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Full text of "The biographical record of Champaign County Ill. .."

LIBRARY OF THE 

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 

AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 




I.H-S- 




THE 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



OF 



CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, 



ILLINOIS. 



" A people that take no pride in tlie noble achievements of remote aneesturs 
ill ne-cer nchiere anvlhin^ worthy to be remembered with 
pride by remote generations." 1 MACAULAY. 



CHICAGO: 

I'm: S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING C '.MI-AM, 
1900. 



'Biography is the only true history."--Emerson. 






PREFACE 




HE greatest of English historians, MACAULAY, and one of the most 
brilliant writers of the present century, has said : "The history of a 
country is best told in a record of the lives of its people." In con- 
formity with this idea, the BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD has been prepared. 
Instead of going to musty records, and taking therefrom dry statistical 
matter that can be appreciated by but few, our corps of writers have 
gone to the people, the men and women who have, by their enterprise 
and industry, brought this county to a rank second to none among 
those comprising this great and noble State, and from their lips have the story of their life 
struggles. No more interesting or instructive matter could be presented to an intelligent 
public. In this volume will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy the imitation 
of coming generations. It tells how some, commencing life in poverty, by industry and 
economy have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, with limited advantages for securing 
an education, have become learned men and women, with an influence extending throughout 
the length and breadth of the land. It tells of men who have risen from the lower walks of 
life to eminence as statesmen, and whose names have become famous. It tells of those in 
every walk in life who have striven to succeed, and records how that success has usuallv 
crowned their efforts. It tells also of many, very many, who, not seeking the applause of the 
world, have pursued the " even tenor of their way," content to have it said of them, as Christ 
said of the woman performing a deed of mercy "They nave done what they could." It 
tells how many, in the pride and strength of young manhood, left the plow and the anvil,* the 
lawyer's office and the counting-room, left every trade and profession, and at their country's 
call went forth valiantly " to do or die," and how through their efforts the Union was 
restored and peace once more reigned in the land. In the life of every man and of every 
woman is a lesson that should not be lost upon those who follow after. 

Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a sacred treasure, from 
the fact that it contains so much that would never find its way into public records, and which 
would otherwise be inaccessible. Great care has been taken in the compilation of the work, 
and every opportunity possible given to* those represented to insure correctness in what has 
been written ; and the publishers flatter themselves that they give to their readers a work with 
few errors of consequence. In addition to biographical sketches, portraits of a number of 
representative citizens are given. 

The faces of some, and biographical sketches of many, will be missed in this volume. 
For this the publishers are not to blame. Not having a proper conception of the work, some 
rrlused to give the information necessary to compile a sketch, while others were indifferent. 
Occasionally some member of the family would oppose the enterprise, and on account of such 
opposition the support of the interested one would be withheld. In a few instances men 
never could be found, though repeated calls were made at their residence or place of business. 



May, 1900. 



THE S. T. CLAHKE PUBLISHING Co. 




ALBERT C. BURNHAM. 



BIOGRAPHICAL 







LBERT C. BURNHAM, 
deceased. Honored and 
respected by all, there 
was no man in Cham- 
paign who occupied a 
more enviable position 
in business circles than 
Mr. Burnham. Not only on account of the 
brilliant success he achieved, but also on 
account of the honorable, straightforward 
business policy he always followed. He 
was one of nature's noblemen, and the world 
is better for his having lived. He was a man 
of the times, broad-minded, public-spirited 
and progressive, and to him Champaign is 
indebted for many valuable gifts. 

Mr. Burnham was born in Deerfield, 
Michigan, February 11, 1839, and was 
reared upon a farm. He took a rather 
thorough course of study before starting out 
in life for himself, and is reported to have 
said that on coming to Champaign county 
he was still three hundred dollars in debt 
for the expenses of his education. During 
the winter of 1 860-6 [ he taught school in 
Onarga, Iroquois county. Illinois, and early 
in the following spring came to Champaign 
and entered the office of J. B. McKinley to 
read law. He was a good student and soon 
completed the course and was admitted to 
the bar. In the meantime he evinced more 



liking for business affairs than for the prac- 
tice of law. As it happened about this 
time eastern capitalists began sending money 
to Mr. McKinley for investment in farm se- 
curities and Mr. Burnham did a large part 
of the formal work of making these loans. 
After he was licensed to practice he entered 
into a business arrangement with Mr. Mc- 
Kinley, under the firm name of McKinley & 
Burnham, and this connection continued 
until our subject's marriage. 

At Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, June 24, 
1866, Mr. Burnham married Miss Julia F. 
Davison, and to them were born two chil- 
dren: Robert Davison, a resident of Cham- 
paign; and Mary B., wife of Newton M. 
Harris, of the same city. Mr. and Mrs. 
Burnham began their married life in the 
little house on Church street now occupied 
by Mr. and Mrs. Julius Hamilton, and after- 
ward moved to what was known as the But- 
terfield property on the grounds where the 
Atheneum now stands, making that their 
home until their removal to the residence on 
the corner of Lynn and Church streets, now 
occupied by their daughter, Mrs. Harris. 

During the early days of the Civil war, 
Mr. Burham was a clerk in the commissary 
department of the army, but suffering from 
an injury received by being thrown from a 
horse, he resigned his position and returned 



10 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



home. After his marriage he was engaged 
in the banking business for some years at 
the location now occupied by his successors, 
and established what has become one of the 
most solid financial institutions of this sec- 
tion of the state. J. R. Trevett, now a 
member of the firm, entered his office as an 
employe in the spring of 1870. On the ist 
of March, 1871, the firm of Burnham, Mc- 
Kinley & Company was organized, and R. 
R. Mat! is entered their employ in 1875. 
When that firm was dissolved March I, 
1876, Messrs. Burnham, Trevett and Mat- 
tis entered into a copartnership. Although 
our subject retained his connection with 
this banking house up to the time of his 
death, he practically left the business of 
the company to the junior members of the 
firm during the last ten years of his life, 
while he devoted his attention almost en- 
tirely to his large financial interests. The 
business relations of the company were most 
harmonious, and Mr. Burnham was often 
heard to say that few men had been so for- 
tunate as he in the ability, trustworthiness 
and capacity of their business associates. 
He, himself, was a most able financier, and 
through his own well-directed efforts and 
wise investments he accumulated a hand- 
some fortune, enabling him to surround his 
family with all the comforts and luxuries 
which wealth can secure. He left an es- 
tate valued at between one and two million 
dollars, and gave his son and daughter, to- 
gether with his partners, Messrs. Trevett 
and Mattis, full charge of the same without 
bond and without report. The property is 
to be left intact until 1920, when it is to be 
divided among his legal heirs. In politics 
Mr. Burnham was a Republican and served 
as school treasurer for some time. 

While enjoying his well-deserved pros- 



perity, Mr. Burnham was not unmindful of 
the public, and cast ^ibout him for opportu- 
nities to do some act of lasting good to the 
community in which he lived, and especially 
to the needy and suffering. In the summer 
of 1893 his attention was attracted by a 
.newspaper article giving a detailed account 
of the hardships and sufferings of an unfort- 
unate invalid in a poor family in Champaign, 
and or\ the evening of October 19, 1893, in 
the presence of a few friends at" the home 
of Jerome T. Davidson, Mr. Burnham an- 
nounced his intention of giving ten thousand 
dollars to build a. hospital for the city, which 
amount was later increased to twenty-five 
thousand dollars. The hospital was built 
and at his request was named the Julia F. 
Burnham hospital in honor of his beloved 
wife. In announcing the fact of his purpose 
in this matter, The Gazette, October 20, 
1893, said: " The gift is understood to be 
in the nature of a memorial to his wife in 
her lifetime and the money will reach its 
destination through her hands." This hos- 
pital now stands at the corner of Springfield 
avenue and Fourth street a monument to 
the goodness of the woman whose name it 
bears and to the generosity of him whose 
thoughtfulness made its construction possi- 
ble. Before this work was fairly completed 
a sad affliction came upon Mr. Burnham. 
He and his wife went to New York in the 
latter days of October, 1894, he being called 
there on business. While there they had 
rooms at the Hoffman House, and during his 
absence, Mrs. Burnham was overtaken with 
a stroke of something in the nature of par- 
alysis, from which she expired on the 28th 
of that month. The remains were brought 
back to Champaign and interred in Mt. Hope 
cemetery, November I, 1894, the manifest- 
ations of sorrow and grief being general 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1 1 



throughout the city. This was a blow from 
which it seemed for a time that Mr. Burn- 
ham could hardly recover his faculties. 
Seldom has bereavement seemed to strike a 
man so severely. 

It appears that on the way to New York, 
Mr. and Mrs. Burnham talked over and de- 
cided upon another gift to the city, which 
he afterward made. This was revealed to 
the public on the evening of January I , i 895, 
when at a meeting of the city council, G. 
\Y. Gere appeared for Mr. Burnham and 
announced the purpose formed by the latter 
to give the city a gift of fifty thousand dol- 
lars, as follows: thirty-five thousand to be 
expended in the construction of a library 
building to be perpetually the property of 
the city for library purposes; ten thousand 
dollars to be securely invested and the pro- 
ceeds thereof to be applied to the purchase 
of books; and the lot known as the Butter- 
field property on West Church street, valued 
at five thousand dollars, to be the site of 
the new library building. This gift was 
gratefully accepted by the city, and the ele- 
gant Burnham Atheneum is the result. It 
is a second monument to the name and 
honor of the good citizen who always had 
the best interests of Champaign at heart, 
and will reflect credit upon him and do good 
to the community as long as the city has an 
existence. On the I3th of September, 1897, 
while on his way to the office, Mr. Burnham 
was overcome with the heat and expired 
almost instantly. 

His record was that of a man who by 
his own unaided efforts worked his way up- 
ward to a position of wealth and affluence. 
In all places and under all circumstances he 
was loyal to truth, honor and right, justly 
valuing his own self-respect as infinitely 
preferable than fame and position. In all 



those fine traits of character which combine 
to form what we term friendship, which en- 
dear and attach man to man in bonds which 
nothing but the stain of dishonor can sever, 
which triumph in the hour of adversity in 
those qualities he was royally endowed. 



ANDREW S. DRAPER, LL. D. The 
name of Dr. Draper is a familiar one 
in educational circles throughout the country, 
and as the president of the University of 
Illinois he has materially advanced the in- 
tellectual status of this commonwealth. 
Man's worth in the world is measured by 
what he has done for his fellow men, and 
certainly he is deserving of great gratitude 
who has enabled others to understand their 
own powers, to having cognizance of their 
intellectual strength and developed their 
capabilities in a way that will make their 
opportunities in life greater and broader. 
Such a work is that which occupies the at- 
tention of him whose name introduces this 
review, and today he stands among the 
leaders in educational labors in the Missis- 
sippi valley. 

President Draper was born in Westford, 
Qtsego county, New York, June 21, 1848, 
his parents being Sylvester Bigelow and 
Jane (Sloan) Draper. The father was a 
farmer and manufacturer of Westford. Nine 
generations of the Draper family have re- 
sided in America, the original ancestor in 
this country having come from England in 
1646. One of the great-grandfathers of the 
Doctor was a captain in King Philip's war, 
and two others were Revolutionary heroes. 
All were residents of Massachusetts. The 
Sloans were of Scotch-Irish ancestry and 
came to America in 1812, locating in Wash- 



12 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ington county, New York. Samuel Sloan, 
the maternal grandfather, was the first of 
the family to take up his abode in the new 
world. His family were of the Presbyterian 
faith, while the Draper family were Con- 
gregationalists in religious belief. Soon af- 
ter the Revolutionary war the Drapers made 
a settlement in the midst of the wilderness, 
in Otsego county, New York, and there re- 
sided the great-grandfather, the grandfather 
and the father of our subject, and lands first 
taken were in possession of members 
of the family for over one hundred years. 
When Dr. Draper was a lad of seven sum- 
mers his parents removed to Albany, New 
York. In the public schools of that city 
the Doctor obtained his preliminary educa- 
tion, which was supplemented by study in 
the Albany Academy. Later he was a stu- 
dent in the school of law of the Union Uni- 
versity, being graduated in the class of 1871. 
Having been admitted to the bar he prac- 
ticed law in Albany fourteen years, and 
during that time, from 1878 to 1881, he 
was a member of the board of education of 
that city. He had also successfully engaged 
in teaching from 1866 to 1870, being a 
member of the faculty of the Albany Acad- 
emy during a portion of that time. 

A recognized leader in public thought 
and opinion, Dr. Draper was called upon to 
represent his district in the New York Leg- 
islature in 1 88 1, and was made a member 
of the committees on ways and means, and 
public education, and public printing, but 
gave the greater part of his time to the first 
named. He was also a member of a special 
committee of that Legislature that investi- 
gated the affairs ot the Elmira Reformatory, 
prepared the report of the committee, and 
also the first bill which became a law in 
New York against contract labor in the 



prisons. He was likewise a member of the 
special committee that entertained General 
Grant on the part of the Legislature and also 
a member of the special committee that in- 
vestigated the charges of bribery preferred 
against Senator L. B. Sessions in connection 
with the contest over the election of a 
United States senator brought on by the 
resignation of Senators Conklin and Platt. 
Dr. Draper supported those two senators in 
that prolonged contest. He was a member 
of the Republican state central committee 
from 1882 until 1885, and was chairman of 
the executive committee during the presi- 
dential campaign of 1884. The same year 
he was a delegate to the Republican na- 
tional convention and supported the nom- 
ination of President Arthur. He had charge 
of the details of the party campaign in New 
York in 1884, an d visited Mr. Elaine at his 
invitation at his home in Augusta, Maine, 
and later accompanied him on his two cele- 
brated tours of the Empire state. The 
same year he was appointed by President 
Arthur the appointment being confirmed 
by the senate as one of the judges of the 
United States court created by Congress 
to determine the individual claims against the 
Geneva award. In 1886 he was elected by 
the New York legislature to the position 
of state superintendent of public instruc- 
tion and re-elected in 1889, serving until 
1892. During this time the educational 
system of /New York state was in a large 
measure re-organized, and many legislative 
acts were passed of benefit to the schools. 
The courses of work in the normal schools 
and the teachers' training classes were en- 
tirely revised and a complete system of uni- 
form examinations for teachers' certificates 
was established. 

In 1892 Dr. Draper was chosen super- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



intendent of instruction in the public schools 
of Cleveland, Ohio, and filled that position 
for two years. A new law had been enacted 
for the city which placed the appointment 
and removal of teachers wholly in the hands 
of the superintendent, and in this way the 
teaching- force was purged and reinvigorated 
and the standard of the schools was materi- 
ally raised. Examinations as tests of ad- 
vancement from grade to grade in grammar 
schools was abolished and the judgment of 
the teachers substituted therefor. The work 
of the city training school was revised, and 
the whole city educational system took on 
new energy and effectiveness. In 1894 Dr. 
Draper was elected president of the Univer- 
sity of Illinois and has since occupied the 
position. During his incumbency harmony 
has prevailed in the councils of the univer- 
sity and all the friends of the institution 
have combined to lift it to a place of first 
rank among the universities of the country. 
Through the favor of the people of the state 
and generous appropriations by the Legisla- 
ture these efforts have been in a large meas- 
ure successful. New university buildings 
have been secured, and theinstructional force 
has more than doubled during the past five 
years, while the number of students has in- 
creased from less than eight hundred to more 
than twenty-two hundred. Dr. Draper has 
been a frequent contributor to the educa- 
tional press and has delivered addresses be- 
fore educational bodies in more than one-half 
the states of the Union. He has recently 
published a work entitled "The Rescue of 
Cuba," which has attracted much attention 
and won much commendation throughout 
the country. 

In 1872 Dr. Draper was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Abbie Louise Lyon, of New 
Britain, Connecticut, and they now have 



two children: Charlotte Leland and Edwin 
Lyon. The Doctor was formerly a mem- 
ber of the Congregational church (though 
now affiliated with the Presbyterian church), 
and for many years was an elder in the First 
Presbyterian church of Albany. In 1889 
the degree of Doctor of Law was conferred 
upon him by Colgate University. He is an 
honorary member of the Wisconsin State 
Historical Society, and though his life has 
been largely devoted to intellectual labors, 
he yet realizes the value and importance of 
physical development, and is very fond of 
outdoor sports, particularly of horses, base- 
ball and boating. He has traveled exten- 
sively throughout this country, and in 1899 
he visited Europe, spending many pleasant 
hours in viewing the places of historic and 
modern interest in Ireland, England, Scot- 
land, Holland, Germany, Switzerland and 
France. At this point it would be almost 
tautological to enter into any series of state- 
ments as showing our s*ubject to be a man 
of broad intelligence and genuine public 
spirit, for these have been shadowed forth 
between the lines of this review. Strong in 
individuality, he never lacks the courage of 
his convictions, has much human sympathy 
and an abiding charity, which, as taken in 
connection with the sterling integrity and 
honor of his character, have naturally se- 
cured for him the respect and confidence of 
men. 



JUDGE WILLIAM D. SOMERS, one of 
the most prominent old settlers of 
Champaign county, and^'one who has been 
an important factor in advancing its inter- 
ests, was born in Surry county. North Car- 
olina, in 1812, a son of Waitman and Win- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



nifred Somers. By occupation the father 
was a farmer. Our subject was reared in 
his native state but received only a limited 
education. In early life he went to live with 
Joseph Williams, then clerk of the county 
and circuit courts of Surry county, and as a 
clerk in his office acquired his first knowl- 
edge of law. He read medicine and then 
engaged in practice there for a time as by 
an act of the Legislature two graduate phy- 
sicians could give permission for an appli- 
cant to practice. 

In November, 1840, Judge Somers came 
to Champaign, which was then a very small 
place, and he rode on horseback over the 
open prairie for miles around. He was in 
limited circumstances on coming to the 
county, but later purchased land here. He 
married Miss Catherine P. Carson, a native 
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whose family 
were among the first to locate in this region. 
She died in 1898, leaving three children, 
namely: Pauline, now the wife of George 
Curtis, of Peoria; Mollie, wife of Charles 
Besore, of Champaign; and Cora, wife of 
Mr. Parker, of Urbana, Illinois. 

For some years after coming to this 
county Judge Somers was engaged in the 
practice of medicine, and in the meantime 
read law, being persuaded to adopt the legal 
profession by his wife, who was a well-edu- 
cated woman and believed that he possessed 
the necessary requirements of a successful 
lawyer. He was admitted to the bar by 
Judge Trent and devoted his entire time to 
practice until about ten years ago, when he 
retired from active business. He was inter- 
ested with Abraham Lincoln in many cases 
tried before the l^Kil and supreme courts, 
and in his day was one of the most success- 
ful attorneys connected with the bar of 
Champaign county. He tried many impor- 



tant cases, one of the most noted being the 
will case of Brownfield versus Brownfield. 
For a number of years he was local attorney 
for the Illinois Central Railroad Company 
and received' as high as a one-thousand-dol- 
lar fee from them in the days of smaller 
fees. As a lawyer he probably had no supe- 
rior in Champaign county at that time. On 
attaining his majority he became identified 
with the Democratic party, but of recent 
years has affiliated with the Republican 
party. He was never an office seeker, pre- 
ferring to devote his entire time and atten- 
tion to his professional duties. He has 
brought his keen discrimination and thor- 
ough wisdom to bear not only in professional 
paths, but also for the benefit of the city 
which has so long been his home and with 
whose interests he has been thoroughly iden- 
tified. It was principally through his in- 
strumentality that the University of Illinois 
was established at Champaign, being at that 
time a member of the board of supervisors 
who met at Springfield to decide on a loca- 
tion, and for this one act, as well as many 
others, the community owes him a debt of 
gratitude which can never be repaid. His 
home for several years past has been at the 
corner of Green and Race streets. 



JOHN W. BEARDSLEY, secretary and 
manager of the Champaign Machine 
Supply Company, is a young man of supe- 
rior executive ability and sound judgment, 
who already occupies a good position in the 
business world, and has a fine prospect of 
reaching the topmost round of the ladder of 
prosperity. He was born in Champaign, 
May 31, 1870, and throughout his business 
career has been prominently identified with 
the interests of the city. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



The Beardsley family is from Stratford- 
on-Avon, England, and was founded in this 
country as early as 1635. John Beardsley, 
the great-grandfather of our subject, served 
six years as a soldier in the Revolutionary 
war, and lost his" hearing at Stony Point by 
the bursting of a cannon. He died in 1802. 
His son, John Beardsley, Jr., the grand- 
father of our subject, was a native of Strat- 
ford, Connecticut. He was a soldier in the 
war of 1812, and was a cabinet maker by 
trade, which occupation he followed until 
his removal to Ohio. He was a pioneer of 
Milford township, Knox county, and was 
one of the organizers of the township On 
the 1 9th of March, 1822, he wedded Mary 
Fitch, a native of New Haven, Connecticut, 
and with his bride in a one-horse wagon, 
which contained their complete outtit, went 
to Ohio. He was a man of note in his 
community, was a Whig in politics and held 
many offices. In his youth he was a mem- 
ber of the Congregational church, and later 
was a believer in the doctrines as taught by 
Beecher, Dow and Taylor. He, himself, 
possessed considerable power as a speaker. 
He died February 24, 1887, at the advanced 
age of ninety-five years. Of his eight chil- 
dren, four died in childhood. The others 
are Charles, who was appointed fourth aud- 
itor of the United States treasury and served 
in that office eight years; Henry, an attor- 
ney of Clark, Nebraska; Mrs. Mary Craven, 
of Milford, Ohio; and George F., father of 
our subject. 

George F. Ut-ardslcy was born in Ohio, 
May 26, 1827, and was reared on a farm in 
that state and educated in the primitive 
schools of his day. In his youth he joined 
the ranks of the district school teachers and 
spent sixteen winters in this vocation. On 
reaching manhood he followed farming in 



Ohio until 1867, when he came to Cham- 
paign and embarked in the loan and real 
estate business. In 1895 he built the Beards- 
ley Hotel, but afterwards sold it to Charles 
B. Hatch. While a resident of Ohio, he 
served as postmaster at Milfordton under 
Presidents Buchanan and Lincoln and held 
the office of justice of the peace for ei^ht 
years. In 1864 he was a member of the 
National Guards, and was in active service 
ar und Petersburg. Since coming to Cham- 
paign he has been prominently identified 
with many of its business interests, and has 
done as much, if not more than any other man 
for the upbuilding and development of the 
city. He has also taken quite an active part in 
public affairs, serving as member of the board 
of education many years, and of the city coun- 
cil fourteen years. In political sentiment 
he is a Republican. He has been an active 
church worker for many years, a member of 
the Congregational church, and gives an 
earnest support to all enterprises calculated 
to advance the moral, educational or mate- 
rial welfare of the city or county. Few men 
are better known throughout the community, 
and none are more honored or highly es- 
teemed. In Knox county, Ohio, he was 
married, August 10, 1854, to Martha Mahan, 
a daughter of John and Martha Mahan, of 
New York state. Six children were born of 
this union, three of whom are now living: 
Henry M.. who married Marietta Davis and 
lives in KansasCity, Missouri; Annie Laurie; 
and John \V. , our subject. 

The primary education of John W. 
Beardsley was obtained in the public schools 
of Champaign, and later he entered the 
Illinois University, taking the modern lan- 
guage course and graduating in 1890 with 
the degree of B. L. With the expectation 
of taking up the practice of lasv, he went to 



i6 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Kansas City, Missouri, and entered the law 
office of Beardsley & Gregory, but owing to 
ill health of his father he soon returned 
home, and became interested in the real 
estate and insurance business with his father. 
In 1894 he became secretary of the Maltby 
& Wallace Company, and remained with 
them in that capacity until 1896, when the 
firm made an assignment, and out of it de- 
veloped the Champaign Machine & Supply 
Company, of which he is a stockholder, 
secretary and manager, the president being 
Professor F. A. Sager, of the University; 
and the vice-president, S. K. Hughes, while 
the superintendent is J. E. Protzeller. The 
company have a general machine shop and 
foundry, which they operate, and are also 
jobbers in steam and plumbing supplies. 
Their's is one of the leading indu ;tries of the 
city, and they do a large and profitable 
business. 

In 1899, Mr. Beardsley was united in 
marriage with Miss Edith M. Stave, .a native 
of Indiana, and a daughter of L. A. Stave, 
who was for many years connected with the 
register letter department of the Chicago 
post office, but owing to ill health he re- 
signed his position, and for the past six 
years has lived retired in Champaign. Mrs. 
Beardsley is the only child of her parents 
now living, one other having died young. 
Both our subject and his wife are members 
of the First Congregational church of 
Champaign, and socially he is a member of 
Valiant Lodge, No. 150, K. P., and Tusco- 
rora Tribe, No. 107, I. O. R. M. For two 
years he was secretary of the Champaign 
Agricultural Association board. Politically 
he is a Republican, but at local elections, 
where no issue is involved, he votes for the 
man he considers best qualified to fill the 
office, regardless of party lines. 



DAVID BAILEY was born in Salem, 
Rockingham county, New Hampshire, 
August 2, 1814, of poor but honest parents, 
his father being a farmer and shoemaker, 
to which business the most of the boys in 
that section of the country were reared. 
There were nine children in this New Eng- 
land home, three sons and six daughters, 
and the story of their early life is similar 
to that which has been written of so many 
others, their time being devoted to hard 
work and a few months study at the district 
school during the winter season. David 
Bailey had no further opportunity for schol- 
astic training. Indeed while he was yet 
under twelve years of age he was put out 
to work for a neighboring farmer in order 
to assist his father in lifting some incum- 
brances which were pressing, and be it said 
to their credit that the debt was fully 
paid. 

After spending a number of years on the 
farm, the subject of this sketch found an 
opportunity to enter a clerkship at Haver- 
hill, Massachusetts, but did not long remain 
on account of poor health. He soon drifted 
to Boston, or rather to Charlestown, where 
for a time he held a clerkship in the state 
penitentiary. Late in the '305 he decided 
to follow the star of the empire and came 
west as far as Danville, Illinois, where he 
entered a general store. While there he 
first met Miss Hannah A. Finley, to whom 
he was married February 9, 1841, and by 
this union were born five children, three 
sons who survive their father, namely: Ed- 
ward, president of the Champaign National 
Bank, of Champaign; David, Jr., a resident 
of Longview; and Ozias, of Texas. The 
daughters were Abiah, who died in child- 
hood; and Mrs. Sue (Bailey) Slayden, who 
died some years ago in Waco, Texas. 




DAVID BAILEY 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



After spending some time working in 
Danville, Mr. Bailey went to Bloomfield, 
Edgar county, Illinois, walking all the way 
as he had not the means to pay coach fare, 
that being the only mode of travel in those 
days. There he accepted a position on sal- 
ary, but later with his brother Ozias, who 
had recently come west, he formed a part- 
nership under the firm name of O. & D. 
Bailey, our subject having saved a few dol- 
lars. The Bailey peddler's wagons soon 
became well known throughout the section 
between the Wabash and Sangamon rivers. 
The brothers also operated a pork packing 
establishment at Clinton, Indiana, shipping 
their produce by flatboats to New Orleans. 
About 1855 our subject moved to Monticel- 
lo, and after a short sojourn there came to 
Urbana. In March, 1856, he removed to 
Champaign, where for a number of years 
he successfully conducted a dry goods busi- 
ness on the site of the Metropolitan Block 
now occupied by F. K. Robinson & Brother. 

Aside from this Mr. Bailey was one of 
the original shareholders and directors of 
the First National Bank and it was largely 
through his efforts that the charter was se- 
cured, the names appearing with his in the 
original articles of incorporation being 
James S. Wright, John F. Thomas, Will- 
iam M. Way, Hamilton Jefferson, B. F. 
Harris, John S. Beasley, Daniel Gardner, 
William C. Barrett, Simeon H. Busey, S. 
P. Percival, John G. Clark and A. E. Har- 
mon. Mr. Bailey disposed of his holdings 
in this institution some time in the '705, and 
in 1882 he became one of the charter mem- 
bers of the Champaign National Bank, in 
which his holdings were always consider- 
able, and in which he was a director from 
the date of organization until the time of 
his death. 



During his residence in Champaign, Mr. 
Bailey was several times elected to the 
board of supervisors and also served one 
term as school trustee. He was a public- 
spirited citizen, contributing liberally yet 
wisely to every worthy enterprise whether 
secular or religious. His givings were never 
ostentatious, but it may be said here that 
among his gifts are numbered the lots 
occupied by the Baptist parsonage, he 
being a member of that society, and the 
valuable ground now occupied by the city 
buildings. 

Mr. Bailey gave up his residence in 
Champaign about 1877, and after traveling 
for a season finally located in St. Joseph, 
Missouri, where he remained until after the 
death of his first wife in 1879. Subse- 
quently he lived for a time in New York 
City, and then returned to the home of his 
boyhood in New Hampshire, where he 
spent most of his time, though he fre- 
quently visited his old home and friends in 
Champaign. On the 22nd of March, 1882, 
he married Miss Harriet Haseltine, of 
Methuen, Massachusetts, and only two 
weeks later followed her remains to the 
cemetery. He was again married, Novem- 
ber i, 1886, his third wife being Mrs. Mary 
B. Evvins. who survives him. His new resi- 
dence in that city, built on the site of the 
old family home, had just been completed 
and occupied by him when called from this 
life December 17, 1897, it being his inten- 
tion had he livjed to spend the closing days 
of his life among the scenes of his greatest 
successful activity. 

Mr. Bailey was a man of magnificent 
physical presence, and it may truly be said 
that he carried within his breast a soul 
worthy of so splendid a habitation. He 
sought no man's praise, satisfied to have the 



20 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



approval of his own conscience, and he was 
immovable in his adherence to justice and 
right. Once his duty was made plain, 
nothing could swerve him from it, yet un- 
der a stern exterior beat a great, big, kind 
heart, as those who knew him best can tes- 
tify. He was a manly man and that means 
much. His character was developed in 
pioneer days and while his early opportunity 
for acquiring an education was very limited, 
yet by reading and observation he became a 
well informed and polished gentleman. The 
lile and labors of such as he have made 
possible the greater comfort and beauty in 
the world at present. 

The editorial comment of the Daily 
News at the time of his death voiced the 
sentiment of the entire community and was 
as follows: "It is with profound sorrow 
that the people of Champaign have laid to 
rest the human form in which for eighty- 
four years reposed the noble soul of David 
Bailey, as true a man as ever lived in this 
community. It was to his foresight and 
effort, probably more than any other, that 
in the late '503 and through the '6os shaped 
the affairs of this municipality in a way to . 
lay the foundation for our city's present 
greatness, and our citizens have never for- 
gotten and could not forget his early and 
long continued interest in their welfare. It 
was the nature of Mr. Bailey to stand al- 
ways bravely for the right. He could 
neither be cajoled nor coerced in compro- 
mising either himself or the interests he 
represented. He was the very embodiment 
of manliness. The competency which he 
left behind was accumulated through honest 
effort. During his early struggles it may 
have been difficult at times to pay his bills, 
but they were all paid in full. What he had 
was his and no man could question his right 



to it for no man had ever been crippled or 
crushed by him in his efforts to get it. Mr. 
Bailey was a sturdy specimen of that vig- 
orous and noble manhood which scorns to 
do evil. His whole life was an example of 
right living; his heart beat warm for the 
oppressed and distressed; and his purse 
opened probably with greater frequency 
than any other in Champaign to alleviate 
the sufferings of his fellows. Yet it was all 
done so modestly that only in rare instances 
did any but the beneficiaries know of his 
beneficence. Champaign sincerely mourns 
the loss of this worthy citizen and steadfast 
friend. His memory will long be cherished 
by those among which he lived so long and 
for whom he did so much." 



WILLIAM CHERRY, who has been 
actively engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits in Champaign county and eastern Illi- 
nois, and experienced all of the vicissitudes 
common to the pioneer in this region in the 
early '505, is now practically retired from 
business, and is passing his declining years 
in peace and plenty, at his pleasant home 
in the outskirts of Urbana. Possessing the 
energy and practical methods of the English 
people among wrfom he was reared, he was 
the first in his section of the county to in- 
troduce numerous improvements and radical 
changes from the prevailing system of farm- 
ing, and wrought out a measure of success 
rarely attained by the Illinois farmer. 

Born in Oxfordshire, England, June 9, 
1828, William Cherry is a son of Thomas 
and Ann (Lock) Cherry, both of whom were 
natives of the same locality. The father 
held a position as game-keeper on the estates 
of Lord Abingdon, and was a faithful and 



. BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



21 



efficient employe of that nobleman. Born 
February 14, 1805, he lived to the age of 
about 85 years, and his wife, who was born 
in 1806, died September 29,1878. They 
were the parents of ten children, namely: 
William, George, Thomas, Jane, Esther, 
Barbara, Emma, Ann, Eliza, and Mary. 

In his youth, our subject received the 
greater part of his education in the night 
schools, and, as he was maturing, he was of 
much assistance to his father. About the 
time that he reached his majority he had 
the reputation of being the most expert 
plowman of that locality, and in other de- 
partments of agriculture he excelled. A spirit 
of enterprise and ambition led him, at length, 
to embark for the land of promise, and such 
our country ultimately proved itself to him. 
Going to Toledo, he found employment on 
the construction of the "four-mile level" 
just west of that city, on the Wabash rail- 
way, and the following year he proceeded 
to Attica, Indiana, where -he rented a farm 
until 1859. The next eight years were 
spent by him on leased hind in the vicinity 
of the present town of Armstrong, Illinois, 
and in the fall of 1866 he went to- Champaign 
county, where he had previously purchased 
a quarter section of land, situated upon sec- 
tion 31, Ogden township. The property was 
wild prairie, and much of the plare was un- 
der water part of the year. Solving the dif- 
ficulty in a practical way, the new owner 
bought a carload of tiles at the factory in 
Indiana, and thus was the first one in the 
county, probably, to insntntc this common- 
sense practice of draining low lands. Need- 
less to say, his homestead thrived and \ ield- 
ed abundantly under his judicious manage- 
ment, and his example, in many things, 
proved an incentive to the whole commu- 
nity. For a score of years he dwelt there, 



raising large quantities of grain and breeding 
and feeding live stock extensively. With 
all of his inherited love for fine stock, he 
kept Clydesdale horses, short-horn cattle 
and Southdown sheep, and never failed to 
obtain high prices for them. When he could 
afford it, he bought another quarter-section 
x of land, adjoining his home place, and con- 
verted the whole into a valuable farm. Later, 
he sold a portion of the place, and in iSSS 
bought twenty acres of land, just outside 
the corporate limits of Champaign, and there 
made his abode for three years. In 1891, 
he removed to his present place, comprising 
ten acres, located on the edge of the town 
of Urbana, and well improved and desirable 
in every respect. He also owns several 
hundred acres of excellent land in Illinois 
and Nebraska, beside having other paying 
investments. 

The marriage of Mr. Cherry and Sarah, 
daughter of John and Hannah Lever, all na- 
tives of Buckinghamshire, England, was 
celebrated February 2 i , 1855. She came 
to America with her brother, William, who 
lived at the home of our subject, and her 
sister Mary. The latter , wedded Henry 
Last, now a retired citizen of West Leb- 
anon, Indiana. As they were not blessed 
with children of their own, Mr. and Mrs. 
Cherry opened their hearts and home to five 
different children, whom they adopted, edu- 
cated and ten4erly cared for. One of the 
number, James H., is a practical and suc- 
cessful farmer of Ogden township. Mrs. 
Cherry was summoned to the better land 
August ii, 1894. She was a devoted mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and 
was an earnest worker in the Sunday-school 
and in all good enterprises. On the 9th of 
December, 1897, Mr. Cherry married Miss 
Sarah E. Last, daughter of the Henry and 



22 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mary Last mentioned above, and, there- 
fore, a niece of his first wife. She is the 
only survivor of three children, and was 
reared to womanhood in Indiana. 

In 1888, Mr. Cherry made a trip to 
England, where he visited the scenes of his 
happy youth, and renewed old acquaint- 
ances. Politically, he has not allied himself 
to any party, but has independently voted 
for the nominees and principles in which he 
has believed at the time. During his resi- 
dence in Ogden township, he served as 
commissioner of highways for eight years, 
and was a school director for twelve years. 
Religiously, he has been active in the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, and has liberally 
supported worthy charities. His remin- 
iscences of early days on the frontier are 
very interesting, and he graphically relates 
tales of his own and neighbors' experiences 
before the roads were more than outlined, 
streams were bridged, markets were easily 
accessible, and the thousand-and-one im- 
provements and comforts of civilized life 
were introduced upon these then wild and 
unpromising prairies. 



ANDREW J. MILLER. Fortunate is the 
man who has back of him an ancestry 
honorable and distinguished, and happy is 
he whose lines of life are ca,st in harmony 
therewith. In person, in character and in 
talents, Mr. Miller is a worthy scion of his 
race. He has shown himself to be the peer 
of the brightest members of the bar in this 
section of Illinois. Having richly inherited 
the gifts of intellect and oratory of a family 
which has added luster to the pages of state 
and national history through successive 
generations, he to-day holds a position of 



distinctive preferment among the represent- 
atives of the bar of Champaign county. 

Andrew Jackson Miller was born in 
Tolono township, this county, on the 3Oth 
of May, 1863, his parents being Isaac J. 
and Elizabeth W. (Rock) Miller. His 
grandfather, Nathaniel Miller, spent his 
early life in New Jersey, and in that state 
wedded Mary Martin, a sister of Luther 
Martin, who was one of the lawyers that 
defended Aaron Burr for treason, and who 
refused to be a member of the committee 
that signed the Declaration of Independence 
because they would not abolish slavery 
through that document. His father, Henry 
Martin, was an own cousin of John Ouincy 
Adams and a nephew of John Adams. The 
Martin family was founded in America about 
1645, the original American ancestors hav- 
ing come from England. 

Isaac J. Miller, a son of Nathaniel and 
Mary (Martin) Miller, was born in Hamilton, 
Butler county, Ohio, May 18, 1815, spent 
his boyhood days on the farm there, and 
when twenty years of age went to Fountain 
county, Indiana, where he spent a few years 
on a farm, coming to Champaign county, 
Illinois, in 1838. He entered land in Tolono 
township, and transformed the wild tract 
into richly cultivated fields, whereon he 
made his home until October, 1874, when 
he removed to Brown county, Kansas, 
where he now resides. He was one of the 
most influential factors in the political 
circles of Champaign county at an early day, 
and was very prominent in the public affairs 
of the state. Of Governors Yates and 
Oglesby he was an intimate friend, also of 
John A. Logan, and in his early manhood 
he was associated with Oliver P. Morton, 
the war governor of Indiana. Later he be- 
came a warm friend and supporter of Abra- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ham Lincoln. He was instrumental in 
awakening sentiment in favor of and in se- 
curing the passage of the Homestead law 
for the northwest territory, and at the time 
of the establishment of the University at 
Urbana he was one of the county supervis- 
ors, and with two other members of the 
board advocated the giving of land by the 
county and the issuing of bonds to secure 
the University. After a hard contest, 
lasting several weeks, the board finally 
agreed to bring the University to Urbana. 
In his religious belief. Mr. Miller was a 
Universalist. 

Isaac J. Miller was united in marriage to 
Miss Elizabeth W. Rock, daughter of Will- 
iam and Nancy Rock, who came to Sadorus 
township, in 1823, fr6m Richland county, 
Virginia. He was one of the most favora- 
bly known men in Champaign county, and 
in his business affairs was very successful, 
leaving at his death twenty-three hundred 
acres of land. He represented a family de- 
scended from what was known as German 
Revolutionists, driven from the Fatherland 
on account of their progressive views, and 
seeking shelter in America about 1690. The 
descendants of the Miller, Martin and Rock 
families now number at least twelve thou- 
sand. 

Andrew J. Miller, whose name begins 
this record, first attended school in Brown 
county, Kansas. After his mother's death, 
which occurred June 6, 1876, he joined the 
cowboys of the southwest where he remained 
for about four years. In the winter of 1 880 he 
attended a night school in Denver, Colorado, 
and the following summer joined the famous 
Leadville baseball team, making a tour of 
almost the entire country. On the I2th of 
October, 1881, he entered the Northwestern 
University of Ohio, at Ada, Ohio, now 



known as the Ohio Normal, where he re- 
mained until his graduation with the class 
of 1885. He then returned to Champaign 
county, arriving in January, 1886. Here 
he entered the law office of Judge J. O. Cun- 
ningham, and, after spending some time in 
study, he indicated that he had mastered 
many of the principles of jurisprudence by 
successfully passing an examination at Mount 
Vernon, Illinois, in February, 1889. His 
scholarship was the highest in the class, his 
average markings being ninety-nine and a 
half per cent. Only one man in the state, 
up to that time, had equalled it, he having, 
in a two and a half days' examination, 
missed only one- half of a question. 

Mr. Miller at once opened an office in 
Urbana. No dreary novitiate awaited him, 
and in a short time he found himself at the 
head of a distinctively representative client- 
age. He continued in private practive alone 
until March, 1896, when he was nominated 
for the office of state's attorney, and elected 
in November. Since that time he has held 
the position. Prior to his advent into the 
office, there had been forty-four homicides 
in Champaign county and no man had paid 
the extreme penalty of his crime. After his 
election on the 3d of November, 1898, there 
was a homicide in the southeastern part of 
the county, the case attracting widespread 
attention. On the ist of October, 1898, it 
was called, the people of Illinois being the 
plaintiffs, and Richard Collier, the defend- 
ant. After two days of hard fighting, the 
case was given to the jury, and after twelve 
hours the verdict of guilty was returned, and 
the defendant sentenced to be hanged. An 
appeal was made to the supreme court, 
which refused to interfere. The govern- 
ment was also importuned, but decided to 
let the law take its course, and on Decem- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



her 16, 1898, the defendant was hanged in 
the jail at Urbana, which was the first legal 
execution which had taken place in the 
county. The entire prosecution was under 
the care of Mr. Miller, and the trial and its 
final results did more toward purifying the 
criminal atmosphere of Champaign county 
than any other one act in its history an 
opinion concurred in by the people through- 
out the community. During his term of 
office, up to December, 1899, Mr. Miller 
has prosecuted three hundred and eighty- 
seven cases, and only seven men have been 
acquitted, a record of twenty-t,vo per cent 
better than that of any state's attorney in Illi- 
nois. He is remarkable among lawyers for 
the provident care and wide research with 
which he prepares his cases. In no case 
has his readings been confined to the limi- 
tations of the questions at issue; it has gone 
beyond and compassed every contingency 
and provided not alone for the expected, 
but for the unexpected, which happens in 
the courts quite as frequently as out of 
of them. His logical grasp of facts and 
principles and of the law applicable to them 
has been another potent element in his suc- 
cess, and a remarkable clearness of expres- 
sion, an adequate and precise diction, which 
enables him to make others understand, not 
only the salient points of his argument, but 
his every fine gradation of meaning, may 
be accounted one of his most conspicuous 
gifts and accomplishments. 

Mr. Miller has for some years been rec- 
ognized as one of the leaders of the Repub- 
lican party, and in March, 1889, he was 
elected chairman of the township central 
committee, and made a member of the 
Republican county central committee. Since 
that time he ,has attended every primary, 
and the county, state and national conven- 



tions, and with the exception of the last 
named has been a delegate to all. He has 
canvassed the state three times during the 
last three presidential campaigns, making 
from eighty-five to one hundred and fifty 
speeches in each, .and is recognized as the 
most brilliant, as well as the .most logical 
orator in central Illinois. 

On the 1 5th of September, 1896, Mr. 
Miller was united in marriage to Miss Helen 
Leaf, of Rochester, Pennsylvania, daughter 
of William and Sarah Leaf. Her mother 
was a daughter of Mrs. Nancy Wright, a 
sister of General Robert E. Lee. Her 
father was born in the earldom of March, 
England, was educated for a government 
engineer, and had he remained in England 
would have inherited the title and lands of 
the Earl of March, but by espousing the 
Irish cause, he was deprived of his rights by 
the crown. When twenty-three years of 
age he came to the United States, and be- 
came superintendent of the construction of 
the celebrated John S. Hopkins University. 
Later he had charge of the buildiug of the 
locks for the Erie canal, and subsequently 
was general superintendent of the construc- 
tion of the stone work of the Pittsburg, Fort 
Wayne & Chicago Railroad, from Pittsburg 
to Chicago. On the completion of that 
contract he retired from active labor, and 
in the sixty-fourth year of his age departed 
this life. Mrs. Miller, his daughter, is a 
faithful communicant of the Episcopal 
church, while Mr. Miller is of the Universal- 
ist faith. He erected one of the fine homes 
of Urbana at No. 1003 West Illinois street, 
and the Miller household is the center of a 
cultured society circle. Socially he is a 
Mason, belonging to the lodge, chapter and 
council of Urbana. He has enjoyed tri- 
umphs in his professional career and honors 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in public life, but in private life he has 
gained that warm personal regard which 
arises from true nobility of character, defer- 
ence for the opinion of others, kindliness 
and geniality. His conversation is enliv- 
ened by a wit and repartee that renders him 
a fascinating companion and makes him 
popular with all classes. 

In January, 1900, Mr. Miller announced 
himself as a candidate for re-election, and 
on February 28, 1900, with Your strong 
competitors, he received the nomination on 
the first ballot an unprecedented fact in 
the history of the county. 



JOSHUA HELLER, an honored veteran 
of the Civil war, is now living a retired 
life, at No. 709 South Walnut street, was born 
in Tuscarawas county. Ohio, November 5. 
1820. and is ason of Jacob and Mary (Davis) 
Heller. Our subject's maternal grandfather 
was Joshua Davis, a native, of England, and 
his paternal grandfather was Andrew Heller, 
a native of Pennsylvania and a soldier of the 
war of 1812. 

Jacob Heller, the father of our subject, 
was born in Pennsylvania, November 21, 
1789, and was educated in the German 
schools of his native state, which were the 
only schools in his locality, as most of the 
people in the community spoke the German 
language. In 181 8 he removed to Tuscara- 
was county, Ohio, where he purchased land 
and engaged in farming until 1852, when he 
sold his property there and came to Illinois. 
He died in Champaign county in 1873. He 
was an earnest and devout Christian man. a 
member of the Moravian church in early 
life, but after coming to this state he united 
with the Methodist Episcopal church. He 



voted for General Jackson and was a Whig 
in politics until the organization of the Re- 
publican party when he became one of its 
stanch supporters. In his fatnliy were four 
children, three sons and one daughter, name- 
ly: Thomas wedded Mary Taylor, a native of 
Ohio, and both are now deceased; Hannah 
was married in 1840 to Daniel Moore, and 
after his death was married, in 1848, to 
James Brash, now deceased, and she is liv- 
ing in Urbana, at the age of eighty-two 
years; Joshua, our subject, is next in order 
of birth; and Joel married Hester Davis, and 
both are now deceased. 

The subject of this sketch received his 
education in the subscription schools of Ohio, 
which he attended about three months 
during the year, while the remainder of the 
time was devoted to work upon the home 
farm. He remained with his parents until 
he was married, at the age of twenty-three 
years, to Miss Sarah Whitehead, who was 
born in Manchester, England, in 1821, but 
in 1827 was brought to the United States 
by her parents, John and Sarah (Grindard) 
Whitehead, also natives of England, the 
family locating in Tuscarawas county, Ohio. 
By trade her father was a wool comber and 
weaver, and followed that occupation both in 
England and America. He finally purchas- 
ed an interest in a woolen mill in Tuscarawas 
county, and continued his connection with 
the business until his death. He was born 
in Christmas day, 1777, and died on Christ- 
mas day, 1859. He had ten children, of 
whom Mrs. Heller was sixth in order of birth. 
Two sons served for three years in the 
Union army during the Civil war. 

Fourteen children were born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Heller, but nine of these died when 
less than three years old. The others are 
as follows: (i) Hannah is the wife of 



26 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Joseph K. Davison, who is employed in the 
government printing office in Washington, 
D. C., and they have one daughter, Emma. 
(2) Richard, a resident of Urbana, married 
Mary Patterson, and they have four chil- 
dren, Eva, Florence, Ward and Alice. (3) 
James lives at home with his parents, and 
runs a corn sheller, threshing machine and 
clover huller. (4) Mary M. is the wife of 
George Charles, a blacksmith in the Big 
Four railroad shops at Champaign, and 
they have three children, Neola, Ruby and 
James R. (5) John T., a resident of In- 
dianapolis, Indiana, has been an engineer 
on the lightning express train on the Big 
Four railroad for four years. He wedded 
Mary Demsey.and they have three children: 
Wallace, and Chester and Fay, twins. 

After his marriage, Mr. Heller was en- 
gaged in farming in Ohio until the fall of. 
1851, when he moved to Iowa. The fol- 
lowing spring he came to Champaign county, 
Illinois, but in 1853 he removed to the 
southern part of this state, where he owned 
and operated a farm for a few years. On 
selling his property there he returned to 
Champaign county, where he has since made 
his home, and was for many years engaged 
in agricultural pursuits. His labors were 
interrupted during the war of the Rebellion 
by his service in the war. In August, 1862, 
he enlisted in Company G, Seventy-sixth 
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and he partici- 
pated in the battles of Champion Hills, 
Jackson and Chickamauga. With his com- 
mand he then went to Meriden, Mississippi, 
and from there to Little Rock, Arkansas, 
where he was taken ill and sent to the hos- 
pital at Cairo, Illinois. Later he was 
transferred to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, 
and from there to Quincy, Illinois, where 
he was discharged and then returned home. 



As soon as he had sufficiently recovered his 
health he resumed farming, and continued 
to engage in that occupation for several 
years, but is now living a retired life in Ur- 
bana. Since casting his first presidential 
vote for John C. Fremont, in 1856, he has 
affiliated with the Republican party. A 
brave and fearless soldier, his loyalty as a 
citizen and his devotion to his country's in- 
terests have been among his marked charac- 
teristics, and the community is fortunate 
that numbers him among its citizens. Re- 
ligiously he is a consistent member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and is held in 
high regard by all who know him. 



JOSEPH O. CUNNINGHAM, The pro- 
fession of the law, when clothed with 
its true dignity and purity and strength 
must rank first among the callings of men, 
for law rules the universe. .The work 
of the legal profession is to formulate, 
to harmonize to regulate, to adjust, to ad- 
minister those rulesand principles that under- 
lie and permeate all government and society 
and control the varied relations of man. As 
thus viewed, there attaches to the legal pro- 
fession a nobleness that cannot but be re- 
flected in the life of the true lawyer, who, 
conscious of the greatness of his profession, 
and honest in the pursuit of his purpose, 
embraces the richness of learning, the pro- 
foundness of wisdom, the firmness of 
integrity and the purity of morals, together 
with the graces of modesty, courtesy and the 
general amenities of life. Mr. Cunningham 
is now the oldest representative in years of 
continuous connection of the Urbana bar 
and also takes precedence as one of its most 
honored and able representatives. Through 



J^r ^^&*&*S*S^<S*>^ 







THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



29 



almost half a century he has been identified 
with the interests of this city, and upon its 
social, business, politics, education and 
moral life he has left the impress of his 
strong individuality. In Urbana not to 
know Mr. Cunningham argues one's self un- 
known and therefore no history of the 
county would be complete without the 
record of his upright life, which has been 
an inspiration and a benediction to many. 
Joseph O. Cunningham was born in 
Lancaster, Erie county, New York, Decem- 
ber 12, 1830, a son of Hiram W. and Eunice 
(Brown) Cunningham. His great-grand- 
parents on the paternal side were Thomas 
and Lucy (Hutchinson) Cunningham, who 
lived and died in Milford, Otsego county, 
New York. Their son, Layton Cunningham, 
was a native of Connecticut, and was mar- 
ried in Litchfield, that state, to Phoebe 
Way, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Lewis) 
Way, also of Litchfield, whence Mr. Cun- 
ningham removed with his wife to Otsego 
county, New York. Before the breaking 
out of the war of 1812 he went to Erie 
county, in the Empire state, and his sons 
joined the American army at the time of the 
conflict, participating in the skirmishes pre- 
ceding the burning of Buffalo. He was a 
farmer by occupation and secured a tract 
of new land within the Holland purchase. 
The tracks of the New York Central Rail- 
road now cross the farm which he there 
developed and which he made his home 
until his death. On the maternal side 
Mr. Cunningham, of this review, can trace 
his ancestry back to William Brown, of 
Pownal, Bennington county, Vermont whose 
son, Richard Brown, the great-grandfather 
of our subject, also lived at Pownal where 
he followed blacksmithing and manufactur- 
ing. After the battle of Bennington many of 
2 



the injured firearms were gathered up and 
brought to his shop for repairs, but all were 
carried off by a freshet of the Hoosac river 
and lost. His son, Joseph Brown, was born 
at Powna^, Vermont, and married Sarah 
Chapman, of Providence, Rhode Island, 
daughter of Nathaniel Chapman. Just be- 
fore the inauguration of the war of 1812 
Joseph Brown removed with his family to 
Plattsburg, New York, where he followed 
the blacksmith's trade, and where he died. 
Hiram W. Cunningham, the father of 
our subject, was born in Otsego county, New 
York, November 6, 1803, and on the ist of 
February, 1830, he married Eunice Brown, 
who was born in Pownal, Vermont, but had 
accompanied her widowed mother to the 
Empire state subsequent to the second war 
with England. She was first married to 
Corydon Sheldon, who died leaving one 
child, Hon. Jairus C. Sheldon, who is 
now a resident of Urbana, Illinois. 
Hiram Cunningham had been reared in 
Lancaster, New York, and when thirty 
years of age he removed with his family to 
Clarksfield, Huron county, Ohio, where he 
secured a tract of wild land in the midst of 
a dense forest. There he developed a good 
homestead, clearing one hundred acres of 
that heavily timbered tract. He was prom- 
inent in the public affairs of the county, 
and in educational matters as well, and was 
a leading member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, serving as class leader, steward and 
Sunday-school superintendent for many 
years. He died July 11, 1866, after which 
his widow sold the farm and came to Cham- 
paign county, Illinois, to make her home with 
her youngest daughter, who, however, died a 
year later. Mrs. Cunningham then returned 
to Ohio with the remains, and in the Buck- 
eye state her death occurred on the 9th of 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



March, 1869. The children by the second 
marriage were Joseph O. ; A. Palmer, who 
died in Champaign county, in 1893; Mrs. 
Olive M. Fisher, of Vermillion county; 
Orton C., who died in Urbana, in 1871; 
Edwin \V., now an attorney of Emporia, 
Kansas; and Emma, who died in 1869. 

Joseph O. Cunningham acquired his pre- 
liminary education in a little log schoolhouse 
in Ohio, where he not only mastered the com- 
mon English branches, but also studied ele- 
mentary algebra. He was afterward a 
student in Baldwin Academy, at Berea, 
Ohio, and in Oberlin college completed his 
literary course. In the meantime he had en- 
gaged in teaching, and after leaving college 
he went to Vermillion county, Indiana, 
where he was employed as a teacher for a 
year, spending his leisure time in that period 
in studying law. He came to Urbana June 
1 8, 1853, and purchased the Urbana Union, 
the first paper published in Champaign 
county. He continued as editor and pro- 
prietor of that journal for five years until 
1858, and was the only Republican editor 
between Kankakee and Cairo, at a time 
when it was extremely unpopular and some- 
what dangerous to advocate abilition princi- 
ples. 

In 1856 Judge Cunningham was admitted 
to the bar, and after severing his connection 
with journalistic work, he attended law 
school in Cleveland, Ohio. He then 
opened an office and from the ist of May, 
1859 to the present time has never missed a 
term of court, handling much of the import- 
ant litigation in the civil courts of the circuit. 
He first entered into partnership with J. 
W. Sim, later county judge, was afterward 
associated in business with W. B. Webber, 
and from 1893 Frank H. Boggs has been 
his partner. His work has been largely 



chancery and probate practice. In 1861 he 
was elected county judge, filling the office 
for four years, the period of the war. He 
has enjoyed a distinctively representative 
clientage almost from the beginning and his 
devotion to his clients' interest is prover- 
bial. His knowledge of legal principles is 
comprehensive and profound and his keenly 
analytical mind enables him to apply these 
with accuracy to the points in litigation. 
He published a book entitled " A practical 
treatise upon the jurisdiction of and practice 
in county courts of Illinois," a collation of 
statutes and authorities edited by William C. 
Jones and J. O. Cunningham. It is now in 
the second edition. The first part, relating 
to wills and the settlement of estates, was 
all prepared by Mr. Cunningham, and much 
of the second part is his work. In this way, 
as well as in active practice in the courts, 
he has left the impress of his individuality 
upon the jurisprudence of the state. 

On the I3th of October, 1853, Mr. 
Cunningham was united in marriage to Miss 
Mary McConoughey, of Bainbridge, Geauga 
county, Ohio, whom he met while a student 
in Oberlin college. Her father was Colonel 
P. D. McConoughey, who removed from 
Massachusetts to Bainbridge, Ohio, in 1810, 
becoming a pioneer of the latter state. He 
was a representative of an old family living 
at Blandford, Hamden county, Massachu- 
setts, and subsequent to the war of 
1812 was a colonel of militia. Judge Cun- 
ningham and his wife began their domestic 
life on Race street, Urbana, where they re- 
mained for sixteen years, after which they 
spent a quarter of a century in a very beau- 
tiful and spacious home which they gave to 
the church to be used as a home for the 
deaconesses and orphans. For the past 
five years they have resided at their attrac- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tive residence on Green street, Urbana. For 
many years they have been active and faith- 
ful members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, have contributed liberally to its sup- 
port and for the erection of the house of 
worship. During the greater part of the time 
the Judge has held some office in the church. 
In 1896 he was a delegate to the general 
Methodist conference, at Cleveland, Ohio, 
and is a provisional delegate to the con- 
ference in Chicago. He has initiated a 
movement for the purpose of giving a more 
practical turn to church work in founding 
hospitals, and homes, after the manner of 
the Catholic churches. He has a mind 
which can rise above all personal considera- 
tions and is oftimes concerned with those 
large, loving interests which affect humanity. 
His strong mentality and superior intellectual 
attainments have brought him prominence 
as one of the gifted men of the state, but 
probably his greatest work has come in con- 
nection with The Deaconesses and Orphans' 
Home, for the influence of his work is as 
immeasurable as the universe, and its effect 
will be felt through all time. He owned a 
beautiful home north of Urbana which he 
donated to the Woman's Home Missionary 
Society, of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
together with fifteen acres of land. He and 
his wife submitted the following proposition 
to the conference board and it was incorpo- 
rated in the deed: 

" Dear Brothers and Sisters: We are the 
owners, in fee simple, free of incumbrance, 
of our home near Urbana, which consists of 
fifteen acres of land upon which are situated 
a two-story brick house, with mansard story 
the house having in all fourteen rooms, three 
halls, a bathroom, supplied with hot and 
cold water, ample closets, with cellar and 
ice house; also a brick gardener's cottage of 



three rooms and cellar; both of the houses 
are under metal roofs and have contiguous 
thereto ample barns with carriage room, 
also three wells, three cisterns, a steel 
windmill pump and elevated tank from which 
the lawn and buildings are supplied with 
water. This property we desire to give as 
a free gift to some benevolent purpose where 
God's poor shall be the beneficiaries, our 
preference favoring orphans and dependent 
children. In canvassing the question as to 
who shall be the almoners of our humble 
bounty, our minds first turn to the church 
which bears our names on its records as the 
most suitable agency to be selected. The 
purpose which called into existence your 
board, also highly commends itself to our 
minds and judgment, and we see no reason 
why that devoted sisterhood which has 
lately been organized to meet the later 
needs of our civilization, may not appro- 
priately share a home with the poor 
waifs who by death and other casualty are 
cast upon the care of the church. 

" We therefore first make you the offer 
to convey the property, our beloved home 
for a quarter of a century, as a free gift to 
the Woman's Home Missionary Society of 
the Methodist Episcopal church to receive 
the title and administer the trust without 
other conditions than these: that it shall 
forever be kept as a Deaconeses and Child- 
ren's Home, hoping and praying that it shall 
not only most abundantly meet these needs 
of the church, but that it shall in some de- 
gree turn the attention of the church and its 
members to the pressing demands made 
upon it in our day and in our midst for the 
care and nurture of our poor. 

J. O. CUNNINGHAM, 
MARY CUNNINGHAM. 
Thanksgiving Day, 1894. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



The gift was accepted by the board with 
appropriate ceremonies and named in honor 
of the donors. 

Judge Cunningham has taken an active 
part in the historical proceedings of the 
county and is now president of the Histori- 
cal society of Champaign county. He is 
also a member of the Clarksfield, Ohio, 
Memorial Society, before which he has de- 
livered most able addresses. He has also 
written many articles for local papers and 
is a most fluent, entertaining, instructive and 
forceful speaker. In March, 1859, he be- 
came a member of Iris lodge, F. & A. M. 
of Cleveland, Ohio, and in April, 1860, was 
dimitted to the lodge in Urbana, of which 
he has been master for six years. He has also 
been its representative to the grand lodge, 
wason the committee on work and was one of 
the authors of the present work. He also 
belongs to the chapter, council and com- 
madery, and for some time was a trustee of 
the Masonic property in Urbana. His 
political support was given the Republican 
party, until 1876, having allied himself with 
that party upon its organization. He was 
one of its most prominent representatives in 
the state at an early day and was a warm 
personal friend of Abraham Lincoln. He 
still has in his possession a letter which he 
received from the martyred president, and 
has many pleasant recollections of him. 

For some years the Judge acted in- 
dependently in politics, but for the last few 
years he has voted the Prohibition ticket. 

Judge Cunningham was a member of the 
first board of trustee of the University, of Illi- 
nois then called the industrial University and 
was present at its first meeting held in the 
senate-chamber in the state house at Spring- 
field. He was first appointed by Gov. 
Oglesby and re-appointed by Gov. Palmer, 



and during all of the six years in which he 
served he was on the executive committee, 
which met monthly and which transacted 
all the business. This was during the erec- 
tion of the first buildings. By the first 
board Dr. Gregory was elected the first 
Regent of the University. 

Since his withdrawal from the Re- 
publican party, Judge Cunningham has twice 
been nominated by the united oposition as a 
candidate for State senator, and in the face 
of a Republican majority of over two thou- 
sand in the district came within six hundred 
and thirty-six votes of an election on one 
occasion, and six hundred and thirty-seven 
votes on the other. He was also nominated 
for circuit judge in 1897 and received a 
very flattering vote, earring his own Repub- 
lican city by a good majority. 

Judge Cunningham was present at the 
first recitation heard in the University by 
Dr. Gregory, who was so busy, however, 
that he needed some one for this part of the 
work. He inquired of the Judge if he did 
not know of some one he could secure for 
the work, and was referred to Mr. T. J. 
Burrell, who had just closed a session, of 
school in Urbana. Sending him over to 
Dr. Gregory, Mr. Burrell became connected 
with the intitution and has served it until 
the present time. 

The law library of the Judge is very ex- 
tensive, but his private library indicates the 
extent of his reading and information, con- 
taining scientific, historical and biographi- 
cal works as well as the classics of all ages. 
He has enjoyed triumphs in his professional 
career and honors in public life, but in pri- 
vate life he has gained that warm personal 
regard which arises from true nobility of 
character, deference for the opinions of 
others, kindness and geniality. At this 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



33 



point it would be almost tautological to 
enter into any series of statements as show- 
ing our subject to be a man of broad intelli- 
gence and genuine public spirit, for these 
have been shadowed forth between the lines 
of this review. Strong in his individuality, 
he never lacks the courage of his convictions, 
but there are, as dominating elements in this 
individuality, a lively human sympathy and 
an abiding charity, which, as taken in con- 
nection with the sterling integrity and 
honor of his character, have naturally gained 
to Judge Cunningham the respect and con- 
fidence of men. 



WILLIAM BLACK is worthy of special 
mention in the annals of Champaign 
county, as he has given about thirty-five 
years of his life to agricultural pursuits here, 
and has neglected no opportunity of proving 
his patriotic interest in the development of 
the resources of this locality, and the pro- 
motion of its prosperity. His record as a 
business man and neighbor, as the head of 
a family, and friend to right and justice, is 
a legacy which will be of more value to his 
children and descendants than a vast fortune. 
A native of Forfordshire, Scotland, born 
March 18, 1836, Mr. Black possesses the 
sterling traits of character for which his an- 
cestors were noted, and, in turn, has handed 
down to his children the tendencies notice- 
able in the Scottish race. His parents, 
James and Elizabeth (Fraser) Black, were 
natives of Forfordshire, where the former 
pursued his calling as a stationary engineer, 
being employed in a linen factory. When 
our subject was eighteen years of age, the 
family removed to the United States, and, 
proceeding to Chicago, the father there fol- 



lowed his accustomed work in a threshing 
machine manufactory. When a year had 
elapsed, however, he decided to found a 
home in the country, and in 1855 he bought 
a farm in Sadorus township, Champaign 
county. From that time until his death, 
which event took place in 1891, he dwelt 
upon his homestead, revered and honored by 
everyone. His estimable wife was sum- 
moned to the better land in 1890, and he 
had no desire to live longer, feeling that his 
life work was well rounded and complete. 
Four of their five children lived to maturity, 
namely: William; Wallace, whose home is 
in Sadorus township; Ellen, who has 
passed to the silent land; and Jane, wife of 
Charles Brown of Oklahoma territory. 

In his youth William Black had very 
limited educational opportunities, but he 
was by nature keenly observant, and, in 
spite of circumstances, managed to acquire 
sufficient knowledge of business and general 
information for his needs. He was but 
fourteen years of age when he commenced 
an apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade, 
and had just finished the four years required 
of him when the family started for Ameri- 
ca. In Chicago he was employed by the 
same company as was his father, and when, 
with him, he came to this county he with his 
father and brother purchased a quarter sec- 
tion of land, which they cultivated for about 
a year. William Black then returned to Chi- 
cago, where he worked in the railroad shops 
of the Illinois Central for several years, and 
then went to Omaha, when it was merely a 
hamlet, with Indians abounding in the 
neighborhood. There he was employed 
upon the Union Pacific railroad, which was 
in process of construction. In 1866, the 
young man returned to Champaign county 
and purchased one hundred and seventy-one 



34 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



acres of prairie land in Sadorus township. 
This he diligently cultivated and improved, 
adding thereto two hundred and twenty- 
seven acres within a few years, and invest- 
ing now and then in more land, until he 
became one of the large property holders of 
the county. To-day he owns five hundred 
and sixty' acres in Sadorus township, two 
hundred and forty acres in Tolono township, 
and eighty acres in Scott township. All of 
this is excellent land, well cultivated and 
productive, and this state of affairs has been 
brought about by years of arduous toil and 
good management on the part of the owner. 
Formerly, he was extensively engaged -in 
the buying and selling of live stock, in this 
manner materially increasing his income. 
In all of his transactions he was noted for 
scrupulous integrity and reliability, and it 
has been no flattery to say of him that his 
"word is as good as his bond." 

In all of his joys and sorrows for more 
than two-score years, Mr. Black has found 
a helpmate in the person of his devoted wife, 
formerly Mary Leslie, to whom he was 
married, July 3, 1857. Both she and her 
father, Robert Leslie, were natives of the 
same shire as our subject, and Mr. Leslie 
served for many years in the British army. 
Mrs. Black, who is the only survivor of her 
family, was one of four children. To the 
union of our subject and wife eight children 
have been born, namely: John, who is en- 
gaged in farming in Scott township, married 
Minnie Hartrick and has five children; 
James, who went to Alaska and was drowned 
in the Pekin river, on April i, 1898; Oliver, 
William, a graduate of the Wesleyan Col- 
lege at Bloomington, and now a prominent 
member of the Decatur bar; Isabella, wife 
of Edward Armstrong, of Champaign, and 
mother of two children; Margaret, wife of 



D. H. Barracks, of Sadorus, and mother of 
one child; Laura and Alice, who reside at 
home and are pursuing a Course in the Uni- 
versity. The family located in this city in 
1895, and have a pleasant home at No. 404 
W. Hill street. 

In his political affiliations, Mr. Black is ' 
an ardent Republican, and fraternally, he is 
a Mason, being identified with Sadorus 
Lodge, No. 535, of Champaign. He has 
not sought nor desired public office, but has 
faithfully discharged every duty devolving 
upon him as a citizen. 



T^HOMAS B. KYLE, of Urbana, is a 
1 veteran of the Civil war and bears an 
honorable record for brave service in the 
cause of freedom and union, and in the 
paths of peace has won an enviable reputa- 
tion through the sterling qualities which go* 
to the making of a good citizen. During 
his long residence in this county he has been 
prominently identified with public affairs,: 
and has served as county surveyor and en-; 
gineer from 1868 with the exception of one: 
term. 

Mr. Kyle was born near Xenia, Greene 
county, Ohio, January 8, 1824, a son of 
Samuel and Rachel (Jackson) Kyle. The 
father was born in Pennsylvania, of Scotch- 
Irish ancestry. At a very early day two. 
Kyle families moved from Germany to Scot- 
land, and later representatives of these 
settled in the North of Ireland, whence they 
came to America in colonial days. Our 
subject's grandfather, Samuel Kyle, was 
born in this country, and with his six 
brothers took up arms against the mother 
country during the Revolutionary war and 
aided the colonies in achieving their inde- 
pendence. He continued his residence in 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



35 



Pennsylvania until the father of our subject 
was seven years old and then removed to 
Kentucky, locating there soon after the 
Revolution. The family believed they had 
chosen the finest location in the world, but 
when Kentucky became a slave state, they, 
together with a large colony, went to Ohio, 
then a territory, and located near Xenia. 
There our subject's father took up a tract of 
new land and continued to make his home 
until his death. In politics he was first a 
Whig and later a Republican, and for 
twenty-one years served as judge of the 
court of common pleas. He was quite a 
prominent and influential man in his com- 
munity. He was a member of the Seceders 
(or Presbyterian) Church until 1857, when 
he and his wife united with the Associate 
Reformed Church, now the United Presby- 
terian Church. His wife also died near 
Xenia. 

During his boyhood and youth Thomas 
B. Kyle received a good practical education 
in the common schools and academy at 
Xenia, including a course in surveying and 
civil engineering, to which he ha since giv- 
en his attention almost exclusively. On the 
23rd of April, 1851, he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Margaret J. Henderson, a 
daughter of Adam Henderson, who removed 
from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to Ohio. 
They began their domestic life upon a farm 
given him by his father near the old home- 
stead, and there they lived until 1860, while 
he devoted his time to surveying in Xenia. 
The following two years he was differently 
employed. 

In the meantime the Civil war broke 
out, and Mr. Kyle raised a company, of 
which he was commissioned captain, and 
which was mustered in at Columbus, Ohio, 
April i, 1864, as Company C, Sixtieth Ohio 



Volunteer Infantry. The regiment was 
first ordered to Washington, D. C., and 
was at once assigned to Burnside's corps, 
Army of the Potomac. They soon realized 
all the horrors of war, their first engagement 
being the terrible battle of the Wilderness, 
and they were under almost continuous fire 
day and night from April until the middle 
of July, 1864, when they entrenched them- 
selves before Richmond and Petersburg. 
During the following fall and winter they 
took those strongholds and remained there 
until the close of the war. They participat- 
ed in the closing scenes known as the grand 
review at Washington, D. C., and were 
mustered out at Columbus. 

Mr. Kyle returned to Xenia, but in the 
fall of 1865 moved to Crawford county, 
Illinois, and in 1 866 came to Urbana, Illinois, 
where he has since lived. He at once turn- 
ed his attention to surveying, and after serv- 
ing as deputy county surveyor for two 
years, he was elected county surveyor, which 
office he has since filled with the exception 
of one term, with credit to himself and to 
the entire satisfaction of the general public. 
He has laid out most of the towns and ceme- 
teries of the county, and has done much 
surveying for city improvements along 
engineering lines for the purpose of opening 
ditches, tile drains and the sewerage water 
works. He is now the oldest in point of 
service of any county surveyor known in 
the state, and nearly the oldest in years. 
He has not only witnessed the wonderful 
changes that have taken place here in the 
last third of a century, but has taken an act- 
ive part in its development. On his arrival in 
the county, he believed it would take at 
least one hundred years to convert the wet 
prairie, covered with sloughs and ponds, 
into desirable farms and homes, but this 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



has already been accomplished, and Cham- 
paign county now ranks among the best in 
this great commonwealth. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Kyle were born six 
children, namely: Samuel R. , now con- 
nected with the National library at Wash- 
ington, D. C. ; James H., who as a Presby- 
terian missionary went to Dakota, and is 
now serving as United States senator from 
South Dakota, his home being in Aberdeen, 
and is one of the most promint and 
influential citizens of the state; Joseph, who 
died at the age of fourteen years; Fannie E., 
who graduated from the University of Illi- 
nois at Champaign, then read medicine at 
Ann Arbor, Michigan, and later successfully 
engaged in practice at Sioux Falls, South 
Dakota, for four years, but died in Chicago 
from an operation' perfomed to remove a 
tumor; Martha J., who was also educated 
at the University of Illinois, and is now a 
teacher in that institution; and Minnie A., 
wife of Edward Huntington, Rantoul. The 
wife and mother died in June, 1897. She 
was a consistent member of the Presbyterian 
church, to which Mr. Kyle also belongs. 
For twenty-five years he has now made his 
home at No. 502 Goodwin avenue. He is 
six feet, six inches in height, and had two 
brothers of the same height, while his 
ancestors on both sides were all tall and 
large. He is widely and favorably known, 
and justly merits the high regard in which 
he is uniformly held. 



HARTWELL C. HOWARD, M. D., is 
a skilled physician and surgeon of 
Champaign, Illinois, and has longer en- 
gaged in active practice at this place than 
any other, there being but two others in the 



county who located here earlier and are still 
living. His knowledge of the science of 
medicine and surgery is broad and compre- 
hensive, and his ability in applying their 
principles to the needs of suffering humanity 
has gained him an enviable prestige in pro- 
fessional circles. 

Dr. Howard was born in Gates, Monroe 
county. New York, now within the city lim- 
its of Rochester, July 12, 1829, and is a son 
of Eleazer and Matilda (Wood) Howard, 
both representatives of old New England 
families. The Howard family was founded 
in America by three brothers, one of which 
located in Massachusetts, another in Mary- 
land and the third in Virginia, and the 
grandfather of our subject, Ezra Howard, 
was a soldier of the Revolutionary war from 
Connecticut. The father was born and 
reared in Windham county, Connecticut, 
but after his marriage removed to Monroe 
county, New York, becoming one of the 
pioneers of that section. He cut cord wood 
in what is now the center of Rochester. 
He first purchased a farm in Henrietta, 
eight miles south of the city, and from there 
moved to Gates, where he owned three of 
the four corners in the center of the town, 
and conducted a hotel for many years in 
connection with the operation of his farm. 
As one of the prominent and influential citi- 
zens of the place, he was called upon to 
serve as justice of the peace, supervisor and 
in other local offices. When our subject 
was fourteen the family removed to Ohio 
and located near Columbus, which at that 
time contained a population of only thirty- 
five hundred. There the father purchased 
a farm and mills which he carried on for a 
number of years, and then, in 1850, came to 
McLean county, Illinois, locating near Le 
Roy, where he was extensively engaged in 




H. C. HOWARD, M. D. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



39 



farming and stock raising until his death. 
He died in March, 1872, at the age of 
eighty-two years, and his wife, who was a 
native of Ashford, Connecticut, died in 
March, 1878, at the age of eighty-six. 

Dr. Howard obtained his literary educa- 
tion in the schools of Gates, New York, and 
Columbus, Ohio, and in early life assisted 
his father on the farm and in the mill. He 
commenced reading medicine with Prof. 
John W. Hamilton; later attended three 
courses of lectures at the Medical College in 
Columbus; next pursued his studies under 
the direction of Prof. John W. Butterfield 
for one year; and spent the following two 
years and a half in New York City, being 
one of the twelve house physicians in the 
Emigrant hospital, connected with the fever 
department then in charge of the famous 
Dr. Thomas Addis Emmett, and had charge 
of three hundred beds. He lost two assist- 
ants and himself had ship fever twice. Here 
he had ample opportunity to make a thor- 
ough study of typhus and other fevers, and 
he also attended lectures, graduating from 
Starling Medical College, of Columbus, 
Ohio, in 1850. 

In 1854 Dr. Howard first came to this 
state, being on his way to California. He 
stopped to visit his father and mother, and 
finding them ill, remained to care for them 
until the company with whom he was trav- 
eling had proceeded so far that it was im- 
possible for him to overtake them. He had 
already become disgusted with practice 
which he had carried on in Astoria and Har- 
lem, New York, where it was then the cus- 
tom to give the physician something to drink 
at every house he entered, and he, believing 
that this would eventually prove his ruin, as 
it had so many prominent New York doctors, 
he left his practice and started for California. 



On the recovery of his parents, Dr. 
Howard came to Champaign and erected the 
first flouring mill at this place, intending to 
follow a business career. The first Board 
of Trade of the town was established at that 
time and he became its first president. After 
conducting his mill for a few months, he 
found that the wheat then grown on the prairie 
did not make good flour and he sold out. 
In the meantime, while stopping with a 
crowd gathered around a man whose leg had 
been broken by the cars, a man stepped up 
to him and said, " Here, Doctor, my friend 
has a broken leg and you must take care of 
him." Our subject protested that he was 
only a citizen, but the man replied, "Yes, 
Doctor, I know you. You took care of men 
in the ward on the island." This occurred 
in 1855 and from that time on he has en- 
gaged in practice. It was not long before 
his professional duties kept him very busy, 
his practice extending over a radius of twenty 
miles in every direction. For many years 
he did most of the surgical work in the 
county and he still has much of it. He is 
a charter member of the County Medical 
Society, of which he has served as president, 
and is also a prominent member of the State 
Medical Society; the American Medical Asso- 
ciation; the Mississippi Valley Medical Asso- 
ciation and the Tuberculosis Society of Illi- 
nois. In the last named organization he 
has done some very effective and original 
work. His specialty has been tuberculosis and 
he has cured over one hundred patients who 
were suffering from that disease. He recently 
read a paper on that subject, before the 
Wabash Medical Society at St. Louis and 
reported twenty-eight cases where the pa- 
tient was still alive and well. The Doctor 
owns a beautiful office building at No. 1 1 1 
West Church street, which grounds he has 



40 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



now occupied for thirty-eight years. At one 
time he was president of the Champaign 
Twine & Bagging Company, which, owing to 
poor management, was not very successful. 

In 1856, Doctor Howard married Miss 
Miranda E. Monroe, a native of Rochester, 
N. Y. , who died in August, 1897, leaving 
four children who are still living, namely: 
Edwin, a resident of Florida; Mary; Charles 
P., a dentist of Champaign; and Hartweil 
C. , who is attending the medical depart- 
ment of the Harvard University. 

The Doctor cast his first presidential vote 
for General Scott, and since voting for Fre- 
mont in 1856, has been a stanch supporter 
of the Republican party. For two terms 
he was member of the common cou-ncil of 
Champaign from the third ward, and while 
a member of that body, did much to pro- 
mote the brick paving and first water ordi- 
nances. He refused longer to accept that 
office. He was twice the candidate of his 
party for mayor of the city but was not 
elected. He was a member of the second 
board of township school trustees when there 
was but one school in the township, but 
while holding that office, the board, after a 
big fight, decided to establish three other 
schools. They added to the school fund and 
laid the foundation for the large amount 
which they now have. Dr. Howard was the 
first Mason initiated in Champaign, and is 
now a member of the chapter, council and 
commandery, and also of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows. In manner he is 
pleasant and cordial, which, combined with 
his sterling worth makes him popular in social 
as well as professional circles. Wherever 
known, he is held in high regard, and as an 
honored pioneer and highly respected citizen 
he is certainly deserving of honorable men- 
tion in the history of his adopted county. 



EH. RENNER & BROTHER, pro- 
prietors of a large and flourishing livery 
and sale stable at No. 206 East Main street, 
Urbana, and numbered among the most en- 
terprising young business men of Champaign 
county, are worthy representatives of a 
pioneer family of this locality, and their 
numerous acquaintances and friends through- 
out this section of the state will be interested 
in an outline of their history. 

Many generations of the Renriers have 
lived and died in this country, and, until 
quite recently, those bearing the name were 
zealous Lutherans in religious belief, and 
one t)f the ancestors of our subjects was a 
Hetzel, of the sturdy old Huguenot stock. 
Their great-grandfather, Isaac Renner, was 
born and passed his entire life in Frederick 
county, Virginia, and his father and ances- 
tors resided in Pennsylvania from the early 
days of its settlement. Next in the line of 
descent from Isaac was Henry Renner, born 
in Frederick county, in 1796. He married 
Mary M. Willey, April 18, 1826. She was 
a daughter of a minister of the German Re- 
formed church, and was born June 29, 1800. 
Rev. Mr. Willey was a native of Switzer- 
land, and came to America in the capacity 
of a missionary, and was greatly aided in 
his noble work by his wife, who was of 
Huguenot ancestry. Henry Renner and 
wife located in Ohio in 1852, and in 1868 
came to Rantoul, Illinois, where she died in 
1870, and he in 1882. The absolute in- 
tegrity and sincerity of Henry Renner gave 
rise to the local saying "As honest as 
Father Renner " and everyone who knew 
him admired and respected him. Reared 
in the strict tenets of the Lutheran church, 
his mind gradually became liberalized by ex- 
perience and reading, and, after being con- 
nected with the Presbyterian church for sev- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



eral years he united with the Congregational 
denomination upon his removal to Rantoul. 
To himself and estimable wife four children 
were born in Virginia. Anna C. is the 
widow of William Winslow, and lives in 
Milan, Ohio. Mary J. and Mrs. Winslow 
both wire successful teachers in the Buck- 
eye state for many years. Mary J. never 
married, and was connected with the excel- 
lent schools of Columbus, Ohio, and other 
towns until her health became impaired, 
and a few years later she passed to the 
silent land. Rebecca Frances is the wife of 
Isaiah Hardy, of Urbana. 

Henry W. , the only son of Henry and 
Mary M. (Willey) Renner, was born in Shen- 
andoah county, Virginia, March 5, 1830, 
and his education was chiefly obtained in 
Woodstock, Virginia, and Ohio, whither his 
parents removed when he was a youth. His 
father owned a blacksmith shop and the lad 
learned the business, which he followed to 
some extent for a number of years, while in 
the winters he taught schrol. The cares of 
life fell upon him too soon, for his father, 
having become crippled by an accident, the 
only son pledged himself to stand by his 
parents until they had paid for a comfort- 
able homestead, and this task was nobly 
fulfilled. When free to give his attention 
to his own fortunes, he married Phoebe A., 
daughter of Hon. E. O. and Lucinda 
(Whitehead) Williams, at their home in 
Licking county, Ohio, the ceremony being 
performed April 2, 1857. The young 
couple soon started in a wagon across coun- 
try to found a home in Illinois, arriving at 
their destination on the 25th of May. For 
eight years they dwelt upon a farm of eighty 
acres, situated oh section 4, Condit town- 
ship, and, in the meantime, added forty 
acres to the original tract. At the close of 



the Civil war, Mr. Renner bought a quarter 
section of land on section 4, Rantoul town- 
ship, and there made his home until Febru- 
ary, 1894, when he removed to Urbana. At 
one time he owned two good farms in Ran- 
toul township, but has since sold them, and 
bought two hundred and forty acres in Ver- 
milion county, which he has since disposed 
of and has purchased 400 acres in Jackson 
county, Illinois. For years he was success- 
fully engaged in raising draught horses, and 
owned a number of imported high-bred 
Percherons. 

Few men in his section of the country 
were more active in all lines of progress 
than was. Henry W. Renner during his 
prime. In the winter season he taught 
school, and he always manifested deep in- 
terest in educational matters, serving as a 
trustee of the district schools for some time. 
In all of the public affairs of his community 
he had a patriotic concern, and few, in- 
deed, were the local offices which he did not 
fill and that with diligence and efficiency. 
He was township assessor, collector, super- 
visor, magistrate or justice of the peace, 
commissionerof highways, and, as previously 
stated, a school trustee. When the Ran- 
toul Cheese Factory was started, he was 
foremost in the enterprise, serving as a 
director for a period. Until 1873, he* was 
identified with the Democratic party, then 
united with the farmers' and greenback 
movement, and, of late years, has given his 
allegiance to the Prohibition party. Relig- 
iously, he has had the benefit of the training 
and bias of several denominations, and thus 
is not narrow in his views, heartily loving 
all of the great bodies of Christ who adhere 
to the essential elements of the gospel. 
Naturally, he became connected with the 
Presbyterian church, to which his parents 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



belonged, in Woodstock. Virginia, and was 
not half way through his 'teens when he 
commenced teaching in the Sunday-school 
a work he has kept up ever since, being 
deemed one of the most valuable laborers in 
this great department of the church's use- 
fulness. Before he was eighteen he as- 
sisted in the organization of Sunday-schools 
in isolated districts, and later did invalu- 
able work along the same line in the town- 
ship and county Sunday-school association 
of Champaign county. He was one of the 
original members of the Jersey Presbyterian 
church in Condit township, and held 
the offices of trustee, secretary and ruling 
elder there. Subsequently, he officiated as 
a trustee, secretary and deacon in the First 
Congregational church at Rantoul. Since 
1882, he has been identified with the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and has been 
a class-leader and steward in the Urbana 
congregation. The Champaign Sunday- 
school Association was organized July 24- 
25, 1866, and Mr. Renner was present at 
the convention held the ensuing Septem- 
ber. On July 4, 1867, he was honored by 
being made president of the Rantoul branch 
association, and five years later was elected 
president of the county organization. He 
occupied the office of vice-president of the 
body for twenty-six years, and since 1872 
has served as a member of the executive 
committee. No commentary beyond the 
simple statements given above is necessary, 
as the fact that he has so often been called to 
fill extremely responsible positions is in itself 
abundant evidence of his ability and zeal. 
Faithfully did the young wife of Henry 
W. Renner peform the arduous duties which 
fell to her share in their pioneer home on 
the prairies of Illinois. She had lost her 
mother when she was less than fourteen 



years old, and thus early the cares of life 
came to her, as she nobly strove to fill that 
mother's place in the home. She was a great 
worker in the Presbyterian church and a 
singer in the choir until her marriage and 
removal to the west, and until the close of 
her days she led a consistent, beautiful Chris- 
tian life. She was summoned to her reward, 
November 26, 1873, and left five children 
to mourn her loss, namely: Enos H. ; Anna 
L. , wife of William A. Rush; Sylvester W. ; 
and Mary C. and Libbie S., twins. On the 
28th of September, 1876, Mr. Renner mar- 
ried Julia, daughter of James D. and Erne- 
line Smith, formerly of Pennsylvania. They 
became the parents of one son, Charles A., 
who died in infancy. Mrs. Renner received 
exceptional educational advantages and, 
after her graduation in the Western Female 
Seminary, at Oxford, Ohio, she devoted 
herself to teaching, in which she was very 
successful. Like her husband, she is greatly 
interested in religious and benevolent work 
and in all movements calculated to elevate 
the race and increase the happiness of hu- 
manity. 

Enos H. Renner, the eldest son of Henry 
W. Renner, was born on the pioneer farm 
in Condit township, Champaign county, Jan- 
uary 16, 1858. He passed his boyhood 
there and engaged in agricultural pursuits 
until he had attained maturity. From his 
father, doubtless, he inherited his love of 
books and keenness in the acquisition of 
.knowledge, and, after completing the dis- 
trict school course he attended the Rantoul 
high school, and finished his literary and 
scientific education in the University of Illi- 
nois. When about nineteen years old, he 
commenced teaching, and for the following 
six years was occupied in this line of work, 
chiefly within the county boundaries. In 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1885 he located in Champaign, and for a 
year conducted a coal business alone, at the 
end of which time his brother, S. W., 
joined him, the firm name becoming E. H. 
Renner & Brother. They increased their 
business by laying in a stock of farm machin- 
ery and gradually became interested in team- 
ing and transferring merchandise. During 
the winter of 1891-2, they carried on a liv- 
ery and sale stable at Urbana and at Cham- 
paign, but the first named being the more 
flourishing of the two, they later gave up 
the Champaign branch. They make a spec- 
ialty of doing heavy hauling and particular 
teaming, and, by keeping strictly temperate 
and reliable men in their employ, and by a 
commendable system of transacting busi- 
ness, they have won the approval and pat- 
ronage of the public. In their well-equipped 
livery may be found a fine line of carriages, 
coaches, landaus and hansoms, and they 
make a special point of furnishing carriages 
for social events and funerals. From 
twenty to thirty good horses are kept, and 
from the number any style of roadster or 
saddle animal may be selected. Both of 
the young men who stand at the head of 
this business are straightforward and hon- 
orable in all their dealings, and well worthy 
of the enviable place which they hold in the 
judgment of their acquaintances. E. H. 
Renner is associated with S. C. Fox in the 
undertaking business, and is thoroughly 
qualified as an embalmer and director of 
funerals, holding a license from the state 
board of health to that effect., 

Fraternally, E. H. Renner is a Knight 
of Pythias, belonging to Triumph Lodge, 
No. 73, of Urbana. He also is identified 
with the Modern Woodmen of America and 
the Court of Honor. For the past decade 
he has been an officer and active member 



of the First Methodist Episcopal church of 
Urbana, and, having strong views on the 
subject of the liquor traffic, he uses his bal- 
lot in favor of the nominees of the Prohibi- 
tion party. 

The marriage of E. H. Renner and 
Luella Phillips, youngest child of Thomas 
and Elizabeth (Young) Phillips, was sol- 
emnized in Urbana, November 9, 1886. 
Mrs. Renner was born February 23, 1868, 
and was reared in the house which she 
and her family now occupy. Her elder 
brother, John, resides in this town, and 
Edward is a resident of Philo, Illinois. 
Mary, the only sister, is the widow of Richard 
Joe, of Nebraska. Six children bless the 
union of Mr. and Mrs. Renner, namely: 
Wendell P., Mary F., Sylvia P., Julia E., 
Enos H., Jr., and Sylvester G. 

The junior member of the firm of E. H. 
Renner & Brother is Sylvester W. Renner, 
who was born on his parents' farm in this 
county, April 9, 1863, and received his 
elementary education in the schools of the 
neighborhood. Desiring to fully equip him- 
self for a successful business career, he com- 
pleted his preparation for the active duties 
of life by a course in the Champaign Com- 
mercial College. In 1886, as stated in the 
sketch of his brother, he became associated 
with him and from that time until the pres- 
ent their financial interests have been 
closely connected. Their relations are 
extremely harmonious, and each performs 
the special duties agreed upon between 
them, without friction, or discontent. Syl- 
vester W. has charge of the buying and 
selling and training of the horses, for he is a 
competent judge of their merits. He has 
the same energy and foresight in business 
affairs as has his elder brother and honored 
father, and is rapidly forging to the front. 



44 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



On the 1 8th of October, 1887, Sylvester 
W. Renner and Maggie C. Yates were united 
in marriage. She is a daughter of John and 
Mary Yates, who are of English birth, while 
her own nativity occurred in this county. Mr. 
and Mrs. Renner have three living children, 
namely: Roma E. , Willey E., and Ruth, 
and their third child, Hellen, died in 
infancy. 

Politically, S. \V. Renner is a Democrat, 
and socially, he is a member of the Court 
of Honor and the Tribe of Ben Hur. Both 
himself and wife are members of the Parks 
Chapel Methodist Epicopal church. For 
the past six years he has been actively in- 
terested in the work of this church, serving 
as one of the building committee under whose 
auspices the present chapel was constructed, 
after the destruction by "fire of the former 
house of worship, of which he also acted as 
one of the building committee. He is a 
trustee and chorister of the chapel, and aids 
in every department of church enterprise. 



BAXTER D. HARBISON, one of the 
honored citizens of Champaign, has 
now reached the eveningtime of life, yet 
enjoys good health for one of his advanced 
years, and is exceedingly well preserved in 
mind and body. An interesting conversa- 
tionalist, as he possesses much general in- 
formation and is liberal in his views upon 
all questions of the day, it is a pleasure to 
pass an evening in his company, listening to 
the story of his busy and eventful life a life 
filled with good deeds. 

The paternal grandfather of our subject 
was David Harbison, a native of Ireland, 
who, upon coming to the United States, set- 
tled first in Pennsylvania, and later located 



in Virginia, finally becoming a resident of 
Shelby county, Kentucky. David Harbison, 
Jr., father of Baxter D., was born in the Old 
Dominion, or Pennsylvania, and died upon 
his farm in Shelby county, Kentucky, about 
1820, leaving a widow and six children. 
She bore the maiden name of Martha D. 
Venable and was born in Virginia. Their 
children were named as follows: James V., 
George L. , Clement S., Davis, Paulena C. 
and Baxter D. Davis, now in his eighty- 
seventh year, resides in Shelby county, Ken- 
tucky. 

Baxter D. Harbison was born in the 
county just mentioned, April 5, 1818, and, 
as may be imagined, he had scant oppor- 
tunity to acquire an education. He had 
been bereft of his father at the age of two 
years, and as soon as possible he began 
earning his own livelihood. He felt quite 
rich when, at last, he received twelve dol- 
lars and a half a month, besides his board, 
for his services on farms, and for two years 
he and his brother Davis engaged in the 
management of a farm. Afterwards, our 
subject worked with his stepfather for a 
period, but in 1840 he determined to go to 
the west. Buying some four hundred acres 
of land in Saline county, Missouri, about 
sixty acres only of the place having been 
brought under cultivation, he proceeded to 
improve the property during the ensuing 
decade. He then disposed of the land 
and bought four hundred acres in Lafayette 
county, same state, near which the present 
town of Higginsville is located. After judi- 
ciously expending a certain amount of money 
in improvements, and reducing the home- 
stead to fine order, he sold out at nearly 
double the price he had paid for it, seven 
years before, and returned to his native 
county. 



THE BIOGRAHPICAL RECORD. 



45 



Living there, from the spring of 1857 to 
1860, without buying a farm, he then in- 
vested in a place of one hundred and twenty 
acres, later increasing the farm to two hun- 
dred and forty acres, but three years of 
labors there, during the unsettled state of 
affairs at that period, were sufficient, and in 
1863 he located in Champaign county, 
where he had five years previously made 
substantial investments in land, and this 
locality he has since looked upon as his 
home. At one time he owned sixteen hun- 
dred acres in Sadorus, Colfax and Scott 
townships, Champaign county, and in Piatt 
county, and from time to time he has sold 
tracts of this land, and has closed out all his 
land. He owns a number of valuable city 
lots in Champaign and Urbana. 

In 1839, Mr. Harbison married Lucy J. 
Venable, a second cousin, who proved a de- 
voted wife, sharing his early hardships with 
fortitude, and cheering and aiding him 
in his struggles for a livelihood. After a 
happy life together of more than thirty-six 
years, the shadow of death settled down 
upon their cosy home, and in August, 1875, 
the wife was called to the better land. Mr. 
Harbison's home is cared for by his niece, 
Mary Harbison, who is kind and attentive 
as a daughter, and whom he loves as such. 

In his younger days, Mr. Harbison was 
affiiliated with the Odd Fellows' order, 
joining them in 1846. For twenty years he 
has been an elder in the Presbyterian 
church, and is a generous contributor to its 
support. He uses his franchise in favor of 
the Prohibition party, save in local affairs, 
when he is perfectly independent. During 
his residence in Saline county, Missouri, he 
served in the militia for some four years, 
and for two years he acted efficiently as city 
alderman of Champaign, being chairman of 



the committee on streets and alleys, and 
rendering valuable aid in numerous ways to 
local progress. He enjoys helping the suf- 
fering and unfortunate, and his friends are 
legion. 



SN. NEBLOCK, deceased, was for many 
years a leading blacksmith of Urbana, 
and was also one of the brave and loyal de- 
fenders of the Union during the dark days of 
the Civil war. A native' of Ohio, he was 
born in Guernsey county, August 8, 1834, 
and was a son of David Y. and Ann (Mat- 
tox) Neblock. He was educated in the 

schools of his native state, and there learned 



the blacksmith's trade, which he made his 
life-work. After his father's death, which 
occurred in Ohio, he and his mother came 
to Champaign county, Illinois, when he was 
nineteen years of age, and located in Homer 
township, where he at first worked at his 
trade for others, but later owned and con- 
ducted a shop of his own. 

In 1852, Mr. Neblock was united in 
marriage with Miss Edith C. Jett, who was 
born in Clark county, Ohio, December 12, 
1834, a daughter of Thomas and Mary A. 
(Bishop) Jett. She was reared in her native 
state, where her father died, and a few years 
later she accompanied her mother and step- 
father on their removal to Champaign 
county, Illinois, locating in Homer town- 
ship, where her mother died. She had 
two children by her first marriage, James 
William, who died at the age of six years; 
and Edith C. , now Mrs. Neblock. After 
the death of her first husband Mrs. Jett 
married Daniel Orr. There was a daughter 
by the second union, Sarah J., deceased 
wife of Jacob Strayhorn, of Homer, Illinois. 

Mrs. Neblock's maternal grandparents 



4 6 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



were Amos and Mary Ann Bishop. The 
grandfather was a soldier of the war of 
1812, and died in Ohio at an advanced age. 
The grandmother came to this state with 
her second husband, Jacob Ridinger, .and 
both died here many years ago. 

Of the twelve children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Neblock, three died in infancy. The 
others were William, who died at the age of 
six years; Sylvester, who married Lydia 
Chapman, and is now engaged in farming 
near Penfield, Illinois; Alice/ wife of Jack- 
son Acres, a carpenter of Urbana; Laura, 
wife of Douglas Anderson, of Homer; John, 
who died unmarried at the age of thirty-two 
years; Emma, wife of William Glascock, a 
teamster of Urbana; Bertie, wife of Burt 
Bidwell, of Bloomington, Illinois; Neal, 
who married Frances Earlywine, and lives 
in Urbana; and Stella Maude, who lives 
with her mother at No. 804 West Uni- 
versity avenue. 

Mr. Neblock responded to the first call 
for troops at the opening of the Rebellion, 
enlisting in Company C, Twenty-fifth Illi- 
nois Volunteer Infantry, with which he 
served for one year and nine months. On 
receiving his discharge he returned home, 
but in 1864 he re-enlisted as second lieuten- 
ant of Company H, Illinois Volunteer In- 
fantry. Later he joined Company H, 
Twelfth Illinois Cavalry, as orderly sergeant, 
and remained in the service until the war 
ended. He took part in the battles of 
Gettysburg, Lookout Mountain, Chicka- 
mauga and Fort Pillow; was in several en- 
gagements in Missouri during Price's raid 
through that state; was with General Sher- 
man on his famous march to the sea; and 
participated in the grand review at Wash- 
ington, D. C., at the close of the war. 
Hostilities having ceased and his services 



no longer being needed, he was honorably 
discharged and returned home with an en- 
viable war record. 

Soon after the war, Mr. Neblock re- 
moved to Danville, Illinois, and later to 
Ogden, and in 1884 took up his residence in 
Urbana, where he made his home until call- 
ed to his final rest March 29, 1893. Before 
his death he drew a pension ot thirty dollars 
per month. He was a supporter of the 
Democratic party and its principles and 
served as constable of Urbana four years, 
and held the same office while a resident of 
Homer township, this county. He was a 
prominent member of Urbana Lodge, No. 
139, I. O. O. F. , in which he served as 
noble grand, and he was buried by that or- 
der. Religiously he was a member of the 
Christian church. 



FRANCIS M. WRIGHT, LL.B. Prom- 
inent on the list of the eminent jurists 
of central Illinois appears the name of Judge 
Francis M. Wright, of Urbana/ Occupying 
the bench of the sixth judicial circuit, and 
of the appellate court of the third district 
of Illinois, he has attained marked prestige 
in connection with the administration of the 
laws of this great commonwealth, and is rec- 
ognized as the peer of any of the most 
able lawyers of the Illinois bar. An 
enumeration of those men of the present 
generation who have won honor and public 
recognition for themselves, and at the same 
time have honored the state to which they 
belong, would be incomplete were there 
failure to make prominent reference to the 
one whose name initiates the opening 
paragraph of this review. He not only holds 
distinctive precedence as an eminent lawyer, 




HON. FRANCIS M. WRIGHT. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



49 



but is as well a man of high scientific and 
literary attainments, a valiant and patriotic 
soldier and a man of affairs who has wielded 
a wide influence. A strong mentality, an 
invincible courage, a most determined in- 
dividuality have so entered into his nature 
as to make him a natural leader of men and 
a director of opinion. 

Judge Wright was born on Briar Ridge, 
in Adams county, Ohio, August 5, 1844, his 
parents being James and Elizabeth (Copple) 
Wright. The father was a native of Penn- 
sylvania, and tradition says that the remote 
ancestors were Scotch-Irish. Steven 
Wright, the grandfather, came from the 
north of Ireland to America and took up his 
residence in Pennsylvania, whence he re- 
moved to Ohio, where his last days were 
spent. His son James was a small lad at 
the time of the removal to the Buckeye 
state. He became a mechanic, and also 
owned and occupied a farm. A leading and 
influential member of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church, he served as class leader 
and as superinendent of the Sunday-school. 
His wife, who was also born in the 
Keystone state, and belonged to one 
of the old Pennsylvania-Dutch families, 
was a daughter of John Copple, a native of 
Germany, who removed from Pennsylvania 
to Ohio at an early day. James Wright 
died in 1854, at the age of forty-three years, 
but the mother lived to be seventy- nine 
years of age. He left a family of six chil- 
dren, all of whom reached years of maturity. 

Judge Wright spent his boyhood days 
upon the farm and in the common schools 
acquired his preliminary education which 
was supplemented by study in the Ohio 
Valley Academy, at Decatur, Brown county, 
Ohio. The questions of slavery and secess- 
ion greatly interested him, and when the 



south made an attempt to overthrow the 
Union, he determined to strike a blow in be- 
half of the national goverment. Accordingly 
he enlisted in June, 1861, before he was 
eighteen years of age, becoming a member 
of Company I, Thirty-ninth Ohio Volunteer 
Infantry. He was mustered in at Camp 
Colrain, Ohio, and sent first to Missouri, 
under Fremont. He saw active service 
there, and was afterward with Pope's com- 
mand at Island No. 10 and New Madrid. 
He remained with his regiment until mus- 
tered out in July, 1865, and at various times 
was promoted, becoming corporal, sergeant, 
sergeant major and second lieutenant, 
holding the last named position at the time 
of his discharge. He served throughout the 
Atlanta campaign, went with Sherman on 
the glorious march to the sea, participated 
in the battles of Corinth and luka, and was 
probably under fire in forty engagements. 
On the 22d of July, 1864, at Atlanta, he 
was slightly wounded, but did not leave the 
field. He was at the front for more than 
four years, all of the time engaged in active 
service, and was mustered out before he had 
attained his majority. Of such a war rec- 
ord he may well be proud, for although 
others enlisted at a younger age, no one as 
young as himself, so far as he knows, saw 
four years of active service upon the battle- 
fields of the south. 

During the war Judge Wright had 
noticed the fine appearance of many men, 
and upon inquiry as to their business found 
that they were lawyers. This led him to 
determine to enter the legal profession, al- 
though his parents had destined him for the 
medical fraternity. Upon his return to the 
north he became a student in the law office 
of Colonel, afterward Judge, D. W. C. 
Loudon, and was graduated in the Cincin- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



nati Law College with the degree of LL. B. , 
in the class of 1867. He was then admitted 
to the bar and for a short time practiced in 
Georgetown, Brown county, Ohio (from 
where Gen. Grant was sent to West Point) 
but in December, 1868, came to Urbana, 
and has since been a member of the Illinois 
bar. He began practice alone, but afterward 
formed a partnership with Judge W. D. 
Somers, with whom he was associated for 
eleven years, the firm occupying a leading 
position in professional circles and enjoying 
a very extensive and lucrative clientage, the 
volume of their business probably exceeding 
that of any law firm of the county. After 
the dissolution of the partnership he en- 
joyed a large general practice until 'his 
elevation to the bench, to which he was 
elected in June, 1891. He was first chosen 
as judge of the old fourth judicial circuit, 
comprising the counties of Champaign, 
Piatt, Macon, Moultrie, Douglas, Coles, 
Edgar, Clark and Vermilion. On entering 
upon his judicial service he gave up private 
practice entirely, in order to give his undi- 
vided attention to his official duties. In 
1897 he was re-elected in the new sixth 
judicial circuit, comprising the counties of 
Champaign, Piatt, Dewitt, Macon, Moultrie 
and Douglas. On his re-election the 
supreme court appointed him one of the 
appellate judges of the state, assigning him 
to the second district, and later changed 
him to the third district. Many of his cases 
have been appealed to the higher court, but 
in the majority of instances his decisions have 
been sustained. His decisions indicate 
strong mentality, careful analysis, a thorough 
knowledge of the law and an unbiased judg- 
ment. The judge on the bench fails more 
frequently, perhaps, from a deficiency in 
that broad-mindedness which not only com- 



prehendsthe details of a situation quickly and 
that insures a complete self-control under 
even the most exasperating conditions than 
from any other cause; and the judge who 
makes a success in the discharge of his mul- 
titudinous delicate duties is a man of well 
rounded character, finely-balanced mind and 
of splendid intellectual attainments. That 
Judge Wright is regarded as such a jurist 
is an uniformly accepted fact. 

Judge Wright has not confined his at- 
tention entirely to the law, for he has been 
an active factor in business and political cir- 
cles. He was one of the original stockhold- 
ers and directors of the First National Bank, 
and is the only one now living who remains 
identified with the institution on its organ- 
ization. Later he was vice-president, and 
since the death of Mr. Richards has been 
president of the bank, which has a capital 
and surplus of one hundred and fifteen thou- 
sand dollars. It is regarded as one of the 
most reliable financial institutions in this 
part of the state. In politics the Judge has 
always been a Republican, and has borne 
his share of the work and burdens of the or- 
ganization. 

On the 1 5th of July, 1868, Judge Wright 
was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth 
West, of Brown county, Ohio, daughter of 
John West, Jr. Four children have been 
born to them: Royal, who is now an attor- 
ney of Urbana; Marion, who became the 
wife of Charles M. Lewis, and died in June, 
1899; Edith and Lora, at home. They oc- 
cupy a beautiful residence at No. 407 Green 
street, and enjoy the hospitality of the best 
homes of Urbana. Judge Wright has been 
a member of the Methodist Episcopal church 
from childhood, and still adheres to the 
church of his ancestors. Socially he is a 
Mason and has held high office in lodge, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



chapter, council and commandery. He has 
also been a representative to the grand lodge. 
He maintains pleasant relationship with his 
comrades of the blue and recalls memories 
of the tented field through his membership 
in Black Eagle Post, G. A. R. , and with the 
Chicago Commandery of the Loyal Legion. 
Such in brief is the history of one who by 
his own unaided efforts has attained to a 
position of eminence in professional, polit- 
ical and social life, and who has ever re- 
ceived the respect which is accorded sterl- 
iner worth. 



DR. J. D. SPORE, a successful veteri- 
nary surgeon of Urbana, is of sterling 
Highland-Scotch ancestry, and possesses 
many of the notable characteristics of that 
strong-minded, fearless people. His pater- 
nal grandfather, Jacob Spore, emigrated 
from Scotland to America at an early day, 
and located in the vicinity of Cincinnati, 
Ohio, where he passed the rest of his days. 
He chose for a wife, Hannah Ackerman, 
who, as the name indicates, was of German 
extraction. 

One of the sons of this worthy couple 
was William, father of our subject. When 
he was about sixteen years of age, the spirit 
of ambition and enterprise which was so 
marked in him during his more active years, 
led to his leaving home, and going to the 
then new settlements in Indiana, where he 
was employed at various lines of work. At 
length he became a land-owner and the pro- 
prietor of a wood yard, near Rising Sun, 
Indiana, on the Ohio river, his business be- 
ing to furnish steamboats with fuel. De- 
cember 26, 1852, he joined the adventurous 
throngs wending their way to the gold fields 
of the Pacific coast, and, in company with 



his wife's brother, John Birdzell, started 
on the long overland journey in a wagon 
drawn by five mules and a misfit pony. 
They were from May until September in 
making the hazardous trip, but at length ar- 
rived in San Francisco. For the next four 
years William Spore was actively engaged in 
teaming and freighting supplies between Sac- 
ramento and San Francisco and the various 
mining camps of that region, but in the 
meantime he remitted to his wife three hun- 
dred dollars, and our subject has in his pos- 
session an Adams Express Company certifi- 
cate of that amount, sent from Coloma, 
California, by William Spore to his wife, 
Eunice Spore, December 6, 1852; and also 
keeps as a relic of those days of long ago 
the old canvas vest in which his father car- 
ried the three hundred dollars in gold. In 
1856, William Spore returned to Indiana 
and engaged in lumbering, cleanngaway the 
heavy timber with which his one-hundred- 
and-twenty-six-acre farm was covered. In 
1869, the western fever again mastered him, 
and he went to Virginia City, Nevada, where 
his nephew, J. W. Bailey, since become 
wealthy and prominent, was engaged in 
mining enterprises. There, as formerly, 
he turned his attention to teaming and was 
made superintendent of transportation, see- 
ing to the proper handling of the ore from 
the time it was brought to the surface until 
it was deposited in the stamp mill. Re- 
turning home at the end of about nine 
months, he commenced farming and raising 
live-stock. Paying special attention to the 
breeding of fine coach-horse strains, he soon 
developed almost a distinct variety, and, to 
this day, those who knew him are anxious 
to gain possession of the scions of the stock 
he raised. In 1876 he located on a quarter- 
section of land, situated in section 19, 



UNIVBK 
ILLINOIS 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Staunton township, Champaign county, and 
it was not until October, 1890, that he left 
the farm. He died at his Urbana home, 
February 6, 1892, and is survived by his 
widow. Politically he supported the Dem- 
ocratic party, while in religion, he was a 
Methodist and held official positions in the 
local church. By a life of singular good- 
ness and rectitude, devotion to his home 
and family, and to his duties as a neighbor 
and citizen, he won the lasting esteem and 
admiration of all, and is sincerely mourned 
by his old associates. 

Of his six children, Dr. J. D. Spore, 
born July 3, 1857, is the fourth. Mary J., 
the eldest of the family, and widow of James 
Carson, resides at Thomasboro, this county. 
George W. , who enlisted when only sixteen 
years of age in the Second Indiana Battery, 
and served under command of Captain 
Espy', did valiant service in many of the 
most important campaigns of the Civil war, 
and, at the end of three years of active bat- 
tling for his country, died at Little Rock, 
Arkansas, from the effects of a wound re- 
ceived during an engagement with the enemy, 
Ellen F. is the wife of Willis Case, a farmer 
of Urbana townshp; Minnie H. is the wife 
of James Elliott, of Urbana, and Alice G. 
died when about twenty-four years of age. 

Dr. J. D. Spore was reared as a farmer's 
boy, and received only a district school 
education prior to the time he was eighteen 
years old. He had inherited his father's 
great interest in horses, however, and had 
gained much practical knowledge of the 
noble steed upon the home farm, and it is 
not strange that he determined to become a 
veterinary surgeon. In 1876, he entered 
the Indianapolis Veterinary College, where 
he pursued a course of study for one term 
and then, returning to the home farm, began 



practicing, while at the same time he con- 
tinued his theoretical work. After spending 
another season in work at the Chicago 
Veterinary College, and after taking a 
special course at the Charleston Veterinary 
College, with years of practical exerience 
interspersed, he established an office at 
Urbana, in 1890. Not the least valuable of 
his past labors were conducted under the 
guidance of Dr. Adam Wolf, a prominent 
member of the profession, now deceased. As 
he is the only resident veterinary surgeon 
in Urbana, he receives a large patronage, 
and though at present his office is at 
Renners' livery stables, he expects to be- 
come a partner of Dr. F. W. Corkery. until 
recently a member of the faculty of the 
Chicago Veterinary College, and to 
establish in this place a hospital for the 
treatment of all kinds of equine diseases. 
Dr. Spore holds a license from the state 
board, and by long and arduous preparation 
and earnest work has become thoroughly 
competent in his particular branch of the 
healing art. Following in the political foot- 
steps of his father, he votes for Democratic 
party nominees. 

On the isth of September, 1878, Dr. 
Spore married Laura J. Thompson, daughter 
of James and Amanda Thompson, who re- 
moved from Washington county, 'Pennsyl- 
vania (her birthplace), to Vermilion county, 
Illinois, in 1866. The four children who 
bless the union of the Doctor and wife are 
named, respectively: William G., Vinton, 
Eddie J. and Edna J., the latter being 
twins. 



