923.4 
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 TWO JUDGES 
 of OTTAWA 
 
 WAYNE C, TOWNLEY 
 
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 TWO JUDGES 
 of OTTAWA 
 
 By 
 WAYNE C. TOWNLEY 
 
 Past President McLean County Bar Association 
 Past President Illinois State Historical Society 
 President McLean County Historical Soceity 
 
 McLEAN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 Volume 7 
 
 •CXSss#0(X&5£0 OC&^O CX~=^O0CX~S3SO OC^s^O <X~2^0<X~s#0 • 
 
EGYPT BOOK HOUSE 
 
 Copyright 1948 
 
 Printed In The United States of America 
 
T(e(et 
 
 Jm&j 
 
 TWO JUDGES 
 OF OTTAWA 
 
TWO JUDGES OF OTTAWA 
 
 THAT land, where, a little over a century ago, "the Indian was the sole 
 possessor of the prairies and forests of this beautiful valley, and the buf- 
 falo, elk, and deer were his herds, and the Indian wigwams were pitched in 
 the shady groves, fragrant with blossoms of the wild plum and wild apple, 
 along the banks of rippling streams of pure and crystaMike waters, from 
 which the Indian maiden angled the most delicious of black bass and pickerel 
 for the evening meal of the Indian warrior on his return from the chase," 
 is now the center of the most highly civilised nation on the face of the 
 earth. 1 
 
 Ottawa, originally, was laid out as the town of Carbonia at the 
 junction of the Fox and Illinois rivers and on state-owned land through which 
 ran the Illinois and Michigan Canal. Gurdon Hubbard was one of those 
 who helped to lay out the town. There is a priceless map of the old town 
 of Carbonia hanging in the mayor's office at Ottawa with Hubbard's sig<- 
 nature on it. The name Carbonia probably came from the historic idea 
 that coal was first found in the United States about three miles west of Otta- 
 wa along the Illinois River by men who built a fire against "black rocks." 
 The "rocks" caught fire — they were blocks of coal. 8 
 
 Ottawa has been the home of many great persons. The culture, re- 
 finement, education, and the other elements which make a good city are re- 
 flections of the leaders and the results of their efforts. In the early days, 
 Ottawa was one of a small group of Illinois cities that so far outdistanced the 
 majority of places in Illinois as to be the subject of common remark. One 
 of the reasons for the distinctiveness of the city was the location of the 
 Supreme Court for the Northern Jurisdiction at this place in the days when 
 "court days" furnished everything in the community in the way of commun- 
 ications, neighborhood gatherings, human interest, drama and, too often, 
 mere theatricals. 
 
 It is important to remember the age of churches of Ottawa, not be- 
 cause they are old, but to call to mind that the religious influence was one 
 of the foundation stones of the community, and that all of the people have 
 been influenced since the beginning by them. The great interest in secret 
 lodges with their high ideals existed only in the better communities. One 
 
 1 The White Apron. A History of Occidental Lodge of Masons, No. 40, of 
 Ottawa, p. 9. 
 2 C. C. Tisler. 
 
cannot judge the effectiveness of secret societies of early times by 
 present day activities. Not many members today have their lives centered 
 in societies as in formei days. A century ago, with long hours and hard 
 labor, with poor transportation, there was little time for more than one ac 
 tivity. Now these activities are, in most cities, incidental. The early lodges 
 of Ottawa exercised an excellent influence. The early leaders were of the 
 highest type. 
 
 Burton C. Cook was one of the great men of Ottawa. He was a 
 member of the State Senate from 1852 to 1860, and during that time switched 
 from the Democratic to the Republican party. He was one of the committee 
 of five appointed by the State Senate to consider the matter of Governor Joel 
 A. Matteson and the Canal Scrip scandal. Judgment was entered subset 
 quently against Governor Matteson in the Sangamon County Circuit Court, 
 October 28, 1868, for $250,000. 1 
 
 Lincoln had been elected to the Illinois State Legislature. He re' 
 signed and entered the race for the United States Senate against General 
 Shields. A Democrat was elected to succeed Lincoln in the Legislature, 
 but Lincoln might have been elected to the United States Senate except 
 "for the obstinacy of three insurgent Democrats," among them being B. C. 
 Cook, "who would on no account vote for a Whig. 1 ' Lincoln, of course 
 switched his vote to Trumbull, who was elected in 1855. 
 
 Men often misjudge the importance of events. When Cook was a 
 delegate to the Republican Convention in Bloomington in 1856, he gave the 
 concluding speech of the convention after Lincoln had made his famous "Lost 
 Speech." O. H. Browning reported their efforts and his own in these words: 
 "I was called out and made two speeches in the afternoon. Convention also 
 addressed by Lovejoy, Lincoln, Cook, and others." 2 
 
 Later, Cook was a delegate to the "Peace Conference," early in 1861, 
 which failed to avert the impending war. Becoming congressman following 
 the death of Owen Lovejoy in 1864, he served until 1873. His last years 
 were spent in Chicago. The old home still stands in Ottawa, a block from 
 the scene of the Lincoln'Douglas debate. 
 
 Cook, in many respects, was too unassuming for his own reputation. 
 He lacked showmanship but was able and reliable. In 1864, he nominated 
 his friend Abraham Lincoln for the presidency of the United States for a 
 second term. Ordinarily, one would not quote an entire nominating speech, 
 but an exception may be made with Cook's. His speech in full follows: 
 "Mr. President, the State of Illinois again presents to the loyal people of 
 
 Eighty Years of Illinois, Lusk, pp. 218-219. 
 2 Diary, O. H. Browning, Vol. 1, p. 238. 
 
 — 6 — 
 
this nation, for President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. God 
 bless him." 1 
 
 The mansion of Washington Bushnell, the first of the attorneys gen' 
 eral of Illinois from Ottawa, still stands in East Ottawa and is a show place 
 even today. He was graduated from the National Law School of Pough- 
 keepsie, New York, in 1853, was admitted to the Bar and came to Ottawa 
 the same year and became a member of the law firm of Gray, Avery and 
 Bushnell, the strongest law firm then in Illinois. 2 The first statutory law 
 in the United States giving women equal property rights was placed on 
 the statute books of Illinois through the interest and efforts of Bushnell, 
 concluded by his fifteen minute speech before the State Senate of Illinois, 
 while he was a member of that body. 3 
 
 In the same city is the old home of Maurice T. Moloney, another 
 attorney general of Illinois, now the property of Doctor F. P. Twohey. 
 W. H. Stead was the third Ottawan to hold the high office. The city direc- 
 tories list him as living in hotels or apartment houses so there is no home of 
 his to be seen. John E. Cassidy, a later attorney general, was born in Otta- 
 wa. Thus the city furnished four attorneys general for Illinois, a record 
 unequalled by any other city. 
 
 Ottawa also was the boyhood home of Harry Kelly, a veteran of 
 World War I, who lost a leg in France, and who later became governor of 
 the State of Michigan. The old Kelly home still is standing but the family 
 has moved to Detroit. 
 
 The brilliant James H. Eckels practiced law at Ottawa. In 1893, 
 when he was only thirty-two years of age, he was appointed comptroller of 
 the treasury by President Grover Cleveland. 4 
 
 Mrs. James H. Eckels was a granddaughter of Rachel Hall Munson, 
 who with her sister, Sarah Hall Horn, survived the Indian Creek massacre 
 in May, 1832. The sister of Mrs. Eckels was the wife of Judge Kennesaw 
 Mountain Landis, United States district judge, and better known to the 
 later generation as baseball's first commissioner. 5 
 
 While he cannot be classed with the great men of Ottawa, Lee 
 O'Neill Browne, for many years a center of controversy while a powerful 
 member of the State Legislature, had his home on the bluff of the Fox 
 River in East Ottawa. 
 
 Certainly not among the great, but of interest, were the Claflin 
 sisters — Victoria and Tennessee. 
 
 1 Ottawi Republican, June 18, 1864. 
 
 2 The White Apron, p. 152. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 234. 
 
 4 Ottawa Old and Hew, p. 180. 
 
 5 Tisler. 
 
The Ottawa Free Trader, July 4, 1863, announced the sisters' stay 
 in the city with their "cure'alls," including curing of cancer "in from 10 
 to 48 hours — simply by applying a mild salve." They rented the Fox River 
 House, a hotel, for their work. The death of a patient resulted in an indict' 
 ment for manslaughter and their exit from the county and state. 
 
 Born and reared in the worst possible surroundings, if we can be' 
 lieve what we read, Victoria became the first woman to be heard officially 
 in congressional circles in favor of woman suffrage; became the acknow 
 ledged head of the spiritualists of the United States; became one of the 
 best known and most effective orators of the country; was thrown into jail 
 for alleged blackmail of Henry Ward Beecher; became a confidant of Com- 
 modore Cornelius Vanderbifc. She and her sister became the first "lady 
 stock brokers" of Wall Street. 
 
 The Claflin sisters made and lost a fortune with their medicines; 
 made and lost a fortune as stock brokers; made and lost a fortune as pub' 
 lishers of Woodhull 6? Claflin s Wee\ly. 
 
 Victoria was three times the nominee for the presidency of the 
 United States on the Equal Rights Party ticket, once with the Negro leader 
 Frederick Douglass as the vicS'presidental nominee. The newspapers and 
 magazines of the nation carried stories and pictures of the sisters. Thomas 
 Nast and other cartoonists characterized them and portrayed them. They 
 became propagandists for a hundred changes: in the individual, in society, 
 and in government — some fine — some disgraceful and indecent. 
 
 Victoria sat on the platform with Susan B. Anthony; spoke at 
 Cooper Union Institute; was an intimate friend of many of the renowned 
 of her time. In New York, in May, 1871, she publicly advocated revolu' 
 tion, treason, a new constitution, and a new government so that women 
 might have equal rights. Her sister was a good team'mate. 
 
 When Tennessee made her first public speech, ten thousand persons 
 came to hear her. Victoria advocated a "United Nations" publicly and 
 often, as early as 1872. Hotels and families refused to house the women 
 because of their reputations for trouble, but the sisters pursued their ways. 
 They were arrested for sending obscene matter through the mails; law 
 suits became a habit — blackmail accusations common. "Boss" Tweed of 
 New York looted the city of millions and was put under $51,000 bond; in 
 one case — a misdemeanor — the Claflin sisters had to post $60,000. 
 
 The sisters were always the center of controversy as well as interest. 
 An example of this occurred in Bloomington, Illinois, when Victoria was 
 scheduled to speak on January 28, 1874, at the Durley Hall on the subject 
 "Reformation or Revolution, Which?" Because of her reputation and char' 
 
 — 8 — 
 
Valley View, 1880, home of Judge T. Lyle Dic\ey. J\[ow the property of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Phillip S. McDougall. 
 
 "The Oa\s," home of General W. H. L. Wallace, T^orth Bluff, Ottawa, 
 now a state-owned historical memorial. ...The original furnishings remain. 
 
 Open to the public. 
 
acter, a spirited controversy arose as to whether or not she should be 
 allowed to speak. The controversy ended by canceling the date at the 
 Durley Hall and holding the meeting at the Phoenix Hall. The newspaper 
 account states that the meeting was well attended and the next night a 
 second lecture was held at the Turner Hall. The two sisters could alwayjs 
 be counted upon as the center of attention and controversy wherever they 
 were. 
 
 Victoria C. Woodhull returned to Bloomington later. The Daily 
 Pantagrajph of January 19, 1875, stated, "She was accompanied by her hus- 
 band — if we may use the term under her construction of the laws that gov 
 ern her Utopian scheme of social relations — Col. Blood/ 1 
 
 Victoria hardly could write even her name and Tennessee was little 
 better, but they accomplished things. The sisters went to England. Victoria 
 married a rich banker, John B. Martin, British commissioner to the Chicago 
 World's Fair, who left her almost a million dollars when he died. Tennes- 
 see married Sir Francis Cook and became Lady Cook. When her husband 
 died he left her a much greater fortune than that left to her sister. 
 
 The sisters kept on fighting and twenty-six years after the Ottawa 
 manslaughter indictment they came back from England to start libel and 
 slander suits. Ottawa was in the news again. Ottawa residents testified 
 to the bad reputations of the sisters. Detectives and police denounced them. 
 The sisters returned to England. Victoria and Tennessee swore out war- 
 rants to arrest their own parents — turmoil always was present. Victoria 
 brought the first lawsuit ever filed against the British Museum in London. 
 
 Both sisters probably can be characterized as cheap publicity seekers, 
 ambitious for money, of low standards, but none can deny that the Claflin 
 girls went a long way in life from the days of their "cancer cure" center 
 at Ottawa to the day when King" Edward VII went to Victoria's home in 
 England for dinner. 
 
 A man on the North Bluff, but on the east side of La Salle Street, 
 was Solomon E. King. Although he never attained the stature, either state- 
 wide or nationally, that some other Ottawans did, he was one of the great- 
 est philanthropists that the city ever had. He was an Easterner who came 
 to Ottawa and set up the King and Hamilton Manufacturing Company 
 which makes corn elevators and shellers. When he died in 1909, he left 
 $60,000 to build a new high school; $50,000 for an addition to the Ryburn 
 Memorial Hospital; and $50,000 for the establishment of a Young Men's 
 Christian Association. The Y. M. C. A. has not been built but probably 
 will be started soon. 
 
 Another philanthropist was William H. Reddick who had struggles 
 and hardships early in life. The Reddick home is now the public library 
 
 — 9 — 
 
of Ottawa. He left land to help 'build a county poorhouse. Under the 
 terms of his will, the county supervisors have to inspect his burial lot an' 
 nually to make certain that it is cared for properly. Reddick was the 
 author of a state prohibition law about 1870. After 1860, his greatest wish 
 was that he might live to see the day when another Democrat would be- 
 come president. His wish came true by six days. He died March 10, 1885, 
 six days after Grover Cleveland took office for the first time. 1 
 
 One foggy night in London, an American needed help with his lug' 
 gage and a young fellow in a uniform assisted him. When the man offered 
 to pay, the boy refused the money saying that he was merely doing his 
 "good turn." This excited the American's interest and he then learned 
 about the Boy Scout movement in England. When he returned home he 
 brought four trunk-loads of Boy Scout material instead of the souvenirs 
 that he had expected to bring. Immediately he became active in the move' 
 ment in the United States. The man was the publisher of The Ledger and 
 Blade, both Chicago publications. He was also a great financier. Today, 
 in the Ottawa Avenue Cemetery, there is a statue of a Boy Scout on the 
 monument to William D. Boyce. The inscription under it is "Publisher, 
 Explorer, Humanitarian. Inspired by the good turn of a British Scout, he 
 brought Scouting to the United States." 
 
