Judge Alfred M. Craig. The life history of Judge Alfred M. Craig forms a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present and with the advancing years he ever remained a potent force in the progress that has brought the state to its present position in the galaxy of the nation. Fame came to him and honors were multiplied unto him yet he bore all with becoming modesty. However, he left the impress of his individuality in large measure upon the judicial history of Illinois and his activity in business fields as well constituted a factor in the progress and prosperity of Knox county and surrounding districts. His last illness was of short duration and therefore he remained an active factor in the world's work almost to the end, preserving the precious prize of keen mentality to the last. No history of Knox county would be complete without extended reference to Judge Craig who entered actively upon the work of development here when this was still a pioneer region and ever thereafter gave impetus to the labors that made this in time one of the richest sections of the Mississippi valley.
     Mr. Craig was born in Paris, Edgar county, Illinois, January 15, 1831. The family comes of Scotch-Irish ancestry and the grandfather of the Judge was Thomas Craig, who came from the north of Ireland to America, settling in Pennsylvania where David Craig, the father of the Judge, was born. Having arrived at years of maturity he married Minta Ramey, who was a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Sinnet Ramey, who was born in Virginia and became one of the pioneer residents of Kentucky, associated to some extent with Daniel Boone in the work of exploration in what became known as the dark and bloody ground. Sinnet Ramey devoted his energies to farming in the Blue Grass state for a period and afterward became one of the pioneer settlers of Illinois, taking up his abode in Fulton county where he again carried on general agricultural pursuits until he passed away when well advanced in years. His daughter Minta was his only child. David Craig, however, was one of several children including two brothers, James and Joseph Craig. When a young man David Craig removed to Kentucky and it was in that state that he was married. He was a mill­wright and that trade in connection with farming fully occupied his attention throughout his life. Like hundreds of other Kentucky citizens who did not depend upon the institution of slavery as a source of revenue he removed from Kentucky to Illinois and for a brief period was a resident of Edgar county, during which time his son, Judge Craig, was born. From that district they removed to the Military tract, settling in Fulton county, near Canton, and David Craig became a prosperous farmer as prosperity was rated at that day. As a millwright he erected many of the old mills along the Spoon river to provide the flour and feed for the early settlers. It was in 1832, the year of their arrival in Fulton county, that the Black Hawk war broke out and the women and children sought refuge and protection in a blockhouse pending the settlement of the war while the men of the neighborhood aided in righting the Indians. The history of David Craig's family was like that of many other pioneer families living on the Illinois frontier. He there died when about sixty-five years of age, having for a few years survived his wife, who was also sixty-five years of age at the time of her demise. She was a devoted member of the Methodist church and Mr. Craig attended its services with her. His political allegiance in an early clay was given to the whig party and he was a warm admirer of Henry Clay. In his family were ten children but only one is now living.; Mrs. Harriet Barmvell, of Los Angeles, California. The others were: Nancy, who became the wife of Perry Crosthwait; Madison ; Margaret, the wife of Enoch Crosthwait; Sinnet: Thomas, who died when twelve or fourteen years of age ; Alfred M.: Mrs. J. L. Miller: Mrs. Sarah Ash; and Mrs. Marilda Randolph.
     Judge Craig was reared upon his father's farm in Fulton county, meeting every experience and hardship which fell to the lot of the early settler. His educational privileges were very limited in early youth but later he had the opportunity of pursuing a course in Knox College, becoming a member of the preparatory class in the fall of 1848, while in June, 1849, he was admitted to the freshman class and in June, 1853, won his degree. Thinking to find the practice of law a congenial profession he began studying with that end in view, his preceptor being William C. Goudy, of Lewiston. A year later he was admitted to practice in the courts of Illinois and opened a law office in Knoxville which was then the county seat.
