Visscher Vere Barnes (1851-1924)

From the Leaves of Healing, May 1902.

  The career of Visscher Vere Barnes is examined today, and it is indeed a career filled with colorful characters. A resident of Wisconsin, the Dakotas, and Illinois, Barnes was a native New Yorker who taught school in Wisconsin prior to his resettlement in the Dakota Territory. After establishing roots in that region, Barnes was elected as Probate Judge of Kingsbury County and later won a term in the territorial legislature. He continued his political career after relocating to Illinois in the late 1890s, being an unsuccessful candidate for Congress and Governor on the Prohibition Party ticket. Barnes's life took a curious turn in the early 1900s when he removed to Zion City, Illinois, a fundamentalist community established by Scottish-born faith healer and evangelist John Alexander Dowie. Barnes would be named by Dowie as Solicitor General of the Zion Law Department and later was selected as Judge of the Court of Arbitration of Zion City. 

  Born in Greenbush, Rensselaer County, New York on February 11, 1852, Visscher Vere Barnes was the son of Samuel (1827-1887) and Katherine Vere (Hole) Barnes (1827-1900). The Barnes family removed to Deerfield, Illinois when their son was three, and during his youth he attended the Kenosha, Wisconsin high school. Barnes continued study at the Oshkosh State Normal School and briefly enrolled at Oberlin College in Ohio. Barnes began a teaching career in 1871 as an assistant at the Kenosha High School. From 1873-75 he was principal at the New Lisbon High and Public School and during this same period was a mathematics professor at the LaCrosse Business College. Focusing his attention on law studies in the mid-1870s, Barnes read law under U.S. Senator Angus Cameron of Wisconsin for three years and was admitted to the bar around 1879. Visscher Vere Barnes married in Juneau County, Wisconsin in January 1876 to Mary LaBelle Evans. The couple were wed until Mary's death in 1895 and had two children, Mary Vere (born 1879) and Evans Paul (born 1883). 

  In 1879 Barnes and his wife removed to the Dakota Territory where he would establish a law practice. Settling in DeSmet in Kingsbury County, Barnes quickly advanced to the front rank in that community, serving as DeSmet city attorney for a time. In 1880 he entered into his first term as county judge of probate. He served in that capacity until 1883, and in 1880, 1882, 1884 was a delegate to the Dakota Territorial Republican Convention from that county. In the early 1880s, he would be appointed as a U.S. Commissioner for the Dakota Territory and continued his political rise in 1884 with his election to the Territorial House of Representatives. Taking his seat at the start of the 1885-86 session, Barnes chaired the committees on Elections and Printing and held seats on the committees on the Federal Relations, Judiciary, Railroads, and Rules. Period documents on Barnes's life also denote him as a member of the provisional senate (or council) in 1886, but this appears to be incorrect. While he was a candidate for that body in 1885, he is not listed as an elected council member in either 1886 or 1887 (see editions of the North Dakota State Blue Book.)

   Visscher Vere Barnes left the Dakota Territory in 1886 to further his law studies at Yale University in Connecticut. He would graduate in 1887, and in May of that year had been a candidate for the Townsend Oration Prize. Following his graduation, Barnes and his family removed to Yankton, South Dakota Territory where he was a member of the local school board from 1887-88. Barnes's residency here saw him become a leader in the temperance movement. A steadfast Prohibition advocate, Barnes was appointed to the territory Prohibition Central Committee in March 1889 and that July chaired a prohibition convention held in Huron that lobbied for a prohibition clause to be added to the state constitution. After the Dakotas were admitted as states in November 1889, both would adopt prohibition clauses in their constitutions, though South Dakota would repeal it in 1897.

   In 1895 V.V. Barnes and his family left South Dakota and removed to Lake County, Illinois. He established a law practice in Chicago and in September of that year lost his wife of nearly twenty years, Mary. Two years later Barnes remarried to Anna M. Chamberlain (birthdate unknown) who survived him upon his death in 1924.

