Jesse+Fell


 * Jesse W. Fell** (1808-1887)

Jesse W. Fell was born on November 10, 1808 to Jesse Fell and Rebecca Roman Fell at his father’s farm in New Garden Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. [1] He was the third of nine children in a Quaker family. His father farmed and was a hat maker, while his mother was a Hicksite [2] preacher. [3] The Fells moved to Downington, PA when Jesse was eight. The Fell children also attended a country subscription, or pay, school, which provided a basic education. Quakerism at that time required every male member to learn a mechanical skill. Fell’s parents thought it best for him to become a tailor, since he was not physically strong. Having no interest in that path, Fell objected, and his parents chose not to coerce him. Instead, he attended a boarding school in Downington, where he studied under Joshua Hoopes, a leading botanist. He worked in Hoopes’s house and kitchen-garden to pay for tuition and board. There, Fell developed a love for trees and flowers that continued his entire life. At Hoopes’s school, he also developed a desire to head west. In 1826, Fell became a teacher and earned a good salary at two dollars per student per quarter. [4] At the same time, he kept store for Issachar Price while Price traveled. In his free time, Fell read diligently. [5] In the fall of 1828, at the age of 20, Fell headed west with a small amount of money and what he could carry on his back. For a brief period of time he sold books in the Pittsburg area until he moved to Steubenville, Ohio in the spring of 1830. There, he studied law in the noted Stokeley and Marsh law firm and paid for his studies by completing office work and odd jobs around town. At the same time, Fell made stump speeches for the Whig Party, which opposed President Andrew Jackson. In 1832, he passed the bar exams. Impressed by his work, Stokeley offered Fell a partnership, but he declined the offer and moved farther west two weeks later. [6] Fell traveled on foot through Ohio and Indiana and reached Illinois in November 1832. In Jacksonville, IL, he was admitted to the Illinois bar. From Jacksonville, he traveled through Springfield, where John Todd Stuart recommended settling in the new town of Bloomington. Fell passed through New Salem, Pekin, and Delevan on his way to Bloomington. In Delavan, he spent the winter with William Brown, whom he knew from Pennsylvania. Brown had persuaded him to stay and teach his children. [7] One of Brown’s daughters, Hester, later became his wife. In the spring of 1833, Fell moved to Bloomington. Bloomington, with a population of 180 people, had no resident clergyman, newspaper, or lawyer. [8] Fell boarded with James Allin on the corner of East and Grove Streets and became Bloomington’s first and, for a short time, only lawyer. [9] Truthfully, however, Fell never fully embraced the law profession. In 1834, Fell was appointed as Commissioner of Schools of McLean County. This position introduced him to the venture of buying and selling land, called land speculation, which he enjoyed much more than being a teacher or a lawyer. [10] Fell also spent the winter of 1834 and 1835 in Vandalia—then, Illinois’s state capital—successfully fighting the annexation of McLean County territory by neighboring counties. In Vandalia, he shared a home with John Todd Stuart and Abraham Lincoln, both Whig legislators from Sangamon County. It was here that Fell first met Lincoln, who would become his close friend and political ally. [11] The next winter in Vandalia, Fell and David Davis—an attorney from Pekin, IL—met for the first time to lobby for the construction of the Wabash Railroad through their respective towns. [12] In 1835, Fell was made an agent of the newly-chartered State Bank of Illinois, where he learned the mortgage business. [13] The next year, after practicing law for three years in Bloomington, Fell tired of the career altogether. He sold his law practice to David Davis, who had recently settled in Bloomington, and entered the land speculation business. Through this new career, he founded the towns of Normal, Clinton, Pontiac, Lexington, Towanda, LeRoy, El Paso, and Larchwood and helped develop Decatur, Joliet, and Dwight. Fell also made several additions to Bloomington. [14] Fell and Allin helped produce Bloomington’s first newspaper, //The Bloomington Observer and McLean County Advocate// in 1836. William Hill was its first printer and editor, but Fell took over as the sole owner and editor the next year until the paper’s closure a year and a half later. [15] At the same time, Fell and Lincoln campaigned for John T. Stuart’s Congressional run against Democrat Stephen A. Douglas. [16] Fell prospered through land speculation, but the Panic of 1837 devastated the western economy and bankrupted him by 1841. Looking for income, he returned to practicing law for a few more years. [17] Fell married Hester Brown in Tazewell County, IL on January 26, 1837. When Hester and Jesse arrived in Bloomington, they settled in a modest-sized farmhouse on 190 acres of land, east of the Bloomington courthouse. They named their home “Fort Jesse,” but many of their peers called it “Fell’s Folly” because it was so far away and separated from Bloomington by a stream. [18] That spring, Fell’s parents and the rest of his family