Pekin in the Civil War: the Knights of the Golden Circle vs. Pekin’s Union League

By Jared L. Olar

Local History Program Coordinator

The city of Pekin currently has four Illinois State Historical Society markers highlighting significant events and individuals in Pekin’s history. Those markers are:

1) The marker in Riverfront Park that commemorates the tragic wreck of the Riverboat Columbia on 5 July 1918.

2) The marker on the side of the former Pekin National Bank building at the intersection of Court and Capitol streets commemorating the founding of the Union League at that site on 25 June 1862.

3) and 4) The two markers in Legins-Costley Park dedicated in June 2023 in the 400 block of Court Street, honoring the remarkable lives of Nance Legins-Costley and her son Pvt. William H. Costley of the 29th U.S. Colored Infantry.

As we noted last time, the dedication of a fifth ISHS marker is being planned for this Juneteenth, honoring the 12 African-American men of Pekin and Elm Grove Township who fought for an end to slavery in the 29th U.S. Colored Infantry during the Civil War.

But this week we will turn our attention to the Union League historical marker and to story behind it. As we have recalled before here at “From the History Room,” the founding of the Union League during the Civil War was one of the high points of Pekin’s history. In the initial stages of the Civil War pro-Confederacy and pro-slavery sentiment remained prominent even as far north as Peoria and Pekin (both communities having been founded by slave-owning families, though abolitionists were also present here from the start). Consequently, prior to the formation of the Union League “those who believed in the Union spoke often in whispers in Pekin streets and were wary and often afraid,” says the 1949 Pekin Centenary, because the pro-Confederacy Knights of the Golden Circle (from which the Ku Klux Klan developed after the war) was a menacing force in Pekin.

The idea of establishing a league in Pekin to support the Union cause is credited to the Rev. J. W. N. Vernon, the new minister of Pekin’s First Methodist Church, who had recently come to this community from Tennessee where similar leagues or secret societies had been formed. Besides Rev. Vernon, the founding members of the Union League were Richard Northcroft Cullom, former Illinois state senator; Dr. Daniel A. Cheever, abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor; Charles Turner, Tazewell County state’s attorney; Henry Pratt, Delavan Township supervisor; Alexander Small, Deer Creek Township supervisor; George H. Harlow, Tazewell County circuit clerk; Jonathan Merriam, stock farmer who became a colonel in the Union army; Hart Montgomery, Pekin postmaster; John W. Glassgow, justice of the peace; and Levi F. Garrett, Pekin grocery store owner and baker.

After the Civil War, the Union League became a Republican Party social club, but would carry on its abolitionist legacy through support of civil rights for African-Americans.

The founding of the Union League was first commemorated by a plaque placed on the side of the old Smith Bank building on 7 Dec. 1920. Later the building housed Marty Perlman’s business, the Perlman Furniture Co., which was destroyed by a fire in Oct. 1968. But, as the Pekin Daily Times reported in an article dated 16 Aug. 1975, “Perlman pried the charred plaque off the east wall after the flames had been extinguished, had it reconditioned and saw that it was kept safely until it could be remounted in an appropriate place at a significant time.”

This image of the 1920 historical plaque commemorating the 1862 founding of the Union League in Pekin was published in a pamphlet containing William H. Bates’ address at the plaque’s dedication. The image in the pamphlet has the following caption: “The above bronze tablet has been placed on the west wall of the building at 331 Court street, Pekin, Illinois, to commemorate the birthplace of the first Council of the Union League of America, and as a tribute to the patriotic and loyal people of Tazewell County during the great American Civil War. The Council lodge room was in the third-story of the above named building.”

Shown in this photograph from the 16 Aug. 1975 Pekin Daily Times are Marty Perlman, left, and Gerald Conaghan, right, president of Pekin National Bank, holding a historical plaque commemorating the founding of the Union League. The plaque was first placed on the east wall of the old Smith Bank/Perlman Furniture building at the corner of Court and Capitol in 1920, but in 1975 was remounted in the lobby of the Pekin National Bank, which was built on the same site as the Smith Bank/Perlman Furniture building which burned down in 1968.

That time and place came on Tuesday, 19 Aug. 1975, when the old 1920 plaque was remounted in the lobby of Pekin National Bank (built on the site of the Smith Bank/Perlman Furniture Co. building) on the occasion of President Gerald R. Ford’s visit to Pekin to dedicate the Pekin Public Library and Everett M. Dirksen Center.

But a few days before that, the Illinois State Historical Society marker on the outside of the east wall of the Pekin National Bank had already been mounted. That plaque, donated by the Union League of America and the Illinois State Historical Society, was formally dedicated at the same time as the remounting of the 1920 plaque.

A historical plaque on the outside wall of Pekin National Bank at the corner of Court and Capitol streets in downtown Pekin marks the site where the Union League of America was founded. IMAGE COURTESY OF ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The story of the founding of the Union League in Pekin and their successful challenge to the Knights of the Golden Circle is told in a pamphlet published for the occasion of the 1920 plaque dedication by the old Tazewell County History Society. The pamphlet, entitled “Knights of the Golden Circle versus Union League of America,” contains the full text of the formal dedicatory address that was delivered at the Tazewell County Courthouse by Pekin pioneer historian and Civil War veteran William Henry Bates.

Bates’ address is here subjoined:

BROTHER PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:

We have assembled to dedicate the erection of a bronze tablet and pay tribute to the memory of those patriots who organized and were members of the first Council of the Union League of America instituted in the Northern States.

In order to give you a better understanding of the motive that led to the organization of the Union League of America, I feel it my duty, in as brief a manner as possible, to speak of the causes that called the Union-loving adherents of our grand galaxy of States, under the glorious Star and Stripes, to organize and pledge allegiance to the best Government on earth.

According to the report made by Hon. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General of the Bureau of Military Justice, to Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, under date of October 8th, 1864, we learn that about the time of the first conscription of troops, during the war between the slave and free States, northern sympathizers with those in rebellion against the National Government, organized under the following titles: “Mutual Protection Society,” the “Circle of Honor,” or the “Circle,” or “Knights of the Mighty Host,” “Southern League,” “Order of the Sons of Liberty,” “McClellan Minute Guard,” “Order of the American Knights,” etc., but more widely as the “Knights of the Golden Circle.”

The membership of these various societies organized themselves into bodies called “Temples’’ – individually they were often spoken of as “Copperheads.” In the Northern States their membership reached a grand total of 350,000, two-thirds of whom were armed, organized into military units and drilled. According to the secret constitution of its Supreme Council, provision was made that the Supreme Commander – “shall be Commander of all Military forces belonging to the Orders in the various States” when called into actual service.

The oath, which was administered to the members of the K. G. C., prescribed a penalty for its violation, as follows: “A shameful death! and further, that the body of the person guilty of such violation shall be divided into four parts and cast to the four gates of the Temple!”

Not only did the K. G. C. oath enjoin a blind obedience to the commands of the Superiors of the Order, but was required to be held of paramount obligation to any oath which may he administered to any member in a court of justice, or elsewhere.

Through signs, passwords or signals, any K. G. C. member was permitted to pass through the Confederate lines, and was received and entertained as a friend of the secession cause.

A few of the many traitorous principles of the K. G. C., was to harass the families of the Union soldiers, thus causing their desertion so they could come home to protect fathers, mothers, wives, and children. Resist all recruiting for the Union army. To liberate, by force if necessary, all Confederate prisoners confined in northern prisons. Co-operating with Confederate raiders, through the K. G. C. signals and passwords.

Through reliable evidence given to the court over which Judge Holt presided, it was proven that Jeff Davis, as well as many leaders in and out of the Confederate army, were members of one of the several traitorous bodies named above.

THE UNION LEAGUE.

The birth of the Union League was attributable to the loyal men of Tennessee, who, when driven from their homes by their “secesh” neighbors, soon after the opening of the civil war, sought refuge in

inaccessible places and eaves in the mountains of their State, and gathered around improvised altars, covered with “Old Glory” on which lay the open Bible, and with left hand on the Sacred Word of God and their right band raised toward Heaven, took an oath of fealty to the Government of their forefathers and hatred to traitors and all autocratic secessionists and their co-workers.