  Like in the Dakota Territory, Barnes made a quick move into politics in the "Land of Lincoln". He would serve on the board of trustees for the village of Lake Bluff from 1896-97 and later had a short stint as village attorney. In 1897 he was an unsuccessful candidate on the Prohibition ticket for state's attorney for Lake County, and in the following year set his sights on a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Again the candidate of the prohibitionists, Barnes hoped to represent Illinois's 7th Congressional district and was one of five candidates that year. On election day that November Barnes polled just 309 votes, with victory going to incumbent Republican George Edmund Foss, who garnered over 30,000 votes. 

A Barnes for Illinois Governor button from the campaign of 1900.

From the Sycamore, Illinois True Republican, August 22, 1900.

 Undeterred by defeat, Barnes remained true to his temperance beliefs and in 1900 was a delegate to the National Prohibition Convention in Chicago. In August of that year, the Illinois prohibitionists nominated Barnes for Governor and after accepting the nomination hit the stump. Throughout the campaign season Barnes delivered addresses touting his party's platform, and on August 16 gave an oration at the Colchester Miner's Friendly Aide Society. In this address, Barnes made light of President McKinley's stance on temperance, remarking "From the standpoint of the prohibitionist the action of the president on the canteen is wrong and cannot be indorsed." Barnes further related that:

"We must not lose sight of the fact that the sovereignty resides with the people and not with the governor and president. To the people let us charge the political evils of the time and on them place the primarily the responsibility. If the license of the liquor traffic calling for the young women as well as the young men of the country for the sake of votes and money is not wrong, then nothing is wrong."

 When voters went to the polls on November 6, 1900, 15,643 citizens cast their vote for Visscher Vere Barnes. Though his candidacy fared better than it had two years previous, he was still dealt a loss, polling third in a field of seven candidates, with victory going to Republican candidate Richard Yates Jr. While Barnes's gubernatorial dreams may have been dashed, a curious figure would soon enter his life. That man was John Alexander Dowie (1847-1907).

John Alexander Dowie (left) and Wilbur Glenn Voliva. Leaders of Zion City.

   Depending on one's point of view, John Alexander Dowie can be viewed as a leader in utopian ideals or a humbug and charlatan. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1847, John Alexander Dowie was the son of a preacher. Early in his life he removed with his family to Australia and was admitted as a Congregationalist minister in 1872. He held pastorates in New South Wales, and after leaving the Congregationalist fold, began a career as an independent evangelist. His eccentricities having become more pronounced by the early 1880s, Dowie relocated to Melbourne, where he claimed powers as a faith healer and subsequently spent time in jail for "organizing unauthorized processions" with his followers.

  By 1888 Dowie had immigrated to the United States, and after settling in San Francisco, began a career as a supposed faith healer, founding the International Divine Healing Association. Dowie attracted a number of followers, who, while promised to be freed from their ills, were also expected to provide payment to Dowie's association for his services. Dowie subsequently encountered hostility to his work, and prior to leaving California was successfully sued by two female followers that he had bilked.

  Dowie continued his career in Chicago, arriving there in 1890. During the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, he constructed a wooden tabernacle near the entranceway. Dowie's actions in Chicago drew more followers to his teachings and in 1894 he founded the Zion Tabernacle Church. Two years later the International Divine Healing Association was reborn as the Christian Catholic Church in Zion, and after drawing the ire of Chicago authorities, Dowie looked elsewhere for a place to further his work.

  In 1899, Dowie founded the Zion Land and Investment Association and purchased land and real estate forty miles from Chicago, where he planned to remove with his followers. Here he established Zion City in 1900, a theocratic society that would be governed "by the will of God." Despite this proclamation, every building and piece of property in the city was personally owed by Dowie. The peculiarity of Zion didn't end with Dowie's monopoly on the city infrastructure, however. His followers had to adhere to a strict set of rules, amongst which were the banning of smoking, swearing, and alcohol. Saloons and gambling establishments met with Dowie's veto, as well as drug stores, theaters, fraternal groups, and medical practices. Dowie's eccentricities also led him to ban the consumption of pork. In addition to those rules, every Zion citizen was "required to tithe 10 percent of their income" to Dowie.

