1894 Plat Book of Morgan County Illinois

Rev. William Green Gallaher was born in Roane county, East Tennessee, February 27, 1801. He is the sixth child of a family of four sons and six daughters of Thomas and Mary Gallaher, who were both formerly from the vicinity of Millerstown, Pennsylvania, their parents having moved to Tennessee when they were quite young. James Gallaher, the grandfather of William G., moved to the then wilds of East Tennessee, and located on a farm in Washington county. There, his son Thomas became acquainted with the lady who afterwards became his wife. The ancestors on both sides were Scotch-Irish, some of whom were participants in the famous siege of Londonderry. Thomas Gallaher's occupation was that of a farmer. He removed to Illinois in 1833, locating in Sangamon county, where he resided until his death which occurred in 1843. His wife died the year previous.

Rev. Gallaher, like most young men who are raised on farms, early became inured to hard labor. Several years of his early life were spent in teaching school, and at the age of twenty-three he entered Greenville College, at Greenville, Tennessee. After leaving this institution he commenced the study of theology, under the instruction of his elder brother, Rev. James Gallaher, and Rev. Frederick A. Ross. He was licensed to preach in 1827, by the presbytery of Holston, East Tennessee. After being licensed, and with the hope of regaining his health, which had been impaired by hard study, he traveled for two years, through the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, and a portion of Virginia. Of this time, he spent six months laboring as a missionary in Hall county, Georgia, where his labors were abundantly successful. After this he returned to his home in Tennessee, but soon after removed to Winchester, Kentucky, where he preached about two years. Having received an invitation from the Third Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati to labor in that church as co-pastor with his brother, Rev. James Gallaher, he removed to that city in the fall of 1831, and remained in that capacity about two years. In was in that city he became acquainted with Miss Sarah Kautz, to whom he was married March 12, 1833. The names of his wife's parents were Jacob and Hannah Kautz. Before leaving Cincinnati, Mr. Gallaher's health was agin very much enfeebled by his ministerial labors. In 1833 Mr. Gallaher and wife moved to Sangamon county in Illinois, locating on a farm near Berlin. Soon after his arrival in Illinois, he was waited on by Mr. William Reynolds, Sr., and Mr. Chas. Jones, two elders of Pisgah Church (a recently organized church to which they belonged), the former of whom Mr. Gallaher had become acquainted with in Kentucky, and the latter in Alabama, and invited him to take charge of their church, and as soon as practicable he commenced his labors in the church at Pisgah. The first two years he preached at Pisgah his home was twelve miles distant from the church. He afterwards removed to the neighborhood of Pisgah. The church being too weak to support a minister, in addition to his ministerial duties, Mr. Gallaher devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits. The church numbered only twenty-five members when he became its pastor, but when his long labors of more than thirty-one years were concluded, it numbered about one hundred and fifty members. During that long period the utmost harmony prevailed between the church and its pastor. Under his labors it grew to be the strongest country church within the synod. At the close of his labors, as a testimonial of their love and esteem for their venerable pastor, the church presented to Mr. Gallaher a handsome photograph Bible, with his name and date of presentation engraved thereon, which he will ever keep as a token of their affection for him. Rev. Wm. D. Sanders succeeded Mr. G. as stated supply of Pisgah Church, January 1, 1865, and remained in that capacity until a short time since, when Rev. Thos. Gallaher, a nephew of the subject of this sketch, accepted a call to preach at Pisgah.

