extra, and then 
 
 broke for three months under G. R. Turner on a 
 mixed train between Waterloo and Lyle. Mr. 
 Miller was then appointed baggageman on the 
 mixed train between Waterloo and Lyle, under 
 Ed. Parker, and retained that position about a 
 year and eight months. He then returned to the 
 Waterloo and Dubuque division and broke for 
 different conductors until 1886, when he received 
 his promotion to the office of freight conductor. 
 Mr. Miller's first experience in charge of a train 
 was between Waterloo and Dubuque. Then, after 
 running extras for about a year he was given a 
 regular crew between Waterloo and Dubuque. 
 Again he was placed in charge of extra trains, 
 both freight and passenger, and his work took him 
 over all of the Dubuque division, but for the past 
 two years, his run has been from Dubuque to Ft. 
 Dodge. 
 
 Mr. Miller was born in Ingersoll, Canada, 
 in the year 1857, a son of William H. and Helen 
 (Ervine) Miller, the latter a native of Scotland 
 and the former of German descent. They came 
 west in 1864 to Michigan, thirty miles north of 
 Detroit, made that their home for two years and 
 a half, and then moved to Buchanan county. 
 Iowa, near Independence, on a farm. Our sub- 
 ject made his home with his parents until he at- 
 tained his majority. He worked for a time in 
 the hospital at Independence, and afterward at- 
 tended the commercial college at Keokuk until 
 he secured a situation with the Illinois Central 
 Railroad company and located in Waterloo. In 
 September 1882, he was united in marriage at 
 Independence, to Miss Annie E. Williamson, and 
 three children have been born to them : George 
 Ervine, John Paul and Regina A. Socially Mr. 
 Miller affiliates with the Division No. 67, of 
 Waterloo; Waterloo Lodge No. 105 of the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity ; and also the A. O. U. W. Lodge 
 No. 274 of Waterloo. He has a good education, 
 is pleasant to meet and is held in high esteem by 
 all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. 
 In his railroad career, Mr. Miller has been very 
 successful, performing his duties to the satisfac- 
 tion of his employers and has never been injured 
 in any way.
 
 166 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COM PA XV 
 
 JF. VAN RENSSELAER was born at 
 Xew Brunswick, New Jersey, August 
 Q 1 8, 1875. He is of old Holland stock, 
 his ancestors having settled in the val- 
 ley .of the Hudson in 1640 and the names of their 
 descendents make a large family tree". Mr. 
 Van Rensselaer entered the railroad service in 
 May 1890, when but fifteen years of age, secur- 
 ing a place with the Fort Worth & Rio Grande 
 R. R. in Texas, in the accounting department, 
 in which he continued until May, 1893. On that 
 date he secured a position as chief clerk in the 
 offices of the joint car association of Fort Worth 
 Railways, where he was employed until June 20, 
 1896, when he was appointed general clerk in 
 the office of the second vice president of the Illi- 
 nois Central at Chicago, serving in that capaci- 
 ty until November 2, 1898. Transferred to 
 Evansville, Indiana, he was appointed chief clerk 
 to the assistant superintendent at that point serv- 
 ing until March 14, 1900, when he was appointed 
 traveling freight and passenger agent for the line 
 with headquarters at Denver. It is a position of 
 greater responsibility than is usually entrusted to 
 one of his age. but Mr. Van Rensselaer has in 
 past positions proven himself worthy of trust im- 
 posed in him by the management of the Illinois 
 Central sstem. 
 
 'ILLIAM F. HALL, one of the old- 
 est engineers employed by the Ill- 
 inois Central company, began work 
 for this company March 4, 1870, 
 in the shops at Dubuque, Iowa. He was born 
 in Danville, Canada, June 27, 1840, and is a son 
 of Enoch Hall, who was a native of Massachu- 
 setts. He was a lumberman and farmer through 
 life, coming to Canada and later to Wisconsin, 
 where he died. Our subject's first railroad work 
 was on the Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien Rail- 
 road, where he worked as engineer from 1862 
 to 1870. He then began on the Illinois Central 
 and for the past twenty-seven years has occupied 
 the right side of the cab, now having a passenger 
 
 run between Fort Dodge and Sioux City, Iowa, 
 and makes three trips a week. He has been in 
 several wrecks, but no one was ever seriously 
 injured. 
 
 William F. Hall married Miss Carrie Bron- 
 son, of New York state, -and they have become 
 the parents of eight children, two of whom are 
 deceased. Those living are as follows : Edward 
 M., who is a painter , of Fort Dodge ; Ida May ; 
 William F. Jr., is in the employ of the Chicago, 
 St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad at 
 Sioux City, Iowa ; Charles B. is general secretary 
 of the Y. M. C. A. at Sioux City; Fred A. is tel- 
 egraph operator for the Western Union at Fort 
 Dodge, Iowa, and Bessie. Those deceased are 
 William and Harry J. The family has a pleas- 
 ant home at No. 313 S. Seventh street, Fort 
 Dodge. 
 
 Socially Mr. Hall is a member of Division 
 No. 226, B. of L. E., and also of Blue Lodge No. 
 in, A. F. & A. M., both of Fort Dodge. He 
 is justly numbered among the prominent and 
 representative engineers on the Illinois Central 
 Railroad. 
 
 LEWIS C. FOOTE, passenger engineer 
 at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, began his rail- 
 road career on the Southern Minnesota 
 Railroad, running out of La Crosse, 
 Wis., beginning in the year 1865. He worked 
 for a time as fireman and later as engineer on 
 this line, and subsequently moved to Chicago and 
 served the Chicago & Eastern Illinois company 
 in the capacity of engineer. In March 1873, he 
 moved to Dubuque, Iowa, and the Illinois Central 
 company placed him at the head of one of their 
 freight trains between that city and Waterloo, 
 and retained him in that position for fifteen years. 
 At that time Mr. Foote was promoted to the 
 passenger service and for the following ten years 
 he held a position at the head of the "Clipper." 
 In April 1898, he was transferred to the Cedar 
 Rapids branch, where he has since been employed 
 in the passenger service.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 167 
 
 Mr. Foote was born at Brookfield, Fairfield 
 count}-, Conn., and moved from thence to the 
 west in 1865. In 1869 he was married in La 
 Crosse, Wis., to Miss Genevieve Foster, of 
 Hokah, Minn., and two children have been born 
 to them, namely : Eugene, a switchman at 
 Cedar Rapids, and Edna, who is still making her 
 home with her parents. Socially Mr. Foote 
 affiliates with the following secret fraternities : 
 Division No. 114, B. of L. E., of Waterloo; he 
 first joined this fraternity in Minnesota but later 
 had his membership transferred to Waterloo. 
 Also a member of Rowland Lodge No. 274, A. 
 O. U. W., Blue Lodge No. 105 of the Masonic 
 fraternity, and the Tabernacle No. 125. Mr. 
 Foote has been on the road for a great many 
 years, and with the exception of a few years at 
 the beginning of his career, he has had the lever 
 and throttle in his own hands, yet his record is 
 almost entirely free from wrecks, he having never 
 received the slightest injury. 
 
 
 T7 OHN L. WOLFE, conductor on the Am- 
 boy division of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road, was born December 8, 1863, in 
 Mishawaka, Indiana, whence the fam- 
 ily removed to Freeport in 1865, and thence to 
 Lena in 1868, but later returned to Freeport, 
 where the parents, John and Theresa Wolfe, now 
 reside, the former engaged in the cooper's trade. 
 John L. Wolfe attended the public schools of 
 Lena, but at an early age learned his father's 
 trade and worked at the bench for eight years. 
 In 1883 he entered the service of the I. C. R. R. 
 as brakeman on the Amboy division, but after a 
 few months' service returned to his trade which 
 he followed until the fall of 1885, when he re- 
 entered the employ of the railroad. In the fall 
 of 1886 he was promoted to the position of con- 
 ductor, and September 1898 was made an extra 
 passenger conductor, and the following August 
 was given a regular passenger run on the Amboy 
 division, where he is still engaged in the faithful 
 
 discharge of his duties. Mr. Wolfe was married, 
 January n, 1888, to Miss Florence New, of Du- 
 buque, Iowa, formerly of Galena, 111., where she 
 was born November 15, 1864, and where she re- 
 ceived her education in the public schools of that 
 city. To Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe have been born 
 two children; Mary T., born October 29, 1888, 
 and Cecelia O., born November 29, 1897. Mr. 
 Wolfe belongs to the O. R. C., is a member of 
 the Catholic church, and is independent in his 
 political views. 
 
 ARTIN HILL, conductor on the Am- 
 boy division of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, was born in Prophetstown, 
 111., October 22, 1876. His father, 
 George Hill, is foreman of the bridge building 
 department of the I. C. R. R., at Chicago, and 
 his mother, Ella May (Gould), is a relative of 
 Jay Gould the great financier of New York. 
 
 Martin Hill was educated at the public 
 schools of LaSalle, graduating from the high 
 school in 1891, after which he attended the State 
 Normal at Normal, 111., for two terms. In 1892 
 he began working for the Illinois Zinc Co., at 
 Peru, 111., where he remained about one year. 
 At this time the family removed to Chicago and 
 Martin was employed in bridge work on the I. 
 C. R. R. under his father, a little more than a 
 year. In 1894 he went to Kansas City, Mo., 
 and after visiting a large number of the western 
 cities, he returned to Chicago, again entering the 
 bridge building department of the I. C. R. R. 
 January 7, 1897, he began braking on the Amboy 
 division, and was promoted to conductor August 
 12, 1899. 
 
 On the 6th of August, 1897, Mr. Hill was 
 united in marriage with Miss Bertha Gainer, of 
 Lake Zurich, 111., where she was born November 
 5, 1876. To them has been born one child, 
 Walter E., born June 22, 1898. Mr. Hill is a 
 Protestant in religious faith. He is a member 
 of the B. of R. T. No. 115, and is independent 
 in politics.
 
 168 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 JR. (iRIFFIN, an engineer running out 
 of Waterloo, Iowa, began his railroad 
 Q career with the Illinois Central com- 
 pany August 30, 1879, as a fireman un- 
 der D. R. Gould on a freight run between Water- 
 loo and Dubuque. He was set up ta engineer 
 September 14, 1882, beginning work in this ca- 
 pacity in the yards at Dubuque where he was re- 
 tained until January, 1883. He was then given 
 a freight run between Waterloo and Sioux City 
 until 1887, when he was transferred to the Water- 
 loo and Dubuque division, and February 27, 1899, 
 was promoted to his present position as passen- 
 ger engineer on the same division. 
 
 Mr. Griffin was born in Saxeville township, 
 Waushara county, Wisconsin, where his father, 
 John Griffin was engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
 In 1896, our subject was united in marriage to 
 Miss Dora Whitney of Waterloo. Socially he 
 affiliates with the Division No. 114, B. of L. E. 
 at Waterloo, A. O. U. W. No. 274, of Waterloo, 
 and the Elks, No. 290, also of Waterloo. Mr. 
 Griffin has been quite successful in his railroad 
 career, has never met with serious accident and 
 from his salary has built for himself and his com- 
 panion a very comfortable home at 221 High 
 street, which was completed in 1891. 
 
 New York City. In 1872 he entered upon his 
 railroad career as assistant ticket agent in the 
 office of the Michigan Central R. R. at Chicago, 
 remaining there three years, when he gave up 
 office work and accepted a position as locomotive 
 fireman, which he retained for one year and ten 
 months, and was then promoted to engineer. Af- 
 ter nine years in that capacity, Mr. Griffith left 
 the service of the company to engage in a simi- 
 lar position with the C. B. &. N. R. R., where he 
 remained two years and three months, and then 
 left voluntarily to enter the service of the I. C. 
 R. R. , Jan. n, 1888, as engineer, where he has 
 served continuously ever since, and is now run- 
 ning the Sioux City Express between Chicago 
 and Dubuque. 
 
 On the igth of August, 1874, Mr. Griffith 
 was married to Miss Mariette E. Markham, of 
 Michigan City, Ind., She was born in Monroe, 
 Michigan, April 19, 1856. Mr. and Mrs. Griffith 
 have two promising children : Edmund L., born 
 November 12, 1878, is attending the dental de- 
 partment of the Northwestern University at 
 Chicago, and will graduate in 1902; Nellie M., 
 born December 9, 1882, is a member of the Free- 
 port high school class of 1901. Mr. Griffith is 
 connected with the Masonic fraternity, Blue 
 Lodge, the Royal Arcanum, and the B. of L. E. 
 He is a Protestant in religion and politically is 
 a member of the Republican party. 
 
 M. GRIFFITH, engineer on the 
 Illinois Central Railroad, Freeport 
 division, was born in St. Joseph, 
 Michigan, February 9, 1855. His 
 father, Edmund L. Griffith, who was engaged 
 in merchandising,- died when our subject was 
 but a child, and the mother, Hannah C. (Stinson) 
 died May 29, 1899. 
 
 R. M. Griffith attended the public schools of 
 Niles, Michigan, and the Preparatory Depart- 
 ment also of Albion College. He began his busi- 
 ness life while still a lad as clerk in a grocery 
 store, where he remained one year, and spent 
 one year in the office of a banker and broker in 
 
 W. BOSTON, engineer running out 
 of Waterloo, began his railroad 
 O career August 28, 1887, in the capa- 
 city of fireman on a switch engine in 
 the Illinois Central yards at the city in which 
 he makes his home. About a month later he 
 was given a freight run between Waterloo and 
 Dubuque under J. F. Mulkern, which he retained 
 for four years. He then worked about five 
 months on the left side of a passenger engine 
 under Engineer L. Smith, and in March 1893,
 
 JAMES W. LUTTRELL.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 171 
 
 was set up to engineer. The following five 
 months were spent in the yards at Dubuque, but 
 he has since been in Waterloo, running east, west 
 and north out of that city, and has run on every 
 portion of the Iowa division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral railroad. 
 
 Mr. Boston was born in Waterloo, Iowa, 
 the only child of J. C. and Sarah (Collins) Bos- 
 ton, the former a native of Bangor, Me., and the 
 latter of Brentonwood, N. H. The parents moved 
 to Iowa in 1854, and settled on a farm four and 
 a half miles west of Waterloo, and made that 
 their home until 1875. In 1876 they moved to 
 Indian Territory, where the father is engaged in 
 the fruit business. Mr. Boston was married in 
 Waterloo in 1883, to Miss Ellen Coyne, also a 
 native of that city, and they have become the pa- 
 rents of a family of three children, Sadie, Mabel, 
 and Lewellyn. In the social circles of Waterloo, 
 Mr. Boston is identified with the Cedar Valley 
 Lodge No. 30, B. of L. F., Blackhawk Lodge 
 No. 72, I. O. O. F., and Lodge No. 274 A. O. 
 U. W. The record of his railroad career is not 
 dotted with a single accident. 
 
 JAMES W. LUTTRELL, master mechanic 
 at the Burnside shops, Chicago, began 
 railroad work as an apprentice machinist 
 in the shops of the Norfolk & Western 
 Railroad at Lynchburg, Va., in 1868, and served 
 two years. Immediately upon completing his 
 apprenticeship he secured a position on the road 
 as fireman, and in 1871 he became engineer and 
 served in that capacity on that road fourteen 
 months. From there he went to Denison, Ohio, 
 and worked for the Pan Handle company a short 
 time in the shops at that place. Subsequently 
 Mr. Luttrell worked as engineer for the St. 
 Louis & Southeastern Railroad company eight 
 months, and in the same capacity for the Eliza- 
 bethtown & Paducah Railroad three years, then 
 three years as engineer for the Louisville & 
 Nahville, then for a time a general foreman of 
 that company's shops at Pensacola Junction, and 
 
 31 
 
 September i, 1881, he became master mechanic 
 of the Louisville, Cincinnati & Lexington divi- 
 sion of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. 
 September i, 1886, he resigned his position for 
 the position of superintendent of machinery of 
 the western division of the Newport News & 
 Mississippi Valley Railroad, and October 10, 
 1891, resigned the latter for the position of mas- 
 ter mechanic of the Mississippi division of the 
 Illinois Central Railroad at Water Valley, Miss. 
 He remained at this place fourteen months and 
 was then transferred to Chicago, January i, 
 1893, and was placed in charge of the machinery 
 in the capacity of master mechanic at that place, 
 January i, 1896, the Chicago shops were re- 
 moved to Burnside, and since that date Mr. Lutt- 
 rell has had charge of the locomotive and car 
 department. 
 
 Mr. Luttrell was born in Washington Co., 
 Virginia. He was married in Hardin county, 
 Ky., to Miss Susan Lucretia Allen. To this 
 union was born one child, Lewis Mattison, who 
 died at the age of fourteen months. 
 
 Mr. Luttrell is a Mason of high degree and 
 holds membership in the following lodges : Pres- 
 ton Lodge No. 281, King Solomon Chapter No. 
 1 8, Louisville Council No. 6, DeMolay Comman- 
 dry No. 12, Grand Consistory of Kentucky, 
 Thirty-second Degree, all of Louisville, Ky., and 
 also the the Medina Temple, Mystic Shrine, of 
 Chicago. Mr. Luttrell's father, John M. Lutt- 
 rell, was an employe of the Norfolk & Western 
 Railroad prior to the Civil war. On the out- 
 break of hostilities, he enlisted in the Thirty- 
 seventh Virginia Infantry under " Stonewall " 
 Jackson, and died in the army after the battle 
 of Antietam. 
 
 M. TAYLOR, foreman at the Du- 
 buque shops, began his railroad 
 L Q career with the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road in the fall of 1871, at Clinton, 
 111., where he served as a machinist for one year. 
 Subsequently he worked seven years in the
 
 172 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Springfield shops, and in 1884, came to Dubuque 
 as foreman. Ten years later, he went to Fort 
 Dodge, where he had charge of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral shops two years ; then at Champaign one 
 year, at Centralia seven months, at Cherokee, 
 Iowa, four months : after which he returned to 
 Dubuque to accept his present position. 
 
 Mr. Taylor was born in Albany, N. Y., a 
 son of John and Sarah Taylor. The father for 
 several years held a position in the State House 
 at the capital city of New York, in the Bank de- 
 partment. He and his companion are now both 
 dead. Our subject, prior to entering the em- 
 ploy of the railroad company, was engaged in the 
 laundry business at St. Louis for about six 
 months. He was married at Centralia, 111., to 
 Miss Mary E. Barney, of Boston, Mass., and one 
 child, Lula, has blessed their home. Socially Mr. 
 Taylor affiliates with the Ancient Order of 
 L T nited Workmen. His life has been an exam- 
 ple of faithfulness and has won the perfect con- 
 fidence of his employers as well as the unfeigned 
 respect and esteem of those with whom he comes 
 in contact. 
 
 time worked on the Mississippi division twice and 
 the Y. & M. V. for about three months, and then 
 returned to Iowa division at Ft. Dodge and ran 
 Engine 809 until the winter of 1898. He then took 
 charge of Engine 813 until he was transferred 
 to the Omaha division. Mr. Haines is a native 
 of Dubuque, Iowa, was born May 24, 1862, a 
 son of Charles G. and Harriet (Andrews) 
 Haines. The father was a farmer through life 
 and is now retired, living in Deadwood, South 
 Dakota. Our subject married Miss Minta Jones, 
 of Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and to them was 
 born one son, Frederick A., who died January 
 18, 1900, at the age of seven and one-half years. 
 They reside at 1027 First avenue, Fort Dodge. 
 Mr. Haines is a member of the B. of L. E., 
 Division No. 226, of Fort Dodge, also of the 
 A. O. U. W. of Fort Dodge, and the Masonic 
 order. Mr. Haines has never been injured in any- 
 way, having fortunately been in very few wrecks. 
 
 G. HAINES' first work with the Ill- 
 inois Central company was in 1881, 
 L Q when he began as fireman, remain- 
 ing on the left side until the fall of 
 1885, when he was promoted and took charge of 
 Engine No. 152. In June 1887, he quit the Illi- 
 nois Central and began work with the Fremont. 
 Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad, and worked 
 as engineer until February 1891, when he re- 
 turned to the Illinois Central at Fort Dodge. In 
 November 1891 he went on a regular run between 
 Fort Dodge and Sioux City, but later was as- 
 signed to other divisions, such as Springfield, and 
 also on the Chicago division, and returned in 1892 
 and worked here at Fort Dodge until July 1893, 
 on Fort Dodge and Sioux City. He then re- 
 turned to the Chicago division and worked on 
 World's Fair trains until November i, 1893, and 
 then returned to Fort Dodge. He has since that 
 
 F. GATES, who has been an engineer 
 with the Illinois Central company for 
 seventeen years, first began his rail- 
 roading at Peoria, 111., on the I. B. & 
 W. R. R. as fireman, where he worked one year 
 and then fired on the Wabash railroad two years. 
 He then went to Waterloo, Iowa, and began as 
 fireman with the Illinois Central company and 
 worked all over the Iowa divisions of the com- 
 pany. Two years later he was promoted to en- 
 gineer and has held that position with the com- 
 pany ever since. 
 
 He is a native of Lake county, Ohio, and was 
 born in September 1847. His father was Lor- 
 ison Gates, who was a minister in the Christian 
 church, but he now resides on a farm in Benton 
 county, Iowa. Our subject has one brother who 
 is an engineer on the T. P. & W. Railroad, re- 
 siding at Peoria, Illinois. 
 
 In August 1871, our subject married Miss 
 Olive A. Woodley, of Medina county, O., and
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 173 
 
 they have the following children : Clyde A., 
 Frederick L., Lena E., Alice L., Edna Ethel and 
 Ralph L. 
 
 Mr. Gates now has a night run on the pas- 
 senger train called " The Flyer," between Fort 
 Dodge and Sioux City. He has been in one 
 wreck at Bushnell, 111., on the Wabash Railroad, 
 but he was never seriously injured in any way. 
 He has lived in Fort Dodge for the past twelve 
 years, is a member of the B. of L. E., Division 
 Xo. 226, of Fort Dodge, also the Royal Arcanum, 
 of Fort Dodge. He is an old and very prominent 
 engineer on the line, and now resides at No. 
 1013 Fourth avenue, south, Fort Dodge, Iowa. 
 
 an enviable one. He is one of the best informed 
 men on the entire system and enjoys the confi- 
 dence and esteem of a large circle of warm 
 friends. 
 
 ILLIAM R. POLMYER, accountant 
 at Dubuque, began work for the 
 Illinois Central company April 19, 
 1874. Subsequently he served un- 
 der different men, including General Superin- 
 tendent Jeffery, J. C. Welling, vice-president of 
 the road, and others, and has served in the ca- 
 pacity of bookkeeper, keeper of the mileage books, 
 clerk and accountant on construction work, and 
 office clerk at different times until April 11, 1881, 
 when he was appointed to his present position as 
 accountant in the office at Dubuque, and during 
 that time was also connected with the construc- 
 tion of the C. & D. R. R. 
 
 Mr. Polmyer was born in Baltimore, Md., 
 and is of English and Dutch parentage. He has 
 been married twice; his present wife was Miss 
 Celia Lorez, of Dubuque, Iowa. During the 
 early years of his manhood, Mr. Polmyer served 
 in the United States Navy. Socially he affiliates 
 with the Masonic fraternity, Home Lodge No. 
 508, of Chicago, of which he is a life member, 
 and is also connected with the Knights of Pythias, 
 holding his membership in Orient Lodge No. 
 210, Dubuque, la. Mr. Polmyer's life has been 
 an example of faithfulness, and his record since 
 entering the employ of the railroad company is 
 
 M. FERN, engineer at Waterloo, la., 
 began his railroad career with the 111- 
 Q inois Central company in the capacity 
 of a fireman at Waterloo, December 
 r886. At first he worked on a switch engine in 
 the Waterloo yards under Harvey Jacoby, after 
 which he was employed on extra trains out of 
 that city. Later he fired two years on a freight 
 engine for Charles Wahl, then four months on 
 a passenger engine under D. R. Gould between 
 Waterloo and Dubuque, then for John Mullan 
 about a year on the middle division, then for 
 F. H. Stearn about a year on the east end, and 
 September 23, 1895, he was examined and was 
 promoted to engineer October 12 of the same 
 year. Upon taking his place on the right side of 
 the cab, Mr. Fern spent one week in the Waterloo 
 yards on a switch engine, and then worked in 
 the Dubuque yards from October 19 until Jan- 
 uary 1 6 of the following year, and then returned 
 to the Waterloo yards. He spent the following 
 summer as an extra, and from March 1898, un- 
 til August i of the same year, he was fireman 
 under George Martin between Waterloo and Du- 
 buque. In fact the most of his railroad work has 
 been done between these two cities. 
 
 Mr. Fern is a native of Dubuque county, 
 Iowa. In 1886, at the time he entered the em- 
 ploy of the Illinois Central company, he located 
 in Waterloo, and about five years later he won 
 the heart and hand of Miss Carrie Stewart, of 
 Traer, Iowa, who has since shared his Waterloo 
 home. In the social circles of Waterloo our sub- 
 ject is identified with Division 114, B. of L. E., 
 and Rowland Lodge No. 274, A. O. U. W. Mr. 
 Fern is a son of John and Elizabeth Fern, both 
 natives of England. The father came to Ameri- 
 ca in 1830, when he was ten years of age. Be-
 
 174 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 tween the years of 1834 and 1877, he lived in 
 Iowa, but from the last named date until his 
 death, which occurred in 1889, he made his home 
 in Hazel Green, Wis. He established the Hazel 
 Green smelter and operated it in partnership with 
 Mr. Simpson, under the firm name of -Fern & 
 Simpson, for four years. Mr. and Mrs. Fern 
 were the parents of a family of six children, of 
 whom we have the following record : William, 
 deceased; Ellen, deceased; Lillie, wife of E. M. 
 Staly, a carpenter of Waterloo; Frank, an en- 
 gineer; R. M., the subject of this sketch; Leo, a 
 brakeman at Waterloo. The mother died in 
 
 1875- 
 
 D. McKINLEY, engineer, who has 
 been with the Illinois Central com- 
 Q pany twelve years, first began as 
 fireman. Four years later he was 
 promoted to engineer, beginning on the Cherokee 
 division and is now running in freight service on 
 Engine No. 802 on the above division. He had 
 worked on the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad 
 for some time before coming on the Illinois Cen- 
 tral. 
 
 Our subject is a son of Gilbert J. and Mary 
 (McDougall) McKinley, both of Scotland, where 
 the former was a farmer. He moved to this 
 country and settled in Wisconsin, engaging in 
 farming there. He later moved to Milwaukee 
 and now resides there retired. The mother is 
 deceased. They had thirteen children, seven girls 
 and six boys, four of the latter becoming engi- 
 neers. One is now an engineer for the Chicago & 
 North-Western Railroad, running between Chi- 
 cago and Harrington. Another is engineer on 
 the Santa Fe Railroad, and another was engineer 
 on the Great Northern Railroad but is now de- 
 ceased. Mr. McKinley married Miss Mary C. 
 Sommers, of Berkeley, Iowa, and they have three 
 children, Geneveve, Lionel and Harrold. Mr. 
 McKinley now runs between Fort Dodge and 
 Sioux City. He is a member of the B. of L. E. 
 of Fort Dodge, No. 226, also a member of the 
 
 Masonic order of Fort Dodge. The family re- 
 sides at No. 1230 Fourth avenue, south, at Fort 
 Dodge, Iowa. 
 
 ENRY A. SMITH, engineer at Waterloo, 
 Iowa, began his railroad career on the 
 Illinois Central Railroad at Waterloo, 
 in January, 1886. He first served as 
 fireman under John Rix for about five months, 
 when he was laid off on account of a decline in 
 business, and he went to Independence to work- 
 in a hospital where he had previously been em- 
 ployed. Three months later, however, he was 
 called back to the road and for the following two 
 years and a half he stood at the left side of a 
 freight engine, working under M. F. Carey. Sub- 
 sequently Mr. Smith served the Illinois Central 
 company on different runs and in the order given 
 below : With Engineer J. D. Place on the Lyle 
 branch three months ; then helped as hostler for 
 a short time ; then as engineer of a switch engine 
 in the Dubuque yards ; then fired on freight en- 
 gine during one summer and fall, and lastly on 
 a passenger engine under H. A. Knowlton be- 
 tween Waterloo and Dubuque. 
 
 January i, 1890, Mr. Smith was given a 
 seat on the right side of the engine, and since then 
 his work has been even more widely distributed 
 than was his work in the capacity of fireman. He 
 began in the yards at Waterloo and from there 
 was sent to the Dubuque yards; from there to 
 Champaign ; then to Centralia about two months ; 
 then to Cherokee on construction work for nearly 
 four months ; then to Waterloo for a short time ; 
 then to Clinton, 111., for one winter; returned to 
 Waterloo for a short time ; then to Freeport ; in 
 1892 was in Clinton, 111., Champaign, and Cen- 
 tralia, until May ; then home for a short time ; 
 back to the Chicago division ; then again to 
 Waterloo to work as fireman for a short time; 
 then as engineer again on the Cedar Rapids 
 branch ; was in Chicago during the World's 
 Fair ; then to Centralia ; back to Waterloo and ran 
 extra until he got a regular run on Engine No.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 175 
 
 500, running out of Waterloo. His work is 
 mostly west from that city, but is still making 
 an occasional extra trip to various parts of the 
 Illinois Central system. He has made two trips 
 to Mississippi, one to Water Valley and one to 
 Canton, and has made a trip to Jackson, Tenn. 
 
 Mr. Smith was born in Iowa, about five miles 
 from Independence, a son of Joseph L. and Car- 
 oline L. (Wheeler) Smith, who migrated to the 
 agricultural districts of Iowa from the East in 
 1858. The father died in 1884, but the mother 
 is still living. Our subject first located in Water- 
 loo in 1886, the year he entered the employ of 
 the railroad company. He was married Decem- 
 ber 25, 1892, to Miss Rose E. Baum, a native of 
 the city of Waterloo, and a daughter of S. H. 
 and Amelia (VanSchoick) Baum, and their home 
 has been blessed by the presence of a daughter, 
 Pauline Marie. Mrs. Smith's father is a stone 
 mason by trade. Socially our subject is a mem- 
 ber of Division No. 114, B. of L. E., and also of 
 Howland Lodge No. 274, A. O. U. W., both of 
 Waterloo. 
 
 ILAS B. MABEY, conductor on the Am- 
 boy division of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, was born in Albany county, 
 New York, August 19, 1850. His 
 father, Stephen Mabey, a minister in the Ad- 
 ventist church, is now living in Nebraska at the 
 age of seventy-two years. His mother, Lucy 
 (Teats) Mabey, died in Genesee county, New 
 York, in 1856. The family came west in 1862 
 and located at LaSalle, 111., but a year later re- 
 moved to Amboy. Our subject was educated in 
 the schools of Albany county, N. Y., and at Lee 
 Center and Amboy, 111. At the age of sixteen 
 he began the carpenter's trade at which he re- 
 mained about six years, and at the age of twenty- 
 three commenced preaching for the Advent de- 
 nomination, engaging in the active work of the 
 church until 1880, when he gave it up on account 
 of failing health. He then entered the service of 
 the I. C. R. R. at Amboy as a freight brakeman, 
 
 running between Amboy and Clinton, and on the 
 25th of November, 1881, was promoted to con- 
 ductor. In 1882 he took leave of absence and 
 went to Dakota where he remained six months, 
 and in the fall of that year returned to the I. C. 
 R. R., working for the road during the busy sea- 
 sons but still retaining his home in Dakota. In 
 1886 he began regular work for the company 
 and has been in its constant employ to the pres- 
 ent time, having run mixed trains between Am- 
 boy and Clinton, and also served as extra passen- 
 ger conductor. 
 
 In 1870 Air. Mabey was married to Miss 
 Mary Crocker, of Amboy, now deceased. He 
 was united in marriage a second time to Miss 
 Pauline Le Derer, of Freeport. Mr. Mabey has 
 no children. He has been a member of the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity, and also of the O. R. C., since 
 1882, and is an Adventist Christian in religion. 
 
 JT. TAIT, claim agent for the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, located at Dubuque, 
 Q began his railroad career at Amboy, 111., 
 October 12, 1868, at the age of eighteen 
 years. He began as car accountant and served 
 as such until June 1873, wh,en he was apponted 
 chief clerk at Amboy under J. C. Jacobs, and 
 remained there until July, 1892, when he was ap- 
 pointed claim agent and took up his abode in Du- 
 buque, Iowa. Mr. Tait is very industrious, 
 thorough and systematic in his work and has 
 acquired a high reputation of faithfulness and 
 fidelity to his employers. 
 
 Mr. Tait was married at DeKalb, 111., Sept. 
 24, 1873, to Miss Emma A. Bundy, of that city, 
 and two sons, William P. and Walter H., have 
 been born to them. Socially our subject affili- 
 ates with the Masonic fraternity, holding his 
 membership in the Amboy Lodge No. 178; and 
 also the Elks of Dubuque. He has a very wide 
 acquaintance, as his line of work requires, and in 
 whatever community he has been called he has 
 never failed to make a circle of friends.
 
 176 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 1LLIAM ALDERMAN, engineer at 
 Waterloo, began working for the 
 Illinois Central company at Water- 
 loo, November 9, 1887, running on 
 the main line for a short time under Engineer 
 Peter Girard on engine No. 148. Soon after, 
 however, he was transferred to a passenger run 
 on the Lyle branch with engineer Dave Roby, 
 and later spent eighteen months with H. Knowl- 
 ton, between Waterloo and Dubuque. Mr. Al- 
 derman was placed in charge of the lever and 
 throttle November 14, 1891, and did his first 
 work in that capacity in the yards at Waterloo, 
 where he spent about six months. He then went 
 on the main line at the head of a construction 
 train for a time, then spent a part of one summer 
 as an extra on all lines running out of Chicago. 
 He then spent a part of one winter running out 
 of Champaign, one winter out of Water Valley, 
 Miss., and one winter out of Jackson, Tenn. 
 
 Mr. Alderman was born in Janesville, Wis. 
 During the early years of his manhood, he was 
 engaged in various lines of work, and before en- 
 tering the employ of the Illinois Central com- 
 pany, he was fireman for the Northern Pacific 
 Railroad company between Fargo and Bismark, 
 N. Dak., for a short time. He came to Waterloo 
 in 1887, was married the same year to Miss Ida 
 M. Roebuck, of that city, and two children, Eddie 
 and Lora, have been born to them. Mr Alder- 
 man affiliates, fraternally, with the Division No. 
 114 P>. of L. E. and Lodge No. 274, A. O. U. W., 
 both of Waterloo. He is a man of ability, care- 
 ful and thorough about his work and through- 
 out his railroad career has never met with seri- 
 ous accident. 
 
 A. BRYANT, general foreman at 
 Fort Dodge, Iowa, is a very prom- 
 inent and well-known employe of 
 the Illinois Central company. He 
 began his work with the company July 5, 1881, as 
 fireman, which position he held until October 30, 
 1882, when he was promoted to engineer and took 
 
 charge of a switch engine in the yards at LeMars. 
 Here he worked until December i, 1882, and then 
 was sent to Sioux City, Iowa, where he was pro- 
 moted to foreman of shops and held that posi- 
 tion until November 1889. He was then sent to 
 Fort Dodge to take charge of the shops and has 
 been general foreman of the same ever since. 
 
 Mr. Bryant is a native of Battle Creek, 
 Michigan, born November 28, 1852, and is a son 
 of James Bryant, who was a farmer in Michigan 
 and died there in 1892. Mr. Bryant is a grad- 
 uate of the University of Michigan. Our sub- 
 ject married Miss Clara Mentor, of Fort Dodge, 
 Iowa, a daughter of Wilson H. Mentor, who was 
 the second station agent at Fort Dodge for the 
 Illinois Central company. He was engaged by 
 the Illinois Central company there for three years 
 and then moved to Newell, Iowa, where he is 
 running the Stevens House, near the Illinois Cen- 
 tral depot, it being the only hotel in the town. 
 
 Our subject and wife are the parents of four 
 children : James, Helen, Alan and Dorris. Mr. 
 Bryant is a member of Lodge No. 306, Benevo- 
 lent and Protective Order of Elks, of Fort Dodge, 
 also the A. O. U. W. of Fort Dodge. He is one 
 of the best known master workmen of the western 
 branch of the Illinois Central. He now resides 
 at No. 1216 Fourth avenue, south, Fort Dodge, 
 Iowa. 
 
 ENRY L. CHEVALIER, passenger en- 
 gineer on the Illinois Central Railroad, 
 Waterloo division, one of the oldest and 
 most experienced engineers on the road, 
 began in the service of the company June 9, 1864, 
 at Dubuque, where he worked as engine wiper in 
 the shops until March 15, 1865, then fired one 
 and one-half years in the Dubuque yards, and two 
 years on the main line, and was then promoted to 
 engineer August 15, 1868. His experience as 
 engineer has been varied. From 1867 until Sep- 
 tember 1872, he ran on the main line between 
 Dubuque and Waterloo, on the St. Louis & 
 South-eastern R. R., from October i, 1872, to
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 177 
 
 .March 1873, on the C. X. & W. R. R., Peninsular 
 division, from May i, 1873, to August 15, 1874, 
 and on the 2Oth of August, 1874, returned to 
 the I. C. R. R. In March 1875, he located in 
 Waterloo and from there ran a freight engine 
 until 1893, since which time he has been in pas- 
 senger service, running principally on the Cedar 
 Falls and Minnesota branch, but has at times 
 served on all branches of the road. 
 
 Henry Chevalier was born in Moutier, 
 Switzerland, and came to America with his 
 parents D. L. and Cecil (Jeraux) Chevalier, both 
 natives of Switzerland. He worked in a glass 
 factory before coming to the U. S. On his ar- 
 rival in 1853, he located in Ft Wayne, Indiana. 
 He was a blacksmith by trade. In 1873 our sub- 
 ject was married in Dubuque to Sarah A. Bid- 
 dolph, of that city, by whom he has two sons, 
 Lester William and Roy John. Mr. Chevalier 
 is a member of the B. of L. E. No. 1 14, Waterloo 
 Division, in which he has been Chief Engineer 
 two years and has held other offices, and belongs 
 to Black Hawk Lodge No. 72, I. O. O. F., of 
 Waterloo, and the Encampment. He has always 
 been strictly attentive to duty, and in his twenty- 
 seven years service has never had a lay off, 
 and has had no accidents. 
 
 gineer and has since run principally on the Lyle 
 branch. From December 1887 to March 1888, 
 he was in the employ of the Wabash R. R. and 
 ran between Moberly and St. Louis and to Kan- 
 sas City. 
 
 Our subject was born in Oxford, N. Y., 
 whence he removed while a small boy with his 
 father, Joseph S. Hackett, and located in Inde- 
 pendence, Iowa. He learned blacksmithing un- 
 der George Wilcox, at Otterville, Iowa, when 
 young, and worked at the trade eleven years. 
 Our subject had one brother, W. L., who was 
 fireman on the I. C. R. R. for two years, and a 
 brother in Muscatine, Iowa, who is a veterinary 
 surgeon. 
 
 Mr. Hackett was married in his native town, 
 October 6, 1875, to Hattie M. Slocum, of the 
 same place. Mrs. Hackett is the mother of five 
 children, Flora, Ardell and Lettie, living, and 
 Duane and Hazel, deceased. Mr. Hackett is a 
 member of the B. of L. E,, Waterloo Division 
 No. 1 14, and has held the office of F. A. E., and 
 also belongs to the A. O. U. W., No. 274, of 
 Waterloo. During his eighteen years of service 
 he has had no accidents. 
 
 W. HACKETT, passenger engineer 
 on Illinois Central Railroad, entered 
 the service of the company at Water- 
 loo, Iowa, as fireman, March 17, 
 1882, firing on the main line between Waterloo 
 and Dubuque under B. F. Fox for nine months, 
 and for H. E. Camp on a passenger engine two 
 years. In the fall of 1885 he was promoted to 
 the right side and worked in the Dubuque yards 
 until February 1886, and in the Fort Dodge yards 
 until April i, at which time he was set back to 
 fireman until July when he returned to his old 
 position, running on the Lyle branch the follow- 
 ing winter and then on the main line until August 
 1897, when he was promoted to passenger en- 
 
 'ILLIAM N. BARR, passenger con- 
 ductor, Illinois Central Railroad, at 
 Waterloo, Iowa, began as brakeman 
 in October 1878 on Mona branch, 
 braking for Conductor B. Merrill one year, and 
 one year for different ones, then served between 
 Waterloo and Fort Dodge, and on the Cedar 
 Rapids branch. In July 1880 he was promoted 
 to conductor, running on the Lyle branch nearly 
 five months, and on the main line and branches 
 on the " Clipper " run for four years, and was 
 promoted to passenger conductor in June 1891, 
 since then he has run extra passenger. 
 
 William N. Barr was born in West Chester. 
 Chester county, Pennsylvania, and is the son of 
 William and Elizabeth (Evans) Barr, natives of 
 the Keystone state. The father, a blacksmith by
 
 178 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 trade, died in 1855, our subject being but a small 
 boy at the time. After the death of her husband 
 the mother, accompanied by her son, William, 
 who was the only child, came to Cedar county 
 where they lived a short time, then returned to 
 Pennsylvania. She died in 1897 at Waterloo. 
 
 Mr. Barr has always been a lover of fine 
 horses and in early life drove on the tracks at 
 Waterloo, Dubuque, Minneapolis, St. Paul and 
 all the towns in the northwest. Of the noted 
 horses, he has driven, among others, Harry Kim- 
 ball with a- mark of 2 132, Whalebone, 2 129, Kit- 
 tie Strattan, 2:29^, Sleepy Bill, 2:26, Fear Not, 
 2 :29 and Dread 2 135. He now owns a black 
 mare, Ritta, with a record of 2 :26, and Tom Cur- 
 tis a promising colt by Manager, and also keeps 
 a fine driving team. Mr. Barr was married in 
 1890 to Miss Myrtie Hunt of Independence, la., 
 and has one daughter, Bessie M. He has been 
 successful in every undertaking, and has accumu- 
 lated not a little of this world's goods, owning his 
 home at 317 E. Eleventh St. which he built in 
 1898, and other valuable real estate in Waterloo. 
 He is a well known and popular conductor. 
 
 EORGE H. ARMSTRONG, engineer 
 on the Amboy division of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, is a native of Amboy, 
 where he was born February 26, 1872. 
 He is the son of Alexander Armstrong, an en- 
 gineer of the I. C. R. R. for about twenty-five 
 years, who now resides in Amboy, and Edith 
 (Allison) who died in 1876. 
 
 After the death of his mother our subject 
 went to Iroquois, Canada, where he attended 
 school until eighteen years of age, when he re- 
 turned to Amboy, and after attending college at 
 Dixon for a time, entered the service of the I. 
 C. R. R. as clerk, doing night work in the depot 
 at Amboy for a period of thirteen months. On 
 the twenty-sixth of June, 1893, he began run- 
 ning on the Amboy division as fireman, in which 
 position he remained until 1896, when he was 
 
 promoted to the right side, retaining that posi- 
 tion to date. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong was married September 25, 
 1895, to Miss Rena H. Klein, who was born in 
 Amboy, April 14, 1872. Mrs. Armstrong re- 
 ceived her education in the public schools. Mr. 
 Armstrong is a member of the B. of L. F., at- 
 tends the Protestant Episcopal church, and is 
 independent in politics. 
 
 H. SHULL, passenger conductor on 
 the Ilinois Central Railroad, Water- 
 loo division, began his railroad ex- 
 perience, which has been varied and 
 extensive, with the Illinois Central as brakeman 
 at Amboy, under Trainmaster Rosebow, J. C. 
 Jacobs, Supt, and Conductor G. Finch for one 
 year running between Amboy and Wapello, with 
 Conductor Gardner about six months. He then 
 entered the services of the C. B. &. Q. R. R. 
 where he was switchman four years, and yard- 
 master and switchman at Galesburg for four 
 years. He then served the T. P. & W. Railroad 
 as conductor for a short time, the C. 
 & N. W. Railroad as a brakeman six 
 months, the B. C. R. & N. R. R. for four years 
 as conductor, brakeman, baggageman, express- 
 man, and U. S. mail agent, and the C. B. &. Q. 
 R. R. as brakeman and switchman for one year. 
 In 1877 he returned to the I. C. R. R. and after 
 braking about three months was promoted to 
 conductor, running from Waterloo to Fort Dodge 
 and Cherokee and return for one year, a way 
 freight between Fort Dodge and Waterloo about 
 two years, and a stock, train for seven years. He 
 was promoted to passenger engineer in 1887, 
 making his first trip on an excursion train to 
 Sioux City. He then ran extra on the main line 
 and all the branches for three years, and for the 
 past eight years has had a regular run between 
 Waterloo and Dubuque. 
 
 Our subject was born in Philadelphia, and 
 is the son of Fred A. Shull, a native of the Key-
 
 JOHN F. JARVIS.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 181 
 
 stone state, who removed to Rutland, 111., where 
 he engaged in farming, and subsequently moved 
 to Fort Dodge where he died in 1892. In early 
 life, about 1840, he was a conductor in West Vir- 
 ginia. His widow, whose maiden name was 
 Sarah M. Barger, now resides in Waterloo. One 
 son, Fred A., has been in the service of the C. 
 B. & Q. R. R. as passenger and freight conduc- 
 tor at Galesburg, 111., for thirty years. 
 
 Mr. Shull was married at Fort Dodge to 
 Miss Viola A. Hartman, of that city. They are 
 the parents of four children : E. H. Jr., Grace 
 V., Mabel and Florence. Mr. Shull is a member 
 of the O. R. C., Division No. 93, and A. O. U. 
 W. No. 274, of Fort Dodge, and the K. P. No. 
 89, of Waterloo. In his many years of railroad- 
 ing Mr. Shull has not been injured so as to be 
 laid up for any length of time, but has had a 
 great many narrow escapes. 
 
 nOHN F. JARVIS is one of the most promi- 
 nent and well known passenger engineers 
 CvL) on the Louisiana division of the Illinois 
 Central. His first knowledge of railroad 
 work was acquired in the shops of the I. C. at 
 McComb City, Miss., where he served an appren- 
 ticeship of four years. He then went to Mar- 
 shall, Texas, and was for two years in the service 
 of the Texas Pacific R. R. as a fireman, and for 
 a short time worked in the same capacity on the 
 International R. R. out of Palestine, Texas. 
 Summoned to his home at McComb City, on 
 account of the death of a sister, he decided to 
 remain and began work in 1880 as fireman on 
 the Louisiana division of the I. C., under Engi- 
 neer Henderson Wallace. One year's service 
 in this branch found him capable of taking charge 
 of an engine, and he was accordingly promoted 
 to the freight service where he continued until 
 July 2, 1895, when he was promoted to the pas- 
 se'nger service, and is at present employed there. 
 He was injured in a rear-end collision, which 
 occurred on October 19, 1899, and was for two 
 
 months incapacitated for work. This was the 
 only serious wreck of his railroad career. Mr. 
 Jarvis was born on January 14, 1857, at Rock 
 Island, Illinois, and is the son of C. C. and Eliza- 
 beth Jarvis, both now living retired at McComb 
 City. He was married to Miss Susie Zealy, of 
 Jackson, Miss., their union being blessed by four 
 children, viz : Mabel, Frankie, Elmarie, and 
 Quinn. Mr. Jarvis is connected with the Elks 
 organization, and is also a member of Myrtle 
 Lodge No. 136, Knights of Pythias, both of 
 McComb City. He has a beautiful home on 
 Broadway, in the latter city, where his genial 
 qualities and long residence has won for him the 1 
 esteem of its best citizens. 
 
 jtjtjtjtjtjt 
 
 "ILLIAM WADDINGTON, one of 
 the oldest conductors in the service 
 of the Illinois Central, is a native of 
 old England, his birth having oc- 
 curred in Yorkshire. His father, Joseph Wad- 
 dington, was one of the earliest employes of the 
 road, having worked two years on the construc- 
 tion train at the time the road was built. After 
 it was turned over to the operative department 
 he was appointed switchman at Nora, and held 
 that position some fifteen years. During this 
 period he had charge of the water supply at War- 
 ren when horse power was used to fill the tank. 
 In 1860 he was seriously injured by falling be- 
 tween some moving cars, breaking his hip and 
 receiving other severe injuries. He lived to a 
 good old age, passing away in 1888, leaving a 
 wife who still resides at the old home at Nora. 
 Of their children two sons survive, William and 
 Joseph, a baggageman running between Chicago 
 and Dubuque. 
 
 William Waddington began his railroad 
 career at Warren in 1860 having charge of the 
 water supply there for two years. In 1862 a 
 place was found for him as brakeman running 
 between Dunleith and Freeport, first under M. 
 G. Mills and later Thomas Snow, Homer Graves
 
 182 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 and other old time conductors. September 5, 
 1865. he was placed in charge of a train in the 
 freight service between Dunleith and Amboy, 
 and for fifteen years held the same run. In 
 1880 he was promoted to the passenger service 
 and ran between Amboy and Forreston and Free- 
 port some six years, and for three years between 
 LaSalle and Dubuque and later on the Dubuque- 
 Chicago run. The only serious accident that 
 ever occurred to Mr. Waddington happened 
 at Council Hill, Illinois, on the twenty-ninth of 
 July 1898. While his train was waiting there on 
 a siding for passing trains he stepped off the front 
 end of his train and the view down the track be- 
 ing obscured by escaping steam he did not see 
 nor hear the swift moving train and was in con- 
 sequence struck by the engine losing his right 
 leg below the knee and suffering a severe mang- 
 ling of the other in the driving wheels. So 
 severe were the injuries that Mr. Waddington 
 has not yet been able to resume his duties al- 
 though his old place is waiting for him as soon 
 as he has fully recovered. Accident and death 
 are always contingents of railroad life and it 
 is good fortune that this occurrence was not 
 worse than it was. 
 
 Mr. Waddington first married Miss Elsa 
 Consauls, a native of Pennsylvania, who died in 
 1882, having borne seven children as follows: 
 Bessie (deceased), Sadie, Burt, William, Hollis, 
 Nina (deceased) and Merril. Of a second mar- 
 riage, to Miss Ida Foster of Dubuque, one child 
 has been born, Lorain. In 1870 Mr. Wadding- 
 ton purchased his present home at East Dubuque 
 and made all the subsequent improvements. It 
 is a home where whole-souled hospitality is dis- 
 pensed. 
 
 The reminiscences of one that has been so 
 long in the service of one employer can not fail 
 to be of interest and many of the experiences of 
 early railroading related to the younger genera- 
 tion seem almost incredible so great have been 
 the improvements in the science of railroading 
 in the last three decades. Mr. Waddington was 
 in charge of the train that hauled the first stone 
 for the railroad bridge at Dubuque and has had 
 
 the honor of running from time to time the offi- 
 cial trains and specials carrying nearly every 
 officer of the road. Jovial and hearty, William 
 Waddington is one of the best known and best 
 liked operatives on all the lines of the great sys- 
 tem, not only by the officials under whom he 
 works but by a large contingent of the traveling 
 public who have been patrons of the road for 
 vears. 
 
 PRANK E. FERN, engineer at Cedar 
 Rapids, Iowa, began work for the Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad company in Sep- 
 tember 1883, as a fireman, living in 
 Waterloo and running between Dubuque and Ft. 
 Dodge. His first engine was No. 79, and this 
 he retained continuously for two years, but later 
 he worked on different ones. In August 1887, 
 he was placed in charge of the levers and con- 
 tinued on the same run for five years after his 
 promotion, but later ran only between Waterloo 
 and Dubuque. In April 1889, Mr. Fern was 
 transferred to the Cedar Rapids branch and has 
 since had charge of an engine between Cedar 
 Rapids and Manchester. 
 
 Mr. Fern was married in East Dubuque in 
 1890, to Miss Belle S. Fox, of that city, and Sep- 
 tember 6, 1891, they were made happy by the ar- 
 rival of a daughter whom they saw fit to name 
 Marjorie. Mr. Fern is a member of Division 
 Xo. 114, B. of L. E., also Howland Lodge No. 
 274 A. O. U. W., Blue Lodge No. 105, and Chap- 
 ter No. 54, of the Masonic fraternity, all of 
 Waterloo. Mr. Fern has been a very successful 
 engineer, having kept his record entirely free 
 from serious accidents, and has never received 
 the slightest injury since he has been on the road. 
 He is very popular among his fellow workmen, 
 and enjoys the confidence and esteem of a large 
 circle of warm friends. A brief history of the 
 family of which our subject is a member will be 
 found in the sketch of R. M. Fern on another 
 page of this volume.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 183 
 
 LEO MEINZER, residing at 618 Fifth 
 avenue, south, Fort Dodge, Iowa, an 
 engineer on the Illinois Central, first be- 
 gan with the company in 1878 as fire- 
 man. Four and a half years later was promoted 
 to engineer, and since that time he has been run- 
 ning an engine on the Illinois Central road. 
 
 Mr. Meinzer, a native of Racine, Wisconsin, 
 was born Nov. 18, 1853. His father, Michael 
 Meinzer, was a farmer in Wisconsin, but in 1862 
 removed to Iowa, where he died in 1874. Our 
 subject had two brothers, Augustus and Charles, 
 who were engineers on the Chicago & Eastern 
 Illinois R. R. 
 
 On Nov. 3, 1880, our subject married Miss 
 Carrie Widman, of Waterloo, and they have be- 
 come the parents of five children, Gus, Annie, 
 Eddie, Albert and Grace. 
 
 Our subject began with this company at 
 Waterloo, Iowa, on the Dubuque division, on 
 which he ran until 1886, when he moved to Sioux 
 City, Iowa, and began in freight service between 
 Fort Dodge and Sioux City. He has since been 
 on that division with the exception of three years 
 when he was not in the employ of the company. 
 
 Mr. Meinzer now has a passenger run be- 
 tween Fort Dodge and Omaha. He is a member 
 of the B. of L. E. of Fort Dodge, No. 226. 
 
 t HILIP R. GRIFFIN, freight and extra 
 passenger engineer on Illinois Central 
 R. R., Iowa division, started in the ser- 
 vice at Waterloo, October 21, 1879, as 
 fireman on the main line, and fired under O. D. 
 Gray two years and under Jim Wheeler eleven 
 months, between Waterloo and Sioux City. He 
 was promoted to the right side September 9, 1882, 
 and worked alternately on the main line and in 
 the yards until 1887 when he was given a freight 
 run between Waterloo and Dubuque, which he 
 has retained for the past eleven years. 
 
 Philip R. Griffin was born in Saxeville, Wis. 
 His parents were. John and Jane (Layton) Grif- 
 
 fin, both of English nativity. Their family con- 
 sisted of seven children : Martha married H. A. 
 Dewey, of Poysippi, Wis.; William died in 1874; 
 John R. is an I. C. R. R. engineer at Waterloo; 
 Philip R. ; Charles H., living in Dakota, was fire- 
 man on the I. C. R. R. five years; George A., a 
 farmer, lives in Wisconsin ; Belle is the wife of 
 Peter Johnson and lives in Saxeville, Wis. Philip 
 lived at home until twenty-one years of age, when 
 he entered the service of the I. C. R. R. 
 
 Mr. Griffin married Lettie Wescott, of Poy- 
 sippi, Wis., a native of the Green Mountain state. 
 Of this union three children were born : Willie, 
 Lotna and Philip. Mr. Griffin is a member of 
 the B. of L. E., Waterloo Division No. 114, Ma- 
 sonic Lodge No. 105, and Howland Lodge No. 
 274, A. O. U. W., of Waterloo. 
 
 LUCIAN SMITH, passenger engineer on 
 the Waterloo division of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, was born in Cleve- 
 land, Ohio, and is the son of Daniel and 
 Celia (McFarland) Smith. His father was a 
 farmer in Lorain county, Ohio. In early life our 
 subject was newsboy on the Cleveland & Toledo 
 R. R. for nearly four years, then lived with an 
 uncle on a farm west of Cleveland four years, 
 after which time he came to Iowa to visit a broth- 
 er living near Dubuque, with whom he remained 
 a short time, then went to work for the I. C. R. 
 R. He began firing at Dubuque June 10, 1868, 
 and after two years in that service between Du- 
 buque and Iowa Falls he was promoted to engi- 
 neer, July 20, 1870, ran a switch engine in the 
 Waterloo yards three months, and freight engine 
 between Dubuque and Waterloo until 1883, when 
 he was promoted to passenger service, running 
 from Waterloo to Sioux City until the division 
 was divided, and since that time runs between 
 Waterloo and Ft. Dodge. 
 
 Mr. Smith was married in Dubuque in 1879 
 to Miss Lena Forrest, of that city. In 1883 he 
 located in Waterloo and built a home on the cor-
 
 184 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ner of Lime and E. Fourth streets, which he re- 
 cently removed to another lot and replaced by 
 a beautiful new house which he now occupies. 
 He is a member of the B. of L. E. No. 114, 
 Waterloo Division, Waterloo Lodge No. 105, of 
 the Masonic fraternity, A. O. U. W. No. 274, 
 and B. P. O. E., all of Waterloo. Mr. Smith 
 has been fortunate in his railroad career, and is 
 a highly respected citizen of the city of Water- 
 loo. 
 
 ERNARD COYLE, former section boss 
 on the Illinois Central Railroad, Free- 
 port, 111., and one of the pioneer work- 
 men of the road, was born in County 
 Caven, Ireland, in 1830. He is the son of James 
 and Rose (Smith) Coyle, the father a farmer by 
 occupation. 
 
 The subject of this sketch received his ed- 
 ucation in Ireland, and came to the United States 
 in 1850, locating in New York, and worked in a 
 brick yard at Haverstraw in that state for two 
 years. In 1853 he moved to Chicago where he 
 entered the service of the I. C. R. R. as section 
 boss, and laid the first rails on that road between 
 Chicago and Champaign. In August 1854, he 
 was removed to Clinton and also laid the first 
 rails on that branch of the road from Clinton 
 bridge to Decatur, then continuing southward, 
 laid the track to Ramsey, after which he was giv- 
 en a section twenty miles north of Cairo where he 
 remained until April 1855. He then went to 
 Freeport and took charge of a gravel pit for six 
 months, then to East Dubuque, and worked on 
 a fill where the present passenger station stands, 
 and was then sent to the Amboy section where he 
 remained until the spring of 1856, when he re- 
 turned to Freeport and took charge of the gravel 
 pit for the summer. In the fall of that year he 
 was made section foreman at Forreston where he 
 remained twenty-two years. In 1880 Mr. Coyle 
 severed his connection with the I. C. R .R. and 
 joined the forces of the C. M. & St. P. as a track 
 layer, and laid track on different sections, spend- 
 
 ing five years in said service. He then returned 
 to the I. C. R. R., took charge of the gravel pit 
 one summer, and in the fall went to Cherokee, 
 Iowa, where he had charge of one hundred men 
 in the supply yard. Mr. Coyle, now feeling that 
 his many years of active work would justify a 
 life of leisure, returned to Freeport where he 
 purchased a comfortable home in the city, and has 
 since lived retired. He also owns two farms 
 near Freeport. 
 
 In 1860 Mr. Coyle was married to Miss 
 Ellen Matthews, of Freeport, and has a family of 
 five children, as follows : James was a car in- 
 spector for the I. C. R. R., and was fatally in- 
 jured in the service in 1894; Thomas is an en- 
 gineer in the service of the I. C. R. R. on the 
 Amboy division ; Michael is a conductor on the 
 C. M. & St. P. R. R. ; John is attending the Uni- 
 versity of Wisconsin, and is now in the last year 
 of the law course ; Emma is the wife of P. J. 
 Lonergan, supervisor of the I. C. R. R. at Free- 
 port. Mr. Coyle is a devoted Catholic and in 
 his political views is a Democrat. He is a man 
 of strong moral integrity and sound constitution, 
 and proudly states that he never entered a saloon 
 for a drink, never used tobacco in any form' and 
 never took a dose of medicine. 
 
 J SULLIVAN, supervisor of the road at 
 Manchester, Iowa, began work for the 
 Q Illinois Central Railroad company, 
 July 6, 1893, at Epworth, la., where he 
 had charge of section No. 5 for two years and 
 nine months. From there he was transferred, 
 November i, 1896, to his present position at Man- 
 chester where he has since had charge of sections 
 No. 14 and 15 of the eighth division. 
 
 Mr. Sullivan did his first work at Van Horn, 
 Iowa, where he was section foreman for the Chi- 
 cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad company 
 for a year and a half. Later he had charge of 
 a section for about three years at Green Moun- 
 tain for the Diagonal Railroad, and also had
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 185 
 
 charge of the Oskaloosa yards one year. Mr. 
 Sullivan then worked for the Chicago & North- 
 Western Railroad at Jefferson, la., about twelve 
 years, doing extra work during summer seasons 
 and section work during winter, and then entered 
 the employ of the Illinois Central company. 
 
 Our subject was born in Jackson county, la., 
 not far from Dubuque, a son of Patrick and Mary 
 (Cosgrove) Sullivan, and one of his brothers is 
 now in Dubuque .where he is engaged in bridge 
 building. Our subject was married in Mason- 
 ville, la., in 1880, to Miss Katie Gushing, of that 
 city, and to this union have been born five chil- 
 dren whose names appear below in the order of 
 their birth : Harry, Nellie, Rosie, Irene and 
 Leo. Mr. Sullivan is a member of the M. W. 
 of A. He is a railroad man in the truest sense 
 of the word, for his earliest and only employment 
 has been on the railroad, and he has been very 
 successful since being with the Illinois Central. 
 
 ILLIAM G. PLUMB, of Freeport, is 
 a scion of old New England stock, 
 his father, Henry C. Plumb, having 
 been born in the green hills of Ver- 
 mont. He was a carpenter and builder in Massa- 
 chusetts, but at the outbreak of the war he left 
 everything and enlisted almost at the first call. 
 He contracted fever in the south and died of the 
 malady somewhere in South Carolina. The 
 mother, Eliza S. Graves, was a native of North 
 Leverett, Massachusetts, and died in 1876. Our 
 subject was born at Bernardstown, Vermont, 
 December I2th, 1857, ar >d attended school at 
 North Leverett until the age of sixteen, working 
 on neighboring farms during the summer months, 
 and earning his board and schooling during the 
 winter months, for he had to care for himself 
 after his thirteenth year. He was thus employed 
 until he came west in 1878. Sojourning for a 
 time in Indiana, he came to Illinois, working for 
 a time on a fruit farm near Pontiac. Coming to 
 Amboy he secured a position as brakeman on the 
 
 Amboy division, and two years later was placed 
 in charge of a train. Amboy was his place of 
 residence until April 1896, when he moved to 
 Freeport and has been a resident of that city 
 since. 
 
 Mr. Plumb was married in Amboy October 
 29, 1893, to Mrs. Minnie Wood, a native of 
 Ross Grove, Illinois. By a former marriage 
 Mrs. Plumb became the mother of one daughter, 
 Anna Wood Plumb. Mr. Plumb is an indepen- 
 dent Republican in politics. 
 
 G. SEARLES, freight conductor at 
 Waterloo, Iowa, started his railroad 
 L Q career as a brakeman in February 
 1883, at the city in which he now 
 makes his home, under Trainmaster J. E. Mc- 
 Neil, with a run between Waterloo and Dubuque. 
 He subsequently served under Frank O'Connor, 
 J. Quirk and others, until 1887, when he was 
 placed in charge of a train. His first work as 
 a conductor was between Waterloo and Dubuque, 
 but was soon after sent to Cherokee to do con- 
 struction work on the branches that start from 
 that place, and was thus engaged about four 
 months. Subsequently he had control of a train 
 between Fort Dodge and Sioux City until 1890; 
 then between Waterloo and Dubuque until 1896; 
 then for a short time between Waterloo and Fort 
 Dodge, after which he returned to the Dubuque 
 and Waterloo division until 1898. Since the last 
 named date, Mr. Searles has been employed on 
 (he branch between Waterloo and Lyle. He has 
 now been employed on all of the divisions of the 
 Illinois Central company's lines which have a 
 terminus at Waterloo. 
 
 Mr. Searles was born in Laporte county, In- 
 djana, March 12, 1865, a son of J. W. and Mary 
 (Masters) Searles, both of Pennsylvania. The 
 father's occupation was that of carpenter and 
 builder. He died in the year 1884, about five 
 jears later than the death of his wife. Our sub- 
 ject made his home with his parents until he en-
 
 186 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 tered the employ of the railroad company in 1883. 
 when he located in Waterloo. During the pre- 
 ceding year he was united in marriage to Miss 
 Susie Deaver, of Dubuque, and two children, 
 Hildred and Willie, bless their home. Mr. 
 Searles is another of those fortunate ones who 
 have never received an injury in the service of the 
 lailroad company, and he has never lost a day on 
 the account of physical disability. Socially he 
 is connected with the O. R. C, Division No. 67, 
 of Waterloo, anil also with the Tribe of Ben Hur. 
 
 PRED H. STEARNS, engineer at Water- 
 loo, Iowa, started his railroad career 
 with the Illinois Central company as a 
 fireman in the city in which he now 
 makes his home, in 1880. His first run was be- 
 tween Waterloo and Lyle, under Engineer Sam 
 Kear, his second between Waterloo and Dubuque, 
 where he worked for six months under Engineer 
 Ben Fox; the next on engine No. 148 on the 
 "West End," serving about a year under Arthur 
 Mooney ; the next was on engine No. 146, on the 
 Lyle branch, where he served six months under 
 his father, E. Stearns, whose sketch appears on 
 another page of this volume. Mr. Stearns then 
 worked as a brakeman for about five months on 
 the "Middle Division" and "West End," was pro 
 moted to conductor and had charge of a train on 
 the "West End" for six months. 
 
 Mr. Stearns then discontinued his service on 
 the Illinois Central Railroad and entered the em- 
 ploy of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & 
 Omaha company, and after performing the duties 
 of conductor for them for five months, he spent 
 another five months as brakeman for the Mis- 
 souri Pacific Railway company. Mr. Stearns 
 then worked six months for the International & 
 Great Northern Railroad at Palestine, in the ca- 
 pacity of brakeman, after which he returned to 
 Waterloo and again entered the employ of the 
 Illinois Central company who, after he had spent 
 
 another year as fireman, promoted him in August 
 1887, to his present position of engineer on the 
 Dubuque division. Although Mr. Stearns be- 
 gan working on the railroad at the very early age 
 of seventeen years, and has devoted himself ex- 
 clusively to that vocation, he has never had the 
 misfortune to meet with an accident of any kind, 
 and has never been unable to respond to the call 
 of duty. 
 
 Our subject was married in 1889 to Miss 
 Bertha Schreiber, of Dubuque. Socially he affil- 
 iates with the B. of L. E., Division No. 114, of 
 Waterloo, and in fact nearly all of the secret fra- 
 ternities of that city. He is very prominent in 
 social circles and among the railroad men, and 
 enjoys the respect and esteem of all who have 
 the pleasure of his acquaintance. 
 
 R. GOULD, passenger engineer at 
 Waterloo, Iowa, began work for the 
 Q Illinois Central company November 
 2, 1872, at Waterloo, on a run be- 
 tween that city and Dubuque, where he served 
 as freight engineer until 1884. At this time he 
 was promoted to a passenger run between Water- 
 loo and Sioux City, but incidentally doing some 
 freight work on the same division until 1888, 
 but since that time, his place has been at the 
 right side of a passenger engine running between 
 the city he makes his home and Fort Dodge. 
 
 Mr. Gould's first railroad experience was in 
 the capacity of fireman in 1866, when he was but 
 seventeen years of age. At this time he was run- 
 ning out of Troy, N. Y., on the Troy & Boston 
 Railroad, now known as the Fitchburg Line. 
 After three years of experience he was promoted 
 to the position of engineer and worked between 
 Troy and Adams, Mass., and Rutland, Vt., un- 
 til 1872. Then after serving the Chicago, Du- 
 buque & Minnesota Railway company one sum- 
 mer, running out of Dubuque, Iowa, he entered 
 the employ of the Illinois Central company.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 187 
 
 During his entire career as a railway employe, 
 Mr. Gould has never received injury of so seri- 
 ous a character as to render him unfit for service, 
 nor has he ever been the cause of the injury of 
 his fellow workmen. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is a native of 
 Cavendish, Vermont, and a son of R. D. Gould 
 who was a conductor on the Rutland and Bur- 
 lington division of the Rutland Railroad from 
 uS48 to 1856, and later moved to St. Louis, Mo., 
 and worked for a time on the St. Louis, Alton & 
 Terre Haute R. R. He died in St. Louis in 
 1857, leaving one son besides the one whose 
 name appears at the head of this article, who was 
 a railroad employe for a time. 
 
 Mr. Gould's companion in the journey of 
 life was known, prior to her marriage, as Miss 
 Elizabeth R. Palmer, and is a native of Troy, 
 N. Y. To this congenial union have been born 
 two sons, Harry R., who is still making his home 
 with his parents, and Freddie, who died in 1895. 
 Socially Mr. Gould is identified with the B. of L. 
 E., Division No. 114, of Waterloo, has been an 
 office holder of that lodge and is one of its wide- 
 awake and enterprising members. He also holds 
 a membership in the A. O. U. W. at Waterloo. 
 
 P. McCUNE, engineer at Waterloo, 
 Iowa, began his railroad career in the 
 capacity of call boy for the Chicago 
 & Northwestern Railroad at Belle 
 1 Maine, Iowa, and was thus engaged eight months. 
 Then, after spending about two months in the 
 shops, he began firing on the quarry engine, 
 spending one summer there, and was transferred 
 to the local run between Belle Plaine and Boone. 
 Two and half years later Mr. McCune was set 
 up to engineer, spending his first eleven months 
 on the right side of the engine in the upper and 
 lower yards at Belle Plaine, and then spent a 
 year running between the last named city and 
 Boone. 
 
 Mr. McCune then severed his connection 
 with the Chicago & Northwestern company and 
 began as fireman for the Illinois Central company, 
 running out of Cherokee. January 13, 1887, 
 he moved to Waterloo, and began firing under 
 Engineer James McNiel between the last named 
 city and Eort Dodge, and held this place from 
 January to April. Next he was sent to Chero- 
 kee where he spent about two years firing on the 
 " North Branch ", running to Sioux Falls, S. 
 Dak. Mr. McCune's next position was on the 
 left side of a passenger engine running from 
 Cherokee to Onawa. Four months later, or in 
 1891, he became an engineer. Mr. McCune is 
 now in charge of an engine running between 
 Waterloo and Fort Dodge. 
 
 The subject of our sketch was born in Frank- 
 lin-county, Pa., a son of J. V. McCune and Esther 
 Alexandria, both of whom were natives of Penn- 
 sylvania. The father was a contractor and 
 builder by occupation, and moved to Dubuque, 
 Iowa, in 1856, where he died in February, 1898, 
 about a year later than the death of his com- 
 panion. Three of their sons, besides the one 
 whose name appears at the head of this article, 
 were railroad employes, R. K. McCune, is an en- 
 gineer on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad 
 at What Cheer, la., J. M. is train despatcher at 
 Lajunta, Colorado, for the Atchison, Topeka & 
 Santa Fe Railroad company, and Carson C, who 
 served as a freight conductor, was killed eleven 
 miles west of Lajunta, Colorado. Mr. E. P. 
 McCune, our subject, made his home with his 
 parents until he entered the service of the railroad 
 company. He was married in Paris, Texas, to a 
 young lady of that place who bore the maiden 
 name of Alice North, and their home has been 
 made happy by the presence of a family of the 
 following children, Edna, Arthur, Beulah, Harold 
 and Nina. Socially Mr. McCune affiliates with 
 the B. of L. E., Lodge 226, at Fort Dodge. In 
 his railroad career he has never had the misfor- 
 tune to receive an injury of any kind nor to cause 
 the injury of one of his fellow workmen, and 
 his career has ben exceptionally free from ac- 
 cidents.
 
 188 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 T. KILLORAN, conductor on the 
 Illinois Central Railroad, Amboy 
 division, was born in LaSalle, 111., 
 October 13, 1877, and is the son 
 of Thomas and Mary (Ryan) Killoran, both of 
 whom are now living in Lostant, 111., his father 
 a prominent grain merchant of that place. 
 
 Our subject a bright and energetic young 
 man, was educated in the Brother's school at 
 LaSalle, and graduated at a very early age from 
 the high school at Lostant. In 1893 he went to 
 Streator and worked in the carpet store of D. 
 Heenan & Co. for a few months. He then took 
 a teacher's examination, securing a first grade 
 certificate, but preferring the active employment 
 of out-door life he declined an offer of a school, 
 and entered the service of the I. ,C. R. R. as a 
 brakeman where he remained for three months, 
 then resigned the position and taught school at 
 Lostant for several months, and also worked at 
 telegraphy for some time. Returning to the ser- 
 vice of the road, Mr. Killoran served as freight 
 and passenger brakeman until August 31, 1898, 
 when he was promoted to conductor and remains 
 in that position to date, the youngest conductor 
 in the employ of the company, having been ap- 
 pointed before he had attained his majority. He 
 is a member of the O. of R. C, a Democrat in 
 politics, and a communicant in the Catholic 
 church. 
 
 March i, 
 
 E. CAMP, passenger engineer at 
 Waterloo, and third engineer on the 
 Iowa division of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, started as a railroad man, 
 1866, on the Dubuque & Sioux City 
 R. R. at Dubuque as a fireman, and fired two 
 years under J. P. Farley, Sup't, S. A. Wolcott, 
 Trainmaster, and T. W. Place, Master Mechanic, 
 running between Dubuque and Iowa Falls, and 
 was also in the construction service between 
 Ackley and Iowa Falls in 1866, and helped to 
 build that road. He was promoted to engineer 
 
 May 9, 1868, has run on all the Iowa lines, and 
 has been on the Dubuque division for thirty-one 
 years. He was promoted to passenger engineer, 
 April 1878, since which time, with the exception 
 of thirteen months, from October 16, 1890, to 
 November 17, 1891, when he served as general 
 foreman in the Waterloo shops, he has been in 
 the passenger service. 
 
 Mr. Camp was born in Euclid, Ohio, May 
 19, 1845, and is the son of John H. and Ruth 
 Mary (Baldwin) Camp, natives of Canon, Conn., 
 and New York, respectively. The father, who 
 was a cooper, millwright and farmer by occupa- 
 tion, spent the greater part of his life in Ohio, 
 where he died in 1850. They had a family of 
 eight children : Frances C. married William Pal- 
 mer; Elizabeth lives in Ohio; Dudley B., de- 
 ceased, was a marine engineer; Pulaski S. is 
 farming at Everett, Mich. ; Anna Eliza died in 
 Long Island ; William M. is one of the oldest 
 engineers on the I. C. R. R., Springfield division; 
 H. E. ; Seth C. is a printer and works on the 
 Northwestern Miller, a magazine published in 
 Minneapolis. After the death of Mr. Camp, 
 Mrs. Camp was married a second time to R. B. 
 Marsh, of Port Hope, Canada West, who died 
 in Oregon. Mrs. Camp died at Mexico, Mo., 
 in 1878. 
 
 H. E. Camp remained at home until sixteen 
 years of age, when he enlisted, June 6, 1861, in 
 Company A, 24th Ohio Vol. Inf., but was dis- 
 charged in August 1862 for disability. In Janu- 
 ary 1864 he re-enlisted in the 37th N. Y. Vol. 
 Inf. and served until the close of the war, taking 
 part in many battles and skirmishes without re- 
 ceiving -a wound, and was discharged May 16, 
 1865. Shortly after the close of the war he went 
 to work on the railroad as before stated. In 
 1878 he located in Waterloo, having lived previ- 
 ous to that time in Dubuque. 
 
 Mr. Camp. was married at Glen Cove, Long 
 Island, February 21, 1870, to Jeanette T. Camp- 
 bell of that place. To them have been born two 
 children : Mary J. married W. J. Smith, of Water- 
 loo, Iowa, manager of the Iowa Telephone Co. ; 
 Jessie E. is still at home. Mr. Camp is a mem-
 
 JOHN I. HOUSEAL.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 191 
 
 her of the I>. of L. E., Waterloo Division No. 
 114, in which he has held all the offices and is 
 now Secretary of Insurance ; Harmony Lodge 
 No. 2, I. C). O. F., of Dubuque, since 1869; A. 
 (.). U. W. No. 274 of Waterloo. In his career 
 as a railroad man, Mr. Camp has been very suc- 
 cessful, having never been injured or injured 
 others during his many years of service. He is 
 well known all over the system and well liked 
 by all. 
 
 JOHN I. HOUSEAL, a popular and promi- 
 nent passenger engineer on the Yazoo 
 & Mississippi Valley R. R., entered the 
 service of the Illinois Central in 1893. 
 His railroad career began on the Columbia & 
 Greenville R. R., where he was for two years 
 a fireman. Resigning his position he retired 
 from the road and entered the employ of a mer- 
 cantile house in Newberry, S. C., and later was 
 a clerk in the sheriff's office there. He was then 
 made chief of police of Newberry, and held that 
 position until 1875. In the latter year, after an 
 absence of seven years from railroad work, he 
 went to the Alabama & Vicksburg R. R. as fire- 
 man, where after five months service he was pro- 
 moted to engineer and remained eight years on 
 that road, and on the Alabama division of the 
 East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia R. R. He 
 returned to Vicksburg as engineer on the Ala- 
 bama & Vicksburg R. R., remaining there six 
 months. In 1883, he entered the service of the 
 old Louisville, New Orleans & Texas R. R. (now 
 the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R.) which was 
 absorbed by the I. C. R. R. in 1893. Receiving 
 the appointment of foreman in the railroad shops 
 at Memphis, in 1884, he accepted and held the 
 position one year, but returned to the road where 
 he remained until 1887. He was appointed fore- 
 man at Memphis for the second time and re- 
 mained there four and one half years, afterward 
 returning to his former work as engineer, and 
 has since been in the regular service with the 
 
 exception of three years spent as traveling en- 
 gineer. His present run is on engine No. 15 in 
 the passenger service between Memphis and Rol- 
 ling Fork, Miss. His career embraces a period 
 of twenty-five years of railroad work, during 
 which time he was only in one wreck, being 
 slightly burned. He has never had a collision, 
 and no railroad property in his care has ever been 
 . damaged. He is the oldest engineer in the em- 
 ploy of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. 
 and highly esteemed by the company. He was 
 offered a position in the service for some months 
 before he accepted. Mr. Houseal is a native of 
 Newberry, S. C., where he was born January 
 26, 1845. Hi s father, William W. Houseal was 
 sheriff and auditor of that county, and also en- 
 gaged in merchandising. He died in 1889, and 
 is survived by his wife who resides at Newberry 
 and is seventy-eight years of age. Two brothers 
 of our subject are professional men of that place, 
 one an editor and another a doctor. Another 
 brother is engaged in farming in Cedartown, 
 Ga. 
 
 Mr. Houseal received a college education in 
 his native city, and on January i, 1863, enlisted 
 in Company F, South Carolina Regulars, under 
 Col. L. M. Keitt, and Captain John M. Kinard, 
 of the Confederate army. His company fought 
 at Fort Sumter, and was at the siege of Charles- 
 ton in 1863. He served in General Lee's army 
 in the campaign of 1864, at Richmond, Va. ; at 
 the battle of the Wilderness, second battle of 
 Cold Harbor, and siege of Petersburg. He was 
 then transferred to Gen. Early's command, and 
 fought Sheridan at Cedar Creek, Va. He was 
 then transferred back to Richmond, and finally 
 to South Carolina, and met Sherman on his 
 march through Georgia. He surrendered with 
 his company in 1865, at Salisbury, N. C. His 
 career as a soldier, like his career as a railroad 
 man, was a fortunate one, never being wounded 
 nor compelled to go to the hospital. Mr. Houseal 
 married Miss Augusta G. Addy, of Newberry, 
 S. C., and to them eight children have been born, 
 of whom four survive. They are : J. Fred, an 
 engineer in the I. C. service ; E. B. ; M. B., and 
 Iva, the latter three at home. His deceased 
 
 12
 
 192 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 children are Frank I., William W., Ouida and 
 an infant. 
 
 Mr. Houseal is a member of the Masonic 
 fraternity, Knights of Pythias and Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife are 
 members of the Baptist church, in Memphis, 
 where they reside at No. 180 Florida avenue in 
 a beautiful home, and where their excellent qual- 
 ities have gained for them a warm place in the 
 hearts of a large circle of friends. 
 
 Mr. Van Vleck was married in January 1883, 
 to Miss Mary Heyer, of Waterloo, Iowa, by 
 whom he has three children : Myrtle Irene, Mil- 
 dred Mae and Charles Matthew. Mr. Van 
 Yleck has been very successful as a railroad man. 
 has never been injured and never laid up. He 
 is a great hunter, and has a case of fine guns 
 and has won some fine medals. He is very 
 well known and is one of the popular young con- 
 ductors of the Illinois Central system. He is a 
 member of the O. of R. C. No. 67, and the Ma- 
 sonic F>lue Lodge, No. 105, both of Waterloo. 
 
 LAWRENCE VAN VLECK,. passenger 
 conductor on the Waterloo division of 
 the Illinois Central Railroad, entered 
 the service Tune 27, 1879, at Waterloo, 
 as a brakeman under Matthew Bankson, his first 
 run being on No. 13 to Dubuque for a short time ; 
 was on the Pool run two months, and one and 
 one-half years on a passenger run. He then ran 
 with George Clinger and J. H. Keepers for a 
 time, and for four months was on the local and 
 way freight with Conductor Quinlan. In 1881 
 he was promoted to conductor and ran extra 
 about four years when he was given a regular 
 run between Waterloo and Dubuque, and also 
 ran for three months on the west end, and was 
 then promoted to extra passenger conductor. In 
 January 1897, he took a regular passenger run, 
 and now runs to Dubuque, Fort Dodge and Lyle. 
 Lawrence Van Vleck was born in Grant 
 county, Wisconsin, near Dubuque. He is the 
 son of Matthew and Chloe M. (Clark) Van 
 Meek, of Syracuse, New York. His father was 
 the owner of three packet lines on the Erie 
 canal while residing in New York, and after mov- 
 ing to Wisconsin he patented a spring bed which 
 he manufactured quite extensively. He died in 
 1873. The family numbered seven children: 
 Helen lives in .New York state; Henry was 
 brakeman and baggageman for the I. C. R. R., 
 and died in 1890 ; George ; Rose ; Orab, deceased : 
 Lawrence and Carrie. 
 
 JM. DuBOIS, passenger engineer on Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad, Iowa division, 
 Q began his life on the road October 10, 
 1870, at the early age of seventeen 
 years, as a brakeman, first under Fred Hill and 
 later with Jack Shipman, and was baggageman 
 for Thomas Sanders one year between Waterloo 
 and Sioux City. In 1873 he started as fireman, 
 running between Waterloo and Dubuque about a 
 year, and later from Waterloo to Sioux City, 
 firing for Engineer Kingsbury a short time, and 
 Bill Hale three and one-half years, for James 
 Palmer one year, and afterward for different 
 ones. He was promoted in the fall of 1879, and 
 ran engine No. 153 in the Dubuque yards, but 
 later was given freight engine No. 141, running 
 between Waterloo and Sioux City, and has since 
 run nearly all the engines stationed in Waterloo. 
 He ran a freight between Waterloo and Dubuque 
 one year, and in 1887 was promoted to the pas- 
 senger service and now runs between Dubuque 
 and Fort Dodge. 
 
 Mr. DuBois was born in Tompkins county. 
 N. Y., and is the son of Uriah DuBois, also of 
 the Empire state, who came west and located 
 seven miles north of Waterloo, on a farm, in 
 1855. Our subject had one brother, Arthur C., 
 who was killed on the I. C. R. R. at Abingdon, 
 Iowa, in the fall of 1889, by his engine going
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 193 
 
 through a bridge that was being repaired. He 
 had been in the service of the road for about 
 fifteen years. Mr. DuBois is a member of the 
 1). of L. E., Waterloo Division No. 114; A. F. 
 & A. M. No. 105, and A. O. U. W. No. 274, of 
 Waterloo. He has made many of the fast runs 
 out of Waterloo, and has been very successful 
 in his experience, never having been injured or 
 caused injury to others on his trains, 
 
 T. PIMM is the well-known engineer 
 in charge of the "Brookhaven Local," 
 Q running between McComb City and 
 Brookhaven, Mississippi, in which ca- 
 pacity he has served since 1893. In point of age 
 he bears the distinction of being the oldest engin- 
 eer in the employ of the Illinois Central in the 
 South, being now in his sixty-sixth year. At 
 the age of twelve years our subject began life 
 on his own account, working as an engine wiper 
 lor the B. &. O. Railroad at Frederick City, 
 Maryland. He also served as fireman on the 
 same road, and for a short time as freight con- 
 ductor, and in May 1852, being then only eight- 
 een years of age, was promoted to engineer, serv- 
 ing the same company as such for several years. 
 
 In 1871 he decided to retire from railroad 
 life, and, going to Parkersburg, W. Va., obtained 
 a position as superintendent of an extensive oil 
 business, conducted by William W. Hartness, an 
 oil producer of that locality. After a number of 
 years in this work, our subject went to Lexing- 
 ton, Mississippi, and entered the service of the 
 Illinois Central a,s engineer. He then came to 
 McComb City, taking charge of a bridge train, 
 and running all over the Louisiana division of 
 the I. C. until in 1893, when he was promoted to 
 his present position. 
 
 Mr. Pimm was born in Frederick City, Md., 
 December 15. 1834, and is a son of John Pimm, 
 a farmer of that vicinity, now deceased. John 
 I'innn Jr., a brother, was an engineer on the 
 
 Western Maryland Railroad, and was killed in 
 an accident on that road. 
 
 Our subject was. married in early manhood 
 to Miss Mary Norton, of Virginia, who died in 
 1898. Nine children were born to them, viz: 
 James, a machinist residing at Wilmington, Del. ; 
 William, a machinist in the employ of the I. C. at 
 the McComb City shops; Nannie, residing in 
 Philadelphia; Nora, at home; John, an engineer 
 in the service of the I. C. at Canton, Mississippi ; 
 Harry, a machinist in McComb City; Frank, an 
 employe of the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 
 Philadelphia ; Maggie, residing with her father, 
 and Bernard, a prescription druggist in McComb 
 City. 
 
 Socially Mr. Pimm is connected with the 
 Catholic Knights of America, being a member in 
 good standing for the last twenty years. He is 
 also a member of Division No. 196, B. of L. E.. 
 of McComb City, where he resides in a beautiful 
 home of his own, and of which city he is a useful 
 and valued citizen. 
 
 ( ENJAMIN F. FOX, a very prominent 
 and one of the oldest engineers on the 
 road, has been in the employ of the 
 Illinois Central company since 1868. 
 He began in the car shops at Dubuque, Iowa, 
 and worked there under Foreman D. B. Smith 
 until 1869. He then began as fireman on the 
 Waterloo and Iowa Falls division and worked 
 there for one and a half years. In 1870 he be- 
 gan firing on an engine between Waterloo and 
 Sioux City, and then in 1872 was promoted to 
 engineer, running a freight train between Du- 
 buque and Sioux City until 1882, when he was 
 promoted to passenger engineer and since that 
 time he has run passenger train between Fort 
 Dodge and Sioux City. He is now, in point of 
 service, the fourth oldest engineer in Fort Dodge. 
 He is a son of Calvin P. Fox, who was a 
 machinist by trade and worked at that until his 
 death at Dubuque, Iowa. Our subject had one
 
 194 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 brother who was a fireman on the Illinois Central 
 and L'nion Pacific railroads. He was killed at 
 Sedalia, Missouri, in 1876, while in the employ of 
 the company as a traveling engineer. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Fox married Miss Mary F. 
 Smith, of Connecticut, a daughter of D. B. Smith 
 who was foreman of the shops for the Illinois 
 Central. Our subject and wife have two chil- 
 dren, Avis L. and Orphia. Mr. Fox has never 
 been injured in a wreck nor has he ever been the 
 cause of an injury to any of his fellow men. He 
 has been a member of the B. of L. E. for twenty 
 years, and is now a member of Lodge No. 226, 
 of Fort Dodge. He now resides at 808 Second 
 Ave., south, Fort Dodge, Iowa. 
 
 C. CALKINS, engineer at Waterloo, 
 Iowa, began his railroad career in 
 'O September 1885, at Fort Dodge, in 
 the capacity of fireman for the Illi- 
 nois Central company. He first worked on a 
 switch engine in the yards for a time, and for a 
 short time thereafter was employed on extra 
 trains, and was then promoted to the passenger 
 service, running between Waterloo and Sioux 
 City with Engineer Baldwin for two years. Sub- 
 sequently Mr. Calkins worked on a switch engine 
 in the Dubuque yards until October 1889, when 
 he crossed the cab and has since had a seat on 
 the right side of the engine. His first work in 
 the capacity of engineer was in the Dubuque 
 yards, and then for a time his work was distrib- 
 uted over the entire Iowa division. In 1891 Mr. 
 Calkins had a run between Champaign and Cen- 
 tralia, 111., after which he returned to the Iowa 
 division for a short time. In the spring of 1892 
 he went south, but soon returned to Waterloo ; 
 from thence he went to the Chicago and Cham- 
 paign division, and in the fall of 1892 returned to 
 to Waterloo where he has since made his home. 
 Mr. Calkins was born in Amboy, 111., a son 
 of Henry G. Calkins, who has been an Illinois 
 Central engineer since 1862. He is now making 
 
 his home in Freeport, 111., and is ranked among 
 the oldest of the company's employes. Our 
 subject also has a brother, Frank W., who is an 
 engineer between Freeport and Clinton, 111. Mr. 
 Calkins was married in Dubuque in 1896, to Miss 
 Anna Hayes, of that city. He has been a very 
 successful railroad man and is known to be a 
 skillful engineer. 
 
 JOHN G. DUGAN, one of the most popular 
 conductors and known from Chicago to 
 New Orleans, was born in Lockport, 
 Niagara county, New York, June 20, 
 1847. His father was Hugh Dugan, who was a 
 successful business man in Buffalo and afterward 
 retired on a farm, dying when our subject was 
 a small boy. Several years after his father's 
 death our subject's mother married a Mr. Kol- 
 lymer, going to Cleveland, Ohio, to live. Our 
 subject worked at various occupations and at the 
 time the Civil war broke out, he enlisted in Com- 
 pany D, 84th Ohio. Serving' out his enlisted 
 period he received an honorable discharge and 
 entered the service of the Adams Express Co. 
 as messenger between Louisville, Kentucky and 
 Nashville, Tennessee. He was a trusted em- 
 ploye of this company for eighteen years, serv- 
 ing in various capacities as messenger and assis- 
 tant cashier, afterward having entire charge of 
 a large scope of territory. On the night of July 
 29, 1869, while messenger, he had a serious mis- 
 fortune happen while on train going from Mem- 
 phis to Louisville. The train went through a 
 bridge at Budds Creek. This was one of the 
 most serious railroad accidents of the time, as 
 the entire train was burned up and many passen- 
 gers perished. Being a short distance from a 
 meeting point a crew of another train saw the 
 light and came to the rescue. They took blankets 
 from the sleeping cars and wrapping them 
 around themselves, went into flames of the wreck 
 and rescued many of the passengers. Among 
 them was Mr. Dugan who had been thrown un-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 195 
 
 cler the car. Our subject was so badly burned 
 and injured that the doctors gave him up to 
 die as he lay on the depot platform at Clarksville. 
 An old German named Wenzler living at that 
 place, and who had been educated in Germany^ 
 determined to save our subject if possible. No- 
 ticing signs of life he sent for a tub of hot water, 
 into which he placed our subject, even going so 
 far as to suck great clots of blood out of subject's 
 throat from which he removed several handfuls. 
 The German then had Mr. Dugan removed to his 
 house where he faithfully nursed him six months, 
 having six and eight doctors at various times, 
 his condition being so serious, and at one time 
 he was given up to die and a coffin and suit of 
 clothes, were made for him. Mr. Dugan often 
 laughs when he thinks of the coffin as he saw it 
 many times afterward, it being sold in 1894 by 
 the company back to the maker, while the suit of 
 clothes disappeared. 
 
 The doctors at one time decided to remove 
 Mr. Dugan's eyes, his head being in a deplorable 
 condition. Mr. Dugan was helpless and could 
 not raise his hand against them, but he told them 
 if they did, and he recovered he would kill every- 
 one of them, as he preferred dying to loosing his 
 eyes. They put off the operation and Mr. Dugan 
 recovered, but a leech injured a cord of the right 
 eye when our subject was helpless, which caused 
 the iris to turn back. The express company and 
 railroad company did everything possible for him 
 and when lie had fully recovered he went back 
 to the express company as general agent's clerk, 
 serving up to 1880, when he left the service and 
 engaged in the commission business in Louis- 
 ville, Kentucky, building up a large business, 
 making many friends. Through the unfaithful- 
 ness of persons supposed to be his friends he lost 
 a large amount of bills and closed out his busi- 
 ness and entered the service of the C. O. & S. 
 W. Having friends on the road he made but 
 few trips as brakeman, when he was given charge 
 of a freight train, ran this four years and was 
 then promoted to passenger conductor, running 
 between Louisville and Paducah. 
 
 His present run is between Louisville and 
 Fulton, being one of the best runs on the divi- 
 sion. Mr. Dugan has had a remarkably success- 
 ful railroad career, having had no serious acci- 
 dents or injuries while running a train. He 
 never had any passengers injured, the only per- 
 son ever hurt on our subject's train was mail 
 clerk Myers, who was slightly injured by the car 
 leaving the track. 
 
 Our subject is courteous, accommodating, 
 always looking out for the comfort of his passen- 
 gers and he has hosts of friends. Mr. Dugan 
 married Miss Vollmer, of Louisville, Kentucky, 
 and has four children, George John, a lumber 
 inspector ; Frank Wenzler, who served as lumber 
 inspector of Louisville, now lumber inspector at 
 Memphis; Miss Ella Pauline, an accomplished 
 young lady, and Albert, a graduate of the Louis- 
 ville schools. 
 
 Our subject is a member of the O. R. C. 
 Monon Division, No. 89, having filled the princi- 
 pal chairs and served on many of the committees. 
 Was also one of the organizers of the Knights of 
 Honor, of Louisville. He has a fine residence 
 on West Broadwav. 
 
 JD. HARRELL, an engineer in the pas- 
 senger service on the Louisiana divi- 
 O sion of the Illinois Central, is an old 
 and trusted employe of the road. His 
 connection with the I. C. dates ^from July n, 
 1878, when he was employed as fireman on a 
 steam shovel at' Chatawa, Mississippi. He re- 
 mainded there only three months when he went 
 to McComb City, where he worked for some 
 time in the shops of the company at that point. 
 Later he was appointed locomotive fireman, hav- 
 ing served two years as fireman, he was on Oc- 
 tober 28, 1880, examined for promotion to en- 
 gineer, and passing the examination with credit, 
 was given a position in that capacity on the 
 Louisiana division of the road. In 1891 he was 
 promoted to the passenger service, and has since
 
 196 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 remained there having a regular run between 
 Canton, Mississippi, and New Orleans. He has 
 never had a serious wreck, or been in any way 
 injured on the road. 
 
 Mr. Harrell is a native of Greensboro, Ala- 
 bama, the date of his birth being September 14, 
 1860. He is the son of James D. Harrell, who 
 was a carpenter and builder by trade, also a suc- 
 cessful farmer. Mr. Harrell, Sr. departed this 
 life in 1895, at the advanced age of eighty-seven 
 years. Three brothers of our subject, now all de- 
 ceased, were former employes of the I. C. Wil- 
 liam C. was a bridge foreman, John A., a carpen- 
 ter, and Wesley M. was for a time supervisor of 
 bridges and buildings. 
 
 Mr. Harrell married Miss Mamie Long, of 
 Kenner, Louisiana. Two children have been 
 born to them: James M., born August 7, 1895, 
 and Mae, born August 3, 1898. 
 
 The family reside in a beautiful home in the 
 south-east part of McComb City, besides 
 which Mr. Harrell is the owner of several other 
 pieces of valuable property. Division No. 196, 
 
 B. of L. E. claims him as a member, he having 
 just been elected secretary of the Division. 
 
 Mr. Harrell kindly furnished the Histori- 
 cal Company with a short sketch of the Lodge 
 which is as follows : 
 
 " Magnolia Division No. 196, B. of L. E., 
 was organized by F. L. Waldron. on October 
 23, 1882, with the following charter members : 
 
 C. Lindstrom, W. B. Baldwin, Harry Thompson, 
 George Deaton, P. Hannon, J. C. Purdy, F. G. 
 Wheelock, F. Burrow, H. Bowen, John Dietz. 
 William Hight, W. D. Mitchell', and Hennison 
 Wallace. The Division now has seventy-eight 
 members, with the following officers : |. D. 
 Harrell, Secretary: E. R. Harlan, Chief Engi- 
 neer ; B. E. Harrell, First Engineer ; William 
 Munn, Second Engineer ; Thomas McCosker, 
 Second Assistant Engineer: C. W. Harrell, 
 Third Assistant Engineer ; Leon Ford, Guide ; 
 J. R. Lilly, Chaplain ; J. R. Smith, Journal Agent : 
 J. D. Harrell, Insurance Agent, and delegate to 
 the General Board 'of Adjustment ; William 
 I 'evens, ( )fficer of Law &c. ; and H. Bowen, dele- 
 gate to the International Convention. 
 
 SCAR D. GRAY is an engineer in the 
 freight service of the Illinois Central 
 in the Cherokee district of the Iowa 
 division. He entered the service of 
 the I. C. in January 1873 as fireman, and has re- 
 mained with the company ever since. His first 
 experience in railroad work was between the 
 years of 1852 and 1856, when he worked as fire- 
 man on the old Galena & Chicago Union R. R. 
 He retired from the service of that company and 
 at once entered the employ of the I. C. On com- 
 ing to this company he was for nearly five 
 years fireman for T. W. Place, now master me- 
 chanic, receiving a well-merited promotion in 
 1877 to engineer, and took a regular run between 
 Waterloo and Sioux City. During his service 
 he has been in a number of small wrecks, in one 
 of which he was injured. He is now in charge 
 of freight engine No. 814, running on the Chero- 
 kee division. 
 
 Mr. Gray was born April 6, 1834, in Chau- 
 tauqua county. New York, and is married. His 
 wife, formerly Miss Adeline Conley, being a na- 
 tive of Canada. He is socially connected with 
 B. of L. E. No. 226, and also of the Elks organ- 
 ization of Fort Dodge. 
 
 J WILLIAM MEYER, engineer on the 
 Illinois Central, Freeport division, en- 
 Q tered the service of the company No- 
 vember 8, 1 887, as a fireman on the Am- 
 boy division, and after some four years' service 
 was licensed to handle the throttle and lever June 
 1 6. 1 80 1, since which time he has served in that 
 capacity, now running on the Freeport division. 
 
 Our subject is a native of Hull, England, 
 where he first saw the light October 22, 1865. 
 Two years later the family came to the United 
 States and located in Chicago, where they re- 
 mained but eight months, then removed to Dixon, 
 111., where the parents, Julius and Rosine (Oyler) 
 Meyer, still reside, the father following the tail- 
 or's trade.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES.- 
 
 197 
 
 J. William Meyer attended the Dixon 
 schools, and during his boyhood and early man- 
 hood worked on a farm near his home. On the 
 1 7th of January, 1889, he was married to Miss 
 Addie F. Walker, of Amboy, 111. Mrs. Meyer 
 was born in Sublette, June 28, 1868. By her 
 union with Mr. Meyer she is the mother of one 
 child Myrtle M., born December i, 1890. So- 
 cially Mr. Meyer affiliates with the Masonic fra- 
 ternity, and also belongs to the B. of L. E. In 
 his religious views he is a Protestant, and is a 
 Republican in politics. 
 
 C., being engaged as pumper at the station at 
 Frinear, Louisiana. 
 
 Miss Mattie E. Hammond, of McComb City, 
 Mississippi, became the wife of our subject. She 
 is the daughter of H. R. Hammond, now de- 
 ceased, who was for twenty-two years, an engi- 
 neer in the service of the I. C. at the water-works, 
 and was also supervisor of the pumping service. 
 To this marriage two children have been born, 
 Harry and Vivian. 
 
 Socially Mr. Muller is connected with the 
 Order of Maccabees, and is a member of Divi- 
 sion No. 367, O. R. C. of McComb. He has a 
 comfortable home in East McComb, and is a 
 highly respected citizen. 
 
 JG. MULLER, a well known conductor 
 in the freight service of the Ilinois Cen- 
 Q tral, on the Louisiana division, dates 
 his connection with the road from 1890. 
 Previous to becoming identified with the I. C. 
 he had been employed for two years, first as fire- 
 man and later as a brakeman, on the New Or- 
 leans, Spanish Fort & Lake Railroad. He then 
 engaged in farming in Alabama, which he fol- 
 lowed two years, and the three years following 
 was employed as a fireman on a Mississippi river 
 steamer. In 1890 he entered the employ of the 
 Illinois Central at McComb City, as brakeman, 
 and served three years. Owing to a small wreck 
 which occurred that year, he retired from the 
 service and went to the Southern Pacific at New 
 Orleans, as hostler and night engineer. After 
 a two years'service with that road, he went to the 
 shops at Gulf port, Louisiana, where he worked 
 for a period of eighteen months. In 1898, he 
 was re-instated by the I. C. and resumed work 
 as brakeman, and after fourteen months spent 
 in that branch of the service, was promoted to 
 conductor in the freight service, and given a 
 regular run between Canton, Miss .and New Or- 
 leans. 
 
 Mr. Muller is a native of New Orleans where 
 lie was born on February 22, 1866. His father, 
 Mathias Muller, is a valued employe of the I. 
 
 ICHARD MORGAN, trainmaster of the 
 Grenada district, was born at New- 
 castle, Ireland, November 15, 1856. 
 His parents emigrated to the States in 
 the spring of 1858, sojourning at Cumberland, 
 Maryland, and at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, be- 
 fore settling at Nashville, Tennesee. Here in 
 public and private schools the boy received his 
 education until 1867, when he began his railroad 
 career, lad though he was, as tool carrier on the 
 Louisville & Nashville road on what is now the 
 Henderson division. Soon he secured a some- 
 what easier situation, that of news-boy, running 
 between Nashville and Guthrie, Kentucky, about 
 a year. His next move was to become bridge 
 watchman at Red River, near Adams, Tennessee. 
 A year later he was given a place with the bridge 
 carpenters, and a year later became brakeman 
 running between Nashville and Henderson. Pro- 
 motion came within a twelve-month, and he was 
 given charge of the construction train and later 
 a freight run, receiving a final promotion and 
 placed in charge of a passenger train which he 
 ran for one year before resigning and entering 
 the service of the Illinois Midland as conductor 
 of the work train, which he ran some five months
 
 198 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 before going east to accept a position on the New 
 York & New England road with a freight run be- 
 tween Boston and Hartford. A year later he 
 secured a place as conductor on a construction 
 train on the Denver & Rio Grande, for, a year, 
 and went from there to the Cotton Belt road in 
 Texas on a work train until the road became 
 bankrupt some seven months later. An opening 
 being offered him on the road where he served 
 his apprenticeship, he accepted and served as 
 freight and passenger conductor some three years, 
 and then started in as extra freight conductor for 
 the Chesapeake, Ohio & South-Western, soon re- 
 ceiving a promotion to extra passenger conduc- 
 tor, and later was made trainmaster at Memphis, 
 from which place he was transferred to Paducah 
 and later to Louisville, Ky. September 16, 1893, 
 he was made superintendent of the main line 
 and branches, with headquarters at Paducah. 
 When the road became a part of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral system on July 31, 1896, Mr. Morgan was 
 assigned his present position with headquarters 
 in Memphis. 
 
 May 31, 1878, he was married to Miss El- 
 leanor A. Kane, of Logan county, Ky. They 
 are members of the Catholic church. In his 
 political views Mr. Morgan affiliates with the 
 Republican party, and socially is a member of 
 the Elks. His career refutes the old saying that 
 a rolling stone gathers no moss, or is the ex- 
 ception that proves the rule In the many 
 changes of employers he encountered, he gathered 
 an experience that ripened and fitted him for the 
 higher positions that came after positions that 
 he might not have been competent to fill had the 
 varied experience been lacking. 
 
 JOHN J. McNAMARA, a popular conduc- 
 tor in the freight service of the Illinois 
 Central, on the Louisiana division, en- 
 tered the service of the I. C. in 1891. His 
 railroad career began in 1882, on the Chicago, 
 Burlington Ouincy R. P.. at Beardstown, Illi- 
 
 nois, where he served as brakeman for two and 
 one half years, and afterward as conductor for 
 five years. He then went west to Pocatello. Ida- 
 ho, where he was for two years with the Union 
 Pacific R. R. as conductor. Going from there 
 to Birmingham, Alabama, he was for a short 
 time with the Georgia Pacific R. R., and in 1891 
 became identified with the Illinois Central at 
 McComh City, Mississippi, where he has since re- 
 mained in the freight service of the road on the 
 Louisiana division. 
 
 Mr. McNamara is a native of Sublette, Illi- 
 nois, where he was born October 20, 1864, and 
 is a son of Daniel McNamara, now retired, and 
 living at Rock Falls, Illinois, but who for many 
 years was connected with the Chicago, Burling- 
 ton & Quincy and Illinois Central roads as sec- 
 tion foreman. Miss Katie McCoster, of Canton, 
 Mississippi, became the wife of Mr. McNamara, 
 and they are the parents of two children, Bessie 
 and Ellen. Mr. McNamara belongs to the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias, and Di- 
 vision No. 367 O. R. C., of McComb City, where 
 he has a fine home on Broadway. . He is regarded 
 among the officers of the I. C. as a very careful 
 and steady man, and his fellow citizens respect 
 him for his integrity and progressive qualities. 
 
 jtjtjtjtjtjt 
 
 J' NORTH ABBOTT, a well-known con- 
 ductor in the freight service on the Lou- 
 Q isiana division of the Illinois Central 
 between Canton, Mississippi, and New 
 Orleans, entered the employ of the company in 
 1872 at the age of seventeen. He was first em- 
 ployed as bill clerk and later as rate clerk in the 
 outward freight office at New Orleans, under 
 Major E. A. Burke, who was then freight agent. 
 Occupying this clerkship until 1878, he then 
 resigned to accept a position at court, where 
 he was engaged for the succeeding four years. 
 He then returned to the employ of the Illi- 
 nois Central in 1886, and entered the service 
 of the company at McComb City, Mississippi,
 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 201 
 
 as a conductor on the Louisiana division of the 
 road, which position he holds at the present 
 time. For the past six years he has had charge 
 of the summer fruit trains out of New Orleans. 
 
 Mr. Abbott is a native of Natchez, Missis- 
 sippi, where he was born October 31, 1854, and 
 is a son of John and Sarah J. Abbott, both still 
 living and leading a retired life in the city of 
 New Orleans, at the ripe old age of seventy-six 
 and seventy-four respectively. John Abbott was 
 a commercial salesman by occupation, well and 
 favorably known throughout the state of Mis- 
 sissippi. He was in later years in the newspaper 
 business, being connected with the Item and the 
 States, New Orleans publications. 
 
 On November 12, 1877, J. North Abbott 
 was united in marriage to Miss Clara Vienne, 
 a daughter of Francis A. Vienne, a cotton mer- 
 chant of New Orleans. Four children have been 
 born to them, viz : Marga B., Alene M., Dr. 
 C-W-M., and Clara Louise. In his social con- 
 nections Mr. Abbott is a member of Division No. 
 367, O. R. C., of McComb City, of which he is 
 now Chairman, and has been the representative 
 of the Division for four years. He was a char- 
 ter member of the Young Men's Gymnastic Club 
 of New Orleans, and is connected with Lodge 
 No. 68, Knights of Pythias, of New Orleans. 
 Mr. Abbott resides with his family in a beautiful 
 and commodious residence in East McComb 
 City, of which place he is an energetic and pro- 
 gressive citizen. 
 
 L. HAYES is an engineer in the pas- 
 senger service of the Illinois Central, 
 Q his run being between Champaign and 
 Centralia. His father, Patrick Hayes, 
 entered the service of the Illinois Central in 1864, 
 as a section man at Champaign, working after- 
 ward in the shops as a laborer until December 
 I, 1895, without suspension or discharge. On 
 the latter date, after a life of well-spent labor, 
 
 he retired on account of ill-health, and died one 
 year later, December i, 1896. Our subject was 
 born in Lowell, Mass., in 1860, and came to 
 Champaign in 1864. He entered the employ of 
 the Illinois Central as fireman in 1878 on the 
 Champaign section of the Chicago division, ser- 
 ving six months in the freight, and four and 
 one-half years in the passenger service. On 
 February 13, 1883, he was examined by E. T. 
 Jeffery and Henry Schlacks, and passing the ex- 
 amination was promoted to engineer, taking a 
 passenger run in 1893. Mr. Hayes is a charter 
 member of B. of L. F., and also a member of 
 Division No. 24, B. of L. E., of Centralia. May 
 20, 1885, he was married to Miss Margaret Cof- 
 fee, of Champaign. They have had four chil- 
 dren, Gertrude and Minnie, deceased, and Wil- 
 liam Bertram and Margaret Loretta. In politics 
 he is a Democrat. Both are members of St. 
 Mary's Catholic church, of Champaign. 
 
 JGRANEY is an engineer in the passen- 
 ger service of the Illinois Central, run- 
 Q ning between Champaign and Centralia. 
 He was born in Bristol, Conn., January 
 T, 1854, a son of John and Kate (Naughton) 
 Graney, natives of County Galway, Ireland. He 
 entered the service of the Illinois Central as fire- 
 man in 1871, when only a youth of seventeen. 
 He was promoted to engineer October 5, 1877, 
 and in 1892 took charge of engine No. 968 in 
 the passenger service on the Champaign section 
 of the Chicago division. Mr. Graney was mar- 
 ried to Miss Minnie F. Hayes, November 10, 
 1880. She is the daughter of Patrick and Mary 
 (Quirk) Hayes, and was born in Lowell, Mass., 
 February 19. 1858. They have no children. 
 Both are communicants of St. Mary's Catholic 
 church in Champaign, and he is a member of 
 the Father Matthew Total Abstinence Society, 
 of which he has been a member for twenty-five 
 years. The fathers of Mr. and Mrs. Graney 
 were both in the employ of the I. C. R. R. for
 
 202 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 thirty-five years, and only retired when old age 
 compelled them, and during all this time neither 
 of them were ever discharged or laid off. Mr. 
 Graney is connected with Division No. 24. U. 
 of L. E., of Centralia. 
 
 ILLIAM H. BARTLETT, a popular, 
 hustling young agent at Owensboro, 
 the son of William H. Bartlett, is 
 a native of Tennessee, where he re- 
 ceived his education. At the age of seventeen 
 he worked in a store where he learned telegraph 
 operating, remaining in this store seven months. 
 He then began work for the L. & N. at Browns- 
 ville, Tenn'essee, where he remained two years 
 as operator, then was in Supt. Dunn's office at 
 Memphis for three months. Then he entered 
 the service of the C. O. & S. W. as operator and 
 ticket agent. In 1891 he went to Greenville, and 
 in 1892 to Grand River, a boomed town, as agent. 
 Tn 1894 he went to Eddyville, remaining until 
 1896, when he was transferred to Central City. 
 One year after this he again changed and took 
 up his work at Princeton, and yet a year later 
 was again transferred to Owensboro to succeed 
 Agent Stovall, of Louisville. Our subject has a 
 number of men in his department, his assistants 
 being J. P. Van Meter, chief clerk and cashier, 
 F. X. Pottinger, bill clerk, ticket seller and opera- 
 tor, and George Arnold, warehouse man. 
 
 Owensboro is a city of great business enter- 
 prises. The yard has two and a half miles of 
 side track, and the freight house is far too small 
 for the amount of business transacted. Mr. 
 Bartlett has continued the good work begun by 
 Mr. Stovall and has doubled the business in the 
 last year. The principal shipments from this 
 town are tobacco, carriages, wagons, feed, whis- 
 key, cellulose, a preparation made from the pith 
 of corn stalks, which is used in battle ships, ex- 
 ports of 1,000,000 tons expected in the year 1900, 
 also large shipments of woolen goods, brick and 
 tile, There are seven thousand bogheads 
 
 of tobacco to be shipped in the year 1900, 
 besides the large shipments of flour. Mr. Bart- 
 lett has a great deal of competition, there being 
 the L. & N., the L. H. & St. L. railroads and the 
 Ohio river, all having good agents. Our subject 
 acts as commercial agent in connection with the 
 duties of local freight agent, and much of his 
 success lies in his being very accommodating to 
 his patrons and his pleasant manners and his 
 square dealing have also done much for him in 
 his work. He is a temperate man, attends strict- 
 ly to his business during the day and spends his 
 evenings at home when not engaged at his office. 
 Mr. Bartlett married a daughter of M. W. Brown 
 and has one child, Leonard B. He is a member 
 of the A. O. U. W. and resides at 210 E. Fifth 
 street, Owensboro, Kentucky. 
 
 L. PRICE, a conductor on the Louis- 
 iana division of the Illinois Central, 
 in the freight department, dates his 
 connection with the company from 
 1894. His first knowledge of railroad work was 
 acquired on the Louisville & Nashville R. R. 
 where he worked as a brakeman for three years 
 out of Birmingham, Alabama. He was after- 
 ward for three years with the Nashville & Chat- 
 tanooga R. R. as brakeman and extra, conductor 
 but returned to the Louisville & Nashville where, 
 after six months service as brakeman he was pro- 
 moted to conductor. The latter position he held 
 for nine years, having charge of a run out of 
 Birmingham. 
 
 In 1894 he became identified with the I. C. 
 at McComb City, Mississippi, as a brakeman, 
 serving for six months. He was then sent to 
 Jackson, Mississippi, as yardmaster for the I. C., 
 which position he held for two years, and in 
 1897 returned to the road service as a conductor 
 on the Louisiana division of the road, and has 
 since remained there. He was in a collision at 
 Johnston's Station, Miss., and also at Brook- 
 haven, but in both escaped injury.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 203 
 
 Mr. Price is a native of Coffee county, Tenn., 
 his birth occurring on December 23, 1864. James 
 I Vice, his father, now deceased, was a prominent 
 attorney at Manchester, Tenn., and well known 
 throughout the state. Mr. Price has two broth- 
 ers who reside at his old home in Tennessee, one 
 of them a physician by profession, and the other 
 a farmer. ( )ur subject was united in marriage 
 to Mrs. Annie Wilson, a native of Tennessee, 
 by whom he has one son, James Ernest, a prom- 
 ising boy. The Knights of Maccabees and O. 
 R. ('. of McComb City, claim him as a valued 
 member. A man of genial disposition, and- a 
 faithful employe, he is held in high esteem by 
 the officials of the road and his fellow employes. 
 
 Central. 
 
 ILUAM T. COLMESN1LL, the 
 popular passenger conductor, is the 
 oldest man in active service on the 
 Evansville district of the Illinois 
 Around the family of which he is a 
 descendant, is woven a romance as interesting as 
 any tale of fiction. 
 
 Gabriel de Colmesnill, a native of France, 
 enjoyed the title of Marquis while under his na- 
 tive flag. When a young man he settled in the 
 island of Hayti, and acquired several large plan- 
 tations, some in the valley of the Antobomic, and 
 the home plantation in the mountains near St. 
 Marks, on which he raised large quantities of 
 sugar, cotton, coffee and indigo. During an up- 
 rising of the blacks at the close of the last cen- 
 tury, the Marquis was beseiged on his planta- 
 tion that had been fortified by his faithful slaves. 
 When carried by storm his wife and two sons and 
 (laughters perished, while he himself was severely 
 wounded and carried by his servants to a place of 
 safety in St. Marks. Here he chartered a vessel 
 belonging to Stephen Girard, and loaded it with 
 coffee and indigo. Just prior to sailing there 
 appeared a couple of his slaves who had with 
 them his infant son that they had rescued and car- 
 ried to the mountains. This was John D. Colmes- 
 
 nill, father of the subject of this sketch. The 
 Marquis landed at Philadelphia and, selling his 
 cargo to Girard, purchased a plantation at Lam- 
 berton, New Jersey, where most of his old slaves 
 joined him. Finding the climate too severe for 
 them, he removed in '800 to Georgia, purchasing 
 a large plantation near Savannah, where he 
 raised cotton and vegetables for the city market. 
 Here John D. Colmesnill was reared and at the 
 age of sixteen, after two years in the academy at 
 Athens, Georgia, he entered the mercantile es- 
 tablishment of Robert and John Baldwin as ship- 
 ping clerk. The following year he was made 
 super-cargo on one of their trading vessels and 
 sent on several voyages to the West India islands. 
 During one of these trips he landed at Hayti 
 to recover the family plate that his ' father had 
 buried between two mahogany trees at his moun- 
 tain home. Together with what was buried for 
 the neighbors there were two tons of the precious 
 metal which he packed into some four hundred 
 fifty bags of coffee he was buying for that pur- 
 pose, and started with it to the coast. Some one 
 proved traitor and informed the authorities at 
 Port an Prince, so the young treasure hunter 
 was compelled to make his escape in an open boat 
 to Jamaica, and return to the states poorer by 
 the value of the silver and the coffee. After 
 leaving the sea Mr. Colmesnill went into business 
 at Fashington, Georgia, where he was when his 
 father died, directing in his will that his slaves be 
 set free, and that the grown ones be given fifty 
 dollars each and the young ones thirty. As the 
 laws of Georgia did not permit the freeing of 
 slaves, he had to work the plantation a year to 
 secure funds enough to carry out the provisions 
 of the will by moving them north before manu- 
 mitting them. This he did, although it was a tax 
 on his own resources. A few years after he sold 
 his possessions and moved with what slaves had 
 been purchased in Georgia to Kentucky, where 
 he spent the remainder of his days. During the 
 days of his service as super-cargo, an attempt was 
 made to smuggle a part of the cargo of flour 
 through the port at Havana. Being detected, 
 Mr. Colmesnill, along with the captain of the ves- 
 sel, was arrested and cast into the Moro castle,
 
 204 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 and confined in a dungeon below the level of the 
 sea. After thirty-one days in darkness the Cap- 
 tain General chanced to visit the dungeons and 
 was appealed to for mercy. Learning the name 
 of the young man he enquired of his father, asked 
 his size, appearance, birth-place, and place of ed- 
 ucation. It was an old schoolmate who had been 
 in college of Lorenz, in the Pyrenees, with him 
 years before. The prisoner was released, taken 
 to the palace of Don Vivas, and nursed through 
 a spell of fever contracted while in the damp 
 dungeon under the sea. At Louisville he entered 
 into trade and became the largest merchant in 
 the city, with a trade extending to the mouth of 
 the Mississippi. At one time when the firm with 
 which he was connected failed, Mr. Colmesnill 
 refused to take advantage of the bankruptcy laws, 
 but paid dollar for dollar on over a quarter of a 
 million. During the administration of James 
 Guthrie as secretary of the treasury, Mr. Colmes- 
 nill was agent of the department in the most con- 
 fidential relations, handling millions of the na- 
 tion's revenue. In 1833 he purchased a beautiful 
 country seat near the city, where he lived until 
 the northern soldiers despoiled it of its beauti- 
 ful grove during the war, when he moved to the 
 city to spend his declining days. He was born 
 July 31, 1787, and died July 30, 1871. In 1815 
 he married Miss Honore, who lived but a few 
 years. In 1826 he married Sarah Courtnie Tay- 
 lor, daughter of Major Edmond Taylor, of the 
 U. S. A. 
 
 W. T. Colmesnill was born in Bullet county, 
 Kentucky, and received his education in the pub- 
 lic, schools of Louisville and at St. Mary's Col- 
 lege. When the war broke out he moved to Mis- 
 souri, and being a large boy for his age was ar- 
 rested many times for not entering the service. 
 Tiring of this annoyance he entered the railroad 
 service of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, 
 on the Beardstown branch, as brakeman and bag- 
 gageman a short time, when he was promoted to 
 freight conductor, running a mixed train until 
 1873, and for a year following had charge of the 
 work train and the iron train on the Richmond 
 branch. In 1874 he engaged with the Elizabeth- 
 town & Paducah road under the superintendency 
 
 of Dan Whitcomb, running a local between Cen- 
 tral City and Paducah. At that time there was 
 no telegraph on the road, and trains ran by the 
 card. The night of March 28, 1875, the train 
 went through the bridge at Poplar Creek, the 
 caboose with seven men aboard fell forty feet into 
 ten feet of water. Not until after rescuing for- 
 mer Governor Anderson and seeing that all were 
 safe, did Mr. Colmesnill realize that he had bro- 
 ken an arm, shattered a leg, ribs fractured and 
 severe cuts about the head. After his recovery 
 he resumed his place again, but soon abandoned 
 it. to manage the large farms of D. R. Burbanks 
 for three years. When fully recovered he again 
 entered upon a railroad career, this time in Texas. 
 For a time he ran a passenger train and then 
 had charge of a train on construction, and in one 
 capacity or another helped construct seven hun- 
 dred miles of road in the Lone Star state, includ- 
 ing the three hundred miles of track laying for 
 the Texas Pacific through an unsettled wilder- 
 ness. Returning to Kentucky he entered the ser- 
 vice of the Ohio Valley line, under construction 
 by General Manager Kelsey, running a work 
 train, remaining in the service of the road under 
 the subsequent changes of management. Dur- 
 ing all the years of his railroad service Mr. 
 Colmesnill has never had a passenger lose his 
 life although in the incident above related there 
 was a narrow escape. 
 
 Mr. Colmesnill married Miss Fanny Taylor, 
 a daughter of Dr. Thomas Taylor, a prominent 
 physician of Henderson county, and one of the 
 early settlers there. Of his two sons, Thomas H., 
 the elder, attends the Kentucky Military Acad- 
 emy, where he is considered by his instructors 
 one of the brightest students ever in the school. 
 His address at the age of eight to the convention 
 of ex-Confederate soldiers at Nashville, awak- 
 ened the greatest enthusiasm. The second son 
 is Charles Anderson, attending the public school. 
 Mr. Colmesnill is a member of the Monon Div- 
 ision. O. R. C., and of the Blue Lodge, Chapter 
 and Commandery of the Masonic order. In his 
 stately bearing he shows descent from the old 
 cavaliers, and his jovial nature makes him a typ- 
 ical railroad man of the highest type.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 205 
 
 JC. LOMAX, a widely known and pop- 
 ular conductor in the freight service of 
 Q the Illinois Central, on the Louisiana 
 division, received his initial training on 
 that division and has since remained there. Be- 
 ginning as brakeman in August 1889, he worked 
 in that capacity for one and a half years, when 
 he was found worthy of promotion to conductor 
 and given charge of a regular run. A man of 
 capability and faithful services, his future should 
 be a bright one. He has seen some small acci- 
 dents, but has escaped serious injury. 
 
 Mr. Lomax is a native of Hazelhurst, Miss., 
 where he was born on May 3rd, 1860. Jesse 
 Lomax, an extensive farmer of that state, now 
 deceased, was his father. Mr. Lomax married 
 Miss Katie Easley, of McComb City, and three 
 children are the result of their union, viz : 
 Blanche, Maude, and Madge O. He affiliates 
 socially with Division No. 367, O. of R. C., of 
 McComb City, where he resides with his family 
 in a nice home in the southern part of the city. 
 
 Mr. Kennedy is a native of Crab Orchard, 
 Kentucky, the date of his birth being August i, 
 1869. Matthew Kennedy Sr., his father, an ex- 
 tensive railroad contractor, was for many years 
 connected with the Alabama & Chattanooga Rail- 
 road, the Louisville & Nashville, and also assisted 
 in the construction of the I. C. He is now liv- 
 ing at New Orleans, enjoying the fruits of a 
 well spent and industrious life. William Ken- 
 nedy, a brother of our subject, was a railway 
 conductor, and was killed while in the employ 
 of the Little Rock & Fort Smith R. R. Mr. 
 Kennedy's estimable wife was a Miss Wise, of 
 Alabama, by whom he has three children, Lois, 
 Maud Wise, and Mary Chapel. He affiliates so- 
 cially with the Maccabees, and is secretary of 
 Division No. 367 O. R. C., of McComb City. He 
 has a pleasant home on Front street, and is con- 
 sidered a worthy and energetic citizen of that 
 place. 
 
 ATTHEW KENNEDY is a popular 
 freight conductor in the service of the 
 Illinois Central, having a run between 
 Canton, Mississippi, and New Or- 
 leans. His first experience at railroad work was 
 acquired at Birmingham, Alabama^where he was 
 in the employ of the Louisville & Nashville Rail- 
 road as a brakeman. In 1888 he was promoted 
 to conductor in the freight service of that road, 
 and served as such between Decatur and Mont- 
 gomery, Alabama, and between Decatur and Bir- 
 mingham. He left the employ of that road in 
 1892, and was for a time with the Fort Scott & 
 Memphis R. R. as brakeman, and from the latter 
 road went to the San Antonio & Aransas Pass 
 Railroad as brakeman and conductor. He en- 
 tered the service of the I. C. in 1894, beginning 
 as a brakeman, and in 1895 was promoted to 
 conductor in the freight service on the Louisiana 
 division, where he has since remained. 
 
 ^OBERT C. McKAY, a prominent en- 
 gineer on the Vicksburg division of 
 the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 
 was born in Jackson, Tennessee, Sep- 
 tember 23, 1874. John S. McKay, his father, 
 was an engineer on the Mississippi Central R. R. 
 for many years. He was also master mechanic 
 at Jackson, and was superintendent of the div- 
 ision between Canton, Mississippi, and Cairo, Il- 
 linois. His railroad career embraced a period of 
 thirty-two years. He died in 1895 while acting 
 as traveling engineer for the Y. & M. V. division 
 of the J. C. R. R., and is survived by his wife, 
 Lucy (Cady) McKay, who is a resident of Mem- 
 phis. Robert C. McKay attended the public 
 schools of Memphis until fourteen years old, 
 when he entered the employ of the Buyers and 
 Factors Compress company, at Memphis, where 
 he worked two years. In January 1890, he be- 
 came identified with the Illinois Central as an ap- 
 prentice in the machine shops at Memphis, under 
 Master Mechanic Jones Ramsey, and served a 
 full term of four years there. Remaining there
 
 206 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 one year longer, in April 1895 he went to Vicks- 
 burg, Mississippi, and worked there in the shops 
 of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. until 
 November of that year. He then entered the 
 road service of the I. C. as fireman on locomotive 
 No. 48, with Engineer Joseph O'Leary, between 
 Memphis, Tennessee, and Vicksburg, Mississippi. 
 He remained in that branch of the service until 
 promoted to engineer in October 1897, where he 
 is at the present time employed, having charge 
 of engine No. 35 on the Yicksburg division. Mr. 
 McKay was reared in the Presbyterian faith, 
 and in his political views is a supporter of demo- 
 cratic principles. He is a young- man of ability, 
 and is a valued employe of the company. 
 
 THOMAS ALLEN BANKS JR., the pop- 
 ular agent at Princeton, Kentucky, was 
 born at Springfield, January 17, 1869. 
 His father was a well known conductor 
 for many years on the Louisville & Nashville 
 road. The subject of this brief sketch left school 
 at the early age of fifteen to study telegraphy, 
 and in 1885 was given a place at Rives, Tennes- 
 see, remaining at that station two years as bill 
 clerk. He was next assigned work at Ripley, 
 and from there at Dyersburg for a short time. 
 The following four years he served as agent at 
 Kattawa, Ky., and was transferred from there 
 to Evansville, Indiana, as operator. January 7, 
 180,9, he was assigned his present position as 
 agent at Princeton. This is one of the important 
 points on the Louisville division, requiring the 
 assistance of six clerks, operators and assistants, 
 besides a number of porters and a matron. In 
 addition to his duties as station agent Mr. Banks 
 acts as yard master and has charge of several 
 miles of tracks and forty-eight switches. Being 
 a junction point large quantities of baggage are 
 handled, averaging five thousand pieces a month. 
 In addition to a large express business, the sta- 
 tion sends out each year several thousands hogs- 
 heads of tobacco, large quantities of castings, 
 
 lime, limestone, brick, cattle, hogs, sheep, poultry 
 and produce. With a seminary in the town, a 
 large passenger traffic centers in the place. To 
 manage all this properly requires a man of alert. 
 pushing business qualifications. Mr. Banks mar- 
 ried Miss Mattie, a daughter of Mr. William 
 Shrvock, of Newton, Illinois. 
 
 DH. MARTIN, a popular and well-known 
 engineer in the passenger service of the 
 Q Illinois Central, became identified with the 
 company in 1883. In September of that 
 year he entered the service of the I. C. as fireman 
 on the New Orleans division, with Engineer John 
 Hines. He remained in that branch of the ser- 
 vice until 1887, when on examination he was 
 found proficient and was promoted to engineer 
 in the freight service, and given charge of a run 
 between Canton, Mississippi, and New Orleans, 
 Louisiana, continuing there until his promotion 
 to the passenger service, and has since continued 
 in that capacity on the Louisiana division, where 
 he is known as a careful and painstaking employe. 
 
 His experience in railroad work has been de- 
 void of serious accidents, and although he has 
 been in some small wrecks, was never injured. 
 He has charge at present of the largest' engine 
 in the McComb City shops. 
 
 Mr. Martin was born in Franklin county, 
 Tennessee, March 5. 1865, and is a son of Wil- 
 liam W. Martin, formerly a blacksmith in the 
 employ of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis 
 R. R., who is now retired and living at Decherd, 
 Tennessee. Edward H. Martin, a b'rother, now 
 residing in Kentucky, was for some time con- 
 nected with the I. C. as bookkeeper in the store- 
 room of the company at McComb City, and was 
 also for several years chief clerk to the master 
 mechanic there. 
 
 The lady who became Mr. Martin's wife 
 was formerly Miss Julia Hanford, whose father, 
 A. W. Hanford, now deceased, was proprietor of 
 the popular Hanford Hotel, of McComb City.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 207 
 
 Their union has been blessed by one child, Hugh 
 deary, a fine boy. Mr. Martin belongs to the 
 Elks organization, and also to the B. of L. E., 
 of McComb City, where he and his estimable 
 family reside at the Han ford Hotel. 
 
 young. 
 
 cHENRY HIXON, local freight agent 
 at Evansville, was born December n, 
 1867, at Union Point, Georgia, but 
 moved to Russellville when quite 
 and received his education there. His 
 first experience in railroading was at Russellville 
 as baggage and freight clerk for the L. & N. 
 He worked here a short time when he accepted 
 a. position with the N. N. & M. V. road at Prince- 
 ton, Kentucky, and continued in the clerical de- 
 partment until January i, 1894, when he was pro- 
 moted to agent at Uniontown, Kentucky. March 
 loth, -following, he was made agent for the Ohio 
 Valley Railway at Princeton, Kentucky, where 
 he was employed at the time the road was ab- 
 sorbed by the Illinois Central and on the trans- 
 fer became chief clerk at Princeton. He re- 
 mained here until January 5, 1899, when he was 
 appointed agent at Morganfield, Ky., remaining 
 there until May 3, 1899, when he was appointed 
 local freight agent at Evansville, Ind. He now 
 has as his assistants E. F. Coon, chief clerk, H. 
 
 E. Fritz, warehouse foreman, W. C. Mitchell, 
 
 F. Bock, W. T. Coxin, all of whom are clerks in 
 the office, and H. Ross who is the yard clerk, be- 
 sides five or six porters. This is a very impor- 
 tant office, as besides the Illinois Central there 
 is a great deal of transferring for the E. & T. H., 
 the E. & L, L. E. & St. Louis, P. D. & E., and 
 the L. & N. The principal commodities handled 
 at this place are tobacco, cotton, pig iron, hay 
 and grain, furniture, stoves, plows, etc. Evans- 
 ville has many manufacturing industries and the 
 Illinois Central business is gradually increasing, 
 lumng had an increase of eighty-three thousand 
 dollars in receipts in 1899. Mr. Hixon is a man 
 who is not afraid of work as his accounts will 
 
 show. He assumes a large part of the work him- 
 self, and thereby reduced the office expense one 
 thousand dollars during the year 1899. Mention 
 should be made that most of the freight handled 
 is in less than car load lots, which makes a greater 
 amount of work. The freight house is much too 
 small for the business and a new one is contem- 
 plated. 
 
 Mr. Hixon married a Miss Tully of Ken- 
 tucky, and has three children, McHenry Jr., Tul- 
 ly, and an infant. He is very popular and a 
 man who has a bright future. 
 
 ENRY C. EICH, general foreman at 
 Louisville is a native of Chicago, where 
 his father, Peter Eich, was a shoe mer- 
 chant. Our subject commenced rail- 
 roading in Chicago in the year 1882, as an office 
 boy in the auditor's office. He worked in this 
 capacity three months, and then entered the 
 Weldon shops an apprentice under William Ren- 
 shaw, master-mechanic, serving four years. He 
 afterward left the shops to learn mechanical 
 drawing, leaving his position to take one at less 
 wages, being anxious to learn. He worked in 
 the drafting department six months, applying 
 himself closely and on account of his merit he 
 was appointed instructor of the Illinois Central 
 drafting school at McComb City, Miss., remain- 
 ing there one year and a half. 'January i, 1893, 
 he was appointed foreman at Rantoul, 111., and 
 remained there three months, later served as gang 
 foreman at the Burnside shops. He continued 
 in this place until May i, 1898, when he was pro- 
 moted to general foreman at Freeport, Illinois, 
 remained there until March 20, 1899, at which 
 time he was transferred as general foreman at 
 Champaign. He continued in this capacity thir- 
 ty days, and on the first of May 1899, he was 
 transferred to Louisville, his present position. 
 
 Our subject has at present one hundred men 
 in his department, the round house foreman be- 
 ing John McDerrmott ; chief clerk, H. M. Miles.
 
 208 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 His territory comprises Louisville, Owensboro 
 and the Hodgenville and Elizabetlitown districts. 
 He has fine new shops, fifty by fifty feet, a boiler 
 room, fifty by twenty-five, new fifteen stall round 
 house, all modern style. T. M. Baughn is the 
 car foreman, and there is a large amount of work- 
 done here. 
 
 Mr, Eich is a young man who is steadily 
 rising and has had quick promotions on account 
 of his merit. He married Miss M. Steinert and 
 resides at 1527 Maple street, Louisville. He be- 
 longs to the Forresters Court, Chicago, also to 
 the Railway and Telegraph Political League of 
 Illinois. 
 
 C. JARVIS, a retired passenger en- 
 gineer, ex-mayor and extensive real- 
 estate owner of McComb City, Mis- 
 sissippi, is one of the oldest and best 
 known men on the Illinois Central Railroad. Mr. 
 Jarvis was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, 
 November 24, 1832, where he received a practi- 
 cal education in the common schools. In 1853. 
 at the age of twenty-one, he made a successful 
 trip to California, and returning to "the states" 
 went to Elkhart, Indiana, and from there in 1860 
 to Chicago, Illinois. He there secured a posi- 
 tion as fireman on the Chicago & Rock Island 
 R. R. and received promotion to engineer in 1862. 
 After a short service as engineer on that road, 
 he went to Memphis, Tennessee, and was in the 
 employ of the government as engineer on mili- 
 tary railroads until the surrender. During that 
 time he ran on every road in the state of Ten- 
 nessee. 
 
 In 1865 he went to New Orleans, and was 
 for one year with the New Orleans, Jackson & 
 Great Northern R. R. as engineer, but returned 
 to Memphis and for a time was with the Memphis 
 & Ohio road. He then went to Rock Island, 
 where his family resided, and entered the employ 
 of the Chicago & North-Western R. R. on the 
 Iowa division, where he had charge of a con- 
 struction train for six months. In 1867 he first 
 
 became connected with the Illinois Central, work- 
 ing for seven months in the freight service on 
 the Chicago division. 
 
 Leaving the 1. C. he went to the L'nion Pa- 
 cific R. R. at Cheyenne, Wyoming, and after 
 working there in the freight service, was ap- 
 pointed traveling engineer for that road between 
 Rollins Springs and Bryan, Wyoming, occupying 
 the latter position until May 12, 1868. He then 
 resigned and went to Chicago, and the next 
 year was spent in recreation. In October 1869, 
 he went to Water Valley, Miss., entering the 
 employ of the Mississippi Central (now the I. 
 C.) where he was for two months, finally re- 
 turning to the old New Orleans, Jackson & 
 Great Northern (now the I. C.), and for one 
 year was in the freight service between New Or- 
 leans and Canton, Miss. Promotion to the pas- 
 senger service followed in September 1870, and 
 from that date until July 23, 1895, he was on the 
 Louisiana division of the road, when he retired 
 to private life. 
 
 Mr. Jarvis has a fund of experience of early 
 railroad days on the I. C. He was engineer on 
 the road when water had to be dipped with a 
 cup to fill the tender, in order to make a ten mile 
 run between Summit and Magnolia, Miss. He 
 made what was considered at that time a very- 
 fast run on one of the old engines, No. 262, the 
 first extension front engine on the Louisiana di- 
 vision. The engine had a five foot wheel, and 
 a cylinder 15 by 24. On this engine he covered 
 the distance between McComb City and New Or- 
 leans, a distance of one hundred and five miles, 
 in one hour and fifty-nine minutes, a remarkable 
 run for those days. 
 
 Mr. Jarvis married Miss Elizabeth Sare, of 
 Covington, Kentucky. They have two children, 
 both railroad men: J. F., a passenger engineer 
 on the I. C. at McComb City, and Samuel, an 
 engineer on the Kansas City, Memphis & Bir- 
 mingham R. R. Mr. Jarvis is one of the honored 
 and substantial citizens of McComb City. He 
 served as mayor during the years 1896, '97 and 
 '98, his administration being a highly successful 
 one.
 
 C. H. MOORE.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 211 
 
 H. MOORE, attorney for the Illinois 
 Central residing at Clinton, 111., was 
 born at Kirtland, Lake county, Ohio, 
 on October 26, 1817, about twenty 
 rods south of the famous Mormon temple situ- 
 ated there. He attended the Kirtland Academy 
 during the summer and in winter was employed 
 in teaching. Going to Pekin, 111., in May 1839, 
 he assumed charge of a school, and between 
 whiles read law with Bailey & Wilmot, leading 
 attorneys of that city. At the July term of court 
 1841, he successfully passed a rigid examination 
 in open court, in company with two other stu- 
 dents and was admitted to the bar. By a curious 
 error our subject is reported in the second or 
 third volume of Scammon's reports as "residence 
 not given.'' 
 
 Mr. Moore arrived at Clinton in August 
 1841, opened an office and has successfully prac- 
 ticed his profession in that city ever since. He 
 was the speaker of the day on the occasion 
 of the laying of the corner stone of the new Illi- 
 nois Central Depot at Clinton and has been one 
 of the attorneys for the Illinois Central R. R. 
 company since 1852, and obtained its right of 
 way through Dewitt county for it. The profes- 
 sion of the law has always had with Mr. Moore 
 a powerful rival, that of buying and improving 
 land. His success in life marks the career of 
 a shrewd business man as well as a prosperous 
 attorney, and speaks for itself. 
 
 LRERT E. BROAS, the well and fa- 
 vorably known conductor in charge of 
 the '' Hammond Local " on the Louisi- 
 ana division of the Illinois Central, 
 began railroad life when a boy. His first work 
 was as messenger hoy for the Louisville & Nash- 
 ville R. R. under Mr. Dunn and Mr. Harahan, 
 both now officials of the Illinois Central. He 
 followed other pursuits in early life, but for a 
 short time only, as railroad work had for him 
 an irresistible charm. Going to McComb City 
 
 in 1887, he began at once as brakeman on the 
 Louisiana division, and after a faithful service 
 of nearly two years, was promoted to conductor 
 in the freight service. At the present time he 
 has the local run between McComb City, Missis- 
 sippi, and Hammond, Louisiana, making the trip 
 on alternate days. 
 
 Mr. Broas was born in New Orleans, on 
 October 31, 1866. His father, now deceased, 
 was a prominent contractor in his clay. He was 
 married to Miss Ollie McLaurine, who departed 
 this life in 1899. One child, also deceased, was 
 born to them. Of the social organizations, Mr. 
 Broas claims membership with the Masonic or- 
 der, (Blue Lodge,) Order of Elks, Order of the 
 Eastern Star, and Division No. 367, Order of 
 Railway Conductors, all of McComb City. He 
 has a pleasant home on South street in that city, 
 where he resides with his mother. 
 
 L. ARM I STEAD, a rising young con- 
 ductor in the freight department of 
 the Illinois Central, on the Louisiana 
 division, has been with the company 
 since 1895. He acquired his first knowledge of 
 railroad work, on the New Orleans & North- 
 Eastern R. R. where he served for five years as 
 fireman. Following this, he was for one year in 
 the employ of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pitts- 
 burg R. R. as flagmaji and brakeman. In Sep- 
 tember 1895, he became connected with the Illi- 
 nois Central, at McComb City, Mississippi, as 
 switchman in the yards there, and was for two 
 years employed at that work. He then served as 
 brakeman for eleven months, followed by pro- 
 motion to his present position as conductor in the 
 freight service. His career with the I. C. has 
 been devoid of accidents of any kind. 
 
 Mr. Armistead was born in Meridian, Mis- 
 sissippi, on April 27, 1870. He is a son of J. J. 
 Armistead, now living a retired life in New Or- 
 leans, but who was for many years connected 
 with a firm of contractors who took large con-
 
 212 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 tracts in building the Vicksburg & Meridian and 
 I. C. Railroads. A brother of our subject, Jabe 
 Armistead, is now chief dispatcher of the New 
 Orleans & North-Eastern R. R. 
 
 Mr. Armistead belongs to the Order of Elks, 
 and Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, ui Me 
 Comb City, and is a member of Faith Lodge No. 
 200, B. of L. F. of Meridian, Mississippi. He 
 is unmarried, and resides at McComb City, mak- 
 ing his home with Conductor S. M. Reames of 
 that place. 
 
 jt.lM.fM** 
 
 AMUEL H. BREWER, a prominent en- 
 gineer in the freight service of the Illi- 
 nois Central, on the Louisiana division, 
 entered the service of the company in 
 January 1895. He was first employed in the 
 yards of the I. C. at New Orleans as a switch en- 
 gineer, and then went to McComb City, Mis- 
 sissippi, and took a position as engineer in the 
 freight service, where he has since remained, and 
 is appreciated as a careful and steady employe. 
 His first knowledge of the work was acquired 
 on the Western & Atlantic R. R. where he began 
 service in 1870 as a wood passer. After one 
 year at that work, he was promoted to fireman, 
 serving as such for the following three years, 
 when he was examined and promoted to engineer. 
 In 1877 he entered the employ of the Nashville, 
 Chattanooga & St. Louis R. R., where he re- 
 mained until 1880, and was then for three months 
 engineer with the Alabama & Chattanooga R. R. 
 Returning to the Western & Atlantic R. R., he 
 worked there for a short time when he went to 
 Savannah, Georgia, and was in the employ of 
 the "Plant System" until 1887. The intervening 
 three years between 1887 and 1890 were spent 
 on the Northern Georgia R. R., when he went to 
 Water Valley, Mississippi, and worked for three 
 months as engineer on the Mississippi division 
 of the I. C. Deciding to try agricultural pur- 
 suits, he left the road and was engaged in that 
 line until 1895, when he became identified with 
 the I. C. at New Orleans. 
 
 Mr. Brewer was born at Adairsville, Bar- 
 tow county, Georgia, in August 1855. Peter W. 
 Brewer, his father, deceased, was an experienced 
 railroad man, and was a machinist and engineer 
 in the Baldwin locomotive works at Philadelphia. 
 He was also at various times connected as en- 
 gineer with the Philadelphia & Reading R. R., 
 the Illinois Central, the Western & Atlantic, and 
 the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia R. R. 
 A brother of our subject is a hostler in the round 
 house of the I. C. at McComb City. 
 
 Mr. Brewer married Miss Ella Jennings, 
 a native of Georgia. They are the parents of 
 three children, viz : Milton, Bessie and Maurice. 
 Socially he is connected with Division No. 196, 
 B. of L. E., and also with the Modern Woodmen 
 of the World.. He has recently erected a pretty 
 cottage home in East McComb City, where he 
 resides, and is a popular citizen. 
 
 k RANK J. ZANONE, store keeper of the 
 Memphis division, is a native of Louis- 
 ville, Kentucky, where he was reared 
 and attended school. After four years 
 in the fire insurance business at Louisville, with 
 his father, he entered the service of the Louis- 
 ville & Nashville Railroad as clerk in the Audi- 
 tor's office at Louisville, and three years later 
 went into the mechanical department at Louis- 
 ville where he remained two years. Returning 
 to the insurance business he was engaged two 
 years, and in September 1898 entered the service 
 of the Illinois Central road at Memphis as store- 
 keeper, where he is at present engaged. The 
 parents of our subject, J. A. and Alice (John- 
 son) Zanone reside at Louisville, where the 
 father is a leading real estate dealer 
 
 Mr. Zanone was married January 19, 1894, 
 to Miss Ida Cook in the rites of the Catholic 
 church to which they both belong. A son, Ar- 
 thur, was born June 29, 1897. Mr. Zanone is 
 a Democrat in politics. He is a competent ac- 
 countant and his integrity is such that he merits 
 the fullest confidence of his employers.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 213 
 
 "7 UTHER BURNS, a conductor in the 
 freight service on the Louisiana divi- 
 Lx-y sion of the Illinois Central, entered the 
 employ of the road in 1882 as brake- 
 man, at McComb City, Mississippi. He was em- 
 ployed in that capacity until June 1893, when he 
 went to North Dakota, and engaged in brick- 
 making. Returning to McComb City, he re- 
 sumed work on the T. C. working as brakeman, 
 switchman and finally as yardmaster, at that 
 place. In 1894, he went to Minnesota, and for 
 a year followed farming in that state, and in 
 Xorth and South Dakota. He then returned to 
 Vicksburg, Mississippi, and worked on the I. 
 C. as brakeman, between that city and New Or- 
 leans. After successively working as brakeman, 
 switchman and yardmaster for the I. C. on the 
 Louisiana division, he was on November 7, 1898, 
 promoted to conductor in the freight service, 
 where he now has a regular run. His railroad 
 career has been free from accidents. 
 
 Mr. Burns was born May 21, 1861, in Lin- 
 coln county, Mississippi, and is a son of 
 Joseph Burns, contractor and builder, who 
 died at Jackson, Mississippi, in 1871. Mr. Burns 
 was united in marriage to Miss Nannie Quin, of 
 McComb City, and they have one child, Alice 
 Eugene. He is connected with Division No. 
 367, O. R. C., and with Pearl Lodge, Division 
 No. 264, O. R. T., both of McComb City. 
 
 EORGE F. MULLINIX, a popular 
 conductor on the pay car on the Louis- 
 ville division, is a native of Yorktown, 
 Pa., his father being W. H. Mullinix, 
 an did conductor on the Baltimore & Ohio system, 
 having been with the road through the war. Our 
 subject remembers often hauling soldiers to the 
 south and riding on his father's train. His fath- 
 er died in 1870, and his mother passed away in 
 the year 1809. He has a brother who is at pres- 
 ent an engineer on the L. & N., and a second 
 brother who is a train dispatcher on the Southern 
 
 road, and a third brother passenger conductor 
 on the same road. They are all getting along 
 nicely and have been very successful in the work- 
 day are doing. 
 
 Our subject commenced his railroad service 
 driving a team for a contractor on the C. Mt. V. 
 & C. road at the age of sixteen years, and at the 
 age of eighteen he was a coach hand on the B. 
 & O., his duties being to collect tickets ; at that 
 time a coach was connected to the fast freight. 
 In the fall of 1877 our subject left the B. & O. 
 and entered the service of the L. & N.- as a brake- 
 man. He remained in this capacity up to 1879 
 when he was promoted to conductor, running a 
 local freight train between Louisville and Knox- 
 ville until 1883, when he accepted a place running 
 a freight on the C. O. & S. W. under Superinten- 
 dent Frasher. He continued here up to 1887 
 and then went to the Cincinnati Southern where 
 he worked until 1889, at which time he took a 
 place on the K. C. Ft. S. & M., and ran between 
 Thayer and West Memphis. Returning to the 
 Cincinnati Southern he ran a train two years, 
 after which he entered the service of the C. O. 
 & S. W. on a freight. He has at present a pre- 
 ferred run on a freight train, and is conductor 
 of the pay train, which place he has had for six 
 years. Mr. Mullinix has had the best of success, 
 and in his long service he has not yet lost a trip. 
 He is a member of Monon Division No. 89, O. 
 R. C., of Louisville, Ky. 
 
 JOHN A. JONES, an engineer in the 
 freight service of the Illinois Central, 
 on the Louisiana division, entered the 
 employ of the company in 1883, at the 
 age of fifteen, as steam-handle boy in the I. C. 
 blacksmith shops at McComb City. He was af- 
 terward a general helper, and for a time had 
 charge of a bolt machine in the same shops. An 
 interval of two months was then spent in the 
 blacksmith shops of the Southern Pacific R. R., 
 when he returned to the Illinois Central black-
 
 214 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 smith shops for six months, then served as brake- 
 man for one year. The following year was 
 spent at Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the em- 
 ploy of the Santa Fe R. R. and from there to 
 Annistbn, Alabama, where he worked for the U. 
 S. car works, at that point for ten months. In 
 November 1893 he returned to the service of the 
 I. C. as a fireman, at which he was employed 
 until September 1896. On the latter date he took 
 charge of a switch engine in the yards at Canton, 
 Miss., but soon returned to his former position 
 as fireman, -serving for the next eighteen months 
 in that capacity. Passing a highly creditable ex- 
 amination in February 1899, he was promoted 
 to engineer on the main line, being given his 
 present run between Canton, Miss., and New Or- 
 leans, on Engine No. 730. He is proud of the 
 fact that in his entire railroad career he has never 
 had an accident of any kind. 
 
 Mr. Jones was born on April 30, 1868, at 
 Summit, Miss. His father, James M. Jones, is 
 engaged in farming in the vicinity of McComb 
 City. A brother was for some time an engineer 
 on the Louisiana division of the I. C. He is a 
 member of Division No. 196, B. of L. E., and 
 Division No. 411, P>. of L. F., of McComb City, 
 and is also connected with Knights of Pythias 
 Lodge No. 46, of Anniston, Alabama. Mr. Jones 
 is unmarried and makes his home with Engineer 
 Bacot, in East McComb City. 
 
 JESSE D. PETTINGILL, passenger en- 
 gineer on the Louisville division of the 
 Illinois Central, was born in Wayne 
 county, Michigan, a son of W. A. Pet- 
 tingill, a farmer of that county. 
 
 Our subject commenced his railroading on 
 the Michigan Central, working a short time, 
 when he went to the Flint & Pere Marquette 
 railroad, working out of Saginaw for thirteen 
 months. Our subject next came to Kentucky 
 in 1882 and entered the service of the C. O. & 
 S. W. as brakeman, running out of Elizabeth- 
 
 town. In 1883 he began firing and fired up to 
 1887 when he was given engine No. 562, a ten 
 wheel Cook, on a freight between Louisville and 
 Central City and Paducah. Our subject ran 
 freight up to 1896 when he was promoted to 
 passenger service. Mr. Pettingill has been very 
 successful as a railroad man. 
 
 Our subject married Miss Mamie Turner, of 
 Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and he resides at 522 
 Breckenridge street, Louisville. He is a mem- 
 ber of the B. of L. E. and of Preston Lodge, 
 No. 281, A. F. & A. M. of Louisville, Ky. 
 
 JD. McMURTRIE, a popular passenger 
 conductor on the Vicksburg division of 
 Q the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 
 was born in Harrisburg, Can., March 
 18, 1864. Mr. McMurtrie is of Scotch descent. 
 His father, Mathew A., was a native <5f Scotland, 
 but emigrated to Canada when a young man, and 
 was for many years connected with the Great 
 Western R. R. as agent and telegrapher. He 
 departed this life in 1882. The mother of our 
 subject was, before her marriage, Miss McKen- 
 zie, a name honorably connected with the history 
 of Scotland. The subject of this sketch received 
 his early training in the schools of Cass City, 
 Michigan, where he made his home with an un- 
 cle. At the age of fifteen he began railroad life 
 on the Pontiac, Oxford & Port Austin R. R. as 
 an engine wiper in the round house at Pontiac, 
 Michigan. After one year there he entered the 
 road service as fireman between Pontiac and 
 Cassville, a distance of one hundred miles, re- 
 maining there one year. He then returned to 
 the round house at Pontiac as hostler, working 
 there three months. His next employment was 
 as brakeman on the Missouri Pacific R. R. be- 
 tween St. Louis and DeSoto, Missouri, where he 
 worked six months, and from there went to 
 \ icksburg, Miss., where lie entered the employ 
 ot the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas R. R. 
 (now the Y. & M. V. R. R.), as brakeman and
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 215 
 
 baggageman between Leland and Allen, Miss. 
 After filling the latter position for one year he 
 was promoted to conductor on the local, between 
 Memphis, Tennessee, and Cleveland, Mississippi, 
 and in 1897 was promoted to the passenger 
 service. Mr. McMurtrie affiliates with the Ma- 
 sonic order, Order of Elks, and O. R. C. He 
 attends the Presbyterian church, and prefers to 
 be independent in politics. 
 
 JOHN L. McGUIRE, the oldest engineer 
 on the Memphis division in active ser- 
 vice, has had an eventful life, full of 
 experiences that have seldom ever be- 
 fallen a human being. His railroad experience 
 began at the early age of fifteen as helper to 
 C. C. Jarvis, a machinist on the Nashville & 
 Northwestern, serving three years. He then ac- 
 cepted a place with the New Orleans & Ohio 
 railroad, working on the section. It was while 
 thus employed that a severe and peculiar acci- 
 dent occurred to him. During a trip of the con- 
 struction train he slipped and fell under the mov- 
 ing car sustaining severe injuries. With his 
 spinal column dislocated, his breast crushed in, 
 several ribs broken, his head injured and a badly 
 damaged foot, he was gathered up for dead and 
 no one supposed that he would survive for more 
 than a few hours. Little was done for him at 
 first by the surgeons, because it was thought use- 
 less, but when it was seen that his wonderful 
 vitality was keeping him alive, proper attention 
 was given him and after a confinement of eleven 
 months to his bed he was able to set his foot on 
 the ground again. As soon as able to work he 
 was given a place as brakeman on the road then 
 known as the New Orleans & Ohio Railroad un- 
 der the presidency of Mr. Fate Flourney. 
 
 Railroading on the line at that time was 
 primitive in the extreme. There was but one 
 train with a crew of six men, the engineer, fire- 
 man, conductor and three brakemen. There was 
 between Paducah and Union City, but one train 
 
 a day each way six days a week, and on Sunday 
 the engineer repaired his engine, the fireman 
 polished the bright parts and the brakemen 
 scrubbed the coaches. After the completion of 
 the road to Rives in 1871, there was an additional 
 train put on, a local freight, and more like 
 modern railroad principles instituted. 
 
 Mr. McGuire did not long remain a brake- 
 man, and when the first new engine, the " H. 
 Norton," was brought onto the line he was given 
 . the place of fireman under the instruction of en- 
 gineer B. F. Adams, the first engineer on the 
 road. In 1873 when the business of the road 
 increased so that an additional engine became 
 necessary, Mr. McGuire was promoted and 
 placed in charge, and was assigned to the pile- 
 driver service when that was put on, serving here 
 for a year and a half. 
 
 On January 27, 1875, occurred the second 
 exciting experience in our subject's career. Driv- 
 ing a Baldwin engine that had been built for the 
 government during the war, drawing the pay 
 car over the line, Boaz station had been reached 
 on the return trip about five o'clock in the eve- 
 ning. While standing on the track, without a 
 moment's warning, the boiler exploded, landing 
 parts of the plates a quarter of a mile away and" 
 the smoke stack four hundred yards from the 
 scene. Mr. McGuire was standing on the deck 
 at the time and escaped with three fractures of 
 his right leg, a split ankle and serious cuts from 
 flying glass, one piece nearly severing the jugular 
 vein. With no telegraph to summon a surgeon, 
 Mr. McGuire lay on the platform while the super- 
 intendent walked five miles to get a' handcar to 
 go to Paducah for help, returning about eleven 
 o'clock. After patching him up the best that 
 could be done there, the patient was removed to 
 Paducah and for another long period of eight 
 months was confined to his room. 
 
 As soon as able to resume his duties, Mr. 
 McGuire was given a run between Paducah and 
 Fulton, pulling a coal train, and June 20, 1876, 
 he was assigned to a passenger run to Newbern, 
 Dryersburg and Covington successively as the 
 road was completed to those points. In the
 
 216 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 month of August, 1882, when the above named 
 road was completed to Memphis, it was a gala 
 day, a public celebration being held. A train of 
 six coaches with the mayor and city council left 
 Paducah, with our subject at the throttle, and at 
 Rialto met the officials of the road and celebrated 
 the event of the completion by driving the golden 
 spike. On the opening of the road Mr. McGuire 
 was given his present run in the fast passenger 
 service between Paducah and Memphis on a 
 Baldwin engine Xo. 554. During the inter- 
 vening years many large and extensive improve- 
 ments have been made. From a rough, uneven 
 road-bed with heavy grades, under the succeed- 
 ing management a fine road bed with gravel bal- 
 last has been built, the grades reduced, new 
 trestles put in, and new station buildings erected. 
 During the earlier years of the operation of the 
 road the old " chair rail " was used, and a train 
 load was not more than seven cars. Up to 1883 
 the engines in vogue on this line were the -old 
 wood burners and the first air brake was installed 
 in 1879. The passenger coaches were small and 
 the upholstering meagre, while in case of an 
 emergency rush benches were fastened to flat cars 
 to accommodate the crowds. Twenty miles an 
 hour was the schedule time while now nearly 
 twice the speed is required with numerous stops 
 on the way. 
 
 In 1883 a third thrilling incident occurred 
 in the life of the subject of this sketch. While 
 running a fast passenger train approaching a 
 sharp reverse curve, the engine struck a box car 
 that had got out of the siding and was spinning 
 along the down grade at the rate of fifty miles an 
 hour. Although the engine was turned over 
 and rolled into the ditch in a demolished condi- 
 tion, and the baggage car telescoped as far as 
 the boiler, Mr. McGuire emerged with his life 
 though somewhat bruised. He has had thrilling 
 experiences with floods, one notable instance be- 
 ing on February 18, 1884, when he brought the 
 last train into Paducah before traffic was sus- 
 pended, running part of the time in ten to twenty 
 inches of water until the water reached the fire 
 box and the mail and passengers had to be trans- 
 
 ferred in boats some six miles to the landing. 
 
 Hugh McGuire, father of our subject, had 
 also an unusual career. As a lad he was a wit- 
 ness of the battle of Waterloo, and well remem- 
 bers seeing the Iron Duke. Shipping in a ves- 
 sel for America in 1820, he was shipwrecked on 
 the coast of New Brunswick, rescued and landed 
 at St. Johns. Not frightened by his experience 
 here, he shipped as a sailor and for a number of 
 years followed the sea, and later served on ves- 
 sels plying the great lakes. It was while engaged 
 here that he met at Erie the woman who became 
 his wife, and, leaving the water, he learned stone 
 cutting, and after the birth of our subject moved 
 to Tennessee. 
 
 Born at Erie and reared in Tennessee, John 
 L. McGuire's marriage occurred at Paducah, 
 Miss Jane Jones, a native of Georgia, being the 
 woman of his choice. To them have been born 
 four children : Margaret E., wife of Mr. John 
 Gossett ; Mabel Maude ; John Norman, clerking 
 for the Scott Hardware Company, and Mamie, 
 still in school, and all residing in Paducah. 
 
 Mr. McGuire has been unusually prominent 
 in social orders. He is a charter member of the 
 local division of the B. of L. E., and served 
 seven years in the presiding chair. He served 
 as chairman of the General Adjustment Commit- 
 tee, which at one time held a session of twenty- 
 two days in Chicago. He takes a prominent part 
 in the insurance department of the order and at 
 the present time is serving as secretary of that 
 body. For eight years he represented the en- 
 gineers on the board of trustees of the Paducah 
 hospital, and was an active worker in securing 
 the establishment of the institution, one of the 
 most complete of its kind in the country. He is 
 a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, 
 holding membership in Blue Lodge No. 449, 
 Chapter No. 30, and in the Consistory, with 
 which he has been affiliated for fifteen years. 
 
 Mr. McGuire has demonstrated his finan- 
 cial ability in securing a handsome home in the 
 city of Paducah, and a fine farm a short distance 
 from town, which is now very much enhanced 
 in value, owing to the location of the Union de- 
 pot within a short distance of it.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 217 
 
 During a long and exceedingly eventful ca- 
 reer, " Old Dad McGuire " has never received 
 a mark of demerit and has nothing to which to 
 look back with regret. His career has been one 
 in which his children may take pardonable pride, 
 and a railroad record to which younger members 
 of the craft may turn for inspiration. It is a 
 pleasure and an honor to anyone to have called 
 him friend. Up to June I, 1900, Mr. McGuire 
 has covered 1,200,000 miles in the passenger 
 service. 
 
 CAMPBELL, the capable train de- 
 spatcher for the Illinois Central in 
 Memphis, Tennessee, is a Canadian 
 by birth, and of Scotch ancestry. He 
 was born in Elgin county, Ontario, February 24, 
 1864. His parents, A. and Catherine (Taylor) 
 Campbell, were farmers of that place ; both are 
 now deceased, the former in 1893 anc l tne latter 
 in 1877. The Campbell family settled in Canada 
 in 1833. Angus Campbell, a brother of our sub- 
 ject, residing at Shreveport, Louisiana, is an en- 
 gineer in the service of the Kansas City, Pitts- 
 burg & Gulf R. R. The subject of this sketch 
 received his early training in the public schools 
 of Avon, Ontario, working on a farm at inter- 
 vals until 1878. In that year he commenced 
 work in a saw-mill where he remained three 
 years. He began railroad life in 1880 on the 
 Michigan Central Railroad at Taylor, Ontario, 
 as pumper at a gravel pit, taking up the study of 
 telegraphy at the same time. In 1882 he was a 
 competent operator, and was employed in thai 
 line at various points until April 1884, when he 
 went to North Dakota for a change of climate, 
 remaining there until November of that year. 
 He then returned to the service of the Michigan 
 Central as operator at Comber, Ontario, holding 
 that position until July 27. 1885, when he re- 
 signed to enter the employ of the Milwaukee, 
 Lake Shore & Western R. R. He was with the 
 latter road as operator until August 14, 1886, 
 when he was called to Ashland, Wisconsin, and 
 
 promoted to train despatcher, occupying that po- 
 sition until July 1892. On August 6, 1892, 
 he became identified with the Northern Pacific 
 R. R. as train despatcher at Dickinson, North 
 Dakota, where he remained until December i, 
 1893, when the Missouri and Yellowstone di- 
 visions were consolidated, with headquarters at 
 Glendive, Montana, to which place he was trans- 
 ferred and remained there until December 18, 
 1898. 
 
 On the latter date he resigned to accept his 
 present position with the Illinois Central. Jan- 
 uary 26, 1895, Miss Mary Agnes Gillespie, of 
 Glendive, Montana, became the wife of Mr. 
 Campbell. She was born at Wheeling, West 
 Virginia, February 8, 1873. Two children are 
 the result of their union : Archibald A., born 
 November 20, 1896, and Grace C, born Sep- 
 tember 11, 1898. Mr. Campbell belongs to the 
 Knights of Pythias and Knights of Maccabees. 
 His religious connection is with the Presbyterian 
 church, and in politics he votes with the Demo- 
 cratic party. 
 
 HARLES L. JORDAN, a conductor in 
 the freight service of the Yazoo & Mis- 
 sissippi Valley R. R. on the Vicksburg 
 division, was born in Macon, Tennes- 
 see, December 18, 1871. His parents were C. 
 W. and Caroline (Boswell) Jordan, respected 
 farmers, both now deceased; the former in 1899, 
 and the latter in 1882. The grandfather of our 
 subject. Rev. T. L. Boswell, was a prominent 
 Methodist minister and for many years a presid- 
 ing elder. Mr. Jordan attended the public 
 schools of Oakland, Tennessee, and began life 
 as a newsboy on the Tennessee Midland R. R., 
 running between Memphis and Perryville, Ten- 
 nessee, where he remained about eight months. 
 He then came to the Louisville, New Orleans & 
 Texas R. R. (now the Yazoo & Mississippi Val- 
 ley R. R.), and was a newsboy there between 
 Memphis and Vicksburg. He then secured a 
 position as flagman on a passenger train, and
 
 218 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 after three months service, not being of age, had 
 to give up his position. He returned to his for- 
 mer position on the Louisville & Nashville R. R., 
 running between Memphis and Bowling Green, 
 Kentucky. Returning to the Louisville, New 
 Orleans & Texas R. R., he was employed there 
 as flagman and baggageman for one year, and 
 was also flagman in the freight service of the 
 road. In October 1896, he was promoted to con- 
 ductor, and is now in the freight service between 
 Memphis and Vicksburg, where he is a worthy 
 and capable employe. Miss Mary F. Perkins, 
 of Memphis, became the wife of Mr. Jordan on 
 July 8th, 1895. Socially he is connected with the 
 O. R. C. The Methodist church finds in Mr. 
 and Mrs. Jordan valued members. Politically 
 he is a Democrat. P>eing essentially a self-made 
 man, Mr. Jordan may well be proud of his suc- 
 cess in life. 
 
 F. MIXON is a popular engineer in 
 the freight service on the Louisiana 
 Q division of the Illinois Central. He 
 first became connected with the I. 
 C. in 1889 as a car-repairer in the shops of the 
 company at McComb City, and was later trans- 
 ferred to the carpenter shops, working until 1891. 
 He then embarked in the livery business at Mag- 
 nolia, Mississippi, but remained there only one 
 year, when he returned to McComb City and for 
 a time clerked in a large mercantile house there. 
 On October 16, 1895, he re-entered the ser- 
 vice of the I. C., as fireman on engine No. 718, 
 with Engineer Ed Forclish. Serving in this ca- 
 pacity until September 16, 1899, he was then 
 examined and promoted to engineer in the freight 
 service, between McComb City and New Orleans, 
 which position he is filling at the present time 
 with eminent satisfaction. 
 
 Mr. Mixon is a native of McComb City, 
 having been born September i, 1871. His 
 father. Abner J. Mixon, is a mechanic in the 
 shops there, and is a valued employe of the 
 company. 
 
 Our subject married Miss Alice Andrews, 
 of McComb City, and they have one child, Wil- 
 liam Bernard, a fine boy. Socially he is con- 
 nected with Division No. 411, B. of L. F. and 
 is also a member of Myrtle Lodge, No. 36, 
 Knights of Pythias. In religious views both he 
 and his wife are adherents of the Baptist faith. 
 They reside in a pretty and well-furnished home 
 on Fourth street, in McComb City, where Mr. 
 Mixon is a useful and popular citizen. 
 
 T. HOSKINS, a conductor in the 
 freight service of the Illinois Cen- 
 Q tral on the Grenada district of the 
 Memphis division, was born in 
 Louisville, Kentucky, November 8, 1856. His 
 parents were C. W. and Susan (Williams) Hos- 
 kins, both deceased. Mr. Hoskins Sr. being a 
 fanner, the early life of our subject was spent 
 like that of most fanners' sons, working on the 
 farm and attending school. He was educated in 
 the public and private schools of Corydon, Ken- 
 tucky, and was occupied with rural pursuits until 
 reaching manhood. At the age of twenty-two 
 he went to Louisville, Kentucky, and there be- 
 gan his railroad career in the shops of the Pa- 
 ducah & Elizabethtown R. R., working until the 
 road was sold. He then went to the St. Louis 
 & South-Eastern R. R. (L. & N.), securing a 
 position as brakeman between Nashville, Tennes- 
 see, and Henderson, Kentucky, when after a 
 short service, he was appointed yard master at 
 Earlington, Kentucky. He occupied the latter 
 position about eighteen months, when he was 
 promoted to conductor in the freight service, and 
 afterward in the passenger department, between 
 Nashville and St. Louis. He resigned in 1886 
 to embark in the grocery business in St. Louis, 
 and was in business there for one year when he 
 sold out and went to Memphis. He there be- 
 came identified with the Illinois Central, work- 
 ing first in the yards, then as brakeman, and fi- 
 nally as conductor. He is very acceptably filling
 
 ELI W. PERKINS.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 the latter position at the present time, being in 
 charge of a run between Memphis, Tennessee, 
 and Grenada, Mississippi. When a young man 
 of twenty-four, Mr. Hoskins married Miss Bet- 
 tie Henton of Sedalia, Missouri, a lady of excel- 
 lent qualities of mind and heart, who died in 
 1882. Two children were born to them, viz: 
 Minnie, the wife of M. H. McLean, and Charles, 
 a flagman in the I. C. service, all residing at 
 Memphis. Mr. Hoskins belongs to the Masonic 
 order, and the O. R. C. He is a Methodist in 
 belief and a Democrat in politics. 
 
 and in 1896 he was changed to the Daylight 
 Special, with engine No. 905. On Decoration 
 Day, 1885, engine No. 119 blew up with him at 
 Wildwood, and our subject received injuries 
 which came near costing him his life; as it was 
 he escaped with five months' confinement in a 
 hospital. Mr. Perkins is a member of Division 
 No. 10, B. of L. E., of which he was former sec- 
 retary of insurance, and is also a member of 
 Blue Lodge No. 508, A. F. & A. M., of Chicago. 
 He married Miss Lizzie Downes, of Wells, 
 Minn., and has two children, Eli W. Jr., who 
 is a great favorite among the railroad boys, and 
 Miss Clara. 
 
 LI W. PERKINS, a representative loco- 
 motive engineer on the Illinois Central, 
 is a native of Bath, Maine. In 1876 
 he became a fireman on the New York 
 & New England Railway, of Massachusetts, in 
 freight service, running from Boston to Hart- 
 ford, Conn., remaining here one year, at the end 
 of which time he was promoted to the passenger 
 service where he fired two years. He was then 
 promoted to engineer and pulled freight on the 
 same road for one year and eight months when 
 he resigned .and went to Albuquerque, N. M., 
 and accepted a position there as a freight en- 
 gineer on the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad. This 
 was in the early days of railroading in that coun- 
 try and the above road was just being con- 
 structed. He had only been there seven months 
 when smallpox broke out and he left and came 
 north. His next position was pulling freight on 
 the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad at 
 Wells, Minn., remaining there one year when he 
 resigned and on February 2, 1883, he began his 
 services with the Illinois Central pulling freight 
 with engine No. 170 on the Chicago division, 
 and remained in that service until January 1892, 
 when he was promoted to passenger engineer; 
 his first regular run was pulling what was then 
 called the Riverview Hotel train. During 1893 
 his run was extended to Champaign and in Sep- 
 tember he began pulling the Diamond Special, 
 
 GUIS J. FASS, chief clerk at the Illi- 
 nois Central freight office at Louisville, 
 Kentucky, was born in Louisville in 
 1873. His father is Frank Pass, a sta- 
 tionary engineer, who resides in Louisville. His 
 mother died when he was but thirteen years of 
 age. 
 
 Our subject received his education in the 
 public schools. Leaving school at the age of 
 fifteen, he went to work in a wall paper store, 
 remained there a short time and August 15, 1890, 
 he entered the service of the C. O. & S. W. in 
 the stationery department, working there one 
 year, and was then promoted to a position in the 
 auditor's office in which department he held va- 
 rious positions, until February 1896, when he 
 went into a local freight office as revising clerk 
 where he remained until August 1896, when he 
 was appointed assistant chief clerk, and in Aug- 
 ust 1898, he was appointed chief clerk of the local 
 freight office to succeed L. T. Nash. 
 
 Mr. Fass is but twenty-seven years of age, 
 and holds a very responsible position, having 
 nineteen clerks under him in the various depart- 
 ments, with a stenographer. He is a bright, 
 successful young railroad man, and in his ser- 
 vice so far has had rapid promotions. He re- 
 sides at 1624 W. Market street, Louisville, Ken- 
 tucky,
 
 222 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 JOHN G. JONES, a highly popular con- 
 ductor in the passenger service of the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. on the 
 Vicksburg division, was born in Jeffer- 
 son county, Mississippi, August 26, 1869, and 
 is the son of Eli R. and Mary L. (West) Jones, 
 residing in Harriston, Mississippi. Eli R. Jones 
 is a lawyer by profession, and a man of promi- 
 nence in his district, having twice represented 
 its citizens in the legislature. John G. Jones, 
 attended the public schools of Fayette, Missis- 
 sippi, and in 1885, at the age of sixteen, took a 
 contract to carry the U. S. mails, between Har- 
 riston and Union Church, Mississippi, a distance 
 of twenty miles. He was in the government ser- 
 vice nearly a year, when he decided to enter rail- 
 road life, and entered the service of what is 
 now a part of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 
 R. R. as a bridge carpenter. After working for 
 two months, he was appointed assistant foreman 
 of a construction gang, and held that position 
 six months. Receiving an offer from the Pa- 
 cific Express Company, to act as their' agent at 
 Harriston, he accepted, but remained there but 
 a short time. He then entered the service of 
 the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas R. R. as 
 express messenger, between Leland and Glen Al- 
 len, Mississippi, where after a service of two 
 years, he became baggage master on the same 
 run, occupying the latter position until the spring 
 of 1889. About that time, he became identified 
 with the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. as 
 brakeman on the New Orleans division, between 
 Vicksburg and New Orleans, and in Septem- 
 ber of that year, was promoted to conductor in 
 the freight service of that road. 
 
 In 1891 he was given charge of a mixed 
 train between Leland and Arkansas City, and 
 in 1896 took charge of the local freight between 
 Memphis and Clarksdale Mississippi. In 1897 
 he had a through freight run, and acted also as 
 extra passenger conductor, and in September 
 1898, was promoted to conductor in the passenger 
 service, where he has since remained, having a 
 run between Memphis, Tennessee, and Vicks- 
 burg. Mississippi. On October 3. 1893, Mr. 
 Jones was united in marriage to Miss Euphemia 
 
 Melchior, of Rosedale, Mississippi, her native 
 place. They are the parents of three fine chil- 
 dren, Evelyn, born December i, 1894, John M., 
 born January i, 1897, anc l Charles, born April 
 25, 1900. Mr. Jones is connected socially, with 
 Masonic Lodge No. 206, Royal Arch Chapter, 
 Delta Commandery No. 16, and Alchymia Shrine. 
 and Greenville Lodge No. 148, B. P. O. E. of 
 Greenville, Mississippi, also the O. R. C. of 
 Memphis. 
 
 His family attend the Hernando Street 
 Methodist church of Memphis. In his political 
 views Mr. Jones is a Democrat. Mr. Jones dis- 
 charges his duties in such a manner as to win 
 the confidence of his employers, and the good 
 will and respect of the traveling public. As a 
 citizen he stands high in the city of Memphis, 
 where he resides in a nice home on McLamorc 
 street. 
 
 gms, 
 
 jHAKLES J. QUIGGINS, freight agent 
 at Elizabethtown, Kentucky, first saw 
 the light of day in Elizabethtown in 
 1868. His father was C. W. Quig- 
 a merchant of Elizabethtown. At this 
 place our subject received his early education, 
 and afterwards learned the printer's trade, after 
 which he. entered the service of the L. & N. 
 Railroad around the station at Elizabethtown, 
 learning telegraph operating. In 1888 he began 
 his occupation as operator with Agent C. G. 
 Wintersmith, remaining there seven years, until 
 1895, when he began working for the C. O. & 
 S. W. as operator, afterward serving as relief 
 agent. In the year 1895 he was made agent to 
 succeed F. G. Corlev, now county clerk of Har- 
 clin county. Our subject's assistants are H. W. 
 Mahall, chief clerk and operator; Ben Skees, 
 freight clerk : and A. M. Ramey, warehouse man. 
 At this station there is a Postal Telegraph, and 
 our subject is the American Express agent. 
 
 Elizabethtown is the seat of Hardin county, 
 and has a population of three thousand people. 
 It was at one time the site of the Paducah & Eliz-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 223 
 
 abethtown shops, which employed five hundred 
 men. The station shipments are fruit and they 
 have large shipments of peaches ; also horses, 
 mules, grains and flour. Mr. Quiggins does a 
 great deal of soliciting and through his tireless 
 efforts has increased the business of the station 
 in a great measure, making it necessary to en- 
 large the freight house to twice its former . ca- 
 pacity, and it is now too small. Our subject is 
 a great worker, and has much opposition on the 
 L. & N., but he is a young man who is sure to 
 advance in the work he has to do. He married 
 Miss Stark, a daughter of J. W. Stark, of Coles- 
 burg, Kentucky, and has two small children. 
 He belongs to the Blue Lodge, A. F. & A. M., 
 and also the K. of P. of Elizabethtown. He is 
 now living on Main street, Elizabethtown, Ken- 
 . tucky. 
 
 1CHAEL J. KEIRCE, a popular pas- 
 senger conductor, was -born in Louis- 
 ville, Kentucky, in January 1863. 
 His father was an old railroad man 
 who worked on the construction of the B. & O. 
 He died in 1891, while the mother died in Janu- 
 ary 1899. 
 
 Our subject began railroad life when twen- 
 ty-two years of age as brakeman on a work train 
 on the Ohio Valley Railroad between Henderson 
 and Morganfield, in 1886. He continued as 
 brakeman eighteen months and was then given 
 charge of a local freight train for two years, when 
 he was promoted to the passenger service July 
 25, 1889. During all these years he has escaped 
 personal injury. 
 
 Mr. Keirce has noticed the great civilizing 
 influence of the railroad in the people along his 
 own run. When the road first ran through, the 
 old people went bare-footed, now they are well 
 dressed and live in better houses. He has also 
 seen many thriving towns spring up. Our sub- 
 ject belongs to Howell division No. 381, O. R. 
 C., in which he has been Assistant Chief, and 
 has also held various other offices. He is at 
 
 present chairman of the Local Grievance Board. 
 He is also a member of Lodge No. 343, A. O. 
 t". W., at Evansville, Indiana. Mr. Keirce mar- 
 ried Miss Glen, of Louisville, and they have a 
 daughter, Miss Nellie. Three children died 
 when very young. 
 
 ENJAMIN T. LAWRENCE, a popular 
 conductor in the passenger service on 
 the New Orleans division of the Ya- 
 zoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., is a 
 native of Ohio county, Kentucky, born April 2, 
 1859. His parents, Jonathan and Margaret E. 
 (Coates) Lawrence, were respected farmers of 
 that county, and departed this life in 1872 and 
 1873 respectively. Mr. Lawrence attended the 
 schools of his native county, assisting in the work 
 on his father's farm, and at the age of thirteen 
 began life as a clerk and followed other pursuits 
 until nineteen years old. He then entered rail- 
 road life on the Elizabethtown & Paducah R. R., 
 assisting in constructing a telegraph line be- 
 tween Central City and Paducah, six months be- 
 ing occupied in that work. He was next em- 
 ployed as a brakeman on that road between the 
 same points, and held the position for eighteen 
 months. In the meantime the road had acquired 
 control of a branch between Cecelia and Louis- 
 ville, Kentucky, and Mr. Lawrence was promot- 
 ed to conductor in the freight service on that 
 branch, and ran between Louisville and Central 
 City. Soon after the road was known as the 
 Chesapeake, Ohio & South-Western R. R. (now 
 part of the I. C. system), and he remained with 
 the new company until 1883. He then went to 
 Texas, securing a position as brakeman with the 
 Missouri Pacific R. R., serving afterward as 
 yard master at Victoria, Texas, for the New 
 York, Texas & Mexican R. R. Becoming ser- 
 iously ill about this time, he was obliged to 
 go to a hospital, where he remained several 
 months, and upon his recovery went north to 
 Brazil, Indiana. He there entered the employ 
 of the Chicago & Indiana Coal Company as a
 
 224 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 conductor between Brazil and Fairbanks, hold- 
 ing that position two years. In 1887 he went to 
 .Memphis, Tennessee, and from that city to New 
 Orleans, where he became identified with the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. as a_ conduc- 
 tor in the freight service between Memphis and 
 Vicksburg. After eight months successful work 
 in that service he was promoted to the extra pas- 
 senger service, and in September 1892 was again 
 promoted to the regular passenger service, and 
 is now in charge of a run between New Orleans 
 and Vicksburg. On September 17, 1894, Mr. 
 Lawrence was married to Miss Elizabeth G. Mc- 
 Gregor, who was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, 
 September 19, 1875, and educated in the schools 
 of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Seattle, Wash- 
 ington. Thomas Gordon Lawrence, born July 
 14, 1895, is the result of their union. Mr. Law- 
 rence is a member of Vicksburg Division No. 
 231, O. R. C. Politically he is a staunch Demo- 
 crat. Mr. Lawrence finds time during his leis- 
 ure moments to cultivate his taste for fine lit- 
 erature, being especially fond of historical works 
 and the higher English writings. He is a very 
 popular man on the road, and his friends in his 
 home city of New Orleans are many and sincere. 
 
 'ILLIAM GARNER BEANLAND, 
 a popular conductor in the freight 
 service on the Vicksburg division 
 of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 
 R. R., is a native of Batesville, Mississippi, 
 where he was born February 21, 1871. He is 
 a son of Dr. E. D. and Elizabeth (Archibald) 
 Beanland. Dr. Beanland was a medical prac- 
 titioner of thirty-nine years standing in the south 
 and was for many years a member of the state 
 board of health in Mississippi. He departed 
 this life on March 28, 1897. His wife was of 
 Scotch lineage, but born in Mississippi. She re- 
 sides at Batesville. 
 
 Mr. Beanland graduated from the Batesville 
 high school in June 1890, and in December of 
 
 that year entered the service of the United States 
 Express company as a messenger on the Louis- 
 ville & Nashville R. R. between Anniston and 
 Gadsden, Alabama, serving until 1895, when he 
 was appointed a conductor in the freight service 
 of that road and on the same run. He held the 
 position of conductor until April 1897, when he 
 resigned to embark in the hotel business at Tal- 
 ladega Springs, a health resort of note in Ala- 
 bama. He conducted the hotel until January 
 1898, when he disposed of it and went to Mem- 
 phis and secured the position of chief clerk for 
 the American Express company, where he re- 
 mained until December 1898. Entering the em- 
 ploy of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. 
 on that date as conductor in the freight service, 
 between Memphis and Vicksburg, he has since 
 successfully filled that position. On the 2ist of 
 April, 1897, Mr. Beanland married Miss Stella 
 Onderdonk, a native of Brooksburg, Ind., but 
 residing at Calera, Alabama. She is a popular 
 lady of fine musical attainments. They have one 
 child, Dorothy, born September 14, 1898. 
 
 Socially our subject is connected with the 
 Knights of Pythias, also the Uniform Rank, 
 of Gadsden, Alabama. He is also a member 
 of the Modern Woodmen of the World, and of 
 the O. R. C. In religious affairs his family 
 united with the Presbyterian church, but Mrs. 
 P>eanland is a member of the Episcopal church. 
 Politically he is a Democrat. 
 
 C. HALL is a popular engineer in 
 the freight service on the Louis- 
 Q iana division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral. He entered the service of 
 the I. C. in 1897 as engineer, and was at once 
 given charge of a run between Canton, Missis- 
 sippi, and New Orleans, which he still holds. 
 His first knowledge of railroad work was ac- 
 quired on the L. & N. R. R., where he worked in 
 1889 as brakeman. After eighteen months ser- 
 vice with that road he went to the Georgia Pa-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 225 
 
 cific R. R. as fireman, at which he served five 
 years, being then promoted to engineer. As en- 
 gineer he worked with that company for three 
 years, or until 1897, when he came to the I. C. 
 Mr. Hall was horn in Florence, Alabama, 
 November 8, 1866, his father, George W. Hall, 
 now deceased, having been a prominent farmer 
 of that vicinity. A brother of our subject, Jos- 
 eph J. Hall, is an employe of the I. C., being a 
 brakeman, and residing at McComb City. W. 
 C. Hall was united in marriage to Miss Yolande 
 Kennedy, and they are the parents of two fine 
 children. Socially he is a member of Division 
 Xo. 196, B. of L. E., and he and his estimable 
 wife are attendants of the Methodist church in 
 East McComb City, where they reside in a com- 
 fortable home. 
 
 JOHN HARPER, foreman of the foundry 
 at the shops of the Illinois Central at 
 McComb City, Mississippi, is an old and 
 faithful employe of the company, re- 
 spected alike by the officials of the road and his 
 fellow-employes. When the N. O. J. & G. N. 
 R. R. was bought by the I. C., he was with the 
 former, and has remained with the latter ever 
 since, having lost only one month during, his en- 
 tire service. 
 
 Born in the city of Belfast, Ireland, on Feb. 
 2, 1835, Mr. Harper emigrated to America in 
 1858, and landing in New York City, at once 
 found employment at his trade, that of a moul- 
 der. He afterward went west to Chicago. Illi- 
 nois, working there for a time, and from that 
 city to Ottawa, in the same state, as foreman in 
 a foundry. From the latter place he went to 
 La Salle, Illinois, where he worked at his trade 
 for three years. He then went to New Orleans 
 and was with the N. O. J. & G. N. R. R. in the 
 warehouse there, and was also a fireman on the 
 old engine " The Creole." He then found em- 
 ployment at his trade in that city, and in 1861 
 went to Selma, Alabama, where he remained one 
 vear. From Selma he went to Athens, Georgia, 
 
 working there at his trade until 1867, when he 
 returned to New Orleans, and re-entered the ser- 
 vice of the N. O. J. & G. N. R. R. 
 
 In 1872 Mr. Harper took up his residence in 
 McComb City, and was appointed foreman of 
 the foundry in the I. C. shops which position he 
 holds at the present time. Since becoming iden- 
 tified with the I. C. he has worked satisfactorily 
 under eleven master mechanics. Eighteen men 
 are at present under his supervision. 
 
 Mr. Harper was married in New Orleans, 
 to Miss Eliza Anne Healy, and they are the pa- 
 rents of an interesting family of five children, 
 viz : Sidney J. who occupies the position of day- 
 foreman of the 1. C. round-house, at McComb 
 City ; Sarah, wife of Mr. Livingstone, an I. C. 
 engineer ; Matthew, employed in a mercantile 
 house; Rachel, who is at home, and Robert, a 
 machinist in the I. C. shops. 
 
 Socially our subject is connected with Ma- 
 sonic Lodge No. 382, of McComb City, and is 
 a life-member of Concord Chapter of New Or- 
 leans. He is also a Knight of Honor, which or- 
 ganization he joined in 1878. 
 
 In his religious views he is liberal, but in- 
 clined toward the principles of Free-thought. 
 
 Mr. Harper is one of the substantial citizens 
 of McComb City, owning a comfortable home on 
 Railroad avenue, besides much other valuable 
 property. 
 
 J WESLEY BROWN, a popular young 
 conductor on the Louisiana division of 
 Q the Illinois Central, acquired his first 
 knowledge of railroad work on the 
 Mobile & Ohio R. R. He was in the employ of 
 that road as brakeman for three years, with 
 headquarters at Meridian, Mississippi. Going to 
 McComb City in February 1896, he entered the 
 service of the I. C. as brakeman on the Louisiana 
 division of the road, and in November 1899 was 
 promoted to conductor in the freight service, 
 which position he now holds. He has been in a 
 few small wrecks, and was once injured and tin-
 
 226 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 able to work for a few weeks. Mr. Brown was 
 born at Lockhart, Mississippi, on February 7, 
 1872. J. Wesley Brown Sr., his father, deceased, 
 was a prominent farmer and planter of that place. 
 Of the social orders Mr. Brown belongs to Di- 
 vision No. 264 B. of R. T., and is also a member 
 of the K. O. T. M., of McComb City, where he 
 makes his home. 
 
 AVID C. MORTHLAND, who holds 
 the responsible position of general 
 yardmaster for the Illinois Central at 
 Memphis, Tennessee, was born in 
 Cleveland, Ohio, November 24, 1866. He is a 
 son of Abraham and Louise (Whitacre) Morth- 
 land, the latter having died in 1869. Mr. Morth- 
 land Sr. is a conductor in the service of the 
 Pennsylvania R. R., residing at Alliance, Ohio. 
 Our subject attended the public schools of Al- 
 liance and Steubenville, Ohio, and in 1881 served 
 on the Pennsylvania R. R. as water-boy on a 
 work train ; soon he became a brakeman on the 
 same train. He was in that service about one 
 year, when transferred to Steubenville as switch- 
 man in the yards of that place, and from the lat- 
 ter work went as brakeman on the local freight, 
 between Steubenville and Dennison, Ohio, re- 
 maining in that capacity about four months. He 
 resigned from the road to engage in business at 
 Orrville, Ohio, and was in the -mercantile line 
 there until January 1886, when he entered the 
 service of the Chesapeake, Ohio & South Western 
 R. R. at Paducah, Kentucky, as brakeman. 
 Early in 1887 he was promoted to conductor, 
 and soon afterward to yardmaster, at Memphis. 
 In March 1894, he went to the Cotton Belt R. 
 R. at Commerce, Texas, as conductor in the 
 freight service and extra passenger, and re- 
 mained with that road two years. He then re- 
 turned to the T. C. at Memphis, and was ap- 
 pointed general yardmaster at that place, retain- 
 ing the position and satisfactorily filling it at 
 the present time. The entire yards of the Illi- 
 
 nois Central and the Yazoo & Missisippi Valley 
 R. R. at Memphis, are under his supervision. 
 
 Mr. Morthlancl was on December 27, 1887, 
 united in marriage to Miss Mollie Foley, of 
 Memphis, who was born in that city October 
 12. 1868. They are the parents of two children, 
 Margaret and Mary ; the former's birth occuring 
 in 1890. and the latter's in 1893. Of the social 
 orders, Mr. Morthland belongs to the O. R. C., 
 Knights and Ladies of Honor, and the Masonic 
 organization. His family attend the Catholic 
 church. In politics he is a staunch Democrat. 
 
 L. MUNN, a well-known engineer 
 in the freight service of the Illi- 
 Q nois Central, on the Louisiana 
 division, was born in Kendall- 
 ville, Ind., March 19, 1870, but was reared and 
 educated at Big Rapids, Mich. He is the son 
 of Rev. Charles A. and Anna (McLain) Munn, 
 the former a native of Ohio and the latter of 
 Pittsburg, Pa., both of whom are now residing 
 at Fresno, Cal., where Mr. Munn is the pastor 
 of a Presbyterian church. Charles B., a brother 
 of our subject, was a valued employe of the I. C. 
 and lost his life in a wreck near New Orleans in 
 1892. 
 
 W. L. Munn acquired a good education in 
 the common schools of his native city, and at 
 the age of fifteen began to learn the trade of a 
 printer in the office of The Current, at Big Rap- 
 ids. From there he went to Muskegon, Mich., 
 and was employed on the Morning Nnvs and 
 Chronicle, and later on the Inland Printer. 
 of Chicago. Compelled to seek more active em- 
 ployment on account of failing health, he went 
 south to Jackson, Miss., and on October 19, 
 1890, secured a position as fireman on the Yazoo 
 branch of the I. C. with Engineer E. Fordish. 
 Four months later he went to McComb City, 
 Miss., and entered the service of the company 
 there as fireman on the Louisiana division under 
 Engineers Ford and Burke. He was engaged
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 227 
 
 in that branch of the service three years, and 
 in 1893 was examined and received his creden- 
 tials as locomotive engineer. On January 21, 
 1894, he took charge of Engine No. 1338, in the 
 freight service, and has since been employed on 
 the Louisiana division in that capacity. He now 
 has charge of a regular run on engine No. 717. 
 He has never been injured, although in two acci- 
 dents, in both of which his engine was over- 
 turned. 
 
 Mr. Munn was married to Miss Charlotte 
 \V. Waring, of Liberty, Miss., and they have one 
 child, Charles Thomas, a fine boy. He is con- 
 nected with Division No. 196, B. of L. E., of 
 McComb City, and during his old printing days, 
 to which he looks back with pleasure and satis- 
 faction, was a member of the Typographical 
 Union. Mr. Munn resides with his family in a 
 pretty home in the western part of McComb 
 City, and takes an active interest in the affairs 
 of the town. 
 
 O. WHITE, a well-known conduc- 
 tor in the freight service of the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. 
 on the Vicksburg division, was 
 born May 13, 1866, in Tate county, Mississippi. 
 His parents, T. B. and Virginia (Jennings) 
 White, are now residents of Memphis, Tennes- 
 see. Mr. White received his educational train- 
 ing in the public schools of Senatobia, Missis- 
 sippi, and at Oxford in that state. At the age 
 of seventeen he entered a general store at Sena- 
 tobia as salesman, working there for about nine 
 months, and acquiring a knowledge of mercan- 
 tile life. Going to Memphis, he became connec- 
 ted with F. .Ozane in the stove and mantle busi- 
 ness, but after one year went tp the dry goods 
 firm of Hunter Bros., and was for six years in 
 their employ. In 1891 he entered the service of 
 the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham R. R. 
 as fireman and engineer, between Memphis and 
 Birmingham, and was in the employ of that 
 company for three years. Returning to his for- 
 
 mer position with Hunter Bros., of Memphis, he 
 remained there nine months and again entered 
 railroad life as fireman on the Yazoo & Missis- 
 sippi Valley R. R. He resigned after a short 
 service, and for the next year was a stationary 
 engineer in the employ of the Memphis Compress 
 Company. 
 
 He then returned to the Y. & M. V. R. R. 
 as flagman on the Vicksburg division, and after 
 three years service as flagman was promoted to 
 conductor, and is now in that branch of the ser- 
 vice, giving eminent satisfaction. Mr. White 
 was, on April 25, 1897, united to Miss Mamie 
 Kerr, of Byhalia, Mississippi, a native of Tate 
 county, born July 30, 1874, and a very estimable 
 lady. He is a member of the O. R. C., and of 
 the Odd Fellows. Mr. and Mrs. White are 
 members of the Baptist church. In politics he 
 votes with the Democratic party 
 
 OARRY C. BENWELL, a rising young 
 conductor in the Grenada district, 
 j_l ]\ Memphis division, of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, entered the service of the com- 
 pany in February 1895 as store-keeper at the 
 Memphis round-house. He was employed there 
 until May 12, 1896, when he became a flagman 
 on a passenger train between Memphis and Can- 
 ton, Mississippi. He soon afterward secured 
 a position as brakeman in the freight service, 
 and on May 12, 1899, was promoted to conductor 
 on the same division, where he still remains. Mr. 
 Benwell was born in Canton, Mississippi, No- 
 vember 25, 1875. His parents were Harry R. 
 C. and Medora (Wood) Benwell, the latter liv- 
 ing in Memphis. Mr. Benwell Sr. was chan- 
 cery clerk of Madison county, Mississippi, and 
 died of yellow fever in 1878. The early train- 
 ing of our subject was acquired in a private 
 school in his native city. In 1892, he was ap- 
 pointed a page in the Mississippi state legisla- 
 ture and served through two sessions. In 1893 
 he entered the drug business, and remained in
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 that line until his connection with the I. C. in 
 1895. Mr. Benwell is a Catholic in faith, and 
 a Democrat in politics. He is a young man of 
 fine abilities, destined to make his mark in any 
 line where he may decide to operate. He is 
 one of the youngest conductors in the' service of 
 the Illinois Central road. 
 
 JOHN MULVIN, familiarly known as 
 "Trilby," began his railroad career 
 in 1877, on the Paducah & Memphis 
 Railroad as a wiper under foreman G. 
 M. Taylor. October i, 1879, he began firing 
 and occupied the left side of the engine three 
 years when he was promoted, running through 
 freight to Memphis. In 1888 he went to the 
 Louisville, New Orleans & Texas, now the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley branch of the Illinois 
 Central road. He remained there from 1888 
 to 1891, running in passenger and freight ser- 
 vice all over the line. It was during his service 
 on this line that Mr. Mulvin was injured in a 
 rear end collision at Hollywood, running a spe- 
 cial train. With no flag out, he struck the local, 
 going at the rate of thirty miles an hour. The 
 engine was demolished, the caboose and ten cars 
 wrecked, and he was laid up one year with two 
 broken ankles and numerous bruises 
 
 In 1894 he went to the Chesapeake, Ohio & 
 Southwestern Railroad and was given a freight 
 run between Paducah and Louisville, and in 
 1895, when the division was divided, he was 
 given a run between Paducah and Central City. 
 Our subject's present engine is a new Brooks, 
 No. 21, and his fireman is W. Evitti. 
 
 Our subject was born in Paducah, his father 
 James Mulvin. who was at one time a fireman 
 on the C. O. & S. W., died July, 1890. Our 
 subject has a brother, James, who runs out of 
 Memphis. Mr. John Mulvin married Molly 
 Rock and has three children, John, James and 
 Kate, at school. He resides in a comfortable 
 home on Broadway, Paducah. 
 
 LEON FORD is a well-known engineer 
 in the freight service of the Illinois 
 Central on the Louisiana division. His 
 connection with the I. C. dates from 
 1892, when he began as engine- wiper in the 
 round-house at McComb City, under Master 
 Mechanic William B. McKenna. He worked 
 in this capacity for two years, when he received 
 an appointment as fireman with engineer Charles 
 J. Swett. Following the occupation of fireman 
 for a period of three and one half years, he was 
 examined for promotion to engineer, in which 
 he was successful, and since then has held a 
 regular run in the service between Canton, Mis- 
 sissippi, and New Orleans. 
 
 Mr. Ford was born in Sumter county, Ala- 
 bama, on October 17, 1873, and is a son of Leon 
 E. and Jennie (Eskridge) Ford, both deceased. 
 Leon E. Ford, the father of our subject, was the 
 inventor of the Ford-Whitworth car-coupler, 
 and was for many years in the employ of the I. 
 C. as a conductor. He also helped in the con- 
 struction of the M. & O. R. R. 
 
 Mr. Ford, of this sketch, was married dur- 
 ing the present year (1900) to Miss Ella Har- 
 rell, of Osyka, Mississippi. They reside at 
 present, with Engineer and Mrs. Long, in the 
 south-west part of McComb City. Sociallv Mr. 
 Ford is connected with Division No. 196, B. of 
 L. E. of which he was recentlv elected Guide. 
 
 BEN HERRING, the popular young 
 cashier at the local freight office at 
 Louisville, Kentucky, is a native of 
 
 Paducah, having been born there in 
 the year 1874. His father was Rowland Her- 
 ring. Our subject was educated in the common 
 schools until the age of sixteen, when he entered 
 the office of the Paducah, Tennessee & Alabama 
 Railroad where he worked sixteen months, and 
 then he accepted a position as clerk in the mas- 
 ter mechanic's office of the C. O. & S. W. at Pa- 
 ducah. He was then promoted to time keeper
 
 THOMAS F. SHANNON.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 231 
 
 and later appointed clerk at the Paducah freight 
 office. 
 
 Mr. Herring was next transferred to Louis- 
 ville as clerk in the freight office, and was soon 
 promoted to cashier to succeed W. J. Rye. His 
 promotions have been rapid, and he has great 
 responsibility, as there are large sums of money 
 to handle. His office force consists of two clerks. 
 Mr. Herring is well up in Masonry, being a 
 member of the Plain City Lodge No. 449, at Pa- 
 ducah, Kentucky. He resides at 1719 West Jef- 
 ferson street. 
 
 F. SHANNON, foreman in 
 
 U charge of the Illinois Central shops at 
 Cherokee, Iowa, entered the service of 
 the company at Dubuque, Iowa, in 
 September 1868, as a locomotive fireman. At 
 that time wood was used as fuel, and it was on 
 one of the old wood burners, engine No. 160, in 
 charge of Engineer Moses Arquetti, that he 
 made his first trip between Dubuque and Charles 
 City. He continued in this service for two years, 
 when he was appointed engine dispatcher at Du- 
 buque, and from the latter position was trans- 
 ferred to Ft. Dodge, Iowa. For a period of 
 nine months he was in charge of two engine 
 houses at the latter city, running switch engines 
 and moving trains in the yards there. He was 
 then promoted to engineer in the freight service, 
 and worked in the yards at Waterloo and Du- 
 buque for about one year, when he was trans- 
 ferred to the regular road service. His first 
 trip in this branch of the service was made in 
 the spring of 1872, on engine No. 51, passenger 
 train No. 4, from Dubuque to Waterloo. He 
 continued in the freight service until 1883, when 
 by right of seniority he received a regular pas- 
 senger run between Waterloo and Sioux City. 
 Remaining in that branch of the service until 
 May ist, 1888, he was then promoted to the po- 
 sition of trainmaster at Ft. Dodge, where he 
 served until May ist, 1891, when at his own re- 
 quest he was transferred to Cherokee and took 
 
 charge of the Sioux Falls and Onawa districts 
 as trainmaster, holding that position until Sep- 
 tember ist, 1893, when the office was abolished. 
 He was then assigned to his present position. 
 During the seventeen years that Mr. Shannon 
 served as engineer, he was remarkably success- 
 ful, never having had a wreck or collision of 
 any kind, nor so much as being off the track. 
 
 He was never dismissed or suspended, a 
 record of which any railroad man might be just- 
 ly proud. Always disposed to be conservative, 
 he took an active part in the settlement of dif- 
 ficulties between the company and the engineers. 
 He was elected assistant general chairman of 
 the General Grievance Committee of the I. C. 
 system at Centralia, in 1887, which position he 
 occupied during the great strike on the Chicago, 
 Burlington & Quincy road in 1888. Believing 
 that the I. C. was in no way responsible for the 
 trouble which prevailed, he used his efforts in 
 breaking up the boycott against the latter road, 
 and was eminently successful. Mr. Shannon 
 has taken an active part in politics since 1876. 
 He is a strong Republican, and has the faculty 
 of making friends among the prominent men of 
 his party. During the administration of Gov- 
 ernor Larrabee he was appointed Special Aid- 
 de-Camp, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. 
 At the present time he is being urged by his 
 friends to become a candidate for the legislature, 
 but for business reasons he is obliged to decline. 
 During the fall and winter of 1887 and 1888, 
 Mr. Shannon organized what is known as the 
 legislative 1x>ard (an organization of railway em- 
 ployes) for the purpose of defeating the two- 
 cent fare bill, and also for the purpose of taking 
 issue with the legislature on other matters per- 
 taining to the interests of railway employes. It 
 was generally conceded that the defeat of the 
 two-cent fare bill was due to the influence of 
 this organization. 
 
 Mr. Shannon was born in Ireland on Jan- 
 uary 6, 1845, and with his parents emigrated to 
 America in 1850, settling in Grant county, Wis- 
 consin, from whence in 1856 they removed to 
 Fayette county, Iowa. In 1871 he was married 
 to Miss Annie E. Kirby, in Dubuque, and they
 
 232 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 have three sons : Kirby E. and Herbert J., both 
 in the employ of the Illinois Central, and George 
 F., who is attending school. In 1863, during 
 the Civil war, Mr. Shannon enlisted as a private 
 in the Ninth Iowa Cavalry, under Col. M. M. 
 Trumbull, and was honorably discharged at Da- 
 venport, Iowa, in February 1866. Socially he 
 is connected with Division No. 226, B. of L. E., 
 of Ft. Dodge, and is also a member of the Grand 
 Army of the Republic at Waterloo, Iowa. 
 
 =x^DGAR F. STOVALL, freight agent at 
 the Illinois Central's extensive depots 
 at Louisville, Kentucky, was born in 
 McNairy county, Tennessee December 
 18, 1865. ' His father, Dr. W. W. Stovall, a 
 well known physician who practiced medicine 
 in McNairy and the adjoining counties fifty 
 years, died at the age of seventy-eight years. 
 The mother lives with her daughter at Bethel 
 Springs. 
 
 Our subject received his education in the 
 country schools and worked on a farm up to the 
 age of nineteen years when he became a clerk 
 in his brother's store and studied telegraphy at 
 odd times. In 1887, he entered the service of the 
 Mobile & Ohio railroad as operator at Jackson, 
 Tennessee, worked four months, when he was 
 transferred to Cairo, Illinois, as operator. He 
 worked here five months and then went to East 
 St. Louis as copying operator in the despatcher's 
 office. He left the despatcher's office to accept 
 a position as agent's operator at E. St. Louis, 
 worked eight months and was made revising 
 clerk, occupied this position two years and a 
 half and was then promoted to cashier. He re- 
 tained this office a few months, when he was 
 offered a position with the C. O. & S. W., at 
 Memphis, Tennessee, acting as cashier, was 
 afterward chief clerk and in January 1896, was 
 appointed agent at Paducah, Kentucky. In 
 August 1897, he was transferred to Owensboro, 
 Kentucky, as agent, and in August 1898, he was 
 
 again transferred to Louisville as agent to suc- 
 ceed G. T. Fuller. Mr. Stovall's ability has been 
 recognized as his rapid promotion will show. 
 
 A fair idea of Mr. Stovall's responsibility 
 may be formed when considering his office force 
 numbering twenty-three office clerks, eleven 
 ware-house clerks and forty laborers. Mr. 
 Stovall has entire charge of the three freight 
 depots at Louisville, and his assistants are Mr. 
 Klinger at Fourteenth and Kentucky streets, L. 
 J. Fass, chief clerk, and Ben Herring, cashier, 
 Mr. Gunther, assistant agent at First Street: 
 station. Mr. Stovall also has charge of the 
 freight of the Louisville, Henderson & St. Louis, 
 and Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis roads. 
 Louisville's freight house was at one time an old 
 tobacco warehouse remodelled. Now there is a 
 new house at the corner of Twelfth and Rowan, 
 probably the most modern in the country, being 
 seven hundred feet long and having scales be- 
 fore each door. The receiving house across the 
 track is probably one of the best in the city. 
 
 Mr. Stovall is a popular member of the Elks, 
 belonging to Paducah Lodge No. 217, also of 
 the Concatinated Order of Hop Hoos. He re- 
 sides at 1719 West Jefferson street, Louisville, 
 Kentucky. 
 
 A. LONG, a popular and high- 
 
 Uly esteemed engineer in the freight ser- 
 . vice on the Louisiana division of the 
 I. C., entered the service of the com- 
 pany about ten years ago at McComb City, as a 
 locomotive fireman, with Engineer Clark Bagley. 
 He was for several years in this branch of the 
 service, and on examination was found capable, 
 and promoted to engineer, since which he has 
 had a regular run in the freight service between 
 Canton, Mississippi, and New Orleans. 
 
 Mr. Long was born at Kenner, Louisiana, 
 October i, 1868. His father, now deceased, was 
 a merchant of that place. Judge Henry Jacob 
 Long, a brother, who died in 1899, was a promi- 
 nent citizen of Jefferson Parish, in the same
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 233 
 
 state, and was for many years assessor of the 
 parish. 
 
 Mr. Long was united in marriage to Miss 
 Mollie Ford, of McComb City, wher,e they re- 
 side in a pretty home on Michigan avenue. In 
 his social connections he affiliates with the K. of 
 i'., and Division No. 196, B. of L. E., of his 
 home city. 
 
 ARRY W. BLADES, local freight and 
 ticket agent at Henderson, Kentucky, 
 was born in the state of Illinois. His 
 ancestors are of Scotch descent, and on 
 coming to this country settled in Virginia. The 
 grandfather came to the Blue Grass region and 
 later settled in Illinois. The father is a promi- 
 nent citizen of McLeansboro, Illinois, having 
 held all offices from mayor dowrr. Our subject 
 received his education in the common schools 
 and college, and on completing his course went 
 in the grocery business as clerk. At the age of 
 eighteen he secured work on the L. & N. road as 
 brakeman between Evansville and St. Louis. He 
 learned telegraphy and was soon made extra op- 
 erator, supplying stations all over the road. He 
 quit telegraphing and began firing on the same 
 road. Shortly after he went to the Ohio Valley 
 road in the same capacity. He then worked a 
 while at Morganfield as operator, and later at 
 Princeton and Northville ; then went to the Pa- 
 ducah shops and began his service there as oper- 
 ator, from which he was transferred to the su- 
 perintendent's office. He was next appointed 
 agent at Kuttawa, Kentucky, and afterwards left 
 for Memphis where he served as baggage agent 
 and assistant ticket agent. 
 
 In 1893 he was sent to Sturgis as freight 
 and ticket agent, at which place he remained six 
 full years, performing a large amount of work. 
 August TO, 1899, he was appointed freight and 
 ticket agent at Henderson to succeed G. H. 
 Waltz. Mr. Blades is becoming very popular 
 with the commercial public and is making a 
 grand showing, as he has two rival roads to con- 
 
 tend with. Besides his duties at the station he 
 acts as commercial agent around the city and 
 does a great amount of soliciting. Through his 
 accommodating ways he has built up a large in- 
 crease. Mr. Blades has as his office force, chief 
 clerk, E. B. Caldwell ; ticket clerk and cashier, 
 Walter Albritten ; W. G. Hancock, day operator 
 and bill clerk; George Hixon, night operator; 
 W. G. Hammond, yard clerk ; L. L. Long, check 
 clerk, and Van Miller, messenger. 
 
 Henderson's principal shipments are tobac- 
 co, grain (three elevators), cotton goods, woolen 
 goods, whiskey, furniture, and canned goods. 
 Tobacco shipments often reach 15,000 hogsheads 
 a year. Henderson has fourteen tobacco steme- 
 ries, two distilleries, brewery, cotton mill, woolen 
 mill, furniture factory, and a canning factory. 
 Mr. Blades married Miss Green, daughter of 
 W". H. Green, ex-representative of Kuttawa, Ky., 
 who now conducts a hotel. Our subject has one 
 child, a boy of four years of age. Besides his 
 duties as agent Mr. Blades acts as yard master, 
 and is a man capable of a great amount of work. 
 
 F. WHEELER, an efficient and pop- 
 ular conductor on the Memphis divi- 
 ' Q sion of the Illinois Central, in the 
 Fulton district, is a native of Ken- 
 tucky, and was born in Graves county, Septem- 
 ber 18, 1857. He is the son of Benjamin and 
 Martha (Pegram) Wheeler, the former a mill- 
 wright by trade, who died on April 25, 1899, 
 and the latter resides in Martin, Tennessee. Mr. 
 Wheeler acquired his education privately, and 
 moved with his family in 1873 to Weakly coun- 
 ty, Tennessee. At the age of eighteen he began 
 working at the carpenter trade, and remained at 
 that work three years. When twenty-one he en- 
 tered the employ of the Mobile & Ohio R. R. as 
 a brakeman between Okalona, Mississippi, and 
 Columbia, Kentucky, where, after fourteen 
 months service as brakeman, he was promoted to 
 conductor in the freight department. He was in
 
 234 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 that branch of the service four years when pro- 
 moted to the passenger service, serving two years 
 in the latter capacity. He then severed his con- 
 nection with that road and spent two years in 
 various pursuits. His next railroad work was 
 on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. as con- 
 ductor in the freight service between Vicksburg 
 and New Orleans, when after one year's service 
 he went to Memphis to the Chesapeake, Ohio & 
 South-Western R. R. (now the I. C.), in the 
 freight service between Paducah and Memphis. 
 After ten years' faithful work he was, on Decem- 
 ber 24, 1896, promoted to the passenger service, 
 where he is at present employed, and is consid- 
 ered an efficient and capable official. Mr. Wheel- 
 er married Miss Grace Myers, of Covington, 
 Tennessee, July 23, 1895, and they have one 
 child, Martha C, born July 15, 1896. Socially 
 Mr. Wheeler is a member of the Masonic frater- 
 nity, and of the O. R. C. He is an adherent 
 of the Methodist church, and in politics is a 
 staunch Democrat. 
 
 C. HAYNIE is an engineer in the 
 freight service, on the Louisiana 
 Q division of the I. C. He en- 
 tered the service of the I. C. in 
 1887, 'as fireman under engineer C. L. Smith. 
 Serving in the capacity of fireman for three 
 years, he was then examined and promoted to 
 engineer, being immediately placed in the freight 
 service on a regular run between Canton, Mis- 
 sissippi, and New Orleans. 
 
 His first experience in railroad work, was 
 acquired in the shops of the A. T. & S. F. R. R. 
 at Galveston, Texas, where, after a short ser- 
 vice, he obtained a position as fireman on the 
 road, and two years later, was promoted to en- 
 gineer. He remained with the Sante Fe until 
 1887, when he entered the employ of I. C. and 
 has been with the latter road to the present 
 time. 
 
 Mr. Haynie was born on March 15, 1863, 
 in Washington county, Texas. His father, John 
 
 A. Haynie, now deceased, was an extensive cot- 
 ton buyer, and well-known throughout the 
 South. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, was married at 
 Houston, Texas, to Miss Paralee Mount, of New 
 Orleans, whose father, William S. Mount, was 
 engaged in the banking business there. To this 
 marriage, four sons were born, Kell and Homer 
 are living, and at home, and William and Wal- 
 ter, are dead. Mr. Haynie has a commodious 
 home on Minnesota avenue, one of the best resi- 
 dence portions of McComb City. 
 
 C. CAMERON, a freight conductor 
 on the Memphis division of the Illi- 
 Q nois Central, is a native of Ononda- 
 ga county, New York, born Septem- 
 ber 25, 1851. He is the son of Alden and Mar- 
 garet (Guillies) Cameron, of whom the latter 
 survives, and is residing in Scranton, Pennsyl- 
 vania. Alden Cameron, who died in 1898, was 
 a graduate of the medical department of the 
 Abbey College, of Boston, Massachusetts, but 
 followed agricultural pursuits. The subject of 
 this sketch attended the common schools of his 
 native place, afterward taking a college course 
 at the Monroe Collegiate Institute, working on 
 his father's farm during vacations. In 1870 he 
 began railroad life on the Syracuse & Northern 
 R. R. as brakeman in the passenger service be- 
 tween Syracuse and Sandy Creek, in New York 
 State, remaining in that position about eight 
 months. He then went to Michigan and worked 
 on the Michigan Central R. R. as fireman be- 
 tween Detroit and Jackson, occupying that posi- 
 tion three months, when he became a brakeman 
 on the same road between Michigan City and 
 Pentwater. After spending a winter in the pin- 
 eries of that state, he went to Meadville, Pennsyl- 
 vania, and secured a position as brakeman on the 
 Atlantic & Great Western (now the Erie Rail- 
 road), and from June 1873 to July 14, 1878, was 
 in that branch of the service on that road, a
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 235 
 
 period of five years. He was then promoted to 
 conductor and remained with the road until June 
 1 88 1. From 1881 until November 25, 1885, he 
 \vas a conductor in the service of the Louisville 
 & Nashville R. R., and resigned to go to Colo- 
 rado on account of ill health of his wife. 
 
 In that state he remained two years in the 
 employ of the Denver & Rio Grande R. R., and 
 then returned to New York, and from there went 
 to Kentucky. A short period was spent with the 
 Louisville & Nashville as brakeman, when he 
 entered the service of the Chesapeake & Ohio 
 R. R. (now the Illinois Central), and from that 
 time has been with the latter road in his present 
 capacity between Memphis and Paducah. On 
 November 13, 1878, Mr. Cameron was united in 
 marriage to Miss Eliza Nicholson, of Meadville, 
 Pennsylvania, and they have one son, Robert A., 
 an employe of the I. C. at Memphis. Mr. Cam- 
 eron has also two stepsons, James L. and Wil- 
 liam Walters, both connected with the I. C. Mr. 
 Cameron is a member of the Masonic fraternity. 
 His family attends the Methodist church, and 
 in politics he is a Democrat. He is noted as a 
 careful and prudent employe, and has had a 
 highly successful railroad career, having no ac- 
 cidents of any consequence, and losing no rolling 
 stock under his care. Mrs. Cameron died Feb- 
 ruary 5, 1886. He was married a second time, 
 June 23, 1889, to Mrs. Nannie Walters, of Fay- 
 ette Co., Tenn., who is the mother of the two 
 stepsons above mentioned. 
 
 ,DWARD DONOGHUE is the well- 
 known supervisor of track and trains 
 on the tenth section, Rantoul district, 
 of the Illinois Central. He became 
 identified with the I. C. in 1853 as a laborer on 
 the Chicago division, working northward from 
 Cairo, 111. He remained on that division for 
 several years, and on the acquisition of the 
 Springfield division by the I. C. he came north 
 to the latter place, remaining there until 1880, 
 
 when he went to Centralia as supervisor of tracks 
 on the Chicago division. From Centralia he 
 was transferred and in 1887 came to Rantoul, 
 111., to take charge of the reconstruction of that 
 division, changing the road from a narrow to a 
 broad gauge. He has since remained at Rantoul 
 and fills his present responsible position with sat- 
 isfaction. 
 
 Mr. Donoghue was born near Dublin, Ire- 
 land, August 15, 1829, but came to America in 
 March 1846, becoming a resident of Illinois in 
 January 1847, which state he has ever since made 
 his home. 
 
 3, 1861. 
 
 J. JACOWAY, a popular conductor 
 on the Memphis division of the Illi- 
 Q nois Central, is a native of Dallas, 
 Texas, his birth occurring August 
 His parents were John A. and Lucy A. 
 (Holland) Jacoway, both deceased. Mr. Jaco- 
 way Sr. was a railroad contractor, and had 
 charge of the reconstruction of the Selma, Rome 
 & Dalton R. R. after the Civil war. Our sub- 
 ject was educated in the state university of Fay- 
 etteville, Arkansas, working on his father's farm 
 during his vacations. After graduating he en- 
 tered the office of the Dardanelle Post, at Dar- 
 danelle, Arkansas, where he served one year as 
 a printer. He then studied civil engineering 
 and was later engaged in the house and sign 
 painting business. Compelled to abandon the 
 latter work on account of his health, he entered 
 the service of the Memphis & Charleston R. R., 
 on March 10, 1877, as a news agent, between 
 Memphis and Chattanooga. One year later he 
 went to the Mississippi & Tennessee R. R. (now 
 part of the I. C.) as a brakeman, and afterward 
 was employed as a baggageman on that road. 
 In 1881 he was promoted to conductor between 
 Memphis and Grenada, and held that position 
 ten years, or until 1891. In the latter year he 
 went to the Newport News & Mississippi Valley 
 R. R. as receiving clerk in the freight department 
 of that road, serving there one year. He then
 
 236 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 declined positions as conductor with the Mem- 
 phis & Little Rock R. R., and Nashville & Chat- 
 tanooga R. R. respectively, to enter the employ 
 of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern R. 
 R., but remained there only two weeks. In 1893 
 he went to the Chesapeake & Ohio ro'ad (now 
 part of the I. C.) as conductor in the freight ser- 
 vice, soon after being promoted to the passenger 
 service, where he has since remained, having a 
 regular run between Cairo, Illinois, and Mem- 
 phis, Tennessee. Mr. Jacoway was, on May 14, 
 1890, united to Miss Mary H. Campbell, of Sen- 
 atobia, Mississippi, but a native of Memphis. 
 She was born at the latter city July nth, 1871, 
 and educated in Ward's Seminary at Nashville, 
 and is a lady of fine attainments. They have a 
 bright little daughter, Mamie E., born June 13, 
 1894. Mr. Jacoway is a Scottish Rite Mason, 
 Knight of Pythias, and is connected with the O. 
 R. C. and the Hoo Hoos. His family are ac- 
 tive members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 In politics he votes with the Democratic party. 
 
