The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-29

probably is Uncle, Joe" Cannon, whose
senior he was some seven years by
birth and some three years in national
service.
Andrew Jackson was President of
the United States when Mr.. Cullom
was born in 1929 down in the Elk
Spring valley of Kentucky. near the
Cumberland, where the Culloms of
Maryland and the Coffeys of North
Carolina, drifting westward with the
tide of immigration that set in at the
close of the Revolution, founded their
early home.
illustrates Epoch
During the year 1929" Mr.. Cullom
recently wrote to illustrate the epoch
in which he began life, "the crown of
Great Britain descended from King
George the Fourth to King William the
Fourth; that reign passed away and l
have lived to see the long reign of
Victoria come and go; the reign of
King Edward come and go and the ac-
cession of King George the Fifth.
Charles the Fifth ruled in France,
Francis the First in Austria, Frederick
William the Third in Prussia, Nicholas
the First in Russia, while Leo the
Twelfth governed the paped states, the
Kingdom of Italy not yet having come
into existence. The United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland had not yet
a population of 24,000,000 all told. No
man who had not served his country
in some capacity in the Revolutionary
war had been elevated to the presidency
of the United States and this was the
case until 1S43."
Times and events in his own coun-
try were no less stirring and his part
in them was a marked one Kentucky
was slave state at his BIRTH the con-
troversy which was to hatch into a
great civil war was in the process of
incubation, in fact the Culloms moved
to Illinois to be in free state and
Chicago then was a small village. The
elder Cullom was then friend of Lin
coins, recommending the struggling
backwoods lawyer to prospective
clients. Young Cullom's first recollec-
tion of the future war President was
under such circumstances. Scraping to-
gether the rudiments of an education
gained by toiling over rough primeval
roads he became successfully stude
at Mount Morris academy, a, country
school teacher and a lawyer. being ad-
mitted to the bar at Springfield in
1855.
Launches Upon Career
When he became city attorney of
Springfield he launched upon a polit-
ical career which for record of un-
broken service is unchallenged as ex-
C6GQlnR tnaL OF any OIneT american
Among his first political experiences
vas the novelty of being elected and
defeated at the same election. He was
elected to the legislature and defeat
ed as an elector on the Fillmore ticket.
Then came the historic Lincoln and
Douglas debates and Cullom's intimate
association with Lincoln. whom he fol-
lowed into the ranks of the repub-
lican party. He presided over the ses-
sion of the Illinois house at which aft
or Fort Sumter had been fired upon,
Stephen A. Douglas appeared and made
his dramatic plea for the preservation
of the union. During the first of Pres
ident Lncolns second term Mr.. Gull
lem came to the national House of
Representatives and began work
which was practically interrupted only
when he served two terms as governor
of Illinois. Lincoln was assassinated
soon after Cullom entered Washington
life and the young legislator was a
member of the committee that de-
n,anded the return of the Presidents
body to Springfield. Then when the
country began to recover from what
seemed "a final blow and the recon-
struction set in with the Thirty-ninth
Congress, Cullom began his service
with the Illinois delegation and with
such colleagues in Congress as Logan.
Wentworth, Blaine. ConlSling and Hayes
and Garfield. both of whom attained
the presidency.
After six years in the House during
which time he had seen the impeach-