1 The year following his marriage, (1855) he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he remained an honored and influential member till 1873, when he transferred his membership to the Presbyterian Church, in his immediate neighborhood, and for more convenient attendance. This transfer of Mr. Pugh of his church relations from one organization to another, is only an illustration of a very pleasant fact, which is this: That as education and intelligence increase, the partition walls between church organizations become lower, and the higher a man stands in education and intelligence the sooner he is able to look over these walls, and they finally lose their dividing power, and the upper strata of intelligence and piety find themselves equally at home on either side of where the walls once stood, as they become invisible and crumble away. It is not true that "ignorance is the mother of devotion," but it is true that ignorance is the mother of bigotry and superstition; and bigotry and superstition are the foundations on which rest the partition walls of religious organizations, which are fast disappearing. It is the pride and glory of this century that science and arts are moving forward to the annihilation of time and space; that educated intelligence is at the helm of civil government (the people); that the revelation of God's word and His works are in happy unison, and science and not ignorance is the handmaid of religion. But we digress. We allude briefly to the usefulness of the subject of this sketch in the Sabbath-school work and the benevolent enterprises of his neighborhood; and to enlarge on this topic is unnecessary; we will say, however, that he takes a great interest and pleasure in these commendable enterprises, and his duty is his greatest pleasure. "May never wicked fortune trouble him; J. P. WALKER, M. D. Dr. Walker has been a prominent physician in Mason county for many years, noted for his skill and abilities in both medicine and surgery. He was born in Adair county, Kentucky, April 6, 1826. The family from which he descended came to Virginia, when it was a young colony, from Londonderry, Ireland. The descendants, who are numerous, are spread over many of the western and southern States. The subject of these notes removed with his parents, Joseph C. Walker and wife, to Illinois, and settled in Sangamon county in 1830, near a place now called Middletown, in Logan county. After residing there seven years he removed to Irish Grove, Menard county, where he died in 1841, aged fifty-six years. Dr. Walker then carried his mother back to Kentucky, overland, and remained there, laboring at four dollars per month for means to enable him to return to Illinois. On his return he worked on a farm, taught school, and, as well as he could, unaided, pursued the study of medicine. In 1846 he enlisted in Company F, Fourth Illinois Volunteers, under Col. Ed. Baker, and was at the seige of Vera Cruz and the battle of Cerro Gordo; was a second Sergeant in his company. On his return to Menard county he was elected Assessor and Treasurer, and was then enabled again to resume the studies so congenial to his taste. So sanguine was he in the pursuit of the knowledge requisite to the profession of medicine, that he carried medical books in his knapsack during his service in the Mexican war, His acquirements were finally reduced to system under Dr. J. G. Rogers, of Petersburg, Ill. He began the practice of medicine in Athens, Illinois, in March, 1849, but in July, the same year, removed to Walker's Grove, Mason county. On July 3d, 1849, he married Miss Martha E. Towne, who died in 1853. In 1854 he again married. The lady was Miss M. A. Walker, daughter of W. H. Walker, of Lancaster, Iowa. In 1857 he joined with others in laying out Mason City, and in 1859 made this his permanent home. In 1861, under the first call for volunteers, he enlisted, and was made Captain of Company K, 17th Illinois Infantry, for which see roster of the 17th Infantry, in the Military department of this work. He was in the battles of Fredericktown, Ft. Donaldson and Shiloh. He then resigned and assisted in raising the 85th Illinois Infantry, of which he was appointed Surgeon, and afterwards Lieuntenant-Colonel, in which capacity he served till the battle of Chicamauga, when he returned to Mason City and resumed his practice. In 1865 it was proposed to erect a monument to departed soldiers, and Dr. Walker was made President of the building association. By his present wife a family of pleasant and interesting children have sprung up about them-eight in number-making lively their pleasant home in Mason City. Dr. Walker is an active and enthusiastic member of his profession, enjoying an extensive and successful practice, and, like all men who love their profession, is quite successful. Socially, we know Dr. Walker as a genial, pleasant gentleman; enjoying good health, he bids fair for a long life of usefulness in his labors to benefit his fellow-man. JOHN A. MALLORY. The gentleman whose name is at the head of these notes is not an old resident of Mason county, but one whose talents and abilities have prominently identified him in the political, the literary, the legal and the business interests of the county. The writer first met and became acquainted with Judge Mallory on his first arrival and settlement in Havana, in the year 1858, at which