 In passing, it may be written that, in 1910, Boyce constructed the 
 most luxurious mansion ever built in Ottawa. The newspaper account of 
 its construction gave the cost as $350,000 exclusive of the furnishings. This 
 home was approximately a quarter of a mile west of the Caton mansion. 
 Taxes, cost of maintenance, and the high cost of living contributed to its 
 downfall. Mrs. Boyce had the building torn down in 1946, and she lives in 
 a smaller home near'by. 
 
 Another great man of his time was Thomas Dean Catlin, born March 
 12, 1838, in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. He came to Ottawa, in 
 1858, to meet by appointment his uncle, A. H. Redfield of Detroit, who 
 was acting as Indian Agent at the headwaters of the Mississippi River. 
 While waiting for his uncle, he secured a position with the Chicago, Rock 
 Island and Pacific Railroad Company, and decided to make Ottawa his 
 home. 
 
 In 1867, he organi^d the Ottawa Glass Company, establishing one 
 of the pioneer industries of its kind west of Pittsburgh. Catlin made his 
 work with the glass company his chief life interest. He was secretary of the 
 Illinois and Mississippi Telegraph Company for some years prior to his 
 death, and served as president of the National City Bank of Ottawa. At one 
 time, he was president of the State Bank of Seneca, Illinois. In 1866, he 
 
 i Ottawa Old and Hew, p. 22. 
 
 — 10 — 
 
married Helen C. Plant of Utica, New York. Their only child is James P. 
 Catlin of Ottawa, hereafter mentioned, who later was secretarytreasurer 
 of The Illinois and Mississippi Telegraph Company. 
 
 The mother of Thomas Dean Catlin was a cousin of Judge Caton. 
 Later, the Catlin and Caton places adjoined, with the Catlin home and 
 surrounding fifty acres situated to the east. James P. Catlin, the son of 
 Thomas Dean Catlin, lives on part of the original fifty acres, but the fine 
 old home built by his father on the bluff has been destroyed by fire. 
 
 Theophilas Lyle Dickey, better known as T. Lyle Dickey, was born 
 in 1811 at Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky. In 1826, he entered Ohio 
 University at Athens, spending four years there. He then entered Miami 
 University at Oxford, Ohio, graduating with honors in 1831. For the next 
 two years he taught school in Kentucky and Ohio. 
 
 Dickey often related the following story concerning himself and 
 Cyrus Walker: 
 
 "When I first came to Illinois, a very young man, I engaged in news' 
 paper work. I made a trip on horseback into the 'military tract,' in search 
 of subscribers to my paper, reaching the farm home of Cyrus Walker, which 
 was near Macomb, where he had his law office. I was invited to remain 
 over night. After supper Mr. Walker remarked to me that he thought I 
 would make a good lawyer. I replied that I was married and could not 
 afford to take the necessary time to study and acquire a practice. Mr. 
 Walker said, T have a large farm house' here and enough to eat, and if you 
 wish to try the study of law, you may make your home here and pursue 
 your studies.' 1 Of course I was a good deal surprised at this offer, coming 
 as it did from a complete stranger, but after a little consideration the offer 
 was accepted in the spirit in which it was given, and we took up our resi' 
 dence soon after at the home of Mr. Walker, and I gave up the newspaper 
 work for the study of law. Through the advice of Mr. Walker I eventually 
 hung out my shingle in Macomb, and thanks to the same kind friend who 
 had thus far directed my course, I was soon launched into the profession of 
 the law, where his advice was still given and acted upon until I was fairly 
 upon my feet, and I feel that much of my after'success should be attributed 
 to the wise counsel of Mr. Walker, who was not surpassed in ability by any 
 lawyer of Illinois. I have always regretted that he did not live until I was 
 elected a member of the Supreme Court, for that would have been a great 
 gratification to him." 1 
 
 Cyrus Walker was an uncle of Judge Pinkney H. Walker of Rush- 
 
 1 Letter of Honorable Wallace A. Walker, County Judge of McDonough County, 
 Illinois, to the author, June 4, 1947, quoting a letter written by Cyrus Walker Rice 
 who was a grandson of Cyrus Walker, citingjGenealogical History of the Descendants 
 of John Wd\er of Wigton, Scotland, by E. S. White. 
 
 ~~ ~~~ LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 ftl URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
 
ville, Illinois, who was a member of the Supreme Court of Illinois for a 
 great many years. Cyrus Walker was also an uncle of Theophilus G. Walker, 
 father of Judge Wallace A. Walker. Cyrus Walker moved to McDonough 
 County, Illinois, in 1832, settling on a farm south of Macomb, and having 
 his office in the town. He enjoyed a wide practice in western Illinois and 
 eastern Iowa. During the time that Stephen A. Douglas was judge of the 
 Circuit Court, his circuit including McDonough County, Cyrus Walker, 
 on account of personal and political differences with Douglas, rarely prac- 
 ticed in his court, and during the few years that Douglas was judge of the 
 Circuit Court, practiced in Iowa, mostly at Burlington and Keokuk. 1 He 
 was acknowledged to be the head of the Bar of Illinois and Iowa.* 
 
 "My Father often told me that when Douglas was Judge, he was 
 very informal in his conduct. Stories were told of how he would leave the 
 bench and conduct himself with frivolity in the Court room. Holding Court 
 in Macomb one day, he presided with his feet on the desk, facing Cyrus 
 Walker who was addressing the Court. Walker, who had little use for 
 Douglas, told the Judge 1 would prefer to address the end of the Court 
 that is presumed to have the intelligence in it.' 1 Judge Wallace A. Walker 
 to the author.) 
 
 When Walker moved to McDonough County, the Mississippi valley 
 region from Nauvoo and Montrose to Rock Island was a fertile field for 
 the practice of criminal law and Walker was well-known as a lawyer who 
 tried criminal cases.* 
 
 From his own story, there is no question but that Dickey began the 
 practice of law in Macomb. A search of the records of the Circuit Court 
 of McDonough County for the years 1834-35-36 fails to show that he was 
 admitted to the Bar in that county. 4 
 
 In the winter of 1834-1835 he brought his family to Macomb, 
 riding on horseback with his little one-year-old child, who later became Mrs. 
 W. H. L. Wallace. He practiced in Macomb a year and a half and, in 
 1836, moved to Rushville, Illinois, where he practiced for three years, at one 
 time editing The Test, a Whig newspaper. On March 20, 1837, at Rushville, 
 before Judge Ralston, the circuit judge, he, with another lawyer, took the 
 oath of office "which is ordered to be certified on the back of their licenses, 
 according to the Act of Assembly in such case made and provided." 5 
 
 In 1838, Dickey and James W. Singleton, both then young men, 
 undertook the campaign for the Whig candidate, Doctor Isaac Vandeven- 
 
 1 Wallace A. Walker. 
 
 2 McDonough County History, p. 651. 
 
 3 Honorable Charles J. Scofield, former Illinois Appellate Court Judge, Carthage, 
 
 Illinois. 
 * Earle D. Grigsby, attorney at law, Macomb, Illinois. 
 5 Dwight Jiester, circuit clerk, Rushville, Illinois. 
 
 — 12 — 
 
ter, against W. A. Richardson in the contest for the State Senate. Richard' 
 son is well remembered, of course, as one of the United States senators from 
 Illinois in later years, when he succeeded Senator O. H. Browning during 
 Civil War times. When the returns came in, it was found that Richardson 
 had defeated Dickey's candidate by only four or five votes. An investi' 
 gation showed that seven or eight illegal votes had been cast for Richardson, 
 "some of which were polled by men having in their veins African blood," 
 by voters who lived near the stream called "Sugar Creek," in the western 
 part of Schuyler County. 
 
 Dickey and Singleton both lived at Rushville, and they sent for Van' 
 deventer to come in and see them, with the view of instituting proceedings 
 to contest the election. It was regarded as unpopular to contest an elec 
 tion, and to throw the burden on Richardson, they induced Vandeventer 
 to send him a letter setting forth the fact that he claimed to be the senator^ 
 elect. To save expense and trouble, they requested Richardson to resign 
 his certificate and run the race over at a special election. 
 
 Richardson replied that he was elected fairly, but that he had no 
 objections to running the race over, provided he could be assured that the 
 Doctor would "stay beat," and stated that if Vandeventer would give bond 
 with approved security to that effect, he would consent to make the race 
 over. 
 
 Dickey and Singleton were indignant, and insisted that it was a 
 personal insult that only could "be wiped out in blood," and urged Vandc 
 venter to challenge Richardson. Vandeventer consented to do this, and 
 his two managers undertook the preparation of the letter inviting the duel. 
 Vandeventer went to his hotel and was to return to Dickey's office at one 
 o'clock to sign the challenge, which one of the two managers was to carry 
 to Richardson. Vandeventer never came back, and on inquiry it was learned 
 that he had paid his bill and gone home. "Thus ended the duel and the 
 contest, for Doctor Vandeventer was never again seen in Mr. Dickey's 
 office." 1 
 
 Dickey speculated in real estate and had realized a degree of success 
 when the panic of 1837 came. He lost heavily through signing the bond 
 of a dishonest partner, and found himself with no means. Overwhelmed 
 with debts, it took Dickey twenty years to extricate himself. 3 He never 
 availed himself of the statutes of limitations, but honorably paid his debts 
 in full. Most of the notes he owed bore twelve per cent interest a year. 
 
 In 1841, he inherited one-third of an estate of Negro slaves 3 worth 
 
 1 Lusk, appendix, p. 55. 
 
 2 Life and Letters of General W. H. L. Wallace, p. 77. 
 
 3 Ottawa Old and >{cw, p. 249. 
 
 — 13 — 
 
$15,000, but despite his enormous debts, he refused to use the slaves or sell 
 them but gave them their freedom. 
 
 In 1839, he moved to Ottawa. There he built a large law practice, 
 acquiring a wide reputation as a skillful advocate and a sound lawyer,. 
 
 At the outbreak of the war with Mexico, Dickey raised a company 
 and became a commissioned officer of the First Illinois Infantry. He saw 
 service in Mexico, but was compelled to retire because of ill health. 
 
 In 1848, he was elected judge of the Circuit Court, but resigned 
 from the bench four years later. In 1854, Dickey opened a law office in 
 Chicago. He was an independent candidate for Congress in 1856, but with' 
 drew. During this time he retained his residence in Ottawa, and resumed 
 his practice there in 1858, finally having paid his old debts. In 1858 and 
 1860, he was an ardent supporter of Stephen A. Douglas, against Lincoln, 
 and spoke throughout the State on behalf of Douglas. 
 
 In 1861, when the Civil War broke out, he raised the Fourth Illinois 
 Cavalry and became its colonel. The Fourth Illinois Cavalry was an "elite" 
 outfit, composed of men from Massachusetts to Nebraska. The companies 
 were raised in parts of Illinois and assembled in Ottawa at the regimental 
 camp in the fall of 1861. Today State Highway 71, southwest of Ottowa, 1 
 passes the old camp site. Joining Grant at Cairo in December, 1861, Dickey 
 took part in the capture of Fort Henry, lead the advance at Fort Donelson, 
 and took part in the Battle of Shiloh with two of his sons and his son' 
 in'law, General William H. L. Wallace. 
 
 In 1862, Dickey became a member of Grant's staff and was placed 
 in command at Memphis, becoming commander of Grant's cavalry 
 division. Because of his health, Dickey resigned his command before the 
 war ended, and returned home. 
 
 In 1862, in the race for Congress from the Sixth District, Jesse O. 
 Norton, a Republican, defeated Dickey by a vote of 10,604 to 8,4 19. 2 
 Two years later he was defeated for the State Senate by Washington Bush' 
 nell, by a vote of 5,169 to 4,5 1 5. 3 Two years after that, running as a 
 Democrat for congressman at large, Dickey was defeated by the Republican 
 candidate, General John A. Logan. 
 
 On January 15, 1867, with the two houses of the General Assembly 
 meeting in joint session, Dickey was defeated for the United States Senate 
 by a vote of 76 to 33*. Politically, these were years of discouragement, but 
 during these years his was the minority party. 
 
 i Tisler. 
 
 2 Lusk, p. 146. 
 
 3 Tisler. 
 
 4 Lusk, p. 203. 
 
 — 14 — 
 
Appointed assistant attorney general of the United States, in 1868, 
 having charge of all government suits in the Court of Claims and in the 
 United States Supreme Court, he made a fine reputation. Dickey resumed 
 the general practice of law in 1870, and moved to Chicago from Ottawa in 
 1873. Chicago was to be his home for the rest of his life. 
 
 Dickey was elected to the Supreme Court of Illinois in 1875 to fill 
 a vacancy, and in 1 879 was re-elected to the post. He was one of the really 
 distinguished justices of the Illinois Supreme Court. He died July 22, 
 1885, a,t Atlantic City where he was visiting. His funeral was probably 
 the most elaborate ever held in Ottawa. Special cars brought friends, 
 soldiers, justices, and others prominent in public life. His death preceded 
 that of General Grant by one day. There was genuine mourning in Ottawa 
 because of the deaths of these two great men who had served together. 
 
 Of Dickey, the Honorable Leonard Swett said before the United 
 States Circuit Court, Northern District of Illinois: "Judge Dickey and his 
 sons and son-in-law have rendered marked services to their country;, and 
 deserve a monument more enduring than brass .... In all that adorns a 
 man, Judge Dickey was as bright as a new blade. He was quick and bright 
 in his standard of honor. His professional and judicial character was pure, 
 and was never even sullied by suspicion or accusation." 1 
 
 A good example of the legal acumen of Judge Dickey is taken from 
 an old newspaper file at Ottawa. In the early "forties," Ansel Ryder, a 
 Kendall County pioneer, quarreled with a neighbor, then shot and seriously 
 wounded him. A warrant was sworn out for the arrest of Ryder, on a 
 charge of attempted murder. The warrant was turned over to a constable 
 named Boyd, of Newark, then called Georgetown, in Kendall County. Boyd 
 gathered a posse, which included a young man, Charles McNeil, to go to 
 the Ryder cabin and make the arrest. Boyd was unable to arouse any one 
 in the cabin. Some of the posse climbed on the roof and poked burning 
 straw down the chimney into the cabin. McNeil, against the orders of 
 Boyd, ran to the rear of the cabin and broke a window with a long pole. 
 He was shot from inside the cabin and fatally wounded, dying two weeks 
 later. Ryder was brought to trial for murder at Yorkville, in Kendall 
 County. Dickey represented him as his attorney- 
 
 Ryder's defense was that he did not know Boyd was leading a posse 
 to arrest him. He contended that he believed his family was being subjected 
 to an attack by a gang of ruffians. He claimed he was asleep when the 
 window was broken. His son said the father was drunk. But asleep or 
 drunk, he grabbed a gun and fired the fatal shot. Then Attorney Dickey 
 produced his trump card. He proved that the official records showed Boyd's 
 
 1 The White Apron, p. 131. i 
 
 — 15 — 
 
commission as constable had expired three months before the attack on the 
 Ryder cabin. This being true, Dickey contended, Boyd therefore was not 
 leading a lawful posse, to make an arrest, but an armed and lawless mob. 
 Ryder was freed by the jury. 1 
 
 Lincoln said of Dickey, "He can draw such fine distinctions, where I 
 can't see any distinction, yet I have no doubt a distinction does exist." 
 
