Elijah Iles was one of the leading pioneers of Sangamon County and one whose name has been and will continue to be closely identified with the early history of the city and county. He was born in Bath County, Kentucky, March 28, 1796, and was the oldest son of Thomas Iles, who was a native of Pennsylvania. His grandfather, William Iles, was an emigrant from England, and his grandmother was of Welsh descent. In 1818, at the age of twenty-two, Elijah Iles migrated from Kentucky to what was called the Boone's Lick country in Missouri, where he remained three years, clerking in a store at Franklin and trading in lands.

In the spring of 1821 Mr. Iles came to Illinois to reside and located at the site of Springfield, in the newly organized county of Sangamon. Here he built a cabin eighteen feet square, with sheds on two sides. and then went to St. Louis and bought a stock of goods, with which he opened the first store in Springfield in June of that year. He had no competitor in business for two years, and his profits were large, but he often took in exchange for his goods such articles as peltry and wild honey. In the meantime he laid claim to the quarter section on which his storehouse stood and entered it in 1823, thus becoming one of the proprietors of the town. In that year he also bought other lands and began to improve a farm. In 1326 Mr. Iles was elected state senator from Sangamon County, and again in 1330. In 1831 he sold his store to John Williams, his clerk, and then engaged in farming and dealing in stock. He was a major in the Winnebago war of 1828 and a captain in the Black Hawk war of 1832. In 1838 he erected the American house at the southeast corner of the courthouse square in Springfield, which at that time was one of the largest hotels in the state. Subsequently he built two fine residences on South Sixth Street in this city, and he donated the block of ground for the Home of the Friendless.

Major Iles was married in 1824 to Malinda Benjamin, by whom he had two children-Louisa E., who became the wife of Colonel T. J. Carter and died in 1857, and Thomas Iles, who died a bachelor in 1877. Mrs. Iles departed this life in 1866, after which the major retired from active business and passed his winters in Florida. After a long, useful and well-rounded life he died September 4, 1883, in the eighty-eighth year of his age, and was buried in Oak Ridge from the First Presbyterian church in Springfield, the Rev. J. A. Reed preaching the funeral sermon.

Major Iles was a plain and unassuming man, rather under the middle size, gentle in his manner and deportment, and commanded the respect and esteem of the entire community. By his industry, sagacity and sound business judgment he had amassed an ample fortune, but "without wrong or suspicion of wrong to anyone." His autobiography, a valuable pioneer record, was published in the year of his death

Charles R. Matheny was officially the most prominent man of his day in Springfield and Sangamon County, and was one of the most useful. He was born in London County, Virginia, March 6, 1786. While yet a young man he went to Kentucky, whither a brother of his had preceded him, and was there licensed as a Methodist preacher. In 1805 he was sent by that religious body as a home missionary to Illinois, which then formed a part of Indian Territory. Locating, in the old county of St. Clair, be there married Jemima Ogle, a daughter of Jacob Ogle, and one of the first American children born in that section of the country. Mr. Matheny followed the calling of a minister for some years, and meanwhile read law and was admitted to the bar. In 1811 he was elected a representative from St. Clair County to the third territorial legislature of Illinois, which convened at Kaskaskia in December of that year. In 1817 he was appointed prosecuting attorney for his county or district. In 1820 he wais a member from St. Clair County of the second state general assembly, which convened at Vandalia. In the early spring of 1821 Mr. Matheny removed with his family to the small settlement of Springfield in the newly established county of Sangamon. He was induced to come here by the tender of several county offices and other prospective advantages. In April of that year he was appointed county clerk, and in May circuit clerk, and held both of these offices until 1835 or 1836, when he resigned the latter office. In 1822 he was made probate judge of the county, and retained the office for three years. He was also recorder from 1821 till 1827. On the incorporation of Springfield as a town, in 1832, he was chosen president of the board of trustees and filled this position almost continuously until his death. But with all these offices, such was the scarcity of money and the limited amount of business transacted that he hardly made a sufficient support for his large family.