  Within a year of Zion City's establishment, Dowie (now titled "Grand Overseer") could boast of over 5,000 followers, a wide range of business activities, and a newsletter entitled Leaves of Healing. With Zion City becoming a well-known entity in Illinois, one of the men attracted to Dowie's proclaimed utopia was Visscher Vere Barnes. By early 1902 he had become a firm friend of Dowie and in March of that year, Barnes and his wife were "received into fellowship" in the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church (as it became known in 1903.) Dowie would designate Barnes as Solicitor General of the Zion Law Department, and one month later he was elected as Zion City attorney. In addition to that office's duties, Barnes received the title "Judge of Arbitration in Zion City." 

  As in years past, Barnes had quickly achieved distinction in public office, with the Leaves of Healing remarking:

"During the very few months in which Judge Barnes has been engaged in these duties his ability and high character have won for him the confidence of the many people with whom he has come into business and personal relations. His advice and counsel were especially invaluable in the launching of the Theocratic Party, in the election of the first mayor, officers, and aldermen in the City of Zion, and in the first steps of the complete organization of the municipal government."

Visscher V. Barnes, from the Northwestern Christian Advocate.

  In the year following his election as Zion City attorney, Barnes was elected as judge of the Zion City court, being the first municipal judge in the city's history. He resigned as city attorney and continued to be a loyal advocate for Dowie's message even after the latter's disastrous trip to New York City in 1903. In a bid to spread his message and gain more followers, Dowie and a "crusading army" of 3,000 church members chartered several special train cars to take them to New York, where they would preach their gospel. The trip proved to be a catastrophe with many Dowieites being shouted down during their street-corner sermons, and Dowie himself was jeered and hooted from Madison Square Garden during an address.

  After returning to Zion City Dowie's fortunes continued to unravel, as the junket to New York cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Upon an order from Dowie, all Zion churchgoers were required to deposit their money in Dowie's personal bank. Allegations of financial impropriety were leveled at Dowie and in 1905 he suffered a stroke. With Zion City teetering on the brink of economic despair, Illinois federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis intervened and appointed a receiver (John C. Hately) to oversee the city's finances in 1906.

  Dowie's power was further depleted when he gave power of attorney to his trusted second-in-command, Wilbur Glenn Voliva (1870-1942). Voliva, though given temporary power, usurped Dowie while the latter was visiting Mexico,  and after Dowie's return, a court battle over Zion's leadership ensued. During this fracas, Visscher Vere Barnes remained in Zion with Voliva, and though directed by Dowie to terminate Voliva's power of attorney, Barnes refused, noting that he "would not act on your instructions." As court proceedings loomed, the Bureau County Tribune detailed that Barnes would:

"Stand by Voliva at every stage of the litigation that must ensue unless the threats of exposing the skeletons in Dowie's family closet have their effect."

From the Bureau County Tribune, April 6, 1906.

  While court proceedings and mudslinging between rival factions carried on into the latter part of 1906 and 1907, leadership of Zion was no longer in doubt when John Alexander Dowie died in 1907. Visscher Barnes is recorded as having reconciled with Dowie in his last weeks and was at his bedside when he died on March 9, 1907, at age 60. Barnes is noted as having broken with the Zion leadership after Wilbur Glenn Voliva became General Overseer, but continued his residency in the city, where he practiced law. Voliva's leadership of Zion City extended until his death in 1942, a long period marked by bizarre behavior and eccentricities. A firm adherent to the flat earth theory, Voliva became known as the "King of the Flat Earthers", going as far as to take out ads in Chicago and Milwaukee newspapers offering up a $5,000 prize to anyone that provided proof that the world wasn't flat. He continued in the Dowie mold by banning oysters, whistling on Sunday, and found tan-colored shoes particularly repugnant. Voliva involved himself in further quackery with his supposed secret of living to 120, a diet consisting of buttermilk and brazil nuts. 

  After a long career that took him from humble origins in New York to Wisconsin, to the Dakota Territory, and finally Illinois, Visscher Vere Barnes died at a Waukegan, Illinois hospital on September 25, 1924, a few days after being admitted for a "major operation." He was survived by his wife Annie and two children and was removed to Wisconsin for burial at the Green Ridge Cemetery in Kenosha. 

From the Kenosha News, September 27, 1924.

***While the life of Visscher Vere Barnes is of particular note, and one that I couldn't wait to chronicle here, the lives of his contemporaries John Alexander Dowie and Wilbur Glenn Voliva are worth extensive mention. Biographical information and character assessments of both men are to be found in many places online. The following works may be of interest to you should you decide to explore their lives further.

