WILLIAM BARGE - EARLY DIXON ATTORNEY
William Barge was born on Feb. 26, 1832 in Armstrong County,
Pennsylvania to John and Jane (Elliot) Barge. His paternal
grandfather, a member of the Continental Army, fought during the
Revolutionary War.
William's father was engaged in business as a contractor and
builder in and around the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. When William
was an infant the family moved to Ohio, settling some 50 miles south
of Cleveland. After four years residence they then moved to Wooster,
Ohio.
William Barge attended the schools in Wooster until the summer of
1851, when at the age of nineteen, he along with his mother and his
two sisters left Ohio for Illinois. His father had passed away during
the previous year of 1850. They made the trip to Illinois in a horse
drawn wagon that contained all of their family possessions. After
traveling slightly more than a month, they arrived at his brother's
home, four miles north of Geneseo.
William began a position as a teacher in Moline, Illinois. Soon
after his arrival, he became interested in pursuing a career in the
practice of law and he spent his leisure time reading law books with
Judge Wilkinson of Moline. In 1854 he came to Dixon to accept a
position as a teacher. William is credited with organizing the first
grade school in Lee County and was the school's principal for three
years. Mr. Barge also taught mathematics at the Dixon College.
William was married on Aug. 23, 1856 to Elizabeth Dixon.
Elizabeth was a daughter of James P. Dixon and a granddaughter of
John Dixon, founder of the City of Dixon. They had two children,
Fannie Barge and William David Barge.
In 1859 he was offered a position as head of the high school at
Belleville, Illinois. He continued his law studies with Attorney
William Underwood of Belleville. Returning to Dixon a year later, he
passed a legal examination and was admitted to the bar. In 1861
William opened an office in Dixon entering into a law partnership
with H. B. Fouke for a period of four years and then Dwight Heaton
for several years.
Judge Eustace of Dixon invited him in 1869 to become a member of
his law firm. Sherwood Dixon, William's brother-in-law, also joined
the law firm, now named, Eustace, Barge and Dixon. In 1874, Mr. Barge
and Mr. Dixon went to Chicago to join the No. W. W. O'Brien as co-
partners. Also in that year, William Barge became one of the
attorneys for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company.
Mr. Barge was always held in high esteem by his fellow attorneys
and his clientele as well. It was said of him, that during his
practice in all the courts in every county north of the Illinois
River, in the State Supreme Court and in the Federal Courts of
Chicago, that no lawyer had been more successful or had won more
cases than he. At a meeting of the Lee County Bar on April 3, 1888,
it was unanimously determined to present William Barge's name as a
candidate for Judge of the Supreme Court from the Sixth District.
Although he never obtained the position many thought he rightly
deserved, Mr. Barge remained an active attorney at law throughout the
rest of his life.
William Barge died on July 23, 1908 at the age of 76, as a result
of injuries he sustained as a result of being struck by a cab driver
at the Northwestern Railroad Depot in Dixon. He was returning to
Dixon from Chicago on the evening of June 12th when the accident
occurred. His funeral was attended by many friends and associates
from Illinois and the surrounding states. William Barge at an early
age with his interest and love for a law practice, was able to obtain
his dream through hard work and persistence. He was a lifelong
Democrat, an associate and good friend of Stephen Douglas, who
opposed Abraham Lincoln in the famous Lincoln - Douglas Debates which
traversed throughout Illinois. Mr. Barge's achievements are well
known in the history annals of Illinois Law.
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