ELSAH - In 1852 at age 54, General James Semple (his Illinois Militia rank) moved his family from Vandalia to Jersey County, Illinois, and as he then said, “settled in the woods, at Jersey Landing,” a village Semple later renamed, Elsah.
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In this picturesque region of rolling hills and majestic bluffs, four miles from the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, General Semple set about rebuilding his much depleted personal wealth. He purchased the valley in which Elsah Village was established and large tracts of forest and farm land on the bluffs above. He built a family home called Trevue (Tree View), and for the remaining 15 years of his life, this prairie entrepreneur successfully engaged in businesses in land development, freight transfer and farming.
Before moving to Elsah, General Semple had abruptly abandoned a long career in public service. He was a life-long Democrat who served three terms in the Illinois House of Representatives; as a diplomatic minister to New Granada (now Columbia in South America); in the Illinois Supreme Court; and in the U.S. Senate. Semple’s years in the Senate left him bitter and dissatisfied with the pettiness of party politics to the point that never again ran for elective office. In Semple’s mind, his achievements in public office had come at too high a price to his family and his fortune.
In “The Semples of Elsah,” local historian, George Provenzano will tell of lives of the General, his wife, children, and domestic servants at Trevue. This story will present new insights obtained from dozens of family letters written during the Civil War and Reconstruction. The letters reveal how the lives of the Semple parents changed as their children married, left home and started families of their own. Be prepared to hear some surprises.
“The Semples of Elsah” will be presented at Farley Music Hall, 37 Mill Street, in Elsah, Thursday, September 19, at 7:00 pm. The program is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required. Parking is available. Refreshments will be served following the lecture.
This presentation is one of this year’s Hosmer-Williams Lectures sponsored by Historic Elsah Foundation and underwritten by Liberty Bank: A United Community Bank.
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