Charles R. Matheny continued to fill the office of county clerk until his demise, which occurred October 10, 1839, in the fifty-fourth year of his age. His widow survived him for many years, and several of his sons became men of note and influence in the city and county. He transmitted the mantle of his office of county clerk, together with his pleasing manners and personal popularity, to his eldest son, Noah W. Matheny, who, by successive re-elections, retained the office until 1873. In that year his brother, James H. Matheny, was elected county judge, and held this important office continuously until the close of his life in September 1890. Seldom, indeed, has one family held office in the same county for so long a period of time.

Pascal P. Enos, Sr. is known chiefly to the men of this generation as one of the four original proprietors of Springfield. He was born at Windsor, Connecticut, in the year 1770, and in 1815 was married to Salome Paddock of Woodstock, Vermont. Soon after his marriage he went west to Cincinnati, Ohio, but did not remain there long. In the spring of 1817 he came to St. Louis, Missouri, whence, in 1821, he removed to Madison county, Illinois. While residing there, upon the recommendation of the Vermont delegation in congress, Mr. Enos was appointed by President Monroe to be receiver of the land office at Springfield, Illinois. He reached this place, with his family, in Spetmember, 1823, and opened his office in a double log cabin at the corner of what is now Third and Jefferson streets. In November of that year he united with Major Iles, Thomas Cox, and John Taylor, in laying out a town site, since known as Springfield. Mr. Enos retained the office of receiver until General Jackson became president in 1829, when he resigned and devoted his time to land transactions and mercantile pursuits. He died in 1832, leaving a large landed estate, and was survived by his wife and four children, to-wit: Pascal P., Zimri A., Julia E., and Susan. Pascal P. Enos, Jr. was for a number of years clerk of the United States circuit court for the southern district of Illinois, and died in office, February 17, 1867. Julia E. Enos became the wife of the late O.M. Hatch, who was for eight years secretary of state of Illinois – 1856 – 1864.

Was one of the earliest resident lawyers of Springfield, and one of the most brilliant men of this day at the bar of Sangamon County. Mr. Pugh was born in Bath County, Kentucky, about the year 1799, and removed from that state to Illinois in his youth or early manhood. He first located in Bond County, and was there elected a representative to the general assembly, which met at Vandalia, December 2, 1822. Coming to Springfield to reside in 1823, he speedily acquired high reputation as a lawyer, and soon commanded a good practice for that time. Before a jury he is said to have been almost irresistible. "He was possessed of a remarkably pleasant address", says Mr. Stuart, "and had a good and showy intellect: was brilliant in his wit and sparkling in repartee, and for his social qualities was beloved by his friends."

In 1824, Mr. Pugh was a candidate for representative from this county to the general assembly, but was defeated by William S. Hamilton. In 1826, he was again a candidate for the same office, and was elected. In 1828, he was re-elected, and again in 1830, serving throughout with distinction and success. In 1832, he became a candidate for congress in opposition to Joseph Duncan, afterward governor of the state, but was defeated by a decisive majority. Mr. Pugh was an ambitious man, and so much was he disheartened by his defeat that we are told he abandoned himself to habits of dissipation, which resulted in his early death. He died in 1834, aged about thirty-five years, and the place of his interment is unknown.

Gershom Jayne, one of the earliest and best known medical practitioners in central Illinois, was born October 15, 1791 in Orange County, NY. Having studied physic, he served as a surgeon in the war of 1812-14, and afterward practiced his profession in Cayuga County of his native state. Coming to Illinois in 1819, he settled at Springfield in 1820; and here he pursued his chosen vocation continuously until the close of his life. At that early period the active practice of medicine in this state was very laborious. Dr. Jayne, however, with his strong physique, was indefatigable in his work. He often rode or drove fifteen and twenty miles to see a patient, and sometimes fifty or sixty miles, and that in the most inclement weather. His practical acumen was as marked as his fidelity, and his judgment was seldom at fault. His practice was extensive and reasonably lucrative, and his career as a physician was eminently successful. He had a sound body and an acute mind: was a great reader, and possessed a retentive memory. Poetry was his delight, and he could quote it readily and with effect. In polities he was educated in Whig, and afterward acted with the Republican party. He never sought public office, but in 1829 was appointed by Governor Edwards one of the three [first] commissioners of the Illinois and Michigan canal. In religion, while never uniting with any denomination of Christians, he attended the First Presbyterian church, and contributed liberally toward the support of the same.