 Judge Dickey 2 was first a Whig, then a Republican, being at the 
 Bloomington Convention, May 29, 1856, and, finally, became a Democrat. 
 He made these changes because of principle and not because of political 
 expediency. Colonel Dickey "could not train with the abolitionists and be 
 happy." Added to this was the action at the Ottawa Congressional Con- 
 vention of June, 1856, nominating Owen Lovejoy, the abolitionist, over 
 Leonard Swett of Bloomington. 8 
 
 With Judge Dickey an ardent Democrat and a Douglas man and 
 W. H. L. Wallace, one of his sons-in-law, a Lincoln man — politics, natur- 
 ally, never could be discussed between them. When, however, Judge Dickey 
 found Douglas' chances for election in 1860 were out of the question, he 
 returned to Ottawa, went directly to the Wallace home in the middle of 
 the night and told him to get up and work for Lincoln. His love of country 
 and faith in the integrity and ability of Lincoln, for whom he had a strong 
 personal feeling, were always above party feeling. 4 
 
 Charles Dickey told of the friendship of the Dickey family with 
 Abraham Lincoln. "On Christmas Day, 1855, my mother died. My older 
 brother and sisters could get along very well, but my younger brothers and 
 sisters and I were the problems. Lincoln offered to take me into his home 
 at Springfield for the rest of the winter. I don't know what came up to 
 prevent it. I always regretted the circumstances that deprived me of the 
 great privilege of being a member of the Lincoln household even for such a 
 short period. 1,5 
 
 There is a story to illustrate the friendship and political association 
 of the two men before these events. In Bloomington, January 23, 1854, at 
 the Pike House, Dickey shared a room with Abraham Lincoln. They argued 
 slavery half the night, and in the early morning, Dickey was awakened by 
 Lincoln exclaiming, "I tell you this nation cannot exist half slave and half 
 free." Dickey, tired and sleepy, replied, "Oh, Lincoln, go to sleep."* 
 
 'Tisler. 
 
 2 His last official title was "Justice," but he usually was addressed as "Judge" (or 
 "Colonel") so "Judge" is used. 
 
 3 Life on the Circuit with Lincoln, Whitney, p. 339. 
 
 4 Life and Letters of General W. H. L. Wallace, pp. 88-89. 
 • Lincoln's in Town, by Tisler. 
 
 6 Lincoln in the Political Circus, Gcrnon, p. 125. 
 
 — 16 — 
 
ad- 
 
 judge T. Lyle Dic\ey 
 

On September 12, 1856, Lincoln and Dickey spoke at Major's Hall 
 in Bloomington, where Lincoln gave his "Lost Speech." 1 For the first time 
 in public, he used his striking figure of the house divided against itself but 
 at the request of Judge Dickey he promised not to repeat it during the con- 
 test in 1856. He declared that a house divided against itself cannot stand. 
 The Nation was to be all free or all slave. This was not enough for the Abo- 
 litionists and too much for most of the rest of the country at that time. 
 
 Judge Dickey pronounced it a "damn fool utterance." 
 
 Dickey finally left Lincoln politically and openly endorsed Douglas 
 in 1858. Lincoln believed that Dickey's opposition was the determining 
 factor in his defeat for the United States Senate that year. 2 Such was 
 Dickey's strength and power in the State. 
 
 His life may be summarized well by one paragraph of the resolutions 
 given in the Supreme Court: "Priced as an acquaintance, loved as a friend, 
 esteemed as a lawyer, admired as a jurist, honest, honorable, earnest and 
 untiring in the performance of every duty, he has passed away from us in the 
 fullness of years and honor. " 8 
 
 Judge Dickey married twice and was the father of five children. 
 Charles went into business at, and lived in, Hawaii where his daughter 
 married Jim Dole, the "Pineapple King"; John J. moved to Omaha, Ne- 
 braska; and Captain Cyrus E. was killed near Shreveport, Louisiana, in the 
 Civil War. Cyrus was able to do many kind deeds for the unprotected 
 ladies whose husbands, brothers, and fathers were off fighting in the Con- 
 federate Army. Major Winston, a son and brother of some women in 
 Natchez, found him mortally wounded on the field. Learning that Captain 
 Dickey was the one who had been so kind to his mother and sisters, he had 
 him taken to the hospital and cared for until death came five days after the 
 battle, and then had him buried.* Judge Dickey's two daughters married 
 two of the Wallace brothers. John Moore of Bloomington is a nephew of 
 Narcissa Dickey Moore, a sister of the Judge. 
 
 Dickey's first wife was Juliet Evans and his second, Mrs. Beulah 
 Hirst. Many stories are told of the second Mrs. Dickey. One recounts how 
 a little Negro servant boy preceded her down the aisle of the church each 
 Sunday morning with pillows for her pew. Another is of the Negro 
 coachman, always dressed in livery, who drove her over the city. 
 
 On November 10, 1884, at Mount Vernon, Illinois, while a member 
 
 Lincoln 1854.1861, Paul M. Angle, p. 141. 
 
 2 Life of Abraham Lincoln, William E. Barton, p. 397. 
 
 3 Illinois Supreme Court Reports, 121, III., 12. 
 
 * Life and Letters of General W. H. L. Wallace, p. 125. 
 
 17 
 
of the Illinois Supreme Court, Judge Dickey drew his own will, reciting, 
 "I sign this in the presence of the Hon. John Scholfield, Chief Justice of 
 the Supreme Court and John H. Mulkey one of the Judges of that Court 
 and request them to sign the same as witnesses — hereto — 
 
 T. Lyle Dickey 
 
 "The above will was signed by T. Lyle Dickey in our presence and 
 at his request we sign this as witnesses in his presence and in the presence 
 of each other. 
 
 John Scholfield 
 John H. Mulkey 
 November 10, 1884" 
 
 By his will Dickey gave everything to his second wife and appointed 
 her executor with the expression of the belief that she would use what she 
 needed for herself and supply the overplus, if any, for the benefit of 
 Colonel Dickey's children and grandchildren. 
 
 The petition for probate of his will recites that the whole estate 
 does not exceed $50,000. 
 
 The will was contested by Judge Dickey's children in the Superior 
 Court of Cook County and ended in a compromise settlement. 1 
 
 Therein the Judge's heirs received about one-half of his property 
 and Mrs. Dickey's heirs, (she having died in the meantime) received the 
 other half, but the decree specifically provided that Mrs. Dickey's heirs 
 "within 60 days convey by quit claim deed to John J. Dickey the burial lot 
 in Ottawa, Illinois, where T. Lyle Dickey is buried and within 30 days 
 deliver to the attorney for the complainants, the sword, sashes, military 
 trappings formerly used by Judge Dickey and also his personal cofrespon' 
 dence and that the remains of Beulah C. Dickey now buried in said burial 
 lot shall not be disturbed and the monument above the same shall remain 
 intact and her relations shall at all times have full liberty to visit the same." 
 
 Ordinary witnesses to a will need not be embarrassed by failure to 
 recall details when they read the evidence of these two Judges in the pro' 
 bate proceedings. 
 
 JUDGE SCHOLFIELD TESTIFYING: 
 
 §,. About what date was this paper signed by Judge Dickey? 
 
 A. I think about the date that it bears but I am unable to state positively. 
 The Will is dated November 10, 1884. I think that is about the date 
 but I am not positive. I could not tell you from the date of the 
 paper, could not recall it exactly. It is within a year of this time, 
 I am very certain of that. 
 
 1 Researches of Attorney Elmer E. Abrahamson of the Chicago Bar. 
 
 2 Judge John Scholfield of the Illinois Supreme Court is not to be confused with 
 
 Judge Charles J. Scofield of the Illinois Appellate Court. 
 
 — 18 — 
 
£^. Do you know whether he knew the contents of the Will, of the paper 
 before he signed? 
 
 A. He wrote it himself or said it was in his handwriting. I do not know 
 more than that. 
 
 Q. Was Judge Dickey ever married after he signed the paper? 
 
 A. I see Mrs. Dickey present. She has been his wife ever since I have 
 been personally acquainted with him. Saw her at the funeral and 
 heard no contestants. Mrs. Dickey, the lady present here, has been 
 the wife of Judge Dickey by his acknowledgment in my presence 
 ever since I have known him personally. Many times spoke to her 
 and of her as his wife in my presence. 
 
 §.. JUDGE MULKEY TESTIFYING: 
 What is your occupation? 
 
 A. My present occupation Judge of the Supreme Court. Profession, 
 lawyer. 
 
 §.. Did you see Judge Dickey sign his name to this paper? 
 
 A. I wish to state right here that my recollection is not very tenacious 
 and my impression differs from the statement of Judge Scholfield. 
 As I have it upon my mind, I can only give it that way, we were in' 
 vited into the room for the purpose of witnessing his will. When we 
 went in there, as I remember it, he handed the instrument to Judge 
 Scholfield, and Judge Scholfield put the question to him: "This is 
 your Last Will and Testament?" He says "It is," and thereupon 
 Judge Scholfield signed it and I signed it. Now if he signed his name 
 there I do not remember it. My impression is the other way, that it 
 had already been signed but he acknowledged it in answer to this 
 question of Judge Scholfield that it was his Last Will and Testament 
 and we accordingly signed it, that is my impression. And I will state 
 that Judge Scholfield's memory is entitled to more credit than mine 
 'because mine is failing very much. 
 General W. H. L. Wallace was born in Ohio in 1821. He came to 
 
 Illinois early in life, and went to Springfield to study law with Lincoln, but 
 
 there he met Judge Dickey, returned to Ottawa with him and studied with 
 
 him. Wallace later married Martha Ann Dickey, his preceptor's daughter. 
 
 In 1852, he became a law partner of Judge Dickey. 1 
 
 Wallace served in the Mexican War, and when a mere youth was 
 
 aidcde'camp. He was at the side of the gallant John J. Hardin when the 
 
 latter fell at Buena Vista.* 
 
 At the outbreak of the Civil War, Wallace responded to the call 
 
 for volunteers and was made a general. He was wounded at the Battle of 
 
 1 Biographical Encyclopedia of Illinois, p. 118. 
 
 2 Whitney, p. 368. 
 
 — 19 — 
 
Shiloh on April 6, 1862, and died four days later at the age of forty-one. 
 He and Judge Dickey are buried near the Wallace home, on the grounds 
 known as "The Oaks." His home has been made into a State memorial. 
 His adopted daughter, Isabel Wallace, has written the story of his life. 
 
 On the North Bluff is the tribute of a grateful people to General 
 Wallace, a hero of the North. On the South Bluff there is a marker, 
 erected by the Illini Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 
 marking the site of Fort Johnston, built in 1832 during the Black Hawk 
 War, and named for Albert Sidney Johnston, a young army officer. Later 
 he became one of the great military leaders of the South. General Wallace 
 and General Johnston both met death in the same battle at Shiloh. 
 
 In The Story of Shiloh, Otto Eisenschiml gives an interesting 
 account of the situation involving several officers taking part in the battle. 
 "On March 4, 1862, General Halleck sent General Grant a telegram: 'You 
 will place Major General C. F. Smith in command of expedition and 
 remain yourself at Fort Henry. Why do you not obey my orders to report 
 the strength and position of your command?' Overnight the victor of Fort 
 Henry and Fort Donelson had fallen into disgrace and became, for all 
 practical purposes, a military prisoner. Erroneous statements to the con- 
 trary, General Smith was not a sick man at that time, although he died a 
 few weeks later from an accidental injury." 
 
 Eisenschiml later writes: "On the 13th of March, after a suspension 
 of nine days, Grant was restored to command." The division of C. F. Smith 
 was commanded by W. H. L. Wallace after Smith's death. This division 
 and those of Lew Wallace and John A. McClernand were the only ones on 
 either side that were made up of seasoned soldiers, except the men in 
 Nathan B. Forrest's cavalry. The importance of W. H. L. Wallace's com- 
 mand is seen from these statements. General Prentiss, reinforced by W. H. 
 L. Wallace, in the "Hornet's Nest," a sunken road, saved the day until 
 Buell arrived at dusk. Wallace was a brave man, a great general, a fine 
 lawyer, one of excellent character and reputation and a national hero. 
 
 Although Lew Wallace and W. H. L. Wallace were often thought 
 to be related, General Lew Wallace wrote : " . . . and here I may as well 
 answer a question often asked. I do not know of any relationship between 
 Colonel W. H. L. Wallace and myself. I do know, however, that I should 
 be very proud did such exist. Had he lived, high rank was just ahead of 
 him. He possessed all the elements of a great soldier." 1 
 
 The father of General W. H. L. Wallace came to La Salle County in 
 1834, and settled in Deer Park Township, between the Illinois and Vermil- 
 
 1 Autobiography, Vol. 1, p. 405 
 
 — 20 — 
 
ion rivers. He had a family of thirteen children. 1 
 
 Another son was Caleb Hitt Wallace who married V. Belle Dickey, 
 the younger daughter of Judge Dickey. Years ago she went to the Hawaiian 
 Islands to live. 2 
 
 Still another son, John Wallace, went into the Fourth Cavalry, first 
 as a second lieutenant of Company E, and then as a captain of Company 
 K. He remained in the regiment until it was mustered out in Houston, 
 Texas, May 29, 1866, as the last Illinois regiment in the service. Soon 
 afterward he died from yellow fever in Houston. 
 
 Matthew Wallace, another son, a bright promising young man of 
 twenty-one, also entered the Fourth Cavalry. He was drowned accidentally 
 a few months after enlisting, when his regiment was on a transport on the 
 Ohio River bound for service in Kentucky. 
 
 Judge Martin R. M. Wallace was another son. In the Civil War, 
 he became a major and later a lieutenant colonel, upon the death of Colonel 
 William McCullough. A word should be said about Colonel McCullough. 
 He was in the Black Hawk War. In 1841, he lost his right arm in an acci- 
 dent. He later became sheriff of McLean County for three terms and 
 served as circuit clerk for four terms. A good friend of President Lincoln, 
 he obtained the latter's consent to join the army despite the loss of an arm 
 and one eye, and was mustered in as lieutenant colonel of the Fourth Illinois 
 Cavalry. 
 
