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HON. JOHN R. EDEN, who
resides in Sullivan, was born on the banks of the
Licking River, eight miles from Owingsville, Bath
County, Ky., Feb. 1, 1826. His father, John
Paul Eden, was born in Baltimore, Md., in 1796, and
Jeremiah Eden, the grandfather was a native of
England, who came when a young man to America and
settled in Maryland. From that State he removed to
Kentucky about the year 1800, and became a farmer in
Bath County. There he bought a tract of timber
land, which he cleared and turned into a rich and
productive farm, making it his home until death called
him away.
The father of our subject was reared and married in
Bath County, and resided there until 1831, when with his
wife and four children he removed to Indiana. The
removal was made with teams and the far-famed prairie
schooners, in which were all their household goods.
Traveling by slow stages and camping by the way, the
family reached Indiana, and settled in Rush County.
Having entered a tract of Government land, they built a
cabin in the wilderness and commenced to clear a farm.
The maiden name of the mother of our subject was
Catherine Can, and she was born in Kentucky in the
year 1800, being a daughter of Joseph Can.
In 1835 she was left a widow with six children to care
for and she had a hard struggle to maintain them and
keep them together. In 1852 she removed from
Indiana to Illinois, and spent her last years here with
a son Joseph, dying in 1870.
The subject of our sketch commenced when very young to
assist upon the farm where his services were much
needed. In his younger days there were no
railroads, and Cincinnati was the nearest market and
epot for supplies. The products of the farm formed
the principal living of the family, and the mother made
all the cloth which was used in the family, carding,
spinning and weaving the raw material into the needed
fabrics.
The first school which Mr. Eden attended, was in
a cabin built of round logs. The chimney was made
of sticks and clay, and the fireplace occupied nearly
one end of the building. The only window was
produced by a log being taken out through nearly the
entire length of the building, and it had no covering of
glass, but in cold weather greased paper was used to
cover the aperture to keep out the wind. The
benches were made of puncheon with wooden pins for legs.
Holes were bored in the logs under the window, and pegs
supported a smooth puncheon which served as a writing
desk for the older scholars. He was very studious,
making the most of the opportunities afforded him and at
the age of eighteen commenced teaching, receiving the
usual salary of $20 a month and his board. He
taught during the fall and winter for seven years,
occupying the remainder of the year in farming, and
using every fragment of time not otherwise absorbed, to
study law.
In 1852 Mr. Eden came to Illinois, traveling by
railroad to Terre Haute, Ind., and thence by a stage to
Shelbyville, and a few days later was admitted to the
bar and commenced practice. He practiced there
until the fall of 1853, when he came to Sullivan and
since that time has made this place the main field of
his work except when absent upon official duty.
A happy and congenial matrimonial alliance was made by
our subject in 1856, when he chose as his wife
Roxanna Meeker, a native of Bennington Township,
Delaware (now Morrow) County, Ohio. This lady is a
daughter of Ambrose and Hannah (Hartwell) Meeker,
and a sister of the Hon. Jonathan Meeker.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Eden comprises five
living children, namely: Emma, Rose, Walter,
Belle and Blanche. rose is now
Mrs. J. Martin, of whom a sketch will be found
elsewhere in this volume.
Ex-Congressman Eden has always espoused the
political views which had their ablest advocate in the
author of the Declaration of Independence, and he cast
his first vote for Lewis Cass. Ever since
he came here he has been a prominent man in his
district, as his natural abilities and well cultured
mind have given him a commanding influence. In
1856 he was elected States Attorney for the Seventh
Judicial District, which office he filled for four
years. He represented the Seventh District in the
Thirty-eighth Congress, being elected thereto in 1862.
This was followed by his re-election, and service in the
Forty-third, Forty-fourth, Forty-fifth and Forty-ninth
Congresses. During this long period the
boundaries, and numbers of the Congressional Districts
were changed, and he represented the following counties:
Moultrie, Macon, Piatt, Champaign, Ford, Iroquois,
Vermilion, Douglas, Coles, Edgar, Clark, Cumberland,
Effingham, Shelby, Jasper, Crawford, Lawrence, Fayette,
Montgomery and Macoupin.