Thus was born the Union League, which was to have a new birth, with the word America added to its title, at Pekin, Illinois, on the 25th of June. This was the first Council (or Lodge) of the U. L. of A., and its Northern birth took place in the third story of the brick building at 331 Court street, known for many years as the Smith Bank building, and on which we have placed a bronze tablet in commemoration, and as a tribute, to the loyal citizens of Tazewell County.

It is an authenticated fact that the Union League of America received aid and sanction from President Abraham Lincoln.

The first Council was composed of leading Union men of Tazewell County, to-wit: John W. Glassgow, J. P.; Dr. D. A. Cheever, Hart Montgomery, Major R. N. Cullom, Alexander Small, Rev. J. W. M. Vernon, Geo. H. Harlow, Chas. Turner, Jonathan Merriam, Henry Pratt and L. F. Garrett. One of the original eleven was a Tennessee refugee, who introduced the Union mountaineers’ oath, which was accepted pending the reorganization in the North.

The U. L. of A. grew rapidly, and on September 25th, 1862, the first Illinois State Council met at Bloomington, Ill., with representatives from twelve counties. At this meeting the organization was completed and the following officers chosen:

Hon. Mark Bangs, of Marshall County, Grand President; Prof. D. Wilkins, of McLean County, Grand Vice-President; Geo. H. Harlow, of Tazewell County, Grand Secretary; H. S. Austin, of Peoria County, Grand Treasurer; J. R. Gorin, of Macon County, Grand Marshal; A. Gould, of Henry County, Grand Herald; John E. Rosette, of Sangamon County, Grand Sentinel.

The Executive Committee chosen was as follows: Joseph Medill, of Cook County; Dr. A. McFarland, of Morgan County; J. K. Warren, of Macon County; Rev. J. C. Rybolt, of LaSalle County; Hon. Mark Bangs, of Marshall County; Enoch Emery, of Peoria County; John E. Rosette, of Sangamon County. A new constitution and by-laws were adopted and a new ritual prepared at the Bloomington meeting. The Tennessee obligation was condensed, and the initiatory ceremony made more appropriate and impressive. New forms in grips, signs and passwords were adopted, which soon became national.

The second meeting of the Grand Council was held at the Capital of Illinois on January 14th, 1863. Only seven counties were represented, and the meeting proved uneventful, owing, doubtless, to the discouraging news from the battle lines.

The U. L. of A. soon became imbued with new life and zeal. In a few months its membership had increased from 5,000 to 50,000, and in 1864 the order had enrolled 1,300 Councils and 175,000 members in Illinois. On the return of the three-year Union veteran soldiers many soon became members of the U. L. of A.

The next meeting of the Grand Council was held in Chicago on the 25th of March, 1863. Four hundred and four Councils were represented from Illinois alone. The following States were also represented: Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. At this meeting steps were taken to organize a National Council, which culminated in a call to meet at Cleveland, Ohio, on May 20th, 1863, where the following National officers were elected:

Hon. J. M. Edmunds, National Grand President; Hon. John W. Forney, National Grand Vice-President; Hon. Green Adams, National Grand Vice-President; W. R. Irwin, National Grand Recording-Corresponding Secretary; Rev. Byron Sunderland, National Grand Treasurer; G. F. Brown, National Grand Herald; Geo. W. Kellogg, National Grand Sentinel. The above grand officers were all residents of Washington, D. C.

The Illinois ritual was adopted by the National Grand Council with few changes.

The obligation adopted was as follows:

OBLIGATION:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm), in the presence of God and these witnesses, that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I have been a citizen thereof; that I will support, protect and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States and the flag thereof, against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will also defend this State against any invasion, insurrection, or rebellion, to the extent of my ability. This I freely pledge without mental reservation or evasion. Furthermore, that I will do all in my power to elect true and reliable Union men and supporters of the Government, and none others, to all offices of profit or trust, from the lowest to the highest—in ward, town, county. State and General Government. And should I ever be called to fill any office, I will faithfully carry out the objects and principles of this Lodge. And further, that I will protect, aid and defend all worthy members of the Union League. And further, I will never make known, in any way or manner, to any person or persons not members of the Union League, any of the signs, passwords, proceedings, debates or plans of this or any other Council under this organization, except when engaged in admitting new members into this Lodge. And with my hand upon the Holy Bible, Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States of America, under the seal of my sacred honor, I acknowledge myself firmly bound and pledged to the faithful performance of this my solemn obligation. So Help Me God.”

Then the members formed in a circle, admitted the new member, or members, and with clasped and uplifted hands, all repeated the following—

“FREEMAN’S PLEDGE:

“To defend and perpetuate Freedom and the Union, I pledge my life, my fortune, and my sacred honor. So Help Me God.”

Then followed the address to the new members, which was quite lengthy, but full of religious and patriotic admonition as to the duties every patriot owed his country, the Constitution and the Flag.

The Pekin Council (or Lodge) increased rapidly in membership, and true to its sworn obligation, very materially aided the Union cause, the needy parents and families of those who had joined the armed hosts, and who were on the line of battle, struggling against the traitorous cohorts.

During 1863 the additions to Pekin Council of the U. L. of A. numbered, among others, William Gaither, William W. Sellers, Hezekiah Naylor, Joshua Wagenseller, Charles Parker, Theodore Wagenseller, William W. Clemens, Isaac Hawley, Columbus R. Cummings, Dr. B. F. Harris and Cornelius Hinsey, Groveland, Jas. W. Robinson, Reuben Bergstresser, William Hawley, Thomas B. Reeves, and others.

Many patriotic ladies of Pekin became members of the U. L. of A., and took part in all open meetings of the Council. Among the more prominent ones were Grandma Harlow, Mrs. Geo. H. Harlow, Miss Emma Wagenseller, Mrs. Kate Goodheart, Mrs. Filener Sleeth-Habberfield, Miss Ophelia McKinney, Miss Melsena Miller, Miss Agnes Rybolt, Mrs. Wm. W. Sellers, Miss Nellie Foster, and many others.

Among the many patriotic women of Pekin, who gave energy, time and money, to alleviate the hardships of our soldiers in the civil war, none did more than Mrs. Mary L. Gregg-Westermann—“always the soldier’s friend.”

The organization of the Sanitary Commission, with headquarters in Pekin, had an able leader in George H. Harlow. He was aided by Columbus R. Cummings and many other patriotic gentlemen and ladies of the U. L. of A. A wigwam was built on an open lot at what is today 317, 319 and 319 1/2 Court street, wherein was held a great Sanitary Fair in October, 1864, at which nearly $5,000 was raised for the Union cause.

We had two patriotic organizations composed of ladies, who rendered valuable aid to the Sanitary Commission: Mrs. Wm. W. Sellers was president of the Union League ladies, and Mrs. Mary L. Westerman presided at the meetings of the Ladies’ Union Aid Society.

On the return of the three-year Union soldiers in the summer and fall of 1864 they were drawn into the U. L. of A., to give the Pekin Council the benefit of their military training. These soldier “boys,” true to the cause they had been fighting for, organized themselves into a secret military body, selected Sergeant Wm. H. Bates as their captain, and pledged themselves to take up arms anew to crush any “copperhead” uprising which might occur. Fully half of their number were Union Douglas Democrats.

Rev. Jas. K. P. Legg, now of Keokee, Lee County, Va., avers that the U. L. of A. lodge, of which he was a member, had a password which represented five capital L 7 s, and stood for “Lincoln, Liberty, Law, Loyal, League.”

During the second inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, Geo. H. Harlow and Dr. D. A. Cheever, of Pekin, and J. A. Jones, of Tremont, represented the Tazewell County U. L. of A., as a part of the secret body guard, to prevent the threatened assassination of the re-elected Abraham Lincoln.

On the disbandment of the Pekin Council, the altar flag, the bust of Lincoln and the gavel were bequeathed to the last President, Dr. D. A. Cheever, which we are informed still remain in possession of his heirs.