 Colonel McCullough has been described as an ideal cavalryman and 
 a superb horseman of martial appearance, with a full resonant voice, white 
 hair and beard, a natural leader of men, possessed of a courage that feared 
 no one. Watchful, careful of his men, he soon became one of General 
 Grant's most trusted officers. 3 Upon his death in the engagement of Decern' 
 ber 5, 1862, at Coffey ville, Mississippi, President Lincoln wrote a letter to 
 McCullough 's daughter, Fanny, of Bloomington, Illinois. This letter is 
 regarded as one of the finest letters that the War President ever wrote. 
 It is printed in full: 
 
 Executive Mansion 
 
 Washington, December 23, 1862. 
 Dear Fanny 
 
 It is with deep grief that I learned of the death of vo^r kind and 
 brave Father: and, especially, that it is affecting your young heart beyond 
 what is common in such cases. In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to 
 
 1 History of La Salle County, Baldwin, p. 324. 
 
 2 Baldwin, p. 250. 
 
 3 Transactions of the McLean County Historical Society, Vol. 1, p. 522. 
 
 21 — 
 
all; and, to the young, it comes with bitterest agony, because it takes them 
 unawares. The older have learned to ever expect it. I am anxious to 
 offer some alleviation of your present distress. Perfect relief is not possible, 
 except with time. You can not now realize that you will ever feel better 1 . 
 Is not this so? And yet it is a mistake. You are sure to be happy again. 
 To know this, which is certainly true, will make you some less miserable 
 now. I have had experience enough to know what I say; and you need only 
 to believe it, to feel better at once. The memory of your dear Father, 
 instead of an agony, will yet be a sad sweet feeling in your heart, of a purer 
 and holier sort than you have known before. 
 
 Please present my kind regards to your afflicted Mother. 
 
 Your sincere friend, 
 A. Lincoln. 
 Miss Fanny McCullough. 
 
 Colonel Martin R. M. Wallace later was a brevet brigadier general 
 of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry. He was elected county judge of Cook 
 County in 1869, serving until 1877, after having served as assessor of in' 
 ternal revenue (1866-1869) for the First District of Northern Illinois. 1 
 He presided at the hearing on May 9, 1875, at which time Mrs. Mary Todd 
 Lincoln was adjudged insane. 2 Thirteen months later, June 15, 1876, he 
 presided at the hearing at which she was declared to be competent again. 3 
 
 Many say the greatest man of Ottawa was John Dean Caton, 
 whose period of life was the eighty-three years from 1812 to 1895. He was 
 'born in Orange County, New York. His father's death left the family 
 practically penniless. The four-year-old boy was "hired out" to neighbors 
 and had a youth of hardship coupled with abuse, from his employers. Later 
 in life he wrote of one typical experience: 
 
 "The same season I worked perhaps two months for Deacon Ray- 
 mond, who cultivated, as tenant, a neighboring farm. A sanctimonious, 
 wall-eyed old fellow who ever seemed to be struggling between an inclina- 
 tion to make long prayers and say a long grace and desire to get his work 
 hands into the field as soon as possible. At supper, after the work of the 
 day was over, he made amends for the brief worship of the day and said 
 a grace, over a bowl of bread and milk, as long as his face was on a rainy 
 day." 4 
 
 Caton 's affection for his mother, often expressed, was a tribute to 
 them both. 
 
 1 Baldwin, p. 324; Historical Encylopedia of Illinois, p. 549. 
 
 2 Mary Lincoln, Wife and Widow, Sandburg and Angle, pp. 144-148. 
 
 3 Chicago Tribune, June 16, 1876. 
 
 4 Caton's Memoirs. 
 
 — 22 — 
 
In 1831, he went to Utica, New York, where he began the study of 
 law in an office, and commenced a systematic study of subjects to give him a 
 broad education. 
 
 He also began the writing of fiction for training, if not for profit. 
 Later he went to Rome, New York, where he met Norman Judd, a friend 
 of former days, with whom he had dealings as long as they both lived. 
 In 1833, when Caton became twenty -one years of age, he decided to come 
 west, and to bring his brother William, three years younger, with him. 
 His account of his trip to the west, and the country as he found it, is most 
 interesting. 
 
 Caton arrived in Chicago, where there were not even wagon tracks 
 for streets. The room of the two brothers was the attic of a log cabin 
 where there were seven beds occupied by fourteen persons. There were 
 only 250 residents in Chicago. Mosquitoes and rattlesnakes were there 
 to plague them. Caton's experiences probably were common to most of the 
 early settlers. One experience of interest was his arrival in a Pottawatomie 
 camp where he expected to eat. He recounts that the discovery of a naked 
 papoose playing in the dough that the Indian squaw was kneading, changed 
 his mind. 1 
 
 Caton filed the first civil case entered on the docket of the Circuit 
 Court of Cook County. 2 On the brig Queen Charlotte, the same brig that 
 was taken from the British by Commodore Perry, Caton tried the first jury 
 cases ever tried in Will, Cook, and Kane Counties. 3 He was not yet ad- 
 mitted to the Bar and later went to Pekin, Illinois, where Justice Samuel D. 
 Lockwood was presiding. After a ten minute examination, the Judge said 
 he would give Caton the license, but advised the applicant to apply himself 
 closely to the study of the law. As the applicant [Caton] later wrote, "I 
 little thought that in less than nine short years I should be associated with 
 him [Lockwood] on the Supreme Court/ 14 
 
 One of Caton's first cases in Chicago was that of six Negroes who 
 were denied their manumission papers. Manumission papers were those 
 issued to show that a slave had been given his freedom. These Caton se- 
 cured, and collected the six dollars legal fees, evidently a dollar for each 
 case. 5 
 
 The Bar examination for law students, at the time Judge Caton was 
 admitted to the Bar, was of the easiest kind. The examinations continued 
 to be very elementary until recent years. I have a letter from my uncle 
 
 1 Memoirs. 
 
 2 Illinois Supreme Court Reports, 162, 111. 15. 
 
 3 United States Biographical Dictionary, p. 566. 
 
 4 Memoirs, p. 456. 
 
 5 Tislcr. 
 
 — 23 — 
 
telling about his visit to Mount Vernon in 1875, to take his Bar examina- 
 tion. He now, at the age of ninety five, is actively engaged in the practice 
 of law. At that time he saw Caton, who was not then on the bench, with 
 Judge Breese. The examination was conducted by three examiners in the 
 presence of the judges, who sat through the examination without any re- 
 marks, except that Judge Breese asked one question which the members of 
 the class could not answer. The students inferred from the smiles of some 
 of the judges that the Court itself was then wrestling with the question in 
 a pending case. 1 
 
 In 1836, Caton invited his boyhood friend, Judd, to come to Chicago 
 to enter into a partnership with him. The offer was accepted and the part' 
 nership between the two men continued until 1839. 2 
 
 Judge 3 Caton speculated heavily in land and purchased city lots in 
 Chicago and Milwaukee with borrowed money. The panic of 1837 caused 
 him to lose much of the property that he had purchased. In 1839, he 
 moved to Plainfield, Illinois, near which he had bought 1400 acres of land. 
 His investments resulted in mortgages, judgments, and the prospect of 
 financial ruin. He lived in Lisbon, Kendall County, part of the year of 1842. 
 
 When Judge Thomas Ford was elected governor in 1842, and re 
 signed from the bench, Governor Thomas Carlin appointed Caton to the 
 Supreme Court and he moved shortly afterward to Ottawa. He was then 
 thirty years of age. 4 He was supreme judge for only a few months at this 
 time, the Governor's appointment being only until the next meeting of the 
 legislature. It was the responsibility of the legislature to elect the members 
 of the Supreme Court. The following February he was defeated by John 
 M. Robinson, a former United States senator. His defeat was caused "by 
 reason of the prevalent impression that he was too young for the office." 8 
 
 The Supreme Court, in 1842, when Judge Caton first went on the 
 bench, met in the third La Salle County courthouse, built of brick. This 
 building was torn down in the 1880's to make way for the present court- 
 house. It was in this third La Salle County courthouse that Lincoln, Doug- 
 las, Dickey, Wallace, and so many other noted attorneys of early Illinois 
 practiced law. 6 
 
 The land on which the four La Salle County courthouses were built 
 was part of the canal property until title to it was transferred to La Salle 
 
 1 Letter of Charles J. Scofield, to the author, March 7, 1947. 
 2 B. E. of I., p. 131. 
 
 3 His official title was "Justice" but he usually was addressed as "Judge. " 
 
 4 Illinois Supreme Court Reports, 182. III., 15. 
 5 B. E. of L, p. 131. 
 
 6 Tisler. 
 
 — 24 — 
 
County well over a century ago. 1 The city hall, fire station, police station, 
 and part of the property of the Illinois Power Company at Ottawa, as well 
 as the city parking lot, are on land still owned by the State. 
 
 The Supreme Court of Illinois, in the early days, was divided into 
 three divisions. Court for the Northern Grand Division of Illinois sat at 
 Ottawa. The Supreme Court building is now used by the Appellate Court 
 for the district that includes La Salle County. The building itself was under 
 construction at the time of the Lincoln'Douglas debates, and probably 
 neither Douglas nor Lincoln ever practiced in it. The building was not 
 opened until the April term in 1860. The wings were added about twenty 
 years after the building was completed. 2 
 
 By an act approved February 14, 1857, the Illinois General Assembly 
 appointed William H. L. Wallace, Joseph O. Glover, William Reddick, 
 George E. Walker, and Henry F. Eames commissioners to "build a court 
 and library room for the use of the Supreme Court in the Third Grand 
 Division." 3 
 
 Judge Robinson died the next April following his election, and 
 Judge Caton was appointed by Governor Ford, serving two years before the 
 forthcoming election. In 1845, Caton was subsequently elected by the 
 legislature. The Constitution of 1818 provided for election for life, sub- 
 ject to the usual limitations regarding good behavior. 4 In 1848, the judicial 
 system was revised so that the Supreme Court was composed of three judges, 
 elected by the people. Judge Caton was one of the three elected, drawing 
 by lot a six-year term. 5 Judge Samuel H. Treat resigned in 1855, and Judge 
 Caton became Chief Justice, a position that he occupied until 1864, when 
 he resigned. 6 After twenty-two years of distinguished service on the bench, 
 Caton retired to devote his time to other affairs. As a judge, he had the 
 highest ethics regarding se»paration of politics and the bench. 
 
 His life makes one impatient with the cynical remark that "a judge 
 is a successful politician." 
 
 "Let us hope that politics may ever be kept from the bench," stated 
 Judge Caton at a Bar banquet given in honor of him and Senator O. H. 
 Browning, at Bloomington, Illinois, June 19, 1878. 7 In contrast to this lofty 
 sentiment, Senator Browning wrote in his diary, "had no wine at dinner." 8 
 
 1 Tisler. 
 
 2 Ibid 
 
 3 Illinois Laws, 1857, 34. 
 
 4 Article 4, Section 4. 
 
 5 Illinois Supreme Court Reports, 162, III. 16. 
 
 6 Ibid 
 
 7 The Daily Pant&gr&ph, June 20, 1878. 
 » Vol. 2, p. 491. 
 
 — 25 — 
 
The next day Senator Browning addressed the law students at Illinois 
 Wesleyan University and Justice Caton addressed the students at Illinois 
 State Normal University. 1 
 
 It is proper to state here that being one of the first Justices of the 
 Supreme Court in Illinois, Judge John Dean Caton had no precedents from 
 which to base his decisions, and to this day many of the decisions of Judge 
 Caton are the law of the land and form the groundwork, or foundations, of 
 the decisions of the jurists of the present day. He was a man of immense 
 brain power, and mind industry. 2 
 
 The case of the United States versus John Hossack was one of Judge 
 Caton's most spectacular cases. / 
 
 John Hossack was born in Scotland in 1806, and landed in Quebec, 
 Canada, when he was twelve years old. He moved to Chicago in 1838, and 
 took contracts for building part of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. He 
 moved to Ottawa, in 1849, where he made a fortune in the grain business. 
 His home, at the top of the South Bluff at the south end of the bridge over 
 the Illinois River in Ottawa, was built in 1854. Hossack 's daughter, Harriet, 
 married John E. Scott, of the firm of Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company, 
 who lived in this home from 1873 to 1891, when they moved to Chicago. 
 Here their son Frederick H. Scott, presently associated with Carson, Pirie, 
 Scott and Company, was born. The beautiful white home, now owned by 
 the hospitable Mr. and Mrs. Thomas R. Godfrey, is still a show place today. 
 
 John Hossack had a hatred for slavery. He became a friend of the 
 abolitionist leaders, and the escaping Negro slaves soon learned where he 
 lived. 3 Hossack was a great friend of Allan Pinkerton, the famous de- 
 tective. 
 
 Kidnapping on a wholesale scale was going on in the border states. At 
 Shawneetown, an attempt was made to sell sixty free blacks into the South, 
 on the pretext of flaws in their papers of manumission. On the other side, 
 there was just as much assiduity and provoking defiance in the attitude of 
 those who sought to help runaways to escape. In 1843, Owen Lovejoy 
 was indicted in Bureau County for helping two Negro women — the occasion 
 of an important decision made by Judge Caton. In 1843, too, Doctor Rich- 
 ard Eells of Quincy was fined four hundred dollars in the Circuit Court 
 by Stephen A. Douglas, for aiding a fugitive slave. The decision later 
 was sustained by Judge James Shields of the Illinois Supreme Court/ 
 
 Jim, a Negro slave, was purchased by Richard Phillipps of New 
 Madrid, Missouri, from his sister, Mrs. Gray, for one thousand dollars in 
 
 1 The Daily Pantagraph, June 21, 1878. 
 
 - The White Apron, p. 241. 
 
 3 . Tisler. 
 
 4 Centennial History of Illinois, Pease, p. 379. 
 
 — 26 — 
 
cash, in 1854 or 1855. Jim, who later was known as Jim Gray, was given 
 considerable leeway about his liberty, and spent some time on the river gam' 
 bling with the boatmen. One day he disappeared. 1 Phillipps advertised for 
 the runaway slave, and learned that he was at Jonesboro, Illinois, in jail. 
 Phillipps went to the jail and recognised his slave. 2 In accordance with the 
 law of the time, Phillipps had to file a complaint with the Federal Commis' 
 sioner at Springfield, Illinois. The commissioner would hear the case and 
 dispose of it according to the evidence. At this stage of the proceedings, 
 the jailer received a writ of habeas corpus from Judge Caton, ordering the 
 Negro to be brought to Ottawa for a hearing. The Judge was authority 
 for the statement that holding a man in jail without a warrant must stop, 
 even if he were black. 3 
 
 Phillipps proceeded to Springfield, secured the warrant from the 
 commissioner, and met the jailer at Decatur, as Jim was being taken on the 
 train for Ottawa. If Jim were released by the writ of habeas corpus, the 
 commissioner's deputy could legally take him back to Springfield with the 
 commissioner's warrant. 
 