Mr. Gallaher and wife had eleven children, two of whom died in infancy; the others reached mature age. Mr. G. has given his children the best education the country would afford. Their eldest son, Thomas, died in the fifteenth year of his age, on October 26, 1852. Their second son, Wm. G. Gallaher, Jr., was a graduate of Illinois College; also of the law school at Albany, N.Y. He was a young man of fine abilities and attainments. He entered into a partnership in the practice of law with Judge Whitlock, and afterwards became a member of the firm of Morrison, Whitlock & Gallaher, of Jacksonville, Ill. He was married February 24, 1870, to Miss Jennie E. Boyle, of Philadelphia, and died October 26 following at Denver, Colorado. After his death an infant son was born, who, should he live, will be the only one left to perpetuate the name. The youngest son, James Allen Gallaher, was a student in Illinois College, where he stood at the head of his Junior Class of 1861-2. Shortly before Commencement day he enlisted in the 68th regiment Illinois volunteers, and after concluding his examinations at school he was mustered into service at Camp Butler, soon after which the regiment was ordered to Washington to help guard the city, and from there to Alexandria, where he was attacked with typhoid fever in its most malignant form, and died August 9, 1862. His was a most triumphant death, for he died with a firm belief in a happy immortality. He was beloved by all for his nobility of heart and many manly and Christian virtues. A beautiful monument is being prepared to mark the resting place of these brothers in Diamond Grove cemetery, in the vicinity of Jacksonville. The names of the daughters in the order of their ages are, Emily, wife of Mr. Wm. Russel, a merchant of Jacksonville, Ill.; Mary, wife of Mr. E. W. Bradley, Jr., also a resident of that city; Margaret K., wife of Mr. Wm. E. Capps, one of the proprietors of the Jacksonville woolen mills; Sarah, wife of Francis A. Riddle, attorney at law in Chicago; and the two younger daughters, Hannah and Lucinda, not married.

Mr. Gallaher still enjoys good health, and possesses much of the energy and fervor of his youth. The partner of his early days is still alive, and they are surrounded by an intelligent and interesting family. Mr. Gallaher is the owner of considerable property in the city and vicinity of Jacksonville, among which is that beautiful building known as "Gallaher's Block." He is a gentleman highly esteemed by all who know him for his generous and Christian benevolence.

Benjamin F. Gass was born in Madison county, Kentucky, November 4th, 1807. He was the son of James and Isabel Gass, and the youngest of a family of three children. He was educated in Kentucky, where he learned the carpenter and joiner trade. He settled in Jacksonville March 27th, 1833. Mr. Gass, as a carpenter and builder, and as an architect and superintendent, is well known. He superintended the erection of the Illinois Female College, the State Building for the Education of the Blind, the Centenary M. E. Church, and the Morgan County Court House, views of which are given elsewhere in this work. Mr. Gass is esteemed for his many manly virtues, for his good mechanical taste as an architect, and for his energy of character, which well qualify him for usefulness in the community where he has so long been known as a worthy citizen. A lithograph of his residence, on the corner of East street and Washington Avenue, appears in this work.

Dr. Phillip G. Gillette is a native of Madison county, Indiana. He was born March 24, 1833. He is the oldest child of Rev. Samuel T. Gillette, an eminent Methodist Episcopal minister, and who was an officer, in his early life, in the United States Navy, being the first midshipman appointed from the state of Indiana.

Dr. Gillette received his early education in the common schools of his native state. He entered Asbury University at Greencastle, Ind., at the age of fifteen, and graduated at the age of nineteen. He was a teacher in the Indiana State Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb till 1856, when he was called to the position, which he now holds, of superintendent of the Illinois State Institution for the same object. This institution is undoubtedly the best of its kind in the country, and for its present reputation it is largely indebted to Dr. Gillette. He is ably carrying out that liberal system which the people of Illinois, through their representatives, have furnished the means of doing. Its industrial department is among its crowning excellencies. Besides articulation and lip-reading, and all the most recent and valuable improvements in the way of teaching letters and social intercourse, the deaf and dumb are instructed in the trades and occupations. Among the branches taught in this institution are cabinet making, wood turning, shoe making, printing and gardening. Book binding is in contemplation, and will probably be added to the list, with a practical knowledge of telegraphy.