 JOSEPH H. MULHALL, a popular young 
 freight conductor on the Louisville div- 
 ision of the Illinois Central, was born in 
 Hardin county, Kentucky. His father, 
 Thomas K. Mulhall, who was a farmer, still re- 
 sides at Grayson Springs where John H. received 
 his early education. Our subject began working 
 in a tobacco house and later worked in a dry 
 goods store. In 1887 he secured a place on the 
 C. O. & S. W. Railroad in track service, and in 
 1888 commenced in train service, running out 
 of Louisville, braking in the passenger service 
 with Conductor Connors. He was later pro- 
 moted to baggageman and worked at this five 
 years when in June 1896 he was promoted to 
 freight conductor, running between Louisville 
 and Central City. Our subject has at present a 
 preferred run between Louisville and Paducah 
 on caboose 98,481. He has never suffered any 
 serious mishaps, but in 1889 he fell from a car 
 
 and sprained his ankle, falling with such force 
 as to bend a switch rod, and was laid up for three 
 weeks. Mr. Mulhall is very well liked by his 
 men, and is noted for telling very droll stories. 
 He belongs to Monon Division No. 89, O. R. C. 
 He resides at 1114 W. Broadway, Louisville, 
 Kentuck. 
 
 "J-[xiHOMAS D. RUFFIN, a conductor in 
 
 Uthe passenger service on the Memphis 
 division of the Illinois Central, in the 
 Fulton district, was born at Jackson, 
 Tennessee, April 16, 1863. His parents were 
 Robert J.-ancl Melissa (Williamson) Ruffiii. 
 Mr. Ruffin Sr. is a carpenter by trade, and re- 
 sides in Jackson. His wife departed this life 
 January 25, 1895. The immediate family of 
 our subject included a brother, William R. Ruf- 
 fin, an engineer in the service of the I. C. on the 
 Mississippi division, and three sisters, Mrs. J. 
 G. Carter, Mrs. E. B. Curtis, and Miss Mary D. 
 Ruffin, all residing in Jackson, Tennessee. Af- 
 ter attending the public schools of Jackson un- 
 til thirteen years of age, Thomas D. Ruffin be- 
 came an apprentice at the carpenter trade, under 
 his father, and worked at that trade until Decem- 
 ber 24, 1880. He then secured a position with 
 the Mobile & Ohio R. R. as brakeman, between 
 Columbus, Kentucky, and Tupelo, Mississippi, 
 where he worked about two years, and was then 
 promoted to conductor in the freight service of 
 the road. He remained with that company un- 
 til December 1883, when he entered the service 
 of the Illinois Central as conductor in the freight 
 service on the Mississippi division, between 
 Jackson, Tennessee, and Canton, Mississippi. 
 On June 6, 1890, he resigned and went to the 
 Chesapeake, Ohio & South-Western R. R. (now 
 part of the I. C. system) as conductor in the 
 freight department between Paducah, Kentucky, 
 and Memphis, Tennessee. He was soon given 
 an extra passenger run, and in 1892 was given 
 a regular passenger run where he continues at 
 the present time. On December 26, 1895, Miss
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 237 
 
 Minnie Markette, of Water Valley, Mississippi, 
 became the wife of Mr. Ruffin. Of the social 
 orders Mr. Ruffin is a thirty-second degree Ma- 
 son, a Knight Templar, an Elk and a Mystic 
 Shriner. He is Assistant Chief of Division No. 
 175, O. R. C, and was a charter member of No. 
 217, of Paducah. His family attends the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal church, and politically he is a 
 strong advocate of the principles of Democracy. 
 
 baggage handled per month is sixteen thousand. 
 Besides taking charge of this force Mr. Jordan 
 looks after the large amount of writing and office 
 work which demands his attention. He is well 
 liked by the traveling public, always having a 
 courteous answer for the many questions asked. 
 Mr. Jordan married Miss Emma Warrington, 
 of Covington, Kentucky, and resides at 320 E. 
 Jacob street, Louisville. 
 
 EORGE JORDAN, the popular and ac- 
 commodating baggage agent of the 
 Union depot at Louisville, Kentucky, 
 first saw the light of day at Cincinna- 
 ti, Ohio, March 5, 1873. His father was George 
 W. Jordan, who died when George was a small 
 boy, leaving him in care of an aunt. The boy 
 received his education in Cincinnati, but left 
 school at fourteen years of age and entered a 
 machine shop to learn the machinist trade. He 
 worked a short time and then went to Nashville, 
 Tennessee, and learned the trade of stone carv- 
 ing, working there at his trade five years, after 
 which he went to Cincinnati and carved stone 
 two years. 
 
 He then left the stone business to enter rail- 
 road service with the Illinois Central Railroad at 
 Louisville in the baggage room. He then went 
 into the Union depot at Louisville as checkman. 
 Here through strict attention to his business, he 
 won the esteem of his employers, and October 2, 
 1898, he was promoted to baggage agent to suc- 
 ceed Michael Carroll. The responsibility up- 
 on Mr. Jordan is great. Besides handling the 
 extensive business of the Illinois Central, he 
 looks after baggage of the six other roads run- 
 ning into the depot. They are B. & O. S. W., 
 Louisville, Henderson & St. Louis, Big Four, 
 Southern Railway, C. & O., Louisville, Evans- 
 ville & St. Louis. 
 
 Mr. Jordan's large force consists of fourteen 
 baggage porters, four mail porters and two 
 checkmen. The average number of pieces of 
 
 ,OBERT A. GODWIN, the accommodat- 
 ing city ticket agent for the Illinois 
 Central at Memphis, Tennessee, was 
 born in that city on April nth, 1876. 
 He is a son of John R. and Mary Francis (Mul- 
 lins) Godwin, both well and favorably known 
 residents of Memphis. Mr. Godwin Sr. was a 
 cotton merchant. He was a member of the state 
 legislature in 1893, and was also a representa- 
 tive to the national Democratic convention that 
 nominated Cleveland. He held the responsible 
 office of president of the Mercantile Bank for 
 ten years, of which he was the original organizer. 
 Mr. Godwin and his estimable wife are now liv- 
 ing a retired life in Memphis. 
 
 Robert A. Godwin, the subject of this 
 sketch, was educated in private schools in his na- 
 tive city until sixteen years of age, when he en- 
 tered the University of Virginia. After apply- 
 ing himself for two years he was compelled, on 
 account of poor health, to leave college. He 
 spent a year on his father's farm recuperating, 
 and then took a position on the Commercial Ap- 
 peal, as a reporter, and worked there six months. 
 He then went to the I. C. ticket office as assistant 
 ticket agent in Memphis, occupying that position 
 fourteen months, when he was promoted to city 
 ticket agent, a position he now holds and is fil- 
 ling with the greatest satisfaction to all con- 
 cerned. Mr. Godwin is a member of the Hoo 
 Hoos, an organization of a social character. His 
 family attends the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 In politics he is a staunch Democrat.
 
 238 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 nAMES C. GUNTHER, the agent at the 
 First Street station, Louisville, Ken- 
 tucky, was born in Louisville July 10, 
 1871. His father is Sebastian Gunther, 
 who has been connected with the Louisville po- 
 lice department for thirty years, and is- at pres- 
 ent assistant chief of police. Our subject left 
 school when but fourteen years of age, beginning 
 as messenger boy in the C. O. & S. W. local 
 freight office, remained there one year and four 
 months, when he was made bill clerk, held va- 
 rious other clerkships, and was then made cash- 
 ier at Twelfth and Rowan street office, which 
 position he had three and a half years. Octo- 
 ber 15, 1895, he came to the First Street station 
 as agent, and his station is one of importance as 
 freight is transferred here to many other roads, 
 among them the B. & O., S. W., Monon, Louis- 
 ville, Evansville & St. Louis. Our subject's of- 
 fice force are Mr. August Goudex, bill clerk, 
 L. C. Rose, platform clerk, J. S. Malburn, plat- 
 form foreman, and M. Brann, clerk, besides six 
 truckmen, one yard clerk, Joseph McHugh. 
 
 Mr. Gunther married Miss L. E. Liter, a 
 popular Louisville lady. He belongs to the Blue 
 Lodge and Chapter of the Masonic order, and 
 the Red Men. He is very popular with the pa- 
 trons of the road as well as with all his associates 
 in the service. 
 
 AMUEL M. REAMES, a conductor in 
 the freight service on the Louisiana 
 division of the Illinois Central, began 
 life on his own account when only six- 
 teen years of age. His first work was on the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. (now the I. C. 
 R. R.) where he was employed as a brakeman 
 between Vicksburg and New Orleans. When 
 but nineteen years old he was promoted to con- 
 ductor, and was in the freight service of that 
 road until 1890. He then went to New Orleans 
 and worked in the yards of the New Orleans & 
 North Eastern Railroad until 1893. In the lat- 
 ter year, he was appointed yardmaster for the 
 
 Illinois Central, at McComb City, Mississippi, 
 holding that position for eighteen months, and 
 on Feb. i, 1897, was promoted to conductor on 
 the Louisiana division where he is at the present 
 time. Mr. Reames was born at Baton Rouge, 
 Louisiana, September 2, 1866, and is a son of 
 William P. and Eliza Reames. Mr. Reames, Sr. 
 now deceased, was a carpenter by trade, and a 
 highly respected man. Robert S., a brother of 
 our subject, is a conductor on the Illinois Cen- 
 tral having a run out of Vicksburg. Samuel 
 M. Reames married Miss Flora Packwood, a 
 native of Louisiana, and with her occupies a 
 nice home in the western part of McComb City. 
 He is a valued and faithful employe of the com- 
 pany, possessing many excellencies of character, 
 which command the esteem of his fellow-men. 
 
 R. HARLAN, is an engineer in the 
 freight service on the Louisiana di- 
 'O v ' s ' on f tne Illinois Central. His 
 first experience at railroad work was 
 acquired in 1884, on the St. Louis & San Francis- 
 co R. R., where he was employed at Springfield, 
 Missouri, as a fireman. He was afterward trans- 
 ferred to the Texas division of that road, and it 
 was while there that he was examined for, and 
 received promotion to engineer. Leaving that 
 road in 1893, he went to New Orleans, and in 
 October of that year entered the service of the 
 Illinois Central as an engineer on the New Or- 
 leans Terminal. In 1895 he was transferred to 
 McComb City, Mississippi, and has since had 
 charge of a run in the freight service on the 
 Louisiana division of that road. 
 
 During the year 1898 he had charge of the 
 pay car, and was injured in a small wreck on the 
 Grenada division. He was also in a serious 
 wreck on the Louisiana division in 1896. 
 
 Mr. Harlan was born in Kosciusko, Indiana, 
 on October 2, 1864. His father, George W. 
 Harlan, is a substantial farmer now residing in 
 Oklahoma. The union of Mr. Harlan and Miss
 
 g 
 
 o 
 
 W 
 
 W 
 o 
 
 Q
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 Rosa Brooks, of Pittsburg, Kansas, has been a 
 very happy one, and they are the parents of two 
 fine children , Marie and Robert. Of the social 
 orders Mr. Harlan is connected with the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity, and with Division No. 196, B. 
 of L. E. of McComb City, of which he is at 
 the present time Chief. He resides in East Mc- 
 Comb City, where he has a nice home. 
 
 AVID J. CULTON is a well known en- 
 gineer in the passenger service on the 
 Sioux Falls division of the Illinois 
 Central, and is one of the old and re- 
 spected employes of the company. He entered 
 the service of the I. C. in 1866, as an engine 
 wiper in the round house at Dunleith, 111., when 
 that place was a great central point of the com- 
 pany. He was soon promoted to fireman and 
 worked as such until 1876, when he was trans- 
 ferred to Dubuque, Iowa, and given charge of an 
 engine on what was then known as the Iowa 
 division of the I. C. In 1881 he removed to 
 Waterloo, Iowa, and was given a regular run on 
 the western division of the road. He came to 
 Cherokee in 1887, when the Sioux Falls division 
 was being built, and was in charge of the engine 
 which laid all the rails on the new division. The 
 completion of this line was made under more than 
 ordinary difficulties, as the rails were laid in 
 a terriffic blizzard of wind, cold and snow, the 
 thermometer registering twenty degrees below 
 zero, still the men worked with a will, and at 
 ii -.20 P. M., December 19, 1887, the last spike 
 was driven in the presence of the governor of 
 the territory of Dakota, Mayor Norton, of Sioux 
 Falls, Mr. E. T. Jeffery, Mr. Tucker, Mr. Dixon, 
 and other officials of the company. He also ran 
 the first train over that division, a mixed one, 
 after which he was given a regular run in the 
 passenger service of that branch of the road, 
 which he still holds. Our subject is a native of 
 northern Ireland, and was born in 1851. His 
 
 father, William Culton, now deceased, was also 
 in the service of the I. C. on the section and in 
 the round house, both at Dunleith, 111., and Du- 
 buque, and a brother, James Culton, residing at 
 Bloomington, 111., is now traveling freight agent 
 for the company. Mr. Culton has been twice 
 married. His first wife was Miss Esther Girard, 
 who died, and later he was united to Mrs. Mary 
 Hull. , They have one child, Elva. Both he and 
 his wife are prominent members of the Congre- 
 gational church, of Cherokee. He is a member 
 of Division No. 226, B. of L. E., at Ft. Dodge, 
 and was a delegate from Division No. 114, of 
 Waterloo, to the convention at Pittsburg, Pa. 
 He is also connected with the Masonic order, 
 Knights Templar, and A. O. U. W., of Chero- 
 kee, where he resides in a fine home on Elm 
 street. Mr. Culton has never been in a wreck 
 during his long career as a railroad man, and 
 his rise in his chosen work marks him as a man 
 of sterling worth and energy. Since writing the 
 above Mr. Culton had the honor to make the 
 first trip over the Ft. Dodge & Omaha R. R. 
 This was made November i, 1899, from Council 
 Bluffs, leaving there at 7 145 A. M. on that date, 
 arriving at Ft. Dodge at 6:20 P. M., with Vice- 
 President Wallace's business car. 
 
 AVID McKELLIP, one of the most 
 prominent engineers on the west end 
 of the Central, has had a railroad ex- 
 perience extending over more than 
 forty years. He was born on his father's farm 
 near Bradford, Vt., September 3, 1841. His 
 father, Stephen McKellip, moved later to New 
 Hampshire, where he passed his last days. Three 
 of his other sons chose a railroad career. S. 
 Horace, after learning the science of engineering 
 on the Grand Trunk, then ran for a number of 
 years on the lines of the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
 St. Paul, later settled on the Pacific coast, and 
 has for the last twenty years run an engine on
 
 212 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 the narrow gauge road there, residing at Antioch, 
 Cal. Daniel, deceased, was, during the latter 
 years of his life, on one of the roads running out 
 of San Francisco. Elbridge L. is master me- 
 chanic for the Southern Pacific at Carlin, Nev. 
 David McKellip began his railroad career as 
 fireman on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
 line (then the Chicago & Prairie du Chien Rail- 
 road), in 1859, and in a short time was promoted 
 and given an engine running between Milwaukee 
 and Janesville. On the outbreak of the Civil 
 war, he answered his country's call for volun- 
 teers and enlisted on August 3, 1862, in Company 
 D, 24th Wisconsin Infantry, under Captain Phil- 
 brick and Col. Larabee. After passing through 
 nearly three years of campaigning, during which 
 he participated in sixteen hard fought battles, 
 he was discharged at Nashville, Tenn., June 25, 
 1865, having been fortunate enough to escape 
 wound or injury. On his return from the war 
 he was given his old place and soon after pro- 
 moted and assigned to a run on the Milwaukee- 
 Janesville line. Resigning, he went to Waterloo, 
 Iowa, and on August 26, 1871, was engaged on 
 the line where he has since been engaged. For 
 a number of years he was in the freight service, 
 but the latter years he has had a passenger run 
 between Fort Dodge and Sioux City on engine 
 No. 1304. During the forty years of life on 
 the rail, he has never been injured from accident. 
 Mr. McKellip was married in March 1866, 
 at Waukesha, Wis.,to Miss Eliza Rifford, to 
 whom three children have been born : Mary B. ; 
 Arthur an engineer on the Southern Pacific road 
 at Ogden, Utah ; .and Robert D., at home 
 On the organization of the B. of L. E., Mr. 
 McKellip became a member in 1866, and at 
 present is a member of Division No. 226, of Ft. 
 Dodge. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum, 
 and a charter member of the Ancient Order of 
 United Workmen, of Ft. Dodge. He is enrolled 
 as a member of Fort Donaldson Post No. 236, 
 G. A. R., of Ft. Dodge. He is one o'f the veteran 
 operatives on the west end, and one of the great- 
 est favorites of the older line of railroad men. 
 He has a pleasant home at 444 South Eighth 
 street, Ft. Dodge. 
 
 YINCENT E. OGDEN, better known as 
 "Colonel Ogden," yardmaster at Ev- 
 ansville, Indiana, was born in Jefferson 
 county, Indiana, in 1847. At the age 
 of thirteen years he entered the service of the 
 J. M. & I. Railroad as train boy, served a few 
 months, when he ran away and joined the army 
 in 1862, in the 49th U. S. Infantry. He served 
 in quartermaster's department and was in sev- 
 eral engagements, served all through the war 
 and received an honorable discharge. He then 
 entered the service of the J. M. & I. Railroad 
 where he remained fourteen years, then worked 
 for the Short Line fourteen months and the 
 Belt Line one year, the Air Line two years and 
 finally served as conductor and yardmaster for 
 the E. & T. H. seven years. In 1893 he began 
 on the Ohio Valley Railroad as switchman and 
 night yardmaster, remained here four years when 
 he became day yardmaster. 
 
 O. DAHL, one of the many citizens 
 of foreign birth that have crossed the 
 L Q ocean to find a home in the states, 
 was born in Sweden, October 9, 1871, 
 and came with his parents to America two years 
 later. The family first resided at Green Bay, 
 Wisconsin, but later moved to Memphis where 
 the father entered the lumbering business. After 
 attending the Memphis schools he assisted his 
 father several years and for three years was en- 
 gaged in farming and then entered the employ of 
 the Georgia Pacific Railroad, now a part of the 
 Southern system, working in the bridge depart- 
 ment eleven months. After five years running 
 a saw mill for his father he went to Grenada, 
 Mississippi, working in a planing mill two years 
 before beginning work as night clerk in the 
 freight office of the Illinois Central at that place. 
 Remaining in the office some eleven months, he 
 was employed coaling engines about three 
 months, and then secured a place as brakeman 
 running between Memphis and Grenada. After
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 243 
 
 attaining proficiency he was promoted to freight 
 conductor on the same run and April 4, 1899, 
 received a further advance to extra passenger 
 conductor, and is in line for a regular run. On 
 February 17, 1895, Mr. Dahl was married to 
 Miss Annette McCormack, of Torrance, Missis- 
 sippi. Their one child, Alvin K., was born 
 January 6, 1896. Mr. Dahl is a member of the 
 Memphis Division, No. 175, O. R. C. In re- 
 ligion he is of the Lutheran faith and a Democrat 
 in politics. Although still a young man, Mr. 
 Dahl has made rapid progress in the operation 
 of railroads, especially when it is considered 
 that he did not enter the service as a boy as most 
 railroad men have done. 
 
 'ILLIAM P. BONDS, the capable and 
 energetic train dispatcher, for the 
 Illinois Central at McComb City, 
 Mississippi, has been connected with 
 the company since 1874. He was in that year 
 appointed telegraph operator, at Frenier station, 
 Louisiana, where he worked for ten months, and 
 afterward at various small stations on the I. C. 
 in a similar capacity, until 1876. In the latter 
 year he was appointed agent for' the company 
 at Bogue Chitto, Mississippi, remaining there 
 until 1884. He then went to McComb City as 
 assistant train dispatcher, and from there was 
 sent to Yazoo City as the first station agent for 
 the I. C. at that place. A service of eight months 
 at Yazoo City was followed by a transfer to 
 Vicksburg, where he acted as train dispatcher, 
 thence in 1889 to McComb City, where he has 
 since been employed as a dispatcher, under Chief 
 W. L. Oakley. 
 
 Mr. Bonds was born near Liberty, Mississip- 
 pi, on September 13, 1857, where his father P. 
 B. Bonds, deceased, was an extensive farmer, 
 and spent most of his life. 
 
 Miss Ella Wilson, of Summit, Miss., became 
 the wife of Mr. Bonds, in 1880, and they are the 
 parents of three children, viz; William, John, 
 
 and Eugenia. Mr. Bonds affiliates with the Ma- 
 sonic order, the Knights of Pythias, and the 
 Knights of Honor. He and his wife are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, and 
 take an active interest in church matters. He 
 is at present a member of the board of stewards 
 of the church in McComb City, where he has a 
 beautiful home, and is a substantial and progres- 
 sive citizen. 
 
 JT. DONOVAN, began his railroad 
 career in 1877 as a clerk in the shops. 
 O He was afterward made time-keeper, 
 at the same time doing station work. 
 He was next transferred to the auditor's office 
 of the Memphis, Paducah & Northern in 1880 
 and in 1884, was made commercial agent of the 
 Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern at Paducah. 
 When the Illinois Central took the road, the 
 office was abolished and Mr. Donovan was made 
 agent at Paducah and given charge of both 
 freight and passenger departments. 
 
 Paducah is one of the most important 
 stations on the Louisville division of the Illinois 
 Central, being the terminus of the St. Louis, 
 Memphis & Louisville divisions. It is the 
 natural gate-way of the great undeveloped fer- 
 tile valley of the Tennessee and Cumberland 
 rivers. Year after year opens up new markets 
 for her manufactures and trades. Paducah is 
 the second city in business importance in the state 
 of Kentucky, having a population of over twen- 
 ty-one thousand, has fine business college, good 
 schools and twenty-three churches, and does a 
 larger volume of jobbing business than any city 
 in the country in proportion to the population. 
 It is distinctively a jobbing city, and its trade 
 extends in an ever increasing circle. Over two 
 hundred and fifty traveling men are sent out 
 of the city, fifty being employed in lumber and 
 tobacco trades. The annual shipment from 
 Paducah amounts to 325,000,000 pounds. 
 
 Mr. Donovan has an office force of seven- 
 teen men, A. R, Meyers, chief clerk, W. G.
 
 244 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Street, cashier, J. C. Frazer, ticket clerk, and W. 
 A. Flowers, baggage agent. 
 
 Our subject was born in Paducah. His 
 father, John Donovan, was a drayman, and died 
 in 1891. Our subject began work at the age of 
 thirteen years as clerk in a candy store, next in 
 a book store, and then worked in a real estate 
 office from which he entered the railroad service. 
 
 Mr. Donovan married Miss Katie O'Brien, 
 of Paducah, and has four children ; Richard, 
 Frank, John and Katherine at school. He is 
 a member of Lodge No. 217, Benevolent and 
 Protective Order of Elks, of Paducah ; Knights 
 of Columbus ; Louisville Lodge, Catholic Knights 
 of America; Catholic Mutual Benefit Associa- 
 tion and the Concatinated Order of Hoo Hoos. 
 He has a home on the corner of Sixth and Clark 
 streets, where he enjoys the comforts of a happy 
 home and the fruits of a successful career. 
 
 he remained one year before being promoted 
 and given a local freight run on the same divis- 
 ion. On the transfer of Superintendent J. B. 
 Kemp to the Memphis division, Mr. Kibler was 
 transferred also, and given a freight run between 
 Memphis and Grenada, Mississippi. After six 
 years in the service here he was promoted to the 
 passenger service where he has since been em- 
 ployed. On the i8th of October, 1893, Mr. Kib- 
 ler was married to Miss Ora H. Carlton, a native 
 of Sardis, Mississippi. Their only child, John 
 H. Jr., was born January 17, 1896. Mr. Kibler 
 is a member of the Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
 ica, the Masonic fraternity, and the O. R. C. 
 He is a Democrat, and with his wife is a member 
 of the Methodist church. 
 
 JOHN H. KIBLER, a passenger conductor 
 on the Grenada district, was born in 
 Rockingham county, Virginia, Novem- 
 ber 10, 1859. His father, Joseph W. 
 Kibler, was a mill-wright in Rockingham county 
 and died in 1900, while the mother who was Miss 
 Eliza A. Beard, died in 1872. John H. Kibler 
 enjoyed good educational privileges having at- 
 tended the schools of Rockingham county and 
 the Shenandoah Seminary at Dayton, Virginia. 
 For a few years he worked on a farm and then as 
 a coach smith some three years before leaving his 
 native state. Journeying to Shannon, Missis- 
 sippi, he secured a clerkship, remaining two years 
 before taking a similar position at Aberdeen, 
 where he remained three years longer. In 1884 
 he secured a place with the Illinois Central and 
 began his service as brakeman on a passenger 
 train, running between Aberdeen and Lexing- 
 ton, Mississipi, under Conductor R. N. Colqu- 
 houn, former superintendent of the Mississippi 
 Central road. December 5, 1884, he was trans- 
 ferred to the baggage department and a year 
 later was returned to the former position where 
 
 S. MILLER, a popular passenger con- 
 ductor on the Louisville division of 
 'Q the Illinois Central Railroad, is a na- 
 tive of New York/ His father was 
 George W. Miller, one of the brightest of New 
 York's lawyers, whose career was cut short by 
 an early death at the age of thirty-eight years, 
 leaving a young wife and our subject, who was 
 then but a small boy. 
 
 After receiving a common school educa- 
 tion Mr. Miller began to earn his own living 
 and assisted his mother. He entered the service 
 of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad company 
 as water boy at the age of sixteen, worked one 
 year at this when he took up train service as a 
 freight brakeman, and at the age of eighteen 
 was promoted. Running a train as conductor 
 with great success for several years, he resigned 
 to accept a position with the Cincinnati Southern 
 as conductor, remaining here one year. He re- 
 signed again, and entered the service of the 
 North-Western, served for one year and then en- 
 tered the employ of the C. O. & S. W. in 1890 
 as a freight conductor, serving successfully as 
 his record will show. In 1897 he was promoted 
 to a regular passenger run.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 245 
 
 Mr. Miller is very affable and is already 
 one of the most popular men on the road. He 
 runs on trains No. 221 and 231, and 201 south, 
 and 204, 222 and 232 north, running between 
 Louisville and Fulton, Kentucky. During his 
 connection with the Illinois Central and C. O. 
 & S. W., Mr. Miller's career has been free from 
 accidents and he has a remarkably clean record. 
 His only injury in railroad life was while with 
 the North-Western road. He had a head end 
 collision and was thrown out of the caboose, re- 
 ceived a bad cut above the eye, narrowly escaping 
 death and being laid up four months. 
 
 Mr. Miller married Miss Julia States, of 
 Danville, Ky., a popular young lady. Mr. Mil- 
 ler is an active member of Monon Division No. 
 89, O. R. C., having been offered many offices 
 which he declined. He resides at Hotel Vic- 
 toria, corner Tenth and Broadway, Louisville, 
 Kentucky. 
 
 JW. DODGE, chief clerk in the office of 
 the division superintendent at Mem- 
 O phis, is a native of Grant county, Wis- 
 consin, born July 29, 1856. He is a 
 son of Jeremiah E. and Rachel M. (Ashley) 
 Dodge, the latter a member of the Ashley fam- 
 ily of Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, who 
 were originally from Vermont. Jeremiah E. 
 Dodge was a native of New York state and one 
 of the best known lawyers of Wisconsin. He 
 was a Harvard student, taking up law as a 
 special course, Chief Justice Storey occupying 
 the chair of that department. He was appointed 
 adjutant general of the territory prior to the ad- 
 mission of Wisconsin to statehood, and served 
 in each branch of the legislature of the state sev- 
 eral terms. Mr. Dodge, the subject of this 
 sketch, was educated in the public schools of 
 his native county and in the Lancaster Institute. 
 In 1875 he was appointed engrossing clerk of 
 the senate of Wisconsin, serving one term. In 
 May he entered the service of the Lehigh Valley 
 Railroad, and at his own request was started at 
 
 the foot of the ladder, that he might learn all 
 the details of railway work. He served first as 
 check clerk in the local freight office at Mauch 
 Chunk, later as baggage master and night tel- 
 egraph operator. In 1876 he was appointed tick- 
 et agent at Mauch Chunk, resigning the 
 following spring to return to Wisconsin to set- 
 tle his father's estate. In May of that year he 
 re-entered the service of the Lehigh Valley road 
 as clerk in the car record office, and the follow- 
 ing year was appointed rate clerk of the general 
 freight office, where he remained until he re- 
 signed to enter the service of the Illinois Central. 
 May i, 1880, Mr. Dodge entered upon his duties 
 as clerk to division superintendent C. A. Beck, 
 at Centralia, 111., and about three months later 
 was made chief clerk in the same office. Here 
 he remained with Mr. Beck and his successor, 
 Mr. T. J. Hudson, after the removal of the 
 office to Cairo until 1883. When the Central took 
 charge of the Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans 
 R. R., Mr. Dodge was selected by Mr. E. T. 
 Jeffery, then general superintendent, to accom- 
 pany him in taking stock of the road and witness 
 the transfer. On the completion of that duty 
 Mr. Dodge was appointed assistant agent at 
 Cairo, remaining as assistant and acting as agent 
 until July 1887, in the meanwhile acting part of 
 the time as traveling freight agent. On the 
 above date he was appointed chief clerk to Mr. 
 Beck, and his successor Mr. A. W. Sullivan 
 with whom he remained until failing health 
 compelled him to resign April i, 1890. For 
 two months prior to this time he was as- 
 signed to the special service of investigating the 
 transportation systems of various railroads, 
 which carried him as far west as the Pacific 
 coast. Returning to his desk it was soon found 
 that he had returned to his labors too soon, and 
 he was compelled to seek less confining work 
 or a different climate. Being favorably im- 
 pressed with the region of Puget Sound, he re- 
 signed and accepted a position as secretary of 
 the Chamber of Commerce at Seattle, retaining 
 that position four years, resigning to engage in 
 lumbering. In January 1896 he returned to the
 
 240 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 service of the Central as clerk in the office of 
 Mr. Wm. Renshaw, superintendent of 'machin- 
 ery, and later as chief clerk in the storeroom at 
 Burnside shops. April i, 1897, he was appoint- 
 ed chief clerk in the office of the superintendent 
 at Memphis, where he has been employed since. 
 
 Mr. Dodge's marriage to Miss Mary E. Mc- 
 Mullin, daughter of John and Catherine (Nagle) 
 McMullin, occurred at Mauch Chunk, October 
 14, 1879. The children born to them are as fol- 
 lows : Marguerite, Mary E., Roccena, Eliza- 
 beth, Jeremiah E., John W. Jr., and Ruth. 
 
 The members of the family are communi- 
 cants of the Protestant Episcopal church. Mr. 
 Dodge is a Republican in politics, and has taken 
 quite a prominent part in the active workings 
 of the party. He was president of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Sound Money Club of Illinois, 
 in 1896, and was the spokesman of the delega- 
 tion of Railway Men's Sound Money Clubs dur- 
 ing their visit to Canton, Ohio, during that cam- 
 paign, delivering the address to Major McKin- 
 ley. For proficiency and thoroughness in his 
 chosen calling, few equal Mr. Dodge on the en- 
 tire system. Beginning at the bottom of the lad- 
 der he has made himself familiar with every de- 
 tail of clerical work, and has fitted himself for 
 higher honors when the vacancy that is awaiting 
 him shall occur. 
 
 PRESTON A. SIGHTS, second clerk in 
 the office of the roadmaster at Mem- 
 phis, has had a very short but very 
 promising railroad career. Born and 
 reared at Henderson, Kentucky, he graduated 
 from the high school and immediately after took 
 a commercial course in Lockyear's Business Col- 
 lege, at Evansville, Ind., graduating in December 
 1897. Assisting his father, A. B. Sights, in his 
 business, coal dealing, for a few months, he se- 
 cured a position in the office of the assistant su- 
 perintendent of the Louisville division of the Ill- 
 inois Central road at Henderson, removing with 
 the office in October to Evansville and remaining 
 
 in the service there until March 25, 1899. Se- 
 curing a situation in the employ of a railroad 
 contractor, he was there engaged until July 25, 
 1899, as bookkeeper, when he resigned to become 
 yard clerk in the yards of the Illinois Central at 
 Evansville. October 28 following, he was trans- 
 ferred to Memphis and made second clerk in 
 the roadmaster's office, which position he is at 
 present filling. Mr. Sights is a member of the 
 Methodist church and of the social order Knights 
 of the Maccabees. 
 
 'ILLIAM GREEN HANCOCK, the 
 chief operator at Henderson, Ken- 
 tucky, began his railroad career at 
 a very early age. Born at Green- 
 ville, Ky., October 21, 1868, he received his ed- 
 ucation in the Kentucky common schools, and 
 while yet a youth learned the art of telegraphy. 
 At the early age of sixteen years he entered the 
 service of the Louisville & Nashville as night 
 operator at Slaughters, Ky., and from there was 
 sent to Casky, where he remained two years as 
 operator and agent. He was stationed succes- 
 sively at Crofton, Slaughters and Nortonville, 
 where he remained fourteen months as operator 
 and relief agent. In 1890 he entered the service 
 of the Chesapeake, Ohio & South-Western as 
 operator at Covington, Tenn., and from there 
 was transferred to Fulton, Ky., as night operator. 
 From here he filled successively the offices at 
 Paducah Junction, St. Charles, Kuttawa, Fre- 
 donia, Rives and Princeton, where he served as 
 operator and bill clerk. In 1898 he was assigned 
 to the office at Henderson as operator, bill clerk 
 and assistant ticket agent. Being at the termin- 
 us of the Evansville district, the position is one 
 requiring close application to business, and is 
 one of no little responsibility. Mr. Hancock 
 married Miss Ramage, and has one son living, 
 M. Rice, and a son deceased, Costello, who died 
 at the age of four years. Mr. Hancock is a 
 member of the Tribe of Ben Hur, Court No. 3,
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 247 
 
 of Henderson, Ky. In all the positions in 
 which he has been placed, Mr. Hancock has met 
 the expectations of his employers and merited the 
 promotions that from time to time he has re- 
 ceived. 
 
 JOSEPH J. BORNSCHEIN was born in 
 Louisville, Kentucky, January 17, 1866. 
 His father, F. J. Bornschein, is now de- 
 ceased, while his mother resides in Louis- 
 ville with her daughter. Our subject was edu- 
 cated in the Louisville high school, afterward 
 taking a thorough business course. He was 
 with Pratt & Co. three years, as book-keeper, 
 becoming an expert accountant and is very sys- 
 tematic in his work. He is also an inventor, 
 having invented and patented a metal bicycle 
 support, hat pin, and metal plating that is more 
 durable than nickel plate. 
 
 Mr. Bornschein, commenced railroading in 
 September 1886, on the Chesapeake, Ohio & 
 Southwestern, firing freight and passenger, and 
 in July 1889, he was promoted to a switch en- 
 gine in the Paducah yards. July 23, 1890, he 
 was given a road engine and ran on a through 
 freight to Memphis. He has, at present, a pre- 
 ferred run between the same points, and drives 
 a new Brooks engine, No. 28. Our subject has 
 a remarkably good record, not having had any 
 accidents or injuries. Mr. Bornschein married 
 Miss LeBlanc, the daughter of Dr. J. W. Le 
 Blanc, who was a very prominent physician. 
 They have one child, Clifford Louis, at school. 
 Our subject is a progressive, up-to-date man, 
 a great reader and also a musician, his instru- 
 ment being the mandolin. He is a member of 
 Division No. 225, B. of L .E., and is at present 
 Secretary and Treasurer of the Lodge, having 
 held the office during the years, 1890, 1893, 1894, 
 and 1899. He also belongs to the Knights of 
 the Maccabees, Griffin Tent, No. 47, and Blue 
 Lodge No. 449, Paducah, Chapter No. 30 and 
 Commandery No. u, A. F. & A. M. He has al- 
 so taken the thirty-two degrees of the Consis- 
 tory of the Scottish Rite Masonry. 
 
 MBROSE E. MERCER, a popular Illi- 
 nois Central freight engineer, began 
 his railroad career in 1885 as a fireman 
 on the C. O. & S. W., now the Louis- 
 ville division of the Illinois Central, with En- 
 gineer N. Hudson, now of Memphis, Tenn. Our 
 subject fired both freight and passenger engines 
 until 1888, when he was promoted to engineer 
 and given a McQueen engine, No. 79, running 
 extra all over the Louisville division. Our sub- 
 ject at present has a preferred run between Pa- 
 ducah and Central City, on engine No. 252, with 
 Fireman Jos. Stanfield. He has had several 
 good firemen promoted from his engine, and he 
 has a fine record as an engineer. 
 
 Mr. Mercer was born in Pennsylvania. 
 His father is William Mercer, a practical miner, 
 who came to the coal fields of Pennsylvania 
 from England, opening up several important 
 mines. In 1872 he opened up mines at Mercer, 
 Ky. Afterward the Emporia mine was opened 
 in 1878, he being the proprietor of both of these 
 mining properties. He later came to Paducah 
 and engaged in the coal business, being one of 
 the leading coal dealers of the city for seven 
 years. He is now retired and living with his 
 son, a religious and highly respected citizen. 
 Our subject worked in the coal mines in various 
 capacities five years, and is considered an expert 
 miner. He has a brother, Thomas Mercer, who 
 is an old engineer running between Memphis and 
 Cairo, being one of the oldest and best known 
 men on the road. 
 
 Mr. Mercer married Miss Mary Campbell, 
 and has four children, three boys and one girl, 
 Harry and Robert William, at school, Katie 
 Belle and Leland, who have not yet attained the 
 school age. Our subject is a member of Div- 
 ision No. 225 B. of L. E., and Division No. 
 238, B. of L. F. He is also a member of the 
 Plain City Lodge No. 449, A. F. & A. M. He 
 built a fine residence in 1891 at 633 S. Thirteenth 
 street, where he enjoys, when off duty, the com- 
 forts of a happy home. Mr. Mercer is a man of 
 temperate habits, who has succeeded by his own 
 efforts and character.
 
 248 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 SHEAHAN, roadmaster on the Mem- 
 phis division of the Illinois Central, 
 Q with headquarters at Memphis, Ten- 
 nessee, was born at Moro, 111., No- 
 vember 27, 1858. His parents, respected resi- 
 dents of Bath, Illinois, were Dennis and Esther 
 (Walter) Sheahan. Mr. Sheahan Sr., who de- 
 parted this life in 1881, was a native of Limerick 
 county, Ireland, and had been in railroad service 
 about thirty years as section foreman. He 
 served in that capacity at Bath ; Illinois, for the 
 Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis R. R. (formerly 
 the Peoria, Pekin & Jacksonville R. R. ) for many 
 years. Our subject attended the public schools 
 of Bath, and worked, when a boy, on a farm. 
 At the age of fourteen he began railroad life 
 as a section hand under his father, on the Peoria, 
 Pekin & Jacksonville Railroad and was with him 
 eight years. He was then appointed section fore- 
 man at Hollis, Illinois, and was soon afterward 
 sent to Peoria, Illinois, where he was placed in 
 charge of a section, which embraced the Peoria 
 yards. He held that position two years, and 
 was then transferred to Havana, Illinois, in a 
 similar position, remaining there five months. 
 He then took charge of a surfacing gang, on the 
 Peoria & Farmington R. R., and was two months 
 later promoted to foreman of track-laying at 
 Peoria. Serving there three months in that ca- 
 pacity, he was promoted to assistant roadmaster, 
 where he was engaged for one year, when the 
 road was extended to Keithsburg, Illinois, and 
 the name changed to the Iowa Central. He was 
 then appointed roadmaster, with headquarters 
 at Monmouth, Illinois, and was there for three 
 years, when division headquarters were changed 
 to Keithsburg, Illinois, to which point he was 
 transferred. The division was afterward ex- 
 tended to Oskaloosa, Iowa, and Mr. Sheahan had 
 charge of 192 miles of track and the last four 
 months with that company he was road and train- 
 master. He remained with the Iowa Central un- 
 til 1893, when he entered the service of the Illi- 
 nois Central as supervisor of the second divi- 
 sion, at Champaign, Illinois, where his jurisdic- 
 tion extended over 116 miles. He held that 
 
 position two years, and was then transferred to 
 the fifth division, with headquarters at Kankakee, 
 Illinois, and remained there one year, when he 
 was sent to Clinton, Illinois, as roadmaster of the 
 Springfield division. He occupied that position 
 seven months, when he resigned to go to the 
 Elgin, Joliet & Eastern R. R. as roadmaster, 
 with headquarters at Joliet, Illinois. He was 
 with the. latter road about one year, when he 
 returned to the I. C. service, as supervisor of 
 the seventh division, with headquarters at Mur- 
 physboro, Illinois, and remained there eighteen 
 months. He was then promoted to his present 
 position as roadmaster of the Memphis division, 
 which embraces 265 miles of main line between 
 Fulton, Kentucky, and Grenada, Mississippi. 
 
 On the gth of June, 1881, Mr. Sheahan was 
 married to Miss Mary T. Donahue, of Peoria. 
 Illinois, where she was born, June 7, 1861. 
 Both Mr. Sheahan and his estimable wife are 
 devoted members of the Catholic church. He 
 is connected with the Catholic Order of Fores- 
 ters. In politics he is a Democrat. From a 
 humble beginning, Mr. Sheahan has, by his un- 
 tiring industry and energy, reached a position 
 of prominence, carrying with it the complete 
 confidence of the officials of the road, and the 
 good will and esteem of the many employes un- 
 der his jurisdiction. 
 
 M. BRANNER, chief clerk in the 
 office of the roadmaster at Memphis, 
 O although a young man, has made 
 rapid progress in the service he has 
 chosen to make his vocation in life. Born at 
 Arcola, 111., December i, 1879, he was reared 
 and educated at Jackson, Tenn., whither the fam- 
 ily removed during his early childhood. His 
 father, M. F. Branner, an extensive contractor 
 during his active business career, died in 1892. 
 The mother, whose maiden name was Rachel 
 Becton, resides in Jackson, Tenn. Mr. Branner 
 began his railroad career in the spring of 1895 
 as clerk in the office of the superintendent at
 
 ARTHUR HARMS.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 251 
 
 Jackson, remaining about eighteen months, 
 when he was transferred to the trainmaster's 
 office, serving there six months. Promoted to 
 second clerk in the roadmaster's office, he served 
 with such credit to himself that in February 1899 
 he was transferred to Memphis and made chief 
 clerk to the roadinaster there, which position he 
 is holding at the present time. Mr. Branner 
 was reared in the Presbyterian faith and is in- 
 dependent in politics. Few young men with in- 
 fluential friends to help them make as rapid rise 
 in any calling as has been made by the subject of 
 this sketch. By his own merit he has won pro- 
 motions in a short time that it has taken others 
 years to win. 
 
 RTHUR HARMS, a well-known engi- 
 neer in the freight and passenger ser- 
 vice on the Louisiana division of the 
 Illinois Central, was born at New Or- 
 leans, January 4, 1858. Henry Harms, his 
 father, was for a long time connected with the 
 N. O. J. & G. N. R. R. in the bridge construction 
 department of that road. When but a young 
 lad of sixteen years, the subject of this sketch 
 began his railroad career in the car department 
 of the I. C. shops at McComb City, Miss., and 
 on October 12, 1884, was given a position as 
 fireman, on engine No. 318, with G. Nelson 
 as engineer, and A. Butterworth as conductor. 
 In 1886 he was promoted to engineer, being em- 
 ployed on a switch engine until 1888. He was 
 then given a regular run in the freight service, 
 and finally in the passenger service, where he is 
 at present employed, in charge of engine No. 
 720, with John Rayford, who has been with him 
 for six years, as fireman. Mr. Harms had a 
 narrow escape from death on December 22, 1892, 
 caused by a " lap order ". While running at a 
 speed of forty miles an hour, with a heavy train 
 of freight, his engine collided with an extra 
 freight on a curve near Gallman, demolishing 
 both engines. Seeing the great danger which 
 threatened him, Mr. Harms jumped as the en- 
 is 
 
 gines met, and received a painful injury in his 
 knee, which for some time incapacitated him for 
 duty. This wreck was considered the most dis- 
 astrous that ever happened on the Louisiana divi- 
 sion of the road. 
 
 On March 25, 1896, Mr. Harms was united 
 in mariage to Miss Kace McNeal, a popular lady 
 of Wesson, Miss. He has just completed and 
 occupies one of the finest residences in McComb 
 City, many of the features being of his own de- 
 sign. This elegant home which is appropriately 
 furnished, is located in the most aristocratic sec- 
 tion of the city, on a high eminence, surrounded 
 by a grove of beautiful shade trees, and stands 
 as a monument to the pluck and energy of a poor 
 boy, who, to use his own language, began life 
 with less than "two-bits." Mr. Harms holds 
 membership in Division No. 196, B. of L. E. 
 in which he has held various offices. 
 
 =\\UGENE B. CALDWELL, chief clerk 
 in the offices at Henderson, Kentucky, 
 holds an unusually responsible position 
 for one of his age. Born at Austin, 
 Tennessee, in 1875, after attending the common 
 schools until 1891, he entered the employ of the 
 Southern Railroad at Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, 
 as messenger boy, making himself useful as 
 clerk, and was soon promoted to bill clerk and 
 later to chief clerk. From Lawrenceburg he 
 was transferred to Paducah Junction as assist- 
 ant agent, and from there to Hopkinsville as 
 chief clerk, where he remained five months. He 
 was then assigned to duty at Henderson as chief 
 clerk, being held accountable for the work of 
 the two assistants under his charge. It is un- 
 usual for one of his years to have attained so 
 responsible a position. He is quick and accurate 
 and thoroughly reliable, which accounts for his 
 rapid rise. Mr. Caldwell was married to Miss 
 Lula Ausenbaugh, of Hopkinsville. Their home 
 is at present at Henderson.
 
 252 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 T. ERTCKSON is a popular young 
 conductor on the Louisiana division 
 of the Illinois Central, in the freight 
 department. Beginning in 1892 at 
 Canton, as a fireman on the Mississippi division 
 of the I. C. with Engineer Wilder, he was for 
 two years in that branch of the service. He 
 then went to the Louisiana division, and until 
 1899 was engaged as a brakeman, and in the lat- 
 ter year was promoted to conductor in the freight 
 service, where he has since remained. He has 
 been in a few small wrecks while on the road, 
 the most serious being at Hazelhurst, Missis- 
 sippi, in which several were injured. He, how- 
 ever, was fortunate in escaping. 
 
 Miss Leila C. Hemphill, of McComb City, 
 became the wife of Mr. Erickson. She is a 
 daughter of Mrs. Amelia Hemphill, the propri- 
 etress of a boarding house in that city, a very 
 popular stopping place with the employes of the 
 I. C. Mr. and Mrs. Erickson's marriage has 
 been blessed by a bright little daughter, Maude, 
 born April 14, 1894. Mr. Erickson is connected 
 with Myrtle Lodge No. 36, Knights of Pythias, 
 and is also a member of Division No. 264, B. of 
 R. T. of McComb City. He has a comfortable 
 home on Broadway and is a useful and progres- 
 sive citizen of that cit. 
 
 THEODORE MORENO JR., chief clerk 
 in the local freight offices at Memphis, 
 was born at Tougalo, Georgia, Decem- 
 ber i6th, 1872, and educated in the 
 schools of Gainesville, Georgia. While quite a 
 lad he began for himself as cash-boy in a large 
 store in Gainesville, and two years later was 
 given a clerkship in the same establishment 
 where he remained four years. In 1891 on com- 
 ing to Memphis, he entered the service of the 
 Louisville, New Orleans & Texas Railroad as 
 clerk in the auditor's office, and a year later was 
 transferred to the local freight office where he 
 was employed at the time the road was absorbed 
 by the Central in 1892. Under the new man- 
 agement he became report clerk in 1894, and was 
 
 successively promoted to rate revising clerk. 
 night chief clerk, station accountant, and in Aug- 
 ust 1897 became cashier, and six months later 
 chief clerk in the freight department, where he 
 is at present employed. Theodore Moreno Sr. 
 is a civil engineer, now retired, who served many 
 years in the employ of the Atlanta & Charlotte 
 Railroad. He married Miss Virginia Anderson, 
 a native of Florida. They are members of the 
 Episcopal church, in which their son was reared. 
 Mr. Moreno is a Democrat in politics. He is 
 accurate and quick at figures and his integrity 
 is of the strictest kind, winning for him the con- 
 fidence of his superiors in the service. 
 
 EORGE B. McCOY, train despatcher 
 at Memphis, was born at West Point, 
 Kentucky, April 23, 1856, and re- 
 ceived his education at the famous 
 Military Institute at Lexington. Having learned 
 telegraphy, in 1876 he accepted a position with 
 the Ohio River Telegraph company, and shortly 
 after joined the force of the Pacific & Atlantic 
 Telegraph company, both of Louisville. Hav- 
 ing a taste for railroading, in 1877 he secured a 
 position as sleepingcar conductor, running out 
 of New Orleans until the following year, when 
 the service was abandoned on account of the 
 prevalence of the yellow fever. Being offered 
 a position by G. M. Dugan, superintendent of 
 telegraph, in the service of the Illinois Central, 
 he accepted in December 1878, and filled the 
 position of operator and chief clerk in East 
 Cairo, Kentucky, two years. Transferred to the 
 despatcher's office at Jackson, Tennessee, he re- 
 mained but a short time, then was assigned as 
 despatcher to accompany the construction force 
 during the building of the Canton, Aberdeen & 
 Nashville road, and remained at Aberdeen as de- 
 spatcher until 1888. When the Illinois Central 
 bought the Mississippi & Tennessee Railroad 
 and created the Memphis division, he was trans- 
 ferred to Memphis and made one of the despatch- 
 ers there, which position he has since filled to
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 253 
 
 the satisfaction of his employers. Mr. McCoy 
 is a son of Bernard McCoy, deceased, formerly 
 a merchant at West Point. The mother, Ann 
 E. Withers in maidenhood, survives him. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. McCoy occurred Jan- 
 nan- 3, 1889. at Aberdeen, Mississippi, the home 
 of the bride, Miss Madie E. Montgomery, a 
 native of that place, born October i8th, 1878. 
 Their only child, Harry Bernard, was born at 
 Memphis, November 25, 1893. The family be- 
 long to the Methodist church, south, and Mr. 
 McCoy to the Royal Arcanum. In politics he 
 lias been a lifelong Democrat. 
 
 read. 
 
 , OBERT S. ALFORD, an energetic and 
 popular employe of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, is a conductor in the freight ser- 
 vice on the Louisiana division of the 
 At the age of ten years he was employed 
 as messenger and errand boy at the depot in 
 Johnstons, Miss., where he remained for five 
 years. Being a thrifty lad, he accumulated suf- 
 ficient funds during those five years to give him 
 a college course of three years at Holmesville, 
 -Mississippi, where he acquired a good practical 
 education. At the age of twenty-one he went to 
 McComb City and again entered the service of 
 the I. C. as a brakeman on the Louisiana divis- 
 ion, in which branch of the service he was em- 
 ployed until October 1890. He was then pro- 
 moted to conductor, and has since had a regular 
 run between McComb City and Canton. In a 
 serious wreck, a head end collision which oc- 
 curred on March 8th, 1891, at Martinsville, 
 Mississippi, he was injured, and for nine months 
 incapacitated for work. 
 
 Mr. A 1 ford was born on a farm near Johns- 
 tons, Mississippi, where his father, Leandor R. 
 Alford, still resides on the old homestead. In the 
 paternal family there were three sons beside the 
 subject of this sketch, Barney and Harvey, who 
 are at home, and Monroe, a teacher in the pub- 
 lic schools near his home. Mr. Alford belongs 
 to the Knights of Maccabees, Knights of Pyth- 
 
 ias, and O. R. C. of McComb City, where he 
 makes his home with Conductor Erickson. 
 
 jtjtjtjtjtjt 
 
 ]. LAWRENCE, a prominent and 
 highly popular conductor, in the pas- 
 senger service of the Yazoo & Missis- 
 sippi Valley R. R., with headquarters 
 at Memphis, Tenn. was born in Hartford, Ky., 
 on June 12, 1865, and is a son of H. J. and Eliza- 
 beth (Coates) Lawrence, both deceased. The 
 educational training of our subject was acquired 
 in the public schools of his native place, and at 
 South Carrollton College, in Calhoun county, 
 Ky. At the age of eighteen, he began railroad 
 life, as a student of telegraphy at Caneyville, 
 Ky., on the Chesapeake, Ohio & South Western 
 R. R. (now the Illinois Central) and was soon 
 afterward given the position of night operator 
 at that point, where he remained eighteen months. 
 He was then sent to Trimble, Tenn., as agent 
 and operator, remaining there about the same 
 length of time, and was then transferred to 
 Obion, Tenn., holding a similar position there 
 for three years. Desiring a change of climate, 
 he resigned and went to Texas, and was ap- 
 pointed agent and operator for the San Antonio 
 & Aransas Pass R. R. at Driscoll, in that state, 
 and after four months service was transferred 
 to Corpus Christi as bill clerk in the local freight 
 office, occupying that position eight months. He 
 next went to Memphis, Tenn., and entered the 
 road service of the Louisville, New Orleans & 
 Texas R. R. (now the Yazoo & Mississippi Val- 
 ley R. R.) as a brakeman between Memphis and 
 Vicksburg, and after a service of one year was, 
 on December 18, 1891, promoted to conductor 
 in the freight service on the same run. He held 
 the latter position until September 7, 1897, when 
 he was discharged for failing to clear passenger 
 trains according to the rules and regulations 
 then existing. He then entered the service of 
 the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R. as a brake- 
 man, between Houston and Hillsboro, Texas, 
 remaining there four months. While switching 
 in the yards at Taylor, Texas, he lost two fingers
 
 254 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 of his right hand, which caused him to remain 
 in the hospital for three months. Upon recov- 
 ery he resumed his work as brakeman, being 
 promoted to conductor on September i, 1898, 
 and working three months. He was then re- 
 instated in his former position and rights on the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., and was in 
 the freight service until February 8, 1899, when 
 he was promoted to the passenger service and 
 given a regular run on the Vicksburg division, 
 between Memphis and Vicksburg, where he is 
 now serving successfully, and one of the most 
 popular conductors on that division. Mr. Law- 
 rence is a member of Vicksburg Division, No. 
 231, O. R. C. His family attend the Christian 
 church, and politically he is a strong Democrat. 
 
 NDREW J. FRALEY, freight engineer, 
 a trusty employe of the Illinois Central, 
 began his railroad career in 1876 on 
 the Eastern Kentucky Railroad as fire- 
 man, working a short time. He then went on 
 the Lexington division of the Chesapeake & 
 Ohio Railroad where he fired five years, four 
 years of this time being in passenger service. 
 He next worked on the Cincinnati Southern road 
 and the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton line some 
 six months and an equal period on the Alabama 
 Great Southern Railroad. 
 
 Coming to Paducah he fired one year be- 
 tween Padncah and Louisville when he was pro- 
 moted to engineer and took charge of engine 
 No. 50. From 1887 to August 7, 1890, he was 
 in this employ and then resigned, returning to 
 the service of the Chesapeake & Ohio, remain-- 
 ing until February 1893, when he came back to 
 Paducah and has been running since in the 
 freight service with a seat in the cab of a Brooks 
 engine, No. 22, with Thomas Mullen firing. 
 
 Our subject has a good record, having re- 
 ceived no severe injury. He had a very close 
 call July 13, 1898; while moving at the rate of 
 thirty miles struck an extra freight train at Gar- 
 rison Creek trestle and he jumped. The trestle 
 
 was thirty feet high and Mr. Fraley rolled thir- 
 ty feet, but escaped death and was out of service 
 only a few days with his injuries. Thirty-six 
 cars were wrecked and both engines demolished. 
 
 Our subject was born in Virginia, a son of 
 Mr. Boone Fraley, farmer, now dead, as is the 
 mother who passed away in early life. Our sub- 
 ject has had to earn his own living since his 
 childhood, and he is a self-made man. 
 
 Mr. Fraley married Miss Rindenbrugh, and 
 has five children : Mary, Orville, William R., 
 Freddie and Jeanette. He is an active member 
 of Division No. 225, B. of L. E., having joined 
 the Order in 1887. His genial nature has made 
 him a host of warm friends from one end of the 
 line to the other. 
 
 J. SHEA, the efficient foreman of 
 the blacksmith shops of the Illi- 
 Q nois Central at McComb City, 
 .Mississippi, began work in the 
 shops at the age of fifteen years. After serving 
 an apprenticeship, he remained in the shops un- 
 til 1889, when he went to Vicksburg, Mississippi, 
 and was employed in the Louisville, New Or- 
 leans & Texas Railroad blacksmith shops at that 
 place for about fifteen months. Returning to 
 the shops at McComb City, he was for seven 
 years in charge of what is known as the "first 
 fire," when he was promoted to foreman of the 
 shops, and has held that position ever since. He 
 now has charge of thirty-two men, and his de- 
 partment is kept very busy. His long incum- 
 bency as foreman, and the capable manner in 
 which he handles his force, show him to be a 
 man of marked ability. 
 
 Mr. Shea was born at Binghamton, New 
 York, on March 3Oth, 1867, and is the son of 
 John Shea, who was a section foreman in the 
 service of the I. C. for twenty years, and who 
 died at Canton, Mississippi, while in the employ 
 of that road. Mr. Shea married Miss Cecelia 
 Daigle, of Natchez, Mississippi, and resides with 
 his estimable wife in a fine home in the western 
 part of McComb City.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 255 
 
 R. WHEELER, city pas- 
 senger and ticket agent of the Illinois 
 Central at Evansville, Indiana , was 
 born at Union Springs, New York, a 
 son of B. D. Wheeler, a tanner by trade. Our 
 subject received his education in the New York 
 public schools until seventeen years of age, when 
 he went to Seymour, Indiana, and was employed 
 in a general store. His first railroading was in 
 Vincennes, Indiana, on the Ohio & Mississippi 
 Railroad in the local freight office as clerk, and 
 then went into the mechanical department as 
 clerk in the master mechanic's office, after which 
 he went into the ticket office at the union depot in 
 Vincennes, where he remained six years as tick- 
 et agent. He was then made traveling freight 
 and passenger agent under G. J. Grammer, who 
 .is now with the Lake Shore road. Later he be- 
 came general baggage agent of the Mackey sys- 
 tem. When the roads were separated he went 
 with the Ohio Valley Railroad as chief clerk in 
 the general freight and passenger office, and 
 when the road was absorbed by the Illinois Cen- 
 tral he was made city passenger and ticket agent 
 with headquarters at 200 Main street, Evans- 
 ville, Indiana. Mr. Wheeler married a daughter 
 of Henry Grady, of Tiffin, Ohio, and has three 
 children: Charles S., Florence E., and Fred- 
 erick R. Jr. Our subject belongs to the National 
 Union, a railroad insurance order. He is a 
 pleasant and accommodating agent, and holds a 
 very responsible position. 
 
 L. WRAY, a conductor in the 
 freight department of the Yazoo 
 & Mississippi Valley R. R. on the 
 Vicksburg division, was born in 
 Popes, Miss., September 23, 1874, and is the son 
 of Elijah S. and Sallie A. (Collins) Wray, both 
 deceased. After attending the schools of his 
 native place until fourteen years of age, Mr. 
 Wray began life as a clerk in a grocery store at 
 Huntington, Miss., and one year later (1889) 
 went to the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. 
 
 as a newsboy, where he was employed four years 
 and ran on the entire system between New Or- 
 leans and Memphis. He then worked in the 
 same capacity on the Chesapeake & Ohio R. R., 
 and the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham 
 R. R. successively, remaining in constant service 
 until twenty-one years old. He then became a 
 flagman on the Y. & M. V. R. R., between Mem- 
 phis and Vicksburg where he served six months, 
 being then transferred in a like capacity to the 
 local freight between Memphis and Clarksdale. 
 He was then promoted to brakeman in the 
 freight service between Coahoma and Rolling 
 Fork, Miss., and later was transferred in a sim- 
 ilar position to a through freight between Mem- 
 phis and Vicksburg. He retained the latter po- 
 sition until March 23, 1898, when his services 
 were rewarded by promotion to conductor on 
 a through freight on the same run, where he is 
 now serving with eminent satisfaction. 
 
 Mr. Wray is a member of the Baptist church 
 and is a strong Democrat politically. 
 
 D. COBOURN, chief clerk in the 
 trainmaster's office at Memphis, 
 Q was born in Winchester, Virginia, 
 March 23rd, 1867, and attended 
 both public and private schools of his native 
 place. His father, William F. Cobourn, was an 
 employe of the Illinois Central, and lost his life 
 by accident on duty as a lineman between Brad- 
 ford and Greenfield, Tennessee, November 17, 
 1885. The mother, Lucy E. Cobourn, nee 
 Drake, resides at Fulton, Kentucky. 
 
 At the age of twenty-two Mr. Cobourn be- 
 came a clerk in a dry goods store at Fulton, 
 where he remained about two years, when he se- 
 cured a position as clerk with the Mobile & 
 Ohio road at Rives, Tennessee. About three 
 years after his entrance into the service of that 
 road, the financial depression caused the reduc- 
 tion of the force, and for a time he was idle, but 
 on the revival of business he was reinstated and 
 assigned to duty at Cairo where he remained
 
 256 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 about one year, and was then transferred to 
 Union City, Tennessee. About a year later lie 
 was transferred to the offices at St. Louis, where 
 he remained but a short time before being re- 
 turned to the office at Cairo. In 1896 he re- 
 signed and accepted a place in the office of the 
 Illinois Central at Fulton, Kentucky, and No- 
 vember 17, 1897, lie was transferred to Mem- 
 phis,, to the trainmaster's office, and made chief 
 clerk, which position he still holds. Mr. Co- 
 bourn is a member of the Protestant Episcopal 
 church, and affiliates with the Knights of Pyth- 
 ias. Politically he is a Democrat. 
 
 ILLIAM GARDNER, an engineer 
 in the freight service of the Illinois 
 Central, on the Louisiana division, 
 has been connected with the road 
 since 1894. Beginning as a carpenter with a 
 " bridge gang ", he remained at that work only 
 a few months, when he decided to return to 
 school. In 1895 he went to McComb City, 
 Mississippi, and entered the road service of the 
 I. C. as fireman on the Louisiana division, with 
 Engineer Charles Gilmore. After a faithful ser- 
 vice of four years and eight months in that 
 branch of the service, he was examined for pro- 
 motion to engineer, in which he was highly suc- 
 cessful, and was given charge of engine No. 
 1135 on the Manifest run on the south end of 
 the Louisiana division. He was there only a 
 short time when he took charge of a regular 
 run in the freight department. He has never 
 been in a wreck during his service on the road. 
 
 Mr. Gardner was born at Summit, Miss., 
 March 28, 1873. His father, William S. Gard- 
 ner, was a farmer of Liberty, Miss. Both pa- 
 rents of our subject died in the prime of life. A 
 sister. Alma Lee Gardner, became the wife of 
 Charles N. McKnight, who is also an employe of 
 the I. C. 
 
 Mr. Gardner was for three years a student 
 at the A. and M. College of Mississippi, and 
 while there was a member of the Lee Guards, 
 
 a military organization. He was married to 
 Miss Almeta H. Hemphill, of Byram, Miss. A 
 lovely little daughter, Eugenia Belle, has blessed 
 their union. Socially Mr. Gardner is a member 
 of the Modern Woodmen of America, Protective 
 Knights of America, and B. of L. F. He is 
 a charter member of Ensign Lodge No. 411, 
 acting as a member of the Grievance Committee, 
 and is at present a delegate to the convention of 
 the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, to be 
 held at Des Moines, Iowa, during the present 
 year (1900). He resides in a pretty home in 
 the western part of McComb City, and is a 
 highly respected citizen of that community. 
 
 'ILLIAM R. WILKINSON is of old 
 Virginia stock. His father, William 
 Wilkinson, was killed in the civil 
 war and his mother is since deceased. 
 Our subject's brother, P. B. Wilkinson, is a 
 passenger conductor running out of Jackson, 
 haying been conductor since 1874. He has an- 
 other brother, J. J. Wilkinson, who is a success- 
 ful business man at Morristown. 
 
 Our subject began his railroad service as a 
 brakeman on the main line of the Illinois Central 
 and was promoted to conductor in 1878, having 
 served less than one year in the former position. 
 Mr. Wilkinson ran between Water Valley and 
 Jackson, Miss., up to 1883, after which time he 
 went to the narrow gauge road. He worked 
 there five or six years and in 1891 came back to 
 the main line and remained there up to 1895 
 when he came to Paducah as conductor. Our 
 subject's present run is a preferred one out of 
 Paducah on caboose 98491. He has a remark- 
 ably clean record, not having had any accidents 
 or injuries. He is also a thorough business man 
 and one who is well-liked. 
 
 Mr. Wilkinson married Miss Tebbets. He 
 is a member of Division No. 290, O. R. C. and 
 is at present Senior Conductor of the Lodge. 
 He is also a prominent Mason, being a member 
 of the Paducah Lodge No. 127.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 257 
 
 LLEN J. JORGENSON, was born in 
 Florence, Indiana. His father, N. 
 Jorgenson, was an insurance man, who 
 engaged in that business in Henderson. 
 Our subject, the trusty and successful dispatcher, 
 commenced railroad service at Henderson as op- 
 erator, served several years and was next made 
 agent. Afterwards he was "trick" dispatcher at 
 Earlington, Ky., for eight years, and then came 
 to Paducah in the same capacity, serving ten 
 years when he was made agent and afterward 
 chief dispatcher. He has two train dispatchers, 
 W. L. Bennett and J. B. Alvey, also two opera- 
 tors, R. Foster and W. O. Rodgers, in the office 
 under his charge. 
 
 Mr. Jorgenson married a daughter of Dr. 
 G. Davis, and has one child, Susie, a young miss 
 at school. Our subject is a Mason, belonging 
 to Plain City Lodge No. 449. His home is at 
 Paducah. 
 
 .OBERT DAWES, a good natured 
 freight conductor on the Louisville di- 
 vision of the Illinois Central, is a na- 
 tive of Stanford, Kentucky. His 
 father, A. Dawes, was a liveryman in Ken- 
 tucky, but afterwards moved to Missouri. Our 
 subject learned telegraphing and in 1879 entered 
 the service of the Missouri Pacific as operator, 
 but in 1880 he went to New Mexico as a tele- 
 graph operator on the Santa Fe. Soon after he 
 came back to the Missouri Pacific as conductor 
 and dispatcher, and from 1884 to 1887 he worked 
 on the construction through western Kansas and 
 Colorado. After the completion of the road he 
 secured a place on the Denver & Rio Grande, 
 at Pueblo. His next position was at Clarendon, 
 Texas, where he spent one year as dispatcher. 
 During the next four years he was in the employ 
 of the Santa Fe as conductor. After this he 
 left the road and engaged in the restaurant bus- 
 iness for six months. In 1894 he came to the 
 C. O. & S. W., working at Paducah two years 
 as conductor. His present run is a preferred 
 
 one between Paducah and Louisville. He has 
 never been injured, but he has had varied ex- 
 periences. He is considered a thorough railroad 
 man. 
 
 In 1884 Mr. Dawes married a lady of West 
 Virginia, and they have six children : Ethel, 
 Lillian, Bernie, Robert, Morgan and Palmer. 
 He resides at Louisville. 
 
 JOHN A. SCOTT, division passenger agent 
 for the Illinois Central at Memphis, 
 Tenn., was born in that city on Novem- 
 ber ist, 1865. He was educated in the 
 public schools of his native city, and also took 
 a business course at the Robertson Business Col- 
 lege there. Mr. Scott began his railroad career 
 at Memphis in September 1880, as clerk in the 
 office of J. T. Harahan, superintendent of the 
 Louisville & Nashville R. R., and was, in 1882, 
 assigned to the city ticket office of that road, as 
 assistant ticket agent. In 1884 he was promoted 
 to city passenger agent, and in 1888 succeeded 
 to the city ticket agency for the Louisville & 
 Nashville, Illinois Central, and Little Rock & 
 Memphis roads. In 1891 he was made district 
 passenger agent for the Louisville & Nashville, 
 with headquarters at Memphis, and resigned in 
 September 1893 to accept the position of general 
 agent of the passenger department, at Memphis, 
 for the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis R. 
 R., and the Kansas City, Memphis & Birming- 
 ham R. R. He left the service, of those roads 
 to take his present position with the Illinois Cen- 
 tral. Mr. Scott's jurisdiction covers the Yazoo 
 & Mississippi Valley R. R., and all branches 
 between Memphis, Tenn., and Baton Rouge, La. ; 
 and the Illinois Central from Paducah, Ky., to 
 Cairo. 111., and to Grenada, Miss., including also 
 the main line of the I. C. between Fulton and 
 Grenada, and reporting to the assistant general 
 passenger agent at Louisville, Ky. 
 
 He is an official of splendid executive abil- 
 ity, courteous and obliging in all his relations 
 with the public, and ever vigilant and ambitious
 
 258 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 to guard the interests of the I. C. road and pro- 
 mote its prosperity, and is justly popular with 
 all with whom he is brought in contact. 
 
 ,RANK WINTERS, a young freight 
 engineer on the Louisville division of 
 the Illinois Central, began September 
 1888, firing with Engineer Haywood 
 between Paducah and Memphis. He was pro- 
 moted to engineer in 1895, having run a switch 
 engine one year. Our subject ran both north 
 and south out of Paducah, when he was given 
 his present run on the north end between Padu- 
 cah and Central City. He has a fine Brooks en- 
 gine of the newest type, and has a good record. 
 
 Mr. Winters was born in Ripley, Ohio. 
 His father, a cigar manufacturer, died when our 
 subject was quite small. Of the leading social 
 orders Mr. Winters is a prominent member. In 
 the Masonic bodies he affiliates with Blue Lodge 
 No. 449, the Chapter No. 30, and the Command- 
 ery No. n, while the Odd Fellows and the Red 
 Men claim his allegiance. He is also a member 
 of Division No. 225, B. of L. E., of Paducah. 
 Although one of the younger engineers he has 
 attained a proficiency and interest in his work 
 that will advance him as fast as there are open- 
 ings at the top for progressive young men. 
 
 ILLIAM SPEAR FORSYTHE, 
 a passenger conductor on the Lou- 
 isville division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, is a native of New Concord, 
 Ohio, having been born there in December 1859. 
 His father was J .V. Forsythe, a tanner by trade, 
 who died in 1881. He moved to Kansas and our 
 subject was educated there. He left school when 
 he was fourteen years of age, working at various 
 occupations until at the age of eighteen, when 
 he entered the train service of the Missouri Pa- 
 
 cific as brakeman, and was promoted to conduc- 
 tor on that road. In 1891 he came to the C. O. 
 & S. W. and was given a freight train, and ran 
 an extra passenger between Central City and 
 Paducah. Our subject's present run is a through 
 passenger between Louisville and Fulton. He 
 has a fine record. 
 
 Our subject married Miss Brady, of Osa- 
 watomie, Kansas, and has two daughters, Helen 
 and Ethel. Mr. Forsythe is a member of Mo- 
 non Division No. 89, O. R. C., of Louisville ; 
 also belongs to Lodge No. 184, K. of P., and the 
 I. O. O. F., both of Osawatomie, Kansas. Our 
 subject resides at Louisville. 
 
 RANT O. LORD, is a popular conduc- 
 tor in the freight service of the Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad on the Louisi- 
 ana division. He was born in Berks 
 county, Pa., on September igth, 1869, and is 
 the son of John R. and Mary L. Lord, both na- 
 tives of Pennsylvania. 
 
 John R. Lord was for a time employed on 
 the Middle division of the Pennsylvania Railroad 
 as a clerk, and later as a conductor. He was 
 also connected with the Philadelphia & Reading 
 road, but in 1881 went to Nebraska where he 
 engaged in merchandising and stock buying. He 
 remained at that business until removing to 
 Hammond, Miss., where he is now living retired. 
 Grant O. Lord entered the service of the 
 Illinois Central at Hammond, Miss., in 1888, as 
 a brakeman on the Louisiana division of the 
 road, and in 1890 was promoted to conductor in 
 the freight service. He occupied the latter posi- 
 tion until 1893, when he resigned to engage in 
 the saw-mill business at Hammond, La., but re- 
 mained at that work only one year. Returning 
 to the service of the I. C. he resumed his former 
 position, and has since had a regular run in the 
 freight service on the Louisiana division. Dur- 
 ing his career with the road, he has been in two 
 wrecks, the most serious of which was between
 
 JAMES M. HOKKINS.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 261 
 
 Gallman and Crystal Springs, Miss., in 1892, 
 and another at South Port. In the latter a large 
 amount of stock was killed. He was fortunate 
 in escaping injury, especially in the first wreck, 
 which was a head end collision. 
 
 Mr. Lord was married to Miss Enos, of 
 Summit, Miss., and they have a bright daughter, 
 Margaret F. 
 
 He affiliates with the Masonic order, and 
 is also a member of Division No. 367, O. R. C. 
 at McComb City, where he resides in a comfort- 
 able home. 
 
 JAMES M. HOSKINS, a prominent en- 
 gineer in the freight service on the Lou- 
 isiana division of the Illinois Central, 
 was born in Brookhaven, Miss., in No- 
 vember 1857. His father and grandfather were 
 extensive railroad contractors and lumbermen. 
 In 1879 the father built, under contract, twenty- 
 five miles of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. 
 R., from Vicksburg to Big Black River. He 
 also built the road from Holly Springs to Mem- 
 phis. In 1880 he constructed the Hoskins 
 branch, and sold it to the Illinois Central in 1891. 
 The Gulf & Ship Island R. R. and the Brook- 
 haven branch were built under their supervision. 
 Mr. Hoskins Sr. organized the Hoskins Battery, 
 during the Civil war, and served during the en- 
 tire war, from 1861 to 1865. They were noted 
 for bravery, and always found in the thickest of 
 the fight. He died in Jackson, Miss., during the 
 yellow fever epidemic in 1898, his wife dying 
 in 1890. Three of his sons, brothers of our 
 subject, attained military distinction during the 
 Spanish-American war. Samuel W. was lieu- 
 tenant of Company H, First Miss. Vol. ; G. C., a 
 West Point man, was major of the Second Miss., 
 and W., a lieutenant in the Third Miss. Regt. 
 Another, Jones H., was a private in Co. H, 
 First Miss. The maternal grandfather of our 
 subject, Mr Whitworth, was a very wealthy man, 
 a Methodist preacher, and donated a female col- 
 lege named after him, in Brookhaven, Miss., to 
 the Methodist conference. 
 
 The subject of this sketch began life as a 
 bookkeeper for his father in the lumber business, 
 who had all the penitentiary labor of the state, 
 besides many others, his crew sometimes reach- 
 ing 1,500 men. It was his duty also to look 
 after the machinery, etc., and in 1891, when he 
 entered the service of the Illinois Central, his 
 experience at engineering was such that it was 
 not necessary for him to spend any time as fire- 
 man. He has since been in the regular employ 
 of the I. C. company, and has at present a run be- 
 tween McComb City and Canton, on engine No. 
 723. He has graduated several firemen from his 
 engine, among them L. Jenkins, W Graves and 
 Leon Ford, all successful engineers. Mr. Hos- 
 kins had one very serious head end collision, in 
 which Engineer Quinn, of the other engine, and 
 a very popular man, lost his life, and our subject 
 had a close call. The accident happened on a 
 curve, and many theories were advanced as to 
 the cause, but Mr. Hoskins and his crew were 
 exonerated. Miss Maggie Towns, of Brook- 
 haven, Miss., became the wife of Mr. Hoskins, 
 . and they have three children living : James, a 
 bright boy, at college in Bay St. Louis, Miss. ; 
 Sherwood Towns, aged seven ; and Milton La 
 Hargue, aged five. Jacob W. died when a small 
 child. Mr. Hoskins built a fine residence in 1896, 
 constructed from his own designs ; it is finished 
 in hard wood, and has all modern conveniences. 
 Mr. Hoskins has been connected with the B. of 
 L. E. since 1891, having served as chairman of 
 the Grievance board, and was also a delegate to 
 the Legislative board. He vigorously opposed 
 the Cox bill at the last state session. He is a 
 member of the Masonic Lodge, No. 241, the 
 Knights of Honor and the Knights of Pythias, of 
 Brookhaven, and of Elks Lodge No. 268, of Mc- 
 Comb City. 
 
 Mr. Hoskins is devoted to manly sports. He 
 has a fine driving horse, and a promising colt by 
 Tug Wilkes. He also has some fine dogs and 
 is very fond of hunting, making frequent trips 
 during the season with Dr. Doepp, I. C. surgeon, 
 of Chicago, and A. L. Barker, a lumberman of 
 Wisconsin. He is an expert shot, and has taken 
 several prizes at tournaments. In a state drill
 
 262 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 at Jackson, he tied for first honors. He is a 
 member of the Brookhaven Gun Club, and is 
 now one of the twenty charter members organiz- 
 ing the McComb City Sportsman's Club, which 
 will be incorporated for the purpose of protecting 
 game and fish, and enjoying the pleasures 
 thereof. Mr. Hoskins is closely identified with 
 the interests of McComb City, where he is an 
 influential and respected citizen. 
 
 JACOB W. BOONE, a prominent young 
 employe of the Illinois Central, is a con- 
 ductor in the freight service of the road 
 on the Louisiana division. In early life 
 Mr. Boone learned the trade of a printer, and 
 still retains membership in the Typographical 
 Union. Deciding to embark in railroad life, he 
 entered the service of the Kansas City, Watkins 
 & Gulf R. R. at Lake Charles, La., as a fireman, 
 serving thirteen months. He then went to Mc- 
 Comb City in 1891, and at once became identi- 
 fied with the I. C., working first as fireman and 
 later as brakeman on the Louisiana division, 
 until 1897. In the latter year he received a 
 well merited promotion to conductor, and has 
 since held that position. He has been fortunate 
 in escaping injury during his service, and has 
 never been in a wreck. 
 
 Brookhaven, Miss., is the birthplace of our 
 subject, and the date of his birth is August 3rd, 
 1871. He is the third son of Rev. Robert J. and 
 Tomaesia A. (Stanard) Boone, both of whom 
 reside at Summit, Miss., where Mr. Boone Sr. 
 has charge of a congregation of the Baptist 
 church. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Boone Sr. were the parents of 
 four sons, viz : Henry, formerly a conductor on 
 the I. C. but now with the Kansas City, Fort 
 Scott & Memphis road ; Jacob W., our subject ; 
 Charles, who although only a young man of 
 eighteen years, has reached a degree of promi- 
 nence not easily attained at his age. Educated 
 
 in the public schools of Brookhaven, Miss., 
 Charles soon won his way into the State Uni- 
 versity, and from there went to the Military 
 Academy at Annapolis, Md. At the outbreak of 
 the Spanish-American war he enlisted in the 
 United States Navy, serving through the war 
 and received special mention for bravery at the 
 battle of Santiago. Having enlisted without the 
 consent of his parents, their first knowledge of 
 his action being gleaned from the newspaper ac- 
 counts of his bravery, they requested and ob- 
 tained his discharge from the government, upon 
 which he enlisted on a British vessel and went 
 to England. Showing his honorable discharge 
 from the United States authorities, he was at 
 once given a position in the English navy, and 
 is now quartermaster on an English ship, on the 
 African waters. The fourth son is Oscar, who 
 resides with his parents. Rev. and Mrs. Boone 
 believed in education, and gave their sons all the 
 advantages their circumstances would permit. 
 Jacob W. Boone, our subject, belongs to the Ma- 
 sonic order, and is a member of the Blue Lodge 
 No. 241, of Brookhaven, Miss. He is also a 
 member of Lodge No. 204, I. O. O. F. Of the 
 railroad social organizations he claims member- 
 ship with Division No. 367, O. R. C., Division 
 No. 264, B. R. T. of McComb City. Being a 
 young man of pleasing manners, and an employe 
 noted for carefulness and steady habits, Mr. 
 Boone has a bright future before him. 
 
 EGINALD DUVALL, probably the 
 youngest man running an engine on 
 the Memphis division, was born in 
 Lyon county, Ky. His father, F. M. 
 Duvall, died in 1888, leaving our subject to sup- 
 port his mother and two sisters and a brother. 
 He educated his two sisters who are now married 
 and living at New York and New Orleans, re- 
 spectively. He was himself a great student and 
 has a fine collection of standard books which he 
 thoroughly studied.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 263 
 
 Mr. Duvall commenced his railroading in 
 1888 as caller, which place he retained one year, 
 then worked as fireman for F. Humphrey on a 
 freight run out of Paducah up to 1893, when he 
 went on a passenger engine on which he fired 
 twenty months and was then, at the age of twen- 
 ty, set up to engineer. His first run as engineer 
 was to the St. Charles coal mines, and he ran on 
 the north end three years. His present run is a 
 through freight between Paducah and Memphis 
 on a McQueen engine Xo. 370. He has run 
 every style of engine, and has had several nar- 
 row escapes from injury. At one time while 
 firing on the train known as the " cannon ball " 
 they struck cross ties on the track and were 
 ditched. August 3, 1895, he had a peculiar ex- 
 perience : while coming into the yard he had his 
 engine turned completely over through an old 
 colored woman who was wandering around the 
 yard and in some way stepped on the switch and 
 turned it ; fortunately no one was injured. 
 
 Our subject is a member of Division No. 
 225, B. of L. E., at Paducah, also belongs to 
 Division No. 238, B. of L. F. He owns a home 
 at 1234 Jefferson street. 
 
 I ARL F. SWANSON, a popular engineer 
 on the Louisville division, began his 
 railroad career in 1878 as a bridge car- 
 penter, at which he worked until June 
 1879. when he was taken sick. September 15, 
 following he was re-employed watching an en- 
 gine at Covington and in 1882 went to Memphis 
 as " hostler " in the round-house remaining in 
 that position until 1884, when he began firing 
 on engine No. 54. In 1887 he was promoted to 
 engineer, first running a switch engine at Mem- 
 phis five years. He next ran a freight engine 
 between Paducah and Memphis until assigned 
 his present run, a preferred run between Pa- 
 ducah and Central City. Our subject is one 
 of the most faithful men in the service, hav- 
 ing never missed a call, always on time and 
 never suspended and is considered one of the 
 
 most thorough engineers on the road. He 
 is a son of Andrews Swanson and was born in 
 Sweden, coming to America in 1877. Our sub- 
 ject has a brother who is foreman in the Illinois 
 car shops at Paducah, a man of many years' ex- 
 perience in railroad construction. 
 
 Mr. Swanson married Miss R. Stokes of 
 Memphis. He is a member of Division No. 
 225, B. of L. E., and a charter member of the 
 B. of L. F. having held all the offices in the lat- 
 ter order. He is also a member of the Masonic 
 fraternity affiliating with Plain City Lodge No. 
 449, and of Ingleside Lodge, I. O. O. F. 
 
 Our subject has made several fast runs for 
 which he has received special mention. One in 
 particular was in 1894, taking a theatre party 
 forty-five miles in fifty-five minutes. He is held 
 in high esteem by his superiors and his col- 
 leagues. 
 
 A. DRISCOLL, chief clerk in the road- 
 master's office at Louisville, was born 
 in 1866 at Jeffersonville, Ind. He re- 
 ceived his education in the public 
 and the parochial schools of that city, and after- 
 ward took a course in the Bryant & Stratton 
 business college. His father, David Driscoll, 
 was for a long time connected with the Penn- 
 sylvania system, having charge of the store de- 
 partment at Jeffersonville. 
 
 Our subject entered the service of the Penn- 
 sylvania company in Superintendent E. W. Me 
 Kenna's office and worked for that company thir- 
 teen years, under five different superintendents, 
 in local freight, transportation and road depart- 
 ments. In March 1896, he began working for 
 the C. O. & S. W. as chief clerk to General Super- 
 intendent F. D. Thompson, and in August 1896 
 as accountant in Superintendent W. J. Hara- 
 han's office, serving in this capacity two years 
 when he was made superintendent's chief clerk. 
 Here he continued for six months and was 
 afterwards transferred to chief clerk in roadmas- 
 ter's office to succeed C. B. Wintersmith, who is
 
 264 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 now at Memphis. Our subject has a very re- 
 sponsible position, as the roadmaster's depart- 
 ment often reaches three thousand men, includ- 
 ing- section men and carpenters. Besides this 
 he has to look after a large number of rails, ties, 
 lumber (rough and dressed), gravel, fence, wire, 
 posts, brick and tank materials, also attends to 
 the general detail of engineer's actions, besides 
 the immense amount of correspondence in re- 
 gard to labor and materials. Mr. DriscolFs 
 position is a bonded one as he often pays a large 
 number of men in busy season, and in addition 
 prepares leases. He has a stenographer and 
 several assistants. Mr. Driscoll belongs to the 
 Elks Lodge, No. 362, being instrumental in se- 
 curing the charter of the Lodge. He resides 
 with his parents at Jeffersonville, Indiana. 
 
 EORGE C. DEAN, a popular engineer 
 on the Memphis division of the Illi- 
 nois Central began his railroad career 
 in 1879 as a brakeman on the East 
 Broad Top Railroad. He served as brakeman 
 and fireman up to 1887 when he entered the ser- 
 vice of the C. B. & Q., working one year in the 
 Chicago yards, after which he entered the em- 
 ploy of the Illinois Central at Memphis, begin- 
 ning as engine cooler. At that time the engineers 
 and men were a tough lot and our subject soon 
 got to the top of the list being temperate and in- 
 dustrious. September 3, 1889 Mr. Dean came to 
 Paducah and was given an engine on a gravel 
 run, and various other runs, up to the time of 
 his promotion to his present preferred run be- 
 tween Paducah and Memphis. Our subject's 
 present engine is No. 33, a Rogers of the newest 
 type, and his fireman is J. G. Sands. 
 
 Our subject has a remarkably good record, 
 having had no serious accidents to damage 
 property to the extent of fifty dollars and has 
 had no serious injury to himself. 
 
 Mr. Dean was born in Clarion county, 
 Penn., but his father now resides at Newburn, 
 Tenn., whither he removed a number of years 
 
 ago. He has had the misfortune to have two 
 brothers killed in the service. Edward, a fire- 
 man, a bright young man while firing for En- 
 gineer Pat Grogan, in going into Wingo struck 
 an open switch and was crushed between the 
 baggage car and tender, being instantly killed. 
 Mr. Dean's mother received two thousand dol- 
 lars from the railroad company. Engineer 
 Grogan was severely injured about the head and 
 limbs. Our subject's brother Harry was killed 
 while braking, falling between the cars. He 
 was a bright young man and a favorite with all 
 his colleagues. 
 
 Mr. Dean married Miss Rhea and has one 
 child, Mabel, a bright miss at school. He is a 
 member of Division No. 225, B. of L. E., of 
 Paducah, having served as an official of the 
 order, also a member of Blue Lodge No. 449, 
 A. F. & A. M. and the Knights of Golden Cross 
 of Paducah. 
 
 Our subject has made several fast runs and 
 received special mention for the same from the 
 officials. His record is a creditable one of 
 which he may take a pardonable pride. 
 
 DWARD W. CRUTCHFIELD, one of 
 the younger engineers of the Central's 
 army of operatives, is a native of old 
 Kentucky, having first seen the light 
 of day in the town of Wingo. His father, J. 
 R. Crutchfield, is one of the leading farmers of 
 the county in which he resides. At the early age 
 of sixteen our subject started out for himself se- 
 curing a place as fireman on the Chesapeake, 
 Ohio & Southwestern in 1892. After six years 
 service on the left side of the cab, the last fifteen 
 months in the passenger service, he was ex- 
 amined and set up in the operating department 
 being assigned to a freight run between Paducah 
 and Memphis. Like many railroad men that 
 ride at the front end of a train our subject has 
 had many narrow escapes, the most notable one, 
 perhaps, occurring April 30, 1897, while he was
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 265 
 
 firing in the passenger service, in which the en- 
 gine was ditched but all aboard escaped. Mr. 
 Crutchfield's marriage at Paducah, to Miss Lucy 
 Saunders has been brightened by the arrival of 
 one child Kathalen, by name. Their pleasant 
 home is at No. 1249 Tremble street, Paducah. 
 
 JJ. TRACEY, engineer on the Amboy 
 division of the Illinois Central Railroad, 
 O was born in Wapella, 111., January 3, 
 1864. He entered the employ of the 
 Illinois Central Railroad at the age of fifteen 
 as section man, and afterward served as engine 
 wiper in round house and shops for two years, 
 then went on the road as extra fireman. In 1889 
 he was promoted to engineer and was given a 
 run from Clinton to Centralia, where he served 
 until April 24, 1898, at which time he was trans- 
 ferred to his present run on a freight from Clin- 
 ton to East St. Louis. During the ten years 
 service Mr. Tracey has made a remarkably clean 
 record, and stands high in the regard of his em- 
 ployers. In 1888, Mr. Tracey was united in 
 marriage with Miss Tilly Oberst, to whom have 
 been born four children: two daughters, Ella 
 May and Sarah are living; one son and one 
 daughter, are deceased. Mr. Tracey is a mem- 
 ber of the B. of L. E. No. 315. 
 
 O. DANA, master mechanic on Free- 
 port and Amboy divisions of the Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad, entered the 
 service of the I. C. R. R. as fireman 
 on the Chicago division in 1860, and was pro- 
 moted to engineer in 1864, serving in that position 
 on the Chicago division until 1888, and incident- 
 ally filled the position of round-house foreman 
 and general foreman at the Weldon shops. At 
 that time, 1888, he was transferred to the Free- 
 port division and ran a locomotive in the con- 
 
 struction service one year, and was then given 
 the first service as passenger conductor on the 
 new Freeport division where he ran one month, 
 when he was promoted to master mechanic at 
 Freeport. His territory has been extended un- 
 til he now is master mechanic over the Freeport 
 and Amboy districts, having under his charge 
 four hundred sixty-four miles of track. 
 
 Mr. Dana was born in Cobbleskill, New 
 York, in 1841. He was married in 1865 to Miss 
 Sarah E. Holland, and has three children : Esther 
 G. is supervisor of drawing in the public schools 
 of Freeport; Edgar W. was chief clerk in his 
 father's office, but is now general foreman in 
 the. shops at Council Bluffs ; Bert E. is store- 
 keeper for his father at office. Mr. Dana is al- 
 derman of the second ward of Freeport, and is 
 a member of the Masonic fraternity. 
 
 A. DAVIS, freight conductor of 
 the Evansville district of the Illi- 
 Q nois Central road, is a man of 
 much railroad experience, and 
 comes of a railroad family. He is a native of 
 Madison, New Hampshire, but at the age of 
 three years his parents removed to Boston. His 
 father, Augustus Davis, who died at the age of 
 thirty-one, was at one time conductor on the Bos- 
 ton & Maine road and resided at Reading, Mass. 
 Our subject had other relatives who were en- 
 gaged in the railroad business, his uncle, John 
 Stone, at one time was an old engineer on the 
 Boston & Maine and ran the old engine so well 
 known in the past around Boston, called "Mys- 
 tic." At the age of fourteen years our subject 
 began his railroad career as water boy on a pas- 
 senger train, and later served in various capaci- 
 ties. Later he worked in the Chicago & Alton 
 yards at Chicago, from which he was appointed 
 general yardmaster of the Chicago & North- 
 Western. In 1890 he commenced service for 
 the Illinois Central as freight conductor. He 
 served until 1898, when he came to the Evans-
 
 266 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ville district of the Illinois Central as freight 
 conductor, where he is now employed. Mr. 
 Davis is an experienced railroad man. He mar- 
 ried Miss K. W. Stowe, of Chicago, and resides 
 on Second street, Henderson, Ky. He is a mem- 
 ber of Division No. 381 O. R. C., of Howell, 
 Indiana. 
 
 JESSE D. WILLIAMS, ex-passenger con- 
 ductor, Amboy division, Illinois Cen- 
 tral Railroad. The father of our sub- 
 ject, G. W. Williams, a farmer, died in 
 February 1863, while in the service of the n6th 
 111. Vol. Inf. The mother, Rhoda J.(Hughey) 
 died October 30, 1894, from la grippe, aged six- 
 ty-one years, six months. Our subject was born 
 in Macon county, 111., January 9, 1852. His ed- 
 ucation was received in the schools of Macon 
 and Marion counties. In 1867 he entered the 
 service of the I. C. R. R. at Centralia, as brake- 
 man on a passenger train between Centralia and 
 Amboy. He served as brakeman, baggageman 
 and freight brakeman for four years, then be 
 came a freight conductor in December 187 f, 
 and retained that position for twenty-two years. 
 He was then promoted to passenger conductor, 
 and remained in that position until August 1899, 
 when he left the employ of the company and 
 removed to a farm near Patoka, 111., where he 
 is engaged in farming. 
 
 On the gth of January, 1876, Mr. Williams 
 was married to Miss Elizabeth Ashton, of Cen- 
 tralia, daughter of James Ashton, a farmer, now 
 deceased. Mrs. Williams was born January 14, 
 1849. Her union with Mr. Williams has beer. 
 blest with four children : Jesse D. Jr., born 
 December 10, 1879, is driving delivery wagon 
 for Walton Nephews, of Freeport ; Lula J., born 
 April 23, 1883, is in the high school of Freeport; 
 Bessie May, born September 8, 1889; Pearl D., 
 born June 22, 1890. The family attends the 
 First Methodist Episcopal church as members. 
 Mr. Williams is a member of the K. of P., 
 O. of R. C., and is also a Knight Templar. In 
 politics he is a Republican. 
 
 JERRY W. HOLLAND is a conductor on 
 the Amboy division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral. He entered the service of the com- 
 pany in 1893, as brakeman on the Clin- 
 ton district of the Amboy division, his first run 
 being with Conductor John Clarke. The ef- 
 ficiency of our subject was rewarded by promo- 
 tion on August 7, 1899, on which date he was 
 made a conductor. The parents of our subject 
 were Allen and Elizabeth Holland, who were 
 both natives of Kentucky, but both are now de- 
 ceased. J. W. Holland was born in Fayette 
 county, 111., April 18, 1867, and was married in 
 1893 to Miss Laura Cruse, who is a daughter 
 of Job and Arminta Cruse, natives of Illinois. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Holland are the parents of two 
 children, a son and a daughter, viz : Bruce 
 Tyler and Nellie Marie. 
 
 H. HARWOOD, assistant general 
 
 r freight agent at Evansville, Ind., was 
 born in Chicago, January 15, 1863, and 
 is a son of Theron D. Harwood, a 
 prominent manufacturer. The subject of this 
 sketch was educated in the public schools of 
 Chicago, and at the age of fourteen entered the 
 mercantile business in which he was engaged 
 ten years. He commenced railroading in Au- 
 gust 1887, on the Chicago, Kansas & Nebraska 
 railroad, working on the construction of the road 
 to Denver with Resident Engineer Dubois. In 
 April 1888, he entered the service of the Illinois 
 Central, in Chicago, in the local freight office, 
 filling various positions until 1890 when he was 
 promoted to rate clerk in the general offices in 
 Chicago. In June 1893, he was made contracting 
 freight agent in Chicago ; and held this position 
 nine months when he became traveling freight 
 agent, with his headquarters at Pittsburg, Penn. 
 He was afterwards made commercial agent and 
 I une i, 1896, was transferred to Cincinnati. 
 Ohio. December 20, 1899, he wa promoted to 
 assistant general freight agent, at Evansville, 
 to succeed J. S. Weitzell who was transferred to
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 267 
 
 Omaha, Neb., with territory extending over the 
 Evansville district of the Louisville division. 
 
 Mr. Harwood married a daughter of J. T. 
 and Theresa Herring, of Topeka, Kansas, and 
 makes his home in Evansville. He is a young, 
 bright, hustling railroad man as his rapid pro- 
 motions indicate. 
 
 EORGE A. LINCOLN, freight engi- 
 neer on the Louisville division, began 
 his railroad career in 1869 with the 
 New York, New Haven & Hartford 
 road, _where he learned the machinist's trade, 
 working three years, after which he began fir- 
 ing. After a short time here he was offered a 
 fine position as fireman, which he accepted, on 
 the Peoria division of the Indiana, Bloomington 
 & Western Railroad, in which service he was 
 promoted to engineer in 1874, remaining with 
 that road up to 1879. He then tried to quit 
 railroading, running a stationary engine in Mon- 
 tana six months, but returned to railroading in 
 the service of the Big Four, then the Chicago, 
 St. Louis & Indianapolis Railroad, remaining 
 one year. After this he came to the Chesapeake, 
 Ohio & South-Western as engineer in 1890, run- 
 ning between Paducah and Memphis. During 
 our subject's thirty years' experience he has 
 never received even a scratch, and has been suc- 
 cessful in his railroad career. He is of old Con- 
 necticut stock. His father, Albert Lincoln, a 
 banker, died in 1887. Our subject's people set- 
 tled in the United States about the time of the 
 landing of the Mayflower, his grandfather be- 
 ing a Revolutionary veteran. As a family they 
 have all enjoyed superior educational advan- 
 tages, and most of the kin are professional men. 
 Mr. Lincoln married Miss Batey Fowler and 
 has two children, Albert G., who holds a fine 
 position with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, be- 
 ing superintendent of circulation. He has the 
 credit of making a wonderful increase in the cir- 
 culation of that paper, having doubled the pa- 
 
 tronage. The daughter, Miss Edna, is a highly 
 accomplished young lady. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln is a member of Division No. 
 225, B. of L. E., and was a charter member of 
 the Firemen's organization fifteen years. Mr. 
 Lincoln is one of the prosperous citizens of the 
 little city in which he resides, and he helped im- 
 prove it by acquiring a nice home on Broadway. 
 
 JW. DIETRICK, local freight agent at 
 Omaha, Nebraska, for the Illinois Cen- 
 Q tral Railroad company, was born in 
 Cedarville, Stephenson county, Illinois, 
 May 20, 1861. His father, William S. Dietrick, 
 was a native of Monroe Co., Pa., and was born 
 in 1826. He was a farmer through life and died 
 September 22, 1897. The father's great-grand- 
 father came from Germany ; he was a Protes- 
 tant. The mother of our subject, Sarah E. 
 (Ohl) Dietrick, was a native of Clinton Co., 
 Pa., and is now living in Raymond, Iowa. There 
 are four children, namely : J. W., our subject ; 
 Charles H., station agent for the I. C. R. R. at 
 Carbon, Iowa, is married and has two children : 
 Frank B., bookkeeper in First National bank, at 
 Waterloo, Iowa, a former employe of the I. C". 
 R. R., married ; Cleora B., single, resides at 
 home. 
 
 J. W. Dietrick was educated in the common 
 schools of Raymond, Iowa. He clerked in a 
 store and assisted his father on the farm until 
 nearly seventeen years of age, when on Jan. i, 
 1878, he entered a telegraph office and learned 
 telegraphy. June 15, 1880, he became station 
 agent at Epworth, Iowa, for the I. C. R. R., re- 
 mained there until March 1881 ; then went to 
 Alden, Iowa, as station agent until June 1881, 
 thence to Storm Lake, Iowa, as clerk and oper- 
 ator; Jan. 1882 was sent to Earlville, Iowa, as 
 agent, until Nov. 1883 ; then employed as oper- 
 ator and relief agent until April 1884; until Sept. 
 1884, was agent at Winthrop, Iowa; then served 
 as operator in train dispatcher's office at Water-
 
 268 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 loo, Iowa, until Dec. 1884; then appointed agent 
 at Independence, Iowa, and in Oct. 1887, was 
 transferred to Ft. Dodge, Iowa, as agent; in 
 Sept. 1888, returned to Waterloo as agent, where 
 he remained until April 2., 1894; was then sent 
 to Dubuque as local freight agent, and on March 
 15, 1898, was appointed train master at Free- 
 port, 111., and on Dec. 15, 1899, appointed local 
 freight agent at Omaha, Neb. 
 
 Dec. 10, 1885, Mr. Dietrick was united in 
 marriage with Miss Minnie, daughter of Dr. M. 
 A. Chamberlain, of Winthrop, Iowa. She was 
 born April 23, 1865, at Dakota, Minn., and was 
 educated at Northfield, Minn. She died Sept. 
 6, 1896, at Glendora, Cal., and was buried at 
 Independence, Iowa, Sept. 12, 1896. She left 
 two children, Eloise May, born August 28, 1890, 
 and Marion Elizabeth, born May 8, 1893. Oct. 
 26, 1898, Mr. Dietrick was married to Miss 
 Lavina E. Jackson, daughter of Ralph E. Jack- 
 son, of Dubuque, Iowa. She was bbrn Oct. 30, 
 1871. They have one son, Ralph Jackson born 
 Aug. 18, 1899. Socially Mr. Dietrick ranks 
 high in the Masonic fraternity, being a member 
 of Mosaic Lodge No. 125, of Dubuque, la.; 
 Dubuque Chapter No. 3, Dubuque, la. ; Siloam 
 Commandery No. 3, of Dubuque, la. ; Elkohir 
 Temple, Mystic Shrine, Cedar Rapids, la., and 
 is also a member of the Protective Order of 
 Elks, Dubuque Lodge No. 267, Dubuque, la. 
 In politics he votes the Democratic ticket. His 
 family attends the Congregational church. 
 
 LEWIS RICHTER is the night foreman 
 of the Illinois Central at the Cham- 
 paign round-house. He entered the 
 service of the company March I3th, 
 1876, as messenger at the telegraph office at 
 Champaign. In 1878, at the age of seventeen, 
 Mr. Richter apprenticed himself in the machine 
 shops, and after working there thirteen months 
 commenced his work as locomotive fireman, serv- 
 ing in that capacity until April 1894. Though 
 well qualified for promotion to engineer he was 
 
 prevented from taking such a position on account 
 of defective eye-sight. His present situation 
 was tendered him on May I, 1895, in which he 
 is giving perfect satisfaction. 
 
 Our subject is a resident, and has spent 
 most of his life in his native city, Champaign, 
 where he was born October 4, 1861. He was 
 married October 23, 1887, to Miss Mary Hazen- 
 brook, who was born in Champaign December 
 9, 1862. They have one child, a promising son, 
 Frank. He is a member of Centralia Lodge No. 
 37, B. of L. F., of which he was a charter mem- 
 ber. 
 
 RANK RICHTER is a conducter in the 
 freight service, Champaign district, of 
 the Illinois Central. He entered the 
 service of the Illinois Central as 
 brakeman in 1889, making his first trip with 
 Harry Levernway as conductor, on the local. 
 He was promoted to conductor December 27, 
 1895. William Riqhter, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was a faithful employe of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral for over twenty-five years, holding the re- 
 sponsible position of foreman in the car depart- 
 ment. Mr. Richter Sr. retired in 1894. 
 
 Our subject was born at Champaign, 111., 
 in 1868, and continues to reside there, owning a 
 substantial home. Socially he is connected with 
 O. R. C. No. 112, of Centralia. April 29, 1890, 
 Mr. Richter married Miss Emma O'Briant, of 
 Centralia. They have two sons, Ole and Bertie, 
 both attending school. 
 
 'ILLIAM A. CONWELL is one of 
 the best known men in the service of 
 the Illinois Central, having begun 
 as messenger boy at the age of nine 
 years at Clinton, Illinois. In 1891, at the age 
 of twenty-two years, he took a position as 
 brakeman on the Clinton district of the Amboy 
 division, filling the position with satisfaction, 
 and in August 1898 received a well merited
 
 EPHRAIM McILWAIN.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 271 
 
 promotion to conductor. He is now in the 
 freight service of the Illinois Central, running 
 between Clinton and Centralia. 
 
 Our subject was born at Cedar Rapids, la., 
 September 27, 1869, and on February 4, 1891, 
 was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Dun- 
 ham, of Waynesville, 111. A promising son, 
 Monte D., is' the offspring of the union. Mr. 
 Conwell is a member of B. of R. T., State Cen- 
 ter Lodge No. 41, and is also an honorary mem- 
 ber of the Clinton fire department. 
 
 =x^PHRAIM McILWAIN is a native of 
 Washington county, Alabama, having 
 been born fifty miles north of Mobile. 
 He commenced railroading on the M. 
 & O. Railroad at Whistler, Ala., in 1859, as a car 
 repairer, serving as such for some time and then 
 enlisted in the Confederate army, and served 
 eighteen months under General Lee, the greater 
 part of the time as orderly to General Lee. Dur- 
 ing his service he was at -the first and second 
 battle of Manasses, Leesburg, Malvern Hill, 
 Seven Pines, and around Richmond. He left 
 them at Leesburg, Va., when they crossed into 
 Maryland, being honorably discharged, as he 
 was under age. He then returned to the M. & 
 O., as a fireman between Whistler and Mobile, 
 but at the end of seven months re-enlisted at 
 Mobile in the marine service and was sent to 
 Charleston, S. C, and afterward stationed seven 
 miles below Richmond as a member of the ma- 
 rine corps under Captain Lee, brother of Gen. 
 Robert E. Lee. He continued in that service 
 and was captured at Sailor's Creek, Va., seven 
 days prior to Lee's surrender, and was taken to 
 Washington, D. C., landing there the day after 
 Lincoln's assassination, and was put in the old 
 capitol prison. Then he was sent to the Elmira, 
 N. Y., prison, and remained there four months, 
 when he was discharged and sent home. He 
 came to Jackson, Tenn., and began in the shops 
 of the M. & O. as carpenter and continued one 
 
 10 
 
 year, then worked on construction of bridges be- 
 tween Humboldt and Jackson, and Was in that de- 
 partment about seven months. He was then 
 brakeman on the M. & O. six. months and was 
 then promoted to baggage and ran baggage cars 
 one year, again promoted to freight conductor 
 and began running f-eight between Jackson, 
 Tenn., and Columbus, Ky. He continued as 
 freight and extra passenger conductor twelve 
 years, was then brakeman on passenger train on 
 the old Mississippi Central, now the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, one year. He then went to the New Or- 
 leans & North-Eastern railroad as foreman of 
 grading between Meridian, Miss., and New Or- 
 leans, and continued there about five months, 
 then made foreman of -construction train three 
 months, and then to the Mississippi Valley road 
 near Vicksburg as section foreman for about a 
 month, next into the extra repair gang for the 
 same road a month, and was then appointed gen- 
 eral foreman of raising the track near Vicks- 
 burg. He was next on construction train from 
 Clarksdale, Miss., to New Orleans, and so con- 
 tinued one year and then came to the Illinois 
 Central at Jackson, Tenn., and began running 
 freight in December 1885, serving in that po- 
 sition on the Jackson district four years. At 
 the end of that time he was promoted to the pas- 
 senger service and has continued in the same to 
 the present time, having a run between Jackson, 
 Tenn., and Canton and Grenada, Miss. 
 
 Mr. Mcllwain's first marriage united him 
 with Miss Cozart, sister of James Cozart, travel- 
 ing engineer of the M. & O. Railroad. She died 
 in September 1885. To this union was born 
 eight children, five of whom died in infancy and 
 childhood. Those living are Harry E., a resi- 
 dent of Memphis, Tenn., where he is a boiler 
 maker and inspector of engines in the shops of 
 the Southern railroad ; he is married and has 
 three children. Willie Belle married John F. 
 Price, foreman in the I. C. shops at Water Val- 
 ley, Miss., they have one daughter. Arthur C., 
 now in the north. 
 
 In February 1887, our subject was united 
 in marriage with Miss Douglas, of Water Val- 
 ley, Miss., and unto them have been born three
 
 272 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 children, viz: Nettie Eva, born December 5, 
 1887, died March 2, 1892. Those living are 
 Shirley Wiggins, born June 2, 1893, and Eugene 
 Franklin, born January 16, 1896. Our subject 
 is the owner of fine property at the corner of 
 Grand and Highland avenues, in Jackson, Tenn. 
 In a railroad career covering more than forty- 
 one years, fifteen of which have been spent with 
 the I. C., Mr. Mcllwain has been very success- 
 ful, never having been seriously injured. He is 
 a member of Jackson Division No. 149, O. R. 
 C., of Jackson, Tenn. 
 
 JR. HUTCHISON, conductor at Water- 
 loo, Iowa, began work for the Illinois 
 Q Central company in 1886, as a brake- 
 man on the Lyle branch. After work- 
 ing there one year, he was transferred to the main 
 line as an extra and worked on all parts of the 
 Iowa division for a short time, and was then 
 promoted to the office of conductor, making his 
 first run in this capacity between Waterloo and 
 Dubuque. Subsequently he ran east and west 
 out of Waterloo, but was soon afterward given 
 a regular run on the Lyle branch to which 
 he is still devoting his time with the exception 
 of an occassional extra trip on a passenger train. 
 Mr. Hutchison was born in Boston, Mass., 
 a son of J. R. and Ellen Jane Hutchison, who 
 moved to Boston from England. Our subject 
 came to Iowa, upon leaving the parental roof, 
 and located first in Dubuque and worked for 
 a while for the Illinois Central company at 
 that time. He then went to Minneapolis and 
 worked in the yards of the Chicago, Milwaukee 
 & St. Paul Railroad for a short time, from there 
 went to Austin, and from thence to southern Min- 
 nesota and spent a year in the employ of the Chi- 
 cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad in that 
 part of the state. Mr. Hutchison next had a run 
 between Austin and Minneapolis, but was soon 
 promoted to conductor on the same line and was 
 thus engaged six years. Subsequently he con- 
 
 ducted a passenger train between Mason City and 
 Austin, then from Mason City to Sanborn, and 
 when he left this run, he severed his connection 
 with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul company 
 and secured a position with the Chicago & North- 
 western company as a brakeman at Eagle Grove. 
 Soon after, he secured a position with the Bur- 
 lington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad, and 
 after spending about two months on this line, he 
 came to Waterloo and has since found employ- 
 ment with the Illinois Central company. Mr. 
 Hutchison was married at Independence, Iowa, 
 to Miss Anna L. King, a native of Syracuse, N. 
 Y., and their wedded life has been blessed by the 
 presence of a family of three children whose 
 names in the order of their birth are Harry S., 
 Richard L. and Madeline Z. Socially our sub- 
 ject affiliates with Lodge No. 67, O. R. C. and 
 Howland Lodge No. 274, A. O. II W., both of 
 Waterloo. He is a thorough railroad man, is 
 careful and systematic about his work and 
 throughout his career has never received the 
 slightest injury from a railroad accident. 
 
 OBERT TAYLOR, engineer on the Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad, Amboy division, 
 entered the service of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral railroad at Waterloo, Iowa, on the 
 Iowa division, in the fall of 1885 as a fireman, 
 and made his first run under Engineer McNeil. 
 In 1887 he was transferred to Clinton and fired 
 for Jim Miller, who is still on the road, until 
 November 1888, when he was promoted to the 
 right side and is running in the Clinton district 
 of the Amboy division. Mr. Taylor is a native 
 of Toronto, Canada, where he was born in July 
 1858. He was married to Miss Louise Kohl, 
 of Centralia, in 1898, and has one son. Mr. 
 Taylor is socially connected with the B. of L. 
 E., Clinton Division No. 315, and the I. Q. O. 
 F., Wapaukonica Lodge No. 38, of Toledo, 
 Ohio.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 273 
 
 W. DIETRECH entered the service 
 of the Illinois Central as an appren- 
 tice blacksmith in Centralia, serving 
 in that capacity nineteen months, af- 
 ter which he worked in the car department, 
 thence to the water department at Centralia. 
 From the latter place he was transferred to Chi- 
 cago as assistant foreman in 1894, serving with 
 fidelity for three years. He then came to Clin- 
 ton, February 27, 1898, as water foreman of the 
 Amboy division, which position he still holds. 
 Mr. Dietrech is a native of Centralia, Illinois, 
 having been born there on November 17, 1872. 
 Socially he is connected with Deer Park Camp, 
 No. 41, M. W. A., of LaSalle, Illinois. 
 
 "ILLIAM W. EARNIST, conductor 
 on the Illinois Central Railroad, Am- 
 boy division, was born in Greene, 
 Butler county, Iowa, April 5, 1874. 
 He is the son of Abram S. and Maggie L. 
 (Northfoss) Earnist, both living. The father, 
 who is also a conductor on the Amboy division 
 of the I. C. R. R., resides in Freeport. 
 
 William W. Earnist was educated in the 
 schools of Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska. He 
 learned the printing trade in Brainerd, Minn., 
 and received fifty cents a week as wages. He 
 worked at his trade in South Dakota for one 
 year, then went to Greene, Iowa, where he 
 served for three months as foreman in a print- 
 ing office. In July, 1894, he went to Amboy 
 and entered the service of the I. C. R. R. in the 
 shops at that place, but after a short time was 
 given the position of night caller which he re- 
 tained for three months. In the autumn of 1894 
 he came to Freeport, where, after clerking for 
 the winter in a meat market, in February of the 
 following year he re-entered the service of the 
 I. C. R. R. this time as a brakeman, making his 
 first run February gth. He served in that posi- 
 tion until August 31, 1898, when he was pro- 
 moted to conductor, which position he now oc- 
 cupies. 
 
 July 17, 1897, Mr. Earnist was united in 
 marriage with Miss Lena S. Halen of Freeport. 
 She was born in Auburn, N. Y., Oct. 28, 1869, 
 and came with her parents to Freeport in 1873. 
 Mr. Earnist is a Republican in politics, and so- 
 cially is a member of the B. of R. T. 
 
 J. McKILLOP, one of the most 
 trusted and honorable engineers in 
 _ the service of the Illinois Central, 
 
 is a native of St. Thomas, Canada. 
 His first experience in railroading was on the 
 Canada Southern division of the Michigan Cen- 
 tral at St. Thomas, as fireman on the road in the 
 freight service in 1884. He continued in this 
 position for four years and three months, when 
 he was promoted to engineer in the road service 
 where he remained until Oct. 16, 1892, when he 
 severed his connection with the Michigan Cen- 
 tral, came to Chicago, and accepted a position 
 on the Illinois Central. His first engine was 
 No. 1373, which was in the switch service. His 
 next engine was No. 114. It was at this time 
 that the switchmen were having their troubles, 
 and our subject had many very unpleasant ex- 
 periences which tried his courage, but they soon 
 found that he was there to run his engine accord- 
 ing to orders, regardless of their threats, and 
 after several attempts to make him give, in to 
 their demands they left him severely alone. 
 He continued in the yard service about two 
 weeks and was then given engine No. 857, with 
 which he made several trips on the road, pulling 
 through freight. During the summer of '93 he 
 was in the suburban service, beginning May i 
 and running until Nov. 15, when he was given 
 No. 332 in regular freight service and contin- 
 ued until Nov. 4, 1894, and then took engine 
 No. 301 which he had for some time. It was at 
 this juncture that the big A. W. R. strike began, 
 the men going out June 26, 1894, including con- 
 ductors, brakemen, and firemen, also a great 
 many engineers who were in sympathy. The 
 history of this strike is well known.
 
 274 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 No one man figured therein more promin- 
 ently than did our subject. Taking the first 
 train from the Randolph St. yards through the 
 terminal was an experience he will never forget. 
 Many times his life was threatened. On his en- 
 gine rode Mr. W. R. Head, together with other 
 officials on the train. His crew was a green one, 
 and that he did get through was due entirely to 
 his own preseverance and undaunted courage. 
 At Kensington, rocks were fired at him. After 
 the trouble was settled he ran No. 301, with 
 exception of five months, until Oct. '98, when he 
 took No. 318 and ran her until May 19, 1899. 
 On that date, owing to the drunken condition of 
 another engineer, he had a head end collision 
 with train No. 62, he being on train No. 83, 
 which was a very bad accident. Subject was not 
 even suspended. 
 
 In March 1895, Mr. McKillop married Car- 
 rie Ely of Champaign, by whom he has one 
 child, Jennie. He is a member of the B. of L. 
 E. No. 10, of Chicago, and also belongs to B. 
 of L. F. Charity Lodge at St. Thomas. He is 
 a man of considerable means and owns fine 
 property in Champaign. Mr. McKillop received 
 the first certificate for air brakes issued to a 
 freight engineer. 
 
 E. REDUS, a conductor in the 
 freight service of the Illinois Cen- 
 Q tral, entered the employment of 
 the company in 1888 as a fireman, 
 serving in that capacity for about seven months. 
 He was then appointed switchman, holding that 
 position for a term of eighteen months or more, 
 after which he was offered a position as brake- 
 man on the Central district of the St. Louis divi- 
 sion, which he accepted. His faithful services 
 were appreciated by the company, and recognized 
 by his promotion to conductor on August 29, 
 1897, which position he fills with credit to him- 
 self and with satisfaction to the company. Mr. 
 Redus is identified with Division No. 112 O. R. 
 C. with headquarters at Centralia, his native 
 
 city. He was born in the latter place May 3, 
 1870. For so young a man he has made great 
 progress, and a bright prospect seems to be 
 in store for him. 
 
 S. OWEN, engineer on the Amboy 
 division, Illinois Central Railroad, has 
 L Q spent his entire service in the employ 
 of the I. C. R. R., which he entered 
 as a fireman on the Amboy division, Clinton dis- 
 trict, January 24, 1887, remaining in that posi- 
 tion until September 17, 1891, when his services 
 were rewarded by promotion to engineer, in 
 which capacity he is now running on the Clinton 
 district, Amboy division. 
 
 Mr. Owen was born in McLean county, Illi- 
 nois, November 6, 1862,. He was married No- 
 vember 9, 1892, to Miss Sophie Touve, and has 
 one daughter, Bertha Virginia. Mr. Owen is a 
 member of the B. of L. E., Clinton Division No. 
 315, and also of DeWitt Lodge A. F. & A. M. 
 No. 84, Goodbrake Chapter No. 59, and Eminent 
 Commandery No. 66, all of Clinton. 
 
 HARLES B. CRAIG, conductor on the 
 Illinois Central, Freeport division, was 
 born in West Point township, Stephen- 
 son county, Illinois, March 28, 1873, 
 and is the son of Roswell and Lucinda ( Harring- 
 ton) Craig, the father a farmer living in West 
 Point township. 
 
 Charles B. Craig received his education in 
 the schools of his native town, working on the 
 farm in summer and attending school in winter. 
 His first business position was that of night clerk 
 in a hotel at Sioux City, Iowa, which he filled 
 for five years. He entered the service of the 
 Sioux City & Northern R. R. in 1889, as engine 
 wiper, and at the end of three months he became 
 a locomotive fireman on the same road, remain- 
 ing in that position eighteen months. He then
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 275 
 
 came to Freeport and accepted a position as 
 brakeman on the I. C. R. R. in which capacity he 
 remained until October 12, 1898, when he was 
 promoted to conductor and is now serving in 
 that capacity. Mr. Craig is a member of the 
 Presbyterian church, and is a young man of good 
 habits and sterling qualities. He is a member 
 of the I. O. O. F. and the B. of R. T. His poli- 
 tical views are democratic. 
 
 TTO R. MCCLELLAND who is at 
 
 present the oldest man on the list out- 
 side of a preferred run, entered the 
 service of the Illinois Central as a 
 brakeman on the local in 1889, under 
 Conductor B. C. Michaels. He was promoted 
 to conductor in 1895, an d is now in the freight 
 service between Clinton and Centralia. 
 
 Mr. McClelland was born near the city of 
 Centralia, Illinois, on August 16, 1869, and is 
 a member of Weldon Spring Lodge No. 400, 
 O. R. C. of Clinton, and K. P. No. 26, of that 
 city. 
 
 ETER A. MUHR, conductor, Illinois 
 Central Railroad, Freeport division, 
 was born in Freeport, Illinois, Febru- 
 ary 3, 1864, and is a son of Matthias 
 Hubert and Regina (Wimmer) Muhr. The 
 father was a blacksmith, and died in 1889, the 
 mother is still living. One, son, William G. 
 Muhr, is employed by the I. C. R. R. Co., as a 
 switchman in the Freeport yards. 
 
 Peter Muhr received his education in the 
 public schools of Freeport, and also in the Sis- 
 ter's school of the same city. At the age of thir- 
 teen he began doing farm work, in which calling 
 he remained for three years. He was employed 
 in a glucose factory for a time, and then learned 
 the moulder's trade with Mr. Frank Taggart of 
 Freeport. In 1890 he began railroading with 
 the I, C. R. R., as a brakeman on the Freeport 
 
 division, and continued in that position until 
 promoted to conductor in September 1895, where 
 he is now serving. June 30, 1898, Mr. Muhr 
 was married to Miss Maggie Deimer, of Ackley, 
 Iowa. She is a native of Freeport, and was 
 born April i, 1875. She was educated in the 
 schools of Ackley. They have one son, Roy 
 Peter B. Muhr, born April 10, 1899. Mr - Muhr 
 has been in several railroad accidents and has 
 suffered from fractured limbs, but notwithstand- 
 ing this, is a man of splendid physique and fine 
 constitution. He is a member of the Catholic 
 church. He belongs to the O. R. C., and is in- 
 dependent in politics. 
 
 JAMES C. MARTIN, foreman painter at 
 the Illinois Central shops at Paducah, 
 Kentucky, began to learn the painter's 
 trade, October i, 1861, at the age of 
 fourteen years. February 24, 1872, he entered 
 the employ of Mr. LeGros in the L. & N. shops 
 at Louisville. He next went to sign and house 
 painting on his own account. In 1880 he entered 
 the employ of the Paducah & Elizabethtown 
 Railroad as foreman of paint department at 
 Elizabethtown, Ky., and in September 1884 came 
 to Paducah to take charge of paint department 
 of the Newport News & Mississippi Valley 
 Railroad, which was absorbed by the I. C. in 
 1896. Mr. Martin's crew often numbers from 
 twenty-eight to thirty men, all first class coach 
 and engine painters. 
 
 Our subject was born in Louisville, Ky., 
 November 7, 1847. His father, W. S. Martin, 
 died when James was a small lad. That Mr. 
 Martin was thrown upon his own resources his 
 record wiH show. Our subject is self-educated 
 and a self-made .man, highly respected by all 
 who know him. Mr. Martin was married to 
 Mary E. Shepard, and has two children, W. F., 
 cashier in the freight department at Paducah, 
 and R. S., holding a responsible position as' 
 bookkeeper of a large wholesale grocery house.
 
 276 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 The family resides in a fine house which was 
 built by Mr. Martin on Harrison street, Paducah. 
 Our subject has been a member of Ingleside 
 Lodge No. 195, I. O. O. F., of Paducah, for 
 thirty years, and has filled all the official chairs. 
 He also belongs to Friendship Lodge A: O. U. 
 W., and is a member of the master car painters' 
 association, having attended their national con- 
 vention for ten years. Mr. Martin is a very pro- 
 gressive and energetic craftsman, and keeps 
 abreast of the times in all that pertains to the 
 trade of which he is a worthy representative. 
 His long term of service with his present em- 
 ployers bespeaks the estimate they place on his 
 services. 
 
 COWARD LAWLESS, general foreman 
 of the Illinois Central machine shops 
 at Freeport, 111., is a native of that 
 city, his birth having occurred April 
 20, 1868. His father, Thomas Lawless, who 
 was a native of Ireland, died in Freeport January 
 22, 1895, while the mother, whose maiden name 
 was Rose Carey, is still a resident of that city. 
 Of their five children the following is the record : 
 Julia, deceased ; Edward, the subject of this 
 sketch; John, a barber of Freeport; Mary, wife 
 of Winfield Allen ; Thomas F., a journalist on 
 the staff of the Freeport Daily Democrat. 
 
 Edward Lawless received his education in 
 St. Mary's parochial school in Freeport, and at 
 the age of fourteen began work in the shops of 
 the Freeport Machine Company, remaining with 
 them until June 25, 1890. At that time he en- 
 tered the shops of the Illinois Central at Free- 
 port, and in May, less than two years after, was 
 advanced to the assistant foremanship of the 
 shops, and June i, 1899, became the chief in 
 charge of the shops as foreman. His ability as 
 a machinist as well as his executive ability and 
 skill in managing men under him, recommended 
 him for preferment. Mr. Lawless was married 
 November 28, 1893, to Miss Nellie Brennan, of 
 Freeport. She was born June 24, 1869. They 
 
 are the parents of two children, Edward, born 
 November 26, 1894, and Mary, born June 9, 
 1898, and died July 22, 1898. Mr. Lawless is 
 a member of the Catholic church, St. Mary's 
 congregation, and in politics is a lifelong Dem- 
 ocrat. He is well liked by those under his 
 authority, and stands well in the city where he 
 makes his home. 
 
 \ r-v^RANK WARD, conductor on Freeport 
 1=^ division, Illinois Central Railroad, was 
 J 1 born in Galena, Illinois, November i, 
 
 1867. His father, Patrick Ward, is a 
 policeman in Galena. Both parents are living. 
 They have three sons : John, a brakeman on 
 the I. C. R. R. ; Thomas, an operator on the C. 
 & X. W. R. R., and Frank. Our subject was edu- 
 cated in the public schools of his native town. 
 At the age of twenty-one he entered the service 
 of the I. C. R. R., Freeport division, as brake- 
 man, and filled the position up to October 1895, 
 when he was promoted to conductor. He is a 
 worthy young man of steady, sober and indus- 
 trious habits, and stands high in the regard of 
 his associates. He is a member of the O. R. T. 
 In his religious views he is a Catholic, and 
 politically a Democrat. 
 
 jtjtjtjtjtjt 
 
 k D. HEGLER is a native of Jackson 
 countv, Illinois. He entered service 
 on what was termed the Cairo Short 
 Line March 2, 1886, as a bridge work- 
 man and continued two years. Then he began 
 as freight brakeman for Conductor Joe White, 
 later on through freight with W. A. Dale be- 
 tween DuQuoin and East St. Louis, and so con- 
 tinued until March 1890, when he was promoted 
 and ran extra until October, when, on account 
 of his mother's illness he was off the road fifteen 
 months, and on his return took charge of yard 
 engine at Pinckneyville, 111., from July 17 to
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 277 
 
 Dec. 4, and then went back to braking. Feb. 19, 
 1892, he got a regular run between Pinckney- 
 ville and Brooklyn. February 1898 he got local 
 between Carbondale and Brooklyn and has the 
 same now. Mr. Hegler married Miss Julia 
 House, and to them have been born four chil- 
 dren, Bessie, deceased, Fred, Edna and Bert. 
 
 January 5, 1888, with Miss Jennie Belle, daugh- 
 ter of Francis and Caroline (Beidleman) Belle, 
 and has four daughters : Myrtle, Bessie, Grace 
 and Mazie. Mr. Lawrence is a member of the 
 B. of L. E., Clinton Division No. 315. The 
 father of Mrs. Lawrence is now stationary en- 
 gineer at Metal Wheel Works, Havana, 111. 
 
 A. DEVENY is a conductor in the 
 passenger service of the Illinois 
 Q Central, his run being on the St. 
 Louis division. He entered the 
 service in 1878 on the Springfield division as 
 brakeman. Coming to Centralia in 1881, and 
 accepting a similar position, he was promoted in 
 the spring of 1882 to conductor. A record of 
 ten years at this branch of the service, together 
 with a faithful record, won for him in 1892 his 
 present position. Mr. Deveny is an Indianian by 
 birth. Socially he is connected with Division 
 No. 112, O. R. C., of Centralia. 
 
 JR. LAWRENCE, engineer on the Ha- 
 vana line, Illinois Central Railroad, 
 Q entered railroad service with the Wa- 
 bash R. R., where he was employed 
 about six months. He entered the service of the 
 I. C. R. R. Sept. 9, '87, as fireman on the Spring- 
 field division, but in a short time was transferred 
 at his own request to the Havana line. His first 
 run was made with Charles Foot, it being Mr. 
 Foot's first run as engineer. Mr. Lawrence was 
 promoted to engineer January 22, 1891, and has 
 since run on the Havana line, with the excep- 
 tion of a short time during which he operated 
 a switch engine in Clinton yard on the Spring- 
 field division, and now has charge of an accom- 
 modation freight, engine No. 896. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence was born in Havana, 111., 
 August 19, 1862. a son of Jacob and Priscilla 
 (Lane) Lawrence. He was united in marriage 
 
 EORGE S. ROUGHT, conductor on 
 the St. Louis division of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, is one of its well- 
 known employes, having entered the 
 service February 22, 1888, as brakeman on a 
 suburban passenger train in Chicago. Serving 
 for a time as extra passenger brakeman and 
 baggageman, he resigned and went to Centralia, 
 securing a situation as brakeman in the freight 
 service in September 1892. His services were 
 recognized by promotion to conductor October 
 i, 1899. 
 
 Mr. Rought comes of sturdy English stock, 
 having been born in Hull, England, in 1868. He 
 was united in marriage on October 24, 1894, to 
 a daughter of Conrad Bills, who was for many 
 years in the employ of the I. C. as a painter. Mr. 
 Bills was one of the best known citizens of Cen- 
 tralia, being one of the earliest settlers, and serv- 
 ing his city for a number of terms as alderman. 
 His death, which occurred May 22, 1891, was 
 deeply regretted by his fellow citizens. Socially 
 the subject of this sketch is connected with E. 
 T. Jeffery Lodge No. 412, B. of R. T., of Cen- 
 tralia. 
 
 FJ. DICKE, a young freight engineer 
 on the Memphis division of the Illi- 
 O nois Central, began his railroad ca- 
 reer at the age of nineteen in the 
 shops at Paducah, working one year and eight 
 months, and then served as fireman until 1893, 
 when he was promoted to engineer and assigned 
 to engine No. 566 in the freight service, running
 
 278 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 between Paclucah and Memphis. Our subject 
 has a fine record, not having had any accidents 
 or injuries. 
 
 Mr. Dicke was born in Paducah, and his 
 father was F. J. Dicke, a respected citizen of Pa- 
 ducah, who died in 1881. Our subject began to 
 earn his own living when quite young, which 
 has developed him into a sober and industrious 
 man. He is a successful horseman and takes 
 great pride in several good roadsters which he 
 owns. He also has an interest in the grocery 
 firm of Dicke Brothers, one of the largest gro- 
 cery houses in Paducah. He is a member of 
 Plain City Lodge No. 238, A. F. & A. M., and 
 Lodge No. 217, Benevolent and Patriotic Order 
 of Elks. Of the railway orders he belongs to 
 the B. of L. F., and Division No. 225, B. of L. 
 E., of Paducah. 
 
 JOHN JOHNSON, engineer on the Illi- 
 nois Central, Amboy division, was born 
 in London, England, February 19, 1858. 
 He is the son of John and Mary (Lynch) 
 Johnson. The latter is now living in Bloom- 
 ington, 111. The father, a sailor, came to the 
 United States in 1871, and located in Blooming- 
 ton, 111., where he died in 1887. They were the 
 parents of three children : Our subject ; Wil- 
 liam, a carpenter, resides in Bloomington ; Mary, 
 married to Edward Colton, who is now de- 
 ceased, resides in Bloomington. John Johnson 
 was educated in the public schools of London,' 
 coming to this country with his parents in 1871. 
 At the age of fifteen he began driving a team for 
 the Cox Milling Co., of Bloomington, and re- 
 mained in their employ two years. In April 
 1877 he entered the service of the C. & A. R. R. 
 as fireman, and remained in that position until 
 1889, when he was promoted to engineer. He 
 remained in the service of the C. & A. company 
 until the spring of 1896, then entered the ser- 
 vice of the I. C. R. R. as engineer, which position 
 he still holds and is running on the Amboy div- 
 ision. In 1883 he married Miss Bridget Dixon, 
 
 of Bloomington. She died in 1889, leaving three 
 children: John, born in 1884; Charles, born in 
 1886; Stella, born in 1888. All are attending 
 school. Mr. Johnson is a Catholic. Socially 
 he is a member of the B. of L. E., and politically 
 he is a Democrat. 
 
 JAMES H. CRAIG, former conductor on 
 the Illinois Central Railroad, is the son 
 of Roswell and Lucinda (Harrington) 
 Craig, and was born December 3, 1866, 
 on his father's farm in West Point township, 
 where his youth was spent, assisting on the farm 
 in summer, and attending school in winter. Oc- 
 tober 14, 1885, he entered the service of the I. 
 C. R. R. at Amboy, 111., as a brakeman, and re- 
 mained in that position for three years. He 
 then resigned and went to Sioux City, Iowa 
 where he served the C. M. & St. P. R. R. 
 as brakeman two years, and as conductor one 
 year. Being offered a position as conductor on 
 the Sioux City Rapid Transit Ry., he accepted, 
 and remained with the company until October 
 1891. In November of that year he returned to 
 Freeport and re-entered the service of the I. C. 
 R. R. in December, as a brakeman, and remained 
 in that position until 1894, when he went to the 
 C. & N. W. R. R. at Eagle Grove, Iowa, as 
 brakeman. After eighteen months service with 
 that road, he resigned and turned his attention 
 to farming for one year. He then went to 
 Dubuque, and on the 25th of October, 1898, was 
 given employment by the C. & G. N. R. R., and 
 remained in that position until July 29, 1899, 
 when he received injuries in a derailing switch 
 wire which caused him to resign his position. 
 Mr. Craig was united in marriage, February 13, 
 1893, with Miss Minnie Armagost, by whom he 
 has three children : Iva May, born November 
 25, 1893; J. Harold, born November 22, 1895; 
 Russell R., born April 3, 1899. Mr. Craig is 
 a member of the Presbyterian church. Socially 
 he is connected with the A. O. U. W. In poli- 
 tics he affiliates with the Democratic party.
 
 ALBERT A. SHARP.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 281 
 
 LBERT A. SHARP, superintendent of 
 //_i \ the Vicksburg division of the Yazoo 
 /[ \\ & Mississippi Valley R. R., with head- 
 quarters at Memphis, Tenn., was born 
 near Atlanta, Georgia, February 14, 1844. He 
 is a son of William and Mary Hackett Sharp, 
 the latter living in Atlanta, at the age of seventy- 
 five years, while the former, a contractor by oc- 
 cupation, was killed in the army at Olustee, Fla., 
 in 1863. Mr. Sharp was educated in the public 
 schools of Atlanta, and at the age of sixteen 
 enlisted in the Seventh regiment, Georgia Vol- 
 unteers, Confederate army, serving there dur- 
 ing the entire war, and being wounded three 
 times. He was made a lieutenant in 1863, and 
 was wounded and captured at the battle of 
 Knoxville, and compelled to use crutches for 
 thirteen months. He was also wounded at the 
 first battle of Bull Run and at the battle of An- 
 tietam. He was captured and released on parole, 
 and eleven weeks afterward was exchanged. 
 Thirty days later he again enlisted, and was de- 
 tailed on a division battalion of sharpshooters. 
 Before the battle of Knoxville he had been drill- 
 master of the sharp-shooters, for two years, and 
 holds a medal for proficiency in that branch of 
 the service. 
 
 In -February 1866, Mr. Sharp entered the 
 service of the Western & Atlantic R. R. (now 
 part of the N. C. & St. L.) as a brakeman, be- 
 tween Atlanta, Ga., and Chattanooga, Tenn. He 
 worked with that company as brakeman and 
 baggagemaster until October 1868, when he ac- 
 cepted a position as conductor in the freight ser- 
 vice of the Edgefield & Kentucky and Evans- 
 ville, Henderson & Nashville R. R., between 
 Hopkinsville, Ky., and Nashville, Tenn., that 
 road being then under the management of John 
 B. Brownlovv and General Boyle, of Kentucky. 
 He was resigned and accepted service on the 
 Louisville & Nashville R. R. as conductor in the 
 freight service, at Bowling Green, Ky., but was 
 obliged to relinquish the position and go to Flor- 
 ida on account of throat trouble. On learning 
 of the opening of the Macon & Brunswick R. 
 R., he applied to George H. Hazelhurst, presi- 
 dent of the road, and was appointed a conductor 
 
 in the passenger service of that road. In 1871 
 he was promoted to master of transportation, 
 with headquarters at Macon, and in 1872 was 
 again obliged to go to Florida for his previous 
 ailment. In 1873 ne returned to the service of 
 the same road, accepting his former run as con- 
 ductor, and serving through the yellow fever 
 epidemic of 1876. His health being broken 
 down, he was sent by the management . of the 
 road to Chicago, as solicitor, where he remained 
 two years. He was recalled to Macon, Ga., and 
 promoted to the position of general freight and 
 passenger agent, which he held until the road 
 was built from Macon to Rome, Ga., and pur- 
 chased by the East Tennessee, Virginia & Geor- 
 gia system. Mr. Ogden then became general 
 freight and passenger agent of the entire road, 
 and our subject was made master of transporta- 
 tion in the same division of which he had been 
 general freight and passenger agent. He was 
 connected with that road for thirteen years with- 
 out losing a day. In October 1882, he was of- 
 fered the position of superintendent of construc- 
 tion on the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas R. 
 R. (now the Y. & M. V. R. R.) and after iW 
 completion took charge of the transportation of 
 the entire road between Memphis and New Or- 
 leans, and with the exception of eight months 
 has had continuous charge of that department 
 on one or the other divisions of the road. 
 
 On June I4th, 1870, Mr. Sharp was united 
 in marriage to Miss Annie Holtzclaw, of Ack- 
 worth, Ga., a native of Alabama, born Nov. 2, 
 1847. Mr. and Mrs. Sharp have a family of 
 four children: Annie, born May 2, 1879, well 
 educated and residing at home ; Mary Lou, born 
 October 8, 1880, who received a college course 
 of four years, also at home ; Earl Hackett, born 
 August 23, 1885, attending the high school at 
 Rock Hill, S. C., and John Boyd, born Novem- 
 ber 7, 1892, who is being educated privately at 
 home. Mr. Sharp is a Mason, Knight Templar, 
 Knight of Pythias, an Odd Fellow and an Elk. 
 He and his family are members of the Baptist 
 church, of which they are liberal supporters, and 
 active workers. In politics he votes with the 
 national Republican party. As an officer of the
 
 '282 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Illinois Central, and as a citizen of Memphis, 
 Mr. Sharp merits the highest praise of his fel- 
 low citizens. 
 
 'ILLIAM H. ASHLEY JR., is a na- 
 tive of Carbondale, Illinois. He be- 
 gan in 1897 for the C. & E. I as a 
 brakeman between St. Elmo, Illi- 
 nois and Marion, Illinois, on local freight and 
 continued three months, and then went in the 
 yards at Marion as switchman for eight months. 
 He then became brakeman on the Merchandise 
 Express between St. Elmo and Rossville, Illi- 
 nois. In August 1898, he came to the Illinois 
 Central as brakeman between Carbondale and 
 Johnston City on local freight for Alonzo Tem- 
 ple. In August 1899, he was promoted to con- 
 ductor and is running the Johnston City local. 
 Mr. Ashley married Miss Emma Gill, of Marion, 
 Illinois. His father, William Ashley, came to 
 Carbondale in 1867 as station agent, and held the 
 position twenty-seven years, then resigned, re- 
 fusing a position as traveling freight agent, and 
 he is now interested in banking in that city. 
 
 LEE W. ALBRIGHT, Chief Train Dis- 
 patcher of the Illinois Central Railroad 
 at Freeport, was born in Canton, 111., 
 March 4, 1864. His father, J. B. E. 
 Albright, a physician, was born in Berks Co., 
 Pa., Aug. 7, 1820, and came to Illinois in 1849 
 settling in Canton, where he died Sept. 13, 1886. 
 The mother, whose maiden name was Catharine 
 Cline, was born in Rockingham Co., Va., Dec. 
 29, 1827. She is now living in Freeport. The 
 family consisted of five children Emma G. 
 died at ten years of age ; R. Belle, living in Free- 
 port ; Lewis P. died at the age of four years ; 
 Carrie V. died at the age of thirteen ; and L. W., 
 our subject. 
 
 Mr. Albright was educated in the public 
 schools of Forreston, 111., and at the age of seven- 
 teen he learned telegraphy at Forreston, In 
 
 1 88 1 he secured the position of night operator 
 at Lee, on the C. B. & Q. R. R. where he re- 
 mained a few months then went to Forreston 
 as night operator on the I. C. R. R. In 1887 he 
 was made train dispatcher at Amboy, 111., but 
 after two months, was assigned to Freeport. 
 After one year he was sent to Rockford in the 
 same capacity and in 1891 was returned to Free- 
 port where he has remained to the present date. 
 April 28, 1891 Mr. Albright was married to 
 Miss Rose Frances Zapf, daughter of Edward 
 and Elizabeth Zapf, of Freeport. Mrs. Albright 
 was born Sept. 9, 1867 and was educated in the 
 Freeport schools. They have three children : 
 Donald Z., born Feb. 22, 1895 ; Kenneth C., born 
 April 26, 1896; Alfred Lee born July 23, 1899. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Albright attend the Presbyterian 
 church. Mr. Albright is a member of the 
 Masons, Excelsior Lodge, Chapter and Com- 
 mandery No. 7, of Freeport, and belongs to the 
 Modern Woodmen of America. In politics he 
 is a Democrat. 
 
 JAMES LONERGAN, former super- 
 visor of the Illinois Central, Twelfth 
 Q section, Sixth division, is a native of 
 Ireland, and was born in Waterford, 
 October 15, 1861. John Lonergan, his father, 
 emigrated to America in 1865, and located in 
 Eldena, Lee county, Illinois, where he was sec- 
 tion man on the I. C. R. R. He died in 1884 
 at the age of 84 years. The mother, Mary 
 (Tamel) Lonergan, is living in Freeport. Their 
 sons, John and George, are section foreman on 
 the I. C. R. R., the former at Polo, 111., the lat- 
 ter at Rockford. 
 
 P. James Lonergan attended the public 
 schools of Eldena, also the Sister's school at 
 Dixon, 111. At the age of fifteen he began work 
 for the I. C. R. R. at Dixon, barking posts, which 
 he did for a few months, then in 1877, began 
 working on the section and remained there about 
 two and one-half years. He then worked for 
 the C. &. N. W. R. R. at Clinton, Iowa, as a
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 283 
 
 stonemason until the fall of 1882, when he went 
 to Buffalo, N. Y., and was track walker in the 
 Buffalo yards of the L. S. & M. S. R. R. until 
 March 1883. In April of that year he was ap- 
 pointed section foreman on the I. C. R. R. at 
 Woosung, 111., where he remained until Decem- 
 ber 1884, when he was transferred to the Free- 
 port yards, in which position he remained until 
 August 1886, being at that time transferred to 
 the C. M. & N. R. R. as track layer and foreman 
 of construction. In the fall of 1887 he was ap- 
 pointed supervisor of the twelfth section, sixth 
 division, with headquarters at Freeport. In 
 1900 Mr. Lonergan resigned his position, and 
 now owns a grocery store in Freeport. 
 
 October 4, 1893, Mr. Lonergan was married 
 to Miss Emma Coyle, daughter of Bernard Coyle, 
 of Freeport, an old employe of the I. C. R. R. 
 She was born in 1869. They have one child, 
 James Leo, born January n, 1895. Mr. Loner- 
 gan and wife are members of the Catholic church. 
 Mr. Lonergan is independent in his political 
 opinions. 
 
 JG.' TAYLOR, passenger engineer on the 
 Amboy division of the Illinois Central 
 O Railroad, began his experience in rail- 
 road work in the shops of the Northern 
 R. R. of Canada. He entered the service of the 
 I. C. R. R., September I, 1865, as a fireman on 
 the Cairo district, and was promoted to engineer 
 September I, 1867, running an engine on the 
 Cairo district one year, then ran a freight engine 
 on what is now the Clinton district, from Cen- 
 tralia to Clinton, until 1884, when he was trans- 
 fered to passenger engineer and now runs engine 
 No. 1301 on the Clinton district, Amboy divi- 
 sion. Mr. Taylor's service has been noticeable 
 for his carefulness and freedom from accidents. 
 He has never had a collision, either front or rear. 
 Mr. Taylor was born in Brockville, Ontario, 
 Canada, in December 1842. In 1871, he was 
 married to Miss Cordwell, by whom he has had 
 two children. His son George served for a time 
 as machinist in the Clinton shops, had fired an 
 
 engine, and while serving as brakeman was killed 
 in an accident at the Wabash crossing, near 
 Springfield, in April 1898. The second son, Joe, 
 resides with his parents. Mr. Taylor owns a 
 pleasant home on E. Main St., Clinton, where he 
 resides. He has been a member of the B. of 
 L. E. since 1868, and is also a member of Clinton 
 Lodge, No. 25, K. of P. 
 
 G. HAWKS, conductor on Illinois 
 Central Railroad, Amboy division, 
 t Q has spent his entire life in the railroad 
 service, and has been peculiarly for- 
 tunate in his career. He is the son of George 
 W. and Roxana B. (Wood) Hawks. The father 
 served in the war of the Rebellion as a private 
 in Co. E, 113 111. Vol. Inf., was color bearer, and 
 was discharged on account of wounds in Febru- 
 ary 1863. He was a minister of the M. E. 
 Church, Rock River conference and died Octo- 
 ber 30, 1890. The mother died January 5, 
 1888. 
 
 H. G. Hawks received a common school 
 education in the schools of Palatine, Cook county, 
 111., attended school in winter and working on 
 the farm summers. January 14, 1878, he entered 
 the service of the Racine & Southwestern R. R. 
 Co., as a brakeman and remained in the employ 
 of that company one year. He then went to the 
 C. & N. W R. R. as a brakeman, and after four 
 years in that capacity was promoted to conduc- 
 tor in 1881. He left the C. & N. W. in 1883, 
 and was in the employ of the C. B. & N. R. R., 
 as conductor, for two years. He then served 
 the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba R. R. four 
 years as conductor, after which, in 1889, he en- 
 tered the service of the I. C. R. R. and is now 
 running on the Amboy division. 
 
 On the 27th of March, 1879, Mr. Hawks 
 was married to Miss Ada B. Parker, of Kingston, 
 111. who was born in Shelbyville, Indiana, August 
 4. 1857. Mrs. Hawks is the mother of two 
 daughters: Myrtle, born in Kingston, January 
 3, 1881, will graduate from the Freeport high
 
 284 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 school in 1900; Lulu, born in Chicago, October 
 7, 1884, is in the Freeport high school. The 
 family attends the First M. E. church. Mr. 
 Hawks is a member of the Masonic fraternity, 
 the Foresters, and the O. of R. C. He is inde- 
 pendent in his political views. 
 
 J 
 
 Jtjtjtjtjtjt 
 
 P. GOSSETT is a conductor on the 
 Springfield division of the Illinois Cen- 
 Q tral, from Champaign to Clinton, and 
 Champaign to Decatur, Havana line. 
 He entered the service of the Illinois Central as 
 brakeman on the Champaign district in 1868, 
 serving in that capacity for two years. He then 
 entered the employ of the Indiana, Bloomington 
 & Western Railroad as brakeman and was soon 
 promoted to conductor. When the latter line 
 was acquired by the Illinois Central he retained 
 his position. 
 
 Mr. Gossett was born in Highland county, 
 Ohio, his parents, Levi and Isabell (Shield) 
 Gossett, being natives of the same county. The 
 father was a potter by trade. Both the parents 
 were members of the M. E. church. They passed 
 away the same year, the father dying in Febru- 
 ary 1894, in Sedgwick, Kansas, and the mother 
 died the following June in Longview, Texas. 
 
 J. P. Gossett was married in 1874 to Miss 
 M. L. Carnahan, of Blanchester, Ohio, whose 
 parents, John and Margaret (Crosson) Carna- 
 han, were natives of the same state, where the 
 father was a merchant. The mother died when 
 Mrs. Gossett was only five years of age, but her 
 father survived until 1885. They were both 
 members of the Universalist church, -with which 
 denomination Mrs. Gossett is also identified. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Gossett have been born two 
 daughters, namely, Cora E., now the wife of 
 Earl Sabin, of Champaign, and Pearl, at home. 
 Our subject is a member of Division No. i, O. 
 R. C., of Chicago, but became identified with the 
 order at Peoria, Illinois, in 1871, when in the 
 employ of the Indiana, Bloomington & Western 
 Railroad, 
 
 ICHAEL DONOVAN is supervisor 
 of track, third section, second division 
 of the Illinois Central, and it may 
 be said of him, that he grew up with 
 the company, as he never worked at any other 
 occupation, nor with any other railroad company. 
 He is a son of John Donovan, who was for thirty- 
 five years a faithful employe of the I. C., a con- 
 siderable portion of the time as section foreman. 
 Michael Donovan was born in a house on the 
 I. C. right of way, south of Effingham in 1864, 
 and entered the service of the company as a work- 
 man under his father in 1878. He was made 
 foreman of a fence gang in 1881, and has served 
 as foreman of fence, section, or extra gang ever 
 since. He was for six years permanently at 
 Watson, 111.; as section foreman, and for four 
 more years held the same position during the 
 winter months, taking charge of an extra gang 
 of men during the summer. On October I, 1899, 
 he received the well-merited promotion to super- 
 visor of track. 
 
 Mr. Donovan is one of the substantial citi- 
 zens of Effingham, Illinois, and is unmarried. 
 
 B. WALKER, agent of the Central 
 at Patoka, 111., is a native of Jackson, 
 Q Ohio, born February 25, 1860. Two 
 years later his parents moved to a 
 farm near Patoka where Mr. Walker was 
 reared, attending the common schools until the 
 age of twenty. His father, Joseph Walker, was 
 born on Grant's birthday, 1822, near Pittsburg, 
 and learned the carpenter's and wheelwright's 
 trades. During the Mexican war he worked on 
 the wagons that were to transport the munitions 
 of war, and again during the Civil war he was 
 similarly employed. He married Miss Josephine 
 Miles, a native of Webster county, Ohio. Her 
 father had been a furnace man in Virginia. 
 
 At the age of twenty Mr. Walker began the 
 stud}- of telegraphy and the routine of station 
 work at Vernon under the instruction of A. G. 
 Lowe. In February 1881, he was appointed
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 285 
 
 agent at Vernon station and remained there until 
 transferred to Patoka, June 12, 1886, under the 
 superintendency of Mr. J. C. Jacobs, holding 
 that assignment to the present time. Mr. Walker 
 was first married to Miss Nora Jackson, April 
 8, 1885, and of this marriage three children were 
 born: Frank, Ross and Ruth. Mrs. Walker 
 died May 30, 1893, when Mr. Walker's mother 
 came to keep house for him and hold the little 
 family together. His second marriage was to 
 Miss May Taylor, of Newton, 111., occurring 
 August 9, 1899. She is a lady of fine education, 
 having presided as principal of the Newton 
 schools for several years. The family resides in 
 Patoka, where by good management Mr. Walker 
 has accumulated a comfortable competency, own- 
 ing a farm one mile from Patoka. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Masonic fraternity, holding member- 
 ship with the Blue lodge at Patoka and the 
 Chapter at Centralia. The family attends the 
 Methodist church. 
 
 and Cairo. He came to Freeport in 1887, since 
 which time he has been running on a passenger 
 engine. 
 
 On the nth of February, 1876, Mr. Palmer 
 was united in marriage with Miss Hattie Albina 
 Sanford, of Jackson, Mich. Her father, O. N. 
 Sanford, a painter, died in 1871. Her mother, 
 Ann (Carter), died in 1883. Mrs. Palmer was 
 born Dec. 2, 18,57, an d was educated in the pub- 
 lic schools of Jackson, Mich. Her union with 
 our subject has been blessed with five children : 
 Frederick A., born March 14, 1878, a machinist 
 in the employ of the I. C. R. R., is single and 
 living at home; E. S., born May 30, 1881, is at- 
 tending the grammar school in Freeport; D. R., 
 born July 30, 1885, is a student in the Freeport 
 high school ; James J., born Jan. 15, 1887, attend- 
 ing school, and Gladys M., born March 10, 1891. 
 The family attends the English Lutheran church 
 of Freeport. Mr. Palmer is a Mason, a member 
 of the I. O. of M. A., and also of the B. of L. E. 
 He is a Republican in politics. 
 
 D. PALMER, engineer on the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, was born at Jack- 
 son, Mich., November 25, 1853. He 
 is the son of D. R. Palmer, a black- 
 smith by trade, who lived in Jackson, Mich., 
 where he died in 1896. The mother, Abigail 
 (Wilmouth) Palmer, lives with subject. The 
 only daughter, Ada, was the wife of George O. 
 Dickinson, and lived in Jackson, Mich., at the 
 time of her death in 1895. 
 
 E. D. Palmer was educated in the public 
 schools of Jackson, Mich. In 1874 he entered 
 the service of the Michigan Central R. R. as a 
 fireman, and continued in that position for three 
 years and six months, when he was promoted 
 to engineer, running a freight engine between 
 Jackson and Saginaw, where he remained one 
 year, then ran on the Detroit, Milwaukee & 
 Grand Haven for two years, after which he en- 
 tered the service of the Illinois Central and lo- 
 cated in Chicago, running on the Chicago divi- 
 sion a short time when he was transferred to 
 the Centralia division and ran between Centralia 
 
 HARLES McFERSON, conductor on 
 the Amboy division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral Railroad, was born at Tonica, 111., 
 March 31, 1871. His father, George 
 A. McFerson, is an undertaker residing in Ton- 
 ica, 111. His mother, whose maiden name was 
 Maria Underbill, died in 1880. Charles Mc- 
 Ferson attended the public schools of Tonica, 
 after which he served an apprenticeship with his 
 father in the undertaking business. He then 
 opened an establishment in Ambia, Ind., where 
 he followed the business of an undertaker for 
 about three months, then sold out, came back 
 to Illinois, and accepted a position as brakeman 
 on the Amboy division of the I. C. R. R., where 
 he remained until the time of his promotion to 
 conductor, which occurred in 1898. He removed 
 to Freeport in September 1899. Mr. McFerson 
 was united in marriage, June 23, 1895, with Miss 
 Sophie Westmeyer, of Tonica. She was born 
 in Peru, 111., January 16, 1874, but removed to
 
 286 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Tonica where she received her education in the 
 public schools of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Mc- 
 Ferson are members of the M. E. church. Mr. 
 McFerson belongs to the Order of Foresters and 
 the B. of R. T. He is a Republican in politics. 
 
 N. WAKEFIELD is one of the well 
 known conductors in the freight ser- 
 L Q vice of the Illinois Central, his run 
 being in the Centralia district on the 
 St. Louis division. He first entered the service 
 of the I. C. in 1888, working in the shops at Du 
 Quoin, 111., where he served four years. In 
 1892 he began his work as brakeman in the cen- 
 tral district, and his efficiency was rewarded by 
 promotion to conductor on December 25, 1896. 
 He was married December 23, 1892, at DuQuoin, 
 111., to Miss Ada Weeks, daughter of William 
 and Elizabeth Weeks. Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield 
 have one daughter, Irene. Mr. Wakefield was 
 born in Macon county, Tenn., July n, 1869. He 
 is a member of Division No. 112 O. R. C., of 
 Centralia. 
 
 THOMAS N. CRAIG, conductor on the 
 Amboy division, Illinois Central Rail- 
 road, was born at Waddams Grove, 
 111., September 6, 1869. He is the son 
 of Roswell Craig, a farmer, and Lucinda (Har- 
 rington) Craig, both of whom are living. 
 
 Our subject, during his boyhood, worked on 
 the farm in summer and attended school in West 
 Point township in winter. When seventeen 
 years of age he went to Sioux City, Iowa, and 
 was employed as a hotel clerk for five years, then 
 went to Chicago and worked in the Demming 
 Hotel for three months. He then came to Free- 
 port,'and on April 9, 1893, entered the service of 
 the I. C. R. R. as a brakeman. August 22, 1894, 
 he resigned his position on the road and went 
 to Bridgewater, S. Dak., where he remained one 
 year engaged in farming. The next year was 
 
 spent in farming at Oakland, Tenn., after which 
 he went to Two Harbors, Minn., and secured a 
 position as brakeman on the Duluth & Iron 
 Range R. R., where he remained seven months, 
 then returned to Freeport and re-entered the 
 service of the I. C. R. R. as brakeman, contin- 
 uing in that position until August 26, 1899, when 
 he was promoted to conductor, in which capacity 
 he is now employed on the Amboy division. 
 
 On the 22nd day of June, 1897, Mr. Craig 
 was married to Miss May Armagost, of Wad- 
 dams Grove. She was born June 2, 1876. They 
 have one child, Ima, born March 3, 1899. Mr. 
 Craig and his estimable wife are members of the 
 First Presbyterian church of Freeport. Mr. 
 Craig is socially connected with the B. of R. T., 
 I. O. O. F., and the Knights of Pythias. In 
 politics he is a Democrat. 
 
 L. HOOPER is one of the represent- 
 ative conductors on the Centralia dis- 
 trict of the Illinois Central, having 
 entered the service of that road in 
 1884 as brakeman on the local from Centralia to 
 Cairo, with Conductor Charles Protz. He was 
 for five years in the freight and passenger service 
 of the company as brakeman and baggageman, 
 and in 1889 received promotion to conductor. 
 He has had his present run since 1893. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is a native of 
 Richview, 111., having been born there March 22, 
 1865, to the union of A. C. and Eliza (Maxey) 
 Hooper, natives of Tennessee and Illinois re- 
 spectively. The father is deceased, but the 
 mother is still living. Mr. Hooper was married 
 September 29, 1891, to Miss Gertrude Stebbins, 
 a daughter of Rev. George and Sarah ( But- 
 trick) Stebbins. Mr. and Mrs. Hooper have 
 one son living, Allen Lorrene, who is attending 
 school. Socially our subject is a member of 
 Division No. 112, O. R. C., of Centralia. He 
 is an energetic and progressive citizen of Cen- 
 tralia, and owns a substantial home on Hamin 
 Boulevard.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 287 
 
 V. HOPKINS, conductor on the 
 Illinois Central Railroad, Amboy 
 Q division, is a native of Illinois, 
 and was born in Morris, July 8, 
 1877. His parents, Michael and Ellen (Burke) 
 Hopkins, are living in LaSalle, 111. One son, 
 James, is a train man in the service of the I. C. 
 R. R., at LaSalle. W. V. Hopkins was educated 
 in St. Patrick's school of LaSalle. He began 
 working as a brick-maker and learned the busi- 
 ness in all its branches, and remained at the 
 business five years. In October 1897, he en- 
 tered the service of the I. C. R. R. as a freight 
 brakeman on the Amboy division, and remained 
 in that position until August 12, 1899, when he 
 was promoted to the position of conductor, 
 which he now occupies. Mr. Hopkins is a 
 Catholic. He is a Democrat in politics, and is 
 connected socially with the B. of R. T. He is a 
 young man of energy, and bids fair to rise in 
 his chosen calling. 
 
 I HARLES REED, conductor on the Illi- 
 nois Central railroad, Amboy division, 
 was born October 17, 1876, at Amboy, 
 111. Fred Reed, his father, was for- 
 merly a conductor on the I. C. R. R., and now re- 
 sides in Chicago. His mother, Annie (Ash) 
 Reed, is also living. One son, George, is a sten- 
 ographer in the office of Mr. Keepers, general 
 freight agent at Chicago. 
 
 Our subject, Charles Reed, was educated 
 in the public schools of his native town, and at 
 the age of sixteen he began driving an oil wagon 
 at Amboy, and remained in that position three 
 years. In 1895 he entered the service of the I. 
 C. R. R. as a brakeman, and was promoted 
 October i, 1898, to the position of conductor, 
 and is now running in the freight service. On 
 the 28th day of March, 1898, Mr. Reed was 
 united in marriage with Miss Flora Jeffrey, of 
 Freeport. She was born in Manhattan, Kan., 
 November 15, 1875, and her education was ac- 
 quired in the public schools of Galena, 111. By 
 
 this union Mrs. Reed is the mother of one child, 
 Frank G., born February 28, 1899. The fami- 
 ly attends the Second Presbyterian church of 
 Freeport. Mr. Reed is a member of the B. of 
 R. T. His political views are democratic. 
 
 EORGE GRANGER ranks as one of 
 the oldest men in the service of the 
 Illinois Central, having begun work 
 on the road as a fireman on the 
 Champaign division in September 1858. He was 
 promoted to engineer in 1861 and for many years 
 served in the freight service, entering the reg- 
 ular passenger service in 1884, in charge of en- 
 gine No. 965, and is still identified with that 
 branch of the service. 
 
 Mr. Granger was born in Williamson, 
 Wayne county, New York, November 5, 1837, 
 and is a son of George and Mary Granger, na- 
 tives of England, who removed to Michigan 
 froni New York state when our subject was 
 very young. He attended the schools of his lo- 
 cality until sixteen years of age, and remained 
 on the farm until he was twenty-one, assisting 
 his mother, his father having died when he was 
 but seven years old. He left home coming di- 
 rect to Champaign, where he arrived June 20, 
 1858, and engaged with the Illinois Central the 
 following September. 
 
 On May 26, 1870, Mr. Granger was united 
 in marriage to Mrs. Sarah C. (Ball) Rowe, who 
 was born July 29, 1844, in Ithaca, New York, 
 and is a daughter of Charles E. and Harriet H. 
 Ball. To our subject and wife were born two 
 sons : Guy D. and George E. Socially he is 
 a member of Centralia Lodge No. 24, B. of L. 
 E., having been initiated before the lodge was 
 divided into sections. In politics he is a stal- 
 wart Republican. Mrs. Granger is a member of 
 the Congregational church. Industrious and 
 careful, Mr. Granger is counted as one of the 
 substantial citizens of Champaign, and owns a 
 fine residence in that citv.
 
 288 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 JAMES H. PURSLEY, engineer on the 
 Clinton division, is a native of the Prai- 
 rie State, his birth occurring at Sublette, 
 in Lee county, December 19, 1858. He 
 was early thrown upon his own resources and at 
 the age of twelve went to the country to 
 work on a farm. Here he remained three years, 
 attending school when he could, employing his 
 evenings studying, by which he secured as good 
 an education as boys that had better advantages 
 in school. At the age of fifteen he was appren- 
 ticed to Mr. Edward Lewis to learn the wagon- 
 maker's trade, but finding the dust and confine- 
 ment detrimental to his health, he was forced to 
 discontinue and seek employment again in the 
 country. In 1880 he secured a position as brake- 
 man on the Illinois Central, and eighteen months 
 later was given a place on an engine firing, under 
 the jurisdiction of J. B. Edams, then master 
 mechanic. When duly qualified he was exam- 
 ined and transferred to the right side of an en- 
 gine, and has been continually engaged in that 
 capacity ever since, having made a good record 
 for efficiency and carefulness that holds him 
 well in the estimation of the officials of the 
 road. 
 
 Mr. Pursley is a son of John and Sophia 
 (Frink) Pursley, natives of Binghampton, 
 Mass., who emigrated to Illinois when it was a 
 comparatively new country. Of their four sons 
 and two daughters, all living in Kansas, except 
 our subject, and are engaged in farming, whither 
 the mother went to make her home after the 
 death of her husband. She is now deceased. 
 
 Our subject was married in Amboy, July 
 4, 1879, to Miss Alice Petticrew, daughter of 
 David and Margaret (Roof) Petticrew, natives 
 of Indiana and Ohio, respectively. The father 
 is deceased, but the mother is still living. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Pursley are the parents of two daugh- 
 ters, Carrie and Ethel, graduates of the Amboy 
 public schools.' 
 
 Mr. Pursley's residence was at Amboy until 
 the redistricting of the road in 1888, when he 
 moved with his family to Clinton, his present 
 home. He was a member of the Amboy Lodge 
 No. 35, B. of L. F., and on his promotion be- 
 
 came a member of Amboy Division No. 72, B. of 
 L. E. Mr. Pursley is a man who has made his 
 own way since boyhood, and what he is and what 
 he has are the result of his own efforts. 
 
 B. WILLARD is an engineer in the 
 passenger service, Centralia district, 
 L Q of the St. Louis division, of the Illi- 
 nois Central. Beginning as a fire- 
 man on the Central District in 1876 he was pro- 
 moted, in 1880, to engineer in the freight service. 
 During his term as fireman he worked on the 
 main line, from Centralia to Clinton for two 
 years. After serving in the passenger service 
 as extra engineer during 1891 and 1892, he was 
 given charge of a regular passenger engine in 
 
 1893. 
 
 Our subject is a native of Indiana, but came 
 to the city of Salem, 111., at an early age. On 
 April 4, 1879, he was united in marriage to Miss 
 M. Louise Allen, at Centralia, 111. and to them 
 have been born five children, viz : Frederick W., 
 James M., Richard A., Brooks and Charles T. 
 He is a member of B. of L. E., No. 24 of Cen- 
 tralia, 111., also prominent in A. F. & A. M. cir- 
 cles. Mr. Willard has a most estimable family 
 and a commodious home in that city. 
 
 EORGE E. WAUGH, conductor on 
 the Freeport division of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, entered the service 
 of the road on the Amboy division as 
 freight brakeman, January 29, 1880, making his 
 first run with D. Zeek as conductor. He was 
 changed to passenger brakeman and baggage- 
 master, and in 1886 was promoted to conductor 
 on the Amboy division. In 1889 he was trans- 
 ferred to Freeport division and located in Chi- 
 cago, where he handled trains for the races at 
 Washington Park and Hawthorne for four 
 years, and also had charge of the Hawthorne
 
 GEORGE M. BECKER.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 291 
 
 freight yards. In 1894 he came to Freeport as 
 conductor on the Freeport division, and in 1896 
 took his present run on No. 93 and No. 94, local, 
 to Dubuque. 
 
 Mr. Waugh was born in Washington, 
 Tazewell county, 111., in 1859, and. is the son of 
 J. C. and Susan (Zaners) Waugh, of Wichita, 
 Kansas. In 1892 he married Emma Morris, by 
 whom he has two children, Bernice and Buda. 
 Mr. Waugh is Chief Conductor of the O. of R. 
 C., No. 235, of Freeport, and is a member of 
 Rinaldo Lodge No. 98, K. of P., of Freeport. 
 
 railroad men. They are George, our subject; 
 Henry, section foreman on the I. C. near Kenner, 
 La., Joseph, supervisor of tracks on the Wilson 
 district, of the I. C., and William A., supervisor 
 of tracks for the I. C. between Memphis and 
 Dyersburg, Tenn. 
 
 George M. Becker, our subject, married 
 Miss Catherine Schneckerberger, and three chil- 
 dren have been born to them, viz: William A., 
 Walter, and Lena. He resides in Vicksburg, 
 Miss., and is a valued citizen. Having risen 
 from the ranks to his present responsible position, 
 indicates him as an employe of sterling worth 
 and an efficient railroad man. 
 
 EORGE M. BECKER, roadmaster of 
 the fifteenth division of the Illinois 
 Central, entered the service of the 
 company as a laborer on the section 
 at Kenner, Louisiana, at the age of seven- 
 teen. From a laborer he was promoted to sec- 
 tion foreman, after four years work in the former 
 capacity. As a section foreman he was employed 
 six years on the road, and resigned to accept a 
 similar position with the Louisville, New Orleans' 
 & Texas R. R. He was with the latter road 
 when it was absorbed by the Illinois Central, 
 and was then appointed supervisor of tracks 
 on the Wilson district, which position he held 
 two years. He was then transferred to Baton 
 Rouge, La., as supervisor of tracks on the New 
 Orleans district, remaining on that district four 
 years. In June 1897, he was sent to Jackson, 
 Miss., as supervisor of tracks and trains of the 
 Natchez district, and in August 1900 was pro- 
 moted to his present position. Mr. Becker is 
 a native of Kenner, Louisiana, where he was 
 born on July 29th, 1857, and is the son of 
 George and Francis (Armbrtister) Becker, both 
 natives of Germany, who emigrated to America 
 and settled in the South. Mr. Becker Sr. is one 
 of the oldest living employes of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, having been connected with the road for 
 over thirty-five years as section foreman, and is 
 now living retired at Kenner. In the parental 
 family there were four sons, all of whom became 
 
 17 
 
 JOHN J. SHAUGHNESSY, who is an 
 engineer on the Illinois Central, was 
 born in Amboy, Illinois, April 27, 1869. 
 His father, P. H. Shaughnessy, is a na- 
 tive of Limerick, Ireland, and came to this 
 country when a boy, locating in Montreal, Can- 
 ada, where he engaged in farming in that vicin- 
 ity for a few years, then came to the United 
 States at the age of twenty-five and located in 
 Freeport, where he engaged in teaming for a 
 number of years. He was employed by the I. C. 
 R. R. for about thirty-five years as foreman in 
 coal shed, watchman, etc. He now resides in 
 Amboy, 111. His wife, Nora (Matthews) 
 Shaughnessy, also a native of Limerick, came to 
 Freeport when young. She is the mother of 
 seven children : Mary is married to John Flan- 
 agan, and resides on a farm six miles south of 
 Dixon, 111., and has three children ; Anna, wife of 
 Thomas Monahan, died in 1897, leaving two 
 children ; John J., subject ; William, a railroad 
 conductor; Elizabeth died at the age of twenty- 
 two; Daniel is a boiler maker in the I. C. shops 
 in Chicago; and Frank in school. 
 
 John J. Shaughnessy was educated in the 
 public schools of Amboy. In 1887 he entered 
 the freight office of the Illinois Central at Amboy 
 as a clerk, where he remained four years, then 
 began firing on a freight engine on the Amboy
 
 292 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 division. After four years in this position he 
 was promoted to the position of engineer in 
 August 1895, and now runs from Freeport to 
 Clinton, 111. He has never lost time on account 
 of sickness or accident. Mr. Shaughnessy is 
 a member of the Catholic church. In politics he 
 is a Democrat. Socially he is connected with 
 the B. of L. E. 
 
 ]. McDONALD, conductor, Amboy 
 division, Illinois Central Railroad, 
 was born in Johnstown, Pa., April 
 4, 1873. His father, John J., a sailor, 
 and his mother, Margaret (Balentine), both died 
 when our subject was quite young. He received 
 his education in the parochial school of the Catho- 
 lic church in LaSalle, 111., and began working in 
 the glass works at Ottawa, when a boy, remain- 
 ing there about eighteen months. He then 
 worked for Zimmerman Brothers at the Opera 
 House in LaSalle for three years, then spent 
 about two years in the parochial house at LaSalle, 
 after which he entered the service of the I. C. 
 R. R. at Freeport in 1895, as a brakeman, and 
 remained in that position until August 3, 1898, 
 when he was promoted to his present position of 
 conductor. Mr. McDonald is a member of the 
 Catholic church. Socially he belongs to the B. 
 of R. T. and the O. of R. C. He is independent 
 in his political views. 
 
 JAMES H. LEWIS is the well-known con- 
 ductor on the "local" in the Centralia 
 district of the Illinois Central, with 
 which road he became identified in 1881 as 
 brakeman, being promoted to conductor in the 
 freight service in 1888. He was appointed to 
 his present run in 1897, previous to which he 
 was on the fast "Manifest" freight for three 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Lewis is a native of Allentown, Penn., 
 where he was born February 7, 1861, but came 
 
 west to St. Clair county, Illinois, at the age of 
 seven years, and since 1875 has been a resident 
 of Centralia. The parents of our subject were 
 Thomas F. and Eliza J. (Deiter) Lewis, natives 
 of Pennsylvania, the former of whom is de- 
 ceased, while the latter is now making her home 
 in Irvington, 111. On October 13, 1883, James 
 H. Lewis was united in marriage with Miss 
 Belle R. Fouts, who is a daughter of David and 
 Elizabeth (Gudgel) Fouts, of Indiana. To our 
 subject and wife have been born four children, 
 three daughters and one son, viz : Prue C., 
 Mollie F., Hazel, and Benjamin Harrison. The 
 family resides in a commodious home on the 
 Boulevard. Socially Mr. Lewis is connected 
 with " E. T. J." Lodge No. 412, B. of R. T., of 
 Centralia. 
 
 DSAAC GOODWIN, conductor on the Am- 
 boy division of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road, was born in LaSalle county, 111., 
 December 19, 1856. His father, Godfrey 
 Goodwin, is a farmer living at Tonica, LaSalle 
 county, 111. His mother, prior to her marriage, 
 was Miss Julia A. Acker. Isaac Goodwin at- 
 tended school at Tonica and worked on his 
 father's farm until sixteen years of age. At that 
 age he entered the service of the Chicago & 
 Paducah Railroad as a brakeman, and remained 
 in the service of the company two years. He 
 then entered the shops of the Piano Manufactur- 
 ing Co., at Piano, 111., where he remained two 
 and one-half years, after which he returned to 
 railroading and was brakeman on the C. B. 
 & Q. about two years. After three years of farm 
 life, Mr. Goodwin entered the service of the I. 
 C. R. R. as a brakeman, holding the position 
 until 1896, when he was appointed conductor 
 and remains in that capacity to the present time. 
 On November 20, 1895, Mr. Goodwin was 
 united in marriage with Miss Mary Allen, of 
 Freeport. She was born March 31, 1873, at 
 Amboy, where she graduated from the high 
 school in 1889. She taught school in Lee 
 county for five years. Of this union three chil-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 293 
 
 dren have been born : Mar}-, born September 
 23, 1896; Allen, born October 15, 1897; God- 
 frey, born February 20, 1899. Mr. Goodwin 
 is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the 
 B. of R. T. 
 
 USTIN HALL, engineer on Amboy divi- 
 sion, Illinois Central Railroad, entered 
 the service of the Illinois Central rail- 
 road as a fireman on the Springfield 
 division, in 1884, was promoted to engineer in 
 1892 and commenced running on the extra list 
 in the Clinton district. He is now in the freight 
 service on the Amboy division, Clinton district, 
 and stands first in line of promotion to passen- 
 ger engineer. Mr. Hall has been remarkably 
 successful in his career as engineer, owing to 
 the careful handling of his lever and strict at- 
 tention to orders. 
 
 Mr. Hall was born in DeWitt county, Illi- 
 nois, June 19, 1858, and was married October 2, 
 1876, to Miss Lyda Langford, to whom have been 
 born two sons and one daughter, Lawrence H., 
 Albert and Ollie. Mr. Hall is a member of the 
 B. of L. E., Clinton Division No. 315. 
 
 ICHAEL CURRAN, conductor on the 
 Amboy division, Illinois Central Rail- 
 road, was born in LaSalle, Illinois. 
 April 22, 1870 and is the son of 
 David and Ellen (Carroll) Curran, both living 
 in LaSalle. His father has been an employe of 
 the I. C. R. R. for many years, and his four sons 
 are all railroad employes. 
 
 Michael Curran received his education in 
 the public schools of LaSalle. At the age of 
 seventeen he began his active career as a mail 
 carrier to business firms, also acting as messen- 
 ger, which occupation he followed for three 
 years. May 27, 1890 he entered the service of 
 the I. C. R. R.-as a freight brakeman on the Am- 
 boy division where he remained until November 
 
 Marion. 
 
 19, 1890. On the 1 8th of December of that same 
 year he began switching in the LaSalle yards, 
 but after a short time returned to braking on 
 the Amboy division. October 15, 1895 he was 
 promoted to freight conductor where he served 
 for two years, was yardmaster at LaSalle for 
 three months, then returned to the position of 
 freight conductor which he still retains. Mr. 
 Curran is a member of the Catholic church. So- 
 cially he is connected with the O. of R. C. In 
 his political views he is a Democrat, 
 
 ****** 
 
 T. GHENT, engineer at Carbondale, 
 111., began his railroad career on the 
 Shawneetown & Carbondale Railroad 
 as a fireman between Carbondale and 
 In 1880, he crossed the cab and for 
 two years had charge of the levers. In 1885, he 
 began working for the Illinois Central company 
 at Carbondale, and for two years was a fireman 
 on a freight engine between Centralia and 
 Mounds, and then served on a passenger engine 
 on the same division two months. His first en- 
 gine was No. 234, with " Bill " Platt, engineer, 
 and the next was No. 188, on which he served 
 under " Hank " McMullen. In the fall of 1887, 
 Mr. Ghent was promoted to a seat on the right 
 side of the engine, and since that date has at 
 different times been employed on nearly all of 
 the Illinois Central lines in the southern part of 
 Illinois. He began as an engineer on a switch 
 engine in the Centralia yards and then for a 
 time had charge of an engine between Centralia 
 and Cairo. At different times he has been sta- 
 tioned at Pinckneyville and ran both ways out 
 of that city, but since February 1898, he has been 
 stationed at Carbondale and held a position at 
 the head of a train between that city and Brook- 
 lyn. 
 
 Mr. Ghent was born in Chatham count}-, 
 Tenn., not far from the city of Nashville. He 
 was married December 4, 1887, at Cairo, 111., 
 to Mrs. Lou L. Mahaffey, nee Owen, of Carbon- 
 dale, 111., and they have become the parents of
 
 294 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 two children, Harry and Bulah. By her first 
 marriage Mrs. Ghent has one daughter, Edyth 
 Mahaffey. Mr. Ghent is one of those fortunate 
 ones who always seem to escape unharmed from 
 whatever calamity may overtake them. He 
 has experienced three head end collisions', two in 
 1886 and one on June 5, 1891, but has never 
 been injured while at work on the railroad. So- 
 cially Mr. Ghent affiliates with Division No. 5 12 
 B. of L. E. of East St. Louis. Mrs. Ghent is a 
 member of the Eastern Star Lodge at Pinckney- 
 ville, 111. 
 
 duty. He is a member of the Order of Foresters, 
 and is democratic in his political views. Mr. 
 Clancy was married to Miss E. I. Sadler, step- 
 daughter of Wm. Rieger, Nov. 21, 1899. 
 
 ANIEL F. CLANCY, brakeman on the 
 Amboy division of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, was born in Lena, 111., Janu- 
 ary 17, 1878. He is the son of Martin 
 and Catherine (Sweeney) Clancy, who now make 
 their home in Freeport. The father is a former 
 employe of the I. C. R. R. They have reared a 
 family of nine children all of whom are living. 
 Hannah, married Daniel Marker and resides in 
 Freeport; James, a painter by occupation, lives 
 in Pearl City ; John, a butcher, resides in Free- 
 port; Thomas is a physician residing in Nora, 
 111., Mary, wife of Daniel McNeil, resides in 
 Belvidere, 111., Martin resides in Freeport and is 
 blacksmith ; William makes his home in Freeport 
 and is a fireman on the I. C. R. R. ; Daniel F., 
 subject of this sketch ; Nora resides in Evans- 
 ville, Ind., the wife of Louis Schlauch. 
 
 Daniel F. Clancy was educated in St. Mary's 
 parochial school at Freeport. In 1893 he ac- 
 cepted a position as call boy for the I. C. R. R. at 
 Freeport where he remained two years, was then 
 employed in numbering cars in the Freeport yard 
 six months, after which he became switch tender 
 for about five months, and was switchman six 
 months, being then promoted to assistant yard- 
 master. In February 1899 he began braking on 
 freight trains on the Amboy division in which 
 position he still remains. 
 
 Mr. Clancy was born and reared in the 
 Catholic faith in which he is now a communicant, 
 and which has instilled in him a strong sense of 
 
 rlLLIAM L. MAINE, engineer on the 
 Illinois Central Railroad, is a native 
 of the Empire State, and was born in 
 Broome county, November 22, 1839. 
 He is the son of Perry J. and Olive (Miller) 
 Maine. The former, a miller by trade, died 
 January 4, 1900, at Amboy at the advanced age 
 of eighty-five years and two months ; the latter 
 died in 1896, aged seventy-four years. 
 
 When our subject was six years of age the 
 family moved to Connecticut, and later when he 
 was fourteen came west, locating at Amboy, 111. 
 Here he completed his education, commenced in 
 the district schools of Connecticut. At the age 
 of eighteen, he arranged with his father to be 
 allowed his time, and went into the coal and de- 
 livery business in Amboy, which he followed for 
 two years. About this time he became interested 
 in the mining business in the Great West, and 
 in 1859 started for Pike's Peak, but went as far 
 as Kansas and then returned to Amboy, bought 
 back his old business and continued in it for three 
 years. In 1863 he entered the service of the I. 
 C. R. R. as a fireman on the Amboy division. 
 At the end of ten months he was given an engine 
 in the Amboy yards, where he remained twenty 
 months and was then given a regular run as an 
 engineer on the Amboy division, January i, 1866. 
 From this time until 1871, he ran a freight en- 
 gine and was then given a passenger run. Dur- 
 ing his long service of thirty-six years Mr. Maine 
 has never caused an injury to a passenger or em- 
 ploye, a record few can parallel. 
 
 Mr. Maine was united in marriage, June 12, 
 1860, to Miss Harriet A. Santee a native of the 
 state of Pennsylvania. At the time of their mar- 
 riage Mrs. Maine resided in Missouri, and Mr. 
 Maine drove 450 miles in going after and return- 
 ing home with his wife. Mrs. Maine was born
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 295 
 
 March 3, 1843. By her union with Mr. Maine, 
 she is the mother of four living children : Corne- 
 lius W. is a farmer living near Amboy; May 
 Belle is the wife of Gilbert Finch and resides in 
 Amboy ; Anna E. married W. S. Jenkins and re- 
 sides in Clebtirne, Texas; Florence V. is still 
 at home with her parents. Mr. Maine, with his 
 family, attends the Adventist church. He is a 
 member of the Masonic fraternity, and also of 
 the B. of L. E. Mr. Maine is prominent in rail- 
 road circles, having been President of the Free- 
 port R. R. Sound Money League in 1896, and 
 is also President of the R. R. Employes and Tele- 
 graph Operator's League. While in Amboy he 
 was alderman for eleven years. Mr. Maine is 
 a man of remarkable health and vigorous con- 
 stitution, having required the doctor's services 
 but once during his entire life. He is a Repub- 
 lican in politics. 
 
 W. EAGLESON, engineer at Car- 
 bondale, 111., began his railroad 
 Q career at the age of sixteen years, 
 at East St. Louis, where he 
 served as an apprentice for a year and a half in 
 the shops of the Cairo Short Line, beginning in 
 1879. He then went to Springfield, Ohio, to 
 the shops of the Ohio Southern Railroad, fin- 
 ished his trade in 1882, and then secured a posi- 
 tion as fireman on the Ohio Southern Railroad 
 in the passenger and freight service between 
 Springfield and Jackson. In the spring of 1884 
 he was given a seat on the right side of the en- 
 gine, and his first run in the capacity of engineer 
 was between Bainbridge and Springfield, and in 
 October 1888, he began work for the Northern 
 Pacific Railroad between Mandan, N. Dak., and 
 Glendive, Montana, and retained that position 
 until the spring of 1894. Mr. Eagleson's next 
 position was with the Bluff line at St. Louis, 
 Mo., and the next between St. Elmo and Marion, 
 111., of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois. At the 
 last named place he was one of the oldest em- 
 ployes on the line, helped build the road, and 
 
 stood at the head of one of its passenger trains 
 for two years. Severing his connection with that 
 company in 1897, Mr. Eagleson entered the em- 
 ploy of the C. & T. Railroad, now a part of the 
 Illinois Central system, and located at Murphys- 
 boro, 111., and in July of the following year, 
 moved to Carbondale to accept his present po- 
 sition. His run is on the Johnson City branch, 
 is eighteen miles in length, and his engine 
 draws the local freight and coal train. 
 
 Mr. Eagleson was born in Chillicothe, O. 
 He was married at Washington Court House, 
 of that state, to Miss Nettie Howland, a native 
 of the same place, and two children, Ruth and 
 Helen, have been born to them. Socially our 
 subject affiliates with Division No. 512, B. of 
 L. E., East St. Louis ; the Masonic fraternity, 
 Dickinson Lodge No. 32, of Dickinson, N. Dak., 
 and also Columbian Chapter No. n, R. A. M. 
 Mr. Eagleson is a man of marked ability, and in 
 whatever line of work or business enterprise he 
 has ventured, he has met with success. His 
 railroad career has been free from serious ac- 
 cidents, and from his earnings has built for him- 
 self and his family a very comfortable home in 
 Carbondale. 
 
 ' AMES DARDIS is an engineer in the 
 freight service in the Centralia district, 
 St. Louis division, of the Illinois Central. 
 He entered the service of the I. C. as 
 fireman on the St. Louis division in 1891, serving 
 first as fireman on a switch engine at DuQuoin, 
 111., and later in the same capacity from Centra- 
 lia to Mounds. Strict attention to duty was re- 
 warded January 25, 1896, by his promotion to 
 engineer. 
 
 Mr. Dardis was born in Troy, New York, 
 . and his first experience in railroading was ac- 
 quired on the Fitchburg Railroad. Leaving the 
 employ of the latter company in 1891, he came 
 west and at once entered the service of the I. 
 C. where he is considered a careful and pains- 
 taking employe. He is connected with B. of 
 L. E. No. 24, of Centralia, in which city he re-
 
 296 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 sides with his estimable family. His wife, prior 
 to her marriage, was Miss Minnie Burns. They 
 have three daughters, Pauline L., Zera M. and 
 Freda M. 
 
 JB. ANDRUSS, conductor on the Am- 
 boy division, Illinois Central Railroad, 
 Q has been in the service for a number 
 of years. His grand-parents emi- 
 grated to Illinois from Massachusetts at an 
 early day. Jay L. Andruss, his father, was a 
 farmer through life, and died in 1864. His 
 mother, Ellen (Adams) Andruss, is also de- 
 ceased. The family consisted of four children : 
 Lee, a salesman living in Wheaton, 111. ; William, 
 who will be mentioned more at length elsewhere 
 in this sketch ; Robert, station agent at Plain- 
 field for the E. J. & E. ; and our subject. 
 
 J. B. Andruss was born in Amboy, 111., 
 August 16, 1863. His education was acquired 
 in the public schools of Binghamton. When 
 quite young he worked on a farm for about two 
 years, then drove a delivery wagon at Amboy 
 for another year. November 25, 1882, he en- 
 tered the service of the I. C. R. R. as freight 
 brakeman, running between Amboy and Du- 
 buque, in which position he remained for eigh- 
 teen months. At this time he received an injury 
 to his hand and was made passenger brakeman, 
 also serving at times as baggage master. In 
 December 1885, he was promoted to freight con- 
 ductor, which position he retained until 1887, 
 when he severed his connection with the I. C. 
 R. R., and entered the service of the C. & N. W. 
 R. R. at Belle Plaine, Iowa, as freight brake- 
 man and switchman, remaining there about three 
 months when he was re-instated in the I. C. R. 
 R. and promoted to extra passenger conductor 
 in 1896, and in 1899 was made passenger con-, 
 ductor, running on the Amboy division. On 
 the ist of January, 1884, he married Miss Alice 
 Binnes, of Amboy. She died in November 1894. 
 October 8, 1896, he was married to Miss Carrie 
 Benham, of Elgin. Mrs. Andruss was born 
 September 7, 1867. She was educated in the 
 
 public schools of Elgin, also taking a course in 
 bookkeeping, and was bookkeeper in the service 
 of a large publishing company for many years. 
 Mr. Andruss is the father of one child, Maud 
 E., born April 13, 1885, who is attending the 
 public schools of Freeport. Mr. Andruss, with 
 his estimable wife, is a member of the First 
 Presbyterian church. He is a member of the 
 O. R. C. and likewise belongs to the Masonic 
 fraternity. In his political views he is a Demo- 
 crat. 
 
 William Andruss, brother of our subject, 
 was born May 3, 1859. He was educated in 
 the public schools of Binghamton, 111. His 
 early life was spent on a farm, and at the age of 
 twenty-one he entered the service of the I. C. 
 R. R. as freight brakeman on the Amboy divi- 
 sion where he remained two years, and was then 
 sent to Waterloo, Iowa, in the same capacity. 
 He was promoted to conductor in 1883, and re- 
 mained in the service of the company until June 
 1898, when he entered the service of the C. 
 G. W. R. R. 
 
 In 1877 ne was united in marriage with 
 Miss C. Shew, of Amboy. by whom he has two 
 children, Jay and Charles. 
 
 T. CUNNINGHAM is one of the -old 
 and well-known engineers in the 
 L Q freight service on the St. Louis divi- 
 sion of the Illinois Central. He en- 
 tered the service of the. I. C. in 1869 as a fireman, 
 working on both the Centralia and Wapella dis- 
 tricts. In 1873 he was promoted to engineer, 
 serving three years. Deciding to embark in 
 business, he asked for and obtained a leave of 
 absence, and during his first five years in business 
 often ran as an " extra." In 1887 ne again be- 
 came an extra, and three years after disposed of 
 his business and resumed the occupation of a 
 regular engineer, thus proving that there is an 
 irresistable charm in railroad work. Mr. Cun- 
 ningham was born in Marion county, Illinois. 
 He is a member of B. of L. E. No. 24, and is
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 297 
 
 president of the Railroad branch of the Y. M. 
 C. A. at Centralia. Our subject became a mem- 
 ber of the Baptist church in 1876 and was super- 
 intendent of the sabbath school for nine years in 
 
 succession. 
 
 HARLES BURGESS is a well-known 
 conductor in the employ of the Illinois 
 Central. He began as brakeman on 
 July 1 6, 1884, and received his promo- 
 tion to conductor July 16, 1889. He is at pres- 
 ent in the freight service of the Illinois Central, 
 having charge of a preferred run from Cham- 
 paign to Centralia. 
 
 Our subject is a native of Mattoon, 111. He 
 is one of the substantial citizens of Champaign, 
 and owns a fine home on the corner of Neil and 
 Green streets in that city. Socially Mr. Burgess 
 is connected with Division No. 112, O. R. C., 
 of Centralia, Illinois. 
 
 telegraphy, and familiarized himself with rail- 
 road station work. After six months in the 
 apprenticeship he became ticket clerk for the I. 
 C. R. R. at Grand Crossing remaining there six 
 months, and was then made assistant ticket 
 agent at the Twenty-second Street station where 
 he remained four years. The next five years 
 were spent at Thirty-ninth Street as agent. In 
 1891 he was given his present position of ticket 
 agent at Freeport. September 14, 1887, Mr. 
 Rowley was united in marriage with Miss Susie 
 E. Wandell, of Battle Creek, Mich. She was 
 born January 21, 1864. By this union Mrs. 
 Rowley is the mother of two children, Leon E., 
 born August 24, 1888, and Irma May, born 
 December 27, 1892. The family are regular at- 
 tendants of the First Presbyterian church. Mr. 
 Rowley is a member of the Knights of Pythias 
 Subordinate and Endowment, and the M. W. A. 
 In his political views he is a Republican. 
 
 W. ROWLEY, ticket agent for the 
 Illinois Central Railroad at Freeport, 
 111., may truly be called a "railroad 
 man," having been born at the sta- 
 tion where his father resided at that time, 'midst 
 the rumble of wheels and the scream of whistles, 
 in the town of Loda, 111., November 14, 1864, 
 and his whole life has been spent in railroad 
 work. His father, O. F. Rowley, who was sta- 
 tion agent at Loda for twenty-five years, died in 
 1874; his wife, whose maiden name was Phoebe 
 L. Wood, is still living in Freeport. Of their 
 family of five children, two only are living: 
 Belle, wife of C. E. Harwood, whose home is 
 in Chicago, and our subject, second and fourth 
 in order of birth respectively. Those deceased 
 are Orlando ; Elipha, married to E. L. Valen- 
 tine, died in 1897; and Frank, who died in 1892. 
 H. W. Rowley was educated in the public 
 schools of Loda, and at the age of seventeen be- 
 gan work for the I. C. R. R. as a student of 
 
 AM HANSON, engineer at Carbondale, 
 111., began his railroad career as a 
 wiper and helper in the round house 
 at Pinckneyville, 111. September 21, 
 1891, he secured a position as fireman at that 
 place, running between there and East St. Louis 
 and also south to Paducah, firing for five years 
 under Engineer George Adams. His first reg- 
 ular engine was No. 19, and later he used Nos. 
 23 and 341. September 9, 1898, Mr. Hanson 
 was set up to engineer, working first in the 
 Brooklyn yards on a switch engine from* Septem- 
 ber 1 1 of that year until February of the follow- 
 ing year, and then went to Pinckneyville where 
 he had a run between that place and East St. 
 Louis, and also south to Brooklyn. April 9, 
 1899, he came to Carbondale and for a time ran 
 extra out of that city, but now has charge of 
 the night switch engine. 
 
 Mr. Hanson was born in Rockwood, 111. In 
 1862 he was married at Tamaroa, 111., to Miss 
 Nettie Vaughn, of that place, and they have be- 
 come the parents of a family of four children.
 
 298 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 whose names in the order of their birth are as 
 follows: Eva, Worth, Ruby and Sam. Social- 
 ly Mr. Hanson affiliates with Division No. 217, 
 B. of L. E., of Pinckneyville. He has never 
 received an injury since he has been on the road, 
 has made a marked success as an engineer, and 
 is very popular among his fellow workmen. 
 
 1833. 
 
 'ILLIAM L. BEALS, conductor on 
 the Illinois Central Railroad, Amboy 
 division, is a native of the state of 
 Maine, and was born at Leeds, July 
 He is the son of George and Elmira 
 J. (Luce) Beals. His father, who spent his 
 life in tilling the soil, was born March 27, 1804, 
 and died November 16, 1883. The mother was 
 born October 12, 1809, and died November 4, 
 1860. Our subject is the oldest and the last 
 survivor of the family of four children. Those 
 deceased are: Amos, born May 6, 1835, a fire- 
 man of the I. C. R. R., was killed by the explo- 
 sion of engine No. 51, at Pana, 111., November 
 4, 1864; Emily, born March 8, 1840, died July 
 27, 1842; Roscoe L., born July 5, 1847, died 
 February 16, 1852. 
 
 William L. Beals received his early educa- 
 tion in the schools of Leeds, where his boyhood 
 was spent in assisting his father on the farm. 
 In 1853, at the age of twenty, he entered the ser- 
 vice of the A. R. R. as a watchman, serving 
 six months. In 1854, May ist, he came west, 
 and at Bloomington, 111., entered the service of 
 the I. O. R. R. as a brakeman under George C. 
 Newton, conductor, remaining in that position 
 about two years, then served as baggageman for 
 seven years. At this time he left the railroad 
 and engaged in business in Warren, 111., for two 
 years, and was also American Express messen- 
 ger for several months. He then returned to 
 the I. C. R. R. and held the position of freight 
 conductor for twelve years, after which time he 
 was appointed passenger conductor on the Am- 
 boy division where he is serving at the present 
 time. In 1863, while in the service, he met with 
 
 a serious accident, and was taken up and carried 
 nine miles, supposed to be dead. On the 3ist 
 of March, 1862, he was married to Miss Elvira 
 M. Wheeler, also a native of Leeds. She is 
 the daughter of Abram Wheeler, a farmer, who 
 was born May 27, 1800, and died February 12, 
 1869. Her mother, who was Mahala Mitchell, 
 was born January 23, 1809, and died April 19, 
 1899. Mrs. Beals was born January 26, 1835. 
 Her union with Mr. Beals has been blest with 
 one son, Mirtal S., born July 4, 1871. He was 
 educated in the public schools of Freeport and 
 the business college at Dixon. For seven years 
 he has been stenographer in the office of traffic 
 manager of the I. C. R. R. in Chicago. Mr. 
 Beals is the last of the forty charter members 
 who organized the Conductors' Brotherhood, 
 Amboy Division No. i. In Masonic circles he 
 has taken the thirty-second degree, and is a mem- 
 ber of Blue Lodge No. 278, of Warren, and is 
 also a member of the O. R. C. of Freeport. In 
 politics he is a Republican. The family attend 
 the First Presbyterian church. 
 
 JAMES P. DOOLEY, passenger conductor 
 on the Amboy division, was born in Am- 
 boy, 111., February 26, 1868. His father, 
 James Dooley, formerly in the employ 
 of the Illinois Central at Amboy, is now living at 
 Dixon. The mother, Katherine (Cramer) 
 Dooley, is deceased. They were the parents of 
 four children, as follows: James P.; John H., 
 mail carrier in San Francisco, was formerly ser- 
 geant in the First Regiment, regular infantry, 
 and saw service in Cuba, taking part in the 
 battle of San Juan Hill. He served eight years 
 in the First and Seventeenth regiments, and took 
 part in the Indian trouble at Pine Ridge. The 
 two remaining members of the family are Nellie 
 and Katie, who are still under the parental roof. 
 James P. Dooley was educated in the public 
 schools of Amboy, and in that city learned the 
 tinning trade, where he worked at it for some 
 three and a half years. July 21, 1887, he entered
 
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 Q
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 301 
 
 the service of the I. C. R. R. as a freight brake- 
 man, running on the Amboy division until the 
 2ist of November, 1891, when he was promoted 
 to freight conductor. This he held until Aug- 
 ust 27, 1899, when he was made a regular pas- 
 senger conductor on the same division. Mr. 
 Dooley is a Catholic by faith, and a Democrat 
 in politics. He has for some years been a mem- 
 ber of the O. R. C. 
 
 'ILLIAM F. FLUCK is an engineer 
 on the Champaign district of the Illi- 
 nois Central, and comes of railroad 
 stock. His father, Martin Fluck, 
 was an engineer on the Chicago division for sev- 
 eral years at the time of the war, serving also as 
 night foreman at Champaign for a term of ten 
 years. He retired on account of ill-health in 
 1897, and died in 1898. Our subject entered 
 the service of the I. C. in 1879 as a fireman on 
 the Champaign division. He was promoted to 
 engineer in 1886, and worked in the freight ser- 
 vice until August 1899, when he was promoted 
 to the passenger service. During his term in 
 the freight service, he was for four years on the 
 local. Mr. Fluck was born at Champaign, 111., 
 October 2, 1860, and was a resident of Chicago 
 at the time of the big fire in 1871, but is again 
 a citizen of his native city. On April 28, 
 1886, Mr. Fluck was married to Miss Jennie 
 Miller, who was born February 8, 1865, in 
 Taylorsville, Indiana, and is the daughter of 
 Joseph B. and Mary J. (DeShay) Miller. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Fluck have been born two 
 daughters, Nina Mae, born March 17, 1889, 
 who is now attending school and studying music, 
 in both of which she is very proficient, and Jessie 
 Orilla, who died at the age of three years, one 
 month and nine days. Mr. Fluck has one 
 brother and five sisters living, viz : Martin J., 
 chief clerk in the master mechanic's office of the 
 Big Four, in Urbana; Augusta, stenographer in 
 the same office ; Amelia, who is the wife of Frank 
 H. Moore, an engineer on the Illinois Central ; 
 
 Emma, Dara and Rosa, at home. The mother 
 of this family departed this life May 27, 1899, 
 the father having preceded her to his final home 
 February 12, 1898. Mr. Fluck is a member of 
 Division No. 24, B. of L. E. 
 
 S. WEIGEL is a conductor in the 
 freight service in the Champaign 
 district of the Illinois Central. He 
 entered the service of the company 
 as a switchman in the Champaign yards in 1889, 
 and on May 28, 1891, was made brakeman on 
 the Champaign district. Strict attention to duty 
 soon won promotion, and on November 12, 1892, 
 he was made a conductor, at present having a 
 local run from Champaign to Centralia. Mr. 
 Weigel was born at Danville, 111., December 6, 
 1868, and there received his education, coming 
 to Champaign in 1888. June 10, 1891, he was 
 married to Miss Emma Lange, of Champaign. 
 They have one son, Harold.- Our subject is a 
 member of the O. R. C., of Centralia, and B. of 
 R. T., of Champaign. 
 
 ,ORNELIUS J. SULLIVAN, mechanic 
 in the Illinois Central shops at Free- 
 port, was born in Clinton, 111., May 
 27, 1874. His father, F. Sullivan, a 
 former employe of the I. C. R. R., died January 
 27, 1896. His mother, Catherine Sullivan, is 
 now living at Clinton. They have reared a fam- 
 ily of nine children, namely : John, a business 
 man in Chicago; Daniel, living in Memphis, 
 Tenn., is timber inspector for the I. C. R. R. Co. ; 
 Edward, a former employe of the I. C. R. R., 
 lives in Clinton ; Mortimer is engaged in busi- 
 ness in Chicago; Floy, living in Clinton, is a 
 boiler maker for the I. C. R. R. ; Mary, living in 
 Clinton ; Cornelius ; Margaret, a dressmaker in 
 Clinton ; Honora, also living in Clinton. Corne- 
 lius J. Sullivan attended the Clinton schools until
 
 302 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 the age of nineteen, when he entered the shops of 
 the I. C. R. R. at Clinton, where he served an 
 apprenticeship of three years. In 1894 he was 
 assigned to service in the Burnside shops in Chi- 
 cago, as a boiler maker, and remained there until 
 October 9, 1898. On the 9th of December, the 
 same year, he began work in the shops at Free- 
 port, where he still remains. In his religious 
 belief Mr. Sullivan is a Catholic, and politically 
 he is a Democrat. He is a young man of ster- 
 ling qualities, and is energetic to a marked de- 
 gree. 
 
 THOMAS A. KYLE, engineer on the Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad, Freeport divi- 
 sion, was born February i5th, 1849. 
 His father, John Kyle, was a ship- 
 builder and sailor, and navigated between Eng- 
 land and the United States. He died at an 
 early age. His wife, Georgina (Boland) Kyle, 
 is still living in England. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the schools of 
 England. He began life as a sailor, sailing be- 
 tween Liverpool and the United States, also mak- 
 ing trips to the West Indies and South America. 
 At the age of seventeen he emigrated to the 
 United States, remained in New York City for 
 about a year, then came west and located in 
 Whitesicle county, 111., where he worked on a 
 farm for three years. At this time he went to 
 Aurora and entered the service of the C. B. & 
 Q. R. R. as fireman, and at the end of three years 
 and six months, in 1873, was promoted to en- 
 gineer, in which capacity he remained until Feb- 
 ruary, 1888. He then left the employ of the 
 C. B. & Q. R. R. and in September of that year 
 entered the service of the I. C. R. R., and came to 
 Freeport and worked until January 1889, when 
 he abandoned railroading for a year, during 
 which time he was engaged in the dray and ex- 
 press business in Aurora. Then entering the 
 service of the B. & O. R. R. as engineer, he re- 
 mained with them one year and seven months, 
 then took leave of absence and came back to his 
 old position with the I, C- R. R., which he still 
 
 retains. Mr. Kyle was married on the 22nd of 
 December, 1870, to Miss Mary B. Elliott, of 
 Kewanee, 111. Mrs. Kyle was born March 7, 
 1853. As a result of this union they have four 
 children: Walter E., born March 8, 1871, is an 
 engineer in the service of the I. C. R. R., and re- 
 sides with his parents ; Ralph H., born Sept. 8, 
 1874, is a fireman on a passenger train on the I. 
 C. R. R. ; Grace, born November 30, 1879, was 
 educated in the schools of Aurora, and is 
 a graduate of the Harlowe Business College of 
 Freeport; Gertrude, born October 9, 1882, at- 
 tended the public schools of Aurora. Mr. Kyle 
 is liberal in his religious views. Socially he is 
 a Royal Arch Mason, and belongs to the B. of 
 L. E., and O. of E. S. He is a Republican in 
 politics. 
 
 xOBERT PETRIE, engineer, Illinois 
 Central Railroad, Freeport division, is 
 __ _ a native of Herkimer, N. Y., where he 
 was born January 15, 1853. His 
 father, Julius E. Petrie, who was an employe of 
 the C. B. & Q. R. R., died July 4, 1872. His 
 mother, formerly Mary Keating, died in 1877. 
 Our subject was the oldest of four children, 
 having one brother and two sisters, as follows : 
 Edwin, an employe of the Santa Fe R. R. in 
 Arizona; Nettie, married to Mr. Blanchard, re- 
 sides in Aurora, 111. ; Annie, wife of Mr. M. 
 O'Mailia, lives in Knightstowri, Ind. 
 
 Robert Petrie attended school in Aurora, 
 to which place the family emigrated in 1857. 
 At the age of fifteen he began working in a 
 brickyard, but after a short time, August 12, 
 1868, entered the service of the C. B. & Q. R. R. 
 as an engine wiper at Aurora, and served in 
 that position until September i, 1870, when he 
 began firing on an engine. January n, 1877, 
 he was promoted to the position of engineer and 
 remained with the said company until .the 28th 
 day of February, 1888. August 23, 1888, he 
 entered the service of the I. C. R. R. at Freeport, 
 and was assigned a freight run from Freeport 
 to Chicago, and afterwards was given a run be-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 303 
 
 tween Chicago and Dubuque. On July i, 1899, 
 he was assigned to a passenger run between 
 Freeport and Dodgeville, Wis., which position 
 he still retains. 
 
 On the 22nd day of July, 1879, Mr. Petrie 
 was married to Miss Sarah A. Cunningham, of 
 Aurora, 111., who was born Nov. 17, 1857. By 
 her union with Mr. Petrie she is the mother of 
 nine children: Katherine A., born May 8, 1880; 
 is a milliner and resides with her parents ; Joseph 
 R., born Dec. 8, 1881, is employed in the I. C. 
 R. R. shops at Freeport; Lillian N., born Dec. 
 26, 1883, and Robert E., born March 6, 1885, 
 are both attending the Freeport schools ; Annie 
 N. E., born Nov. 26, 1887; Harry, born Aug. 23, 
 1889; Eddie, born Dec. 4, 1891; John, born 
 March 31, 1895; Lois, deceased, born March 8, 
 1899. Mr. Petrie is socially connected with the 
 B. of L. E. and the A. O. tJ. W. In politics he 
 affiliates with the Republican party. 
 
 G. SPENCE, is an engineer in the 
 freight service of the St. Louis 
 Q division of the Illinois Central. 
 He entered the service of the com- 
 pany on January 18, 1887, as fireman on the old 
 switch engine "One Spot," with Bob Jennings as 
 engineer. His first trip as fireman was on en- 
 gine No. 232, F. P. Morse, engineer, after which 
 he was given a permanent position as fireman on 
 No. 235, with W. G. Welden, now traveling en- 
 gineer of the St. Louis division of the I. C. He 
 was promoted to engineer in October 1889, tak- 
 ing charge of No. 235, the same engine on which 
 he had done most of his firing. 
 
 Mr. Spence, who is a native of Indiana 
 county, Penn., was married to Miss Mildred 
 Bicknell, April 23, 1890. She is a daughter of 
 Samuel G. and Fanny Bicknell. The father was 
 an engineer for about thirty-eight years, most of 
 the time on the I. C., and is now retired. Mr. 
 Spence owns a comfortable home on South Elm 
 street, in Centralia. Socially he is connected 
 with B. of L. E. No. 24, of that city. 
 
 EORGE W. FARNUM, conductor on 
 Freeport division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, residing at Madison, Wis., was 
 born in Pottsville, Pa., July 31, 1856. 
 His parents removed to Freeport while he was 
 young and his education was received in the pub- 
 lic schools of that city. During school days he 
 worked in summer in a brickyard and attended 
 school in winter. He worked in a machine shop 
 at Freeport for two years, then worked a few 
 months for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
 on the section. December 6, 1874, he entered 
 the service of the I. C. R. R. as assistant in freight 
 office where he remained until July 4, 1875, when 
 he began working in the yards as switchman, 
 remaining in that position until 1886; then went 
 on gravel train as conductor during the summer 
 of that year. In November 1886 he took a regu- 
 lar freight train on the road between Amboy 
 and Dubuque, running until June 1887, when he 
 was transferred to the construction train on the 
 Madison line. On the 2ist of December, 1887, 
 he went back on the main line running a freight 
 until February 27, 1888, then took construction 
 work again, this time between Freeport and Chi- 
 cago, until August 1888, then ran a regular 
 freight between Freeport and Chicago until No- 
 vember 6, 1888, and from that time until June 
 1 8, 1891, took a freight run between Madison 
 and Freeport. At that time he was given the 
 milk run from Freeport to Chicago which he 
 retained up to March 15, 1892, then took the 
 Dodgeville passenger run for two months, since 
 which time he has been on a passenger train 
 running between Freeport and Madison. Dur- 
 ing these twenty-five years of service Mr. Farnum 
 has met with no accidents on the road, has never 
 been suspended nor even reprimanded, has never 
 missed a pay nor has he ever laid off four weeks. 
 On the 26th of October, 1881, Mr. Farnuin 
 was united in marriage with Miss Josephine Sul- 
 livan, of Lena, 111. They have six children 
 Agnes, Isabella, Clement, George, Mark, and 
 Regina. Mr. Farnum is a member of the Catho- 
 lic church. Socially he belongs to the O. of R. 
 C., K. of P., and the M, W, of A., and political- 
 ly is a Democrat,
 
 304 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 JOHN A. ABRELL, conductor on the Am- 
 boy division of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road, first entered the employ of the Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad as switchman at 
 Pana, 111., July 16, 1891, and after two years in 
 that capacity he was made baggageman on the 
 Diamond Special from Chicago to St. Louis. He 
 then began braking on the Clinton district of 
 the Amboy division, and on the 29th of Decem- 
 ber, 1896, was promoted to conductor. 
 
 Mr. Abrell was born March 24, 1872, at 
 Osage Mission, Kansas, and was married to Miss 
 Laura Jones, of Salem, 111., October 1898. They 
 have one son, Donald. He is a member of 
 State Center Lodge No. 400, O. R. C, and is 
 likewise connected with the Masonic order. 
 
 ,RVILLE W. BROWN, station agent 
 at Centralia, is a native of Irvington, 
 Illinois, born February 20, 1869. He 
 began railroad work as operator at 
 Irvington in 1886, and when competent to man- 
 age a station served as extra operator and station 
 agent at various points along the line of the Cen- 
 tralia district of the Chicago division until 1888, 
 when he was appointed to serve at Dubois from 
 which place he was transferred to Anna in 1892. 
 Three years later he was transferred to DuQuoin, 
 and to Centralia in August 1899, and placed in 
 charge of freight and passenger business. 
 
 The father of our subject, W. H. Brown, 
 is a native of Princeton, New Jersey, and, learn- 
 ing the carpenter's trade, secured employment 
 in the bridge and building department of the Cen- 
 tral for whom he worked many years. He was 
 also in the employ of the Louisville & Nashville 
 for a time and also the Montgomery & Prattville 
 road. He is now living in well earned retire- 
 ment at Irvington, having passed his allotted 
 three score and ten. His wife, a native of Ports- 
 mouth, Ohio, has passed the three score mile- 
 stone of life. 
 
 Mr. Brown was married February 23, 1890, 
 to Miss Minnie E. Strauss, to whom four chil- 
 
 dren have been born. The first died in infancy 
 unnamed, Delos H., Orin O., and Zula May. 
 
 Mr. Brown has achieved what he is and has 
 solely by his own efforts, and by his close at- 
 tention to the duties of his office has merited the 
 confidence of his employers. He is a member of 
 Hiawatha Lodge No. 291, I. O. O. F., also 
 member of Anna Encampment No. 69, both of 
 Anna, 111., and member of Centralia Lodge No. 
 201, A. F. & A. M. 
 
 NDREW S. HART, Illinois Central 
 _ Railroad conductor, on the Freeport 
 
 /[ ]\ division, was born in Crawford coun- 
 ty, Pennsylvania, March 14, 1854. 
 His father, Amos H. Hart, was a farmer, 
 and died in 1877, aged forty-eight years. His 
 mother, Cornelia W. (Foster) Hart is now liv- 
 ing in Allegan county, Mich., at the age of six- 
 ty-nine years. The family consists of three chil- 
 dren : Andrew S., our subject, George A., a con- 
 ductor on the I. C. R. R., resides in Chicago; 
 Mary C. married Frank A. Allen, a train bag- 
 gageman on the I. C. R. R., and resides in Chi- 
 cago. The family moved from Pennsylvania to 
 Plainwell, Mich., in 1869. Our subject attended 
 school in Edinboro and Plainwell during the win- 
 ter months, and in summer worked on his 
 father's farm. January 3, 1870, he entered the 
 service of the G. R. & I. R. R. as freight brake- 
 man between Kalamazoo and Big Rapids, re- 
 maining in that position nine months. He 
 served as brakeman on a passenger train four 
 months, and as baggageman one year, and then 
 at the age of nineteen, was appointed freight 
 conductor, being the youngest conductor, so far 
 as statistics indicate, that was ever given a posi- 
 tion of so much importance. On the i6th of 
 June, 1879, he left the service of the railroad, 
 and worked on a farm a shor-t time. July 29, 
 1875 he entered the service of the I. C. R R. as 
 a switchman at Chicago; in 1879 went to firing 
 in the general service; in May 1882 took the posi- 
 tion of freight conductor on the Chicago division ;
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 305 
 
 January i, 1886, was appointed trainmaster of 
 the Rantoul division with headquarters at Ran- 
 toul, 111., where he remained until May i, 1888, 
 when he was employed in various capacities un- 
 til August 1888, when he was transferred to the 
 C. M. & N., and was made a passenger conduc- 
 tor, running between Chicago and Freeport, 
 afterwards running to Dubuque, Iowa. In 1897, 
 on ac'count of failing health, he temporarily re- 
 linquished active service and went to Arizona 
 for the benefit of his health. At the end of seven 
 months he returned partially restored, and was 
 given his former run, but found the work was 
 too exacting and in June 1898, was given a pas- 
 senger run between Freeport, 111., and Dodge- 
 ville, Wis., which he still retains. August 18, 
 1874, Mr. Hart was united in marriage with 
 Miss Mary E. Kimball of Grand Rapids, Mich. 
 Mrs. Hart was born Feb. 19, 1855. Her union 
 with Mr. Hart was blessed with two children : 
 Herbert E., born Aug. 8, 1876, is a fireman in 
 the I.C. R. R. yards at Freeport ; Harry E., born 
 Sept. 9, 1878, is bookkeeper for the DeMund 
 Lumber Co., of Phoenix, Ari. March 15, 1899, 
 Mr. Hart married Miss Elizabeth R. Allen, of 
 Manchester, Iowa. She was born June 25, 1858. 
 Mr. Hart is a member of Apollo Commandery 
 No. i of Chicago, K. of P. No. 219 of Chicago, 
 and likewise belongs to the O. of R C., Chicago 
 No. i. In his religious views he is a Methodist. 
 He is a Republican in politics. 
 
 ENRY A. BALL, engineer on Clinton 
 district, Amboy division of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, became identified 
 with the Illinois Central Railroad Aug- 
 ust 10, 1888, in the position of fireman on the 
 Clinton district, where he remained until Feb- 
 ruary n, 1892, at which time he was promoted 
 to the right side, and took a regular run the fol- 
 lowing December, being assigned to engine No. 
 511. He is now in the freight service between 
 Clinton and Centralia, and has been on his pres- 
 
 ent engine, No. 445, three years. He has been 
 very lucky, as well as capable in his experience, 
 having never made out a personal injury report 
 while in service. 
 
 Mr. Ball was born May 12, 1855, in Canton, 
 Ohio, within two blocks of the place where Maj. 
 McKinley resided at the time of his election to 
 the presidency. On the I2th of May, 1875, Mr. 
 Ball was married to Miss Frances Braucher, and 
 has one son and one daughter. He is a mem- 
 ber of the B. of L. E., No. 315, and is likewise 
 connected with Plantagenet Lodge No. 25, K. 
 of P., of Clinton. 
 
 M 
 
 D. HOWARD, general foreman for 
 the Illinois Central at Champaign, 
 HI- is an honored employe of the road. 
 He was born in the village of LeRoy, 
 McLean county, 111., June 26, 1859. After com- 
 pleting the course of study in the public schools 
 of that town he entered the University of Illinois 
 at Champaign, taking a three years' course in 
 mechanical engineering. It was while a student 
 at the university in 1880, that our subject first 
 entered the service of the I. C. in the shops at 
 Champaign. After working some months he 
 returned to school, leaving again to accept a 
 position as assistant chief civil engineer on the 
 Fort Scott & Wichita R. R. He served in this 
 capacity for nine months during which period 
 over one hundred miles of the road were located 
 and laid out. The road changing hands, our sub- 
 ject returned to the employ of the I. C. as fireman 
 under R. D. Davis. He was promoted to en- 
 gineer in February 1883, serving in the freight 
 and passenger service until September 1899, 
 when he was appointed general foreman at 
 Champaign, with a clear record of nineteen years 
 on a locomotive. 
 
 Mr. Howard is a man of excellent qualities 
 and keen intellect, honored and respected by his 
 fellow-citizens, as is shown by the fact that he is 
 serving his sixth year as a member of the Cham- 
 paign city council, representing the fourth ward.
 
 306 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ARION MCCLELLAND, conductor 
 
 on the Amboy division of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, entered the service 
 of the road as brakeman on the Clin- 
 ton district of the Amboy division, September 
 9, 1888, and was promoted to conductor Novem- 
 ber 20, 1892, serving as extra for a time, and in 
 1896 took a regular run in the freight service, 
 running from Clinton to Centralia, where he is 
 still employed. 
 
 Mr. McClelland is a native of Centralia, 
 where he was born in 1865. He is a member of 
 Division No. 112, O. R. C., Plantagenet Lodge 
 No. 25, K. of P., and is a Mason in high stand- 
 ing, being connected with DeWit Lodge No. 84, 
 A. F. & A. M., Goodbrake Chapter No. 59, and 
 Commandery No. 66, all of Clinton, Illinois. 
 
 M. FAGG, Illinois Central Railroad 
 passenger conductor, Amboy division, 
 is a native of McLean county, 111., 
 where he was born November 8, 1857. 
 His father, Thomas Fagg, a farmer who is now 
 living in Washington county, Neb., at the age 
 of eighty-two years, was born in Loudoun coun- 
 ty, Va. The mother, Susan (Westcott), is liv- 
 ing, aged seventy-eight. Her father was a na- 
 tive of England and came to the U. S. in early 
 life. Our subject is one of a family of seven chil- 
 dren : Mary E. married A. C. Miller and resides 
 in Forreston, 111. ; Vina married S. M. Adams 
 and lives in Washington county, Neb. ; William 
 
 B. is a blacksmith and wagonmaker in Birming- 
 ham, Iowa; Clarence W. is a wagonmaker in 
 Washington county, Neb.; T. M., our subject; 
 Frank M. resides in Washington county, Neb. ; 
 Charles E., farmer, lives in Washington county, 
 Neb. 
 
 After attending the public schools in McLean 
 county, T. M. Fagg worked on a farm for some 
 years, and in 1880, entered the service of the I. 
 