Dr. Jayne was married in this county, December 22, 1822, to Sybil Slater, a native of Massachusetts. The doctor died April 17, 1867, aged seventy-six years, and his companion died in 1878. Of the six children born to them, four reached adult age. Julia Maria, the eldest child, became the wife of Senator Lyman Trumbull, and died many years ago. Captain Henry Jayne, the second son, served four years in the Union Army, and is a practicing physician in Taylorville, Illinois, Mary Ellen, the youngest daughter, died unmarried.

William Jayne, the eldest son, was born in Springfield, in October 1826, and is now one of the oldest living residents of the city. Educated at Illinois College, Jacksonville, he studied medicine and succeeded to his father's practice and reputation. While maintaining a high rank in his profession, he has been prominent in political life, and has held many offices of public trust and responsibility. He is also a man of wide reading and possesses excellent literary taste. His love of books and literature seems to have come to him as an inheritance from his father, and he could not have received a better legacy.

James D. Henry, the hero of the Black Hawk War, was born of very obscure parentage, in Pennsylvania, probably as early as 1795. From his childhood he was compelled to support himself by manual labor, and was barely able to read and write when he attained the age of manhood. Immigrating to Illinois in 1822, he first settled at Edwardsville, where he worked for some time at the trade of a shoemaker during the day, and attended a private school at night. In 1826 he came to Springfield, and engaged in merchandizing. In 1827 the Winnebago War broke out, and under instructions from Governor Edwards a battalion of four companies was raised in this county, with Colonel Thomas M. Neale in command, and Mr. Henry as adjutant; but before this force could reach the seat of hostilities the war came to an end. In 1828 he was elected sheriff of Sangamon County and was twice thereafter re-elected in 1830 and 1832.

When the Black Hawk War began in 1831, Mr. Henry was appointed to the command of a battalion from this county; and in the spring of 1832, when the Indians again commenced hostilities, he was made colonel and afterward a brigadier general of the volunteer forces. General Henry commanded at the battle of Wisconsin Heights, which was successfully fought on July 21, 1832.; and on the 2nd of August following, the troops under his command bore a conspicuous part in the battle of Bad Axe River, which terminated the war. It is said that these military successes were achieved by him against the wishes and even the machinations of General Atkinson and other officers of the regular army. On his return from the field of conflict, the citizens of Springfield gave him a public reception in recognition of his distinguished services; but such was his extreme diffidence in the presence of the fair sex that he did not enter the rooms where they presided.

General Henry was a man of large frame, and originally possessed a strong constitution; but the hardships incident to his Indian campaigns, combined with the habit of drinking, then so common, brought on disease of the lungs, which soon put a period to his existence. In the winter of 1833 – 1834 he went south, hoping by a change of climate to benefit his health, but it was then too late. He died in New Orleans on March 4, 1834, aged about forty years, and was buried there. At the time of this death, owing to his military reputation, he was the most popular man in Illinois, and could have been elected to any office in the gift of the people.

William Henry Herndon, for twenty years the law partner of Abraham Lincoln, was born in Greensburg, Green County, Kentucky on December 25, 1818. He was the eldest son of Colonel Archer G. Herndon, and early and prominent settler in Sangamon County, and one of the famous “Long Nine.” William H. came with his parents to Illinois in 1820 to Sangamon County in 1821, and to Springfield in 1825. Here he attended such schools as the town afforded until 1826, when he was sent to Illinois College at Jacksonville, and remained one collegiate year. After leaving college, he clerked in a store for several years, and in 1812 entered the law office of Logan & Lincoln, where he read law for two years, and was admitted to the bar in 1844. The partnership of Logan & Lincoln being then dissolved, Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Herndon formed a partnership, which was never formally dissolved until by the death of Mr. Lincoln. Mr. Herndon was subsequently associated in the practice of law with Judge Charles S. Zane, and at a later period with Honorable Alfred Orendorff.