We are under obligation to “Patriotism of Illinois,” Vol. 2. by Rev. T. M. Eddy; “The Great Conspiracy,” by Gen. John A. Logan; Miss Mary Gaither, Pekin; Mrs. Filener S. Bates (who was a member of the Pekin Council), Pekin; R. A. Harlow, Helena, Montana; Miss Emily C. Cheever, (daughter of Dr. D. A. Cheever) , the Misses Helen and Elizabeth Bryan, daughters of Alice Cheever and Alonzo H. Bryan, and granddaughters of Dr. Cheever), of Champaign, Ill.; Mrs. Jessie Palmer-Weber, Secretary of the State Historical Society, Springfield, Illinois, et al., for clerical as well as oral aid.

Fraternally yours,

WILLIAM H. BATES

Formerly a member of Co. “H,” 8th Mo. (American Zouaves), 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 15th Army Corps.

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Illinois State Historical Society ‘Best of Illinois’ Awards 2024

Pekin and Tazewell County were well represented at the 2024 Illinois State Historical Society “Best of Illinois” Awards Luncheon, held Saturday, 20 April 2024 at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in downtown Springfield, Illinois.

Following are the awards bestowed on Saturday that have a Pekin or Tazewell County connection, grouped by award category and including the ISHS judges’ comments. Photographs are courtesy the Illinois State Historical Society, the Peoria Freedom & Remembrance Memorial Team, and the Pekin Public Library.

Special Projects:

“Peoria Freedom and Remembrance Memorial.” Created by Robert Hoffer, David Pittman, Carl Adams, Joe Hutchinson, Jared Olar, and Bill Poorman. Superior Achievement. “This memorial park (featuring three new historical markers) was opened in June 2023 and is the culmination of many years work by a collaboration of private individuals, local government, private business, and state and local historical groups. Great work by a large number of people working together for a common goal. This is a rich project, extremely well planned, executed, and documented. Not only does it represent the best kind of research, it brought together several individuals and organizations. Perhaps most importantly the project can reach anyone anywhere through the superb website that includes all documentation. Every aspect is thorough and professional. This civic project is superior in every way. In fact, it is a model of how to organize and galvanize the efforts of a wide range of stakeholder and city players. What started from simple but profound questions has led to the heroic rediscovery, reclamation, and memorialization of an historic site of city, regional, and national importance. Every constituent in this effort deserves praise from the state of Illinois for their great gift, particularly Peoria historian Bob Hoffer. This work ensures that people passing by this space will notice something unique, and if they pause long enough, they will learn about a Black woman in a quasi-slave state who understood herself to be free even before Mr. Lincoln argued to make her freedom lawful.” Accepting the award were Robert Hoffer, Carl Adams, Jared Olar, and Bill Poorman. (The two other members of this project’s core team, David Pittman and Joseph Hutchinson, were unable to attend.)

Presented an Illinois State Historical Society Best of Illinois award for the Peoria Freedom & Remembrance Memorial Project were (from left to right) Robert Hoffer, Bill Poorman, Jared Olar, and Carl Adams.

Four of the six members of the Peoria Freedom & Remembrance Memorial Project’s core team of volunteers show their award certificates at the Illinois State Historical Society Best of Illinois Awards Banquet. Shown from left to right are Robert Hoffer of the Peoria Historical Society, historian Carl Adams, Pekin Public Library Local History Program Coordinator Jared L. Olar, and Bill Poorman, writer and media producer and Abraham Lincoln enthusiast; along with Libby Tronnes, Illinois State Historical Society board member. The core team members who were unable to attend were David Pittman, Peoria area community activist, and Joseph Hutchinson of the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War.

Illinois State Historical Society Best of Illinois Award granted Saturday, 20 April 2024, in Springfield, for the Peoria Freedom & Remembrance Memorial Project that created a memorial park honoring those buried at the former Moffatt Cemetery in Peoria.

Nance Legins-Costley historian Carl Adams signs a copy of his book, “Nance,” after the Illinois State Historical Society Best of Illinois Awards on Saturday, 20 April 2024.

“Freedom and Remembrance Memorial Project Promotional Video Team.“ Certificate of Excellence. “This video is excellent in its production, organization, and content delivery. It admirably givers the background history of the Moffatt Cemetery and justifies all the myriad efforts by a wide range of stakeholders and donors to reclaim, recognize, and dedicate it for the city of Peoria. The video is highly watchable and keeps viewers interested from start to finish. Its connection to early Peoria history, to Abraham Lincoln, and to the worthy and hallowed dead there — especially Nance Legins-Costley and her son, William — documents people and stories that absolutely cry out to be told.” Accepting the award were Robert Hoffer and Bill Poorman.

Robert Hoffer and Bill Poorman are presented an ISHS Best of Illinois Award for their Freedom & Remembrance Memorial promotional video.

Freedom & Remembrance Memorial video project volunteers Robert Hoffer (left) and Bill Poorman (middle) show the Illinois State Historical Society Best of Illinois award certificates for their project. At right is Libby Tronnes, ISHS board member.

Illinois State Historical Society Best of Illinois Award granted Saturday, 20 April 2024, in Springfield, for the Peoria Freedom & Remembrance Memorial Project Promotional Video created by Bill Poorman and Robert Hoffer.

“Nance Legins-Costley and William Henry Costley Memorial.” — Legins-Costley Park. By Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman, the City of Pekin, the Tazewell County Genealogical Society, the Pekin Chamber of Commerce, Pekin Main Street Organization, the YWCA Coalition for Equality, and Pekin historian Jared Olar. Superior Achievement. “A fantastic example of broad-based community collaboration centered on preserving and teaching local history. This memorial project shined light on an important but not widely known local story, a story with wider significance. Creating a public space centered on these memorials is long-term community engagement with local history at its best. Bravo! A sterling example of cooperation among many groups to commemorate important individuals and events in our state’s history.” Accepting the award were John Ackerman, Jared Olar, Susan Rynerson, and Maureen Naughtin.

Legin-Costley Park volunteers and contributors shown are (from left to right) Jared L. Olar, Pekin Public Library Local History Program Coordinator; Tazewell County Clerk John C. Ackerman; Maureen Naughtin, director of the YWCA Coalition for Equality; Susan Rynerson, president of the Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society; along with Libby Tronnes, Illinois State Historical Society board member.

Illinois State Historical Society Best of Illinois Award granted Saturday, 20 April 2024, in Springfield, for the Legins-Costley Park Project in downtown Pekin.

“WWII Living Veterans Recognition Program.” Tazewell County Clerk and Tazewell County Veterans Assistance. Certificate of Excellence. “The Tazewell County Clerk and Tazewell County Veteran Assistance program launched an effort to identify and recognize living veterans who served in World War II. The organizers canvased senior living complexes, retirement homes, veterans’ organizations, funeral homes, and media outlets to discover Americans from the ‘Greatest Generation’ still living in Tazewell County. The effort produced a list of 19 individuals, with the youngest at 95 and the two oldest at 105 and 106. This is an admirable project to document surviving WWII veterans in Tazewell County. It honors the veterans today and insures that their stories are preserved for tomorrow and beyond.” Accepting the award was John Ackerman.

Best Website:

“What Nance Means to Us” website. Created by Colleen Kahn and Pekin High School Students. Superior Achievement. “Great effort on the part of the teacher and the students. Strong points include good color contrast and attractiveness of the top page; fine proportions in the layout design, and the storytelling in the video is fine. The website contains information on students’ reactions to Nance Legins-Costley, a woman who played a key role in reinforcing Illinois’ rejection of human bondage. An excellent format for students to react and interact with our state’s history. This effort represents community engagement at its finest.” Accepting the award on Colleen Kahn’s behalf was John Ackerman.

Ongoing Periodicals:

“The Monthly.” Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society Newsletter. Superior Achievement. “This entry has been published monthly for 45 years and is a real TREASURE. The information is so varied and would be of interest to people all over the state. There are photographs, including mystery photos seeking identification, old ads, newspaper articles, opinion pieces, announcements of organizational events, publications for sale, old cookbooks, warrants for arrest state political news, obituaries. So very interesting. ‘The Monthly’ is packed with helpful information on genealogy of area residents and local history.” Accepting the award was Susan Rynerson.