 C. R. R. as freight brakeman. He served two 
 years in that capacity and was then made freight 
 conductor which position he held for sixteen 
 
 years. In 1898 he was promoted to passenger 
 conductor and is now running on the Amboy 
 division between Freeport and Centralia. He is 
 a member of the O. of R. C. ; the I. C. Lodge 
 of Masons No. 178; Freeport Chapter No. 23; 
 Freeport Commandery No. 7, and Cherry Camp 
 No. 64, M. W. of A. Politically he is a Repub- 
 lican. 
 
 Mr. Fagg was married on the 29th of April, 
 1884, to Miss Mollie Boylan, of Blooming- 
 ton. She was born August 9, 1861. They have 
 two children : Delia M., born Sept. 8, 1885, is at- 
 tending the Freeport high school; Lillian F., 
 born October 16, 1891, is also in school 
 
 JOHN E. HARRINGTON, conductor on 
 the Illinois Central Railroad, Freeport 
 division, was born in Waukesha, Wis., 
 November 21, 1864. He is the son of 
 Michael and Mary (Mulhern) Harrington, in 
 whose family are seven children. The father is 
 a railroad man. Our subject was educated in 
 the public and parish schools of Waukesha. At 
 the age of sixteen he became water boy on the 
 N. W. R. R., and remained in that position for 
 one summer, then went to the Grand Pacific at 
 Chicago, where he remained three years, then 
 worked for the Rock Island R. R. for two and 
 one-half years as passenger brakeman. In 1889 
 he entered the service of the I. C. R. R. as freight 
 brakeman and worked in that capacity until July 
 i, 1891, when he was promoted to conductor, 
 which position he still holds. June 17, 1896, 
 Mr. Harrington was united in marriage with 
 Miss Mary, daughter of Patrick Grant, deceased, 
 and Jennie (Hughes) Grant. Mrs. Harrington 
 was born in Freeport, 111., September 4, 1874, 
 and was educated in the public and parochial 
 schools of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Harrington 
 have one child, John Grant, born March 15, 
 1898. They are members of the Catholic church. 
 Mr. Harrington belongs to the Improved Order 
 of Red Men, and O. of R. C., and politically 
 is a staunch Democrat.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 307 
 
 P. FREEMAN, conductor on the 
 Springfield division of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, had his first railroad 
 experience in the employ of the Bluff 
 Line, which he entered as brakeman in October 
 1888, running from Springfield to Alton. In 
 1889 he entered the service of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, acted as brakeman on the Springfield 
 division one year, and was promoted to conduc- 
 tor in 1890 and is now in the freight service on 
 that division. 
 
 Mr. Freeman, who is a son of Walter and 
 Sally (Short) Freeman, who were natives of 
 Virginia, was born at Culpepper Court House, 
 Virginia, in 1862, and was united in marriage 
 with Miss Eleanor Chapman in 1885. She is 
 a daughter of Stephen G. and Sarah (Oder) 
 Chapman, natives of Indiana and Kentucky, re- 
 spectively. Mr. and Mrs. Freeman have one 
 daughter, Delia B. Mr. Freeman is a member 
 of the M. W. A., No. 333, of Springfield, III, 
 and the O. R. C., No. 400, of Clinton. 
 
 ENRY LUDWIG, one of the younger 
 of the Central engineers, was born in 
 Dunleith, now East Dubuque, Illinois, 
 March 28, 1873. He attended the 
 schools of his native place until the age of six- 
 teen, and then began earning his own way, se- 
 curing a position with a confectionery company 
 in the city at the other end of the big bridge. 
 Here for four and a half years he worked faith- 
 fully, meanwhile attending the night school in 
 the Bayless Business College, fitting himself for 
 a higher position in the world. Coming to 
 Freeport he secured employment in the machin- 
 ery department of the Illinois Central shops, se- 
 curing, six months later, a seat in the left side of 
 a locomotive, September 23, 1893. October 14, 
 1899, he was examined and promoted to engineer 
 and started in with fair prospects of a long and 
 useful career at the throttle and lever. 
 
 Mr. Ludwig is an only child of Henry and 
 Magdalena (Fiene) Ludwig. The father, for 
 
 many years a grocer of Dunleith, was born in 
 Germany, May 19, 1848, and died at Dubuque 
 December 17, 1893. The mother, also a native 
 German, was born August 15, 1848, and died 
 on her fortieth birthday in Dubuque. 
 
 Mr. Ludwig was married in Dubuque June 
 12, 1895, to Miss Lucy G. Taulty, of that city. 
 Two children have been born to them, Maylou, a 
 daughter, born April 12, 1896, and Harry, born 
 June 20, 1897. Our subject is a member of 
 Union Lodge No. 138, B. of L. F., and of the 
 fraternal order A. O. U. W., at Elmhurst, 111. 
 
 M. STUART, who is a conductor on 
 I p~>\ the Illinois Central Railroad, Amboy 
 j [ o division, was born in Normal, 111., 
 September 21, 1867. His parents, 
 C. M. and Catherine (Stevens) Stuart, are both 
 deceased. The family came from Kentucky in 
 1860, and located in Normal. There are six 
 children, our subject being the youngest. Mary 
 married D. B. Little, assistant auditor of the 
 I. I. & I. R. R., Kankakee, 111.; George M. is 
 a passenger conductor on the C. & A. R. R. ; 
 Alpha is principal of the Jefferson school in 
 Bloomington, 111. ; Alice married Milvin Stine 
 and resides near Saybrook, 111. ; Lee is manager 
 of the Electric Light & Power Co. at Normal. 
 
 Our subject was educated at the State 
 Normal, graduating in 1886, and also took a 
 complete course in Evergreen City Business Col- 
 lege. He then accepted a position in the At- 
 lanta National bank, at Atlanta, 111.,, where he 
 remained for four years, resigning to organize 
 the Waynesville bank, of which he was cashier 
 for three years. Giving up this position, he en- 
 tered the employ of the C. & A. Railroad as 
 brakeman, where he remained two years, then 
 worked three months for the K. C. & P. R. R. 
 in the same capacity, and was then offered the 
 position of night ticket clerk at Shreveport, La., 
 where he remained one year. In 1898, on ac- 
 count of the yellow fever epidemic, he left the 
 south and came to the I. C. R. R. at Blooming-
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ton, August 16, 1898, and was made freight 
 brakeman. On the 3ist of August, 1899, he was 
 promoted to freight conductor on the Amboy 
 division, which position he still retains. Mr. 
 Stuart was married on the 28th of April, 1891, 
 to Miss Ella M. Lambert, of Atlanta, 111. She 
 was born May 15, 1868. Mr. and Mrs. Stuart 
 attend the Christian church. Mr. Stuart is a 
 Mason, and also belongs to the B. R. T. In 
 politics he votes the Republican ticket. 
 
 I. TAYLOR, a conductor in the 
 freight service of the Illinois 
 Q Central, received his first intro- 
 duction to railroad life as brake- 
 man on the Short Line division of the L. & N. 
 R. R. out of Louisville, Ky., commencing his 
 career in September 1887, and working two 
 years. He then took a position as brakeman on 
 the A. T. & S. F., remaining with that company 
 eighteen months, after which he transferred to 
 the L. E. & St. L. out of Louisville, Ky. From 
 the latter place he was sent to the L. S. R. R., 
 serving six months as brakeman, and at the end 
 of that period was promoted to conductor and 
 transferred to the Marion route, where he re- 
 mained until September 3, 1892. After working 
 for a short time on the M. P. R. R., and the 
 Terminal Association of St. Louis, he entered 
 the service of the I. C. as brakeman on the 
 Springfield division. On January 23, 1894, he 
 was sent to the South end and promoted to con- 
 ductor December 15, 1896. Mr. Taylor is a na- 
 tive of Shelbyville, Shelby county, Ky., his birth 
 occurring Oct. 22, 1865. On February 21, 1899, 
 he was married at Mt. Vernon, Mo., to Miss 
 Lydia Jones, whose father was a prominent 
 druggist of that city, but is now deceased. So- 
 cially he is connected with DeWitt Lodge F. & 
 A. M. No. 84, O. R. C. No. 112, of Centralia, 
 111., Goodbrake Chapter No. 59, and Clinton 
 Commandery No. 66, of Clinton, 111. 
 
 E. GILLEN is an engineer in the 
 passenger service of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral on the Chicago division. He 
 entered the service of the company 
 as fireman on a switch engine in the Champaign 
 yards in 1884. In November 1887 he was pro- 
 moted to engineer, serving first in the freight 
 service until September 10, 1899. On this date 
 he entered the passenger service, taking charge 
 of engine No. 965, and filling the vacancy made 
 by the promotion of H. D. Howard to general 
 foreman. During his service as fireman he was 
 for two years with R. D. Davis, traveling engi- 
 neer of the Illinois Central. 
 
 Mr. Gillen, who is a native of Champaign, 
 having been born there in 1860, married Miss 
 Georgeama Jones, who was born February 16, 
 1873, to H. W. and Olie Jones, natives of In- 
 diana. Mr. and Mrs. Gillen have one daughter, 
 Ruth Leone, born May 22, 1899. 
 
 L DWARD CURTIN, who is a freight 
 conductor on the Freeport division of 
 the Illinois Central Railroad, is the 
 son of Michael Curtin, a native of Ire- 
 land, who came to the U. S. in early life and 
 located near Aurora, 111. He is a farmer, and is 
 now living at the age of eighty years. The 
 mother of our subject, Ellen (Hennessey), is 
 also living. 
 
 Edward Curtin was born in Aurora, 111., 
 where he received his education. At the age of 
 twenty-one he entered the service of the I. C. 
 R. R. at Freeport as a freight brakeman, running 
 between Chicago and Dubuque. In November 
 1895, he was promoted to freight conductor, 
 which position he now holds. November 23, 
 1893, Mr. Curtin was married to Miss Effie G. 
 Bradford, who was born in Dubuque, Iowa, 
 September 12, 1875. She is the daughter of 
 Charles Bradford, who has been switch tender 
 for the I. C. R. R. at Dubuque for many years. 
 Mr. Curtin is a member of the Catholic church. 
 He belongs to the O. of R. C. and in his political 
 views is independent.
 
 F. H. SCHERMERHORN.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 311 
 
 FH. SCHERMERHORN, formerly em- 
 ployed as locomotive engineer on the 
 Q Illinois Central Railroad, and resid- 
 ing in Freeport, 111., was born in Lex- 
 ington, Greene county, New York, Aug. 6, 1852. 
 He is the eldest son of Rev. P. V. and Lydia A. 
 (Williams) Schermerhorn, the former a minister 
 in the M. E. church, having died in 1898, while 
 the latter is still living in Stamford, Delaware 
 county, New York. Their family consisted of 
 nine children, of whom five are living. Abram, 
 a brother of our subject, formerly an engineer 
 in the employ of the I. C. railroad, lives in Free- 
 port, Illinois. 
 
 F. H. Schermerhorn was educated in the pub- 
 lic schools of eastern New York. At the age of 
 fourteen years he entered the high school of 
 Albany, from which he graduated at the age of 
 eighteen. He then entered the Albany Medi- 
 cal & Surgical Institute, where he remained 
 eighteen months, when on account of impaired 
 health he was forced to abandon the idea of be- 
 coming a surgeon, and after traveling in the west 
 for several months, accepted a position in the 
 freight office of the N. Y. C. & H. R. railroad at 
 Athens, N. Y. It was during his stay at Athens 
 that the Merchants Dispatch Transportation Co. 
 was organized under the management of the 
 Yanderbilts, and he had the honor of billing the 
 first car load of freight ever shipped by that or- 
 ganization. He came west and located at Am- 
 boy, 111., August 9, 1873, and entered the service 
 of the I. C. September 22, 1873, as a locomotive 
 fireman on the north division between Amboy 
 and Dunleith, where he remained until December . 
 3, 1879, when he was promoted to the right side 
 and retained that position until 1893 when he 
 left the employ of the company. 
 
 Mr. Schermerhorn was married February 
 22, 1873, to Miss Rena R. Johnson, of Jewett, 
 X. Y., a very amiable and accomplished lady of 
 strong religious sentiments and high moral 
 character, uniting with the M. E. church early 
 in life. She was born April 13, 1849. Of the 
 three children born to this union, two are living, 
 viz : John Guy, born in 1878, and Esther Belle, 
 born in 1887. 
 
 18 
 
 Our subject was a charter member of Am- 
 boy Lodge No. 35, B. of L. F., and when pro-> 
 moted joined Amboy Division, No. 72, B. of 
 L. E., in which he always took an active interest 
 and was chairman of the Grievance committee 
 at the time he left the service. In 1888 he was 
 elected a member of the Legislative committee, 
 from the Amboy district, and spent the following 
 winter in Springfield, 111., promoting legislation 
 in the interest of railroad men. He is a mem- 
 ber of Excelsior Lodge No. 97, A. F. & A. M. 
 and of Amboy Chapter, No. 194, R. A. M. In 
 politics he affiliates with the Republican party. 
 
 JOHN R. ROSEBRUGH, former agent of 
 the Illinois Central at Freeport. The 
 family of our subject is of Scotch origin, 
 his grandfather having been a Scotch 
 Presbyterian minister. His father, John Rose- 
 brugh, was the first white child born in Grove- 
 land, Livingston county, New York. He was a 
 farmer by occupation, and also held many of- 
 ficial positions, dying at the age of seventy-nine 
 years. 
 
 J. R. Rosebrugh, also a native of the Empire 
 State, was born in Groveland, Livingston- Co., 
 January 5, 1829. He was educated in the pub- 
 lic schools of New York, and at the Temple Hill 
 Academy in Geneseo, New York, and at the age 
 of seventeen he began teaching school in the 
 district where Senator Charles H. Carroll re- 
 sided. In the spring of 1848 he went to Te- 
 cumseh, Mich., and taught in a branch of the 
 University at that place for three years. He 
 then embarked in the general merchandise busi- 
 ness in the same town and remained in the busi- 
 ness two years. Coming to Freeport September 
 10, 1856, he entered the service of the I. C. R. R. 
 as cashier and held the position for one year, 
 when he was appointed station agent, having 
 charge of passenger and freight business, and re- 
 mained there until 1865, when he went to Amboy 
 and served as clerk in the office of Mr. Jacobs, 
 superintendent of the Amboy division, for a few
 
 312 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 months. At this time Mr. Rosebrugh severed 
 his connection with the I. C. R. R., and accepted 
 a posjtion with Wicker, -Meckling & Co., railroad 
 contractors, with whom he remained about one 
 year, then went to Sioux City, Iowa, and assisted 
 in opening the books and starting the passenger 
 and freight departments in that place which en- 
 gaged him nine months. He was then employed 
 in Chicago by Miner T. Ames & Co., coal mer- 
 chants, remaining with them about six months, 
 then became assistant manager of the Otto Gas 
 Engine Co., which position he retained for two 
 years. He then went to Ann Arbor, Mich., and 
 took charge of the management of the hospital 
 as steward, where he remained seven years. In 
 1888 he came to Freeport and purchased the 
 Palace Livery, which business still occupies his 
 attention. November 8, 1852, Mr. Rosebrugh 
 was married to Miss Julia E. Taylor, of Tecum- 
 seh, Mich. They have one son, Henry P., ,born 
 July 31, 1854. He was for twelve years em- 
 ployed as brakeman and conductor of the I. C. 
 R. R., and is now associated with his father in 
 business. Mr. Rosebrugh is a member of the 
 Episcopal church, and also belongs to the Ma- 
 sonic and Odd Fellow fraternities. In politics 
 he is a Democrat, and is now alderman of the 
 second ward of Freeport. He has often been 
 solicited to allow his name to be used in connec- 
 tion with political positions, but has uniformly 
 declined. 
 
 ARVEY C. REEP, began his railroad 
 career August 18, 1889, as baggagemas- 
 ter with Conductor William Beadles. 
 He then went' into freight service in the 
 Paducah yards as switchman, until 1894 when he 
 was appointed general yardrhaster, serving two 
 years when he went on the road" 'as conductor, 
 running a local freight betwen 'Paducah and 
 Newbern. Our subject has a remarkably good 
 record, having had no accidents to himself -or 
 his train. His father was A. H. Reep, who died 
 in 1894. Mr. Reep married Miss Lizzie Clark, of 
 Youngstown, Ohio, and has a bright boy Clyde, 
 
 who is attending school. He is a member of the 
 Paducah Division of the Order of Railway Con- 
 ductors, in which he has filled some of the offi- 
 cial chairs. He is prominent in the Masonic or- 
 der, holding membership in the Blue lodge. 
 Chapter, Commandery and Shrine. He also 
 affiliates with the " Best People On Earth " 
 known to the outer world as the Benevolent and 
 Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Reep's home is 
 at No. 440 South Sixth street, Paducah, Ky. 
 
 JOHN HAYS WILSON, depot master of 
 the Illinois Central Railroad at Free- 
 port, was born in Union county, Pa., 
 June 8, 1837. H' s grandfather, Hugh 
 Wilson, was one of the judges of the U. S. dis- 
 trict court. His father, also Hugh Wilson, a 
 tanner and fanner, was born in Union county, 
 Pa., in 1792, and died in 1873. His mother, 
 Jane (Foster), died in April 1879. 
 
 John H. Wilson was educated in the pub- 
 lic schools of his native county and took an 
 academic course of three years at Mifflinburg 
 Academy. He assisted on his father's farm until 
 1857, when the family emigrated to Freeport, then 
 a town of about 6,000 inhabitants. Here he taught 
 school one term, and then secured a position with 
 the I. C. R. R. as clerk in the superintendent's 
 office at Amboy. He 1 remained in that position 
 thirteen months, when he took a position in the 
 train service and served five years in that capacity. 
 He then began making up trains at Amboy, 
 later clerked in the office at Decatur, and then 
 returned to Amboy and became one of the yard- 
 masters. January 21, 1870, he lost his right arm 
 in the service of the company, after which he 
 came to Freeport and learned to write with his 
 left hand. He is now a splendid penman, and 
 a model of neatness. In 1871 he became yard- 
 master of Freeport yards and retained that po- 
 sition for sixteen years, and in 1887 was made 
 car accountant, which position he held until 
 1890, when the new depot was erected in Free- 
 port and he was made depot master, where he
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 313 
 
 still serves, attending upon twenty-seven passen- 
 ger trains daily, from 6 130 A. M. to 7 :oo P. M. 
 His service for the I. C. R. R. has always been 
 pleasant. Mr. Wilson's household is made up 
 of himself and two sisters, Mary and Martha. 
 The latter has taught school in Freeport for 
 eighteen years. Of the family, eight are living: 
 six in Freeport and two in Pennsylvania. Mr. 
 Wilson is a Prohibitionist, and was one of the 
 founders of Centennial Lodge of Good Templars 
 in 1876, and first Chaplain; assisted in organiz- 
 ing the Independent Order of Mutual Aid in 
 1879, and has been connected with all the tem- 
 perance organizations. He is a member of the 
 A. O. U. W., and one of the charter members of 
 John H. Adclams Lodge. The family are mem- 
 bers of the First Presbyterian church of Free- 
 port. 
 
 E. BANKS, a conductor running 
 between Centralia and Clinton, 
 Q was born in Kansas September 8, 
 1857. Owing to peculiar circum- 
 stances he does not know in what county he first 
 saw the light. His birth occurred during the 
 troublous border warfare in which the father 
 was taken prisoner by one of the factions the day 
 the boy was born, and the fright killed the 
 mother the same day. Escaping from his cap- 
 tors . the father returned, and taking what was 
 left of his little family, returned to Indiana to 
 make them a home. On the outbreak of the war 
 he enlisted, and fell in battle near Nashville, 
 Tenn., the birthplace of himself and wife. 
 
 Mr. Banks grew up without a parent's care, 
 living on the farm until attaining his majority, 
 attending the country schools. His first expe- 
 rience in railroad work was when he joined the 
 force of the Illinois Central at Centralia, August 
 15, 1886, as brakeman under the instruction of 
 Conductor W. Cone, running to Clinton. In 
 January 1890 he was promoted, and most of the 
 time since he : has been in charge of a way freight 
 between the two cities above named. 
 
 Mr. Banks was first married at Brownton, 
 
 Jackson county, Indiana, to Miss Anna Apple- 
 gate. Of their five children two are living, 
 Walter and Eva. His second marriage was 
 with Miss Anna Gassier, a native of Centralia, 
 and a daughter of John M. and Mary Magda- 
 lene (Hockenyas) Gassier, German settlers of 
 that city. Of the second marriage one child was 
 born, Cleona. Mr. Banks is a careful and 
 painstaking operative, enjoying the confidence 
 of his superiors. 
 
 THOMAS J. McKEE, conductor, living 
 at Centralia, was born a few miles south 
 of Carlyle, 111., September 23, 1855, 
 and is the son of J. A. McKee, of 
 Fleming county, Ky., and Mary B. Huey. At 
 the age of eleven his parents moved with him to 
 Centralia where he attended the winter schools 
 and worked on fruit farms in the summer. In 
 1873 he secured a place as brakeman on the Illi- 
 nois Central under Conductor J. D. Williams 
 on a local freight between Centralia and Wapel- 
 la. Early in 1880 he was examined and promoted 
 to conductor running extra until his resignation 
 in November of that year. For the next three 
 years he was employed mostly in the southwest. 
 Worked a short time as car repairer at Little 
 Rock, going from there to Fort Worth, Texas, 
 engaging in construction work on the Missouri, 
 Kansas & Texas and was soon in charge of the 
 " front " train the one that carried material 
 to the front. Leaving that road he secured work 
 on the Texas Pacific between Fort Worth and 
 Beard, Texas. After that he worked at various 
 points as switchman and yardmaster for several 
 roads as the traffic made a demand for men. 
 Returning east he secured work for a time in 
 the Twenty-first St. yards of the Terminal com- 
 pany at St. Louis, and after another sojourn in 
 Texas secured work at New Orleans in the yards 
 on the New Orleans & North Eastern road be- 
 ing soon promoted to night yardmaster. Janu- 
 ary 10, 1884, he re-entered the service of the 
 Central at Centralia braking under Charles Pratz
 
 314 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 on the way freight between Centralia and Cairo, 
 and seven months later he was promoted and 
 given a train, the way freight. In 1891 was 
 promoted to the passenger service having at the 
 present time a regular run between Centralia 
 and Cairo. 
 
 Mrs. McKee, who is a daughter of Henry 
 and Barbara (Nullet) Hutchmacher was born 
 in New Orleans. Of the five children born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. McKee four are living. They are 
 F. Edna, Thomas P., Charles E., Amos F., and 
 James R. deceased.. , . . . 
 
 Mr. McKee is one of the most popular con- 
 ductors on the line. 
 
 JOHN A. HOGAN, one of the younger 
 engineers of the Central system, comes of 
 railroad stock. His father, Patrick 
 Hogan, emigrated from the Emerald 
 Isle when a young man, and made his way to 
 the west, securing work with the Illinois Central 
 with which company he remained many years. 
 For a long period he served as train baggage- 
 man and later was employed in the boiler room 
 of the shops at Amboy where he worked until 
 the shops were removed to other points. He 
 still resides at Amboy retired from active labor. 
 He married Eliza Lowrey, who bore him eight 
 children, two sons and six daughters. 
 
 John A. Hogan was born at Amboy, March 
 17, 1870, and was reared in his native place, at- 
 tending the public schools until the age of fif- 
 teen. At that age he entered the boiler shops, 
 where his father was employed, as a boiler 
 maker apprentice, remaining three years before 
 starting out to see the world. He traveled to 
 Denver to accept a position in the shops of the 
 Union Pacific R. R. We next find him at 
 Topeka, Kans., in the employ of the A. T. & S. 
 F. and from that point he journeyed to Missouri 
 Valley, Iowa, entering the employ of the F. E. 
 & M. V. R. R. which he served seven months 
 and was transferred to their shops at Chadron, 
 Nebraska, on the Black Hills division, remain- 
 
 ing in the west six months. Returning to his 
 native state he secured work with the C. & A. 
 at Bloomington, where he was employed until 
 January 7, 1892, at which time he accepted a 
 place as fireman on the Illinois Central. Until 
 1898 he served on the left side of the engine and 
 after a thorough examination was thereupon 
 licensed to sit on the other side of the cab. Mr. 
 Hogan is a thorough, careful man in his craft 
 and will in time win the recognition of his 
 superiors. He is a member of the Union Lodge 
 No. 138, B. of L. F. His present home is in 
 Freeport. 
 
 KNOWLES, a passenger conduc- 
 tor on the Central, has been in 
 Q the service since October 16, 1880, 
 having begun braking on the 
 Springfield division, between Springfield an'd 
 Gilrnan, under freight conductor E. Clifford, 
 where he remained until February 1884. He 
 was then transferred to the Amboy division be- 
 tween Clinton and Centralia, under James Mc- 
 Hugh, and was promoted to freight conductor 
 on the same division in October 1887, and given 
 the through "Manifest" run between Clinton 
 and St. Louis over the tracks of the Big Four, 
 and held that position until April igth, 1897. 
 August 4, 1897, he was promoted to the passen- 
 ger service and given his present run between 
 Freeport and Centralia. 
 
 Mr. Knowles was born at Terre Haute, In- 
 diana, March 4, 1862, and removed when a small 
 lad with his parents to Shelby county near the 
 county seat, when about ten years of age ; he be- 
 gan his railroad career at the age of eighteen. 
 His schooling was secured in the public schools. 
 The father, Daniel Knowles, is a native of New 
 York state ; the mother, Lydia Anderson, died 
 young, leaving a family of five children, three of 
 whom are still alive. Mr. Knowles was married 
 November n, 1891, to Miss Minnie L. Lillord, 
 a native of Clinton, Illinois. He is a member 
 of the O. R. C. and O. R. T. at Clinton, Illinois,
 
 - AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 315 
 
 C. MITCHELL, conductor on the 
 Freeport division of the Illinois 
 Q Central, was born in Elgin, 111., 
 May 23, 1869. His parents, 
 William and Mary (Dedrick) Mitchell, reside in 
 Elgin, 111., where his father is engaged in mer- 
 chandising. Their family consists of three chil- 
 dren. W. C. ; Ada, forewoman in a garment 
 factory in Aurora, and Henry, a school boy. 
 
 W. C. Mitchell received his education in 
 Fort Scott, Kansas. He worked on a farm for 
 his father, and at the age of eighteen entered the 
 service of the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R, 
 company as brakeman, running between Anthony 
 and Beaumont, Kansas, for two years. He then 
 came to Freeport and commenced braking for 
 the I. C. R. R., and in 1898 was promoted to 
 conductor on Freeport division where he is now 
 running. He has only lost six weeks of service 
 on account of disability. Mr. Mitchell was mar- 
 ried on the 7th of October, 1893, to Miss Sophie 
 Kline, of Elgin. She was born May 24, 1872; 
 and was educated in the schools of Elgin. Her 
 father is a carpenter. Mr. and Mrs. Mhchell 
 have one child, Gladys, born December 19, 1894. 
 The family are Methodists. 
 
 THOMAS CAREY, road supervTsOr, 
 Sixth division of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, was born in Watertowji, N. 
 Y., February 25, 1859. His father, 
 James Carey, who came to the 'U. S. in early 
 life, is now living retired in Scales Mound, 111. 
 He was section foreman for the I. C. R. R. for 
 thirty years.- The mother, whose maiden name 
 was Margaret Quinn, is still living. They have 
 two children, James, a section foreman of the 
 I. C. R. R. at Scales Mound, and Thomas. 
 
 Thomas Carey was educated in the district 
 schools of Scales Mound, and at the age of thir- 
 teen he began working on the section with his 
 father on the I. C. R. R., attending school in 
 winter and working on the road in summer for 
 three vears. He then worked in a stone quarry 
 
 one year, and farmed for one season. At the 
 age of nineteen he returned to work on the sec- 
 tion for some months, then went to braking on 
 freight which he did for three months. In May 
 1 88 1 he was appointed section foreman at East 
 Dubuque. He remained as section foreman 
 and was foreman of construction for eighteen 
 years, then was appointed supervisor of thir- 
 teenth section, Sixth division, with headquarters 
 at Freeport, Sept. 6, 1898. On the 23rd of June, 
 1885, Mr; Carey was married to Miss Alice Mc- 
 Donnell, who was born May 17, 1864, in Du- 
 buque, Iowa. They have four children : J. 
 Donald, born May 28, 1889; John J., born Octo- 
 ber I,- 1891; Loretta, born September 8, 1893; 
 Corena M., born September 12, 1895. Mr. 
 Carey is a member of the Catholic church. So- 
 cially he belongs to K. of P., also Endowment 
 Rank, and C. O. F. He is independent in. pol- 
 itics. 
 
 JOSEPH A. BLACKMAN, one of ;the 
 veteran engineers of the Central system, 
 is of foreign birth. His father, John 
 Blackman, was a native of England 
 where he learned the blacksmith's trade. Coming 
 to America with his family in 1852 he settled 
 first at Windham, Ohio, and six years later 
 moved to Dixon, Illinois, and engaged in farm- 
 ing. Here he died July 17, 1885. His wife, 
 Martha Cooper, was born at Hilgate, Norfolk, 
 England, August 12, 1821, and died near Dixon, 
 January 13, 1899. She was a woman of great 
 natural refinement. At the time of her death 
 there were of her children, five sons and three 
 daughters living. 
 
 Jos. A. Blackman was born at Oxlode Down- 
 ham, Isfe of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, June 
 21, 1845. Most of his schooling was secured 
 during the six years the family lived in Ohio. 
 On coming to Illinois he worked on the farm un- 
 til attaining his majority in 1866 when he secured 
 a position as fireman on the Central. Septem- 
 ber 10, 1873. Mr. Blackman was considered pro- 
 ficient enough to manage an engine and was
 
 316 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 promoted to the rank of engineer and placed 
 in that service on the road where he has main- 
 tained his position ever since with credit to him- 
 self and satisfaction to his employers. 
 
 Mr. Blackman was married December 22, 
 1873 to Miss Agnes Blocher, of Amboy, and to 
 them have been born four children as follows : 
 Henry J., born October 6, 1874, died September 
 22, 1884; Georgia A., born May 29, 1882, died 
 aged six days; Estelle Alice, born September 
 16, 1886; Ruth Agnes, born August 13, 1889. 
 
 Mr. Blackman was one of the first to become 
 identified with the B. of L. E. having held mem- 
 bership many years with the Amboy Division, 
 No. 72, joining the order in 1875. He is identi- 
 fied with the Masonic fraternity, affiliating with 
 the Illinois Central Lodge No. 178 of Amboy. 
 Mr. Blackman is popular with his fellow engi- 
 neers and stands well with his employers. 
 
 JL. MAX FIELD, a veteran conductor on 
 the Central at Centralia, was born at 
 Q Rome, now Dix, in Jefferson county, 
 Illinois, June 7, 1853, the eldest of a 
 family of twelve children all of whom are living. 
 Mr. Maxfield began railroading at the age of 
 twenty at the bottom of the ladder. For a few 
 days he worked on the section in the Centralia 
 yards under Chris. Davis, and was then 
 set to work shoveling coal onto the en- 
 gines in the yards at what was to him then good 
 wages, a dollar and a quarter a day. When he 
 was promoted to brakeman by trainmaster J. 
 W. Seymour, on the run between Centralia and 
 Cairo, at a dollar and seventy-three cents a day, 
 he thought he was drawing munificent wages. 
 After three years twisting brakes, Mr. Maxfield 
 was surprised one evening to be ordered to UHin 
 to take charge of a wrecking train and clear up 
 a wreck.. From that time on he was in charge of 
 a train having his monthly wages increased from 
 sixty-six the first to seventy-five dollars the third 
 year. After about four years in the freight ser- 
 vice between Centralia and Cairo he resigned 
 
 February 9, 1881 and did not re-enter the ser- 
 vice until August 27, 1886, when he was given a 
 run between Centralia and Champaign and has 
 been regularly in that service since, excepting 
 some ninety days when there was sickness in his 
 family. During all his service he has not suf- 
 fered a suspension nor received a demerit mark, 
 and the two wrecks in which he has been in- 
 volved have been chargeable to others and not 
 to him. 
 
 Mr. Maxfield was married to Miss Hattie 
 Morrison. Her mother was born in Gilford 
 county, North Carolina. Her brother, James 
 K. Morrison, was for many years an em- 
 ploye of the Central, and has been engaged 
 the past seven years as passenger conductor in 
 the service of the Minneapolis & St. Louis line 
 below St. Paul. Mr. Maxfield's parents, John 
 and Charlotte Maxfield, now reside at Farina, 
 Illinois. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Maxfield ten children have 
 been born, of whom Charles E., the eldest, is 
 now braking on the Champaign division of the 
 Central ; Caryol, now Mrs. Maddox ; Ida B., 
 James L., C. Harold, Clinton C., Earnest R., 
 George W., Marion M., and Raymond V. 
 
 W. NALL, a conductor in the freight 
 service of the Illinois Central on the 
 Louisiana division, was born in New 
 Orleans in 1868. He is a son of 
 Mick Nail, well known all over the I. C. system, 
 having been in active service for forty years, and 
 is now a conductor on the Clarksdale branch. 
 
 Mr. Nail entered the service of the Illinois 
 Central in 1888, as operator at Arcola, Miss., 
 where he worked eight months. He then en- 
 tered the train service as brakeman, and had only 
 been there a short time when he received notice 
 from J. M. Turner, superintendent, who had 
 been observing him closely and noticed his adapt- 
 ability, to take the examination for conductor. 
 Having successfully passed the examination, he 
 was, on October 27111, 1891, placed in charge of
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 317 
 
 the local freight with Engineer C. J. Swett, and 
 has since served there satisfactorily. Mr. Nail's 
 career on the road has been successful. He has 
 had a few minor accidents, but none -of conse- 
 quence. Socially he is connected with Division 
 No. 367, O. R. C., of McComb City, of which he 
 served as Chief for one year. Mr. Nail is mar- 
 ried and has two children, Rosemond Inez, aged 
 five years, and Lawrence Alton, aged two. He 
 is a popular man on the road, and is recognized 
 by the officials as a valued employe. 
 
 TEPHEN Q. FORD is an engineer in 
 the passenger service on the Louisi- 
 ana division of the Illinois Central. 
 He entered the service of the road on 
 August I, 1876, as a wiper in the round-house 
 at McComb City, serving as such for two months, 
 and afterward working in a boiler shop. In 
 1878 he obtained a position as fireman with En- 
 gineer James Greener, but in July of that year 
 resigned on account of the prevalence of yellow 
 fever. Returning to McComb City in May 1879, 
 he was re-employed as fireman, and remained in 
 that capacity until promoted to engineer. On 
 promotion he was given charge of a switch en- 
 gine, and later was with a construction train. 
 In 1882, he went for a period of five months to 
 the Southern Pacific R. R. running a switch en- 
 gine during that time, but returned to the I. C. 
 and remained for a short time at McComb City 
 as engineer in the yards there. He then went 
 back to the Southern Pacific, and was subsequent- 
 ly employed as switchman and night yardmaster 
 by the Santa Fe R. R. at Rosenberg, Texas. 
 
 Remaining in the latter company, four 
 months he took a position as engineer on the 
 Texas Pacific R. R. and afterward on the Inter- 
 national & Great Northern R. R. where he served 
 five months. He then returned to McComb 
 City, Miss., and re-entered the service of the I. 
 C. as fireman, and after a year was promoted to 
 engineer in the freight service. In January 1900, 
 
 he was again promoted to engineer in the passen- 
 ger service, since which time he has had a regu- 
 lar run on engine No. 389, between Canton, 
 Miss., and New Orleans. 
 
 Our subject was born in Sumpter county, 
 Ala., on August 6, 1859, and. is the son of Dr. 
 D. U. and Elizabeth A. (Wilson) Ford. Dr. 
 Ford was a prominent physician, and served as 
 physician and surgeon for the A. & C. Railroad. 
 Both parents are now deceased. 
 
 Mr. Ford was married to Miss Edith M. 
 De Chantal, a native of Canada, but residing in 
 New Orleans, and they have the following 
 children, viz : Herbert, Donald, Adele, Maud, 
 Charles, Stephen and Estelle. 
 
 Socially, our subject is a member of Magno- 
 lia Division No. 196, B. of L. E., of McComb 
 City; where he resides, and is well and favorably 
 known among the employes of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral. 
 
 ICHAEL KELLY, an experienced and 
 popular engineer on the Memphis 
 division, began his railroad career in 
 1869 on the Paducah & Memphis 
 R. R., serving as fireman until promoted to en- 
 gineer in 1879, when he was given engine No. 
 3, a Rogers, in the switch and freight service. 
 Soon after he went on the road and was given 
 engine No. 28, a Baldwin, pulling the pile 
 driver, and was in this service fourteen years 
 along the whole line between Louisville and 
 Memphis. He was then transferred to the 
 freight department and at present has a "pre- 
 ferred" run between Paducah and Memphis 
 During his long experience he has pulled the 
 throttle of every make of engine produced in 
 America, including the old time wood burner, 
 common to the early days of railroading. 
 
 Our subject has turned out many good en- 
 gineers who fired for him, among them J. Mul- 
 vin and W. Yates. Mr. Kelly has never been 
 injured in his thirty years of experience, a piece 
 of good fortune vouchsafed only a few who have 
 spent so many years of life "on the rail."
 
 318 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Mr. Kelly is a temperate, whole-hearted 
 man, and is held in highest esteem by everybody. 
 He was born in Ireland, and came to America 
 with his parents when he was six months of age, 
 and has worked his own way up. Our subject 
 married Miss Mary Erbin, of Mayfield, Ky., 
 January 1877, and they have seven chidren liv- 
 ing and two dead. Those living are Kate, grad- 
 uated from Paducah high school, Johnny, Nora, 
 Mary, Berchal, Michael and Martin. Johnny 
 is employed by the Illinois Central as night 
 caller. Mr. Kelly is a charter member of Divi- 
 sion No. 225, B. of L. E., Paducah, Ky., in which 
 he has held all the official chairs, and is also a 
 member of Lodge No. 26, of Knights of Pythias, 
 of Paducah, as well as the Catholic Knights. 
 He is a man of a very strong will and sterling 
 character. There is one incident in his life that 
 needs special mention. During his early career 
 Mr. Kelly was on too intimate terms with the 
 liquor habit, and it was predicted by everybody 
 that he would die a drunkard, in spite of the 
 persuasions of others and his wife's earnest pray- 
 ers. About fifteen years ago Mr. Kelly went 
 into a saloon and ordered a glass of whiskey. 
 Just as he was about to raise the glass to his 
 lips he resolved to make a new start. He put 
 the full glass down on the bar and left the room, 
 and has never tasted liquor since. His iron will 
 has saved him. 
 
 ,HARLES W. HARRELL, a popular 
 young engineer in the freight service 
 of the Illinois Central on the Louis- 
 iana division, is a native of New Or- 
 leans, La. At the age of seventeen Mr. Harrell 
 became identified with the I. C. at McComb City, 
 as a locomotive fireman, in which capacity he 
 was employed, first in the freight and later in the 
 passenger service, serving two years in the lat- 
 ter department. On October I2th, 1894, he was 
 promoted to engineer and given charge of engine 
 No. 708. He has been on different parts of the 
 system during his connection with the road, and 
 
 is at present on the north end of the Louisiana 
 division. Mr. Harrell married Miss Tucker, of 
 McComb City, Miss., and their union has been 
 blessed by one child. He is a member of Divi- 
 sion No. 411, B. of L. F., and of Division No. 
 196, B. of L. E. Mr. Harrell is a young man 
 of great capability, attention to duty being his 
 strong point, and his career has been a very suc- 
 cessful one, devoid of accidents or injury. He 
 has a fine record and is in line for promotion. 
 
 ATRICK H. GEARY is one of the oldest 
 and most prominent engineers in the 
 service of the Illinois Central. With 
 the exception of twenty-six days, ser- 
 vice with the Southern Pacific R. R'. lie liafe been 
 connected with the I. C. since April I, 1866. 
 
 Mr. Geary as his name implies, is a native of 
 the Emerald Isle. He was born at Queenstown, 
 Ireland, March 21, 1841, and is one of eight chil- 
 dren born to Michael J. and Mary Geary. Mr. 
 Geary Sr. was a contractor in the old country, 
 and coming to America in 1856, took up his resi- 
 dence in the city of New Orleans, but departed 
 this life during the same year. On the death 
 of her husband Mrs. Geary returned to Ireland, 
 where she died in 1874. 
 
 Mr. Geary was educated in the common 
 schools of his native city in Ireland, and was fif- 
 teen years of age when his parents came to this 
 country. He held various positions in the city 
 of New Orleans until the outbreak of the civil 
 war, when, in 1861, he enlisted in Company E, 
 First Louisiana Volunteers, under Col. Vincent 
 and Brig. Gen. Blanchard. His company was 
 in the seven days fight at Richmond, and also in 
 numerous other engagements, but he was never 
 injured. He was discharged at Richmond in 
 1863, and returned to New Orleans. In 1866 he 
 entered the employ of the New Orleans, Jackson 
 & Great Northern R. R. (now the I. C. R. R.) 
 as fireman, working in that capacity until 1869, 
 when he was promoted to engineer in the freight 
 service. He remained in the latter branch of
 
 ALLEN G. CROCKETT.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 321 
 
 the service for two years, when he was promoted 
 to the passenger service, where he is now em- 
 ployed on engine No. 1175, between Canton, 
 Miss., and Xew Orleans. During his long rail- 
 road career Mr. Geary has had but two accidents, 
 one in 1870, when the boiler of his engine ex- 
 ploded, and the other in 1873 when his engine 
 was overturned. In neither accident was any 
 one injured. His relations with his superiors 
 have always been of the most pleasant nature, 
 he appreciating the many favors the company 
 has shown him, and the company, in turn, fully 
 cognizant that in him they have a faithful and 
 trusted employe. 
 
 Mr. Geary was married to Miss Margaret 
 Herbert, of New Orleans, and of the four chil- 
 dren born to them only one survives, Nellie, wife 
 of W. R. Caston, cashier of the McComb City 
 bank. Mr. Geary is one of the prosperous and 
 honored citizens of McComb City, residing in 
 a fine home on North Delaware avenue. He is 
 popular with all, and with none more so than the 
 officials of the Illinois Central Railroad. 
 
 LLEN G. CROCKETT, a highly es- 
 _ teemed passenger conductor on the 
 
 l\ J_\ Louisville division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, was born in Marion Co., Kentucky, 
 His father was James G. Crockett, who died at 
 the age of seventy-three in the year, 1898, and 
 was a relative of the famous originator of the 
 saying, " Be sure you're right, then go ahead." 
 His mother is still enjoying the blessings of life. 
 Our subject left school when he was ten years of 
 age, and began train service on the L. & N. rail- 
 road, being given charge of a freight train in 
 1878, serving in freight and passenger service 
 for twelve years on this road. He resigned to 
 accept a position as conductor on the C. O. & S. 
 W. under Trainmaster James Ross. He ran a 
 freight train out of Louisville four years, when 
 he was promoted to passenger service which po- 
 sition he has held since 1894. Mr Crockett has 
 been very successful, in fact one of the luckiest 
 
 railroad men on the road, never having any acci- 
 dents or injury. He is a member of Monon 
 Division No. 89, O. R. C., being chairman of 
 the Grievance board for the entire Louisville 
 division. During his term of office he has had 
 several good measures put through for the bene- 
 fit of the men. It was partly through his efforts 
 that the Greenland pay system was adopted by 
 the Illinois Central Railroad. Mr. Crockett 
 stayed with the committee three weeks until it 
 was put through. The Monon Division should 
 be complimented for having so able a representa- 
 tive. Mr. Crockett is a progressive, successful 
 railroad man. He resides at 1410 W. Broad- 
 way, Louisville, Ky. 
 
 -T OT ALONZO LOUTZENHISER, one 
 of the most popular conductors on the 
 Louisiana division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, was born at Champaign, III, in 
 1863, and is a son of Alonzo and Eliza (Weir). 
 Loutzenhiser. Mr. Loutzenhiser Sr. came of 
 old German stock. His ancestors had been ex- 
 iled from Germany for political reasons, and emi- 
 grated to America, settling in Susquehanna Co., 
 Pa. He was in his youth, a great athlete, at one 
 time making a running jump of twenty-one and 
 one-half feet. He was employed as a driver on 
 a canal boat, when fourteen years old, and the 
 captains of the different boats were in the habit 
 of pitting their boys against each other when 
 they met. Alonzo Loutzenhiser was the cham- 
 pion of his section, and once walked four- 
 teen miles with his captain to take part in a 
 "mill." He afterward left Pennsylvania and 
 moved to Illinois, where he engaged in the tailor- 
 ing business. He is a veteran of the Mexican 
 and Civil wars, serving in the latter as lieutenant 
 of Company F, I25th Illinois Cavalry, having 
 two horses shot from under him. He also 
 served fourteen years as deputy sheriff of his 
 county. 
 
 The mother of our subject was of Scotch 
 descent, received her education at Andover Fe-
 
 322 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 male Seminary, at Andover, Mass., and was a 
 woman of fine literary attainments. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared in 
 the city of Danville, 111., where he attended and 
 graduated from the high school. He then be- 
 gan the study of medicine at Rush Medical Col- 
 lege, from which he graduated with honors. Cir- 
 cumstances, however, prevented him from prac- 
 ticing. He began railroad work in 1883 as a 
 news agent on the C. B. & Q. R. R. between 
 Rock Island and St. Louis, where he served only 
 a few weeks, when his money was stolen and he 
 lost his position. He then applied to P. H. 
 Houlihan, now superintendent of the Hannibal 
 & St. Joe R. R., and after a great deal of per- 
 sistent effort, secured a position as brakeman in 
 the passenger service of that road. After hav- 
 ing served fourteen months as passenger brake- 
 man, he entered the freight service. He was 
 employed in that capacity only six weeks when 
 promoted to conductor. He remained with the 
 C. B. & Q. road until 1889, when he went to the 
 Chicago & Eastern Illinois R. R. at Danville, 
 and was with that company about five months. 
 He then went to Chicago and took a six months' 
 course at the Chicago College of Pharmacy, re- 
 ceiving a certificate, and established himself at 
 Kewana, Ind., where his mother bought him a 
 drug store. 
 
 He managed it successfully for about a year, 
 but sold out and returned to railroad work. Go- 
 ing to Champaign, 111., he entered the service of 
 the Illinois Central, and served in that district 
 as brakeman for two years, making occasional 
 trips as conductor. During the World's Fair 
 he was made train dispatcher of the World's Fair 
 service, serving with credit. His next position 
 was as conductor on a suburban express out of 
 Chicago, where he worked two years, and later 
 was for eleven months in the freight service on 
 the Chicago division. He then went to McComb 
 City, where after a short service as brakeman, 
 he was promoted to conductor, and has been 
 serving in that capacity on the Louisiana division 
 for the past two years. 
 
 Mr. Loutzenhiser was married in 1893 at 
 Waukegan, 111., and has three children : Mae, 
 
 born in 1894, Claire, born in 1896, and Annie 
 Louise, born in 1898. He belongs to Scotia 
 Lodge No. 272, Knights of Pythias, of Chicago, 
 and is a member of Division No. 367, O. R. C., 
 of McComb City, where he resides. He is a 
 man of fine literary tastes, a contributor to the 
 O. R. C. Journal, and is also a finished musician, 
 having composed several pieces of merit. Being 
 a well read man, a fluent conversationalist, well 
 posted on current topics, and a man of easy man- 
 ners and great affability, Mr. Loutzenhiser has 
 gained innumerable friends in the south, and 
 his circle grows larger every day. 
 
 JA. WALKER, an engineer in the freight 
 department of the Illinois Central, be- 
 Q gan life as a "hustler" in the I. C. shops 
 at Aberdeen, Miss. After a service of 
 three and one-half years there, he went as fire- 
 man on the Lexington branch of the road, and 
 worked there for four and one-half years. In 
 1893 he went to McComb City, and after spend- 
 ing two years as fireman on the Louisiana divi- 
 sion, was examined and promoted to engineer, 
 and has since had a regular run on that division. 
 He has been fortunate in escaping injury and 
 wrecks during his service. Mr. Walker is a 
 native of Aberdeen, Miss., his birth occurring 
 on January roth, 1865. James W. Walker, the 
 father of our subject, residing at Aberdeen, 
 Miss., was born in Ireland, but came to America 
 at the age of sixteen years. He was a shoe- 
 maker by trade, but was also engaged in mer- 
 chandising and farming. He is an active poli- 
 tician, always ready to take part in the issues of 
 the day. 
 
 J. A. Walker was united in marriage to 
 Miss Rosa McCaskill, of Aberdeen, Miss. They 
 have two children, John and Alexander. So- 
 cially he is connected with Division No. 196, B. 
 of L. E., of McComb City, where he has a com- 
 fortable home on Broadway, and of which place 
 he is a valued citizen.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 323 
 
 "ILLIAM F. ROGERS,* a young 
 freight engineer on the Evansville 
 district of the Illinois Central, was 
 born in Rockport, Iml., January 4, 
 In 1890 he entered the service of the Ohio 
 Valley Railroad watching engines at Princeton, 
 and in 1892 hegan firing an engine, being pro- 
 moted to engineer December 15, 1897. He had 
 a mishap on his first trip, running into an L. & 
 N. switch engine in Henderson. The L. & N. 
 man was at fault, being on the Illinois Central 
 joint track and had no flag or signal out. Our 
 subject's engine was demolished, and although 
 he stuck to his engine, applying the brakes, he 
 escaped injury. He now has a freight run on 
 the Evansville district. He is a bright, careful 
 engineer, and makes his home with his mother 
 at Henderson. He belongs to Division No. 410, 
 B. of L. E., and Division No. 317, B. of L. F. 
 
 "ILLIAM C. LOWRY, a prominent 
 engineer on the Vicksburg division 
 of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 
 R. R., has been an employe of the 
 company since 1887. He began his career in 
 the track department of the Natchez, Jackson & 
 Columbus R. R., but remained there only a short 
 time, going to the Alabama & Vicksburg R. R. 
 Leaving the service of the latter road, he entered 
 the employ of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 
 R. R. as fireman with Engineer Rials, and re- 
 mained with him for six months. He then fired 
 two years with J. H. McGuire and was then pro- 
 moted to engineer, and after serving three 
 months as a hostler, was given charge of a switch 
 engine in the yards at -Vicksburg. He occupied 
 that position only one week when transferred 
 to the regular freight service between Vicks- 
 burg and New Orleans, and has since remained 
 there, having charge at the present time of en- 
 gine No. 64 on the Vicksburg division. Mr. 
 Lowry was in a serious wreck on the Grenada 
 division in 1897, in which the fireman was in- 
 jured. He has had good success since being on 
 
 the road, never meeting with any injuries. Mr. 
 Lowry was born in Mobile, Ala., on March 12, 
 1873. His father, John B. Lowry, who is a car- 
 penter and a farmer, now resides at Terry, Miss, 
 (jeorge H. Lowry, a brother of our subject, was 
 formerly an employe in the I. C. shops at Vicks- 
 burg, but is now in the train service of the South- 
 ern Pacific R. R. Mr. Lowry was a charter 
 member of Division No. 460, B. of L. F., and is 
 now connected with Division No. 281, B. of L. 
 E., of Vicksburg. He is a popular employe of 
 the road and ranks high. Being quite a young 
 man, from the progress he has made, his pros- 
 pects look exceedingly bright. Our subject is 
 what may be called a self-made man. 
 
 M. DUNN, superintendent of the 
 Louisiana division of the Illinois 
 Q Central, residing at New Orleans, 
 began his railroad career in 1864, as 
 warehouseman at Brimfield, Ind., for the Lake 
 Shore & Michigan Southern R. R. Acquiring 
 a thorough knowledge of telegraphy, he was for 
 a number of years employed as agent and opera- 
 tor at various places. His first position was at 
 Sylvania, Ohio, during the years 1869 and 1870, 
 from which place he went to White Pigeon, 
 Mich., remaining there until 1872. Entering 
 the service of the L. & N. R. R. in November of 
 that year, he was appointed agent at Shepherds- 
 ville, Ky., and in March 1874, was promoted to 
 a similar position at Pulaski, Tenn. In Novem- 
 ber 1880, he was sent to Owensboro, Ky., as 
 general agent for the O. & N. R. R. (owned by 
 the L. & N.) and was later, in 1881, tendered 
 the position of master of trains, for the New Or- 
 leans division, with headquarters at Mobile, Ala. 
 In September 1883 he again received promotion, 
 being appointed superintendent of the O. & N. 
 division, with Russellville, Ky., as headquarters. 
 Remaining in the latter position until January 
 i, 1884, he was transferred to Memphis as super- 
 intendent of the Memphis division, and in Sep- 
 tember j 886 was offered and accepted the posi-
 
 324 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 tion of superintendent of Southern lines of the 
 Illinois Central, at New Orleans. This position 
 being finally abolished by the company in 1894, 
 he was then appointed superintendent of the 
 Louisiana division, and New Orleans terminals, 
 which position he is now filling. The life of 
 Mr. Dunn, has been a particularly active one, 
 and faithfulness in the discharge of his duty has 
 characterized his entire career. 
 
 'ILLIAM FLETCHER, an engineer 
 in the freight service of the Yazoo 
 & Mississippi Valley R. R., began 
 his career on the road in 1890, at 
 Vicksburg, Miss., as a fireman, with Engineer 
 McLaughlin. He was examined for promotion 
 in 1895, and passing a highly creditable examina- 
 tion, was given charge of an engine. He has 
 since served the company in that capacity be- 
 tween Vicksburg, Miss., and Wilson, La., on 
 engine No. 93, where he is doing good work. 
 His ten years connection with the road as fireman 
 and engineer has been free from accidents or 
 injury. Mr. Fletcher was born December 28, 
 1867, at Jackson, Miss., where his father, John 
 Fletcher, deceased, was a farmer. Socially he 
 is identified with Division No. 281, B. of L. E., 
 of Vicksburg. His home is in that city, where 
 he enjoys a wide acquaintance, his many good 
 qualities gaining for him the good will of all. 
 As a railroad man he is competent and careful, 
 and is a rising young man on the road. 
 
 D. JONES, a well-known and pop- 
 ular engineer in the passenger 
 service of the Illinois -Central, is 
 one of the oldest employes on the 
 road. He entered the service of the I. C. in 
 1858, when only a lad of fifteen. His first work 
 was at Tickfaw, La., where he was in charge of 
 the water station for several months. He then 
 
 worked as engine wiper at Jackson, Miss., and 
 at New Orleans, and while in the latter city be- 
 gan an apprenticeship in the 1. C. shops there. 
 
 At the outbreak of the war of the secession, 
 our subject enlisted in the New Orleans Light 
 Guards, First Louisiana Volunteers, under Col. 
 Vincent and Captains Dean and Willard. This 
 company saw service in the seven days fight 
 at Richmond. He also served for a time with 
 Gen. Jackson. On June 25th, 1863, Mr. Jones 
 was wounded in the leg and was for six months 
 confined in a hospital at Richmond, Va. On his 
 recovery he entered the cavalry, under Capt. 
 Harry Gilmore, doing duty for one year, and in 
 1865 was in the hospital at Charlottesville, Va., 
 at the time of Lee's surrender. 
 
 Returning to New Orleans, our subject re- 
 sumed work in the shops of the I. C., where he 
 remained until July 1870, leaving the shops to 
 assume a position as fireman on the road. He 
 worked at this only a few weeks, when he re- 
 ceived promotion to -engineer in the freight ser- 
 vice, between Canton, Miss., and New Orleans, 
 which position he held until 1871. In the lat- 
 ter year he entered the service of the Southern 
 Pacific, remaining with that company two years. 
 The following four years were spent in the ser- 
 vice of the Texas Pacific R. R., and New Orleans 
 & Mobile R. R., and in 1877 he returned to Mc- 
 Comb City, Miss., and re-entering the employ 
 of the I. C. worked as engineer in the freight 
 service, until 1885, when he received promotion 
 to the passenger service, between Canton, Miss., 
 and New Orleans, which position he still holds. 
 
 Mr. Jones was born May 2, 1844, at Charles- 
 ton, S. C., and is a son of Edward J. and Cath- 
 erine M. Jones, of that city. Edward J. Jones 
 was for many years superintendent of the ship- 
 yards at Savannah, Ga. He was a contractor 
 on the N. O. J. & G. N. R. R., and was for twenty 
 years roadmaster for- the I. C., then known as 
 the N. O. J. & G. N. R. R. Meeting with an ac- 
 cident he was obliged to retire from the active 
 service, and later died at McComb City. 
 
 The original of this sketch was twice mar- 
 ried. His first wife was Miss Harriet M. Chis- 
 holm, of Charleston, S. C., who departed this life
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 325 
 
 in 1882, leaving four children: Harriet, Sam- 
 uel, Burton and Edward. In 1883 Mr. Jones 
 was united to Miss Emma A. Burtus, of Bayou 
 Sarah, La., and they are the parents of four chil- 
 dren : Archie, Jessie, Florence and Ruth. 
 
 Being- one of the oldest men in the service of 
 the I .C., Mr. Jones is very well known and pop- 
 ular in railroad circles. He has presented the 
 Historical Company a time-card of the I. C., 
 used on the Louisiana division in 1866, which 
 appears elsewhere in this work. Socially he is 
 a member of the Knights of Honor, of McComb 
 City,, where he resides in a fine home on Vir- 
 ginia avenue. 
 
 G. WHEELOCK is an old and faith- 
 
 rful employe of the Illinois Central, 
 O having been in the service of the road 
 since 1876. His first experience at 
 railroad work was acquired in 1866, on the C. 
 & A. R. R. in the state of Illinois, where he was 
 employed as fireman on the Chicago division 
 of that road. After a service of four years with 
 that company as fireman and engineer, he went 
 to the St. L. I. M. & S. R. R., working there for 
 two years as engineer. He then went to the L. 
 & N. R. R. remaining one year with that com- 
 pany. He was next employed, for a year, on 
 the E. P. & S. W. R. R. (now the I. C.) at Eliza- 
 bethtown, Ky. Coming to McComb City in 1876, 
 he entered the service of the I. C. as an engineer 
 in the freight department, and after a faithful 
 record of twelve years in that branch of the ser- 
 vice, was promoted to the passenger department 
 of the road, where he is now employed. He is 
 in charge of a regular run between Canton, Miss., 
 and McComb City, Miss. Since being connected 
 with the I. C. he has been in two wrecks, escap- 
 ing injury each time. 
 
 Mr. Wheelock is a native of Yates county, 
 New York, his birth occuring there October 10, 
 1846. His father was Elias Wheelock, the prcn 
 prietor of extensive woolen mills there, but who 
 moved to Illinois and later to Missouri, where 
 
 he died at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. 
 E. G. Wheelock, was married in New Orleans, 
 to Miss Sarah E. Hanrahan, who departed this 
 life May 24, 1894, leaving five children: Warren 
 O., Arthur N., Nellie, Louise, and Gladys. He 
 is connected with, and is a charter member of, 
 Division No. 196, B. of L. E., and is also a mem- 
 ber of Lodge No. 36, K. of P., of McComb City, 
 where he resides in a comfortable home on Mag- 
 nolia street, and of which city he is a popular 
 and useful citizen. 
 
 PA. C. FERGUSON, trainmaster on 
 the New Orleans division of the Ya- 
 Q zoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., with 
 headquarters at Vicksburg, Miss., is 
 a native of that state, born November 13, 1861. 
 His parents were Carroll and Lucinda (Patrick) 
 Ferguson, the former a cotton merchant, died in 
 1866, and the latter is still living, and resides in 
 the state of Louisiana. 
 
 Mr. Ferguson received his early training 
 in the schools of Burnsville, Miss., and at the 
 age of sixteen studied telegraphy. He was as- 
 signed to duty as operator at Corinth, Miss., on 
 the Memphis & Charleston R. R., where he had 
 previously served a short time as fireman, and in 
 the shops of the company at Memphis. After 
 working for two years at Corinth, he entered 
 the service of the Illinois Central at Winona, 
 Miss., as telegrapher, working there seven 
 months, and at various other places on the road 
 for a short time. In 1880 he was called to the 
 general office at New Orleans, remaining there 
 until April i, 1881. He then went to Houston, 
 Texas, securing a position in the office of the su- 
 perintendent of the International & Great Nor- 
 thern R. R. at that point, and worked there until 
 June 1881. From Houston he went to Colum- 
 bus, Texas, and there took a position in the office 
 of the chief dispatcher for the Galveston, Harris- 
 burg & San Antonio R. R., where he was occu- 
 pied until October 1881. He then returned to 
 Houston and entered the employ of the Texas
 
 326 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 & New Orleans R. R. as train dispatcher, serv- 
 ing until November 1882, and from that road on 
 the latter date to the Houston, East & West 
 Texas R. R. as superintendent of telegraphy and 
 chief dispatcher, with Houston as headquarters. 
 Later he returned to the Texas & New Orleans 
 R. R. as train dispatcher. In October 1883 that 
 road was absorbed by the Southern Pacific, and 
 Mr. Ferguson became chief dispatcher under the 
 new management in June 1885, and held that 
 position until January 1888. He was then chief 
 dispatcher successively for the Gulf, Colorado 
 & Santa Fe R. R. at Galveston, for one year, and 
 the Texas Pacific R. R. at Marshall, Texas, for 
 one year. In 1890 he became identified with the 
 Louisville, New Orleans & Texas R. R. as train 
 dispatcher at Vicksburg, Miss., and on October 
 1st, 1891, was promoted to chief dispatcher, hold- 
 ing the latter position until his promotion to 
 trainmaster, on October 1st, 1899. His juris- 
 diction extends from Vicksburg to Wilson, La. 
 Mr. Ferguson is a member of Lodge No. 
 65, K.of P., of Houston, Texas. He is a Metho- 
 dist in belief, and a Democrat in politics. The 
 wide experience Mr. Ferguson has had, together 
 with his natural aptitude, mark him as a man 
 well fitted for his chosen vocation. His many 
 excellencies of character win for him the regard 
 of all with whom business or social relations 
 bring him in contact. 
 
 JAMES ASHTON, popular conductor of 
 the Illinois Central, residing in McComb 
 City, Miss., is the son of James and 
 Lydia (Conway) Ashton, and was born 
 March 17, 1856, in New Orleans, where he was 
 reared and educated. In 1868, at the age of 
 twelve years, he commenced his railroad career 
 as a newsboy on the New Orleans, Opelousas & 
 Great Western Railroad (now a part of the 
 Southern Pacific Railway System), with his 
 father, who was employed as baggageman. Our 
 subject remained in this position until the road 
 was absorbed by the Southern Pacific, when he 
 
 was offered a position as passenger brakeman, 
 which he accepted ; but at the expiration of one 
 year he was transferred to the freight service 
 in the same capacity, remaining there but nine 
 months when he was given charge of a bag- 
 gage car. This position he occupied fourteen 
 months when he was placed in charge of a freight 
 train as conductor and continued in that capaci- 
 ty for the following ten years. He was then as- 
 signed to a regular passenger run and remained 
 there for nine years. After a satisfactory ser- 
 vice of nineteen years as conductor, he was made 
 general instructor and examiner of the employes 
 on' standard rules, and was retained in this posi- 
 tion for six years. He is recognized as authori- 
 ty on all rules pertaining to train service. Feel- 
 ing that he had earned a rest, Mr. Ashton re- 
 signed from the service and for the next seven 
 months traveled all over the western part of the 
 United States for recreation. Returning to New 
 Orleans he decided not to again engage in rail- 
 roading, but his desire and the influence of his 
 old associates getting the better of him, he again 
 embarked in his first calling. He then presented 
 his past record and made application for a posi- 
 tion as brakeman to Mr. R. H. Dwyer, trainmas- 
 ter of the Illinois Central, at McComb City. 
 This position he was readily given and held for 
 eleven days when he was promoted to conductor 
 in the freight service, where he is at present en- 
 gaged. 
 
 Mr. Ashton is a member of Division No. 
 367, O. R. C. of McComb City, though he became 
 identified with the order seventeen years ago 
 when he joined Division No. 7, O. R. C. of 
 Houston, Texas. He has served as Chief Con- 
 ductor of Cresent City Division, No. 108, of New 
 Orleans, which is conceded to be one of the 
 largest and most prosperous divisions south of 
 the Ohio river. 
 
 Mr. Ashton has been remarkably success- 
 ful, never having had a single accident in his 
 railroad career of thirty-two years. He has been 
 importuned a number of times by the young rail- 
 road men of the Illinois Central railroad to start 
 a class of instructions, but has refrained from do- 
 ing so on account of it interfering with his other
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 327 
 
 business. He has never been known to turn a 
 deaf ear to any aspirant, and is always ready 
 ajul willing to counsel and advise young men 
 as to the sure and proper course to pursue to at- 
 tain success. Mr. Ashton feels that he owes 
 much of his success as a railroad man to Mr. W. 
 F. Owen, superintendent of the Southern Paci- 
 fic, at New Orleans, who took great interest and 
 pleasure in giving him useful information and in 
 elevating him to his present high standing. 
 Honesty, sobriety, vigilance and fidelity has been 
 his motto through his long and useful railroad 
 career. 
 
 F. BAKER is a native of Lexing- 
 ton, Ky., and his father, William 
 Q A. Baker, still resides in that city. 
 Mr. Baker, who is now freight 
 conductor on the Memphis division, began in 1887 
 as a brak eman, and in 1889 he was promoted to 
 conductor in the freight service. In 1893 he went 
 to the Southern Pacific, working as freight con- 
 ductor until 1895, when he came to Paducah to 
 work for the Illinois Central. He now has a pre- 
 ferred run between Paducah and Memphis, and 
 he is very successful in his work. Mr. Baker mar- 
 ried Miss Devney, of Evansville, Ind., and. has 
 one child, a boy three years of age. Our sub- 
 ject belongs to Division No. 290, O. R. C. 
 
 L. McCLURE, supervisor of 
 bridges and buildings on the Ya- 
 zoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 
 wkh headquarters at Leland, 
 Miss., was born near Londonderry, Ireland, on 
 Oct. 16, 1847. His parents were John and Mary 
 (Logan) McClure, farmers; the former departed 
 this life on Aug. 14, 1888, and the latter on Jan. 7, 
 1889. Mr. McClure arrived in America in 1867, 
 and settled in Nashville, Tenn. He there en- 
 tered the service of the Louisville & Nashville 
 
 R. R. as a carpenter, and remained with the com- 
 pany until 1879. He then went to Louisville, 
 and took charge of a force of forty-three men 
 engaged in the construction of a bridge being 
 built by the Ohio River Bridge company, across 
 the Ohio river at that point, and was occupied 
 there as superintendent until the work was com- 
 pleted, a term of two years and ten months. He 
 then entered the service of the Louisville Bridge 
 & Iron company, as superintendent of construc- 
 tion, remaining with that company until August 
 22, 1872, during which period he superintended 
 the construction of a bridge on the Owensboro 
 & Russellville Railroad at Livermore, Ky., cross- 
 ing the Gum river. He also constructed the 
 Louisville & Nashville bridge at Danville, Tenn., 
 the total length of the latter being about 1939 
 feet, consisting of eight spans of 208 feet each, 
 and a draw of 275 feet. On the completion of 
 that work Mr. McClure was offered, and ac- 
 cepted, the position of superintendent of bridges 
 and buildings for the Louisville & Nashville R. 
 R., and during his incumbency reconstructed 
 nearly all bridges between Nashville, Tenn., 
 and Decatur, Ala. In 1879, he was transferred 
 to the Henderson division of the St. Louis & 
 South-Eastern R. R. with headquarters at Hop- 
 kinsville, Ky., where he was engaged in construc- 
 tion until September 15, 1881. He then retired 
 from railroad work, and went into the business 
 of contracting and building at Hopkinsville, re- 
 maining in that work until August 1890. On 
 that date he entered the service of the Louisville, 
 New Orleans & Texas R. R. (now the Yazoo & 
 Mississippi Valley R. R.) as supervisor of bridges 
 and buildings, with headquarters at Vicksburg, 
 Miss. For convenience he has been located at 
 different points on the system, and has his office 
 at the present time in Leland. Since being con- 
 nected with the road, Mr. McClure has given 
 the highest degree of satisfaction, being a man 
 who thoroughly understands his business, the 
 long experience in which has so completely quali- 
 fied him for his position. In 1877 Mr. McClure 
 was joined in matrimony to Miss Maria E. Cab- 
 ler, of Columbia, Tenn., but a native of Nashville. 
 Six children have been born to them, viz : John
 
 328 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 W., aped twenty-one, chief bookkeeper for Tan- 
 ger & (Company, of Memphis, Tenn. ; Bessie Lee, 
 aged eighteen ; Eugene A., aged seventeen ; Man- 
 aged fourteen ; George, aged five ; and Robert 
 B. aged one year. Mr. McClure is a Master 
 Mason, being connected with Memphis Lodge 
 No. 118. His family attend the Methodist 
 church. Politically he is a democrat. 
 
 in 1888. 
 
 J. McLAUGHLIN, a competent and 
 popular engineer in the employ of the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 
 entered the service of the company 
 His first experience at railroad work, 
 was acquired on the Richmond & Danville, (Va.) 
 R. R. where he was for a time employed as 
 fireman, and later was promoted to engineer. 
 Coming to Vicksburg he at once secured a posi- 
 tion as fireman on the Yazoo & Mississippi Val- 
 ley R. R., and in 1890 was given a regular run 
 in the freight service as engineer on the Vicks- 
 burg division, and has since remained there in 
 charge of engine No. 79: On December 6, 1892, 
 his hand was caught in the drive wheel of his 
 engine, and he lost four fingers. This is the on- 
 ly injury he has sustained during his railroad 
 career. Mr. McLaughlin is a native of Ireland, 
 born in County Derry, on June 18, 1865. He is 
 connected with Division No. 281, B. of L. E., 
 of Vicksburg, where he makes his home, and 
 has a large circle of acquaintances and friends. 
 
 , OBERT BRENNAX, a popular young 
 engineer in the freight service of the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., has 
 been with the company since Septem- 
 ber 1 8, 1896. He was first employed as a fire- 
 man on the Tennessee Midland R. R. (now the 
 Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis R. R.) where 
 he served two months. Going to Memphis, he 
 became identified with the Yazoo & Mississippi 
 
 \ alley R. R. as fireman, and three and one-half 
 years service in that capacity was followed by 
 promotion to engineer. He was then placed in 
 charge of engine No. 82 and has since remained 
 in the freight service of that road. He has at 
 present a regular run on engine No. 275, between 
 Memphis and Vicksburg. Mr. Brennan was 
 born in Nashville, Tenn., on May i, 1870, and 
 is a son of Cornelius Brennan deceased, who 
 was a blacksmith in the employ of the Nashville, 
 Chattanooga & St. Louis R. R. Miss Annie 
 Lappin of Cincinnati, Ohio, became the wife of 
 Mr. Brennan, and they have established a com- 
 fortable home, at No. 158 Florida avenue, in 
 the city of Memphis, where they have a large 
 circle of friends and acquaintances. 
 
 ^ATRICK WHALEN, general yardmaster 
 of the Illinois Central at McComb City, 
 has had a railroad experience extend- 
 ing over more than twenty years. He 
 first began with the Central at Centralia as brake- 
 man in 1879 and two years later was made con- 
 ductor, running between Cairo and Centralia, 
 which position he held for thirteen years, when 
 he was made yardmaster at Centralia. One year 
 later he accepted a position as conductor on the 
 Cairo Short Line and was thus engaged when 
 the road was absorbed by the Central. He was 
 shortly after transferred to Belleville where he 
 served as yardmaster and conductor some six- 
 teen months and for a like period in the yards 
 at Jackson; Miss., when on February 9, 1897, 
 he was placed in charge of the yards at McComb, 
 his present assignment. He is well versed in 
 the duties of conductor and yardmaster, manag- 
 ing efficiently the force under his charge. He is 
 a member of McComb City Division No. 367, O. 
 R. C. In all the years of his railway experience 
 Mr. Whalen has been involved in but one wreck, 
 that of a construction train, and came out of 
 that without injury. He is well liked by all 
 under his authority and holds the confidence of 
 his superiors.
 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 331 
 
 I | ^\ B. RUGG, who resides in Ft. Dodge, 
 
 riowa, has been an engineer for twelve 
 O years, and a fireman for four years. 
 His first work was with the old St. 
 Louis Railroad, where he worked in the trans- 
 portation department for two and a half years. 
 He then began with the Illinois Central as a 
 fireman, which position he held for four years, 
 and in September 1887 was promoted to engineer, 
 his first charge being engine No. 197. He now 
 runs engine No. 810, and has sat on the right 
 side of it since 1890. His run is between Fort 
 Dodge and Cherokee and Sioux City. 
 
 Mr. Rugg, a native of Shelburne Falls, 
 Mass., was born Oct. 22, 1858. He is a son of Joel 
 Rugg, who is a tanner and shoemaker by trade, 
 and who resides in Iowa county, Iowa. Our 
 subject married Miss Kate Kennedy, of Chero- 
 kee, Iowa, and they have two children, Marie 
 and Ruth. He is a member of Division No. 
 226, B. of L. E., and the A. O. U. W., both of 
 Fort Dodge, Iowa. He was never in any wrecks 
 of any kind, and never injured. The family res- 
 idence is at No. 324 North Seventh street, Fort 
 Dodge, Iowa. 
 
 ,HARLES W. GARDNER, engineer, 
 has been with the Illinois Central since 
 February 1882. He first began work 
 with the company as fireman, and three 
 and a half years later was promoted to engineer. 
 Mr. Gardner had worked for the Chicago & 
 North- Western Railroad before joining the Illi- 
 nois Central company. He is a native of Lake 
 county, Ohio, and a son of John Gardner, a 
 farmer, who in early days was a tanner and boot 
 and shoe maker, and who came to Fort Dodge, 
 Iowa, many years ago, and died there. Our 
 subject married Miss A. D. Stevens, of Humbolt, 
 Iowa, who has borne three children : Francis ; 
 John J., who since June 1899 has been in the em- 
 ploy of the I. C. R. R. as fireman on the Omaha 
 division ; and Gertrude. Mr. Gardner now runs 
 engine No. 910, between Fort Dodge and 
 
 19 
 
 Sioux City. He is a member of Division No. 
 226, B. of L. E., of Fort Dodge, also the Masonic 
 order and the A. O. U. W. Our subject's only 
 wreck was a head end collision, in which he had 
 a shoulder dislocated. Mr Gardner is very promi- 
 nent in railroad circles, and is now secretary 
 of the committee of adjustment, and was chair- 
 man of the same during the trouble of 1894. He 
 owns a finely furnished residence at No. 1205 
 Fifth avenue, south, Fort Dodge, Iowa. 
 
 B. CURLEY was born in Alta- 
 mont, Garnett county, Md. His 
 Q father, Thomas Curley, died in 
 1892, being an old railroad man, 
 having served as section foreman on various 
 roads for many years. Mr. Curley was educated 
 in Ohio county, Ky., and at the Catholic Brothers 
 school in Louisville. He commenced work on 
 the railroad at the age of fifteen, driving a cart. 
 He next carried water and then worked on the 
 section, and in various positions until August 
 1878, when he began on the Paducah & Eliza- 
 bethtown Railroad as brakeman, in which place 
 he served eleven months. Following this he 
 served as fireman two years and ten months and 
 was then given an engine on the Elizabethtown 
 & Paducah R. R., remaining until 1883, when 
 he secured a place on the L. & N. as engineer. 
 In 1884 he came back to the C. O. & S. W. R. R., 
 running freight and passenger, and has since re- 
 mained in that service. His present run is be- 
 tween Louisville and Paducah in passenger ser- 
 vice. 
 
 Our subject is considered one of the Illinois 
 Central's best engineers. May 9, 1896, with thir- 
 teen loaded freight cars and engine No. 603, 
 he made the run from Central City to Louisville, 
 one hundred twenty-seven miles, in three hours 
 and thirty five minutes, which has never been 
 equalled. Mr. Curley has never been seriously 
 injured in his long service on the road. In 1894 
 at the time of the strike, he had been on a vaca- 
 tion, came back and took an engine, not knowing
 
 332 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 of the strike. Somebody threw a switch and the 
 engine was thrown on the side and cars piled up. 
 Our subject is a member of L. E. Graves 
 Lodge No. 485, B. of L. E., of Louisville, being 
 First Assistant Chief, also a member of the 
 Catholic Knights of America, to which lodge he 
 has belonged since 1883. Mr. Curley is a jolly, 
 goodnatured man, a man of honor and one who 
 is well liked by the community. He married 
 Miss Dooley, of Elizabethtown, who is a daugh- 
 ter of J. Dooley, who has been section foreman 
 on the L. & N. for the period of seventeen years. 
 Our subject has a nice, comfortable home in 
 Louisville. - . 
 
 G. NELSON is an engineer in the 
 passenger service on the Louisiana 
 Q division of the Illinois Central, hav- 
 ing a regular run between Canton, 
 Miss., and New Orleans. He entered the service 
 of the I. C. in 1880, at McComb City, as a coal 
 heaver, working as such for two months. He 
 was then given employment in the shops at that 
 place, remaining there four years, when he re- 
 ceived an appointment as locomotive fireman, 
 at which he worked eight months. On Septem- 
 ber 13, 1883, after passing a creditable examin- 
 ation, he was promoted to engineer in the freight 
 service, continuing there until August 1st, 1898, 
 when he was promoted to the passenger service. 
 His entire career as a railroad man has been 
 spent on the Louisiana division of the I. C., with 
 the exception of two months in 1890, which were 
 passed in the state of Illinois working on the 
 Champaign division of the road. He has been 
 in two wrecks while in the employ of the I. C., 
 the second and most serious of which occurred 
 on March I ith, 1892. It was caused by the over- 
 turning of his engine. In this wreck the fireman 
 lost his life, and our subject was so badly injured 
 that he was obliged to retire from active service 
 for sixteen months. 
 
 Mr. Nelson is a native of Sweden, where 
 he was born October 2, 1863. Olaf Nelson, his 
 
 father, was a carpenter by trade, and emigrated 
 to America in 1873, settling in Water Valley, 
 Miss. He returned to Sweden in 1875 to bring 
 his family to this country, and is now living a 
 retired life at McComb City. A _brother of Mr. 
 Nelson, Frederic M., is a cabinet-maker em- 
 ployed in the shops of the I. C. in the latter city. 
 The union of Mr. Nelson and Miss Mattie 
 Traylor took place at McComb City, and resulted 
 in the birth of three children : John P., born 
 June 25, 1883 ; Ruby V., born in 1886, and Ed- 
 win W., born in 1894. Mr. Nelson is a progres- 
 sive and prominent resident of East McComb 
 City, where he owns a comfortable home, be- 
 sides considerable other property. He is con- 
 nected socially with Division No. 196, B. of L. 
 E., of his home city. 
 
 'ILLIAM L. OAKLEY, chief train 
 dispatcher at McComb City, Miss., 
 was born at Evansville, Ind., Aug. 24, 
 1858. His father, W. H. Oakley, 
 graduated from the Kentucky Military Institute, 
 as a civil engineer, in 1853, and shortly after laid 
 out the Vincennes & Terre Haute R. R., serving 
 as division engineer at the age of twenty. He was 
 employed successively on the Evansville & In- 
 dianapolis, and the "Big Four" line between 
 Marshall, 111., and Vincennes, Ind. After the 
 war he served for a time as cashier and pay- 
 master on the Vincennes & Cairo line, since 
 which time he has not been identified with rail- 
 road work. He married Maria L. Conant, in 
 April 1857, at Evansville, where he has continued 
 to reside most of the time since that event. 
 
 William L. Oakley after his schooling had 
 been secured in the schools of his native town, 
 began his railroad career in 1874 as news agent, 
 and in half a year was promoted to brakeman 
 between Cairo and Vincennes, at which he was 
 engaged some eighteen months. Having in the 
 meantime studied telegraphy, he was competent 
 to take advantage of an opening in that depart- 
 ment on the St. Louis & South-Eastern, and after
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 333 
 
 the road was absorbed by the Nashville, Chatta- 
 nooga & St. Louis he was promoted to train 
 dispatcher and was again promoted to chief in 
 that department when the Louisville & Nash- 
 ville came into possession of the road. He was 
 filling this position January i, 1888, when he ac- 
 cepted an offer of train dispatcher at Cairo for 
 the Illinois Central, and remained at that point 
 until October 7, 1892, when he was transferred 
 to the Louisiana division with headquarters at 
 McComb, and promoted to chief dispatcher. 
 Since that date he has been acceptably filling the 
 position. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Oakley occurred at 
 McLeansboro, 111., July n, 1882, Miss Ora Sul- 
 lenger linking her fortunes with his at that time. 
 Four children have been born to them : Marie ; 
 Harry, a student of mechanical draughting ; Lela 
 B. and William N. J. H. Oakley, a brother, has 
 been in the United States marine service for a 
 period of seven years, being at present stationed 
 at Queenstown, Ireland. Mr. Oakley is a mem- 
 ber of Evansville Lodge No. 136, K. of P., and 
 of the American Train Dispatchers' Association. 
 Mr. Oakley has never failed in his trust, and by 
 his careful administration of his official duties 
 has merited the continued confidence of his em- 
 ployers. 
 
 'ILLIAM A. TAYLOR, the highly 
 popular young man who holds the 
 responsible position of train dis- 
 patcher for the Illinois Central at 
 McComb City, Miss., was born at Morristown, 
 Tenn., in 1875. He began his railroad career 
 in 1893, on the East Tennessee & Georgia R. 
 R. (now the Southern R. R.), and from that 
 year until coming to the I. C. was at various sta- 
 tions along that road as telegraph operator. En- 
 tering the service of the Illinois Central, in the 
 office at Water Valley, Miss., he was soon pro- 
 moted to dispatcher, and is now on "third trick" 
 from midnight until 8 A. M. Mr. Taylor served 
 his country during the Spanish American war, 
 being a member of Company G, 2nd Miss. Vol. 
 
 He was honorably discharged on December 24, 
 1898. He is a member of Elks Lodge No. 268, 
 of McComb City, and of the K. of P., of Water 
 Valley. For a young man, Mr. Taylor has been 
 eminently successful in life. He is of jovial na- 
 ture, and to come in contact with him, means 
 the laying aside of all care, . and enjoying the 
 present. 
 
 JOHN M. McCANN, one of the prominent 
 conductors on the Paducah district of 
 the Illinois Central, has a preferred run 
 between Paducah and Louisville. Our 
 subject's railroad life began at South Louisville, 
 on the L. & N., where he was employed a short 
 time in transferring cars, then for seven months 
 was switching in the yards, being transferred to 
 the road where he broke for three years, at the 
 end of which time he went to the Short Line as 
 switchman and brakeman, remaining one year 
 and eight months. After the L. & N. took 
 charge of the Short Line, he quit braking and 
 for nearly three years fired on the road. He 
 then went back to braking and at the end of 
 eleven months was promoted, in 1884, to freight 
 conductor, running freights for the following 
 four years, when he was given a passenger run 
 between Louisville and Cincinnati and Louisville 
 and Lexington, holding this position for three 
 years. Tiring of railroad work he quit the road 
 and embarked in business in Louisville, but not 
 meeting with the success he deserved, at the end 
 of four years returned to railroading, going to 
 the Air Line as brakeman, but at the end of six 
 weeks was laid off on account of slack business. 
 He then went on the Louisville Southern as 
 brakeman, was afterwards put in the yards as 
 foreman of an engine, and part of the time acted 
 as extra night yardmaster, but on account of a 
 misunderstanding left the Louisville Southern 
 and returned to the Air Line as brakeman, with 
 a promise of promotion, which shortly followed, 
 and he remained with this road for three years, 
 when he came to Paducah and took his present
 
 334 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 run. In his varied and interesting railroad ca- 
 reer our subject never had a serious accident, 
 never burnt a journal off, was never injured, 
 and was never laid off. 
 
 John M. McCann was born May 24, 1859, 
 in Henry county, Ky., but was educated in Louis- 
 ville, and on May 24, 1881, was married to Miss 
 Mattie L. Hook, of Louisville. They are the 
 parents of four interesting children, as follows: 
 Alma E., who is bookkeeper and stenographer 
 for the Tennessee Telephone Co., of Paducah; 
 Frank E., who is attending the high school ; Em- 
 ery L. is a vocalist of considerable note, and is 
 very highly spoken of by those who have heard 
 her sing ; and Cleo W., a graduate of the schools 
 of Paducah. Socially Mr. McCann is a member 
 of Abraham Lodge No. 8, A. F. & A. M., of 
 Louisville, also of Wingo Division No. 290, O. 
 R. C, of Paducah, in which lodge he has held 
 nearly every office, and in 1899 served as Chief 
 of the Division. Throughout his long railroad 
 career Mr. McCann has been successful, and 
 there is no better known or more popular conduc- 
 tor on the Louisville division than the subject of 
 this sketch. 
 
 , OBERT E. ADDKISON accountant for 
 the Illinois Central at Jackson, Miss., 
 entered the service of the company in 
 August 1894, as a brakeman between 
 Jackson and Natchez. Serving as a brakeman 
 until December of that year, he occupied the posi- 
 tion of bill clerk at Natchez from that date until 
 March 1897. He next served as ticket clerk 
 in the same city until April 1898, and as day clerk 
 at Holly Springs, Miss., until July 1898, when 
 he was appointed manifest clerk in the freight 
 department of the I. C. at Jackson, Miss., which 
 he occupied until April i, 1900, when he was pro- 
 moted to accountant. Mr. Addkison was born 
 on August 28, 1874, in Jackson, Miss., where 
 his father, Andrew J. Addkison, a farmer, still 
 resides. David E. Addkison, agent for the 
 American Express company at Jackson, is a 
 brother of our subject. Miss Emma C. Muller 
 
 became the wife of our subject, and one child, 
 Andrew Joseph, is the result of their union. 
 They reside in a comfortable home on Pearl 
 street, in Jackson, where they have a large circle 
 of acquaintances and friends. 
 
 JOHN E. LAWTON, a conductor in the 
 freight service of the Yazoo & Missis- 
 sippi Valley R R. on the New Orleans 
 division, with headquarters at Wilson, 
 La., is a native of Chesterfield county, West Va., 
 where he was born on July i8th, 1854. Dr. 
 Richard Lawton, his father, was a physician who 
 moved to middle Tennessee during the childhood 
 of our subject, and practiced his profession there 
 until his death in 1878. He was followed to the 
 grave by his wife, Phoebe (Winfell) Lawton, 
 who died in 1888. John E. Lawton attended 
 the schools of Tipton county, Tenn., and spent 
 his boyhood days on a farm, his father hav- 
 ing a plantation. At the age of nineteen he 
 began running a market wagon in the city of 
 Memphis, and remained at that business a year. 
 He then worked for five months in the shops of 
 the Memphis & Charleston R. R., and on June 
 22nd, 1874, began his active road career as a 
 fireman, between Memphis and Chattanooga, 
 where he served three years. Promotion to 
 engineer followed, in which capacity he served 
 only two months, when, on account of slack busi- 
 ness he returned to his former work of fireman, 
 and continued there for six months. He then 
 took charge of an engine, and was for six years 
 in the freight and passenger service of the road, 
 when in April 1884 he resigned. He then en- 
 tered the service of the Louisville, New Orleans 
 & Texas R. R. (now the Yazoo & Mississippi 
 Valley R. R.), at New Orleans, as engineer in 
 the passenger service of that road, under John 
 Bradley, superintendent, John A. Grant, builder 
 of the road, and J. M. Edwards, manager. He 
 held that position four and one-half years, re- 
 turning at the end of that period to the Memphis 
 & Charleston R. R., but remained only two
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 335 
 
 months, when he again returned to the Louis- 
 ville, New Orleans & Texas R. R. His former 
 position with this road was in the passenger ser- 
 vice, but on account of the long run, and having 
 his home at Wilson, La., he, on his return, went 
 as engineer in the freight service, and was in that 
 hranch of the service until November ist, 1889. 
 On the latter date he was appointed foreman of 
 motive power at Wilson, and held that position 
 until December 25, 1892. He then resigned from 
 the road, and retired from active duty, until 
 August 5, 1893, when he entered the employ of 
 the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. as a con- 
 ductor in the freight service of the road, between 
 Wilson and Vicksburg, where he is now em- 
 ployed. The marriage of Mr. Lawton and Miss 
 Susan B., daughter of Col. W. R. Patton, of 
 Hunts ville, Ala., occurred on January 17, 1878. 
 Their union was blessed by three sons : William 
 P., chief clerk in the office of the trainmaster, 
 at Wilson ; John E. Jr., and Lee H., attending 
 school. Mr. Lawton is a member of Division 
 No. 231, O. R. C, of Vicksburg, Knights of 
 Pythias, and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 
 His family are attendants at the Presbyterian 
 church, and politically he affiliates with the Dem- 
 ocracy. Mr. Lawton has a subtantial home at 
 Wilson, La., of which place he is a progressive 
 and worthy citizen. 
 
 JOHN H. FUQUA, a competent and 
 trusted engineer on the Louisiana divi- 
 sion of the Illinois Central, was born in 
 1865, at Shelby ville, Tenn. Having been 
 left an orphan at an early age, he was obliged 
 to make his own way in life, from youth. He 
 determined on a railroad career, and found his 
 first employment in the shops of the Louisville 
 & Nashville R. R. at Birmingham, Ala. Desir- 
 ing active service on the road, he obtained a 
 position as fireman on the Alabama Great South- 
 ern R. R., where he soon found promotion to 
 switch engineer. He then went to the L. & N. 
 R. R. as engineer out of Birmingham. In 1898 
 
 he entered the service of the I. C. as engineer, 
 where he is now successfully serving. He is 
 in charge of engine No. 749, I. C. build. 
 
 Mr. Fuqua had a narrow escape from death 
 while on the Louisville & Nashville R. R., by 
 the derailment of the engine. His engineer, 
 James McKay, the largest engineer in the coun- 
 try at that time, weighing over four hundred 
 pounds, being too heavy to jump, was scalded to 
 death. Of the social organizations, Mr. Fuqua 
 affiliates with Division No. 196, B. of L. E., of 
 McComb City. His railroad career covers a pe- 
 riod of seventeen years of successful work, and 
 in McComb City, where he makes his home, he is 
 highly respected. 
 
 LLEN C. MARTIN, general foreman 
 of the car department, is a native of 
 Covington, La., born July 14, 1851. 
 He lived under the parental roof until 
 the age of twenty, and learned his trade under 
 his father's instruction. Coming to McComb 
 he worked at his trade for a time, and in April 
 1874 secured a place in the shops of the New Or- 
 leans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad. Af- 
 ter the road was purchased by the Central, Mr. 
 Martin was retained on the force, and on Feb- 
 ruary i, 1883, was made foreman of the passen- 
 ger shops, where he was employed six and a 
 half years. After a few months in charge of 
 the car shops at New Orleans, he was ordered 
 back to McComb December i, 1889, and for five 
 years was in charge of the freight shops. Since 
 1894 he has been in full charge of all the wood- 
 working departments, which have grown to large 
 proportions. 
 
 Mr. Martin was married at McComb in 
 November 1873, to Miss Emily Easley, and they 
 have a family of five sons : Albert A. and Warie 
 W. are machinists in the shops at McComb ; Ed- 
 ward E. is an apprentice in the boiler shops, 
 while Robert C. and Archie H. are still in school. 
 Mr. Martin is far advanced in the Masonic 
 order, holding membership in Blue Lodge No.
 
 336 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 382, at McComb, Chapter No. 90, at Summit, 
 and St. Cyr Commandery No. 5, at Water Val- 
 ley. He is also a member of the Knights of 
 Honor at McComb. The family are communi- 
 cants of the Episcopal church. Mr. Martin is 
 a man well versed in his craft in all its branches, 
 and has as well excellent executive ability, being 
 able to get the most possible out of a given num- 
 ber of men without friction. 
 
 R. OLIVER B. QUIN, district surgeon 
 of the Illinois Central at McComb 
 City, Miss., is a native of Holmesville, 
 of that state, his birth occuring Decem- 
 ber 6, 1857. After finishing the course of the 
 high school at Summit, whither his parents had 
 removed, he began the study of his profession 
 under the tutelage of his father, Dr. D. H. Quin. 
 The latter attended lectures in the University 
 of Pennsylvania, after a course in the literary 
 department of Kenyon college at Cambridge, 
 Ohio. After reading under his father's instruc- 
 tion, Oliver B. Quin attended the medical de- 
 partment of the University of Louisiana, now the 
 Tulane University, graduating in 1879. He im- 
 mediately located at McComb City and has been 
 in constant practice here ever since. In 1886, 
 after the death of Dr. C. Hoover, then surgeon 
 of the Illinois Central at this point, Dr. Quin 
 being recognized as the leading surgeon there, 
 was offered the vacant position, which he ac- 
 cepted. Owing to the large number of employes 
 in the extensive shops and the large number 
 of operatives resident at McComb, the official 
 practice reaches many hundred cases every year. 
 Dr. Quin's jurisdiction extends from Hazelhurst, 
 Miss., to Amite City, La. 
 
 The marriage of Dr. Quin occurred at Vicks- 
 burg, Miss., December 9, 1880, Miss Sophie 
 Clark becoming his wife. To them have been 
 born four children Madge, Mary, Ella and 
 Oliver Benton Jr. 
 
 Dr. Quin served several terms as selectman 
 of the city,' and then at the earnest solicitations 
 
 of his friends, accepted the nomination of mayor 
 and was repeatedly elected to that office, serving 
 in that capacity at the present time. He is a 
 member of the state board of health and has been 
 prominent in the financial interests of the city, 
 having served as director of the bank established 
 in the city. He is active in any movement to 
 establish new enterprises in the vicinity where 
 he resides and in the state as well. 
 
 The secret orders have received from Dr. 
 Quin a cordial support. He is a member of the 
 McComb Lodge of Masons No. 382, the Summit 
 Chapter, No. 90, Jackson Commandery No. i, 
 and Hamasa Temple of the Mystic Shrine at 
 Meridian, Miss., Myrtle Lodge, K. of P., No. 36, 
 Good Will Lodge No. 104, I. O. O. F. and Me 
 Comb City Lodge No. 268, of the Elks. He is 
 a member of the American Medical Association 
 and the Mississippi State Medical Association. 
 
 Dr. Quin is a man of broad views, a typi- 
 cal representative of the new and progressive 
 south, and one whose character leaves its impress 
 on the locality where he has made his home. He 
 is a man of culture and refinement, a true son 
 of the old south. As a citizen and practitioner 
 none stand higher than Dr. Quin. 
 
 L EORGE H. FOSTER, a well known 
 engineer in the freight service of the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., has 
 been ten years in the service of the 
 company. He acquired his first knowledge of 
 railroad work on the Denver & Rio Grande R. 
 R., where he was employed four years as a fire- 
 man, between Pueblo and Salida, Colo. He 
 then served for two years in the same capacity 
 on the Alabama & Southern R. R., and in 1889 
 came to Vicksburg, entering the employ of the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. After work- 
 ing six weeks as fireman, he was promoted to 
 engineer, and has since been employed all over 
 the road and its branches. He is at present on a 
 uvular run in the freight service on engine 
 No. 94, between Vicksburg and New Orleans.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 337 
 
 His career on the road has been highly success- 
 ful. Mr. Foster was born in Chattanooga, Tenn., 
 on November ist, 1861. His parents, George 
 D. and Rachael (Rogers) Foster, were respected 
 residents of that city, where Mr. Foster Sr. fol- 
 lowed the occupation of a carpenter, and was a 
 large property owner. Both are now deceased. 
 Mr. Foster married Miss Minnie Hoskins, of 
 Brookhaven, Miss., and with her resides on Bel- 
 mont avenue, in Vicksburg. Of the social or- 
 ders Mr. Foster belongs to Division No. 281, 
 B. of L. E., of his home city. Politically he is a 
 Democrat, but looks to the qualifications of the 
 man more than to party. 
 
 JFRED HOUSEAL, a young engineer 
 running as an extra in the freight ser- 
 Q vice of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 
 R. R. has been with the company since 
 1891. Beginning as a fireman on the Louisville, 
 New Orleans & Texas R. R. (now the Y. & M. 
 V. R. R.) with Engineer Duffy, he served there 
 for two years, when he resigned and entered 
 the University of Tennessee, where he pursued 
 his studies for one year. In 1891 he returned 
 to the same road and engaged in the same work, 
 serving one year, when he was promoted to en- 
 gineer in the yards at Memphis. He occupied 
 the latter position for two years, and in 1896 re- 
 turned to firing for one year. In 1897 he was 
 examined and promoted to engineer, and was 
 in the freight service for seven months between 
 Memphis and Vicksburg. Losing his position 
 through an accident, he went to his old home in 
 South Carolina, where he remained one year, 
 and in September 1898, returned to Memphis. 
 A month later he went on the road as fireman be- 
 tween Vicksburg and New Orleans, and in March 
 1899, agrm took the examination and was pro- 
 moted to engineer, since which he has been an 
 extra between Memphis, Vicksburg and New Or- 
 leans. Mr. Houseal was born at Newberry, S. 
 C, on January i, 1874. A sketch of John I., 
 his father, will be found elsewhere in this book. 
 
 On August 17, 1899, he was united in marriage 
 to Miss Daisy Law, a native of Tracy City, 
 Tenn., but a resident of Memphis at the time of 
 her marriage. She is a daughter of P. S. Law, 
 an engineer on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 
 R. R. Mrs. Houseal is a member of the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal church. They reside at No. 16, 
 Barton avenue, in Memphis. 
 
 E. STUFFLEBEAM, chief clerk in 
 the office of the roadmaster, for the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. at 
 Vicksburg, Miss., was born in White 
 Hall, Washington county, New York, on Octo- 
 ber 26, 1871. W. G. and Olna A. (Mosher) 
 Stufnebeam, are his parents, now residing in 
 Idaho, where the former is an extensive ranch 
 owner and stockman. Mr. Stufflebeam attended 
 the schools of his native place, and at the age of 
 thirteen moved with his parents to Idaho, where 
 he continued at school four years longer. In 
 1888 he entered the Ogden Military Academy, 
 at Ogden, Utah, remaining there three years, 
 and taking a full classical course. His business 
 education was acquired at Coleman's business 
 college, in Newark, N. J., after which he re- 
 turned to Idaho and became associated with his 
 father, and remained there until 1897. He came 
 to Vicksburg, Miss., in that year, securing a clerk- 
 ship in the office of B. E. Mosher, roadmaster 
 of the New Orleans division of the Y. & M. V. 
 R. R., and occupied that position until promoted 
 to chief clerk, on October 20, 1898. He holds 
 the latter position at the present time, and is 
 filling it in a very acceptable manner, being well 
 endowed with the natural talents necessary to 
 make a success of his work. 
 
 On January 3, 1893, Mr. Stufflebeam was 
 united to Miss Helen J., daughter of George and 
 Helen J. Osborn, of Troy, N. Y. This estim- 
 able and accomplished lady, who possessed those 
 virtues which make a lovely and lovable charac- 
 ter, departed this life on May 27, 1899, deeply
 
 338 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 mourned by the many friends who knew and 
 esteemed her. 
 
 Socially, Mr. Stufflebeam belongs to the 
 Modern Woodmen of the World. He was reared 
 in the Presbyterian faith, and in politics is united 
 with the Democratic party. 
 
 LANCE L. DAWSON, master mechanic 
 of the shops at McComb City, Miss., 
 has had nearly twenty years experience 
 in railroad operation. He is a native of 
 London, England, his birth occurring February 
 5, 1863. His father, Lance Dawson, emigrated 
 with his family to the States about 1869, and 
 after a short sojourn in Chicago, secured employ- 
 ment in the shops of the Central at Champaign 
 as a machinist. Here the son attended school, 
 and when of sufficient age secured a place as 
 apprentice to the machinist trade in the shops 
 near his father. Mr. Dawson began his appren- 
 ticeship in February 1880, and after three years 
 in the shops at Champaign, served two years in 
 the Weldon shops at Chicago. After his term 
 as apprentice he returned to Champaign working 
 as a journeyman until January i, 1887, when he 
 was appointed foreman of the Champaign and 
 Havana line, serving one year. Until January 
 i, 1889, he was again at work in the shops in 
 Champaign, and was on that date transferred to 
 Rantoul, as foreman of that branch, with juris- 
 diction over the road from LeRoy to West Leba- 
 non, Ind. December i, 1890, he was appointed 
 night foreman of the Weldon shops at Chicago, 
 and July I, 1891, was sent to Champaign as as- 
 sistant foreman of the shops there, being pro- 
 moted to the foremanship the first of May fol- 
 lowing. For nearly five years he was in charge 
 of the Champaign shops, and January 20, 1897, 
 he was transferred to Louisville, and promoted 
 to general foreman. From May 20, 1898, to 
 December 1st, following, he served as master 
 mechanic at the Memphis shops, and since the 
 latter date has served as master mechanic at the 
 shops at McComb. Mr. Dawson has instituted 
 
 many improvements in the shops during his in- 
 cumbency at McComb. He instituted an air- 
 brake instruction room in the round house ; 
 erected separate shops for overhauling pumps ; 
 built an air engine and equipment for hoisting 
 iron to the furnace of the foundry ; built a series 
 of bins for the assortment of scrap iron, and by 
 saving out hundreds of pounds of supplies that 
 were in good condition, saved that amount of 
 new supplies, while the waste iron not fit for use 
 is on a level of the cars on which it is to be 
 loaded, thus saving much time and labor in get- 
 ting it aboard ; had the paint and blacksmith 
 shops each extended thirty feet; installed an air 
 hoist in the ice house ; also an air hoist for load- 
 ing and unloading car wheels; built an air 
 driven hammer for straightening bolts which had 
 been done by hand prior to that time ; besides 
 numerous other minor improvements in various 
 departments under his jurisdiction. 
 
 Mr. Dawson was married at Rantoul, 111., 
 July 2, 1895, to Miss Harriet Connor, to whom 
 has been born a daughter, Marjorie. Of the so- 
 cial orders, of which Mr. Dawson is a member, 
 may be mentioned the Knights of Pythias, at 
 Rantoul, the Court of Honor, at Champaign, and 
 the National Union, at Louisville. As a pro- 
 gressive, energetic official, Mr. Dawson holds 
 high rank. Inventive, ingenious, and of excel- 
 lent executive ability, it is no secret why he has 
 succeeded in rising above many who started out 
 before him with better prospects than his. 
 
 JAMES McINTYRE, a well known en- 
 gineer in the freight service of the Ili- 
 nois Central, on the Louisiana division, 
 entered the service of the Louisville, 
 New Orleans & Texas Railroad (now the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R.), on February 
 1 8th, 1888. His first work was as an apprentice 
 in the shops at New Orleans, but he worked 
 there only four months when he decided to go 
 to the regular road service. Securing a posi- 
 tion as fireman, he served in that capacity until
 
 WILLIAM F. THOMAS.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 341 
 
 September 1895, when he was promoted to en- 
 gineer, and appointed to a regular run in the 
 freight service between Vicksburg and New Or- 
 leans. In 1899 ne was transferred to McComb 
 City, and has since remained there. Mr. Mc- 
 Intyre was born in Kenner, La., on August 9th, 
 1865. His father was George Mclntyre Sr., a 
 former employe of the I. C., well and favorably 
 known. Socially our subject is connected with 
 Division No. 196, B. of L. E., of McComb City. 
 He is considered a careful and painstaking em- 
 ploye, and is very popular. 
 
 'ILLIAM F. THOMAS, one of the 
 oldest and most highly esteemed en- 
 gineers in the passenger service on 
 the Aberdeen division of the Illinois 
 Central, is a native of Baton Rouge, La., but 
 with his parents moved to Rome, Ga., where he 
 was reared and educated. Our subject, who has 
 seen thirty-five years of active railroad service, 
 began his career in September 1865, in the me- 
 chanical department of the Western Atlantic 
 Railroad, where he worked seventeen months. 
 He then went to the Memphis & Chattanooga 
 Railroad in the construction service, and in Sep- 
 tember 1868 was promoted to the passenger ser- 
 vice and placed in charge of the "Gov. Patton," 
 a wood burner. While in the fast passenger 
 service of this road, Mr. Thomas was given an 
 engine which seven men. had failed to run, but 
 his superior knowledge of mechanics enabled him 
 to remedy the trouble and successfully operate 
 it. In 1879 Mr. Thomas resigned his position 
 with the intention of retiring to farm life, and 
 for two years followed that occupation in Geor- 
 gia, but a longing for his old work on the road 
 caused him to again enter railroad life. In 1881 
 he entered the service of the Selma, Rome & 
 Dalton Railroad, between Selma, Ala., and Rome 
 and Cleveland, Tenn. He resigned from the 
 latter road to accept a position with the Illinois 
 Central, where he began service on July 2, 1882. 
 He commenced work at Water Valley, Miss., 
 
 under Master Mechanic White, where, on ac- 
 count of his superior knowledge of construction, 
 he was placed in charge of a work train, remain- 
 ing there from the beginning of the work on that 
 division until its completion. During that time 
 he had charge of a large force of men. Mr. 
 Thomas is considered an expert on track con- 
 struction, and is noted for his fine connections on 
 switch work. Old engineers say they can tell 
 his work on account of its smoothness. About 
 the time of the completion of the Aberdeen divi- 
 sion, the railroad found it necessary to secure a 
 supply of water of their own, as up to that time 
 they had been getting water from the Aberdeen 
 Compress. Accordingly they sunk an artesian 
 well 347 feet deep, and four inches in diameter, 
 which threw out mud and water combined, and 
 refused to clear up. Officials 'from Chicago and 
 other points went to Aberdeen to try and remedy 
 the trouble, as they must have water that was 
 free from mud. They seemed unable to remedy 
 the defect, until, at the request of Mr. Kemp, 
 the division superintendent, Mr. Thomas sug- 
 gested that if they would raise the pipe and take 
 off one section, the water would clear itself in 
 a short time, as the space between the bottom of 
 the well and the end of the pipe would then be 
 so great that the force of the water could not 
 raise the mud to the pipe. This was done and 
 the result was entirely satisfactory. 
 
 When the Aberdeen division was completed 
 our subject was placed in charge of the first pas- 
 senger engine on the division, and has since re- 
 mained in that branch of the service, with the 
 greatest success. Mr. Thomas ran engine No. 
 1,417 two hundred twenty-five thousand miles 
 with but one general repair, and this engine was 
 in the yard service at Durant one year with a 
 mileage of twenty-five thousand miles and the 
 valve steam packing was never repaired. During 
 this mileage the piston packing was repaired one 
 time. This packing was composed of one brass 
 and two lead rings, with the old style hump 
 gland. The gland was never tightened when the 
 steam was on the boiler so the rings could expand, 
 which is the life of all metallic packing. The 
 swab on these rods was renewed every thirty
 
 342 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 days. This is the best mileage Mr. Thomas ever 
 made with metal packing, and Mr. McKenna, 
 foreman of the Durant shops, says it is the great- 
 est mileage he ever heard of. Mr. Franklin, 
 foreman at Jackson, Tenn., repaired this engine. 
 Mr. Thomas carries in his seat box in the en- 
 gine a device of his own for holding the balance 
 valve in case of working steam only on one side, 
 it taking about thirty minutes to disconnect and 
 get ready to move engine and train. The en- 
 gine above referred to was in the passenger ser- 
 vice on the Aberdeen division, and during round 
 trips of 216 miles would only burn four tons of 
 coal. No derailment occurred during this mile- 
 age. Mr. Thomas has had some very narrow 
 escapes. His closest call was in 1889 while tak- 
 ing a theatrical troop on a special from Aberdeen 
 to Jackson, Miss. He was supposed to have a 
 clear track, but when within a mile of Canton, 
 while going at a high speed, he collided with an 
 engine in charge of E. Redmond, who was in- 
 stantly killed. Both engines were badly dam- 
 aged, but Mr. Thomas escaped injury, which was 
 considered miraculous. He has turned out 
 many fine engineers, among them D. Longinotti, 
 Sam Culley, and others, who are successful men 
 on the road. The Galena Oil company pre- 
 sented to Mr. Thomas a fine patent oiling can 
 made of nickel, with patent spring and in three 
 sections, for using less oil than any engineer on 
 the Mississippi and Aberdeen divisions. His 
 name is beautifully engraved on the can. He 
 keeps this can in his parlor to show his friends 
 and kindred that he is the most economical en- 
 gineer on the above divisions. 
 
 Miss Ellen C. Murchison, of Rome, Ga., be- 
 came the wife of our subject, and they have be- 
 come the parents of three children, all of whom 
 have received the benefits of a college education. 
 One of the daughters is now musical instructor 
 in the public schools of Durant. The son, 
 Oscar W., received his education in the Missis- 
 sippi Mechanical College, at Starkville, and is a 
 fine draughtsman. He is now a locomotive fire- 
 man on the Aberdeen division. Mrs. Thomas is 
 a niece of the late Gov. Murchison, of Texas, 
 and a great niece of Sir Roderick Murchison. 
 
 Several brothers of our subject are successful 
 railroad men. 
 
 Mr. Thomas and his family are active mem- 
 bers of the Methodist church, in which he has 
 served many years as warden. He is a deeply 
 religious man, a thorough Christian and very 
 benevolent, having given largely to charities. He 
 is a man who deeply believes in the intervention 
 of Providence to protect him from harm, and 
 when asked to make a particularly hard run, al- 
 ways replies, "If God is willing." The first 
 words of Bishop C. B. Galoway, when he comes 
 to Durant, are: "How is Mr. Thomas," show- 
 ing the high estimation in which he is held by 
 that dignitary. Mr. Thomas is also prominent 
 in Masonic circles, and is a member of the 
 Knights of Honor. Being a great reader and 
 student, our subject keeps abreast of the times 
 in his work, and now ranks one of the three high- 
 est in the list of the Illinois Central employes. 
 He is a substantial citizen of Durant, owning 
 considerable property, and is a man of whom the 
 city may well feel proud. 
 
 'ILLIAM T. STEWART, a rising 
 young engineer in the service of the 
 Illinois Central on the Louisiana di- 
 vision, was born on April 24, 1871, 
 at Canton, Miss. His connection with the road 
 dates from 1891, when he began work as fireman, 
 in the freight, and was afterward employed in 
 the passenger service. On November 15, 1895, 
 he was promoted to engineer, and given a regu- 
 lar run between McConib City, Miss., and New 
 Orleans. He has charge at present, of mogul 
 engine No. 757, with J. D. Harrell as fireman. 
 His brother, Howard Stewart, is also in the em- 
 ploy of the I. C. as fireman. The wife of Mr. 
 Stewart, was formerly Miss Addie Heisser, 
 whose father was for a long time connected with 
 the I. C. as foreman of the car-repairing depart- 
 ment in the extensive shops of the company, at 
 Vicksburg, Miss. They are the parents of two 
 bright children, Rachael and Clara F. Mr.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 343 
 
 Stewart is a popular member of Division No. 
 196, B. of L. E., and is also connected with Can- 
 ton Lodge, No. 74, K. of P. and B. P. O. E. 
 Lodge, No. 1 68, of McComb City. Being 
 a young man possessed of more than ordinary 
 ability and a great student of mechanics, keeping 
 abreast of the times, Mr. Stewart's future should 
 be a bright one. 
 
 THOMAS A. MOORE, a popular conduc- 
 tor on the Louisiana division of the 
 Illinois Central, is a native of Missis- 
 sippi, and a son of G. W. Moore who 
 resides at East McComb. In early life, Mr. 
 Moore learned the trade of a baker and confec- 
 tioner, becoming an expert in that line. He 
 traveled extensively in the west and southwest, 
 and has had a varied experience, especially while 
 roughing it in the uncivilized districts through 
 which he traveled. He began his railroad career 
 on the Southern Pacific R. R. at Vermillionville, 
 La., and was afterward employed on a steamboat 
 at Gal'veston, Texas. He returned to the train 
 service of the Southern Pacific, working eight 
 months, and resigned to take a position with W. 
 N. Monroe, a contractor, engaged in road con- 
 struction. He then went to Mexico, with Major 
 Thiel, and in 1882 returned to civilization, enter- 
 ing the employ of the Texas & Mexican R. R. 
 where he was for fourteen months in charge of 
 a powder house. His next occupation, was as 
 driver on a San Antonio street car and afterward 
 joined a circus as head tent man. While in 
 this employment, he was severely injured, in a 
 railroad collision on the Wabash R. R., and was 
 laid up for some time in the Marine hospital 
 at Cairo. 
 
 In 1884 he entered the employ of the Louis- 
 ville, New Orleans & Texas Railroad, but re- 
 mained only a short time, then working for vari- 
 ous other roads in Texas until December 24, 1891, 
 when he entered the service of the I. C. as a 
 hrakcman out of McComb City. In 1894 he was 
 promoted to conductor on the Canton district, 
 
 and is now in charge of a through freight, on 
 the Louisiana division, on caboose No. 98245, 
 with A. L. Wright and E. B. Thomas as his crew. 
 His career on the I. C. has been successful, hav- 
 ing no injuries or accidents. 
 
 Mr. Moore is a member of Division No. 
 108, O. R. C., of New Orleans, Goodwill Lodge 
 No. 104, of McComb City, A. F. and A. M. No. 
 382, Eastern Star Lodge No. 4 and Myrtle 
 Lodge, No. 36, K. of P., of McComb City. Mr. 
 Moore was about to depart for the Transvaal 
 when he met and married his wife, who is a 
 daughter John S. Erickson, of Canton, Miss. 
 They have two fine boys. The family resides in 
 a pleasant home on Broadway, in McComb 
 City. Mr. Moore is a very pleasant man to meet, 
 entertaining and full of interesting anecdotes 
 relative to his extensive travels. He is a popu- 
 lar citizen of his community and ranks high as 
 an employe of the Illinois Central company. 
 
 AURICE S. WEBB is probably the 
 youngest conductor on the Louisiana 
 division of the Illinois Central, and a 
 rising railroad man. He was born in 
 1876, at Jackson, Miss., and is not yet twenty-four 
 y^ars of age. J. A. Webb, his father, was for 
 twenty-five years a valued employe and official 
 of the I. C., and held the responsible position of 
 general freight agent at Jackson, when appointed 
 secretary of the board of railway commissioners 
 for the state of Mississippi, with offices in the 
 capital at Jackson. M. S. Webb began his rail- 
 road career when a mere boy, in 1884, with the 
 determination to make a success. He began as 
 messenger boy at the Jackson office where he 
 acquired a knowledge of telegraphy, and was 
 on the Valley road as agent and operator at 
 Longwood, Miss. He resigned that position, 
 returned to Jackson, and entered the freight 
 office there, serving successively as bill clerk, 
 cashier, and chief clerk. He went from Jack- 
 son to Memphis, and was in the service of the 
 I. C, there, He next went to the C. L. & M,
 
 344 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Railroad as baggageman and expressman. In 
 1897 he entered the train service of the I. C. at 
 McComh City, Miss., and was in a short time 
 promoted to conductor. 
 
 Mr. Webb married a daughter of Captain 
 Hoskins, one of the most prominent, and wealthy 
 citizens of Brookhaven, Miss. One child was 
 born to them, which died in infancy. Of the 
 social organizations Mr. Webb is a member of Di- 
 vision No. 367, O. R. C., and Division No. 264, 
 B. of R. T., also belongs to Pearl Lodge, K. of P., 
 of McComb City. For so young a man Mr. Webb 
 has made great progress, and being active and 
 alert the future has much in store for him. 
 
 E. MOSHER, roadmaster on the 
 Fifteenth division of the Yazoo & 
 Mississippi Valley R. R. was born 
 in White Hall, Washington county, 
 New York, on October 29, 1857, and is a son of 
 Benjamin O. and Mary C. (Perry) Mosher. 
 Benjamin O. Mosher was a tanner by trade, and 
 served during the war of the rebellion, from 
 1861 to 1865, as captain of Co. B. 22nd Regiment, 
 New York Volunteer Infantry. He is living in 
 Oxon Hill, Maryland, while his wife departed 
 this life in 1859. The subject of this sketch, 
 attended the schools of his native town, and en- 
 tered life as an employe on a steamboat, plying 
 between New York City and Montreal, Canada, 
 working about two years in that capacity. De- 
 ciding on railroad life, in 1879 he entered the 
 service of the Cincinnati Northern R. R. as a fore- 
 man and conductor, between Cincinnati and Le- 
 banon, Ohio. After a two years service on that 
 road, he went to the New York, West Shore & 
 Buffalo R. R., doing similar work, and remain- 
 ing there two years. During the construction 
 period of the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas 
 R. R. (now the Y. & M. V. R. R.) he secured 
 a position as foreman on that road, afterward 
 serving as conductor and roadmaster, with head- 
 quarters at Baton Rouge, La., and was in the em- 
 ploy of the road until 1889. In the latter- year 
 
 he became identified with the Texas Pacific R. 
 R. as roadmaster, with Marshall, Texas, as head- 
 quarters, and held that position until 1892. He 
 was in that year appointed supervisor, at Vicks- 
 burg, Miss., for the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 
 R. R., acting as such until 1897 when he was 
 transferred to the Natchez division as supervi- 
 sor of track and trains. One month later he was 
 appointed to his present position as roadmaster 
 of the Fifteenth division. Under his supervision 
 are 386 miles of main line and branches, forty- 
 seven sections, four track supervisors, and one 
 bridge supervisor. 
 
 On April I, 1880, Mr. Mosher and Miss Mag- 
 gie Simmons, of Ethel, La., were united in mar- 
 riage, and three children came to bless their 
 home : Carrie, Olive, and William, when the wife 
 and mother, who was a most estimable woman, 
 was called hence on February 12, 1894. Mr. 
 Mosher was united to his present wife on August 
 18, 1898. This lady was, before her maarriage, 
 Miss Rein, of LaPlace, La. One son, George, 
 has been born to them. Socially, Mr. Mosher 
 is a Knight of Pythias. His family attends the 
 Catholic church, and in politics he is a Demo- 
 crat. Mr. Mosher's time is absorbed in attend- 
 ing to, and discharging his duties, which he does 
 with that fidelity which has won for him the es- 
 teem of his superior and the good will of the em- 
 ployes of the road under his supervision. 
 
 HARLES B. SMITH, an engineer in 
 the yards of the Illinois Central at 
 Memphis, Tenn., was born in Erie, 
 Penn., April 22nd, 1866. Merrick 
 Smith, deceased, his father, was a railroad man, 
 holding the position of yardmaster for the Erie 
 system at Erie, Penn., and was at one time, in 
 the same position with the Canada Southern R. 
 R. at St. Thomas, and at Windsor, Ontario. Mr. 
 Smith acquired his early experience in railroad 
 work, on the Canada Southern R. R. in 1881, 
 in the round-house at Amherstburg, Ontario, 
 where he was employed one and one-half years.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 345 
 
 He then went on that road, continuing there un- 
 til November 1893, when he went to Chicago as 
 hostler in the I. C. round-house. His work in 
 Chicago embraced a period of over two years, 
 after which he was transferred to Memphis, and 
 given charge of engine No. 799, in the yards, 
 which position he continues to occupy. Mr. 
 Smith is a Knight of Pythias, and is also a mem- 
 ber of the B. of L. F., of St. Thomas, Ont. He! 
 was raised in the Presbyterian faith, and in poli- 
 tics is devoted to the principles of the Democra- 
 tic party. 
 
 D. BURROUS, an engineer in the 
 freight service of the Illinois Central 
 Q on the Louisiana division, is a man of 
 great experience, having traveled ex- 
 tensively and worked for a number of railroads. 
 His first work was on the New York & Erie R. 
 R. as fireman, between Port Jervis and Jersey 
 City, and he was afterward, in 1880, on the 
 Pennsylvania R. R. in the fast passenger service 
 between Philadelphia and Jersey City. He then 
 went to the Jersey Central R. R., where he was 
 employed three months as fireman. Drifting to 
 the south, Mr. Burrous was next actively en- 
 gaged in the lumber districts of Louisiana and 
 Florida, having previously spent several seasons 
 in the Minnesota lumber camps where he ac- 
 quired a thorough knowledge of preparing lum- 
 ber for the market. During his leisure hours he 
 made a study of engineering, and was for a short 
 time on a steamboat on the Alabama river as en- 
 gineer, but quit that to enter the service of the 
 East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia R. R. In 
 1893 he became identified with the Southern Pa- 
 cific R. R., serving as fireman there for eleven 
 months, ard from that road went to Central 
 America, where he worked as engineer on freight 
 and passenger trains. Mr. Burrous entered the 
 service of the Illinois Central in 1895 as switch 
 engineer on the New Orleans terminals, under 
 Master Mechanic Baldwin. He was soon pro- 
 moted to the regular road service, and was sent 
 
 to McComb City, having since had a regular run 
 on the Louisiana division on engine No. 726. 
 Mr. Burrous is a native of Tennessee. His pa- 
 rents now reside in Michigan, near Detroit. 
 
 He is a member of Division No. 196, B. of 
 L. E., of McComb City, and is also connected 
 with the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Or- 
 der of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. 
 He is married and is the father of four children. 
 In his travels he has been very observing, is a 
 fluent talker, and tells many interesting accounts 
 of his adventures. While in Central America 
 he made many exploring trips, mastering the 
 Spanish and native languages. He is also con- 
 'versant with the French language. When Pres- 
 ident Garfield was shot in Washington, Mr. Bur- 
 rous was in the depot, and with the other spec- 
 tators was shut up there until the crime was fast- 
 ened on the assassin. Mr. Burrous is a self- 
 made man, having had to make his own living 
 since he was old enough to work, and his know- 
 ledge of books has been acquired by self culture, 
 which, with his extensive travels, has made him 
 a well posted man. He is of a splendid phys- 
 ique, affable and courteous, and has a large circle 
 of genuine freinds. 
 
 JT. PAUL, the capable trainmaster of the 
 Terminal district for the Illinois Cen- 
 Q tral in the city of New Orleans, was 
 born near Maryville, Tenn., October 
 31, 1854. James A. Paul, his father was a far- 
 mer, and served during the Civil war as a lieuten- 
 ant in Thomas' brigade. He is still living at 
 Huntsville, Ala. His wife, who was Miss Susan 
 J. Parks before her marriage, died in 1870. In 
 1866 the family of our subject moved from Ten- 
 nessee to where Mr. Paul received his early 
 training, and also afterward attended the schools 
 of Mossey Creek, Tenn. From the age of nine 
 to eighteen, he worked on his father's farm in 
 summer and attended school in winter. At the 
 age of eighteen he secured a position as clerk in 
 a general store in Huntsville, Ala., where he re-
 
 346 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 mained one season, returning to the farm for a 
 time, and later went to Wilson's Point, La., as 
 manager for the firm of Meyer & Bradford. He 
 was taken sick in 1875, returned home, and in 
 March 1876 worked his father's farm on his .own 
 account until 1879. In the spring of that year 
 Mr. Paul went to Oregon and led the life of a 
 cow-boy until November of that year. He 
 reached Cheyenne with a drove of cattle, and de- 
 ciding to return to civilization, came to Hunts- 
 ville, Ala., and in December 1879 entered the 
 service of the Memphis & Charleston R. R. His 
 first work was as brakeman between Memphis 
 and Chattanooga. On December ist, 1880, he 
 was promoted to conductor in the freight service, 
 where he remained until August n, 1884, when 
 he severed his connection with the road. He 
 then became identified with the Louisville, New 
 Orleans & Texas R. R. (now the Yazoo & Mis- 
 sissippi Valley R. R.), serving as conductor on 
 freight and work trains until November 1884, 
 when he was promoted to the passenger service. 
 He held a passenger run between New Orleans 
 and Vicksburg from 1884 to 1887, when he was 
 transferred to the Vicksburg division, remaining 
 on the latter division until April 15, 1888. He 
 then went to the Texas & Pacific R. R. as yard- 
 master at New Orleans, occupying that position 
 until September 15, of that year, when he re- 
 turned to his former position with the L. N. O. 
 & T. R. R. On November 20, 1888, Mr. Paul 
 was appointed general yardmaster at Vicksburg, 
 Miss., remaining there until March 1st, 1890. 
 He then returned to the train service as a passen- 
 ger conductor on the Vicksburg division and 
 in September 1890, was appointed trainmaster 
 between Vicksburg and Memphis, with head- 
 quarters at the latter city. On September ist, 
 1895, he was transferred to New Orleans, to his 
 present position, where his ability is recognized 
 by the able manner in which he is discharging 
 his duties. Mr. Paul was, on March 3rd, 1876, 
 united in marriage to Miss Carrie V. Roper, of 
 Madison county, Ala., where she was born June 
 17, 1855. The children which blessed their union 
 are, Edgar A., born May i, 1877, a stenographer 
 for the local freight agent, New Orleans; May 
 
 E. born April 7, 1879, who received her finishing 
 education at Oxford Female College; Susie R. 
 born in September 1881 ; Elinor G. born in Sep- 
 tember, 1887; John T. born in July, 1892; James 
 W. born in March, 1895; and Samuel H. born 
 July 30, 1899. 
 
 Mr. Paul is a member of the Masonic Or- 
 der, (Blue Lodge), and is also connected with 
 Division No. 231, O. R. C., of Vicksburg. He 
 and his family are adherents of the Methodist 
 church, and in politics he votes with the Demo- 
 cratic party. 
 
 A. LEWIS, a prominent conductor in 
 the passenger service on the Louisi- 
 'Q ana division of the Illinois Central, 
 residing in New Orleans, was born 
 January 26, 1854, in Pike county, Miss. Lem- 
 uel Lewis, his father, now living at New Or- 
 leans, was for some time deputy sheriff of that 
 county, and served during the Civil war in Com- 
 pany A, 33rd Miss. Regt. His mother, whose 
 maiden name was Pamelia Rodgers, departed 
 this life in 1876. Mr. Lewis was educated in 
 the public schools of Mississippi, and in 1873 
 went to Brazos county, Texas, and was there en- 
 gaged in farming for a year. The next year 
 (1874) he entered the service of the Interna- 
 tional & Great Northern R. R., and soon after- 
 ward was employed with a bridge gang on that 
 road. In March of that year he returned to? 
 Mississippi, and worked in a brick yard owned 
 by his father, and the farming season of 1875 
 was spent on a cotton plantation. September 
 1876 marked his first connection with the Illi- 
 nois Central, or, as the road was then called, the 
 New Orleans, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad. 
 Beginning as a brakeman between Canton and 
 McComb City, Miss., he worked in that capacity 
 until December ist, 1878. He was promoted on 
 the latter date to conductor in the freight ser- 
 vice on the same division, and occupied that po- 
 sition until February 1879. Slack condition of 
 business caused him to lose the position and re- 
 turn to his former occupation of brakeman, at
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 347 
 
 which he was employed until 1880. He was 
 then given a regular run as conductor, and re- 
 mained at that work until 1884, with the excep- 
 tion of a few months spent at McComb City as 
 yardmaster. From 1884 to 1890 he was a con- 
 ductor in the freight and an extra in the passen- 
 ger service, excepting a part of 1886, when he 
 was yardmaster at New Orleans. In 1890 he 
 received promotion to the passenger service and 
 has been there continuously to the present time- 
 In October 1874, Mr. Lewis married Miss 
 Eliza Lard, who resided in Brookhaven, Miss., 
 but is a native of Louisiana. They have three 
 children : Lexie, the wife of J. K. Dunn, of 
 Jackson, Tenn. ; Sammelia, wife of Dr. G. W. 
 Robertson, of Magnolia, Miss., and Lelia, re- 
 siding at home. Mr. Lewis is a member of Cres- 
 cent City Division No. 108, O. R. C., and of 
 Alpha Home Lodge No. 72, A. F. & A. M. He 
 and his family are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. Politically he is a Democrat. 
 The successful career of Mr. Lewis indicates him 
 as a man of industry and great worth. 
 
 EORGE L. BARNETT, an engineer in 
 the passenger service of the Illinois 
 Central, having a regular run between 
 Memphis, Tenn., and Canton, Miss., 
 has been with the company about thirteen years. 
 He was first in the employ of the Nashville, 
 Chattanooga & St. Louis R. R., between Cowan 
 and Tracy City, Tenn., and after working there 
 two years he entered the service of the Illinois 
 Central on the Memphis division, as fireman with 
 Engineer James Fogarty. A service of two 
 years as fireman was followed by promotion to 
 engineer, since which he has had a regular run 
 on that division. He has charge of engine No. 
 383 on his present run. During his connection 
 with the I. C. he has had only one short suspen- 
 sion in 1890, and although in several wrecks, 
 has never been injured. Mr. Barnett is a native 
 of Tracy City, Tenn., and was born on January 
 24th, 1868. His parents, James and Mary (Lin- 
 
 ton) Barnett, are residents of that place. He 
 has two brothers in the service of the I. C., 
 Charles J., an engineer running out of Memphis, 
 and David, employed as fireman on the I. C. in 
 the same place. 
 
 Miss Mary Hodges, of Aberdeen, Miss., be- 
 came the wife of Mr. Barnett, and they have a 
 family of seven children : Mary, Susan, James, 
 Kate, George, Lottie and Jack. Mr. Barnett is 
 a member of William Renshaw Lodge, Division 
 No. 23, B. of L. E. His family attend the First 
 Methodist Episcopal church, of Memphis, and 
 they reside on Patton avenue. 
 
 W. BRADLEY, a well known con- 
 ductor in the freight service on the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 
 residing at New Orleans, was born 
 at Covington, La., December 27, 1852, a son of 
 James R. and Brunetta (Richardson) Bradley, 
 both deceased. After attending the district 
 schools of his native place until thirteen years of 
 age, he began life as a teamster at fifty cents 
 per day, working at that for a period of nine 
 months. He then went to a lumber camp where 
 he worked a year at seventy-five cents per day. 
 With a cousin he bought a photographer's out- 
 fit, and traveled through the different villages 
 taking pictures. At the age of sixteen he en- 
 tered the employ of his father, who was a 
 butcher by trade, and worked for him until twen- 
 ty-one years old. He then entered the service of 
 the Illinois Central as a brakeman between Can- 
 ton, Miss., and New Orleans, and was, in 1877, 
 promoted to conductor in the freight service, 
 having charge of the local four years. He re- 
 mained with that company until 1884, and for 
 the next five years, or until 1889, was in the em- 
 ploy of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. as 
 local freight conductor on the New Orleans divi- 
 sion. He was then given a passenger run be- 
 tween Vicksburg and Greenville which he held 
 for ten months. Going from there to New Or- 
 leans, he was in the freight service of the Yazoo
 
 348 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 & Mississippi Valley R. R. until 1890, when he 
 resigned to accept a position as conductor in the 
 freight service of the Texas & Pacific R. R., re- 
 maining with that company eight months. He 
 then returned to the freight service of the Yazoo 
 & Mississippi Valley R. R., on the New Orleans 
 division, and in 1892 accepted a position as con- 
 ductor of the local on the Louisiana division of 
 the Illinois Central. The latter position was 
 held until 1894, when he retired from the road 
 to become a traveling salesman for a hardware 
 firm in New Orleans, where he remained until 
 1896. In that year he returned to railroad work 
 and has since been in his present position. 
 
 On the igth of December, 1876, Miss Ida 
 Martin, of Wilkinson county, Miss., became the 
 wife of Mr. Bradley. Four children are in the 
 family, viz. : Lillie E., Josie Ida, Nettie Lloyd, 
 and Charles B. Mr. Bradley is a member of 
 Division No. 108, O. R. C., and Knights of 
 Pythias, of New Orleans, and the Masonic lodge 
 of Wilson, La. 
 
 S MERCER, a well known pas- 
 
 nsenger engineer on the south end of 
 the Illinois Central system, began work 
 as a fireman between Elizabethtown 
 and Paducah, Ky., with Engineer Thomas Dar- 
 vey. After serving eighteen months as fireman 
 he was promoted to engineer by Mr. Robb, mas- 
 ter mechanic at Elizabethtown, and given charge 
 of engine No. 16. He remained in that branch 
 of the service two years, and then accepted a 
 position with the Louisville & Nashville R. R., 
 his entire connection with that road covering a 
 period of five years. Returning to the service 
 of the I. C. at Paducah, Ky., he has since had a 
 regular run in the passenger service on engine 
 No. 389, between Paducah, Ky., and Memphis, 
 Tenn. He has been in several railroad accidents, 
 but was never injured himself, nor any of his 
 crew. Mr. Mercer was first married to Miss 
 Susan E. Reynolds, who died in July 1895. He 
 was later united to Mrs. Amanda (Porter) Hull. 
 
 Thomas S., a son by his first wife, is a brakeman 
 on the I. C. between Memphis and Vicksburg. 
 Mr. Mercer belongs to Pawn River Lodge, No. 
 244, A. F. & A. M., of Greenville, Ky., and is also 
 a member of Division No. 225, B. of L. E., of Pa- 
 ducah. A connection of twenty years with the 
 I C. has been Mr. Mercer's record, showing 
 that he discharges his duties in a manner credit- 
 able to himself, and satisfactorily to his superiors. 
 While in Memphis he makes his home on Vir- 
 ginia avenue. 
 
 W. STANTON, a conductor of 
 ability on the New Orleans divi- 
 Q sion of the Yazoo & Mississippi 
 Valley R. R. residing at Vicks- 
 burg, Miss., was born in Indianapolis, Ind., on 
 January 12, 1865, the son of Thomas and Mary 
 (Walker) Stanton, who followed agricultural 
 pursuits, and departed this life in 1880 and 1867 
 respectively. Mr. Stanton acquired his early 
 training in the public schools of Indianapolis, 
 afterward taking a commercial course at the 
 Central Normal College, of Danville, Ind., gradu- 
 ating in 1886. The following year he went to 
 Great Falls, Mont., and took up a land claim, 
 following the life of a ranchman for one year. 
 He then accepted a position as bookkeeper with 
 Churchill & Webster, grocers, of Great Falls, 
 and after a year's service with that firm he clerked 
 in the dry goods store of Meyers & Co. of the 
 same place. He next embarked in the restaurant 
 business in Great Falls, remaining one year in 
 that business. In 1889 he began railroad life 
 as a brakeman on the Great Northern R. R., 
 between Minot, Dak., and Great Falls, Mont. 
 After one year on that road he transferred to the 
 Montana Central R. R. running between Great 
 Falls and Butte. In 1890 he received promotion 
 to conductor, continuing in that position until 
 1896, two years being spent in the passenger ser- 
 vice of that road, and in the entire six years never 
 lost a day or a trip. In 1896 he became identi- 
 fied with the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R.
 
 M. VAN PATTEN.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 351 
 
 as a conductor, and with the exception of three 
 months in the service of the Seattle, Lake Shore 
 & Eastern R. R., and a short leave of absence in 
 1897, he has since remained with the road, serv- 
 ing in a highly successful manner. 
 
 On the 1 5th of May, 1897, Mr. Stanton and 
 Miss Nora Coiner, of Seattle, were married, the 
 lady being a native of Galway, Ireland, born in 
 1874, and emigrating to America in 1885. They 
 are the happy parents of a fine boy, Wallace H. 
 Stanton, born January 12, 1898. Two of Mr. 
 Stanton's brothers are prominent citizens of 
 Montana. George H. an attorney and state sena- 
 tor, and J. W. Stanton is a prominent attorney 
 of Butte. Mr. Stanton with his estimable wife 
 are members of the Christian church. In poli- 
 tics he votes with the Democratic party. He 
 possesses abilities of a superior character, and 
 should make his mark as a railroad man. 
 
 VAN PATTEN is a stationary en- 
 gineer in charge of the main shop 
 L Q at Centralia, 111. He is an old and 
 respected employe of the I. C., hav- 
 ing first entered the service of the company on 
 February i, 1861, at Centralia, under R. P. Ox- 
 ley. In 1862 he took a position as head engineer 
 on a southern packet, plying between Memphis 
 and Vicksburg. Resigning this position at the 
 end of six months he went to Chillicothe, Ohio, 
 working for a time in the machine shops on the 
 Marietta & Cincinnati R. R. From the latter 
 place he went to the shops of the Bellefontaine 
 Railroad at Galion, Ohio. Returning to Cen- 
 tralia in the fall of 1864, he again took up his 
 work in the shops of the I. C. there, and on 
 February i, 1865, was promoted to engineer and 
 placed in charge of engine No. 32, his run be- 
 ing on the local from Centralia to Cairo. His 
 second trip was in the passenger service with 
 A. N. Putnam as conductor. For thirteen years 
 and six months our subject ran on the Centralia 
 district, and on the same engine, No. 32. He 
 bears the distinction of having run on all tracks 
 20 
 
 of the I. C. south of Chicago and Amboy, and 
 also made several trips south of the Ohio river. 
 He ran the first regular engine equipped with the 
 Westinghouse air-brake and diamond stocks, 
 also the first regular with an extension front 
 end, viz. : engine No. 133, I. C. build. He hasj 
 filled his present responsible position since No- 
 vember 3, 1893. 
 
 Mr. Van Patten is an eastern man, and was 
 born at Schenectady, N. Y., where he acquired 
 his first knowledge of machinery in Clute Bros.' 
 foundry and machine shops, serving an appren- 
 ticeship in the shops at that place. 
 
 M. JONES, chief clerk in the freight 
 department of the Yazoo & Missis- 
 iO s 'PPi Valley R. R. at Vicksburg, 
 Miss., was born in Jasper county, in 
 that state, on May 5, 1861, and is the son of 
 Rev. Ransom J. and Sarah (Mounger) Jones. 
 Rev. Mr. Jones is a minister of the Methodist 
 church, and was presiding elder of the Meridan 
 (Miss.) district for four years. He was also 
 for many years chaplain of the state militia. He 
 and his estimable wife are now residing at Crys- 
 tal Springs, Miss., where Mr. Jones is still en- 
 gaged in active work. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was educated in 
 the private schools of Meridan, and attended the 
 University of Mississippi from 1882 until. 1885. 
 In the latter year he began the study of law in 
 the offices of L. N. Dantzler, at Moss Point, 
 Miss., and pursued his studies nearly two years. 
 He then felt disinclined to permanently enter 
 the legal profession, and in 1890 became identi- 
 fied with the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas 
 R. R. (now the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. 
 R.) as clerk for the store-keeper at Vicksburg. 
 He remained in that position until March 16, 
 1893, when he was assigned to a clerkship in the 
 freight office there. On the I4th of September, 
 1899, he was promoted to chief clerk, and is 
 now filling that position with credit to himself 
 and satisfaction to the company. Mr. Jones was,
 
 352 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 on October u, 1889, united in marriage to Miss 
 Nettie Rowe, a charming and accomplished New 
 Orleans lady, who died on March 6, 1893, 
 mourned by a large circle of sincere friends. 
 While in the University, Mr. Jones joined the 
 Delta Si society, and still retains his membership. 
 He is an active member of the Methodist church, 
 and affiliates politically with the Democratic 
 party. 
 
 O. KORNBECK, a successful and 
 popular conductor in the freight ser- 
 Q vice on the Louisiana division of the 
 Illinois Central, was born in 1862 at 
 New Orleans. P. O. Kornbeck Sr., the father 
 of our subject, sprung from the Danish nobility, 
 and on account of religious troubles was com- 
 pelled to leave Denmark. The family was a 
 prominent one in that country ; one of them, I. 
 N. Kornbeck, was, in 1784, commander in the 
 Danish navy. A picture in India ink, of one of 
 his vessels is in the possession of our subject, 
 and quite a valuable relic. Mr. Kornbeck Sr., 
 at the age of twenty, took command of a sailing 
 vessel and sailed for America, landing at New 
 Orleans. On account of his youthful appear- 
 ance the customs officials refused to permit him 
 to enter the port, but the matter was finally ad- 
 justed and he was permitted to land. He after- 
 wards sent for his parents, and with his father 
 engaged in the coast trade, having several ves- 
 sels out of New Orleans. As a citizen of New 
 Orleans Mr. Kornbeck Sr. is well remembered, 
 as he was for twelve years cashier of the Mutual 
 National bank of that city, holding that respon- 
 sible position at the time of his death in 1884. 
 When the flags of all nations were presented to 
 the city of New Orleans, at a celebration, he 
 was appointed to present the Danish colors, 
 which he did, delivering one of the finest ora- 
 tions of the day, the Danes of the city being 
 justly proud of such a worthy representative. 
 He served during the Civil war, and with an- 
 other man safely conveyed several millions of 
 dollars in Confederate money to Richmond, a 
 
 hazardous undertaking. He was a strikingly 
 fine looking man and possessed of a generous 
 heart, as he reared and educated several orphans 
 besides his own family. He died at the age of 
 fifty-two, respected by all who knew him. The 
 wife of Mr. Kornbeck Sr., and the mother of 
 our subject, who died in 1898, was a beautiful 
 Creole lady, a member of the Desetine family of 
 New Orleans. 
 
 P. O. Kornbeck, the subject of this sketch, 
 after leaving school entered the employ of the 
 Shakespeares, cabinet makers of New Orleans, 
 and served four years there, learning the trade 
 of a pattern maker. He then became identified 
 with the Illinois Central, working as a pattern 
 maker for a few years. Confinement having a 
 bad effect on his health, he went to the road ser- 
 vice, and after a short service as brakeman was 
 promoted to conductor, and is now successfully 
 serving on a through run on the Louisiana divi- 
 sion. Mr. Kornbeck is a member of Division 
 No. 368, O. R. C, of McComb City. He mar- 
 ried a daughter of Captain Hurst, of New Or- 
 leans, and they have one child, a daughter. He 
 is a man of pleasant manners, a fluent conversa- 
 tionalist, and very highly esteemed among the 
 employes on the Louisiana division of the road. 
 
 March 
 
 , LAUDE W. TALIFARO, a rising young 
 conductor in the freight service on the 
 Louisiana division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, was born in Lafayette, Ind., on 
 4, 1872. William Henry Talifaro, his 
 father, whose parents were natives of France, 
 is at present a conductor in the passenger ser- 
 vice of the Denver & Rio Grande R. R., and is 
 a man of wide experience in railroad work. ( )ur 
 subject became identified with the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, September 25, 1891, as brakeman on the 
 Cherokee (Iowa) division under C. K. Dixon. 
 In 1895 he was transferred to the Louisiana 
 division, and received promotion to conductor 
 in 1896, which position he is filling with satis- 
 faction at the present time. He has never been
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 353 
 
 laid off or discharged. Mr. Tali faro married 
 Miss Isbell, and they have two children, Irene, 
 at school, and Bessie, a beautiful child, at home 
 He is connected socially with Division No. 264, 
 1!. of R. T., of McComb City. His career with 
 the road has been highly successful, having never 
 been injured by accidents. He . discharges his 
 duties in a creditable and satisfactory manner, 
 and is considered a rising man on the road. 
 
 111. To our subject and his wife has been given 
 one child, Oliver W., born September 6, 1895. 
 He is now a bright little chap of five years. Mr. 
 Ensor is a member of Division No. 460, B. of 
 L. E., Lodge No. 408. B. of L.F., both of Spring- 
 field, 111., and is also a member of the Masonic 
 Order at Marine, III. 
 
 'ILLIAM H. ENSOR, a popular 
 young engineer on the Louisiana di- 
 vision of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road, is a son of James H. Ensor, a 
 resident of East St. Louis, 111., where he is. car 
 inspector for the Vandalia Railroad. Our sub- 
 ject commenced his railroad career in 1882 in 
 the engine department of the St. Louis & Narrow 
 Gauge Railroad, ami was employed there until 
 the fall of 1886, when he entered the employ 
 of the Cairo Short Line, where he remained un- 
 til the spring of 1887 when he went to the St. 
 Louis Transfer company as fireman, remaining 
 until the fall of 1889. He then commenced fir- 
 ing for the Merchants 1.5 ridge company, but in 
 the spring of 1890 went to the Yandalia Railroad 
 as fireman and was with that company until the 
 spring of 1893, then fired for the Chicago & 
 Alton Railroad until May 1893, when he com- 
 menced work in the machine shops of the Chi- 
 cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad and was 
 employed there until July i, 1893. On July 6, 
 1893. ne entered the service of what was then 
 known as the St. Louis & Eastern Railroad as a 
 fireman, but in the spring of 1894 was promoted 
 to the right side of the cab and ran extra untif 
 the fall of 1896, at the end of which time he 
 was given a regular run, remaining there until 
 the fall of 1899! He commenced work for the 
 Illinois Central at McComb City, Miss., Febru- 
 ary 21, 1900, and is on the extra list. 
 
 W. H. Ensor was born July 19, 1868. and 
 was married July 19, 1894, to Miss Eleanor 
 Brant, a daughter of George Brant, of Marine. 
 
 JOSEPH R. LILLY, a popular and rising 
 young engineer in the freight service on 
 the Louisiana division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, began railroad life in 1884. In that 
 year he entered the service of the I. C. in the 
 mechanical department at the McComb City 
 shops, where he served a full term of four years. 
 He then entered the road service as fireman, and 
 after two years work in the freight and passenger 
 departments was promoted to engineer. At 
 that time firemen were required to serve three 
 years, but a request signed by the master me- 
 chanic and others, testifying to his proficiency, 
 resulted in his promotion after two years' work. 
 Mr. Lilly has been with the Illinois Central as 
 engineer for ten years, being in continuous ser- 
 vice with no lay-offs. He has charge of engine 
 No. 714, a Mogul, and is in line for promotion. 
 Mr. Lilly was born in Kemper county, Miss., 
 and is the son of Albert Lilly formerly a black- 
 smith at Hazlehurst, Miss., and now residing 
 with his daughter, Mrs. Mills, in McComb City. 
 His brother, Albert A. Lilly, whose biography 
 appears elsewhere in this work met an untimely 
 death in an accident in the McComb City yards, 
 on July 30, 1898. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the schools of 
 Hazlehurst, and was from boyhood of an in- 
 ventive and mechanical turn of mind. At the 
 age of twelve he built a train of cars, and at 1 
 fifteen built three four-wheel wagons, which he 
 sold at ten dollars each. He also built a bicycle 
 with forty inch wheels, which he rode, it being 
 the only one in that part of the country. When 
 fifteen years old he constructed a three-horse 
 power engine, which was perfect in every detail,
 
 354 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 doing the work at odd times in his father's shop, 
 and having no patterns and but few tools. His 
 father strongly opposed this work on account 
 of the expense, and our subject was compelled 
 to hide the different parts of the engine. It was 
 a matter of great difficulty to get the money, to 
 pay the freight on the material used, but he 
 finally overcame all obstacles and perfected his 
 engine. During his connection with the I. C. he 
 has improved his engines with many devices of 
 his own invention. Mr. Lilly is a member of 
 Division No. 196, B. of L. E. In religious mat- 
 ters he is identified with the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. He is a man of fine personal appear- 
 ance, is devoted to his work, in which, through 
 skill and strict attention, he has been eminently 
 successful. 
 
 1LLIAM D. WORDEN, an engineer 
 in the passenger department of the 
 Illinois Central, between Memphis, 
 Tenn., and Grenada, Miss., was born 
 at Memphis on March 28th, 1870. He is a son 
 of Daniel D. and Laberta Worden, residents of 
 Memphis, where the former is engaged as mana- 
 ger and bookkeeper at the Edwards livery stable. 
 Mr. Worden began his career with the I. C. in 
 February 1891, as fireman on engine No. 196 
 with Engineer John Ryan, in the yards of the 
 company at Memphis. He was employed there 
 over a year, when he was placed in the road 
 service as fireman on engine No. 1159, between 
 Memphis and Grenada, Miss. He then went on 
 No. 734 with Engineer G. L. Barnett, and re- 
 mained there until his promotion to engineer on 
 August 12, 1895. Being then sent to the Talla- 
 hassee gravel pit as engineer, he was occupied 
 there for two months, when he was given charge 
 of a regular run in the freight service between 
 Memphis and Grenada. On November 12, 1899, 
 he was promoted to the passenger department on 
 the same run, and is now serving there. Mr. 
 Worden was united in marriage to Miss Kate 
 Strale, of Memphis, an estimable young lady of 
 
 that city. He is a member of Division No. 23, 
 B. of L. E., of Memphis. Both he and his wife 
 are members of the Episcopal church. They re- 
 side at No. 610 Shelby street, in the city of Mem- 
 phis. 
 
 Tenn. 
 
 HARLES J. BARNETT, an engineer 
 in the passenger service of the Illinois 
 Central on the Memphis division, was 
 born February 4, 1872, at Tracy City, 
 His father, James L. Barnett, a miner 
 by occupation, still resides there. Two brothers 
 who were former I. C. employes are now dead. 
 John, who was killed in a wreck on the I. C. road, 
 November 6, 1899, and James Scott Barnett, a 
 fireman, who died during the same year. Charles 
 J. Barnett entered the services of the I. C. at 
 Water Valley, Miss., on June i, 1891, as fire- 
 man with Engineer Long, where he was for 
 seven months, and later was on a run as fireman 
 between Water Valley and Jackson, Tenn. On 
 account of slack business he was then retired 
 from the service until February 1892, when he 
 was appointed night watchman in the I. C. shops 
 at Memphis, Tenn., holding that position until 
 October of that year, when he returned to the 
 road service as fireman. On June 17, 1895, he 
 was examined for promotion to engineer, and 
 being successful was placed in charge of engine 
 No. 1367, and later of No. 733, in the construc- 
 tion department. He was afterward given No. 
 736, in the freight service between Memphis and 
 Grenada. He also served for two months on 
 the Aberdeen division, but was transferred to 
 his former run, and in November 1899 was pro- 
 moted to the passenger service, where he has 
 since remained. During his railroad career he 
 has only suffered one slight injury, which hap- 
 pened at the Tallahassee, Miss., gravel pit. 
 
 Mr. Barnett married Miss Alma Morit2 of 
 Tracy City, Tenn., and with her has established 
 a comfortable home on Preston avenue, in the 
 city of Memphis. He is a member of Division 
 No. 23, B. of L. E., of his home city.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 355 
 
 H. SMITH, a popular young con- 
 ductor in the freight service of 
 Q the Illinois Central on the Louisi- 
 ana division, is a native of Que- 
 bec, Can., and is a son of VV. H. Smith Sr. who 
 died on September 9, 1892, and is survived by 
 his wife, the mother of our subject, who resides 
 with him. Mr. Smith acquired his first know- 
 ledge of railroad work on the Georgia Pacific 
 R. R., out of Birmingham, Ala., where in De- 
 cember 1892, he was promoted to conductor. He 
 remained with that road as conductor in the 
 freight and passenger service until 1899, when 
 he resigned to accept a position with the Illinois 
 Central. He worked as brakeman on the latter 
 road until January 1900, when he was promoted 
 to his present run as conductor. His railroad 
 career has been very successful, having had no 
 mishaps. Mr. Smith married a daughter of 
 Captain Lem Sullivan, a well known citizen of 
 Mobile, Ala. They have two children, Willie, 
 now five years old, and Grace, aged two. He 
 became connected with Avondale Division No. 
 334, O. R. C., at Avondale, Ala., in 1894, and 
 was transferred to Pearl River Division No. 
 304, at Canton, Miss., during the last year. Mr. 
 Smith is an upright, hard-working young man, 
 who is fast making friends among the employes 
 of the road. 
 
 DRYING C. OLMSTEAD, the affable chief 
 clerk in the yardmaster's office of the Illi- 
 nois Central at New Orleans, was born in 
 that city on May 28, 1877, and is the son 
 of Irving and Agnes (Hendrick) Olmstead, of 
 whom the latter survives, and resides in New 
 Orleans. Irving C. Olmstead Sr., who died in 
 1878, was for many years connected with the 
 wholesale grocery firm of Flash, Lewis & Co., 
 of New Orleans. Irving C., of this sketch, was 
 given a good education in the public schools of 
 his native city, and also took a commercial course 
 in St. Joseph's business college. After graduat- 
 ing he followed the occupation of office man, 
 
 entering the employ of D. Galdreath, a promi- 
 nent sugar broker, where he worked for two 
 years. He then accepted a position with J. 
 Schwartz & Co., carriage manufacturers, where 
 he was employed for two years. The following 
 two years were spent in the office of James 
 Zuntz, Esq., as clerk and stenographer. On 
 October I2th, 1896, Mr. Olmstead entered the 
 service of the I. C. R. R. as chief clerk in the 
 office of Mr. James Morrison, then general yard- 
 master at New Orleans, and continued in the 
 same position with his successor, Mr. W. R. 
 Herbert, and is now holding that position. Mr. 
 Olmstead is a young gentleman of pleasing ad- 
 dress and manners, very popular among his fel- 
 low employes, and being thorough in his work 
 bids fair to rise to prominence. In his religious 
 belief he is a Catholic, and in politics upholds 
 the principles of Democracy. 
 
 H. RALPH, a well known conductor 
 in the freight service on the New Or- 
 L Q leans division of the Yazoo & Mis- 
 sissippi Valley R. R., is a native of 
 Jackson, Tenn., and was born on December 25, 
 1867. He is a son of A. H. Ralph, who was a 
 farmer, and served during the Civil war in 
 Forrest's cavalry, and lost his life in 1868. He 
 was followed to the grave by his wife, who died 
 in 1869. Mr. Ralph attended the schools of 
 Covington, Tenn., and also the A. & M. college 
 at Henderson in that state. In 1882 he went to 
 the state of Texas, and engaged in the stock busi- 
 ness, and was also in that business in several 
 of the western states and territories. He came 
 to Vicksburg in 1890, and in the following year 
 entered the service of the Louisville, New Or- 
 leans & Texas R. R. (now the Yazoo & Missis- 
 sippi Valley R. R.) as a flagman on a freight 
 train, between Vicksburg and New Orleans, 
 under Conductor McGuire, the present efficient 
 yardmaster at Vicksburg. He was promoted 
 in 1893 to conductor in the freight service, and 
 has successfully held that position to the present
 
 356 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 time, having a regular run between Yicksburg 
 and New Orleans. During a term of seven 
 years he has never lost a run on account of sick- 
 ness or any other cause. 
 
 On December 27, 1892. Mr. Ralph was 
 united in mariage to Miss Nellie Murphy, of 
 Yicksburg, but a native of the city of Dublin, 
 Ireland, who came to America at the age of six 
 years. Four fine children have been born to 
 them, viz : Orlena, Alfred Roy, George Dewey, 
 and Thelma. Mr. Ralph is a member of R. E. 
 Lee Lodge, K. of P., and Division No. 231, O. 
 R. C., both of Vicksburg. The family of Mr. 
 Ralph have always been identified with the 
 Catholic church, and politically he advocates the 
 principles of Democracy. 
 
 IRAM HILL, passenger conductor on 
 the Evansville district of the Illinois 
 Central, is a native of London, Ohio, 
 having been born there January 5th, 
 1864. His father, John Hill, who died in 1881, 
 moved with his family to Kansas where our sub- 
 ject attended school and at the age of thirteen 
 began railroading as water boy for a section crew 
 on the Rock Island Railroad. He continued in 
 this capacity one year and then took a man's 
 place, drawing man's wages, for fourteen 
 months, on the Iowa division at Colfax, Iowa. 
 After a short time in a brick yard, where his 
 work was very hard, he quit, and went back to 
 the Rock Island with an extra gang. June i, 
 1881, he went to work for the Chicago, Milwau- 
 kee & St. Paul, and August of the same year he 
 returned to the Rock Island. September 12, 
 1883, he was given a train and stayed with that 
 company until March 15, 1891, when he began 
 work on the Union Pacific at North Platte, re- 
 maining until February 1892. In March follow- 
 ing he entered the service of the Ohio Valley 
 Railroad as conductor in freight service, and in 
 1895 he received a passenger run, his present 
 service being between Evansville and Hopkins- 
 ville. Mr. Hill has a very fine record, having 
 
 never received an injury. He is a self-made 1 
 man. He married a Miss Ogle, of Stewart, la., 
 and they have two children, Wayne Ogle and 
 Martha. Mr. Hill is a member of Howell Div- 
 ision No. 381, O. R. C., and also belongs to the 
 K. of P. of Stewart, Iowa, and Tent No. 185 
 K. O. T. M. 
 
 M. FAUQUIER, a trusted employe of 
 the Illinois Central in the capacity of 
 train dispatcher, at McComb City, 
 Miss., is a man of wide experience in 
 telegraph service. His career began on June 17, 
 1875, as telegraph operator on the Iowa Central 
 Railroad, and the following year on the Oilman, 
 Clinton & Springfield (111.) R. R., now a part 
 of the I. C. system, where he was employed for 
 a year. On June 10, 1877, he went again to 
 the service of the Iowa Central R. R., and re- 
 mained with that company four years. He then 
 entered the employ of the Denver & Rio Grande 
 R. R. as operator in the construction service, 
 continuing in that position until the road was 
 completed to Durango, Colo. Returning to the 
 employ of the Iowa Central, he served that com- 
 pany until October 1887 as dispatcher, when he 
 went to the Soo Line, remaining with that com- 
 pany until July 1888. His next work was as 
 dispatcher on the Chicago & Great Western R R., 
 where he was occupied until December 1890, 
 when he took a similar position on the Atchison. 
 Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., on the Chicago divi- 
 sion of that road. He resigned on August 3, 
 1891, and immediately became identified as dis- 
 patcher with the Illinois Central on the Chicago 
 division between Champaign and Centralia. 111. 
 On December 17, 1892, he was transferred to 
 the Louisiana division of the I. C., with head- 
 quarters at McComb City, Miss., where he is 
 serving at the present time with eminent satis- 
 faction, his hours of duty being from 4 :oo P. 
 M. until 12:00 M., in charge of all work on the 
 line between McComb City and Canton. His 
 duties are quite onerous, as in addition to the
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 357 
 
 regular passenger and freight trains, he handles 
 a large number of gravel trains. 
 
 ( )ur subject is a clear, cool-headed man, 
 well fitted for his work. He has been a dis- 
 patcher for twenty years, having a clear record 
 with no discharges and no railroad property 
 damaged during his connection with the roads he 
 has served. Mr. Fauquier is a native of Iowa, 
 born in October 1856. He was, in December 
 1877, married to Miss Alice E. Cooper, of Sears- 
 boro, Iowa, their union being blessed by three 
 children, Lula, Chauncey and Ray, the second of 
 whom is an employe in the I. C. store room at 
 McComb City. He belongs to the Knights of 
 Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
 Elks and Masons. Mr. Fauquier ranks high as 
 a citizen of McComb City, where he resides and 
 has a substantial home. 
 
 L. JAQUITH is the highly efficient 
 commercial and local agent, in the 
 traffic and transportation department, 
 on the New Orleans division of the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., at Vicksburg, 
 Miss'. He was born in Altmar, in the state of 
 New York, on September 2gt\i, 1842, and is a 
 son of John W. and Mary C. (Henderson) 
 Jaquith, who were prosperous farmers of that 
 place, and who departed this life in 1874 and 
 1878 respectively. 
 
 Mr. Jaquith received his early training in 
 the district schools of his native county, and af- 
 terward attended the Pulaski Academy in that 
 state. In 1862 he went to St. Louis, Mo., and 
 there secured a position with the Adams Express 
 company, as a clerk in the local office at Pilot 
 Knob, on the Iron Mountain R. R., where he 
 remained until 1864. He then entered the rail- 
 way mail service on that road, between Pilot 
 Knob and St. Louis, and in May 1864, went to 
 Yicksburg as agent of the Parker Express com- 
 pany, a line operating between St. Louis and 
 New Orleans. He was in that position until the 
 
 autumn of 1866, and in the spring of the follow- 
 ing year went into the general commission busi- 
 ness at Vicksburg, returning to St. Louis in 
 1868 and entering the service of the Iron Moun- 
 tain R. R. as clerk at Pilot Knob. He remained 
 in that position until the summer of 1869, when 
 he again returned to Vicksburg and was engaged 
 as clerk in a mercantile house until the fall of 
 
 1871. He then became identified with the North 
 Louisiana & Texas R. R. as cotton clerk at Delta. 
 La., serving in that capacity until January 1st, 
 
 1872. Going from the latter road to the Vicks- 
 burg & Meridan R. R., he was appointed as- 
 sistant agent at Vicksburg, Miss., remaining 
 there until October 1880, when he accepted a 
 position with the Yicksburg street railway, and 
 the Mississippi Valley, Ship Island & Pensacola 
 R. R.. with offices at Vicksburg. 
 
 He held the first named position until Sep- 
 tember 1882, and continued in the latter position, 
 a large portion of the time as conductor in the 
 construction service, engaged in building the 
 road from Vicksburg to Inglesicle, Miss., a dis- 
 tance of twenty-five miles. During the con- 
 struction period of that road, Mr. Jaquith filled 
 various positions, from section foreman to super- 
 intendent. In the spring of 1882, financial em- 
 barrassment and the overflow of the Mississippi 
 river caused the suspension of the road, and ne- 
 gotiations were then opened with R. T. Wilson, 
 of New York, through which a sale was effected, 
 and operations were resumed in July 1882. Mr. 
 Jaquith still holds the receipt of J. M. Edwards, 
 the assistant treasurer, for $63.66, representing 
 the total earnings of the system for the month of 
 July 1882. From that insignificant sum the 
 earnings grew to over five million dollars in 
 1892. The road is now a part of the Yazoo & 
 Mississippi Valley R. R. system. In August 
 1882, Mr. Jaquith resigned his position on that 
 road, and took charge of the Vicksburg Cotton 
 Compress, where he remained until 1883, when 
 he was tendered his present position. He has 
 now occupied that position seventeen years, and 
 it is the only agency on the entire Y. & M. V. 
 R. R. system where there has not been official 
 changes in the same period. This is a striking
 
 358 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 and complete evidence of the splendid executive 
 abilities of our subject. Mr. Jaquith is in pos- 
 session of the first way-bill issued on the Yazoo 
 & Mississippi Valley R. R. (then the Louisville, 
 New Orleans & Texas R. R.), on which the 
 agent at New Orleans wrote the following lines : 
 
 "On this, the first way-bill, we think it but meet, 
 The New Orleans agency, that of Vicksburgto greet; 
 May our friendship and mutual interests not be 
 
 forgotten, 
 By the many future exchanges of sugar for cotton." 
 
 He has also a souvenir, the first revenue bill 
 between Memphis and Vicksburg, dated Octo- 
 ber 22nd, 1884. On the ist of November, 1867, 
 Mr. Jaquith was happily married to Miss Jose- 
 phine E. Trowbridge, of Vicksburg, a native of 
 that city, born in 1845. The children born to 
 this union are, Ada M. who died in 1871 ; Albert 
 H., station baggage agent, for the Y. & M. R. R. 
 at Vicksburg ; Katharine M., at home ; William 
 L., cashier in the freight department of the Y. & 
 M. V. R. R., at Vicksburg, and Josephine E. at 
 home. Mr. Jaquith belongs to the following social 
 organizations : Magnolia Commandery No. 2, 
 Knight Templars; Vicksburg Royal Arch Chap- 
 ter ; Vicksburg Lodge of Masons ; Knights of 
 Honor; and Division No. 231, O. R. C, of which 
 he is secretary and treasurer. Mr. Jaquith's 
 political opinion is independent, voting for the 
 men and measures, rather than for the party 
 itself. 
 
 GORGE E. BENTON, a conductor on 
 the Louisiana division of the Illinois 
 Central, residing in McComb City, 
 was born in Quincy, 111., in 1869. His 
 father, D. C. Benton, is a well known horticul- 
 turist of South Memphis, Tenn., who does an ex- 
 tensive business in his line, to which he devotes 
 the use of one hundred and forty acres of land. 
 Mr. Beaton's first railroad work was on the 
 Louisville, New Orleans & Texas R. R., where 
 in 1888 he was employed as brakeman, and two 
 years later was promoted to conductor. He has 
 
 been in the service of the Illinois Central since 
 1891, and is at present on a local run. During 
 the gravel season he takes entire charge of the 
 gravel bank of the I. C. at Brookhaven, Miss., 
 handling forty-five thousand cars of gravel dur- 
 ing the season, and supplying one-third of the 
 entire amount of gravel used on the I. C. system. 
 In 1892, at Memphis, Mr. Benton married 
 a daughter of J. T. Price, a farmer of that 
 vicinity. They have one child, Ellen, a bright 
 little girl, now six years old. He belongs to 
 Division No. 367, O. R. C., Division No. 264, 
 B. R. T., having acted as Master of the latter, 
 which has a membership of 1 10 members. He is 
 also a member of Dewey Tent, No. i, K. O. T. 
 M. Mr. Benton is well known on the road, and 
 is a very popular man. 
 
 JAMES J. O'ROURKE, an engineer in the 
 freight service on the Memphis division 
 of the Illinois Central, entered the ser- 
 vice of the company in 1872, as an ap- 
 prentice at Jackson, Tenn., where he remained 
 until April igth, 1876. He then went to the 
 shops at Water Valley, Miss., working there 
 through the yellow fever epidemic until the spring 
 of 1879. Entering the regular road service, he 
 was for two months a fireman, but returned to 
 the shops. Serving there for two months, he was 
 promoted to engineer and took charge of a yard 
 engine at Water Valley, and was afterward in 
 the construction department until April, 1880. 
 The summer of that year was spent in the shops 
 at Water Valley, and in the fall ke resumed work 
 on the road as engineer in the freight service 
 between Water Valley and Canton, Miss., where 
 he was employed until November 1883. On the 
 latter date he was appointed general foreman in 
 the shops at Water Valley, acting in that capa- 
 city until August 1 5th, 1890, when he was pro- 
 moted to master mechanic at the Memphis shops, 
 occupying that position until May 15, 1898, when 
 he was transferred to locomotive service. Since 
 the latter date he has been in the freight service
 
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 J
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 361 
 
 of the road as extra freight engineer, on the 
 Memphis division, between Paducah, Ky., and 
 and Grenada, Miss. Mr. O'Rourke was born 
 at St. Louis, Mo., October 22, 1857. His father, 
 John O'Rourke, who died in 1865, was a veteran 
 of the Mexican war, and was for some time in 
 the hotel business at Columbus, Ky. Our subject 
 married Miss Emma Block, of Water Valley, 
 Miss. They have five children : James Edward, 
 Walter Thomas, Mary, Emma, and Minnie. So- 
 cially he is connected with Division No. 23, B. 
 of L. E., and with Lochinvar Lodge No. 55, 
 Knights of Pythias, of Water Valley, Miss. He 
 resides on Virginia avenue in Memphis, where 
 he has a comfortable home. 
 
 JL. DAVIS is a conductor in the freight 
 service of the Illinois Central, on the 
 Q St. Louis division. His career as a 
 railroad man commenced on September 
 21, 1876, on which date he entered the service 
 of the I .C. as a brakeman in the freight service, 
 being promoted to conductor August 17, 1879. 
 In the fall of 1883 he was promoted to conductor 
 in the passenger service, but was laid off in 1891. 
 He was re-employed by the company as freight 
 conductor in 1893, and holds that position at 
 the present time. 
 
 Mr. Davis was born in Centralia, 111., on 
 April 30, 1858, a son of Thomas P. and Wil- 
 helmina (Real) Davis, and has always made his 
 home in that city. Mr. Davis was married De- 
 cember 1 6, 1880, to Miss Mary C. Marsh, daugh- 
 ter of Richard L. and Catherine (Sherwood) 
 Marsh. Of this union five children were born : 
 Thomas M., Ralph R., John J., Harley A., and 
 Reba C., all living and at home. 
 
 His popularity with his fellow citizens is 
 attested by the fact that he has served them as 
 a member of the board of education for five 
 years, and was for several terms elected alder- 
 man for the Fourth ward. Our subject is a 
 firm supporter of fraternal organizations, and is 
 
 connected with Centralia Lodge No. 201, A. F. 
 & A. M. ; Centralia Chapter No. 93, R. A. M. ; 
 Cyrene Commandery No. 23, K. T. ; Oriental 
 Consistory S. P. R. S., and Medinah Temple, 
 Mystic Shrine, of Chicago. He is also a member 
 of Centralia Division No. 112, O. R. C., having 
 held the office of Chief Conductor for two years, 
 and serving as Secretary and Treasurer for the 
 last ten years. 
 
 JB. STEWART is a conductor in the 
 passenger service of the Illinois Cen- 
 Q tral, between Centralia and Freeport. 
 He first worked in the service of the 
 I. C. in 1879, with a fence gang at Vandalia. 
 From there he went to the O. & M. R. R., hav- 
 ing secured a position on that road as brakeman, 
 between St. Louis and Vincennes, with Conduc- 
 tor W. M. Page. In the latter part of 1880, 
 he began work in the Sandoval, 111., mines, where 
 he remained until 1886. On the 25th of January 
 of that year, he entered the service of the I. C. 
 as brakeman on the local between Clinton and 
 Centralia, with Conductor B. C. Michaels, which 
 position he held until November 1887, when he 
 was promoted to conductor. On August 4, 1899, 
 he was promoted to the passenger service, which 
 position he now fills with satisfaction. Our sub- 
 ject was born October 12, 1860, on a farm near 
 Murraysville, W. Va., and is one of nine chil- 
 dren born to Harrison L. and Caroline (Robin- 
 son) Stewart, descendants of the early settlers 
 of Virginia. The mother is still living, but the 
 father is deceased. J. B. Stewart came west in 
 1869, to Sandoval, 111., where he attended the 
 public schools, and working at various places 
 on stock farms, until entering railroad life. Mr. 
 Stewart was married January 8, 1893, to Miss 
 Florence I. Scott, of Salem, 111., and their union 
 has been blessed by a little daughter, Beulah, 
 now five years of age. Mrs. Stewart is a daugh- 
 ter of J. D. and Olive (Smith) Scott, natives of 
 Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively, both of 
 whom are now deceased. Mr. Stewart's success
 
 362 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 in life marks him as a man of energy and sterling 
 worth. He has a comfortable home in Clinton, 
 111., where he has many warm friends, but on 
 account of promotion was obliged to move to 
 Centralia, where he is now located. 
 
 YRON L. BACOT, an engineer in the 
 freight service of the Illinois Central 
 on the Louisiana division, is a native 
 of McComb City, born in 1866. His 
 father, Robert Bacot, is of Huguenot stock, his 
 ancestors having settled in South Carolina in the 
 sixteenth century. Laban Bacot, the grandfather 
 of our subject, was a pioneer of Pike county, 
 Miss., settling in that state about the year 1812. 
 He was a leader among the men of his day, and 
 held the offices of assessor, tax collector and 
 sheriff for many years. The first court house of 
 the county, still stands, crumbling, on the 
 grounds of his former residence. He was an 
 honest, whole-hearted man, the friend of all, 
 caring nothing for money but for the good he 
 might accomplish with its use. On his retire- 
 ment from public life he was succeeded in office 
 by his son, Robert Bacot, who served ten years 
 as sheriff of his county. Robert Bacot settled 
 where McComb City now stands in 1860, and 
 with a man named Harvey were the only in- 
 habitants of the locality. In 1869, Col. W. H. 
 Garland sent his agent, Mr. Craig, to buy land 
 for the Louisville, New Orleans & Jackson R. R., 
 and they purchased thirty-five hundred acres in 
 and around where McComb City now stands. 
 Soon afterward, J. B. Billings came from Ver- 
 mont and established a sawmill on Front street, 
 and later the shops were commenced. Mr. 
 liacot boarded many of the workmen. From 
 that on the place grew rapidly, and in two years 
 was incorporated and called McComb City, in 
 honor of Mr. McComb, a leading official of the 
 road. Mr. Bacot Sr. served in the city govern- 
 ment many years, and declined the office of 
 mayor for private reasons. He is still an ac- 
 
 tive gentleman of seventy-five years, and has 
 considerable valuable real estate in and near 
 East McComb. Mrs. Bacot, the mother of our 
 subject, is a descendant of Andrew Moore, who 
 emigrated from Scotland, settling in Pottsville, 
 Pa., about 1612. She is a daughter of John 
 Passmore, and is connected by birth with some 
 of the oldest and wealthiest families of Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 Byron L. Bacot, the subject of this sketch, 
 after completing his education, at the age of 
 nineteen went to Harrisburg, Texas, and there 
 learned the trade of a moulder. He returned 
 to McComb City in December 1884, and entered 
 the service of the Illinois Central in the round 
 house under Louis Kell. In October 1886, he 
 began firing on a switch engine at Jackson, Miss., 
 and on December 25, 1890, received promotion 
 to engineer. He has charge at present of en- 
 gine Xo. 750, on the local run to Brookhaven. 
 He has had a successful career and was only 
 once laid up, caused by falling from his engine 
 and sustaining a broken arm. Of the social or- 
 ders he affiliates with Myrtle Lodge, K. of P., 
 and Division No. 196, B. of L. E., of McComb 
 City. Mr. Bacot married a daughter of John W. 
 Curry, of Harrisburg, Texas, and they are the 
 parents of three children : Ruby Belle, Robert 
 Curry, and Audrey. He resides on Cherry 
 street, in East McComb, having lately completed 
 a fine residence there. 
 
 1LLIAM H. WILLIAMS, a trusted 
 conductor on the Louisiana division 
 of the Illinois Central, was born in 
 Merriweather county, Georgia, and 
 is a son of William Taylor Williams, deceased, 
 who was a well-to-do farmer, and a prominent 
 thirty second degree Mason of that place. Mr. 
 Williams began life as a dry goods clerk, work- 
 ing at different times in Opelika, Columbus, and 
 Uirmingham, Ala. At the latter place, in 1888, 
 he entered the employ of the Louisville & Xash- 
 ville R. R. as a brakeman, afterward being pro-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 363 
 
 moted to conductor, and running out of Birming- 
 ham, north and south, also serving between De- 
 catur and Montgomery. In 1893 he entered the 
 service of the Illinois Central at McComb City as 
 brakeman, serving eighteen months at that work, 
 and receiving promotion to conductor in Novem- 
 ber 1895. He runs all over the Louisiana divi- 
 sion from New Orleans to Canton, Miss. His 
 crew consists of Flagman R. L. Rodgers, and 
 Brakeman C. Q. Lewis, the latter formerly fore- 
 man in the yards at McComb City. Mr. Wil- 
 liams has had several close calls during his career. 
 While making a coupling, when with the Louis- 
 vi-lle & Nashville R. R., he lost a finger, and in 
 1899, was knocked down by a cable car and had 
 two bones in his right leg, near the ankle, broken. 
 The last accident caused him to be laid up nine- 
 ty days. Mr. Williams married a daughter of 
 William I!. Allen, of Midway, Ala., and they 
 have six children living, viz : Florence, a talented 
 young lady attending the high school, Henry Gil- 
 more, William Allen, Lillie, Eleanor and C. T. 
 Williams. Two children died in infancy. 
 
 Socially our subject is a member of Pearl 
 Division No. 304, O. R. C., of Canton, and of 
 Myrtle Lodge Knights of Pythias, of McComb 
 City. Mr. Williams carries a substantial amount 
 of insurance for the benefit of his family. He 
 has a pleasant and well appointed home on Live 
 ( )ak street, in East McComb, where he is highly 
 esteemed as a useful and substantial citizen. 
 
 AURICE STACK, an engineer in the 
 freight service of the Illinois Central, 
 between Memphis Tenn., and Gren- 
 ada, Miss., has been an employe of the 
 company for nine years. His first work on 
 entering the service was as fireman on the 
 Memphis division, under Engineer P. S. Law, 
 and later under E. J. Hatch, where he was em- 
 ployed until December 13, 1893. On the latter 
 date he received promotion to engineer, and un- 
 til 1X1,15 was engaged in that capacity in the yards 
 at Memphis. In 1895 he was promoted to a 
 
 regular run in the freight service between Mem- 
 phis and Grenada, where he remains, having 
 charge of engine No. 732, and where he is high- 
 ly esteemed by his fellow employes. His record 
 on the road has been devoid of accident of any 
 kind. 
 
 Mr. Stack was born at Lawrenceburg, Ind., 
 on January 17, 1864, and is a son of John Stack, 
 who was for a long time agent for the "Big 
 Four" at that place, and is now deceased. John 
 Stack, a brother of our subject, is a railroad 
 man in the state of Texas. Mr. Stack affiliates 
 with Johnswood Lodge No. 32, K. of P., and 
 with Division No. 23, B. of L. E., of Memphis, 
 where he resides at 787 Main street. 
 
 B. BACOT, an engineer in the 
 freight service of the Illinois Cen- 
 Q tral on the Louisana division, be- 
 gan railroad life when fourteen 
 years old as messenger boy in McComb City. 
 He worked for Agent Page at the depot, and 
 went from there to the oil house, where he was 
 employed eight months. On October 27, 1893, 
 he began active road service as fireman in the 
 freight department, under Engineer Boyle, and 
 was afterward in the passenger service with En- 
 gineer Jones, and with the late A. A. Lilly. 
 While running as a regular fireman with Mr. 
 Lilly, our subject was sent to Chicago as chair- 
 man of the board of adjustment for the Brother- 
 hood of Locomotive Firemen, and Jesse Coumbe, 
 an honorable and popular young man, temporari- 
 ly filled his position. On returning from Chi- 
 cago, he was preparing to go out on his regular 
 run, when his wife persuaded him to go down 
 town with her. Engineer Lilly and Fireman 
 Coumbe both met death on that trip. Their engine 
 telescoped some freight cars that had rolled out 
 from a side track in the McComb City yards : Mr. 
 Coumbe being pinned against the boiler, and ex- 
 trication being impossible, he was slowly burned 
 to death. Mr. Bacot regards his escape as a 
 remarkable incident, and almost miraculous.
 
 364 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 He was afterward promoted to engineer, while 
 serving under Engineer Olaf G. Nelson. 
 
 Mr. Bacot was born in McComb City, and 
 is the son of Robert Bacot, whose biography is 
 given in connection with that of Byron L. Bacot, 
 a brother of our subject, and will be found else- 
 where in this work. In September 1894, Mr. 
 Bacot married Miss Annie Strevitch, whose 
 father was at one time connected with the Illi- 
 nois Central, at McComb City. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Bacot have two fine boys ; Reginald Meyer, born 
 July 4, 1895, and Theodore S., born June 9, 
 1897. Of the social orders, our subject is iden- 
 tified with Myrtle Lodge No. 36, Knights of 
 Pythias ; and was a delegate to Chicago as repre- 
 sentative of Ensign Lodge No. 411, B. of L. F. 
 Mr. Bacot is a man of courteous and pleasant 
 manners, winning the friendship and esteem of 
 all with whom he comes in contact. 
 
 EORGE D. McCALLUM, an engineer 
 in the freight service of the Illinois 
 Central, on the Louisiana division, is 
 a native of Michigan, where he was 
 born in 1873. Joseph McCallum, his father, is 
 an engineer of thirty years' experience, and has 
 been on the Middle division of the Louisville & 
 Nashville R. R. for the past fifteen years. Our 
 subject began railroad life when a young man 
 of twenty, in Florida, working as fireman and 
 switch engineer there for two years. He then 
 came to McComb City and entered the service of 
 the I. C. as fireman in the freight service, and 
 afterward worked in the passenger service under 
 Engineers Bevan, Miller, Bower, and the "Irish 
 Lord" Pendergast. He was promoted in 1899 
 to engineer, and is now on engine No. 750, in 
 the freight service between New Orleans and 
 Canton. 
 
 Mr. McCallum married Miss Raoul, of New 
 Orleans, who is the daughter of R. G. Raoul, 
 the well known agent for the I. C. at Osyka, 
 Miss. Mrs. McCallum's uncle, W. G. Raoul, is 
 
 president of the Mexican Central R. R., and 
 T. S. Moeise, another relative, is superintendent 
 of a Georgia road. Her brother, R. G. Raoul 
 Jr., is agent for the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 
 R. R. at Greenville, Miss. Of the social organ- 
 izations, Mr. McCallum claims membership with 
 the Modern Woodmen of the World, and Divi- 
 sion No. 196, B. of L. E., of McComb City, of 
 which place he is one of the best citizens. 
 
 'ILLIAM T. FERGUSON, an ex- 
 perienced passenger engineer in the 
 service of the Illinois Central, be- 
 tween New Orleans, La., and Vicks- 
 burg, Miss., has been connected with the road 
 since 1885. He began his career in railroad 
 work as a wiper for the Memphis & Charleston 
 R. R., serving in that capacity for five years, and 
 being then promoted to fireman on the road. 
 Eight months later he was promoted to engineer 
 in the freight service, where he was employed 
 from 1876 until 1882 on a regular run from 
 Memphis, Term., to Stevenson, Ala. He then 
 went to the Louisville & Nashville R. R. as en- 
 gineer in the freight service of that company, 
 between Decatur and Montgomery, Ala., serving 
 two and one-half years. From the latter road 
 he came to the Illinois Central (Y. & M. V. R. 
 R.), and was in the freight service of the road 
 only two months when promoted to the passen- 
 ger service. He is now serving in that depart- 
 ment between New Orleans and Vicksburg, 
 where he is doing satisfactory work. His rail- 
 road record has been a faithful one, having lost 
 but one month during his fifteen years' service. 
 Accidents happen to the best of engineers, and 
 our subject is not an exception. He has been 
 in several wrecks, and two of his firemen have 
 been killed. He fortunately escaped with slight 
 injuries. Mr. Ferguson was born in Tishmingo 
 county, Miss., on December 19, 1854, and is the 
 son of Carroll Ferguson, an extensive cotton 
 planter of that county, who departed this life
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 365 
 
 in 1867. F. A. C. Ferguson, trainmaster for 
 the I. C. at Vicksburg, is a brother of our sub- 
 ject. He affiliates socially with Division No. 
 281, B. of L. E., of Vicksburg. Mr. Ferguson 
 has his home at No. 1638 Poydras street, in the 
 city of New Orleans, and while in Vicksburg 
 stops at No. 301 Bridge street. His career has 
 been an active and successful one, and he is 
 (kridedly popular among his co-employes. 
 
 ARRY J. BROWN, a popular conduc- 
 tor in the freight service of the Yazoo 
 & Mississippi Valley R. R. on the New 
 Orleans division, was born in New 
 Orleans on October 13, 1869, and is a son of 
 H. O. and Martha (Kelly) Brown. Mr. Brown 
 Sr. was a steward on the Morgan steamship line 
 for many years, and died at Vicksburg, Miss., in 
 1876. He is survived by his wife who makes her 
 home in New Orleans. Our subject attended 
 the public schools of Vicksburg, Yazoo City and 
 New Orleans, and at the age of fourteen was in 
 the employ of the Singer Sewing Machine com- 
 pany as office boy at New Orleans, and also 
 worked as night operator for the National Fire 
 Alarm company. In 1890 he entered the ser- 
 vice of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. as 
 a flagman on a passenger train between New 
 Orleans and Vicksburg, remaining there eight 
 months. He was afterwards appointed bag- 
 gageman, and was in that service a few months. 
 Going to Mexico he secured a position as clerk 
 and timekeeper in the motive power department 
 of the Mexican National R. R. at Acambaro, 
 serving that company nine months. On account 
 of the illness of his mother, he then returned to 
 New Orleans, and on her recovery re-entered the 
 employ of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. 
 as flagman, remaining in that capacity in the 
 freight and passenger service until 1894. He 
 then returned to Mexico, and after a short 
 period as flagman was promoted to conductor on 
 the Mexican Central R. R., between San Luis 
 Potosi and Saltillo. He then brought back to 
 
 Vicksburg the body of a friend, who had been 
 killed in Mexico and was induced to remain in 
 New Orleans, resuming his former position of 
 flagman. He continued in that position until 
 1896, when promoted to his present position, apd 
 is now running local freights between Vicksburg 
 and Wilson. 
 
 Mr. Brown was married on November 25, 
 1896, to Miss Zula Mengis, of Vicksburg, and 
 they have one child, Marian, born December 27, 
 1898. Socially Mr. Brown is connected with 
 Vicksburg Division No. 231, O. R. C. Both he 
 and his wife are members of the Presbyterian 
 church. Politically he is a Democrat. 
 
 RANTLEY B. HARPER, chief clerk 
 in the mechanical department in the 
 Vicksburg shops, of the Yazoo & 
 Mississippi Valley R. R., is a native 
 of Jefferson county, Mississippi, born January 
 26, 1866. William L. and Anna E. (Coulson) 
 Harper were his parents. Mr. Harper Sr. was 
 a prosperous planter, and for many years a mem- 
 ber of the Mississippi legislature. During the 
 Civil war he was captain of the Jefferson artil- 
 lery, famed for its bravery, and at the battle of 
 Shiloh, on April 4, 1862, he was so severely 
 wounded as to incapacitate him for duty, and 
 compel him to retire from the service. He de- 
 parted this life in 1892. Mrs. Harper was born 
 and reared in the city of Natchez, and is now 
 residing on the plantation in Mississippi, to 
 which her husband brought her as a bride. 
 
 Grantley B. Harper was educated in the 
 public schools of Fayette, Miss., graduating from 
 the Central high school of that city, and finishing 
 his education at Jefferson College in Natchez, 
 from which he graduated in 1883. He imme- 
 diately made a trip through Texas, but not find- 
 ing employment of a suitable character, returned 
 to Mississippi and entered the service of the 
 Louisville, New Orleans & Texas R. R. (now the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. ) as a clerk in 
 the office of S. D. McNair, agent for the com-
 
 366 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 pany at Harriston. He remained there about 
 two and one-half years, going from there to 
 Vicksburg, and entering the road service as 
 brakeman, and working there one year. He was 
 then appointed cashier and ticket clerk at Green- 
 ville, Miss., under George Wheatley. the agent 
 at that place, and held that position five months. 
 He returned to the road service as a freight con- 
 ductor on the Vicksburg division, between Vicks- 
 burg and Coahoma, and after a service of six 
 months was transferred to the New Orleans 
 division, in charge of a mixed train between 
 Natchez and Harriston, where he remained one 
 year. Being then offered the position of ma- 
 terial clerk in the Vicksburg shops, he accepted, 
 and later was promoted to abstract clerk. In 
 1894 he was appointed to his present position, 
 which he is satisfactorily filling. During the 
 Spanish- American war Mr. Harper was first 
 lieutenant of Company A, First Mississippi Vol- 
 unteers, serving until December 20, 1898, and 
 then resuming his former position with the com- 
 pany. On January 26, 1887, Mr. Harper mar- 
 ried Miss Marion Arnette, of Jefferson county, 
 Miss., and they are the parents of Grantley B. 
 ami Hazel Harper, two fine children. Mr. Har- 
 per is a member of R. E. Lee Lodge No. i , 
 Knights of Pythias, of Vicksburg, of which he 
 is Past Chancellor. In politics he votes with the 
 Democratic party, and religiously he and his 
 estimable wife are identified with the Presby- 
 terian and Methodist churches respectively. 
 Mr. Harper is numbered among the best citizens 
 of Vicksburg, and is held in high regard by all 
 who know him. 
 
 jtjtjtjtjtjt 
 
 nVESON E. SMITH, an engineer in the 
 freight service of the Illinois Central, on 
 J_[ the Louisiana division, is a native of 
 McComb City, Miss. He entered railroad 
 life at that place in 1889, becoming identified 
 with the I .C., and has since been an employe 
 of that road. His first work on the road was as 
 fireman in the freight service, and later he was 
 
 in the passenger service until 1895. He was in 
 the latter year promoted to engineer, and is now 
 in charge of a through freight on engine No. 
 707, with T. Simms as fireman. A continued 
 service of eleven years with the I. C., without an 
 accident of any kind, is a record of which Mr. 
 Smith may be justly proud. Our subject is 
 married and has a nice little family. He is a 
 member of Division No. 196, B. of L. E., of 
 McComb City. Mr. Smith resides with his fam- 
 ily in a pleasant home on Pearl River avenue, 
 in East McComb, and is a progressive and pop- 
 ular citizen of that community. 
 
 jtjtjtjtjtj* 
 
 E. DELANEY/an engineer in the 
 passenger service of the Illinois 
 L Q Central, on the Yazoo & Mississippi 
 Valley branch, was born in Lancas- 
 ter county, Pennsylvania, on January 27, 1863, 
 and is a son of Michael and Bridget Delaney. 
 The father was a stone mason by trade, and 
 moved from Pennsylvania to Macon county, Mo., 
 where he died, and where his widow still resides. 
 Our subject began railroad work on the old 
 Louisville, New Orleans & Texas R. R. (now the 
 I. C.) as fireman with Engineer "Senator" Jones, 
 between Vicksburg and Rutland, Miss. He was 
 later with Engineer William Rowton for ten 
 months, when he was appointed coal checker for 
 that road at Cleveland, and continued there for 
 three months. He was then appointed foreman 
 and day hostler at the same place, where he was 
 employed from January until August 1889. 
 Taking the examination at Vicksburg, he was 
 promoted to engineer and took charge of the en- 
 gine engaged in laying the track on the River- 
 side division. He worked for several months in 
 the construction and freight service, acting as 
 conductor as well as engineer, as was required 
 at that time. He then entered the regular freight 
 service of the same company between Vicksburg 
 and Memphis, and in 1894 was placed in charge 
 of a mixed train out of Greenville, Miss., where 
 he was for three years. Returning to Vickshurg,
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 367 
 
 lie entered the freight service; where he was for 
 one year, and from there to Memphis, in June 
 1898, where he has since remained, in the regu- 
 lar passenger service of the Y. & M. V. branch 
 of the Illinois Central, between Memphis and 
 Rolling Fork, Miss. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Delaney to Miss Ella 
 Losson, of Yicksburg, occurred in 1894, and 
 their union has been blessed by three children : 
 Ethel, Eugene Emmett and Horace Lawton. 
 He is a member of Greenville Lodge No. 206, 
 A. F. & A. M., of Greenville, Miss. ; Leland 
 Lodge No. 77, K. of P., of Leland, and Division 
 No. 281, B. of L. E., of Vicksburg. His family 
 are adherents of the Catholic faith. They re- 
 side in a pretty cottage on McLemore avenue, 
 in Memphis, where they are highly respected. 
 
 LG. BUCKNER, an engineer in the 
 freight service of the Illinois Central, 
 Q between Memphis, Tenn., and Grena- 
 da, Miss., was born on November 17, 
 1871, at Parsons, Tenn. He is a son of Edward 
 Buckner, a mill-wright, who resides at that place. 
 Acquiring a good education in the schools of his 
 native place, our subject began life on his own 
 account on a rock crusher at Parsons, where he 
 was employed for two years, and later was a 
 pumper at the same place for the old Tennessee 
 Midland R. R. for eighteen months. He then 
 secured work as fireman on that road, with En- 
 gineer Gus Gideon, where he remained nine 
 months. Going from there to Memphis, he en- 
 tered the service of the I. C. as fireman with 
 Engineer Hatch, where he was occupied until 
 April 30, 1892. The summer of 1892 was spent 
 in the state of Texas, and in December of that 
 year he re-entered the service of the I. C. at 
 Memphis as fireman, where he remained until 
 February 7, 1896. On the latter date he re- 
 ceived promotion to engineer in the yards at 
 Memphis, and also ran extra until July 1898, 
 when he was given a regular run between Mem- 
 phis and Grenada. He was discharged on July 
 
 31, 1899, but in November of the same year was 
 reinstated and resumed his old run, which he 
 now has, on engine No. 736. A brother of our 
 subject, O. E. Buckner, is a carpenter in the em- 
 ploy of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis 
 R. R. Mr. Buckner is a member of Division No. 
 23, B. of L. E., and of Division No. 364, B. of L. 
 F., both of Memphis, where he resides at 787 
 Main street. He is a very popular young man, 
 and his future promises to be a bright one. 
 
 LOUIS BURRER, an engineer 
 in the freight service on the New Or- 
 leans division of the Y. & M. V. R. R., 
 was born in Alsace, now a part of 
 Germany, on November 15, 1844. He was edu- 
 cated in the schools of his native province, and 
 in 1865, at the age of twenty-one, went to Paris, 
 France, and ,fro.m there to Egypt, where he 
 worked as a machinist on the Suez Canal. On 
 his return voyage he stopped at the isle of Malta, 
 an English stronghold in the Mediterranean sea, 
 where he visited the church of St. John, the lar- 
 gest church in the world, in the catacombs of 
 which are the tombs of the Knights of Malta. 
 Arriving in Paris in 1867, he remained there un- 
 til the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, 
 when he enlisted and was made a lieutenant in 
 the French army. He was engaged in the de- 
 fence of Paris during the siege, and at the close 
 of the war, when the commune was declared, 
 allied himself with that movement. After visit- 
 ing England, Germany, Italy, Greece, Belgium 
 and Switzerland, Mr. Burrer emigrated to Amer- 
 ica, landing in New York city in September 1871. 
 He went west to Evansville, Incl., and worked 
 on the water works there for a short time, and 
 in 1873 came to New Orleans, taking part in 
 the riot of September 18, 1874. He entered the 
 service of the Illinois Central in 1875 as a ma- 
 chinist, and worked as such with the company 
 until 1878, during which time he superintended 
 the building of two steam shovels. In 1878 he 
 was examined 'for the position of locomotive en-
 
 368 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 g-ineer, and was given a run on the Louisiana 
 division, between Canton, Miss., and New Or- 
 leans. He remained in that capacity until May 
 i, 1883, when he went to the L. N. O. & St. L. 
 R. R. (now the Y. & M. V. R. R.), assisting in 
 the construction of that road, and afterward se- 
 curing a regular run in the passenger service. 
 He was in charge of the first passenger train 
 which entered the city of Baton Rouge, La. Af- 
 ter a career of fourteen years in the passenger 
 service, our subject was compelled to abandon 
 his work in July 1898, on account of losing his 
 sight. At the present time he has happily par- 
 tially recovered from his affliction, and hopes to 
 be again ready for active service in about one 
 year. 
 
 On July 15, 1873, Mr. Burrer was married 
 to Miss Elise Federlein, of New Orleans, a na- 
 tive of Baden, Prussia. To them have been bom 
 four children, viz : Anna, Frank J., Louis C. and 
 Charles B. He is connected with the Masonic 
 fraternity, Knights of Honor, and B. of L. E. 
 The family are members of the Catholic church, 
 and he is a Democrat in politics. 
 
 JOHN B. KINKLE, a well known and 
 popular conductor in the freight service 
 on the New Orleans division of the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., is 
 a native of Selma, Ala., born in 1855. His 
 father, A. J. Kinkle, a merchant of that place, 
 died in 1864, and the mother of our subject, 
 who was before her marriage Miss Mary 
 Blevins, died in 1869. Our subject was edu- 
 cated in a private school in Huntsville, Ala., and 
 in the schools of his native town. His school 
 days being over, he began life as a clerk in the 
 store of B. J. Fort, at Marion Junction, Ala., 
 where he worked six years. He then followed 
 farming pursuits on his uncle's farm at Bowers 
 Station, Ala., for a year, and later clerked in 
 different stores at that place. In 1880 he went 
 to Jackson, and afterward began his railroad 
 career as a fireman on the Illinois Central R. 
 
 R. under Engineer Huston, running between 
 New Orleans and McComb City. He afterward 
 served as fireman on a work train, and was also 
 a hostler at Montgomery, Miss. In 1881, he 
 went to the Louisiana division of the road as 
 brakeman, and after working in that capacity 
 until 1883 was promoted to conductor. He 
 then went to the Louisville, New Orleans & 
 Texas R. R. (now the Yazoo & Mississippi 
 Valley R. R.) as a brakeman, and after a short 
 service was promoted to conductor in the 
 freight service. He served as conductor until 
 1888, transferring at that time to the Louisville 
 & Nashville R. R. as conductor on the Birming- 
 ham division, and working there eight months. 
 He then returned to the Y. & M. V. R. R. and 
 was given a position as conductor on a through 
 freight between New Orleans and Vicksburg, 
 and is now successfully serving there with good 
 prospects for promotion. Mr. Kinkle was, on 
 February 24, 1885, married to Miss Elizabeth 
 Carthy, a native of New Orleans. He and his 
 wife are members and supporters of the Episco- 
 pal church. He affiliates politically with the 
 Democratic party. 
 
 LED. BARNES, an experienced conduc- 
 tor in the service of the Illinois Cen- 
 Q tral on the Louisiana division, became 
 identified -with the company on Sep- 
 tember 2nd, 1886. On that date, being only six- 
 teen years of age, he entered the foundry of the 
 McComb City shops as a laborer, where he was 
 employed two years. On October 8th, 1888, he 
 went to the road service as brakeman with Con- 
 ductor W. H. Moales, and was promoted to con- 
 ductor on Oct. 8, 1890. The rapid promotion is 
 indicative of good service. His present run is 
 a through freight, on caboose No. 98269. Mr. 
 I Sanies was born at Crystal Springs, Miss. He 
 married Miss Bangston, of Amite City, La., and 
 has two children, Oneida, aged three years, and 
 Walter, aged five months. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber of Division No. 108, O. R. C., of New Or-
 
 THOMAS WHEELOCK PLACE.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 371 
 
 leans, and the Elks, Lodge No. 268, of McComb 
 City. He had a beautiful home in the latter city, 
 which was just completed when totally destroyed 
 by fire in May 1899. Mr. Barnes is a very 
 powerful man physically, a typical specimen of 
 a man for his work. He is very much esteemed 
 among a large circle of friends and acquain- 
 tances. 
 
 THOMAS WHEELOCK PLACE. It 
 is a pleasure for the biographical 
 writer to meet a man who has risen 
 from the lowly walks of life to the 
 ranks of the most prominent citizens of the com- 
 munity by dint of his own energy and economy. 
 One whose life furnishes an example of tenacity 
 of purpose and force of character that sets in 
 motion a wave of influence that is felt beyond the 
 immediate vicinity in which he lives, and raises 
 the standard of society and moral principles. 
 Mr. Place was born in the town of Acworth, 
 Sullivan county N. H., January 2, 1833, the son 
 of Ebenezer and Polly (Dickey) Place. He 
 was endowed with such educational advantages 
 as were furnished by the common schools of that 
 day, and this, together with the discipline of 
 home, were his only qualifications for his life 
 work. In March 1850, at the age of seventeen 
 years, he entered the shops of Parks & Wool- 
 son, of Springfield, as an apprentice to the ma- 
 chinist's trade. Two years later, or in 1852, 
 was employed as machinist in the Boston lo- 
 comotive works. Having been so conversant 
 with mechanical railroad work, in 1853 he read- 
 ily secured employment as fireman on the North- 
 ern Railroad, of New Hampshire, which is now 
 a part of the Boston & Maine system. In Janu- 
 ary 1854, Mr. Place moved to Chicago and en- 
 tered the service of the Chicago & Aurora Rail- 
 road, now part of the Chicago, Burlington & 
 Ouincy system, as machinist, but in April of 
 the same year he accepted a position of locomo- 
 tive engineer for the Illinois Central Railroad, 
 and retained the same until November 1856. 
 While thus employed he had charge of engine 
 NV -- 53- drawing the first night passenger train 
 21 
 
 from Centralia to Cairo, Thomas White, conduc- 
 tor. November 13, 1856, he accepted an offer 
 of the Dubuque & Pacific Railroad, made his 
 home at Dubuque, Iowa, and was engineer of 
 engine "J. P. Farley," drawing the first passen- 
 ger train from Dubuque to Dyersville, May n, 
 1857, J. S. Northup in charge of train as conduc- 
 tor. This situation he retained until August 
 1859, and was then appointed foreman of the 
 company's shops in Dubuque. In May 1860, he 
 received a flattering offer from the Chicago & 
 Alton company of the position of foreman of 
 the roundhouse at Joliet, 111. This offer he ac- 
 cepted and was in their employ until September 
 i, 1 86 1, when he returned to Dubuque as mas- 
 ter mechanic of the Dubuque & Sioux City Rail- 
 road, having been re-incorporated from the Du- 
 buque & Pacific Railroad to Dubuque & Sioux 
 City Railroad, August i, 1860, and served in 
 this capacity until the Illinois Central company 
 leased the line October i, 1867. At this time he 
 experienced a change only of employers, for the 
 Illinois Central's officials found him a valuable 
 man and he was retained in the capacity of mas- 
 ter mechanic, and moved with the shops to 
 Waterloo, Iowa, in November 1870. 
 
 July 24, 1860, the subject of this life his- 
 tory was united in marriage to Miss Mary 
 Josephine Meyers, daughter of one of Dubuque's 
 oldest and distinguished families. This union 
 has been blessed by the advent of a family of four 
 bright energetic sons all of whom have already 
 attained good positions in life. Augustus M. 
 and James W. are both engineers at Waterloo, 
 Frederick E. is general foreman at the Illinois 
 Central shops at Burnside, Chicago, and Dorrance 
 M. is employed in the office of the chief engineer 
 at Chicago. Mr. Place is prominent both in 
 political and social circles in the city he makes 
 his home. During the years 1872, 1877, 1879, 
 and 1880 he was a member of the city council 
 of Waterloo, also member of school board, East 
 Waterloo, 1876 to 1885. Socially he affiliates 
 with the Masonic fraternity, and also Harmony 
 Lodge No. 2, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
 at Dubuque, and has filled all the chairs of the 
 latter lodge.
 
 372 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 JOHN' T. 1',1'RNELL, a popular young en- 
 gineer on the Louisiana division of the 
 Illinois Central, was born at Urbana, 
 Ohio, on May 18, 1867, anc l ls a son f 
 John Burnell, a conductor on the Ohio & Penn- 
 sylvania R. R., well known in those states. - Our 
 subject began his railroad career as a fireman on 
 the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. out of 
 Vicksburg, working in that capacity and as extra 
 until 1896, when he was promoted to engineer. 
 He was later transferred to the Louisiana divi- 
 sion, and is now serving there, on a through 
 freight run, on engine No. 52. Socially Mr. 
 Burnell is connected with Division No. 196 
 B, of L. E., of McComb City, where he makes 
 his home. Mr. Burnell is a bright, sociable young 
 man, and a general favorite with every one con- 
 nected with the road. 
 
 JF. BEACH, a popular engineer in the 
 service of the Illinois Central on the 
 Q Louisiana division, began his railroad 
 career in the mechanical department of 
 the Norfolk & Western R. R. He was connected 
 with that road for some time as fireman, and later 
 was with the Southern and Soo roads in similar 
 positions. In 1895, while on the Asheville divi- 
 sion of the Southern road, he was promoted to 
 engineer and worked as such for that company 
 until 1897. In the latter year he entered the 
 service of the I. C. as engineer on the New Or- 
 leans Terminal, and after a short service there 
 came to McComb City, and has, at present, a 
 through run between that city and New Orleans, 
 on engine No. 746. During his entire railroad 
 career he has never been injured, and being a 
 young man, with a fine record for energy and 
 steadfastness, has a promising future before 
 him. Mr. Beach is a native of Georgia. 'His 
 parents, J. C. Beach and wife, are still living, 
 Mr. Beach Sr. being a successful merchant, and 
 a prosperous farmer of Georgia. Mr. Beach 
 married Miss Annie Moss, whose father is a 
 
 machinist in the I. C. shops at McComb City. 
 Socially he is connected with Myrtle Lodge No. 
 36, K. of P., and is also a member of Division 
 No. 196, B. of L. E., of McComb City, where 
 he resides in a comfortable home on College 
 Hill. 
 
 LOUIS H. KELL, foreman of the exten- 
 sive machine shops of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral at McComb City, Miss., bears the 
 distinction of having held that posi- 
 tion for the last twenty-four years, serving suc- 
 cessively with satisfaction under eight different 
 master mechanics, viz : Greenup, Anderson, 
 Baker, McKeown, Whittaker, Losuch, Baldwin 
 and Dawson. Mr. Kell was born in Alexandria, 
 Virginia, on February 29, 1844. His father, 
 Nathan Kell, who died in 1897, was a copper- 
 smith by trade, and an expert in his line. In 
 his day much copper was used in construction, 
 and he was connected with the Mobile & Ohio, 
 and the Mississippi & Tennessee roads for many 
 years, as a skilled mechanic. At an early age 
 the subject of this sketch went with his parents 
 to Columbus, Ky., and afterward to Jackson, 
 Tenn. It was at the latter place, and at the age 
 of sixteen, that he began life on his own account, 
 entering the shops of the M. & O. R. R. as an ap- 
 prentice. In 1862 he took the oath of allegiance 
 at Jackson, and on being released went south to 
 Grenada, Miss., working there for the Missis- 
 sippi & Tennessee road for two years. He next 
 worked for the Mississippi Central, and in 1874 
 came to McComb City as foreman of the machine 
 shops, where he has since remained. He has 
 in his department thirty-four skilled machinists, 
 fourteen apprentices, and ten helpers. Fifteen 
 engines of various types have been constructed 
 under his supervision, many of them still doing 
 good service. His success consists in his abili- 
 ty to properly handle his force of workmen. 
 
 Mr. Kell was married to a New Orleans 
 lady, and they have an interesting family of six 
 daughters who reside with their parents in a 
 commodious home on Railroad avenue in Me-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 373 
 
 ('omb City. They are Misses Marie, Julia, Lil- 
 lic, Bella, Helen and Louise; all will be well edu- 
 cated, and are a bright family of children. In his 
 social connections Mr. Kell is a Knight of Honor, 
 and both he and his estimable wife are mem- 
 bers of the Knights and Ladies of Honor, in 
 McComb City, of which place they are promi- 
 nent residents. 
 
 DVVARD B. SKILLMAN, a well known 
 engineer in the passenger service of the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley division 
 of the Illinois Central, has been con- 
 nected with the company since 1885. He began 
 his railroad career, on the New York Central 
 R. R. as a fireman between Syracuse and Buffa- 
 lo, where he was employed from 1870 to 1876, 
 and received his promotion to engineer on that 
 road. He then went to Texas, and entering the 
 service of the Texas Pacific R. R. worked as 
 engineer for that company on the accommoda- 
 tion train between Marshall, Texas, and Shreve- 
 port, La., for seven months. From the latter 
 road he went to the New Orleans & Pacific R. 
 R. for five months, and was in the construction 
 service of that road when it was being built. His 
 next work was on a new road being built at 
 Laredo, Texas, in 1880, and where he had charge 
 of the first engine to cross the Rio Grande river. 
 Going from Laredo to Palestine, Texas, he there 
 became identified with the International & Great 
 Northern R. R., which was then owned by the 
 Goulds. He was in the passenger service of 
 that road, and in charge of the train on which 
 Jay Gould and Talmage made a tour of the 
 southern roads, many of which were afterward 
 absorbed by the Gould system. 
 
 In 1885 Mr. Skillman went to Vicksburg 
 and entered the service of the Louisville, New 
 Orleans & Texas R. R. (now the I. C.) in the 
 freight department between Vicksburg and Mem- 
 phis. He then took charge of the engine ''R. 
 E. Lee" that carried the pay car special over that 
 road, and from there to a passenger run between 
 
 Panther Burn and Greenville, Miss., and later 
 between Wilson and New Orleans. 
 
 In 1891 he was transferred to Memphis, 
 since which time he has had a regular all night 
 run, in the passenger service between Memphis 
 and Vicksburg. During his service Mr. Skill- 
 man has made some fast runs, among them a 
 run of fifty miles in fifty-three minutes, on one 
 of the old low-wheel freight engines. He has 
 had several wrecks, the most serious one being 
 at Rolling Fork, Miss., when his engine jumped 
 the track and rolled down an embankment. In 
 this accident both he and his fireman were severe- 
 ly injured, and he was "laid up for repairs" for 
 forty-two days afterward. He had other ex- 
 periences of the kind, but no lives were lost on 
 any train of which he was in charge. 
 
 Mr. Skillman is a native of New York state, 
 born within a hundred miles of New York city, 
 on September 27, 1854. He is a son of Daniel 
 Skillman, wlio was an extensive farmer of that 
 state, and died there after a retired life of several 
 years. He married Miss Belle Reid, of New Or- 
 leans, and they have one child, Claude, a fine boy. 
 Of the social orders,, Mr. Skillman claims mem- 
 bership with Kellerstone Lodge No. 154, A. F. 
 & A. M., of Wilson, La. He is also identified 
 with Division No. 281, B. of L. E., of Vicks- 
 burg, Miss. His family are members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church. Their home is at 
 No. 51 Gholson avenue, in Memphis, where they 
 have the friendship of a large circle of associates, 
 and where Mr. Skillman is looked upon as a 
 worthy citizen of the community. 
 
 HARLES LINSTROM, master me- 
 chanic for the Illinois Central with 
 headquarters at Vicksburg, Miss., is 
 a native of Sweden, and was born 
 January 7, 1848. He attended the public schools 
 of his native country until arriving at his twelfth 
 year, when he began life as an apprentice ma- 
 chinist. He learned the trade and worked at 
 it in Sweden until 1868, when he emigrated to
 
 374 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 America, going to Chicago, 111., where he worked 
 in a restaurant for a month. He soon found em- 
 ployment at his trade in the shops on the West 
 Side, and worked there for two years. In 1870 
 he went south to Water Valley, Miss., securing 
 a position in the shops of the Mississippi Valley 
 R. R. and worked there one year. He then went 
 to Little Rock, Ark., and remained in that city 
 one year, and from there to New Orleans. He 
 there found employment as a locomotive engineer 
 between New Orleans and Canton, on the New 
 Orleans & Great Northern R. R., remaining in 
 the service of that road until 1882. From New 
 Orleans Mr. Linstrom went to Mexico, working 
 there about sixteen months, and in 1884 returned 
 to New Orleans, becoming identified with the 
 Louisville, New Orleans & Texas R. R. (now 
 the Y. & M. V. R. R.) as foreman in the shops, 
 which position he occupied two years. He then 
 went to Vicksburg, and was appointed general 
 foreman, and in 1893 was promoted to his present 
 responsible position. Mr. Linstrom was, in 
 1876, married to Miss Amelia Berrett, of New 
 Orleans, three children being born of their union. 
 Charles, aged twenty-two, an engineer on the 
 Y. & M. V. R. R. at Vicksburg: Armida, who 
 died on February 28, 1899, aged sixteen, and 
 Gussie, aged nine. The Masonic organization 
 claims Mr. Linstrom as a valued member. He 
 is a Lutheran in his religious connections, and 
 in politics prefers to be independent. 
 
 ^ICHARD H. JENKINS, a switch en- 
 gineer employed in the yards of the 
 Illinois Central at Memphis, Tenn., has 
 been in the railroad business for four- 
 teen years. His first experience at railroad work 
 was acquired on the Tennessee Coal & Iron R. 
 R., at Birmingham, Ala., where he worked for 
 one year as a fireman. He was then for four 
 years with the Louisville & Nashville R. R. as 
 fireman, hostler and switch engineer, and from 
 that road went to the Kansas City, Fort Scott & 
 Memphis R. R., where in 1894 he received pro- 
 
 motion to engineer. He was in the government 
 service at Memphis as second engineer until 
 1898, when he entered the switching department 
 of the Illinois Central at that place, and has since 
 remained there in the night service. Mr. Jen- 
 kins was born in the state of Pennsylvania on 
 June 29, 1872, and is a son of Leroy Jenkins, a 
 farmer residing in Georgia. He married Miss 
 Mary L. Mathews, who was born in Cleveland 
 county. Ark., but at the time of her marriage 
 was a resident of Memphis. Two children have 
 been born to them : Virginia May and Amy Eliz- 
 abeth. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins are members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church. They reside at 
 No. 73 Van Buren street, in Memphis, where 
 they enjoy the friendship and esteem of a large 
 circle of friends. 
 
 ONZANO WEEKS, the capable mana- 
 ger of the telegraphic department of 
 the Illinois Central at New Orleans, 
 is a native of that city. His birth oc- 
 curred there on June 30, 1862. His parents, 
 Samuel and Ellen (Taylor) Weeks, the latter 
 still living at New Orleans, at the age of seventy- 
 three years, were natives of the state of New 
 York. Samuel Weeks was an old and trusted 
 employe of the United States mint at New Or- 
 leans, and while employed there was seriously 
 injured by being accidentally caught in the ma- 
 chinery. He was appointed watchman at the 
 mint during the incumbency of Dr. Bonzano as 
 superintendent, and while employed in that ca- 
 pacity took up the study of telegraphy and col- 
 lateral branches, soon becoming an expert in 
 that line. He was then appointed superinten- 
 dent of fire-alarm telegraph for the city of New 
 Orleans, holding the position twelve years. In 
 1876 he was appointed melter and refiner at the 
 mint by President Grant, occupying that position 
 until his death which occurred July 28, 1878. 
 Bonzano Weeks was educated in the public 
 schools of New Orleans, and also took a course 
 in lllackman's Commercial College, graduating
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 375 
 
 in 1879. He then served an apprenticeship of 
 three years in a machine shop, giving special at- 
 tention to steamboat construction and engineer- 
 ing. In 1882 he was appointed clerk and tele- 
 grapher for the New Orleans police department, 
 and in the same year went to the jetties at the 
 month of the Mississippi as manager of the 
 telegraph office there. Remaining in the latter' 
 position two years, he next acted as agent for 
 the L. N. O. & T. R. R. (now the Y. & M. V. 
 R. R.) at Kenner, La., but was soon transferred 
 to the general office of the company at New Or- 
 leans, where he remained until that road was ab- 
 sorbed by the I. C. He was at once placed in 
 charge, as manager of telegraphy, of the first 
 office established by the I. C., at the corner of 
 St. Charles and Common streets, in New Or- 
 leans. After one year's service there, he was 
 promoted to manager of all telegraphic work for 
 the company in that city, which position he has 
 held for more than seven years. Mr. Weeks 
 was married on July 22, 1884, to Miss Mary L. 
 McLaughlin, of New Orleans, whose father, 
 Captain John McLaughlin, is one of the best 
 known pilots' on the Mississippi river. Four 
 children are the result of this marriage, viz : 
 Louis B., Samuel A., Linton J., and Thelma L. 
 Mr. Weeks is connected with Masonic Lodge 
 No. 144, of New Orleans, of which he is Past 
 Master. His family attend the Methodist 
 church. 
 
 B. McINTURFF, a highly esteemed 
 young conductor on the Louisiana 
 division of the Illinois Central, is a 
 native of Woodstock, Va., where his 
 father, Levi Mclnturff, a farmer, still resides. 
 The early life of our subject was spent on his 
 father's farm, and in 1889, being then twenty-one 
 years of age, he began his railroad career as 
 flagman on a passenger train on the S. F. & W. 
 Railroad, serving in that capacity four months. 
 He then went as brakeman in the freight de- 
 partment of the Alabama Midland Railroad, and 
 after a service of two years was promoted to 
 
 conductor. He resigned in 1894, and on March 
 1 1. 1894, entered the service of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral at McComb City, as brakeman, where he 
 remained until promoted to conductor on Octo- 
 ber ii, 1896. He has at present a regular run 
 in the freight service, between McComb City and 
 New Orleans, on caboose No. 98270, and a crew 
 consisting of L. Mook, flagman, and C. B. Em- 
 erick, brakeman. On August 19, 1891, Mr. 
 Mclnturff was united to a daughter of D. D. 
 Hunt, of Hatchechubbee, Ala. Two children 
 have been born to them, Ray H. and Lawrence 
 Owen. He is an officer of Division No. 367, 
 O. R. C., and is connected with Dewey Tent 
 No. i , Knights of the Maccabees. He was only 
 once injured, by being violently thrown against 
 the caboose door, having his arm broken, and 
 was compelled to retire from work for over three 
 months. He is a trustworthy young man, well 
 liked by his fellow employes, and stands high in 
 the estimation of the officials of the road. 
 
 M. WHEELER, a conductor in 
 the service of the Illinois Central 
 Q on the Louisiana division, known 
 to the boys on that division as 
 "The Tall Kicker of the Wabash," began his 
 railroad life in 1869. His first work was on the 
 Lake Erie & Western R. R. as a laborer on a 
 work train, between Peru and LaPorte, Incl., 
 following which he secured a position as brake- 
 man on the old Indiana Central R. R., between 
 Logansport and Richmond, Incl. Acquiring a 
 good knowledge of the work, he next went to 
 the service of the Missouri Pacific R. R., Eastern 
 division, and was a brakeman on that road for 
 one year, leaving at the time of the Jay Gould 
 troubles, known in railroad history as "Black 
 Friday.'' He next entered the service of the 
 Mississippi Central, and was given a run between 
 Water Valley and Canton, Miss., later taking a 
 regular run between Jackson, Tenn., and Cairo, 
 111. In 1875 he went to Texas, and in 1878 was 
 in the passenger service of the Southern Pacific
 
 376 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 R. R. (Sunset Route) between San Antonio and 
 Houston. He took one of the first passenger 
 trains to the city of San Antonio. Texas was 
 at that time a rendezvous for desperadoes of all 
 kinds, and Mr. Wheeler was made a United States 
 marshal for western district of Texas for the pro- 
 tection of himself and passengers. He has often 
 been covered by six-shooters, but his iron nerve 
 safely carried him through his difficulties. After 
 working for some time in the Lone Star State, he 
 went north to St. Louis, and was for a year with 
 the St. Louis Terminal R. R. In 1881 he went to 
 the Missouri Pacific R. R., and was in the service 
 of that company as conductor four years, resign- 
 ing to accept a position with the Wabash Railroad. 
 He remained with the Wabash seven years as 
 a conductor, running out of St. Louis, and from 
 there to Kansas City. Then going to Arizona, 
 he was there about a year in the service of the 
 Atlantic & Pacific Railroad. He then came to 
 the Louisiana division of the Illinois Central, 
 and in 1896 became a resident of McComb City, 
 where he has since remained. His railroad ca- 
 reer of thirty-one years has been a successful 
 one, without accidents or injury of consequence. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler is a native of Rush county, 
 Ind. His father, William Wheeler, was a Vir- 
 ginian by birth, but when a young man moved 
 to East Tennessee and married Ruth Igo. Not 
 being in sympathy with the slave-holders, he 
 moved his family to Indiana. He was a man 
 of learning, acquired by hard and persistent 
 study, often sitting the greater part of the night 
 before a large fireplace, and studying by the light 
 it afforded. He died at the age of seventy-eight 
 years. Mr. Wheeler is a member of Division 
 No. 304, O. R. C, of Canton, Miss. He has 
 been connected with the order for twenty-two 
 years, first joining, as a charter member, Division 
 No. 7, at Columbus, Texas, in 1878, and was 
 Chief of the Division. He holds a traveling 
 card dated August I, 1879. He is also a member 
 of Elks Lodge No. 268, of McComb City. Mr. 
 Wheeler has a daughter, now a beautiful young 
 lady of eighteen, who resides in St. Louis. He 
 is a tall, fine looking man, active and energetic, 
 and very popular among the employes on the 
 
 Louisiana division. He frequently indulges in 
 literary work, and has contributed articles and 
 humorous poetry to the St. Louis papers. He 
 has written several humorous poems showing the 
 fads and fancies of the boys on his division, 
 which display much wit and a keen judgment of 
 human nature. 
 
 rlLLIAM J. HELMICK, the accom- 
 modating and progressive agent at 
 McComb City, Miss., is a native of 
 Wheatfield, Ind., born in 1876. In 
 1891 he entered the employ of the Chicago & 
 Eastern Indiana R. R. as telegrapher, serving 
 three months, and from that road went to the 
 New York, Chicago & St. Louis R. R. He then 
 returned to the C. & E. I. R. R. as agent and 
 operator, where he worked for some time. In 
 1896 he entered the service of the Illinois Central, 
 at Paducah, Ky., as operator, and was sent from 
 there to Horse Branch, in that state, as agent. 
 Following this he acted as relief agent on the 
 Louisville division, and in 1897 was placed in 
 charge of the telegraph office at Crystal Springs, 
 Miss. On August I, 1898, he was appointed 
 agent at Amite, La., and on December 2, 1898, 
 was transferred to McComb City as general 
 agent, succeeding F. W. Beale and G. K. Rey- 
 nolds, freight and ticket agents, respectively. 
 Mr. Helmick's position is one of great responsi- 
 bility, on account of the large shipments of lum- 
 ber and brick from that point and Fernwood, of 
 which he has charge. The shipments from the 
 sawmills and brickyards of J. T. Coney, White's, 
 and Holmes Brothers, are immense, and it re- 
 quires a man of ability to handle them properly. 
 The immense shops of the I. C. at McComb City- 
 add largely to his work, together with the office 
 work of the yard master, which is under his 
 jurisdiction. An ice house of 1,500 tons ca- 
 pacity, which is located here for the purpose of 
 icing cars of fruit and vegetables, is also under 
 the charge of the agent. This ice house is 
 filled twice per year, and requires a large force of
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 377 
 
 extra laborers during the spring months. Mc- 
 Coinh City is soon to have an extensive cotton 
 mill, which will add to his duties. The force 
 under his management consists of H. G. Mackcy, 
 chief clerk ; Edwin L. McLaurin, and F. L. 
 Kaufman, yard clerks ; E. J. Wood, night ticket 
 clerk ; H. L. Eastman, office clerk and John J. 
 Mclntosh, warehouse man, besides several por- 
 ters, baggagemen and watchmen. 
 