THOMAS R. LEAL, a well-known gen- 
eral contractor of Urbana, Illinois, and 
county superintendent of schools for sixteen 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



53 



years, was born in Stamford, Delaware 
county, New York, July 4, 1829, a son of 
Dr. James and Mary (McClaughry) Leal, 
the latter an aunt of Major McClaughry, 
formerly the efficient warden of the state 
prison at Joliet. The paternal grandfather 
was born in Scotland and came to this coun- 
try when a child of twelve years. His wife, 
a Miss Rose, was born on this side of the 
Atlantic, but was of Scotch descent. Dur- 
ing one of the early Indian wars she and 
two brothers were taken to Canada as pris- 
oners by the Indians, but finally made their 
escape and returned to the United States. 
The father of our subject was born, reared 
and educated in Kortright, Delaware county, 
New York, learning his Latin and Greek of 
an old minister of that place, and getting a 
liberal education in that way. He was sur- 
geon in a New Y'ork Militia regiment and 
made his home in Stamford, where he died 
at the early age of twenty-seven years. In 
his native town he had married Miss Mary 
McClaughry, daughter of Thomas McClaugh- 
ry, who was also of Scotch descent. After 
the death of her husband she returned to 
her father's home in Kortright where she re- 
mained a widow until her three children 
were grown, and she died in Delaware 
county. Religiously she was a faithful 
member of the Reformed Presbyterian 
church. Of the family only our subject is 
now living. His younger brother, Dr. 
James H. Leal, died at his home in Cali- 
fornia, being worn out by his extensive 
practice. The sister died at the old home 
in Kortright, New York. 

The boyhood of our subject was passed 
at Kortright, and he received a good practi- 
cal education at the Hobart and Harpersfield 
Academies. For a time he successfully en- 
gaged in teaching school in his native state, 



and on coming to Illinois, in 1852, taught 
in the western part of this state, teaching 
drawing in Carthage, where in 1897 his 
daughter taught the same art in the teach- 
ers' institute, He continued to follow that 
profession in Leroy, McLean county, and in 
Douglas county until coming to Urbana in 
1 856 to accept a position as teacher in the 
village schools. 

The following year, Mr. Leal was elected 
county superintendent on the Republican 
ticket. At that time there were only forty- 
five schools in the county, most of which 
were new, and twenty-seven of these were 
conducted in log buildings, but when he re- 
tired from office sixteen years later there 
were over two hundred substantial school 
buildings here, either frame or brick, cost- 
ing from five hundred to seventy-five thou- 
sand dollars. As the' county became more 
thickly settled, the attendance at school in- 
creased in proportion, and he did effective 
work in advancing the standard of the 
schools by securing more efficient teachers. 
He organized the first institute here, and 
others in Effingham, Coles, Douglas, Ver- 
milion, Piatt and Iroquois counties. At that 
time school methods were crude and had to 
be popular with the public before they were 
adopted. In holding his institutes, Mr. 
Leal had to get the recognition of the 
prominent people of the place, whom he 
persuaded to attend and enter the class of 
teachers, and in this way he got all inter- 
ested and did much to educate the teachers. 
At his second institute held in the same 
place, the church was packed to the doors. 
He often had to use a great deal of tact as 
there were many who were opposed to pro- 
gressive methods. He not only helped the 
teachers to become better instructors, but 
was also instrumental in advancing their 



54 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



wages. He was one of the most active and 
prominent early educators of Eastern Illinois 
and did much to mold the school interest in 
this county and also prepared them to vote 
the large sum of half a million dollars to get 
the University located here. He held the 
office of county superintendent until 1872, 
when he was succeeded by one of his old 
teachers. 

His health demanding outdoor life, Mr. 
Leal then purchased a farm near the city 
and engaged in agricultural pursuits until he 
lost his property by going security for 
others. At that time he owned consider- 
able real estate on Green street, Urbana, 
and also had considerable property in 
Champaign. He now owns a good home 
on Green street and is engaged in contract- 
ing, having done much of the excavating 
for the large buildings of the University be- 
sides laying out the lawns about them. He 
is now excavating for the main agricultural 
building and the tunnel, the building being 
the largest purely agricultural building in 
the world, as it will be a quarter of a mile 
around and contain over an acre of floor 
space. For this a number of thousand 
yards of excavating has been done and it is 
the largest contract of the kind ever given 
in this county. In this work Mr. Leal gave 
employment to thirteen teams. He has had 
a number of the largest contracts here, and 
has done excavating and filling for the city 
under contract. He has also served as 
drainage commissioner, having charge of the 
swamp lands that were condemned and 
given to the state. 

In 1 86 1 Mr. Leal married Miss Emeline 
Gordon, of Charleston, Illinois, a daughter 
of John Gordon, who came to this state 
from Oswego, New York. Of the eight 
children born to them, four are now deceas- 



ed, two sons and two daughters, all dying 
within twenty-one days of diphtheria. 
Those living are Mary, who was educated 
at the University, who has charge of the 
drawing in the city schools, at Leavenworth, 
Kansas; Rosa Belle, who was also educated 
at the University and is now a teacher at 
Homer, Illinois; Sophia, a graduate of the 
Illinois University, who is now a teacher of 
languages in the high school of Urbana, hav- 
ing one hundred ten scholars in Latin and 
about seventy in German, where her father 
once had only six or seven in Latin; and 
Grace, at home. Mr. and Mrs. Leal are both 
active members of the Presbyterian church, 
and are highly respected and esteemed by 
all who know them. He was a member of 
the Union League during the Civil war, and 
was personally acquainted with President 
Lincoln. He has always been an active 
member of the Republican party and while 
a member of the state convention helped to 
nominate John A. Logan for Congress. 
His life has been an honorable and useful 
one, and he justly merits the high regard in 
which he is held. For six years he served 
as a member of the State Board of Educa- 
tion of Illinois. 



CURTIS F. COLUMBIA. To no resi- 
\^ dent of Champaign county is its his- 
tory more familiar than to Curtis F. 
Columbia, who through many decades has 
watched its progress, aiding largely in its 
material development and substantial im- 
provement as the years have gone by. Won- 
derful has been its transformation from a 
district of wild prairie and uncut forests to 
this section of beautiful homes, rich farms 
and thrivingtowns and cities. The pioneers 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



55 



laid the foundation for its present prosperity 
and to them is certainly due great credit for 
the work they accomplished. From the 
earliest epoch in its development down to 
the present time Mr. Columbia has been 
identified with the upbuilding and advance- 
ment of the community, and no history 
would be complete without the record of 
his life. 

A native of Madison county, Kentucky, 
his father, George Columbia, was a farmer 
of that locality, but died during the early 
boyhood of our subject. Having removed 
to Hendricks county, Indiana, the latter 
secured his education in the schools there 
and then started out in life for himself. He 
determined to seek a home in Champaign 
county, Illinois, and to this end traded a 
piece of land in Indiana for one hundred and 
twenty acres of land in what is now Condit 
township. Little of the land in this vicinity 
had been broken, the nearest improved prop- 
erty being at Urbana, which was a little 
hamlet of log cabins containing a popula- 
tion of about three hundred. Where the 
enterprising city of Champaign is now 
located was a tract of wild prairie, which 
had not even been reclaimed for farming 
purposes. The land for which Mr. Colum- 
bia traded was also unbroken. In order to 
provide a livelihood he worked as a farm 
hand for about one year in the employ of 
John Brier, who resided on the Sangamon. 

On the 28th of August. 1844, Mr. Colum- 
bia was united in marriage to Miss Nancy 
Cox, a native of North Carolina. Her 
father was one of the first settlers of this 
county, and was a very prominent and in- 
fluential man in his day. He served as 
sheriff of the county for eight years, also 
represented his district in the State Legis- 
lature, and subsequently removed to La 



Salle county, where he spent his remaining 
days, his death occurring many years ago. 
In the meantime Mr. Columbia had pur- 
chased three hundred and twenty acres of 
prairie land, on which he built a log cabin 
of one room, sixteen by eighteen feet. This 
little home was erected by him and his 
neighbors in a single day. It had one win- 
dow and was considered the best house in 
the neighborhood at the time. Mr. Colum- 
bia hewed the logs and shaved the shingles 
used in its construction, and from Urbana 
he hauled the brick from which the chimney 
was built. That pioneer home is still stand- 
ing.one of the few landmarks that yet remain 
to indicate the rapid development of the 
county. Gradually Mr. Columbia cleared 
and improved his place, making it a val- 
uable tract. However, in 1853, he sold 
that property and purchased eighty acres of 
prairie land elsewhere. When the railroad 
was built he platted his land and thus laid 
the foundation for Champaign. He had 
forty acres of corn where the most thickly 
populated section of the city is now found. 
He first platted about twenty acres and 
since that time has laid off eight additions, 
known as the Columbia additions. The 
city now largely stands as a monument to 
his thrift, enterprise and wonderful fore- 
sight. He had the sagacity to foretell the 
growth of this fertile section of the state, 
and with a firm belief in its future he made 
judicious investments in land, which have 
resulted in bringing to him a handsome 
fortune. For a few years he carried on 
agricultural pursuits, and in 1860 he estab- 
lished a general mercantile store, which he 
conducted for five years, but since that time 
he has given his attention chiefly to the 
management of his property interests. He 
erected a number of buildings, including a 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



portion of the Union block and six dwelling 
houses, and in many other ways has contri- 
buted to the welfare and growth of the city. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Columbia were born 
eight children: Martha died at the age of 
three years; Ellen and David have also pass- 
ed away; Thomas, a graduate of the Physi- 
cians & Surgeons College of New York City, 
is a successful practicing physician there, 
and has a wife and three children; Mary F. 
is the widow of Dr. Pearman, of Champaign, 
and has one child, Arthur C.; Emma is the 
wife of J. R. Mann, congressman of Chicago, 
and they have one child, William C. ; John 
died in infancy; and Hattie G. is at home. 

For -fifty-six years Mr. and Mrs. Colum- 
bia have traveled life's journey together, 
and for nearly fifty years have resided in the 
city of Champaign. Their home is a pleas- 
ant one and the abode of hospitality. Their 
children have grown to mature years, and 
while some have gone out from the old 
home, each have for it a strong attachment, 
and great love for the parents that gave 
them birth. 

In his political views Mr. Columbia is a 
Democrat, and in 1861 was chosen assessor. 
He filled the offices of collector and assessor 
for twelve or fourteen years, and was school 
trustee or director for many years, the cause 
of education finding in him a warm friend. 
He attends the Baptist church, and socially 
is connected with Western Star Lodge, No. 
240, F. & A. M. ; and was 3rd grand master 
of the lodge and Champaign Chapter, R. A. 
M. It is difficult to realize that one who 
has been and is such an active factor in 
public affairs as Mr. Columbia lived in ,the 
county at a time when wild game roamed 
over an unbroken prairie, yet he has here 
seen thirty or forty head of deer at one 
time. Gradually yet swiftly the changes 



have come as the result of the untiring ef- 
forts and perseverance of such men as our 
subject, men who can look beyond the exi- 
gencies of the present and labor for the 
future. Throughout an active business 
career he has always commanded the respect 
and confidence of his fellow men and to-day 
in Champaign county no citizen is more 
honored or more thoroughly deserves the 
esteem of his fellow men than Curtis F. . 
Columbia. 



JOHN G. CLARK. Deeds are thoughts 
crystalized and according to their results 
do we judge the worth of a man to the 
country that has produced him, and in his 
works we expect to find the true index to 
his character. The study of the life of the 
representative American never fails to offer 
much of pleasing interest and valuable in- 
struction, developing a mastering of expedi- 
ents which have brought about most wonder- 
ful results. The subject of this review is a 
worthy representative of that type of Ameri- 
can character and of that progressive spirit 
which promote public good in advancing in- 
dividual prosperity and conserving popular 
interests. He is now extensively engaged 
in agricultural pursuits, and in this depart- 
ment of business as in every other with 
which he has been connected, he is meeting 
with creditable and gratifying success. At 
the same time he finds opportunity to aid in 
the promotion of various movements which 
contribute to the public good and is regarded 
as one of the leading residents of Champaign 
county. 

Mr. Clark was born in Freeport, Arm- 
strong county, Pennsylvania, November 25, 
1828, his parents being John and Katherine 
(Best) Clark. The father was a native of 




JOHN G. CLARK. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



59 



the same county and there spent his entire 
life, following the occupation of farming. 
His wife was born and reared in the Key- 
stone state and was a daughter of Nicholas 
Best, a well-to-do farmer of German parent- 
age. After his marriage Mr. Clark inherited 
a farm from his father, and to its cultivation 
and improvement devoted his energies 
throughout his entire life, but both he and 
his wife died when their children were small. 
Our subject found a home with a Mr. 
Shields, and Mr. Reddick, a Presbyterian 
minister, with whom he remained for three 
years. He was given the opportunity of 
attending school for about six months a 
year and thus pursued his education until 
sixteen years of age, when he began teach- 
ing, having charge of a school for four 
months and receiving twenty-five dollars per 
month for his services. He boarded round 
among the scholars, after the manner of the 
times, and again the next winter he engaged 
in teaching. The following spring he be- 
came a student in Duff's^Mercantile College, 
in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and after leaving 
that institution he entered the office of Peter 
Graff & Company, iron founders, who 
owned and operated the Buffalo furnaces. 
For ten or eleven years Mr. Clark remained 
with them in clerical positions, and sub- 
sequntly became interested with Mr. Graff in 
the ownership of a small store in Worthing- 
ton, near the furnaces. This was his first 
independent business venture. He con- 
tinued in charge of the store until 1856, 
when he determined to seek a home in the 
west, and removed to Galesburg, Illinois. 
There he took a contract to supply car tim- 
ber, wood and ties to the Chicago, 
Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and also 
formed a similar contract with the Illinois 
Central, at the same time furnishing the 



wood and ties which it used in the various 
sections of the lines. In this enterprise Mr. 
Clark was associated with J. B. Porterfield. 
They did a very extensive business, furnish- 
ing as many as four hundred thousand ties 
in a single year in addition to all the wood 
used as fuel. Mr. Clark frequently had as 
many as three hundred men in his employ. 

On the ist of March, 1858, he removed 
to Champaign, then a small town, but con- 
tinued his connection with the railroad for 
ten years thereafter. Since then*. he has 
been engaged in farming and stock-raising. 
He purchased his first farm in 1858, and in 
1864 erected thereon a beautiful residence, 
which is now in the city, the street car pass- 
ing by his door. This plainly indicates the 
growth of the city. With the growth of 
Champaign his land naturally rose in value 
and he disposed of much of it at a handsome 
profit. He platted sixty acres 'of the beau- 
tiful new residence section of the city, which 
is now building up so rapidly and is destined 
to become the leading portion of Champaign. 
He has owned different farms in the county, 
and now has a very valuable tract of three 
hundred and sixty acres, adjoining the city, 
where he carries on general farming and 
stock-raising. He gives to his farm his per- 
sonal supervision, and it is a most highly 
improved property. For twenty years he 
has been extensively engaged in the raising 
of fine stock, making a specialty of regis- 
tered short horn cattle. He has done much 
to improve the grade of stock raised in this 
section of the state, and has thus advanced 
the farming interests. 

In December, 1851, while in Worthing- 
ton, Pennsylvania, Mr. Clark was united in 
marriage to Miss Jennie Y. Blaine, daughter 
of William and Elizabeth (Wingins) Blaine, 
and they now have two children: Arthur N., 



6o 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



a resident of Champaign; and Leslie B., of 
Chicago. In his political views Mr. Clark 
has been a stanch Republican since casting 
his ballot for Fremont. He well remembers 
the time when Abraham Lincoln visited the 
county and his enthusiasm added to the 
cheers which greeted the nomination of 
Lincoln for the presidency in 1860, for he 
was in attendance at the convention, al- 
though not a delegate. For many years he 
took a very active part in promoting the 
welfare of his party and is still deeply in- 
terested in its success, although he is not 
at present a worker in the ranks. His wife 
is a member of the Congregational church, 
and is one of its liberal supporters. He 
withholds his aid from no movement or mea- 
sure which he believes will prove of benefit 
to the community, and is a very public-spir- 
ited and progressive citizen. With a capac- 
ity and experience which would enable him to 
fulfill any trust to which he might be chosen, 
he has never sought to advance himself in 
office, but has been content to do his duty 
where he could and leave the self-seeking 
to others. Viewed in a personal light he is 
a strong man, of excellent judgment, fair in 
his views, but strong in advancing ideas 
which he believes to be right. He is full of 
sympathy with all the great movements 
about him and watches the progress of 
events with the keenest interest. In busi- 
ness circles he bears an unassailable reputa- 
tion, and his splendid prosperity is the 
merited reward of well directed and consec- 
utive endeavor. 



RUDOLPH ZERSE GILL, a leading 
architect and prominent business man 
of Urbana, was born in that city, May 17, 
1866, a son of Zachariah E. and Hannah C. 



(Wolfe) Gill. The father was born in 
Shelbyville, Kentucky, May I, 1829, and 
was a son of one of the pioneers of that 
state from Virginia, the family dating its 
residence in the Old Dominion from early 
colonial days. The father was reared on a 
farm in his native state and in early life learn- 
ed the carpenter's trade. In 1853 he came to 
Urbana, Illinois, which at that time was a 
small village, and here engaged in contract- 
ing, erecting the first Big Four shops and 
the majority of the older brick buildings of 
the city, for he was the leading contractor of 
his day. He furnished employment to many 
men and did a large and successful business 
until 1880, when he retired from active 
labor. He was a prominent Knight Templar 
Mason, and was highly respected by all who 
knew him. He died August 10, 1884, leav- 
ing two children: Nellie, now the wife of 
James O. Hogge, of* Kansas City; and 
Rudolph E., our subject. The mother is 
still living. Both held membership in the 
Methodist Episcopal church. 

Joseph Wolfe, the maternal grandfather 
of our subject, was one of the old circuit 
riders of the Methodist Episcopal church 
who forced their religion into the western 
wilds. He traveled throughout Ohio, Indiana, 
Michigan and Illinois, establishing many 
missions and churches, and finally settled in 
Mt. Vernon, Ohio. While a zealous worker 
for the church, he was a shrewd business 
man and made considerable money by his 
judicious investments. At different times 
he owned the land which now forms the site 
of several important Ohio cities. He was 
widely known and highly respected. His 
wife, who bore the maiden name of Har- 
riet Doane, traced her ancestry back to 
the Sharpless family, prominent during 
Revolutionary times and pioneer days in 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



61 



Pennsylvania. She also belonged to the 
same family as Bishop Doane, of Albany. 
Mr. Gill, whose name introduces this 
sketch, attended the public and high schools 
of Urbana, and completed his education at 
the University of Illinois, from which he 
was graduated with the class of 1887. Here 
he gave special attention to architecture and 
engineering and after completing the course 
went to Chicago, where he entered the office 
of Holabird & Roche, who are among the 
best architects of that city. From there he 
went to Knoxville, Tennessee, where he en- 
gaged in business for himself until 1893. 
While there he was architect for the Ameri- 
can Association of London, England, which 
built the towns of Middleboro, Cumberland 
Gap, Dillon Springs and Harrogate, and 
also developed the iron and coal interests 
throughout Kentucky, Southern Tennessee 
and Virginia. In their interest Mr. Gill did 
a large business and gave employment to 
many men. Later he was with the East Ten- 
nessee Land Company, which founded Harri- 
man, the temperance town in which Clinton 
B.Fiske was famous. Mr.Gill wasnext with 
the Lenoir City Land Company, which de- 
veloped Lenoir City and surrounding coun- 
try. All this time he made his headquarters 
at Knoxville. He was also connected with 
the boom at that place, and did a good deal 
of work at Asheville and Raleigh, North 
Carolina. He erected many of the finest 
buildings in Knoxville, and did the largest 
business of any architect in the city. Re- 
turning to Urbana, in October. 1893, he has 
since made plans for the Urbana high school, 
the city hall at Monticello, the city hall at 
Danville, the asylum for the poor at Paxton, 
Hotel Douglas at Tuscola, and many of the 
finest residences and store buildings in 
Urbana. He also served as city engineer 



and city treasurer in 1896, 1897 and 1898, 
during which time considerable grading and 
paving was done, and many improvements 
made. For the past year he has been alone 
in business both as a contractor and archi- 
tect, and has also made a specialty of build- 
ing and selling houses on his own account, 
in this way furnishing employment to a large 
force during the busy season. 

On the loth of October, 1889, Mr. Gill 
married Miss Nellie M. Maxwell, of Little 
Rock, Arkansas, and to them have been 
born two children: Rudolph Zerse and 
Maxwell. They have a pleasant home at 
No. 501 South Busey avenue, erected by our 
subject. Religiously they are members of 
the Episcopal Church, and socially he also 
holds membership with the Masonic 
fraternity, the Knights of Pythias and the 
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. 
Integrity, activity and energy have been the 
crowning points of his success, and the 
prosperity that has come to him is certainly 
well deserved. 



EDWIN A. KRATZ, M. D., who for over 
thirty years has successfully engaged in 
the practice of medicine in Champaign, 
Illinois, was born in Plumsteadville, Bucks 
county, Pennsylvania, July 12, 1844, a son 
of Henry and Anne (Stover) Kratz. He is 
of the sixth generation of the family living 
in Montgomery and Bucks counties, the first 
to come to the new world being John V. 
Kratz, a native of Alsace, Germany, and a 
farmer by occupation. In 1760 the grand- 
father, Philip Kratz, purchased the farm on 
which our subject was born and which is 
still in possession of the family, being now 
occupied by a brother of our subject. The 
grandfather served as election commissioner 



62 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



for many years, and assessor for several 
terms, and was always active in politics but 
never an aspirant for office. Upon his 
large farm the father grew to manhood and 
continued to make his home there through- 
out life. He was one of the prominent and 
influential men of his community, and was 
once the Republican candidate for repre- 
sentative to the state Assembly, but as the 
district was strongly Democratic he was de- 
feated. He was always a delegate to the 
county conventions of his party, was secre- 
tary of a local fire insurance company, and 
was connected with a bridge building com- 
pany. He died in 1897, his wife in 1879. 
She was a native of Bedminister township, 
Bucks county, and a daughter of Henry 
Stover, also of German descent. The 
Doctor's early ancestors were Menonites, 
but his parents held membership in the 
Presbyterian Church. They left a family 
of seven children, of whom our subject is 
the oldest son. 

Dr. Kratz acquired his early education 
in the public schools of his native land, and 
later attended a normal school equal in rank 
to the high schools of the present day. 
Both he and his brother Alonzo P. entered 
the Union army during the Civil war, the 
latter enlisting in 1862, in Company F, One 
Hundred and Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania 
Volunteer Infantry, for nine months, and in 
January, 1864, re-enlisting in Company D, 
Second Pennsylvania Provisional Regiment. 
He was in a pit at Petersburg, and was 
captured after the explosion. He died in 
prison at Danville, Virginia, and was buried 
in the National cemetery there. The 
Doctor enlisted in 1864, in Company Af 
One Hundred and Ninety-eighth Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteer Infantry, which was 
assigned to the Army of the Potomac, and 



during the campaign of 1864-5 was a P art 
of the Fifth Corps under General Warren 
and was stationed on the left flank, below 
Petersburg. At Lewis farm, near Dinwid- 
die Court House, Virginia, he was shot 
through the chest and both arms, March 29, 
1865, and was taken to Mt. Pleasant 
Hospital, Washington, D. C. , from which 
he was discharged on the I3th of the fol- 
lowing July. For two months he was con- 
fined to his bed, and after his return home 
was one year recuperating his health. 

In February, 1867, Dr/ Kratz came to 
Champaign, Illinois, where he began the 
study of medicine with Dr. Mills. He at- 
tended his first course of lectures at the 
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 
1867-8, and then entered the University of 
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, from which he 
was graduated in 1869, with the degree of 
M. D. Returning to Champaign, he en- 
tered the office with his old preceptor, Dr. 
Mills, and they have now engaged in prac- 
tice for over thirty years a most remarka- 
ble record. Not being able to endure the 
long country rides, Dr. Kratz has confined 
his attention almost exclusively to office 
practice, though he does some city work. 

In May, 1884, Dr. Kratz married Mrs. 
Anna Beidler, widow of Lewis H. Beidler, 
and daughter of Benjamin C. Bradley, one 
of the pioneers of the county, who came 
here from Kentucky early in the '503. By 
this union has 'been born three children: 
Alonzo P., Ethel and Elwin. The family 
have a pleasant home at No. 315 South 
State street. The Doctor attends and sup- 
ports the Baptist church, of which his wife 
is an earnest member. 

In 1899 Dr. Kratz was elected a life 
member of the County Medical Society, 
with which he has been connected for many 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



years. For twenty-one years he was United 
States examining surgeon for pensions, re- 
ceiving his appointment under President 
Grant, in 1871, and serving uninterruptedly 
until President Cleveland's first administra- 
tion, when he was out of office for a year. 
He was then re-instated and served until 
President Cleveland's second term, when he 
was retired permanently. He was secretary 
of the board for many years and did most 
of its work. He has also served as examin- 
ing surgeon for a number of old line life in- 
surance companies. The Doctor is a prom- 
inent member of Champaign Lodge, No. 
333, I. O. O. F. , in which he has passed 
all the chairs; was deputy for a number of 
years; and is now chairman of the board of 
trustees. He is a thirty-second degree 
Mason, a member of the consistory at Peo- 
ria; was master of the blue lodge at Cham- 
paign for nine years; is the present secre- 
tary of both the lodge and chapter; and is 
dimitted from the commandery. During 
the winter of 1867, while attending college 
at Ann Arbor, Michigan, he united with the 
Grand Army of the Republic, and is a char- 
ter member of Colonel Nodine Post, No. 
140, G. A. R. , of which he has been com- 
mander. He is also a member of the De- 
partment Encampment; has been on the 
staff of different department commanders 
and was a delegate to the National Encamp- 
ment at Buffalo, New York. The Doctor 
was one of the first to become interested in 
the public library, and the private library 
which he assisted in organizing in 1868, was 
given to the city in 1876. With the excep- 
tion of two years he has served as one of its 
directors since 1870, and has been secretary 
of the board most of the time, but is now 
serving as president. He, probably more 
than any other man, has been prominently 



identified with its growth and prosperity, 
and has watched with interest its growth 
from a small reading room containing only 
a few magazines and no books, to one of 
the best libraries of any city of the size in 
the state. For four years Dr. Kratz served 
as city clerk, and in 1891 was the Republi- 
can candidate for mayor, but was defeated. 
He was township supervisor for two terms, 
and in 1894 was elected county treasurer, 
which office he most creditably and satis- 
factorily filled for four years, during which 
time he handled a large amount of money, 
having as high as one hundred and fifteen 
thousand dollars in his possession at one 
time. As a citizen he has always been true 
and faithful to every trust reposed in him, 
so that his loyalty is above question, being 
manifest in days of peace as well as when 
he followed the old flag to victory on south- 
ern battle fields. 



JAMES M. CARPENTER, a well-known 
liveryman and representative business 
man of Urbana, Illinois, doing business at 
No. 103 West Elm street, was born in 
Floyd county, Indiana, August n, 1832. a 
son of James C. and Rebecca (Riddle) Car- 
penter, natives of Virginia. His paternal 
great-grandfather was born in England and 
at a very early day came to America and 
settled in the Old Dominion. His maternal 
great-grandfather was a native of the same 
country, and as a drummer boy in the Brit- 
ish army during the Revolutionary war he 
carne to the new world. At the close of 
that struggle he decided to remain here. 
He married and located in Virginia. He 
lived to the advanced age of one hundred 
and ten years. 



6 4 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



In early life the father of our subject re- 
moved with his parents to Kentucky, where 
his boyhood was passed and where his edu- 
cation was acquired. When the war of 1812 
broke out he enlisted in an infantry regiment 
as a private, and remained in the service 
until hostilities ceased, taking part in the 
battle of New Orleans. Returning to his 
home in Kentucky, he engaged in farming 
there for several years, and in the meantime 
married Miss Rebecca Riddle, daughter of 
James and Jane (Davis) Riddle, also natives 
of Virginia. They continued their resi- 
dence in Kentucky until after the birth of 
three of their children, and then moved to 
Floyd county, Indiana, where the father 
engaged in farming for some time, and 
where nine more children were added to 
the family. Selling his farm in that state, 
the father prepared to move to Illinois, but 
died suddenly in 1854, at about the age of 
seventy-two years. The following year the 
mother, in company with our subject and 
three other sons, came to Urbana, Cham- 
paign county, Illinois. She died in Febru- 
ary, 1874, at the age of about seventy-three 
years. Three of the twelve children in this 
family died in early childhood, while those 
who reached years of maturity were John 
A., Sarah, Elizabeth J., Permelia, Per- 
menas H., James M., George W., Marquis 
De LaFayette and Thomas J. Only our 
subject and Thomas J. are now living. The 
latter is proprietor of a tile and brick yard 
at Altamont, Effingham county, Illinois. 

James M. Carpenter received only a lim- 
ited education in the subscription schools of 
Indiana, being able to attend school only 
for a few months. On coming to Cham- 
paign county, Illinois, he located in Urbana 
township, where he followed farming until 
1890, and then embarked in the livery busi- 



ness in Urbana, which he has since carried 
on with good success, receiving a liberal 
share of the public patronage. 

On the i8th of November, 1875, Mr. 
Carpenter married Mrs. Josia A. Carey, 
widow of Sanford P. Carey, by whom she 
had two children, Mary E. and Sanford P. 
She died June 20, 1885, at the age of thirty- 
six years, leaving two children born to our 
subject, namely: U. Grant, born February 
12, 1877, married Dora Hutton, of Cham- 
paign, and is engaged in the livery business 
with his father; and Austin H., born De- 
cember 27, 1883, is at home with his father 
in Urbana. Mr. Carpenter and his family 
are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and are highly respected by all who 
know them. He is a stanch supporter of 
the men and measures of the Republican 
party, with which he has been identified 
since casting his first presidential ballot for 
John C. Fremont in 1856. 



WILLIAM KENDALL NEWCOMB, 
M. D. One of the most exacting 
of all the higher lines of occupation to which 
a man may lend his energies is that of the 
physician. A most scrupulous preliminary 
training is demanded, a nicety of judgment 
but little understood by the laity. Our sub- 
ject, now one of the leading physicians and 
surgeons of Champaign, is well fitted for the 
profession which he has chosen as a life 
work, and his skill and ability have won for 
him a lucrative practice. 

He was born in Lyons, Iowa, April 6, 
1857, a son of Judge Cyrus F. and Eliza- 
beth (Huddlestone) Newcomb. The father 
was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1831, 
and is a descendant of Simon Newcomb, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



who settled in Martha's Vineyard about 
1635. Harley Newcomb, the grandfather 
of our subject, was the owner of a large 
transfer and stage line from Lynn to Boston. 
The father was reared and educated in his 
native state. He attended the schools of 
Boston and later read law in that city. In 
1853 he removed to Chicago, Illinois, where 
he married Elizabeth Huddlestone, a 
native of Pickering, Yorkshire, England, 
and a daughter of Thomas and Mary A. 
Huddlestone, who came to the United 
States when she was about six years old 
and were piioneers of Chicago. In 1856 the 
Doctor's father went to Iowa, and in that 
state, as well as in Chicago, he was engaged 
in merchandising. In 1859 he went to 
California, where for a number of years he 
was extensively engaged in mining and 
mercantile pursuits, and since 1871 has 
made his home in Durango, Colorado. In 
the early days of Nevada, he was interested 
in mining in that state, owning the extension 
of the Comstock mine. He was also part 
owner of the Little Anne in the Summit dis- 
trict of Colorado, and is now extensively 
engaged in mining at Jasper, that state. 
That has been his principal business during 
his residence in Colorado, but he has also 
engaged in the practice of law, and has 
filled the office of county judge, United 
States commissioner, States revenue collec- 
tor and United States administrator. Polit- 
ically he has always been a Republican. He 
has been throughly successful, and is one 
of the best known and most prominent 
men of southwestern Colorado. His wife 
is still living. 

Dr. Newcomb obtained his primary edu- 
cation in the public schools near his boy- 
hood home, and later attended the Gem 
City College at Quincy, Illinois. After 



teaching school for a short time, he began 
reading medicine with Dr. W. G. Cochran, 
of Farmer City, Illinois, and then attended 
lectures at Rush Medical College, Chicago, 
from which he was graduated in 1882. 
Coming to Champaign county, he opened 
an office in Fisher, where he successfully 
engaged in practice for fourteen years, and 
while there he held different offices. He 
was president of the County Medical Soci- 
ety, with which he is still connected, and 
was also a member of the National Associ- 
ation of Railway Surgeons, being at that 
time local surgeon for the Illinois Central 
Railroad. Selling his practice in Fisher, 
in 1896, he spent one year in Europe, study- 
ing for nine months in the General Hospital 
at Vienna; two months at Charity Hospital 
in Berlin; and two months at hospitals in 
Paris and London. On his return to this 
country in July, 1897, he located in Cham- 
paign, and has already attained to a posi- 
tion of prominence in the medical fraternity 
of this city. Although he is engaged in 
general practice, he makes surgery and 
gynecology his specialty, and is meeting 
with most excellent success. He is a mem- 
ber of the surgical staff of Julia F. Burn- 
ham Hospital and has performed a great 
number of operations there; in fact he has 
won a most enviable reputation in his chosen 
calling. 

On the 7th of February, 1878, Dr. 
Newcomb was united in marriage with Miss 
Eliza C. Durbin, of Fisher, a daughter of 
Isaac F. Durbin, and to them have been 
born five children, namely: Cyrus F., 
Jessie R., William W., Pearl E. and 
Thomas F. The Doctor and his wife hold 
membership in the Methodist Episcopal 
church. He was made a Mason at Fisher, 
where he served as master of the lodge, and 



66 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



is now a member of the Eastern Star and 
chapter at Champaign, and the command- 
ery at Urbana. He is also a member of the 
Odd Fellows lodge and encampment at 
Fisher; was trustee of the lodge; and the 
organizer and first presiding officer of the 
encampment. He was also instrumental 
in starting a public library at that place, 
and was trustee of the same, but it was 
finally consolidated with the school library. 
He has ever taken an active interest in 
those enterprises calculated to advance the 
public welfare, and is recognized as one of 
the most progressive and public-spirited 
citizens of his community. In social as well 
as professional circles he is a man of prom- 
inence and is quite popular with his fellow- 
men. 



QAMUEL C. FOX. The history of a 
O county and state, as well as that of a 
nation, is chiefly a chronicle of the lives 
and deeds of those who have conferred 
honor and dignity upon society. The world 
judges the character of the community by 
those of its representative citizens, and 
yields its tributes of admiration and respect 
for the genius or learning or virtues of those 
whose works and actions constitute the rec- 
ord of a state's prosperity and pride. It is 
this record that offers for our consideration 
the history of men, who for their activity 
and honor in the affairs of life are ever af- 
fording to the young examples that are 
worthy of emulation. To this class belongs 
Samuel Curtis Fox, the efficient and hon- 
ored mayor of Urbana, and one of the prom- 
inent business men of the city whose success 
is the outcome of well directed and consecu- 
tive effort. 

He was born in Damascus, Columbiana 



county, Ohio, on the 2ist of October, 1841, 
his parents being John and Nancy (Bender) 
Fox. The father was born in Maryland in 
1808. His father, Christopher Fox, was 
killed in the war of 1812, and his mother 
died at his birth, so that he was left an 
orphan at a very early age. He was then 
adopted and taken to Ohio in his childhood. 
He learned the blacksmith's trade and also 
became familiar with the duties and labors 
of the farm. During his early residence in 
the Buckeye state he lived in Columbiana 
county, but in 1843 he took up his abode 
near Alliance, where his remaining days were 
passed. His political support was given to 
the Whig party and afterwards he voted the 
Republican ticket. His wife,, who in her 
maidenhood was Miss Bender, was born in 
Columbiana county, and was a daughter of 
Jacob Bender, a native of Pennsylvania, 
with whom Mr. Fox learned the blacksmith 
trade. Mrs. Fox survived her husband for 
some time, dying in 1867. She had a fam- 
ily of eleven children, all of whom were 
living at the time of her demise. Both Mr. 
and Mrs. Fox were members of the German 
Reformed church, and were people of the 
highest respectability. 

Samuel C. Fox acquired his education iu 
a log school house near his home in Ohio. 
In his youth he was apprenticed to the 
blacksmith's trade, following that pursuit 
until after the inauguration of the Civil war, 
when, in December, 1862, he enlisted in the 
United States signal service, at Columbus, 
Ohio. He was first on duty near the forti- 
fications at Washington and later he was 
with Sherman's army until its arrival at At- 
lanta. He was then attached to General 
Schofield's command, but subsequently he 
was returned to General Sherman's forces. 
His duty was a very difficult and dangerous 




SAMUEL C. FOX. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



69 



one, and kept him constantly on the alert. 
\\hile the main body of troops were at rest 
the signal corps were constantly on the 
lookout, and their labors subjected them to 
many dangers unknown to the main body 
of the army. Mr. Fox was at Raleigh at 
the time of Lee's surrender, and was dis- 
charged at Washington, D. C. , on the 5th 
of June, 1865, the war having been happily 
terminated and the Union saved. 

Mr. Fox then returned to his Ohio home, 
but in October of the same year removed 
to La Fayette, Indiana, where he worked at 
the blacksmith's trade in the Purdue Agri- 
cultural Works, occupying the position of 
foreman of the department at the time he 
severed his relation with the enterprise. In 
1871 he removed to Champaign, where he 
engaged in blacksmithing and wagonmaking 
for a time, after which he took up his resi- 
dence at St. Joseph, Illinois, in April, 1874. 
There he continued blacksmithing in con- 
nection with the implement business, and 
later he extended the field of his labors, by 
adding a stock of hardware to his store. 
He was not only numbered among the most 
enterprising business men of the town, but 
also took an active part in the public affairs 
of the place and served as the first presi- 
dent of the town board. He was also for 
seven years a member of the schoolboard, 
and the cause of education found in him a 
warm friend. He has always been an ar- 
dent Republican, unswerving in support of 
the principles of the party, and in the 
spring of 1890 he was nominated for the 
position of county sheriff. In the autumn 
he was elected and in December following 
entered upon the discharge of his duties, 
which he performed in a most satisfactory 
manner, making a most creditable record. 
During his term no prisoners escaped and 



there was no suit against the office to be 
defended at county expense. He had a 
just feeling of pride in the fact that he did 
not ask a single man to vote for him, nor 
did he use a cent in the saloons for election 
purposes. His majority was the free will 
offering of a people who recognized his fit- 
ness for office and had confidence in his 
trustworthiness. He served until 1894, and 
a year later, after visiting in Ohio during 
that period, he came to Urbana, where he 
has since made his home. He erected his 
business property at No. 157 Main street in 
December, 1896, and has since carried on 
a successful undertaking business, conducting 
the only exclusive undertaking establishment 
in the county. He has a basement morgue 
and chapel rooms, as well as offices, and his 
sales are quite extensive, practically includ- 
ing all the trade in the place. In the spring 
of 1899 he was elected to the office of 
mayor of Urbana, and his administration of 
the affairs of that responsible office has 
been at once practical and progressive, win- 
ning him high commendation. 

In December, 1868, Mr. Fox was united 
in marriage to Miss Maria Bowsher, who 
was also a representative of an old Pennsyl- 
vania family. She died in December, 1876, 
leaving a little son, Guy, who was born on 
the 1 7th of September of that year and is 
now in Urbana. Mr. Fox afterward married 
Mrs. Maria Platt, of Lafayette, Indiana, 
daughter of Alexander Julien. The wedding 
was celebrated July 3, 1883. Both Mr. 
and Mrs. Fox are consistent members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and their many 
excellences of character have won them 
high regard. He has been quite prominent 
in fraternal circles and was the first com- 
mander of the Grand Army Post at St. 
Joseph. He was frequently its delegate to 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the state encampments and has attended 
a number of the national encampments. 
He also belongs to the Knights of 
Pythias fraternity. He owns his own 
pleasant .home, and is regarded as one 
of the leading men of the town, bear- 
ing an unassailable reputation in business 
and political affairs as well as in private 
life. 



J HARVEY BAINUM, a well-known con- 
tract plasterer, is one of the energetic 
and reliable business men of Champaign, 
Illinois. He possesses excellent business 
and executive ability, which together with 
sound judgment, unflagging enterprise and 
capable management have brought to him a 
well-merited success. He has been a resi- 
dent of Champaign since 1882, and now 
owns and occupies a pleasant modern resi- 
dence at No.. 207 West Springfield avenue. 
Mr. Bainum was born in Clermont 
county, Ohio, February 24, 1844, a son of 
Isaac and Mary Ann (Gates) Bainum, who 
were married April 16, 1835. anc l were the 
parents of five children, the others being 
Sarah, a school teacher, who died unmarried; 
David, a retired citizen of New Richmond, 
Ohio; Margaret, deceased wife of Elmer 
Blanchard, of New Richmond; and Maria, 
deceased wife of Judson Blanchard. 
Hezekiah Bainum, the paternal grandfather 
of our subject, was a native of Delaware, 
and a pioneer of Clermont, Ohio, where he 
located in the early part of the nineteenth 
century. He was a soldierof the war of 1812, 
and died in 1849. The maternal grandfather, 
James H. Gates, was a veteran of the war of 
1812, was born in Chesterfield county, Vir- 
ginia, March 13, 1790, and married Marga- 
ret McMichael, who was born in County 



Tyrone, Ireland, October 25, 1785. They 
were early settlers of Kentucky, and made 
their home in Campbell county, that state. 
Isaac Bainum, the father of our subject, 
was born in Delaware, October, 1799, and 
was quite young on the removal of the .fam- 
ily to Clermont county, Ohio, locating there 
when the country was an almost unbroken 
forest and their nearest mill was twenty-four 
miles away. There he made his home 
throughout life, and during his later years 
was engaged in the grocery business at 
New Richmond, where he died November 
12, 1876. He was quite a prominent busi- 
ness man and held a number of city offices. 
His wife died in 1849. 

J. Harvey Bainum passed his boyhood 
and youth under the parental roof, remain- 
ing at home until the opening of hostilities 
between the north and south. Hardly had 
the echoes from Fort Sumter's guns died 
away, when he offered his services to his 
country, enlisting April 20, 1861, in Company 
C, Twelfth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for 
three months. On the expiration of that 
term he was discharged, but re-enlisted, 
October 2, 1861, for three years, this time 
becoming a member of Company G, Fifty- 
ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was 
assigned to the Army of the Cumberland. 
He was in the service for three years and- 
seven months and participated in a large 
number of engagements, including the bat- 
tles of Ivy Mountain, in November, 1861; 
Pittsburg Landing, April 4, 1862; Perry ville, 
Octobers, 1862; Wild Cat Mountain, Oc- 
tober 2, 1862; Stone River, December 29, 
1862, to January 3, 1863; and Chickamauga, 
September 14, 1863. During thelast named 
battle he was captured, but was reported 
killed. For two months he was confined in 
Libby prison, Richmond, Virginia; was then 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



sent to Danville, that state, where he re- 
mained three months; and during the follow- 
ing nine months was incarcerated at Ander- 
sonville prison, making fourteen months in 
all. He was finally exchanged at Hilton 
Head, November 19, 1864, and sent to the 
parole camp at Annapolis, Maryland. He 
was soon afterward sent home. He was 
one of the few men whose remarkable con- 
stitution withstood the hardships and priva- 
tionsof long imprisonment, and it was not long 
before he had partially recovered his health 
and strength. He was promoted to the 
rank of sergeant, October 16, 1861, and as 
such was mustered out at Columbus, Ohio, 
January 5, 1865. 

After the war, Mr. Bainum learned the 
plasterer's trade, which he followed at New 
Richmond, Ohio, until 1874. In the mean- 
time he was married, September 27, 1865, 
to Miss Margaret West, who was born in 
Campbell county, Kentucky, August 1 13, 
1845, and when five years old was taken to 
Ohio by her parents, Samuel N. and 
Pauline (Gates) West, natives of Kentucky 
and Ohio, respectively. Her father was 
the oldest son of George West, a native of 
Virginia and a farmer by occupation. He 
removed to Kentucky when that state was 
a vast wilderness. He was born a few 
months before the signing of the Declaration 
of Independence and lived to be ninety-two 
years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Bainum have 
two sons: Frank E. , born July 7. 1866, 
married Nellie Collier, daughter of Peter 
Collier, of Champaign, and is a member of 
the firm of Martin & Bainum, grocers of 
that city; and Curtis S., born January 9, 
1869, married Anna Webb, of Champaign, 
and is an architect of that city. 

In March, 1874, Mr. Bainum came to 
Champaign county, Illinois, and purchased 



a farm of eighty acres four miles south of 
Champaign, where he made his home for 
eight years, but devoted his attention prin- 
cipally to his trade. At the end of that 
time he removed to the city in order to give 
his children better educational advantages, 
and as a contractor he has since successfully 
carried on his chosen occupation at this 
place. He bought property on Neil street, 
where he lived until 1893, when he erected 
his present modern residence at No. 207 
West Springfield avenue, which is supplied 
with all modern conveniences. 

Religiously both Mr. and Mrs. Bainum 
are members of the First Methodist Episco- 
pal church, and socially he is a member of 
Colonel Nodine Post, G. A. R., and Cham- 
paign Lodge, No. 333, I. O. O. F., of which 
he is a past grand. He casts his ballot 
with the Democratic party, and gives his 
support to every enterprise which he be- 
lieves calculated to prove of public benefit. 
He enjoys in a high degree the confidence 
and esteem of his fellow men, and occupies 
a foremost place in business circles. 



HORATIO G. BANES, whose home is 
at No. 518 East Healey street, Cham- 
paign, is a leading and influential citizen of 
that place one who has been quite prom- 
inently identified with public affairs for 
many years, and has the best interests of 
the city and county at heart. A native of 
Ohio, he was born in Clark county, Octo- 
ber 30, 1833, and is a son of Gabriel H. 
and Sarah (McKinnon) Banes, also natives 
of the Buckeye state. The father was ex- 
tensively engaged in farming and stock rais- 
ing in Ohio, until 1850, when, with his fam- 
ily, he came to Champaign county, Illinois, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



locating in Newcomb township, where he 
purchased a half-section of land, but he was 
not long permitted to enjoy his new home, 
as he died two years later. In his native 
state he was quite a prominent citizen and 
well known in political and religious circles. 
He was a great admirer of Henry Clay and 
a stanch Whig in politics. Religiously he 
was a zealous worker in the Methodist Prot- 
estant church, and his residence was a place 
of worship for years. In his family were 
seven children who reached years of matu- 
rity, but only two survive, namely: Hora- 
tio G. , and Eleanor, wife of Robert Wright, 
of Newcomb township, this county. 

Mr. Banes, the subject of this sketch, 
was a lad of twelve years when he came 
with his parents to Champaign county, and 
his youth was passed upon the home farm, 
while his education was acquired in the 
common schools of the locality. At the age 
of seventeen he concluded to leave the farm 
and learn the carpenter's trade. He served 
his apprenticeship in Urbana, and since that 
time has made carpentering his chief occu- 
pation, being engaged in contracting and 
building on his own account since the age of 
twenty. During the construction of the 
Illinois Central Railroad he was employed 
for some time by that road, building depots 
and bridges in this county. He has erected 
many houses in Urbana, Champaign and the 
surrounding country during the forty years 
or more that he has been engaged in the 
work. In early manhood his winters were 
spent in clerking in stores in this and -Mc- 
Lean counties, and while with Lyle & Har- 
rison at Osman, McLean county, he was 
appointed justice of the peace to fill an un- 
expired term and was later elected to that 
office. 

On the 24th of October, 1856, Mr. 



Banes was united in marriage with Miss 
Eunice I. Hormel, a daughter of Michael 
Hormel. She died September 13, 1867, 
and of the three children born of that union 
two died in childhood. The other is Nancy 
M., now the wife of Andrew Hampton, in 
the postal service at Champaign. Mr. 
Banes was again married, November 18, 
1869, his second union being with Miss Mar- 
garet J. Hopkins, a daughter of Harris and 
Christina (Cherry) Hopkins. There were 
two children born of this marriage but both 
died in infancy. 

Fraternally Mr. Banes is a member of 
Mahomet Lodge, 'No. 220, F. & A. M. ;and 
religiously is an active and official member 
of the Christian church, being at present a 
trustee of the church. In politics he is a 
stalwart Republican, and at present, in 
1900, is a candidate before the county con- 
vention of his party for the office of county 
coroner. In 1886 he was elected commis- 
sioner of streets for the city of Champaign 
for a term of two years, and at the expira- 
tion of that time was re-elected, so accepta- 
bly had he filled the office. He was next 
appointed city marshal by Mayor Wilcox, 
and after serving in that position for two 
years, he was again appointed street com- 
missioner by Mayor E. Chester, that office 
having become appointive instead of elective. 
He was elected on the temperance ticket as 
alderman of the second ward and filled that 
office in a most creditable manner for two 
years. 



JACOB BUCK, awell-known and honored 
citizen of Champaign, who has served 
as police magistrate for eight years, and 
justice of the peace since November, 1877, 
was born on the 2Oth of January, 1838, in 



THE BIOGRAHPICAL RECORD. 



73 



Simmershausen, Germany, five miles from 
Hesse Cassel, and is a son of Wilhelm and 
Elizabeth (Seeger) Buch, who spent their 
entire lives there, the former dying in Sep- 
tember, 1852, the latter in July, 1855. The 
father was a contractor and builder, and also 
owned and operated stone quarries. 

Our subject received a good common- 
school education in his native land, and 
also learned the stone mason's trade under 
his father. In 1856 he emigrated to Amer- 
ica, landing in Baltimore, Maryland, on the 
25th of June, and two days later he entered 
the employ of a butcher at that place, where 
he was to .receive four dollars per month 
and his board. While there he learned to 
speak and write English. He continued to 
work in that shop until September 10. 1860, 
when he enlisted in the regular army for five 
years, becoming a member of Company C, 
Second (now the Fifth) United States 
Cavalry, and in October left New York by 
steamer bound for Indianola, Texas, with 
Lieutenant Arnold, now brigadier-general. 
They marched across the country to Fort 
Inge near Uvalde, where Mr. Buch joined 
his company. After Texas seceded he 
returned with his command to Elizabeth. 
New Jersey, on the steamer Empire City, 
and on April 28, 1861, went by train to 
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where they secured 
horses. Undercommand of General George 
H.Thomas, the regirnentcrossed the Potomac 
at Williamsport, Maryland, and on the 2nd 
of July participated in their first engagement 
at Falling Waters, Virginia. Mr. Buch 
participated in over fifty engagements, and 
in one of these he was captured on June 13, 
1862, and was held a prison on Belle Island 
and in Libby prison until the I4th of the 
following August. He rejoined his regiment 
at Harrison's Landing on the James river. 



On the 9th of June, 1863, he was wounded 
in the right shoulder and was off duty for 
three months. He served as private eight 
months, corporal ten months, and sergeant 
three years and a half. His last engage- 
ment was at Five Forks, March 30, 1865, 
and was then commissary sergeant for the 
five companies composing General Grant's 
body guard until honorably discharged 
September 10, 1865, at Washington, D. C., 
on the expiration of his five years' term of 
enlistment. 

On the 2 ist of September, 1865, Mr. 
Buch went to Chicago where he and his 
brother William conducted a butcher shop 
on East Harrison street, between Sherman 
and Fifth avenue, until 1868. In that city 
he was married, June 3, 1867, to Miss 
Christina Miller, also a native of Germany, 
who, when a child of five years, came with 
her parents to this country and located in 
Chicago. 

On selling out his business in that city, 
Mr. Buch came to Champaign, where, on 
July 6, 1868, he opened a butcher shop on 
the corner of East University avenue and 
First street. In 1871, he erected a building 
on East University between First and Second 
street, arid did a large business until 1876, 
although he lost heavily on book accounts 
in 1873. In 1877 he was elected justice of 
the peace on the Republican ticket and has 
since filled that office in a most creditable 
and satisfactory manner, receiving a good 
share of the business. He was elected 
county coroner in 1878, and also filled that 
office until 1892, when he declined a re- 
election. That year he was elected police 
magistrate and was re-elected in 1896, 
bei.ng the present incumbent in that office, 
which he has filled with credit to himself 
and to the satisfaction of the city. From 



74 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the time of the breaking out of the Civil 
war, he has been an active and stanch sup- 
porter of the Republican party, and although 
an adopted son of America his loyalty is 
above question, being manifest in days of 
peace as well as in time of war. He is an 
honored member of Colonel Nodine Post, 
of which he was commander one year, and 
is now officer of the day, and he has also 
represented the post in the state encamp- 
ment. He has been connected with the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 
1872, has served as noble grand of the 
subordinate lodge, and chief patriarch of the 
encampment. In 1869 he united with St. 
Peter's German Evangelical church, and is 
now one of its oldest and most prominent 
members. He has been one of the- trustees 
of the church for many years, and was secre- 
tary a long time until his health prevented 
him from longer filling that office. In 1880 
he erected a pleasant residence at No. 125 
East University avenue, where he continues 
to make his home. 



WALKER B. TACKETT. The influ- 
ence of an honorable, upright life in 
a community cannot be over-estimated, and 
the record of an umblemished career is a far 
more desirable legacy for posterity than 
wealth. In a quiet, unostentatious way, W. 
B. Tackett, late of Champaign county, was 
a power for good in his community, and all 
who knew him loved and respected him. 

A son of William and Isabella Tackett, 
he was born in Bath county, Kentucky, 
September 2, 1840, and grew to manhood 
in that section of the state. His parents, 
likewise, were natives of the Blue Grass 
state, were prosperous farmers, and spent 



their entire lives at their old home. W. B. 
Tackett obtained a fair education in the 
common schools of Kentucky, and in his 
youth he mastered the details of agriculture 
under his father's instruction. He was a 
young man when he decided to cast in his 
lot with the inhabitants of Champaign 
county, which thenceforth was his home. 
Prior to coming here, however, he had 
made a good start in life, and had gained a 
competence, which enabled him to take 
rank at once with the progressive farmers of 
this county. For a few years after his ar- 
rival here, he leased farms, and later, he in- 
vested in a valuable homestead of one hun- 
dred and twenty acres, situated in Tolona 
township. He made numerous desirable 
improvements upon the place, and was con- 
sidered a capable, practical farmer and ex- 
cellent business man. His chief interest 
centered in his little family, and he gave 
little attention to public matters. At the 
same time he never failed to perform his 
duties as a citizen, and in his political pref- 
erence he was a Democrat. 

When he was less than twenty-one years 
of age, in 1859. Mr. Tackett wedded a 
school-mate, a young girl who had grown to. 
maturity in the same neighborhood. She 
was Elizabeth G., daughter of William and 
Nancy Powers, all natives of Kentucky, 
and of families who formerly had dwelt in 
Virginia. William Powers engaged quite 
extensively in the raising of live stock, 
mostly horses and hogs, for many years, and 
several times a year went to market them 
in South .Carolina and Georgia. He con- 
tinued to reside at his old home in Kentucky 
until his death in 1862. His widow sur- 
vived until 1889, when she passed away at 
the home of her daughter, Mrs. Tackett. 
She was the mother of seven children who 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



75 



lived to maturity, but four of the number 
are now deceased. William D. is the pro- 
prietor of a large hotel at Sidell, Illinois, 
and James N. resides in Menard county, 
near Petersburg. 

To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Tackett 
nine children were born and one son of the 
number was graduated from the University 
of Illinois. F. Marion, the eldest, is engaged 
in the real estate business in Champaign. 
He married Lura B. Fankboner, and of 
their two children, one is deceased, and the 
other is William C. Annie M., the next in 
order of birth, died in 1894. Dora M. re- 
sides with her mother. -Laura N. is the 
wife of Boyd Stevens, of Urbana, and their 
four children are named respectively: Ray- 
mond W. , Warren R., Paul W. and Mary 
E. William C., the second son of our sub- 
ject, was graduated in the University of 
Illinois and in the Chicago University, and 
then engaged in the practice of law in Chi- 
cago. He was a very promising young at- 
torney, beloved by a large circle of friends, 
and when death claimed him, in February, 
1896, it was felt by all who knew him that 
his place could not soon be adequately 
filled. Wallace, the next in order of birth, 
died at the age of two years. George, the 
next younger, died when sixteen months 
old. Rosie B. died when seventeen months 
old, and Olive B. when in her seventh 
year. The father of these 1 children gave 
them every advantage within his power, and 
lovingly and thoughtfully provided for their 
future. He was summoned to his reward, 
January 6, 1892, and was placed to rest in 
the Craw cemetery. 

The following year, Mrs. Tackett re,- 
moved to Champaign, where she resides in 
a pleasant, modern house, erected under 
her supervision. She takes great comfort 



in the society of her children, and is an act- 
ive worker in the Christian church, of 
which religious body her husband was a de- 
voted member, also. She is a valued and 
efficient member of the Dorcas Society of 
the church, and, in a quiet way, does a 
great deal of good to ward the needy. Need- 
less to say, she is honored and loved for her 
worthy qualities, and has sincere friends by 
the score. 



/^EORGE F. GEIGER, a well-known 
V-J alderman of Champaign, is now living 
a retired life in the enjoyment of a rest 
which .he has truly earned and richly de- 
serves by reason of his industrious efforts of 
former years. Accomplishment and prog- 
ress ever imply labor, energy and diligence, 
and it was those qualities which enabled 
our subject to rise from the ranks of the 
many and stand among the successful few. 
He is now one of the highly esteemed citi- 
zens of Champaign, and is well entitled to 
representation in the history of his adopted 
country. 

Mr. Geiger was born in Wurtemburg, 
Germany, April 23, 1834, a son of George 
and Catherine (Hik) Geiger, spent their en- 
tire lives there. Our subject attended the 
schools of his native province and completed 
his literary education at a gymnasium which 
in rank corresponded with our high schools. 
Crossing the Atlantic in 1857, he came direct 
to Springfield, Illinois, and worked as a farm 
hand in Sangamon county for a time. 
While there he was married, December 20, 
1859, to Miss Mary Simons, who was born 
and reared in Greenville, Missouri, and was 
left an orphan at an early age. They have 
two children: Katie, who married E. J. 
Rising, now manager of her father's hardware 



7 6 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



* 



store in Mahomet, and has one child, Fred; 
and Rosa E., wife of Dr. A. S. Wall, of 
Champaign. 

In 1864 Mr. Geiger removed to Lincoln, 
Logan county, Illinois, wherehe rented land 
for two years, and he made his first purchase, 
consisting of eighty acres, for which he paid 
forty-two dollars per acre, and which he 
sold at the end of six years for fifty-four dol- 
lars per acre. In the fall of 1869 he bought 
a farm of one hundred and forty acres in 
Mahomet township and located thereon in 
the spring of 1870. He has since extended 
its boundaries by additional purchase until 
the farm now comprises two hundred acres. 
This place he still owns. In 1882 he opened 
a hardware store in Mahomet, to which 
village he removed the following year, and 
there he did a successful and prosperous 
business until 1895, when he turned it over 
to his son-in-law, and purchased a farm of 
one hundred and sixty acres just outside the 
corporate limits of Champaign. This has 
proved a good investment, as the place is 
now worth over one hundred dollars per 
acre. He still owns his store in Mahomet, 
has property in Chicago, and has erected a 
beautiful home at No. 707 West Park ave- 
nue one of the best locations in Cham- 
paign. He is a man of wonderful business 
and executive ability, and with the excep- 
tion of two thousand dollars received from 
his father's estate in 1869, he has made all 
that he now possesses. ' 

While a resident of Mahomet Mr. Geiger 
served as road commissioner nine years, 
and was supervisor for six consecutive 
terms, during which time he was a member 
of the ways and means committee for sev- 
eral years. While a member of the board 
the township brought suit against the rail- 
road company for fifty thousand dollars and 



lost it. It was to recover ten per cent, in- 
terest that had not been paid for ten years. 
Our subject refunded it at six per cent, and 
the whole amount was paid off while he was 
in office. In 1899 he was elected alderman 
from the fifth ward of Champaign, and is 
now most creditably and acceptably filling 
that office. He is a stanch supporter of the 
Republican party, has taken an active and 
prominent part in its work as a member of 
the county executive committee, but has 
never been an office seeker. He is a mem- 
ber of the Benevolent and Protective Order 
of Elks; the German lodge of Odd Fel- 
lows, of which he is past grand; and the 
encampment, of which he is past high 
priest. He also belongs to the Presbyterian 
church, while his wife holds membership in 
the Baptist. Wherever known they are 
held in high regard on account of their 
sterling worth, and their friends throughout 
Champaign county are numerous. 



THOMAS S. HUBBARD, one of the 
honored pioneers of Urbana, has been 
closely associated with its development and 
progress from its early days, and none of 
our citizens are more universally known or 
respected. He is a sterling representative 
of the sturdy old New England stock, and 
keen business ability and foresight are 
among his prominent characteristics. -Strict 
integrity of word and deed throughout his 
long, successful career have been largely re- 
sponsible for his high standing in the com- 
munity, and the interests entrusted to him 
have never suffered from any negligence 
upon his part. 

The Hubbards originated in England, 
but for many generations have been repre- 




THOMAS S. HUBBARD, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



79 



sented in America. Jeremiah, grandfather 
of T. S. Hubbard, lived to be sixty-three 
years old, his death occurring in 1808. His 
wife, whose maiden name was Flora Hazel- 
ton, died November 30, 1833. They were 
the parents of ten children, namely: Rufus, 
Jeremiah, Simon, Alice, Susanna, Flora, 
Catherine, George, Asa and Bathsheba. 
Capt. George Hubbard, the father of our 
subject, was born January 25, 1781, in 
Middletown, Connecticut, and' in his early 
life followed the calling of a sea-captain. 
Subsequent to 1829, when the president 
placed the embargo upon shipping interests, 
he turned his attention to the management 
of a hotel and to agriculture. 

He died October 29, 1833, and was sur- 
vived by his widow thirty years. She was 
Electa Bronson in her girlhood, and was a 
native of Farmington, Connecticut. Capt. 
George Hubbard and wife were the parents 
of the following-named children: Flora A., 
died at the age of fifteen months; Eliza B., 
who wedded Elisha L. Sage, died at the 
age of fifty-two years; Antoinette A. mar- 
ried David C. Brooks in 1834, and died 
November i, 1878, at the age of sixty-three 
years, leaving five children, George F. and 
Charles A., who have since departed this 
life, and James C., Thomas H. and Mary 
E. ; Flora J. died when seven months old; 
Nancy M. was seven years old at the time 
of her death; Jane L. , who was the wife of 
James H. Kibbee, died when sixty-one years 
of age; George died when an infant; Thomas 
S. is the subject of this notice; -Susanna J., 
wife of L. T. Marion, died in 1895, when 
in her seventieth year; and Julia M., widow 
of Humphrey Harsh, resides in Warren, 
Ohio. 

The birth of Thomas S. Hubbard oc- 
cured in Cromwelltown, Middlesex county, 



Connecticut, September 25, 1825. After 
completing his elementary education in the 
schools of his native place, he entered Yale 
College in 1845, where he was graduated 
four years later. Among his class-mates 
were Timothy Dwight, now president of 
their Alma Mater; Dr. Fisk, prominently 
connected with the Congregational Theolog- 
ical Seminary of Chicago, and Dr. Morris, a 
professor in the Lane Theological Sem- 
inary, of Ohio. Upon completion of his 
studies, Mr. Hubbard engaged in the manu- 
facture of japanned tinware and hardware in 
Meriden and Durham, Connecticut. In 
1854 he came to Champaign county, arriv- 
ing in Urbana December 8th. Here he 
soon embarked in the banking business, 
being the proprietor of the first bank in this 
county. In February, 1856, he accepted 
the position of cashier in the Grand Prairie 
Bank, which had a branch at West Urbana 
(now Champaign), and these were the only 
banks in this county prior to 1861, until 
which time Mr. Hubbard continued to serve 
in the last-mentioned office. Afterwards, 
he embarked in the grocery business, and 
finally became financially interested in the 
hardware trade. In 1865 he sold out his 
business here and returning to his native 
place remained there until 1869. He then 
decided to permanently cast in his fortunes 
with the people of Urbana, and since that 
time has been actively engaged in the hard- 
ware business. The firm, which long has 
been known throughout this section under 
the style of Hubbard Sons, is reliable and 
enterprising, commanding an extensive pat- 
ronage. He is the oldest business man in 
the Twin Cities in point of continuous oper- 
ations. 

The marriage of T. S. Hubbard and 
Jane E., daughter of Dr. Wyllys and Mary 



8o 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



(Lewis) Woodruff, took place November 14, 
1849. Mrs. Hubbard, who is a native of 
Meriden, Connecticut, comes of an old and 
respected family of that state. Her father, 
who was a successful physician and sur- 
geon, and a graduate of the medical depart- 
ment of Yale College, in the class of 1824, 
thenceforth was engaged in practice in 
Meriden. He died March 31, 1842, loved 
and sincerely mourned by a multitude of 
friends. His marriage to Miss Lewis oc- 
curred February 14, 1828, in Southington, 
Connecticut. They became the parents of 
two daughters, Jane E. and Mary A. The 
latter, who died May 19, 1860, was the wife 
of George Butler, of Alabama, and their 
three children are all deceased. Mrs. Mary 
(Lewis) Woodruff became the wife of Henry 
C. Butler May 31, 1848, and died July 17, 
1871. Mr. Woodruff and wife were de- 
voted members of the Congregational 
church. 

The eldest child of our subject and wife, 
Wyllys W. , died when young from that 
dread scourge, small-pox. George W., a 
member of the firm of Hubbard & Sons, is 
mentioned at length elsewhere in this work. 
He is a very public-spirited citizen, served 
as alderman for four years and for a like 
period was mayor of Urbana, during that 
time materially aiding in securing many 
notable improvements for this place. 
Minnie W. is the wife of Dr. A. M. Lind- 
ley, of Urbana. Julia E. is the wife of 
Thomas A. Insley, and their four children 
are Clara, deceased, Charles W. , Ida H. 
and Minnie. Harry T. , a member of the 
firm of Hubbard & Sons, married Maggie 
Riley, and their only living child is Frank W. 

A notable occasion in the annals of 
Urbana was the golden wedding anniversary 
of T. S. Hubbard and wife, November 14, 



1899, celebrated at the home of their 
daughter, Mrs. Lindley. Over one hundred 
and fifty guests, mostly old friends from dif- 
ferent parts of this county, were present, 
but it so happened that only one of those 
who witnessed the marriage of the worthy 
couple half a century before was able to 
congratulate them in person upon this 
happy anniversary. This was Mrs. W. L. 
Squire, of Meriden, Connecticut, who made 
the long journey of about two thousand 
miles for the purpose, even though she could 
remain but twenty-four hours. Ex-Presi- 
dent Dwight, the old friend and class-mate 
of Mr. Hubbard, though he had been present 
a"t their wedding, was forced to send his 
sincere regrets, instead of coming to assist 
in the celebration, as he earnestly desired 
to do. The Rev. A. A. Stevens, of Peoria, 
Illinois, who had performed the wedding 
ceremony fifty years before, was unable to 
attend, owing to his extreme age. 

When Mr. Hubbard settled in Urbana, 
in 1854, there was but one brick build- 
ing in the place, and though the Illinois Cen- 
tral Railroad had been completed through 
here that fall, trains were not regularly run 
during the ensuing winter. He had un- 
daunted confidence in the future of the 
town, however, and, needless to relate, has 
himself been one of the leading factors in 
the prosperity it enjoys today. The high 
esteem in which he has always been held 
by those who know him, and the genuine 
belief in his business sagacity and ability 
manifested by his fellow citizens may be es- 
timated by the following instance. At an 
early day he was solicited to accept a posi- 
tion as fiscal agent for the collection and 
settlement of notes belonging to the county, 
and arising from the sale of some swamp 
lands. Such confidence was reposed in Mr. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



81 



Hubbard that he was not required to give 
a bond, although the amount involved was 
over fifty thousand dollars. Two or three 
persons had previously had charge of these 
notes, but when, several years subsequent 
to his acceptance of the office, a committee 
was appointed by the county authorities to 
look into its affairs, the only records which 
could be found -in regard to the numbers 
and amounts and disposition of the notes 
were those made and preserved by Mr. Hub- 
bard. Politically, he was a Whig in his 
early manhood, and is now a stanch Repub- 
lican. For eight years he served the 
people of Urbana as an alderman, but he 
has preferred to keep out of public life. 

Since 1857, when the First Presbyterian 
church of Urbana was organized, Mr. Hub- 
bard has been one of its elders, and for 
many years was a teacher in the Sunday- 
school, as was his wife, also. His children 
and four of his grandchildren belong to the 
same church. The Bloomington Presbytery 
honored Mr. Hubbard by appointing him as 
a commissioner to the Centennial General 
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the 
United States, which convened in the Phila- 
delphia Academy of Music, May 17, 1888, 
and continued in session three weeks. Mr. 
Hubbard was appointed by the Assembly to 
serve as a member ol one of the standing 
committees of that body and also on two or 
three special committees. 



ALBERTS. WALL, M. D., is one of 
the successful physicians and surgeons 
of Champaign, Illinois, and a prominent 
resident of that place. He has much natural 
ability, but is withal a close student and be- 
lieves thoroughly in the maxim "there is 



no excellence without labor." His devo- 
tion to the duties of his profession therefore, 
combined with a comprehensive understand- 
ing of the principles of the science of medi- 
cine, has made him a most successful and 
able practitioner, whose prominence is well 
deserved. 

Dr. Wall was born in Clarks Hill, In- 
diana, May 14, 1 86 1, a son of Richard B. 
and Catharine (Baer) Wall, the former born 
in Kentucky, the mother near Dayton. Ohio. 
The paternal grandfather, however, was 
from Pennsylvania, and from that state re- 
moved to- Kentucky, and later to Indiana, 
becoming a pioneer of Tippecanoe county 
in 1834. The Doctor's father accompanied 
his parents on their removal to the Hoosier 
State, where he was married, and where he 
continued to make his home throughout life, 
his time and attention being devoted to 
agricultural pursuits. He was a consistent 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and his wife, who is still living, holds mem- 
bership in the Christian church. 

Dr. Wall acquired his early education in 
the country schools near his boyhood home, 
but later attended the Central Indiana 
Normal School at Ladoga, from which he 
was graduated in 1881. For a time he suc- 
cessfully engaged in teaching school, having 
a good position as principal, and then 
entered the office of Dr. Joseph Parker, of 
Colfax, Indiana. Subsequently \\e attended 
lectures at the Miami Medical College of 
Cincinnati, from which he was graduated in 
1890, but remained there doing hospital 
work for a number of months. In the fall 
of 1890 he opened an office in Mahomet, 
Champaign county, Illinois, and built up a 
large and lucrative practice at that place. 
While there he was honored with public 
office, but refused to accept the same, pre- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ferring to devote his attention strictly to his 
professional duties. On leaving there, Dr. 
Wall went to Chicago, where he took a post- 
graduate course, paying special- attention to 
surgery, and in practice has since made that 
his specialty. In the spring of 1896 he 
located in Champaign, and has met with 
most excellent success in his practice here. 
He is a member of the surgical staff of Julia 
F. Burnham Hospital, and has performed 
some very complicated and difficult opera- 
tions, being especially successful in those 
for appendicitis. He is examining physician 
for a number of prominent life insurance 
companies. 

On November 9, 1892, Dr. Wall was 
united in marriage with Miss Rose E. 
Geiger, of Mahomet, daughter of Frederick 
Geiger, a wealthy farmer. She is a mem- 
ber of the Baptist church, to the support of 
which the Doctor contributes, and he is 
connected with the Masonic Lodge of 
Mahomet. 



WILLIAM LENINGTON is one of the 
honored pioneers of Champaign 
county, which he has seen developed from 
the wild prairie into its present condition of 
fertility and beauty. In this good work, the 
labor of several decades, he has borne an 
important part, and is justly entitled to be 
called one of the founders of the county. 

His parents, James T. and Sarah (Bon- 
nell) Lenington, were natives of New Jer- 
sey, and in that state resided until 1832, the 
father following his trade as a hatter. In 
the year mentioned, they started with a 
horse and wagon and crossed the Alleghany 
mountains, their destination being Licking 
county, Ohio. The journey consumed about 
four weeks, and when they reached their 



new home they found a great task, indeed, 
before them. Of the eighty acres of land 
which constituted their farm, only five 
acres had been cleared, the remainder be- 
ing heavily timbered. Building a log cabin, 
the family lived within its humble walls for 
several years, then removing to a frame 
house. The father gradually cleared away 
the forest, hauling the logs to the nearest 
saw-mill, and, subsequently, he added three 
hundred and twenty acres more to his orig- 
inal purchase. He died in 1875, at his old 
home in Licking county, where he had be- 
come so well known and genuinely re- 
spected. His wife, who had shared with 
him all of the privations of frontier life, 
bravely and uncomplainingly, attained about 
the same age. Four of their children sur- 
vived to maturity, namely: William, Nathan- 
iel, Thomas and Martha J., now the widow 
of David Nichols, of Champaign. 

William Lenington, whose birth oc- 
curred in Morris county, N. J., April 17, 
1825, spent much of his boyhood in the 
wilderness of Licking county, Ohio, and 
only a few months, during a few winters, 
was it his privilege to attend school. When 
he was twenty-two years of age he left 
home, where he had manfully shouldered 
his share of the laborious duties, and, going 
to Granville, obtained a position in the vil- 
lage store. There he soon became con- 
versant with the business, and for nine 
years faithfully remained at his post, in the 
meantime carefully laying aside a portion of 
his earnings. In 1856 he came to Cham- 
paign county and later bought one hundred 
and eighty acres of prairie land in Condit 
township. Champaign county, and at once 
set about improving the place, which was 
unbroken prairie land. The years rolled 
away, and many changes for the better 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



might have been observed on the place, 
good buildings, fences and well tilled fields, 
groves and ditches, and a hundred other im- 
provements having been made by the enter- 
prising owner. Giving much of his atten- 
tion to the raising of live stock, particularly 
sheep, he met with success, and rapidly 
added to his financial possessions. He 
now owns five hundred and twenty acres, 
situated on sections 27, 28 and 33, Condit 
township. By well directed energy and 
perseverance in his undertakings, he won 
the prosperity he now enjoys, and at the 
same time his business methods were such 
that no one in his community has been 
more sincerely esteemed. In 1885 he re- 
tired from the active care and responsibility 
of managing his large farm, and since that 
time he has dwelt in Champaign, where he 
is well and favorably known. 

In 1851, Mr. Lenington married Julia 
Condit, a daughter of Wyckliff Condit, of 
Ohio. She died in 1859, and their first-born, 
John, died in infancy. Helen, the next 
child, is the wife of John Trevett, who is 
engaged in the banking business in Cham- 
paign, and Grant is the proprietor of the 
Commercial House, in Tolono, this county. 
In 1 86 1, Mr. Lenington wedded Mrs. Lu- 
cinda Pearson, a daughter ot Truman 
French, of Licking county, and widow of 
George Pearson. Ira, the eldest child of 
our subject and wife, died in infancy. Wade 
is engaged in the lumber business in St. 
Joseph, Illinois; James Truman is a success- 
ful dentist at Springfield, Illinois, and Allen 
resides at home with his parents. 

As stated before, William 'Lenington 
aided materially in the founding of this 
county and in placing it upon a safe and 
prosperous footing. For a great many 
years he served in the responsible position 



of supervisor of his own township, and ac- 
quitted himself with credit. At that time 
the county was deeply in debt, and the 
supervisors of the different townships had no 
light tasks before them. Mr. Lenington 
proved himself to be equal to all emergen- 
cies, and loyally stood for improvements 
and whatever he believed would be for the 
permanent welfare of the community. In 
national affairs he has been a stanch Repub- 
lican. Both himself and wife are members 
of the Presbyterian church, he being one of 
the trustees. They are liberal in their con- 
tributions to religious and benevolent enter- 
prises, and delight to lend a helping hand to 
the destitute and afflicted. 



WILBER FISK HARDY is a leading 
representative of the business in- 
terests of Champaign, where for several 
years he has been a dealer in agricultural 
implements, coal and'seeds. Of excellent 
business ability and broad resources, he has 
attained a leading place among the sub- 
stantial citizens of the place. He has won 
success by his well-directed, energetic ef- 
forts, and the prosperity that has come to 
him is certainly well-deserved. 

Mr. Hardy was born in North Palermo, 
Waldo county, Maine, August 24. 1835, a 
son of Orley and Sylvia (Sterns) Hardy, 
natives of New Hampshire, whose ances- 
tors were from England and were among 
the early settlers of New England. After 
their marriage they removed to Maine, 
where the father, who was a mechanic, car- 
ried on business for a short time, but when 
our subject was three years old he took his 
family to Sempronius, Cayuga county, New 
York, where he made his home until going 



8 4 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



to Kentucky, about 1847. Later he came 
to Oilman, Illinois, where he died about 
1865. and his wife, who was a daughter of 
Isaiah Sterns, died at the home of our sub- 
ject in Champaign, in October, 1889. She 
was a most estimable woman and a life-long 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
The parental grandparents of our subject 
were Eldad and Anna (Leland) Hardy. 
The former was a soldier of the war of 
1812, and was held a prisoner for a time. 
He spent his last days in Cayuga county, 
New York. Wilber F. Hardy is the second 
in order of birth in a family of six children, 
the others being Manlius, who remained in 
Kentucky; Eliza, who married W. A. Hamp- 
ton and died in Missouri; Eunice, who died 
in this county; Eldad, who was wounded in 
the battle of Missionary Ridge while a sol- 
dier of the Civil war and died at his home 
in this county, in 1876; and Isaiah, a resi- 
dent of Champaign. 

The subject of this sketch acquired a lim- 
ited education in tHe schools of Cayuga 
county, New York and Kentucky, but from 
the age of fifteen to nineteen years his time 
was occupied in carrying the mail from Kidd- 
ville to Richmond, Kentucky, on horseback, 
and as his parents were in limited circum- 
stances and education expensive, he did not 
attend school much after that. At the age 
of twenty he went to Berlin Heights, Erie 
county, Ohio, where he attended a district 
school for one winter, and an academy 
during the following two winters, pursuing 
his studies under the direction of Job Fish, 
who is still teaching. In the meantime he 
worked on a farm near Berlin Heights, and 
spent one summer working in his father's 
shop in Kentucky. 

In April, 1858, Mr. Hardy came to 
Champaign county, Illinois, and located on 



a tract of railroad land in Stanton township, 
for which his father had contracted, and to 
the improvement of which our subject de- 
voted his energies for a time, but as his 
father did not settle thereon, it was after- 
ward abandoned. Our subject afterward 
rented the W. D. Somers farm in the same 
township for five years, at the same -time 
caring for his mother and the four younger 
children of the family who had come with 
him to the county. He managed to save 
money while residing there, but during the 
following six years he was in ill health and 
his little capital was soon exhausted. Subse- 
quently he worked at the carpenter's trade 
until coming to Champaign, but in the mean- 
time he purchased a farm of eighty acres in 
Stanton township, which he owned until 
1889, when he sold it and bought one hun- 
dred and sixty-five acres, two miles and a 
half north of Champaign. In 1875 he re- 
moved to Urbana, where he engaged in the 
agricultural implement business for one 
summer, but in January, 1876, came to 
Champaign, and opened the same kind of a 
store in a large brick building on Water 
street, which he occupied for eleven years. 
In 1895 he purchased the building at No. 36 
University avenue, where he has since en- 
gaged in business. Seeing the failure of 
others who have branched out into different 
lines of trade, he has confined himself 
strictly to the one business, and is now the 
oldest implement dealer in years of con- 
tinuous business in the county. Besides 
his business property he owns a good home 
on the corner of Third street and University 
avenue, and a pasture of eight acres inside 
the corporate limits. He has successfully 
managed both his business and his farm, 
and is to-day one of the prosperous citizens 
of Champaign. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Hardy first married Miss Lucretia 
Berkshire, of Stanton township, who died 
three years later, leaving one child, Sylvia, 
now Mrs. George Sendenburg, of Cham- 
paign, and in February, 1879, he married 
Miss Mary Chapin, an old schoolmate of his 
at Berlin Heights. She is a consistent 
member of the Congregational church. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Hardy is a 
Democrat, and he served as alderman from 
the first ward for three terms during which 
time the city hall was erected, his name 
with those of the other councilmen being 
placed on the corner stone. For a part of 
the time he was a member of the street 
committee and much of the paving of the 
city was then done. He has always taken 
an active interest in educational affairs and 
has been an efficient member of the school 
board. His record is that of a man who 
through his own well-directed efforts has 
worked his way upward to a position of 
affluence, and receives the respect and es- 
teem of all who know him. 



THOMAS COFFEY, who is successfully 
engaged in the retail liquor business in 
Champaign, Illinois, was born in that city 
in June, 1860, a son of Patrick and Mary 
(O'Neil) Coffey, both natives of county Gal- 
way, Ireland. During early life Patrick 
Coffey engaged in farming in his native land, 
his father being a farmer and stock raiser 
upon the estate of Dr. French, a relative of 
General French, of the British army in 
Transvaal, Africa. Deciding to try his for- 
tune in the new world, the father of our 
subject sailed from Liverpool, England, 
when about nineteen years of age, and 
landed in Baltimore, Maryland, where he 



remained about two years. In 1854 he 
came by train to Urbana, Illinois, which at 
that time was but a small village, the Illi- 
nois Central Railroad having just been built 
through the county. Here he was first en- 
gaged in clerking and later turned his atten- 
tion to agricultural pursuits, following farm- 
ing in Condit and Champaign townships for 
about seven years each. At the end of that 
time he took up his residence in Champaign, 
and in September, 1865, purchased the 
hotel now known as the St. James, which he 
successfully conducted up to the time of his 
death, May 7, 1889. He also run a feed 
stable for the accommodation of his farmer 
patrons, and in his undertakings met with 
good success. He was a man of considera- 
ble prominence, was also quite popular, and 
was called upon to serve as alderman from 
the third and fourth wards for the long 
period of eighteen years. In his family 
were eight children, of whom five reached 
man and womanhood, namely: Mary, wife 
of William Heffernan, who is engaged in the 
wholesale liquor and cigar business in Cham- 
paign; Maggie, wife of P. L. Hayes, a pas- 
senger engineer on the Illinois Central Rail- 
road living in Champaign; Thomas, our 
subject; Jo \V., a resident of Champaign, 
who was formerly with the Illinois Central 
Railroad; and E. M., who is employed in 
the Illinois Central Railroad shops at Free- 
port, Illinois. The mother now makes her 
home with our subject. 

Thomas Coffey received his education in 
the schools of Champaign, and at the age of 
twenty years started out in life for himself. 
He became familiar with his present busi- 
ness in the employ of his brother-in-law, 
William Heffernan, and on the 1 2th of July, 
1895, purchased the saloon of James D. 
Caldwell, of Champaign, which he con- 



86 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ducted alone until September, 1897, when 
he formed a partnership with Mr. Heffernan 
and turned his attention to the wholesale 
trade, but on the ist of February, 1898, he 
sold his interest in the business to John 
Heffernan, a brother of his partner, and has 
since engaged in the retail business alone. 

In February, 1893, Mr. Coffey was 
united in marriage with Miss Martha Flegel, 
a native of Saxton, Germany, and a daugh- 
ter of Anton Flegel, who brought his family 
to America when Mrs. Coffey was only eight 
months old, and located in Champaign, Illi- 
nois, where he was engaged in business as a 
tailor for a number of years. He died in 
1883, and his wife in 1888. Mrs. Coffey 
was the second in order of birth in their 
family of five children. 



PATRICK RICHARDS. The citizens of 
Urbana feel that they have sustained a 
loss in the death of the late Patrick Richards 
that the lapse of many years alone will molify . 
He was foremost in everything which tended 
toward the advancement of his community 
and country, and gave not only of his means 
and time but of his influence and strength 
to various enterprises which he deemed 
would stimulate local pride and industry. 
Had his ambition lain in that direction, he 
might have become a power in the political 
world, but he was unobtrusive by nature 
and preferred to aid friends and other worthy 
and public spirited men to official positions. 
In tracing his history it was found that 
Patrick Richards was born in Quebec, Can- 
ada, December 17, 1835, and when an in- 
fant was taken to Utica, New York. When 
he had finished his education in the schools 
of that city he commenced serving an ap- 



prenticeship in one of the largest drug stores 
in Utica, and remained with the firm for 
several years, during which time he became 
thoroughly familiar with the details of the 
business. Arriving at his majority, he went 
to New York city, where he became an ex- 
perienced prescription clerk, and in 1862 he 
located in Tolono, Illinois. With a small 
capital, about five hundred dollars, he 
bought a small stock of drugs, gradually 
adding to it as he could afford to do so, un- 
til, at one time, his stock was valued at sev- 
enteen thousand dollars. Genial and court- 
eous in manner, reliable and trustworthy, 
he won the confidence and esteem of the 
public, and his trade kept extending until 
he had customers all throughout that sec- 
tion of the county. 

In 1882, Mr. Richards sold out his busi- 
ness with the thought of living a retired life 
in Tolono, but later removed to Urbana, 
with the intention of taking a well earned 
rest from the responsibilities of commercial 
matters. His excellent business qualifica- 
tions were so well known, however, that he 
was not long allowed to remain inactive,, 
and soon he was induced to become identi- 
fied with the First National Bank of Urbana, 
then a private banking institution. For 
several years he served as president of the 
this well known bank, and by his zeal and 
keen financial enterprise aided in placing it 
upon a firm basis of prosperity, and at pres- 
ent its capital stock is one hundred thousand 
dollars. 

For several terms Mr. Richards was su- 
pervisor of his township, being chosen by 
almost a unanimous vote of the people of 
his locality, and he would have been retained 
longer in the office had he not refused to 
serve further. Though he was a stalwart 
Republican, he was a man who made few, if 




PATRICK RICHARDS. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



89 



any, political enemies, as his integrity,; good 
sense and general popularity outweighed all 
other considerations. In 1892 he was sent 
as an Illinois state delegate to the national 
Republican convention at Minneapolis, 
where he cast his ballot for Harrison, and 
made numerous warm friends. In 1898 he 
consented to the urgent solicitations of his 
friends that he become a candidate for con- 
gressman, but at the county convention he 
withdrew his name, as he felt that his health 
was uncertain, and that he might not be 
able to do the people justice on that account. 

The marriage of Mr. Richards and 
Amelia I. Morgan was solemnized May 22, 
1865, by the Rev. G. W. Riley. Mrs. 
Richards' parents were W. F. and A. T. 
(Bruce) Morgan, who, like herself, are 
natives of Fleming county, Kentucky. They 
have lived in this county for many years, 
honored and respected by all who know 
them. Mr. Morgan is in his eighty-eighth 
year, and his wife is four years his junior. 
Of their ten children, Lucinda is the wife of 
Rev. W. T. Green, a missionary in Mexico; 
Garrard S., who married Florence Saxton, 
resides in Peoria; Henry Bruce, also of 
Peoria, wedded Jennie Woodruff; Woodson, 
of Champaign, married Harriet Atkinson; 
Elizabeth, wife of S. C. Knight, died when 
in her twenty-fifth year; Millard M., of 
Chicago, chose as his wife Stella Kirk- 
patrick; William, who married Ida Sanford, 
resides in Memphis; Anna died at the age of 
fifteen years and James, manager of the 
Boston Globe, married Helen Daily, of 
Boston. 

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Richards 
was blessed with two sons and a daughter. 
Gertrude, who possesses considerable musi- 
cal and artistic talent, formerly was a 
student in the University of Illinois. Clar- 



ence M., a thorough-going young business 
man, is assistant cashier of the Urbana First 
National Bank, and Chester W. is attending 
the city high school. 

The entire Richards family have been 
identified with the Baptist denomination for 
years, the father having held the office of 
deacon. He was liberal toward religious 
enterprises, and his private charities were as 
numerous as they were quiet and unknown 
to the public. His long and useful life came 
to a close on New Year's day, 1899, and to 
those who knew him intimately there can 
be no doubt that to him were spoken the 
blessed words " Well done, good and faith- 
ful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy 
Lord." 



AH. HARTMAN, a prominent and suc- 
cessful contractor and builder, residing 
at No. 403 West Springfield avenue, Cham- 
paign, Illinois, was born August 14, 1845, 
in Fountain county, Indiana, on the pres- 
ent site of the town of Harveysburg, and is 
a son of Adam and Mary (Vail) Hartman. 
The family is of German origin and the 
name was originally spelled Hardtmann. 
The great-grandfather of our subject was a 
native of Saxony, and in that country mar- 
ried a Miss Matkins, but before the Revolu- 
tionary war they came to America and took 
up their residence in Lexington, North Car- 
olina. Mr. Hartman now has in his posses- 
sion a relic belonging to these ancestors 
which has quite an interesting history. It 
is a large cow's horn upon which has been 
cut two large Roman capital M's, the 
initials of Millican Matkins, a brother-in- 
law of our subject's great-grandfather. He 
was a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, and with 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



other Hessian soldiers was hired by the 
British to fight against the colonists in the 
Revolutionary war. While serving under 
Cornwallis at Guilford, North Carolina, he 
accidentally heard of George Hardtmann 
being in another part of the same state. As 
he had, already become tired of fighting 
against the Americans, he concluded to de- 
sert and make his way to Lexington, hoping 
to find that the Hardtmann there might 
prove to be his brother-in-law. He stole 
from the British camp, taking with him as 
his only weapon of defense a large horn 
broken from the skull of a beef that had 
been slaughtered and still containing the 
heavy green inner bone. After some days of 
tramping and nights spent in the wilderness 
he found Mr. Hardtmann, who proved in- 
deed to be his relative. The horn which he 
had carried with him lay in the yard a year or 
two, but was finally converted into a hunt- 
ing horn, and as such is preserved by our 
subject. 

George Hartman, the grandfather of our 
subject, was born in Lexington, North Car- 
olina, and by occupation was a farmer and 
distiller, the latter being quite a common 
vocation in those days. In 1831, he moved 
to Indiana, where he spent the remainder 
of his life. In early life he served as colonel 
of a regiment of militia, and was a radical 
Democrat, the father of our subject being 
the only one of the family who was a Whig. 
The grandfather had six children, four sons 
and two daughters, namely: George, Adam, 
Peter; Abbie, wife of Valentine Day; John; 
and Elsie. Only Adam, Peter and Ab- 
bie married, and all save the youngest 
moved to Indiana. Our subject's maternal 
grandfather, John Vail, was a soldier of the 
war of 1812 in General Coffey's division and 
took part in the battle of New Orleans. 



Adam Hartman, father of our subject, 
was born in Lexington, North Carolina, in 
1809, and was a young man when the fam- 
ily removed to Indiana, being among the 
earliest pioneers of Fountain county. There 
he married Mary Vail, who was born in 
Greenville, Tennessee, in 1816. He followed 
the occupation of a wagon and carriage maker 
throughout life. In 1867, he came to Cham- 
paign county, Illinois, and died in Sidney 
in 1873. In politics he was a strong Whig 
and later a Republican, and in religion was 
an active member of the Baptist church. 

Of the nine children born to Adam and 
Mary (Vail) Hartman, three died in early 
life, and the others are as follows: Adaline 
married Henry Bacon and lived in Edgar 
county, Illinois, until after the outbreak of 
the Civil war, when he enlisted in the Sev- 
enty-ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and 
died in the service a Stone River. His 
widow afterward came to Champaign, 
where she died in August, 1899. Eliza is 
the widow of William Russell and resides in 
Dana, Indiana. John R. was a member of 
theTwelfth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, twice 
re-enlisted, and served all through the Civil 
war. In 1867 he came to Champaign, 
where he died in 1895. Mary died in 1862, 
in early womanhood. A. H., our subject, 
is next in order of birth. Amanda, deceased, 
was the wife of Jeremiah Slater, of Hillsdale, 
Indiana. George W. makes his home in 
Champaign, Illinois. 

During his boyhood and youth A. H. 
Hartman remained at home and learned the 
wagonmaker'sand blacksmith's trades. On 
the 23d of November, 1863, at the age of 
eighteen years, he joined the boys in blue of 
Company C, One Hundred and Twenty- 
third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and re- 
mained in the service until August 28, 1865, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



when he was discharged at Lexington, North 
Carolina, his father's birthplace. His regi- 
ment was under the command of Colonel 
John C. McQuestian, and was at first a part 
of the Army of the Cumberland, and later 
the Army of Ohio, and still later the Army 
of North Carolina. Under General Scofield, 
he took part in the campaign from the bat- 
tle of Chattanooga until after the fall of At- 
lanta, and then with his command went to 
Florence, where they met Hood and re- 
treated to Nashville, taking part in the 
meantime in the battle of Franklin. After 
thebattleof Nashville, the regiment followed 
Hood to Clifton on the Tennessee, where 
they took steamers for Cincinnati, and from 
there went by cars to Washington, D. C. , 
where they lay in camp one month. At the 
end of that time they were transferred to 
the Army of North Carolina and took trans- 
ports at Alexandria, Virginia. After cours- 
ing along the coast for eighteen days, not 
knowing their destination, they were landed 
at Morehead City, North Carolina, and 
proceeded by rail to Nevvbern, and from 
there marched to Kingston. A severe en- 
gagement was brought on at Weiser's Fork 
with General Hoke, the Federal troops num- 
bering only six thousand, while the Confed- 
erates numbered fifteen thousand. The 
army then marched across the country to 
Goldsboro, where they met General Sher- 
man as he came up from Savannah, and 
with that commander proceeded to Raleigh, 
remaining with him until after the surrender 
of General Johnston. During the last two 
months of his service, Mr. Hartman was 
riding orderly on the staff of General Kil- 
patrick, and was stationed at Charlotte, 
North Carolina, in. charge of government 
stores and supplies. Singularly enough the 
last two weeks were passed at Lexington, 



where his father was born and reared, and 
where many of his relatives still reside. 
They had fought against him in the Confed- 
erate army. Mr. Hartman had several nar- 
row escapes during his service. While on 
the skirmish line in northern Georgia he was 
wounded in the right leg by a musket ball; 
in August, 1864, on the Sandtown road, he 
was knocked down by the concussion of a 
shell; and during the campaign of Atlanta 
was under fire for one hundred and twenty- 
five days. He was in the engagements on 
the 22nd of July, 1864. and saw General Mc- 
Pherson fall. 

After the war Mr. Hartman returned to 
Indiana, where he engaged in farming for 
two years, and in 1867, after making a pros- 
pecting tour of Illinois and Missouri, he lo- 
cated in Sidney township, this county, where 
for ten years he rented land and engaged in 
farming. In 1877 he went to Texas, in- 
tending to locate in that state, but was dis- 
appointed in the outlook and returned to his 
birthplace, where he spent one year. At 
the end of that time he came to Homer, 
Illinois, where he assumed charge of the 
mill and elevator of M. D. Coffeen, and held 
that position until 1884, when he located in 
Champaign, and has since engaged in car- 
pentering and building. For the past ten 
years he has done contract work only. The 
first building he erected in this county was 
in Sidney township in 1868, but since that 
time has built many of the modern residences 
and business blocks in the county. Among 
the former in Champaign are the homes of 
J. W. Stanley, on East Main street, Mrs. 
Eva Green, F. H. Lange and M. T. Smith. 
In 1896 he erected his own beautiful resi- 
dence, which is equipped with all modern 
comforts and conveniences. 

In Columbus, Ohio, Mr. Hartman was 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



married, February 12, 1891, to Miss Jennie 
Sharp, a native of Groveport, Ohio, and a 
daughter of John and Martha (Kramer) 
Sharp. Her father was a prominent busi- 
ness man of Groveport, where he was en- 
gaged in general merchandising and the 
grain business. He died February 4, 1873, 
and the mother departed this life July 16, 
1876. They had seven children, three sons, 
and four daughters, namely: Richard, a 
resident of Columbus, Ohio; Stella, wife of 
John Allen, of Detroit, Michigan; Jennie, 
wife of our subject; Albert K. , a farmer of 
Marion, Indiana; Cora B., and Isabella, 
both residents of Columbus, Ohio; and 
Charles P. , a pharmacist, who died in Cham- 
paign, April 15, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Hart- 
man had one son, Frederick, who was born 
October 27, 1892, and died August 22, 1893. 
Both our subject and his wife are mem- 
bers of the First Presbyterian church of 
Champaign, and he is also a member of the 
subordinate lodge and encampment of the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 
politics he is an ardent Republican, and 
while a resident of Sidney he took quite an 
active and prominent part in public affairs, 
serving as alderman of the village and con- 
stable of the township. In the latter office 
he did much deputy sheriff work. He is 
thoroughly identified with the interests of 
his city and county, and is well known as 
an enterprising and reliable business man, 
one who always keeps abreast with the 
times. All who know him hold him in the 
highest esteem. 



EORGE H. LUTZ, alderman from the 
V-J second ward, and a prominent cigar 
manufacturer of Champaign, was born in 
Athens county, Ohio, November 2, 1853, a 



son of John K. and Margaret Lutz. The 
father was a native of Virginia but our sub- 
ject's paternal grandfather was born in 
Pennsylvania. When our subject was quite 
small the father removed to Indiana, where 
he spent one year, and then, in 1856, came 
to Champaign county, Illinois, where he has 
since engaged in farming and teaming. 
When he located here the city of Cham- 
paign contained but two stores, and he has 
watched with interest its growth and devel- 
opment. Although a quiet, unassuming 
man, he has many friends and is highly re- 
spected by all who know him. Both he 
and his wife are still living and continue to 
make their home in Champaign. 

Our subject is indebted to the public 
schools of this county for his educational 
advantages. In 1876, he was united in 
marriage to Miss Sarah J. . Nicewander, of 
Champaign, who was born in Hensley town- 
ship, this county. Her father, Daniel Nice- 
wander, an extensive farmer, was of Ger- 
man descent and a pioneer of the county. 
Mr. and Mrs. Lutz have a family of six 
children, namely: George William, Edith, 
Ruby, Opal, Roy and Flossie. 

After his marriage, Mr. Lutz engaged in 
farming in Hensley township for eight years^ 
and then followed the same occupation first 
in Champaign township for a year. In 
1885 he removed to the city of Champaign, 
but not meeting with success, he went to 
Kansas. On his return to Champaign he 
worked for others two years and then em- 
barked in business as a dealer in cigars. 
Later he added a stock of liquor, but has 
since disposed of that department, and pur- 
chased a cigar factory at No. 77 Main street, 
which he is now most successfully carrying 
on. He also owns a nice home at No. 123. 
University avenue, where he now resides. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



93 



The Democratic party finds in Mr. Lutz 
a stanch supporter of its principles; he has 
always been an active worker for its inter- 
ests; has been a delegate to many county 
conventions; and a member of the ward, 
township and city executivecommitteesatdif- 
ferent times. In the spring of 1894 he was 
elected alderman, and so acceptably did he 
fill the office that he has been twice re- 
elected, hispresent term expiring in 1901. 
He has been a member of various commit- 
tees, and as a public-spirited and enter- 
prising citizen, he has given his support to 
all measures which he believed calculated 
to prove of public benefit. Since he has 
been a member of the council many streets 
have been paved; the subways under the 
Illinois Central Railroad have been put in, 
and all of the sewers constructed. Frater- 
nally he is an honored member of the For- 
esters, and has served as district deputy. 



A RTHUR M. BURKE is cashier of the 
J\ Citizens Bank of Champaign, one of 
the leading financial institutions of the coun- 
ty, and is rapidly working his way to a fore- 
most position among the prominent finan- 
ciers of this section of the state. Genuine 
success is not likely to be the result of mere 
chance or fortune, but is something to be 
labored for and sought out with consecutive 
effort. Mr. Burke is a young man, but has 
already attained to a measure of prosperity 
that many a one who started out on life's 
journey before him might well envy. 

A native of Champaign county, he was 
born in Condit township, November 6, 1870, 
and is a son of P. E. and Isabella Burke. 
The father was born in Davis county, Ken- 
tucky, and continued to reside there until 



about 1860, when he moved to Logan coun- 
ty, Illinois, where he purchased land and 
engaged in farming. In 1861 he joined the 
boys in blue as a member of Company F, 
Thirty-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, as 
a private, and was mustered in at Camp 
Lincoln. Going immediately to the front, 
he participated in the battles of Stone River, 
Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga and other 
notable engagements, remaining in the serv- 
ice three years. After his return to civil 
life, he resumed farming in Logan county, 
but in 1867, he came to Champaign county, 
and took up his residence in Condit, where 
a few years later he purchased land and con- 
tinued to engage in agricultural pursuits un- 
til his removal to Rantoul in 1877. He was 
interested in the grocery and meat business 
there for a few years, and subsequently en- 
gaged in the grain and coal business at the 
same place until 1882, when appointed dep- 
uty sheriff by J. C. Ware, then sheriff of the 
county. After filling that position for four 
years, he was elected sheriff and served in 
that office for the same length of time. In 
1890 he bought an interest in the First Na- 
tional Bank of Urbana, but at the end of 
six months he sold out on account of ill 
health, and did not actively engage in any 
business thereafter. In 1893 he moved to 
Champaign, where he made his home until 
his death, which occurred February 14, 1896. 
He was widely and favorably known and 
was a man of considerable influence in his 
community. Fraternally he was a member 
of the Modern Woodmen of America; Ur- 
bana Lodge, F. & A. M. ; and Black Eagle 
Post, No. 129, G. A. R. ; while religiously 
he was a member of the Baptist church, to 
which his wife also belonged. She still con- 
tinues to reside in Champaign. 

Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 



94 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Burke, namely: Nellie, who died in 1878, at 
the age of thirteen years; Arthur M., our 
subject; William H., who is married and 
living in Danville, Illinois; Eugene I., who 
is pursuing a literary course at the Uni- 
versity of Illinois, and will graduate in the 
spring of 1900; and Benjamin J., who is 
employed as a clerk in the Citizens Bank 
of Champaign. 

Arthur M. Burke completed his educa- 
tion in the high schools of Urbana, and 
after laying aside his text books spent a year 
and a half in Colorado, being employed in a 
wholesale commission house of Denver. 
Returning to Champaign, he served as dep- 
uty sheriff under his father for one year. In 
1890 he entered the employ of M. W. 
Mathews, of the Urbana Herald, as re- 
porter and solicitor, and remained with him 
for about a year, after which he engaged in 
clerking in the clothing department of Ott- 
heim's store until 1897. I n February of 
that year he formed a partnership with J. 
W. Lawder in the tailoring business, which 
they carried on until the ist of January, 
1899, when Mr. Burke entered the Citizens 
Bank in a clerical capacity. The following 
August he and J. W. Orr purchased the in- 
terest of John Armstrong in that institu- 
tion, and have since conducted it under the 
name of the Citizens Bank. The business 
of the bank has increased materially since 
Messrs. Burke and Orr took charge of its 
affairs, and is now recognized as one of the 
solid financial institutions of the county. 
They do a general banking and loan busi- 
ness, and the safe, conservative policy which 
they follow commends itself to the judgment 
of all. 

On the 5th of September, 1892, Mr. 
Burke married Miss Stella Innes, of Urbana. 
Her father, John B. Innes, is a veteran of 



the Civil war, and has been for the last ten 
years foreman of the Besore lumber yard of 
Urbana. He has three children: Jennie, 
wife of George Douglas, of Urbana; Stella, 
wife of our subject; and Grace, wife of 
Charles Welch, of Urbana. Our subject 
and his wife have one child, John A., born 
September 6, 1898. 

Socially Mr. Burke is a member of Tri- 
umph Lodge, No. 73, K. P., of Urbana, and 
Western Star Lodge, No. 140, F. & A. M., 
of Champaign; and religiously his wife is a 
member of the Baptist church of Urbana. 
In politics he is a stanch Republican, but 
he has never taken an active part in polit- 
ical affairs, preferring to give his undivided 
attention to his business interests. He is 
enterprising, progressive and public-spirited, 
and has become an important factor in the 
business circles of this county. 



A LBERT T. HALL. For almost forty- 
-/v five years this gentleman has been a 
resident of Champaign county, and during 
this long period, which covers nearly the 
whole span of the county's development 
from a primitive state to its present flour- 
ishing condition, he has been actively in- 
terested in its progress. A man of more 
than ordinary business and executive ability, 
he has met with excellent success in life, 
and is now practically living retired at his 
beautiful home in Champaign. 

Mr. Hall was born in Susquehanna 
county, Pennsylvania, June 27, 1835, a son 
of Heman "and Rachel (Bates) Hall, in 
whose family were five children, the others 
being Amanda L. ; Lucy A., wife of Henry 
Hay; Electa E., wife of A. R. Hay; and 
Alma C., wife of Jesse Burt. Our sub- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



95 



ject's paternal grandfather Hall served all 
through the Revolutionary war and spent 
most of his life on a farm in Connecticut, 
but his last days were passed in Pennsyl- 
vania. His father was a Tory. The father 
of our subject was born in Litchfield county, 
Connecticut, and when a young man he 
went to Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, 
locating on the Susquehanna river. There 
he married Rachel Bates, also a native of 
Connecticut, who had removed to the Key- 
stone state about the same time as her hus- 
band. He removed with his family to 
Waverly, Tioga county, New York, when 
our subject was about six years old, and 
there followed blacksmithing and hotel 
keeping. Later he lived in Ellistown, 
where he died in January, 1851. He was 
widely and favorably known and was called 
upon- to fill a number of local offices of 
honor and trust. His wife and daughters 
came to Champaign with our subject in 
1855, and here the former died in Septem- 
.ber, 1856, being the first person interred in 
Mt. Hope cemetery. Both parents were 
earnest and consistent members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, took an active 
part in church work, and the father served 
as class leader. 

Albert T. Hall acquired the greater part 
of his education in the schools of Waverly, 
New York, and after his father's death was 
in the employ of the New York & Erie 
Railroad Company for a time. On the 
22nd of December, 1855, he arrived in 
Champaign with his mother and four sis- 
ters, and the following spring purchased a 
tract of one hundred and twenty acres of 
land in Colfax township from the Illinois 
Central Railroad Company. Upon that 
place he turned the first furrow and made 
the first improvements. At that time the 



country was very swampy and almost as 
much water as land was in sight, while 
wolves, which still roamed at will over the 
prairies, made the night hideous by their 
howling. In the small house which he 
erected upon his place, Mr. Hall with his 
older and younger sisters lived quietly until 
the Civil war broke out. 

Hardly had the echoes from Fort Sum- 
ter's guns died away when he enlisted, in 
April, 1 86 1, but his company, which be- 
came Company I, Second Illinois Cavalry, 
was not accepted until the following August, 
when it was mustered in as a three years' 
regiment. Mr. Hall went to the front as 
orderly sergeant, later was commissioned 
lieutenant and afterwards had command of 
his company, but his health failed and he was 
forced to resign in the spring of 1863. 
With his regiment he went to* southern Illi- 
nois, and from there to Kentucky, Tennes- 
see and down the Mississippi river. They 
were the first to occupy Columbus, Ken- 
tucky, after the evacuation. They partici- 
pated in the hard fought engagement at 
Holly Springs, then proceeded to Memphis, 
and down the river toMilliken's Bend above 
Vicksburg, where they were stationed when 
our subject resigned. Returning to his home 
he resumed farming. 

On the 29th of December, 1864, Mr. 
Hall was united in marriage to Miss Callie 
Gilbert, of Urbana, a daughter of Jonathan 
Gilbert, of Greenville, Ohio. She died in 
October, 1879, and of the five children born 
to them all died before her death with the 
exception of Winfield Bates Hall, now a 
member of the firm of Percival & Hall, of 
Champaign. Mr. Hall was again married, 
May 30, 1 88 1, his second union being with 
Mrs. Almira Roberts, of Roberts, Illinois, a 
daughter of David Stateler.an old settler of 



9 6 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Marshall county, Illinois. By her first mar- 
riage she had one child, Charles J. Roberts, 
of Champaign. 

In 1869, Mr. Hall removed to Cham- 
paign, where he first engaged in the fruit 
business near the University, and later en- 
gaged in the grocery business on the cor- 
ner of Church and Neil streets with good 
success until 1881, when he sold out. Dur- 
ing this time he lived on his fruit farm and 
managed both interests. On disposing of 
his store he accepted a position as traveling 
salesman for the firm of Franklin McVeagh 
& Company, Chicago, and remained with 
them for nine years, his territory including 
this section of the state. Subsequently 
he engaged in the shoe and furniture busi- 
ness on Main street, Champaign, for several 
years, and since 1894 has practically lived 
a retired life. However, he still continues 
to look after his real estate interests in 
Champaign and Chicago, and manages his 
farm. He laid out an addition in Cham- 
paign, known as the A. T. Hall addition, 
has improved the streets and erected houses. 
As a business man Mr. Hall ranks among 
the best in the city, and his sound judg- 
ment, unflagging enterprise and capable 
management have brought him a well-mer- 
ited scccess. He is a member of Colonel 
Nodine Post, G. A. R., and the Benevolent 
and Protective Order of Elks, and attends 
and supports the Presbyterian church, of 
which his wife is a member. 



EDWARD FOSTER, after an active 
career, is now living retired in a pleas- 
ant home in Urbana. Now, in his declining 
years, he is justly entitled to a cessation 
from toil, for he has manfully "borne the 



heat and burden of the day," and has un- 
falteringly performed his whole duty toward 
his brother men and the community in 
which his lot has been cast. A review of 
his past life will prove of interest to many 
of his friends, and will better perpetuate 
his memory, after he has been called to his 
reward, than would a monument, however 
grand. 

Born in Warren county, Indiana, in 
1833, Edward Foster is the eldest child of 
Zebulon and Caroline (Ostrander) Foster, 
who were natives of Ross and Pike coun- 
ties, Ohio, respectively. The father, who 
was a farmer, removed to West Lebanon, 
Indiana, in 1833, and there continued to 
make his home until his death, in 1891, 
when he was eighty-two years old. For 
several terms he served as township trustee 
and in other local offices, and no one in his 
neighborhood was more highly regarded by 
all. Prominent in the Methodist Episcopal 
church, he labored zealously in the Chris- 
tian cause, and for years officiated as steward 
and trustee. His wife, who preceded him 
to the better land, dying in 1872, when 
sixty years of age, was a daughter of Dr. 
Edward and Rachel Ostrander, natives of 
New York state. Four of the children born 
to Zebulon and Caroline Foster died in in- 
fancy. Rachel, widow of William B. Crei- 
der, formerly of Ross county, Ohio, resides 
in Onarga, Illinois. Eliza is the wife of 
George T. Bell, a lumber dealer of West 
Lebanon, Indiana. Mary is the widow of 
Marion Crawford, and lives in Dodge City, 
Kansas. William is engaged in the livery 
business at West Lebanon, Indiana. Har- 
riet, Mrs. J. J. Fleming, is a resident of 
Watseka, Illinois. 

After completing his education, Edward 
Foster assisted his father in the manage- 







EDWARD FOSTER. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



99 



ment of the home farm until he was twenty- 
three years of age, when he located in Ver- 
milion county, Illinois. From 1856 until 
1868, when he resigned, he was the post- 
master at Jordan, Vermilion county, giving 
entire satisfaction to the public. In the 
year last mentioned, he settled in Middle 
Fork township, near Potomac, in the same 
county, and remained there until he retired, 
in 1895. The year subsequent to his arri- 
val in Middle Fork township, he was hon- 
ored by appointment to the responsible post 
of school treasurer, and for twenty-seven 
years, or until he tendered his resignation, 
he was retained in the office. Few higher 
compliments to his recognized ability and 
sterling integrity could have been made by 
his neighbors, and no word of criticism ever 
was passed upon his transactions as a pub- 
lic official. He uses his franchise in favor 
of the Republican party. 