In the days of the Whig Party, Mr. Herndon was an earnest advocate of its principles, and afterward, because of his opposition to slavery, he affiliated with the Republican Party. But he was never an office-seeker, and held but few public positions. However, he was at different times city attorney, mayor of Springfield, and bank commissioner for the state.

Mr. Herndon was always a reader and independent thinker, and, apart from the science of law, his favorite studies were political economy and mental science. In December of 1865, he delivered two lectures in Springfield, in which he gave an able and exhaustive analysis of the career and character of Mr. Lincoln. These were followed at intervals by other lectures on the same subject, and by several letters to the press in relation to Mr. Lincoln's religion, and kindred topics. The style of these papers is as quaint and original as that of Lincoln himself. Mr. Herndon will be best remembered for his Life of Abraham Lincoln, on which he was engaged for a number of years, but which did not appear in print until 1889, near the close of his life.

In 1867, Mr. Herndon removed his residence to the country, but did not wholly relinquish his law practice. He was first married on March 26, 1840, to Mary J. Maxey, of Springfield, by whom he became the father of six children. She died on August 18, 1860, and on July 31, 1861, Mr. Herndon married Anna Miles of Petersburg, Illinois, by whom he had two children.

The earthly career of William H. Herndon was terminated by death on March 8, 1891, in the seventy-third year of his age. His only surviving brother was Elliott B. Herndon, an eminent lawyer in Springfield, who died on April 13, 1895. His brother, Archer G., deceased on October 14, 1890.

John Todd was one of the most noted of the early physicians of Springfield,. He was born April 27, 1787 near Lexington, Kentucky, and was a son of General Levi Todd, and a brother of Robert S. Todd, the father of Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln. After graduating from the Transylvania University of Lexington, John Todd entered the medical university at Philadelphia, and was there graduated about 1809 or 1810. In the war of 1812 he was appointed surgeon-general of the Kentucky troops, and in January 1813, was at the battle and massacre of the River Raisin, where he was made prisoner. After his release he returned to Lexington, and was there married on July 1, 1813 to Elizabeth Smith, daughter of the Reverend Dr. John Blair Smith. Dr. and Mrs. Todd were the parents of six children, most of who were born in Illinois. He practiced his profession for a few years in Lexington, and a short time at Bardstown, Kentucky, whence, in 1817, he removed to Edwardsville, Illinois.

In 1827, Dr. Todd received from President John Q. Adams the appointment of register of the United States land office at Springfield, and at once moved with his family to this place. He discharged the duties of the office honestly and satisfactorily until 1829, when, for political reasons, he was removed by President Jackson. On his retirement from office he devoted his entire time to his profession, and obtained a large practice for that day in the town and county. He had a sound mind in a healthy body, and by the vigor of his physical and mental constitution was well fitted to endure the hardships of practice among a pioneer people.

Dr. Todd was a liberal and kindly man in his dealings with his fellow men, and rarely ever pressed a patient for the payment of a bill. In all his later life he was a devoted Christian, and for a number of years a ruling elder in the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield. He departed this life on January 9, 1865, aged seventy-eight years, and his worthy consort followed him to the tomb March 11, 1865.

John G. Bergen was formerly very widely known in central Illinois as a pioneer Presbyterian minister, and was the first pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield. He was born in Middlesex County, New Jersey on November 27, 1790. His parents were George I. And Rebecca [Combs] Bergen. His education began in a parochial school at Cranberry, in his native county, and he afterward attended the academy at Baskingridge in Somerset County. In 1806, he entered the junior class at Princeton College, from which he was graduated in 1808, and in 1810 was appointed tutor in that institution. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New Brunswick in 1811.