 Mr. Helmick married a daughter of F. H. 
 Scott, agent for the Chicago & Eastern Indiana 
 R. R. at Wheatfield, Ind. The rapid promotion 
 of Mr. Helmick marks him as a young man of 
 great ability. He is progressive, attentive to 
 duty, and has a bright future in prospect. 
 
 R. HERBERT, general yardmaster 
 for the Illinois Central at New Or- 
 leans, La., was born at Dallas 
 City, 111., July 18, 1861, and is 
 the son of Thomas J. and Lucinda J. (Fontaine) 
 Herbert. Thomas J. Herbert, the father, was a 
 stock dealer in Illinois, and died in 1864; his wife 
 still survives, and resides at Vicksburg, Miss. 
 Our subject received his education in the pub- 
 lic schools of St. Louis, Mo., and at Beachland 
 high school. At the age of eighteen he was taken 
 into the employ of John A. Wood & Son, exten- 
 sive coal dealers of Pittsburg, Pa., as clerk, and 
 remained with that firm for three years. In 
 September 1882, he entered the service of the 
 L. N. O. & T. R. R. (now the Y. & M. V. R. R.) 
 as supervisor of construction between Vicks- 
 burg and Memphis, holding the position for 
 eighteen months. He then received an appoint- 
 ment as supply clerk, for the same company, 
 and from that to brakeman, and finally to con- 
 ductor in the freight service, where he remained 
 until July 14, 1890. On the latter date he went 
 to the Queen & Crescent Route as conductor, 
 but after a short service went to Costa Rica, and 
 worked for more than a year on the Ferro Caro 
 de Costa Rica road. He then returned north, 
 and for two months was with the Texas Pacific 
 
 R. R. Becoming identified with the I. C. R. R. 
 about that time, he worked for nine months as 
 conductor, and on July 19, 1893, was appointed 
 night yardmaster at Memphis, which he held 
 until November 6, 1896, when he was sent to 
 New Orleans as general night yardmaster, 
 holding the latter position until March 1897. 
 He then went to the L. & N. R. R, as night 
 yardmaster, at Mobile, Ala., and in November of 
 that year resigned and went north to St. Louis, 
 working there a few months for the Terminal 
 R. R. Leaving the latter he worked for a short 
 -time for the St. L. I. M. & S. R. R., and return- 
 ing to New Orleans re-entered the service of the 
 I. C. as assistant yardmaster there. On January 
 17, 1900, he was promoted to general yardmas- 
 ter, a position for which his wide experience in 
 railroad work has well fitted him. On October 
 6, 1899, Mr. Herbert was united in marriage to 
 Miss Laura A. Blakely, a native of New Or- 
 leans, and a most estimable lady. Socially he 
 is connected with Division No. 231, O. R. C., 
 of Vicksburg. 
 
 THOMAS J. McCOSKER, a young en- 
 gineer in the service of the Illinois 
 Central on the Louisiana division, is 
 one of the most popular men on the 
 road. He entered the service of the I. C. in 
 1883, when only seventeen years of age, as a 
 caller, at Canton, Miss. In a short time he be- 
 gan coaling engines, and was afterward appoint- 
 ed fireman on a switch engine. Having served 
 'in this capacity for some time, and acquiring a 
 thorough knowledge of the work, he was pro- 
 moted to fireman on freight and passenger en- 
 gines successively. In 1889 he was promoted 
 to engineer and given charge of engine No. 20, 
 and later of No. 705, built in Weldon, 111. He is 
 at present in charge of a "Manifest" run between 
 McComb City and Canton, Miss., where his ser- 
 vices are fully appreciated. During his career 
 of seventeen years with the I. C. he has never 
 been in a serious accident, and has the remark-
 
 378 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ably clean record of only twenty clays' suspension. 
 This characterizes him as a man who attends 
 strictly to his business, and is of itself an indica- 
 tion that he is certain to rise in his chosen work. 
 Mr. McCosker is a native of Canton, Miss., 
 where he was born August 14, 1866. His father, 
 Bernard McCosker, who died in 1878, was also 
 a trusted employe of the I. C. At Canton, Miss., 
 Mr. McCosker was married to Miss Mary I. 
 Riley, a popular young lady of Yazoo City, and 
 their union has been blessed with three children. 
 Marie and Xellie Louise are living, and Agnes 
 Margarette died in infancy. Socially he is a 
 member of Division Xo. 196, B. of L. E., also of 
 the Catholic Knights of America, of McComb 
 City, where he resides in a fine home on Broad- 
 way. 
 
 E. BRIXGLE, a conductor in the 
 freight service of the Illinois Central 
 ,Q on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 
 division, began his career on that 
 road as brakeman on the Riverside division, 
 where he worked for six months. He then went 
 to the Chesapeake & Ohio R. R. where he was 
 employed for one and one-half years in a similar 
 capacity. Returning to Memphis, he re-entered 
 the employ of the I. C. as a brakeman, and in 
 1899 was promoted to conductor in the freight 
 department, since which time he has been in the 
 regular through freight service, between Mem- 
 phis, Tenn., and Yicksburg, Miss. Mr. Bringle 
 is a son of Thomas J. Bringle, a wealthy re- 
 tired fanner who resides near Covington, Tenn., 
 where our subject was born on January 27, 1868. 
 He has two brothers at that place, one of them an 
 attorney of prominence, and another engaged in 
 mercantile pursuits. Mr. Bringle's railroad ca- 
 reer has been free from accidents of any kind. 
 He is considered a careful and painstaking em- 
 ploye of the I. C., well known by every one con- 
 nected with the road. He resides at 791 Main 
 street, in Memphis. 
 
 JM. AX DREWS, a popular engineer in 
 the freight service of the Illinois Cen- 
 Q tral on the Louisiana division, was born 
 at Phillipsburg, Xew Jersey, in 1850. 
 He is a son of James Millet Andrews, a promi- 
 nent engineer, who died in 1869, and who was 
 for many years with the Lehigh Valley, and the 
 Delaware, Lackawanna & Western roads. Dur- 
 ing the Civil war, he was in the service of the. 
 government, carrying troops to different parts 
 of the country. 
 
 J. M. Andrews, our subject, began railroad 
 life, against the wishes of his father, in his native 
 town, as bell boy for James Warner, an engineer. 
 It was customary for engineers in those days to 
 keep boys to ring the bells. In 1870 he entered 
 the service of the Central R. R., of Xew 
 Jersey, at Phillipsburg, as fireman, where he 
 served four years in the freight and passenger 
 service. He then went to the Lehigh Valley R. 
 R. and while with that road was, after two years 
 work in the freight service, promoted to the pas- 
 senger service. He resigned November 18, 1893. 
 on account of a general strike, and went to the 
 Florida & East Coast R. R., working on that 
 road through the winter and going to the Great 
 Xorthern in the spring. He returned to the 
 Florida & East Coast, and from there went to 
 the Houston & Texas Central, between Houston 
 and Fort Worth, Texas. He then worked suc- 
 cessively on the Florida & East Coast R. R., Chi- 
 cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul R. R., and the Mis- 
 souri, Kansas & Texas R. R. until June 1898, 
 when he entered the government service as a 
 locomotive engineer in Florida, carrying troops 
 near Tampa and Key West. In the latter service 
 he had charge of a fine new engine, and received 
 a salary of three hundred dollars per month. 
 
 Mr. Andrews tells many interesting stories 
 of his experience in connection with that service. 
 In 1899, the Spanish- American war being over, 
 he entered the Illinois Central service at McComb 
 City, where he has since remained, in charge of 
 a run in the freight department. Having traveled 
 extensively, Mr. Andrews has a fund of experi- 
 ence that stands him in good stead. He is a man 
 of great nerve, capable of taking charge of any
 
 ALBERT ARTIC LILLY.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 381 
 
 engine. He is a member of Division Xo. 196, 
 I!, of L. E., of McComb City. While with the 
 Lehigli Valley R. R. he organized Division Xo. 
 38, at Sayre, Pa., and was chairman of the 
 Grievance 1'oard of the entire system. He has 
 always been an active worker in the interest of 
 the members. He belongs also to the Masonic 
 order, being a member of Hornellsville Lodge, 
 New York state, having taken his father's num- 
 ber in that lodge. Mr. Andrews organized the 
 railroad branch of the Young Men's Christian 
 Association, at Denison, Texas, which is in a 
 flourishing condition at the present time. He 
 married a daughter of C. F. Jenkins, a prominent 
 horseman of Lexington, Ky., and has a promis- 
 ing son, Joe, a school boy. 
 
 LBERT ARTIC LILLY, deceased, one 
 of the most popular engineers in the 
 /[ \\ service of the Illinois Central, was 
 born in North Carolina, but with his 
 parents moved to Hazelhurst, Miss., when young. 
 In 1881 Mr. Lilly entered the service of the Illi- 
 nois Central, as an apprentice in the McComb 
 City shops, and up to the time of his death had 
 been in the continuous employ of the company, 
 working himself up to repeated promotions, until 
 reaching the responsible position of passenger 
 engineer. At 9 125 on the evening of July 29, 
 1898, Mr. Lilly entered the McComb City yards 
 on engine Xo. 1171, and there collided with some 
 freight cars which had rolled out from a side 
 track, telescoping two of them. Mr. Lilly and 
 his fireman, Jesse Coumbe, were caught in the 
 wreck, and both died in a very short time. Mr. 
 Lilly was extricated from his position at once, 
 but was so badly injured that he lived but a short 
 time, dying at one o'clock A. M., July 30, 1898. 
 Mr Coumbe 's position was such that he could not 
 be extricated, and he died while pinned between 
 the boiler-head and tender, being horribly crushed 
 and burned. Albert A. Lilly was for twenty 
 years a resident of McComb City, and had le- 
 gions of friends in that city. Among railroad 
 
 men, his friends were all who knew him, and 
 at his old home in Hazelhurst, he was looked 
 upon as a pure hearted Christian gentleman. 
 Mr. Lilly was married in 1887 to Miss Palie 
 Catching, of Georgetown, Miss., who departed 
 this life, leaving two children, who by his sad 
 death were doubly orphaned. The remains of 
 our subject were conveyed to Hazelhurst, on 
 a special train, accompanied by many sorrowing 
 friends, and there amid the scenes of his boyhood 
 he was tenderly laid to rest, after an impressive 
 sermon at the Methodist church, of which he 
 was a devoted member. A careful, prudent man, 
 Mr. Lilly left his little ones well provided for, 
 besides which, the Illinois Central railroad com- 
 pany generously paid over to Mr. Joseph R. Lilly, 
 administrator of the estate, the sum of twelve 
 thousand dollars, for their benefit. He was a 
 member of the B. of L. E. and took consider- 
 able pride in the welfare of the order. 
 
 JOSEPH R. SCHULKERS. an engineer 
 in the switching service of the Illinois 
 Central in the Memphis yards, is a na- 
 tive of Covington, Ky., his birth occur- 
 ring May 6, 1862. He is a son of John R.Schul- 
 kers. who worked most of his life in a rolling 
 mill in that place, and died in 1880. The early 
 manhood of our subject was spent in the same 
 occupation as his father, in the Covington Rol- 
 ling Mills, and it was at that place he began rail- 
 road work. Entering the service of the Ken- 
 tucky Central R. R. as fireman between Coving- 
 ton and Lexington, Ky., he worked for that com- 
 pany three years. He then went to Cincinnati, 
 Ohio, and was employed in the yards of the 
 Chesapeake & Ohio R. R. as locomotive fireman, 
 and finally was promoted to engineer in the 
 freight service of that road, between Cincinnati 
 and Russell, Ky, In 1897 he went to Memphis 
 and entered the employ of the Illinois Central 
 in the yards, and has since remained there as 
 night switch engineer, his hours of duty being 
 from 6:00 P. M, to 6;oo A, M, He was in
 
 382 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 several wrecks while with the Kentucky Central, 
 but his connection with the I. C. has been devoid 
 of accidents of any consequence. At Coving- 
 ton Mr. Schulkers was married to Miss Theresa 
 Mohlenkamp, of Boonc county, Ky., three chil- 
 dren being the result of their union, viz : Leona, 
 Adla, and Bernardina. With his wife he is a 
 firm adherent of the doctrines of the Catholic 
 church. He resides at No. 228 Iowa avenue, 
 in Memphis, of which city he is an honest and 
 upright citizen. 
 
 JAMES A. WILSON, who occupies the re- 
 sponsible position of depot master for 
 the Illinois Central at New Orleans, was 
 born at Smithfield, Va., on January 26, 
 1855. His parents, James A. and Mary Wil- 
 son, both departed this life in the yellow fever 
 epidemic of 1857. Our subject acquired his ed- 
 ucation in private schools and under private tu- 
 tors. At an early age he began life on his own 
 account, working his way in the line of indus- 
 trial pursuits, and in 1873 entered the service of 
 the C. N. O. & S. R. R., as flagman between 
 McComb City, Miss., and New Orleans. He 
 was transferred in 1875 to tne Water Valley divi- 
 sion, in a similar capacity, and at the end of one 
 year was given charge of a run on that division 
 as freight conductor. In 1879 he was sent to 
 Jackson, Tenn., and served as conductor in the 
 freight and passenger service between that city 
 and Cairo, 111., until 1882. In that year our sub- 
 ject was promoted to the passenger service on 
 the Mississippi division, where he remained until 
 1891. He was then appointed yardmaster at 
 Jackson, Tenn., and after a short service of six- 
 teen days, while engaged in superintending 
 shifting in the yards, lost his left leg. On re- 
 covery he was appointed night watchman at 
 Grenada, Miss., and in August 1895 was sent to 
 New Orleans as depot master, which position he 
 now fills. 
 
 Mr. Wilson and Miss Fannie Elliott, of 
 Wicklyffe, Ky., were married in 1883, the lat- 
 
 ter surviving only about a year after the mar- 
 riage. He was, in 1888, united to Miss Lula 
 Bosworth, of Canton, Miss., the daughter of 
 Mrs. A. S. Bosworth, who is editor of the 
 . lincrican Citizen, of that place. Mrs. Wilson 
 is a lady of fine literary ability, and acts as cor- 
 respondent for various newspapers. To them 
 have been born three children, James Norman, 
 Dudley and Marie. Mr. Wilson affiliates with 
 the Knights of Pythias. His family are mem- 
 bers of the Protestant Episcopal church. In poli- 
 tics he gives his allegiance to the Democratic 
 party. 
 
 LL. DAGRON, roadmaster on the 
 Twelfth division of the Illinois Cen- 
 Q tral, with headquarters at New Or- 
 leans, was born in New York city, 
 January 20, 1862, and is the son of Louis and 
 Alice Dagron. Mr. Dagron Sr. was a commis- 
 sion merchant of that city. The facilities of 
 the metropolis for acquiring a good education 
 were taken advantage of by the son, and after 
 finishing there he entered McGill University, 
 in Montreal, Canada, taking a course in engineer- 
 ing, and graduating in 1883. He at once entered 
 upon the active duties of life, securing a position 
 as draughtsman with the Sanborn Map and Pub- 
 lishing Company of New York city, where he 
 remained two years. In 1885 he began work 
 with the B. & O. R. R. at Baltimore, in the en- 
 gineering department, and was with that com- 
 pany until 1892. Entering the service of the 
 Illinois Central in the spring of the latter year, 
 in the capacity of civil engineer, he was made 
 engineer in charge of the Burnside shops. In 
 April 1896, he came to New Orleans, and took 
 charge of the construction of the Stuyvesant 
 docks, erected during that year, and in December 
 of the same year was appointed roadmaster of 
 the Freeport (111.) division of the I. C. Serv- 
 ing there for the following year, he was then 
 transferred to New Orleans as roadmaster, and 
 is at present acting in that capacity. He has 
 charge of two hundred and six miles of main
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 383 
 
 line, which with branch lines and terminals, is 
 increased to nearly five hundred miles. His 
 jurisdiction embraces forty-six sections, besides 
 the Xew ( )rleans Terminal. The satisfactory 
 management of such a large undertaking, shows 
 him to be a man of great executive ability. 
 
 Mr. Dagron was, on October 2, 1889, united 
 to Miss Blanche McMorran, a member of a pro- 
 minent family in Pittsburgh, Pa. He is a thirty 
 second degree Mason, and is a member of the 
 Protestant Episcopal church. 
 
 J. JEWETT, a well known conductor 
 in the passenger service on the Louisi- 
 Q ana division of the Illinois Central, 
 was born at Shreveport, La., Novem- 
 ber 2, 1843. His parents, Ivers, and Lydia 
 (Adams) Jewett, both deceased, were natives of 
 Massachusetts, but came to Louisiana in early 
 life. Ivers Jewett was a merchant by occupa- 
 tion. Responding to the call of his country in 
 the war of 1812, in which he was an officer, he 
 took a prominent part in it and was in the battle 
 of New Orleans under General Jackson. 
 
 T. J. Jewett was educated in the public 
 schools of New Orleans, and was from 1855 to 
 1861 in a private express business in that city 
 on his own account. Espousing the southern 
 cause in the Civil war, he enlisted in 1862, as 
 a private in the I5th Confederate Cavalry and 
 went to Mobile, Ala. He served during the en- 
 tire war on the Confederate side, surrendering 
 in April 1865, at Gainesville, Ala., with the army 
 of General Joseph E. Johnston. At the_ close of 
 the war, he returned to Mobile, Ala., and was em- 
 ployed by the Southern Express company, at 
 Mobile, Ala., as a messenger on the M. & O. 
 R. R. between Mobile and Cairo, 111. This posi- 
 tion was held for four years, when he entered the 
 employ of the same road as a brakeman, being 
 in a short time promoted to conductor. He was 
 identified with the M. & O. R. R. until 1873, 
 when he entered the service of the I. C. at Jack- 
 
 son, Tenn., as brakeman, and later worked as 
 freight conductor. 
 
 In 1874 he went to New Orleans and worked 
 in the I. C. yards as a switchman for a short 
 period. He was soon given charge of a freight 
 train on the Louisiana division, between New 
 Orleans and Canton, Miss. For a few months 
 during the year 1875, he was laid off on account 
 of the slack condition of business, but returned 
 to work in August of that year, acting succes- 
 sively as brakeman, conductor on work train, 
 conductor on freight, and extra passenger con- 
 ductor; and in 1885 was given a regular passen- 
 ger run, which he holds at the present time. Mr. 
 Jewett was, on June 25, 1872, united in mar- 
 riage to Miss Jennie Robertson, of Citronelle, 
 Ala. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity of 
 New Orleans, being a thirty- second degree Ma- 
 son, also a member of Mobile Chapter, a Shriner 
 of Jerusalem Temple, of New Orleans, and is 
 Chief Conductor, Division No. 108, O. R. C. 
 His family are supporters of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church. Politically he is a Democrat. 
 
 1LLIAM BEVEN, the white haired 
 veteran engineer known to all the 
 employes of the road as " Dad " 
 Beven, is in the fast passenger ser- 
 vice of the Illinois Central on a vestibule train 
 between McComb City, and New Orleans. Mr. 
 Beven dates his railroad career back to 1868, 
 when he worked in the shops of the New Orleans, 
 Jackson & Great Northern R. R., where he was 
 employed until 1870. In that year he began fir- 
 ing on a wood-burner with engineer John 
 Hughes, known to the railroad men of that day 
 as " Happy Jack ", a whole-souled, popular man, 
 who died in 1897 in the state of Texas. After 
 working as fireman in the freight and passenger 
 service of the N. O. J. & G. N. (now the I. C. 
 R. R.) for four years, he went to the Louisville 
 & Nashville R. R. as engineer in the passenger 
 service, between New Orleans and Mobile, and 
 in 1879 returned to the I, C. and has since been
 
 384 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 in the employ of that company. He has charge 
 of engine Xo. 387, Roger's build, with nineteen 
 and one-half inch cylinder. Mr. Beven met with 
 a peculiar accident in 1897. While running at 
 a speed of forty-five miles per hour, he stepped 
 out on the running hoard to make some repairs, 
 and slipped to the ground, luckily falling in a 
 swampy spot between two stumps. After find- 
 ing that no bones were broken he looked for his 
 train, which was no where in sight. He then 
 started to walk, when he perceived the train 
 backing up, he having been missed by his fire- 
 man after the train had gone three miles. He got 
 on his engine and carried the train through to 
 New Orleans, but the reaction following the 
 shock obliged him to rest for a time. It was 
 from Mr. Beven's engine that Master Mechanic 
 Baldwin jumped and met his death. Mr. Beven 
 says he had reduced his speed to twenty iniles 
 per hour, when the fatal red lights of the freight 
 train were seen, apparently on the main line. 
 Fireman McCollum jumped, and Mr. Baldwin 
 followed, striking a switch stand and splitting 
 open his head, causing instant death. Mr. Beven 
 stuck to his post and brought the train to a stand 
 still. The passengers gathered about him, pro- 
 fuse in their thanks, and wanted to raise a purse 
 which he gallantly refused, satisfied with the 
 thought that he had stuck to his post and per- 
 formed his duty. Mr. Beven's fastest run was 
 made with a train of nine coaches, covering six- 
 ty-three miles in one hour, which, considering 
 the track, is a remarkable run. Mr. Beven is 
 a native of Xew Orleans and was born August 
 28, 1849.' 
 
 William Beven, his father, was an English- 
 man, and his mother was a native of London. 
 The latter died at the age of eighty-six from the 
 result of a fall. 
 
 In 1876 our subject married a Miss Delaney, 
 a native of New York. They have three chil- 
 dren : Charles R. who holds a responsible posi- 
 tion in the freight office of the I. C. at New Or- 
 leans, and is married to a prominent young lady 
 of that place; Mrs. T. C. Henry, married to a 
 son of Col. R. H. Henry, of Jackson, Miss, and 
 John L., at school. Mr. Beven is Chief of Divi- 
 
 sion No. 196, B. of L. E., and has been an officer 
 of the Division for eight years. He has served 
 as delegate to conventions at Chicago and at 
 New Orleans. He is connected with Myrtle 
 Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and with the Knights 
 of Honor, of McComb City. Mr. Beven has 
 served with success under seven master mechan- 
 ics, and has graduated many competent engineers 
 from his engine. He is an active man, and 
 takes pleasure in a boxing contest or other sports 
 with his younger fellow employes. Physically 
 he is a fine type of manhood, erect and well-pro- 
 portioned, and to know "Dad" Beven is to know 
 one of Nature's noblemen. 
 
 'ILLIAM W. WEBB, an engineer in 
 the switching department of the Illi- 
 nois Central in the yards at Memphis, 
 has been connected with the company 
 since 1894. Beginning on the Canada Southern 
 R. R. (now the Michigan Central) he worked 
 for that company in the water and car depart- 
 ments, and also as a fireman in the freight de- 
 partment, until January 17, 1889. He was then 
 promoted to engineer, after examination. The 
 latter was a , very rigid one. Chief Dispatcher 
 Babbitt, Assistant Superintendent McDonald, 
 and Division Superintendent J. B. Morfit, con- 
 stituting the committee. On promotion he was 
 in the freight service of that road for some time 
 between St. Clair Junction and Yarmouth, On- 
 tario, also Windsor and Buffalo. On October 
 3, 1891, he became connected with the Toledo, 
 Ann Arbor & Michigan R. R., and served as 
 engineer in the freight department of that road 
 until 1894. In that year he went to Chicago, 
 and began work for the Illinois Central in the 
 shops, as hostler, and was afterward foreman. 
 He remained in Chicago until November 1897. 
 when Mr. Renshaw sent him to Memphis, where 
 he was employed in the switching service in the 
 yards, and was also for six months in the freight 
 service. He however returned to the yards, 
 where he has since remained as night engineer.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 Mr. Webb lias been in railroad service fourteen 
 years, and lias never bad a wreck and was never 
 injured. Mr. Webb was born in Ontario, Cana- 
 da, on June 12, 1859, and is a son of John Webb, 
 deceased, who was engaged there in the nursery 
 business on a large scale. In the parental fami- 
 ly there were three sons, all of whom became 
 railroad men ; first our subject ; then George, who 
 was a fireman, and is now dead ; and Ernest, an 
 engineer in the water works at Niagara Falls. 
 Mr. Webb married Miss Louie Birdsall, of Cana- 
 da. Socially he is connected with Lodge No. 
 32, I. O. O. F., and is also a member of the 
 Foresters, of St. Thomas, Canada. He has a 
 nice home at 106 Florida avenue, Memphis. He 
 is a very faithful employe of the I. C., paying 
 strict attention to duty, and stands high in the 
 estimation of his superiors. 
 
 JM.IM.IM 
 
 K. WHITE, a conductor in the pas- 
 senger service of the Y. & M. V. R. 
 ' Q R., was born in Belton, Texas, Feb- 
 ruary 10, 1864, and is the son of Cap- 
 tain B. S. and Anna (Kirkpatrick) White. Cap- 
 tain White was a ranchman in the Lone Star 
 State when the Civil war broke out, and imme- 
 diately organized the famous "Texas Rangers," 
 being appointed captain of Company A, Sixth 
 Texas Mounted Infantry. He served with dis- 
 tinction during the entire war, and moving to 
 Hinds county, Miss., was for a time deputy sher- 
 iff of that county. He was killed in 1891 while 
 attempting the arrest of two burglars. His wife 
 died in 1893. The educational training of Mr. 
 White was acquired in the public schools of 
 Hinds county, Miss., and in 1883 he began learn- 
 ing the printing business at Raymond, in that 
 state, remaining at that work nearly two years. 
 His first work on the road was with the N. J. 
 & C. R. R. (now a branch of the I. C.), in 1885, 
 as brakeman in the freight service between Nat- 
 chez and Jackson. After holding this position 
 for one year, he came to the L. N. O. & T. R. R. 
 (now the Y. & M. V. R. R.), and served in a 
 
 similar capacity, between Vicksburg and New 
 Orleans. On September i, 1889, he was pro- 
 moted to conductor in the freight service, and 
 in October 1898, his merits were recognized by 
 the company by his appointment to train master 
 on the Yicksburg district of the Xew Orleans 
 division. He retained that position during the 
 winter months, and in the spring of 1899 re- 
 sumed his former work in the freight service, 
 receiving promotion to the passenger service on 
 the New Orleans division in October 1899, which 
 he now holds. 
 
 On the 25th of September, 1890, Mr. White 
 was joined in wedlock at Raymond, Miss., her 
 native town, to Miss Mary Willis, an estimable 
 young lady of that place. They are the parents 
 of two bright children, Mary E., born July 4, 
 1891, and Sterling, born August 14, 1896. He 
 holds membership in the Masonic order ; Lodge 
 No. 70, Knights of Pythias, and Division No. 
 231, O. R. C., of Vicksburg. His family are 
 attendants of the Episcopal church, and he af- 
 filiates politically with the Democratic party. 
 
 L DWIN C. DUNHAM, a well known en- 
 gineer in the freight service of the Illi- 
 nois Central, between Memphis, Tenn., 
 and Grenada, Miss., entered the ser- 
 vice of the company in 1878 as a brakeman be- 
 tween Chicago and Champaign, 111. After ser- 
 ving there for five months, he went to the Chi- 
 cago & Alton R. R. as fireman between Chicago 
 and Bloomington, 111., where he remained two 
 and one-half years. His next work was as fire- 
 man on the West Michigan R. R., between Mus- 
 kegon and Big Rapids, where, after a service of 
 four months, he was promoted to engineer in 
 the freight department of that road, and re- 
 mained there in that capacity one year and three 
 months. Returning to the employ of the Chi- 
 cago & Alton, he was with that road as engineer 
 for eleven years, running at different times be- 
 tween Chicago and Bloomington. Chicago and 
 Roodhouse, Bloomington and St. Louis, Slater,
 
 386 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COAII'ANY 
 
 MIL, and Kansas City, and Kansas City and 
 liootli. He then went to the transportation de- 
 partment of that road, and was there a conduc- 
 tor in the passenger service for three years be- 
 tween Chicago and Roodhouse, and Chicago and 
 St. Louis. Returning to the Illinois Central, he 
 entered the freight service of that company as 
 engineer, and has since remained there on his 
 present rim. During his long railroad career 
 he has had few accidents, and never received an 
 injury. Mr. Dunham was born at Marshall, in 
 the state of Michigan, on January 8, 1860, and 
 is a son of Henry Dunham, a photographer of 
 that city, now deceased. Charles Dunham, a 
 brother of our subject, is a fireman in the ser- 
 vice of the Illinois Central. 
 
 The first wife of Mr. Dunham was Miss 
 Minnie L. Ferguson, of New York state, who 
 died. He afterward married Miss Estelle M. 
 Cushman, of Glens Falls, New York, in which 
 city he has his permanent home on South street. 
 His western home is at the Broadway Hotel, in 
 the city of Memphis. He is a reliable and active 
 employe, and is held in high esteem by every 
 one connected with the road. 
 
 JOHN G. FORD, an old and appreciated 
 conductor on the Louisiana division of 
 the Illinois Central, entered the service 
 of the company in 1884 as a brakeman 
 with Conductor Butterworth, and was himself 
 promoted to conductor on October 10, 1887. His 
 present run is on a through freight between Can- 
 ton, Miss., and New Orleans, La. Mr. Ford's 
 career on the Illinois Central embraces a period 
 of seventeen years of continued service, during 
 which time he has had no accidents. He lost 
 one caboose, which rolled down an embankment 
 and was demolished, but no blame was attached 
 to him. Mr. Ford is a Mississippian by birth. 
 He married Miss Dancer, of Crystal Springs, 
 Miss., and three children are the result of their 
 union, viz : Ferol, aged six years ; Wilda, aged 
 four, and "Diamond Dick," a bright promising 
 
 girl. He belongs to Canton Division No. 304. 
 (). R. C., and to Myrtle Lodge, Knights of 
 Pythias, of McComb City. Mr. Ford is of 
 quiet, unassuming disposition, well and favor- 
 ably known along the Illinois Central road, and 
 a respected citizen of McComb City. 
 
 H 
 
 ARRY CHARLTON, a train dispatcher 
 on the Louisiana division of the Illi- 
 nois Central, with headquarters at 
 McComb City, Miss., is a vigilant and 
 trusted employe of the road, and a very affable 
 young man. He is a native of Braidwood, 111., 
 and a son of C. K. Charlton, now residing at 
 that place. Our subject began his career in 1894 
 on the North- Western R. R. in Wisconsin, where 
 he remained only a short time, going in 1895 * o 
 the Wabash in Missouri, as operator. In March 
 1897, he entered the service of the Illinois Central 
 at Gilman, 111., working successively at Clinton, 
 111., and Fulton, Ky. In November 1897 he came 
 to McComb City as operator, in 1898 was promot- 
 ed to extra night dispatcher, and in 1899 was made 
 a regular dispatcher, where he is now employed 
 and serving with great credit. He is at present 
 on "second trick," his hours being from 4 :oo 
 P. M. to 12:00 M. Mr. Charlton's district ex- 
 tends from McComb City to New Orleans, in- 
 cluding the Y. & M. V. terminals, and he often 
 has a good many trains to supervise, both pas- 
 senger and freight. This means a vast amount 
 of property, to say nothing of the hundreds of 
 human lives which are literally in his care, while 
 he is on duty, and is a work requiring great ex- 
 ecutive ability. Socially he is connected with 
 the Train Dispatchers' Association, of Chicago, 
 and the Modern Woodmen of the World. In 
 1899 Miss Deith, of New Orleans, became the 
 wife of our subject, and they are comfortably 
 located on Main street in McComb City. The 
 rapid promotion of Mr. Charlton speaks vol- 
 umes for so young a man, he being now only 
 twenty-six years old, and is a recognition of his 
 fine abilities and faithful service.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 387 
 
 OOWRY G. MACKEY, chief clerk to the 
 local agent for the Illinois Central at 
 |_[ \\ McComb City, Miss., is an enterpris- 
 ing and energetic young man, who be- 
 gan railroad life as a clerk in the freight office 
 of Water Valley, Miss. He was afterward 
 transferred to Jackson, Miss., working there un- 
 til April 1899. He was then sent to McComb 
 Citv as day clerk, then promoted to bill clerk, 
 and afterward to chief clerk, where he is now 
 serving in the most satisfactory manner. Mr. 
 Mackey's position is one of much responsibility. 
 He has a force of clerks under his supervision, 
 and handles a large amount of office work con- 
 nected with the yards and station. He is also 
 in charge of the ticket department, and McComb 
 City being a coupon ticket office, he handles large 
 sums of money. Several relatives of our sub- 
 ject are successful railroad men. One of them, 
 an uncle, is a prominent employe of the Cotton 
 Belt road, with headquarters at Texarkana, Ark. 
 His father,- L. W. Mackey, is a well known and 
 prosperous grocer of Water Valley, Miss. So- 
 cially Mr. Mackey is a member of the Knights 
 and Ladies of Honor, of Water Valley, Miss., 
 his home. He is a young man of pleasing ad- 
 dress and genial manners, and his future pros- 
 pects are very bright. 
 
 DWARD F. CRISP, the ranking engi- 
 neer at Water Valley began his railroad 
 career in 1870 in the humble position 
 of water boy on the section at Durant, 
 and about a year later went to Goodman where he 
 acted as section master eight months. Return- 
 ing to Durant he secured a place as laborer on 
 the section for a year and then began working 
 around the depot, at the same time studying tele- 
 graphy and the duties of station master. During 
 the two years he was here he mastered the 
 art of telegraphy and when he resigned he 
 was assistant station master. During the fol- 
 lowing six months he was employed by a pri- 
 vate telegraph company, and then returned to 
 
 the employ of the railroad as locomotive fire- 
 man on the Kosciusko branch near the close of 
 the construction period, remaining on that branch 
 some eighteen months. Desiring to fit himself 
 more fully for the calling of an engineer, Mr. 
 Crisp entered the shops at Water Valley as an 
 apprenticed machinist, and continued in that 
 capacity three and a half years under Master 
 Mechanic J. E. Becton. Feeling better fitted 
 for the road, he re-entered the operative depart- 
 ment and was fireman on a bridge train working 
 between Water Valley and Canton, under En- 
 gineer John Dunn, on engine No. 86 of the 
 Louisiana division. After a few months on the 
 left side of the engine, he was promoted August 
 7, 1877, and given a run in the freight service, 
 between Canton and Water Valley, and in 1882 
 was promoted to the passenger service in which 
 he continued until 1894. At this date, at his 
 own request, Mr. Crisp was given a run on the 
 construction train and later on the local freight, 
 on which he was engaged until 1896, when he 
 was given his present assignment, a preferred 
 freight on the south end of the division. Mr. 
 Crisp has had several severe injuries during the 
 thirty years of his railroad experience. July 3, 
 1888, he was involved in a wreck on a trestle at 
 Winona, Miss., and went down with his engine, 
 and in consequence was off from duty some six 
 months. Perhaps the most thrilling experience 
 that has occurred in his career happened about 
 four o'clock in the morning on April n, 1900, 
 about three miles north of Canton, along the 
 banks of Tildabogue creek, after one of the 
 heaviest rain and hail storms that ever visited 
 that region. The creek had risen to an unprece- 
 dented height, flooding the tracks to a depth of 
 four feet and washing out the grade. This 
 never having been a danger point, the train came 
 thundering along and without warning rushed 
 into the flood, leaving the tracks and burying 
 some of the crew beneath the wreck. Mr. Crisp, 
 although he stuck to his engine, was rescued in a 
 dazed condition, having sustained a severe cut 
 on the head. It is incidents like this that makes 
 it the wonder that men of sufficient courage can 
 be found to operate the thousands of trains that
 
 388 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 daily carry their loads of freight and precious 
 lives. Mr. Crisp was born in Madison county, 
 Term. He was married at Water Valley to Miss 
 Henrietta Lawshea, to whom six children have 
 been born, four of whom are now living: Clark, 
 aged 14; Nina, aged u, and Cloud andJEdwin, 
 twins, aged 8. 
 
 As a successful railroad man Mr. Crisp can 
 feel proud of his record, having never suffered a 
 suspension nor censure. He is a member of 
 the Masonic order and the Knights of Honor at 
 Water Valley, and the local Division, No. 99, 
 B. of L. E. He is a man of sterling integrity 
 and one of the most reliable operatives on the 
 southern division. No one who mentions him 
 fails to have a good word to say for Ed. Crisp. 
 
 jtjtjtjtjtj* 
 
 E. READER is one of the best known 
 conductors in the passenger service 
 Q of the Illinois Central, running on the 
 St. Louis division from Centralia to 
 Cairo, 111. He entered the service of the com- 
 pany in 1881 as brakeman in the freight service; 
 then in the fall of 1882 served as baggageman on 
 a passenger. From the latter position he was 
 promoted to conductor in 1886, serving in the 
 freight service seven years, and in 1893 was 
 placed in charge of a passenger train, which po- 
 sition he still occupies. 
 
 Mr. Reader was born at Clinton, Iowa, Jan- 
 uary 7, 1861, and is the son of Thomas ]. and 
 Phoebe (Bevier) Reader, both of whom were na- 
 tives of the state of New York. On May 25, 
 1891, our subject was united in marriage with 
 Miss Anne Parkin, who was employed as clerk 
 in the agent's office at Centralia. To this union 
 have been born two children, viz : Emma, who 
 is now seven years of age, and Chauncey Parkin, 
 aged four years. 
 
 Mr. Reader has in his possession a letter 
 from Superintendent Sullivan, of which he is 
 justly proud. In those days freight trains were 
 not equipped with air brakes, and all brakes had 
 to be set bv hand. The letter is as follows : 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD Co., 
 
 OFFICE OF DIVISION SUPERINTENDENT. 
 
 Cairo, III., April 12, 1886. 
 A. E. READER, Brakeman, Cairo, 111. 
 
 DEAR SIR: I learn that on the night of the 3rd 
 inst., at the time of the breaking of the journal under 
 a car in the freight train, on which you were rear 
 brakeman, just as the train was descending a heavy- 
 grade north of Cobden, and during a severe sleet 
 storm, that, notwithstanding the roofs of the cars were 
 covered with a coating of ice, you went over the train 
 setting brakes, passing over the car which was break- 
 ing down, and finally reached a point where a signal 
 could be communicated to the engineer and succeeded 
 in stopping the train before further damage was done. 
 
 Your action in this case was highly commendable, 
 and I desire to express to you my appreciation of it, 
 believing that it was chiefly through your personal 
 efforts, under trying and perilous circumstances, that 
 the train was saved from serious damage. 
 Yours truly, 
 
 A. W. SULLIVAN, Div. Supt. 
 
 DR. SWEETS, locomotive engineer on the 
 I. C., is a native of Bardstown, Ky. He 
 Q first began railroading in 1879 at Seclalia, 
 on the Missouri Pacific, as a fireman in 
 the freight service, and continued there about 
 two years, when he went to Decatur, 111., and be- 
 gan firing on the Wabash, where he remained 
 one year, and was then promoted to engineer 
 and ran an engine in the freight service between 
 East St. Louis and Chicago until 1883, when 
 he went on the T. C. & St. L. (now called the 
 Clover Leaf route), with his first rim b^tweer> 
 Delphos and Dayton, Ohio. Later he ran the 
 engine in the construction work during the lay- 
 ing of most of the track from Ramsey, 111., to 
 East St. Louis, and remained with that road 
 two and a half years. In June 1886, he went 
 with the Short Line as engineer on freight and 
 all extra passengers. He pulled the pay car 
 four years steady, never missing a trip. In 1894 
 he was given a regular passenger run, and con- 
 tinued there until the purchase of the road in 
 1896 by the Illinois Central, at which time he 
 was running between East St. Louis and Padu-
 
 B 
 
 CO 
 
 B 
 cj 
 
 o 
 
 5 
 
 W
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 391 
 
 cah. After the purchase he was put on the Dia- 
 mond Special, but in 1899 he was given the 
 Creole Spring run and has that at the present 
 time. Our subject is a member of Egyptian 
 Lodge No. 512, B. of L. E. Mr. Sweets mar- 
 ried Miss Edith C. Parrin and has no children. 
 He owns two residences at No. 804 and 806 
 Bond avenue, E. St. Louis. 
 
 IT. SHAKER, conductor on the Free- 
 port division of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, is a native of the city of 
 Freeport, and was born June 23, 
 1870. He is a son of M. W. and S. A. (Hart- 
 zell) Shafer. The father died in 1894, and the 
 mother is still living in Freeport. Our subject 
 had two brothers, both now deceased. John T. 
 was an employe of the I. C. R. R., and Clinton 
 was a conductor for the same company. C. H. 
 Shafer received his education in the schools of 
 Freeport, after which he served an apprentice- 
 ship at the carpenter trade. In 1889 he entered 
 the service of the I. C. R. R. as a brakeman and 
 was promoted to his present position of conduc- 
 tor in August 1892. On the 26th of September, 
 1895, he was united in marriage with Miss Hat- 
 tie C. Skinner, who was born in Warren, Ohio, 
 March 21, 1865. Mrs. Shafer's parents Abra- 
 ham DeCamp and Sarah (Rich) Skinner, were 
 farmers. Mr. and Mrs. Shafer have one child, 
 a daughter named Alice Rose, born September 
 14, 1896. 
 
 H. DICKINSON, conductor on Illi- 
 nois Central Freeport division, was 
 born in Aurora, 111., October 17, 
 1868. His father, Daniel D., a 
 carpenter, died October n, 1895. His mother, 
 Abbie D. (Dan forth) Dickinson, is now living in 
 West Ridge, N. H. One son, Charles F., was a 
 brakeman on the I. C. R. R. at McComb City, 
 
 Miss., and was killed while on duty. E. H. 
 Dickinson was educated in the Young's school 
 at Aurora. At seventeen he entered the service 
 of a butcher and learned the business, remaining 
 in that business for four years. At the age of 
 twenty-one he began his railroad experience as a 
 brakeman for the C. B. & Q. R. R., and remained 
 in their service for about three years. On Octo- 
 ber 15, 1889, he came to Freeport and entered the 
 service of the I. C. R. R. as a brakeman, but was 
 soon promoted to the position of yardmaster at 
 East Dubuque, 111., in which place he remained 
 two years, and in April 1893 was made conduc- 
 tor and has since that time run on the Freeport 
 division. On the 3Oth of April, 1889, Mr. Dick- 
 inson was married to Miss Mary Fisher, of Na- 
 perville, 111., where she was born July n, 1869. 
 She was educated in the schools of her native 
 town. They have one son, Eddie H., born Octo- 
 ber 12, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson attend 
 the First M. E. church. Mr. Dickinson is a 
 member of the O. R. C., and the M. W. of A. 
 He is a Republican in politics. 
 
 DRA A. MANLEY, who has been an employe 
 of the I. C. for thirty-eight years, is a 
 native of Herkimer county, New York. 
 He began his railroad career on the Phila- 
 delphia & Reading Railroad at Port Richmond, 
 a suburb of Philadelphia, in 1850, as an opera- 
 tor and time-keeper, and was there five years. 
 Then in 1855 in company with others he came to 
 Illinois and settled on land granted to the I. C. 
 at what is now called Buckley Station, but 
 at that time no station. Just before General 
 McClellan left the road he was waited upon by 
 a committee, of which our subject was a member, 
 with a petition for a station, and an order for 
 the same was given. The station was erected 
 in 1862, and in August following Mr. Manley 
 was made agent and continued there until Octo- 
 ber 1872,. when he was sent to Tolono, 111., where 
 he served as agent until 1889, one year of that
 
 392 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 time as joint agent with the Wabash. In 1889 
 he came to Chicago and accepted his present 
 position at Hyde Park, where he acts as joint 
 agent for the Illinois Central, Big Four and Mich- 
 igan Central, having full charge of all the through 
 passenger and suburban service. When He first 
 took Buckley Station he only had two passenger 
 trains a day. His son, G. W. Manley, succeeded 
 him at Tolono, 111., and is now agent at Ran- 
 toul, 111. Horace, another son, is clerk in the 
 Central station, Chicago, which position he has 
 held since 1889. 
 
 M. ADAMS, locomotive engineer on 
 the I. C. at East St. Louis, was born 
 L Q in Benton, Illinois. He commenced 
 railroading in 1879 as a section hand 
 on the construction of the Eldorado division and 
 worked in that capacity four years, later in Mur- 
 physboro and East St. Louis. In May 1884, he 
 began braking for John Pinkham on freight and 
 continued until May 1886, and then went on as 
 fireman, serving as such until 1889. December 
 20, 1889, he was promoted to engineer and his 
 first work was between East St. Louis and Du 
 Quoin and continued running freight to that 
 place until 1896, when he was given a run be- 
 tween Pinckneyville and Paducah, remaining here 
 until April, 1899, w.hen he came to East St. Louis 
 and was given preferred freight to Paducah 
 which he has at the present time. He has a regu- 
 lar engine, Rogers, No. 464. 
 
 ( )n February 22nd his engine turned over 
 and again on October 19, 1896, had another tip 
 over but came out without an injury. He was 
 examined by P. H. Murphy. Perhaps no engi- 
 neer has fired for more men than our subject, 
 among them being the following well known en- 
 gineers, Nick Ring, John Ash, Michael Mc- 
 Conery, now retired, John Hendrickson, now 
 deceased, Ira and Bert Bookstaver, Dave Mc- 
 .Conachie, Daniel Webster, " Fancy " Jackson, 
 now deceased, Patsy Tobin, J. C. Patterson, Ira 
 Sweets and Monroe Crewson. 
 
 ( )ur subject belongs to Egyptian Lodge No. 
 512, B. of L. E., and the B. of L. F., also member 
 of Mitchell Blue Lodge No. 84, of Pinckneyville, 
 and was formerly a member of the I. O. O. F. 
 Mr. Adams married Miss Sallie Robertson and 
 .has six children, Ethel, Mabel, Cecil, Gus, Carl 
 and Willard. 
 
 ] LAW, one of the Water Valley en- 
 gineers, was born near Tracy City, 
 O Tenn., and lived there on a farm un- 
 til his eighteenth year. With the help 
 of his brother he cleared a forty acre tract and 
 put it under cultivation, planting twenty acres 
 in apples. He began railroad work at Tracy 
 City, Tenn., in the operative department in 1876. 
 After serving four and a half years in the shops 
 he went to Marshall, Texas, and secured work 
 in the shops of the Texas Pacific at that point, 
 remaining seven months before returning east to 
 accept a place in the shops of the Illinois Central 
 at Jackson, Tenn. Working here eight months, he 
 was transferred to the shops at Water Valley, 
 where he was employed until starting out on 
 the road as a fireman three months later. After 
 six months on the left side of the engine, he was 
 promoted in November 1882, and began running 
 on a freight out of Water Valley. Three years 
 later he was promoted to the passenger service, 
 and until June 20, 1899, was at the head of a 
 passenger train. On that date he secured a 
 preferred run, and has been in that service since. 
 Mr. Law has had some exciting experiences dur- 
 ing his railroad career in wrecks and otherwise. 
 In 1885 a collision at Elliott, Miss., resulted in 
 injuries that necessitated a thirty-five days va- 
 cation, and in 1891, at Toone, Tenn., the at- 
 tempt of a passenger and a freight train to 
 occupy the same track at the same time, re- 
 sulted disastrously, though Mr. Law escaped. 
 His most thrilling experience, no doubt, was tin 
 the night of December 15, 1888. The north 
 bound passenger left New Orleans, at seven in 
 the morning and reached Duck Hill some thir-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 393 
 
 teen hours later. In December, it is, at that 
 hour in the evening, quite dark. As the train 
 was moving out, Mr. Law and his firemen found 
 themselves looking into the muzzles of revolvers 
 in the hands of two desperadoes, who proved 
 to he the notorious bandits, Rube Burroughs and 
 Joe Jackson. Ordered to run the engine on a 
 mile and then stop, there was nothing to do but 
 gracefully comply the intruders had the drop 
 on them. When the train had been stopped, the 
 engine crew was ordered to dismount and ac- 
 company the robbers back to the baggage car, 
 which was looted, and the robbers prepared to 
 depart. In the fight that ensued, Conductor Wil- 
 kinson was the aggressor, but to no avail, the 
 only casualty being the killing of a passenger, 
 Chester Hughes, of Jackson, Term. This is one 
 of the most noted train robberies in the annals 
 of American railroading. Of Mr. Law's first 
 marriage to Miss Nannie Morgan, no children 
 were born. Some seven years after her death 
 Mr. Law was married to Miss Kittie Hogshead, 
 to whom two sons have been born, Wilton and 
 Hyer. Mr. Law is a member of the Masonic 
 order and of Division No. 99, B. of L. E., at 
 Water Valley. He is the owner of a handsome 
 piece of property at the corner of Clay and Price 
 streets. As an operative he has been a very suc- 
 cessful man, and a favorite with his colleagues 
 and neighbors. 
 
 AVID D. ELLIOTT is a native of Jef- 
 ferson county, Ky., having been born 
 near Boston, twenty-five miles north 
 of Louisville. He commenced ser- 
 vice on the Illinois Central August 17, 1883, as 
 freight brakeman on the Jackson district for J. 
 A. Wilson, now depot master in New Orleans. 
 He so continued one year and six months when 
 he was promoted to conductor, and since that 
 date has never made a trip as brakeman. Up to 
 November 1885, he ran the local between 
 Jackson and Water Valley. On that date 
 he was given a preferred freight, and is 
 
 now the oldest man on the Jackson district 
 running freight. In 1895 he was promoted to 
 extra passenger and has extra on the Jackson 
 district. January 3, 1897, he had three fingers 
 cut off his right hand while making a coupling 
 at Oxford, Miss. Outside of that he has been 
 very successful, and has never been suspended 
 or injured. Our subject is a member of Division 
 No. 149, O. R. C, also belongs to the Knights of 
 Honor. Mr. Elliott married Miss Nettie Nicho- 
 las, of Charlestown, Mo., and has two children, 
 Dale Lament and Cecil Ray. He erected a fine 
 residence in July 1892, at m Fairground street, 
 Jackson, Tenn. 
 
 JOHN J. KING, the venerable foreman in 
 the blacksmith shops at Water Valley, 
 has seen more changes in the mechanical 
 equipment of the Central than any man 
 employed by the company excepting, perhaps, 
 George Snyder, now in charge of the air-brake 
 car when in the yards at Chicago. Mr. King 
 was born in Scotland of Irish parents and came 
 with them to this country when twelve years of 
 age. His first work in railroad employ was in 
 1853 at the Weldon shops at Chicago as black- 
 smith apprentice, having begun learning the trade 
 from his father. The entire equipment of the 
 shops of the road consisited of three small lathes, 
 a planer and a drilling machine, housed in a 
 shed-like building with a leanto roof in which the 
 power was furnished by a small upright boiler. 
 There was at that time but one engine on the 
 Chicago division and that a small one running 
 the gravel train. There had at that time been no 
 piling driven on the lake front and Mr. King, 
 helped make the irons that were used in driving 
 them. He was there when the first master me- 
 chanic. Mr. Mason, took charge, and was still in 
 the shops when his successor, George D. Clark, 
 arrived. 
 
 In 1855 Mr. King severed his connection 
 with the Central and going to LaPorte, Indiana, 
 secured a place with the Michigan Southern &
 
 394 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Northern Indiana, now the Lake Shore system, 
 remaining two years. In 1857 he went south 
 and secured a place at Memphis in the shops of 
 the Memphis & Charleston road and a few months 
 later was on his way to Algiers, opposite New 
 Orleans, where he had secured a place with a 
 private concern. From here he went to Mobile 
 for the Mobile & Ohio road and a short time 
 after went to Pensacola, Florida, where he worked 
 for the national government two years, building 
 the men-of-war Pensacola and Seminole. After 
 closing his work with the government he re- 
 turned to the service of the Mobile & Ohio, at 
 Whistler, Alabama, remaining here until 1864, 
 when Sherman's raids made life unpleasant, so 
 he moved. Going thence to Vicksburg he se- 
 cured work in the government employ in the 
 ordnance department, remaining one year, and at 
 the end of that time came north again and secured 
 work at Litchfield, Illinois, in the shops of the 
 Terre Haute, Alton & St. Louis, now the Big 1 
 Four road. Having the foremanship of the 
 blacksmith shops of the Mobile & Ohio, at Jack- 
 son, Tennessee, offered him, he accepted and for 
 nearly two years he remained there. In 1868 
 he was offered the same position by the Missis- 
 sippi Central in the shops at Water Valley which 
 he accepted and for over thirty-two years he has 
 been in charge of the shops at that point. His 
 presence has grown so familiar that the place 
 will not look natural when the day comes that 
 his face will be seen there no more. During 
 these years he has served under twelve master 
 mechanics, namely: Harry Gibbon, John Bee- 
 ton, Jack White, Thomas Price, John Ramsay, 
 J. W. Luttrell, George Dickel, William Hass- 
 man, F. C. Losey, M. S. Curley, T. F. Barton 
 and J. G. Neudorfer. Our subject and son 
 welded a steel tire in the shop at Water Valley 
 which gave good service for eleven months and 
 eleven days, a feat that has never been surpassed 
 as far as known. 
 
 Mr. King was married to Miss Ellen Court, 
 of Chicago, and of their eight children, six are 
 living. Mr. King has long been a resident of 
 W'ater Valley, where he owns a comfortable 
 home, where all his friends find a hearty wel- 
 
 come. The life and recollections of one who 
 has seen a great corporation grow from small 
 beginnings to one of the large systems of the 
 country, cannot fail to be of interest and profit 
 to the younger generation, many of them grand- 
 children of those with whom Mr. King first 
 labored when he struck the first blow for the 
 Central nearly a half century ago. 
 
 LW. DEKLE, one of the well known 
 passenger engineers at Water Valley, 
 O began his railroad career in 1876 as 
 a fireman at Savannah, on the Florida 
 & Western road. When not on the road he spent 
 his time in the machine shops fitting himself to 
 be a thorough engineer. For four years he was 
 thus engaged, and in 1880 he was promoted and 
 given a run in the freight service. After two 
 and a half years he was made extra passenger 
 engineer, and was usually assigned to the train 
 that was to convey the officers when they passed 
 over the road. He was considered so careful 
 an engineer that he was usually given the first 
 run over a new branch when opened. In 1884 
 he came to Water Valley and entered the service 
 of the' Central as freight engineer, running be- 
 tween there and Jackson, Tenn., until February 
 1899, when he was promoted to the passenger 
 service, pulling trains No. 23 and 24 between 
 Jackson, Tenn., and Canton, Miss., with engine 
 No. 949. The birth of Mr. Dekle occurred at 
 Thomasville, Ga., a noted winter resort. His 
 brother, Robert L. Dekle, is an engineer and in 
 the employ of the Plant system. The marriage 
 of Mr. Dekle occurred at Water Valley, Miss., 
 to Miss Dollie Montgomery, to whom two chil- 
 dren have been born, Chauncey W. and Hazel. 
 Their home is on Clay street, and was erected in 
 1889. Mr. Dekle first joined the Brotherhood of 
 Locomotive Engineers at Savannah, Division No. 
 256, and transferred to Division No. 99 at Water 
 Valley. He is a member of the Odd Fellows 
 and of the Masonic order, having taken the de- 
 grees in the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Comman-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 395 
 
 dery, of which he is the Captain General. He 
 has also passed through the ordeals of the Temple 
 of the Mystic Shrine, at Meridian, Miss. He 
 has fortunately escaped injury, both to himself 
 and his engine. On the whole he has had a very 
 successful railroad career. 
 
 J. PAYNE, general yardmaster of the 
 I. C. at East St. Louis, first saw the 
 =<7O l'& nt of day in Tiffin, Ohio. He 
 commenced his railroad service first 
 in 1880, on the Chicago & Eastern Illinois, at 
 Danville, as a freight brakeman, and continued 
 until 1883, when he was promoted to freight con- 
 ductor, and ran as such for six months on the 
 freight between Danville and Chicago. He then 
 went in yard service for the same road at Chicago 
 as engine foreman, and held that until the fall 
 of 1887, and then went back to conductor and 
 ran freight for two and a half years between 
 Chicago and Momence, 111. He then resigned 
 and went to the Wabash at Butler, Ind., as 
 freight brakeman, and later on the Belt line of 
 Chicago as conductor, and continued in that posi- 
 tion for one and a half years, when he went to 
 the Chicago & Northern Pacific as a transfer 
 conductor in freight service at Chicago, remain- 
 ing there two and a half years. Then he ran a 
 suburban train eight months, and on July 28, 
 1894, accepted a position with the Illinois Cen- 
 tral as a switchman in the yards at Cairo, and on 
 September 24, 1894, took charge of the yards at 
 night and held that until June 1895, when he 
 was made day yardmaster, and remained there 
 until June I, 1899, when he was transferred to 
 East St. Louis as general yardmaster, which po- 
 sition he has at the present time. He has twen- 
 ty-nine men on the pay roll, and has charge of 
 all the in and out freight cars of the Clinton and 
 St. Louis district. Our subject is a member of 
 Division No. i, O. R. C., of Chicago. Mr. 
 Payne married Miss Minnie Kendall, of Chicago, 
 and Inns one child, Ida, aged four. 
 
 W. KRUEGER is a native of Troy, N. 
 Y. He is chief clerk of the Illinois 
 Central freight office in East St. Louis, 
 and commenced railroad life on the 
 Cairo Short Line in 1890, as assistant abstract 
 clerk in East St. Louis, under Agent S. H. 
 Brown, and held that position until May 1892, 
 when he was promoted to chief abstract clerk 
 and held that until November ist, 1893, 
 when he was appointed assistant to Cashier 
 Henry Poss, and continued until June i, 1896. At 
 this time he was promoted to cashier to succeed 
 Mr. Poss, who was killed in the cyclone of May 
 27, 1896. Mr. Krueger held that position until 
 April i, 1900, when he was promoted to be chief 
 clerk at above station. Mr. Krueger is a mem- 
 ber of the National Union, and the Railway and 
 Telegraphers' Political League, of Illinois, of 
 which he is treasurer, and also a member of the 
 Masonic order in St. Louis. 
 
 RCHIE T. SMITH, an engineer run- 
 ning out of Water Valley, was born 
 some fifteen miles south of the town, 
 and was reared in the county. His 
 father, Dr. E. W. Smith, was one of the best 
 physicians in the locality ; the mother survives 
 and makes her home with our subject. Mr. 
 Smith began railroading at Water Valley as a 
 freight brakeman in 1880, under Conductor 
 Houston, deceased, and after two years' service 
 in that capacity was promoted and for two years 
 had charge of a freight train. Resigning, he 
 went into the stock business on the Big Sun- 
 flower River in the Mississippi bottoms, but 
 finding it less profitable than he had anticipated, 
 discontinued it in some nine months, and re- 
 turned to the employ of the Central, beginning 
 at the bottom again, but at the other end of the 
 train, firing under Jack Kennedy, since killed 
 in an accident on the line. In 1877, after firing 
 two years, Mr. Smith was promoted to the right 
 side of the engine, and given a good freight run 
 out of Water Valley, north and south. Hi
 
 396 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 present run is a preferred freight, trains No. 
 51 and 72. Mr. Smith is prominently connected 
 with fraternal orders. He was a charter member 
 of Water Lily Division No. 402, B. of L. F., and 
 had the honor of naming the Division. He is a 
 member of Water Valley Division No. -99, B. 
 of L. E., and of the Knights of Pythias, Knights 
 of Honor, and the Elks as well. He belongs to 
 the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the 
 Masonic fraternity, holding membership in the 
 Blue Lodge, Eastern Star, Chapter, Comman- 
 clery and Mystic Shrine, the latter at Meridian, 
 Miss. Mr. Smith has several desirable pieces of 
 residence property at Water Valley, and is a 
 thrifty, substantial citizen. He has been for- 
 tunate in escaping accident in his twenty years' 
 experience as a railroad man, and has a clear 
 record of which he may well be proud. 
 
 years on local freight and later on the preferred 
 run. Mr. Muse was married first to Miss Lee 
 McCabe. who bore one child and died June 16, 
 1892. His second marriage was to Mrs. Nayler, 
 whose first husband, a conductor, was killed in 
 the service of the Central, December 22, 1893. 
 One child has been born of the second marriage. 
 Mr. Muse was a member of the Masonic frater- 
 nity. Blue Lodge, Chapter and Commandery. 
 also of the Knights of Honor and Knights of 
 Pythias. He held membership with Jackson 
 Division Xo. 149, O. R. C, as well as in Phoenix 
 Division Xo. 216,' B. of R. T. Mr. Muse ex- 
 pired in his caboose, while on the run between 1 
 Jackson, Term., and Water Valley, Miss., March 
 30, 1900. 
 
 JP. MUSE, deceased, was a native of 
 Bradford county, Term., and had a 
 Q varied railroad experience on the Cot- 
 ton Belt line, the Central and the Mo- 
 bile & Ohio railroads. He began on the first 
 named road in 1881 as car inspector at Jones- 
 borough, Ark., and a year later was transferred 
 to Pine Bluff as general car inspector for six 
 months. November 3, 1884, he secured a place 
 on the Mobile & Ohio as brakeman, running 
 between Okolona and Cairo. In June 1885, 
 he was promoted and ran as extra conduc- 
 tor and brakeman until February 1887, when he 
 joined the force of the Central at Jackson, as 
 switchman under Charles Chandler. For a few 
 months he was brakeman on the Cairo district, 
 and in December 1887, returned to the Mobile 
 & Ohio. After a few months braking, he was 
 appointed foreman in the engine house at Cor- 
 inth, Miss., and later transferred to Jackson, 
 Tenn., and made night yardmaster, serving until 
 Dec. 17, 1888. Returning to the Central, he was 
 successively switchman, night yardmaster and 
 brakeman until Aug. 10, 1890, when he was pro- 
 moted to conductor and was thus employed three 
 
 PL. WALDROX, one of the passenger 
 engineers at Water Valley, has had 
 O nearly a third of a century of rail- 
 road experience over which to look 
 back, and a record of which he may well be 
 proud. Born in the town of Yates, Orleans 
 county, X. Y., he was reared in Michigan, and 
 there began his railroad career in 1868 at Grand 
 Junction, on a construction train of the Chicago 
 & West Michigan road, at a time when there 
 were only about fifty miles of track spiked down. 
 After serving as fireman for about eighteen 
 months, he was promoted and ran on that road 
 some seven years as freight and extra passenger 
 engineer. Going south in the fall of 1877, he 
 secured a position in Xovember on the Chicago, 
 St. Louis & New Orleans road, on the Water 
 Valley district in the freight service, and about 
 1880 was promoted to a passenger run, which is 
 his assignment at the present time, on engine 
 No. 948, pulling trains No. 23 and 24, between 
 Canton and Jackson, Tenn. Mr. Waldron was 
 married to Miss Anna Strong, who is the mother 
 of two sons: W. L. is a fireman on the Central, 
 and F. M. at home. They have a pleasent home 
 on Robinson street. Water Valley Division Xo. 
 i/;, 11. of L. E., claims Mr. Waldron's allegiance, 
 and he has served the order as chairman of the
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 397 
 
 adjustment board. The only accident worthy of 
 mention that has been sustained by him was a 
 broken ankle while in the service on the Michi- 
 gan road. Mis long record with his present em- 
 ployers bespeaks his standing as an operative. 
 Incompetent men do not remain long in the ser- 
 vice of any employer. 
 
 UGH L. PALMER, a native of Missis- 
 sippi, has had a railroad experience 
 extending over nearly thirty years. 
 His first railroad work was on bridge 
 construction on the Houston & Texas Central, 
 and in 1872 he began in the operative department 
 as brakeman, running, between Hearne and Deni- 
 son. During his two years' service with this 
 road, he was promoted to baggageman, running 
 in that capacity the last year. Joining the force 
 of the Texas Pacific, he was appointed assist- 
 ant receiving clerk, serving some five months. 
 Returning to Jackson, Tenn., he was, in 1875, 
 given a place as brakeman on the Cairo district, 
 receiving his promotion to freight conductor in 
 Sept. 1877, and to the passenger service ten years 
 later. During this time he lost five months from 
 a serious case of blood poison, and while in the 
 service of the Texas Central he had two ribs 
 fractured, these being the only injuries he has 
 ever sustained during his long railroad career. 
 
 Mr. Palmer was married at Bolivar,- Tenn., 
 to Miss Florence Joy, and to them have been 
 born the following children : Hugh J., Mrs. 
 J. W. Thomas, of Shelby, Miss. ; George D. ; 
 James J., and Aileen. Jackson Division No. 
 149, O. R. C., has Mr. Palmer's name on the roll 
 of members. He enjoys the distinction of hav- 
 ing had charge of the last train transferred at 
 Cairo by boat, and the first that crossed the 
 new bridge the day it was opened to traffic. He 
 has a handsome pin, presented to him by the 
 I "nil >n liridge company, that constructed the great 
 bridge. 
 
 V. PHILLIPS, conductor on the Illi- 
 nois Central, was born near Hernan- 
 Q do, DeSoto County, Miss. He be- 
 gan on the Illinois Central in 1881 as 
 a transfer clerk at Grand Junction, and after ser- 
 ving in that capacity six months, acted as night 
 watchman one year, and then went into the pas- 
 senger service as flagman under Conductor M. 
 Fouche. After serving here about a year and 
 six months, between Jackson and Canton, he 
 was given a baggage car and ran it two years 
 between Jackson and Canton, and then was on 
 as joint express and baggageman between Jack- 
 son and Cairo for about a year. February 21, 
 1889, he was promoted to conductor, and began 
 running through freight between Jackson and 
 East Cairo, but at present has a preferred run 
 between Jackson and Mounds. In 1896 he had 
 his index finger of his right hand cut off. Mr. 
 Phillips has a fine record, having lost only twenty 
 days in twelve years. He is a member of Divi- 
 sion No. 149, O. R. C., at Jackson. Our subject 
 married Miss Mollie Steel, of Winona, Miss., 
 and has no children. He lives at 210 Institute 
 street, Jackson, Tenn. 
 
 R. MAULDIX, night foreman in the 
 round house at Water Valley, has 
 1 Q spent his entire life here, his birth 
 occurring May 4, 1871. His father, 
 J. L. Mauldin, served as station agent at Water 
 Valley from 1871 to 1878. and now resides in 
 the town, retired from railroad work. S. R. 
 Mauldin began railroad work in the shops at 
 Water Valley, under Master Mechanic Price, 
 serving an apprenticeship of four and a half 
 years before taking his place at the lathe and 
 planer as a journeyman machinist. His merit 
 being recognized, he was promoted September 
 9, 1899, to the night foremanship of the round 
 house, having charge of all the shops during the 
 hours he is on duty, and having under his au- 
 thority one machinist, one boiler-maker, one in- 
 spector and twenty-eight laborers on the night
 
 398 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 force. Mr. Mauldin was married to Miss Fewell, 
 of Water Valley, where since their marriage they 
 have made their home. He is an energetic, hard- 
 working man in whatever station he may be 
 placed, and is probably the youngest man hold- 
 ing the position lie does between Chicago and 
 Water Valley. 
 
 JA. CUNNINGHAM, a conductor on the 
 Jackson district, began his railroad ca- 
 Q reer on the Louisville & Nashville road, 
 March 18, 1878, at Nashville, as brake- 
 man, being promoted to conductor within eigh- 
 teen months. For nearly seven and a half years 
 he ran a freight on the road, and then resigned 
 to accept a like position on the Houston & Texas 
 Central, remaining three years. After some 
 three months on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, 
 under the superintendency of Mr. Hartegan, he 
 joined the force of the Central Pacific in Utah, 
 remaining until June 20, 1890, as conductor. 
 Coming to Jackson, Tenn., he secured a place 
 with the Mobile & Ohio, running between Cairo 
 and Okolona, Miss., for about a year. January 
 26, 1891, he entered the service of the Illinois, 
 Central as conductor, and has retained his place 
 to the present time on the Jackson district. He 
 stands next in line for promotion to preferred 
 freight. In his experience with different rail- 
 road managements, he prefers his present em- 
 ployers to any. Mr. Cunningham was born at 
 Nashville, Tenn., and married at Shannon, Miss., 
 to Miss Mary Talbot, a native of Alabama. For 
 a number of years Mr. Cunningham has been a 
 member of the Order of Railway Conductors, 
 at present enrolled in Division No. 149, at Jack- 
 son, having transferred from Wasatch Division 
 No. 124, in Utah. He is a member of the Ma- 
 sonic order and of the Knights of Pythias, also. 
 He has been fortunate in escaping serious injuries 
 and has suffered only fifteen days' suspension 
 during his whole railroad career, and that prior 
 to his employment on the Central. Mr. Cun- 
 ningham has a fine home of his own building 
 at No. 244 Institute street, Jackson, Tenn. 
 
 J. GARVIN, foreman of the round 
 
 r house at Jackson, Tennessee, is a 
 O native of Coldwater, Mich., born in 
 1867. The family is inclined toward 
 railroad careers, T. F. Garvin, a brother of our 
 subject, being a paymaster in the employ of the 
 Chicago & Erie road, between Chicago and Sala- 
 manca, N. Y. F. J. Garvin began as an opera- 
 tive on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern 
 at Elkhart, Ind., under Master Mechanic Stevens, 
 in 1880, and worked at that place nine years. 
 Coming to Jackson, Tenn., he went into the shops 
 as a machinist under M. S. Curley, remaining 
 here until 1895, when he was made round house 
 foreman, holding that position until 1898. Be- 
 ing transferred to the Burnside shops at Chicago, 
 he served as machinist until December of that 
 year, when he was sent to Water Valley as en- 
 gine house foreman, remaining a year when he' 
 was transferred to Jackson, Tenn. 
 
 Mr. Garvin was married at Elkhart, Ind., 
 to Miss Nellie Ludlow, of that place. He is 
 a member of the Ancient Order of United Work- 
 men, of Jackson, Tenn. He is a man that has 
 won his advancements by his own unaided ef- 
 forts, and his ability to manage those under his 
 charge makes him a trustworthy official in the 
 stations in which he has been placed. 
 
 B. WILKINSON, the oldest passen- 
 ger conductor on the Jackson district, 
 Q was born near Richmond, Va. He 
 commenced railroad service August 
 1872, on the M. & O. as brakeman between Jack- 
 son, Tenn., and Columbus, Ky., and Baldwin, 
 Miss. Then in March 1873, he came to the Illi- 
 nois Central, then called the Mississippi Central, 
 as freight brakeman between Jackson and Water 
 Valley. He continued eleven months and was 
 then promoted to freight conductor by Superin- 
 tendent R. N. Calhoun, now deceased, and ran 
 freight until 1875, when he began as extra pas- 
 senger and continued until 1882 when he got a 
 regular passenger run. Since then, with the ex-
 
 GEORGE J. ROBERTSON.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 401 
 
 ception of two years, ran passenger on Jack- 
 son district, and since 1886 has been on regular 
 passenger. He has never been injured and never 
 had a wheel off the track between stations, no 
 passenger injured and no serious accident since 
 he has been in the passenger service. 
 
 December 15, 1888, at Duck Hill, Miss., 
 Rube Burroughs and Joe Jackson, the former a 
 noted outlaw, boarded the train and stopped it. 
 Our subject, in company with a young man, went 
 out and ordered them back. The young man 
 was killed but our subject escaped, and the rob- 
 bers got $2,000 of express messenger. Later 
 the men were captured. 
 
 Mr. Wilkinson is a charter member of 
 Jackson Division No. 149, O. R. C., the lodge 
 having been instituted September 31, 1884. W. 
 R. Wilkinson, a brother of our subject, is now a 
 resident of Paducah, and is in the employ of 
 the Illinois Central. Mr. Wilkinson married 
 Miss Annie Weatherly and has six children, five 
 girls and one boy. He erected a residence at 
 1 20 Grand avenue, one of the prettiest locations 
 in the city of Jackson, Term. 
 
 EORGE J. ROBERTSON, foreman of 
 the paint shops at Water Valley, Miss., 
 began life on his own responsibility 
 in the Illinois Central shops at Cen- 
 tralia, 111., where he began learning the painter's 
 trade under Master Mechanic Oxley, in 1857. 
 Three years later, after completing his appren- 
 ticeship, he went to Holly Springs, Miss., and 
 worked in the shops of the Mississippi Central 
 Railroad until the breaking out of the Civil war 
 in 1861, and then espoused the Confederate cause 
 and served four years in the ranks as a private 
 soldier. After the close of hostilities, Mr. Rob- 
 ertson worked one year for the Mississippi & 
 Tennessee Railroad, at Hardy Station, and in 
 May 1866, he moved to Water Valley when that 
 place consisted of not more than a dozen houses, 
 secured employment in the car department of 
 shops there, and has made that his base of opera- 
 
 tions continuously since. In 1867 Mr. Robert- 
 son was appointed foreman of the paint shops. 
 
 Our subject was born in Madison county, 
 Tenn. He was married at Holly Springs, Miss., 
 to Miss Sallic Lynch, of that city, and their wed- 
 ded life has been blessed by the presence of a 
 family of four children, namelv : Robert, now 
 
 .- J 
 
 living in Kansas City ; Stephen ; Clarence, fire- 
 man for the Illinois Central Railroad at Water 
 Valley, and Mabel. Mr. Robertson affiliates 
 with the Masons, holding membership in the fol- 
 lowing degrees of that fraternity : Ancient Free 
 and Accepted Masons No. 402, McConnico R. 
 A. Chapter No. 96, St. Cyr Commandery Knight 
 Templars No. 6. He is also a member of the 
 Knights and Ladies of Honor, and the Knights 
 of Honor. Mr. Robertson is well known about 
 Water Valley and among the railroad employes, 
 and enjoys the confidence and esteem of a large 
 circle of friends. 
 
 W. STEWMON, a conductor in the 
 service of the Illinois Central at East 
 St. Louis, is a native of Benton, Illi- 
 nois. He began railroading on the 
 Illinois Central at Benton, 111., as a messenger 
 boy, and continued as such one year, when he was 
 made assistant agent and later was relief opera- 
 tor. In 1890 he entered train service as freight 
 brakeman on Short Line for W. A. Dale, now in 
 the passenger service and living at Paducah. He 
 was brakeman three years and was then pro- 
 moted to conductor and ran extra until 1895, 
 when he was given a regular crew. January 
 1897 he was made yardmaster at Belleville, and 
 also ran the Carondelet transfer. In 1899 nc 
 was given preferred freight run, where he is 
 engaged at the present time. C. E. Stewmon, 
 a brother, while discharging his duties as a brake- 
 man, was killed in 1893 m the yards at Benton. 
 Mr. Stewmon was never seriously injured, and 
 is a member of Division No. 3, O. R. C., of St. 
 Louis, Mo. He married Miss Fannie Horn and 
 has one child, Mildred, who is a dear, sweet child 
 of three years of age.
 
 402 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ARRY H. ANDERSON began on the 
 Illinois Central at DuQuoin, 111., in 
 1886 as station baggage agent under 
 Agent S. K. Paynter, and continued 
 in that capacity eighteen months and then went 
 to the Short Line as yard switchman and brake- 
 man, and continued until September 1891, and 
 then went to the M. & O. at St. Louis as brake- 
 man, and continued with them one year in that 
 capacity, and then went switching in East St. 
 Louis yards for about a year and then was off 
 the road a short time and on his return he got 
 a train between East St. Louis and Cairo, re- 
 mained there about a year and then went with 
 the Merchants Bridge company and continued 
 with that company and the Big Four Railroad 
 company until December 1896. He then returned 
 to the Illinois Central as a brakeman for two 
 months, when he was given a regular run be- 
 tween East St. Louis and Carbondale with ca- 
 boose No. 98,329, which position he retained 
 until March 1900, when he entered the employ 
 of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad as yardmaster. 
 
 Mr. Anderson is a member of Division No. 
 3, O. R. C., of St. Louis. 
 
 IRAM COOPER commenced railroad- 
 ing in 1870 on the Columbus & Hocking 
 Valley Railroad as a fireman between 
 Columbus and Athens, and continued 
 about a year and then went to the Chester & 
 Tamaroa Railroad at the time of the construc- 
 tion and fired about two years, when he was pro- 
 moted and ran an engine there until 1882. He 
 was on a mixed train, forty-one mile run and 
 double each day. In 1882 he came to the Short 
 Line in East St. Louis, as an engineer on extra 
 freight, and during the time he was on extra list 
 he ran every train on the road. At the end of two 
 years he got regular freight run on the Paducah 
 division, remained there a year and then on the 
 transfer engine until 1893, when he got yard en- 
 gine No. 157 in the East St. Louis yards, where he 
 has continued to the present time. While on 
 
 the Chester & Tamaroa road he went through 
 a twenty-five foot bridge over Mary's river and 
 had a narrow escape from death, breaking his 
 shoulder, and was badly smashed up. Our sub- 
 ject belongs to Egyptian Lodge No. 512, B. of 
 L. E. He is also a member of the Blue Lodge, 
 A. F. & A. M., at Athens, and Royal Arch Chap- 
 ter at Chester. Mr. Cooper married Miss Sarah 
 Wildermuth ; she died January 8, 1894. 
 
 JC. ASH, a prominent locomotive en- 
 gineer, was born in St. Clair county, 
 Q 111. He began his railroad career Sep- 
 tember 8, 1871, as a local freight brake- 
 man on the Cairo Short Line between East St. 
 Louis and DuQuoin, and continued in that ca- 
 pacity three months and was then made night 
 watchman of construction engine at Pinkney- 
 ville for two months. He then went on as extra 
 fireman for six months and was then made regu- 
 lar on freight and fired three years steady for 
 Nick Ring, and then spent a year on a coal train 
 and was later made night hostler for a year, Mr. 
 Warren being master mechanic at the time. Then 
 for two years and some months he was on as 
 extra runner, conductor, brakeman, and in fact 
 an all round man. At the end of that time he 
 was given engine No. 5, and pulled the regular 
 coal train to Pinckneyville a year and then went 
 to Belleville for two years and later got the B. 
 & C. mixed run and the Carondelet transfer for 
 four years. He was then promoted and given 
 the through passenger to DuQuoin, and kept 
 that until 1897, when he took the through pas- 
 senger to Cairo, but during the summer was on 
 a night run to Carbondale. Late in 1897 ne 
 got a through passenger to Paducah, which he 
 has at the present time, having the best run on 
 the St. Louis division. Mr. Ash has never been 
 seriously injured and has never had an accident 
 that cost the company a dollar, nor has he ever 
 been suspended. He is a member of Egyptian 
 Lodge No. 512,. B. of L. E. Our subject erected
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 403 
 
 a fine residence at 1105 Tudor avenue, East St. 
 Louis. 
 
 Mr. Ash married Miss Edgar and they 
 have four children : Bessie, a young lady of 
 rare musical abilities and a graduate of the Bee- 
 thoven Conservatory of Music at St. Louis ; 
 Adele, Jeanette, and Edgar Allen, a young man 
 of fine ability as a draughtsman. 
 
 k RANK T. MOONEY, the efficient gener- 
 al night yardmaster of the Illinois Cen- 
 at New Orleans, Louisiana, entered the 
 service of the company, on December 
 23, 1883, as flagboy in the yards at New Orleans, 
 and remained in that position nearly two years. 
 In June 1885, he was promoted to switchman, 
 working in that capacity until 1886, when he re- 
 ceived promotion to foreman in the yards, and on 
 November 9, 1889, was appointed night yard- 
 master. He was promoted in March 1893* to 
 day yardmaster, and again in November 1896, to 
 general night yardmaster. On account of ill- 
 health he was compelled to resign the latter posi- 
 tion in March 1899, and was transferred to Stuy- 
 vesant Dock, as assistant yardmaster, but soon 
 thereafter returned to his former position, which 
 he still holds. Our subject is a native of New 
 Orleans, having been born there, January 20, 
 1870. He is the son of James P. and Margaret 
 (Dunn) Mooney, the former having departed 
 this life in 1884, at Monroe, Louisiana, while 
 the latter is still living in the city of New Or- 
 leans. He acquired his education in St. Joseph's 
 parochial school, conducted by the Christian 
 Brothers, and also in the public schools of his 
 native city. 
 
 At the age of eleven years he began to make 
 his own living, his first employment being in 
 a saw-mill, and afterward, as water-boy on the 
 Shaw R. R. He remained with the latter com- 
 pany nearly two years, part of the time in charge 
 of the tool-house. He then went as assistant 
 pilot on the " Fred Wild " running on the new 
 canal, and remained there until December 23, 
 
 1893, when he entered the service of the I. C. 
 and has since been in the employ of that road. 
 
 During his career with the I. C. Mr. Moo- 
 ney has seen wonderful changes, and a great 
 growth in the business of the road. When he 
 began service with the company, the entire force 
 in the New Orleans yards consisted of three 
 switch engines, and twelve men ; now there are 
 thirty engines, and one hundred and thirty-five 
 men. In those days, a switchman received sixty 
 dollars per month, and no allowance for extra 
 time ; now, the same position pays seventy-two 
 dollars for ten hours per day. 
 
 On the 23rd day of December 1888, Mr. 
 Mooney was united in marriage to Miss Anna 
 Berens, a native of New Orleans, and their union 
 has been blessed with four children, May Alice 
 Frank H., James C., and Mary L. 
 
 ( )f the social orders Mr. Mooney is a mem- 
 ber of the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of 
 the World, and the Masonic order, the latter, 
 Alpha Home Lodge No. 72, of New Orleans. 
 He has been master of Crescent City Lodge No. 
 101, of the Switchmen's Mutual Aid Association, 
 and vice-master of Sunnyside Lodge, No. 211, 
 Brotherhood of R. R. Brakemen of the same city. 
 
 In their religious connections the family are 
 adherents of the Catholic church. Politically, 
 Mr. Mooney is an unswerving Democrat. 
 
 JC. PATTERSON, a locomotive engi- 
 neer on the Illinois Central, was born in 
 Q liloomington, Ind., and began his rail- 
 road career on the Louisville, New Al- 
 bany & Chicago Railroad, in 1864, as a fireman 
 from New Albany to Michigan City, and re- 
 mained in that capacity four years when he was 
 promoted to engineer and pulled freight five 
 years. He then went to the Cairo & St. Louis 
 Railroad and ran an engine between East St. 
 Louis and Cairo for some time, and later was 
 in the passenger service. He then went to the 
 Cotton Belt and pulled freight for two years. 
 In 1888 he came to the Short Line and began
 
 404 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 pulling freight between East St. Louis and Du 
 Quoin, and continued until 1896, then on local 
 to same place, and now runs to Brooklyn on pre- 
 ferred freight. In his long railroad service of 
 over thirty-five years, Mr. Patterson has never 
 been injured. He is a member of Egyptian 
 Lodge, No. 512, B. of L. E., of East St. Louis. 
 
 Mr. Patterson married Miss Ellen Matlock 
 December 13, 1876 and they have two adopted 
 children. He has erected a fine model residence 
 at not Tudor avenue, East St. Louis. 
 
 JH. JONES, the accommodating passen- 
 ger agent for the Illinois Central, at 
 Q Cairo, Illinois, is a native of Canada, 
 and was born on a farm near Port Hope, 
 in the province of Ontario, on October i, 1846. 
 He is a son of John and Anna Jones, the latter 
 residing with our subject at Cairo, the husband 
 and father having died in 1854. In 1855 the: 
 family of Mr. Jones moved to Geneseo, New 
 York, where he received his education in the pub- 
 lic schools, and was afterward engaged in farm- 
 ing there. 
 
 Beginning in 1860, he was for six years at 
 Avon Springs, New York, in a hotel as clerk. 
 He went to Cairo, 111., in February 1867, and was 
 appointed clerk and ticket agent, on the transfer 
 steamers " General Anderson," and " Illinois," 
 then used by the Illinois Central, and Mobile & 
 Ohio roads, as transfers .between Cairo, Illinois, 
 and Columbus, Ky. He remained in that posi- 
 tion until September 1873, resigning to go to 
 the Mobile & Ohio, as commercial agent for that 
 road. After a service of one year with the lat- 
 ter company, he was appointed ticket agent for 
 the Illinois Central, at Cairo, and from that time 
 forward has been in that position, a period of 
 twenty-six years. In 1882 he was made ticket 
 agent for the " Cotton Belt " Route and in 1899 
 for the Mobile & Ohio R. R. He is now joint 
 agent for the three roads, all using the same de- 
 pot. 
 
 On August 4, 1868, Mr. Jones was married 
 to Miss Ada Lester, a popular young lady of 
 Columbus, Ky. Their family consists of H. A. 
 Jones, who is engaged in the clothing business 
 at Cairo, Jessie May, wife of W. C. Neal, re- 
 siding at Detroit, Mich., Jennie B., a young lady 
 of high musical ability, residing in Chicago, 
 Frank A., at home, William L., who is in the 
 general passenger office of the I. C. at Chicago, 
 and John H. Jr., a student, at home. 
 
 Mr. Jones and his family are members of 
 the Protestant Episcopal church, of which he 
 has been a vestry-man for fifteen years. 
 
 In politics he is Republican. He is a well 
 known and popular citizen of Cairo, and dis- 
 charges his duties in such a manner, as to win 
 the confidence of his employers, and the respect 
 of all who come in contact with him. 
 
 G. DAY, superintendent of bridges 
 and buildings, on the Louisiana 
 Q division of the Illinois Central, 
 was born in Magnolia, Mississippi, 
 April loth, 1873. Michael Day, his father who 
 departed this life in 1892, was a shoe merchant 
 at that city. He was a native of Germany and 
 came to America when a young man, prior to 
 which he had been a soldier in the German army. 
 His wife, the mother of our subject, whose maiden 
 name was Amelia Rhine, is still living at Magno- 
 lia, she was also born in Germany, coming to 
 America when a child. 
 
 W. G. Day was educated in the public schools 
 of his native place, and began life as a clerk in a 
 general store there. In 1889, he entered the ser- 
 vice of the Illinois Central, as a carpenter. He 
 remained at that work until 1893, when he was 
 appointed foreman of a carpenter force, engaged 
 in building stations. In 1894, he was for a few 
 months a bridge foreman, receiving promotion in 
 November of that year, to supervisor of bridges 
 and buildings, on the Louisiana division, and in 
 1896 was transferred to New Orleans in a simi- 
 lar capacity, and is now acceptably filling that
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 405 
 
 position. At the time of his promotion, Mr. 
 Day was the youngest supervisor on the I. C. 
 system. He has charge of three hundred and 
 twenty three miles of Main line. 
 
 On April 28th, 1898, Mr. Day was united 
 in marriage with Miss Marie J., daughter of 
 William and Louise Lannes, natives of Paris 
 and New Orleans respectively. They have one 
 child, a beautiful little daughter, Marie J. Day, 
 born February 19, 1899. 
 
 Mr. Day belongs to the Masons, the Elks, 
 and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His 
 family attends the Catholic church. In politics 
 he is independent. 
 
 He is a rising young man, possessing the con- 
 fidence of his superiors, and his genial disposition 
 has won for him the friendship and esteem of 
 all his employes. 
 
 JOHN T. WILLIAMS, who on December 
 15, 1899, resigned the position of 'store- 
 keeper, for the Illinois Central, on the 
 New Orleans Terminals, was born at 
 Natchez, Miss., on September, 19, 1842. He is 
 a son of William J. and Mary T. (Carroll) Wil- 
 liams, the former departed this life in 1887, at 
 the age of seventy-five, and the latter in 1889 at 
 the age of seventy-four years. 
 
 Mr. Williams received his educational train- 
 ing in the public schools of his native city, and 
 in 1861, at the age of seventeen enlisted in Corn- 
 pay "A" 1 6th Louisiana Volunteers Infantry, 
 and was with that company for two years, when 
 he was discharged on account of disability. He 
 soon after joined the 28th Mississippi Cavalry, 
 and was taken prisoner, but escaped and joined 
 Powell's regiment, the first regiment he came to. 
 Later was detailed as one of Maj. Bradford's 
 scouts, where he remained until the close of the 
 war. During his military service he was twice 
 wounded. In 1865, after being mustered out 
 of service, he returned to Natchez, and became a 
 merchant and planter, following that business for 
 three years, and then formed a connection with 
 
 Messrs Carpenter and Morgan, and was in the 
 cotton and mercantile business for two years. 
 The next year was spent as superintendent of 
 the extensive plantation of Mr. George M. Davis. 
 In 1879 he went to McComb City, Miss., and en- 
 tered the service of the Illinois Central, as fore- 
 man in the yards, and six months later was pro- 
 moted to assistant storekeeper, remaining until 
 January 1894 in that position. He was then 
 transferred to New Orleans, as storekeeper for 
 the company, which he held until his resignation 
 December 15, 1899. On the 7th of September 
 1865, Mr: Williams was joined in marriage to 
 Miss Susan S. Samuel, of Natchez, who was born 
 and educated in that place. They are the parents 
 of five children : Richard I., a machinist ; Mamie 
 S. at home; Thomas W. ; Albert P. and Hoi- 
 comb J. 
 
 Mr. Williams belongs to the Masonic order, 
 and is also a member of Lodge, No. 36, Knights 
 of Pythias, of McComb City. He has been D. 
 D. G. C. of the latter. The Methodist Episco- 
 pal church claim Mr. Williams' family as sup- 
 porters. In politics he is a staunch supporter 
 of the principles of Democracy. 
 
 R. BROOKS, conductor for the I. 
 C. at East St. Louis, is a native of 
 Q Cape Girardeau, Mo. He began his 
 service in 1892 on the Cairo Short 
 Line as a freight brakeman for J. C. Tedford, 
 between East St. Louis and Pinckneyville, and 
 was with him for a few trips and was then with 
 various conductors on all divisions of the road 
 and continued until September 1897, when he 
 was promoted to conductor and ran extra until 
 Christmas, 1897, when he was injured and was 
 off the road a year. On this date he was walking 
 his train when it broke in two and our subject 
 fell to the ground on the track, sustaining a 
 fracture of both ankles and had a narrow escape 
 from death. At the end of the year, in Novem- 
 ber 1898, he returned and ran extra until the 
 summer of 1899 when he was given caboose No.
 
 406 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 98.343. and now runs between East St. Louis 
 and Mounds in the chain gang and also between 
 Carbondale and Brooklyn. Mr. Brooks married 
 Miss Clara McLean. Socially he is a member 
 of Division No. 3, O. R. C., of St. Louis. 
 
 JAMES W. KINABREW is a well known 
 conductor in the passenger service of the 
 Illinois Central, on the Louisiana divi- 
 sion. He entered the service of the N. 
 O. J. & G. N. R. R. (now the I. C. R. R.) in 
 1871, as ticket and freight agent at Johnstown, 
 Miss., where he remained two years. Desiring 
 a more active life, he sought, and obtained a 
 position in the train service of the road. Begin- 
 ning as brakeman, at which he served only a 
 few months, he was promoted to extra conduc- 
 tor, and a year later was made a regular conduc- 
 tor in the freight service, between New Orleans, 
 and Canton, Miss. He was in this branch of 
 the service until 1878, when he again became 
 agent at Johnstown. In 1879, he returned to 
 the train service, as brakeman, and was soon 
 after advanced to conductor in the freight ser- 
 vice, and finally, in 1890, was promoted to con- 
 ductor in the passenger service, on the same divi- 
 sion, and is filling that position in the most cred- 
 itable manner at the present time. 
 
 Mr. Kinabrew was born in Amite county, 
 Miss., on November 30, 1850, and is the son of 
 John G. and Lettie (Montgomery) Kinabrew, 
 who were farmers of that place, and are now 
 deceased, the former in 1852 and the latter in 
 1874. He was educated at the Peabody school 
 in Summit, Miss. On October 6, 1870, while 
 walking on the track on his way to school, he 
 noticed a broken rail, and realizing the danger. to 
 a passenger train which was soon due at that 
 point, he ran forward and succeeded in flagging 
 the train, thus averting a serious disaster. In 
 consideration of his bravery he was presented 
 by H. S. McComb, then president of the N. O. 
 J. & G. N. R. R., with a beautiful gold watch, 
 bearing the following inscription : "H. S. Mc- 
 
 Comb, President of the N. O. J. & G. N. R. R., 
 to James W. Kinabrew A token of regard for 
 your noble effort in saving train, Oct. 6, 1870. 
 'Spectemur Agendo.' " On Oct. 16, 1874, Mr. 
 Kinabrew was united in marriage to Miss Aman- 
 da Alford, of Pike county, Miss. They have two 
 children, Hattie T., who is the wife of Mr. L. 
 Williams, of New Orleans, and Lettie, at home. 
 Socially Mr. Kinabrew is identified with the 
 Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Honor. 
 He and his family are members and liberal sup- 
 porters of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 
 politics he is independent. 
 
 s\ Kl E. CRANMER, a popular conductor 
 
 U running as extra in the passenger 
 
 O service of the Y. & M. V. R. R., was 
 born in New Orleans, October 31, 
 1862. He is the son of T. E. and Jennie E. 
 (Allen) Cranmer, both having departed this life 
 within two months of each other during the 
 present year (1900), the latter on January loth, 
 and the former on February 23rd. Mr. Cran- 
 mer Sr. was for many years a steamboat engineer 
 on the Mississippi river, and was also in the ser- 
 vice of the Illinois Central, L. & N. and Y. & M. 
 Y. railroads. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the public 
 schools of New Orleans, and in 1878, at the age 
 of sixteen, entered the government service on 
 the revenue cutter, "John A. Dix," remaining in 
 the service three years. In 1881 he went to 
 Mexico and took an active part in the building 
 of the Sonora Railroad, working there one year. 
 He then returned to New Orleans and again en- 
 tered the service of the U. S. government as 
 registry clerk in the New Orleans post office, 
 which position he held two years. After a short 
 clerkship with the L. & N. express company, he 
 became identified on July 8, 1885, with the L. 
 X. ( ). & T. R. R. (now the Y. & M. V. R. R.) 
 as baggage master, running between New ( )r- 
 leans and Yicksburg, Miss. He was soon of- 
 fered a position as brakeman on the same division
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 407 
 
 for the same road, and accepting it, was, after 
 two years' faithful service, promoted to conduc- 
 tor in the freight service. Occupying that posi- 
 tion until 1898, he then received promotion to 
 extra passenger conductor, and is at the present 
 time engaged in that branch of the service. 
 
 Mr. Cranmer was, on July 24, 1891, married 
 to Miss Naomi Powell, who was born in New 
 Orleans on May 19, 1875. Their union has re- 
 sulted in the birth of two children, Lula E. and 
 Ettalee. In politics he is a believer in and a 
 firm supporter of Democratic principles, and in 
 religious views is a Protestant. 
 
 L. HATCH, a conductor in the 
 freight service on the New Orleans 
 Q division of the Yazoo & Mississippi 
 Valley R. R., residing in Vicksburg, 
 was born in Chenango Bridge, N. Y., on Febru- 
 ary 3, 1861. His parents were Sylvanus and 
 Anna B. (Snell) Hatch, both of whom are liv- 
 ing. The early life of Mr. Hatch was spent as 
 that of most farmer's boys, attending the dis- 
 trict school in winter, and working on his fath- 
 er's farm in summer. At the age of twenty- 
 two he entered railroad life as a brakeman in 
 the service of the Delaware, Lackawanna & 
 Western R. R., between Utica and Binghamton, 
 X. Y., and held that position from 1883 until 
 1888. He was then promoted to conductor on 
 the same road, remaining in the service until 
 1896. In 1897 he went south, and locating at 
 Vicksburg, Miss., entered the service of the Ya- 
 zoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. as a flagman on 
 a freight run between Vicksburg and New Or- 
 leans, continuing in that branch of the service 
 until 1898. He was, in that year, promoted to 
 conductor in the freight service, on the New Or- 
 leans division, and is now employed in that capa- 
 city, rendering the company excellent service. 
 
 Miss F. A. Bailey, a native of Syracuse, N. 
 Y., educated in the Onondago Academy of that 
 state, became the wife of Mr. Hatch on March 
 1 6, 1898. Mrs. Hatch is a woman of fine at- 
 
 tainments, and is deeply interested in the work of 
 the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. 
 Both are members of the Methodist church. Mr. 
 Hatch is a valued member of Vicksburg Divi- 
 sion No. 231, O. R. C. Politically he is a Pro- 
 hibitionist. 
 
 PHILIP H. MURPHY, former superin- 
 tendent of construction for the Illinois 
 Central Railroad at Freeport, 111., was 
 born in New York city in 1832. The 
 family moved to Detroit, Mich., when ovir sub- 
 ject was four years old. He attended school 
 under Ludwig Stanton, and took the regular 
 course of instruction at that time given in the 
 public schools, and also took a course in an acad- 
 emy in which he acquired a knowledge of Latin 
 and the higher English branches. At the age 
 of fifteen he entered the service of the Michigan 
 Central Railroad as an assistant to his father, 
 who was a railroad constructor running an en- 
 gine which pulled a supply train over wooden 
 rails. The family then moved to Elgin, 111., 
 where he and his father supplied the old Galena 
 & Chicago Union Railroad with ties and wood. 
 He then became agent at Gilbert Station on the 
 same road, and remained there for a short time. 
 In 1856 he was appointed cashier for the I. C. 
 R. R. at Galena, where he remained until 1857, 
 when, on account of the panic which ensued, 
 the forces were cut down, and our subject being 
 the youngest man, was obliged to relinquish his 
 position. He went to Chicago and worked in 
 the office of the superintendent of transporta- 
 tion, and also in the office of W. P. Johnson, 
 general passenger agent, as extra man. In the 
 fall of 1857 he was appointed ticket agent at 
 Freeport, and remained there about one and one- 
 half years ; was then agent at Warsaw, 111., until 
 1 86 1 ; then served as agent at Pana for a short 
 time, after which he was agent at Centralia for 
 six. months. He then became cashier of the 
 American Express company at St. Louis, but 
 after six months was compelled on account of
 
 408 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ill-health to resign. He then returned ty Pana 
 as station agent for one month, after which he 
 came to Freeport as agent, and remained in that 
 position from 1864 to 1886. At that time he 
 was sent over the route of the Chicago, Madison 
 & Northern R. R. (now the Freeport division of 
 the I. C. R. R.) to prospect, and was afterward 
 instructed to purchase the right of way of the 
 same. He also purchased the lands for the Free- 
 port yards, and solicited the location of the Free- 
 port Malleable Iron Works for the use of the 
 company. This is now the I. C. R. R. shops. 
 He was then appointed superintendent of con- 
 struction and remained in that capacity until the 
 road was completed, then became station agent 
 and remained in the service until his death which 
 occurred March 31, 1889. 
 
 On the 4th of June,, 1856, Mr. Murphy mar- 
 ried Miss Catherine O'Neil, who died September 
 i, 1899. Of his children, Henry is an employe 
 of the I. C. R. R. company at Freeport; Daniel 
 T. is freight house foreman of the I. C. R. R. at 
 Freeport. Mr. Murphy was a Catholic in re- 
 ligion. In politics he was a Republican. 
 
 E. DUNBAR, a highly esteemed con- 
 ductor in the passenger service on 
 tne Louisiana division of the Illinois 
 Central, residing at Canton, Miss., 
 was born in Copiah county, in that state, October 
 9, 1860. His father, Jackson Dunbar, was a 
 prominent farmer and horse dealer of that county, 
 and died in 1890, survived by his wife, who re- 
 sides in the old homestead in Mississippi. The 
 educational training of our subject was acquired 
 in the public schools of his native county, and 
 at the high schools of Hazelhurst and Beaure- 
 gard. In early life he was employed as clerk in 
 a store, at the same time assisting his father in 
 the livery and sale business. At the age of 
 twenty he entered the service of the I. C., as 
 brakeman on a freight train, between New 
 Orleans and Canton, Miss., and served in that 
 capacity for two years. He was then promoted 
 
 to conductor in the freight service, and after a' 
 faithful record of eight years in that line, was, 
 in 1892, promoted to the passenger service, where 
 he is now employed. 
 
 January 4, 1888, witnessed the union of Mr. 
 Dunbar and Miss Emma C. Bauer, of McComb 
 City, Miss. They have one child, Charles E. 
 Dunbar Jr., who was born December 26, 1889, 
 and is now a fine boy attending the public schools 
 of Canton. Mr. Dunbar is a member of the 
 Masonic order, having passed through the K. T. 
 degree. He is also a Knight of Pythias, K. of 
 A. A., a member of O. R. C. and " Old Re- 
 liables," of the U. S. and Canada. His family 
 attends the Presbyterian church. Politically he 
 is a Democrat. 
 
 B. RIDLEY, a well known conductor 
 in the freight service of the Illinois 
 Central, on the Memphis division, 
 entered the employ of the company 
 in March 1896. He acquired his first knowledge 
 of railroad work on the Louisville & Nashville 
 R. R. where he began in 1884, as a brakeman 
 between Nashville, Tennessee and Decatur, Ala- 
 bama. After serving eighteen months as brake- 
 man, he was promoted to conductor in the freight 
 department and also ran as extra passenger 
 conductor until 1896, when he left that road and 
 secured a position on the I. C. under J. T. Hara- 
 han, whose headquarters are in Chicago. He 
 has been in the employ of the I. C., as conductor 
 in the freight service, between Memphis and 
 Paducah, since 1896, and is a very popular man 
 on the division. 
 
 Mr. Ridley was born near Nashville, Tenn., 
 on June 5, 1863, and is a son of Moses McNairy 
 and Mary E. (Baker) Ridley, both deceased. 
 Moses Ridley was a farmer and stock raiser of 
 Davidson county, Tennessee, and the early life 
 of our subject was spent in work on the farm, 
 and attending the district schools, but as he left 
 home at the age of seventeen, the principal part 
 of his education was acquired after that time.
 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 411 
 
 1 k was afterward employed in a mercantile 
 house at Nashville, and later opened a grocery 
 store at Mud Tavern, Term. He was in business 
 there one year, when he began his railroad career. 
 Mr. Ridley belongs to the Masonic fraternity, 
 being a Knight Templar, and is a member also 
 of the O. R. C., and is democratic in politics. 
 He is not a member of any church, though his 
 parents belonged to the Baptist church. 
 
 iHARLES FAESSLER, engineer on the 
 Illinois Central Railroad, Amboy divi- 
 sion, is a native of Baden-Baden, Ger- 
 many, where he was born Aug. 5, 1868. 
 His parents, Rinehart and Ursula Faessler, emi- 
 grated to America when our subject was still a 
 child, and coming west located in Amboy, 111. 
 Here he attended school and later worked on a 
 farm in that vicinity until twenty-six years of 
 age. At this time he entered the employ of the 
 I. C. R. R. as a fireman, and remained in that 
 position until 1895, when he was promoted to 
 the right side where he is still engaged, running 
 a freight engine on the Amboy division, and is 
 making a record for stability, faithfulness and 
 industry. On the 2gih of October, 1896, Mr. 
 Faessler was united in marriage with Miss Kate 
 McGunigal, of LaSalle, 111. Mrs. Faessler was 
 born in 1871. By her union with Mr. Faessler 
 she is the mother of one son, Charles, who was 
 born August 17, 1897. 'Mr. Faessler is a mem-' 
 her of the B. of L. F., and B. of L. E. He is a 
 Catholic in his religious views, and in politics a 
 staunch Democrat. > 
 
 T 
 ,- 'It*'" - '.' 
 
 Jtjtjtjtjtjt 
 
 'ILLIAM L. ICKES, engineer on the 
 Illinois Central Railroad, Freeport 
 division, entered the service as brake- 
 man on the Champaign division in 
 1881. and after three years was transferred to 
 the Centralia division, served two years and was 
 
 23 
 
 then promoted to conductor, serving on that divi- 
 sion as such for one year. He was then trans- 
 ferred to the C. M. & N. R. R., running between 
 Chicago and Freeport as freight conductor 
 one year, and as passenger conductor three 
 years. In 1891 he began firing on the Freeport 
 division, making his first run with George Good- 
 rode, and after three and one-half years in that 
 capacity was promoted to the right side, in 1895, 
 running as extra until July 1899 when he was 
 given a regular run in charge of engine No. 489. 
 Mr. Ickes was born in Victoria, 111., October 15, 
 1862. He married Miss Flora Pendergast, 
 whose father was section foreman at Irvington, 
 111., and by whom he has four children, William 
 G., Ralph E., Ferol R. and Irma Irene. He is a 
 member of Racine Division No. 27 B. of L. E., 
 also a member of the Masonic fraternity, having 
 attained the thirty-second degree. 
 
 JA. FRATES, train master of the Fulton 
 district of the Memphis division, has 
 Q been in the railroad service since the 
 age of fourteen. He is a son of Mr. 
 Anthony and Mrs. Mary (Enos) F rates, and was 
 born at Forest Hill, California, April 23, 1866, 
 attending the public schools of his native place. 
 While still a mere boy he entered the office of the 
 Southern Pacific at Martinez, California, and 
 served a year as office boy. Having learned 
 telegraphy during the year, he was employed as 
 operator at various points along the line for a 
 period of three or four years. Removing to 
 Texas he served as extra operator at a number 
 of points in the state for several roads for abouf 
 four years and in 1887 he entered the service of 
 the Denver & Rio Grande at Leadville, Colorado, 
 as- train dispatcher remaining here until i88y. 
 Going to Vicksburg he worked six months as 
 dispatcher for the Louisville, New Orleans & 
 Texas and then- -went to Water Valley as train 
 dispatcher for the Illinois Central half a year. 
 From there he was transferred to Jackson, Tenn., 
 in the same capacity, remaining five years, be-
 
 412 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ing promoted to chief dispatcher and assistant 
 train master. In 1896 he was transferred to 
 Memphis as trainmaster and has served in that 
 capacity to the present time. Mr. Prates' mar- 
 riage was celebrated at Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 1887, 
 to Miss Lulu Buck, daughter of Thomas and 
 Mattie (Bonell) Buck. Their five children are 
 Berenice, Joseph, Earl, Clifford and Ramona. 
 The family attends the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. Mr. Frates is a high degree Mason 
 having passed through the rites of the Blue 
 Lodge, Chapter, Commandery and the Mystic 
 Shrine. His quick perception and close atten- 
 tion to business has won him his advancement 
 to his present responsible position. 
 
 ILLIAM WHITE, the former effi- 
 cient master mechanic at Memphis, 
 has laid a broader foundation of 
 learning than is usual in the me- 
 chanical arts, having taken a full course of law 
 as well. Born at Ionia, Mich., January 28, 1863, 
 he was reared in his native place and attended 
 the common schools until the age of sixteen 
 when he became an apprenticed machinist in the 
 shops of the Detroit, Lansing & Northern, at 
 Ionia. Serving his full term he became a 
 journeyman machinist at the age of nineteen 
 and then sought to add to his knowledge the 
 practical operating of a railroad by becoming a 
 fireman at which he was engaged some nine 
 months. Returning to his trade he was thus 
 engaged until 1884, when he began a course of 
 law under the tutelage of Hon. J. H. Mitchell, 
 of Ionia, having decided to adopt a professional 
 career. After completing the full course, just 
 prior to his examination for admission to the 
 bar, he decided to return to his first choice of 
 a vocation and secured a place in the shops at 
 Fort Wayne, Ind., in the service of the Penn- 
 sylvania Railroad, remaining there until April 
 1889, when he was given charge of the air brake 
 department which he held two years. Promoted 
 to assistant general foreman he was transferred 
 
 to the shops of the Cleveland & Pittsburg divi- 
 sion at Wellesville, Ohio, remaining here until 
 late in the year 1897. December i, of that year 
 he entered the service of the Illinois Central and 
 was appointed general foreman of the Freeport 
 shops remaining at his post until May 15, 1898, 
 when he was transferred to the Paducah shops in 
 the same capacity. The first of December fol- 
 lowing he was appointed master mechanic at 
 Memphis and discharged the duties there until 
 he was tendered and accepted the position of 
 general master mechanic of the L. E. & W. Ry., 
 with headquarters at Lima, Ohio, where he is 
 at present located. 
 
 Mr. White's marriage occured at Carson 
 City, Mich., March 21, 1889, Miss Harriett E. 
 Trask becoming his bride. Two children have 
 been born, Genevieve, January 21, 1891, and 
 Stuart B., October 13, 1892. 
 
 Mr. White is the son of William R. and 
 Lydia A. (Bliss) White. The father is a pat- 
 tern maker by trade, and at present employed 
 in the shops at Memphis. E. B. White, a brother 
 of our subject, is general foreman of the L. E. 
 & W. R. R., with headquarters at Rankin, 111. 
 The family are Protestant Episcopal by faith, 
 and politically are Democrats. Mr. White's ad- 
 vancement has been solely by his own merit and 
 efforts. Had not his qualifications been above 
 the average, and his executive ability of a high 
 order, he would not have attained a position 
 above that of a journeyman in his trade. 
 
 'ILLIAM L. DAVIS, chief train dis- 
 patcher for the Vicksburg division of 
 the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. 
 R. at Memphis, Tenn., is a native of 
 Fayette county in that state, and was born Jan- 
 uary 4, 1839. He is a son of S. W. and Mary 
 (Brown) Davis, both deceased. Mr. Davis Sr. 
 was a farmer by occupation, and was an elder of 
 the Presbyterian church. 
 
 William L. Davis received his educational 
 training in the schools of his native county, and
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 413 
 
 at the Marshall, Texas, University. In the au- 
 tumn of 1853 he entered a telegraph office at 
 Marshall, Texas, and acquiring a knowledge of 
 the business, was in 1854 sent to Crockett, Texas, 
 as telegrapher. He taught the business to a man 
 there, with a view of leaving the place, and turn- 
 ing the position over to him, which he did, and 
 went to Rusk, Texas, where he also taught his 
 successor the routine of telegraphy. Returning 
 to Marshall, he was soon afterward sent to 
 Shreveport, La., as telegrapher, but was there 
 but a short time when he went to Mansfield, La., 
 working there six months, and subsequently re- 
 turning to Shreveport. The sickness and death 
 of his father called him home at this time, where 
 he remained six years. While at Crockett, 
 Texas, he exchanged lessons in telegraphy with 
 the editor of the Crockett Printer for the privi- 
 lege of learning the printing business, and ac- 1 
 quired a knowledge of type-setting and other 
 work connected with a printing office. With a 
 partner he bought the Hopkins County Tele- 
 graph, a newspaper published at Bright Star, 
 Texas, which he published and of which he was 
 junior editor until the spring of 1861. Mr. 
 Davis then disposed of his interest in the paper, 
 volunteered in the service of the Confederacy, 
 becoming a member of Company I, of the First 
 Texas heavy artillery, which was stationed at 
 Galveston, and from which he was detailed until 
 the surrender of the Confederate forces in 1865. 
 He then went to the Indian Territory, but was 
 there only a short time, when he became ill, and 
 went to Brownsville, Ark., where his mother then 
 resided. He then went to Little Rock, and se- 
 cured a position with the Pine Bluff Telegraph 
 company, assisting in the construction of that 
 system, and afterward was for a year manager 
 of their office at Little Rock. His next work 
 was with the Memphis & Little Rock Telegraph 
 company, at Fort Smith, Ark., and afterward 
 at Van Buren. He then went to Princeton, Ark., 
 where he took charge of an office, and remained 
 about one year. Going to Houston, Texas, he 
 was employed there in the office of the Star 
 State Telegraph company, remaining six months, 
 and was then transferred to Galveston as mana- 
 
 ger of the office. He was afterward assistant 
 superintendent. When the Star State Telegraph 
 lines were sold to the American Telegraph com- 
 pany, he became their manager at Houston, Tex- 
 as. Mr. Davis was appointed assistant superin- 
 tendent at Marshall, Texas, serving there for 
 about one year. He then went to Memphis, and 
 for a time was unemployed, but secured a posi- 
 tion as operator at Grand Junction, Tenn. From 
 that place he went to Union City, Tenn., where 
 he finally became agent for the Nashville & 
 North-Western R. R., occupying that position 
 until October 1873. He then went to Jackson, 
 Tenn., as train dispatcher for the Mobile & Ohio 
 R. R., and was in the employ of that company 
 until July 1878. In that year he entered the ser- 
 vice of the C. St. L. & N. O. R. R. (now 
 the Illinois Central) as train dispatcher, and De- 
 cember i, 1878, was sent to McComb City, Miss., 
 in that capacity, remaining there until September 
 1883. He then went to Boyce, La., as dispatcher 
 on the New Orleans, Texas & Pacific R. R., and 
 from there to Baton Rouge, as chief dispatcher 
 for the L. N. O. & T. R. R. From Baton Rouge 
 he was transferred to Wilson, remaining there 
 as chief dispatcher until May 1885, when two 
 divisions were consolidated, and he was trans- 
 ferred to Vicksburg, Miss., as chief dispatcher, 
 and occupied that position until 1890. In the 
 latter year, he went to Natchez, as superintendent 
 of the Natchez and Jackson division where he 
 remained nearly two years, until the road 
 changed management. He then went to Vicks- 
 burg, where he secured the position of train 
 dispatcher, on the Vicksburg, Shreveport & 
 Pacific R. R. After a short service there, he 
 went to the Alabama Great Southern R. R. at 
 Birmingham, Alabama, as dispatcher, and from 
 there on November i, 1892, to the Louisville, 
 New Orleans & Texas R. R. at Memphis, Tenn., 
 where he has since remained, in his present po- 
 sition as chief train dispatcher. 
 
 Mr. Davis was twice married. His first 
 wife, to whom he was married in 1868, was Miss 
 Nannie Hamilton ; she died in 1879, an d m 1880, 
 he was united to Miss Octavia W. L. Carey, who 
 departed this life in 1889.
 
 414 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 His children by his first marriage are Ivy, 
 and David W., chief clerk in the roadmas- 
 ter's office at Memphis. To the second union 
 was born one child, Mary Davis. 
 
 Mr. Davis is a Knight Templar and belongs 
 to the Old Timers Telegrapher's Association. 
 He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and 
 a Republican in politics. 
 
 EORGE E. JARMAN, is the capable 
 and highly popular supervisor of 
 tracks and bridges, on the Aberdeen 
 division of the Illinois Central, and 
 a generous, whole-hearted, self-made man, who 
 has risen by his own efforts from a poor boy, to 
 his present responsible position. Mr. Jarman was 
 born in Monroe county, Mississippi, where his 
 father was a wealthy planter before the war. 
 Although a strong upholder of the union, Mr. 
 Jarman Sr. fought with the people of his. own 
 state, -and was killed during the Smith raid, be- 
 ing shot down in the presence of his wife. His 
 property and slaves were confiscated, leaving the 
 mother penniless, with a family of twelve chil- 
 dren. Our subject being a strong, active boy, 
 hired out as a plow-boy, to assist his mother, pur- 
 suing his studies at night, under the supervision 
 of an older sister, who had in their days of afflu- 
 ence, received the benefits of a good education. At 
 the age of twenty-two he secured employment as 
 porter, with the Mobile & Ohio R. R., afterward 
 assisting with office work, and studying telegra- 
 phy. He entered the service of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, in 1885, as a laborer, on the section, near 
 West Point, Miss., and from there to the Yazoo 
 & Mississippi Valley R. R. with Captain E. J. 
 Martin. He next worked successively, as sec- 
 tion foreman on the Mobile & Ohio R. R. and the 
 Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham R. R. re- 
 maining with the latter company four years. In 
 the fall of 1891 he returned to the I. C, being 
 appointed section foreman on the Grenada divi- 
 sion, and worked there until 1897. In the lat- 
 ter year he was made supervisor of tracks on 
 
 the Grenada division, and in April 1898, was 
 transferred to the Aberdeen division, in his pres- 
 ent capacity. 
 
 His jurisdiction embraces the tracks and 
 bridges on the Aberdeen division of the Illinois 
 Central, from Durant, to Tchula, Miss., and the 
 coal run into Brilliant, Ala. He has a force of 
 sixteen section-foremen, two extra gang foremen, 
 one bridge foreman, one hundred and thirty-seven 
 laborers, and sixteen bridgemen under his super- 
 vision. Jan. 22, 1880, Mr. Jarman was united to 
 Miss Maggie Dance. They have one child liv- 
 ing, 'a bright little girl of eight years, who stands 
 at the head of her class in school, although the 
 youngest. They reside in one of Durant's most 
 beautiful homes. A brother of Mr. Jarman, Ed- 
 gar, is a prosperous farmer, and a prominent citi- 
 zen of Oklahoma. By the united efforts of the 
 family, they have recovered their old home in 
 Mississippi, where their mother is now residing. 
 Mr. Jarman is a fine looking man, standing six 
 feet, four inches, and weighing two hundred and 
 thirty pounds. He is a man of sterling worth, who 
 has the confidence and esteem of all, in the com- 
 munity of which he is a respected member. 
 
 F. GALVANI, freight agent for the 
 Illinois Central at Canton, Miss., 
 Q entered the employ of the company in 
 1888, as brakeman on the Louisiana 
 division of the road, out of McComb City. After 
 two years service in that capacity, he was ap- 
 pointed night yardmaster at the same place, hold- 
 ing that position three years. He was then pro- 
 moted to conductor in the freight service, on the 
 same division, and in July 1893, was transferred 
 to Canton, Miss., and given his present position. 
 In the fall and winter season Mr. Galvani is 
 one of the busiest men in the service, as Canton 
 is in the center of the vegetable country, of Mis- 
 sissippi, and hundreds of car loads of tomatoes 
 and other vegetables are weekly shipped to the 
 Chicago markets. He has quite a force of clerks
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 415 
 
 in his office, among them his brother, Charles, 
 who is his chief clerk. 
 
 Mr. Galvani was born at New Orleans, on 
 April 25, 1862, and is a son of Charles Galvani, 
 an artist of note, of that city, who is now deceased. 
 His wife prior to her marriage to Mr. Galvani 
 was Miss Mary McElwee, of Amite, La. Two 
 sons are the result of their union, Ernest and 
 Beauregard. Socially, he is connected with the 
 Order of Elks, and is also a member of the O. 
 R. C., of Canton. Both he and his wife, are de- 
 voted adherents of the Episcopal church. 
 
 AURICE C. MULCONERY, engi- 
 neer at East St. Louis, began his 
 railroad career October 27, 1885, in 
 the capacity of wiper and helper in 
 the shops of the Cairo Short Line. Six weeks 
 later he secured a position as fireman, worked in 
 the East St. Louis yards two weeks, then between 
 that city and DuQuoin under Engineer William 
 Ash, and later under his father one year, and for 
 others, both to DuQuoin and other points from 
 East St. Louis. July 17, 1888, Mr. Mulconery 
 was set up to engineer and spent his first fifteen 
 months in that capacity in the East St. Louis 
 yards, and later ran extra out of East St. Louis 
 for a short time. He then moved to Belleville 
 and worked in that city at different times in the 
 yards, on transfer eight years, and as extra pas- 
 senger engineer. In November 1898, our sub- 
 ject returned to East St. Louis and his present 
 run is from that city to Mounds, and his regular 
 engine is No. 507. His runs were 255 and 286. 
 He is also occasionally called upon to make an 
 extra run on a passenger train. Mr. Mulconery 
 was born in Belleville, 111., a son of Michael Mul- 
 conery, of whom a sketch appears elsewhere in 
 this volume. 
 
 In August 1891 our subject was united in 
 marriage to Miss Maggie Keefe, of Belleville, 
 111., and their wedded life has been blessed by 
 the birth of two children, Maurice and Agnes, 
 the latter of whom died February 24, 1900. So- 
 
 cially our subject is identified with Egyptian 
 Lodge No. 512, B. of L. E., of East St. Louis. 
 He has been a very successful railroad man, is 
 an able engineer and has never met with serious 
 accident since he has been on the road. 
 
 ,HARLES R. SMITH, a widely known 
 and valued employe of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, is an engineer in the passenger 
 service on the Louisiana division of 
 the road. He was born at Auburn, N. Y., and 
 at the age of seven years moved with his parents 
 to Ohio, where his father, Daniel G. Smith, was 
 engaged in the tanning business. When quite 
 young he entered the shops of the Dayton & 
 Union road, at Greenville, Ohio, and soon re- 
 ceived an appointment as fireman. In 1863 he 
 was promoted to engineer, and going to Mem- 
 phis, Tenn., in 1865, became identified with what 
 was then known as the Memphis & Charleston 
 R. R. He worked for that road as engineer 
 three years, and from 1868 until 1876 was with 
 the Alabama Central Railroad as engineer on 
 different divisions of that road. On December 
 26, 1876, he entered the service of the I. C. at 
 McComb City, as engineer under Master Me- 
 chanic Greener. He remained in the service un- 
 til 1880, when he resigned, and going to Ohio, 
 worked for a short time in the service of the Big 
 Four R. R. Returning to the service of the I. C. 
 at McComb City, in 1880, he was given a regular 
 run as engineer in the pasenger service, which po- 
 sition he retains, and is filling with eminent sat- 
 isfaction, having charge of engine No. 932, with 
 George Cutrer as fireman. A brother of our 
 subject, Edgar Smith, is a prominent engineer 
 on the Big Four system. Charles R. Smith mar- 
 ried Miss Davidson, whose father, W. B. David- 
 son, was employed for a number of years as a 
 painter on the I. C. Their union has been 
 blessed with the following children, viz : Glen, 
 who is in the employ of- Holmes Bros., of Mc- 
 Comb City ; Addie, a young lady at home ; How- 
 ard, Geary and St. Clair. Julia May Holt, a
 
 416 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 bright little girl with great musical abilities, is 
 an adopted daughter. The family reside in a 
 fine home just completed on Minnesota avenue. 
 Mr. Smith belongs to Division No. 196, B. of 
 L. E., and was the first Engineer of the lodge. 
 He is also a member of the Knights of Honor, 
 of McComb City, where he is highly esteemed 
 by all the citizens. 
 
 JOSEPH A. DUNHAM, foreman in the 
 shops at Centralia, was born in the town 
 of St. Johns, New Brunswick, September 
 16, 1858, and spent his boyhood in Cana- 
 da, where he learned the carpenter's trade. 
 After his removal to Waterloo, Iowa, he learned 
 the millwright's trade with the firm of Wil- 
 ford & Northway, afterwards removing to 
 Laporte, Iowa, and from there to Greene in 
 the same state. Later he returned to Waterloo 
 and spent two years in the employ of J. T. Bur- 
 kett, as journeyman. He then followed general 
 carpentering until October 14, 1886, when he 
 entered the employ of the Illinois Central as a 
 carpenter, and in February 1888, was placed in 
 charge of the car repairing department and also 
 of the wrecking gang on the road. On August 
 i, 1891, he was promoted to the position of fore- 
 man of the carpenter shops, at Waterloo, and was 
 retained in that capacity until December I, 1899, 
 when he was transferred to' the shops at Cen- 
 tralia. Our subject's father, Joseph Dunham, is 
 also a carpenter, and is now employed in the I. 
 C. shops at Waterloo. 
 
 December 31, 1883, Mr. Dunham was mar- 
 ried at Jesup, Iowa, to Miss Eva M. Phillips, 
 and to this union have been born three children, 
 , viz : Adelbert, Mary Louise, and one who died 
 in infancy. Socially our subject is identified 
 with the following fraternities : Howland 
 Lodge No. 274, A. O. U. W. ; Melchoir Court 
 No. 8. Tribe of Ben Hur; Degree of Honor, 
 A. O. U. W. ; Improved Order of Red Men, and 
 formerly held membership with the Select 
 Knights, A. O. U. W. 
 
 ICHAEL MULCONERY, a retired 
 engineer living at Belleville, began 
 his railroad career as a wiper in 
 the round house at that place in De- 
 cember 1858. Three months later he secured a 
 position as fireman in the passenger service under 
 Engineer Webb Ross, between Belleville and 
 East St. Louis, a fourteen mile run, and retained 
 that position until 1861, at the same time making 
 an occasional run in the freight service. He 
 then went to Litchfield to accept a position as 
 fireman between that city and Terre Haute, Ind., 
 for the Terre Haute & Indianapolis Railroad. 
 Being unsatisfied with the place, however, he 
 remained but two weeks, then secured a run be- 
 tween Litchfield and East St. Louis which he 
 retained six weeks, and in the fall of the same 
 year he went into the Litchfield round house 
 in the capacity of dispatcher. In March 1862, 
 Mr. Mulconery was sent to East St. Louis in 
 charge of old engine No. I, which he used in 
 the yards during that summer and part of the 
 following winter, doing some extra work on the 
 line at the same time, as there were but two 
 crews on the Belleville branch. After spending 
 about eight months in the East St. Louis yards, 
 our subject was placed in charge of engine No. 
 5, which hauled a coal train, and was thus en- 
 gaged three years. He then used different en- 
 gines, retaining each but a short time, until he 
 took the levers of No. 50, a Norris engine, and 
 had her until May 1869 on a coal train. At the 
 last named date Mr. Mulconery was promoted 
 to the passenger service and given engine No. 3, 
 a new machine, Hinckley make, and for nine 
 months she plied at his will between Belleville 
 and East St. Louis. He then began a career of 
 about eighteen years on engine No. II, and one 
 fireman, William Ryan, stood by his side during 
 seventeen years of that time. In 1888 he got 
 engine No. 40 for a short time, and later No. 
 1 1 80, which he retained until he tendered his 
 resignation in 1890, after thirty-two years of 
 continuous service on the railroad. Remarkable 
 as it may seem, this long career was entirely free 
 from wrecks, and our subject never received 
 an injury while on the road.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 417 
 
 Mr. Mulconery was born in County Tip- 
 perary, Ireland, and in 1850 came to America at 
 the age of fourteen years, and brought his sister 
 with him. He located in Johnstown, Pa., at- 
 tended school there, and made that his home un- 
 til 1853, and then went west to Chicago to learn 
 the moulder's trade. From February to October 
 of the year 1858, he did construction work on 
 the Pittsburg & Ft. Wayne Railroad, and then 
 moved to Belleville, 111., and entered the employ 
 of the railroad. 
 
 Mr. Mulconery was married at St. Louis, 
 Mo., in 1859, to Miss Mary Gary, and of their 
 family we have the following record : Mary, 
 wife of Patrick Quirk, engineer on the Short 
 Line ; Emma, wife of Michael Hayes, of Detroit, 
 Mich. ; Margaret at home ; John S., an engineer 
 at East St. Louis ; Maurice C., whose sketch 
 appears on another page of this volume ; Kate ; 
 Michael T., an employe of the Mobile & Ohio 
 Railroad at East St. Louis, 111. ; William, an em- 
 ploye in the round house at East St. Louis ; An- 
 drew, an engineer for the Illinois Central com- 
 pany at East St. Louis; Rosie and Laura. So- 
 cially our subject affiliates with Division No. 37, 
 B. of L. E., of East St. Louis, being one of the 
 charter members of the lodge, which was organ- 
 ized in 1863. 
 
 EORGE H. STINESPRING, a popu- 
 lar engineer in the passenger service 
 of the Illinois Central, on the Missis- 
 sippi division, between Jackson and 
 Natchez, became identified with the company as 
 a laborer in the Natchez shops. He then secured 
 a position as fireman between Natchez and Jack- 
 son, under Engineer Rand, where he worked 
 one year, and then returned to the shops, and go- 
 ing to Harrison, Miss., when the shops were re- 
 moved to that point. He worked at Harrison 
 about one year, returning to Natchez as hostler, 
 where he served two years. He then took the 
 examination for promotion to engineer, and be- 
 ing successful was, on September 27, 1892, given 
 
 charge of a work train. He was, after ten 
 months, promoted to the freight service, and in 
 1899 Promoted to the passenger service, where he 
 now has a regular run on engine No. 48. Mr. 
 Stinespring was born in Winsborc, La., on March 
 23, 1867, and is a son of Caleb Stinespring, who 
 died January 22, 1869. Our subject has a 
 brother, Frank, a machinist in the employ of 
 the Santa Fe Railroad at Cleveland, Texas. Mr. 
 Stinespring was united to Miss Broadnax, of 
 Natchez, and they have three children, Arthur, 
 George and Frank, all residing with their pa- 
 rents, in a substantial home on Gallatin street, 
 in Jackson. Socially he is a member of Divi- 
 sion No. 281, B. of L. E., of Vicksburg. His 
 career on the road has been free from serious ac- 
 cidents, and having risen through his own ef- 
 forts, his future promises to be a successful one. 
 
 'ILLIAM KIRKWOOD, foreman of 
 the blacksmith shop for the Illinois 
 Central company at East St. Louis, 
 began work at this place for the 
 Short Line in 1888, as a blacksmith, and after 
 serving three years was promoted to the position 
 of foreman. At present he has charge of a 
 force of eight experienced blacksmiths and two 
 apprentices, but his force is usually larger. Mr. 
 Kirkwood was born in Scotland in 1841, learned 
 his trade in the land of his nativity, and pursued 
 it eight years in Glasgow. In 1879 ne came to 
 America, located in New Jersey, where he 
 worked six months for Morris Sinclair & Co., 
 and later came west and worked several years 
 for the Mount Carbon Coal & Railroad company, 
 at Murphysboro, 111. Upon severing his connec- 
 tion with the last named firm, our subject spent 
 some time in traveling from place to place, and 
 finally found suitable employment with the 
 "Southeastern" Railroad at Mt. Vernon, 111. 
 About eighteen months later he returned to Mur- 
 physboro for a time, then went to Ration, N. M., 
 for eighteen months, then returned to the east 
 and spent five months with the Iron Mountain
 
 418 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Railroad company, then eleven months with the 
 Missouri Pacific Railroad company, after which 
 he began work for the Short Line, and continued 
 in that connection until that line was bought by 
 the Illinois Central company and he began work 
 for them. Mr. Kirkwood was married "at Mt. 
 Vernon, 111., to Miss Anna Yeager, and two 
 children. Lizzie and William, have been born to 
 them. Socially our subject affiliates with the 
 Masonic fraternity, holding membership in Blue 
 Lodge No. 504 and Chapter No. 196, both of 
 East St. Louis, and also the Ancient Order of 
 United Workmen, of East St. Louis. He is an 
 efficient workman, industrious and trustworthy, 
 and has a clean record on the books of the Illi- 
 nois Central company. 
 
 to whom were born ; two sons, Walter C. and 
 Lucius Lamar. Mr. Dlount is the owner of a 
 well of acid mineral water on his estate eight 
 miles north-east of Coffeeville, which possesses 
 unusual curative properties. A development of 
 the property will make it one of the most effi- 
 cacious health resorts in the state, and one at 
 which northern patrons will find an ideal winter 
 home. Mr. Blount is high up in Masonic cir- 
 cle's;- holding membership in Valley City Lodge 
 No. 402, at Water Valley, Coffeeville Chapter 
 Xo. 33, and St. Cyr Conimandery No. 6, at 
 Water Valley. He is also a member of the 
 Knights of Pythias, Lochinvar Lodge, and the 
 Knights of Honor Lodge, No. 1062, both of 
 Water Valley. Mr. Blount's chief qualification 
 is thoroughness, and this, no doubt, is the se- 
 cret of his unusual professional success. 
 
 DSAAC TAYLOR BLOUNT, attorney for 
 the Illinois Central at Water Valley, Miss., 
 was born in Ripley, Tippah county, that 
 state, December 22, 1846. During the last 
 year of the war he served in the Trans-Missis- 
 sippi army in Tappan's brigade, and after hos- 
 tilities ceased attended the law school of the Uni- 
 versity of Mississippi, under L. Q. C. Lamar, 
 graduating and being admitted to practice in 
 1870. He began the practice of his profession 
 at Pittsboro, Calhoun county, where he remained 
 twelve years, removing to Water Valley in 1883. 
 In 1886 he was appointed to the staff of resident 
 attorneys by the Illinois Central, and has re- 
 tained their confidence ever since. During all 
 his years of service for the company, he has lost 
 but one case of personal injury litigation, in- 
 volving only $1000. In fourteen years this is 
 the entire amount of judgment in personal in- 
 jury cases that has been secured against the 
 company in cases in which he has been for the 
 defense. He enjoys a large practice, and has 
 appeared on one side or other of every important 
 case that has come before the courts of Yalo- 
 busha county since he has been established there. 
 Mr. Blount was married at Bellefontaine", 
 Miss., to Miss Susan M. Hubbard, now deceased. 
 
 -px\ORBES DAVIDSON, foreman of the 
 r=<\ carpenter department of the East St. 
 Louis shops, began his railroad career 
 about the year 1868 in the employ of 
 the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Rail- 
 road, with whom he spent eleven years. In 1879 
 he entered the employ of that part of the Terre 
 Haute & Indianapolis Railroad that has since 
 been bought by the Illinois Central company, 
 and after working in the shops as a carpenter 
 two years, was promoted to the position of fore- 
 man of that department, and was retained by the 
 Illinois Central company when it came into pos- 
 session of the line. As foreman of this depart- 
 ment Mr. Davidson has charge of a force of 
 about seventy-five men, and in addition to this 
 has charge of the carpenter work of several way 
 stations along the line, practically the entire St. 
 Louis division. His men do all of the car re- 
 pairing, the wood work of the engines, and the 
 repairing of coaches. As a result of many years 
 of .experience, Mr. Davidson has become a very 
 efficient workman, and one of the best informed 
 me'n in the East St. Louis shops. He is very 
 thorough and systematic in his work, is in good
 
 Z. J. GOODWIN.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 421 
 
 standing' with the company, and enjoys the good 
 will of those over whom he has authority and a 
 circle of warm friends. Mr. Davidson was born 
 in Davenport, Iowa, and came to East St. Louis 
 with his father, William Davidson. The latter 
 was a bridge carpenter and worked for the Iron 
 Mountain Railroad in 1859. He moved to St. 
 Louis in 1861 and died in that city in 1863. Our 
 subject was married in St. Louis Mo., to Miss 
 Irene C. Hernden, of Audrain county, Mo., and 
 to them have been born three children, as follows : 
 Joseph, manager of the circulation of the East 
 St. Louis Journal, East St. Louis, 111. ; Irene 
 Helen and Edward. Socially Mr. Davidson is 
 identified with the St. Louis Railroad Club, the 
 Knights of Pythias, No. 55, and the Mystic 
 Workers, No. 217, all of St. Louis. 
 
 eighteen months, when he was promoted to bag- 
 gageman. Four years service in that capacity 
 was followed by promotion to conductor in the 
 freight service, which he held about nine years, 
 or until 1879. In the latter year he was pro- 
 moted to the passenger service in the Grenada 
 district, and has since retained that position. Mr. 
 Goodwin was united in marriage to Miss Ellen 
 X. Hooper, of Grenada, on January 25, 1870. 
 Not having any children of their own, this good 
 couple have reared three adopted children. He 
 belongs to the Masonic, the Odd Fellows, the 
 Knights of Pythias, and the Elks organizations. 
 He is also connected with the O. R. C. The 
 Baptist church finds iti Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin 
 valued members. In politics he is a Democrat. 
 
 J. GOODWIN is one of the best 
 known employes of the Illinois Cen- 
 Q tral on the Grenada district. He is a 
 conductor in the passenger service on 
 the Memphis division, and dates his connection 
 with the road from 1879. Mr. Goodwin was 
 born in Lafayette county, Miss., November 30, 
 1848, and is a son of Crawford and Francis 
 (Hunt) Goodwin, both living and residing in 
 Grenada, Miss. Crawford Goodwin was a sol- 
 dier in the Mexican war, and was also in the 
 Civil war on the Confederate side, serving part 
 of the time as an officer. Z. J. Goodwin, after 
 acquiring his education in the public and private 
 schools of Grenada, Miss., began life as a sales- 
 man in a store in the latter city, and remained in 
 that business until 1861. During the war he 
 followed the printing business, working on the 
 Rebel Picket. In 1865 he engaged in the 
 drug business at Grenada, and was thus occupied 
 for one year. He then (in 1866) entered the 
 service of the Mississippi & Tennessee R. R. 
 (now the I. C. system) of which he was one 
 of the original employes, and is one of only three 
 survivors. He served as brakeman on that road 
 between Grenada, Miss., and Memphis for about 
 
 LORETTO H. FOSS, one of the pro- 
 ficient engineers at Water Valley, Mis- 
 sissippi, is a native of Maine, his birth 
 having occurred in the town of Leeds, 
 Androscoggin county. His father, Uriah Foss, 
 a farmer, was prominently connected with the 
 militia of the state, and during the disputed 
 boundary between Maine and New Brunswick, 
 was in charge of the state forces during the cam- 
 paign on the frontier. Mr. Foss was educated 
 in the common schools of Leeds and in the 
 Webster University, at Auburn, Me. In 1867 
 he entered the service of the Michigan Central at 
 Detroit, and worked in the car shops at Jackson, 
 Michigan, where he served something less than 
 two years. Returning east he secured a position 
 as fireman on the Maine Central, and in eighteen 
 months was set up and given an engine, running 
 official and pay car, as well as extra out of 
 Farmington four years. Coming to the western 
 metropolis, he secured a position on the Chicago, 
 St. Paul & Kansas City line for a year, and in 
 1888 joined the force of the Illinois Central at 
 Water Valley, under Mr. Price, master mechanic, 
 running on the Mississippi and Louisiana divi- 
 sions. At present he has a "manifest" run on
 
 422 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 the south end of the Mississippi, one of the best 
 runs on the line. 
 
 Mr. Foss was married in Portland, Me., to 
 Miss Woodford, and has a son and a daughter 
 living in Maine, the former an engineer on the 
 Maine Central, where he has been employed some 
 twelve years. Mr. Foss is a member of the 
 Water Valley Division No. 99, B. of L. E., 
 which organization he joined in Maine prior to 
 coming west the last time. He is also a member 
 of the Masonic order in the Farmington lodge, 
 and of Madison Lodge No. 20, Knights of Pyth- 
 ias, at Canton, Miss. In the many years of 
 railroad life, Mr. Foss has escaped serious in- 
 jury, but on many occasions by a narrow mar- 
 gin. He is a living example of the fact that in 
 the new south the Yankee and Southerner can 
 live in harmony together. 
 
 W. SOMMERS, one of the most ex- 
 perienced engineers in the service 
 of the Illinois Central, on the Aber- 
 deen division, began his railroad 
 career in 1868, on the Hudson River R. R. 
 Working as fireman until 1875, he was in that 
 year promoted to engineer in the freight service, 
 of that road, and afterward ran on the elevated 
 road, and out of Brooklyn, for four years. He 
 then went to the Louisville & Nashville R. R. 
 working out of Louisville, in the freight and 
 passenger service, of that road for some months. 
 In 1884 he was employed on what is now the 
 Louisville division of the Illinois Central, first 
 in the freight, and later in the passenger service, 
 remaining there until 1890. He then accepted 
 a position with the Norfolk & Western R. R. 
 "out of Radford, Va., and was with that road 
 about five years. In 1895 Mr. Sommers came 
 to the Aberdeen division of the Illinois Central, 
 and has since remained there, having at the 
 present time a local run, from Aberdeen to 
 Durant, Miss., with conductor Humphries. Our 
 subject is a man of wide experience in his work, 
 having had charge of different makes of engines, 
 
 and made a close study of mechanics. He has 
 perfected, and patented, a flue or boiler cleaner, 
 which is pronounced an invention of great worth, 
 as it saves labor and expense. Mr. Sommers 
 was very seriously scalded in an accident, while 
 on the New York Central, and was incapacitated 
 for duty, for four months, bearing the marks 
 to the present day. On August 21, 1891, he had 
 a very narrow escape from death. While on 
 the Norfolk & Western R. R. his conductor 
 forged an order, and as he was going down a 
 mountain with a train of forty-five cars, collided 
 with another train of forty-two cars. The en- 
 gines came together with a terrible crash, in a 
 deep cut, and Mr. Sommers saved his life by 
 jumping, and climbing a steep bank. Mr. Som- 
 mers was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, and 
 is the son of Frederick William Sommers, a 
 native of .Germany. He is married and has 
 several children ; one of his daughters being mar- 
 ried and a resident of Brooklyn, another daugh- 
 ter at home, a son in the I. C. service, and an- 
 other son an apprentice in the shops at Durant. 
 Socially, he is connected with Division No. 99, 
 B. of L. E. Hdf joined Vanderbilt Division in 
 New York in 1878, and represented Paducah 
 Division, as a delegate to the National Conven- 
 tion at Chicago, in 1886, and in New York, in 
 1887. Mr. Sommers is a very intelligent man, 
 with a retentive memory, and his reminiscences 
 of early railroad life are very interesting. 
 
 JOHN O'M ALLEY, first began work on 
 the Illinois Central on the section in the 
 Chicago yards and worked thirteen 
 months and then served as switch ten- 
 der in the same yards eighteen months. He 
 then began firing on No. 200, with Jack Tansy, 
 engineer, and was on that two months ; then in 
 the suburban service for nine months firing on 
 Xo. 226. He then went into the road service 
 between Chicago and Champaign as fireman on 
 the extra list. He was on the road that way 
 three years and took charge of engine No. 309
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 423 
 
 and lias been on the road ever since. Our sub- 
 ject is a son of Edward O'Malley of Dublin, Ire- 
 land, who was a farmer and came to America 
 in 1846 and resided on a farm in Champaign 
 county, 111., until his death. Our subject 
 was born in Champaign county, Illinois, Decem- 
 ber 24, 1866. He married Miss Bridget Campbell 
 of Ireland, and they have five children, Edward, 
 John, Mabel, Larry and Katherine. Mr. O'Mal- 
 ley never had a wreck or a '"smash-up" and was 
 never injured in any way. He is a member of 
 Division No. 10, B. of L. E., at Burnside. The 
 family resides at number 1841, goth street, Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 FRANK C. DALTON, began work for 
 the Illinois Central Railroad as a fire- 
 man at Jackson, Tenn., January 14, 
 1896. He began his railroad career, 
 however, in March, 1887, in the employ of the 
 Mobile & Ohio Railroad as a fireman between 
 East St. Louis and Cairo, 111. Four years later 
 he was set up to engineer and served that com- 
 pany in the capacity of engineer about two years 
 and a half. He then found employment with 
 the Centralia & Chester Railroad as an engineer 
 and remained in that capacity until he was em- 
 ployed by the Illinois Central company at Jack- 
 son, Tenn. Mr. Dalton's first work on the Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad was a job of firing under 
 engineer Edgar Chandler between Jackson and 
 Mounds. Eight months later he was promoted 
 to the passenger service, worked one year under 
 engineer D. R. Staley and later worked with 
 different engineers in the freight service. His 
 first regular engine on the Illinois Central was 
 No. 608, the next No. 949, and the next No. 620. 
 Our subject was set up to engineer November 11, 
 1899, made his first trip November 15, of that 
 year, on engine No. 608, and has since been run- 
 ning extra out of Jackson, Tenn. Mr. Dalton 
 was born in Walworth county, Wisconsin, near 
 the town of Sharon, but moved when quite young 
 with his parents to Waterloo, Iowa. He was 
 married in Cairo, 111., to Miss Ella Leahigh, 
 
 of that city, and two sons have been born to them : 
 Clarence, born September 2, 1895, and Raymond, 
 born January i, 1897. Socially our subject is a 
 member of Russell Division No. -m, B. of L. E., 
 of Murphysboro, 111. Mr. Dalton has never met 
 with serious accident since being on the railroad. 
 
 W. TAYLOR, foreman of the car 
 shops at Water Valley, Miss., began 
 Q his railroad career in the shops of the 
 Mississippi Central Railroad at Can- 
 ton Miss., in 1865. He worked there until March 
 i, 1867, and then went to Water Valley and be- 
 gan work for John Beckton who was then mas- 
 ter car builder. In 1887, our subject was ap- 
 pointed foreman of the car shops and a great 
 many new cars have been built, as well as old 
 ones repaired under his directions. He has 
 charge of a force of about ninety-four men. Mr. 
 Taylor was born in Sunland, Durham county, 
 England, but at the age of nineteen years he emi- 
 grated to America, located at New Orleans where 
 he made his home for a time and subsequently 
 worked in different places before coming to 
 Water Valley. 
 
 He was married in Water Valley to Miss 
 Fannie Holcomb of that city, and their home 
 has been blessed by the advent of a family of 
 three children, of whom we have the following 
 record : John, storekeeper at the Illinois Central 
 shops of Chicago, but for ten years previous he 
 was time keeper at Water Valley. He married 
 Mollie Yeager of Water Valley, and two chil- 
 dren, Fred and Walter, have been born to them. 
 The second son, W. F., is a machinist in the 
 Water Valley shops, and Ed is an apprentice in 
 the shops at Water Valley. In the social circles 
 of Water Valley, Mr. Taylor is identified with 
 the Knights of Honor, and the Ancient Order of 
 United Workmen. He has been quite successful 
 since he has been in the employ of the railroad 
 although he met with one quite serious accident. 
 On November 30, 1872, he had two fingers taken 
 off his left hand by coming in contact with a 
 saw.
 
 424 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 H. MURRAY, JR., general foreman of 
 the car department and engine house 
 Q for the Illinois Central, at Brooklyn, 
 began his railroad career fifteen years 
 ago in Omaha, on the Northwestern as a ma- 
 chinist's helper, after which he went to East St. 
 Louis and went to work on the Cairo Short Line 
 in the laboring gang. He then spent two years 
 and eight months as a fireman, and in 1889, was 
 promoted to engineer on the incline at Brooklyn, 
 serving in this capacity ten years, seven of which 
 were with the Cairo Short Line and three years 
 with the Illinois Central ; he was then promoted 
 to his present position. 
 
 Mr. Murray was married to Miss Alma A. 
 Pell, and they have one daughter Flora, now 
 attending school. Mr. Murray's father was 
 Patrick H. Murray, a farmer. Our subject is a 
 member of Lodge No. 621, I. O. O. F., also of 
 East St. Louis Division No. 512, B. of L. E. Mr. 
 Murray has been successful in his chosen calling 
 and has built two nice residences in Brooklyn. 
 
 was not long after this, however, that the corn- 
 pan}' again took him from the road and made 
 him foreman of the Weldon shops, but shop work 
 was not to his taste and after five months of in- 
 door work, he again resigned and went back to 
 the line. We can note but one accident in this 
 sketch, and that one is a head end collision at 
 Leverett, 111. 
 
 Mr. Gepper was born in 1850, near Stras- 
 burg, on the Rhine, and came to America in 
 1851. In 1870, he was united in marriage, at 
 Watseka, 111., to Miss Mary Thompson and they 
 have reared a family of two sons, Albert, a 
 fireman on the Illinois Central Railroad, and 
 Anthony, an engineer on the Chicago Junction 
 Railroad. Socially Mr. Gepper affiliates with 
 Division No. 10, B. of L. E., at Burnside, and 
 also the Masonic fraternity, Lodge No. 508, of 
 Chicago, in the latter of which he has held a 
 membership since 1871. 
 
 ICHAEL GEPPER, an engineer whose 
 home is at 394 East Sixty-fourth 
 street, Chicago began railroading 
 in August, 1872, and served as a 
 brakeman eighteen months. He began firing 
 in August, 1874, on engine No. 121, with 
 Joseph Elwood, now deceased, on the right 
 side of the engine. In the fall of 1879, Mr. Gep- 
 per was put in charge of the lever and throttle 
 of a switch engine for a short time, but was soon 
 given a freight run north from Cairo. 
 
 In 1881 Mr. Gepper left the Illinois Cen- 
 tral company and worked with the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul company until March 1884. 
 when he returned to the Illinois Central and 
 operated freight engine No. 179 for three years. 
 In 1890 he was given a passenger run between 
 Chicago and Champaign. In 1892 Mr. Gepper 
 was appointed foreman of the shops at Cham- 
 paign, but three months later he resigned this 
 position and took his old place on the engine. It 
 
 iHARLES GALVANI, chief clerk in 
 the freight department of the Illinois 
 Central, at Canton, Miss., entered the 
 service of the company in January 
 1871, as night watchman at Crystal Springs, 
 Miss. In October 1872 he was appointed agent 
 for the company at Byram, in the same state, 
 where he was employed until September 1883. 
 In the latter year he went to Magnolia, Miss., 
 where he was agent and operator, until March 21, 
 1892, when he resigned. His next work was 
 at Kenner, La., where he remained only a short 
 time. From there he went to Bogue Chitto, 
 Miss., and in 1892, his brother, B. F. Galvani, 
 being appointed freight agent for the Illinois 
 Central at Canton, Miss., our subject went to 
 that place and was made chief clerk of the de- 
 partment, which position he is now filling. Mr. 
 Galvani was born at New Orleans, on April 10, 
 1853. He was married to Miss Sallie Hogg, of 
 Alabama. They are the parents of the following 
 children : Ilda, wife of T. J. Martin, of Har- 
 rison, Miss., Annie, Alma. Charles, Edwin and
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 425 
 
 Malcomb. Socially Mr. Galvani is connected 
 with Jefferson Davis Lodge, Knights ot Pythias, 
 and Sincerity Lodge No. 214, A. F. & A. M., 
 both of Magnolia, Miss. He and his wife hold 
 membership in the Baptist church of that city. 
 An interesting collection of old I. C. relics, such 
 as papers, reports, etc., were given to the His- 
 torical Company by Mr. Galvani. 
 
 RED E. PLACE, is general foreman of 
 the locomotive department at the Burn- 
 side shops, Chicago. He began his 
 railroad career in the Illinois Central 
 shops at Waterloo, la., in the master mechanic's 
 office, July I, 1883, in the capacity of clerk, ma- 
 chinists' apprentice and journeyman machinist, 
 and was then promoted to the office of foreman 
 of the engine house at Waterloo. Later, Mr 1 . 
 Place was made general foreman at Waterloo 
 until October i, 1895, when he was called to per- 
 form the duties of the same office at the shops 
 in Chicago. 
 
 JOHN W. REAGIN, a popular young en- 
 gineer in the freight service of the Ya- 
 zoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., between 
 Vicksburg and New Orleans, began his 
 career on the Tennessee Coal & Iron R. R., as a 
 fireman out of Birmingham, Ala. He was with 
 that company eighteen months, when he entered 
 the employ of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. 
 R. as fireman between Vicksburg and New Or- 
 leans, serving in that capacity from 1893 to 1896. 
 In the latter year he was examined and received 
 promotion to engineer, and is now in charge of 
 the local and through freight, on his old run. 
 
 Mr. Reagin was born in Huntsville, Ala., 
 on April 9, 1873. His father is Robert Reagin, 
 a butcher and stock buyer, of Huntsville. On 
 February 14, 1900, Mr. Reagin was united in 
 marriage with Miss Louise Lefoldt, a daughter 
 
 of Julius and Maggie (Landfair) Lefoldt, of 
 German descent. He is a member of Division 
 No. 281, B. of L. E., of Vicksburg. Mr. Rea- 
 gin's work on the railroad has been successful, 
 and although in a number of small wrecks, he 
 has never been injured. He is at present in 
 charge of engine No. 83, and has made some 
 pretty fast time with it. On February 6, 1900, 
 he left Wilson, La., with the wrecking train, at 
 7 :3<D P. M., arriving at Vicksburg, Miss., at 
 10:45 P- M., a distance of 112 miles, made in 
 three hours and fifteen minutes, with a stop of 
 ten minutes on the trip. Mr. Reagin has many 
 firm friends on the road, and his worth is ap- 
 preciated by the company. His promotion is 
 only a matter of time. 
 
 ILLIAM DEWITT DUNNING is 
 a man whose life affords a splendid 
 example of what can be accom- 
 plished by industry, push and strict 
 attention to business. 
 
 "Lives of great men reached and kept, 
 Were not attained by sudden flight, 
 But they, while their companions slept, 
 Were toiling upward in the night." 
 
 Mr. Dunning, during his life, has filled near- 
 ly every position between the lowest on the line 
 and the one he holds today; working his way 
 upward step by step. 
 
 The subject of our. sketch began railroading 
 as a freight brakeman on the Wabash Railroad, 
 running from Springfield to Danville, entering 
 the service of this company in August 1867, and 
 remained with them two years. He next became 
 a newsboy, generally known as " Peanuts ", on 
 the Wabash and later entered the service of the 
 Hannibal & St. Joe Railroad, running from 
 Quincy to St. Joe, in the capacity of passenger 
 brakeman and as train baggageman until 1871. 
 After leaving the Hannibal & St. Joe company, 
 Mr. Dunning came to Chicago and entered the 
 employ of the Chicago & Alton Railroad for 
 whom he served as passenger brakeman for six
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 months, then assistant dock master for a time, 
 then assistant yardmaster, train clerk, foreman 
 of the " in freight " house, from that he rose to 
 yardmaster and finally was appointed trainmaster 
 and had charge of the Chicago Terminals for 
 seven years, making an aggregate of eighteen 
 years in the employ of the Chicago & Alton com- 
 pany. Mr. Dunning next found employment with 
 the Pullman company until Aug. 15, 1890, when 
 he became trainmaster of the Chicago and Cham- 
 paign division of the Illinois Central Railroad, and 
 performed the duties of that office until 1893, 
 when the Chicago Terminal district was formed 
 to handle the World's Fair traffic ; he was then 
 appointed trainmaster of Chicago passenger ter- 
 minals, having charge of the suburban train ser- 
 vice, also through passenger business on ter- 
 minals. 
 
 April 25, 1878, Mr. Dunning was married 
 in Chicago to Miss Isabella Cowan, and their 
 wedded life has been blessed by the presence of 
 one son, William N., who has been a student of 
 engineering in the University of Chicago, and 
 is now employed in the bridge department of 
 the Illinois Central company. Socially Mr. Dun- 
 ning is a member of the National Union, Lincoln 
 Council No. 68, of which he has been twice 
 elected president. He is also a member of the 
 Knights of Honor, and has served this fraternity 
 in the capacity of Grand Dictator for Illinois for 
 four years, and also holds a membership in the 
 Supreme Lodge of the Knights of Honor. 
 
 S. JONES, better known as "Scott" 
 Jones, is one of the oldest engineers 
 on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley- 
 division of the Illinois Central. His 
 first work was with the civil engineering corps 
 on that division, when it was known as the Louis- 
 ville, New Orleans & Texas R. R. He was in 
 that branch of the service for two years, covering 
 all parts of the road, and was then employed 
 in the freight department as fireman, where he 
 remained three years. Promotion to engineer 
 
 followed, at Vicksburg, and he was placed in 
 charge of an engine in the construction service, 
 at the Hamburg gravel pit. He was then for 
 four months on a construction train between 
 Baton Rouge and New Orleans, when he was 
 sent to the freight service between Wilson and 
 New Orleans, and later between Vicksburg and 
 Wilson. In 1897 he was promoted to the pas- 
 senger service, and now has a run between Jack- 
 son and Clarksdale. Mr. Jones was born in 
 Holmes county, Miss., October 27, 1865. He 
 is a son of Clinton H. Jones, deceased, who was 
 a merchant and farmer there. Our subject mar- 
 ried Miss Voinkle, of Vicksburg, and they have 
 two children, Jessie and Lily. Division No. 281 
 B. of L. E., of Vicksburg, claims Mr. Jones as 
 a valued member. He is one of the best known 
 men on the division on which he runs, and be- 
 ing a man of genial disposition, he makes friends 
 everywhere he goes. 
 
 AMUEL W. TATE, a well known en- 
 gineer in the passenger service on the 
 Memphis division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, entered the employ of the com- 
 pany seventeen years ago at Jackson, Tenn. His 
 first work was as clerk in the store room at that 
 place, where, after working six months, he en- 
 tered the regular road service as fireman "on a 
 switch engine under Engineer Alex. Hight, ser- 
 ving for two and a half years in the construc- 
 tion and freight departments, between Jackson 
 and Cairo, and Jackson and Canton. He. was 
 then promoted to engineer on a bridge train, and 
 later was on a freight train in the Cairo district 
 for two months. Going to Water Valley, he 
 ran on an extra and switch engine for six months, 
 and July 4, 1885, entered the regular freight ser- 
 vice on the Aberdeen district. He was employed 
 there only three months when he returned to 
 Water Valley, where he remained in the freight 
 service until the spring of 1886. His next work 
 was on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad 
 out of Durant, Miss. In November 1886 he
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 427 
 
 returned to Water Valley, and remained there in 
 the freight and passenger service until June 1896, 
 when he was appointed to a fast run on engine 
 No. 382, between Memphis and Canton, which he 
 now holds. Mr. Tate is a native of Orange 
 county, North Carolina, and was born February 
 14, 1858. His father, George W. Tate, a me- 
 chanic, still resides there. A brother of our sub- 
 ject is a fireman in the service of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, running out of Memphis, and another 
 brother, who held a similar position, is dead. 
 Mr. Tate married Miss Ida Gifford, of Water 
 Valley, Miss., and they are the parents of a 
 bright little son, Wallace. Our subject is a 
 member of the Knights of Pythias, also of Divi- 
 sion No. 23, B. of L. E. He has served on the 
 board of adjustment, and was a delegate to the 
 convention at St. Louis in 1898, and at Milwau- 
 kee in 1900. He has just built a fine residence 
 at the corner of Osage and Preston avenues, in 
 Memphis. 
 
 V HILIP W. BOWERS, a veteran tele- 
 grapher in the service of the Illinois 
 Central, at Polo, 111., was born August 
 14, 1844. His father, John Henry 
 Bowers, was a stone mason contractor, born at 
 Lockhaven, Pa., in 1782, and died in 1866. The 
 mother, Miss Nancy Moffiey, who was born in 
 1802, and died in 1889. She was a woman of 
 strong religious nature, a German Methodist, 
 hardy and thrifty, who besides doing much to 
 assist in the duties of the farm, reared a family 
 of fifteen children, eight sons and seven daugh- 
 ters. The education of our subject was acquired 
 in the public schools of Freeport, 111., and in 
 1856 he entered the service of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, and the Galena & Chicago Union R. R. 
 (now the Chicago & North- Western R. R.), and 
 the Illinois & Mississippi Telegraph company, 
 as a messenger boy. He acted in that capacity 
 two years, studying telegraphy during that time. 
 He then returned to school, continuing his stud- 
 ies under Professor Frick, and in 1860 went to 
 Polo, 111., to take charge of the railroad and 
 
 commercial telegraph office. He was thus oc- 
 cupied until June 1864, when he enlisted in the 
 1 42nd Illinois Infantry. He was detailed from 
 his regiment in July 1864, and mustered into the 
 telegraph corps, working as military operator, 
 until the lines were returned by the United States 
 government in 1866 to the original owners. Mr. 
 Bowers then returned to Illinois and again en- 
 tered the service of the I. C., doing press work at 
 Freeport, 111., until 1867. He was, in the latter 
 year, re-assigned to his former position at Polo, 
 111., and has since held that position. He is the 
 oldest operator, holding one position, on the Illi- 
 nois Central system. 
 
 In February 1879, Mr. Bowers was united in 
 marriage to Miss Emma Kling, of Boonesboro, 
 Iowa, and to their marriage one daughter, Mil- 
 licent, was born, who is now being trained in 
 the Chicago Conservatory of Music, after hav- 
 ing taken a post graduate course at the high 
 school of Polo, her native town. Mr. Bowers' 
 long residence in Polo, together with his affable 
 and courteous manners in the discharge of his 
 duties, have won for him the sincere regard of 
 all its citizens. 
 
 'ILLARD W. HATFIELD, an en- 
 gineer in the passenger service of 
 the Illinois Central on the Mississip- 
 pi division, dates his connection with 
 the road from 1882. Beginning as a fireman at 
 Centralia, 111., with Engineer F. L. Betts, he 
 worked there until 1884. In that year he was 
 sent to Water Valley, Miss., working for over a 
 year as fireman, and on August 27, 1886, was 
 promoted to engineer, taking charge of engine 
 No. 271, an old wood-burner. He worked out 
 of Water Valley until June 27, 1897, when he 
 went to Memphis, and has since had charge of 
 engine No. 384, between that city and Canton, 
 Mississippi. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield was born at DuQuoin, 111., 
 July 17, 1861, and is the son of David D. Hat- 
 field, a carpenter by trade, now residing in Colo-
 
 428 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 raclo. Mr. Hatfield was united in marriage to 
 Mrs. Ida Myers. He is a member of Division 
 \o. 23, B. of L. E., of Memphis, also of Lodge 
 No. 83, I. O. O. F., and of the Knights of 
 Pythias, of Water Valley. He has a pleasant 
 home at No. 423 Iowa avenue, in the' city of 
 Memphis. 
 
 COLQUHOUN, of Canton, Miss., 
 a hardware merchant and dealer 
 Q in house-furnishing goods and 
 agricultural implements, is a well 
 known ex-employe of the Illinois Central. He 
 entered the service of the company in 1865 as a 
 brakeman on the Mississippi Central, and one 
 year later was promoted to conductor in the 
 freight service. A service of one year in this 
 department was followed by his appointment to 
 conductor in the passenger service. He held 
 the latter position until the road changed hands, 
 but continued as conductor in the passenger ser- 
 vice, and held that position until 1889. Resign- 
 ing from the service of the I. C, he went to the 
 Louisville, New Orleans & Texas R. R. as con- 
 ductor in the passenger service, where he re- 
 mained until January 6, 1899, when he retired 
 from -railroad work to embark in his present 
 business. Mr. Colquhoun was born at Danville, 
 Ya., on April u, 1845, ar >d is a son of James 
 Colquhoun, at one time clerk of the United States 
 court, and afterward engaged in farming, and 
 who departed this life in 1876. There were 
 five children in the parental family, our subject 
 being the oldest. Then came Robert M. and James, 
 both of whom were with the engineering corps 
 which surveyed the Mississippi Central (now a 
 part of the I. C. system) through Canton, Miss., 
 under E. D. Frost and Capt. Winchester. Rob- 
 ert afterward became a conductor on the Missis- 
 sippi Central, and was for fifteen years division 
 superintendent, occupying that position at the 
 time of his death in 1892. James, now deceased, 
 was also a conductor on the Mississippi Central, 
 and was for five years station agent at Canton. 
 
 Prior to this he was trainmaster and assistant 
 superintendent for four years. Then came 
 Clara, wife of S. T. McKee, now sheriff of Madi- 
 son county, Miss. Lastly Martha, who married 
 J. M. Randall, a farmer residing near Canton. 
 
 The original of this sketch married Sallie 
 Unthank, of Bolivar, Tenn., granddaughter of 
 General R. P. Neely. They are the parents 
 of four children : Mary Belle, Walter, Robert 
 and Norman. Mr. Colquhoun retains mem- 
 bership in Division number 175, O. R. C., 
 of Memphis, Tennessee. With his wife 
 he is a member of the Presbyterian church. 
 During his railroad career Mr. Colquhoun made 
 hosts of friends, and is greatly missed by his 
 former fellow employes, who have nothing but 
 words of praise for him. He is conducting a 
 large and profitable business, and is classed 
 among the best citizens of the community in 
 which he resides. 
 
 ANIEL S. BAILEY, superintendent of 
 the Springfield division of the Illinois 
 Central, is in point of years one of 
 the oldest men in the service of the 
 company. His career as a railroad man began 
 at Ashley, 111., on January i, 1865, where he was 
 employed as station baggageman. His unem- 
 ployed time was devoted to the study of tele- 
 graphy and on March i, 1865, he was appointed 
 night operator at Anna, 111. Fiom the latter 
 place he was sent, June 5, of the same year, to 
 Champaign, 111., in the same capacity. In De- 
 cember 1866 he began his work as train dis- 
 patcher at Champaign, serving there for a num- 
 ber of years, and being promoted to a similar 
 position in the city of Chicago in February 1873. 
 In 1877 he was again promoted to assistant train 
 master, going from Chicago to Amboy, 111., in 
 April 1880, as assistant superintendent of the 
 Amboy division. Leaving this position he was 
 appointed acting superintendent for the Freeport 
 division at Rockforcl. 111., in September 1889, 
 and thence, December i, 1890, to Superintendent
 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 431 
 
 of the Springfield division with headquarters at 
 Clinton, 111. 
 
 Mr. Bailey is a native of Illinois, having 
 heen born at Danville, November 5, 1846, and 
 is a fine example of what industry and presever- 
 ance will accomplish in the life of a railroad 
 man. 
 
 W. FRISBIE, engineer on I. C. R. 
 R., was born in Detroit, Mich., April 
 25, 1866, and is the son of C. H. 
 and Ruth (Antisdell) Frisbie. The 
 father, a native of Auburn, N. Y., was an engi- 
 neer on the Michigan Central R. R., and ran the 
 first engine that entered Chicago from the east. 
 He died in Aurora, 111., Sept.. 1898, and at the 
 time of his death (aged seventy-five years) was 
 one of the oldest engineers in the U. S. The 
 mother is a native of New York, and is now liv- 
 ing at Riverside, 111., aged sixty-seven. Their 
 family consisted of seven children, as follows : 
 William, born in Detroit, became an engineer 
 on the Santa Fe, and was killed in a wreck on 
 that road Sept. 10, 1897; C. W. is an engineer on 
 the Santa Fe ; Hattie is the wife of Ben Reynolds, 
 a passenger conductor on the C. B. & Q. R. R. ; 
 Jennie married Frank Boomer, an engineer on 
 the Santa Fe R. R., and resides in New Mexico; 
 N. W., our subject ; George was a fireman on the 
 Rock Island R. R., and died in January 1893 ; 
 Frank lives with his mother, and is employed 
 by the C. B. & Q. Ry. N. W. Frisbie was edu- 
 cated in the public schools of Aurora, 111. In 
 1882 he entered the service of the C. B. & Q. 
 Ry., as a fireman between Downer's Grove and 
 Chicago, firing for his father on a passenger 
 engine. After six years' service in this capacity 
 he was promoted to engineer. In July 1888 he 
 entered the service of the Illinois Central, and 
 has been running freight engine ever since, mak- 
 ing his home in Freeport. 
 
 July 18, 1890, Mr. Frisbie was united in 
 marriage with Miss Flora Hagadon, of Chicago. 
 She is the daughter of George and Mary 
 (Puffer) Hagadon. Her father is a railroad 
 
 employe, and their home is in Mississippi. Mrs. 
 Frisbie was born September 28, 1861. Her union 
 with Mr. Frisbie resulted in the birth of three 
 children : George N., born December 29, 1892 ; 
 Charles H., deceased, born February I, 1895; 
 William W., deceased, born February 14, 1898. 
 Mr. Frisbie and wife are members of the Bap- 
 tist church. Mr. Frisbie belongs to the Masonic 
 order and the B. of L. E. In politics he votes 
 the Republican ticket. 
 
 ENJAMIN LICHTENBERGER, con- 
 ductor on the Amboy division of the 
 Illinois Central Railroad, was born 
 March i, 1868, in Decatur, Illinois. 
 His father, George Lichtenberger, who was a 
 farmer through life, died in 1878, aged fifty years. 
 The mother, formerly Anna Rucker, died in 1880. 
 Our subject was educated in the public schools 
 of his native town. His early life was spent 
 in farming, and he also worked on a bridge gang 
 for eight months. In 1890 he entered the ser- 
 vice of the I. C. R. R. as a brakeman on the Am- 
 boy division, and remained in that position until 
 February 16, 1893, when he was appointed con- 
 ductor, which position he retains at the present 
 time. Mr. Lichtenberger was united in marriage 
 with Miss Kate Wheeler, of Ida Grove, Iowa, 
 January 26, 1891. Mrs. Lichtenberger was born 
 in Macon county, 111., March 30, 1874, but re- 
 ceived her education in Ida county, Iowa. This 
 union has been blessed with four children : Sadie 
 May, born July 16, 1892; Maggie H., born June 
 i, 1894; Gladys M., born May 28, 1896; Mildred 
 L. E., born December 22, 1898. Mr. Lichten- 
 berger met with a very serious accident which 
 nearly cost him his life. On the 25th day of 
 March, 1895, he was walking over his train while 
 crossing the Illinois River at La Salle, when the 
 tin roof of a car was blown off, hurling him into 
 the River bottom, a distance of ninety-four feet. 
 His left leg was broken in two places, but his 
 recovery was rapid, and he was only off duty 
 twenty-two weeks. 
 
 24
 
 432 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Canton, 
 
 ST. JOHN, an old and faithful em- 
 ploye of the Illinois Central, is the 
 ' Q accommodating and efficient operator 
 and dispatcher for the company at 
 Miss. In 1852, before the I. C. road 
 was ever commenced, he was a messenger boy. 
 In 1854 he was a telegrapher in charge of the 
 office at Port Gibson, Miss., where he worked 
 for three years. His next position was at Bran- 
 don, in that state, where he was agent and opera- 
 tor during 1 86 1. The following year he went 
 to Canton, and worked at the key for some time, 
 but returned to Brandon and was there and in 
 other small towns along the I. C. until 1864. Re- 
 turning to Canton, he worked there and at Jack- 
 son, Miss., for a short time, and in 1865 resumed 
 his former position at Canton, where he has since 
 remained. Few telegraphers spend a life time at 
 the work, and the question has often been asked, 
 "What becomes of the telegraphers when they 
 grow old?'' Mr. St. John is an exception to 
 the rule, and has remained true to his adopted 
 profession. Although he is now getting along 
 in years, he is as punctual at work as the strictest 
 of employers could desire. He has one assist- 
 ant, Edward W. Stiles, a competent man, who 
 has been in the service of the I. C. since 1884; 
 
 Mr. St. John was a messenger at nine years 
 of age, an operator at twelve, and manager of 
 an office at fifteen. He remained faithfully at 
 his post through two yellow fever epidemics at 
 Canton, and worked night and day for two 
 weeks, with only one hour's rest out of twenty- 
 four. He has always been strictly temperate, 
 not a drop of liquor has ever been touched, does 
 not use tobacco in any form, never uttered an 
 oath, and is not a member of any church. In 
 his business relations he has never made a mis- 
 take. 
 
 Mr. St. John is a native of Claiborne county, 
 Miss., where he was born August 23, 1846, a 
 son of John. H. St. John, an architect and buil- 
 der, well known throughout the south, but who 
 removed to California, where he died. The wife 
 of Mr. St. John was formerly Miss Minerva 
 Bennett, of Brandon, Miss., whose father, Jo- 
 seph Bennett, was at one time lieutenant gover- 
 
 nor of the state of Mississippi. Three children 
 have been born to them : Henry, who is an 
 electrician residing at Yazoo City ; Mamie, wife 
 of J. W. Norri, of Canton, and Ethel, married to 
 S. L. North, a merchant of Yazoo City. Charles 
 St. John Lumlev, a nephew, was also reared in 
 the family, and is now night operator for the 
 I. C. at Canton, and although only sixteen years 
 of age, is considered one of the brightest and 
 most intelligent young men in the employ of the 
 road. Mr. St. John affiliates with the Knights 
 of Honor, the Knights of Pythias and the In- 
 dependent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife is 
 a member of the Baptist church, of Canton, and 
 both are highly esteemed by a large circle of/ 
 friends and acquaintances. 
 
 ON. JOHN A. WEBB, a prominent 
 citizen of Jackson, Miss., who now oc- 
 cupies the responsible position of Sec- 
 retary of the Mississippi Railroad 
 Commission, was born near Lexington, Va., Sep- 
 tember 16, 1843. He entered the service of the 
 Southern Express company in 1866 as second ex- 
 press messenger, under now Conductor Jewett, 
 between Jackson, Miss., and Mobile, Ala., on the 
 Mobile & Ohio R. R. He held that position 
 one year, and in 1867 was made baggagemaster 
 .between Jackson, Tenn., and Canton, Miss., on 
 what was then the Mississippi Central R. R. He 
 was then appointed assistant agent at Canton, 
 and was a year later transferred to Water Val- 
 ley, Miss., as clerk in the office of the general 
 superintendent. He next served in the freight 
 department at the same place, as freight accoun- 
 tant, and in 1869 was appointed agent at Vaiden, 
 Miss., remaining there until 1870. In the latter 
 year he was sent to Canton, as local agent, and 
 in a short time was appointed general agent there, 
 occupying that position until 1872. He was 
 then appointed agent at Jackson, Miss., acting in 
 that capacity until December 1882, when he was 
 appointed traveling freight agent for one year. 
 He then accepted a position with the Natchez,
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 4S3 
 
 Jackson & Columbus R. R. as general freight 
 and passenger agent, and after one year's service 
 went to the Yicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific R. 
 R. as agent at Shreveport, La., where he was 
 stationed for five years. Returning to Jackson 
 in 1889, he was again agent for the I. C. at that 
 city until 181)4, when he was transferred to 
 ( ireenville. Miss., in a similar capacity, where he 
 remained two years. -His next work was as 
 chief clerk for the I. C. at Jackson, Miss., where 
 he served until 1898, since which time he has 
 been secretary of the Mississippi Railroad Com- 
 mission, with offices in the State Capitol, at Jack- 
 son. Mr. Webb married Miss Sallie Gordon of 
 Yaiden, Miss., and they have an interesting fami- 
 ly of ten children : W. G. conducts a dray line ; 
 John G., employed as flagman on the I. C. rail- 
 road : M. S., employed as conductor on the I. C. 
 railroad ; Lula ; Xina ; Mrs. Bessie S. Hoar, Mr. 
 Hoar is employed in the civil engineering de- 
 partment of the I. C. ; Sadie E., Clara B. , Lil- 
 lian H. and George J. Our subject is connected 
 with the Masonic fraternity, a member of Pearl 
 Lodge Xo. 23, also a Knight Templar, mem- 
 ber of Mississippi Commandery No. I, and be- 
 longs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
 all of Jackson. He is at present a member of 
 the board of aldermen of his native city (Jack- 
 son). Mr. and Mrs. Webb hold membership 
 with the Presbyterian church, of which they are 
 sincere and valued members. A long and active 
 career, lias gained prominence for Mr. Webb in 
 railroad circles, and as a citizen, he is held in the 
 highest esteem, in the community in which he 
 reskles. 
 
 JM. CHANDLER, a capable young train 
 dispatcher on the Aberdeen division 
 O of the Illinois Central, at Durant, Miss., 
 is a native of Scottsboro , Alabama. 
 Thrown on his own resources when only a boy, 
 our subject, through his own efforts, acquired 
 an education, in the schools of his native place, 
 afterward studying telegraphy. His first posi- 
 tion was with the Memphis & Charleston R. R. 
 
 as relief operator, where he served some time, 
 and then entered the employ of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, at Grenada, Miss., as night operator and 
 agent, where he remained twb years. He was 
 then transferred to Durant, as day operator, 
 and on May i, 1899 was promoted to his 
 present responsible position. Mr. Chandler is 
 a young man of studious and quiet habits, who 
 has risen through his own energy and ambition. 
 He is connected socially, with the Knights of 
 Pythias, .of Grenada, Miss., and the Masons of 
 Durant, Miss. 
 
 F. WARD, an old and experienced 
 engineer in the freight service, on 
 the Aberdeen division of the Illinois 
 Central, is a native of Binghamton, 
 Xew York. His first knowledge of railroad 
 work was acquired in the 6o's, when he was a 
 fireman in the freight and passenger service, and 
 was later promoted to engineer. He next worked 
 for the Lehigh Valley R. R. taking charge of a 
 large double-head engine, with twelve drivers, 
 requiring the services of two fireman, and one 
 of the fastest trains on that road. Resigning 
 from the employ of the latter road, he went to 
 the Chesapeake & Ohio R. R. in the service be- 
 tween Richmond and Greenville, and afterward 
 had charge of a passenger run, between Rich- 
 mond and (jordonsville, and Charlottesville and 
 Clifton Forge, which he held for six years. He 
 was also in the passenger service of that road, be- 
 tween Richmond, Lynchburg, and Clifton Forge, 
 a distance of 230 miles. Mr. Ward next worked 
 for the Northern Pacific in Dakota and Montana, 
 having a run at one time between Livingstone, 
 Montana, and St. Paul, Minn. While in the 
 north, he ran over two divisions, on a dark night, 
 without a pilot, and on a new track, which indi- 
 cates great skill. Mr. Ward's experience in the 
 north and west are very interesting. He has 
 plowed through snow five feet deep in winter, 
 with the thermometer below zero. At a watering 
 point, he once offered some men five dollars to
 
 434 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 till the tender tank, which they refused on ac- 
 count of the severe cold. He bored a hole in the 
 tank, filled the tender, and plugged up the hole. 
 In the warm season, the grasshoppers were so 
 thick, that the track was greased by them so com- 
 pletely, as to impede the progress of the train. 
 
 Mr. Ward returned to Richmond, Va., and 
 became identified with the Atlantic Coast Line, 
 working there several years, and resigning to 
 accept a position with the Illinois Central. He 
 is at present in the regular freight service of 
 the latter road, on the Aberdeen division, on 
 engine No. 1312. Socially, Mr. Ward is con- 
 nected with the B. of L. E., of Richmond, Va., 
 also the Knights of Honor, and Independent 
 Order of Odd fellows. He is married and has 
 one son. Being a man of pleasant manners, and 
 an interesting talker, he enjoys the acquaintance 
 of a wide circle of friends. 
 
 ICHAEL EGAN, an ex-employe of 
 the Illinois Central railroad, residing 
 at Amboy, 111., was born in Kilrush, 
 County of Clare, in the province of 
 Munster, Ireland, September 26, 1821. 
 
 His father, John Egan, a mason contractor 
 by trade, and his mother Johanna Meskell, were 
 natives of Ireland, the father dying in that coun- 
 try, but the mother emigrated to America, living 
 with her children for many years, and died in 
 Amboy, 111., December 8, 1880. To this mar- 
 riage there were eight children born, four sons 
 and four daughters, two of each coming to this 
 country, all of whom are living except one daugh- 
 ter who died in New York City. 
 
 Our subject was given every opportunity 
 possible for an education in the country in which 
 he was born and he acquired a very complete 
 course. Leaving school at the age of seventeen 
 years he went to work with his father, learn- 
 ing the trade, and continued with him for six 
 years, when he was married to Miss Ellen Mor- 
 rissy of the same place. He continued to work 
 at his trade for about a year and then with his 
 
 wife, on February 9, 1846, emigrated to this 
 country, landing in Castle Garden, New York, 
 March 12. He worked in the east for twenty 
 months and then removed to Springfield, Mass., 
 where he followed his trade for seven years. 
 While in Springfield he became a naturalized 
 citizen of the United States and during this time 
 he became acquainted with J. B. Wyman and was 
 induced by him to try his luck in the west and 
 during the winter of 1852 came to Illinois, ar- 
 riving at LaSalle in March 1853, and com- 
 menced work at once for the Illinois Central 
 railroad on bridges and culverts south of the 
 Illinois river. He came to Amboy, 111., the fol- 
 lowing June and began the erection of the rail- 
 road buildings which he superintended until their 
 completion in 1855. He continued in the employ 
 of the company until 1876, when for four years 
 he engaged in contracting and work on his own 
 account. In 1880 he again accepted a position 
 in the employ of the railroad company as pur- 
 chasing and disbursing agent of wood, coal and 
 ties, superintending the work in the quarries 
 in the southern part of the state, near Carbon- 
 dale, employing two hundred men most of the 
 time. Mr. Egan in 1885, through over-work 
 and exposure, became ill with malarial fever 
 resigned his position and has since given his at- 
 tention to private affairs at his home in Amboy, 
 Illinois. 
 
 Mr. Egan's record with the company was 
 in every respect one of commendation and he 
 was always held in high respect by his superiors, 
 being entrusted with the handling of many thou- 
 sands of dollars, the account of which always 
 balanced to a cent. In 1885 Mr. Egan was 
 elected Justice of the Peace and appointed No- 
 tary Public by the Governor of the state in which 
 capacity he served for twelve years. When 
 elected to justice he knew but little about law, 
 but by close application soon became acquainted 
 with his duties and his decisions were always 
 considered fair and just. To his marriage with 
 Miss Morrissy in 1844, and who died January 
 27, 1869, there were eleven children born, all of 
 whom except five are living and prominent in 
 railroad life, a brief mention of wh-ich follows :
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 435 
 
 John M., born March 25, 1848, at Spring- 
 field, Mass,, is president of the Georgia railroad 
 and resides at Savannah, Ga. Peter Paul, born 
 June 13, 1851, at Holyoke, Mass., was state boiler 
 inspector at Denver, Colo., and died October 14, 
 1898. Francis, born February 26, 1853, at 
 Holyoke, Mass., is assistant division superinten- 
 dent of the Union Pacific railroad located at 
 Denver, Colo. Alfred H., born January 27, 
 1855, at Amboy, 111., is assistant division super- 
 intendent of the I. C. R. R. and resides at Evans- 
 ville, Ind. Joseph, born May 12, 1857, at Amboy, 
 111., is chief train dispatcher at Winslow, Ari. 
 Mary, born February 2, 1860, is living with her 
 father at Amboy, 111., and was formerly clerk 
 for her brother. Benjamin F., born, April 28, 
 1862, at Amboy, Illinois, is assistant division 
 superintendent of the Great Northern and is 
 located at Grand Forks, North Dakota. 
 
 Mr. Egan was again married in 1872 to 
 Mrs. Helen (Stewart) Barrie and of this union 
 two children were born, Helen S. and William 
 A., the latter of whom is now employed by the 
 Illinois Central railroad in Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Egan has held the highest office 
 (Mayor) in the gift of the city in which he still 
 lives and has always been a worthy member of 
 the social and business circles of the community. 
 In his religious belief he has always been a firm 
 and devoted member of the Roman Catholic 
 church. 
 
 X DWARD D. COWAN, the accommo- 
 dating passenger and ticket agent for 
 the Illinois Central, at Canton, Miss., 
 is in point of service one of the oldest 
 employes of the company. His first connection 
 with the I. C. was a position as time-keeper at 
 New Orleans, for the N. O. J. & G. N. 
 R. R. which he held five years. Going to Can- 
 ton, Miss., during the civil war, he returned to 
 the employ of the I. C. as clerk in the freight 
 office there, which position he held until 1870, 
 when he was promoted to ticket agent, where he 
 
 has since remained. That division of the I. C. 
 was then known as the New Orleans, Jackson & 
 Great Northern R. R., and on being absorbed 
 by the I. C. he was retained in his old position. 
 Mr. Cowan was born at Wilmington, North Caro- 
 lina, and is a son of Robert H. and Mrs. S. T. 
 Cowan, both now deceased. Mr. Cowan Sr. 
 was cashier of the state bank of Wilmington, 
 and a man of prominence. Edward D. Cowan 
 married Miss Drew Campbell, of Canton, Miss., 
 and they have four children : John, an engineer 
 in the yards of the I. C. at Canton ; Kate, wife 
 of B. B. Ford of the same city ; Drew, wife of 
 John F. Dinkins, an extensive planter of western 
 Mississippi, and Thomas, a machinist in the em- 
 ploy of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R. 
 In his religious belief Mr. Cowan is a Catholic, 
 while his wife, a lady of amiable disposition, 
 who has hosts of friends, adheres to the Metho- 
 dist church. He is a prominent and popular 
 citizen of Canton, where his long residence has 
 made him a familar figure of that city. 
 
 C. ELLIS, a conductor in the freight 
 service of the Illinois Central, on 
 ' Q the Aberdeen division, is a native of 
 Mississippi. After leaving school, 
 Mr. Ellis entered a drug store, at West Point, 
 Miss., and advanced to prescription clerk, but 
 had determined on a railroad career, and was 
 waiting for an opening. Mr. Ellis says his first 
 call to go on the road was made memorable by 
 the fact that Sam Jones, the famous evangelist, 
 was to lecture at West Point that night, and he 
 had taken tickets and arranged to go. However, 
 when the call came, he was glad of the opportuni- 
 ty, but found this work rather hard after coming 
 from a drug store. Perseverance and determina- 
 tion have much to do with making a success, 
 and our subject possessed these in abundance. 
 He was in the service of the I. C. as brakeman, 
 in the freight and passenger service, for some 
 years, and was finally promoted to conductor, 
 where he is serving at the present time. He has
 
 436 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 charge at present of caboose Xo. 98,612, with W. 
 Deloach, and Lee McComb as his crew. His 
 career on the road has been free from accidents. 
 Mr. Ellis married a daughter of W. L. and 
 A'nn (Moore) Doss of West Point, Miss. W. 
 L. Doss is a veteran of the Mexican and Civil 
 wars. Mr. and Mrs. Ellis have four interesting 
 children, Sidney, Hugh, Annie Moore, and Joe 
 H. Socially, Mr. Ellis is connected with Pearl 
 River Division Xo. 304, O. R. C.. of Canton. 
 Miss. A brother of Mr. Ellis is a graduate of 
 a Xew York college, and the proprietor of the 
 leading drug store in West Point, one of the 
 finest in the state. 
 
 AML'EL J. CALHOUN, an experienced 
 engineer on the Aberdeen division 
 of the Illinois Central, was born in 
 Bedford county, Ya. Isaac Calhoun, 
 his father, is a descendant of the Calhoun fami- 
 ly, of which John C. Calhoun, the statesman, was 
 a member. Mr. Calhoun Sr. is a retired farmer, 
 living at the age of eighty-four. Our subject 
 began his railroad career on the Chesapeake & 
 Ohio R. R. in the round house at Huntington, 
 West Yirginia. After a short service there, 
 he went to the Richmond & Danville R. R. as a 
 fireman, running out of Manchester, and working 
 on that road until 1884. In the latter year, going 
 to North Carolina, where he remained until 1887. 
 From 1887 to 1890 he was in the service of the 
 Louisville & Nashville R. R., with headquarters 
 at Birmingham, Ala. He then worked succes- 
 sively with the East Tennessee & Virginia R. R., 
 the Chesapeake & Ohio R. R. and the Louisville 
 & Nashville R. R. until 1897. In that year he 
 entered the employ of the Illinois Central, Cairo 
 division, and later as engineer on the Aberdeen 
 division, and has since remained there. Mr. 
 Calhoun has never been seriously injured during 
 his railroad career, his closest call being while 
 with the C. & O. R. R. Considerable damage 
 was done, in a small collision on crossing at 
 Low Moor, Ya., but no blame was attached to 
 
 him. Several brothers of our subject are suc- 
 cessful railroad men. They are: W. R. Calhoun, 
 an engineer for eleven years with the Chesapeake 
 & Ohio R. R. ; C. T., an engineer on the Northern 
 & Western R. R. and another brother is a bridge 
 foreman. 
 
 The wife of Mr. Calhoun, was an estimable 
 lady of Richmond, Ya. Mr. Calhoun believes in 
 the usefulness of fraternal organizations. He 
 holds membership with the following: Division 
 Xo. 99, B. of L. E. of Water Y r alley ; Division 
 Xo. 402, B. of L. F. ; Lodge No. 13, Knights of 
 Pythias, of Jackson, Term. : Independent Order 
 of Odd Fellows, of Hinton, West Virginia; 
 Modern Woodmen of the World, of Durant, 
 Miss.. Ancient Order of United Workmen, of 
 Jackson, Tenn., and the Order of Elks, at Water 
 Valley, Miss. He is a man of wide experience 
 in railroad work, having been in the service of 
 different companies, thereby gaining new experi- 
 ence and ideas. His service with the I. C. has 
 been satisfactory in every respect, and he is 
 looked upon by his superiors as a valuable man. 
 
 'ILL1AM C. SOUTH WICK, now 
 farming one mile south of Water 
 Valley, Miss., is one of the oldest 
 railroad men in the state. He be- 
 gan as a machinist in the shops of the New Or- 
 leans, Jackson & Great Northern in 1856 and a 
 year later was examined and promoted to en- 
 gineer, running a passenger train between New 
 Orleans and Canton, Mississippi, continuing in 
 this service until the outbreak of the war. Fn- 
 listing in 1861, in the 2ist Mississippi regiment 
 in General Lee's army, he served through the 
 Yirginia campaign, participating in twenty-three 
 engagements beginning with that of Bull Run. 
 After being transferred to another company he 
 was given a furlough, but never returned to the 
 service. During this long service he escaped in- 
 jury, coming through the arduous campaigns 
 without a wound. After the war he returned to 
 his old place on the railroad, that was then
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 437 
 
 known as the Mississippi Central, and after two 
 years on the south end of the line, was transferred 
 to Water Valley, on the Mississippi division, 
 and ran out of there in the passenger service 
 until 1895, when he was retired from road 
 service, and given a place in the shops at Water 
 \ alley as night foreman of the round house. 
 In 1897 he was transferred to Paducah, Ky., 
 working in the shops as machinist, some eighteen 
 months, until he met with an accident while out 
 hunting, losing his left hand and fore-arm by 
 the accidental discharge of his gun in climbing a 
 fence. Incapacitated from working at his trade, 
 he purchased a farm of one hundred and eighty 
 acres, one mile south of Water Valley, and is 
 now engaged in raising the staples, cotton and 
 corn. Mr. Southwick is a breeder of a fine 
 grade of registered animals, and has four blacks 
 engaged to do the manual labor and attend to 
 the stock. The parents of Mr. Southwick, 
 George and Mary ( Pritchard ) Southwick, were 
 both natives of the state of New York, where 
 they died on the farm that had for many years 
 been their home. John Southwick, a brother 
 of our subject, who resided in New Orleans 
 during his life-time, was the first conductor on 
 the road, now a part of the Central system, 
 having begun during the construction period of 
 the old Southern Railroad, as it was then known, 
 under contractor Harris. Charles Cone, a bro- 
 ther-in-law, was also one of the first conductors 
 on the line under the early management. Mr. 
 Southwick married Miss Emma Wellborn, a 
 daughter of Mrs. Julia Wellborn, deceased, who 
 owned a large plantation in Mississippi. The 
 father died when the daughter was very young. 
 Mrs. Southwick died September 6, 1893, having 
 been the mother of four children George 
 Clifford, is now a traveling salesman for a large 
 wholesale paint and glass firm in Louisville, Ky. ; 
 \Yilheltnina died at the age of seventeen years : 
 Charles died at the age of six months ; Fay, 
 who was born in 1889, is the light of her father's 
 household, which is presided over by a sister of 
 Mr. Southwick, since the death of his wife. Dur- 
 ing her life-time, the wife was a member of the 
 Baptist church, while Mr. Southwick is a com- 
 
 municant of the Methodist Episcopal faith. 
 He is a member of the Masonic order, affiliating 
 with the Water Valley lodge number 33, and 
 still holds his membership in division number 
 99 B. of L. E., of W T ater Valley. Being one of the 
 oldest operatives on the southern end of the 
 system, Mr. Southwick is widely known, and his 
 friends are numbered by the hundred, not only 
 amongst railroad circles, but in other walks of 
 life as well. 
 
 J. EVERETT, locomotive engineer 
 at Water Valley, entered the employ 
 of the railroad company in the fall 
 of 1870. at McComb City, where he 
 operated a stationary engine, sawing wood for 
 the company for about a year. He then went to 
 Water Valley and secured a position as carpenter 
 in the shops under John Beckton, but in 1875 he 
 returned to McComb City to learn the painters' 
 trade, and served an apprenticeship of four years. 
 In 1879 Mr. Everett began work for the T. & P. 
 Railroad, and fired two years between Goldsboro 
 and Achafla River, crossed the cab in 1881, and 
 for the following six months had charge of an 
 engine on the same run. Our subject then 
 returned to \Vater Valley and began working 
 in the Illinois Central round-house, putting in 
 engine truck springs, driving and tender springs 
 &c. About a year and a half later he secured a 
 position as fireman between Jackson, Tenn., and 
 Canton, Miss., and spent about a year in that 
 capacity, the most of the time in the passenger 
 service, but made an occasional freight run. 
 Subsequently he fired in the summers and ran in 
 the winters for two years, then ran on local 
 between Water Valley and Durant for three 
 years, and the rest of his work has been on, a 
 chain gang. The number of Mr. Everett's first 
 regular engine was No. 748, and later he had 
 Nos. 709 and 268. He had No. 870 in the chain 
 gang, and later Nos. 864, 499, 874 and the one 
 he is using now is No. 86 1. Our subject was 
 badly scalded in September 1895, at Elliott, by
 
 438 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 the bursting of a flue, but that is the only time 
 lie has been injured on the road, and he has 
 met with marked success as an engineer. Mr. 
 Everett was born in Summit, Pike County, Miss. 
 He was married, in the city in which he now 
 makes his home, to Miss Lillie Cross, and to 
 them have been born seven children, whose 
 names in the order of their birth are as follows : 
 Lillian, James, Thomas, Ira B., Annie, Ruth and 
 Robert. Socially, Mr. Everett is identified with 
 Division No. 99, B. of L. E., of Water Valley. 
 
 A. HADAWAY, engineer at Water 
 Valley, began his railroad career 
 Q at Jackson, Tenn., in the fall of 
 1878, as an apprentice under J. 
 M. Keith, in the Illinois Central shops. Com- 
 pleting his apprenticeship in August 1883, he 
 secured a position as fireman, served in that ca- 
 pacity about ten months, and in August 1884, he 
 was promoted to freight engineer, and given 
 a run between Water Valley and Jackson, Tenn., 
 being located at Water Valley. Subsequently 
 he served in the chain gang for a time, and in 
 1889 was promoted to the passenger service until 
 1893, running between Jackson and Canton, 
 Miss. Mr. Hadaway's engine pulled the first fast 
 mail train that was put on between Jackson, Tenn., 
 and New Orleans, and he stood at the head of 
 that train for about a year. From 1893 until 
 1894 he worked with a chain gang, but since the 
 latter date, has been in the preferred freight ser- 
 vice between Water Valley and Jackson, Tenn. 
 Mr. Hadaway's first engine was No. 323, of which 
 he had charge about a year, and later he had 
 charge of No. 304 for four years. In the 
 passenger service, he operated Nos. 1155 and 
 1113, and for three years he stood on the right 
 side of No. 621. His regular engine now is 
 No. 632. Mr. Hadaway has not been called be- 
 fore the officials since 1885. He has a very good 
 record on the company's books, and a reputation 
 of being a very careful and able engineer. Once, 
 
 however, it was his misfortune to become the vic- 
 tim of another man's carelessness, resulting in 
 a head end collision, March 28, 1894, near Ox- 
 ford, between No. 53 and a banana train. Our 
 subject was badly hurt and was laid up four 
 months. 
 
 Mr. Hadaway was born in Jackson, Tenn. 
 He was married in Water Valley, Sept. 1888, 
 to Miss Elizabeth Boydston of that city. Social- 
 ly he is identified with Division No. 99, B. of 
 L. E., of which he became a member in 1885. 
 For two terms he served that body in the capaci- 
 ty of division chief, attended the convention at 
 St. Paul in 1894, and the one at St. Louis in 1898. 
 He is also a Mason, holding memberships in 
 the Valley City Lodge, No. 402, and St. Cyr 
 Commandery, Knights Templar No. 6. Mr. 
 Hadaway bought his present home on Market 
 street in 1893. 
 
 HILLIPS JAY, who holds the responsi- 
 ble position of claim agent for the Illi- 
 nois Central at Durant, Miss., is large- 
 ly a self-made young man. He was 
 born December 16, 1872, in Clark county, Missis- 
 sippi, and is a son of Joseph J. and Mary A. Jay, 
 the latter a member of one of the oldest families 
 of the state of Mississippi. Phillips Jay, hav- 
 ing lost his father when quite young, was com- 
 pelled to earn his own living. He attended the 
 common schools of Escatawpa, Ala., and began 
 life as a clerk in the Stonewall Cotton Mills com- 
 pany, accumulating sufficient funds to carry him 
 through college, he entered Fairview College 
 it Binnsville, Miss., and later took the law courso 
 at the State University at Oxford. He was 
 admitted to the bar in the fall of 1896, and opened 
 an office at Lexington, where he practiced his 
 profession until accepting the position he now 
 holds with the I. C. He had previously held 
 various offices of importance, and was the can- 
 didate of the Progressive party for State Sena- 
 tor, to fill out the unexpired term of Judge T. A. 
 Wood of the third district in 1897, but was de-
 
 C. A. MORENO.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 441 
 
 fcated by Hon. Dan'l W Heidelberg. Mr. Jay's 
 territory as claim agent for the I. C. extends 
 over 135 miles of the Aberdeen division, and 
 1 1 5 miles of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. 
 R., and on the Mississippi division from Grena- 
 da to Canton, and from Aberdeen to Brilliant, 
 Ala. His time is about evenly divided between 
 office and road work. A brother of our subject, 
 Edward Jay, now twenty-four years of age, holds 
 a position with the Mobile & Ohio R. R. The 
 success which has marked Mr. Jay's career, is 
 very gratifying, and being still quite a young 
 man, he is certain to make his mark in life. 
 
 jtjtjtjtjtjt 
 
 A. MORENO, roadmaster on the 
 fourteenth division of the Yazoo & 
 'Q Mississippi Valley R. R. residing 
 in Memphis, Tennessee, was born 
 in Columbus, Georgia, December I4th, 1862. 
 His parents, Theodore and Virginia (Anderson) 
 Moreno, are still living and are residents of 
 Gainesville, Georgia. Mr. Moreno acquired his 
 education in the common and high schools of 
 Gainesville, Georgia, graduating from the latter 
 in 1880. He then went to the engineering de- 
 partment of the East Tennessee, Virginia & 
 Georgia R. R. which was in course of construc- 
 tion, working there for about two years, and was 
 afterward in the office of the chief engineer at 
 Atlanta. In 1883 he entered the service of the 
 Louisville, New Orleans & Texas R. R. (now the 
 Y. & M. V. R. R.) locating between Baton 
 Rouge, Louisiana, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, 
 where he was engaged in making the prelimi- 
 nary survey of that road. After the completion 
 of the road in 1884, he remained in the Engineer- 
 ing Department until 1886. He then went to the 
 Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham R. R. 
 in the capacity of engineer, remaining one year, 
 and then returned to the Louisville, New Orleans 
 & Texas road, where he served as resident engi- 
 neer, during the construtcion of the Branch 
 Lines, in the Delta, until 1889. During the lat- 
 ter year, he was supervisor for the same road, 
 
 with headquarters at Rosedale, Mississippi. In 
 1890, he went to Memphis, and entered the office 
 of J. C. Hutchins, Superintendent of Roadway, 
 as assistant engineer, which position he held un- 
 til 1894, when he was promoted to Roadmaster 
 on the Vicksburg division, of the Yazoo & Mis- 
 sissippi Valley R. R. His jurisdiction embraces 
 218 miles of Main track, and 300 miles of branch 
 lines. 
 
 On the 2ist of June 1893, Mr. Moreno was 
 married to Miss Susie W. Saunders, a native of 
 Memphis. They are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church, and in politics Mr. Moreno 
 votes with the Democratic party. 
 
 JOHN C. JACOBS, who for thirty-six 
 years served as superintendent of the 
 Northern division of the Illinois Central, 
 was born near Chillicothe, Ohio, Novem- 
 ber 15, 1819, two years later his father with his 
 family removed to Frederick county, Maryland, 
 where our subject spent his early boyhood days. 
 When about thirteen years old the death of his 
 father made him to a great extent responsible 
 for the care and support of his mother and four 
 younger children. Undaunted by his youth he 
 assumed this responsibility, with the same tena- 
 city shown to have existed during his after life, 
 and manfully starting out secured a position on 
 a farm, where by strict frugality he was not only 
 able to earn his own living, but to contribute 
 somewhat to the support and maintenance of the 
 family. He continued working around on farms 
 until the year 1837, when he secured a position 
 on the B. & O. railroad in the capacity of section 
 hand, for which he was paid 87^ cents per day.. 
 Later he was made brakeman on that road on a 
 freight train, his run being between Harper's 
 Ferry and Point-of-Rocks. In 1838 this run 
 was abandoned and he was thrown out of employ- 
 ment, nothing else offering he accepted a position 
 at Harper's Ferry as coal heaver. He remained 
 in this position a few months, then was given a 
 position as locomotive fireman on the I>. & O.
 
 442 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 and served in that capacity until 1841, when he 
 was promoted to the position of engineer, where 
 he remained until 1849, and was then made super- 
 visor of engines on that road, having entire 
 charge of the motive power, consisting at that 
 time of 107 engines. In 1853 the position of 
 assistant supervisor of trains was added to his 
 duties, and as such he had special charge of the 
 movement and working of trains over the heavy 
 grades of the Alleghenies. Mr. Jacobs remained 
 with the B. & O. until the fall of 1856, and dur- 
 ing his latter connection with that company, was 
 closely identified with the construction of what 
 was then known as the western end of their line, 
 and in that year he severed his connection with 
 that company at the solicitation of John H. Dole, 
 who was then general superintendent of the I. 
 C. system. He came west and accepted the posi- 
 tion of division superintendent of the Northern 
 division, extending from Dunleith to Centralia, 
 and entered upon his duties October 8, 1856, 
 where he remained until his retirement in 1892. 
 In 1892, having passed the seventy-second 
 milestone in his journey of life, and finding that 
 the cares and duties of his position were weigh- 
 ing heavily on one so far advanced in age, he 
 deemed it prudent to step aside and let younger 
 blood enter the service ; and after consulting 
 with a few of his most intimate friends, under 
 date of March 7, 1892, tendered his resignation 
 as division superintendent to President Fish, as- 
 signing for his reasons for doing so those named 
 above. Under date of March 9, 1892, Mr. Fish 
 replied to his letter of resignation, " accepting 
 the same with regret." To show the high ap- 
 preciation with which he was held by that gentle- 
 man, the closing paragraph of his letter will bear 
 repetition : 
 
 "In testimony of the high appreciation in which 
 you have been, and are still held by this company, and 
 on account of your long and useful service, and of the 
 faithful and efficient way in which you have performed 
 your every duty, I take pleasure in enclosing herewith 
 check for your salary for seven months, from March 1 
 to October 1, 1892. 
 
 "Rest assured that in leaving the service you carry 
 with you the best wishes of every man in it for your 
 continued health and prosperity, and none more so 
 than of your friend, STUYVF.SANT FISH." 
 
 If held in such high esteem by his superior 
 officers, what shall we say for his subordinates, 
 many of whom stood shoulder to shoulder with 
 him in the battle for many years? Our feeble 
 pen can not do the subject justice, more than 
 to say that the universal expression among them 
 was one of sadness and regret. 
 
 In token of the respect in which he was 
 held by the men under him, the officers and em- 
 ployes of the Amboy division presented to him 
 and his wife a testimonial of their appreciation 
 of his service among them, duly signed by many 
 old employes, and bound in Turkish morocco. 
 
 On the nineteenth anniversary of his service 
 with the Illinois Central the employes presented 
 to Mr. Jacobs a finely finished cabinet, and to 
 Mrs. Jacobs' a tea service of thirteen pieces of 
 exquisite beauty and design. 
 
 Mr. Jacobs was married in Middletown, 
 Conn., November 6, 1846, to Miss Harriet A. 
 Hough. Of this marriage were born three sons 
 and one daughter, viz : Mary H., born near Har- 
 per's Ferry, Va., February 6, 1848, married E. 
 E. Chase and, died September 29, 1868; John C., 
 born at Piedmont, W. Va.. May 29, 1852, died 
 in infancy ; William F., born at Amboy, Decem- 
 ber 6, 1859, was for many years connected with 
 the I. C., serving as train master after a long 
 service as dispatcher. He now resides at Otta- 
 wa, 111. ; Charles C., born at Amboy, December 
 16, 1862, was in the employ of the I. C. as civil 
 engineer for several years and is at present en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of steel truss bridges 
 at Amboy. 
 
 In the church Mr. Jacobs always manifested 
 the true virtues of a Christian, being a member 
 as well as a regular attendant of the Congrega- 
 tional church of Amboy, and was for many years 
 one of its trustees. 
 
 Mr. Jacobs died February 27, 1893. Ah 
 extract from a letter to Mrs. Jacobs from Mr. 
 Stuyvesant Fish, on that date, says : 
 
 "Those of his family who survive him have the 
 satisfaction of knowing that John C. Jacobs at all 
 times did his duty, and I know of no higher praise that 
 can be given to any man."
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 443 
 
 ' I -vNOSS W. RHYXE, a jovial and popular 
 =r-^ conductor in the freight service of the 
 \\ Illinois Central, on the Aberdeen divi- 
 sion, is a native of Lexington, Miss., 
 where his faille/, D. W. Rhyne, is postmaster. 
 Mr. Rhyne after acquiring a practical education, 
 worked in a store for two years, and in 1891 
 entered the service of the Illinois Central as 
 brakeman in the freight service, at Jackson, Miss. 
 He was afterward transferred to Aberdeen, and 
 promoted to conductor on the Aberdeen division, 
 in January 1898, which position he is now filling 
 with success. His caboose is No. 98,111, 
 with S. H. Kuykerdol and Bud Mathews as 
 crew. Mr. Rhyne was united in marriage 
 to Miss Daniels of Durant, Mississippi, and 
 they are the parents of two children : Lillian, 
 aged five, and Harris, aged three. Socially, he 
 is a member of Division Xo. 304, O. R. C., of 
 Canton, the Masonic fraternity, and Protective 
 Knights of America, of Durant. Mr. Rhyne is 
 physically a man of large proportion, with an 
 equal amount of good nature and practical com- 
 mon sense accompanying it. He is a popular 
 citizen of Durant, where he resides with his fami- 
 ly, on Magnolia street, in a pretty home of his 
 own. 
 
 OLLIE CAMPBELL, a popular engi- 
 neer in the employ of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, on the Aberdeen division, was 
 born in Chickasaw county, Mississippi. 
 John Campbell, the father of our subject, is 
 engaged as hostler in the round house, at Durant, 
 Miss. John Campbell Jr., a brother, is an engi- 
 neer on the Aberdeen division, and Joseph Camp- 
 bell, another brother, is a flagman in the I. C. 
 service. Mr. Campbell after acquiring a good 
 common school education, entered the service of 
 the Illinois Central in 1890, as a fireman, work- 
 ing in the freight and passenger department suc- 
 cessively, and as extra engineer until 1897. He 
 was then given a run in the regular service, and 
 is now on engine Xo. 261 , where he is doing satis- 
 factory and successful work. Mr. Campbell 
 
 was joined in marriage to Miss Osborn, of 
 Durant, a young ladv of many excellent qualities. 
 Socially he is connected with Division No. 99, 
 P>. of L. E., of Water Valley, and with the 
 Knights of Pythias, of Aberdeen. Mr. Campbell 
 is an active, hustling young man, possessing the 
 good will of his fellow employes, of which he 
 is justly deserving. 
 
 ORACE \YE1R. a conductor on the 
 Aberdeen division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, is a native of Choctaw count}-. 
 Mississippi, and is a son of James 
 Weir, a farmer. The early training of our sub- 
 ject was acquired in the district schools of his 
 native county, and he was for several years after- 
 ward employed in a general merchandise store. 
 Entering the service of the Illinois Central in 
 1895, as a hrakeman on the Aberdeen division, 
 he was, after three years faithful service in that 
 department, promoted to conductor. He has had 
 excellent success while in the latter capacity and 
 is at present in the chain-gang service. A brother 
 of our subject is in the service of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, as flagman, out of Water Valley. Mr. Weir 
 belongs to Division 304, O. R. C., of Canton, 
 and Division Xo. 331, B. R. T., of Water Valley. 
 He is a young man of pleasant manners, studi- 
 ous habits, progressive, and has many friends, 
 among whom he is popular. 
 
 7|-iKUIOMAS S. PRIESTLEY, the accom- 
 
 Uniodating assistant ticket agent and 
 baggagemaster, for the Illinois Central, 
 at Canton, Miss., was born February 
 4, 1869, at Xew Orleans. His parents were 
 Thomas E. and Delia (Shackelforcl) Priestley. 
 .Mr. Priestley Sr. who died in 1895, was a promi- 
 nent planter of the state, and was sheriff of Madi- 
 son county, Mississippi for a time. The subject 
 of this sketch acquired his education in the com-
 
 444 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 mon schools, and in 1884, when a youth of fif- 
 teen, was appointed agent for the I. C. at Cal- 
 houn, Miss. He held the position for one year, 
 and then returned to school. In 1891 he entered 
 the service of the Southern R. R. in the office at 
 Greenville, Miss., and was afterward successive- 
 ly baggagemaster, flagman, and conductor on 
 that road. In 1893 he decided to engage in farm- 
 ing, and was occupied at that work until June 
 5, 1898, when he entered the service of the I. C. 
 at Canton, Miss., as flagman; he was promoted 
 to baggagemaster in September of that year, and 
 on February i, 1900, was appointed to his pres- 
 ent position. Mr. Priestley is a rising young 
 man, possessing traits of character which make 
 him a general favorite.. 
 
 Mr. Mctcalf was married in Winthrop to 
 Miss Camilla E. Hilclreth, and they have become 
 the parents of two children, Wayne O. and Camil- 
 la. He is a member of Sioux Falls lodge, A. F. 
 & A. M., B. P. O. E. and A. O. U. W. of Sioux 
 Falls, and the M. W. A. at Waverly. He was 
 formerly a member of the K. of P. 
 
 Mr. Metcalf is an excellent business man, 
 as is shown by his various promotions. He now 
 has full charge of the Illinois Central's exten- 
 sive passenger and freight business .at Sioux 
 Falls, the largest city in South Dakota. 
 
 HERMAN A. METCALF, the genial 
 freight and passenger agent for the 
 I. C. at Sioux Falls, S. D., was born 
 in Epworth, Dubuque county, Iowa, 
 September 17, 1859, and received his education 
 at the Epworth Academy and the public schools 
 of Winthrop, Iowa. After finishing his school- 
 ing he was engaged in teaching for two years, 
 then commenced studying telegraphy at Win- 
 throp, Iowa, and when competent was assigned 
 to the I. C. office at Independence, Iowa, remain- 
 ing there about six months. He then accepted 
 a' position with the B. C. R. & N. railroad and 
 served at Greene, Vinton and Independence, re- 
 maining with that company about seven months. 
 He then resigned and took charge of his father's 
 lumber business at Winthrop, at which he was 
 employed until re-entering the service of the I. 
 C. as station agent at Winthrop, in 1883, since 
 which time he has been continuously in the em- 
 ploy of the I. C. serving as station agent in Iowa 
 as follows : Winthrop, one year ; Delaware, one 
 year; Waverly, sixteen months; Cherokee, one 
 year; Sioux City, four years; Fonda, two years 
 and eight months; LeMars, two and one half 
 years , and at Sioux Falls since December, 1899. 
 
 JERE P. MURPHY is the yardmaster of 
 the Chicago terminals. Mr. Murphy be- 
 gan railroading in the summer of 1873 
 as a switch tender and was thus employed 
 one year. He then served as helper for one year, 
 then as engine foreman until 1890, when he was 
 promoted to his present position as yardmaster 
 of the terminals. If one will stop for a moment 
 and consider the thousands of cars that are 
 handled in these yards every week, they will 
 realize something of the amount of work that it 
 requires to keep them moving systematically. 
 They will appreciate the fact, too, that a man 
 who can perform his duties to the satisfaction of 
 a corporation for twenty-seven consecutive years 
 is worthy of commendation. 
 
 Mr. Murphy was born in November, 1853, 
 near the city of Cork, Ireland, and is the son of 
 William Murphy. Our subject was married in 
 Chicago to Miss Mary Hurley, and of the eleven 
 children that have been born to them, we have 
 the following record : William, who has served 
 his apprenticeship and is now a mechanic at the 
 Burnside shops, John, Jere, James, Helen, Fran- 
 cis, Theresa, Margaret and Edward are still liv- 
 ing and two died in child-hood. Mr. Murphy 
 was formerly a member of the Switchmen's 
 I 'nic in, but is not now connected with any secret 
 fraternity.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 445 
 
 ISS ANNIE C. MEAD, ticket agent 
 and operator at Dixon, 111., resides 
 at Amboy, 111. She was born on a 
 farm near Greenwich, Conn., was 
 educated in the country schools of that place 
 until at the age of thirteen years she came to 
 Amboy, 111., where she finished her education 
 in the public schools. After this she went to 
 Sublette, 111., and learned telegraphy of Miss 
 Lena Patton, who was operator at that place, 
 and which position was given to her when Miss 
 Patton was transferred to Mendota, and 
 occupied the place for about three years. From 
 there, she was transferred to Matteson, 111., on the 
 Chicago division as joint ticket agent and opera- 
 tor for the Illinois Central and the Michigan Cen- 
 tral Railroad ; this place she held for over five 
 years, going to Centralia, 111., for three months, 
 and then was transferred to Dixon, 111., February 
 27, 1893, as ticket agent and operator, which 
 place she now holds. Miss Mead is held in high 
 esteem by the company for whom she has worked 
 so long and faithfully, and is much respected 
 by all who know her, especially by the trainmen 
 With whom she comes in contact. 
 
 
 AM C. CULLEY, one of the successful 
 engineers in the freight service of the 
 Illinois Central, on the Aberdeen divi- 
 sion was born in Madison county, 
 Mississippi, and is the son of D. V. Culley, a 
 substantial farmer of that vicinity. Our subject 
 entered the service of the Illinois Central, in 
 1891, as a fireman, under engineer William Mc- 
 Intyre, and served in that capacity in the freight 
 and passenger service until 1898, when he received 
 promotion to engineer. He has at present a 
 regular run, between Durant and Aberdeen, 
 Miss., on engine No. 1320. His record on the 
 road has been a good one, being devoid of ac- 
 cidents of a serious nature. In 1886 Mr. Culley 
 married a daughter of J. F, Norman, and they 
 have three children: Norman, aged thirteen; 
 
 Lena, aged eleven, and Beatrice, aged six. He 
 belongs to Division No. 99, B. of L. E., of 
 Water Valley, and the Modern Woodmen of the 
 World, of Durant, Miss. Mr. Culley is a man 
 who pays strict attention to his work, and is 
 recognized by the company, as a capable and 
 worthy man. 
 
 H 
 
 29, 
 
 ARRY D. PRIESTLEY, a retired em- 
 ploye of the Illinois Central, and a 
 wealthy and leading citizen of Canton, 
 Miss., was born in that city on May 
 1848. His parents, William and Eliza 
 
 (Moosby) Priestley, were among the early sett- 
 lers of that part of Mississippi, and closely iden- 
 tified with its history. Mr. Priestley Sr. was, 
 for a number of years, postmaster at Canton, and 
 was also agent for the old New Orleans, Jackson 
 & Great Northern R. R. He was a man of 
 wealth and influence in the community during 
 his long and busy life. Both parents departed 
 this life at Canton. Harry D. Priestley began 
 railroad work in 1867, as clerk for the I. C. at 
 Canton, and gradually worked his way to a 
 good position. At that time, there were at Can- 
 ton, two connecting roads, (now owned by the 
 I .C.) and Mr. Priestley was appointed " through 
 clerk " for both roads, at a salary of seventy-five 
 dollars per month. On the consolidation of the 
 roads he was made freight agent, at a salary of 
 one hundred and fifty dollars per month. Recog- 
 nizing his ability, the company offered him other 
 important positions, at various times, but he re- 
 fused them, preferring to remain at his old home. 
 He acted as freight agent for the I. C. until 1889, 
 when he retired from railroad work, and has since 
 been engaged in business as a broker. A brother 
 of our subject, William Montgomery Priestley, 
 who died in 1899, was for several years cashier 
 for the I. C. at Canton. Mr. Priestley married 
 Miss Rachael Breeding, of Columbia, Ky., a 
 daughter of George Breeding, deceased, a far- 
 mer and extensive land owner of Kentucky. 
 Two children have been born to them, William
 
 446 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 'I'., who married Miss Xola lieaman, and is a 
 leading cotton buyer of Yazoo City, Miss. : and 
 Marry I)., engaged in the same business in the 
 same city. Socially, -Mr. Priestley is connected 
 with the Knights of Pythias, and the Knights of 
 Honor, of his home city. Mrs. Priestley is a 
 devoted adherent of the Episcopal church. They 
 reside in a beautiful home on Liberty street, in 
 Canton, and are highly respected by the entire 1 
 community, in which they have so long lived. 
 
 among the first to settle at Water Valley, Miss. 
 He died in 1882. Our subject was married at 
 Uessemer, Ala., to Miss Alice M. Berglund. 
 Socially he affiliates with Division Xo. 99, 15. 
 of L. E., of Water Valley, and has served that 
 body in the capacity of second assistant, or 
 treasurer, for two years. He also holds member- 
 ship in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
 of Water Valley. Mr. Ohlson built his present 
 home on Wagner street in 1891. 
 