     By close application and determination he built up a large practice in a few years' time, riding the circuit as was customary in those days in company with the judge, who held court in various places in the circuit. Lincoln, Douglas and scores of other pioneer lawyers of Illinois visited Knox county in this manner and were acquaintances and colleagues of Judge Craig, who frequently related most interesting experiences of those early days. It was not unusual for him to make the trip on horseback and on reaching Spoon river he would have to swim that stream astride his mount. In 1856 he was appointed state's attorney by Governor Mattison, the circuit then comprising the counties of Mercer, Henderson, Warren, Knox and Fulton. This appointment was for the unexpired term caused by the resignation of W. C. Goudy and in November, 1861, he was elected to the office of county judge, serving on the bench for four years. In 1869 he was elected to represent Knox county in the constitutional convention of 1870 which formulated the present organic law of the state. It was he who devised the present township organization plan whereby counties are governed by a combination of the old Virginia system and the New England town-meeting system, providing for a board of supervisors as the legislative body. Throughout the years of his private practice his clientage was large and of a very important character. He was employed to assist the late J. J. Tunnicliff, then state's attorney, in the prosecution of Osborn who was tried for the murder of Mrs. Mathews near Yates City, the trial resulting in conviction leading to the only reported legal execution in Knox county. He was also one of the lawyers for the defendant in the case of DeHague in a political murder case which was brought to Knox county on a change of venue and secured the acquittal of his client. He was likewise counsel in the county seat trials and such was his recognized ability that his practice not only covered Knox but also many adjoining counties. Many judicial honors were also conferred upon him—in fact he filled every judicial office in the state with the exception of circuit judge, nor was his fame confined to Illinois for he was favorably mentioned in connection with the position of chief justice of the United States in 1888, President Cleveland considering him as a candidate for the honor which was finally conferred upon Melville W. Fuller. At different times he was also mentioned in connection with the democratic nomination for the vice presidency. However, he continued in the strict path of his profession and the record which he made as one of the supreme court judges of Illinois made him the peer of the ablest members who have sat upon the bench of this court of last resort.
     Judge Craig was first elected to the office in 1873 and was again elected in 1882 and 1891, his reelections coming to him as the expression of popular approval of his previous course as supreme court judge. From the time that he took his seat on the bench until he left it he was known for his fidelity to the interests of the people. In several of his decisions he rendered not only the people of Illinois but the nation as well a conspicuous service. His decision in the case of the people of the state of Illinois against the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Company was particularly notable. At that time the Granger element was a strong one in the state and the farmers were complaining of the discrimination in railroad rates. The case in question came in 1882 from Ford county, resulting from a railroad charge of sixty-five dollars for the shipment of a carload of grain from Gilman to New York, whereas the charge on a carload from Peoria to New York, a longer distance, was but thirty-nine dollars. In the trial the railroad company demurred on the ground that the law did not apply to it as it was incorporated in another state and Illinois had no jurisdiction over the rates. The question came before the supreme court on a writ of error and it fell to Justice Craig to write the clear and forceful opinion that gave him national fame. In this opinion, in which all but one of the judges concurred, it was set forth that the law did apply to rate fixed by companies incorporated outside the state but doing business over their lines in that state. The law was held not to be limited to home companies but to all with whom the people had relations inside Illinois. Judge Craig laid down the principle that a state has the right to regulate that part of interstate commerce directly affecting its citizens. The case was taken by the railroad company to the United States supreme court where Judge Craig's decision was upheld and the rule was firmly established that a state has power over the traffic inside of its borders even though carried on by an outside corporation. This important principle has since then been expanded to cover other than railroad companies. In the discussions in congress over the amendments to the interstate commerce bill much was said of this decision and its bearing on commerce inside states and on the decision of the United States supreme court the right of congress in the premises found substantial footing. Another noted case was that of the Illinois Central Railroad Company in 1898 against the city of Chicago. At that time Chicago was trying to prevent the railroad company from using the submerged land of the lake for railroad purposes. The company sought to enjoin the city from interfering, claiming its right to the submerged land under the provisions of its charter. The lower court overruled the application for an injunction and the company appealed to the supreme court. Justice Craig wrote the opinion, holding that the submerged land belonged to the state and that the state could not part with it for the purpose named but must conserve the interests of the public. Justice Craig maintained that the sole purpose of the company was to take the land for railroad purposes and that it had no right even as a riparian owner to fill up the lake. This great decision saved the lake for Chicago and kept it from being filled with roundhouses and other railroad structures and its announcement was hailed in Chicago with great pleasure. On this decision also rests the investigation now in progress with the view of restoring to the state filled-in lands taken by private persons without the knowledge or consent of the state. Judge Craig made a special study of land titles about which in those days there was much ambiguity, and his decisions along this line removed these doubts and established ownership, much to the relief of thousands of property owners in this state. Moreover, in one of his decisions he upset the contention of companies that employes were responsible for defects in equipment and machinery and that it was their business to ascertain whether these defects existed. Judge Craig held that it was the business of the companies to know about the condition of their equipment and keep the same in good repair. This decision has been the means of protecting multitudes of lives and has made companies responsible for damages in such cases. Judge Craig held railroad companies responsible for obstruction along the right-of-way that were a menace to the public; forced them to give viaducts a proper height and to provide necessary precautions to protect life; and in other ways while not hostile to the companies made them shoulder their responsibility in these matters. Another thing that is remembered here kindly is his attitude toward the case in which was involved the rights of colored pupils to attend the public schools. In this case he upheld this right.