 An incident had occurred in Ottawa a few weeks previously that 
 had aroused the people to a fury against the slave trade. It involved a free 
 Negro named Berkley, and is of importance in considering the Gray case. 
 Berkley had gone to Colorado on a gold hunt with Aaron Daniels, a white 
 friend of his from Ottawa. In Missouri, Berkley posed as Daniels' slave, 
 but was captured by slave traders. He secured the aid of a lawyer who 
 wrote the people in Ottawa, learning that Berkley had lived in Ottawa for 
 six or seven years, and was in fact a free Negro. Although the meaning is 
 not entirely clear, we read that the attorney in Missouri dropped the case 
 when he found the "jail fees" for keeping the Negro in jail were equal to 
 about what Berkley would bring if he were sold as a slave. Berkley was 
 "sold down the river" for $1,045, and, with another Negro, was placed on 
 a boat bound for New Orleans. They escaped from the boat and started 
 back to Illinois and freedom. Near Decatur, four men chased them, evi' 
 dently with the object of securing a reward that might be due for returning 
 them to owners, but they finally reached Ottawa. The people of Ottawa 
 were afraid that the slave traders would catch up with Berkley and return 
 him to the South. They held a protest meeting on October 17, 1859, and 
 called on Constable Turney English of Ottawa. It was the intention of 
 
 1 Jay Monaghan's "North Carolinians in Illinois History," Oqtober, 1945, issue of 
 The 7<[orth Carolina. History Review, hereafter referred to as "Monaghan." When* 
 ever "Hitt" is quoted it is from Monaghan's article, and refers to "Reports of the 
 Trial of John Hossack indicted for rescuing a fugitive slave from the United States 
 Deputy Marshall of Ottawa," October 20, 1859, (Chicago 1860) p. 43. 
 
 2 Hitt, p. 12. 
 
 3 Monaghan. 
 
 — 27 — 
 
the people to learn if English were trying to aid two men from St. Louis who 
 were believed to be slave catchers, and who were supposed to be trying to 
 recapture Berkley. The constable "beat about the bush" and refused to 
 answer. 1 In the story of Berkley, carried in the Ottawa Republican, OctO' 
 ber 15 and 21, 1859, it is not clear that Berkley escaped after getting to 
 Ottawa, but Ottawa Old and 7<[ew states he did. 
 
 The closer to Ottawa that the Jonesboro jailer and Jim Gray came, 
 the more alarming the situation grew. Threats were made against the slave' 
 holder. On the day of the hearing in Ottawa, two hundred men jammed 
 the halls and packed the place with nervous excitement. Jim Gray's attor- 
 neys before Judge Caton were Burton C. Cook, J. O. Glover, E. S. Leland, 
 and Oliver C. Gray. The prosecuting attorney was Julius Caesar Avery. 
 All were Ottawa attorneys. 
 
 Judge Caton examined the papers of Jim Gray, said the Negro was 
 discharged from the original mittimus, but was now legally in custody of 
 the commissioner's deputy from Springfield. He told the men around him 
 that he hoped there would be no interference in the execution of the law; 
 since he had issued the writ of habeas corpus for Gray. The Judge further 
 stated that if the people of the county did not abide by the Court's decision, 
 he never would issue another writ to bring a man to a county where the 
 law was not respected. 2 
 
 When Gray was discharged, Judge Caton 's authority ended- 
 Judge Caton left and the crowd broke into an uproar. Jim Gray darted 
 under the drawn curtain of a waiting carriage. Peter Meyer, a saloon 
 keeper, stopped the horses. John Hossack came with his fists clenched at 
 Meyer and the carriage sped away, amid the cheering crowd on the street. 
 Jim Gray was "on his way." He escaped to Canada, as did so many other 
 Negroes. 3 Phillipps and his friend left town at once. 4 
 
 John Hossack was indicted for rescuing a fugitive slave and aiding 
 him to escape from a Federal officer. His trial was set for February 28, 
 1860, at the United States District Court in Chicago. 5 Hossack was dc 
 fended by five able lawyers, including Isaac N. Arnold, a founder of the 
 Chicago Historical Society. 6 
 
 A mass meeting was held, denouncing any court or any law that 
 would punish a man for helping another to liberty. 7 The United States 
 district attorney chose Alfred W. Arrington to help in the prosecution. 
 
 1 Tisler 
 
 2 Monaghan, p. 437. 
 
 8 Ottawa. Old and N«u>, p. 47. 
 * Monaghan, p. 438. 
 5 Ibid., p. 438. 
 « Ibid., p. 439. 
 7 Hitt, p. 208. 
 
 — 28 — 
 
Alfred W. Arlington was born in North Carolina, but went with 
 his parents to Arkansas when he was still a 'boy. First a preacher, he later 
 turned to politics, and was elected to the legislature in Arkansas. The 
 dishonesty of his colleagues disgusted him so that he decided to become a 
 lawyer. 1 Later he became a judge in Texas. After some vicissitudes and 
 many changes, he moved to Chicago. Judge Arlington, according to Gen- 
 eral Usher F. Linder, "was the most perfect model of a gentleman and a law- 
 yer" he ever knew. 2 
 
 James Stout, Doctor Joseph Stout, and five other Ottawa citizens 
 were indicted with Hossack. Two defendants left for "parts unknown" 
 before the warrants were served, and they, with two other defendants, were 
 never tried. The juries found Hossack and Doctor Joseph Stout guilty. 
 They were fined one hundred dollars and costs, and sentenced to ten days 
 in the Cook County jail. Claudius King, another defendant, pleaded guilty, 
 was fined ten dollars and costs, and sentenced to one day in jail. Attorney 
 James Stout, who pleaded his own case, was acquitted. When Hossack was 
 arraigned in Chicago before Judge Thomas Drummorid, who had been ap- 
 pointed United States District Judge in 1850, succeeding Judge Nathaniel 
 Pope, he obtained permission to speak in his own behalf. He denounced 
 slavery and its defenders. 
 
 The defendants completed their jail sentence, but Mayor John Went- 
 worth took them driving daily in his personal carriage. The citizens of 
 Chicago paid the court costs, and saw that the prisoners were well fed and 
 entertained. Hossack later was nominated for governor on the Abolitionist 
 ticket. 8 
 
 Judge Caton, in his Memoirs, tells of his grandfather owning slaves 
 and speaks kindly of them. Caton, his father, and grandfather all had 
 joined the religious denomination of Friends, and the father and grand- 
 father were ministers. According to his obituary in the Ottawa Republican 
 of August 12, 1895, Judge Caton never changed his religious affiliation. 
 C. C. Tisler suggests that this may account for Judge Caton "s sympathy for 
 the Negro slaves. The sympathy of the Friends for the Negro slaves is well 
 known. In McLean County, the Quakers furnished an asylum for a num- 
 ber of Negroes at Benjaminville. The town, now known as Bentown, is a 
 few miles east of Bloomington. 
 
 Judge Caton laid the foundation for much of the court procedure 
 of Illinois for later years. His legal opinions and decisions are noted for 
 their preciseness, clearness, strength, and conciseness. He once expressed 
 
 1 Monaghan, p. 431. 
 
 2 Linder's Reminiscences, p. 237. 
 
 3 Tisler. 
 
 — 29 — 
 
his disgust for Jesse B. Thomas, the State's attorney at Greenville, Illinois, 
 by writing that Thomas "was the most verbose man I ever knew. He seemed 
 to think that an argument or an opinion must be measured by the yard to 
 determine its value." 
 
 A rule of court adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court 1 at the De' 
 cember term, 1853, in which Judge Caton and Judge Scates, two associate 
 Justices, approved, and to which Chief Judge Treat dissented, was not con' 
 sistent with his personal views: 
 
 ORDERED, That in all cases hereafter, the arguments of 
 
 counsel shall be limited to two hours, except when the Court 
 
 may think it necessary to allow, by special permission, the 
 
 opening argument to extend beyond that time, not exceeding 
 
 three hours. 
 
 Judge Caton joined with Justice Treat and Justice Lyman Trumbull, 
 at the April term, 1851, 2 in a severe criticism of the lawyers involved in a 
 case relating to the old State Bank of Illinois. Lincoln had won the case 
 in the lower court, and Stephen A. Douglas, S. T. Logan, and J. A. Mc- 
 Clernand appealed it. The case was of great importance, involving a 
 judgment amounting to thousands of dollars. The Court stated that it 
 was "to be regretted that, in so important a case as this, the parties have not 
 thought proper to bring before the Court the whole transaction out of 
 which Dunlap's indebtedness arose." The Court then reversed the decision, 
 which had been rendered in favor of Lincoln's client, and added to the pre' 
 vious statement "had this been done, it is possible that the Court might 
 have been called upon to pronounce a different judgment." 
 
 Lincoln made mistakes, but he was honest. Judge Caton, a friend, 
 but political opponent, had this to say of him: "His great reputation for 
 integrity was well deserved. I venture the assertion that no one ever accused 
 him of taking an underhanded or unfair advantage in the whole course of 
 his career. He was equally potent before the jury as with the Court." 3 
 
 Caton 's views of Lincoln differed from those of General William 
 L. D. Ewing, a representative from Fayette County, Illinois. Ewing had 
 been the United States senator from Illinois, and had filled various state 
 offices including that of governor of Illinois in his time. One day he spoke 
 in the House of Representatives of Illinois about an opposing debater, using 
 these words: 
 
 "Gentlemen, have you no other champion than this coarse and vul' 
 gar fellow to bring into the lists against me? Do you suppose that I will 
 
 1 Illinois Supreme Court Reports, 1?, 111. Preface. 
 
 2 Dunlap vs. Smith, Illinois Supreme Court Reports, 12, IB. 399. 
 
 3 Caton Miscellanies, pp. 12-13. 
 
 — 30 — 
 
condescend to break a lance with your low and obscure colleague?" 1 The 
 "low and obscure colleague" is recalled today by his well known words 
 "with malice toward none and charity toward all." 
 
 In 1835, Judge Caton was a delegate to the first Democratic state 
 convention at Vandalia, Illinois. In his Memoirs, he tells of lifting Stephen 
 A. Douglas up in his arms and holding him above the crowd so he could be 
 seen, as well as heard, at a political rally. Finally a table was placed near 
 by for Douglas to stand on. 2 Douglas was a small man and Caton was six 
 feet tall, weighing over 250 pounds. 3 
 
 Although Caton personally was friendly to Lincoln and personally 
 and politically friendly to Douglas, I can find no mention of his public inter- 
 est in the Lincoln-Douglas joint debate, when reading: 
 
 [Chicago Press and Tribune, August 21, 1858] 
 ALL ABOARD FOR OTTAWA! 
 
 Special Dispatch to Press and Tribune. 
 Ottawa, Aug. 20, 1858 
 
 Lincoln will take the Special Train from Chicago at Morris tomor- 
 row morning. Please give notice to the public. 
 
 Republican Committee. 4 
 
 Shortly after 12 o'clock Saturday, August 21, 1858, the special train 
 came in with seventeen cars, with Lincoln aboard. "The afterward lamented 
 Wallace, who fell at Shiloh, met him as an escort or committee." 5 Lincoln 
 was seated in a carriage, beautifully decorated with evergreens and mottoes 
 by the young ladies of Ottawa. He was escorted by a procession, a half 
 mile in length, with military companies and bands of music, from the depot 
 to the public square, on around the square, and to the residence of Mayor 
 Joseph Glover. 8 The Glover house is still standing at 810 Columbus Street. 
 It has been marked with a tablet by the Illini Chapter of the Daughters of 
 the American Revolution. 
 
 Ottawa was not a strange place to Lincoln, irrespective of legal and 
 political visits. He, and his company, enlisted for the Black Hawk War, 
 had marched from Rock Island to Dixon's Ferry, then south to Ottawa, 
 where they were discharged. At Ottawa, he re-enlisted in the company of 
 Captain Elijah lies for further service. Douglas made his first trip to 
 Ottawa in October, 1840, when he made a four-hour speech. Douglas 
 
 1 Reminiscences, p. 63. 
 
 2 Memoirs, p. 579. 
 
 8 Catlin. 
 
 4 Illinois Historical Collections, Sparks, Vol. Ill, p. 85. 
 
 5 Whitney, p. 408. 
 
 6 Sparks, p. 134. 
 
 — 31 — 
 
spent the night before the debate in Peru. 
 
 The Douglas procession moved down the Peru road to Buffalo Rock. 
 There the group met its champion, and escorted him to the Geiger house. 1 
 The Geiger house since has been torn down. It was in the 800 block on 
 La Salle Street, a block west of the Glover home. It was at the Geiger 
 house that Jim Gray was kept while in Ottawa. 
 
 The Peoria Transcript, August 24, 1858, carried the headlines: 
 
 THE GREAT DEBATE AT OTTAWA 
 
 TWELVE THOUSAND PERSONS PRESENT. — LINCOLN'S 
 TRIUMPHANT VINDICATION OF REPUBLICAN PRINCIPLES.— 
 
 THE GIANT SLAIN. 
 
 But there seems to be a difference of opinion if we can believe the Illinois 
 State Register, under the same date, when we read the headlines: 
 
 DOUGLAS AND LINCOLN— THE DEBATE AT OTTAWA 
 
 12,000 PEOPLE WITNESS THE ROUT OF LINCOLN!— DOUGLAS 
 
 AGAIN TRIUMPHANT! — LINCOLN ON THE SICK LIST!!— HE 
 
 SHIRKS THE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM. 
 
 When the Civil War began, Caton like his friend Senator Douglas, 
 favored putting down the rebellion by force. With Treat and Trumbull, 
 he upheld the power of the legislature to issue bonds for a war fund. 
 
 Judge Caton received sixteen votes for vice-president of the United 
 States on the Democratic ticket. 2 Caton, in the language of a Republican 
 paper in Bloomington, "has found time to become a lighthouse in the dark 
 and dangerous ocean of Democracy. " 8 
 
 Judge Caton supported loyally the war efforts, but he did not agree 
 with many of Lincoln's plans. On September 24, 1862, J. O. Glover sent 
 the following message to him, reported in an old newspaper clipping, "The 
 Democratic convention here just passed resolutions by an almost unanimous 
 vote condemning the president's proclamation. Signed J. O. Glover." 
 