Mr. Bergen resigned his tutorship in Princeton College in September 1812, to enter upon the work of the ministry. In December of that year he was ordained at Morristown, and immediately settled as a pastor at Madison, New Jersey. About this time he was united in marriage to Margaretta M. Henderson, a native of that state. He remained in Charge of the Presbyterian Church at Madison for nearly sixteen years, devoting himself assiduously to his pastoral duties. In the meantime his parents and several other relatives had migrated to the west, and he resolved to follow them.

Resigning his pastorate in September of 1828, Mr. Bergen and family took their departure for Illinois, the journey occupying forty days. He arrived in Springfield in November and soon after began housekeeping in one of the six frame houses in the village. A Presbyterian congregation had been previously organized here by Reverend John M. Ellis, and Mr. Bergen became the first pastor. He at once began to solicit funds with which to erect a brick church; his efforts were successful, and the house of worship was completed in 1830. After a satisfactory pastorate of twenty years Mr. Bergen resigned this charge, and devoted his time to missionary work, and to contributing for the religious press. In 1854, the title of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by Centre College, at Danville, Kentucky. Dr. Bergen was several times a delegate to the Presbyterian general assembly, and for a number of years a director of the theological seminary of the northwest, at Chicago. He also took an active part in the reunion movement in his church and was moderator of the reunited synod of central Illinois in July 1870. The life of this eminent minister and father of Presbyterianism in Springfield, was at length closed by death on January 15, 1872, in the eighty-second year of his age.

Dr. Bergen's first wife died in October 1853 and in 1857 he married Mrs. Susan Van Hoff, of Springfield, who survived him until 1879. By his first marriage he was the father of five children, two sons and three daughters, all of whom were born in New Jersey, and several of these are now deceased.

In the pulpit, Dr. Bergen was a man of impressive personal presence, with his tall figure, his round, well-developed forehead, his side whiskers, and benevolent features. He was not a pulpit orator, but a sound and able expounder of the gospel; and in his day it was more the custom than now for clergymen to preach doctrinal discourses.

John Todd Stuart was born about seven miles east of Lexington, in Fayette County, Kentucky on November 10, 1807; and was of Scotch-Irish ancestry on both the paternal and maternal sides. His father, Reverend Robert Stuart, was a native of Rockbridge County, Virginia, and a minister of the Presbyterian Church. His mother, Hannah Todd, was the eldest daughter of General Levi Todd, of Lexington, and was among the first white children born in Kentucky. In his early years John T. attended the common schools of his locality, and was prepared for college at the select school conducted by his father at Walnut Hill, where he resided. At the age of sixteen he was sent to Centre College, Danville, Kentucky, where he received his diploma and degree of B.A. in September 1826. On leaving college he went to Richmond, Kentucky, and there read law for two years in the office of Judge Daniel Breek, his uncle by marriage.

In October of 1828, Mr. Stuart left his parental home in Kentucky, to establish himself in his profession at Springfield, Illinois. Stopping in the course of his journey at Frankfort, Kentucky, he there procured from the judges of the court of appeals a license as an attorney-at-law. Resuming his travels on horseback, he arrived in Springfield about the 28th of that month, and for the next few years made his home with his maternal uncle, Dr. John Todd. In the Black Hawk War, which first began in the spring of 1831, Mr. Stuart volunteered as a private, and was chosen a major of his regiment. Participating in the politics of the period, he was elected a representative from Sangamon County to legislature in 1832, and again in 1834. In 1836 he was the whig candidate for congress in the third congressional district of Illinois but was defeated by William L. May.

In April, 1837, Major Stuart formed a law partnership with Abraham Lincoln, which lasted about four years. In 1838 he was a candidate for representative to congress against Stephen A. Douglas, and was successful. Being re-elected in 1840, he served four years in that body. Retiring from congress in the spring of 1843, he resumed the active practice of law in connection with Benjamin S. Edwards, then a young lawyer of fine promise. Their partnership was continued without interruption until Mr. Stuart's death. In 1848 he was elected a state senator, serving four years. In 1862 he was elected to congress as an independent from the eighth district of Illinois, and was a candidate for re-election in 1864, but was defeated by Shelby M. Cullom.

