Lawyer Sylvester Terry (1824-1912)

From the Proceedings of the Chautauqua Co. Board of Supervisors, 1910-13.

   Featured on this site's Facebook page on October 27th, its Chautauqua County, New York native Lawyer Sylvester Terry. It's always exciting to discover a new odd name political figure from my home county, and Terry fits the bill perfectly. "Vet" Terry, as he was familiarly known, has a misnomer for a first name; he wasn't a lawyer and never practiced law! Terry served three terms as township supervisor of Clymer, NY, and also for French Creek for one term. Township supervisor being an office similar to village president or mayor, Terry later served as one of three county superintendents of the poor, and in the twilight of his life resided in Washington, D.C. 

  One of nine children born to Silas and Polly (Powers) Terry, Lawyer Sylvester Terry was born in French Creek, New York on November 9, 1824. An early county resident, Silas Terry (1800-1883) was a native of Vermont and was distinguished in his own right, representing Chautauqua County in the state assembly in 1849. One should also note that political service continued in the family with Walter Loomis Sessions, the husband of Terry's younger sister Mary Ravilla (1826-1899). Sessions served terms in the New York state assembly and senate, and for three terms represented Chautauqua County in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

  Little is known of "Vet" Terry's formative years, and in 1849 he married Laura Moses (1829-1864). Following her death, he remarried to Nellie Forsythe Durand (1837-1917), with who he had two children, Loy S. and Grace. A farmer in Clymer, Terry was a founding organizer of the Clymer Baptist Church and first entered local politics in 1860 with his election as Clymer town supervisor. He served during the 1861 session of the Chautauqua County Board of Supervisors, and in 1863 was elected as supervisor for the neighboring town of French Creek, where he sat from 1864-65.

  In the election of 1878, Terry was reelected as Clymer town supervisor, serving consecutive terms from 1879-1882. The 1881-82 board session saw Terry named to the committees on Erroneous Assessments, the Grand Jury List, Printer's Accounts, and the Poor House and Farm, and in November 1889 was elected as Chautauqua County Superintendent of the Poor. One of three superintendents, Terry served a term of three years and in 1891 resettled in Westfield. Following his resettlement he was elected as town commissioner of excise, serving until his resignation in April 1894.

  In 1903 Lawyer Terry left Chautauqua County, removing to Washington, D.C. to reside with his son Loy and daughter Grace, then "holding responsible positions" in the Interior department's pensions bureau. Terry resided in the District of Columbia until his death on May 17, 1912, at age 87. He was returned to Clymer for burial at the Clymer Cemetery, where his widow Nancy was also interred following her death in 1917. In October I was able to visit Terry's gravesite at that cemetery, and here are some photos from the trip! 

Francello George Jillson (1841-1912)

From the Representative Men and Families of Rhode Island, Volume III.

   This oddly named public servant is Francello George Jillson, a man long prominent in 19th-century Rhode Island politics. Over the course of his life, Jillson served in a number of public posts, including three terms as Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, and was later named a municipal judge for the city of Providence. In addition to his political and judicial activities, Jillson also distinguished himself on the battlefield during the Civil War, serving under the command of Ambrose E. Burnside.
   Francello G. Jillson was born on September 22, 1841, in Woonsocket, the son of Allen Bennett and Abby Hunt Jillson. He attended schools local to the Woonsocket area and later studied at the New London Literary and Scientific Institution.  During his studies, Jillson began a teaching career in New London, Connecticut, and continued in this vocation until the outbreak of the Civil War.  Soon after the firing on Fort Sumter, Jillson enlisted as a Corporal in the First Rhode Island Detached Militia. He served in this unit until August of 1861 and in the following year was made a First Lieutenant in Company G of the newly formed Ninth Rhode Island Regiment. 
  Jillson's service in the military concluded in September 1862 and soon after returning to Woonsocket resumed his teaching career, serving schools in both Blackstone and Woonsocket. He would serve as superintendent of schools in the town of Cumberland, and in 1864 he began pursuing a career in law. Over that year, he studied in law offices located in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, including one under the tutelage of future U.S. Senator George Frisby Hoar. In February 1865 Jillson passed the bar exam and shortly thereafter became clerk of the Woonsocket Court of Magistrates. Jillson later was named as town clerk of Woonsocket, serving in this position until the mid 187os. In 1868 Jillson married Emma Potter, a Burrillville, Rhode Island resident, and one son was born to the couple, Francello Albert Jillson (1869-1896).
   While still serving as town clerk Jillson was elected to the Rhode Island State Senate, serving from 1870-1871. After his Senate term, he returned to his earlier law practice and in 1876 was elected to a one-year term as the President of the Woonsocket Town Council. As his political career continued to rise, Jillson's name also became prominent in Woonsocket civic affairs. During the 1870s and 80s, he served as a trustee of the Harris Institute and was later secretary of the Woonsocket Hospital for several years.
   Francello Jillson reemerged on the Rhode Island political scene in 1880 when he was named as President of the Republican State Convention. The following year he was elected to the first of several terms in the Rhode Island House of Representatives and would serve as its Speaker in the years 1883, 1884 and 1885. 

    Following the conclusion of his last term in the house,  Jillson returned to active involvement in the civic affairs of Woonsocket, being a founding member of the city's Water Works Company (including drafting the company charter) as well as serving on the Board of State Charities and Corrections. Long an active Mason in Woonsocket, Jillson was honored as a past grand high priest of the M.E. Grand Chapter of Rhode Island. 

   In 1910 Jillson resumed political office when he was appointed to the judgeship of the Municipal Court of Providence, holding his seat until his death on November 6, 1912. Jillson had earlier been stricken with pneumonia in October 1912 while still on the bench, and later succumbed to blood poisoning following the initial onset of pneumonia. Jillson was survived by his wife Emma and was subsequently buried in Woonsocket, although an exact cemetery name couldn't be found at the time of this writing. The portrait of Jillson shown above was featured in his obituary, originally published in the Providence Evening News on November 7, 1912. A portion of that obituary has been provided below.

                                                                       From the Providence Evening News.