 In reply, Judge Caton wrote from Springfield, Illinois, on September 
 24, 1862, as follows: 
 
 "I expected it. I regret the proclamation as an ill advised measure. 
 It is a tub thrown to the Abolition whales which may endanger the whole 
 ship. It cannot change the actual status of one Negro from what it would 
 be without it. 
 
 1 Spar\s, p. 134. 
 
 2 Otfflt/M. Free Trader, September 17, 1864. 
 8 The Daily Pantagraph, June 19, 1878. 
 
 — 32 — 
 

 Courtesy Illinois Historical Society 
 
 Judge John Dean Caton. 
 
"It weakens the hands and lays an additional burden on the shoulders 
 of those who are exerting every energy to support and restore the constitu- 
 tion and to suppress the rebellion. May God in his mercy to our bleeding 
 country and endangered constitution grant that it may have no worse result 
 than to meet the disapproval of Democrats in free states whose whole souls 
 are engaged in the prosecution of this war. They cannot be drawn from 
 this support. They will prosecute this war with undying energy while 
 those who have extorted this unwise measure from the president will be 
 clamoring loudly for peace by separation. Seven months hence you will 
 see these words understood. This country is ours to uphold and this gov 1 - 
 ernment is ours to maintain as such. As they are those of the president and 
 although he has done an unwise or unjustifiable act it will not warrant or 
 induce us to abandon them but stimulate us to greater efforts to uphold and 
 vindicate such interest. Whatever the administration may do the people 
 will defend and uphold their government and country until the constitu- 
 tion shall be reestablished over the whole land." 
 
 [Signed] J, D. Caton. 
 
 Judge Caton was a prolific writer on many and varied subjects. Be- 
 sides other works, he wrote on such diverse subjects as: The Last of the 
 Illinois, the story of the massacre at Starved Rock; Irregularity of the Flow 
 of Artesian Wells; An American State and its Architecture; and Origin 
 of the Prairies. These are only illustrations of his interests that seemingly 
 were inexhaustible. 
 
 He was well known for the descriptions of his trips to Norway, the 
 Hawaiian Islands, Japan, China, Nova Scotia, and other parts of the world, 
 where he had traveled. In his travels across the Atlantic, he stopped "for 
 a time at Hammerfest, the most northern town in the world. ,n 
 
 For thirty years he was a scientist, and his outstanding work, recog- 
 nizzd internationally, is his book, Antelope and Deer of America. He had 
 a fine park as part of his estate and here were elk and prairie chicken, 2 and 
 every species of deer "known to North America." 3 In December, 1881, he 
 shipped twenty-three head of elk to Europe. Later many more were shipped. 
 Some went to Scotland, others to France and Belgium, but most of them 
 went to Germany to be turned loose in Emperor William's park. 4 At var- 
 ious times one hundred head of elk were shipped to Great Britain. James 
 P. Catlin recalls one "round-up" of elk to be shipped abroad. Caton also 
 successfully domesticated the wild turkey, 8 although they would disappear 
 
 I B. E. of I.., p. 132 
 
 2 Catlin. 
 
 3 B. E. of I, p. 132. 
 
 * Ottawa Old and "Hew. 
 5 B. E. of I., p. 132. 
 
 — 33 — 
 
every few weeks and have to be caught and brought back. 1 
 
 In the north part of the park, the gates often were kept securely 
 locked, and the fences examined and repaired with the utmost care. Here 
 he kept the elk, the most vicious animals. These precautions were not 
 always sufficient. All visitors were at one time excluded from the north 
 park, and every possible notice given of the dangers of invading it. Within 
 a month after he had placed one vicious animal there, three men who thought 
 they knew better, and were not afraid of anybody's elk, scaled the fence. 
 They soon changed their minds. One of the elk treed two of the men and 
 killed the third. 2 
 
 O. H. Browning urged upon President Andrew Johnson the appoint' 
 ment of Judge Caton as commissioner of agriculture, but the president did 
 not act.* There is nothing to indicate that Judge Caton asked for, or 
 wanted, this position. However, it is difficult to think of Senator Browning 
 urging this without the knowledge and consent of Caton. 
 
 Judge Caton built two homes on the North Bluff above the city, 
 after living for a time in a small house near the canal. Ottawa remained 
 his home for most of the remainder of his life. 4 His first home on the Bluff 
 was destroyed by fire on February 3, 1886. Most of its contents, many 
 priceless articles gathered by Judge Caton on his travels to different parts of 
 the world, were ruined. 8 
 
 His last home in Ottawa was occupied at various times by the chil- 
 dren and their families, either separately or together. At one time, Mrs. 
 Marshall Field suggested to the two daughters of Judge Caton that if they 
 would set a value of each third, and give her the option of buying or selling, 
 that one of them could own all of the property. The other two set a 
 value of $24,000 for the entire interest, and she paid $16,000 for the two- 
 thirds owned by the two daughters. Later, she gave this property to her 
 niece, Mrs. Catherine Beveridge, the wife of Senator Albert J. Beveridge, 
 of Indiana. 6 
 
 The home in Ottawa, during Judge Caton's lifetime and during the 
 time when the children and Mrs. Field owned it, was the center of enter- 
 tainments on the grandest scale. No place in Illinois witnessed social events 
 of greater elegance. The same scale of entertaining was carried on in 
 Chicago at the home there. 7 One such occasion, the Caton 's fiftieth wed- 
 
 i Catlin. 
 
 2 Antelope and deer of America, p. 285. 
 
 3 Diary, Vol.2, p. 151. 
 * Catlin. 
 
 5 Ibid. 
 
 6 Mrs. Catherine J. Beveridge to the Author. 
 
 7 Ibid. 
 
 — 34 
 
ding anniversary, as characterised in the Chicago Tribune, July 29, 1885, 
 "... in point of brilliancy and elegance has never been surpassed in the 
 history of Chicago." 
 
 Mrs. Beveridge sold the Ottawa home for $5,000. 1 The property 
 included the home and fifty acres which was all that then remained as part 
 of the original home place. The house was torn down in 1945 by Mr. and 
 Mrs. Phillip S. McDougall. 
 
 Senator Beveridge was thoroughly in sympathy with Judge Caton on 
 the position of Douglas on the Lecompton Constitution. 2 
 
 In his home, Caton had a billiard room where he and his friends 
 spent much time. 3 West of his home, but probably not more than twenty 
 feet from it, was the bowling alley. This is the only building left, and, 
 because of a fire, is in a poor state of preservation. 
 
 The Judge had his own ice house and smoke house adjoining his home 
 on the Bluff. On the third floor of his last Ottawa home was the ballroom. 
 He raised his own tobacco. 4 The accounts of all these things make us wish 
 for the "good old days." 
 
 Old Ottawa newspaper stories of the legislative session of 18664867 
 list as among the bills introduced, one for the construction of a "horse 
 railway" in Ottawa. It was proposed to build the horse railway on Colum- 
 bus Street, one of the two main north and south streets in the city, then 
 extend it over to the Caton mansion. The horse railway was never built 
 in Ottawa, but Judge Caton lived long enough to see the first electric 
 street railway in the State of Illinois, opened in Ottawa in August, 1889. 5 
 
 Although the Catons had fine horses, the Judge seemed particularly 
 proud of a fine span of mules that he drove continually when in Ottawa. 
 The mules ran away with him upon many occasions and nobody seemed to 
 want to handle them except the Judge himself. 6 Often the Judge would 
 drive the mules to Chicago, eighty-six miles away, stopping at Plainfield on 
 the way. 7 
 
 The servants at the various homes remained for years, attesting their 
 affection for the Catons. It was not uncommon for the children of the 
 servants to continue in their employment. 8 
 
 1 Catlin. 
 
 2 Beveridge, Abraham Lincoln, Vol. II, p. 530. 
 
 3 Catlin. 
 * Ibid. 
 
 5 Ottawa Old and Hew, p. 92. 
 
 6 Catlin. 
 
 7 Ibid. 
 
 8 Ibid. 
 
 — 35 — 
 
One has to see the Bluff to know what the place really was. There 
 was the Caton mansion where William B. Copeland has built a home on the 
 old site. On the west was the beautiful home of Judge T. Lyle Dickey, 
 built in 1842, now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Phillip S. McDougall. The 
 hospitality, friendliness, and graciousness of the present owners are remin- 
 iscent of the days of the Dickeys. The marvelous view overlooking the 
 beautiful valley to the south which reaches to the Illinois and Michigan 
 Canal, and the Fox and Illinois rivers, is one long to be remembered. Ad- 
 joining the Dickey home to the north was that of his son-in-law, General 
 W. H. L. Wallace, now owned by the State of Illinois. Words cannot 
 describe adequately these homes and the grounds surrounding them. 
 
 In 1872, Judge Caton built a fine home at 1900 Calumet Avenue in 
 Chicago. The Catons had one son, Arthur J. Caton, a lawyer, who married 
 Delia Spencer. She was the daughter of J. S. Spencer of the Hibbard, 
 Spencer and Bartlett Company. After the death of Arthur J. Caton, No- 
 vember 18, 1904, his widow married Marshall Field, the founder of the 
 store of that name located in Chicago. 
 
 Arthur had two sisters, one of whom was Laura Caton Towne and 
 the other Caroline (Carrie) Caton Williams. The husbands of each were 
 attorneys in Chicago and the homes of the children adjoined the Caton 
 home at 1900 Calumet Avenue. 1 
 
 Judge Caton, Judge Dickey, General Wallace, B. C. Cook, and 
 William H. Reddick were brother members of the same Masonic lodge. 
 John Barney, who introduced the Prestonian System of lectures in Illinois, 
 conferred the Masonic degree on Judge Caton, December 11, 1845. The 
 Judge was installed as Worshipful Master when Occidental Lodge was 
 constituted, October 10, 1846, and presided until June 18, 1847. He 
 again was Master of the Lodge in 1851 and was very active in lodge work 
 for many years. 2 By way of passing, the Wade-Barney Masonic Lodge of 
 Bloomington was named for Thomas Jefferson Wade of Occidental Lodge 
 and for John Barney. 
 
 One gathers from his stories and those that have come by word of 
 mouth from others and from pen and ink, that Judge Caton was never a 
 "hail fellow well met." Perhaps he was regarded as gruff by the man on 
 the street who casually encountered him. He was kind and considerate. 
 With a sense of responsibility always, and perhaps a thought that there 
 never was time enough to accomplish the worthwhile things, he never rushed 
 with matters. He was very commonplace with his friends and employees. 8 
 
 1 Catlin. 
 
 2 Russell V. Wright, Secretary of the Occidental Lodge No. 40, to the author, April 
 
 7, 1947. 
 ! Catlin. 
 
 — 36 — 
 
Judge Caton was very dignified on the bench, but his sense of humor 
 did not prevent him from telling stories on himself even if the incidents 
 happened in his courtroom. Benjamin Franklin Fridley of Aurora 
 was a man somewhat unique in character, particularly in his expressions, 
 which were always notably to the point and which have been frequently 
 quoted in the courts for long years. 1 Fridley, one of the early Illinois law- 
 yers, had a case before Judge Caton at one time, and brought up a question 
 that had been decided against him. The Judge told him that if he wanted 
 the question re-examined, he must take it to a court of errors. 
 Whereupon Fridley remarked in an undertone, that if you wouldn't take 
 Judge Caton 's court for a court of errors, he did not know where to go to 
 find one. This was overheard by the Judge. Instead of taking offense, 
 it amused him and he repeated it many times afterward with great gusto. 2 
 
 Another of Judge Caton's celebrated trials was one in 1843 when 
 Owen Lovejoy was tried for aiding slaves to escape through the Under- 
 ground Railway. Owen Lovejoy, of course, was a brother of Elijah Love- 
 joy, who was killed at Alton. Fridley was the prosecuting attorney "and 
 was opposed to having him indicted; but at length yielded to the insistence 
 of his party friends, though in doing so he remarked/'I can tell you what 
 it will result in. He will be cleared by the jury, and taken up by the people 
 and elected to Congress 1 — which result, as is well known, actually follow- 
 ed". 3 Judge Caton, in this specific case in Bureau County, laid down the 
 principle that a slave voluntarily brought to the State thereby was free,* 
 
 Judge Caton enjoyed telling a story concerning Ned Hackett, one 
 of his servants. One night at Oswego in the hotel, they were compelled to 
 share the same bed. The Judge told Ned that if he still lived in Ireland 
 instead of America, it would be a long time before he got to sleep with a 
 judge. Hackett replied that if Caton were in Ireland, it would be a long 
 time before he would get to be a judge. 5 
 
 One story is told of Caton and Lincoln more often, probably, than 
 any other. It concerns an occasion when Judges Sidney Breese, Onias 
 Skinner, and Caton were in the library talking of their boyhood days and 
 the coincidence of their having all been born in the same state, New York, 
 and the same county, Oneida. Just then Lincoln stepped in, and, having a 
 
 1 Palmer's Bench and Bar, Vol. 2, pp. 909-910. 
 
 2 Joseph Gillespie in Linder's Reminiscences, p. 406. 
 
 3 Moses, Illinois, Vol. 2, 971. 
 
 4 Pease, p. 379. 
 
 5 Catlin. 
 
 — 37 — 
 
few days before lost a case which had been tried before the court in which 
 all three judges were against him, remarked, "I thought this was a one-i-da 
 court, and now I know it." 
 
 Judge Caton was very particular about observing the law, and seeing 
 that otherjs around him did the same. His grandson, John D. C. Towne, 
 and James P. Catlin went up to the Judge's farm the fifteenth of August 
 one year, expecting to shoot prairie chickens. There was a question of 
 law, as to whether the season opened on the fifteenth of August or, the 
 first of September. Judge Caton made it very plain that they were welcome 
 to come up on September first, but that there would be no shooting on his 
 place on the fifteenth of August and there was none. It would ill behoove 
 a former justice of the Supreme Court to permit anything questionable. 1 
 
 A sample of how Judge Caton accomplished things is illustrated by 
 one experience in 1844 in Kendall County. The road supervisors had not 
 kept the roads in passable condition and he was stuck in the mud many 
 times. He charged the grand jury on the law, indictments were returned, 
 and every road supervisor in the county either pleaded guilty or was found 
 guilty and fined. The other counties that the Judge was to visit on his 
 circuit teemed with activity and the roads were better. 
 