 (HILSOX, engineer at Water Valley, 
 began work for the Illinois Central 
 Q company May 2, 1881, in the shops at 
 Water Valley, and worked one year 
 under Master Mechanic J. F. White. In 1882 
 he secured a position as fireman, running as an 
 extra for a short time, and then got regular work 
 under Engineer J. J. O'Rorke, worked with him 
 eighteen months in the freight service, then with 
 Henry White about five months, and later under 
 different ones. August 20, 1883. our subject 
 was set up to engineer, and served the first year 
 in that capacity as an extra. He then worked 
 in a chain gang on a freight until 1886, when 
 he was promoted to the passenger service and 
 began working on Nos. i, 2, 3 and 4. In 1892 
 and '93 Mr. Ohlson worked on a through freight 
 train, and from the spring of 1895 to the fall of 
 1896 he was in Memphis, as an engineer on the 
 local passenger from that city to Canton, Miss. 
 Subsequently he returned to Water Valley, and 
 his present runs are on Xos. 23 and 24, between 
 Jackson, Tenn., and Canton, Miss. Mr. Ohlson 
 has never been hurt in any way since he has been 
 on the road, and his record on the company's 
 hooks is a remarkably good one. Mr. Ohlson 
 was born in the southern part of Sweden, but 
 moved from thence to America in 1880, located 
 in Little Rock. Ark., and worked in the shops 
 of the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad at that 
 place for a time before he came to Water Valley. 
 His father was August Ohlson. Mr. Ohlson's 
 maternal grandfather, Gustav Berglund, was 
 
 H. PRICE, foreman of the black- 
 smith shops at Water Valley, 
 Q Miss., began his railroad career in 
 1885, as an apprentice in the 
 Illinois Central shops at Champaign, 111., under 
 his father, who was foreman of the shops at that 
 time. The father located in Champaign when 
 that place consisted of only a few houses, and 
 entered the employ of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road about the year 1867. He moved to Water 
 Valley, Miss., in 1886, as a master mechanic, 
 taking the place of Mr. White, and held that 
 position until his death, which occurred about 
 1892. Prior to entering the service, however, 
 he served in the United States Arsenal at 
 Harper's Ferry, W. Va., and also worked for a 
 short time for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. 
 Our subject worked in the shops at Champaign 
 from 1885 until he moved with his father to 
 Water Valley, Miss., where he has since been 
 employed. He was round house foreman and 
 gang boss for a time, then fired for a time, both 
 north and south, from Water Valley, then served 
 as gang boss in the shops, and on March i, 1897, 
 he was appointed foreman of the machinery of 
 the blacksmith shops, in which capacity he has 
 charge of a force of about thirty-five expert 
 workmen and helpers. Mr. Price was born in 
 Champaign, 111. He was married in \Vater 
 Valley, Miss., to Miss Rosa Black of that city. 
 Socially he affiliates with the following frater- 
 naties : Blue Lodge, Valley City, Xo. 402, 
 McConnico Chapter; St. Cyr Commandery
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 447 
 
 Xo. 6 ; Hammask Medina Temple and Nobles of 
 the Mystic Shrine. Mr. Price is very popular 
 in Water Valley, has an unblemished reputation, 
 and has a good record with the Illinois Central 
 Company. 
 
 ready to advance the religious interests of the 
 church. A life long residence in Canton, to- 
 gether with these qualities which go with a kind 
 hearted man, and a reliable physician, Dr. Priest- 
 ley may truly be classed as one of the most promi- 
 nent citizens of the place. 
 
 D 
 
 R. CHARLES S. PRIESTLEY, district 
 surgeon for the Illinois Central, resid- 
 ing at Canton, Miss., is the oldest prac- 
 ticing physician of that place. Dr. 
 Priestley \vas born at Canton, his present home, 
 on September 30, 1847, anc l nas spent his entire 
 life in that place. His father, Dr. James Priest- 
 ley, who died of yellow fever, in 1855, was a 
 physician of great prominence in the early his- 
 tory of Canton. Before taking up the study of 
 medicine, Dr. Priestley was, from 1863 to 1866, 
 in the employ of the Illinois Central, as baggage- 
 master on the Louisiana division of the road. De- 
 ciding on the medical profession as his life work, 
 he entered the University of Mississippi, and be- 
 gan his studies, but after a time returned to 
 Canton, and worked as a druggist for ten years. 
 In 1876, he went to New Orleans, completed his 
 medical course there in March 1878, and returned 
 to his native city, participating with great credit 
 in the yellow fever epidemic of 1878, where he 
 has since practiced his profession. He now has 
 a partner, Dr. J. R. Jiggitts, and the firm enjoys 
 the largest and most lucrative practice in Canton. 
 Dr. Priestley was the first district surgeon to 
 be appointed on the Louisiana division. He also 
 holds the responsible position of health officer 
 for Madison county, Mississippi, of which Can- 
 ton is the metropolis. He was united to Miss 
 Rosa Knight, of Canton, who is a leader in socie- 
 ty there, and a woman much admired for her 
 many beautiful traits of character. They are 
 the parents of three children: Nannie; Leila M. ; 
 and James D. : all residing at home. Socially, 
 the Doctor is connected with the Knights of 
 Pythias, Knights of Honor, and Modern Wood- 
 men of the World. Dr. and Mrs. Priestley are 
 members of the Episcopal .faith, and are ever 
 
 H 
 
 L. MILLER, a popular young engi- 
 neer in the freight service of the Illi- 
 n is Central, on the Mississippi divi- 
 sion, was born at Water Valley, Miss., 
 July 9, 1873, and is a son of Milton C. and Frances 
 (Harlan) Miller. Mr. Miller Sr., an old and 
 valued employe of the I. C., was for years an 
 engineer on the Mississippi division of the road. 
 He is now dead, survived by his estimable wife, 
 who resides with her sons at Water Valley. In 
 1884 H. L. Miller entered the shops of the Illi- 
 nois Central at Water Valley, as an apprentice 
 boiler-maker, and served three years. His next 
 occupation was as fireman on the B. S. & P. 
 Railroad, with headquarters at Monroe, La. 
 He then went to Monterey, Mexico, working in a 
 furnace shop for a few months, and from there 
 to Chili, South America, where he was for two 
 years in the employ of an English firm. Return- 
 ing to the United States, he went to Springfield, 
 Mo., and was there for a short time, when he 
 came to his home at Water Valley, Miss., and 
 re-entered the service of the I. C. as fireman, on 
 the Mississippi division. A faithful service of 
 three years in that capacity was rewarded after 
 an examination, to promotion as engineer, where 
 he has since remained, a capable and trustworthy 
 employe. While working as a fireman on the 
 Mississippi division he was in an accident at 
 Winona, but escaped injury. A brother of our 
 subject, Thomas Miller, is a fireman in the ser- 
 vice of the company, on the Mississippi division, 
 and resides at their home, in Water Valley. 
 
 Mr. Miller was united to Miss Maude Scott, 
 of Jackson, Tenn., two children being born to 
 them ; Scott and Paul, two fine bovs.
 
 448 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 lie is identified socially, with Division No. 
 402, B. of L. F., and will soon become a member 
 of the B. of L. E., of Water Valley. With his 
 family, Mr. Miller resides with his mother in a 
 pleasant home on North Court street, in Water 
 Valley, where he enjoys the confidence and good 
 will of a large circle of friends. 
 
 THOMAS TATE, retired engineer at 
 Jackson, Tenn., began work for the 
 Southern Railroad Association, now a 
 part of the Illinois Central system, un- 
 der H. S. McComb, president, as an engineer 
 running between Water Valley and Canton. His 
 first railroad work was in the shops of the North 
 Carolina Railroad, now a part of the Southern 
 Railroad, at Company Shops, now known as 
 Burlington, where he began work in 1859 
 and remained until he became an engineer 
 in 1865 and for about two years worked 
 between Charlotte and Goldsboro. His engine 
 also pulled the pay car, official trains, and 
 incidentally our subject was called into the shop 
 for a short time. In 1865 he took Gen. John- 
 ston on an engine from Company Shops to near 
 Hillsboro Station to meet Gen. Sherman. After 
 the close of the war Mr. Tate continued to work 
 on the road and in the shops until 1868, when he 
 went to the Northern Central Railroad, now a 
 part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, for a short 
 time. Subsequently he secured a position at 
 the head of a passenger train, between Raleigh 
 and Wehlon on the Raleigh & Gaston Railroad, 
 and still later entered the employ of the Northern 
 Missouri Railroad, and was given a run between 
 Moberly and Kansas City. About a year later, 
 our subject moved to Water Valley, Miss., and 
 in 1872, operated a freight engine for one year 
 between that city and Canton, and between Water 
 Valley and Fillmore, on a passenger engine. 
 Mr. Tate then moved to Jackson, Tenn., and for 
 twenty-five consecutive years he stood at the head 
 of a passenger train, retiring in 1897 the oldest 
 engineer on the Mississippi division by twelve 
 
 years. He is now in partnership with Mr. Cur- 
 tis, doing a plumbing and gas fitting business 
 in Jackson. Mr. Tate has an excellent record as 
 a railroad man. For nearly forty years he drew 
 wages from a transportation company every 
 month, and in that length of time never met with 
 serious accident, was never injured in any way 
 and was never suspended. Mr. Tate was born 
 near Hillsboro, Orange county, N. C. He was 
 married at Water Valley, Miss., to Miss Alice 
 Cook, of that place, and two sons have been born 
 to them. W. H. is superintendent of the Union 
 Depot at Pueblo, Colo., and W. Tate is employed 
 in the passenger department of the Denver & 
 Rio Grande Railroad at Pueblo, Colo. Our sub- 
 ject joined Division No. 26, B. of L. E., in 1868, 
 at Company Shops, but was later transferred to 
 Jackson Division No. 93. He has served the 
 latter body in the capacity of chief engineer, and 
 at another time he was first assistant for about 
 fifteen years. He is also a Mason, holding mem- 
 berships as follows : St. John's Lodge, Blue 
 Lodge, No. 33, Clinton Chapter, and Jackson 
 Commandery. Mr. Tate is also a member of 
 the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He 
 takes a wholesome interest in all matters pertain- 
 ing to the welfare of the community in which 
 he lives, and is at present serving as a member 
 of the City Council. 
 
 E. DUNN, engineer at Water Valley, 
 began his railroad career at the above 
 'Q named city, October 14, 1881, as a 
 brakeman and worked in that capa- 
 city for eleven months, both in the freight and 
 passenger service. He then secured a position 
 as fireman on the Mississippi division, in the 
 freight service, and served under Engineer 
 Thomas Kennedy, Jucl Smith, Engineer Law and 
 others, then worked one summer in the shops, 
 and in December 1884, he was set up to switch 
 engineer. Three months later, Mr. Dunn left 
 the yards and worked for some time in a chain 
 gang. His first regular run in the capacity of
 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 451 
 
 engineer was on engine No. 301, and since has 
 used all classes of engines at different times. He 
 spent fiye years as a passenger engineer, but for 
 the past five years he has been in the preferred 
 freight service, and is now using engine No. 
 856. Mr. Dunn was born in Wake county, seven 
 miles from the city of Durham, N. C., and made 
 his home there with his parents until he entered 
 the employ of the Illinois Central Railroad, at the 
 age of twenty years. He was married in 1885, 
 at Water Valley, Miss., to Miss Ella Henry of 
 that. city, and they have become the parents of a 
 family of three children : Lucius Claude is an 
 able artist, and has produced some fine water 
 colors that have won him quite a reputation in 
 Water Valley and vicinity. The other two chil- 
 dren are Eva May and Ella Clyde. Socially 
 our subject affiliates with the Division No. 99, P>. 
 of L. E., of Water Valley, and has been the 
 second engineer of that body for two years. Be- 
 sides a good position on the railroad, Mr. Dunn 
 owns a pleasant home at 243 Main street, Water 
 Valley, which he built in 1890, a valuable Ham- 
 bletonian stallion five years old and five Jersey 
 cattle. His record as a railroad man is a remark- 
 ably good one. He has never met with serious 
 accident, and has never been hurt in any way 
 while on the road. 
 
 ORACE L. SEAVER, residing at No. 
 67, 23rd street, Chicago, 111., is the 
 second in the order of seniority of 
 the Illinois Central Company's en- 
 gineers of that city. He began his railroad career 
 as a brakeman August 24, 1865, and served in 
 <hat capacity for eight montlxs running from 
 Chicago to Champaign, with an occasional run 
 as far south as Cairo. He began firing in July, 
 1866, under the instruction of Jack Wade on 
 the old engine No. 4, at a time when there were 
 not over 150 engines on the entire system. This 
 position Mr. Seaver retained until July 24, 1872, 
 when the company considered him proficient and 
 set him up to engineer of a freight run from 
 
 25 
 
 Chicago to Champaign, on which he served for 
 eighteen years. In 1890 there was an opening 
 on a passenger run and our subject was given 
 a seat at the head of a passenger train running 
 south from Chicago. Mr. Seaver was born at 
 Waukegan, 111., De'cember 24, 1846. His father, 
 N. Leonard Seaver, was for many years prom- 
 inently connected with the Illinois Central R. R., 
 and served as the company's first land agent. 
 Our subject was married in Centralia, 111., to 
 Miss Lulu Robertson, whose grandfather was a 
 first cousin to Jefferson Davis, the President of 
 the Confederacy. To this congenial union one 
 son, Charles L., has been born. Fraternally Mr. 
 Seaver is a member of Division No. 10, B. of 
 L. E., of Burnside. Much credit is due Mr. 
 Seaver for the skill and careful attention to 
 business that he has exhibited as an engineer. 
 The fact that he has never been in any wreck is 
 not due to any lack of difficult and hazardous 
 runs, for he has several times escaped by a 
 premonition of danger ahead, and at times has 
 stopped within a few feet of destruction. 
 
 ICHOLAS STUBER, whose home is 
 at 2843 Emerald Avenue, Chicago, 
 111., is fifth in the order of seniority 
 of the engineers in that city in the 
 employ of the Illinois Central Company. He 
 is a native of Schabach, Canton Solothurn, 
 Switzerland, where he first saw the light of day 
 June 13, 1841. The family came to America in 
 1852 and settled near the city of Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Stuber began firing on the Illinois 
 Central Railroad July 25, 1862, with engine No. 
 21, on a work train, but later went onto the road 
 with engine No. 109. In 1869 ne was made 
 engineer of a switch engine for a short time and 
 then went onto the road again until 1884, when 
 he was given a place at the head of a passenger 
 train running from Chicago to Champaign. Mr. 
 Stuber ran the first passenger train from Chicago 
 to Freeport. From 1893 to '99 his run was to
 
 452 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Kankakee, 111., but since that date has had 
 charge of a suburban engine. 
 
 December 30, 1872, the subject of our sketch 
 was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. 
 Deitmeyer, and their wedded life has been 
 blessed by the presence of a family ef seven 
 children, of whom we have the following record : 
 Phillip, a mechanic on the Erie Railroad ; 
 Nicholas Jr., a mechanic at the Burnside shops; 
 Lizzie, Eva, Anna, Benedict and Clara. Frater- 
 nally Mr. Stuber is identified with Division No. 
 10, B. of L. E., at Burnside. Mr. Stuber was 
 once scalded by steam in an- accident at Weldon 
 shops, and from the effects of it was unable to 
 take his place on the road for about three months, 
 but aside from this he has not received an injury 
 throughout his entire career as a railroad 
 employe. 
 
 JOHN McDERMOTT, foreman of the 
 boiler shops at Water Valley, Miss., be- 
 gan working for the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road company in the spring of 1873, and 
 learned the boiler making trade under Master 
 Mechanic T. W. Place, and Foreman W. M. 
 McMullen. He was there until the fall of 1877, 
 and then went to Memphis, Tenn., and entered 
 the employ of the Louisville & Nashville Rail- 
 road, and worked one year in the shops at that 
 place. Later he spent two years with the Missis- 
 sippi & Tennessee Railroad, then about six 
 months with the International & Great Northern 
 Railroad at Palestine, Texas, and in July 1882, 
 came to Water Valley and entered the Illinois 
 Central shops, as a boiler-maker. He also had 
 charge of the round house at this place for about 
 ten years, and November 24, 1899, he was ap- 
 pointed to his present position. He has charge 
 of a force of thirty-five men, consisting of boiler- 
 makers, copper and tin smiths and helpers. Mr. 
 McDermott was born in Scranton, Pa., but moved 
 with his parents to Waterloo, Iowa, when he 
 was but two years of age. The father, Patrick 
 McDermott, was a blacksmith's helper for the 
 Illinois Central company at Waterloo from 1866 
 
 until 1893, and one of his sons is now a black- 
 smith in the shops at that place. Our subject 
 was united in marriage to Miss Mary Murdock 
 of New Orleans, and four children have been 
 born to them as follows : May, John, Helen and 
 Hazel. Mr. McDermott affiliates with the 
 Knights and Ladies of Honor, No. 466, and has 
 been honored with the office of trustee of the 
 grand lodge of the state of that fraternity. He 
 is also a member of the Knights of Honor, No. 
 1062, of Water Valley, and the Knights of 
 Pythias No. 55, Lochinvar Lodge. He has also 
 served the citizens of the Fourth Ward, Water 
 Valley, in the capacity of Alderman, and three 
 terms as member of the board of school trus- 
 tees. 
 
 R. STALEY, engineer at Jackson, 
 Tenn., began his railroad career at 
 the above named city as a fireman 
 for the Mississippi Central Rail- 
 road, with a run between Jackson, Tenn., and 
 Cairo, (with the exception of a few months, 
 which he served as a hostler at Grand Junction 
 in 1876) he retained this position until September 
 27, 1878, when he crossed the cab, had charge of 
 the lever and throttle for a short time, and Octo- 
 ber 2nd of the same' year was taken with the 
 yellow fever, and was off the road for forty days. 
 When he was again able to take charge of an 
 engine, he was given a freight run between Jack- 
 son and Cairo, but since 1883 he has stood at 
 the head of a passenger train. Mr. Staley has 
 but once met with serious accident in his railroad 
 career. November II, 1891, in a collision of 
 train No. 21 and a freight, his fireman, Tom 
 McGuire (colored), was killed, the engineer 
 Hillman and the fireman, Walter Spencer, of the 
 freight train were both killed. Our subject was 
 also so severely injured that six weeks were re- 
 quired for him to recover sufficiently to resume 
 his work. With this exception, Mr. Staley has 
 been very successful, has lost but little time as 
 will be evidenced by the fact, that from July 4, 
 1874, until the year 1899, he has drawn some,
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 453 
 
 money as wages from the Illinois Central com- 
 pany every month. Mr. Staley was born in 
 Randolph county, North Carolina. From 1870 
 to 1872, prior to entering the service of the Illi- 
 nois Central company, he was brakeman and 
 conductor at different times, on the Mobile & 
 Ohio Railroad out of Jackson. Our subject 
 was first married to Miss Maude Hammond, 
 of Jackson, Tenn., who died in 1895, and he sub- 
 sequently was united in marriage to Miss Lulu 
 F. Pearsy, also of Jackson. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Staley have one child, Idol Francis. In the social 
 circles of Jackson, our subject has been a member 
 of the B. of L. E. since January 1879, and has 
 held many offices in that lodge. He is also con- 
 nected with the Knights of Pythias, the Knights 
 of Honor, and St. John's Lodge No. 332, A. F. 
 & A. M. 
 
 AVID LONGINOTTI, one of the 
 promising young engineers in the 
 freight service, of the Illinois Central, 
 on the Aberdeen division, was born 
 in 1869, at Genoa, Italy, where his father still 
 lives, at the age of eighty-four years. At the 
 age of sixteen our subject emigrated to this coun- 
 try, landing New York City, and later going to 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was employed in a 
 store for about two years. He then went to 
 Aberdeen, Miss., and 'worked in a machine and 
 blacksmith shop where he remained two years. 
 In 1891 he began work as a fireman in the freight 
 service, on the Aberdeen division, with Engineer 
 Stanley, and later was with Engineer Blanken- 
 ship. He was in the passenger service under 
 Engineer Thomas who predicts for him a bright 
 future. On April 3, 1899, Mr. Longinotti was 
 promoted to engineer on a work train, with con- 
 ductor Butler, and has since served in that capa- 
 city, witli unvarying success. Mr. Longinotti 
 was married to Miss Wadlington, of Durant, 
 Miss., and has two sons, Louis, aged four years, 
 and Robert D., aged two. He is identified with 
 Division No. 99, B. of L. E., of Water Valley, 
 and is connected with the Modern Woodmen of 
 
 the World. Mr. Longinotti on coming to this 
 country knew nothing of the English language, 
 which he since mastered being a close student. 
 He is a man who gives the closest attention to 
 his work, ever on the alert to grasp ideas and im- 
 prove his knowledge of mechanics. His erst- 
 while success is in itself a proof, that the future 
 has much in store for him. 
 
 AMUEL HORTON, a well known engi- 
 neer in the freight service on the Aber- 
 deen division of the Illinois Central, 
 was born in Madison county, Missis- 
 sippi, on the spot where the station at Madison 
 now stands. His father, Alex Horton, was a far- 
 mer, and until arriving at his majority our sub- 
 ject was employed on his father's farm. In 1893 
 he entered the service of the Illinois Central, at 
 Durant, Miss., as engine wiper. He was em- 
 ployed around the shops for about two years, 
 when he began serving on the road, as fireman. 
 Working in the latter capacity in the freight and 
 passenger service, he was on September 23, 1898, 
 promoted to engineer, and has since successfully 
 held that position. Mr. Horton had a remark- 
 able and unavoidable accident happen to his train, 
 nine miles north-east of Durant. Going at a rate 
 of twenty-five miles an hour, on a dark night, 
 his engine struck a cow, was derailed, and con- 
 tinued on the ties for half a mile, reaching a 
 trestle and toppling "over "into the river. Mr. 
 Horton stuck to his engine, and narrowly escaped 
 drowning. It was considered by every one a 
 very close call. On getting out, he and his crew 
 were obliged to walk four miles to send a mes- 
 sage for help. Mr. Horton married a daughter 
 of George Gunter, a planter of Durant. Their 
 union has been blessed by a pretty little daugh- 
 ter Gladys. The Modern Woodmen of the World, 
 and Division No. 99, B. of L. E., each find in 
 Mr. Horton a valued member. He is a great 
 sportsman, owning a very fine dog, and is con- 
 sidered a crack shot in this vicinitv.
 
 454 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 JHVARD DANKS, foreman for the Illi- 
 nois Central, at Carbondale, 111., com- 
 menced life for himself by going to 
 work in the mines, later working in a 
 boiler shop for four years. He then went to 
 work at the Coltness Iron Works, at Newmains, 
 and from there to the Moss End Iron Works 
 as general workman. In the spring of 1880 he 
 came to America and for three months worked 
 in a machine shop in Philadelphia. He then 
 came to Illinois and for a few months was em- 
 ployed in the mines at Murphysboro, afterwards 
 working in the machine shop. In December 
 1880 he went to work for the Coal Road, having 
 charge of the machine shop at Harrison, but at 
 the end of three years went into the machine 
 shops at Mt. Carbon, as a general workman, 
 remaining there until May i, 1895, when he took 
 charge of the machinery department, holding 
 that position when the road was purchased by 
 the Illinois Central in 1897; he was retained in 
 that capacity and was given charge of the car 
 department. For the past five years Mr. Danks 
 has held the position of foreman of machinery, 
 with the exception of a short time, when he went 
 to Kenneth, Mo., as master mechanic of the St. 
 Louis, Kenneth & Southern Railroad. He now 
 has charge of the men at Carbondale, Texas Junc- 
 tion, Grand Tower, East Cape, Creal Springs 
 and Carterville. 
 
 Mr. Danks married Miss Elizabeth Allen, of 
 Murphysboro, and they have three children, 
 William, Harry and Janet. 
 
 EORGE ALLEN, an engineer on the 
 Aberdeen division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, was born in 1871, near Durant, 
 Miss. His father, R. H. Allen, died 
 in 1885, -leaving a family of small children, the 
 care of whom devolved to a great extent on the 
 mother and our subject. His education was 
 obtained by studying at night, and reciting to 
 Mrs. Hamlin, of Durant, who greatly assisted 
 him. He began life on his own account when 
 
 only ten years of age, as water-boy, . and after- 
 ward went with Mr. J. Moring, on a construc- 
 tion train, on the Aberdeen division, remaining 
 with that gentleman, who was greatly interested 
 in him, five or six years. He next worked as a 
 section hand, where he served two years, and then 
 secured a position as fireman. He was for seven 
 years in this capacity, in the freight and passen- 
 ger service on the main line out of Water Valley, 
 and on October 3, 1896, his faithful services were 
 rewarded by promotion to engineer. He is now 
 in charge of engine No. 253, on a local run, on 
 the Aberdeen division. His career has been a 
 very successful one, free from wrecks of any 
 kind. 
 
 Mr. Allen married a daughter of J. A. Har- 
 rison, a wagon manufacturer of Canton, Miss. 
 Mrs. Allen is a sister of O. R. Harrison, Chief 
 of the O. R. C. of Canton, Miss., and of J. R. 
 Harrison, a popular conductor in the I. C. ser- 
 vice. Mr. and Mrs. Allen have two promising 
 sons : James Henry, aged eleven years, and 
 George Gordon, aged four. He is a member of 
 Division No. 99, B. of L. E., of Water Valley, 
 Miss. Mr. Allen resides in Durant, where he 
 has a good home, besides other property. He 
 enjoys recreation, and has a fine horse, and 
 several pedigreed dogs. Being unqualifiedly a 
 self-made man, Mr. Allen deserves great credit 
 for the success he has made in life. 
 
 A. BOYDSTON, engineer at Water 
 Valley, began his railroad career at 
 Q the above named city in the fall of 
 1879, and spent his first three 
 months in the capacity of brakeman. Subse- 
 quently he spent fourteen months in the shops 
 at that place, and in 1883 secured a position as 
 fireman on a switch engine. Nine months later 
 he was transferred to the main line, and worked 
 for a time under Ed. Stanley and different ones. 
 Still later, Mr. Boydston went into the round 
 house as hostler for six months, then returned 
 to the road for a time, and from December 1885,
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 until February 1886, he had charge of a switch 
 engine in the Water Valley yards before his pro- 
 motion. February 6, 1886, our subject was pro- 
 moted to engineer, worked for a short time as 
 extra, then about three and a half years in a 
 chain gang, after which he operated a passenger 
 engine about fourteen months between Jackson, 
 Tenn., and Canton, Miss., on runs Nos. 45, 46, 
 i, 2, 3 and 4, until 1891, when he was transferred 
 to his present run on a preferred freight. His 
 first engine was No. 347, the next 295, 346, 714 
 707, and the one he is now using is No. 633. Mr. 
 Boydston has never been injured in the service 
 of the railroad. Mr. Boydston was born six 
 miles south-west of Water Valley. He was mar- 
 ried in that city November 20, 1887, to Miss Sal- 
 lie Bartlett, daughter of Joshua and Eliza Sep- 
 tama (Sitton) Bartlett. The home of our sub- 
 ject and wife has been blessed by the advent of a 
 family of five children, four of whom are now 
 living, as follows : Bartlett Nealey, Cordelia Sep- 
 tama, Carl Davis, who died May 8, 1896, Mar- 
 tin Oakley and Elsie Sitton. Socially he affili- 
 ates with Division No. 99, B. of L. E., of Water 
 Valley. Mr. and Mrs. Boydston are members 
 of Missionary Baptist church of Water Valley. 
 
 ICHAEL S. CURLEY, master me- 
 chanic of the Illinois Central's shops 
 at Memphis, Tenn., began his re- 
 markably successful railroad career 
 in the machine shop of the L. & N. Railroad, 
 May i, 1869, as an apprentice under James Mont- 
 gomery, master mechanic, and W. A. Adair, 
 general foreman, working until 1873 when he 
 went to the St. Louis & South Eastern at Nash- 
 ville, Tenn., as a machinist under E. M. Hine- 
 stone, master mechanic. In September 1877 he 
 went to Water Valley to build an 'engine, worked 
 here up to 1882, when he was made foreman of 
 the shop, he then went to Jackson, Tenn., where 
 he was made general foreman, remaining in that 
 position ten years, until promoted to the shops 
 at Centralia, 111., remaining three years. In June 
 
 1898 he was promoted to position of master 
 mechanic at Water Valley shop, where he had 
 previously served as machinist. In February 
 
 1899 he was promoted to master mechanic at 
 the Illinois Central shops at Paducah, Ky., second 
 largest shop in the entire system, and remained 
 here until given his present position as 'master 
 mechanic at Memphis. 
 
 Mr. Curley has had a remarkable career. 
 He was born at Nashville, Tenn., June 17, 1853. 
 His father, James Curley, was a poor mechanic 
 who came from Ireland locating in Nashville, 
 Tenn. He died when our subject was but ten 
 years old, leaving a wife and three small chil- 
 dren. His death caused our subject to be thrown 
 upon his own resources. His first start in life 
 was selling papers as news boy on the streets at 
 Xashville. Mr. Curley says this experience was 
 what made him a financier, and where he learned 
 to win the battle of life. He was commonly 
 known as " Curley Mike " among the other news- 
 boys. He sold papers with success up to the 
 age of fifteen years, when he began his railroad 
 career. He boarded and clothed himself on 
 sixty-five cents per day, the first year's salary, 
 seventy-five cents per day the second year, eighty- 
 five cents the third year and one dollar a day 
 the fourth year, saving one hundred dollars in 
 the last year of his apprenticeship. Mr. Curley 
 educated himself studying whenever possible, 
 and the most eventful period of his life was when 
 he was a poor apprentice boy. 
 
 Mr. Curley married Miss Boyd, of Water 
 Valley, and they have three children : Annie, 
 Charley and Lillie, all attending school. Our 
 subject is a member of the Knights of Honor 
 and the Knights of Pythias, both of Paducah. 
 Mr. Curley has enjoyed a remarkable long tenure 
 of service with the T. C., covering a period of 
 twenty-three years. He is justly proud of his 
 record, few having started in so humble a way 
 and risen as he has done. What he is and what 
 he has is due entirely to his own efforts and char- 
 acter. He enjoys the confidence of his superiors, 
 and the respect and esteem of those under his 
 charge. In 1884, when Mr. Curley was general 
 foreman of the I. C. shops at Jackson, Tenn.,
 
 456 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 occurred a thrilling incident that put his loyalty 
 to the company to a crucial test : An engineer, 
 who had suddenly become insane, stole an engine 
 out of the yards, pulled onto the main line and 
 started on a wild man's run. As soon as the 
 fact became known, Capt. J. G. Mann, deceased, 
 then division superintendent, with headquarters 
 at -Jackson, ordered an engine out to overtake 
 the crazy engineer. Mr. Curley volunteered to 
 go on the hazardous mission, but it was with 
 difficulty that he secured a companion, a number 
 of employes declining to incur risk. The crazy 
 engineer was captured on his stolen locomotive 
 at Oakfield, seven miles north of Jackson, while 
 backing in on a siding. The extreme peril of the 
 icscue made Mr. Curley's volunteer service an 
 act of rare bravery and a supreme test of loyal- 
 ty to the company. 
 
 JULIAN T. EVANS, a conductor, now in 
 through freight service, but who was 
 in construction service for fourteen 
 months, on the Aberdeen division of the 
 Illinois Central, is a native of Monroe county,. 
 Miss. His father, who departed this life on 
 November the 19, 1899, was Captain J. J. Evans, 
 state treasurer from 1890 until 1896, and was 
 railroad commissioner from 1897 until 1899. He 
 served with distinction in the Confederate Army 
 in which he was brigadier general during the 
 entire Civil war, and was a man of much promi- 
 nence throughout the Southern states. He is 
 survived by his wife who resides at Jackson, 
 Miss. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the schools 
 of Jackson, Miss., and also at Jackson Millsaps 
 College. Desiring a railroad career, at the age 
 of eighteen, he entered the service of the Illinois 
 Central, as a brakeman on the Natchez district, 
 and was afterwards sent to the Louisiana divi- 
 sion. He came to the Aberdeen division in May 
 1897, and was soon placed in charge of a train* 
 as conductor. He has had experience in all sorts 
 of train work, and is at present in charge of a 
 
 coal run between Aberdeen and Brilliant, Ala., 
 with a. crew consisting of Joseph Campbell, flag- 
 man ; Wallace Yasser, brakeman ; on caboose No. 
 98,497. Mr. Evans affiliates with division No. 
 304, O. R. C., of Canton, Miss., Modern Wood- 
 men of the World, of Durant, Knights of the 
 Ancient Essensic Order, Jackson, Miss. He 
 resides at Aberdeen, Miss. 
 
 LEX. KENNEDY, engineer at Water 
 Valley, Miss., began work for the Illi- 
 nois Central railroad at the above 
 1 named place December 6, 1884. His 
 first railroad work, however, was in 1864, in the 
 employ of the Central Ohio Railroad, where he 
 was employed until 1868. He was then brake- 
 man for some time, and still later was off the road 
 for about a year. Mr. Kennedy was then pro- 
 moted at Zanesville, Ohio, and given a run be- 
 tween that place, Bellaire and Columbus, and 
 spent three years in the freight and passenger 
 service. Later he left that road and went to 
 Columbus, Ohio, and entered the employ of the 
 C., H. V. & T. Railroad, where he spent about 
 fourteen months, and then spent about eleven 
 months in the employ of the Baltimore & Ohio 
 Railroad, doing construction work between 
 Auburn and Hicksville. Mr. Kennedy's next 
 work was at the head of a passenger train be- 
 tween Garrett, Ind., and Chicago, but after spend- 
 ing about a year there he returned to the C., H. 
 V. & T. Railroad, at Columbus, and served as 
 freight engineer between that city, Straitsville 
 and Nelsonville. He was then off the road for 
 ten months, and when he returned he was given 
 the same run, but later was transferred to the 
 division between Columbus and Toledo. Decem- 
 ber 6, 1884, our subject moved to Water Valley, 
 Miss., and began work for the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, as a freight engineer between that city 
 and Jackson, Tenn. In 1890 he was promoted 
 to the passenger service between Jackson, Tenn., 
 and Canton, Mississippi, but his runs now 
 are on Nos. 21 and 22, and for the past
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 457 
 
 three years he has used engine No. 952. Mr. 
 Kennedy has made a record entirely free from 
 serious accidents, and has never been injured 
 in any since lie lias been on the railroad. Our 
 subject was born in Bellaire, Belmont county, 
 Ohio. He was first married in that city to Miss 
 Jane Robinson. She died in 1874, and our sub- 
 ject was subsequently married in Columbus, O., 
 to Miss Mary E. Hennessy of that city. By 
 his first marriage Mr. Kennedy has a family of 
 three children, as follows : Lizzie, widow of Wil- 
 liam Roy, a fireman on the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road who was killed at Malon Tank, Miss. ; Ir- 
 vin 1'., an engineer on the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road at Water Valley ; Edgar W., a fire- 
 man on the Illinois Central Railroad at Water 
 Valley. Socially Mr. Kennedy affiliates with 
 Division No. 99., B. of L. E., has been 
 chief of that lodge for four years, also chair- 
 man of the local grievance committee six years 
 and in 1895 attended the Ottawa convention. 
 He is also a Mason, holding membership in the 
 Valley City Lodge No. 402, A. F. & A. M., 
 McConnico R. A. Chapter and the St. Cyr 
 C'ommandery, Knights Templar, No. 6. 
 
 B. HIGHT, the oldest locomotive en- 
 gineer at Jackson, Tenn., began his 
 L Q railroad career at the above named 
 city, in the employ of the Mississippi 
 Central Railroad in 1870. He fired a switch 
 engine in the Jackson yards until 1874, when 
 he crossed the cab and has since had a hand on 
 the lever and throttle. He entered the employ 
 of the Illinois Central Railroad when that com- 
 pany leased the Missisippi Central lines, and 
 from the year 1870 he has worked continuously 
 in the Jackson yards. Prior to 1870, however, 
 our subject worked about two years in the shops 
 of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, at Jackson. Mr. 
 Hight was born in Jackson, Tenn., and has spent 
 his entire life in that city. He was there married 
 in 1876, to Miss Cordelia Sarah White, also of 
 Jackson, Tenn., and their home has been made 
 
 happy by the presence of a family of six chil- 
 dren, whose names in the order of their birth are 
 as follows : Maggie, Katie, Johnie, Willie, Robert 
 and Samuel. Johnie is now in the employ of 
 the M. Kidd grocery company. Our subject 
 is well known among the railroad men, and en- 
 joys the respect and esteem of all. His record 
 is an enviable one, being free from serious ac- 
 cidents and one that cannot fail to win the good 
 graces of the company. 
 
 J. RYAN, engineer at Jackson, 
 Tenn., began his railroad career 
 July 28, 1884, as an apprentice in 
 the Illinois Central shops under 
 M. M. Curley, and served until 1888, when he 
 began as a fireman on a switch engine in the 
 Jackson yards, and served in that capacity for 
 six months, after which he went onto the road, 
 his first regular engineer being W. H. Long. 
 This position he retained for about a year when 
 he was given charge of a switch engine in the 
 Jackson yards and had a hand on her throttle 
 about five months before his promotion. In 
 September 1890 Mr. Ryan was advanced to 
 engineer, ran extra out of Jackson for a time, 
 and in January 1897 got No. 610 for a regular* 
 engine and has since had a seat on the right side 
 of her cab. His first engine, No. 737, was a 
 mogul, and his second, No. 473, was also a 
 mogul, but later he had charge of different en- 
 gines. Mr. Ryan was born in Whistler, Ala., 
 but has spent the most of his life in Jackson. He 
 was married in 1898 to Miss Martha Brady, also 
 of Jackson, Tenn. Socially Mr. Ryan affiliates 
 with Division No. 93, B. of L. E., and also the 
 Elks, both of Jackson. He began work on the 
 road when a mere boy, and has since continu- 
 ously followed that occupation, meeting with 
 marked success, having never met with an acci- 
 dent. Mr. Ryan built the house in which he 
 now makes his home, at 425 East Chester street, 
 'in 1891.
 
 458 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 H. LOMAX, a popular conductor on 
 the Louisiana division of the I. 
 C., entered the service of the com- 
 pany in 1887 as brakeman with train- 
 master W. H .Fitzpatrick. He was promoted 
 to conductor in 1890, and is at present in charge 
 of a through freight, on the south end of the 
 Louisiana division. Mr. Lomax was in one very 
 serious accident. His train struck an open switch, 
 and he was so severely injured, as to incapacitate 
 him for duty, for six weeks. Mr. Lomax has 
 had more unavoidable wrecks on the Louisiana 
 division than any man in the service ; none of 
 which were his fault. 
 
 Mr. Lomax is a native of Holmes county, 
 Mississippi, and is a son of Tillman Lomax, who 
 was from South Carolina. Miss W. E. Easley, 
 of McComb City, became the wife of our subject, 
 and they have five children, viz : Warren, Thomas, 
 Oliver, Kennard, and Oakley. Socially he is con- 
 nected with the New Orleans Division, O. R. C., 
 and is also a member of the Knights of Honor, of 
 McComb City. He has a beautiful home on Broad- 
 way, in that city, and ranks high in the estima- 
 tion of its citizens. 
 
 B. F. GOOD, engineer at Jackson, Tenn., 
 did his first railroad work at Aurora, 
 HI-, in the employ of the C. B. & Q. 
 Railroad in 1879. After serving as 
 fireman for about six years, he was promoted 
 to engineer in 1885, and sent to Chicago to take 
 charge of a switch engine, and later took a run 
 from that city to Aurora. In the fall of 1888 
 he severed his connection with the C. B. & Q. 
 Railroad and came to Jackson, Tenn., to accept 
 a position as engineer for the Illinois Central 
 company, in the freight service, between that 
 city and Cairo. Subsequently he stood at the 
 head of the local between Jackson and Martin 
 for two years, and his present run is on Nos. 
 51 and 52, preferred freight, and on No. 81 south 
 from Jackson. Mr. Good was born in Ohio, near 
 the citv of Delaware. He was married in Colum- 
 
 bus Grove, Ohio, to Miss Olivia Rake, of Aurora, 
 111., and two children have been born to them, 
 as follows: Guy, a machinist in the Illinois Cen- 
 tral shops at Jackson, and Anita Blanche, who 
 is still making her home with her parents. Mr. 
 Good now holds a membership in Jackson Lodge 
 No. 93, B. of L. E., having been transferred to 
 that society from the Garden City Lodge No. 
 253 of Chicago. He is also connected with the 
 Masonic Order and the Knights of Pythias. Mr. 
 Good has always been very successful as a rail- 
 road man, and throughout his career, has never 
 met with serious accident and has never been in- 
 jured in any way. He has also prospered finan- 
 cially, incidentally laying up something for a 
 rainy day, and in 1892 purchased a home at 274 
 Deadrick avenue. 
 
 ,ICHARD C. PENDERGRAST, better 
 known as the " Irish Lord," is a jolly 
 whole-souled engineer, on the Louisiana 
 division of the Illinois Central. He is 
 a son of M. J. Pendergrast, at one time a well 
 known manufacturer at Memphis, Tenn., who 
 died in 1867. At the age of ten years our sub- 
 ject was sent to Notre Dame College, at South 
 Bend, Ind., but ran away and returned home. 
 He was sent back to school, only to leave again. 
 At the age of twelve he left home, and remained 
 away for seven years, never writing home or 
 disclosing his whereabouts. During that time 
 he traveled all over the country, following various 
 pursuits and accumulating five thousand dollars. 
 In 1868, he began railroad life in the shops at 
 Memphis, and after a service of eight months, 
 worked on the road for a time as fireman. He 
 then went to Central and South America, and re- 
 turning to Texas, worked as engineer on the Gal- 
 veston, Houston & Henderson R. R. He was 
 next employed on the Louisville & Nashville R. 
 R. as engineer, and later on the N. O. J. 
 & G. N. R. R. as conductor. He afterward 
 took an engine on the latter road, and in 1875 
 went to the Mississippi Central ; leaving that road
 
 ED. FULLER.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 461 
 
 lie returned to Galveston, and was given the im- 
 portant position of superintendent of transfers. 
 He then went to Memphis, and took charge of a 
 compress machine, and when the season was over, 
 secured a position as engineer on the Louisville 
 & Xashvillc R. R. In September 1877 he reen- 
 tered the employ of the Illinois Central, at Mc- 
 Comh City, and continued there until 1889, when 
 he was made general foreman for the road at 
 New Orleans, which position he held for a time 
 and then returned to McComb, and now has 
 one of the best runs on the McComb district, be- 
 tween that city and New Orleans. 
 
 Mr. Pendergrast was, in March 1883, united 
 in mariage to Miss ' Eliza, a daughter of Judge 
 Gernon, a prominent citizen of New Orleans. 
 Their union has been blessed by three children : 
 Eliza M. at school, Julian Gray and Philip S. 
 
 Socially, Mr. Pendergrast is prominent in 
 Masonic circles, being a Knight Templar, Com- 
 mandery No. i, of Jackson, Chapter No. 90, and 
 Blue Lodge No. 123. He was a charter member 
 of Division No. 173, B. of L. E., but transferred 
 to No. 196, of McComb City. He is a remark- 
 able self-made man, possessing traits of charac- 
 ter which enable him to make friends wherever 
 he goes. 
 
 D. FULLER, a freight engineer on the 
 Louisville division, is a native of Muh- 
 lenburg county, Ky. His father, W. 
 R. Fuller, a mechanic, died April 12, 
 1879, leaving our subject on his own resources 
 to support his mother. He first worked at the 
 blacksmith trade on the Ohio Valley road, after- 
 ward worked in a saw mill. He then commenced 
 his railroad service July 8, 1891, as fireman, con- 
 tinued at this up to December 1896, when he 
 was promoted to engineer, and has since run 
 nearly every class of engine on the system. He 
 has never suffered an injury or had any acci- 
 dent, is trusty and well liked by all. He has 
 worked for many master mechanics, and has 
 given such good satisfaction that he has never 
 been laid off. His present run is between Pa- 
 
 ducah and Henderson. Mr. Fuller married Miss 
 Mary Abraham, of Gallatin county, 111., and they 
 have four children : Corclie, a gifted pianist, 
 George Fuller, Michael and James C. Mr. Fuller 
 belongs to Division No. 238, B. of L. F., also 
 Division No. 225, B. of L. E., the Maccabees 
 and Blue Lodge No. 127, A. F. & A. M., all of 
 Paducah. While providing for his family he 
 has, like a dutiful son, made provision for his 
 old mother, who finds a home beneath his roof. 
 
 EORGE McIN-TYRE, a popular young 
 engineer in the freight service on the 
 Louisiana division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, is a native of Kenner, La., and is 
 a son of George Mclntyre Sr., a former well 
 known employe of the I. C., having been with the 
 company for about fifteen years. On November 
 
 20, 1883, at the age of sixteen, our subject entered 
 the service of the L. N. O. & T. Ry. (now the Y. 
 & M. V. Ry.) as a fireman. He resigned from 
 the service in 1885, and in 1886 entered the em- 
 ploy of the Texas Pacific Railroad, as a- fireman, 
 where he remained until his return to the I. C. 
 and November 22, 1889, was promoted to engi- 
 neer in the yards at Jackson, Miss. The follow- 
 ing year he went into the regular service out of 
 McComb City, and remained there until October 
 
 21, 1898, when he was dismissed on account of a 
 misunderstanding with caller. March 15, 1899, 
 he went to Lumberton, where he ran an engine 
 for a time and later a train, but resigned to ac- 
 cept a position as engineer on the Cincinnati 
 Southern Railroad, but after remaining there 
 a few months, returned to the Illinois Central, 
 at their request. He at present has a manifest 
 run on engine No. 715, with Thomas Brook, 
 as fireman. 
 
 Mr. Mclntyre married Miss Rosa Ricks, 
 of McComb City, and they are the parents of 
 one daughter. Socially, our subject is a mem- 
 ber of Division No. ^96, B. of L. E., of McComb 
 City, where he resides and has a large circle of 
 friends,
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 T. FRANKLIN, general foreman of 
 the shops at Jackson, Tenn., entered 
 the employ of the Illinois Central 
 company in the spring of 1881. His 
 first railroad work, however, was in the employ 
 of the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad 
 at Chillicothe, Ohio, as an apprentice under 
 George Baldwin, and after working there from 
 1864 until 1867, he went to Texas and entered 
 the employ of the Houston & Texas Central Rail- 
 road, worked for a time as machinist in that com- 
 pany's shops at Corsicana, and was then pro- 
 moted to the position of foreman of the round 
 house and served in that capacity until 1881. At 
 the last named date Mr. Franklin moved to 
 Jackson, Tenn., served as a machinist under J. 
 M. Keefer, master mechanic, until May, 1890, 
 when he was appointed to his present position. 
 Mr. Franklin has charge of a force of eight ma- 
 chinists and two helpers, two boiler makers and 
 three helpers, two blacksmiths and four helpers, 
 two carpenters and one helper, fourteen car re- 
 pairers, six coal heavers and fifty-five other 
 laborers. In 1881 the coal used at the Jackson 
 shops in twenty-four hours amounted to from 
 eighteen to thirty tons, and now it is from 
 one hundred and sixty to one hundred and 
 seventy-five tons every twenty-four hours. 
 In 1880 there were twelve freight engines 
 and four passenger engines on this division, 
 and now there are about twenty-four freight 
 and four passenger engines used. Our subject 
 was born in Germany, but came to America with 
 his parents when he was quite small and settled 
 hi Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1848, and was reared 
 in that city. One of his brothers, F. E. Frank- 
 lin, is now a coppersmith for the H. & T. C. Rail- 
 road ; and one brother, Philip, is a coppersmith 
 for the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad 
 at Chillicothe, Ohio. One half brother, J. G. 
 Neudorfer, is master mechanic of the Illinois 
 Ceritral Railroad, at Water Valley, Miss. 
 
 Mr. Franklin was married at Jackson, Tenn., 
 to Mrs. Powers, widow of Mr. Powers. She had 
 one son, C. E. Powers, an engineer for the Illi- 
 nois Central company at Jackson. Our subject 
 has one daughter, Mary, wife of A. Norwood, 
 
 also of Jackson. Mr. Franklin is a good ma- 
 chinist, an able foreman and a thorough and 
 systematic workman. His shop and round house 
 are among the very neatest and cleanest on the 
 entire Illinois Central system, and many of the 
 improvements are the fruits of his progressive 
 and wide awake nature. 
 
 JE. YOUNGBLOOD, conductor at East 
 St. Louis, began his railroad career 
 Q at the above named city in the employ 
 of the Cairo Short Line December 2, 
 1888, and served as a brakeman under conductor 
 A. M. Dowell, on a passenger train, between 
 Pinckneyville and Paducah. He served in that 
 capacity until April 1889, and was then trans- 
 ferred to the freight service and served under 
 Conductor A. L. Copple until 1890. Our sub- 
 ject was promoted to the position of conductor 
 in the freight service, and given a run from Pinck- 
 neyville to Paducah which he retained until 1896, 
 and was then off the road for five months. When 
 he returned to work he was placed in charge of 
 a freight train, from East St. Louis to Du Quoin 
 and to Mounds, and later served on the local 
 between East St. Louis and Carbondale. His 
 present run is from East St. Louis to Paducah 
 on a mixed train. 
 
 Mr. Youngblood was born at Benton, 111., 
 a son of F. M. Youngblood, of Carbondale, 111., 
 who was attorney for the Cairo Short Line from 
 the time it was established, and is now attorney 
 for the St. Louis division of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad. Our subject was married in Benton, 
 111., to Miss Nancie Gooch, of that city, and their 
 home has been blessed by the presence of a fami- 
 ly of three children, Josephine, Eveline and Fran- 
 cis M. Socially Mr. Youngblood affiliates with 
 St. Louis Division No. 3, O. R. C., and is now 
 serving that fraternity in the capacity of a mem- 
 ber of the general grievance committee. He has 
 been a successful conductor and has a good record 
 on the company's books. His caboose is No. 
 98,467.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 463 
 
 JF. DUNN, engineer at East St. Louis, 
 began his railroad career as a fireman 
 Q for the Illinois Central Railroad at Mc- 
 Comb City, Miss., in 1884, but after a 
 service of eight months entered the employ of the 
 firm of Hoskins & Hamilton, Brookhaven, Miss., 
 and for fourteen months he operated a stationary 
 engine in the saw mill. In 1886 he moved to* 
 East St. Louis, 111., and secured a position as 
 fireman for the Cairo Short Line Railroad. In 
 September 1887, our subject crossed the cab and 
 took charge of the lever and throttle. For eight 
 years his work was between East St. Louis and 
 Du Quoin, but later his run was extended toi 
 .Mounds. His present position is at the head of 
 a preferred train between East St. Louis and 
 Brooklyn, but is occasionally called out for extra 
 work in the passenger service. He is a very skill- 
 ful engineer and has made a record entirely free 
 from wrecks and has never received the slightest 
 injury while on the road. Socially he affiliates 
 with Egyptian Lodge No. 512 B. of L. E., of 
 East St. Louis, the Knights of Pythias, Eureka 
 Lodge No. 81, and the Knigths of Honor. Mr. 
 Dunn was born in Brookhaven, Miss., Septem- 
 ber 23, 1867. Three of his brothers have also 
 been in the service of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road, as follows : James, a fireman at East St. 
 Louis, died in October 1897; Sam, a machinist 
 in the Illinois Central round house at E. St. Louis ; 
 and Albert, wiper at the round house at East St. 
 Louis. Our subject is married to Miss Josie 
 Wright, of St. Louis, and one son, Frederick W., 
 has been born to them. 
 
 , OBERT C. JENKINS, a conductor, well 
 known and very popular with the 
 traveling public, on the Aberdeen divi- 
 sion of the Illinois Central, was born 
 at Emery, near Durant, Miss. Being thrown on 
 his own resources when a youth of sixteen, he 
 sought for, and obtained employment in the 
 freight office of the Illinois Central, at Durant, 
 serving under H. F. Lawrence, then agent, and 
 
 who resigned his position in 1888, to accept the 
 position of cashier of the bank of Durant. Our 
 subject was soon found trustworthy and capable, 
 and was promoted to bill clerk, afterward to check 
 clerk and also served as night agent for a time. 
 In 1890 he began regular road work as brakeman, 
 and was then placed in charge of extras, until as- 
 signed to his present run, in the passenger service 
 between Durant and Tchula, Miss. His trains 
 are Nos. 402, 403, 404 and 401. Mr Jenkins 
 has worked with his present engineer, Mr. Mc- 
 Intyre, for ten years, with the best of good feel- 
 ing and without mishaps or injuries. He is con- 
 nected with Division No. 304, O. R. C., of Can- 
 ton, and with the Masonic fraternity of Durant. 
 In 1891 Mr. Jenkins and Miss Carson, of Yazoo 
 City, were united in marriage, and they are the 
 parents of three children : Myrtle Laurine, Robert 
 Carson and Emerson Mangrum. He has a fine 
 home of his own in Durant, presided over with 
 grace and dignity by his estimable wife. Mr. 
 Jenkin-s is a self-made man; active, energetic and 
 studious. He is a general favorite, among the 
 employes of the I. C. and with the traveling pub- 
 lic there are none who stand higher. 
 
 ANIEL WEBSTER, engineer at East 
 St. Louis, began his railroad career in 
 this city, as a fireman on the Cairo 
 Short Line. His first run was from 
 East St. Louis to Du Quoin and later his run was 
 extended to Brooklyn and Paducah, serving in all 
 three years as a freight fireman. He was then 
 promoted to the passenger service and served 
 one year under Michael Mulconery and Don 
 Hendrixson. In 1883 Mr. Webster was pro- 
 moted to engineer, worked for a short time in the 
 East St. Louis yards, then his engine did con- 
 struction work between East St. Louis and Du 
 Quoin and later he served on a freight engine 
 until he was promoted to the passenger 
 service in November 1899, and has since 
 stood at the head of the Fast Mail between St. 
 Louis and Cairo, the Dixie Flyer, Nos, 202 and
 
 464 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 203, and also the local passenger between East 
 St. Louis and Brooklyn. Mr. Webster has had 
 charge, at different times, of all of the engines 
 that run out of East St. Louis, but the first one 
 he used in the passenger service was No. 1181. 
 He has never been injured in any way and never 
 met with accident since he entered the service of 
 the railroad. 
 
 Socially Mr. Webster is identified with 
 Egyptian Lodge No. 512 B. of L. E. of East St. 
 Louis and has served on the general board of ad- 
 justing committees and has always taken a whole- 
 some interest in the welfare of that fraternity. 
 He is looked upon by his fellow workmen as 
 a social leader, enjoys the confidence of his em- 
 ployers and the respect of all who know him. 
 Mr. Webster was married in June 1883, to Miss 
 Anna Meyers and four children were born to 
 them, Edgar, George, Earl and Daniel, deceased. 
 On March 25, 1897, he was married to Miss 
 Augusta Wehring, of Belleville, 111., and they 
 have one son, Clarence Dewey. 
 
 "T[<1HOMAS M. LEONARD, a locomotive 
 
 U engineer on the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road, began his railroad career in June 
 1886, at East St. Louis, as a wiper in 
 the shops of the St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute 
 Railroad. One year later he secured a position 
 a,s fireman and for the following nine months 
 he stood at the left side of a switch engine. Next, 
 Mr. Leonard was transferred to a regular run 
 under Engineer Ira Bookstaver, between East St. 
 Louis and Du Quoin, which position he retained 
 until he was set up to engineer four years later, 
 or in the year 1890. Mr. Leonard's first work 
 in the capacity of engineer was on a switch en- 
 gine in the yards at East St. Louis, where he! 
 spent three years, the most of the time with the 
 night crew. He was next employed for a time 
 on extra trains, but since 1896 he has had a, 
 regular run, but has been transferred several 
 times. His present trip is from East St. Louis 
 to Brooklyn. Mr. Leonard has been a very suc- 
 
 cessful railroad man, has made a record free from 
 wrecks and has never been injured on the road. 
 Mr. Leonard was born in Ireland. He was 
 married in East St. Louis to Miss Mary Hodder 
 of that city, and two children, George and 
 Marion, have been born to them. Socially our 
 subject affiliates with Egyptian Lodge No. 5 I2 
 B. of L. E., and also Division No. 44, B. of L. F., 
 both of East St. Louis, and at different times 
 has been honored by both of these fraternities 
 with offices. He built his present comfortable 
 residence at 608 Bond avenue, E. St. Louis, in 
 1898. 
 
 L. CHANDLER, locomotive engineer 
 at Jackson, Tenn.; began work for 
 the Illinois Central Railroad in 1880, 
 as a call boy at East Cairo, Ky., un- 
 der Foreman I. J. Randall. Two years later he 
 left this position for that of switchman in the 
 yards at East Cairo, and later secured the posi- 
 tion of fireman on the incline, which he retained 
 for about a year. During the following two 
 years and seven months he performed the duties 
 of fireman on the main line, between Jackson 
 and Cairo. In January 1887 our subject was 
 set up to engineer, and worked in that capacity 
 in the Jackson yards for about six months, then 
 ran extra about a year and was then given a 
 regular run on engine No. 293, a Jack White 
 make. Eight months later he was transferred 
 to engine No. 351, later to 751, a Wei don mogul, 
 then No. 761, after which he was placed in charge 
 of No. 611, a new engine, and she is still in his 
 hands. Mr. Chandler had charge of the first 
 freight engine, No. 351, that crossed the Cairo 
 bridge, drawing for its load a special Knigths of 
 Pythias train. Since 1897 our subject has been 
 in the preferred freight service, between Jackson 
 and Mounds, but also does a great deal of pas- 
 senger work. Mr. Chandler was born in Ripley, 
 Tenn., a son of Carroll A. Chandler of Jackson, 
 Tenn. The father was also an employe of the 
 Illinois Central Railroad, beginning his career 
 with a job of construction work in 1874, and re-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 465 
 
 
 mained in the employ of the company about thir- 
 teen years. He also worked for the Mobile & 
 Ohio Railroad at Cairo and East Cairo, running 
 the transfer boat between those points for 
 several years, but retired from service in 1892. 
 He has held many public offices in Jackson, is 
 now constable, and a candidate for the office of 
 sheriff of the county. The father married Miss 
 Mary E. Griggs, of Ripley, Tenn., and of their 
 family we have the following record : Edgar, 
 an engineer on the Illinois Central Railroad from 
 1875 until 1897, died July 28th, of the last named 
 year ; Millie J., wife of Thomas J. Hunt, of Jack- 
 son, whose biography appears on another page of 
 this volume; R. L., the subject of this sketch, 
 married Miss Maggie McColpin, of Jackson, 
 and one daughter, Ruth Lee, was born to them 
 March 22, 1897; Lillie Belle, at home; Callie, an 
 engineer on the Illinois Central Railroad, married 
 Claude Pitts, of Jackson, and one son, Eddie, 
 has been born to them; C. P., an engineer on the 
 Illinois Central Railroad, is still single and mak- 
 ing his home with his parents. Socially Mr. 
 Chandler affiliates with Division No. 93, B. of 
 L. E., the Elks, No. 192, and Madison Lodge 
 No. 16, I. O. O. F., of Jackson. 
 
 D. McCONACHIE, a prominent loco- 
 motive engineer at East St. Louis, 
 O began his railroad career at the 
 above named city March 17, 1882, 
 in the employ of the Cairo Short Line. He 
 worked for a time in the shops, then fired in the 
 yards six months with different engineers, then 
 fired between East St. Louis and Du Quoin with 
 different ones for a short time, and later served 
 as a fireman on a coal train. 
 
 In December 1886 our subject was set up 
 to engineer and for the following six months he 
 had charge of a switch engine in the East 
 St. Louis yards, and then accepted a run from 
 Pinckneyville to Brooklyn, which he retained for 
 seven years, then between Du Quoin and Eldo- 
 rado, and later between Pinckneyville and Brook- 
 
 lyn. In August 1898 our subject accepted a 
 position at the head of the Creal Springs Local, 
 and in December of the same year, he was ap- 
 pointed to runs on engines Nos. 203, 201, 202, 
 and 204, and later was given the Dixie Flyer 
 and the Fast Mail. Mr. McConachie was born 
 in Perry county, 111., near Coulterville. He was 
 married at Belleville, Illinois, to Miss Mary 
 Schwender, who was born in Uniontown, Ky. 
 One daughter, Freddie May, has blessed their 
 home. Socially our subject affiliates with 
 Egyptian Lodge No. 512 B. of L. E. of East St. 
 Louis. He is a fine engineer, very popular among 
 his fellow, workmen and with one exception 
 never met with accident of any kind. This one 
 occurred July 18, 1899, in which our subject re- 
 ceived serious injuries from scalding and a cut 
 on his head, but was at his post of duty again 
 after about three months. Mr. McConachie still 
 owns his home in Pinckneyville, which he built in 
 1890. 
 
 ILLIAM McINTYRE is a highly 
 popular engineer on the Aberdeen 
 division of the Illinois Central. He 
 was born in St. Louis, Missouri, 
 but went to Mississippi with his parents when 
 young. His father was well known on the 
 Louisiana division of the I. C., having served in 
 various capacities on that division, and was at 
 the time of his death a bridge foreman. Our 
 subject began railroad life in the blacksmith 
 shops of the I. C. in McComb City, where he 
 was employed about one year and a half. In 
 1886 he took a position as fireman, and was four 
 years in that branch of the service, when he was 
 promoted to engineer, his first engine being No. 
 50, I. C. build. He was sent from McComb 
 City to Durant, in 1890, as substitute for an 
 engineer who was sick, and has since remained 
 there, on his present run, in the passenger service 
 between Durant and Tchula, Mississippi. He 
 has now served ten years with conductor Jenkins, 
 in the most complete harmony and best of good 
 feeling. The career of Mr. Mclntyre has been
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 most successful, not so much as five cents worth 
 of the company's property being damaged 
 through any fault of his. His closest call was 
 three miles west of Durant, where three cars were 
 thrown over a trestle and three persons were 
 injured, caused by the spreading of a rail. He 
 had just crossed the trestle when the accident 
 happened, and escaped without injury. Mr. 
 Mclntyre married Miss Langan, of Canton, 
 Miss., the result of their union being three child- 
 ren, viz : Annie W., Winifred and Georgie. He 
 is one of those whole-hearted men of sunny 
 disposition, whom one takes pleasure in knowing 
 and cultivating. As an employe of the I. C. 
 there is probably not a more popular man on the 
 Aberdeen division, and as a citizen of Durant, 
 where he resides in a fine home of his own, he 
 has the confidence of the entire community. 
 
 severely scalded and was obliged to discontinue 
 his work for some time on account of his wounds. 
 The wreck occurred in Freeburg. Aside 
 from this he has a good record and has quite a 
 successful career. 
 
 Mr. Krewson was born in Newtown, Pa. 
 In 1850 he came west and located at Cherry Vale, 
 Kans., and engaged in the stock business at that 
 place for three years, before he entered the em- 
 ploy of the railroad company. In 1893 ne was 
 united in marriage to Miss Kate Elithorp, of 
 Paducah, Ky. Socially he affiliates with Egyp- 
 tian Lodge No. 512, B. of L. E., of East St. 
 Louis, and also the Masonic fraternity, Blue 
 Lodge and Chapter No. 183. The last named 
 lodge he joined in Pinckneyville. 
 
 KREWSON, engineer at East St. 
 Louis, began his railroad career 
 as a fireman on the Cairo Short 
 Line, with engineer Henderson, 
 between East St. Louis and Du Quoin, spent two 
 years with him and then fired a year and a half 
 for Engineer Joseph Jackson. In 1880 Mr. 
 Krewson was advanced to engineer and worked 
 for a short time in the yards. Later he was 
 given a run between Belleville and Pinckneyville, 
 after which he was at the head of a coal train 
 for a year, then ran a through freight for a time, 
 was on the paper train four months, and in 1887 
 was given a passenger run between Pinckney- 
 ville and Paducah. This run, however, was soon 
 changed for one between East St. Louis and 
 Paducah, and the latter for one between Creal 
 Springs and Murphysboro, and his present run 
 is East St. Louis to Creal Springs. Mr. Krew- 
 son's first engine after his promotion was No. 3, 
 and since that time, he has- occupied a seat, at 
 different times, on the right side of nearly every 
 engine running out of East St. Louis on the Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad. Mr. Krewson has been 
 caught in one wreck, in which he was quite 
 
 EORGE SIMPSON, engineer at East 
 St. Louis, 111., began his railroad career 
 with a labor gang, spending, three 
 months in that capacity, and later 
 worked three months in the shops as a helper, 
 and then worked in the store room four months. 
 He began as a fireman on the " Short Line " 
 in April 1887, with a run from East St. Louis 
 to Du Quoin and Brooklyn and an occassional 
 run over the other Illinois Central lines in 
 southern Illinois. The first engineer under 
 whom he worked was Mark Mollenaux and sub- 
 sequently, at different times, served under Wil- 
 liam Biffett and John Ash, in the passenger ser- 
 vice under Ira Sweet, on freight, William Mc- 
 Creary and others. In 1891 Mr. Simpson was 
 placed in charge of the levers of a switch engine, 
 in the East St. Louis yards for about six months, 
 and was then set back to firing for a time on ac- 
 count of slack business, and subsequently 
 served on extra trains until 1895. During that 
 year he was placed in charge of engine No. 345, 
 and later No. 879 and his work was extended 
 over the entire Illinois division. Mr. Simpson 
 was born in Coleville, Pa. One of his brothers, 
 William Simpson, is also an Illinois Central en- 
 gineer at East St. Louis. Our subject affiliates,
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 467 
 
 socially, with Division No. 512, B. of L. E., and 
 also Division No. 44, B. of L. F., both of East 
 St. Louis. He has been a very successful rail- 
 road man as may be deduced from the above 
 record and from the fact that he has never been 
 injured on the road, nor participated in any 
 serious accidents. Mr. Simpson was married to 
 Miss Lottie Hardgrove, of St. Louis, Mo., and 
 their home has been blessed by the presence of a 
 son, Clarence. 
 
 ETER CONATY, engineer at East St. 
 Louis, began his railroad career at the 
 above named eity in the employ of the 
 St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute Rail- 
 road as a fireman, under engineer Charles 
 Walker. He was employed as an extra until 
 May 15, 1884, when he was transferred to Belle- 
 ville as a hostler, and later had charge of the 
 round house at that place for twenty-two months. 
 Later he was given a regular run with Engineer 
 J. C. Ash, on engine No. 4, on the Belleville 
 Branch, and after retaining that position twenty 
 months, he was given a place between East St. 
 Louis and Du Quoin under Engineer Peter Tobin, 
 engine No. 14, and was thus employed fourteen 
 months. In September 1888 our subject was set 
 up to engineer, worked one month in the East 
 St. Louis yards, then for a time ran extra on the 
 road and in the yards, was on the road during the 
 years 1896 and '97, and since that date has had 
 charge of engine No. 152 in the East St. Louis 
 yards. In October 1896 Mr. Conaty had the mis- 
 fortune to sprain his ankle while at work, but 
 with the exception of this slight injury he has 
 met with no misfortune since he entered the ser- 
 vice of the railroad company. He is well known 
 along the line, is pleasant to meet, jovial and has 
 a good word anil a story for all. To retain a 
 fit of the " Blues " in the presence of Mr. Conaty 
 is next to impossible. Socially he is identified 
 with Egyptian Lodge No. 512, B. of L. E. 
 
 Mr. Conaty was born in the eastern part of 
 Ireland, a son of Thomas Conatv. The father 
 
 was a section boss for the Illinois Central com- 
 pany for several years, and laid the first steel 
 bolted switch and frog for the company. He 
 was on the road from 1865 to 1886, but is now 
 living at Du Quoin. Our subject was married 
 at. East St. Louis to Miss Kate Driscoll, of that 
 city and their wedded life has been blessed by 
 the presence of a son named John. 
 
 Murphy. 
 
 H. POPE, engineer at East St. Louis, 
 began his railroad career in the shops 
 at this city September 8, 1886, and 
 worked there under Master Mechanic 
 He then secured a position as fireman 
 on a switch engine and was then transferred to 
 the road service between East St. Louis and Du 
 Quoin, where he fired for Engineer West E. 
 Salisbury, and later with Jake Miller. After 
 serving for some time as a passenger fireman, 
 Mr. Pope crossed the cab and took charge of 
 the lever and throttle. In this capacity he worked 
 on a switch engine for five months, then six 
 months on an engine doing construction work be- 
 tween Murphysboro and Metropolis, after which 
 he ran extra between Belleville and Pinckney- 
 ville for a time, then served on engine No. 15 be- 
 tween East St. Louis and Paducah for eighteen 
 months, and on No. 31, on the same run, then 
 on No. 25, a Baldwin, for five years between 
 East St. Louis and Paducah, after that No. 336 
 for about six months on short local between 
 Pinckneyville and Carbondale. Later was as- 
 signed to Nos. 274 and 275 between East St. 
 Louis and Paducah for seven months, then Nos. 
 253 and 53 on the I. C. system and then No. 505, 
 a Rogers, between East St. Louis and Mounds. 
 
 Mr. Pope was born in Du Quoin, 111., De- 
 cember 2, 1867. He was married at Pinckney- 
 ville to Miss Ethel Trafftz of that city, and four 
 children have been born to them ; Mable E., Helen 
 L., died January 6, 1895, Brownie and Harry. 
 Socially our subject is connected with the fol- 
 lowing fraternities: Egyptian Lodge No. 512, 
 B. of L. E., of East St. Louis; the Masonic
 
 4(iH 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 fraternity in which he has attained the Royal 
 Arch Degree No. 244, at Du Quoin; Eastern 
 Star No. 242 ; Home Forum No. 1059, at Pinck- 
 nevville; and the Sons of Veterans. The first 
 named lodge Mr. Pope has served in the capa- 
 city of Chief one term and is also now holding 
 an office in the lodge. As a railroad man he has 
 been very successful, has skillfully avoided ac- 
 cidents and made friends among his fellow work- 
 men and employers. 
 
 RTHUR H. MILLS, one of the many 
 engineers that make Water Valley their 
 home, began the life of railroad man in 
 1881 as fireman at Du Quoin, 111., in 
 the yards and on a freight run between Centralia 
 and Cairo. About j888 he was transferred to 
 Water Valley, and a year after examined and pro- 
 moted to engineer and given a freight run. 
 From 1896 he was employed in the yards in the 
 switching service. January 20, 1900, he was ac- 
 cidently shot, the ball entering his left side and 
 left lung, and confined him to his room for four 
 months. On his recovery he was re-instated 
 on the road, where he has a regular run. Mr. 
 Mills was born at Grantham, Lincolnshire, Eng- 
 land, May 25, 1862, coming to America when 
 eight years of age. His schooling was secured 
 in his native place and at Du Quoin where he 
 was reared after coming to the new world. He 
 was married at Water Valley to Miss E. V. 
 Freshwater, whose father was a cabinet maker 
 in the employ of the I. C. shops at Water Valley, 
 until he was transferred to McCoinb City as fore- 
 man. Mr. and Mrs. Mills have two children liv- 
 ing, Charles and an infant son. Mr. Mills is a 
 member of the I. O. O'. F., and the Water Valley 
 Division, No. 99, B. of L. E. Prior to the ac- 
 cident above narrated Mr. Mills had been through 
 several wrecks and twice went down with his 
 engine in a wash-out, where the road had been 
 undermined, but escaped injury. He is con- 
 sidered a careful engineer by his colleagues and 
 a good neighbor by his fellow townsmen. 
 
 AROLD U. WALLACE, superintendent 
 of the Freeport division of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, with headquarters at 
 Freeport, 111., was born at Rock Island, 
 Hi. Mr. Wallace was educated at the Chicago 
 Manual Training School and Purdue Universi- 
 ty, at LaFayette, Ind. He began work for the 
 Illinois Central Railroad, June i, 1894, as as- 
 sistant engineer ; worked in this capacity until 
 September 30, 1896; road master of the First 
 division until February 20, 1898; road master 
 of the Tenth Louisville division until March i, 
 1900; assistant superintendent of the Evansville 
 district of the Louisville division until April i, 
 1900, when he was promoted to his present posi- 
 tion. 
 
 R. JAMES H. SHOFFNER, the offi- 
 cial surgeon of the Illinois Central at 
 Water Valley, Miss., is a native of Car- 
 roll county, Tennessee, his birth hav- 
 ing occurred May 27, 1841. His parents short- 
 ly after moved to Mt. Pleasant, where he was 
 reared and received his education. He read 
 medicine with the physicians of Marshall county 
 and attended the New Orleans School of Medi- 
 cine, and later the medical department of the 
 University of Nashville from which he graduated. 
 The war breaking out, he enlisted in the surgical 
 department and served the Confederacy during 
 the entire war from Virginia to Louisiana. 
 After peace, he located for practice at Mt. Pleas- 
 ant, Marshall county, Mississippi, where he re- 
 mained until 1875, he then removed to Coldwater 
 in Tate county, practicing there some four years. 
 From 1879 to 1882 he engaged in practice at 
 Moscow, Term., and during the latter year re- 
 moved to Water Valley, where he has since re- 
 sided and built up the largest practice in the city. 
 In 1886 his skill in his profession was recognixed 
 by the Illinois Central Railroad, and was re- 
 quested to accept the position of official surgeon 
 for the district extending from Grand Junction. 
 Tenn., to Winona, Miss. Dr. Shoffner was mar- 
 ried in 1862 in Marshall countv, to Miss Sue 

 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 471 
 
 Ilinton to whom six chidren have been born. 
 The eldest child, Dixie, died in infancy ; William 
 F. is station agent for the Central at Water Val- 
 ley ; Lulu, married O. C. Savage; Emmett is 
 assistant station master under his brother ; Zola 
 and Janie are still within the parental household. 
 The doctor is a member of the Masonic fra- 
 ternity at Water Valley, and is also a Knight of 
 Honor. He is official examiner for the New 
 York Life and the Equitable insurance com- 
 panies of New York. He is a typical old school 
 doctor taking an interest in the personal welfare 
 of his clientele as if they were members of his 
 own household and is in turn loved by them as 
 if he were their kin. As a professional man his 
 ability is recognized as the highest, and it is well 
 known that he keeps abreast of the times. 
 
 jtjtjtjtjtjt 
 
 JAMES FITZPATRICK. No engineer in 
 in the employ of the Illinois Central is 
 better or more favorably known, both 
 among the officials and the employes 
 than our subject. It has been said that he is 
 one of the most proficient men in the service, 
 and the fact that he has often been detailed to 
 pull Presidential and other official trains, vouches 
 for the above. He is not a man who has reached 
 the top round of the ladder without beginning 
 at the bottom. He began as brakeman in 1876 
 with John Humphrey, but most of his braking 
 service, which continued for two years, was done 
 for Bill Stempson. At the end of this time he 
 went in the yards for one day and then began 
 tiring on the road for Chas. Draper in the through 
 passenger service and continued with him for 
 three years, or until December 21, 1884, when 
 he was set up to engineer, and his first running 
 was done in North Cairo yards on No. 22. He 
 remained there three months, then returned to 
 Chicago and was in the switch and road service 
 until February 18, 1886, when he was given 
 suburban 'engine No. 226 and continued there 
 two years, then pulled freight until 1893, when 
 he was put in the World's Fair service. At the 
 
 close of the Fair he continued in the suburban 
 express service until Nov. 1896, when he went 
 on the road pulling a through passenger train, 
 where he has remained up to the present time. 
 He runs No. 969, one of the most modern and 
 fastest engines owned by the I. C. Co. In Oct. 
 1898 he was sent to Springfield, 111., with this 
 engine to bring the Presidential train to Chicago 
 as the President and party were en route at that 
 time to attend the Peace Jubilee. During that 
 trip, Traveling Engineer Davis, and Mechanical 
 Engineer Rosing rode in the cab. The Spring- 
 field papers contained very fine notices of the 
 engine, which was handsomely decorated. 
 
 Mr. Fitzpatrick was born in Chicago in 
 1857. His father, Peter Fitzpatrick, was at one 
 time in the employ of the I. C. as a watchman in 
 the car works at 27th street. 
 
 Mr. Fitzpatrick married Katie O'Connor, of 
 Valparaiso, Ind., and has one child, Sarah Lillie, 
 aged sixteen years. He is a member of Division 
 No. 10, B. of L. E., of Burnside. 
 
 ENRY FOGERTY, a locomotive engi- 
 neer in the employ of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, was born in Chicago, September 
 5, 1864, a son of John and Maria 
 (McAvoy) Fogerty, natives of Ireland and New 
 Jersey respectively. The father died in 1892, 
 while the mother passed away in 1895. 
 
 Mr. Fogerty entered the employ of the Illi- 
 nois Central, October 7, 1885, as a fireman on 
 switch engine No. 136, with Thomas Spales, and 
 was with him three days, after which he went 
 on through freight and passenger service, fir- 
 ing on the former for T. F. Murphy, for two 
 years and eight months, and in the passenger 
 service for Frank Rugg. October 30, 1889, he 
 was promoted to the right side of the cab and 
 went into the construction service on engine No. 
 239, remaining there three months, when he was 
 put on a through freight and served until April 
 9. 1893, when he went into the passenger ser- 
 vice on the Chicago division, and for six years
 
 472 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 had charge of engine No. 209. He now runs 
 engine No. 1409 in the passenger service. He 
 has never had any serious accidents and has 
 never been injured. Our subject has two brothers 
 in the service, as engineers, on the Illinois 
 Central : Steve C. has been an engineer for four 
 years and John for one year. Mr. Fogerty 
 married Miss Annie Mathews, of Chicago, Feb. 
 6th, 1894. He is a member of division No. 10. 
 B. of L. E., of Burnside. 
 
 in charge of the shops at Twenty-seventh street 
 as general foreman, but in the fall of the same 
 year he was transferred to East St. Louis, where 
 he has since performed the duties of master 
 mechanic. 
 
 Mr. Hatz, was born at Hennepin, 111., June 
 I, 1867, the son of George Hatz, a blacksmith, 
 and inherited from his father a taste for iron 
 work. He was married at Danville, 111., in 1891, 
 to Miss Josephine Miller, and one son, Herbert, 
 has been entrusted to their care. Mr. Hatz is 
 identified with Custer Lodge No. 131, K. of P., 
 at Grand Crossing, Chicago. 
 
 EORGE J. HATZ, master mechanic at 
 the shops at East St. Louis, is a man 
 of wide experience in mechanical 
 arts, having been employed in several 
 different localities. He began his trade in 1879, 
 at the age of fourteen years, in Terre Haute, 
 Ind., serving an apprenticeship in the shops of 
 the Vandalia Railroad company. After com- 
 pleting his apprenticeship, Mr. Hatz worked one 
 year for the Wabash Railroad at Moberly, Mo., 
 and then returned to the Vandalia company at 
 Terre Haute for about six months. His next 
 experience was at Marshall, Texas, where he 
 spent a year with the Texas Pacific Railroad, 
 after which he spent a few years with various 
 railroad and manufacturing companies, as fol- 
 lows : a short time with the Kansas City Frog 
 and Switch Co., of Kansas City, four years with 
 the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad at Dan- 
 ville, 111. ; one year with the Toledo, St. Louis & 
 Kansas City Railroad at Delphos, Ohio; with 
 the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad at 
 Raton, N. Mex., a short time as machinist. Mr. 
 Hatz next went to Chicago to accept a position 
 as general foreman for the Chicago, Lake Shore 
 & Eastern Railroad company, but a few months 
 later he left to take the position of journeyman 
 for the Illinois Central company at Burnside, 
 Chicago. After spending a year in this capaci- 
 ty, and also a year in charge of the machinery, 
 Mr. Butterworth left and Mr. Hatz succeeded 
 to the foremanship, and retained that position 
 for three years. January 23, 1899, he was placed 
 
 &TT& M. YOUNG, foreman of machinery 
 for the Illinois Central, at Jackson, 
 O Miss., entered the service of the com- 
 pany in 1892, as a machinist in the 
 shops at McComb City, where he remained until 
 November 1898, when appointed to his present 
 position at Jackson. Mr. Young's career in 
 railroad work began on the St. Louis & South 
 Western R. R. at Tyler, Texas, where he was 
 for nine months in the shops of that road as a 
 machinist. From Texas he went to Mexico, 
 where he worked for a short time for the Mexi- 
 can International R. R., and from there to the 
 California Southern R. R. at San Bernardino, 
 Cal. From the latter place he took a position 
 with the Union Iron Works, of San Francisco, 
 when, after a short service, he went to LaGrande, 
 Oregon, working there three months for the 
 Union Pacific R. R. He next went to Honolulu, 
 in the Sandwich Islands, but returned to the 
 United States and located for a short period at 
 Wadsworth, Nev., working there for the Central 
 Pacific R. R. From the latter place he came 
 to McComb City, entering the service of the 
 Illinois Central, and has since remained with 
 that company. Mr. Young was born in Pitts- 
 ton, Penn., in November 1867. His father was 
 John Young, a native of Scotland, a moulder by 
 trade, who came to America and worked in Scran- 
 ton, Penn., for a long time at his trade. Mr.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 473 
 
 Young Sr. returned to Scotland in 1874, where 
 he is now residing, and pursuing his trade of 
 moulder. Our subject went to Scotland with his 
 father, and there learned his trade, afterward 
 returning to the United States. 
 
 Mr. Young was united to Miss Belle Pat- 
 terson, of New Orleans, and they had two chil- 
 dren, of whom Louise Signe, is living, and Jack, 
 is dead. The family reside in a comfortable, 
 well furnished home on Minerva avenue, in the 
 city of Jackson, Miss., and are highly respected 
 residents of that place. Mr. Young's career 
 with the Illinois Central has been a successful 
 tine, officials and employes alike holding him in 
 high regard. 
 
 JAMES H. DOUGLASS, report clerk in 
 the freight department of the Illinois 
 Central, at Jackson, Miss., has been with 
 the company ten years. He entered the 
 service of the road at Water Valley, Miss., as 
 night yard-clerk, and was afterward promoted 
 to day-clerk, serving there about four years in 
 that capacity, and as assistant to the agent. He 
 then went to Winona, Miss., as cashier in the 
 freight department, serving three months. His 
 next work was as assistant agent for the Southern 
 R. R., at West Point, Miss., where he was em- 
 ployed six months. He then returned to the Illi- 
 nois Central at Water Valley, as day-clerk, and 
 on January i, 1897, was transferred to Jackson 
 as report clerk, where he is now creditably serv- 
 ing. Mr. Douglass is a native of Water Valley, 
 where his father was the proprietor of a saw- 
 mill and an extensive lumber yard. Two 
 brothers-in-law of our subject are connected 
 with the I. C. They are, W. F. Shoffner, agent 
 at Water Valley, and E. Mcllwain, a conductor 
 in the passenger service, residing at Jackson, 
 Tenn. Mr. Douglass was united in marriage 
 to Miss Adine, a daughter of George R. Gordin, 
 freight agent for the I. C. at Jackson. They 
 have a pleasant home at number 316 Clifton 
 street in that city. 
 
 ILLIAM T. HENRY, chief clerk in 
 the freight department of the Illi- 
 nois Central, at Jackson, Miss., en- 
 tered the service of the company in 
 1874 as clerk in the freight office at Jackson, and 
 was also in the same capacity at New Orleans. 
 He remained in the employ of the I. C. from 
 1874 until 1880. In the latter year, he went to 
 the Alabama & Vicksburg R. R. as chief clerk in 
 the freight office, at Meridian, Miss., occupying 
 that position three years. He then retired from 
 railroad service, and entered mercantile life, at 
 Bolton, Miss., where he worked as book-keeper 
 for one firm, for fourteen years. Returning to 
 Jackson he accepted his present position, under 
 George R. Gordin, where he has since remained 
 and is rendering efficient service. 
 
 Our subject is a native of Mississippi, born 
 in January 1855. His father, during his lifetime, 
 followed the occupation of a book-keeper and ac- 
 countant. Mr. Henry was united to Miss Anna 
 B. Bush, and two children are the result of their 
 union, they are, Allie Philips and Myra Belle. 
 Mr. Henry, with his estimable wife and children, 
 occupies a good home on North President street, 
 in Jackson, of which place he is a highly respected 
 citizen. 
 
 RANK G. MARGADANT, the capable 
 foreman of the tin shops of the Illinois 
 J_[ Central, at Waterloo, Iowa, was born 
 
 in that city on April 13, 1872. His 
 early life was spent in acquiring a practical edu- 
 cation in the schools of his native town, and 
 after finishing he entered the service of the I. C. 
 Ry., serving for three months in the machine 
 shops of Waterloo. He then entered the tin 
 shops as an apprentice, and served a full appren- 
 ticeship, finishing on April 13, 1894. Continu- 
 ing in the employ of the company in the shops, 
 he was on June i, 1894, promoted to foreman of 
 the shops, which position he has held ever since 
 and is acceptably filling. 
 
 Mr. Margadant is one of the third genera- 
 tion of his family to see service with the I. C.
 
 474 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 His grandfather, Florian Margadant, who was 
 born in 1818, at Tani, Switzerland, was in the 
 employ of the company from 1861 until 1883 
 at Dubtique, Iowa. He retired in that year, and 
 died in 1899. Christian Margadant, the father 
 of our subject, was born at Davos, Switzerland, 
 in 1847, and was married to Miss Frederica Loat, 
 a native of Germany. He emigrated to America 
 in 1858, and in 1863 entered the service of the I. 
 C. at Dubuque. 
 
 The marriage of Frank G. Margadant and 
 Miss Mae R. Jackson of Waterloo, Iowa, oc- 
 curred on May 20, 1896. One daughter, Irene 
 Mae, now deceased, was born to them. Mr. Mar- 
 gadant is a member of Helmet Lodge No. 89, 
 Knights of Pythias of Waterloo, Iowa. Being 
 a skilled workman, and a man of genial manners, 
 he is held in high esteem by his superiors and fel- 
 low employes. 
 
 'ICHOLAS SCHILLING began with 
 the Illinois Central in 1879. He then 
 worked in the shops with Mr. Renshaw 
 for six weeks, when he began firing 
 on freight, he worked as fireman nineteen months 
 and then went to the Rock Island Railroad as 
 fireman, remaining for two years. He worked 
 in Marshall Field's dry goods store in Chicago 
 in the carpet department two years, in the retail 
 department, and then for Libby, McNeil & Libby, 
 of Chicago, until 1890. He then returned to the 
 Central railroad and began firing on road engine 
 No. 35, between Chicago and Champaign with 
 Dennis Kenny, engineer. He then fired for John 
 Powers, engineer, for one year, and then fired 
 for " Hank " Smith on engine No. 925 on passen- 
 ger train on the Chicago division. He fired there 
 until 1892 and then he took charge of a switch 
 engine No. 1344 and ran same until May i, 
 1893. and then went on the road with engine 
 \ n - 3'5- where he has since been on a regular 
 run. 
 
 Our subject married Miss Sarah Ranee, who 
 was born in 1865, in Bloomington, 111., and they 
 
 have two children, Clarence, ten years old, and 
 Frank, eight years old. The father of our subject, 
 John Schilling, died when Nicholas was three 
 years old. Our subject was born in Chicago, Aug. 
 5, 1863. He was never injured or in any but 
 small wrecks. He owns a pleasant home at 
 2607, 99th Place. Mr. Schilling belongs to Divi- 
 sion No. 10, B. of L. E., of Burnside, and is 
 a very prominent engineer. 
 
 TEW ART GILKINSON, who was born 
 in Scotland and saw his first service 
 in his native country, is today one of 
 the most trusted engineers in the em- 
 ploy of the Illinois Central Railroad. He was 
 born in Glasgow June 23, 1856, and first worked 
 in the Dubbs Boiler Works. His first railroad- 
 ing was done in 1869, on the Caledonian R. R. 
 of Scotland, as a freight brakeman. He con- 
 tinued as such three years and was then put in 
 charge of a freight train. In that country at 
 that time, the order of promotion was from brake- 
 man to fireman, then to what was called first 
 brake, same as conductor in this country, and then 
 to engineer. He continued as first brake two 
 years and was then set up to extra engineer be- 
 tween Glasgow and Carlisle, south; north to 
 Perth, and west to Greenock. He continued as 
 extra until 1881, when he resigned, and sailed 
 for America, and on the 3Oth of April began fir- 
 ing on the Chicago & Northwestern, where he 
 worked one month, then left the road and took 
 charge of the engines in the N. W. Taylor build- 
 ing, Chicago and remained there two years. At 
 this time he entered the service of the Illinois 
 Central as fireman on the Chicago division, on 
 engine No. 16, J. C. Wauser, engineer, with 
 whom he served one year and ten months, being 
 in the road service one year and six months of 
 that time. In Sept. 1886 he was promoted to 
 engineer and was put in charge of engine No. 
 12 in the yards on night work for two years and 
 four months, then went on road service with en- 
 gine No. 316 which he ran eight years. He now
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 475 
 
 has a regular run, pulling freight on the Chicago 
 division. Mr. Gilkinson has never been injured 
 and his worst accident was the breaking of the 
 fender off his engine in July 1899. 
 
 Mr. Gilkinson married Miss Sara Neilson, 
 of (ilasgow, and has two children, Janette and 
 Margaret Isabelle. He belongs to Division No. 
 10, B. of L. E., of Burnside, and Division No. 
 47, B. of L. F., of Chicago. Mr. Gilkinson has 
 traveled a great deal and has crossed the ocean 
 thirteen times. 
 
 kHOMAS WILSON, locomotive engi- 
 neer in the Illinois Central Railroad 
 yards at Burnside, began service in 
 1888 as fireman on switch engine No. 
 20, John Sparr engineer, -in the Randolph street 
 yards, where he remained for six months, then 
 went on a freight engine with William Rosen - 
 baum. He worked in this capacity for six years, 
 and in 1896 was promoted to the position- of 
 engineer. His first engine was No. 130, but his 
 only trip in her was from Burnside to Chicago. 
 He ran an engine in the yards for six months, 
 when he was sent to Memphis, Tenn., and there 
 took a switch run in the yards on the Y. & M. 
 V. division for three months after which he re- 
 turned to Burnside and has worked in the yards 
 and as extra road man up to the present time. 
 Mr. Wilson was born in Chicago in 1857. 
 
 JJ. RIGGIN, a prominent and popular 
 conductor in the passenger service of 
 O the Illinois Central, on the Natchez 
 division, who has been with the com- 
 pany since 1880, began railroad life on a section 
 on the Raleigh & Gaston R. R. in North Caro- 
 lina. After a service of three years on that road, 
 he went to the Wilmington & Weklon R. R. for 
 one year, returning to the R. & G. as extra fore- 
 man for one vear. He next worked for the 
 
 Norfolk & Petersburg R. R. as section foreman 
 for two years, after which he was for four years 
 on the South and North divisions of the L. & 
 X. as conductor 'on a work train. He next 
 worked successively with the Mobile & Ohio R. 
 R. seven years, the North Eastern R. R. two 
 months, the Alabama & Vicksburg two years, 
 and the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas, where 
 he was for a time foreman on a work train, then 
 foreman of a section, ami finally brakeman in 
 the freight service. An accident caused him to 
 lose his position with the last named road, and 
 he then, in 1886, entered the service of the 
 Illinois Central, on the Natchez division, and 
 has since remained there. He now has a regular 
 run, covering two hundred miles daily. Two 
 brothers of our subject are rail-road men. One, 
 an engineer on the Mobile & Ohio R. R., the other 
 a foreman on the Alabama & Vicksburg R. R. 
 Mr. Riggin is a native of Warren county, N. 
 C., where his father was a prominent farmer. 
 The latter died, a prisoner in Elmira, N. Y. 
 during the Civil war. Mr. Riggin's estimable 
 wife was, before her marriage, a Miss Ewing. 
 They have one child, Gertrude. A career of 
 fourteen years in the service of the Illinois 
 Central, has gained for our subject many friends, 
 and his popularity increases every day. 
 
 ILLIAM D. WEBB, an old and 
 trusted employe of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, holds the responsible position 
 of cashier in the freight department, 
 of the road, at Jackson, Miss. Mr. Webb's 
 career on the I. C. began in December 1876, as, 
 check clerk, at Jackson, where after three months 
 service, he was transferred to the ticket office, 
 serving six years as clerk' and cashier there. In 
 1885 he went to the employ of the Queen & 
 Crescent Route, and was two years with- that 
 company, when he returned to Jackson, to accept 
 his present position with the Illinois Central. 
 The native place of Mr. Webb is Lexington, Va., 
 and the date of his birth, June 1838. He is a
 
 476 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 son of M. D. Webb, who died when our subject 
 was young. 
 
 John Webb, a brother, is an ex-employe of 
 the I. C., now secretary of the Mississippi 
 Railroad Commission, another brother, James H. 
 Webb, is a prosperous farmer in Virginia. Miss 
 Mary E., daughter of E. B. Gordin, of Jackson, 
 Miss., became the wife of Mr. Webb, and they 
 reside in a well-appointed home on West Capitol 
 street, in that city. Mr. Webb is one of the 
 oldest employes of the Illinois Central in the 
 south, both in years and in point of service. He 
 has the confidence of the officials of the road, 
 and the respect and regard of all who know him. 
 
 EORGE R. GORDIN, depot master 
 and station agent for the Yazoo & 
 Mississippi Valley Railroad, at Jack- 
 son, Mississippi, an old and promi- 
 nent employe of the road, entered the service in 
 1872, at Canton, Miss., as cashier and chief clerk, 
 holding that position two years. He then went 
 to McComb City, as agent and yardmaster, and 
 at the expiration of six months, returned to Can- 
 ton, as assistant agent, until being transferred to 
 Jackson, Miss., where he served as chief clerk in 
 the office of the I. C. for nine years. His next ser- 
 vice was with the Alabama & Vicksburg R. R., at 
 Jackson, Miss., as chief clerk, working for that 
 road nine months. He then went to the Natchez, 
 Jackson & Columbus R. R., at Jackson, and was 
 agent for that company nine years, or until the 
 purchase of the latter road by the Illinois Central, 
 when he was appointed station freight agent, at 
 Jackson, Miss., and is the present incumbent of 
 that office. Mr. Gordin is a native of Carroll 
 county, Miss., and was born September 7th, 1850. 
 His father, Edward B. Gordin, now deceased, 
 was a merchant of that place. Two brothers of 
 our subject are in the service of the railroad 
 company, Walter E. being yard master at Gulf- 
 port, Miss., and James A. Gordin, a passenger 
 conductor on the Natchez division. The wife 
 of Mr. Gordin was formerlv Miss Susan O. 
 
 Brock, of Holmes county, Miss. To their union 
 six children have been born, viz ; Cora May, 
 Adine Virginia, Myra, Sallie Webb, Georgie 
 Clingan and Gussie Folkes. Mr. Gordin's duties 
 are many and arduous. He has a large force of 
 clerks to supervise, and a large amount of work 
 to accomplish. The fidelity with which he is 
 performing these duties are appreciated to the 
 fullest extent by the company, who value him 
 as one of their most trusted employes. 
 
 ENRY S. WYMAN, locomotive engi- 
 neer on the I. C. R. R., Amboy, 111., 
 was born in New Haven, Conn.-, June 
 12, 1853, a son of Gen. John B. W r y- 
 man, who was born in Shrewsbury, Mass., in 
 1817, and began his early life by being employed 
 in a general store in his native town, but after 
 staying a short time went to Worcester, Mass., 
 to engage in the wool business where he remained 
 for four or five years. He then went to Spring- 
 field, Mass., and entered the employ of Connecti- 
 cut River R. R. Co. as division superintendent, 
 where he remained for three years. During this 
 time took an interest in military affairs to such 
 an extent that he organized a company, of which 
 he was captain. He resigned his position to go 
 to Chicago, 111., to enter the employ of the I. C. 
 R. R. Co., under the management of R. B. Mason. 
 During his stay in Chicago he organized a mili- 
 tary company, the Chicago Light Guards, which 
 was prominently known for many years. He 
 was transferred to LaSalle, 111., as division super- 
 intendent of the division, extending at that time, 
 from LaSalle to Bloomington, being extended 
 north to Amboy as soon as track was laid and 
 the bridge completed over the Illinois river, the 
 construction of which he had charge ; he also had 
 general charge of the construction of shops and 
 buildings at Amboy, the work being under the 
 supervision of Alichael Egan, and completed in 
 1855. Mr. Wyman continued with the Company 
 until he resigned to engage in private business, 
 building a flouring mill and distillery at Sheldon,
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 477 
 
 111., (now better known as "Rockyford"), which 
 he operated until the breaking out of the Civil 
 war, at which time he engaged in the mustering 
 in of the troops of northern Illinois, being as- 
 sociated with such men as Gov. Richard Yates ; 
 Jessie R. Du Bois, Secretary of State; Adj. Gen. 
 Mather and others, at the completion of which 
 he was appointed colonel of the thirteenth Illinois 
 Volunteers by Governor Richard Yates, all of 
 which regiment was raised or enlisted in northern 
 Illinois and going into camp at Dixon, 111., from 
 which place they were mustered into service, go- 
 ing to Rollo, Mo., to which point a railroad was 
 just completed , and being a railroad man of long 
 experience Col. Wyman was given charge of the 
 road and was also made commandant of the post, 
 it being the distributing point of supplies for the 
 South-west, and where he remained for one year ; 
 being then ordered to the front via Helena, Arkan- 
 sas, taking part in the first engagement at Vicks- 
 burg, Miss., where he was killed on December 28, 
 1862. 
 
 Maria S. (Bradley) Wyman, wife of John 
 B. Wyman, and mother of our subject, was born 
 in Worcester, Mass., in 1828. Miss Bradley 
 was the second daughter of Hon. O. Bradley, 
 noted as being the first promoter and builder of 
 railroad cars in the United States, both passenger 
 and freight. 
 
 To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Wyman 
 were born four sons and one daughter. Three 
 sons are living, two of whom are in the employ 
 of the Chicago & North-western R. R. Co., the 
 other being H. S. Wyman, the subject of our 
 sketch . 
 
 H. S. Wyman, our subject was educated in 
 Aniboy, Illinois, where his parents located in 
 1854, and in Shrewsbury, Mass., where he went 
 to live with his grandfather when he was nine 
 years old and where he remained until 1870, 
 when he returned to Bloomington, 111., being 
 employed by the Holden Milling Company and 
 with whom he remained until December 1871, 
 when he entered the employ of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral R. R. Co. as freight brakeman on the 
 Northern division under Trainmaster Capt. Wells, 
 being transferred the following June to passen- 
 
 ger service on the Southern division, remaining 
 until November i, 1872, when he accepted a posi- 
 tion of locomotive fireman, which he retained un- 
 til January 19, 1878, when he was promoted to 
 the right side, which position he still retains, be- 
 ing in passenger service at the present time. He 
 is justly proud of his record, no serious accidents 
 having occurred to him during his long service, 
 nor are his thoughts disturbed by the memory 
 of any misfortune befalling those entrusted to 
 his care. 
 
 Mr. Wyman was united in marriage with 
 Miss Lillian W. Daniels, at Amboy, 111., on Febru- 
 ary 23, 1876, who was born at Shippings Port, 
 111. (near LaSalle) in 1854. One son, Harry 
 W. born October 6 r 1877, is now in the employ 
 of the machinery department of the I. C. R. R. 
 Co. 
 
 Mr. Wyman is a member of the B. of L. E., 
 being for a number of years a member of Amboy 
 Division No. 72; he is also a member of the A. 
 O. U. W., being a charter member of Palestine 
 Lodge No. 122 of Amboy, 111. In religious faith 
 Mr. Wyman is an Episcopalian. 
 
 JOSEPH KELLY, who has been identified 
 with the Illinois Central since 1886, began 
 railroad life as a fireman at Dundee, Scot- 
 land, and served in that capacity four 
 years and was then promoted to engineer and 
 remained there until 1881, when he came to the 
 United States and settled in Chicago. For four 
 years he was employed as stationary engineer in 
 the Taylor building, 142 Monroe street, then in 
 the above mentioned year went to the I. C., as 
 a fireman on the Chicago division and was pro- 
 moted to engineer in 1888, in the freight service, 
 but is now located at the Burnside shops. During 
 his service with the company he has never been 
 injured. 
 
 Mr. Kelly was born in North Scotland, 
 March 26, 1857, a son of John Kelly, who died 
 in Scotland when our subject was but one year 
 old. Joseph Kelly was married in Scotland, in
 
 478 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 1880, to Miss Anna Gilkinson and they have 
 one child, Belle. The family now reside in a 
 pleasant home at 9321 Greenwood avenue, Chi- 
 cago. Socially, Mr. Kelly is a member of the 
 A. F. & A. M., of Scotland and is also a member 
 of Division No. 10, B. of L. E., of Burnside. 
 
 A. COLLINS, a representative con- 
 ductor on the Illinois Central, is a 
 ' Q native of Northfield, Vermont. Per- 
 haps there is no employe of the Illi- 
 nois Central company who has worked harder to 
 make a success of his chosen profession than 
 our subject. He began work for the I. C. in 
 July 1867 as a bridge watchman at LaSalle, on 
 the Illinois river, it being the first bridge on the 
 system changed from wood to iron. He con- 
 tinued there one year and a half, when he ac- 
 cepted a position in the yards at the same place 
 as a switchman and served in that capacity two 
 years when he was promoted to yardmaster and 
 served as such for six months. At this time he 
 determined to become a passenger conductor and 
 to attain that position he resigned and went to 
 braking on a freight, on the Amboy. division for 
 Ed. Williams. After only ten months in that 
 service he was promoted to conductor at the age 
 of twenty-one years. The following seven years 
 he ran freight and was then transferred to the 
 Chicago division. Prior to this, however, he 
 was on the Dubuque and Iowa divisions. At 
 that time thirteen ten ton cars was a big load to 
 pull out of Dubuque. After coming to the Chi- 
 cago division he ran freight ten months and was 
 then promoted to passenger conductor and in 
 October 1881 went in the suburban service. The 
 following spring the town of Pullman was com- 
 menced and he used to turn in as high as two 
 thousand tickets a day. At this time the Com- 
 pany experienced considerable difficulty, with the 
 laborers as the conductor was unable to get the 
 tickets, but when they put Collins on that train 
 the trouble came to an end. In 1888 he was pro-* 
 moted to through passenger service and has con- 
 
 tinued there to the present time witli the best 
 of success. In June 1889 he had charge of a 
 special train, filled with officials, which made a 
 twenty-three hundred mile trip on all divisions 
 north of the Ohio river. As a token of the esteem 
 that the party had for him, President Fish, who 
 was a member of the party, presented Collins 
 with a handsome gold headed umbrella. In 
 1894, during the strike, our subject was the only 
 man who ran a train out of Chicago that was 
 stopped by a mob and after threats on the part 
 of the mob to take his life he finally got his train 
 going again and pulled into Centralia with the 
 same number of coaches he had when he left 
 the Twelfth street station. At the time the town 
 of Pullman was opened he ran the special from 
 Twelfth street, carrying the officials and promi- 
 nent guests. It was said to be the finest train that 
 ever left Chicago. Since his first day with the 
 Company there has only been one month that he 
 has not drawn pay and then he was on a trip 
 through the East. He has run a train twenty- 
 seven years and has never had an accident as the 
 fault of anyone on his train, and only once in 
 seventeen years has he had a car off the track. 
 When our subject was with Engineer Humphrey 
 Roberts, with engine No. 966, pulling the New 
 Orleans limited, he made one hundred and twen- 
 ty-five miles in one hundred and fifty minutes 
 with ten stops. 
 
 Mr. Collins is a member of Division No. i, 
 O. R. C., and was also a member of the Conduc- 
 tor's Brotherhood, the first organization of Rail- 
 wa conductors. 
 
 JOHN HOLLY, locomotive engineer on 
 the I. C. Railroad was born in Chicago. 
 Mr. Holly began railroading May i, 
 1 88 1, as a fireman in the yards on the 
 Chicago division, at Chicago, for Frank Sweeney 
 and continued in that service about one year and 
 then fired on a construction train for a time at 
 El Paso, then in suburban service for William 
 Leach about six months, when he quit the road
 
 CHARLES K. DIXON.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 481 
 
 for six months. When he returned he went in 
 road service and fired for James Sweeney, on 
 engine No. 176, remained with him about a year 
 and then went on through passenger with Horace 
 L. Seaver and Ed. Barker. After this he was 
 buck on the freight with Richard Ormsby where 
 ho remained until 1885, when he was promoted 
 and began running in the yards on engine No. 
 13, in which service he continued one year and 
 then took suburban engine No. 221 now No. 201, 
 then No. 62 now No. 216 and continued in subur- 
 ban service until 1889, when he was given engine 
 Xo. 186 in the freight service, later ran No. 388, 
 then Xo. 446 and then No. 320 which was new 
 from the Cook works. He was finally given the 
 fruit express with engine No. 305. In 1893 he 
 was promoted to through passenger service and 
 ran to Champaign during the World's Fair, on. 
 engines No. 928 and No. 301. In the fall of that 
 \ear he was put in the Grand Crossing Express 
 service and from that to the Kloomington freight 
 run which he held for two years. He then went 
 back to suburban service for over a year and then 
 to through passenger service in which he has con- 
 tinued up to the present time and has never in all 
 his work been injured. He is a member of Divi- 
 sion Xo. 10, B. of L. E., and is also a thirty 
 second degree Mason, belonging to the Oriental 
 Consistory of Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Holly married Miss Theresa M. Sulli- 
 van and they have four children, Elroy, Ethel, 
 Grace and Viola. His father, Michael, was an 
 old employe of the Illinois Central and worked 
 on the Chicago division for a number of years. 
 He began as brakeman and his last service was 
 gate tender at the Indiana avenue crossing. 
 
 HARLES K. DIXON, superintendent 
 of the Cherokee division of the Illinois 
 Central R. R. is one of the veterans of 
 the system, having begun his railroad 
 career in 1864, shortly after his return from ser- 
 vice in the Union army in the civil war. Born 
 at the village of Granby, Province of Quebec. 
 
 July 10, 1847, ' le attended the public schools of 
 his native place and the academy of Frost Vil- 
 lage in the same province. 
 
 Shortly after reaching Illinois he enlisted 
 May 24, 1861, in Company H, 15th I. V. L, 
 the first regiment from the state to enlist for 
 three years or during the war. Participat- 
 ing in the battle of Shiloh where he received a 
 shot through the body, the battle of Hatchie and 
 the siege of Vicksburg, he was on Sherman's 
 world famous march to the sea. 
 
 At the close of the service he returned to 
 Illinois and soon after secured a place as assistant 
 in the office of the Central at Forreston, Illinois, 
 where he learned telegraphy and served as 
 operator for a short time when he was assigned 
 to a key in the dispatchers office at Amboy, was 
 promoted and served six years as chief dispatcher. 
 In 1 88 1 he accepted the -position of trainmaster 
 at Fort Dodge and in 1887 his executive ability 
 was recognized in his appointment to the position 
 of division superintendent, since which time he 
 has had charge of the Cherokee division. As a 
 railroad man few have a more thorough ground- 
 ing in the principles of railway construction and 
 operation than Mr. Dixon. Having begun at the 
 bottom he has learned all the details of his work 
 from many years experience, and has a thorough 
 knowledge of all that pertains to railway opera- 
 tion and an executive ability to carry it vigorously 
 into the management of the division of which he 
 is the head. 
 
 On November 2nd, 1881, Mr. Dixon was 
 married, at Amboy, to Miss Katie A. Beals, 
 daughter of Henry H. Beals one of the old time 
 conductors of the Illinois Central system, a 
 sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. 
 
 On the beginning of the track laying on the 
 Omaha branch, Mrs. Dixon drove the golden 
 spike at Council Bluffs, Iowa, May 25th, 1899, 
 at which time she made a very appropriate 
 address, recounting the fact that her entire life 
 had been connected with the railroad from girl- 
 hood to maturity. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Dixon are the parents of five 
 children: Bruce and Charles Jr., deceased; John 
 Beals, Ruth Kittie and Faith C- K. Mr. Dixon
 
 482 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 is far advanced in the Masonic order holding 
 membership in the Illinois Central Lodge at 
 Amboy, Nathan Whitney Chapter at Franklin 
 Grove, Dixon Commandery in the jurisdiction of 
 Illinois and the Kaaba Temple of the Mystic 
 Shrine at Davenport. With Mrs. Dixon he is a 
 member of the order of Eastern Star. 
 
 Mr. Dixon is one of the old timers and has 
 witnessed wonderful changes in railway operation 
 and management during the third of a century 
 and more that he has been engaged in the work. 
 Many of the younger generation of railway men 
 have received their first instruction under his 
 supervision, some of them rising to the heads of 
 divisions. Superiors, subordinates and patrons 
 of the line all testify to his uniform courtesy and 
 consideration. 
 
 F T '" 
 O w 
 
 GUITEAU, a prominent conductor 
 in the employ of the Illinois Central, 
 was born at Du Quoin, 111., a son 
 of Benjamin Guiteau, a carpenter by 
 trade, who erected the I. C. station at Du Quoin 
 and also built the Big Muddy bridge, near De- 
 Soto. Our subject began railroading Aug. 
 28, 1868, at Champaign, on the Chicago division, 
 as brakeman under John Gibson, now deceased. 
 He continued in this capacity for about one year 
 and a half and then went into the through pas- 
 senger service as brakeman under Charles Gil- 
 more, remaining about one year ; following which 
 he ran baggage for John Owen for five years. 
 At the end of this time he went into the sleeping 
 car service, running between Chicago and New 
 Orleans, making one trip a week. At the end 
 of three years he entered the Illinois Central 
 suburban service as collector and January 6, 1885, 
 he was promoted to conductor by Trainmaster 
 Jones and has since served in that capacity, now 
 standing at the head of the list, followed by John 
 Dolan . Our subject has been in one serious ac- 
 cident; while in the extra baggage service he 
 was called, as brakeman, to St. Louis, and while 
 on the return trip the train was derailed and our 
 
 subject was caught between the cars and so badly 
 injured, that he was laid up in St. Luke's hospi- 
 tal for three months. Socially our subject is 
 identified with Division No. I, O. R. C., of Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 Mr. Guiteau married Miss Emma Ludington 
 and they have one daughter, Olive May. They 
 reside in a comfortable home at No. 257, 79th 
 street, Chicago. 
 
 H. KEMPTON is a native of 
 Rochester, N. Y., where he was 
 L Q born in 1854. He commenced rail- 
 roading December 1871, serving as 
 an apprentice in the shops at Weldon for four 
 years, after which he worked as journeymali, 
 one year, when he began firing in the freight 
 service remaining there three years and a half. 
 Among the well-known engineers for whom he 
 fired was J. J. DeLacy, now one of the city 
 smoke inspectors of Chicago, and Antone Fortin, 
 better known as the "wild Frenchman" now 
 deceased. In the fall of 1879 he began running 
 in the suburban service when there were only 
 two engines. After being in that service a short 
 time, owing to his knowledge of engines, about 
 eighteen months were spent on different divisions 
 of the system. At the end of that time he was 
 given a regular engine in the freight service and 
 since then there has never been a time but what 
 he has had an engine including all kinds, con- 
 ditions and classes. He continued to pull freight 
 until 1891, when he was promoted to passenger 
 engineer and he it was who brought the first 
 Diamond Special from Clinton to Chicago, which 
 he continued to pull for about eight months, when 
 he got a through passenger run to Champaign, 
 with engine No. 968. 
 
 At the time of the Atlanta exposition 
 President Fish had a special train which was 
 devoted to invited guests and our subject was 
 chosen to pull it to Champaign. In 1896 our 
 subject was running No. 962, on which there 
 was, for a week, nine students and one professor
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 483 
 
 from the state University of Illinois. This class 
 of young mechanical engineers was an experiment 
 to determine just what that class of engine could 
 do, and as a token of esteem the class presented 
 our subject with a fine framed photo of his pet 
 engine. During the eighteen months already 
 mentioned he was south to Cairo and west to 
 Fort Dodge. He was never seriously injured. 
 He is a member of Division No. 10, B. of L. E., 
 having held the office of assistant engineer for 
 several years. Mr. Kempton came west with his 
 parents when he was a youth, lived in Michigan 
 until 1869 and then came to Chicago. In 1877 
 he married Miss Sarah E. Connor and they have 
 five children, Charlotte Marie, Edna Maude, 
 Ollie Ogrita, Mortimer LeRoy and Herbert 
 Eugene. 
 
 EORGE L. HODGE, conductor on the 
 Illinois Central railroad, residing at 
 Amboy, 111., was born at Magnolia, 
 Illinois, March 14, 1853. His father, 
 a carpenter, was born at Wheeling, W. Va. His 
 mother, Margaret A. Wilson, was born in Nova 
 Scotia, April 21, 1819, and is now living at 
 Wenona, Illinois. The parents were married, 
 and came west in 1851, locating in Magnolia, 111., 
 from which place they removed to Wenona, 111., 
 at the time the Illinois Central was being con- 
 structed. They had four sons and four daugh- 
 ters, of whom two sons and three daughters are 
 living. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the public 
 schools of Wenona, 111., left school at the age of 
 sixteen and accepted a position as brakeman on 
 the Illinois Central railroad where he remained 
 for a few months, after which he went to work 
 for his father in Wenona, learning the carpenter 
 trade which he followed until March 1884 when 
 ho again entered the employ of the Illinois 
 Central as brakeman, being promoted to yard- 
 master after two years service, working at various 
 points on the Amboy division until he was pro- 
 moted, in 1890, to the position of conductor and 
 
 has since served in that capacity. 
 
 He was married July 23rd, 1880, to Miss 
 Rosa E. Morris, of Rutland Illinois ; a sister 
 of Mrs. J. C. Dailey, whose husband is the 
 present superintendent of the St. Louis division. 
 To this marriage two sons have been born, 
 William, born April 13, 1881, and employed in 
 trainmaster's office at Clinton, 111., and Edward, 
 born June 14, 1883, still attending school. 
 
 ILLIAM B. DAVIS began work for 
 the 111. Central in March 1872, as 
 a machinist's apprentice at Weldon, 
 under James Heap who was foreman 
 at that time. He served four years and then 
 worked as a journeyman until the fall of 1879, 
 during which time he assisted in the rebuilding 
 of transfer boats on the Ohio, at Cairo. He was 
 there during the year of 1878, which was the time 
 of the yellow fever scare. In November 1879 ne 
 accepted a position as foreman in the shops at 
 Centralia and remained there until September 
 1885. As a token of esteem the employes of the 
 shops at that place presented him with a very fine 
 gold watch. 
 
 He then accepted a position as general fore- 
 man of the shops at Champaign and remained 
 there until the fall of 1887, when he returned to 
 Weldon as foreman of engine house, remaining 
 in that capacity until August igth, 1889, when 
 he began running suburban engine No. 202, which 
 he ran for a short time and then returned to 
 Champaign and acted as foreman of shops. He 
 was there three months, then returned to Chicago 
 and began running engine No. 227, and after 
 three years he was given engine No. 212, then 
 No. 214 for one year and in the fall of 1894 he 
 took engine No. 248, which he ran until Sept. 
 30, 1899. With this engine he made a record 
 of seventy-two miles an hour, which is the best 
 time ever made by a suburban engine. On the 
 last named date Mr. Davis was promoted to the 
 position of general foreman of the 27th street
 
 484 
 
 1 ILLINOIS' CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 round house, where he is employed at present. 
 
 The subject belongs to Division No. 10, B. 
 of L. E. December 29, 1880, Mr. Davis married 
 Miss Lizzie Thillman, the eldest daughter of 
 N. W. Thillman, who is a well known Illinois 
 Central employe. They had four children, three 
 of whom are living, Allie, Katie and Lizzie. 
 
 Mr. Davis was one of the first to take ex- 
 amination in air brake service and holds certificate 
 number one dated January 14, 1895. It is worthy 
 of mention that Mrs. Davis is an artist of no 
 mean ability and also a fine musician. Allie, 
 their eldest daughter, is a graduate of music 
 under Professor Mathews. Mr. Davis owns 
 fine property at 11714 State st, Chicago, 111. 
 
 JAMES J. ORCHARD, locomotive engi- 
 neer on the Illinois Central Railroad, 
 resides at Freeport, 111., and was born in 
 London, England, March 5, 1856. His 
 father, James Henry Orchard, was born in Lon- 
 don, England, November 21, 1831, and was a 
 ship carpenter by trade. He emigrated to Ameri- 
 ca in May 1871, located in Amboy, 111., worked 
 at carpenter work for about a year when he en- 
 tered the employ of the Illinois Central Railroad, 
 in the car building department, where he remained 
 until the time of his death August 4, 1892. His 
 mother, Prudence Hall was born in Limehouse, 
 London, England, February 18, 1832, emigrated 
 to America in July 1872, and is now living at 
 Amboy, 111., enjoying the best of health. They 
 had two children, our subject and Rebecca Eliza- 
 beth, born in London, England. She came to 
 this country with her mother and was married 
 October 1896, in Amboy, 111., to William Parks, 
 of Utica, New York. 
 
 Our subject was educated in his native coun- 
 try, but did not have many advantages, going 
 to work when but a boy. He came to this country 
 with his father in 1871 and went to work in the 
 construction department of the Chicago and Rock- 
 River Railroad, now a part of the C. B. & Q. 
 
 system, where he remained for one year and then 
 apprenticed himself to a blacksmith for three 
 years. . He continued to work at his trade for 
 fourteen months and then accepted a position as 
 locomotive fireman in the employ of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, September 26, 1876, holding 
 this place until he was promoted to the right side 
 on August 19, 1885, which position he now holds. 
 Mr. Orchard was married in Clinton, 111., 
 on September 8, 1896, to Mrs. Linna Joyce, of 
 Peru, 111. 
 
 S. FARRINGTON who was born in 
 Donaldson, Ind., began railroading 
 , Q as a water boy on the Nickel Plate 
 when that road was being built ; 
 from that he rose to time keeper, driver and tie 
 nipper, his father having charge of the tie layers 
 at the time. Our subject continued on that road 
 until it was completed and was a brakeman be- 
 hind the first engine run on that road. Then at 
 the age of seventeen, in 1881, he commenced as 
 freight brakeman on the Pennsylvania road, at 
 Fort Wayne and continued there one year, run- 
 ning from that place to Chicago. He then be- 
 gan braking on the Chicago & Alton out of Braid- 
 wood to Chicago, remaining there four months, 
 and then went to the St. Louis division of the 
 Wabash, later coming to the Chicago division 
 and for three years served as brakeman, when he 
 was promoted to freight conductor. He continued 
 as such six months, when he resigned and went 
 to the International & Great Northern Railroad, 
 of Texas and ran three ways out of Palestine 
 as freight brakeman and extra conductor for four 
 months. In August 1885 he left there and went 
 to the Grand Rapids & Indiana road and worked 
 at Grand Rapids and Big Rapids as a switchman 
 eight months and then on July 9, 1886, came to 
 the Illinois Central and for one year and one 
 month was freight brakeman on the Chicago 
 division. September 19, 1887, he was promoted 
 to conductor and began running freight. For 
 three years he was in the " chain gang " and then
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 485 
 
 took the way freight between Chicago and Gil- 
 man, ran that until April 15, 1892, when he was 
 promoted to suburban conductor and continued 
 in that service until July 1896, during which 
 time he ran as extra through passenger man. 
 On the above date our subject took the Oilman 
 accommodation and ran that until July i, 1897, 
 when he was given a through passenger run to 
 Centralia, which he has held up to the present 
 time. When he was examined he was the 
 youngest member of a class of thirteen and is 
 the only one out of that number on the road to- 
 day. He has never had an accident to his train 
 or to himself. 
 
 Our subject is a member of the O. R. C., 
 Division No. I. He has lived in Chicago since 
 1882, and owns two fine pieces of property, a two 
 story flat at 7349 Madison avenue and a hand- 
 some stone residence at 7350 on the same avenue. 
 
 Mr. Farrington married Miss Mary Wood- 
 worth in July 1887 and they have had five chil- 
 dren three of whom are deceased. 
 
 HARLES R. STROMGREN who was 
 formerly in charge of the tin shops of 
 the Illinois Central, at Waterloo, 
 Iowa, was born in Sweden, in 
 January 1837. He learned the trade of a copper- 
 smith in his native country, emigrated to the 
 United States in 1863, end followed that occu- 
 pation at various places until 1869. In the latter 
 year he became identified with the I. C. R. R. 
 at Dubuque, Iowa, where he was employed in the 
 shops until 1870. He then went to Waterloo, 
 Iowa, taking entire charge of the tin shops of 
 the company at that place, and continued in that 
 capacity until 1894. Mr. Stromgren was married 
 to Miss Anne L. Anderson, of Falkoping, 
 Sweden. Their union has been blessed with 
 six children : Louis, born in 1861 ; Charles O. F., 
 born in 1863; Anna M., born in 1867; Clara 
 H., born in 1870; Alberta, born in 1872; and 
 Rudolph, born in 1874; of these the two 
 eldest are married. All have received the benefits 
 of a good education. A continuous service "of 
 twenty-six years with the company marks Mr. 
 Stromgren as a mechanic of ability as well as 
 a valued and faithful employe. 
 
 JAMES BURNS has been with the Illinois 
 Central company for fifteen years. He 
 began in the general offices of the road, 
 worked there about six years and then 
 began as fireman on engines in the yard and on 
 the road, beginning under Joe El wood, engineer, 
 and was engaged as fireman about five years, 
 when he took charge of engine No. 322, in the 
 freight service between Chicago and Champaign. 
 He now has a regular run. 
 
 Our subject was born in the southern part 
 of Illinois, June 25, 1869, and is a son of John 
 Burns, a contractor, who was very prominent 
 with the Illinois Central road for many years, 
 and built many of the bridges on the road. 
 
 Mr. Burns married Mabel Blocksidge of 
 Chicago and they have two children, William 
 and Edward. They live at 2575, looth Place. 
 He was never injured or in any wrecks of any 
 kind. He belongs to Division No. 10, B. of L. 
 E., of Burnside, Illinois. 
 
 ILLIAM BROWN first saw the 
 light of day in Covington, Indiana. 
 About eighteen years ago he began 
 on the Monon Route at Lafayette, 
 Ind., as a freight brakeman and then he went to 
 the Peoria division of the Big Four, (then the 
 I. B. & W.) He then went to the Clover Leaf as 
 a freight brakeman, and then to the St. Louis 
 division of the Big Four Route in the same 
 capacity. When he came back to the Peoria 
 division he was promoted to freight conductor, 
 and he then went to the Cairo division of the 
 Big Four and for two weeks he served as 
 brakeman on the Cotton Belt. After this he- 
 returned to Lafayette, serving in the capacity of 
 freight conductor and brakeman and then he 
 went to Birmingham, Alabama, serving as con-
 
 48fi 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ductor on the Louisville & Nashville. His next 
 post was on the Central division of the Big Four 
 at Indianapolis, where he was freight brakeman. 
 Our subject then returned to Peoria as freight 
 conductor and then went to Monon, Indiana, on 
 the Monon Route, serving in the capacity of yard- 
 master. On December 26, 1890, he came to the 
 Illinois Central and began braking on the freight 
 for N. S. Farrington and served here until the 
 following September, when he was promoted to 
 freight conductor, running the freight until 
 September 1896, when he was put in the suburban 
 service and has remained in that until the present 
 day. He has never been injured, is a member of 
 Division No. i, O. R. C. and the K. of H., of 
 Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Brown was married to Miss Long of 
 Boston in 1896. Her father was an old sea 
 captain. 
 
 JE. ZIMMERMAN, is a native of Water- 
 town, New York. He began railroad- 
 Q ing when he was eighteen years of age 
 on the Rome, Watertown & Ogdens- 
 burg, of New York state, as a brakeman on the 
 way freight between Rome and Watertown, but 
 at the end of five days he was hit on the head 
 by a low bridge, but through the influence of 
 Roscoe Conkling secured damages. After being 
 laid up about eight weeks he began work again 
 and continued braking on freight and passenger 
 for two years, when he was promoted to baggage- 
 man and served in that capacity and as extra 
 conductor for eight years. At the end of that 
 time he quit the road and located in California 
 on a potato ranch remaining there two years, 
 when he sold out and came to Chicago and 
 secured a position as street car conductor and re- 
 mained in that position four years when he re- 
 signed and in 1882 secured a position on the Illi- 
 nois Central as a brakeman. He then went into 
 the suburban service under Conductor Mogg and 
 continued there one year and a half, but during 
 that time, owing to his former experience, he ran 
 
 as extra conductor most of the time. Then he 
 was on a baggage car a short time, then collector, 
 running as extra conductor and in 1884 was regu- 
 larly promoted to conductor and has remained 
 in that capacity up to the present day. During 
 the strike in 1894 he ran the military train to 
 Riverdale. In all these years our subject has 
 never cost the company a dollar, never been 
 suspended and has never had a black mark, which 
 is a record to be proud of. While on the Rome, 
 Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad our subject 
 was mixed up in several serious accidents. Mr. 
 Zimmerman belongs to Division No. I, O. R. C. 
 
 LEASANT A. SMITH was born in 
 Wabash county, Indiana. Before en- 
 tering the railroad service he learned 
 the cooper's trade and photography. 
 He began his railroad work, in 1891, as a fireman 
 in the yards at Randolph street, with Henry 
 Fisher on engine No. 9. He continued in yard 
 service for eleven months and was with the same 
 engineer nearly all the time. He then went as 
 extra road fireman and made his first trip with 
 John L. Gerry on No. 310. He fired on the road 
 until the spring of '93, and then went into the 
 W6rld's Fair service, in which he remained until 
 the following fall, then returned to the road, 
 where he continued as fireman until Thanksgiv- 
 ing Day '95, when he was examined and went 
 on as extra engineer, continuing in this capacity 
 until Oct. 15, 1898, when he was put on regular. 
 He now has No. 316 in the road service. On 
 December 31, 1897, Mr. Smith was sent south 
 to the Mississippi division at Water Valley, and 
 ran between Jackson, Tenn., and Canton, Miss. 
 He remained there until October 12, 1898, when 
 he returned to Chicago and has been in road ser- 
 vice since. Mr. Smith was never seriously in- 
 jured. 
 
 He was married to Miss Anna Ihrk, of 
 Michigan City, Ind., April 18, 1900. He is a 
 member of Division No. 10, B. of L. E., of Burn- 
 side, and K. of P., No. 382, of Chicago.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 487 
 
 HOMAS F. MURPHY, engineer with 
 the I. C. since June 5, 1875, began 
 in the Chicago shops, at welding iron 
 in the boiler department one year and 
 then began firing on engine No. 45, with Jno. 
 Murphy, engineer in the Kankakee yards, re- 
 maining there four years and four months and 
 then took charge of an engine and went on the 
 road between Chicago and Champaign, 111. He 
 spent five years in the suburban service, when 
 in April 1899 he gave it up and has since been on 
 road service. 
 
 Our subject has lived in Dauphin Park for 
 two years and Homewood two years. He is a 
 son of Patrick Murphy of Ireland and his mother 
 was Mary Brennen also of Ireland. His father 
 used to work in the Illinois Central shops. Both 
 parents are now deceased. 
 
 Our subject married Mame Cavanaugh of 
 Iowa and they have three children, Frank T., 
 Robert E., Lillian R., all at home. Our subject 
 was never injured in any way and never had an 
 accident while running a train. He is a member 
 of the Division No. 10, B. of L. E., of Burnside. 
 
 A. HUME, an old and valued em- 
 ploye of the Illinois Central, is 
 Q an engineer in the passenger ser- 
 vice on the Grenada division. He 
 began his railroad career on the Mississippi and 
 Texas division of the I. C., in 1859, and has since 
 been with the company, a period of forty years. 
 When the I. C. bought the Great Western R. R., 
 Mr. Hume was sent to that division of the road, 
 and was for eighteen months there, running be- 
 tween Springfield and Naples, 111. He was then 
 transferred to the Grenada division, and served 
 in the freight department until 1868, when he 
 was promoted to the passenger department on the 
 same division, and has since remained there. He 
 bears the distinction of being the oldest engineer 
 on the southern lines. Possessed of a sound con- 
 stitution, his life has been one of incessant in- 
 
 dustry and activity. He is even now one of the 
 most reliable employes of the company, never 
 absent from his post, and his endurance would 
 put to the test many a younger man. Mr. Hume 
 was born in Pike county, Illinois, August 31, 
 1833. His parents, both deceased, were highly 
 respected farmers of that part of Illinois. 
 
 Miss Elizabeth O'Neil of Springfield, 111., 
 became the wife of Mr. Hume, and six children 
 resulted from their union, viz: William, a ma- 
 chinist at Memphis ; Elizabeth, at home ; Charles, 
 a clerk in the freight department of the I. C., at 
 Memphis, since 1879; Lillie E., wife of W. E. 
 Howard, a conductor; Frank, a member of the 
 Memphis police department; and Tabitha, wife 
 of Walter Moore, of Memphis. Mr. Hume, with 
 his family, occupies a beautiful home on Rayburn 
 avenue, in Memphis, of which city he is a highly 
 esteemed and valuable citizen. 
 
 EORGE G. BENNETT, locomotive 
 engineer, has been in the employ of 
 the Illinois Central Railroad since 
 1888. His first railroad work was at 
 Grand Island, Neb., where he began as caller 
 in the round house for the Union Pacific Rail- 
 road. He worked at same six months and then 
 began as fireman on engine No. 13, on the St. 
 Joe & Western branch of the Union Pacific Rail- 
 road, held that position three months and then 
 began braking on the same road between Grand 
 Island and North Platte, Neb., remaining six 
 months and then came to Chicago where he was 
 engaged as fireman on engines Nos. I and 14 on 
 the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad, run- 
 ning four years. In 1888 he began as fireman 
 on road engine No. 381 for the Illinois Central 
 company and was soon after promoted to engi- 
 neer, has a regular run on engine No. 311 on the 
 Chicago division of the Illinois Central Railroad 
 company. 
 
 Mr. Bennett was born in Herkimer county, 
 New York, April 10, 1869, and is a son of Hiram
 
 4H8 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Bennett of the same county. Our subject mar- 
 ried Miss Maggie Keefe of Richmond, Vermont, 
 and they have two children, Alfred and Mary. 
 He is a member of Division No. 10, B. of L. E., 
 of Burnside and other societies. He was never 
 in any wrecks, or never injured in any way. He 
 owns a nice residence at No. 2594 Ninety-ninth 
 street, Chicago. 
 
 THOMAS F. GRACE, foreman in the Illi- 
 nois Central blacksmith shop at Free- 
 port, was born in Little Falls, Herki- 
 mer county, N. Y., March 7, 1848. 
 His father, John Grace, born in New York City,, 
 was a horseman by occupation. He died Decem- 
 ber 18, 1895. The mother, Mary E. (Splann) 
 Grace in now living at Florence, N. Y. Their 
 family is as follows : Pierce, division roadmaster 
 of the N. Y. O. & W. Ry., resides in Oswego, 
 N. Y. ; Thomas F. ; John E., carpenter and build- 
 er, resides in Florence, N. Y. ; M. W. is em- 
 ployed as shaft hammersman in the Delamater 
 Iron Works, N. Y. City, doing government work. 
 Thomas F. Grace received his education in 
 the public schools of Camden, N. Y., and also 
 took a special course in drafting. When a boy 
 ht carried water on the Utica & Black River R. 
 R. At nineteen he was promoted to brake- 
 man on the same road, first working on a freight 
 train and afterward was promoted to a passenger 
 train. In 1868 he entered the service of the Dela- 
 ware & Hudson River R. R. Co., and learned the 
 blacksmith trade in their shops at Oneonta, N. Y., 
 where he served the company in that capacity 
 for three years and four months. In 1872 he 
 was employed by the Remington Arms Co., for 
 eight months; then worked for the Midland R. 
 R. Co., at Oswego, N. Y., as a blacksmith one 
 year; then worked eight months in the shops of 
 the N. Y. L. E. & W. R. R. at Susquehanna, Pa. ; 
 then was employed in the Schenectady Locomo- 
 tive Works, at Schenectady, N. Y., six months ; 
 then entered the service of the Meredith Iron & 
 Lumber company, at St. Mary's, Elk county, 
 
 1 'a., where he remained two years and six months ; 
 then went to Ridgway, Pa., and worked for K. 
 White & Co., for four months ; then entered the 
 service of the Lehigh R. R. Co., at Sayre, Pa., 
 for four years and eight months ; worked in Chi- 
 cago for the Preston Fire Engine Co. for four 
 months. December i, 1883, he entered the ser- 
 vice of the I. C. R. R. at the Weldori shops in 
 Chicago where he worked building locomotives 
 four years; then served the Everhard Mfg. Co. 
 at Cleveland, Ohio, as foreman six months ; then 
 returned to Weldon on the I. C. R. R. for eight 
 months ; went to Streator, 111., as foreman in the 
 shops of the Chicago, Santa Fe & California, for 
 eight months, and when the shops were moved 
 to Ft. Madison, Iowa, he also went and remained 
 three years ; then went to Louisville, Ky., and 
 worked for the Meredith Coal & Lumber Co., 
 four months. In June 1892 he again entered the 
 service of the I. C. R. R., this time as foreman of 
 the blacksmith shops at Freeport, 111., where he 
 still remains. 
 
 Mr. Grace was married August 10, 1896, 
 to Miss Maggie Mervin of Freeport. They have 
 one child, William Monroe, born September 14, 
 1897. Mr. Grace is a member of the Catholic 
 church. In politics he is a Democrat. 
 
 OLPH MASON, an engineer on the Illi- 
 nois Central, was born in St. Johns. 
 New Brunswick, and is the son of 
 Christopher Mason, an old time engi- 
 neer on the C. B. & Q. Our subject started his 
 railroad life as a fireman in the C. B. & Q. yards 
 at Aurora, 111., remaining there two years, when 
 he commenced firing in the road service and re- 
 maining there five and one-half years, when he 
 was promoted to the right side of the cab. and 
 for the following four years served in the road 
 and switch service. In 1888. Mr. Mason went 
 to the Illinois Central as an engineer in the freight 
 service l>etween Jackson, Tenn., and Cairo. 111. 
 He served there two vears and was then trans-
 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 491 
 
 ferred to Chicago, where for three months he 
 pulled a train on the road, when he was placed 
 in the switch service where he is at the present 
 time. Our subject has never been injured. So- 
 cially he is a member of Division No. 10, B. of 
 L. E., of Burnside. 
 
 Mr. Mason married Miss Julia Moysant, 
 and their union has been blessed with eleven chil- 
 dren, viz : Joseph, deceased ; Arthur, William, 
 Bernie, Frank ; Alberta and Bertha, twins ; Ed. 
 and Alfred, twins, deceased, and George and 
 Carrie, twins. 
 
 C. WAGGENER, superintendent 
 of bridges and buildings of Evans- 
 Q ville district of the Illinois Central, 
 was born near Elizabethtown, 
 Quaker Valley, Hardin county, Kentucky, where 
 he was educated. His people are of the best 
 families of Virginia and Kentucky. At the age 
 of sixteen he entered the service of the Gulf, 
 Colorado & Santa Fe road, under Chief Engineer 
 Temple. He drove a scraper team at twenty- 
 five dollars a month. Having no use for his 
 money he left it in the care of the contractor for 
 whom he was working, and when three months 
 pay had accumulated the contractor decamped 
 taking the money and leaving Mr. Waggener 
 without a penny, with poor clothes and an old 
 straw hat with a piece of calico sewed over the 
 top to protect him from the sun's rays. Not dis- 
 heartened he started out on foot to seek work 
 and came upon a crew driving piles from Nava- 
 sota to Navasota Junction and secured a place 
 with them. He continued with them to the 
 Brazos river, camping on the river bottom where 
 the moss hung from trees, a novel experience, 
 for one who was then but a boy. In June he 
 got through to Houston, Texas. During this 
 time the foreman took sick and our subject acted 
 as foreman some times receiving one hundred 
 dollars a month. July 1882 the road was com- 
 pleted from the Navasota river to Brazos river, 
 and our subject secured a place with the Canton 
 P> ridge Company at Houston, Texas, built several 
 
 27 
 
 large bridges, and afterwards went with the Can- 
 ton Wrought Iron Bridge Company. He quit 
 and was on a farm for six months, from which 
 place he entered the service of the L. & N., work- 
 ing on several bridges, and went south to Alabama 
 as assistant foreman, helping to build the bridge 
 over the Alabama river. The crew boarded 
 eighteen miles from the river on account of the 
 damp and the fog at Deatsville, the village by 
 the bridge. Becoming ill he resigned and then 
 worked for the Louisville Bridge & Iron Com- 
 pany, on the E. Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia 
 Railroad, and the N. C. & St. L., the Knoxville 
 division of the L. & N. also worked on the well 
 known Jacob's bridge. In 1888 he came south 
 on the N. N. & M. V., also on the L. & B. and 
 finally in 1889 he began work on the C. O. & 
 S. W., when he took charge of a bridge crew 
 and was soon made conductor of the pile driver, 
 working irregularly until December 1896, when 
 the Illinois Central took charge. He then acted 
 as foreman until May 28, 1899, when he was 
 made supervisor of bridges and buildings of the 
 Evansville district with headquarters at Hender- 
 son, and in addition has charge of the water 
 supply. He has thirty to seventy men in his de- 
 partment and three foremen, J. K. Earl, J. H. 
 Morgan and E. Wellington. Mr. Waggener is a 
 man of energy and strict integrity and shows by 
 his advancement what a poor lone boy can do by 
 perseverance. He married a daughter of Richard 
 Whittemore of Kuttawa, Ky., and has one child, 
 four years old. Our subject is a prominent 
 mason, and belongs to Cumberland Lodge, No. 
 185, K. of P. He resides at 123 Adams street, 
 Henderson, Ky. 
 
 ARSHAL R. HEDGPETH, an engi- 
 neer in the yards at Memphis, Tenn., 
 became identified with the Illinois Cen- 
 tral on March 24, 1894, as fireman 
 on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley division, with 
 Engineer Frank McLain. He was engaged in 
 that branch of the service for three years, and 
 was then promoted to engineer, taking charge of
 
 492 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 engine No. 63 in the Memphis yards, where he 
 is now employed. While engaged in firing he 
 was in 1897 in a head end collision, between 
 engines No. 13 and No. 58, in which Mr. Fletcher, 
 the engineer, was injured, but he escaped. Mr. 
 Hedgpeth was born at Springfield, Mo., March 
 13, 1872. His father, Calvin Hedgpeth, is still 
 residing there, and is a prominent stockman. He 
 was united in marriage to Miss Bessie Walson, 
 and they have three children : Damon, James and 
 Clara. Mr. Hedgpeth is a member of Division 
 No. 364, B. of L. F., of Memphis. He and his 
 family are adherents of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church, and in politics he is a believer in the prin- 
 ciples of Democracy. 
 
 A. BRADLEY is the obliging store 
 keeper in the Illinois Central 
 Q shops at McComb City, and is a 
 general favorite in the shops on 
 account of his genial disposition and general good 
 qualities. He was born in the state of New 
 Jersey, April 19, 1857, and is a son of Calvin R. 
 Bradley, who was an attorney of prominence in 
 the east, and is now deceased. At the age of 
 sixteen, the subject of this sketch, left home to 
 carve his own fortune, and going to. Baltimore, 
 Maryland, worked there for the Southern Ex- 
 press Company. He was employed at various 
 points in the east by that company and by the 
 American Express Company until 1878, when 
 he went to New Orleans and engaged in the 
 restaurant business. He continued in that busi- 
 ness until 1884, when he entered the service of 
 the Illinois Central at McComb City, as time- 
 keeper in the railroad shops there. After a ser- 
 vice of five years as timekeeper he was ap- 
 pointed bookkeeper in the office of the Master 
 Mechanic, which position he held three years. 
 He was then placed in charge of the store room 
 and has since held that position. His duties 
 consist in disbursing a general line of railroad 
 sundries to the employes of the shops, on orders 
 from the officials and foreman. This office re- 
 
 quires ability of no small means and Mr. Bradley- 
 is filling it acceptably to all concerned. 
 
 Mr. Bradley was married to Miss Nettie 
 Beaman, of McComb City, their union resulting 
 in the birth of two children, Winston and Gay- 
 nell. 
 
 He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, 
 and both he and his wife are members and sub- 
 stantial supporters of the Christian church. 
 
 RANK DUNHAM. Amongst the eldest 
 and most prominent engineers in the 
 suburban service of the Illinois Central, 
 our subject stands at the head. He 
 began in the service in 1869, as a brakeman on 
 the Chicago division for Al. Bellows, and con- 
 tinued in that capacity until 1874, although in 
 1871 he did some running. In 1874 he had his 
 left hand injured. W r hile laid off he attended 
 Bryant and Stratton's business college. After 
 recovery he went to El Paso and began firing in 
 the yards. At that time they ran from Chicago 
 to El Paso and he was engaged in making up 
 trains. He remained there about seven months 
 and then went to Oilman where he acted as host- 
 ler two months, then returned to Chicago and 
 went to firing No. 191 with Geo. Weatherhead, 
 Sr., and fired for him five months. At the end 
 of that time he was sent on the Southern division 
 and fired No. 188 for Frank Sweeny on freight 
 from Centralia to Cairo, then returned to Chica- 
 go and fired No. 200 three years and two months 
 for Ed. Monroe. During this period No. 200 
 was in the shops and our subject fired No. 34 for 
 Frank Jennings. In 1881 our subject was pro- 
 moted and his first day's run was on No. 54 in* 
 the freight yards at Randolph street. He con- 
 tinued in this service nine months and was also 
 extra road man, as was customary in those days. 
 He then went into the suburban service and ran 
 No. 91 for one year, No. 44 two months, and was 
 then given No. 227, a new engine which he ran 
 until the latter part of '87 when he got No. 216, 
 then No. 62 and he now has No. 1416. In the
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 493 
 
 summer of '99, when the black smoke question 
 was being agitated, our subject demonstrated to 
 smoke Inspector John C. Schubert how the road 
 could abate the smoke nuisance when it feels so 
 inclined. We quote from the Chicago Tribune 
 of August 10, '99. 
 
 "The trip was made in the cab of engine No. 216, 
 with a star crew and a choice supply of coal. The 
 results of the trip were an object lesson in smoke pre- 
 vention. No. 216, with Engineer Frank Dunham in 
 charge and Fireman Smith at the shovel, made a trip 
 on schedule time that was all that the complaining 
 patrons of the road could demand. No. 216 ran 
 south with the gauge indicating 130 pounds of steam, 
 showing that the fireman was not 'favoring it,' and 
 this with a minimum of smoke. Inspector Schubert 
 was accompanied by William H. Quirk, smoke in- 
 spector of the Illinois Central Railroad. His position 
 in the cab gave opportunity to see what a competent 
 and careful fireman can do in the way of preventing 
 smoke. At the end of the r.un Inspector Schubert 
 said to Inspector Quirk: 'That was first-rate. If all 
 your engines were run like that there wouldn't be any 
 smoke on the lake front.' And Inspector Quirk replied 
 to Inspector Schubert: 'That's the best crew on the 
 road and that's the way they do it every time.' " * * * 
 
 Mr. Dunham has never been laid out by ac- 
 cident. He is a member of B. of L. E. and 
 secretary of insurance, which office he has held 
 for the past three years. He was born at Charles 
 City, Iowa, and came to Chicago in 1854. His 
 wife was formerly Miss Katie Tillman, daugh- 
 ter of N. W. Tillman, now superintendent of 
 construction in the machinery department. 
 
 BENJAMIN BUSCH, locomotive engi- 
 neer, has been in the employ of the 
 Illinois Central for twelve years. He 
 first began on the C. B. & Q. Railroad 
 as fireman on No. 222 and fired under Jerry Dee- 
 gan for two years and then began on the Illinois 
 Central as fireman under William Perry on engine 
 No. 470. Our subject fired with him in road ser- 
 vice for several years and he was also in the pool 
 part of the time. Afterwards he took charge 
 of engine No. 329 and now has a regular run in 
 the freight service. 
 
 Our subject was born in Chicago, March 
 18, 1867, a son of Charles Busch, who was a 
 cigar manufacturer and is now deceased. 
 
 . Our subject married Catherine Young of 
 Chicago, and they have a nephew, Harry Young, 
 living with them. Mr. Busch owns a home at 
 number 2584 One-hundredth street. He has 
 been in a number of wrecks and was in several 
 wrecks of great note and was only slightly in- 
 jured. He is a member of Division No. 10, 
 B. of L. E., of Burnside and is prominent in 
 the organization. 
 
 HOMAS AMES, a locomotive engineer 
 in the employ of the Illinois Central, 
 is a native of England, but came to the 
 United States when but twelve years 
 old. His first railroading was in 1873 when he 
 worked on the Chicago division of the Michigan 
 Central as a fireman. He began in the freight 
 service and remained there until December 1876, 
 when he went into the Kensington yards where 
 he ran a switch engine for four years. He then 
 ran between Chicago and Kensington, for two 
 years, and in 1882 he took a run on the Fergus 
 Falls division of the Great Northern Railroad, 
 remaining there for seven months, when he re- 
 turned to the Michigan Central where he worked 
 until September 1883, when he began on the Illi- 
 nois Central. His first work was done on the 
 Cairo incline, being extra engineer between Cairo 
 and Centralia. He was there until October 1884, 
 when he came on the Chicago division running 
 freight for one year. In 1885 and up to 1887 he 
 was on the Middle division between Minonk and 
 Buckingham, then he ran between Amboy and 
 Dubuque until May 1888, after which time he 
 returned to the Chicago division on freight until 
 1892. He next served on a pay car for eighteen 
 months and then became extra passenger man, 
 and August i, 1896, he was given a regular pas- 
 senger run to St. Louis on the Daylight Special 
 and Diamond Special. On April 28th, 29th and 
 3Oth he pulled the special Tribune paper train to
 
 494 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Springfield which was one hundred and ninety- 
 four miles, making the run to Kankakee, fifty- 
 six miles, in fifty-seven minutes, to Oilman, 
 eighty-one miles, in eighty-three minutes, stop- 
 ping five minutes at Kankakee and to. Springfield 
 
 at 3 =57- 
 
 Our subject is a member of Division No. 
 10, P.. of L. E. Mr. Ames married Miss Wilce 
 and they have six children, George, Edith, 
 Florence, Walter, Raymond and Amy. 
 
 He owns fine property at 7025 Kimbark 
 avenue, Chicago, 111. 
 
 LR. VIALL, conductor on the Illinois 
 Central, is a native of Illinois. He 
 Q commenced service on the Illinois 
 Central in 1880 as a freight brakeman 
 on the Chicago division. His first trip being 
 made with Joe Jackson. Our subject continued 
 braking on freight until December 1883, when 
 he was promoted to conductor and ran freight 
 until March 1893, when he was promoted to the 
 suburban service and continued in that service 
 until 1896, running extra passenger. In that year 
 he was given his present run, on through passen- 
 ger to Centralia. 
 
 Our subject has never been seriously in- 
 jured, and has lived in Chicago ever since he 
 began on the Illinois Central. Mr. Viall was 
 married to Miss Mary Parker and has two chil- 
 dren. 
 
 JOSEPH H. KIBLER, an engineer in the 
 freight department on the Memphis divi- 
 sion, of the Illinois Central, entered the 
 service of the company in 1885, as fire- 
 man on the Aberdeen branch, with engineer 
 Coeshaftner. After serving as fireman three 
 years, he went to the Kansas City R. R. and 
 worked there three years. He was promoted 
 to engineer and had charge of a switch 
 
 engine at Kansas City for one year. Re- 
 turning to the service of the Illinois Central at 
 Memphis, he worked as fireman for two months, 
 and then as switch engineer for six months, when 
 he was appointed to the regular freight service 
 on the Memphis division, and has since remained 
 there in charge of engine No. 731. Mr. Kibler 
 is a native of Stanton, Va., and, was born on May 
 4, 1866. His father, Joseph W. Kibler, is a 
 mill-wright by occupation and a respected citi- 
 zen of that place. Mr. Kibler married Miss Mat- 
 tie L. Low, of Sardis, Miss. He is a member of 
 Division No. 23, B. of L. E., of Memphis, his 
 home city. His wife is an active member of the 
 Baptist church. In politics, Mr. Kibler is a 
 staunch Democrat. 
 
 AVID GUTSHALL is a native of Ger- 
 mantown, Perry county, Pa., where he 
 was born in 1846. In the spring of 
 1867 he began his service on the I. C. 
 as a freight brakeman on the Chicago division 
 and at that time there were only six freight trains 
 a day, he continued as freight brakeman for about 
 two years and then was passenger brakeman for 
 two years for Conductor Patten. At the end of 
 that time he was promoted to baggageman and 
 ran a car one year and a half. At this point 
 he was transferred to what is now the Spring- 
 field division, was freight brakeman there one 
 year and a half and then he returned to Chicago 
 and began braking on freight and continued 
 about two years. At the end of that time he 
 took charge of the Pullman work train, the first 
 year they were building that town and then he 
 quit the road and went with the Toledo, Peoria 
 & Western Railroad as freight brakeman for a 
 year. In the spring of 1881 he returned to the 
 Chicago division when he was promoted to con- 
 ductor at once and began running freight to 
 Champaign and El Paso, and continued nine years 
 steady with good success as he had no accidents 
 and never cost the company a dollar. At the 
 end of nine years he was promoted to suburban
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 495 
 
 conductor and continued in that service for two 
 years when he was promoted to the fast mail' 
 and has held that run for the past nine years. 
 Since entering the through passenger service Mr. 
 Gutshall has been in one wreck though he was 
 in no way to blame. While passing over the junc- 
 tion switch at Otto, 111., a freight on the Bloom- 
 ington branch collided with his engine. There 
 were nine people injured, but none seriously. 
 
 Our subject first began railroading on the 
 Pennsylvania Railroad between Pittsburg and 
 Altoona as freight brakeman and flagman. At 
 the time the call was made for troops and near 
 the close of the war he enlisted in the Pennsyl- 
 vania reserves, but was never in a battle. Mr. 
 Gutshall was married to Miss Ellen Wendt and 
 they have one daughter, Ruth. 
 
 Mr. Stuart was married on the 24th of Octo- 
 ber, 1876, to Miss Mary Bridgman, of Amboy, 
 where she was born and raised. Of this union 
 five children have been born : William H., born 
 in Amboy, and was educated in the public 
 schools of that city is now a passenger brake- 
 man on the Amboy division of the I. C. R. R., 
 and resides with his parents at Freeport ; Grace 
 is the wife of Alonzo Williams and makes her 
 home in Clinton ; James H., Hying at home ; 
 Jennie and Catharine, who are students in the 
 Freeport schools. Mr. Stuart is a member of 
 the B. of L. E., and politically is independent. 
 Mrs. Stuart is a Catholic in religion. 
 
 HARLES STUART, engineer on the 
 Amboy division of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, and one of the old reliable 
 men on the road, was born in Illi- 
 nois, February 28th, 1855. His father, Wil- 
 liam B. Stuart, was a lawyer by profession and 
 a prominent man in the city of Amboy where he 
 held the offices of mayor, justice of the peace, 
 and for many years city attorney. He died 
 in 1881. The mother, whose maiden name 
 was Mary Johnson, died in 1874. In their fami- 
 ly were the following children : William H., for 
 many years an engineer of the I. C. R. R., is now 
 a veterinary surgeon and resides in Amboy ; 
 James H., deceased, a former engineer of the 
 "Yazoo Valley ; J. B., now residing in Amboy, was 
 an engineer on the I. C. R. R. for a long period ; 
 Frank M. is a locomotive engineer ; Charles ; 
 Hamilton W. went to California in 1849. 
 
 Charles Stuart attended school at Amboy 
 and at the age of eighteen entered the service of 
 the I. C. R. R. as a fireman on the Amboy divi- 
 sion, where he remained in the same position 
 until 1881 when he was licensed to handle the 
 throttle which position he holds to date, running 
 on the Ambov division. 
 
 JR. LANGHAM began railroading on 
 what is now the Monon Route in 1865 
 O at Lafayette, Indiana, as fireman and 
 continued as such eighteen months, 
 when he began braking on freight on the same 
 road and continued six months when he was 
 promoted to conductor and ran a train there until 
 1871, also extra passenger. 
 
 In that year he left that road and commenced 
 running freight on the Wabash between Lafayette 
 and Fort Wayne, remained there several years 
 when he resigned and went to the N. Y. L. E. & 
 W. railroad ; later to the Big Four where he ran 
 freight and passenger and while there brought 
 one of the first passenger trains to Chicago. From 
 that road he went to the I. I. & I. road and from 
 there he came to the Illinois Central, in 1882, 
 as freight conductor on the Chicago division and 
 continued in that service until the Freeport divi- 
 sion was opened, when he was given a passenger 
 run between Chicago and Dubuque and has 
 continued on that division up to the present time,. 
 For six years he had the Freeport passenger run. 
 Our subject has never been injured nor had a 
 passenger injured. He belongs to Division No. 
 i, O. R. C. 
 
 Mr. Langham, who is a native of Auburn, 
 New York, married Miss Caroline Meek and has 
 four daughters.
 
 496 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Z>TT^ H. ECCLES was born near Metropolis, 
 Illinois. He commenced railroading 
 Q on the Cairo Short Line in 1891, as 
 a passenger brakeman for A. M. 
 Dowell between Pinckneyville, 111., and Paducah, 
 Kentucky. He continued in that capacity a year 
 and was then promoted to baggage car between 
 East St. Louis and Paducah and continued in 
 that capacity six years. He then began braking 
 on the mixed train between Pinckneyville and 
 Paducah for J. C. Thetford for a year and then 
 on September 26, 1899, was promoted to freight 
 conductor and since then has been braking and 
 running extra. He has never been injured. He 
 is a member of the K. of P. at Pinckneyville 
 and the Railway and Telegraphers' Political 
 League of Illinois. Mr. Eccles married Miss 
 Ollie Hollan of Paducah and has one child, Ann 
 Louise. He is a young man of thrift and is 
 popular among his associates. 
 
 LBERT W. BELLOWS, assistant depot 
 master at Chicago, began his railroad 
 career at Delavan, Wis., as office boy 
 in the telegraph office of the Racine & 
 Mississippi R. R., which is now a branch of the 
 C. M. & St. P. Railway. After spending a 
 year in this capacity, he secured a situation 
 as brakeman between Racine and Freeport and 
 was thus employed until 1865. Mr. Bellows 
 then severed his connection with the Racine & 
 Mississippi company and from the spring of 
 1866 until December of the same year he worked 
 for the Chicago & Alton Company. August 6, 
 1867, Mr. Bellows began with the Illinois Cen- 
 tral company, serving as brakeman one year and 
 a few summers in charge of the gravel pit at 
 Kankakee, and subsequently served in the capa- 
 city of conductor from Chicago to Champaign 
 and from Chicago to El Paso until 1881. Since 
 the last named date he has been assistant station 
 master. 
 
 January r, 1881, Mr. Bellows married Miss 
 Chloe E. Fosdick, and their wedded life has been 
 
 blessed to them by the birth of one child, Mildred 
 Alberta. Socially our subject affiliates with 
 Division No. i, O. R. C., and Camp No. 422 M. 
 W. A., of Chicago. Twice he has suffered from 
 the effects of wrecks, in each of which he had 
 one of his legs broken. The second time that 
 this occurred .was September 6, 1881, on the Air 
 Line, his last trip on the road. 
 
 JOHN S. WEITZEL, assistant general 
 freight agent of the Illinois Central at 
 Omaha, began the life of a railroad man 
 on the Ohio Central at Corning in the 
 Buckeye state, as bill clerk in the offices there, 
 serving some seven months. 
 
 Securing a clerical position with Thomas & 
 Co., railroad contractors, he was in their employ 
 some two years at points in Georgia. When the 
 road was completed and opened, as the East 
 Tennessee, Virginia, & Georgia road, Mr. Weitzel 
 secured a place as clerk in the general freight 
 office. In February 1885 entering the service of 
 the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas road at 
 New Orleans, he was chief clerk for the general 
 agent for a time and was retained in his service 
 when he was promoted to assistant general freight 
 and passenger agent, and was in this service 
 when the Illinois Central assumed control on 
 September I, 1892. 
 
 Mr. Weitzel served as clerk for the division 
 freight agent at New Orleans until November 
 ii, 1894, when he was made chief clerk for the 
 assistant general freight agent, Mr. W. D. Hurl- 
 butt at Memphis. On promotion of Mr. Hurlbutt 
 to general freight agent for the Mississippi Val- 
 ley Route at Louisville, Mr. Weitzel was retained 
 as ch'ief clerk until August i, 1897, when he was 
 made assistant general freight agent with 
 head quarters at Evansville, Ind. On December 
 20, 1899, a further advancement was tendered 
 and accepted, and Mr. Weitzel was assigned to 
 his present position on the opening of the new 
 line to Omaha.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 497 
 
 OENRY C. MULLAN, an Illinois Cen- 
 - tral passenger conductor, residing at 
 j_[ \\ Sioux City, Iowa, began railroading 
 in 1873, on the B. C. R. & N. Railroad, 
 at Cedar Rapids, as a fireman under Engineer 
 Mike Doud; but at the end of six months quit 
 the road and returned to his home at Waterloo. 
 Iowa, and attended school for one term. In De- 
 cember 1874, he entered the service of the Illinois 
 Central as bill clerk in the office at LeMars, re- 
 maining one year. He then secured a place on 
 the Central Pacific Railroad as a fireman, run- 
 ning between Ogden, Utah, and Wells, Nevada. 
 At the expiration of eight months, however, he 
 returned to Waterloo and re-entered the Illinois 
 Central employ as a brakeman at Waterloo. 
 After a service of between three and four years 
 he was promoted to freight conductor, and in the 
 spring of 1888 was promoted to passenger con- 
 ductor and given a regular run on the Cherokee 
 and Sioux Falls branch. Since 1893 he has held 
 his present run between Sioux City and Fort 
 Dodge. 
 
 Mr. Mullan was born at Waterloo, Iowa, 
 November 2, 1850, and was married at Albion, 
 111., to Miss Mary E. Bunting December n, 1881. 
 They are the parents of five children, as follows : 
 Guy, Ivan, Harry, Kenneth and Paul. Our sub- 
 ject is identified with Cherokee Lodge, A. F. & 
 A.M. 
 
 ICTOR LABBE was born near Montreal, 
 Can., coming to the states at the age of 
 three months with his parents who 
 were natives of France. .He began 
 railroading on the Big Four at St. Anne, 
 Illinois, learning telegraphy and at the age 
 of sixteen was able to take the position of 
 night operator at that place and continued two 
 months and then went to the Chicago, Danville 
 & Yincennes, now the C. & E. I., at Watseka, 
 Illinois, as a ticket agent and operator and held 
 that position for three years. Then he went to 
 Chicago and took a position as operator in the 
 dispatcher's office and held the same two weeks, 
 
 when he was promoted to night train dispatcher 
 and continued until 1881. October 8, 1881, 
 he came to the Illinois Central and was sent by 
 the general manager, Edward T. Jeffery to open 
 a station at South Park and later to 22nd street 
 where he served as joint ticket agent for the 
 Illinois Central, Big Four and Michigan Central, 
 and also had the American Express business to 
 look after. On December 23, 1899, he was pro- 
 moted to city passenger and ticket agent at 
 Council Bluffs. Our subject has not lost a day 
 in nineteen years and never a day on account of 
 illness. Mr. Labbe speakes French, Italian and 
 English. 
 
 Mr. Labbe married Louise Grandpre of 
 Watertown, N. Y., and has three children, Robert 
 E. aged thirteen, Verna aged seven and Percy 
 aged four. Mr Labbe is a member of Whittier 
 Lodge No. 384, Knights of Pythias, of Chicago, 
 and is past chancellor of the lodge. Of seven 
 years service as keeper of records and seals he 
 lost but two meetings of the lodge, which service 
 was recognized by the body by presenting him a 
 beautiful emblematical ring. 
 
 jtjtjtjtjtjt 
 
 A. LOOMIS, conductor on the Illinois 
 Central, was born in Westfield, 
 Mass. He commenced railroading 
 on the Illinois Central in 1863, as 
 a train boy on the Chicago division and continued 
 about a year and a half and then began braking 
 on passenger, where he remained until 1865, 
 when he went on freight a short time and in 
 1868 was promoted to baggageman and ran 
 through to St. Louis. In 1870 he resigned and 
 went with the Wagner Palace Car Company as 
 superintendent on the L. S. & M. S., between 
 Chicago and Cleveland. He remained with them 
 until 1873 and then accepted a position as freight 
 conductor on the Missouri Pacific, running out 
 of St. Louis, continuing there until 1878. He 
 then went to the Pennsylvania road and ran 
 freight between Chicago and Logansport, Ind., 
 and was there until 1879 when he returned to the
 
 498 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Illinois Central and after making two trips as 
 freight brakeman, was given a freight run which 
 he held until 1883, when he was promoted to 
 the passenger service and given a suburban run 
 which he held until 1890, when he took the New 
 Orleans Limited, running to Centralia, he now 
 runs the Daylight Special between Chicago and 
 St. Louis. Mr. Loomis was in the Thomasboro 
 wreck, which was a head end collision between 
 a passenger and a fruit train. He was running 
 as baggageman at the time and his car was torn 
 in pieces and our subject was thrown to the top 
 of the next car. Our subject is a prominent 
 member of the O. R. C., he is past chief of his 
 division, and is now serving as assistant chief. 
 Mr. Loomis is president of the Freight and 
 Passenger Conductor's Mutual Aid and Benefit 
 Association, which is an insurance company for 
 railroad men. He is a member of Blue Lodge 
 No. 662, A. F. & A. M., Chapter No. 148, R. 
 A. M., Commandery No. 35, K. T., and Medinah 
 Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, all of 
 Chicago. 
 
 RTHUR M. SHAW, roadmaster of the 
 Omaha division, has risen to his 
 present position in a remarkably short 
 period of time. While a student of 
 civil engineering in Cornell College at Mt. Ver- 
 non, la., he spent the open season of several years 
 in the field, gaining practical experience in an 
 engineering corps, and the winters pursuing his 
 studies in the college class-rooms. His first ex- 
 perience in the field was at Cherokee, in 1891, 
 as chain man in the service of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral engineering corps and the following summer 
 was rodman in the same service. The summer 
 of 1893 he was transit man of the corps in the 
 service of the Duluth & Iron Range Railroad. 
 At the close of the college year in 1894, he went 
 into the real estate business at Algona, la., for 
 a short time and has since been in the service of 
 the Illinois Central, except for a period of eight 
 months of 1898, when he enlisted in the govern- 
 
 ment service during the Spanish war, serving 
 as sergeant of the 2nd regiment United States 
 Volunteer Engineers, being stationed at Montauk 
 Point and Savannah. On the close of hostilities 
 in the spring of 1899 he re-entered the service 
 of the Central and was sent as instrument man 
 in charge of the work at Crystal Springs, Miss., 
 in February 1899. Promoted as assistant engi- 
 neer in August following he was in charge of 
 the work at Grenada, Miss. He was on duty 
 in Alabama when he was selected to serve as 
 roadmaster of the new Omaha division, March 
 ist, 1900, with headquarters at Council Bluffs. 
 Mr. Shaw was born at Lee Center, 111., Decem- 
 ber 12, 1870. He is a member of the Knights 
 of Pythias, affiliating with the lodge at Mt. Ver- 
 non, la., and became one of the early members 
 of the lodge B. P. O. E., recently instituted at; 
 Council Bluffs. 
 
 EORGE A. CLARK, superintendent of 
 the Omaha division has been a railroad 
 man since the age of fifteen, beginning 
 in 1883 as telegraph operator on the 
 Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul system at Casta- 
 lia, Iowa. The following year he accepted a 
 position on the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis 
 & Omaha line as station agent at Worthington, 
 Minn., from which point he was transferred to 
 the train dispatcher's office at St. Paul. In 
 1886 he accepted an offer of the "Soo Line" as 
 train dispatcher at Gladstone, Mich. When Mr. 
 Shields was appointed general superintendent 
 of the Chicago & Great Western in 1887, Mr. 
 Clark was offered position as dispatcher at Oel- 
 wein where he remained for two years. For & 
 year following, he served as chief dispatcher at 
 Larimore, N. D., on the Great Northern line, 
 and then returned to the service of the "Soo Line" 
 as chief dispatcher at Minneapolis for two years. 
 August 15, 1895, he entered the service of the Illi- 
 nois Central as train dispatcher on the Chicago 
 division at Champaign, remaining there for two 
 years. Transferred to Clinton. Illinois, he served
 
 HON. W. (J. COLE.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 501 
 
 one year as train master on the Amboy division, 
 and the following year in the same capacity on 
 the St. Louis division, with headquarters at Car- 
 bondale, where he remained until promoted to 
 his present position as superintendent of the 
 Omaha division, March 15, 1900. 
 
 Mr. Clark was born at Mona, Iowa, June 
 29, 1869. His father Mr. Clark, a mechanical 
 engineer, was in the government service's engi- 
 neering department during the Civil war. 
 
 Mr. Clark was married in 1897 at Larimore, 
 North Dakota, to Miss Phe Eastgate, to whom 
 one son, Clinton, has been born. Of the social 
 orders Mr. Clark is a member of only one, the 
 Masonic lodge at Champaign. As a railroad 
 man he is thoroughly conversant with all that 
 pertains to the management of a division, hav- 
 ing learned it from the foundation up. He is 
 a man of strong executive ability and is one of 
 the youngest superintendents on the line. 
 
 ON. W. Q. COLE, state auditor of 
 Mississippi, residing at Jackson, a 
 man of prominence throughout the 
 state, is a former employe and official 
 of the Illinois Central. Mr. Cole entered the 
 service of the Illinois Central, (then known as 
 the Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans R. R.) 
 in March 1878, at Durant, Mississippi, as clerk, 
 under Roadmaster E. J. Martin. In August of 
 that year he was appointed pumper at the 
 Kosciusco Junction water tank and remained 
 there until October 1879, when he was transferred 
 to Water Valley, Mississippi, as clerk in the 
 office of the master mechanic. He occupied the 
 latter position until November of the same year, 
 when he was sent to Jackson, Tenn., as clerk to 
 Superintendent J. G. Mann. By request of E. 
 J. Martin, assistant superintendant, he was in 
 November 1880 transferred to the latter's office 
 at Water Valley, as chief clerk, and in February 
 1882, was promoted to expense accountant for 
 the road, in the auditor's office, at New Orleans, 
 under S. B. McConnico, then auditor. When 
 
 the Illinois Central took possession of the 
 Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans R. R. he was 
 sent to the auditor's office in Chicago, under J. 
 C. Welling. On May 1st, 1883, Mr. Cole was 
 appointed traveling auditor for the southern lines 
 of the I. C. which he held until January ist, 1898, 
 when he accepted a place as bookkeeper for 
 Jennings Bros, in Water Valley. In 1899 he 
 was elected auditor of Mississippi. 
 
 Air. Cole was born in Holmes county, Miss., 
 June 28th, 1856. William F. Cole, his father 
 was a prominent railroad man in his day. He 
 was agent for the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 
 R. R. (now the I. C. R. R.) at Lexington, Miss., 
 when the road was first built, and continued there 
 until 1884, when he resigned. He is now eighty- 
 two years old and peaceably spending his de- 
 clining years at the home of his son, in Jackson. 
 
 The subject of this sketch has four brothers, 
 three of them being in the service of the I. C. 
 at New Orleans. They are : Walter, Jesse, and 
 Edwin Cole, another brother, Thomas, resides 
 at Galveston, Texas. Mr. Cole was united in 
 marriage to Miss Alice West, of Water Valley, 
 Miss., and they have a family of five children, 
 viz : William West, Alice, Welling, Eva May 
 and Wilfred. He is connected with the Knights 
 of Pythias, Knights of Honor and Order of Elks, 
 all of Water Valley. With his family he occupies 
 a spacious residence at 509 north State street, 
 in Jackson, and has his office in the state capitol 
 building. Mr. Cole is a man possessed of great 
 ability, ambition and tireless industry. He is 
 a prominent figure in the affairs of the state, and 
 possesses those characteristics which are worthy 
 of emulation by younger men who are seeking 
 the road to success in life. 
 
 G. YOUNG was born in Chicago, 
 January 17, 1860. He began rail- 
 reading on the C. & A. in 1877 as 
 fireman on the Chicago division and 
 continued for three years, then went to running 
 on switch and transfer engines. In 1887 he came
 
 502 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 to the Central and went on suburban engine No. 
 217, November 23rd of that year and ran that 
 same engine for eight years, and then by request 
 of the master mechanic took engine No. 250, 
 and has run that up to the present time. Peter 
 Young, father of our subject, was on -the road 
 forty-eight years ago as a fireman, and was fore- 
 man in the round-house at Weldon. He is now 
 retired and has not been on the road for twenty 
 years. H. G. Young married Miss Minnie 
 Kunzer by whom he has had two children, one 
 now living, Miss Julia aged eighteen years. Mr. 
 Young belongs to Division No. 10, B. of L. E. 
 He owns a fine three story flat at No. 486, 27th 
 street, Chicago. 
 
 ENGELBRECHT, a native of Bava- 
 ria, came to this country at the age 
 f sixteen and has been with the 
 Illinois Central company ever since. 
 It was in the fall of 1875 that he began as an oiler 
 in the freight yards at Randolph street, where he 
 worked at oiling, cleaning lamps, etc., until Jan. 
 3, 1878, when he began firing in the yard service 
 with John Costello on No. 30, a road engine; 
 then went on the road making his first trip with 
 John Fenton on No. 201, which was at that time 
 a first-class freight engine. Then he fired No. 
 213, now No. 201, which was the first double 
 ended suburban engine, for John Blackberry. 
 After this he was put on the meat run with Mike 
 McMahan, on No. 74, then with Doc. Israel in 
 suburban service, on No. 34, and the following 
 year and eight months with John McAvoy, now 
 deceased. June 16, 1882, he was promoted to 
 engineer, but prior to that had done some run- 
 ning in the yard. His first engine was No. 16. 
 He continued in the yard service, off and on, for 
 about a year, and was then transferred to the 
 suburban, then south and ran out of Buckingham, 
 after which he was placed on No. 7, and later, 
 on No. 7> i n the construction service between 
 Kensington and Maumee, building the double 
 track. His next run was on a freight for one 
 
 year, after which he went into the suburban 
 service, first on No. 204, an eight wheeler, then 
 on No. 223, the first suburban engine built by 
 the I. C. Co., which he ran for one year, next on 
 No. 60, now No. 215, and ran her seven years 
 steady. For a time he ran No. 243 and now 
 runs No. 249 which he has had since 1894. He 
 has never been injured, and never lost a day from 
 neglect of duty. 
 
 Mr. Engelbrecht- married Miss Emma Den- 
 ninger and has four sons, all in school, one attend- 
 ing a manual training school and one a business 
 college. Mr. Engelbrecht has acquired consider- 
 able means. He owns a fine piece of property 
 at 8049 Commercial avenue, also 5 f ee t i n 
 Dauphin Park. He is a member of B. of L. E., 
 and B. of L. F. and also belongs to Home Lodge 
 No. 508, A. F. & A. M. Mr. Engelbrecht is a 
 man of untiring energy and devoted to his pro- 
 fession. During our interview he remarked, 
 with a smile, that he could not live six months if 
 he didn't do any work. 
 
 H. HILL, a conductor in the freight 
 service of the Central at Jackson, 
 L Q Tenn., is a native of Dresden, the 
 county seat of Weakley county, Tenn. 
 Mr. Hill's first railroad work was in the construc- 
 tion department, driving a cart on the grade be- 
 tween Jackson and Cairo. In November 1878 
 he entered the train service as brakeman under 
 conductors Reno and Spragins. At that time 
 wood burning engines were in service and the 
 darkey was not so much in evidence in railroad 
 work, there being only one on the entire Missis- 
 sippi division. After two years service Mr. Hill 
 was compelled to resign owing to ill health and 
 did not return to the service for a year. In Sep- 
 tember 1883 he was promoted and ran as extra 
 conductor or brakeman for two years. Since 
 1885 he has had a regular run in the Cairo dis- 
 trict, at present between Jackson and Martin, 
 Tenn., and is second in line for promotion to 
 the passenger service.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 503 
 
 Two of Mr. Hill's brothers have been in 
 railroad service. Richard Hill at the time of his 
 death in April 1877 had for six years been a 
 conductor in the freight service of the Central 
 and another brother, Charles, is at present brak- 
 ing on the N. C. & St. L. on which road he had 
 previously served on the left side of the cab. 
 He was at one time conductor on the road but 
 resigning began again at the bottom of the lad- 
 der. Their father, W. C. Hill, prior to his 
 death in 1880 was a prominent physician in 
 Union City, Dresden and Martin, Tenn. 
 
 In April 1885 Mr. Hill was married to Miss 
 Mollie T. Henry to whom were born two children, 
 Mollie and Raymond, deceased. Her death oc- 
 curred in 1891. Four years later Mr. Hill was 
 married to Mrs. Willie V. Booker, widow of 
 Captain Mat Booker, an old time conductor on 
 the Central. Of the second marriage a son was 
 born, Dewitt Johnson Hill. 
 
 Mr. Hill is a member of Division No. 149, 
 O. R. C., of Jackson, Tenn. He has been in- 
 strumental in building up the city where he makes 
 his home, having erected two comfortable dwell- 
 ings at Nos. 142 and 148 East Deaderick street. 
 
 N. PECKENS, an old time conduc- 
 tor on the I. C., is a native of Naper- 
 Q ville, 111. He commenced work on 
 the Illinois Central in 1877 as a sec- 
 lion hand on what is now the Springfield divi- 
 sion, at Oilman, and worked in that capacity two 
 years, and in 1879, at the age of seventeen, began 
 a<^ a brakeman on the Chicago division. His 
 first trip was made with O. A. Berry, then train- 
 master. Mr. Berry and our subject brought a 
 train of stock from Gihnan alone. . Mr. Peckens 
 continued as brakeman one year and a half on 
 the Chicago division and was then sent to the 
 Cairo division and in December 1880, lost two 
 fingers ; then at request of his mother he left 
 the road and returned to his home in Oilman, 
 but in a short time he took up railroading again 
 and served as brakeman for a year and a half on 
 
 the Springfield division, when he was promoted 
 to freight conductor and ran freight and extra 
 passenger until 1891, when he was again pro- 
 moted to regular passenger and came to the Chi- 
 cago division, at which time the Diamond Special 
 was put on and he took the first special through 
 from Chicago to St. Louis. He ran the night 
 train until 1896 and was then given the day run. 
 Our subject belongs to Division No. 206, O. R. 
 C. He has never had an accident, owing to his 
 fault, that ever cost the company a dollar. Mr. 
 Peckens married Miss Hanes and they have one 
 child, May. 
 
 OMINIC T. HUMPHREY, yardmas- 
 ter at Monroe street, Chicago, began 
 railroading on the Chicago, Rock 
 Island & Pacific Railway, in 1878, 
 on the Chicago division and was thus .employed 
 for two years and a half. From there he went 
 tc the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail- 
 road and from the spring of 1881 to the fall of 
 1882 served that company in the capacity of 
 switchman. Upon leaving the Lake Shore Com- 
 pany, Mr. Humphrey found employment with the 
 New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, 
 generally known as the Nickel Plate Railroad, 
 and made up the first passenger train that this 
 company pulled out of Chicago from Weldon 
 yards on October 22, 1883. With this company 
 he remained in the capacity of switchman for 
 eight or nine months when he became yardmaster, 
 but in 1887 he retired from railroad work and 
 for three years was in business in Chicago. In 
 1890 he returned to his former occupation and 
 after switching one year for the Stock Yards 
 Company, secured a similar position with the 
 Illinois Central company, and in 1892 was ap- 
 pointed to his present position as yardmaster at 
 the Monroe street yards. 
 
 Mr. Humphrey was born in Chicago, Janu- 
 ary 12, 1858, a son of John Humphrey. He was 
 married in the city of his nativity, in 1880, to 
 Miss Katie Burns and of the ten children that
 
 504 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 have been born to them, we have the following 
 record : Maggie, deceased ; William, Edward, 
 Blanche, deceased; Dominic, Harry, Irene, Ger- 
 trude, Lillian, deceased, and Howard. Mr. 
 Humphrey is a member of the National Union, 
 Chicago Council No. 71. 
 
 1866. 
 
 ENRY M. METZ, representing the 
 Illinois Central as commercial agent at 
 Council Bluffs, is a native of Freeport, 
 Illinois, his birth occurring November 
 Until 1884 he attended the public 
 schools of his native city, entering the service of 
 the Illinois Central, June ist, of that year in the 
 local freight office, having previously learned 
 telegraphy. January i, 1888, he was transferred 
 to the office of Mr. W. R. Bascom, assistant 
 general freight agent at Dubuque, as chief clerk. 
 In 1892 he filled a like position in the office of 
 Mr. Benson, commercial agent in that city, re- 
 maining until appointed as freight agent at 
 Freeport, February 4, 1895. When the Omaha 
 division was opened to traffic Mr. Metz was 
 appointed commercial agent, December 16, 1899, 
 with head quarters at Council Bluffs, having 
 entire charge of the company's business at this 
 important point. 
 
 Mr. Metz was married, at Dubuque, to Miss 
 Mary Simploe. Two children have been born, 
 Genevieve, and Russell, deceased. In the 
 Evergreen Lodge No. 97, at Freeport, Illinois, 
 Mr. Metz was made a mason and he was initiated 
 into the mysteries of the Pythian Knighthood in 
 Orient Lodge No. 210, at Dubuque. On his 
 removal to Council Bluffs he became a member 
 of the lodge of Elks No. 531, recently organized 
 in that city. 
 
 Mr. Metz's business ability and thorough 
 training in the commercial departments of rail- 
 road work are the secrets of his success in his 
 chosen calling, and his fitness for the place was 
 his recommendation when the management was 
 casting about for competent men to fill the im- 
 portant positions, in the opening of the new line. 
 
 OHN HALL, conductor on the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, was born at Marshall, 
 Michigan, and for three years prior to 
 his connection with the Illinois Central, 
 acted as baggage agent .on the Michigan Central 
 at New Buffalo, Lawton and Dowagiac. Otis, 
 his father, was in the employ of the Michigan 
 Central for seventeen years as a freight and 
 passenger conductor. Our subject began work 
 on the Illinois Central July 17, 1886, as a brake- 
 man on the suburban train for P. D. Sawin and 
 then with Ed. Collins until October 1890, with the 
 exception of three months he was baggageman 
 for Collins. Then he went into the freight service 
 and ran with Charles Lehigh for three months, 
 and then returned to the suburban service as 
 collector and continued in that capacity until 
 1892, when he was promoted to conductor by 
 Superintendent J. C. Jones, and has continued 
 as such to the present time. He has never been 
 injured and socially is a member of Division No. 
 i, O. R. C., of Chicago. 
 
 ILLIAM B. ORMOND, chief train 
 dispatcher on the Omaha division, 
 began his railroad career in Nov. 
 1876 at Milwaukee, where he learned 
 telegraphy in the office of the Chicago, Milwaukee 
 & St. Paul lines, and served as operator for five 
 years at various points in Wisconsin, also in the 
 general offices in Milwaukee, being promoted to 
 dispatcher in 1881. When the offices were re- 
 moved to Chicago, in 1883, Mr. Ormond was 
 transferred to that point, remaining until 1892, 
 serving the last five years as chief. In 1892 he 
 was appointed train master, serving until his 
 resignation in November 1893, to go into business 
 with his brother in Milwaukee. He then re- 
 turned to railroad service some eighteen months 
 later, accepting a position with the Great 
 Northern, in the state of Washington, where he 
 remained one year. 
 
 The two succeeding years he served as train 
 dispatcher for the Colorado & Southern at
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 505 
 
 Trinidad, being promoted to chief while in the 
 service. On the opening of the Omaha division 
 of the Illinois Central Mr. Ormond was offered 
 the position as chief train dispatcher of the divi- 
 sion, with head quarters at Council Bluffs, which 
 he accepted. 
 
 Born in Milwaukee, May I5th, 1859, Mr. 
 Ormond was educated in the schools of that city, 
 and in Wales, where he spent two years visiting 
 his grandmother, when a boy. He was married 
 at Trinidad, Colorado, in 1898, to Miss Carrie 
 White. Careful in all his business relations, Mr. 
 Ormond stands high in his chosen profession. 
 He is a member of the Train Dispatcher's 
 Association. 
 
 ]. DAWSON, a native of Hicksville, 
 Ohio, began railroading on the 
 Illinois Central in September 1888, 
 as a switchman at iO4th street, 
 Chicago, and continued there about two weeks 
 when he began braking on a freight for conductor 
 Green, an old employe of the road, and then for 
 Bennie Schaffer and later for Frank Woods. 
 He remained in the freight service two years 
 when he was set up to conductor and ran extra 
 about three months, when he was given a regular 
 car, and held it for six years. 
 
 In 1890 our subject, Charles Litchfield, 
 Frank Allen, deceased, Mr. Trotter, Frank 
 Adams, Mr. Cooper and Harry Earl, of 
 Champaign, as representatives of the O. R. C., 
 waited upon the company and it was through 
 their efforts that the standard schedule of wages 
 was made. At the end of six years he was pro- 
 moted to his preferred run and remained on that 
 until November 12, 1898, when he was promoted 
 to the passenger service and since that date has 
 been in the suburban service. 
 
 Our subject has never received a severe 
 injury. He is a member of Division No. I, O. 
 R. C., and in May 1897 he was a representative 
 to the O. R. C. convention held at Los Angeles, 
 California. He is also a member of Blue Lodge 
 
 No. 140, A. F. and A. M., Chapter No. 50, R. 
 A. M., both of Champaign, Commandery No. 16, 
 K. T. and Council No. 19, both of Urbana. 
 
 On October 6, 1891, Mr. Dawson was united 
 in marriage with Miss Lulu Barber, of Grand 
 Rapids, Mich. 
 
 ENRY GARMES is a native of Germany, 
 having been born near Hanover in 
 March 1856, and came to this country 
 when he was seven years of age. In 
 1873 he began railroading in the yards at 
 Champaign, as a switchman and continued there 
 for five years, when he began on the Champaign 
 division as a freight brakeman, remaining there 
 about four years, and was then promoted to 
 conductor in the freight service, remaining until 
 the spring of 1893, when he came to Chicago and 
 ran a through passenger until November 1st, 
 1893, then he returned to Champaign and was 
 in the freight service until December I2th, 1894, 
 when he came to Chicago and has since been on 
 the fast mail to Centralia. In all his years of 
 railroad service, our subject has never been 
 injured and during that time he has only been off 
 the road about six months. Socially he is a 
 member of Division No. 112, O. R. C. 
 
 Mr. Garmes married Miss L. C. Cappis and 
 they have four children, Gertrude L., wife of 
 Frank Duncan, of Chicago, Eva C., Arthur 
 Eugene and Earl D. 
 
 jtjtjtjtjtjt 
 
 LI CLARK, one of the conductors in the 
 through passenger service, is a native 
 of old England, where his birth 
 occurred in the city of Boston, in the 
 year 1848. In 1865, with his father, he came 
 to join two elder brothers who had established 
 themselves on farms near St. Joseph, Michigan, 
 after serving through the Civil War. In October 
 1872 Mr. Clark came to Chicago and secured a
 
 506 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 position as brakeman on the Illinois Central, 
 serving two and a half years in this capacity he 
 was promoted to conductor in the freight service 
 early in seventy-five, and eight years later was 
 advanced to the passenger service, running at 
 present in the through service betwee'n Chicago 
 and Centralia. During nearly thirty years in the 
 service Mr. Clark has escaped serious accident 
 and has brought through safely all the passengers 
 in his charge. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Clark occurred at 
 White Pigeon, Michigan, in December 1876, 
 when Miss Millie Bottomly became his helpmeet. 
 Of their three children all are living : William 
 H. is a clerk for the Featherstone Manufacturing 
 Company, of Chicago ; George F. is a fireman in 
 the Chicago terminal yards of the Central ; 
 Lottie Mable is a student in the Chicago schools. 
 Both sons graduated from the Chicago Athen- 
 aeum. Mr. Clark is a member of Division No. 
 112, O. R. C., of Centralia. 
 
 JA. WHEELER, traveling passenger 
 agent for the Illinois Central, whose 
 Q home is at Manchester, Iowa, began 
 work for this company in July 1881, 
 as assistant excursion agent under Capt. J. F. 
 Merry, whose biography appears on another page 
 of this volume, and was in that capacity until 
 1883, and since that date has been traveling pas- 
 senger agent under Mr. Merry. His duty is 
 to look up and organize excursion parties all over 
 the United States and to personally conduct them. 
 Mr. Wheeler was born in Herkimer county, 
 N. Y., in 1842, and came west with his parents, 
 Asa and Mary Wheeler, in 1854, at the age of 
 thirteen years and located in Jackson county, 
 Iowa. The father was a hotel keeper by occupa- 
 tion and subsequently moved to St. Charles, 
 Minn., where he operated a hotel for two years, 
 but spent the latter years of his life on a farm. 
 Our subject, in his early life, was a brakeman 
 on the Illinois Central Railroad for a short time, 
 and was also engaged in the mercantile business 
 
 at Manchester with J. F. Merry, above mentioned. 
 In 1864 he enlisted in Company F, Forty-sixth 
 Iowa Volunteer Infantry, as a private and served 
 six months, but participated in no battles and was 
 never injured in any way. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler was married at Manchester to 
 Miss Mary N. Cattron, of that city. Their only 
 child is Dr. Earnest C. Wheeler, of Fargo, N. 
 Dak. 
 
 Our subject affiliates with the Masonic 
 fraternity, the Knights of Pythias and the Le- 
 gion of Honor, all of Manchester. 
 
 1856. 
 
 HARLES B. FLETCHER, train mas- 
 ter of the Cherokee division of the I. 
 C. is a native of southern Illinois, his 
 birth occurring at Sparta, July 14, 
 He attended school at Centralia, 111., and 
 a short time at Jamestown, N. Y., finishing his 
 education in the printing office of his father, J. 
 Warren Fletcher, who established the Centralia 
 Sentinel, the first journal in 'that city. During 
 the years 1875-6 while in his father's office he 
 learned telegraphy under the instruction of L. 
 A. Louis, former superintendent of telegraph, 
 studying and practicing mornings, noons and 
 nights. In 1876 he was appointed night operator 
 at East St. Louis for the Bridge & Terminal Com- 
 pany. Resigning some three months later, he re- 
 turned to the case in the office of the Sentinel, 
 where he was employed until January i, 1877, 
 when he became night operator at the Relay 
 depot, East St. Louis, and two months later went 
 onto the day shift, remaining a year and a half. 
 Resigning, he accepted a position with the St. 
 Louis & San Francisco Line as agent and opera- 
 tor at Pierce City, Mo., but shortly after returned 
 to his former position at the Relay depot, where 
 he remained until sickness compelled him to re- 
 sign. After his recovery Mr. Fletcher again 
 entered railroad work November 24, 1879. as 
 night operator, at Clinton, 111., for the Illinois 
 Central and has been in their employ ever since. 
 After a few months at Clinton he was appointed
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 507 
 
 clay operator at Effingham, serving a year and 
 the same length of time at Kankakee. His next 
 assignment was as ticket agent and manager of 
 telegraph at Carbondale for a few months and 
 was then transferred to Centralia, where he re- 
 mained until transferred to Cherokee in December 
 1887, as day operator. In February 1888 he 
 was assigned to duty in the office of the division 
 superintendent, in April of the same year was 
 made chief clerk and in March 1892 was made 
 train master, which position he has since filled 
 to the satisfaction of the management of the road. 
 
 Mr. Fletcher was married at Centralia to 
 Miss Kate Cunningham, to whom have been born 
 four children, Howard, Annie Jean, Mabel and 
 J. Warren. 
 
 Of the mysteries of Masonry Mr. Fletcher 
 has learned much, having passed the required 
 tests and is now a member of Speculative Lodge, 
 No. 207, Burning Bush Chapter No. 90, and 
 Crusade Commandery No. 39, of Cherokee, and 
 has passed over the burning sands in Kaaba Tem- 
 ple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Davenport. 
 He is also a member of the insurance order of 
 the Highland Nobles at Cherokee. 
 
 JOHN DOLAN who is a native of Morris- 
 town, New Jersey, began his railroad 
 career November 16, 1871, when he be- 
 gan as a freight brakeman on the Chi- 
 cago division with' Nicholas Murray, remaining 
 there two weeks when he was put in the Hyde 
 Park suburban service. During this time he 
 served as extra brakeman on freights when he 
 returned to the regular freight service remain- 
 ing for about two years, running with Eli Clark 
 and Chris Bark, now off the road. For the fol- 
 lowing three and a half years he served as brake; 
 man in the through passenger service for Conduc- 
 tor A. S. Patten, now living in Chelsea, Mass. ; 
 then ran as extra baggageman for two years 
 when he was made collector in the suburban ser- 
 vice. In October 1886 he was promoted to regu- 
 lar suburban conductor where he has continued 
 
 until the present day, and he is now number 
 two on the seniority list. During his long rail- 
 road experience he has never been injured. 
 
 Mr. Dolan was married to Miss Ellen Duffy 
 and they have six children, John, William, Mary, 
 Thomas, Kittie and Edward. 
 
 H. BAKER, conductor on the Illinois 
 Central, first saw the light of day 
 in Mason, (now Clio) Illinois, May 
 8, 1888, our subject went on the 
 Illinois Central as a freight brakeman on the 
 Chicago division for Conductor John Woods 
 and continued in that capacity until September 
 4, 1890, when he was promoted to freight 
 conductor, and ran freight until 1895, when he 
 was promoted to the passenger service and went 
 into the suburban service at Chicago, continuing 
 there until September I, 1899, when he was 
 given the St. Louis Diamond Special. Several 
 times he has been called upon to take out 
 special trains. 
 
 He is a member of Division No. i, O. R. 
 C, also a member of Blue Lodge No. 841, 
 A. F. & A. M., -Woodlawn Chapter No. 176, 
 R. A. M., of Englewood, and Commandery No. 
 59, K. T. Mr. Baker married Miss Gibson, who 
 is deceased. 
 
 AMUEL M. FITCH, a well known con- 
 ductor in the suburban service, began 
 his railroad career with the Atchison, 
 Topeka & Santa Fe, as brakeman un- 
 der Conductor Jack Roberts, in the fall of 1887 
 and continued in that capacity for three years. 
 After promotion to conductorship, Mr. Fitch con- 
 tinued in the service for a year and then on No- 
 vember 7, 1891, secured a place with the Illinois 
 Central in the suburban service. During the 
 following year he was promoted and has served 
 as conductor since, having the run between the
 
 508 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 city, Woodlawn and Harvey and one trip a day 
 to South Chicago. His brother, A. B. Fitch, 
 is a conductor on the A. T. & S. F. 
 
 Mr. Fitch was born at Batavia, Iowa, Aug. 
 19, 1870, a son of Henry Fitch, a bridge carpen- 
 ter, who died when our subject was very small. 
 He was married at Cheltenham October 14, 1896, 
 to Miss Jessie Westbrook. 
 
 Mrs. Fitch is a member of the Ladies' Auxili- 
 ary of the O. R. C. Mr. Fitch is a member of 
 Division No. i, O. R. C., of Chicago, in which 
 he is serving as assistant chief conductor. He 
 is a member of Invincible Lodge No. 353, Knights 
 of Pythias, of Cheltenham and of the Golden 
 Rule Lodge No. 726, A. F. & A. M., of Chicago. 
 
 LFRED SANDERSON, who has charge 
 of one of the suburban engines from 
 the Twenty-seventh street shops, 
 Chicago, ranks third in the order of 
 seniority of the Illinois Central company's engi- 
 neers in the city of Chicago. Mr. Sanderson 
 was born in Montreal, Canada, September 25, 
 1846. He began railroading in 1862 at Point 
 St. Charles, on the Grand Trunk Line under Engi- 
 neer Jim Prey. In 1863 he came to Chicago, 
 111., and after firing for two years, was given 
 charge of freight engine No. 175, which he 
 operated eighteen years. In 1883, Mr. Sander- 
 son was promoted to a passenger run between 
 Chicago and Champaign, pulling the Big Four 
 trains as far as Kankakee, where they left the 
 Central company's lines, until 1893, when he was 
 transferred to his present position at the head 
 of a suburban train. 
 
 It is a pleasure to meet the pioneers of any 
 community and hear them recount thrilling ex- 
 periences amid frontier surroundings. Our sub- 
 ject is a pioneer railroad employe and his reminis- 
 cences of early railroad life are very interesting. 
 When he began as a fireman, wood burning en- 
 gines were in use and railroad construction and 
 management were very different from those of 
 these days. It is a noteworthy fact, also, that 
 
 during his entire career of nearly forty years, 
 Mr. Sanderson has never been in a wreck. 
 
 Mr. Sanderson was married in the city of 
 Chicago, in 1872, to Miss Margaret Clancy. Our 
 subject's father, Joseph Sanderson, was a farrier 
 in England. 
 
 H. GERRY is another of Chicago's 
 enterprising and wide-awake bus- 
 Q iness men who, by his own energy 
 and faithfulness, has risen to an 
 enviable position from the lowly walks of life. 
 The name will be readily recognized by the em- 
 ployes of the Illinois Central company as that of 
 the assistant train master at the Randolph street 
 station. 
 
 Mr. Gerry was born at Racine, Wis., June 
 4, 1858, and began working for the Illinois 
 Central company June 6, 1883, as a brakeman 
 on a suburban train at Chicago, under O. A. 
 Barry, train master. Later he was extra brake- 
 man in the passenger service between Chicago 
 and Effingham, but was soon promoted to a 
 regular run which he held for eighteen months, 
 under Conductor James H. Claudius. He was 
 next promoted to train baggageman, but after 
 following that line of work for five years and 
 three months, he resigned and went into the 
 freight service as brakeman. Eighteen months 
 later the company saw fit to put him in charge of 
 a freight train, but poor health demanded a 
 resignation of that position at the end of a year. 
 
 After a few months' rest and attention to his 
 physical condition, Mr. Gerry was again able to 
 begin work and soon secured a position as brake- 
 man on a suburban train. From December 1890, 
 until June i, 1896, he served as brakeman and 
 collector, but at the last named date, was pro- 
 moted to the office of regular conductor, and 
 retained the same until January 3, 1898, when he 
 was appointed assistant train master under Mr. 
 Dunning. Mr. Gerry's record is a remarkable 
 one, in that there is not a mark against him on 
 his page of the record of train men kept by the 

 
 CO 
 
 6 
 
 i s 
 
 
 ^-1 
 
 w 
 
 w 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 Q 
 W
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 511 
 
 company. This means that during his entire 
 career of sixteen years on that line, there has not 
 heen an error charged to his account. 
 
 Not only has Mr. Gerry been successful in 
 his business career, but he has attained a high 
 position in social circles, affiliating with the 
 Apollo Lodge No. 642, Corinthia Chapter No. 
 69, and St. Bernard Commandery No. 35, all of 
 Chicago, and also holds a membership in Division 
 Xo. i. O. R. C. Mr. Gerry was married April 
 19, 1893, to Mrs. Alma Westney, of Chicago. 
 
 DWARD W. GERRY, locomotive en- 
 gineer, is a native of Racine, Wis., 
 where he was born in 1860. On 
 October 251!!, 1884, Mr. Gerry com- 
 menced firing a switch engine for Lewis George, 
 in the Chicago yards and continued in that service 
 until the spring of 1885 when he began firing 
 a suburban engine for William McManman, now 
 deceased, then for Frank Dunham. At the end 
 of two years he went into the freight service 
 and fired for George Baltsey, deceased, then for 
 J. P. Smith, and then in the passenger service 
 with Charles Draper, also deceased, continuing 
 until August 26, 1888, when he was promoted to 
 engineer and given switch engine No. 20, in the 
 Chicago yards, and was on that until November 
 19, of the same year. This was prior to his 
 examination but on the latter date he was ex- 
 amined and qualified for any service. He 
 continued as a yard engineer and the extra 
 freight service until the spring of 1889, when he 
 was put in the "chain gang" where he remained 
 until May 1891. During this time he was on 
 all divisions south to Cairo and west to Dubuque. 
 On May 31. 1891, he was given suburban engine 
 Xo. 204. followed by engine No. 210. which he 
 ran until 1894. when he got his present engine 
 Xo. 245. Our subject is a member of Division 
 Xo. to. I!, of L. E.. of Burnside. 
 
 Mr. (jerry was married first to Miss Jennie 
 Railsback and the}- had one child, Edward 
 Leonard. In 1898 he married for his second 
 
 28 
 
 wife Miss Frances Westney and they have one 
 child. Warren Howard. 
 
 Thomas Gerry, the father of our subject, 
 has been in the employ of the Illinois Central 
 company a great many years working in the 
 carpenter department, now being employed in 
 the shops at Burnside. 
 
 ERLIN JONES, who has been with 
 the Illinois Central for twelve years, 
 began firing in Chicago in the yards 
 on engine No. 249, with Toney 
 Pickart, engineer, and was on same three months, 
 and then went on suburban engine No. 60 for 
 fifteen months ; later fired on engine No. 458, 
 between Chicago and Champaign, Illinois, for 
 one year. He then ran a switch engine for one 
 year and a half and was examined and promoted 
 to engineer ; he began in the freight service on 
 engine No. 320, and has since been in suburban 
 and freight service. He now runs engine No. 
 328. on the Chicago division. Our subject was 
 born in El Paso, September 3rd, 1864. His 
 father was John B., a tailor in El Paso and 
 Chicago for forty-five years, and died in the 
 latter city in 1898. Our subject makes his home 
 with his mother and sister at 1834, 8gth street, 
 but owns property in this city. Mr. Jones was 
 iii a wreck at Danforth, 111., while firing on 
 engine No. 164, but he was only slightly injured. 
 Our subject is a member of Division No. 
 10, B. of L. E., at Burnside, and is also a member 
 of Blue Lodge No. 765, A. F. & A. M., at Pull- 
 man. 
 
 HOMAS COLLINS, station agent at 
 Grand Crossing, 111., was born at 
 Niagara Falls, Ontario, He entered 
 railroad service as an office boy at 
 Farina, Illinois, under W. L. Arnold, who was 
 station agent at the time ; served in that capacity 
 six months and then went to Peotone as a helper 
 to his brother, M. Collins, who was agent there,
 
 512 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 remained about two years, learning telegraphy 
 and station work. At the end of that time he 
 was sent out as supply agent and operator, and 
 has worked in nearly all the stations between 
 Peotone and Centralia. In 1873 he was 
 appointed night train dispatcher at -Champaign 
 for the Champaign division, was there six months 
 and then went back to Peotone and took charge 
 of the station there for his brother until 1875, 
 when the latter resigned, and in July 1875, our 
 subject was appointed to fill the position. He 
 remained there until November 1884, when he 
 was transferred to Effingham, remaining until 
 November 1887, when at the request of Super- 
 intendent of Telegraph Jones, he went to 
 Freeport, as assistant to Superintendent Murphy. 
 This was at the time of the construction of the 
 road to Dodgeville and Madison. He had 
 charge of all the trains, construction, etc., and 
 remained there about one year, or until the com- 
 pletion of the line. He then went to Dodgeville. 
 Wisconsin, refusing a position as train dispatcher 
 at Rockford, Illinois, remained one year, and in 
 1889, at the request of Superintendent Russell, 
 he came to Grand Crossing, Chicago, and re- 
 mained until April 1891, when he was appointed 
 joint agent of the World's Fair, representing 
 twenty-two roads and had full charge of all the 
 freight from the time the ground was broken 
 until April 15, 1894, at which date the last 
 exhibit was shipped away. During that time he 
 handled seventy thousand cars of freight and 
 about one million dollars in cash. After a short 
 vacation he was appointed joint agent of the 
 I. C. L. S. & M. S., M. C., and Nickel Plate, 
 at Grand Crossing and has held that position to 
 the present time. He has never been suspended 
 nor lost a clay on account of illness. Michael, 
 a brother, was in the employ of the company 
 from 1865 to 1875, as agent at Peotone: Martin, 
 another brother, is in Agent Howard's office at 
 the Park Row Central station at Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Collins was married September 16, 
 1873, to Miss Emma Folke, of Peotone, Illinois. 
 They have three children, viz : Margaret B., 
 \Valter T., ticket clerk at Grand Crossing, and 
 Howard F. 
 
 G. PIERCE, station agent at Man- 
 chester, Iowa, began his railroad 
 L Q career at the age of sixteen years, 
 in the capacity of operator at the 
 station of which he now has control, and was 
 thus employed eight years under J. L. Kelsey. 
 From there he went to Earlville, Iowa, and per- 
 formed the duties of station agent during the 
 years 1893 and 94, from there he went to Nashua, 
 where he was agent for eleven months, and in 
 February 1895 he went to Manchester to accept 
 his present position. 
 
 When our subject was nine years of age 
 his father, Lewis W. Pierce, was overtaken by 
 the angel of death, and he was left to fight the 
 battles of life on his own responsibility. In 1892 
 he was united in marriage to Miss Anna E. 
 Dudley, of Manchester, and their home has been 
 blessed by the presence of one child, Francis H. 
 Being left an orphan at such an early age and 
 obliged to work for his own sustenance, Mr. 
 Pierce early learned to apply himself closely to 
 whatever task occupied his attention.. He has 
 always been a hard-working man and a faithful 
 employe and commands alike the confidence and 
 esteem of his employers and fellow workmen. 
 
 W. WYLIE, who has been in the em- 
 p^ ploy of the Illinois Central for near- 
 ) 1 O ly thirty-five years, is a native of 
 Lebanon, New York. He began 
 railroad life in 1866, at the age of sixteen 
 years, as newsboy at Amboy, Illinois, and con- 
 tinued as such for six months, and in June 1867 
 he commenced braking and continued four years 
 on freight and passenger. At the end of the 
 four years he was promoted to conductor and ran 
 freight until 1881. During that time he was on 
 all divisions of the Illinois Central north of the 
 Ohio river and had charge of a construction 
 train on the Amboy division between Amboy 
 and Clinton for five seasons. 
 
 At the end of the ten years service running 
 freight he was promoted to passenger mixed
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 513 
 
 train for a while. During the construction of the 
 Freeport division he was transferred and had 
 charge of the iron train during that period ; and 
 later was put in charge of the gravel pit at Cole- 
 man, and when the road was completed he ran 
 the first passenger train over the line and is the 
 oldest conductor on the division. He has continued 
 here to the present time, running through passen- 
 ger to Dubuque. Our subject was never seri- 
 ously injured, nor has he ever had an accident 
 that cost the company a dollar. He has lived in 
 Chicago since 1888. 
 
 Mr. Wylie belongs to Division No. i, (). R. 
 C.. and was also a member of the Brotherhood 
 of Conductors. The (). R. C. lodge at Amboy 
 was named in honor of Mr. Wylie. though it 
 has since been transferred to Freeport. 
 
 Mr. \Y\lie married Miss Koontz and has 
 one son. 
 
 APTAIX JOHN F. MERRY, in the 
 best sense of the word is a represen- 
 tative business man. In his financial 
 success, unblemished business record, 
 and steadily increasing usefulness, Dubuque and 
 l(iwa may well feel a personal pride and interest. 
 Captain Merry was born in Summit county, Ohio, 
 March 24, 1844, and at the age of thirteen moved 
 with his parents to Delaware county, Iowa. In 
 August 1862 he enlisted at Dubuque, Iowa, in 
 Company K. 2ist Iowa, and remained with this 
 regiment until March 1863, when he was dis- 
 charged for disability. In April 1864 he enlisted 
 in a company which was mustered into the 46th 
 Iowa, of which the new speaker. David B. Hen- 
 derson, was colonel. This company, of which 
 the Captain was Second Lieutenant, was known 
 as Company F, 46th Iowa. 
 
 In August 1865 the Captain entered the ser- 
 vices of Conger Bros. & Co., of Manchester, as 
 clerk in a general store, and remained with them 
 until 1867. when he went in business for himself. 
 In 1879 he became excursion agent for the Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad. In 1881 he was promoted 
 
 to general western passenger agent, and a few 
 years later to assistant general passenger 
 agent of the D. & S. C. R. R., a part 
 of the Illinois Central system, and in 1892 
 was made assistant general passenger agent of 
 the entire system, a position he still holds. 
 During all these years of service his headquarters 
 have been at Manchester, Iowa, until September 
 i, 1898, when he removed to Dubuque, and in 
 addition to his duties as assistant general pas- 
 senger agent, he also assumed the duties of secre- 
 tary and treasurer of the Iowa Land & Loan 
 Company, secretary of the Dunleith & Dubuque 
 1 '.ridge Company, assistant secretary and treas- 
 urer of the D. & S. C. R. R. Co. and secretary of 
 the Fort Dodge & Omaha Railroad company. 
 
 Captain Merry is a public spirited man and 
 foremost in everything that tends to popularize 
 the company he serves, and the community and 
 state in which he lives. In 1895 he organized 
 the Vicksburg National Military Park Associa- 
 tion for the promotion of a National *Park at 
 Vicksburg, to include the federal and confeder- 
 ate battle grounds about that historic city, and 
 through his efforts congress passed a bill author- 
 izing the establishment of such a park and ap- 
 propriating a sufficient sum to purchase the lands. 
 A commission has already been appointed, lands 
 purchased and work begun on the park, which 
 is to be one of the most interesting military at- 
 tractions of this country. 
 
 Captain Merry is a Republican, and was a 
 delegate to the St. Louis convention in 1896 
 that nominated Win. McKinley for president. 
 He was unanimously elected president of the 
 Dubuque Business Men's League during the first 
 year of its existence, and in every possible way 
 advertised the ad vantages, and resources of Du- 
 buque. He is a member of Hyde Clark Post, 
 <;. A. R.. of Hyperion Lodge K. of P. at Man- 
 chester, and takes an active interest in everything 
 looking to the moral as well as material develop- 
 ment of Dubuque. The Captain is a Metho:list, 
 and one of the two Lay delegates elected by the 
 Upper Iowa Conference to represent them at the 
 General Conference of the M. E. church to be 
 held in Chicago during the month of May.
 
 514 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 He has also given a great deal of attention 
 to the development of towns and cities on the line 
 of the Illinois Central, as well as the country 
 adjacent thereto. He was a delegate to the Na- 
 tional Nicaragua Canal convention held at St. 
 Louis and New Orleans, and was the author of 
 a motion at the St. Louis convention that a com- 
 mittee be appointed to draft a concise write-up 
 of the advantages of the Nicaragua Canal, a 
 copy of which was to be mailed every newspaper 
 in the United States having a circulation of 500 
 and upwards. The Captain was made chairman 
 of the committee, and through the publication 
 of this circular a general sentiment was created 
 in favor of the canal. 
 
 moving to Clinton, in the capacity of chief dis- 
 patcher when the offices were transferred, serv- 
 ing at the latter point three years. In 1894 
 Mr. Brown was transferred to Waterloo, serving 
 as trick dispatcher until October 1899, when he 
 was promoted to his present position of chief 
 in the office. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Brown, which united 
 him with Miss Anna Graham, occured at Spring- 
 field, 111. Their three sons are named Earl, Ray- 
 mond and Leslie. 
 
 Mr. Brown was formerly a member of the 
 Pythian order, but owing to frequent movings 
 has allowed his membership to lapse. He is 
 one of the more recent members of the Train 
 Dispatcher's Association of America. Mr. Brown 
 is a man of. steady habits and gives close and care- 
 ful attention to the traffic under his charge. 
 
 ,OLDIN A. BROWN, chief dispatcher 
 for the I. C. Ry., at Waterloo, Iowa, 
 has been engaged during his entire rail- 
 road career on the Illinois Central. 
 Born at Medina, Ohio, February 17, 1862, his 
 education was acquired in the district schools of 
 Wood and Lorain counties in the Buckeye state. 
 After farming for two seasons with an uncle in 
 Ohio, Mr. Brown learned telegraphy, and in 
 1883 accepted a position as agent for the Illinois 
 Central at Lake Fork, 111., where about the first 
 message he heard across the wires was the re- 
 port of a wreck in the gravel pit on that branch. 
 After some six months at his first station, Mr. 
 Brown was transferred to the office in the capi- 
 tal city of Illinois, as bill clerk, where he re- 
 mained an equal length of time and a like period 
 he served as operator at Mt. Pulaski in the above 
 state. For half a year he served as operator at 
 Manchester, Iowa, where he resigned, remaining 
 out of service the remainder of the twelve months. 
 On his return to the service he was sent as agent 
 to Kumler, 111., and six months later to Gibson, 
 in the same state, where he remained two years. 
 Transferred to Springfield a second time, he 
 served as clerk in the superintendent's office a 
 few months, and was then appointed dispatcher, 
 
 HARLES E. KURD, the oldest con- 
 ductor on the Chicago division of the 
 Illinois Central, is a native of Cleve- 
 land, Ohio. He began railroading in 
 1863 as a freight brakeman on the Big Four be- 
 tween Cleveland and Columbus. After serving 
 there six months he, in the same year, came to 
 the Illinois Central and accepted a position as 
 freight brakeman on the Chicago division. At 
 that time there were only, three trains each way 
 in twenty-four hours. For the following year 
 he was brakeman and ran as extra conductor, 
 but at the end of that time he was given a regu- 
 lar train and ran freight until 1873, when he was 
 promoted to passenger service and began running 
 a suburban train. At that time there was only 
 one train which ran to Grand Crossing. He 
 sold his own tickets and made five trips per day, 
 continuing in that service for six years when he 
 was promoted to through passenger service run- 
 ning to Centralia. Later he was appointed super- 
 intendent of the suburban traffic and held that po- 
 sition about four months, when he resigned and 
 returned to the through passenger service. When
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 515 
 
 he first went in the through passenger service 
 there were only two trains each way per day, 
 and such things as air brakes, etc., were unknown. 
 After his return to the through service he con- 
 tinued until September 12, 1899, when he was 
 given the Daylight Special to St. Louis. Dur- 
 ing 1871, while the company was building the 
 round house at Weldon, he had charge of the 
 gravel train. It was while he was on this run 
 the Chicago fire took place and our subject 
 worked pulling cars out of the way. 
 
 Our subject is a member of Division No. i, 
 O. R. C. and was a charter member of the 
 Brotherhood of Conductors which was formed 
 prior to the O. R. C. 
 
 Mr. Hurd was married to Miss Mary Jane 
 Conklin and has had three children : Charles, 
 who died in 1898; Grace and Walter. 
 
 ILLIAM CORCORAN, engineer on 
 the Chicago division of the Illinois 
 Central, began railroading in 1880 
 as a fireman at Temple, Texas, on 
 the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad with 
 John Moynihan as engineer. August 12, 1886, 
 he came to Chicago and entered the service of 
 the Illinois Central company, and after firing 
 for four years, crossed the cab and has since had 
 charge of the levers on a freight run from Chi- 
 cago to Champaign. 
 
 Mr. Corcoran was born in Charleston, S. 
 C., September 21, 1860, and remembers the great 
 conflagration of that place when he was quite 
 a small boy. He also remembers Sherman's 
 march and the shelling of the city by the Union 
 Fleet. Mr. Corcoran was married in Chicago 
 to Miss Mary Clark, and three children, Marie, 
 James and Lyda, have been born to them. Our 
 subject has been quite successful in his railroad 
 career and, although he has not followed it as 
 long as some who have accumulated a great deal 
 less of this world's goods, he has secured for him- 
 self and his family, a pleasant residence on Rurn- 
 
 side avenue. The only time that he met with 
 serious accident was when engine No. 310 turned 
 over on him at Martins, 111. 
 
 Socially he affiliates with Division No. 10, 
 P.. of L. E., of Burnside. 
 
 Mr. Corcoran's father was also an Illinois 
 Central employe, having served in the shops at 
 Amboy, 111., in 1867, and also in the round house 
 at Weldon in 1871 and '72. 
 
 HARLES CARNEY, track supervisor 
 at Waterloo, Iowa, has been in the 
 railway service since the age of twelve, 
 excepting what time he spent in the 
 schools completing his education. He began in 
 the 'summer of 1867 at Dixon, 111., carrying the 
 tools of the stone masons, building bridge work 
 under the direction of Frank Egan. The fol- 
 lowing summer he carried water for the bridge 
 carpenters and in the spring of 1864, being "a 
 broth of a boy" by this time, took his place on 
 the section under his father's foremanship. The 
 following summer found him in the same position 
 and in the spring of 1873 he took up the same 
 work, at which he continued until May 1875, 
 when he came to Waterloo as foreman of an ex- 
 tra force working under the direction of Mr. 
 J. T. Moran. In December he returned to his 
 old place at Dixon, remaining until July 1876, 
 when he came to Dubuque to take charge of an 
 extra gang, repairing a washout on the river 
 bank at Dubuque until December 1st, and the 
 remainder of the winter in the quarry getting 
 out riprap. The following spring found him 
 acting as section foreman at Epworth, Iowa, 
 where he remained a year and a half, going thence 
 to Newell where he was employed till 1881. Af- 
 ter firing a few months he resumed track work 
 at -LeMars where he remained until May, 1883, 
 the date of his promotion to track supervisor 
 between Fonda and Sioux City. He was sub- 
 sequently in charge between Sioux City a'nd Fort 
 Dodge, later between Cherokee and Sioux City 
 and finallv between Onawa and Sioux Falls, at
 
 516 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 the time he was assigned to his present duty July 
 12. 1895, having now supervision between Fort 
 Dodge and Waterloo. 
 
 Mr. Carney was born at Dixon, 111., May 
 27, 1855, where he attended the public schools, 
 supplementing that with a term in the Christian 
 Brothers school at LaSalle, during the winter of 
 i86o,-'70, and the following winter at the Chris- 
 tian Brothers school at Prairie DuChien. 
 
 Mr. Carney was married at Dixon to Miss 
 Mary Hennesy, to whom ten children have been 
 born : the living are Lillie A.. Marie, Bessie, 
 Charles. Evangeline, Raymond, Harry, Roy and 
 Gladys. 
 
 Our subject is a member of the Ancient 
 Order of United Workmen at Fort Dodge. As 
 a railroad man he is thoroughly versed in the 
 construction and maintenance of the road-bed 
 of a great and growing system, and keeps in- 
 formed on all that pertains to his line of work 
 in railway operation. 
 
 GBERT N. CANFIELD, a freight con- 
 ductor on the Omaha division of the 
 Illinois Central, began his railway ser- 
 vice with the Chicago, St. Paul, Min- 
 neapolis & Omaha Railroad at Sioux City, as 
 fireman in 1892, and occupied a seat on the left 
 side of an engine some two years. Preferring 
 train service, he resigned in the fall of 1894 and 
 secured a place as brakeman in the service of 
 the Illinois Central on the Dubuque division, run- 
 ning east and west from Cherokee. With a 
 view to his promotion he was ordered up for ex- 
 amination in the summer of 1899 and in July set 
 up to a conductorship and on the opening of 
 the Omaha division in the close of the year was 
 given a freight run between Omaha and Fort 
 Dodge. 
 
 Born at Troy, Minnesota, March 29, 1873, 
 Mr. Canfield has been practically reared on the 
 railroad. His father, Alvin Canfield, is an engi- 
 neer in the service of the Chicago, St. Paul, 
 Minneapolis & Omaha, stationed at Sioux City, 
 
 where another son, Eugene, is in the service of 
 the same company, as machinist in the shops. 
 
 Our subject is a member of Division X<>. 
 171 B. of R. T., at Fort Dodge. The only severe 
 accident in which he has been involved, occurred 
 in October 1899, from which he fortunately 
 escaped unhurt. 
 
 ILLIAM D. PATTERSON, station 
 agent for the I. C. Ry., at Cherokee, 
 unlike most railroad men has spent 
 his entire career in the one city. 
 ISorn at Mt. Forest, Ontario, October 25, 1863, 
 he received his early education at Listowell in 
 the same province. While yet a boy he moved 
 with his parents to a farm on one of the numer- 
 ous islands in Lake Huron and later worked for 
 a time on the famous canal at Sault Ste. Marie 
 before coming to the states in 1881. The same 
 year he secured a clerkship in the freight office 
 at Cherokee serving in that capacity four years. 
 Having learned telegraphy he was for a short 
 time night operator prior to his appointment as 
 chief clerk in the freight office. In February 
 1890 he was appointed ticket and freight agent 
 at Cherokee, which position, he has since filled, 
 having entire charge of the large freight and 
 passenger traffic of the thriving little city. 
 
 Mr. Patterson was married in Cherokee to 
 Miss Elizabeth Patterson to whom four children 
 have been born : Henry, Ellen, Jean and John. 
 
 In the Masonic order Mr. Patterson has 
 taken a deep interest, having attained the degrees 
 of Speculative Lodge No. 307, Burning Bush 
 Chapter No. 90 and Crusade Commandery No. 
 39, of Cherokee, and the Kaaba Temple of the 
 Mystic Shrine at Davenport. 
 
 His fellow citizens have recognized business 
 ability in him by electing him to the city council 
 tc. which he has been returned, by the electors of 
 the first ward, for a term of six years. 
 
 Mr. Patterson believes in learning the ways 
 of the world by contact and in consequence has 
 been an extensive traveler, having been within
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 517 
 
 the boundaries of forty-three of the states of 
 the Union and has traveled from ocean to ocean, 
 from the lakes to the Gulf, from Canada to Old 
 Mexico and has profited by what he has seen of 
 the many varied types of mankind making up 
 the citizenship of the western world. 
 
 YRON K. KILBORXE, station agent 
 for the 111. Central at Cedar Falls, la., 
 has been in the service of the com- 
 pany since January 1881, when he be- 
 gan as assistant station agent and telegraph 
 student at Marcus, Iowa, under Division Super- 
 intendent D. W. Parker. It was during this 
 period that E. T. Jeffery, then general manager 
 of the I. C. system, was snow bound and for some 
 ten days Marcus was the headquarters of the rail- 
 way. Having mastered the art of telegraphy 
 in a remarkably short time, Mr. Kilborne was in 
 September of the same year, appointed station 
 agent at Meriden, la., where he remained until 
 April 1883, except two weeks which were spent 
 at Jesup, la. Serving about a year at Marcus, 
 he resigned because of ill health, spending the 
 summer in Canada. In September 1884 be re- 
 entered the service of the I. C. at Mitchell, la., 
 and in August 1888. was transferred to Parkers- 
 burg where he remained some seventeen months. 
 From February 1890 until April 1894 be was 
 agent at Webster City, and on the latter date was 
 appointed to his present position of freight and 
 passenger agent at Cedar Falls. 
 
 Mr. Kilborne is a native of Ontario, Can., 
 his birth occurring at Waterloo, October 21, 
 1856. He was married at Ayr, Ontario, to Miss 
 -Margaret Watson, to whom one daughter, Luella 
 Clare, has been born. 
 
 Our subject is a member of the Masonic 
 Order, holding membership in Acacia Lodge No. 
 176 and Hope Chapter at Webster City. He 
 was formerly a member of the K. of P., and since 
 coming to Cedar Falls has become identified with 
 the A. O. U. W. Mr. Kilborne is a musician of 
 recognized ability and is a band leader of more 
 
 than ordinary merit. In a number of towns 
 where he has been stationed he has organized 
 and conducted a cornet band. At Cedar Falls 
 he organized and directed, for a time, the A. O. 
 U. W. Military Band which has developed into 
 one of the best musical organizations in the state. 
 His close attention to the interests of his em- 
 ployers has won for him advancement, from time 
 to time, as vacancies in better positions have oc- 
 curred. 
 