• Great American  Eccentrics (1984), by Carl Sifakis. Contains biographies of both Dowie and Voliva.
• John Alexander Dowie and Zion City, Illinois--Stephanie Wolfe (via publications.newberry.org)
• John Alexander Dowie and the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church in Zion (1906), by Rolvix Harlan.
• Atlas Obscura's overview of Dowie's life by Matthew Algeo (2017)
• Wilbur Voliva and Zion biography via www.cantab.net

Marthinus Fredrickson Hegge (1856-1924)

From the July 29, 1904 Minneapolis Journal.

   Joining a shortlist that includes Gullick Nelson Risjord, Jetlee Bryngelson Nordhem, and Dregman Olsen Aker, Norwegian native Marthinus Fredrickson Hegge removed to Hatton, North Dakota in his early twenties and in the succeeding years built up a reputation as one of that area's foremost bankers and merchants. In 1889 he etched his name into the history books when (as a delegate to the North Dakota constitutional convention) he became a signer of that state's constitution. Hegge attained further prominence in 1904 when he became the Democratic nominee for North Dakota Governor. 

  One of eleven children born to Frederick and Ingeborg Hegge, Marthinus F. Hegge's birth occurred on November 27, 1856, in Norway. He is recorded as having attended the "national schools in his native land" and engaged in farm work prior to his removal to the United States. In June 1876 he and two of his sisters left Norway and after arriving in the United States settled in Wisconsin. Marthinus would remain here for six years and during this time would attend a business school/college at La Crosse. 

   In 1882 Marthinus married at Chaseburg, Wisconsin to Karen "Carrie" Nelson (1856-1923), with whom he had six children: Clara Josephine (1883-1960), Fredrik (1884-1906), Erick M. (1886-1945), Anna Oline (1889-1974), Marie Constance (1894-1980) and Adolph (1898-1939). Following his marriage he and his wife moved to Traill County, North Dakota, settling in the town of Hatton. He would enter into the general merchandise business in that town, being located in "a large two story brick structure, one of the most pretentious business blocks in that section of the state." 

  Hegge continued to run his business in Hatton for decades afterward and was active in other business and financial affairs in the town, serving as President of the First National Bank of Hatton and was a stockholder and past president of the Red River Valley Telephone Company. In 1889 he was elected as a Democrat to the North Dakota Constitutional Convention, being held at Bismarck. The statehood of North Dakota (having been authorized in February 1889 by the Enabling Act) provided for a constitutional convention to be held, with the opening occurring on July 4th of that year. During his time in Bismarck Hegge served as a member of the committees on Accounts and Expenses, Elective Franchise and Schedule, and Revenue and Taxation. He would also introduce File No. 93 at the convention, proposing that:

"In case prohibition of  the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor is not adopted and incorporated into the constitution, then the legislature shall provide a system of licensing the manufacture and sale of such liquors, fixing the license fee or fees for such liquor at a minimum of not less than one thousand dollars per annum." 

Marthinus Hegge, from the 1889 North Dakota Constitutional Convention composite.

   After his service at the convention, Hegge returned to his earlier business pursuits in Hatton. In 1904 politics would again beckon to him, and on July 29th of that year, he received the Democratic nomination for Governor of North Dakota. Running in a state that was then "overwhelmingly Republican", Hegge faced an uphill battle that election year, with the Bismarck Daily Tribune noting that Hegge:

"Is a Scandinavian, and from that nationality in Traill County it is figured will receive a large vote. While the Democrats have little hope of carrying on a successful campaign for any of the state offices, more enthusiasm has been shown in the ranks than for many years." 

   Opposing Hegge for the Governorship that year was another oddly named man, former Hillsboro, North Dakota mayor Elmore Yocum Sarles (1859-1929). On election day 1904, it was Sarles who triumphed, besting Hegge in what can only be described as a landslide, 47,828 votes to 16, 744. Despite being trounced in that election, Hegge attempted three further unsuccessful campaigns for public office, being the Democratic nominee for State Treasurer in 1906, 1914, and 1918.
   In addition to his business pursuits and political candidacies, Marthinus Hegge took an active role in the Sons of Norway fraternal organization, being a member of the Ulabrand Lodge #89 in Hatton. He would serve as a vice-president of the Sons of Norway from 1916-18 and in 1923 suffered the loss of his wife of 42 years, Karen. Hegge himself died a year later on October 24, 1924, at age 68, and following his passing was interred alongside his wife at the St. John's Cemetery in Hatton, North Dakota.

