Fifty Years of Public Service | Page 3

in the south half of the
State. Chicago was then a small village, Fort Dearborn being at that
time of more consequence than the village. Now Chicago is the second

greatest city in the Union in population and business.
My father, together with Alfred Phillips and William Brown, his two
brothers-in-law, entered land in the same portion of the County of
Tazewell, and at once, on their arrival from Kentucky, pitched their
tents and began the erection of log cabins, in preparation for winter.
Phillips was a large, vigorous man, both in body and mind. He was a
man of the highest integrity, and soon became one of the leading
citizens of Tazewell County, continuing so until his death. William
Brown was a Methodist preacher and was a worthy example of the
consistent minister of the Gospel of Christ. He was called upon by the
people for many miles around to perform ceremonies on wedding
occasions and, in time of sorrow, to preach at the funerals of departed
friends.
My father lived longer than either Phillips or Brown. They both raised
large families, and to-day the youngest son of Phillips-- the Hon. Isaac
N. Phillips--is recognized as one of the able lawyers of the State, and is
the reporter of the Supreme Court of Illinois. My father was a farmer,
but he always took great interest in the affairs of the country, and
especially of the State in which he lived. He was a Whig, and believed
in Henry Clay. He took an active part in political campaigns, and was
several times a member of the House of Representatives of the State
Legislature, and once of the State Senate.
Tazewell County, in which he resided, became a very strong Whig
county, the Whigs having their own way until the Free-soil party,
which soon became the Republican party, took its place as against the
Democratic party. When that time came, Tazewell, like Sangamon,
became Democratic. Sangamon County, in which I live, and Tazewell
County, in which I was raised, were both strong Whig counties while
the Whig party survived; but when it died, the population being largely
from Kentucky and other Southern States, naturally sympathized with
the South on the question of slavery. They drifted into the Democratic
party in large numbers, and gave the control to the Democracy for a
time; and the two parties still struggle for control in both counties.
My father became well acquainted with Abraham Lincoln while the

latter was a young man. The first time I ever heard of Lincoln, was
when two men came to my father's house to consult with him on the
question of employing an attorney to attend to a law case for them at
the approaching term of the Circuit Court. I remember hearing my
father say to them that if Judge Stephen T. Logan should be in
attendance at court, they should employ him; but if he were not, a
young man named Lincoln would be there, who would do just about as
well. Readers will see by this that while Lincoln was yet a young man
he was ranked among the foremost lawyers at the Bar. At that time
Stephen A. Douglas was beginning to be heard from.
Judge Logan was one of the best lawyers of the Mississippi Valley. He
was a Kentuckian by birth, and, as a lawyer, was a very great man.
Douglas was a great statesman and a leader of men; a great debater, but,
in my opinion, not a great lawyer. The law is a jealous mistress; there
are no great lawyers who do not give undivided attention to its study,
and Douglas devoted much time to public affairs.
On the arrival of my father at the grove where he had previously
determined to locate his family, he pitched his tent near a little stream,
then called Mud Creek, afterwards called Deer Creek, because it was a
great resort for wild deer. He soon erected a log cabin and moved into it
with his family. I was less than one year old when the family located in
Illinois. We lived in the cabin for several years. It was not a single
cabin, but there were two cabins connected together by a covered porch;
which was a very pleasant arrangement in both summer and winter.
Finally, my father built a frame house. During all this time the wild
deer were numerous, and often I have counted from the door from five
to twenty deer feeding in a slough not a quarter of a mile away.
I never killed a deer. The beautiful animals always seemed to me so
innocent that I had not the heart to shoot them.
The Winter of 1830-31 was long remembered by the early settlers of
Illinois, and of all the now