     The last public work in which Judge Craig engaged was in connection with the state tax commission appointed by the governor. His business career was as notable in this way as its connection with the supreme court of the state which covered twenty-seven years. At the outset of his career he was a poor man but as opportunity offered he made investments in farm land, predicting that the prairies of this section would one day be worth two hundred dollars per acre—a prediction which he lived to see realized. He was also the owner of large realty in Galesburg and erected a number of its leading business blocks. The present Bank of Galesburg building was purchased by him for the bank and for a considerable period he figured prominently in financial circles in this state, being at the time of his death president of the Bank of Galesburg, the Bank of Altona, the Farmers State Bank of Alpha, the Bank of North Henderson and the Bank of Prairie City, the two last named being private banking institutions. He has also been a director and heavily interested in the Farmers National Bank of Knoxville and the State Bank of Victoria. Those who have been associated with him in the local banks speak highly of his sound judgment in matters of a financial nature.
     Judge Craig was twice married. He first wedded Elizabeth P. Harvey, a daughter of Curtis K. and Hannah K. (King) Harvey. They became parents of four children: Carrie, who married William Bradford but both are now deceased; Harvey A., now a physician of Galesburg, who was engaged in the drug business here for a number of years; Charles C., a well known attorney of this city; and George H., deceased. He was a graduate of Notre Dame University of South Bend, Indiana, and then entered the banking business and became teller in the Bank of Galesburg. The death of Mrs. Craig occurred in 1901 and therein the Presbyterian church lost a faithful member, her family a devoted wife and mother, and her acquaintances a loyal friend. She was born in Knoxville, while her parents were natives of Vermont who became pioneer residents of Knox county, Illinois, where their remaining days were passed, her father there practicing law. Their children were: Curtis K.; Mrs. Sanborn; and Elizabeth, who became Mrs. Craig. Judge Craig was again married in 1908 when he wedded Miss Mary Davis, a native of Galesburg where her parents, who were natives of Ireland, settled at an early period in the development of this city. Her father passed away but her mother is still living. Their children were Mary, Kate and Ellen. Mrs. Craig is a member of the Episcopal church and is widely known in Galesburg, where her entire life has been passed.
     Judge Craig was a charter member of Pacific Lodge, A. F. & A. M.. of Knoxville, but cared little for attractions other than his home offered. For ten or twelve years he served as a trustee of Knox College and at the time of his death was also serving on the executive committee of the board. From that college he had received the degree of Doctor of Laws. It was after a brief illness with pneumonia that Judge Craig passed away at his home in Galesburg, September 6, 1911. Throughout the period of his long service on the supreme bench he had continued to make this city his place of residence and there was none perhaps in all Galesburg who was better known or more highly respected. The public service of few men has continued over a more extended period and none has been more faultless in manner, fearless in conduct or stainless in reputation. Colonel Clark E. Carr, himself a veteran member of the Galesburg bar and long a colleague of Judge Craig said: "I knew him when he was a boy in Knox College. He was an earnest student and it was understood then that he intended to become a lawyer. He was, as every good lawyer is, rooted and grounded in the statutes. He was not what would be called a brilliant lawyer but was thorough and safe and no other Galesburg attorney was so successful in practice. As a member of the constitutional convention he proposed and carried into effect some of its best provisions. While there were other more scholarly men on the supreme bench scarcely any other jurist has left a greater impress upon their jurisprudence, and the opinions of scarcely any other judge are more often quoted and followed. Three times, although a democrat, he was elected in a republican district. When an enterprise commended itself to his judgment few men were more public-spirited, a fact indicated by his liberal donation of ten thousand dollars to Knox College when that institution needed money more than ever before in all her history."
     Judge J. D. Welsh said: "Judge Craig was noted for applying common sense to the legal problems that came before the court and was a great judge.'' Said Congressman Prince: "Judge Craig as a lawyer of the bar in Knox county was one of the most successful men that ever practiced here. As a judge on the supreme bench he took rank among the ablest judges in the United States. His decisions on real estate ranked unusually high and were commented on in the law schools like Harvard and Columbia. When there was a vacancy on the supreme bench of the United States his name was given careful and long consideration by President Cleveland before Chief Justice Fuller was appointed. The mere fact that the name of a judge or lawyer is considered by the executive of the nation for the exalted position of chief justice puts for all time such a judge or lawyer in the front rank of jurists." Others bore testimony of his fairness in business transaction, naming him as the soul of honor, and still others attested to his kindness to the younger members of the bar. In fact in all the relations of life Judge Craig measured up to the highest standards of manhood and citizenship in the wise and able use which he made of his time and talents, in his recognition of his obligations to his fellowmen and of his duties as a citizen in his relations to the state and nation. (History of Knox County, Vol. II, by A. J. Perry, pages 254 & 257-261, submitted by Janine Crandell)

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