My Genealogy Hound

PIERSON, DAVID, the pioneer banker, was born in Cazenovia, Madison Co., N. Y., July 9, 1806, and when young received the rudiments of a common school education, but at the age of thirteen removed with his parents, Josiah and Naomi Pierson, to the then far West, arriving at St. Louis on the 3d of June, 1820, and after a short sojourn there moved across into Illinois, near Collinsville, in Madison County. In 1821 his father, Josiah Pierson, died of bilious fever, after an illness of only five days, leaving his widow and a family of five children, three sons and two daughters, in a strange land and among strangers, in rather destitute circumstances; but that God who cares for the widow and the fatherless watched over them, and they found kind, sympathizing friends among those with whom their lot had been cast. After the death of Mr. Pierson the family removed into Greene County, locating two and one half miles north of Carrollton, about the close of the year 1821. In the Spring of 1822 the subject of this sketch was taken sick with chills and fever, which finally terminated in a rheumatic affection and lasted, with more or less severity, for over three years; yet he continued to do such labor as he was able, in clearing up and improving the farm on which they resided, until his health became firm and he was able to do a large amount of labor. In the Spring of 1827, after having got a portion of the farm into a good state of cultivation, he rented it out and went with others to the lead mines near Galena, and engaged in mining, but returned to the farm in the Fall of 1828, living with his mother on the farm until her death, which occurred in September, 1829, and on the 25th day of August, 1830, was married to Miss Eliza Jane Norton (daughter of David Norton, an early settler of Illinois, from Herkimer Co., N. Y.), who has continued the faithful, trusting partner of his joys and sorrows for almost fifty years. Mr. Pierson continued to reside on his farm until the beginning of 1834, when he sold his farm and moved into the village (now City of Carrollton) and commenced merchandising, with a capital of less than $2,000, coming into competition with several experienced merchants, some of whom were worth more than ten times as much as he was, and all of them failed during the hard times from 1838 to 1843, which were the times that tried men’s souls as well as their purses. One other firm, that commenced business some two years later than Mr. Pierson (also without a large capital), and himself being the only merchants in the place that went through the great revulsion, that broke ninety per cent of the merchants and nearly all of the State banks in the United States, unscathed —thus illustrating the value of integrity of character. Mr. Pierson has always held that death was preferable to dishonor; has always had decided opinions on all questions where morals was concerned, and been outspoken in their defense. In politics he was from early youth a Clay Whig, advocating protection to the laborer, mechanic and manufacturer; after the disruption of the Whig party he became a Republican, and acted with the Union party during the war of the Rebellion. After the return of prosperity to the country, dating with the high tariff of 1843, Mr. Pierson extended his business operations largely, purchasing hogs, cattle, and grain, sometimes on a large scale; was from 1848 to 1854 the owner of the capital and the leading member in the firm of Mark Pierson & Co. of Alton, who, in addition to a large dry goods trade, did a large business in the purchase and shipment of grain. About the commencement of the year 1854, Mr. Pierson, having an eye on the banking business, closed his connection with the firm of Mark Pierson & Co, and commenced doing a banking business in connection with the dry goods trade. In 1855 his banking business had increased so much that he had procured a new safe, happily just before the night of the third of April, 1855, when a gang of robbers from Calhoun Co. broke into the store, probably hoping to obtain a large amount of gold belonging to the sheriff of the county; but fortunately they were not able to force the safe, and escaped with only about $280, which they found in the desk. Mr. Pierson, after a careful examination of all the facts and circumstances, raised a company of ten men of his true and tried friends, crossed over into Calhoun, and captured the whole gang, five in number, all of which were finally convicted and landed in the penitentiary. It was said by the State’s Attorney that he manifested a large amount of skill, not only in capturing the robbers, but in getting them convicted. Mr. Pierson continued his dry goods business, and his miscellaneous trading until the first of January, 1858, when he disposed of the dry goods, and turned his attention exclusively to banking, and in 1859 erected the large and commodious house, which has been occupied by the bank up to the present time; in 1860, having got established in his new and commodious quarters, he advertised his business more largely, and in 1861, notwithstanding nearly every bank in the State failed, he daily received the deposits of merchants and others, carrying his customers safely through the critical period without the loss to them of a single dollar, although at the end of the year the hundreds of thousands of dollars received on deposit, would not have been worth fifty cents to the dollar to the depositors had they kept their own money; and while all, or nearly all, the individual bankers in the country paid off their depositors at a discount, he continued to pay dollar for dollar, and