Collection Preservation:

“Complete Digitization of all Tazewell County Board Minutes from 1827 to Present.” Tazewell County Clerk’s Office and ArcaSearch. Award of Superior Achievement. “Reliable, searchable public records are key to understanding the past, even events going back to 1827. The County Clerk’s office is to be commended for becoming the first in the state to complete this important task. This project contributes mostly to the preservation of the history of one county but could be useful to researchers in other parts of the state and should serve as a model for other Illinois counties preserving and making governmental records accessible to professionals and the public alike.” Accepting the award was John Ackerman and Tazewell County Chief Deputy Clerk Dan Sullivan.

“Complete Digitization and New Public Website for Tazewell County Military Discharge Records.” Tazewell County Clerk’s Office of Vital Statistics. Accepting the award was John Ackerman.

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Ashers, Kresge, The Model – the history of the 353 Court St. building

By Jared L. Olar

Local History Program Coordinator

In 2019, Ashley and Russell Spencer opened a bar and grill in Farmington, Illinois, that they named “Ashers,” the restaurant’s name formed from the first half of Ashley’s name and the last two letters of Russell’s surname. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed their restaurant in Nov. 2021, but the following year they reopened in Pekin’s old town in Todd Thompson’s historic 353 Court St. Building, which Thompson had restored and refurbished in 2010. Ashers quickly established itself as one of Pekin’s most popular eateries. (The Spencers’ bar and grill was featured in a restaurant review by William Furry of the Illinois State Historical Society in the March-April 2024 issue of “Illinois Heritage” magazine of which Furry is the editor.)

The historic 353 Court St. building is shown in this photograph taken last month. Ashers Bar & Grill, owned and operated by Ashley and Russell Spencer, opened at 353 Court St. in 2022 and quickly established itself as one of Pekin’s most popular eateries. PHOTO BY PEKIN PUBLIC LIBRARY STAFF

Look back at the history of the 353 Court St. Building, it seems to have been in existence since at least the 1880s, and perhaps even the 1870s. As far as we can tell, the first business that may have existed at the present site of Ashers Bar & Grill could have been Schilling & Bohn, a firm owned by Conrad Schilling (1821-1895) and Andrew Bohn (1821-1891) that sold furniture, beds, mattresses, and coffins. The 1871 Sellers & Bates City Directory of Pekin says Schilling & Bohn’s furniture store was on Court Street across from the courthouse, four doors west of Fourth Street. That would place it either at the site of the Hamm’s Building or the site of the 353 Court St. Building. An 1877 aerial view map of Pekin shows a structure in this block of Court St. that may well be the same one that still stands today at 353 Court St.

This advertisement for Schilling & Bohn’s furniture and undertakers business comes from the 1871 Pekin city directory. Schilling & Bohn seems to have been located either at the site today occupied by the Hamm’s Building or by the 353 Court St. Building, but it is unclear whether it was in the same structure that exists today.

At the left of this 1870 photograph is the building the preceded today’s 353 Court St. Building.

In this detail from an 1877 hand-drawn aerial map of Pekin, the black arrow indicates the location that is today the 353 Court St. building, showing a structure that was then a part of Roos’ Block. It is uncertain whether or not the building indicated by the arrow is the same as today’s building at 353 Court.

The history of this part of Court Street becomes clear in the 1880s, when city directories and maps show a hotel called Planter’s House or Planter’s Hotel, with the Irish immigrant Thomas Donegan Conaghan (1847-1922) as its proprietor. Conaghan previously appears in the 1871 and 1876 Pekin city directories as the proprietor of City Hotel at the northeast corner of Ann Eliza and Third streets. Planter’s Hotel is shown in the 1885 and 1892 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Pekin as well as the 1887 and 1893 Pekin city directories.

An advertisement for Thomas D. Conaghan’s Planters Hotel from the 1893 Pekin city directory. Planters Hotel first appears on record in the 1885 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Pekin. Despite expansion and extensive remodeling over the time of its existence, it seems the Planters Hotel building is the same structure that is still there today at 353-355 Court St.

At the time of the first Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Pekin in May 1885, T. D. Conaghan was operating Planters Hotel at what was then numbered 421-423 1/2 Court St. (today 353-355 Court St.).

The Jan. 1892 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Pekin again shows T. D. Conaghan’s Planters Hotel at 353-355 Court St.

Depicted in this drawing by Henry Hobart Cole is the Upper 300 block of Court Street — including the old Herget Block, the Odd Fellows Hall, and Planters Hotel — as it appeared during the 1880s and 1890s.

This detail from a Henry Hobart Cole photograph taken in the early 1890s shows 353-355 Court St. Note that the facade is almost identical to what may be seen today, apart from a peak and a pole atop the 353 Court St. structure. In the early 1890s, these adjoining buildings were the Planter’s Hotel, Thomas D. Conaghan, proprietor, but by the mid-1890s a number of businesses were sharing the building, including the Schradzki & Sklarek clothing store, Day Carpet & Furniture, and the Knights of Pythias Hall.

By the time of the 1895 city directory, however, the Planter’s Hotel building had been remodeled into business and office space to become the Kuhn Building. The Kuhn Building’s tenants that year included a clothing store operated by Leopold Schradzki (1833-1902) and Joseph Sklarek (1856-1940) at 353 Court St. (the western half of today’s 353 Court St. building), Day Carpet & Furniture operated by Edward O. Deuermeyer (1860-1931) at 355 Court St. (the eastern half of today’s Court St. building), M. Bayne & Son highway bridge builders operated by Milton Bayne (1830-1910) and his son William M. Bayne (1860-1924), and the insurance agencies of Martin J. Heisel (1857-1909) and Rudolph Velde (1875-1947).

Edward O. Deuermeyer (1860-1931), who operated Day Carpet & Furniture at 355 Court St. during the 1890s. Portrait shared at Ancestry.com.

An 1894 portrait shared at Ancestry.com of Illinois bridge builder Milton Bayne (1830-1910) whose firm’s office was in the 353 Court St. Building during the 1890s.

A group of advertisements from the 1895 Pekin city directory for three businesses then located in the Kuhn Building (353-355 Court St.) The firm of Schradzki & Sklarek at 353 Court (the western half of today’s 353 Court St. Building) was succeeded by Salzenstein & Co. clothing, which was in turn succeeded by The Model clothing store.

A full-page advertisement for the Day Carpet & Furniture Company from the 1895 Pekin city directory. This business occupied 355 Court St., which is today the east half of the 353 Court St. Building.

An advertisement for Rudolph Velde’s insurance agency from the 1895 Pekin city directory. Velde’s office was in the Kuhn Building, 353-355 Court St., the building that is today the home of Ashers Bar & Grill.

At the time of the March 1898 Sanborn Map of Pekin, 353-355 Court St. was known as the Kuhn Building or Kuhn Block, which housed the Knights of Pythias Hall on the third floor, the clothing store of Schradzki & Sklarek and the bridge-building firm of M. Bayne & Son on the first floor, and various other offices.

The 1898 Pekin city directory again shows the clothing store of Schradzki & Sklarek and the bridge-building firm of M. Bayne & Son in the Kuhn Building. According to the directory, by this time Milton Bayne was living in Chicago while his son William ran the firm in Pekin. The Kuhn Building in 1898 was also the home of the Knights of Pythias Hall, and also housed the offices of Charles L. Morgan (1868-1965) and his brother Robert Morgan (1866-1935), real estate and merchandise exchange, Dr. Edward F. Pielemeier (1874-1953), physician, and G. A. Pielemeyer, dentist.

The Model clothing store at 353 Court St. is indicated in this hand-colored photograph by W. Blenkiron taken circa 1900.

Around the time of Nov. 1903 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Pekin, the Schradzki & Sklarek clothing store had been succeeded at 353 Court St. by another clothing store called Salzenstein & Co., owned and operated by Albert Salzenstein (1878-1931). The Kuhn Building also housed several other offices and a third-floor Assembly Hall.