time he emigrated here from Tennessee, where he had resided for some years, though a native of Kentucky. Possessed of fine æsthetic taste, unusual mechanical ability, sound education and a taste for literature, it is not strange that we find him an artist, a printer, an editor or a painter. These varied talents he possesses in no small degree. He possesses poetical genius that deserves a notoriety that he does not care to admit. Below find a little production of his pen, thrown off without a moment's thought, July 4, 1859, and published in the Havana Gazette the same week: "To-day's our Nation's Jubilee, Let every patriot's heart beat high; Baptized in blood, our fathers swore No more to bend the suppliant knee— HENCEFORTH TO BE FOREVER FREE! That pledge of freedom which they gave, From tyrant's grasp or despot's claim. And shall traitor hands e'er sever The Union by which our fathers stood? The New-year following he was the successful competitor for a silver cup, valued at fifty dollars, for the best poem on the new year. The premium was offered in the city of Memphis. We have read the poem, and the letter awarding the cup, and asking by what means of conveyance it should be forwarded to him. The poem was a lengthy production, very meritorious, and we regret that we have never been able to obtain a copy, or, on the present occasion, to extract therefrom. On the breaking out of the rebellion he took active part in political affairs in behalf of the preservation of the Union, and on the 27th of August, 1862, was mustered into the service in the 85th Illinois Infantry, in an official position, (for which see roster of 85th Ill., in another part of this book) which was filled with fidelity and credit. He resigned February 7, 1863. In 1865 he was elected to the office of Police Justice, to fill a vacancy, and afterwards re-elected for a full term; served with great acceptance in this position for five years, when he was elected County Judge in 1869, which position he filled with such fidelity and satisfaction that it needs no further comment than to state the fact that he was re-elected in 1873 by the largest majority any officer ever received in Mason county. These continued re-elections by increased majorities is a better and more eloquent commentary on his official acts than any in the power of the writer to undertake. A social, pleasant and genial gentleman, he has made many strong friends; an active politician of the "straitest of the sect," a democrat, a member of the County Central Committee of that party, also of the State Central Committee. If there is one fact more than another that stands forth pre-eminent and conspicuous where there are many strong points, as a tall mountain peak rises high in the blue vault of heaven, and is prominent, though surrounded by other mountain peaks, it is his record as a judicial officer. That record is without blot or blemish. His decisions do not in the least indicate his individual opinions, but the law and the testimony. When the surging waves of treason were lashing against the columns of the colossal Accropolis of the nation's glory, though a southern man by birth and education, he felt it to be his duty to unite with the Union army. When an odious law is to be enforced, he executes his duty to the letter of the statute, thus hastening its repeal. HENRY C. BURNHAM. The Burnham family is descended from an ancient English ancestry. The historical publications of Norfolk county, England, enables the family to establish an unbroken line in that country, down through the lapse of centuries to the year 1818, and living men of the name still in England carry the line of succession to still later dates. The coat-of-arms seems to have existed since the eleventh century, without modification. By increase and inter-marrying they became scattered over England, and prominently identified with Church and State, and, finally, it became engrafted on American soil. The origin of American Burnhams is traceable to three brothers, John, Thomas and Robert, sons of Rupert and Mary (Andrews) Burnham, of Norwich, Norfolk county, England, who came to America in 1635. Robert established himself at Dover, New Hampshire. John Burnham acquired large tracts of land, and became a very wealthy and influential man. His grandson, Ebenezer, moved to Windham, Conn., and became the ancestor of a numerous progeny. He purchased a farm in 1734, located in Hampton, where, until recently, was the old Burnham homestead. In the third generation from him, or the sixth from John Burnham, Festus Burnham was born, on the 25th of April, 1796, and was married, in 1823, to Lora, daughter of Daniel Clark. Their children were Lora Ann, Henry Clark, and Marina, only two of whom are now living, Lora Ann, widow of James Ashley, and Henry C., the subject of this sketch, who was born at Hampton, Conn., Jan. 30, 1826, and who, being the only son, stands at the head of the seventh generation of his own family. He was educated at home, and furnished with the advantages of high schools and acadamies abroad. At the age of nineteen, he settled in Champaign county, Ohio. Here he engaged in teaching, but afterwards went into a store, in Woodstock, Ohio, as a partner. This business proved too confining for him, and he returned to Connecticut to regain his health. Here he met, in the meantime, Miss Angeline Currier, who was at one |