 The struggles of Samuel Morse with his telegraph, even after it 
 was invented, are interesting, but hard to believe. The ramifications of the 
 industry are too long to be detailed here. Illustrative of the difficulty in 
 raising capital was the experience of Ezra Cornell, who became interested in 
 1845 in attempting to construct a telegraph line from New York to Phila- 
 delphia. We read: "It was certainly strange to see the future princely 
 founder of Cornell University making his breakfast out of the proceeds of 
 a shilling picked up from the sidewalks of Broadway, and which he said 
 was one of the best meals he ever had in his life!" This happened when he 
 was in charge of an exhibition which charged twenty-five cents a person 
 to see the telegraph at work and there were not enough visitors to pay ex- 
 penses. The exhibitors were so poor that one of them was glad to use a 
 couple of chairs for a night's rest. 2 
 
 On June 13, 1845, Henry O'Reilly of Rochester, New York, entered 
 into a contract with the Morse patentees for the extension of the Morse 
 telegraph. 3 This contract became the root of a powerful and dangerous 
 opposition to the Morse patent. It never yielded a dollar to the patentees 
 until many years later, after lengthy litigation. 4 The contract virtually gave 
 
 1 Catlin. 
 
 2 The Telegraph in America, James D. Reid, pp. 114 and 115. 
 
 3 Ilbid., p. 152. 
 
 4 Ibid., p. 154. 
 
 — 38 — 
 
the right to the patentees to sell the same territory over again to carry busi- 
 ness for, or from, territory outside of O'Reilly's limits. 1 
 
 After incorporating a company, O'Reilly planned for telegraph 
 lines from Alton, Springfield, Peoria, Peru, and Ottawa to Chi- 
 cago. There was to be a branch from Peru to Bloomington, by way of 
 Beardstown, Quincy, Keokuk, and Burlington. The routes comprehended 
 about 750 miles of actual lines. 2 
 
 In March, 1849, O'Reilly called a meeting of the stockholders to 
 assemble at Peoria, Illinois, on April 10, to establish a permanent organiza- 
 tion. A few days before, Caton "happened" into the Circuit Court 
 room in Ottawa, where several subscribers to the stock were in consultation. 
 They requested him to attend the meeting and represent them, which he did. 
 As a result he purchased several shares of stock and was elected a director. 
 The next day, the company was organized under the name of Illinois and 
 Mississippi Telegraph Company, with a capital of $500,000. 3 
 
 The company was managed very poorly and on April 7, 1852, it 
 seemed as though there was no other course but to sell the wire and machin- 
 ery and wind up the concern. 4 All looked to Judge Caton. He secured the 
 passage of a bill by the legislature, authorizing the assessment of stock, and 
 the governor of Illinois signed it. With money obtained from the stock 
 assessments and sales, and with funds realized by mortgaging his own per- 
 sonal property, he started for the cedar groves of Green Bay, paddled from 
 place to place in a bark canoe, and ordered large quantities of cedar poles 
 with which to rebuild the worn out lines. 
 
 As an example of his thrift, to make his money go as far as possible, 
 he erected only half the usual number of poles per mile. He then, person- 
 ally, applied for and secured from railroad companies, rightsrof-way along 
 their road beds. 8 
 
 Caton acquired valuable Morse patent rights beyond the limits of 
 the company's lines and erected, on his own behalf, in Illinois and Iowa, 
 important extentions of the telegraph." After three years' struggle in which 
 he had risked all his means, exhausted his personal credit, and drawn largely 
 on others, he saw sure evidence of coming success. 7 
 
 He organized two other companies, and finally, in 1856, merged 
 
 1 The Telegraph in America, James D. Held, pp. 154-155. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 233. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 235. 
 
 * Ibid., pp. 236-237. 
 
 5 Ibid., p. 239. 
 
 6 Ibid., p. 240. 
 
 7 Ibid., p. 240. 
 
 — 39 — 
 
them into The Illinois and Mississippi Telegraph Company. 1 
 
 Caton made one of the earliest contracts for running trains by tele' 
 graph in 1856, with Governor Joel Matteson, president of the Chicago, 
 Alton and St. Louis Railroad. Caton arranged a night service and ap< 
 pointed a night and day "superintendence" of the service at Bloomington, 
 to whom all trains reported, and who had authority to move them. 2 It may 
 be recorded that the success of the company was due to the industry and 
 skill of Judge Caton. 3 
 
 While the statement is not made definitely, some think that when 
 the assessments of stock in the Illinois and Mississippi Telegraph Company 
 were made, Henry O'Reilly lost out with this particular company. There 
 is one reference saying O'Reilly "had finished his Western work and had 
 come to New York." 4 There is another reference to O'Reilly having 
 "flashed through the West until his path was checked by personal disaster, 
 returned East." 5 Of one thing we are certain, and that is that Judge Caton 
 treated O'Reilly and all other business and personal acquaintances fairly 
 and justly. No word or hint to the contrary has been mentioned in works 
 pertaining to Caton. 
 
 In 1867, the company executed a lease with the Western Union 
 Telegraph Company, 8 whereby the property was leased perpetually for 
 $85,000 a year. 7 This brought Judge Caton an income in excess of $70,000 
 a year. The lease provided for $85,000 net, clear of all expense of main' 
 tenance, taxes, including future income taxes, and all other charges. The 
 $85,000 was mailed to the secretary of the corporation in quarterly install- 
 ments each year. The United States had an income tax from 1862 to 1872, 
 and had a different one in 1894. This latter tax was declared unconstitu- 
 tional, and, of course, our present one went into effect in 1913. 
 
 Some years ago, while James P. Catlin was secretary, he was called 
 to New York. Newcomb Carlton, president of Western Union, offered him 
 $1,700,000 for the company's rights, basing it on an idea that the $85,000 
 was five per cent of the real value of the company. Catlin suggested that 
 he thought this would be satisfactory to the stockholders. Carlton turned 
 to the vice-president and informed him that he should give Catlin a check 
 for $1,000,000 at once, for the purchase of the stock. The balance of the 
 
 1 The Telegraph in America, James D. Reid, p. 240. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 244. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 247. 
 
 4 Ibid., p. 361. 
 
 5 Ibid., p. 362. 
 
 6 B. E. of I., p. 132. 
 7 Catlin. 
 
 — 40 — 
 
3 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 X 
 
 U 
 
money would be forthcoming on demand. Catlin refused the check and 
 suggested sight drafts with the stock attached which was the plan carried 
 out. 1 Such a suggestion upon the part of Carlton was a perfect tribute to 
 the integrity and character of James Catlin. 
 
 Judge Caton owned the Illinois Telegraph Company, organized to 
 manufacture telegraph instruments. This company employed over thirty 
 operators and turned out annually 600 relays, 600 sounders and keys, and 
 100 registers, as well as all other office implements used in this work. The 
 factory was sold by Caton to the Western Union in 1866. 2 The original 
 building now is occupied by Formhals &? Sons, 1512 La Salle Street, 
 Ottawa. 3 
 
 A starch company was incorporated January 21, 1856. It had over 
 three acres of floor space and employed 120 men and boys, making, in 1877, 
 about 1000 pounds of starch daily, and annually using about 250,000 bushels 
 of corn. 4 
 
 Judge Caton increased his holdings and finally became general man' 
 ager of the starch factory. In 1860, he became president and "raised that 
 establishment to a condition of the most flourishing prosperity. " 5 It was a 
 common expression to speak of this as Judge Caton's starch works. 6 
 
 In about the year 1858, Caton conceived the idea of a system of wa- 
 ter supply, and he secured a supply south of the river on the bluff. 7 The 
 water originally was piped in wooden mains, but later iron pipes were in' 
 stalled. The water now is used only to sprinkle lawns since it is not fit for 
 drinking purposes, but the system still is in operation. Caton had a similar 
 system for his own use on the North Bluff. 8 
 
 In 1868, the glass factory was established, with Caton as president. 9 
 By 1875, he was the chief owner. 10 
 
 Judge Caton had an office in the Cheevers block in Ottawa, but he 
 also had an office in the southeast corner of his home. When a fire des' 
 troyed most of his home, the other office remained intact. 11 
 
 Among Judge Caton's other interests was public education. While 
 
 1 Catlin. 
 
 2 Ottawa Old and Hew, p. 155. 
 
 3 Tisler. 
 
 4 The Past and Present of La Salle County, p. 285. 
 5 B. E. of l, p. 132. 
 
 6 Tisler. 
 
 7 The Past and Present of La Salle County, p. 285. 
 
 8 Tisler. 
 
 9 The Past and Present of La Salle County, p. 285. 
 10 B. E. of L, p. 132. 
 
 11 Catlin. 
 
 41 — 
 
a member of the State Board of Education, he introduced important resolu- 
 tions at Normal, Illinois, on June 19, 1878. 1 
 
 Judge Caton was not a founder of the old Academy of Science, but 
 was very much interested in it. He contributed many articles, and at one 
 time was an officer. 
 
 A word should be said of Judge Caton's finances. The story of his 
 poverty as a child and the cruelties he endured are well known. From 
 young manhood until his death he was unable to stretch his hands open be 
 cause they were muscle-bound from the work imposed upon him as a 
 child. When he came to Illinois, he endured the privations of the early 
 pioneers, but without the glamour of the log cabin. 
 
 One time in his youth in Illinois he was taken sick and did not 
 recover from the effects of the illness for years. At the time he moved 
 to Plainfield, he was seemingly hopelessly involved financially, just as Judge 
 Dickey was at Rushville. Judge Caton recovered from his disaster at that 
 time sooner than did Judge Dickey. Later, he again mortgaged his personal 
 property and extended his credit to the limit in the telegraph development, 
 and again recovered. The financial success reflected by his later life should 
 not obscure his years of poverty, and his struggles against adversity of every 
 kind. 
 
 Governor Frank O. Lowden, speaking at the dedication of the mon- 
 ument erected in memory of the father and stepmother of Abraham Lincoln, 
 at Janesville, Illinois, May 16, 1924, said: "Man loves contrast and finds 
 joy in a paradox. He likes to set opposite the loftiest height which his hero 
 reached, the humblest and least promising youth which he can assign to 
 him. This suits man's sense of the dramatic." The contrast of Caton's 
 early life with his later life delights our sense of the dramatic, but it is a 
 true story. He was a success in almost every undertaking, but was successful 
 only after years of struggle and effort that would have discouraged the weak- 
 willed and the lasy. 
 
 An item in an old Ottawa newspaper of July 19, 1866, listed the 
 taxable wealth of Ottawans and placed Judge Caton at the top with $91,- 
 717. The next on the list was L. H. Eames, a grain dealer and banker, whose 
 taxable wealth was listed as $'21,658. Caton's income tax to the Federal 
 government was $8,961 and his income lacked a very little of being $100,- 
 000. Before his death he had given away a great deal of money to his chil- 
 dren and their families, including their three homes in Chicago. The Daily 
 Pantagraph, Bloomington, on June 19, 1878, stated that "he had accumu- 
 lated a colossal fortune.' 1 
 
 1 The Daily Pantagraph, June 2u, 1878. 
 
 — 42 — 
 
At the time of his death, Caton's estate was listed at $2,000,000/ 
 Under the terms of his will, Caton left, after certain bequests, one-third 
 of his estate in trust for the children of Mrs. Towne, who had predeceased 
 him. Arthur J. Caton, Charles Towne, and Thomas D. Catlin were the 
 first trustees and upon the death of Arthur J. Caton, James P. Catlin was 
 selected as the successor trustee. The remaining two-thirds of his estate 
 was divided between the two children. 
 
 An honorable man, he achieved his fortune by constructive work, 
 never at the expense of those with whom he dealt. His money represented 
 not only financial success but a useful life. "Truth is stranger than fiction," 
 and Caton's life story is better than any by Horatio Alger. 
 
 Carlyle has defined history as the biography of great men 
 
 1 Ottawa Free Trader, August, 1895. 
 
 43 — 
 
McLEAN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 Organized March 10, 1892 
 LIBRARY AND MUSEUM 
 McBarnes Memorial Building 
 BLOOMINGTON - - ILLINOIS 
 
 OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS 
 
 Wayne C. Townley, President 
 W. W. Wallis, First Vice President 
 Mrs. Kate Orendorff, 
 
 Second Vice-President 
 Dr. D. D. Raber 
 
 Third Vice-President 
 John W. Moore, Secretary 
 Louis L. Williams, Treasurer 
 Dr. E. E. Atherton, Chaplain 
 Mrs. Margaret M. Hoffman, 
 Librarian 
 
 Mrs. Inez Dunn, 
 
 Assistant Librarian 
 Wm. B. Brigham 
 Deane Funk 
 Campbell Holton 
 Harold Liston 
 Elias W. Rolley 
 Lyman R. Tay 
 Carl Vrooman 
 Thomas Williams 
 
 Honorary Members 
 
 Hon. Leo E. Allen 
 William Henry Harrison 
 Mrs. Helen Dorch Longstreet 
 
 General Gerald Thomas 
 Mrs. Charles R. Walgreen 
 
 List of Members 
 
 Abbott, Maud 
 Abbott, Blanch D. 
 Abraham, Miss Elizabeth 
 Adams, Miss Katherine 
 Agle, Charles 
 Ahlenius, R. O. 
 Akers, Hal 
 Akers, Edwinna 
 Allan, John 
 Albrich, Miss Sarah 
 Albrich, Miss Dorothy 
 
 * Aldrich, Frank W. 
 
 * Aldrich, John C. 
 Allen, E. H. 
 Alverson Sales 
 Alexander, Miss Frances 
 Ambrose, James 
 Ambrose, Mrs. James 
 Anderson, A. E. 
 Anderson, Billy 
 
 Anderson, Geo. A. 
 Anderson, John F. 
 Anderson, Mrs. Wm. 
 Anderson, Wm. 
 Andrus, L. M. 
 Arends, Leslie 
 Arnold, Miss Mary 
 Arnold Bros. 
 Atherton, Rev. E. E. 
 Ayers, Miss Lottie 
 
 B 
 
 Bane, Earl M. 
 Bane, George L. 
 Barnes, Miss Mae 
 Barnes, Mrs. Carl 
 Barnes, Miss Hazel 
 Barger, Glen 
 Baumgart, C. H. 
 B^M Baking Co. 
 
 44 — 
 
Bates, Roy C. 
 
 * Beal, Dwight 
 Becker, John P. 
 Beebe, Dr. N. S. 
 Behr, Carl E. 
 Behrends, Roland 
 
 * Beich, Otto 
 Bennington, Mrs. Margaret 
 Benson Realty Co. 
 Bender, Harold S. 
 Benjamin, Mrs. Grace 
 Bent, Horajtio 
 
 Bent, Mrs. Horatio 
 
 * Berenz,, H. C. 
 Beyer, W. A. L. 
 Biasi, Mrs. Edward 
 Bloomington Battery Co. 
 Bloomington Gun 
 Bloomington Normal City Lines 
 Bloomington Tent & Awning 
 Bluemke, Gus 
 
 * Bohrer, Mrs. Florence Fifer 
 Bond, Mrs. Frances Perry 
 Bond, Frank 
 
 Bonny, Mrs. E. B. 
 Boozell, S. P. 
 Borher, Roy C. 
 Bower, I. L. 
 Boylan, John L. 
 Bradley, Miss Sadie 
 Branch, Mrs. Charles 
 Breen, Mrs. Thelma V. 
 Brenneman, Victor 
 
 * Brigham, Wm. 
 Brokaw, John 
 Brooks, Aaron 
 Brown, Alfred 
 Brown, Carl 
 Brown, G. C. 
 Brown, I. E. N. 
 Brown, Louis 
 
 Brown Paint and Glass Co. 
 