from Pennsylvania moved to Bloomington. [19] Fell and Hester had eight children: Henry Clay, William B., Eliza B., Clara V., Flora Marie, Alice C., Rachel M., and Fannie C. Sadly, two children, William B. and Flora Marie, died in childhood. [20] In 1843, Fell sold his home to David Davis and relocated to Payson, IL, where he bought and managed a fruit farm. [21] By November 19, 1851, he had returned to Bloomington and served as co-editor and -owner of //The Bloomington Intelligencer//, which would eventually become //The Daily Pantagraph//. [22] Fell continued an intermittent association with the paper until 1871, when his son-in-law, William O. Davis, became sole proprietor. [23] In Payson, Fell had joined the Methodist Church, but once in Bloomington, he helped organize the Free Congregational (or Unitarian) Church and became a faithful member. [24] Fell also secured the Illinois Central and the Chicago and Alton Railroad lines that ran through Bloomington. In 1851, the Illinois Central line already connected Decatur, Clinton, and Bloomington. Fell helped to secure the right-of-way for the C & A, which was completed in 1853. The next year, the Illinois Central and the Chicago and Alton Railroads intersected two miles north of town. Fell wanted to build a town at the point of intersection and “intended to spare no effort to build here a town that should have for its characteristic sobriety, morality, and good society, and all elements for an educational center.” [25] Fell platted the new town, called North Bloomington and, in June 1854, sold the first lots. [26] Fell built a new home there and moved in the summer of 1856. [27] Because McLean County existed in the middle of the “Grand Prairie,” hardly any trees stood in the area, except near bodies of water. In the1850s and 1860s, Fell oversaw the planting of thousands of trees in Normal and on what is now the ISU campus. The education he had received from Hoopes prepared Fell for the task. To help him, Fell hired William Saunders of Pennsylvania, the same man who had designed the landscape of Fell’s estate. Fell planted trees on his land, then transplanted them to their final position, or he received donations from local nurseries. He chose trees well-suited to Illinois’s climate and supposedly supervised all of the plantings. His love of plants and his efforts to beautify the area inspired his nickname, “The Tree Planter.” Perhaps one of Jesse Fell’s greatest contributions to McLean County was his role in bringing the Normal School (later named Illinois State Normal University) to the area. Fell cherished education and desired for a college or seminary of learning in his new town. In 1857, the Illinois General Assembly organized the State Board of Education and began to search out a location for a state normal school for the training of teachers. Fell channeled his energy and money toward bringing the new school to North Bloomington. [28] Attorney Abraham Lincoln, then serving on Illinois’s Eight Judicial Circuit, drew up a bond, which was signed by those who had donated land or money toward the cause. [29] Fell was the largest contributor, pledging $9,000 worth of his own money and property with the promise of more in the future. Fell helped to amass $141,725 to establish the school. Because of this accomplishment, the beauty produced by Fell’s tree-planting campaign, and the proximity of the campus to the railroads, the State Board of Education decided in the summer of 1857 that the Normal School would be situated in North Bloomington. Fell remained active at the school for the rest of his life. During his time in Payson, local Whigs had tried unsuccessfully to nominate Fell for Congress. His candidacy was again demanded in 1854 in Bloomington, but again, Fell refused. He had little political ambition following the death of his hero, Senator Henry Clay, two years earlier. That opinion changed in 1854, however, with the passage of Senator Stephen A. Douglas’s Kansas-Nebraska Act. This act repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing a territory’s population to determine whether it would be slave or free. The Act created controversy across the nation and incited violence in the West in what became known as “Bleeding Kansas.” Being Quaker and, therefore, an abolitionist, Fell quickly allied himself with the newly-formed Republican Party, which opposed the expansion of slavery. Fell was one of the major organizers of the Illinois Republican Party, which held its first meeting on May 29, 1856 in Major’s Hall in Bloomington. [30] At this convention, Fell spoke, and Lincoln gave his now-famous “Lost Speech.” [31] The next year, in 1857, the Illinois Republican State Central Committee commissioned Fell as its corresponding secretary. In this capacity, he traveled to various parts of Illinois for conferences with different party leaders. [32] Fell used these opportunities to promote Lincoln. At the McLean County Republican Convention in 1858, Fell’s resolution endorsing Lincoln for U.S. Senate led to Lincoln’s unanimous nomination at this meeting and at the State Convention in Springfield, where Lincoln delivered his now-famous “House Divided” speech. [33] The Lincoln-Douglas debates, which Fell had suggested as early as 1854, ensued for the remainder of 1858. During the debates, Fell