Dr. Gillette was married to Miss Ellen M. Phipps, daughter of Isaac N. Phipps. Of Indianapolis, and by this union has had six children, four of whom are still living. In July, 1871, the title of LL.D. was conferred upon Mr. Gillette, by the institution in which he graduated. Dr. G. has been an efficient worker in the Sabbath School cause both at home and abroad. He is president of the U.S. Sunday-School Association, and presided at the last national convention held at Indianapolis. He is one of the committee to select and recommend a course of study for the Sabbath Schools of America to be adopted for seven years. This committee is composed of ministers and laymen of the several denominations of Christians. Dr. Gillette and his wife are active members of the M. E. Church. Politically, he is a republican. Few men have done more in this portion of the state to elevate the spiritual and mental condition of his fellow men than Dr. Gillette.

Wm T. Givens was born in Roane county, Tennessee, Feb. 5, 1806. His father and family removed to Madison county, Tenn., in 1817. William T. came to Morgan county in the fall of 1828, and, after spending about one year in Jacksonville, he returned to his native state. In 1830 he returned to Morgan county, and settled in Franklin, where he became acquainted with Miss Lydia, daughter of Benj. Burch, one of the old settlers, to whom he was married, February 9, 1832. On March 9, 1834, he settled on the northwest quarter of section 8, township 13, range 8, where he still resides with the wife of his early years. They are both enjoying their mental and physical capacities almost unimpaired by age. They have had a family of ten children in the following order of birth, viz: John R. (deceased); Amanda Jane; Mary Ann; Robert S.; Nancy Margaret (deceased); Wm. Thomas; Elizabeth C.; Melissa Louisa (deceased); Emma Helen, and Harriet Maria. Amanda Jane, Elizabeth C. and Mary Ann, are residing with their parents. Robert S. is settled near his father. Esquire Givens has served the people as constable over twenty years, as deputy sheriff several years, as acting justice of the peace four years, and as assessor for several years - all of which positions he has filled with ability and satisfaction. By his industry, energy, and enterprise, he has done his part in producing the changes that have taken place in Morgan county in the last forty-five years. By an upright life, he has won the respect and confidence of a large circle of friends, who can best appreciate his worth as a moral and worthy citizen.

L. B. Glover was born at Lodi, near Ann Arbor, Michigan February 10th, 1845, and with his father's family came to Jacksonville, Illinois, some two years thereafter, where he has since resided.

In June, 1867, Mr. Glover graduated from the Classical Department of Wabash College, at Crawfordsville, Indiana. In August of the same year, he was appointed city editor of the Jacksonville Daily Journal, and continued in that position until 1868, when he became chief editor of the paper. In 1869, he formed a partnership with Capt. Horace Chapin, and purchased the Journal, of which he has ever since had editorial control. His deep and penetrating editorials, at the head of one of the most important papers in the State, have made his pen a power in the land.

Mr. Glover is a very conscientious, honorable, upright man, always battling for the right, unswerving in his convictions, and devoted and enthusiastic in any cause he undertakes to espouse.

Rev. L. M. Glover, D.D., Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Jacksonville, was born in Phelps, Ontario county, New York, February 21, 1819. He is a son of Philander and Ruhannah (Hall) Glover. He removed to the territory of Michigan, in 1833, with his parents, and pursued his academical education at Western Reserve College, at Hudson, Ohio, where he graduated in 1840. He studied theology at Lane Theological Seminary, Cincinnati. In October, 1842, he was settled as pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Lodi, Mich., and in October, 1848, he took charge of the First Presbyterian Church at Jacksonville. When he became its pastor it was a comparatively weak church, but it has now grown to be the largest of that denomination in the city. The ancestors of the Glover family were English. John and Henry glover settled at Dorchester, Mass., soon after the settlement of Plymouth, and from them sprang the Glover family in America. Mr. Glover was married August 16, 1843, to Miss Marcia Ann Nutting, the eldest daughter of Prof. Nutting and wife. She was born at Randolph, Vt., Sept. 28, 1821. They have had five children born in Lodi, mich., and Jacksonville, Ill. Their eldest daughter, Mary A., is the wife of Henry R. Mitchel. The other children are single. Mr. Glover has exerted a great influence for good over the moral and religious condition of his people. In 1858 he made a trip abroad, visiting the Holy Land, Egypt, and various countries of western Europe.