The most important committees of which this
honorable gentleman was a member during the various
sessions, were as follows: During the
Thirty-eighth Congress the Committee on Accounts and
Revolutionary Pension; in the Forty-third the Committee
on Claims and the Freedmen Affairs; in the Forty-fourth
he was Chairman of the Committee on War Complaints, and
a member of the one appointed to investigate the
Presidential election; during the next Congress he was
again Chairman of the same Committee, and during the
Forty-ninth he belonged to the Committee on the
judiciary and Revision of Laws. In 1868 he was a
Democratic candidate for Governor of Illinois.
In every sphere of life, either professional or as a
public servant, the Hon. John R. Eden has proved
himself well-equipped and able to meet the serious
emergencies which come before a man of affairs. As
an attorney he has been successful in his practice, and
has built up an extensive clientage, and as a member of
Congress he worked honestly and as a member of Congress
he worked honestly and honorably for the prosperity of
the entire country and the interests of his
constituents.
A portrait of the Hon. Mr. Eden accompanies this
biographical notice.
Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of
Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois - Published:
Chicago: Biographical Publishing Co. - 1891 - Page 19 |
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JOSEPH E. EDEN Source:
Portrait and Biographical Record of Shelby and Moultrie
Counties, Illinois - Published: Chicago: Biographical
Publishing Co. - 1891 - Page 249 |
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ANDREW FOSTER.
Our subject is of Irish parentage and from both sides of
the family inherits the wit and humor as well as the
quick and nervous vital force of the Irish people.
His father was John Foster and his mother was
Eleanor (Morrow) Foster, both from Ireland, and
having emigrated to this country at an early day,
removing to Moultrie County, this State, where they
settled in Lovington Township. The father of the
family expired on his farm in the township. The
mother passed away later, while in the town. They
had eleven children, of whom our subject was the tenth
in order of birth.
Ross County, Ohio, was the place where Andrew
Foster was born September 24, 1816. He was
about four year old when his parents removed to Pickaway
County, Ohio, and there he grew to manhood and there
continued to live until 1844, when he came to Moultrie
County with his wife and one child and settled in
Lovington Township. His marriage took place in
Ross County, Ohio, March 2, 1842, and he was united to
Lucinda Cochran, who was a native of the
county in which she was married. She bore him four
children, whose names are as follows: John A.,
who married Adelia Bicknell and died in
Lovington, this State; the other children are
Elizabeth E.; Sarah J.; Milton C.; Elizabeth E. is
the wife of Henry H. Dawson; Sarah J. was married
to James Gregory; while Milton C. was
united to Miss E. Bicknell. Mrs. Lucinda Foster
died in Lovington October 1, 1854.
The original of our sketch was again married in
Sullivan, this State, October 28, 1858, to Sarah H.
Lewis, nee Hubbard. She was born in Pickaway
County, Ohio, September 21, 1834. Six children
were the result of this marriage. Their names are
as follows: George E., Alva E., Charles G.,
Urah S. and Frank H.; George E. married
Amanda Binkley; Alva E. was united to Miss Lizzie
Gailey; Charles G. was united to Miss
Allie Souther; Frank H. married Miss Olive Boggs;
the other son, Eddie, died when only eight months
old.
He of whom we write lived on his farm in this county
until about 1852 or 1853, when he came to Lovington,
where he has since been a resident. He is the
owner of five hundred and two acres of good, arable
land, upon which he has laid out many improvements.
In politics he is an adherent of the Democratic party,
its breadth of platform, free trade theories, suiting
his ideas of a Republican form of government. His
wife, who is personally a most affable lady, with an
unusual conversational ability, has ever been her
husband's encourager and helper in his work. She
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and
all good words and works find a sure lodging in her
sympathetic and motherly nature.
Our subject's father, John Foster, died
in August, 1852, at the age of eighty-eight years.
His wife, Mrs. Eleanor Foster, died in August,
1852* at the same age her husband had attained when his
decease took place. They were kindly and gentle
old people, who had fulfilled their mission in life
conscientiously and well. They bequeathed to their
children principles of honor and rectitude that have
followed them through life and have been of great
advantage to them in a business way.
Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of
Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois - Published:
Chicago: Biographical Publishing Co. - 1891 - Page 507
*NOTE: Another source lists Sept. 12, 1862)
Andrew can be found at www.findagrave.com |
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