Six years later, the 1904 Pekin city directory shows that the Schradzki & Sklarek clothing store had been succeeded at 353 Court St. by another clothing store called Salzenstein & Co., owned and operated by Albert Salzenstein (1878-1931). Also located at 353 Court St. or 353 1/2 Court St. were Tazewell County judge and attorney Jesse Black Jr. (1870-1935), attorney Edward Reardon (1851-1923), and George W. Seibert (1839-1915), justice of the peace. Meanwhile, at 355 Court St. we find the Smith & Frey five-and-dime store, operated by Thomas B. Smith (1866-1946) and Walter U. Frey (1875-1956), Abraham Lincoln “A. L.” Champion (1860-1945), abstract and real estate, Jacob Rapp (1845-1910), justice of the peace, the Prudential Insurance Co. office with Louis Heimbach as assistant superintendent, and an Assembly Hall on the third floor.

An advertisement for the Smith & Frey five-and-dime store from the 1908 Pekin city directory.

The 1908 Pekin city directory heralded the arrival of The Model Clothing Co. at 353 Court St. The Model was one of the prominent fixtures of downtown Pekin during the first decades of the 20th century, operating from 353 Court St. until the end of the 1920s, when it seems to have fallen as one of the early victims of the Great Depression. Curiously, city directories do not identify The Model’s managers until the 1926 directory, when The Model’s listing showed it with a secondary name of “The Nusbaum Co.,” and the manager was listed as Henry Ehrhardt. Then in the 1928 city directory, The Model, a.k.a. The Nusbaum Co., was listed with M. S. Chamberlain as its manager. The Model went out of business after that, and the 1930 Pekin city directory lists 353 Court St. – that is, the western half of today’s 353 Court St. Building – as “vacant.”

Meanwhile, the 1908 city directory again lists the Smith & Frey five-and-dime store at 355 Court St., with A. L. Champion’s office on the second floor of the Kuhn Building, and the Prudential Insurance Co. office (J. F. Mang, superintendent), over 355 Court. The same directory again lists Jesse Black Jr. and Edward Reardon in their offices in the Kuhn Building, along with Dr. R. C. Horner, dentist. Smith & Frey is again listed at 355 Court St. in the 1909 city directory, but in the 1913 and 1914 directories the store is listed as the Smith Department Store. During these years we continue to find anywhere from four to six offices in the 353-355 Court St. building being occupied by attorneys, dentists, etc., including A. L. Champion and the Prudential Insurance Co. The Modern Woodmen Hall is also listed on the building’s third floor in the 1914 and 1922 Pekin city directories.

At the time of the Dec. 1909 Sanborn Map of Pekin, 353 Court St. housed The Model clothing store, while 355 Court St. housed the Smith & Frey five-and-dime.

An advertisement for The Model clothing store at 353-355 Court St. from about 1910.

Another view of The Model store front at 353 Court St., from a W. Blenkiron photograph taken in 1910.

The Oct. 1916 Sanborn Map of Pekin again shows the storefront space of The Model clothing store at 353 Court St. and the Smith Department Store (formerly known as Smith & Frey) at 355 Court.

The sign of The Model clothing store at 353 Court St. is seen in this Christmas-time photograph from the early 1920s. About this time, the east half of the building — 355 Court St. — housed John Walter, jeweler, Pekin Music House, the Prudential Insurance Co. office, and the Modern Woodmen Hall on the third floor.

A Christmas advertisement from The Model clothing store, from the 25 Dec. 1920 edition of the Pekin Daily Times.

In the 1922 city directory, we find that the Smith Department Store had been replaced by John Walter, jeweler, who along with the Prudential Insurance Co. and four other offices occupied rooms at 355 Court St., while The Model occupied 353 Court. After the departure of The Model from 353 Court at the end of the 1920s, the 1930 city directory again shows John Walter, jeweler, at 355 Court St. However, Walter that year shared 355 Court with the S. S. Kresge Co., a five-and-dime that would soon become a successful downtown department store and ancestor of Kmart.

By the time of the 1925 Sanborn Map of Pekin, the Smith Department Store at 355 Court St. had been replaced by John Walter, jeweler, while The Model Clothing store was still at 353 Court St.

The S. S. Kresge department store at 353 Court St. can be seen in this photograph from the late 1940s.

John Walter, jeweler, continues to be listed at 355 Court St. until the 1939 Pekin city directory, but beginning with the 1932 city directory we find S. S. Kresge Co. occupying both 353 and 355 Court St., and after 1939 Kresge is the sole occupant of the building. The Kresge department store thrived at 353-355 Court St. until the late 1960s. Pekin’s city directories show a succession of 10 managers throughout the store’s existence at 353-355 Court St: Elwood F. Harr (1932), Ernest Arfsten (1934), Leslie L. Jones ( 1937, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1946), Ancil M. Scheiderer ( 1948, 1950), Curtis T. Mullen (1952, 1955, 1956, 1958), Russell Hansen (1959), John E. Curtis (1961), Donald J. Schroeder (1962), Warren Larson (1964, 1965, 1966), and Mark D. Heine (1968, 1969). Heine was Kresge’s last manager in downtown Pekin, and at that time the S. S. Kresge Co. nationwide became Kmart, and built a store at 2901 Court St. Kresge disappears from Pekin directories in 1970, then reappears as Kmart in 1971 with Robert P. Matheny as its manager.

Shown is an S. S. Kresge advertisement from the 19 Dec. 1964 Pekin Daily Times.

After Kresge, the next store to occupy the 353 Court St. Building was a 5-cent-to-1-dollar store, or variety store, called The Jupiter, which is listed at that address in the Pekin city directories from 1970 to 1974, changing managers about once a year. Jupiter’s succession was managers was: Robert Ruhl, Richard Swank, Phillip Brandis, Thomas Hallett, and Larry Rutledge.

353 Court St. is shown toward the left of center in this early 1970s photograph of downtown Pekin. The building then housed the Jupiter variety store.

The storefront 353-355 Court St. is shown in this 1977 Pekin Daily Times photograph. At the time, the building housed the S & H Green Stamp Redemption Center, Joyce Dentinger, manager.

Pekin directories show the 353 Court St. Building as “vacant” in 1975 and 1976, but in 1977 we find the S & H Green Stamp Redemption Center there, managed by Joyce Dentinger. She remained as manager of the Redemption Center for as long as it operated from that storefront, with the Redemption Center and Dentinger last appearing in the 1983 Pekin city directory.

The 1984 directory does not have a listing for 353 Court St., but in 1985 we find a restaurant called Coles Open Hearth, operated by John M. Lawson. Coles Open Heart reappears in the 1986 directory, but with Russell Boger as owner. He changed the restaurant into a night club called Bogey’s Emporium, under which name his business appears in the 1987 directory, but the business quickly failed there.

From 1988 to 1992, Pekin directories list 343 Court St. as “vacant.” In 1993’s directory we find a brief and obscure listing for something called “Visions Onie” — a typographical error for “Visions,” a teen hangout that was not there for very long. In 1994 the building is again listed as “vacant.” Then in 1995, we find Gerald W. Adams’ Bangkok Restaurant, which only lasted about a year.

The 1996 directory lists 353 Court St. as the location of Joseph M. and Penny M. Berardi’s Peek-In Ceramics & Gift Shop. The Berardis continued to operate their business there up to and including the 1998 Pekin city directory. That year we also find Wayne Wilton Thompson Jr., retired, and Ruth P. Thompson, occupying and working out of the building alongside the Berardis. The 1999 city directory again shows Peek-In Ceramics & Gifts, with Joseph Berardi, president, along with a business called Ceramic Treasurers, run by Ruth Thompson; with Wilton W. Thompson Jr. listed there as well.

From the 2000 Pekin city directory until the 2009 directory, we find Ceramic Treasurers, owned by Ruth P. Thompson, as the only business in the building, with Wilton W. Thompson Jr. and Ruth P. Thompson also listed apparently as residents. But Ceramic Treasurers disappears from Pekin city directories after 2009. That is because it was in 2010 that Todd Thompson and his partner Steve Foster refurbished the 353 Court St. building – and it is from this building that Todd Thompson’s 353 Court LLC derives its name.

Ruth P. Thompson’s Ceramic Treasures at 353 Court St. is shown in this Feb. 2002 photograph from the Tazewell County Assessor’s website. Ceramic Treasures operated from that location from the late 1990s until 2010, when Todd Thompson and Steve Foster refurbished the building and brought in the Speakeasy Art Center.