 1CHOLAS RING, the oldest engineer 
 on the St. Louis division, of the Illi- 
 nois Central, began his railroad career 
 in the employ of the St. Louis, Alton 
 & Terre Haute Railroad in April 1861. He 
 served as fireman nine years under different engi- 
 neers, among whom are the following : Master 
 Mechanic J. B. Laird, J. M. Seat, George Pomroy, 
 M. M. McClellen. Dick Cox, J. Hazen, E. C. 
 Benton, 1!. Warren, A. M. DeClerk, P. H. Mur- 
 phy, W. J. Stoke, C. T. Barton, A. C. Beckworth 
 and G. H. Hatz. He was set up to engineer in 
 the fall of 1870, and his first work in that ca- 
 pacity was on a switch engine in the yards at 
 East St. Louis, where be spent six months, and 
 then he had charge of a freight engine until 
 1871. At that time he was promoted to the pas- 
 senger service and given a run between East St. 
 Louis and Du Quoin, and was thus employed until 
 Dec. 1897. During the following year he ran from 
 E. St. Louis to Carbondale, but since 1898 his run 
 has been between E. St. Louis and Paducah. Our 
 subject is the oldest engineer in East St. Louis, 
 and during the many years he has spent on the 
 road has never had a serious accident, nor been 
 injured in any way ; he was never suspended 
 by either railroad company for which he has 
 worked. 
 
 Mr. Ring was born in Loraine, France, in 
 1846, and came to America with his father in 
 1849 anc l located in St. Clair county, Illinois, 
 where the father died during the same year. 
 Our subject began life on his own responsibility
 
 518 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 at the age of fifteen years as a cigar maker, and 
 pursued that calling several months previous to 
 entering the service of the railroad. 
 
 He was married at East St. Louis to Miss 
 Anna E. Painter, of that city, and of the six chil- 
 dren born we have the following record : Vernie 
 W., husband of Lillie Garvey, machinist and night 
 engine inspector for the Illinois Central at East 
 St. Louis : Sadie M., Charles N.; Sidney W., 
 Lottie May and Nellie A. who died at the age 
 of ten years. 
 
 Socially Mr. Ring is a member of Division 
 No. 512, B. of L. E., of East St. Louis. In 
 1 88 1, he built his present comfortable home at 
 No. 417 Market street. 
 
 Central as chief clerk at the local freight station 
 at South Water street, Chicago and in April 1892 
 was appointed local agent. In April 1893, on 
 account of ill health, he resigned and was off 
 the road until December 1893. On his return 
 he was made agent at Centralia and continued 
 until July 1894, then during the strike was 
 transferred to Mounds and Cairo, as assistant 
 agent and continued there until December 1896, 
 when he went to East St. Louis as local freight 
 agent which position he held until April ist, 1900, 
 when he was transferred to Chicago as freight 
 agent where he is at present located. 
 
 Mr. Lambert was married to Miss Edis 
 Rucker and has one child. Our subject is a 
 member of Blue Lodge and Royal Arch Masons. 
 
 J. LAMBERT is a native of Crestline. 
 Ohio, where he was born June 17. 
 1864. He began his career in 1878 
 at Fort W'ayne, Indiana, with the 
 Pennsylvania Railroad company as messenger 
 and office boy. From that he was promoted to 
 clerk and in 1883 was promoted to night yard 
 dispatcher. November 22, 1883, he went to 
 the Fort Wayne, Cincinnati & Louisville as 
 shop clerk in the offices at Fort Wayne and con- 
 tinued about one year. At this time he quit the 
 road and for three months devoted his time to 
 some gold mining business in Montana. On his 
 return he accepted a position with the 
 Pennsylvania road at Chicago as yard and 
 merchandise transfer clerk and continued as 
 same two years. He then resigned and went to 
 the Minnesota & North Western, now the 
 Chicago & Great Western, as chief in-bound 
 freight clerk and after serving in that capacity 
 one and one half years, he was promoted to chief 
 clerk and continued until November 18, 1889, 
 when he was appointed agent of the Chicago & 
 Northern Pacific, in Chicago and continued until 
 January 1891, when he was appointed train 
 master of the Chicago & Calumet terminal of 
 that city and held that position until February 
 1892. On that date he came to the Illinois 
 
 AMUEL NORTH, traveling passenger 
 agent at Omaha, was born near Sim- 
 coe, Ontario, November 27, 1860, at- 
 tending the public schools of his native 
 city and a commercial college at London, Onta- 
 rio. On leaving the commercial school, he se- 
 cured a position in the office of a woolen mill in 
 that province where he was employed until com- 
 ing to the States in April 1887. Securing a 
 position in the office of an insurance agency at 
 Sioux City, he was there employed until Octo- 
 ber of that year, when he entered the service 
 of the Illinois Central as a clerk in the freight 
 department. In 1889 he was transferred to clerk- 
 ship in the ticket office and in 1890 made station 
 ticket agent, where he served until September 
 1898, the date of his appointment as city passen- 
 ger and ticket agent. Aug. i, 1900, he was trans- 
 ferred to the Omaha division as traveling passen- 
 ger agent with headquarters at Omaha. 
 
 During the time he has been connected with 
 the Central, Mr. North has demonstrated his 
 ability as a railroad man. His affable manners 
 make him a typical passenger agent, and his 
 thorough business principles maintain his stand- 
 ing in the good graces of his employers.
 
 S. S. KERWIN.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 521 
 
 Mr. North was married at Tipton, la., to 
 Miss Anna C. Breidinger. He is a member of the 
 Masonic Order, being enrolled in Tyrian Lodge, 
 No. 508, Sioux City, Chapter No. 26, and Colum- 
 bian Commandery No. 18, all of Sioux City, and 
 of Kaaba Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Daven- 
 port, Iowa. 
 
 S. KERWIN, engineer on the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, first began railroad- 
 ' Q ing on the Grand Trunk Railroad in 
 1876 as an engine wiper, at Port 
 Huron. Michigan, his native town, and remained 
 there in the shops three years, working himself 
 up to engineer. At the end of that period he 
 engaged in the switch service for about four 
 years, then went on the road and ran from Port 
 Huron to Detroit until 1890. He then came west 
 and ran on the Big Four from Indianapolis to 
 Springfield in the freight service one year. He 
 then went to the Chicago & Eastern Illinois and 
 ran from Danville, 111., to Chicago and Terre 
 Haute, and was there one year. He then entered 
 the service of the Illinois Central and was put in 
 charge of the machinery at the pit assisting Super- 
 intendent W. W. Wench until he was put on the 
 road in freight service on the Chicago division. 
 His first engine was No. 422 with which 
 lie pulled sand from Knickerbockers in the 
 construction service, for the new grade that 
 was being built at that time. He then went 
 on the road as extra and since 1894 has been 
 in the yard service, running No. 140. 
 
 Mr. Kerwin has never been injured. He 
 belongs to the B. of L. E., No. 10, of Chicago. 
 
 JOHN A. OSBORN, general baggage agent 
 for the Illinois Central company at Chi- 
 cago, is one of those men who, whatever 
 may be their early surroundings, are sure 
 to make a success in life ; and let their business 
 career begin with as gloomy prospects as it may. 
 
 they will eventually be ranked among the leading 
 business men of the community in which they 
 live. 
 
 Mr. Osborn began working for the Illinois 
 Central Railroad company July 15, 1876, at the 
 Randolph street station, Chicago, where he was 
 hired to handle baggage. He later served two 
 years and a half as check clerk. During the fol- 
 lowing two years, Mr. Osborn served as second 
 clerk under Mr. Stinson, and in 1881 the latter 
 died and our subject was promoted to the posi- 
 tion of chief clerk of the general baggage depart- 
 ment. January 4, 1897, he was given his present 
 position, that of general baggage agent. 
 
 Mr. Osborn was born in Baltimore, Mel.. 
 September 4. 1853, a son of Owen Osborn. So- 
 cially he has affiliated with Apollo Lodge, No. 
 642, since 1893. 
 
 DELBERT DILLON, supervisor of 
 bridges and buildings on the Cherokee 
 division, is a man who has raised him- 
 self to his present position by attention 
 tc the details of work in his department, fitting 
 himself for a position of authority. He was 
 born in Hardin county, la., April 3, 1856, and 
 reared on the farm. In 1876 he secured a place 
 as laborer with a bridge crew at Fonda, and show- 
 ing an aptness with tools learned the trade of 
 bridge carpenter. After a year's service on the 
 Illinois Central he secured a place as carpenter 
 in the service of the Dubuque & Dakota road, 
 and two years later was made foreman of the 
 bridge crew, serving in that capacity five years. 
 Resigning he accepted a position of foreman 
 with the Minnesota & Northwestern and eighteen 
 months later, in 1887, returned to the service of 
 the Central as foreman of bridge carpenters. 
 His appointment to his present position of super- 
 visor of bridges and buildings, dates from 1895, 
 since which time he has been at the head of that 
 department on the Cherokee division. During 
 the construction of the Omaha branch, Mr. Dil- 
 lon had charge of much of the work on the north
 
 522 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 end, the big trestle over Coon river coming un- 
 der his care. Called to a responsible position 
 in railroad construction, Mr. Dillon has met all 
 the expectations of his employers, and merits 
 the confidence they have placed in his ability 
 as a worker in heavy and light timber. In his 
 24 years of railroad service he has only been off 
 duty two months. 
 
 On February 13, 1887, Mr. Dillon was united 
 in marriage with Miss Mary J. Brown, at Iowa 
 Falls, la. To this union nine children have been 
 born, seven of whom are living: Allan B., Ar- 
 thur Leslie, Hattie Alma, Ella May. Mary Agnes, 
 David and Ruth. 
 
 Mr. Dillon is a member of the Masonic Order 
 at Cherokee, the Ancient Order of United Work- 
 men and the Modern Woodmen of America. 
 
 JAMES T. WHALON, depot master at 
 Chicago, began railroading in the spring 
 of 1876. at Peoria, Illinois, serving as 
 brakeman for the Toledo, Peoria & 
 Western Railroad Company. After eleven 
 months, he was promoted to conductor in 1877 
 and held the latter place until 1881, when he 
 resigned and came to Chicago to enter the employ 
 of the Pennsylvania company. There he served 
 as yard man, doing passenger work until 1886, 
 when he was appointed assistant station master. 
 When the Illinois Central company opened their 
 new station at Park Row, in 1893, they offered 
 Mr. Whalon the position of night station master, 
 and he began work in that capacity April 17, of 
 the same year, continuing until January I, 1896, 
 when he was promoted to his present position. 
 
 Mr. Whalon was born in the town of Chenoa. 
 Illinois his natal day being March 31, 1858. 
 September 31, 1886, he was married, in Chicago, 
 to Miss Margaret McDonald, daughter of 
 Captain McDonald, a well known citizen of 
 Chicago. To this congenial union have been 
 born five children, whose names in the order of 
 their birth are as follows : Francis, Charles, 
 Emmett, Leo and Marion. Fraternally Mr. 
 
 Whalon is identified with the Royal Arcanum, 
 Garden City Council, and also of the National 
 Union. Lincoln Council, both of Chicago. 
 Throughout his railroad career Mr. Whalon has 
 had to suffer from but one accident, although 
 that one was quite serious and kept him from his 
 work about three months. 
 
 HEALY, conductor on the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, was born in Clifton, 
 Q 111. He commenced on the Illinois 
 Central on June 30, 1883, as freight 
 brakeman on the Springfield division, between 
 Gilman and Springfield, continuing there two 
 years, when he was promoted and the following 
 two years he was on the extra list, then he was 
 given a regular run. In October 1891 he re- 
 ceived a regular passenger run and held it three 
 years in place of another man who waived his 
 rights. At the end of these years he went back 
 on freight and continued until August 1896, 
 when he came to Chicago and was at once put 
 on the St. Louis run. Diamond Special, which he 
 has held up to the present time. 
 
 He was a member of the Lincoln Division 
 No. 206, O. R. C, of Springfield, but was trans- 
 ferred to Division No. i, O. R. C,, of Chicago. 
 
 On June 18, 1891, Mr. Healy married Miss 
 Jennie Fordyce, of Gilman, Illinois. They have 
 one son, Earl Bernard. 
 
 ENRY H. IRLE, conductor on the Illi- 
 nois Central, was born in Philadelphia, 
 Pa., January 10, 1855. He began on 
 the old I. B. & W. at Indianapolis as 
 a carpenter in 1873, and worked for them three 
 months; then was off the road until 1879 when 
 he went on the Indiana, Decatur & Springfield, 
 working on construction on the east end of the 
 road. He was there four months and then in 
 October 1879 lie began on the Illinois Central
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 523 
 
 as a freight brakeman on the Champaign divi- 
 sion. His first conductor was Z. F. Jencks. He 
 continued as brakeman until August 1883, when 
 he. was promoted to freight conductor, and his 
 first running was done in the freight service on 
 the same division where he remained until Febru- 
 ary 1885. He then quit and went with the Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul and then returned to the Cen- 
 tral and began running freight, and remained 
 in that service until August 10, 1899, when he 
 was promoted to extra passenger conductor on 
 the Chicago division. 
 
 Our subject belongs to Division No. 112, 
 O. R. C.. of Centralia, of which he has been 
 chief and also chairman of the Grievance Com- 
 mittee. He is also a member of Valiant Lodge, 
 Xo. 130, K. of P., the Western Star Lodge, 
 Xo. 240, A. F. & A. M., Chapter No. 50, R. A. 
 M., all of Champaign, and Urbana Commandery, 
 Xo. 16, K. T., of Urbana. 
 
 1LLIAM A. DODDS. a well known 
 and popular engineer in the pas- 
 senger service of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, between Memphis, Tennessee, 
 and Cairo, Illinois, dates his connection with the 
 company from 1883. He began railroad work 
 on the Mobile and Ohio railroad where he first 
 served as fireman, and in 1875 was promoted to 
 engineer. From 1875 until 1882 he was in the 
 employ of that company as engineer at Jackson. 
 Term., running north and south on that division 
 of the road. In May of the latter year he went 
 to Mexico, and worked as engineer on the 
 Mexican Central R. R. until February 1883. He 
 then went to Palestine, Texas, and was with the 
 International & Great Northern Railroad until 
 June of that year, when he returned to Jackson. 
 Tenn., and entered the -service of the Illinois 
 Central between Jackson and Cairo. Illinois, 
 remaining there until February 1897. Going to 
 Memphis he began work on the Fulton division 
 of the road ; he has since remained there, and 
 
 L; now in charge of engine Xo. 377, in the pas- 
 senger service between Memphis and Cairo. He 
 has been in two small wrecks during his connec- 
 tion with the road, one at Mayfield Junction, 
 near Cairo, and the other at East Cairo, but there 
 was no one injured in either. 
 
 Mr. Dodds was born near Atlanta, Georgia, 
 December i, 1854, and is a son of Asbury Dodds, 
 who was a farmer there. P'ive brothers of our 
 subject became railroad men, three of them are 
 now engineers in the service of the Mobile & 
 Ohio R. R., one is a foreman on the same 
 road, and another brother, now deceased, was 
 also an employe of that road. Mr. Dodds 
 married Miss Iva Hammond of Jackson, Tenn. 
 They have one child, Glynnie. 
 
 Socially he is connected with Madison 
 Lodge, Xo. 16, I. O. O. F. and Knights of the 
 Maccabees, both of Jackson, Tenn. He is also 
 a member of the P>. of L. E.. of Memphis. 
 
 He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church, while Mrs. Dodds is a member of the 
 Presbyterian faith. They reside at No. 514 
 Shelby street, in the city of Memphis, where they 
 have a comfortable home. 
 
 S. WILDESON, engineer on the Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad, was born in 
 De Kalb county, Indiana, October i, 
 l &57- Jonas Wildeson, his father, 
 was born in Pennsylvania and is now a farmer 
 in Indiana. His mother, Elizabeth (Gelwicks) 
 Wikleson, is deceased. The family consisted of 
 eleven children : A half brother, George, an en- 
 gineer on the I. C. R. R. for many years, died in 
 November 1893; Nancy died at the age of 
 twenty ; John, a farmer, lives in De Kalb county, 
 Indiana ; Elizabeth is living at home with her 
 father : Louisa, wife of Theodore Wyatt, a 
 farmer, lives in De Kalb county, Indiana ; 
 Subject ; Sidney, an employe of the L. S. & M, 
 S., at Norwalk, Ohio ; Sarah married William 
 Wyatt, a farmer, and lives in De Kalb county, 
 Indiana: Ida is the wife of Cory Shugars, a
 
 524 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 confectioner, residing at Auburn, Ind. ; Elmer, 
 a farmer resides in De Kalb county, Indiana. 
 Clyde, married, is a clerk in Auburn, Indiana. 
 
 T, S. Wildeson was educated in De Kalb Co., 
 Indiana. He worked on his fathers farm until 
 twenty-two years of age, then entered the service 
 of the L. S. & M. S. R. R. as trackman, remained 
 there for three years, then went on the Wheeling 
 & Lake Erie, where he remained eighteen 
 months. In March 1885 he came to Chicago 
 and entered the service of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad as a fireman on the Champaign division, 
 remained in that position until 1888, when he 
 was transferred to the Chicago division and 
 moved to Freeport, Illinois. On the nth of 
 September 1888, he was promoted to engineer 
 and has remained in their employ on a freight 
 run up to the present time. 
 
 On the first day of May 1889, Mr Wildeson 
 was married to Miss Amanda Walter of Orrville, 
 Ohio. She was born December 9, 1859. She 
 is the daughter of Samuel Walter, a farmer 
 living near Orrville, O. Her mother, Catharine 
 (Chreamer) Walter, died October 19, 1894. 
 Mr. Wildeson is a member of the Odd Fellows, 
 and the B. of L. E. He is a republican. Mr. 
 Wildeson and his wife attend the First Presby- 
 terian Church. 
 
 of the Central and began as fireman on a switch 
 engine August 15, 1886, and a few weeks latei 
 was assigned to the suburban service where he 
 remained one and a half years. From this, he 
 was promoted to the through freight and pas- 
 senger service until November 12, 1891, wher 
 he was examined, found competent and promotec 
 to the other side of the cab. For nearly twc 
 years he was an extra, running in the switch anc 
 through freight and passenger service, until he 
 was placed in the regular suburban service anc 
 in the spring of 1899 he was given a regulai 
 freight run between Chicago and P>loomington 
 one of the hardest runs on the line. 
 
 At Clinton Junction, Wisconsin, occurrec 
 the marriage of Mr. Lindrew to Miss Emrm 
 C. Andersen, who is the mother of two children 
 Agnes Isabel and Louisa Katherine. Mr 
 Lindrew is a member of Division .No. 10, B. oi 
 L. E., of Burnside and the Chicago Lodge, No 
 91. A. O. U. W. 
 
 During all his railroad career he has provec 
 himself to be a careful, watchful employe anc 
 stands well in the estimation of his superiors. 
 
 LE L. LINDREW in the Illinois Cen- 
 tral freight service, was born in the 
 province of Kongswinger, Norway, 
 November 22, 1864, and came to 
 America in the spring of 1883. Proceeding to 
 Wisconsin, where many of his countrymen had 
 settled, he rented land and engaged in the rais- 
 ing of tobacco. Unfortunately the price of that 
 staple the year he was a planter fell to a small 
 fraction of the usual market value and his high 
 hopes were not attained. To add to his troubles 
 commission men to whom he sent his crop failed 
 to do as they ought to have done and he lost 
 heavily again. Seeing no chance for success in 
 this line, he sought employment in the service 
 
 LLIOTT F. WISE, supervisor oi 
 bridges and buildings of the Dubuque 
 division, of the Illinois Central, was 
 born in Washington county, Pa., June 
 14, 1841. Securing his education in the comnior 
 schools, he learned the ship carpenter's trade al 
 which he worked in his native state until the 
 spring of 1868, with the exception of three years 
 in the Army. 1861 to 1864, when he shipped a< 
 carpenter on a steamboat bound for the upper 
 Missouri. Resigning at Omaha, he was on his 
 way home overland and stopped off at Dixon, 111., 
 for a short visit with relatives from his native 
 state. The bridge at Dixon was at that time un- 
 der repair and being offered work on the structure 
 he accepted, thereby changing his whole career. 
 His ability was soon recognized and he was made 
 foreman, at which he served until Tune T. 1868,
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 525 
 
 when he was made supervisor of bridges. In 
 i8f>9 he went to Iowa, and after his marriage, in 
 1871, made his home in Iowa Falls until April I, 
 1879, since which time he has resided continu- 
 ously in Waterloo. Of latter years the super- 
 vision of buildings has been added to that of 
 bridges, making Mr. Wise's responsibilities 
 correspondingly greater. His long connection 
 with the road, a third of a century, bespeaks his 
 ability to fulfill all that is expected of him by 
 the management of the great system he has so 
 long served. 
 
 Mr. Wise was first married to Miss Sarah 
 J . Winn, to whom five children were born, viz : 
 Carrie E., deceased, Mary W., Edith G., John 
 Freeman and Sarah A. Of his second marriage 
 to Miss Hattie H. Brown, two children have been 
 born, Elliott B. and Leon G. Mr. Wise is 
 identified with the Masonic order, holding mem- 
 bership in the Blue Lodge at Iowa Falls. 
 
 and in 1878 was promoted to conductor, remained 
 in the employ of that road until 1892. He then 
 embarked in the livery business, but sold out 
 within a year, and returning to railroad life in 
 1893, became identified with the Yazoo & 
 Mississippi Valley Railroad in October of that 
 year as a conductor in the freight service, between 
 Vicksburg and New Orleans, his present position. 
 
 Mr. Yearwood was, in 1884, united in 
 marriage to Miss Jennie A. Walker, of Sweet- 
 water, Tennessee, a native of that place, born 
 in 1863. They have three fine children ; Maude, 
 born in 1885; Faun, born in 1887; and Richard 
 H., born in 1891. 
 
 He belongs to Vicksburg Division, No. 231, 
 O. R. C, and is also a Knight Templar and a 
 Knight of Pythias. In religious affairs he 
 unites with the Baptist church, and is politically 
 a democrat. 
 
 J. YEARWOOD, a conductor in the 
 freight service on the New Orleans 
 division of the Yazoo & Mississippi 
 Valley Railroad, was born in Sweet- 
 water, Tennessee, on August 8th, 1857. His 
 parents were H. B. and Elizabeth (Scruggs) 
 Yearwood, the latter still living and residing on 
 the old homestead near Sweetwater. H. B. 
 Yearwood, a farmer by occupation, was a Colonel 
 of Militia before the civil war. He was a 
 Mexican Veteran, and served as Major of the 
 Third Tennessee Infantry during the civil war, 
 but at an early period was appointed on the staff 
 of General P. T. G. Beauregard, serving until 
 1864, when he became disabled. He departed 
 this life in June 1897. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was educated in 
 the public schools of his native place, and in 1874 
 entered the service of the East Tennessee, 
 Virginia & Georgia Railroad, as a brakeman 
 between Bristol and Chattanooga, Tennessee. 
 Soon after he was appointed baggage master. 
 
 'ILLIAM W. SAMPSELL, loco- 
 motive engineer in the employ of the 
 Illinois Central, dates his connection 
 with the road from 1885. He be- 
 gan his railroad life on the Baltimore & Ohio 
 Railroad, running from South Chicago to the 
 city as a fireman under Patrick Ray, and later 
 served under Mr. McLaughlin, remaining with 
 the B. & O. two years. He then began with the 
 Illinois Central, as fireman for L. Sanderson on 
 engine No. 85, then was on No. 192 for John 
 Maloney, then on No. 33 for Frank Rugg. He 
 was then promoted to the right side and was 
 given charge of engine No. 201 in the road 
 service between Chicago and Champaign, but 
 after two trips was given engine No. 382, which 
 he ran for one year, for the following nine 
 months he had charge of engine No. 594, and 
 during the next two years ran No. 332. He was 
 then in the pool for two years, but for the past 
 three years he has been in the suburban service 
 with engine No. 244. Our subject has been in 
 one wreck but has never been injured.
 
 526 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Mr. Sampsell was born February 24, 1860, 
 in Snycler county. Pennsylvania, a son of William 
 H. Sampsell. who was a contractor and plasterer, 
 and wbo now makes his home in St. Joe county, 
 Michigan. Our subject married Miss Frances 
 J. Collins, of Marshall, Mich., and they have two 
 children. William LeRoy, born June 10, 1892, 
 at Racine. Wisconsin, and John Francis, born 
 February 28, 1894. in Chicago. The family re- 
 sides in a pleasent home at No. 2566, looth street, 
 Chicago. Socially Mr. Sampsell is a member of 
 division \"o. 10. B. of L. E., of Burnside. 
 
 LONZO R. MEYERS, who is a native 
 of Missouri, is a son of David L. 
 Meyers, a prominent lecturer, who 
 died in 1879. Our subject began his 
 career in 1882, when but sixteen years of age, 
 as a clerk in a freight office. He was next made 
 agent, then clerk in the auditor's office, remaining 
 until 1890. when he went to St. Louis with the 
 P. T. & A. Railroad. In October 1890 he was 
 transferred to Paclucah, as auditor of the P. T. 
 & A. and remained there until the fall of 1893, 
 when he was made auditor of the consolidated 
 P. T. & A. and Tennessee Midland Railroads 
 and office moved to Memphis. In May 1895 he 
 resigned his position as auditor of these roads 
 on account of changes in the management. He 
 next went to Princeton, Ky.. as agent of the C. 
 O. & S. W. Railroad, remaining there until 1897. 
 when he was transferred to Paducah as local 
 agent. He was in charge of this position until 
 April 1898, when the commercial agent's office 
 was abolished and our subject made local chief 
 clerk with ten clerks in his department and a 
 great amount of business under his immediate 
 supervision. 
 
 Mr. Meyers married Miss Helen Sinnot, a 
 daughter of one of Paducah's most prominent 
 families. Our subject is a man of fine executive 
 ability and has, by his own merits, won for him- 
 self a place above what most young men attain 
 at his time of life. 
 
 1"T S ^\ H. BROWN, round house foreman 
 J j for the Illinois Central, at McComb 
 J \^ss o City. Miss., was born in New Or- 
 leans in 1864. Daniel Brown, his 
 father, was a well known engineer in the passen- 
 ger service of the Illinois Central, where at the 
 time of his death, he had charge of the engine 
 known as the "Black Prince". This famous en- 
 gine was afterward run by another old timer 
 Cousins, by name, who made that remarkable 
 run from Canton, Miss., to Xew Orleans, La., 
 carrying Governor Warmoth of Louisiana. Mr. 
 Brown. Sr. died in 1865. 
 
 D. H. Brown, of this sketch, began his rail- 
 road career in 1876 as an apprentice in the shops 
 at McComb City, serving full time, working 
 afterward at his trade there and serving as gang- 
 foreman. While engaged in the shops he served 
 successively under Master Mechanic Anderson, 
 McKenna, Whittaker, Losey, Baldwin, and Daw- 
 son. In 1896 he was tendered the position of 
 round house foreman, and accepting, has since 
 successfully filled it. He has charge of quite a 
 force of men in the shops, yards and round house, 
 and has a large amount of office work to look 
 after. 
 
 Mr. Brown has invented a patent valve 
 which is now in successful use on several engines 
 on the Lousiana division, one having been used 
 for three years and a half on a passenger engine 
 without being repaired. Ordinary valves re- 
 quire to be ground every few months. Engineers 
 speak in the highest terms of this invention, and 
 offers from locomotive manufacturers have been 
 received to apply it. 
 
 Several brothers of Mr. Brown have 
 been connected with the Illinois Central 
 Railroad Company, one of them familiarly 
 known as Dick Brown, was a bright young pas- 
 senger engineer, well known in New Orleans, 
 who had been connected with the passenger ser- 
 vice of the road for eight years. This young 
 man died in the prime of his manhood, from 
 what was supposed to be spinal trouble, traced 
 tc an accident while in the service. While com- 
 ing out of Vicksburg one morning, at a speed of 
 about fifteen miles an hour he stepped out on
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 527 
 
 the running board, "to tap the air pump, which 
 was not working well. He slipped and fell, but 
 being active, caught the end of the sleeper, and 
 passing through the cars reached his engine. On 
 arriving at New Orleans, he experienced some 
 pain, ami from that time gradually grew worse, 
 and finally died despite the best attention of 
 specialists. He was a very popular member of 
 his division of the B. of L: E., which defrayed 
 the entire expense of his illness, amounting to 
 seven hundred dollars, not permitting his rela- 
 tives to pay any part of it. Another brother of 
 Mr. Brown, John S. who died in 1876, was also 
 a popular engineer in the I. C. service. 
 
 Mr. Brown is a member of the Knights of 
 Honor, and Woodmen of the World. He owns 
 a spacious residence in McComb City, where he 
 resides with his wife, their four children, and 
 his mother, and is a very highly esteemed mem- 
 ber of the community. 
 
 JAMES E. POOLE, better knoon as "Ed". 
 is a native of Pittsburg, Pa., and is 
 one of the oldest men in the freight ser- 
 vice on the Chicago division of the 
 Illinois Central. January i, 1881, he commenced 
 firing on a switch engine at Kankakee for the 
 noted engineer. Peter Eich, who is now on the 
 middle division. He remained there eight months 
 and was then promoted to fireman on passenger 
 tor Stewart Hazlett and George Weatherhead, 
 between Kankakee and El Paso, in which ser- 
 vice he continued for ten months being then 
 transferred to the Chicago division. Our subject 
 fired a freight and through passenger until 1886, 
 and for three months prior to his examination 
 for engineer, he ran a switch engine in the yards 
 ai Chicago. 
 
 On September y, 1886, he passed his exam- 
 ination and was assigned a freight run on the 
 Chicago division, where he remained until 1890 
 and we next find him on the Chicago & North 
 Western, pulling freight there for six months 
 and then returning to the Illinois Central in 
 
 freight service until 1893. He was then put in 
 the World's Fair service, having a suburban run 
 until April 1899, when he returned to freight 
 service and has since been pulling the St. Louis 
 Manifest, with engine No. 331. His first engine 
 was the old twelve spot. Our subject is a 
 member of the B. of L. E., and has held office of 
 Guide for a number of years. 
 
 Mr. Poole married Miss Davis of Buckley, 
 Illinois. When he first came to the Chicago 
 division there were only six freight trains each 
 way a day. He brought the first stock train over 
 the C. M. & N. from Freeport to Chicago. 
 
 EORGE W. HASSMAN, the affable 
 and highly competent division fore- 
 man of the mechanical shops, on the 
 Aberdeen division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, at Durant, Mississippi, was born in Reading, 
 Pennsylvania, on July 3rd, 1861. 
 
 Louis H. Hassman, the father of our sub- 
 ject was born at Strasburg, Germany, on August 
 20. 1817. At the age of fifteen years he became 
 an apprentice machinist in his native place and 
 served four years time, completely mastering the 
 trade. He then travelled through Germany, 
 France, Switzerland and other countries, and in 
 1845, emigrated to America, landing in New 
 York in April of that year. Going to Philadel- 
 phia, he worked there for a short time, and in 
 1846 went to Reading, Pennsylvania, securing 
 a position with a firm of stationary engine 
 builders. In 1848 he entered the service of the 
 Philadelphia & Reading R. R. in the shops at 
 the latter place, serving twenty-eight years as 
 foreman of the stationary engine department, 
 and directing the erection of the extensive car 
 shops and rail mill. This remarkable old gentle- 
 man, bears the unique distinction of fifty years 
 service, in the shops of that company, and is 
 now, at the age of eigthy-three, still on duty 
 with vim and energy of many a younger man. 
 He has followed his trade of machinist sixty-
 
 528 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 seven years, a record probably unequaled 
 throughout the whole United States. For the 
 last eight years he has been employed in the 
 locomotive department, fitting up the engine gear- 
 ing, and cab work. He performs his duties with- 
 out the use of spectacles, showing what a re- 
 markably well preserved man he is. He built the 
 first stationary engine used in a printing office 
 in the city of Reading, Pa., and did it without the 
 use of a lathe. 
 
 Mr. Hassman married a Miss Wayne, a de- 
 scendant of the family of Anthony Wayne, of 
 revolutionary fame. He has seven children, of 
 whom William Hassman, is superintendent of 
 motive power on the Vermont Central R. R. 
 It is needless to say that Mr. Hassman, Sr. is 
 a respected and honored citizen of Reading, Pa., 
 where he has so long lived and been identified 
 with the leading industry of the place. 
 
 George W. Hassman the subject of our 
 sketch, began railroad life at the age of fourteen 
 in the Philadelphia & Reading shops, running a 
 steam hammer for two years at night, which 
 was in those days considered quite a feat for a 
 boy. He then served four years in the shops 
 under his father, being shown no favors but on 
 the contrary being held to account more strictly 
 than other boys, who were serving at the same 
 time. After finishing he went to the Enterprise 
 Works of Cleveland, Ohio, and later went to 
 St. Louis, where he was for a time in the employ 
 of the Iron Mountain R. R. and the machine 
 shops in that city. He then worked on the 
 Texas & Pacific R. R., next on the Gulf Coast 
 & Santa Fe, and then to the Missouri Pacific R. 
 R. as foreman in Kansas City, Kansas. From 
 August 1 88 1, to October 1884, he was round 
 house foreman at Cypress, Kansas. In 1885 he 
 served in the same capacity at Sedalia, Missouri, 
 and in March 1886 went to the Richmond & 
 Danville R. R. at Richmond, Va. His next work 
 was with the Baldwin Locomotive Works, where 
 he was employed in 1887, following which he 
 went to Paducah, Ky., working one year for the 
 Illinois Central in the round house at that point. 
 Leaving Paducah, Mr. Hassman next went to 
 Little Rock, thence to the northwest and New 
 
 Mexico. He then returned to Kansas City, Mo., 
 and served as round house foreman for the Mis- 
 souri Pacific there, from 1892 to 1896. Resign- 
 ing that position he was for one year in the em- 
 ploy of the Santa Fe R. R. in New Mexico, and 
 left the latter to accept a position with the Illi- 
 nois Central, at Water Valley, Miss., where he 
 was employed until July 1898. In the spring of 
 1899 he was appointed division foreman for the 
 I C. at Durant, Miss., where he is now serving 
 and has charge of the mechanical department of 
 the Aberdeen division, and Tchula district. His 
 duties consist in looking after all the repair work 
 of seventeen engines. He has in his department 
 sixteen engineers, nineteen fireman, two hostlers, 
 two machinists, one boiler maker, besides the 
 car inspectors, and a force of twenty-seven la- 
 borers. The shops and round house of the I. C. 
 at Durant, are considered the most complete of 
 any, south of the Ohio river. 
 
 Mr. Hassman married a beautiful and ac- 
 complished lady, the daughter of Henry Holmes, 
 who was a veteran engineer in the service of 
 the New York Central, and, at the time of his 
 death, in the employ of the West Shore R. R. 
 He had been in active service as engineer for 
 forty years. Mr. and Mrs. Hassman have one 
 son, Henry Hassman. a bright and promising 
 boy. 
 
 Mr. Hassman is a member of the Knights of 
 Pythias, of Kansas City. He is a man of more 
 than ordinary ability, discharging his duties in 
 the most satisfactory manner, and the officials of 
 the road recognize in him a valuable and trust- 
 worthy employe. 
 
 DWIN B. LUDWICK, a popular pas- 
 senger conductor on the Hodgenville 
 branch of the Louisville division of 
 the Illinois Central, was born in 1859. 
 in Mercer county, Kentucky, where he received 
 his early education. On February 29, 18/8, he 
 entered the service of the Paducah & Elizabeth- 
 town -Railroad as freight brakeman. After
 
 o 
 
 w 
 
 55 
 
 
 O 
 Q 
 
 W 
 
 
 
 o
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 531 
 
 working in this capacity fourteen months he 
 had his foot run over and was laid up for some 
 time, after which he resumed work, braking and 
 ir. 1882 was promoted to conductor. On account 
 of ill health he accepted a position in a baggage 
 car in 1888, running between Paducah and 
 Louisville, having charge of the baggage and 
 express. He was next promoted to conductor 
 on the Hodgenville branch. He runs in the 
 passenger and freight service and has charge 
 of the business of the branch. He has a good 
 record and is a thorough railroad man. Our 
 subject is an enthusiastic horseman, and, like a 
 true Kentuckian, owns several fine animals. 
 
 Mr. Ludwick married Miss Jessie, daughter 
 of Jacob Hubbard, at one time president of the 
 H. & E. Railroad. He is a member of the 
 Masonic order, being identified with the Blue 
 Lodge, Chapter and Commandery, also a member 
 of Division No. 89, O. R. C. 
 
 T. ARNN, a popular conductor in the 
 passenger service of the Louisville 
 ' Q division of the Illinois Central, began 
 his railroad career in the service of 
 the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis railroad. 
 In February 1885 he was promoted to conductor, 
 where he remained until 1892, when he quit and 
 went to Paducah, securing a place on the 
 Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern railroad, run- 
 ning between Paducah and Central City. In 
 1896 he was given a preferred freight run, be- 
 tween Paducah and Louisville, and on April 23, 
 1900, was promoted to the passenger service, 
 making his home in the latter city. Our sub- 
 ject's railroad record is a good one, never losing 
 any time in his long service. 
 
 Mr. Arnn was born in 1861 in Conyersville, 
 Tenn. His father, C. D. Arnn, who is of good 
 old Virginia stock, is an experienced railroad 
 blacksmith, and makes his home in Jackson, Tenn. 
 Our subject has a brother who for the past eight 
 years has served as conductor with a run between 
 Jackson and Mounds. 
 
 29 
 
 Mr. Arnn married Miss Arnn, of Tennessee, 
 and they have three children, Nettie May, Roy 
 Elmore and Beauton, all attending school. Our 
 subject is a member of Division No. 290, O. R. 
 C. and also of Plain City Lodge No. 449, A. F. 
 &A. M. 
 
 WEN DONNEGAN, or "Sergeant 
 Donnegan " as he is known, is probab- 
 ly one of the most interesting charac- 
 ters on the Memphis division of the 
 Illinois Central. He was born in Ireland and 
 came to this "country at the age of fourteen, his 
 lather dying when he was a small lad. He made 
 his home with an aunt in Nashville, Tenn., where 
 he learned the shoemaker's trade and became 
 expert making ladies' shoes, at which he worked 
 until 1868, when his mother died. Mr. Donne- 
 gan is known by everybody and many a joke 
 and good story is told about him by the older 
 men of the road. He commenced his railroad 
 career in 1870, on the section between Paducah 
 and Trimble, on the old Elizabethtown & Paducah 
 road, working on the construction one year, when 
 he quit and began firing with J. Carney on engine 
 No. 7, an old wood burner, after which he ran 
 a switch engine at Paducah. After promotion 
 he was sent out on a work train, hauling ties, 
 and was afterwards employed on a passenger 
 train two or three years, running the first train 
 into Newbern, in 1880. He ran the passenger 
 train several years when he took a freight run, 
 and at present he has a preferred run between 
 Paducah and Memphis. Our subject, in his 
 long service, has never received any severe in- 
 jury, but he has had many close calls. At one 
 time, while on engine No. 27, in the passenger 
 service, he struck a Paducah local engine No. 
 ii, and had a head end collision. Mr. Donne- 
 gan was thrown down a bank twenty feet but 
 escaped. Both engines were demolished but no 
 one was injured. At one time our subject was 
 given an extra to haul a train of vegetables, 
 called the extra special on train thirteen. The
 
 532 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 train ahead stopped to pack a box and put out 
 no warning flag. He was going down grade 
 at a high rate of speed, struck the train, de- 
 molished his engine and the opposing train's ca- 
 boose, and was thrown out of cab with such force 
 as to break his watch, and lay him up one month 
 with his injuries. Mr. Donnegan, J. L. McGuire 
 and Pat Grogan are the oldest men on the Mem- 
 phis division of the Illinois Central. Mr. Donne- 
 gan came to Paducah, married a daughter of 
 Pat Kelly, a contractor who built a large part 
 of the Elizabethtown & Paducah road. They 
 have seven children, living, Ellen A., an ac- 
 complished young lady ; Pat T., a machinist ; 
 Mary C, Maggie C., Katie, Owen and Agnes. Mr. 
 Donnegan lost four children through death, Pat, 
 John, Isabelle and Anna Belle. Our subject is 
 a member of Division No. 225, B. of L. E., being 
 a charter member of the Division. He also be- 
 longs to the Catholic Knights of America, and 
 in 1878 joined the Catholic Knights and Ladies 
 of America. Mr. Donnegan is well known along 
 the line as " The Old Reliable." He has one of 
 the finest residences in Paducah, built from his 
 own plans, and is possessed of other real estate. 
 
 ILLIAM M. FRANTZ, freight and 
 ticket agent at Fort Dodge, has been 
 in the service of the company since 
 1876, having learned telegraphy and 
 received his first appointment, as operator, at 
 Charles City, Iowa. In the spring of 1878 he 
 was transferred to Epworth, where he remained 
 one month and then returned to Charles City. 
 In September of that year he was transferred 
 to Cherokee for a year's service as operator, going 
 thence to Pomeroy as agent, where he remained 
 three years. In the fall of 1882 he was appointed 
 agent at Cedar Falls and a year later was made 
 joint agent for the Central and the "Omaha" 
 road, at LeMars. remaining at that station until 
 the fall of 1891. After a year's service as train 
 dispatcher at Fort Dodge, Mr. Frantz served the 
 
 following year in the office at Cherokee. In the 
 fall of 1893 he returned to LeMars as freight 
 ardent where he was employed at the time of 
 his appointment as chief dispatcher at Cherokee, 
 in the fall of 1896, and a month later received 
 his present appointment at Fort Dodge. 
 
 Mr. Frantz was born at Olean, New York, 
 December 25, 1859, and received his education 
 in the schools of his native place and of Charles 
 City, Iowa, whither his mother moved after the 
 death of the father which occurred soon after the 
 war. The marriage of Mr. Frantz to Miss 
 Frances P. Price occurred at Pomeroy, Iowa, 
 in April 1882. Mr. Frantz is a member of the 
 Masonic fraternity, holding membership in the 
 Blue Lodge at LeMars, the Chapter and Com- 
 mandery.at Fort Dodge, and in El Kaher Temple 
 of the Mystic Shrine at Cedar Rapids. He also 
 affiliates with the Fort Dodge Lodge of Elks 
 and the Iowa Legion of Honor. 
 
 DSAAC F. BARNES, a popular and trusted 
 conductor of long service, on the Louisi- 
 ana division of the Illinois Central, is a na- 
 tive of Eastern Mississippi. He entered 
 the service of the I. C., in 1885, as brakeman 
 under Conductor Weight, and after two years 
 work in that department, was promoted to con- 
 ductor, where he has since remained. He has 
 had charge, during his career, of all kinds of 
 trains, and now has an extra passenger run on 
 the Louisiana division. His fifteen years ser- 
 vice with the company has been free from acci- 
 dents. He however sustained a painful injury 
 and had a narrow escape from death in 1898. 
 by being struck by a mail crane while extinguish- 
 ing a fire on the side of a cattle car on his train. 
 Mr. Barnes married Miss Bryant, a native of 
 Mississippi, and seven children have been born 
 to them, of whom five are living ; they are, Verna, 
 fourteen years old ; Henry, aged eleven, Newton, 
 aged nine ; Earnest, aged five, and Carl, aged 
 two. An infant, John Hurd, died when only
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 533 
 
 three days old. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes also lost 
 their oldest child, William I., on March n, 1898, 
 a young man just entering his seventeenth year. 
 He contracted blood poisoning from an unsuc- 
 cessful operation, for the removal of a crumb 
 which had lodged in his throat, and died after an 
 illness of nine days, despite the best medical at- 
 tendance. He had just graduated from the 
 Harris Business College with highest honors, 
 and had entered a career which promised to be a 
 bright and successful one, when claimed by death. 
 His short life was that of an honorable, Christian 
 youth, idolized by his parents, and loved by every 
 one. 
 
 Mr. Barnes is a member of Division No. 
 367, O. R. C., in which he has held several offices. 
 He is a substantial citizen of McComb City, 
 owning considerable property, and is held in 
 high esteem, by his many firm friends. 
 
 JOHN C. BISHOP, foreman of the car- 
 penter shops, for the Illinois Central at 
 McComb City, Miss., has been connected 
 with the company for thirty-four years. 
 He entered the service of the I. C. in the old 
 26th street shops, at Chicago, 111., where he first 
 worked in the freight, afterward in the passenger 
 department, finally taking charge of the carpen- 
 ter department which position he held three years 
 He then had charge of the passenger equipment, 
 under Mr. Sullivan, when he was transferred to 
 McComb City, as general foreman of all the 
 shops. This position he held for thirteen years, 
 and when it was abolished he entered the carpen- 
 ter shop as a workman, has gradually risen and 
 now has charge of the department. Mr. Bishop 
 was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 
 22, 1859, and is a son of Captain William S. P. 
 Bishop, a sea-captain, who was engaged in ser- 
 vice between English and African ports. Both 
 he and his wife are now deceased. 
 
 Miss Mary L. Russell of St. John's, New 
 Brunswick, became the wife of our subject, and 
 
 they are the parents of three children. Mamie, 
 wife of John Seabey, of Brookhaven, Miss., 
 Blanche, wife of Dr. Robertson, a prominent 
 physician of McComb City ; and Theo., a clerk 
 in the office of the master mechanic for the I. 
 C. at the latter place. A service of thirty-four 
 years in the employ of a company is a record of 
 which any man might be justly proud. Mr. 
 Bishop's long connection with the company has 
 been one of uniform satisfaction, and there is 
 not a more popular or well known man in the 
 service. 
 
 JH. QUINLAN first entered railroad 
 service at Dunleith (now called East 
 Q Dubuque) in 1869 as a messenger 
 boy etc., for Station Agent C. A. 
 Beck and continued in that capacity until Decem- 
 ber, when he quit and attended school that win- 
 ter. In June 1870 he began as a section hand 
 at the same place and continued until 1873 as 
 a laborer. On August u, 1873, he commenced 
 on construction train as brakeman between Ga- 
 lena and Dunleith and remained there until Sep- 
 tember 13, when he began as a brakeman on 
 freight between Dubuque and Amboy and con- 
 tinued six years, or until 1879, when he was 
 promoted to conductor and ran until 1882. He 
 was then given a regular train and continued 
 until June 1891, when he was transferred to the 
 Freeport division and received a regular passen- 
 ger run which he has held up to the present time. 
 He has had through passenger to Dubuque all 
 the time with the exception of one year, when he 
 ran between Chicago and Freeport. On Decem- 
 ber 15, 1875, in making a coupling he had his 
 right hand smashed and was laid up until April 
 1876. On December 20, 1890, he was jerked 
 off an engine going thirty miles an hour and was 
 seriously injured. At the time he began on the 
 Amboy division there were only three freight 
 trains each way a day. 
 
 He is a member of Division No. 235, O. R. 
 C., which he has served as chief conductor. He
 
 534 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 is also a member of Lodge No. 294, M. W. of 
 A., of Dubuque. 
 
 Mr. Quinlan married Miss Kinslo and has 
 three children. T. J. Quinlan, a brother, is also 
 a passenger conductor running west of Dubuque 
 on the Iowa division. 
 
 NTHONY PICKART, who was born 
 in Milwaukee in 1858, commenced 
 service as a railroad employe in the 
 boiler shops at Weldon in the summer 
 of 1874 and continued there three years. He 
 then began firing in the Baltimore & Ohio yards, 
 where he remained four months. He was next 
 employed on the Champaign division of the I. C. 
 for about four months and then returned to the 
 Chicago division, firing on engine No. 188, for 
 A. Fortin, the "wild Frenchman", firing for him 
 two years, he then, by special request, went on 
 through passenger engine No. 118, for Charles 
 Draper and continued there until June 1881, 
 when he was promoted to engineer and began 
 in the yard service, his first engine being No. 
 117. He is a member of Division No. 10, B. of 
 L. E., of Burnside. Mr. Pickart married Miss 
 Anna Gustin and has four children, Annie, 
 Arthur J., Merlin L., and Eugene C. He owns 
 fine property at 2944 Wallace street, Chicago. 
 
 JOHN B. STEWART, a native of the sou h 
 was born at Maysville, Alabama, April 
 i, 1857. His father, William Stewart, 
 now deceased, was a merchant ; the 
 mother, who in maidenhood was Ann B. Barker, 
 has followed her husband to the great beyond. 
 J. B. Stewart attended the common schools of 
 his native county and until 1884 h^d been em- 
 ployed at farm work in various localities. Octo- 
 ber 24th of that year he secured a position with 
 the Mississippi & Tennessee Railroad as baggage 
 
 master, serving in that capacity two and a half 
 years when he was promoted to conductor in 
 the freight service. In 1892 he was again set 
 ahead and given charge of a passenger train, 
 running between Memphis and Grenada, Miss. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Stewart was solemn- 
 ized on September 12, 1886, Miss Mary R. True, 
 becoming his helpmate. The two children born 
 to the.m are Fannie B., and Sallie T. Mrs 
 Stewart is a native of Gurley, Alabama. The 
 family are members of the Cumberland Presby- 
 terian church. 
 
 Mr. Stewart has taken three degrees in the 
 Masonic order and is a member of Division No. 
 175, O. R. C., of Memphis. In politics he is a 
 Democrat. Few who begin railroad life at the 
 age at which Mr. Stewart did rise as rapidly in 
 the service as he has done. 
 
 ZIAS S. MILLER, foreman of the 
 round house for the Illinois Central 
 at Canton, Miss., and an old and 
 valued employe, began his railroad 
 career in 1863, in the railroad shops at Lake, 
 Miss. In 1867 he was in the service of the old 
 Vicksburg & Meridian R. R. as engineer, and 
 remained with that company from 1863 to 1869, 
 after which he was, for a short time, with the 
 Mobile & Ohio R. R. as engineer at Jackson, 
 Tenn. He then went to Water Valley, Miss., 
 and entered the service of the I. C. as engineer 
 in the passenger department on the Mississippi 
 division, serving from December 1869 to Febru- 
 ary 1871. It was while in that position that 
 Mr. Miller had a very narrow escape from death 
 in an accident. There was a washout on the road 
 at Malone, Miss., and his engine ran into it and 
 was wrecked. He was so badly injured that his 
 left leg had to be amputated, but being in no 
 wise to blame the company paid all consequent 
 expenses and allowed him his salary for the en- 
 tire two years, he was unable to wo-k. On his 
 recovery he was appointed foreman of the round
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 535 
 
 house at Water Valley, Miss., where he was for 
 a short time and was then transferred to Canton 
 in the same capacity, until 1875. He was next 
 sent to Durant, Miss., and for a short time, was 
 engineer on the Aberdeen branch of the road. 
 He was then appointed as engineer on the "Pay 
 Car and Specials" on the Louisiana division, 
 of the I. C. and also in charge of the inspection 
 train, that carried Messrs. Ackerman and Jeffery 
 on their tour of inspection. Mr. Miller then re- 
 turned to Canton, and resumed his former oc- 
 cupation as round house foreman, remaining 
 there until he was sent to Louisville, Ky., and 
 to Nashville, Term., to inspect engines that were 
 offered for sale to the I. C. company, he then for 
 the third time, returned to the round house at 
 Canton, and has since remained there. In 1878 
 during the yellow fever epidemic, Mr. Miller, 
 being an immune was one of the few men capa- 
 ble for duty, and in addition to his round house 
 duties, served as engineer between Canton 
 and Calhoun, Miss., also between Canton and 
 Rays Bluff. Mr. Miller was born in Attalla 
 county, Mississippi, a son of James P. and Dorcas 
 (Green) Miller. The mother was a descendant 
 of the Ball family of Washington fame. Mr. 
 Miller, Sr. was an extensive planter of North 
 Carolina and also in Mississippi, where both he 
 and his wife died. 
 
 Miss Florence Wallar, of London, England, 
 became the wife of Mr. Miller, and a family 
 of seven children were born to them, of whom 
 six are living: they are, Florence, John C., Ada, 
 Mary, Ruth, and Robert Lemar. Lucy died 
 while young. 
 
 Socially, Mr. Miller is a member of the 
 Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias, and 
 the Knights of Honor, all of Canton. While 
 working as engineer, he was connected with the 
 Brotherhood, and was a delegate, in 1871, to 
 the convention at Toronto, Canada, and a 1 so in 
 1872 to St. Louis, Missouri. His family are 
 members of the Episcopal church, of Canton. 
 
 Mr. Miller has been employed, during his 
 career, on the following roads which have been 
 absorbed by the I. C., viz: Lessees of Mis- 
 sissippi Central, New Orleans, Jackson & 
 
 Great Northern, New Orleans, St. Louis & 
 Chicago, and Chicago. St. Louis & New Or- 
 leans. He was engineer of the special that car- 
 ried Mr. Osborne and party, when the road was 
 bought. Captain Miller, as he is familiarly 
 known, is a man who counts his friends by the 
 score. His present force of fifty-five men are 
 handled in a way, that marks him as a man of 
 ability, all working together harmoniously and 
 having complete confidence in their foreman. 
 
 ILLIAM B. McKENNA, an old 
 and trusted employe of the Illinois 
 Central, employed as foreman in the 
 store room of the company, at 
 McComb City, Mississippi, was formerly master 
 mechanic for the Illinois Central at that place,' 
 and also at Clinton, Illinois. His first service 
 was with the "Big Four" R. R., where as a boy 
 of sixteen he worked for that company on a small 
 salary and remained in the service nine years, 
 receiving a salary of three and one half dollars 
 per day, before retiring. 
 
 In 1878 he received the appointment of 
 master mechanic, at Clinton, Illinois, for the 
 Gilman, Clinton & Springfield Railroad (now the 
 1. C. R. R.) and held that position seven years. 
 On the acquisition of that road by the Illinois 
 Central, he was transferred to McComb City, 
 Miss., as master mechanic there, where he re- 
 mained seven and one half years. He was then 
 sent back to Clinton, resuming his former 
 position, and remaining there eleven months. 
 The following six years were spent at Durant, 
 Mississippi, as foreman of the Illinois Central 
 shops of the Aberdeen district. In July 1899 
 he returned to McComb City, where he has since 
 been employed as foreman in the store room. 
 Mr. McKenna was born at Manchester, England, 
 on Aug. 8th, 1839. James McKenna, the father 
 of our subject, was clerk in one of the large 
 glass works of England, and emigrated to 
 America with his family in 1849. Landing at
 
 536 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 New Orleans, they proceeded by boat to Cincin- 
 nati, where he embarked in the bakery business. 
 Moving to Indianapolis, lie was in the same 
 business there for a time, and later moved to 
 Peru, Indiana, where he died, at the advanced 
 age of ninety-two years. W. B. McKenna, the 
 original of this sketch, married Miss Sarah E. 
 Tver of Indianapolis, Indiana, whose father was 
 an old railroad conductor. To them six children 
 were born, viz ; Lida, Catherine, George, Fannie, 
 Mazzie and Emma. 
 
 He is connected with the Masonic order, 
 being a member of De Witt Lodge, No. 84, of 
 Clinton, Illinois. Mr. McKenna and his wife 
 are members and staunch supporters of the 
 Presbyterian church, of which he is at present 
 a deacon. They reside in a commodious home 
 in McComb City, and are old and highly re- 
 spected residents of the place. 
 
 C. CAREY, conductor on the Free- 
 port division, Illinois Central Rail- 
 road, was born in Janesville, Wis., 
 September 28, 1862, and is the son 
 of Thomas and Mathilda (Burdick) Carey. The 
 former, a farmer by occupation, died in 1864, the 
 latter is living in Belmond, Iowa. 
 
 H. C. Carey was educated in the public 
 schools of Durand, 111., Belmond, Iowa, and the 
 Janesville Business College. At the age of six- 
 teen he began herding cattle in Iowa and re- 
 mained in this employment for five years. He 
 then went to Wayne, 111., and entered the service 
 of M. W. Dunham, the largest breeder of fine 
 horses in the world, where he remained for a 
 period of six years. He then took a busin-ss 
 course at the Janesville Business College, and 
 went to Aurora, 111., where he clerked in the 
 Hotel Evans for about two months, then went 
 back to his old employer Mr. Dunham, wi'h 
 whom he remained about two years. June 8, 
 1892, Mr. Carey came to Freeport, and entered 
 the service of the I. C. R. R. as a brakeman on 
 
 the Freeport division, running between Chicago 
 and Dubuque, and in March 1897 was promoted 
 to his present position of conductor. 
 
 Mr. Carey was married, March 8, 1893, to 
 Helen May Hammond, of Wayne, Illinois. Mrs. 
 Carey was born May 18, 1872. She was edu- 
 cated in the public schools of Wayne and also 
 took a course in the Academy at Elgin, Illinois. 
 Her union with Mr. Carey has been blest with 
 one child, Marian H., born April 7, 1894. Mr. 
 Carey is a member of the B. of R. T. In poli- 
 tics he affiliates with the Republican party. 
 
 RANK D. HENNEY, an engineer in the 
 service of the Illinois Central on the 
 Memphis division, entered the employ 
 of the company in August 1890. His 
 railroad career began on the Wabash Railroad, 
 as fireman between Danville and Quincy, Illinois, 
 where he was promoted to engineer in 1871. 
 He served as engineer in the freight and pas- 
 senger service, on that run, between eight and 
 nine years. The following eight years he was 
 on the Hudson River division of the New York 
 Central Railroad, between New York City and 
 Albany. After a service of three years with the 
 L. & M. C. R. R. between Louisville and 
 Lafayette, he returned to the Wabash, and was 
 on different parts of that sysetm until entering the 
 employ of the Union Pacific Railroad at Kansas 
 City, Missouri. He worked on nearly all the 
 branches of the latter road in the states of Kansas 
 and Nebraska during the two years he was con- 
 nected with the road, and then went to the 
 Kansas City Railroad between Memphis and 
 Birmingham, where he remained four years. He 
 then entered the service of the Illinois Central 
 and has since been with that road. Mr. Henney 
 is a native of Center county, Pennsylvania, born 
 April 8, 1848. His father, William C. Henney, 
 was in the water works there, and departed this 
 life in Green county, Missouri. William C. 
 Henney Jr.. a brother of our subject, resides in
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 537 
 
 Kansas City ; and Burnett, another brother, 
 resides at Springfield. Illinois, where he has 
 charge of the electric light plant in the Leland 
 Hotel of that city. Mr. Henney married Miss 
 Belle Stanton, a native of Massachusetts, and 
 three children have been born to them, DeClercq, 
 Jay S., and Burnett M. 
 
 He has been a member of Macon Lodge, No. 
 8, A. F. & A. M., of Decatur. Illinois, since 1872. 
 and is connected with Division No. 23, B. of 
 L. E., of Memphis, but was formerly a member of 
 Division No. 281, B. of L. E., at Vicksburg, 
 Mississippi. Mrs. Henney is a member of 
 Success Lodge, No. 159, Woman's Auxiliary, 
 B of L. E. 
 
 Mr. Henney has seen service on a number 
 of roads and has been fortunate during his 
 career to escape wrecks of a serious nature. He 
 is a popular man on the Memphis division. 
 
 and has charge of the tool room of the 27th street 
 shops and round house, he mastered his trade 
 by earning a Young Men's Christian Association 
 scholarship and taking a course in the Chicago 
 School of Electricity ; John is a graduate of the 
 Chicago High and Manual Training School, and 
 also of the Armour Institute, in the latter school 
 he constructed an engine during his course that 
 i3 a fine piece of small machinery ; Robert is also 
 a graduate of the Chicago High and Manual 
 Training School, where he learned the cabinet 
 maker's trade and machine work, his work even 
 while in school was of such high grade that the 
 professor bought it of him for presents. The 
 names of the other two children are Bessie and 
 Mable. 
 
 JAMES H. BANTA, whose home is at 
 7040 Stony Island avenue, ranks second 
 in the order of seniority among the Illi- 
 nois Central engineers in Chicago. He 
 began his railroad career as a brakeman in 1861, 
 tollowing that line of work for a short time, 
 and also spent a few months in the boiler shops. 
 He then served for a time in the capacity of fire- 
 man, but since October 4, 1865, has held his 
 position on the right side of the engine. His 
 first two weeks as engineer were spent on a 
 switch engine, and then for three years, ran on 
 the main line from Dubuque, Iowa, to Wapella, 
 Illinois. In 1872 Mr. Banta was given a run 
 on an accommodation train between Chicago and 
 Oilman, and is now in charge of engine No. 906, 
 on the same line. 
 
 Mr. Banta is a native of the town of Mt. 
 Yernon, Westchester county, New York. Jan. 
 1 6, 1871, he married Miss Ella McKnight, and 
 of the eight children that have blessed their 
 wedded life six are now living, namely: Susan 
 M.: James Harry is an Illinois Central employe, 
 
 ILLIAM F. SHOFFNER, freight 
 and passenger agent at Water 
 Valley, was born in Marshall county, 
 Mississippi, July 3, 1865, a son of 
 Dr. James H. ShofTner, a sketch of whom appears 
 elsewhere in this work. His parents moved from 
 Marshall county and shortly after their locating 
 at Water Valley he secured employment in the 
 service of what is now the Illinois Central, as 
 office boy, being soon promoted to clerk. After 
 about two years here and in the telegraph de- 
 partment, he was appointed agent at Ackerman, 
 Mississippi, where he remained six years and 
 was then transferred to Durant, serving one year 
 at that point. He was next assigned to the 
 freight department at Jackson, Tenn., and on 
 October i, 1892, was appointed freight and pas- 
 senger agent at Water Valley, where he has since 
 been engaged. Mr. Shoffner was married in 
 Water Valley, December 2, 1898, to Miss Willie 
 Douglas, and to them have been born two sons, 
 Douglas and Emmet. 
 
 He is a Mason of high degree, holding mem- 
 bership in the Blue Lodge, No. 145, at Jackson, 
 Tennessee, in McConnico Chapter, No. 92, and 
 St. Cyr Commandery, No. 6, at Water Valley, 
 and Hamasa Temple of the Mystic Shrine, at
 
 538 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Meridian, Miss. The Knights of Honor and the 
 Elks Lodge, No. 456, of Water Valley, also claim 
 his allegiance. As a business man he stands 
 high and as a railroad man is all that could bs 
 desired by his employing corporation. By his 
 affability and prompt attention to business he has 
 made himself popular .with the patrons of the 
 road doing business at Water Valley. 
 
 JAMES SMITH, an old employe of the 
 Illinois Central, is a car-repairer in the 
 yards of the company, at Canton, Miss. 
 He entered the service of the company 
 in the fall of 1858 as watchman, in the city of 
 Xew Orleans, and has since remained with the 
 road in various capacities until the present time. 
 Mr. Smith was born in Derby, England, on 
 March 4, 1820, emigrating to America in 1840, 
 and landing in New Orleans. He was in the 
 United States army for five years, and is now a 
 pensioner. He married Miss Dolan, a native of 
 Ireland, who departed this- life in 1898. Mr. 
 Smith has two sons in the Illinois Central service ; 
 James, an engineer at Canton, Mississippi, and 
 Samuel, a switchman. His long connection with 
 the road, has made Mr. Smith well known to 
 the employes. 
 
 'ILLIAM S. KING, superintendent 
 of the Mississippi division of the 
 Illinois Central, has been in railroad 
 service since 1878. The first ten 
 years were in the service of the C. C. C. & St. 
 L., rising from water boy on the section to sta- 
 tion baggage master and clerk, and the latter 
 years as telegraph operator and train dispatcher. 
 In August 1888 he entered the employ of the 
 C. & O. Ry. as train dispatcher and rose to the 
 position of chief dispatcher and train master, 
 filling that position at the time of his resignation 
 ir the spring of 1892. March 10, of the last named 
 
 ytar he accepted the superintendency of the New 
 Orleans division of the L. N. O. & T. railroad 
 and continued in the service of the Y. & M. V. 
 toad on its succession to the property of the 
 former line, August 31, 1892, until his transfer 
 to his present position September I, 1895. Mr. 
 King is a native of Milford Center, Ohio. Of 
 his marriage to Miss Mary Vise a son was born, 
 Eugene W. who died in New Orleans in 1893. 
 Socially he is a member of the lodge of Elks, 
 No. 192, of Jackson. He is a railroad man of 
 wide experience and, having worked his way from 
 the lowest round of the ladder up, has a wide and 
 accurate knowledge of every detail of railway 
 operation. 
 
 LOUIE VAUPEL, an engineer on the 
 Evansville passenger transfer was born 
 in Evansville, 1871, a son of Henry 
 Vaupel. Our subject was reared by 
 his aunt and received his education in Evansville. 
 When but sixteen years of age he began work in 
 the mechanical department of the L. & N. shop 
 at Howell, Indiana. He later went on the Ohio 
 Valley Railroad as fireman and served all over 
 the middle division or the old C. O. & S. W. 
 In 1896 he became regular engineer and ran the 
 freight transfer engine at Evansville, soon being 
 promoted to a passenger engine. Mr. Vaupel 
 has never been injured or received any bad 
 marks, he is a self made man and be it said to 
 his credit, has supported his aunt from the time 
 he was sixteen years of age. He now resides 
 with her and cares for her at the age of eighty- 
 two years. He has great talent for drawing, 
 especially engines, and many familiar "iron 
 horses" on the line have been depicted with his 
 pencil and adorn several of the mechanical offices 
 on the Louisville division of the Illinois Central. 
 One was in the master mechanic's office and was 
 pronounced perfect by the engineers and artists. 
 He is a genius in his way. 
 
 Mr. Vaupel is a quiet, unassuming gentle- 
 man, a general favorite with all. He belongs to 
 the P.. of L. E. and the P.. of L. F.
 
 JOHN S. WILLIAMS.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 541 
 
 JOHN S. WILLIAMS, a conductor run- 
 ning out of Memphis, is a son of Dr. 
 John S. Williams, a prominent physician 
 for many years in Arkansas, and a sur- 
 geon from 1 86 1 to 1865 in the Confederate army. 
 He died in 1880. His wife, Frances Lawrence, 
 died September 30, 1870. Mr. Williams has one 
 brother, W. F. Williams, a prominent physician 
 in Hazen Station, Ark., and has two sisters in 
 Memphis. Mrs. J. G. Cooper, and Miss Mollie. 
 John S. Williams was born in Prairie Co., 
 Ark.. September 30, 1867, and attended the pub- 
 lic schools of his native county until the death of 
 his father, when he removed to Memphis and 
 continued his education in the schools of the 
 city. At the age of eighteen he entered the store 
 of J. B. Pate & Co., at Water Valley, Miss., as a 
 clerk, remaining about a year. He secured a 
 place on the Illinois Central as brakeman, run- 
 ning between Water Valley and Canton for a 
 twelve-month, then went to Memphis and for 
 several months was engaged in the office of the 
 Memphis Avalanche. Returning to railroad 
 work he secured a position on the Mississippi 
 & Tennessee road as brakeman and in 1889 was 
 promoted to freight conductor running between 
 Memphis and Grenada. In 1896 he was again 
 advanced and given a passenger run between the 
 same points. Miss Clara Kelly, of Coffeeville, 
 Miss., was the name of the girl that became Mrs. 
 Williams, and the date of the ceremony was 
 October 17, 1888. Mrs Williams is a daughter 
 of J. F. and Emma (Collins) Kelly, natives of 
 Mississippi, now residents of Memphis, where 
 Mr. Kelly is and has been jailor for the past four 
 years. One son, Lawrence K., has been born to 
 to them. They are adherents to the Presbyterian 
 faith. Mr. Williams is prominent in fraternal 
 circles, especially in the Masonic fraternity, being 
 a member of the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Comman- 
 dery. Mystic Shrine, and is now a thirty-second 
 degree Mason. In the Knights of Pythias he has 
 taken the subordinate and uniform rank degrees. 
 He has joined the Elks, and is enrolled in the 
 Memphis Division of the O. R. C. In politics he 
 is to be found in the Democratic ranks. 
 
 C. CLARK, the courteous and ac- 
 commodating agent for the 111. Cen- 
 tral, at Polo, Illinois, was born May 
 27, 1847. His educational training- 
 was acquired in the public schools of Jamestown, 
 New York. In 1866 he came west, locating at 
 Hastings, Minnesota, where he worked at various 
 occupations until May 1867, most of the time 
 as a clerk in a general merchandise store. He 
 then went to Polo, Illinois, accepting a position 
 as station baggageman for the Illinois Central 
 and working in that capacity until November 
 1867. He was then promoted to clerk in the 
 freight office there, occupying that position for 
 ten years, when he was appointed agent for the 
 company at that point and continues in that 
 capacity at the present time. Mr. Clark was, in 
 April 1882, united to Miss Ida Shuber, and has 
 a family of three children. Mr. Clark is a very 
 accommodating official, having the esteem of 
 the traveling public at Polo, and his long incum- 
 bency in office shows him to be an honorable 
 and straight forward man. 
 
 A. RUGG, whose home is at 4218 
 
 r Ellis Ave., ranks first in the order 
 O of seniority in Chicago, being the 
 oldest engineer on the Chicago divi- 
 sion. Mr. Rugg's first railroad experience was 
 on the Michigan Central Railroad, where he 
 began when very young, as fireman under en- 
 gineer Ed. Wilcox. He took great interest in his 
 work and was soon promoted to a seat on the 
 right side of the cab. March 9, 1863, while still 
 a young man, he began work in the capacity 
 of engineer for the Illinois Central Company. 
 During the following year, he spent a few months 
 on the Racine & Mississippi Railroad, but on 
 January 11, 1865, he returned to the Illinois 
 Central. During the years between May I, 1875, 
 and December i, 1877, he served as foreman of 
 the shops at Champaign, and from December i, 
 1877. until January 22, 1882, as train master
 
 542 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 between Centralia and Cairo. At his own re- 
 quest, Mr. Rugg then became an engineer again, 
 with a run out from Chicago. 
 
 In 1864 Mr. Rugg was married, in Chicago, 
 to Miss Aurelia S. Russell, and their wedded life 
 has been blessed to them by the advent of a 
 family of three children. Mr. Rugg has affil- 
 iated with the B. of L. E. for thirty-six years, 
 holding his membership in Division No. 10, at 
 Burnside. 
 
 neer.' His first and last question was after the welfare 
 of the passengers and crew. When he knew they were 
 safe his soul went up alone. 
 
 Are all the crew safe and the passengers too? 
 
 Yes, you say? Thank God that is clever. 
 And his soft eyes closed and his pale face smiled 
 
 As he whistled down brakes forever." 
 
 ILLIAM RUFFIN, one of the best 
 loved engineers that ever made 
 Water Valley his home, has left a 
 tender memory in the hearts of his 
 associates there. His old friend, Edward Crisp, 
 since a victim of a similar fate, made especial 
 request that something of his record be preserved. 
 William Ruffin was a native of Toone Station, 
 a short distance south of Jackson, and was reared 
 in his native place, where he first served the 
 company as stationary engineer. He secured a 
 position as fireman about 1881 and four years 
 later was promoted to the other side of the cab 
 and given a run in the freight service. The last 
 three years of his life he was at the head of a 
 passenger train and was there, on duty, when the 
 accident that crushed out the life of a hero 
 occurred. An extract from the Water Valley 
 paper published at the time voices the sentiment 
 of his colleagues better than could be written here. 
 
 "There was an accident on the Illinois Central 
 above Water Valley last Monday night and the first 
 tidings from the scene were horrifying. Later it was un- 
 derstood that but one life was lost. The engineer while 
 heroically standing at his post went down with his en- 
 gine as it plunged through the bridge. His was the 
 precious life that was lost, yet relaters of the accident 
 speak of it as not so bad after all nobody was killed 
 but the engineer. Only an engineer. Was ever a man 
 entrusted with a holier, more responsible duty than the 
 custody and care of human lives? When a man dies in 
 the fulfillment of such a duty the only thing about him 
 that is not an angel is his overalls. 
 
 Wm. Ruffin was the name of the hero who died at 
 his post that fateful night, yet he was 'only an engi- 
 
 JOHN B. EDAMS, ex-master mechanic of 
 the Illinois Central Railroad, is a native 
 of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where he 
 was born on August 7th, 1832. Mr. 
 Edams was educated in the public schools of 
 Philadelphia, and at the age of seventeen decided 
 to become a telegrapher, which art was at that 
 time in its infancy. He found an opening in an 
 office, and was put to work every morning with 
 a broom to sweep out the office, which he did and 
 did well, but concluded after a short trial that 
 he was not adapted to that line of work, especially 
 as the greater part of it seemed to be acquired 
 by the use of a broom, so he "resigned" and went 
 fishing. A few days later he apprenticed him- 
 self to the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Co., 
 to learn the trade of a machinist, and worked for 
 that company two years. He then secured em- 
 ployment with J. P. Morris & Co., steamboat 
 and stationary engine builders, and was in the 
 shops of that company for two years. Return- 
 ing to the P. & R. R. R. Co., he was in their 
 employ six months, and then decided to go west. 
 He reached Lafayette, Indiana, working there 
 for six months, and from there went to East St. 
 Louis, in the service of the Ohio & Mississippi 
 Railroad, which was then under course of con- 
 struction. Owing to the sickly condition of the 
 city at that time he went to Quincy, Illinois, 
 remaining in the latter city two months. He 
 then returned to Philadelphia, going thence to 
 Cumberland, Md. At the latter -place he was in 
 the employ of the Baltimore & Ohio R. R. for 
 a year, and at the expiration of that time, came 
 west again, locating in Amboy, Illinois. On 
 April 2. 1856, he entered the service of the Illi-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 nois Central, at Aniboy, as a journeyman ma- 
 chinist, being successively promoted to night 
 foreman, then day foreman of the round house, 
 from there to general foreman of the machinery 
 department, and on the 24th day of September 
 1863, to master mechanic of the northern division. 
 All of these promotions being in less than seven 
 and one half years, proved not only the esteem in 
 which he was held by his superiors, but the 
 marked ability of the man, which characterized 
 his many years of service. 
 
 Mr. Edams held the position of master 
 mechanic uninterruptedly from September 24, 
 1863, until April i, 1893, at which time it was 
 ' decided to make a change at Amboy, and he was 
 offered a similar position to the one he held at 
 another point on the system. On account of 
 illness in his family, he was compelled to decline 
 the offer. Since retiring from the service Mr. 
 Edams has been engaged in domestic persuits, 
 taking a general interest in the city of Amboy, 
 where he is generally known and has lived so 
 long. He enjoys the best of health and is as 
 vigorous and active, apparently, as at any time 
 of his life. 
 
 JB. KEMP, superintendent of the Aber- 
 deen division of the Illinois Central, 
 O was born at Milford, Delaware, in 
 1843, anc ' was reared to manhood on 
 the eastern shore of Maryland. Mr. Kemp's 
 career as a railroad man began in 1867, on the 
 Union Pacific Railroad. He entered the service 
 of the Mississippi Central, (now the Illinois 
 Central) in 1869, as agent at Canton, Mississippi. 
 In December 1875 he was appointed superin- 
 tendent of the Mississippi division, with head- 
 quarters at Water Valley, Miss. In 1877 he re- 
 signed from the employ of the road, and in 1878 
 re-entered the service as agent at Grenada, Miss., 
 and remained there until August 1884, when he 
 was promoted to the office of superintendent 
 of the Aberdeen division. In December 1888 
 IK was transferred to Memphis, as superintendent 
 
 of the Memphis division, and in April 1898, was 
 again placed in charge of the Aberdeen division, 
 with headquarters at Durant, Miss., where he 
 i.- now located. 
 
 As an official of the Illinois Central Mr. 
 Kemp is a most popular man, discharging his 
 duties in a highly satisfactory manner. 
 
 jtjtjtjtjtjt 
 
 ILLIAM HENRY McGRAW, de- 
 ceased, was an old and popular 
 engineer on the Amboy division of 
 the Illinois Central. Mr. McGraw 
 was born on April 19, 1831, in Schoharie county, 
 State of New York, and was the son of John 
 W. and Jane (Chilson) McGraw. In the fall 
 of 1856 Mr. McGraw, then a young man of 
 twenty five, went -west locating in Amboy, 111. 
 He at once entered the service of the Illinois 
 Central as locomotive fireman, when on July 5, 
 1859, he was promoted to engineer in the freight 
 service. Remaining in that branch of the service 
 for five years, he was then promoted to the pas- 
 senger service, and for over twenty one years, 
 was continuously in that position, most of the 
 time on the same engine, No. 23. His untimely 
 death in an accident, at La Salle, Illinois, Dec. 
 23, 1885, was mourned by all, but most by his 
 devoted wife who still survives him. 
 
 RANK WESTCOTT, a retired engineer 
 residing at Amboy, Illinois, and for 
 many years a trusted employe of the 
 Illinois Central, was born in Catskill, 
 Green county, New York, on August 8, 1830. 
 He began his railroad career as a fireman, on the 
 Boston & Fitchburg Railroad, where he served 
 eighteen months. He then took a similar 
 position on the Troy & Boston Railroad, re- 
 maining there about a year. In 1854 he came to
 
 544 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 the west and entered the service of the Illinois 
 Central, stopping at Shippingsport, until the 
 completion of the bridge over the Illinois river. 
 He was then promoted to engineer on a con- 
 struction train engaged in laying track between 
 Clinton and Decatur, Illinois. When that branch 
 was completed he had the honor of taking the 
 first freight train over the division, between 
 Wapella and Centralia, Illinois. In 1855 Mr. 
 Westcott was promoted to the passenger service 
 between Amboy and Wapella, Illinois, where he 
 remained continuously for thirty-six years. The 
 manner of his resignation was unique and in 
 perfect keeping with the man. He took a lay- 
 off for a fishing trip to the Rock river with a 
 number of the boys and never again reported 
 for duty. 
 
 Our subject is the only living member of 
 the original organization of the Brotherhood of 
 the Footboard, at Amboy, receiving the orginal 
 work from the organization at Freeport, in 1863. 
 This Order was afterward known as the Brother- 
 hood of Locomotive Engineers, in which Mr. 
 Westcott alwavs takes an active interest. 
 
 DGAR W. DANA, general foreman at 
 Council Bluffs, comes of a railroad 
 family. His father, E. O. Dana, a 
 sketch of whom appears elsewhere in 
 this work, has for years been prominent in the 
 mechanical department of the Central. The 
 subject of this sketch was born in Kankakee, 
 .Illinois, May 25, 1869, and was educated in the 
 schools of Champaign. He entered the service 
 of the Central at Freeport in 1889 as clerk in the 
 office of the master mechanic and later worked for 
 a time as machinist in the shops ; later he became 
 foreman and was serving as chief clerk in the 
 master mechanic's office, when he was appointed, 
 December 14, 1899, general foreman of the shops 
 at Council Bluffs on the opening of the Omaha 
 division to traffic. Since 1889 he has been con- 
 tinuously in the service of the Central, except 
 
 a twelvemonth during 1892 and '93, when he 
 was under the tutelage of a private teacher 
 studying higher mathematics, fitting himself for 
 a broader field in his chosen calling. 
 
 Mr. Dana is a member of the Masonic ord.r, 
 holding membership in Excelsior Lodge No. 97, 
 and Chapter No. 23, at Freeport, Illinois. He 
 became a charter member of the Benevolent and 
 Protective Order of Elks when a lodge of that 
 order was instituted at Council Bluffs. With 
 practical experience and special study, Mr. Dana 
 has laid the foundation for a successful career 
 as a railroad man. 
 
 LWOOD E. BAER, chief clerk in the 
 superintendent's office at Cherokee, 
 Iowa, began railroad work at Newell, 
 la., in 1887, as station clerk. Learn- 
 ing telegraphy he served for a short time as 
 operator on the Mason City & Ft. Dodge R. R., 
 but soon returned to the Illinois Central as agent 
 and operator at Barnum, where he served one 
 year and two months. Transferred to the 
 superintendent's operator clerk and after two 
 years and nine months service was appointed 
 stenographer, having learned that art. April 
 15, 1892, he was appointed chief clerk to the 
 superintendent and has since filled that important 
 position with business tact and judgment. 
 
 Mr. Baer is a native of Elkhart county, Ind., 
 born January 28, 1864. His parents shortly 
 after moved to Michigan and thence to Kansas, 
 where our subject received his education in the 
 schools of Burlington. On attaining his ma- 
 jority Mr. Baer engaged in stock farming for 
 two years at West Plains, Missouri, and then 
 went to Iowa, where he began his railroad career 
 on the date above mentioned. 
 
 Mr. Baer was married in Washington, D. 
 C., October 18, 1892, to Miss Edith E. Meyer. 
 One son, Francis M. has been born of this union. 
 Our subject is a member of Speculative Lodge, 
 Xo. 307, A. F. and A. M., Burning Bush 
 Chapter, No. 90, R. A. M., Crusade Commandery
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 545 
 
 No. 39, K. T., all of Cherokee ; and, with his wife, 
 is a member of the Order of Eastern Star. He 
 was initiated into the mysteries of. the Nobles of 
 the Mystic Shrine in Kaaba Temple, at Daven- 
 port ; also a member of the insurance order 
 Highland Nobles, of Cherokee. Mr. Baer has 
 avoided as much as possible all political prefer- 
 ments, but at the earnest solicitations of his 
 friends he consented to become a candidate for 
 the position of treasurer of the school board, to 
 which he was elected by a handsome majority. 
 
 ENJAMIN E. HARRELL, an engineer 
 on the Louisiana division of the Illi- 
 nois Central, entered the service of the 
 company in 1891. He began railroad 
 work on the Louisville & Nashville R. R. and 
 was afterward with the Atchison, Topeka & 
 Santa Fe, before coming to the Illinois Central, 
 where he now has a run, on the Louisiana divi- 
 sion, between McComb City, and Canton Missis- 
 sippi. Mr. Harrell was born on January 21, 
 1863. in Richmond, Virginia. He was united to 
 a .Miss Panky, and has five children. Socially, 
 he is member of Division No. 196, B. of L. E., 
 also the Elks organization, of McComb City, 
 where he resides, and is a respected citizen. 
 
 jtjtjtjtjtjt 
 
 OO. BRICE, a young and rising con- 
 ductor in the freight service of the 
 ]_l Ho mi 110 ' 5 Central, on the Louisiana 
 division, was born in Atlanta, Ga. 
 His father was a scene painter, by profession, 
 and an artist of great merit, who had studied 
 abroad. Mr. Brice began his career on the Ala- 
 bama & G. P. R. R. where he was for two years 
 assistant yard master. Going to Knoxville, he 
 was appointed chief clerk to the superin- 
 tendent, working in that capacity three years, 
 
 and from there to the Sea-board Air Line. He 
 then came to McComb City, and took a position 
 as clerk, .afterward as switchman, then as brake- 
 man, and in November 1899, was promoted to 
 conductor, where he is now serving. Mr. Brice 
 married Miss Pettigrew, of Wesson, Mississippi. 
 They have one child, Bessie Lee. He was for- 
 merly secretary of Pearl River Lodge, No. 264, 
 of McComb City, and has kindly furnished the 
 Historical company with the following data: 
 
 Pearl River Lodge, No. 264, was organized 
 on August 28, 1888, with the following charter 
 members ; W. W. Spurlock, Chief ; J. E. Kelly, 
 B. T. Brosiel, Z. T. Marsalis, J. M. Cousins, E. 
 D. Iron, H. A. Robinson, G. E. McCann, I. T. 
 Barnes, and J. W. Waddell. The Lodge now 
 has one hundred members, and is in an excel- 
 lent condition, paying three hundred dollars 
 monthly to the Grand Lodge. The officers at 
 the present time are: G. E. Benton, Master; B. 
 A. Rhodes, Master of Finance ; W. H. Davis, 
 Conductor ; T. P. Haddock, Secretary, and H. 
 O. Brice, Collector. 
 
 JAMES WOOD, an Illinois Central engi- 
 neer, whose home is in Dubuque, Iowa, 
 has been employed on what is now a part, 
 of the Illinois Central system that crosses 
 Iowa, longer than any other man in the state. 
 He began with construction work in December, 
 1855, under Colonel R. D. Mason, when he was 
 a mere boy, doing the work of a rodsman under 
 Civil Engineer Provost. The line was known 
 then as the Dubuque & Pacific Railroad. The 
 road was completed as far as Julien in 1856, 
 but the track was not laid to Independence until 
 the year 1859. In 1859 Mr. Wood began firing, 
 running west from Dubuque, but after eighteen 
 months of this kind of work he went to Nashville, 
 Tenn., where he was employed by the Govern- 
 ment as engineer during the war. . Soon after 
 this, however, he was taken sick and returned 
 to Dubuque where he spent six or seven years 
 before he entirely recovered. When he again
 
 546 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 resumed his work, his run was on the divisions 
 north and south from Centralia, 111., where he 
 was employed for five months. Just before the 
 Illinois Central company leased the Dubuque & 
 Sioux City line, Mr. Place wrote,- our subject 
 to join him at Dubuque, and since that time he 
 has been with the Illinois Central company. He 
 has been identified with railroading in nearly 
 every stage of its development. He has seen 
 strap rails in Pennsylvania ; he began firing on a 
 wood burner and brought the first coal burner 
 into the state of Iowa. 
 
 SLEECK STEARNS, engineer of a 
 stationary engine at Waterloo, is a na- 
 tive of the town of Castleton, Rensse- 
 laer county, N. Y. He first began rail- 
 roading with the New York Central & Hudson 
 River Railroad, running between Albany and 
 Poughkeepsie. Shortly after this, however, he 
 was engaged on the river boats and from there 
 transferred to the California trade. In 1854, 
 he was employed as engineer of the famous 
 "North Star" that became a part of the govern- 
 ment fleet during the Civil war, and in this ca- 
 pacity ran between New York and Aspinwall 
 for about six months and was in port when the 
 first train crossed on the Isthmus Railroad. 
 Later he served on the "Schuyler" and the 
 "Anna", boats on the Hudson river. In Janu- 
 ary 1856, Mr. Stearns married and moved to 
 Iowa where he lived on a farm until early in 
 1861, and was serving on the United States Grand 
 Jury when the Civil war broke out. In July, 
 of the same year, he returned to New York and 
 operated the engine of the "Corning" until fall 
 and then served on the "Andrew Harder" until 
 the river froze over in December. Mr. Stearns 
 then sent for his family to join him in New 
 York. When the last named boat was leased 
 to the government our subject was sent with it 
 around Hiltonhead, and subsequently served for 
 a short time on the "Ohio" and the "Austin". In 
 
 1873 Mr. Stearns again came west and in 
 August of that year began work on the Dubuque 
 division of the Dubuque & Sioux City RaLroad. 
 Next he served as fireman and hostler for six 
 years in the round house at Waterloo, then 
 seventeen years on freight and passenger runs. 
 Mr. Stearns sat on the right side of the engine 
 that pulled the first passenger train on the Man- 
 chester & Cedar Rapids line, but later took a 
 freight run from Waterloo to Lyle. December 
 II, 1896, owing to failing vision, he retired from 
 the line and ran a hoisting engine in the yards 
 until October i, 1897, and since this date has 
 had charge of the stationary engine at the shops 
 at Waterloo. Although Mr. Stearns has spent 
 many years on the railroad and his engine has 
 several times left the track and piled up in the 
 ditch, he never met with a serious injury. 
 
 Socially our subject affiliates with Division 
 No. 114, B. of L. E., of Waterloo, of which he 
 has been a member since 1884. 
 
 Mr. Stearns was married at Castleton, N. 
 Y., to Miss Mary Elizabeth Munger, and to 
 them have been born eight children, seven of 
 whom are living. John Graham, whose home is 
 at Memphis, Tenn. ; Ida, died at the age of four 
 weeks ; Frederick Henry, an engineer on the 
 Waterloo division; Frank P., at Mitchell, S. 
 Dak. ; Marian, wife of George Barrows, of Chi- 
 cago; Bessie M., wife of A. W. Gurnsey, of Chi- 
 cago; Joseph, living in Chicago; and Dollie, who 
 still makes her home under the parental roof. 
 
 IDNEY J. HARPER, the capable and 
 popular foreman of the Illinois Central 
 round house, at McComb City, Miss., 
 has held that position since 1897. He 
 entered the service of the Illinois Central in 1887 
 as an apprentice in the McComb City shops, 
 and was for a time after finishing, in the employ 
 of the Southern Pacific R. R. as a machinist in 
 Texas, and in New Orleans. Mr. Harper was 
 born in New Orleans on May 22, 1869, and is a
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 547 
 
 son of John Harper, whose biography appears 
 elsewhere in this work. Miss Mildred Burton 
 of Greensburg, Louisiana, became the wife of 
 Mr. Harper, and two children have been born to 
 them ; Russell and Sidney. Both Mr. Harper 
 and his wife are adherents of the Presbyterian 
 church. He belongs to the Masonic Order, the 
 Knights of Pythias, Knights of Honor, and 
 Modern Woodmen of the World. 
 
 A force of seventy-five men are under the 
 supervision of Mr. Harper, keeping him busy. 
 He is serving in his present capacity with the 
 best results, and is discharging his duties with 
 fidelity and promptness. 
 
 S. EARNIST, conductor on the Am- 
 boy division, Illinois Central Rail- 
 road, was born in Delphi, Carroll 
 county, Indiana, March 17, 1854. 
 He was educated in the schools of Butler county, 
 Iowa, whither the family had moved in 1857, 
 working on his father's farm in summer and at- 
 tending school in winter. In 1875 ne entered the 
 service of the B. C. R. & N. R. R. as a laborer 
 on a section where he remained one year. In 
 1880 he began braking on the same road, remain- 
 ing in that position until the spring of 1882 when 
 he went to Wadina, Minnesota, and was con- 
 nected with the Northern Pacific Elevator Co. 
 for two years. In the spring of 1884, Mr. 
 Earnist began braking for the Northern Pacific 
 and in the autumn of the same year was promoted 
 tc conductor, and remained with the company 
 until March 1889, when he went to Chadron, 
 Nebraska, and in September accepted a position 
 as brakeman on the F. E. & M. V. R. R. of the 
 Northwestern R. R. system, but at the end of 
 sixty days his ability was recognized by promo- 
 tion to conductor which position he continued 
 tn hold until July 1892. His service with the 
 I. C. R. R. began in March 1893, when he ac- 
 cepted a position as brakeman at Freeport, and 
 in. the following November, was promoted to 
 
 conductor, where he remains to date. On the 
 26th of March, 1899, Mr. Earnist met with an 
 accident in which he had a narrow escape from 
 death. While at Dixon, 111., he stepped in front 
 oi' a moving train, and fell between the rails, 
 three trucks passing over him without injury. 
 July n, 1874, Mr. Earnist was married to 
 Miss Maggie Northfoss, of Greene, Iowa. Mrs. 
 Earnist was born October 8, 1854. By her union 
 with Mr. Earnist she is the mother of three chil- 
 dren : William W., born April 5, 1875, is a con- 
 ductor on the I. C. R. R. residing in Freeport; 
 Lester L., born December 17, 1876, at home, is 
 also a conductor on the I. C. R. R., and makes 
 his home in Freeport ; Marie V., born June 19, 
 1881, was educated in the public schools and is 
 now living at home engaged in teaching music. 
 The family are regular attendants of the First 
 Baptist church of Freeport. Mr. Earnist has 
 been a member of the O. R. C. since 1887 and has 
 served as an officer several times, is also a 
 member of the A. O. U. W., and votes the Re- 
 publican ticket. 
 
 JAMES E. LIPSEY, conductor on the 
 Memphis division, has been in railroad 
 service since his boyhood and has never 
 been occupied in any other field of 
 labor. His birth occurred in Lafayette county, 
 Mississippi, May 4, 1854. He is a son of A. G. 
 and L. B. (Marquette) Lipsey, the latter of whom 
 is residing at Water Valley, Mississippi, while 
 the former died a short time after the boy was 
 born. After attending the schools of Water Val- 
 ley, Mr. Lipsey entered the employ of the Mis- 
 sissippi Central office as office boy and attending 
 to the mail. When older he secured a place in 
 a foundry and for eighteen months was employed 
 in that department. Securing a position as 
 brakeman he ran between Canton, Mississippi, 
 and Jackson, Tennessee, three years and eight 
 months under Conductor J. W. Rust. On pro- 
 motion he was given the same run for eleven 
 years before being transferred to Memphis, on
 
 548 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 which division he ran three years and was then 
 promoted to the passenger service in which he 
 has, at the present time been engaged over ten 
 years. October 16, 1883 is the date of the wed- 
 ding of Mr. Lipsey to Miss Augusta Hoke who 
 is a native of Pittsboro, Mississippi t -and was a 
 resident of Water Valley at the time of the wed- 
 ding. They are the parents of three children, 
 James E., Wiley Hoke and Ray Gates. The 
 family attend the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 Mr. Lipsey is a member of Memphis Divi- 
 sion No. 175, O. R. C. In his nearly thirty years 
 in the operative department of the railroad and 
 over thirty years of service of all kinds, he has 
 shown himself efficient in every station in which 
 he has been placed and his steady rise and long 
 continuance in the train service show that he 
 is a man to be trusted wherever he may be 
 placed. 
 
 McCOURT, superintendent of the 
 Chicago division of the Illinois Cen- 
 L Q tral, began his railroad career in May 
 1881, as a track man at Williams, 
 In 1882 he went to Fort Dodge and se- 
 cured a position as brakeman which he retained 
 until the fall of the following year when he was 
 promoted to the position of conductor. During 
 the following seven years he was in charge of 
 freight trains in all parts of the Iowa division, 
 and incidentally took an occasional extra pas- 
 senger run. During the winter of 1887-8 and 
 the following spring he did construction work 
 on the Sioux Falls branch. 
 
 In 1890 Mr. McCourt was made agent at 
 Cherokee, Iowa, and later was appointed train 
 master of the two branches that radiate from the 
 main line, at that point, and in April, 1892, was 
 transferred to the main line. Early in 1896 he 
 was appointed superintendent of the Amboy 
 division and located in the city of Amboy, but 
 in April of the same year, was again transferred 
 to Carbondale, 111., where he remained as super- 
 intendent until his promotion to the Chicago 
 division in the spring of 1900. 
 
 Iowa. 
 
 Mr. McCourt was born in Glasgow, 
 Scotland, but came to America with his parents 
 when he was quite small. He was united in 
 marriage, at Newell, Iowa, to Miss Eva I. Lee, 
 of that city, and four children, Grace, Lee T., 
 Jennie and Everett, have been born to them. 
 Socially Mr. McCourt affiliates with the Masonic 
 fraternity, holding his membership in Lodge No. 
 38, and has attained the Knight Templar degree. 
 
 ILLIAM ALFRED KELLOXD, 
 assistant general passenger agent 
 of the southern lines of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company, and 
 oi" the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad Com- 
 pany, with headquarters at Louisville, Ky., was 
 born at Montreal, Canada, in 1854 and is a son 
 of Robert Kellond, who is still a resident of that 
 city; entered the railroad service in March 1870 
 in the audit office of the Grand Trunk Railway 
 at Montreal, Canada ; was subsequently trans- 
 ferred to the mechanical department of the same 
 line, where he remained until Oct. 1880, when 
 he was chief clerk of the mechanical department 
 on the Western division with office at Stratford, 
 Ontario ; resigned to accept position in the law 
 department of the Louisville & Nashville Rail 
 road Company, at Louisville, Ky., in which he 
 acted as secretary to chief attorney, and sub- 
 sequently as chief clerk of the law department 
 until February i, 1885, when he became chief 
 clerk of the general manager's office, same line ; 
 was appointed assistant to general manager 
 March 31, 1887; resigned this position June i, 
 1887, to become general manager of the pig iron 
 business of Geo. H. Hull & Co., Louisville : re- 
 turned to service of Louisville & Nashville Rail- 
 road Co., January i, 1888, as assistant to vice- 
 president, a year later was re-appointed assistant 
 to general manager, and on November i, 1890, 
 became chief clerk of the second vice-president's 
 office of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, 
 at Chicago: July i. 1895. appointed to his present
 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 SSI 
 
 position, assistant general passenger agent 
 Southern Lines, same company and of the Yazoo 
 & Mississippi Valley Railroad Company, with 
 headquarters at New Orleans. On the acquisi- 
 tion of the Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern 
 R. R., by the Illinois Central, the office was trans- 
 ferred to the present headquarters at Louisville, 
 Ky. Under the jurisdiction of Mr. Kellond there 
 are three division passenger agents, located re- 
 spectively at Cincinnati, Memphis and New Or- 
 leans, with a force of five city passenger agents 
 located at different points in the South, and seven 
 traveling passenger agents. Mr. Kellond, as 
 assistant general passenger agent, reports to Mr. 
 A. II. Hanson, general passenger agent of the 
 Illinois Central system, whose headquarters are 
 in Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Kellond was married in 1875 to Miss 
 Fannie J. Lapham, of Montreal, and has six sons 
 and one daughter. While in Montreal Mr. 
 Kellond was prominent in Odd Fellow circles 
 and held the position of grand secretary of the 
 Lodge of Quebec, which body he was instrumen- 
 tal in forming. 
 
 W. REEVES, one of the most 
 interesting suburban conductors on 
 the Illinois Central, began rail- 
 roading on the Toledo, Ann Arbor 
 & Northern Michigan in 1886. He first began 
 as a section hand at Toledo, under roadmaster 
 Henry Smith, remaining in that service one year, 
 after which he went into road service as freight 
 brakeman, running from Toledo to Ann Arbor, 
 continuing in that capacity the same length 
 of time. 
 
 He then gave up railroading for three yeans 
 but in 1891 he accepted a position on the Illinois 
 Central as brakeman in the suburban service, 
 which he retained for ten months, when he 
 received a promotion, as all faithful workers will, 
 to baggageman ; he remained in that capacity 
 
 30 
 
 for one year, then for the following year 
 he served as collector, when he was promoted 
 tc conductor, which position he now holds. In 
 1896 an accident occured which laid him up for 
 nine weeks with three broken ribs. He belongs 
 to Division No. i, O. R. C. Mr. Reeves married 
 Miss Mary E. McClintock, of Lebanon, Ohio. 
 
 LEXANDER BLODGETT, conductor 
 in the freight service of the Illinois 
 Central, began his railroad career at 
 Van Home, Iowa, with the Chicago, 
 Milwaukee & St. Paul line, as brakeman, in 
 January 1882, remaining in that service ten and 
 a half years, the latter three years as conductor. 
 In August 1892 he joined the forces of the 
 Union Pacific, braking in the freight service eight 
 months and for the three following months was 
 in the same capacity with the Chicago & Great 
 Western. After a short experience in the dray 
 business at Perry, Iowa, he again entered upon 
 a railroad career at Moberly, Missouri, with the 
 Wabash, and eight months later purchased a 
 lunch counter at New Franklin, Missouri, which 
 he conducted for a few months. To a railroad 
 man another career is irksome and August 4, 
 1894, Mr. Blodgett entered the service of the 
 Illinois Central. After only ten days service as 
 brakeman he was placed in charge of a train and 
 since the fall of 1894 he has had the local run 
 between Chicago and Bloomington, one of the 
 hardest runs on the line. 
 
 Mr. Blodgett was born at Montour, Tama 
 county, Iowa, June 3, 1862, and was married 
 April 18, 1887, at Perry, Iowa, to Miss Lillie 
 A. Woodward. They are the parents of two 
 children, Zera and Avelle. He is a member of 
 the Masonic order, having passed through the 
 degrees of the Blue Lodge, Mystic Star, No. 
 758 and Valley Consistory of Chicago. He holds 
 membership in Amigo Lodge No. 482, Knights
 
 552 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 of Pythias and Division No. i, O. R. C. Mr. 
 I'.lodgett is a typical railroad man, alert and 
 active, with a keen sense of his responsibilities 
 and a determination to do his duty as he sees it. 
 
 OENRY A. KNOWLTON, better known 
 among railroad employes as "Hank" 
 ]_[ \\ Knowlton, is an Illinois Central engi- 
 neer and makes his home in Dnbuque, 
 Iowa. He first began firing at Dubuque August 
 5. 1869, on a switch engine, and first ran on the 
 road with Ben Wattles for his engineer on No. 
 132. August 1 6, 1872, he was set up to engineer 
 of a switch engine which, with the exception 
 of an occassional run on the line with engine 
 No. 143, occupied his attention during the fol- 
 lowing winter. During the summer of 1873, 
 Mr. Knowlton was given a freight run which he 
 held until 1885, when he accepted his present 
 passenger run from Waterloo to Dubuque. Mr. 
 Knowlton's railroad career has been remark- 
 ably free from wrecks. Once, however, in May 
 1896, his engine left the track and ran into the 
 ditch, but the engineer fortunately escaped with- 
 out injury. 
 
 August 14, 1897, Mr. Knowlton was mar- 
 ried in Waterloo, to Miss Isabella Saunders. 
 Socially he affiliates with Waterloo Division, No. 
 114, B. of L. E. 
 
 rj=x\RANK B. HARRIMAN, superintendent 
 r=<^ of the Dubuque division of the Illinois 
 J_[ Central, began a railroad career Feb. 
 
 12, 1879, when he became an appren- 
 tice in the civil engineering and bridge depart- 
 ments, serving until February 1883. From the 
 hitter date to July 1886 he served as assistant 
 mad-master and then became transit-man and 
 resident engineer of the Chicago, Madison & 
 Northern during the construction of that branch. 
 In September 1887 he was appointed assistant 
 
 engineer on construction of the Cherokee and 
 Dakota road filling that position until December, 
 following. Until January i, 1890, he was road 
 supervisor of the Dubuque division, the follow- 
 ing year served as trainmaster of the Cherokee 
 & Dakota branch and the next year in the sai in- 
 capacity on the Freeport division. From the 
 first of January to the first of August 1892 Mr. 
 1 larriman served as secretary to the superinten- 
 dent of the Freeport division. Promoted to the 
 superintendency of the division he served in 
 that capacity until January I, 1895, when the 
 Dubuque division was added to his jurisdiction. 
 October i, 1895 the divisions were separated 
 and Mr. Harriman assigned to the Dubuque divi- 
 sion which has since been his field of labor. He 
 has had extensive experience in several depart- 
 ments of operative railroading, well fitting him 
 for the duties he is called upon to perform. 
 
 H. FENNER, engineer at Jackson 
 Tenn., has been engaged in rail- 
 O road work since the spring of 1882, 
 "when he entered the shops of the 
 Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans road at Jack- 
 son, Tenn., remaining eighteen months, going 
 thence to Cairo he worked in the shops there, 
 fired for a time and ran a switch engine in the 
 yards, and the engine on the bridge incline. 
 After six months on the left side of the cab be- 
 tween Jackson to East Cairo in freight service, 
 hr was examined at Water Valley and promoted 
 in the fall of 1886 and was assigned to the main 
 line north from Jackson. In the spring of 
 1896 he was given a preferred freight run which 
 has been his field of labor ever since except when 
 in extra passenger service. He had the distinc- 
 tion of handling the first consolidated engine, 
 No. 603, that was run south of the Ohio on the 
 Central, on which occasion he pulled many offi- 
 cials of the road. His only serious accident 
 was received in the spring of 1896, by jumping 
 to save himself in a wreck near Wickliffc, Ky.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 553 
 
 Mr. Fenner is a native of Tennessee. He 
 \\as married at East Cairo, to Miss Florence 
 McDonald. Their four children are: Dixey 
 ( )scar, Fantine, Vivian May and Richard Jones. 
 
 Mr. Fenner is a member of Division No. 
 93, l'>. of L. E. ; the Knights of Honor and the 
 Knights of Pythias, of Jackson, Term. Mr. 
 Fcnner lives in a comfortable home at No. 149 
 West Deadric street, which he built in 1897. 
 
 
 JOHN J. GAVEN, the efficient trainmas- 
 ter of the St. Louis, Brooklyn and Eldo- 
 rado districts of the Illinois Central, 
 entered the service of the company at 
 Mcndota, 111., in 1872, as a messenger boy and 
 in June 1873 was made night operator, holding 
 that position one year when he was sent to Am- 
 boy as day operator in the dispatcher's office, 
 continuing there eight months when he was pro- 
 moted to dispatcher where he served one year. 
 He was then sent to Champaign where he 
 served in the same capacity for one year; the 
 following two years were spent in Chicago as 
 dispatcher, at the end of which time he was sent 
 to Centralia. In 1880 he left the I. C. and ac- 
 cepted a position with the M. K. & T. Ry. re- 
 maining there until 1894 when he returned to 
 the I. C. as chief train dispatcher at Amboy, 
 where he began work as a dispatcher. He re- 
 mained in Amboy until July 1896 when he was 
 sent to the St. Louis division as chief train dis- 
 patcher, but at the end of two weeks was given 
 his present position. While in the service of 
 tin M. K. & T. at Denison and Houston, Texas, 
 he served as chief train dispatcher and train- 
 inaster. Up to the time he left the I. C. in 1880 
 he had run trains on all divisions owned by the 
 road in Illinois. Mr. Gaven was born at Men- 
 dota. 111., and married Miss Dora Riddell. 
 I hey have one son, John J. Jr., aged eleven 
 years. ( )ur subject is a charter member of the 
 Train Dispatchers' Association which was or- 
 ganized at Louisville, Ky., in 1884. 
 
 T. GARRETT, freight conductor at 
 Jackson, Term., has had but a short 
 L Q railroad career, but his rise has been 
 rapid. He entered the service of 
 the Central October 28, 1889, as a laborer on 
 the section at Lamar, Miss., and nine months 
 later was made foreman at which he was em- 
 ployed fifteen months. Coming to Jackson, he 
 secured a place as brakeman on the Jackson dis- 
 trict under John C. Muse, in the freight service. 
 Three and a half years later he was promoted 
 to conductor and for a year ran an extra. His 
 first regular car was No. 28246 on which he 
 ran three years and then was changed to No. 
 98210, his home on wheels. All his service has 
 been on the Jackson district. 
 
 Mr. Garrett's nativity was at Toone, Tenn., 
 and it was here he was married to Miss Nannie 
 Hill. Their one child, Robert was born in 1890. 
 Mr. Garrett has been successful in his work and 
 frugal, laying away something for a rainy day. 
 He erected a fine home in 1893, at No. 286 
 West Chester street. The only serious injury 
 sustained by Mr. Garrett was on January 21, 
 1895, when he was thrown from a car on a 
 trestle, breaking his ankle from which he was 
 confined ninety-five days. He is a member of 
 the Jackson Division No. 149, O. R. C. 
 
 W. ROOKER, freight conductor 
 residing at Jackson, Tennessee, 
 Q has been a railroad man since 
 1880. That year he secured a 
 situation on the Louisville & Nashville as brake- 
 man running between Memphis and Paris, Tenn., 
 and later as switchman in the Memphis yards 
 until January 1881. Entering the service of the 
 Mobile & Ohio Railroad in February following 
 he served as brakeman nearly a year, the last 
 few weeks on passenger trains, and then was 
 promoted to freight conductor until December 
 1883. Coming to Jackson, Tenn., he entered 
 the service of the Illinois Central and was em-
 
 554 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ployed as a switchman, conductor and yard- 
 master until 1885, excepting three months he 
 was with the Iron Mountain road running be- 
 tween Little Rock and Texarkana. On return 
 to the Central he served as yardmaster until 
 promotion to extra freight conductor in Decem- 
 ber 1888, and in August following was assigned 
 a regular car in the preferred service and has 
 filled that position since. Mr. Rooker was born 
 in Madison county and reared in Crockett Co., 
 Tennessee. He comes from a railroad family. 
 His brothers Andrew J. and Jesse P. Rooker 
 are conductors on the Louisville & Nashville 
 road. 
 
 The wife of Mr. Rooker was Miss Annie 
 A. James, of Jackson, and has borne him four 
 children : Elnora, William Wiggins, Jesse Carl, 
 and Mary Janie. Mr. Rooker is a member of 
 Jackson Division, No. 149, O. R. C. He has 
 always been a very successful man both as an 
 an operative and in a financial way. He is the 
 owiier of a comfortable home at 290 Clinton 
 street. 
 
 JAMES A. WOLF, conductor on the 
 Louisiana division of the Central, has 
 been railroading for upwards of thirty 
 years. He began in 1869, entering the 
 service of the New Orleans, Jackson & Great 
 Northern as brakeman running between Can- 
 ton and the southern terminus. After four 
 years as brakeman he served as baggageman 
 one year before promotion to conductor in the 
 freight service at which he was engaged until 
 the road changed hands in 1883. Going to 
 Texas he became brakeman on the Texas & 
 Pacific road for one month, before being pro- 
 moted to conductor which he held for one year, 
 resigning on account of ill health. Returning 
 to New Orleans he took charge of a baggage 
 car on the Y. & M. V. between the Crescent 
 City and Baton Rouge and was soon after pro- 
 moted to be conductor and brought the first 
 train out of Vicksburg after the road was de- 
 
 livered to the company from the hands of tl 
 contractors. After a year's service here he r 
 turned to the employ of the Illinois Central 
 August 1885, and after braking for a short tin 
 he was promoted to the freight service in whk 
 he is at present engaged. 
 
 Mr. Wolf is a native of St. Helena Paris 
 La., born February 15, 1853. His fathe 
 Moses Wolf, a merchant, died in 1897 while tl 
 mother, Sabrina Moore in maidenhood, died 
 1865. Mr: Wolf was educated in the schoo 
 of Amite and Greensburg, La. He is a mer 
 her of lodge No. 304 O. R. C. 
 
 J. CONRATH, foreman of the boil 
 shops at Waterloo, Iowa, is a nati' 
 Q of Rheinish Prussia, Germ'y, whe 
 he was born November 25, 1862, b 
 was brought to America by his parents in in fa: 
 cy. He began his trade by serving an appre: 
 ticeship of two and a half years with the Amei 
 can Boiler Works, at Chicago, and two yea 
 more with the New York, Chicago & St. Lou 
 Kailroad under C. W. Miller. Subsequent 
 Mr. Conrath was employed two years in tl 
 Wabash shops, six months with the Filer Boil 
 Works in Chicago, after which he returned 
 the American Boiler Works for a short tim 
 His next venture was with the Missouri Vall< 
 Boiler Works at Leavenworth, Kan., where 1 
 remained seven or eight months ; then with tl 
 C. R. I. & P. Railroad at Chicago for five year 
 with Swift & Company, Chicago, at the sto< 
 yards for a short time ; one year and a ha 
 with the American Boiler Company, of Chicag< 
 with Porter & Jackson, South Chicago, for 
 short time; with the Western Indiana Railroa 
 Eighty-third street, Chicago, for a year and 
 half; with the Texas Pacific, near Pine Blui 
 Ark., for about nine months ; after which 1 
 returned to Chicago and spent one summer i 
 the shops of the Architectural Iron Works Con 
 I'.any. March 4, 1894, Mr. Conrath was en
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 555 
 
 ployed by the Illinois Central Company as assis- 
 tant foreman at the shops at Burnsicle, Chicago, 
 am! March i, 1899, he was sent to Waterloo, 
 Iowa, to take charge of the boiler shops at that 
 place. 
 
 November 15, 1895, Mr. Conrath was 
 united in marriage to Miss Mary Thien, a native 
 of Chicago, and their home has been made happy 
 by the presence of a daughter, Viola. Frater- 
 nally, our subject is a member of the Catholic 
 ( )rdor of Foresters. 
 
 AMUEL P. JONES, an engineer on the 
 Y. & M. V. R. R. has been in the em- 
 ploy of the company ten years. He 
 first began as a fireman under En- 
 gineer William Fritz and was engaged in that 
 capacity for four years. He then served as 
 hostler for one year, at the end of which time 
 ht was examined and promoted to engineer and 
 for the following year ran a switch engine in 
 the yards at Memphis. He then entered the 
 freight service and now has a regular run be- 
 tween Memphis and Vicksburg on the Y. & 
 M. V. Ry. Mr. Jones is a native of Vicksburg, 
 Miss., where he was born September 6, 1872, a 
 son of Rev. John W. Jones. (See sketch of 
 Carey Jones on another page of this volume.) 
 Our subject has never had any wrecks nor has 
 he ever been injured. He is a member of Divi- 
 sion No. 283, B. of L. E., of Vicksburg. He 
 makes his home at 821 Main street, Memphis. 
 
 ]. COUGHLIN, former station 
 agent for the I. C. at Kankakee, 
 began his railroad career in 1877 
 as an assistant to the station agent 
 at Tolono, and remained there until 1878, when 
 he was removed on account of his age. He 
 
 then went with the American Express Company 
 as messenger between Tolono and Decatur, but 
 in July of the same year returned to the I. C.- 
 at Tolono, where he remained until February 
 1880, when he began braking on the Wabash; 
 but at the end of six weeks he returned to his 
 old place, remaining until 1884, when he was 
 sent to Kankakee as cashier. In January 1888, 
 he went to Effingham as agent; in January 1889, 
 to Kensington and February 9, 1889, back to 
 Kankakee as relief. In April 1891 he was sent 
 to Centralia as agent, August 1891, to Cham- 
 paign ; and in October 1892 returned to Kanka- 
 kee as agent and remained there until he re- 
 signed from the service of the road in 1899 
 to engage in business. Our subject was born 
 in Tolono, 111., in 1858 and is the father of an 
 interesting family of six children. 
 
 LLENDER R. BRECKENRIDGE, 
 foreman of the machine shops at 
 Waterloo, Iowa, began his railroad 
 career in the employ of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company in the capacity of 
 office boy in the office of T. W. Place, master 
 mechanic, at Waterloo, Iowa, February 4, 1888. 
 His father, Allender I. Breckenridge, had pre- 
 viously served in the capacity of time-keeper, 
 and was thus employed fourteen years. Sub- 
 sequently he entered the machine shop at 
 Waterloo, as machinist apprentice until Septem- 
 ber 10, '93, served as journeyman machinist for 
 three months and January i, 1894, he was made 
 gang foreman. October i, 1895, he was pro- 
 moted to his present position of foreman of the 
 machine shops. Mr. Breckenridge is a man of 
 more than ordinary ability both as a machinist 
 and a leader as may be deduced from the above 
 record. He is intelligent, thorough in all of his 
 work, rules those over whom he has authority 
 without friction and grasps every opportunity 
 to improve his methods of operation and also 
 improve his situation in life. Socially Mr.
 
 556 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Breckenridge affiliates with the Masonic Fra- 
 ternity in which he has taken the following de- 
 grees: Waterloo Lodge No. 105, F. & A. M. ; 
 Tabernacle Chapter No. 52 ; Ascalon Comman- 
 dcry No. 25 ; and El Kahir Temple, Nobles of 
 the Mystic Shrine, at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He 
 is also a member of Waterloo Lodge No. 290, 
 Helmet Lodge No. 89, Knights of Pythias, 
 Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and 
 also a member of the Columbia club of Water- 
 loo, an organization of the prominent men of 
 the city, which has done much to promote 
 the growth, and prosperity of the city. He was 
 born in Brooklyn, N. Y., September 10, 1872. 
 His brother, Walter W. Breckenridge, is also 
 a machinist in the Waterloo round house; his 
 father was formerly an employe of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, as previously stated ; and his 
 grandfather, J. C. Breckenridge, was superinten- 
 dent of the Meriden Cutlery Company, of Meri- 
 clen, Conn., until his death. 
 
 AREY JONES, the well known pas- 
 senger engineer on the Y. & M. V. 
 R. R. has been with the company 
 since 1884, beginning work as a 
 watchman in Leland, Miss., where he remained 
 one year. He then began as fireman with the 
 well known engineer, "Shorty" Erskins, and 
 after firing for about four years was promoted 
 to engineer and began on the old Clinton & Ft. 
 Hickey Ry. in Louisiana (the oldest railroad in 
 that state). He worked there four months and 
 then came to the Vicksburg division of the Y. 
 & M. V. R. R.-and took charge of an engine on 
 a work train and was also in the freight service 
 from 1889 to 1898, when he was put on a passen- 
 ger engine and since that time has been in the 
 regular passenger service now having a run be- 
 tween Memphis and Vicksburg. He is a native 
 of Yazoo county and was born March 4, 1864, 
 a son of Rev. John W. Jones, who was an M. E. 
 minister, and who also served as a major in the 
 
 civil war, taking part in all the battles through 
 out Mississippi. He is now deceased. Oui 
 subject has a brother who is now foreman on th< 
 V. S. & P. Ry. Mr. Jones is unmarried am 
 makes his home at No. 821 Main street, Mem 
 phis. He is a member of Division No. 281 
 B. of L. E., of Vicksburg, Miss. He is a char 
 ter member of Leland Lodge No. 77, K. of P., o 
 Leland, Miss. He has never been in any seri 
 ous wrecks while in the employ of the I. C. an< 
 has never been injured in any way. 
 
 
 W. CRUMM, chief train dispatche 
 at Jackson, Miss., has had man 
 'Q years experience in railroad work 
 He first began as operator for th 
 Illinois Central at Rosetta, Miss., serving fiv 
 months when he was transferred to Hays, in th 
 same state, as agent, remaining two years. Fol 
 lowing this, he served at Rockwell, Miss., an 
 Baton Rouge, La. Severing his connectio 
 with the Central he accepted a position as tn'iu 
 master at Blacksburg, South Carolina, and late 
 was made train dispatcher at Charleston, fror 
 which point he was transferred to Knoxvilh 
 Tenn., as chief train dispatcher. Returning 1 
 the Central he served as night operator at Rol 
 ling Fork, Miss., for a short time and then re 
 turned to Charleston where after a short time a 
 operator he was made chief train dispatcher, i 
 which capacity he served four years. Agai: 
 entering the employ of the Central he served a 
 night operator at Leland, Miss., three month 
 and three months as dispatcher at Vicksburj 
 when in 1898 he was assigned his present posi 
 tion as chief train dispatcher at Jackson. 
 
 Mr. Crumm, a native of Blosser, Miss 
 was born May n, 1869, a son of John Crumn 
 a farmer now residing near Dayton, Miss. -Mi 
 Crumm was married to Miss Ha McGee, o 
 Florence, South Carolina. They now reside a 
 No. no Clifton Terrace, in Jackson.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 557 
 
 JAMES S. MADDUX, locomotive engi- 
 neer, has been with the I. C. Railroad 
 Company since September 9, 1890, when 
 lie began as a machinist in the shops 
 at Memphis, Tenn., and worked in that position 
 until October 26, 1894, and then began as fire- 
 man 011 extras serving with Engineers P. S. 
 Law, C. J. Barnett, Mr. Shipman and others 
 until September 5, 1897. He was then examined 
 and promoted to engineer and took charge of 
 engine No. 82 on the Yazoo division. He has 
 since run both freight and passenger trains be- 
 tween Memphis and Canton, Miss., and Mem- 
 phis and Paducah, Ky., and now runs regular 
 between Memphis and Grenada in the freight 
 and passenger service. Our subject was born 
 in Tate county, Miss., March 23, 1873. He is a 
 son of Cicero H. Maddux, who was a farmer 
 of Tate county, but who is now deceased. Mr. 
 Maddux resides with his mother and two sisters 
 at No. 253 Rayburn ave., Memphis. He is a 
 member of William Renshaw Division No. 23, 
 B. of L. E., of Memphis. Although young, our 
 subject is a prominent and faithful employe of 
 the Illinois Central. 
 
 DAM R. BIGLEBEN, a very promi- 
 nent locomotive engineer, with a pas- 
 senger run between Memphis and 
 New Orleans, dates his connection 
 with the company from August 1883. He be- 
 gan his railroad career in 1872 as a fireman on 
 the Louisville & Nashville R. R. on the old style 
 "Dicky North" engine and helped lay track with 
 the same. After a service of five years as fire- 
 man he was promoted to engineer, serving as 
 such four years when he came to Memphis and 
 entered the employ of the Y. & M. V. Ry. and 
 was given a passenger run between Memphis and 
 New Orleans, where he is serving at the present 
 time, running into Memphis every fourth day. 
 ?ilr. Bigleben was born in Pittsburg, Pa., Aug. 
 4, 1853, a son of S. Bigleben, a molder by trade 
 who died when our subject was young. 
 
 Mr. Bigleben married Miss Josephine Roh- 
 nier, of Bowling Green, Ky., and to them have 
 been born ten children, five of whom are living, 
 Frank, John, Joe, Mary and Christine. Those 
 deceased are, Henry, Paul, Louise, Gertrude and 
 Lawrence. The family has a pleasant home in 
 Leland, Miss. Our subject owns considerable 
 valuable property in Memphis. Socially he is a 
 member of Division No. 281, B. of L. E., of 
 Vicksburg. He was in a large wreck at White 
 Oakville, Miss., but has never been injured. 
 
 A. REED, general yardmaster at 
 Freeport, 111., was born at Lockport, 
 O in that state, November 25, 1856. 
 His father, Samuel Reed was an old 
 railroad man having served from 1858 to 1885 
 as baggagemaster and check clerk at Sandoval. 
 111., for the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad. He 
 was born in Indiana in 1824, followed farming 
 in early life and since his retirement has been 
 living at Ramsay, 111. His wife, Jenica E. But- 
 ler, was born at Utica, New York, in 1826, and 
 died in 1888. Of their family nearly all are con- 
 nected with railroad work. The first of the 
 family is the subject of this sketch ; the second 
 is J. Edward, station agent for the Illinois Cen- 
 tral at Ramsey, Charles E., a twin brother of 
 Edward, was formerly in the employ of the Cen- 
 tral at Sandoval ; Nettie L. married Fred F. Rine- 
 hart and died in 1889 ; Harry is train dispatcher 
 for the Central at Clinton, 111. ; Jennie B., died 
 in 1894. F. A. Reed attended the public schools 
 at Sandoval, and at the age of fifteen secured 
 a place as messenger boy in the service of the 
 Ohio & Mississippi road and during the two 
 years of his service in that capacity learned 
 telegraphy. He served in various capacities 
 operator, baggageman, brakeman, at Sandoval, 
 until 1880, when he was appointed agent at 
 Trenton remaining in the service six months. 
 January i, 1881 he entered the service of the 
 Illinois Central as operator at Macon, 111., and a
 
 558 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 year later was transferred to Ramsay as station 
 agent where he remained a like period. His 
 next appointment was as train dispatcher at 
 Clinton, 111., remaining two years and eight 
 months. Because of all night work he resigned 
 and accepted a position of extra conductor until 
 May i, 1886, when he was made train dispatcher 
 at Amhoy, 111. Here he remained until in Jnne 
 1889, the date of his transfer to Chicago as dis- 
 patcher on that division. In October 1892, he 
 left the service of the Central to accept the super- 
 intendency of the St. Louis, Chicago & St. Paul 
 road at Alton, and in March 1893 became the 
 general yardmaster for the road at the same 
 point. In April 1896 he removed to Blooming- 
 ton accepting a situation with the Chicago & 
 Alton as night train master. In January 1897. 
 Mr. Reed returned to the service of the Illinois 
 Central as yardmaster at Centralia and in October 
 following was transferred to Rockford in the 
 same capacity. He was appointed general yard- 
 master at Freeport in August 1899. 
 
 Mr. Reed was married on March 21, 1877, 
 to Miss Leonora F. Weldon, of Sandoval. She 
 was born April 22, 1858 and died at Alton, in 
 1895. Two daughters were born to them, Clara 
 M., and Jane Ruth. 
 
 Mr. Reed is a member of the Masonic fra- 
 ternity having attained the degree of Royal 
 Arch Mason, and he is also an Odd Fellow. 
 He is republican in politics. 
 
 LEX. M. STEWART, a locomotive en- 
 gineer in the employ of the Y. & M. 
 V. Ry. began railroading in Scotland 
 as a wiper in the engine house, later 
 was fireman and afterward promoted to engi- 
 neer. In 1887 he came to America and began 
 work as engineer on the Canadian Pacific Ry. 
 later going to the M. K. & T. Ry. where he 
 served three years as engineer. He then came 
 to the I. C. and began work as hostler in the 
 shops in Chicago, but at the end of fourteen 
 
 months was transferred to the Y. & M. V., at 
 Yicksburg in October 1896. He has since re- 
 sided in Yicksburg running freight and now has 
 a regular run on engine No. 41 between Vicks- 
 burg and Wilson, La. Mr. Stewart is a native 
 of Scotland where he was born in November 
 1859, a son of Thomas Stewart, who was a car- 
 penter by trade and who died there. The re- 
 mainder of our subject's relatives reside in Scot- 
 land. Mr. Stewart married Miss Ella McEwen 
 and they have become the parents of eight chil- 
 dren, five of whom are now living. Socially 
 he is a member of Division No. 281, B. of L. E., 
 of Vicksburg. He has a comfortable home at 
 No. 1108 Washington street, Vicksburg. Mr. 
 Stewart is a man of decided literary tastes and 
 is a frequent contributer to magazines, papers, 
 etc. 
 
 OWARD COVINGTON, freight en- 
 gineer on the Y. & M. V. R. R. be- 
 gan his railroad career with the Texas 
 Pacific R. R. and gradually worked 
 himself up to engineer. He entered the employ 
 of the Y. & M. V. R. R. in 1890 and since that 
 time has been in the regular freight service run- 
 ning between Vicksburg and New Orleans. He 
 is one of the faithful and reliable employes of the 
 road. He resides at No. 723 S. Mulberry street, 
 Vicksburg, Miss. 
 
 ORACE BAKER, superintendent of the 
 Amboy division, is a native of St. 
 Louis, Missouri, born October u, 
 1859. He began his railroad career 
 in 1878 as clerk in the supply department of the 
 Missouri Pacific line, filling various subordinate 
 positions with the road until October 1885, when 
 he accepted the position of treasurer and pay- 
 master of the Havana, Rantoul & Western, serv- 
 ing until February 1887. From the latter date
 
 PATRICK KEENAN.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 561 
 
 until December 1890 he served as chief clerk 
 to the general superintendent of the Illinois 
 Central and while here received the appointment 
 of trainmaster of the Chicago district. In Sep- 
 tember 1891 he was appointed local freight agent 
 at Chicago and in December following was ap- 
 pointed superintendent of the Chicago division . 
 hi the spring of 1900 he was transferred to the 
 Amboy division with headquarters at Clinton, 
 111. Mr. Baker is a thoroughgoing railroad man 
 ami has won his advancement by hard work and 
 giving close atention to details. 
 
 he was put in the suburban service where he has 
 remained up to the present time, on engine No. 
 210, now No. 1410. In all his service he has 
 never suffered an injury. 
 
 Mr. Keenan married Miss Elizabeth Mc- 
 Kenna and they had seven children, four of whom 
 are living, Patrick, now in the freight office de- 
 partment, Frederick, Robert Emmet, who is the 
 champion seven year old cake walker of Chicago, 
 and Gladys. He is a member of Division No. 
 10, B. of L. E., of Burnside. 
 
 ***'.'*- ^ .**-.'* 
 
 ATR1CK KEENAN is a native of Ire- 
 land. He began railroading in 1873 
 on the Great Northern Railroad of Ire- 
 land as an office boy in the machinery 
 department at Dundalk, County Louth, where he 
 remained about ten months and then went in 
 the shops and served three years as an appren- 
 tice, then he was sent to Bundoran as foreman of 
 a branch road. He remained there ten months 
 when, owing to his desire for the road and his 
 failure on account of age to secure a position on 
 the ( Ireat Northern he resigned and went to Scot- 
 land, where he secured a position on the Cale- 
 donian Railroad as a fireman, where he remained 
 ten months when he returned to the Great 
 Northern, where he fired five years. 
 
 On June i, 1882 he came' to this country 
 and by June iQth of the same year began on the 
 Illinois Central as a fireman in yard service for 
 George Holmes and continued in that service 
 two years and then was on the road firing a 
 freight for Sid Hinckley about a year and Dennis 
 Canney for about one year. In September 1886 
 he was promoted to engineer and his first five 
 days running was done in the yards at Chicago, 
 on the old five spot. When he was examined for 
 engineer he stood number one in a class of twen- 
 ty-two. 
 
 He then went in freight service in the Chi- 
 cago and Middle division for fifteen months when 
 
 H. MOALES, a conductor on the 
 Louisiana division of the Illinois 
 Q Central, was born in New Or- 
 leans, December 31, 1863, a son 
 of W. H. and Salina Moales. The father was 
 a contractor and at one time served as sheriff 
 of Mobile. The father died in 1863 while the 
 mother passed away December 25, 1874. Mr. 
 Moales attended the public schools of New Or- 
 leans until the age of fourteen when he secured 
 a place as messenger boy in the service of the 
 American District Telegraph Company at New 
 Orleans remaining one year. For five years he 
 was collector on the French Market ferry, 
 second district ferry, and then accompanied Cap- 
 tain Rundlet to Morgan City, La., on the 
 Southern Pacific road, later he spent some time 
 carrying the mail with a brother between New 
 Iberia and Abbeville. Going to Texas he was 
 engaged some six months in the lumber camps 
 and then in 1880 began railroad work in Orange 
 county, Texas, on the L. & W. Railroad as sec- 
 tion man a short time and then was given a 
 situation in the round house at Orange. With- 
 in a short time he was given a place on the left 
 side of a cab of a switch engine and soon after 
 was sent over the line in the freight service. 
 The malarial climate giving him the ague Mr. 
 Moales was compelled to resign and returned 
 home. Securing a place in the service of the 
 Central he fired for a short time between New
 
 562 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Orleans and McComb City when illness com- 
 pelled him to resign. He later became brake- 
 man in the same service and was promoted in 
 1886, and has since been in charge of freight 
 trains. 
 
 December 20, 1887, Mr. Moales married 
 Miss Harnie Manbell of New Orleans, who died 
 December 16, 1890. April I, 1892 he married 
 Miss Alma Eastley of Friendship, La., to whom 
 have been born four children : William, Charles, 
 Hazel and Chester B. 
 
 Mr. Moales is a member of Division No. 
 108, O. R. C., of New Orleans. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Protestant Episcopal church and a 
 Democrat in politics. 
 
 A. SMITH, conductor on the 
 Louisiana division, of the Central.. 
 L Q is a native of the Crescent City, 
 his birth occurring September 17, 
 1864. He attended the public schools of New 
 Orleans until his sixteenth year when he went 
 to Texas and became clerk in one of the leading 
 hotels of Sherman, for one year. In 1881 he 
 entered the service of the Texas & Pacific road as 
 brakeman running between Sherman and Tex- 
 arkana about three years, receiving promotion to 
 conductor during the latter three months of this 
 time. Retiring from railroading he accepted a 
 position as commercial traveller for a Galveston 
 house which he held some two years resigning 
 to accept a position in the exposition building of 
 the. Cotton Exposition at New Orleans. At the 
 close of the exposition he returned to the service 
 of the Texas & Pacific road in the capacity of 
 brakeman remaining some six months. In 1887 
 he entered the service of the Illinois Central as 
 brakeman, running between Canton, Miss., and 
 New Orleans, receiving a promotion to conduc- 
 tor within eighteen months. Since that date he 
 has had charge of trains in the freight service 
 between the two points above named. 
 
 On the twenty-fifth of July 1889, Mr. Smitl 
 was married to Miss Alice Kornbeck, of Ne\ 
 Orleans, the place of her nativity. Two chil 
 dren have been born to them, Mark C. am 
 Alwyn. 
 
 Mr. Smith is a member of Crescent Cit 
 Division No. 108, O. R. C. He is a member o 
 the Presbyterian church, and in politics, ; 
 Democrat. 
 
 N. ARNOLD, a conductor in th 
 passenger service of the Louisian 
 
 L Q division, was born near Hammonc 
 
 La., May 25, 1855. Educated in th 
 public schools, he soon began doing for himsel 
 ir the lumber woods and afterwards was eti 
 gaged in the making of cotton-gins and pressei 
 In July 1875 he entered the service of the 111: 
 nois Central on the section and on October 8t 
 began braking on the Louisiana division. Thre 
 years later he was promoted to the freight sei 
 vice, running part of the- time on the grave 
 train. His promotion to the passenger servic 
 dates from 1891 since which time he has bee 
 running on the Louisiana division. 
 
 On April 16, 1879, the marriage of Mi 
 Arnold was celebrated* at Amite City, La., Mis 
 Florence A. Goodrich becoming his bride. Si 
 children have been born to them. 
 
 Mr. Arnold is a Mason an Odd Fellow an 
 a Knight of Pythias and is a member of th 
 Order of Railway Conductors. 
 
 JA. MORRIS, passenger conductor o 
 the New Orleans division of the Y. < 
 O M. V., was born in Atlanta, Ga., Apr 
 3, 1858, a son of Rev. G. W. and Mar 
 J. (Atkins) Morris both of whom are livin; 
 and now reside at Conley, Ga. The father is 
 minister of the Methodist Protestant church hav
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 563 
 
 ing been a very prominent member of the Geor- 
 gia conference for many years, over which he 
 has presided four terms. J. A. Morris was edu- 
 cated in the district schools of his native state 
 working on farms until the age of eighteen, 
 when he bought a half interest in a sawmill in 
 DeKalb county and was engaged in making 
 lumber for the market for a period of five years. 
 In 1882 he accepted a position on the Georgia 
 Pacific as brakeman running between Atlanta 
 and Birmingham, Ala. Within five months he 
 was promoted to freight conductor and filled that 
 "position until 1886. Coming west Mr. Morris 
 entered the employ of the L., N. O. & T., now 
 the Y. & M. V., beginning again at the foot of 
 the ladder. In two weeks he was promoted, 
 running in the freight service on the Vicksburg 
 division for one year when he was transferred 
 to the New Orleans division as conductor of 
 local freight and remained in that service until 
 September 1889. On that date he was promoted 
 t. the passenger service and has since had a run 
 north from New Orleans making the latter city 
 his home. 
 
 On the 2Oth of May, 1889, Mr. Morris and 
 Miss Cora Maxwell were married at McDonough, 
 Ga., the place of her nativity. One son was 
 born to them, Gurley, his birth occurring Janu- 
 ary 12, 1892. 
 
 Mr. Morris is a member of Vicksburg Di- 
 vision No. 231, O. R. C. He is a member of the 
 Methodist Protestant church and in politics is 
 a Democrat. 
 
 G. LEVY, ticket agent for the Illi- 
 nois Central at Effingham, 111., en- 
 Q tered the service of the company in 
 1880 as a helper at the station at 
 Rantoul, during which time he learned telegra- 
 phy. In 1883 he went to Cobden, 111., as agent 
 and operator. He later served as agent and 
 operator at various stations along the line until 
 
 1889, when he was made ticket and freight agent 
 at Effingham. At the expiration of four years 
 a freight agent was appointed to Effingham, 
 since which time he has served as ticket agent. 
 He is accommodating and courteous to all and 
 has the respect and confidence of those with 
 whom he comes in contact. Mr. Levy is a na- 
 tive of Alabama and was married in Cobden, 
 111., in 1887. 
 
 L. WILLIAMS, a conductor on the 
 New Orleans division of the Y. & 
 L Q M. V. road was born in Franklin 
 county, Ga., July 27, 1860, a son of 
 Johnson and Sarah (Turner) Williams who 
 died in 1870 and '71 respectively. A. L. Wil- 
 liams attended the private schools of his native 
 county and worked on his father's farm until 
 twenty-two years of age. In 1882 he entered 
 the service of the Georgia Pacific Railroad at 
 Austell, Ga., as time-keeper and assistant fore- 
 man and part of the time ran a work train. 
 After four months he became foreman of a 
 gang clearing off the right of way for a road 
 bed. Following this he became laborer on the 
 section and then secured a place as brakeman 
 in the freight service between Anderson, Ala., 
 and Atlanta, Ga., and later had his run extended 
 to Birmingham. In March 1883 he secured a 
 similar position on the Richmond & Danville 
 road and received promotion to a freight con- 
 ductorship in the fall of that year, running be- 
 tween Atlanta and Charlotte, N. C., for five 
 years. In 1887 he entered the service of the 
 F. R. & N. as freight conductor running be- 
 tween Fernandina and Tavares, Fla., where for 
 six months he served through the yellow fever 
 epidemic. He then joined the forces of the E. 
 T. V. & G. road, running ' a freight between 
 Macon and Rome, Ga., until 1889, at which time 
 he returned to the service of the Richmond & 
 Danville line in the freight service. In Septem- 
 ber 1889 he entered the service of the L. N. O.
 
 564 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 & T. as freight conductor between Vicksburg 
 and New Orleans until June 1899, serving part 
 of the time as extra passenger conductor. On 
 the last mentioned date, he was promoted to 
 the passenger service running between New Or- 
 leans and Vicksburg. 
 
 Mr. Williams was married December 24, 
 1896, to Miss Kate Duncan, a native of Mobile, 
 Ala. He is a Mason, having received the de- 
 grees of the chapter and commanclery, is a 
 Knight of Pythias and a Modern Woodman of 
 the World. He belongs to Division No. 231, 
 O. R. C. 
 
 tion at Vicksburg, becoming travelling car-in- 
 spector on the lines between Memphis and New 
 Orleans having jurisdiction over 455 miles. 
 
 Mr. Winder was married September 7, 
 1899, to Miss Ida Vandenberg, of Vicksburg. 
 Mr. Winder is a member of Washington Lodge 
 No. 4, K. of P., and the Modern Woodmen, 
 both of Vicksburg. In religion he is of the 
 Catholic faith and is independent in politics. 
 
 
 JA. WINDER, travelling car inspector 
 of the Y. & M. V. line, is a native of 
 Q Kingston, Out., a son of James and 
 Mary (Burke) Winder. Attending 
 the public schools until the age of twelve 
 he entered the shops of the Weer Piano 
 Company as an apprentice in the cabinet shops. 
 After serving his four years apprenticeship he 
 went to Detroit and secured a place in the shops 
 of Gibson Brothers, carpenters and builders. 
 Coming to Chicago, he entered the service of 
 the Chicago & Northwestern road in the car 
 shops and three years later went to McComb 
 City, Miss., in the service of the Illinois Central, 
 remaining seven years. Accepting a position on 
 the L. N. O. & T., at Vicksburg, he continued 
 with the new management when the road was 
 transferred. He was sent to the shops at New 
 Orleans as foreman in the car department and 
 two years later was transferred to the Memphis 
 shops in the same capacity, remaining there two 
 years. At this time he was appointed joint car- 
 inspector for all the branches of the system run- 
 ning into New Orleans and remained there two 
 years when he was made travelling car-inspec- 
 tor and transferred to Vicksburg. Two months 
 later he resigned to accept a position on the 
 Mexican National road at Laredo, Texas, 
 but four months later returned to his old posi- 
 
 JW. MORRISON, former general yard- 
 master at New Orleans, is a native of 
 O the Crescent City, born April i, 1861. 
 His father, Miles Morrison, served the 
 Central as round house foreman and in other ca- 
 pacities until his death August 9, 1898. The 
 mother, who was Margaret Muldoon, died Janu- 
 ary 1 6, 1885. After the usual number of years 
 ir. the public schools of his native city Mr. Mor- 
 rison began his railroad career February 22,, 
 1879, as flag boy in the service of the Illinois 
 Central in the New Orleans yards. He was 
 soon made switchman and before the year was 
 out was promoted to foremanship of engines in 
 the yards. In 1881 he resigned and accepted 
 the position of night yardmaster for the L. & 
 N. and in nineteen months was promoted to 
 be general yardmaster which position he filled 
 until 1884. During the exposition Mr. Morri- 
 son had charge of the Central's terminals on 
 the grounds and in 1885 became general yard- 
 master for the Central, holding that position un- 
 til 1889. The following year he served as assis- 
 tant yardmaster for the Tennessee & Pacific and 
 then returned to his former position on the Cen- 
 tral which he held until 1891. Going to Charles- 
 ton, he secured a place as engine dispatcher on 
 the South Carolina Railroad, the oldest in the 
 western continent, remaining some eighteen 
 months. The climate disagreeing with his fami- 
 ly he returned to New Orleans and on March 4, 
 1894, was appointed general yardmaster of all
 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 567 
 
 the terminals of the Central in the city, resign- 
 ing- January 17, 1900. 
 
 On the 29th of December 1884, Mr. Mor- 
 rison was married to Miss Margaret Kelly, of 
 New Orleans. Their children are : Gertrude, 
 Miles, John T. and Mary. Mr. Morrison is a 
 member of the Masonic fraternity, the Modern 
 Woodmen of the World and of the O. R. C. 
 Division No. 108 and is president of the O. R. 
 C. social club. 
 
 JOHN CRONES, who is a native of Trier, 
 Germany, came to the United States 
 when he was twenty-four years old ; he at 
 once began work on the Illinois Central, 
 in the machine shops at Weldon, in 1879, worked 
 there two years and then served as hostler about 
 a year and then began firing on the road in the 
 freight and passenger service. His first engineer 
 was William McManman but he later fired for 
 Bill Perry, Frank Cook and Sam Edgerly. He 
 was promoted in 1889 and was given switch 
 engine No. 104, a new engine at that time. For 
 the past two years he has run engine No. 158 in 
 the passenger yards. In 1886 he was seriously 
 injured in a collision at South Lawn (now 
 Harvey) and was laid up four months. 
 
 Socially our subject is a member of Division 
 No. 10, B. of L. E., of Burnside. 
 
 Mr. Crones was married to Miss Ernest 
 and has two children, Lucy and John. Prior to 
 his emigration to this country, Mr. Crones 
 served four years in the cavalry of the German 
 army. 
 
 EORGE E. PETERS, locomotive 
 engineer, was born in Chicago. He 
 commenced his service in 1884 as an 
 elevator boy in the general offices and 
 later in the office of Mr. Russ, having charge of 
 telephone and quoting freight rates to the patrons. 
 
 He remained there until June 4, 1886, then re- 
 signed and began firing, first on a switch engine 
 number 15, for A. Pickart; he continued in that 
 service about one year, and then was on the road 
 in the freight service for William Fluck, now on 
 the Centralia division. He fired a freight and 
 passenger until he was promoted July I5th, 1896, 
 and then went into yard service on engine No. 
 713; he ran this engine several months, then 
 several others, until he was given his present 
 engine, No. 144, which he has had since 1898. 
 
 Our subject has never had a serious injury 
 and belongs to Division No. 10, B. of L. E., of 
 Burnside. 
 
 Mr. Peters married Miss Mary Breit, and 
 they have one child. Our subject owns a fine 
 residence, a two story flat, at 6717 Rhodes Ave. 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 EOF. W. COLE, a conductor on the 
 Grenada division, is a native of 
 Bowling Green, Todd county, Ken- 
 tucky, born November 18, 1863. 
 His father, Hudson Cole, was a farmer and died 
 in 1866 from wounds received in the Confeder- 
 ate service during the Civil war. The mother 
 died two years later leaving the boy to be reared 
 by strangers. He attended the public schools 
 at Elkton and in August 1884 entered the ser- 
 vice of the Louisville & Nashville road as brake- 
 man, serving in that capacity until promotion, 
 when he was given charge of a train in the 
 freight service. He remained thirteen and a 
 half years with the road and in 1898 entered the 
 service of the Illinois Central at Memphis, was 
 appointed conductor on the Grenada division 
 and has been employed there since. 
 
 Mr. Cole was married September 20, 1889 
 to Miss Lena Coleman, of Bowling Green, Ken- 
 tucky. To them were born four children : Nan- 
 nie Belle, Nettie J., James K., and Robert S. 
 The family are of the Baptist faith and Mr. Cole 
 is, politically, a democrat. He is a member of
 
 568 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 the Knights of Pythias order in which he has 
 taken the endowment rank. As a railroad man 
 lie is thoroughly posted on all that pertains 
 to the duties of the department in which he is 
 engaged and competent .at any time to fill a 
 place higher in the line as soon as an opening is 
 offered for his promotion. 
 
 J15. WOODCOCK, conductor on the 
 Springfield division of the Illinois 
 O Central, began railroading in i88o ; 
 when he entered the service of the I. 
 
 B. & W. Ry. as brakeman. He was later pro- 
 moted to conductor and was retained in the same 
 capacity when the road was purchased by the I. 
 
 C. in 1885. He now has a run between Cham- 
 paign and Clinton and Champaign and Deca- 
 tur. Mr. Woodcock is a native of Canada, 
 having been born in St. John's, New Bruns- 
 wick. He is married and has two daughters 
 and one son. The family resides in a pleasant 
 home on West Hill street, Champaign. Social- 
 ly our subject is a member of Division No. I, 
 O. R. C., of Chicago, also a member of Lodge 
 Xo. 240, A. F. & A. M., Chapter, Commandery 
 and Eastern Star, all of Champaign. 
 
 JOHN F. CROWLEY, locomotive engi- 
 neer on the Illinois Central, is a native 
 of Amboy, where he was born December 
 23, 1858. His father, Timothy Crow- 
 a native of Ireland, was a painter by trade 
 was for many years employed bv the I. 
 C. in the paint shop at Amboy, where he died., 
 The mother, who in her girlhood was Rosey 
 Golegly, was a native of Ireland. She came to 
 America when young and was afterwards mar- 
 ried. She and her husband were among the 
 
 ky. 
 and 
 
 first settlers of Amboy. In their family were 
 the following children : Katie, Subject, Mary, 
 Daniel, an engineer on the I. C., Patrick, Sadie, 
 Julia and Timothy. Our subject was educated 
 in the public schools of Amboy. At the age 
 of thirteen he began to earn his own living, go- 
 ing to school in the winter and working on a 
 farm in the summer. He continued thus em- 
 ployed until 1 88 1 when he went to work in the 
 car department of the I. C. where he remained 
 until November 9, 1887, when he began firing a 
 locomotive on the road and where he continued 
 until February 20, 1895, when he was promoted 
 to the right side and has since been employed in 
 that capacity. He is very popular among the 
 boys and is considered absolutely trustworthy 
 by his superior officers. He fired for a long time 
 for F. H. Schermerhorn, one of the old time 
 engineers of the system. Mr. Crowley was a 
 member of Amboy Division No. 35, B. of L. F., 
 and when promoted joined Division No. 27, B. 
 of L. E. 
 
 M. EDWARDS, a prominent loco- 
 motive engineer in the passenger ser- 
 
 Q vice of the Illinois Central, between 
 
 Centralia and Cairo entered the em- 
 ploy of the company November 9, 1879, as a fire- 
 man on the Centralia district. He was pro- 
 moted to engineer February 19, 1883 and after 
 working in the freight service for twelve years, 
 was, in 1895, promoted to the passenger service 
 where he has since been employed. He is a 
 member of Division No. 24, B. of L. E., of 
 Centralia. Our subject was born in Tennessee 
 but was brought to Illinois when only two and 
 one-half years of age. He owns a fine home on 
 South Poplar street, Centralia : is married and 
 has a family of whom he is justly proud. His 
 eldest son, Walter, is in the train service of the 
 I. C. on the Chicago division. James H., the 
 second son, was for some time in the employ of 
 the I. C. first in the office of the division superin- 
 tendent and afterwards in the freight office at
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 569 
 
 Centralia. He then entered a business college 
 in St. Louis where he learned short hand and 
 typewriting. At the outbreak of the Spanish- 
 American war he enlisted as a private in the 
 regular army at St. Louis. It was soon learned 
 by the officials that he was an efficient steno- 
 grapher and he was made clerk at regimental 
 headquarters. He then secured his release from 
 the regiment and entered actively into the duties 
 of clerk and stenographer, in which he has made 
 wonderful progress. He was detailed as clerk 
 and stenographer to the inspector of the depart- 
 ment of the East, and in that capacity visited 
 every station owned by the government between 
 Maine and South Carolina, forts, navy yards, 
 arsenals and all government works. After Gen. 
 Shafter returned from Cuba Mr. Edwards was 
 made his private aid and correspondence clerk 
 and copied in type written form all of the 
 General's Cuban reports. He then accompanied 
 Gen. Shafter from New York to San Francisco, 
 i;; the General's private car, as private clerk and 
 stenographer. He was sent from there to Ma- 
 nila, where he is at present chief manifest clerk 
 ir the customs office. 
 
 RANK McCOSH, one of the oldest 
 locomotive engineers, in actual ser- 
 vice, on the Centralia district of the 
 Illinois Central, entered the employ 
 of the company in 1873 as a fireman, being pro- 
 moted to the right side of the cab in 1877. He 
 was engaged in pulling freight until 1883, when 
 IK was promoted to the passenger service be- 
 tween Centralia and Cairo, where he is serving 
 at the present time. During his long and faith- 
 ful service with the company he has only lost 
 six months. He has been successful in his 
 chosen calling and now owns a comfortable 
 country home, southwest of Centralia. He is a 
 member of Division No. 24, B. of L. E., of Cen- 
 tralia. 
 
 M. YOUNG, who has been in the 
 employ of the Illinois Central Com- 
 pany for nearly thirty years, entered 
 the employ of the company in 1871 as 
 a fireman, making his trip as such on the main 
 line from Centralia to Wapella. He was pro- 
 moted to engineer August 27, 1879, on the Cen- 
 tralia district and was given his present run on 
 the "local" from Centralia to Du Quoin in 
 July 1897. Mr. Young is a native of Ohio, is 
 married and has a pleasant home in Centralia, 
 where he is well and favorably known. He 
 was a charter member of the Firemen's Union, 
 also a charter member of the B. of L. F. and has 
 been a member of the B. of L. E. since 1880. 
 
 ERBERT B. WATSON, agent for the 
 I. C. at Burlington, 111., was bom 
 at Perryville, 111., January 28, 1866. 
 His parents, Samuel and Susanna J. 
 (Sharp) Watson, were both natives of England. 
 In their family were the following children : 
 Walter, a carpenter of Greene, la., Mary M. 
 wife of Dr. F. Wylie Nash, of Big Rock, 111., 
 Elizabeth, wife of James L. McEvoy, an insur- 
 ance agent of Ottawa, 111., William, a farmer 
 residing at Waterville, Kan., Homer D., a 
 blacksmith, of Winslow, 111., Herbert B. our 
 subject, Amon C., a farmer, and Samuel N., a 
 farmer. 
 
 Our subject received his education in the 
 country schools near his home, starting at the 
 age of seven years. As soon as he was able, 
 in order to secure a good education and assist 
 a widowed mother to support a large family, 
 he worked during the summers and attended 
 school during the winters until he was fifteen 
 years old, when he began working by the month 
 on a farm giving his entire wages to his mother 
 until he was twenty-one, she buying his clothes. 
 Then desiring to learn the art of telegraphy 
 he worked out during the summer on a farm at 
 twenty-two dollars a month, giving his note in
 
 570 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 the fall to his sister for $100, which in addition 
 to his savings he used in attending a school of 
 telegraphy in Chicago for three months. This 
 school proved of but little account and in order 
 to finish his education he worked for his board, 
 walking three miles night and morning to the 
 railroad office in Perryville, where under the 
 instruction of C. W. Johnson he finished his 
 course, his first position being for the Illinois 
 Central at Perryville, while Mr. Johnson was on 
 a leave of absence. During the remainder of 
 the summer of 1889 he worked as relief agent at 
 several places on the Freeport division. Taking 
 charge at Charter Grove in December 1889 
 he remained there until August 20, 1891, when 
 he was sent to Perryville, where he remained 
 until March 24, 1893, at which time he was 
 transferred to his present position. 
 
 Mr. Watson was married February 11, 1891, 
 to Miss Nora Dean, of Sycamore, 111., who was 
 born August 4, 1867. They have one daughter,. 
 Daphine, born January 6, 1896. Our subject 
 joined Cherry Valley Lodge, No. 173, A. F. and 
 A. M., in January 1893, taking his demit to 
 Hampshire Lodge, No. 443, in July 1899. 
 
 JG. CARNEY, passenger conductor on 
 the Cedar Rapids branch began his 
 Q railroad career in the service of the 
 Central as brakeman at Dubuque in 
 the spring of 1881. Running west out of Dubu- 
 que for four years he was promoted to conduc- 
 tor and for nearly six years ran freight between 
 the river and Waterloo or Fort Dodge. After 
 his promotion to the passenger service he ran 
 on the main line for several years and in April 
 1898 was assigned to his present run between 
 Manchester and Cedar Rapids. Mr. Carney 
 comes of a railroad family. His brother Frank, 
 formerly a conductor on the Central is now hold- 
 ing office in the city of Dubuque; another 
 brother, Michael, is employed in the yards of the 
 
 same company, in the same city. Their fathe 
 P. A. Carney moved from the Empire state t 
 the west while the boys were quite young. 
 
 J. 15. Carney was born in Montgomer 
 county, N. Y. He was married in Dubuque i 
 December 1877, to Miss Minnie Redman. Thei 
 children are : Lester, Bessie, Hazel and Hattii 
 Mr. Carney is a member of Division No. 6j 
 O. R. C., of Waterloo, and of Howland Lodg 
 No. 274, Ancient Order of LTnited Workmei 
 also of Waterloo. 
 
 JF. DUNSMORE, supervisor of watc 
 supply at Waterloo, la., is a native c 
 Q Scotland, his birth occurring in 183* 
 Coming to America at the age of si> 
 teen he worked for a time as a miner and as 
 stationary engineer.-- His first employment wit 
 the Central was in 1858, at work digging a tut 
 nel at LaSalle under John Newell with whom li 
 remained five years constructing water-work: 
 For two years Mr. Dunsmore served as superii 
 tendent of a mine at Peru, 111., and then re-er 
 tered the service of the Central April 8, 186; 
 on the water-works at LaSalle and for five year 
 IK had charge of the water supply between Cer 
 tralia and East Dubuque. In 1870 he was trans 
 ferred to the west end and making headquarter 
 at Waterloo, had charge of the water suppl 
 between Dubuque, Fort Dodge, Lyle and Ceda 
 Rapids. He has a thorough knowledge of a 
 that pertains to water supply, and his long ten 
 of continuous service, over a third of a centur 
 with one employer, testifies to his faithfulness t 
 the duty he has to perform. 
 
 Mr. Dunsmore was married at LaSalle t 
 Miss Catherine McDonald a native of Syracus* 
 \\-\v York. Of the six children born to ther 
 the following is the record : George, served a 
 first lieutenant in the 3rd Kansas Voluntee 
 Regiment through the Cuban war ; Charles. 
 conductor on the west end, makes his home a 
 Cherokee ; John, foreman for the Bell Telephon
 
 C. W. STEELMAN.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 573 
 
 Company at Waterloo, served as corporal during 
 the Spanish war ; Mary, wife of Edward Croke, 
 a shoe dealer at Waterloo; Nettie, money order 
 clerk in the Waterloo post office; Maggie, the 
 youngest, residing with her parents. 
 
 Mr. Dunsmore is a member of the Legion 
 Q{ Honor and Rowland Lodge No. 274, A. O. 
 U. W., of Waterloo. 
 
 his parents to Memphis, Tenn., and about a year 
 later moved to Humbolt, Tenn. The father, 
 Joseph Steelman, was a carriage maker. Our 
 subject was married in Jackson to Miss Maggie 
 Shelton, of that city, and of the three children 
 that have been born to them, only one is now liv- 
 ing, Mabel N. Myrtle B. died in 1892, and 
 Charles B. died in 1895. Socially our subject 
 affiliates with Division No. 93, B. of L. E., of 
 Jackson, Tenn. 
 
 W. STEELMAN, engineer at Jack- 
 son, Term., began his railroad career 
 'Q June 22, 1882, in Jackson, as fire- 
 man under Thomas Tate, foreman. 
 Soon after, however, he secured a position as 
 fireman on a switch engine, worked in the yards 
 about a month, and was then given a regular run 
 on engine No. 296, a Rogers. Six months later, 
 or in February 1883, he severed his connection 
 with the Illinois Central company, and for the 
 following five years served the Mobile & Ohio 
 Railroad company as a fireman. In 1888 he 
 returned to the Illinois Central company and 
 worked as a fireman until September of the same 
 year, when he was set up as engineer. After 
 his promotion our subject was transferred to 
 Water Valley, and for the following three 
 months ran both north and south out of that city, 
 returned to Jackson later, and accepted a run 
 north from the latter city. Mr. Steelman's first 
 regular engine was No. 754, a Weldon mogul, but 
 after having control of it about nine months he 
 was set back to extra work for two years. 
 His next regular machine was No. 616, a mogul 
 consolidated engine. In 1892-93, Mr. Steelman 
 worked between Jackson and Martin, and in 
 1894 he was in the passenger service between 
 Cairo and Fulton for a short time. He also 
 served in the chain gang prior to May 22, 1899, 
 and since that date has served on the local be- 
 tween Jackson and Martin. Mr. Steelman has 
 never been injured in any way since being on 
 the road. The subject of this sketch was born 
 in Madison, Ind., and made his home in that 
 place until six years of age, when he moved with 
 
 JF. WHELAN, conductor residing at 
 Cedar Rapids, began in the service of 
 O Central in the fall of 1871 at Water- 
 loo, Iowa, as brakeman between that 
 place and Dubuque. Six years later he was 
 promoted and ran over the same part of the 
 line until resigning to enter the wholesale grocery 
 business at Dubuque. In 1890 he re-entered 
 the service of the Central with a run between 
 Dubuque and Fort Dodge which he held eight 
 years and was then assigned his present run 
 between Manchester and Cedar Rapids. Mr. 
 Whelan was born at St. Louis, Mo., a son of 
 Daniel and Ella (McGrath) Whelan, natives of 
 Ireland. The father was a marble cutter by 
 trade but entered the service of the Central and 
 was for years foreman of the section at East 
 Dubuque. J. F., our subject is the oldest of 
 the family. Of his pther children the following 
 is the record : John, a contractor of Dubuque ; 
 William, a grocer of Dubuque ; Frank, associated 
 with William ; Thomas, employed in a coffee 
 house at Chicago ; Lawrence, hardware dealer 
 in Dubuque ; Mary, superior of a convent at 
 Cedar Rapids. 
 
 J. F. Whelan was married in 1880 to Miss 
 Kate Kane, of Dubuque. Their children are : 
 Genevieve, Mary, Sadie, Daniel J. and Bernar- 
 dine. In early life Mr. Whelan learned the 
 tinners trade. He is a member of Waterloo 
 Division No. 67, O. R. C. Socially he affili- 
 ates with Central Lodge No. 185, A. O. U. W., 
 of Dubuque.
 
 574 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 JAMES W. McNAMARA, an engineer in 
 the freight service, began his railroad 
 career on the Louisville & Nashville 
 road in 1881 as fireman and later se- 
 cured employment in the same capacity on the 
 Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern, now a part 
 of the Illinois Central, firing in the Louisville 
 and Paducah run. On his promotion to engi- 
 neer in 1888 he was assigned to engine No. 
 550, succeeded by other engines until his present 
 assignment was made, a new Brooks engine 
 No. 20 on the Memphis run. Mr. McNamara 
 has always taken an interest in younger men 
 working to better themselves and has turned 
 out a number of fine engineers who were fire- 
 men under his instruction. Our subject was 
 born at Clarksville, Tenn., January 18, 1863. 
 Of his marriage to Lona T. Smith three children 
 were born, Neve, Joel and Mary. He built a 
 comfortable home on Ninth street, Paducah, 
 where a hearty hospitality is dispensed. Mr. 
 McNamara has made his own way in life, hav- 
 ing started out when a youth to earn his own 
 living. He drove a team during the construc- 
 tion of the Paducah and Elizabethtown road and 
 later worked in a coal mine. Any honest work 
 was acceptable to him in his earnest endeavor 
 to get along. He is a member of Division No. 
 225, B. of L. E.,-of Paducah. 
 
 JOHN E. SHEGOG, locomotive engineer 
 on the Louisville division of the Illinois 
 Central, began railroading when only 
 fourteen years of age as a pumper at 
 Water Creek. At that time the pump was run 
 by horse power but was afterwards changed to 
 steam power. He remained here two years 
 when he was promoted to the yards at Central 
 City in the train service and as hostler. After 
 working in this capacity for two years he began 
 firing with engineer Warren Gray and fired for 
 various engineers up to 1896, when he was pro- 
 moted to engineer and placed in charge of en- 
 
 gine No. 282. His present engine is No. 24, 
 one of the new Brooks, which he is now using 
 011 local freight. Our subject has never been 
 injured but had a narrow escape while running 
 a fast freight. As he was rounding a sharp 
 curve he ran into a train with no flag out, de- 
 molishing the caboose and several cars, but for- 
 tunately no one was injured. Mr. Shegog was 
 born in Hardin county, Ky., a son of R. W. 
 Shegog, who is now connected with the I. C. at 
 Central City. Our subject is a member of Divi- 
 sion No. 225, B. of L. E. and also of Division 
 No. 239, B. of L. F. He is one of the youngest 
 engineers on the road. 
 
 P. McCORMICK, engineer at Water- 
 loo, Iowa, began working for the 
 Illinois Central Company at Water- 
 loo, November 25, 1881. His first 
 work was that of fireman on a switch engine 
 iu the Dubuque yards, where he spent fifteen 
 months and then after spending fifteen months 
 with Engineer D. H. Knowlton on a freight 
 engine on the main line, he was promoted, Janu- 
 ary 31, 1885, and took charge of a switch engine 
 in the Dubuque yards. Two and a half years 
 later, he was sent to Waterloo where he was 
 engaged in extra road service until 1891. 
 Since this date he has had a regular run be- 
 tween Waterloo and Dubuque. Mr. McCor- 
 mick is a native of Dubuque, and a son of Henry 
 and Ella P. McConnick. The father was a 
 contractor and teamster by occupation during his 
 life, but died in 1864, leaving a family of four 
 children, as follows : John J., deceased ; J. H., 
 of Dubuque; Sarah and T. P., the subject of this 
 sketch. After the death of the father, the 
 mother was married to Michael Lavin. 
 
 Our subject located in Waterloo, Septem- 
 ber 7, 1882. He was married to Miss Manic 
 Whippo, of Galena, 111., and they have become 
 the parents of a family of four children upon 
 whom thev have seen fit to bestow the follow-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 575 
 
 ing names : Leslie L., Irene H., Harry and 
 Albert. Mr. McCormick has an excellent record 
 on the Illinois Central Company's books, be- 
 ing a competent workman and throughout, his 
 career he has met with no serious accident. 
 Socially he affiliates with Division 114, B. 
 of. L. E. of which he is one of the most zealous 
 members. He is also a member of Howland 
 Lodge No. 274, A. O. U. W., of Waterloo. 
 
 E. HARVEY, a popular young con- 
 ductor on the Louisville division of 
 Q the Illinois Central, began his rail- 
 road career in 1889 on the Richmond 
 & Danville railroad as a flagman, and received 
 his promotion to conductor in 1892. He re- 
 mained with the R. & D. Railroad until 1898, 
 when he came to Paducah and entered the em- 
 ploy of the Illinois Central as a conductor in 
 the through freight service. His crew consists 
 of B. Britton and James Price. He has been 
 fourtunate in having no accidents or injuries 
 during his railroading. Our subject was born 
 in Virginia and is a son of G. E. Harvey, a 
 farmer. He has a brother who is a passenger 
 conductor in the service of the Southern Rail- 
 road. Mr. Harvey is a member of Division 
 No 279, O. R. C, of Water Valley, and is also 
 a member of Danville Lodge No. 162, K. of P. 
 He makes his home at 1006 Jefferson street, 
 Paducah, Ky. 
 
 JS. FULMER, a conductor at McComb 
 City, was born at Bowling Green, Ky., 
 Q February 11, 1872. His father, Jacob 
 Fulmer, residing at Tomotla, N. C., 
 was for years in the employ of the I. C. between 
 Cairo and Jackson, Tenn. The mother died 
 when J. S. was only three years old. Mr. Ful- 
 mer was educated in the schools of Jackson, 
 
 Tenn., and Asheville, N. C. He began his railroad 
 career on the Western North Carolina road in 
 1889 as call boy and later worked six months 
 in the machine shops. After firing an engine 
 three and a half years he went to Birmingham, 
 Ala., and secured a position on the Georgia 
 Pacific as brakeman running on that line during 
 1893 and '94. In that year he was promoted to 
 a conductorship and continued at that until he 
 resigned in 1898. May 24th of that year he 
 entered the service of the Illinois Central as 
 brakeman and served in that capacity until his 
 promotion June 26, 1899, to through freight run 
 on a caboose No. 98,640. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Fulmer occurred at 
 Birmingham, Ala., to a daughter of Mr. J. L. 
 Lee of Helena, Ala. One daughter has been 
 born to them, Helen Louise. 
 
 Mr. Fulmer was severely injured at Bloss- 
 burg, Ala., by being crushed between a car and 
 a wall. His recovery has been complete. He 
 was for four and a half years a member of the 
 P., of L. F. 
 
 JT. COULTER, freight conductor on the 
 Aberdeen division, is an native of 
 Q Kansas City whence his parents moved 
 to Tennessee while the boy was quite 
 small. The father is at present in the grocery 
 business at Martin, Tennessee ; the mother is de- 
 ceased. Our subject was educated in McKensit 
 college and at the age of sixteen secured a place 
 in the dry goods store of Abe Ruble & Com- 
 pany, at Aberdeen, and remained in their em- 
 ploy four years. In 1895 he entered the ser- 
 vice of the Illinois Central as brakeman running 
 out of Aberdeen with Conductor Stacey. Next 
 he ran baggage for six months and then was 
 assigned as brakeman on the local freight until 
 May 21, 1898, when he was promoted and now 
 has a freight run on the Aberdeen division. 
 His caboose is No. 98,611. Mr. Coulter was 
 seriously injured in 1896 by jumping to the
 
 576 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ground in a wreck. He also sustained injuries 
 in another wreck in going over a trestle. 
 
 Mr. Coulter is a member of Division No. 
 304, O. R. C. and also of the Knights of Pythias 
 of Aberdeen. 
 
 O. BUTLER, a conductor on the 
 Aberdeen division, was born in 
 Q the state of Mississippi. His 
 father, M. R. Butler, was one of 
 the leading attorneys at Starkville, Miss., for a 
 period of fifteen years and for twelve years of 
 that time served his county as prosecuting at- 
 torney. His death occurred December 15, 1891. 
 The mother is living and is a resident of Stark- 
 ville. W. O. Butler attended the Starkville 
 Academy and when of suitable age secured a 
 place as brakeman on the Central. After serv- 
 ing duly in that capacity he was examined and 
 promoted May 7, 1898, and assigned to duty on 
 the work train. 
 
 Mr. Butler was married at Starkville to 
 Miss Maude Staunton to whom one child has 
 been born. Mr. Butler is a member of Division 
 No. 304, O. R. C., of Canton. He is also a 
 member of the Masonic fraternity affiliating 
 with the lodge at Durant where he resides. 
 
 W. KNIGHT, station agent for the 
 Illinois Central at Dyersville, Iowa, 
 L Q has been in the service of the com- 
 pany since the spring of 1887, when 
 he opened the station at Cheltenham Beach on 
 the completion of the South Chicago branch. 
 He was soon after given appointment at 
 Madison, Wis., where he remained but a short 
 time before he was transferred to Alden, Iowa, 
 and then to Manchester and Storm Lake, Iowa, 
 followed by Galena, 111., and in the fall of 1889 
 he was transferred to Dyersville, as operator, 
 
 and five years later was made station agent at 
 that place which position he has since credit- 
 ably filled. Mr. Knight is a native of Fairport, 
 N. Y., and is a son of Edward and Elizabeth 
 Knight, natives of London, England, who came 
 to America with their parents in childhood. 
 They settled in Laporte county, Indiana, on a 
 farm. Both are now deceased. Until the local 
 lodge became extinct Mr. Knight was a mem- 
 ber of the Knights of Pythias. 
 
 J. PATZEN, general foreman of the 
 freight house at East St. Louis, be- 
 Q gan railroading in 1875 at Buffalo, 
 N. Y., on the New York, Lake Erie 
 & Western, now the Erie line, in the lake freight 
 department. Some four months later he was 
 given a more responsible position and in less than 
 a year was made tally-man, or as it is now known, 
 check clerk. A year later he was given full 
 charge of the down freight, employing about 
 twenty men. For seven years he held this posi- 
 tion, hiring and discharging the men under his 
 charge. Resigning he entered the employ of the 
 Lehigh Coal and Iron Company at West Su- 
 perior, Wis., as foreman and weigher, and time- 
 keeper for a gang of 135 men, retaining that 
 position until the spring of 1887, when he re- 
 signed and went into the employ of the Western 
 Minnesota road at the same place, first as check 
 clerk and later as foreman over 200 men load- 
 ing and unloading vessels during the naviga- 
 tion season. During the winter he had charge 
 of the flour warehouses. He was thus employed 
 until 1889 when he was appointed assistant coun- 
 ty clerk of Douglas county for a term of 
 two years. Three months later he resigned to 
 accept a position in the public works department 
 of the city government. A change of admini- 
 stration caused the loss of his place so he re- 
 turned to the Western Minnesota road in his 
 old position where he remained until the spring of 
 1891 when he resigned. Coming to Chicago he
 
 w 
 
 cc 
 O 
 
 u 
 
 J
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 579 
 
 secured a position in the freight house of the 
 Illinois Central where in time he was promoted 
 to a foremanship which he held until transferred 
 to East St. Louis, November 15, 1896 as general 
 foreman of the warehouse and yards. Mr. 
 Patzen was born at Buffalo, New York, in 1861. 
 lie married Miss Mary Schneller who is the 
 mother of one child Arthur J. 
 
 Mr. Patzen is a member of the Ancient 
 Order of United Workmen, the National Union 
 and the Railway and Telegraphers' Political 
 League of Illinois, of which he was a delegate 
 to the convention held in 1899 at Chicago. 
 
 25, 1887, and ran extra freight engine until April 
 '88 when he was transferred to Centralia, remain- 
 ing there a month, then to Champaign, where 
 he remained until the middle of August '88, then 
 to Chicago division, running between Champaign 
 and Oilman six weeks, and then back to his old 
 place .where he has continued up to the present 
 time. During the summer of '93, he had engine 
 No. 1329; was then given No. 305. After that 
 he had No. 962 in the through passenger service, 
 between Chicago and Champaign, for ten months. 
 His present engine is No. 461 in the freight ser- 
 vice between Chicago and Kankakee. 
 
 Mr. Barker married Mrs. Maggie Smythe, 
 whose maiden name was Maggie Rudowsky, of 
 Omaha. He is a member of Division No. 10, 
 B. of L. E., of Burnside. 
 
 E. BARKER, who stands among 
 the best known boys on the road, 
 Q is a native of Lexington, Mo., was 
 raised in Lexington, 111., and re- 
 moved to Chicago Sept. 10, 1880. His service 
 with the Illinois Central began Jan. I, 1882, as 
 fireman in the yards at Randolph street, on en- 
 gine No. 209, with Engineer John Wanzer. 
 Thomas Ames was also one of his engineers. At 
 the end of six months he went into the surbur-- 
 ban service with Conrad Englebrect, on No. 223, 
 and fired for him six months. Then for a year 
 and eight months was firing for Chas. Draper 
 on No. 34, in the passenger service, on the Chi- 
 cago division, then on through freight with 
 Richard jOrmsby, three months,on No. 243, and 
 then with H. L. Seaver on No. 200 for three 
 months. In August 1885 he was examined, 
 and the following September began running. 
 .His first day was on switch engine No. 74 in the 
 Randolph street yards, and continued on that 
 engine about one month. After running No. 
 249 at night for a month, he took No. 62, now 
 No. 216, in the suburban service for nine months. 
 His next step was into freight service on the 
 Chicago division, on No. 402, which he had three 
 months. Owing to an accident he was laid off 
 Sept. 10, 1887; he began again at Waterloo, Dec. 
 
 L. CROSSETT, a locomotive engi- 
 neer, began railroading August 16, 
 1891, on the Illinois Central as a fire- 
 man on the Chicago division in yard 
 service for M. J. Huber, and continued there 
 about nine months, when he was put on the 
 through freight and fired for Frank Bellows, 
 continuing until the spring of 1893, when he went 
 on through passenger to Champaign firing for 
 James Moran, and Larry Burns, the latter most 
 of the time; remaining there until December i, 
 and then went back on the freight until January 
 1896, when he was examined and promoted to 
 engineer and ran extra and fired until August, 
 when he got switch engine No. 104 in the Fordam 
 yards. He now runs engine No. 305 in the 
 freight service. During his railroad career of 
 nine years, he has never been injured. Mr Cros- 
 sett married Miss Anna Cawrey, and they have 
 become the parents of three children.
 
 580 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 F. WELDON, engineer at Jackson, 
 Tenn., began railroading on the Chi- 
 cago, Burlington & Quincy road at 
 Aurora, 111., in 1880 as fireman. 
 After five years on the left side he was examined 
 and set up to engineer running on all of the 
 divisions east of the Mississippi river. He had 
 previously served as engineer, but owing {p 
 slack times was set back to firing. In 1888 he 
 resigned and in November of that year entered 
 the employ of the Illinois Central and was sent 
 tc Water Valley, Miss., and soon after to Jack- 
 son, Tenn., running north from that point. The 
 first regular engine to which he was assigned 
 was No. 327, followed by 614. After handling 
 various engines he was given No. 621, his 
 present charge. 
 
 Mr. Weldon is a member of Division No. 
 93, B. of L. E., of Jackson. His first member- 
 ship was in No. 32, of Aurora, which he joined 
 soon after his promotion to the right side of 
 the cab. He is also a member of the Jackson 
 Lodge of Elks, No. 192, and of the Knights of 
 Pythias of the same place. 
 
 A. CLARKE the ranking engineer at 
 Jackson, Tenn., has been in railroad 
 Q service for over thirty-five years, hav- 
 ing begun as an apprentice in the 
 shops of the Western & Atlantic Railroad at 
 Atlanta, Georgia. After four years in the shops 
 he was sent out over the line, and in 1869 was 
 given a regular run between Atlanta and Chat- 
 tanooga, where he remained until the fall of 
 1875. September i2th of that year he came to 
 Jackson and entered the service of the New Or- 
 leans, St. Louis & Chicago which was later 
 known as the Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans 
 prior to its becoming a part of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral system, and was promoted to the passenger 
 service July 4, 1880. His first work under the 
 new management was on January 1st running 
 between Jackson and East Cairo and later in the 
 
 freight service between Cairo and Fillmore, K\ . 
 He was also employed on construction, laying 
 track, and ran the first engine on the incline be- 
 tween East Cairo and Grand Junction when tin- 
 bridge was built. Mr. Clarke is a native of Chat- 
 tehoochee, Florida. His marriage occurred in 
 1879, Miss Emily Lee, of the Cherokee Nation 
 becoming his bride. They are the parents of five 
 daughters, as follows : Mary, Sarah, Lucy, Addie 
 and Emily. Walter, a twin of Lucy, died in 
 1891. Mr. Clarke has experienced the excite- 
 ment of a hold-up by train robbers, the incident 
 having occurred in 1892 at Bradwell, Ky., when 
 three bandits secured some two thousand dol- 
 lars from the passengers who escaped personal 
 violence. The only serious injury received by 
 Mr. Clarke during his railroad career was at 
 Sharon, Tenn., where his left shoulder was 
 severely injured retiring him from service some 
 two months. 
 
 Prominent in the B. of L. E., Mr. Clarke 
 has been connected with this order since March 
 1871, and is now filling the office of third engi- 
 neer in Division No. 93 at Jackson. He is on 
 the board of adjustment at present having filled 
 other offices during the many years of his mem- 
 bership. He is a member of Madison Lodge 
 No. 16, I. O. O. F., Lodge No. 192, B. P. O. E., 
 the A. O. U. W. and the Knights of Honor, all 
 of Jackson. He has never been the cause of 
 injury to a passenger, nor suffered an hour's 
 suspension for neglect of duty. 
 
 JC. STALEY, engineer at Jackson, 
 Tenn., struck his first lick in railroad 
 Q work during the fall of 1888 in the 
 shops of the Colorado Midland, at 
 Colorado City, and nineteen months later he 
 began shovelling coal on a run between that 
 point and Leadville. He was in this service 
 until December 1894. In the fall of 1895 he 
 came to Jackson and secured a situation as fire- 
 man on the Central running north from Jack-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 581 
 
 s HI. August 28th, 1890,, he was examined 
 ;uiil promoted, his first run being between 
 Jackson and Martin. He is now on the extra 
 list awaiting his turn for a regular run. Mr. 
 Staley was born in Randolph county, N. C., but 
 was reared in Cass county, Missouri. He was 
 married at Fulton, Ky., to Miss Adaline Collins 
 of that place. One son has been born to them, 
 I >uvid Leroy. Mr. Staley is a member of Divi- 
 sion No. 20, B. of L. F., of Jackson. 
 
 'Wilson. 
 
 EORGE E. THOMPSON, a well 
 known engineer on the Omaha divi- 
 sion entered the service of the Cen- 
 tral in 1887, across the cab from Sam 
 In his freight service on the road he 
 was for four years under the instruction of John 
 H. Fox and he fired in the passenger service 
 two years under D. J. Culton. Returning to 
 the freight service, he was shortly after ex- 
 amined October 28, 1895, and set up as engi- 
 neer. Making Cherokee, Iowa, his home, Mr. 
 Thompson was engaged at that end of the linei 
 until 1900 excepting two winters he was assigned 
 to duty in the south with headquarters at Vicks- 
 bnrg, Miss. On January 26, 1900, he was trans- 
 ferred to the Omaha division moving his family 
 to Fort Dodge the summer following and is 
 now making that city his home. Mr. Thompson 
 was born at Salt Lake City, Utah, February 13, 
 1860, during one of the many migrations of the 
 family across the plains, and during his child- 
 hood crossed the continent three times and made 
 two trips by water, once coming around by way 
 of Cape Horn. His father, James Thompson, 
 was a Forty-niner and became heavily interested 
 in mines in the west. The grandfather, James 
 Thompson, "Sr., was an old Scotchman very much 
 set in his ways and when he was denied the privi- 
 lege of taking some of his unnecessary belong- 
 ings in the wagon, he bought a wheel-barrow and 
 trudged after the ox team all the way from 
 \\ aterloo, Wisconsin, to their destination in 
 
 Nevada. Our subject secured his education in 
 the schools of Wisconsin which was the home of 
 the family when not in the west or crossing the 
 plains. His marriage occurred in August 1889 
 at Cherokee, Iowa, to Miss Dora P. Ruge, 
 daughter of Joachim Rnge, of Aurelia, Iowa. 
 Four children have been oorn to them, Francis, 
 Lindsey, Imo and Clare. 
 
 Mr. Thompson is a member of Division No. 
 226, R. of L. E., at Fort Dodge, and of Lodge 
 No. 197, A. O. U. W. and Tent No. 27, K. O. 
 T. M. 
 
 JOHN MULVOY, supervisor of bridges 
 and buildings on the New Orleans divi- 
 sion, is a native of Wheeling, West Va., 
 born Oct. 17, 1859. The father, Mar- 
 tin Mulvoy, a stone mason, died about 1879, the 
 mother, in maidenhood Miss Margaret Mc- 
 Darrah, is now a resident of Jackson, Tennessee. 
 Mr. Mulvoy attended the public schools of Nash- 
 ville, Tenn., and vicinity whither the family had 
 moved during his childhood: In 1872 the 
 family moved to Jackson and the following year 
 the boy entered the service of the Mississippi 
 Central, now the Illinois Central, as waterboy 
 serving the track layers. The next year lie 
 worked as laborer on a bridge gang between 
 Jackson, Tenn., and Cairo, 111., occupying the 
 space of a year. During the year of 1875 he 
 served as engineer on the pile driver operating 
 at East Cairo, 111., and Birds Point, Mo. The 
 year 1876 was spent on the various sections of 
 that division and in 1877 he became a member of 
 the bridge and building department and re- 
 mained in that service about six years. On 
 January i, 1883, Mr. Mulvoy entered the service 
 of the Cotton Belt Line as bridge carpenter and 
 remained in the service nine months when he 
 returned to his former employers on the Can- 
 ton, Aberdeen and Nashville division as build- 
 ing carpenter. November i, 1884 he was trans- 
 ferred to the main line as engineer on the pile 
 driver and assistant bridge foreman. He later
 
 582 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 resigned and entered the service of the L. N. 
 (). & T., now the Y. & M. V. road, in the 
 capacity of conductor and foreman of bridge 
 train, working between New Orleans and Vicks- 
 burg until July i, 1889, when he returned to 
 the service of the Illinois Central on the Missis- 
 sippi division in the same capacity until Septem- 
 ber 15, 1896, the date of his appointment to 
 road supervisor of the Cairo district with head- 
 quarters at Fulton, Ky. February 15, 1899, he 
 was transferred to Vicksburg, Miss., as supervi- 
 sor of bridges and buildings of the New Orleans 
 division. His jurisdiction embraces 235 miles 
 on the main line and ninety-eight miles in the 
 Natchez district, and forty-two miles of the 
 Woodville branch and eight miles of the Clinton 
 branch in all 383 miles. 
 
 On October 26, 1881, Mr. Mulvoy was 
 married to Miss Ella Roach, of Ballard county, 
 Ky., who was born at Lincoln, 111. The chil- 
 dren born to them are as follows : Martin, de- 
 ceased ; Stella, William Hi, John Floyd, Mary 
 and Marjorie. 
 
 Mr. Mulvoy is a member of the Jackson 
 Lodge, No. 13, Knights of Pythias and of the 
 Knights of Honor of the same city. He is a 
 member of the Catholic church and in politics 
 is a Democrat. 
 
 D. KELLY, one of the younger en- 
 gineers, was born in Grundy coun- 
 L Q ty, Tennessee, June 22, 1868, a son 
 of John Kelly who in his lifetime 
 was a blacksmith of that county. Our subject 
 began his service on the Central in 1887, firing 
 under the instruction of James Wamble, working 
 in the yards most of the time. In 1891 he was 
 examined and promoted to engineer and was 
 given a run out on the line as extra engineer. 
 In 1893 he was dismissed from the service, with 
 thirteen others, on account of slack work. Dur- 
 ing that time he was in the employ of the Queen 
 & Crescent, the old Cincinnati Southern. He was 
 reinstated and is in the general service as engi- 
 
 neer of the I. C. R. R. Mr. Kelly was married 
 in Somerset, Kentucky, Miss Mattie Elliott be- 
 ing his helpmate. They now reside at 348 Iowa 
 avenue, Memphis, Tenn. He is a member of the 
 Masonic Lodge No. in, at Somerset, Kentucky, 
 and of the P>rotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, 
 Division No. 218 at Vicksburg. 
 
 LISHA B. RUSSELL, trainmaster at 
 Jackson, Tennessee, has filled that 
 position since the spring of 1900. 
 He began railroading at the age of 
 twelve, in the offices at Jackson under his brother, 
 Charles F. Russell, who was agent there and who 
 died while on duty, during an epidemic of yel- 
 low fever. Mr. Russell of this sketch learned 
 telegraphy and was sent to Canton as clerk in 
 the offices there. Later he was appointed agent 
 and served in that capacity until 1898 when he 
 was transferred to Fulton, succeeding Mr. A. L. 
 Foster and remained until appointed to his 
 present position. 
 
 Mr. Russell, a native of Jackson, Miss., born 
 in August 1873, is married and is the father of 
 seven children. He is a member of several 
 fraternal orders and a general favorite with his 
 fellow townsmen. 
 
 , ETER O'ROURKE, a conductor on the 
 Amboy division, was born at Amboy, 
 July 29, 1874, a son of Patrick and 
 Katherine (Lutrell) O'Rourke, na- 
 tives of Ireland who emigrated to America prior 
 to their marriage and settled at Amboy. Two 
 sons and four daughters were born to them, 
 all of whom are living. Peter O'Rourke at- 
 tended the public schools of Amboy and when 
 old enough to work acted as his father's helper 
 at the masons trade. He was then engaged in 
 the oil business until July 29, 1893, when he
 
 GEORGE LEMON.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 585 
 
 entered the service of the Illinois Central as 
 brakeman on the Anihoy division and continued 
 at that work until November 21, 1897 the date 
 of his promotion and since that time he has been 
 in the freight service. 
 
 Mr. O'Rourke was married June 21, 1899 
 to Miss Katherine La veil of Amboy, who comes 
 of a railroad family, a number of brothers hav- 
 ing been in the employ of the Central. 
 
 EORGE LEMON, a prominent and 
 wealthy citizen of Jackson, Mississip- 
 pi, now living a retired life in that 
 city, is a former employe of the Illi- 
 nois Central, well known to all old railroad men. 
 Mr. Lemon was .born in Belfast, Ireland, on 
 March 29, 1830, and is a son of James and Mary 
 Lemon. Mr. Lemon -Sr. was a rope-maker by 
 trade, following that occupation in his native 1 
 country. He was a resident of Jackson, for a 
 long time, and departed this life at the home of 
 his son, in that city, having reached the age of 
 eighty-seven years. 
 
 George Lemon was but sixteen years old, 
 when his parents came to America, and on arriv- 
 ing, at once secured employment in the Long 
 Island rope factories, where he remained until 
 January 1853. Going to New Orleans in that 
 year, he entered the service of the old Opelousas 
 Railroad, and after working there for some 
 time, as fireman, he went to St. Louis, Missouri, 
 and was in the service of the Ohio & Mississippi 
 R. R. (now the Baltimore & Ohio) as fireman 
 and conductor, respectively, in the freight and 
 construction departments. He then went to the 
 Iron Mountain R. R. working there for a time, 
 as baggagemaster, and later as conductor, in the 
 passenger service. Retiring from that company, 
 lie returned to the Opelousas road, at New Or- 
 leans, but was there but a short time. 
 
 The Illinois Central, then known as the New 
 Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern, was his next 
 objective point, and T. S. Williams, then Super- 
 intendent of the Louisiana division, appointed 
 
 him yardmaster at New Orleans, which position 
 he filled until 1862. He was in that year, trans- 
 ferred to Jackson, Mississippi, as yardmaster, 
 and held the appointment until 1865, when he 
 retired from the service to engage in the general 
 merchandising business. From 1865 to 1890, he 
 was thus engaged, and in the latter year retired 
 to private life, on a well earned competency. Mr. 
 Lemon married Miss Ann Kirkpatrick of Olney, 
 Illinois, and there has been born to them a family 
 of seven children : Mary, wife of G. Lewis, a 
 merchant of Jackson, also supervisor; William 
 and George, deceased ; George William, who re- 
 sides in Chicago, and is in the wholesale grocery 
 business ; James K., a commercial traveler resid- 
 ing at Memphis, Term. ; Elizabeth J., wife of 
 L. E. Sugg., a messenger in the service of the 
 American Express company, and Annie Kirk- 
 patrick, who lives at home with her parents. 
 In 1899 Mr. Lemon started a nephew in 
 the business of manufacturing brick in Jackson, 
 Miss., in which he is a silent partner, and up to 
 the present time they have turned out about a 
 million of brick. Mr. Lemon belongs to the 
 Knights of Honor, and is a Mason of high stand- 
 ing. He takes an active interest in politics, be- 
 ing a staunch Democrat. The esteem in which 
 he is held by his fellow citizens is testified to 
 by the fact that he was for eleven years elected 
 alderman of the city. He held the position of 
 notary for a long time, and declined reappoint- 
 ment. He is a director of the Jackson bank, 
 one of the solid institutions of the state. Mr. 
 Lemon resides with his family in a spacious 
 home in West Jackson, where he is highly re- 
 spected, and the measure of his influence can 
 hardly be estimated. 
 
 ILLIAM M. SCOTT, one of the 
 conductors of the Springfield divi- 
 sion living at Clinton, 111., is a na- 
 tive of Plainfield, Will county, Illi- 
 nois born September 6, 1866. He attended the 
 public schools until the usual age for boys to 
 begin doing for themselves and until twenty-
 
 586 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 three years of age was engaged in various kinds 
 of employment his hands found to do. 
 
 He entered railroad service as brakeman on 
 the Springfield division in August 1889, and for 
 five years was thus employed gaining the ex- 
 perience necessary to the duties of conductorship 
 to which he was promoted in 1894. Since that 
 date he has been engaged in the freight service 
 and at present is running between Chicago and 
 Springfield. 
 
 Mr. Scott was married in April 1890 and 
 is the father of a daughter. He is a member of 
 State Center Lodge No. 41, Brotherhood of 
 Railway Trainmen. 
 
 transferred to the Louisiana division of the Illi- 
 nois Central with headquarters at McComb City. 
 
 Mr. Love was born at Columbia, S. C, 
 November 13, 1865, a son of William E. Love 
 a planter and stock raiser now residing in Boul- 
 ton, Texas 
 
 Mr. Love, of this sketch is a member of the 
 McComb City division of the B. of L. E. He is 
 a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows, also affiliating with lodge No. 402, of 
 Houston, Texas. 
 
 
 JC. LOVE, an engineer on the southern 
 end of the Illinois Central has been but 
 O a short time with this road although he 
 is an old railroad man. He began his 
 railroad career in the service of the Santa Fe 
 road in the Topeka shops -from which he went 
 into the train service on the left side of the cab 
 running between Wellington, Kan., and Pan 
 Handle City, Texas, remaining one and a half 
 years. Joining the forces of the Fort Worth 
 and Denver road he was engaged some eighteen 
 months in the shops and firing. His next em- 
 ployment was at San Antonio, Texas, on the 
 Southern Pacific, where he began as fireman and 
 was set up November 13, 1890. Until 1897 he 
 ran in the freight service of that road, leaving 
 to accept a position at Albuquerque, N. M., on 
 the Santa Fe Pacific for which he had been work- 
 ing about four months when he quit railroading 
 to become one of a company that intended to 
 mine for gold in the Klondike country. Pro- 
 ceeding as far as the Canadian Northwest the 
 company disbanded and Mr. Love returned 
 to the States and secured a place as engineer 
 on the A. & V. road at New Orleans and a few 
 months later entered the service of the Y. & M. 
 V. road at Vicksburg, and in November was 
 
 ILLIAM E. FARNUM, conductor 
 on the Central living at Freeport, is 
 a native of Fulton, Illinois, born 
 June 10, 1868. He is a son of 
 James and Bridget (Kane) Farnum, the latter 
 of whom died in 1896. The father, a native of 
 Ireland lived for a time at Kingston, New York, 
 removing thence to Fulton, "111., and from there 
 to Freeport, where he is in the employ of the 
 Central as car repairer. Thirteen children were 
 born to them of whom six are deceased. The 
 living are : Mary, wife of Patrick Burns, George 
 W., a conductor on the Central ; Elizabeth, wife 
 of John Smith ; James H., a brakeman on the 
 Central ; Annie, wife of John Coleman ; William 
 E., the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Mr. Farnum was educated in St. Mary's 
 parochial school in Freeport, and at the age of 
 fourteen began working for the Central in the 
 Freeport yards. Two years later he secured 
 a place in the train service braking until 1888 
 when he was promoted and has since been run- 
 ning freight and mixed trains. 
 
 October 31, 1896, Mr. Farnum was married 
 in Freeport to Miss Catharine Cahill who was 
 born February 16, 1868 and died November 2, 
 1897. 
 
 Mr. Farnum is a member of the Order of 
 Railway Conductors, is a Catholic in religion 
 and in politics is a Democrat,
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 587 
 
 H. DAVIS, an engineer living at 
 Freeport, is a native of McDonough 
 Q county, Illinois, born December 14, 
 1857. He is a son of William and 
 Susan (Wolgamot) Davis, the latter of whom 
 died in 1896. The father, now living retired in 
 Freeport, was for many years a prominent citi- 
 zen of Champaign county, Illinois, serving as 
 assessor thirteen years and three years as tax 
 collector. 
 
 Our subject attended the public schools of 
 his native county working on his father's farm 
 until attaining his majority, when he began 
 farming for himself and continued- at that oc- 
 cupation until 1890 the date of his entrance into 
 railroad work. Securing a place as fireman on 
 the Freeport division under Engineer Ingraham, 
 he occupied the left side of the cab until Febru- 
 ary 27, 1896, the date of his promotion after a 
 severe examination. His first trip on the right 
 side was on engine No. 486, and he has since his 
 promotion been running regularly on the Free- 
 port division. 
 
 February 13, 1887, Mr. Davis was married 
 to Miss Emma E. Smith of Chicago, a native of 
 the vicinity of Marshall, Michigan. One child 
 has been born to them Mary Estelle, whose 
 birthday is November 4, 1896. 
 
 Mr. Davis is a member of Division No. 27, 
 B. of L. E., of Freeport. 
 
 J. HUBER, an engineer in the yard 
 service, entered railroad service in 
 L Q the Weldon shops of the Illinois 
 Central in 1883, in the machinery 
 department, working there a year and a half, 
 firing extra in the yards when his services were 
 necessary. Becoming a regular fireman, after 
 a week on a switch engine, he was assigned to 
 the ca'b of No. 226, under Engineer John Glover, 
 in the suburban service. A year later he was 
 sent over the line on the Chicago division in the 
 freight service, under Frank Sweeney and Dennis 
 
 Kennedy and later with A. Sanderson, on engine 
 No. 185 in the passenger service. In 1888 Mr. 
 Huber was examined and set up to engineer and 
 assigned to the yard service, first on engine No. 
 24 and at present on No. 112 running between 
 Fordham and Blue Island. Mr. Huber was 
 never injured in a wreck, but being mistaken for 
 an engineer who had been instrumental in the 
 death of an Italian water boy was assaulted and 
 knocked down with a rock which retired him 
 from business three weeks. 
 
 Mr. Huber was born at Coopers Grove. 
 A brother, Albert Huber, is in the employ of the 
 Central working nights at the round house. The 
 marriage of Mr. Huber occurred at Chicago, 
 Miss Minnie Morray becoming his bride. Three 
 children have been born to them : Willard, Alfred 
 and Marvin. 
 
 JOB RANDALL, an engineer on the Louis- 
 ville division, is a descendant of old 
 colonial stock that first landed in this 
 country in the Mayflower. A great 
 uncle was an officer in the Revoluntionary war 
 and has handed down in the family to our sub- 
 ject, a sword he captured in a personal encounter 
 at the battle of Long Island with an officer of 
 General Howe's army. The grand father was 
 a sea captain owning a line of vessels running 
 out of Providence, and served for a time as 
 internal collector at the port of New York. He 
 died in Ohio at the house of his son at the ad- 
 vanced age of ninety-two. Mr. Randall the 
 father of our subject came to Athens county, 
 Ohio, in 1837 where his family was reared. The 
 family belonged to the nobility and in old Eng- 
 land whence they came were granted a coat of 
 arms as far back as 1 527. 
 
 Job Randall was born in Athens county, 
 Ohio, and there grew to manhood. He began his 
 railroad career on the P. F. W. C. road as brake- 
 man and later was employed on the B. O. & S. W. 
 in 1871. He secured- a place as fireman on the 
 road where he first began and later on the Grand
 
 588 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Rapids & Indiana line, a part of the Pennsylva- 
 nia system where he was soon promoted and was 
 employed about seven years. His services were 
 secured by the Monon route on which he pulled 
 the fast passenger train. In 1883 Mr. Randall 
 resigned his position and coming south of the 
 Ohio river with Master Mechanic McDaniels, 
 and was given a run out of Paducah. At present 
 he has one of the choicest runs between Paducah 
 and Memphis. 
 
 Mr. Randall married Miss Goodes of Michi- 
 gan. Their two sons, Charles B. and Job, Jr., 
 are in the service of the Central. 
 
 In the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engi- 
 neers Mr. Randall holds a prominent place hav- 
 ing filled all of the official chairs and is at present 
 chairman of the Local Adjustment Board, and 
 was on the legislative board four years. He is 
 well up in masonry, being a member of lodge 
 No. 449, Chapter No. 30 and Commandery No. 
 n, of Paducah. He has always taken a great 
 interest in the upbuilding of the city where he 
 lives and is a prominent shareholder in a build- 
 ing and loan association. He assisted in rais- 
 ing $140,000 to encourage new enterprises to 
 come to the city. He materially assisted in se- 
 curing funds to build a $75,000 Methodist church 
 of which he is steward. 
 
 When a boy he raised garden truck to secure 
 money to pay for his education at the Ohio LTni- 
 versity and assisted through the same institution 
 his younger brother, now an employe on the Illi- 
 nois Central. Mr. Randall is president of the 
 State Political League and has refused the nomi- 
 nation of his party for representative in the legis- 
 lature. 
 
 DWARD A. WRIGHT, prominent lo- 
 comotive engineer in the employ of 
 the Illinois Central, started in the 
 shops at Chicago to learn the trade, 
 in October 1884, and worked there one year and 
 a half when he began firing as extra, on engine 
 No. 39, for Engineer Steward Hazlett; later on 
 engine No. 34 with Frank Rugg; also fired in 
 
 the suburban service for Engineer Roley Roger- 
 son for a year and a half, and then in August 
 1890, took charge as engineer (car works) of 
 engine No. 17, but at the end of one week went 
 into the road service on engine No. 330, his 
 present engine. With the exception of two years 
 in the suburban service, he has since had a run 
 between Chicago and Champaign. He has been 
 in several small wrecks and was badly scalded 
 in one of them. 
 
 Mr. Wright was born July 28, 1865, at 
 Rochester, N. Y., a son of Edward H., and 
 Elizabeth (Everly) Wright, the latter of whom 
 is deceased while the father resides in Burnside. 
 Mr. Wright was married December n, 1888, 
 to Miss Mabel Clark, a native of McLean coun- 
 ty, 111., and a daughter of John W. and Ella 
 (Evans) Clark, both of whom reside with our 
 subject. Mr. and Mrs. Wright have two daugh- 
 ters, Nettie May and Dottie Elizabeth. The 
 family reside at No. 1707 Eighty-ninth place, 
 Chicago. 
 
 Socially our subject is identified with Divi- 
 sion No. 10. B. of L. E., of Burnside. 
 
 ILLIAM J. HARAHAN, superin- 
 tendent of the Louisville division, 
 has demonstrated by his rapid rise 
 in railway management his fitness 
 for executive positions. Born at Nashville, 
 Tennessee, December 22, 1867, he attended the 
 schools of his native place and later at New 
 Orleans, an excellent technical school, fitting 
 himself properly in the ground-work of a suc- 
 cessful railroad career. He first entered rail- 
 way service as clerk and messenger in the super- 
 intendent's office of -the Louisville & Nashville 
 road at New Orleans for some three years and 
 then entered the shops as an apprentice, learning 
 the construction of locomotives and cars. For 
 two years he served in the engineering depart- 
 ment beginning at the lowest and finally had
 
 w 
 
 o 
 
 1-5 
 
 o 
 ttJ 
 o
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 591 
 
 charge of the surveying force laying out a line 
 of road. During 1889 and '90 Mr. Harahan 
 ' held the position of engineer of maintenance of 
 way on the Cincinnati division of the Chesapeake 
 & Ohio and from that date until 1892 was in 
 charge of structures for the Baltimore & Ohio 
 Southwestern. Severing his connection with 
 that road Mr. Harahan entered the service of the 
 Illinois Central March 1892 as road and train- 
 master of the Pontiac district and remained in 
 that position until April 1895. From April to 
 October of that year he served as assistant super- 
 intendent of the Freeport division and as super- 
 intendent until transferred to the Louisville divi- 
 sion August i, 1896, where he has since been 
 employed. 
 
 He was married June 10, 1890 to Miss Susan 
 M. Smith at Nashville, Tennessee, and has five 
 children. 
 
 T. MORGAN, a conductor in the 
 freight service of the 111. Central, 
 in the Grenada district, on the 
 Memphis division, was born at Red 
 River, Tenn., on December 20, 1860. Richard 
 Morgan, his father, now retired, and residing 
 at Earlington, Ky., was a section foreman and 
 supervisor in the employ of the Louisville & 
 Nashville R. R. A brother of our subject, 
 Richard Morgan Jr., is a trainmaster in the I. 
 C. service at Memphis, Tenn. M. T. Morgan 
 was educated in a private school at Guthrie, 
 Ky., and in 1878, at the age of sixteen years, 
 went to the service of the St. Louis & South- 
 eastern R. R. (now the L. & N.) as flagman, 
 for his brother Richard, who was then a conduc- 
 tor on that road between St. Louis and Evans- 
 ville, Ind. He was at that time the youngest 
 man holding such a position on the road. After 
 serving there eight months, he went with Conduc- 
 tor Willis, in a similar capacity, where he was 
 for five months. Going to Pueblo, Colo., he be- 
 came flagman on the Denver & Rio Grande R. 
 R., between Pueblo and Salida, and later took 
 
 charge of a steam shovel, having three engines, 
 and engaged in filling the Pueblo yards. Re- 
 turning to Earlington, Ky., on a visit, he decided 
 to remain, and entered the service of the Ohio 
 Valley R. R. as conductor, between Henderson 
 and Princeton, Ky., remaining nine months in 
 that position. His next work was as night yard- 
 master for the L. & N. Railroad at Earlington, 
 where he served five months. He then went to 
 Idaho, where he worked for nine months as con- 
 ductor, on the Short Line of the Union Pacific 
 R. R., and from there to Needles, Cal., where 
 he worked as flagman and conductor on the At- 
 lantjc & Pacific R. R. for nine months. A visit 
 of some months to his Kentucky home, was fol- 
 lowed by his return to California and his old posi- 
 tion. He finally returned east, and entered the 
 employ of the Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern 
 (now the Illinois Central) and took a position 
 as conductor between Louisville and Paducah. 
 remaining there five years. He was then trans- 
 ferred to the Grenada district, where he is em- 
 ployed at the present time. Mr. Morgan was 
 united in marriage on Oct. 6, 1897, to Miss Ella 
 Conley, who was born in 1870, at Kelly's Station, 
 Ky. Socially, he is connected with the O. R. 
 C. He and his wife are members of the Catholic 
 church. Politically he is a staunch Democrat. 
 
 JOHN H. LANE, an engineer in the freight 
 service of the Illinois Central, residing 
 at Vickburg, Miss., was born in New Or- 
 leans, La., and is the son of Enos T. 
 Lane, a blacksmith by trade, who departed this 
 life in 1878. 
 
 Mr. Lane entered the service of the Louis- 
 ville, New Orleans & Texas Railroad in 1887, as 
 a wiper in the New Orleans shops, and was there 
 for two years. He then entered the road service 
 as fireman, on a freight engine between New Or- 
 leans and Wilson, La., with Engineer Christmas. 
 Serving in the capacity of fireman until Septem- 
 ber 1894, he was then examined for promotion,
 
 592 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 and passing a highly creditable examination, was 
 given charge of an engine. He has since had 
 a regular run in the freight service between 
 Vicksburg and New Orleans, where he is serving 
 with great credit. Mr. Lane was in a "tail end'' 
 collision near the Mississippi and Louisiana state 
 line, on August 9, 1899, in which the conductor 
 was badly injured, but he escaped injury. Miss 
 Jane Kennedy became the wife of Mr. Lane, and 
 one child, Anna, was born to them on March 12, 
 1897. Mr. Lane belongs to Division No. 281, 
 B. of L. E., and also Division No. 399, B. of L. 
 F., of Vicksburg. He resides in that city, on 
 South Mulberry street, where he is comfortably 
 located, and is a respected citizen of the place. 
 
 tion April i, 1900, having charge of all the bag- 
 gage coming into or going out of the Union 
 Station at Sioux City. 
 
 Mr. Swartwood was married at Silver 
 Creek, Nevada, in 1879, to Miss Martha Yeo- 
 man. Their children are : Homer Owens, Beu- 
 lah Annetto and William Ray. 
 
 Mr. Swartwood is a member of the Masonic 
 fratenity, Lone Tree Lodge No. 36, at Central 
 City, Nebraska and of Utah Chapter, No. 4 and 
 of the Royal Arcanum, all of Salt Lake City. 
 
 UGH C. SWARTWOOD, baggage 
 agent at Sioux City, is a native of 
 Wheeling, West Virginia, born Janu- 
 ary 16, 1857. After passing through 
 the public schools, he attended the Normal 
 school, at Spencer, Indiana, and the State 
 University of the same state. After teaching 
 two terms in Indiana and four in Nebraska, 
 he began railroading at Evanston, Wyoming, 
 on the Union Pacific as brakeman and was pro- 
 moted to be extra conductor. November 1887 
 he was placed in charge of the baggage car run- 
 ning between Ogden and Cheyenne, and between 
 the former point and Denver until August 1890. 
 Placed in charge of the baggage room at 
 Cheyenne he remained on duty there nearly two 
 years. When the Ogden Short Line was separ- 
 ated from the Union Pacific, Mr. Swartwood 
 was transferred to the station at Salt Lake and 
 remained until March 1897, when he was ap- 
 ]x)inted baggage agent of the Ogden and Salt 
 Lake road. In September 1898 he resigned to 
 enter actively into mining industries in which he 
 had investments but of which he shortly dis- 
 posed. Securing a position on the Kansas City 
 Belt Line in February 1899, he remained in that 
 service until his appointment to his present posi- 
 
 JOHN ADOLPH ANDERSON, foreman 
 painter at the Waterloo shops is a native 
 of Stockholm, Sweden, his birth having 
 occurred August 9, 1853. At the age of 
 sixteen he came alone to the new world, sailing 
 from Stockholm and landing at New York. He 
 came direct to Chicago and soon secured a place 
 in a large carriage shop where he learned the 
 painters' trade and worked six years. In 1875 
 he secured employment with the Illinois Central 
 at the Weldon shops and in 1880 was trans- 
 ferred to Waterloo where he remained about one 
 year. For the following five years he was em- 
 ployed in the shops of the C. St. P. M. & O. at 
 Sioux City and in 1886 returned to the service 
 of the Central at Waterloo and has been in its 
 employ ever since. On the death of Mr. Turner 
 in April 1900, Mr. Anderson was acting foreman 
 until June following, when he was regularly ap- 
 pointed foreman of the paint department at the 
 shops there. 
 
 Mr. Anderson was married in Waterloo, to 
 Miss Carrie Adrian, and they are the parents of 
 one daughter, Lillie. 
 
 In the fatherland Mr. Anderson was a mem- 
 ber of the athletic and singing societies but has 
 not affiliated with any lodge or society since 
 coming to America.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 593 
 
 ILLIAM A. HEATH, freight agent 
 at Sioux City, was born in the town 
 of Grattan, in Vermont, September 
 1 6, 1852. He was reared on the 
 farm, attending the public schools of his native 
 count}-. Coming west he secured a place as clerk 
 and night ticket agent at Waterloo and was later 
 made regular ticket agent. In October 1887 he 
 was transferred to Sioux City as cashier in the 
 offices serving eleven years as cashier and chief 
 clerk. He was appointed depot ticket agent serv- 
 ing nineteen months and was then appointed 
 April I, 1900 to his present position, having 
 charge of all in and out freight. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Heath occurred at 
 Osage, Iowa, to Miss Jane E. Hilton. In the 
 social orders Mr. Heath has taken a great in- 
 terest. He is a member of Theron Lodge, No. 
 508, Sioux City Chapter, No. 26, and Colum- 
 bian Commandery No. 18, all of Sioux City, and 
 of Kaaba Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of 
 Davenport. He is also a member of the Ancient 
 ( )nler of United Workmen and of the Woodmen 
 of the World, of Sioux City. 
 
 HARLES E. ROBERTS, a conductor 
 in the suburban service at Chicago, 
 began his railroad life in December 
 .1874, as a fireman in the freight ser- 
 vice of the Michigan Central running between 
 Chicago and Michigan City, Indiana. After one 
 year in this service he fired a yard engine two 
 years and then at the age of eighteen was made 
 engineer and ran a switch engine some six years, 
 resigning the position in December 1882. In 
 the summer of the following year he secured a 
 place on the Chicago & Alton running six months 
 as extra engineer. Early in 1883 he entered the 
 service of the Illinois Central and after one week 
 as fireman was transferred to the other end of the 
 train and became brakeman in the suburban ser- 
 vice with Conductor Ed. Collins. Serving in 
 
 this capacity for a year and a half, he was pro- 
 moted and served as baggageman and collector 
 for four years under Conductor Loomis. On 
 August 12, 1890, Mr. Roberts was promoted and 
 has been serving as suburban conductor ever 
 since. During 1894 he ran the fast express to 
 Grand Crossing making ten trips a day. 
 
 Mr. Roberts is a native of Kankakee, Illi- 
 nois. He married Miss Lydia Benjamin, a na- 
 tive of Canada, but reared at Kankakee. One 
 child has been born to them. 
 
 AMUEL B. CHAPMAN, an engineer 
 on the Omaha division, has been an 
 employe of the Illinois Central since 
 September 1877. For seven years 
 prior to that he had been mate on a river steamer 
 plying between St. Louis and St. Paul. On en- 
 tering the service of the Central he served as 
 fireman across the cab from John Fox until 
 January 23, 1893, when he was promoted and 
 assigned to extra duty on the Cherokee division. 
 When the new division to Omaha was opened 
 Mr. Chapman was one of those selected to 
 operate that division and moved to Council 
 Bluffs. 
 
 Mr. Chapman was born in Jo Daviess coun- 
 ty, Illinois, March 31, 1865. His father worked 
 at the painter's trade for many years and latterly 
 became proprietor of the Chapman house at 
 Cherokee. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Chapman to Miss 
 Angia M. Butts occurred at Cherokee and four 
 children have been born to them : Maria, Edna, 
 Arthur and John. 
 
 Mr. Chapman is a member of Division No. 
 226, B. of L. E. at Fort Dodge and of the A. 
 O. U. W., at Waterloo. He affiliates with the 
 Masonic Order, at Cherokee. In a number of 
 small wrecks through which he has passed he 
 has never received serious injury.
 
 594 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 K. CLARK, an engineer on the 
 Omaha division, entered the ser- 
 Q vice of the Illinois Central, at 
 Waterloo, on September 6, 1887, 
 as fireman on the main line making his first trip 
 with engineer Charles Wahl and later ran with 
 L. Smith on passenger engines two years. He 
 fired four years in the freight service under J. 
 T. Mulkern. He was regularly examined and 
 set up as engineer' in 1895, but continued on the 
 left side for a time owing to slack business on the 
 road. After running extra for a time out of 
 Waterloo, he was given a regular run in Septem- 
 ber 1898. When the new division was opened 
 he was assigned a run on that and moved with 
 his family to Council Bluffs. 
 
 Mr. Clark was born at Cedar Falls, la., a 
 son of George W. and Fannie F. (Streeter) 
 Clark, natives of Rochester and Phelps, N. Y., 
 respectively. They settled at Cedar Falls in 
 1845, running a dray line for a time and later 
 bought a farm. In 1894 he again purchased the 
 dray line and is now engaged in that business. 
 Prior to entering the railway service Mr. Clark 
 was engaged in the dray business at Waterloo. 
 
 His marriage occurred at Waterloo. He is 
 a member of Cedar Valley Lodge No. 30, B. of 
 R. T., at Waterloo, and Lodge No. 274 Ancient 
 < Irder of United Workmen. 
 
 jtjtjtjtjtjt 
 
 ETER SCHLAX, a suburban engineer, 
 has been in the service of the Central 
 since 1884, when he entered the Wei- 
 don shops. Remaining but a few 
 months he began firing on the road in the freight 
 service for \V. H. Kempton, remaining under 
 his instruction two and a half years during which 
 time they ran over every division of the Central 
 north of the Ohio river. In 1887 he received 
 his promotion and after a few months firing on 
 the pay car under Mr. Kempton, our subject 
 was assigned to engine No. 79 in the transfer 
 service and a few weeks later was assigned to 
 
 the freight service for a few tri]> and then 
 placed permanently in the suburban s-vice where 
 he has since been engaged, his pr;nt engine 
 being No. 221. Mr. Schlax is a nave of lias- 
 sett, Wis., and has been a resident >f Chicago 
 since 1884. He married Miss K;i Burke to 
 whom one child has been born, F rants. 
 
 .Mr. Schlax is a prominent meiber of the 
 B. of L. E., and is at present chiei if Divi>inn 
 No. 10, of Chicago. 
 
 ERXARD CURRAX, an ngineer in 
 the yard service of the llinois Cen- 
 tral at Chicago first ented the ser- 
 vice of the road at the \Mdon shops 
 working a short time during i879and '80, he 
 next secured work with the Iron Mimtain road 
 running between Poplar Bluff, Mo and Little 
 Rock, Ark. Having injured his had he came 
 home and in 1883 secured work oithe section 
 of the Illinois Central, continuing ii this capa- 
 city until 1886, when he began ring under J. 
 E. Poole. For five years he shoaled coal in 
 the freight and passenger service md in 1891 
 was set up to engineer and has sice been en- 
 gaged in the yard service at Chicav 
 
 James Curran, the father ofour subject 
 worked for many years on the sectin at Clifton 
 and he had been foreman for a lop time, when 
 he retired. 
 
 Mr. Curran was born in Chic?o December 
 30, 1858. He was married in Clrago to Miss 
 Ann Keleher who has borne him ,-ne daughter, 
 Margaret. 
 
 LBERT E. SINCLAIR, freight con- 
 ductor in the McComl district, was 
 born at DeKalb, Kemperounty. .Y 
 November 3, 1875, an< attended the 
 schools of his native place until thage of twelve 
 when his father moved to Meridiaj Miss. Here 
 the bov attended a business collfe two years
 
 HENRY H. BEALS.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 597 
 
 and then at the age of fifteen secured a situation 
 driving' in the service of the Meridian Street 
 Railway Company where he was employed two 
 years. Having conceived a desire for railroad- 
 ing he came to McComb City and secured a place 
 in the service of the Illinois Central as switch- 
 man, and four months later was transferred to 
 the train service as brakeman at which he was 
 employed until his promotion to freight concluc- 
 lorship October 10, 1895, by Trainmaster R. H. 
 Dvvyer, and has since run freight between Mc- 
 Comb City and New Orleans. 
 
 Mr. Sinclair is married, having a family of 
 two children. He is a member of Division No. 
 367. O. R- C., at McComb City and of Dewey 
 Tent, Xo. i, Knights of the Maccabees. 
 
 ENRY H. BEALS, one of the early con- 
 ductors of the Illinois Central, will be 
 remembered with pleasure by those 
 who were actively connected with the 
 road forty years ago. Like many of the early 
 operatives on western lines, Mr. Beals came from 
 the New England states, where he grew to man- 
 hood. Descended from old Puritan stock, the 
 family has held an honorable position in the east 
 from about the time of the landing of the May- 
 flower, filling offices of honor and trust through- 
 out the eastern states. 
 
 Henry H. Beals was born February 6, 1834, 
 at Brattleboro, Vt., where he was reared, attend- 
 ing the common schools until about the age of 
 twenty. About 1854, he followed the tide of 
 emigration of the energetic youth that set out 
 for the great and growing west about that time. 
 Sojourning for a time at Fond du Lac, Wis., he 
 later appeared at Freeport, 111., and upon the 
 opening of the Illinois Central for traffic his alert, 
 active nature was all the recommendation needed 
 to secure him a position in the operating depart- 
 ment of the road. Serving a short time as brake- 
 man, he was soon promoted and became a conduc- 
 
 32 
 
 tor in the freight service several years before 
 the war. The conflict of the states increasing 
 the passenger traffic to a great extent, carrying 
 the troops to and from the theatre of war, pro- 
 motion to the passenger service followed soon. 
 From that time until shortly before his death, 
 Mr. Beals was in active service, running between 
 Amboy and Dubuque and between the latter point 
 and Chicago, over the "Q" connection before their 
 own line was built. Shortly before his death 
 which occurred in Waterloo, la., March 15, 1884, 
 he retired, making his home with his daughter. 
 His good wife, who was Lydia Reed in her girl- 
 hood, survived him two years, leaving an only 
 child, Katie A., now the wife of Mr. C. K. Dixon, 
 division superintendent of the I. C. at Cherokee, 
 Iowa. 
 
 As a man Henry H. Beals was well beloved 
 by all his colleagues. The few old timers still 
 remaining who were young and active in the days 
 when the great Illinois Central system was new, 
 speak of him affectionately, recounting his vir- 
 tues and telling of his genial nature. Few are 
 left of the old coterie, but there are enough to 
 convey to the rising generation a knowledge of 
 what manner of men and gentlemen the older 
 generation was composed. 
 
 AMUEL T. POWLES, a conductor in 
 the suburban service, first entered rail- 
 road service in 1869, on the Chicago 
 & Alton road at Joliet, when the coal 
 fields at that point were just opened. He twisted 
 brakes in the freight service for three years and 
 then was promoted to a conductorship and as- 
 signed to a coal train by J. G. Hartigan, then 
 chief train dispatcher on that line. For about 
 three years Mr. Powles ran coal trains between 
 Braidwood and Chicago and was then assigned 
 to through freight running out of Blootnington, 
 to Chicago, St. Louis and Mexico, Mo. Pro- 
 moted to the passenger service he ran for twelve 
 years between Chicago and St. Louis, and then
 
 598 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 resigned to accept a similar position on the Wa- 
 bash, between Springfield and Grafton, remain- 
 ing one year. His next employment was on the 
 Texas Pacific running out of Texarkana and a 
 year later entered the employ of the Mexican 
 Central at the City of Mexico as freight and pas- 
 senger conductor continuing in that country 
 about a year. Deciding to quit railroading he 
 returned to Joliet and opened a livery stable 
 which he disposed of a year later and accepted a 
 place on the Colorado Midland running freight 
 between Colorado Springs and Leadville. In 
 about six months he was promoted to the pas- 
 senger service between Colorado Springs and 
 Grand Junction where he continued until Sep- 
 tember i, 1891, on which date he entered the 
 service of the Illinois Central. His first assign- 
 ment was as conductor on a construction train 
 filling in the yards at Dauphin Park. For a 
 month he was foreman on construction work in 
 the yards and was then promoted to night train- 
 master of the terminals which he held until Sep- 
 tember 1893, when he was assigned to his present 
 position in the suburban service. 
 
 Mr. Powles was born at Akron, Ohio. He 
 married Miss Downey of Joliet. He is a char- 
 ter member of Division No. 87, O. R. C., of 
 Bloomington. 
 
 F. POMEROY, was born in Hancock 
 county, Illinois, in 1855. From 
 newsboy to passenger conductor is 
 the record our subject has, as in 1871 
 he began on the Rock Island in that capacity, 
 first running from Bureau Junction to Rock Is- 
 land and later from Chicago to different points. 
 In 1875 he began braking on the same road be- 
 tween Trenton, Mo., and Leavenworth, Kansas, 
 and continued until December 1877, when he 
 came back to Chicago and in the spring of 1878 
 began braking in the freight service of the same 
 road and continued in that and passenger service 
 until 1882. Then he accepted a position with 
 the Pullman Company and remained in that ser- 
 
 vice until July 1885. On July 12, 1885, he be- 
 came brakeman in the suburban service of the 
 Illinois Central with Conductor John Stone and 
 remained there until May 1886, when he was pro- 
 moted to baggageman and ran the baggage until 
 the spring of 1889, being then promotd to collec- 
 tor and extra conductor and continued until the 
 spring of 1892, when he was given a regular run 
 which he retained until April 8, 1896, being then 
 promoted to assistant station master at Twelfth 
 street, Chicago. He remained there until April 
 8, 1899, at which time he resigned to accept his 
 former position of passenger conductor in subur- 
 ban service, being engaged in that capacity at the 
 present time. 
 
 The subject is a member of the Division No. 
 I, O. R. C., and was formerly a member of the 
 grievance committee. 
 
 He married Miss Sadie E. Smith, of Moline, 
 111. 
 