toured the Eastern states and was encouraged to learn that individuals everywhere followed the speeches and desired to learn more about Lincoln. However, Fell returned to a defeated Lincoln in Bloomington. Undeterred by this situation, he proposed that his friend run for President in 1860 and asked Lincoln to produce an autobiography to share with curious easterners: “I have a decided impression that if your popular history and efforts on the slavery question can be sufficiently brought before the people, you can be made a formidable, if not a successful, candidate for the Presidency.” [34] Lincoln disapproved, feeling wholly inadequate for the position. By the next year, however, he had come around to Fell’s position and provided a letter of introduction on December 20, 1859. Fell immediately sent the autobiography to his friend Joseph J. Lewis in Westchester, Pennsylvania for distribution; it appeared in the //Chester County Times// on February 11, 1860. [35] Pennsylvania was a bastion of the Republican Party and would be a valuable ally for Lincoln at the Republican National Convention in Chicago. Fell, along with David Davis and Leonard Swett, were the three most active Lincoln supporters in Illinois. Their work at the Convention in May 1860 was invaluable to Lincoln’s nomination. [36] At the Convention, Davis transformed Lincoln from a dark horse candidate into a true contender for the nomination. Lincoln closely trailed New York Senator William Seward in popularity. Fell worked closely with the Pennsylvania delegation; his contact in that group, Joseph Lewis, pushed Pennsylvania to abandon Simon Cameron for Lincoln. [37] Seward’s forces at the convention far outnumbered Lincoln’s. To counter this strength, Davis and Fell arranged for Lincoln supporters to arrive early and enter the convention hall before any “Sewardites” could. Fell suggested to the Illinois Republican State Central Committee that thousands of extra tickets be printed and distributed to Illinoisans arriving on the low-fare trains. [38] Some of the loudest voices in the state made an appearance to out shout Seward’s crowd, and Norman B. Judd placed a sea of Lincoln supporters between Seward’s team and the undecided delegates. [39] Seward’s forces could not reach the undecided delegates in the rear of the hall. The plan worked marvelously, and, by the third ballot, Abraham Lincoln became the Republican Party’s Presidential nominee for the general election. [40]  Fell telegraphed Lincoln: “City wild with excitement. From my inmost heart I congratulate you.” [41] Indeed, in the span of a year and a half, Fell had helped to turn a twice-failed Senate candidate into the Republican nominee for President of the United States. After the election, Fell wrote to Lincoln in 1861 and advised him to appoint Judge David Davis to his Cabinet, even though Fell and Davis had grown apart. [42] Fell reminded the President-Elect of the service Davis had performed: “I think I can safely say that of all //living men// you have no truer more devoted friend and admirer than in the person of Judge Davis. And if I were going to select that man of all others whom we are under the greatest obligations for your nomination at Chicago I unhesitating say it was him ….” [43] For Fell, Lincoln owed a great debt to Davis, a debt which could be repaid in the form of a Cabinet position. Ultimately, Lincoln chose not to appoint Davis to his Cabinet. Surprisingly, Fell received an appointment before Davis. In 1862, Fell became a paymaster for the Union army. However, by the end of 1863, he resigned. [44] Two years later, Fell located the Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home in Normal (formerly North Bloomington) and the State Reform School in Pontiac. [45] Fell bitterly opposed slavery and supported local school integration after the Civil War. On April 24, 1867, a citizens’ meeting in Normal discussed the topic. Fell was outraged that “colored children were excluded from the public schools and [was] mortified that” children were excluded from “public education because of the color of their skin” in the town of Normal. He argued for the democracy of education, a belief stemming from his Quaker roots. Fell always had a great amount of energy and remained active even in his final years. [46] However, in December 1886, he contracted pneumonia, from which he never fully recovered. After visiting friends in Chicago in early February, Fell returned to Normal and suffered a relapse. At 78 years of age, Jesse Fell died on February 25, 1887, surrounded by family at his home. His funeral took place on February 28 at Illinois State Normal University’s great hall and was led by Fell’s friend, Reverend Richard Edwards of Springfield, and Fell’s pastor, Reverend H.A. Westall. [47] The Normal Town Council and the students of ISNU noted their sorrow at his passing, [48] while the Unitarian Church held a memorial, [49] and the Bloomington Bar dedicated a meeting to discussing his memory. [50] //The Daily Pantagraph//, which had followed his illness from the beginning, printed a series of articles after his death about his many contributions to the communities of Bloomington and Normal, the State of Illinois, and the country as a whole. He was buried at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery.