Hortensious Lowry Isherwood (1850-1924)

                                   Dr. Hortensious L. Isherwood, ca. 1914, in the possession of John Durbin.

  If you've followed the regular postings here on the site for any length of time you may have noticed that the state of Missouri has been very well represented here over the past three years, with nearly twenty oddly named Missouri political figures receiving write-ups on their respective lives and careers.  Today marks a return to the "Show Me State" to shine a spotlight on Hortensious Lowry Isherwood, a man who in all likelihood is the oddest named person ever to be elected to serve in the Missouri House of Representatives. The following article on this outstandingly named Missouri resident has been over a year in the making, and the succeeding passages on this Jasper County, Missouri resident aim to highlight the life of a man who in his day was one of the preeminent public figures in that county, being a physician, banker, and one-term state representative. 
  I first located the name of Hortensious L. Isherwood in early 2013 while perusing an online copy of the Official Manual of the State of Missouri, 1893-94. Contained therein was a small four-line biography of Isherwood, detailing his service as his physician in both Iowa and Missouri. Immediately intrigued by the man's highly unusual name, I quickly set about tracking down more information on Isherwood, and after a few hours of searching was rewarded with several more pieces of biographical information, as well as a Joplin Globe notice for him that related the particulars of his death in a March 1924 car/train accident in Jasper County.
  Despite having located copious amounts of information on Isherwood, I was at a loss when it came to finding a picture of him. For over a year he remained a "faceless" political figure, and this lack of a portrait eventually led me to begin a furtive search for a historical society in the Jasper County area that could help me locate one. After reaching multiple dead ends (including finding that Jasper County has no "historical society" to speak of), I decided on an alternate route, and after stumbling across the City of Carl Junction website (which, coincidentally, mentions Mr. Isherwood) began work on a lengthy e-mail explaining my project and interest in Mr. Isherwood's life.
    A few days afterward I received a reply from Carl Junction city clerk Meribeth Matney, who related that she would forward my message to Carl Junction historian John Durbin. This was the beginning of a very fruitful correspondence between myself, Maribeth, and John, one which resulted in several Isherwood-related documents being copied and sent to me, including the two portraits of him that adorn the beginning and end of his profile here. I'd like to extend my thanks to both Maribeth and John for their extensive help in sending me a veritable treasure trove of documents centering on Isherwood's time in Carl Junction, and I can state that this profile would not have been possible without Maribeth Matney and John Durbin's help and input! Many, many thanks for all your help!!
   With that introduction, we begin with the birth of Hortensious Lowry Isherwood, which occurred in the town of Franklin, Linn County, Iowa on October 17, 1850, being the eldest of four children born to Thomas Green (1816-1890) and Herpalice Lowry Isherwood (1816-1904). A native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Thomas G. Isherwood spent the first three decades of his life in that state and married in 1849 to the aforementioned Herpalice Lowry, a native of Westmoreland County. The origins of our subject's intriguing name can be traced directly back to the maternal side of his family, as Herpalice Lowry's brother possessed the name......Hortensius! Hortensius Lowry (1818-1895) was for many years a prosperous farmer in Rostraver, Pennsylvania, owning a near 400-acre farm in that town. Described as a man "called to fill many of the town offices", both Hortensius Lowry and his oddly named nephew shared the same political affiliation, being lifelong Democrats.  While he may have been named in honor of his maternal uncle, Isherwood's first name is recorded by more than one source as "Hortensious" (you'll notice the spelling variation there) and it is this spelling that is engraved on his gravestone at the Carl Junction Cemetery.
    Isherwood began his education in the public schools of Linn County and would go on to take "literary and engineering courses" at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. He would later enroll at the Bryant and Stratton College in Illinois and around 1876 entered the Rush Medical College in Chicago, graduating with his medical degree in 1878. After receiving his degree Isherwood returned to Iowa and established a medical office in Clarksville, located in Butler County. He later reestablished his practice in the village of Shell and during his residency here was a charter member and treasurer of the Butler County Medical Association. In 1882 Isherwood relocated to Jasper County, Missouri, where he would reside for the remainder of his life.
   Shortly after his removal to Jasper County, Dr. Isherwood settled first in the town of Avilla, where he recommenced in the practice of medicine. His stay in Avilla was short-lived, as he would resettle in Carl Junction around 1883 and after establishing another medical practice married there on June 17, 1888, to Susie May Coons (1865-1936). The couple would later have three children: Niena Isherwood Henley (1890-1957), Hortensious Lowry Jr. (1895-1916), and Eber Dudley (1895-1950). Of these children Eber Isherwood followed in his father's footsteps, operating a drug store in Carl Junction, while Hortensius Jr. met an early death as the result of an accident sustained in a baseball game in 1916. Isherwood and his family resided on a 240-acre farm in Jasper County, where he is also mentioned as having interests in mining.
   Dr. Isherwood's medical practice in Carl Junction is recorded by the Biographical Record of Jasper County as having won "the confidence of a continually increasing list of grateful patients". In addition to his practice, Isherwood was the proprietor of a pharmacy and was engaged as a surgeon for the railway that passed through Carl Junction.  Through the years Isherwood's status as a "horse and buggy doctor" made his name known not only in Carl Junction but throughout neighboring towns in Jasper County. "Old Doc", as Isherwood was sometimes referred to, was fondly remembered in the years after his death in the February 26, 1950 edition of the Joplin Globe, which featured an article authored by V.D. Marshall, a former pharmacy assistant to Isherwood. Marshall fondly recalled Isherwood's character and status as one of Carl Junction's foremost citizens, noting that:

"He seemed unapproachable except on matters of extreme importance, and it was not until I became closely associated with him that behind his assumption of aloofness and austerity he concealed an acute sense of humor and a tolerant understanding of human frailties." 

   Marshall also relates that after many years of visiting patients via horse and buggy, Isherwood made the transition to an automobile to make his rounds. It took some time for "Old Doc" to adjust to his new mode of transportation, and after some trial and error in piloting his newly purchased "five-passenger model" Ford, "Old Doc" was said to have "furnished the loiterers along Main Street many a good-natured chuckle." This same article further denotes that Isherwood dabbled in real estate and "acquired a number of houses about town", which he then rented out to "miners, widows, and others not in the higher income brackets." The charitable doctor is recorded as having "never pressed" any of his tenants if they failed to pay rent, and exhibited similar charity when it came to his medical practice, refusing to send statements of account to patients who had failed to provide payment. As V.D. Marshall relates:

"Patients either paid what was due to him voluntarily or not at all."

   In addition to practicing medicine, Isherwood maintained an interest in Jasper County civic and political affairs, being a member of the county Democratic Committee for over a decade. He entered state politics in 1892 when he became a candidate for a seat in the Missouri State House of Representatives and was one of four candidates in that year's contest. On election day 1892, he eked out a very narrow win over his Republican opponent Albert E.L. Gardner, 3,287 votes to 3,269. With Isherwood's eighteen vote victory he became one of two Jasper county representatives in the state legislature, and during his term served on the house committees on Enrolled Bills, Mines and Mining, and Miscellaneous and Unfinished Business.

  Isherwood's term in the legislature concluded in January 1895 and after leaving state government returned to his medical duties in Carl Junction. He continued to be involved in local civic affairs, being a founder and president of the Citizen's Bank of Carl Junction in the early 1900s. A member of the Jasper County Medical Society, Isherwood was also affiliated with numerous fraternal organizations, being a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Knights of Pythias, and the local Masonic chapter. Isherwood would reenter politics in the 1900s when he was elected as the Mayor of Carl Junction, his dates of service being unknown at this time.

   Dr. Isherwood maintained an active schedule as he grew older, continuing to make medical calls throughout Carl Junction and neighboring areas. Isherwood's devotion to his practice eventually resulted in a tragic accident near Waco, Missouri on March 17, 1924. On that date, the 73-year-old Isherwood was returning from a "professional call" in his automobile when his car was struck at a railroad crossing by an oncoming Kansas City Southern passenger train. According to multiple newspaper reports following the accident, the view of the tracks was partially obscured by an embankment, and that Dr. Isherwood had been traveling alone.

