542
HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.
nal." In 1862, Mr. Upton became musical critic on "The Chicago Tribune," serving for a time also as its war correspondent in the field, later (about 1881) taking a place on the general editorial staff, which he still retains. He is regarded as an authority on musical and dramatic topics. Mr. Upton is also a stockholder in, and, for several years, has been Vice-President of the "Tribune" Company. Besides numerous contributions to magazines, his works include: "Letters of Peregrine Pickle" (1869); "Memories, a Story of German Love," translated from the German of Max Muller (1879); "Woman in Music" (1880); "Lives of German Composers" (3 vols.-1883-84); besides four volumes of standard operas, oratorios, cantatas, and symphonies (1885-88).
URBANA, a flourishing city, the county-seat of Champaign County, on the "Big Four," the Illinois Central and the Wabash Railways: 130 miles south of Chicago and 31 miles west of Danville; in agricultural and coal-mining region. The mechanical industries include extensive railroad shops, manufacture of brick, suspenders and lawn-mowers. The Cunningham Deaconesses' Home and Orphanage is located here. The city has water-works, gas and electric light plants, electric car-lines (local and interurban), superior schools, nine churches, three banks and three newspapers. Urbana is the seat of the University of Illinois. Pop. (1890), 3,511; (1900), 5,728.
USREY, William J., editor and soldier, was born at Washington (near Natchez), Miss., May 16, 1827; was educated at Natchez, and, before reaching manhood, came to Macon County, Ill., where he engaged in teaching until 1846, when he enlisted as a private in Company C, Fourth Illinois Volunteers, for the Mexican War. In 1855, he joined with a Mr. Wingate in the establishment, at Decatur, of "The Illinois State Chronicle," of which he soon after took sole charge, conducting the paper until 1861, when he enlisted in the Thirty-fifth Illinois Volunteers and was appointed Adjutant. Although born and educated in a slave State, Mr. Usrey was an earnest opponent of slavery, as proved by the attitude of his paper in opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. He was one of the most zealous endorsers of the proposition for a conference of the Anti-Nebraska editors of the State of Illinois, to agree