 , ODNEY DWIGHT DAVIS. The em- 
 ployes of the entire Illinois Central 
 will recognize the name that heads this 
 article, since its bearer has for many 
 years performed the duties of traveling engineer, 
 and in the pursuit of these duties, travels over 
 the entire line each year. When in Chicago, he 
 makes his headquarters at the Twenty-seventh 
 street round house. 
 
 Mr. Davis learned engineering on the Hou- 
 satonic Railroad, at Bridgeport. Later he came 
 west and secured a position on the Illinois Cen- 
 tral Railroad, and irom 1863 to '65, ran a freight 
 engine, and from 1865 until 1889, had a passen- 
 ger run with the exception of about ten months, 
 five months of which in 1888, were spent as pas- 
 senger conductor from Freeport to Chicago, and 
 five months were spent performing the duties 
 of master mechanic at Freeport. In 1889 the 
 company recognized in Mr. Davis a fitness for a 
 much higher office than that of engineer and he 
 was appointed air brake inspector and traveling 
 engineer for the entire line from New Orleans
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 599 
 
 to Onawa. Socially he affiliates with Valiant 
 Lodge, No. 130, Knights of Pythias, and has 
 been identified with the Brotherhood of Locomo- 
 tive Engineers from the time of the organization 
 of the fraternity, having joined at Centralia, 111., 
 where he still holds a membership in Division 
 Xo. 24. Like most engineers, Mr. Davis has 
 had some experience' in wrecks but has been very 
 fortunate in escaping injury. 
 
 The office of traveling engineer is one of 
 more than ordinary responsibility. In these days 
 when there are so many trains on the line, and so 
 many human lives are carried on these trains, it 
 is next to murder hi run out an engine that is 
 not in perfect order. With the invention of air 
 brakes came additional responsibility for the 
 traveling engineer, for now the man at the lever 
 stakes everything on the air brake. The fact, 
 therefore, that one man has retained the office of 
 air brake inspector and traveling engineer for so 
 many years is the strongest proof of his mechani- 
 cal skill and integrity that can be produced. 
 
 *** *."<* ^ 
 
 C. BLTCK, a conductor on the Vicks- 
 burg division, was born at Quincy, 
 Tenn., January 21, 1873. His father, 
 A. Buck, was for many years 'a 
 merchant at Memphis where he now lives, retired. 
 The mother, Emma McCloud, died during the 
 boy's early childhood. 
 
 Mr. Buck attended the public schools and 
 at the age of sixteen entered the establishment 
 of a wholesale drug house in Memphis and was 
 with them and other drug firms for a period of 
 two and a half years. Going to Little Rock he 
 secured service as conductor on a street car line, 
 he worked about four months and then went to 
 St. Louis, where he worked for a firm of produce 
 commission merchants about a year. Returning 
 to Memphis, he entered the service of the Y. 
 & M. V. road in January 1894, as a flagman, 
 running between Memphis and Vicksburg. 
 October 10, 1897 he was promoted to conductor 
 
 in the freight service and ran on the Vicksburg 
 division until June 12, 1898, when he was given 
 a position in charge of the supply train one year. 
 After a short time off the road he was again ap- 
 pointed flagman and on December 11, 1899 was 
 given his present position in charge of a freight 
 train. 
 
 Mr. Buck is of the Protestant faith and is 
 an independent in politics. 
 
 HOMAS F. HALES, a freight conduc- 
 tor on the Louisiana division, has been 
 in the service of the Illinois Central 
 since November 1889, when he began 
 as brakeman in the freight service. In the short 
 period of fourteen months he was promoted and 
 has since had charge of the local freight out of 
 McComb City. 
 
 He is a native of Summit, Miss., born No- 
 vember 25, 1869, a son of T. B. Hales, for many 
 years a well known teacher of the public schools 
 but now retired and making his home at Mc- 
 Comb City. Another of his sons, William B. 
 Hales, is in the employ of the Central as brake- 
 man. 
 
 Thomas F. Hales is prominent in the social 
 orders holding membership in the Masonic body, 
 the Knights of Pythias and the Elks, all of Mc- 
 Comb City. He is a member of Division No. 
 367, O. R. C., in which he is serving as assistant 
 chief conductor. 
 
 DWARD L. FORTIN, an engineer in 
 the service of the Central at Chicago, 
 is a native of Kankakee, son of Edward 
 Fortin, now deceased, for many years 
 in the employ of the C. L. & C. R. R. on the sec- 
 tion as foreman. Our subject began with the 
 Central as switchman in the Chicago yards and 
 worked in that capacity until the latter part of
 
 600 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 1890, when he went into the operating depart- 
 ment as fireman, first under John Wonzer and 
 s:it across the cab from a number of the old en- 
 gineers as extra fireman between Weldon and 
 I'.urnside, part of the time having charge of an 
 engine until February 1893, when he was ex- 
 amined and set up to engineer. During the sum- 
 mer of 1893 he had charge of the only compound 
 engine the Central ever owned. For a number 
 of years Mr. Fort in ran extra passenger and 
 freight and part of the time pulled the pay car 
 on the western lines. He is a member of Divi- 
 sion No. 10, B. of L. E. 
 
 Railroad in the freight and passenger service 
 until the first of December 1899, when he re- 
 signed from the service. 
 
 Mr. Burns was married on the i/th of No- 
 vember 1886, to Miss Delia M. Johnson of 
 Hazelhurst, Miss., born April 17, 1867. One 
 child has been born to them Edward T., his birth 
 occurring September 16, 1888. 
 
 Mr. Burns is a member of the O. R. C. In 
 religion he is a Baptist and in politics a Demo- 
 crat. 
 
 E. BURNS, conductor on the Fulton 
 district, is a native of Madison coun- 
 ty, Mississippi, born December 23, 
 1854. His father, Daniel E. Burns, 
 a relative of Daniel Boone, was a well read 
 clergyman who occupied the pulpit of the First 
 Baptist church in Memphis for four years, dying 
 in the service. He was a mason and was buried 
 under the solemn rites of that order. The 
 mother, Talalah E. Slaughter, a Virginian by 
 birth, died soon after the demise of her hus- 
 band. 
 
 D. E. Burns attended the public schools of 
 Memphis and after, the death of his father studied 
 for a time in the colleges at Clinton and Oxford, 
 Miss., and then returned to the place of his birth 
 where he ran the farm until twenty years of age. 
 Entering the service of the N. O. C. & St. L. 
 road, now the Illinois Central, as baggageman 
 running between Cairo and Canton, he continued 
 at that about six months and then became a 
 freight brakeman, serving in that capacity four 
 years. Promoted to a conductorship, he ran on 
 the Water Valley district about three and a half 
 years when he was transferred to the Louisiana 
 division running freight and passenger until 1891. 
 Entering the service of the Queen & Crescent 
 road he ran freight and passenger trains until 
 1893, when he secured a place on the Southern 
 
 JD. LADD, local freight agent of the 
 Illinois Central, at Cairo, is a native of 
 Q Illinois, having been born in Grayville, 
 February n, 1854, a son of W. H. and 
 Sarah (Elder) Ladcl, natives of Virginia and 
 Pennsylvania, respectively. The father followed 
 merchandising as a vocation. 
 
 W. H. Lack! removed to Kentucky when our 
 subject was an infant, where the latter was raised 
 and educated, graduating from Mayfiekl College, 
 May-field, Ky. He learned the business of tele- 
 graphing and in June 1872 he accepted a posi- 
 tion as operator with the Paducah & Memphis 
 Railroad at Paducah, Ky. He held successive- 
 ly the positions of operator, agent, train dis- 
 patcher and trainmaster on that line. In 1878 
 he was sent to Memphis, Tenn., by the P. & M. 
 Company to take charge of the Memphis station. 
 In December 1878 he accepted a position with 
 the .C. St. L. & N. O. Railroad (now the Illinois 
 Central) as agent at Martin, Tenn., remaining 
 there until 1884, when he was sent to Cairo, 111., 
 as assistant agent. In 1890 he was made agent 
 and has successfully held that position to the 
 present time. 
 
 In 1874 Mr. Ladd was married to a daugh- 
 ter of H. S. Stevens, a prominent tobacco 
 merchant of Paducah, Ky. Our subject and 
 wife have one living son, John, a lad of twelve 
 years. Socially, Mr. Ladd is identified with the 
 K. of P. Order.
 
 p 
 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 603 
 
 (). KENISON, conductor at Water- 
 loo, began braking for the Illinois 
 O Central at Waterloo in 1888. under 
 trainmaster Keepers. He worked a 
 short time between Waterloo and Dubuque, and 
 then was with Conductor Frank Fenstemaker 
 for three years between Waterloo and Fort 
 Dodge. He also worked on the Lyle branch 
 with Conductor Ed. Chapman for two years on 
 a way freight, and eleven months on the Local 
 on the West End with Conductor Ross. In the 
 fall of 1892 Mr. Kcnison was promoted to the 
 position of conductor, spent eleven months in 
 that capacity on the West End, and has since 
 run both ways out of Waterloo. Mr. Kenison 
 was born in Freeport, 111., a son of Stephen and 
 Lucy Kenison, also natives of Freeport who have 
 spent their entire lives in the place of their birth. 
 Our subject located in Waterloo in 1888 and has 
 since made that his home. The lady who pre- 
 sides over the household affairs of Mr. Kenison, 
 was known in her girlhood as Miss Mary Kings- 
 bury and her early years were spent in New 
 Hartford. Their home has been blessed by the 
 presence of two children. Lulu and Elaine. Mr. 
 Kenison has been a successful railroad man, caus- 
 ing but little inconvenience or anxiety for his 
 fellow workmen and superiors, and thus far has 
 a nice record. During his entire career, he has 
 never met with severe injury. In the social cir- 
 cles of Waterloo, he is identified with Division 
 No. 341, B. of R. T., also the Ben Hur society. 
 
 Jessie, a farmer, enlisted at St. Charles, Illinois, 
 in the nth Illinois Volunteers in 1862, and was 
 killed at Vicksburg, May 9, 1863 ; Ezra is a far- 
 mer living at Springfield, Colo. ; Julia A., widow 
 of William Linsea, resides at Gratton Center, 
 Mich. ; Welland W., a farmer lives at Greenville, 
 Mich.; Herbert and Esther died while at Sparta, 
 Michigan. Franklin Curran was educated in 
 the schools of Lyon and Plainfield, Mich., in 
 which vicinity he spent his early life on the farm. 
 He came to Illinois in 1855 and began work for 
 the Central as a fireman, which position he filled 
 two years and then returned to Michigan to enter 
 the lumber business in the northern part of the 
 state. In 1865 he returned to Illinois and ac- 
 cepted a position on the Central between Amboy 
 and Dunleith, being promoted to the right side 
 in 1871, which he held continuously until May 
 10, 1897. For nearly thirty years he was in the 
 faithful discharge of his duty and has left be- 
 hind him a record in which he may take just 
 pride. Mr. Curran was married in Amboy, Ills., 
 to Miss Abbie Bell, who was born July 26, 1841, 
 in that city. Mrs. Curran died July 26, 1882. 
 To them two children were born : Jesse, born 
 February 26, 1859, residing at North McGregor, 
 Iowa, and Flora, born June 24, 1862, who died 
 September u, 1895. Mr. Curran is now living 
 retired from active life at Freeport, Illinois, and 
 although not on the line now he still takes a 
 lively interest in railroad affairs. 
 
 
 RANKLIN CURRAN, ex-engineer of 
 the Illinois Central, was born Febru- 
 ary 12, 1832, and is a son of Levi and 
 Jane (Gardner) Curran, both of whom 
 were born near Elmira, New York. The mother 
 was a strict Methodist and brought up her fami- 
 ly according to the principles of that faith. Their 
 children are as follows : Charles is a farmer liv- 
 ing at Courtland, Kent county, Michigan ; Betsey, 
 a widow, lives at Mansfield, Ohio ; Franklin ; 
 
 JMcCUMSEY, special agent of the 
 secret service of the Illinois Central, 
 O is a native of Franklin county, Pa., 
 born January 12, 1865. His father, 
 Jesse McCumsey, is a noted horseman living at 
 Lancaster, Pa. The mother, Malinda Dull, is 
 deceased. 
 
 Mr. McCumsey attended the public schools 
 of Chambersburg until the age of fourteen, 
 when he became a rider of his father's stable and 
 pulled the reins over the racers -for four years.
 
 604 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 He then became a professional foot racer and 
 during his career in that, sport was never de- 
 feated, having a record of gy\ seconds for 100 
 yards. He then became general foreman for 
 Thomas Gannon, a contractor for the United 
 States naval work at Philadelphia, going next 
 to Pittsburg, he worked for a time for the Wes- 
 tern L'nion Telegraph Company some six months 
 and then for a year was a conductor for the 
 street car line of that city. He next came to 
 Chicago and drove a team for eight months and 
 then secured a place on the force of the Pinker- 
 ton Detective Agency, remaining an equal length 
 of time. He then accepted a place on the detec- 
 tive force of the Chicago & Alton road and then 
 entered the employ of the Illinois Central where 
 he has since been employed. During this time 
 he has rendered valuable service to the line, 
 notably in the case of the bandits that held up a 
 train at near Bardwell, Ky., November 30, 1894, 
 securing the conviction of the culprits. During 
 the World's Fair, Mr. McCumsey arrested and 
 had convicted forty-three of the worst thieves 
 that infested the city. He is a member of the 
 Catholic faith. 
 
 LBERT W. SULLIVAN, the general 
 superintendent of the Illinois Central 
 and Yazoo and Mississippi Valley 
 railroads, has spent his entire rail- 
 road and business life on the great system over 
 which he now has general supervision. At the 
 age of sixteen he entered the shops at Chicago, 
 November 10, 1870, as machinist's apprentice 
 and served out his full term of apprenticeship in 
 1875. Desiring tcr better fit himself for higher 
 positions in railroad circles he began a course in 
 the draughting department of the road and for 
 three years was busily engaged with square and 
 tri-angle and drawing pen. After finishing his 
 course of mechanical drawing Mr. Sullivan be- 
 came chief clerk in the machinery department 
 in 1878, and for four years served in that capa- 
 
 city prior to his promotion to assistant superin- 
 tendent of machinery in which capacity he served 
 three years. Appointed superintendent of the 
 Chicago division in 1885, with headquarters at 
 Cairo, 111., he was promoted two years later and 
 became superintendent of the lines in Illinois 
 with headquarters at Chicago. Having demon- 
 strated his ability as a railroad man in the various 
 positions in which he had been tried, Mr. Sulli- 
 van was appointed September 3, 1889, to the 
 general superintendency of the road which posi- 
 tion he has filled to the present date. 
 
 Mr. Sullivan was born in the city of New 
 York September 14, 1854. 
 
 JT. HARAHAN, second vice president 
 and general manager of the Illinois 
 Q Central and Yazoo & Mississippi Val- 
 ley Railroads, has enjoyed as wide a 
 range of experience as any head of the operating 
 department of any of the American railroads, 
 having begun at the lowest round. After serv- 
 ing three years in the ranks of the Union army 
 he entered the government railroad service as 
 switchman at Alexandria, Virginia, on the 
 Orange & Alexandria road and subsequently 
 worked some six months in the shops at the same 
 place. He later served as engine dispatcher and 
 engineer on the road at a time when it took a 
 large amount of physical courage to venture out 
 on the line, Mosby's raiders having a way of 
 driving the engineer and fireman to the floor of 
 the cab or the tender, with a shower of bullets 
 at most unexpected times. At the close of the 
 war he served from the fall of 1865 to the fol- 
 lowing summer as yard master of the Nashville 
 and Decatur road, at the former place and from 
 that date until the close of '67 as conductor on 
 a construction train, for the same management. 
 During 1868 and part of 1869 he served as con- 
 ductor on the Clarksville division of the Louis- 
 ville & Nashville road, and for a year during the 
 latter part of 1869 and 1870 as yard master and
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 605 
 
 conductor on the Louisville, Cincinnati & Lex- 
 ington line. From 1870 to 1872 Mr. Harahan 
 was in charge of the Shelby road and in August 
 of the latter year, returning to the Nashville & 
 Decatur line, he served as road master for seven 
 years. In 1879 being offered the superinten- 
 (iency of the Memphis division of the Louisville 
 & Nashville road he accepted and in 1881 was 
 transferred to the New Orleans division where 
 he remained until December 1883 the date of his 
 appointment to the general superintendency of 
 the lines. Serving in this capacity until the first 
 of July following he was promoted to general 
 manager and served to the end of the year. 
 January 1st, 1885 he resigned and accepted the 
 superintendency of the Pittsburg division of the 
 Baltimore & Ohio, but three months after was 
 induced to return to the Louisville & Nashville 
 as assistant general manager, and promoted in 
 October following to the head of the depart- 
 ment, serving three years. During the two fol- 
 lowing years Mr. Harahan served successively 
 as assistant general manager for the Lake Shore 
 & Michigan Southern, general manager for the 
 Chesapeake & Ohio and was serving in the same 
 capacity on the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas, 
 when on November i, 1890, he became second 
 vice president and general manager of the Illi- 
 nois Central. 
 
 Mr. Harahan lacked the advantages of 
 technical training, gaining his knowledge of 
 railroad management in the school of practical 
 experience. Having filled positions in the 
 lowliest stations he knows well how to look at 
 matters from the operative's point of view, mak- 
 ing his decisions with a knowledge of the needs 
 of both sides of the question. He is possessed 
 of that necessary attribute of an official, execu- 
 tive ability, in a marked degree and has the 
 faculty of turning from one line of thought to 
 another and give his views without delay. His 
 sense of justice is large, the most obscure opera- 
 tive feeling certain of as fair treatment at the 
 hands of the general superintendent as those far 
 above him in the service of the road. Through 
 all the onerous duties of the position he holds 
 Mr. Harahan preserves a rugged good health, 
 
 partly through inheriting a strong mind in a 
 strong body, and partly by the ability to leave his 
 business at the office door, when the day's work is 
 done. His judgment of men seldom fails and 
 an opinion once formed of a man's capacity sel- 
 dom needs revision. 
 
 L. GARRARD, freight engineer on 
 the Y. & M. V. line, has been with 
 'Q the company since 1891, when he be- 
 gan in the capacity of watchman in 
 the round house at Vicksburg and continued in 
 that capacity for eighteen months. He then se- 
 cured a place as fireman in the freight service 
 under Engineer Phillips and after only eight 
 months on the left side was examined and pro- 
 moted to the other side. After acting as hostler 
 in the Vicksburg yards eighteen months he was 
 assigned to the freight service and has since been 
 thus engaged on the Vicksburg division. 
 
 Mr. Garrard was born in Coldwater, Miss., 
 November 15, 1875, a son of John H. Garrard, 
 who, during his lifetime was a merchant at Cold- 
 water. A brother, John E. Garrard, is an engi- 
 neer in the service of the K. C. & S. railway. 
 
 The only wreck in which Mr. Garrard has 
 been involved proved to be fortunate in that no 
 lives were lost. He is not affiliated with any 
 order or secret society. 
 
 ILLIAM G. RANKIN, claim agent 
 for Cook .county, is one of the many- 
 citizens of foreign birth who hold 
 positions of responsibility and trust 
 on the great American railroads. He was born 
 near Stratford, Ont., May 3, 1856, and was 
 reared on the farm, attending the district schools. 
 On attaining maturity he followed farming for 
 several years and then came to the states, locat-
 
 606 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ing at Janesville, Wis. Here he attended a 
 business college learning short hand and tele- 
 graphy, fitting himself for a railroad career. 
 When competent to fill a position he secured a 
 place in the service of the Chicago & Northwes- 
 tern as stenographer at the Wood street transfer 
 station January i, 1890, remaining with the com- 
 pany seven months. September 1st, the same 
 year he entered the service of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral as stenographer in the trainmasters office 
 under Mr. Dunning, where he continued four 
 months, being next transferred to the office of 
 the division superintendent, he was next assigned 
 to the office of Mr. W. R. Head and served as 
 assistant and clerk until the appointment of Mr. 
 Losey as chief claim agent, since which time Mr. 
 Rankin has served as claim agent for all personal 
 injuries occurring in Cook county. 
 
 Mr. Rankin was married in London, Out., 
 December 26, 1885, to Miss Lydia E. Heslop, a 
 teacher in the schools of the Dominion.. Two 
 sons have been born to them, Garnet W. and 
 Roy. 
 
 Mr. Rankin is a member of Hercules Court, 
 No. 892, I. O. F., of Grand Crossing and of 
 Arcanum Council, R. A., of Chicago. He is a 
 man well fitted by nature and training for the 
 responsible position he has to fill. 
 
 J. GOOD ALE, general foreman of 
 round house and shops at Clinton, 
 IH-; was born in Monroe, Michigan, 
 1864. Mr. Goodale served for a 
 time as machinist, and also fired, and ran an 
 engine on the Kentucky Central R. R., being in 
 the employ of that company for five years ; was 
 then round house foreman for the C, N. O. & 
 T. P. R. R., at Somerset, Ky., for a short time; 
 served as machinist on the C. St. P. M. & O. R. 
 R., at Sioux City, Iowa, one year; was foreman 
 at the Sioux City & Northern R. R. round house 
 in Sioux City, a short time, and in 1892 did 
 valve work for the G. T. R. R., at Great Falls, 
 
 Mont. On the I3th of January 1893 he entered 
 the service of the I. C. R. R. as machinist, at 
 Water Valley, Miss., where he worked six weeks. 
 was then made night foreman in the round house 
 at liurnside shops, Chicago, remaining in that 
 position until June 12, 1893, when he became day 
 foreman at Weldon Station round house. In 
 1894 he took charge of Weldon Shops round 
 house as night foreman, where he remained until 
 Dec. 31, 1896, when he was transferred to his 
 present position of general foreman of round 
 house and shops at Clinton. Mr. Goodale was 
 married in 1890, to Miss Lillie V. Hill, who died 
 in 1892, leaving one son, Robert Stanley Goodale. 
 Mr. Goodale is a member of the Knights of 
 Pythias Lodge, in Chicago. Mr. Goodale was 
 married January 24, 1900, to Etta M. Slater, of 
 Sioux City, Iowa. 
 
 Jtjtjtjtjtjt 
 
 ARTER JONES, an engineer on the 
 Louisiana division, better known as 
 "Birmingham Carter," comes of a 
 family prominent in the business, and 
 political world as well as in railroad circles. 
 
 His father, Samuel G. Jones, deceased, a 
 civil engineer, was prominent in the construc- 
 tive as well as in the operative departments of a 
 number of railroads. He built the roads run- 
 ning between Macon and Atlanta ; between Mont- 
 gomery, Ala., and West Point ; the Mobile & 
 Texas ; and a branch of the N. C. & St. L. R. R. 
 He was superintendent of the M. & M. R. R. 
 and president of the Savannah & Memphis, now 
 a part of the Central of Georgia railway. Of 
 his nine sons all have won honorable places in 
 the affairs of the south. Thomas G., attorney 
 general for the L. & N., served the state of 
 Alabama four years as governor. Charles P. is 
 assistant district attorney for the L. & N., at 
 Montgomery, Ala. Samuel G., Jr., is a profes- 
 sor at West Point. Edward E. is train dis- 
 patcher at Birmingham, Ala., in the service of 
 the L. & N. George M. is clerk in the freight
 
 WILLIAM C. WOOLLFA". 

 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 609 
 
 office of the same road in the same city. Frank 
 E. is a stenographer in the employ of the navy 
 department at San Francisco. Edwin F., for- 
 merly assistant attorney for the government, is 
 practicing law at Montgomery, Ala. Jackson S. 
 is in the civil engineering department of the B. 
 & O. R. R. Company. Carter, the subject of 
 this sketch, is the ninth of the family. 
 
 Carter Jones has been in railway service since 
 1873, when he began as fireman on the old 
 A. & C. R. R. at Opelika, Ala., working in that 
 capacity eighteen months. He then entered the 
 shops of the M. & M. road at Montgomery, for 
 a year and a half and then started as an appren- 
 tice in the shops of the A. & W. P. road at Mont- 
 gomery, remaining until 1878. After firing 
 three years on the A. & C. road Mr. Jones was 
 examined and promoted to be engineer in 1881, 
 running an engine on that line for a year. In 
 1882 he entered the service of the P. & A., at 
 Pensacola, Fla., driving an engine for a year 
 and a half. His next service was with the L. & 
 N., at Birmingham, Ala., as engineer in the 
 freight and passenger service until December, 
 1885, when he became connected with the A. & 
 W. P. road running between Atlanta and Mont- 
 gomery, for a year. Coming to McComb in 
 1888 he secured a place as engineer on the 
 Louisiana division and has since been in that 
 service. 
 
 Tune i, 
 
 'ILLIAM C. WOOLLEY, ex-agent 
 of the Illinois Central, resides at 421 
 Nachusa avenue, Dixon, 111. He 
 was born in Manchester, England, 
 1826. His father, Thomas Woolley, a 
 mason, was born at Rugeley, Staffordshire, Eng- 
 land, about 1800 A. D. His mother, Mary Cal- 
 land, was born in England about 1806. They 
 were married in 1823. To this marriage there 
 were born three sons and two daughters, of 
 which the subject of this sketch and his younger 
 brother came to this country ; the brother lo- 
 cated in Chicago, 111., after being in the employ 
 
 of the Chicago & North- Western Railway com- 
 pany about eight years at Dixon and Sterling, 
 Illinois. Our subject was educated mostly in 
 the private schools of his native city. At that 
 time the most of the schools were of this kind. 
 At the age of twelve years he began work with 
 his father, who was a mason contractor, and of 
 whom he learned his trade. Our subject emi- 
 grated to this country March 1853, in a sailing 
 vessel, landing in New Orleans after a trip of 
 seventy days, doing his last work of ten years in 
 his native country for the well known firm of 
 Sir Elkanah Armitage & Sons, No. 48 Moseley 
 St., Manchester, England. After landing in 
 New Orleans he remained there only long 
 enough to secure a passage on one of the steam- 
 ers plying between that point and St. Louis, mak- 
 ing New Albany his point of destination, stay- 
 ing there three days to secure conveyance to 
 Lyndon, 111., where he did his first work in this 
 country, digging a cellar, for which all he got 
 for his labor was a straw hat. From this place 
 he walked to Dixon, 111., arriving there June i, 
 1853, beginning work in the construction de- 
 partment of the Illinois Central Railroad the fol- 
 lowing morning just north of what is now North 
 Dixon. In this capacity he worked in the same 
 vicinity for nearly two years. The Illinois Cen- 
 tral was formally opened on February 17, 1855, 
 and he entered the service in the freight depart- 
 ment on Monday, February 19, he being ap- 
 pointed agent of the Dixon station on September 
 15, 1858, which position he held continuously 
 until May 28, 1891, when he retired from the 
 service. During his service the town of Dixon 
 grew from a small village to a manufacturing 
 city of much importance, and under his super- 
 vision the interests of the company, whom he 
 served so long and faithfully, grew in like pro- 
 portions. Mr. Woolley was married June 22, 
 1850, to Miss Mary Webb, of Manchester, Eng- 
 land, who came to this country with her hus- 
 band to enjoy his pleasures and share his sor- 
 rows if any. To this marriage were born five 
 children, of whom one son and two daughters' 
 are living, all of them married and comfortably 
 situated in life.
 
 610 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 PHILBRICK, superintendent of the 
 Memphis division of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, was born in Bailey ville, Illinois, 
 on March 7, 1862. Mr. Philbrick 
 was educated in the public schools of his native 
 town, and took a course at the University of Illi- 
 nois, at Champaign, graduating in 1886. He had 
 been connected with the Chicago & Alton R. R. 
 during his vacations from 1881 to 1886, and on 
 February of the latter year, became identified 
 with the Burlington & Northern R. R. as a 
 draughtsman, occupying that position about six 
 months. He then went to the Rock Island R. R. 
 at Atchison, Kansas, remaining with that com- 
 pany, two years as draughtsman and district en- 
 gineer. His next work was with the Chicago 
 & Alton R. R. acting as assistant engineer with 
 headquarters at Chicago, and was employed there 
 until March 1891. His connection with the I. 
 C. dates from that year. He was first given a 
 position as assistant engineer at Chicago, and on 
 January 1st, 1893, was appointed road master 
 of the Louisiana division, with headquarters at 
 Now Orleans. He remained there until Novem- 
 ber 1895, when he was transferred to Chicago, 
 as road master of the First division, and in Octo- 
 ber 1896, was sent to Memphis, as road master of 
 the Memphis division. He occupied the latter 
 position, until promoted to superintendent of that 
 division, on April i, 1898, and continues there 
 at the present time. 
 
 J. HARLAN, chief train dispatcher 
 at Memphis, is a native of Richmond, 
 ^ irginia, his birth occurring Novem- 
 ber 22, 1869. His parents were R. 
 J. and Hattie (Stratton) Harlan. The father, 
 was an extensive owner of canal boats, served 
 with credit, as an officer in the confederate army 
 during the war. He died when our subject was 
 less than a year old. The mother, who in 
 maidenhood was Lucy Stratton, survived him 
 
 but a few years, leaving two sons of whom R. 
 J. is the younger. Sanner Harlan, the older, is 
 train dispatcher for the Southern Railroad lo- 
 cated at Charleston.- R. J. Harlan was educated 
 in the public schools of Richmond and at the age 
 of four entered the offices of the Richmond & 
 Allegheny Railway Company at Lynchburg, 
 Virginia, having previously learned telegraphy, 
 and remained there one year, being transferred 
 to Clifton Forge, Virginia, where he was sta- 
 tioned six months. The following eight months 
 were spent in the service at Balcony Falls, when 
 he resigned and accepted a position with the 
 Norfolk & Western road at Roanoke, Virginia, 
 remaining four years when he was promoted in 
 1888 to dispatcher. Resigning in 1889 he returned 
 to the Southern road as dispatcher at Selma, 
 Alabama, where he was engaged some four 
 months at which time he accepted a position with 
 the Central Railway of Georgia, as dispatcher 
 at Savannah, serving there two years. In 1892 
 he entered the service of the Illinois Central at 
 McComb City, Mississippi, in the dispatcher's 
 office and four months later was transferred to 
 Louisville, Kentucky, where he served one year. 
 Promoted to chief dispatcher he held the posi- 
 tion there until 1897, when he was transferred to 
 Memphis, in the same capacity and has been ac- 
 ceptably filling the position ever since. On the 
 eleventh of November 1891, Mr. Harlan was 
 married to Miss Lucy Elam, of Roanoke, Vir- 
 ginia. She was born at Liberty, Virginia, Janu- 
 ary 20, 1872 and was educated in the Liberty 
 Female Seminary ; she is the daughter of 
 Joseph H. and Eliza (Vaughn) Elam, natives 
 of Virginia and Pennsylvania, respectively. Three 
 children have been born to them, Richard Hous- 
 ton, born in Savannah, 1893; Edith, born at 
 Louisville, 1896, and Robert Cunningham, born 
 in Memphis, December 22, 1898. The family 
 are attendants of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church, south. 
 
 Mr. Harlan is a member of the Odd Fellows 
 fraternity and is said to be one of the most 
 courteous and popular officials of the system in 
 the south, where true southern courtesy is the 
 rule.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 611 
 
 G. TLIRLEY is a popular engineer, 
 in the passenger service of the Illi- 
 L Q nois Central, his run being from Clin- 
 ton to St. Louis. He entered the 
 service of the I. C. in 1878, as a fireman between 
 Centralia and Cairo. In 1881 he was transferred 
 to the Clinton district and promoted to engineer. 
 Remaining in that capacity in the freight service 
 for fifteen years, he was promoted to the passen- 
 ger service, August i, 1896, where he is now 
 satisfactorily serving. 
 
 Our subject was born July 6, 1857, at Clear- 
 field county, Tennessee, and was married March 
 4, 1880. He has an interesting family of five 
 children, two sons, and three daughters. 
 
 In social organizations, Mr. Turley is quite 
 prominent, being local chairman of B. of L. E., 
 No. 315, and is also connected with DeWitt 
 Lodge, No. 84, and Gooclbrake Chapter No. 59, 
 of Clinton. 
 
 His popularity with his fellow-townsmen of 
 Clinton, is attested by the fact, that he is serving 
 them for the sixth year, as alderman from the 
 first ward. 
 
 W. P>. Dunn, the subject of this sketch, be- 
 gan railroading on the Jackson district March 
 10, 1882 as brakeman under William Neville, 
 but soon came under the authority of Charles 
 Harrington under whom most of his braking 
 was done. He served for some time in the same 
 capacity on the Mobile & Ohio out of Cairo and 
 then returned to the employ of the Central. 
 After braking for a time he was promoted and 
 ran a train until 1889, when he quit and returned 
 to the employ of the M. & O. for a short time 
 since which time he has been in the employ of 
 the Illinois Central running at present in the 
 preferred freight service out of Jackson. 
 
 Mr. Dunn was born at Raleigh, North Caro- 
 lina, his marriage occurred at Jackson to Miss 
 May Lawrence of that place. Mr. Dunn is a 
 member of Division No. 149, O. R. C., of Jack- 
 son having served as inside sentinel for years. 
 
 B. DUNN, a freight conductor on 
 the Jackson district, comes of a 
 Q railroad family. Five brothers 
 were in the employ of the com- 
 pany at the same time and at one time were all 
 employed on the same train. J. K. Dunn, now 
 in the grocery business at Jackson, began rail- 
 roading July 29, 1883 as fireman in the yards at 
 Jackson. In November 1885 he was sent to 
 run an engine in the yards at Water Valley and 
 the following year was examined, promoted, and 
 sent out on the main line running north and south 
 from Water Valley and latterly on several other 
 branches. He is a member of the B. of L. E. and 
 of the B. of L. F. Charles C. Dunn is an en- 
 gineer on the south end of the road. Two other 
 brothers are in the service of the M. K. &. T. 
 in Texas. 
 
 UGUST E. G1RARD, engineer on the 
 Illinois Central Railroad, Freeport 
 division, was born in Dubuque, Iowa, 
 March 29, 1864, of French and Swiss 
 parentage, his father, Hyacinth Girard, having 
 been born in France in 1833, and his mother, 
 Sophie (Chevalier), in Switzerland in 1839. 
 They came to America in 1853, locating for a 
 few years near Fredericksburg, Ohio, then mov- 
 ing further west to Dubuque, Iowa, where, in 
 1856, the father entered the service of the Du- 
 buque & Pacific R. R. as a fireman and was pro- 
 moted to engineer in October 1859. He re- 
 mained as engineer in the service of said road 
 (now the 1. C. R. R.) until his death, which oc- 
 curred January 30, 1897. The mother died in 
 January 1899. 
 
 August E. Girard was educated in the pub- 
 lic schools of Dnbuque and Waterloo, Iowa. 
 In 1879 he entered the service of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral R. R., at Waterloo, as a fireman, and on 
 February 6, 1883, was licensed to handle the
 
 612 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 throttle and lever, in which position he remained 
 for three years, when he quit the road to engage 
 in business pursuits for about two years. He 
 then ran as engineer for the Minnesota & North- 
 western R. R. for a period of six months, when 
 he returned to the I. C. R. R., running on the 
 Chicago division for three years. In 1891 he 
 was transferred to the Freeport division, where, 
 with the exception of six months in 1893, he 
 has run continuously ever since. Mr. Girard 
 was married November 30, 1893, to Miss Nellie 
 Buckley, of Chicago. She was born in Toona- 
 vara, Ireland, September 12, 1863. Mr. Girard 
 is a member of the Masonic Order, and also of 
 Division No. 27, H. of L. E. 
 
 J( )HN GLOVE first saw the light of day in 
 England, coming when fourteen years of 
 age to Champaign, Illinois, where his 
 parents settled. He began on the Illi- 
 nois Central in 1872 as a fireman in the yards at 
 Chicago, for Mr. McElroy in which place he re- 
 mained about one year and then went on the road 
 in freight service on the engine with Ed. Barker. 
 He was in freight service as a fireman for three 
 years, when he became a fireman in passenger 
 service for Charles Draper, now deceased. He 
 was in this service for two years and in 1878 
 was promoted to engineer. 
 
 He then went into the yards for about a 
 year, running extra on the road during part of 
 that time and next he was on suburban service, 
 where he had a regular run, remaining here four 
 years, when he returned to freight service with 
 a regular run between Kankakee and Blooming- 
 ton. Mr. Glove next returned to the Chicago 
 division where he remained about a year, when 
 he went on the main line running both ways out 
 of Amboy. In the spring of 1881 he went on 
 the Iowa division, running from Dubuque west 
 and was there three months when he came back 
 to the Chicago division, remaining in freight ser- 
 vice up to 1890 and then went on a pay car a 
 
 year. At the end of that time he was promoted 
 to passenger service where he has since been 
 operating. He first had the fast mail regular 
 and now he has a through passenger to Cham- 
 paign. . He runs No. 962 and belongs to the B. 
 of L. E., No. 10. 
 
 Mr. Glove was married to Miss Wallace, 
 daughter of Michael Wallace who was at one 
 time section boss at Rantoul. They have one 
 daughter, Emma. 
 
 |OOPER W. CRAKB, one of the popu- 
 lar train dispatchers for the Illinois 
 Central, at McConib City, Mississippi, 
 entered the service of the company 
 in 1892. His first work was as operator on the 
 Louisville & Nashville R. R. at South Carrollton, 
 Kentucky, afterward serving at Evansville, Ind., 
 and at Nashville, Tennessee. He then went to 
 the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas Railroad, 
 as train dispatcher, remaining in the service of 
 that company for one year, and- in 1892, accepted 
 his present position with the Illinois Central, 
 where he is doing day duty. Mr. Crabb is a na- 
 tive of Kentucky, and was bom June gth, 1866. 
 He married Miss Ettie Wilson, also of Ken- 
 tucky. He is connected with the Masonic Order, 
 Knights of Pythias, and Elks, all of McConib 
 City. The McComb City opera house is under 
 the management of Mr. Crabb, and he enjoys the 
 regard of all with whom business or social in- 
 terests brings him in contact. 
 
 R. H. H. MURRELL, the assistant 
 chief surgeon of the Illinois Central. 
 at the hospital of the company, in IV 
 ducah, Kentucky, was born in Lynch- 
 burg, Virginia. Dr. J. W. Murrell, his father 
 was a prominent physician of that place, and a 
 man well known for his many good qualities.
 
 
 o 
 
 t ^ 
 
 <& 
 
 EH 
 
 W 
 Q
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 615 
 
 Our subject was educated for his profession in the 
 best medical schools of the south, and was for a 
 time, demonstrator of anatomy, in the Hopkins- 
 ville Medical School. He was a successful prac- 
 titioner, in Louisville, Kentucky, from 1878, un- 
 til 1888, when in the latter year he accepted his 
 present position. Dr. Murrell is a fine looking 
 gentleman, of a kind, warm-hearted disposition, 
 and skilled in his profession. He is a member 
 of several medical societies, and a contributor to 
 medical journals. With his estimable and ac- 
 complished wife. Dr. Murrell occupies a beauti- 
 ful borne on Broadway, in the city of Paducah. 
 
 RARRICK, engineer at Jackson, 
 Tenn., began his railroad career at 
 _.X7Q East Cairo, Kentucky, in December 
 1887, where he served as fireman on 
 the incline for eleven months and was then 
 transferred to the main line between Jackson and 
 Cairo. The first engine he fired was No. 310, 
 and later he was given a regular run on No. 308, 
 then worked for a time in the passenger service 
 and still later, took charge of a switch engine in 
 the yards at Jackson, Tennessee. In 1891 Mr. 
 Rarrick was promoted to engineer and during the 
 following two years he had charge of engine No. 
 741, which was then doing construction work. 
 Later he stood on the right side of engine No. 
 479 for about ten months, and for the past five 
 years his regular engine has been No. 605, 
 although he does a great deal of extra work 
 on other engines and on all parts- of the southern 
 division. Mr. Rarrick has been a very success- 
 ful engineer, has never received an injury since 
 he has been on the road and has skillfully 
 avoided serious accidents. 
 
 Our subject was born in Washington county, 
 Ohio. He was married in East Cairo, Kentucky, 
 to Miss Maggie Keen of that city, and three 
 children, Lillian, Edna and Ed., have been born 
 to them. Socially Mr. Rarrick is identified 
 with Division No. 93, B. of L. E., and Lodge 
 No. 45, A. F. & A. M., of Jackson. 
 
 force of 
 
 ILLIAM DETRICK, night hostler 
 of the Illinois Central at Durant, 
 Mississippi, is a popular man and 
 an efficient employe, having a large 
 men under his supervision. Mr. 
 Detrick is a native of Harrisburg, Pa., and was 
 born in 1864. His father was a truckman by 
 occupation, and was killed at a railroad crossing 
 while going to market. In early life our subject 
 learned the trade of baker, and was also in the! 
 street car service at F.ort Wayne, Ind., but having 
 a desire for railroad life, entered the service of 
 the Wabash R. R. in the mechanical department, 
 but after a time went to New Mexico, remaining 
 there one year as car repairer. He then entered 
 the service of the Illinois Central at Water Valley, 
 Mississippi, and was later transferred to Durant, 
 to his present position. 
 
 Mr. Detrick has traveled through nearly 
 every state in the union and has also traveled in 
 Mexico, Central America and northern South 
 America. The accounts of his travels are very 
 interesting and would of themselves fill a good 
 sized book. He is a close observer and very fond 
 of reading, these combined with his experience 
 in travel have made him a thoroughly interesting 
 conversationalist, and a well informed man. He 
 is a member of the Knights of Maccabees and 
 several other social organizations. As an em- 
 ploye of the I. C. he is giving the utmost 
 satisfaction and is popular among bis fellowmen. 
 
 HARLES A. HOLT, one of the veteran 
 conductors of the Central, has been 
 with the company since the eigh- 
 teenth of May 1863, when he. began 
 as brakeman under Ben. Howard. At that time 
 the road had been in operation but about seven 
 years and the changes in railroad construc- 
 tion and management witnessed by Mr. Holt 
 are greater than can be comprehended by the 
 younger generation of railroad men, whose ex- 
 perience has extended over very few years. He
 
 (316 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 has known most of the veteran operatives that 
 have been employed on the northern divisions 
 of the system, most of whom have now passed 
 away, or have retired from active railroad life. 
 After serving two years as brakeman Mr. Holt 
 was placed in charge of a train in the freight 
 service where he remained some seven years. 
 In 1872 he was promoted to the passenger ser- 
 vice and for twenty-eight years served the com- 
 pany faithfully and well. During all these years 
 not a dollar of expense was caused the company 
 through accidents attributable to him. Of over 
 two million passengers who have been under his 
 charge not an injury has occurred while riding 
 on his train. This is a record of which any rail- 
 road man may well be proud. It is a record few 
 can equal or excel. January i, 1900, he was 
 appointed night station master of the terminal 
 station at Park Row. Mr. Holt's railroad 
 career has not been confined to one field. 
 In 1 88 1 he was appointed trainmaster at Clin- 
 ton, Illinois, and eight years later was pro- 
 moted to be assistant superintendent with head- 
 quarters at Amboy, where he remained three 
 years. Early in 1892 he was transferred to a 
 similar position on the Chicago division with 
 headquarters at Cairo, remaining until the lat- 
 ter part of that year, when he returned to the 
 train service to remain until appointed to his 
 present position on the date given above. 
 
 Mr. Holt, a son of Albert and Mary (Ames) 
 Holt, was born at Pembroke, New Hampshire, 
 February 10, 1845. He was first married at 
 Centralia, Illinois, to Miss Addie Sherwood to 
 whom four children were born. Albert is an 
 engineer in the Chicago Terminal service; 
 Charles is on a ranch in Colorado ; Arthur, is a 
 stenographer in the office of the traffic manager 
 of the Central ; Belle is the wife of Mr. John 
 Buslinger and lives in Colorado. Mr. Holt was 
 married a second time at Massillon, Ohio, to 
 Mrs. Emma C. May. 
 
 Of the social orders, Mr. Holt affiliates with 
 the Masonic fraternity. He is enrolled in the 
 Hliie Lodge, Chapter and Council, Clinton, and 
 is a charter member of the latter body. He be- 
 longs to Cyrene Commandery, Knights Temp- 
 
 lar of Centralia. His membership with the O. 
 R. C. is at Chicago, in Division No. i. 
 
 The reminiscence of one who has been for 
 nearly forty years in the employ of one corpora- 
 tion cannot fail of being interesting. Most that 
 were on the field when he began have passed to 
 the other side. Some few remain to connect the 
 present with the past, but it will not be many 
 years before the last will have passed off the 
 scene and new hands will be at the helm. 
 
 S. SCUDDER is an engineer in the 
 passenger service of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, and is an old and valued em- 
 ploye of the road. He became iden- 
 tified with the I. C. in 1864, serving as brake- 
 man for a year and in 1865, was appointed fire- 
 man. Three years later, in 1868, he was pro- 
 moted to engineer in the freight service, and in 
 1888 was promoted to the passenger service, 
 where he has since remained. His present run 
 is between Champaign and Centralia. 
 
 He joined Lodge No. 24, B. of L. E. in 
 1869, and is still an honored member of that 
 lodge. 
 
 RANK JENNINGS is a native of New 
 Sharon, Franklin county, Maine. His 
 first service was at Terre Haute, Indi- 
 ana, where he remained for two months 
 receiving and shipping stock in the yards. In 
 July 1865 he came to the Illinois Central and 
 began firing for Frank Rugg on engine No. 73. 
 on the Hyde Park suburban train. He then 
 fired a pay car for Smith Sherwood, now de- 
 ceased, and from there he went on a freight and 
 passenger on the Chicago division, from here 
 to Cairo, Dubuque and Sioux City in the yards. 
 The subject was later set up and the first days
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 617 
 
 he ran in the Chicago yards he ran engine No. i, 
 fired a wood burner on the pay car, was in yard 
 service several months and then had a suburban 
 run, together with freight and passenger on the 
 Chicago division. 
 
 In 1873, two years after the fire, he got a 
 regular suburban run between Chicago and 
 Grand Crossing. For three years he had engine 
 No. 203 and during the World's Fair he had 
 No. 241. He has never been hurt and never 
 missed going to a pay car but once, when he broke 
 his leg, which was done while going into the 
 house and he was laid up three months, never 
 been discharged. 
 
 Mr. Jennings is a member of the B. of L. 
 E., No. 10. 
 
 JAMES MILLER is the well known engi- 
 neer in the passenger service of the Illi- 
 nois Central, running on the "Diamond 
 Special," between Clinton, Illinois, and 
 East St. Louis. He entered the service of the 
 I. C. in 1871, as fireman on the Arnboy division, 
 being promoted to engineer in 1877, and ap- 
 pointed to a run south of the Ohio river. In 
 the fall of 1878 he was transferred to the Amboy 
 division, running a switch engine in the yards 
 at Clinton. He was in 1881 given a regular 
 passenger run on that division, where he has 
 since remained. 
 
 Our subject was born on a farm in Craw- 
 ford county, Pennsylvania, in 1844, where he re- 
 mained until 1 86 1. Responding to the call for 
 volunteers in that year, he enlisted, but was 
 discharged on account of his youth. However 
 he succeeded in 1862, in joining the "Army of 
 the West," under General Grant, and was in the 
 battles of Missionary Ridge, and Chickamauga. 
 He was wounded at the battle of Perryville, 
 Kentucky, and was obliged to remain in the 
 hospital for some time. After the wound 
 healed, he went to the heavy artillery, until again 
 able to go to the front. 
 
 Mr. Miller was married in 1867, and has 
 two children, one son and one daughter. His 
 son, Fretl, is in the employ of the I. C. as brake- 
 man. Socially he is connected with B. of L. E., 
 No. 315, at Clinton, where he resides. 
 
 ITUS HENCHCLIFF is the well known 
 
 U engineer on the "Daylight Special," in 
 charge of engine No. 909, between Clin- 
 ton and East St. Louis. He entered 
 the service of the Illinois Central, in 1871, as 
 fireman, on what is now known as the Freeport 
 division, from Amboy, Illinois, to Dubuque, la. 
 Continuing as fireman until 1879, he was in that 
 year promoted to engineer, under S. J. Hayes, 
 supervisor of machinery, for the I. C. at that 
 time. He was then transferred to the Clinton 
 district, and was in the freight service there un- 
 til 1891, when he was promoted to the passen- 
 ger service, taking charge of the "Diamond 
 Special." During a service of twenty-nine years 
 with the I. C. our subject has not lost one month 
 of time. He is justly proud of his record, which 
 shows that he is a practical and steady man. 
 
 Mr. Henchcliff was born in Jackson coun- 
 ty, Illinois, in 1851, and was married in 1874, 
 to Miss Lucy Judd. They have a family of 
 three sons, and two daughters. Socially he is 
 a member of B. of L. E., No. 315, and Olive 
 Lodge, No. 98, I. O. O. F., of Clinton, 111. 
 
 J. POLAND is the assistant claim 
 agent on the Amboy division of the 
 L Q Illinois Central, residing at Clinton. 
 He has been in the service of the 
 I. C. at various periods, from 1854, to the present 
 time. His first work was as train baggageman, 
 on the Chicago division, to which he was ap- 
 pointed May 20, 1854, and where he served for
 
 618 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 one year. He was then promoted to conductor 
 in the freight service, from Galena to Amboy, 
 holding the latter position until 1856, when he 
 was promoted to the passenger service, on the 
 Amhov division, from Ambov to Decatur, and 
 on the completion of the road to Centralia. 
 
 In 1861 our subject asked for and obtained 
 a leave of absence, and for sixteen months was 
 in the passenger service of the C. & A. R. R. 
 from Chicago to St. Louis. He returned to the 
 1. C. in 1862, and taking a position as extra con- 
 ductor, he was soon appointed to the passenger 
 service, and given the run from Ainboy to Cen- 
 tralia, remaining on that run until January 1866. 
 On the latter date, he was promoted to train- 
 master at Decatur, and served there until Sep- 
 tember 1873, when he was 'transferred to Du- 
 buque, in a similar capacity, remaining there until 
 January 1886. On account of failing eye-sight 
 he was compelled to abandon his work as train- 
 master and take a vacation, and a much needed 
 rest, after which he assumed his present posi- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Poland is a native of Standish, Cum- 
 berland county, Maine, where he was born Aug. 
 12, 1832. He came to Clinton in 1893, where he 
 has since resided, and is a prominent citizen of 
 that place. 
 
 ILLIAM EGGER, one of the oldest 
 and best known employes of the Illi- 
 nois Central, is an engineer in the 
 passenger service on the Clinton dis- 
 trict. He became identified with the I. C. in 
 1857, working as fireman on the Cairo division. 
 At that time wood was used exclusively as fuel, 
 and our subject has seen other wonderful 
 changes, during his railroad career in all branches 
 of the service. 
 
 He was promoted to engineer in 1862, and 
 took charge of a switch engine in the Centralia 
 yards, and in 1865 was transferred to the freight 
 service from Centralia to Clinton. He was pro- 
 
 moted to the passenger service in 1871, where he 
 has since remained. 
 
 Mr. Egger is a native of Switzerland, where 
 he was born in 1838, coming to America in 1847. 
 He was married in 1862, to Miss Murley, and 
 has two sons and five daughters. He has a 
 comfortable home in the citv of Centralia. 
 
 JAMES RASBACH, now retired, is one of 
 the oldest and most highly respected 
 former employes of the Illinois Central. 
 He was born in Herkimer county, in the 
 state of New York, on January 15, 1820, and 
 came to Illinois in 1856, taking up his residence 
 at Cairo. He at once entered the service of the 
 I. C. as baggagemaster, between Cairo and De- 
 catur, under a brother of Col. Mason, and was 
 appointed station agent, at Clinton, on July i, 
 1857. He served the company uninterruptedly 
 as ticket, freight, and express agent, until re- 
 tiring in 1892, after an honorable career of thir- 
 ty-five years. 
 
 Mr. Rasbach was married September 4, 
 1849 to. Miss Eiseman, and they have two chil- 
 dren living. A residence of such long duration 
 among the citizens of Clinton, has won for him 
 the highest esteem of all. 
 
 October i , 
 
 ILLIAM R. ARTHUR, former 
 superintendent of the Chicago divi- 
 sion of the Illinois Central, became 
 identified with the company on 
 1858, as superintendent, with head- 
 quarters at Centralia. The Chicago division at 
 that time extended from that city to Cairo. Up- 
 on the retirement of Mr. Clark in January 1859, 
 our subject assumed his duties, and on June ist, 
 of that year, was made general superintendent
 
 WILLIAM RENSHAW.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 621 
 
 of the entire system, continuing as such until 
 February i. 1866. He has served as superinten- 
 dent of transportation in the passenger and 
 freight service, superintendent of machinery and 
 roadway, and introduced the four inch rail, with 
 improved coupler. He was in the service of the 
 I. C. when wood was used exclusively as fuel. 
 
 ILLIAM RENSHAW, superinten- 
 dent of machinery for the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company, is a na- 
 tive of Pennsylvania, having been 
 born in Philadelphia, March 10, 1851. He be- 
 gan life for himself in March 1863, at the age 
 of twelve, in the machine shop of the Michigan 
 Central Railroad, at Michigan City, Ind., re- 
 maining there until February 17, 1865. He 
 entered the service of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road Company, February 18, 1865, as an office 
 boy in the office of superintendent of machinery 
 in Chicago, and worked in that capacity and on 
 mechanical drawing in the drawing room until 
 February 1869. From October 1869, until 
 March 1872 he was employed as a machinist 
 and in the drawing room, when in September 
 of the latter year he was appointed night fore- 
 man of the engine house, remaining in this ca- 
 pacity until he was appointed to the position of 
 day foreman in the same engine house on Octo- 
 ber i, 1873. He was made general foreman in 
 1877; master mechanic of Chicago division in 
 1884; assistant superintendent of machinery in 
 1888; and was appointed to his present position 
 February i, 1893. 
 
 On October 15, 1878, Mr. Renshaw was 
 united in marriage with Miss Delia C. Reeme, 
 at Tiffin, Ohio. To this union were born five 
 children, two of whom are deceased. Those 
 living are Frederick W., born February 26, 1880, 
 graduated from Yale College, in the class of 
 1900; William W., born January 30, 1885, and 
 Charles C., born July 26, 1890, both of whom are 
 attending Harvard Academy, Chicago. 
 
 T3 
 
 D. PECKENS is a well known con- 
 ductor in the passenger service, of 
 Q the Illinois Central, running from 
 Oilman to Springfield. He worked 
 as brakeman and baggageman in the suburban 
 service from 1873 to 1876, when he took a posi- 
 tion on the Dakota Southern R. R. Returning 
 to Illinois in June 1879, he re-entered the service 
 of the I. C. as brakeman, at which he remained 
 until September of that year, when he was pro- 
 moted to conductor in the freight service, on the 
 Springfield division. He worked in this capa- 
 city for three years, and then took charge of a 
 mixed train, holding the latter position for seven 
 years, and on the establishment of his present 
 run by the I. C. he was promoted to it. 
 
 Mr. Peckens was born at Scranton, Penn- 
 sylvania, August 9, 1854, and was married to 
 Miss Alice S. Cooties, November 24, 1880. 
 Their union has been blessed by two children, 
 viz : Josie E. and Lucy A. 
 
 Socially the subject of this sketch is a mem- 
 ber of Gilman Lodge No. 591, Watseka Chap- 
 ter No. 114, Gibson Council No. 72, and Paxton 
 Commandery No. 38. 
 
 ON. C. J. SABIN, mayor of Champaign, 
 is a widely known former employe 
 of the Illinois Central. Entering the 
 service of the company on October 
 29, 1854, he first served as fireman, at Galena, 
 Illinois, and on April I, 1855, was promoted to 
 engineer, between Galena and Freeport, and 
 took the first engine over the draw bridge at 
 Galena. In June 1855, he was transferred to the 
 service between Dunleith and Amboy. In 1857 
 he was sent to Chicago and placed in charge of 
 the "Old Union," an engine in the passenger ser- 
 vice, and remained there for seven months and 
 was then sent to the Champaign district. 
 
 Mr. Sabin was engineer on the first passen- 
 ger train to enter Dunleith, and was at Galena 
 when the famous dispute between the citizens,
 
 622 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 and the I. C. in regard to the terminus of the 
 line was settled. He was an engineer in the 
 freight and passenger service of the I. C. from 
 April i, 1855, to May 31, 1866. On the latter 
 date he resigned to enter the farm implement 
 business, at Champaign, conducting a highly 
 successful business in that line, until February r, 
 1898. 
 
 In April 1898, our subject was elected 
 mayor of Champaign, and on his accession to 
 office, received congratulatory letters from many 
 old railroad associates and from B. of L. E., at 
 Centralia, Illinois, with which he was connected 
 in 1864. 
 
 Mr. Sabin was born on June 8, 1831, near 
 Dunkirk, in the state of New York, and his 
 first railroad work was on the old Erie R. R. 
 His success in life is due entirely to his own 
 merits, and shows him to be a man of extraor- 
 dinary ability. During his administration as 
 mayor of Champaign, he has shown the same 
 enterprise, which characterized him as a success- 
 ful railroad and business man. 
 
 He has resided continuously since 1858 in 
 his present home. 
 
 } AT GROGAN, a jolly, good-natured en- 
 gineer on the Louisville division of the 
 Illinois Central, began his railroad 
 career in the shops at Paducah, as a 
 stationary engineer in 1872, on the Paducah & 
 Elizabethtown road. He began firing in 1877. 
 November 3, 1879 he was promoted to engineer, 
 running on various parts of the road, just as it 
 was built from Reed to Tremble, Tremble to 
 Dyersburg, to Covington and then to Memphis. 
 At that time the engines weighed but sixty-five 
 tons, small cars of twelve tons capacity, while 
 seventeen cars made a train. Our subject has 
 noticed many changes, can remember when there 
 was a bathing place for boys near where the 
 Paducah shops now stand. 
 
 Our subject has had many close calls, hav- 
 ing at one time been seriously injured by a 
 draw head and laid up three months, requiring 
 fourteen stitches in the leg. He had a fireman, 
 Dean, who was killed, a fine young fellow and 
 brother of George C. Dean, engineer. At one 
 time a switch was left open and our subject's 
 train struck an opposing train, tearing a caboose 
 to pieces and fireman Dean was badly mangled. 
 At another time he had his head badly injured, 
 narrowly escaping death. 
 
 Mr. Grogan was born in Zanesville, Ohio, 
 where his father, a large contractor, owning 
 many teams, died in 1885. Our subject has a 
 brother, an engineer on the Illinois Central. 
 
 Mr. Grogan married Miss Kate Walsh of 
 Paducah, -and has two children, Nellie and Pat 
 E. Our subject is a popular member of Divi- 
 sion No. 225, B. of L. E., having been chief in 
 1896 and 1897. He has a fine residence in Pa- 
 ducah, and is a thrifty and progressive citizen 
 and engineer. 
 
 Mr. Grogan is one of your big men, tipping 
 the beam at two hundred thirty and his nearest 
 friends say his heart is as big as his body. No 
 operative along the line is a greater favorite than 
 Pat Grogan. 
 
 ATRICK BOYLE is one of the old time 
 employes of the Illinois Central, at 
 present in charge of the fuel depart- 
 ment in the Champaign yards. He 
 was employed in 1853, on the first water works 
 in the city of Chicago, and in 1854 entered the 
 service of the I. C. as a laborer, and w.as for a 
 time on a construction train, on the Kankakee 
 branch of the Chicago division. He rode on 
 the first engine that crossed the Kankakee bridge, 
 before that city was built. He next worked as 
 brakeman, from Centralia to Wapella, and in 
 1856 was appointed yard master at Champaign, 
 holding that position until 1891. In the latter 
 year he was given his present position.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 623 
 
 ROBERTS is the well known engi- 
 neer on engine No. 966, in the pas- 
 L Q senger service, on the Champaign 
 district of the Illinois Central. He 
 entered the I. C. shops at Champaign, in 1867, 
 when only eighteen years of age. During 1867 
 he took a position as fireman and in June 1872 
 was promoted to engineer. He was for several 
 years in the extra passenger service, but has 
 been in the regular service for nearly ten years. 
 
 Mr. Roberts is a native of Denbighshire, 
 North Wales, but came to America when young. 
 He is a member of K. of L. E., No. 24, of Cen- 
 tralia. 
 
 H. LINTON is the well known 
 train master on the Champaign 
 Q district, of the Illinois Central, 
 with headquarters in that city. 
 His connection with the I. C. dated from July 5, 
 1878, when he was appointed telegraph operator 
 at Otto, Illinois. He served as operator, and in 
 different capacities at various places, until 1884, 
 when he entered the yard service as switchman 
 at Ccntralia. He was soon promoted to yard 
 master at that place, and served there until 1887. 
 In the latter year he was sent to Champaign, as 
 train dispatcher, remaining there until October 
 1892, when he was sent back to Centralia, in the 
 same capacity. He was transferred to Cham- 
 paign on May i, 1896, where he now resides. 
 
 ENRY LITTLE RHODES, a retired 
 conductor of the Illinois Central, en- 
 tered the service of the I. C. in 1856, 
 as conductor in the freight service. 
 His first run was from Centralia to Wapella, 
 which he held for two years. He was promoted 
 to the passenger service in 1858, and continued 
 there until 1860. From 1860 to 1866, he held 
 
 the position of train master, with headquarters 
 at Decatur, Illinois. Resuming his former run 
 in the passenger service in 1866, he continued 
 in that connection with the I. C. until June 1899, 
 when he voluntarily resigned, and is now re- 
 tired. A record of forty-four years of continued 
 service with the I. C. shows that our subject is a 
 man of sterling worth. 
 
 Mr. Rhodes was born on May 24, 1829, and 
 is the son of Simeon and Jane Rhodes, who lived 
 in Port Jervis, Orange county, New York, at the 
 time of our subject's birth. When only eight 
 years of age, Henry L. Rhodes, was a driver on 
 the tow-path of the Erie canal and continued in 
 the service of that company, being made captain 
 of a canal boat at the age of eighteen. Railroad 
 at that time was fast superseding canals as a 
 means of transportation, and our subject seeing 
 that a good prospect was in store for a man of 
 energy, sought service in that line, and rose 
 step by step, until he became a conductor on the 
 New York & Erie R. R. which position he held 
 for seven years, or until 1856, when he became 
 identified with the I. C. 
 
 Mr. Rhodes is one of the progressive citizens 
 of Centralia. He is held in high esteem by his 
 fellow-citizens, as is shown by his having been 
 mayor, of that city for two terms. In politics 
 he is a strong Republican and has acted as dele- 
 gate to the county and state conventions. He 
 was a delegate to the national convention, which 
 nominated President McKinley. 
 
 In early life he married Miss Sarah E. 
 Smith, of Port Jervis, New York, and three 
 children have been born to them, viz: George H. 
 Rhodes, one of the most enterprising business 
 men of Centralia, Libbie Rhodes, wife of Benja- 
 min F. Stattermyer, who died several years ago 
 in St. Louis, and W. A. Rhodes, who died in St. 
 Paul, Minn., in early life. 
 
 Mr. Rhodes Sr. is a thirty-third degree 
 mason. His family are members of the Presby- 
 terian church, in which they are prominent, and 
 also liberal and substantial supporters.
 
 624 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 JOHN P. SMITH, who runs out a pas- 
 senger engine from the Twenty-seventh 
 street round house, is one of the Illinois 
 Central Company's stand-bys. He be- 
 gan as a fireman for them in 1871, under the 
 tutelage of his father, Nicholas Smith, on engine 
 No. 8, one of the old wood burners. He is now 
 the sixth in the order of seniority. 
 
 After firing for five years, Mr. Smith was 
 set up to engineer on a suburban line, but three 
 years later was given a freight run which fur- 
 nished him with employment until he was placed 
 at the head of a passenger train, running south 
 from Chicago, in 1892. In all his railroad ex- 
 perience Mr. Smith has had the good fortune 
 to never be in any great wreck, nor met with 
 any serious accident of any kind. 
 
 The gentleman whose name appears at the 
 head of this article was born in the city of Chi- 
 cago, October 13, 1834. In October 1882, he 
 was united in marriage to Miss Josephine 
 Erzinger, and their home has been blessed by the 
 presence of two children, Emma and Hazel. 
 Socially Mr. Smith is identified with the follow- 
 ing fraternities: Division No. 10, B. of L. E., of 
 Burnside, and the Ancient Order of United 
 Workmen, Twin City Council of Champaign. 
 
 miles from the city of Searberg. He migrated 
 to America in 1834, and in 1850 settled in the 
 city of Chicago. Four years later he secured 
 a position with the Illinois Central Railroad Com- 
 pany at the Weldon shops, at Sixteenth street. 
 From that time until September 1897, Mr. 
 Snyder occupied a place in the shop without 
 interruption with the exception of two periods 
 of two weeks, and one of those was on the ac- 
 count of sickness. He helped build the first 
 shops at Weldon, which were shed roof build- 
 ings and their entire equipments were lathes, 
 one planer and a drilling machine. His work 
 then was by one of the lathes and he kept that 
 place at Sheldon and at Burnside until 1897, 
 when at the age of eighty-three years he discon- 
 tinued the pursuit of his trade to accept his 
 present position. At the old settler's meeting 
 of Cook county, our subject received a gold 
 medal for the longest uninterrupted service un- 
 der one employer. 
 
 Mr. Snyder was married in Cook county 
 to Miss Augusta Strever, and their home has 
 been blessed by the presence of a family of five 
 children whose names in the order of their birth 
 are as follows : Matilda, George, Lizzie, Annie 
 and Frank. 
 
 EORGE SNYDER. The readers of 
 this work will be pleased to find in it 
 a biography of the gentleman whose 
 name heads this article. The men- 
 tion of a man of his age, enjoying health and the 
 right use of his faculties is enough to arouse the 
 attention of most people, but men who are above 
 the age of eighty-five years and still in the em- 
 ploy of the railroad company are, to say the 
 least, very rare. 
 
 Mr. Snyder, who is now in charge of the 
 air brake car, was born Ailgust 5, 1814, in the 
 district of Saarburg, then in the Rhine Province 
 of France, his birth place being about eighteen 
 
 AVID SLOAN, chief engineer of the 
 Illinois Central, was born in Belfast, 
 Ireland, July 4, 1847, ar >d began his 
 railroad career in 1871 as chainman 
 on the construction of the Franklin branch of 
 the L. S. & M. S. From 1874 to 1875 he was 
 assistant engineer of the Eastern Kentucky road 
 at Grayson, Ky. In 1877 he was engaged in har- 
 bor work at Ashtabula, Ohio, for the L. S. & 
 M. S. From 1883 to 1887 was with the Chicago 
 & Atlanta Railroad the last two years of which 
 he served as chief engineer; until 1888 he was 
 assistant engineer for the C. M. & St. P. ; then 
 assistant chief engineer of the I. C. until Octo- 
 ber 8, 1897; since January i, 1898, he has served 
 the corporation as chief engineer.
 
 w 
 _J 
 J 
 w 
 
 cfl
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 627 
 
 'ILLIAM HENRY SMITH, famliar- 
 ly known as " Hank Smith ", is now 
 in charge of the stationary engine 
 in the round house at the Twenty- 
 seventh Street Station, Chicago. He is also 
 known as the " veteran engineer ", being the 
 oldest in the employ of the Illinois Central com- 
 pany in Chicago. Mr. Smith was a fireman in 
 Jersey City, New Jersey, when he was a boy, 
 and when still a young man, he was fireman on 
 the Michigan Central, at Detroit, Mich., but at 
 the same time made an occassional run as engi- 
 neer. April 26, 1856, he was placed in charge 
 of engine No. 21, on the Illinois Central line, 
 running from Chicago to Champaign, and for 
 a time stood at the head of a construction train. 
 While in this capacity he hauled the stone for the 
 bridge south of Paxton. Our subject was next 
 placed in charge of engine No. 76, which was 
 the first one on the line with sixteen inch cylin- 
 ders, and ran between Chicago and Champaign. 
 In the fall of the same year 1856 Mr. Smith 
 accepted a position at the head of a passenger 
 train running between these points and retained 
 it until the fall of 1896, a period of forty years. 
 Sooner or later Father Time will render the best 
 of men incompetent, and although our subject 
 withstood him for a remarkable length of time, 
 he had to finally bow to the inevitable. After 
 leaving his passenger run, however, he sat for 
 a time on the right side of the cab of the shop en- 
 gine, running from Weldon to Burnside. Since 
 January I, 1899, he has had charge of the station- 
 ary engine at the Twenty-seventh street shops. 
 During these years Mr. Smith has seen a great 
 many changes in the Illinois Central Road, many 
 new lines have been built and the old ones im- 
 proved, the number of cars been mutiplied, and 
 the little slow running engines have given place 
 to those several times their size and that will run 
 at several times their speed, and scarcely a man 
 who worked with him at the time he began is 
 now in the employ of the company, to say noth- 
 ing of the improvement in the shops and manu- 
 factories and the methods of transacting business. 
 1 Fe has been very fortunate, and in all of his 
 career has never been in a wreck. 
 
 Mr. Smith was married in Chicago to Miss 
 Catharine Your, and three children, William, 
 George, and Catharine, have been born to them. 
 Socially our subject is identified with the B. of 
 L. E. 
 
 ILLIAM F. KELLEY. The sub- 
 ject of this sketch is a veteran in 
 railroading and there are but few 
 who have a record that will equal 
 his. From a helper in the round house on the 
 New York Central & Hudson River Railroad at 
 Rochester, New York, where he began his career 
 on September 14, 1864, he has climbed the lad- 
 der step by step, until now he stands at the top. 
 It is a pleasure for us to enlighten our readers 
 as to the ups and downs of our subject, who 
 after much questioning and drawing out gave 
 us the dates and which has been added to by the 
 information secured from his fellow workmen 
 by whom he is held in the highest esteem. But 
 we are digressing and will return to the time of 
 his connection with the N. Y. Central with which 
 company he remained but two months, when like 
 many young men of those days he decided to go 
 west and "grow up with the country" as Greeley 
 used to say. He located in Akron, Ohio, and 
 began firing an engine on the Atlantic & Great 
 Western. In those days each engineer engaged 
 his own fireman and by a stroke of good luck 
 he secured a position in road service, and dur- 
 ing the next four years he devoted his entire 
 time to mastering his profession. We next find 
 him on the Hannibal & St. Joe road at Brook- 
 field, Mo., as an engine house foreman which 
 position he retained for six months and then 
 tiring of the work he resigned and accepted a 
 position as fireman and extra engineer and con- 
 tinued in that capacity for one year and a half. 
 At this juncture his health failed and the fol- 
 lowing year was spent in his native state. Then 
 he again came west, this time locating at Spring- 
 field, 111., where he was offered and accepted a 
 position as engineer in the freight service on
 
 628 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 the Wabash, continuing there until August 13, 
 1874 when he resigned and was at once engaged 
 by the G. C. & S., now the Springfield division 
 of the Illinois Central. He took a freight run 
 between Springfield and Gilman and during the 
 next four years his became a familiar counte- 
 nance to the boys along the line, but in 1878, 
 when trains No. 39 and No. 40 were put on 
 between Springfield and Chicago, our subject, 
 owing to his long experience and clean record, 
 was chosen as the one to pull what was then 
 called a fine train, but what a contrast to the 
 present magnificently equipped trains. He had 
 engine No. 1355 at first and four cars made the 
 train. This ntn, however, was of short dura- 
 tion, as in the same year it was discontinued 
 and our subject returned to freight and extra 
 passenger service and later pulled passenger 
 from Springfield to Farmer City for two years. 
 At this time a through passenger service was 
 established on the Springfield division and Mr. 
 Kelley was on that run until 1896, when again, 
 as the business increased and the demand for 
 faster time became necessary he was pulled off 
 the Springfield division and given his present 
 jxjsition, pulling the Daylight Special the 'finest 
 equipped train in the service. During all these 
 years our subject has never received a serious 
 injury, but perhaps that is a stroke of good luck 
 as No. 1309 the engine he was running at the 
 time he was promoted to present- run, was 
 wrecked the day after he handed her over to 
 his successor at Salt Creek. 
 
 Our subject is an honored and respected 
 member of Division No. 315, B. of L. E., also 
 a member of Blue Lodge, No. 333, Chapter 
 No. i, and El wood Commandery, No. 6, all 
 of Springfield, 111. 
 
 In 1878 he was married to Miss Charlotte 
 R. Harris, also a native of New York state and 
 their union has been blessed by the birth of 
 two daughters, Marchie and Ruby. 
 
 JOHN LOCKER HALLAM, M. D., de- 
 ceased, was for many years district sur- 
 geon for the Illinois Central, at Centra- 
 lia. Dr. Hallam was born at Bassing- 
 ton, Derbyshire, England, in February 1819. In 
 company with his parents and three sisters he 
 arrived in America in 1827, and settled in Ed- 
 wards county, Illinois. Arriving at manhood, 
 our subject entered the Kemper Medical College 
 (now the Missouri Medical) of St. Louis, where 
 he graduated. In 1871 he was appointed dis- 
 trict surgeon for the I. C. and remained as such 
 until his death on June 15, 1894. 
 
 His son, Dr. John Carter Hallam, is now a 
 physician and surgeon, at Centralia, and prac- 
 tices his profession with Dr. E. E. Fyke, the 
 medical representative of the I. C. at that place. 
 
 JOHN KIEFF. This name deserves a 
 place on the list of the Illinois Central 
 Company's pioneer workmen, since its 
 bearer began work as a tinner in the 
 old Weldon shops in 1856, or at least the sheds 
 in which the machinery was first installed and 
 stood on the site of the Weldon shops. At that 
 time he was the only tinner employed by the 
 company in the city of Chicago. Others have 
 come and gone and the company has grown until 
 it employs eighty tinners in the Burnside shops 
 alone, to which our subject was transferred 
 January i, 1899, but he still holds his place, a 
 record that hardly has an equal in the history 
 of the railroad. During his forty-four years of 
 service, Mr. Kieff has lost only two weeks time 
 and that was during the great strike of 1894, but 
 this has been more than made up by the over 
 hours that he has worked. Some months he has 
 drawn as much as forty-two days wages. 
 
 Mr. Kieff was born in Chippawa, Canada, 
 May 15, 1838. In 1844 the family moved to 
 Buffalo, N. Y., and two years later, moved from 
 thence to Chicago. As soon as he had attained 
 his majority, Mr. Kieff returned to Buffalo to
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 629 
 
 learn his trade, and there served an apprentice- 
 ship of four years and two months with John J. 
 Smith & Co., which fully prepared him for his 
 place in the shops of the Illinois Central Com- 
 pany. In 1864, in the city of Chicago, he was 
 united in marriage to Miss Annie Humphrey, 
 and their wedded life was blessed to them by the 
 advent of a family of six children whose names 
 in the order of their birth are as follows : Mary 
 Agnes, William Henry, Albert, also an employe 
 at the Burnside shops, Annie, Nellie and Emma. 
 
 Fraternally Mr. Kieff is a member of the 
 Masonic Lodge No. 311, of Chicago. 
 
 August 4, 1899, when he voluntarily resigned, 
 and is now taking a much needed rest. 
 
 Mr. Wamsley was married to Miss Arabel- 
 la Catterlin, of Clinton, Illinois, and their union 
 has been blessed by three children, viz : Eugene, 
 born November 19, 1872; Maude, born Decem- 
 ber 8, 1876, and Willie, born December 31, 1886. 
 
 A service of thirty-four years in the employ 
 of the I. C. is a record of which Mr. Wamsley 
 may be justly proud. 
 
 WAMSLEY, a former valued em- 
 ploye of the 111. Central, residing 
 Q at Centralia, 111., is one of the thir- 
 teen children, born to Thomas E. 
 and Elizabeth Wamsley, natives of Virginia, but 
 who emigrated to Kentucky, and followed agri- 
 cultural pursuits. 
 
 Our subject was born near Nicholasville, in 
 the latter state, on February 2, 1841, but came to 
 Illinois in 1853, with his parents, locating at 
 Randolph, McLean county. He remained there 
 but a short time, going to Leroy, in the same 
 county, where he worked on a farm for five 
 years, going from the latter place to Atlanta, 
 Illinois. He was at Hey worth, 111., at the be- 
 ginning of the Civil war, and there joined the 
 94th Regiment, U. S. Volunteers, receiving an 
 honorable discharge at the end of his years ser- 
 \ices. Returning to Leroy, in 1863 he entered 
 the service of the Illinois Central, working at 
 fence building, and in 1866 obtained a position 
 as brakeman in the freight service, under Con- 
 ductor Madden, running from Amboy to Wapel- 
 la. He served in this capacity for two years, 
 being then promoted to conductor on the same 
 division, under Train Dispatcher, M. W. Wills. 
 In 1880 he was promoted to conductor in the 
 passenger service, serving with fidelity until 
 
 FHAFELI is a well known engineer 
 in the Centralia district of the Illi- 
 O "ois Central. He entered the ser- 
 vice of the I. C. in 1869 as brake- 
 man and fireman on the Centralia division and 
 on the main line, working there for three years. 
 In 1874 he went to the Cairo and Vincennes R. 
 R. (now part of the "Big Four") and worked 
 for that company six years as engineer. He 
 re-entered the service of the I. C. as engineer in 
 the freight service in 1880, and in 1895 was pro- 
 moted to the passenger service and placed in 
 charge of engine No. 913, between Centralia and 
 Cairo, and has since remained on that run, and 
 in charge of the same engine. 
 
 Mr. Hafeli is a native of Switzerland. He 
 is a member of B. of L. E., No.24. 
 
 THOMAS J. WRIGHT was for twenty- 
 four years a conductor in the passen- 
 ger service of the Illinois Central, and 
 has lately resigned his position. He 
 entered the service of the I. C. as brakeman and 
 baggageman, in the passenger service on April 
 27, 1863, running between Dunleith, (now East 
 Dubuque) and Amboy, Illinois. He served in 
 this capacity for several months and was then 
 appointed baggagemaster at Freeport, Illinois.
 
 630 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 From the latter position he returned to his former 
 occupation of hrakeman, securing employment in 
 the freight service of the I. C. After serving 
 five years he was promoted to conductor in the 
 freight service, between Dunleith and Amboy, 
 and in 1875 was promoted to conductor in the 
 passenger service. For twenty-four years, or 
 until August 1899, our subject held that position, 
 running between Dubuque, Iowa, and Amboy, 
 Illinois, and between Freeport and Centralia. 
 
 Mr. Wright is the son of John and Mary 
 (Brady) Wright, and was born in the state of 
 New York, but came west in early life. He was 
 from 1863 to 1899, in the service of the Illinois 
 Central, a record which speaks for itself. He 
 was married to Miss M. Marylla Nichols, of 
 Princeton, Illinois, and they have two daughters, 
 Maude, and Gladys. 
 
 Socially he is connected with the Blue Lodge, 
 Chapter and Knights Templar Consistory, and 
 is a charter member of O. R. C., No. i, when it 
 was organized at Amboy, and known as the 
 "Brotherhood of Conductors." He was the 
 second chief conductor of the latter organization. 
 
 D. OXLEY, foreman of the machine 
 shops at Centralia, Illinois, entered 
 the employ of the I. C. in 1854. He 
 is a brother of David Oxley, who 
 was master mechanic for the I. C. from 1854 to 
 1890, retiring on pay, in October of that year 
 and who died at Centralia, Illinois, in 1897, leav- 
 ing two sons and two daughters. John Oxley, 
 a son of the latter worked in the office of the I. 
 C. as clerk and chief clerk, from 1861 to 1895, re- 
 signing in the latter year, to accept the position 
 of superintendent of streets, in the city of Cen- 
 tralia. 
 
 The subject of this sketch has spent the 
 greater part of his time since 1854 as a foreman 
 in the machine shops, and has been in his 
 present position for twenty years. Mr. Oxley 
 
 is a native of Schenectady, New York, and served 
 his time in the shops of the New York Central 
 R. R. 
 
 His son Robert A. Oxley has been in the 
 employ of the I. C. since 1871, and is now engi- 
 neer on the Springfield division of the road. 
 
 Our subject was married at Saratoga 
 Springs, New York, to Miss Julia E. Cook, Sep- 
 tember 4, 1850 and to them has been born one 
 son, Robert A. 
 
 In 1861 our subject was badly hurt in the 
 fire that destroyed the shops at Centralia, 111. 
 
 EORGE MARTIN DUGAN, superin- 
 tendent of telegraph of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, is a native of Ohio, 
 having been born in Brown county, 
 December 25, 1835. He began his railroad 
 career in 1857 as an operator on the Mississippi 
 Central at Grand Junction, Tenn., and remained 
 with that road during the war. He then served 
 as agent and operator for the Southern Railway 
 Association at Bolivar, Tenn. From 1877 to 
 1884 he was superintendent of telegraph for the 
 Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans Railroad at 
 Jackson, Tenn., then until March 1893 served as 
 superintendent of telegraph for the southern 
 lines of the I. C. and Y. & M. V., on the latter 
 date being made superintendent of telegraph for 
 the entire system, which position he holds at the 
 present time. 
 
 J. HUNT, passenger conductor on 
 the Illinois Central, was born in 
 Q Madison county, Tenn., ten miles 
 northwest of Jackson, November 
 4, 1847. He began railroading in 1871 on the 
 M. & O. as a freight brakeman between Colum- 
 bus, Ky., and Baldwin, Miss., and continued one 
 year when he quit and was not engaged in rail-
 
 THOMAS F. BARTON.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 633 
 
 reading again until 1878, when he entered the 
 employ of the I. C. as a freight brakeman be- 
 tween Jackson, Tenn., and Fillmore, Ky., then 
 the northern terminal, and at the expiration of 
 eighteen months he was promoted to conductor 
 and began running freight on the same district. 
 At that time all the men were in the chain gang 
 and our subject continued in the freight service 
 until 1889, when he was promoted to the pas- 
 senger service and has continued in that capaci- 
 ty to the present time, with the exception of 
 three years, when, owing to lack of travel, he 
 was put back on a freight run. Most of his 
 work has been confined to the Cairo district. He 
 has been fortunate in that he has never been seri- 
 ously injured. He is married and has three 
 children, William F., now braking on the St. 
 Louis division of the M. & O. Railroad ; Clyde, 
 flagman on the Cairo district, for passenger con- 
 ductor Morgan, and Mary Ada. 
 
 Socially Mr. Hunt is a member of Jackson 
 division No. 149, O. R. C., and Stonewall Lodge 
 No. 199, Knights of Honor. 
 
 THOMAS F. BARTON, master mechanic 
 at Paducah, Kentucky, is an example 
 of what may be accomplished by well 
 directed efforts backed by a strong 
 character, even while a man is young. He be- 
 gan at the foot of the ladder as call boy at 
 Point Edward, Ontario, for the Grand Trunk 
 system, July 14, 1880, and remained in that 
 capacity until February 14, 1882, when he be- 
 came caller in the machinery department for 
 about eleven months. January I, 1883, he be- 
 came an apprentice to the tin and copper-smiths 
 trade in the railroad shops, but after twenty-two 
 months decided that he preferred the machinists 
 trade at which he worked until reaching his 
 majority. Working as journeyman machinist 
 until January 12, 1890, he resigned and secured 
 a place with the Illinois Central three days later 
 as machinist at the Weldon shops under master 
 
 mechanic Charles Clarke. In April 1892, he 
 was made assistant round house foreman under 
 Charles Kelley and January igth, following was 
 made foreman of the round house at the Burn- 
 side shops when they were opened for business. 
 The first of May when the World's fair neces- 
 sitated a large increase in the suburban service 
 Mr. Barton was selected to serve as foreman of 
 engines during the continuance of the exposi- 
 tion and on its close returned to his former 
 position. On October 18, 1896, he was ap- 
 pointed general foreman of the Weldon shops 
 and May 9, 1898, was promoted to master me- 
 chanic of the St. Louis division and stationed 
 at East St. Louis. He was further promoted 
 February I, 1899, when he was assigned to duty 
 in the shops at Water Valley, Mississippi, where 
 he remained until April 1900, at which time he 
 was placed in charge of the extensive shops at 
 Paducah on the promotion of Mr. Curley to 
 the Memphis station. Mr. Barton is a man of 
 fine executive ability and while he exercises his 
 authority over men on his division firmly he 
 does so in a way to win their esteem and get the 
 most out of them with but little friction in 
 their management. He has the warmest com- 
 mendations of those working under his authori- 
 ty, and that he holds the confidence of his em- 
 ployers is proved by his steady and rapid ad- 
 vance along the line of his chosen calling. 
 
 JOHN WILFRED HIGGINS, superinten- 
 dent of transportation of the Illinois Cen- 
 tral, was born in Newport, R. I., and 
 entered the service of the I. C. in 1879, 
 serving as messenger boy until June 1881, then 
 for a short time worked as a laborer on the track ; 
 from December 1881 to June 1883 switchman; 
 to August 1883 telegraph operator; to October 
 1884 freight and passenger brakeman and bag- 
 gageman ; to Oct. '89 freight conductor ; to April 
 1890 chief clerk to the division superintendent of 
 the Chicago division; to Dec. 1891 trainmas-
 
 634 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ter, Centralia district ; to Feb. 1892 chief clerk to 
 general superintendent; to June 1892 assistant 
 superintendent Louisiana division; to Jan. 1893 
 superintendent Louisiana division; to April 1893 
 superintendent terminals I. C. and Y. & M. V. 
 railroads at New Orleans, later served as super- 
 intendent of Chicago terminals until appointed 
 to his present position. 
 
 GILLEAS, assistant general super- 
 intendent of the Southern lines of 
 the Illinois Central and Y. & M. 
 V. railroads, was born near Dub- 
 lin, Ireland, October 20, 1844. He entered the 
 service of the I. C. in 1859, at Amboy, 111., and 
 served three years as a porter in the superinten- 
 dent's office, two years as clerk in the freight 
 office and the four following years in the divi- 
 sion engineer's office. From May i, 1868 to 
 May I, 1877, he served in the division engineer's 
 office in Dubuque, from the latter date to April 
 6, 1883, he was roadmaster of the Iowa division 
 and until the following October was acting divi- 
 sion superintendent and until October I, 1887, 
 division superintendent; to January i, 1891, 
 superintendent of the Iowa lines ; to September 
 1892, superintendent of Western lines, including 
 all lines west of Chicago; to January i, 1893, 
 general superintendent of the Y. & M. V. road, 
 at which time he was made assistant general 
 superintendent of the Southern lines. 
 
 JOHN C. HARTIGAN, assistant general 
 superintendent of the northern and wes- 
 tern lines, of the I. C., with headquarters 
 at Chicago, was born March 25, 1847. 
 at Swanton, Franklin county, Vt., and received 
 his education in the Academy of his native town. 
 He entered railroad service in August 1865, 
 
 when he became agent for the C. & A. 
 at Nil wood, remaining there until April 1866, 
 when he was sent to Pontiac, 111., where he served 
 as agent until 1872. He then served in the ca- 
 pacity of train dispatcher until April 30, 1874; 
 May I, 1874 to January I, 1880, chief train dis- 
 patcher; Jan. ist to June I, 1880, manager Madi- 
 son county Ferry & Transfer Co., at St. Louis, 
 Mo.; June i, 1880 to July i, 1885, train master 
 C. M. & St. P. Railroad; to October i, 1886, 
 division superintendent Missouri Pacific at Deni- 
 son, Texas; to April 1890 assistant superinten- 
 dent C. M. & St. P., and six months following 
 division superintendent of the Chicago division 
 of the I. C. railroad. From December 1890 to 
 January i, 1893, superintendent of northern lines 
 of the I. C. and from the latter date to the present 
 time as assistant general superintendent of 
 northern and western lines . 
 
 E. CLERMONT, engineer on the 
 Freeport division, Illinois Central 
 L Q Railroad, began his railroad experi- 
 ence with the C. B. & Q. R. R. as 
 brakeman and yardmaster at Aurora for a short 
 time and then served the same company as engi- 
 neer for a number of years. He entered the 
 service of the I. C. R. R. as engineer on the 
 Freeport division in 1888, and at present runs 
 engine No. 918 on a regular through passenger 
 run from Chicago to Dubuque. 
 
 Mr. Clermont is a native of Canada and was 
 born in 1851. He was married in 1870 to Miss 
 Leveque, a sister of George Leveque, an engi- 
 neer in the I. C. R. R. service. Her father was 
 an engineer on the M. C. & I. R. R., and was 
 killed in an accident on the road in Nov. 1876. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Clermont have five children : 
 Alphonsine, Sylvia, George, Horace and Arthur. 
 
 Mr. Clermont is a member of the B. of L. 
 E., No. 27, Racine division, K. P. No. 98, of 
 Freeport, and the A. O. U. W., No. 250, also of 
 Freeport.
 
 JOSEPH E. HOFFMAN. 
 
 DAMOS E. SHELL. 
 
 JOHN HAYS WILSON.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 637 
 
 JOSEPH E. HOFFMAN, deceased, was 
 formerly an engineer on the I. C. R. R., 
 Freeport division, and born in Pleasant 
 Valley, Jo Daviess county, 111., Novem- 
 ber 15, 1870. His father, Adam Hoffman, is a 
 retired farmer living in Chadwick, 111. His 
 mother was Miss Mary B. Sachs, and is still liv- 
 ing. Our subject received his education in the 
 public schools of Apple River, 111., finishing in 
 the high school of the same place. While at- 
 tending school he spent his summers at work 
 on the farm. In 1888 he came to Freeport and 
 secured a position in a grocery store, where he 
 remained one year, then clerked in a gents' fur- 
 nishing store until 1894. At that time he entered 
 the service of the I. C. R. R. as a night watchman 
 in the shops, where he remained until August 
 4, 1894, when he became a fireman on the Free- 
 port division and served in that capacity until 
 September 10, 1898, being promoted at that time 
 to the position of engineer. Mr. Hoffman was 
 married to Miss Carrie V. Wise, of Freeport, 
 June 14, 1893. She is a native of Stephenson 
 county, and was born in Buckeye township, Octo- 
 ber 27, 1872. She has one child living Carl 
 J. Hoffman, born November 6, 1896, and lost 
 the first born, Russell, at the age of ten months. 
 Mrs. Hoffman is a member of the United Evan- 
 gelical church to which church her husband also 
 belonged. Mr. Hoffman was a member of the 
 B. of L. F., and B. of L. E. He died at his post 
 of duty, March 9, 1900. 
 
 chinery, and H. Schlacks, master mechanic, of 
 Chicago, and after one year of successful run- 
 ning, was given a certificate as engineer under 
 the I. C. R. R. system, running freight until 
 March 1893, when he was transferred to the 
 Diamond Special, and is now^running^on both 
 the Daylight and the Diamond Special from Chi- 
 cago to Clinton two of the best runs on the 
 road. On all examinations Mr. Shell has passed 
 first-class. He was examined on color and eye 
 sight in 1879, in a special car sent over the sys- 
 tem, and again on eye-sight and color percep- 
 tions in the fall of 1897. May 7, 1891, he was 
 examined by A. J. McEvoy on book of rules, 
 and March 2, 1895, on air brake practice, by R. 
 D. Davis, in his air car. Mr. Shell has been in 
 the service continuously for twenty-eight years, 
 and during that time has made a fine record for 
 ability, steady nerve, and attention to duty. Mr. 
 Shell, who is a son of John and Sabina Shell, 
 the latter being deceased, was born near Harris- 
 burg, Dauphin county, Pa., in 1857, an d was mar- 
 ried in 1883 to Miss Minnie Medland, whose 
 parents were John and Priscilla (Jackman) Med- 
 land, both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Shell 
 have two sons living, Fred and Arthur, and two 
 daughters dead Daisy and Gertrude. They 
 are members of the Presbyterian church, in which 
 Mr. Shell holds the office of deacon. He is a 
 Republican in politics, is serving his second term 
 in the board of education of Clinton, is socially 
 connected with Division No. 315, B. of L. E., 
 DeWitt Lodge No. 84, A. F. & A. M., Goodbrake 
 Chapter No. 59; Clinton Commandery No. 66, 
 and with his wife is a member of Myrtle Chapter 
 of the Eastern Star No. 131, at Clinton. 
 
 MOS E. SHELL, engineer on Spring- 
 field division of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, began his career as a railroad 
 man, in June 1872, on what is now the 
 Springfield division, but at that time was the 
 Gilman, Clinton & Springfield R. R., and was pro- 
 moted to -the right side in 1879, under the old 
 system. In January 1880 he was examined on 
 time card by T. J. Hudson, and in the machinery 
 department by S. J. Hayes, superintendent of ma- 
 
 JOHN HAYS WILSON, depot master of 
 the Illinois Central Railroad at Free- 
 port, was born in Union county, Pa., 
 June 8, 1837. His grandfather, Hugh 
 Wilson, was one of the judges of the U. S. dis- 
 trict court. His father, also Hugh Wilson, a
 
 638 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 tanner and farmer, was born "in Union county, 
 Pa., in 1792, and died in 1873. His mother, 
 Jane (Foster), died in April 1879. 
 
 John H. Wilson was educated in the pub- 
 lic schools of his native county and took an 
 academic course of three years at Mifflinburg 
 Academy. He assisted on his father's farm until 
 1857, when the family emigrated to Freeport, then 
 a town of about 4,000 inhabitants. Here he taught 
 school one term, and then secured a position with 
 the I. C. R. R. as clerk in the superintendent's 
 office at Amboy. He remained in that position 
 thirteen months, when he took a position in the 
 train service and served five years in that capacity. 
 He then began making up trains at Amboy, 
 later clerked in the office at Decatur, and then 
 returned to Amboy and became one of the yard- 
 masters. January 21, 1870, he lost his right arm 
 in the service of the company, after which he 
 came to Freeport and learned to write with his 
 left hand. He is now a splendid penman, and 
 a model of neatness. In 1871 he became yard- 
 master of Freeport yards and retained that po- 
 sition for sixteen years, and in 1887 was made 
 car accountant, which position he held until 
 1890, when the new depot was erected in Free- 
 port and he was made depot master, where he 
 still serves, attending upon twenty-seven passen- 
 ger trains daily, from 6 130 A. M. to 7 :oo P. M, 
 His service for the I. C. R. R. has always been 
 pleasant. Mr. Wilson's household is made up 
 of himself and two sisters, Mary and Martha. 
 The latter has taught school in Freeport for 
 eighteen years. Of the family, eight are living : 
 six in Freeport and two in Pennsylvania. Mr. 
 Wilson is a Prohibitionist, and was one of the 
 founders of Centennial Lodge of Good Templars 
 in 1876, and first Chaplain; assisted in organiz- 
 ing the Independent Order of Mutual Aid in 
 1879, and has been connected with all the tem- 
 perance organizations. He is a member of the 
 A. O. U. W., and one of the charter members of 
 John H. Adams Lodge. The family are mem- 
 bers of the First Presbyterian church of Free- 
 port. 
 
 P. SKENE, land commissioner of the 
 Illinois Central and Yazoo & Missis- 
 Q sippi Valley railroads, was born 
 October 16, 1854, in Salem, Mass. 
 He entered railroad service in 1872 as a clerk 
 in the New York office of the Illinois Central, 
 remaining there until 1887, when he was made 
 assistant secretary of the Dubuque & Sioux City 
 Railroad and served in that capacity until Janu- 
 ary i, 1891, when he was made land commis- 
 sioner of the Illinois Central and in October 
 1892, he was made land commissioner of the 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad. 
 
 JOHN F. WALLACE, assistant second 
 vice-president of the Illinois Central, 
 was born at Fall River, Miss. He en- 
 tered railroad work in 1869 as rodman 
 on the Carthage & Quincy road, serving one 
 year; from 1870 to 1871 he was assistant engi- 
 neer on the surveys of the Q. A. & St. L., and 
 assistant engineer of office work of the R. R. I. 
 & St. L. road; 1871 to 1876 he was assistant 
 engineer in the U. S. engineering corps; 1876 to 
 1879 engaged in private practice; 1879 to 1882 
 chief engineer and superintendent of the Peoria 
 & Farmington road ; 1882 to 1883 superintendent 
 Central Iowa road in Illinois ; 1883 to 1886 mas- 
 ter of trains for the Iowa Central; 1887 to 1889 
 bridge engineer for the Santa Fe; 1889 to 1891 
 resident engineer of Chicago terminals for the 
 Chicago, Madison & Northern and the A. T. 
 & S. F. railroads ; 1891 to March 1892 engineer 
 of construction for the Illinois Central ; March 
 i, 1892 to Aug. 1897 chief engineer of the same 
 road. Resigning in Aug. 1897, he was on Jan. 
 i, 1898 elected assistant second vice-president of 
 the road which position he occupies at the present 
 time. He is president of the Engineers and 
 Maintenance of Wav Association.
 
 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 641 
 
 V. MARKHAM, engineer on the 
 Springfield division of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, was born in Ann 
 Arbor, Mich., February 4, 1847, 
 a son of Vincent and Marietta (Gorton) Mark- 
 ham. He served time as fireman, and ran as 
 engineer on the C. J3. & Q. R. R. for over seven- 
 teen years, and entered the service of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Sept. 17, 1888, as engineer on 
 the Springfield division, where he has since 
 remained and is now running a local freight. He 
 has been a member of the B. of L. E. since 1871, 
 and is at present connected with Clinton Division 
 No. 315. Mr. Markham was married in 1875 
 to Miss Mary Otten, daughter of John and Eliza- 
 beth Otten, and is the father of one son and two 
 daughters : Frank O., Maud and Florence, all 
 at home. 
 
 'ILLIAM and THOMAS GLAVIN 
 Jr., brakemen in the service of the 
 Illinois Central, come of a railroad 
 family and have grown up in the 
 atmosphere of the track and train. Their father, 
 Thomas Glavin Sr., has for many years been in 
 the employ of the road in section work, and is 
 now road supervisor over the district between 
 Decatur and Centralia. He is a man thorough 
 in his line of work and is one of the best informed 
 men in track construction on the system. He 
 married Catherine Gaffney, who is the mother of 
 eight children, as follows : William, Thomas 
 Jr.. Joseph, Mary, Agnes, Bernard, Lizzie and 
 Jennie. William was born May I4th, 1878, at 
 Aniboy, and attended the Amboy schools. He 
 secured a place on the section at Amboy, and 
 after a few years was advanced in rank and 
 made boss of the section for two years. He then 
 went into the operating department as brakeman, 
 in December 1898, and is in line of promotion to 
 conductorship. 
 
 Thomas Jr. was born at Polo, 111., November 
 26, 1879, and was reared in Amboy where he 
 received his education. In 1897 he entered the 
 
 service of the Central as a section hand at Am- 
 boy, and in 1899 accepted a position as brake- 
 man in the freight service, running between Free- 
 port and Clinton. By faithfulness and close at- 
 tention to business, Mr. Glavin confidently ex- 
 pects to rise in the service of the road. 
 
 HOMAS J. HUDSON, traffic manager 
 of the Illinois Central, was born Janu- 
 ary i, 1846, in Ireland. He entered 
 the service of the C. & A. road in 
 1864 as a clerk in the freight office in Spring- 
 field, but after one year in this capacity was 
 made freight agent and served as such until 
 October 1871, at which time he became general 
 agent for the Gilman, Clinton & Springfield 
 road, then general passenger and freight agent 
 until November 1875, from the latter date until 
 July 1877, he served as superintendent and 
 general freight and passenger agent of the same 
 line. He was then appointed superintendent of 
 the Springfield division, at Springfield, serving 
 until July 1881, when he was transferred to the 
 Chicago division as superintendent, then served 
 as superintendent of the Illinois and Iowa lines 
 until August i, 1887, at which time he was pro- 
 moted to his present position as traffic manager 
 of the entire system. 
 
 AMUEL GRANT ELROD entered the 
 service of the Illinois Central March 
 6, 1886, as brakeman on the Amboy 
 division, Clinton district. His first 
 run was made with Conductor J. D. Williams, 
 leaving Centralia, 111., at 5 A. M. on local run 
 No. 10 on the above date. He was transferred 
 to the Springfield division in 1888, and promoted 
 to conductor in 1891, having been examined by
 
 642 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Superintendent Bailey on the old book of rules. 
 At present our subject is on the merchandise run 
 between Chicago and Clinton, giving eminent 
 satisfaction to the company. 
 
 Mr. El rod was born August 13, 1867, near 
 St. Louis, Mo., in a one and a half story log 
 house, built by General U. S. Grant. He is proud 
 of the distinction of being a second cousin of 
 the distinguished General, his grandfather on 
 his mother's side having been a brother of 
 General Grant's mother. He was married on 
 November 25, 1893, to Grace Hagerman. Soci- 
 ally our subject is a member of Forester Lodge, 
 Court DeWitt, No. 3163, of Clinton, Illinois. 
 
 RED S. JAMES, chief train dispatcher 
 of the Cherokee division of the Illi- 
 nois Central, is a native of Wiscon- 
 sin where his birth occurred at Bran- 
 don, July 6th, 1866. His ancestors were 
 from the New England states, both of his great 
 grand-fathers having fought side by side in the 
 Revolutionary war. His parents were natives 
 of .New York state but removed to Wisconsin 
 in 1845, where the father, S. G. James, success- 
 fully engaged in the lumber business until 1873 
 when he removed to Aurelia, Iowa, residing there 
 until his death in 1895. Members of the family 
 have been prominently connected with the pro- 
 fessional and social life of the east. An .uncle 
 of our subject, Hon. A. B. James, was for twen- 
 ty-three years judge of the supreme court of 
 New York. He died while filling his second 
 term in congress from that state. His son, E. 
 C. James, is one of the most prominent attor- 
 neys of New York City, being private counsel 
 for Russell Sage and was also counsel for Jay 
 Gould prior to the latter's death. Our subject 
 received his education in the common schools and 
 at the age of fourteen began learning the art 
 of telegraphy at Aurelia, Iowa, and a few months 
 later was proficient enough to serve as extra 
 
 operator and agent, being stationed during the 
 two following years at Marcus, Fonda, Alta. 
 Aurelia and Cherokee for longer or shorter 
 periods. In 1883 he was assigned a key in the 
 train dispatcher's office at Ft. Dodge and two 
 years later was made extra train dispatcher serv- 
 ing both at Ft. Dodge and Waterloo. In 1887 
 he was made trick dispatcher in the office at 
 Ft. Dodge and three years later made chief 
 dispatcher, in which capacity he served until 
 consolidation of the offices in 1893. Trans- 
 ferred to Cherokee, he served as trick dispatcher 
 until the spring of 1896, with the exception of 
 two months in 1895, when he worked at Centra- 
 ha, 111., during the shortage of train dispatchers 
 at that point. He was then called to the Chicago 
 division and stationed at Kankakee as trick dis- 
 patcher. In October following he was again 
 transferred to Cherokee and made chief dis- 
 patcher of the division where he has since re- 
 mained. 
 
 Mr. James was married in Cherokee, De- 
 cember 24, 1894, to Miss Alice Maude Holden, 
 daughter of C. B. Holden, a prominent business 
 man of Cherokee, Iowa. Their little one, Mar- 
 jorie, died at the age of three years in the spring 
 of 1900. Mr. James is a prominent member of 
 the Train Dispatchers' Association of America, 
 joining the association in 1889, and for three 
 years has been a member of the executive com- 
 mittee and has been a delegate to nine of their 
 annual meetings. At the Train Dispatchers' 
 Convention, which was held at Indianapolis, in 
 June 1889, Mr. James was the youngest dele- 
 gate in attendance, it being one of the best and 
 largest conventions the association has ever held, 
 delegates being present from nearly every state 
 in the union as well as Canada and Mexico. He 
 is also a member of the association of Railway 
 Telegraph Superintendents and is identified with 
 Sioux City Lodge, B. P. O. E. No. 112. There 
 is a saying that dispatchers, like poets, are born, 
 not made, and only those of exceptional merit 
 rise to the position of chief, or retain the posi- 
 tion when once attained.
 
 FRED S. JAMES.
 
 PART III. 
 
 RAILROAD FRATERNITIES.
 
 RAILROAD FRATERNITIES. 
 
 
 THE BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS. 
 
 BY C. L. SALMONS, EDITOR B. OF L. E. MONTHLY JOURNAL. 
 
 ETER M. ARTHUR, Grand Chief En- 
 gineer of the Brotherhood of Locomo- 
 tive Engineers, was born in Scotland, 
 and came to America when ten years 
 of age, going to live on a farm with an uncle in 
 New York. At the age of seventeen he went 
 to Schenectady, N. Y., where with money he 
 had saved, purchased a horse and wagon and 
 started a small jobbing business. When eigh- 
 teen years old he was employed as a wiper in 
 the engine house of the New York Central 
 Railroad at Schenectady. He rose rapidly to 
 fireman and engineer. He was early attracted 
 to the organization of his craft and in February 
 1874, was chosen to its highest office and has 
 since that date been annually re-elected to Chief 
 Engineer, with headquarters at Cleveland, Ohio. 
 
 His policy of using all conciliatory means 
 in the settlement of difficulties, before resorting 
 to strikes, has brought him into wide and favor- 
 able notice everywhere ; under his administra- 
 tion there have been but few serious strikes, 
 and these occurred mostly in the early part of 
 his incumbency ; he possesses, in an unusual 
 degree, the confidence of the Order over which 
 he presides ; his public addresses have become 
 noted for their vigor of language and plain 
 speaking. 
 
 34 
 
 ,HIRTY-SEVEN years ago last April 
 a few engineers in the employ of the 
 Michigan Central Railroad Company 
 conceived the idea of forming an as- 
 sociation to promote the welfare and interest of 
 their profession and elevate their standing and 
 character as men. With these objects in view, 
 they assembled at the house of one of their num- 
 ber, in the city of Marshall, Mich. The result 
 of their deliberation was the issuing of an in- 
 vitation to the engineers employed on the ad- 
 jacent roads to meet in the city of Detroit on the 
 fifth day of May. In response to the invitation, 
 at the appointed time ten delegates assembled, 
 who, with but little formality in their organiza- 
 tion, entered upon their duties, and, with the 
 assistance of a few engineers residing in Detroit, 
 a constitution and by-laws were presented and 
 adopted, embodying the fundamental principles 
 of our present organization. 
 
 The necessity of something further on the 
 part of engineers than the common consent to 
 become and remain members of the association 
 so long as suited their own convenience became 
 apparent to the minds of the delegates, and an 
 obligation, as a bond of union, was formulated 
 and unanimously adopted, and on the 8th day 
 of May 1863, twelve engineers joined hands and
 
 648 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 hearts, pledging themselves to support the con- 
 stitution and by-laws, assist the needy and main- 
 tain the right. 
 
 Officers were elected, and Detroit Division 
 No. I, Brotherhood of the Footboard, stood 
 forth as the pioneer in the great work of refor- 
 mation and elevation of the locomotive engineers 
 of this continent. 
 
 The work of organizing sub-divisions soon 
 began, and in a short time there were twelve 
 divisions formed, and, in accordance with pre- 
 vious arrangements, a call was issued for each 
 division to send a delegate to meet at the hall 
 of Detroit Division No. i, on the i8th of August 
 of the same year. 
 
 The result of their deliberation was the 
 forming of the Grand National Division, 
 Brotherhood of the Footboard ; electing as the 
 Grand Chief, William D. Robinson. 
 
 Like many other associations in their in- 
 cipiency, many important points were lost sight 
 of, for the want of experience. 
 
 During the first year of its existence, forty- 
 four sub-divisions were organized. On the i7th 
 of August 1864, the first convention was held 
 in the city of Indianapolis, Ind., with forty-four 
 division representatives, at which time the name 
 and title of the organization was changed to 
 its present one, making it international in charac- 
 ter, so that all locomotive engineers, regardless 
 of nationality, would be eligible. 
 
 The organization has been in existence, as 
 a society, thirty-seven years, and during that time 
 iias gradually increased in numbers and im- 
 portance; emerging almost silently from its 
 original obscurity, until they now have 559 
 sub-divisions, comprising a membership of nine- 
 tenths of the best locomotive engineers on this 
 continent ; and they have gained an enviable 
 jiosition by a strict adherence to their mottoes: 
 "Sobriety, Truth, Justice and Morality," "Vigi- 
 l-.nce, not Violence," and "Do unto others as ye 
 would that they should do unto you, and so 
 fulfill the law." They stand aloof from all poli- 
 tical bodies and sects and ignore all questions 
 of creed and race, and look only to the improve- 
 
 ment and protection of the locomotive engineers 
 and their families. 
 
 At the convention held in the city of Boston, 
 in November 1866, the publication of a monthly 
 journal, to be devoted exclusively to the interests 
 of the profession, was authorized, and the first 
 number was issued in January 1867, composed 
 of 16 pages; it now has 112 pages and has at 
 the present time a circulation of nearly 37,000, 
 including among its subscribers residents of 
 Europe and India. It contains a list of all sub- 
 divisions, together with the names of the officers 
 and where they are located. 
 
 On the 3rd of December 1867, there was 
 established an insurance association, which pays 
 to the heirs of deceased members, or to a mem- 
 ber who is unfortunate enough to lose a hand, 
 arm, limb, or eyesight, the full amount of the 
 policy or policies held. Policies are for $1,500, 
 and a member may carry one, two or three, mak- 
 ing $1,500, $3,000 or $4,500. The cost of carry- 
 ing one policy of $1,500 is from 23 to 25 dollars 
 a year. In the aggregate, the sum of over 
 $8,000,000 has been paid to injured brothers and 
 heirs of deceased members, besides disbursing, 
 out of their earnings, thirty-five to forty thou- 
 sand dollars among the widows, orphans and 
 needy of the order at every convention. 
 
 A large number of the divisions have a 
 weekly indemnity insurance, each having their 
 own law, which vary in the amount of dues and 
 indemnity. The weekly indemnity is usually 
 about twelve dollars. 
 
 The organization has contracts with 107 
 Railroad Companies, which include nearly all 
 the great trunk lines. These contracts embody 
 rates of pay and rules and regulations govern- 
 ing overtime, treatment of the employes and for 
 the prevention of unjust discharge or suspen- 
 sion. 
 
 Through the instrumentality of this orga- 
 nized effort, the remuneration for services has 
 been greatly increased, overtime allowance 
 properly adjusted, and the character of those 
 who comprise it elevated and educated, and 
 peace and harmony maintained between the em- 
 ployer and employe.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 649 
 
 The following are the places of meetings 
 and dates thereof, of the conventions that have 
 been held since the organization at Detroit: 
 
 1. Indianapolis, Ind., August, 1864. 
 
 2. Rochester, N. Y., September, 1865. 
 Called meeting at Rochester, N. Y., June, 1866. 
 
 3. Boston, Mass., October, 1866. 
 
 4. Cincinnati, Ohio, October, 1867. 
 
 5. Chicago, 111., October, 1868. 
 
 6. Baltimore, Md., October, 1869. 
 
 7. Nashville, Tenn., October, 1870. 
 
 8. Toronto, Canada, October, 1871. 
 
 9. St. Louis, Mo., October, 1872. 
 
 10. Philadelphia, Pa., October, 1873. 
 
 Called meeting at Cleveland, Ohio, Febru- 
 ary, 1874. Charles Wilson resigned the posi- 
 tion of Grand Chief Engineer and the present 
 incumbent, P. M. Arthur was elected. 
 
 11. Atlanta, Ga., October, 1874. 
 
 12. New York City, N. Y., October, 1875. 
 
 13. Detroit, Mich., October, 1876. 
 
 14. Boston, Mass., October, 1877. 
 
 15. Indianapolis, Ind., October, 1878. 
 
 16. Kansas City, Mo., October, 1879. 
 
 17. Montreal, Canada, October, 1880. 
 
 18. Baltimore, Md., October, 1881. 
 
 19. Louisville, Ky., October, 1882. 
 
 20. Buffalo, N. Y., October, 1883. 
 
 21. San Francisco, Cal.j October, 1884. 
 
 22. New Orleans, La., October, 1885. 
 
 23. New York City, N. Y., October,' 1886. 
 
 24. Chicago, 111., October, 1887. 
 
 25. Richmond, Va., October, 1888. 
 
 26. Denver, Col., October, 1889. 
 
 27. Pittsburg, Pa., October, 1890. At 
 this convention the date of meetings was changed 
 from the second Wednesday in October to the 
 second Wednesday in May, making 19 months 
 between this and the 28th meeting. 
 
 28. Atlanta, Ga., May, 1892. At this 
 meeting the conventions were changed from an- 
 nual to biennial sessions. 
 
 1st Biennial St. Paul, Minn., May, 1894. 
 2i\ Biennial Ottawa, Can., May, 1896. 
 3d Binnial St. Louis, Mo., May, 1898. 
 4th Biennial Milwaukee, Wis., May, 1900.
 
 650 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 , diameter. 
 
 k." 
 
 : v : : 

 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 651 
 
 THE GRAND INTERNATIONAL AUXILIARY 
 TO THE B. OF L. E. 
 
 ,HE idea of the Grand International 
 Auxiliary to the Brotherhood of Loco- 
 motive Engineers was first suggested 
 by Mrs. W. A. Murdock at the annual 
 meeting of the B. of L. E. held in Chicago in 
 1887. It met with approval and a call was 
 it-sued. The first meeting was held in the Pal- 
 mer house parlors, October 14, 1887, with fifty- 
 five ladies present. Besides those who were 
 residents of Chicago there were but nine who 
 represented other cities. They were as follows : 
 Mrs. C. H. Bissell, Bearclstown, 111.; Mrs. 
 George Stofft, Galesburg, 111. ; Mrs. Andrew 
 Erhardt, Rochester, N. Y. ; Mrs. S. A. Randall, 
 Springfield, 111. ; Mrs. John Cochrane, Port 
 Huron, Mich. ; Mrs. C. L. Grosscup, St. Joseph, 
 Mo. ; Mrs. Mary C. Orr, Peoria, 111. ; Mrs. M. 
 McDowell, Burlington, la. ; Mrs. A. Strong, 
 Butler, Ind. ; Mrs. M. Kircher, Garrett, Ind. 
 
 At the first meeting Mrs. W. A. Murdock 
 was elected Grand President, a position she has 
 ably and satisfactorily filled ever since, having 
 been re-elected at each session of the Grand 
 Division. The following ladies constituted the 
 first grand officers elected to represent the G. I. 
 A. to the B. of L. E., Mrs. W. A. Murdock, 
 Grand President, Chicago; Mrs. M. C. May- 
 nard, Grand Vice-President, Chicago; Mrs. G. 
 M. Brown, Grand Secretary, Chicago; Mrs. 
 Charles Thorpe, Grand Treasurer, Chicago; 
 Mrs. Mary C. Orr, Grand Chaplain, Peoria, 
 111. ; Mrs. A. Strong, Grand Guide, Butler, Ind. ; 
 Mrs. S. A. Randall, Grand Sentinel, Spring- 
 field, 111. 
 
 At the second annual session, held in Chi- 
 cago, September 8, 1889, the present Grand 
 Secretary Mrs. Harry St. Clair was elected and 
 has held the office continuously ever since. She 
 has the entire confidence of the order she has 
 so ably assisted in upbuilding. 
 
 The association was formed for the pur- 
 pose of elevating and ennobling the railroad 
 people, as well as to render assistance in time 
 of need and trouble. 
 
 The insurance feature of the order, known 
 as the Voluntary Relief Association of the G. I. 
 A., although not compulsory, only members in 
 good standing in the G. I. A. being eligible, is 
 the first insurance order which was operated 
 and controlled entirely by women. The officers 
 in charge of the insurance branch are Mrs. 
 George Wilson, of Allegheny, Pa., President 
 of Insurance ; and Mrs. Mary L. Robertson, of 
 Toledo, Ohio, General Secretary and Treasurer. 
 The Board of Trustees, to whom quarterly re- 
 ports are made, and all questions of sufficient 
 importance are submitted, and who audit the 
 books of the V. R. A. once each year, are as 
 follows : Mrs. Chester Durnell, Ft. Wayne, Ind., 
 Mrs. F. G. Boomer, Raton, N. M., and Mrs. M. 
 C. Orr, Peoria, 111. When a member of the V. 
 R. A. dies each member in the association is 
 assessed twenty-five cents, and at the end of 
 sixty days the beneficiary receives $500, the limit 
 of the policy. All over that amount is placed in 
 the surplus fund to pay the second policy, as 
 members may take out two policies for $500 
 each, both of which will be paid in full. Since
 
 652 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 the organization of the V. R. A. in 1890, there 
 has been paid in beneficiaries over $yo,ooo. 
 March 31, 1900, there were in force 4,015 poli- 
 cies. 
 
 At the biennial session held in Milwaukee, 
 Wis., commencing May 9, 1900, it was deemed 
 advisable to adopt a law to elect four assistant 
 grand vice-presidents. The Grand Vice-Presi- 
 clent, Mrs. Mary E. Cassel, of Columbus, Ohio, 
 being editress of the Ladies' Department of the 
 B. of L. E., it was thought necessary to have 
 assistants elected from different localities who 
 could be called upon to organize new Divisions, 
 or visit old ones when necessary, to attend union 
 meetings and to create an interest in the order 
 in their respective localities. The following 
 were elected for this purpose : Mrs. Byron 
 Baker, First Assistant Grand Vice-President, 
 Ottawa, Canada; Mrs. William W. McNeil, 
 Second Assistant Grand Vice-President, New 
 Haven, Conn. ; Mrs. John Spruell, Third Assis- 
 tant Grand Vice-President, Montgomery, Ala. ; 
 Mrs. John Gregory, Fourth Assistant Grand 
 Vice-President, Missoula, Mont. 
 
 Connected with the association is a Relief 
 Fund, to which the sub-divisions are required 
 to donate a small amount each year for the pur- 
 
 pose of assisting the widows and orphan chil- 
 dren of the members of the B. of L. E. 
 
 There are now 247 divisions, with a total 
 membership of 6,650. The divisions are lo- 
 cated in every state and territory in the Union, 
 with several divisions in Canada. The growth 
 of the order has been remarkable and demon- 
 strates the fact that ladies possess executive 
 ability of a high order. 
 
 At the biennial meeting held in St. Louis 
 in 1898 it was decided to call the literary society 
 the G. I. A. Study Club, the officers to be called 
 Director and First and Second Assistant. The 
 object of the club is to stimulate intellectual and 
 moral development and to promote goo:! fel- 
 lowship among its members. The motto of 
 club is "Good Books, Our Best Companions." 
 
 The meetings of the order have been held 
 as follows : The organization was effected in 
 1887 and until 1891 the meetings were held in 
 Chicago. In 1892, at Atlanta, Ga. ; 1894, St. 
 Paul, Minn.; 1896, Ottawa, Canada; 1898, St. 
 Louis, Mo.; 1900, Milwaukee, Wis. (The above 
 article was prepared from data furnished by 
 Mrs. W. A. Murdock, Grand President and Mrs. 
 Harry St. Clair, Grand Secretary.) 

 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 653 
 
 ORDER OF RAILWAY CONDUCTORS. 
 
 E. CLARK, the efficient Grand Chief Conductor of 
 the Order of Railway Conductors in America, was 
 born at Lima, Livingston county, N. Y., Feb. 18, 
 1856. His father dying when our subject was but six 
 years old, he was reared and educated by his mother and accom- 
 panied her upon her removal to Minnesota in 1872. Here they 
 began life on a farm and he was thus engaged for the following 
 two years. In 1874 he began his railroad life by entering the 
 employ of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Minnesota Railroad 
 as a brakeman, remaining there only a few months, however, 
 when he went to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul system in 
 the same capacity. In 1876 he resigned and started west, look- 
 ing for a broader field, with the result that he entered the em- 
 ploy of the Central Pacific railroad, at Ogden. Utah, as a brake- 
 man, in the latter part of 1876, and continued in this capacity 
 until his promotion to conductor in the early part of 1880. From 
 July, 1882, to July, 1883, he was employed as passenger con- 
 ductor on the Utah & Northern division of the Union Pacific 
 Railroad and as passenger conductor on the Montana division of the Northern Pacific Railroad 
 from August, 1883, to August, 1884. In the early part of 1885 he served for a few months as 
 conductor of a freight train on the Rio Grand Western Railroad, and as passenger conductor from 
 that time until June, 1889, when he resigned to accept a position with the Order of Railway 
 Conductors. At the convention in Denver, in 1889, he was elected Grand Senior Conductor, or 
 Second Vice-President, and at the convention of the Grand Division held in Rochester, New York, 
 in 1890, was elected to his present responsible position, which he has since filled with credit to 
 himself and to the entire satisfaction of the members of the order. 
 
 E. E. CLARK, 
 GRAND CHIEF CONDUCTOR. 
 
 OME time during the spring of 1868 
 the conductors employed by the Illi- 
 nois Central Railroad at Amboy, Illi- 
 nois, organized themselves into an 
 association which they called the " Conductors' 
 Union," and conductors employed on the Chica- 
 go, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, at Galesburg, 
 
 hearing of it .concluded to organize also. Ac- 
 cordingly Messrs. Joseph Packard and William 
 Wier, after consulting in the matter, placed on 
 the " bulletin board " a notice requesting the con- 
 ductors interested to meet on the evening of June 
 1 7th, for that purpose. At the appointed time 
 Messrs. Joseph Packard, Scott Dewey, E. A.
 
 654 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Saclcl, Henry Evans, Peter Clark, George Mcln- 
 tosli, Ed. Russell, J. Ereeman, H. F. Dodd, Frank 
 Hughes, Peter Kelley and Daniel Elliott met, 
 effected an organization, calling themselves 
 " Galesburg Division, No. 2, of the Conductors' 
 I nion," and elected the following officers: Presi- 
 dent, Joseph Packard; Vice-President, E. A. 
 Sald; Secretary, Daniel Elliott; Treasurer, Hi. 
 Evans; Guide, Scott Dewey. A Constitution 
 and By-Laws were adopted and Joseph Packard 
 selected to confer with the Amboy organization 
 in regard to consolidation. 
 
 At a meeting held June 2oth, the following 
 were made members: Charles Main, A. C. 
 Richardson, Wm. Collins, J. C. Coleman, George 
 Merrill, Emery D. Young, H. L. Angevine, H. C. 
 Bristol, H. McKean, Neal Ruggles. At the meet- 
 ing held June 25th, James Working was made 
 a member. Richard Love, Fred Nance and 
 Edward DeGroot became members at the last 
 meeting the Division ever held, September 28, 
 1868. 
 
 The result of the conference between Mr. 
 Packard and the members of the " Conductors' 
 l/nion " at Amboy was an agreement for a meet- 
 ing at Mendota, 111., of three delegates each 
 from Amboy and Galesburg. This meeting was 
 held July 6, 1868. The delegates from Amboy 
 were Capt. S. G. Comstock, J. W. Seymour and 
 Josiah Purinton ; from Galesburg, C. A. Main, 
 J. C. Coleman and Daniel Elliott, and by them 
 the Conductors' Brotherhood was formed, a Con- 
 stitution and By-Laws adopted, and the follow- 
 ing Grand Officers elected : Grand Chief Conduc- 
 tor, J. C. Coleman, Assistant Grand Chief Con- 
 ductor, S. G. Comstock ; Grand Secretary, Daniel 
 Elliott; Grand Treasurer, E. A. Sadd; Grand 
 Sentinel, J. W. Seymour. C. A. Main and 
 Joseph Packard were appointed a Committee 
 on Printing. Subordinate Divisions were or- 
 ganized, No. 2 at Galesburg, during August; 
 No. i at Amboy, September Qth ; No. 3 at Aurora, 
 during August; and No. 4 at Centralia, Sep- 
 tember 29th. 
 
 Grand Secreta'ry Elliott was killed while in 
 discharge of his duty as a conductor on the Chi- 
 cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and the 
 
 records of the Brotherhood up to that time were 
 lost and have never been recovered. 
 
 In October 1868, Mr. Robert Harris noti- 
 fied conductors employed on the C. B. & Q. Rail- 
 road, of which he was then Superintendent, that 
 members of the " Brotherhood " would not be 
 continued in the employ of the company, and in 
 consequence Mr. Joseph Packard and Brother 
 E. D. Young left the service of the company 
 and others withdrew from the association, and 
 in consequence Divisions Nos. 2 and 3 became 
 defunct. The Divisions at Amboy and Centra- 
 lia struggled along for some time but finally 
 gave up. Just what time they ceased to work 
 is unknown, but the charters were declared for- 
 feited by the Grand Division, Centralia in No- 
 vember 1871, and Amboy in November 1876. 
 
 During the month of November 1868, and 
 but a few months after the organization at Men- 
 dota, the following circular was issued : 
 
 To all the Railroad Conductors in the United 
 States and the British Provinces : 
 
 We, the conductors on the P. F. W. & C. 
 Railway, request you to join us in a 'convention 
 in the city of Columbus, Ohio, Dec. I5th, 1868. 
 for the purpose of forming a Brotherhood of 
 Conductors. The object being to protect our- 
 selves and families in case of sickness, accident 
 or death. 
 
 For a long time we have felt the necessity 
 of an organization of this kind, and knowing 
 your dangers and necessities are parallel with 
 our own, we feel confident this move will meet 
 your approbation. We, therefore, call upon you 
 to send one or more delegates from each division 
 of your respective roads. 
 
 In behalf of the conductors of the P. F. 
 W. & C. Railway, we respectfully subscribe 
 ourselves, 
 
 A. G. BLACK, 
 G. Z. CRUZEN, 
 
 This convention was duly held, delegates 
 from the original Conductors's Brotherhood par- 
 ticipating, a revised constitution adopted, Grand 
 Officers elected, and the Mutual Insurance
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 655 
 
 Association instituted, and from this time our 
 connected record of proceedings begins. 
 
 The following is a list of the Grand Chief 
 Conductors, from the organization, at Mendota, 
 to the present time: 
 
 J. C. Coleman, Galesburg, 111., July to 
 December 1868; A. R. Church, Fort Wayne, 
 Ind., December 1868 to October 1869; A. G. 
 I'.lack, Fort Wayne, Ind., October 1869 to death 
 August 23rd, 1870; C. S. Moore, Martinsburg, 
 West Virginia, succeeded by death of A. G. 
 P.lack to November 1871 ; I. N. Hodges, Welles- 
 ville, Ohio, November 1871 to November 1872; 
 J. W. Sillsbee, Scranton, Pa., to November 1873 ; 
 G. Z. Cruzcn, Crestline, O., to November 1875, 
 at which time he was expelled by the Grand 
 Division ; Wm. L. Collins, Hornellsville, N. Y., 
 to October 1878; John B. Morford, New York 
 City, to October 1880; C. S. Wheaton, Elmira, 
 N. Y. to June 1890; E. E. Clark, Ogden, Utah, 
 to the present time. 
 
 The first convention .of the Conductors' 
 Brotherhood, called to order at Columbus, Ohio, 
 Tuesday, December 15, 1868, was in session 
 two days, during which time it perfected an 
 organization and adopted a constitution and 
 by laws. 
 
 The first regular session convened at 
 Chicago, June 15, 1869, and concluded the bus- 
 iness of the order on the third day. The Con- 
 ductors' Association of the New York & Erie 
 Railway was admitted to membership, a badge 
 of mourning and an emblematical pin were 
 adopted and a committee appointed to arrange 
 for a journal to be published in the interests of 
 the order. 
 
 The second regular session met at Buffalo, 
 in October following, concluding its labors in 
 two days, having appointed a committee to pre- 
 pare regalias for the use of the order. 
 
 The third session, held at Philadelphia, 
 October 6, 1870, adopted a plan of insurance 
 during its two days sittings. 
 
 Cleveland, Ohio, entertained the fourth 
 session, November I to 3, 1871, at which the 
 regalia recommended by the appointed committee 
 was adopted. 
 
 The fifth session convened at Indianapolis, 
 November 6, 1872, during the four days of which 
 only routine business was transacted. 
 
 At the sixth session, at Pittsburg, November 
 4 to 6, 1873, nothing of general interest was 
 considered. 
 
 At Baltimore, the seventh session convened 
 for a three days' sitting, November 3, 1874, at 
 which the Grand Chief Conductor was made 
 editor of the journal. 
 
 The eighth convention was held at Atlanta, 
 November 2, 1875, remaining in session five days, 
 at which the Railroad Conductors' Brotherhood 
 Magazine was chosen as the title of their 
 official organ. 
 
 The ninth session at Omaha, lasting five 
 days, convened November 7, 1876, at which only 
 routine business was in order. 
 
 The tenth, an important session, held at 
 Elmira, N. Y., October 2 to 6, 1877, enjoined 
 temperance on the members and promulgated 
 an order prohibiting the members from engaging 
 in strikes and a resolution passed to adopt the 
 name of the Conductors' Association of the 
 United States and Canada. 
 
 The eleventh session held at Chicago, Octo- 
 ber i, 1878, lasted seven days at which it was 
 decided to change the name of the organization 
 to the Order of Railway Conductors, the new 
 name to be in force after the first of January 
 following. A movement was set on foot to 
 establish a home for sick and disabled members. 
 
 The twelfth session, the first as Order of 
 Railway Conductors convened at New York City, 
 in a four days session, October 7, 1879, at which 
 it was decided to admit conductors of the ele- 
 vated roads to membership in the order and fur- 
 ther provision made to support a journal of the 
 order which to this time had a struggle for ex- 
 istence. 
 
 The thirteenth convention of the order as- 
 sembled at St Louis, for a four days session Octo- 
 ber 19, 1880, and among other business transacted 
 adopted the Railway Age as the official organ for 
 the ensuing year.
 
 656 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 A special session was held October 26, the 
 same year, at Texarkana, to dedicate Alamo Hall 
 to the uses of the organization. 
 
 The order was entertained a second time 
 in Buffalo in their fourteenth regular session, 
 October 4th to 8th, 1881, at which a new consti- 
 tution was adopted and insurance laws of the 
 order adopted. 
 
 A four days session, the fifteenth was held 
 at St. Paul, beginning October i/th, at which 
 it was decided to pay a salary to the Grand Chief 
 Conductor and Grand Secretary as their work 
 had been very much increased with the growth 
 of the order which now numbered ninety three 
 Divisions. 
 
 The sixteenth session, of four days duration, 
 was convened at Kansas City, October 16, 1883, 
 The Railway Conductors' Monthly was estab- 
 lished and a new declaration of principles pro- 
 mulgated " Truth, Honor, Sobriety, Capabili- 
 ty and Brotherly Love." 
 
 The seventeenth session, lasting five days, 
 convened at Boston, October 21, 1884, and a 
 movement was set on foot to establish permanent 
 headquarters for the organization and the maga- 
 zine. 
 
 The eighteenth, at Louisville, was a session 
 of six days, beginning October 20, 1885, at which 
 Chicago was chosen as the official headquarters 
 and the Grand Chief Conductor relieved of the 
 editorship, as his duties had grown to be too 
 numerous and exacting to admit of his dividing 
 his attention. Incorporation of the order under 
 the laws of the state of Illinois was ordered 1 
 and an effort made to establish a uniform code of 
 signals and rules for all the railroads of the con- 
 tinent. 
 
 The nineteenth session at New Orleans, con- 
 vened May 10, 1887, and lasted seven clays. In- 
 corporation under the laws of Iowa was effected 
 and the offices removed to Cedar Rapids. 
 
 The twentieth session, which met at Toronto, 
 May 8, 1888, for nine days session, considered 
 as the principal subject the attitude of the officers 
 of the order in connection with, the engineers' 
 and firemans' strike on the Burlington line. The 
 
 proposition to approve and assist in the organi- 
 zation of the Ladies' Auxiliary was laid on the 
 table. 
 
 The twenty-first session was called to order 
 at Denver, May 14, 1889, lasting seven days. The 
 authorized organization of a stock company to 
 erect a building for the order at Sioux City, la., 
 fell through later, for lack of support. 
 
 The twenty-second session, at Rochester, 
 convened May 13, 1890 lasting eight days, 
 adopted a protective policy for the organization 
 and released all members from their obligation 
 not to engage in any strike of railway employes 
 under any circumstances. This policy had been 
 advocated for several years but had not, until 
 this time, enough friends to make a majority. 
 
 The twenty-third session, convened May 12, 
 1891, at St. Louis, lasted eight days. The insur- 
 ance laws were thoroughly revised, a plan of 
 biennial sessions adopted, the office of editor 
 abolished and the Grand Secretary appointed to 
 act in that capacity 
 
 The twenty-fourth session, held at Toledo, 
 began an eight days meeting May 9, 1893, dur- 
 which approval was given the action of the board 
 of directors in making an agreement with the 
 Brotherhood of Railroad Conductors by which 
 that organization became merged into the Order 
 of Railway Conductors and approved the action 
 of the officers in withdrawing the application for 
 membership in the supreme Council. 
 
 The twenty-fifth session, lasting ten days, 
 convened at Atlanta May 14, 1895, at which only 
 routine business was transacted. 
 
 The twenty-sixth session at Los Angeles, be- 
 gan on the eleventh of May, 1897, and lasted 
 seven days with nothing of especial interest trans- 
 acted. 
 
 The twenty-seventh session of eight days, 
 convened at Detroit, May 9, 1899, made the 
 Grand Junior Conductor a salaried officer and 
 appointed him organizer and instructor. 
 
 The study of the growth of the order is in- 
 teresting. The earlier sessions were short and 
 an analysis of the proceedings shows they were 
 groping in the dark seeking the light. Later
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 657 
 
 the proceedings indicate that they had got their 
 hearings hut were having a difficult task in keep- 
 ing to the course they had laid out. The latter 
 sessions show that not only were they certain 
 of the policy to he pursued but that they were 
 keeping on the main line with all sidings locked 
 and a clear track ahead. The magazine, that 
 at first was a lone orphan, bound out from year 
 to year, has been regularly adopted by the order, 
 given a permanent home and become a credit 
 to its promoters not only for its official features 
 but for its general literary merit as well. The 
 insurance department that at first had a struggle 
 
 for existence has grown to magnificent proper 
 lions. The reports ending July i, lyoo, show 
 403 Divisions, with 24,500 members. The total 
 amount paid to disabled members and to the fami- 
 lies of deceased members amounts to $4,087,- 
 467.00, a record of which any organization may 
 well be proud. 
 
 [The above brief History of the order was 
 prepared some fourteen years ago by Mr. W. P. 
 Daniels, who had at that time been serving over 
 eight years as Assistant Grand Chief Conductor. 
 Subsequent events have been added from the most 
 reliable obtainable sources. Editor.]
 
 658 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ORDER OF RAILWAY CONDUCTORS' TRAVELING CARD. 
 
 all Hi! 
 Uirt , 
 
 Exact reproduction of O. R. C. traveling card. Supposed to be the oldest in existence. 
 
 NOT TRANSFERABLE, 
 
 Granted 
 
 / f 
 
 months pom date. Al jn-tbctif 
 
 i f i- 
 
 year. 
 
 Reverse side of the above.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 659 
 
 LADIES AUXILIARY OF THE O. OF R. C. 
 
 BY MRS. JOHN H. MOORE, GRAND PRESIDENT. 
 
 HE early history of the Ladies' Auxiliary 
 to the Order of Railway Conductors 
 is incomplete on account of the records 
 not being carefully preserved. In 
 February 1888, in response to a call from Mrs. 
 A. P. Jackson, the wives of members of Wayne 
 Division, No. 119, O. R. C. of Ft. Wayne, Ind., 
 met in the O. R. C. hall for the purpose of or- 
 ganizing a social club to work in harmony with, 
 and for the benefit of Wayne Division, No. 119, 
 O. R. C. On the 2nd of March a second 
 meeting was held, Mrs. Edd Erickson acting as 
 chairman. A corps of officers were elected and 
 by unanimous vote it was decided that the name 
 of the club be "Ladies of our Royal Club." A 
 few months later a constitution and by-laws were 
 adopted and the club reorganized as an Auxiliary 
 to the Order of Railway Conductors, with an 
 obligation and prayer (written by Mrs, Edd 
 Erickson) which served as the ritual. 
 
 Wayne Division, No. I, was instituted and 
 known as the Grand Organizing Division. Mrs. 
 Edd Erickson was chosen Worthy President 
 and Grand Organizer. Five divisions were insti- 
 tuted by the Grand Organizer, No. 2, at Creston, 
 Iowa; No. 3, at Columbus, Ohio; No. 4, at 
 Elkhart, Indiana, and No. 5 at Philadelphia. 
 
 The first Grand Convention was held in 
 Ft. Wayne, Indiana, in June 1889. A more com- 
 plete constitution, by-laws and a ritual, prepared 
 by Mrs. Charles E. Ragon, of Columbus, Ohio, 
 were adopted, and Mrs. Charles E. Ragon elected 
 Grand President. From the first Grand Conven- 
 tion the founding of the Ladies Auxiliary to the 
 Order of Railway Conductors was perfected. 
 In the days of the order's early history strong 
 
 opposition faced those in authority, not only from 
 the conductors' wives, but from the Order of 
 Railway Conductors. Faith in justice and the 
 rights we believed ours urged those early workers 
 on. From June 1889 to June 1890 no divisions 
 were added. 
 
 The second Grand Division meeting con- 
 vened at Elkhart, Indiana, in June 1890 and was 
 composed of the representatives of the five or- 
 ganized divisions. Mrs. Charles E. Ragon was 
 re-elected Grand President. 
 
 On Oct. 9, 1890, Banner Division No. 6, of 
 Toledo, Ohio, was instituted and from that 
 (iate to June 1891, when the Grand Conven- 
 tion met in Columbus, Ohio, Divisions No. 7, 
 8, 9, 10 and n had been instituted. Just 
 previous to this meeting of the Grand Division, 
 Sister Ragon had addressed a communication, 
 containing a copy of our laws, to the Grand Divi- 
 sion of the Order of Railway Conductors, in 
 session in St. Louis, Missouri, asking that body 
 to recognize us as an Auxiliary to the Order of 
 Railway Conductors. Previous attempts by 
 conductors, who favored the Auxiliary work, for 
 our recognition had failed. The only consider- 
 ation ever given was to "table" everything 
 pertaining to the Auxiliary work. A committee 
 was appointed to examine our laws and report. 
 To the surprise of all, this committee reported 
 favorably and recommended "recognizing them 
 as an auxiliary to the Order of Railway Con- 
 ductors, and that we, the Order, give them our 
 moral support." A motion was made that the 
 report be accepted and the recommendations be 
 concurred in. This motion was carried.
 
 660 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 At the third meeting of the Grand Division, 
 Mrs. Charles E. Ragon was re-elected Grand 
 President. From June 1891 to June 1892 nine 
 divisions were added and the Grand Convention 
 held in Philadelphia was the largest and most 
 successful ever held up to that time. At this 
 convention Mrs. J. H. Moore asked that the 
 next Grand Convention be held in Toledo, Ohio, 
 at the same time as the convention of the Order 
 of Railway Conductors, in May 1893. This re- 
 quest was granted. At this convention a new 
 design for the charter was presented (by Banner 
 Division, No. 6, of Toledo, Ohio,) and adopted. 
 Mrs. J. H. Moore, of Toledo, Ohio, was elected 
 Grand President. 
 
 At the fifth Grand Convention it was de- 
 cided to change the annual sessions to biennial 
 meetings and to meet at the same time and place 
 as the Order of Railway Conductors. Mrs. J. 
 H. Moore was re-elected Grand President. - 
 
 The sixth convention, and first biennial 
 session, met in Atlanta, Ga., in 1895. The great 
 increase in number, not only of members but of 
 divisions, and the most complete success of the 
 first "biennial" proved the wisdom of those pro- 
 posing the change from annual to biennial 
 sessions, and the time and place to correspond 
 with the time and place of the meetings of the 
 ( )rder of Railway Conductors. Each year has 
 brought an increasing measure of success. We 
 have endeavored to keep pace with the advancing 
 times. The laws have been revised and new ones 
 
 added to meet new conditions. The ritual has 
 been perfected and a beautiful floor work added. 
 We have grown from a social to a beneficiary 
 association. All of these new features are the 
 work of the members. The floor work was 
 presented by Erie Division, No. 16, of Hunting- 
 ton, Ind., in 1893. The plan of our insurance 
 was formed and presented by Sister J. M. Sewell, 
 now president of "White City" division, No. 
 too, of Chicago, in 1895. 
 
 Our membership has grown from 400 mem- 
 bers, in 1891, to 4000 and despite all opposition 
 (some still exists) we stand at the dawn of the 1 
 new century, stronger and better able to cope with 
 this opposition than ever. At our inception our 
 rights needed to be asserted ; where they are still 
 disputed 'we aim by honest and upright means to 
 overcome all prejudice. Our Grand Conventions 
 have grown to be a power, and are composed of 
 our representative women, of whom we are 
 proud ; and we are positive we need not be second 
 to any order of a similar character in the world. 
 All issues have been met, the arduous labor 
 necessary to our formative period has been done, 
 and we propose to continue the work until no 
 differences remain to be adjusted. I appreciate 
 the honor conferred upon me and will aim, as 
 I have ever done, to place the standard of our 
 order on a high elevation, that will distinguish 
 us as co-workers for the elevation and advanc- 
 ment of our class.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 661 
 
 BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN. 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH BY W. S. CARTER. 
 
 k WENTY-SEVEN years ago, to be exact, 
 December i, 1873, eleven men, eleven 
 firemen of the old Erie road, pledged 
 a mutual, enduring friendship. That 
 that friendship has been enduring is materially 
 manifest. One year after the institution of 
 Lodge No. i, B. of L. F., at Port Jervis, N. Y. 
 representatives of twelve lodges assembled in 
 Hornellsville, in the same state, at the first con- 
 vention. We learn from our records that they 
 convened, elected officers ; organized a life insur- 
 ance association, passed a vote of thanks to the 
 11. of L. E. for " the kind and courteous manner 
 in which they received us," and then adjourned. 
 It will thus be seen that at the very beginning 
 cordial relations existed between the two orders 
 of enginemen , and we find that a year later the 
 Grand Chaplain of the B. of L. E. asked the 1 , 
 blessings of our Creator on our delegates as- 
 sembled in Indianapolis, Incl., at the second con- 
 vention. At this convention were forty-six dele- 
 gates, representing twenty-nine lodges. Nine 
 hundred members were reported. It was at this 
 convention that the protective features of the or- 
 ganization were first developed. 
 
 At St. Louis, Mo., in September 1876, forty- 
 one delegates represented fifty lodges. Probably 
 the most important work of the third convention 
 was agitation of the adoption of an official organ. 
 The matter was referred to a popular vote of the 
 members and their action was affirmative. At 
 this convention the Grand Secretary and Treas- 
 urer and the members of the grievance commit- 
 tee were complimented "for securing an increase 
 of wages on the I. B. & W. road." This may 
 
 be accepted as the first of the many wage benefits 
 which the locomotive firemen of North America 
 owe to the B. of L. F. 
 
 The fourth convention was held in Indiana- 
 polis, Ind., in Sept. 1877, to which city the head- 
 quarters of the Brotherhood had been removed 
 from Galion, Ohio, the former home of the Grand 
 Secretary and Treasurer. The order had not 
 increased in membership as in the preceding year ; 
 only forty-nine delegates were reported. Trouble 
 was brewing for the young organization. Dele- 
 gates were cautioned against spies. The recent 
 strike had its effect, and many members had been 
 thrown out of employment and blacklisted. 
 Lodges had gone down by the opposition of rail- 
 way officials. In the face of threatened disrup- 
 tion, with 1000 delinquent members, these men 
 bravely looked' to the future for relief. Several 
 years previous to the institution of the first lodge 
 of the Brotherhood, there was organized the In- 
 ternational Firemen's Union, which was strictly 
 a trade union with little or no fraternal or insur- 
 ance features. It had never taxed its members, 
 except for strikes, and these generally had proven 
 quite disastrous, although in several instances 
 increases in wages had been obtained. It was 
 at the fourth convention that an effort was made 
 to consolidate the International Fireman's Uniort 
 with the' 'Firemen's Brotherhood, and a resoliu 
 tion was adopted inviting local branches of that 
 organization to become lodges of our order, with- 
 out incurring the expense of initiation 
 
 A short time previous to the '77 strike, some 
 members of the B. of L. E. had advocated the 
 institution of an annex, or second degree, to
 
 662 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 their organization to be composed of firemen. 
 This question was discussed at our fourth con- 
 vention and it was decided that no amalgamation 
 with the Engineer's Brotherhood was desired, but 
 the B. of L. F. would gladly co-operate with 
 the B. of L. E. A committee was appointed 
 to visit the B. of L. E. convention to seek recog- 
 nition, but not annexation. 
 
 Buffalo, N. Y., was the city selected for the 
 fifth convention (1878). The Brotherhood had 
 lost both in members and lodges, on account 
 of the violent opposition of railway officials, and 
 the impecunious condition of the members. 
 Thirty-eight delegates represented fifty-one 
 lodges. At this meeting it was considered ex- 
 pedient to place an organizer in the field. 
 
 The sixth convention was held in Chicago 
 in 1879 and the financial affairs of the Brother- 
 hood had gone from bad to worse ; but notwith- 
 standing the depleted treasury, the order had 
 taken on a new growth. Shortly after the fifth 
 convention the local Divisions of the International 
 Firemen's Union had cast their lot with the 
 Brotherhood; besides, the Grand Organizer and 
 several active members had been in the field. 
 Seventy-six lodges were reported, sixty-five of 
 which were represented. The opposition of 
 railway officials was causing lodges to disband 
 and members to withdraw in some sections of 
 the country, and in order to have peace the pro- 
 tective features of the organization were elimi- 
 nated and a resolution was adopted "ignoring" 
 strikes. Here is the beginning of another epoch 
 of our history. ****** 
 
 The seventh convention (1880) was also held 
 in Chicago, and Grand Ma'ster Arnold had re- 
 moved Sayre, Grand Secretary and Treasurer, 
 from office and the Grand Lodge to Terre Haute, 
 Ind. This took place on July 16, a few weeks 
 prior to the convention. E. V. Debs was ap- 
 pointed by the Grand Master to that position 
 until the delegates should meet and approve his 
 action and fill the vacancy by election. Mr. 
 Debs was unanimously elected to this position. 
 The Brotherhood had, during the preceding year, 
 made great progress, although only fifty-eight 
 delegates were in attendance. * * * 
 
 The eighth convention met in Boston in 1881, 
 where, although fifty-one lodges were repre- 
 sented, the official reports showed an increase of 
 18. The membership was reported as 2,998. 
 
 Terre Haute, Ind., was the place of holding 
 the ninth convention in 1882; ninety-four lodges 
 were represented with a membership of 5,125. 
 
 Denver, Colo., (1883) tenth convention. 
 There were 130 lodges represented with a total 
 membership of 7,337. 
 
 Toronto, Canada, (1884) eleventh conven- 
 tion. Number of lodges represented, 116; num- 
 ber of members, 12,246. It was at this conven- 
 tion that the question of classification of wages 
 was discussed and a movement started, which 
 in the end resulted in the Brotherhood again be- 
 coming a labor organization in the true sense. 
 Up to this time the word " white " had not been 
 incorporated in the qualifications of membership, 
 but now this became a part of the law. 
 
 The twelfth convention met in Philadelphia 
 in 1885, and here began the third epoch of the 
 Brotherhood's history. After six years of "ignor- 
 ing" strikes, it returned to the original policy 
 and became a " labor " organization. That this 
 pronounced reversal of principle came from be- 
 low, from the rank and file, and in direct opposi- 
 tion to the officers, the proceedings of the conven- 
 tion give ample proof. Greetings were sent to 
 organized labor and the assertion was publicly 
 made that the B. of L. F. would henceforth be 
 counted with those who demanded justice and 
 were willing to fight for it if it need be. 
 
 In 1886, the thirteenth convention met in 
 Minneapolis, Minn., with 256 lodges represented, 
 out of a total of 331. There were reported" 
 16,196 members. Advance in wages and de- 
 tails of adjustment of grievances were interest- 
 ing parts of the Grand Master's report at this, 
 our first great " labor " convention. Previous 
 to this convention the Locomotive Firemen's 
 Magazine had been sustained by individual sub- 
 scriptions. A law was now enacted that re- 
 quired the Magazine to be sent free to each mem- 
 ber. 
 
 The thirteenth convention was the last an- 
 nual, and the first biennial was held in the city
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 663 
 
 of Atlanta, Ga., in 1888. A concise history ofi 
 the intervening two years would fill a large 
 volume. Hundreds of contracts and agreements 
 were made with the railways which terminated 
 classification, and in many instances, increased 
 wages were secured. The Brooklyn elevated 
 railroad strike was closely followed by the great 
 strike on the C. B. & Q. 
 
 The second biennial convention was held in 
 San Francisco, Cal., in 1890 and the third bien- 
 nial in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1892. On the latter 
 occasion Eugene V. Debs refused to longer serve 
 in the capacity of Grand Secretary and Treasurer, 
 and Frank W. Arnold was elected to that posi- 
 tion. Upon the earnest solicitation of the dele- 
 gates, Mr. Debs agreed to act as editor of the Lo- 
 comotive Firemen's Magazine, but to have no 
 other official connection with the organization, 
 which conditions were agreed to. 
 
 In 1894 the fourth biennial convention was 
 held in Harrisburg, Pa. The Pullman strike 
 had seriously affected the B. of L. F. While the 
 latter organization had no official connection with 
 the American Railroad Union, thousands of 
 Brotherhood men were drawn into the strike, 
 resulting in a loss of membership which equalled 
 about twenty-five per cent. Mr. Debs resigned 
 his position as editor, the resignation to become 
 effective at once, and William S. Carter, of Lodge 
 No. 263, San Antonio, Texas, was chosen to fill 
 the position. 
 
 The fifth biennial convention was held in 
 Galveston, Texas, in 1896. The most important 
 changes in the laws were the merging of the 
 beneficiary and general funds, and the provision 
 for the election of officers of local lodges by popu- 
 lar vote of the membership. Previous to this 
 change all local elections had been controlled 
 by those members who were in a position to at- 
 
 tend the meeting at which the election took place, 
 but thereafter, each and every member was 
 granted the right and opportunity of expressing 
 their choice for officers of subordinate lodges 
 through a written ballot, " the candidate for office 
 receiving the highest number of ballots by proxy 
 and otherwise " to be elected. 
 
 The sixth biennial, or nineteenth convention; 
 of the Brotherhood, was held at Toronto, Onta- 
 rio, in 1898. 
 
 The twentieth convention was held in Des 
 Moines, la., in 1900. 
 
 The following given by Grand Master Sar- 
 gent shows that there are 564 lodges in good 
 standing, with a total membership of 36,789. 
 
 Joshua A. Leach is the recognized founder 
 of the organization ; it was he who instituted the 
 first twelve lodges that were represented at the 
 first convention. He remained Grand Master 
 of the organization, by re-election, until the third 
 convention, when he declined longer to serve. 
 It may be of interest to the members of today 
 to state that his only reason for no longer serving 
 as Grand Master was that he had been promoted, 
 and he believed that a fireman should be at the 
 head of a fireman's organization. His successor 
 was W. R. Worth, of Lodge No. 44, of Brook- 
 field, Mo., who did not attend the fourth conven- 
 tion on account of severe illness of members of 
 his family. F. B. Alley, of Lodge No. 23, of 
 Louisville, Ky., was chosen for the position in 
 1877. He was succeeded a year later by W. T. 
 Goundie of Lodge No. 75, of Philadelphia, Pa. 
 At the sixth convention, F. W. Arnold, of Lodge 
 No. 9, Columbus, Ohio, was placed at the nomi- 
 nal head of the organization. He served until 
 the twelfth convention, a period of six years, 
 when the present Grand Master, Frank P. Sar- 
 gent, of Lodge No. 94, Tucson, Arizona, was 
 elected to the responsible position. 
 
 35
 
 664 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 665 
 
 THE LADIES' SOCIETY OF THE B. OF L. F. 
 
 BY MRS. F. P. SARGENT, GRAND PRESIDENT.. 
 
 
 BT was in Arizona that the Ladies Society of 
 the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen 
 first saw the light of day, in the city of 
 Tucson. In the month of April 1884, ten 
 women, wives of locomotive fireman, met at the 
 home of F. P. Sargent, then a locomotive fire- 
 man in the employ of the Southern Pacific Ry. 
 Co., and formed the first society. Little did 
 these sisters think that the work hegun by them 
 would be the beginning of the present Ladies 
 Society. They looked upon it only as a local 
 institution, never dreaming of it becoming an 
 international organization as it is today. Of the 
 ten pioneers who laid the foundation of the 
 present organization, Mrs. F. P. Sargent, the 
 present Grand President, is the only one that is 
 left who still retains her membership and who 
 has witnessed the good work accomplished from 
 day to day since 1884. 
 
 The second lodge was established in Strat- 
 ford, Ontario, and when the lodge at Tucson was 
 disbanded, by the members moving from the city 
 and for other causes, Mrs. Sargent became a 
 member of Good Endeavor Lodge at Stratford, 
 where she remained until the institution of Hazel 
 Lodge No. 3 at Peoria, Illinois, when she with- 
 drew and became a member of the same. The 
 second lodge was not organized without many 
 drawbacks, and very little encouragement was 
 offered from the wives and families of the fire- 
 men. Only five became charter members, and 
 that after five months of hard work. But those 
 five faithful women labored with a will and 
 
 through their efforts the Ladies Society was con- 
 tinued. 
 
 From 1884 to 1890 were dark days for the 
 Society. The members worked hard in 1886 to 
 have a grand lodge instituted, but failed. It 
 was not until the convention of the Brotherhood 
 of Locomotive Firemen, held at San Francisco, 
 Cal., in September 1890, that the Ladies Society 
 was officially recognized by the Brotherhood of 
 Locomotive Firemen. This recognition was ac- 
 corded through the untiring efforts of Grand 
 Master Sargent, who ably supported the claims 
 of the Society as an auxiliary to the Brother- 
 hood ; and from that time on the Society has 
 been encouraged by the members of the Brother- 
 hood. At this convention (San Francisco) the 
 charter was ordered, prepared and presented to 
 the Ladies Society, which at that time was com- 
 posed of fourteen lodges, with a membership of 
 one hundred and eleven. It was at this time 
 that Mrs. E. A. Ball, of Stratford, Ontario, was 
 appointed Grand President, and Mrs. M. E. 
 Moore, of the same place, Grand Secretary and 
 Treasurer. The appointments were made by 
 Grand Master Sargent. These sisters at once 
 went to work on the plan mapped out for them, 
 and as a result only six lodges came in under 
 the charter. How slow and discouraging was 
 the work at that time none but those appointed 
 to carry it on will ever know. 
 
 Up to this time there had been little or no 
 printing done. All rituals and by-laws were 
 copied with pen and ink. When the first conven-
 
 666 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 tion was held in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1892, two 
 new lodges had been added to the list, and the 
 membership was then three hundred. Nine dele- 
 gates answered the roll call. All work was done 
 gratis, and all grand officers paid their own ex- 
 penses to the convention. At this convention 
 (Cincinnati, Ohio) the Grand President and the 
 Grand Secretary and Treasurer were each voted 
 a salary of $50.00 per year. A resolution was 
 adopted providing for a full set of books for the 
 Grand Secretary and Treasurer. Grand Master 
 Sargent very kindly offered to get up the forms 
 for the books, and also to have the rituals and 
 by-laws printed. His offer was gratefully ac- 
 cepted, and he assisted the Society in every pos-- 
 sible way, making himself almost indispensible 
 to the grand officers and the members at large. 
 
 The Society continued to grow slowly but 
 steadily. During the year 1899 thirty-five new 
 lodges were organized, with a total membership 
 of over two thousand. During the same year a 
 new insurance plan was adopted, and the number 
 of members participating in this insurance fea- 
 ture is over two (2000) thousand. The sum of 
 $100.00 is paid to the beneficiary of the deceased 
 members. During the time since the insurance 
 system has been established the sum of $1190.00 
 
 has been paid in death claims. There are many 
 of the lodges that pay a weekly sick benefit. The 
 present membership of the Society is nearly 3000, 
 with 132 subordinate lodges. 
 
 The blessings that have come with the Ladies 
 Society should need no reference at my hands. 
 The help and encouragement that has been given 
 to the brothers and their families is well known 
 to all. When we look back and mark the pro- 
 gress that has been made since those ten women 
 laid the foundation of the Society in 1884, we 
 have every reason to feel proud of its growth. 
 The Society has ever made it an aim to cultivate 
 a spirit of harmony, to promote sociability, and 
 to draw into friendly relationship the lady mem- 
 bers of the families of the brothers of the Brother- 
 hood. They have adopted as their motto, Friend- 
 ship and Charity ; both of which are fully exem- 
 plified in its daily work. The motive which 
 prompted the organization of the Society by the 
 ten women at Tucson was founded upon the 
 conditions which surrounded the firemen and their 
 families at that time; and ever since it has been 
 the cardinal principle of the order, whose mem- 
 bers are ever ready to extend a friendly and help- 
 ing hand to the firemen and their families.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 667 
 
 BROTHERHOOD OF RAILROAD TRAINMEN. 
 
 D. L. CEASE, EDITOR RAILROAD TRAINMEN'S JOURNAL. 
 
 THE Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen 
 dates its organization from September 
 23rd, 1883, but the Organization was 
 actually started several months prior 
 to that time, when the brakemen and switchmen, 
 employed at Albany, New York, by the Delaware 
 and Hudson, organized the Capitol City Aid 
 Association, having for its purpose the payment 
 of benefits during the period of sickness or in- 
 jury of its members, and the train and yard men 
 at Oneonta, New York, being taken with the idea 
 started an organization of the same character, 
 but through a misunderstanding with the parent 
 organization at Albany, they resolved to go it 
 alone, and during the month of July 1883, they 
 organized Oneonta Lodge, of the Brotherhood 
 of Railroad Brakemen. This organization was 
 intended as a purely local 'affair, but news of it 
 went out through the press and so many letters 
 of inquiry were received by the men at Oneonta, 
 that they resolved to make the organization a 
 national one and accordingly on September 23rd, 
 1883, they organized the Grand Lodge of the 
 Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen and the lodge 
 at Oneonta became Lodge No. I of the Organi- 
 zation. 
 
 The railroad men of Canada became in- 
 terested and on November 29th, 1885, the first 
 lodge, No. 1 68, was organized in the Dominion, 
 at Moncton, N. B. Since that time the Organi- 
 zation has been doing business in the United 
 States and Canada as the Brotherhood of Rail- 
 road Brakemen and after the change of name, 
 as the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. 
 
 In 1889 the convention changed the name 
 of the Brotherhood to the one it now bears, for 
 the reason that the old name was not considered 
 comprehensive, or representative, enough for the 
 different vocations of the members of the Organi- 
 zation, some of them being conductors, baggage- 
 men, switchmen, trainmen and others being in 
 other departments, the name was changed to meet 
 their wishes. 
 
 The insurance feature of the Brotherhood 
 became effective October ist, 1883, and at that 
 time the amount payable at death, or total dis- 
 ability, was $300.00. This amount has varied 
 at different times, having been advanced by the 
 different conventions, until now the insurance 
 is of the graded order and the policy can be car- 
 ried by the member for either $400.00, $SoD.oo, 
 or $1,200.00, and the amount is payable in the 
 event of death or total disability. 
 
 The protective feature, or the grievance ma- 
 chinery as it is sometimes called, is responsible 
 for the betterment in conditions that has marked 
 the progress of the Organization. The material 
 welfare of the men in train and yard service has 
 been marked by a decided progression and in 
 every respect, concerning wages and conditions 
 of employment, the men have been benefitted. 
 
 At the present time the Brotherhood of Rail- 
 road Trainmen has a membership of 40,000, and 
 bank account of close to $350,000.00 and is enjoy- 
 ing a season of contented prosperity within itself 
 and a satisfactory condition of affairs with its( 
 employers. (From the Locomotive Firemen's 
 Magazine, August, 1900.)
 
 668 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 669 
 
 LADIES' AUXILIARY TO THE B. OF R. T. 
 
 BY MRS. RAY N. WATTERSON, GRAND MISTRESS. 
 
 REAMBLE: To unite the families of 
 the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen ; 
 to promote their welfare socially, moral- 
 ly, and intellectually, and to encourage 
 them in all things pertaining to the good of the 
 Brotherhood, this auxiliary has been organized. 
 
 Convinced that it is for the good of the 
 Brotherhood in general and our own welfare, 
 that a mutual good feeling should, at all times, 
 exist between both organizations, it shall be our 
 constant aim and endeavor to create and main- 
 tain the same. Such are the aims and intentions 
 of the Ladies' Auxiliary to the Brotherhood of 
 Railroad Trainmen. 
 
 To Sister Sophia Granger is due the honor 
 of first conceiving the idea of the organization of 
 the wives, mothers, sisters and daughters of rail- 
 road trainmen. 
 
 To this end a petition was circulated by her 
 among the families of trainmen at Fort Gratiot, 
 (now North Port Huron) Michigan. 
 
 At the biennial session of the Grand Lodge, 
 Brotherhood of Railroad- Trainmen, held at Co- 
 lumbus, Ohio, in 1888, this petition for permis- 
 
 sion to organize an auxiliary was presented to 
 that honorable body and permission was given 
 to organize the Ladies' Auxiliary to the Brother- 
 hood of Railroad Trainmen. Accordingly, Janu- 
 ary 23, 1889, the Grand Lodge was organized 
 with twenty-five charter members. The growth 
 of the Order during the first three and one-half 
 years was very slow, thirty-one lodges being 
 organized during that time. At the present time 
 there are'igi lodges, with a membership of about 
 5,000. 
 
 Through our beneficiary department we have 
 been the means of relieving much distress and 
 with the kind hand of sisterly love have smoothed 
 the dark hour of bereavement in many homes. 
 
 Since our organization we have paid out, 
 in beneficiaries alone, $43,415.00. Our Order, 
 after nearly twelve years of earnest work, is in 
 a prosperous condition. We have passed the 
 epoch in which an organization of women is 
 considered with disfavor and we feel confident 
 that our efforts which have been of a character 
 productive of a financial and moral benefit, are 
 appreciated by our parent organization, the 
 Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.
 
 670 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 671 
 
 ORDER OF RAILROAD TELEGRAPHERS. 
 
 * 
 
 H. B. PERHAM, EDITOR RAILROAD TELEGRAPHER. 
 
 THE Order of Railroad Telegraphers was 
 organized at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on 
 June 9, 1886. For the first five years 
 of its existence it was a fraternal asso- 
 ciation designed to bring the railroad telegraphers 
 into closer relationship and curb the indiscrimi- 
 nate teaching of telegraphy which was proving to 
 be a great detriment to the business. 
 
 At the sixth annual convention, held in St. 
 Louis, Mo., in 1891, it adopted a protective fea- 
 ture similar to that of other railway labor organi- 
 zations. The growth of the order in comparison 
 with other railway labor organizations has been 
 slow on account of the telegraphers being scat- 
 tered over the country and the difficulty in get- 
 ting any number of them together. Railroad 
 telegraphers are mostly employed at points where 
 only one man is necessary to transact the busi- 
 ness. In the early days the order met with stren- 
 ous objections from the officials who considered 
 telegraphers as men employed in a confidential 
 capacity, but the telegraphers came to the con- 
 
 clusion that a man who would be loyal to his 
 employer must first be loyal to himself and join 
 the organization of his class. During the four- 
 teen years of the Order's existence, it has been 
 instrumental in shortening the hours of labor, 
 increasing the rates of pay and establishing the 
 rights of its members on all the important lines 
 of railway in the United States and Canada. It 
 has placed the business of telegraphy on a higher 
 plane than it ever occupied before, by insuring 
 just treatment and continuity of employment. 
 
 On January 1st, 1898, the Order, by referen- 
 dum vote, adopted a Mutual Benefit Department 
 plan providing death benefits for all members 
 initiated after that date, and any others of the 
 old members who might wish to participate there- 
 in. This department issues certificates in three 
 series of $300, $500 and $1000 each. 
 
 During the year 1899 the new department 
 paid out $17,700 in death claims. The Order is 
 in a flourishing condition. (From the Locomo- 
 tive Firemen's Magazine, of August, 1900.)
 
 PART IV. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS MATTER.
 
 TRANSPORTATION ADVANCEMENT. 
 
 A concise article showing the evolution of Locomotive Development and growth of Transportation 
 
 Facilities. 
 
 BN no other field of activity is the progress of 
 the Nineteenth Century better typified than 
 in the improvements which have taken place 
 in the means of transportation. One hun- 
 dred years ago travel and traffic were nearly all 
 confined to the road and natural waterway. The 
 first turnpike company in the United States was 
 chartered in 1790, and between 1792 and 1794 
 constructed a turnpike between Philadelphia and 
 Lancaster, though the building of these improved 
 roads in the United States was hardly begun until 
 the nineteenth century was nearly twenty years 
 old. In Great Britain the construction of turnpike 
 roads was carried on during the last quarter of 
 the eighteenth century. 
 
 The earliest idea of steam locomotion of 
 which there is any authentic information, was 
 advanced by Isaac Newton in 1690. His device 
 was a very primitive and clumsy affair, consisting 
 of a carriage, surmounted by a spherical boiler, 
 with a steam pipe projecting straight backward, 
 the re-actionary force of the steam issuing there- 
 from upon the atmosphere pushing the carriage 
 ahead. The steam was controlled from the front 
 by a handle and cock. 
 
 For about eighty years after the . Newton 
 engine was made there was no appreciable pro- 
 gress in this line of inventions, when in 1769, 
 Nicholas Cugnot, a French artillery officer, 
 through an appropriation made by the French 
 
 war department, made an engine of the high 
 pressure class, with cylinders and pistons calcu- 
 lated for rotary force. After a few unsatis- 
 factory experiments it was abandoned. 
 
 The earliest experiments of this character 
 in the United States, were in 1790, when Nathan 
 Read, of Salem, Massachusetts, made a machine 
 to be' propelled by steam. This was called the 
 '' Read." To Mr. Read belongs the honor of 
 contriving the vertical boiler and fire box of many 
 tubes. 
 
 In 1800, Richard Trevithick, of London, 
 constructed a road engine which he called the 
 " Trevithick." This engine was put into use 
 between the years 1802 and 1804 on the Penycla- 
 wan Tramway, in South Wales. It sometimes 
 attained a speed of from four to five miles an 
 hour on a level surface. This is the earliest 
 practical use, on record, of an engine on any rail- 
 road in the world. It is claimed to have been 
 the earliest high pressure engine, no condensa- 
 tion of steam being required. It weighed about 
 five tons and consumed two hundred pounds of 
 coal in drawing five loaded wagons nine miles in 
 four hours and five minutes. A model of this 
 engine is in the South Kensington Museum, of 
 London. 
 
 In 1808, Mr. Trevithick built the "catch 
 me who can," which weighed about eight tons 
 and was the first locomotive used on rails in the
 
 676 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 city of London. It was exhibited on a circular 
 track in Euston Square, but was finally derailed 
 and abandoned. 
 
 The next locomotive known to have been 
 used successfully was called the " Blenkensop," 
 and was built in 1811, by Matthew Murray and 
 John Blenkensop. It weighed five tons and drew 
 a load of ninety tons at the rate of three and one- 
 half miles an hour. 
 
 THE "NEWTON." 
 
 Model in Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, 111. 
 
 Following this came the " Puffing Billy," 
 iu 1813, which was the work of William Hedley, 
 of England. In this engine were several im- 
 provements over those previously mentioned. 
 It had two vertical cylinders, with piston rods 
 connected to beams, centered at each end a con- 
 trivance which was styled the " Grasshopper." 
 
 The "Brunton" was built in 1813, by William 
 iSrunton, it being called the "Mechanical Tra- 
 veler," or "Horse-Leg Locomotive," from the 
 fact that it was propelled by the motion of two 
 legs which extended to the ground in the rear. 
 
 The first locomotive to be successfully used 
 for a period of time was built in 1814, by George 
 Stephenson, and was run over a year on the Kil- 
 lingworth colliery roads, in England, and drew 
 thirty tons, four miles per hour. 
 
 Locomotive building, as a commercial enter- 
 prise, was founded by George Stephenson, who 
 built a second engine in 1815 and a third in 1816, 
 which was furnished with steel springs. On this 
 engine was used for the first time in locomotive 
 building, a chimney provided with a blast fur- 
 nace. 
 
 One of the most rapid strides in the advance- 
 ment of locomotive development was when Marc 
 Seguin, of Paris, in remodeling one of Stephen- 
 son's engines, in 1828, changed the boiler, which 
 was of cylindrical shape, with a single tube run- 
 ning lengthwise through it, into a multi-tubular 
 boiler the first of the kind ever used. He 
 greatly increased the draft by using a fan, and 
 demonstrating the fact that small tubes running 
 from the furnace to the chimney increased the 
 power of evaporation by the engine. 
 
 George Stephenson, "the father of rail- 
 ways," was born at Wylam, Northumberland, 
 England, June 9, 1781, the son of a poor colliery 
 laborer. Accident gave him an opportunity of 
 putting in motion a steam engine which needed 
 repairs, and in 1812, he was made engine-wright, 
 at Killingworth Colliery. He originated the ' 
 steam blast, which was introduced into his second 
 locomotive, built in 1815. The first railway 
 built by him, opened in 1822, eight miles long, 
 was so successful that in the next year he was 
 appointed engineer of the railway authorized to 
 be constructed between Stockton and Darlington, 
 and in 1825 of the Liverpool & Manchester line, 
 which was begun in 1826. He had in the mean- 
 time set up an establishment for the manufac- 
 ture of locomotives, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 
 On October 6, 1829, his engine, the Rocket at- 
 tained an average speed of fourteen miles per 
 hour, and a short distance was driven at the rate 
 of twenty-nine miles per hour. He died August 
 12, 1848.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 677 
 
 The Rocket was completed in 1829. It was 
 a multi-tubular boiler engine, weighing five tons, 
 and was pronounced by mechanical experts the 
 most perfect locomotive in existence. 
 
 The first patent granted in the United States 
 for a locomotive engine was issued in 1828 to 
 Dr. Howard, of Baltimore. The design was 
 never realized in construction, but the invention 
 marks the initial effort of its kind in the United 
 States. 
 
 The first locomotive ever used in the United 
 States was the " Stourbridge Lion" its front be- 
 ing ornamented with a lion. It was built by 
 Foster Rastrick & Co. at Stourbridge, England. 
 It is said that the earliest use of an engine on 
 this coYitinent, was when this engine made an 
 experimental trip August 8, 1829, at Honesdale, 
 Pa., on the tracks of the Delaware & Hudson 
 Canal Co., which ran from the Honesdale mines 
 to the terminus of the canal. 
 
 The first locomotive built in the United 
 States and the second engine used in this coun- 
 try, was made at West Point Foundry, in New 
 York, in 1830, for the South Carolina Railroad, 
 and was called the " Best Friend," of Charleston. 
 It arrived in Charleston, S. C, October 23, 1830, 
 and was placed on the road November 2, 1830. 
 1 he second locomotive was made by the same 
 company and for the same railroad. The third 
 engine was also made by the same company for 
 the Mohawk & Hudson railroad, in 1831. It 
 weighed three tons. 
 
 The "Atlantic" (see illustration page 70) was 
 designed and built by Phineas Davis, of York, Pa.. 
 and the first of the "Grasshopper" class. This 
 is the oldest American locomotive in existence 
 and the only pioneer engine on American roads, 
 cither of American or foreign construction, now 
 in original form. In actual service sixty years, 
 a record unparalleled by any locomotive in any 
 part of the world. The "Atlantic," which was 
 the Davis perfected construction following the 
 " York," was placed in service on the Baltimore 
 & Ohio railroad in the summer of 1831, and un- 
 ti 1 withdrawn for the purpose of exhibition in 
 the spring of 1893 was never off duty. No ma- 
 
 terial changes were made in the engine as the 
 years went by. It was after a time relegated to 
 switching service and finally found place in the 
 yard company's shops at Mount Clare, where 
 for a long number of years it was constantly 
 under steam, proving especially advantageous up- 
 on short curves and in and out of shops, where a 
 large engine could not be used. A cab and tank 
 were the. main improvements, and they were re- 
 cently removed in order to restore the locomo- 
 
 THE "SEGUIN." 
 Model in Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, 111. 
 
 tive to its orginal form. The "Atlantic " was a 
 great improvement upon the "York" in all re- 
 spects. Its weight was six and one half tons, 
 and being geared by its spur and pinion so as to 
 make two revolutions of the road wheels to one 
 of the cranks, its speed was proportionately great 
 for which its tubular boiler and fan blast for its 
 anthracite coal fuel offered abundance of steam. 
 It was designed for speed in propelling passen- 
 ger trains, hence only one pair as drivers, and 
 on which pair nearly two-thirds of its weight was 
 made to rest. The "Atlantic" averaged from
 
 678 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 twelve to fifteen miles per hour against an extreme 
 grade of thirty-seven feet to the mile and a curve 
 of four hundred feet radius. The "Atlantic" is 
 today as orginally constructed thus enabling a 
 study of progress of the period and consequent- 
 ly of value, historically. (This engine can be 
 seen in the Field Columbian Museum, Chicago.). 
 
 The "Hercules," (see illust. page 68) was de- 
 signed and built by Eastwick & Harrison, of 
 Philadelphia, and was the first locomotive in 
 the world with equalizing frames and levels. 
 Andrew M. Eastwick, in successfully solving the 
 problem of the distribution of weight upon driv- 
 ing wheels made possible the operation of locomo- 
 tives of a much more powerful build than any 
 known up to 1837; in fact brought into being 
 the father, it might be said, of the mighty hun- 
 dred-ton engines of today. The "Hercules" was 
 the wonder of its time and its then enormous 
 weight of fifteen tons was regarded with grave 
 skepticism by most builders. Doubts were free- 
 ly expressed that it would not turn curves or 
 go into switches without trouble owing to its 
 weight. The road it was built for, the Beaver 
 Meadow, in Pennsylvania, had a flat rail but 
 five-eights of an inch thick and two and one half 
 inches wide, laid upon continuous string pieces 
 of wood with mud sills underneath. The " Her- 
 cules " when placed in service was an undeniable 
 success and marked the commencement of a new 
 era in locomotive history. Eastwick introduced 
 under the rear end of the main frame a separate 
 frame, in which two axles were placed, one pair 
 above and one pair behind the fire box. This 
 separate frame was made rigid and vibrated up- 
 on its center vertically. The weight of the engine 
 rested upon the center of the sides of this separ- 
 ate frame through the intervention of a strong 
 spring above the main frame, the separate frame 
 being held in place by a pedestal bolted to the 
 main frame, the centers of the main frame vibrat- 
 ing upon a journal sliding vertically in this 
 pedestal. Shortly after the completion of the 
 'Hercules" it was seen that a more perfect 
 equalization of the weight on each of the driving 
 wheels would be obtained if a separate and inde- 
 pendent equalization lever was placed on each 
 
 side of the engine. This was an improvement 
 invented by James Harrison, Jr. The equali- 
 zation frame of the " Hercules " was at once 
 altered by making the two sides of the frame 
 two independent beams and discarding the end 
 connections. (Full size working reproduction 
 constructed from original drawings and data 
 furnished by the sons of both inventors, may 
 be seen at the Field Columbian Museum, Chi- 
 cago. ) 
 
 The "Mount Clare" (see illust. page 72) was 
 designed and built by James Murray, of Balti- 
 more, in 1845. I' 1 writing of the " Mount 
 Clare," Mr. Murray said : " This engine was de- 
 signed by me and built in the B. & O. Company's 
 shops. The object being to remedy certain de- 
 fects relative to the valve gear and to the posi- 
 tion of the spur and pinion wheel of the Winans 
 geared locomotive at a time when we still had 
 but little else than two and one-quarter by five- 
 eighth inch flat bar rail on a wooden string piece 
 between Baltimore and Harper's Ferry and feared 
 to introduce larger wheels and greater spread 
 of wheel base than had previously been deter- 
 mined practicable. The cylinders were placed 
 inside and immediately under the smoke box, 
 the wheel having a diameter of thirty-five inches 
 and the gearing so proportioned as to make them 
 equal to fifty inches in diameter. The valve 
 gear did not embrace 'cams,' as this was the fault 
 in the Winans geared engine which I intended 
 to avoid. The valves had considerable lap on 
 the induction sides and there was an arrange- 
 ment on the backs of the valves by means of 
 which the steam could be cut off at about half 
 stroke." Mr.Murray designed and constructed 
 at Mount Clare the first round house in the world 
 for the protection of locomotives, with a turn 
 table in the center. (Full size working repro- 
 duction constructed by detailed drawings made 
 by Mr. Murray, may be seen at the Field Colum- 
 bian Museum, Chicago.) 
 
 "The Dragon," (see illust. page 74) was de- 
 signed and built by M. W. Baldwin, of Philadel- 
 phia, in 1848, and is one of the oldest examples 
 of the Baldwin Locomotive Works extant. Iii 
 October 1847, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 679 
 
 Company advertised for proposals for four en- 
 gines to burn Cumberland coal and the order 
 was taken and filled by Mr. Baldwin with such 
 number of his eight-wheel connected machines. 
 This was the first one which was delivered and 
 is shown just as taken out of the service in the 
 yard of the company's rolling mill at Cumberland, 
 after forty-five years continuous duty. Baldwin, 
 in the early years of his work, had the usual 
 ups and downs which characterized the estab- 
 lishing of a great business. He was not an im- 
 pulsive man, on the contrary, he was most de- 
 liberate and he had to satisfy himself pretty 
 thoroughly tljat the innovation was one that would 
 stand the test of hard usage before he would 
 adopt it. His first flexible truck engine was com- 
 pleted in 1842 and had six wheels connected. 
 This plan of construction was modified and im- 
 proved until 1844 when the six-wheel connected 
 engine had become so successful as to enab'.e 
 the increase of size up to eighteen and twenty 
 tons weight. Within a year or two eight-wheel 
 connected engines were built, two for the Phila- 
 delphia & Reading railroad weighing up to twen- 
 ty-five tons. These were the first upon which 
 Baldwin placed sand boxes and also the first on 
 which roofs were introduced over the foot-board, 
 up to this time simply a rail being the only pro- 
 tection afforded the engine man. The latter 
 added curtains at the sides and front, but by the 
 time the " Dragon " was built, Baldwin had in- 
 troduced the cab with sides and roof, sash and 
 glass. In the " Dragon " he also introduced an 
 innovation in the shape of a grate with a rocking 
 bar in the center, having fingers on each side 
 which interlocked with projections on fixed bars, 
 one in front and one behind. It was operated 
 from the foot-board. 
 
 The "Perkins" (see illust. page 76) was de- 
 signed by Thatcher Perkins, of Baltimore, and 
 was built by the B. & O. at the Mount Clare 
 shops, in 1863. It is the first of the type of the 
 heavy ten-wheel locomotives. This engine pos- 
 sesses a very great interest for its various sym- 
 metrical and graceful lines throughout. It is the 
 earliest example of a type of locomotive now in 
 
 36 
 
 general use for heavy passenger trains running 
 upon fast schedules. 
 
 The B. & O. "600," 1876, (see illust. p. 78) 
 was regarded as representative of the highest 
 type of American locomotives twenty-five years 
 ago. 
 
 It is generally conceded that the first rail- 
 road for passenger traffic in England was the 
 Stockton & Darlington line, fifteen miles in 
 length. This road was projected by Edward 
 
 THE "BRUNTON." 
 
 Model in Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, 111. 
 
 I'ease and executed by George Stephenson. 
 Koyal assent was given April 19, 1821, and the 
 first rail was laid with considerable ceremony 
 at a point near St. John's well, in Stockton, May 
 23, 1822, and it was completed and opened for 
 traffic September 27, 1825. 
 
 The first freight line, in England, on which 
 steam was used was the Hutton railway, a short 
 track of eight miles, built from the Hutton Col- 
 liery to the docks at Sunderland, on the banks 
 of the river Wear. This was opened November
 
 680 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 18, 1822. Stephenson was the engineer of this 
 line and used five locomotives of his own design. 
 They were called " iron horses " by the people 
 in the neighborhood. 
 
 The Liverpool & Manchester railroad, thir- 
 ty-seven miles long, was commenced in 1826, 
 and opened to the public September 15, 1830. 
 The gauge was four feet, eight and one-half 
 inches. The surveys for this road were made 
 in the face of strong opposition, the surveyors 
 sometimes being mobbed by those interested in 
 coaches, etc. 
 
 From this small beginning grew the present 
 immense railway system of Great Britain, con- 
 sisting of over 18,000 miles and costing $3,750,- 
 000,000 or over $200,000 per mile. 
 
 The earliest railroad built in this country 
 was a tramway, constructed in 1826, from the 
 vicinity of Bunker Hill monument to a point at 
 tide-water for the purpose of hauling, by horse 
 power, the material used in rearing that historic 
 shaft. 
 
 In 1827 another road was constructed from 
 the Mauch Chunk mines to the Lehigh canal. 
 
 The charter for the present Baltimore & 
 Ohio railroad was secured in 1827, and July 4, 
 1828, the first shovel full of earth, in connection 
 with the laying of the tracks, was turned by 
 Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, the only survivor 
 of the Signers of the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence. When he took the initial part in the cere- 
 mony, he was ninety-four years of age, and in 
 common with all witnesses of the act, contem- 
 plated only animal power as the means of loco- 
 motion. 
 
 In 1829, the laying of rails began in Balti- 
 more, and on May 22, 1830, the road to Ellicott's 
 Mills, a distance of thirteen miles, was opened. 
 Washington and Baltimore were formally con- 
 nected by railroad on Tuesday August 25, 1835. 
 
 The charter of the South Carolina Railroad 
 was granted December 19, 1827, and the road 
 was begun January 9, 1830, and was completed 
 in 1833. The distance was 135 miles and was 
 the longest railroad in the world. This was the 
 first corporation to apply locomotive traction to 
 
 the operation of its line; and it was on this road 
 that the first continuous run of 100 miles was 
 ever made. This was also the first railroad to 
 carry the U. S. mail. 
 
 The construction of the Mohawk & Hudson 
 railroad (now a part of the New York Central) 
 was begun in 1830 and completed in 1831. It 
 extended from Albany to Schenectady and the 
 
 STEPHENSON'S "ROCKET," 1829. 
 
 Model in Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, 111. 
 
 ''DeWitt Clinton," with its train of three coaches 
 made its first regular trip from the former to the 
 latter city on the 9th of August 1831, attaining 
 on this trip a maximum speed of fifteen miles per 
 hour. This was the first steam railway train 
 in the state of New York. 
 
 The Boston & Worcester railroad was opened 
 for business on Saturday, September 20, 1834, 
 from the former city to West Hopkinson, a dis- 
 tance of twenty-four miles, though thirteen miles 
 of this road were in operation prior to this time.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 681 
 
 On September 23, 1834, the Portsmouth & 
 Roanoke railroad, between Portsmouth and Suf- 
 folk, Va., was opened. November following, 
 the Philadelphia & Trenton railroad, twenty- 
 cight miles in length, commenced operations. 
 Two trains daily were placed in service on this 
 line, one being provided with locomotive power 
 while the other was drawn by horses. 
 
 The Boston & Providence railroad, which 
 had been completed from Boston to Canton, fif- 
 teen miles, in September 1834, was finished the 
 following year, and the first train passed over 
 the entire line on Tuesday, July 27, 1835. The 
 Wilmington & Susquehanna railroad was opened 
 to the public June 27, 1835. 
 
 The first national legislation in this country, 
 pertaining to railroads, of which there is any 
 authentic information, originated in the United 
 States Senate, April 23, 1828, when a bill was in- 
 troduced and subsequently passed, authorizing 
 the Baltimore & Ohio railroad company to im- 
 port iron for the purpose of building their pro- 
 jected line. The Pennsylvania railroad company 
 imported from England the first steel used in the 
 country for railroad construction. The first T 
 rails made in the United States were rolled at 
 Montour Rolling Mills, at Danville, Pa., in Octo- 
 ber 1845. The Bessemer steel process was 
 originated in 1855, but the manufacture was not 
 fully established until 1867. Twenty-five hun- 
 dred and fiftv tons of steel rails were made in 
 
 the United States in 1867, the price being $120.00 
 per ton. 
 
 That vast area, which during the early part 
 of the nineteenth century was known as the 
 " Great American Desert," and which knew no 
 railroads and a very scant population, now fur- 
 nishes the restless scene of some of the chief rail- 
 road enterprises of this country. A recent com- 
 parative statement of railway mileage and trans- 
 portation facilities shows the relative mileage of 
 the following states in the order in which they 
 come : Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Kansas, 
 Iowa, Ohio and New York. To the evolution 
 of the railway is due the wonderful transforma- 
 tion of the great middle west from an unin- 
 habited, almost unknown region, to one of the 
 most fertile spots in the world. The transporta- 
 tion facilities have been such as to enable those 
 living in the far western states to engage exten- 
 sively in the world's trade, and to multiply a 
 hundred fold the value of the entire country 
 through these means. These vast railways, 
 girding the globe, have changed the condition 
 of mankind, by bringing widely separated people 
 into direct contact with each other, and by afford- 
 ing a speedy and convenient exchange of the 
 products of the world. The increase of trans- 
 portation facilities marked a new era in the his- 
 tory of our country an era of better under- 
 standing and closer and more amicable relations 
 between the commercial, agricultural and indus- 
 trial interests of the United States.
 
 682 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
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 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 683 
 
 LAND .. GRANTS. 
 
 BY STUYVESANT FISH. 
 \ 
 
 ZxTrx^he first act of congress granting lands in 
 aid of a railroad was not that of Sept. 20, 
 ** 1850, and that act neither mentions nor 
 refers to the Illinois Central Railroad Co., which 
 at that time did not exist. Nor was the policy of 
 granting public lands in aid of internal improve- 
 ments even then a new one. It dates back at 
 least to the earliest days of government under 
 our present Constitution. From the beginning 
 the public lands were freely used by congress 
 for all sorts of public purposes. They never 
 have been, and it is hoped never will be, held 
 as a private owner might well hold his lands 
 for the sole purpose of getting the uttermost 
 farthing out of their sale. 
 
 At the outset, one thirty-sixth of every 
 township in the public domain was given for 
 school purposes. Increased population created 
 demand for transportation, and our early statutes 
 are full of large grants in aid of turnpikes and 
 canals. Having, many years before, granted 
 lands to the State of Illinois in aid of a canal, 
 the congress on March 2, 1833, amended its 
 previous act so that those lands might be used 
 and disposed of by the state 
 
 "For the purpose of making a railroad in- 
 stead of a canal, as in said act contemplated, 
 and that the time for commencing and complet- 
 ing said canal or railroad, whichever the State 
 of Illinois may choose to make, be and is ex- 
 tended five years." 
 
 The state, however, chose to build a canal 
 and not a railroad. 
 
 GRANT TO IOWA TERRITORY. 
 
 A grant was also made by congress in 1846 
 to the then Territory of Iowa in aid of the navi- 
 gation of the Des Moines River. It became 
 the subject of contention and of legislation by 
 the State of Iowa, which was finally settled by 
 the act of congress approved Aug. 12, 1862, un- 
 der which the grant was in part diverted to rail- 
 road purposes. While it is fair to assume that 
 other acts prior to that of Sept. 20, 1850, may 
 have granted lands in aid of railroads, I doubt 
 if any land had up to that time actually passed 
 thereunder. It may therefore be said that the 
 first lands actually conveyed by the federal 
 government in aid of a railroad were those de- 
 scribed in the act of Sept. 20, 1850. But that 
 law was entitled : 
 
 "An act granting the riglit of way, and mak- 
 ing a grant of land to the states of Illinois, 
 Mississippi and Alabama, in aid of the con- 
 struction of a railroad from Chicago to Mobile." 
 
 The states named were, of course, free to 
 accept or decline this grant. They were equally 
 free to build and own the railroad themselves, 
 or to delegate that hazardous work to others. 
 The only obligation assumed by them through 
 its acceptance was "that if the said railroad 
 shall not be completed within ten years, the
 
 684 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 said state * * * shall be bound to pay to the 
 United States the amount which may be received 
 upon the sale of any part of said lands by said 
 state, the title to the purchasers under said 
 state remaining valid, and the title to the 
 residue revesting in the United States." 
 
 BUILDING OF ILLINOIS CENTRAL. 
 
 That act defined the termini and the general 
 course of the railroad to be built in Illinois, 
 fixing two points in the interior of the state, La 
 Salle and Galena, one on its northeastern bor- 
 der, Chicago; another at its extreme southern 
 end, Cairo, and required it to reach Dubuque, 
 Iowa, which is opposite the northwestern cor- 
 ner of Illinois. That act also prescribed the 
 order in which the several parts of the railroad 
 in Illinois should be built. 
 
 It provided, among other things: 
 
 "That the lands hereby granted shall be ap- 
 plied in the construction of said road and 
 branches respectively, in quantities correspond- 
 ing with the grant for each, and shall be dis- 
 posed of only as the work progresses, and shall 
 be applied to no other purpose whatsoever." 
 
 The only reference in that act to the other 
 states is contained in the final section, which 
 reads : 
 
 "And be it further enacted, That in order to 
 aid in the continuation of said Central Railroad 
 from the mouth of the Ohio river to the city of 
 Mobile, all the rights, privileges and liabilities 
 hereinbefore conferred on the State of Illinois 
 shall be granted to the states of Alabama and 
 Mississippi respectively for the purpose of aid- 
 ing in the construction of a railroad from said 
 city of Mobile to a point near the mouth of the 
 Ohio river, and that public lands of the United 
 States to the same extent in proportion to the 
 length of the road, on the same terms, limita- 
 tions and restrictions in every respect, shall be 
 and is hereby granted to said states of Alabama 
 and Mississippi respectively." 
 
 ROAD PLANNED TO REACH MOBILE. 
 You will not fail to observe that nothing is 
 said as to the location in Mississippi or Alabama 
 further than that the railroad should reach Mo- 
 bile. Reference is made to this difference be- 
 cause, in the charter granted February 10, 1851, 
 by the State of Illinois to the Illinois Central 
 Railroad Company, further and more specific 
 provisions were inserted as to the location of 
 the railroad, which, with those contained in the 
 act of congress, entailed vast outlays in the 
 construction and a continued and great expense 
 in the maintenance of the line. Especially is 
 this the case in the city of Chicago, where a 
 different location was in vain sought for by the 
 company in order to avoid such expense. The 
 act of congress further provided that the alter- 
 nate sections of land within six miles of the 
 railroad, which were reserved to the United 
 States, 
 
 "Shall not be sold for less than double the 
 minimum price of the public lands when sold." 
 
 Those lands were then, and had long been, 
 unsalable at the minimum price. The fact that, 
 upon the building of the railroad in Illinois, all 
 the lands near it reserved by the government 
 were promptly sold at and above double the 
 minimum price, demonstrates that in the mere 
 matter of money the federal government gained 
 more than double what it gave. It exchanged 
 one-half of an unsalable asset for more than the 
 price at which it had in vain been offering the 
 whole. Indeed, it fared even better by selling 
 vast quantities of land more than six miles from 
 the railroad at good prices. 
 
 The Illinois Central Railroad was com- 
 pleted within six years of the passage of the 
 act of September 20, 1850, in exact compliance 
 therewith, and with the even more precise re- 
 quirements of the charter. That other acts of 
 
 c,0
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 685 
 
 congress granting lands to or in aid of railroads 
 were more loosely drawn is undoubtedly true, 
 but in this they did not follow the model act of 
 Sept. 20, 1850, under which alone has the 
 Illinois Central, even indirectly, ever received 
 any public lands. 
 
 The total amount of public land ever re- 
 ceived by the Illinois Central was 2,594,115 
 acres. The Illinois Central never received 
 any part of the grant of lands made for the 
 railroad from Dubuque to Sioux City, 326.58 
 miles, embracing, 1,226,063 acres. It is true 
 that the Illinois Central is operating under lease 
 the railroad from Dubuque to Sioux City, and 
 that it owns nearly all of the stock of the 
 Dubuque and Sioux City Railroad Company, 
 but the Dubuque and Sioux City Railroad Com- 
 pany and the Iowa Falls and Sioux City Rail- 
 road Company disposed of their lands many 
 years before the Illinois Central owned a single 
 share or had any control over the affairs of 
 either of those corporations. 
 
 Now, as to the value of the lands granted 
 by congress to the State of Illinois through the 
 act of September 20, 1850, you assume that our 
 last sales were at $6.50 per acre (which is not 
 borne out by the facts), and apply that value to 
 the whole, including therewith the lands granted 
 for the railroad from Dubuque to Sioux City. 
 
 It has been shown above that the lands 
 were at that time and had long been freely but 
 in vain offered at the minimum price, which was 
 $1.25 per acre. 
 
 There were then great quantities of Mexican 
 war bounty scrip afloat, which was difficult and 
 slow of sale at from 40 to 50 cents on the dollar. 
 There are thousands of acres of land in Illinois 
 which were thus bought in and about 1850 at 
 from 50 cents to 62/4 cents per acre in cash. 
 The value of the 2,594,115 acres received by 
 
 the Illinois Central was therefore somewhere 
 between $1,297,057.50 and $1,621,321.87. As 
 the act of September 20, 1850, provided that 
 the railroad 
 
 "Shall be and remain a public highway, for 
 the use of the government of the United States, 
 free from toll or other charge upon the trans- 
 portation of any property or troops of the 
 United States," and that 
 
 "The United States mail shall at all times be 
 transported on the said railroad under the direc- 
 tion of the Postoffice Department, at such price 
 as the congress may by law direct." 
 
 GOVERNMENT AMPLY REPAID. 
 
 And as these provisions, in substance, also 
 apply to the railroad from Dubuque to Sioux 
 City, it is far within bounds to say that, in the 
 carriage of troops, munitions of war and the 
 mails and in other transportation for the federal 
 government at reduced rates, the Illinois Cen- 
 tral has long since allowed much greater sums 
 to the United States than the value of all the 
 lands granted to the State of Illinois to aid in 
 its construction. Moreover, it continues under 
 like obligations for all time. 
 
 From a national and particularly from a 
 military point of view the value of the Illinois 
 Central during the civil war in bringing to Cairo 
 the armies of the West and in keeping them 
 supplied and equipped during four years is past 
 calculation. The all but exclusive use thus 
 made by the federal government of the railroad 
 during those years not only prevented the earn- 
 ing of legitimate revenues, but thereafter sub- 
 jected the company to reclamations by shippers, 
 for which hundreds of thousands of dollars were 
 subsequently recovered against and paid by it. 
 
 The lands granted by this same act of Sept. 
 20, 1850, to the states of Mississippi and Ala- 
 bama were by them turned over to the Mobile 
 and Ohio Railroad. Those lands are now
 
 686 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 "estimated to be worth 55 cents per acre, not 
 including town lots," although they lie near to 
 a railroad which has been in operation for fifty 
 years and carries freight at the lowest average 
 rate per ton per mile of any in the south. In- 
 deed, the average rate per ton per mile charged 
 by the Mobile and Ohio during the year ended 
 June 30, 1899, was 5 83-100 mills, or somewhat 
 less than that charged by the New York Central 
 and Hudson River Railroad, which was 5 9-10 
 mills. As the act of September 20, 1850, clearly 
 shows, the recipients of the government's 
 bounty thereunder were the states of Illinois, 
 Mississippi and Alabama. 
 
 How ILLINOIS HAS FARED. 
 Let us see how Illinois has fared since, on 
 February 10, 1851, it incorporated the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company. The charter, in 
 addition to requiring that the governor of the 
 state for the time being shall forever be one of 
 the thirteen directors of the corporation, re- 
 served to the state, in lieu of taxes, 7 per cent, 
 of the gross receipts of the railroad to be built 
 thereunder. The charter also said that 
 
 "In case the persons incorporated by this 
 act shall fail or neglect to accept the provisions 
 of the same and comply with its conditions 
 within the time and in the manner herein pre- 
 scribed, then the same may be accepted by any 
 other company which shall be approved by the 
 governor, auditor and treasurer of this state." 
 
 Those conditions embraced, among other 
 things, the deposit, with the treasurer of the 
 state, of 
 
 "Three hundred thousand dollars of regis- 
 tered canal bonds, or funded internal improve- 
 ment bonds of the State of Illinois, or $200,000 in 
 specie, or $200,000 of 6 per cent United States 
 stock" 
 
 as security for the completion of at least fifty 
 miles of said railroad and the indemnification 
 
 of the state of Illinois against all claims of the 
 United States government for the proceeds of 
 sales of lands. This is mentioned merely to 
 show that the charter was in no sense a largess 
 or favor to the individuals therein named, but 
 simply the Creation of a corporation destined 
 to carry out the long-cherished dream of the 
 state the construction of a central railroad 
 through its trackless prairies. In February, 
 1837, an act had been passed by the legislature 
 providing for the building of such a railroad 
 by the state, and the sum of $3,500,000 was 
 appropriated for that purpose. The money 
 was to be procured by the sale of state bonds. 
 Bonds to a large amount were actually issued 
 and sold by the state. With the moneys thus 
 borrowed the state entered upon the construc- 
 tion of an extensive system of internal im- 
 provements. 
 
 EFFECTS OF PANIC OF 1837. 
 
 The financial panic which swept over the 
 country in 1837 and 1838 brought these enter- 
 prises to an abrupt close. The borrowed money 
 was exhausted and the state was compelled to 
 suspend the payment of interest on the public 
 debt. The bonds of the state were discredited 
 and it was not until 1850 that the revenues were 
 found to be sufficient to even meet the current 
 demands upon the treasury for ordinary state 
 expenses, exclusive of the interest on the debt. 
 That debt, to the amount of $16,000,000, was 
 then and had long been in default for non- 
 payment of interest. 
 
 The gross sum received by the state out of 
 the earnings of the Illinois Central Railroad 
 Company down to April 30, 1899, was $17,652,- 
 930. In the six years ended April 30, 1899, 
 these contributions to the revenues of the 
 state amounted to $3,856,929.35, or an average 
 of $642,821.56 per year. Thus we see that the
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 687 
 
 State of Illinois has also been well paid, and 
 will be for all time. How is it with the people 
 living on and near the railroad ? 
 
 The railroad built under the charter granted 
 February 10, 1851, traverses twenty-nine of the 
 102 counties in Illinois, among them Cook 
 county, in which Chicago lies. In population 
 the twenty-eight counties other than Cook 
 served by that railroad show an increase from 
 1850 to 1890 of 370.55 per cent, which is nearly 
 double that of the seventy-three counties not 
 served by that railroad (186.69 per cent), and 
 decidedly greater than that of the state at 
 large, including Cook county (349.38 per cent). 
 In assessed values those twenty-eight counties 
 show an increase of 673.79 per cent, which is 
 also about double that of the seventy-three 
 counties (341.70 p5r cent), and much greater 
 than that of the state at large (574.81 percent), 
 even though there is included therein Cook 
 county, with 2,857.93 per cent of increase. 
 
 INFLUENCE ON COUNTRY'S DEVELOPMENT. 
 
 The proportion of the population and of the 
 assessed values of the whole state in those 
 twenty-eight counties has increased perceptibly 
 since 1850 notwithstanding the growth of Cook 
 county, to which the railroad has contributed 
 as much as any one cause, while in the seventy- 
 three counties it has fallen from being nearly 
 three-quarters to less than one-half of the 
 whole. 
 
 It is unnecessary to allude to the vast public 
 service performed by the railroad in the car- 
 riage of passengers and freight, to the low 
 
 rates charged therefor, to the value of that ser- 
 vice, to the increased value thereby given to 
 land and other matters which are common to 
 all railroad history. That all of the other 
 grants made by congress in aid of railroads 
 were not as well safeguarded or as honestly 
 administered must be admitted. While this is 
 to be regretted, a like comparison of conditions 
 prevailing in the locality at the time those 
 grants were made with present conditions will 
 in every case bring out a good showing. 
 
 With these facts before us as to the results 
 of the first effective railroad land grant, should 
 we not rather extol the memory of Stephen A. 
 Douglas, who was chiefly instrumental in pas- 
 sing the act of September 20, 1850; of Clay 
 and Seward, of Benton and Shields and the 
 others who aided him in bringing about, 
 through the granting of lands then valueless, 
 the upbuilding of our western civilization ? 
 Eight generations of our fathers served to 
 bring Christianity, civilization and commerce 
 to the Mississippi River. Since liberal grants 
 of land began to be made in aid of railroads 
 we have seen those blessings carried to the 
 Pacific in a lifetime. 
 
 On reflection, you will, I feel sure, agree 
 with me in thinking that it is not for us who 
 enjoy the fruits of their labors to question the 
 acts of those who did this work, even though 
 we may somewhere see motes and specks in it. 
 
 The above appeared in the United States Investor, 
 (by whose permission it is reproduced), in reply to an 
 article appearing in that journal September 2, 1899, 
 assaulting land grants in general and that to the Illi- 
 nois Central in particular.
 
 688 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 689 
 
 A SKETCH OF THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL AND ITS TRAFFIC. 
 
 BY MR. J. P. MERRY, ASST. G. P. A. 
 
 Huong the railroads that for nearly a. half 
 century have been identified with the 
 commercial and industrial develop- 
 ment of the United States, none is more wide- 
 ly known nor enjoys more fully the confidence 
 of the general public at home and abroad than 
 the Illinois Central. 
 
 Other lines have been conspicuous in their 
 respective localities, but the Illinois Central, to 
 which attention is invited, was not only one of 
 the pioneer lines of the West, but it came into 
 existence during the early days of the great 
 state whose name it proudly bears, and for 
 nearly half a century it has been so intimately 
 connected with the nation's commerce that it 
 has become a part of the warp and woof of its 
 commercial fabric. 
 
 After nearly twenty years of discussion re- 
 lating to governmental aid by land grants, 
 which was participated in by some of the ablest 
 men in the nation, congress, in September 
 1850, made a grant of land to the State of 
 Illinois to aid in the construction of a railroad. 
 This grant was subsequently transferred by the 
 state to the Illinois Central Railroad Company, 
 which was chartered on the 10th day of Feb- 
 ruary 1851. The charter provided for the con- 
 struction of 704 miles of road, extending from 
 the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers 
 at Cairo to Dubuque, Iowa, and also a branch 
 
 line to the city of Chicago. It is quite evident 
 that the original founders of this great system 
 contemplated it would become, eventually, the 
 great thoroughfare between the North and the 
 South, that would afford rapid transit and ex- 
 ceptional facilities for the handling of inter- 
 changeable products between the two sections. 
 The charter referred to provided for a land grant 
 of 2,595,000 acres, most of which was black, 
 rich alluvial soil, and to one acquainted with 
 the present value of Illinois lands, it would 
 seem that this land grant, of itself, would have 
 furnished ample capital for the construction and 
 equipment of 700 miles of road. Had there 
 been no consideration on the part of the com- 
 pany other than the construction and operation 
 of the road, the charter might justly, perhaps, 
 have been considered a one-sided affair. But 
 time has demonstrated that the provision of the 
 charter that the company should make annual 
 payments of 7 per cent, of its gross earnings to 
 the state was a far-sighted and wise one, and 
 one that from 1855 to June 30, 1895, has con- 
 tributed to the state treasury of Illinois no less 
 than $17,315,607.44. It should also be remem- 
 bered that the population of Chicago at that 
 time was but 40,000, and of the entire state of 
 Illinois only 851,470. The country generally 
 throughout the state was sparsely settled. 
 Towns and villages were few 3nd far between.
 
 690 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Over 11,000,000 acres of Illinois public lands 
 were unsold. Not a mile of railroad had been 
 constructed west of the Mississippi river, and 
 only 11,000 miles were completed or in process 
 of construction in the United States. At the 
 end of 1854 the Illinois Central had completed 
 300 miles of road. The earnings, however, 
 were insufficient to pay operating expenses, not 
 to speak of the interest on the bonded indebted- 
 ness which was soon to become due. Then 
 followed an entire crop failure, when the far- 
 mers had nothing to ship and no money with 
 which to purchase lands or to pay for what had 
 already been purchased. Following these dis- 
 couraging conditions came the panic of 1857, 
 when everything would have been lost but for 
 the stanch character of the men who composed 
 the Illinois Central directory. To-day it re- 
 quires but little effort to secure millions of 
 money for any legitimate business enterprise, 
 but it was not so from 1851 to 1857. Business 
 men of the East were skeptical as to the future 
 of the West. Much of the country was unde- 
 veloped. Farmers, as a rule, were poor, and 
 the immediate prospects of large earnings from 
 the new pioneer railroad of the West were any- 
 thing but flattering. These were times that 
 tried men's souls. The Illinois Central board 
 of directors, however, was equal to the occa- 
 sion, and, like thousands of people in the early 
 days of Illinois, it believed in the future of the 
 state, and it was willing to risk money and 
 reputation in the construction of what was 
 necessary to its further development. 
 
 Following the panic of 1857 came an era 
 of prosperity. Every wagon road from the 
 East was lined with covered wagons from Ohio, 
 Pennsylvania and New York state. The reports 
 of the fertility of Illinois soil had reached be- 
 yond the Alleghanies. Railroad lands were in 
 
 demand at advanced prices. Crops were good. 
 New towns were springing up all over the state. 
 Earnings were showing a steady and decided 
 increase, and the Illinois Central Railroad, ex- 
 tending from Dubuque to Cairo, and from 
 Chicago to a junction with the main line near 
 Centralia, 111., was no longer an experiment. 
 Then followed the war of 1861 to '65, when the 
 company was taxed to its utmost capacity to 
 handle government troops and supplies from 
 the northwest to the junction of the Ohio and 
 Mississippi rivers on the south. 
 
 This is but a single chapter from the early 
 history of one of the most important transpor- 
 tation lines in the United States. It has, under 
 strong, but honest and conservative manage- 
 ment, continued to grow in wealth, usefulness 
 and extent until it now reaches directly one- 
 fourth of all the states in the Union. It tra- 
 verses the corn belt and wheat sections of the 
 Northwest, the dairy sections of the North, the 
 fruit and lumber sections of the central, and 
 the cane and cotton belts of the extreme South; 
 and this great system, organized in 1851 under 
 unfavorable conditions, now owns or controls 
 lines aggregating 4,615.01 miles.- 
 
 Reference to the Illinois Central Railroad 
 map, gives one a comprehensive idea of the 
 magnitude of the country reached by this great 
 system, and the further fact that, by reason of 
 its location, it has advantages for the handling 
 of interchangeable products between the northern 
 and southern states possessed by no other line. 
 It will also be interesting to note the population 
 of the states traversed by the Illinois Central 
 Railroad as it appears in the following table: 
 
 Illinois 4,680,902 
 
 Iowa 2,058,000 
 
 Wisconsin 1,937,915 
 
 Minnesota 1,574,619
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 691 
 
 South Dakota 330,975 
 
 Indiana .2,192,404 
 
 Arkansas 1,500,000 
 
 Missouri 3,250,000 
 
 Kentucky 1,985,000 
 
 Tennessee 2,000,000 
 
 Mississippi 1,289,600 
 
 Louisiana.. 1,118,587 
 
 Total 23,918,002 
 
 From the above it will be readily seen that 
 this continuous line of road, reaching from the 
 lakes and the Missouri river to the gulf, and 
 traversing twelve of the best agricultural states 
 in the Mississippi Valley, with an aggregate 
 population of 23,918,002, or one-third of the 
 entire population of the United States, is in a 
 position to handle a large percentage of the 
 grain, packing-house and dairy products of the 
 North, and the lumber, sugar, rice, cotton, 
 vegetables and fruit of the South. It is also a 
 significant fact that the states producing the 
 staple agricultural products of this country are 
 traversed by this line. Iowa and Illinois, with 
 a corn crop in a single year amounting to 565,- 
 000,000 bushels, are the great corn-producing 
 states of the Union. South Dakota and Minne- 
 sota excel in the growing of wheat. Wisconsin, 
 Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa are fore- 
 most in dairy products. Mississippi ranks 
 . among the great cotton states of the South, 
 while Louisiana, in a single year, produced 
 sugar to the value of $35,000,000. 
 
 Not only has the Illinois Central excep- 
 tional facilities for an interchange of domestic 
 products between the northern and southern 
 states, but it has acknowledged superior advan- 
 tages in the handling of grain for export through 
 the port of New Orleans. 
 
 To one who has not given the matter close 
 attention, it is a matter of great surprise to 
 
 know how the fruit and vegetable industry has 
 grown within the past ten years at points adja- 
 cent to the line of the Illinois Central Railroad 
 throughout West Tennessee, as well as through- 
 out Mississippi and Louisiana, and this busi- 
 ness, during the winter as well as summer 
 months, amounts to thousands of cars, and in 
 order to handle it in the best possible manner 
 and with the least possible loss and delay, the 
 company has constructed in close proximity to 
 the fruit commission district of Chicago a large 
 fruithouse, having a frontage of 106 feet on 
 .South Water street, and extending south 700 
 feet. The structure is of brick, with iron 
 trusses and slate roof. Every facility is afforded 
 for the loading and unloading of cars within 
 the house. A battery of three 125 horse-power 
 boilers, with smoke consumers and other 
 modern improvements, has been provided, 
 which insures a temperature, even during the 
 coldest winter months, in which fruit can be 
 handled without danger of being frozen. The 
 construction of the building is such that fruit is 
 not only protected from, cold in winter, but 
 from sun and heat in summer. The building is 
 lighted by electricity, and all heating by steam 
 controlled in such a manner as to have different 
 degrees of temperature in the various apart- 
 ments, as the character of the fruit handled 
 may demand. Large ventilators are placed 
 along the roof to open or close at will. This 
 great Illinois Central fruithouse, costing $90,- 
 000, with a capacity of fifty-six cars, is only 
 another indication of the enterprise of the com- 
 pany in providing the best possible facilities for 
 handling business. 
 
 In no branch of the service, however, are 
 the improved conditions more manifest than in 
 the passenger department. Large engines 
 capable of handling a dozen or more cars, have
 
 692 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 taken the place of the smaller ones. Vestibuled 
 trains of elegant sleepers, chair cars, cafe 
 dining cars, coaches, baggage and mail cars of 
 the standard olive color are now run on fast 
 time between all commercial centers on the 
 system, and by reason of these greatly im- 
 proved conditions and facilities for handling 
 business, the Illinois Central ranks as one of 
 the leading, first-class passenger roads of the 
 country. 
 
 As a passenger route this line is highly 
 favored in having thirteen prominent terminal 
 cities, with an aggregate population of 3,147,- 
 499, as follows: 
 
 Chicago 2,698,575 
 
 St. Louis 575,237 
 
 New Orleans 287,104 
 
 Louisville 204,731 
 
 Memphis 112,000 
 
 Dubuque 36,297 
 
 Sioux City 35,000 
 
 Cedar Rapids 25,000 
 
 Madison 16,000 
 
 Springfield 35,000 
 
 Helena, Ark 10,000 
 
 Sioux Falls 10,000 
 
 Omaha 102,555 
 
 That this line has become popular as a pas- 
 senger route is evidenced by the fact that the 
 annual report shows that from June 30, 1897, 
 to June 30, 1898, this company carried one 
 mile 263,336,693 passengers, or more than 
 three and one-half times the entire population 
 of the United States. 
 
 One of the great lines that has and is now 
 contributing so much to the development of 
 Memphis is che Yazoo & Mississippi Valley 
 Railroad, a part of the Illinois Central system 
 extending from Memphis to New Orleans, which 
 runs through the most fertile sections of the 
 South, and is now attracting the attention of 
 
 farmers and mill men throughout the North- 
 west -who are judges of good soil and good 
 timber. Between Memphis and Vicksburg the 
 land is especially adapted to the growing of 
 cotton and corn. Indeed it is not an unusual 
 crop to harvest sixty to seventy-five bushels of 
 corn or a bale of cotton per acre, without the 
 use of an ounce of fertilizer. The Yazoo & 
 Mississippi Valley Railroad Company owns 
 nearly 500,000 acres of the finest hardwood 
 timber land in the United States located within 
 two to fifteen miles of its line. This land is 
 now being sold by the land commissioner at 
 nominal prices to actual settlers, and thus is 
 being developed tributary to Memphis an area 
 of country that has no equal in the fertility of 
 its soil, and the variety of products to which it 
 is adapted. 
 
 The tonnage forwarded and received from 
 the Memphis station of the Illinois Central and 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroads from 
 1895 to 1898 inclusive, aggregating no less 
 than 7,095,934,000 tons, and showing a 
 steady yearly increase, is the best possible in- 
 dication of the growth and development of 
 Memphis and the country tributary to the Cen- 
 tral Road. 
 
 Few people have any conception of the 
 facilities required in order that such an enormous 
 freight business as above indicated may be 
 properly handled. Already 87,086 square feet 
 of warehouse, and 47,650 square feet of plat- 
 form room is in use, and yet this must be in- 
 creased to accommodate the freight traffic of 
 this great company. The present warehouse of 
 the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad at 
 Memphis, used for the delivery of sugar, mo- 
 lasses and carload freight alone, is 308 feet in 
 length by 46 feet in width, with an annex 122 
 by 40. At Beale street is another 400 feet by
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 693 
 
 50, with a covered platform annex 200 feet long 
 by 70 feet wide at one end and 40 at the other, 
 devoted exclusively to the delivery of package 
 freight. At Calhoun street the Illinois Central 
 freight house is 500 feet long by 75 feet wide, 
 with no less than eighteen receiving doors and 
 six tracks side by side with a capacity for storing 
 108 cars. Here is done the day loading of 
 merchandise, under precisely the same system 
 as in use at Chicago. For the handling of cot- 
 ton, platforms of large dimensions are in use, 
 one of which is 650x50 feet, another 120x40, 
 and still another 150x75. To accommodate this 
 immense traffic in freight it requires fifteen 
 freight trains daily in and out of Memphis, 213,- 
 783 feet of track room sufficient to handle 4,000 
 cars has become a necessity, and in addition to 
 the above, this company is now expending 
 $150,000 in the construction of a convenient and 
 modern freight yard at South Memphis. 
 
 Improvements are also being made at the 
 Poplar Street Passenger Station in order to 
 furnish ample and excellent facilities for the 
 
 handling of the great passenger traffic of this 
 company, which amounts to $350,000 annually, 
 from the sale of tickets, and which requires 
 eleven passenger trains daily in and out of 
 Memphis. It is generally conceded that the 
 persistent and continued efforts of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad Company has done more than 
 all other agencies combined to turn the export 
 trade of the Mississippi Valley from its unnatu- 
 ral but long continued route across the Alle- 
 ghany Mountains, to the natural and easy course 
 by the way of the Gulf ports; and in this Mem- 
 phis has not suffered. Indeed, every through 
 train contributes to the sum total of the growth 
 and development of the city. To the 975 
 employes connected with the Illinois Central 
 and Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroads, now 
 permanently located at Memphis, many others 
 will be added; and in every possible way this 
 company will continue to manifest a genuine 
 interest in everything that tends to the growth 
 and expansion of Greater Memphis. From 
 Memphis Scimitar, April 1899.
 
 694 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Scene in the Yazoo Delta.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 695 
 
 AT NINETY MILES AN HOUR. 
 
 Saving; a Day Between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Experiences on Racing Locomotives in 
 
 Record-Breaking; Runs. 
 
 BY CLEVELAND MOFFIT. 
 
 tj** t* (& V (I?* V 
 
 THEY call it a race for a million, but that 
 gives small notion of what has been 
 going on these recent months between 
 Chicago and the Missouri river, ever 
 since the great mail-hustling order was sent out 
 by long-headed managers on the first day of 
 1899. Huge locomotives, tearing through the 
 night faster than locomotives ever before were 
 driven ; rival engineers keyed up beyond what 
 human nerves can bear, but bound to "get there, 
 or smash something;'' superintendent's, train- 
 dispatchers, and their kind lying awake of nigths 
 figuring out how the schedule may be shaved 
 down ten minutes all this is exciting enough ; 
 but the struggle now on between the Chicago 
 & Northwestern and the C. B. & Q., or rather the 
 struggle that each one of these roads is making 
 against all records in the world, stands for much 
 more than any paltry million-dollar mail contract 
 that may be awarded from Chicago to Omaha. 
 It stands for a business day saved in crossing the 
 continent. It means that tons of mail from the 
 Atlantic coast now reach California and Oregon 
 so that bankers and business men there receive 
 their drafts and other money papers before three 
 o'clock on a certain day, instead of at noon on 
 the following clay. It means a day saved in 
 steamer connections for China and the Orient. 
 And a very cl.eVer statistician were needed to say 
 what that is worth. 
 
 17 
 
 Thanks to courtesies of railroad officials and 
 post-office authorities, we may now watch the 
 carrying of this transcontinental mail in the hot- 
 test, maddest part of its sweep between the 
 oceans; we may journey with it across Illinois 
 and Iowa, where level ground and keenest com- 
 petition offer such a spectacle of flying mail ser- 
 vice as has not been seen before since letters and 
 engines came upon the earth. 
 
 It is 8 130 P. M., any night you please, and 
 for miles through the yards of East Chicago 
 lights are swinging, semaphore arms are moving, 
 men in the clicking signal towers are juggling 
 with electric buttons and pneumatic levers, tar- 
 get lights on a hundred switches are changing 
 from red to green, from green to red ; everything 
 is clear, everything is all right ; the Lake Shore 
 Mail is coming, with eighty tons of letters and 
 papers in its pouches. Relays of engines and en- 
 gineers and firemen, the picked men of the road 
 and the pet locomotives, have brought these 
 messages, this news of the world ' thus far on 
 their journey. Up the Hudson they have come 
 and across the Empire State and along the shores 
 of Lake Michigan, nearly a thousand miles in 
 twenty-four hours, which is not so bad. Former- 
 ly this same mail reached Chicago at midnight, 
 and did not go on again until three in the morn- 
 ing. Now we shall see it start for Omaha in a 
 single hour, and before that, it must be unloaded
 
 696 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 and piled into vans and hauled across the city, 
 then loaded again. Only a local transfer here; 
 hut watch it if you would have some idea of the. 
 hurry involved in this business. 
 
 Outside the station ten of the largest mail- 
 wagons wait, drawn up like fire-engines, two big 
 horses for a wagon. The platform crew work 
 like circus men packing the big tents away. 
 There is a rumbling of trucks, a bumping and 
 thudding of leather, and presently off go the 
 horses west on YanBuren street, north on Pa- 
 cific avenue, then, swinging into Jackson Boule- 
 vard (where no other heavy traffic is allowed), 
 they make a dead run for the river, with the 
 same right of way that ambulances have ; and the 
 drivers cease not to ply their whips as they near 
 the bridge : they know that a city ordinance 
 holds the draw for the passage of this mail. 
 
 So six wagons reach the Burlington station 
 at Canal street, with horses in a lather. Mean- 
 while the others have dashed through Sherman 
 street and Fifth avenue to the Wells street station 
 of the Chicago and Northwestern. This latter 
 is the longer journey by some five minutes, but 
 the Northwestern vans make a compensating 
 gain in backing right up to a platform near the 
 waiting train, while the C. B. & Q. pouches 
 must be slid down a chute, then handled on 
 trucks. This whole operation of transfer is ac- 
 complished in half an hour, more or less (as the 
 mail is heavy or light) ; and it is a thing to re- 
 member, like some giant foot-ball game, the way 
 these steady-legged, quick-handed men send the 
 pouches flying out of the vans and into the cars, 
 dragging and tossing and spinning them through 
 the air, until all are stowed away. 
 