as the broken bank money disappeared and national bank and treasury notes came into use, confidence succeeded the gloom and depression that had overspread the land, his business increased largely, having the confidence of not only the community in which he had so long resided, but that of the merchants and bankers in the neighboring cities, as well as that of the Treasurer of the United States; was appointed special agent for the sale of United States bonds during the time the Government was borrowing money to crush out the rebellion; and while many, who sympathized with the South, opposed and ridiculed the idea of loaning money to the Government to “coerce our Southern brethren,” Mr. Pierson succeeded in selling about six hundred thousand dollars in bonds of the different issues, to the citizens of the county, which speaks volumes in his favor, when the large opposition element in the county is taken into view. He was collector of internal revenue for several years, and paid more taxes for the poor than his profits from the office. Remembering the time, when a penniless boy, he worked for one and a half bushels of corn per day, when 20 cents per bushel was the highest price that could be got in trade or store goods for it, and common calico was 37 ½ cents, and thin domestic 25 cents per yard, salt $2.50 per bushel, sugar 20 cents, and coffee 50 cents per pound, and remembering how long and patiently he had to work before getting a start, he has ever been the friend and helper of the industrious poor. In 1862, Mr. Pierson purchased the Carrollton flouring mill, which he ran with great success for some years, clearing over $22,000 in less than four years; but others (hearing probably of his success) built mills in the city and county, until the competition became so great that nearly every miller in the county, except him failed, some of them for a large amount. He still owns the mill, which has been quite successful for the last few years. His flour ranks first in market. In 1862-3 he aided in building a woolen factory, which was destroyed by fire (the work of incendiaries), in the Fall of 1872, causing a loss to Mr. Pierson of over $25,000. In May, 1830, Mr. Pierson organized the first total abstinence society (so far as known) in the State of Illinois, with only thirteen members, which prospered amidst the most bitter opposition for over ten years, having over six hundred members, when the “Washingtonians” came into the field and took the place of the first organization. In 1832, Mr. Pierson and wife became members of the Baptist church, and he has rarely been absent from his seat at any of its regular meetings, either on the Sabbath or week days, for nearly forty-seven years, and has always been foremost in his contributions for the support of the minister and other church expenses; and for many years was superintendent of the Sabbath school, and always a constant laborer, and has had the pleasure of seeing near one hundred of the scholars connected with the school make a profession of religion, and some of them have become eminent divines. During his superintendance of the school be made it a point to be punctual in his attendance, and more than five years have elapsed without his missing a single Sunday. When the church was weak, he bore the largest share of the expenses of keeping it up himself; has been noted for his generous and liberal impulses; has contributed liberally for benevolent enterprises or those of a moral or religious character. He aided liberally in the establishment of the Langston school at Holly Springs, Mississippi, for educating the freed men in that State, and in 1872 met, in the National Republican Convention that met in Philadelphia, three freed men who were slaves until freed by the Emancipation Proclamation of the President, and when freed did not know a letter in the alphabet, but after had acquired a good, solid, practical education; and one of them, James Hill has since been Secretary of State in Mississippi, being elected by both parties, and by both whites and blacks. Over 2,000 scholars have been educated at that school, which is still prosperous. In early life Mr. Pierson resolved so to live that no man could truthfully complain of any act of his and that he would never stoop to contradict a slanders, to which resolves he has adhered through life. In a long life of extensive business transaction, and as president of a bank, doing the largest business of any in the county, it would be indeed a miracle if some offences were not given; and yet he is assured of the respect and confidence of the good men that know him best. And now, taking into view the poor pioneer boy, shivering with chills and fever, in the rough, log cabin, partaking of the humble fare of the backwoodsman more than fifty-five years ago, and what he accomplished in life, it can but raise in the estimation of all good men the straightforward principle that has actuated his career as a business man through life. Mr. Pierson’s strong traits of character are a steady perseverance in business, honesty of purpose, will and energy in carrying out his aims, generous and liberal in his impulses, always sympathizing with those in trouble, and often making large sacrifices to aid others, in trouble. Such in brief is the narrative of the life and career of one of the oldest citizens of Greene County. By his genial and kind manner he has won the respect and esteem of those who have acted with him in the growth and development of the county for over fifty years. He is ostensibly a self-made man, and needs no eulogy at our hands, as the work of his life speaks more eloquently for itself.