   Following this accident, Isherwood's body (described as being mutilated almost beyond recognition) was transferred by the train crew to the nearby town of Asbury, then on to Joplin, and finally to Carl Junction, where funeral arrangements were completed. Isherwood was survived by his wife Susie and two children and was interred in the Isherwood family plot at the Carl Junction Cemetery. Susie, Eber, and Niena Isherwood were also interred here following their deaths.

                                                                         Hortensious L. Isherwood, 1850-1924.

A death notice for Isherwood from the Joplin Globe, March 19, 1924.

From the Carthage Evening Press, March 17, 1924.

Lindorf Osborn Whitnel (1863-1924)

From the July 7, 1900 edition of the St. Louis Republic.

  A leading railway attorney based in Illinois, Lindorf Osborn Whitnel earns placement here on the site due to his candidacy for Congress in 1900, as well as for his being a Democratic National Convention delegate in 1896 and a Presidential Elector for Illinois in 1912. A lifelong resident of the Prairie State, Lindorf Osborn Whitnel was born in the town of Vienna, Illinois on February 4, 1862, the son of David Tullis and Parmelia Caldwell Whitnel. Lindorf received his education in Vienna public schools and later studied at the Normal School in Danville, Illinois from 1881-1883.

  After concluding his schooling in the early 1880s Whitnel began pursuing the study of law, eventually earning his law degree in the mid-1880s. He began serving as an intern in the law office of Pleasant Thomas Chapman (a future U.S. Representative) in 1885 and in July of 1888 married in the town of Stonefort, Illinois to Ms. Amanda Elizabeth Trammell (1867-1944). The couple would later have three children, Ella W. (1889-1967), Josiah (1894-1951), and George (1898-1958). 

   Throughout the latter part of the 19th century, Whitnel continued to practice law in Johnson County, Illinois, eventually forming a partnership with another local attorney (George B. Gillespie) in 1890, continuing in this practice until 1901. Their law office was mentioned as being "a strong firm, with extensive patronage" in a biographical history of the Johnson County area. In 1896 Whitnel was named as one of Illinois' delegates to that year's Democratic National Convention in Chicago that nominated William Jennings Bryan for President.

   In 1900 Whitnel began a campaign for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois, running as a Democrat against five-term incumbent Republican George Washington Smith (1846-1907). Illinois newspapers of the time note that Smith "had his hands full" running against Whitnel, who actively stumped throughout Illinois's 22nd District throughout the campaign. An article featured in the October 22, 1900 edition of the St. Louis Republic (shown below) gives notice that Whitnel addressed two large crowds in Harrisburg, Illinois a few days previously and was "well received and greeted with great applause at both places."

  When it came time to tally the vote in November 1900, it was George W. Smith who claimed victory in the polls, besting Lindorf Whitnel by a vote of 22, 349 to 17, 528. A result from that election appeared in the Courier-Journal Almanac shortly after the election and is posted below. 

From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, May 31, 1909.

    Four years following his congressional defeat Whitnel experienced renewed success as a railroad attorney, joining up with the Missouri Pacific Railway. He later became the general attorney for this railroad and also served as district attorney for the St. Louis Southwestern Railway for several years. In 1912 Whitnel served as a Democratic Presidential Elector at large for Illinois, casting his ballot for Woodrow Wilson.

   In 1919 Whitnel formed a law partnership with his second eldest son Josiah, operating out of East St. Louis, Illinois. In the year before his death, Lindorf and his wife are recorded as attending an American Bar Association conference in London. While visiting here Whitnel took sick with a "sinus complaint" that later turned into a more serious illness after he returned home to Illinois. This illness eventually claimed Whitnel's life on December 15, 1924, at age 61. His obituary in the Edwardsville, Illinois Intelligencer notes that he expired at a hospital in East St. Louis and was later buried at the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Belleville, Illinois. Whitnel's wife Amanda, daughter Ella, and sons Josiah and George all survived him, and the first three mentioned are interred at Mt. Hope.

               Lindorf O. Whitnel's death notice from the December 1924 Edwardsville Intelligencer.