[1] “Jesse W. Fell.” [2] Member of the liberal body of Quakers in the United States, who asserted the sufficiency of the Inner Light in religious life. “Hicksite,” //Random House Dictionary//, (New York: Random House, Inc., 2009). [3] Frances Milton I. Morehouse, //The Life of Jesse W. Fell//, (Urbana: University of Illinois, 1916), 9. [4] “Jesse W. Fell.” [5] Morehouse, //The Life of Jesse W. Fell//, 9-11. [6] Morehouse, //The Life of Jesse W. Fell//, 12-15. [7] Morehouse, //The Life of Jesse W. Fell//, 15 & 17. [8] LaBaron, //History of McLean County//, (1879), 351. [9] “Death of Mr. Jesse W. Fell,” //The Daily Pantagraph//, February 26, 1887. [10] “Jesse W. Fell.” [11] Morehouse, //The Life of Jesse W. Fell//, 19. [12] Willard L. King, //Lincoln’s Manager: David Davis//, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1960), 21. [13] “Jesse W. Fell.” [14] “Jesse W. Fell, 1808-1887.” [15] “Jesse W. Fell.” [16] Morehouse, //The Life of Jesse W. Fell//, 19-21. [17] “Jesse W. Fell,” //The Index//, (1892). [18] //Quaker Pioneers//, 27. [19] “Noted Descendants,” //Pennsylvania// //Heritage: The Fells of Longlands//, 83. [20] “Jesse Fell: Family Group Record,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, []ancestorsearchresults.asp. [21] “Jesse W. Fell,” //The Index//, (1892). [22] Edward J. Lewis, “A History of the Pantagraph,” (Bloomington: McLean County Historical Society, 1901), 3. [23] “Jesse W. Fell.” [24] “Jesse W. Fell,” //The Index//, (1892). [25] John W. Cook and James V. McHugh, //A History of the Illinois State Normal University//, (Bloomington: Pantagraph Printing and Binding Establishment, 1882), 15. [26] “Death of Mr. Jesse W. Fell.” [27] “Jesse W. Fell,” //The Index//, (1892). [28] “Jesse W. Fell.” [29] Guy Fraker, “Lincoln’s Bloomington,” //Illinois Heritage// Vol. 10, No. 1 (January/February). [30] Fraker, “Lincoln’s Bloomington.” [31] Morehouse, //The Life of Jesse W. Fell//, 53-54. The speech supposedly condemned slavery, but it is lost because no one recorded it at the convention. [32] Morehouse, //The Life of Jesse W. Fell//, 57. [33] Fraker, “Lincoln’s Bloomington.” [34] Gary Ecelbarger, //The Great Comeback: How Abraham Lincoln Beat the Odds to Win the 1860 Republican Nomination//, (New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2008), 3. [35] Harold K. Sage, “Jesse W. Fell and the Lincoln Autobiography,” //Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association//, Vol. 3, No. 1 (1981). [36] Morehouse, //The Life of Jesse W. Fell//, 57-59 & 61. [37] Fraker, “Lincoln’s Bloomington.” [38] Ecelbarger, //The Great Comeback//, 219. [39] King, //Lincoln’s Manager//, 138-139. [40] Ecelbarger, //The Great Comeback//, 228. [41] Ecelbarger, //The Great Comeback,// 219. [42] Fraker, “Lincoln’s Bloomington.” [43] King, //Lincoln’s Manager//, 170-171. [44] “Death of Jesse W. Fell,” //The Daily Pantagraph,// February 26, 1887; “Illinois Patronage,” The Lincoln Institute, http://www.mrlincolnandfriends.org/inside.asp?pageID=30&subjectID=1. [45] “Jesse W. Fell,” //The Index//, (1892); “Death of Mr. Jesse W. Fell.” [46] Fraker, “Lincoln’s Bloomington.” [47] “Death of Mr. Jesse W. Fell.” [48] “In Memoriam,” //The Daily Pantagraph,// March 4, 1887. [49] “Memorial Services,” //The Daily Pantagraph,// March 7, 1887. [50] “Words Spoken of the Dead,” //The Daily Pantagraph//, March 15, 1887.