This June 2013 photograph from the Tazewell County Assessor’s website shows the Speakeasy Art Center, which was located in the 353 Court St. building from 2010 to 2016.

After restoring the building, Thompson and Foster turned the building in the Speakeasy Art Center, which from 2010 until Fall 2016 was the home of the Pekin Academy of the Fine Arts, directed by Shannon Cox. The art center’s name harks back to tales that the building had once had a speakeasy hidden there during the Prohibition Era. Curiously, the Speakeasy Art Center never appeared in any Pekin city directories, which instead continued to list only Wilton W. Thompson Jr. and Ruth P. Thompson until 2017’s directory. The 353 Court St. building disappeared from city directories in 2018 and 2019, but the directories from 2020 to 2023 list Kindermusik and Ruth P. Thompson as the only occupants of 353 Court St. The most recent directory listings for this address are probably only “ghost” entries, though.

After the Pekin Academy of Fine Arts moved in late 2016 to the old Rupert Mansion on Walnut, Travis Guthman of Lacon, Illinois, owner of Pizza Peel in Lacon, in late 2019 proposed opening a second Pizza Peel in the 353 Court St. Building. However, Guthman’s plans never came to fruition. But with the arrival of Ashers in 2022, this historic structure has again come to life and does much to to draw customers and community activity to Pekin’s old town.

#353-court-llc, #353-court-st-building, #353-355-court-st, #a-l-champion, #abraham-lincoln-champion, #albert-salzenstein, #andrew-bohn, #ashers, #ashers-bar-grill, #bangkok-restaurant, #bogeys-emporium, #ceramic-treasures, #charles-l-morgan, #coles-open-hearth, #conrad-schilling, #day-carpet-furniture, #dr-edward-f-pielemeier, #dr-r-c-horner, #e-f-pielemeier, #edward-o-deuermeyer, #edward-reardon, #g-a-pielemeyer, #george-w-seibert, #gerald-w-adams, #henry-ehrhardt, #henry-hobart-cole, #illinois-heritage, #illinois-state-historical-society, #j-f-mang, #jacob-rapp, #jesse-black-jr, #john-m-lawson, #john-walter, #joseph-m-berardi, #joseph-sklarek, #joyce-dentinger, #jupiter, #kindermusik, #kmart, #knights-of-pythias, #knights-of-pythias-hall, #kresge, #kuhn-block, #kuhn-building, #leopold-schradzki, #louis-heimbach, #m-bayne-son, #m-s-chamberlain, #martin-j-heisel, #milton-bayne, #modern-woodmen-hall, #modern-woodmen-of-america, #morgan-morgan, #peek-in-ceramics-gift-shop, #pekin-academy-of-the-fine-arts, #pekin-history, #penny-m-berardi, #planters-hotel, #prudential-insurance-co, #robert-morgan, #roos-block, #rudolph-velde, #russell-boger, #ruth-p-thompson, #s-h-green-stamp-redemption-center, #s-s-kresge-co, #salzenstein-co, #schilling-bohn, #schradzki-sklarek, #sebastian-s-kresge, #shannon-cox, #smith-frey, #speakeasy, #speakeasy-art-center, #steve-foster, #t-d-conaghan, #the-jupiter, #the-model, #the-model-clothing-store, #the-nusbaum-co, #thomas-b-smith, #thomas-donegan-conaghan, #todd-thompson, #visions, #visions-one, #walter-u-frey, #wayne-wilton-thompson-jr, #william-furry, #william-m-bayne, #wilton-w-thompson-jr

The Knights of the Golden Circle vs. Pekin’s Union League

By Jared L. Olar

Local History Program Coordinator

During Pekin’s Juneteenth celebration last month, a crowd gathered downtown to witness the dedication and unveiling of a memorial park that now hosts Pekin’s two most recent Illinois State Historical Society markers, honoring the remarkable lives of Nance Legins-Costley and her son Pvt. William H. Costley.

Theirs are Pekin’s third and fourth ISHS markers – the first two are 1) the marker in Riverfront Park that commemorates the tragic wreck of the Riverboat Columbia on 5 July 1918, and 2) the marker on the side of the former Pekin National Bank building at the intersection of Court and Capitol streets commemorating the founding of the Union League at that site on 25 June 1862.

As we have recalled before here at “From the History Room,” the founding of the Union League during the Civil War was one of the high points of Pekin’s history. In the initial stages of the Civil War pro-Confederacy and pro-slavery sentiment remained prominent even as far north as Peoria and Pekin (both communities having been founded by slave-owning families, though abolitionists were also present here from the start). Consequently, prior to the formation of the Union League “those who believed in the Union spoke often in whispers in Pekin streets and were wary and often afraid,” says the 1949 Pekin Centenary, because the pro-Confederacy Knights of the Golden Circle (from which the Ku Klux Klan developed after the war) was a menacing force in Pekin.

The idea of establishing a league in Pekin to support the Union cause is credited to the Rev. J. W. N. Vernon, the new minister of Pekin’s First Methodist Church, who had recently come to this community from Tennessee where similar leagues or secret societies had been formed. Besides Rev. Vernon, the founding members of the Union League were Richard Northcroft Cullom, former Illinois state senator; Dr. Daniel A. Cheever, abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor; Charles Turner, Tazewell County state’s attorney; Henry Pratt, Delavan Township supervisor; Alexander Small, Deer Creek Township supervisor; George H. Harlow, Tazewell County circuit clerk; Jonathan Merriam, stock farmer who became a colonel in the Union army; Hart Montgomery, Pekin postmaster; John W. Glassgow, justice of the peace; and Levi F. Garrett, Pekin grocery store owner and baker.

After the Civil War, the Union League became a Republican Party social club, but would carry on its abolitionist legacy through support of civil rights for African-Americans.

The founding of the Union League was first commemorated by a plaque placed on the side of the old Smith Bank building on 7 Dec. 1920. Later the building housed Marty Perlman’s business, the Perlman Furniture Co., which was destroyed by a fire in Oct. 1968. But, as the Pekin Daily Times reported in an article dated 16 Aug. 1975, “Perlman pried the charred plaque off the east wall after the flames had been extinguished, had it reconditioned and saw that it was kept safely until it could be remounted in an appropriate place at a significant time.”

This image of the 1920 historical plaque commemorating the 1862 founding of the Union League in Pekin was published in a pamphlet containing William H. Bates’ address at the plaque’s dedication. The image in the pamphlet has the following caption: “The above bronze tablet has been placed on the west wall of the building at 331 Court street, Pekin, Illinois, to commemorate the birthplace of the first Council of the Union League of America, and as a tribute to the patriotic and loyal people of Tazewell County during the great American Civil War. The Council lodge room was in the third-story of the above named building.”

That time and place came on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 1975, when the old 1920 plaque was remounted in the lobby of Pekin National Bank (built on the site of the Smith Bank/Perlman Furniture Co. building) on the occasion of President Gerald R. Ford’s visit to Pekin to dedicate the Pekin Public Library and Everett M. Dirksen Center.

But a few days before that, the Illinois State Historical Society marker on the outside of the east wall of the Pekin National Bank had already been mounted. That plaque, donated by the Union League of America and the Illinois State Historical Society, was formally dedicated at the same time as the remounting of the 1920 plaque.

A historical plaque on the outside wall of Pekin National Bank at the corner of Court and Capitol streets in downtown Pekin marks the site where the Union League of America was founded. IMAGE COURTESY OF ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The story of the founding of the Union League in Pekin and their successful challenge to the Knights of the Golden Circle is told in a pamphlet published for the occasion of the 1920 plaque dedication by the old Tazewell County History Society. The pamphlet, entitled “Knights of the Golden Circle versus Union League of America,” contains the full text of the formal dedicatory address that was delivered at the Tazewell County Courthouse by Pekin pioneer historian and Civil War veteran William Henry Bates.

Bates’ address is here subjoined:

BROTHER PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:

We have assembled to dedicate the erection of a bronze tablet and pay tribute to the memory of those patriots who organized and were members of the first Council of the Union League of America instituted in the Northern States.