From this time forward Mr. Stuart took no active part in politics, but devoted himself to his profession, and to various business enterprises with which he became connected. In 1871, he was appointed one of the commissioners for building the new state house, and served for several years in that capacity. As chairman of the executive committee of the Lincoln Monument Association, Mr. Stuart gave much time to superintending the erection of that imposing monument. His death took place suddenly at his home in Springfield, after a short illness, on November 28, 1885, aged seventy-eight years.

In remains to briefly notice his family relations and personal character: Mr. Stuart was married October 25, 1837, to Mary Virginia Nash, a daughter of General Francis Nash. They had six children, only three of who survive, viz: John T. of Chicago, and Hannah and Robert of Springfield. Mrs. Stuart died in May 1901, in the eighty-fifth year of her age.

John T. Stuart was considered in his day one of the handsomest men in Illinois. He was full six feet in height and well proportioned, with a noble forehead, and large dark eyes. He was courtly and dignified in his carriage, and had an easy affable address. Few men have passed through a long and distinguished life with more friends and fewer enemies then he, and his demise was mourned as a public loss. Although not a church communicant, he was a regular attendant of the First Presbyterian Church in this city, and gave freely of his means to the cause of both religion and education.

The name of John Calhoun is now remembered by but very few of the residents of Springfield, and yet for more than a score of years he was a leading citizen and politician of this city and county. Born in Boston, Massachusetts on October 14, 1808, he accompanied his parents to the Mohawk Valley, New York in 1821. After completing his studies at Canajoharie Academy in Montgomery County, he read law for a time at Fort Plain in the county. In 1830 he found his way to Springfield, Illinois and resumed the study of law, supporting himself meanwhile by teaching school. In the Black Hawk War of 1832 he served in Captain L.W. Goodman's company of mounted volunteers; and after the close of the campaign was appointed surveyor of Sangamon County. About this time he became acquainted with Abraham Lincoln, and induced him to study surveying, in order to become his deputy. Their acquaintance ripened into a lasting friendship, although they belonged to different schools in politics.

Mr. Calhoun entered political life in 1835 as the democratic candidate for state senator from this county, but was defeated by Archer G. Herndon. In 1838 he was elected a representative from Sangamon County to the state general assembly. In 1844, he assisted in completing the railroad from Jacksonville to Springfield – the first to enter the city. He was appointed by Judge Treat in 1842, clerk of the circuit court of this county. In 1844 he was chosen one of the presidential electors of Illinois for President Polk, and was also a candidate for congress that year. Mr. Calhoun was elected mayor of the city of Springfield in 1849, and by successive elections held the office for three years. The salary of the mayor at that time was only three hundred dollars per annum. In 1851, he edited and compiled the laws and ordinances of the city – the first work of the kind ever published by authority of the city government. He was elected, in 1852, one of the presidential electors of Illinois for President Pierce, and was selected by his colleagues to carry the vote to the seat of government at Washington.

In 1854 Mr. Calhoun was appointed by President Pierce to the office of surveyor – general of the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and removed his family to Kansas. In the spring of 1857 he was elected a delegate to the convention, which framed what was known as the Lecompton Constitution, and was made president of that body. He connection with the adoption of that constitution caused a storm of abuse and misrepresentation to be visited upon him by the opposition press of the country. This seems to have broken his spirit and ambition. He left the territory and went to St. Joseph, Missouri, to reside, where he died October 25, 1859, at the age of fifty-one years.

In his prime John Calhoun was a fine looking man, but grew quite stout in later life. He is described as a man of genial and generous disposition, ever ready to serve or defend a friend, but rarely defending himself. Of high intellectual ability, he was for some years considered one of the best political orators in central Illinois. Like many other brilliant men, however, he seems to have been deficient in steadiness of purpose and in application to any one pursuit – unless it was that of getting and holding office.