John Gordon is a native of Morgan county, Ill., born August 31, 1826. His father, William Gordon, was born in county Dunegal, Ireland, and he emigrated at an early age to America, landing in St. Louis, in which city, soon after, he commenced clerking in a store. On arriving at the age of manhood, he was married to Miss Nancy Berry, of Madison county, Ill. They had six children - three boys and three girls - one of whom is deceased. Soon after his marriage, Mr. Gordon moved to Morgan county, Ill., purchasing a farm in township 14-11. Farming was his principal vocation, though for three years previous to his death he carried on merchandising at Lynnville. He died in 1839 at the age of thirty-nine. He was a captain in the Black Hawk war; was twice elected by the whig party to the Illinois legislature. His widow is still living, in the enjoyment of good health. Mr. John Gordon received his earliest culture in the schools of Morgan county. He also attended Scott Seminary, at Steubenville, Ohio, two years. After leaving school, he then devoted his attention to mercantile pursuits, in Lynnville, though at the same time he carried on a farm. Up to the war, Mr. Gordon gave his personal attention to the store; since then has taken a partner, and now devotes his whole attention to farming and stock growing. When twenty-four years of age, Mr. Gordon was married to Miss Sarah Campbell, daughter of Nimrod and Eve Funk, who are old residents of Morgan . Mrs. Gordon is also a native of this county, born October 6, 1830. They are the parents of ten children, three boys and four girls yet living. Mr. Gordon, as a man of business, has been successful. He and his wife are members of the Christian Church at Lynnville. Politically, in early life he was a whig, and was a delegate to the convention which met at Bloomington, and there formed the republican party of Illinois and nominated for governor and lieutenant governor, Bissell and Wood. Mr. Gordon has been a delegate to every state convention since the organization of the party; was a strong advocate and supporter of John C. Fremont, and voted twice for Lincoln, and once for Grant, and expects to vote for the latter again. In 1860 and 1864 mr. Gordon was a candidate for the legislature, as the nominee of the republican party, and ran largely ahead of the party ticket, though being in a democratic district was of course defeated. Mr. Gordon is also a prominent and consistent worker in the masonic and odd fellows' orders. He is now residing at his beautiful residence, a fine view of which is shown elsewhere in this work.

David Graff was born in Maryland in 1781. He was married to Miss Susan Willett, of Kentucky, by whom he had a family of eight children, two sons and six daughters. Three of the daughters are deceased. His marriage took place in Nelson county, Kentucky, to which place he had emigrated in early life, and where he remained till the spring of 1834. He then came to Morgan county, and located four miles east of Jacksonville, where he remained till his death, on the 4th of February, 1850. His wife is still living at the advanced age of eighty years. Mr. Graff was a good citizen, and he has left representatives in his sons who are among the prominent business men of the county.

His son, George Graff (a view of whose residence appears in this work), is dealing in hard and soft lumber, lath shingles, doors, sash, blinds, lime, cement, plaster paris, &c., near the railroad, on North Main street, Jacksonville.

George W. Graham was born July 18, 1837, in Meredosia, Morgan county, Illinois. He entered McKendree college September 18, 1855, where he continued for three years, teaching during vacations. On his return he became identified with the common school interests, following teaching for about eight years. He also engaged in agriculture which he pursued about three years, when he exchanged it for the mercantile business, in which he is now engaged with his brother-in-law, H. S. Hysinger, in a prosperous and successful trade. An interior view of their store room appears in this work. Mr. Graham is a man of marked energy and intelligence, esteemed by his numerous patrons and acquaintances.



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