In order to give you a better understanding of the motive that led to the organization of the Union League of America, I feel it my duty, in as brief a manner as possible, to speak of the causes that called the Union-loving adherents of our grand galaxy of States, under the glorious Star and Stripes, to organize and pledge allegiance to the best Government on earth.

According to the report made by Hon. J. Holt, Judge Advocate General of the Bureau of Military Justice, to Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, under date of October 8th, 1864, we learn that about the time of the first conscription of troops, during the war between the slave and free States, northern sympathizers with those in rebellion against the National Government, organized under the following titles: “Mutual Protection Society,” the “Circle of Honor,” or the “Circle,” or “Knights of the Mighty Host,” “Southern League,” “Order of the Sons of Liberty,” “McClellan Minute Guard,” “Order of the American Knights,” etc., but more widely as the “Knights of the Golden Circle.”

The membership of these various societies organized themselves into bodies called “Temples’’ – individually they were often spoken of as “Copperheads.” In the Northern States their membership reached a grand total of 350,000, two-thirds of whom were armed, organized into military units and drilled. According to the secret constitution of its Supreme Council, provision was made that the Supreme Commander – “shall be Commander of all Military forces belonging to the Orders in the various States” when called into actual service.

The oath, which was administered to the members of the K. G. C., prescribed a penalty for its violation, as follows: “A shameful death! and further, that the body of the person guilty of such violation shall be divided into four parts and cast to the four gates of the Temple!”

Not only did the K. G. C. oath enjoin a blind obedience to the commands of the Superiors of the Order, but was required to be held of paramount obligation to any oath which may he administered to any member in a court of justice, or elsewhere.

Through signs, passwords or signals, any K. G. C. member was permitted to pass through the Confederate lines, and was received and entertained as a friend of the secession cause.

A few of the many traitorous principles of the K. G. C., was to harass the families of the Union soldiers, thus causing their desertion so they could come home to protect fathers, mothers, wives, and children. Resist all recruiting for the Union army. To liberate, by force if necessary, all Confederate prisoners confined in northern prisons. Co-operating with Confederate raiders, through the K. G. C. signals and passwords.

Through reliable evidence given to the court over which Judge Holt presided, it was proven that Jeff Davis, as well as many leaders in and out of the Confederate army, were members of one of the several traitorous bodies named above.

THE UNION LEAGUE.

The birth of the Union League was attributable to the loyal men of Tennessee, who, when driven from their homes by their “secesh” neighbors, soon after the opening of the civil war, sought refuge in

inaccessible places and eaves in the mountains of their State, and gathered around improvised altars, covered with “Old Glory” on which lay the open Bible, and with left hand on the Sacred Word of God and their right band raised toward Heaven, took an oath of fealty to the Government of their forefathers and hatred to traitors and all autocratic secessionists and their co-workers.

Thus was born the Union League, which was to have a new birth, with the word America added to its title, at Pekin, Illinois, on the 25th of June. This was the first Council (or Lodge) of the U. L. of A., and its Northern birth took place in the third story of the brick building at 331 Court street, known for many years as the Smith Bank building, and on which we have placed a bronze tablet in commemoration, and as a tribute, to the loyal citizens of Tazewell County.

It is an authenticated fact that the Union League of America received aid and sanction from President Abraham Lincoln.

The first Council was composed of leading Union men of Tazewell County, to-wit: John W. Glassgow, J. P.; Dr. D. A. Cheever, Hart Montgomery, Major R. N. Cullom, Alexander Small, Rev. J. W. M. Vernon, Geo. H. Harlow, Chas. Turner, Jonathan Merriam, Henry Pratt and L. F. Garrett. One of the original eleven was a Tennessee refugee, who introduced the Union mountaineers’ oath, which was accepted pending the reorganization in the North.

The U. L. of A. grew rapidly, and on September 25th, 1862, the first Illinois State Council met at Bloomington, Ill., with representatives from twelve counties. At this meeting the organization was completed and the following officers chosen:

Hon. Mark Bangs, of Marshall County, Grand President; Prof. D. Wilkins, of McLean County, Grand Vice-President; Geo. H. Harlow, of Tazewell County, Grand Secretary; H. S. Austin, of Peoria County, Grand Treasurer; J. R. Gorin, of Macon County, Grand Marshal; A. Gould, of Henry County, Grand Herald; John E. Rosette, of Sangamon County, Grand Sentinel.

The Executive Committee chosen was as follows: Joseph Medill, of Cook County; Dr. A. McFarland, of Morgan County; J. K. Warren, of Macon County; Rev. J. C. Rybolt, of LaSalle County; Hon. Mark Bangs, of Marshall County; Enoch Emery, of Peoria County; John E. Rosette, of Sangamon County. A new constitution and by-laws were adopted and a new ritual prepared at the Bloomington meeting. The Tennessee obligation was condensed, and the initiatory ceremony made more appropriate and impressive. New forms in grips, signs and passwords were adopted, which soon became national.

The second meeting of the Grand Council was held at the Capital of Illinois on January 14th, 1863. Only seven counties were represented, and the meeting proved uneventful, owing, doubtless, to the discouraging news from the battle lines.

The U. L. of A. soon became imbued with new life and zeal. In a few months its membership had increased from 5,000 to 50,000, and in 1864 the order had enrolled 1,300 Councils and 175,000 members in Illinois. On the return of the three-year Union veteran soldiers many soon became members of the U. L. of A.

The next meeting of the Grand Council was held in Chicago on the 25th of March, 1863. Four hundred and four Councils were represented from Illinois alone. The following States were also represented: Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. At this meeting steps were taken to organize a National Council, which culminated in a call to meet at Cleveland, Ohio, on May 20th, 1863, where the following National officers were elected:

Hon. J. M. Edmunds, National Grand President; Hon. John W. Forney, National Grand Vice-President; Hon. Green Adams, National Grand Vice-President; W. R. Irwin, National Grand Recording-Corresponding Secretary; Rev. Byron Sunderland, National Grand Treasurer; G. F. Brown, National Grand Herald; Geo. W. Kellogg, National Grand Sentinel. The above grand officers were all residents of Washington, D. C.

The Illinois ritual was adopted by the National Grand Council with few changes.

The obligation adopted was as follows:

OBLIGATION:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm), in the presence of God and these witnesses, that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I have been a citizen thereof; that I will support, protect and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States and the flag thereof, against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will also defend this State against any invasion, insurrection, or rebellion, to the extent of my ability. This I freely pledge without mental reservation or evasion. Furthermore, that I will do all in my power to elect true and reliable Union men and supporters of the Government, and none others, to all offices of profit or trust, from the lowest to the highest—in ward, town, county. State and General Government. And should I ever be called to fill any office, I will faithfully carry out the objects and principles of this Lodge. And further, that I will protect, aid and defend all worthy members of the Union League. And further, I will never make known, in any way or manner, to any person or persons not members of the Union League, any of the signs, passwords, proceedings, debates or plans of this or any other Council under this organization, except when engaged in admitting new members into this Lodge. And with my hand upon the Holy Bible, Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States of America, under the seal of my sacred honor, I acknowledge myself firmly bound and pledged to the faithful performance of this my solemn obligation. So Help Me God.”

Then the members formed in a circle, admitted the new member, or members, and with clasped and uplifted hands, all repeated the following—

“FREEMAN’S PLEDGE:

“To defend and perpetuate Freedom and the Union, I pledge my life, my fortune, and my sacred honor. So Help Me God.”

Then followed the address to the new members, which was quite lengthy, but full of religious and patriotic admonition as to the duties every patriot owed his country, the Constitution and the Flag.

The Pekin Council (or Lodge) increased rapidly in membership, and true to its sworn obligation, very materially aided the Union cause, the needy parents and families of those who had joined the armed hosts, and who were on the line of battle, struggling against the traitorous cohorts.

During 1863 the additions to Pekin Council of the U. L. of A. numbered, among others, William Gaither, William W. Sellers, Hezekiah Naylor, Joshua Wagenseller, Charles Parker, Theodore Wagenseller, William W. Clemens, Isaac Hawley, Columbus R. Cummings, Dr. B. F. Harris and Cornelius Hinsey, Groveland, Jas. W. Robinson, Reuben Bergstresser, William Hawley, Thomas B. Reeves, and others.

Many patriotic ladies of Pekin became members of the U. L. of A., and took part in all open meetings of the Council. Among the more prominent ones were Grandma Harlow, Mrs. Geo. H. Harlow, Miss Emma Wagenseller, Mrs. Kate Goodheart, Mrs. Filener Sleeth-Habberfield, Miss Ophelia McKinney, Miss Melsena Miller, Miss Agnes Rybolt, Mrs. Wm. W. Sellers, Miss Nellie Foster, and many others.

Among the many patriotic women of Pekin, who gave energy, time and money, to alleviate the hardships of our soldiers in the civil war, none did more than Mrs. Mary L. Gregg-Westermann—“always the soldier’s friend.”

The organization of the Sanitary Commission, with headquarters in Pekin, had an able leader in George H. Harlow. He was aided by Columbus R. Cummings and many other patriotic gentlemen and ladies of the U. L. of A. A wigwam was built on an open lot at what is today 317, 319 and 319 1/2 Court street, wherein was held a great Sanitary Fair in October, 1864, at which nearly $5,000 was raised for the Union cause.

We had two patriotic organizations composed of ladies, who rendered valuable aid to the Sanitary Commission: Mrs. Wm. W. Sellers was president of the Union League ladies, and Mrs. Mary L. Westerman presided at the meetings of the Ladies’ Union Aid Society.

On the return of the three-year Union soldiers in the summer and fall of 1864 they were drawn into the U. L. of A., to give the Pekin Council the benefit of their military training. These soldier “boys,” true to the cause they had been fighting for, organized themselves into a secret military body, selected Sergeant Wm. H. Bates as their captain, and pledged themselves to take up arms anew to crush any “copperhead” uprising which might occur. Fully half of their number were Union Douglas Democrats.

Rev. Jas. K. P. Legg, now of Keokee, Lee County, Va., avers that the U. L. of A. lodge, of which he was a member, had a password which represented five capital L 7 s, and stood for “Lincoln, Liberty, Law, Loyal, League.”

During the second inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, Geo. H. Harlow and Dr. D. A. Cheever, of Pekin, and J. A. Jones, of Tremont, represented the Tazewell County U. L. of A., as a part of the secret body guard, to prevent the threatened assassination of the re-elected Abraham Lincoln.

On the disbandment of the Pekin Council, the altar flag, the bust of Lincoln and the gavel were bequeathed to the last President, Dr. D. A. Cheever, which we are informed still remain in possession of his heirs.

We are under obligation to “Patriotism of Illinois,” Vol. 2. by Rev. T. M. Eddy; “The Great Conspiracy,” by Gen. John A. Logan; Miss Mary Gaither, Pekin; Mrs. Filener S. Bates (who was a member of the Pekin Council), Pekin; R. A. Harlow, Helena, Montana; Miss Emily C. Cheever, (daughter of Dr. D. A. Cheever) , the Misses Helen and Elizabeth Bryan, daughters of Alice Cheever and Alonzo H. Bryan, and granddaughters of Dr. Cheever), of Champaign, Ill.; Mrs. Jessie Palmer-Weber, Secretary of the State Historical Society, Springfield, Illinois, et al., for clerical as well as oral aid.

Fraternally yours,

WILLIAM H. BATES

Formerly a member of Co. “H,” 8th Mo. (American Zouaves), 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 15th Army Corps.

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Freedom & Remembrance Memorial markers unveiled

By Jared L. Olar

Local History Specialist

A great deal of progress has been made in the effort to create the Freedom & Remembrance Memorial in south Peoria, a project that aims to commemorate and honor the more than 2,600 Peorians buried at the former Moffatt Cemetery. This project was described here at “From the History Room” in a blog post in August 2021.

The most visible signs of that progress are the three Illinois State Historical Markers that were the center of attention at a special “unveiling” event hosted this week by the Peoria Riverfront Museum, held on Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 15. Project core team member Robert Hoffer of the Peoria Historical Society was the chief speaker at the event.

In addition, Joseph Hutchinson, another core team member, who belongs to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, spoke about the Civil War veterans buried at Moffatt Cemetery. Also addressing the attendees was Charles Stanley, Illinois State Historical Society board member and chairman of the Society’s Historical Marking Committee, who read a message from the New York-based Pomeroy Foundation, a major donor toward two of the project’s three markers.

The first marker to be completed, commemorating the 52 Union Civil War veterans buried at Moffatt Cemetery, was unveiled July 28 at the Riverfront Museum as part of an exhibit on Moffatt and the planned Freedom & Remembrance Memorial. One of those veterans was Pvt. Nathan Ashby of Pekin, who was present at the first Juneteenth in Galveston, Texas, 19 June 1865.

More recently, the other two historical markers were completed and brought to Peoria. One of the markers tells the history of Moffatt Cemetery, from its origins in the mid-1800s as a family burying ground of Peoria pioneer Aquilla Moffatt, through its closing in 1905, down to the razing and rezoning of the cemetery in the 1950s. When the cemetery was razed, it was reported that the burials at Moffatt had been relocated, but recent research has found that only a small number of burials were moved. The majority of the 2,600-plus burials remain at the site, paved and built over.

Among those burials still at the site would be Nance Legins-Costley (1813-1892), known to history as the first African-American to secure freedom with the aid of Abraham Lincoln. Her life story is the subject of a book and several papers and articles written by project core team member Carl Adams. Costley had indefatigably insisted on her freedom through a series of Illinois lawsuits, and Lincoln’s legal arguments in the landmark 1841 Illinois Supreme Court case of Bailey v. Cromwell at last obtained the courts’ recognition that Costley had been right all along. In April of 1892, she was buried in Moffatt Cemetery, where her late husband Benjamin Costley had been buried in 1883 and their son Leander Costley was buried in 1886.

At Tuesday’s event, Hoffer said the United Union of Roofers Local #69 is deeding land at the corner of South Adams and Griswold for the site of the Freedom and Remembrance Memorial, which will be owned by the City of Peoria. Hoffer also acknowledged and thanked the other organizations that are involved in and support the project, which include, among others, the Peoria Park District, the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, the Abraham Lincoln Association, the Peoria Public Library, and the Pekin Public Library.

Title transfer of the land for the memorial should be completed in the near future, after which the markers and a lighted flag pole will be installed. A formal dedication ceremony of the memorial is being planned for the Spring of 2023.

The following photos are provided courtesy of the Freedom & Remembrance Memorial project:

The story of Peoria’s Moffatt Cemetery is told on this Illinois State Historical Marker. This and the other two Freedom and Remembrance Memorial ISHS markers were made possible through grants from the William D. Pomeroy Foundation. The markers will be placed at the intersection of South Adams and Griswold, near the site of the former cemetery. The memorial will be established on land donated by the United Union of Roofers #69 and will be owned and maintained by the City of Peoria.

This Illinois State Historical Marker lists all 52 of the Civil War Union soldiers buried in Moffatt Cemetery on the south side of Peoria. Among those Union veterans was Pvt. Nathan Ashby of Pekin, who served in the 29th U.S. Colored Infantry and was present at the original Juneteenth in 1865.

The life and legacy of Nance Legins-Costley of Pekin and Peoria, who was buried in Moffatt Cemetery in 1892, is commemorated by this Illinois State Historical Marker to be placed near the site of the former cemetery in Peoria. Costley is known to history as the first African-American to obtain her freedom with the help of Abraham Lincoln. She and her family were pioneers who lived in Pekin from 1829 until the late 1870s, when they moved to Peoria.

Robert Hoffer, core team member of the Freedom and Remembrance Memorial project, addresses the attendees of the historical marker unveiling event Tuesday afternoon, 15 Nov. 2022. Three Illinois State Historical Markers memorializing and honoring the more than 2,600 people buried in Moffatt Cemetery will be placed near the location of the former cemetery at the intersection of South Adams and Griswold, Peoria. A dedication ceremony is planned for Spring 2023.

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