 * Buck, Miss Oral M. 
 Bunting, Joe 
 Burford, C. C. 
 Butler, E. J. 
 
 Cowles, Miss Bertha 
 Cowles, Miss Katherine 
 Cox, Mrs. E. E. 
 Crum, Myrl 
 
 D 
 
 Daly, Edward J. 
 Dameron, John R. 
 Daughters of the American 
 
 Revolution 
 Dean, W. P. 
 Decker, Alvin E. 
 Denning, H. A. 
 DeVries, Mrs. F. E. 
 De Young, Christ 
 Dewenter & Co. 
 Dillinger, C. M. 
 Dillinger, Mrs. C. M. 
 Disbrow, Mrs. Frank 
 Dodge, H. M. 
 Dolan, Ned E. 
 Donelson, Mrs. Katheleen 
 Dooley, Clay 
 Dorland, W. S. 
 Dunn, Mrs. Inez 
 Dunn, Soule 
 Dyer, Miss Edith 
 Dyer, Miss Mae 
 
 Earnst, Leslie 
 Earnst, Mrs. Leslie 
 
 * Edwards, Miss Florence 
 Edwards, Mrs. Viola Y. 
 Egan, L. E. 
 Eikenberry, Miss Alice 
 Elliot, W. A. 
 Emmett'Scharf Electric Co. 
 Enlow,Parke 
 Ensenberger, Frank 
 Ensenberger, G. L. 
 Ernst, Miss Mary E. 
 
 * Evans, Mrs. E. M. 
 
 * Ewing, Hazel Buck 
 
 * Ewing, Mrs. Spencer 
 Eyer, Lloyd E. 
 
 'Capen Ins. Co. 
 Carlton, G. A. 
 Carter, K. W. 
 Casner, Dr. A. J. 
 Cavanagh, Dr. Helen 
 Chadband, Jewelry Store 
 Chadband, Mrs. Lyle 
 Chambers, H. L. 
 Chione, Dr. A. G. 
 Churchill, Mrs. Frederick M. 
 Cohen, F. H. 
 Comstock, Mrs. Lucy 
 Convis, A. M. 
 Copenhaver, R. H. 
 
 Fagerburg, A. T., Jr. 
 
 Fagerburg, Miss Myrtle E. W. 
 
 Faglier, Stanley 
 
 Fairchild, Dr. R. W. 
 
 Figg, Frank 
 
 First Federal Savings & Loan 
 
 Forister, Orville E. 
 
 Foster, George K. 
 
 Frecke, Fred 
 
 Freeman, Dr. L. G. 
 
 Frye, Lyle E. 
 
 * Funk, Deane N. 
 
 * Funk, DeLoss 
 *Funk, Eugene Jr. 
 
 45 — 
 
* Funk, Mrs. Frank H. 
 Funk, Miss Grace 
 
 Gardner, Mrs. H. P. 
 Gardner, Mrs. Margaret 
 * Garlough, Wilbur S. 
 Gibson, Mrs. Amelia 
 Gibson, Mrs. Wade 
 Giese, Walter 
 Goodenough, W. 
 Goodwin, Mrs. Harold 
 Gough, Mrs. R. W. 
 Graham, Miss Hazel 
 Graves, C. 
 Grassfield, John S. 
 Gretzinger, Rev. D. J. 
 Griffin, Mrs. Daisy L. L. 
 Griffin, Mrs. Mae Ayers 
 Gronemeier, F. H. 
 Grossman's, H. H. 
 Gummerman, John B. 
 Gunn, Miss Ethel 
 
 Hougham, Lyle 
 Hudelson, C. W. 
 Hughes, Miss Edna 
 Hughes, Mrs. Fred 
 Humes, Arthur H. 
 Humphrey, Mrs. Clara F. 
 Hunter, Clyde D. 
 
 I 
 Illinois, Hotel 
 Imig, Orin 
 Imming, Raymond 
 Irvin, Miss Beulah 
 
 * Ives, Mrs. E. L. 
 
 J 
 
 * Jacobssen, Clarence K. 
 Jean, Lemual S. 
 Jenkins, Miss Katherine E. 
 Johnson, Ralph 
 Johnson, Transfer Co. 
 Jones, Morris 
 
 Jones, Mrs. O. L. 
 Jones, Rolla 
 
 H 
 
 Habecker, J. N. 
 Haines, D. C. 
 Hall, Charlie 
 Hamill, B. L. 
 Hanks, Charles F. 
 
 * Harbord, Gen. James G. 
 
 * Harrison, William Henry 
 Hartwig, Hal 
 
 * Hasbrouck, J. L. z 
 Havens, Mrs. Esther 
 Hawkins, Joe 
 
 Hawks, Dr. J. K. P. 
 Hayes, S. W. 
 Hayter, John 
 Hayter, J. Neil 
 Heffernan, Ralph J. 
 Helm, Grover C. 
 High School Library 
 Hildebrandt, Mrs. Wilma 
 Hinthorn, Leslie J. 
 *Hitch, Mrs. Fred 
 
 * Hodge, Miss Julia F. 
 Hodson, J. F. 
 Hoffman, F. A. 
 Hoffman, Margaret M. 
 Holbert, J. R. 
 Holder, Miss Julia M. 
 
 * Holmes, Hazle Funk 
 Holmes, Miss Mable 
 Holmes, Manfred J. 
 
 * Holton, Campbell 
 Hornie, L. C. 
 Horney, Mrs. Floyd 
 Horney, Mrs. Merle 
 Hough, Harry L. 
 
 46 
 
 Kane, Arthur P. 
 Karon, Harry 
 Karonis, Pete 
 Kauffman, Frank Truman 
 Kaufman, Fred 
 Kaye, A. P. 
 Kaye, Mrs. A. P. 
 Keeran, Mrs. Ray C. 
 Kemp, Mrs. Vera Pearl 
 
 * Kerrick, Carrie E. 
 
 * Kerrick, Wm. H. 
 Kinne, Chester 
 Kinsella, W. H. 
 Kirkpatrick, Edward 
 Kitchell, Andrew P. 
 Klemm, Carl 
 Klemm, Julius P. 
 Klenner, Max 
 Knight, Geo. W. 
 
 Lange, Miss Louise 
 Langhem, J. W. 
 Lamkey, Mrs. Ernest 
 Larison, Miss Gertude 
 Laudeman, Mrs. Dorothy 
 Lawerence, C. P. 
 Lawerence, Mrs. C. P. 
 Lawerence, Miss Edith 
 Lebkuecher, Edgar M. 
 Lesher, Geo. G. 
 Lewis, Jack 
 Light, Ivan 
 Livingston [ & Sons 
 
Lomasky, Sam 
 Longworfth, Varner 
 Lott, Mrs. Anna 
 Lowenstein, A. M. 
 Lusher, Russell H. 
 
 M 
 
 Mace, Mrs. Minnie Moon 
 Macy, Miss Patricia 
 Macy, Robert 
 Macy, Mrs. Robert 
 MaGirl, J. D. 
 MaGirl, Willis J. 
 Mahan, E. C. 
 Marquardt, Tom 
 Marquis, C. C. 
 Marshall, Miss Helen 
 Martin, Rev. Harold R. 
 Marton, George W. 
 Maurer, Miss Josephine 
 Mayne, Robert 
 Mayne, Mrs. Robert 
 McCurdy, Mrs. Guy 
 McElheny, Clair R. 
 McElroy, F. J. 
 McGuire, V. W. 
 McKnight, Wm. Sr. 
 McLellan's 5 & 10 
 McNulta, Mrs. Herbert 
 McNutt, Mrs. Jas. C. 
 Mecherle, G. J. 
 Melby, Harry 
 Merchant, Miss Cora 
 Mercier, August 
 
 * Merwin, Louis B. 
 Miller, E. M. 
 Mills, H. P. 
 Moberly, Alvin E. 
 Modahal, S? Scott Co. 
 Montgomery, Judge Dewey 
 Moore, Eldo M. 
 
 Moore, John W. 
 Moore, Mrs. Mable Ward 
 Morath, Ralph 
 Morath, Mrs. Ralph 
 Morf, Mrs. Theadore 
 Muhl, Fred 
 
 * Muhlke, F. J. 
 Muxfeld, Mrs. Edith 
 Muxfield, Miss Louise 
 
 N 
 
 * Nelson, Miss Loveday A. 
 Nelson, Donald 
 
 Ness, C. A. 
 Nickel, V. J. 
 Nicol, Roy A. 
 Nierstheimer, Henry 
 Nierstheimer, Mrs. Henry 
 
 * Normal Sanitary Dairy 
 
 Odell, John 
 Oesch, Wm. 
 Orendorff, Mrs. Kate 
 
 P 
 
 Parsons, James H. 
 
 Payne, C. H. 
 
 Pearson, D. G. 
 
 Peffer, John 
 
 Peikert, Miss Cecelia 
 
 Percy, Mrs. Roy 
 
 Phelps, Wilbur 
 
 Pines, H. 
 
 Pledger, Mrs. China 
 
 Postals, Adolf 
 
 Powell, Miss Elizabeth 
 
 * Pratt, Harry E. 
 Proctor, Mrs. H. F. 
 Proctor, Miss lone 
 Pumphrey, Mrs. Mabel 
 Putman, Dale 
 
 R 
 
 * Raber, Dr. D. D. 
 Randall, R. D. 
 Rathbun, Frank 
 
 * Read, R. S. 
 Read, Wm. G. 
 Reiner, Mrs. Walter 
 Rich, S. H. 
 
 * Richmond, Miss Martha 
 Ricketts, R.H. 
 Ricketts, Mrs. R. H. 
 Rhodes, Miss Mary 
 Rhymer, Paul 
 Robinson, Geo. E. 
 Robinson, V. B. 
 Roderick, Mabel 
 Rogers, Harry 
 
 Rogers Hotel 
 Rogers, John 
 Rogers Wallpaper Co. 
 Roland, Mrs. W. H. 
 
 * Rolley, Elias W. 
 Roop, Frank 
 Rost, Dr. Theo. A. 
 Rust, Adali H. 
 Rust, Howard H. 
 Ryan, R. E. 
 
 S 
 Sage, Harold K. 
 Schaeffer, Archie 
 Schlemmer, Jacob K. 
 Schuman, Miss Edna 
 Seavy, Capfc. Morris 
 Secord, Stanley 
 Seibel Bros. 
 
 * Seibel, Oscar 
 Sendelbach, E. 
 Setchel, H. G. 
 
 Shade, Miss Mary Ethel 
 
 — 47 — 
 
Shepherd, Mrs. Louise 
 Shirk, Edward D. 
 Shotwell, Mrs. Ray 
 Sill, Elmer D. 
 Silvey, Mrs. Maude 
 Skidmore, Ralph S. 
 Sittig, Wm. 
 Slater, Guy 
 Smith'Alsop Paint Co. 
 Smith, Don 
 Smith, Frank L. 
 Smith, Mrs. M. 
 Smith, Ralph Linden 
 Smith, R. W. 
 Smith, Tom 
 Snavely, Fred L. 
 Snook, Clayton 
 Snow, Mr. & Mrs. C. H. 
 Soss, P. J. 
 Spafford, Wm. C. 
 Sprengel, L. H. 
 Stamm, G. F. 
 Stappenbeck, Wm. 
 Stephens, B. W. 
 Stephens, Gertrude 
 Stephenson, C. A. Sr. 
 Stern, Maurice 
 Stewart, Clark E. 
 Stichter, George 
 Still, R. B. 
 Stillman, F. S. 
 Stone, Hal M. 
 Stoops, Luke 
 Struck, E. C. 
 Stubblefield, Miss Blanche 
 Stutsman, J. H. 
 Sutter, E. J. 
 
 Tally, Harry W. 
 Tate, H. C. 
 
 * Tay, Lyman R. 
 Taylor, Mrs. Etta 
 Taylor, Roy 
 Thai, J. L. 
 Theis, Miss Flora 
 Tietge, M. L. 
 
 * Thomas, Gen. Gerald C. 
 Tolley, Wilma 
 Townley, Mrs. Wayne C. 
 
 * Townley, Wayne C, 
 Townley, Mrs. C. S. 
 Turley, C. J. 
 Turner Soceity 
 Turnipseed, Mrs. Madge C. 
 Tuttle, Coy 
 
 Tuttle, Mrs. Coy 
 Twomey, Miss Margie » 
 
 Vance, Donald 
 Vandevort, Paul D. 
 *VanLeer, Mrs. B. C. 
 Vincent, Mrs. Mary 
 Von Fossen, Ralph 
 Von Fossen, Ralph J. Jr. 
 
 * Vrooman, Carl S. 
 
 W 
 
 Waite, Harry M. 
 Wakefield, Mrs. Feme 
 Wakefield, Sherman D. 
 Wakeley, Raymond 
 Wakeley, Mrs. Raymond 
 Wallis, Miss Frances 
 Wallis, Wm. 
 Walter, John D. 
 Waltman, J. J. 
 Ward, K. R. 
 Washburn, G. A. 
 Waters, Mrs. H. C. 
 Watson, Elmo Scott 
 Watterson, Arthur W. 
 Weatherwax, T. W. 
 Wells, George N. 
 Welsh, O. L. 
 West Side Clothing 
 White, Mrs. Florence 
 Wieting, John 
 
 * Wight, Mrs. J. F. 
 Wilcox, Miss Lillian 
 Williams, C. C. 
 
 * Williams, Louis 
 Williams, Mrs. Louis L. 
 
 * Williams, Thomas 
 Willke, C. H. 
 Willke, C. H. 
 Wills, Mrs. Irma 
 Wilson, A. A. 
 Wisemann, Fred 
 Witham, William H. 
 Woltman, J. J. 
 Womac, Mrs. Zanna 
 Wright, William W. 
 
 Yates, Wm. W. 
 
 u 
 
 Ulbrich, Al. A. 
 
 Zenor, John 
 Ziass, W. E. 
 Zinn, George 
 
 *Life members 
 
 — 48 — 
 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 923.4T66T C001 
 
 TWO JUDGES FROM OTTAWA OTTAWA 
 
 30 
 
 12 025346740