 And now begins the effort of steam and 
 brain and skill of the hand ; now start the trains. 
 Perhaps some distant eye far above can watch 
 them speed to the west, two fire-spots creeping 
 through the darkness in pursuit of the setting 
 stars, one might fancy. Side by side they go, 
 with slight divergence, the Burlington keeping 
 a little more south-ward ; side by side they cross 
 the Mississippi ; then come together as the sun 
 is rising, and pause on the Missouri's banks, this 
 stretch over. Both trains cover the 500 miles 
 
 in about ten hours, including stops, slow-downs, 
 and delays of every kind : which means that both 
 attain a velocity at times of eighty, ninety, or a 
 hundred miles an hour ; some claim as much as 
 120 miles an hour for short distances, but this 
 cannot be verified, since no instrument has yet 
 been devised that will make reliable record of 
 these great bursts. The Northwestern route is 
 ten miles shorter than the Burlington (489.9 
 against 500.2 miles). On the other hand, the 
 Northwestern flyer leaves Chicago at ten o'clock, 
 while the Burlington train leaves at 9.30. 
 
 By schedule time the two reach Omaha at 
 about eight in the morning (the Northwestern 
 at 8.15, the Burlington at 7:55), and no man can 
 say that one is better or faster than the other. 
 Yet this is true, that both do more than has ever 
 been done by any other train in the world run- 
 ning daily. 
 
 It is a fine thing to know the men who 
 drive the engines on these trains ; just to see them 
 is something, and to make them talk (if you can 
 do it) is better business than interviewing most 
 celebrites you have heard about. 
 
 To this end I set out one evening early in 
 January for the great round-house, of theNorth- 
 western road. that lies in the outskirts of Chi- 
 cago. A strange place, surely, is this to one 
 who approaches it unprepared; a place where 
 yellow eyes glare out of deep shadows, where 
 fire-dragons rush at you with crunching and 
 snortings, where the air hisses and roars. It 
 might be some demon menagerie, there in the 
 darkness. 
 
 To this place of fears and pitfalls I came an 
 hour or so before starting time, and here I found 
 Dan White, one of the Northwestern crack-a- 
 jacks, giving the last careful touches to locomo- 
 tive 908 before the night's hard run. In almost 
 our first words my heart was won by something 
 White said. I had mentioned Frank Bullard of 
 the Burlington road, a rival by all right's, and im- 
 mediately this bluff, broad-shouldered man ex- 
 claimed : "Ah, he's a fine fellow, Bullard is, and 
 he knows how to run an engine." White would 
 fight Bullard at the throttle to any finish, but 
 would speak only good words of him.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 697 
 
 "Tell me," said I, "about the great run you 
 made the other night." From a dozen lips I 
 had heard of White's tremendous dash from Chi- 
 cago to Clinton, Iowa. 
 
 "Oh, it wasn't much ; we had to make the 
 time up, and we did it. Didn't we Fred?" 
 
 This to the fireman, who nodded in silent 
 assent, but said nothing. 
 
 "Yon made a record, didn't you?" 
 
 "Well, we went 138 miles in 143 minutes; 
 that included three stops and two slow-downs. 
 I don't know as anybody has beat that much." 
 
 By dint of questioning fv dreiw from this 
 modest man some details of 'his achievement. 
 The curve-bent stretch; of seventeen miles be- 
 tween Franklin Grove and Nelson-j they did in 
 fourteen minutes, and a part of this, beyond 
 Nachusa, they took at an eighty-mile pace. They 
 covered five miles between Clarence and Stan- 
 wood in three minutes and a half, and they made 
 two miles beyond Denison at over a hundred 
 miles an hour. As the mail rushed west, word 
 was flashed ahead that a hair-raising run was 
 being made, and crowds gathered at the stations 
 to cheer and marvel. Lights burned late that 
 night in farmers' houses, and at every signal 
 station along the way a group of eager men 
 were waiting. 
 
 "There must have been 500 people on the 
 platform at Dixon," said White, telling the story, 
 "and they looked to me like a swarm of ants, just 
 a black, wriggling mass, and then they were 
 gone. We came on to a bridge there after a 
 big reverse curve with a down grade, and I guess 
 no one will ever know how fast we were going 
 that night, as we slammed her around one way 
 and then slammed her around the other way. 
 It was every bit of ninety miles an hour. You 
 got all you wanted, didn't you, Fred ?" 
 
 The fireman looked up, torch in hand, -and 
 remarked in a dry monotone: "Coin' through 
 Dixon I said my prayers, and hung on, stretched 
 out flat. That's what I done." 
 
 "Fred and I," continued White, "both got 
 letters about the run from the superintendent. 
 I fere's mine, if you'd like to read it." 
 
 The pleasure of the two blackened men over 
 this graciousness of the superintendent was a 
 thing to see. For a bit of crumpled paper such 
 as that White showed me I believe they would 
 have taken the Mississippi at a jump, engine 
 train and all. Superintendent's orders, superin- 
 tendent's praise, there is the beginning and end 
 of all things for them. 
 
 It was only a short ride I took this night 
 in the cab of 908, five miles through the yards 
 to the Northwestern station, where the mail-cars 
 were waiting. But I felt the power of the great 
 creature, and thrilled with the throbbing of her 
 brave heart. What splendid courage she has, 
 I thought, as we moved along swiftly among 
 the shadows. How kind she is to us, poor puny 
 men ! 
 
 As we lay by the platform waiting for 
 orders, White took me down on the tracks, and 
 explained how the switches are operated by com- 
 pressed air from the towers. 
 
 "Listen !" he said ; "you'll hear it hiss as the 
 rail moves over. Look out for your feet ; it 
 would take one of them clean off if the jam 
 caught it. And it's no fun to lose a foot ; I 
 tried it once with this one." 
 
 He held up his right foot. 
 
 "What's the matter with it?" said I. 
 
 "Nothing, only it's half gone. Shoe's 
 stuffed with cotton. Engine driver rolled over 
 it." 
 
 Then he told how a few years before he had 
 been working under his locomotive when she had 
 suddenly started forward (a cylinder cock not 
 carefully closed), and how he managed to escape, 
 all but his right foot. 
 
 "I was laid up for a good many months, 
 but the company stood by me nobly ; that's the 
 way they always treat disabled men, and here 
 I am to-day as sound as a dollar. Well, good- 
 bye, sir." 
 
 Five minutes later they are off for the West, 
 with various Northwestern officials waving en- 
 couragement. White's effort and the strength 
 of 908 will take the train's 250 tons one third 
 of the way to Omaha. Then a second engine and 
 engineer and fireman will do a second stretch ;
 
 698 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 then a third relay will finish the run. Three 
 engines, three engineers, and three fireman 
 these are needed by. either road for the journey 
 one way. 
 
 The first long ride on one of these splendid 
 locomotives was with the Burlington flyer, with 
 590 at her head and Frank Billiard at the throttle. 
 It is said that the Baldwin Locomotive Works 
 
 These words to me from Bullard, first-class 
 engine-driver of the C. B. & Q., a long, loosely 
 joined man with the eye and build of a scout. 
 As he spoke they were coupling us to the mail- 
 cars, in preparation for the start. In overalls 
 and sweater I have come, with typewritten 
 authority to make the run that night. This was 
 in the first week in January, the second time 
 
 Drilling Machine used in Shop Work. 
 
 never turned out a faster 'engine than this 590. 
 The man must be a giant. whose head will top 
 her drivers, and for all her seventy tons, there 
 is speed in every line of her. She is a young 
 engine, too. only four years old, and Bullard 
 swears he will back her in the m'atter of getting 
 over rails to do anything that steel and steam 
 can do. "She's willing and gentle, sir, and easy 
 running. You'll see in a minute." 
 
 Bullard had drawn the throttle for Burlington 
 on the new fast schedule. Burlington lay off 
 there in Iowa, on the Mississippi, with all the 
 night and all the State of Illinois between us. 
 
 Xow the train stands ready, three mail-cars 
 and the engine, not a stick besides. No Pull- 
 man comforts here, no bunks for sleeping, no 
 man aboard who has the right to sleep. Every- 
 thing is hustle and business. Already the mail-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 699 
 
 clerks are swarming at the pouches, like printers 
 on a rush edition. See those last bags swung 
 in through the panel doors! Not even the presi- 
 dent of the road may ride here without permit 
 from the government. 
 
 Billiard takes up a red, smoking torch, and 
 looks 590 over. He fills her cups and prods a 
 two-foot oiler into her rods and bearings. Dan 
 Cleary, the fireman, looks out of his window on 
 the left, and chews complacently. Down the 
 track beside him locomotive 1309 backs up, a 
 first-class engine she, but 590 bulks over her as 
 the king of a herd might over some good, or- 
 dinary working elephant. As she stands here 
 now, purring through her black iron throat, 590 
 measures sixteen feet three inches from rails to 
 stack-top. Both engines blow out steam, that 
 rolls up in silver clouds to the electric lights. 
 
 Bullard climbs to his place at the right, 
 and a hiss of air tells that he is testing the 
 brakes. Under each car sixteen iron shoes close 
 against sixteen wheels, and they stay there. 
 Down the length of the train goes the repair man 
 with his kit, and makes sure that every contact 
 is right. He then pulls a rope four times at the 
 rear, whereupon four hissing signals answer in 
 the cab. Bullard shuts off the air. 
 
 "It's all there is to stop her with," says he, 
 "so we take no chances with it. She's got high- 
 speed brakes on her, 590 has no pounds to 
 the inch. Twenty-four, Dan," he adds, and 
 snaps his watch. "We start at thirty." 
 
 Dan chews on. "Bad wind to-night," he 
 says ; "reg'lar gale." 
 
 Bullard nods. "I know it; we're fifteen 
 minutes late, too." 
 
 "Make Burlington on time?" 
 
 "Got to; you hit it up, and I'll skin her. 
 Twenty-six, Dan." 
 
 Four minutes to wait. Two station officials 
 come up with polite inquiries. The thermome- 
 ter is falling, they say, and we shall have it bit- 
 ter cold over the plains. They reach up with 
 cordial hand-shakes. I pull my cap down, and 
 take my stand behind Bullard. Our side of the 
 cab is quite cut off from the fireman's side by a 
 swelling girth of boiler, which leaves an alley- 
 
 way on either side wide enough for a man's body 
 and no wider. Bullard and. I are in the right- 
 hand alley-way, Bullard's back and black cap 
 just before me. Dan with his shovel is out on 
 a shaky steel shelf behind, that bridges the space 
 between engine and tender. This is where he 
 works, poor lad ! We are breathing coal dust 
 and torch smoke and warm oil. 
 
 "F-s-s-s-s-s," comes the signal, and instant- 
 ly we are moving. Lights flash about us every- 
 where, green lights, white lights, red lights, a 
 phantasmagoria of drug-store bottles. The tracks 
 shine yellow far ahead. A steady jarring and 
 pounding begins, and grows like the roar of battle. 
 The cab heaves with the tugging of a captive bal- 
 loon. Our speed increases amazingly. We seem 
 constanly on the point of running straight 
 through blocks of houses, and only escape by sud- 
 den and disconcerting swayings around curves 
 that all lead, one will vow, straight into black 
 chasm under the dazzle. Whoever rides here for 
 the first time feels that he is ticketed for sure de- 
 struction, understands that this plunging engine 
 must necessarily go off the rails in two or three 
 minutes, say five minutes at the latest ; for what 
 guidance, he reasons, can any man get from a 
 million crazy lights, and who that is human can 
 avoid a snarl in such a tangle of bumping 
 switches? I am free to confess, for my own 
 part, that I found the first half hour of my ride 
 on 590 absolutely terrifying. 
 
 Thus, at break-neck speed, we come out of 
 Chicago, all slow-going city ordinances to the con- 
 trary notwithstanding. We are chasing a trans- 
 continental record schedule, and have fifteen 
 minutes to make up. I breathe more freely as 
 we get into open country. We are going like 
 the wind, but the track is straighter, and the 
 darkness comfortable. I begin to notice things 
 with better understanding. As the lurches come, 
 I brace myself against the boiler side without 
 fear of burning : that is something learned ; I 
 find out later that I owe this protection to a two- 
 inch layer of asbestos. I catch a faint sound of 
 the engine-bell, and discover, to my surprise, 
 that it has been ringing from the start ; indeed 
 it rings without ceasing all the way to Burling-
 
 700 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ton, the rope pulled by a steam jerking contriv- 
 ance, but the roar of the engine drowns it. 
 
 Deep shadows enwrap the cab, all the deeper 
 for the glare that flashes through them every 
 minute or two as Dan, back there on his iron 
 shelf, stokes coal in at the red-hot door. Two 
 faint lights burn for the gauges a jumping 
 water column in front, a pair of wavering needles 
 on the boiler. These Bullard watches coolly, 
 and from time to time reaches back past me to 
 turn the injector cock, whereupon steam hisses 
 by my head. For the most part he is quite still, 
 like an Indian pilot, head forward at the look- 
 out window, right hand down by the air-brake 
 valve, left hand across the throttle lever, with 
 only a second's jump to the reversing lever that 
 rises up from the floor straight before him. As 
 we race into towns and roar through them, he 
 sounds the chime whistle, making its deep voice 
 challenge the darkness. At curves he eases her 
 with the brakes. And for grades and level 
 stretches and bridges he notches the throttle up 
 or down as the need is. Watch his big strong 
 grip on the polished handles ! Think of the 
 hours he spends here all alone, this man who 
 holds life and death in his quick, sure judgment! 
 
 Now he catches the window frame and slides 
 it open. A blast sweeps in like an Arctic hurri- 
 cane. Bullard leans out into the night and seems 
 to listen. "Try it," he cries, but his voice is 
 faint. I put my head out, and come into a rush 
 of air billows that strangle like breakers. 
 
 "Greggs Hill three miles long. Let 
 her go soon." He closes the window. And 
 now, as we are clear of the grade, begins a burst 
 of speed that makes the rest of small account. 
 Faster and faster we go, until the very iron 
 seems alive and straining underneath us. I am 
 tossed about in hard pitches The glow of the 
 furnace lights up continuously. There is no 
 sense of fear any longer. It is too splendid what 
 we are doing. Of course it means instant death 
 if anything breaks. Let the massive side rod 
 that holds the two drivers snap, and a half-ton 
 knife sweeping seventy miles and hour will slice 
 off our cab and us with it like a cut of cheese. 
 Did not an engineer go to his death that way on- 
 
 ly last week on the Union Pacific run ? After all, 
 why not this death as well as any other? Have 
 we not valves and tubes in our bodies that may 
 snap at any moment? 
 
 "How fast?" I call out. 
 
 "Eighty miles an hour," says Bullard 
 close to my ear, and a moment later pulls the 
 rope for a grade crossing. " "Ooooo Ooooo 
 Oo Oo," answers the deep iron voice, two long 
 and two short calls, as the code requires. "Year 
 ago killed two men here," he shouts as 
 we whizz over the road. "Struck buggy 
 threw men sixty feet." I wonder how far 
 we would throw them now. 
 
 In the 206 miles' run to the Mississippi we 
 stop only twice for water, at Mendota and at 
 Galesburg nine minutes wasted for the two, 
 and the gale blowing harder. Our schedule 
 makes allowance for no stops ; every minute 
 from our actual going is so much "dead time" 
 that must be fought for, second by second, and 
 made up. Drive her as he will, with all the cun- 
 ning of his hand, Bullard can score but small 
 gains against the wind. And some of these he 
 loses. At Mendota we have made up seven 
 minutes, but we pull out thirteen minutes late. 
 At Princeton we are fifteen minutes late, at 
 Galva fourteen minutes, at Galesburg eight 
 minutes, but we pull out twelve minutes late. 
 Then we make the last forty-three miles, includ- 
 ing bridges, towns, grades, and curves, in forty- 
 four minutes, and draw into Burlington at 1.22 
 A. M. on time to the dot. This because Bul- 
 lard has sworn to do it ; also because the road 
 beyond Galesburg runs west instead of south- 
 west, and it is easier for a train to bore straight 
 through a gale, head-on, than to take it from the 
 quarter. But be sure of this, that whoever covers 
 forty-three miles of railroad in forty-four con- 
 secutive minutes travels much of the way at an 
 eighty or ninety-mile pace. 
 
 We took the big, steady curve at Princeton, 
 a down-grade helping us, at a hundred miles an 
 hour, so Bullard declares, and what he says about 
 engine-driving I believe. Indeed, these great 
 bursts can be measured only by the subtle senses 
 of an expert, since no registering instrument has
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 701 
 
 been devised to make reliable record. Across 
 the twin high bridges that span the Bureau creeks 
 we shot with a rush that left the reverberations 
 far back in the night like two short barks. And 
 just as we rounded a curve before these bridges 
 I saw a black face peering down from the boiler 
 top, while a voice called out: "Wahr wahr 
 wahr wahr." To this startling apparition Bui- 
 lard, undisturbed, replied: "Wahr wahr wahr 
 wahr." Then the head disappeared. Dan 
 was telling Bullard that he had seen the safety 
 light for the bridges, first visible on his side, and 
 Bullard was answering something about hitting 
 it up harder. How these men understand one 
 another in such tumult is a mystery to one with 
 ordinary hearing, but somehow they manage it. 
 
 Half way between Kewanee and Galva a 
 white light came suddenly into view far ahead I 
 knew it for the headlight of a locomotive com- 
 ing toward us on the parallel track. Already 
 we had met two or three trains, and swept past 
 them with a smashing of sound and air. But 
 this headlight seemed different from the others, 
 paler in its luster, not so steady in its glare. The 
 ordinary locomotive comes at you with a calm, 
 staring yellow eye that grows until it gets to be 
 a huge full moon. But it comes gradually, with- 
 out much jumping or wavering. This light 
 danced and flashed like a great white diamond. 
 I watched it with a certain fascination, and, as 
 it came nearer and nearer, realized that here 
 was a train of different kind from the others, 
 coming down on us at terrific speed. And Bul- 
 lard shouted : "Number Eight with the 
 mail." Then added as she passed like the gleam 
 of a knife: "She's going too." 
 
 And going she certainly was, as I learned 
 the next day at the company's office in Burling- 
 ton. For sixty-two minutes they had held her 
 at Council Bluffs, this train No. 8, this East- 
 bound flyer, waiting for the Union Pacific mail. 
 She had started for Chicago one hour and two 
 minutes late and she made the time up. Her 
 last relay from Burlington was done by big loco- 
 motive 1083, Sam Dove driving her, and they 
 ran the 206 miles in 213 minutes, stops, slow- 
 downs, everything counted ; or 206 miles in 200 
 
 minutes actual running time. So when these 
 sister trains came in sight, there near Kewanee, 
 they were hurrying together at an easy rate of 
 180 miles an hour. No wonder the headlight 
 danced ! 
 
 At about half-past one this memorable night, 
 with the Mississippi river at my back, I entered 
 a little hotel that faces the Burlington station. 
 My head rang as if I had been swinging on some 
 great church bell. And when the night clerk 
 saw me, he nearly laughed in my face, for I 
 was black with smoke and coal dust. Here was 
 a change of plan. I had thought to go straight 
 through with the run to Omaha; but Bullard's 
 personality, the charm and the mystery of it had 
 tempted me to linger for a talk with him. It 
 was plain I might ride a lifetime on 590 and learn 
 nothing for all the chance of conversation there 
 would be : as well try to converse with an officer 
 leading a charge of cavalry. 
 
 But the next day, with comfortable rocking 
 chairs to sit in, and cigars to smoke, and a row of 
 hotel windows before us, Bullard and I found 
 time for a chat, and I was well content. First 
 1 asked him about putting his head out of the 
 cab window there at Greggs Hill and else- 
 where. "Was it to see better ?" said I. 
 
 No, said Bullard ; "it was to hear better and 
 to smell better !" 
 
 "Hear what? Smell what?" 
 
 "Hear the noises of the engine. If any 
 little thing was working wrong, I'd hear it. 
 "If there was a wear on a bearing I'd hear it." 
 Why, if a mouse squeaked somewhere inside 
 of 590, and the mouse didn't belong there, I 
 guess I'd hear it." 
 
 Then he went on to explain that the ordi- 
 nary roar of the engine, which drowned every- 
 thing for me, was to him an unimportant back- 
 ground of sound that made little impression and 
 left his ears free for other sounds. 
 
 "I get so accustomed to listening to an en- 
 gine," he added, "that often up home, talking 
 with my wife and child, I find myself trying to 
 hear the sounds from the round-house. And 
 often, after a run, I talk to people as if they were 
 deaf."
 
 702 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 "You spoke about smelling better." 
 "That's right. I can smell a hot box in a 
 minute, or oil burning. All engineers can.. 
 Why, there was 
 
 This led to the story of poor Giddings, 
 killed on 590 three years ago, through this very 
 necessity of putting the head out of the cab win- 
 dow. Giddings had Dullard's place, until death 
 came, and he was one of the most trusted men. 
 in the Burlington employ. 
 
 he put his head out to hear and to smell, the 
 way I've explained it. 
 
 "There must have been a post set too near 
 the track, and anyway 590*3 cab is extra wide; 
 so the first thing he knew, and he didn't know 
 that, his head was knocked clean off, or as good 
 as that, and there was 590, her throttle wide open, 
 tearing along, with a fireman stoking for all he 
 was worth, and a dead engineer hanging out 
 the window. 
 
 Device for Inserting and Removing Driving Box Brasses. 
 
 "You saw last night," said Bullard, "how 
 the boiler in 590 shuts off the engineer from the 
 fireman. And probably you noticed those posts 
 along the road that hold the tell-tale strings. 
 They're to warn crews on freight-car tops when 
 its time to duck for bridges. Well, Giddings 
 was coming along one night between Biggsville 
 and Gladstone that's about ten miles before you 
 get to the Mississippi. He was driving her fast 
 to make up time, sixty miles an hour easy, and 
 
 "So they ran for eight miles, and Billy 
 Maine he was firing -never suspected anything 
 wrong, for of course he couldn't see, until they 
 struck the Mississippi bridge at full speed. You 
 remember crossing the bridge just before we 
 pulled in here. It's 2,200 feet long, and we always 
 give a whistle of extra warning before we get 
 to it, and then slow down. That's the law," he 
 added, smiling, "and besides, there's a draw to 
 look out for. When he heard no whistle this
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 703 
 
 lime, Hilly .Maine jumped around quick to where 
 Giddings was, and then he saw he had a corpse 
 for a partner." 
 
 Another question I asked was about stop- 
 ping a train at great speed. "I've done it," said 
 liullarcl, "in 950 feet, pulling five cars, that were 
 making about sixty-two miles an hour. I don't 
 know what I could do with this new train, only 
 three cars, and going ninety miles an hour. 
 That's a hard proposition." 
 
 "Would you reverse her?" 
 
 "No, sir. All engineers who know their 
 business will agree on that. I'd shut the throttle 
 off, and put brakes on full. But I wouldn't re- 
 verse her. If I did, the wheels would lock in 
 a second, and the whole business would skate 
 ahead as if you'd put her on ice." 
 
 Then we talked about the nerve it takes to 
 run an engine, and how a man can lose his nerve. 
 It's like a lion-tamer who wakes up some morn- 
 ing and finds that he's afraid. Then his time 
 has come to quit taming lions, for the beasts 
 will know it if he doesn't, and kill him. There 
 are men who can stand these high-speed runs 
 for tens years. But few go beyond that term, 
 or past the forty-five year point. Slow going 
 passenger trains will do for them after that. 
 Others break down after five years. Many en- 
 gineers, skilled men, too, would rather throw up 
 their jobs than take the run Bullard makes. 
 Not that they feel the danger to be so much 
 greater in pushing the speed up to seventy, 
 eighty, or ninety miles an hour ; but they simply 
 cannot stand the strain of doing the thing. And 
 even a man of Bullard's stoical temperament 
 comes down from his cab so exhausted after a 
 run like ours that he must rest entirely for twen- 
 ty-four hours before he can make another one. 
 Thus an engineer of this special class draws 
 full pay $185 a month for working on alter- 
 nate days. And for the three relays between Chi- 
 cago and Omaha, six engineers are required to 
 take the flyer West, and six engineers to take it 
 East, twelve men, the flower of the road, for a 
 round trip of a thousand miles, and twelve fire- 
 men to help them. 
 
 "This doubling up is what breaks my heart," 
 said Bullard. "Since they've put on their new 
 schedule, I have to divide 590 with another fel- 
 low. John Kelly takes her on the fast run East 
 while I wait here and rest. And so I've lost my 
 sweetheart, and I don't feel near as much in- 
 terest in her as I did. You see, she ain't mine 
 any more. And between you and me," he added 
 confidentially, "I don't think 590 likes it much 
 herself ; you see, engines are a good deal like 
 girls after all." 
 
 We talked next of the coal and water con- 
 sumed between Chicago and Burlington, seven 
 tons of the one, and 5,000 gallons of the other. 
 Then summing it all up, I asked Bullard what 
 he really thought of the new fast schedule and 
 the speed they have to make. 
 
 "It isn't for me to think," said Bullard; 
 "but I'll tell you this, it's the hardest game I 
 ever got up against. My wife says she hopes 
 for just one thing : that they won't start me off 
 some night too far behind time." 
 
 "What do you mean ?" 
 
 "Why," he answered with modest hesita- 
 tion, "my wife knows that if they do, I'll I'll 
 why, she knows I'll make it up. And even 
 as it is, she don't sleep any nights until she hears 
 my long whistle over the bridge." 
 
 Good luck to Bullard, I say, and all men of 
 his kind. 
 
 That night, in workmen's garb again, I 
 made my way to a gloomy round-house, ready 
 for the run to Omaha. I was to ride the second 
 relay, as far as Creston, on locomotive 1201, 
 with Jake Myers in the cab, so I had been in- 
 formed. Being hours ahead of time, I saw 
 something of round-house life. 
 
 First, I followed a gaunt, black-faced Swede,' 
 with stubby beard, through his duties as locomo- 
 tive hostler ; saw him take the tired engines in 
 hand, as they came in one after another from hard 
 runs, and care for them as stable hostlers care 
 for horses. There were the fires to be dropped 
 in the clinker pit, coal and wood to be loaded in 
 from the chutes, the water-tanks to be filled, 
 sand-boxes looked after, and, finally, there was 
 the hitching fast of the weary monsters in empty
 
 704 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 stalls, whither they were led from the lumbering 
 turn-table with the last head of steam left over 
 dead fire-boxes. And now spoke the Swede : 
 
 "Dem big passenger engines can werry 
 easy climb over dem blocks and go through the 
 round-house." This from Gus Andersen, as he 
 showed me past a great semi-circle of cold en- 
 gine-noses, ranged along not two feet from the 
 brick wall. 
 
 Later on, in the dimly-lighted locker-room, 
 I listened to round-house men swapping yarns 
 about accidents, and to threats of a fireman 
 touching a certain yardmaster set apart by 
 general consent for a licking. 
 
 Finally an Irishman came in, James Byron, 
 and for all his good-natured face he seemed in 
 ill humor. It turned out that he had just re- 
 ceived a hurry order to take 1201 out in Myer's 
 place. 
 
 "Jake is sick," said he, "and .they've sent 
 for me. But I'm sick, too. Was in bed with 
 grip. Just took ten grains of quinine. Say, I 
 ain't any more fit to run an engine than I am to 
 run a Sunday-school. 
 
 Then he began pulling on his overalls, while 
 the others laughed at him, told him he was 
 "scared" of the fast run, and said good-by with 
 mock seriousness. 
 
 But Byron showed himself a good soldier, 
 and soon was working over 1201 with a will, 
 inspecting every inch of her, torch in hand, and 
 he assured me he would take her through all 
 right, grip or no grip. 
 
 And take her through he did. At 1.16 A. 
 M., my old friend, locomotive 590, brought the 
 flyer up from Chicago, six minutes ahead of the 
 schedule. Kelly had done himself proud this 
 time. And six minutes later, on time to the 
 minute, we drew out behind 1201, with Byron 
 handling her, and seventy tons of mail following 
 after. 
 
 Our fireman was named Bellamy. He wore 
 isinglass goggles against the heat, and, in his 
 way, he was a humorist, as I discovered present- 
 ly, when he came near me (we were running at 
 a sixty-mile gait) and, grinning like a Dante 
 
 demon, remarked slowly : "Say if we go 
 in the ditch will you come along?" 
 
 The first feature of this run was some 
 trouble with a feed pipe from the tank, which, 
 brought us to sudden standstill in the open night 
 with a great hissing of steam. 
 
 "What is it?" I asked of Bellamy, while 
 Byron, grumbling maledictions, hammered under 
 the truck. 
 
 "Check-valve stuck ; water can't get into the 
 boiler." 
 
 "How did he know it?" 
 
 "Water-gauge." 
 
 "What if he hadn't noticed it?" 
 
 Bellamy smiled in half contempt. "Say if 
 he hadn't noticed it for fifteen minutes, we'd have 
 been sailing over them trees about this time 
 in pieces. She'd have bust her boiler." 
 
 Five minutes lost here, and we were off 
 again, running presently into a thick fog, then in- 
 to rain, and, finally, into a snow storm. Never 
 shall I forget the illusion, due to our great 
 speed that the flakes were rushing at us hori- 
 zontally, shooting upward in sharp curves over 
 the engine's headlight. And, as we swept on, 
 the shadow of 1201 advanced beside us over the 
 stretch of white snow as smoothly and silently 
 as the tail of an eclipse. The engine itself was 
 a noisy, hurrying affair, but the engine's shadow 
 was as calm and quiet as a cloud. And I recall 
 that the swiftness of our rush this night caused 
 in me neither fear nor any particular emotion. 
 Yet this was practically the same experience that 
 had stirred me so the night before on 590. 
 
 We reached Creston on time, as Byron said 
 he would, and of what happened during the last 
 relay from Creston on, or what engine drew us, 
 or who the engineer was, I have no knowledge, 
 for I passed the early morning hours in troubled 
 sleep, curled up on a pile of pouches in the rear 
 mail-car. I may add that my sleep was troubled 
 for good and sufficient reasons : first, because 
 there was need of changing my hard couch at 
 intervals so that the crew could handle what I 
 was sleeping on ; also because the motion here* 
 is even more violent than on the locomotive. 
 There were double curves in western Iowa that
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 705 
 
 made those mail-cars look like a battlefield. It 
 was bundles of newspapers flying through the 
 air, and poor devils of mail-clerks stretched on the 
 floor hugging the iron racks. Any one who, as 
 a boy has indulged in the noble sport of "crack- 
 ing the whip'' will understand why the mail-car 
 at the tail of a train gets more swing on a hard 
 fast curve than the engine at the Jiead. And as 
 for danger, there is really much more here than 
 anywhere else, for the mail-cars rest light on their 
 trucks, compared with the great mass of a loco- 
 motive. Besides that, a locomotive's weight is 
 low while the tons of pouches in the mail cars, 
 often piled nearly to the roof, lift the center of 
 gravity high. 
 
 Not on this ride, then, but on subsequent 
 ones, both on the Burlington and the Northwes- 
 tern, I got an idea what duty it is a man under- 
 takes in choosing the career of railway mail clerk. 
 And frankly, I can think of no occupation that 
 puts harder tax upon mind and body. To begin 
 with, the mail crew, during their "on days," 
 which alternate with "off days," are called up- 
 on to work sometimes seventeen hours in twen- 
 ty-four ; one set of men, for instance, begin hand- 
 ling the mail at 3 P. M. in Chicago, and keep 
 at it steadily until they reach Omaha at 8 A. M. 
 the following day. Furthermore, they must re- 
 member and have literally at their fingers' ends 
 such a mass of names, places, railroad routes, 
 etc., as would cause the despair of a lightning 
 calculator. Each clerk on this run must know 
 the precise location of 1,079 separate post-offices 
 in Nebraska, of 1,904 in Iowa, of 1,800 in Ohio 
 (only a part), of 1,100 in Michigan (only a 
 part), of 1,200 in Missouri (only a part), of 
 720 in Colorado, of 660 in South Dakota, 
 705 in Illinois (only a part), of about 1,000 in 
 Pennsylvania, and so on for Indiana, Wisconsin, 
 and all the western states. 
 
 In addition to these separate places, amount- 
 ing to about 18,000 in all, each mail-clerk must 
 know, and be able to say instantly, how any 
 particular letter will reach its destination by the 
 quickest and best connection ; that is, must have 
 an intimate knowledge of a labyrinth of large 
 and small routes, spreading over the whole 
 
 region. To test his readiness of information, 
 I took up a handful of letters from one of the 
 pouches and read off the towns to one of the 
 men, who answered thus, in mail-clerk jargon : 
 
 Elk Creek "Columbus and Atch. Lincoln 
 south." 
 
 Nelson "Neb. City and Superior. Num- 
 ber two." 
 
 Ainsley "Lincoln and Bill. Train forty- 
 one. Number two." 
 
 Liberty "K. C. and Ox. Wymore east." 
 
 Carleton "St. Jo and Grand Island, via 
 Jotown." 
 
 Julian "Omaha and K. C. Train ten. 
 South of Neb. City." 
 
 Rock Bluff "Goes to Plattsmouth (Dist.) 
 no office. 
 
 Oak "Lenwood and Superior. Seward 
 east." 
 
 Friend "Peajack and Denver. No. one." 
 
 And so on for letters and papers without 
 end, all dealt out swiftly, hour after hour, through 
 the night, into some 500 pigeon-holes, in ten 
 letter-cases (this for a single car), and some 
 1 20 pouches packed in neatly through the car's 
 length, with mouths held open by iron frames. 
 
 And the head man of the crew (six in all) 
 must see to it that the mail is so assorted and 
 classified that the Galesburg pouch for Santa 
 Fe connections will be ready to throw off at 
 Galesburg, and the two Burlington, pouches 
 ready to throw off at Burlington, and the five 
 ( htumwa pouches ready at Ottumwa, and so on, 
 the work being done stage by stage, as the flyer 
 rushes west-ward. And every man of the crew 
 must stand for his own mistakes at the throat 
 of each pouch being placed, before it is closed 
 the name of the clerk who filled it. No wonder 
 these young men require four or five "days off" 
 after a like number of "days on" for the work 
 of studying and memorizing. And right well do 
 they earn their wages, which vary from $900 to 
 $1,300 a year, and which stop (perhaps this is 
 worth noting) on the very day when one of 
 them is killed in the discharge of his duty, for 
 the pension system of our government has never 
 been extended to these obscure heroes of the
 
 706 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 pouches, who, nevertheless, are called upon to 
 expose their lives constantly. 
 
 So, every clay of the year now, with weary 
 clerks, but well-assorted mail, these wonderful 
 rival flyers of the Northwestern and the Burling- 
 ton draw into Council Bluffs at about eight 
 o'clock in the morning, as their schedules re- 
 quire. Before January I, 1899, this mail would 
 have reached Council Bluffs at 2.45 P. M., near- 
 ly seven hours later, the start having been five 
 hours and a half later. And within half an hour 
 of its arrival at Council Bluffs it is carried to 
 Omaha, shifted from train to train at the Union 
 Pacific transfer, and is rushing westward once 
 more, with fresh locomotive, engineer, and mail 
 crew. And so it advances in its course, from 
 
 relay to relay, from state to state, from railroad 
 to railroad, until the through pouches land in 
 San Francisco ninety-eight and one-half hours 
 after their departure from New York, which is 
 a gain of from fifteen to eighteen hours over 
 any previous mail record. Even so, this gives 
 a transcontinental average of less than thirty- 
 five miles an hour, counting all the time spent, 
 which shows what a fine achievement it is in 
 practical railroading, this run from Chicago to 
 Omaha at a fifty-mile rate, counting everything. 
 Were the same effort put forth all the way, we 
 should have a regular three days' mail service 
 between the oceans. And that is sure to come ! 
 [Reprinted by permission of S. S. McClure 
 Co.]
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 707 
 
 A RELIGIOUS RAILWAY. 
 
 
 N the road once more, with Lebanon 
 fading away in the distance, the fat 
 passenger drumming idly on the 
 window pane and the cross passen- 
 ger fast asleep. To me comes the brakeman, 
 and perching himself on the arm of the seat, 
 says: "I went to church yesterday." "Yes?" 
 I said, with that interested inflection that ask 
 for more, "and what church did you attend," I 
 hazarded. "Well," he said, "I don't like to run 
 on these branch roads very much. I don't often 
 go to church, and when I do I want to run on 
 the main line, where your run is regular and you 
 go on schedule time, and don't have to wait for 
 connections. Good enough, but I don't like it." 
 "Episcopal?" I guessed. "Limited express," 
 he said, "all palace cars at $2.00 extra a seat; 
 fast time, and only stop at the big stations. Nice 
 line, but too expensive for the brakeman. All 
 train men in uniform; conductor's punch and 
 lantern silver-plated, and no train-boys allowed. 
 Then the passengers are allowed to talk back 
 at the conductor, and it makes them too free and 
 easy. No, I couldn't stand the palace cars. 
 Rich road, though. Don't often hear of a re- 
 ceiver being appointed for that line. Some 
 mighty nice people travel on it, too." "Univer- 
 salist?" I suggested. "Broad gage," said the 
 brakeman, "does too much complimentary busi- 
 ness. Everybody travels on a pass. Conduc- 
 tor doesn't get a fare once in fifty miles. Stops 
 at all flag stations, and won't run into anything 
 but a union depot. No smoking car on the train. 
 Train orders are rather vague, though, and the 
 train-men don't get along well with the passen- 
 gers. No, I didn't go to the universalist, though 
 I know some good men on that road." "Pres- 
 
 byterian?" I asked. "Narrow gauge, eh?" said 
 the brakeman, "pretty track, straight as a rule; 
 tunnel -right through a mountain rather than 
 go around it; spirit level grade. Passengers 
 have to show their tickets before they get on 
 the train. Mighty strict road but the cars are 
 a little narrow ; have to sit one in a seat, and no 
 room in the aisle to dance. Then there's no 
 stop over tickets allowed ; got to go straight 
 through to the station you're ticketed for, or 
 you can't get on. When the car's full, no extra 
 seats, cars built at the shop; hold just so many, 
 and nobody else allowed on. But you don't 
 hear of an accident on that road ; it's run straight 
 up to the rules." "May be you joined the Free 
 Thinkers?" I said. "Scrub road," said the 
 brakeman, dirt road-bed and no ballast ; no time 
 card and no train dispatcher. All trains run 
 wild, and the engineer makes his own time just 
 as he pleases. Smoke if you want to; kind of 
 go-as-you-please road. Too many side tracks, 
 and every switch wide open all the time, with 
 the watchman sound asleep, and the target lamp 
 dead out. Get on as you please and get off 
 when you want to. Don't have to show your 
 tickets, and the conductor isn't expected to do 
 anything but amuse the passengers. No, sir, I 
 was offered a pass, but I don't like the line. I 
 don't like to travel on a line that has no terminus. 
 Do you know, sir, I asked a division superinten- 
 dent where the road goes to and he said he hoped 
 to die if he knew. I asked him if the general 
 superintendent could tell me and he said they' 
 didn't have a general superintendent and if they 
 did he didn't know anything more about the road 
 than the passengers. I asked him who he re- 
 ported to and he said 'Nobody.' T asked a con-
 
 708 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ductor who he got his orders from and he said 
 he didn't take orders from any living man or 
 dead ghost. And when I asked the engineer 
 who he got his orders from, he said he didn't 
 like to see anybody give him orders ; he'd run 
 the train to suit himself, or he'd run it into the 
 ditch. Now you see, sir, I'm a railroad man. 
 and I don't care to run on a road that has no 
 time, makes no connections, runs nowhere and 
 
 to the next station. Every train lamp shines 
 like a headlight. Stop over checks given on all 
 the through tickets ; passengers can drop off the 
 train as often as they like, do the station two or 
 three days and hop on the next revival train that 
 comes thundering along. Good, whole-souled, 
 companionable conductors. Ain't any road in 
 the country where the passengers feel more at 
 home. No passes ; every passenger pays full 
 
 BlRDSEYE VIEW OF ILLINOIS CENTRAL STATION AT WATERLOO, IOWA. 
 
 has no superintendent. It may be all right, but 
 I've railroaded too long to understand it." "Did 
 you try the Methodists ?" I said. "Now you're 
 shouting," he said with some enthusiasm. "Nice 
 road, eh ?" Fast time and plenty of passengers. 
 Engines carry a power of steam, and you don't 
 forget it; steam gauge shows one hundred, and 
 enough all the time. Lively road. When the 
 conductor shouts 'all aboard' you can hear him 
 
 tariff rate for his ticket. Wesleyan-house air- 
 brakes on all trains, too. Pretty safe road, but 
 I didn't ride over it yesterday." "May be you 
 went to the Congregational church?" I said. 
 "Popular road," said the brakeman, "an old road 
 too, one of the very oldest in the country. Good 
 road bed and comfortable cars. Well managed 
 road, too. Directors don't interfere with divi- 
 sion superintendents and train orders. Road's
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 709 
 
 mighty popular, but it's pretty independent. Let 
 see, didn't one of the division superintendents 
 down east discontinue one of the oldest stations 
 on the line two or three years ago? But it's 
 a mighty pleasant road to travel on ; always has 
 such a splendid class of passengers." "Perhaps 
 you tried the Baptist?" I guessed once more. 
 "Ha, ha!" said the brakeman, "she a daisy, isn't 
 she? River road; beautiful curves; sweep 
 around anything to keep near the river; but it's 
 all steel rail and rock ballast, single track all 
 the way and not a side track from the round 
 house to the terminus. Takes a heap of water 
 to run it, though; double tanks at every station, 
 and there isn't an engine in the shops that can 
 pull a pound or run a mile with less than two 
 gauges. But it runs through a lovely country, 
 these river roads always do river on one side 
 
 and hills on the other ; and it's a steady climb up 
 the grade all the way, till the run ends where the 
 fountain head of the river begins. Yes, sir, I'll 
 take the river road every time for a lovely trip, 
 sure connections and a good time, and no prairie 
 dust blowing in at the windows. And yester- 
 day when the conductor came around with a 
 little basket punch, I didn't ask him to pass me 
 but I paid my fare like a little man, twenty-five 
 cents for an hour's run and a little concert by the 
 passengers thrown in. I tell you, pilgrim, you 
 take the river road when you want" but just 
 here the long whistle from the engine announced 
 a station and the brakeman hurried to the door 
 and shouted : "Zionsville ! this train makes no 
 stops between here and Indianapolis !" Bob 
 lUirdette in Burlington Haivkcyc.
 
 710 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD. COMPANY 
 
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 H 
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 W
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 711 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL TEST CAR. 
 
 t. L t. t <i* t." 
 
 The railway test car whose description 
 follows was built at the Burnside shops of the 
 Illinois Central Railroad at Chicago. It is 
 owned and operated jointly by the Illinois Cen- 
 tral Railroad and the railway mechanical engi- 
 neering department of the University of Illinois, 
 the car being built by the former and the appa- 
 ratus and other equipment by the latter. It is 
 designed for general railroad experimental 
 work and will be adapted to the following pur- 
 poses, for each of which it has its special 
 equipment : 
 
 1. Measurement of train resistance. 
 
 2. Autographic track inspection. 
 
 3. Locomotive road tests. 
 
 4. Air brake tests. 
 
 5. Station tests. 
 
 Hydraulic transmission of the pressure and 
 motion has been adopted for both the appara- 
 tus for dynamometric work and for track in- 
 spection; the latter, however, is not being at 
 present installed. 
 
 The car was designed under the direction 
 of Mr. William Renshaw, superintendent of 
 machinery Illinois Central Railroad; Prof. 
 L. P. Breckenridge of the department of me- 
 chanical engineering of the University of Illi- 
 
 nois, and Edward C. Schmidt, instructor in 
 railway mechanical engineering. 
 
 The car itself was specially designed for 
 this work and is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. 
 It has been built particularly heavy, in order to 
 withstand the usage it will receive in the heavi- 
 est freight service. 
 
 It is 45 feet 4 inches in length and 40 feet 
 over the end sills, which is as long as is com- 
 patible with the necessary stiffness and rigidity. 
 It is 8 feet 4-Hi inches wide inside, 9 feet IjMi 
 inches outside, with an extreme width of 10/4 
 feet over the observation windows. About 15 
 feet in the rear end is occupied by the berths, 
 lockers, closets and toilet room, leaving 25 feet 
 of working space, in which are placed the 
 tables and instruments. 
 
 The lookout shown in the rear of the car 
 affords facilities for observing the handling of 
 the train, and in it are placed the push buttons 
 controlling the signals to the operators below, 
 also the pens which mark on the dynamometer 
 record the location of mileposts, stations, 
 curves and grades. The projecting windows at 
 the front end also provide a means of watching 
 the train and engine. 
 
 38
 
 712 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL EMPLOYES' HOSPITAL, AT PADUCAH, KY.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 713 
 
 THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL EMPLOYES' HOSPITAL. 
 
 
 This Hospital located at Paducah, Ky., is 
 one of the finest institutions of its kind in the 
 South, was founded on January 15th, 1884, by 
 the Chesapeake, Ohio & South Western R. R. 
 
 The orginal building, was an old farm house, 
 located near the site of the present beautiful 
 structure, and was in charge of Dr. J. W. Thomp- 
 son, as Chief Surgeon and President, with J. A. 
 Dew, Secretary, and board of directors, consist- 
 ing of Frazier Briggs, John L. McGuire, and 
 others. 
 
 The new hospital buildings, costing about 
 $30,000, were completed in April 1896, and with 
 the fine lot on which they stand, valued at 
 $25,000, were the gift of C. P. Huntington, of 
 New York, with the stipulation, that they should 
 be forever used for hospital purposes. 
 
 The hospital is located on Broadway, one 
 of the principal thoroughfares of Paducah, and 
 stands in the center of a beautifully laid-out park, 
 dotted with shade trees, and with a fountain of 
 elegant design, on which is carved the I. C. 
 monogram. 
 
 The buildings are of the most modern de- 
 sign, having fine offices, laboratories, operating 
 rooms, and reception rooms ; besides the wards 
 and private rooms for patients willing to pay, 
 and are equipped with all modern conveniences ; 
 steam heat, gas and electric lights and elevators. 
 
 The hospital has a capacity at the present 
 time, of forty-five patients, with separate wards 
 for the whites and blacks, and cares for all I. C. 
 employes from Memphis, Tennessee, to Louis- 
 ville, Kentucky, a district composed of 54 local 
 surgeons. 
 
 It is sustained by assessments taken monthly 
 from the salaries of the employes, on the follow- 
 ing basis. 
 
 Employes receiving $40 per month or 
 
 under - $ .40 
 
 Employes receiving $40 to $75 - - .50 
 
 Employes receiving $75 to $90 - - .75 
 
 Employes receiving $90 to $100 and over 1.00 
 
 The total receipts for the year 1899, were 
 $24,308.65; expenditures, $18,441.90. Surplus 
 on hand Jan. i, 1900, $15,096.18. 
 
 The following is a comparative statement 
 of the number of patients treated for the past 
 three vears. 
 
 1897 
 
 Whites. 
 . . . . 173 
 
 Black. 
 169 
 
 Total. 
 342 
 
 1898 
 
 370 
 
 309 . . . 
 
 679 
 
 1899.. 
 
 . . 492. . 
 
 ..393.. 
 
 ..882 
 
 Besides the 882 patients treated in 1899, 
 there were 7547 cases treated, termed outside 
 patients, of which 5141 were white, and 2406 
 black. Of the 882 patients treated in 1899, only 
 eleven died, which speaks volumes for the effi- 
 ciency of the management. 
 
 Everything from basement to garret is kept 
 exquisitely neat and clean, and the highly com- 
 petent physicians in charge, together with the 
 corps of assistants put forth every effort to allevi- 
 ate the suffering of those to whom they adminis- 
 ter. The hospital is an institution, of which the 
 officials and employes of the Illinois Central, are 
 justly proud.
 
 714 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 GIDEON HAWLEY,
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 715 
 
 OLDEST OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS. 
 
 IDEON HAWLEY, who runs an ac- 
 commodation train on the Lake Shore 
 Railroad from Conneaut, Ohio, to 
 Cleveland, is the oldest engineer in 
 active service in the United States. Mr. Haw- 
 ley, who is 73 years old, has been fifty-two years 
 at the throttle. He began railroad work as a 
 fireman in 1846, when one of his duties was to 
 stand at the front of the cabless locomotive to 
 sprinkle sand on the tracks from a wooden pail 
 provided for the purpose. The wooden pail was 
 filled from some bank here and there along the 
 route, as time was not a matter of importance. 
 In the 4o's twenty miles an hour was considered 
 good speed for a passenger train, while the 
 freights made only seven miles, 
 
 The first place obtained by Mr. Hawley was 
 on the Michigan Central. The wheels of the 
 tender were then set by brakes, the only ones 
 by the way on the old-time trains, and it was the 
 duty of the fireman to operate these brakes. 
 He found that his labors were varied and exact- 
 ing, but after four years of service he became 
 an engineer, entering the service of the Lake 
 Shore road in 1852. 
 
 The engineer then had many responsibili- 
 ties that are not now put upon men who operate 
 the great locomotives. Headlights were not 
 used, and it was risky work to run an engine in 
 the darkness, especially when the single tracks 
 were in use and the railway companies did not 
 maintain their own telegraph lines. The cow- 
 catcher, however, was one of the first appliances 
 
 although the primitive invention was of very 
 different pattern from those in use today. 
 Trains made their way from one station to 
 another depending on flagmen who were em- 
 ployed in great numbers. These flagmen man- 
 aged to obviate the need of dispatches, except 
 in cases of emergency, when messages were sent 
 at regular rates. There were regular sidings, 
 at which the trains pulled out to allow those 
 coining in an opposite direction to pass. Mr. 
 Hawley remembers that he spent many anxious 
 hours when he was compelled to run his engine 
 on in the hope that he would make the next 
 station before a delayed train left it. 
 
 While employed on the Michigan Central 
 Railroad, Mr. Hawley visited Chicago, which 
 was a flourishing country town. After leaving 
 the Michigan Central, he obtained a position 
 on the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad for 
 a short time, and he ran his train through a 
 wilderness that was sparsely settled. 
 
 The Lake Shore Railroad, in addition to 
 employing the oldest engineer now actively en- 
 gaged, has the distinction of having the oldest 
 conductor on its payrolls. He is Edward Page, 
 of Cleveland, and he has charge of the fast mail 
 trains. He was conductor of the train that car- 
 ried President Lincoln to his inauguration and 
 also of the train that carried the President's 
 body home from Washington. George Martin, 
 who died recently in Cleveland, was the engineer 
 on both these memorable occasions. Inter 
 Ocecw,
 
 716 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
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 e be any risk in attempting to make It. Down Passenger take sideiug at half-mile s 
 ys and Thursdays. Returning, leave Canton on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 
 
 T. S. WILLIAMS, Gen'l Sup't. 
 
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 New Orleans 
 
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 All Engi rossing Manchac at night must be stopped 
 Trains mu e reduced to Six miles per hour whilst passin 
 Engineers must use all the time possible In running. Co 
 e to do the work at the next station. 
 Engineers must not run over frogs 
 Passenger trains must not b 
 ted at a Station must be report 
 Tugaloo. Passenger Train No. 
 
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 ak
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 717 
 
 SKETCH OF RAILROADING, IT'S JOYS AND ITS DANGERS. 
 
 BY L. A. LOUTZENHISER. 
 
 ERHAPS at no time in the career of a 
 railroad man is the seriousness of life 
 brought home more forcibly than when 
 he hears of the sudden death of one 
 who but an hour before had greeted him pleasant- 
 ly and had then passed on to his doom. 
 
 A few months ago it was Mabry; a few 
 weeks ago it was Nagle ; now it is Sinclair 
 and not a moment's warning nor a single word 
 of love for those who are bereft of friendly 
 counsel, husbandly solicitude and fatherly care. 
 
 Oh ! how inadequate an elegy must be 
 framed for those we love. 
 
 Bright with hope, strong and happy in the 
 'knowledge that wife and children are pro- 
 vided for by his personal labor, kissing his hand 
 at the corner and waving a fond farewell he 
 goes to work with never a thought of impend- 
 ing peril. Down among a tangle of murderous 
 tracks, lamp on arm and train book in hand he 
 goes about his calling singing a lullaby that 
 speaks of all he treasures most. 
 
 To me there comes a knowledge 
 
 In the watches of the night, 
 Born in hours that swiftly vanish 
 
 From the dusk till day's broad light, 
 When toil and cares weigh heavy 
 
 And there seemeth naught to gain, 
 You are waiting for me, darling, 
 
 For to ease away all pain. 
 
 The train is checked up and bills received 
 at the office where stories go the round amid the 
 loud laughter of hearty men who keep the gossip 
 going and who say "goodbye" and high ball the 
 conductor out of town, with many a parting ban- 
 ter of good will. 
 
 "Bad night, old boy ; take keer o' yer sel'." 
 "Same t' you, old head. Well, so long." Out 
 he goes buttoned up to the chin against the storm, 
 singing again as he climbs the slippery ladders 
 and picks a treacherous pathway along the run- 
 ning boards : 
 
 When the dreary hour of midnight 
 
 Settles on the world outside, 
 And the fierce wind shakes the casement 
 
 With a chill that ills betide, 
 You are thinking of me darling, 
 
 And it thrills my heart to know 
 That for me through miles of coldness 
 
 I can feel your heart's warm glow. 
 
 Mile on mile and station after station is 
 left behind ; trains are met, work is done, and 
 wearily the night wears on. Back in the caboose 
 sits the conductor listening and alert to the jar 
 and roll and rumble of the cars, alive to the 
 "feel" of the train as the slack runs up against 
 the engine in the dips and straightens out over 
 the knolls, while he sings as he nears the jour- 
 ney's end : 
 
 For your love is with me ever, 
 
 E'en though danger lurketh near, 
 And it turneth into gladness 
 
 AH my hours of grief and fear; 
 And from cold and care and hunger, 
 
 From the snow and sleet and rain 
 I am coming to you, darling, 
 
 Coming, faithful heart, again. 
 
 The trip is finished in safety ahead of a 
 special and a passenger train that he has hustled 
 and schemed to beat into the terminal, and with 
 the weight of the trip off his mind he plods 
 along towards the office with a bundle of bills
 
 718 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 and a present or two for friends and family, 
 singing gaily 
 
 I am coming with the many 
 
 Whose brave hearts never quail, 
 Who face danger and destruction, 
 Life and love upon the rail; 
 
 Unconsciously he steps over on the main 
 line, thinking he is still on the siding. Swiftly 
 up behind him comes the limited express slip- 
 ping over the wet rails without a sound. They 
 have whistled for town and are rolling up 
 through the yards to the station. In a mist o.f 
 rain a few yards ahead is a man walking rapid- 
 ly, singing : 
 
 I am coming to you, darling, 
 Coming home to love and rest;" 
 
 Coming home aweary, weary, 
 To the heart that I love best. 
 
 Then his quick ear catches a sound directly 
 behind him and he casts a glance over his 
 shoulder to realize too late his awful peril. 
 
 "Almighty God ! My wife ! My child !" 
 
 A wild leap aside but all in vain; the pilot 
 beam strikes him in the back and hurls him head- 
 long. 
 
 Yet ere the eyes glaze in deatht the spirit of 
 that beautiful soul hovers o'er the body a 
 moment in its flight to eternal rest, while the 
 lips murmur gently 
 
 Coming home aweary, weary, 
 To the heart that I love best. 
 
 Modern Hydraulic Punch and Shear.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 719 
 
 FAST RUNS. 
 
 THE present is truly a rapid age. We are 
 daily whirled through space at a speed 
 that would have made our grandfathers 
 dizzy and our sires of revolutionary 
 clays would be thrown into a panic, could they 
 come to earth for an hour and be carried over 
 sixty to seventy miles of space during that brief 
 period of time. Civilization can be measured 
 by the speed of its transportation and this, the 
 closing year of the nineteenth century has wit- 
 nessed the shattering of records as no year has 
 ever done before. In the matter of ocean travel 
 the great German flyers have brought the old 
 world and the new within but a few hours over 
 five days apart and ere the year closes even those 
 few units of time may be wiped out. But it is 
 in railroad traffic that the most wonderful bursts 
 of speed have been witnessed. Record has fol- 
 lowed record to the shades of obscurity at such 
 a rate that we can but stop to wonder where it 
 will all end. 
 
 In considering and comparing the speed of 
 railroad trains they naturally group themselves 
 into two classes, special runs of greater or longer 
 distance and the regular schedule trains that for 
 days, months at a time fly across the country 
 at the speed of the eagle. 
 
 In taking up the subject of special runs, for 
 convenience we will divide them into three divi- 
 sions, very short bursts of speed ; longer runs not 
 greater than the endurance of one engine; and 
 runs which require one or more changes of mo- 
 tive power for their accomplishment. 
 
 Of the first class, one of the earliest 
 astonishing runs occurred in 1884, over the B. 
 & O., when six miles were covered at the rate 
 of 90 miles an hour, which, allowing for possible 
 
 errors, can not be far wrong. This speed was 
 not approached for six years, when the Philadel- 
 phia & Reading Company sent a four car train 
 over four and one tenth miles at the unprece- 
 dented rate of 98.4 miles an hour. In 1892 the 
 Central Railroad of New Jersey had an engine 
 pull a train of equal size one mile at the rate 
 of 91.7 miles an hour and another mile 
 at 97.3 miles per hour. The following year saw 
 a still greater breaking of records in the per- 
 formances of the New York Central's famous 
 World's Fair Flyer, No. 999, which covered five 
 miles at the rate of 100 miles an hour, one mile 
 at 102.8 and one at 102 it is said and allowing 
 for slight errors there can be no doubt that at 
 that time no conveyance had ever moved so 
 swiftly through space. In 1895 on the Balti- 
 more & Washington branch of the Pennsylva- 
 nia a train ran five and one-tenth miles at the 
 rate of 102 miles per hour; in October 1895 the 
 Lake Shore & Michigan Southern attained a 
 speed of 92.3 miles ; in September 1897 the Pitts- 
 burg, Cincinnati & St. Louis is said to have 
 covered a mile at an even hundred rate. In Octo- 
 ber of the same year, the Pennsylvania line, 
 over the same stretch of track that the run in 
 '95 was made, ran a train of two cars fifteen and 
 one-tenth miles at a speed of 100.7 an d six and 
 nine tenths miles of this was done to the tune 
 of 103.5 an d repeated this performance in June 
 1899. One of the most remarkable runs ever 
 made when the weight of the train is taken into 
 consideration was over the lines of the same road 
 near Philadelphia when one of its monster en- 
 gines drew a train of ten cars over a stretch of 
 track nine and seven tenths miles long, at the 
 rate of 72.6 miles an hour, But the fastest
 
 720 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 speed ever attained by humanity was clone by 
 two of the leading lines running west from Chi- 
 cago. On January 2, 1899 the North western's 
 fast train covered the fourteen miles between 
 Siding X and Arion, la., in seven minutes, a speed 
 of 120 miles per hour. The Burlington, how- 
 ever claims the world's record, a run of 2.11 
 miles in one minute and twenty seconds, a speed 
 of 130 miles an hour. There was no speed in- 
 dicator attached to this train, but four stop 
 watches gave the same time. 
 
 When the distance is so great that a change 
 of engines must be made the speed of necessity 
 drops materially. The Lackawanna road has a 
 record of 197 miles, at the rate of 60.64 miles 
 an hour while the Santa Fe made a run of 204.4 
 miles at 56.7 miles an hour. Of the longer runs 
 of this class the performance of the Lake Shore 
 "Special" in 1895 is by far the best. The dis- 
 tance between Chicago and Buffalo, 510 miles 
 was traversed at the rate of 63.61 miles an hour 
 and 181.5 miles of the distance were done at a 
 rate of 68.67 miles an hour, 86 miles at a speed 
 of 72.91 ; 33 miles at a 80.6 rate ; 8 miles at 
 85.44 and one mile at a 92.3 rate. In 1897 the 
 Union Pacific made a run of 519 miles at the 
 rate of 55.7 miles an hour, 291 miles at 63.49 
 and for 261 miles the speed attained was 65.6 
 miles an hour. The same year a Burlington 
 train made the run between Chicago and Denver, 
 1025 miles in 1047 minutes, at a speed of 58.74 
 miles per hour, exclusive of stops, the world's 
 record for such a distance. The same line sent 
 some fast trains over the road in 1899; some of 
 the best runs are, 197.3 rniles at the rate of 64.3 
 miles ; 206 miles at 59.4 miles and 500 miles at 
 the rate of 53.1 miles an hour. On December 
 18, 1899, one of their trains leaving Burlington 
 thirty-six minutes late reached Chicago on time, 
 running 206 miles in 209 minutes, including 
 stops, 83 miles were made in seventy-six minutes 
 and 46 miles in thirty-nine minutes and the en- 
 tire run was made against a stormy head-wind. 
 Deducting time for mail and water, the average 
 speed was above eighty miles an hour. The 
 same year the Wabash made a run of 181.1 miles 
 at a speed of 64.9 miles an hour. The New 
 
 York Central and the Lake Shore roads ran a 
 train between New York and Chicago, a dis- 
 tance of 964 miles at an average speed of 48.2 
 miles an hour. 
 
 Two famous transcontinental runs were the 
 Cheeney and Peacock specials. In the former, 
 made some years ago, Mr. B. F. Cheeney, Jr., 
 travelled 2267 miles to attend a meeting of the 
 board of directors of that road, of which he was 
 a member, covering the distance in three days, 
 seven hours and two minutes, a speed that would 
 have been better had not washouts caused de- 
 lays. The second, an unprecedented run, oc- 
 curred in the latter days of March 1900. Mr. C. 
 R. Peacock, vice-president of the Carnegie Steel 
 and Iron Company, desired to attend a meeting 
 of the board, notice of which he received after 
 the departure of the limited express. A special 
 was made up for him consisting of a Pullman 
 sleeper and a combination car. Leaving Los 
 Angeles at ten o'clock on the morning of March 
 27, they were landed in Chicago fifty-seven 
 hours and fifty-six minutes after, later by four 
 hours, twenty-four minutes than they would have 
 been had it not been for delays. No such run 
 was ever made before. 
 
 Of middle distance special runs a high speed 
 has been attained. The West Shore road sent 
 a train over the line for 36.3 miles at a seventy- 
 two mile rate in 1886. Nothing to compare 
 with this occurred until 1893, when the Pitts- 
 burg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis passed 
 forty-two mile posts at a speed of 72 miles. The 
 next year the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern 
 ran forty-two miles at a seventy mile rate, while 
 the Pennsylvania line ran an engine with one 
 car, on the Camden and Atlantic branch, 24.9 
 miles, at a speed of 83 miles. In 1897 the Union 
 Pacific ran a train for forty-two miles at a 70 
 mile rate, and on the Philadelphia, Wilmington 
 & Baltimore branch of the Pennsylvania lines 
 a speed of 72.3 miles was maintained by an en- 
 gine pulling two cars for a distance of 31 miles. 
 The Philadelphia & Reading road has a record 
 of 26 miles at a rate of 85.4, made in 1898 by a 
 train of six cars. The year 1899 witnessed some 
 remarkable bursts of speed. The Northwes-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 721 
 
 tern's fast mail ran 138.1 miles at a rate of 58.8 
 miles, and 51.3 miles at 69.9 miles: the Atlantic 
 trains of the Pennsylvania lines ran 24.9 miles at 
 an 83 mile rate and for 30.6 miles attained a 
 speed of 81.6 miles an hour. 
 
 Of the longer special runs within the limits 
 of a single engine, the performance of the Chi- 
 cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, made what for the 
 time, 1896, was a creditable performance, cover- 
 ing 74 miles at the rate of 54.2 miles an hour, 
 while the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern 
 sped over 118 miles at a 66.1 miles rate of speed. 
 In 1897 the Empire State Express ran for a dis- 
 tance of 148 miles averaging 68.2 miles. The 
 Wabash made a record of 66.1 miles for a dis- 
 tance of 71.6 miles in 1898 and the following 
 year fell but one tenth below that speed for a 
 distance of 105 miles ; all records that would 
 have seemed impossible thirty years ago. 
 
 The Lehigh Valley has a record of 43.96 
 miles at the rate of 80 miles an hour. After 
 seven years endeavor to secure a trial of his 
 sheathed train Frederick U. Adams at last suc- 
 ceeded in the summer of 1900 and demonstrated 
 the correctness of his theory. A sheathed train 
 on the Baltimore & Ohio between Baltimore and 
 Washington made the following astonishing 
 records : 
 
 i l /2 miles in i minute 24 seconds, or 64.3 
 miles an hour . 
 
 3.4 miles in 3 minutes i second, or 67 miles 
 an hour. 
 
 5.7 miles in 4 minutes 55 seconds, or 70 
 miles an hour. 
 
 6.6 miles in 4 minutes 58 seconds, or 80 
 miles an hour. 
 
 5 miles in 2 minutes 55 seconds, or 103 
 miles an hour. 
 
 20 miles in 15 minutes, or about 80 miles 
 an hour, while the forty miles between stations 
 was made in thirty-seven minutes. 
 
 When it comes to regular schedule runs 
 the American railroads are far in the lead. Of 
 the fourteen trains running a mile a minute and 
 upward ten are American, two are French and 
 
 two English and of the six trains making six- 
 ty-one or better, five are American and one 
 French. The fastest scheduled trains in the 
 world are between Philadelphia and Atlantic 
 City. After ferrying they make the run 
 from Camclen at the rate of 66.6 on the 
 Philadelphia & Reading and at the rate of 64.3 
 miles per hour on the Pennsylvania lines. For 
 a period of fifty-three days in the summer of 
 1898 they made the run at a speed of upwards 
 of seventy miles an hour. The Pennsylvania 
 road runs trains between New York and Wash- 
 ington, a distance of 227 miles at the rate of 
 forty-six and forty-seven and two-thirds miles 
 per hour. 
 
 The Empire Express covers the distance 
 between New York and Buffalo, 440 miles, mak- 
 ing four stops, at the average speed of 53.4 miles 
 per hour. 
 
 The Lehigh Valley road has trains making 
 the distance between Jersey City and Buffalo, 
 a distance of 450 miles at the average speed of 
 46.4 miles per hour. The Chicago, Milwaukee 
 & St. Paul road has trains between the first 
 named points that average 44.3 m. h., while the 
 Northwestern sends trains through from Chi- 
 cago to St. Paul a distance of 408 miles at the 
 rate of 40.2 miles per hour. The Chicago, Bur- 
 lington & Quincy road has a train running from 
 the lake to Omaha, a distance of 499 miles at a 
 speed of 43.8 miles, as far as Creston, 396 miles, 
 at 44. miles, and to Galesburg, 162^ miles at 
 an average of 52.3 miles an hour. Another of 
 their trains the fast mail, makes the distance at 
 a rate from four to five miles an hour better 
 than this. 
 
 Of foreign trains of high speed may be 
 mentioned, the East Coast train, from London 
 to Edinburgh, which covers the 400 miles be- 
 tween the cities at a speed of 50 miles an hour ; 
 and the West Coast train, from London to Glas- 
 gow, runs at a rate of 50.18 miles per hour for 
 the 401^-2 miles between the cities. In France the 
 Sud Express runs between Paris and Bayonne, 
 486^4 miles, at the rate of 54.13 miles an hour, 
 while trains on the same road between Mor-
 
 722 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ceatix and Bordeaux cover the 67.15 miles in- 
 tervening at a speed of 61.6 miles an hour. 
 These are the fastest trains abroad. When the 
 weight of train is considered, in runs of the same 
 
 class, it will be found that the American roads 
 far excel anything abroad. Whether for short 
 or long special runs, or for the regular scheduled 
 trains, America is far in the lead. 
 
 Modern Hydraulic Shear used in Shop Work.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 723 
 
 "PIONEER" IN THE "BONEYARD.' 
 
 First Sleeping Car Built by George M. Pullman, Condemned and Retired from Service Has Traveled 
 
 Forty Times the Earth's Circumference. 
 
 DINGY old sleeping car of primitive 
 pattern, its sides battered and its in- 
 terior woodwork cracked and warped 
 by age and hard usage, stands on a 
 sidetrack in a corner of the main inclosure at 
 Pullman, known as the "boneyard." With a 
 dozen of its fellows, all in advance stages of 
 dilapidation, it has been condemned. It has 
 made its last trip, and whether it is to be torn 
 down and its material used in the construction 
 of more modern rolling stock, or "pensioned" 
 and allowed to exist to illustrate the progress 
 that has been made in car building since its 
 early days, will depend upon the will of the 
 company. As yet no orders touching its dis- 
 position have been issued. 
 
 Unusual interest attaches to this antiquated 
 coach, by reason of its being the first of its kind. 
 It was the first sleeping car built by George 
 M. Pullman. Constructed in 1861, it was given 
 the prophetic name of "Pioneer," and in gilt 
 letters, badly chipped and scaled, this name still 
 appears upon its sides. Its experiences if a 
 sleeping car may be said to have experiences 
 have been many and varied. In 1865 it was 
 sent East to return with the funeral cortege of 
 Abraham Lincoln. At least ten Governors of 
 the State of Illinois have ridden in it, and it 
 has transported many other people prominent 
 in professional, political, or business lines. 
 
 RETIRED FIRST IN if 
 
 This is the second time the "Pioneer" has 
 been retired to the "boneyard." In 1889 the 
 company decided to give it a long rest, and it 
 was backed into the scrap heap, only to be resur- 
 rected and placed on exhibition during the 
 World's Fair. It was supposed that this would 
 be its last appearance in public, but an unlooked- 
 for emergency came on in the form of the 
 Spanish-American war, calling into use for the 
 transportation of troops all the available rolling 
 stock of the country. Again the "Pioneer" was 
 oiled up and pressed into service. Since then it 
 has been in constant usage until a few days ago, 
 when it was returned from San Francisco and 
 was condemned. 
 
 Those who have grown old in the employ 
 of the Pullman company feel a sort of fellow- 
 ship for this primitive coach and take pride in 
 preserving traditions concerning it. One of 
 these men, refreshing his memory by aid of a 
 scrap book, gave this account of the car and of 
 the events leading up to its construction : 
 
 "When George M. Pullman made his ride 
 over the New York Central in the late 4o's 
 he spent one night in what was termed a sleep- 
 ing car. The use in each section of three berths, 
 one above the other, gave it the appearance of 
 the hold of a canal boat. The roughness of the 
 road caused a jolting of the berth so severe that
 
 724 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 .Mr. Pullman could not sleep, and he spent the 
 night in thinking of a possible remedy. The 
 idea that later was developed into the modern 
 sleeping car came to him, but he did not have 
 the opportunity to use it until 1858, when he 
 transformed several day coaches belonging to 
 the Chicago and Alton road into sleepers. They 
 were not satisfactory. The jolting, though les- 
 sened, was still so great that it was incompatible 
 with a good night's rest. 
 
 BUILDS THE "PIONEER." 
 "Then Mr. Pullman risked his fortune on 
 his judgment. Securing the services of a mas- 
 ter mechanic, he went to work, in the same shops 
 in Bloomington in which he had been building 
 makeshifts, and there constructed a car that cost 
 between $18,000 and $20,000. So expensive 
 was this innovation that practical railroad men 
 thought Mr. Pullman's idea impractical. It was 
 decided to charge $2.00 for a berth. As the 
 price of a berth in the cheaper cars was only 
 50 cents, this was thought exorbitant. 
 
 "The first trip out, however, proved that 
 the venture would be a success. The 'Pioneer' 
 was filled, and the passengers found it so de- 
 cided an improvement over the 'rattlers,' as the 
 sleepers then in vogue were contemptuously 
 styled, that Mr. Pullman felt encouraged to 
 build others of similar pattern. This was the 
 turning point in his fortunes. 
 
 TYPE OF MODERN SLEEPER. 
 "Aside from the improvements in work- 
 manship, convenience, and comfort the car con- 
 tained in an elementary form' the ideas still in 
 
 use. When it was retired, in 1889, it was 
 polished up and employed to make plain the 
 contrast between workmanship as seen in the 
 earliest and latest sleepers. Mr. Pullman took 
 special pride in showing it himself. 
 
 "The 'Pioneer' has undergone several over- 
 haulings since it was first turned out of the shop. 
 In its earliest form it contained sixteen sections, 
 with two berths in each. Then a smoking 
 apartment and other comparatively modern fea- 
 tures were introduced, and to make room for 
 these four of the sections were removed. Be- 
 neath the car at first were trucks with sixteen 
 wheels. Later trucks with but twelve wheels 
 were substituted. The weight of the super- 
 structure now rests on springs of a pattern far 
 in advance of those used when the car was built. 
 The seats were upholstered with plush, and mir- 
 rors were set opposite each berth." 
 
 ITS RECORD OF TRAVEL. 
 
 It is estimated that the average mileage of 
 the "Pioneer" has been 50,000 miles a year, 
 most of which travel has been over the Chicago 
 and Alton road, between Chicago and St. Louis. 
 In the opinion of a representative of the Pullman 
 company, the car has been in use not less than 
 twenty-five of the thirty-eight years of its life. 
 
 "Cutting this in half," he added, "and al- 
 lowing the car to make one trip between Chica- 
 go and St. Louis every other day, it has traveled 
 over forty times the circumference of the earth 
 a record that no other car used in the passenger 
 service of any road can surpass." Chicago 
 Tribune.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 725 
 
 A RIDE ON THE PIANO. 
 
 The Old Locomotive Engineer's Story Suggests Rubinstein, but it is Pretty Vivid, all the same. 
 
 (Times Democrat.) 
 
 "I was loitering around the streets last 
 night," said Jim Nelson, one of the old locomo- 
 tive engineers running into New Orleans. "As 
 I had nothing to do, I dropped into a concert and 
 heard a sleek-looking Frenchman play a piano 
 in a way that made me feel all over in spots. 
 As soon as he sat down on the stool I knew by 
 the way he handled himself that he understood 
 the machine he was running. 
 
 "He tapped the keys way up one end, just 
 as if they were gauges, and he wanted to see 
 if he had water enough. Then he looked up, 
 as if he wanted to know how much steam he 
 was carrying, and the next moment he pulled 
 open the throttle, and sailed onto the main line as 
 if he was half an hour late. 
 
 "You could hear her thunder over culverts 
 and bridges, and getting faster and faster, until 
 the fellow rocked about in his seat like a cradle. 
 Somehow I thought it was old '36' pulling a 
 passenger train and getting out of the way of a 
 'special.' The fellow worked the keys on the 
 middle division like lightning, and then he flew 
 along the north end of the line until the drivers 
 went around like a buzz saw, and I got excited. 
 
 "About the time I was fixing to tell him to 
 cut her off a little he kicked the dampers under 
 the machine wide open, pulled the throttle way 
 back in the tender, and how he did run ! I 
 couldn't stand it any longer, and yelled to him 
 
 that he was pounding on the left side, and if 
 he wasn't careful he'd drop his ashpan. 
 
 "But he didn't hear. No one heard me. 
 Everything was flying and whizzing. Telegraph 
 poles on the side of the track looked like a row 
 of cornstalks, the trees appeared to be a mud 
 bank, and all the time the exhaust of the old 
 machine sounded like the hum of a bumble bee. 
 I tried to yell out, but my tongue wouldn't move. 
 
 "He went around curves like a bullet, slipped 
 an eccentric, blew out his soft plug, went down 
 grades 50 feet to the mile, and not a controlling 
 brake set. She went by the meeting point at a 
 mile and a half a minute, and calling for more 
 steam. My hair stood up straight, because I 
 knew the game was up. 
 
 "Sure enough dead ahead of us was the 
 headlight of a 'special.' In a daze I heard the 
 crash as they struck, and I saw cars shivered in- 
 to atoms, people smashed and mangled and bleed- 
 ing, and gasping for water. I heard another 
 crash as the French professor struck the deep 
 keys away down on the lower end of the southern 
 division, and then I came to my senses. 
 
 "There he was at a dead standstill, with 
 the door" of the fire box of the machine open, 
 wiping the perspiration off his face, and bowing 
 to the people before him. If I live to be 1000 
 years old I'll never forget the ride that French- 
 man gave me on a piano."
 
 726 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 COURTESY OF WATERLOO COURIER 
 
 View of the Cedar River near Waterloo, Iowa.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 727 
 
 CHICAGO TO OMAHA VIA ILLINOIS CENTRAL R. R. 
 
 Features of Northern Illinois and Iowa as seen from the Car Window. 
 
 DT IS said of President McKinley that when- 
 ever he travels he loves to watch the pass- 
 ing landscape, and that what he sees from 
 a car window is to him as the pages of 
 a book. So undoubtedly it is with the majority 
 of the traveling public. The sights and scenes 
 by the way are matters of entertainment and in- 
 struction which become to the observer (if the 
 coinage be allowed) "car-window -books-of- 
 travel." Volumes of wide scope and of vary- 
 ing degrees of interest they are; ranging from 
 those which, as in the case of the rugged Rockies, 
 suggest mighty thoughts "like strains of mar- 
 tial music," to those picturing some quiet val- 
 ley whose peacefulness has "power to quiet the 
 restlessness of care." 
 
 Somewhat betwixt these two extremes are 
 the scenic attractions of the great Mississippi 
 Valley. That it has such attractions is well known 
 by those who have seen its vast rolling prairies, 
 its timbered stretches, its mighty rivers and their 
 innumerable tributaries, its sparkling lakes, its 
 wide valleys, its picturesque bluffs and its weird 
 outcropping rock formations. Then there are 
 its gorgeous sunsets, the play of sunlight and 
 shadow over its waving fields of grain, its forest- 
 like fields of stately corn, and its interesting 
 cities and towns. Many of the latter are unique- 
 ly picturesque, and the most of them (particu- 
 larly those on the Illinois Central's western 
 lines) that have attained any considerable size 
 are characterized by a quiet beauty and home- 
 like air born of an age that caused their develop- 
 ment to be accomplished along advanced lines. 
 
 A view of these features will be a revelation to 
 those who have never traveled in the great Mis- 
 sissippi Valley, and whose erroneous impression 
 of it is that as a whole it is "simply broad and 
 flat." Along the line of the Illinois Central be- 
 tween Chicago and Omaha these physical char- 
 acteristics will not only be brought out, but the 
 trip as a whole will develop, for the tourist, into 
 one of the most interesting of those car-window- 
 books-of-travel. 
 
 From Chicago the very outset is auspicious, 
 starting as the Central's through trains do, from 
 Central Station, beautifully located at Park Row 
 and the Lake Front, just off Michigan Avenue 
 and over-looking Lake Michigan, the Lake Front 
 Park, the famous Michigan Boulevard and the 
 attractive eastern boundary of the heart of the 
 city. Immediately on leaving the station the 
 trains cross the network of tracks forming the 
 Central's lines to St. Louis, Memphis, New Or- 
 leans and the south, and begin a curved ascent up 
 on to its elevated roadbed recently constructed 
 in connection with that marvel of engineering 
 skill known as the Sixteenth Street elevation, 
 by which the handling of the traffic of nine 
 steam railroads, a street car line and a busy city 
 street, formerly all crossing at the same grade, 
 was made safe and expeditious. From thence 
 they continue on out through the western limits 
 of the city, over the "Clyde Viaduct," under 
 which are the C. B. & Q. tracks and beyond 
 which in the distance on the left may be seen 
 attractive suburban settlements; past the long 
 line of high-piled earth (also in the near dis-
 
 728 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 tance on the left) that bounds the famous drain- 
 age canal ; on and out into an open rolling coun- 
 try marked with the characteristics of a fertile, 
 prosperous agricultural region. 
 
 Mark the features of interest by the way, 
 too numerous to be mentioned in detail, while 
 skimming across the northern section of the 
 great State of Illinois. One of the potent fac- 
 tors in the development of the country will ap- 
 peal to the attention in the form of numerous 
 railroads crossed under, over, or at grade. Thir- 
 ty-nine miles out, just before reaching the little 
 station of Coleman, the Fox River is spanned 
 by a long high bridge, in passing over which a 
 beautiful landscape is to be seen. On the right 
 a distant view of South Elgin forms the back- 
 ground of a pretty river scene ; on the left the 
 river, with the accessories of graceful hills and 
 foliage, disappears around a bend to be seen 
 again amid equally pretty surroundings a mile 
 farther on. The long line of track running un- 
 der the Central's bridge and disappearing over 
 the crest of yonder long high hill is the electric 
 line between Elgin and St. Charles and Geneva. 
 In passing the station of Genoa, some twenty 
 miles farther on, it may be of incidental interest 
 to look back on the right-hand side of the train 
 and note the picture made by the town as it 
 lies half hidden by foliage, some distance back 
 from the station, and to remember that it is 
 located in one of the best dairying districts of 
 the country. 
 
 The approach to Rockford station, eighty- 
 seven miles from Chicago, is made by first cross- 
 ing a six span bridge over the Rock River, the 
 latter divided where the crossing is made into 
 two considerable streams by a wooded island. 
 Rockford, located on both sides of the river, is 
 a manufacturing city of 40,000 inhabitants, and 
 on account of its great wealth of foliage that 
 has been set out and developed supplementary 
 to the natural timber still remaining, is called the 
 "Forest City." It is in the full sense a "pretty 
 city," but it is not so situated as to enable one 
 to get much of an idea of it from a passing train. 
 There can be seen from the left-hand car win- 
 dow, however, directly opposite the station, a 
 
 typical scene of beauty in the tree-embowered 
 Swiss cottage nestling on the edge of a low lime- 
 stone cliff, the latter worn precipitous by the 
 waters of Kent's Creek, which runs along its 
 base, and' over which a vine-bedecked suspen- 
 sion bridge connects the station and cottage 
 ground. This cliff, by the way, is but the be- 
 ginning of similar out-cropping rock forma- 
 tions that will be frequently seen in one pic- 
 turesque form or another along the route. 
 
 Twenty-seven miles farther on and Free- 
 port is reached. It, too, is a manufacturing city, 
 and it has a population of 15,000. It is also 
 the trade center of a fine surrounding agricul- 
 tural country. Like Rockford, the pleasing 
 characteristics which Freeport possesses cannot 
 be seen from the train, but, as for a few miles 
 the latter follows the Pecatonica River (on the 
 right), one can get an idea of the natural beau- 
 ties of site which the city had for its upbuild- 
 ing. 
 
 Continuing on, the typical wayside country 
 towns of Lena, Nora and Warren, the latter but 
 three-quarters of a mile from the Wisconsin state 
 line, may excite a momentary interest in passing; 
 but at about three miles beyond Apple River 
 station a point will have been reached from 
 which the scene begins to change. It is the 
 highest point on the line between Chicago and 
 the Mississippi River, it having an elevation of 
 1,042 feet above sea level. Chicago being at an 
 elevation of 589 feet, it will be seen that, with 
 minor intermediate ups and downs of grade, a 
 steady upward run has thus far been made, 
 which from now on changes and becomes for a 
 while a somewhat sharp decline, the grade drop- 
 ping in the next eighteen miles to an elevation of 
 60 1 feet at Galena. In that distance, however, 
 will be seen some exceedingly picturesque coun- 
 try, for at about Scales Mound station, reached 
 shortly after crossing the highest point west- 
 ward, the road begins to follow the east branch 
 of the Galena River (which in time, near Galena, 
 blends into the Galena River proper) down 
 through the Galena Valley. This valley is 
 bounded by a high rolling country on either side, 
 and is for the most part so narrow that the cul-
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 729 
 
 tivated levels of the bottom lands look like toy 
 gardens in comparison with the broad stretches 
 that have heretofore been encountered. This 
 brings the variegated landscape, with here its 
 groups of symmetrical foliage dense and of wide 
 extent and there scattering or in clusters, with its 
 open stretches of ever-changing form, with its 
 occasional outcroppings of rock, with its ravines 
 and gullies, and with ever the little stream at 
 one side this brings the landscape to a close 
 range, and shows a scenic beauty that never fails 
 to please the observer. Shortly before reaching 
 Galena, in one of the many turns that are made 
 in following the water course through the hills, 
 suddenly a short valley is opened up on the right, 
 across the end of which a first and partial glimpse 
 of the unique and interesting City of Galena is 
 disclosed, which view, as the train rounds an- 
 other curve, is lost in a few minutes, only to 
 have the city burst into full view again on the 
 final turn being made that leads to the station. 
 
 The compact, historic and picturesque City 
 of Galena, located on its amphitheater of hills 
 and terraces, with the river running through it, 
 lies in kaleidoscopic view from the train win- 
 dows, its business and most thickly settled por- 
 tion to the right. Galena now has a population of 
 7,000, and is historically interesting on account 
 of its early importance in connection with the 
 steamboat trade. The river is still open to navi- 
 gation, by means of a government lock, to the 
 light steamers of the Mississippi. By the side of 
 one of the tall church spires seen a little to the 
 right and projecting from one of the higher 
 terraces, is the modest brick house from which 
 General Grant answered his country's call. This 
 house is not visible from the train, but, on the 
 left, just as the train crosses the carriage road, 
 on stopping at the station, a distant glimpse can 
 be had of the residence presented him by citizens 
 and in which he lived after his return to Galena. 
 It is a plain square brick house with flat roof 
 and white trimmings, setting on a distant hill 
 and largely obscured by foliage. From about 
 the same point of view, by looking back in the 
 direction from which the train has come, a view 
 can be had of the Grant monument in the park 
 
 of the same name, and one of the boundaries of 
 which is the stone wall on the left that has been 
 followed by the train. Do not mistake the plain 
 granite shaft, that can also be seen in passing, 
 for the Grant monument. The latter is a full 
 length figure of the General standing on a granite 
 pedestal. 
 
 Immediately on leaving the station the train 
 crosses the river (from which point another view 
 of the city can be had) and continues down the: 
 valley for three miles to Portage, at about which 
 point the road ceases to follow the Galena River 
 and skirts the inward waters and across the bot- 
 tom lands of the Mississippi for about thirteen 
 miles to East Dubuque. This little piece of 
 country between Galena and East Dubuque is 
 exceedingly picturesque in its ever-changing 
 panorama of hill and vale, of outcropping fan- 
 tastic rock formations, of timber growths and 
 of water scenes. At East Dubuque, if circum- 
 stances admit of a glance ahead, the huge ledge 
 of rock through which the train is to pass will 
 augment one's idea of the geological nature of 
 the country just run over, and at the same time 
 the eastern portal of the Illinois Central's Du- 
 buque tunnel may be seen, after passing through 
 which the journey across the State of Illinois 
 will have been completed. 
 
 The tunnel is short, but 835 feet in length 
 and from it the train emerges on to the long 
 bridge across the Mississippi River, from which 
 will be seen grand views up and down the wind- 
 ing bluff -bound stream, and also a view of the 
 City of Dubuque with facades, roofs and towers 
 peering one above the other in promiscuous 
 array, as the sites on which its buildings are 
 located recede from the bottom lands to the crest 
 of the hills beyond. Paralleling -the railroad on 
 the left as the river is crossed is the so-called 
 "High Bridge" for carriage and foot passen- 
 gers. 
 
 A most interesting and picturesque city to 
 visit, from a tourist point of view, is Dubuque. 
 Acquiring considerable wealth and standing as 
 a "steamboat town" in the earlier years, it kept 
 pace with the times when the commercial condi- 
 tions changed, and is to-day still prosperous as
 
 730 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ;> jobbing center and a manufacturing city. Its 
 present population is about 46,000. 
 
 Leaving the "Key City," as Dubuque is 
 called, for the trip across the length of Iowa, 
 the road runs south for about a mile between the 
 river on the left and the foot of a long line of 
 high, wooded bluffs on the right. During this 
 time the view of the river and the distant well- 
 timbered hills and shore line is simply grand. 
 By looking back, or up river, from the left-hand 
 side of the train, a beautiful picture is also had 
 of the city (showing particularly its irregular 
 contour) and of the upper river, the long bridges 
 and the rolling country of the Illinois shore. 
 A long sweep to the right, passing through 
 "Rock Cut," and the ascent of Catfish Creek 
 Valley, by the side of the small stream of the 
 same name, is begun. Note particularly on the 
 left the stone monument marking Dubuque's 
 grave that sits so prominently on the top of the 
 opposite bluff; also the pretty composition of 
 cliff, rugged country and man's abode disclosed 
 on the right as the curve is rounded. 
 
 A few miles farther on the "Three Brothers" 
 will be passed, also on the right. They are but 
 one of nature's fantastic whims in leaving rock 
 forms of their proportions projecting solitary 
 and alone above the surface. They suggest, 
 however, the mighty force in the ages gone of 
 the waters that have washed through this val- 
 ley, wearing away all opposition but that pre- 
 sented by these now lone sentinels. The en- 
 tire ride through this valley, which speedily 
 broadens out until it and its stream are lost in 
 the blending with the rolling country beyond, 
 is characterized by many a fair scene ; sometimes 
 of ridges in the near distance and then so near 
 that the road cuts through them, and sometimes 
 broad and heavy ridges in the middle and far 
 distance rolling up and intersecting into minia- 
 ture mountain formations, with heavy timber 
 stretches and open country in about equal pro- 
 portions. 
 
 At the little station of Farley, twenty-three 
 miles from the Mississippi, the road has attained 
 an elevation of 1,110 feet from a height of 606 
 feet at Dubuque, and from thence on, the grade 
 
 with intermediate fluctuations, gradually drops 
 to 852 feet at Waterloo, seventy miles beyond. 
 From the allusions to elevations that occur in 
 this description it must not be imagined that on 
 their account the traveler will realize any percep- 
 tible difference in the continuous smooth running 
 and average high rate of speed of trains of the 
 Illinois Central's Chicago-Omaha Line. Fluc- 
 tuating grades such as these elevations create 
 are common to all western roads, and are here 
 mentioned partially because they may be interest- 
 ing as facts, partially to aid the observer to un- 
 derstand some of the reasons for the change's of 
 scene, and partially for the information of those 
 mentioned earlier in these pages who hitherto 
 have labored under the impression that all of the 
 great Mississppi Valley is "simply broad and 
 flat." 
 
 Westward from Farley the country as a 
 whole becomes more open, and its undulations 
 longer and less pronounced. In fact, now has 
 been entered the region of rich fine black acres 
 and broad pastures, the "immensity of the space" 
 of which deeply impresses those noting it for the 
 first time. Do not think, however, that it be- 
 comes monotonous. It is quite the contrary. 
 There are the almost ever present timber patches, 
 either in the distance, the middle foreground, or 
 close at hand; sometimes of natural growth, 
 and sometimes the artificial windbreaks of the 
 farm buildings. The latter, by the way, often 
 are interesting features of the landscape, and 
 it is worth noting in connection with them that 
 there will probably not be a moment in the jour- 
 ney across the state, notwithstanding the con- 
 secutive miles and miles given up entirely" to 
 grazing or planting, but what at least some one 
 group of farm buildings will be visible at some 
 point within the horizon, except when the road 
 passes through a cut or some piece of woodland. 
 Then there are the quiet but growing country 
 towns, passed through at comparatively frequent 
 intervals, the list of which is too long to be men- 
 tioned as well also as the larger towns and cities. 
 Finally there are the numerous rivers and streams 
 crossed or followed, views along which add 
 variety to the scene. For instance at Dyersville
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 731 
 
 the road crosses the north fork of the Maquoke- 
 ta River, and eighteen miles farther on, at Man- 
 chester, it crosses the Maquoketa proper. 
 
 Manchester, a city of about 3,000 inhabi- 
 tants, lies to the right and back from the station, 
 so that the rustic beauty of its residence part is 
 not visible from the train. The picture made 
 by the bridge, the mill, the stream and the water- 
 fall, seen on the right as the river is crossed just 
 before reaching the station, is, however, a sug- 
 gestion of the beauties that exist there. From 
 Manchester a branch line of the Illinois Central 
 extends south to Cedar Rapids. 
 
 Fourteen miles beyond, at Winthrop, Buffa- 
 lo Creek is crossed and nine miles still farther 
 on the Wapsipinecon is crossed at Independence. 
 Independence is a fine active trade center of 
 5,000 inhabitants. It is rather compactly built 
 and in its physical characteristics is a very at- 
 tractive place. The center of its business and 
 residence district is located about three-quarters 
 of a mile from and to the left of the station. 
 On the right, immediately on leaving the station, 
 the river broadens out into the semblance of a 
 lake, the waters of which, with its numerous 
 islands, make a charming landscape feature. 
 
 On approaching Waterloo, the next town of 
 importance, and situated 276 miles from Chica- 
 go, the train follows for a little distance the Red 
 Cedar River, on both sides of which river th 
 city is located. The Red Cedar, as followed on 
 the approach, is on the left of the train, from 
 which can be seen in pictorial effect the connect- 
 ing bridges, the dam and some of the mercantile 
 establishments that are located across the river 
 on the so-called "West Side" of the city. Just 
 before reaching the station, on the right-hand 
 side of the train, the main retail business street 
 of the "East Side" is crossed, giving a view of 
 that feature of the city. It is unfortunate, 
 however, that the practically level site of Water- 
 loo precludes one from getting more of an idea 
 of it than is thus seen from the train, for with 
 its wide well-shaded streets and its extensive 
 array of beautiful and comfortable homes it is 
 one of the comeliest cities of its size in the state. 
 Its present estimated population is 12,000, and 
 
 with its score of busy industries it enjoys an 
 enviable prosperity. The trains of the Illinois 
 Central for Waverly, Charles City, Osage and 
 Lyle make their southern terminal at Waterloo, 
 although the branch diverges from the main line 
 at Mona Junction, five miles farther on. 
 
 The altitude of Waterloo is 852 feet, from 
 which it follows that in the seventy miles just 
 gone over there has been, with the usual inter- 
 mediate variations, a drop of 258 feet. West 
 from Waterloo, to anticipate for a moment, the 
 average grade is on the ascent for the next seven- 
 ty miles, the altitude at Blairsburg being 1,227 
 feet, or a rise in the distance mentioned Of 375 
 feet. From the latter point on to Fort Dodge, 
 a short stretch of twenty-nine miles, another de- 
 scent is made, the altitude of Fort Dodge being 
 1,022 feet. 
 
 Continuing on from Waterloo and but six 
 mile distant, Cedar Falls is reached. It is a neat, 
 thriving town of about 6,000 inhabitants, and 
 is also located on the Cedar River. It lies hid- 
 den to the left of the train, just over the bridge 
 that can be seen on crossing the highway. From 
 the right of the train, immediately on leaving the 
 station and just before reaching the bridge on 
 which the train will cross the river, can be seen 
 a picture of foliage, river and other accessories 
 worthy of the brush of a landscape artist. Some 
 distance beyond the station, after rounding the 
 curve, by looking back from the left a distant 
 view of the Iowa State Normal School build- 
 ings, located at Cedar Falls, can be seen outlined 
 against the sky from their elevated site. 
 
 Iowa Falls, having a population of 3,200 
 and located in the bend of the Iowa River on a 
 high rolling plateau, is the next place to attract 
 particular attention en route, although the inter- 
 vening towns of Parkersburg and Ackley are 
 from a commercial point of view of importance 
 as trade centers for their surrounding country. 
 At Iowa Falls the river has cut its way deep 
 through the rock strata underlying the region 
 thereabout, with such picturesque effect as to 
 make the locality famous for its scenic attrac- 
 tions. Among the most noted of the latter is 
 "Rock Run," a densely wooded, rock-bound,
 
 732 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 <krp ravine about a mile in extent, through 
 which a small tributary to the river makes its 
 way, and lies hidden from all view except to 
 those who wander through its winding passage. 
 Its river entrance is under the eastern end of the 
 long bridge over which the train passes immedi- 
 ately after leaving the station. In crossing this 
 bridge a -scene breaks into view as beautiful as 
 unexpected. On the right, looking up the river, 
 are the wooded sides of a deep gorge through 
 which the river winds ; while on the left, still 
 more wild in aspect, can be seen the precipitous 
 face of the rock ledge through which the 
 water has eaten is way. On rounding the 
 curve after crossing the bridge at Iowa Falls 
 there can be seen on the right the beginning of 
 a new growth of the city across the river; and 
 about three-quarters of a mile farther on, by 
 looking back from the right, there also may be 
 seen an attractive picture of its roofs and 
 sjeeples above the foliage, the city having hither- 
 to been hid by the rolling contour of its site. 
 
 At Blairsburg the elevation of grade pre- 
 viously mentioned is attained, and the onward 
 rush of the locomotive soon causes Webster 
 City to be reached, the crossing of the Boone 
 River being made at its outskirts. Webster 
 City is an active, growing place of about 6,000 
 inhabitants. The street that is seen from the 
 left of the train, although one of the city's 
 several business thoroughfares, is not the main 
 business street, the latter running parallel to the 
 tracks a few blocks away. 
 
 The run from Webster City to Fort Dodge 
 is made in about thirty-five minutes, and when 
 approaching the latter point one will be well 
 repaid to watch from the left of the train for 
 the landscape that will be brought to view. 
 About a mile out from Fort Dodge, as a cut is 
 cleared at the crest of a hill from which the run 
 is made around an easy curve down into the sta- 
 tion yard, there bursts upon one a charming vista 
 of the Des Moines Valley, showing the river of 
 the same name, the wooded hills, and the dis- 
 tant towers and steeples of the city in the back- 
 ground, emphasized by the little out-skirting 
 homes and a sprinkling of foliage effects in the 
 
 middle and near distance. Fort Dodge is 375 
 miles from Chicago, has 13,000 inhabitants and is 
 considerable of a business mart. The center 
 of its settlement is up over the hills to the right 
 of the station, a peep at which can be had over 
 the tree tops as the train crosses the deep ravine 
 immediately on leaving the station to continue 
 the western journey. Crossing the Des Moines 
 River soon after and following for a few miles 
 up the Lizard Creek, Tara is next reached in the 
 short distance of six miles. 
 
 At Tara the Central's main line to Sioux 
 City and to Sioux Falls diverges from its main 
 line to Omaha. The latter continues in a 
 general southwesterly direction, passing through 
 Rockwell City and Dalkeith down into the pret- 
 ty Boyer Valley. After passing Rockwell City 
 the country begins to assume a rougher aspect, 
 especially in the vicinity of the crossings of the 
 Camp Creek and of the Coon River Valley, a 
 considerable fill and a long trestle being neces- 
 sary for the spanning of the Coon River. 
 
 From Fort Dodge the grade has again been 
 ascending, the elevation reaching 1,271 feet a 
 few miles before reaching Dalkeith station, the 
 highest point on the line between Chicago and 
 Omaha. This highest point marks the divid- 
 ing line of the watersheds of the Mississippi and 
 Missouri rivers ; all water courses hitherto 
 passed or crossed since leaving Chicago eventu- 
 ally finding their outlet in the Mississippi, while 
 the Boyer River and its tributaries, to be im- 
 mediately in evidence, empty into the Missouri. 
 
 From Dalkeith, after running for a while 
 over a high plateau, the first of several crossings 
 of the Boyer River will be made, at a point 
 about five miles beyond the station. From this 
 first crossing the river is followed down and 
 through the valley. The latter, broad and not 
 particularly noticeable as a valley at first, gets 
 narrowed down by about the time Deloit is 
 reached, from which locality on the marked rol- 
 ling features of the country enclose the scene 
 to attractive near views of sunny slopes, inter- 
 vening plateaus, and clustering shrubbery and 
 timber growths. The opposite railroad that 
 parallels the Illinois Cental more or less from
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 733 
 
 now on in to Councils Bluffs is a part of the 
 North-Western system. 
 
 From the station at Denison the roofs of 
 the center of that town can be seen in the direc- 
 tion of the road leading up to it from the left. 
 After leaving the station, however, and clearing 
 the end of the ridge on which the town is lo- 
 cated, by looking back from the left of the train 
 a panorama of Denison is disclosed. It is a 
 picturesque place of 3,000 inhabitants and a 
 trade and shipping center for a prosperous out- 
 lying region. In the broad pasture extending 
 out from the foot of the town ridge the cele- 
 brated herd of Black Poll Angus cattle may pos- 
 sibly be seen as the train passes. 
 
 The road still follows the fair Boyer Val- 
 ley until the latter blends into the Valley of the 
 Missouri, passing in the interval Dow City, Dun- 
 lap, Woodbine and Logan, and making an over- 
 head crossing of the North-Western both at 
 Woodbine and at Rode. It will be noted that 
 the country becomes bolder as the broad Mis- 
 souri is approached, and when about five miles 
 from the Council Bluffs station, from a point 
 known as "The Narrows," the road begins to 
 follow a long line of bold, picturesque bluffs 
 running as high in some places as 300 feet and 
 over. 
 
 With the Missouri River on the right and 
 the train running a sufficient distance away from 
 the bluffs on the left to give one a fair view of 
 their striking features, this last run of about five 
 miles from "The Narrows" to Council Bluffs 
 will be one of unusual scenic interest. 
 
 It would be a matter of amazement could 
 one, on a clear day, but stand on the edge of 
 "Grand View Ridge," the crest of yonder highest 
 bluff, and overlook the broad Missouri Valley 
 with the river coursing through it. There one 
 can trace for miles not only the present line of 
 the river, but its many "cut-offs" and past shiftl- 
 ings of channel. Omaha can be seen in the dis- 
 tance, spreading out over its hills and valleys, 
 and with its tall buildings outlined against the 
 sky. It is also an impressive sight to look up 
 and clown the bluff line on which one is standing 
 at the rugged picture that is formed by the sum- 
 
 mits and ridges. In short, so immense and 
 varied in scope and so bright and sparkling in 
 character is this scene from "Grand View Ridge" 
 that it can only be designated as one of grandeur. 
 
 From the train, however, the view is also 
 impressive. Omaha "can be seen in the distance 
 across the river. Also, in addition to the bluffs 
 on one side, on the other side is clearly defined 
 the broad sweep of the valley, including not only 
 the present course of the river, but many inlets, 
 lakes and cut-offs where it formerly ran. The 
 body of water over which the train passes on the 
 long trestle is one of the so-called lakes, which 
 at one time was the river. 
 
 At Council Bluffs the trains stop at the Illi- 
 nois Central's handsome pressed brick station, 
 which for the purpose it serves is, in harmony 
 and beauty of design, unsurpassed by any sta- 
 tion of its size in the west. It is of renaissance 
 style of architecture. Council Bluffs at the Illi- 
 nois Central station is 987 feet above sea level, 
 or 398 feet higher than Chicago. Its present 
 population is about 35,000, which it is claimed 
 is on the increase. The site of the city is about 
 two miles back from the river, at the mouth, in 
 the intervening valley, and on the sides of a gap 
 between the high bluffs that practically encom- 
 pass it. It is, however, fast fringing out across 
 the bottoms toward the river. Owing to this 
 character of its site, the physical beauties of the 
 city can not be realized from the train. 
 
 From the station at Council Bluffs the train 
 continues on across the river over the tracks and 
 bridge of the Omaha Bridge and Railway Ter- 
 minal Company ; the Chicago-Omaha line of the 
 Illinois Central terminating, 516 miles from Chi- 
 cago, in the elegant new union station at Omaha. 
 From the latter can be taken the transcontinental 
 trains of the Union Pacific or the Chicago^ Rock 
 Island & Pacific railways, while those of the Bur- 
 lington can be taken from the station of that 
 road, located but about fifty yards away. 
 
 How about Omaha? It is a city having in 
 the neighborhood of 150,000 inhabitants, and a 
 city which its people take pride in designating as 
 the "Gate City." It faces the sun-rise on a mag- 
 nificent slope that sweeps up from the Missouri
 
 734 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 River to Capitol Hill, on the crown and sides 
 of which are massive public and commercial 
 buildings. With its business mart in the fore- 
 ground and its homes stretching up and over its 
 
 varying surface, it is a city "that stands sharply 
 outlined against the western sky," and "a 
 metropolis that any state might be proud of."- 
 Froni ///. Cent. Folder. 
 
 Scene in Cotton Field partially picked, Yazoo Valley, Mississippi.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 735 
 
 MODERN RAILWAY SIGNAL SYSTEM. 
 
 
 Old-Time Railroad Collisions Now Practically Impossible. 
 
 JOHX BARRY, an Englishman of wealth, 
 found himself in New York City early 
 last June, desirous of reaching San Fran- 
 cisco in three days. It was imperative 
 that he should make steamship connections at 
 the Golden Gate the night of June loth, and this 
 was the morning of June 7th. Regular railway 
 travel between New York City and San Fran- 
 cisco is rapid in these days, but not as fast as 
 Mr. Barry desired to travel. He made inquiry 
 at the New York Central, Delaware and Lacka- 
 wanna, Pennsylvania and various other offices, 
 and ascertained that if he choose to pay for it 
 he could engage a special train which, barring 
 extraordinary accident, would bring him to the 
 Pacific Ocean within the desired time. After 
 some financial transactions, not necessary to men- 
 tion here, Mr. Barry was provided with a train 
 consisting of an engine, a baggage car, diner and 
 sleeping car, and left New York at 2 o'clock 
 the afternoon of June 7th over the Delaware and 
 Lacka wanna Railway for Buffalo ; thence he was 
 to be whirled to Chicago via the Lake Shore, 
 be delivered to the Chicago and Northwestern 
 for carriage to Omaha, and by it be given to 
 the Union Pacific, and at Ogden to the Central 
 Pacific for safe conduct to San Francisco. He 
 made the journey within the prescribed time, 
 often traveling at the rate of sixty and seventy 
 miles an hour. He crossed over 25,000 switch 
 points, several thousand interlocking systems, 
 by innumerable signal towers and semaphores, 
 and at no time was in as great peril of his life 
 
 as he would be in making an ordinary street 
 crossing in a crowded city. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 This imagined story of Mr. Barry's trip is 
 used for the purpose of telling the greater story 
 of how American railways protect human life 
 in these days of rapid transit. A public impres- 
 sion existed for a long time that railway corpora- 
 tions had no particular objection to taking human 
 life. But granted that the railways have many 
 faults which might be corrected, investigation 
 leaves no doubt that from president to fireman 
 of the speeding locomotive there is a constant, 
 strenuous effort to save life and avoid accidents. 
 Draw upon -your imagination long enough to be 
 either in the Grand Central station of the New 
 York Central or at the Hoboken station of the 
 Lackawanna road. A train has been made up for 
 its journey westward. The engine is coupled to 
 the heavy sleepers and parlor cars. The engi- 
 neer and fireman are examining all the exposed 
 parts of their machine. An inspector is looking 
 after the condition of the wheels of the cars. 
 Another is examining the air apparatus. Out- 
 side of the train shed track walkers are going 
 down the main line looking after switchboards, 
 the condition of spikes, rails and ties. The train 
 dispatcher sits in his room watching a chart 
 which shows him the location of every moving 
 car on the entire system. He gives a few orders 
 and the track is ready for the limited, which is 
 about to leave for the West. Corporate wealth,
 
 736 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 corporate ingenuity, corporate necessity have 
 provided against every kind of an accident pos- 
 sible, barring a flaw in material and the weak- 
 ness of human nature itself. These two con- 
 tingencies cannot be guarded against. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 Contrast this starting of a modern railway 
 train on a journey from New York to San Fran- 
 cisco with the starting of a railway train thirty 
 or fifty years ago, either from New York to 
 Albany, or from Chicago to Elgin. They say 
 that in the old days old Commodore Vanderbilt 
 was wont to take a lantern in his hand and go 
 out on the road-bed of the ancient Harlem and 
 Hudson road and give the proper signals by 
 which two trains could safely pass. 
 
 On the Galena division of what is now the 
 Chicago and Northwestern road the great peril 
 of travel was cows and young calves which made 
 the track their resting place, or often inserted 
 their legs through culverts and lay there and 
 bellowed until either released or run down. One 
 of the trials of early conductors and brakemen 
 was the stopping of the train and chasing cattle 
 off the track. They were the cow-catchers in 
 those days, and not the pilot. 
 
 Trains were not equipped with air, engines 
 did not have emergency brakes, auxiliary air 
 cylinders were not on every coach, semaphores 
 were unknown, signal towers unheard of 
 and interlocking switches not invented. The 
 telegraph systems were crude, roadbeds imper- 
 fectly made and all signaling of a train done by 
 use of a whistle and the hand. In proportion to 
 the number of miles of railway in operation 
 the amount of human life killed in railway ac- 
 cidents then was four times greater than that 
 taken now. There probably never will come a 
 time in which absolute safety can be secured. 
 Absolute safety does not exist anywhere. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 The engineer of the modern locomotive 
 which is to take the train of this story into the 
 West is protected by a system of mechanism 
 before which the old-time engineer would go 
 crazy. To begin with, his engine is equipped 
 
 with air brakes, as is also every car of his train. 
 His trucks are of steel. His brake shoes are 
 a combination of hard and soft iron evenly dis- 
 tributed. His head-light is equipped with an 
 electric light which makes the way ahead as 
 bright as day. His bearings are adjustable un- 
 der all conditions and prevent strains on wheels 
 and rails. His couplers are of the latest 
 standard. The conductor may communicate 
 with him at any time either by means of a bell, 
 a steam whistle or the use of air. His engine 
 weighs in the neighborhood of 160,000 pounds, 
 and has a driving wheel base of fifteen feet. 
 The cylinders are 20 by 28 inches. The driving 
 wheels have a diameter of over sixty inches, with 
 centers of cast steel and flange tires on all driv- 
 ing wheels. 
 
 The boiler is made for a working pressure 
 of 200 pounds. The fire box is 112 inches long 
 by 42 inches wide, and there are 275 tubes each 
 fifteen feet long. The heating surface which 
 the fireman must take care of is 2,000 square 
 feet, and the grate area is 32.6 square feet. The 
 tender has thirty-three-inch wheels of cast iron, 
 with a wheel base of fifteen feet four inches. 
 The tank has a water capacity of 6,000 gallons 
 and a coal capacity of ten tons. There are 
 Tower couplers, Westinghouse brakes, Hancock 
 injectors, Nathan triple lubricators, Crosby chime 
 whistles, Ashton safety valves, Leach sanding 
 devices, Jerome piston and valve-stem packing, 
 Coffin toughened steel driving axles; Kewanee 
 tender brake beam and Mclntosh pneumatic 
 blow-off cocks. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 Such an equipment as this was not to be 
 found on the locomotives of forty years ago, 
 and the danger in handling them or being hauled 
 by them was correspondingly great. And 
 though the improvement in locomotives has 
 been remarkable, that in roadbeds is as great. 
 The roadbed in the early history of railroading 
 was about as precarious a pile, as treacherous 
 a mass of earth and sand as could well be thrown 
 together. 
 
 To-day the whole aim of track construction 
 and maintenance is to provide a smooth and even
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 737 
 
 surface for the wheels of the train, for which 
 purpose the rails must be held as nearly as pos- 
 sible in absolute surface and line, while the 
 weight which they carry must be distributed over 
 a large area of the roadbed or subgracle. A 
 cross-tie system has been introduced which places 
 from fourteen to eighteen independent supports 
 under each thirty-foot rail. Another system 
 adopts a concrete platform, while still another 
 provides that each rail shall be supported on a 
 longitudinal sill or beam of concrete, built up 
 of blocks ten feet long, and so connected as to 
 form continuous and practically jointless beams. 
 Anchor bolts are molded into the concrete, 
 but in the chances of derailed wheels breaking 
 the bolts, a renewable attachment is being 
 sought. Additional improvements sought for 
 roadbeds and now being provided are those 
 which do away with dust, metal ties, tie preserv- 
 ing process, switch frogs and frog substitutes, 
 unloaders and the like. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 It is absolutely certain, then, that the train 
 which is coming west over the Central, the 
 Lackawanna, the Pennsylvania or any other of 
 the great trunk lines, is equipped, both as to en- 
 gine and car mechanism, with the best of human 
 inventions, and is to pass over a roadbed that 
 the skill of man is constantly watching. 
 
 The conductor gives the signal to start. 
 There is a gasp from the locomotive, a slight 
 spin of the drivers no pulling and jerking of 
 couplings, but an easy transition from inertia to 
 motion, and the train is away. How many 
 switch points the place where a switch comes 
 in contact with the main line track the train 
 passes over in leaving the yards of any of the 
 companies centering in New York City it is im- 
 possible to say. 
 
 They run into the thousands, but are crossed 
 with so little noise or jar that passengers in the 
 dining car do not realize where they are. The 
 misplacing of one would derail either the entire 
 train or part of it and cost many their lives, but no 
 chances are taken on misplacement. The switches 
 are controlled either by hand power and locked 
 
 when not in use, or operated from towers by 
 hand levers and electricity or compressed air, 
 and the approach of a train to them is protected 
 by semaphores. The switches also carry at 
 night signal lamps which show whether they are 
 open or closed. 
 
 The train speeds through the yards in this 
 fashion. As it approaches the first tower in 
 which there is a signal man, the engineer ob- 
 serves that a wooden arm, projecting from a 
 high pole and extending over the track his train 
 is on, is down that is, instead of standing out 
 at right angles to the pole which upholds it 
 and which means : 
 
 "Danger stop." 
 
 It is down, parallel with the pole, a sign of: 
 
 "Track clear. Go ahead." 
 
 The train sweeps by the tower and the sig- 
 nal man above touches an electric button in his 
 little coop. This signals to the next tower, 
 which may be a hundred or a thousand feet be- 
 yond, that the main line is occupied with an 
 oncoming train for which he must give either a 
 "clear" signal or one of "danger," and hold it 
 until all chance of peril is passed. This second 
 signal man passes the train on to a third and so 
 on until it is out of the yards, in the open coun- 
 try, and where block signaling and protection 
 is less complicated. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 How elaborate this protection described is 
 for trains in the yards where constant switch- 
 ing is going on may be shown by the adoption 
 by the Northwestern road of a system of switch 
 guarding, independent of the signal lamps used. 
 By the old system, an engineer on an approach- 
 ing train knew whether the switch ahead was 
 open or closed by the color of the light placed 
 upon it at night or the position of its target by 
 day. Often, though, when these showed "safe- 
 ty" he would dash down upon the switch only 
 to find when too late that the signals were right 
 but the switch wrong and a wreck ensued. 
 
 To prevent just this thing happening the 
 Northwestern has connected its switches with 
 a semaphore placed 1,000 feet from the switch
 
 738 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 itself. If the switch is closed its target or lamp 
 must show this, and also the semaphore, for the 
 switch cannot move without the semaphore do- 
 ing so also, and vice versa. Thus the engineer 
 is warned 1,000 feet away from the switch as to 
 its condition and has every opportunity to bring 
 his train under control if anything is wrong. 
 
 Full conception of this new protection can- 
 not be appreciated until it is understood that the 
 slow yard speed of former years enjoined upon 
 trains no longer exists, and that it is not unusual 
 for a passenger train to pass through the yards 
 at the rate of forty and fifty miles an hour. 
 Especially is this the case of suburban trains 
 like those of the Burlington, the Rock Island, 
 the Milwaukee and St. Paul and the Illinois Cen- 
 tral. A Burlington train recently went through 
 the Aurora yards at the rate of seventy miles an 
 hour, and the passage was as safe as though the 
 "trick" were done outside of town and where 
 switches were few. 
 
 The Western Indiana system protects its 
 switches by a safety device for block signaling 
 invented by the late F. C. Doran, the designer 
 of the Sixteenth street track elevation. This 
 device consists of the application of a lock be- 
 tween the signal arms of a double semaphore 
 and the switch points governed thereby, operat- 
 ing in such a manner that when the switch is 
 set for the main line the signal for the siding is 
 locked in danger position and vice versa. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 As if all these precautions against accidents 
 to a train were not enough, devices have come in- 
 to use by which the engine itself sets danger 
 signals in the rear of the train it is hauling and 
 drops them when out of the block in which they 
 are necessary. This automatic setting is done 
 by electricity. The drivers of the engine, com- 
 ing in contact at a certain point with an electric 
 current, complete a circuit, this in turn sets a 
 semaphore in the rear of the train and keeps 
 other trains from approaching. When the train 
 which has set the signal is a safe distance away, 
 the drivers release the signal and the main line 
 is open again. Still another device is that by 
 
 which the engine on passing a certain point sets 
 a bell to ringing in a box placed close to the 
 track on a standard. This bell rings for a cer- 
 tain length of time, long enough to let the train 
 proceed some distance ahead. While ringing it 
 can be heard by the engineer of a second train 
 approaching, and he is warned that the way is 
 not clear. 
 
 It would seem impossible with all of these 
 protections that an accident could occur in rail- 
 road yards, but they do and are usually trace- 
 able to the fault of a human being. The mind 
 grows tired and the hand weary, and then the 
 harm comes. No invention in the patent office 
 at Washington can prevent this. 
 
 But the transcontinental train is out of the 
 yards safely and speeding toward the first sta- 
 tion west of New York. Apparently it is not 
 under the guardianship of any official of the road 
 save the engineer or conductor, but to think 
 so is a mistake. Before it had cleared New 
 York City the train dispatcher at that point had 
 wired the first station west : 
 
 "No 15, west bound, left i p. m." 
 
 As the time it is due at the station thus 
 warned is 1:20 p. m. the operator" at that point 
 marks on his time-table board : 
 
 "No 15 on time." 
 
 He waits contentedly for the approach of 
 the limited, because under the rules of the road 
 he knows that it is the only train between his 
 station and New York on the west-bound track 
 in other words, it is the only train in the block 
 formed between New York and this station and 
 no other can enter until it has passed out. This 
 is called "blocking by telegraph.' Where this 
 system does not prevail a system of towers will 
 be found between stations in which there are 
 signal men, who give the train as it draws near 
 the signal to proceed and after it has passed 
 display a signal that no other train can pass un- 
 til it has entered the next block. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 This is not the only way in which the train 
 is protected. There are a great many grade 
 crossings to be gone over and at these teams,
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 cattle and pedestrians are liable to be met. Col- 
 lisions with them are not only feared, but are 
 usually expensive to the company. To avoid 
 these collisions large sign posts are put up at 
 the crossings on which is painted : 
 "Look Out for the Cars." 
 Or, 
 
 "Look. Listen. Danger." 
 The latter signal carries with it an electric 
 bell, which the approaching engine starts to 
 ringing when it is yet 1,000 feet away. The 
 bell rings until the train is fully over the cross- 
 ing. 
 
 Another protection is a device for signal- 
 ing to the engineer in his cab warning of his 
 approach to a station, with reference to which 
 he may have special orders requiring attention. 
 One of the officials of the Rock Island road de- 
 signed this new device. The device consists 
 essentially of an order holder or clip in an elec- 
 tric circuit, in which is also included a circuit- 
 closer in connection with a striking rod extend- 
 ing below the cab in position to be struck by a 
 lifting block attached to the ties at any con- 
 venient distance from the station. 
 
 It would seem, in view of all these precau- 
 tions, these myriads of inventions for life pro- 
 tection, that serious accidents would be next 
 to impossible. But they do occur, and how they 
 occur is illustrated by the accident of last July 
 loth, on the Southern Pacific, at Newman, Cal. 
 The road is one which adopts extra precautions 
 against accidents. 
 
 At Tracy, thirty-seven miles north of the 
 place of collision, four trains received copies 
 of the following order : 
 
 "Monday, July 10, 1899. Ow. July 10, 
 1899; 241, 245, ex. 1725, 1721, Ac. O. K. D., 
 O. K. F. A. P., 12 :os a. m. Eng. 1725 and Eng. 
 1721 will run extra Tracy to Mendota. Will 
 pass No. 241, Eng. 1717, and No. 245, Eng. 
 1403, when overtaken." 
 
 Train No. 245, a regular freight, was due 
 at Newman at 2:34 a. m., and arrived on time. 
 On entering the station it was protected in the 
 rear by a semaphore signal, displayed by a sig- 
 
 nal man in the tower. The freight took water 
 and received no orders. Extra 1,721, carrying 
 teachers to the Los Angeles convention, ap- 
 proached the semaphore signal a little later at 
 high rate of speed. It whistled and then slowed 
 down to a speed of twenty or twenty-five miles 
 an hour. The signal man in charge of the sema- 
 phore signaled ''no orders" and the special 
 dashed on, into the freight, and was wrecked. 
 Two women were killed and many injured. 
 
 Investigation showed that the signal man 
 should have displayed his red light and stopped 
 the special before it reached the semaphore. His 
 plea of justification for not doing so is that the 
 special should have been under control when it 
 approached the station and prepared to meet the 
 freight. However this may be, the accident is 
 an illustration of where men fail, a failure rail- 
 way companies have been trying to avoid ever 
 since they were first put into operation. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 If the Southern Pacific had been equipped 
 with a semaphore system, by which the freight 
 train in entering the station had automatically 
 set its own danger signal, the special would have 
 stopped and the accident been avoided. But 
 passing this by the trans-continental train, which 
 has been trying all of these various safety guards 
 between Buffalo and New York, up through the 
 beautiful Scranton Valley and back of engines 
 that give forth no smoke, has reached Buffalo 
 and is in control now of the Lake Shore for the 
 run to Chicago. 
 
 Aside from semaphores and signal lights 
 in switch yards, the Lake Shore protects through 
 the system of blocking trains from station to 
 station by telegraph. This is also done by the 
 Milwaukee and St. Paul and most of the prin- 
 cipal trunk lines. But the trans-continental 
 train, which is hastening toward the Pacific, if 
 perfectly guarded by the systems named, has 
 dangers to avoid in coming in contact with a 
 few great railway systems, where old-time 
 methods prevail and old-time accidents are fre- 
 quent. It is not necessary to specify, but here 
 is the language of a capable coroner's jury in
 
 740 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 regard to an accident on one of the principal 
 roads in the East. 
 
 "We hold the railway company primarily 
 responsible for the accident, for the reason 
 that it has never established a modern and ade- 
 quate system of communication by telegraph be- 
 tween all signal stations and the main office. 
 Had this system been in vogue the accident, in 
 our judgment, could have been avoided." 
 
 That verdict aided in not only costing the 
 negligent company $275,000 in settling dam- 
 age and death claims, but also led to the incor- 
 poration in its system of the modern methods of 
 blocking and signaling in use on the North- 
 western, the Burlington and other first-class 
 roads. 
 
 The trancontinental train in passing through 
 Chicago passes over the largest and greatest com- 
 bination of switch tracks and main lines in the 
 United States. It also passes the next to the 
 largest, if not the largest, interlocking switch 
 lever house in the country. This is the one 
 operated by compressed air at Twenty-second 
 street on the Western Indiana system. Sema- 
 phores protect all approaches to this house and 
 its tracks, and compressed air exerted by means 
 of lever opens and closes the track. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 When delivered to the Northwestern the 
 train is protected to Omaha by electric signals, 
 
 tower houses and the manual block, the auto- 
 matic block, and blocking by telegraph from 
 station to station. It runs over double track to 
 Ames, and flies as if on a ballroom floor. Track 
 walkers have inspected the way and train dis- 
 patchers have opened it. The transfer of the 
 train to the Union Pacific brings it to the most 
 tedious and beautiful portion of the journey, 
 the long but thrilling climb over the mountains. 
 
 The protection given in the mountains is 
 of that character that covers a train from station 
 to station, such distances often being a hundred 
 miles or more. The semaphore system in the 
 unsettled portions is useless, and the nerve and 
 wit of the train dispatcher and the telegraph 
 operators must serve in place of automatic ap- 
 pliances. 
 
 The combination of both at certain portions 
 of the line brings the modern signal system to 
 as near a state of perfection as it can be in this 
 day and age. Both the Northwestern and the 
 Burlington have made world records on their 
 tracks under such methods of blocking. The 
 wonder is not that so many accidents have oc- 
 curred but that so few happen. 
 
 As a veteran railroader puts it : 
 
 "The odds that any train will meet with 
 even the slightest mishap in these days is 1,000 
 to i, if it is operated on a first-class road." 
 (Cliicago Times-Herald.)
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 741 
 
 CURLEY AND HIS ENGINE. 
 
 
 This was in St. Louis. A woman walked 
 into the Union station and said : 
 
 "My husband is dying in Chicago. How 
 quick can I get there?" 
 
 "Eight hours," said the gateman. So this 
 woman, who was reduced to a bundle of nerves 
 and many half-choked sobs, took the Illinois 
 Central limited that left just after 12, and seated 
 herself in the rear of the buffet car and looked 
 out of her glass inclosure at the disappearing 
 city on the Mississippi. The train was just the 
 ordinary, comfortable American express kind, 
 with a good many places to be easy in, and the 
 usual curious American way of getting over the 
 rails at a high rate of speed without seeming to 
 be moving very fast. That's a trick Curley can 
 . tell you all about. The woman had been mar- 
 ried to this man that was dying about twenty 
 years, and their life had been of the agree-al- 
 ways kind. If the man had been in the railroad 
 business his associates would have called him 
 "a double compound" and the woman "a pusher." 
 The train seemed all too slow to the woman as 
 it slipped out of East St. Louis and headed for 
 Decatur. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 The engine was No. 911 and the engineer a 
 man by name J. Curley, otherwise known as 
 the "Comanche Indian." This title has come 
 to him through his manner of holding his head 
 high and of running his engine at extraordinary 
 speed when occasion demands. His run to Clin- 
 ton, where his division ends, is a fast one under 
 the most ordinary circumstances. When a few 
 minutes' time is lost it becomes the duty of Cur- 
 ley to make it faster and to always keep on time. 
 Monday he knew nothing of the woman back in 
 
 the buffet car, nor of her passionate eagerness to 
 reach home swiftly, and if he had it is doubtful 
 if he could have done more than he did. For 
 some unexplained reason after he left Alton he 
 lost ten minutes in time, and Clinton 127 miles 
 away with about eight stops to be made. The 
 woman in the buffet car noted the loss of time 
 and suffered correspondingly. In time a gentle- 
 man who knew her came and sat by her side, 
 and to him she lamented over the delay. 
 
 "It is nothing," said he. "We are travel- 
 ing now a mile a minute." 
 
 They took out their watches and timed the 
 mile posts. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 The roadbed is one of these high-graded, 
 ballroom-floor affairs; the train, vestibuled and 
 solid. There was no swaying or jarring as 
 Curley knocked off his mile every minute. In- 
 side the car, unless one timed with a watch, the 
 speed did not seem greater than forty miles an 
 hour. The man with the woman suddenly said : 
 
 "This last mile we've traveled in 57 sec- 
 onds." 
 
 She studied her own watch, occasionally 
 looking up to watch the gyrations of the rolling 
 ball of dust in the rear of the train. Suddenly 
 she called out : 
 
 "And that mile in 51 seconds." 
 
 This was near Nokomis. The dust ball in 
 the train's rear grew larger and larger and re- 
 volved more rapidly. The little stations, em- 
 bowered in trees, became but dots of green up- 
 on the plain. The "Comanche Indian" was mak- 
 ing up time. Now came ten swift miles the 
 first in 59 seconds, the second in 57, the third 
 in 54, the fourth in 50, the fifth in 49, the sixth
 
 742 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 in 47, the seventh in 50, the eighth in 48, the ninth 
 in 47 and the tenth mile in 45 seconds. Some- 
 how this safe, easy swing through space was 
 comforting to the woman in the buffet car. She 
 wished the engineer in front on the flying ma- 
 chine could just understand how much she ap- , 
 preciated what he was doing. Every mile gone 
 was one nearer the man who was awaiting her 
 in Chicago the man who was going on an- 
 other and still more swiftly journey. 
 
 The "Comanche Indian" has a curious but 
 skillful way of handling his throttle. He coaxes 
 it as a mother -leads on a child. He draws it 
 on easily, gently, without jerk or jar. So he 
 handles his air, giving all the leeway in the world 
 for the application, but calculating with such 
 nicety his distances and the necessity for a stop 
 or slow-up that the train is at a standstill before 
 the diminishment of speed i^Jj noted or felt. 
 There are engineers that handle their air and 
 throttles rudely, and every passenger knows by 
 the unpleasant sensations just what is going on 
 in the cab. But the hand of Curley is as vel- 
 vet covering steel, and so he brings 911 onto 
 Clinton. The woman kept checking off the miles 
 and the companion with her aided. The train 
 shot over the brow of a hill and out into the open. 
 There was fury and furies in its wake, the at- 
 mosphere rushed into a whip that beat the bal- 
 lasted wav and swirled the leaves and dust into 
 
 a tornado of rage. The woman clapped her 
 hands gleefully, exclaiming: 
 
 "That mile was traveled in 40 seconds." 
 And so it was 5,280 feet in two-thirds of 
 a minute. The speed but shows the possibili- 
 ties of American steam railway equipment upon 
 a perfect roadbed and in the hands of tried men. 
 Curley was doing only what his duty called 
 upon him to do when time was to be made up. 
 He was coming up the historic way where the 
 slaves of fifty years ago found the underground 
 railroad and a chance for freedom. He was 
 chasing miles in forty and fifty seconds in ter- 
 ritory where Logan and Lincoln, and long be- 
 fore them Pierre Menarcl and the Jesuit fathers 
 had made history with saddle and horse or the 
 slow canoe of Indian days. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 A mile in 41 seconds, another in 45, an- 
 other in 50, one more in 55 seconds and 911 came 
 into Clinton on time. The woman in the buffet 
 car coming to the man waiting for her in Chi- 
 cago laid back her head on the pillow of her chair 
 and said : 
 
 "I can sleep the rest of the way." 
 
 But of all this 911 and the "Comanche In- 
 dian" knew nothing. 
 
 H. I. CLEVELAND.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 743 
 
 THE RAILROAD MAN. 
 
 
 NE of the most excellent products of 
 the latter half of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury is, undoubtedly, the railroad 
 man. In the earlier years of his de- 
 velopment he was little known and little re- 
 spected. From a trade his occupation has grown 
 into a science. His numbers have increased un- 
 til now he is as the sands of the sea. He has 
 penetrated the wilderness and in few spots of 
 civilization is he unknown. Much of the in- 
 ventive genius of the age has spent its best 
 thought in the development of the craft and the 
 railroad man is himself a frequent and practical 
 inventor. He comes from all the walks of life, 
 the high and the lowly, from the country, the 
 village, the town, the city, but from whatever 
 place he emanates life on the rail has leavening 
 effect and moulds him into a type distinctively 
 his own. 
 
 He is usually a man of portly mien and 
 whether it be from the sedentary life of the office 
 or the jostle of the train he takes on flesh. It 
 may be the effect of the ozone evolved in swiftly 
 moving through space, but be what it may his 
 form in time is rounded out into the full lines 
 of the alderman, which frequently he is in the 
 thrifty cities where he makes his home. He will 
 oft times advance and serve his fellow citizens 
 in the mayor's chair and again he may enlarge 
 his constituency and represent his district in the 
 legislative halls as a stepping stone to the highest 
 executive office in the state, or become the coun- 
 sellor of the government as head of some of 
 the more important departments in the admini- 
 stration of the affairs of his commonwealth. 
 Nor are the activities of his brain confined to 
 the borders of his state alone ; his voice is to be 
 heard in the halls of the national congress in the 
 
 40 
 
 senate as well as the house, and it need be no 
 surprise if at no very distant day the chair of the 
 chief servant of the nation at the White House 
 be filled by a railroad man. The breadth of 
 knowledge, the width of experience, the execu- 
 tive ability required to successfully manage the 
 affairs of a great modern railway system is as 
 great as that required to guide the ship of state 
 of the great nations of the earth. 
 
 His brain is alert and he is keenly alive to 
 the events that are transpiring in the busy world 
 of which he is a part. While at his post of 
 duty his whole attention is concentrated to the 
 work in hand, but in his hours of leisure he 
 turns as heartily to the world of sport. He has 
 his favorites in the race for the pennant in the 
 national game and can give an opinion on the 
 relative merits of the leading exponents of the 
 manly art of self defense. He has a fondness 
 for the theater and has seen the foremost actors 
 in their best known plays ; he has heard the lead- 
 ing singers in their favorite roles and can hum 
 snatches from the popular operas and the latest 
 songs of the day. 
 
 The railroad man frequently rises above the 
 material world and invades the field of music, 
 art and literature, supplying the current maga- 
 zines with articles of as great interest and merit 
 as that of writers who have made a profession 
 of the pen. His prose has a local color, in writ- 
 ing tales of the rail, that is lacking in one who 
 is not to the manor born and his verse whether 
 set to music or not, sings itself into the hearts of 
 people. 
 
 As a ruling force in the world the railroad 
 man is as yet unconscious of his power. His 
 name is legion and between the contending par- 
 ties he holds the balance. Should he unite his
 
 744 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 forces there is nothing to prevent his ruling the 
 western world. 
 
 In his family he takes great pride and the 
 evenings around the fireside with music and song 
 are his happiest hours. His daughters have had 
 the benefit of the best training in art and music, 
 and his sons the advantage of the best of schools. 
 While he, himself, may have completed his edu- 
 cation in the little log school house, the coming 
 representative of the family is given the best 
 opportunity in Harvard or Yale. 
 
 The railroad man is eminently a social be- 
 ing and in addition to the Brotherhood to which 
 his occupation would naturally draw him he 
 
 is a member of one or more of the orders which 
 find attraction for his fellow-men. He knows 
 a good thing when he sees it, and has endured 
 the terrors of the mystic rites of ancient tribes 
 and clans. He feels the full import of the three 
 links and acts upon the square, knows in what 
 sign we conquer and has crossed in his pilgrim- 
 age the hot sands of the desert. Come from 
 where he may, from humble cottage or more 
 pretentious home, life on the rail rubs off the 
 rough corners and puts a polish on the diamond 
 in the rough, making in every situation a genial 
 courteous gentleman of the Railroad Man. 
 
 PHOTO OF G. E. WAUGH, FREEP^RT, ILL. 
 
 Entrance to tunnel between Monticello and Bellville, Wis,, on the Madison branch of the Illinois Central.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 745 
 
 AMERICAN PASSENGER SERVICE. 
 THE BEST IN THE WORLD. 
 
 "Not only the best but the cheapest pas- 
 senger service in the world is given by the rail- 
 ways of the United States," said Vice President 
 Morton of the Santa Fe system. 
 
 "In this country," continued Mr. Morton, 
 "with very few exceptions the 'limited' trains 
 between New York and Washington and Chica- 
 go the second and third-class passenger travels 
 on the same train as the first-class passenger, 
 thereby covering distances just as rapidly. In 
 Europe the second and third class passengers 
 not only have to travel in inferior cars, but usual- 
 ly on much slower trains. On many railroads 
 in America, especially throughout the West, re- 
 clining chair cars are run without extra cost to 
 passengers. These cars have chairs that make 
 very comfortable seats during the day and can 
 be tipped back at night for reclining purposes, 
 and take the place of the faittenil compartments 
 on European trains, for which an extra charge 
 is made, which is not less than the Pullman 
 tariffs in America. None but first-class passen- 
 gers can use the compartment cars on the con- 
 tinent, while in the United States second-class 
 passengers have the right to use reclining chair 
 cars, and without extra cost. 
 
 "The passenger fares on the continent are 
 very much higher than they are in America. 
 For example, take the $100 round-trip passen- 
 ger rate from Chicago to California and return, 
 good for nine months. This covers a distance 
 of over 5,000 miles, going and coming, and the 
 passenger has the option of going out via one 
 line and returning by another. The round trip 
 rate from London to St. Petersburg, a distance 
 
 of 1,636 miles, is $96.44; to Constantinople, a dis- 
 tance of 2,144 miles, is $139.38, and the single 
 fare from London to Brindisi, a distance of 
 1,460 miles, is $61.80. There are no distances 
 on the continent where there is any considerable 
 travel that seem to compare with the long routes 
 much traveled in the United States, but the 
 round-trip rates from London to St. Petersburg 
 and Constantinople, two important points in 
 direct communication, demonstrate how much 
 cheaper travel for long distance is in America 
 than it is on the continent. 
 
 "The first-class fares for short distances on 
 the continent will compare as unfavorably with 
 American rates for short distances. The first- 
 class passenger rate from Chicago to any Mis- 
 so_uri river point, a distance of 500 miles, is 
 $12.50. The fare from Paris to Geneva, Switzer- 
 land, a distance of less than 400 miles, is $14.00. 
 Rates east of Chicago as a rule are lower than 
 in the West. 
 
 "In addition to the fact that the rates of 
 themselves are much higher in Europe than 
 America, the supplementary charges are much 
 more excessive. For instance, .one is charged 4 
 francs from Paris to Calais, a ride of five hours, 
 in addition to the regular fare, merely to occupy 
 a car containing toilet facilities. This car has 
 nothing more than is to be found in every coach 
 on American railways. For the money that is 
 charged for riding in a continental coach con- 
 taining the most common toilet arrangements 
 one could ride nearly all day in this country in 
 Pullman cars containing every convenience and 
 comfort, not to say luxury.
 
 746 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 OUR SLEEPERS BETTER AND CHEAPER. 
 
 "Sleeping-car rates, as a rule, are more than 
 twice as high on the continent as Pullman rates 
 in this country, and the accommodations there 
 are inferior. From Paris to Calais, a ride of five 
 hours, the charge is $3.60 for a fauteuil lit, which 
 is nothing more than a single seat that draws 
 out, not at all like a Pullman berth, but more 
 like our reclining-chair cars. In such a com- 
 partment they furnish neither soap, brushes, 
 towels, nor attendance in some cases not even 
 bedding. That charge is for a single seat, while 
 in this country the Pullman rates are all for 
 double berth, which will accommodate two per- 
 sons. The regular sleeping-car rate from Chi- 
 cago to New York, for example, is $5.00, the 
 distance being 980 miles. The rate from Paris 
 to Monte Carlo, a distance of 500 miles, for sleep- 
 ing-car, is $16.00. 
 
 "In European sleeping cars there is no 
 porter to dance attendance to your wishes, and 
 the conductor is obliged to make up all berths 
 and look after all passengers. There is no 
 separate toilet-room for ladies, and the one used 
 by both sexes is very small, and is not supplied 
 with the conveniences to be found in every Pull- 
 man car. 
 
 "Still another extra charge increasing the 
 cost of travel on the continent, as contrasted 
 with America, is the baggage tariff. In many 
 countries in Europe you are allowed no free 
 baggage except that which you can carry in 
 your hand. In France you are allowed only 
 fifty-six pounds, while in the United States 
 every passenger is entitled to have 150 pounds 
 of baggage transported free. Baggage charges 
 in Europe increase the cost of travel on an aver- 
 age 25 per cent. 
 
 "Another marked evidence of the liberality 
 of American railways, as contrasted with Euro- 
 pean customs, is the tariff for children. Here 
 all children under 5 years of age travel free, 
 and between the ages of 5 and 12 years are 
 charged half rates. The railroads are quite 
 liberal in their constructions of this rule, and I 
 think accurate figures would show that a majori- 
 ty of the children under 7 years of age travel 
 free. In Europe children from 3 to 6 years old 
 are charged half rates, all over 6 paying full 
 adult fares. While there children under 3 years 
 are carried free, in most cases the railroads have 
 rules that such children cannot occupy seats, 
 but must be held by parents or nurses unless 
 all persons paying fare are comfortably seated." 
 Chicago Inter Ocean.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 747 
 
 THE AMERICAN TRAIN DISPATCHER. 
 
 
 Mr. W. S. Glover, chief train dispatcher of 
 the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, speaking 
 at the meeting of the St. Louis Railway Club, 
 gave some scraps of the early history of train 
 dispatching in this country. The first railroad 
 telegraph line was erected in 1847-8 on the Erie 
 Railroad, under the supervision of Ezra Cornell, 
 the founder of Cornell University. Clias. Minot, 
 then general superintendent of the Erie road, 
 being convinced of the value of the telegraph, 
 persuaded his directors to authorize its adoption. 
 In 1851, after the matter had been discussed by 
 the stockholders, officials and employes for four 
 years, the latter were most emphatic in denounc- 
 ing the undertaking and were unanimous in re- 
 fusing to obey orders making meeting points 
 between trains by wire, but instructions were 
 issued, and train men were forced into compli- 
 ance. In the West the Chicago, Burlington 
 and Quincy was the first road to move trains 
 by telegraph, in the early part of 1863. Mr. 
 C. H. Chappell, now general manager of the 
 Chicago and Alton, was the train dispatcher, 
 and Mr. F. C. Rice, now superintendent of the 
 Illinois lines of the Chicago, Burlington and 
 Quincy, the operator. Mr. Robert Pitcairn, 
 now superintendent and general agent of the 
 Pennsylvania at Pittsburg, is among the early 
 dispatchers, having moved trains by wire in 1855 
 and 1856. He was the first person to introduce 
 the duplicate order system in Pennsylvania and 
 
 Virginia, in the early 6os. He had charge of the 
 movement of government troops and munitions 
 of war. 
 
 From the crude, unsatisfactory manner of 
 thirty to forty years ago, with a large per cent 
 of train accidents chargeable to the dispatcher, 
 train dispatching has improved until to-day the 
 per cent of accidents is brought down to a mini- 
 mum. With the old telegraph register used in 
 receiving it took thirty minutes or more to make 
 meeting points by wire. The train orders were 
 written upon any kind of paper and rewritten 
 several times, being sent to one office at a time. 
 Each would in most cases get a different word- 
 ing, and frequent were the collisions from a lap 
 order. During the prevalence of the single 
 order, the dispatcher spent about one-third of 
 his time checking up his orders to see if he were 
 going to have a collision, and at about what 
 point on the line it would occur. But today 
 dispatching stands in the front ranks, made so 
 by the American Railway Association, on whose 
 train rule committee are superintendents and 
 managers who have spent years at the dis- 
 patcher's table. The result of their deliberations 
 is the standard code, making the labor of the 
 dispatcher less and his work more accurate and 
 perfect, and taking away that terrible strain on 
 his mind that prevailed under the old single 
 order system.
 
 748 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 ENGINEERS PROVE FAITHFUL. 
 
 To the engineer belongs the most hazardous 
 and at the same time the most responsible task 
 of any of the men who run the train, and the 
 passengers on one of the great flyers as they loll 
 back in their seats reading the most recent work 
 of fiction or gazing placidly forth at the scenery 
 scarcely ever give a thought to the fact that 
 ahead of them is a dust and oil begrimed man 
 who, for the time being, literally carries their 
 lives in the. hollow of his sweaty hand, and to 
 whose watchful and alert eyes and .unflinching 
 nerve they may owe their escape from a horrible 
 death. 
 
 But so it is, and this man the engineer, 
 usually of humble origin and meager education, 
 is a man for all that, and one of force, and with 
 the power and will, to do and to die in the pur- 
 suit of his duty should the occasion arise. It 
 is extraordinary how few cases there are where 
 engineers have been found derelict in the mo- 
 ment of trial. There have been innumerable 
 wrecks since railroads were first introduced into 
 the country, but the record of the number of 
 engineers who have failed when the crucial test 
 came is infinitesimal. It should be remembered 
 that there is no way in which the courage of an 
 engineer can be tested, and only by actual par- 
 ticipation in a wreck can he receive his baptism 
 of fire. 
 
 When once danger appears in front, an en- 
 gineer's duty is, first, to close the throttle ; sec- 
 ond, to apply the air brakes ; third, to reverse 
 the engine that is, to throw over the reversing 
 lever, which enables the engine to run in the 
 opposite direction from which it had been going ; 
 fourth, to reopen the throttle. 
 
 To do these four acts calls for but a frac- 
 tion of time, but where wrecks result the dan- 
 ger is usually so imminent as frequently not to 
 leave even sufficient interval to accomplish them, 
 and often when ruins have been cleared away 
 the body of the faithful guardian has been dis- 
 covered with his hand on the throttle, reverse 
 lever, or brake, and bearing silent witness as to 
 
 how far he had got toward the accomplishment 
 of that duty which he had yielded his life to 
 perform. 
 
 THE CAR INSPECTOR. 
 
 Importance of his Work and the Great Watch- 
 fulness Needed. 
 
 It is interesting to watch the trained car 
 inspector examining a long freight train which 
 has rolled into the yards. He moves along the 
 side of the cars and notes off the wheels, brake- 
 beams, bolsters, rods, etc. He uses no ham- 
 mer, but has his eyes open for defects. He will 
 stop suddenly, look carefully at a wheel and fol- 
 low the faint lines of a crack running, perhaps 
 from the flange to the center. Such a wheel is 
 condemned at once, and the car is shunted off 
 until a new pair of wheels can be placed under 
 it. If there is a flat place on a wheel which 
 measures more than two and one-half inches 
 across that wheel must go, too. Then there may 
 be a sharp flange, and that must be looked after. 
 A coupling may have faults, a brake rigging 
 may have given out, and all these things the 
 inspector must take note of. 
 
 He must be an honest man, as thousands 
 of dollars' worth of property and many lives 
 might be sacrificed in case he neglected some- 
 thing. Box-car doors he looks at carefully. 
 They are dangerous things if they are loose. 
 Many an engineer and fireman has met his doom 
 by having the cab strike a loose car door. It 
 may be hanging in place in the yard, but when 
 it reaches a point where a strong wind catches 
 it, out it goes, and the passing train strikes it. 
 In such cases there is a shower of splinters, a 
 broken cab, and it is lucky indeed if there is no 
 one killed. Engineers have a dread of loose 
 doors, and are always glad when a freight train 
 is past them when they are running at full speed. 
 
 Another thing the inspector must watch is 
 the hopper-bottom dump car. If the fastening
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 749 
 
 gets loose and lets a load of ore or limestone 
 dimii on the track while the train is in motion 
 it means a bad wreck. 
 
 Taking all things into consideration, the 
 car inspector is a very important man in the rail- 
 way service, and efficiency on his part comes on- 
 ly from long experience and careful training. 
 
 A MECHANICAL MARVEL. 
 
 What Sixty Miles an Hour Means to the Loco- 
 motive. 
 
 It all sounds simple in the recital. The won- 
 der of the things comes into view only when one 
 reflects on the speed and nicety with which cum- 
 brous parts are made to do their duty. The 
 piston and connecting bar of a modern locomo- 
 tive weigh some 600 pounds. When the speed 
 is 60 miles an hour, these parts travel back and 
 forth five times a second. Ten times a second, 
 at the end of every stroke, the piston head is 
 at rest. It must pass from this condition to a 
 velocity of 1,800 feet per minute in one-twentieth 
 
 of a second. The drive wheels measure more 
 than a rod at every revolution, but when going 
 60 miles an hour they must turn more than 300 
 times a minute. 
 
 Sixty miles an" hour is the merest common- 
 place to the mind of the up to date railroad man, 
 but means other things besides those described 
 that are wonderful to the outsider. It means a 
 steam pressure blow of 20 tons on each piston 
 head every tenth of a second. It means that up 
 in the cab the fireman is throwing into the fur- 
 nace two-thirds of a ton of coal every hour. 
 No. 900 burns coal faster than ten men can mine 
 it. It means two quarts of oil every hour to 
 keep her journal boxes greased and everything 
 running smoothly. It means that the engine 
 with its half dozen cars and load of human 
 freight is moving through space with twice the 
 power of a shot from a 100 ton gun. It means 
 that the engineer has worked her up to the 
 point where she can use every ounce of steam, 
 that he is coaxing her as a jockey urges his mount 
 in a fierce race, and yet it means that he is ready 
 at a second's notice to move the reversing lever 
 and apply the air-brakes that will stop the mighty 
 avalanche within the distance that it covers as 
 it stands on the tracks. Earl W. Mayo in Ains- 
 lee's.
 
 750 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 Cotton Field in the Yazoo Valley, Miss.
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 751 
 
 A BUNCH OF RAILROAD INCIDENTS. 
 
 A LIBERAL GIVER. 
 
 It will be remembered that brakeman Roy 
 I ekes of Freeport saved the life of a deaf old 
 gentleman at Galena. The engine was backing 
 up and the old gentleman did not hear it ap- 
 proaching. It was within two feet of him when 
 Mr. Ickes snatched him out of harm's way at 
 considerable risk to himself. The rescued in- 
 dividual is said to be worth in the neighborhood 
 of $75,000. He evidently felt grateful, for 
 he hunted up Mr. Ickes and reaching down in 
 his pocket drew out two quarters which he 
 solemnly presented to his rescuer. He accom- 
 panied the gift with the remark that he hoped 
 Mr. Ickes would not spend the money for drink- 
 but buy with it something to wear in memory 
 of him. Mr. Ickes, of course, was overwhelmed 
 at this extraordinary munificence. 
 
 ARMOUR AS A BRAKEMAN. 
 
 George A. Sheldon, depot master of the 
 Lake shore station at Adrian, Mich., who died 
 October 23, after 46 years of continuous service 
 with the Lake Shore company, was a veritable 
 encyclopedia of railroad incident, and his well- 
 told tales, if repeated in his own select phrase, 
 would rank as classic literature. His narrations 
 were confined to actualities, thus giving them 
 a real value, says the Detroit News. He was 
 
 for many years a conductor and among the best 
 of the incidents he related the following : 
 
 "One day there stepped aboard my train 
 a well dressed, business appearing man, who, as 
 he tendered his fare, remarked : 
 
 " 'I see you are still on the road, Mr. Shel- 
 don.' 
 
 "Yes, I am still at it," I replied, "but I am 
 not certain that I remember you, though I think 
 I have seen you." 
 
 " 'Yes you have seen me before,' emphasized 
 the passenger, 'and while you doubtless have for- 
 gotten it, I still remember that you once did me 
 the greatest favor of my life. Come to my se?t 
 when. you get time and I'll tell you about it.' 
 
 "When I had finished collecting fares 1 
 dropped into the stranger's seat, and he con- 
 tinued : 'Years ago I was four days brakeman 
 on your train. At the end of the four days 
 you took me aside and remarked in a tone of 
 sympathy : "I'm sorry to have to tell you so, but 
 the fact is, young man, you are too much of a 
 fool to ever make a good railroader. Take my 
 advice and quit." I took your advice and went 
 into other business and the result is I have made 
 a fair fortune. I thank you, Mr. Sheldon, for 
 your wise counsel.' 
 
 "What is your name?" I asked. 
 
 " 'Phil D. Armour, of Chicago,' replied my 
 ex-brakeman, 'and I shall always remember your 
 kindness. I was a stupid railroader and you 
 advised for my good.' : 
 
 "Until this interview," added Mr. Sheldon, 
 "I never suspected that Phil D. Armour, the 
 packer, was the brakeman I discharged years 
 before."
 
 752 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 HOW SHE GOT HER MONEY'S 
 WORTH. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Mellish recently moved to 
 Chicago from an eastern city and rented a house 
 in Hyde Park. Mrs. Mellish made her first 
 downtown shopping trip a few days ago, and 
 it was rather late in the afternoon when she 
 had finished looking at things she didn't want 
 to buy. Then she went over to the Van Buren 
 street station, handed out a quarter and asked 
 for a ticket to Hyde Park. The agent pushed 
 out 15 cents in change and a perforated piece of 
 cardboard. 
 
 Mrs. Mellish is a careful woman. Once she 
 heard of a man who bought a railway ticket, 
 put it in his pocket without examining ft, and 
 when he got on the train found that it would 
 take him only about half way to the place for 
 which he had started. So she has made it a 
 practice always to be sure that she is getting 
 what she wants when she buys a ticket of any 
 kind. 
 
 "Here," she said after she had carefully 
 read what was printed upon her piece of card- 
 board, ''this is a ticket to Woodlawn. I want 
 to go to Hyde Park." 
 
 "It's all right, madam," replied the man at 
 the window; "that will take you to Hyde Park. 
 Woodlawn is farther out. You can leave the 
 train at any station this side." 
 
 "But I don't want to pay for a ticket to Wood- 
 lawn when I'm not going that far," she de- 
 clared. 
 
 "The fare is the same to both places," she 
 was told. "It would cost you 10 cents if your 
 ticket read Hyde Park instead of Woodlawn. 
 All passengers for Hyde Park have Woodlawn 
 tickets. Step aside, please and don't keep others 
 waiting." 
 
 Mrs. Mellish put the ticket in her purse and 
 went out to the platform, where she interviewed 
 a number of people on the subject to make sure 
 that she was not being victimized. 
 
 When Mr. Mellish got home that night his 
 wife was not there. Dinner time came, and still 
 
 she had not arrived. Finally, along about 7 
 o'clock, the lady appeared, with her arms full 
 of bundles and weary. 
 
 "Why, my dear, you look as if you had 
 walked home," he said. 
 
 "I have, from Woodlawn," she replied. 
 
 "What have you been doing at Woodlawn ?" 
 he -asked. 
 
 "Do you suppose," she answered, "that I'm 
 going to pay for a ticket to Woodlawn and get 
 off at Hyde Park? No! It's perfectly out- 
 rageous the way these railroad companies scheme 
 to get the best of the people !" 
 
 THE ENGINEER'S STORY. 
 
 "To run over a man perhaps that's the 
 only thing of all that shakes me. To see him on 
 the track within 10 or 20 feet of you, to know 
 that you can't stop to save him, to feel the wheels 
 of the engine go over his body, crunching out 
 his life a man don't want to experience that 
 more than once in a lifetime. 
 
 "It's worse with a child. There was an 
 old mate of mine in the west when I was rid- 
 ing in the Union Pacific never mind his name : 
 he's dead now as good an engineer as ever 
 stood in a box, cool, nerve like steel, had been 
 through three wrecks, a holdup and a fire. Well, 
 one day Jim was a little behind his schedule 
 and made like anything for the next stop. There 
 was a crossing right in front of him. He saw 
 that everything was clear, as he thought, and 
 went right ahead, when all at once out of a clump 
 of trees there ran a little golden haired fairy- 
 right in front of the engine. It was all over 
 in one instant, and when the train stopped Jim 
 dropped like a log. It was two months before 
 he crept back again to work. But he could never 
 come to that crossing but he saw the little girl 
 with her hair fluttering in the wind running out 
 from the trees. And one day he just got off
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 753 
 
 his engine, turned it over to the second man 
 and walked away, never to be seen again until 
 bis body was found in the river. Leslie's 
 Weekly. 
 
 SETTLED FOR THE CALICO 
 DRESS. 
 
 No Claim was made by the Farmer for his Wife's 
 Broken Limbs. 
 
 "Just settled the strangest claim for dam- 
 ages that I ever had" laughed the railroad claim 
 agent. "I was called down the road the other 
 day to look up an accident that we had. We 
 had run into an old farmer's wife, breaking 
 both of her legs and an arm and using her up 
 generally. I received orders from the general 
 manager to go post haste to the point of the 
 accident and settle for it, on the best terms I 
 could get. 
 
 "Just before I left the manager handed me 
 a letter and said with smile that I had better 
 look into that, too, while I was about it, as it 
 would not take me out of my way. When I 
 was settled for the journey I took the letter out 
 of my pocket and looked it over. It was a claim 
 for five yards of calico, with the threat that if 
 we didn't settle for it immediately suit would 
 be commenced to compel us to. The claim was 
 very vague, no reason being given why we should 
 pay for five yards of calico, and I resolved to 
 look the matter up to satisfy my own curiosity 
 if nothing else. 
 
 "However, the other case was more serious 
 so I looked that up first, and as I entered the 
 house the old man, whose wife had been nearly 
 killed, said grimly : 
 
 ' 'So you're here te'r settle that thar claim 
 fer damages? Will, it is mighty lucky that ye 
 have come, fer I wuz goin' ter start suit agin ye 
 right away. My wife hadn't worn that thar 
 dress more'n twice an' it wuz jes' ez good ez 
 new.' 
 
 "Like a flash it dawned upon me that the 
 two claims were identical. I managed to settle 
 with the old man without falling dead, and when 
 1 left he shook hands with me cordially and said 
 that he guessed all this talk about robber rail- 
 roads was mostly newspaper gas for political 
 effect. (From the Detroit Free Press.) 
 
 WOES OF THE TICKET SELLER. 
 
 Carelessness and Crankiness of the Traveling 
 Public Tend to Make his Life a Burden. 
 
 "Do you ever have any troubles?" asked a 
 ticket seller of the I. C. R. R. The cause of his 
 question was that a few minutes before he had 
 sold a couple of ladies tickets to a near-by village. 
 In a short time up came a long, lank, ungainly 
 countryman and bought two tickets for the same 
 village. He walked directly over to the ladies 
 who had already purchased tickets, and, after 
 half a minute's conversation, rushed back to the 
 ticket window and demanded the return of his 
 money. There was blood in his eye, and he told 
 the ticket man what his opinion of him was, 
 and it was not flattering. He also informed the 
 ticket seller that it was the duty of the ticket 
 seller to have told him that the ladies had pur- 
 chased tickets. His money was refunded. 
 
 Another case happened a short time ago, 
 when a Western Congressman was on his way 
 through this city. He was riding on a Western 
 Union pass, and, by the way, if there are any 
 impertinent passengers they are some of those 
 who ride on passes. While his train was stand- 
 ing at the depot he rushed into the station and 
 wanted the operator to send a telegram for him. 
 Just at the time he came in the agent was giving 
 orders to the conductor and when a man is giv- 
 ing train orders he is not supposed to do any- 
 thing else. He courteously informed the Con-
 
 754 
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 gressman that he would wait on him in a 
 moment, knowing that the man had plenty of 
 time before the train left. The fellow was im- 
 patient, and when the agent went to take his 
 message he explained that he was giving the 
 conductor his orders and could do nothing else. 
 The Congressman let out an oath and -said he 
 didn't look as though he could attend to one 
 thing at a time, let alone trying to do two. His 
 language was decorated around the edges with 
 swear words that would have been the envy of 
 a Texas ranger. 
 
 One other incident occurred when the late 
 VV. H. H. Adams was President of the Wesleyan 
 
 University. Mr. Adams came to the depot to 
 get a ticket. He had a clergyman's permit and 
 of course his ticket was half price. As it hap- 
 pened an angular farmer wanted to go to the 
 same place and got to the window in time to 
 see what the minister paid for his ticket, and 
 when the agent asked the farmer twice as much 
 as he did Mr. Adams the farmer made a dread- 
 ful howl. The agent pleasantly explained that 
 the other gentleman had purchased a minister's 
 ticket. "Well, give me a minister's ticket, too, 
 then. A minister's ticket is good enough for 
 me."
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 755 
 
 RHYME OF THE RAIL. 
 
 JOHN G. SAXE. 
 
 S inging through the forests, 
 
 Rattling over ridges, 
 Shooting under arches, 
 
 Rumbling over bridges, 
 Whizzing through the mountains, 
 
 Buzzing o'er the vale, 
 Bless me! This is pleasant, 
 
 Riding on the rail! 
 
 Men of different "stations" 
 
 In the eye of Fame, 
 Here are very quickly 
 
 Coming to the same. 
 High and lowly people, 
 
 Birds of every feather, 
 On a common level 
 
 Traveling together! 
 
 Gentleman in shorts 
 
 Looming very tall; 
 Gentleman at large, 
 
 Talking very small; 
 Gentleman in tights, 
 
 With a loose-ish mien; 
 Gentleman in gray, 
 
 Looking rather green. 
 
 Gentleman quite old, 
 
 Asking for the news; 
 Gentleman in black, 
 
 In a fit of blues; 
 Gentleman in claret, 
 
 Sober as a vicar; 
 Gentleman in Tweed, 
 
 Dreadfully in liquor! 
 
 Stranger on the right, 
 Looking very sunny, 
 
 Obviously reading 
 Something rather funny. 
 
 Now the smiles are thicker, 
 Wonder what they mean? 
 
 Faith, he's got the KNICKER- 
 BOCKER Magazine! 
 
 Stranger on the left, 
 
 Closing up his peepers; 
 Now he snores amain, 
 
 Like the Seven Sleepers; 
 At his feet a volume 
 
 Gives the explanation, 
 How the man grew stupid 
 
 From "Association!" 
 
 Ancient maiden lady 
 
 Anxiously remarks, 
 That there must be peril 
 
 'Mong so many sparks! 
 Roguish-looking fellow, 
 
 Turning to the stranger, 
 Says it's his opinion 
 
 She is out of danger! 
 
 Woman with her baby, 
 
 Sitting vis-a-vis; 
 Baby keeps a squalling; 
 
 Woman looks at me; 
 Asks about the distance, 
 
 Says it's tiresome talking, 
 Noises of the cars 
 
 Are so very shocking! 
 
 Market-woman careful 
 
 Of the precious casket, 
 Knowing eggs are eggs, 
 
 Tightly holds her basket; 
 Feeling that a smash, 
 
 If it came, would surely 
 Send her eggs to pot 
 
 Rather prematurely! 
 
 Singing through the forests, 
 
 Rattling over ridges, 
 Shooting under arches, 
 
 Rumbling over bridges, 
 Whizzing through the mountains, 
 
 Buzzing o'er the vale; 
 Bless me! this is pleasant, 
 
 Riding on the rail!
 
 ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 MISSOURI IKE. 
 
 The story of Missouri Ike, 
 
 Is a native of the County Pike; 
 
 A railroad man he fain would be, 
 
 And went to work with C. R. I. & P. 
 
 That road he left in '94, 
 
 And went out to the Golden Shore. 
 
 From there to Tennessee he went, 
 
 In Memphis his last dollar spent. 
 
 "I'm on the bum again," quoth he, 
 
 "I'll go to work for the Y. and M. V." 
 
 He went to work with S. K. White, 
 
 That high ball run it was all right. 
 
 There he stayed for thirty days; 
 
 He then thought he would change his ways. 
 
 To Wilson town he went to lodge, 
 
 And went to work with Joseph Bodds. 
 
 Joe is the son of Erin's Isle, 
 
 But I thought he would stay awhile; 
 
 Until one day in early spring, 
 
 A flagman by the name of Emrich came and 
 
 took his job away. 
 
 Now in the South Ike would not stay, 
 But went to the land where they raise long hay. 
 Three months he was in Omaha; 
 Then went to Cameron to see his pa; 
 There he did not tarry long, 
 And says, "I will be moving on." 
 Back to the "Sunny South" he comes, 
 And goes with Stanton on a chain gang run. 
 Now, Missouri Ike as a railroad man, 
 Is excelled by few in all the land, 
 But accidents are sure to be; 
 Ike left Vicksburg on 3-83. 
 It was a very foggy night; 
 He could not see the brake-man's light; 
 He left Port Gibson an hour late; 
 They will make that up as sure as fate. 
 As there is nothing on the line, 
 They will go to Wilson killing time. 
 But no! that was not to be. 
 The train was parted let me see 
 It was just five cars from the caboose, 
 Where that knuckle was broken loose. 
 Missouri Ike with link and pin, 
 Prepared to couple up again. 
 The way John Farr came back, it beat the band, 
 And mashed Missouri Ike's right hand. 
 One finger gone that is not bad; 
 Ten was all he ever had. 
 The company's doctor his name's Quin, 
 Will make him good as new again. 
 "Go North, my boy, your folks to see, 
 At the expense of the old 1. C., 
 
 And when the summer sun is set, 
 Come back and work with Bruce Monette." 
 Ike stayed with Monette for a month or two; 
 Business got dull when they pulled off the crew. 
 It is work that Ike wants, as you all know; 
 So with this little tale of woe, 
 Straightway to the train master he did go. 
 Mr. Bellows looked wise, and said with a smile, 
 "I'll attend to your case after awhile." 
 Ike loafed around Wilson for a day or two, 
 Then rolled Tom Gardner off John Lawton's 
 
 crew . 
 Lawton is an old-timer, and he likes Ike, I 
 
 know, 
 
 For back and forth through the hills they go. 
 They are just as contented as they can be, 
 In their little red caboose No. 98943. 
 Now, kind friends, this story is true 
 To prevent exaggeration I will bid you adieu. 
 
 WHAT THE CAR WHEELS SANG. 
 
 [FRANK L. STANTON in Atlanta Constitution.] 
 
 i. 
 
 With a scream of the whistle our farewell said, 
 And into the blackness of night we sped 
 
 On and on 
 
 To meet the dawn; 
 
 Under the sky where the stars burn red; . 
 Past hills that stood where the snows were shed, 
 Ghostly white as the shrouded dead; 
 
 On and on 
 
 To meet the dawn; 
 True hand at the throttle and hope ahead! 
 
 The steel rails ringing 
 
 The swift wheels singing; 
 "To kith and kin, O hearts that roam 
 In vine-wreathed cot, and marble dome, 
 Over the world we bear you home!" 
 
 Whirled through the dark where the black steed 
 
 drives 
 Are joys and sorrows of human lives; 
 
 Laughter and weeping, 
 
 And children sleeping 
 
 On the breasts of glad mothers; and wistful wives; 
 The clang of chains and the grip of gyves! 
 
 On and on 
 
 To meet the dawn
 
 AND REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYES. 
 
 757 
 
 Where Light the soul of Darkness shr ves! 
 
 The steel rails ringing 
 
 The mad wheels singing: 
 
 "To gloom or gladness, O hearts that roam 
 To darkened dwelling or marble dome 
 Over the world we bear you home!" 
 
 There are hearts that listen with hope and fear 
 For the signal thrill of the engineer; 
 
 That throb and thrill 
 
 At that signal shrill, 
 
 Does it bring them the rose or the rue to wear? 
 The song, the sigh, or the burning tear? 
 
 On and on 
 
 To meet the dawn 
 The black night dies, and the hills stand clear! 
 
 "What are you bringing, . 
 
 O swift wheels singing 
 O daisied meadow and dew-sweet loam?" 
 "The hearts that hunger the hearts that roam- 
 Over the world we bear them home!" 
 
 Old friends, old lovers, in rapture wild 
 Kiss of the mother and clasp of the child; 
 
 The night is gone 
 
 We have met the dawn; 
 Never so gladly the sweet sun smiled! 
 Never the spirit of Night beguiled 
 
 The hand so true, 
 
 That the throttle knew 
 Bearing the burden of mother and child 
 
 On and on 
 
 To the joy of the dawn! 
 
 With ever that song to the hearts that roam 
 "To vine-wreathed cot and marble dome 
 Over the world we bear you home!" 
 
 FLANNIGAN AND FINNIGAN. 
 
 St. Louis is a great town. A great many great 
 things emanate from St. Louis. They write poetry 
 among the other things they do so well even the rail- 
 road men drop into poetry sometimes, and then it is 
 truly great. The authorship of "The Beautiful Snow" 
 and the "Junius Letters" has never been discovered, 
 and the same fate is in store for this idyllic effusion 
 from St. Louis, entitled "Flannigan and Finnigan": 
 
 Superintindint wus Flannigan; 
 
 Boss av the siction wus Finnigan. 
 
 Whiniver the kyars got offen the track 
 
 An" muddled up things to the divil and back, 
 
 Finnigan writ it to Flannigan, 
 
 After the wrick wus all on agin. 
 
 That is, this Finnigan 
 
 Repoorted to Flannigan. 
 
 When Finnigan furst writ to Flannigan, 
 He writed tin pages, did Finnigan. 
 An' he tould just how the smash occurred; 
 Full many a tejus, blunderin' wurd 
 Did Finnigan write to Flannigan 
 After the kyars had gone on again. 
 That wus how Finnigan 
 Repoorted to Flannigan. 
 
 Now, Flannigan knowed more than Finnigan 
 
 He'd more idjucation, had Flannigan; 
 
 An' it wore him clane and completely out 
 
 To tell what Finnigan writ about 
 
 In his writin' to Muster Flannigan. 
 
 So he writ back to Finnigan: 
 
 "Don't do sich a sin agin; 
 
 Make 'em brief. FLANNIGAN." 
 
 When Finnigan got this from Flannigan, 
 
 He blushed rosy red, did Finnigan; 
 
 An' he said, "I'll gamble a whole month's pa-ay 
 
 That it will be minny and minny a da-ay 
 
 Before Sup'rintindent, that's Flannigan, 
 
 Gets a whack at this very same sin agin. 
 
 From Finnigan to Flannigan: 
 
 Reports won't be long agin." 
 
 Wan day on the siction of Finnigan, 
 
 On the road sup'rintinded by Flannigan, 
 
 A rail gave way on a bit of a curve 
 
 An' some kyars went off as they made the swerve. 
 
 "There's nobody hurted," saz Finnigan, 
 
 "But reports must be made to Flannigan." 
 
 An' he winked at McGorrigan, 
 
 As married a Finnigan. 
 
 He wuz shantyin' thin, was Finnigan, 
 
 As minny a railroader's been agin, 
 
 An the shmoky ol' lamp wuz burnin' bright 
 
 In Finnigan's shanty all that night. 
 
 Bilin' down his repoort was Finnigan. 
 
 An' he writ this here: "Muster Flannigan, 
 
 Off agin, on agin, 
 
 Gone agin. FINNIGAN."
 
 INDEX. 
 
 HISTORICAL. 
 
 A Ride on the Piano 725 
 
 Act Incorporating an Illinois Central Rail- 
 way 13 
 
 American Passenger Service 745 
 
 American Train Dispatcher, The 747 
 
 Amount Paid by the I. C. into the Illinois 
 
 State Treasury 34 
 
 Armour as a Brakeman 751 
 
 Arthur, Peter M .- 647 
 
 "Atlantic," The 677 
 
 Ayer, Benjamin Franklin 60 
 
 Banks, Gen. Nathaniel P 36 
 
 Bellville & Southern R. R 117 
 
 Bessemer Steel Process 68 1 
 
 "Best Friend," The 677 
 
 Bill to Incorporate the Illinois Central 274 
 
 Biographical 128 
 
 Blackstone, Timothy B 61 
 
 "Blenkensop," The'. 676 
 
 Boston & Providence R. R 681 
 
 Boston & Worcester R. R 680 
 
 Brayman, Gen. Mason 36 
 
 "Brunton," The 676 
 
 Building of Illinois Central 684 
 
 Bunch of Railroad Incidents, A 751 
 
 Burnside, Gen. Ambrose E 36 
 
 Cairo Bridge 31 
 
 Cairo City & Canal Co 13 
 
 Calhoun, John B 29 
 
 Car Inspector, The 748 
 
 Carroll, Charles, of Carrollton 680 
 
 41 
 
 Carson, Irving W 37 
 
 Cedar Falls & Minnesota R. R 1 18 
 
 Cedar Rapids & Chicago R. R 1 18 
 
 Charter of the B. & O. Railway 680 
 
 Cherokee & Cedar Rapids R. R 1 18 
 
 Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern R. R 1 18 
 
 Chicago Harbor & Improvement Co 37 
 
 Chicago, Havana & Western R. R 117 
 
 Chicago, Madison & Northern R. R 117 
 
 Chicago, St. Louis & New Orleans R. R 1 18 
 
 Chicago to Omaha via I. C. R. R 727 
 
 Chicago & Texas R. R 1 18 
 
 Clarke, E. E 653 
 
 Clarke, Leverett H 58 
 
 Class and Traction Power of Engines 119 
 
 Completion of Main Line 33 
 
 Cost of Great Britain's Railways 680 
 
 Cost of Rails 30 
 
 Curley and his Engine 741 
 
 "DeWitt Clinton," The 680 
 
 DeWolf, William 37 
 
 Directors of the Illinois Central Railroad 
 
 Company no 
 
 Disposition of Granted Land 25 
 
 "Dragon," The 678 
 
 Dubuque & Sioux City R. R 118 
 
 Dunleith & Dubuque Bridge 118 
 
 Early Estimates of Cost 33 
 
 Effect of Panic of 1837 686 
 
 Engineers Prove Faithful 748 
 
 Engineer's Story, The 752
 
 760 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Everett, Charles W 37 
 
 Exports from Galena 3 1 
 
 Fast Runs 7 1 9 
 
 First Contract for Grading 1 16 
 
 First Line to Apply Locomotive Traction. . .680 
 
 First Line to Carry U. S. Mail 680 
 
 First Locomotive Built in the U. S 677 
 
 First Locomotive Used in the U. S 677 
 
 First National Legislation in the U. S. Per- 
 taining to Railroads 681 
 
 First Patent Granted for Locomotives in the 
 
 United States 677 
 
 First Purchase of Rails 30 
 
 First Railroad Built in the U. S 680 
 
 First Railroad for Passenger Traffic in Eng- 
 land 679 
 
 First Round House in the World 678 
 
 First Steam Freight Line 679 
 
 First Steam Railroad Train in New York. . .680 
 First Steel Used in Railroad Construction in 
 
 the United States 681 
 
 French, Gov. Augustus C 25 
 
 Galena 31 
 
 Great Western Railway Company 16 
 
 Gridley, Ashael 26 
 
 Government Amply Repaid 685 
 
 Grant to Iowa Territory 683 
 
 Havana, Rantoul & Eastern R. R 117 
 
 "Hercules," The 678 
 
 Hey worth, Hon. Lawrence 25 
 
 Historical Biographies 65 
 
 History of the Illinois Central R. R. Co 1 1 
 
 Holbrook Charter 13 
 
 How Illinois has Fared 686 
 
 How She Got Her Money's Worth 752 
 
 Hughitt, Marvin 61 
 
 Illinois Central Employes' Hospital 713 
 
 Illinois Central Test Car 711 
 
 Incorporation of Illinois Central R. R. Co. ... 22 
 
 Incorporators of the Illinois Central 27 
 
 Indiana & Illinois Southern R. R 117 
 
 Influence on Country's Development 687 
 
 Kankakee & Southwestern R. R 117 
 
 Kirkland, Maj . Joseph 37 
 
 Lake Front Act of 1869 37 
 
 Lake Front Act. 
 
 39 
 
 Land Commissioners 23 
 
 Land Grants 19 
 
 Land Grants, Stuy vesant Fish 683 
 
 Laying of Rails in Baltimore 680 
 
 Liberal Giver, A 751 
 
 Lincoln Car, The 121 
 
 Lines Opened for Traffic 116 
 
 Litchfield Division 118 
 
 Liverpool & Manchester R. R 680 
 
 McClellan, Gen. George B 36 
 
 Mason, Roswell B 28 
 
 Mechanical Marvel, A 749 
 
 Memorial for Charter 25 
 
 Mileage and Equipment of I. C 113 
 
 Mileage in Various States ,116 
 
 Mileage Y. & M.V. R. R 116 
 
 Miscellaneous Matter 673 
 
 Mohawk & Hudson R. R 680 
 
 "Mount Clare," The 678 
 
 Ninety Miles an Hour 695 
 
 Number and Classification of Cars Owned by 
 
 the Illinois Central 119 
 
 Number of Locomotives owned by the I. C. . 1 19 
 
 Ohio Valley Railroad 1 18 
 
 Oldest of Locomotive Engineers 715 
 
 Old N. O. J., & G. N. Time Card 716 
 
 Omaha Division, Completion of 1 18 
 
 Organization of First Engineering Party... 1 16 
 
 Organization of the Land Department 22 
 
 Peoria, Decatur & Evansville R. R 119 
 
 "Perkins," The 679 
 
 Personnell of the Management 123 
 
 Philadelphia & Trenton R. R 68 1 
 
 Pioneer in the Boneyard 723 
 
 Portsmouth & Roanoke R. R 681 
 
 Pre-Emption of Lands 18 
 
 Presidents of the I. C. R. R. Co 95 
 
 Railroad Man, The 743 
 
 Railway Signal System 735 
 
 Road Planned to Reach Mobile 684 
 
 Rails Used by the Illinois Central 120 
 
 Railway Connection with the South 48 
 
 Railway System of Great Britain 680 
 
 Ransom, Gen. Thomas E. G 36 
 
 Religious Railway, A 707 
 
 Revenue Freight Cars 119 
 
 Revenue Per Mile Operated 120 
 
 Right of Way Bill 16
 
 INDEX. 
 
 761 
 
 Riots of July, 1877 46 
 
 Robinson, Gen. H. L 37 
 
 "Rocket," Stephenson's 677 
 
 Securing Right of Way 27 
 
 Settled for the Calico Dress 753 
 
 Sketch of I. C. and its Traffic 689 
 
 Sketch of Railroading, its Joys and Dangers. 71 7 
 
 Sleeping Car Contract 47 
 
 South Carolina Railroad 680 
 
 South Chicago Railroad 117 
 
 State Appropriation Under Act of February 
 
 27, 1837 13 
 
 Stephenson, George 676 
 
 Stuart, Col. David 37 
 
 Stuy vesant Docks 688 
 
 Surveying Parties 29 
 
 "T" Rails. First made in U. S 681 
 
 The "600". 679 
 
 Total Grant of Land 23 
 
 Transportation Advancement 675 
 
 "Trevithick," The 675 
 
 Tucker, Col. James T 37 
 
 Tucker, Joseph F 59 
 
 Turchin, Gen. J. B 37 
 
 Visit of Foreign Delegates 44 
 
 Welling, John C 60 
 
 Wentworth, Hon. John 19 
 
 Wilmington & Susquehanna R. R 681 
 
 Woes of the Ticket Seller ................. 753 
 
 Wyman, Gen. John B ..................... 37 
 
 Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R ........... 1 18 
 
 RAILROAD FRATERNITIES. 
 
 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers ...... 647 
 
 Grand International Auxiliary to the B. of 
 L. E ......... ..' ....... ." ............. 651 
 
 Order of Railway Conductors ............. 653 
 
 Ladies' Auxiliary to the O. R. C ........... 659 
 
 Brotherhood of Locomotive Fireman ....... 66 1 
 
 Ladies' Society, B. of L. F ................. 665 
 
 Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen ......... 667 
 
 Ladies' Auxiliary to the B. of R. T ......... 669 
 
 Order Railway Telegraphers .............. 671 
 
 POETRY. 
 
 Rhyme of the Rail ....................... 755 
 
 Missouri Ike ............................ 756 
 
 What the Car Wheels Sang ............... 756 
 
 Flannigan & Finnigan .................... 757
 
 762 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 Abbott, J. North 198 
 
 Abrell, John A 34 
 
 Ackerman William K I4 1 
 
 Adams, A. M 39 2 
 
 Adams, Oscar E 147 
 
 Addkison, Robert E 334 
 
 Albright, Lee W 282 
 
 Albright, Lewis 146 
 
 Alderman, William 176 
 
 Alford, Robert S 253 
 
 Allen, George . 454 
 
 Alsop, Joseph W 84 
 
 Ames Thomas 493 
 
 Anderson, Harry H 402 
 
 Anderson, John A 592 
 
 Andrews, J. M 378 
 
 Andruss, J. B 296 
 
 Armistead, R. L 211 
 
 Armstrong, George H 178 
 
 Arnn, E. T 531 
 
 Arnold, M. N 562 
 
 Arthur, William R 618 
 
 Ash, J. C 402 
 
 Ashley, William H. Jr 282 
 
 Ashton James 326 
 
 Aspinwall, William H 87 
 
 Ayer, Benjamin Franklin 60 
 
 Bacot, Byron L 362 
 
 Bacot, W. B 363 
 
 Baer, Elwood E 544 
 
 Bailey, Daniel S .428 
 
 Baker, E. H 507 
 
 Baker, Horace 558 
 
 Baker, W. F 327 
 
 Ball, Henry A 305 
 
 Banks, Gen. Nathaniel P 36 
 
 Banks, Thomas Allen Jr 206 
 
 Banks, William E 313 
 
 Banta James H 537 
 
 Barker, W. E 579 
 
 Barnes, Isaac F 532 
 
 Barnes, L. Ed 368 
 
 Barnett, Charles J 354 
 
 Barnett, George L 347 
 
 Barr, William N 177 
 
 Bartlett, William H 202 
 
 Barton, Thomas F 633 
 
 Beach, J. F 372 
 
 Beals, Henry H 597 
 
 Beals, William L., 298 
 
 Beanland, William G 224 
 
 Becker, George M 291 
 
 Bellows, Albert W 496 
 
 Bennett, George G 487 
 
 Benton, George E 358 
 
 Benwell, Harry C 227 
 
 Beven, William 383 
 
 Bigleben, Adam R .557 
 
 Bishop, John C 533 
 
 Blackman, Joseph A 315 
 
 Blackstone, Timothy B 61 
 
 Blades, Harry W 233 
 
 Blodgett, Alexander 551 
 
 Blount, Isaac T 418 
 
 Bonds, William P 243 
 
 Boone, Jacob W 262 
 
 Bornschein, Joseph J 247 
 
 Boston, F. W 168 
 
 Bowers, Philip W 427 
 
 Boydston, B. A 454 
 
 Boyle, Patrick " 622 
 
 Bradley, C. W 347 
 
 Bradley, W. A 492
 
 INDEX. 
 
 763 
 
 Branner, F. M 248 
 
 Brayman, Gen. Mason 36 
 
 Breckenridge, Allender R 555 
 
 Brennan, Robert 328 
 
 Brewer, Samuel H 212 
 
 Brice, H. O 545 
 
 Bringle, N. E 378 
 
 Bristow, Sidney D 155 
 
 Broas, Albert E 211 
 
 Brooks, L. R 405 
 
 Brown, D. H 526 
 
 Brown, Harry J 365 
 
 Brown, J. Wesley 225 
 
 Brown, Orville W 304 
 
 Brown, Roldin A 514 
 
 Brown, William 485 
 
 Byrant, C. A 176 
 
 Buck, R. C 599 
 
 Buckner, L. G 367 
 
 Burgess, Charles 297 
 
 Burhyte, A. D 136 
 
 Burnell, John T 372 
 
 Burns, D. E 600 
 
 Burns, James 485 
 
 Burns, Luther 213 
 
 Burnsides, Gen. Ambrose E 36 
 
 Burrall, William Porter 99 
 
 Burrer, Frank L 367 
 
 Burrous, P. D 345 
 
 Busch, Benjamin 493 
 
 Butler, W. 576 
 
 Caldwell, Eugene B 251 
 
 Calhoun, Samuel J 436 
 
 Calkins, C. C 194 
 
 Cameron, D. C 234 
 
 Camp, H. E 188 
 
 Campbell, A 217 
 
 Campbell, Hollie 443 
 
 Canfield, Egbert N 516 
 
 Carey, H. C 536 
 
 Carey, M. F 155 
 
 Carey, Thomas 315 
 
 Carney, Charles 5 r S 
 
 Carney, J. G 570 
 
 Carson, Irving W 37 
 
 Chandler, J. M 433 
 
 Chandler, R. L 464 
 
 Chapman, Samuel B 593 
 
 Charlton, Harry 386 
 
 Chevalier David L 156 
 
 Chevalier, Henry L 176 
 
 Clancy, Daniel F 294 
 
 Clark, Eli 505 
 
 Clark, George A 498 
 
 Clark, S. C 541 
 
 Clark, W. K 594 
 
 Clarke, James C 107 
 
 Clarke, Leverett H '. . . 58 
 
 Clarke, R. A 580 
 
 Clermont, A. E 634 
 
 Cobourn, W. D 2^5 
 
 Cole, Geof. W 567 
 
 Cole, Hon. W. Q 501 
 
 Collins, E. A., 478 
 
 Collins, Thomas 511 
 
 Colmesnill, William T 203 
 
 Colquhoun, W 428 
 
 Conaty, Peter 467 
 
 Conrath, P. J 554 
 
 Conwell, William A 268 
 
 Cooley, F. R 147 
 
 Cooper, Hiram 402 
 
 Corcoran, William 515 
 
 Coughlin, M. J 555 
 
 Coulter, J. T 575 
 
 Covington, Howard 558 
 
 Cowan Edward D 435 
 
 Coyle, Bernard 184 
 
 Crabb, Cooper W 612 
 
 Craig, Charles B 274 
 
 Craig, James H 278 
 
 Craig, Thomas N 286 
 
 Cranmer, T. E 406 
 
 Crisp, Edward F 387 
 
 Crockett, Allen G 321 
 
 Crones, John 567 
 
 Crossett, E. L 579 
 
 Crowley, John F 568 
 
 Crownover, George M 143 
 
 Crumm, S. W 556 
 
 Crutchfield, Ed. W 264 
 
 Culley, Sam. C 445 
 
 Culton, David J 241
 
 764 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Cunningham, H T 296 
 
 Cunningham, J. A 39$ 
 
 Curley, Michael S 455 
 
 Curley, W. B.. 33* 
 
 Curran, Bernard 594 
 
 Curran, Franklin 603 
 
 Curran, Michael -. . . 293 
 
 Curtin, Edward 308 
 
 Dagron, L. L 382 
 
 Dahl, A. 242 
 
 Dailey, Eugene 137 
 
 Dalton, Frank C 423 
 
 Dana, E. 265 
 
 Dana, Edgar W 544 
 
 Danks, Edward 454 
 
 Dardis, James 295 
 
 Davidson, Forbes 418 
 
 Davis, G. H 587 
 
 Davis, J. L 361 
 
 Davis, Rodney D : 598 
 
 Davis, W. A 265 
 
 Davis, William B 483 
 
 Davis, William L 412 
 
 Dawes, Robert 257 
 
 Dawson, A. J 505 
 
 Dawson, Lance L 338 
 
 Day, W 7 . G 404 
 
 Dean, George C 264 
 
 DeBolt, Cornelius B 146 
 
 Dekle, L. W 394 
 
 Delaney, M. F 366 
 
 Detrick, William 615 
 
 Deveny, W. A 277 
 
 DeWolf, William 37 
 
 Dicke, F. J 277 
 
 Dickinson, E. H 391 
 
 Dillon, Adelbert 521 
 
 Dietrech, H. W 273 
 
 Dietrick, J. W 267 
 
 Dixon, Charles K 481 
 
 Dodds, William A 523 
 
 Dodge, J. W 245 
 
 Doherty, John 157 
 
 Dolan, John 507 
 
 Donoghue, Edward 235 
 
 Donnegan, Owen, 531 
 
 Donovan, J. T 243 
 
 Donovan, Michael 284 
 
 Dooley, James P 298 
 
 Douglas, James H 473 
 
 Douglas, John M 105 
 
 Driscoll, E. A 263 
 
 Dunbar, C. E 408 
 
 DuBois, J. M 192 
 
 Dugan, George M 630 
 
 Dugan, John G 194 
 
 Dunham, Edwin C 385 
 
 Dunham, Frank 492 
 
 Dunham, Joseph A 416 
 
 Dunn, C. E 448 
 
 Dunn, J. F 463 
 
 Dunn, O. M 323 
 
 Dunn, W. B 611 
 
 Dunning, William DeWitt 425 
 
 Dunsmoor, Charles H 138 
 
 Dunsmore, J. F 570 
 
 Duvall, Reginald 262 
 
 Eagleson, W. W 295 
 
 Earnist, A. S 547 
 
 Earnist, William W 273 
 
 Eccles, T. H 496 
 
 Edams, John B 542 
 
 Edwards, T. M 568 
 
 Egan Michael 434 
 
 Egger, William 618 
 
 Eich, Henry C 207 
 
 Elliott, David D 393 
 
 Ellis, C. C 435 
 
 Elrocl, Samuel G 641 
 
 Engelbrecht, C 502 
 
 Ensor, William H 353 
 
 Erickson, H. T 252 
 
 Estey, H. P 156 
 
 Evans, Frank, ' 143 
 
 Evans, Julian T. 456 
 
 Everett, Charles W 37 
 
 Everett, R. J 437 
 
 Faessler, Charles 411 
 
 Fagg, T. M 306 
 
 Fairburn, A. J 163 
 
 Fairburn, L. W 138
 
 INDEX. 
 
 765 
 
 Farnum, George W 303 
 
 Farnum, William E 586 
 
 Farrington, N. S 484 
 
 Pass, Louis J , 221 
 
 Fauquier, H. M 356 
 
 Ferguson, F. A. C 325 
 
 Ferguson, William T 364 
 
 Fenner, D. H 552 
 
 Fern, C .0 164 
 
 Fern, Frank E 182 
 
 Fern, R. M .' 173 
 
 Fish, Stuyvesant 131 
 
 Fitch, Samuel M 507 
 
 Fitzpatrick, James 471 
 
 Flanagan, M. G 162 
 
 Flickinger, D. M 144 
 
 Fletcher, Charles B 506 
 
 Fletcher, William 324 
 
 Fluck, William F 301 
 
 Fogerty, Henry 471 
 
 Foote, Lewis C 166 
 
 Ford, John G 386 
 
 Ford, Leon 228 
 
 Ford, Stephen 317 
 
 Forsythe, William S 258 
 
 Fortin, Edward L 599 
 
 Foss, Lorretto H 421 
 
 Foster, George H 336 
 
 Fox, Benjamin F 193 
 
 Fox, John H 138 
 
 Fraley, Andrew J 254 
 
 Franklin, A. T 462 
 
 Frantz William M 532 
 
 Prates, J. A 411 
 
 Freeman, C. P 307 
 
 Frisbie, N. W 431 
 
 Fuller, Ed 461 
 
 Fulmer, J. S 575 
 
 Fuqua, John H 335 
 
 Galvani, B. F -.414 
 
 Galvani, Charles 424 
 
 Gardner, Charles W 331 
 
 Gardner, William 256 
 
 Garmes, Henry 5S 
 
 Garvin, F. J 398 
 
 Garrard, S. L 605 
 
 Garrett, A. T 553 
 
 Gates, H. F 172 
 
 Gaven, John J 553 
 
 Geary, Patrick H 318 
 
 Gepper, Michael 424 
 
 Gerry, Edward W 511 
 
 Gerry, W. H 508 
 
 Ghent, Z. T 293 
 
 Gilkinson, Stewart 474 
 
 Gilleas, M 634 
 
 Gillen, C. E 308 
 
 Girard, August E 61 1 
 
 Glavin, William and Thomas Jr 641 
 
 Glove, John 612 
 
 Godwin, Robert A 237 
 
 Good, J. B. F 458 
 
 Goodale, R. J 606 
 
 Goodwin, Isaac 292 
 
 Goodwin, Z. J 421 
 
 Gordin, George R 476 
 
 Gorman, John R 132 
 
 Gossett, J, P 284 
 
 Gould, D. R 186 
 
 Grace, Thomas F 488 
 
 Graney, John 201 
 
 Granger, George 287 
 
 Gray, Oscar D 196 
 
 Gregory, E. T 163 
 
 Greig, Charles D 147 
 
 Griffin, J. R 168 
 
 Griffin, Philip R 183 
 
 Griffith, R. M 168 
 
 Grinnell, Henry 89 
 
 Griswold, George 68 
 
 Griswold, John N. A 101 
 
 Grogan, Pat 622 
 
 Guiteau, F. T 482 
 
 Gunther, James C 238 
 
 Gutshall, David 494 
 
 Hackett, G. W 177 
 
 Hadaway, W. A 438 
 
 Hafeli, F 629 
 
 Haines, A. G 172 
 
 Hales, Thomas F 599 
 
 Hall, Austin 293 
 
 Hall, John 504
 
 766 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Hall, W. C 224 
 
 Hall, William F 166 
 
 Hallam, Dr. John L 628 
 
 Hancock, William G 246 
 
 Hanson, John W 158 
 
 Hanson, Sam 297 
 
 Harlan, E. R .238 
 
 Harlan, R. J 610 
 
 Harms, Arthur, 251 
 
 Harahan, J. T 604 
 
 Harahan, William J 588 
 
 Harper, Grantley B 365 
 
 Harper, John 225 
 
 Harper, Sidney J 546 
 
 Harrell, Benjamin E 545 
 
 Harrell, Charles W 318 
 
 Harrell, J. D 195 
 
 Harrington John E 306 
 
 Harriman, Frank B 552 
 
 Hart, Andrew S 304 
 
 Hartigan, John C 634 
 
 Harvey, G. E 575 
 
 Harwood, Fred H 266 
 
 Hassman, George W 527 
 
 Hatch, O. L 407 
 
 Hatfield, Willard W 427 
 
 Hatz, George J 472 
 
 Haven, Franklin 83 
 
 Haviland, William J 148 
 
 Hawks, H. G 283 
 
 Hayes, P. L 201 
 
 Haynie, W. C 234 
 
 Healy, P. 522 
 
 Heath, William A 593 
 
 Hedgpeth, Marshal R 491 
 
 Hegler, Ed 276 
 
 Helmick, William J 376 
 
 Henchcliff, Titus 617 
 
 Henney, Frank D 536 
 
 Henry, William T 473 
 
 Herbert, W. R 377 
 
 Herring, Ben 228 
 
 Hildreth, Charles F 155 
 
 Higgins, John W 633 
 
 Hight, A. B. 457 
 
 Hill, A. H 502 
 
 Hill, Hiram 356 
 
 Hill, Martin 167 
 
 Hixon, McHenry 207 
 
 Hodge, George L 483 
 
 Hoffman, Joseph E 637 
 
 Hogan, John A 314 
 
 Holland, Jerry W 266 
 
 Holland, J. M 134 
 
 Holly, John. . .' 478 
 
 Holt, Charles A 615 
 
 Hooper, A. L 286 
 
 Hopkins, W. V 287 
 
 Horton, Samuel 453 
 
 Hoskins, James M 261 
 
 Hoskins, W. T 218 
 
 Houseal, John 1 191 
 
 Houseal, J. Fred 337 
 
 Howard, H. D 305 
 
 Huber, M. J., 587 
 
 Hudson, Thomas J 641 
 
 Hughitt, Marvin 61 
 
 Hume, W. A 487 
 
 Humphrey, Dominic T 503 
 
 Hunt, Wilson G 107 
 
 Hunt, W. J 630 
 
 Hurd Charles E 514 
 
 Hutchison, J. R 272 
 
 i 
 
 Ickes, William L 411 
 
 Trie Henry H 522 
 
 Jacoway, B. J 235 
 
 Jacobs, John C 441 
 
 James, Fred S 642 
 
 Jaquith, A. L 357 
 
 Jarman, George E 414 
 
 Jarvis, C. C 208 
 
 Jarvis, John F 181 
 
 Jay, Philips 438 
 
 Jeffery, Edward T 151 
 
 Jenkins, Robert C 463 
 
 Jenkins, Richard H 374 
 
 Jennings, Frank 616 
 
 Jewett, T. J 383 
 
 Johnson, John 278 
 
 Jones, Carey 556 
 
 Jones, Carter 606 
 
 Jones, Charles E. 145
 
 INDEX. 
 
 767 
 
 Jones, C. S 426 
 
 Jones, H. M 351 
 
 Jones, John A 213 
 
 Jones, J. H 404 
 
 Jones, John G 222 
 
 Jones, Merlin 511 
 
 Jones, Samuel P 555 
 
 Jones, W. D 324 
 
 Jordan, Charles L 217 
 
 Jordan, George 237 
 
 Jorgenson, Allen J 257 
 
 Joyce, P 158 
 
 Keenan, Patrick 561 
 
 Keirce, Michael J 223 
 
 Kell, Louis H t 372 
 
 Kelly, A. D 582 
 
 Kelly, Joseph 477 
 
 Kelly, Michael 317 
 
 Kelley, William F 627 
 
 Keloncl, William A 548 
 
 Kemp, J. B. 543 
 
 Kempton, M. H 482 
 
 Kennedy, Alex 456 
 
 Kennedy, Matthew 205 
 
 Kenison, F. 603 
 
 Kerwin, S. S 521 
 
 Kibler, John H 244 
 
 Kibler, Joseph H 494 
 
 Kieff, John .628 
 
 Kilborne, Byron K : . . .517 
 
 Killoran, W. T 188 
 
 Kinabrew, James W 406 
 
 King, John J 393 
 
 King, William S 538 
 
 Kinkle, John B 368 
 
 Kirkland, Maj. Joseph 37 
 
 Kirkwood, William .417 
 
 Knight, H. W 576 
 
 Knowles, W 314 
 
 Knowlton, Henry A 552 
 
 Kornbeck, P. 352 
 
 Krewson, M 466 
 
 Krueger, J. W 395 
 
 Kurth, William 136 
 
 Kyle, Thomas A 302 
 
 Labbe, Victor 497 
 
 Ladd, J. D 600 
 
 Lambert, E. J 518 
 
 Lane, John H 591 
 
 Langham, J. R 495 
 
 Law, A. J 392 
 
 Lawless, Edward 276 
 
 Lawrence, Benjamin T 223 
 
 Lawrence, H. J 253 
 
 Lawrence, J. R 277 
 
 Lawton, John E 334 
 
 Lemon, George 585 
 
 Leonard, Thomas M 464 
 
 Levy, F. G 563 
 
 Lewis, James H 292 
 
 Lewis, S. A .' 346 
 
 Lichtenberger, Benjamin 431 
 
 Lilly Albert Artie 381 
 
 Lilly, Joseph R 353 
 
 Lincoln, George A 267 
 
 Lindrew, Ole L 524 
 
 Linstrom, Charles 373 
 
 Linton, W. H 623 
 
 Lipsey, James E 547 
 
 Lischer, Edward P 145 
 
 Lock wood, Judge Samuel D 91 
 
 Lomax, J. C. . . . 205 
 
 Lomax, K. H 458 
 
 Lonergan, P. James _ 282 
 
 Long, Thomas A 232 
 
 Longinotti, David 453 
 
 Loomis, C. A 497 
 
 Lord, Grant 258 
 
 Loutzenhiser, Lot A 321 
 
 Love, J. C 586 
 
 Lowry, William C 323 
 
 Lucllow, Thomas W 89 
 
 Ludwick, Edwin B 528 
 
 Lud wig, Henry 307 
 
 Luscombe, Henry 1 34 
 
 Luttrell, James W '. 171 
 
 McCallum, Geo. D 364 
 
 McCann John M 333 
 
 McCarthy, Chas. H 137 
 
 McClellan, Gen. Geo. B 36 
 
 McClelland, Marion 306
 
 768 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 McClelland, Otto R 275 
 
 McClure, W. I , 327 
 
 McConachie, D. D 465 
 
 McCormick, T. P 574 
 
 McCosh, Frank 569 
 
 McCosker, Thos. J 377 
 
 McCourt, H ,- .548 
 
 McCoy, Geo. B 252 
 
 McCumsey, J 603 
 
 McCune, E. P 187 
 
 McDermott, John 45 2 
 
 McDonald, C. J 292 
 
 McFarlane, W. W 146 
 
 McFerson, Chas 285 
 
 McGraw, Wm. H 543 
 
 McGuire, Jno. L.. 215 
 
 Mcllwain, Ephraim 271 
 
 Mclnturfr, R. B 375 
 
 Mclntyre, George 461 
 
 Mclntyre, James 338 
 
 Mclntyre, William 465 
 
 McKay, Robert C 205 
 
 McKee, Thos. J 313 
 
 McKellip, David 241 
 
 McKenna, Wm. B 535 
 
 McKillop, A. J 273 
 
 McKinley, W. D 174 
 
 McLaughlin, B. J 328 
 
 McMurtrie, J. D 214 
 
 McNamara, James W 574 
 
 McNamara, John J 198 
 
 Mabey, Silas B 175 
 
 Makey, Howry G 387 
 
 Maddux, James S 557 
 
 Maine, Wm. L 294 
 
 Manley, Ira A 391 
 
 Margadant, Frank G 473 
 
 Markham, G. V 641 
 
 Martin, Allen C 335 
 
 Martin, I. H 206 
 
 Martin, James C 275 
 
 Mason, Dolph 488 
 
 M ason, Roswell B 93 
 
 Mauldin, S. R 397 
 
 Maxfield, J. L . 316 
 
 Mead Miss Anna C 445 
 
 Meinzer, Leo 183 
 
 Mercer, Ambrose E 247 
 
 Mercer, Thomas 348 
 
 Merry, Capt John F 513 
 
 Metcalf, Sherman A /|/|/| 
 
 Metz, Henry M 504 
 
 Meyer, J. William 196 
 
 Meyers, Alonzo R 526 
 
 Mifler, G. 165 
 
 Miller, H. L 447 
 
 Miller, James 617 
 
 Miller, Ozias S 534 
 
 Miller, S. S 244 
 
 Mills, Arthur H 468 
 
 Mitchell, W. C 315 
 
 Mixon, O. F 218 
 
 Moales, W. H 561 
 
 Mooney, Frank T. 403 
 
 Moore, C. H 211 
 
 Moore, John 90 
 
 Moore, Thomas A 343 
 
 Moran, J. T 142 
 
 Morgan, M. T 591 
 
 Morgan, Richard 197 
 
 Moreno, C. A 441 
 
 Moreno, Theodore Jr 252 
 
 Morris, Gouverneur 80 
 
 Morris, J. A 562 
 
 Morrison, J. W. 564 
 
 Mosher, B. E 344 
 
 Morthland, David C 226 
 
 Muhr, Peter A 275 
 
 Mulconery, Maurice C 415 
 
 Mulconery, Michael 416 
 
 Mulhall, Joseph H 236 
 
 Mulkern, J. F 144 
 
 Mulvin, John 228 
 
 Mulvoy, John 581 
 
 Mullan, Henry C 497 
 
 Mullan, J. W 133 
 
 Muller, J. G 197 
 
 Mullinix, G. F 213 
 
 Mtmn, W. L 226 
 
 Murphy, Jere P 444 
 
 Murphy, Philip H 407 
 
 Murphy, Thomas F 487 
 
 Murray, P. H. Jr. 424
 
 INDEX. 
 
 769 
 
 Murrell, Dr. H. H 612 
 
 Muse, J. P 396 
 
 Xall, S. W 316 
 
 Neal, Capt. David A 85 
 
 Nelson, Lewis P 143 
 
 Nelson, O. G 332 
 
 Newell, John 106 
 
 Niman, George 131 
 
 Norman, Fred C 134 
 
 North Samuel 518 
 
 Oakley, William L 332 
 
 Ogden, Vincent E 242 
 
 Ohlson, P 446 
 
 Olmstead, Irving C 355 
 
 O'Malley, John 422 
 
 Orchard, James J 484 
 
 Ormond, William B 504 
 
 Ormsby, Richard W 164 
 
 O'Rourke, James J 358 
 
 O'Rourke, Peter 582 
 
 Osborn, John A ' 521 
 
 Osborn, William H 101 
 
 Owen, A. S 274 
 
 Oxley, R. D 630 
 
 Palmer, E. D 285 
 
 Palmer, Hugh L 397 
 
 Patterson, J. C 403 
 
 Patterson, W. D 516 
 
 Patzen, P. J 576 
 
 Paul, J. T 345 
 
 Payne, E. J 395 
 
 Peckens, E. D 621 
 
 Peckens, S. N 503 
 
 Pendergrast, Richard C 458 
 
 Perkins, Eli W 221 
 
 Peters, Geo. E 567 
 
 Petrie, Robt 302 
 
 Pettingill, Jesse D 214 
 
 Philbrick, A 610 
 
 Phillips, R. F 397 
 
 Pickart, Anthony 534 
 
 Pierce, H. G 512 
 
 Pimm, T. J 193 
 
 Place, Fred E 425 
 
 Place, James D 161 
 
 Place, Thomas W 371 
 
 Plumb, Wm. G 185 
 
 Poland, A J 617 
 
 Polmyer, Wm. R 173 
 
 Pomeroy, A. F 598 
 
 Poole, James E 527 
 
 Pope, E. H 467 
 
 Powles, Samuel T 597 
 
 Price, H. L 202 
 
 Price, W. H 446 
 
 Priestly, Dr. Chas. S 447 
 
 Priestley, Harry D 445 
 
 Priestley, Thomas S 443 
 
 Pursley, James H 288 
 
 Quiggins, Chas. J 222 
 
 Quinn, Dr. Oliver B 336 
 
 Quinlan, J. H 533 
 
 Ralph, A. H 355 
 
 Randall, Job 587 
 
 Rankin, Wm. G 605 
 
 Ranson, Gen. Thos. E. G 36 
 
 Rantoul, Robt. Jr 71 
 
 Rarrick. E 615 
 
 Rasback, James 618 
 
 Reader, A. E 388 
 
 Reagin, John W 425 
 
 Reames, Samuel M 238 
 
 Reardon, Daniel J 162 
 
 Redus, W. E 274 
 
 Reece, J. P 154 
 
 Reed, Charles 287 
 
 Read, F. A 557 
 
 Reep, Harvey C 312 
 
 Reeves, S. W 551 
 
 Renshaw, Wm 621 
 
 Rhodes, Henry L .623 
 
 Rhyne, Ross W 443 
 
 Richter, Frank 268 
 
 Richter, Lewis 268 
 
 Ridley, H. B 408 
 
 Rigfgin, J- J 475 
 
 Ring. Nicholas 517 
 
 Robbins, R 148 
 
 Roberts, Chas. E 593,
 
 770 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Roberts, H 623 
 
 Robertson, Geo. J 4 O1 
 
 Robinson, Gen. H. L 37 
 
 Rogers, Wm. F '. 3 2 3 
 
 Rooker, W. W 553 
 
 Rooney, Henry 135 
 
 Roper, L. E --I57 
 
 Rosebrugh, John R 311 
 
 Rought, Geo. S 277 
 
 Rowley, H. W 297 
 
 Ruffin, Thomas D 236 
 
 Ruffin, William 542 
 
 Rugg, F. A 541 
 
 Rugg, F. B ; 331 
 
 Russell, E. P 582 
 
 Ryan, W. J 457 
 
 Sabin, Hon C. J 621 
 
 Sampsell, Wm. W 525 
 
 Sanderson, Alfred 508 
 
 Sanford, John FA 77 
 
 Schermerhorn, F. H 311 
 
 Schilling, Nicholas 474 
 
 Schlax, Peter 594 
 
 Schulkers, Joseph R 38 1 
 
 Schuyler, Robert 97 
 
 Scott, John A 257 
 
 Scott, William M 585 
 
 Scudder, E. S 616 
 
 Searles, H. G 185 
 
 Seaver, Horace L 45 1 
 
 Shafer, C. H 391 
 
 Shannon, Thos. F 231 
 
 Sharp, Albert A 281 
 
 Shaughnessy, J. J 291 
 
 Shaw, Arthur M 498 
 
 Shea, W. J..... 254 
 
 Sheahan, D 248 
 
 Shegog, John E 574 
 
 Shell, Amos E 637 
 
 Shoff ner, Dr. James H 468 
 
 Shoffner, William F 537 
 
 Shull, E. H I? 8 
 
 Sights, Preston A 246 
 
 Simons, C. J 135 
 
 Simpson, George 466 
 
 Sinclair, Albert E 594 
 
 Skene, E. P.. . . 638 
 
 Skillman, Edward B 373 
 
 Sloan, David 624 
 
 Smith, Archie T 395 
 
 Smith, Charles B 344 
 
 Smith, Charles L 157 
 
 Smith, Charles R 415 
 
 Smith, Henry A 174 
 
 Smith, Iveson E 366 
 
 Smith, James 538 
 
 Smith, John P 624 
 
 Smith, Lucian 183 
 
 Smith, M. A 562 
 
 Smith, Pleasant A 486 
 
 Smith, William H 627 
 
 Smith, W. H 355 
 
 Snycler, George 624 
 
 Sommers, C. W 422 
 
 Southwick, Wm. C 436 
 
 Spence, W. G 303 
 
 Stack, Maurice 363 
 
 Staley, D. R 452 
 
 Staley, J. C 580 
 
 Stanton, W. W 348 
 
 Stearns, Esleeck 546 
 
 Stearns, Fred H 186 
 
 Steelman, C. W 573 
 
 Stewart, Alix M 558 
 
 Stewart, John B 534 
 
 Stewart, J. B 361 
 
 Stewart, Wm. T 342 
 
 Stewmon, A. W 401 
 
 Stinespring, Geo. H 417 
 
 St. John, C 432 
 
 Stovall, Edgar F 232 
 
 Stromgren, Chas. R 485 
 
 Stuart, Charles 495 
 
 Stuart, Col. David 37 
 
 Stuart, F. M 307 
 
 Stuber, Nicholas 451 
 
 Stufflebeam, B. E 337 
 
 Sturges, Jonathan 67 
 
 Sullivan, Albert W 604 
 
 Sullivan, Cornelius J 301 
 
 Sullivan, J 184 
 
 Swanson, Carl F 263
 
 INDEX. 
 
 771 
 
 Swartwood, Hugh C 592 
 
 Swerts, I. R 388 
 
 Tait,J.T 175 
 
 Talifaro, Claude W 352 
 
 Tate, Samuel W 426 
 
 Tate, Thomas 448 
 
 Taylor, E. A 145 
 
 Taylor, Fred B 133 
 
 Taylor, F. W 423 
 
 Taylor, J. G 283 
 
 Taylor, M. M 171 
 
 Taylor, Robert 272 
 
 Taylor, William A 333 
 
 Taylor, W. 1 308 
 
 Thomas, William F 341 
 
 Thompson, Geo. E 581 
 
 Tracey, J. J 265 
 
 Tucker, Joseph F 59 
 
 Tucker, Col. James T 37 
 
 Turchin, Gen. John B 37 
 
 Turley, A. G 61 1 
 
 Turner, Geo. P 142 
 
 Van Patten, M 351 
 
 Van Rensselaer, J. F 166 
 
 Van Vleck Lawrence 192 
 
 Yaupel, Louie 538 
 
 Viall, L. R 494 
 
 Waddington, Wm 181 
 
 Wagner, Frank G 136 
 
 Waggener, W. C 491 
 
 Wakefield, A. N 286 
 
 Waldron, F. L 396 
 
 Walker, J. A 322 
 
 Walker, T. B 284 
 
 Wallace, Harold U 468 
 
 Wallace John F 638 
 
 Wamsley, W 629 
 
 Ward, Frank 276 
 
 Ward, G. L 132 
 
 Ward, T. F 433 
 
 Watson, Herbert B 569 
 
 Waugh Geo. E 288 
 
 Webb, Hon. John A 432 
 
 Webb, Maurice S 343 
 
 Webb, William D 475 
 
 Webb, William W 384 
 
 Webster Daniel 463 
 
 Weeks, Bonzano 374 
 
 Weigel, D. S 301 
 
 Weir, Horace 443 
 
 Weitzel, John S 496 
 
 Weldon, T. F 580 
 
 Welling, John C 60 
 
 Westcott, Frank 543 
 
 Whalen, Patrick 328 
 
 Whalon, James T 522 
 
 Whelan, J. F 573 
 
 Wheeler, B. F 233 
 
 Wheeler, Frederick R 255 
 
 Wheeler, J. A 506 
 
 Wheeler, W. M 375 
 
 Wheelock, F. G. 325 
 
 White, S. K 385 
 
 White, William 412 
 
 White, W. 227 
 
 Wildeson, T. S 523 
 
 Wiley, Leroy M 69 
 
 Wilkinson, P. B 398 
 
 Wilkinson, Wm. R 256 
 
 Willard, M. B 288 
 
 Williams, A. L 563 
 
 Williams, Jesse D 266 
 
 Williams, John S 541 
 
 Williams, John T 405 
 
 Williams, William H 362 
 
 Wilson, James A 382 
 
 Wilson, John Hays 637 
 
 Wilson, Thomas 475 
 
 Winder, J. A 564 
 
 Winters, Frank 258 
 
 Wise, Elliott F 524 
 
 Wolf, James A 554 
 
 Wolfe, John L 167 
 
 Wood, James 545 
 
 Woodcock, J. B 568 
 
 Wooley, Wm. C .609 
 
 Worden, Wm. D 354 
 
 Wray, W. L 255 
 
 Wright, Edward A 588 
 
 Wright, Thomas J 629 
 
 Wright, Wm. Z 158
 
 772 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Wylie, F. W 5^ 
 
 Wyman, Henry S 47^ 
 
 \Yvman, Col. John B 37 
 
 Yeardwood, R. J 525 
 
 Young, B. M 569 
 
 Young, H. G 501 
 
 Young, T. M 472 
 
 Youngblood, J. E 462 
 
 Zanone Frank J 212 
 
 Zimmerman, J. E 486
 
 INDEX. 
 
 773 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Frontispiece Central Station, Chicago. 
 
 PORTRAITS. 
 
 Ackcrman, William K 140 
 
 Arnn, E. T 530 
 
 Barker, W. E 578 
 
 Barton, Thomas F 632 
 
 Heals, Henry H. 596 
 
 Becker, George M 290 
 
 Blodgett, Alexander 55 
 
 Cole, Hon. W. Q 5o 
 
 Crockett, Allen G 320 
 
 Crones, John 566 
 
 Crossett, E. L 578 
 
 Culton, David J 240 
 
 Curran, Franklin 602 
 
 Davis, J. L 360 
 
 Detrick, William 614 
 
 Dickinson, E. H 390 
 
 Dixon, Charles K 480 
 
 Donnegan, Owen 530 
 
 Faessler, Chas 410 
 
 Fitzpatrick, James 470 
 
 Fish, Stuyvesant 1 30 
 
 Fluck, William F 300 
 
 Fogerty, Henry 470 
 
 Frisbie, N. W 430 
 
 Fuller, Ed 460 
 
 Gardner, Charles W 330 
 
 Gerry, Edward W 510 
 
 Glavin, Thomas A. Jr 640 
 
 Goodwin, Z. J 420 
 
 Graney, J 200 
 
 Harms, Arthur 250 
 
 Hawley, Gideon ." 714 
 
 Hayes, P. L. 200 
 
 Hedgpeth, Marshall R 490 
 
 Hoffman, Joseph E. ; 636 
 
 Hoskins, James M 260 
 
 Houseal, John 1 190 
 
 I ekes, William L 410 
 
 James, Fred S 643 
 
 Jarvis, John F 180 
 
 Jeffery, Edward Turner 150 
 
 Jones, Merlin 510 
 
 Keenan, Patrick 560 
 
 Kelley, William F 626 
 
 Kenison, F. 602 
 
 Kerwin, S. S 520 
 
 Lane, John H 590 
 
 Lemon, George 584 
 
 Lichtenberger, Bejamin 430 
 
 Lilly, Albert Artie 380 
 
 Luttrell, James W 170 
 
 Mcllwain, Ephraim 270 
 
 McKellip, David 240 
 
 Markham, G. V 640 
 
 Moore, C. H 210
 
 774 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Moreno, C. A 44O 
 
 Morgan, M. T 59 
 
 Perkins, Eli W 220 
 
 Peters, George E 566 
 
 Place, James D 160 
 
 Place, Thomas Wheelock 370 
 
 Rarrick, E 614 
 
 Reeves, S. W 55o 
 
 Renshaw, William 620 
 
 Robertson, George J 400 
 
 Rugg, F. B 330 
 
 Schermerhorn, F. H 310 
 
 Seaver, Horace L 450 
 
 Sharp, Albert A 280 
 
 Shell, Amos E. .636 
 
 Shaffer, C. H 390 
 
 Shannon, Thomas F 230 
 
 Smith, William Henry 626 
 
 Steelman, C. W 572 
 
 Stewart, J. B 360 
 
 Stuber, Nicholas 450 
 
 Thomas, William F 340 
 
 Van Patten, M 350 
 
 Waggener, W. C 490 
 
 Weigel, D. S 300 
 
 Williams, John S 540 
 
 Wilson, John Hays ' *. . .636 
 
 Wooley, William C 608 
 
 GENERAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Air Brake Instruction Cars 668 
 
 Air Brake Instruction Cars. .682 
 
 Baggage Checks 20-21 
 
 Bridge over Missouri River 90 
 
 Cedar River, near Waterloo, la 726 
 
 Centrifugal Snow Plow 100 
 
 Clark, E. E 633 
 
 Coon River Trestle 117 
 
 Cotton Field, Yazoo Valley, Miss 734 
 
 Cotton Field in the Yazoo Valley 750 
 
 Device for Inserting and Removing Driving 
 
 Box Brasses 702 
 
 Drilling Machines 698 
 
 Effects of a Collision 56 
 
 First Railway Bridge in Corea 670 
 
 "Freight Conductor En Route" 98 
 
 Gideon, Hawley 714 
 
 Hydraulic Punch and Shear 718 
 
 Hydraulic Shear 722 
 
 Illinois Central Employes' Hospital 712 
 
 Illinois Central Test Car 711 
 
 Lincoln Car, The 121 
 
 Oldest of Locomotive Engineers 715 
 
 O. R. C. Traveling Card 658 
 
 Scene in Yazoo Delta 694 
 
 Stuyvesant Docks, New Orleans 688 
 
 Test Car of the I. C. R. R 710 
 
 Train with Electric Locomotive 670 
 
 Tunnel, Monticello, Wis 744 
 
 Water-power Dam at Waterloo, la 35 
 
 Wrecked Locomotive 56 
 
 LOCOMOTIVES. 
 
 "Atlantic," The 70 
 
 "Brunton," The 679 
 
 "Camel-Back," A 82 
 
 Camel-Back, Line Engraving 84 
 
 "Dragon," The 74 
 
 "Hercules," The 68 
 
 Largest Locomotive in the World 28 
 
 "Mt. Clare," The ' 72 
 
 "Mogul," First Passenger 78 
 
 "Newton," The 676 
 
 No. "640," the largest in the world 28 
 
 No. "18," freight 41 
 
 No. "942" 47 
 
 No. "245," Suburban 59 
 
 No. "144," Switch 80 
 
 No. "383," Passenger 86 
 
 No. "638," Freight 88 
 
 No. "i 156," Passenger 92 
 
 No. "223" 104
 
 INDEX. 
 
 775 
 
 "Perkins," The 76 
 
 "Seguin," The 677 
 
 Stephenson's "Rocket" 680 
 
 LOCOMOTIVES, FOREIGN. 
 
 Egyptian State Railways 664 
 
 French State Railway 650 
 
 Great Northern of England 656 
 
 STATIONS. 
 
 Cherokee, Iowa 108 
 
 Chicago, Park Row Frontispiece 
 
 Fort Dodge, Iowa 106 
 
 Freeport, 111 102 
 
 Memphis Poplar street and Main and Cal- 
 
 houn streets 17 
 
 New Orleans, La 53 
 
 Sioux City, Iowa 44 
 
 Waterloo, Iowa 708 
 
 SHOPS. 
 
 Burnside, 111 14 
 
 Freeport, 111 62 
 
 McComb City, Miss 50 
 
 Paducah, Ky 32 
 
 Water Valley, Miss 38 
 
 Waterloo, Iowa 24 

 
 APPENDIX.
 
 At the request of many patrons of this work we have added 
 the following blank pages that a future record may be preserved. 
 It will be found very desirable for the purpose of entering data 
 of deaths, accidents, promotions, or any events pertaining to those 
 whose life record is herein portrayed.
 
 APPENDIX. 779
 
 APPENDIX. 
 780
 
 APPENDIX. 7 81
 
 ?82 APPENDIX.
 
 APPENDIX. 783
 
 784 APPENDIX,
 
 APPENDIX. 785
 
 ?86 APPENDIX.
 
 APPENDIX.
 
 ?88 APPENDIX.
 
 APPENDIX. 789
 
 ?90 APPENDIX.
 
 APPENDIX. 791
 
 792 APPENDIX.
 
 APPENDIX. 793
 
 APPENDIX.
 
 APPENDIX. 795
 
 APPENDIX. 
 796
 
 APPENDIX. 797
 
 APPENDIX. 
 798
 
 APPENDIX. 799
 
 APPENDIX. 
 800
 
 APPENDIX. 801
 
 802 APPENDIX.

 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 "STORY OF THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD