Excerpt from Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, And, History of Christian County, Vol. 2: Illustrated The Munsell Publishing Company, of Chicago, in assuming the financial re sponsibility for this work, has rendered an invaluable service to the citizens of Christian County and of the state. This company has specialized for many years in historical publications. Its field of operations covers most Of the important counties of Illinois and its publications are recognized for their historical value. The first volume of the Historical Encyclopedia was written by Hon. Newton Bateman, at one time superintendent of public instruction of Illinois and a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln; and Paul Selby, who was the last survivor of that group of Illinois editors who held the historic conference in Decatur February 22, 1856, which led to a call for the first Republican Con vention in Illinois. The historical part of the second volume covering the history of Christian County was prepared by the undersigned who has aimed at his torical accuracy rather than literary effect. The material has been gleaned from Old settlers, previous histories and newspaper files. The writer has, because of other duties and responsibilities, been unable to devote all of his time for the past two years to this important work, yet it is believed that there are no serious omissions, while perfection cannot be claimed for the work of any man. With a solemn sense of his duty and privilege, he has striven to give the best people on earth a contribution which he hopes may prove worthy. Should mistakes be' found by the careful reader, they may be attributed to the frailties of human nature and not to purpose or intent. He is grateful to the many persons whose help and interest. Have made his task easier. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.