The marriage of Mr. Foster and Sarah 
A. Tillotson was solemnized August 24, 
1856. She is one of the eleven children of 
Ephraim Duel and Mary A. (Cronkhite) 
Tillotson, natives of New York state, 
though reared on farms in the vicinity of 
Cincinnati. Ohio. The father went to Chi- 
cago when it was more commonly known as 
Fort Dearborn. For many years he resided 
in Warren county, Indiana, and there held 
the offices of justice of the peace and county 
commissioner for a long time, and doubtless 
would have been elected to the assembly, 
had he consented to run for the position, as 
his Republican friends urged. In 1856, he 
removed to Vermilion county, Illinois, 
where he had secured a warrant for a quar- 
ter-section of land. To the improvement 
and cultivation of this property he devoted 
the remainder of his life, which was termi- 
nated May 14, 1882, when he was in his 



seventy-first year. Both he and his faithful 
wife were prominent members of the Chris- 
tian church, active in every good work, and 
beloved by all who knew them. She lived 
to be seventy-six years of age, her death 
occurring in 1892, 

Mr. and Mrs. Foster have seven living 
children, namely: Buel T. , who is carry- 
ing on the old homestead in Vermilion 
county, and who married Mattie Lemay in 
February, 1899; they have one son, Wood- 
ford Lemay; E. M. Stanton, also a farmer 
of Vermilion county, and by whose mar- 
riage to Callie Wright he has five children, 
Hugh W. , Samuel H., Flora, Minerva and 
George Dewey; Zebulon, who was gradu- 
ated as a civil engineer in 1892, in the Uni- 
versity of Illinois; he stood first in scholar- 
ship in the class of engineering of 1 892 ; Mary 
A., wife of Mark Grays, a farmer of Ver- 
milion county, and mother of Foster, 
George M., Chauncey D. and Bessie May; 
Edward, who carries on a farm in Vermil- 
ion county, is a graduate of the Quincy 
Business College, later was cashier of the 
Bank of Penfield, and engaged in merchan- 
dising in the same place, and by whose mar- 
riage to Catherine Cazier three children 
were born: Nellie, Mervin and an infant; 
Theodore, a graduate of the Quincy Busi- 
ness College; and William G., a member 
of the architectural engineering class of 
1900, of the University of Illinois. All of 
the children, with the exception of the two 
elder ones, are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, and E. M. Stanton, 
Theodore and Buel are identified with the 
Odd Fellows Society. 

Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. Foster are 
zealous members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church. Both have been teachers in 
the Sunday-school, and Mr. Foster served 



IOO 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



as steward, trustee, superintendent and 
class-leader of the church to which he be- 
longed in Vermilion county, while in Ur- 
bana he is a teacher and class-leader. The 
home of the family is a model one in every 
respect, and everyone so fortunate as to 
come within its refined and elevating at- 
mosphere is uplifted and ever bears the 
memory of it with him along his journey of 
life. 



HENRY C. AHRENS, who is now living 
a retired life in Champaign, Illinois, was 
born in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, 
Germany, August 12, 1837, and is a son of 
John Henry and Marguerite (Kohler)Ahrens, 
natives of the same province. The father, 
who was born in 1801, was a sailor, and 
followed the sea for about twenty years. 
He died in Oldenburg, in 1870, and two 
years later his wife came to America with 
her daughter, spending her last days in this 
country. She died in New York City, in 
1891, at the age of ninety years. They had 
seven children, but only two grew to rnatur- 
-ity: Henry C., our subject; and Mattie 
Katherina, wife of Gottlieb Ellinghousen, a 
carpenter of Brooklyn, New York. 

Our subject attended the public schools 
of his native land until fourteen years of 
age. In 1852, the same year the Great 
Eastern was launched, he went to sea as a 
sailor before the mast on a merchant vessel 
in the Baltic Sea, and has visited all the 
European ports on the Atlantic ocean, the 
Mediterranean, Black and Baltic Seas. In 
1860 he entered the United States govern- 
ment service under Captain Lewis on the 
steamer Albany, running from New York 
City to Cape Hatteras and Newport, North 



Carolina, and during the Civil war when 
that vessel was used as a government trans- 
port he was one of her crew from 1861 to 
1864. He then left the service and in 1865 
secured a position in the wholesale house of 
George D. Bayand & Company, importers of 
liquors and cigars, at No. 19 Beaver street, 
New York City, and was employed by them 
as shipping clerk until 1874. 

In the meantime Mr. Ahrens was mar- 
ried, in 1870, to Miss Katherina Elizabeth 
Laun, of Brooklyn, New York, who was 
born in Hesse-Nassau, Germany. Her 
father, Peter Laun, was a native of the same 
province and was a skilled mechanic, manu- 
facturing chairs and fancy articles from wil- 
low, and also farming to a limited extent. 
He died when Mrs. Ahrens was a small child. 
To our subject and his wife were born six 
children, as follows: Henry A., who 
succeeded to his father's business at No. 49 
Main street, Champaign, married Henrietta 
Horney, and has one child, Henry C. John 
Henry died at the age of six months and was 
buried in Greenwood cemetery, Brooklyn, 
New York. Rose is the wife of Emil F. 
Kruse, a furniture dealer of Tolono, Illinois, 
and they have one child, Bertha. Bertha, 
daughter of our subject, is at home with her 
parents. Annie W. F. is pursuing a literary 
course in the University at Champaign. 
One child died in infancy. 

After his marriage Mr. Ahrens made his 
home in New York City until 1875, when 
he came to Urbana, Illinois, and was en- 
gaged in the saloon business there until 
1879. That year he visited his sister in 
Jersey City, New Jersey, and also went to 
New York to consult a physician about his 
child that was ill. In 1880, however, he 
returned to this county and opened a saloon, 
and wholesale liquor house in Champaign, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



101 



which he successfully conducted until 1898, 
when he sold out to August Lierman and 
has since lived retired. He owns a beauti- 
ful home at the .corner of East University 
avenue and Third street, erected by him in 
1893, and supplied with all modern con- 
veniences, being heated with hot water, 
lighted by electricity and gas, supplied with 
hot and cold water, baths, etc. 

Religiously Mr. Ahrens is a member of 
the German Evangelical church, and fra- 
ternally is a member of the Druids, Grove 
No. 45, of Champaign. In political senti- 
ment he is a Republican, and. although he 
has always taken an active interest in politics 
and willing to do anything for the good of his 
party, he has never desired office, his time 
and attention being wholly occupied by his 
business affairs until the last two years. He 
cameto this country in limited circumstances, 
and the prosperity which he now enjoys has 
been secured through his own unaided ef- 
forts and good business ability. 



THOMAS W. McHUGH is one of the 
most respected citizens of Urbana, and 
his ability and entire trustworthiness have 
frequently been recognized by his acquaint- 
ances and friends, who have called upon him 
to officiate in local positions of responsi- 
bility. 

He is a grandson of Jesse and Elizabeth 
(Whitaker) McHugh, who were natives of 
Pennsylvania, and is one of the ten children 
of William and Catherine (Stansbury) Mc- 
Hugh, who were natives of Virginia and New 
Jersey, respectively. The father, who was 
a farmer by occupation, removed to Ohio 
and later to Indiana, and the farm which he 
purchased there, in 1 840, now is in the heart 



of the Adams county oil region. He died 
while on a visit to his son, Dr. McHugh, of 
Farmer City, Illinois, June 20, 1854, when 
in his fifty-second year. Both he and his 
wife were members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, and were loved and honored 
by all who knew them. 

Of their ten children, six have passed to 
the better land. Mary Ann, deceased, was 
the wife of Samuel Foster, who died No- 
vember 6, 1899, aged eighty-six years. Dr. 
John McHugh, who died at the age of fifty- 
five years, in 1870, at Independence, Kan- 
sas, was a graduate of Rush Medical Col- 
lege, of Chicago, and for twenty years was 
engaged in practice in Farmer City, Clin- 
ton and Mahomet, Illinois, Waterloo, and 
Independence, Iowa. Arthur E., who was 
provost marshal at Fort Dodge, Iowa, for 
several years during the Civil war, died in 
Texas when fifty-five years of ago. Cath- 
erine died in infancy. Elizabeth, widow of 
Emanuel Conkle, resides at Holt, Michigan. 
Susan, who was the wife of Ezekiel Row- 
lett, died when about forty-five years old. 
Dr. Charles Wesley is engaged in the prac- 
tice of medicine in Sedan, Kansas. Rev. 
Henry B., also of Kansas, is a minister of 
the United Brethren church, and has served 
as a presiding elder. Lyman, the youngest, 
died at the age of seven years. 

T. W. McHugh was born May 21, 1838, 
and, owing to the fact that he has not had 
the use of his limbs for about forty-six years, 
he received his education chiefly at home. 
He was gifted with an exceptionally keen 
mind, and in his early manhood he taught 
schools in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, 
meeting with success. In the meantime, he 
read law with private tutors, and later stud- 
ied in the office of William D. Summers. In 
1865 he was admitted to the bar of Cham- 



IO2 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



paign county, and has continued in practice 
ever since. In 1868, he was elected justice 
of the peace, and at the expiration of each 
term of four years he has been re-elected 
to the office. He has married five hundred 
and twenty-six couples, and may boast that 
very few of the number have sought legal 
separation thereafter. For thirteen consecu- 
tive years he served as township collector, 
and in April, 1899, he was elected to the 
important post of city attorney. Politi- 
cally, he is a Republican, and is proud of 
what the party has accomplished for the 
country during the days it has been in 
power. 

Mr. McHugh and Lydia S. McKinney 
were married in Urbana, April 4, 1867. 
She is a daughter of John and Betsey Mc- 
Kinney, natives of New York and Canada, 
respectively. The father died in 1855, and 
the mother later became the wife of Daniel 
Davidson, whose death occurred about two 
years subsequently, in 1865. She afterward 
married William Gill, of Urbana, and both 
are deceased, Mrs. Gill dying in May, 1884, 
when sixty-two years of age. She was the 
mother of five children, of whom Mrs. Mc- 
Hugh, born November 29, 1845, was the 
eldest. Frances, the second, died in 1889, 
unmarried. Jennie is the wife of C. E. 
Mott, of Tazewell county, this state, and 
their children are Estella, Chester and Eva. 
James, twin brother of Jennie, is the fourth, 
and Caroline is the youngest of the McKin- 
ney family. Mr. and Mrs. McHugh have 
two children, namely: George B. , an attor- 
ney, now living at Beaumont, Texas, and 
Edith, wife of Oloff Atkinson, of Rock Isl- 
and, Illinois. George B. married Eleanor 
Pennock, of Toledo, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. 
McHugh have two grandchildren, Lillian 
Fay and Marion Atkinson, aged five and two 



years, respectively. Religiously, our sub- 
ject and wife are Universalists, and are mem- 
bers of the Urbana church. 



MILTON H. MILLS, M. D., a promi- 
nent and successful homeopathic 
physician of Champaign, Illinois, was born 
in Niles, Ohio, February 18, 1846, a son of 
Simeon H. and Amanda (Muzzy) Mills. 
The father was born and reared in Canan- 
daigua, New York, and there learned the 
miller's trade, which he subsequently fol- 
lowed in northern Ohio, removing to that 
state when a young man. He had charge 
of mills in Cleveland, Painsville, Niles, 
Grafton, New London, Youngstown and 
other places in Ohio, which he operated 
either on the shares, as a partner, or on a 
salary. 

During his boyhood Dr. Mills pursued 
his studies in the common and high schools 
of Painsville, Ohio, and afterward worked 
for his father in the mill. He took a com- 
mercial course and then engaged in book- 
keeping in Cleveland. Subsequently he en- 
tered the Cleveland Homeopathic College 
under Professor N. Schneider, and on com- 
pleting the prescribed course at that institu- 
tion was graduated in 1872. He first en- 
gaged in practice in Clarksfield, Ohio, and 
while there he was married, June 23, 1873, 
to Miss Sylvia Bradford, of Rochester, Ohio. 
They now have two children, Clara and 
Ethel. 

On leaving Clarksfield, Dr. Mills re- 
moved to Attica, Ohio, where he engaged in 
general practice, and was also a member of 
the Ohio State Homeopathic Society. He 
finally sold out in 1887 and came to Cham- 
paign, Illinois, where his skill and ability 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



103 



soon became widely recognized and he built 
up a good practice. Owing to the failing 
health of his parents, he returned to Ohio, 
in 1891, so that he might be near them, 
and was engaged in practice at Wellington, 
that state, until after their deaths. In 1898 
he again came to Champaign and is to-day 
enjoying an excellent practice. He attends 
and supports the Congregational church, of 
which his wife is a faithful member, and he 
belongs to Wellington Lodge, F. & A. M., 
and is a dimitted chapter member. He is 
a pleasant, affable gentleman, and socially, 
as well as professionally, he is held in high 
esteem. 



JAMES H. FINCH, M. D., one of the 
rising physicians and surgeons of Cham- 
paign, was born in Marietta, Ohio, Decem- 
ber 19, 1870, a son of Alfred and Flora 
(Brown) Finch. The father was born in 
Ithaca, New York, of early New England 
ancestry, and when a young man removed to 
Marietta, Ohio. He was one of the early 
captains on the Ohio river, owning and run- 
ning steamers down that stream and the 
Mississippi river to New Orleans during the 
'405. He had several steamers and also a 
wharf boat engaged in the southern trade, 
and was one of the successful and promi- 
nent men engaged in that business for many 
years. Later be became interested in the 
oil business, and was one of the pioneers in 
developing the oil fields of Ohio. He died 
in 1879, at the age of sixty-eight years, hon- 
ored and respected by all who knew him. 
The Doctor's mother, a native of Virginia, 
is still living. 

Dr. Finch began his literary education 
in the common schools of his native city, 
and later attended Marietta College. Before 



leaving school he became interested in the 
transfer business, which he carried on at 
Marietta, in connection with a partner for 
two years, it becoming one of the important 
industries of the kind in the city. On sell- 
ing out his business, he commenced reading 
medicine with Dr. J. B. Cotton, and at- 
tended his first course of lectures at Bellevua 
Medical College, New York. He was grad- 
uated at the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons, Baltimore, with the class of 1895, 
in the meantime doing hospital work. In 
September, 1895, he opened an office in 
Champaign, and has since been alone in 
general practice at this place. He has a 
fine office in the Howard building, which 
was especially built and fitted up for physi- 
cians. He has been a member of the staff 
of the Julia F. Burnham Hospital since 
locating here, is secretary of the Twin City 
Clinical Association, and a member of the 
County and State Medical Societies. 



f^EORGE BESORE, a retired merchant 
V-J and public-spirited citizen of Urbana, 
Champaign county, is a sterling descendant 
of Daniel Besore, a Huguenot, who emi- 
grated from France to a German Province, 
later coming to America at an early period, 
and becoming a resident of Washington 
township, Franklin county, Pennsylvania. 
The homestead which he cleared near March 
Run is now in the possession of his step 
grandson, George B. Russell, D. D., and 
many of his descendants still are found in 
several townships in Franklin county, 
though the name is variously spelled, Ba- 
sore, Bashor and Basehor. During the 
war of 181,2 John, Michael and Jacob Be- 
sore fought in the ranks of the patriot 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



army, and participated in the defense of 
Washington. The family formerly was 
identified with the Reformed church. 

The grandfather of our subject was 
John, son of the Daniel Besore above men- 
tioned. He was born in Franklin county, 
Pennsylvania, and, with his father, endured 
many of the privations and hardships com- 
mon to the lot of the pioneer. He de- 
parted this life in 1,850, when eighty-six 
years of age. Of his children, his name- 
sake, John, was born in Franklin county, 
Pennsylvania, and married Miss Mary 
Mowen, of the same state. The worthy 
couple passed to their reward many years 
ago, the father dying in 1862, when in his 
fifty-ninth year, and the mother dying at the 
home of her daughter, Mrs. William Phe- 
necie, of this county, in 1875, when in her 
sixty-fourth year. 

George Besore, whose birth occurred in 
Franklin county, Pennsylvania, December 
20, 1832, is the second of ten children. 
Jacob, the eldest, died in Kansas in 1897, 
aged about sixty-seven years. Joseph, the 
third son, died in Champaign county in 
1898, when, sixty-three years of age. Eliza, 
wife of Peter Hissong, resides in Nebraska. 
John and David, farmers, live in Cham- 
paign county. Margaret is the wife of Will- 
iam Phenecie, of this county. Samuel died 
December 24, 1899. Charles, of Urbana, 
is engaged in the lumber, coal and grain 
business. Mary is the wife of Leander 
Tompkins, a retired farmer, now of Ran- 
toul, Illinois. 

In his youth, George Besore attended 
the public schools of his native county and 
Washington county, Maryland. Until he 
was eighteen years of age he continued to 
assist his father in the work of the farm, 
and then turned his attention to the task of 



building barns. In time he became a thor- 
ough, practical carpenter, following that 
calling for several years, and then, for three 
years, engaged in millwrighting. 

In 1856, Mr. Besore came to Illinois, 
and for two years lived in Paris, and for a 
like period was a citizen of Decatur, in both 
towns being occupied in building and con- 
tracting. From 1862 to 1865 he was em- 
ployed as a millwright at Fort Wayne, In- 
diana, and in 1866 he came to Urbana, 
where he has since made his home. For 
some time he was, as usual, engaged in 
contracting and building, after which he 
turned his attention to the lumber and grain 
business, with gratifying financial success. 
It was not until 1895 that he sold out his 
interests in this line to his brother Charles, 
and retired with a competency. 

Three times has Mr. Besore served as a 
member of the Urbana city council, thor- 
oughly meriting the trust which his towns- 
men reposed in him. He is in no wise a 
politician, and gives his allegiance to the 
nominee whom he believes best qualified to 
represent the people. Since the organiza- 
tion of the Urbana Building & Loan Asso- 
ciation he has been one of its directors, and 
for ten or more years he has been one of 
the directors ot the Free Library of that city. 
He is foremost in all local enterprises, and 
is confidently relied upon to use his means 
and influence in the promotion of worthy, 
progressive movements. For ten years he 
has been one of the trustees of the Presby- 
terian church of this place, while his parents 
were identified with the Reformed church. 

The marriage of Mr. Besore and Emma 
J. Denton took place January 15, 1870. 
She is a daughter of John C. and Lucinda 
Denton, natives of Pennsylvania, but since 
1856 residents of this county. To the union 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



105 



of our subject and wife three children were 
born. Ida is the wife of T. A. Burt, county 
clerk of Champaign county. Their two 
children are named respectively: Josephine 
and George. Nellie is the wife of William 
Sears, of Rock Island, traveling salesman 
for a northern lumber company. Jessie, 
the youngest of the family, resides with her 
parents. 



FJRANK O. SALE, D. D. S., is one of 

1 the leading members of his profession 
in Champaign county, and in Urbana, 
his native place and present home, he 
stands especially high. But not alone in 
a business sense is he deserving of credit, 
for everything which tends to upbuild and 
benefit the town and his fellow citizens re- 
ceives his earnest support. 

Rev. John Sale, the paternal grandfather 
of the Doctor, a son of Anthony Sale, was 
a native of Virginia, and was a minister of 
the early Methodist Episcopal church in 
that state. At an early day he removed to 
Ohio, where he tpok a very active part in 
the organizing of the denomination, and, 
finally settling near Piqua, Miami coun- 
ty, served as presiding elder for many years, 
and was the founder of the first Methodist 
class in Cincinnati. His death occurred 
January 9, 1827. He had married Nancy, 
daughter of Frederick Bonner, of Virginia, 
and her death took place in Green county, 
Ohio, February 5, 1865. Her father had 
located in the Buckeye state in 1802 and 
became the owner of about two thousand 
acres of land situated in the " military tract." 
There he developed an excellent homestead 
and reared a number of children to lives ot 
usefulness. 

Rev. F. B. Sale, father of our subject, 



was born in Green county, Ohio, June 9, 
1821, and during his early manhood was 
engaged in agriculture. In 1853 he came 
to Illinois, and in 1862 he enlisted in the 
defense of the Union, as a member of the 
One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Illinois In- 
fantry. Bravely performing every duty that 
fell to his share, he was finally promoted to 
the place of captain, and in that capacity 
won fresh laurels. The untold hardships 
and exposure incident to army life made 
serious inroads upon his health and necessi- 
tated his resigning from the service, but he 
continued to act the part of a devoted pat- 
riot, and aided materially in securing re- 
cruits for the Federal forces. In 1866 he 
was ordained a deacon in the Methodist 
church at Bloomington, and that year was 
agent for the American Bible Society, trav- 
eling in several Illinois counties. In 1871 
he was ordained as an elder by Bishop Scott, 
at Jacksonville, Illinois, and for many years 
thereafter he labored actively and efficiently 
as a minister of the Gospel. During his 
early residence in this state he was a mem- 
ber of the firm of Campbell, Ater & Sale, 
of Urbana, later located upon a farm in the 
northwestern part of this county, and since 
1893 has been a resident of Fisher, Cham- 
paign county. On the iith of October, 
1899, he and his estimable wife, whose 
maiden name was Maria Cramer, celebrated 
the fifty-fifth anniversary of their marriage. 
She is the daughter of Solomon and Keturah 
Cramer, of Green county, Ohio, and by her 
marriage she became the mother of eight 
children, namely: Willie G., Edwin Cra- 
mer, Charles E. , John A., S. Bonner, Frank 
O., James P. and Fannie M., all of whom 
are living. 

The birth of Dr. Frank O. Sale took 
place in Urbana, July 18, 1856. He was 



io6 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



reared to agriculture and pursued his ele- 
mentary studies in the district schools. 
Later he taught for several years, meeting 
with success, and at length he commenced 
the study of dentistry under the tutelage of 
Dr. Briton, of Champaign. In 1880 he 
opened an office and began the practice of 
his chosen profession at Rantoul, where he 
remained for two years. Thence going to 
Huron, South Dakota, he was actively en- 
gaged in dental practice for twelve years, 
in the meantime rising to a high place in his 
chosen field of labor. For years he was an 
honored member of the State Dental Society, 
of which he was president, secretary and 
treasurer at different times. He also held 
the appointment of Governor Melette to a 
place on the state dentists' examining board 
for five years, and in all of these official 
capacities proved himself eminently efficient. 
A great student, he neglects no opportunity 
for self-improvement, particularly along the 
lines of dental science. Politically, he uses 
his franchise in favor of the Republican 
party. 

The marriage of Dr. Sale and Lillie, 
daughter of Jesse and Rachel (Davison) 
Partlow, formerly residents of Vermilion 
county, Illinois, took place September 8, 
1 88 1. Her mother, who died in 1876, aged 
forty-nine years, and her father, whose 
death occurred August 22, 1898, were de- 
vout and life-long members of the Method- 
ist Episcopal church. Her sisters, Mary, 
Ann, Jennie, Ida and Cora, and her brother 
Frank are married. Mrs. Sale was a suc- 
cessful teacher in the public schools of Poto- 
mac, Illinois, for several years prior to her 
marriage. The Doctor and wife are the 
parents of four children, namely: Edna M., 
a member of the senior class of the Urbana 
high school; Charlie Partlow; Dwight O., 



and Cora Virginia. They are active mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, the 
Doctor being a steward, and teacher in the 
Sunday school, while his wife also teaches 
and renders material assistance in the vari- 
ous departments of church enterprise. They 
are highly esteemed by all who know them, 
and their place in local society could not 
easily be filled. 



^>EORGE WASHINGTON FLYNN, de- 
V_J ceased, was one of the honored pio- 
neers of Urbana, and during most of his 
mature life was actively connected with 
journalistic and printing enterprises in east- 
ern Illinois. He is well remembered and 
loved wherever he dwelt for any period, and 
the influence of his noble, high principled 
life is still felt by his old associates. When 
his country was in peril, and at all times, he 
failed not in his obligations as a citizen and 
devoted patriot, thus giving a worthy ex- 
ample to his children and acquaintances. 

The birth of Mr. Flynn took place in 
Bainbridge, New York, August 25, 1828, 
and, as his father, Rufus Flynn, died when 
our subject was young, he was reared by his 
maternal grandparents, in Pennsylvania, 
and early learned some of the hard lessons 
of life. His father, a native of Dutchess 
county, New York, was of Irish descent, 
while his mother, Sylvia Ann (Owens) 
Flynn, was born in Bainbridge, and was of 
Welsh extraction. Their eldest son, Mil- 
ton, like his historic namesake, perma- 
nently lost his eyesight and died when he 
was a young man. He left a widow, for- 
merly a teacher. William, the next son, 
lived in the east at last accounts. Marcus, 
who reared several children, and was the 




GEORGE W. FLYNN. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



109 



proprietor of a flourishing summer resort in 
the mountains of the Keystone state, died 
many years ago. Mrs. Sylvia Flynn died 
in Chicago, on her way to the east, during 
the dread scourge of the early '505, from 
cholera. 

The. subject of this review had very lim- 
ited educational privileges, as he did not at- 
tend school after he was twelve years old, 
but by private study and observation he be- 
came well informed, and competent to cope 
successfully with the vital problems of life. 
In 1 850, he came to the west, and at the end 
of two years he arrived in Urbana, where, 
for a short time, he worked on the construc- 
tion of the Illinois railroad. Later he 
clerked in the grocery of Henry Russell, and 
in the fall of 1855 became a member of the 
firm of Cunningham & Flynn, publishers of 
the Urbana Gazette. Previous to his com- 
ing to the west he had mastered the print- 
ers' trade in newspaper offices in his native 
state and in Pennsylvania, and thenceforth 
he was to continue in this line of business. 
In August, 1858, he sold out to Mr. Cran- 
dall, and upon his return from the army in 
October, 1864, he became associated with 
a comrade, G. ?J. Richards, and again as- 
sumed the management of the Gazette, 
with which he was connected about eight 
years, George Scroggs being his partner for 
four years of this period. Selling out to 
that gentleman in 1872, Mr. Flynn turned 
his attention to a job printing and book 
bindery office here, and in 1874 this estab- 
lishment was removed to Danville. Later 
it was merged into the Illinois Printing 
company, an extensive and prosperous en- 
terprise, of which Mr. Flynn was made 
president and general manager, which of- 
fices he retained until his death. He 
abundantly proved his fine executive talent 

6 



and capacity for handling important affairs, 
and year by year widened the circle of his 
friends and admirers in the business world. 

A valued member of the Masonic order, 
Mr, Flynn belonged to the lodge, chapter 
and commandery, and in politics he was an 
ardent Republican. During the Civil war 
he was prompt to respond to the call of his 
country, and in August, 1861, was mustered 
into Company K, Twenty-fifth Illinois In- 
fantry. With his comrades he participated 
in some of the most brilliant campaigns of 
the war, and, among others, was in the 
battles of Pea Ridge, Perrysville, Stone 
River, Peach Tree Creek, Chickamauga, 
siege of Corinth. During the three years 
of his heroic service, he was ever found at 
the post of duty, save once, when the battle 
of Mission Ridge was in progress, and, on 
account of severe illness, he was confined in 
the hospital. He was second lieutenant of 
his company, and much of the time served 
as major or upon the staff of the brigade 
commander. 

Mr. Flynn first wedded Miss Tennessee 
Jarvis, November 16, 1854. She was born 
October 17, 1835, a daughter of Daniel 
Jarvis, of North Carolina, who removed to 
Urbana with his family some years prior to 
Mrs. Flynn's marriage. Two children were 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Flynn, Carrie I., 
January 29-, 1856, and Lenna A., Feb- 
ruary 23, 1858. Carrie, who was a suc- 
cessful teacher at State Line, died Sept- 
ember 27, 1 88 1, and Lenna departed 
this life June 3, 1872. The mother was a 
devoted member of the Baptist church, and 
died, strong in her faith, March 16, 1858. 

On the nth of September, 1859, Mr. 
Flynn married Berilla Garrott, daughter of 
Eli and Miranda (Holland) Garrott, both of 
whom were natives of Mt. Sterling, Ken- 



I IO 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tucky. They were married in Greencastle, 
Indiana, and Mrs. Flynn was born in Barn- 
bridge, Indiana, August 30, 1837. Mr. Gar- 
rott, who was a shoemaker by trade, removed 
to Urbana about 1858, and later, he located 
in Mahomet, Illinois. His first wife died 
when about forty-one years of age, and he 
subsequently married a widow, whose 
maiden name was Wren. He survived this 
wife, and died in the summer of 1895. Mrs. 
Flynn's mother was a devoted member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, while her 
father was a Presbyterian. She is one of 
eleven children, the others being named as 
follows: Josephine, who was a teacher and 
died in her twenty-second year; Melissa 
married James Ralston, a Missouri farmer; 
Almazy, deceased, wife of James Smith; 
William W., who married Nettie Braden 
and resides in Frankfort, Indiana; Charles 
M., whose wife, formerly a Miss Quinn, is 
deceased, and who resides in Joplin, Mis- 
souri; Cynthia A., who died at the age of 
seventeen years, in 1859; John Q., a widower, 
living in Indiana; Edwin, who died at. the 
age of thirty-two, and left three children; 
Louisa, wife of Frank Ingalls, employed in 
the Big Four shops in Urbana; and Holland, 
who died when six years old. 

To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Flynn six 
children were born. Jessie B., the eldest, 
is the wife of George Goff, general manager 
of the St. Paul offices of the Washington 
Life Insurance Company. Their two chil- 
dren are Helen B. and Royal R. Nora R. 
married George Haas, editor of the Fisher 
(Illinois) Reporter. Their two children are 
named respectively, Harold and Lelia. 
Charles M., who lives with his widowed 
mother, is employed by the Big Four Rail- 
road Company, and J. Carl also is at home. 
Lennie L. married Frank Lietz, of Carlisle, 



Illinois, and their children are named Helen 
and Florence. George Richards, the fourth 
child of Mrs. Flynn, was born December 
31, 1873, and died February i, 1875. The 
devoted husband and father was called to 
the better land August 11, 1888. Mrs. 
Flynn, who is a faithful member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, has nobly per- 
formed her duty as a wife and mother, and 
tenderly cared for her husband's helpless 
little ones when she entered his home more 
than two-score years ago as his companion 
and helpmate on life's highway. 



A LANSON P. TUCKER, a successful 
/~\ and popular dentist of Champaign, 
Illinois, is a native of this county, born in 
Urbana, August 16, 1859, and is a repre- 
sentative of an old colonial family, tracing 
his ancestry back to Daniel Tucker and his 
son St. George. William Tucker, a grand- 
son of the latter and the great-grandfather 
of our subject, was a native of Virginia and 
and a pioneer of Otsego county, New York, 
locating there soon after the Revolutionary 
war in the days made famous by J. Fenni- 
more Cooper's Leather Stocking Tales. As 
a soldier of the Continental army he aided 
the colonies in achieving their independence, 
and his son Alanson, the grandfather of our 
subject, was a soldier of the war of 1812 
and was wounded in the battle of Put-in- 
Bay, Sandusky. Ohio. The latter was 
probably born in Cherry Valley, New York, 
and from there removed to Ithaca. In 1832 
the family went to Milan, Huron county, 
Ohio, where he died from the effects of his 
wounds. His wife, who bore the maiden 
name of Louis Perry, was a daughter of 
John Perry and also a representative of an 



THE BIOGRAHPICAL RECORD. 



1 1 1 



old colonial family. Both she and her hus- 
band were highly educated and successfully 
engaged in teaching school in early life. 

Alanson Tucker, the Doctor's father, 
was born in Ithaca, New York, January 27, 
1827, and in 1832 accompanied the family 
on their removal to Milan, Ohio, where he 
attended school for a time. Later he was 
given a university education, either at Ober- 
lin or Miami, Ohio. He was adopted by 
Rev. Mr. Gregory, a missionary to the 
\Yinnebago Indians at Green Bay, Wiscon- 
sin, being appointed agent or teacher by 
the government, and there Mr. Tucker 
spent much of his early life. Coming to 
Urbana, Illinois, in 1854, he was the first to 
embark in the manufacture of brick in this 
county, and after his removal to Mahomet, 
in 1861, he continued to engage in that 
business until his death, which occurred 
December 31, 1875. He was a strong 
Republican and Abolitionist, and during the 
Civil war served as justice of the peace, in 
which capacity he tried many exciting cases 
growing out of that struggle. Three times 
he tried to enter the Union army but was 
always rejected on account of near-sighted- 
ness. In 1855, he married Miss Susan C. 
Slater, who was born in Hughesville, Ly- 
Cbming county, Pennsylvania, December 
13, 1831, a daughter of Peter and Mary 
(Shick) Slater, the former of English, the 
latter of Pennsylvania Dutch extraction. 
Her paternal grandparents were William 
and Elizabeth (Wert) Slater, and the for- 
mer was a son of Peter Slater, who with 
his brother Jacob came to the United States 
at an early day. and were the first manu- 
facturers of cotton goods in this country. 
William Slater, Mr?. Tucker's grandfather, 
was a captain in the United States navy 
during the Revolutionary war, and was under 



the command of Paul Jones. He was a 
nephew of "Fighting" Tom Curtis, a staff 
officer of General Washington. He settled 
in Stanton, New Jersey, where his son, Peter 
Slater, was born December 12, 1866. The 
latter was a cooper by trade, but spent his 
last years in retirement from active labor. 
In 1854 he came to Champaign county and 
located in Urbana, but died in Champaign 
April 12, 1898. Mrs. Tucker came with 
her father to this county. She is still living 
and now makes her home with her two 
youngest sons, George and Leonard, in 
Nebraska City, Nebraska. Her oldest son, 
Horace, is a druggist of Grand Island, that 
state, a member of the firm of Horace 
Tucker & Company. 

Dr. Alanson P. Tucker, who completes 
this family, attended the common and high 
schools of Mahomet, and in 1879 entered 
the office of Dr. O. F. Britton, a dentist 
of Champaign, with whom he studied until 
February I, 1882, when he passed the ex- 
amination of the state board and became a 
registered dentist. For the first four years he 
engaged in practice in Ponca, Dixon county, 
Nebraska, but at the end of that time he 
returned to Champaign, which has since 
been his home and field of operation. His 
office is now located at No. 6 Main street. 
From the start he has enjoyed a large and 
successful practice, and although a com- 
paratively young man, he is the oldest prac- 
titioner in years of service in the city. 

On the 7th of June, 1893, Dr. Tucker 
was united in marriage with Miss Sarnie S. 
Allison, a daughter of Samuel Allison, who 
was a soldier of the Civil war and died 
shortly before her birth. She was born in 
Urbana, but after the death of her parents 
made her home with her sister, Mrs. T. S. 
Fitch, in Havana, Illinois. The Doctor 



I 12 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and his wife have a pleasant home at No. 
902 West Church street, where they delight 
in entertaining their many friends. 



WILLIAM H. ROUGHTON, the effi- 
cient chief of police of Urbana, is a 
native of Champaign county, his birth hav- 
ing occurred June 3, 1858. Hehas ever been 
intensely interested in whatever has tended 
to promote the welfare of this section, and, 
in his various official positions, has won the 
good opinion of the public by his sterling 
integrity and adherence to duty. 

His father, Samuel Roughton, also well 
known in this city, was born in Derbyshire, 
England, November 10, 1836, a son of 
Jairus and Ann Roughton. Jairus Rough- 
ton, who was an engineer and foreman in 
extensive collieries, was killed accidentally 
by a fly-wheel, when attending to his usual 
duties. About four years subsequent to that 
sad event, the mother, with her seven chil- 
dren, sailed for the United States, and on 
the voyage the ship encountered severe 
storms which it seemed would engulf the 
frail vessel. The mother died in 1889, 
when about seventy years of age, and only 
two of her children survive, namely: Sam- 
uel and John, the latter being a blacksmith 
and farmer of Rantoul, this county. The 
family spent about one year in Jackson 
county, Ohio, but since 1855 Samuel Rough- 
ton has resided in Illinois. Before and aft- 
er coming to this country, he was employed 
in coal-mines for some years, but, in 1885, 
he and two of his brothers engaged in 
running a sawmill, and were thus occupied 
for several years. Since 1865, he has held 
the position of stationary engineer at the 
Urbana flouring mill, and is one of the most 



reliable employes of the company. Both 
he and his estimable wife, whose maiden 
name was Elizabeth Gibbons, are members 
of the Universalist church. She was born 
in August, 1838, a daughter of Robert and 
Mary Gibbons, of England. 

William H. Roughton is the eldest child 
of Samuel and" Elizabeth Roughton. The 
second, Spencer, died at the age of a year 
' and a half. Mary is the wife of George 
Toy, of Sidney, Illinois, and their children 
are: Cora, Leta, John, Toy and Helen. 
Samuel, a car-repairer, resides in Urbana. 
He married Hettie Mead, and has two chil- 
dren, Harold and Sylvia. Stokeley, who 
wedded Emma Hatch, and lives in this 
place, is a car-repairer, also. Nora, wife 
of Frank Toy, of this city, has three chil- 
dren: Bessie, Lyle and Edna. 

After completing his education, W. H. 
Roughton worked with his father in the mill 
for some time, and then accepted a position 
as turnkey, under Sheriff J. E. Oldham, and 
later, under Sheriff J. C. Ware, of Cham- 
paign, and the late P. E. Burke. After- 
wards, he became superintendent of the 
county poor farm, by appointment of the 
board of supervisors, and for two years ably 
conducted the affairsof that institution. He 
next became fireman on the Big Four rail- 
road, and for a short time was conductor on 
a street car line. Mayor Fox, who then 
was acting as sheriff, offered our subject a 
place as deputy, and for the ensuing six years 
he continued as such, four years of this 
period under D. D. Cannon. The name of 
Mr. Roughton then came before the Re- 
publican convention of this county, in 1898,. 
but the present incumbent, Ernst Lorenze, 
was the successful candidate. Our subject 
next served as special watchman in the 
shops of the Big Four until he entered upon 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the duties of his present responsible office, 
May 15, 1899. Strict attention to the least, 
as well as to the greatest of his duties, char- 
acterizes all of his actions, and universal 
commendation is bestowed upon him. 

Fraternally, he stands high in several 
prominent societies. He is a member of 
Urbana Lodge, No. 157, F. & A. M. ; Ur- 
bana Chapter, No. 87, R. A. M. ; and Ur- 
bana Council and Commandery, No. 16, K. 
T. In the blue lodge he is senior warden 
and in the commandery holds the office of 
captain general. He also belongs to the 
Order of the Eastern Star, of which his wife 
is now the associate matron. In 1900 he 
is to represent the Subordinate lodge of the 
Knights of Pythias in the Grand lodge of 
the state, which is to convene at Danville, 
Illinois. Besides, he is identified with the 
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, 
the Modern Woodmen of America, and the 
Court of Honor. 

The marriage of Mr. Roughton and Myra, 
daughter of Mrs. Howard Carver, of Auburn, 
Indiana, was solemnized May 11,1883. Mrs. 
Roughton, whose birth took place in the 
Buckeye state, is a lady of excellent educa- 
tion and social attainments. Two daughters 
bless the home of our subject and wife, 
namely: Ethel, who is a student in the Ur- 
bana high school, and Nellie, who is at- 
tending the grammar school. 



f^EORGE SKINNER, who is living re- 
V_J tired at his pleasant home on West 
Green street, Urbana, is enjoying a compe- 
tence to which he is well entitled, as during 
several decades he labored unceasingly, and 
with excellent business judgment, to amass 
sufficient means for his declining years. He 



is still in the prime of manhood, thoroughly 
active and interested in everything along the 
lines of progress, and ready to perform his 
share towards the improvement of his age 
and community. 

The birth of George Skinner took place 
in Somersetshire, England, January 29, 
1850, his parents being Robert and Anna 
(Rich) Skinner. Theyernigrated to America 
in 1854, with their eight- children, and for 
eight years resided at Elk Grove, a place 
twenty miles northwest of Chicago. In 
1862, the father removed to Shelby county, 
Illinois, and about four years later settled on 
a farm south of Homer, Champaign county. 
Soon after his arrival in this country he met 
with an accident which thenceforth rendered 
him a cripple, but this misfortune he bore 
bravely, and all who knew him loved and 
honored him for his sterling qualities. His 
parents, John and Elizabeth Skinner, were 
land-holders in England. He was born 
May 7, 1801, and died May 23, 1883. 

The first marriage of Robert Skinner 
was to Miriam, daughter of William and 
Miriam Rich, well-to-do farmers of England. 
After the death of his first wife, who bore 
him six children, Mr. Skinner wedded her 
sister, Anna, by whom he had four children. 
Mary, the eldest of the family, and her hus- 
band, Frederick Moore, and their only child, 
are deceased. Mr. Moore was the owner of 
the land on which Mount Clare now stands, 
and sold seventy-five acres for twenty-three 
thousand dollars. Mrs. Sarah A. Cureton, 
the second child of Robert Skinner, lives in 
England. William, formerly an extensive 
farmer of Arcola, Illinois, now lives in South 
Dakota. He married Julia Higgins, and all 
of their ten children live near them. They 
are named as follows: Ella, Walter, Frank, 
George, Fannie, Mamie, Edith, William, 



114 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Angle and Fred. Anna, wife of Thomas 
Vellum, of South Dakota, has four children, 
Edward, deceased, Thomas, Edith and 
Nellie. James, a thrifty farmer near Arcola, 
married Ann Cheney, and their two sons are 
named Samuel and William. Elizabeth, 
Mrs. George Sylvester, of Chicago, lost 
her only child, Ella. Amelia, who married 
William Hatfield, of Paris, Illinois, died 
leaving five children, May, Myrtle, Elsie, 
Ella and Chester. Rhoda, widow of John 
Junkens, has one son, Alvah. George is 
the next in order of birth. Henry, who 
wedded Charlotte Spencer, lives on a farm 
south of Homer. Mrs. Anna Skinner, who 
was born July 14. 1814, died March 25, 1883. 
She was a noble Christian woman, beloved 
by everybody, and for years an active mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Skin- 
ner was an upright, conscientious man, but, 
on account of his crippled condition, he was 
not able to attend church. 

Reared upon his father's farm, George 
Skinner early became an experienced agri- 
culturist, and with his brother Henry as- 
sumed the management of the homestead. 
In 1893 the estate was divided, Henry tak- 
ing one hundred and eighty acres and a sum 
of money, and later adding a quarter-section 
of land to his original tract, while George 
received two hundred and four acres. Be- 
ing progressive in his methods, he made 
substantial improvements upon his property, 
laid miles of drainage tiles, and constructed 
ditches, so that his farm soon became known 
as one of the best equipped in this direction 
in the county. Year by year he added to 
the value of his place by judicious expend- 
iture and care, and, though. he now leases it 
to tenants, he maintains a watchful super- 
vision over the whole. For twelve years he 
served his community as a school trustee 



and as a road commissioner, and for three 
years was a supervisor of Ayers township, 
which office he held at the time of his com- 
ing to Urbana to live, in 1893. Here he 
purchased several good building lots and a 
comfortable residence on Green street. Like 
his father before him, he is a stanch Repub- 
lican. In all of his relations with men, he 
has been actuated by strict integrity and 
fairness, and none know him save to highly 
esteem him. 

On the 29th of December, 1887, Mr. 
Skinner and Mary E. Havard were united 
in marriage. Her father, William R. 
Havard, a native of Wales, wedded Rachel 
Jones in that country, in 1856. The par- 
ents of William R. were John Havard, born 
April 10, 1792, in Wales, and Jennette 
(Griffith) Havard, born June 20, 1794. 
William R. Havard was born March 25, 
1829, and died November 16, 1899. Soon 
after his marriage he came to this country, 
and, after five years residence north of 
Homer, in Vermilion county, Illinois, re- 
moved across the line into this county. For 
three decades he continued to dwell upon a 
farm situated in Homer township, three 
miles south of the town of that name, and 
for six years prior to his death he made his 
home in Urbana. Subsequent to his ar- 
rival in Illinois, he became an active mem- 
ber of the Christian church, and for years 
was an officer and elder. His eldest son, 
John W., born in January, 1857, and un- 
married, belonged to the Christian church, 
and died in that faith in July, i88r. Sarah 
Alice married M. F. Colwell, in March, 
1878, resides near Everly, Iowa, and is the 
mother of five children: Wilbur, Cora, Nel- 
lie, Mary and Frank. Seth A. died at the 
age of four years, in 1864. Elon R. mar- 
ried Olive, daughter of L. Houser, of Ur- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



bana, May i, 1889, and their children are 
named Rachel and Houser. Albert H., un- 
married, is carrying on a part of the old 
homestead. M. Jennie, formerly a favor- 
ably known music teacher of Urbana, be- 
came the wife of A. R. Mann, of Pullman, 
Illinois, in December, 1898. Oliver D., un- 
married, is employed as an electrician in St. 
Louis. 

George Skinner joined the Methodist 
Episcopal church a number of years ago, 
attending Arnes Chapel, near his home 
farm, and for some time served as steward 
and trustee there. He now, with his wife, 
belongs to the First Methodist church of 
Urbana, and is acting on the official board. 
The causes of religion, education and benev- 
olence find in him a true friend, and those 
whom he has quietly aided when in need 
are legion. His record is one of which he 
has reason to be proud, and it should be 
held up as an example for the rising genera- 
tion. 



AUG*UST C. SINGBUSCH. A brilliant 
example of a self-made American cit- 
izen and a grand exemplification of the prog- 
ress that an ambitious foreigner can make 
in this country of unbounded opportunities, 
is shown in the case of Mr. Singbusch, 
senior member of the firm of Singbusch & 
Stoltey, leading grocers of Champaign. His 
remarkable success is due to his own energy 
and the high ideal which his lofty and laud- 
able ambition placed before him. Success 
in any walk of life is an indication of earnest 
endeavor and persevering effort, character- 
istics that he possesses in an eminent degree. 
Mr. Singbusch was born in Germany, 
September 7, 1857, a son of Christ and Car- 
olina (Krueger) Singbusch, who, with their 



family, crossed the broad Atlantic in 1867, 
and took up their residence in Champaign, 
Illinois, where the father still lives. The 
mother died in 1892. He is a member of 
the German Evangelical church, to which 
she also belonged. 

Our subject acquired his education in 
the schools of Champaign and began his 
business career as a clerk for Burnette & 
Company, dealers in leather and hides, with 
whom he remained two years, acquiring an 
excellent knowledge of business methods. 
At the end of that time he bought out H. D. 
Stoltey, who was then engaged in the gro- 
cery business where our subject is still 
located at No. 105 East University avenue. 
His store at first was quite small but during 
the ten years that followed, his business had 
grown so rapidly that he was obliged to 
double his floor space by taking in No. 107, 
thus making one of the largest grocery 
houses in the city. He was alone in busi- 
ness until 1890, when he formed a partner- 
ship with W. H. Stoltey, and the firm 
became Singbusch & Stoltey as it now 
stands. From the first he handled some 
queensware, to which he has kept adding 
until he now carries a large and well selected 
stock of valuable wares, as well as a fine 
line of staple and fancy groceries. The 
trade of the store has so increased that em- 
ployment is now furnished seven people. 
This large and prosperous business has been 
built up by Mr. Singbusch in the last twenty 
years, and for the success that he has 
achieved he deserves great credit, for it is 
due entirely to his own perseverance, energy 
and good management. He now owns the 
building which he occupies, and which is 
forty feet front and sixty feet deep, all of 
which is devoted to his business. 

In July, 1880, Mr. Singbusch was united 



n6 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in marriage with Miss Anna Wascher, of 
Champaign, who was also born in Germany, 
and came to this country when a small child. 
They have two children, Arthur C. , aged 
seventeen years, who is attending the high 
school of Champaign; and Elsa, who is also 
pursuing her studies there. The family 
have a pleasant home at No. 127 East Uni- 
versity avenue. Mr. and Mrs. Singbusch 
are both members of the German Evangel- 
ical church, and he has held all of the offi- 
cial positions connected therewith and is one 
of its liberal supporters. 

Since casting his first presidential vote, 
Mr. Singbusch has been identified with the 
Republican party, and was a member of the 
county and township executive committees 
during the McKinley campaign of 1896. 
About ten years ago he was first elected 
alderman from his ward and while in that 
office the city building was erected and con- 
siderable street paving done. Subsequently 
he was elected city treasurer and held that 
office for two years, during which time large 
funds passed through his hands. For four 
years he has also been township collector, 
and is still filling that position with credit to 
himself and to the entire satisfaction of the 
general public. In all the relations of life 
he has been found true to every trust re- 
posed in him and well merits the confidence 
and trust so freely accorded him. 



F^LIAS RUSSELL, deceased. For several 
I/ decades this worthy citizen of Cham- 
paign county was associated with its de- 
velopment and success, and his name and 
memory are held in reverent honor by the 
hosts of sincere friends who were endeared to 
him by his noble qualities. From time to time 
he was chosen to fill responsible local offices 



and in every instance discharged his duties 
in a highly commendable manner. Upright- 
ness and justice actuated him in all of his 
business transactions, and a high sense of 
honor was shown in his treatment of every- 
one. To his family he has left the herit- 
age of an unblemished name and the mem- 
ory of a life worthily lived. 

Elias Russell was one of the six children 
of Joseph A. and Jemima (Eckhart) Russell, 
the former a native of Virginia, and the 
latter of Germany. The Russells were an 
old and honored family in the Old Domin- 
ion, while the Eckharts were prominent in 
the early history of Ohio. When he was a 
boy, Joseph A. Russell removed with 
his parents to the Buckeye state, and 
there grew to manhood. Soon after his 
marriage he removed from Pickaway to 
Fairfield county, Ohio, and thenceforth de- 
voted himself to agriculture. He died in 
1 88 1 at an advanced age, and his widow 
survived until about 1894, when she was 
eighty-seven years of age. Of their chil- 
dren, Elizabeth became the wife of Daniel 
Stump, a farmer of Shelby county, Illinois: 
Maria, wife of William Stump, lives near 
the old Fairfield county homestead; Mary 
married Wilkerson Clark, of Hancock 
county, and Sarah became the wife of Calvin 
Foor, and lives on a farm near Villisca, Iowa. 

In his boyhood, Elias Russell attended 
the common schools in Ohio, and learned 
the various details pertaining to agriculture. 
In 1 860 he came to Illinois, and, after spend- 
ing about a year in Shelby county, came to 
Champaign county. His homestead com- 
prised eighty acres of land in St. Joseph 
township, and many substantial improve- 
ments were placed upon the farm by him, 
thus greatly increasing its value and desir- 
ability. 




ELIAS RUSSELL. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



119 



Industry and perseverance in all his un- 
dertakings brought Mr. Russell well de- 
served success, and the respect of all who 
knew him. He served as school trustee and 
treasurer of Stanton township, and was 
commissioner of highways for some time in 
St. Joseph township, besides being super- 
visor for six or more years, and town clerk 
for several years. He was an active and 
zealous Republican, taking great interest in 
the success of the party. In his religious 
views he was what is termed liberal, as he 
did not identify himself with any church, 
yet he was moral and conscientious, being a 
lover of God and humanity, and striving ever 
to perform his whole duty. His honesty was 
above question and his kindliness and liber- 
ality toward the poor and unfortunate made 
his name a household word in many a home 
and heart. He was summoned to the bet- 
ter land February I, 1891. 

The marriage of Elias Russell and Nancy 
M. Whitzel was solemnized September 4, 
1860. She was a daughter of Thomas and 
Effie (Drake) Whitzel, of Fairfield county, 
Ohio. They were originally from Hunting- 
don, Pennsylvania, and were pioneers in 
Fairfield county. The mother died in 1846, 
aged forty-six years, and the father came to 
Champaign county, in 1866, and died in 
Somers township, April 12, 1871. Of their 
nine children, three have passed to the 
silent land. Zephaniah married Jane Beatty, 
and had five children, three of whom sur- 
vive, namely: Effie, John and Viola. The 
parents are deceased. Jesse, who resides 
in Nebraska, married Hannah Wimp, and 
their eight children are, Thomas, Hosea, 
Ellen, Hattie, Jesse, Maggie, Eddie and 
Luther. Mary, who became the wife of 
Frederick Frankinburg, and lives in Staun- 
ton township, is the mother of four chil- 



dren, Thomas, Ervin, Alvin and Emma. 
Ervin, who lives in this county, wedded 
Mary Cross, and their children are: Effie, 
Jesse, Mary and Elmer. Catherine is the 
wife of Henry Free. 

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Elias 
Russell was blessed with one son, Frank, 
who was a very promising and energetic 
business man, respected by those who had 
known him from his early years. He mar- 
ried Vida Full, who died in 1892, when 
about twenty-six years old. They had .two 
children, Ray, who is attending school, and 
Vera, whose death occurred when she was 
fifteen months old. Frank Russell was 
summoned to the silent land December 12, 
1897, and thus the devoted wife and mother 
is left alone, with only her grandson to 
cheer and comfort her in her declining years. 



QTRAUT W. SHURTZ, M. D., a suc- 
O cessful and popular physician of Cham- 
paign, has a somewhat remarkable record, 
and from the study of his life history one 
may learn valuable lessons. The spirit of 
self-help is the source of all genuine worth 
in the individual and is the means of bring- 
ing to man success when he has no advan- 
tages of wealth or influence to aid him. It 
illustrates in no uncertain manner what it is 
possible to accomplish when perseverance 
and determination form the keynote to a 
.man's life. Depending upon his own re- 
sources, looking for no outside aid or sup- 
port, Dr. Shurtz has made his way in the 
world and is to-day one of the most able 
physicians and surgeons of Champaign. 

He was born in Tazewell county, Illi- 
nois, June 21, 1867, a son of Watson M. 
andMalindaM. (Asher) Shurtz. His father 



I2O 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was born in what is now South Lebanon, 
Hamilton county, Ohio, January 8, 1818, 
and is a son of John and Sarah (Von Leiter) 
Shurtz, both of whom were born in New 
Jersey, of German descent, and were reared 
and married in that state, their ancestors 
being among the pioneer settlers near Tren- 
ton. Our subject's paternal grandfather, 
John Shurtz, was a soldier of the war of 
1812, and took part in the battle of New 
Orleans under General Jackson. At an 
early day he removed to what is now South 
Lebanon, Ohio, and the brick house which 
he erected there about ninety years ago, is 
still standing. He made a business of buy- 
ing produce, which he loaded on flat boats 
and floated down the Ohio and Mississippi 
rivers to New Orleans, where it was sold. 
He would then walk back to his home in 
South Lebanon. He also devoted a portion 
of his time to the improvement and cultiva- 
tion of his farm. He died there about 1830 
when comparatively a young man. 

Watson M. Shurtz, the Doctor's father, 
was educated in the school of South Leb- 
anon, Ohio, and remained on the home 
farm until attaining his majority. In 1841 
he came to Delevan, Tazewell county, Illi- 
nois, passing through Champaign on his 
way to that place. There he owned land 
and engaged in farming for some time. He 
was married in Tazewell county, in 1862, to 
Miss Malinda M. Asher, who was born in 
White county, Illinois, where her father, 
Watson Asher, died, and later with her 
mother and the other children of the' family 
she removed to Tazewell county. Her 
mother bore the maiden name of Sarah 
Mickle. On disposing of his property in 
Tazewell county, Watson M. Shurtz came 
to Champaign county and purchased 'a farm 
in Rantoul township which he operated for 



some years, but now makes his home in 
Champaign. He is a supporter of the Re- 
publican party, and his wife is a member of 
the Christian church. In their family are 
three children: Mary J., wife of F. D. 
Erskine, state grain inspector at Chicago; 
Straut W. , our subject; and Richard E., 
who is mentioned below. 

Dr. Shurtz, whose name introduces this 
review, was two years old when the family 
removed to this county, and his early educa- 
tion was obtained in the common country 
schools and the Rantoul high school. His 
father had met with reverses in business 
when the Poctor was about nine years old, 
and he and his brother had to begin the bat- 
tle of life for themselves at an early age. 
For three years prior to attaining his 
eighteenth year, our subject taught school 
in the county and for one year of that time 
read medicine with Dr. J. C. Harmon, of 
Rantoul, driving each morning five miles to 
his school and returning at night that he 
might spend the evening in study. For one 
year he was a student in the scientific de- 
partment of the University of Illinois, Cham- 
paign, and then entered Rush Medical Col- 
lege, where he pursued a three years' course. 
During two years of that time he was night 
nurse in St. Joseph Hospital on the north 
side. After being on duty from six P. M. 
to six A. M., he would sleep about an hour 
and then return to the college on the 
west side. In this way he worked his way 
through that institution and was graduated 
in 1893. He first located in Fisher, Cham- 
paign county, and soon built up an excel- 
lent practice, which extended into the coun- 
try for many miles, so that he was on the 
road much of the time both day and night. 
Although this proved quite lucrative, he be- 
lieved a broader field of labor could be found 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



121 



in a larger place, and in the summer of 1 899 
he joined his brother in practice at Cham- 
paign, where much advantage is to be de- 
rived from hospital work. He is engaged in 
the general practice of medicine and also 
does considerable surgery, performing many 
successful operations forappendicitis. Finan- 
cially he has prospered, and now owns a 
nice home in the city and other property 
which he rents. 

On the 23d of August, 1894, Dr. Shurtz 
was united in marriage with Miss May 
Gooding, a daughter of Rev. William Good- 
ing, a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Conference whose home is now in Blooming- 
ton. There Mrs. Shurtz successfully en- 
gaged in teaching school prior to her mar- 
riage, and was quite prominent in musical 
circles. The Doctor and his wife have two 
children: Charles Richar'd, aged four years; 
and William Gooding, aged two. The 
parents are both members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, and Dr. Shurtz is also 
an active and prominent member of the 
County Medical Society, of which he has 
beerj vice-president and is now its censor. 
In manner he is pleasant and cordial, which, 
combined with his sterling worth, makes 
him very popular with his friends and as- 
sociates. 

Richard E. Shurtz, M. D., the younger 
son of \Vatson M. and Malinda M. (Asher) 
Shurtz, was born on a farm near Rantoul, 
September 26. 1870, and attended the 
common and high schools of that place. 
At the age of seventeen he commenced 
teaching, and followed that profession for two 
years, after which he was a student in the 
University of Illinois for one year. For 
about three years he read medicine under 
the direction of Professor A. C. Cotton, of 
Chicago, and during that time worked for 



the Armour Company. He then matricu- 
lated at Rush Medical College, where he 
attended lectures during the winter, pursu- 
ing the regular three-years' course, while 
through the summer months he was in the 
employ of the Armour Company. He was 
also connected with one of the hospitals for 
a time, and was graduated with the class of 
1897. For the following sixteen months he 
was successfully engaged in practice in Gif- 
ford, this county, and at the end of that 
time came to Champaign, where he formed 
a partnership with his brother. They are 
already meeting with excellent success 
in their new field of labor, enjoying a large 
and constantly increasing practice. Success 
in their profession comes through merit 
alone, and'the high position which they have 
already attained attests their superiority. 
The junior member -of the firm is also a 
member of the County Medical Society. 
He was married June 8, 1892, to Miss Nellie 
Turner, of Champaign, a daughter of Heze- 
kiah Turner. They have two children living, 
Malinda and Mary. Religiously the Doctor 
and his wife hold membership in the Chris- 
tian church. 



WALTER W. LINDLEY, one of the 
native sons of Urbana, and the pres- 
est efficient and popular postmaster of this 
flourishing place, has won the commefida- 
tion of the public during the many years of 
his official service, by his reliability, strict 
adherence to duty and uniform courtesy. 

His father, Dr. Mahlon Lindley, was 
one of the early physicians of Urbana, and 
few have been engaged in practice in this 
county for a longer period. Both he and 
his first wife, the mother of our subject, 
were natives of Mansfield, Ohio. She bore 



122 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the name of Salome M. Myers in her girl- 
hood, and her death took place upon the 
anniversary of her birth. She was a de- 
voted wife, mother and friend, and was loyal 
in her relations to the Presbyterian church. 
For a second wife, Dr. Lindley chose Clara 
Robinet, and they still reside in this city, 
where they are deservedly respected. 

Walter W. Lindley, whose birth occurred 
October 20, 1860, is one of the six children 
of Dr. Mahlon and Salome Lindley. The 
eldest-born, Austin M., pursued a special 
course in chemistry in the University of Illi- 
nois, later was graduated in the Cincinnati 
Medical College with the degree of Doctor of 
Medicine, and is now a successful physician 
and surgeon, and is surgeon for the Big 
Four Railroad at Urbana. Almeda is the 
wife of M. S. Parks, and Grace married 
Stanley F. Boggs, who is engaged in the 
real estate business in Chicago. Elmer 
Ellsworth is the private secretary of the 
general freight agent of the Great Northern 
Railway, at Saint Paul. Dr. Mahlon, who 
graduated in the Chicago College of Den- 
tistry, in the class of 1896, is now practic- 
ing his profession in Alton, Illinois. 

In his youth, W. W. Lindley attended 
the Urbana schools, where he completed 
the high school course, and later went to 
Quincy, there being graduated in the Gem 
City Business College. He returned home 
to cast his first presidential vote for Garfield, 
and soon afterwards became assistant in the 
postoffice, with George W. Curtis, who is 
grand commander of the Knights Templar. 
Later, he was given a position as deputy 
county clerk, under J. S. McCullough, the 
present state auditor, and served four years 
to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. 

When President Harrison became the 
chief executive, Mr. Lindley was appointed 



to the position of postmaster of Urbana, 
then belonging to the third class, but which 
is now a second class postoffice. After 
serving the public in this position for 
four years, he resigned, owing to the elec- 
tion of a Democratic president, and became 
president and manager of the Urbana Brick 
Company, which transacted a thriving busi- 
ness, as much of the paving of the city 
streets was carried out about that period, 
and supplies were purchased largely from 
the concern with which he was associated. 
President McKinley appointed Mr. Lindley 
to the postmastership, June I, 1897, and, 
needless to say, he has lived up to his former 
reputation of beingoneof the most systematic, 
painstaking officials the city has ever had. 

On the 27th of September, 1882, Mr. 
Lindley married Anna M. Konantz, a native 
of Quincy, Illinois, and daughter of Paul 
and Wilhelmina Konantz, both deceased. 
Of her eleven brothers and sisters, Frank, 
E. A. , and Dick are members of the Konantz 
Saddlery Company, of St. Paul the largest 
concern of the kind in the west. Frank 
served as a soldier in the war of the Rebel- 
lion for several years, nobly performing his 
'duty toward his country. He pursued a 
course of dentistry, and was graduated with 
a degree, but turned his attention to the 
more profitable business in which he now is 
engaged. Another brother of Mrs. Lindley, 
William H., is a dealer in harness at 
Quincy, Illinois. Minnie married Myron D. 
Smith, of Chicago, and Hattie is the wife 
of Joseph Ripley, of Oak Park, Illinois. He 
is engaged in railroading, and his brother, 
Ed. Ripley, is noted as one of the leading 
railway men of the west. John P. resides 
at Ithaca, New York. Lizzie is unmarried. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Lindley two children 
were born, namely: Jessie Salome, who is a 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



12$ 



student in the high school and who possesses 
recognized ability as a musician. Etheldred 
Frank also has a natural gift for music and 
is pursuing a course in that branch in the 
university. Mrs. Lindley is a member of the 
Presbyterian church. Fraternally, Mr. 
Lindley is a Mason, identified with Urbana 
Lodge, No. 157; Urbana Chapter, No. 80, 
R. A. M. ; and Commandery No. 16, K. T. , 
in which lodges he has held several offices. 
He also belongs to the Benevolent and Pro- 
tective Order of Elks, and is exceedingly 
popular in each of the organizations. 



JA. RICHARDS. The prosperity of 
any community depends upon its busi- 
ness activity and the enterprise manifest in 
commercial circles is the foundation upon 
which is builded the material welfare of 
town, state and nation. The most im- 
portant factors in public life at the present 
day are therefore man who are in control of 
successful business interests and such a one 
is Mr. Richards, the present alderman from 
the first ward of Champaign, and one of the 
leading grocers of the city. 

He was born in Le Roy, McLean 
county, Illinois, August 21, 1854, a son of 
the Rev. Jesse and Mary J. (Gist) Rich- 
ards. The father was a native of Maryland, 
and a son of Stephen Richards, who was 
also born in that state and was a representa- 
tive of an old colonial family. The latter 
was one of the heroes of the Revolutionary 
war. At an early day he removed to Dark 
county, Ohio, where he took up a tract of 
government land, and there spent his re- 
maining days. It was in that county that 
the father of our subject grew to manhood 
and married, his wife being born there of 



Scotch ancestry. In 1843, with his family, 
consisting of wife and four children, he re- 
moved to McLean county, Illinois, and be- 
came one of its pioneer settlers. He pur- 
chased a section of land four miles west of 
Le Roy at the government price of one 
dollar and a quarter per acre, and con- 
tinued to reside thereon until he had broken 
and improved about half of the' place, when 
he located in the village of Le Roy. On 
the opening up of Saybrook, he removed 
to that place, and from the founding of Bell- 
flower township, McLean county, served 
as supervisor for a great many years. He 
finally came to Champaign county and 
located one mile east of the present town of 
Fisher, before the railroad had been built or 
the village dreamed of. He contiuned his 
residence there until three years prior to his 
death, when he removed to Mahomet, 
where he passed away in July, 1894, at the 
age of seventy-seven years. He followed 
farming and stock raising throughout life 
with the exception of the time spent in Le 
Roy and Saybrook. He left four children: 
Martha A., wife of Alfred Gulick, of Maho- 
met; Mrs. Sarah C. Thrasher, of Cham- 
paign; J. A., our subject; and Haynes C., 
a resident of Fisher. The wife and mother 
died June 6, 1876. Both parents were 
consistent and faithful members of * the 
Christian church, always taking an active 
part in its work, and as a pioneer preacher 
the father held services in the log school 
houses all over this section of the country at 
an early day. 

Our subject acquired his education in 
the public schools of McLean and Cham- 
paign counties, and remained upon the home 
farm until eighteen years of age, when he 
began working for others at farm labor. At 
the age of twenty-two, he began life for 



124 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



himself as an agriculturist, and bought a 
farm four miles east of Rantoul, where he 
engaged in general farming and stock rais- 
ing for some time. His next purchase con- 
sisted of over two hundred acres of land in 
Mahomet township, where he was extensively 
engaged in raising high grade stock. In 
the spring of 1893, he sold his farm there 
and returned to his first farm, upon which 
he erected a new house, but, in 1894, he 
came to Champaign, where he has since 
made his home. He purchased a half in- 
terest in a good real estate business, which 
he successfully carried on for two years and 
a half, making some large sales in farm 
lands and city property, as a member of the 
firm of Miller & Richards. Selling out to 
his partner, he bought a store and residence 
property at the corner of East University 
avenue and Fifth street, and embarked in 
the grocery, feed and coal business, which 
he has since conducted with marked suc- 
cess, having built up a large and profitable 
trade, while he furnishes employment to 
eight people. He also owns other city 
property, which he rents, and western lands, 
and in all his business undertakings he has 
met with most excellent success. He stands 
high in public esteem and is very popular 
with his friends and associates. Fraternally 
he is a member of the Knights of the Mac- 
cabees and the Home Circle. 

On the 6th of October, 1880, Mr. Rich- 
apds was united in marriage with Miss Har- 
riet J. Frankeberger, who was born and 
reared at Rising Station, this county. Her 
father, John Frankeberger, was one of the 
early settlers of the county, having located 
here during the '405. Our subject and his 
wife have five children: Melvin F., who is 
with his father in the store; Clarence, Min- 
nie, Sherman and Mabel, who are all attend- 



ing school. Mrs. Richards is a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, to the sup- 
port of which her husband is a liberal con- 
tributor. 



WILLIAM H. FREE is a worthy repre- 
sentative of an honored Ohio fam- 
ily a family which has furnished many 
loyal members to the upbuilding and preser- 
vation of that state and the Union. Patriot- 
ism and devotion to the good of the public 
and the majority have been instilled into 
the minds of every individual bearing the 
name, and it is beyond question that 
wherever they go the law and good gov- 
ernment will be supported by them. Such 
citizens are the mainstay and reliance of 
our beloved country, and well would it be 
for her, and for the world in general, should 
the example of the Free family be followed 
in-every home, and the children* trained to 
appreciate and defend the institutions and 
government of this land of liberty and right- 
eousness. 

William H. Free was born in the open- 
ing year of the great Civil war, June 10, 
1861, a son of Henry N. and Laura C. 
(Whitzell) Free, natives of Ohio. The 
father was successfully engaged in the prac- 
tice of law until he was so unfortunate as to 
lose his hearing, since which time he has 
been in the pension business. His home at 
present is in New Lexington, Ohio, where he 
is highly respected. He is in the sixty- 
ninth year of his age* while his wife is five 
years his junior. She is an active member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and, 
while the father is not identified with any 
religious body, he contributes liberally to the 
cause and is interested in educational and 
charitable enterprises. Three of his broth- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



125 



ers won distinction and placed their names 
on the roll of Ohio's noble sons during the 
Civil war. The eldest of the trio was J. X. 
Free, who travels all over the United States 
on free railroad passes and is better known 
as the Immortal J. N. John W. served as 
major in the Thirty-first Ohio Infantry, and 
William was colonel of that regiment, which 
did gallant service in some of the hardest 
campaigns of the dreadful sectional strife. 
Colonel William Free died July 18, 1876. 
A sister of these heroes, Kate, married 
Fred Hoffman, who was a soldier in the 
Mexican war and in the Civil war also. 
Rosa, another sister, married a Mr. Sickles 
and died when about seventy-two years of 
age. 

In his boyhood, William H. Free at- 
tended the public schools of Ohio, his native 
state, and, upon completing his studies, he 
accepted a position in his uncle's store in 
New Lexington, Perry county, Ohio, re- 
maining with him for four years, and thor- 
oughly mastering the principles of the busi- 
ness in the meantime. Then he became an 
employee of his father, subsequently man- 
aging a store for him at Porterville, Ohio, 
for two years. He next went to Canal Win- 
chester, Ohio, where he was employed in a 
store until March, 1888. Since that time, 
when he came to Champaign county, he has 
been engaged in farming in the vicinity of 
Urbana. Illinois, and attends to the cultiva- 
tion of two hundred acres of land. He is 
energetic and business-like in his methods, 
and richly deserves the success he has 
achieved. 

For several years Mr. Free was con- 
nected with the Ohio National Guard, and 
at the time of the riots in Cincinnati, when 
the court-house was burned, in 1882, he 
acted in the capacity of orderly sergeant of 



Company A, of New Lexington, Ohio, un- 
der command of Captain T. J. Smith. The 
soldier-boys were stationed on duty in the 
streets for ten days or more, and suffered 
severely from exposure to the inclement 
weather. Politically, he is an ardent 
Republican, and, following in the footsteps 
of his father, he has neither sought nor de- 
sired public office. Both himself and his 
wife are members of the Court of Honor, of 
Urbana, and are justly popular in the social 
circles of this place. 

The marriage of Mr. Free and Nannie 
E. Myers, of Champaign, was solemnized 
February 22, 1894. She is the only daugh- 
ter of R. H. and Mary H. (Shawhan) 
Myers, and has one brother, Professor 
George W. Myers, of Urbana. He was 
graduated in the University of Illinois in the 
class of '88, and then went to Europe, where 
he spent two years in study and travel, be- 
ing graduated in the University of Munich. 
He chose for a wife, Mary Eva, daughter of 
Judge Sim. The mother of Mrs. Free de- 
parted this life at the age of twenty-two 
years, in February. 1865, and the father, 
who was born March 24, 1833, now resides 
in Hutchinson, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Free 
are members of the Christian church and 
are deeply interested in whatever is calcu- 
lated to uplift humanity. 



JOHN ISAAC GROVES, M. D., a well- 
known and highly respected citizen of 
Champaign, was born in Virginia, Illinois, 
May 2, 1854, and is a son of Rev. Isaac 
Groves, whose sketch appears elsewhere in 
this volume. His father being a minister 
and only remaining a short time in oneplace, 
our subject acquired his education in the 



126 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



various towns where the family were located 
during his boyhood and youth. He first 
entered school at Monticello, Illinois, where 
two years were passed, and from there came 
to Homer, this county, but here he was ill 
and unable to attend school. The family 
next went to Georgetown, Vermilion county, 
and later spent one year in Carmargo, after 
which they located on the father's farm in 
this county. In the fall of 1870 they re- 
moved to Champaign, where our subject 
attended the high school and laterthe Univer- 
sity, but on account of his eyes was unable 
to complete the course at that institution. 
In 1874 he commenced teaching school and 
successfully followed that profession in 
Champaign and Vermilion counties, for two 
years each. In the meantime he commenced 
reading medicine with Dr. Wilson, of 
Hoopeston, and subsequently entered 
Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, from 
which he was graduated in the class of 1880. 
For about two years he was engaged in prac- 
tice at Thorntown, Indiana, and then re- 
moved to Gibson City, Illinois, where during 
the following four years he built up an ex- 
cellent practice. At the end of that time, 
at the urgent request of his father, he re- 
turned to Champaign, believing it is- duty, 
although he could ill afford to abandon his 
practice. He has since had charge of his 
father's farms and estates, and has displayed 
excellent business ability in their manage- 
ment. 

In 1883 the Doctor was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Grace F. Groves (no rel- 
ative), who had engaged in teaching school 
in Danvillle, Rossville and Chicago, and 
who died in 1885. He was again married, 
February 17, 1887, his second union being 
with Miss E. Lynne Burton, of Newcomb 
township, this county, a daughter of W. D. 



and Mary Burton. She was also a school 
teacher prior to her marriage. The Doctor 
and his wife have one child, Evangeline E. 
While engaged in the practice of medi- 
cine Dr. Groves was a member of the Illi- 
nois Homeopathic Medical Society. So- 
cially he is a member of the Modern Wood- 
men of America, and the Knights of Pythias 
Lodge of Gibson City, of which he was chan- 
cellor commander. He is now a member of 
the lodge in Champaign. He is also an act- 
ive and prominent member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church of Champaign; and has 
been assistant superintendent of the Sunday 
school and is trustee of the church; and for 
the past two years has been secretary of the 
board of trustees and financial secretary of 
the church. In manner he is pleasant and 
cordial, which, combined with his sterling 
worth, makes him one of the popular citi- 
zens of Champaign. Politically Mr. Groves 
affiliates with the Prohibition party and has 
been chairman of the township central com- 
mittee for the past five years. 



A RMSTEAD M. FAULEY, an honored 
2\ and highly respected citizen of Urbana, 
Illinois, who is now living a retired life at 
his pleasant home, No. 305 West Green 
street, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, 
September 27, 1830, and is a son of George 
and Mary (Stoneburner) Fauley, also na- 
tives of Ohio. The father was born in 
Muskingum county in 1805, and throughout 
life made his home in the Buckeye state, 
dying there in 1834. He was a farmer by 
occupation and was a prominent member of 
the English Lutheran church. During his 
life the mother was also a member of that 
church, but afterward united with the 
Evangelical church. She was born in 




A. M. FAULEY. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



129 



1815, and died in 1897. By her first mar- 
riage she had two sons: Armstead M., our 
subject; and Edward, who first married a 
Miss Yenser and second a Miss Davis. For 
her second husband the mother married 
Michael Miller, by whom she has seven 
children, namely: Michael, who lives on the 
old homestead in Ohio, where the mother 
spent the greater part of her life; John, a 
banker of Lancaster, Ohio; Maria, who 
married a Mr. Clewell, an editor in Cleve- 
land, Ohio, but is now deceased. Elizabeth, 
wife of Jacob Turner, of Fairfield county, 
Ohio; and Abraham, who died in child- 
hood; David E., a resident of Arcola, Illi- 
nois; and Franklin P., of Iowa. 

Mr. Fauley, whose name introduces this 
sketch, was educated in the public schools 
of his native state. He was engaged in 
general farming and raising blooded stock 
in Ohio until 1857, when he came to Cham- 
paign county, Illinois, and continued in 
that business for some years, making a 
specialty of the breeding of roadsters and 
driving horses. He purchased a farm of 
about two hundred acres in Somer town- 
ship, but later disposed of about sixty 
acres. In September, 1899, he lost his 
house and a large part of its contents by 
fire, and after meeting with that misfortune 
he sold his farm and moved to Urbana, 
where he is now living retired, having prac- 
tically laid aside all business cares. 

On the 9th of April, 1856, Mr. Fauley 
married Miss Sarah E. Leib, also a native 
of Ohio, and a daughter of Joseph and 
Clarissa (Allen) Leib. Her father was born 
near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October i, 
1799, and died in January, 1881, while her 
mother was born in Washington county, 
Ohio, in 1803, and died in 1863. Both 
were active and consistent members of the 



Methodist Episcopal church. Prior to her 
marriage, Mrs. Fauley engaged in teaching 
in the grammar department of the public 
schools of Lancaster, Ohio, and later as a 
teacher in the high school, under Dr. 
Williams, for two years. She is the eldest 
in a family of nine children, the others be- 
ing as follows: (2) Levi H., a member of 
the Second Illinois Cavalry during the Civil 
war, was shot at Bolivar, Tennessee, but 
also shot the rebel who had wounded him. 
He died ten days later, August 23, 1862. 
(3) William, the twin brother of Levi H., 
died at the age of twenty-one years. (4) 
Mary E. married Rev. J. W. Stump, a 
graduate of the Wesleyan College of Ohio, 
and is now a Methodist Episcopal minister 
of Arizona, in which territory he owns one 
thousand acres of land containing rich gold 
and silver mines. They had one son, Ed- 
ward, who was shot at the age of thirty 
years. (5) Louisa Jane married John Reed, 
and both are now deceased. Their daugh- 
ter Alice now lives with our subject and his 
wife in Urbana, and is studying art in the 
Illinois University. Mrs. Fauley promised 
her sister on her deathbed to educate her 
two daughters, which trust she has most 
faithfully fulfilled. She also left a son, who 
is now a telegraph operator at Colorado 
Springs, Colorado. (6) Clarissa A. is the 
wife of C. C. Holton, and now resides in 
Florida. (7) Martha R. married W. H. 
Barber, of Columbus, Ohio, and lives in 
Grove City, that state. (8) Joseph Findley 
married Martha Watts, and is engaged in 
farming and stock raising near Ogden. 
Champaign county, Illinois. (9) Samuel F. 
is married and is now a prominent attorney 
of San Jose, California. The only child 
born to our subject and his wife died in 
early childhood. 



130 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



The Republican party finds in Mr. Fauley 
a stanch supporter, and he has always taken 
an active part in all campaigns. While a 
resident of Somer township he most ac- 
ceptably served as justice of the peace for 
nearly thirty years, as supervisor two years, 
and collector of taxes one year. Any trust 
reposed in him has always been most cap- 
ably and satisfactorily discharged, and he 
has the confidence and respect of all who 
know him. At one time he was a member 
of the Grange, and both he and his wife are 
faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. 



EDWARD BLACKSHAW, D. D. S. This 
worthy citizen of Urbana has been one 
of the leading members of his profession in 
this section of the state for many years, and 
has won a well-deserved reputation for skill 
and general ability. His history is espec- 
ially interesting, and his numerous friends 
throughout this and other states will take 
pleasure in tracing his career. 

His father, Joseph Blackshaw, was a na- 
tive of England, and in his early life he en- 
tered her majesty's service and went to Cey- 
lon. There, in doing some civil engineer- 
ing work, one feature of which was the 
blasting of some rocks, he was injured by an 
explosion, and, in consequence, lost his left 
eye and left arm. Thenceforth the govern- 
ment granted him a pension of fourteen 
shillings a week, and when he had regained 
his general health he obtained a position as 
clerk and paymaster in Whely's iron and 
coal mines in Staffordshire, England. He 
retained that position for thirty years and 
more, and died in 1866, loved and respected 
*for the honorable fight he had made against 
extremely adverse circumstances. He was 



seventy-three years old at the time of his 
death, and his wife, Anna (Hill) Blackshaw, 
was about seventy years of age when she 
was called to the silent land, in 1871. He 
was prominent in the Odd Fellows society, 
at one time being grand secretary of the 
Manchester district of that order. Formerly 
he was connected with the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, and until his death he was an 
earnest Christian man. Of his ten children 
only three survive. Mrs. Sarah Hale, widow 
of Edward Hale, and Mrs. Benjamin Car- 
liss reside in England. The latter's hus- 
band has been employed as an engineer in 
an insane asylum for the past forty years. 

Dr. E. Blackshaw, whose birth took 
place in Staffordshire, England, September 
i, 1831, was well educated in the schools of 
his native land, and when he was in his six- 
teenth year, he commenced learning the 
trade of a taxidermist, that calling being in 
greater demand in the British Isles than it 
is in America. For that reason, he has not 
pursued it to any extent in the United States, 
though he has mounted many fine specimens 
of the birds and beasts native to this land, 
and as recently as 1897 prepared a splendid 
elk. He gave the first instruction in taxid- 
ermy that were ever given at the Univers- 
ity of Illinois, and has not lost his intefest 
in the craft, of which he is an adept. 

In the summer of 1853 Dr. Blackshaw 
came to the hospitable shores of America, 
accompanied by his young wife, with the in- 
tention of founding a home here. Locating 
in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, he commenced 
learning dentistry with Dr. J. R. Coles, and 
in 1858 came to this county. He has been 
longer established in continuous practice 
than any dentist of eastern Illinois, and his 
fame is in no sense local. Whereas, it used 
to be necessary to make a gold or silver 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



plate for false teeth, the Doctor was so for- 
tunate as to successfully insert teeth in a 
rubber plate, and was the first to introduce 
the new idea to the public. Forty years 
ago he made a gold plate for a lady, who is 
still using the same plate and teeth, and a 
gentleman in Urbana has several teeth in 
his mouth which the Doctor filled with gold 
forty years ago. There are two families 
having seven members each, and all of these 
fourteen persons Dr. Blackshaw has furnished 
with two plates of teeth. At present and 
for a long time past, he has been connected 
with the Eastern Illinois Dental Association, 
of which he served as vice-president for one 
year, and besides, he belongs to the Dental 
Protective Association. 

The wife of his youth, who bore the 
maiden name of Elizabeth Jones, was a 
daughter of William and Elizabeth Jones, 
and their marriage was celebrated in April, 
1853. As previously stated the young couple 
came to the United States a few months 
subsequently. Their marriage took place 
in the Edgebastion parish church, which is 
more than one thousand years old. Mrs. 
Blackshaw, who was a devout member of 
the English Episcopal church, died in May, 
1 88 1. The lady who now bears the name 
of the Doctor was formerly Mrs. Mary J. 
Strachan. She is a native of New York, 
and is a daughter of William Morgan, of the 
vicinity of Laurence, New York. In her 
religious convictions, Mrs. Blackshaw is a 
Presbyterian. 

In Masonic circles, the Doctor holds high 
rank and honor. He joined the order soon 
after his arrival in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, 
where he belongedto Fountain lodge No. 27, 
and when he removed to this place, he be- 
came identified with Urbana lodge No. 157, 
F. & A. M. In time he was exalted to the 



august degree of Royal Arch Mason, in 
Champaign Chapter, No. 50, and for four- 
teen years in succession acted as first high 
priest of Urbana Chapter, No. 80. For 
twenty-two years he has been thrice illustri- 
ous master of Urbana Council, No. 19, 
Royal and Select Masters, and for one year 
he was eminent commander in Urbana Com- 
mandery, No. 18, Knights Templar. He 
has represented all of these bodies in the 
Grand bodies and in the Centennial year 
had the honor of being most illustrious 
grand master of the grand council of Royal 
and Select Masters of the State of Illinois. 
In 1889 he went with his commandery to 
Washington, where he participated in the 
competitive drill, and for a number of years 
it was his privilege to be a representative to 
the Grand Council of Louisiana. Thus, 
without further reference to the high honors 
which he has enjoyed and the numerous 
official positions which he has filled with 
rare ability and zeal, it may be seen that he 
is very popular in the Masonic fraternity, 
and that he possesses marked and distinc- 
tive talents as an executive and organizer. 



OIMEON E. WEEKS is serving as justice 
& of the peace in Champaign, a position 
he has filled for a number of years with 
credit to himself and satisfaction to his con- 
stituents. He is thoroughly impartial in 
meting out justice, his opinions being unbi- 
ased by either fear or favor, and his fidelity 
to the trust reposed in him is above ques- 
tion. 

Mr. Weeks was born in Matteawan, 
Dutchess county, New York, on the Hud- 
son river, sixty miles above New York City, 
September 4, 1837, and is a son of William 



132 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and Wealthy (Rich) Weeks. The maternal 
grandfather was Captain John Rich, a sea 
captain who was lost at sea, and a repre- 
sentative of an old Massachussetts family 
from Roxbury, that state. The father of 
our subject was born in Litchfield county, 
Connecticut, June 14, 1783, and was reared 
in that state. In early manhood he went 
to Westchester county, New York, where 
he was married, and then located in Dutch- 
ess county, where he was employed in the 
cotton factories for many years. In April, 
1855, he came to Bloomington, Illinois, 
and engaged in farming in McLean county 
until 1 86 1, when he moved to Missouri and 
purchased land there, but after farming in 
that state for one year he returned to Illi- 
nois and took up his residence in Fulton 
county, where he died in March, 1869. 
His wife had passed away December 15, 
1868. In early life he was a Democrat, 
but joined the Republican party on its or- 
ganization in 1856. Religiously he was a 
consistent member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. 

The subject of this sketch received a 
good practical education in the schools of 
Matteawan, New York, and then learned 
the trade of a bricklayer. He located in 
Bloomington, Illinois, in 1855, just after 
the completion of the Alton Railroad 
through that city and when the place con- 
tained only five thousand inhabitants. 
There he engaged in the manufacture of 
brick until after the Civil war broke out, 
when he enlisted in Company A, Ninety- 
fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was 
under the command of Colonel W. W. 
Orme at first, but most of the time under 
General John McNulta. Going to Missouri 
with his regiment, he was first in battle at 
Prairie Grove, December 7, 1862, and was 



there wounded. He was in active service 
in Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennes- 
see, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Ala- 
bama, and participated in all of the battles 
and skirmishes in which his command took 
part. After three years of faithful and 
arduous service, he was mustered out at 
Galveston, Texas, July 17, 1865, and re- 
turned to Bloomington. He was interested 
in the brick business in that city until No- 
vember 8, 1874, when he took up his resi- 
dence in Champaign, and here he has since 
made his home. In 1879 he opened a 
brickyard of his own east of Champaign 
and north of Urbana, and gave employ- 
ment to about sixty-five men, his pay roll 
averaging three hundred and seventy-five 
dollars per week. He was engaged in that 
business until 1883, and, as a contractor, 
laid the brick for many of the buildings in 
the city until April, 1893, doing as large a 
business in that line as any man in the 
place. Being in poor health, he has since 
given his whole attention to his official 
duties. 

Mr. Weeks has been thrice married, his 
first wife being Miss Margaret Stevenson, of 
Bloomington, who died leaving one child, 
James W., now of Elizabethton, Tennessee, 
who was a major of the Third Tennessee 
Regiment during the Spanish-American war. 
March i,-i866, he married Miss Kittie Ames, 
who died December 15, 1872. On the 24th 
of October, 1874, Mr. Weeks married Miss 
Fannie Ames, a sister of Kittie Ames, and 
daughter of Richard Ames, of Bloomington, 
and granddaughter of Fisher Ames, a 
member of the first United States Con- 
gress, and a noted orator who delivered the 
funeral orations of Washington, Adams and 
Jefferson. Mr. and Mrs. Weeks have one 
child, Algernon S., now a member of the 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



133 



bar of this county. The home of the fam- 
ily is at No. 305 East University avenue. 
While engaged in business Mr. Weeks 
served as alderman of Champaign for three 
terms, during which time the first paving 
was done in the city, and the water works 
and electric light put in, making a marked 
change in the city. Although a Republican, 
he was elected to that high office from a 
Democratic ward, a fact which indicates his 
personal popularity and the confidence and 
trust reposed in him by his fellow-citizens. 
In 1893 he was elected justice of the peace; 
was re-elected in 1897, and is still holding 
that office, his present term not expiring 
until 1901. His decisions have been sus- 
tained in most of his cases when appealed 
to the higher courts, and for three years 
did more business than any other justice of 
the peace in the city, having as high as 
fifty-three cases in one day. He is past 
grand of the Odd Fellows Lodge, No. 333, 
and past commander of Colonel Nodine 
Post, No. 140, G. A. R. ; is a prominent 
member of both orders; and has been a del- 
egate to the State and National Encamp- 
ments of the Grand Army. 



REV. S. K. REED, a retired Methodist 
Episcopal minister living on North 
State street, Champaign, was born in 
Martinsburg, Berkley county, West Virginia, 
May 22, 1803, a son of William and Mary 
(Karr) Reed. The father was also a minister 
of the Methodist Episcopal church. He 
was a native of Ireland and during his resi- 
dence in this country made his home in 
Martinsburg. Before he attained his ma- 
jority he entered the Continental army dur- 
ing the Revolutionary war, but his father 
bought him out. 



Our subject attended the public schools 
of Martinsburg and also a small college 
there, but the greater part of his education 
was acquired by reading and study at home. 
In early life he engaged in merchandising 
until 1826, when he waslicensed to preach. 
As one of the old style circuit riders he 
traveled all over that section of the country, 
but never accepted any regular pastorate. 
In 1828 he went to Winchester, West 
Virginia, where he married Miss Mary E. 
Grinshaw. There he bought out a man who 
kept a carpet store and engaged in weaving 
and continued to reside at that place for ten 
years, during which time he lost his wife 
and three children. 

Mr. Reed next went to Kentucky, where 
his brother, James Reed, was a presiding 
elder of the Methodist Episcopal church and 
was a minister under him for a time, but on 
account of the slavery agitation he left that 
State and went to Ohio, where he spent 
eight years. He joined the Northern Ohio 
Conference, and was first stationed at Lima, 
Ohio. In 1849 he was united in marriage 
with Mary C. Magee, a daughter of George 
W.Magee, of Tarlton.Picka way county, Ohio. 
For many years shesuccessfully carried on the 
tailoring business, and has been connected 
with the best firms in that line in Cham- 
paign. Mr. and Mrs. Reed had three chil- 
dren: John W., who was a dentist of Paxton, 
Illinois, for fifteen years, and died August 
24, 1898; Alice O., wife of D. Wilmot 
Rankin, of Roseland; and Flora M., at 
home. 

In the fall of 1860 Mr. Reed came from 
Ohio to Champaign and brought with him 
fine recommendations, but they were lost 
by the elder before they were presented to 
the conference. He engaged in preaching 
under the elder for about three years, 



134 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



traveling over a circuit where now may be 
found many good churches. His health 
then failed and he was obliged to give up 
that work, and for a time filled different 
appointments. Since attaining his ninetieth 
year he has preached but little with the 
exception of funeral sermons, and is now 
practically living retired; though he still 
marries many couples who come to his 
house. He has labored long and earnestly 
in the Master's cause, and has ever sup- 
ported those interests which are calculated 
to uplift and benefit humanity, while his own 
high moral worth is deserving of the high- 
est commendation. 



f>EORGE W. HUBBARD, of the firm 
V-J of Hubbard & Sons, of Urbana, is one 
of the leading citizens of this county. By 
his business influence and foresight he has 
done much to advance the interests of this 
locality, and the loyal, patriotic spirit he 
ever has manifested makes him very popu- 
lar with all classes, regardless of politics. 

Mr. Hubbard is a native of Middlesex 
county, Connecticut, his birth having oc- 
curred in the town of Durham, June 25, 
1853. He is a son of Thomas S. and Jane 
E. (Woodruff) Hubbard, who likewise were 
natives of Connecticut. The former came 
to Urbana in 1854, and in 1860 established 
a hardware store, the first of the kind in the 
pla^e. 

The education of George W. Hubbard 
was chiefly obtained in the schools of this 
county, and in the University of Illinois. 
He was one of the first students enrolled in 
that institution, and at the time he left he 
lacked but a few months of completing the 
regular course. As early as 1869, he be- 



came a clerk in his father's hardware store, 
and for more than thirty years has been con- 
nected with the business. In June, 1874, 
he was admitted to the firm of Hubbard & 
Sons, comprising Thomas S., Harry T. and 
himself. This firm, which is one of the old- 
est of this line of business in the county, 
handles a large share of the hardware trade 
of this section of the state, and its reputa- 
tion for square-dealing and enterprise is 
highly creditable. 

In 1885 George W. Hubbard was hon- 
ored by election to the responsible office of 
city treasurer, in which capacity he acted 
for two years. Then he was chosen as a 
member of the city council, and acted in 
that honorable body from 1890 to 1895. I n 
the last-mentioned year, he was elected 
mayor on the Republican ticket, and at the 
end of two terms spent in that important 
office retired to private life. While he was 
mayor, many improvements were made in 
the streets and sidewalks, and the stone 
arched bridge at the west end of Main street 
was built. He was chairman of the com- 
mittee that had charge of putting in the 
present sewerage system. The question of 
whether the shops of the Big Four Railroad 
Company should be located here came up 
for consideration during Mr. Hubbard's term 
as mayor, and it was due largely to his influ- 
ence and able management Urbana owes 
the result, which is highly satisfactory. He 
was made treasurer of the fund raised as an 
inducement to the company to build shops 
here, and handed over to them thirty-five 
thousand dollars, besides sixty-five acres 
of land which patriotic citizens had con- 
tributed. 

On the roth of September, 1874, Mr. 
Hubbard married Edna P. Post, of Crom- 
well, Connecticut. She is the elder of the 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



'35 



two children of Eben W. and Mary (Stick- 
ney) Post, who, likewise, were born in Con- 
necticut. Her brother Charles is deceased. 
Of the eight children born to our subject 
and wife the eldest, Willie, died when three 
months old, and Fred P., born May 28, 
1891, died July 13, 1899. George Wallace, 
the eldest living child, is a graduate of the 
engineering department of the University of 
Illinois, and now is in the employ of the 
Murphy Iron Works, of Detroit, Michigan. 
May W., who was graduated in the Urbana 
high school, is now pursuing a course in 
music in the university. Jennie is a mem- 
ber of the junior class of the Urbana high 
school. Julia and Ernest T. are attending 
school. Charlie died at the age of one 
month. The parents and the older children 
are members of the Presbyterian church, 
and are held in high esteem in the social 
circles of this city. 



HTHOMAS J. PATTENGALE, an honored 
1 and highly respected citizen of Cham-v 
paign, who is now serving as supervisor, was 
born in Porter township, Sciota county, 
Ohio, September i, 1843, a son of Stephen 
and Lydia (Beloat) Pattengale. The father, 
a native of New York, went to Ohio when 
a young man and made his first purchase of 
land just across the river in Kentucky, upon 
which he located in 1851. As his children 
grew up, he returned to Sciota county to 
educate them and bought a farm there. In 
politics he was first a Whig and later a Re- 
publican, and during his residence in Ohio, 
he served as township trustee for many years. 
His wife was born and reared in Sciota 
county. Coming to Illinois, in 1864, the 
father purchased a farm in Montgomery 



county and another in Christian county, near 
Pana, and upon the latter he continued to 
engage in agricultural pursuits until his death, 
which occurred in 1882. The mother of our 
subject also died there September 8, 1867. 
Both were consistent and faithful members 
of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Mr. Pattengale, of this review, is in- 
debted to the public schools of his 'native 
state for his educational advantages. After 
the breaking out of the Civil war, he enlisted 
several times, but was always rejected on 
account of being small in stature, until 1864, 
when he was finally accepted and became a 
member of Company M, Seventh Ohio Cav- 
alry, which was assigned to the Army of the 
Cumberland. He saw a great deal of hard 
fighting, was in the Atlanta campaign, and 
then returned to Nashville to meet Hood. 
After that engagement the command went 
on the Wilson raid, and when near Ander- 
sonville prison were met by a flag of truce, 
after which they returned to Nashville, where 
they were mustered out July 3, 1865, after 
sixteen months of arduous and faithful 
service. 

On his return home, Mr. Pattengale en- 
gaged in farming in Montgomery county, 
where he made his home for twenty-seven 
years, and where he still owns a fine farm 
of one hundred and eighty-two acres under 
a high state of cultivation and improved with 
good and substantial buildings. He suc- 
cessfully followed general farming and stock 
raising until 1892, when he removed to 
Champaign, and embarked in the flour and 
feed business, which after carrying on four 
years he sold to his sons, who now conduct 
it under the firm name of Pattengale Broth- 
ers. The brick building on University 
avenue occupied by them was purchased 
February i, 1899. For the past three years 



136 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Pattengale has lived retired from active 
labor, enjoying a well-earned rest and the 
comfortable competence secured by former 
toil. In 1 892 he erected a comfortable resi- 
dence on East Springfield avenue, where he 
expects to spend his remaining years. 

On the 3Oth of November, 1865, Mr. 
Pattengale married Miss Maria Cable, also a 
native of Sciota county, Ohio, and they have 
three sons: Stephen M., now a member of 
the firm of Pattengale Brothers, was well 
educated and successfully engaged in teach- 
ing school for some years; John K., a resi- 
dent of Champaign, was a member of Com- 
pany M, Fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, 
during our recent war with Spain, and went 
to Cuba with his regiment; Carl is the junior 
member of the firm of Pattengale Brothers 
and resides at home. The family attend 
and support the Methodist Episcopal church. 

While a resident of Montgomery county 
our subject took quite an active and promi- 
nent part in local politics; was a delegate to 
the different conventions of the Republican 
party, and was central committeeman in his 
township for fifteen years. He was census 
enumerator in 1890, and also served as 
supervisor five years, and as assessor, being 
elected to those offices in a Democratic 
township, which fact speaks highly as to his 
standing in the community. He was a 
prominent and influential member of Cun- 
ningham Post, No. 236, G. A. R., of Noko- 
mis, of which he was adjutant and com- 
mander, and which he represented in the 
department commandery of the state. He 
is now an honored member of Colonel 
Nodine Post, of Champaign and has served 
as its adjutant for two years. In the fall of 
1898 he was appointed supervisor to fill a 
vacancy, and the following spring was elected 
to that office for a term of two years, being 



at present a member of the election and 
finance committees, the latter being quite 
important at the present time, as the new 
court house is in course of construction. He 
is a man of recognized ability, public- 
spirited and enterprising and takes a deep 
and commendable interest in everything 
calculated to prove of public benefit or will 
in any way advance the welfare of his. city 
and county. 



AUGUST PFISTERER. This well- 
known resident of Urbana is one of 
the leading German-American citizens of 
Champaign county, and in his successful 
business career he has shown the character- 
istic thrift and enterprise of his race. Be- 
ginning with no capital except that ac- 
quired by his own industry, he has suc- 
ceeded in accumulating a handsome prop- 
erty and is now practically living retired at 
his beautiful home No. 907 West Green 
street. 

Mr. Pfisterer was born and reared in 
Smieden, near Stutgart, Germany, August 
! 7. J 833. His parents, Philip and Catherine 
(Mueller) Pfisterer, spent their entire lives 
as farming people in Smieden. The father 
was a soldier in the war against France in 
1790, and a medal received for. bravery in 
that struggle is now in possession of our 
subject. 

Mr. Pfisterer received a good practical 
education in the schools of his native land, 
and remained under the parental roof until 
about twenty years of age, when he decided 
to come to America to avoid military ser- 
vice, as he was old enough to enter the army 
at that time. Accordingly on the i$th of 
June, 1853, he left home a day long to be 
remembered by him, as he did not know 




AUGUST 1'FISTERER. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



139 



whether he would ever see his parents again, 
and he did not return to his native land 
until after their deaths. On reaching this 
country he spent three months in Cincin- 
nati, Ohio, where he had a brother living, 
and where he worked for a butcher. He 
then came to Champaign county, Illinois, 
where another brother made his home, and 
found employment with B. F. Harris, liv- 
ing twelve miles west of Urbana, feeding 
cattle the first winter. Not knowing the 
English language he did not. like his new 
home at first. For three months he re- 
ceived fifteen dollars per month and after 
that thirty dollars. He remained with Mr. 
Harris until after his marriage to Christina 
Wise, also a native of Germany, and then 
operated that gentleman's farm for a num- 
ber of years, during which time he saved 
money and accumulated some stock. Sub- 
sequently he lived upon an adjoining farm 
for three years, and at the end of that time 
purchased ninety acres of land from Mr. 
Harris a mile and a half southwest of Ma- 
homet, upon which was a good log house; 
that in later years he replaced by a resi- 
dence costing three thousand dollars. He 
also built a granary and other buildings 
after he had finished paying for his land. 

Mrs. Pfisterer, who for twenty-two years 
had traveled life's journey with her husband 
and had proved a faithful helpmeet to him, 
died in 1876, leaving six children: John 
W. and Charles William, both farmers of 
this county; Jacob Oscar, also a farmer, 
who died three years ago; Frank F. , a 
farmer of this county; Rose E., wife of 
Oscar Wright; and Susan, wife of James 
Ospen, of Iowa. Mr. Pfisterer was again 
married in 1878, his second union being with 
Mrs. Julia A. Latshaw, who died in March, 
1883. On the 2nd of October, 1885, he 



married Mrs. Almira Jane (Cox) lunrich, 
widow of Jacob lunrich, a brother of our 
subject's second wife. She was born in 
Perry county, Pennsylvania, and belongs 
to an old and highly respected family of 
that state, her father being Colonel William 
Cox, commander of a regiment in the state 
militia, and a prominent business man of 
Perry county. Her grandfather represented 
his district in the state Legislature for sev- 
eral terms. 

As his financial resources increased, Mr. 
Pfisterer added to his farm until it com- 
prises two hundred and fifty acres, which he 
still owns, and also purchased a farm of one 
hundred and twenty acres near Staley, but 
has now practically divided his property 
with his children. In 1881 he purchased a 
residence in Champaign and removed to 
that place, but after the death of his second 
wife he returned to his farm, remaining 
there two years. When he was again mar- 
ried, he bought a farm near his wife's old 
home in Pennsylvania, but not liking the 
location he sold out at the end of two years 
and returned to this county. Here he pur- 
chased more land, so that he had a half 
section in Mahomet township, as well as 
another one hundred and sixty acres in the 
same township, and there successfully en- 
gaged in farming and stock raising for three 
or four years. He then returned to Cham- 
paign, where he still owns a house, one 
block west of the University, but a year and 
a half later he sold that place, and bought 
his present beautiful home on West Green 
street, Urbana, one of the choicest locations 
in the city. He has always endeavored to 
buy property where it could be sold advan- 
tageously. At present he is not actively en- 
gaged in any occupation though he continues 
to look after his property interests. 



140 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Politically Mr. Pfisterer is a stanch sup- 
porter of the Republican party, and has 
held several local offices, serving as school 
director for many years. He is a member 
of the Masonic Order, and was also con- 
nected with the Odd Fellows Lodge at Ma- 
homet until it broke up, and he is still hold- 
ing a certificate. Both he and his wife are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church 
and are held in high regard by all who have 
the pleasure of their acquaintance. 



JACOB F. HERBSTRIET. One of the 
upright, enterprising young business 
men of Urbana is he of whom this sketch 
is penned. By diligence and strict atten- 
tion to the needs and wishes of his cus- 
tomers he has won the favor of the public, 
and rarely, if ever, finds any leisure time upon 
his hands of late years. Public spirited and 
progressive, he takes great interest in the 
prosperity of this community, and performs 
his full share towards the common welfare. 
Though he is a native of Germany, his 
birth having occurred in the town of Wit- 
landsweiler, Wurtemburg, August 26, 1864, 
he was so young when he came to the 
United States that he is, to all intents and 
purposes, an American. With his two sis- 
ters, Caroline and Maggie, he accompanied 
their parents, Jacob Frederick and Anna 
Herbstriet, to the hospitable shores of this 
fair land some thirty years ago, three weeks 
being spent in making the voyage. An 
uncle of our subject, Matthew Herbstriet, 
had crossed the Atlantic previously, and an 
aunt, Mary, who became the wife of Fred 
Sweitzer, in Cincinnati, Ohio, also had 
come to America. Anna, widow of Fred 
Kinzel, who died November 28, 1899, 



aged sixty years, resides in Mattoon, Illi- 
nois; Effie, who married John Ross, of Ur- 
bana, died in 1888, and Mrs. Sanborn 
died in Missouri. Several of the brothers 
and sisters of our subject's mother reside 
in Germany, but none live in this country. 
Mrs. Anna Herbstriet departed this life 
about five years subsequent to the arrival of 
the family in the United States. 

Of the seven children born to Jacob 
Frederick and Anna Herbstriet all but two 
have passed to the better land. Maggie, 
wife of James Vaughn, resides on Sixth 
street, Champaign, Illinois. Caroline, 
who was born in 1861, and died in 1892, 
was the wife of Ryman Herbe, and left 
five children to mourn her loss. Effie died 
in Germany with the small pox, which dis- 
ease the father also had, and the other 
members of the family suffered from it in 
its lightest form. Fred and Frank, twins, 
did not outlive babyhood, the latter being 
about two years old at the time of his 
death. Annie, the youngest child, died 
when in her twenty-second year, in 1893. 

From the time of his arrival in Illinois, in 
1870, until 1879, J. F. Herbstriet lived with 
his relatives in Champaign, attending the 
common schools and making thorough prep- 
aration for the more serious duties of life. 
Beginning to work at the trade of a tailor in 
the year last-mentioned, he found employ- 
ment for several years with John Ross, of 
Urbana, and about nine years ago he em- 
barked in business here independently. He 
has been located at his present commodious 
quarters in the Masonic building, on Main 
street, from the beginning, and, as the 
workmanship and style of all clothing or- 
dered of him is excellent, and gives a high 
degree of satisfaction to all of his patrons,. 
he commands a large and lucrative trade. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



141 



The marriage of Mr. Herbstriet and 
Miss Josephine Hill was celebrated April 16, 
1885. Her father, William Hill, who died 
in 1894, at the advanced age of eighty-two 
years, was a native of Ohio, and was one of 
the old and honored pioneers of Urbana, his 
residence here extending over a period of 
thirty-five years. His wife, whose maiden 
name was Elizabeth Simmers, is still living 
at their old home on South Vine street. 
Mrs. Herbstriet is one of eight children, 
namely: William, Jesse, Joseph, Thomp- 
son, John, who was drowned in the Oswego 
river; Josephine, Carrie, and Alice, who 
died in 1882, aged fourteen years. Joseph 
is married, and is carrying on a farm in 
Woodbury county, Iowa. The half-brother 
of Mrs. Herbstriet is deceased. The only 
child of our subject and wife is Jean, a 
bright little girl of ten years. Mrs. Herb- 
striet has ably assisted her husband in his 
business during the past nine years. 

In political affairs, Mr. Herbstriet is a 
Republican, and fraternally, he is a mem- 
ber of the Masonic order and belongs to the 
Modern Woodmen of America. He de- 
serves great credit for the success which he 
has achieved, for it is founded upon true 
merit and correct business principles. 



OOBERT ABERNATHY, a well-known 
1 V carriage and sign painter of Champaign, 
who has made his home in that city since 
the spring of 1879, was born in Jennings 
township, Fayette county, Indiana, May 10. 
1846, and is a son of James and Susanna 
(Burk) Abernathy. The father was a native 
of Dunlapville, Union county, Indiana, and 
a son of Robert Abernathy, who about 
1800 removed from South Carolina to Indi- 



ana, the state at that time being an unbroken 
wilderness inhabitated only by the red men 
and a very few white settlers, for whose 
protection a block house had been built near 
the present site of Dunlapville. There he 
took up land and continued to make his 
home throughout life, but his death occurred 
in Fayette county, Indiana. He was of 
Scotch descent. The father of our subject 
grew to manhood in his native county, and 
at an early day entered one hundred and 
sixty acres of land in Hancock county, Indi- 
ana, which he proved up and continued to 
own until a short time before his death. 
From his father he also received a farm of 
one hundred and sixty acres in Fayette 
county, and upon that place he lived. He 
was a member of the old state militia, and 
both he and his wife were earnest and con- 
sistent members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. She was born and reared in Ohio, 
and was a daughter of John Burk, who later 
moved with his family to Indiana. Our 
subject's father died in March, 1867, and 
the mother in February, 1882. 

Mr. Abernathy, whose name introduces 
this sketch, passed his boyhood and youth 
on the home farm and obtained his educa- 
tion in the schools of the neighborhood. 
He was married, November 25, 1865, to 
Miss Tabitha Finnell, and about two years 
later came to this county, locating in Cham- 
paign township, six miles southwest of the 
city of Champaign, where he owned a farm 
of eighty acres and engaged in general farm- 
ing and stock-raising for some time. There 
his wife died, August 4, 1874, leaving three 
sons: William Arthur, who is mentioned be- 
low; James Madison, who assists his father 
in business; and Walter M., of Champaign. 

After the death of his wife, Mr. Aber- 
nathy stopped farming and traded his farm 



142 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



for property on East University avenue, be- 
tween First and Second streets, Champaign, 
consisting of two lots, upon one of which 
he erected a residence, the other a shop. 
Here he has since successfully engaged 
in carriage and sign painting, his work 
displaying considerable artistic taste, and 
gaining for him a worthy reputation in that 
line. He now has the oldest exclusive car- 
riage shop in the city, and he and his son 
are kept constantly busy to meet the de- 
mands of their trade. In his political affili- 
ations he is a Democrat. 

On the 25th of September, 1884, Mr. 
Abernathy was again married, his second 
union being with Miss Susan Conwell, of 
Champaign, also a native of Indiana. She 
was reared in Richmond, that state, and 
came to Colfax, Illinois, with her father, 
Robert Conwell, the same year that our sub- 
ject located here. They have one child, 
Leola Frances. Mrs. Abernathy is a most 
estimable woman and a member of the 
Christian church. 

ARTHUR W. ABERNATHY, proprietor of 
the Abernathy studio of Champaign, which 
is one of the best studios in this part of 
the state, was born in Rushville, Indiana, 
August 29, 1866, and was only two years old 
when brought by his parents to this county. 
After completing his education in the com- 
mon and high schools of Champaign, he 
entered the studio of Mr. Holland in 1882, 
at the age of fifteen years, to learn the art 
of photography, and spent three years with 
him. Subsequently he worked in different 
galleries here and in other cities, and then 
started in business for himself in Champaign. 
Later he had an interest in galleries outside 
of the city, but carried on business here in 
partnership with F. W. Stafford until their 
studio was destroyed by fire January 6, 



1899. Since then Mr. Abernathy has been 
alone, and on the completion of the new 
building opened his present gallery on the 
ground floor, which was planned especially 
for him and is one of the finest studios in 
the central part of the state, being ninety 
feet long and supplied with all conveniences. 
Mr. Abernathy is certainly master of the art 
to which he devotes his talents, and has met 
with most gratifying success. On the I2th 
of March, 1891, he was united in marriage 
with Miss Mary E. Skelly, of Pekin, Illi- 
nois. Both are members of the Christian 
church, and he also belongs to the Modern 
Woodmen of America, the Red Men and 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
having passed all the chairs in the subordi- 
nate lodge of the last named fraternity. 



REV. WILLIAM SUESSMITH, pas- 
tor of St. Peter's United Evangel- 
ical church, of Champaign, was born in 
Darmstadt, Germany, October 28, 1869, a 
son of Adam and Elizabeth Suessmith, who 
have always made their home in Darmstadt. 
The father was a civil engineer in the em- 
ploy of the government and had oversight 
of all the engineering in his division, which 
is similar to our counties, this including rail- 
roads and all. 

During his boyhood Rev. Suessmith 
pursued his studies in the colleges of his 
native land. At the age of fifteen years he 
came alone to the United States, landing in 
New York, in 1884, and he spent some time 
in the office of his uncle, a physician of that 
city. He then entered Berea College 
(Ohio), remaining there within one year of 
graduation, and next became a student in 
the Theological Seminary of the Evangel- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



143 



ical Synod of North America, where he 
pursued the full course and was graduated 
with the class of 1895. He was then or- 
dained and accepted his first charge at 
Houston, Texas, as pastor of the First 
Evangelical Lutheran church of that city. 
He next went to Warrenton, that state, 
where he renovated the church and built a 
school in the parish, but on account of his 
health he had to leave Texas, the climate 
not agreeing with him. In August, 1899, 
he came to Champaign and accepted the 
pastorate of St. Peter's Evangelical church. 
This church has a membership of over 
one hundred families and is the largest Ger- 
man church in the county. The congrega- 
tion was organized in 1864 and the first 
clergyman was Rev. I. M. Harthman, the 
missionary for this district, but the first res- 
ident pastor was Rev. Julius Schumm, who 
remained here three years and nine months, 
leaving July 11, 1869. During this time 
the first church was built and dedicated on 
the last day of December, 1865. Rev. 
Schumm was succeeded by Rev. N. R. 
Buehler, and was pastor two years, and in 
turn was succeeded by Rev. John Andres, 
who remained until 1873. The next pastor 
was Rev. H. Strehlow, who was in charge 
of the work here for the long period of 
twenty-two years, or until 1895, and it was 
during his pastorate that arrangements were 
made to build the new church, but it was 
not started until after the arrival of Rev. 
Frederick Werhahn, from December, 1895, 
to April, 1898. This brick edifice, on the 
corner of University avenue and Fourth 
street, was dedicated in 1896. It was built 
at a cost of about twenty-five thousand dol- 
lars, and has a seating capacity of nine hun- 
dred. The parsonage, which adjoins the 
church, was purchased in 1890. There is 



also a parochial school with W. Rathmann 
as teacher, who is also organist in the church, 
which is supplied with a fine new pipe organ. 
This school is under the supervision of the 
pastor, and has forty pupils in attendance. 
The church has increased in membership 
quite rapidly, especially in the last three or 
four years, and is one of the most success- 
ful in the county. The Ladies Society, at 
their tenth anniversary in July, 1899, had 
sixty members, while the Young People's 
Society has forty-five members. The latter 
bought the organ for the church in 1899, 
and the three bells in 1896. Through the 
efforts of Rev. Suessmith several interior im- 
provements have already been made in the 
church, and he is doing an excellent work 
in the community. Broad in his views and 
sympathies, a friend of the poor and op- 
pressed, ever ready with helpful counsel for 
the perplexed or sorrowful, he has a wide 
field for labor and well does he discharge its 
arduous and sacred duties. He is a mem- 
ber of the Evangelical Synod of North 
America. 

On the 5th of December, 1895, Rev. 
Suessmith was united in marriage to Miss 
Amelia Eschenbach, who was born in Han- 
over, Germany, and was given an excellent 
education, her uncle being a college pro- 
fessor in Verden, Hanover. She is also a 
fine musician and a most estimable lady. 



JOHN REIMUND, deceased, was one of 
the prominent and most highly respected 
citizens of Urbana for many years, and, 
though about eighteen years, with note- 
worthy changes, have passed since he was 
summoned to his reward, the memory of his 
noble life and sterling virtues is undimmed 



.144 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in the minds of the hosts of sincere 
friends to whom he had endeared himself. 

Born in Bedford, Pennsylvania, January 
24, 1821, he was a son of Solomon and 
Elizabeth (Hessheizer) Reimund, likewise 
natives of the Keystone state. The father, 
who died about 1872, when eighty-one years 
of age, was a manufacturer and dealer in 
furniture, and was favorably known in Bed- 
ford, where he made his home for almost a 
life-time. He was an earnest member of 
the Lutheran church, and led the choir for 
a long time. His wife also was a devoted 
member of the church, and their home was 
noted for hospitality and good cheer. She 
departed this life in 1852, loved and mourned 
by everyone who knew her. Their eldest 
child, Mary, first married William Weisel, 
whose death occurred about a year subse- 
quently. His widow later became the wife 
of Henry Nicodemus, who survives her. 
She died when in her sixty-third year, and 
her husband now is approaching his nine- 
tieth year. Of their five children John and 
Mary are unmarried, and the others are 
William, whose wife, formerly Julia Reed, 
is deceased; Ellen, wife of Harry Harclay; 
and Frank. Henry, youngest child of Solo- 
mon Reimund, makes his home in Beatrice, 
Nebraska. He was married, in Bedford, 
Pennsylvania, to Mary Ann Ridebaugh, and 
three sons were born to them, namely; Am- 
brose, William and Alfonzo. . , 

John Reimund, whose name heads this 
sketch, was educated in the Lutheran schools 
at Bedford, and when he had completed his 
studies he commenced learning the jeweler's 
trade. He was thus employed for about six 
years, one year being in the employ of his 
brother-in-law, Mr. Weisel. Going to 
Hagerstown, Maryland, the young man was 
there engaged in business for four years, 



after which he returned to his native place 
and continued to conduct a jewelry store on 
his own account until 1853. At that time 
he located in Princeton, Illinois, and three 
years later he went to Wabasha, Minnesota, 
where he pre-empted a claim, and fulfilled 
the conditions of the law in regard to the 
property. At Red Wing, in the same state, 
he was employed at his trade until August 
1 8, 1862, when, he offered his services to his 
stricken country. 

Then, as we all know, were the days 
that "tried men's souls," and for three 
years John Reimund was ever found at the 
post of duty, though how often did his 
thoughts return to the happy little family 
he had left in the north, and who he was 
not to see for the entire period of his army 
life. He had enlisted in Company F, Sixth 
Regiment of Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, 
and from October, 1862, until the following 
fall, his regiment was kept in the home 
state, guarding the settlers from threatened 
Indian outbreaks. During the winter of 
1864 Mr. Reimund was kept on guard duty, 
having charge of prisoners, and then was 
sent to Helena, Arkansas, on that rigorous 
campaign, where great numbers of his com- 
rades died of illness contracted in camp. At 
the time of Lincoln's second election, he 
was stationed at the St. Louis barracks, 
and voted for the great American who was 
so soon to fall by the hand of an assassin, and 
here it may be stated that our subject always 
was a loyal advocate of the Republican 
party. He took part in the military opera- 
tions around New Orleans and participated 
in the last battle of the war. At Ft. Ridgely, 
in Minnesota, his regiment was disbanded, 
and in August, 1865, just three years from 
the date of his enlistment, he was granted 
an honorable discharge from the army. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



145 



Imagine the happy re-union of John 
Reimund and his family, who for three 
dreadful years of anxiety and suffering had 
been separated. The brave wife, whose 
part had been no less difficult than his own, 
had returned to Bedford with their five chil- 
dren, and had nobly performed her duties. 
Now she tenderly cared for her husband for 
nearly a year, as his health was broken 
down in the arduous campaigns of the south- 
west. In December, 1866, the family re- 
moved to Urbana, where Mr. Reimund's 
brother Henry was a resident. Buying the 
stock and good will of his sister's husband, 
Mr. Ridebiugh, our subject continued to 
carry on the business here until his death, 
which occurred June 5, 1882. He had won 
the respect of the people of Urbana, and had 
identified himself with all of their interests. 
For a number of years he served as steward 
in the Methodist Episcopal church, besides 
being chorister for a long period, and a 
teacher and leader of the singing in the Sun- 
day-school. 

The marriage of John Reimund and Re- 
becca Nawgel took place March 29, 1849. 
Her ancestors were numbered among the 
old and honored pioneers of Bedford county, 
and to-day she has some documents in her 
possession which were written there one 
hundred and three years ago, and yet are 
well preserved. Her grandfather, Anthony 
Nawgel, came from Baden, Germany, and 
was one of the first treasurers of Bedford 
county. He married Sarah Faust. Her fa- 
ther, Frederick Nawgel, who. was born Jan- 
uary 1 8, 1791, and died May 15, 1880, was 
a prosperous farmer, owning upwards of 
seven hundred acres of valuable land. He 
was very prominent in the Lutheran church, 
and besides being an elder until late in life 
he served as superintendent of the Sunday- 



school for a score of years. His wife, whose 
maiden name was Eva Ott (and who was a 
daughter of Michael Ott) was born May 8, 
1795, afi d died May 15, 1863. She, too, 
was a zealous church member, and carried 
her religious faith into her every-day life. 
Her two eldest children, Anthony and Phoebe, 
died in infancy. Michael, born in June, 
1819, died in 1897. He married Maria 
Horn, now deceased, and several children 
blessed their union. Sarah, born October 
15, 1821, became the wife of the Rev. P. P. 
Lane, and the mother of ten children. Both 
parents and seven of their children have 
passed to the better land. Elizabeth, de- 
ceased, was the wife of George Logan, and 
three of their children survive. Frederick, 
now seventy-five years of age, married Hen- 
rietta Cavendish in his youth, and of their 
large family seven survive. Anna, widow 
of David Coffman, of St. Louis, Missouri, 
has four living children. 

Mrs. Rebecca Reimund was born and 
reared in Bedford, Pennsylvania, the date of 
her birth being January 5, 1831. By her 
marriage she became the mother of seven 
children, one of whom is in the silent land. 
Her daughter, Levanda, lives with her, and 
her youngest child, Solomon J., a confec- 
tioner, has a store in Urbana, in one wing 
of his mother's house on Main street. Fred- 
erick B., a jeweler by trade, resides in Iowa. 
George A., whose home is in Sullivan, Illi- 
nois, married Agnes Bushman, and has one 
child, Grace A. Wilbur O., of Lawrence- 
ville, Illinois, and a tobacconist by occupa- 
tion, married Gertrude Ingersoll, and has 
one child, Harold R. Clara, wife of J. L. 
Charni, of Crawfordsville, Indiana, has four 
children, Guy, Dean, Hazel and Fred. Al- 
meron A., the third child of Mr. and Mrs. 
Reimund, died at the age of three years, as 



146 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the result of an attack of the croup, his ill- 
ness lasting only three hours. Many heart- 
breaking sorrows and lesser griefs have be- 
fallen Mrs. Reimund, but she has borne 
them patiently and with the fortitude of a 
true Christian, believing always that " all 
things work together for good to them that 
love the Lord," and feeling happy in the 
faith that some day she shall join her loved 
ones who are waiting her on the other shore. 



WILLIAM HARTFORD, D. O., who 
is successfully engaged in the prac- 
tice of osteopathy in Champaign, Illinois, 
was born in Henderson county, this state, 
December 6, 1856, and is a son of Winfield 
Scott and Lucetta R. (Thomas) Hartford, 
both natives of Ohio, the former born in 
Muskingum county, the latter in Cayuga 
county. The family has been well repre- 
sented in the wars of this country, the 
great-great-grandfather of our subject hav- 
ing come to this country in 1740 and 
served as a British officer in the French and 
Indian war; four great uncles of the father 
being soldiers of the Revolution; and Will- 
iam Hartford, the grandfather, a soldier of 
the war of 1812. The Hartfords are of 
Scotch-Irish origin. 

Winfield S. Hartford, the Doctor's 
father, was a farmer by occupation. About 
a month after his marriage in Union county, 
Ohio, .he moved to Henderson county, Illi- 
nois, where he purchased land and made 
his home until 1866, when he went to Adair 
county, Missouri, and bought a section of 
land, upon which he engaged in farming and 
stock raising for many years. He met with 
excellent success in his undertakings, and is 
now living retired with his daughter, Ella, 



in Springfield, Missouri. His first wife and 
the mother of our subject died in Adair 
county, in the fall of 1867. Of the eleven 
children born to them, two, Justus and Lin- 
coln, died in infancy. The others were 
Eliza, now the widow of R. G. David, a 
Union soldier, of Coffey county, Kansas; 
Mary A., wife of A. J. Brooks, a Union sol- 
dier, of Clark county, Iowa; Sarah E., 
widow of Alexander McLelland and resi- 
dents of Cameron, Missouri, where she 
makes her home with her son, Charles, an 
osteopathist; William, our subject; John T. , 
a farmer of Putnam county, Missouri; Isaac 
J., formerly a college professor, now an 
osteopathist engaged in practice in Dayton, 
Ohio; Ella L., wife of H. F. Walker, of near 
Springfield, Christian county, Missouri; 
Martha R. , wife of Robert Bledsoe, of Schuy- 
ler county, Missouri; and Washington I., an 
osteopathist of Kirksville, Missouri. The 
last named was a twin brother of Lincoln, 
who died in infancy. The father was again 
married, June 15, 1870, his second union 
being with Emily F. McFerron, by whom 
he had three children: Grace, who is the 
widow of Charles Albright, and is now en- 
gaged in the practice of osteopathy in Salem, 
Oregon; Winfield S., Jr., who is engaged in 
farming near Davenport, Iowa; and Andrew 
J., who follows the same pursuit near Dav- 
enport. 

Dr. Hartford, whose name introduces 
this sketch, obtained his primary education 
in the district schools of Adair county, Mis- 
souri, and later was graduated from the 
State Normal at Kirksville and also from 
the Kirksville Mercantile College. Up to 
this time he had made his home with his 
father, and then engaged in teaching the 
country schools of Adair county for five 
years, in the high schools of Monroe county 




WILLIAM HARTFORD, OSTEOPATHIST. 

GRADUATE OF AMERICAN SCHOOL OF OSTEOPATHY, 

KIRKSVILLK, Mo. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



149 



one year, and the high schools of Schuyler 
county, Missouri, for two years. At the 
end of that time he was elected county 
superintendent of schools in Adair county 
for a term of two years, and was again 
offered the office, but declined, preferring to 
go to St. Edward,. Nebraska, where he was 
principal of the high school for two years. 
On account of his wife's health he returned 
to Missouri, and accepted the professorship 
of commercial law and arithmetic in the 
Kirksville Mercantile College. 

On the 26th of March, 1882, Dr. Hart- 
ford was united in marriage with Miss Hat- 
tie Sterrett, who was born in Missouri, in 
1860, a daughter of Johnson and Margaret 
(Ryals) Sterrett. Her father entered the 
Union army during the Civil war and died 
in a hospital in 1861. Her mother survived 
him only a short time, and after her death, 
Mrs. Hartford was adopted by her uncle, 
Peter Crockett Berry, of Iowa, in which 
state she was reared. The Doctor and his 
wife have two children: William Scott, 
born April 16, 1883, is now attending the 
Champaign high school; and Naoma R. , 
born November 3, 1891, is attending the 
grammar schools of that city. 

In 1893 Dr. Hartford resigned his posi- 
tion in the Kirksville Medical College on ac- 
count of his wife's health. He soon became 
interested in osteopathy, as his wife was 
cured by that science. Only as a last re- 
sort and with great misgivings he placed her 
in Still's infirmary at Kirksville, but she was 
completely restored to health. He decided 
to go deeper into the mysteries of that 
science, and studied for four terms of five 
months each in the American School of 
Osteopathy at Kirksville, from which he 
graduated June 22, 1897. On the 28th of 
the same month he opened an office in 



Clarinda, Iowa, and successfully engaged in 
practice there for a few months, during 
which time he effected some marvelous 
cures, among them being Miss Shenton, of 
Coin, Page county, Iowa, who was totally 
blind for twenty-three years; and D. R. Mc- 
Alpine, of Clarinda, who was suffering 
from chronic Bright's disease and was pro- 
nounced incurable by some of the most 
eminent physicians of Iowa. In October, 
1897, on account of the anti-osteopathic 
law passed in Iowa, he went to Ogden, 
Utah, where he met with splendid success 
in his profession, but was three times ar- 
. rested on the charge of practicing without 
license, and came out victorious in each 
case. On the ist of April, 1898, he came 
to Champaign, Illinois, and engaged in 
practice here with remarkable success until 
October, 1898, when, on account of the 
opposition he encountered, he returned to 
Clarinda, Iowa, as a law had been passed 
legalizing osteopathy in that state. After 
such a law was passed in Illinois, he 
again came to Champaign in September. 
1899, and here he is now meeting with 
splendid success, having effected some won- 
derful cures and won the confidence of the 
people. The Doctor is the author of an 
excellent definition of osteopathy, as fol- 
lows: Osteopathy is the method of science 
which attributes the etiology of disease to 
an abnormal condition of the bones, mus- 
cles, ligaments and fascia causing an ob- 
struction of the circulation of the life giving 
fluid; especially a treatment the basis prin- 
ciples being the adjustment of the bones, 
muscles, ligaments and fascia, thereby re- 
moving all obstruction to the vital forces 
that there may be freedom to all life-giving 
fluids and forces, using the bones as levers 
to accomplish this object. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



The Doctor and his wife are members of 
the Methodist Episcopal church and take 
quite an active part in church work. So- 
cially he is a member of Adair County 
lodge, No. 366, F. & A. M., of Kirksville, 
Missouri, and the K. P. lodge, No. 72, of 
the same city. 



WILLIAM S. ROYAL. .Urbana is for- 
tunate in possessing so many enter- 
prising young business men, citizens who 
take genuine pride in the development and 
beautifying of the place, as does the subject 
of this sketch. Within a few years he has 
built up a lucrative business and enviable 
reputation for square-dealing, and, judging 
by the past, his future holds much of promise. 

He is a son of William and Eunice 
(Withrow) Royal, who were natives of Ohio, 
and, at an early day settled in Tippecanoe 
county, Indiana, buying a homestead from 
the government. The father was born Feb- 
ruary 6, 1820, and was called to his reward 
May ii, 1894, loved and honored by all 
who knew him. He was a devoted mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and 
in the days of the so-called circuit riders, 
his home was a favorite stopping place for 
the ministers of that denomination. The 
mother, who was born February 9, 1825, is 
yet living, and takes an active interest in 
church work. 

The first death in the large family of 
William Royal, was his own, six years ago, 
and no other break in the circle has yet 
occurred. The eldest, Anna, who first mar- 
ried John Stingle and had three daughters, 
is now the wife of John Mozier, of Columbia 
City, Indiana. Jennie, widow of Perry Sea- 
wright, resides in Frankfort, same state. 
Josie, widow of Dr. Goldsberry, makes her 



home in Lafayette, Indiana. Fannie, also 
a resident of Lafayette, is the wife of S. 
Wade. Samuel T., whose wife formerly 
was Mary E. Cole, lives in Lafayette. James 
A. married Fannie Seawright, and is a cit- 
izen of Idaville, Indiana. Ella A., who 
married J. D. Bush, resides in Urbana. 
Julia, wife of William Frantz, lives in Day- 
ton, Indiana, and Clara, Mrs. Linn Frazier, 
is a resident of Fowler City, Kansas. 
Charles E., the youngest, is located in 
Lafayette. 

William S. Royal, who is next to the 
youngest of the family, was born in Tippe- 
canoe county, Indiana, May 16, 1864. He 
was reared upon his father's fine, productive 
farm in that county, and took just pride in 
having everything about the homestead in 
fine condition. About 1886, he accom- 
panied his father to Kansas, where both took 
up quarter-sections of land, and held the 
property until it became theirs, according 
to the law. In 1888, the young man dis- 
posed of his land, and thus made his start 
in the business world. Going then to Kan- 
sas City, he engaged in the oil business, and 
continued to devote his energy to that enter- 
prise until 1892. Since that year he has 
made his home in Urbana, and now con- 
ducts a grocery trade, and at the same time 
deals in oil quite extensively. During the 
past year or two his sales in the last-men- 
tioned commodity have amounted to thirty- 
one thousand, five hundred gallons, annu- 
ally. He buys from the Standard Oil Com- 
pany, and keeps the best grades in the 
market. Success has come to him as the 
result of merit and diligence, and his cus- 
tomers are invariably his friends. He now 
owns and carries on two groceries, in differ- 
ent parts of the city, and, though competi- 
tion is keen in this line, he is prospering. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



In politics, Mr. Royal is a stanch Repub- 
lican. Socially, he is a member of the Odd 
Fellows order, the Modern Woodmen of 
America, the Court of Honor and Daughters 
of Rebecca. His means and influence are 
freely used in the support of all meas- 
ures which he believes will promote the wel- 
fare of his community and country, and thus 
his example is well worthy to be followed 
by patriotic citizens. With his wife he holds 
membership in the Methodist Episcopal 
church. 

Our subject's wife, formerly Miss Kate 
Harris, is, like himself, one of eleven chil- 
dren, both families having seven daughters 
and four sons. Their marriage was cele- 
brated March 30. 1887, and three children 
bless their home, namely : William Glenn, 
Lester Harris and Hazel A. Mrs. Royal's 
parents are Rev. J. G. and Sarah (Horn) 
Harris, now living retired at Bellefontaine, 
Ohio, and are enjoying excellent health of 
mind and body. The father was born Feb- 
ruary 14, 1817, in York, Pennsylvania, and 
is a great-grandson of the Rev. Nicholas 
Kurtz and grandson of Rev. Jacob Goering, 
pioneers of the Lutheran faith in the Key- 
stone state. Rev. Mr. Harris entered the 
junior class at Pennsylvania College in 
1839, and was graduated in the theological 
seminary at Gettysburg in the class of '42. 
Having been ordained, he accepted a pas- 
torate at Bellefontaine, Ohio, and later oc- 
cupied the pulpits of his denomination at 
Shanesville, Tuscarawas and Tippecanoe 
City, Ohio. For two years he was a pro- 
fessor in Wirtemberg College, Springfield, 
Ohio, and in May, 1856, he was elected 
president of the Kentucky synod, and four 
years later was re-elected, serving in that 
important capacity for six years. Both he 
and his wife have been a power for good in 



their generation, and possess the love of a 
multitude to whom they have endeared 
themselves. The wife and mother was 
born August 16, 1822, and, besides rearing 
several children to take honored places in 
"the world's broad field of battle," she 
nobly aided and encouraged her husband in 
his long years of labor and trial. A great 
sorrow came to them in their early married 
life in the loss of their two eldest daugh- 
ters, who died only three days apart of scar- 
let fever, the father being absent from 
home at the time. Elizabeth was about 
three years old and Maria was in her sixth 
year. The first born of the family, John, 
now of DeGraff, Ohio, married Matilda 
Schick. Sarah, the eldest surviving daugh- 
ter, is the wife of J. D. Lamb, of Bellefon- 
taine. Jacob Goering, who wedded Mary 
Keller, and William C. , whose wife was 
Anna Adams, both reside at Bellefontaine. 
Susan, Gustavus A., and Emma E., unmar- 
ried, live with their parents, the son man- 
aging his father's farm. Louisa J. is the 
wife of Joseph Yates, of Bellefontaine. 



LORENZO DOW MASSEY, a prom- 
inent and successful real estate dealer 
of Champaign, was born in Marion, William- 
son county, Illinois, June 18, 1860. His 
father, Fortner Massey, was born in the 
north of Ireland of Scotch ancestry, and 
came to this country as a boy with his par- 
ents, locating in North Carolina, where the 
grandfather of our subject engaged in 
merchandising until his death. There the 
father was reared to manhood and received 
his education. He then removed to Vir- 
ginia, where he met and married Miss 
Jane Eaton, a native of that state, and as a 



152 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



wedding trip came to southern Illinois, 
about 1849. He pre-empted land in 
Williamson county, and soon was the owner 
of a well-improved and valuable farm of five 
hundred acres, one of the finest places in 
that section. Mr. Massey was one of 
the leading breeders of fine horses in that 
county, and was one of its best known and 
most prominent citizens, but would never 
accept public office. He was a strong 
Union man during the Civil war, but did not 
enter the army on account of a crippled 
hand. He always saw that the companies 
got transportation, conveying them himself 
to the railroad station in Carbondale. His 
wife died in 1862, leaving five children, of 
whom our subject is next to the youngest, 
and he died upon his farm three years later. 
After his father's death our subject was 
bound out to Maston Walker, a very wealthy 
and noted man, with whom he remained 
until seventeen years of age, and then went 
to Edgar county, Illinois. He received a 
thorough education, attending the Marion 
high school, the Southern Normal at Car- 
bondale, and the Normal at Normal, Illinois, 
and for ten years he successfully engaged in 
teaching school in Champaign county, where 
he located in 1886, seven years of that time 
as teacher in the Dunham school, Hensley 
township, and the remainder in Savoy and 
as assistant for a short time in the west side 
school in Champaign. He has also taught 
at teachers' institutes, and for two years 
engaged in farming. He has visited all 
parts of the county, and is probably as well 
known to the farmers as any man within its 
borders. In November, 1892, he opened a 
real estate and loan office at No. 3 Main 
street, where he still carries on business, 
making a specialty of mortgage loans, and 
in this undertaking he has met with most 



gratifying success. Since making his first 
loan, in 1891, he has never had a foreclos- 
ure, although he has done a large business. 
He also buys and sells considerable real 
estate, and is a good judge of city values, 
being a shrewd and capable business man of 
sound judgment and untiring energy. In 
his politicial affiliations he is a Republican. 
On the 1 3th of July, 1892, Mr. Massey 
was united in marriage with Miss Myrtle 
Dunham, of Champaign, a graduate of the 
high school of that city, and a daughter of 
William Dunham, a representative of one ot 
the early families of Hensley township. By 
this union has been born one child, Mildred. 
The family residence, at the corner of Union 
and Lynn streets, was purchased by Mr. 
Massey in 1894. Both he and his wife are 
active and prominent members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church. 



WILLIAM HILL, deceased, for many 
years a highly respected and honored 
citizen of Urbana, Illinois, was born in Tus- 
carawas county, Ohio, November 8, 1812, 
and was a son of Charles and Charity 
(Vaughn) Hill, who were born, reared and 
married in Kentucky, and later moved to- 
Ohio, locating on a farm in Tuscarawas 
county, where they spent the remainder of 
their lives, both dying at a good old age. 
The mother was a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. In their family were the 
following children: Robert, who has been 
dead many years; Charles, deceased, who 
was married in Ohio, but after the death of his 
wife returned to Kentucky, where he secured 
land on a land warrant given to his grand- 
father for services in the Revolutionary war; 
Catherine, wife of Zachariah Pierce; Joseph, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



153 



\vho died in Iowa, about 1884; Margaret, 
who married Daniel Anderson and died in 
1879; William, our subject; John, who died 
young; Jesse, who died in February, 1895; 
Nancy, wife of James Lewis; and Thomas, 
who died at the age of eighteen years. 

William Hill grew to manhood in his 
native state, and there he married Miss 
Priscilla Lewis, a sister of James Lewis, 
previously mentioned, and she died near 
Mt. Vernon, Ohio, in 1834. By that union 
he had three children, namely: Job, who 
was accidentally killed at the age of four- 
teen years; Thomas, a member of an Illinois 
regiment tor three years during the Civil 
war, and who lived only a few years after his 
discharge, he and his wife dying on the same 
day; and John, who completes the family. 

Mr. Hill was again married July 27, 
1848, his second union being with Miss 
Hannah Elizabeth Simmers, a daughter 
of Henry and Martha (Davis) Simmers, 
the former a native of Canada, the 
latter of Westmoreland county, Penn- 
sylvania. They were married in 1820, 
when the father was twenty-one years of 
age. .By occupation he was a farmer. He 
died in 1880, and his wife April 20, 1864, 
at the age of sixty-five years. Both were 
active members of the Methodist church, 
and the mother was regarded as one of the 
best church singers of her day. Their chil- 
dren were as follows: Matilda, wife of 
Christian Roth and a resident of Tuscara- 
was county, Ohio; and Mary Ann, wife of 
Newell Litten, of Monroe county, Ohio; 
Mahala, deceased wife of James Brice; John 
Wesley, who lives near Dugger, Indiana; 
James William, who is living with his daugh- 
ter, Laura Bullard, near Worthington, In- 
diana; and Henry Clay, whose home is near 
Jasonville, Indiana. By his second mar- 



riage our subject had eight children: Will- 
iam Henry, who lives with his mother in 
Urbana; Jesse, who was in old Mexico when 
last heard from; Joseph L. , a resident of 
Iowa, who married Lottie Turner and has 
four children, Mabel, Lloyd, Clara and 
Frank; Charles T., at home; John W. , who 
was drowned in Kansas at the age of twenty- 
nine years; Martha J., wife of Jacob Herbs- 
treit, whose sketch appears on another page 
of this volume; Carrie E., at home; and 
Allie, who died July 27, 1882, at the age 
of fourteen years. 

On leaving Ohio, Mr. Hill removed to 
Sullivan county, Indiana, where he made 
his home for eleven years, and in March, 
1863, came to Urbana, Illinois. He en- 
gaged in digging ditches, followed farming 
and was employed as a general laborer. 
He cast his first vote for General W. H. 
Harrison, the Whig candidate, and later 
affiliated with the Republican party. He 
died November 22, 1894, at the age of 
eighty-two years, honored and respected by 
all who knew him. His family resides at 
No. 206 Vine street, and are widely and 
favorably known in the community where 
they have long made their home. 



CHARLES M. EAGLETON, a well- 
V^kno\vn constable of Champaign, and one 
of its highly esteemed citizens, was born in 
Newton, Jasper county, Illinois, October 
24, 1857, natives of Tennessee and Pennsyl- 
vania, respectively, who were married in In- 
diana. When a young man the father re- 
moved to Vigo county, Indiana, where he 
became acquainted with the lady who after- 
ward became his wife, and where he engaged 
in school teaching and farming a few years, 



154 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



when he removed to Jasper county, Illinois, 
and took up a tract of new land, making it 
his home throughout the remainder of his 
life. It was a good sized farm and quite 
well improved. He served as justice of the 
peace for several years, and during the Civil 
war enlisted as lieutenant of Company B, 
Ninety-eighth Illinois Cavalry, but his health 
failed and he was placed in charge of a gov- 
ernment supply store at Helena, Arkansas, 
where he was taken with fever and died. 
He left five children. The mother is now 
Mrs. Benjamin Miller and is still a resident 
of Jasper county. Religiously she is an 
earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. 

Our subject was reared upon the home 
farm and obtained his education in the com- 
mon schools of the neighborhood and the 
normal school at Newton. On the ist of 
January, 1879, he married Miss Margaret L. 
Howell, of Jasper county, and then engaged 
in farming on his own account in that coun- 
ty. Subsequently he removed to Douglas 
county, this state, where for two years he 
handled stock with James Ellers, a promi- 
nent stock dealer of Illinois, and while there 
his wife died, leaving two children, namely: 
Mena B., and Ruby, wife of Walter Ellis, a 
farmer of Newton. 

After traveling for some time through 
different parts of the state, Mr. Eagleton 
came to Champaign in the winter of 1 884-5, 
and here engaged in telephone work and 
later in carpentering until elected constable 
in June, 1897. Since then he has given the 
greater part of his time and attention to the 
duties of that office, but is also interested in 
the real estate business, buying and selling 
property for himself and as agent 
for others. He has handled real estate in 
Jasper county, and now owns property in 



Neoga. In connection with his official 
duties he has done considerable detective 
work, especially in connection with the 
murder of Snyder, who was killed on 
Thanksgiving day, 1899. 

Mr. Eagleton has been twice married, 
his second wife being Mrs. Minnie (Conroy) 
Murphy, of Champaign, who by her first 
marriage had one son, Elmer Murphy, and 
by the second union there is also one child, 
Charles M. Eagleton, Jr. As a Republican 
our subject takes an active interest in politi- 
cal affairs, and does all in his power to ad- 
vance the interests of his party. He is a 
prominent Odd Fellow; is past grand; has 
represented the lodge in the Grand lodge, 
is a member of the Encampment; and is dis- 
trict deputy of Champaign Lodge, No. 333. 
He is also official examiner and instructor on 
unwritten work in jurisdiction of this state. 



BURT GORDON IJAMS, principal of 
the third ward school of Urbana, was 
born in that city, December 23, 1871, and 
is a son of Joseph R., and Margaret (Gor- 
don) Ijams, the former a native of Muskin- 
gum county, Ohio, the latter of Michigan. 
The mother was the only child of Alexander 
and Catherine (Batty) Gordon, natives of 
London, England, and New York, respect- 
ively. They came west in 1835 an ^ ner 
mother died in Michigan at the age of seventy 
years, her father in Illinois, at the age of 
eighty-eight. They were members of the 
Episcopal and Presbyterian churches. Mrs. 
Gordon was a daughter of William and 
Sarah Batty, who were also born in New 
York, and from that state removed to 
Pennsylvania, where they made their home 
for twenty years, but spent their last days 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



'55 



in Michigan. Mr. Batty was a farmer by 
occupation. In his family were seven chil- 
dren, three sons and four daughters, but 
only one is now living, Avaline, wife of 
Samuel Van Duzer. who lives near Ann 
Arbor, Michigan. 

Lewis Ijams, our subject's paternal 
grandfather, was born in Maryland, in 1797, 
of Welsh descent, but spent the greater part 
of his early life in Ohio, where he served as 
quartermaster and colonel in the state mili- 
tia. In 1851 he came to Illinois and became 
an extensive stock raiser near Bloomington. 
He married Eliza Rodman, who was born 
in Pennsylvania and was descended from 
old Quaker ancestry of Ireland. Both have 
been dead for many years. In their family 
were eleven children. Those living are: 
Joseph Rodman, father of our subject; 
Lewis E., who is mentioned below; George, 
a resident of Bloomington; Mrs. Mary Grif- 
fith, of Colorado; Charlotte, wife of Rev. J. 
W. Colwell, a member of the Central Illinois 
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and Jennie, who lives with her 
brother, Lewis E., and Mary, who lives in 
Boulder, Colorado. Lewis E. Ijams, uncle 
of our subject, was born in Muskingum 
county, Ohio, November 21, 1841. He 
was a soldier of the Civil war, enlisting first 
on the loth of May, 1862, in Company F, 
Sixty-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, 
for three months, and re-enlisting, April i, 
1863, in Company M, Sixteenth Illinois 
Cavalry. His first engagement was the 
battle of Jonesville against Longstreet's 
cavalry, where as orderly sergeant he com- 
manded his company, repulsing a charge in 
a hand-to-hand encounter and meeting with 
heavy losses. He was severely wounded 
and taken prisoner with the entire command. 
After his recovery he was with the army sent 



against General Hood, and took part in the 
battles of Nashville, Columbia, Duck River 
and Franklin, having charge of his company 
and also the battalion a part of the time, al- 
though not a commissioned officer. A 
severe storm was raging during the battle of 
Nashville, and suffering from exposure he 
was obliged to go to the hospital on the 
second day of that engagement. He practi- 
cally had command of his company for ayear, 
and was discharged at Chicago, October 1 1, 
1865, with the rank of captain. This 
company lost thirty-three men in Anderson- 
ville and other southern prisons. Captain 
Ijams now resides in Bloomington, and has 
served as county treasurer of McLean county 
for twelve or fifteen years. 

About 1850, Joseph R. Ijams, father of 
our subject, came to Illinois and settled 
near Bloomington. In 1867 he came to 
Champaign, and is now living retired at No. 
299 South Race street, Urbana. In early 
life he was interested in railroad business, 
and served as assistant superintendent of the 
Chicago division of the Wabash railroad 
for twelve years, ending about 1880. He, 
too, was a soldier of the Civil war, enlist- 
ing in the early part of 1 86 r, as a private 
in the Ninety-fourth Illinois Volunteer In- 
fantry. He remained in the service four 
years and participated in many important 
battles, but fortunately was never wounded 
nor taken prisoner. He served in the 
office of General McNulta while the latter 
was at New Orleans. He had three chil- 
dren: Lewis A., who died in 1871, at the 
age of two years; Burt G., our subject; and 
Harriet Catherine, who is attending school 
at Washington, D. C. 

Mr. Ijams, whose name introduces this 
review, was educated in the Urbana high 
schools and the Illinois University, and in 



5 6 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1891 commenced teaching in the district 
schools of this county. He accepted a po- 
sition as teacher in the public schools of 
Urbana in 1894, and two years later was 
made principal of the intermediate depart- 
ment. Since then he has been promoted to 
principal of the grammar department and 
is still filling that position in a 'most credit- 
able and satisfactory manner, being one of 
the most thorough and competent teachers 
in the city. He is a stanch Republican in 
politics, and is a member of the Alpha Tau 
Omega, a college fraternity, and of the 
Presbyterian church. 



JOHN T. LUMSDEN, an honored veteran 
of the Civil war, is now living retired in 
Champaign, and is enjoying the fruits of his 
many years of honest industry and success- 
ful business enterprise. Respected and ad- 
mired for what he has accomplished, and 
for the manly way in which he has met all 
of the obligations of citizenship, he has 
reason to be proud of his record, and to his 
children it will be a more desirable and 
lasting inheritance than wealth. 

Mr. Lumsden comes of good old Virginia 
families, his parents, William and Lucy 
(Keelen) Lumsden, being natives of that 
state. Soon after their marriage, they re- 
moved to Kentucky, where the father owned 
a large plantation and kept numerous slaves 
until 1830, when he settled in Morgan 
county, Illinois. There he purchased or 
took up two hundred acres of land, and in 
addition to that, owned one hundred and 
twenty acres in Macoupin county. For 
years he was accounted one of the substan- 
tial agriculturists of his county, and though 
he was urged, on more than one occassion, 
to accept public positions, he persistently 



declined. Though born and reared in the 
south, he was strongly averse to secession, 
and, after the organization of the Republi- 
can party, he became one of its stanchest 
advocates. When, a youth, attending 
school near Louisa, Virginia, he formed the 
acquaintance of Jefferson Davis, a student 
there also, and, personally, they were warm 
friends at that period. He and his devoted 
wife reared nine children, all of whom sur- 
vive, namely: Susan, wife of John Brace- 
well, of Iowa; Martha, wife of Thomas 
Widdup, of Iowa; James, of Waverly, 
Illinois; Marion, of Green county; John; 
Nancy, wife of Howard Ayre, of England; 
Edward, of Monticello, Illinois; Mary, wife 
of Edward Wyatt, of Maryville, Illinois; 
and Angeline, a resident of the same town, . 
and wife of Hardin Rimby. The father de- 
parted this life in 1890, when in his eighty- 
eighth year, and the mother was ninety at 
the time of her death. 

John T. Lumsden was born April 16, 
1839, in Morgan county, and when he was 
old enough he attended the nearest school, 
which was held in a log cabin about three 
miles away. The country was sparsely 
settled, and the schools were conducted 
upon the subscription plan. From the time 
that he was fourteen years of age until he 
was fully grown, the youth worked very hard 
on the farm, performing almost a man's 
labor, and doing heroic duty at clearing 
away timber and cultivating the land. 

Lessons of patriotism and loyalty to the 
right had been early inculcated in young 
Lumsden's rnind, and when his country 
called for brave and true men to come to 
her defense, he quickly responded, and on 
August i, 1 86 1, was enrolled as a private 
in Company G, First Missouri Cavalry. 
His service was in the west, where for 




JOHN T. LUMSDEN. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



159 



nearly two years he and his ccxnrades were 
obliged to fight the bushwhackers and bor- 
der outlaws, who took advantage of the 
critical situation in Missouri to pillage 
and plunder, kill and destroy lives and 
property. Then, for a period, Mr. Lums- 
den was stationed in Little Rock and vicin- 
ity, and, besides participating in number- 
less skirmishes, he was actively engaged in 
the great battles of Pea Ridge and Prairie 
Grove, and went on the famous march with 
Curtis from Pea Ridge to Helena For 
three months he was on half rations, and 
his privations and thrilling experiences 
so severely taxed his strength, rugged 
country youth that he was, that on De- 
cember 15, 1864. he was mustered out 
of the service on account of disability 
which he could no longer contend against. 
For two years after his return home he was 
on the invalid list, and at times it seemed 
that he never would recover even a tithe of 
his accustomed health and vitality. 

On the 26th of March, 1866, Mr. Lums- 
den married Elizabeth Ayre, a native of 
Lancashire, England. She is a daughter of 
Jonas and Ann (Towers) Ayre, both of Lan- 
cashire, and her brothers, Richard and 
John, reside in Monticello, Illinois. Her 
sister Jane died in infancy and another sis- 
ter, Parthenia, became the wife of our 
subject's brother, Edward. Jonas Ayre 
was a cabinet maker by trade, and for many 
years was engaged in taking large contracts 
for fine work in that line, employing skilled 
hands to execute his orders. In 1857, he 
came to the United States, and for twelve 
years engaged in contracting and building 
in Jacksonville, Illinois. Then he carried 
on a farm near Monticello for three years, 
after which he was practically retired, mere- 
ly looking after his property interests. He 



died November 25, 1899, when nearly 
seventy-eight years of age, and his wife, 
who had died January 31, 1890, was then 
in her seventy-fourth year. 

About two years subsequent to his mar- 
riage, Mr. Lumsden removed to a farm of 
eighty acres, in Colfax township. The 
tract was wild prairie, not a rod of the turf 
having been turned by a plow, and thus a 
great task confronted him. He built a 
small cabin and at once set about making 
necessary improvements upon the place, 
which, within a few years, bore little re- 
semblance to the farm he had located upon. 
At different times he added land to his 
original farm, until it comprised two hun- 
dred acres, all in a body. He judiciously 
expended money in tiling, ditching, and 
innumerable improvements, and continued 
to dwell there until March, 1892, when he 
disposed of the property to Samuel Wills, 
and moved to Champaign. Later, he in- 
vested some of his means in four hundred 
and forty acres of land, located on sections 
17, 1 8, 19 and 20, Hensley township. This 
is very desirable farm land, and at present 
it is being cultivated by our subject's sons, 
who, like their father before them, are 
practical, energetic agriculturists. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Lumsden four children 
were born. Robert T., the eldest, now a 
resident of Hensley township, married Alice 
Campbell, and has two children, Raymond 
and Nora. Richard Ayre married Nellie 
Dibble and lives in Hensley township. Their 
three children are named respectively: Sybil, 
Ruth and Richard. William E., who is en- 
gaged in business in Anderson, Indiana, 
chose Mary Stormfeldt for his wife. George 
L., who married Laura K. Young, makes 
his home in Anderson, also, and is em- 
ployed as a skilled mechanic. 



i6o 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Fraternally, Mr. Lumsden belongs to 
Colonel Nadine Post, No. 420, G. A. R. 
Both he and his wife are members of the 
Presbyterian church. The latter, in com- 
pany with her father, visited her old home 
in Lancashire, England, in 1891, and 
greatly enjoyed the trip. Politically, Mr. 
Lumsden is a Republican, and his personal 
popularity was shown when he was elected 
as road commissioner in a strong Demo- 
cratic township. He served in the capacity 
for twelve years, giving general satisfaction, 
and for ten years was one of the drainage 
commissioners of his district, which locality 
was the first one properly drained, the land 
now being as valuable as any other. For over 
twenty years he acted as a member of the 
board of education, and aided in building 
the first school in his distrct. 



JOSEPH O'BRIEN. It is astonishing to 
witness the success of young men who 
have emigrated to the United States without 
capital, and from a position of comparative 
obscurity have worked their way upward to 
one of prominence. The readiness with 
which they adapt themselves to circum- 
stances and take advantage of opportunities 
offered brings to them success and wins 
them a place among the leading men of 
the community in which they reside. In 
Mr. O'Brien, a well-known civil engineer of 
Champaign, we find a worthy representa- 
tive of this class. 

He was born near Summerhill, County 
Meath, Ireland, February 13, 1836, a son of 
John and Margaret (Hoggarty) O'Brien. 
The father, a farmer and nurseryman by oc- 
cupation, crossed the Atlantic in 1854, to 
Quebec, Canada, where he died that sum- 



mer, leaving three children, two sons and 
one daughter, orphans at an early age in a 
strange country, 

Our subject had received a good, practi- 
cal education in the schools of his native 
land, and at Quebec, in 1854, he found em- 
ployment on the railroad survey as chain 
bearer. As soon as he had saved enough 
money to pay his expenses, he studied civil 
engineering in the Royal Engineers School, 
at Hamilton, Upper Canada. On first 
coming to Illinois, in 1856, he was con- 
nected with the survey of the Peoria & 
Oquawka railroad, and when work was dis- 
continued there he entered the service of 
the Illinois Central, being engaged in the 
construction of the road between Cham- 
paign and Centralia. On its completion he 
was made road master of the Mattoon divi- 
sion, which position he most satisfactorily 
filled until 1893. He not only saw the road 
built, but has seen it change from old chain 
rails and mud track to stone ballast and 
steel rails, becoming one of the modern 
roads of to-day. One winter he laid eighty- 
five hundred tons of steel rails on fifty miles 
of track while the trains were still running. 
He also had charge of building the South 
Chicago branch, and the first five miles of 
the Bloomington division, during which 
time he had several hundred men working 
under him. He has devoted the best years 
of his life to railroad construction, and dur- 
ing the last year he was connected with the 
road, he built the south yards, the coal 
chute and most of the side tracks in Cham- 
paign. He has made his home in this city 
since 1865, and in 18,93 was appointed city 
engineer for a term of two years, during 
which time he laid out and constructed the 
main outlet for the sewers and made the 
surveys for the sewer system of Champaign. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



161 



Since 1895 he has been engaged in private 
civil engineering on drainage and construc- 
tion work in several of the drainage dis- 
tricts of this and other counties of the state, 
now having charge of a number of such dis- 
tricts. 

Mr. O'Brien married Miss Kate Duggan, 
a native of County Tipperary, Ireland, and 
a daughter of Dennis Duggan, who fol- 
lowed farming in that country, but after 
coming to America was a railroad man. He 
became a resident of Champaign in 1853, 
and here died in 1866. He was one of the 
earliest members of the Catholic church of 
that city, and it was in his house that the 
first collection was taken up to buy a lot for 
the church, he being the first subscriber. 
His wife, who bore the maiden name of 
Ellen Dougherty, died in 1887. Mr. and 
Mrs. O'Brien were married April 21, 1867, 
and the same year he erected a comfortable 
home on Walnut street, where they have 
now lived for a third of a century. Of the 
six children born to them, two are now de- 
ceased, one who died at the age of four 
years, and the other at the age of eight 
months. Those living are D. W. , a locomo- 
tive engineer, living at Fort Scott, Kansas; 
Margaret H., Katheryn I. and Grace May. 
They have received good educational ad- 
vantages, attending the parochial and high 
schools of Champaign and the University of 
Illinois. 

Mr. O'Brien and his wife were also 
among the first members of the Catholic 
church of Champaign and started its first 
choir, with which he was connected for 
twelve years. He has always affiliated with 
the Republican party, and represented the 
third ward in the city council for some 
years, during which time the paving was in 
progress, many brick sidewalks were laid, 



and the sewers started. He is widely and 
favorably known on account of his sterling 
worth and many excellences of character, 
and well merits the success that he has 
achieved in life. 



BC. STEPHENS, a leading and popular 
photographer of Urbana, Illinois, was 
born in Wood county, West Virginia, April 
14. 1863, a son of John A. and Mary J. 
(Smith) Stephens. The father was born in 
the same county, April 27, 1827, and was a 
son of Thomas and Ethrilda (Dockins) 
Stephens, both natives of Virginia. He was 
the second child in their family, the other 
being Thomas, who spent his entire life as 
a farmer in Wood county, West' Virginia. 
He was born December 18, 1824, and died 
near his birthplace, in the early '905. In 
religious taith he was a Baptist. He mar- 
ried Mary Herdman, who passed away be- 
fore his death. Their children were Thomas 
T. , deceased; Winfield S. ; Lewis D. ; John 
A.; James A., deceased; Amanda; and Mar- 
garet. 

John A. Stephens, father of our subject, 
was a farmer by occupation, and remained 
a resident of West Virginia until after the 
Civil war, during which struggle he served as 
captain of the Home Guards, receiving his 
commission from Governor Fletcher. In 
1865 he came to Champaign county, Illinois, 
and took up his residence in Coltax town- 
ship, where he owned and operated a farm 
of one hundred and twenty acres. He was 
an active member of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church, and died in that faith. On the 
7th of June, 1849, he married Miss Mary J. 
Smith, who was born in Harrison county, 
West Virginia, January 30, 1831, a daugh- 



l62 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ter of Joseph and Margaret (Roby) Smith, 
natives of Virginia. Her father, who was 
also a farmer by occupation, came to Illinois 
in 1863, and located in Sadorus township. 
He was born October 20, 1809, and died 
May 23, 1873; an d ms wife was born August 
10, 1810, and died April 6, 1864. Both 
were life-long and active members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, to which Mrs. 
Stephens also belongs. She is the oldest in 
their family of nine children, the others be- 
ing as follows: (2) Catherine, born January 
8, 1833, was married in April, 1849, to T. 
G. Spencer, now deceased, and she died in 
September, 1851. (3) Martha M., born 
March 20, 1835, was married in March, '856, 
to A. B. Ball, by whom she had two chil- 
dren, Charles I. and Mrs. Alice Carey Lu- 
cas, and after his death she married Absalom 
House, now deceased, by whom she had 
three children: Etta, wife of J. D. Gard- 
ner; William; and Elmer. She died March 
5, 1874. (4) Jennie Ann, born June 10, 
1837, married H. Sams and died in May, 
l %73- (S) Gideon D., born August 3, 1839, 
was a Union soldier and non-commissioned 
officer in the First Virginia Cavalry during 
the Civil war. He was captured while on 
skirmish duty, having a new and unmanage- 
able horse, and died in Belle Isle prison, 
March 17, 1863. (6) Dexter S. is now a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal confer- 
ence in Missouri. He was a member of an 
Illinois regiment during the Civil war and 
remained in the service until hostilities 
ceased. He was taken prisoner in the south 
and was later paroled. For his first wife he 
married Emma Frost, by whom he had two 
sons: Frank, who was a soldier in the 
Spanish- American war; and George: For 
his second wife he married Hannah Boying- 
ton, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and they 



have two children: Leverne and Foster C. 
(7) Morton B., born March 16, 1848, died 
in 1898, while pastor of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church at Burlington, Missouri, hav- 
ing successfully labored in the ministry 
throughout life. He married Florence Bot- 
tome, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and had 
five children: Wilbur; Mabel, deceased; 
Ethel; Philip; and Loren E. (8) Joseph 
H., born August 23, 1851, is editor of the 
Downs Times, of Downs, Kansas. He mar- 
ried Mary H. Lochrie, of Champaign coun- 
ty, Illinois, and their children are Walter, 
Wardie, Mary A. and Margaret J. 

To John A. and Mary J. (Smith) 
Stephens were born seven children: Will- 
iam Perry, born March 17, 1850, was a 
school teacher, and died June 13, 1875; 
Charles Webster, born December 10, 1851, 
died November 18, 1871; Joseph D. , born 
May 10, 1854, engaged in farming and 
school teaching until his death, which oc- 
curred October 24, 1875; Thomas A., born 
August 31, 1858, and a farmer of Pesotum 
township, this county, married Lucy V. 
Sewell, and they have seven children, Car- 
lisle, Robert Bruce, Nettie, John S., 
Thomas Earl, William and Hazel; Maggie, 
born November 3, 1860, was a school 
teacher and milliner, and died September 
9, 1887; Boyd C. , our subject, is next in 
order of birth; and Nettie A., born Decem- 
ber 27, 1866, died March 28, 1888. The 
mother now makes her home with our sub- 
ject at 1 12 West street, Urbana. 

Mr. Stephens, whose name introduces 
this sketch, acquired the greater part of his 
education in the country schools, but also 
attended the Champaign high school for a 
time. Subsequently he successfully en- 
gaged in teaching school for three terms, 
and then followed farming for one season, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



163 



after which he was engaged in general mer- 
chandising at Mayview for several years. 
On selling out there he embarked in his 
present business at Urbana, in January, 
1896, and is now one of the leading pho- 
tographers of this section of the state. He 
not only receives a liberal share of the pub- 
lic patronage from Urbana, but has many 
patrons in Champaign and surrounding 
towns, having in one week received thirty 
dollars' worth of work from four business 
men of Champaign, unsolicited by him. 

On the 2d of May, 1888, Mr. Stephens 
was united in marriage with Miss Laura N. 
Tackett, a daughter of Walter and Eliza- 
beth Tackett, farming people of Tolono 
township, this county, in whose family were 
six children : Marion; Anna, who died at 
the age of thirty years; Dora; Laura N.; 
William, who died at the age of twenty- 
six years; and Blanche. Mr. and Mrs. 
Stephens have four children, namely: Ray- 
mond, Russell, Paul and Ethel. The par- 
ents both hold membership in the Methodist 
Episcopal church, and Mr. Stephens is also 
a prominent member of Urbana Lodge, 
No. 139, I. O. O. F., in which he has 
passed all the chairs, and served as deputy 
grand master and as representative to the 
grand lodge two years. 



REV. A. J. WAGNER, pastor of St. 
Mary's Catholic church, of Cham- 
paign, ministers faithfully to the spiritual 
needs of his people and gives powerful and 
effective aid to all influences which work for 
the advancement of the community. Re- 
vered and loved by his own flock, he has 
also won the honor and esteem of all others 
who have seen his devotion to his noble 
calling. 



Father Wagner was born and reared in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; was graduated 
from the Jesuit College at Fordham, New 
York, in 1875, and completed his theologi- 
cal studies by a three years' course at Over- 
brook, near Philadefphia. On the i 3th of 
December, 1878, he was ordained by Rt. 
Rev. J. L. Spaulding, of Peoria, Illinois, 
and on the 2Oth of the same month came to 
Champaign as assistant pastor to Father P. 
Toner. On the 26th of July, 1879, he was 
appointed pastor of the church at Tolono, 
which had previously been a part of the 
Champaign parish and was the second church 
taken from it. While there Father Wagner 
improved the church and purchased a brick 
parsonage and twenty-five acres of land, 
and also erected a church at Broadlands, 
Critenden township, which he dedicated on. 
Christmas Day, riding eleven miles to do it, 
although the thermometer was eighteen de- 
grees below zejro. He received his ap- 
pointment as pastor of St. Mary's church, 
Champaign, May 4, 1888, and has rem lined 
here ever since, being an irremovable pas- 
tor, one of ten in his diocese. 

Father Ryan founded a Catholic mission 
in Champaign, and once in every six weeks 
held mass on Walnut street from 1855 to 
1858, there being but few Catholic fami- 
lies in that place at that time. Among the 
first to locate here were James Kelly, Mar- 
tin Hurlburt, Frank Donley, Robert Gra- 
ham, James O'Brien, Dennis Duggan and 
his son Daniel Duggan. In 1856 they took 
up a collection and bought a lot on Hickory 
street, but as it was inconvenient for the 
members of the church living at Urbana it 
was decided to locate at the present site of 
St. Mary's. Under Father Ryan the walls 
for a brick church were erected in 1856 or 
1857, and were ready for a roof, when they 



164 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



were blown down in a storm. About a year 
later, when the parish had somewhat re- 
covered from their loss, a frame church was 
built by Father Ryan, who ministered to the 
congregation from Mattoon, at which place 
he died. Father Lambert then became 
first resident pastor of Champaign, but a 
year later was succeeded by Father Frolich. 
Prior to this time Fathers Ryan, Pender- 
gast, Lambert, and others from Paris, Illi- 
nois, had charge of the church at this place, 
which was the first in the county, and from 
which have sprung those at Tolono, Ives- 
dale, Rantoul, Pesotum, Penfield, Philo, 
Broadlands and Thomasboro. Father Fro- 
lich was succeeded by Rev. Thomas Scan- 
Ian, who died here, and was followed by 
Rev. Thomas Ryan, who remained two 
years and then went to Paxton. He had the 
church lathed and plastered, seats put in, 
and the edifice enlarged. Following him 
was Father Mcllvaine, who came direct 
from Ireland and returned to that country 
after one year. 

In 1866 Rev. Patrick Toner was made 
pastor, and it was under his ministrations 
that in 1876 a two-story brick school build- 
ing was erected and opened for use in 1878. 
It occupies a whole block bounded by Park, 
Church, Wright and Sixth streets. Owing 
to ill health, Father Toner returned to Ire- 
land in May, 1879, and was succeeded by 
Father McDermott, whose stay here was of 
short duration, and who was succeeded by 
Rev. T. S. Keating, now pastor of St. 
Columbus church, of Ottawa, Illinois. It 
was during his pastorate that the plans were 
drawn for the new church and the contractlet, 
but work was not begun until after he left. 

As he was succeeded by Father Wagner 
it is to the untiring efforts of the latter that 
the parish now has a fine church, besides 



other valuable property. The corner stone 
was laid June 10, 1888, by Bishop Ryan, of 
Alton, it being the first corner stone laid by 
him as bishop. Four months later the build- 
ing was completed at a cost of twenty-one 
thousand dollars, and during that time nine- 
teen thousand had been raised, leaving only 
two thousand, which was subscribed on its 
dedication and paid in less than a year. 
The church has a seating capacity of about 
six hundred and fifty, and is finished in a 
most approved style, the frescoing and altar 
decorations being of the best, while the 
building is heated by steam. In 1895 Father 
Wagner built a beautiful parsonage of St. 
Louis pressed brick, in modern style of 
architecture, heated with hot water, and 
supplied with speaking tubes, bath and 
electric light. In connection with the 
church there is also a convent built by Father 
Keating in 1885 at a cost of five thousand 
dollars. One-half of this property on East 
Church street was purchased by him, while 
the other half on East Park street was 
bought by Father Toner. The Sisters of 
Notre Dame, Milwaukee, have charge of 
this convent, six of the sisters acting as 
teachers to something over two hundred 
pupils. Father Wagner now has at least 
one thousand souls in his charge. Under 
his ministry the congregation at Champaign 
has steadily increased, but no estimate of 
material progress can give one any idea of 
the great work he has done in molding and 
shaping to higher issues the lives of those to 
whom he gives his best thought. 



OLIVER P. LOOMIS, deceased, was for 
several years a well-known groceryman 
and highly respected citizen of Urbana. He 
was born in North Coventry, Tolland coun- 



THE BIOGRAHPICAL RECORD. 



165 



ty, Connecticut, January 20, 1820, a son of 
Walter and Diantha (Babcock) Loomis, 
also natives of that state. The father was 
a mason by trade and built the bridge across 
the Potomac river at Washington, D. C., 
for which he never received his pay, al- 
though his partner received his share. He 
also built many of the roads in Virginia. He 
died in 1841, at about the age of forty-nine 
years, and his wite passed away in 1877, a * 
the advanced age of ninety-five. Both were 
members of the Congregational church. In 
their family were eight children, namely: 
Sophronia married Andrew Gilmore, of New 
York state, and died in 1897, aged eighty- 
four years. Caroline married Reuben A. 
Chapman, who died in 1878, but she is still 
living in Hartford, Connecticut, at the age 
of ninety years. Mariva married Eleazer 
Hunt, and died in 1883, aged sixty-six years. 
Lydia is living in Makanda, Illinois, at the 
age of eighty-four years. Walter wedded 
Mary Harris and was a retired farmer of 
Makanda at the time of his death, which 
occurred in 1885. Oliver Porter, our sub- 
ject, was the next in order of birth. Milo 
married Emeline Brown, who died Septem- 
ber n, 1896, and he died in Bridgeport, 
Connecticut, May 21, 1892, aged sixty-nine 
years. Catherine married Levi Moody, 
who died about 1880. but she is still living 
and makes her home in Bridgeport. 

In his native state our subject grew to 
manhood and was married, December 27, 
1842, by Rev. Isaac N. Sprague, of the 
Fourth Congregational church, of Hartford, 
Connecticut, to Miss Amelia Long. Her 
father, Oliver Long, was an excellent black- 
smith, and did most of the work in that line 
in his neighborhood. His customers would 
await their turn, and if any happened to be 
there at dinner time, they were asked to 



partake of his meal that none might go away 
hungry. He was well and favorably known 
for a radius of many miles. He was born 
in North Coventry, Connecticut, June 7, 
1783, and died April 4, 1842. On the 29th 
of March, 1808, he married Anna Porter, 
also a native of North Coventry, who was 
born June 3, 1782, and died February 12, 
1860. She was a member of Rev. George 
Calhoun's Congregational church of North 
Coventry, Connecticut. Her parents were 
Noah and Submit (Cook) Porter, and their 
children were Adenath, Submit, Lucretia, 
Anna, Noah, Zelotus, Ebenezer and Joseph. 

Mrs. Loomis, born January 30, 1816, is 
the youngest in a family of five children, 
and the only one now living, the others be- 
ing as follows: (i) Otis G., born Novem- 
ber 26, 1808, was married November 21, 
1830, to Calista Williams, now deceased, 
and he died August 29, 1863. They had 
five sons. (2) Revilo, born August 28, 
1811, was married April i, 1834, to Jason 
C. Reach, and died February 18, 1860, 
leaving one child, Adelaide, wife of Alfred 
Andres. (3) Mary Ann, born December 9, 
1814, was married January 2, 1865, to 
Charles Sawyer, and died January 19, 
1892. He died in July, 1896. (4) Flora, 
born March 29, 1816, was married, Febru- 
ary 9, 1841, to William Webster, who died 
about 1865, and she died March 12, 1897. 

To our subject and his wife were born 
five daughters, namely: (ij Elvertine 
Amelia, born August 31, 1843, died at 
Colebrook River, Connecticut, at the age 
of six years and ten months. (2) Isabella 
Imogene, born November 18, 1845, mar- 
ried Edward Norton, and they have one 
child, Carrie Belle, who has been a teacher 
in the University of Illinois. They reside 
with Mrs. Loomis in Urbana. (3) Joseph- 



1 66 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ine Rosalie, born January 17, 1852, died 
in 1852, at the age of eight months. (4) 
Katie Adele, born May i, 1854, died-Sep- 
tember 11, 1868. (5) Carrie Eudora, born 
May 3, 1856, married James A. Campbell, 
who died May 21, 1898, at the age of fifty- 
six years, leaving one child, Grace Amelia. 
In early life Mr. Loomis was superin- 
tendent of a cotton mill at Colebrook River, 
Litchfield county, Connecticut. On the 
iithof September, 1862, he laid aside all 
personal interests and entered the service of 
his country, becoming a member of Com- 
pany F, Nineteenth Connecticut Volunteer 
Infantry, which was afterward converted 
into the Second Connecticut Heavy Artillery. 
He was commissioned second lieutenant of 
his company, and was later made first lieu- 
tenant of Company D. While serving in 
the infantry his company did patrol duty at 
Alexandria, Virginia, from the fall of 1862 
until the following spring. Later three of 
the companies. D, F and G, of his regi- 
ment were sent to garrison Fort Ellsworth, 
where his daughter Emogene remained with 
him from July to March, 1864. Prior to 
this time his wife and two daughters had 
been with him at the fort. His first en- 
gagement was with the Army of the Poto- 
mac in the battle of Cold Harbor, where 
they lay in the trenches for forty-eight 
hours, and where the commander of the 
regiment, Colonel Kellogg, was killed, being 
shot five times. When last seen he was 
on his knees giving orders. Mr. Loomis 
was a member of a picked company from 
Litchfield county, and, like many of its 
members, was past the required age for mil- 
itary service. He had charge of the bar- 
racks at Fort Williams, which was garri- 
soned by Companies D, I and B, but many 
of the recruits proved bounty jumpers, and 



one morning he found that fifty of these had 
disappeared. After two years of faithful 
service Mr. Loomis resigned on account of 
ill health and returned home. 

In November, 1877, he came West, and 
first located in Cobden, Union county, Illi- 
nois, where he engaged in the grocery busi- 
ness for six years, and in 1882 removed to 
Urbana, where, in partnership with hisson- 
in-law, Mr. Campbell, he opened a grocery 
and bakery, under the firm name of Loomis 
& Campbell. He continued his connection 
with that business until his death, which oc- 
curred July 21, 1891. He was buried with 
military honors by Black Eagle Post, No. 
157, G. A. R., of which he was a member. 
In politics he was a stanch Republican. 
His upright, honorable life won for him the 
confidence and respect of all with whom he 
came in contact, and he was highly es- 
teemed wherever known. Mrs. Loomis, 
wfio still makes her home in Urbana, is a 
most estimable lady of many sterling qual- 
ities, and has a large circle of friends in 
the community. 



A LFRED SPRADLING is one of Cham- 
i\ paign's highly respected citizens, whose 
useful and well-spent life has not only 
gained for him the confidence of his fellow 
men but has also secured for him a com- 
fortable competence which enables him to 
lay aside all business cares and spend his 
declining days in ease and retirement. 

Mr. Spradling was born in Franklin 
county, Indiana, May 17, 1823, a son of 
John and Betsy (Chapman) Spradling, na- 
tives of South Carolina and Tennessee, re- 
spectively. His paternal grandfather was 
born in one of the eastern states and from 





ALFRED SPRADLING. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



169 



there removed to South Carolina, where he 
owned and conducted a tobacco plantation. 
The father of our subject was a soldier of 
the war of 1812, a member of the land 
forces. He continued his residence in his 
native state until after his marriage, when 
he moved to Indiana, becoming one of the 
very early settlers of Franklin county, and 
taking up a tract of government land, he de- 
veloped from the unbroken forest two fine 
farms in the White Water bottoms. In 
1851 he came to La Salle county, Illinois, 
where he and his wife spent their remaining 
days, both dying at about the age of eighty- 
two years. He had prospered in his under- 
takings and was quite well-to-do. In his 
family were twelve children, namely: Sarah, 
William, Polly, Nancy, John, Elizabeth, 
Enoch, James, Thomas, Rebecca, Alfred 
and Lear. All are now deceased with the 
exception of our subject and Rebecca, who 
is living near Brookville, Franklin county, 
Indiana. 

In the county of his nativity, Alfred 
Spradling grew to manhood, and was edu- 
cated in an old log school house with 
puncheon floor, slab benches, and greased 
newspapers for windows. The scholarsgen- 
erally paid a dollar and a half per quarter 
for their tuition, and the teacher boarded 
around among them. Our subject had to 
walk about three miles to school, and was 
then only able to attend three months in 
winter, as his services were needed on the 
farm throughout the remainder of the year. 
In this way he continued his studies until 
about twenty years of age. 

Mr. Spradling remained at home with 
his parents until he was married, May 4, 
1844, to Miss Amy Jane Peterson, also a 
native of Franklin county. She had a bet- 
ter chance of obtaining an education than 



her husband, as the school house was located 
upon her father's farm, and it was at that 
primitive educational institution that she 
and Mr. Spradling became acquainted. Her 
parents were John and Edith (Clifton) Pe- 
terson, both natives of New Jersey, the for- 
mer born in 1794, the latter, August 21, 
1796. They continued their residence in 
that state a few years after their marriage, 
but, in 1818, moved to Franklin county, In- 
diana, where the father took up government 
land in the timber and cleared and im- 
proved a good farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres. He subsequently added to it and 
becamequite a prosperous farmer. In 1853 
he sold his property in Indiana and came to 
La Salle county, Illinois, where he pur- 
chased three hundred and twenty acres of 
land, making that his home for a. few years, 
but finally removed to Philo, Champaign 
county, where he died in 1873, his wife in 
1877. They were the parents of fourteen 
children: Samuel, Benjamin, Mary, Henry, 
Sarah, John, Elizabeth, Catherine, Amy J., 
Ruth, Charlotte, Clara, Annie W. and Han- 
nah. Those living are Catherine, Amy J., 
Ruth, Charlotte and Hannah. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Spradling have been 
born eleven children, as follows: Elizabeth 
died at the age of eighteen years. Sarah is 
the wife of Harvey Cunningham, of Mar- 
sha.lltown, Iowa. Hartley wedded Mary E. 
Baker, and died in 1894, leaving a widow 
who resides in Urbana. Emory married 
Frances Harrington, and died in 1843. His 
wife also died, leaving a two-year-old child, 
who was reared by our subject and his wife, 
and is now the wife of Fred Street, of Mc- 
Pherson, Kansas. Alpheus married Emma 
Turner and died in Las Vegas, New Mexico, 
while there for his health. His widow is liv- 
ing in Missouri. Albert L. married Hannah 



170 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Owens, and engaged in the hardware busi- 
ness in Hoopeston, Illinois. Ami N. mar- 
ried Ameda Wymer and died at the age of 
forty-two years. Stephen H. married Ella 
Phares and is engaged in the hardware busi- 
ness in Saybrook. George S. died at the 
age of fifteen years. Kate S. is the wife of 
Frank Phares, a grocer of Lincoln, Nebraska. 
Frank married Betty Taylor, and is engaged 
in the grocery and hardware business in Og- 
den, Illinois. 

After his marriage, Mr. Spradling oper- 
ated his father's farm on the shares for a 
time, and would haul his grain and wood to 
Cincinnati, it requiring six days to make the 
round trip. In 1851, he, too, moved to La 
Salle county, Illinois, taking a steamer at 
Cincinnati and floating down the Ohio river 
to the Mississippi. He then went up that 
stream and the Illinois to La Salle, where 
he landed his team and proceeded across 
the country to Mission Grove township 
his destination. There he purchased eighty 
acres of unimproved land, to which he added 
another eighty-acre tract two years later, 
making a good farm of one hundred and 
sixty acres, which he continued to cultivate 
until his removal to this county in 1864. 
In Philo township he bought three hundred 
and twenty acres known as the Griffs farm, 
upon which he made his home for sixteen 
years, and on disposing of that tract bought 
another farm of similar size in Cheney Grove 
township, McLean county, where he engaged 
in general farming and stock raising, ship- 
ping from two to three car loads of stock 
annually. In 1890, he sold his half-section 
of land in that county and moved to Gibson 
City, but only remained there a few months 
before coming to Champaign, where he built 
a comfortable residence in 1891, and is now 
living a retired life. In his farming opera- 



tions he met with the success that usually 
follows the industrious and enterprising 
man, and is now enabled to live in ease and 
comfort upon the proceeds of his former 
life of toil. He still has eighty acres of land 
in Ogden township purchased by him in 
1884, and also has four town lots in Ogden 
and five in Champaign. In early life he 
was a Whig, but since the organization of 
the Republican party he has been one of its 
stanch supporters. He served as pathmaster 
or road commissioner in Franklin county, 
Indiana, but has never cared for the honors 
or emoluments of public office. He and his 
estimable wife are members of the First 
Methodist Episcopal church of Champaign, 
and are highly respected and esteemed by all 
who have the pleasure of their acquaintance 
on account of their sterling worth and many 
excellences of character. 



JESSE R. GULICK, a leading and prom- 
inent attorney of Champaign, who has 
made his home in this county since 1858, 
was born on a farm near Darbyville, Pick- 
away county, Ohio, between Columbus and 
Circleville, December 8, 1 840, and is a member 
of an old colonial family of Holland origin, 
which was founded in this country by four 
representatives of the name. His great- 
grandfather, Ferdinand Gulick, was a sol- 
dier of the Revolutionary war and made his 
home in Virginia, where his death occurred. 
Our subject has in his possession a deed 
which conveyed land to him, in 1794, on the 
road from Winchester to Rumney, in what 
is now West Virginia. The grandfather, 
John Gulick, was a soldier of the war of 
1812 from Virginia, having been a member 
of the militia in that state. He married a 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



171 



Miss Lee, who belonged to the same family 
as Robert E. Lee. About 1817, he removed 
with his family to Ohio, becoming one of 
the pioneer settlers of Pickaway county, 
where he purchased land and spsnt his re- 
maining days. 

Joseph Gulick, the father of our subject, 
was probably born in Loudon county, Vir- 
ginia, and was a child of three years when 
the family removed to Pickaway county, 
Ohio, where he was reared in much the 
usual manner of farmer boys of his day in 
a new country, his home being a log cabin 
on a farm. On reaching manhood he mar- 
ried Miss Eliza Hillery, who was born and 
reared near Kingston, Pickaway county. 
Her father, John Hillery, was a soldier of 
the war of 1812 from Ohio, and was also a 
farmer by occupation. After his marriage 
Mr. Gulick, the father of the subject of our 
sketch, began farming on his own account in 
Pickaway county, where he continued to 
make his home until 1858, which year wit- 
nessed his arrival in Newcomb township, 
Champaign county, Illinois. Later he lived 
in Piatt county, this state, and finally went 
to Jasper county, Missouri, where he died 
in September, 1897. His widow is still 
living in that county. For years he was a 
consistent and faithful member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and during his 
residence in this state held membership in 
the church at Mahomet. 

Our subject was the second child and 
eldest son in a family of twelve children. 
His early education was acquired in the 
common schools of Pickaway county, Ohio, 
and after coming to Champaign county, 
Illinois, he successfully engaged in teaching 
school for two years. During the following 
three years he attended the Asbury Univer- 
sity, now the Depauw University, a Method- 



ist Episcopal institution, of Greencastle, 
Indiana, and for one year thereafter he 
taught school in Macon county, this state. 
In 1866 he began the study of law with 
Coler & Smith, the junior member of the 
firm being judge of this circuit for eighteen 
years. Mr. Gulick was admitted to the 
bar by the supreme court in April, 1867, 
and the following year engaged in practice 
in Champaign. He then went to Vandalia, 
where he remained two years and while 
there was examiner and assistant county 
superintendent of schools. As he was about 
to leave that place, in 1870, he was ten- 
dered the nomination for prosecuting attor- 
ney by his party, which at that time was 
equivalent to an election, as the party was 
largely in the majority, but having already 
made arrangements to return to Champaign, 
he declined the honor. Here he has since 
engaged in private practice, with the ex- 
ception of a short time spent in farming, 
and has a large general practice, trying 
many cases before the supreme and appellate 
courts and meeting with most excellent suc- 
cess. He has been connected with several 
of the most important land cases on trial in 
the county. He is thoroughly versed in 
the law, is a man of deep research and care- 
ful investigation and his skill and ability are 
widely recognized. He still owns a fine 
farm of over a section in Newcomb town- 
ship, and while superintending the operation 
of the same he made his home in Mahomet 
for four years after his return from Vandalia. 
He was one of the first attorneys to locate 
there and took an active part in booming 
the town. 

In 1867 Mr. Gulick married Miss Louisa 
L. Everett, who was born and reared in 
this county, and is a daughter of Joseph T. 
and Jemima (Piper) Everett, natives of 



172 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Kentucky, where they were married in 1841 
and soon after removed from Lewis county, 
that state, to this county, and for a time the 
father engaged in farming in Newcomb 
township, but later followed merchandising 
in Champaign, where he died in June, 1878. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Gulick were born six chil- 
dren, namely: Edward E., a graduate of 
the University of Illinois, class '92, and 
later pursued a theological course at Shurt- 
liff College, and was graduated from that 
institution; Joseph Piper, who is mentioned 
below; Roscoe E., an attorney of Sheldon, 
Illinois; Clyde D. , who is now attending 
the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at 
Chicago; Maggie Grace, a member of the 
junior class of the University of Illinois; and 
Wilbur, the youngest member of the high 
school of Champaign. Three of the sons 
are graduates of the University of Illinois, 
but Roscoe was educated at Valparaiso, 
Indiana, and also attended lectures at the 
law department of the Wesleyan University 
at Bloomington, Illinois. The family have 
an elegant home at No. 209 West Church 
street. 

Mr. Gulick is a supporter of the Demo- 
cratic party, and takes an active and prom- 
inent part in local politics, having served as 
a member of various committees and as a 
delegate to different state conventions. He 
was also a delegate to the convention which 
nominated Judge Smith the first time he was 
elected. During his residence in Mahomet, 
Mr. Gulick served as police magistrate for 
four years. He was a member of the Odd 
Fellows Lodge at that place, and was made 
a Mason there about 1888, but dimitted to 
Champaign in 1891, and is now a member 
of the lodge and chapter in this city, and of 
the council at Urbana, and Urbana Com- 
mandery, No. 16, K. T. Both Mr. and Mrs. 



Gulick are prominent members of the Bap- 
tist church of Champaign, of which he was 
deacon for eight years, and was trustee when 
the new church was erected. He was also 
elected chairman of the building committee, 
but resigned that position. He had pre- 
viously served as chairman of the building 
committee when the parsonage was built. 
He has been a resident of Champaign county 
for over forty years, and as a public-spirited 
and progressive citizen has given his support 
to all measures for the public good. His 
career has ever been such as to warrant the 
trust and confidence of his fellow citizens, 
and he is held in high regard by all who 
know him. 

Joseph P. Gulick, who is engaged in the 
practice of law with his father at Champaign, 
under the firm name of Gulick & Gulick, 
was born in Vandalia, Illinois, December 20, 
1870, and began his education in the coun- 
try schools. He attended the high school 
at Mahomet, and then entered the Univer- 
sity of Illinois, where he pursued the literary 
course and was graduated in 1892. He was 
a member of the Philomathen Literary So- 
ciety and took the second prize in the de- 
clamatory contest. During the senior year 
the honors are excelsior orator and excelsior 
president. He was elected orator, and de- 
livered the oration at the anniversary of the 
placing of the excelsior statue in the hall, it 
being the gift of Lorado Taft. After his 
graduation he was principal of the Savoy 
schools for three years, during which time 
he read law with his father, and in 1895 was 
admitted to the bar by examination before 
the appellate court at Mt. Vernon. He 
then formed a partnership with his father 
and has since engaged in practice. During 
his first year he took a case to the appellate 
court and had it reversed by the same court 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



173 



that admitted him. He is a fine orator and 
in his lodge work, etc., is called upon to de- 
liver many addreses. He was made a 'Ma- 
son in 1893, at Western Star Lodge, No. 
240, A. F. & A. M., of which he has been 
worshipful master since December, 1897, 
being twice elected to that office, and has 
represented the lodge in the grand lodge 
three times, first when senior warden. He 
is captain of hosts in the chapter, also a 
member of the council, and is at present 
senior warden of the commandery. It was 
under his administration that the Masonic 
Temple was purchased at a cost of eighteen 
thousand dollars. At present he is chairman 
of the temple committee, and is also a mem- 
ber of Saxa Ruba Conclave, No. 2, Red 
Cross of Constantin.e, another Masonic body. 



REV. NATHAN S. MORRIS, an hon- 
ored and highly respected citizen of 
Urbana, now living a retired life, is one of 
the men who make old age seem the better 
portion of life. For many years he labored 
untiringly in the Master's cause as a minister 
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and after 
a long career of usefulness can well afford to 
lay all cares aside and spend the sunset of 
life in ease and quiet in his pleasant home 
at No. 501 West High street. 

Mr. Morris was born near Cadiz, Harri- 
son county, Ohio, December 6, 1830, a son 
of John and Maria (Burson) Morris, also 
natives of that state. The father, who was 
a turner and machinist by trade, died 
at an early age, and in 1835, the mother, 
with their only child our subject moved 
to Kalamazoo county, Michigan, where he 
was reared as a farmer boy. He was 
educated in the common schools of his day, 



and in 1851 commenced teaching school, 
which profession he followed for six or seven 
terms before entering the ministry. His 
advantages for obtaining a good scholastic 
training were limited, but by perseverance 
and close application he obtained a liberal 
education, and his labors in life have been 
productive of great good. 

Returning to his native state, he joined 
the Central Ohio Conference of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, and began preach- 
ing in 1854, at Wapakoneta, Auglaize 
county. In 1855, he had charge of Arcanum 
circuit, Dark county, and in 1856 of Quincy 
circuit, Logan county, and of Zanesville 
circuit, in 1850. While there he often 
passed the spot where Simon Kenton, the 
great Indian hunter, ran the gauntlet, and 
the cabin where that warrior lived. Mr. 
Morris' next circuit was Fort Recovery 
the battle ground where St. Claire was 
defeated. The small stream running through 
this is said to have been red with the blood 
of those slain. Our subject's last charge in 
Ohio was at Mt. Victory, Hardin county. 

Coming to Illinois in 1860, Mr. Morris 
organized the Bruillets Creek circuit, in 
Edgar county, where the flourishing town 
of Chrisman now stands. In the fall of 
1863 he was appointed to the Urbana cir- 
cuit, then known as the Champaign circuit 
and remained here two years. In 1865 he 
was appointed to Blue Grass (now Potomac), 
Illinois, where the following year was 
passed. His next charge was Bloomfield 
circuit, Edgar county, in 1866, near where he 
first started in the state, and from there he 
went, in 1867, to Oakland, Coles county, 
where he remained two years. The following 
two years were passed in charge of Myers- 
ville circuit, followed by a year at Catlin, 
near Danville, and a year at Savoy in 



174 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Champaign county. Two years at De Witt, 
De Witt county, closed his itinerancy in 
1877, when he took a superannuated relation 
owing to failing health. He has since filled 
appointments for others, but has accepted 
no regular charge. His work in the minis- 
try was very effective and he was the means 
of bringing many souls to Christ. Formerly 
he was a member of both the Masonic and 
Odd Fellows societies, but at present is not 
connected with any secret organization. 

On the 5th of April, 1857, Mr. Morris 
married Miss Matilda A. Patton, who was 
born September 29, 1839, at Quincy, Logan 
county, Ohio. She is a lady of many excel- 
lent traits of character, and has ever been 
an encouragement and inspiration to her 
husband in his work for the betterment of 
mankind. She is a faithful member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and as a mother 
has been keenly devoted to the best inter- 
ests of her home and children, rearing them 
wisely and giving them the benefits of a good 
education. Her parents were Felix and 
Sarah Patton, natives of Ohio. Her father 
was engaged in farming near Quincy, Logan 
county, that state, until 1859, when he 
came to Illinois, locating first in Edgar 
county. He lived at several different places 
in this state, spending five or six years in 
Urbana, where his wife died at the age of 
sixty-two years. His death occurred in 
Sanford, Indiana, in 1881, at the age of 
seventy-four. Both he and his wife were 
born in 1807. They were devout members 
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and 
were worthy of the high regard in which 
thev were universally held. ' Mrs. Morris is 
the only one of their, eight children now 
living. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Morris were born three 
children: (i) Charles Luther, born in Fort 



Recovery, February n, 1859, died on Mt. 
Victory circuit, February 26, 1860. (2) 
Alice is the wife of Rev. D. G. Dubois, of 
the Illinois conference, now stationed at 
Griggsville, was born at Blue Grass, March 
29, 1866. He is a graduate of the State 
University at Bloomington, Indiana, and of 
the Garrett Biblical Institute at Evanston, 
Illinois. He has finished successful pastor- 
ates at Monticello, St. Joseph, Ludlow, 
Fithian, Rankin and Fisher, in all of which 
Mrs. DuBois has been a very efficient helper 
both in church and pastoral work. Mr. 
and Mrs. Dubois have two children, Lucile 
and Lenore. (3) Mrs. Flora M. Sims, who, 
with her child (Charles B. Sims, Jr.), is liv- 
ing with her parents in Urbana, born at Oak- 
land, Coles county, March 9, 1868, is an 
artist of rare ability. She has made a 
specialty of animal painting and in this line 
has been remarkably successful. She spent 
three years in the art department of the 
University, and to this has added a careful 
and painstaking study of horses and other 
domestic animals. The animal pictures are 
for the most part in oil, which is her favor- 
ite medium, and they display, besides the 
necessary touch in choosing and laying on 
the colors, a remarkable eye for detail and 
technique. Her pictures have received the 
highest praise from competent critics, and 
she has received many orders for work.' 
She also possesses considerable ability as 
a sculptor, and has made a life-size bust of 
her little boy, which is a fine piece of work. 
She paints from nature with ease and ac- 
curacy. She is a woman of noble qualities, 
of pleasing presence and deservedly popular, 
and a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church choir of Urbana, which is probably 
the best choir to be found in any city of ten 
thousand inhabitants in the state. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



175 



JOHN E. YEATS, a prominent and suc- 
cessful florist of Champaign, who is en- 
gaged in business on the corner of Spring- 
field avenue and South Third street, was 
born in Sadorus, this county, November 2, 
1870, a son of Andrew J. and Mary (Peat) 
Yeats. The father was born December 15, 
1837, and came to Sadorus sometime in the 
'403, when this region was all wild and un- 
improved, and the present flourishing city 
of Champaign was unmarked by a single 
habitation. Here the grandfather, Zetho- 
myer Yeats, owned a half-section of land, 
to the improvement and cultivation of which 
he devoted his energies for many years, and 
upon that place he died when nearly ninety 
years of age. Our subject's father also pur- 
chased a tract of wild land and engaged in 
farming in early life. He married Miss 
Mary Peat, ot Sadorus, who was born in 
England, and came to this country when 
twelve years old, with her father, David 
Peat, also a pioneer land owner of Sadorus. 

Some years ago Mr. Peat went to Barber 
county, Kansas, where he was killed by a 
fall, but his widow is still living and now 
makes her home in Champaign. The father 
of our subject was quite a prominent Demo- 
crat and influential citizen of Sadorus, and 
held the office of constable at that place for 
some years. In 1873 he came to Cham- 
paign, where he was a member of the police 
force for a time, and is now engaged in the 
grocery business. He and his wife have a 
family of seven children, all of whom are 
still living and are now married. 

John E. Yeats, of this review, was prin- 
cipally educated in the common and high 
schools of Champaign, and after leaving 
school spent six years in the employ of dif- 
ferent florists, during which time he thor- 
oughly mastered the business. In 1893 he 



purchased the corner lot now occupied by 
him, and erected thereon three sma'l green- 
houses. At first he gave his attention almost 
entirely to the raising of flowers for the local 
trade, and meeting with success in the 
undertaking he has enlarged his plant until 
he now has twelve thousand feet under 
glass, it being the largest in this section of 
the state. Over one mile of pipe is used in 
heating his place and two base-burning boil- 
ers, and all of the latest improvements 
needed in the business are there found. He 
has invented an automatic attachment that 
will ring as soon as heat begins to leave the 
pipes. This he has patented and has been 
successful in selling it to many of the flor- 
ists of different large cities. He now ships 
the most of his cut flowers to Chicagt), 
where, owing to their superiority, they find 
a ready sale at the highest market price. 
He has raised carnations that were three 
and a half inches across. He has given 
several flower shows in Champaign, and de- 
votes much time to the study of floriculture 
that he may improve on his own and others' 
methods. He is also a member of the 
Society of American Florists, and attended 
its conventions in Omaha in 1898, Detroit 
in 1899, and New York in 1900. He is ar- 
tistic in his tastes, and has decorated the 
halls for the majority of important enter- 
tainments at the university. He now owns 
about a quarter of a block of ground, which 
he has converted into a beautiful place, and 
besides his greenhouses he has erected a 
pleasant residence thereon for his own use. 
On the 5th of October, 1892, Mr. Yeats 
was united in marriage with Miss Sarah J. 
Marshall, of Springfield, Illinois, who was 
born in Missouri, but was reared and edu- 
cated in Springfield. Her father, J. J. 
Marshall, was born in New York, and when 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



a young man came to this state, locating 
near Springfield, where he married Martha 
Lord. Subsequently he lived for a few 
years in Jefferson City, Missouri, and then 
returned to Springfield, where he engaged 
in buying and shipping stock, in which busi- 
ness he has been interested since twelve 
years old. He is still a resident of that 
city and is one of its highly respected citi- 
zens, but his first wife, the mother of Mrs. 
Yeats, died in 1875, when her daughter 
was only four years old. In 1879 he mar- 
ried Martha Jackson, who is still living. 
Our subject and his wife had two children: 
Camelia Rose, deceased, and J. Marshall. 
They are members of the Baptist church, 
and he was formerly a Democrat in politics, 
but not favoring the free coinage of silver, 
he now votes independent of party lines. 
He has been solicited to run for alderman, 
but prefers to give his undivided attention 
to his business interests. 



HON. MILTON W. MATHEVVS, de- 
ceased, was for many years one of the 
most influential and highly esteemed citizens 
of Champaign county, one whose influence 
was felt not alone in the county of his 
adoption, but throughout the entire state. 
He was a native of the state, born in 
Marshall, Clark county, March i, 1846, and 
was a son of John R., and Mary (McNeil) 
Mathews, both of whom were natives of 
Coshocton county, Ohio. Both are now 
deceased, the latter dying August 12, 1854, 
and the former October 12, 1884. John R. 
Mathews was a veteran of the Civil War, 
enlisting first as a private in Company F, 
36th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, from which 
he was discharged for disability after one 



year's service, and laterserving in an Indiana 
Battery. 

The boyhood and youth of our subject 
were spent in his native county and in Wayne 
county, Indiana, removing with his father 
to the latter county in 1859. Like many of 
the best man of his country he was reared 
on a farm, attending to farm duties during 
the summer months, and in the winter secur- 
ing such knowledge as could be obtained in 
the country schools. He later took an 
academic course, completing his studies at 
the Dublin Academy, under the tutorship 
of Professor John Cooper. In April, 1865, he 
followed his father to Champaign county, 
Illinois, and located at Philo, but soon after- 
wards commenced teaching school at Yankee 
Ridge. While engaged in this occupation 
he began reading law, and in the spring of 
1867, he moved to Urbana, and, under the 
instruction of G. W. Gere, continued his 
studies. In August of that year he passed a 
successful examination, and was admitted 
to the bar. 

Shortly after his admission Mr. Mathews 
formed a partnership with his preceptor, 
which relation was continued for two years, 
after which he continued alone in practice, 
building up a large and lucrative business. 
In 1873 he was appointed Master in Chan- 
cery, and held that office nine years in suc- 
cession, rendering to the court and bar of 
the county the utmost satisfaction. In that 
office he was often called upon to pass upon 
legal questions of the most intricate char- 
acter, to which he gave careful attention, 
his conclusions being found generally cor- 
rect. In 1876, he was nominated by the 
Republican party for States Attorney, and 
though opposed by the combined votes of 
the Democratic and independent parties, 
was elected by a majority of six hundred 







mK9 ^f 






TTON. M. W. MATTHEWS. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



179 



and fifteen votes. He proved himself to be 
a most trustworthy representative of the 
people in the courts, and was veritably a 
terror to evil-doers. Ingenious in the man- 
agement of cases, he had almost an intui- 
tive knowledge of the ways of the criminal 
class, and punctured with his keen thrusts 
the many pretences of clever criminals, set 
up to deceive and mislead juries. Never in 
the history of the county was the criminal 
business in the courts better managed than 
during Mr. Mathews' two terms of office, 
for at the end of his first term he was re- 
elected for another term of four years, re- 
tiring from the position in 1884. 

In 1888 Mr. Mathews was elected a 
member of the State Senate by a majority 
greater by several hundred than his party 
had ever been able to give any candidate 
since 1872. In that body he at once took 
a commanding position, being recognized as 
one of its leaders. Though a new member 
of the body, he was unamiously elected pro- 
tern president of the Senate. His services, 
as a member of the election committee were 
of great advantage to the party, while at 
the same time he was just to his opponents. 
No man in that body had a keener insight 
into public affairs, or could secure greater 
assistance in the passage of public measures. 
All his measures found supporters and he 
proved a faithful and efficient representative 
of his district and especially of the great in- 
terests of the State University. To his la- 
bors and influence, the University in largely 
indebted for the liberal appropriations se- 
cured, and the magnificent buildings com- 
pleted. Early in his term as Senator he 
was commissioned to the honorary office of 
Colonel, upon the staff of Governor Fifer, 
whose greatest confidence and respect he 
secured and retained. By many of the 



leading Republican newspapers of the state, 
as well as by politicians generally, -he was 
mentioned for the office of Governor of the 
state, and had he lived would doubtless have 
filled that honorable position. 

In 1879 Mr. Mathews purchased the of- 
fice and good will of the Champaign County 
Herald, with which paper he was identified 
until his death. For some years he was the 
sole editor and proprietor, but later he as- 
sociated with him in its editorial manage- 
ment, L. A. McLean. As an editorial 
writer he was fearless in the advocacy of 
what he considered right, and the principles 
of the republican party being dear to his 
heart, he advocated them in the strongest 
terms, and in due time the Herald was re- 
cognized as one of the ablest champions in 
the state of the men and measures of the 
party. Early in his editorial life they re- 
cognized his power by electing him twice in 
succession as president of the Illinois State 
Editorial Association and as often their re- 
presentative to the National Association. 

On the 2ist of October, 1869, Mr. 
Mathews was united in marriage with Miss 
Julia R. Foote, of Urbana, but a native of 
Ohio, and daughter of William J. and Lucy 
M. (Alcott) Foote, natives respectively of 
New York and Connecticut. William J. 
Foote was born in Menden, Monroe county, 
New York, September 10, 1817. He was 
of a long lived family. His paternal grand- 
father, Charles Foot (whose ancestors 
came from Colchester, England, and found- 
ed the town of Colchester, Connecticut), was 
a soldier in the revolutionary war, and died 
at the age of eighty-nine years. The father 
of William J., also named Charles, lived for 
one hundred and two years and seven 
months, and died in 1883. He voted at 
the presidential elections from. Thomas Jef- 



i8o 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ferson to Garfield, and remembered all the 
elections, including that of Washington, the 
first time in 1789. 

In his native state William J. Foote 
learned the business of brickmaking and in 
1855, when he came to Urbana, engaged in 
the manufacture of brick, in which he con- 
tinued until 1871. He made the brick for 
the courthouse, the Methodist Episcopal 
church in Urbana, and for about all the 
brick buildings both in Urbana and Cham- 
paign, that were erected prior to 1871. In 
politics he was originally a Whig, and later 
a Republican, voting an unscratched ticket 
ever since that party was born until the time 
of his death. Lucy M. (Alcott) Foote was 
the youngest daughter of Medad Alcott, 
whose ancestors for five generations are 
traced back to Thomas Alcott, who came 
over with Governor Winthrop in 1630. His 
father, John Alcott. was Lord Chancelor of 
England, under King Henry VII. Mrs. 
Foote was a double cousin of A. Bronson 
Alcott, the Concord Philosopher. She died 
in October, 1899, at the age of eighty-two 
years. Mr. Foote died July 2, 1888, at the 
age of seventy years. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Mathews two children 
were born: Mae and Clyde Milton. The 
former is the wife of W. A. Nicolaus, of New 
York, who is a traveling salesman, repre- 
senting a New York firm. The latter is a 
student in the law department of the Uni- 
versity of Illinois. Mrs. Mathews, with her 
son, resides in the family residence in Elm 
street, Urbana, which has been her home 
for some years. 

Fraternally Mr. Mathews was a member 
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of 
Mutual Aid and Modern Woodmen of 
America. For six or eight years he was one 



of the trustees of the Independent Order of 
Mutual Aid in Illinois, and was highly in- 
strumental in placing the order on a secure 
foundation. He was also chairman of the 
board of trustees of the Modern Woodmen 
of America for a time, and was of great as- 
sistance in the establishment of that order 
on a permanent basis. Though never a 
member of any church, he was a firm be- 
liever in Christianity and its effect upon 
society, and had no sympathy nor patience 
with the modern doctrines of rationalism 
which offers to supplant what he believed 
to be revealed religion, with the uncertain 
and unfounded philosophy of the sneering 
cynic. He believed in God, his church 
and his providence over the affairs of 
men. 

As a citizen Mr. Mathews was always en- 
terprising and an earnest advocate of every- 
thing having a tendency to advance the ma- 
terial interests of his adopted city and coun- 
ty. He was instrumental in the organiza- 
tion of the Building and Loan Association 
of Urbana, and for some years served as its 
president. A stock holder and director in 
the First National Bank of Urbana, by his 
wise counsel, he assisted in giving that in- 
stitution a recognized standing in the com- 
munity for conservative management. He 
also became the owner of considerable val- 
uable real estate in Urbana, including -the 
Herald block. 

On Tuesday, May 10, 1892, Mr. Mathews 
passed to his reward. For months he 
struggled for life and his friends and admirers 
hoped against hope for the extension of that 
life which had in it so much of blessing for 
his family, delight for himself and hope for 
his country. His funeral, which was held 
on Saturday, May 14, was under the auspices 
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



181 



and lodges of that order were present from 
all the surrounding towns. There were 
also lodges of the Knights of Pythias from 
the surrounding towns, and the Modern 
Woodmen of America had also its represen- 
tatives. All of these orders united with the 
orders in Urbana in the services. The 
board of supervisors, the bar of the county, 
the faculty and battalion of the University 
of Illinois, and the city councils of Urbana 
and Champaign formed part of the proces- 
sion. A special train from Springfield 
brought Governor Fifer and his staff, the 
state officers, and many prominent citizens 
of that city. The services were held in the 
military building of the University, which, 
although having a capacity to seat five 
thousand people, was soon filled, and hun- 
dreds turned away, not being able to gain 
admittance. Resolutions of respect were 
passed by the city councils of Champaign 
and Urbana, and expressions of sympathy 
were sent to the bereaved family from vari- 
ous parts of the state and nation. No man 
in Champaign county will be more greatly 
missed than^Milton W. Mathews. His elo- 
quent, persuasive lips are sealed in death, 
never again to sway multitudes and influ- 
ence campaigns. On the stump, from 
early manhood, he was always a power. 
Political managers recognized this and drew 
largely upon him for his services both in 
this and other states. In his efforts he won 
for himself the plaudits of discriminating 
hearers. As lawyer, senator, political 
writer, and as an advocate upon the .hust- 
ings, he was always popular. Jovial in man- 
ner and disposition, much of his popularity 
and success in life was no doubt due to that 
trait in his character. Ambitious young 
men may well aspire to his attainments, 
while but few can ever reach them. 



WA. MULLIN, deputy postmaster of 
Urbana, has for several years been 
prominently identified with the public af- 
fairs of that city, and has most creditably 
and satisfactorily filled several important 
official positions. He is a progressive man, 
pre-eminently public-spirited, and all that 
pertains to the public welfare receives his 
hearty endorsement. 

Mr. Mullin was born in Bedford, Penn- 
sylvania, September' 14, 1851, and is a son 
of J. M. and Eliza (Hazlett) Mullin, also 
natives of that state, the former born in 
Carlisle, May 22, 1828, the latter in Bed- 
ford, September 6, 1828. In 1854 they be- 
came residents of this county. Sampson 
Mullin, the paternal grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was proprietor of a paper mill in Car- 
lisle. The father followed the blacksmith's 
trade in early life, but is now conducting a 
general store in Seymour and also deals in 
grain and coal. He filled the office of jus- 
tice of the peace in Pesotum township for 
twelve years, and was town clerk for four 
years. Both he and his wife are active and 
faithful members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church at Seymour, with which he has 
been officially connected for many years. 
For more than half a century they have 
traveled life's journey together, sharing its 
joys and sorrows, its adversity and pros- 
perity, and they merit and receive the con- 
fidence and respect of all who know them. 

Of the six children born to this worthy 
couple, our subject is the eldest; Marietta is 
the wife of E. S. Golden, of Urbana, and 
they have three children, Archibald S., 
George A. and Cecil L. ; Jacob M., a resi- 
dent of Seymour, married Emma Vanmeter, 
and they have two children, Glenn and 
Carl; Lida is the wife of W. T. Harvey, 
of Urbana, and they have two children, May 



182 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and Clyde; Charles N., a resident of Sey- 
mour, married Ella Allison, who died De- 
cember 22, 1899, at the age of thirty-four 
years, leaving three children, Inez, Lloyd 
and Gladys; and Emma is the wife of Doug- 
las Osborne, of Urbana, and they have two 
children, Lela and Dean. 

W. A. Mullin was reared on the home 
farm in Pesotum township, this county, and 
was educated in the common schools of the 
neighborhood. He began life for himself 
as a farmer and continued to follow that 
occupation for many years. He was mar- 
ried, March 8, 1877, to Miss Rosella A. 
Johnson, a native of Ohio and a daughter of 
Charles and Elizabeth Johnson. The mother 
died in 1861, but the father is still living 
and a resident of Pesotum township, having 
come to this county from Lebanon, Ohio, 
in 1855. He owns a well-improved and 
valuable farm of three hundred acres in that 
township, but has now retired from active 
labor. He is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, to which Mrs. Mullin's 
mother also belonged. There were four 
children born to them, namely: Rosella 
A., wife of our subject; Mary A., wife of 
Frank Shepherd, of Urbana, by whom she 
has three children, Elizabeth, wife of Will- 
iam Becker, Roy and Clyde; James D., a 
liveryman of Deland, Illinois, who married 
Ida Starkey, and has four children, David, 
Charles, James and May; Caroline, who 
married S. A. Crawford, a farmer of Pesotum 
township, and died at the age of thirty- 
eight years, leaving five children, Stella, 
Lemuel, Daisy, Edwin and Clark. For 
his second wife the father married Sarah 
Corns, and they have one son, Charles B., 
of Pesotum, who married Ida Perkins and 
has four children, Charles, Earl, Eddie and 
Daisy. Our subject and his wife have three 



children: Charles M., a boilermaker in the 
employ of the Big Four Railroad; William 
G. and Frank W. 

On leaving the farm in 1882, Mr. Mullin 
removed to Urbana, where he was engaged 
in the furniture and stove business under 
the name of W. A. Mullin until 1897, when 
he was appointed assistant postmaster un- 
der W. W. Lindley, and has since devoted 
his time .and attention to the duties of that 
office. His fellow citizens, recognizing his 
worth and ability, have called upon him to 
serve in several responsible positions, the 
duties of which he has most capably dis- 
charged. He represented his ward in the 
city council for six years, from 1886 to 1892; 
was city treasurer from 1893 to 1895; ar >d 
assistant supervisor of Urbana township 
from 1894 to 1898. Politically he is an 
ardent Republican, does all in his power to 
advance the interests of his party and secure 
its success; and was secretary of the county 
central committee from 1892 to 1898. He 
is a prominent Mason, a member of Urbana 
Lodge, No. 157, F. & A. M. ; Urbana Chap- 
ter, No. 80, R. A. M., of which he is scribe; 
and Urbana Commandery, No. 16, K. T. 
He is also a member of the Modern Wood- 
men of America. 



WILLIAM WARNES, a retired farmer 
and highly respected citizen of Ur- 
bana, residing at No. 208 West High street, 
was born about seventy years ago near 
Wells, England, one hundred and forty 
miles northeast of London. His parents, 
Robert and Sarah Ann Warnes, spent their 
entire lives in that locality, where ' the 
father was employed as a shepherd, that 
country being well adapted for sheep rais- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



183, 



ing. Our subject is the oldest of their 
children, and the others are as follows: 
Robert died in England; Fannie died at the 
age of seven months; Mary is now a widow 
with three children and resides near her 
parents' old home in England; Fannie died 
leaving a husband and six children; Sarah 
is also deceased; Lizzie, Eliza, Margaret 
and Hannah are all married, have families 
and reside in England; and John came .to 
this country in 1866, and is now engaged in 
farming in Raymond township, Champaign 
county. 

Our subject was reared upon a farm in 
his native land, and in 1849 came to Amer- 
ica on a sailing vessel, which, at that time, 
was nearly seven weeks in making the voy- 
age and had eleven hundred on board, in- 
cluding crew and passengers. Mr. Warnes 
was one of a party of four young men who 
were full of spirits and had a very jolly time 
during the voyage. The vessel owners fur- 
nished them with tea, coffee, rice, biscuit 
and molasses, but it was with great difficulty 
that they could drink the coffee during the 
rough weather they encountered, being un- 
able to steady their cups. During one 
severe storm the hatches were closed and 
all were kept below for one day and night 
to prevent the water from coming in. It 
was with great rejoicing that they first saw 
land after so long and tedious a voyage. 
They landed at the north pier in Castle 
Garden, New York, and Mr. Warnes and 
his friend, Joseph Sanders, went up the 
Hudson and through the canal to Buffalo, 
New York, from there went to Milwaukee, 
where they took a propeller for Chicago. 
There our subject engaged in working for a 
Mr. Stone near where the Kinzie street de- 
pot is now located, and received fourteen 
dollars per week and board. He saved 



some money at that time, and spent the 
winter in Putnam county, Illinois, cutting 
cord wood for steamboats, and made his 
board, but not much more. It was a hard 
winter, with much mud, ice and snow, and 
the log house, in which eleven men slept, 
proved but poor shelter from the elements. 
Each took five acres of land to clear, and' 
received only five shillings per cord for hard 
wood and fifty cents per cord for soft. The 
following summer Mr. Warnes engaged in 
the manufacture of brick near Joliet, but 
lost all that he had made. Returning to 
Chicago, he worked in a dairy and looked 
after one hundred and fifty cows for a time. 

On the 5th of July, 1854. Mr. Warnes 
was married in that city to Miss Studd Rose, 
also a native of England, and a daughter of 
Robert and Mary Rose, in whose family were 
eight children. Mrs. Warnes came to the 
United States in 1853, and had one sister, 
Mrs. John Racey Bowman, who also came 
to this country and lived in Chicago, but is 
now deceased. Of the two children born to 
our subject and his wife, both died in infancy 
unnamed. 

Mr. Warnes continued to engage in 
farming near Chicago during the war and 
until 1867, when he came to Champaign 
county. He well remembers when water 
was peddled around from house to house in 
Chicago, the people paying ten cents for so 
many bucketsful. In those early days beef 
brought only a cent or a cent and a half per 
pound, pork three cents, corn ten cents per 
bushel, eggs four cents per dozen, and cows 
were sold for ten dollars. When Mr. 
Warnes came to this state there were still 
many Indians here, and he has seen them 
in their dances. On his removal to this 
county he bought two hundred and forty acres 
of land, and is now the owner of three hun- 



1 84 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



dred and seventy acres, all in Raymond town." 
ship, this county, except forty acres across 
the line in Douglas county. This farm he 
now rents to his brother, who has six sons, 
while he is living retired in Urbana. The 
success that he has achieved in -life is due to 
his own industry, perseverance and good 
management, for when he landed in Chi- 
cago he had but fifty cents remaining. He 
has steadily prospered and is now enabled to 
lay aside all business cares and spend his 
declining years in ease and quiet, surrounded 
by all the comforts which make life worth 
the living. Both he and his wife are 
earnest members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, and are held in high regard 
by all who know them on account of their 
sterling worth. 



CHARLES D. THOMAS, one of the lead- 
ing young attorneys of Champaign, 
Illinois, is a native of this county, born in 
Scott township. His father, Benjamin F. 
Thomas, was born in Cattaraugus county, 
New York, and during his youth removed to 
Warren county, Ohio, with his parents, 
Leander and Paulina (Kilbourn) Thomas, 
pioneers of that county, where they spent 
the remainder of their lives. There the 
father of our subject grew to manhood, but 
in 1856, at the age of twenty-one years, he 
came to Champaign county, Illinois, and 
first located in Scott township, where he 
followed farming. While there he married 
Mary Cresap, a daughter of Daniel Cresap, 
who was originally from Maryland, though 
he came to this state from Ohio, and was 
the owner of a large tract of land in Scott 
township. After his marriage the father of 
our subject purchased a quarter section of 



land in Colfax township, upon which he con- 
tinued to make his home until 1881, when 
he went to California and engaged in farm- 
ing and fruit growing in that state for two 
or three years. On his return to Illinois he 
bought a farm in Mahomet township, this 
county, but is now living a retired life in the 
village of Mahomet, being quite well-to-do. 
He is highly respected and esteemed by all 
who know him, and while a resident of Col- 
fax township held different local offices. 
His wife is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church and a most estimable lady. 
In their family are three sons: Charles D., 
our subject; William A., and Benjamin F., 
Jr., who carries on the home farm. 

Our subject began his education in the 
public schools of Colfax township, and dur- 
ing the residence of the family in California 
attended school there. He was graduated 
from the high school of Mahomet in 1887, 
and completed his education at the Uni- 
versity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, paying his 
own expenses at that institution by teaching 
for four years. He was principal of the 
schools at DeLandone year, and at Ivesdale, 
this county, for the same length of time. 
In the fall of 1894 he began reading law 
with Captain Thomas J. Smith, of Cham- 
paign, and was admitted to the bar by ex- 
amination at Mt. Vernon, in August, 1896. 
He then opened an office of his own and 
from the start has been exceptionally suc- 
cessful, having built up an excellent practice 
and an enviable reputation in his chosen 
calling. Since attaining his majority he has 
always affiliated with the Republican party, 
and in the spring of 1899 was elected city 
attorney of Champaign on that ticket. That 
office he is now filling with credit to himself 
and to the satisfaction of the people. He is 
also a director of the Twin City Saving and 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



185 



Loan Association, and has served as its 
attorney. 

Socially Mr. Thomas is a member of 
Mahomet Lodge, No. 220, F.&A.M.;of the 
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, 
of which he is Esteemed Loyal Knight; and 
of the Sons of Veterans, his father having 
been a soldier of the Civil war. 

At the beginning of our recent war with 
Spain, Mr. Thomas assisted in organizing a 
provisional company in Colonel Bogardus' 
regiment, and was commissioned first lieu- 
tenant. They tendered their services to the 
government and made several strong efforts 
to enter the service but were unable to do so 
on account of the early declaration of peace. 
What Mr. Thomas has accomplished in life 
is due entirely to his own energetic efforts, 
as he paid his own way through college and 
while studying law, and the thoroughness 
and persistency with which he applied him- 
self at that time has characterized his entire 
career, and has been supplemented by care- 
ful attention to details and by honorable 
and straightforward effort, that has gained 
him a most excellent and enviable reputation 
and an honored position among his profes- 
sional brethren. 



LEWIS VINTON MANSPEAKER, one 
of the leading business men of Cham- 
paign, Illinois, has shown in his successful 
career that he has the ability to plan wisely 
and execute with energy, a combination 
which, when possessed by men in any walk 
of life, never fails to effect notable results. 
Since 1865, when he entered his father's 
store as clerk, he has been identified with 
the grocery trade of Champaign, and is to- 
day one of the most prominent business men 
in his line in the city. 



A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Mans- 
peaker was born in Bedford, Bedford county, 
November 27, 1852, and is a son of William 
W.and Katherine (Radebaugh) Manspeaker, 
also natives of that county. The maternal 
grandfather, Peter Radebaugh, a drummer 
boy in the war of 1812, was one of the 
prominent business men of Bedford county. 
Later he came to this county, and located 
in Urbana, which was then the larger town, 
establishing a dry goods business there, 
which he carried on for a short time. On 
selling out, he bought a half-section of land 
near Homer, made many improvement? up- 
on the same, and devoted the remainder of 
his life to agricultural pursuits. 

In early life the father of our subject 
engaged in clerking in a dry goods store in 
Bedford, Pennsylvania, and later as a baker 
and caterer did the principal business in that 
line in that city for some time. In 1861 he 
removed with his family to Urbana, Illinois, 
and during the Civil war he entered the ser- 
vice as a sutler with the Twenty-fifth Illinois 
Volunteer Infantry, with which regiment he 
remained until hostilities ceased. He saw 
many hardships, and his wife and six small 
children left at home also suffered many priva- 
tions. Our subject, being the oldest, had to 
work hard to help support the family, and well 
rernembers workingall day for ten cents, turn- 
ing a corn sheller and getting a ticket good 
at a grocery store. On his father's return 
home, he opened a grocery and bakery on 
Market street, Champaign, and our subject 
assisted him, although he was so small he had 
to stand on boxes behind the counter in order 
to wait on the customers. The father suc- 
cessfully engaged in business here until 1875, 
and then went to Topeka, Kansas, of which 
place his son, W. W. , was a prominent 
business man, and where he spent some 



1 86 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



time. He died in Beatrice. Nebraska, in 
1893. The wife and mother had previously 
departed this life in Champaign, Illinois. 
Both were consistent and faithful members 
of the First Baptist church of this city. 
In their family were the following children: 
W. W., a leading business man and bank 
official of Topeka, Kansas; Lewis V., our 
subject; Lottie V. ,wife of W.A. Camp, who 
is now engaged in merchandising with our 
subject's younger brother, William P., at 
Doniphan, Nebraska; Franklin P., a resi- 
dent of Topeka, Kansas; and two deceased, 
Ellen G. and Estella. 

Lewis V. Manspeaker, whose name in- 
troduces this sketch, was educated in the 
public schools, and as will be seen early ac- 
quired -an excellent knowledge of business 
methods. He continued to clerk for his 
father until 1876, when he and his brother- 
in-law, W. A. Camp, purchased the store, 
and continued to carry on business on- Mar- 
ket street for two years. The stock of goods 
was removed to Nos. 35 and 37 Main street, 
and our subject purchased his partner's in- 
terest and has since been alone in business, 
conducting one of the most successful gro- 
cery stores in the city and giving employ- 
ment to from six to eight people. He occu- 
pies two store rooms and the basement, and 
carries a large and well selected stock' of 
staple and fancy groceries. Besides his 
business property he owns other real estate 
in the city, and a pleasant home at 201 
West University avenue one of the finest 
locations in the city. 

In 1876, Mr. Manspeaker was united in 
marriage with Miss Emma Gruver, of La 
Fayette, Indiana, a daughter of Abraham 
Gruver. Their children are Pearl, who ex- 
pects to graduate from the University of 
Illinois with the class of 1900; Lottie May, 



Berta H., Edith G., Lewis V., Jr., Welch, 
and Caroline E. The family attend and 
support the Episcopal church, and Mr. 
Manspeaker was a member of the Independ- 
ent Order of Odd Fellows and is a member 
of the National Union. He to-day enjoys 
the reward of his painstaking and conscien- 
tious work. By his energy, perseverance 
and fine business ability he has been en- 
abled to secure an ample fortune. System- 
atic and methodical, his sagacity, keen dis- 
crimination and sound judgment have made 
him one of the prosperous business men of 
the city, and he merits and receives the 
confidence and respect of all who know him. 



EDWARD C. IRELAND, a well-known 
conductor on the Springfield division of 
the Illinois Central Railroad, residing in 
Champaign, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, 
May 20, 1860, and has had a somewhat ad- 
venturous and very interesting career. His 
mother died during his infancy, and his 
father, William Ireland, when he was a small 
boy. The family were from Kentucky, but 
at the time of our subject's birth the father 
was engaged in pork packing in Cincinnati. 
In 1867 he came to Watseka, Illinois, 
where he owned a large tract of prairie 
land, and he tried to interest the men of that 
locality in tilling, but he failed in this and 
afterward sold his property and purchased 
timber land, through which the Chicago & 
Eastern Illinois Railroad passed. He sold 
the timber to that company. Catching cold, 
he was ill for several years, during which 
time his property was exhausted, and at his 
death our subject was left penniless. 

After his father's death Edward C. Ire- 
land was taken back to Preble county, Ohio, 




E. C. IRELAND. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



189 



by a half brother, who was agent for the 
Little Miami and Pan Handle Railroads. He 
was taken on trial by a farmer before being 
bound out, but not liking the place he ran 
away and returned to Watseka, Illinois, 
which he soon found was quite different 
when he was without a home to go to. 
Looking around for work, he found a man 
cutting timber who hired him at the rate of 
thirty cents per day. This man became in- 
terested in him and wanted to adopt him. 
Our subject remained with him over a year, 
and during the winter walked through the 
timber two and a half miles to school, while 
he did the chores for his board and clothes, 
He 'slept in the loft of a new log cabin, 
where the snow would drift through the 
cracks, and even on the main floor the snow 
would have to be swept away in the morn- 
ing before the fire was built. StilJ Mr. Ire- 
land was healthy and hearty. As the man 
with whom he was living failed to keep his 
agreement, he left the following winter and 
found work on a farm at fifteen dollars per 
month. The next fall he went to Indian- 
apolis, where the husband of his half sister 
was a florist, and worked for him for a year, 
during which time he saved his money that 
he might be able to attend school in the 
winter, but finding himself a large boy 
among small children his pride soon 
caused him to leave school. He then took 
care of the house and furnace of Mr. Bruce, 
a wealthy man of that city. Later he started 
to learn a trade but found the work too con- 
fining and there was no one to advise him 
to persevere in the undertaking. That fall 
he found work with a farmer shucking corn, 
and then returned to Indianapolis, where he 
drove a street car through the winter. It 
was difficult for a boy to obtain work, but 

he finally found employment with a bridge 
10 



company building a bridge at Broad Ripple 
and at first only received one dollar per day, 
out of which he paid two dollars and a half 
per week forboard. Later he was advanced 
to two dollars and a half per day, and after 
the first winter and through part of the fol- 
lowing summer he had charge of a derrick 
used in the construction of the railroad 
bridge across the Illinois river at Havana. 
In the fall he entered a foundry to learn the 
molder's trade, but finding the employment 
unsuited to his taste, he entered the employ 
of Captain Devore, proprietor of the Taylor 
House at Havana, and the civil engineer of 
the road that built the bridge at Havana. 
He wished our subject to go out with the 
crew in the spring, and in the meantime 
gave him the position of night porter in the 
hotel at fifteen dollars per month, and later 
advanced him to day clerk at twenty-five 
dollars, board and washing. A few months 
later, finding nothing more in the line of 
promotion, Mr. Ireland commenced brak- 
ing on the Wabash railroad between Havana 
and Urbana, and shortly afterward was ad- 
vanced to baggageman on trains running 
between Havana and Danville. After the 
Wabash went into the hands of a receiver, 
this branch was operated as an independent 
road for two years and then came into the 
possession of the Illinois Central Railroad 
Company. In September, 1885, Mr. Ire- 
land was promoted to freight conductor, and 
the following January was placed in charge 
of a mixed train running between Urbana 
and Decatur, which position he filled until 
September, 1898, when he was transferred 
as passenger conductor on a train running 
between Champaign and Havana. This he 
still holds, and is one of the most popular 
conductors on the road. 

Since September, 1887, Mr. Ireland has 



190 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



made his home in Champaign, where two 
years later he purchased a lot and old house 
standing thereon, but in 1897 .erected a 
beautiful residence at No. 6 16 West Church 
street, where he now resides. He was mar- 
ried October 3. 1883, to Miss Louisa I. 
Beams, of Petersburg, Illinois, and to them 
were born three children: Mabel Blanch, 
January 17, 1885, died in infancy; Etha 
May, born June 27, 1886; and Iva Belle, 
who was born August 2, 1888, and died June 
12, 1893. Politically Mr. Ireland is iden- 
tified with the Republican party, and frater- 
nally affiliates with the order of Railway 
Conductors, of which he has been a mem- 
ber since 1889; the Knights of Pythias and 
Uniform Rank; Western Star Lodge, F. & 
A. M.; and Chapter, R. A. M. 



JOHN H. SAVAGE, a prominent and in- 
fluential citizen of Urbana, who has 
served as deputy county treasurer for many 
years, was born in Cromwell, Middlesex 
county, Connecticut, January J3, 1852, and 
is a son of Ralph W. and Sarah A. (Strick- 
land) Savage, also natives of that state, 
where his ancestors have made their home 
for nearly three hundred years. Members 
of the family aided the colonies in achieving 
their independence as soldiers of the Revo- 
lutionary war. Our subject's paternal 
grandfather was Captain Absolam Savage, 
who had command of a vessel and was lost 
at sea when our subject's father was twelve 
years of age. The latter was the oldest in a 
family of four children, the others being 
Rev. G. S. F. Savage, who is secretary of 
the Chicago Theological Seminary, and a 
noted divine, although now quiteold; Charles 
V C. Savage, a resident of New York, who 



was originally a printer by trade and a con- 
temporary of Greeley, Dana and others; and 
Mary Ann, who married Charles Andres, of 
Brooklyn, New York, but both are now de- 
ceased. 

Ralph W. Savage, father of our subject, 
was a carpenter and builder in early life, but 
for a great many years was engaged in mer- 
chandising in Cromwell, Connecticut, and 
was quite successful in business. He was 
a pronounced Abolitionist and later a Re- 
publican, favoring the vigorous prosecution 
of the war, but he was never a politician in 
the sense of office seeking. He was quite a 
prominent member and officer in the Con- 
gregational church, to which his wife also 
belonged, and was widely and favorably 
known throughout his part of the state. 
He died September 25, 1887, aged seventy- 
five years, his wife, a few years before, aged 
sixty years. 

In the family of this worthy couple were 
twelve children, namely: Sarah M. has de- 
voted her life to school teaching, and is 
well known as one of the most thorough 
and competent teachers in the Urbana pub- 
lic schools, with which she has been con- 
nected for many years; Emma T. is still 
living in Cromwell, Connecticut; Ralph W. 
is engaged in the real estate and loan busi- 
ness in Grant, Nebraska; Elizabeth S. is the 
wife of Edward S. Coe, a prominent and 
wealthy manufacturer of Cromwell, Con- 
necticut, and they have two children, Anna 
S., wife of Professor William Marshall, of 
Yale College, and Raymond; Mary A. died 
at the age of five years; John H., our sub- 
ject, is next in order of birth; Frank A., a 
contractor of Osceola, Iowa, married Kate 
Crumby and they have four children. 
George P., a large land owner and promi- 
nent Republican of Cromwell, Connecticut, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



191 



has served as first selectman of his town and 
as a member of the state Legislature; Will- 
iam R. is engaged in mercantile business in 
Providence, Rhode Island; Dr. Watson L., 
a graduate of Amherst College, and a pro- 
fessor in Columbia University, New York 
City, married Ella Whiting, of New York; 
Lucy H. is a graduate of Cornell University, 
and is now successfully engaged in teaching 
in a young ladies seminary in Northfield, 
Massachusetts; and Carrie A. is the wife of 
George S. Butler, of Cromwell, Connecticut. 

Reared in his native town, John H. Sav- 
age, of this review, acquired his education 
in its public schools and was graduated from 
the high school. He began his business 
career as a clerk in his father's store, where 
he remained for some years, and before 
coming west engaged in merchandising on 
his own account for a year or two. In 1873 
he took up his residence in Urbana, Illinois, 
and on the Qth of April, 1874, entered the 
county treasurer's office as clerk, and has 
been connected with the same ever since 
with the exception of six months. He has 
been president of the Citizens Building and 
Loan Association nearly ever since its or- 
ganization, is one of its charter members, 
and has been a director from the start. He 
is also guardian for seven different waros in 
Champaign county a fact which plainly in- 
dicates the confidence and trust reposed in 
him by his fellow citizens. 

On the 2 ist of October, 1886, Mr. Sav- 
age was united in marriage with Miss Alida 
L. Nash, a daughter of H. J. Nash, now of 
Urbana, but formerly a farmer of Philo 
township. She has one sister, Estella E., 
wife of David C. Busey, of Urbana. To 
our subject and his wife have been born two 
children, Sarah A. and Ralph N. 

Socially Mr. Savage is a Knight Templar 



Mason and a member of the Modern Wood- 
men of America. As a Republican he takes 
an active interest in local politics and has 
been honored with several important official 
positions. He is president of the board of 
trustees of the schools of Urbana township; 
has been city collector for many years; and 
has been alderman of the second ward. 
He is also treasurer of three drainage dis- 
tricts. For five years he was lieutenant of 
a company of militia, made up largely in 
Champaign, and was one of the charter 
members of the same. In business affairs, 
he is prompt, energetic and notably reliable, 
and has filled the offices to which he has 
been chosen in a most commendable and 
satisfactory manner. Few men are better 
known throughout the county or are held 
in higher regard than John H. Savage. 



M 



RS. MARYB. STRONG, a well-known 
Christian Science healer, of Cham- 
paign, is a native of Syracuse, New York, 
and a daughter of Gideon and Sally (Mooney) 
Bogardus. On the' paternal side she traces 
her ancestry back to Rev. E. Bogardus, the 
first Dutch Reformed minister in the Holland 
settlement on the Hudson river. His son 
Cornelius was the father of Peter Bogardus, 
Sr. , and the latter was the father of Peter, 
Jr., who was Mrs. Strong's grandfather. 
Soon after the Revolutionary war he removed 
to Syracuse, where he owned a large amount 
of land, and the house he erected there is 
still standing. Much of his property was 
inherited by Mrs. Strong's father, who never 
engaged in any business. The mother pos- 
sessed marvelous power in the way of heal- 
ing. She brought a man back to life, who 
to all appearances was dead and had been 



192 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



pronounced so by six doctors. He had 
died suddenly from excitement, but she 
worked over him from night until morning, 
and ordered him to wake up, which he finally 
did. The Mooney family was of Scotch- 
Irish and English extraction. 

Mrs. Strong was educated in her native 
city and in early womanhood was united in 
marriage with Marcus Strong, a successful 
teacher, from Rodman, Jefferson county, 
New York. His father, Henry Strong, was 
a very wealthy man, and his grandfather, 
Nathaniel Strong, was a prominent member 
of the New York legislature in his day. 
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Strong 
removed to Oswego, New York, where he 
engaged in business as a contractor and 
builder, and later went to Girard, Pennsyl- 
vania. While building a church at Erie, 
Pennsylvania, the scaffold upon which he 
was standing broke, and he died from the 
effects of the fall after four years of suffering. 
He left three children: Sarah B., now a 
trained nurse, who has been with an aged 
lady in Boston for some years; Frank R., a 
resident of North Dakota, where he owns 
and operates a large tract of land, and also 
engages in school teaching during the winter 
months; and William B., director of music 
in the Winthrope Industrial and Normal 
School at Rock Hill, North Carolina. All 
have been given excellent educations, the 
daughter graduating from the University of 
Illinois, the older son in Michigan, the 
younger in Boston, and all have success- 
fully engaged in teaching. 

After the death of her husband, Mrs. 
Strong returned to Syracuse, New York, 
where she resumed teaching school and 
music. She also took charge of a young 
woman afflicted with spasms, and found 
that she could cure, or rather stop, the con- 



vulsions by passing her hand over her. 
Her school being large and her voice failing, 
she decided to devote more time to the 
healing art and experience showed that she 
possessed considerable power over people. 
For a time she engaged in sewing, but one 
of her old teachers persuaded her to aban- 
don that work and go to Chicago and take 
up the study of medicine, first taking an 
electric course. By the magnetism in her 
hands she had already cured a number of 
persons. She made a careful study of Dr. 
Henri's and Babbits' books, and spent some 
time in the massage-rooms of the former in 
Central Music Hall, Chicago. Coming to 
Champaign, she devoted her time to mas- 
sage and magnetic treatment for almost a 
quarter of a century, and was the first prac- 
tical magnetic healer in the city. She 
cured many cases where the doctors had 
previously failed, and enjoyed a large prac- 
tice. Until recently she was actively en- 
gaged in this treatment, but finally became 
convinced that Christian Science was the 
true healing power, and for the past eighteen 
months has devoted her time to the study of 
the same, so that she is now almost ready to 
take up healing along that line. Her daugh- 
ter is also preparing herself for the same 
work. 

Mrs. Strong believes that the command 
"go preach the gospel, heal the sick, 
cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out 
devils " is as binding on the followers of 
Christ now as nineteen hundred years ago. 
Few realize what spiritual strength and 
stamina of character is required to carry on 
a pioneer work, against the prejudices and 
opposition of a community. Mrs. Strong, 
however, is not easily intimidated, and will 
undoubtedly meet with success in this as in 
all her other undertakings, for she is a lady 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



193 



of great strength of character and earnest 
purpose. For many years she was a mem- 
ber of the Congregational church, but has 
more recently sang in different churches, 
including the Episcopal, Baptist and Metho- 
dist Episcopal. 



JOHN C. KIRKPATRICK, deceased, 
was one of the foremost citizens of 
Champaign county from his early manhood 
until his death, which occurred January 17, 
1899, and no one who has been called from 
our midst in late years has been more seri- 
ously mourned by the general community. 
For many years he made his home in the 
city of Champaign, and all local improve- 
ments were championed by him, his in- 
fluence carrying great weight, as his judg- 
ments were proverbially wise and far-see- 
ing. 

Mr. Kirkpatrick was born in Pickaway 
county, Ohio, October 5, 1825, and was a 
son of James and Jane (Porter) Kirkpatrick, 
also natives of that state. His paternal 
grandfather, Benjamin Kirkpatrick, was a 
native of Pennsylvania, and one of the early 
pioneers of Ohio, where he secured a tract 
of timberland, and in the midst of the wilder- 
ness he established a home. There he 
reared his family of six children. In 1843 
the father of our subject removed with his 
family to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, where 
he purchased a tract of land and was exten- 
sively engaged in farming and stockraising. 
In early life he was also a drover. Polit- 
ically he was a Henry Clay Whig, and he 
served as a major in the state militia. He 
died in St. Joseph township, this county, 
in January, 1872, having long survived his 
wife, who passed away in 1848. They had 



ten children, of whom four died in early life, 
the others being Samuel, Margaret A., John 
C. , James W., Maria J. and Austin W. 

The subject of this sketch was reared in 
much the usual manner of farmer boys of 
his day, early acquiring an excellent know- 
ledge of agricultural pursuits, and obtaining 
his literary education in the pioneer schools, 
the nearest of which was located in the tim- 
ber two miles from his father's farm. Leav- 
ing home at the age of twenty-four years he 
came to Champaign county, Illinois, and 
located in Urbana township, where he en- 
gaged in breaking prairie and farming. In 
1850 he purchased two hundred acres of 
land two miles north of Champaign, of 
which he took possession in 1855, but only 
resided thereon for two years, at the end of 
which time he removed to the city. He 
built the first frame house in Champaign 
before the Illinois Central Railroad tracks 
were laid, and at that time owned one 
hundred and forty acres of land now within 
the city limits. He added to his land pos- 
sessions from time to time until at the time 
of his death he owned over thirteen hun- 
dred acres of valuable land, including three 
hundred and twenty acres in St. Joseph 
township and two hundred and seventy acres 
in Stanton township. His farms were all 
under a high state of cultivation and well 
stocked with fine cattle and horses. Upon 
his place in St. Joseph township, he made 
his home for twenty years and then returned 
to Champaign, his city residence being at 
the corner of White and Third streets. He 
was remarkably successful in his farming 
operations, and was an important factor in 
building up the agricultural and rnanufactur- 
ing interests of the county. At one time he 
was the owner of a department store in 
Urbana, but when his health failed he turned 



194 



THE BIOCzRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the business over to his sons. The last ten 
years of his life were spent in practical re- 
tirement in that city. He left a large and 
valuable estate to his family. 

On the 9th of October, 1849, Mr. Kirk- 
patrick was united m marriage to Miss Mary 
C. Busey, a daughter of Colonel and Mrs. 
M. W. Busey, and to them were born eight 
children, namely: (i) Marion F. , who lives 
near Mayview, Illinois, first married to Ase- 
nath Sumner, who died leaving two chil- 
dren, Gertie M., now the wife of Ed John- 
son; and Charles A. For his second wife 
he married Jennie Spurgeon, by whom he 
has one child, Cerelda M. (2) Albert J., 
living at Blue Mount farm, married Alice J. 
Barricklow and they have four children: 
Myrtle M., now the wife of William Wool- 
ever, of Stanton township, by whom she has 
two children, Clara and Leel; John Earl; 
and Claude and Maude, twins. (3) Elizabeth 
J. is the wife of Jacob Dilling, of St. Joseph, 
and they have three children, Mary M., 
Clara and Lela. (4) Hattie B. is the wife 
of Charles Barricklow, of Frankfort, In- 
diana, and they have three children, John 
C., Ross and Elmer J. (5) Samuel A., a 
grocer of Urbana, married Ella Day, and 
they have four children, Glenn B. , Mary J., 
Hazel E. and Mildred B. (6) Dr. Charles 
S. married Gertrude Wilson, and died in 
1890, at the age of twenty-five years, leav- 
ing one son, John W. (7) Jesse resides on 
the old homestead in St. Joseph township. 
He married Edith Clark and has one child, 
Florence M. (8) Fannie L. is the wife of 
James Dunseth, an attorney of Urbana, and 
they have one child, Clara F. 

In early life Mr. Kirkpatrick was a Whig 
in politics; later supported the Republican 
party; and during the last eight years of his 
life voted the straight Prohibition ticket. 



He and his wife united with the Methodist 
Episcopal church in 1852 during a meeting 
held in the court house before a house of 
worship had been erected for the congrega- 
tion, and at the time of his death was one 
of the oldest and most influential members, 
serving as a church officer for nearly half a 
century. He was always a zealous worker 
for the church and gave liberally toward its 
support. As a public-spirited and progres- 
sive citizen, he always took an active inter- 
est in everything calculated to advance the 
interests of the community, and assisted 
materially in building up the county so that 
it now ranks among the best in this great 
commonwealth. His support could always 
be relied upon for any worthy enterprise, 
and he gave one thousand dollars to the 
Burnham hospital, and a similar amount 
toward the sum to be raised by the citizens 
of Urbana and Champaign for the Illinois 
University. He always responded to all 
just appeals for charity, was quiet and un- 
assuming in manner, upright and honorable 
in all his dealings, and commanded the con- 
fidence and respect of all with whom he 
came in contact, either in business or social 
life. 



REV. WILLIAM H. STEDMAN. Only 
the history of the good and great comes 
down to us through the ages. The true re- 
ligion has been the strongest influence 
known to man through all time, while the 
many false doctrines that have sprung up 
have flourished only for a day and then van- 
ished. More potent at the present time 
than at any period in the world's history 
are the work and influence of Christianity, 
and among those who are devoting their 



THE BIOGRAHPICAL RECORD. 



195 



lives to its inculcation among men is Mr. 
Stedman, who has been the honored pastor 
of the First Baptist church of Champaign 
since September, 1894. He is one of the 
leading ministers of that denomination in 
this section of the state, and his life is a 
source of inspiration and encouragement to 
all who know him. 

Mr. Stedman was born near Towanda, 
Bradford county, Pennsylvania, August 12, 
1840, and is a son of Alfred Bennett Sted- 
man, who was born in Homer, Cortland 
county, New York, October 6, 1818, and 
remained there until eleven years of age, 
when his parents having died he left Homer 
and went to live with a farmer, he and his 
brother, aged fifteen years, having taken a 
contract to clear a tract of timber land. 
He continued to work upon that farm until 
he was married at Towanda, Pennsylvania, 
April 22, 1839, to Miss Lucilla Miller, who 
was born in Chatham, New Jersey, Novem- 
ber i, 1815, a daughter of Hezekiah Mil- 
ler. Mr. Stedman then located at or near 
Towanda, where he engaged in farming 
until the subject was two years old and then 
removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was 
interested in what was then known as fur 
blowing. He owned the machines and en- 
gaged in business there on his own account 
until 1855, when he removed to Pike county, 
Illinois, and settled on a farm eight miles 
from Barry. He finally sold his farm in 
1877, an d on account of his wife's health 
went to Minnesota, where he spent the re- 
mainder of his life, dying at Morris, that 
state, November 9, 1891, his wife on the 
1 6th of August, the same year. 

At the early age of eight years our sub- 
ject began working in his father's factory in 
Cincinnati and had charge of one of the 
pieces of machinery for the manufacture of 



cotton batting, the father having combined 
that industry with his fur factory. Working 
in the day time he was only able to attend 
school at night, and on coming to Illinois at 
the age of sixteen years had only received 
about three months' schooling during the 
winter, but he was fond of books and ob- 
tained a good general information by read- 
ing and studying at night without an instruc- 
tor. The winter he was nineteen years of 
age he attended the common schools of St. 
Louis, and the following year entered 
the University of Chicago, but before the 
school year was completed close applica- 
tion to study and overwork brought on dys- 
pepsia, which made it necessary for him to 
return home. In the fall of 1861 he be- 
came a student at Shurtliff College, and 
while there he enlisted, in May, 1864, in 
Company D, One Hundred Thirty-third 
Illinois Volunteer Infantry. After spending 
some time in Springfield, he went to Rock 
Island to guard prisoners, and while there 
he was discharged, as the one hundred days 
of his enlistment had expired some two 
months previous to his discharge. The 
year previous he was in the Missouri state 
service for thirty days during Price's raid, 
and followed him until he crossed the Mis- 
souri river. The command had to fight 
their way back. 

Mr. Stedman continued his studies at 
Shurtliff College, and was graduated in June, 
1869, with the degree of A. B., the degree 
of A. M. being afterward conferred upon 
him. While a sophomore he was asked to 
supply the pulpit of the Baptist church, at 
Louisiana, Missouri, and during the time he 
was at school in Alton, he added fifty to the 
church, among these being Miss Belle Kim- 
berlin, a daughter of H. Kimberlin, of 
Louisiana, Missouri. She attended a female 



196 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



seminary at Rural Park, Upper Alton, and 
completed her studies there at the same 
time as our subject, and a week later, on 
the 1 3th of June, 1869, they were united in 
marriage. They have five children: Lucile, 
now the wife of Frederick Cody, of Detroit, 
Michigan; Alfred B., of Chicago; Jeanette 
E., Angie and Harry, at home. 

While pursuing the literary course at 
college, Mr. Stedmanalso studied theology, 
and before his graduation organized a church 
at Shelbyville, this state, of which he was 
afterward called to the pastorate, removing 
there in September, 1869. The following 
winter he was ordained, and there remained 
until 1872, during which time he increased 
the membership from eleven to one hundred 
and twenty, and erected a church at a cost 
of nine thousand dollars. He next went to 
Arcola, Illinois, as pastor of the First Bap- 
tist church, and while there doubled its 
membership, but the house being crowded 
and the congregation refusing to build 
another, he left and came to Urbana, Feb- 
ruary 10, 1875, as pastor of the First Bap- 
tist church there. He began his work by 
making out a list of all the active or availa- 
ble members and insisted that these be called 
the church. He then went forward, relying 
upon God, and sixty were added to the 
church the first year, while during his stay 
one hundred and thirty were baptized and 
one hundred and ninety added to the 
church. He built an addition to the house 
of worship costing eight hundred and fifty 
dollars. In 1882 he was called to the 
church at Mendota, Illinois, and during the 
seven years he remained at that place two 
hundred were added to the church. From 
there he went to Detroit, Michigan, as pas- 
tor of the Twelfth Street Baptist church, 
and under his pastorate the membership was 



greatly increased and they purchased the 
site of their present church on the corner of 
Grand River and Thirteenth street, paying 
for the same four thousand dollars. While 
there he received a call from the church at 
Champaign, and finally accepted in Septem- 
ber, 1894, since which time he has been the 
regular pastor here. The membership at 
that time was two hundred and seventy-five. 
Mr. Stedman came here with the intention 
of building a parsonage and also a church, 
in both of which undertakings he has been 
successful. A fine parsonage has been 
erected at No. 607 West Hill, and a church 
at a cost of twenty-two thousand dollars, 
exclusive of the site. The latter was ac- 
complished after agitating the subject for 
three years, two years being spent in getting 
the congregation to decide to build and a 
year in building. 

Fraternally Mr. Stedman is a member 
of Colonel Nodine Post, G. A. R. He has 
labored untiringly in the work of his church, 
and his efforts have been crowned with suc- 
cess. He is a man of thoughtful, earnest 
purpose, of strong intellectual endowments, 
of broad charity and kindly nature, and by 
all denominations, as well as his own peo- 
ple, is held in the highest regard. 



WILLIAM PRICE, deceased, was a 
well-known business man of Cham- 
paign, Illinois, whose sound common sense 
and vigorous, able management of his af- 
fairs were important factors in his success, 
and with his undoubted integrity of char- 
acter gave him an honorable position among 
his followmen. A native of England, he 
was born in Oswestry, December 3, 1830, 
and was a son of Edward and Mary Price, 




WILLIAM PRICE. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



199 



who spent their entire lives in that country. 
The father was a land owner and quite a 
successful man. 

Our subject, who was the eldest in a fam- 
ily of four children, was educated in the 
public schools of his native land, and when 
about fourteen years of age began an ap- 
prenticehsip to the painter's trade, which 
he soon mastered. In 1852 he sailed from 
Liverpool for the United States, and on 
landing in New York, proceeded at once to 
Cincinnati, Ohio, where he' worked at his 
trade for a short time. Subsequently he 
was similarly employed at Muncie, Indiana, 
for a short time, and then, after spending 
several months in the west, he came to 
Champaign, Illinois, where he continued to 
make his home throughout the remainder 
of his life. 

On the 3rd of May, 1857, Mr. Price was 
united in marriage with Miss Artymesia 
Whitney, of Muncie, Indiana, and a daugh- 
ter of Thomas and Hannah (Preston) Whit- 
ney, natives of Massachusetts and Pennsyl- 
vania, respectively. At a very early day 
the father removed to Indiana, and took up 
land near Muncie, where he passed the re- 
mainder of his life engaged in agricultural 
pursuits and met with well-deserved success, 
being a large land owner. In his family 
were eight children, namely: Lafayette, 
Mordecai, Nancy, Phineas, Artymesia, Wil- 
liam, David and Franklin, of whom only 
Mordecai, Nancy, and Mrs. Price are now 
living. William, David and Franklin were 
all killed in the war of the Rebellion, David 
being starved to death in Andersonville. 
The father of his family died July 4, 1881, 
the mother, in the fall of 1870. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Price were born the 
following children: Thomas E. married 
Lena Dauber, arid died at the age of thirty- 



two years, leaving two children; John F., 
who married Sarah McConnell, has one 
child, and has succeeded his father in the 
paint and paper business in Champaign; 
David W. is working for his brother, mar- 
ried Margaret McGargle, and has three chil- 
dren; Mary H. is the wife of Matthew B. 
Williamson, of Champaign, and they have 
one child; Nellie G. is at home with her 
mother; Elizabeth N. is with her brother 
in the store and resides at home; one 
child died in infancy; and Minnie B., 
Annie G., Cora M. and Maude are all at 
home. 

After his marriage Mr. Price worked at 
his trade for about ten years, and then built 
a store on Main street and embarked in the 
paper and paint business. He enlarged his 
stock from time to time to meet the grow- 
ing demands of his trade until he had one of 
the most complete exclusive paint and paper 
stores in Illinois. He also took contracts 
for work in his line, and had a large corps 
of men in his employ. While still in the 
prime of life he was stricken with paralysis, 
and died May 22, 1885, being laid to rest in 
Mt. Hope cemetery with Masonic honors. 
He was a member of Western Star Lodge, 
No. 240, F. & A. M. ; and was a Democrat 
in politics, but never an aspirant for office, 
preferring to give his undivided attention to 
his business interests. He faithfully per- 
formed his duties of citizenship, however, 
and in all the relations of life was found 
true to every trust reposed in him. He 
therefore merited and received the confi- 
dence and respect of all with whom he 
came in contact either in business or social 
life. His estimable wife is an active mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and of the Missionary and Ladies Aid So 
cieties. 



20O 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



WI. SAFFELL. Among the leading 
business men of Urbana none are 
more deserving of representation in this vol- 
ume than this gentleman, a member of the 
well-known firm of W. I. Saffell & Com- 
pany, dealers in hardware, stoves, bicycles, 
carpets and general house furnishing goods. 
Keen discrimination, unflagging industry 
and resolute purpose are numbered among 
his salient characteristics, and thus he has 
won the prosperity which is the merited re- 
ward of honest efforts. 

Mr. Saffell was born in Columbiana 
county, Ohio, April 29, 1850, and is a son 
of Benjamin and Lydia P. Saffell, both na- 
tives of Pennsylvania. The father, who 
was engaged in the wagon and buggy busi- 
ness, died in New Garden, Ohio, in Decem- 
ber, 1849, at the age of twenty-five years. 
The mother afterward married again, her 
second husband being Richard Diamond, 
but by that union had no children. Our 
subject is the youngest of those born of the 
first marriage. Lydia, the oldest, died at 
the age of eighteen years. Silas B. is 
married, and is now engaged in the manu- 
facture of boxes at Indianapolis, Indiana. 
O. C., director of the Citizens Bank and 
manager of the New Castle Canning Com- 
pany, of New Castle, Indiana, married Rilla 
Wright, and they have two children, May 
and Lewis. The former is now the wife of 
Frank Waymand, and they have one child, 
Frederick. 

Our subject was reared in the town of 
Greensboro, Indiana, and in early life learned 
the carpenter's trade, which he followed in 
that state for about twelve years, and for 
two years after coming to Urbana, Illinois, 
in 1871. He was next engaged in business 
here as a dealer in farming implements and 
buggies, and subsequently was interested in 



importing horses from England, Belgium, 
Germany and Scotland, as a member of the 
Urbana Importing Company arid later as 
salesman for the^irm, who bought the horses 
to sell. For five years he successfully en- 
gaged in that business, sometimes selling 
the horses at auction, but generally at pri- 
vate sales, some animals bringing as high as 
two thousand dollars. On quitting that 
business he lived retired for two years on 
account of his health, but on the I3th of 
March, 1895, embarked in his present busi- 
ness under the firm name of W. I. Saffell & 
Co. They carry a large and well selected 
stock and occupy two store rooms on the 
ground floor and also the rooms above. 

In 1 88 1, Mr. Saffell was united in 
marriage with Miss Francis Hood, a native 
of Dublin, Indiana, and a daughter of 
Charles L. and Lariah Hood, who were 
from Wayne county, that state. One child, 
Gladys, has been born of this union. Mrs. 
Saffell is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church and is a most estimable lady. 
Our subject is a Knight Templar Mason, a 
member of Urbana Lodge, No. 157, F. & 
A. M.; Urbana Chapter, No. 80, R. A. M., 
and Urbana Commandery, No. 16, K. T. 
In politics he is a Republican, but has never 
cared for the honors or emoluments of pub- 
lic office, though owing to his interest in ed- 
ucational affairs has served as a member of 
the city school board. 

In 1888, combining business and pleas- 
ure, Mr. and Mrs., Saffell went to Europe 
and spent a most enjoyable time in visiting 
Ireland, England, France, Belgium and 
Holland. On their return they sailed from 
Antwerp, Belgium, for London, and at the 
latter city Mr. Saffell reloaded his stock on 
the steamer Denmark, which should have 
made the trip in ten or twelve days, but 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



2OI 



owing to continuous storms that November 
the vessel was twenty-eight days in crossing 
the Atlantic, one day of the time being 
taken up in securing fuel at Halifax, Nova 
Scotia. They had previously used all boxes 
and barrels available, and the captain, who 
had been in the service for twelve years, 
said that he had never been in such an 
emergency. Great anxiety was felt on the 
part of friends of those on board, fearing the 
vessel was lost. Although the weather was 
very rough Mr. Saffell was never sea sick 
and stood the trip well. He had twenty- 
four head of horses on the vessel. 



A NDREW J. YEATS. More than half 
i\ a century has passed since this gentle- 
man arrived in Champaign county, and he 
is justly numbered among her honored pio- 
neers and leading citizens. He is now suc- 
cessfully engaged in the grocery business in 
Champaign. A native of Indiana, he was 
born in Newtown, Fountain county, Decem- 
ber 15, 1837, a son of Zepheniah and 
Matilda (Carr) Yeats, The father was a 
native of Gallia county, Ohio, and a son of 
Samuel Yeats, a pioneer of that county, who 
had served as a soldier of the Revolutionary 
war and removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio 
to take up his land warrant. Later he went 
to Indiana, where he 'died in 1851, at the 
extreme old age of one hundred and four 
years. 

Our subject grew to manhood in his 
native county, and married Matilda Carr, 
daughter of Richard Carr, of Maysville, 
Kentucky. He continued his residence 
there until after the birth of two of his chil- 
dren, and then removed to Fountain county, 
Indiana, where he purchased land. His 



sons operated the farm, while he engaged in 
shoemaking, all boots and shoes being made 
by hand at that time. In 1849 he came to 
this county and opened up a farm in what 
is now Sadorus township, though there was 
no township organization at that time and 
the country was but sparsely settled. Within 
a radius of seven miles his only neighbors 
were Henry and William Sadorus, John 
Tenbrock, John Hamilton, John Cook, Ben- 
jamin, Isaac and John Miller, Henry Mather, 
William Rock, Isaac Laughlin, Walter 
Beavers and William O'Briant. These 
pioneers would go all the way to Urbana to 
vote and attend church, and the vYeats 
family seldom missed a Sunday when the 
roads were good. At first there were no 
roads and they were guided by a furrow 
along the ridgesT" They did their milling in 
Periesville, Indiana, and underwent all the 
hardships and privations incident to pioneer 
life. The father of our subject first secured 
a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, upon 
which he set out a good orchard and built a 
good house and barn, to his original farm 
added an eighty-acre tract of prairie land 
and thirty acres of timber, making in all two 
hundred and fifty acres. Originally he was 
a Democrat in politics and later a Republi- 
can. He was elected road commissioner 
and laid out many of the roads in his local- 
ity. Religiously both he and his wife were 
earnest members of the Presbyterian church, 
and were highly respected and esteemed by 
all who knew them. He died in 1885, at 
the age of eighty-four years, and she passed 
away in 1896, at the age of eighty-nine 
years. 

Andrew J. Yeats, of this review, is the 
fifth in order of birth in a family of ten chil- 
dren, and was educated in the subscription 
schools of Newtown, Indiana, conducted in 



202 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



a log school house. As soon as large 
enough to be of any assistance he com- 
menced to aid in the operation of the home 
farm, and remained under the parental roof 
until twenty-two years of age. 

On the loth of March, 1857, Mr. Yeats 
was united in marriage with Miss Mary 
Peat, who was born in Barrow Bridge, 
Yorkshire, England, in 1839, and was four- 
teen years of age when brought to the 
United States by her parents, David and 
Hannah (Porter) Yeats. In his native land 
the father was overseer of some hundreds of 
men engaged in manufacture of tile and 
brick. On coming to this country, he first 
located in Rochester, New York; later spent 
two years in Springfield, Illinois, and from 
there came to Sadorus, this county, where 
he purchased a farm and made his home for 
some years. In 1881 he went to Kansas, 
where he died in August, 1883. His widow 
now makes her home with our subject. 

Mr. and Mrs. Yeats have seven children, 
namely: Alice, now the wife of Issac Field- 
ing, ex-postmaster of Champaign and editor 
of the Times; Anna, wife of Elmer C. Sabin, 
son of Mayor Sabin; George, who has been 
a mail carrier for nine years; Maggie is the 
wife of William Renner, son of William H. 
Renner, whose sketch appears elsewhere in 
this volume; Letitia, wife of Albert Cliff, of 
Champaign; and John, who married Mrs. 
Sarah Marshall, of Springfield, Illinois, and 
is a prominent florist of Champaign. 

After his marriage, Mr. Yeats bou ht a 
farm in Sadorus township, to the cultivation 
and improvement of which he devoted his 
energies until 1872, at the same time serv- 
ing as constable for twenty years. Having 
lost heavily by going security for others, he 
then removed to Champaign and accepted 
a position in a cabinet shop, where he 



worked for some years. Later he was in- 
terested in the tubular well business and put 
down tubular wells all over the county, 
meeting with good success in that venture. 
Subsequently he was a member of the police 
force of Champaign for two years, and then 
spent two years in Barber county, Kansas, 
where he proved up a claim which is still in 
the family. After his return to Champaign 
he was again connected with the police 
force until 1892, when he embarked in the 
grocery business, in which he is still in- 
terested. Eighteen years ago he purchased 
property at the corner of East Church and 
Fifth streets, and upon that lot is now en- 
gaged in business. He is independent in 
politics, and attends and supports the 
Episcopal church. He is widely and 
favorably known throughout the county 
where almost his entire life has been passed, 
and his friends are many. 



WILLIAM WILLIAMSON is a retired 
farmer and successful real estate 
dealer of Champaign, whose life furnishes a 
striking example of the wide application of 
sound principles and safe conservatism. The 
story of his success is short and simple, con- 
taining no exciting chapters, but in it lies 
one of the most valuable secrets of the pros- 
perity which it records, and his business and 
private life are pregnant with interest and 
incentive, no matter how lacking in dramatic 
action, the record of a noble life, consistent 
with itself and its possibilities in every par- 
ticular. 

Mr. Williamson was born in Butler 
county, Ohio, near Middletown, May 21, 
1835, an d is a son of John and Huldah 
(Doty) Williamson, natives of New Jersey 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



203 



and Ohio, respectively. The father was a 
farmer by occupation. He made two trips 
to Ohio from his native state, by wagon, 
and spent his last days in Butler county, 
where his death occurred. He was born in 
1797, and died in 1846. His wife, who was 
born January 8, 1803, died at the home of 
her daughter in Webster City. Iowa, May 
20, 1892, but her remains were taken back 
to Middletown, Butler county, Ohio, for 
interment in the cemetery which her father 
had donated to that community. At the 
age of twelve years, he joined the Presby- 
terian church, and remained one of its active 
members until our subject became a Baptist, 
when she united with that denomination. 

Daniel Doty, the maternal grandfather 
of our subject, was a native of New Jersey, 
and a pioneer of Butler county, Ohio, where 
he purchased a tract of government land, 
owning and cultivating the present site of 
Middletown. He was the first collector in 
that district, wkich comprised three or four 
counties, and would often ride as far as one 
hundred miles to collect a dollar. He served 
nearly all through the war of 1812, but 
never drew a pension. In early days he 
went as far as Cincinnati to buy flour, and 
he and his sons made many trips to New 
Orleans to sell their produce. Religiously 
he was first a Presbyterian and later a New- 
light; was very pious, and once went sixty 
miles to help cut a road in order to move 
the Baptist preacher, his family and house- 
hold effects. He was born in 1765, and 
died May 8, 1848, while his wife, who bore 
the maiden name of Betsey Crane, died May 
5, 1 863, at the age of ninety-one years. All 
of their thirteen children reached years of 
maturity with the exception of Noah, who 
was drowned in the Miami river at the age 
of twelve years, but all are now deceased. 



The subject of this sketch is one of a 
family of nine children, eight of whom lived 
to be grown, and five are now living, name- 
ly: Eleanor, wife of J. R. Letts, of Webster 
City, Iowa; William, our subject; A. Crane, 
who married Mary A. Anthony, and is now 
a physician and surgeon of Champaign; 
Sarah Jane, wife of James Jacoby, of Den- 
nison, Texas; and John H., who married 
Mila Braden, and resides in Dayton, Ohio. 

William Williamson was principally ed- 
ucated in the country-schools of Middletown, 
Ohio, though he took up higher studies and 
prepared to enter the medical profession, 
but never engaged in practice. For a time 
he was interested in the livery business and 
later in real estate. On coming west in 
1869, he first located in Macoupin county, 
Illinois, but the following year removed to 
Edgar county, and in 1865 to Douglas coun- 
ty. In 1882 he came to Urbana, and in 
1887 took up his residence in Champaign, 
where he has since made his home. He 
has improved over two thousand acres of 
land in this state, and still owns much val- 
uable property in Champaign and Urbana, 
although he has sold much of the land he 
owned near the Illinois University. His own 
commodious residence is located at No. 709 
South Wright street. Upright and reliable 
in all things he has the entire confidence 
and respect of his fellow citizens, and has 
been called upon to settle many estates, in- 
cluding that of his mother and other rela- 
tives. He is a man of excellent business 
and executive ability, sound judgment and 
keen discrimination. In politics he is in- 
dependent, and he has served as supervisor 
and a member of the school board, being 
elected to the latter position without his 
knowledge while out of the city. Both he 
and his wife are active and prominent 



204 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



members of the Baptist church, of which 
he is a deacon, and in which he has filled 
all the offices with the exception of a 
preacher. He is also a member of the 
finance committee and is a great church 
worker. 

On the 1 4th of February, 1865, Mr. 
Williamson was united in marriage with Miss 
Anna M. Jacoby, and they have become the 
parents of three children, namely: Mary is 
now the wife of P. A. Elder, of Lima, Ohio, 
and they have three children, William A., 
Anna A. and Huldah A. Orner D. assists his 
father in the operation of a small farm of 
thirty-four acres of land near the corporate 
limits of Champaign. Josephine is attend- 
ing the University of Illinois, being a member 
of the class of 1903. 

Henry Jacoby, the paternal grandfather 
of Mrs. Williamson, was a native of Penn- 
sylvania and a pioneer of Butler county, 
Ohio. He was twice married and. had fif- 
teen children, including Charles, Polly, 
Sarah, Leah, Judith, Nathan, Jesse, Henry, 
David and George. The father of this 
family was an extensive land owner, having 
enough property to give each of his children 
large farms. 

David Jacoby, Mrs. Williamson's father, 
was born in Butler county, Ohio, Novem- 
ber 1 6, 1818, and is still living, an honored 
resident of Arcola, Illinois, where he is 
serving as justice of the peace and occasion- 
ally marries a couple. With his family he 
removed from Ohio to Douglas county, this 
state, on the day President Lincoln was 
first inaugurated, and has since made his 
home there. He is widely and favorably 
known throughout that section of the state; 
is a Jacksonian Democrat; and is a well 
read man. In the early '6os he favored the 
vigorous prosecution of the war. He is a 



member of the Odd Fellows Society, in 
which he has passed all the chairs, and is a 
member of the Presbyterian church, to 
which his wife also belonged. She, who 
bore the maiden name of Lydia Catherine 
Teressa Smyers, died August 5, 1890, aged 
sixty-eight years. She was born in Penn- 
sylvania, and when eighteen years of age 
removed to Butler county, Ohio, with her 
parents, James and Catherine Smyers, also 
natives of the Keystone state. Mr. Smyers 
died in Carnden, Ohio, aged seventy-three 
years, his wife in Richmond, Indiana, in 
1891, aged eighty-nine years. They had a 
family of seven children, namely: Lydia C. 
T., the mother of Mrs. Williamson; Caro- 
line, deceased wife of Joel Smith; Eliza A., 
deceased wife of Lewis Barnet; David J. 
T., who wedded Mary Place, and is now 
deceased; Hester M.S., widow of Howard 
Young; John J. F. , a resident of Texas, 
who first married Amelia Jacoby and second 
Ann Harney, and is the father of thirteen 
children; and Kittie Ann, who married Reu- 
ben Jacoby, and died leaving one daughter, 
Ella, now the wife of T. C. Carson, who 
was state superintendent of schools in Ohio 
for two terms, and is now president of the 
National Teachers Association. 

Mrs. Williamson is the second in order 
of birth in a family of nine children, the 
others being as follows: James M. married 
Jennie Williamson, a sister of our subject, 
and resides in Texas. Josephine is the wid- 
ow of Charles Miner and lives in New York. 
George C. married Carrie Kelly and lives in 
Middletown, Ohio. Charles died unmarried 
at the age of thirty years. Katherine is the 
wife of John Shaffer, a railroad contractor, 
who has just returned from building a rail- 
road in Central America, and who is a 
brother of Mary Shaffer, for many years 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



205 



president of Wellesly College. Howard V. 
married Ida Burkey and lives in Arcola, Il- 
linois. Albert H. is single and resides in 
New York City. Joseph died at the age of 
two years. 



FRANKLIN GREGORY CARNAHAN. 
One of the rising young members of 
the Champaign county bar is this gentle- 
man, belonging to the well-known law firm 
of Weaver & Carnahan, of Champaign. 

A son of Rev. David F. and Sarah A. 
(Dobbin) Carnahan, he is of Scotch-Irish 
and French extraction. His great-great- 
grandfather, David Carnahan. born about 
1740, came to America from Ireland about 
1760. and settled in Pennsylvania, in which 
state his descendants are numerous and 
prominent. The maternal great-grand- 
father of our subject was Leonard Dobbin, 
who took up his residence in this country 
about the beginning of the nineteenth cen- 
tury. He was a lineal descendant of a 
French-Huguenot family by the name of De 
Aubigne (which name was corrupted to 
Dobbin in the course of time) who, forced 
to flee from the religious persecutions on 
the Continent, located in the northern part 
of Ireland, and there became the proprietors 
of valuable landed estates. Leonard Dob- 
bin first went to Rhode Island, but later 
settled in Auburn, New York, where he en- 
gaged in contracting for public works. His 
son, William L., grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was reared in Auburn, and became a 
successful merchant at Madison, Indiana, 
and, subsequently, at Columbus, Indiana. 

The birth of Rev. David F. Carnahan 
occurred in what now is Montour county, 
Pennsylvania, September 16, 1825. Ambi- 
tious and of much more than ordinary ability 



and spirit, he determined to have a thor- 
ough college education, and by diligence 
and arduous effort he succeeded in his un- 
dertaking, paying his own way by intervals 
of teaching. He was graduated with the 
degree of Bachelor of Arts in the class of 
'52, in Buckwell University. He had stud- 
ied theology in the meantime, and had been 
ordained to preach a few years previously. 
For a short time he was pastor of the 
Bridgeport (Pennsylvania) Baptist church, 
after which he served the Calvary Baptist 
church in Philadelphia several years, and 
the Zanesville (Ohio) church. While a res- 
ident of the last-named city, he assisted in 
organizing the Seventy-eighth Ohio Volun- 
teer Infantry, and was elected major of the 
regiment. At the battle of Pittsburg Land- 
ing, he was acting-colonel of his regiment, 
and for some time was a member of the 
staff of General Ross under General Lew 
Wallace. Returning from the war he took 
up his ministerial work again by becoming 
pastor of the Baptist church at Dayton, 
Ohio. He married there a teacher, Miss 
Dobbin, a graduate of the institution now 
known as the Granville Female College, 
and two of their children survive, David H. 
now being an instructor of French at the 
Chicago University. In the ensuing years, 
Rev. Mr. Carnahan labored at his calling in 
Burlington, Iowa; Appleton, Wisconsin; 
Aurora, Springfield, Streator, Dixon and 
Urbana, Illinois, and other points, and was 
one of the best-known ministers of his de- 
nomination in the Middle West. For two 
years he was state superintendent of mis- 
sions in Ohio, and later, he held the same 
office in Illinois. In 1886 he entered heart 
and soul into the work of the Children's 
Home Society, and to his labors to a great 
extent is due the present thriving condition 



2O6 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of that noble organization. For several 
years prior to his death, which event took 
place September 15, 1894, he dwelt in 
Champaign, and here his widow still makes 
her home. 

Franklin G. Carnahan was born in 
Springfield, Illinois, January 8, 1872. He 
was graduated in the class of '92 in the 
University of Illinois, the degree of Bachelor 
of Arts being conferred upon him. Though 
only twenty at the time of his graduation, 
he had already won brilliant honors and had 
given full promise of future successes. He 
. was identified with the Adelphic Literary 
Society, and was actively associated with all 
of the progressive departments of collegiate 
work. During the three years following his 
graduation, he was employed by J. B. &. W. 
B. McGinleyand the Champaign and Urbana 
Waterworks Company, and at the same 
time spent his leisure in the study of law, 
under the supervision of Gere & Philbrick, 
attorneys. Having been admitted to the 
bar of this county, in November, 1896,, he 
established an office and practiced alone for 
almost a year. On the ist of September, 
1897, the present firm of Weaver and Car- 
nahan was formed, and to-day a large 
amount of the local legal business of this 
city is handled by these gentlemen. Mr. 
Carnahan not only is an able and rising 
lawyer, but is also recognized as one of 
Champaign's -most progressive citizens. 
Politically, he uses his franchise in favor of 
the Republican party, and in May, 1898, 
he was honored by the appointment to the 
office of city clerk, to fill the unexpired term 
of C. J. Strahle, deceased. He discharged 
his duties to the entire satisfaction of those 
concerned, and placed himself on record as 
an efficient and conscientious official. Fra- 
ternally, he is a member of the Benevolent 



and Protective Order of Elks, and religiouly, 
he is a Baptist. In various ways he has 
manifested his interest in local enterprises, 
and at present he is a member of the board 
of directors of the Twin City Saving & Loan 
Association, besides being legal adviser for 
the company. 



JOHN W. LAWDER, a well known and 
respected citizen of Champaign, is a 
worthy representative of .one of the sterling 
old families of the United States. His an- 
cestors resided in Berwickshire, Scotland, 
and some of the family are yet living there. 
The great-grandfather of our subject came 
to America during the war of the Revolu- 
tion, and, though he held rank as an officer 
in His Majesty's army, he became convinced 
that the colonists were in the right, assisted, 
doubtless, to that conclusion by the fact that 
he bestowed his affections upon a pretty 
daughter of an American patriot, and the re- 
sult was that he deserted the forces of the 
mother country and married the young lady. 
Unfortunately, he was disowned by his fam- 
ily in England, but he and his descendants 
have faithfully proved their loyalty to the 
United States ever since. 

The son of this officer, the next in the 
line of descent to our subject, was Dr. James 
Lawder, of Germantown, Ohio. He was 
known far and wide as a physician of un- 
usual skill, and, during the great cholera 
epidemic in the early part of the '503, he 
fell a victim to the scourge, owing to the 
untiring zeal with which he strove to save 
his patients. Riding night and day, over a 
large territory, directing his son, Orange F. , 
to meet him at certain cross-roads with a 
fresh horse, he would continue his journeys 
to the bedside of the suffering, and though 




J. W. LA\VDER. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



209 



he succeeded in saving many a useful life to 
the community, his own ultimately paid the 
penalty of the severe taxation. 

The parents of J. W. are Orange Fred- 
erick and Emma Elizabeth (Pitt) Lawder, 
natives of Montgomery and Scioto counties, 
respectively. The father enlisted at the 
outbreak of the Civil war, in the Thirty-fifth 
Ohio Infantry, and participated in the dread- 
ful battle of Bull Run. Later, he fought in 
the celebrated battles of Pittsburg Landing, 
Lookout Mountain, and many others, dur- 
ing the long years of his devoted service on 
behalf of his country. When peace had 
been restored to our borders, he resumed 
the quiet avocations of life, and for several 
years was associated with his wife's father, 
Mr. Pitt, in rafting lumber to Cincinnati, 
clearing land and other enterprises. Though 
death claimed him while he was in his prime, 
Mr. Pitt had already accumulated much val- 
uable property in Scioto county. O. F. 
Lawder later turned his attention to con- 
tracting for lumber used in building enter- 
prises, in Montgomery county, and gave em- 
ployment to several men and teams for many 
years. He now lives retired in Springboro, 
Ohio, where he is highly esteemed. Politi- 
cally, he is an ardent Republican, and an en- 
thusiastic member of the Grand Army of the 
Republic. Both he and his estimable wife 
are identified with the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and are actively interested in all 
worthy movements. Of their four children, 
the two elder ones, James and Mary Eliza- 
beth, died in infancy, and William Powers 
is the proprietor of a flourishing blacksmith 
shop in Springboro, Ohio. 

The birth of John Walter Lawder took 
place February 18, 1869, and his education 
was acquired in the common and high 

schools of Middletown and Germantovvn. 
11 



Having determined what his occupation 
should be, he entered the employ of James 
Ajax, a merchant tailor of Middletown, 
where he served an apprenticeship of two 
years. Later, he worked at his trade as a 
journeyman in several Ohio towns, and in 
1890 came to Champaign. He did not long 
remain here at that time, however, but 
spent a year or more in the south and south- 
west. The attractions of this beautiful little 
city proved a magnet to draw him back again, 
and we next find him employed by T. Cos- 
tello until the fall of 1893, when he em- 
barked in business on his own account. 
From 1 897 until the spring of 1 899 he was as- 
ssociated in partnership with Arthur Burke, 
who then withdrew in order to accept his 
present position as cashier of the Citizens 
Bank. Mr. Lawder then entered into part- 
nership with Samuel Weingarten, who sold 
out his interest to our subject, February 2, 
1900. Mr. Lawder, who enjoys the confi- 
dence and patronage of many of the repre- 
sentative citizens here, and who has ever 
conducted his affairs with system and marked 
ability, has made a genuine success in his 
business career, and merits the respect which 
he is freely accorded. On the ist of May, 
1900, he moved into new quarters, more 
commodious and better suited to the high 
class of trade which he enjoys. The new 
establishment is in the Walker Opera 
House Block, a central situation. He em- 
ploys a number of expert workmen, and 
strives to give thorough satisfaction to his 
patrons. 

In his political standing, Mr. Lawder is 
a Republican, and, fraternally, he is a 
Knight of Pythias, belonging to Valient 
Lodge, No. 130, and in the Benevolent 
Protective Order of Elks he is identified 
with Champaign Lodge, No. 398. 



2IO 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



On the 1 3th of May, 1895, Mr. Lawder 
married Miss Nettie Parker, a native of this 
city, and daughter of George Parker, for- 
merly a member of the faculty of the Uni- 
versity of Illinois, bnt now living retired. 
Mrs. Nettie Lawder departed this life in 
1896, and was placed to rest in the quiet 
cemetery here. The marriage of Mr. Law- 
der and Caroline Snyder occurred January 
26, 1898, and they have an infant son, John 
Francis, born October 28, 1899. Mrs. 
Lawder is a daughter of Frank Snyder, of 
Urbana, who was for years engaged in the 
newspaper business in that city, and at pres- 
ent is retired from active labors. 



K. SHEFFER, a well-known 
V_J contractor and builder of Champaign, 
who is now serving his second term as town- 
ship clerk, was born in Williamsport, War- 
ren county, Indiana, May 30, 1840, a son 
of Nicholas and Matilda (Davis) Sheffer. 
The father was born in Westmoreland 
county, Pennsylvania, of old Pennsylvania 
Dutch stock, "and in early life went to In- 
dianapolis, Indiana, where he was married 
about 1822, his being the first marriage 
license issued after the county was organ- 
ized. Later he removed to Williamsport, 
becoming one of the pioneers and farmers of 
that locality. He was also one of the prom- 
inent and leading citizens of Warren county, 
took an active part in local politics, and 
served as sheriff of the county for two terms. 
He cast his ballot with the Whig party. 
He was born in 1797 and died in 1852. 
The wife and mother, who was born in Ken- 
tucky, died in Danville, Illinois, July 5, 
1884. In their family were six children who 
reached years of maturity: O. H. P., now 



a resident of Colorado; Vance, of Oregon; 
Frank, of California; Mrs. Cynthia Benge, 
of Oregon; William, of Danville, Illinois; 
George K., our subject; Jacob, now county 
treasurer of Warren county, Indiana, and a 
resident of Williamsport. 

George H. Sheffer is indebted to the 
schools of Williamsport for his literary edu- 
cation. He was one of the boys in blue 
during the Civil war, enlisting September 
12, 1 86 r, in Company K, Thirty-third In- 
diana Volunteer Infantry, which was as- 
signed to the Army of the Cumberland. He 
participated in all of the engagements in 
which his regiment took part up to the bat- 
tle of Peach Tree Creek, before Atlanta, 
when he was seriously wounded. Later he 
re-enlisted and his regiment was kept intact 
through all the battles of his department. 
After four years of arduous and faithful 
service, he was honorably discharged in 
1865. 

While home on a furlough Mr. Sheffer 
was married, April 17, 1864, to Miss Martha 
Walker, of West Lebanon, and they have 
a family of eight children: Jennie C., Ina 
M., Minnie, Ruth, Roscoe, Mabel, George 
and Myra. Minnie is now the wife of Harry 
Eastman, of Champaign, and they have two 
children, Herbert and Martha. 

After the war, Mr. Sheffer returned to 
Williamsport, Indiana, but soon removed to 
Danville, Illinois, where he learned the car- 
penter's trade and afterward worked as a 
journeyman and still later as a contractor 
and builder, erecting many residences in 
that city. In 1886 he came to Champaign, 
and here he has built up a good business as 
a contractor and builder. 

As a Republican, Mr. Sheffer has taken 
an active part in political affairs, and he has 
twice been elected township clerk, which 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



211 



office he is now so creditably filling. He is 
also a member of the township board of 
health. He is a prominent and influential 
member of Colonel Nodine Post, No. 140, 
G. A. R., of which he was commander in 
1899; has represented his post at the en- 
campment at Rockford; and has always 
taken an active part in Grand Army affairs. 



HARNESS RENICK BUCKLES, prob- 
ably one of the best known citizens of 
Champaign, is now living a retired life at his 
pleasant home, No. 603 South Randolph 
street. For many years he was actively 
identified with the business interests of the 
city, but has now laid aside all business 
cares, and expects to spend the remainder 
of his life in ease and quiet, enjoying the 
fruits of former toil. 

Mr. Buckles was born in Darbyville, 
Pickaway county, Ohio, August 29, 1844, 
and is a son of Rev. Abraham and Sarah 
(King) Buckles, natives of Rockbridge 
county, Virginia. His paternal grandfather 
was William Buckles, who was a member 
of the first general assembly of the Ohio 
Legislature when that august body met in a 
log cabin. During his youth the father of 
our subject learned the tailor's trade, but 
the greater part of his life was devoted to the 
work of the ministry, joining the Methodist 
Episcopal conference of Ohio at an early 
age. For several years he rode a circuit, 
but later was the regular pastor of the 
churches at Darbyville, Mt. Sterling, Bloom- 
field, Genoa, Five Points, Harrisburg, and 
other places in central Ohio, throughout 
which section of the state he was widely 
known as a man of sterling character and 
worth. He never had any ambition to fill 
office, but always discharged any duty that 



devolved upon him. He favored the vig- 
orous prosecution of the war and sent his 
only son to fight for theold flag and the cause 
it represented. He died in March, 1880, aged 
seventy-five years, and his wife departed 
this life in March, 1881, aged seventy-five 
years, both dying of pneumonia. She, 
too, was an active and faithful mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and her house was always crowded with 
visitors during its meetings. This worthy 
couple left a lasting influence for good in the 
communities where they resided, and their 
memory will long be cherished by their 
many friends. They were tireless, resource- 
ful and aggressive workers for the cause, 
which was sacred to their hearts. Of the 
twelve children born to them, five died 
in early life before the birth of our subject. 
The others are Amanda, widow of John 
Renick and a resident of Circleville, Ohio; 
Minerva, who married Dr. R. H. Tipton, of 
Darbyville, Ohio, and both are nowdeceased; 
Anna, widow of \V. H. H. Moore, of Dar- 
byville; Harness Renick, our subject; Vir- 
ginia, who married Marcus Baer, of Circle- 
ville, Ohio, and died at the age of twenty- 
eight years; Roaltha E., who was the sec- 
ond wife of Marcus Baer and died at the 
age of twenty-four years; and Miles C., who 
died in early childhood. 

Mr. Buckles, whose name introduces 
this review, was reared in the village of 
Darbyville, and his education was princi- 
pally obtained in the schools of that place. 
In early life he successfully engaged in 
school teaching for several terms. On the 
1 9th of July, 1862, at the age of eighteen 
years, he enlisted in Company A, Forty- 
fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry under Colonel 
Benjamin P. Runkle, of West Liberty, 
Ohio. His first engagement was at Dutton 



212 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Hill, Kentucky, and was followed by an en- 
gagement at Rocky Gap, near Mills Creek 
Ferry, where he was wounded in the head, 
being knocked senseless. While off duty 
for a short time, he went with prisoners to. 
Lexington, Kentucky, and at that time the 
doctor probed for the ball, which still re- 
mained in his head and gave him much an- 
noyance. Although at this time it was suc- 
cessfully removed, he still suffers from the 
effects of the wound. He participated in 
the siege of Knoxville, the Atlanta cam- 
paign, and the battles of Franklin, Nash- 
ville, and Resaca, where Captain Elias 
Scott was literally shot to pieces. He was 
in thirteen battles, besides many skirmishes. 
During the siege of Knoxville the regiment 
to which he belonged was shut in by Long- 
street for twenty-one days, but was finally 
relieved by General Sherman. Mr. Buckles' 
last battle was at Nashville under "Pap" 
Thomas. At the close of the war, when 
his services were no longer needed, he was 
honorably discharged June 19, 1865, and 
mustered out at Nashville, Tennessee. 

Returning home, Mr. Buckles rested un- 
til winter and then attended a commercial 
college in Columbus, Ohio, from which he 
was graduated in the spring of 1866. He 
then rented a farm in Jackson township, 
Pickaway county, Ohio, which he operated 
in connection with school teaching for one 
year, but continued to follow the latter pur- 
suit until coming west in 1870. After a 
short time spent in Monticello, Piatt county, 
Illinois, he came to Champaign in May, 
1870, and joined a civil engineering corps 
building a new railroad from that city to 
Decatur, under George Finney, chief en- 
gineer. Mr. Buckles next opened a plumb- 
ing and gas fitting establishment in Cham- 
paign, and successfully engaged in business 



along that line until his retirement from 
business in 1890. 

On the 4th of August, 1870, in Monti- 
cello, Illinois, Mr. Buckles married Miss 
Mary Hull, who was born in Piatt county, 
February 1 5, 1846. Her father, Dr. Peter 
Kinkead Hull, was born in Highlandcounty, 
Virginia, August 10, 1811, and was married 
March 31, 1839, to Mary Huston, who was 
born near Adelphi, Ross county, Ohio, 
March 13, 1819, a daughter of Hugh and 
Rachel Huston. The Doctor graduated 
from the University of Pennsylvania with 
the degree of M. D., and first located in 
Circleville, Ohio, being one of the first phy- 
sicisns in that section of the state. In 1841 
he moved to Monticello, Piatt county, Illi- 
nois, but after the death of his wife, which 
occurred March 14, 1849, he returned to 
Circleville, where he engaged in practice 
some years, being particularly successful 
during the cholera epidemic in 1852-3. In 
1858 we again find him a resident of Monti- 
cello, Illinois, near which place he bought 
fifteen hundred acres of land. He made 
his home in the city, however, and engaged 
in practice there until called from this life, 
November 20, 1859. He was regarded as 
an oracle on all matters pertaining to his 
profession, and was in everything well quali- 
fied to be a successful physician. He was 
not only a thorough student of his profession, 
but was of a sympathetic, kindly disposition, 
and seemed to bring a ray of sunshine into 
the sick room with him. He stood de- 
servedly highamong his professional brethren, 
and wherever known was held in high regard. 
He was an ardent lover of nature and out- 
door sports, which probably contributed no 
little to his generosity of heart. He was al- 
ways a willing listener to tales of distress, 
and gave liberally to those in need. Those 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



213 



who knew him best speak in unqualified 
terms of his ability in his chosen field of 
labor and his friendship for all mankind. 
He was a charter member of the Masonic 
Lodge of Monticello and was serving as 
worthy master at the time of his death. In 
his family were four children: Renick Hus- 
ton, a farmer by occupation, was born March 
15. 1840, and died January 15, 1866, being 
frozen to death in a blizzard. He married 
Rebecca Williams and died leaving one child, 
Mary, now the wife of Edward Gimble, of 
the .state of Washington. Rachel Estella, 
the second child of Dr. Hull, is the wife of 
J. F. Williams, of Fort Worth, Texas. Mrs. 
Buckles is next in order of birth. Hugh, 
the youngest, died in infancy. 

After her mother's death, Mrs. Buckles 
went to Circleville, Ohio, and remained 
there until her father was also called away 
in 1859, when she went to Virginia to make 
her home with her uncle, Colonel G. W. 
Hull, a wealthy planter, who was a delegate 
to the convention in Richmond, in April, 
1 86 1, when the secession of Virginia was 
decided upon. She attended school in 
Staunton, that state, until after the battle at 
McDowell, where her uncle lived. On the 
approach of the Federal troops, he was 
taken, in a dying condition, to the home of 
his father-in-law, Colonel Swoope, near 
Staunton, while the uncle's handsome brick 
residence was used by the LJnion army as a 
hospital after the battle. Being unable to 
hear from the north Mrs. Buckles and her 
sisters took advantage of the return of some 
fugitive rebel sympathizers to take passage 
in the wagon that carried them to Highland 
county, Virginia, and accompanied by a Miss 
Wheat, a maiden lady, whose home was in 
Washington, D. C., started for Parkersburg. 
They traveled one hundred and twelve miles 



through mountain forests, being stopped 
many times by pickets and compelled to 
show their passports to General Averil at 
Beverly. They also had to take the oath 
of allegiance to the Federal government. 
They passed through many places made 
famous in history, especially in the Alle- 
ghany mountains where battles were fought, 
including Cheat Mountain and Laurel Hill. 
They finally reached Circleville, Ohio, in 
safety, with very depleted pocket books. The 
Confederate money which they carried with 
them had depreciated in value to such an 
extent that in Circleville it was only good to 
look at. Mrs. Buckles was graduated from 
the schools of that city, and for several 
terms successfully engaged in teaching in 
Pickaway county. In 1869 she returned to 
Monticello, Illinois, where she was married 
the following year as previously stated, and 
came the same day to Champaign, where 
she has since made her home. 

Three children were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Buckles, namely: Lettie A., born 
February 20, 1872, was married, February 
20, 1892, to J. Frank Wilson, of Cham- 
paign, and died February 14, 1896. She 
was a consistent member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, and had many friends in 
thi's community. William Piatt is an engin- 
eer on the Illinois Central railroad, residing 
at home with his parents, and Edgar Hull is 
a druggist of Champaign, also at home. The 
parents are both active members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, and Mr. Buckles is a 
charter member of Colonel Nodine Post, of 
Champaign. In politics he is an ardent Re- 
publican. 

JOHN A. VOSS. America boasts no bet- 
ter or more loyal citizens than many of 
the sons of Germany who have cast in their 



214 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lot with us, supporting our institutions and 
laws, and seeking to promote the prosperity 
of the republic in every ma.nner. Among 
the thousands of the German-American cit- 
izens who have been prominently associated 
with the upbuilding of the great state of 
Illinois, John A. Voss, of Champaign, de- 
serves special mention, and his history must 
prove an inspiration to every young man 
ambitious of success. 

Born in Mecklenburg, January 10, 1855, 
he is a son of Fritz and Sophia Voss. After 
completing his education in the common 
schools, he commenced learning the busi- 
ness of manufacturing tile, at which his 
father was skilled. Continuing to work 
under his senior's supervision until March 
2 9 !873, he then sailed for the United 
States and reached Boston April 12. He 
then proceeded to New York and Chicago, 
and found employment, while he industri- 
ously strove to obtain a working knowledge 
of the English language. In the autumn 
he came to Champaign county, where, for 
three years, he worked for farmers. At last 
he entered into partnership with Joseph Neil 
and began manufacturing tile, at Farmer 
City. He burned the first lot of tile ever 
made in DeWitt and Piatt counties, and 
only had a horse-power engine. At the end 
of a year he sold out and went to Mahomet, 
where he was superintendent for James 
Dunning for two years in his factory, at the 
end of which time he entered into partner- 
ship with Capt. A. O. Howell, of Urbana, 
and carried on a tile factory there for two 
years. He then went toThomasboro, where 
he erected a large, well equipped plant, with 
steam heat and power, and a side track 
connection with the Illinois Central Rail- 
road. Employment was afforded to about 
a dozen men. and the business gradually in- 



creased until it was the leading industry of 
the place. Mr. Voss paid out more money 
in wages than any one in the town, and, in 
addition to erecting five residences, aided 
materially in the building of three churches, 
and was recognized as one of the represent- 
ative citizens of the town. Later, he in- 
vested in a farm of four hundred acres, two 
hundred and eighty acres in Rantoul town- 
ship, and the remainder in Somers town- 
ship, paying therefor fifty dollars an acre, 
besides a large ditch tax. He improved 
this property, and Jived in Thomasboro 
until November, 1893, in the meantime 
building a beautiful home at No. 405 South 
State street. This residence is supplied 
with hot water heat and is modern and de- 
sirable in every respect. For a number of 
years he served as a school director, and 
for three or four years was president of the 
board. During that period he warmly 
championed the erection of a new school 
building, and was a member of the com- 
mittee which had in charge the building of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. This fact 
shows his broad and liberal views and speaks 
volumes for one who is not narrowly sec- 
tarian, but in thorough sympathy with every 
movement which he believes will elevate 
the people and make them happier and bet- 
ter citizens. 

When Mr. Voss came to America, he 
was in debt about one hundred dollars, had 
no knowledge of the language of our people, 
and yet, in spite of everything, he suc- 
ceeded by the exercise of the native talents 
with which he had been happily endowed. 
In his struggles to gain a livelihood he has 
found a faithful helpmate in his wife, whose 
maiden name was Lena Lingreen. They 
were married February 24, 1882, in Cham- 
paign. They have six living children: 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



215 



Sophia, Minnie, Matilda, George, Bessie 
and Anna, to all of whom they have given 
good educational advantages. Mr. Voss is 
a gentleman of wide information, and much 
of his time is spent in his library, where he 
has gathered a valuable collection of books. 
He is a member of the order of Elks, and, 
with his family, is identified with the Luth- 
eran church of Champaign, which he as- 
sisted in building and liberally supports. 



WILLIAM DODSON, who is spending 
the closing years of a long and useful 
life free from business cares at his pleasant 
home at No. 406 North State street, Cham- 
paign, was for nearly thirty years one of the 
leading business men of that city, his time 
and attention being devoted to the grocery 
trade. 

Mr. Dodson was born in Dayton, Ohio, 
July 8, 1819, a son of William and Margaret 
(Wikel) Dodson, who were born, reared and 
married in Virginia, and in 1800 moved to 
Ohio, locating in Montgomery county about 
eight miles from Dayton, where the father 
engaged in farming. In early life he had 
learned the blacksmith's trade and also fol- 
lowed teaming in his native state. In pol- 
itics he was a stalwart Democrat. He lived 
to the advanced age of ninety-two years and 
had the use of all his faculties to the last. 
His wife had passed away some years be- 
fore, dying in 1875. They were pioneers of 
Montgomery county, Ohio, and were well 
and favorably known. In their family were 
seven children, namely: Albert, a farmer, 
who died in De Witt county, Illinois; John, 
who lives near Urbana, where he owns a 
splendid farm of two hundred acres; Eliza- 
beth, who married Wilson Collins, of Tip- 



pecanoe county, Indiana, and died in 1897, 
at the age of sixty-five years; William, our 
subject; Rebecca, who married George 
Bowsher, and located near Lafayette, In- 
diana, where she died in 1899, when over 
fifty years of age; Jacob, a farmer of Kan- 
sas; and Levi, a commission merchant of 
Iowa. 

Upon the home farm in Ohio. William 
Dodson grew to manhood. In 1835 he be- 
came one of the pioneers of Tippecanoe 
county, Indiana, and owned and operated 
eighty acres of land on Wild Cat Prairie, 
where he made his home until coming to 
Champaign, Illinois, in 1864. Here he 
successfully engaged in the grocery business 
until 1893, when he retired, having acquired 
a comfortable competence through well- 
directed labor, perseverance and good man- 
agement. He owns Considerable property 
in Champaign and has done much to ad- 
vance the interests of the city, so that he is 
now numbered among its useful and valued 
citizens, as well as one of the honored and 
highly respected men of the community. 

Mr. Dodson has been twice married, his 
first wife being Miss Hannah Young, a native 
of Tippecanoe county, Indiana, and a daugh- 
ter of William Young. She was a member 
of the Universalist church, and a most esti- 
mable lady. She died in 1859, at about 
the age of forty years, and, all of the four 
children born to them are deceased. Joseph 
died at the age of eleven years; John, at five 
years; Elnora, at three years; and one in 
infancy. 

On the 1 5th of December, 1866, Mr. 
Dodson married Miss Sophia Kingsberry, 
who was born in New York State, April 30, 
1834. Her parents, Benjamin and Joanna 
(Jennings) Kingsberry, were born, reared 
and married in Cherry Valley, New York, 



2l6 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and in 1828 moved to Allegany county, that 
state, where they continued to make their 
home throughout life. Throughout his 
active business life the father followed the 
occupation of a carpenter. He served as a 
private in the Mexican war, and in compen- 
sation for his services received a land war- 
rant from the government. He died at the 
age of seventy-five years, and his wife, who 
survived him for some time, passed away at 
about the same age. They had nine chil- 
dren: William, a carpenter, who died in 
the east; Delia; David, also a carpenter; 
Hannah, who first married Thomas Burns 
and lived in Wisconsin, but is now the wife 
of a Mr. Goodenough, of Oklahoma; Ben- 
jamin, a veteran of the Civil war and a car- 
penter of New York; Alvin, also a resident 
of New York state; Edward, who served all 
through the war 'of the Rebellion and is now 
deceased; Julia, widow of Wesley Sayers, 
and a resident of New York; and Sophia, 
wife of our subject. She came to Cham- 
paign in 1860. She is an earnest member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church. 



WILLIAM MIEBACH, a member of the 
well-known firm of Miebach Broth- 
ers, prominent hardware dealers of Cham- 
paign, is a native of La Salle county, Illi- 
nois, born near Lostant, February i, 1866. 
His father, William Miebach, Sr. , was born 
in Germany, and on his emigration to this 
country located in La Salle county, where 
he engaged in farming until coming to this 
county in 1874. After spending one year at 
Tolono, he removed to Sadorus, and became 
one of the most extensive and prominent 
farmers of that locality, owning about six 



hundred acres of land. In 1886 he estab- 
lished a bottling works in Champaign, and 
did a large and prosperous business, being 
agent for the Schlitz Brewing Company, of 
Milwaukee, in both Champaign and Urbana. 
Here he spent the last days of his life, dy- 
ing in 1892. 

Our subject was reared on the home 
farm and obtained his literary education in 
the common schools of Sadorus. In 1886 
he accompanied the family on their removal 
to Champaign, and as manager had charge 
of the bottling works started by his father. 
Forming a partnership with two of his broth- 
ers under the firm name of Miebach Broth- 
ers, they succeeded to the business and suc- 
cessfully carried it on until 1893, when they 
sold out and embarked in the hardware 
trade at the corner of University avenue and 
First street. Later they erected the large 
business block which they now occupy, it 
being forty-four feet front on University 
avenue. The firm use all of the basement 
and the ground floor, while the large hall 
above is used for dancing and similar pur- 
poses. They carry a large and well selected 
stock of stoves, shelf and heavy hardware, 
and do the most extensive business in their 
line in the county. 

In 1893, Mr. Miebach married Miss 
Elizabeth Brown, of Champaign, a daugh- 
ter of John Brown, and to them have been 
born four children, namely: Marion, Will- 
iam, Catherine and Joseph. The parents 
are members of St. Mary's Catholic church, 
and have a nice home in East Park. As a 
Republican, Mr. Miebach takes quite an act- 
ive and prominent part in local politics, and 
was elected alderman from the first ward, 
assuming the duties of that office in January, 
1897, and serving for two years. In busi- 
ness affairs he is energetic, prompt and 




WILLIAM MTEBACH. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



219 



notably reliable and commands the confi- 
dence and respect of all with whom he 
comes in contact. 



REV. EDGAR C. STARK, for some 
three years pastor of the Church of 
Christ, of Champaign, has been actively en- 
gaged in ministerial labors for twenty-six 
years, and has been greatly blessed and 
prospered in his earnest undertakings. Pos- 
sessing a good education, a pleasing address, 
and heartfelt interest in his noble calling, 
he has the power of winning people's atten- 
tion and co-operation, and frequently is the 
means of bringing them into active associa- 
tion with Christian work. 

The parents of our subject were William 
and Mary (McManus) Stark; the former was 
a native of Botetourt county, Virginia, and 
the latter, of Cincinnati, Ohio. The father, 
who was the son of Thomas Stark, was 
reared upon a farm in his native county, 
and in his early manhood went to Cincinnati, 
Ohio, where he mastered the trade of a 
shoemaker, and was thus employed for a 
few years. He married a lady of that city, 
the daughter of John McManus, formerly of 
Philadelphia. Later, he went to New 
Harmony, and thence to Carmi, Illinois, 
where he dwelt for a score of years, giving 
his time to his former calling, then more 
profitable than it is to-day. In the mean- 
time, he bought government land in the 
northern part of White county, and resided 
there a portion of each year. The wife and 
mother died in 1858, leaving four children, 
and the father now makes his home in St. 
Louis. He sold his farm during the Civil 
war, but retained his home in Carmi for 
several years. 



The birth of Rev. E. C. Stark took place 
in New Harmony, Indiana, January 30, 
1853. His elementary education was gained 
in the common-schools of White county, 
and when he was eighteen years of age, he 
obtained a certificate, and taught school for 
the ensuing thirteen years, in Edwards 
county. During this period he diligently 
devoted much of his leisure time to studies 
and research along the lines of what he long 
believed to be his life-work the preaching 
of the gospel. Indeed, he was not more 
than twenty years old when he delivered his 
first sermon, and from that time on he oc- 
cupied the pulpit of churches on numerous 
occasions. When he was in his thirty-sec- 
ond year, he became district evangelist in 
the New River district, in south western 
Virginia, and during the four years of his 
residence there he lived upon a farm 
which he bought in Montgomery county, 
that state. His chief labors were along the 
line of restoring churches and infusing new 
life and activity into congregations which 
were faint-hearted and failing, and in this 
he was unusually successful. 

In 1889, Mr. Stark accepted a call to 
the Christian church at Fisher, Champaign 
county, and there he remained until the 
fall of 1892. The membership of the church 
was increased, and the prospects for its fu- 
ture were very encouraging when he re- 
signed the pastorate. His next charge was 
at Farmer City, where he continued to 
preach the Word until February, 1 896, 
when he went to Delavan, Illinois. On 
New Year's Eve, 1896. he commenced his 
work in Champaign, which has been mainly 
that of restoration. Through his efforts, 
and stimulated by his zeal, every depart- 
ment of the church organization has been 
revived and the financial condition at the 



22O 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



same time has been improved to a gratify- 
ing degree. Recently, the official board of 
the church passed resolutions testifying to 
the regard in which their pastor is held, and 
showing due appreciation for hisdisinterested 
labors of love here. Fraternally, he is con- 
nected with the Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica, and is in thorough sympathy with the 
great mass of workingmen everywhere. 
Personally, he is justly popular with young 
and old, and exercises a marked influence 
for good upon all who know him. 

Upon the nth of August, 1872, Mr. 
Stark married Mary L. Whyde, daughter of 
Nicholas and Margaret (Starner) Whyde, 
both natives of Ohio. The father of Nicholas 
was Henry Whyde, of England, where many 
of his family spell the name Wide. Mrs. 
Stark was born in Wabash county, Illinois, 
and later she removed with her parents to 
Edwards county, where she formed the ac- 
cjuaintance of her future husband. They 
have- six children, of whom Claude at pres- 
ent is principal of the schools at Foosland, 
Illinois. He has been a student in the 
University and is preparing himself for yet 
higher things. Annetta is the wife of Prof. 
William E. Knott, principal of the Gifford 
(Illinois) schools, and they have one child, 
Marjory. Amy E. is successfully engaged 
in teaching in Champaign county, and 
Blanche, Ralph and Carl C. are at home. 
The family reside in a pleasant home at No. 
407 East Stoughton street, which was built 
by our subject in 1899. 



FRANC H. LANGE. While the saying 
of the poet, that "all things come to 
him that waits," may not be fulfilled in nu- 
merous instances, it is reasonably certain 



that some degree of success will come, 
sooner or later, to him who works and 
waits. Thus it has been in the case of the 
subject of this article, and, in view of the 
fact that he had his own way to make, a 
stranger in a strange land, he has been very 
prosperous. 

His father, Philip Lange, was a hero of 
the battle of Waterloo, serving in the Ger- 
man army. He was a native of Hanover, 
and died in that country in 1858, having 
survived his wife, Mary Ann, some ten 
years. Both were members of the United 
Lutheran church. Of their five children, 
three remained in Germany, while Franc 
H. and Joseph came to the New World. 
The latter, formerly a farmer of Hensley 
township, Champaign county, now resides 
in St. Louis. 

The birth of Franc H. Lange took 
place in Hanover, July 9, 1833, and in that 
province he obtained a good German edu- 
cation. In August, 1850, he sailed from 
Bremen to New York city, and after en- 
countering severe storms, the ship on which 
he was a passenger arrived at her destina- 
tion, just eight weeks having been con- 
sumed on the trip. His slender means 
were exhausted by that time, and he was 
obliged to borrow money to pay his way to 
Cleveland, where he was fortunate enough 
to obtain a position in a clothing store. 
There he faithfully performed every duty 
for seven years, after which he worked in a 
grocery for two years. 

Mr. Lange was economical and judicious 
in the expenditure of his earnings, and in 
1859 he came to Champaign county and 
rented land in Hensley township for four 
years. He then purchased eighty acres, 
only thirty-five of which had been broken. 
At first not more than two-thirds of the 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



221 



place could be cultitivated, but by placing 
tile and making ditches, the land was all re- 
claimed and rendered very productive. 
Many substantial improvements were made 
upon the homestead by the owner, and to- 
day it is one of the most valuable farms in 
the country, comprising, as it does, five 
hundred acres, situated in one body. It is 
well stocked with cattle, and in the raising 
of live stock he has been particularly suc- 
cessful. 

The marriage of Mr. Lane and Elizabeth 
Leidendecker took place May 5, 1860. and 
on the 2Oth of September, 1874, the devoted 
wife and mother was called to the better 
land. Henry, her eldest-born, is a farmer 
of Hensley township, and to himself and 
wife, formerly Bertha Wolfe, two daughters 
have been born, named, respectively, Nora 
.and Gertie. Albert, also an agriculturist, 
chose Amanda Faulker for his wife, and 
their children are named: Laura, Gilbert and 
Cora. Amelia, wife of William Luehrmann, 
of Altamont, has two children, Gussie and 
Oscar. Edward, also a resident of Alta- 
mont, married Alvina Kopplin. Mary is the 
wife of August Luehrmann, a well known 
business man of St. Louis, and their three 
children are: Edna, Irving and Eliner. 
Julia, wife of Gustve Kopplin, of Altamont, 
has one son, Franc. On the 3rd of Janu- 
ary, 1879, Mr. Lange married Louisa 
Luehrmann. daughter of John H. Luehr- 
mann-, of St. Louis, and their union has 
been blessed with three children, George, 
now a successful book-keeper; Clara, who 
died when in her eleventh year, and Oscar, 
in school. Mrs. Lange was the widow of 
Louis Meyer, by whom she had two children: 
William, of Shumway, Illinois, and Louis, 
manager of a commission house in St. Louis 
The father of Mrs. Lange was born in Han- 



over, Germany, in 1828, and in his early 
manhood he was a solider in the army. In 
1844 he came to this country and for nine- 
teen years made his home in St. Louis, 
where he married Katherine Auftermark, a 
native of Hanover. In 1863. he removed 
to the town of Venedy, Washington, where 
he conducted a ipercantile business, owned 
a mill in partnership with another man and 
was actively connected with various under- 
takings for five years. Then, going to 
Lively Grove, he served as the postmaster 
there, and, at the end of five years, returned 
to St. Louis. His -last years were spent in 
Blue Point, Illinois. 

In 1895, Mr. Lange built a beautiful 
residence at No. 507 West Springfield 
avenue, Champaign, and now lives retired, 
enjoying the fruits of past years of labor. 
Both he and his wife are active members of 
the Lutheran church, the former being a 
director, and when the new church building 
was recently constructed, he was an efficient 
worker on the committee having the matter 
in charge. He has been a zealous supporter 
of the Republican party, and no one in his 
community has been more interested in the 
establishment and maintenance of excel- 
lent public schools. In brief, he is a repre- 
sentative American devoted to everything 
making for the permanent welfare of the 
country with which he cast his lot just half 
a century ago. 



JOHN BRAGG, a retired wagon maker 
and blacksmith living at No. 103 Vine 
street, Champaign, was born in the city of 
London, England, May 19, 1826, and is a 
son of Thomas and Elizabeth Bragg, who, 
with their family, emigrated to the United 



222 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



States when our subject was ten years old, 
landing in New York. In that city the 
mother died in 1844, at the age of sixty-two 
years, but the father long survived her, dying 
in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1874, at the 
age of eighty-four years. In London he fol- 
lowed the carpenter's trade, and continued 
to work at that occupation in this country 
until age compelled his retirement. Both 
he and his wife were active and faithful 
members of the Baptist church, of which he 
was an officer, and, an honest, upright man 
and earnest Christian, he commanded the 
confidence and respect of all who knew him. 
The subject of this sketch is the young- 
est in a family of seven children, the others 
being as follows: (i) George was in the 
employ of the English government for over 
a quarter of a century, being clerk of works 
in the fortifications at Gibraltar for many 
years. He was then retired on a pension 
large enough to keep him comfortably dur- 
ing the remainder of his life. He was a 
faithful man in Her Majesty's service, and 
was the pride of the family. After his re- 
tirement from governmental duties, he en- 
gaged in preaching for the Baptist church 
until called from this life at the age of 
eighty years. He married Anna Golden 
and had several children. (2) Emily died 
at the age of eighteen years. (3) Charlotte, 
born in 1815, married James Fielder, of 
Jersey City, and died in 1843. She had 
two children, who are still living in that city, 
her son, George B. Fielder, having served 
for many years as county clerk of Hudson 
county, New Jersey. The other child is 
Mrs. Emily Bliss. (4) Frederick married 
Jane Bassett, and they are living in Lawn 
Ridge, Marshall county, Illinois. Their 
children are Mrs. Elizabeth Van Tassel; 
Arlington; John; George, deceased; Irving; 



Newton; Mrs. Hattie Miller; and Emily. (5) 
Edwin was a shoemaker of Erie county, 
Pennsylvania, where his death occurred. 
He had a wife and several children. (6) 
Charles was a carpenter by trade and was 
killed by falling from a building on which he 
was at work. He had a wife and children. 

John Bragg began his education in the 
public schools of London, and after coming 
to America commenced learning the wagon- 
maker's and blacksmith's trade. He at- 
tended school on Long Island for a time, 
and as a boy worked in the carpenter shop 
of his father until seventeen years of age, 
when he started out in life for himself. He. 
continued to make his home in New York 
City until 1856, working for the Brewster 
Carriage Company, whose work was dis- 
tributed all over the United States. 

In the meantime Mr. Bragg was married 
in 1852, to Miss Elizabeth Bassett, a daugh- 
ter of Michael and Hester Bassett and a 
sister of his brother Frederick's wife. She 
died in 1870, at the age of thirty-eight years, 
and Mr. Bragg was again married, in De- 
cember, 1872, his second union being with 
Miss Mary Harris, a daughter of Christopher 
C. and Margaret (Hemphill) Harris, the 
former a native of Cincinnati, Hamilton 
county, Ohio, the latter of County Antrim, 
Ireland. The father was born February 4, 
1822, and is the youngest and only survivor 
in a family of seven children, the others 
being William, James, Sarah, wife of 
Charles Howard; Mary, wife of Isaac Tittle; 
Louisa, wife of Alfred Orr; and Charlotte, 
wife of William McVita. Mr. Harris is also 
a blacksmith by trade and followed that oc- 
cupation for many years. In 1850 he re- 
moved from Ohio to Scott county, Indiana, 
and six years later came to Champaign 
county, Illinois, locating in East Bend 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



223 



township, where he engaged in farming 
until the fall of 1868, when he took up his 
residence in Champaign, then called West 
Urbana, and here he has since made 
his home. For four years he served 
as township clerk. Since the age of thirteen 
he has been an active and consistent mem- 
ber of the Congregational church, and has 
filled the office of deacon since 1865. On 
the 25th of November, 1844, he married 
Margaret Hemphill, who was born in County 
Antrim, Ireland, January i, 1822, a daugh- 
ter of James and Jane Hemphill. Her 
father died in that country, and in 1862 
her mother came to the United States, 
where she died ten years later, at the age of 
eighty-four. They had four children: 
James, deceased; Robert, a resident of 
Peoria, Illinois; Mary and Margaret. Mrs. 
Harris died September 15, 1899, aged 
seventy-seven years. At an early age she 
united with the Presbyterian church in Ire- 
land, and was always a sincere and faithful 
Christian. 

Mrs. Bragg is the oldest of the six chil- 
dren of the Harris family. Lucy A. was in- 
stantly killed by lightning July 30, 1856, at 
the age of eight years, while the family were 
living in Scott county, Indiana. The house 
was struck, but strange to say no other 
member of the family was injured. Louise 
is the wife of Arthur Barnes, who. is clerking 
in a manufacturing establishment in Cham- 
paign. Charlotte M. is the wife of Erwin 
Arnold, of Elgin, Illinois, and they have two 
children, Willett and Harry. Minerva is 
the wife of W. H. Nicolet, of Chicago, and 
they have one child, Bessie. Margaret is 
the wife of John L. Pierce, of Omaha, Ne- 
braska, and they have three sons, Dwight, 
Roy and Paul. Mr. and Mrs. Bragg have 
no children of their own, but have an adopt- 



ed daughter, Mary Isabella Bragg, a very 
prominent Sunday school worker, who is 
now assistant secretary in the office of W. 
B. Jacobs, the noted Sunday school man of 
Chicago. 

On leaving New York City, in 1856, Mr. 
Bragg came to Champaign county, Illinois, 
and first located on a farm three and a half 
miles north of Champaign, but two years 
later removed to that city, where he has 
since made his home. He had the first 
wagon shop that was conducted here longer 
than three months, and did quite a large 
and successful business for those early days, 
employing two blacksmiths and one painter. 
Being a man of industrious habits and good 
business ability, he succeeded in accumulat- 
ing a comfortable competence, and is now 
able to lay aside all business cares and live 
a retired life, though when disposed he still 
does some work for the accommodation of 
his friends. 

Politically, Mr. Bragg has nearly always 
affiliated with the Republican party except 
a few times when he voted the Prohibition 
ticket. In 1851 he united with the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows in New York 
City, and on coming to Champaign brought 
with him a card of recommendation to the 
lodge here, with which he has now been con- 
nected for thirty years. He has passed 
' through all the chairs and has represented 
the lodge in the Grand Lodge of the state 
for nine years. He has also been a member 
of the Masonic fraternity since 1871, and of 
the Congregational church since 1860. His 
wife is also a member of that church, and a 
teacher in the Sabbath school. She is an 
officer in the Woman's Christian Temperance 
Union, having served as president of the 
local organization and treasurer of the dis- 
trict society, and has been a great worker 



224 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in various organizations which have for their 
object the betterment of mankind. Both 
Mr. and Mrs. Bragg are widely and favor- 
ably known, and it is safe to say that no 
couple in the community are more highly re- 
spected and esteemed. 



JOHN QUAYLE, now living retired in 
Champaign, was one of the pioneers of 
this,state, and deserves special mention in 
its annals. Nobly and conscientiously did 
he battle with the privations and difficulties 
which only the frontiersman knows, and 
faithfully has he performed his duty towards 
his fellow-men and towards his large family, 
now reared to maturity and taking honored 
places in society. When duty and inclina- 
tion conflicted, he did not hesitate between 
them, but patiently and from principle 
endeavored to do what he believed to be 
right, and thus is entitled to the high esteen 
of all. 

A native of the Isle of Man, England, 
John Quayle was born June 25, 1833, a son 
of James and Ann (Harrison) Quayle, who 
passed their entire lives upon a farm there. 
When he had arrived at his majority, John 
Quayle joined five young men bound for the 
United States, and at Rochester, New York, 
where he had a sister living, he made a 
pleasant visit, before proceeding westward. 
Going then to Buffalo, he procured a team 
and drove to Detroit, and thence to Chicago 
and Peoria. He found plenty of work in 
that county and the following spring went to 
Henry county, where he took a position at 
herding cattle on the prairies. Many a day 
passed that he did not behold the face of a 
human being, but at night the wolves made 
the hours hideous, and wild game of various 



kinds was plentiful. Returning to Peoria 
county, he worked for farmers again, and 
all of this time carefully saved his earnings. 
When he saw his way clear to the establish- 
ment of a home, he returned to his native isl- 
and where he married Jane Skinner, who has 
proved a true helpmate to him in every re- 
spect. His parents were by this time well 
along in years, and, as they needed him to 
comfort and care for them, he remained on 
the old homestead, tenderly seeing that 
their wants were supplied, until they re- 
ceived the summons to the better land. 

Though the care of his parents necessi- 
ta^ed Mr. Quayle's remaining at his birth- 
place for a number of years after he had de- 
termined to cast in his lot with the pioneers 
of Illinois, he considered himself an Ameri- 
can and longed for the time when he might 
really set about the development of a good 
farm in the great Prairie state. When he 
returned to the United States for the second 
time, he had a wife and twelve children to 
provide for, and practically he had to be- 
gin at the beginning, financially. It was 
nine years ere he was able to buy a farm of 
his own, and, in the meantime, he leased 
land in Scott township, Champaign county, 
and some seasons cultivated several hun- 
dred acres. The homestead which he owns 
in Champaign township comprises one 
hundred and thirty-four acres, one-third of 
which was under water much of the year, 
at the time of his purchase. To-day there 
is not an acre incapable of cultivation, and, 
by means of three car-loads of tiles, varying 
from four to twelve inches in diameter, and 
ditches placed where needed, the land has 
been properly drained, and is very fertile 
and productive. The thrifty owner has 
instituted numerous other improvements, 
has divided the farm into fields of equal size, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



225 



and has a fine hedge around the entire place. 
Five or six yoke of cattle were required to 
break the prairie and the task was exceed- 
ingly difficult at best. 

But many years of persistent labor 
brought their due reward, and now, as the 
shadows of eventide lengthen in his pathway 
of life, Mr. Quayle is in the possession of 
ample means. Recently he built a beautiful 
modern residence at No. 838 West Church 
street, and is nowdwelling here. He has seen 
his twelve children grow tomature years, and 
many of them occupying homes of their own, 
respected members of the several communi- 
ties in which they reside. In order of birth 
they are named as follows: Mrs. Jane 
Collier, of Chicago; Thomas and William, 
farmers of this county; Katherine; Edward; 
Robert ;Daniel; Mrs. Anna Hartley, of Iowa; 
Mrs. Lizzie Flower; Henry; Arthur, of 
Chicago; and Fannie. The parents are 
members of the Wesleyan Methodist 
Episcopal church, and are liberal contributors 
to the maintenance of the noble work of the 
various departments of that denomination. 



CHARLES GEHRKE. The biographer 
\-^ takes special pleasure in tracing the 
history of men who have won success in hon- 
est industry and good business management, 
overcoming adverse circumstances, and prov- 
ing their ability to cope with competition 
and the thousand disadvantages which a for- 
eigner must contend against. The subject 
of this memoir is a loyal citizen, upholding 
all the laws and institutions of this, the 
land of his adoption, and he takes particular 
pains to inculcate in the minds of his chil- 
dren the same high principles of patriotism 
by which he is governed. 



Like his father and grandfather before 
him, Charles Gehrke was born in the village 
of Velpke, Hanover, Germany, the date of 
his nativity being June 18, 1852. His par- 
ents were Henry and Elizabeth (Shultz) 
Gehrke, respected citizens and members of 
the Lutheran church. The father was a 
stone-mason, and made a good living for 
himself and family. 

After completing the excellent education 
which the schools of Germany afford its chil- 
dren, he was apprenticed to the baker's 
trade, and served for three years, becoming 
thoroughly acquainted with the business in 
all of its details. He then worked as a jour- 
neyman in different parts of the German 
empire until the time when he was obliged 
to enter the army, in accordance with the 
military regulations. There he served for 
three years, beginning with the year in which 
the Franco-German war was finished. ' 

On the 25th of January, 1881, Mr. 
Gehrke married Sophia Bank, of Schoppen- 
stedt, and, after a few years of wedded life, 
they decided to try their fortunes in the 
United States. In all of his undertakings, 
our subject has found a faithful helpmate in 
his wife, and together they have borne many 
sorrows and vicissitudes, as five of their ten 
children they have had to place in the tomb. 
Robert, who has mastered the baker's trade, 
is engaged in business with his father, and 
is a promising youth. Otto, Alma, Jennie, and 
Amanda(who is studying music) are at home, 
the three youngest being pupils in the local 
school. Alma has developed considerable 
musical ability and is being given special 
training in the art which they love. 

It was fifteen years ago that Mr. Gehrke 
crossed the Atlantic with the purpose of 
founding a home in America. Linding in 
Baltimore, he proceeded with his family to 



226 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Champaign county, and, as he was unable 
to speak any English, he was glad to accept 
a position at his trade with those who were 
willing to employ him. At the .end of five 
years, he opened a small bakery at No. 207 
East Clark street, which property he had 
purchased with his carefully accumulated 
earnings. At first, he built only a good 
oven, and had a small shop in the rear of 
his premises, but at the end of two years he 
erected a substantial store fronting the 
street. Little by little he ingratiated him- 
self into the favor of the public, and now is 
managing a very remunerative business, buy- 
ing flour by the car-load lot, keeping two or 
more teams busy and several men employed. 
In 1 899 he engaged in shipping bread to sev- 
eral adjoining towns. He makes a specialty 
of fine baking and pastry, supplying parties 
and banquets and taking orders for whatever 
is desired by his patrons. He has a pleasant 
home on his Lot, which is sixty-six feet wide, 
and some time ago he also purchased the 
property next to his own. On this he built 
a good residence, which he rents. 

Every one having dealings with Mr. 
Gehrke speaks in high terms of his integrity 
and energetic methods and wishes him suc- 
cess. Fraternally he is associated with the 
Druids and Modern Woodmen of America 
and with the Mutual Aid Society. Relig- 
iously, he is a member of the German Evan- 
gelical church, and liberally assists in various 
philanthropic movements, calculated to bene- 
fit humanity in general. 



ZACHARIAH EMIG, of Champaign, is 
the possessor of a handsome property 
which now enables him to spend his years 
in the pleasurable enjoyment of his accumu- 



lations. The record of his life, previous to 
1893, is that of an active, enterprising, 
methodical and sagacious business man, who 
has bent his energies to the honorable ac- 
quirement of a comfortable competence for 
himself and family. 

Mr. Emig was born in York, Pennsyl- 
vania, March 28, 1828, a son of Daniel and 
Elizabeth (Fleager) Emig, who spent their 
entire lives in that place. The grandpar- 
ents, Michael and Sophia (Dendelinger) 
Emig, were born in this country of German 
ancestry, and he was a farmer by occupation. 
The family name is shortened from the 
earlier German spelling Emich. The fa- 
ther of our subject followed farming through- 
out life and also worked at the millwright's 
trade, building mills in the neighborhood of 
his home for many years. Both he and his 
wife were members of the Lutheran church 
and most estimable people. 

The subject of this sketch received a 
good education in the Evangelical school of 
York, and on starting out in life for himself 
turned his attention to farming. In 1852 
he came to Illinois on horseback, a distance 
of nearly one thousand miles, carrying all 
his worldly possessions in his saddle bags. 
Roads had been made, but the settlements 
in this state were then widely scattered. He 
located at Monticello, Piatt county, and for 
nine years he operated rented land. In 
1865 he purchased eighty acres of railroad 
land, entirely unimproved, and at once 
turned his attention to its cultivation and 
development. He built a house and fences, 
and placed acre after acre under the plow. 
Later he purchased another eighty-acre 
tract on the same section, and tiled and im- 
proved the whole place, making it one of 
the most desirable farms of its size in the 
locality. For twenty-five years he made 




ZACHARIAH EM1G. 



THE BIOGRAHPICAL RECORD. 



229 



that place his home, and was extensively 
engaged in the raising of stock and grain. 
He raised both cattle and horses, but his 
specialty was heavy work horses of the Per- 
cheron breed. In his undertaking he met 
with well-deserved success, and is now able 
to lay aside all business cares and enjoy the 
fruits of former toil. Leaving the farm in 
November, 1893, he moved to Champaign, 
and purchased a pleasant home at No. 311 
East Springfield avenue, where he now re- 
sides. 

On the 1 8th of February, 1857, Mr. 
Emig was united in marriage with Miss 
Mary Pifer, of Monticello, also a native of 
Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Stephen A. 
and Elizabeth (Eichinger) Pifer, who came 
to this state about 1850. Of the eight chil- 
dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Emig, one died 
at the age of three years and a half, and 
the others are Ellen, now the wife of 
William Brittenham, of St. Louis, Missouri. 
Kate, wife of Nelson Reed, who lives near 
Shelbyville, Illinos; Lizzie, wife of William 
Ogden, of Mississippi; Charles, who married 
Bertha Smith and lives on his father's farm; 
Delia, wife of Len Judkins, of Effingham; 
Minnie and Francis, both at home. They 
also have seventeen grandchildren, five of 
whom are now grown. 

The Republican party finds in Mr. Emig 
an ardent supporter of its princicles, but he 
has never been an aspirant for official hon- 
ors. For many years he and his wife were 
active and prominent members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church of Monticello, and 
since coming to Champaign have united 
with the congregation here. He was class 
leader at the country appointment near his 
home, and was superintendent of the Sun- 
day school. He is a worthy representative of 

that class of citizens who lead quiet, industri- 
12 



ous, honest and useful lives, and constitute 
the best portion of a community. Wherever 
known he is held in high regard, and is 
certainly deserving of honorable mention in 
the history of his adopted county. 



AJ. CLARK, one of the representative 
business men of Urbana, comes from 
one of the pioneer families of Champaign 
county, and his paternal ancestors were 
early settlers in Virginia. His grandfather, 
Samuel F. Clark, removed to Scioto county, 
Ohio, when a child, and there grew to man- 
hood. For a wife he chose Mary, daughter 
of Henry Utt, a native ol Germany, who 
had located in the Buckeye state at an 
early day, and in payment for supplying the 
first surveyors of his section of the state 
with provisions, received two acres of land 
per day, until he had three hundred and 
fifty acres near the present town of Lucas- 
ville, Ohio. In 1826, S. F. Clark removed 
to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, and there 
cleared a farm. 

The father of the subject of this article, 
the Hon. Erastus J. Clark, was born May 
2, 1831, the fourth in a family of ten chil- 
dren. He was reared at his birthplace in 
Tippecanoe county, then almost an un- 
broken wilderness, and in his early years he 
often saw large bands of Indians who were 
engaged in hunting in the forest, but were 
not unfriendly to the white men. An im- 
portant event in his life was his marriage, 
November 13, 1851, to Maria Kirkpatrick, 
daughter of James Kirkpatrick. She was 
born in Pickaway county, Ohio, later re- 
sided in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, and 
at the time of her marriage was living in 
Mahomet township, Champaign county. 



230 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Clark continued to dwell in this county 
for many years, engaged in farming, and 
then went to Gray county, Kansas. At the 
time of his death, in 1898, he was making 
his home at Enid, Oklahoma Territory. It 
is a remarkable fact that, though he ran for 
office twenty-six times, such was his popu- 
larity that he never sustained a defeat. 
While living' in this county he served as 
justice of the peace two terms and in Gray 
county, Kansas, was recorder of deeds four 
years. He also was honored by being 
chosen to represent his county in the terri- 
torial legislature of Oklahoma, and at the 
time of his death was a member of the 
Oklahoma senate. He lived to be nearly 
sixty-nine years of age, and died, regretted 
and mourned by a large number of personal 
friends and general business and political 
associates. In politics, he maintained ab- 
solute independence of party, making a 
point, however, of never voting for any 
man whose sympathies had been or were 
with the South in the war of the Rebellion. 
When Peter Cooper was a candidate for 
office, he was one of the eighty-four thou- 
sand independent men who voted for that 
gentlemen. Both himself and wife were 
faithful members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church, and were active in all worthy 
movements. She is living in Enid, Okla- 
homa territory, and has attained her sixty- 
ninth year. 

The third of four children, A. J. Clark 
was born April 21, 1862, on the parental 
farm in this county. His elder sister, Dora, 
is the wife of A. J. Burns, a farmer of 
Cimarron, Kansas, and Eva M., wife of C. 
C. Castle, resides upon a farm near Omo, 
Oklahoma Territory. Clinton F. is a pros- 
perous and influential citizen of Enid, same 
territory. He is extensively engaged in 



stock raising, and at present is deputy to the 
county sheriff. His wife was Ada Hungate 
in her girlhood. 

A. J. Clark received a good education in 
the district schools of this county, and in 
those of Urbana. He then turned his at- 
tention to agriculture and the raising of live 
stock. In 1894 he went to Ford county, 
Kansas, where he was a member of the firm 
of Clark & Kern, real -estate dealers, until 
1896. Then, going to Oklahoma, he was 
occupied in agricultural pursuits for two 
years, at the end of which period he re- 
turned to Urbana. Here he entered into 
partnership with R. T. Robertson, who 
withdrew from the firm within a year, and 
towards the close of 1899 the present ar- 
rangement with Mr. Coffin was made, the 
style being Clark & Coffin. They not only 
deal in real estate, but also in live stock, es- 
pecially horses, and are making a success of 
their enterprises. 

Soon after reaching his majority, A. J. 
Clark married Laura, daughter of Owen T. 
and Mary J. Mallon, formerly of Franklin 
county, Ohio. They are both living, as are 
six of their seven children. Allen, an Iowa 
farmer, married Anna Actrum, and has five 
children. Charles, a farmer of this county, 
married Jennie Lease, and had four chil- 
dren, two of whom survive. Sallie is the 
wife of W. A. Lewis, a conductor on the 
Illinois Central. Arthur and John, unmar- 
ried, and firemen on the Big Four railroad, 
reside in Urbana. Aaron, deceased, was a 
farmer of this county. He chose Ada Phil- 
lips for a wife, and they had three daugh- 
ters. Mr. and Mrs. Clark are the parents 
of three children, namely: Charlie C., 
Claude E. and Nellie J. 

Fraternally, Mr. Clark is a member of 
the Uniformed Rank of the Knights of 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



231 



Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America 
and the Court of Honor. Politically, he is 
a Democrat, but has no aspirations to pub- 
lic office. He owns a good residence at No. 
2 1 1 West Green street, and in addition to 
this, he owns valuable farms in Illinois, 
Kansas and Oklahoma, all of which prop- 
erty he leases to responsible tenants. 



CHARLES HEBEL, one of the young 
V_> business men of Champaign, has dem- 
onstrated within the past few years what 
can be accomplished by pluck and persever- 
ance. Without assistance of any sort, he 
has steadily forged his way to the front, 
and now enjoys the well earned respect of 
every one who knows him. 

One of the native sons of Champaign 
county, Mr. Hebel was born in Urbana, 
August 26, 1876. His father, George Hebel, 
now a resident of Boulder, Jefferson 
county, Montana, is a baker by trade, and 
during his residence in Champaign did much 
of the fine work in his line for the leading 
people of this locality. It was in 1875 that 
he located here, coming from our neighbor 
state, Indiana. Later, he went to. Urbana, 
and still later, to the northwest. His wife, 
the mother of our subject, bore the maiden 
name of Naomi A. Colvin, She was born 
in Indiana, and is a daughter of William 
Colvin, one of the early settlers in Cham- 
paign. 

In his boyhood, Charles Hebel attended 
the common schools of Champaign, and 
gained a practical business education. He 
then began learning the trade of a paper- 
hanger with Samuel Smith, in whose employ 
he continued for three years. During this 
period, when he had so earnestly striven to 



please that he was in great demand with 
the public, he concluded to embark in busi- 
ness upon his own account, and carefully 
accumulated what he could save from his 
earnings, as capital for his venture. He 
was only twenty years old when he started 
out independently, taking orders for paper- 
hanging and decoration of rooms, and the 
next year he opened a small shop at 203 
South Wright street. At first he had only 
a few, but well chosen, varieties of paper in 
stock, but, little by little, he added to this, 
until to-day he keeps a splendid line of 
goods, representing the latest ideas in wall 
decoration, and at prices suited to every 
purse. He is now established in large and 
pleasant quarters at No. 608 East White 
street, his own building. His trade, which 
is constantly growing, is not exclusively 
that of house adornment, for he has executed 
many contracts of fine work for stores and 
public buildings, like that of the Young 
Men's Christian Association. He has it as 
a fixed principle that all work undertaken 
by him shall be made thoroughly satisfactory 
to his patrons, and thus his reputation has 
been built upon a sure basis. He owns a 
good house and lot in addition to his busi- 
ness block on South Wright street. 

When a mere youth, Mr. Hebel developed 
considerable talent as an entertainer, and 
one season, comprising some forty weeks, he 
traveled with Gilbert & Owens Comedy 
Company. He was assigned a good part 
and played it with marked ability, and, 
though some of his experiences were not 
particularly pleasant, and led to his de- 
termination to seek another line of per- 
manent employment, his mind was neces- 
sarily broadened and his store of general in- 
formation greatly increased, for he met all 
classes of people and journeyed all over the 



232 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



central states, as well as through Kentucky 
and Tennessee. 

On the 29th of September, 1898, Mr. 
Hebel and Miss GoldieJ. Carman, daughter 
of Benjamin F. Carman, of Urbana, were 
united in marriage, at Paris, Illinois. They 
have a little daughter, Merribel Margaret, 
the pride of their happy home. Mrs. Hebel 
is a member of the Christian church of Ur- 
bana, and Mr. Hebel is an attendant upon 
the services, and a contributor to the main- 
tenance of religious work. Both have nu- 
merous friends, here and elsewhere, whom 
they enjoy entertaining in the home made 
attractive by their united labors. Through 
his energy and perseverance he has gained 
the confidence and encouragement of a 
number of business men of the Twin Cities. 



/^>EORGE E. McCARTY, who is well 
V_J and favorably known, particularly in 
local Democratic circles in Champaign, is a 
native of this flourishing place, his birth 
having occurred here when the city was in 
its infancy, September 27, 1858. His par- 
ents, Patrick and Mary (Graham) McCarty, 
were born in Ireland, and were married in 
Champaign on Christmas day, 1856. The 
father was in the employ of the Illinois 
Central Railroad Company for thirty-six 
years, and was highly esteemed by those 
who knew him. Both he and his estimable 
wife were pioneer members of St. Mary's 
Catholic church of this city, and, though 
they have finished their earthly career, they 
are lovingly remembered by a multitude of 
old-time friends. 

When he had completed his education, 
George E. McCarty began his railroading 
life, which extended over a period of many 



years. He was at first employed by the 
Illinois Central and was in the round-house 
here from 1875 to 1876, after which he 
acted in the capacity of fireman on the road 
for three years. Then for a year he was 
with the VVabash, running between Peru, 
Indiana, and Peoria, Illinois, and later he 
was fireman upon the line between Sedalia 
and Kansas City, Missouri, and Pleasant 
Hill and Joplin. Going into the Lone Star 
state, he obtained a position with the Texas 
Pacific, and, after proving his ability as -a 
fireman, was promoted, at the end of a 
month's service, to the post of engineer. 
After eighteen months spent in that place, 
he became connected with the Cotton Belt 
Railroad, as fireman upon a passenger en- 
gine, his run being between Texarkana and 
Waco, Texas. At the end of three months 
he was transferred to a position as engineer 
of a switch engine, at Corsicana. Not 
liking that department of business, he pro- 
ceeded to Salt Lake City, where he was a 
member of the city paid fire department for 
six months. He then accepted a position as 
fireman on the Union Pacific, his run being 
from Ogden to Milford, Utah, and this place 
he retained for three years. The ensuing 
year or two he was variously employed on 
Montana railroads, and at the end of tfyat 
time he decided to try a distinct change of 
occupation. Returning to his birth place, 
he engaged in the restaurant business, and 
for seven years devoted his entire attention 
to the enterprise, of which -he made a suc- 
cess. 

For a long time Mr. McCarty has been 
very active in the affairs of the Democratic 
party in this locality, and in April, 1894, he 
was elected alderman from his ward. Since 
then he has been honored with re-election 
twice, and has fully met the expectations 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



233 



of his friends. He claims to have no 
deeper interest than that of the working- 
men, and has endeavored to prove this in 
many ways. He it was who introduced the 
ordinance providing for nine hours per day 
and payment of a dollar and a half a day 
to all men employed by the city on improve- 
ments, and he was the only one in the coun- 
cil to fight the peddler's ordinance. When 
the Anti-trust League met in Chicago, he 
was sent as a delegate from Champaign, and 
upon every suitable occasion he fearlessly 
proclaims his political views. Religiously, 
he is a member of St. Mary's Catholic 
church. 



JAMES BATTERSHELL, whose home 
is at No. 208 West Oregon street, Ur- 
bana, is one of the pioneers of this section 
of the state, and was for many years one 
of the leading agriculturists of Champaign 
county, but is now living retired from active 
labor, quietly enjoying the income which he 
accumulated in former years. He well re- 
members when this region was almost an 
unbroken wilderness, when deer and wolves 
roamed over the prairies, and game of all 
kinds abounded. In the work of develop- 
ment and progress he has borne an active 
part, and is justly numbered among the 
honored pioneers and useful citizens of the 
community. 

Mr. Battershell was 'born in Clark 
county, Kentucky, February 2, 1833, a son 
of William and Elizabeth (Wills) Batter- 
shell, also natives of Kentucky. The 
father, who was a farmer by occupation, 
brought his family to this state in 1839, and 
first located in Edgar county, where he 
spent nine years. He then returned to 
Kentucky, where he lived until 1864, and 



at the end of that time came to Champaign 
county, and settled on a farm north of 
Blue Mound, where he made his home un- 
til called from this life November 27, 1880, 
at the age of seventy-two years. He was 
buried on his farm with Masonic honors, 
being a member of that fraternity. From 
boyhood he held membership in the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, and from the age 
of fourteen years his wife has also been a 
consistent and faithful member of the same 
church. On the 2nd of April, 1900, she 
will be eighty-five years of age, but is now 
in feeble health. Of her it might be truth- 
fully said that she "has fought a good 
fight, finished her course and kept the 
faith." Her father was Thornton Wills, 
who belonged to a family noted for the 
number of its members and longevity. He 
was a farmer and freeholder of Kentucky. 
He died during the Civil war and the ne- 
groes owned by him were distributed 
among his children, stipulating in his will 
that none should be sold outside the family. 
Both he and his wife lived to be eighty-three 
years of age, were devout and earnest 
Christians, and very influential in church 
matters. Of their thirteen children six are 
still living, namely: Kittie, wife of Arthur 
Everman; Caroline, wife of Richard John- 
son; Simpson; Rev. Greenberry; William, 
and Elizabeth, now Mrs. Battershell. 

The subject of this sketch is the oldest in 
a family of thirteen children; John E., the 
next in order of birth, died in boyhood; 
Sarah is the wife of Jefferson Toland, of 
Urbana; Mary E. is the wife of Gibson 
Everman, of Kentucky; Sanford A. married 
LethaNaylor and lives in Montana; Amanda 
is the widow of Charles Case, and makes 
her home in Kansas; Simpson married Mary 
Berry, sister of our subject's wife, and lives 



234 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in Henning, Illinois; Nancy is the wife of R. 
Hudson, a teamster of Urbana; Rosella is 
the wife of Samuel Everman, of Kentucky; 
Catherine is the wife of J. P. Bartles, post- 
master of Dewey, Illinois; Daniel T. mar- 
ried Margaret Brookbanks and lives in Kan- 
sas; and two died in infancy. 

James Battershell was six years of age 
when he accompanied his parents on their 
removal to this state, and amid pioneer 
scenes he grew to manhood, while his edu- 
cation was obtained in the district schools. 
On starting out in life for himself he en- 
gaged in farming, to which pursuit he had 
been reared, and has followed that occupa- 
tion both in Champaign and Vermilion 
counties. He has met with marked success 
in his life-work, and is now the owner of 
one-half section of land under a high state 
of cultivation and well improved with good 
and substantial buildings. In connection 
with general farming, he has followed stock 
raising quite extensively, but for the past 
three years has rented his farm and lived a 
retired life in Urbana. 

In Powell county, Kentucky, Mr. Bat- 
tershell was married, July 27, 1854, to Miss 
Rebecca T. Matzabaugher, a daughter of 
David and Hannah (Baker) Matzabaugher, 
in whose family were six children, the others 
being Henrietta, wife of Samuel Rider, a 
farmer of Indiana; Lizzie, wife of Joseph 
Birley, a farmer of Stanton township, this 
county; Susie, who was married three times, 
and lives in Wisconsin; Margaret, wife of 
Henderson Scott, a carpenter of Rantoul 
township, this county; and Hannah, widow 
of Joseph James. Mrs. Battershell was 
born February 16, 1839, and died August 
4, 1883. She held membership in the 
Christian church and was a most estimable 
lady. 



By his first marriage our subject had ten 
children, namely: (i) Elizabeth, born March 
2, 1856, died July 14, 1862. (2) William 
C., born July 1 1, 1858, died August 7, 1872. 
(3) Sarah V. is the wife of J. H. Johnson, 
of Urbana, and they have seven children, 
Hannah T. , Jessie, Norman, Isabel, Lot- 
tie M., Rolley E. and Allie M. (4) 
Davis S., who operates his father's 
farm, married Laura Atkinson, and they 
have five children, Earl V., Goldie, Pearl, 
Jessie and an infant. (5) John W. married 
Laura B. Berry, and follows farming in 
Crawford county, Illinois. They had five 
children, James E. ; Oscar, deceased; Jose- 
phine; Ransom, and Gladys. (6) Isabel is 
the wife of William Kirkpatrick, of State 
Line, Indiana, and they have three children, 
Leroy, Minnie M. and an infant. (7) George 
W. married Rilla Divens and is a farmer of 
State Line. (8) Erne J. is the wife of 
Charles Thornsborough, of Jamesburg, Ver- 
milion county, and they have four children, 
Phoebe, Nellie, Banner and an infant. (9) 
Charles E. is a farmer of Jamesburg. (10) 
Rebecca T. died in infancy. 

Mr. Battershell was again married, Feb- 
ruary 12, 1884, his second union being with 
Mrs. Martha (Berry) Davis, a daughter of 
William P. and Nancy (Hulce) Berry, of 
Clark county, Kentucky, where they are 
still living at the ages of seventy-two and 
seventy years respectively. Their children 
are Mary, wife of Simpson Battershell, a 
brother of our subject; Martha, wife of our 
subject; Barbara Ann, widow of James 
Anderson and a resident of Potomac; Sarah 
E., wife of Achilles Ware, a farmer of Ver- 
milion county, Illinois; Candace, wife of 
William Newman, of Missouri; Josephine, 
wife of W. T. Roberts, of Vermilion coun- 
ty; David H., who married Lizzie Lee, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



'235 



and lives in Clark county, Kentucky; and 
Laura Bell, wife of John Battershell, a 
farmer of Crawford county, Illinois. Mrs. 
Battershell first married Jefferson Davis, 
who died March 4, 1871, at the age 
of twenty-five years, leaving one child, 
Samuel J., a resident of Iowa, who mar- 
ried Minnie Brown, of Ogden, Illinois, 
and has two children, Eva and Paul. Our 
subject and his wife are both active mem- 
bers of the Disciples church, and he is a 
supporter of the Prohibition party. During 
his long residence in this county he has 
championed every movement designed to 
promote the general welfare, has supported 
every enterprise for the public good, and 
has materially aided in the advancement of 
all social and moral interests. After a use- 
ful and honorable career he can well afford 
to lay aside all business cares and live in 
ease and retirement. 



JOHN TIERNEY. Few citizens of Cham- 
paign are better known or more thor- 
oughly respected than John Tierney, who 
has made his home here for nearly three dec- 
ades. He was born in County Monahan, 
Ireland, in November, 1848, a son of Peter 
and Anna (Murphy) Tierney, who, like their 
ancestors for many generations, were natives 
of the same county and fanners by occupa- 
tion. When John Tierney was about a year 
old, his parents came to the United States, 
but left him in the care of a relative until 
such a time as they had founded a home and 
had made some provision for the future. 
The father was accidentally killed while as- 
sisting in the removal of the state house 
stairs, at Springfield, Illinois, about 1854, 
and the mother continued to make her home 
in that city until her death. 



When he was three years old, our sub- 
ject was brought to the United States, and 
in the public schools of Springfield he ac- 
quired his education. When he was old 
enough, he commenced serving an ap- 
prenticesjhip to the carpenter's trade, and 
continued in that calling in Springfield until 
1871, when he took up his permanent abode 
in Champaign. Here he assisted in the 
building of a mill and elevator for Richards 
Brothers, and was employed in the construc- 
tion of the main building of the university. 
Then he was connected with the carpenter 
shops of the Big Four Railroad for a period 
of nine years, after which he resumed his 
work for the university, and for the past fif- 
teen years has been regularly employed 
there. At the time he went back to this in- 
stitution, he supposed that the tasks set be- 
fore him would occupy him for a few days 
only, but he has been kept busy, with re- 
pairing, when nothing else more important 
was on the docket, and this fact speaks 
volumes for the thoroughness of all work 
performed by him, showing that his fidelity 
is appreciated. He is a practical cabinet 
maker, and often has turned out fine speci- 
mens of furniture, book-cases, tables, desks 
and cupboards, used in the various depart- 
ments of the college. 

Several years ago, Mr. Tierney pur- 
chased two lots at the corner of White and 
Sixth streets. The small house which stood 
upon this property he replaced in 1895 with 
a beautiful modern residence, and, with his 
family, has taken great pleasure in improv- 
ing the place, now considered one of the 
finest homes on the east side of the city. 
He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, 
being past chancellor of his lodge and repre- 
sentative to the grand lodge, and he also 
belongs to the Uniformed Rank of this order. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Besides, he is associated with the Modern 
Woodmen of America, the Court of Honor 
and the Royal Neighbors. In local affairs 
he is independent of party, but in national 
elections he votes the Democratic ticket. 

The marriage of Mr. Tierney and Sarah 
Harding took place February 5, 1874. 
Their eldest-born, John H., a graduate of 
the Champaign schools, is now engaged in 
the manufacture of cigars here. George H. . 
Margaret, Myrtle M. and Jennie B. are at 
home. Mrs. Tierney is a daughter of James 
and Margaret (Crane) Harding, natives of 
England and Ireland, respectively. They 
were married at Hoboken, New Jersey, and 
there the father died. The widow and her 
daughter came to this city in 1862, and here 
the latter was educated. She is identified 
with the Baptist church of Urbana, and is 
deeply interested in all kinds of Christian 
and benevolent work. 



EDWARD W. BLAINE. In reviewing 
the history of Champaign county it is 
seen that the Blaine family has been actively 
associated with its upbuilding and improve- 
ment for thirty-five years, and that no more 
patriotic citizens have dwelt within its bor- 
ders. The subject of this article, whose life 
has been devoted to agricultural pursuits 
since he cast in his lot with us, just after the 
close of the great Civil war, is now retired 
from active labor, and is quietly passing his 
.declining years in Champaign, where he has 
a pleasant home. 

The paternal grandparents of E. W. 
Blaine came westward from the vicinity oi 
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to what afterwards 
was known as Armstrong county, same state, 
and, having cleared a large homestead, 



gradually amassed a competence. The 
parents .of E..W., William and Elizabeth 
(Wiggins) Blaine, were both natives of the 
Keystone state, and passed through all of 
the experiences incident to pioneer life. 
They lived upon a farm in the midst of the 
forest, which gradually was leveled by the 
untiring labors of the father and his sons, 
while they not only raised their own flax 
and wool, but spun and wove it into cloth, 
thus providing for the needs of a large family. 
The wife and mother was called to her re- 
ward when she was fifty-four years of age, 
but the father lived to the advanced age of 
ninety. He accompanied our subject to 
this county in 1865, and, buying a home- 
stead, continued to dwell thereon until his 
life came to a close. Eleven of his twelve 
children attained maturity, namely: James, 
Eliza, Edward W., John, Ellen, Deborah, 
Jennie, Nancy, Isabella, Margaret and 
Hattie. Of these, Ellen, Nancy and John 
are deceased. 

Edward W. Blaine was born in Arm- 
strong county, September 21, 1825, and, as 
may be supposed, his educational advan- 
tages, as he grew up, were extremely limited, 
being confined to a few terms at subscrip- 
tion schools. On the farm he learned the 
lessons of husbandry and economy, of in- 
dustry and fortitude, that have been potent 
factors in his later success. Then, for 
several years, he engaged in the heavy work 
of teaming for the local furnaces, hauling 
ore and timber, after which he went to the 
oil regions in Mercer county, and found em- 
ployment there in various lines until 1865, 
when he came to Champaign county, and 
invested some of his earnings in one hundred 
and twenty acres of land, situated upon 
section 27. The property was uncultivated, 
and with resolute energy the young man be- 




E. W. BLA1XE. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



239 



gan to improve the place, which in time was 
made to "bloom and blossom as the rose.' 1 
At the end of ten years, he had prospered so 
greatly that he purchased sixty acres more, 
and this, also, he vastly improved, using 
excellent judgment in the raising of crops, 
and materially increasing the value of the 
homestead by judicious expenditure. The 
place is to-day considered one of the best in 
this part of the county, and it annually yields 
a good income to the fortunate owner. 
Though frequently urged to accept public 
office, Mr. Blaine had no desire to enter 
politics, though he was commissioner of 
highways two terms, and for sixteen years 
acted efficiently as a member of the school 
board. His ballot was always devoted to the 
support of the Republican party. The mar- 
riage of E. W. Blaine and Nancy Adams, a 
native of Armstrong county, and daughter of 
William Adams, was solemnized in 1859. 
Mr. Adams was a tanner by trade, and 
owned one of the largest tanneries in Arm- 
strong county. Mrs. Blaine, who was mar- 
ried subsequent to her father's death, was 
the second of his six children. The two 
elder children of Mr. and Mrs. Blaine, Ida 
and William, died when eight and six years 
of age, respectively. Shields A., the next 
*n order of birth, and now living with his 
father, holds the responsible position of tel- 
ler in the First National Bank of this city, 
and Walter, who is a prominent physician 
of Tuscola, Illinois, is a graduate of the 
University of Pennsylvania. The mother 
departed this life in 1870. The second 
marriage of E. W. Blaine took place in 
March, 1873, when Miss Sarah Wilson, 
daughter of James Wilson, of Armstrong 
county, became his bride. Their eldest- 
born, Wilson, now carries on the old Cham- 
paign county homestead. Edith, wife of 



Harvey English, resides in Champaign town- 
ship, this county, and has one child, Ruth. 
Edna keeps house for her father, since the 
death of Mrs. Blaine, who was called to the 
better land on the 28th of August, 1899, and 
was placed to rest in beautiful Mount Hope 
cemetery. Both she and our subject have 
long been members of the Presbyterian 
church. 

In the winter of 1899-1900, Mr. Blaine 
erected an attractive modern home on Uni- 
versity avenue, Champaign, and here, 
cheered and cared for by his loving sons 
and daughters, he hopes to pass his remain- 
ing years in the enjoyment of well deserved 
prosperity. 



JAMES McCANN, a prominent manu- 
facturer of Champaign, is especially de- 
serving of a place in the records of his 
county and country, because of the terrible 
sufferings which he endured in order that 
the Union might be preserved. While it is 
true that the liberal humanitarianism of to- 
day benevolently advocates that the veil of 
charity be thrown over the past over the 
dreadful Civil war, and this is well, for no 
one having the welfare of our beloved land 
sincerely at heart desires to foster sectional 
feeling yet the lessons to be drawn from 
that dark page in the nation's history cannot 
be too djeeply felt, and justice to all demands 
that the horrors of war, especially war be- 
tween brothers of the same great American 
family, should be pointed out in a forcible 
manner occasionally, "lest we forget," and 
growing proud of our boasted unity, again 
fall into the awful strife of less than four 
decades ago. 

James McCann was born in Carlinford, 
Ireland, November 25, 1842, a son of Mur- 



240 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tagh and Alice (Murphy) McCann, both of 
whom were natives of the county of Louth. 
In 1849, they removed with their children 
to the United States, and located on a farm 
' near Glenville, New York. There the 
father died in 1869, and the mother de- 
parted this life in 1884. Both were mem- 
bers of the Catholic church, and enjoyed 
the respect of all who knew them. 

As stated above, James McCann was but 
ten years of age when he became a resident 
of the country for whose sake he was 
destined to suffer and do so much. He was 
educated in the schools of Glenville, and 
learned lessons of patriotism which have 
proved the basis of his conduct through 
life, and have rendered him a citizen of 
whom his adopted land is proud. He was 
not yet twenty years of age, when, upon 
the 7th of August, 1862, he enlisted as a 
private in Company A, One Hundred and 
Thirty-fourth New York Volunteer Infantry. 
The ensuing fall and winter, the regiment 
was drilled for future service at Arlington 
Heights and at Fairfax Court-house, later 
taking part in some minor skirmishes and 
military maneuvers. The first very import- 
ant battle in which Mr. McCann partici- 
pated was that of Chancellorsville. He 
and his comrades were ordered to carry one 
hundred and sixty rounds of ammunition 
and eight days' rations, besides an extra 
change of clothing, for otherwise, the 
forces had only a few army mules to convey 
needful supplies. The march was a very 
severe one for the men, who were on short 
rations, and more heavily weighed 
down with luggage, proportionately, than 
the mules. The battle began on May ist, 
and Hobker, addressing his command, 
stated that they had " bagged the enemy," 
that " for the first time in the history of 



the war the rebels must come out and fight 
instead of attacking them in their breast- 
works." At three o'clock in the afternoon 
of Saturday, what was known as Barlow's 
Brigade (the only English-speaking brigade 
in the whole army corps), which included 
Mr. McCann's regiment, was sent upon a 
reconnoissance, and within an hour cap- 
tured a Confederate regiment which had 
been hemmed in between a Maine regiment 
and the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth 
New York. Barlow's troops continued 
their march southward until eight o'clock, 
when they were commanded to return, but 
not to their recently occupied camp, for 
Stonewall Jackson had taken possession of 
that, in the meantime, with such of their 
supplies as they had left. The battle raged 
furiously on the next day (Sunday), Bar- 
low's regiments being on the extreme left of 
the forces. During the battle -of Gettys- 
burg, Mr. McCann fought hard for several 
hours on the opening day of that decisive 
engagement, but, when the evening shad- 
ows were falling, he was taken prisoner, 
and, with his comrades, was started upon a 
weary three hundred miles march to Stan- 
ton, West Virginia, whence he was trans- 
ferred by train to Belle Isle Prison, near 
Richmond. The poor boys were stripped 
of their accoutrements, knapsacks, blankets, 
shoes and money, and were left with merely 
their shirts and trousers, and with what 
despair did they drag themselves, weak 
from want of food and forced marches 
through the fierce July heat of that south- 
ern clime, to the prison at Belle Isle, where 
they arrived on the 24th of the month. At 
this time their rations, served once a day, 
at five o'clock in the afternoon, consisted of 
a small piece of baker's bread a piece so 
tiny that it could be squeezed into a lump 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



241 



that might be concealed in a man's hand 
a bit of meat the size of a man's thumb, 
and a small cup of rice soup. The prison- 
ers became so weak and ill from their hard 
treatment that the majority lay on their 
backs in their tents from one meal until the 
next, and, dizzy and fainting, dared not 
move suddenly, and could hardly totter a 
few yards without falling. The long months 
of torture dragged away, and on February 
17, 1864,- two thousand of the prisoners 
were told to prepare to be exchanged. 
Hope and fear struggled in their hearts, for 
they had learned by intolerable experiences 
to believe little of what their harsh jailers 
told them. 

Passing rapidly over the story of the 
next few days, when the poor captives 
struggled, against almost overwhelming 
physical weakness, to march to the cars, 
Mr. McCann, among others, being kicked 
viciously by the guard as he passed through 
the doorway of the prison, where they prayed 
for death as the unwelcome truth was forced 
upon them that they were being conveyed 
further into the enemy's stronghold, away 
to the south they at last arrived at Ander- 
sonville soon to be known as one of the 
most flourishing suburbs of the region com- 
manded by his Satanic majesty. Fora few 
months the prison was in charge of an officer 
who possessed some of the attributes of a 
human being, but on the ist of May that 
new incarnation of Mephistopheles, the in- 
famous Colonel Wirtz, was placed in com- 
mand. The "dead-line" forty feet or so 
from the stockade walls, was instituted, and 
any one who inadvertantly crossed the 
boundary was shot without notice. About 
the ist of September the word for which 
he and his comrades hourly watched and 
prayed, came that they were to be ex- 



changed. They were assured that this was 
the truth, and pen can not portray the piti- 
ful struggles of the poor, starved men as 
they tried to stagger to the southern gate of 
the pens, and thence to the railroad station 
many of them falling, time and again, and 
crawling upon hands and knees. Taken to 
Savannah, two thousand of them were con- 
fined in very limited quarters, or pens, for 
four weeks, and then conveyed on the Gulf 
Railroad ninety miles to a station called 
Blackshare. For two weeks they were en- 
camped in the woods, and the only rations 
which they were given were a few scraps of 
bread, which the inhabitants of that region 
were forced to provide, and then, once more, 
came the cheering news of an exchange. 
One thousand men were to be put on this 
list, according to the initial of their sur- 
names. Imagine the despair of the brave 
soldiers whose names, unfortunately, com- 
menced with one of the last letters of the 
alphabet, and picture the feelings of Mr. 
McCann, whose suspense was as bad as was 
that of those whose fate was absolutely de- 
cided! Seemingly, fortune smiled at last 
upon him, for his name was called, and, aft- 
er an address had been made to the happy 
men, in which they were assured that this 
was to be a bona fide exchange, and that 
they would be foolish, for that reason, to 
. undertake to escape in the open country, 
even though there were not sufficient guards 
accompanying them to prevent this, per- 
haps, as they (the Confederate officers) were 
just then short of guards the Union men 
started back to Savannah, and while being 
removed from the cars were cursed and 
kicked by the officers, until they arrived 
at their destination, the station where they 
supposed they were to take the train for the 
north. On the way to Wilmington, 



242 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



whither they were being transferred, Mr. 
McCann became very ill, partly owing to 
the fact that he was convinced by a few 
things that no exchange of prisoners was 
meditated. Ft. Fisher was being bombarded 
when they reached Wilmington, and from 
Thursday morning until Sunday evening 
the prisoners were kept moving about, from 
place to place, with guards. Then followed 
a forced march, and, after going five miles, 
over almost impassable roads, our subject 
was forced to drop out by the wayside from 
sheer exhaustion. The land -was swampy 
and so covered with water that he could not 
lie down, and, as he rested his head against 
a tree, and watched his poor, emaciated 
comrades file by in the semi-darkness, he 
cared little how soon death should release 
him. The guards who brought up the rear 
carried lighted pine knots, and, as he had 
not been able to drag himself more than a 
few feet from the highway, they discovered 
him, and by all manner of threats tried to 
compel him to resume his journey. Failing 
in this, they coolly proposed shooting him, 
and when it was seen that death had no 
terrors for the almost dead man, they final- 
ly assisted him upon a horse and, with some 
fifty other comrades, he was carried to and 
from the train which bore them to Goldsboro, 
on stretchers. When lying upon the ground, 
partially conscious, the kind sisters of char- 
ity ministered to him, reviving him with a 
draught of sweet milk, and then his senses 
left him, and he remembers little of the 
period which then followed, when he was in 
the hospital. At last, he heard voices speak- 
ing about a proposed exchange of prisoners, 
and he made what he believed was his dying 
request that he might be one of the favored 
ones, that he might be allowed to die be- 
neath the flag for which he had suffered 



years of martyrdom. So earnestly did he 
plead that he obtained the boon he sought, 
and was included in the exchange, March 4, 
1865. Sent to Wilmington, he had a re- 
lapse of fever there, and was obliged to re- 
main in the hospital, while his heart was 
near to breaking with homesickness and the 
desire to set foot upon northern soil again. 
Before he was able to sit up, he embarked 
on a steamer bound for Annapolis, and there 
was placed in the hospital. The poor fellow 
was nothing but a skeleton, and it required 
long and patient nursing to restore him to 
a tithe of .his former strength. One of his 
nurses was - a comrade who had fought beside 
him on that dread day at Gettysburg that 
day when the two years of unimagined hor- 
rors of his captivity had commenced. Pass- 
ing rapidly over the necessarily long period 
of convalescence, suffice it. to say that he re- 
ceived his honorable discharge from the ser- 
vice, July 3, 1865, and celebrated the 
"glorious Fourth" in true thankfulness of 
heart, and with the conviction that the peace 
which had come at last to the nation had 
been dearly purchased. 

Returning to his home in the Empire 
state, Mr. McCann commenced learning the 
trade which he has pursued ever since. He 
was employed in a broom factory at Sche- 
nectady for several years, and thoroughly 
mastered the business, also paying some at- 
tention to the raising of broom corn. On 
the 22d of February, 1882, he came to 
Champaign county, and for two years de- 
voted his time to the raising of the product 
mentioned, upon Colonel Arthur's farm. 
During the winter of 1885-6 he embarked 
in the manufacturing of brooms at Cham- 
paign, taking his brother Edward into part- 
nership with him. They have succeeded in 
building up a paying business, and, as they 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



245 



are the only ones engaged in this line in the 
county, they command a large share of the 
local trade, shipping to dealers at various 
points. The methods of the firm are thor- 
oughly satisfactory to the public, and a 
prosperous future is before the brothers. 

Though Mr. McCann desired a home 
long before he saw fit to establish one, he 
waited until he felt that his health had be- 
come fully restored, and that his business 
prospects justified him in taking the step. 
He was married, December 29, 1875, to 
Miss Elizabeth A. Seeley, of Schenectady. 
They have three children, Mary Elizabeth, 
Jessie Seeley and Arthur James. Mrs. Mc- 
Cann is a member of the Presbyterian 
church. 

In his political standing, our subject is 
independent, though he believes in the pol- 
icy of the Republican party, on the whole, 
and usually votes for its nominees. He has 
a warm place in his large, manly heart for 
the boys who wore the blue, and is a mem- 
ber of Colonel Nodine Post, G. A. R. Re- 
ligiously, he adheres to the faith of his boy- 
hood, and is identified with St. Marys 
church. 



TUELL M. BACON, who is a captain 
in the fire department at Champaign, 
and is a very popular citizen of that place, 
is a native of Illinois, his birth having oc- 
curred near Lodi, Vermilion county, Jan- 
uary 25, 1858. His ancestors were early 
settlers in this state, and did much toward 
the development of its resources and the 
establishment of those institutions and forms 
of government which have been notable 
factors in its success. 

Rev. Elijah Bacon, grandfather of our 
subject, was one of the first settlers of Chris- 



man, Edgar county, Illinois. Having bought 
a tract of government land there he pro- 
ceeded to improve and cultivate the desira- 
ble farm which he made of the property. 
Indians were numerous and wild game was 
very abundant when he took up his abode in 
those prairies, and, needless to say, he and 
his loved ones suffered many privations. 
He was a faithful minister of the Methodist 
denomination, and traveled far and wide in 
the early days, carrying the messages of the 
gospel to the hardy pioneers. Having been 
industrious and diligent in business, he died, 
leaving a goodly estate, but, better far than 
that, he left the record of a life well spent. 

Henry M. Bacon, father of our subject, 
was born in Edgar county, in 1826, and 
there passed his boyhood. He learned the 
blacksmith's trade, and became a skilled 
wagonmaker as well. He married Adeline 
Hartman, of Vermilion county, Illinois, and 
established a home in that county. When 
his country was in peril he volunteered his 
services, and bidding farewell to his wife 
and two little ones, went forth to battle for 
the land he loved. He faithfully performed 
every duty assigned him, and took part in 
some notable military campaigns, but finally 
was laid low by typhoid fever, and died in 
March, 1863, at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 
His widow bravely took up the double duty 
which destiny had allotted to her, and reared 
her children with tender love and regard for 
their future. That they might have better 
opportunities, she removed to Champaign in 
1867, and continued to dwell here until she 
was called to her reward, October 10, 1899. 
She was a member of the First Baptist 
church, and the influence of her lovely Chris- 
tian life over the minds of every one who 
knew her cannot be over-estimated. 

When his father went to the front dur- 



244 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ing the Civil war, our subject was a small 
boy, too young to fully realize what it 
meant. He lived in the little town of New- 
port, Illinois, until 1867, and was educated 
in its schools and those of Champaign. 
When starting out to earn his own liveli- 
hood, he became a clerk in a local store, 
and continued in similar positions until 
1886, when, in partnership with his brother 
G. N., he embarked in the furniture, and 
undertaking business, at Oregon, Illinois. 
They succeeded in building up a large and 
remunerative business, but in October, 
1889, our subject sold his interest to his 
brother, and, returning to Champaign, soon 
became associated with Louis Mittendorf, 
in the same line of business. Their fine 
rooms on Main street were well equipped 
with all grades of furniture, suited to the 
trade, and Mr. Bacon, being a practical 
undertaker, with a state license to that 
effect, was kept busy in that department 
much of the time. In 1895 ne s ld out to 
Charles A. Kiler, and for eighteen months 
manufactured a kitchen cabinet, a patented 
article. This enterprise not proving suf- 
ficiently remunerative, he retired from the 
business, and in January, 1898, opened a 
furniture store at No. 1 5 Walnut street, 
later disposing of this, also. 

In politics Mr. Bacon is a Republican, 
and for two years was alderman of the third 
ward, having been elected upon the citizens' 
ticket, and during that period marked im- 
provements in the lines of sewers and street 
paving were inaugurated. When the local 
hose carts of the fire department here were 
pulled by men, he identified himself with a 
company and later was chosen as captain. 
In short, he has loyally aided in many of 
the movements and enterprises which have 
materially built up the city and brought 



prosperity within its borders. Fraternally, 
he stands high in the Odd Fellows society, 
being past grand of Lodge No. 333, and 
past chief patriarch of the encampment, as 
well as past representative to the grand en- 
campment of the state. He also has been 
captain of the Uniform Rank of the order 
and is past sachem in the order of Red 
Men. At one time he was appointed to act 
as a trustee of the Odd Fellows property, 
and in many ways he has had honor and 
responsibility thrust upon him. Faithfully 
has he performed every duty, both as a 
citizen, a brother in the various fraternities 
with which he has been affiliated, and in 
the home circle, where, above all, he finds 
his truest joy. 

Fifteen years ago, in this city, Mr. 
Bacon married Miss Margaret Early, and 
their union has been blessed by the birth of 
three children, namely: Paul, Noah and 
Eudora. In 1895, Mr. Bacon built a modern 
and very attractive house at No. 308 South 
Randolph street, and since that time has 
made substantial improvements, beautifying 
the grounds and adding to its desirability. 



ZT. GENSEL. This gentleman is en- 
titled to distinction as one of the most 
progressive and enterprising citizens of Ur- 
bana, and for almost ten years has been 
identified with the upbuilding and develop- 
ment of the Twin cities. Upon the busi- 
ness activity of a community depends its 
prosperity, and the men who are now recog- 
nized as leading citizens are those who are 
at the head of extensive business enterprises. 
Mr. Gensel is a man of broad capabilities 
who carries forward to successful comple- 
tion whatever he undertakes. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



245 



He was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, 
March 21, 1857, and he is a son of Samuel 
and Catherine (Schoch) Gensel, also natives 
of that county, where they continued to 
make their home until November 20, 1862, 
when they removed to Wells county, Indi- 
ana, and took up their residence on a farm. 
The mother died in 1895 at tne a S e f fifty- 
two years, but the father is still living and 
makes his home in Urbana. They had six 
children, namely: Margaret, wife of A. S. 
Connaught, a farmer of Stanton township, 
this county; Z. T. , our subject; Eveline, 
wife of John Cobbum, a farmer of Wells 
county, Indiana; Clara, wife of Theodore 
Taylor, a farmer of the same county; Ella, 
wife of W. F. Survey, a cigar manufacturer 
of Champaign; and Charles F., who mar- 
ried Mattie McFarland, and is engaged in 
the grocery business at corner Main and 
Market streets. 

Mr. Gensel, of this review, was reared 
on the home farm and continued his resi- 
dence in Wells county, Indiana, until 1891, 
when he came to Urbana, Illinois, and en- 
gaged in contracting and building. He also 
does architectural drawing and planning, 
and has erected some of the largest build- 
ings in the county, often having as high as 
seven houses under construction at the same 
time. As the leading contractor and build- 
er in the Twin cities, he does a most exten- 
sive business, and among the many build- 
ings he has erected in the county is the 
business block for Mr. Busey at Penfield. 
and the residences of Mrs. M. M. Russell, 
B. F. Boggs and C. F. Hunt. In 1898 he 
also embarked in the lumber and coal busi- 
ness. He carries all kinds of building ma- 
terials and has the exclusive right in the sale 
of alabaster cement wall plaster in Cham- 
paign and Urbana. It is acknowledged to 



be the best material of the kind ever pro- 
duced and is a comparatively new article of 
commerce. During the past season Mr. 
Gensel sold one hundred and twenty tons of 
the alabaster, including that used in the 
construction of the German church built by 
F. I. Peterson. 

In 1881, Mr. Gensel was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Eliza J. Hanes, a daughter 
of Joseph and Margaret Hanes, of Wells 
county, Indiana. Her father died from 
disease at Knoxville, Tennessee, while a 
soldier of the Civil war, but her mother is 
still living and continues to make her home 
in Reiffsburg, Wells county, Indiana. Mrs. 
Gensel has one brother, Abraha-n Hanes, 
who married Ella Rose and follows farming 
in that county. Jennie May, the only child 
born to our subject and his wife, died in in- 
fancy. Mr. Gensel has found in his wife a 
sympathetic companion, who takes an act- 
ive interest in his affairs and does all in her 
power to aid him. In business circles he 
stands deservedly high, and as a citizen he 
enjoys the confidence and respect of his 
fellow men to a marked degree. 



JAMES FITZGERALD, one of the wor- 
thy pioneers of Champaign county, is a 
native of Ireland, his birth having occurred 
in county Carey seventy years ago. His 
father, Thomas Fitzgerald, departed this 
life at his old home in the Emerald Isle, but 
the mother, whose maiden name was Mar- 
garet Maher, crossed the ocean with her 
sons, and became a resident of Boston, 
where she died a few years later. 

When he was a young man of twenty, 
perhaps, James Fitzgerald went to New 
York and found employment, and subse- 



246 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



quently worked in Vermont and New Jer- 
sey. When the Illinois Central railway 
was in process of construction, he became 
associated with the undertaking, and worked 
with a party of civil engineers on the line 
from Chicago to Kankakee, until 1854, 
when he was sent to Champaign to assume 
charge of the engine house at this point. 
There were but three houses upon the site 
of the future town, and no streets had been 
made, and thus he has witnessed its growth 
from its very infancy. With F. F. Walker, 
he justly claims the honor of being the old- 
est resident of the place, now one of the 
large and flourishing towns of Illinois. Dur- 
ing the fourteen years of his service for the 
Illinois Central he was stationed at various 
places, Mattoon and other towns along the 
line, and had he so desired, he might have 
continued with the company for many years 
more. However, he wished to become in- 
dependent, and, having carefully saved his 
earnings, he invested a certain amount in 
eighty acres of land situated in Raymond 
township. The property, which was un- 
broken prairie, he soon reduced to cultiva- 
tion, making desirable improvements, and 
subsequently he increased the dimensions 
of his farm to 9ne hundred and sixty acres. 
By a judicious expenditure of money, in 
tiling and ditches, he greatly added to the 
value of the place, and for several years he 
was successfully engaged in stock raising. 
He still owns the homestead, and al-so is in 
possession of his present place of abode, 
No. 60 1 East White street, Champaign. 

For a companion and helpmate, Mr. 
Fitzgerald chose Margaret Kime, of this 
vicinity. She is a native of Ireland, but 
spent most of her girlhood in Ohio. Of the 
nine living children of our subject and wife, 
Thomas, John, Jerry, Patrick and William 



live upon the farm and are successfully en- 
gaged in agriculture. Mary is the wife of J. 
Gorman, and Maggie is the wife of John 
Wiggins. Honora is the youngest of the 
family, and unmarried. 

James Fitzgerald and wife have been 
identified with St. Mary's Catholic church 
from its early history, and attended mass 
when services were held at private houses 
in his neighborhood. He was present when 
the first collection was taken towards the 
house of worship, beneath whose roof thou- 
sands of communicants have since as- 
sembled, and from that day to the present 
has been generous in his contributions to 
the church. He deserves great credit for 
the success which he has achieved by hard 
and persevering labor, and every one who 
knows him has a tribute of praise for him, 
as a citizen, neighbor and head of a family. 



JAMES M. CRAIG. The deserved re- 
ward of a well-spent life is an honored 
retirement from business, in which to enjoy 
the fruits of former toil. To-day, after a 
useful and beneficial career, Mr. Craig is 
quietly living at his elegant home at 601 
West Springfield avenue, Champaign, sur- 
rodnded by the comfort that earnest labor 
has brought to him. 

He was born in Franklin township, Arm- 
strong county, Pennsylvania, May 27, 1839, 
a son of John and Eliza (Huston) Craig. 
The Craig family came to this country from 
Scotland in 1684, to escape persecution, and 
located in eastern Pennsylvania. Our sub- 
ject's great-grandfather, John Craig, and 
his family were among the first twelve fam- 
ilies to cross the mountains and settle in 
Armstrong county, in 1792. He was cap- 




JAMES M. CRAIG. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



249 



tain in the militia and superintended the 
building of the block house there as a 
place of safety in time of Indian troubles. 
At that time some of the men were 
placed on guard while others worked 
in the fields to prevent an attack from 
the red men. Mr. Craig was probably 
a soldier of the Revolutionary war. He 
was also a surveyor and did a great deal of 
surveying in western Pennsylvania during 
those early days when all the salt and flour 
used by the settlers was packed across the 
mountains on horses. He located at what 
is now Freeport, thirty-five miles up the 
Allegheny river from Pittsburg, but the lat- 
ter city had not yet sprung into existence. 
Samuel Craig, our subject's grandfather, was 
a child when he accompanied his parents on 
their removal to western Pennsylvania and 
in the midst of the primitive scenes of fron- 
tier life he grew to manhood. He was a 
farmer by occupation and was one of the 
founders of the Presbyterian church in that 
section. He wedded Mary Milligan, a 
daughter of Samuel Milligan, who located 
there later. Samuel Craig died in 1865, at 
the age of eighty- five years, while his father, 
John Craig, lived to the advanced age of 
ninety-seven years. The father of our sub- 
ject, who also bore the name of John Craig, 
was born in Franklin township, Armstrong 
county, Pennsylvania, March 30, 1809, and 
was there reared to farm life. Although he 
did not aspire to public honors, he was 
often called to fill different local offices. 
He owned a fine farm of two hundred acres, 
upon which he lived until seventy-four years 
of age, and then removed to Worthington, 
Pennsylvania, to spend his last days in re- 
tirement from active labor, dying there in 
February, 1894. His wife died in February, 

1900, at that place. She was born in Phil- 
is 



adelphia, October 10, 1806, and was five 
years old when her family removed to Arm- 
strong county, her father being Samuel 
Huston, a farmer and pioneer of that region. 
Both parents of our subject were faithful 
and consistent members of the Presbyterian 
church, and the father served as elder for 
forty years. 

James M. Craig, whose name introduces 
this sketch, received a good practical edu- 
cation in the common schools of his native 
county. He remained at home until six- 
teen years of age, and then went to live 
with his grandfather, while he rented and 
successfully operated his farm. On the 
7th of February, 1861, he married Miss 
Margaret A. Blaine, a daughter of William 
Blaine, and a sister of Mrs. J. G. Clark. 
They continued to reside upon his grand- 
father's farm for four years, but in Decem- 
ber, 1864, came to Champaign county, Illi- 
nois. 

The first year spent here, Mr. Craig 
rented a farm south of Champaign, and 
then located on the half-section belonging 
to his brother-in-law, J. G. Clark, operat- 
ing it on a salary for two years, at the end 
of which time he purchased sixty acres on 
section 27, Champaign township. At that 
time it was entirely unimproved, but he 
erected a small house thereon, and to its 
further improvement and cultivation de- 
voted his energies for two years. He then 
returned to Mr. Clark's farm, and in part- 
nership with that gentleman engaged in 
raising broom corn for three years. The 
following year he worked in an elevator in 
Champaign, and at the end of that time, 
when Mr. Clark rented the Arthur farm of 
two sections, he located thereon and oper- 
ated it as superintendent on a salary for 
seven years. On resigning his position, he 



250 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



purchased one hundred and twenty acres on 
section 23, Champaign township, and moved 
to that place. Subsequently he bought one 
hundred acres on section 27, which he im- 
proved, and later bought forty acres more 
on the same section, but sold his first pur- 
chase of sixty acres which he owned up to 
this time, and later bought a quarter-sec- 
tion on section 23, adjoining his farm. He 
has since sold some of his land and traded 
other tracts, but still owns a half section of 
land, which is well tilled and under a high 
state of cultivation. Upon the place are 
two sets of farm buildings and many mod- 
ern improvements, including a fine country 
home and large barn. This desirable farm 
is pleasantly located only three miles from 
Champaign, and is now a very valuable 
place. Mr. Craig also owns a farm in In- 
diana. For many years he was success- 
fully engaged in mixed farming and raised 
all kinds of fine stock for practical pur- 
poses, but in 1898 he removed to the city, 
where at that time he owned a good home, 
but has since erected a beautiful home, 
which is artistically and elegantly finished 
and furnished. 

Mr. and Mrs. Craig have six children 
living, namely: William, an attorney of 
Champaign, who is now serving as state in- 
spector of loan and building associations, 
Hattie E., wife of Samuel A. Harrison, 
principal of a school in Chicago; John C. , a 
merchant of Reimersburg, Pennsylvania; 
Nellie, wife of T. P. Chester, of Champaign 
township; Roy V., a grocer and hardware 
merchant of Wingate, Indiana; and Jennie 
A., at home. The children were all pro- 
vided with good school privileges. The 
parents are both members of the Congrega- 
tional church and are highly respected by all 
who know them. Politically Mr. Craig is a 



Republican. He has always taken a deep 
and commendable interest in educational 
affairs, served as school director for twelve 
or fifteen years, and was also township 
trustee of schools. He is now a director of 
the Pesoturn Mutual Insurance Company, 
organized by the farmers and chartered un- 
der the state law. He is enterprising and 
progressive and is an earnest supporter of 
every measure for the public good. 



BERNARD HANNAN. The life of this 
sterling citizen of Champaign should 
prove an incentive to every ambitious young 
man who is starting out to fight the battles 
with poverty and circumstances. Almost 
anything may be accomplished with sufficient 
pluck and energy, and to-day the subject of 
this article is in the possession of a comfort- 
able fortune, as the direct result of years of 
industry and well directed efforts. 

His parents, Andrew and Mary (Glynn) 
Hannan, resided in the vicinity of Dublin, 
Ireland, until 1847, when the former came 
to the United States, and located in Hoosic 
Falls, New York, where the family joined 
him within a year. He was a poor man, 
and worked for from eight to thirteen dol- 
lars a month and board, for several years, 
yet, nevertheless, managed to save a portion 
of his earnings. About 1850, the family 
moved to Illinois, by way of the great lakes 
to Chicago, and thence to Peru, by 
the Chicago & Michigan canal. The 
father died at his old home in Peru, in 1882, 
and the mother survived until 1890. They 
were pioneer members of the Catholic 
church at LaSalle, where they attended 
mass in an old log church for some years. 
The father was a model citizen, and, unlike 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



251 



the majority of the hardy frontiersmen, who 
were obliged to contend against many of the 
privations of which the present generation 
know nothing, he never consumed a drop of 
liquor, no matter how terrible a storm he 
may have passed through when out upon 
the bleak prairies. 

Bernard Hannan was born near Dublin 
in 1845, and was a small child when he 
came to this country. He obtained some- 
thing of an education in the Peru schools, 
and for several years after completing his 
studies he found employment on boats on 
the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, going only 
as far south as Memphis. In 1870, he came 
to Champaign county, where he operated his 
father's farm for a few years, then invested . 
some of his hard-won earnings in a farm of 
eighty acres. This property was not espe- 
cially desirable at that time, for the prairie 
was unbroken, and only the highest parts 
could be cultivated successfully, as the low 
lands were covered with water much of the 
time. With characteristic energy he began 
making improvements, putting in tiling and 
wide ditches, erecting a farm-house and 
other substantial buildings, and planting an 
orchard and setting out trees. In time he 
added to his original tract of land, until his 
homestead comprised two hundred and forty 
acres, all of which he succeeded in render- 
ing productive, by the proper tiling and cul- 
tivation. As an instance of what the pioneer 
of early days had to contend against, it may 
be said that sometimes, when the roads 
were well nigh impassable, he would hitch 
four horses upon the two hind wheels of his 
wagon, and try to reach Champaign, sixteen 
miles distant, in order to obtain necessary 
provisions, and frequently he was not able 
to make the round trip in a day. For a 
number of years he was extensively engaged 



in the raising of live stock, chiefly hogs, and 
from this source alone made a good in- 
come. 

Mr. Hannan continued to dwell upon 
that farm until 1892, when he removed to 
Champaign, and, building a beautiful mod- 
ern residence, at the corner of Springfield 
and Fifth avenue, proceeded to enjoy the 
fruits of his former years of toil. He later 
sold his homestead for twenty thousand dol- 
lars, or, what amounted to the same thing, 
took one hundred and twenty acres of land 
in the same neighborhood and ten thousand 
dollars in exchange for his old farm. Lately 
he invested in a farm of two hundred acres 
of land in Douglas county, paying sixteen 
thousand dollars for the property. 

The marriage of Mr. Hannan and Olive 
J. Conner took place at Ivesdale, Septem- 
ber 27, 1877. Her home was at Monti- 
cello, Illinois. She was a daughter of Ab- 
ner and Rachel Conner, the former a native 
of Townelton, Virginia, and the latter of 
Pickaway county, Ohio. He is now deceased. 
They came to this state in 1850 and were 
honored early settlers of Monticello. They 
were the parents of five children, of whom 
Edward was a member of the class of 1890 
of the University of Illinois. Mary is at 
home. Andrew died in 1891. Alice died 
November 28, 1898, and Joseph, born De- 
cember 31, 1889, is at home. On the isth 
of June, 1892, Mr. Hannan married Mrs. 
Bridget Barry, widow of David Barry, and 
daughter of John and Kate (Naughton) 
Graney, of county Galway, Ireland. They 
lived in Hudson, New York, where Mrs. 
Hannan was born, and later came to this 
state, residing in Centralia and other places. 
Mr. Hannan and family are members of St. 
Mary's Catholic church, and formerly were 
identified with the congregation at Ivesdale, 



2 5 2 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



where they were numbered among the early 
members. They are liberal contributors to 
religious and benevolent enterprises and are 
ever ready to lend a helping hand to the 
poor and unfortunate. 



ANDREW J. LINDSTRUM, superin- 
tendent of the almshouse of Champaign 
county, has proven himself to be just the 
right man for this exceedingly difficult and 
responsible position. He is strictly honorable 
and upright in all his dealings with his fellow- 
men, and possesses wisdom and practical 
experience far beyond his years. Keen and 
energetic and far-sighted, he keeps his busi- 
ness affairs well in hand, and is giving 
general satisfaction to all concerned. 

Mr. Lindstrum is a native of Sweden, 
his birth having occurred in the city of 
Stockholm, April 10, 1868. He was bereft 
of his father, Gustav Lindstrum, when he 
was an infant of some six months, and the 
responsibilities of life were much sooner 
resting upon his youthful shoulders as a 
result. The father was a young man of 
great promise, in a commercial way, and 
had already made an enviable reputation as 
an iron broker in Stockholm, as he had 
built up a large and paying trade in that 
metal, buying and selling it in great quanti- 
ties. His widow, whose maiden name had 
been Caroline Indros, subsequently became 
the wife of Axel Lindstrum, and seven chil- 
dren were born to that union, all surviving. 
In 1882 the family came to the United 
States, and since that time the parents and 
younger children have dwelt in Paxton, 
Illinois. 

According to the custom prevailing in his 
native land, Andrew J. Lindstrum was set 



to work at a trade as soon as he left school. 
It was destined that he should be a ship 
carpenter, and he commenced the mastery 
of the calling only to be interrupted by the 
family immigrating to America when he was 
fourteen years old. He remained at home 
in Paxton for about a year, and then, hav- 
ing gained some knowledge of the English 
language, he started out to make his own 
way in the world independently. For three 
years he found employment with farmers, 
and then, becoming more ambitious and 
adhering to the usages of his homeland, he 
again commenced learning a trade, this time 
that of a plumber. At the expiration of 
three years spent in that occupation, he re- 
turned to Champaign county, and accepted 
a place on the farm of Robert Morris. 

In 1894 Mr. Lindstrum became assist- 
ant to Mr. Bengtson, superintendent of the 
county poor farm, and during the ensuing 
three years was so thoroughly trustworthy, 
capable and reliable that it is not strange 
that his name should have been proposed 
for the office of superintendent when the 
question of candidates for the place came 
before the board of supervisors. Not the 
least of his qualifications, of course, was his 
experience and knowledge of the proper 
way to meet the various practical questions 
constantly coming to the manager of this 
institution, and the wisdom of the board's 
choice has been amply shown. Four years 
have passed away, and every department of 
the almshouse work is progressing favor- 
ably. The farm, which comprises one 
hundred and twenty acres of fine, fertile 
land, is situated about one mile east of the 
court-house. Both hay and grain, as well 
as other crops, are raised in large quantities, 
arid at the present time there are fifteen 
head of cattle, five horses and about one 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



253 



hundred hogs upon the place. The main 
building, which does credit to the county, 
is one hundred and fifty feet in dimensions, 
while the annex, devoted to the use of the 
feeble-minded inmates, is an " L" shaped 
structure, each side of the " L" being sixty- 
eight by thirty-eight feet in size. The 
average number of inmates of the infirmary 
is sixty, a large proportion of them being 
feeble-minded or demented. 

In the manifold and perplexing duties 
which devolve upon Mr. Lindstrum, he is 
greatly aided by his estimable wife, whose 
maiden name was Christina Bengtson. She 
is a niece of the late superintendent of the 
almshouse, and her marriage to our subject 
took place April 15, 1894, the' ceremony 
being performed by the Rev. J. F. Mills, of 
the First Baptist church of Urbana. Mr. 
and Mrs. Lindstrum are members of the 
Lutheran denomination. 

Fraternally, o,ur subject is a member of 
Urbana Lodge, No. 157, F. & A. M., and 
of the Modern Woodmen of America. Po- 
litically, he is a stanch believer in the 
platform and principles of the Republican 
party, and loyally upholds the laws and 
government of the land of his adoption. 



JAMES MUNHALL, a retired business 
man and sterling pioneer of Urbana, is 
weil entitled to representation in tr^ annals 
of Champaign county. Born in Cumber- 
land county, Pennsylvania, September 20, 
1825, he is a son of James and Catherine 
(Solanders) Munhall, natives, respectively, 
of Pennsylvania and Germany. In 1831 the 
worthy couple removed to Holmes county, 
Ohio, where the father bought a tract of 
government land, and continued to dwell 
until his death, when in his eighty-second 



year. Both were members of the Presby- 
terian church, though for over thirty years 
the father was a class-leader and member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. The wife 
and mother, who was an exemplary Chris- 
tian woman, was about ninety years of age 
at the time of her demise. One of the 
great and almost insupportable sorrows of 
their lives was the loss of their two youngest 
sons, Henry and Francis, who died at the 
same time with typhoid fever, of which they 
became victims in Illinois, whither they had 
come with a view to making a home here. 
The eldest of the family, Mary Ann, widow 
of John Boyd, resides near Keene, Ohio, 
now in her eighty-fourth year. John, who 
married Maria Eberly, and was a leading 
member of the Methodist church, died No- 
vember 10, 1899, aged eighty-one years. 
Mrs. Elizabeth Liggett, widow of D. Q. 
Liggett, of Wooster, Ohio, is a member of 
the Methodist church. Sarah, wife of 
Charles Yocum, lives in Warrenton, Mis- 
souri. 

Until he was eighteen years of age, 
James Munhall gave his services to his 
father in the general management of the 
home farm, but as agriculture was not to 
his taste, he then turned his attention to 
cabinet-making, serving a three years' ap- 
prenticeship to the trade. In the fall of 
1850 he came to Urbana, where he found 
steady employment as a carpenter. Later 
he became interested in the painting busi- 
ness and for many years gave his time to 
that line of work, though he was employed 
to a limited extent as a paper hanger. By 
industry and diligence in business he made 
a competency, and by his sterling integrity 
he won the confidence and respect of every- 
one. At one time he served as a justice of 
the peace for four years, then resigning the 



254 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



position. While acting as magistrate he 
performed the marriage ceremony of Gen. 
John C. Black, at the residence of Col- 
onel Busey. In politics he has always 
been a stalwart Republican, and, in com- 
pany with his wife, he belongs to the Order 
of Good Templars. 

The marriage of Mr. Munhall and Nancy 
M. Webber took place in November, 1851. 
She is a daughter of William T. and Nancy 
Webber, natives of Shelby county, Ken- 
tucky, and Virginia, respectively. Mr. 
Webber was a farmer in the Blue Grass 
state, and during the war of 1812 sent a 
substitute to the army. In 1833 ne came 
to Champaign county, and the day after his ar- 
rival here there was a sale of town lots in the 
hazel-patchon which Urbana laterwas built. 
He located on the property where his son, 
George G. Webber, now lives, and there 
death claimed him when he was in his 
prime, fifty-three years of age. His wife 
lived to reach her seventy-fourth year, and 
of their thirteen children only three survive, 
namely: William H., George G. and Mrs. 
Munhall. Those deceased are: Thompson, 
Jesse R. , Augustin M., John W., Eliza 
Ann, Frances, Elizabeth, Sarah, Mary J. 
and James. The parents were devout mem- 
bers of the Baptist church. 

Ten children blessed the union of Mr. 
and Mrs. Munhall, namely: Sarah C. , wife 
of Robert McKee; Mary Helen, deceased; 
Elizabeth, deceased; Adelaide, Mrs. John 
Evans; Ella Josephine, wife of Daniel Barr, 
a druggist of Braidwood, Illinois; Howard, 
of Oklahoma territory: Florence, wife of 
G. E. Broderick, of Decatur, Illinois; Henry, 
a farmer of Jasper county, Iowa; Edith, 
who died when four years of age; and 
Bertha May, wife of Edward Craiger, of 
Urbana. 



CHARLES A. HAINES. The subject 
of this narrative, one of the most suc- 
cessful and progressive agriculturists of 
Champaign county, has made his special 
field of industry an eminent success, and is 
now the owner of a valuable farm of four 
hundred acres in Compromise township, 
and another of one hundred and fifty- seven 
acres in Champaign township, both well 
improved and under a high state of cultiva- 
tion. He now resides upon the latter, 
which is pleasantly located on section 13, 
near the city of Champaign, and is devoting 
his time and attention principally to the 
dairy business. 

Mr. Haines was born in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, August 8, 1835, and is a son 
of Charles W. and Hannah A. (Bolt) Haines, 
also natives of that city. The father was 
a well-educated man and for a number of 
years was a teacher in the schools there and 
also a bookkeeper. In 1857 he emigrated 
to Peoria, Illinois, where he was employed 
in the census office in 1860, and in 1871 
came to Champaign, where his death oc- 
curred the following year. Of his nine 
children only two survive, namely: Charles 
A., our subject; and James B., a painter 
living in Chicago, and a veteran of the 
Civil war, serving for eight months as one 
of the boys in blue during that conflict. 
Another son, Theodore, was also in the 
service and died in Andersonville prison. 

Our subject is indebted to the common 
schools of Philadelphia for his educational 
advantages, and in that city he learned the 
art of manufacturing Britannia metal ware, 
serving an apprenticeship of five years and 
a half. At the age of twenty-two years he 
came to Stark county, Illinois, and from 
there went to Peoria, where he remained 
three years as an employe in a general mer- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



255 



cantile store. Subsequently he spent a 
short time in Fulton county, this state. 

In 1863, Mr. Haines was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Amelia Taylor, who was 
born in Peoria county, Illinois, in 1840. 
Her parents moved from Saratoga Springs, 
New York, to Peoria county, Illinois, in 
1836, where they passed away, he in 
1854, she in 1885. Mrs. Haines has three 
brothers and one sister living, the former in 
Peoria county, Illinois, the latter in Iowa. 
Seven children have been born to our sub- 
ject and his wife, namely: John B., who 
is now married and living on his father's 
farm in Compromise township; Charles A., 
Jr., who is a clerk in a hardware store 
in Detroit, Michigan; Frank B., who assists 
his father on the farm; Carrie A., at home; 
Fred A., who is a clerk with his brother in 
the hardware store in Detroit; and Isaac 
and Mary, both at home. 

In 1871 Mr. Haines removed with his 
family to this county and purchased a farm 
in Compromise township. He also opened 
a general store and served as postmaster at 
Compromise for sixteen years, being first 
appointed by President Grant. He operated 
that farm quite successfully for many years, 
and after making many improvements upon 
the place, he added to it from time to time 
as his financial resources permitted until he 
now has a valuable farm of four hundred 
acres. Renting it in 1892, he purchased one 
hundred and fifty-seven acresof land on section 
13. Champaign township, and at once located 
thereon. Here he is now successfully en- 
gaged in the dairy business, keeping for that 
purpose only the best grade of cattle. His 
business is steadily increasing, and to meet 
the demands of his trade he now has a herd 
of forty milch cows and keeps two wagons 
delivering the milk through the city. He is . 



thoroughly up to date and has all modern 
improvements needed in his business. He is 
now erecting an extensive'milk house, and is 
putting in the latest improved separator and 
engine. 

Politically Mr. Haines is an ardent Re- 
publican, and though he takes no active 
part in public affairs as a politician, he does 
all in his power to promote the welfare of 
his party and insure its success. He has 
never cared for official honors, preferring to 
give his undivided attention to his business 
interests. He is a genial, jovial gentleman 
whom it is a pleasure to meet, and his circle 
of friends seems only limited by his circle of 
acquaintances, for he has the confidence and 
high regard of all with whom he comes in 
contact either in business or social life. 



OLIVER B. DOBBINS, LL. B., a 
prominent young attorney of Urbana, 
Illinois, was born in Gallatin, Sumner 
county, Tennessee, December 6, 1870, a son 
of Foster and Margaret (Beard) Dobbins, 
also natives of that place, where they con- 
tinued to make their home until coming to 
this county in 1871. The father engaged 
in farming in East Bend township for some 
years, but is now living a retired life in Ur- 
bana. The mother died October 24, 1884. 
She was a consistent and faithful member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which 
the father also belongs, although his family, 
until recently, have been strong Cumberland 
Presbyterians. The Dobbins' were original- 
ly from Scotland and later made their home 
in the north of Ireland, becoming what is 
known as Scotch-Irish. James Dobbins, 
the great-grandfather of our subject, was 
one of the early settlers of Sumner county, 



256 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Tennessee, and as a soldier of the Revolu- 
tionary war he participated in the battle of 
Kings Mountains under Sumner. The grand- 
father, Henry Dobbins, was born in North 
Carolina, but during boyhood was taken 
by his parents to Tennessee. He later 
owned a plantation in Sumner county and 
successfully engaged in milling and farming. 
His wife bore the maiden name of Hannah 
McMurray, and also belonged to an old 
Southern family. Our subject's maternal 
grandfather was 1 Richard Beard, a farmer of 
Sumner county, who was from North Caro- 
lina. He marridd Sarah Wallace, a daugh- 
ter of Joseph Wallace, also of Scotch de- 
scent, who removed to Tennessee at a very 
early day and was there killed by the 
Indians. 

It was during the infancy of our subject 
that he was brought to Illinois, and after 
four years spent in the western part of the 
state the family removed to East Bend town- 
ship, Champaign county, in 1876. There he 
attended the country schools for some time 
and later became a student at the Normal 
School in Normal, Illinois. Subsequently 
he successfully engaged in teaching in this 
and Ford counties for four years, during 
which time he began reading law with Judge 
M. H. Cloud, of Paxton, and then pur- 
sued a two years' course in the law de- 
partment of the Illinois Wesleyan Univer- 
sity, where he was granted the degree of 
LL. B. in 1894. Coming to Urbana, he 
formed a partnership with Spencer M. White, 
and together they have since engaged in 
general practice, meeting with excellent 
success from the start. They have had an 
interest in probably as high as fifty cases in 
each term of court for the last few years, 
and to-day rank among the most able law- 
yers of the city. 



On the 1 5th of December, 1897, Mr. 
Dobbins was united in marriage with Miss 
Edith Leonard, of Gibson City, Illinois, 
who for three years prior to her marriage 
was a teacher in the schools of Wellington, 
Kansas, where her father now lives. Social- 
ly Mr. Dobbins is a Master Mason and a 
member of Urbana Lodge, I. O. O. F. , 
while politically he is an ardent Democrat, 
and has served as a member of the Demo- 
cratic central committee. In 1896 he was 
the candidate of his party for state's attor- 
ney. He possesses a good law library, is 
thoroughly in love with his profession, and 
is eminently gifted with the capabilities of 
mind which are indispensable at the bar. 
The place he has won in his profession is 
accorded him in recognition of his skill and 
ability, and the place he occupies in the 
social world is a tribute to his genuine worth'. 



JOEL V. WEBSTER has demonstrated 
the true meaning of the word success as 
the full accomplishment of an honorable pur- 
pose. Energy, close application, persever- 
ance and good management, these are the 
elements which have entered into his busi- 
ness career and crowned his efforts with 
prosperity. He is a gentleman* of much 
more than ordinary information and attain- 
ments, is progressive and enterprising, and 
has done much to advance the general wel- 
fare and prosperity of his adopted county. 
He still owns a valuable farm here but is 
now living a retired life in the city of Cham- 
paign. 

Mr. Webster was born in Eden township, 
Erie county, New York, November 8, 1831, 
a son of \Villiam S. and Katherine (Bunning) 
Webster, both faithful members of the 




J. V. WEBSTER. 



HE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



259 



Society of Friends and highly respected by 
all who knew them. The father was born 
in New Jersey, and during boyhood removed 
with his father to the wilderness of Western 
New York, where the latter improved a good 
sized farm, spending the remainder of his 
life there. The father of our subject died 
in 1863, the mother in 1839. 

Joel V. Webster was reared in his native 
township and began his education in its com- 
mon schools. Subsequently he attended 
the Eden Academy, and successfully en- 
gaged in teaching school in that section for 
several terms. He commenced the study of 
medicine in Boston, an adjoining township, 
and attended lectures at Cincinnati, Ohio, 
graduating from the Physo-Medical College 
in 1852. Locating at White's Corners, now 
Hamburg, New York, he successfully en- 
gaged in practice for three years, but on ac- 
count of failing health and a hard country 
ride, he had to abandon his profession, and 
spent some time in traveling in the west. 
On his return to New York, he followed 
farming with good success for eight years, 
when his health again began to fail and he 
concluded a change of location would prove 
beneficial. 

After traveling several months, and view- 
ing many places, their advantages and dis- 
advantages, Mr. Webster finally purchased 
land in Champaign county, and moved there 
in 1869, locating in Crittenden township, 
where he improved a tract of wild prairie 
land, making it his home until 1894. From 
his experience in eastern farming he knew 
the advantages to be derived from tile drain- 
ing. The first few years spent here were 
dry and he did not need tiles, but later came 
wet seasons, and he saw that something 
must be done. At that time there was prob- 
ably not a thousand rods of tiling laid in the 



county, but he believed that without drain- 
ing much of the land would be useless. He 
bought his first tile in Joilet, but could not 
find a man who knew enough to dig a ditch 
and lay it. Finally a company from Indi- 
ana started a tile factory here, and believing 
that they must know something about the 
business, he engaged tile of them, but busi- 
ness was soon suspended. He finally secured 
a man from the factory to help him tile his 
farm and that spring laid thirteen hundred 
rods of tiling, which he shipped in from 
Springfield, Danville, Decatur and Joilet. 
The following fall he laid one thousand rods 
more, and now has about sixteen miles of 
tiling upon his place, not an acre of the land 
but what will produce a good crop of wheat 
or any other product. He has invested a 
large sum of money in this way and has also 
paid out one thousand dollars for large 
ditches and outlets. It is one of the best 
drained farms in the county, and being well 
improved in other respects, it is to-day a 
most valuable and desirable place, compris- 
ing four hundred and eighty acres, divided 
into forty-acre or small lots, by hedge fences 
principally. There are two deep wells up- 
on the place, both operated by windmills, 
one near the house and the other in the 
center of the farm. 

In 1894 Mr. Webster retired from active 
labor and removed to Champaign, where he 
is now living retired. He has since spent 
considerable time in travel. For a quarter 
of a century his sister, Eliza B., acted as 
his housekeeper, but she died in 1893. He 
was one of a family of ten children, five sons 
and five daughters, of whom the following 
are still living: Ira R.,a resident of Hamburg, 
New York; Edwin, of Eden, New York; 
Joel V., our subject; and Mrs. Paulina 
Belknap, of Eden, New York. 



260 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



In politics Mr. Webster is a Democrat, 
and has been a member of the township 
committee. He was also supervisor of his 
township for four years, has championed 
every movement designed to promote the 
general welfare, has supported every enter- 
prise for the public good, and has material- 
ly aided in the advancement of his county's 
interest. As an intelligent, well educated 
and progressive man, he exerted a refining 
influence over the community in this new 
country on locating here, and he is justly 
numbered among its most valued and useful 
citizens. 



f^EORGE G. WEBBER is a sterling 
V_J member of a family which has been 
represented in Champaign county since the 
early days of its history. Nearly all of his 
life has been spent here, as he was but 
three years old when his parents removed 
to this section with their several children, 
in 1833, and, as is generally known, he has 
been identified with the development of 
Urbana township ever since his youth. 

His grandfather, Rev. Philip Webber, 
was a native of Virginia, whence he re- 
moved to Kentucky with his family at an 
early day. There he was active as a pio- 
neer preacher of the Baptist church until 
he was summoned to his reward. Of his 
six children, our subject's father, William 
T., was born in Fluvanna county, Virginia, 
August n, 1785. He married Nancy Bas- 
ket, of the same county, October 30, 1806, 
and thirteen children were born to them. 
Only three of the number survive, George 
G., Mrs. Munhall, of Urbana, and W. H., 
who is in his seventy-eighth year, and, with 
the exception of twelve years spent in Col- 



orada and Wyoming, has dwelt in this local- 
ity since his boyhood. 

In 1832 William T. Webber came to 
Champaign county and bought six hundred 
and forty acres of school and government 
land, situated in what now is known as Ur- 
bana township. Returning to his Kentucky 
home, he sold out, and returned to his new 
purchase with his family and household 
effects in 1833, arriving here the day before 
the first sale of village lots in the newly- 
platted town of Urbana. A portion of this 
property, indeed, was donated by Mr. Web- 
ber, and the lots were sold at prices rang- 
ing from five to ten dollars. He had made 
a few improvements upon his homestead 
when death put an end to his labors, Sep- 
tember 9, 1838. He had served as a jus- 
tice of the peace, assessor and in other local 
offices, was appointed by the state Legisla- 
ture to assess damages to property through 
which the canal passed, and during the war 
of 1812 provided a substitute, because he 
could not leave his little family unprotected 
and uncared for. He had considerable 
knowledge of medicine and often acted in 
the capacity of a physician in the pioneer 
days. He held the office of deacon in the 
Baptist church for many years, and his wife, 
who lived to be seventy-one years old, was 
also a faithful member of that denomination. 
George G. Webber was born in Shelby 
county, Kentucky, September 3, 1830. He 
has followed agriculture as a means of live- 
lihood, and still owns a part of the old 
homestead which belonged to his father 
about one hundred acres, located within 
the corporate limits of Urbana. A street 
in the town is named in honor of the fam- 
ily, and he owns several pieces of residence 
and vacant property here. He has occu- 
pied various local offices, such as that of 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



261 



school director and assessor, and in politi- 
cal affairs is a believer in the platform of 
the Democratic party. Fraternally, he is a 
member of the Masonic order. The intol- 
erance and bigotry of denominationalism 
led him to extreme liberality in his views on 
religion, and, while he does not altogether 
uphold the radical ideas of the late Colonel 
Robert G. Ingersoll, he finds much to ad- 
mire in them. He possesses an excellent 
education, and in his early manhood was 
engaged in teaching for some time. By 
well-directed energy he has greatly in- 
creased the value of his homestead, and is 
accounted as one of the substantial busi- 
ness men of this locality. 

The marriage of Mr. Webber and 
Martha McFarland took place June 4, 1852. 
She is a daughter of Thomas and Martha 
(Corey) McFarland, natives of Scotland 
and Rhode Island, respectively. The 
father died in 1879, aged sixty-five years, 
and the mother, who died in 1867, was 
about sixty years old. They removed to 
Illinois at an early day, arriving here De- 
cember i, 1838, and thenceforth they were 
interested in the development of the re- 
sources of this region. They were the 
parents of seven children, one of whom is 
deceased. Daniel is a resident of Bloom- 
ington, Illinois; Thomas lives in Atlanta, 
this state; Robert is an Urbana citizen; 
Sarah, widow of Philip Crihfield, lives in 
Minier, Illinois, and Cyrus makes his home 
in Nebraska. The parents were members 
of the Congregational church. 

The seven children of Mr. and Mrs. 
Webber comprise the following named : 
Flora M. and Laura B., who are at home; 
Fannie R., wife of James Thorp, of this 
city, and mother of one son, Charles; 
Frank B., who wedded Maggie McConnell, 



and has three children, Frank, Anna and 
Sadie; Harry E., who married Nellie Boy- 
sell and has two children, Fay and Martha; 
Anna May, who died at the age of twelve 
years, and Fred T., whose home is at Dan- 
ville, Illinois. He chose Emma Turnell as 
a wife and their children are Margaret, 
Harry and Frank. Frank B. and Harry E. 
Webber are well-known citizens of Ur- 
bana. 



BENJAMIN PENN PRATHER, de- 
ceased, for many years a prominent and 
successful farmer of Sorner township, Cham- 
paign county, Illinois, was born in Shiloh, 
Clermont county, Ohio, March 28, 1821, 
and was a son of James and Sophia (Penn) 
Prather, natives of Maryland and early set- 
tlers of the Buckeye state. 

At the early age of fifteen years our sub- 
ject was intrusted with a ferry boat running 
between Cincinnati and Newport, Kentucky, 
and from that time on was connected with 
river navigation for many years, enjoying 
the life of a boatman. For twenty years he 
was head engineer on boats plying on the 
Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and during all 
this time never met with an accident. 
While engineer on the Daniel Boone, run- 
ning between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Mays- 
ville, Kentucky, he made the fastest time on 
record up to 1890, if not the fastest ever 
made. 

In the meantime Mr. Prather was mar- 
ried, September 15, 1846, at Felicity, Ohio, 
to Miss Caroline M. Stevens, a daughter of 
Silsby and Mary A. (Graham) Stevens, 
natives of Vermont. She is now the only 
one living of their seven children, the others 
being Abigail W. , Mary Ann, Sarah J., 
Lydia Ann, Aaron L. and James A. By a 



262 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



former marriage with Abigail Weatherby, of 
Massachusetts, the father had three sons, 
John, Thomas and Ithiel, all deceased. 
Silsby Stevens was born January 5, 1781, 
and died about 1858. Mrs. Prather's 
paternal grandfather, Simon Stevens, was 
born in Canterbury, Connecticuit, December 
5, 1736, and was married in 1780, to Lydia, 
daughter of Henry and Bethiah Silsby. 
She was born in Connecticut, Septem- 
ber 7, 1847, an d died in Springfield, Ver- 
mont, February 20, 1781. Simon Stevens 
was a soldier of the French and Indian war, 
and in 1758 was taken prisoner by the In- 
dians on Lake George and carried to Oswego 
and Onondaga, New York, where he was 
held a prisoner for over a year. After en- 
during untold hardships he finally made his 
escape. Later he settled in the town of 
Springfield, 'Vermont. In 1762 he was 
made captain in the militia; in 1766 he was 
commissioned brigade major in the Revolu- 
tionary war, and later was made lieutenant- 
colonel by the Governor of Vermont. He 
was a member of the Provincial Congress, 
and was the first justice of the peace in 
Springfield, Vermont, which office he filled 
for more than half a century. Several years 
he represented his town in the General As- 
sembly of the state, and was one of the 
most prominent and influential citizens of 
the community. Early in life he professed 
the religion of Christ, and after an honor- 
able and upright life passed away February 
18, 1817. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Prather were born six 
children, of whom William T. , Jessie M. and 
Mrs. Jennie P. Tate are all now deceased. 
The living areas follows: (i) Homer, a res- 
ident of Somer, was married in December, 
1877, to Jessie Merriott, who died in May, 
1883, leaving two children: Paul, who is 



now engaged in farming, and Maude, who is 
attending the high school of Urbana. (2) 
Scott, a resident of Chicago, was married, 
in November, 1881, to Etta Haley, and they 
have two children, Nettie and Graham, who 
are attending school in that city. (3) Specs 
N. resides in Urbana, but still carries on the 
old homestead in Sorners township, this 
county. He was married, September 24, 
1884, to Mary E. Nye, and they have three 
children: Arius B., Darlie J. and Car- 
lisle N. 

After his marriage, Mr. Prather, of this 
review, made his home in Shiloh, Ohio, 
until June, 1856, when he came to Cham- 
paign, Illinois, and for three years engaged 
in the grain business there with his brother- 
in-law, Mark Carley. In September, 1858, 
however, he removed to the farm which he 
had purchased in Somer township, and de- 
voted the remainder of his' life to agricult- 
ural pursuits. On locating there the coun- 
try to the north and east of him was an un- 
broken prairie as far as the eye could reach. 
Wild flowers of all kinds bloomed in pro- 
fusion, and the frequent prairie fires lighted 
up the region round about, enabling them to 
"read at, night while quite a distance from the 
burning district. The howl of the prairie 
wolf often disturbed the slumbers of the 
family, and animals would often carry off 
the young lambs when not shut safely in the 
fold. Mr. Prather made many improve- 
ments upon his farm, and so successful was 
he in its operation that he was able to 
leave his family in comfortable circum- 
stances. 

Politically he was a stanch Republican, 
and always an advocate of the cause of right 
and justice. He was a sincere Christian and 
faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and contributed freely to the support 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



263 



of all church work. He was instrumental 
in building the Carey Chapel, which stands 
near his old home, and was ever one of its 
active workers. He served as supervisor 
from Somer township in 1869, 1870 and 
1871, and was a very useful and active 
member of the board. He died February 
23, 1885, honored and respected by all who 
knew him. His death was widely and 
deeply mourned, and his memory will long 
be r.evered by his large circle of friends, as 
well as his immediate family. 



A LBERT G. CARLE, deceased, was 
J\ numbered among the honored pioneers 
of Champaign county, who located in this 
locality when it was wild and unimproved. 
In the work of development he took an act- 
ive part in the early days and aided in 
opening up the country to civilization. As 
the years passed he faithfully performed his 
duties of citizenship and his interest in the 
welfare and progress of the county never 
abated. Becoming widely and favorably 
known he made many friends, and his death 
was a loss to the entire community. 

Mr. Carle was born in Fayette county, 
Pennsylvania, April 20, 1822, and died at 
his home in Urbana township, Champaign 
county, Illinois, March 7, 1881. He was 
fifteen years of age when, with his parents, 
William and Sarah (Dalaney) Carle, he re- 
moved from his native county to Franklin 
county, Ohio, where he aided in the ardu- 
ous task of converting a timbered tract into 
a cultivated farm. By splitting rails he 
earned enough money to buy a fine horse, 
which he sold to a Mr. Townsend, and with 
the proceeds came to Illinois in 1844. He 
purchased a farm just south of Urbana, for 



which he paid two dollars and a half per 
acre. He afterward entered an adjoining 
eighty-acre tract, which he later sold to the 
Illinois University, and which now forms a 
part of the experimental farm of that insti- 
tution. He was actively interested in all 
movements for the improvement and up- 
building of the county, especially in the 
founding of the university. 

In connection with general farming Mr. 
Carle was always quite extensively engaged 
in the stock business, shipping principally 
to eastern markets, including Cincinnati, 
Philadelphia and New York. He was one 
of the very first in the county to become 
interested in the raising of improved and 
thoroughbred horses, cattle, sheep and 
hogs, and was largely engaged in breeding 
short horn cattle and Berkshire hogs. It 
was as a farmer and stock raiser that he 
was best known, and for many years he was 
one of the leading and most successful men 
in those lines in the county. He kept the 
best stock to be had, and was always a cen- 
tral figure at the county fairs, being one of 
the few men whose money and labor sup- 
ported and kept up that enterprise. He 
was instrumental and active in the organi- 
zation of the first county fair and was presi- 
dent of the fair association for several years, 
as well as one of its stockholders. Prob- 
ably no man was more instrumental or did 
more to advance and develop the live stock 
and agricultural interests 'of Champaign 
county than he, and he was a successful 
competitor for premiums at the annual ex- 
hibits. He was part owner of the noted 1 
Defender, a remarkable prize winner, 
which at the state fair won a three-hun- 
dred-and-fifty-dollar coffee urn. Prior to 
his death he had some seven hundred 
dollars worth of silver prizes won as prem- 



264 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



iums. He raised many fine horses and was 
an expert horseman. While on a business 
trip to Douglas county, in 1882 or 1883, he 
bought a horse, a splendid animal, though 
wild; it was an iron gray named Dave, 
which is still remembered by the old settlers 
of the county as a famous deer hunter. 
During the time of his ownership Mr. Carle 
caught with him as many as sixty deer. 
This horse lived to a good old age, but was 
never too old to scale a high fence or gate. 
Mr. Carle was a great hunter and an excel- 
lent marksman. 

Politically he was a stanch Republican, 
and was an ardent admirer and intimate 
friend of Abraham Lincoln, spending many 
an enjoyable hour in listening to the inter- 
esting stories told by the martyred president. 
He took an active interest in political affairs 
but was never an office seeker, though he 
served as township assessor for many years. 
He was not a member of any church, but 
was a liberal supporter of church work. He 
was a member of the Masonic fraternity, 
and was a whole-souled man, always inter- 
ested in the promotion and improvement of 
the county. -Of a hospitable and social dis- 
position, he made many friends, and no one 
enjoyed entertaining a houseful of guests 
better than he. He was always judge on 
the election board, and by his genial nature 
and spritely wit kept the members of that 
body in the best of humor while performing 
their arduous duties. Wherever known he 
was held in high regard, and his friends 
were many throughout the county and state. 

On the 26th of July, 1849, Mr. Carle 
was united in marriage with Miss Margaret 
Burt, who was to him a true helpmeet and 
worthy companion. Their only child, Will- 
iam Wheeler, named for an old friend in 
Ohio and another in Douglas county, this 



state, was born September 22, 1850, and 
died September 20, 1851. 

Mr. Carle was born in Orange county, 
New York, February 10, 1830, a daughter 
of John and Elmira (Burt) Burt, who though 
of the same name and both natives of 
Orange county, were not related prior to their 
marriage. The progenitor of the Burt fam- 
ily in America was David Burt, who was 
born and reared in* England. The exact 
date of his emigration is not known, but he 
was a resident of Roxbury, Massachusetts, 
as early as 1638, as indicated by the town 
records. In 1640 he moved to a new set- 
tlement called Agawam, the name of which 
was afterward changed to Springfield. 
Here David Burt's name appears on the 
town records December 24, 1660, with per- 
missitm to " cup out a canoe tree." From 
the frequency of his name in the town 
records he seems to have been a man of 
importance in the community, filling the 
position of committeeman, lay preacher and 
other offices. There is a tradition that his 
wife Ulalia was laid out for dead in Eng- 
land and was put in the coffin, but revived 
and recovered. She became the mother of 
nineteen children, whose descendants are 
now numerous in the United States, and the 
family has contained many eminent and 
illustrious persons. In the records of Spring- 
field, Massachusetts, it is recorded that 
Henry Burt died April 40, 1662, and his 
wife August 19, 1690. In the fall of 1890 
the wife of our subject attended a re-union 
of the Burt family in that city, and was 
present at a banquet in which two hundred 
representatives of the family participated. 

In 1838 Mrs. Carle accompanied her par- 
ents on their removal to Coshocton county, 
Ohio, where she grew to womanhood and 
was married, her education being obtained 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



265 



in the common schools of the county. She 
was the oldest of a family of fourteen chil- 
dren, the others being Henry, Jane, Ann, 
Daniel, Benjamin, George, Mary E., John, 
Bradley, William W. , Hamilton M., Abbie 
and Albert A. Those living are Jane, wife 
of Jefferson Smith, of Wichita, Kansas; John 
and Hamilton, both residents of Coshocton, 
Ohio; William \V., of Topeka, Kansas, and 
Albert A., of Urbana. The mother of this 
family was born May 25, 1812, and died 
October 7, 1855, and the father was born 
September 23, 1806, and died February 2, 
1890. They were married May 7, 1829. 
The mother died at the birth of the young- 
est son, who was reared by Mrs. Carle, re- 
maining with her until reaching manhood, 
when he returned to Ohio, but after the 
death of Mr. Carle he came to Champaign 
county to assist her in the management of 
her affairs, and for the past two years he 
and his daughter Linnie have made their 
home with her. Her father was again mar- 
ried February 25, 1862, his second union 
being with Elizabeth Dunn. He traced his 
descent from Henry Burt, the founder of the 
family in America, through the following: 
David, Benjamin, Daniel, Daniel and Dan- 
iel. His first wife was a daughter of Ben- 
jamin Burt, and a granddaughter of 
James Burt. Mrs. Carle has in her posses- 
sion a heavy glass decanter formerly owned 
by John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Prog- 
ress. It was purchased by her father from 
a Mr. Maynard, an Englishman, who had a 
large number of relics which were sold after 
his death. 

On the 25th of October, 1885, Mrs. 
Carle married James H. Morris, a retired 
farmer, who was born in Rush county, In- 
diana, December 17, 1833, a son of John 
and Mary (Miller) Morris, both natives of 



Scott county, Kentucky, where three of 
their children were born prior to their emi- 
gration to Indiana. His father, who was a 
farmer by occupation, was born in 1798, 
and died in 1883, and his mother was born 
in 1804 and died in 1866. Mr. Morris was 
reared and educated in his native county, 
and in starting out in life for himself oper- 
ated rented land, but later purchased 
eighty acres on which he made his home 
for some years. On selling his property in 
1 862 he moved to Edgar county, Illinois, 
where he purchased three hundred and 
twenty-eight acres of prairie land, which 
he owned and operated two years, and 
then came to Champaign county, where he 
bought one hundred acres for fifty dollars 
per acre. He added to the place until he 
had three hundred and twenty acres, andcon- 
tinued to reside thereon until his marriage 
with Mrs. Carle. He was first married 
October 16, 1855, to Miss Mary Bebout, a 
daughter of John and Jane (Steele) Bebout, 
all natives of Fleming county, Kentucky. 
She died October 10, 1884, leaving seven 
children who are still living, namely : Al- 
bert, a farmer of Rush county, Indiana; 
Robinson B., a real estate dealer of Los 
Angeles, California; Lillie J., widow of 
Thomas Dugan, of Urbana; Ida, a book- 
keeper in Robeson's store, Champaign; 
Minnie, a teacher in the public schools of 
Champaign; John, who is engaged in the 
laundry business in Los Angeles, California; 
and Thomas, who is engaged in the same 
business in Milwaukee. Mr, Morris is a 
supporter of the Democratic party, and has 
served on the school board. He is an act- 
ive member of the Christian church, while 
his wife holds membership in the Method- 
ist Episcopal church. She can relate many 
interesting incidents of pioneer days when 



266 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



this region was wild and unimproved, and 
when wild game could be found in abun- 
dance. In 1851 she boarded Mr. Ashley and 
his family, who was chief engineer surveying 
for the Illinois Central Railroad. She is a 
most estimable lady, loved and respected 
by all who know her. 



ERD EHLER, one of the worthy rep- 
V_J resentative German residents of Hens- 
ley township, owning four hundred acres of 
well tiled and highly cultivated land on 
section 34, was born in Aurich, Hanover 
Province, Germany, November 25, 1853, 
and is the eldest son and second child of W. 
W. and Gebbe (Cruse) Ehler, both of whom 
were born and reared in that province, as 
were their parents before them for several 
generations, and all were worthy citizens 
and loyal to their country. By trade the 
father oi our subject was a ship builder and 
contractor, and continued to follow that oc- 
cupation in his native land until 1869, when 
he emigrated to the United States with his 
family. Coming direct to Champaign county, 
Illinois, on landing in this country, he pur- 
chased fifty acres of land in Rantoul town- 
ship, and later, as he succeeded, he kept 
adding to his possessions from time to time, 
improving the land and selling it again. At 
the time of his death, which occurred in 
1889, he had eighty acres the old home- 
stead where his widow now resides. ,He 
was well known and was held in high es- 
teem by all his neighbors and many friends. 
His children were Folke, wife of D. Meyer, 
a well-to-do farmer and stock raiser of Ran- 
toul; Gerd, our subject; W. W. , Jr., a 
farmer of Hensley township; Anne, wife of 
John Flessner, a farmer of Rantoul town- 



ship; and John, also a resident of that town- 
ship. 

In the common schools of the fatherland 
Gerd Ehler acquired a good, practical edu- 
cation, attending regularly, as required by 
law, until fifteen years of age, when with 
the family he emigrated to America. He 
made his home with his parents until twen- 
ty-five years of age, superintending the farm 
work for his father, and then left the parental 
roof and began farming on eighty acres of 
land which he had purchased on time. Suc- 
ceeding in this undertaking, he soon paid 
for his land and kept adding to it from time 
to time different tracts and improving them. 
He carried on general fanning quite success- 
fully for a number of years in Stanton town- 
ship, but in 1893 he disposed of his prop- 
erty there and purchased h'3 present valua- 
ble farm of four hundred acres on section 
34, Hensley township, which he has placed 
under a high state of cultivation and im- 
proved with good and substantial buildings. 
In 1898 he erected a modern residence of 
latest architectural design, that would grace 
any city, being a large twelve-room house, 
finished on the inside with polished oak, and 
fitted with modern conveniences for sanita- 
tion and heating. He has spared no expense 
in making it complete in every detail, it 
costing him about five thousand dollars, and 
is considered one of the best homes in 
Hensley township, being one in which the 
family may well take a just pride. Mr. 
Ehler carries on general farming, finding a 
ready market for all his produce, both stock, 
hay and grain. In 1885, in partnership 
with his brother, be began taking contracts 
for building bridges throughout the county 
and also in adjoining ones, and that busi- 
ness they followed continuously for twelve 
years, putting up extensive iron bridges in 




GERD EHLER. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



269 



many places, and acquiring a wide reputa- 
tion as reliable business men in that line. 
During these years Mr. Ehler was still in- 
terested in farming, and since 1896 has de- 
voted his time and attention exclusively to 
agricultural pursuits. 

On the 2 ist of January, 1883, Mr. Ehler 
was united in marriage with Miss Nancy A. 
Easter, who was born in Rantoul township 
in 1862. Her parents, Theodore and Mar- 
garet E. (Culbertson) Easter, natives of 
Ohio, who resided in Champaign county, 
Illinois, for a number of years, are now liv- 
ing in Mississippi, where the father is still 
successfully engaged in farming. They have 
eight children living: Alice, wife of W. W. 
Ehler, Jr., brother of our subject; Nancy 
A., wife of our subject; Delia F., wife of 
Albert Maker, a minister, who now has a 
charge in Oklahoma; Etta, wife of William 
Collins, of Hensley township, this county; 
Eunice, wife of George Cook, of Stanton 
township; Nora, wife of B. Dalton, of Mis- 
sissippi; Cora and Henry O., both at home 
with their parents; and Theodore, a success- 
ful physician and land owner of Mississippi. 
Mr. and Mrs. Ehler have a family of seven 
children: Elmer, Harry, Otto, Rosa, Ber- 
nice, Gerd, Jr., and Nora, all at home. 

In his political views Mr. Ehler is a Re- 
publican. He has served as a school director 
in his district, and while a resident of Stan- 
ton township filled the office of pathmaster 
two years. Fraternally he is a member of 
the Court of Honor and the FJome Forum, 
both of Champaign, and religiously, is a 
member of the Lutheran church, while his 
wife holds membership in the Methodist 
Episcopal church, and he gives liberally to 
the support of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. By untiring industry and sound 
business judgment he has won a merited 

14 



success in all his undertakings, and is in all 
respects worthy of the high regard in which 
he is held by his fellow citizens. 



JOHN A. McCLURG. Success is deter- 
mined by one's ability to recognize op- 
portunity, and to pursue this with a reso- 
lute and unflagging energy. It results from 
continued labor, and the man who thus ac- 
complishes his purpose usually becomes an 
important factor in the business circles of 
the community with which he is connected. 
Through such means Mr. McClurg has arisen 
to a position of prominence, and to-day holds 
the responsible position of master mechanic 
of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. 
Louis Railroad and of the Peoria & Eastern 
Railroad at Urbana. 

He was born in Lancaster, Illinois, 
March 7, 1856, a son of Lewis and Ann 
(Merrifield) McClurg. The father was born 
in Kenton, Hardin county, Ohio, and con- 
tinued to make his home there until reach- 
ing manhood, when he came to Lancaster. 
Here he married and engaged in the saw- 
mill business until the Civil war broke out. 
In 1 86 1 he entered the army and was killed 
in battle. His children were Nellie, now 
the wife of H. W. Sands, of Urbana; John 
A., our subject; and William R., who is 
with the Big Four Railroad in Urbana. 
After the father's death the mother moved 
to Pekin, where she made her home for ten 
years, and while there married S. Goodrich. 
She is now a resident of Urbana. 

During his boyhood our subject attended 
the schools of Pekin for a time, but at the 
age of thirteen he left there and went to 
Chicago, where he found employment in a 
confectionery store and also attended night 



270 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



school for a year. At the end of that time 
he went to Bloomington, where for eighteen 
months he was a student in the University 
preparatory school. In 1872 he came to 
Urbana and entered the railroad machine 
shop as a machinist apprentice. After 
working at his trade for ten years, he re- 
moved to Sedalia, Missouri, with the Missouri 
Pacific shop and took a position as gang 
foreman, which he held for fourteen months. 
On his return to Urbana, at the end of that 
time, he accepted the position of general 
foreman in the shops, and after serving in 
that capacity for ten years was appointed 
master mechanic in February, 1891. This 
gives him the charge of the shops where 
about four hundred men are employed build- 
ing new locomotives and cars and also doing 
repairing. He also has charge of the shops 
at Indianapolis and oversight of all. the men 
along the line connected with the locomotive 
and car work. The shop at Urbana is one 
of the largest railroad shops in the country, 
and through his own unaided efforts Mr. 
McClurg has worked his way upward to his 
present responsible position. His practical 
knowledge of all the details of the business, 
as well as his acquaintance with men, ren- 
ders him a most valuable employe, as is 
evinced by his retention in so important a 
position with one of the leading railroad 
companies of the Union. 

In 1877 Mr. McClurg was united in 
marriage with Miss Cora A. Sim, of Urbana, 
who died in February, 1886, leaving four 
children, namely: George E., who now has 
charge of the engine room and electric plant 
belonging to the railroad company; and 
Walter S., John A. and Cora, who are all 
attending school. Mr. McClurg was again 
married, December 15, 1890, his second 
union being with Miss Ida B. Goucher, of 



Urbana. She is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, to the support of which 
our subject is a liberal contributor. He- 
owns a beautiful home on West Main street 
and also other city property, which has been 
acquired by industry, perseverance and good 
management, for he started out in life for 
himself empty-handed. Politically he is a 
stanch Republican. 



WILLIAM E. STIT.T, a well-known 
engineer on the Big Four Railroad, 
and highly esteemed citizen of Urbana, re- 
siding at No. 404 Urbana avenue, was born 
near Chillicothe, Ohio, May 23, 1864, and 
is a son of William G. and Mary (Earl) 
Stitt, also natives of Ohio. The father en- 
listed in the one-hundred-day service during 
the Civil war, and took part in some battles, 
but did garrison duty most of the time. 
While returning home he contracted pneu- 
monia and died before reaching there, at the 
age of thirty-eight years. In religious faith 
he was a Presbyterian. He had one brother, 
Bedine, a railroad conductor, who was liv- 
ing in Logansport, Indiana, when last heard 
from. 

After the death of her husband Mrs. 
Stitt lived with her father, Mr. Earl, in 
Ohio, until he, too, was called to his final 
rest in 1873. He was a native of New Jer- 
sey and a farmer by occupation. In 1875 
Mrs. Stitt came to Champaign county, Illi- 
nois, and located on a farm near Seymour 
in Scott township, which she successfully 
managed for some time, but finally sold the 
place and removed to Champaign, her home 
being at No. 510 Randolph street. Since 
her husband's death she has drawn a pension 
from the government. She is a most esti- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



271 



mable lady and a consistent member of the 
Presbyterian church. 

Our subject is the youngest in a family 
of three children. Hugh C., the eldest, has 
for over six years been an engineer on the 
Illinois Central and Big Four Railroads, and 
is still with the latter corporation. He mar- 
ried Inez Loman, and they have five chil- 
dren, Pearl, Howard, Allie, Hugh and Earl. 
The family reside at the corner of Coler and 
Goodwin avenue, Urbana, and the wife and 
mother is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. Woody, another brother of 
our subject, died in 1862, at the age of five 
years. 

William E. Stitt was reared on his 
mother's farm and early became familiar 
with all the duties which fall to the lot of 
the agriculturist, while his literary education 
was obtained in the public schools of the 
county. At the age of twenty-one he be- 
gan his business career as a farmer, and fol- 
lowed that pursuit with fair success for seven 
years. In 1890 he obtained a position as 
fireman on the Big Four Railroad, and five 
years later was promoted to engineer, which 
position he now holds, running engine No. 
500 for the past year. 

On the iith of November, 1888, Mr. 
Stitt was united in marriage with Miss Car- 
rie J. Alcorn, a native of De Kalb county, 
Illinois, and a daughter of Joseph and Jane 
(Marshall) Alcorn, who were born in Penn- 
sylvania. Her mother, who was a member 
of the Congregational church, died July 23, 
1896, at the age of sixty-six years, but the 
father is still living and is a retired farmer 
of Earlville, La Salle county, Illinois. They 
had four children: (i) Almira first married 
David Wood, by whom she had two chil- 
dren, Ida M. and James J., and for her sec- 
ond husband married Ed Simison, of Earl- 



ville, by which union she has four children: 
Ed E., Lizzie, Harvey, Walter and Ernest. 
(2) Alexander M. married Ella Courter. by 
whom he had three children, Harvey, Asa 
and May, and for his second wife married 
Eva Wade, by whom he has two children, 
Edith and Joseph. (3) Mrs. Stitt is the 
next in order of birth. (4) Archibald, a res- 
ident of Chicago, married Jessie Wells and 
has one child, Kent. Our subject and his 
wife have four children, Ruby, Mary, Flor- 
ence and Ralph. 

Mr. Stitt is a supporter of the Repub- 
lican party, and is an active member of the 
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, in 
which he is now holding the office of second 
assistant engineer. Both he and his wife 
are consistent members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, and are held in high re- 
gard by all who know them. 



FREDERICK A. BEISSER. Among 
some of the most enterprising citizens 
Champaign county are those who were born 
in Germany, and who have brought to this 
fertile and productive country the thrift and 
economy of the old world. In Mr. Beisser 
we find a worthy representative of this 
class. He is now quite extensively engaged 
in market gardening on section 24, Cham- 
paign township. 

Mr. Beisser was born in the province of 
Saxony, Prussia, in 1825, and is a son of 
Gottleib and Johanna (Angell) Beisser, who 
were of old German ancestry. In the family 
were four children, two of whom remained 
in Germany, while the parents, accompanied 
by our subject and one daughter, came to 
America in 1843, and first located in Buf- 
falo, New York, where the father engaged 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in gardening, that being his life occupation. 
Later he removed to Cleveland, Ohio, and 
in 1855 came to Champaign county, Illinois, 
but afterward returned to Cleveland, where 
his death occurred. He was quite a suc- 
cessful gardener and a man highly respected 
by all who knew him. His wife died at the 
home of our subject in this county. 

In his native land Frederick A. Beisser 
attended the public schools until fourteen 
years of age, and then learned the drug 
business, at which he worked until coming 
to America with his parents at the age of 
eighteen. While a resident of Buffalo, New 
York, he was employed as a printer on the 
American Courier for four years, and then 
went to Cleveland, where he clerked in a 
drug store for six years. At the end of that 
period he embarked in the same business on 
his own account, but his store was destroyed 
by fire two years later, and he then came to 
Champaign, Illinois, where he clerked in a 
general store for six months. He next 
found employment as a laborer on the rail- 
road, and later was foreman of a section on 
the Illinois Central Railroad near Effingham, 
remaining with the company three years. 
Returning to Champaign he began garden- 
ing and has since devoted his time and at- 
tention to that occupation, meeting with 
marked success in the undertaking. He has 
a good farm of forty-seven acres, which he 
has transformed from a wild tract to one of 
the best improved places of the locality. 
He has a very fine modern home, and be- 
sides the usual buildings found upon a 
farm he has erected several greenhouses 
for the raising of vegetables, having five 
thousand, nine hundred and forty feet under 
glass. 

In Buffalo, New* York, Mr. Beisser was 
united in marriage with Miss Amelia Meiss- 



ner, also a native of Germany, who has 
been a true helpmeet to him, and. has aided 
him in every possible way. By their united 
efforts they have succeeded in acquiring a 
comfortable competence and are now quite 
well-to-do. Having no children of their 
own, they reared Robert Pick, who is now 
married and assists our subject in his work. 
Mr. Beisser is a supporter of the Demo- 
cratic party and its principles, and has been 
tendered political offices but would never 
accept. For nine years he was a member 
of the board of the Fair Grounds Associa- 
tion, and took an active interest in that 
organization. He is an active and promi- 
nent member of the Evangelical Lutheran 
church, of which he has been a trustee for 
forty years, and was a member of the build- 
ing committee during the erection of the 
new church on the corner of University 
avenue and Fourth street, Champaign. 



JOHN E. STACKER, a prominent engin- 
eer on the Big Four Railroad residing 
at No. 808 University avenue, Urbana, Illi- 
nois, was born in Tippecanoe county, Indi- 
ana, June 15, 1857, a son of James H. and 
Ura Ann (Bradfield) Stacker, natives of In- 
diana and Virginia, respectively. He was 
the only child born of that union, but both 
parents had previously married. By his 
first wife there was born a daughter, Mary, 
now the wife of Mr. Frankenfield, who 
is on the retired list of the regular army. 
Our subject's mother was married first to 
Andrew J. Yeager, and had two children: 
A. J., a resident of Joplin, Missouri; and 
Emily, wife of William Branch, a retired 
farmer of Champaign, Illinois. James H. 
Stacker, father of our subject, was a good 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



273 



blacksmith and successful business man, 
who came to Urbana in 1858, and followed 
his trade here until his death, which oc- 
curred January 14, 1891, when he was 
sixty-five years of age. In 1862 he en- 
listed as a private in the One Hun- 
dred and Twenty-fifth Illinois Volunteer 
Infantry, and was in the service for two 
years, being honorably discharged at the 
end of that time on account of disabil- 
ity. He participated in all the engage- 
ments in which his regiment took part as 
long as his health permitted. When dis- 
charged it was believed that he would never 
reach home alive, but he partially recov- 
ered, and later worked at his trade for 
about twenty-four years. The mother of 
our subject died January 23, 1887, at the 
age of sixty-two years. Both parents were 
consistent and faithful members of the 
Christian church, and were highly respected 
by all who knew them. 

After completing his education in the 
schools of Champaign, John E. Stacker 
was employed as a farm hand for a time, 
and later engaged in farming on his own 
account until 1881, when he obtained a 
position as fireman on the Indianapolis,, 
Decatur & Western Railroad and served as 
such for three years and a half. The fol- 
lowing five years were spent in farming in 
Piatt county, and at the end of that time 
he returned as fireman to the same road. 
Two years later he was promoted to en- 
gineer and assumed the duties of that posi- 
tion on New Year's day, 1891, since which 
time he has had charge of an -engine, being 
with what is now the Big Four during his 
entire railroad career. 

On the i ;th of March, 1887, Mr. Stack- 
er was united in marriage with Miss Cora B. 
Strohl, a daughter of John J. and Sarah 



Alice (Gordon) Strohl, natives of Ohio and 
Illinois, respectively, and now residents of 
Colfax township, this county. Mrs. Stacker 
is the oldest of their fourteen children, the 
others being Lucy E., wife of Frank Rich- 
ards, of Seymour, by whom she has three 
children, Lillie, Nina and Ernest; Frank, a 
resident of Monticello, who married Sarah 
McGee and has two children, Dayton and 
Violet; Minnie, wife of Charles Dilevou; 
Daniel E., of Seymour, who married Sylva 
Williams and has one child, Edith Pearl; 
Ella, wife of George Turner, of Seymour, 
by whom she has one child, Violet; Myrtie, 
wife of Curtis Dilevou, of Streator, Illinois, 
by whom she has one child, Minnie; Arthur 
and Ernest, both at home; Harvey, who 
died in infancy; Clara, who died at the age 
of three years; Dilla, who died in infancy; 
Bennje, who died at the age of nineteen 
years; and Albert, who died in infancy. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Stacker have been born 
five children: Minnie A., Gertrude A., who 
died at the age of one year; Ethel O. ; Ada 
B. and Charles E. 

Fraternally Mr. Stacker is a member 
of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engin- 
eers and the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, and has filled all the chairs in the 
latter lodge. In politics he is independent. 
He is a popular and trustworthy engineer, a 
good financier and highly respected citizen 
one who stands deservedly high in the 
esteem of a large circle of friends and 
acquaintances. 



AUGUST AHLRICHS, foreman of the 
car department of the Big Four Rail- 
road at Urbana. Illinois, comes from the 
fatherland and the strongest and most cred- 
itable characteristics of the Teutonic race 



274 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



have been marked elements in his .life and 
have enabled him to win success in the face 
of opposing circumstances. He possesses 
the energy and determination which mark 
the people of Germany and by the exercise 
of these powers he has steadily progressed, 
and has not only accumulated a comfortable 
property, but has commanded universal re- 
spect by his straightforward business meth- 
ods. 

Mr. Ahlrichs was born in Javer, Alden- 
burg, Germany, August 12, 1839, a son of 
Hono A. and Christina dies) Ahlrichs. The 
father, who was a shoemaker by trade, died 
in 1849, when our subject was quite young. 
The latter attended the schools of his native 
land and also served an apprenticeship to 
the carpenter's trade, which he thoroughly 
learned and which he afterward followed as 
a journeyman for some time. For two 
years he was a member of the regular 
army, and from June, 1866, until the fol- 
lowing November was in the Prussian war, 
taking part in the battle near Woods farm 
and in other battles and skirmishes. At the 
close of the war he was honorably dis- 
charged. 

On the 27th of June, 1864, Mr. Ahlrichs 
was united in marriage with Miss Saverina 
Van Hoferi, and to them has been born 
three children: Augusta, who was born in 
Germany; Etta; and Frederick, a pattern 
maker in the railroad shops at Urbana, who 
married Helena Penwarren, and has two 
children, Mildred and August. 

In the spring of 1867 Mr. Ahlrichs, ac- 
companied by his wife and child, came to 
the United States and on landing in New 
York proceeded at once to Peoria, Illinois, 
where he worked at his trade for four years 
and a half. In September, 1871, he came 
to Urbana, and entered the service of the 



Indianapolis, Decatur & Western Railroad 
as a carpenter. On the 24th of January, 
1872, he took charge of the wood work of 
the locomotives built in the shops here, and 
about 1880 took charge of the car depart- 
ment of the road, with thirty men working 
under him, but as this is now the principal 
shop of the Peoria & Eastern Railroad, or 
the leased line making the Peoria division of 
the Big Four, he has one hundred men un- 
der him, building freight, passenger and 
baggage cars, as well as repairing. He has 
worked his own way up to this responsible 
position, and is to-day one of the most 
trusted employes of the company. Being a 
man of good business and executive ability 
he has accumulated considerable property, 
owning a good deal of real estate in the 
eastern part of Urbana. He has built three 
new houses and has purchased and repaired 
others, so that he now has six houses be- 
sides his own beautiful home on Lynn street, 
which was erected by him on lots that were 
covered with timber when he purchased 
them. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ahlrichs are both mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church, and he also 
afBliates with the blue lodge, chapter, com- 
mandery and Eastern Star of the Masonic 
fraternity, the Knights of Pythias and the 
Modern Woodmen of America. He is a 
stanch supporter of the Democratic party 
and has served as alderman from the first 
ward for two terms. He was a prominent 
and influential member of the council, took 
an active part in its work, and during his 
first term the water works were put in, while 
during his second term considerable street 
paving was done. He has always taken a 
deep and commendable interest in public 
affairs, and has done all in his power to ad- 
vance the welfare of his adopted city. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



275 



JAMES THORPE. Sound judgment 
combined with fine ability in mechanical 
lines has enabled the subject of this biogra- 
phy, now foreman of the copper shop of the 
Big Four Railroad of Urbana, Illinois, to 
attain a substantial success in life, and his 
history is of especial interest. He was born 
in Xorfolkshire, England. December 2r, 
1848, and is a son of John and Rhoda 
(Love) Thorpe, who spent their entire lives 
in that country, where the former died about 
1860, at the age of forty-five years, the lat- 
ter at the age of about sixty-five years. The 
father was a locomotive engineer, and 
both he and his wife -were members of 
the Episcopal church. In their family were 
five children, namely: Henry, a machinist 
of England, though known there as a 
"fitter;" Martha, wife of George Lloyd, of 
England; James, our subject; Isaac, a boiler 
maker of Yorkshire, England; and Susannah, 
also a resident of that country. 

Our subject was educated in the com- 
mon schools of his native land, and later 
served a five years apprenticeship to the 
coppersmith's trade. As soon as his time 
expired he came to America, landed in New 
York in the fall of 1868, and he proceeded 
at once to Chicago, where he worked at his 
trade for a short time. He next went to 
Peoria, Illinois, where he was employed in 
the shops of the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw 
Railroad for two years, and in 1872 came 
to Urbana, where he has since resided, his 
present home being at 501 East Main street. 
He began work in the shops of the I. B. & 
\V. Railroad, now a part of the Big Four, 
as foreman of the copper department, and 
has now filled that responsible position for 
twenty-eight years to the entire satisfaction 
of all concerned. 

Mr. Thorpe was married April 4, 1878, 



to Miss Fannie R. Webber, a daughter of 
G. G. Webber, an old and worthy citizen of 
Urbana. They have one child, John Charles, 
who is preparing for a mechanical engineer 
and will graduate from the Illinois Univer- 
sity with the class of 1900. The wife and 
son are members of the Baptist church, 
while Mr. Thorpe is an Episcopalian in re- 
ligious faith. He holds membership in 
Urbana Lodge, No. 157, F. & A. M. ; Ur- 
bana Chapter, No. 80, R. A. M.; Urbana 
Council, No. 19, R. & S. M., and Urbana 
Commandery, No. 16, K. T. , and he has 
served as high priest of the chapter at two 
different times. He takes very little in- 
terest in political affairs, but has most cred- 
itably and satisfactorily served as alderman 
from the first ward of Urbana since 1889. 
As a citizen he ever stands ready to dis- 
charge any duty devolving upon him, and 
gives a liberal support to all measures cal- 
culated to advance the public welfare. 



MARTIN J. FLUCK, chief clerk in the 
motive power department of the Pe- 
oria division of the Big Four Railroad at 
Urbana, Illinois, his home being at No. 
105 East Clark street, Champaign, lilinois, 
was born in that city, November 13, 1872, 
and is a son of Martin M. and Augusta C. 
(Richter) Fluck, both natives of Germany. 
In 1852, at the age of seventeen years, the 
father came to the new world on a sailing ves- 
sel, it requiring as many weeks at that time 
to make the voyage as it does days at the 
present. After working in Chicago for some 
time, he came to Champaign and entered 
the service of the Illinois Central Railroad, 
with which he was connected for many 
years, being one of the oldest and most 
trusted employes. He fired the first coal- 



276 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



burning engine on the road; was promoted 
to engineer in the early '6os; and continued 
to run an engine for several years. Subse- 
quently he acted as night round house fore- 
man at Champaign for twelve years, and 
then took charge of a switch engine which 
he ran in the yardsj remaining with the Illi- 
nois Central throughout his entire business 
career. He was a member of St. Peter's 
German Evangelical church, and was highly 
respected by all who knew him. He died 
February 12, 1898. He was the only one 
of a large family to come to this country. 

In Champaign, Martin M. Fluck was 
married to Miss Augusta C. Richter, who 
came to this country about 1852 with her 
parents, Frederick and Dorothea Richter, 
and first located in Texas, but in 1856 came 
to Champaign, Illinois. Her father died in 
1872, her mother in 1887. Their other 
children were Louis, a farmer of Edna, 
Texas. William, acarpenterof Champaign; 
and Mrs. Minnie Schermer, of Galveston, 
Texas. To Mr. and Mrs. Fluck were born 
seven children, namely: William F., an en- 
gineer on the Illinois Central Railroad, re- 
siding in Champaign, married Jennie Miller, 
and has one child, Nina; Emelia is the wife 
of F. H. Moore, of Champaign, also an 
engineer on that road, and they have three 
children, Martin, Frank and Reuben; Do- 
retha B., is living at home in Champaign; 
Martin]., our subject, is next in order of 
birth; Augusta H., at home, is oil and fuel 
clerk at the Big Four shops; Emma M., is 
a modiste residing at home; and Rosa C. is 
also at home. 

Our subject is indebted to the public 
schools of Champaign for his educational 
advantages. He began his business career 
as clerk in a dry goods store where he re- 
mained for about four years, and then en- 



tered the office of the Big Four Railroad as 
shipping and store-room clerk. Later he 
was oil keeper and then store keeper; and 
on the ist of January, 1899, was given his 
present position, which he is now so effici- 
ently and satisfactorily filling. He is a 
young man of good business ability, is en- 
terprising and progressive, and is a worthy 
and highly esteemed citizen of the commu- 
nity in which he resides. He is a member 
of St. Peter's German Evangelical church, 
and Western Star Lodge, -No. 240, F. & A. 
M., of Champaign. Illinois, and in politics 
is independent. 



LOUIS R. BIRELEY, an enterprising 
agriculturist of Champaign county, is 
the owner of a fine farm of three hundred 
and sixty-five acres on sections 27 and 28, 
Somer township, and his management of 
the place is marked by the scientific knowl- 
edge and skill which characterize the mod- 
ern farmer. 

A native of Maryland, Mr. Bireley was 
born in 1831, and is of German and English 
descent. His father, Louis Bireley, was 
born in Pennsylvania, in 1803, and remained 
in his native state until about .twenty years 
of age, when he removed with his parents to 
Maryland, where as a boot and shoe maker 
he furnished footwear for the men employed 
on public works and the canal. He was 
married in 1824 to Miss Sarah Shank, who 
was born in Maryland in 1806, and they be- 
came the parents of eleven children, nine of 
whom are still living, the others dying in 
infancy. Those who survive are Philip W., 
who married Charlotte Rudicill.and lives in 
Madison county, Ohio; Rebecca, widow of 




L. R. BIRELEY. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



2/9 



John Clark, of Clark county, Ohio; Re- 
becca, who married for her second husband 
Charles Garwood, and is now a widow, liv- 
ing in Mahomet, Champaign county, Illi- 
nois; Louis R., our subject; Catherine M. 
is the widow of William J. Ford and resides 
in Urbana; Elizabeth is the wife of Martin 
Lowery, a farmer and stock raiser of Mer- 
cer county, Ohio; Margaret is the wife of 
\Yilliam Hardman, a farmer and stock raiser 
of Clark county, Ohio; Sarah J., who first 
married Jacob Ellsworth and second Will- 
iam Rice, a retired farmer and old settler of 
Danville, Illinois; Eliza, wife of Charles 
Arbogast, an extensive stock raiser and 
farmer of Clark county, Ohio; and Henry 
Clark, who married Susan Rice, and is en- 
gaged in farming and dealer in agricultural 
implements in Marion county, Ohio. In 
1839 the father ot this family moved to 
Clark county, Ohio, where he first purchased 
a tract of sixty acres of land, but kept add- 
ing to it until the homestead contained two 
hundred acres. There his wife, who was a 
noble Christian woman, a member of the Ger- 
man Reformed church, died in 1 874, at theage 
of sixty-eight years. He survived her thir- 
teen years, dying on the old homestead in 
1887, at the age of eighty-four. He, too, 
was a member of the German Reformed 
church in early life, but later became a 
Universalist. In politics he was first a 
Whig and later a Republican. He was 
highly respected and esteemed wherever 
known. 

The subject of this sketch continued to 
reside with his parents until 1860, when he 
began farming tor himself, but in 1862, 
when the dark cloud of war hung so heavily 
over the nation, he laid aside all personal in- 
terest and responded to his country's call 
for aid, enlisting in Company C. One Hun- 



dred and Seventh Illinois Volunteer Infan- 
try, and giving three of the best years of his 
life to the service. The last year he was on 
detached duty most of the time, and was 
honorably discharged at Camp Butler, in 
1865, the war having ended. Returning 
to his home he once more engaged in farm- 
ing. 

. In 1868, Mr. Bireley was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Cordelia Marrott, who is the 
first in order of birth in the family of six 
children born to Richard and Cassandra 
(Sim) Marrott. Her maternal grandparents 
were Joseph W. and Keturah (Mercer) Sim, 
of English and Scotch descent. Our sub- 
ject and his wife have five children, namely: 
Jessie, now the wife of R. C. Green, a 
farmer and stock dealer of Stanton township, 
this county; Robert A., who married Gert- 
rude Watson, and is engaged in farming in 
Somer township; Ethel, wife of George Mc- 
Clurg, manager of the electric light plant at 
Urbana; L. Frank and Cassandra, who are 
at home with their parents. 

Mr. Bireley came to Piatt county, Illinois, 
in 1860, and took up his residence; later 
came to Champaign, locating in Somer 
township, where he now owns a well-im- 
proved and highly cultivated farm, as previ- 
ously stated. As a general farmer and stock 
raiser he has met with well-deserved success, 
and is to-day one of the well-to-do and sub- 
stantial citizens of his community. In pol- 
itics he is a stanch Republican, and has held 
the office of school director for several terms. 
He adheres to the Universalist church and 
the Grand Army post of Urbana. His loy- 
alty is above question and has been manifest 
in days of peace as well as in time of war. 
Wherever known he is held in high regard, 
and he has a large circle of friends and 
acquaintances in Champaign county. 



280 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



FH. LLOYDE. Few men are more 
prominent or more widely known in the 
enterprising city of Champaign than F. H. 
Lloyde, the junior member of the firm of 
D. H. Lloyde & Son. He is an important 
factor in business circles and his popularity 
is well deserved, as in him are embraced 
the characteristics of an unbending integrity, 
unabated energy and industry that never 
flags. He is public-spirited and thoroughly 
interested in whatever tends to promote the 
moral, intellectual and material welfare of 
Champaign. 

D. H. Lloyde, father of our subject, was 
born in Springfield, Massachusetts, June 11, 
1835, a son of Captain David and Eliza 
(Seaver) Lloyde, natives of Springfield and 
Somerset, Massachusetts, respectively. In 
early life Captain Lloyde engaged in farming, 
but later turned his attention to contract- 
ing and building. In 1838 he came to Illi- 
nois and took up his residence in Clarion 
township, Bureau county, where he remained 
until the outbreak of the Civil war. He 
organized Company K, of the Ninety-third 
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, was commis- 
sioned captain, and during the siege of 
Vicksburg was shot through the heart, May 
16, 1862. He left a wife and five children 
to mourn his loss, the family consisting of 
D. H., father of our subject; Jennie, now 
Mrs. Lees, of Attica, Kansas; James, a mer- 
chant and station agent at Milo, Missouri; 
Lucy, now Mrs. Herrick, of Princeton; and 
George O. , a contractor and builder, of 
Bloomington. The mother of this family 
is still living and makes her home in La 
Moille, Illinois. Captain Lloyde was always 
a prominent man in his community, and 
served as supervisor and justice of the peace 
for many years. After coming to this state 
he taught school in La Moille for a number of 



years, and took great interest in educational 
affairs, locating several schools in Bureau 
county. He conducted the first hotel in 
La Moille, at which place the stages then 
stopped. He also built or assisted in the 
construction of the court house and many of 
the leading buildings in and around Prince- 
ton. 

The father of our subject began his edu- 
cation in the district schools of Bureau 
county, and later attended Judson College 
at La Salle and Bereau College at Jackson- 
ville, Illinois. . He remained at home until 
he attained his majority, and then engaged 
in contracting and building, having inherited 
his father's ability in the use of tools. Com- 
ing to Champaign in 1874, he formed a 
partnership with E. V. Peterson, under the 
firm name of Peterson & Lloyde, and em- 
barked in the book, stationery and music 
business. When the senior member retired 
from the firm in 1884 our subject became a 
member of the company, and business has 
since been conducted under the name of D. 
H. Lloyde & Son. On the 25th of Feb- 
ruary, 1857, the father married Miss Ellen 
P. Angier, a native of Vermont and a 
daughter of Rev. Aaron and Eliza (Luther) 
Angier, who came to Illinois in 1855, and 
settled in La Moille, Bureau county. Her 
father was a minister of the Baptist church, 
and both he and his wife are now deceased. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Lloyde were born three 
children: F. H., our subject; Clarence A., 
who was graduated from the mechanical 
department of the University of Illinois, and 
is now proprietor of the Twin City Electric 
Company of Champaign; and Clifford L. , 
who is with the firm of D. H. Lloyde & 
Son. 

F. H. Lloyde, whose name introduces 
this review, was born in La Moille, Bureau 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



281 



county, Illinois, December 29, 1857, and 
acquired his early education in the public 
schools of Princeton. After completing the 
high school course in that city, he came to 
Champaign and entered the University of 
Illinois, where he pursued the literary and 
scientific course of four years, graduating 
in 1878. Although his parents were living 
here at that time, he returned to Bureau coun- 
ty, and engaged in teaching school at Wal- 
nut for one winter. He then entered his 
father's store in Champaign, and has since 
been connected with that establishment, 
serving in a clerical capacity until the firm 
of Peterson & Lloyde was dissolved in 1884, 
when Mr. Peterson went west. Our sub- 
ject then entered into partnership with 
his father, as previously stated, and has 
had exclusive charge of the book and 
stationery departments, while his father 
has charge of the music. They make a 
specialty of books, stationary, art mate- 
rials, etc., needed at the University, the 
store being established for that purpose in 
1867. It is the only exclusive bookstore in 
the county, and has agents through several 
adjoining counties, catering especially to the 
teachers' trade. Recently a photographic 
department has been added and the firm 
now carry cameras and all needed supplies 
for photographic art, and also have a dark 
room for the free use of amateurs. They 
have built up an excellent trade along va- 
rious lines and well merit the success they 
have achieved. 

On the 5th of June, 1879, Mr - Lloyde 
was united in marriage with Miss Frances 
Core, a native of Illinois; and a daughter of 
H. C. Core, who was a prominent business 
man of Champaign for many years. Both 
Mr. and Mrs. Lloyde are active and prom- 
inent members of the Baptist church, in 



which he is serving as deacon, and has been 
a teacher in the Sunday school for many 
years. He was also organist for about ten 
years, and has led the singing many years 
in the Sunday school. He and his wife at- 
tended the Endeavor National Conventions 
at Boston, Cleveland and Minneapolis, and 
they have not only traveled extensively over 
the United States, but spent six months 
abroad, visiting Egypt and the Holy Land, 
Turkey and other parts of Europe. Social- 
ly Mr. Lloyde is a member of Langley Camp, 
Sons of Veterans; the Modern Woodmen of 
America; and the Court of Honor. He has 
served six years on the Public Library Board. 
He is treasurer of the building committee of 
the Y. M. C. A. of the University of Illi- 
nois. His political support is given the 
Prohibition party, and he has been a mem- 
ber of the county central committee forseven 
years, serving as chairman and secretary of 
the committee for several years each. On 
a strictly Prohibition ticket he was elected 
to the city council in 1897 by a majority of 
fifty in a ward that was four to one in favor 
of the Republican party, which fact plainly 
indicates his personal popularity and the 
confidence and trust reposed in him by his 
fellow citizens. He has been the candidate 
of his party for many different offices, but 
as the city has an overwhelming Republican 
majority he has been defeated. He posses- 
ses that culture which only travel can bring, 
is an entertaining conversationalist, and is 
highly respected and esteemed by all who 
know him on account of his sterling worth 
and strict integrity. 



OAMUEL E. WINCHESTER. Among 
O the brave men who devoted the open- 
ing years of their manhood to the defense 



282 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of the country from the internal foes who 
sought her dismemberment, was Mr. Win- 
chester, a prominent resident of Somer 
township, Campaign county, Illinois, who 
owns and operates a good farm of eighty 
acres on section I. 

He was born in Madison county, New 
York; May 20, 1840, and is of English and 
German descent. His parents were John E. 
and Janette (Dutcher-) Winchester, also na- 
tives of New York, the former born March 
19, 1816, the latter December 10, 1812. 
They were married in Lebanon, New York, 
July 3, 1835, and had five children, of whom 
our subject is the oldest. Polly Jane, born 
January 25, 1842, is now the widow of Will- 
iam Wilcox, and resides in Aurora, Kane 
county, Illinois. Ruby Ann, born April 8, 
1845, married first Albert A. Logan, and 
after his death married Isaiah Wilcox, and 
is also a resident of Aurora. Sarah M., 
born September 4, 1847, married first Henry 
Ives, and second John W. Brownfield, a 
farmer of Sorner township, this county. 
George W., born October 22, 1848, married 
Hattie Smith, and is a traveling salesman 
residing in Urbana. In June, 1860, the 
father with his family removed from New 
York to Kaneville, Kane county, Illinois, 
where he purchased land and engaged in 
farming until 1868, when he came to Cham- 
paign county and bought a farm in Rantoul 
township, continuing to engage in agricul- 
tural pursuits here until called to his final 
rest August 9, 1898, at the ripe old age of 
eighty-three years. He was a Republican in 
politics. In early life he was a member of 
the Baptist church, but after coming to Illi- 
nois, he united with the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, and was a consistent member 
of the same until his death. His widow is 
still living and now makes her home with her 



son George W. (married Harriet Smith, who 
died January 7, 1900), and Mrs. Ann Wil- 
cox, in Aurora, 111. 

The subject of this sketch remained un- 
der the parental roof until after the Civil 
war 'broke out. In 1861, he joined the 
boys in blue of Company G, Fifty-second 
Illinois Volunteer infantry and participated 
in twenty-one battles and skirmishes, but 
fortunately was never wounded. He was in 
the battles of Fort Donelson and Shilo un- 
der General Sweeney, and later went with 
General Sherman, on his celebrated march 
to the sea. When the army arrived at Sa- 
vannah, Georgia, he was honorably dis- 
charged, as his term of enlistment had ex- 
pired, and he returned home January 5, 
1865, with a war record of which he may 
feel justly proud. 

Mr. Winchester was married in 1868, to 
Miss Mary E. Loveland, of Kane county, 
Illinois, who died April 15, 1870, and Alice, 
the only child born to them, died in infancy. 
On April 27, 1872, he married her sister, 
Miss Alice J. Loveland, a daughter of Eure- 
tus and Erneline (Manning) Loveland, of 
Kane county, and by this union has been 
born five children, namely: Ida M. is the 
wife of Wilber Alexander, of Thomasboro, 
Illinois, and they have three children, Lee 
W. , Edith May and Roy Wilber; Ernest 
Arthur, a farmer of Stanton township, this 
county, married Rosella James, and has one 
daughter, Bessie Frances; Albert E., is 
a farmer residing with his brother Ernest 
E., in Stanton township; Elva, Erne and 
Benjamin are all at home with their parents, 
attending school. 

For several years Mr. Winchester en- 
gaged in farming in Kane county, and was 
also employed nineyears on public works. In 
1883 he removed to Somer township, Cham- 



THE BIOGRAHPICAL RECORD. 



283 



paign county, where he purchased a farm, 
and has since successfully engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits. He has placed his land 
under a high state of cultivation and made 
a number of excellent improvements thereon 
which stand as monuments to his thrift and 
enterprise, He is an honored member of 
Black Eagle Post, No. 129, G. A. R., of 
Urbana, and is unswerving in his allegiance 
to the Republican party. In religious belief 
he with his wife are Baptists. 



RICHARD WHITESIDE BRAITH- 
\VAITE, the leading veterinary sur- 
geon of Champaign, was born near Black- 
pool, Lancashire, England, January 24, 
1853, a son of John and Alice (Whiteside) 
Braithwaite. The father, a well-to-do 
farmer and stock raise by occupation, was 
born in the same place, the ancestral home 
being Mythop Hall, which has been in the 
farr.ily for many years. Both he and the 
grandfather, John Braithwaite, Sr. , took an 
active part in political affairs, and the fam- 
ily was one of the best known and most 
prominent in that locality. The paternal 
grandfather of our subject was Richard 
Whiteside of Westby Hall, 'Lancashire, also 
a landed estate, and on his death he left 
each one of his family, three sons and two 
daughters, a separate estate. Our subject's 
father died in the summer of 1876, his 
mother, October 19,1899. Both were mem- 
bers of the Episcopal church. 

During his boyhood Richard W. Braith- 
waite was educated at Weeton common 
school, Kirkham grammar school, and Black- 
pool agricultural college, fitting himself for 
a farmer. While a youth on the farm he 
became a noted prize ploughman, winning 



five firsts in the youth's class, and sixteen 
firsts in the men's class, beating the cham- 
pion of England, James Barker, three 
times, and afterwards officiated as judge in 
all parts of the country. He, later, turned 
his attention to veterinary surgery and 
served an apprenticeship with a government 
veterinarian in Pulton le Fylde. Subse- 
quently, while pursuing a course in veterin- 
ary medicine in London, his father was in- 
stantly killed by a runaway, and he was 
called home to take charge of the farm, be- 
ing the second son of eighteen children, re- 
maing there until coming to the United 
States in 1881. He came to this country 
with an importation of horses for the Mel- 
bourne stock farm in Washington, Tazewell 
county, Illinois, owned by A. G. Danforth, 
and was engaged to take charge of Melbourne 
stock farm., and the veterinary work thereon 
for one year, during Mr. Baylor's absence 
while in Europe importing horses, his 
younger brother beingold enough at that time 
to assume the responsibilities of the home 
farm. He then went with L. S. Ruppert, 
brother-in-law of A. G. Danforth, to Bloom- 
ington, to take charge of his city breeding 
establishment in connection with Daseianna 
stock farm, where he remained four years. 
For the same length of time he also had 
charge of the Ferre stock farm in Normal, 
which he carried on in connection with the 
practice of his profession, having built up a 
good practice with Dr. Scott Brothers. In the 
spring of 1891 he passed his veterinary ex- 
aminations and came to Champaign with 
Mr. Booker and took charge of his stables, 
at the same time engaging in the practice of 
veterinary surgery. In 1893 he established a 
Veterinary Hospital. In 1 894 he bought out 
Mr. Booker, and formed a partnership with 
J. W. Cleveland, under the firm name of 



284 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Braithwaite & Cleveland, which connection 
still exists. He had established a veterinary 
hospital in 1893, the first in Champaign, 
and fitted it up with all the conveniences 
for the treatment of diseases and for surgical 
operations. The firm also have a breeding 
stable. Mr. Braithwaite has built up an 
excellent city practice, and receiving long 
distance calls from Rantoul to Arcola and 
Ogden to Bloomington, and is without 
doubt one of the most able and skillful, as 
well as successful veterinary surgeons in 
this section. He has been quite a promt - 
ment member of the Illinois Veterinary 
Medical & Surgical Association since 1891, 
and has frequently been called upon to read 
papers before its conventions, and is still an 
energetic student.* 

On the 1 8th of February, 1891, Mr. 
Braithwaite was united in marriage with 
Miss Rebecca Cope, of Le Roy, who was 
born and reared at that place, and is 
the youngest daughter in a family of six 
children. Her father was Charles Cope, 
one of the pioneers and wealthy men 
of Le Roy township, where he owned a 
fine farm of six hundred and forty 
acres. Two children were born to our sub- 
ject and his .wife, namely: John Earl, de- 
ceased; and Lyle David. The family have 
a pleasant home at No. 205 West Washing- 
ton -street, erected by Mr. Braithwaite in 
1897. Both he and his wife hold member- 
ship in the Christian church, and he also be- 
longs to the Improved Order of Red Men, 
the Modern Woodmen of America, and the 
American Home Circle. 



JAMES P. BLUE, the well-known fore- 
man of the car department of the Big 
Four Railroad at Urbana, Illinois, has for 



almost a third of a century been a faithful 
and trusted employe of that company and 
has worked his way upward from a humble 
position to one of great responsibility. His 
career has been characterized by industry, 
honesty and strict fidelity to duty, and due 
success has not been denied him. 

Mr. Blue was born in Hampshire county, 
Virginia, July 15, 1845, a son f James N. 
and Sophia (Laramore) Blue, also natives 
of that county. The father followed the 
occupation of farming throughout his active 
business life. In 1851 Ue left the Old Do- 
minion, and after spending about three 
years in Licking and Knox counties, Ohio, 
he came to Illinois in 1855, and settled in 
Mahomet township, this county, where he 
bought an improved farm. Later he re- 
moved to Newcomb township, but finally 
sold his property there and purchased a farm 
of twenty acres two and a half miles north 
of Urbana. In this county he continued to 
engage in farming and stock raising for 
many years, but spent the last six years 
with his daughter in Kansas, where he died 
April 5, 1890, at the age of seventy-three 
years. His wife died two years later at the 
age of sixty-seven. They were members 
of the Baptist church at Mahomet, and were 
known all over the county and most highly 
respected. At different times the father 
served his fellow-citizens as collector, asses- 
sor and constable. 

The children of this worthy couple were 
Thomas F. , who married Elizabeth Ater, 
and is now clerking in a grocery at Urbana; 
John W., who married Sarah Jane Means, 
and follows farming in Mahomet township; 
Hannah, who married John F. Sims, and 
died in Kansas in 1897, aged fifty-four 
years; James P., our subject; Susan, who 
married F. Lewis, and died at the age of 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



285 



forty-two years; Peter N., who married 
Winnie Schibler, and is car inspector in Ur- 
bana; Mary C., wife of John Wingler, who 
is in the brick business in Urbana; Louisa, 
who married John Gear, and died at the age 
of twenty-four years; and Alice, second wife 
of John Gear. 

Reared upon the home farm, James P. 
Blue engaged in agricultural pursuits until 
he attained his majority, and then turned 
his attention to railroading, entering the em- 
ploy of the Big Four Railroad Company 
November I, 1869, as a workman in the car 
repairing department. Later he was car in- 
spector, and was engaged in repairing cars 
for some years. For fifteen years he was 
foreman of the wrecking crew, and for the 
past ten years has capably filled his present 
responsible position. He has never been 
discharged nor laid off for any reason, and 
is to-day about the only one in his depart- 
ment who was there when he entered it. 

Mr. Blue was married, January 10, 
1867, to Miss Sarah J. Ater, a daughter of 
John and Sarah (Davis) Ater, natives of 
Pennsylvania and Kentucky, respectively, 
but the latter was reared in Pickaway coun- 
ty, Ohio. Her father, wlio was a farmer by 
occupation, died in 1893, at the age of sev- 
enty-three years, but the mother is still liv- 
ing at the age of seventy-six. She is an 
earnest and consistent member of the Bap- 
tist church. In their family were thirteen 
children, namely: Rebecca M., wife of Will- 
iam H. Dickerson, of Urbana; Zacariah, 
who was killed in the battle of Kenesaw 
Mountain, during the Civil war, at the age 
of twenty-four years; Abram, who married 
Cynthia Lane, and lives in Urbana; Elizabeth 
wife of T. F. Blue, of Urbana, Sarah J., 
wife of our subject; Anna, wife of Benja- 
min Stucky, of Fisher, Illinois; Mary A., 



wife of John Gibson, of Iowa; John E., who 
married Emma Cunningham and lives in 
Urbana; Missouri, wife of John McAllister, 
of Norfolk, Kansas; Laura, wife of Henry 
Lyons, of Iowa: Ida, wife of Frank Stone, 
of the same state; Amelia C. , wife of B. F. 
McFarland, of Iowa, and Eddie, who is liv- 
ing with his mother in that state. 

Mr. and Mrs. Blue have one child, Nora 
Edith, wife of E. R. Wright, a painter in 
the employ of the Big Four railroad at Ur- 
bana, by whom she has two children, Har- 
old R. and Thearl J. Living with our sub- 
ject and his wife is her nephew, Royal Blue, 
a bright boy, who is a pupil in the third 
grade of the public schools of Urbana. 

As a public-spirited and progressive citi- 
zen, Mr. Blue takes deep interest in public 
affairs, and most efficiently served as alder- 
man from 1896 to 1898. Fraternally he is 
a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
America, and is one of the managers of the 
camp at Urbana. He and his wife are ac- 
tive members of the Baptist church, in 
which he has served as deacon for eighteen 
years, superintendent of the Sunday school, 
and is also a member of the finance com- 
mittee. They have a nice cozy home at 
No 307 North Race street, and areskilled in 
the art of making a place homelike and at- 
tractive to their many friends. Here hap- 
piness and good cheer abound, and hospi- 
tality reigns supreme. 



EORGE C. PETTENGER. For thirty 
V-I years this well known citizen of Ur- 
bana has been engaged in railroading, and 
few stand higher in the esteem of the officials 
and employes of the Big Four Railroad. 
He is one of those men, too few, alas! who 



286 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



take a genuine interest in their special occu- 
pation and earnestly strive to perform every 
duty devolving upon them, realizing^ to the 
uttermost, the responsibility which rests 
upon them, and giving only a secondary 
thought to the livelihood so justly earned. 
Rarely does the traveler give a thought to 
the man who, like the pilot of a great steam- 
ship, guides and guards the precious lives 
entrusted to his care, into the safe haven 
whither they are destined, and who, by a 
minute of carelessness or a rash movement, 
might hurl hundreds of his fellows to an 
awful death. To the one who loyally and 
bravely stands at his post, though the temp- 
ests rage and lightnings flash, and who, as so 
often happens, valiantly goes to a hero's 
grave in the hope of saving his helpless pas- 
sengers, let us render the homage of grate- 
ful hearts, at least. 

George C. Pettenger was reared in the 
atmosphere of a good Christian home, and 
his aged parents, Morris and Lucinda (Con- 
over) Pettenger, are still living, though well 
along in the '703. They have been life-long 
residents of Hunterdon county, New Jersey, 
and, during their active years, were occupied 
in agricultural pursuits. They are passing 
their declining years in the village of Ham- 
den, not far from their old homestead. 
They have long been faithful members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. Their young- 
est child, Margaret, died at the age of twelve 
years, and all of their other children survive. 
Mary, the eldest, is the wife of John H. 
Bartow, an engineer on the New York, 
Susquehanna and Western Railroad, his 
home being in Paterson, New Jersey. Will- 
iam W., the eldest son, lives in Somerville, 
New Jersey, and Samuel was for several 
years employed in the yards of the Delaware, 
Lackawanna & Western Railroad, at Scran- 



ton, Pennsylvania. Frances is the wife of 
Andrew Scott, a farmer of Clinton, New 
Jersey; Emma is the wife of Lewis Rupel, a 
retired capitalist of Chicago; and Rachael, 
Mrs. George Platner, resides in Englewood, 
Illinois. Joseph is general foreman of the 
Western Union Telegraph Company, at San 
Francisco. 

The birth of George C. Pettenger took 
place at Hamden, New Jersey, September 
5, 1850. He loyally gave his services to 
his parents in the general work of the farm 
until he was twenty years of age, when he 
decided to start upon his independent career. 
Going to Scranton he took a position as 
brakesman on the Delaware, Lackawanna 
& Western Railroad, and at the end of a 
year was promoted to the place of fireman. 
Even at that late day, 1871, the engines in 
use there burned wood for fuel, even though 
they were employed in drawing coal to 
various points, and the train on which 
young Pettenger was acting as fireman car- 
ried coal to the canal boats at Port Wash- 
ington, New Jersey. At the end of six / 
months, however, he was transferred to the 
northern division of the road, during the 
construction of the double track between 
Scranton and Great Bend, Pennsylvania, 
where he spent another six months. Sub- 
sequently, he was given charge of a switch 
engine in the Scranton yards, and in a short 
time became engineer on the Riser Valley 
branch, hauling coal from the mines. A 
year or so later, he took charge of a train 
on the main line from Great Bend to Syra- 
cuse, New York, a distance of eighty miles. 
In the fall of 1880 he entered the employ of 
the New York Central, and ran a train from 
Buffalo ajid Niagara Falls to Syracuse, one 
hundred and fifty miles. 

In October, i88'i, Mr. Pettenger con- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



287 



eluded to come further west, where he be- 
lieved that the growing importance of rail- 
roading would give him better opportunities. 
After visiting a sister in Chicago, he had no 
difficulty in obtaining the favorable consid- 
eration of the local railroad people, and ac- 
cepted a position proffered him by Edward 
Hiserodt, master mechanic of the I. B. & 
W. Railroad, and on the i 5th of November, 
1 88 1, took a train over the road to Craw- 
fordsville, Indiana, his first trip on that line. 
Since that time he has never been idle save 
when he took a short vacation; and he is 
generally conceded to be one of the most 
efficient and careful engineers on the road. 
Since 1891 he has had a specially desira- 
ble and short run, trains No. 2 and 3, leav- 
ing Urbana at 6:34 A. M., and arriving in 
Indianapolis at 10:35;. leaving that city at 
4:25 P. M., and reaching this place at 9:38. 
During his- whole railroad career he has 
been unusually fortunate in never having an 
accident of any importance. 

In the Brotherhood of Locomotive En- 
gineers Mr. Pettenger has been prominent 
for a score of years. During the two years 
just ended, he has been chief of the local 
division, No. 193, and in 1898 was sent as a 
delegate to the Third Biennial Convention 
of the Brotherhood, at St. Louis, while in 
August, 1899, he was similarly honored by 
being chosen as delegate from the Urbana 
division to the general board of adjustment of 
the Big Four system, which convened at In- 
dianapolis. He was re-elected to represent 
Division 143 at the Board of Locomotive 
Engineers' Convention at Milwaukee in 
May, 1900. Moreover, Mr. Pettenger is a 
Mason of the thirty-second degree, belong- 
ing to* Urbana Lodge, No. 157; Urbana 
Chapter, No. So; Urbana Cotnmandery, 
No. 16; the Consistory at Indianapolis; 

15 



and the Ancient Arabic Order of the 
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, also of the 
Indiana capital. In his political views, he 
is a thorough-going Republican. With all 
who have the pleasure of his acquaintance 
he is deservedly popular, and all along his 
"run" the passing of his train is looked for- 
ward to by many, who enjoy a sight of his 
honest, good-natured face. 

Only nine years ago did Mr. Pettenger 
establish a home and on January 26, i89i r 
he married at Indianapolis, Miss Jessie Jack- 
son, daughter of O. H. and Alice (Hoag- 
land) Jackson. The father was employed 
as master mechanic of the Big Four system 
in the city mentioned, for a number of 
years. The only child of our subject and 
wife is Charles Jackson, born December 11, 
1892. Four years ago, Mr. Pettenger erect- 
ed his pretty modern residence, and here he 
is surrounded with the accessories of a model 
home. 



TEETER KLEIN. No foreign element 
1 has become a more important part' of 
our American citizenship than that furnished 
by Germany. The emigrants from that 
land have brought with them to the new 
world the stability, enterprise and persever- 
ance characteristic of their people and have 
fused these qualities with the progressive- 
ness and indomitable spirit of the west. Mr. 
Klein, who is now practically living a re- 
tired life upon a small farm near Champaign, 
Illinois, is a worthy representative of this 
class. 

He was born in the Rhine Province, 
Germany, February 6, 1836, a son of Will- 
iam and Katie (Wasserhess) Klein, also na- 
tives of that province. They were good, 
honest, industrious farming people, who led 



288 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



rather uneventful lives, and never left their 
native land. Religiously they were mem- 
bers of the German Catholic church. The 
mother died when our subject was only four 
years old, leaving four children. The old- 
est of these is Joseph, who married a Miss 
Hensyleer, and still lives in Germany. Our 
subject is next in order of birth. Frederick 
came to the United States in 1867, and was 
engaged in farming with our subject in this 
county, where he died in 1879, at the age 
of forty-two years. He was unmarried. 
Anna Magdalena came with Frederick to 
this county and later married Peter Youn- 
gerfeldt, but she died in 1869, at the age of 
thirty-two years. Her husband departed 
his life in 1899. Peter Youngerfeldt was 
a second time married and had several 
children by that union. He died at the age 
of sixty-five years. 

Peter Klein was reared and educated in 
his native land, and served for three years 
in the German army, from 1857 to 1860, 
but did not take part in any war. His father 
was also in the service for three years prior 
to his marriage. In 1866 our subject emi- 
grated to America and first located in Terre 
Haute, Indiana, where he worked for one 
year, but not liking the place, he then went 
to La Salle county, Illinois, and worked 
there as a farm hand for a year. 

In May, 1868, Mr. Klein came to this 
county, formed a partnership with his 
brother-in-law, Peter Youngerfeldt, and com- 
menced farming in Colfax township, where 
they purchased two hundred acres of land 
and operated it together for two years. 
Our subject then formed a partnership with 
his brother Frederick and continued, his 
farming operations until the latter's death 
in 1879. In December, 1874, Mr. Klein 
returned to his old home in the Rhine 



Province, Germany, where a few months 
were very happily passed with old friends 
and relatives. 

In 1875 he again came to the United 
States, and was accompanied on the voyage 
by Miss Katie Schumacher, a native of the 
same place, and a daughter of Arnold and 
Agnes (Wollan) Schumacher, both of whom 
died in Germany, the former at the age of 
sixty years, the latter at the age of forty- 
one. On reaching America Mr. Klein and 
Miss Schumaker were married. Of the 
eleven children born of this union four died 
in infancy. Joseph, the eldest, is a gradu- 
ate of the Business College in Champaign, 
and now has charge of his father's farm in 
Colfax township. Agnes and Carl are on 
the farm with Joseph, while William, Frede- 
rick, Annie and Frances, are all at home, 
and attending school in Champaign. 

To the cultivation and improvement of 
his farm in Colfax township, Mr. Klein de- 
voted his energies for many years, trans- 
forming the wild prairie land into one of the 
best and most highly cultivated farms of the 
township. He also extended its boundaries 
until they now include three hundred and 
forty acres of land. Besides this valuable 
land he owns a farm of seventy-five acres 
near Mahomet, and ten acres in Champaign 
City, upon which he now. resides. In 1890 
he retired from active farm labor and re- 
moved to his present comfortable home in 
the suburbs of Champaign, where he ex- 
pects to spend his declining years, enjoying 
a well-earned rest. He has never taken a 
very active part in politics, but served as 
school director for many years while living 
in Colfax township. He and his family are 
members of the German Catholic church, 
and are highly respected by all who know 
them. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



289 



MARK CARLEY. The city of Cham- 
paign largely stands as a monument 
to the enterprising industry and progressive 
spirit of Mark Carley, who built the first 
residence on the town site, and established 
many of its pioneer business interests. He 
was a man of distinctive and forceful in- 
dividuality, of broad mentality and most 
mature judgment, and he left his impress 
upon Champaign in a manner which con- 
tributed to its material advancement and 
substantial improvement. His indefatigable 
enterprise and fertility of resource enabled 
him to conquer all the obstacles and diffi- 
culties in his path and to press steadily for- 
ward toward the goal of his ambitions and his 
labors. No compendium such as the province 
of this work defines in its essential limita- 
tions will serve to offer fit memorial to the 
life and accomplishments of the honored 
subject of this sketch, and yet the bio- 
grapher would desire to pay tribute to one 
whose life work was so closely interwoven 
with the history of Champaign county. 

Mr. Carley was born in the town of 
Hancock, in Hillsboro county, New Hamp- 
shire, August 24, 1798. His native county 
was also the birthplace of Horace Greeley, 
whom he resembled in many respects. Lit- 
tle is known concerning the ancestral history 
of the family, save that his paternal grand- 
parents were natives of Massachusetts and 
were of English extraction. Joseph Carley, 
the grandfather, was born February 17, 
1 718, and married Sally Washburn, who was 
born September 1 , 1 729, and belonged to the 
prominent Washburn family that has fur- 
nished so many prominent men to the 
nation. Elijah Carley, the father of our sub- 
ject, was the youngest of their children, and 
was born in Massachusetts, May 21, 1771. 
He wedded Agnes Graham, who was born 



in New Hampshire, July 18, 1772. Some 
of his brothers were soldiers in the Revo- 
lutionary war, and one of them, Jonathan 
Carley, left a soldier's discharge which was 
signed by the hand of Washington, and is 
now carefully cherished among valuable 
family papers. Elijah Carley was too 
young to serve in the war for independence, 
but he and one of his brothers served in the 
war of 1812, first with the dragoons and 
afterward with the heavy artillery. Mrs. 
Kincaid, daughter of Mark Carley, now has 
in her possession parts of the uniform worn 
by her grandfather in the service. In 1810 
Elijah Carley removed from New Hamp- 
shire to Vermont, his son Elijah remaining 
at home until 1816. The year previous he 
entered upon an apprenticeship to the house 
carpenter's and millwright's trades. His 
educational advantages were quite limited, 
but reading, extended experience, observa- 
tion and travel later made him a man of 
exceptional information. When he was 
about twenty years of age, the spirit of self- 
reliance, which served him so well in after 
life, began to manifest itself, and he re- 
solved to see more of the world. Accord- 
ingly, in 1819, he went to New Brunswick, 
and after a few months concluded to go to 
New Orleans. On the ist 'of January, 1820, 
he sailed from the mouth of the Penobscott 
river for the Crescent city. When off Cape 
Hatteras the bow sprit of the vessel was 
carried away in a gale and the ship sprung 
a leak, but after pumping for twelve days 
and nights the vessel reached Savannah, 
where it put into port for repairs. Mr. 
Carley then embarked for Havana. Cuba, 
and after spending a few days in that city 
sailed for New Orleans, where he arrived 
April 24, 1820. On reaching the mouth of 
the Mississippi on his voyage from Havana 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



he had a narrow escape from drowning. 
The vessel grounded on a sand bar and the 
mate, Mr. Carley and three others got into 
a small boat which was capsized, the mate 
being drowned. Mr. Carley was saved by 
clinging to the boat and getting astride of it. 
It floated four miles before he was taken off, 
but at length he arrived at New Orleans. 

After a short time spent in the city Mr. 
Carley went to LaFourche, where he began 
work for a dollar per day and board, build- 
ing mills and cotton gins. He there spent 
three summers, passing the winters in New 
Orleans. In 1823 he went to the parish of 
Eelicrans, where he remained until 1837. 
He found both the climate and people 
agreeable and remained in the south for 
seventeen years, during which time he made 
two visits to Ohio and Vermont. During 
one of those, on the 7th of April, 1830, he 
was married to Miss Abigail W. Stevens, 
daughter of S. Stevens, of Springfield, Ver- 
mont, and locating his family in Clermont 
county, Ohio, he returned to Louisiana in 
order to accumulate something for his future. 
In 1837 he joined his wife in Ohio, where he 
remained until 1853, engaged in farming 
and taking wood by boat down the Ohio 
river Jto Cincinnati. 

In 1850 Mr. Carley went by way of the 
Panama route to California, and during the 
passage from New Orleans to Chagres, 
owing to adverse winds, the vessel stopped 
at Grand Island in the Carribean sea, which 
he found inhabited by the descendants of 
old buccaneers, with an English resident 
governor. From Panama the vessel sailed 
for Cocos Island in order to obtain water, 
and while there Mr. Carley saw chiseled in 
the rock the names of three small vessels 
commanded by Captain Cook on his first 
voyage around the world, together with the 



date of his landing. Not long after Mr. 
Carley 's arrival in the Golden state it be- 
came evident that he had won the confi- 
dence of the miners, for he was chosen by 
them to act as one of the judges of 
the mining regions, a most delicate and 
responsible position, requiring prudence, 
judgment and discrimination, for no law 
was in force and the judge held in his hands 
the lives and property of the people. 

In the fall of 1851 Mr. Carley returned 
to. Ohio, where he remained until 1853, the 
date of his arrival in Champaign county. 
He located in Urbana, but the next year 
came to what is now the city of Champaign, 
although the site was then a raw prairie 
dotted with only a very few farm houses. 
He came here at the solicitation of the Illi- 
nois Central Railroad company, which 
offered him eight building lots if he would 
erect a home on the town site. Accord- 
ingly he built a brick residence at what is 
now the corner of State and Washington 
streets, the first house in the town, although 
another family had lived in a small car 
which they had moved here prior to the date 
of his arrival. His home was afterward re- 
moved to Randolph street, where it still 
stands. He also erected the first grain 
warehouse in Champaign, and put in the 
first steam engine to operate a corn sheller 
and elevator. This was burned in the fire 
of August 24, 1872, after which he replaced 
the plant with a brick warehouse which is 
still standing at the junction of Main street 
with the Illinois Central Railroad tracks. 
He also built a large brick stable on Markey 
street in 1874. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Carley were born 
eleven children, but only three are now liv- 
ing: Mrs. Mary W. Kincaid, one of the 
highly esteemed ladies of Champaign; Gra- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



291 



ham; and Isolta, wife of W. H. Mahan, of 
Chicago. On the I2th of November, 1871, 
the mother died. She was one of the es- 
teemed pioneer ladies of the county, held in 
high regard for many excellences of char- 
acter, and her death was widely mourned. 
Through the legitimate channels of busi- 
ness. Mr. Carley had become the possessor 
of considerable means, and was enabled to 
surround his family with all the comforts 
and many of the luxuries of life. Nothing 
afforded him greater happiness than to 
minister to them, and it seemed that he 
could not do too much to enhance their wel- 
fare. He was truly domestic in his tastes 
and found his greatest joy when at his own 
fireside with his wife and children. He pro- 
vided his children with excellent educational 
privileges and several times went with his 
family to Europe that they might enjoy the 
privileges and pleasures which only travel 
can bring. His name was honored in all 
classes of society, for his life was ever 
upright, just, loyal and true. He was a 
man of strong intellectuality, broad human 
sympathies and tolerance, and imbued with 
fine sensibilities and clearly defined princi- 
ples. Honor and integrity were synony- 
mous with his name, and he enjoyed the 
confidence and respect of all who knew him. 



M 



"OSES DEERE, deceased. Wherever 
there is pioneer work to be done men 
of energy and ability are required, and suc- 
cess or failure depends upon the degree of 
those qualities that is possessed. In wrest- 
ing the land of Champaign county from its 
native wilderness; in fitting it for the habi- 
tation of men; in developing the natural re- 
sources of the community in which they 



live, few if any have contributed more 
largely than Mr. Deere, and it is mete 
. and proper that for the arduous and import- 
ant labor he has performed he, should re- 
ceive due reward. 

Mr. Deere was born in Shelby county, 
Kentucky, January 17, 1826, and was the 
third child and eldest son of Larkin and 
Elizabeth (Constantine) Deere. The father 
was born in Virginia, where he followed 
farming for a time, but when a young man 
went to Kentucky, where he met and mar- 
ried the mother of our subject, who was a 
native of that state. To them were born 
ten children, four sons and six daughters, of 
whom two died in infancy. Those who 
reached years of maturity were Jane, who 
married M. Davis, of Vermilion county, Illi- 
nois, and both are now deceased; Frances, 
wife of Jackson Yount, who was engaged in 
farming in Champaign county for a number 
of years, and then removed to Washington, 
where both died ; Moses, our subject; 
Thomas, who served for three years as a 
soldier of the Civil war and is now engaged 
in farming near Carthage, Missouri; Mar- 
tha, who married Samuel Reisinger, and 
both died in Sidney township, this county; 
Wesley, a prosperous farmer living near 
Neodesha, Kansas; Harriet, who married 
William Black, and both died in Sidney 
township, this county; and Amanda, who 
married Joseph Black, and both are also de- 
ceased. 

In 1830 Larkin Deere, with his family, 
removed from Kentucky to this county, and 
stopped first at Linn Grove, though their 
destination was several miles farther north, 
at Big Grove. After spending three weeks 
at Linn Grove, he with the assistance of the 
few settlers living at Big Grove, built a log 
cabin at the latter place, about a mile and 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



a half south of where Urbana is now lo- 
cated, and there the family began life in true 
pioneer style, encountering the usual trials 
and difficulties of such an existence. There 
were but very few cabins scattered through- 
out the county at that time, and no other 
improvements of any kind, the country be-' 
ing an unbroken prairie. For a few years 
wild game furnished about the only meat for 
our pioneer family, and they lived on this 
and what produce they could raise. All 
trading was done in Chicago, which was then 
^ a village, and to which the family made a 
trip only about once .a year. The early 
settlers traded considerably with the Indians, 
which at that time were quite numerous in 
this locality. While game of all kinds was 
plentiful, and our subject has seen as many 
as thirty deer in one drove, and these were 
often killed with clubs, it being unnecessary 
to use firearms. The father died at the age 
of about fifty years after about sixteen years 
spent in this county, and the mother after- 
ward passed away while visiting relatives in 
Kentucky. He was a very industrious man 
and was well liked by all the early settlers. 
Our subject, being the eldest son, had no 
opportunity of attending school, as his ser- 
vices were needed at home. He was only 
twenty years of age when his father died and 
the support of the family fell mainly upon 
him. At that time there was a debt upon 
the farm which he paid off, he buying one 
hundred acres of the old homestead when 
sold. He worked early and late, making 
what improvements he could from time to 
time, as well as paying up the debts con- 
tracted. When these were settled, he be- 
gan adding to his farm until he secured two 
hundred and eighty acres of valuable land 
still in the family. It has been thoroughly 
tiled and good and substantial buildings 



erected thereon. Although not having any 
education, he made a success of life, 
and for a number of years was the largest 
shipper of live stock in the county. His 
specialty was hogs, cattle and sheep, and 
he fed all the grain raised by him to his 
stock and purchased more for that purpose. 
He continued to actively engage in business 
until 1894, when he removed to Sidney to 
educate his children, where he lived a re- 
tired life. There he purchased one acre of 
ground and erected thereon a comfortable 
modern residence, that he and his wife might 
en-joy a much needed rest. Being of an 
energetic nature, he, however, felt more con- 
tented when occupied with work, and pre- 
ferred his farm to life in the village. He 
always enjoyed excellent health, and never 
had occasion to call a physician for himself. 

On the 6th of March, 1850, Mr. Deere 
married Miss Harriet Thomas, who was 
born in Sidney township, this county, in 
1833, her parents being among the early set- 
tlers of that section of the county. She has 
only one sister living, Melissa, widow of 
John Burdell, a resident of Kansas. She 
had one brother, Joseph, who died in 1863, 
in the service of his country during the 
Civil war. 

Of the twelve children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Deere, four died in infancy, and two 
others are now deceased, namely: Mary, 
who married Bert Hudson, of Sidney town- 
ship, and died in 1896, leaving five children; 
and Solomon, who died unmarried at the 
home of his parents in 1897. The others 
are as follows: Joseph, a successful farmer 
of Shelby county, Illinois, is married and has 
three children; Harriet is the wife of Robert 
Butler, who is engaged in mercantile busi- 
ness in Washington, and they have five 
children; Ella is the wife of George Griffin, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



293 



who lives' on a part of her father's farm 
north of Sidney, and they have two children; 
Ollie is the wife of Arthur Kuhns, a street 
car conductor of Chicago, and they have 
two children; James C., who has been a suc- 
cessful teacher for several years, is a gradu- 
ate of the Sidney high school, and also at- 
tended the University at Champaign and at 
Effingham ; and Nora, an accomplished young 
lady living at home, is also a graduate of 
the Sidney high school. 

Mr. Deere was a consistent member and 
liberal supporter of the Methodist Episcopal 
church of Sidney, of which body his wife is 
also a member. He was a stanch supporter 
of the Democratic party, but would never 
accept office. Beginning life a poor boy 
and in debt, his success was remarkable, and 
was due entirely to his own hard work, good 
management and perseverance. Although 
of a quiet, retiring disposition, he made 
many friends, and his sterling worth and 
strict integrity gained him the confidence of 
all with whom he came in contact. His 
death, which occurred April 5, 1900, was a 
sad loss to the community, and the bereaved 
family have the heartfelt sympathy of his 
and their many friends. 



DANIEL M. LEHMAN, a valued citi- 
zen of Champaign, is of German de- 
scent, his great-great-grandfather having 
been born in Germany, but his great-grand- 
father, his grandfather, his father and him- 
self were born in Pennsylvania, and from 
the early history of that state the family 
has borne an important part in its develop- 
ment and progress. The mother of our 
subject, Rebecca, daughterof William Haak, 
was a native of Lebanon county, same state, 



and her ancestors, also, were prominently 
associated with the founding of that great 
commonwealth. She was called to her re- 
ward in 1858, and left seven children to 
mourn her loss. Henry, who enlisted in the 
war of the Rebellion and did valiant service 
for the stars and stripes, was never heard 
from after the second days' battle of the 
Wilderness, in which it is known that he 
took part. David, the fourth of the family, 
died in California'. Franklin, Samuel, Cy- 
rus and Amanda, widow of Dr. H. Hess, 
reside in Sidney, Illinois, or in the town- 
ship of the same name. The father, Will- 
iam Lehman, now an octogenarian, and an 
honored citizen of Sidney for more than 
three decades, was for many years actively 
engaged in building and contracting, and for 
a period employed more workmen than any 
other man in his line of business. Many 
enduring monuments, such as churches and 
fine public buildings, will perpetuate his 
name for years to come, and in the town 
records of Sidney it is shown that he was 
president of the board of city fathers for a 
long period, and aided materially in the im- 
provement of the place. Formerly he 
owned valuable farm lands, and he yet con- 
trols considerable property. He was one 
of the foremost members of the German 
Lutheran church at Myerstown, Pennsyl- 
vania, and liberally contributed to the house 
of worship which he erected for that con- 
gregation. 

Daniel M. Lehman, born in Myerstown, 
Pennsylvania, January 12, 1846, attended 
the public schools there until he was thir- 
teen years of age. His mother had died 
about a year previously, and the lad deter- 
mined to commence earning his own liveli- 
hood ere he was fourteen. He learned the 
shoemaker's trade, and was thus employed 



294 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



during the rest of his youth. During the 
Civil war, when the rebel army had pene- 
trated into his loved native state, Mr. Leh- 
man enlisted in July, 1863, in Company H. , 
Thirty-first Pennsylvania Militia, and was 
sent within six miles of the point where the 
contending forces were fighting the dread- 
ful battle of Gettysburg, with a view of cut- 
ting off the Confederates' retreat. At the 
end of four months he was discharged from 
the home guards, and offered his services to 
the Union army. Becoming a private of 
Company H, One Hundred and Eighty- 
sixth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, he 
was assigned to the eastern department of 
the army, and was honorably discharged 
from the service in August, 1865, then only 
nineteen years old. He was chosen as one 
of the special guards of honor to escort the 
remains of our martyred Lincoln through 
Philadelphia to the last resting place chosen 
for that hero. 

In 1866, Mr. Lehman went to Walton, 
Indiana, where, for six months, he worked 
as a lumberman, cutting logs for a saw-mill. 
He then proceeded to Urbana, Illinois, 
where he arrived in April, 1867, and for 
eighteen years he was employed as a con- 
ductor on one of the street-car lines there, 
being the oldest employe of the company in 
years of continuous service. Prior to this, 
however, he had operated a mill there for 
about two years. From Urbana he went 
to Champaign, and in 1892 built a resi- 
dence and store at No. 709 North Neil 
street, Champaign, and since then has 
conducted a grocery. As this is the only 
grocery in this section of the town, he is 
prospering and building up a large trade. 
In addition to this, he is financially inter- 
ested in the new sugar mill which is in 
process of construction, and has proven his 



business ability and foresight in unmistak- 
able ways. 

Mr. Lehman has been married three 
times. His first wife was Miss Emma 
Bates, daughter of Benjamin Bates, a 
farmer. They were married April 25, 1880. 
They had one son, Fred, who is now em- 
ployed in Chicago. The second marriage 
was with Mary Falconer, by whom he had 
two daughters, Mabel and Grace, who live 
at home with their father. The third wife 
was Mrs. Lillie Powell. The family attend 
the Baptist church, of which Mrs. Lehman 
is a member. Fraternally, Mr. Lehman 
belongs to Black Eagle Post, G. A. R., and 
has been a delegate from that organization 
to the state encampment. He is also a 
member of the Knights of Pythias, Uni- 
formed Rank, and is treasurer of the home 
lodge. 



ARTHUR RICE, who for a quarter of a 
century has resided upon his present 
homestead, and in Champaign county, is one 
of the most respected citizens of Champaign 
county. He is a native of Wood county, 
West Virginia, his birth having occurred 
February 9, 1839. His father, Shel- 
ton Rice, came to Champaign county 
with his family, in 1854, and bought land 
and spent the rest of his life in Sadorus 
township. His wife, whose maiden name 
was Elizabeth Brown, died in Virginia in 
1852, and he survived her about ten years. 
Of their six children, David is a farmer of 
Sadorus township; John died in this county 
in 1861, and left one child; Henry died in 
Cherokee county, Kansas, and left a wife; 
Sarah married John Rawlings, and lives in 
Cherokee, Kansas; and Martha is the wife of 
George Harrison, of Santamonica, California. 




ARTHUR RICE. 




MRS. ARTHUR RICE. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



299 



Until he was about fifteen years of age, 
Arthur Rice lived in his.native place. When 
he came to Illinois, the journey was made 
by the water route to Terre Haute, Indiana, 
whence he came to this county by team. 
Here he assisted his father in making a new 
home, and continued to give him his time 
until he reached his majority. Upon com- 
mencing his independent career he rented 
land for several years, after which he bought 
eighty acres of land in Pesotum township, 
going into debt, however, to a large extent 
in order to possess the place. In the course 
of a few years he not only had met all pay- 
ments as he had agreed to do, but had made 
man}' substantial improvements as well. 
Later, he added other property to his landed 
possessions and made a specialty of raising 
live stock, in which he was particularly suc- 
cessful. In 1892, he removed to Cham- 
paign, in order to give his son better educa- 
tional advantages, and in 1897 came to his 
present place where he has since made his 
home. 

The marriage of Mr. Rice and Mary A. 
Lee, daughter of Squire and Elizabeth A. 
(James) Lee, was solemnized February 26, 
1863. She was born in Pulaski county, 
Kentucky, November 23, 1843, and both of 
her parents also were natives of that state. 
In the fall of 1850 the family removed to 
what now is known as Douglas county, Illi- 
nois, and a few years later they settled in 
Pesotum township, Champaign county, 
where he accumulated a large and valuable 
amount of land. He was very active in 
public affairs of his vicinity, and his wife 
was prominent in the work of the Baptist 
church. He was long survived by his wife, 
who departed this life in August, 1896. 
Martha J., their eldest child, married Parker 
Gregory, of Labette county, Kansas. 



George W., James H. and Henry are enter- 
prising farmers of Pesotum township. Noah 
died upon the old homestead, leaving a wife 
and thcee children. Sarah, deceased, was 
the wife of Thomas Adair, now a resident of 
Critenden township. To the union of our 
subject and wife four children have been 
born, namely; Nora E. , now the wife of A. 
A. Armstrong, proprietor of the Broaddus 
stock farm, in Douglas county; Martha A., 
wife of G. W. Temple, .connected with the 
Champaign Business College; and Fred L. , 
who is at home with his parents. Ollie died 
in infancy. 

Politically, Mr. Rice uses his ballot in 
favor of the Prohibition party, and. while he 
has not been an aspirant to public offices, 
he has acted as one of the commissioners of 
highways, a member of the school board or 
in some other local position during most of 
his mature life. Both himself and wife are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church 
of Champaign. They possess the esteem of 
everyone, and by honest worth have earned 
the high position they occupy in the com- 
munity. 



HON. RANDOLPH C. WRIGHT, one 
of the best-known memb'ers of the 
Champaign county bar, is now living prac- 
tically retired, in Homer, which pleasant 
village has been his place of abode for 
many years. The history of his life is ex- 
tremely interesting, in detail, as the strug- 
gles and triumphs of a self-made pioneer 
lawyer are shown forth, and as nearly all of 
his career has been intimately identified 
with that of Champaign county. From 
time to time he has been honored with re- 
sponsible official positions by his numerous 
friends and acquaintances, and never for a 



300 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



moment did he falter in the execution of 
the duties and trusts thus confided to him. 
He has passed the three score and ten 
milestone of the Psalmist, as his birth took 
place November 3, 1829, in Randolph 
county, Indiana. His paternal grand- 
father, John B. Wright, a native of Vir- 
ginia, was one of the pioneers of Randolph 
county, Indiana, and of Vermilion county, 
Illinois. In the last mentioned county, 
where he arrived in the fall of 1830, he en- 
tered land from the government, and culti- 
vated the tract until shortly before his 
death. In his early manhood he followed 
the trade of a blacksmith, but in later years 
he was exclusively devoted to agriculture. 

To himself and wife nine children were 
* 

born, Jesse B., father of our subject, being 
the eldest. He learned the blacksmith's 
trade of his father, and also cultivated 
land, but his career was untimely ended, 
as he enlisted when twenty-five years old in 
the war with the Blackhawks, and while 
stationed in Rock Island, Illinois, died of 
cholera, then prevailing. He had married 
in the Hoosier state, Mary Draper, who, 
like himself, was a native of Ohio, and of 
their four children, the two younger ones, 
Mary J., and Sylvester, died in in- 
fancy. Eliza, who married Alvah 
Hubbell, now deceased, resides in De- 
catur, Illinois. The mother became the 
wife of Henry Swisher, and nine children 
were born of their marriage. She departed 
this life in 1882, when seventy-two years of 
age, and Mr. Swisher also is deceased. 

R. C. Wright was quite young when he 
was brought to this state, and after his 
father's death, the family removed to 
Champaign county. Here he attended the 
primitive district schools of the period, but 
being eager to obtain better advantages, he 



did not rest content with this. He contin- 
ued his pursuit of an education in the Ran- 
dolph county, Indiana, Academy, for about 
two years, after which he went to the Ur- 
bana schools for some time, and to the 
Georgetown Seminary in Vermilion county. 
He then taught school in Homer for two 
terms, and had charge of schools in Vance 
township, and St. Joseph township, Ver- 
milion county, for two terms. After his 
marriage, in the spring of 1853, he was oc- 
cupied in farming for several years. 

The energy and ability of the young 
man, as well as his integrity and excellent 
reputation, led to his being called upon to 
occupy public positions in his own commu- 
nity at an early date. He served as justice 
of the peace for several years and was coun- 
ty surveyor for twelve years, and in 1860, 
while still acting in the latter capacity, he 
was elected as sheriff of Champaign county, 
and served for the term of two years. His 
first presidential vote was cast for Winfield 
Scott, and since the organization of the Re- 
publican party he has been loyal to its 
principles. In the fall of 1870 he was 
elected to the legislature, where he acted as 
a member of the judicial committee, and on 
other important committees, during the long 
ten months' session. At the end ol that 
time, he was so wearied with his protracted 
experience in the assembly that he would 
not permit his name to be announced for 
re-nomination. 

The admission of R. C. Wright to the 
bar of Champaign county, in 1863, was pre- 
ceded by an examination, so-called, which, 
as compared with that to which the candi- 
dates of today are subjected, was decidedly 
amusing. Upon a very sultry summer day, 
in Urbana, Mr. Wright met William X. 
Coler and William B. Webber on the street, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



301 



and, as he had learned that they, in com- 
pany with "Uncle Billy" Somers, were to 
examine him, preparatory to his admission 
to the bar, he requested them to go with 
him to the office of Mr. Somers. They 
complied, and the young man, addressing Mr. 
Somers, told him he had come to be ex- 
amined, and, that as he, "Uncle Billy," 
was the eldest one present, he might begin 
the questioning. That worthy gentleman 
replied that he knew that Mr. Wright was 

a d d good lawyer, and he didn't care to 

bother with questions. The others on be- 
ing appealed to, in turn, made substantially 
the same answer, and agreed that if he 
would make out his own certificate they 
would sign it. 

Thus was Mr. Wright launched upon a 
legal career which covered a period of about 
thirty-five years. While his residence con- 
tinued to be in Homer, he had an office in 
Urbana, also, and his practice was not con- 
fined to this county, but embraced Ver- 
milion, Ford, Douglas, and other neighbor- 
ing counties. In the autumn of 1884 he 
was elected to the office of states attorney, 
and served acceptably to all concerned for 
the term of four years. Later he opened 
an office in Danville, conducting a large 
amount of legal business in that locality, 
yet paying due attention to all of his other 
clients elsewhere. During the past year he 
has been practically retired, his long and 
arduous service, both as a professional and 
public man, justly entitling him to rest. 
With all of the varied demands upon his 
time and sympathy, he has not neglected 
the special duties which devolve upon the 
citizens of a community, and as a member 
of the town board of Homer, he has loyal- 
ly aided in the progress and maintenance of 
his home village. 



The first marriage of Mr. Wright took 
place May 18, 1853, the lady of his choice 
being Jane E. Moore, a native of New York 
state, and daughter of Enoch Moore, who 
came to Illinois at an early day, settling in 
Vermilion county. A tailor by trade, he 
followed that calling in Indiana for a num- 
ber of years. He had seven children, Mrs. 
Wright being the first born of his second 
union. Nine children blessed the marriage 
or R. C. and Jane Wright, namely: Otto, 
who died at the age of six months; Alice, 
who only lived to reach eighteen months; 
Freddie, who died when five years old; Bruce, 
who died unmarried, when in his thirty-first 
year; Mary, wife of Edward Beamer, a pros- 
perous farmer and stock-raiser of South Da- 
kota; Maude A., who married William 
Splawn, now engaged in agriculture and 
stock raising in Washington; Edwin R. , 
who married Edith Blue, and now is em- 
ployed by the Big Four railroad as a painter 
in the shops at Urbana, Illinois; Belle, wid- 
ow of Wm. Sausaman, and now living in 
Homer; and Jesse, who, like his next older 
brother, is a painter by trade, and is occu- 
pied in that calling at present in the Big 
Four shops at Urbana. Mrs. Beamer has 
one child; Mrs. Splawn has five children; 
Edwin R. , is the father of two children, and 
Mrs. Sausaman has three children, one of 
whom, Eugene, makes his home with our 
subject, his grandfather. Mrs. Jane Wright 
departed this life, June 20, 1889, after hav- 
ing faithfully performed the manifold duties 
which had fallen to her as the "home maker" 
for her large family, during the thirty-six 
years of net married life. Mr. Wright mar- 
ried his present wife, formerly the widow of 
James Thompson, and in her girlhood, Eva- 
line C. Butler, May 25, 1890. Her father, 
Thomas L. Butler, was one of the honored 



302 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



early settlers of Champaign county, and, in 
company with the father of our subject, 
served in the Blackhawk war. He was en- 
gaged in farming in Sidney township, 
this county, until within a few years of his 
death, which occurred at his residence in 
Homer, where he was living retired from 
the active cares to which the major portion 
of his life had been given. Both our sub- 
ject and his wife were members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church for many years, he 
serving as secretary of the church board. 
They were loved and highly esteemed by 
every one who knew them, and their mem- 
ory is cherished in the hearts of scores of 
their old-time friends. 



WILLIAM B. O'NEAL is one of the 
leading business men and influential 
citizens of Sadorus, one who has done 
much to promote the commercial activity, 
advance the general welfare and secure the 
material development of his section of the 
county. As a business man he is enterpris- 
ing, energetic and always abreast of the 
times, and is now meeting with well merited 
success, being associated with David Rice 
in the stock, lumber and undertaking busi- 
ness. 

A native of Ohio, Mr. O'Neal was born 
near Circleville, Pickaway county, in Sep- 
tember, 1 86 1, and on the paternal side is of 
Irish descent, his ancestors having been 
compelled to leave their native land on ac- 
count of religious persecution and seek 
homes on this side of the Atlantic. The 
parents of our subject are Marshall and 
Margaret (Baird) O'Neal, both of whom 
were born in Muskingum county, Ohio, the 
former in 1832, the latter in 1830. When 



four years old the father was taken by his 
parents to Davenport, Iowa, but after re- 
siding there four years, they returned to 
Ohio, where he grew to manhood, being 
educated in the schools of his native state. 
He followed farming there until 1871, when 
he sold out and moved to Piatt county, Illi- 
nois, locating on a farm near Monticello, 
where he made his home until 1890. Since 
then he has resided on a farm near Elliott, 
in Ford county, this state. His entire life 
has been devoted to .agricultural pursuits. 
He was a soldier of the Civil war, serving 
as a member of the One Hundred and 
Eightieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under 
General Thomas, for a year and a half dur- 
ing the latter part of the war, and was with 
Sherman on his celebrated march to the 
sea. He also took part in the battle of 
Chancellorsville and numerous other en- 
gagements. 

Of the eleven children born to the 
parents of our subject, two died in infancy. 
The others are as follows: Sarah E. is the 
wife of Samuel Bush, a farmer of Ford 
county; John L. is a farmer near Fort 
Dodge, Iowa; Charlotte, deceased, was the 
wife of Charles Jones, of Piatt county, Illi- 
nois; Joanna, deceased, was the wife of 
Isaac Bailey, living near Bondville, Scott 
township, Champaign county; William B., 
our, subject, is next in order of birth; Lin- 
coln is engaged in farming with his brother 
John in Iowa, both being unmarried; 
Charles is a resident of East Bend town- 
ship, this county; and Corwin and Lemuel 
B. are both at home. 

The primary education of William B. 
O'Neal was obtained in the common schools 
of Ohio. He was ten years of age when 
brought by his parents to this state, and in 
Piatt county he completed his education, 




DR. P. C. HOSIER. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



303 



at the same time aiding his father in the 
operation of the home farm until he attained 
his majority. The following year he worked 
as a farm hand and then went to North 
Dakota, where he spent nine months, but 
not finding a suitable location, he returned 
home, and the following spring went to 
Vernon county, Missouri, remaining there 
only a few months, however, when he pur- 
chased a team and made a trip overland to 
Kansas City and Eastern Kansas. From 
there he went to Nebraska, but finally re- 
turned to Illinois, concluding that this state 
was good enough for him, and in 1885 he 
began farming for himself in Piatt county. 

On the 4th of February, 1889, in that 
county, Mr. O'Neal married Miss Florence 
Bond, who was born there, a daughter of 
Daniel S. and Mary R. (Gates) Bond. Her 
father is now deceased, but her mother, a 
native of Vermont, is still living and makes 
her home in Monticello. She has eight 
children living, namely: Edward; Albert, a 
resident of Ivesdale, this county; Ernest, 
Lilla, Charles, Nellie, Lois, and Fred. 
After his marriage, Mr. O'Neal came to 
Champaign county, and rented a farm in 
Colfax township, where he engaged in general 
farming. There his son, William D., was 
born in 1 892, but the wife and mother passed 
away February 19, 1895. He was again 
married, June 14, 1899, his second union 
being with Miss Mae A. Campbell, who was 
born in Sadorus township, this county, July, 
1874. Her father, David Campbell, was a 
prosperous farmer of that township, but is 
now living retired in Champaign. He has 
five children, Mae A., Ashton, Daisy, Murrel 
and Retta. 

In 1896 Mr. O'Neal left the farm and 
moved to Sadorus, where he worked for 
David Rice in the elevator for a short time, 



and then formed a partnership with that 
gentleman, purchasing a half interest in his 
business. They deal in lumber and carry a 
line of undertaker's supplies, being the only 
representatives of the latter business in the 
town, but they give special attention to 
stock. They are interested in breeding fine 
imported horses, of the Norman, Belgium 
and German coachbreeds, and also roadsters, 
and in this branch of their business have 
met with most excellent success. They also 
buy and ship stock extensively, and occupy 
an honorable position in business circles, 
beingupright and reliable in all theirdealings. 
In 1899 Mr. O'Neal purchased his present 
home and besides his pleasant residence, 
he has five acres of land in the village, set 
out in orchards and small fruits. 

Politically Mr. O'Neal is one of the 
prominent Republicans of his community, 
and served as chairman of the township 
committee while a resident of Colfax town- 
ship. He served as president of the village 
board for two years, and inaugurated a re- 
form in the management of affairs for the in- 
terest of the people. Religiously he is a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and socially is a member of the Modern Wood- 
men Camp, No. 3302, of Sadorus, in which 
he has passed through all the chairs and if 
now serving as banker. He is one of the 
most popular and highly esteemed citizens 
of the town, and his pleasant, genial manner 
makes him friends wherever he goes. 



PHILIP C. MOSIER, M. D., deceased. 
I Almost half a century ago this honored 
man located in Homer, Illinois, and during 
this long period, which has witnessed the 
transformation of the wild prairie into fer- 



304 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tile and highly cultivated homesteads, he 
has been actively associated with the pro- 
gress of Champaign county. No one in this 
section was considered better authority on 
the early and later history of this portion of 
the county, and his accounts of pioneer days 
were extremely interesting. 

The Mosier family originated in Holland, 
but several generations have dwelt in Amer- 
ica. Philip Mosier, the grandfather of our 
subject, resided in Pennsylvania, and re- 
moved to North Carolina, where his son 
George was born. Later they went to In- 
diana, and, upon arriving at maturity, the 
latter commenced farming in Harrison coun- 
ty. Subsequently he purchased land in 
Fountain county", Indiana, and in 1854 he 
came to Homer township, where he passed 
the remainder of his life. He entered the 
silent land, March 8, 1880, having survived 
his first wife, the mother of Philip C., some 
thirty-two years. She bore the maiden 
name of Maria Criswell, her parents being 
Elijah and Elizabeth Criswell. The father 
was born in Virginia, was married in Ken- 
tucky, and settled in Indiana at an early day. 
He dwelt in Floyd county, where he owned 
a well cultivated farm and fine fruit place, 
and was the most extensive grower and 
dealer in fruit in his locality. 

George and Maria Mosier were blessed 
with six children, namely: Elijah, who died 
when in his twentieth ^year; Elizabeth, who 
died, leaving her husband, William Pickett, 
and their four children; Philip C. ; Martha 
C., who married Dr. G. W. Hartman, of 
Fountain county, Indiana, and died, leaving 
two children; Nancy D., who married A. J. 
Castle; and Eliza J., who became the wife 
of G. W. Cory, of Tippecanoe county, In- 
diana, and removed to Champaign county 
at an early day, her death taking place here, 



October 30, 1858. She left two children, 
and Mr. Cory is now a resident of Okla- 
homa. One of the most dreadful things 
which ever occurred in the history of the 
Mosier family was the murder of Nancy D. 
and A. J. Castle, who, soon after their mar- 
riage, started for the west in a wagon, with 
the intention of founding their new home in 
Boone county, Iowa. On the journey, 
which was undertaken in 1856, the young 
couple were killed by border ruffians, and 
their bodies were concealed under some 
corn shocks in a field near Montezuma, Iowa. 

Dr. Philip C. Mosier was born Decem- 
ber 31, 1827, in Harrison county, Indiana, 
and in his boyhood attended the primary 
log cabin subscription schools of the period. 
At eighteen years of age he taught school 
in Fountain county for three months, and 
when twenty he commenced the study of 
medicine with Dr. W. C. Turner, of Jack- 
sonville, Indiana. He then continued his 
medical work under the tutelage of Drs. 
McNutt and Mackey, of Annapolis, Indiana, 
and for two terms was a student in an ex- 
cellent school conducted by the society of 
Friends, at Bloomingdale, same state. 

Upon engaging in practice. Dr. Mosier 
was located in Milford and Newtown, In- 
diana, for about two years, after which he 
bought some property in Homer, Illinois. 
Here he arrived with his bride of a few 
days, April 15, 1851, and here he made 
his home ever since. He was engaged in 
practice in the village for six years, after 
which he was obliged to retire for a year, on 
account of poor health. Again resuming his 
accustomed labors, he ministered to the 
needs of the sick and suffering until 1862, 
when he found it necessary to withdraw from 
active practice. In the meantime, he had 
purchased a farm of four hundred acres in 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



305 



this township, and this place he leased until 
1871, when he began its cultivation himself. 
He had planted large peach and apple or- 
chards, and made many other material im- 
provements as the years rolled by, develop- 
ing his homestead into one of the best in the 
county. In 1890, having amassed sufficient 
means for his remaining years, he located 
permanently in the town of Homer, where 
he was so well known and justly esteemed. 
By industry and good business ability, he 
made a snug fortune, and was quite an ex- 
tensive land owner, as, in addition to his 
home farm, he had eighty acres of land in 
Arkansas county. Arkansas; two hundred 
acres on the borders of beautiful Spirit Lake, 
Dickinson county, Iowa; a quarter section 
of well cultivated land in Jackson county, 
Minnesota; and fifty-one acres of fine land 
in Florida; he also had tjbree hundred and 
forty-two acres in Yancy and Christian 
counties, Missouri, in which state he has 
spent several winters, and sixty acres in 
Coffey county, Kansas. 

In all of his joys and sorrows for nearly 
half a century Dr. Mosier found a true help- 
mate in his wife, formerly Dorothy J. Bur- 
ton, to whom he was married April 3, 1851. 
Her parents, Clement N. and Ann T. (Mer- 
riweather) Burton, were natives of Virginia, 
the former born in 1790, and the latter in 
1811. They were married in Louisville, 
Kentucky, when that place comprised about 
a dozen log cabins, all told. The young 
couple moved to New Albany, Floyd county, 
Indiana, and conducted a grocery for two 
years, after which they settled in Park 
county, Indiana. The county had not yet 
been organized, and their nearest neighbor, 
the father of Senator Harlan, lived five miles 
distant. Mrs. Mosier was five years old when 
her parents removed to Rockville, Indiana, 



and there her father carried on a boot and 
shoe store until 1848. Later, he resided in 
Fountain county, Indiana, and in Butler 
county, Iowa. He died March 16, 1864, 
having survived his first wife, whose death 
took place December 2 5, 1840. 

The eldest brother of Mrs. Mosier was 
John M., who died of typhoid fever when 
twenty-one years of age. William E. was 
killed at Clarksville, Iowa, being struck by 
an engine. He left a widow, formerly Mar- 
tha A. Morris, and one chilcl. Mary Ann 
died in infancy. Lucinda C. , who died in 
1884, was the wife of William Bradbury, of 
Taylor county, Iowa, and was the mother 
of eleven children. Eliza R. died in 1840, 
unmarried. James M., who died in 1866, 
had married Mary J. Guy, and had eight 
children. H. F. L. , formerly a resident of 
Homer, and a captain in the Union army 
during the Civil war, died in 1897, leaving 
a widow, formerly Ellen Edwards, and four 
children. Lucretia C. , wife of R. T. Crow- 
ell, and mother of ten children, lives at 
Spirit Lake, Iowa. Rachel L. , of Clarks- 
ville, Iowa, is the widow of William Poisal, 
who was a soldier in the Civil war, and died 
while at home, having received his dis- 
charge a month previous to his death, and 
they had two children. Henry H. died at 
the age of nineteen years. The second wife 
of Mrs. Mosier's father was Mrs. Rachel 
(Roby) Taylor, and the three children born 
to them were: George H., who was killed 
at the battle of Pleasant Hills, Louisiana; 
Joseph C., who married Emma Lansing, and 
lives at Clarksville, Iowa; and Mary E., 
who with her husband, Frank L. Champlin, 
and one child, lives at Little Valley, New 
York. 

Dr. Mosier and wife were not blessed 
with children of their own, but they played 



306 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the part of loving parents to two lads whom 
they adopted, and who love them as loyally 
as though they were their own parents. 
George T. Poage, who resided in the Doc- 
tor's home from the time he was nine years 
of age until his marriage, April 14, 1880, is 
a promising young business man of Homer, 
where he is an agent for various life, fire 
and lightning insurance companies. He 
wedded Dollie Hayes, and has two children, 
Thomas and Mary. Valentine Jacobus, who 
was sheltered in Dr. Mozier's home from 
his seventh to his twenty-third year, has 
been in the employ of C. H. Baddeley, a 
grocer of Champaign, for some time. 

Fraternally, the Doctor was a member 
of Homer Lodge, No. 252, I. O. O. F., the 
Sons of Temperance and the Good Temp- 
lars, and was a representative to the State 
Encampment of the Union League, at 
Springfield, Illinois, October 16, 1873. 
Since 1856 he was a stalwart Republican, 
and for many years held minor local offices. 
For ten years he was supervisor of Homer 
township, for several years was a justice of 
the peace and member of the school board, 
served on the court house commission, and 
the town board of Homer., and in innumer- 
able ways demonstrated his patriotic zeal 
for the advancement of this community. 
He was one of the most persistent advocates 
of the matter of enlarging the poor farm, 
and, accordingly, eighty acres were added to 
the original tract of forty acres. This prop- 
erty has been increased in value by proper 
management, and it is generally conceded 
that this move was one of the best ever 
made by the county commissioners. In 
matters of faith, the Doctor was a believer 
in a future state of the soul, the spirit life, 
but did not credit the inspiration of the 
Bible nor its revelations. 



While in California, Dr. Mosier was 
called to his final rest, at the home of a 
friend in Oakland, April 4, 1900. His re- 
mains were brought back home by his sor- 
rowing wife, and the funeral services were 
conducted at her residence by the Odd Fel- 
lows of Homer, April 12, 1900. 



THOMAS P. STEWART, a well-known 
1 farmer and highly esteemed citizen of 
Harwood township, residing on section 34, 
was born in Shelby county, Ohio, August 
16, 1826, and remained at his birthplace 
until nearly thirty years of age, working on 
the home farm. His parents, Thomas P. 
and Nancy Ann (Nye) Stewart, were na- 
tives of Maryland and Ohio, respectively. 
By trade the father was a millwright, but 
he followed farming throughout the greater 
of his life. He died in Ohio at about the 
age of sixty years, and the mother afterward 
came to Illinois with our subject, dying at 
his home in 1893, at the age of eighty 
years. They were the parents of eight 
children. Elizabeth married in Shelby 
county, Ohio, James Lenox, and they had 
one child, Albert. She died in Shelby 
county, Ohio. Thomas P. is the subject of 
this sketch. Samuel, born in Ohio, moved 
to California, volunteered in the Union 
army during the Civil war, was discharged 
in New Mexico, and there died. Charles, 
born in Ohio, married Mary Shank in his 
'native state, moved to Illinois in 1857, and 
lived in Edgar county. He served as a 
soldier in the Civil war. He is now de- 
ceased. His children are Leonidas Porter, 
Mrs. Annie Hunt, Mrs. Laura Brown, Law- 
son Lafayette and Mrs. Emma Piper. 
Prudence Stewart, born in Ohio, married 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



307 



Fielding Lenox, in Sidney, Shelby county, 
Ohio, and their children are John, Porte, 
James, William and Frank. She died in 
Rantoul. Mary Ann Stewart, born in Ohio, 
married John Owens, and they had one 
daughter, who died in childhood. Mrs. 
Owens died in Ohio. William Harrison 
Stewart, born in Ohio, married Ella Cam- 
era, in Logan, Edgar county. Illinois, and 
they have four children Mrs. Florence 
Mitchell, Mrs. Lottie Belle Cook, Harry, 
and Mrs. Grace Adele Fullenwider. Ellen 
Stewart, born in Shelby county, Ohio, 
married John LaFollette, in Edgar county, 
Illinois, and their children are Wearney 
and Roscoe Conklin. She was for a time a 
teacher in the schools of Rantoul, where her 
death occurred. The Stewarts are of 
Scotch origin, the grandfather of our sub- 
ject being a native of Scotland. The 
Nyes are of German origin, the grand- 
parents being natives of Germany. 

It was in 1857 that our subject came to 
this state, and after living one year in Ed- 
gar county, he located in Coles county, 
where the following two years were passed. 
He also spent four years in Douglas county 
and during all this time was engaged in 
farming. His next home was in Logan 
county, and from there he came to Cham- 
paign county, in 1867, locating upon the 
farm in Harwood township which has since 
been his home. It is a well improved tract 
of sixty acres, and in its cultivation he has 
met with good success. 

On the 1 2th of April, 1851, Mr. Stewart 
was united in marriage with Mrs. Mary Day, 
who was born in England, February 6, 
1815, a daughter of Joseph and Martha 
(Saunders) Kingham. The father died in 
that country in 1828, and in 1832 the 
mother came with her daughter Mary to the 

16 



United States. She passed away near 
Springfield, Ohio, in 1848, at the age of 
seventy-five years. In their family were 
the following children, all born in England, 
and all came to America with the exception* 
of Joseph, (i) William, born October 9, 
1797, died m October, 1850. He married 
Elizabeth Cooper, and had three daughters, 
Sarah, wife of John Markley; Maria, wife of 
Joseph Foster, and Harriet, wife of Isaiah 
Wilson, all of whom came to this country 
with their grandmother in 1832. (2) Esther, 
born June 29, 1799, died in December, 1803, 
(3) Joseph, born December 29, 1800, mar- 
ried Nancy Green, of England, and died: 
August 14, 1869. (4) John, born December 
31, 1801, married Diana Goldsmith, of 
England, and died in 1889. (5) James, 
born October 31, 1803, married Lydia Ann 
Knight, of Ohio, and died in the northern 
part of that state in 1873. (6) Bernard, 
born November 26, 1804, died at the age of: 
three months. (7) Elizabeth, born May 
10, 1806, was married, August 26, 1841, to> 
John Powell, and died in 1867. (8) Ann, 
born November 7, 1807, married Thomas 
Hall, of England, and died in Ohio, in 
June, 1878. (9) Sarah, born February 16, 
1810, married William Herbert, of England, 
and died in Sidney, Ohio, April 24, 1899. 
They came to the United States in 1835., 
and located in Clark county, Ohio, where- 
he engaged in blacksmithing. Six of their 
nine children are still living: William G... 
Joseph K., John J., Martha, Thirza, and' 
Ruth, wife of Samuel Lawrence, a farmer 
of Harwood township, this county, (ro) 
George, born March 16, 1811, married 
Emma Harwood, of England. He spent 
twenty-six years as a merchant in New York,, 
but at th end of that time returned to> 
England, where he died in 1887. (n); 



308 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Martha, born March 29, 1812, married 
John Crall, of Ohio, and died April 22, 
1872. (12) Robert, born May 2, 1813, 
lives in Springfield, Ohio. (13) Mary, wife 
of our subject, is the youngest of the 
family. 

Mrs. Stewart first married Lewis Day, a 
native of Maine, and a farmer by occupa- 
tion, who died April 20, 1845, at the age of 
twenty-nine years, and by that union had 
two children: (i) Elizabeth, married Lewis 
Lanman, a farmer of Coles county, Illinois, 
and died May 20, 1867. They had four 
children: Frank, deceased; Cynthia, wife of 
John Green; Annie, wife of Ivan Lang; and 
William, a teacher residing in Gifford. (2) 
Lewis, a farmer of Benton county, Indiana, 
married Fannie Barton, and they have three 
children, William, Frank and Mary. 

Six children were born to our subject 
and his wife, namely: (i) Martha, born in 
Ohio, is now the wile of William Lenox, 
a farmer of Fowler, Benton county, Indiana, 
and they have four sons. (2) George T. , 
born in Shelby county, Ohio, July 27, 1854, 
was educated in the district schools of 
Champaign county, and remained on his 
father's farm until twenty-one years of age, 
when he went to Watertown, South Dakota, 
where for three years he was engaged in the 
photographing business and for five years 
was employed as a clerk. From there he 
went to Oregon, where he was married, 
October 7, 1876, to Addie Vietta Card, a 
daughter of William P. and Aldora (Parr) 
Card. Her father is a native of Michigan 
and a farmer of Oregon. She has one 
brother, Harry Philbert Card, who is en- 
gaged in the cattle business near Pendleton, 
Oregon. George T. Stewart is now living 
on the old homestead with his father. He 
has one child, Ethel Vietta, born February 



i?> 1899. (3) Adam H., born March 12, 
1856, married Ella Williams, by whom he 
has nine children. He is now a farmer and 
stock raiser of Coffey county, Kansas. (4) 
Sarah E. , born January 2, 1860, married 
John Beacham, a farmer of Indiana, and 
died December 26, 1898, leaving five chil- 
dren. (5) Prudence E., 'born November 25, 
1860, was married October 30, 1883, to 
Robert W 7 ood, of Harwood township, and 
they have five children. (6) Thomas P., 
the oldest of the family died in infancy. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Stewart are earnest 
and consistent Christians, the former a mem- 
ber of the Methodist church, the latter of 
the Baptist church. He is a stanch support- 
er of the Republican party, but has never 
cared for office. 



JOHN E. NYE. Prominent among the 
business men of Thomasboro is num-- 
bered the gentleman whose name introduces 
this sketch. No one in the vicinity is better 
known, for there almost his entire life has 
been passed, and all his interests from boy- 
hood have been closely identified with those 
of that locality. In his special line of busi- 
ness he has met with success, and by the 
energy and zeal which he has manifested 
he has won the confidence and esteem of 
the public. 

Mr. Nye was born on the 7th of April, 
1855, in Springfield township, Gallia coun- 
ty, Ohio, near the town of Porter. His 
father was Arius Nye, a native of Ohio, and 
a prosperous farmer, who was married April 
ii, 1853, to Rebecca Gardner, also a native 
of Ohio. In September, 1857, the family 
moved to Champaign county, Illinois, and 
located in Somer township, where the father 
engaged in farming on rented land until 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



309 



1864, and then purchased a farm on section 
10, the same township. He made that 
place his home until the spring of 1899, 
when he moved to Urbana, where he is now 
living at the age of sixty-nine years. His 
estimable wife died on the home farm Janu- 
ary ii, 1899. They had three children, of 
whom our subject is the eldest. (2) Lewis 
E., born in Ohio, May 6, 1857, taught 
in the district schools of Somer township, 
this county, for nine years, and died upon 
his farm there April 10, 1895. He married 
Effie Grundendyke, of Marion county, Illi- 
nois, and they had two children: Lois, de- 
ceased; and Maurice. (3) Mary E., born 
in Somer township, October 2, 1863, is the 
wife of Specs N. Prather.who was for many 
years a prosperous farmer of that township, 
but is now living retired in Urbana. They 
have three children, Arius, Darley and Car- 
lisle. 

On reaching man's estate our subject 
engaged in farming in Somer township until 
March, 1891, when he moved to Thomas- 
boro, and has since successfully engaged in 
stock raising, harness making and the livery 
business. On the 9th of December, 1879, 
in Somer township, was celebrated his mar- 
riage with Miss Lyda Ford, a daughter of 
William and Catherine (Bireley) Ford, nat- 
ives of Ohio, who came to Illinois at an 
early date and settled in Somer township, 
Champaign county, where her father en- 
gaged in farming for some years. On dis- 
posing of his farm, he moved to Urbana, 
where he engaged in the agricultural imple- 
ment business and in the importation of 
draft horses from England, Scotland and 
Belgium. He was also a large stockholder 
and director of the First National Bank of 
that city, and was serving as supervisor of 
Urbana township at the time of his death, 



which occurred December 13, 1896. His 
widow is still living and continues to make 
her home in Urbana. To our subject and 
his wife were born four children: Nettie 
E., born October 17, 1880, died in Somer 
township at the age of nine months and 
nine days; Katie M., born in Somer town- 
ship, March 9, 1886, is still living; an in- 
fant unnamed died July 17, 1888; Maudie 
A., born in Somer township, July 29, 1890, 
is living. 

Mr. Nye is a public-spirited citizen who 
takes a deep and commendable interest in 
public affairs; keeps will informed on the 
questions and issues of the day; and casts 
his ballot with the Republican party; but 
has never been a politician in the sense of 
office seeking. On coming to this section 
Thomasboro contained only two or three 
buildings, and there were only four or five 
houses between that place and Rantoul. It 
was not an uncommon sight to see deer 
feeding with the cattle on the prairie. The 
land was scarcely tillable on account of the 
water which covered much of it, but it has 
been gradually redeemed by drainage and 
converted into rich farming land. Mr. Nye 
has watched with interest these changes, 
and has ever borne his part in the work of 
development and improvement. 



M 



of the men of the present generation 
whose lives have become an integral part of 
the history of this county, would be incom- 
plete were there failure to make prominent 
reference to the one whose name heads this 
paragraph. No man has been more inti- 
mately associated with the upbuilding of 
Urbana or has contributed in more direct 



3io 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



manner to its progress along material and 
moral lines. The study of the life of the 
representative American never fails to offer 
much of pleasing interest and valuable in- 
struction, developing a mastering of expe- 
dients that has brought about most wonder- 
ful results. The subject of this sketch 
belongs to that class and is of the type of 
progressive men who promote public good 
in advancing individual prosperity and con- 
serving popular interests. He is now ex- 
tensively and successfully engaged in the 
real estate and insurance business, and 
through his identification with the building 
and loan interests of this section of the 
state has contributed in no small degree to 
the substantial growth of the city in which 
he makes his home. 

Mr. Parks was born near Columbus, 
Ohio, December 31, 1851, and is a son of 
Andrew and Sarah (Eyre) Parks. The 
father, who was born in 1799, was probably 
a native of Pennsylvania, but in his early 
boyhood removed to the Buckeye state 
where he drove a team on the pike. He 
remained in Ohio until the spring of 1852, 
when he took up his abode on a farm near 
Georgetown, Vermilion county, Illinois, 
making his home there until 1860, when he 
removed to the village. There he spent his 
last days in honorable retirement from busi- 
ness life, his death occurring in 1883. His 
wife, who was a native of Pennsylvania, 
and of German lineage, died in 18 . They 
attended the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and Mr. Parks was a stanch Whig in his 
political affiliations until after the dissolu- 
tion of the party, when he became a Repub- 
lican. He left a family of two children by 
his first wife, while by the second union 
there were six children, three sons of the 
Utter family still surviving. 



Milton Scott Parks pursued his educa- 
tion in the common and high schools of 
Georgetown and entered upon his business 
career as a clerk in a dry goods store, in 
April, 1869, at that place. There he re- 
mained until February 7, 1876, and in the 
meantime gained an excellent knowledge of 
the methods of mercantile life. He then 
accepted the position of deputy in the office 
of the circuit clerk, in Urbana, the clerk 
being a warm personal friend. Faithfully 
discharging the duties of the position, he 
continued in the office until April i, 1887, 
when he became manager of the abstract 
office of Frank Wilcox, and continued in 
that position for two years. On account 
of the close confinement which threatened 
to injure his eyesight, he resigned, and later 
began the real estate and insurance business, 
for himself. His experience in the abstract 
business was of great service to him and he 
soon took rank among the leading represen- r 
tative-s of the real estate business in this 
section of the state. By a system of judi- 
cious advertising he secured a very large 
patronage, and not only handled property 
for others, but also became the possessor of 
much property in his own name, continually 
buying and selling. He sold much of his 
real estate on the installment plan, thus 
enabling many to gain homes who otherwise 
could not have done so. For eleven years 
he has carried on a large and profitable 
business, and has been the owner of much 
farm land in Champaign county. He has 
recently become largely interested in real 
estate both in southern Illinois, where he 
has a half interest in two hundred and ten 
acres of land. He also has a half interest 
in thirty-two hundred acres of land in Mis- 
sissippi, and is sole owner of sixteen hun- 
dred acres in the latter state. His property- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



there is rapidly increasing in value on ac- 
count of the drainage and other improve- 
ments he is placing upon it, and in behalf of 
securing better drainage laws for the state 
he is putting forth strong efforts. 

Mr. Parks is a man of resourceful busi- 
ness ability who carries forward to success- 
ful completion whatever he undertakes. 
He is a man of public-spirit and broad 
sympathy and takes delight in advancing 
business interests which will also contribute 
to the general prosperity as well as his in- 
dividual success. He was the principal 
factor in the organization of the Urbana 
Home Loan Association, which was es- 
tablished in July, 1887, and was its first 
secretary and a member of the board of 
directors, which position he has held con- 
tinuously since. He has seen the develop- 
ment of the business from collections of a 
few hundred dollars each month to a month- 
ly collection of about five thousand dollars, 
and the enterprise has been the means of 
helping to build many homes, thus promot- 
ing the rapid growth of the city. Mr. Parks 
has matured seven systems to the entire 
satisfaction of every stockholder, so far as 
is known, and this has meant the handling 
of more than one hundred and forty thou- 
sand dollars. Mr. Parks also aided in or- 
ganizing a Building and Loan Association 
in Clarksdale, Mississippi, conducted after 
the manner of the one in Urbana, and it has 
proved of great benefit to that community. 
He has also written much insurance and in 
that way has added materially to his in- 
come. 

On the 1 2th of June, 1884, Mr. Parks 
was united in marriage to Miss Almeda V. 
Lindley, the eldest daughter of Dr. Mahlon 
Lindley, and they now have three children: 
Paul L., Ralph M. and Frank A. Their 



home is one of the most beautiful in this 
section of the state and is pleasantly situated 
on Green street, Urbana. Frescoes in oil 
adorn many of the ceilings, and the interior 
furnishings and exterior adornments indicate 
the cultured and refined taste of the in- 
mates. All who pass beneath its portals en- 
joy a most warm-hearted hospitality and the 
circle of friends of the family is very exten- 
sive. 

In politics Mr. Parks has always been a 
Republican and has served as chairman of 
the city central committee. He has twice 
been a member of the board of education 
and has done effective service on behalf of 
the schools, but has never been an office 
seeker, preferring to devote his time and 
energies to other interests. Both he and his 
wife are prominent and consistent members 
of the First Methodist Episcopal church, and 
he has been a member of its board of stew- 
ards for about twenty years, during which 
time the new house of worship was erected. 
He acted as one of the solicitors for funds, 
was chairman of the finance committee of 
the board of stewards for a number of years 
and has always taken an active part in the 
work of the church. He also aided in organ- 
izing another church, and in 1892 donated a 
building site near the university. In con- 
sideration of this fact the trustees of the 
Methodist society named the new organ- 
ization "Park's chapel." He was elected a 
trustee of that church, which position he 
held until 1898, and was a member of the 
building committee. The first church was 
burned in 1894, a d he was then made a 
member of the new building committee and 
appointed to solicit for funds for a new 
house of worship. He was made treasurer 
of the building fund as well, and saw the 
church dedicated free from debt, with a 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



small surplus in the treasury for other im- 
provements. More recently he has been act- 
ive in assisting in the organization of a mis- 
sion in the east part of the city, which.is con- 
ducted under the auspices of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, and which it is hoped will 
grow into a self-supporting society. Mrs. 
Parks has been to her husband an able 
assistant in his work. She was a member 
of the first board of managers and is still in 
that capacity connected with the Cunning- 
barn Deaconess Home and Orphanage. She 
has taken a very active and helpful interest 
in its conduct, looking after many details of 
the work. She is also prominent in home 
missionary work and has been treasurer of 
the local society for a number of years. Mr. 
and Mrs. Parks were prime movers in estab- 
lishing one of the leading organizations of 
the Methodist Episcopal church in this part 
of the state, and their labors have been 
most effective in promoting Christian work 
in Champaign county. Mrs. Parks is also a 
member and the first president of the Tour- 
ists' Club an organization of ladies and 
also belongs to other women's clubs. Wher- 
ever Mr. and Mrs. Parks are known they are 
held in the highest regard, having the esteem 
and friendship of a large circle of acquaint- 
ances. He sustains an unassailable repu- 
tation in business circles and in private life 
has gained that warm personal regard which 
arises from true nobility of character, defer- 
ence for the opinions of others, kindliness 
and geniality. 



FJREDERICK PELL is one of the hon- 
1 ored pioneers of Champaign county, 
with whose history his own has been inti- 
mately connected for considerable more than 
half a century. In the agricultural world of 



this region he has been foremost in the race 
for many years, and wherever his influence 
could avail it has been used freely for prog- 
ress and improvements. His record is sin- 
gularly devoid of spot or blemish, and to 
his posterity he will leave an honored name 
a far better heritage than wealth. 

The father of Frederick Pell bore the 
Christian name of Henry, and he was born 
in Virginia, June 4, 1801. His wife, the 
mother of our subject, Sarah (Orme) Pell, 
was a native of Lewis county, Kentucky, 
her birth having occurred June 10, 1800. 
Henry Pell, who was of English descent, 
removed with his widowed mother to Lewis 
county, Kentucky, where he later wedded 
the lady of his choice. They subsequently 
dwelt on the old Orme estate, buying out 
the interests of the other heirs, and there 
this worthy couple spent the remaining years 
of their busy, useful lives. They reared 
.four sons and six daughters to maturity, of 
whom the eldest, Serena, became the wife 
of John Pool, and died, leaving two children; 
Brunetta, still a resident of Lewis county, 
is the widow of Dr. J. D. Secrest; Charles 
B. is a farmer of Kingman, Kansas; Eliza- 
beth wedded Jackson Secrest, of Lewis 
county; Christopher C. is a farmer of La- 
bette county, Kansas; George owns the old 
homestead in Lewis county; Axcey is the 
wife of James Luman, of Labette county, 
Kansas; Amy, unmarried, died in Kentucky; 
and Maria became the second wife of John 
Pool. She survived him and later married 
Amos Ree, of Lewis county. 

Frederick Pell was born on the old Lewis 
county homestead, September 8, 1832, and 
in the old-time subscription schools, in ses- 
sion only a short time each winter, he 
learned the rudiments of knowledge. After 
working for his father until he reached his 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



313 



majority, he was employed as an agricultur- 
ist in the vicinity, until the spring of 1856, 
when he, in company with his brother 
Christopher and E. A. Shaw, started for 
Champaign county. The latter had an 
uncle, Archie Hensley, living here, and the 
township of Hensley was named in honor of 
this relative. The Pell brothers rented a 
farm of three hundred and twenty acres, half 
a mile south of Urbana, and sometime after- 
wards our subject leased a farm on section 
33, managing this place for three years. In 
1 86 1, he bought eighty acres in Philo town- 
ship, from the Illinois Central Railroad Com- 
pany, and energetically proceeded to break 
the land, which was wild prairie. He con- 
tinued to reside on his rented place, how- 
ever, for some time. After his return from 
the war, he resumed his farming enterprises, 
and, having sold his property at a good 
figure, invested his means in a quarter-sec- 
tion of land on section 7, and here he dwelt 
for seventeen years, adding one hundred and 
twenty acres of adjoining property. In 1887 
he built a commodious modern house on his 
farm on section 20, Urbana township. 
Within its hospitable walls he made his 
abode for ten years, anid in 1898 he erected 
a handsome modern house in Urbana. It is 
fitted with a furnace and hot and cold water, 
and, in short, all of the accessories and com- 
forts of a complete modern home. In ad- 
dition to owning five hundred and sixty acres 
of splendid land in Champaign county, he 
owns eight hundred acres in Grand county, 
Kansas. 

In July, 1862, Mr. Pell went forth from 
his home to do battle for his imperiled 
country. Becoming a member of Company 
G, Seventy-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, 
under command of Captain Parks and Col- 
onel Mack, he was assigned with his regi- 



ment to the Seventeenth Army Corps of the 
Army of the Tennessee. He served through- 
out the siege of Vicksburg, the battle of Jack- 
son, where the Union forces were out- 
numbered four to one, and half of his com- 
pany was captured, and later, he participated 
in many other severe engagements. During 
the last months of the war, his regiment was 
commanded to patrol the lower Mississippi, 
and after Lee's surrender, as the news had 
not reached them, he took part in the battle 
of Blakeley, Alabama. His record as a sol- 
dier is one of which he may justly be proud. 
He never lost a day on account of illness, 
and there never was a time when his regi- 
ment was called into action that he was not 
promptly found at his post, ready to fight and 
die, if need be, for the Union. He was 
mustered out at Galveston, Texas, July 20, 
and honorably discharged, August 5, 1865, 
at Chicago. 

When Mr. Pell arrived at home, he found 
no wife to welcome him back, for she had 
been summoned to the better land during his 
absence, on the 2Oth of March, 1865. It 
was on September 24, 1858, that he had 
married Martha Jones, whose birth had 
taken place in Brown county, Ohio, in 1830* 
Two of their sons grew to maturity, Charles 
J., who is employed in the shops of the Pull- 
man Company at Pullman, Illinois, and 
James R., who manages his father's farm in 
Urbana township. In September, 1867, 
Mr. Pell was united in marriage to Mrs. Mary 
A. Cover, daughter of John and Rebecca 
Kiler and widow of John F. Cover. She 
died in August, 1890, and left two children, 
Henry N., who is living upon one of his 
father's farms, and Mary M., wife of Osmer 
G. Mosier, of Wingate, Indiana. On the 
8th of February, 1893, Mr. Pell married 
Sarah J., daughter of Thomas and Mary 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



(Comber) Parkin, both natives of England. 
She was born in Peoria county, this state, 
one of six children, of whom three are de- 
ceased. A. J. resides in Peoria, and Thomas 
is a farmer of Philo township. 

In his political views, Mr. Pell has sided 
with the Democratic party for years. A 
friend to education, he has been a member 
of the school board for nine years, and three 
years held the office of commissioner of high- 
ways. Socially, he is connected with Black 
Eagle Post, No. 29, G. A. R. He has been 
the architect of his own fortunes, and at the 
same time that he has labored to acquire a 
competence, he has sought, no less earnestly, 
to perform his whole duty as a citizen. 



LEWIS A. McLEAN. One of the prom- 
inent representatives of the journalis- 
tic profession is the gentleman whose name 
heads this brief notice, the well-known edi- 
tor and manager of the Champaign County 
Herald of Urbana. He was born May 4, 
1843, in Grafton, Illinois, a small town on 
the Mississippi river, and is a son of Dr. 
John H. and Mary B. (Anderson) McLean. 
The father, who was of Scotch descent, 
died at the early age of twenty-four years, 
but had already given promise of being 
prominent in his profession. The mother, 
a native of Tennessee, is still living and is 
now one of the oldest citizens of Cham- 
paign county. On the i$th of April, 1853, 
the family came to Urbana, and have since 
been residents of this county. 

Mr. McLean received a good public 
school education, being for two years a stu- 
dent in the high school at New Orleans, 
Louisiana. In 1862, he entered the cir- 
cuit clerk's office of Champaign county as 



deputy and remained there for seven years, 
after which he served for some time as dep- 
uty United States internal revenue assessor. 
He then engaged in mercantile pursuits for 
the next eight years, and at the end of that 
time accepted the position of associate edi- 
tor of the Champaign County Gazette, of 
Champaign. He resigned in October, 1882, 
and accepted a similar position on the 
Champaign County Herald, of which the 
late Senator M. W. Mathews was editor 
and proprietor, and on the death of that 
gentleman became editor and manager, in 
which capacity he has since served. 

On the 1 2th of May, 1864, Mr. McLean 
was united in marriage with Miss Jennie 
Russell, a daughter of Dr. Elias L. Russell, 
for many years a prominent physician of 
Des Moines, Iowa. Three children have 
been born to them, namely: Nellie, now 
the wife of Dr. C. C. Lumley, of Chicago; 
Albert H., a machinist and air brake in- 
spector of the Peoria division of the Big 
Four Railroad; and Claire F., a pharma- 
ceutical chemist of Chicago. 

Politically Mr. McLean has been -an ar- 
dent Republican since casting his first pres- 
idential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864, 
and is an active worker for his party's in- 
terests, now serving as a member of the 
executive committee of the county Repub- 
lican committee. For many years he has 
been secretary of the Champaign County 
Old Settlers' Association, and in 1886 and 
1888 was instrumental in securing the por- 
traits and biographies of two hundred old 
settlers; publishing the same in the Herald 
and later in book form, together with a his- 
tory of the county from its organization to 
that date, making a valuable addition to the 
pioneer records of the county. He has been 
prominently identified with the union Sun- 




L. A. McLEAN. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



317 



day school work of the county for the past 
eighteen years, during which time he has 
served either as president, secretary or 
member of the executive committee. He 
has since 1863 been a member of the First 
Baptist church and for many years served 
as superintendent of the Sunday school and 
has always taken an active part in church 
matters, being now and for several years 
past a member of the Board of Trustees of 
said church. He joined the Masonic order 
in June, 1864, and was made a Knight Tem- 
plar in October, 1866, and served as emi- 
nent commander for two years of Urbana 
Comrnandery, No. 16, K. T. , and now is 
and has been for the past fourteen years 
(except the two years above mentioned) the 
prelate of said Commandery. 



/^>EORGE L. WILLIAMSON, M. D. 
V_J In reviewing the history of men who 
have made their mark on the period in 
which they flourished, it is truly wonderful 
to find such a large proportion whose youth 
was devoted to heroic struggling with ad- 
verse circumstances, and whose education 
was obtained only through persistent, in- 
domitable courage and perseverance. There 
can be little question that all of the sturdiest 
traits of character are developed and 
strengthened by such contention, and if the 
mind is not allowed to become imbittered 
in the process, a wholesome, heartfelt sym- 
pathy with struggling humanity results, and 
untold good can be accomplished. The 
student of human nature, in tracing the 
career of the gentleman whose name heads 
this article, cannot but feel that his kindly 
consideration and sympathy for the suffer- 
ing and afflicted has beendeepened and made 



more practical and helpful by the trying 
ordeals through which he passed in his 
early manhood. 

Dr. Williamson, now an honored physi- 
cian of Homer, Champaign county, comes 
of a fine old Virginia family. Both pa- 
ternal and maternal grandfathers were re- 
spected business men of Petersburg, that 
state, the former being a manufacturer of 
carriages there for many years, and the 
latter being engaged in general merchandis- 
ing. The paternal grandmother of the Doc- 
tor lived to reach the extreme age of eighty- 
seven years.. 

His parents, Rev. J. E. and Samantha 
O. (Perkinson) Williamson, are natives of 
Petersburg. The father possesses an ex- 
cellent education, being a graduate of Ran- 
dolph College, a theological university at 
Macon, Georgia. During the Civil war he 
accepted the office of chaplain in one of the 
Confederate regiments, and later he was 
pastor of the Presbyterian church at Parks- 
burg, for several years. In 1872 he came 
to the north, locating in Jacksonville, Illi- 
nois, where he preached for a number of 
years, then going to Viola, Illinois, and at 
present living in Assumption, Illinois. Three 
children were born to himself and wife, 
namely: Emma, who married W. R. Verian, 
and makes her home in Cincinnati, Ohio; 
George L., of this sketch; and James H. , 
who is engaged iu the practice of medicine 
at Assumption, Illinois. 

The birth of our subject took place dur- 
ing the Civil war, at Richmond, Virginia, 
October 2, 1862, and consequently, he was 
about ten years of age when his parents re- 
moved to Illinois. Much of his elementary 
education was acquired in the public schools 
of Clarinda, Iowa, and when he was eight- 
een years of age he entered the office of 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Noble & Corboy, of Winchester, Ohio, and 
commenced the study of medicine. When 
he had been thus occupied for about a 
year he accompanied Dr. Noble when he 
he was called to attend W. W. Young, 
who was at the head of the civil engine- 
ering work on the Cincinnati & Eastern Rail- 
road, and had had a sunstroke. During the 
two or more weeks of Mr. Young's illness, 
Dr. Williamson became well acquainted 
with him, and finally was persuaded to ac- 
cept a place on the civil engineering corps, 
as he had not sufficient funds to enable his 
continuance in the course of study he had 
embarked upon. For two years he re- 
mained in the employ of the railroad, and, 
incidentally, it may be remarked, that, as 
he possessed a large pair of dental forceps, 
he extracted about two hatfulls of teeth. 

In 1893 the Doctor matriculated in the 
Missouri Medical College, of St. Louis, and 
with high hopes of soon reaching the goal 
he had so long had in view, he finished the 
first year's work. But here new trouble 
awaited him money which he had de- 
pended upon and had placed in the hands 
of friends was not forthcoming when he 
needed it, but he wasted no time in re- 
pining. Going to the trustees of Bellefoun- 
tain cemetery, he obtained the work of 
drafting a survey of the grounds, and when 
he had finished the task received three hun- 
dred dollars. 

On the 5th of August, 1884, Dr. Wil- 
liamson married Mary Moffatt, a native of 
Clinton county, 'Illinois, and daughter of 
Joseph W. Moffatt, a farmer of that sec- 
tion. The young couple located in Union, 
Indiana, where the Doctor opened an office 
and .began practicing. He had made a 
gratifying start in his professional career 
when a new stroke of misfortune came to 



him. In the next session of the state Leg- 
islature a law was enacted by which no one 
was entitled to practice save those posses- 
sing a diploma from a recognized medical 
college, or those who had, at the time of the 
enactment of the law, been engaged in prac- 
tice two or more years. Thus our subject was 
excluded, and had to seek other means of 
providing his wife and infant child with a 
livelihood. Returning to St. Louis, he man- 
aged to obtain a situation as keeper of the 
records of the Bellefountain cemetery, and 
for five years he industriously economized 
his means in order to complete his medical 
education. In 1891 he resumed his long in- 
terrupted studies in the Missouri Medical Col- 
lege, and had the honor of ranking third in 
the large class which was graduated in that 
institution, in March, 1893. Soon after- 
wards he came to Homer, where he estab- 
lished himself in practice, and since that 
time he has steadily advanced in the esteem 
of the general public and of his professional 
brethren. He takes considerable interest 
in the improvement and prosperity of the 
town and vicinity, and is associated with 
Homer Lodge, No. 199, F. & A. M., and 
Homer Camp, No. 311, Modern Woodmen 
of America. In his political faith he is a 
Democrat. 

The marriage of the Doctor and his es- 
timable wife was blessed with a son and 
daughter: Paul, who died at the age of eight 
years, and Mary, who is attending the pub- 
lic schools of Homer. 



THE TWIN CITY ICE & COLD STOR- 
AGE CO. of Champaign is one of the 
most progressive and enterprising business 
firms of that city. This company was in- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



3'9 



corporated in April, 1894, and is among the 
pioneers in the manufacture of ice and the 
cold storage business in the state. J. \V. 
Wetrnore is the president and G. B. Storer, 
secretary and manager. Their capital 
stock has been twice increased and is now 
$5,000.00. The cold storage part of their 
business was started in a very small way 
and the capacity of their plant has been in- 
creased from time to time as it became nec- 
essary, so that now they can carry about 
two hundred cars of perishable products. 

In 1899 they erected a five-story brick 
building for cold storage exclusively, and it 
is a model of its kind. Their system of re- 
frigeration and ventilation is under com- 
plete control. They have their own electric 
light plant as well as a complete system of 
telephone connection throughout their 
buildings. All the machinery is in dupli- 
cate, so that in case of an accident to one 
machine the other may be used in its place. 

This company was selected by the 
United States Commission of the Paris Ex- 
position to store the fruit from the state of 
Illinois, which will be on exhibition in 
Paris this summer. Both Mr. Wetmore 
and Mr. Storer were born and reared in 
northern Ohio, Mr. Wetmore having been 
educated at Adelbert College, Cleveland, 
and Mr. Storer at Oberlin. They are en- 
terprising young business men, and it is 
only by strict attention to their business 
that they enjoy the degree of success which 
has come to them. 



/->EORGE KARCHER. The Karcher 
V_J family is numbered among the sterling 
pioneer settlers of Illinois, and, possessing 
the best characteristics of their hardy, in- 



dustrious ancestors, they not only made a 
financial success of their endeavors to make 
a competence in a strange land, but at the 
same time proved themselves to be honor- 
able, patriotic citizens of the land of their 
adoption. 

The 'parents of George Karcher, a 
prominent retired farmer of Champaign 
county, now residing in Tolono, were na- 
tives of Alsace, France, their birthplace 
being near the celebrated city of Strasburg. 
The father, John Karcher, was born in 
1812, and the mother, whose maiden name 
was Salome Stoskopf, was born in 1821. 
After their marriage they decided to cast in 
their fortunes with the United States, and 
accordingly came to Illinois, where they 
purchased land in Stephenson county in 
1841, and proceeded to cultivate the 
property, for they were farmers, coming of 
a race of the peaceful, independent tillers 
of the soil. Energy and concentration of 
purpose, economy and diligence, pursued 
through a long period, resulted in their be- 
coming wealthy, for that day, and, in addi- 
tion to owning fine farms and real estate, 
they had an enviable bank account. The 
father early espoused the principles of the 
Republican party, and thoroughly believed 
in its superiority. He was one of the lead- 
ing and highly respected citizens of Ridott 
township for many years prior to his death, 
and was looked up to for advice and assist- 
ance by his neighbors and friends. Three 
of his eight children died when young, and 
those living are John W. , retired, and mak- 
ing his home in Freeport; George; Sarah, 
who resides with her mother in Freeport; 
Louis, a well known Chicago attorney; and 
Henry, who is engaged in the live stock 
business in Pierre, South Dakota. 

George Karcher was born on his father's 



320 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



homestead in Ridott township, Stephenson 
county, July II, 1845. In his boyhood he 
acquired a practical education in the dis- 
trict schools, and on the farm he mastered 
agriculture. After reaching his majority he 
went to Logan county, where he cultivated 
rented land for some time, and succeeded 
in making a good start on the road to pros- 
perity. In 1870 he came to this county 
and bought a quarter-section of prairie land 
in Tolono township. Here he instituted 
substantial improvements and greatly in- 
creased the value of the farm in various 
ways until to-day it is considered one of the 
best in this section of the county. As he 
could afford it, he purchased other land, 
until he now owns four hundred acres, sit- 
uated on sections 21, 27 and 28. After 
years of active and indefatigable work, he 
determined to retire, as he had amassed an 
ample competence, and since 1888 he has 
dwelt in a pleasant home in the. village of 
Tolono. He leases his farms and has the 
income from a store in Freeport and four 
cottages in Tolono, all of which he owns. 

March n, 1869, was the date of the 
marriage of George Karcher and Jane Stew- 
art, who was born in Dumbartonshire, 
Scotland, February 14, 1850, a daughter of 
Charles and Mary (Griffin) Stewart, natives 
of the land of heather. They came to Illi- 
nois in 1858, settling on a farm in Pike 
county, and later removed to Logan county. 
Thence they went to Council Grove, Kan- 
sas, where the father engaged in preaching 
until shortly before his death. Three of 
his six children died in infancy; James re- 
sides in Texas, and Elizabeth is the wife of 
M. Barber, of Decatur, Illinois. One son 
and two daughters bless the union of our 
subject and wife. Salome, born in Logan 
county, in 1869, is the wife of F. W. Busey, 



of Champaign, and they have one son, Earl. 
William H., born in this county in 1871, 
and now employed as clerk in a store in 
Champaign, is married and has one child, 
Eunice. Jemima, born December 7^ 1872, 
married Edward Buckles, of Tolono, April 
1 6, 1900. 

Mr. Karcher has steadfastly adhered to 
a determination which he formed early in 
his career that he would not officiate in 
public positions or accept political prefer- 
ment. He is a loyal Republican and active 
in every enterprise calculated to benefit this 
community or the country at large. For 
years he was a teacher in the Sunday- 
school of the Tolono Methodist Episcopal 
church, and his family are zealous workers 
in the congregation. 



AB. GLASCOCK, a prominent and in- 
fluential citizen of St. Joseph, Illinois, 
now serving as supervisor of his township, 
is a worthy representative of an honored 
pioneer family of Champaign county. His 
father, Mahlon Glascock, was born in Fau- 
quier county, Virginia, December 28, 1815, 
and was of Scotch descent. His ancestors 
were among the early Virginian colonists. 
Moses and Rebecca (Bishop) Glascock, the 
paternal grandparents of our subject were 
both natives of the Old Dominion, and were 
among the first settlers of Ross county, 
Ohio, but after about one year's residence 
there the grandfather died aged fifty-nine 
years. His wife survived him many years, 
dying in 1875. She possessed one of those 
resolute, determined characters which the 
early pioneer days developed. Some time 
after the removal of the family to Ohio, 
she returned to Virginia alone on horseback 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



32 r 



to attend to the settlement of her father's 
estate. Her horse died on the way, but she 
procured another and proceeded on her 
journey and accomplished her object. 

Mahlon Glascock grew to manhood in 
Ohio, and in Ross county was married, in 
1845, to Miss Hester A. Jester, who was 
born in Delaware, in 1826, and died in 
Champaign county, Illinois, July 20, 1858. 
By this union were born five sons, of whom 
our subject is the oldest; Albert E. was a 
soldier of the Civil war and died in 1865; 
Aquilla, also one of the boys in blue during 
the Rebellion, is now engaged in the imple- 
ment business in Champaign; William died 
in 1876; and Hanson, born in March, 1855, 
died in July, 1859. In 1860 the father mar- 
ried Miss Mary Gill, who died in the year 
1862, and he was again married in 1865, his 
third union being with Mrs. Mary Rankin, 
nee Strong, widow of S. S. Rankin. By 
this marriage he had four children: Grant, 
who married Alta Swearingen, and resides 
on a portion of his father's estate; Jesse R. , 
who married Myrtle Curry, and is also en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits on a part of 
the home farm; Lida, who married Allen 
Hasty and resides on the old homestead; 
and Alta, wife of John V. Swearingen, a 
druggist and undertaker of St. Joseph, this 
county. 

In 1850 the father removed with his 
family from Ross to Fayette county, Ohio, 
where he remained until 1854. In 1844 he 
first came west, walking to Cincinnati, a 
distance of seventy miles from his home, 
and there took a boat and proceeded down 
the Ohio and up the Mississippi rivers to 
Burlington, Iowa, whence he crossed the 
country to Mt. Pleasant, that state, with the 
view of selecting a location. He was well 
pleased with that region and decided to 



move west as soon as he could arrange his 
affairs satisfactorily, but did not find that 
opportunity until ten years later. In the 
fall of 1854 he disposed of his Ohio prop- 
erty, which had became quite valuable, and 
with about five or six thousand dollars he 
started west intending to go to Iowa, but on 
reaching Champaign county, Illinois, he 
was so favorably impressed with this sec- 
tion that he concluded to go no further, and 
bought five hundred and forty acres of land, 
principally on sections 24 and 25, St. Joseph 
township, which was his home the re- 
mainder of his life. He immediately com- , 
menced the cultivation and improvement of 
the place, and soon converted it into one of 
the finest farms of the locality. He car- 
ried on the farm quite successfully up to 
within about ten years of his death, when 
our subject took charge of it, operating it 
until 1895, when the estate was divided and 
is still in possession of his children. In< 
early days when there was plenty of range, 
the father was quite extensively engaged in 
stock raising, but later in life devoted his at- 
tention principally to the raising of grain. 
He was an ardent admirer of Henry Clay 
and a stanch supporter of the Whig party 
until its dissolution, when he became a Re- 
publican. He cast his first presidential vote 
for General Harrison, and attended the cel- 
ebrated rally at Columbus, Ohio, in 1840, 
during the log cabin and hard cider cam- 
paign, going from Bainbridge to Chillicothe 
by wagon and thence by canal boat to Co- 
lumbus. His love for the old flag was deep 
and sincere, and he was a most loyal and 
patriotic citizen. He took quite an active 
and prominent part in local affairs, and in 
1860 he was elected to succeed Samuel 
Rankin, the first supervisor elected after the 
organization of St. Joseph township, and so. 



322 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



creditably did he fill that office that he was 
re-elected, serving four consecutive terms. 
From his youth he was an earnest member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and took 
special interest in Sunday school work. 
During the Civil war he contributed liber- 
ally toward the support of war measures and 
the families of those at the front. In pri- 
vate life he was charitable and generous to 
those whom he considered deserving, and 
took especial satisfaction in assisting worthy 
people to procure homes for themselves. 
He died at his home in St. Joseph town- 
ship, March 21, 1892, honored and re- 
spected by all who knew him. 

A. B. Glascock, whose name introduces 
this sketch, was born in Ross county, Ohio, 
and was but a child when the family came 
to this county, traveling by wagon. His 
boyhood and youth were passed upon his 
father's farm in St. Joseph township, and 
his education was acquired in the district 
schools of the locality. On the 3Oth of Sep- 
tember, 1 86 1, although only sixteen years 
of age, he entered the Union army for service 
in the Civil war, as a member of Company 
E, Fifty-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry, 
and went to Camp Douglas, Chicago, De- 
cember 24, and was mustered in. The regi- 
ment was ordered to Cairo, February 14, 
1862, and on the 2/th of that month crossed 
the river to Camp Cullom. On the 4th of 
March they went to Bertram, Missouri, and 
from there to Sykestown and New Madrid. 
They were in the engagement at Island No. 
10, April 17; on the 8th pursued General 
Michael and captured four thousand prison- 
ers; on the 9th returned to New Madrid, and 
on the nth embarked and proceeded down 
the Mississippi river to Osceola, Arkansas, 
disembarking at Hamburg Landing on the 
1 7th. They participated in the battles of 



Farmington and the siege of Corinth. On 
the 4th of June they advanced to a point 
near Baldwin, Miss., but fell back to Boon- 
ville on the iith and encamped at Corinth, 
June 14. On July 20 they left Big Spring 
and marched to Tuscumbia, Alabama. The 
regiment was assigned to guard the railroad 
from Hillsboro to Decatur, and on the 24th 
of August concentrated at the latter place, 
and September 4 crossed the Tennessee river 
and moved by way of Athens, Alabama, to 
Nashville. November 6 they engaged in re- 
pelling the attack of Breckenridge, Morgan 
and Forrest. From September 1 1 to No- 
vember 6 Nashville was cut off from com- 
munication with the north and the troops 
were on half rations; December 26 they 
moved against the enemy under General 
Bragg, and December 30 were in an engage- 
ment. December 31 the Fifty-first was in 
the thickest of the battle of Stone River and 
lost fifty-seven men; January 6, 1863, they 
moved three miles south of Murfreesboro 
and encamped. On the 4th of March they 
proceeded to Eagleville; on the 8th to Spring 
Hill; on the loth reached Duck river; and 
on the i ith crossed that stream on pontoons. 
June 24th they moved down Shelbyville 
Pike; on the 27th they marched to Beach's 
Grove; July I entered Tullahoma; then pur- 
sued the enemy to Elk river, Winchester 
and Cowan, where they remained until the 
9th. Ascending the mountains, they en- 
camped on the summit, now the site of the 
Southern University. They took part in the 
battle of Chickamauga, September 19, where 
he received a wound and was separated from 
his regiment. They were also in the battle 
of Missionary Ridge, November 24; and on 
the 28th of November went to the relief of 
Burnside at Knoxville. They veteranized 
February 10, 1864, and on the I7th were 



THE BIOGRAHPICAL RECORD. 



323 



granted a veteran furlough. Returning to 
the front, they entered upon the Atlanta 
campaign, May 3; took part in the engage- 
ment at Rocky Face Ridge, on the 9th; 
Resaca on the Hth; the eleven days engage- 
ment at Dallas; and the battles of Kenesaw 
Mountain, June 27, and Peach Tree Creek, 
July 20. They were in the siege of Atlanta, 
and the skirmishes at Jonesboro and Love- 
joy; the engagements at Spring Hill and 
Franklin; the battle of Nashville, December 
15 and 16; and then pursued the enemy to 
Huntsville, Alabama. Later they went to 
Texas, and at Camp Irwin, that state, were 
mustered out September 25, 1865. On the 
1 5th of October, 1865, they arrived at Camp 
Butler, Illinois, where they were finally paid 
off and discharged, after over four years of 
arduousand faithful service on southern battle 
fields. Mr. Glascock received two severe 
wounds which incapacitated him for active 
duty for some time, but he remained in the 
service until January 16, 1865. 

Returning home, he has since been act- 
ively engaged in agricultural pursuits. He 
lived with his father and carried on the 
home farm until the settlement of the es- 
tate, but for the past four years has resided 
in the village of St. Joseph and rents his 
farm. He is one of the most enterprising 
and progressive men of the county, and his 
practical knowledge and good business 
judgment are appreciated by his associates. 
In 1895 he was elected supervisor, and has 
most ably and satisfactorily represented his 
township on the county board for three con- 
secutive terms. During the erection of the 
new court house he was a member of the 
committee on grounds and buildings. Pub- 
lic-spirited and progressive, he is always in- 
terested in any worthy enterprise for the 
improvement or benefit of the community. 



He is charitable and benevolent almost to a 
fault, no worthy person or deserving cause 
ever seeking his assistance in vain; and in 
his office of supervisor the deserving appli- 
cants for public assistance have become 
well acquainted with this trait in his char- 
acter. A man of pronounced character, he 
has his likes and dislikes, and has the cour- 
age of his convictions. Politically he is a 
zealous advocate and supporter of the Re- 
publican party and its principles; and relig- 
iously, although not a member of any or- 
ganization, his sympathy is with the church 
of his parents the Methodist Episcopal 
church to which he contributes liberally, 
and was one of the foremost in building the 
new church of that denomination in St. 
Joseph. He is a Mason, a member of Og- 
den Lodge, No. 754, F. & A. M.; Homer 
Chapter, R. A. M. ; Urbana Commandery, 
K. T. ; and Mohammed Temple, A. A. O. 
N. M. S. , of Peoria. He is also an hon- 
ored member of St. Joseph Post, No. 220, 
G. A. R. 



WILLIAM W. MUDGE. This well 
known citizen of Homer needs no in- 
troduction to the inhabitants of this locality 
and to the residents of Champaign county 
in general. By years of straightforward 
dealing and correct business methods he has 
won the confidence and esteem of every one 
in commercial circles, and his popularity in 
social and local circles is unquestioned. 

Coming from fine old New England an- 
cestry, Mr. Mudge possesses the sterling 
traits of character and the keen business 
ability for which the people of that section 
are celebrated. He is a son of J. T. and 
Mary E. (Gilman) Mudge, the former a 
native of Connecticut, and the latter of 



324 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



New Hampshire. The father was a teacher 
in Connecticut for some years, and was 
married in Defiance, Ohio, where he dwelt 
for a number of years. In 1838 he became 
a pioneer of Carroll county, Indiana, there 
engaging in merchandising until 1869, when 
he located in Homer, and continued to 
make his home here until his death, in 1885. 
His widow departed this life in March, 1887, 
and of their four children only two survive, 
W. W. and E. T. , who is a druggist of this 
place. 

The nativity of W. W. Mudge occurred 
in Carroll county, Indiana, November n, 
1848. His common school education was 
supplemented by a course in the Humiston 
University, of Cleveland, Ohio, and after 
his return home he became a clerk in the 
general store of Robertson & Fairchild, in 
Pittsburg, Indiana, remaining with them six 
years. His next position was with C. T. 
Hasbrook, a dry goods merchant of Cleve- 
land, with whom he continued for a year, 
then coming to Homer. Here the young 
man engaged in agricultural pursuits for a 
couple of years, after which he was in part- 
nership with his brother, E. T. , in the drug 
business, until 1880. That year witnessed his 
embarkation in another venture, the hard- 
ware business, in connection with which he 
carried a full line of implements, farm 
machinery, buggies and wagons. For twelve 
years he prospered in this enterpise, but on 
the 1 9th of March, 1892, his place of busi- 
ness was destroyed by fire, and the small 
amount of stock saved was sold by him to 
Conkey Brothers. 

As early as 1877, W. W. Mudge com- 
menced his dealings in grain, but other busi- 
ness interests occupied his chief attention 
until 1884, when, in partnership with Mil- 
mine, Bodman & Company, of Chicago, he 



became extensively concerned in the buying 
and sale of cereals. They have three head- 
quarters in this county, one at Ogden, 
another at Broadlands, and the third at 
Homer. Here the immense corn-cribs 
owned by the company have a capacity of 
three hundred and eighty-five thousand, 
six hundred bushels, while those at Ogden 
hold one hundred and fifty thousand bushels 
of corn. 

In everything pertaining toi the good of 
his community, Mr. Mudge has always taken 
a vital interest. In 1888 the County Fair 
Association was organized, and he was 
made its president, as he was correctly 
judged to be the most energetic and best 
qualified man for that important office that 
could be found. The splendid succegs which 
he made of the fair is a matter of history and 
needs no comment aside from the high 
praise which he receives upon every hand. 
Suffice it to say here, that he spared himself 
no effort and worked indefatigably, expend- 
ing as much care upon it as though it had been 
a personal enterprise. With the exception 
of some four years, when he declined to 
serve, save as a director, he has been at the 
head of the association since its inception. 
He also has been largely responsible for the 
success of the Homer Building & Loan As-, 
sociation, of which he was the president for 
seven years. 

Another enterprise which may be at- 
tributed to Mr. Mudge is that of the Masonic 
building. In order to induce the local lodge 
to build this structure, which was obviously 
needed by them, he guaranteed the rent of 
it and by his own persistence succeeded in 
convincing the more conservative members. 
The lower floor is occupied by the hardware 
store of Conkey Brothers, the Citizens' 
Bank and two offices, while above are the 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lodge-room, forty-six by forty-eight feet in 
dimensions, together with a preparation 
room, ante-room, property room, smoking 
room, banquet hall and kitchen and pantry. 
Mr. Mudge is highly esteemed in Masonic 
circles, being affiliated with Homer Lodge, 
No. 199, F. & A. M. ; Homer Chapter, No. 
194, R. A. M.; Homer Council, of Homer; 
Athelstan Commandery, No. 45, K. T., of 
Danville; and Medinah Shrine, of Chicago. 
He is a Republican in politics, and has 
taken an active part in the deliberations 
of his party in county and state conventions 
for many years. Though he has not been 
desirous of holding public office, he has 
been president of the village council, and a 
member of the school board for years, at 
present being president of the last-named 
organization. 

On the 2/th of May, 1875, Mr. Mudge 
married Miss Miranda Head, a native of Eu- 
gene, Indiana, and daughter of Francis and 
Emeline (Lucas) Head, hsr father being the 
proprietor of a woolen factory. Mrs. Mudge 
is next to the youngest of eight children, and 
by her marriage she is the mother of a son 
and a daughter, namely: Gertrude E., a 
student in the Homer high school, and Will- 
iam F., who also is attending the town 
schools. Mr. and Mrs. Mudge are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church, and are 
liberal contributors to religious and benevo- 
lent work. 



WILLIAM H. MORGAN. With per- 
haps one exception, this sterling citi- 
zen of Tolono has been longer engaged in 
business here than any one, and has con- 
tributed materially to the prosperity of the 
town, in whose progress he has been vitally 
interested for more than three decades. The 

17 



character of a town or community is largely 
determined by the standing of its business 
men, and in this respect Tolono has reason 
to be grateful, as long as such citizens as the 
subject of this article are at the head of her 
enterprises. 

He comes of some of the best families 
of Kentucky, his father having been the 
Hon. Woodson Morgan, who was born in 
Nicholas county, that state, in 1804, and 
his mother having been Elizabeth (Bruce) 
Morgan, also of the Blue Grass state. The 
father devoted his life to the management of 
his farms, in addition to which he dealt in 
live stock to some extent for several years. 
In his own community he was held in high 
esteem, looked up to and consulted in im- 
portant matters. Prominent in the affairs 
of the Democratic party, he was elected to 
the Legislature of his state, where he served 
for two years. In the spring of 1858 he re- 
moved with his family to Champaign county, 
and began the cultivation of a farm in Crit- 
tenden township. The township had not 
yet been organized, and he it was who sug- 
gested the name. In 1882 he retired to- 
spend the remainder of his days in quiet and 
rest from labor, his home being in Tolono. 
He passed to his reward in 1885, mourned 
by a large circle of friends. His first wife 
had died in 1853, and he afterwards married 
again. 

William H. Morgan, who was born irr 
Fleming county, Kentucky, December 28,. 
1835, is the eldest of his father's family. 
John, who is retired from business, is a resi- 
dent of Lexington, Kentucky. Ellen, wife of 
Dr. ]. F. Fleming, lives in Fleming county, 
Kentucky. George B., whose home was in 
Bradford, Pennsylvania, died in 1896, in 
Texas, whither he had gone on business. 
James M., who was a farmer of Adams- 



326 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



county, Illinois, is deceased. Anna, wife of 
A. Denman, of Leadville, Colorado. Mon- 
roe is a prosperous farmer of Kansas. 

In the common schools of his native 
county, William H. Morgan received a 
liberal education. He became proficient in 
agriculture on the parental farm, and after 
reaching his majority settled upon a tract of 
eighty acres in Crittenden township, Cham- 
paign county, which place he owned and im- 
proved. He also engaged in buying and 
selling live stock and grain, and of late years 
has been the only shipper of stock from this 
point. He controls the major portion of 
the local grain trade, as well, and though he 
has met with some serious reverses rever- 
ses which would have completely discour- 
aged many a man he has steadily per- 
severed, and has wrested success from what 
was well-nigh defeat, at times. Thrice his 
: grain elevators have been destroyed by fire, 
and the one he now manages stands on the 
site of two others which were burned to the 
ground. He has not been an aspirant to 
public office, though he has held a few local 
positions which his neighbors urged him to 
accept, and faithfully performed the duties 
thus devolving upon him. 

In 1 869 Mr. Morgan married Lucy Lowry, 
likewise a native of Kentucky. They have 
one child, a daughter, Florence W., who 
married M. R. Sturtevant, a successful 
attorney of Elmwood, Illinois. Thus our 
subject and wife are left alone in their pleas- 
ant home, but they have a host of sincere 
friends and acquaintances, both here and 
elsewhere. 



ARTHUR R. STEWART, a most pro- 
gressive and successful agriculturist, is 
the owner of a fine farm of one hundred 



and ninety acres of land on section 31, 
Somer township, Champaign county, Illi- 
nois. His methods of farm management 
show scientific knowledge combined with 
sound, practical judgment, and the results 
show that "high class" farming as an oc- 
cupation can be made profitable as well as 
pleasant. 

Mr. Stewart was born in Ross county, 
Ohio, July 25, 1855, and is of Scotch de- 
scent. His father, S. G. Stewart, was born 
in New York state, in 1816, and in early 
life removed with his parents to Ohio, where 
he was reared upon a farm, obtaining a 
limited education in the country schools 
near his home. The grandfather of our 
subject and his sons all espoused the pro- 
slavery principles in politics and became 
connected with the "underground rail- 
road" prior to the Civil war, assisting a 
colored man, who had escaped from thral- 
dom in the slave state, to a place of safety 
across the border in Canada. In 1856 
three of the sons, S. G., J. P. and H. C. , 
came to Illinois, and located on adjoining 
farms in Champaign county. They were 
accompanied by their father, who died in 
this state at the age of sixty-eight years. S. 
G. Stewart, the father of our subject, oper- 
ated his farm for many years. For some 
time he spent the winter months in Cham- 
paign and the summer season upon the 
farm, but finally located permanently in the 
city, where he died in 1888, at the age of 
seventy-two years. Politically he was a 
strong Republican and opposed to the liquor 
traffic. For many years he served as school 
director in his district and did all in his 
power to advance the cause of education. 
In religious belief he was a Congregational- 
ist. taking an active part in all church work, 
and serving as deacon for many years. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



At the age of twenty-three years S. G. 
Stewart was united in marriage with Miss 
Jane Evans, a native of Highland county, 
Ohio, who died in 1867, at the age of 
forty-seven years. She, too, was a con- 
sistent member of the Congregational 
church, and a most estimable lady. Some 
years after her death he married Miss Mar- 
garet Cloyd, also a member of the Congre- 
gational church. She died in November, 
1875. By the first union there were ten 
children who grew to man and womanhood: 
(i) Esther is now the wife of T. Hunt, of 
Chicago. (2) William was one of the brave 
boys who was called upon to sacrifice his 
life on the altar of his country during the 
Civil war. He enlisted in Company I, 
Twenty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, 
and was in a few skirmishes but no hard 
fought battles. After serving over a year, 
he was taken ill and sent to a hospital in 
Memphis, Tennessee, where he died at the 
age of twenty-two years. (3) Martha, de- 
ceased, was the wife of S. I. Burrill, now 
a resident of the state of Washington. (4) 
Lida married Frank Fillmore and moved to 
Monticello, Minnesota, where both died. 

(5) A. J. is keeping house for our subject 
on the old homestead in Somer township. 

(6) Maggie died at the age of twenty-two 
years. (7) Robert wedded Mary Burrill, 
and is engaged in farming in Oregon. (8) 
Emma is the wife of George H. Lyman, of 
Fort Smith, Arkansas. (9) Arthur R. , our 
subject, is next in order of birth. (10) 
Walter X. married Carrie Burrill, and fol- 
lows farming in Shelby county, Nebraska. 

After attending the public schools of his 
county for some years Arthur R. Stewart 
entered the State University, where he 
pursued his studies for two years. On the 
completion of his education he turned his 



attention to agricultural pursuits, and has 
since carried on general farming and stock 
raising with marked success. For the past 
few years he has made a specialty of fruit 
growing, and now raises large quantities of 
various kinds of fruit for which he finds a 
ready market in the twin cities of Cham- 
paign and Urbana. He also gives consid- 
erable attention to the raising of poultry. 
He heartily endorses the principles of the 
Republican party, but takes no active part 
in political affairs aside from voting, 'pre- 
ferring to give his undivided attention to his 
business interests. He served as assessor, 
however, for one term. Fraternally, he is 
a member of Twin City Tent, No. 168, K. 
O. T. M. , and religiously is a member of the 
Congregational church, to which the family 
all belong. 



FL. & C. W. DALE, editors and pro- 
prietors of the St. Joseph Record, are 
well known throughout eastern Illinois and 
western Indiana, as well as in Champaign 
county,. and it is almost unnecessary to add 
that their reputation, both as journalists 
and as business men and public spirited citi- 
zens, is of the best. The following outline 
.of their careers may be of interest to many 
of their friends here and elsewhere. 

Moses Dale, the paternal grandfather of 
these gentlemen, was one of the earliest 
settlers in this county, coming here, as he 
did, in 1847. His former home was in the 
Buckeye state, but from 1847 until his 
death he was thoroughly identified with the 
development of this region. His son, 
Thomas, father of F. L. and C. W. Dale, 
was born March 19, 1834, in Ohio, and 
there spent thirteen years of his life. Since 
then he has been associated with the up- 



328 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



building and progress of Champaign county, 
and to-day is numbered among the well-to- 
do and influential agriculturists of Mahomet 
township. Having abundant means for his 
declining years, he has practically retired 
from active labors. For many years he has 
been an official member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, and always has liberally 
supported religious and charitable move- 
ments. His estimable wife, who shared his 
pioneer labors and was a devoted helpmate, 
departed this life in 1883. She bore the 
maiden name of Mary E. Meade, and was a 
daughter of John and Ann Meade, natives 
of New Jersey. 

F. L. and C. W. Dale obtained their 
initial experience as newspaper publishers 
in Hebron, Indiana, where they published 
the Hebron News and Kouts (Indiana) 
Banner. They spent their early boyhood 
days amidst the healthful surroundings of 
country life, and early learned lessons of 
industry and integrity which have been the 
foundation of their success. For the past 
eleven years F. L. Dale has devoted his 
whole attention to his present line of busi- 
ness, working in various capacities in towns 
of Illinois, Indiana, Kansas and Missouri. 
Rising, step by step, to more important po- 
sitions, he served as foreman and manager 
of several newspapers, thus thoroughly 
equipping himself for his chosen life-work. 
The St. Joseph Record, which was estab- 
lished by J. A. Noble in 1894, was turned 
over to the Dale Brothers in October, 1897, 
and under their able management has con- 
tinued to prosper. The Record is a six- 
column paper, devoted to the progress of 
the county and this immediate locality. In 
concise manner all of the news of the day 
and of matters pertaining to this vicinity are 
given, and no space is afforded to party dis- 



cussions, as the paper is strictly non-par- 
tisan. On its pages appear many keen,, 
crisp articles and editorials, written in a 
distinctly humorous vein, which are highly 
appreciated by the public. The circulation 
is increasing in a gratifying degree, and 
there is every indication that the Record has 
come to stay, for it fills a void hitherto un- 
occupied. Conscientious efforts on the part 
of the proprietors to make this a first-class 
local journal are now meeting with just re- 
ward, and it is safe to prophesy a brilliant 
future, both for the paper and for the young 
men who stand at the head of the enter- 
prise. 

The Dale brothers are widely known for 
their musical talent, as well as for their 
journalistic ability, and for a decade they 
have been proficient members of a brass 
band. C. W. Dale has acquired special 
distinction during the past seven years as 
an instructor and leader of bands, and is- 
considered one of the best cornet players in 
this section of the state. He added to his 
already bright laurels by the composition of 
what is known as the "Company M, Fourth 
Illinois," March and Two-step, dedicated to 
the brave soldier boys of that company, 
who saw service in Cuba, and upon the last 
page of the printed sheet the names of all 
members of the company are given. The 
arrangement of this march for the piano 
was published by the Dale Brothers in St. 
Joseph, in July, 1899, and the copyrighted 
arrangement of the same, for the use of 
bands, made such an immediate hit that it 
was promptly purchased by H. E. McMil- 
len, of Cleveland, Ohio. 

Socially, the brothers are very popular, 
and have hosts of friends wherever they are 
known. C. W. Dale is a member of the 
Odd Fellows' order and is identified with. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



329 



the Tribe of Ben Hur, while F. L. Dale is 
connected with the Knights of Pythias and 
with the Tribe of Ben Hur also. They 
were reared in the tenets of the Republican 
party, and, personally, vote for the nom- 
inees and principles of that political body. 



JOHN H. ALPERS, M. D., a prominent 
homeopathic physician of Rantoul, 
Champaign county, Illinois, is a native of 
Hanover, Germany, born June 10, 1836, 
and is a son of Henry and Mary (Miller) 
Alpers, also natives of Germany, where the 
father, a mason by trade, died when our 
subject was about fourteen years of age. 
In 1859 the mother came to America and 
located in Wyandot county, Ohio, where 
she had two sons and a daughter living, and 
where she died in 1861. Our subject has 
two brothers: Christ, a mason of Danville, 
Illinois; and Frederick, a homeopathic phy- 
sician of St. Louis, Missouri; but his only 
sister, Elizabeth, wife of Christ Walter, 
a dairyman of Danville, Illinois, died in 
that place, leaving four children. 

Dr. Alpers, of this review, was educated 
in the public schools of his native land 
and in the Gymnasium of Hanover, from 
which institution he was graduated, and 
later took a three years' course at the Med- 
ical College of Anhalt Gothen, a small prov- 
ince of Germany. After receiving his di- 
ploma from that college he came to the 
United States in 1860, and began the prac- 
tice of his profession in Wyandot county, 
Ohio, where he remained until 1865. Dur- 
ing that year he moved to Danville, Illinois, 
where he soon built up a large practice, re- 
maining there a little over five years. He 
next came to Champaign county and pur- 
chased a farm in East Bend township, 



which he operated in connection with the 
practice of medicine for about four years, 
when he moved to the village of Rantoul, 
where he has since successfully engaged in 
practice, and is now the leading homeopathic 
physician of the place. He has his office 
in his residence on Penfield street. 

On the 1 5th of April, 1860, Dr. Alpers 
was married in Hanover, Germany, to Miss 
Christina Klages, a native of that city, and 
to them were born seven children, as fol- 
lows: Jennie, born in Wyandot county, 
Ohio, is now the wife of Henry Steffler, a 
dry goods merchant of Rantoul, and vice- 
president of the First National Bank of 
that place; Louisa, born in the same county, 
is the wife of Herbert West, president of 
the First National Bank of Rantoul;. Will- 
iam, born in Vermilion county, Illinois, 
died at the age of two months; Louis, born 
in Vermilion county, married Ada Kennady, 
and is a farmer of Rantoul; Mary, born in 
the same county, is the wife of William La 
Fallett, a stock buyer of Rantoul; Maude 
C. , born in this county, is clerking in Stef- 
fler's dry goods store and resides at home; 
Charles, born in Champaign county, died at 
the age of six months. 

As a physician Dr. Alpers ranks among 
the ablest in this section of the county, 
and his skill and ability being widely recog- 
nized he enjoys a large and lucrative prac- 
tice. He is also one of the prominent and 
influential citizens of Rantoul, and has been 
called upon to serve two terms as president 
of the village, being elected to that office 
in 1893 and again in 1895. In his political 
views he is a Democrat, and in religious be- 
lief is a Methodist. Fraternally he is a 
member of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of 
America. 



330 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



WILLIAM A. MURPHY .is one of the 
leading business men and politicians 
of Tolono, and has long been recognized as 
one of the loyal, progressive citizens of this 
place. His influence has always been cast 
on the side of improvement and advance- 
ment along all lines, and to his genuine 
ability and enthusiasm much of the pros- 
perity of this place may be justly attributed. 

He was born July 12, 1850, in Berkshire 
county, Massachusetts, a son of Patrick 
and Bridget (Lynch) Murphy, who were na- 
tives of Ireland. They emigrated to Ameri- 
ca about 1828, and at first resided in Colum- 
bia county, New York, later moving across 
the state line into Berkshire county, Massa- 
chusetts. The father was accidentally killed 
by a runaway team about 1860, but his wid- 
ow survived until 1892. Three of their sev- 
en children are living at this writing, name- 
ly: Mary, widow of John Connor, of Ran- 
toul, Illinois; William A., and James H., 
whose home is in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. 

William A. Murphy received a common- 
school education in his native county, and 
later was graduated in the Lebanon (New 
York) high school. In 1868 he was gradu- 
ated in the Poughkeepsie Business College, 
and in 1870 he came to Illinois. For about a 
year he made his home with his married sis- 
ter in Rantoul, and taught school for a few 
terms, also giving some time to agriculture. 
In the winter of 1871 he pursued a course 
of study at the Normal, after which he again 
took charge of a school, in order to obtain 
the means for further education. He final- 
ly completed the course he had undertaken 
in the Normal in the fall of 1873, and com- 
ing to Tolono taught school for nine terms, 
to the entire satisfaction of everyone con-, 
cerned. - By economy and strict attention 
to business, he managed to lay aside some 



means, and in 1880 he embarked in the 
grocery business in company with James 
Stephenson. In September of the follow- 
ing year he assumed the management of the 
entire business, and succeeded in building 
up an extensive and lucrative trade. 

At an early day in his career, Mr. Mur- 
phy came before the public as a wide-awake 
politician, and strong advocate of the Dem- 
ocratic party. His numerous friends hon- 
ored him with various local positions, and 
at one time or another, he has occupied 
about all of the township offices, with the 
exception of supervisor, for which he was a 
nominee, though not elected. In 1884 he 
was a candidate for county superintendent 
of schools. Two years later he was his 
party's nominee for the Legislature, before 
the senatorial convention, and was defeated 
by only one ballot. In 1897 he was nom^ 
inated for the office of circuit clerk by his 
indefatigable Democratic friends, but, as 
usual, the Republicans carried the day. 
In the spring of 1900 he served as chairman 
of the Demcocratic county convention and 
the delegates to the congressional conven- 
tion were instructed to vote for him for 
member of the state board of equali- 
zation. His popularity is undoubted, and his 
good nature in thus . allowing his name to 
be used, even when defeat seems a foregone 
conclusion, is something remarkable and 
praiseworthy. His friends are importunate, 
and feel certain that his financial ability, 
rare judgment and devotion to the policy 
to which he has loyally pledged himself 
will, sooner or later, find fitting recognition 
from the public. 

Since casting in his lot with the people, 
of Tolono he has been a firm believer in the 
bright future of the town, and has spared 
no effort to promote its interests. At the 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



time when the matter of putting in the city 
water-works was being agitated here he 
was a member of the council, and visited 
other places, inspecting the systems in use. 
After making a thorough study of the sub- 
ject, he presented plans and specifications 
for the plant now in working order, and 
after a year's delay and considerable opposi- 
tion the citizens adopted his ideas, and are 
sincerely pleased with the result. When 
the Tolono Building & Loan Association was 
incorporated he was one of the organizers 
of the company, which has grown and 
flourished until it ranks with -the leading 
ones of the state. Since its organization he 
has been one of the directors and also served 
as president and vice-president. 

In 1879 Mr. Murphy married Miss Mary 

O'Brien, who was born and reared in Tolono. 

t 

She was a lady of education and refinement, 
and when death claimed her, on the I4th of 
January, 1885, her loss was felt to be almost 
a public one in this community. She left 
one daughter, Mary Gertrude, who gradu- 
ated in the Tolono high school in the class 
of 1899. She is keeping house for her 
father, and is very popular with young and 
old, and loved for her amiable disposition. 



O AMUEL GRAVES, of Rantoul, Illinois, 
O is well known as a successful educator 
through several years of faithful and effi- 
cient service. Although he has recently re- 
tired from the profession, his work will not 
be readily forgotten by the many who have 
been helped by him in the steep and some- 
times weary path of knowledge, and his 
former pupils consider him one of the very 
best teachers ever employed in the village. 
He is now devoting his time and attention 
to the dairy business. 



A native of Illinois, he was born in Del- 
evan, Tazewell county, February 14, 1863, 
and is a son of Samuel and Hannah Graves. 
The father, who was a native of Massachu- 
setts, spent his entire life as a teacher. On 
coming to Illinois in 1852, he located in 
Tazewell county, and for a number of years 
taught school at Fremont. He died Novem- 
ber 28, 1891, and his widow now makes her 
home with our subject in Rantoul. 

Mr. Graves, of this review, remained in 
Delevan until twenty-six years of age, at- 
tending the district and high schools, and 
later teaching in the district schools of that 
county for eight years. In 1888 he came to 
Champaign county, and accepted the posi- 
tion of teacher in the grammar department 
of the public schools of Rantoul, with which 
he was connected for ten years. On sever- 
ing his connection with the schools in the 
fall of 1898, he at once turned his attention 
to the dairy business and farming. He 
owns and operates a well improved farm 
of one hundred and sixty acres on section 
10, Ludlow township, but leaves its culti- 
vation largely to a competent man in his 
employ, while he devotes his energies to the 
dairy business. 

On the 2Oth of June, 1895, Mr. Graves 
was united in marriage with Miss Isabella 
Thompson, daughter of T. J. Thompson, 
of Rantoul, and they now have two children: 
Samuel, born August 23, 1896; and Harold, 
born June 21, 1897. Religiously Mr. Graves 
is a member of the Methodist church, and 
socially belongs to the Modern Woodmen 
of America, the Masonic fraternity, the 
Eastern Star Chapter, and the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has 
filled all the chairs. His political support 
is always given the men and measures of 
the Republican party, and he has been 



332 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



called upon to serve as member of the vil- 
lage board two years, and as president of 
the same one year, during which time he 
was instrumental in having the village 
lighted by electricity and in making many 
other improvements. He is public spirited 
and progressive, and takes an active interest 
in any enterprise calculated to prove of 
public benefit. 



HON. JAIRUS CORYDON SHELDON. 
There are in every community men of 
great force of character and exceptional 
ability, who become recognized as foremost 
citizens, and bear a most important part in 
the development and progress of the local- 
ity with which they are connected. Such a 
man is Mr. Sheldon, of Urbana, who has 
been prominently identified with the inter- 
ests of Champaign county for almost half a 
century. 

He was born in Clarence, Erie county, 
New York, November 2, 1827, and is a son 
of Corydon and Eunice (Brown) Sheldon, 
natives of New York and Vermont, respect- 
ively. Losing his father when only a year 
old, the mother was married a year later to 
H. W. Cunningham, and when our subject 
was six years of age the family removed to 
Huron county, Ohio, where he spent the 
years of his childhood upon a new forest 
farm, aiding in the various duties of the 
same. When twenty-one he apprenticed 
himself to the ship carpenter's trade at 
Huron, Ohio, and for about four years fol- 
lowed that occupation there and at Milan, 
Cleveland and Buffalo, becojming proficient 
in the work. Often when a craft had been 
completed, he shipped as one of the sailors 
for a season, and thus became something of 
a seaman. 



Mr. Sheldon received such an education 
as the common schools of his day and local- 
ity afforded, and later spent several terms in 
an academy at Berea, Ohio, where he en- 
joyed better opportunities than he had been 
provided with in earlier life. In the autumn 
of 1852 he went to Vermillion county, In- 
diana, where he taught school for one year, 
and then, being pleased with the country, 
he settled in Champaign county, Illinois, 
which has since been his home. 

In 1854 Mr. Sheldon was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Eunice M. Mead, of Clarks- 
field. Ohio, and by this union were born five 
children, but only one is now living, Nellie, 
wife of Rev. C. B. Taylor, presiding elder 
of Bloomington district. Their eldest son, 
C. C. Sheldon, died in 1891, at about the 
age of thirty-six years, greatly lamented by 
his fellow-citizens of every class in Urbana 
the family home. 

During his early residence here Mr. Shel- 
don began to invest in the rich lands of 
Champaign county, having great faith in 
them, when others predicted that they would 
never be all settled. This wise policy has 
resulted in his now being the' owner of more 
than one thousand acres of land, divided 
into productive farms. His faith in the lo- 
cality has been more than realized, while 
others, doubting, have failed. 

Before leaving Ohio Mr. Sheldon spent 
about a year in the office of an attorney, 
studying law, a profession he had long de- 
sired to follow. After coming to Illinois, he 
renewed his studies in the office of Colonel 
Coler, one of Champaign county's pioneer 
lawyers, and after the requisite term and 
examination was admitted to practice in all 
of the courts of the state by a license issued 
by the supreme court. He followed the pro- 
fession for several years in partnership with 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



335 



his preceptor, Colonel Coler, and afterward 
with Frank G. Jaques, also of Urbana, but 
in 1866 he retired, desiring to devote his 
time and energies to the real estate busi- 
ness, which he has since followed. His 
practice as a lawyer often brought him in 
contact with Abraham Lincoln, of whom he 
was a great admirer, and with whom he was 
often associated in cases. 

Mr. Sheldon was reared in the Method- 
ist Episcopal church and fully believes in 
its doctrines, having been a consistent mem- 
ber of the same for thirty-five years. He 
has contributed most liberally to its support 
and to the support of all its many benev- 
olences in the meantime. In 1 893 his church 
society seriously needing more and better 
facilities for public worship, and after 
months of fruitless effort in trying to raise 
the necessary amount to build a new church, 
Mr. Sheldon proposed to the trustees that 
he and his wife would erect the walls and 
put upon it the roof contemplated by the 
plans already adopted, leaving the balance 
of the work to be done by the subscription 
already taken, provided only that they be 
permitted to place within the same a tablet 
with the name of their deceased and much 
mourned son, Clarence, as a memorial of 
his life spent in the business circles of Ur- 
bana. The proposition was gladly and 
thankfully accepted by the board of trustees, 
and the plan was fully carried out within 
the next few months at an expense to Mr. 
Sheldon of ten thousand dollars, and greatly 
to the gratification of the church which has 
ever since enjoyed one of the neatest places 
of worship in the state. The following quo- 
tation is taken from the report of the secre- 
tary and treasurer of the board of trustees of 
the church, made at the dedication of the 
new church, March 25, 1894: "As to the 



chairman of the committee, no parent could 
have been more devoted to a loving child 
than he to his work. No day so hot, no 
day so cold or stormy but that he could be 
found on this ground in the thickest of the 
dust and grime, watching the placing of 
every stone, brick and timber from the 
foundation to the steeple top, from the door- 
steps to the pulpit. A full year has been 
spent by him in this work, to him a labor of 
love as well as of duty. Every department, 
from furnace to belfry, has been scanned by 
his ever watchful eye. Not only has he 
given his undivided time and attention to 
this enterprise, freely, but has contributed 
liberally of his means and made it possible 
for this edifice to be erected and enjoyed by 
this community. 

' While we recognize the fact that many 
others made sacrifices just as great as he, 
by paying their single dollars to this cause, 
yet the fact remains that to him more than 
to any other are we indebted for this beau- 
tiful temple of worship. It was he who 
made the undertaking possible when failure 
stared us in the face for the want of funds. 
Fortunate, indeed, were we to have one in 
our society possessed of means and a dispo- 
sition to use them for the benefit of the 
Methodist church in Urbana. No towering 
monument, however high or costly, erected 
in the city of the dead, could ever speak or 
record the noble impulses of a generous 
heart as this temple does, standing in the 
city of the living. This society appreciates 
this generous act, and coming generations 
that will worship here in future years will 
rise up and bless the name of Bro. J. C. 
Sheldon and his noble wife." 

Mr. Sheldon cast his first presidential 
vote for General Zachary Taylor on the day 
he was twenty-one years of age. He allied 



336 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



himself with the Republican party upon its 
organization and voted for all of its candi- 
dates up to and including James G. Elaine, 
in 1884, but since then has acted with the 
Prohibition party from a high sense of duty 
to God and humanity. Upon that ticket he 
ran for Congress in 1888. 

In November, 1870, at the first election 
after the adoption of the constitution of that 
year, he was chosen as a Republican mem- 
ber of the Twenty-seventh General Assem- 
bly, from the Champaign district, Hon. R. 
C. Wright, of Homer, being his colleague. 
Soon after his election, the regent and trus- 
tees of the Illinois Industrial University, 
located near his home in Urbana, needing 
more and better buildings, began to plan 
for an appropriation from the Legislature for 
the construction of a main university build- 
ing, contemplating the erection of a building 
two hundred and twenty-five feet by one 
hundred feet, and four stories in height with 
a basement. They also wanted a mechan- 
ical and drill hall, together with liberal 
appropriations for machinery and apparatus, 
the maximum sum running up to many 
thousand dollars, much more than the Legis- 
lature had ever appropriated to any state 
institution. The burden of securing this 
appropriation naturally fell upon the local 
member, and without any previous expe- 
rience or tact in legislative matters, Mr. 
Sheldon bravely assumed the responsibility. 
He was expected to take the lead in intro- 
ducing and managing the bills, and to push 
them to a final passage. The senate con* 
sisted of fifty members, the house of one 
hundred and fifty-six, making it necessary to 
have seventy-nine affirmative votes to pass 
a bill in the house. At that time the state 
house, the Southern Normal and the insane 
asylums at Elgin and Anna were being built, 



besides large expenditures upon other state 
buildings, making in all enormous sums for 
public institutions. In the midst of it all 
came the effort of Peoria, with a big follow- 
ing, to arrest the work upon the new state 
building at Springfield and remove it to the 
bluffs at Peoria. To stand in with all these 
interests in such a way as to retain the sup- 
port of the members, or at least not provoke 
their opposition to the university bill, was a 
problem that required wise and constant 
effort on the' part of Mr. Sheldon. At that 
time the university had but little to show 
when a committee from the legislature visit- 
ed the institution. A three-story brick 
building which had been donated to the 
state by Champaign county, and which has 
since been torn down, and a two-story 
frame building constituted the mechanical 
department. There was a small board 
stable for the veterinary department, with a 
fairly good frame barn out on the farm. 
These compared with the magnificent group 
of buildings now occupied by the university 
were a mere nothing. The bill met with 
opposition from many, indifference from 
others and cordial support from a good num- 
ber. At last, after various references, 
mostly for delay and amendments, the final 
vote was reached in April, 1871, and the bill 
passed by the hard and earnest work of its 
friends, led by Mr. Sheldon. It had passed 
the senate several weeks before. 

Mr. Sheldon was elected to the senate 
in November, 1872, for a period of four 
years, serving through two sessions as a 
member of the upper branch of the General 
Assembly. During the first session further 
appropriations were made to complete the 
buildings before named and to make other 
important improvements. The total appro- 
priations for buildings secured by Mr. Shel- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



337 



don for the university during his legislative 
career aggregated one hundred and sev- 
enty-five thousand dollars. During these 
sessions and the one in the house, an entire 
revision of the statute was made to conform 
to the provisions of the new constitution. 
In the passage of these amendments he took 
a prominent part, and they are still the law 
of the state. Throughout his life Mr. Shel- 
don has been actuated by noble, yet practi- 
cal principles, and has been of important 
service to his fellow citizens through various 
avenues of usefulness. His career has ever 
been such as to warrant the trust and confi- 
dence of the business world, for he has ever 
conducted all transactions on the strictest 
principles of honor and integrity, and his 
devotion to the public good is unquestioned, 
arising from a sincere interest in the welfare 
of his fellow men. 



JACOB R. DILLING, who is now living a 
retired life in the village of St. Joseph, 
Champaign county, Illinois, needs no special 
introduction to the readers of this volume, 
but the work would be incomplete without 
the record of his life. Until recently he was 
actively identified with the agricultural in- 
terests of the county, arid he has ever borne 
a prominent part in its upbuilding and prog- 
ress. His name is a synonym for honorable 
business dealing, and he is always mentioned 
as one of the invaluable citizens of his com- 
munity. 

Mr. Dilling was born in Greenfork, In- 
diana, March 20, 1852, and is a son of 
George Dilling, a native of Pennsylvania. 
The paternal grandfather, Jacob Dilling, 
was also a Pennsylvanian by birth, and mar- 
ried Susannah Hoover, of that state. About 



1827 they moved to Wayne county, Indiana, 
of which they were pioneers, and which con- 
tinued to be their home until called from 
this life. The grandfather was a large land 
owner, having three thousand acres of land 
in that county, and through life gave his at- 
tention to farming and stock raising. In his 
family were fourteen children, of whom 
twelve reached maturity, namely: George, 
the father of our subject, was the oldest; 
Henry, who died January 17, 1900, was a 
resident of Hagerstown, Indiana, and 
an active member of the Dunkard church, 
with which he was prominently identified 
throughout life; David came to Champaign 
county, Illinois, in 1852, enlisted in the 
Twentieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry dur- 
ing the Civil war, and lost his life in the ser- 
vice; William died in Hagerstown, Indiana, 
at the age of twenty-four years; John died 
at the age of ten years; Daniel died in 
Hagerstown at the age of thirty-two. 

George Dilling, the father of our subject, 
wasten years of age when the family removed 
to Indiana, where he grew to manhood and 
married Miss Margaret Rhodes, a native of 
Darmstadt, Germany, who came to this 
country when a child of seven years with 
her half brother, John H. Nagle, who was two 
years younger. They were orphans and were 
broughtto the United Statesby friends. They 
were then bound out and reared in Wayne 
county, Indiana. When about twenty-one 
years of age Mr. Nagle went to Washington 
territory, where he took up a quarter-section 
of land. He "kept up communications with 
his sister until 1864, when these ceased, and 
no trace of him could be found until 1893, 
when it was learned that he had been an in- 
mate of an insane asylum for twenty years. 
The land he entered is now in the heart of 
Seattle and very valuable. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



After his marriage George Billing located 
upon land received from his father, and re- 
mained there until 1857, when with his fam- 
ily of seven children he dame to Champaign 
county, Illinois. While purchasing railroad 
land on section 7, Somer township, he made 
his home until 1875, in St. Joseph town- 
ship, and during that time acquired five 
hundred acres of valuable land, which he 
then sold and removed to Macon county, 
Illinois. There he bought one hundred and 
sixty acres of land and to its cultivation and 
improvement devoted his time and attention 
until his death in 1882. He was an ener- 
getic and progressive man, and in his under- 
takings met with well-deserved success. In 
connection with general farming he handled 
a large amount of stock. Politically he was 
first a Whig and later a Republican, and 
religiously was a member of the German 
Baptist church. His widow is still living 
and now makes her home in Cerro Gordo, 
Illinois. They had eleven children, all of 
whom lived to maturity: Susannah, wife of 
John B. Roe. of McPherson county, Kan- 
sas; Mary, wife of Frank Bellows, of Marys- 
ville, Missouri; Aaron, who was a member 
of an Illinois regiment in the Civil war, and 
died at a hospital in Murfreesboro, in 1864; 
Sarah, deceased wife of A. W. Kirkpatrick, 
of St. Joseph township, this county; Maria, 
wife of J. L. Kuntz, of McPherson county, 
Kansas; Jacob B., our subject; Lydia E., 
wife of Frank C. Shode, of St. Joseph town- 
ship, this county; John P., a resident of 
Macon county, Illinois; Dollie, deceased 
wife of William Doyle, of Marysville, Mis- 
souri; Dora, wife of James Minick, who 
lives on the old homestead in Macon county; 
and George W T ., who is in the real estate 
business in Seattle, Washington. 

The subject of this sketch was a child 



of five years when he accompanied his par- 
ents on their removal to this county, and 
upon the home farm he grew to manhood, 
aiding in the labors of the farm during the 
summer season and attending the common 
schools of the neighborhood through the 
winter months. On attaining his majority 
his father gave him a team of horses, and 
informed him that the world was before him 
and told him to go in and win. For several 
years thereafter he operated rented land. 

On the 5th of September, 1875, Mr. 
Dilling married Miss Elizabeth Kirkpatrick, 
who was born July 23, 1856, in Champaign, 
her parents, J. C. and Mary C. (Busey) 
Kirkpatrick, being early settlers of the 
county. At one time her father was the 
owner of the site of Champaign, and 
platted several additions to that city, which 
now bear his. name. Our subject and his 
wife are the parents of three children: 
Mary, Clara and Lela. 

After renting land for several years Mr. 
Dilling bought a tract of forty acres on 
section 4, St. Joseph township, which to- 
gether with the one hundred and sixty acres 
which his wife received from her father's 
estate made a fine farm of two hundred 
acres. He successfully engaged in agricult- 
ural pursuits until his removal to the vil- 
lage of St. Joseph in 1899, carrying on 
stock raising as well as general farming. 
His present home is one of the best resi- 
dences in the place, being supplied with 
hot water and all modern conveniences. 

As a Republican Mr. Dilling takes quite 
an influential part in local politics, and does 
all in his power to advance the interests of 
his party and insure its success. For twelve 
consecutive years he has most efficiently 
served as township commissioner, and he 
cheerfully gives his support to those enter- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



339' 



prises which tend to public development. 
Fraternally he is a charter member of St. 
Joseph's Camp, No. 222, M. W. A., and 
has wisely provided for the future by taking 
out policies in different life insurance com- 
panies. He is a man of more than ordi- 
nary intelligence and worth, is straightfor- 
ward and honorable in all his dealings, and 
is one of the most thoroughly respected 
and honored citizens of St. Joseph. 



HEMAN CHAFFEE, M. D. The pio- 
neer physician has always been one of 
the most important factors in American 
civilization, and too much cannot be said in 
his praise. Dr. Chaffee, now one of the 
most venerable of the pioneers of Cham- 
paign county, has the honor of being the 
oldest citizen of Tolono, in years of contin- 
uous residence, and few, if any, of the mem- 
bers of his profession are more widely or 
favorably known throughout this section of 
the state. He takes great pleasure in re- 
viewing the past, and in noting the great 
changes which have taken place, changes 
which have been for the better in nearly 
every instance. In this respect he himself 
d'eserves high credit, for in addition to at- 
tending to the duties of his profession, he 
set an example of progress and enterprise 
which was emulated by many of his neigh- 
bors. 

Now in his eighty-fourth year, Dr. Chaf- 
fee was born in Rutland county, Vermont, 
June 18, 1816, the second son of Simeon 
and Fanny (Pearsons) Chaffee, natives of 
Massachusetts. The father was born in 
Rehobeth village in 1772, and departed this 
life in August, 1859, his wife following him 
to the grave in the following October. They 



were thrifty farmers, and passed nearly all 
of their married life in the Green Mountain 
state. Simeon Chaffee had previously been 
married and had nine children by that 
union, but all of that family have entered 
the silent land. Warren, his eldest child 
by the second marriage, died in the midst 
of an active career. A little daughter died 
in infancy, and Susan lived until 1897. 
Christopher is deceased, and Nathaniel died 
in 1864, in Memphis, Tennessee, where he 
was a well-known physician. He had taken 
a special course of instruction in Paris, 
France, in company with our subject, re- 
maining abroad for about one year, and, 
after his return, had first located at Holly 
Springs, Mississippi, and later settling in 
Memphis. 

Dr. Heman Chaffee thus left as the sole 
survivor of a once large family, received the 
usual training of country lads in his youth, 
and at an early day he decided to enter the 
medical profession. He was married in 
1840, and for some time thereafter dwelt 
in Poultney, Vermont, later removing to 
Waterford, and eventually to Troy. In 
1854 he was graduated in the Albany 
Medical College, and engaged in practice, 
but, wishing to further qualify himself 
in special branches of the healing art, he 
went with his brother to Paris, where 
he had fine opportunities for improve- 
ment: At the end of fifteen months he re- 
turned home, and in March, 1857, came to 
Tolono, his family following him the fol- 
lowing May. Their's was the fourth frame 
house erected in the village, and as far as 
the eye could see there was not a tree or 
house in any direction on the monotonously 
undulating prairie. The Doctor planted 
the first trees and made the first sidewalk 
and fence in the town, and for twelve years 



340 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



he was the postmaster, his own house 
serving as a repository for the mail until 
he built a small office, which then answered 
the double purpose. The record of the 
years which followed would show what it 
means to be a pioneer physician, riding to 
distant places, no matter how inclement the 
weather, going to the aid of suffering human- 
ity when nearly prostrated with illness or 
grief over personal misfortuue, perhaps, yet 
always striving to carry cheer and help. 
Dr. Chaffee was of the highest type of the 
Christian physician, placing himself in the 
background always and considering the 
needs of others first, and thus he won the 
sincere love of all who knew him. At one 
time he owned half a block of land in the 
center of the town, and ten acres of land 
which he planted with fruit trees, and after- 
wards sold at a fair profit. In 1884 he re- 
tired from active practice, though some of 
his old patients continued to call upon him, 
feeling that they could not give him up. 
For one of his advanced age he is exceed- 
ingly well preserved, erect in carriage and 
keen and bright in his views of life. 

The marriage of Dr. Chaffee and Myra 
A. Nobles took place in 1840. She was 
born in Poultney, Vermont, in 1822, while 
her parents were natives of New York state, 
where their forefathers were numbered 
among the pioneers. The only son of our 
subject, Emmett, died when six years of 
age.' Addie, the eldest-born, is the wife of 
F. M. Wardall, of Tuscola, Illinois, and 
mother of three children, namely: Edna 
A., Lillian M. and Frank C. Annetta is 
the wife of Warren M. Hill, of Tolono, and 
they have three children: Nettie A., War- 
ren W., and Clarence C., deceased. Mr. 
Hill has been employed in the railway pos- 
tal service on the Wabash road for the past 



eighteen years, and his son W. W. also is a 
postal clerk. 

Religiously, the Doctor and wife have 
been earnest members of the Baptist church 
for many years, contributing liberally of 
their means and time to the work of that 
denomination. They have a host of friends 
in this vicinity, to whom they have endeared 
themselves by innumerable acts of fraternal 
sympathy and consideration. Their lives 
have flowed along harmoniously together 
for almost three-score jears, and, as they 
have faithfully and conscientiously per- 
"forrned their entire duty toward God and 
man they will surely hear the verdict some 
day, " Well done, good and faithful servant, 
enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." 



MORTIMER KILBURY, one of the pro- 
gressive farmers and representative 
citizens of Champaign county, just inside 
the corporate limits of St. Joseph, on 
section 11, St. Joseph township, was born 
near Plain City, in Darby township, Madi- 
son county, Ohio, June I, 1852, and is a 
son of Asa and Ruth (Clark) Kilbury. The 
father was born in Vermont, June 24, 1806, 
and died in Union county, Ohio, January 
5, 1884, while the mother was born in 
Ohio, February 27, 1815, and died at the 
home of her son James in Ogden town- 
ship, Champaign county, Illinois, Septem- 
ber 20, 1885, the same minister officiating 
at both funerals. 

During his boyhood Asa Kilbury had ac- 
companied his parents on their removal 
from Vermont to Ohio, first located in 
Cleveland. In youth he learned the black- 
smith's trade, but later gave his attention 
to farming and stockraising, in which occu- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



34i 



pations he was extensively and successfully 
engaged, accumulating a fine property 
of six hundred acres in Madison and Union 
counties, Ohio. He early foresaw the great 
possibilities of the Illinois prairies and 
swamps, and at a time when most eastern 
people thought that the broad prairies and 
marshes of Champaign county would never 
be settled he wisely invested in some twelve 
hundred acres of land in Ogden and Somer 
townships. The subsequent development 
of this region proved his sound judgment and 
keen foresight. He wasa man of sterlingchar- 
acter and superior business ability, and was 
a prominent and active member of the New- 
light church. In his family were nine chil- 
dren, namely: Rachel, wife of Solomon Hill, 
died in 1855; Emily and Amanda died in 
childhood; James S. is a retired farmer and 
stock raiser of Champaign; Robert is a re- 
tired citizen of Plain City, Madison county, 
Ohio; Erastus is deceased; Mortimer, our 
subject, is next in order of birth; Dunbar 
C. is a farmer and stock raiser of Aurora 
county, South Dakota; and Solomon H. 
removed to South Dakota with his brother, 
and from there went to Minnesota, where 
he now resides. 

The early life of Mortimer Kilbury was 
spent under the parental roof, and he re- 
ceived a good practical education in the dis- 
trict schools of his native township and the 
Pleasant Valley high school. He first came 
to Champaign county, Illinois, in February, 
1873, but at the end of two months returned 
to Ohio, and did not locate permanently 
here until the spring of 1874. His brother, 
James S. , had married and came to this 
county some four years previously, and with 
him our subject made his home until his 
own marriage. 

On the 23rd of September, 1877, Mr. 



Kilbury wedded Miss Mary L. Fredrich, 
the second daughter of R. A. and Permelia 
(Allhands) Fredrich, of Vermilion county, 
Illinois. Mrs. Kilbury was born in Oak- 
wood township, that county, February 11, 
1857. Her father was a native of Prussia, 
Germany, born in the little village of Dan- 
kerode, in the Hartz mountains, August 15, 
1830, and was a son of Sophus (Lipert) 
Fredrich, the latter the daughter of a 
Leipsic merchant. She was born April 8, 
1800, and died in Dankerode, November 2, 
1848. After her death, Sophus Fredrich, 
was born in Stolburg, Prussia, March 6, 
1796, emigrated to the United States, and 
died in Prince William county. Virginia, 
March 30, 1851. Mrs. Kilbury 's mother 
was born in Montgomery county, Indiana, 
November 6, 1835, and was left motherless 
at the age of four years. In 1841 she re- 
moved with her father, Andrew Allhands, to 
Vermilion county, Illinois, where she mar- 
ried R. A. Fredrich, who came to America 
in 1848. He departed this life October 24, 
1887, but'she is stilhliving and continues to 
reside in Vermilion county. To them were 
born ten children, as follows: Julia, wife of 
Wilson Green, of Ogden township, Cham- 
paign township, Mary L. .wife of our subject; 
William E., a resident of Winamac, Indi- 
ana; Sophus A., of Madaryville, Indiana; 
Rebecca A., wife of George Hays, of Ogden 
township, this county; Sarah L. , who mar- 
ried Milton Luman, of Oakvvood township, 
Vermilion county, and died July 28. 1887; 
Herman G., of Vermilion county; Florence 
J.,wife of Howard Blue, of Vermilion coun- 
ty; Luna O., at home; and Richard E., 
who operates the home farm in Vermilion 
county. 

After his marriage Mr. Kilbury took up 
his residence on the north half of section 



342 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



31, Ogden township, and to the cultivation 
and improvement of his farm he devoted 
his energies for some years. When he lo- 
cated thereon a large portion of his prop- 
erty as well as other low land in the county 
was swampy and covered with water, and 
though a young man, he took a very active 
part in interesting the citizens and land 
owners in the measures which finally re- 
sulted in the passage of drainage laws, 
which have been the means of converting 
the marshes into highly cultivated and pro- 
ductive fields. Mr. Kilbury continued to 
successfully engage in farming and stock 
raising in Ogden township until the spring 
of 1885, when he left the farm and moved 
to St. Joseph, where for two years he car- 
ried on business as a dealer in lumber and 
agricultural implements. At the end of 
that time he purchased one hundred acres 
of land on section 11, St. Joseph township, 
to which he has since added forty acres, 
and is now following farming and stock 
raising with marked success. Within the 
corporate limits and near the northern 
boundary of the village of St. Joseph, he 
erected, in 1895, an elegant residence, 
which is heated by a furnace and equipped 
with all the comforts and conveniences of 
the modern city home. Located as it is, 
the inmates of this pleasant abode have all 
the liberties of the country and the privi- 
leges of the town. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Kilbury were born six 
children, whose names and dates of birth 
are as follows: Asa, August 5, 1878; Edna 
P., September 15, 1880; Frederick E., 
July 1 8, 1885; Mabel R. , March 13, 1890; 
Winnifred, August 18, 1891; and Jennetta 
Fay, February 24, 1899. All are living 
with the exception of Edna P., who died in 
infancy, June 7, 1881. The oldest son is 



now a student at the University of Illinois, 
and is interested in journalism, doing local 
work for the Urbana Herald. 

Religiously both Mr. and Mrs. Kilbury 
are earnest members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, and since coming to St. Jo- 
seph he has been an officer of the church 
and one of its most active workers. Al- 
though not a politician in any sense, he has 
been an active worker in public affairs, and 
is especially interested in educational mat- 
ters, having most capably and satisfactorily 
served as a member of the board of direct- 
ors in his district, both in St. Joseph and 
Ogden townships. By his ballot he sup- 
ports the men and measures of the Repub- 
lican party. Fraternally he is a Mason, a 
member of Ogden Lodge, F. & A. M. ; Ur- 
bana Chapter, R. A. M.; Urbana Com- 
mandery, K. T. ; and Mahommed Temple, 
A. A. O. N. M. S. He is a man of recog- 
nized ability, and, with his wife, stands high 
in the community where they make their 
home. Mrs. Kilbury is a member of the 
Eastern Star of Ogden, and a member of 
the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. 
Those who know them best are numbered 
among their warmest friends, and no citi- 
zens in the county are more honored or 
highly respected. 



WILLIAM PULLIAM, one of the hon- 
ored pioneer settlers of Illinois, has 
witnessed vast changes here during the more 
than three score and ten years of his resi- 
dence in the Prairie state. He is a worthy 
representative of the fine old southern stock 
of a century ago, possessing at the same 
time many of the sturdy traits of character 
which pioneer life in the west necessarily 
developed in .men who braved its vicissitudes. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



343 



Drury Pulliam, the father of the above, 
was a native of Virginia, while his wife, 
Elizabeth (Cole) Pulliam, was born in 
Maryland. He was a wealthy and influen- 
tial man, owning large tracts of cultivated 
land and operating mills in different locali- 
ties. Believing in the future greatness of 
Illinois, he removed to Morgan county at an 
early day, and later engaged extensively in 
farming in Macoupin county. At length he 
retired and made his home in Waverly, 
where he was called to his reward. He had 
purchased considerable property in various 
parts of this state, but before his death he 
disposed of everything save his homestead. 
He was twice married, his second wife being 
Mrs. Maria Halliday, of Waverly. By 
the first union he reared eleven children to 
maturity, namely: Rebecca, who died in 
Macoupin county, in 1861; Benjamin, a 
former farmer of Champaign county and for 
the past decade a resident of Minneapolis; 
William; John W., deceased, who served in 
the Union army during the Civil war; 
Martha A., who died in Macoupin county; 
Elijah C., who served throughout the Mexi- 
can war in Wyatt's company, Buchanan's 
regiment, and later was in an Illinois regi- 
ment for several years, during the Civil war, 
being wounded at Shiloh, and died at his 
home in Kansas, in 1897; Mrs. Nancy Gra- 
ham, formerly of Jacksonville, Illinois, and 
now living in Ohio; Mary E. , wife of Rev. 
Droke, formerly a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal conference of this county, and now 
of Waverly, Illinois; Drury A., a retired 
farmer of Macoupin county; Sarah J., wife 
of George Kiplinger, a retired farmer of 
Macoupin county; and James, deceased. 
The father was prominent in the work of the 
Methodist church, occupying official posi- 
tions, and contributing liberally of his time 

18 



and means to the spreading of righteous- 
ness. 

The birth of William Pulliam occurred 
in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, September 18, 
1817, and when he was ten years of age he 
came with the family to Illinois. He attend- 
ed the school in the first log school house 
erected in Jacksonville, and when he was 
twenty years of age he commenced working 
at the carpenter's trade, and for five years 
gave his entire attention to that calling. 
Then he resumed agricultural labors, and ir> 
Macoupin county purchased the first land 
ever owned by him. He improved this 
place and continued to cultivate the farmi 
for a score of years, buying additional land 
as his capital accumulated. 

In 1842 Mr. Pulliam and Mary J. Cole 
were united in marriage in Macoupin county. 
She was likewise a native of Kentucky, and 
for nearly twenty years, or until her death 
in 1 86 1, she was a devoted wife and mother.. 
The eldest son, John D., now a resident of 
Pensacola, Florida, has three sons, Delmar, 
who is married and has a son, Paul; Leon, 
who has one daughter, Le Mamye; and 
Guy. Sarah E., wife of Charles Carpenter, 
of this county, is the eldest daughter of our 
subject. She has three children, George, 
Mary E. and Nellie. Thomas, the second 
son, is a well known physician of Tuscola,. 
Illinois. Millard, who died in Hannibal,. 
Missouri, and formerly lived in Denver,. 
Colorado, was married, and had one son,. 
Albert. Dudley, who lives on his father's 
farm in section 14, Tolono township, has 
four children, Earl, Scott, Willard and 
Reid. Mary J., wife of Wilson Williams, 
now makes her home in Pensacola, Flor- 
ida. By her previous marriage with Clay- 
Miller she had three children, Clyde, Glenn 
and Myra. Edward, unmarried, assists his. 



344 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



father in the management of the home- 
stead. 

In 1863 William Pulliam married Mary 
E., daughter of Orrin and Phoebe (Miner) 
Smith, pioneers of Morgan county. Mrs. 
Pulliam was born in New York state in 
1834, and the following year her parents 
joined a colony who came to this state to 
found new homes. She has two sisters liv- 
ing, namely, Caroline, widow of Charles 
Clark, of Waverly, Illinois, and Sarah, 
widow of James McCormick, of Waverly, 
Illinois. The latter has four children, 
namely: May, Orrin, Ralph and Ella. Or- 
rin Smith departed this life in 1846, but his 
widow lived until 1884, and was loved and 
honored by all who knew her. Six children 
\vere born to the second union of Mr. 
Pulliam, two of the number dying, one at 
the age of four years and the other at the 
age of eighteen years. Arthur M. , telegraph 
operator at Cheyenne, Wyoming, has a nice 
family, his four children being named Or- 
rin, Lynn, Anna and Harold. Herbert G., 
of this township, is married and has one 
child, Herbert Brown. Anna is the wife of 
J. E. Hartleb, who is engaged In the butch- 
er's business at Tolono, and their only child 
is Edward M. Ernest M., unmarried, re- 
sides with his parents. 

For about two years subsequent to his 
second marriage, Mr. Pullman remained on 
the old home place in Macoupin county, 
and in 1865 removed to Champaign county. 
Here he purchased three hundred and twen- 
ty acres of partly improved land, and pro- 
ceeded with characteristic energy to make 
a model farm. For over thirty years he 
made a specialty of manufacturing sorghum 
on the place. Later he sold a quarter-sec- 
tion, and at present owns one hundred and 
seventy-eight acres, situated on sections 14 



and 23, Tolono township. Notwithstanding 
his advancing years, which entitled him to 
rest from active labors, he would not resign 
to younger and stronger ones the tasks he 
has so long and faithfully performed, until 
about ten years ago, since which he has 
been practically retired. Several winters 
of late years he has spent some time with his 
children in Florida, thus escaping the severe 
northern season. His life record is that of 
a citizen who has earnestly sought to do his 
whole duty toward his country, community 
and family, and all who have had dealings 
with him unite in praise of his honorable, 
straightforward methods. He has given his 
ballot to the Republican party for years, 
but has quietly declined the temptation of 
public office. Both he and his wife are 
sterling members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church, and at various times he has oc- 
cupied official positions in the congregation, 
at present being a trustee. They have 
justly merited the peace and happiness 
which they now enjoy, and the evening- 
time of life brings to them few regrets and 
much of hope and pleasure. 



JOHN W. TURNER, M. D. Among 
the prominent members of the medical 
profession of Champaign county is the 
gentleman whose name heads this sketch, 
now located at Homer. He is a native of 
Clay county, Indiana, his birth having oc- 
curred March 24, 1839. He is a son of 
John T. and Catherine (Shane) Turner, the 
former a native of Maryland and the latter 
of Virginia. The father settled in Bowling 
Green, Indiana, about 1828, and engaged in 
the business of manufacturing buggies and 
wagons, also carrying on a blacksmith shop. 
He owned a farm but had no time to attend 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



345 



to its cultivation. In 1854 he sold out and 
settled in Cumberland county, Illinois, where 
he dwelt until his death in 1860. The wife 
and mother lived until 1876, and of their 
nine children seven have passed away, 
namely: Almira, Andrew H., Sarah, Will- 
iam W., Susanna, Harvey and Catherine. 
Joseph H., who served throughout the Civil 
war in the Forty-eighth Illinois Infantry, is 
now sheriff of Pacific county, Washington, 
and has acted in this office for four terms 
previously. To himself and wife, Martha, 
eight children were born. 

Dr. John W. Turner received an excel- 
lent education and made the best of his 
privileges, for at seventeen we find him en- 
gaged in teaching in Cumberland county, 
Illinois, and he continued to devote himself 
to that calling until 1865. His desire to see 
something of the great west led to his join- 
ing a party, one of the number being Judge 
W. E. Smith, who crossed the plains to 
Oregon, the trip taking about six months. 
From Omaha westward the party had great 
trouble with the Indians, and for weeks at a 
time some one had to act as guard while the 
others slept. Several times they were 
obliged to remain behind their barricades 
two or three days, and at South Pass, 
Dakota, where the Sioux Indians were on the 
war-path, the entire company to which our 
subject belonged narrowly escaped slaughter. 
They were timely rescued by some friendly 
miners and prospectors of the locality, but 
learned later, with horror, that the very 
night following a caravan of eight wagons, 
men, women and children, were massacred 
in South Pass. Upon arriving in Oregon, 
Mr. Turner resumed his former occupation 
of teaching, for teachers were in great de- 
mand, and for six years he was thus em- 
ployed in Washington county, about seven 



miles from Portland. He then entered 
Willamette University at Salem, and, after 
taking a course in the sciences, took up the 
study of medicine, which, indeed, he had 
formerly made a beginning in at his old Illi- 
nois home with Dr. L. A. Smith. Imme- 
diately after his graduation, he was urged to 
accept a position in St. Elizabeth's Hospital, 
at Vancouver, and for four years he was 
connected with that institution. 

In the Centennial year, Dr. Turner came 
back to Illinois, and for some five years was 
located in Oakland, Coles county. Then 
selling out his practice, he removed to Fair- 
mount, Illinois, and during the fifteen years 
of his stay there built up a large and 
remunerative business. He was one of the 
most popular citizens there, and served as 
mayor five terms, besides being chosen mas- 
ter of the local Masonic lodge five terms. 
In 1896 he gave up his practice to his part- 
ner, Dr. J. W. Wright, and came to Homer, 
where his reputation for skill had preceded 
him. He is rapidly gaining the confidence 
of the public, and bids fair to become the 
family physician of as many families as in 
other places where he has dwelt for any 
length of time. He is a member of the 
Champaign County Medical and the Illinois 
State Medical Associations. 

Dr. Turner was married July26, 1895,10 
Miss Celia Furguson, of Parksburg, Iowa. 
By a former marriage he has five children, 
namely: Alvah M., a traveling salesman 
for the Goshen Pharmaceutical Company, 
with his home in Rockford, Illinois; Sharon 
C. , shipping clerk for the Oregon Steam 
Navigation Company, at Astoria, Oregon; 
Nancy C., wife of J. E. Busby, of Homer 
township; Mary, music teacher, living at 
home; and John W. , who is a student in 
the Homer high school. 



346 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



For many years Dr. Turner has taken a 
very active part in the work of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, and while a resident 
of Fairrnount not only served as a member 
of the official board of the church, but also 
acted as superintendent of the Sunday- 
school. He is a Republican, and socially is 
connected with Homer Lodge, No. 199, F. 
& A. M., and the Order of the Eastern 
Star. 



HUBERT CHESTER, deceased, late of 
the Chester Transfer Line of Cham- 
paign, is descended from an old English 
family of Chester, England, that traced their 
ancestry back to the Romans, who settled 
in that country prior to the time of William 
the Conqueror. John Chester, the pro- 
genitor of the family in America, came to 
New England with two brothers and bought 
the Governor Winthrope property, but made 
his home in the Gore house at Groton, Con- 
necticut, where he lived many years and 
which was in the family for more than 
seventy years. Simeon Chester, the sixth 
son of John, first married a Miss Bent, of 
Boston, and soon afterward, in company 
with John Starr and wife, he removed to 
Nova Scotia, but when the Revolutionary 
war broke out they returned to the United 
States. They were pursued by adherents 
of the British crown and had to secret them- 
selves in the woods, where they were fed by 
their wives until they found an opportunity 
to escape, aided by friendly Indians who 
acted as guides through the forests. With 
their wives they made the entire distance to 
Groton. Connecticut, on foot. They lost 
all their property in Nova Scotia. Elias 
Chester, the second child of Simeon, moved 
to Franklin county, Ohio, and located on a 



tract of land given his father to reimburse 
him for his losses during the Revolutionary 
war. He was one of the first settlers of 
that locality and to the improvement and 
cultivation of his place he at once turned 
his attention. He married Hannah Vin- 
cent Freeman, and in their family was Elias 
Chester, the father of our subject, who 
spent his entire life as a farmer on the old 
homestead in Franklin county, Ohio, al- 
though shortly before his deatrT he visited 
Champaign and made preparations to re- 
move here. He was a man of considerable 
prominence in public affairs, and an influ- 
ential member of the Presbyterian church. 
He married Anna M. Smith. 

Hubert Chester was born in Franklin 
county, Ohio, in 1841, and remained on the 
farm until twenty years of age, acquiring a 
good common-school education. He then 
went to Columbus, Ohio, where he was em- 
ployed as bookkeeperby the Columbus Trans- 
fer Company, and while there obtained his 
first knowledge of the transfer business. After 
a short time spent with that firm, he came to- 
Champaign county, Illinois, in 1867, where 
his brother, Ezra E. , had located two or 
three years previously. Here he purchased 
a half section of wild land from the govern- 
ment, and at once turned his attention to 
the improvement and development of his 
place after erecting a house there. Before 
leaving Ohio, he had married Miss Melvina 
S. Needless, of that state, and here they 
commenced life in true pioneer style. He 
continued to reside upon his farm until 1885. 
and converted it into one of the most attract- 
ive and desirable places of its size in the 
county. He took particular interest in edu- 
cational affairs and held several school offices, 
but would not accept political positions, al- 
though he was a man of considerable 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



347 



prominence in his community. In 1885 he 
removed to Champaign to educate his chil- 
dren, and the following year purchased the 
bus and transfer business now carried on by 
the estate and managed by his son H. F. At 
that time the business was small, but he 
soon built it up, carrying passengers, bag- 
gage, mail, etc. He had all- the business in 
that line in the city, having a contract with 
the railroad companies, which made it im- 
possible for others to solicit passengers, as 
the railroads issued tickets over his line. 
He successfully engaged in that business up 
to the time of his death, which occurred 
January 20, 1897. His wife died October 
30, 1885, soon after the removal of the 
family to Champaign. She was a consistent 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
while he was reared in the Presbyterian faith. 
In the family of this worthy couple were eight 
children, four sons and four daughters, 
namely: Charles E., a prominent civil en- 
gineer now connected with the mineral sur- 
vey of New Mexico; John N., chief engineer 
of the American Water Works Company of 
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Hubert F., our 
subject; Gertrude A., at home; Nell, wife of 
Willis A. Graves, of Ottumwa, Iowa; Will 
ford D., who is connected with the company 
manufacturing the Babcock-Wilcox boilers 
at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; and Edith and 
Virginia, both at home. 

Hubert F. Chester began his education 
in the schools near his boyhood home, and 
completed it in the Champaign high school, 
from which he was graduated in 1887. His 
brothers graduated from the University of 
Illinois. After leaving school he traveled 
for a jewelry house for six years and a half, 
and was connected with other jewelry 
houses until his father's death in 1897, when 
he took charge of the transfer business and 



is still manager of the estate. He is a pro- 
gressive, enterprising and energetic busi- 
ness man, and is doing quite a large and 
profitable business. He supports the Pres- 
byterian church, is a member of the Benevo- 
lent and Protective Order of Elks, and is an 
active Republican, though not an aspirant 
for office. 



WADE LENINGTON, an enterprising 
young business man of St. Joseph, is 
one of the native sons of Champaign county, 
his birth having occurred upon his father's 
homestead in Condit township, July 29, 
1864. His grandfather, Truman Lening- 
ton, born in 1800, was one of the pioneers 
of Licking county, Ohio, going to that lo- 
cality about 1832, and there clearing a 
farm in the depths of the forest. He was 
an upright, intelligent citizen, doing his full 
duty toward his family and neighbors, and 
death did not claim him until he had reached 
the ripe age of seventy-five years. 

The parents of our subject are William 
and Lucinda J. (French) Lenington. The 
father was born in New Jersey, April 17, 
1825, and with his parents settled in the 
wilds of the Buckeye state when he was a 
child. There he was reared to maturity and 
then married Julia Condit, and a few years 
later came to Champaign county. Locat- 
ing in Condit township he has since been 
actively identified with its welfare and up- 
building, and from time to time was called 
upon to fill positions of honor and responsi- 
bility. He now lives retired in Champaign, 
having amassed a goodly fortune by industry 
and the exercise of his business ability. He 
still owns some five hundred acres in Con- 
dit township, and has other good invest- 
ments. For many years he has been 



348 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



actively connected with the work of the 
Presbyterian church. After the death of 
the wife of his youth, he married Mrs. 
Lucinda (French) Pierson, and four chil- 
dren were born to them: Ira, who died in 
childhood; Wade; Dr. James T. , a dentist 
of Springfield, Illinois; and Allen S., who 
resides with his parents. Grant E. , a son 
of the first marriage, is the proprietor of 
the hotel at Tolono, this county, and Helen 
M., his sister, is the wife of J. R. Trevett, of 
the firm of Trevett & Mattis, loan brokers 
and bankers of Champaign. 

Wade Lenington received a good educa- 
tion in the public schools of his neighbor- 
hood, completing with a course of instruc- 
tions at the Collegiate Institute, at Paxton, 
Illinois. He remained upon the homestead 
after attaining his majority, and was em- 
ployed at a fixed salary by his father until 
the latter's removal to Champaign, when 
the young man assumed full charge of the 
place and managed it successfully for two 
years. Then, yielding to a strong desire to 
see something of the great west, he went to 
Colorado, and at Trinidad he entered into 
partnership with B. L. Beatty, and estab- 
lished a store where second-hand goods 
were handled and sold to miners. Qn the 
1st of July, 1888. the store was destroyed by 
fire and most of the stock met the same fate. 
Selling out his interest in the remainder, Mr. 
Lenington decided to engage in agricultural 
pursuits, and going to Las Animas county, 
Colorado, he entered a quarter section of 
government land, and stayed there long 
enough to obtain a title to the property. He 
then entered the employ of the government, 
being connected with the geological survey 
corps of Colorado for some time. 

At length, returning to his native coun- 
ty, Mr. Lenington accepted a position with 



J. Hamilton & Sons, lumber merchants of 
Champaign. At the expiration of six 
months he took a similar place with a 
Charleston (Illinois) firm, with which he 
continued for two years, later being em- 
ployed by the Ft. Howard (Wisconsin) 
Lumber Company. In August, 1894, he 
purchased the St. Joseph branch of the 
business of J. Hamilton & Sons, of Cham- 
paign, and by strict attention to the needs 
of the local trade, and a genuine desire to 
please his customers, he has succeeded in 
building up a profitable business. He keeps 
a complete line of lumber and building ma- 
terial, in addition to which he has con- 
stantly in stock, paints, oil, lime and cement. 

The marriage of Mr. Lenington and 
Marie L. Palmer took place January 28, 
1895. She is a daughter of I. S. and The- 
resa (Smith) Palmer, the former a resident 
of Muncie, Indiana. Mrs. Lenington was 
born in New York state and was but a child 
when she came to Illinois. Her mother 
died when she was in her sixteenth year. 

Since casting his lot with the residents 
of St. Joseph, Mr. Lenington has taken an 
active part in everything pertaining to its 
improvement. He has served the people 
as a member of the town board, and that he 
is a firm believer in the future of the place 
is shown from the fact that he erected a 
comfortable residence here, and is one of 
the directors of the Building, Loan & In- 
vestment Association of St. Joseph. Polit- 
ically he is a Republican, while in the fra- 
ternities he has been an officer in both the 
Knights of Pythias and Ben Hur lodges. 



L WILSON PORTERFIELD. Prom- 
inent among the energetic, enterprising 
and successful business men of St. Joseph is, 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



349 



the subject of this sketch a well-known 
grain and coal dealer of that village. He 
is a native of Champaign and was educated 
in the schools of that city, completing his 
education by a course in civil engineering at 
the University of Illinois. On starting out 
in life for himself, he embarked in the grain 
business at Fairmount, Illinois, where he 
remained two years, and during the follow- 
ing year was associated in business with his 
brother, E. N. Porterfield, then city engin- 
eer of Kearney, and county surveyor of 
Buffalo county, Nebraska. Returning to 
Illinois, in September, 1892, he purchased 
the elevator and grain business at St. Joseph 
and has since been prominently identified 
with the interests of that place. Soon after 
locating here his elevator was destroyed by 
fire, but with characteristic energy he at 
once rebuilt, and now has a substantial ele- 
vator with a capacity of thirty-five thousand 
bushels and equipped with facilities for 
handling grain to the best advantage. He 
is a wide-awake, progressive business man 
and is meeting with well-deserved success in 
his undertakings. In politics he supports 
Republican principles, and in his social re- 
lations is a member of the Benevolent and 
Protective Order of Elks. 

J. B. Porterfield, the father of our sub- 
ject, for many years one of the most honored 
and highly respected citizens of this county, 
was born on the loth of August, 1826, in 
Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, and was a 
son of Samuel and Nancy Porterfield, also 
natives of the Keystone state. He was 
reared to manhood upon a farm, and was 
married in Worthington, Pennsylvania, May 
4, 1848, to Miss Elvira H. Elaine, a daughter 
of John Elaine, who, in 1 863, came to Cham- 
paign county, Illirtois, and made his home in 
Sidney, where he died, February 20, 1890. 



In early life J. B. Porterfield developed 
an inclination to engage in an occupation 
which would furnish a wider field for oper- 
ations than farming, and soon after reach- 
ing his majority he took up railroad con- 
tracting. His first contract was on the 
Allegheny Valley railroad in Pennsylvania. 
After completing that contract he came to 
Illinois, and in April, 1857, located in West 
Urbana, now Champaign, where he made 
his home until his removal to the farm in 
1866. As a contractor he began work on 
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad 
soon after coming to this state, and subse- 
quently was with the Illinois Central Rail- 
road, having lor a period of eleven years, 
from 1857 to 1868, the contract for fence 
building and furnishing wood and ties for 
that road. In 1882 he assisted in construct- 
ing the Eureka Springs Railroad in Arkansas. 
In 1884 he organized the Sidney Coal Com- 
pany and sunk the first shaft ever sunk in 
the county. He become extensively inter- 
ested in farming property, owning some 
twelve hundred acres of valuable land in 
Sidney and Raymond townships, and after 
1858 carried on large farming operations 
besides his various other enterprises. He 
was a man of superior executive ability and 
great energy, possessed of keen foresight and 
sound judgment, and at an early day fore- 
saw the possibilities of this county, and 
wisely invested in unimproved land, and in 
improving it he contributed his full share 
toward the development of the county. 

Mr. Porterfield was a man of fine phy- 
sique and commanding personal appearance, 
and was recognized as one of the leading 
citizens of Champaign county. Progress- 
ive and public-spirited, his influence was al- 
ways given to any public enterprise and for 
the development and advancement of the 



350 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



county and its interests. In early life he 
affiliated with the Republican party, but 
later became independent in politics and 
supported by his ballot and influence such 
men and measures as would in his judgment 
be for the best interest of the whole coun- 
try. During his early manhood he was an 
active worker in the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and contributed liberally to the 
erection of the first church of that denom- 
ination in Champaign. He belonged to that 
class of broad-minded men who ignore 
the boundaries set by partisan prejudice and 
use the true dignity of American citizenship 
and vote as their best judgment dictates. If 
there were more such in this day a purer, 
healthier government for the people and by 
the people would be the result. Mr. Por- 
terfield was in sentiment and practice a 
strong temperance man and would never 
vote for a man in any party whose influence 
was not for temperance and good morals. 
In the organization of the Farmers Associa- 
tion of this county, he was one of its most 
active promoters, and spent both time and 
money in the interest of the organization. 
He was also a prominent member of the 
Farmers' Association of the state, and for 
some time served as state purchasing agent 
and secretary. This was the first attempt on 
the part of the farmers at mutual protection 
and organization, and he was a "most zeal- 
ous worker for their interests. His last 
days were spent in retirement from active 
labor in the village of Sidney, where he passed 
away February 20, 1890, after a useful and 
well-spent life. His wife survived him some 
time, dying December 1 8, 1896. She was a 
consistent and faithful member of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, and was universally 
liked and respected for for her many good 
qualities and exemplary character. 



To this worthy couple were born thirteen 
children, of whom three died in infancy. 
The others are as follows: M. F., a banker of 
Fairmount, Illinois; E. N., who was for 
several years city engineer of Kearney, Ne- 
braska, but is now engaged in the real estate 
business at Kearney, Nebraska; S. Emmet, 
a grain dealer of Sidney, Illinois; J. Curtis, 
who is in the government employ as in- 
spector at the Union Stock Yards, Chicago; 
L. Wilson, our subject; J. Burt, grain 
dealer, Sidney, Illinois; Mary B., a resident 
of Sidney, Illinois; Carrie, wife of C. J. 
Freeman, of Decatur, Illinois; Nettie M., 
wife of John A. Largent, an attorney of 
Great Falls, Montana; and Robert H., who 
died at the age of eighteen years at Sidney, 
Illinois. 



THOMAS JONATHAN BURRILL. The 
name Burrill, or as it is more commonly 
spelled, Burrell, presumably originated in 
England, sometime after the thirteenth cen- 
tury, from bur or burr, the dry fruit of a 
plant. The spine-covered bur of the Euro- 
pean teasel was, during several centuries, 
the sole tool used in combing or raising a 
nap on woolen goods, and the process was 
called burring the cloth; the operators were 
called burrers. It is well known that sur- 
names like Smith, Carpenter, Brewer, etc. 
were first names of occupations rather than 
of persons, and it can scarcely be doubted 
that Burr, Burritt, Burwell, Burrill, and 
others have been similarly derived from the 
older terms used by makers of woolen cloth. 
At all events the family with which we are 
now concerned were very generally weavers 
and carried on their manufactories in the 
north of England from the earliest time of 
which any trace can be found in their history. 




THOMAS J. HURR1LL, LL. D. 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



353 



Like the other north-countrymen they were 
a race of hardy, vigorous, strong-bodied, 
and strong-minded people, who paid small 
attention to. the softer refinements of life, 
but who were early and resolute combatants 
for civil freedom, and for religious liberty. 
In the later generations they were artisans 
skilled in their crafts, citizens who supported 
constituted authority, and soldiers who 
shrunk not from service on the battlefield. 
They were mostly adherents of the Estab- 
lished church. 

On the maternal side in the history now 
in hand, the name was Francis, and the 
family lived in and near Belfast, Ireland. 
For some generations they were Irish by 
nativity, though Scotch by ancestry. There 
is some evidence that the line runs back to 
the followers of William the Conqueror and 
that the name still preserves its connection 
with that of the founders of the French 
monarchy. 

In the spring of 1818 Thomas Burrill 
left Penrith, England, with his five mother- 
less children to find a home in America. 
The youngest of these children was John, 
then in his ninth year, and of him more is 
to be said. Passage was secured in a sail- 
ing vessel destined for New York. The voy- 
age proved a very tempestous one and the 
somewhat disabled ship was driven from her 
course and was at length completely wrecked 
on rocks off Machias bay, Maine. The 
lives of all on board were fortunately saved 
by the use of a line sent to the shore of an 
island, but everything else was lost. The 
passengers found themselves among strapg- 
ers with nothing whatever of material kind 
to help themselves. However, a hospitable 
home for his children was secured and the 
father started afoot for Boston, and by sim- 
ilar means subsequently reached New York, 



where he was afterwards joined by those 
whom he had left in Maine. In 1822 re- 
moval was made to Rhode Island, where 
the father and, after the custom of the time, 
the children as well found employment in 
the first successfully established cotton mills 
on the continent. 

Here John, of whom mention has been 
made above, married, in 1828, Mary Fran- 
cis, eldest daughter of Jonathan Francis, 
then a resident of Pawtucket. This man, 
distinguished locally for his remarkable 
physical and mental vigor, had left Mile 
Cross, near Belfast, Ireland, where he had 
been engaged in the manufacture and sale 
of linen goods, and, also in 1818, had started 
for the New World with a family of the 
mother and seven children. When well out 
at sea, smallpox broke out among the pas- 
sengers, and the ship headed for the nearest 
port, St. Johns, New Brunswick. Here 
they stayed several weeks, though not in 
quarantine, and until the disease had run 
its course, when the survivors sailed away 
for Rhode Island. 

John and Mary (Francis) Burrill became 
the parents of six sons and four daughters, 
of whom three of the latter early died, and 
one of the sons, the eldest, was killed in 
middle manhood by a team of frightened 
horses. The others are living ( 1 900), widely 
scattered through the United States. Five 
of these sons all except the special subject 
of this sketch were soldiers in the Civil 
war, and all returned, after honorable 
careers, to civil life, howbeit with scars of 
battle, and one, Robert F. , living in Ur- 
bana? Illinois, with an indelible memory of a 
year in Libby prison. 

The family having some time previously 
removed to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, there 
occurred in that mountain-screened town, 



354 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



on the 25th of April, 1839, the birth of the 
sixth child and third son, Thomas Jonathan, 
of whom we now write. Nine years after- 
ward the parents took their flock, consisting 
at the time of seven living children, to a new 
home in Illinois. This journey was made 
by rail to Albany, by canal to Buffalo, by 
steamer around the lakes, and by teams 120 
miles west of Chicago, to a sparsely settled 
region in Stephenson county. There two 
years before land for a farm had been en- 
tered from the general government. Every- 
thing was in a very primitive condition. All 
the people were recent arrivals. All lived 
in log houses. The frame structure soon 
erected for the Burrill family was the first 
of its kind for many miles around and most 
of the sawed stuff for this house was drawn 
by teams from Chicago. There was no 
money in circulation. Everything in trade 
was by barter. Almost the only cash re- 
ceived was for wheat delivered in Chicago, 
perhaps five to ten dollars as the net pro- 
ceeds of thirty bushels of grain, and a trip 
of ten to twelve days with a team. The 
farmers raised their own provisions and 
made their own clothing, living an inde- 
pendent but laborious life for young and old 
alike. The new land had to be cleared of 
trees and underbrush and the tough sod was 
to be turned by a home-made breaking 
plow, ironed in the country blacksmith 
shop. Oxen were used as teams. All cul- 
tivated lands had to be fenced with rails, 
hammered out of the native timber. 

Here on this farm, under these rugged 
conditions, subject to the privations and dis- 
advantages as well as to the advantages of 
pioneer life, the lad Thomas, with the oth- 
ers, grew to young manhood. During about 
four months in winter he attended the 
schools organized in the neighborhood, at 



first by private enterprises and then by pub- 
lic law. He subsequently completed a course 
of study in the Rockford high school, and 
became a teacher in the country near his old 
home. The success of these early efforts 
turned his attention towards future prep- 
ation for teaching as a life employment, and 
in 1865 he graduated from an unusually full 
course in the Illinois State Normal Univers- 
ity, near Bloomington. Here his intuitive 
love for the study of the things of nature 
was quickened into ardent activity, and it 
is probable that the course pursued was for 
him better in results than if he had followed 
an earlier expectation of entering a classical 
college, such as it was possible for him to 
reach. 

Immediately after graduation he was 
made superintendent of the public schools 
of Urbana, Illinois. Here, besides satis- 
factorily performing his official duties, he 
continued his scientific studies and soon at- 
tracted attention for his enthusiasm and 
ability in these branches. In 1867 he be- 
came botanist to Powell's Rocky mountain 
exploring expedition, and spent the sum- 
mer in Colorado. His connection with the 
Urbana schools continued until, on the 2Oth 
of April, 1868, he entered upon duty as as- 
sistant professor of natural science, and in 
charge of a department, including botany, 
zoology and geology, in the newly opened 
Illinois Industriol University, now the Uni- 
versity of Illinois. At that time in the col- 
leges of the country, it was customary to 
devote only one term to each of these 
subjects. Here was, at the outset, offered 
a year's work in each branch, and our as- 
piring naturalist gave instructions in them 
all, and from the first began the introduc- 
tion of laboratory methods, though under 
difficulties not at once to be overcome. In 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



355 



addition to the regular class instruction 
there were the duties devolving upon the 
members of the faculty of a new and devel- 
oping institution, constituting often high 
responsiblities and laborious tasks. It has 
been freely acknowledged that in these 
early years Mr. Burrill bore his share in 
these extra labors. He aided the young 
people in the organization and management 
of students' societies, and served with 
them, as a representative of the faculty, on 
a committee having in charge the college 
paper, suggesting the name " Illini," which 
it has since borne; he took charge of the 
university library as its first librarian, and 
retained the position some years, and, be- 
ginning in 1870, he was for thirteen years 
secretary of the faculty. 

In March, 1870, the trustees created 
the department of botany and horticulture, 
and appointed Professor Burrill its chief 
a position he has now held for thirty years. 
He was corresponding secretary of the 
board of trustees from 1875 to 1888, and 
during this time edited and attended to the 
printing of the biennial volumes of " Trans- 
actions. " When the office was constituted 
in the university he was made dean of the 
college of science and served for six years. 
In the meantime he became, in 1879, v i ce 
president of the university, and this posi- 
tion has since been continuously held by 
him. By virtue of this office and by special 
appointment, he has, at different times, been 
chief executive officer of the university, 
once nearly a year, in the absence of the 
president, and for three years,- i89i-'94, 
during an interregnum in the president's 
office. When at length this office was 
filled, the trustees made a new one for the 
former acting-president, viz., dean of the 
general faculty and of the graduate school. 



In addition to the above and other minor 
appointments, Professor Burrill has been a 
member of the board of directors, and 
horticulturist and botanist, of the agricultural 
experiment station since its organization in 
1888. 

To those who know the man it is un- 
necessary to say he has not sought honors 
or attempted to secure special recognition 
for service. Still such as have been be- 
stowed unasked have been valued by him. 
Having planned and planted the University 
campus and watch the development from an 
open field to the gardenesque beauty it now 
presents, there, no doubt, was genuine 
satisfaction in the act of the trustees by 
which the central, tree-lined drive, extend- 
ing north and south through the center, be- 
came Burrill avenue. 

At different times academic degrees have 
been bestowed upon the well-known recipient, 
by institutions other than his own; the last 
was that of Doctor of Laws by the North- 
western University at Evanston, Illinois. He 
is also entitled to write after his name initials 
indicating fellowships in American and 
European organizations, and in some of 
these he has at times served as one of the 
principal officers. 

In his chief lines of research he is widely 
recognized as an authority and has the dis- 
tinction of first making known the fact that 
bacteria are disease producers in plants, as 
well as in animals. The subject of parasitic 
fungi was also early taken up and, before 
anyone else in America had made much ad- 
vancement in the study, some valuable re- 
ports were issued. In 1888 a United States 
commission was to be appointed to settle a 
scientific controversy concerning communi- 
cable diseases of swine. His well-known 
studies upon bacteria in general designated 



356 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Dr. Burrill as one of the best men in the 
country for the services and he was accord- 
ingly made a member of the commission, 
and ultimately shared in the responsibility 
of the report rendered. 

Probably, however, nothing in the nature 
of a testimonial so touched the receiver as 
-did that presented by the faculty of the 
University to the acting president, at the 
conclusion of his service as such in 1894. 
To show their appreciation of these services 
the members of the faculty caused an ad- 
dress to be made to him and accompanied it 
toy a set of the volumes of the Century Dic- 
tionary, then recently issued. The occasion 
was one long to be remembered by all pres- 
ent. During the three years of his service 
the University had taken a very decided for- 
ward movement. The internal troubles, 
which had through some years disturbed its 
peace, had very soon subsided and new ones 
had not arisen; great extensions had been 
made to freedom in the choice of studies by 
students, and the whole educational policy 
had been much modified; the ban previous- 
ly placed upon Greek-letter fraternities had 
been removed, much to the satisfaction of a 
considerable number of the students ;the mili- 
tary department, from which many diffi- 
culties of general management had been ex- 
perienced, had been reorganized and so ad- 
justed that further trouble was unknown; 
the appropriations by the State Legislature 
had suddenly become liberal, instead of the 
small sums previously granted at the bien- 
nial session, and with the increased funds 
notable additions to the buildings and 
equipment had been made, and the number 
of teachers had rapidly increased; with all 
this the number of students in attendance 
became greatly augmented. 

No man nor set of men can claim the 



credit for the advance thus made. The 
movement came from many causes com- 
bined, but among these there has been no 
hesitation in acknowledging the favorable 
contributions and influence of the acting 
president. The trustees and the faculty, 
as has been seen, each took special action, 
prompted by this feeling and the desire for 
its expression. The larger, more rapid de- 
velopment that has been brought about 
since 1894 is decidedly creditable to the 
new president and his colaborers, but this 
does not diminish the importance of the 
work previously done. 

In private life Mr. Burrill is held in high 
esteem. He has been active in the dis- 
charge of the duties of a citizen and has 
endeavored in every way within his power 
to make the twin cities of Champaign and 
Urbana pleasant and reputable places of 
residence for a cultured people, and as 
proper homes for the ever-increasing body 
of students. He is a member of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church, and has been known 
all his adult life in politics as a Republican, 
but as one who would scratch a ticket if he 
felt it necessary for the best results. 

In 1868 he married Miss Sarah H. 
Alexander, of Seneca Falls, New York, and 
she now shares, with their two daughters, 
the home in Urbana, than which there is 
none other in the city better known. 



CALVIN B. BUTLER. Concentration 
and industry rarely fail to bring suc- 
cess, when integrity and genuine desire to 
meet the wishes of the public are united 
with the other traits of character men- 
tioned. No one stands higher in the esti- 
mation of the general public of Homer than 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



357' 



Calvin B. Butler, whose career plainly shows 
what may be accomplished by an intelli- 
gent, straightforward young man, desirous 
of success. 

Several of the relatives and ancestors of 
Mr. Butler were soldiers in the war of the 
Revolution, and from that day to the pres- 
ent the name has been synonymous with 
patriotism. His grandfather, Peter H. But- 
ler, formerly of Butler county, Ohio, came 
to Illinois in 1855, and was extensively en- 
gaged in farming in Vance township, Ver- 
milion county, until his death. Only one of 
his five children now survives, namely: Mrs. 
Celia A. Linkmeyer, of Sharonville, Ohio. 

James, the eldest son of Peter H. But- 
ler, and father of our subject, was born in 
Oxford, Ohio, and there followed farming, 
as his ancestors had done. Believing him- 
self called to the ministry in the Methodist 
Episcopal church, he was fitting himself for 
his work when the summons came to him 
to lay aside his earthly burdens. He died 
in July, 1857, scarcely two years after his 
arrival in Vermilion county, where he had 
found a new home for his wife and children. 
The eldest child died in infancy. Frances M. 
is the wife of F. M. Smith, a druggist of 
Homer. Mrs. Butler bore the maiden 
name of Mary B. Bevis, and was born in 
the town of Bevis, Ohio, which place was 
founded by her father, James A. Bevis, who, 
at an early date, removed from Massachu- 
setts to Hamilton county, Ohio. For many 
years he conducted a hotel in Bevis, and, 
besides, carried on a farm in the vicinity. 
Mrs. Butler was one of six children, three of 
whom were daughters. After the death of 
James Butler, she became the wife of Henry 
Ervin, and they make their home in this 
place. Two of their seven children are de- 
ceased, and those living are named, re- 



spectively: Flora E., James Wilbur, Nettie 
M., Jessie C. and Nora B. 

Calvin B. Butler was born January 20, 
1856, in Vermilion county, Illinois, and was 
an infant when his mother brought him to 
Homer. Here he attended school, and 
later went to Farmers' College, at College 
Hill, Ohio. Upon his return he was at once 
employed by Solomon Plaut as a book- 
keeper and cashier in the Citizens Bank of 
Homer. In October, 1878, he went to 
Monticello, where he engaged in the market 
business for a year or so, and in May, 1879, 
he returned to Homer and became deputy 
postmaster, a position he held acceptably 
for six years. He also held the agency for 
the Pacific Express Company, and in April, 
1885, he became messenger for that com- 
pany, between Chicago and Forest, on the 
Wabash railroad. He then was made agent 
at the last-named place, but returned to 
Homer in 1885, and on the 26th of August 
entered the employ of W. W. Mudge, with 
whom he remained exactly six years, com- 
mencing at noon on the 26th of August and 
quitting at noon on the 26th of August. In 
the summer of 1891 he decided to embark 
in business for himself, and made arrange- 
ments with the Homer lodge of Odd Fel- 
lows to erect a building, in which he might 
have suitable quarters for a hardware store. 
Buying out the stock of C. J. Tinkham, he 
took possession of his new belongings on 
the 26th of August, 1891, commencing to 
invoice the stock immediately after dinner. 
After renting a store-room for six years, he 
bought his present block, which is com- 
modious and in every way fitted for his 
business, now grown to large proportions. 
He not only carries a fine line of hardware, 
but all kinds of farm machinery, bicycles,, 
buggies and wagons. 



358 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



In addition to managing his regular 
business with energy and enterprise, Mr. 
Butler is local agent for the Home Insur- 
ance Company of New York, and for the 
Springfield Fire & Marine Insurance Com- 
pany; the Insurance Company of North 
America, of Erie, Pennsylvania; the Hart- 
ford Fire Insurance Company of Hartford, 
and the New York Underwriters Associa- 
tion, of New York city. He is a stock- 
holder and director of the Homer Fair 
Association, has served on the town board, 
and is a stanch Republican. Fraternally, 
he belongs to Homer Lodge, No. 199, F. & 
A. M. ; and Homer Chapter, No. 94. R. 
A. M., being secretary of the last named. 
He is also connected with Homer Lodge, 
No. 252, I. O. O. F. 

The marriage of Mr. Butler and Venora 
L. Whitlock, daughter of Stephen H. and 
Jane (Horton) Whitlock, natives of Ohio, 
was solemnized September 8, 1880. In 
early life Mr. Whitlock was a carpenter, 
but about thirty years ago he entered the 
ministry, and at present is the presiding 
elder of the Mattoon district of the Method- 
ist Episcopal church. His four children, 
Venora, Ward B., Mabel R. and Muriel 
M., are all living. The union of our sub- 
ject and wife has been blessed with four 
children: Drew W. , born November 14, 
1 88 1, died in February, 1882. Mary M., 
born Janaury 17, 1884, is a student in the 
high school. Roxy J., born January I, 
1886, and Laura B., born January 25, 1888, 
are also attending the Homer schools. 
That Mr. Butler is greatly interested in the 
matter of educating the young has been 
shown by serving as a member of the 
school board six years. With his family, he 
is identified with the Methodist Episcopal 
church. 



JOHN DRESBACK. St. Joseph, Cham- 
paign county, has many thoroughly pa- 
triotic and enterprising citizens, none more 
so than the gentleman of whom the follow- 
ing lines are penned. He has done every- 
thing within his power to promote local in- 
terests, and by the judicious expenditure of 
time, energy and means, has accomplished 
much for the town with which he has been 
identified for several decades. 

Mr. Dresback is of German extraction, 
and his paternal grandfather, Jacob Dres- 
back, was born in Pennsylvania and spent 
a portion of his life there. Our subject's 
parents, Jacob and Catherine (Hoy) Dres- 
back, were natives of Luzerne county, Penn- 
sylvania. The father removed to the Buck- 
eye state in early manhood and was married 
in Fairfield county. About 1830 he settled 
in the heavily timbered section of Logan 
county, Ohio, and cleared a farm of one 
hundred and twenty acres in the forest. He 
was a carpenter by trade and found plenty 
of employment at that calling in the inter- 
vals of his farming duties. In 1853 he 
came to St. Joseph township and there 
passed the rest of his life, his death occur- 
ring in August, 1855. His wife lived until 
1882, and both were placed to rest in the 
Patterson cemetery. They were Presby- 
terians in religious belief, and in political 
creed Mr. Dresback was a Democrat. Their 
three eldest children are deceased. Irvin, 
whose death occurred in 1851, was in his 
twentieth year. Ira and Olive departed this 
life in childhood. Elizabeth, born April 2, 
1836, became the wife of I. M. Kuder, of 
St. Joseph, and died November 18, 1899. 
Sarah A., born May 22, 1837, and widow of 
Isaac Brown, resides in Arlington, Oklaho- 
ma. Amanda C., born May 25, 1838, is 
the widow of Reuben C. Koch, and her 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



359 



home is in St. Joseph township. Mary, 
born February 29, 1844. died in January, 
1856. 

The birth of John Dresback took place 
in Logan county, February 15. 1843. He 
was a boy of ten years at the time that the 
family came to this township, and was soon 
bereft of his father. Being the only son left 
to his widowed mother the cares of the fam- 
ily early devolved upon him, and he man- 
fully performed his tasks. In the meantime 
he gained a fair education, and when about 
twenty years of age he applied for a certifi- 
cate to teach, and for several years he de- 
voted the greater share of his time and at- 
tention to that line of work. In 1865 he 
took a course at Bryant & Stratton's Busi- 
ness College, in Buffalo, New York, thus 
qualifying himself for a commercial career. 

The marriage of Mr. Dresback and Jen- 
nie Treece was solemnized at Vanlue, Ohio, 
December 17, 1865. She is a daughter of 
Cornelius and Hettie (Myers) Treece, and 
was born June 26, 1849, in Amanda town- 
ship, Hancock county, Ohio, and was reared 
in Vanlue, where her father resided after 
retiring from active cares. Three children 
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Dresback. Or- 
rin D. , born October 22. 1866, married 
Sophia K. Geibel, and is engaged in the 
poultry business at Ogden. Illinois. Alfred 
L. , born September 12, 1871, died August 
20, 1872. Pearl Gertrude, born February 
5, 1877, is the wife of Charles Peabody, a 
dealer in implements at Longview, Illinois. 

For about four years after his marriage 
Mr. Dresback continued to engage in teach- 
ing school, and returned to St. Joseph in 
August, 1867. In 1 869 he opened a general 
store in the old part of the town, and when 
the railroad was put through here he re- 
moved to the new village. Here he erected 



the building now occupied by George C. 
Swafford, and here he was actively engaged 
in business until 1878, when he sold out. 
Since that time he has given his attention 
to his present line of business, dealing ex- 
tensively in poultry, game and eggs, and 
shipping to the city markets in large 
quantities. In 1893 he erected the brick 
building which he now occupies, and, alto- 
gether, he has built about half a dozen of 
the substantial residences and business 
blocks of this place. For many years he 
has been director and secretary of the St. 
Joseph Building, Loan & Investment As- 
sociation and is one of the most enthusias- 
tic workers in the organization. To his 
efforts are due many of the substantial im- 
provements which our citizens enjoy, and 
he is considered one of the most public 
spirited citizens of the place. As great con- 
fidence is placed in his fidelity and good 
judgment, he has been called upon to serve 
in the capacity of town clerk and township 
commissioner, and for the past twenty-six 
years he has been the treasurer of the town- 
ship schools. Fraternally, he is a charter 
member of St. Joseph Lodge, No. 222, 
Modern Woodmen of America, and at present 
holds the office of master of finance in St. 
Joseph Lodge, No. 222, Knight of Pythias. 
He also belongs to the Grand Army of the 
Republic, as, in 1862, he enlisted in Com- 
pany K, Sixty-seventh Illinois Volunteer In- 
fantry, but on account of temporary dis- 
ability he was placed upon detached duty, 
and was stationed on guard duty at Camp 
Douglas, Chicago, where he remained four 
months. Both himself and wife are mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, and 
at present he is officiating as steward. Polit- 
ically, he is identified with the Republican 
party. 



360 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



JC. GARDINER, the present efficient 
and popular supervisor of Ogden town- 
ship, and a leading merchant of the village 
of Ogden, has gained a wide reputation as 
a most capable business man, and occupies 
a position of no little prominence in con- 
nection with the political affairs of the 
county. His life demonstrates what may 
be accomplished through energy, careful 
management, keen foresight and the utiliza- 
tion of the powers with which nature has 
endowed one, and the opportunities with 
which the times surround him. 

Mr. Gardiner is proud to claim Illinois 
as his native state, his birth occurring in 
Pike county, May 4, 1861. His parents are 
William and Phcbe A. (Stanley) Gardiner. 
The father was born in Ireland, in 1825, 
and when twelve years of age came alone to 
America. He was married in McDonough 
county, Illinois, and soon afterward located 
in Pike county, where he purchased a small 
farm, which he operated until 1868, and 
then removed to Logan county, this state, 
making his home there for one year. At 
the end of that time he went to Piatt coun- 
ty, Illinois, where he bought one hundred 
and sixty acres of land, and to its improve- 
ment and cultivation devoted his time and 
attention until 1887. During that year he 
sold his property in this state and moved to 
Adams county, Nebraska, where he pur- 
chased four hundred acres of land and con- 
tinued to engage in agricultural pursuits 
quite extensively until recently, but is now 
living a retired life in Hastings, Nebraska. 
In politics he is a stanch Republican, and 
in religious belief is a Methodist, taking an 
active part in the work of church and Sun- 
day school, and contributing liberally to 
their support. 

The subject of this sketch is the fourth 



in order of birth in a family of twelve chil- 
dren, the others being James, who was ac- 
cidentally killed at about the age of nineteen 
years; Martha, wife of C. W. Yapp, an ex- 
tensive farmer of Mansfield, Illinois; Eliza- 
beth, wife of J. O. Smothers, of Osman, 
Illinois; Joseph, a prominent attorney of 
Hastings, Nebraska; Frank, who is engaged 
in the mercantile business in Adams county, 
that state; David, who, in partnership with 
our subject, is engaged in merchandising in 
Wingate, Indiana; Fred, who died at the 
age of eighteen years; Harry, who is con- 
nected with the firm of Gardiner Brothers 
at Wingate, Indiana; Letitia, deceased;. 
Lucy, wife of Clark Young, who lives on 
the home farm in Adams county, Nebraska; 
and Elmer, deceased. Fred, Letitaand El- 
mer all died from diphtheria within a week. 
J. C. Gardiner was reared on the home 
farm and acquired his education in the com- 
mon schools of the neighborhood. On 
reaching his majority he started out in life 
on his own account as a farmer, first oper- 
ating rented land near Mansfield in Piatt 
county. Later he came to Champaign 
county, and rented a two- hundred-acre 
farm in Ogden township from J. W. Lewis, 
which he conducted for five years, at the 
end of which time he bought a small farm 
within a half mile of the village of Ogden. 
In 1891 he was elected assessor of his 
township, and while performing the duties 
of that office he also operated his farm- 
without help. In the fall of the same year 
he sold the place and bought a small stock 
of groceries, with which he commenced his 
mercantile business in the L. W. Baird 
building at Ogden. For the first year his 
stock consisted only of groceries, but later 
he began adding other lines, and increased 
his stock from time to time to meet the 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



growing demands of his trade. In 1894 he 
purchased his present store building from 
\V. F. Jenkins and now occupies two good 
rooms, carrying a large and well-selected 
stock of general merchandise. There is 
probably no neater or better conducted es- 
tablishment in the county. He is deserving 
of much credit for the success he has 
achieved, as he came to this county a poor 
man, and when entering upon his commer- 
cial career had but four hundred and fifty 
dollars to invest; but being a man of sound 
judgment and good business ability, he has 
overcome the obstacles in his path and is 
now at the head of a large and prosperous 
business. In 1898, in addition to his in- 
terests here, he became an equal partner 
with his brother David in the mercantile 
firm of Gardiner Brothers, of Wingate, 
Indiana, and spent a few months in estab- 
lishing the business there which his brother 
now carries on. 

On the i3th of March, 1887, in Mans- 
field, Illinois, Mr. Gardiner was united in 
marriage with Miss Ettie House, a native of 
Sadorus township, this county, and a 
daughter of Absalom and Martha (Smith) 
House. She is a graduate of the Mans- 
field high school, and is a lady of culture 
and refinement, who occupies a high place 
in society and in the esteem of her many 
acquaintances. In 1896 Mr. Gardiner 
erected his present commodious residence 
one of the best in Ogden. Both he and his 
wife are active and leading members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and he is es- 
pecially interested in Sunday school work, 
having served as superintendent and presi- 
dent of the township Sunday school associ- 
ation. Fraternally he is a member of Corn 
City Lodge, No. 560, K. P., and is a 

charter member of the Court of Honor at 
10 



Ogden, in which he has served as presiding 
officer for several years. 

In connection with his business interests, 
Mr. Gardiner has also found time to devote 
to public affairs, and has taken quite a 
prominent and influential part in local pol- 
itics. He is unswerving in his allegiance to 
the Republican party, and in 1892 was 
elected supervisor of his township, to which 
office he has been continuously re-elected, 
and in which he is now serving his fourth 
term. During his third term he was chosen 
chairman of the board, and tor three years 
served as chairman of the judicial commit- 
tee. He has also been a member of the 
committees on ways and means, buildings 
and grounds. That he has discharged his 
official duties in a most commendable and 
satisfactory manner is indicated by his long 
retention in office, and he is considered one 
of the ablest members of the board. He 
has also served as village trustee, and is a 
member of the Republican County Central 
Committee of Champaign County. 



WARREN M. HILL is one of the early 
settlers of Tolono, where he has- 
passed much of his Hie, and where his hon- 
ored father played a very important part in 
establishing the town upon a firm basis of 
prosperity. The latter, Walter F. Hill,, 
came of fine old New England ancestry, his> 
birth having occurred in Bangor, Maine. 
In that city he grew to manhood, acquiring 
an exceptionally good education, which 
served him well in his subsequent career. 
He married Eliza Maxwell, a native of 
the same city, and of Scotch descent, and 
soon afterwards they removed to Shelby- 
ville, Kentucky, where he became the 



362 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



founder and. principal of the Shelby ville 
Female Academy, an institution which exer- 
cised a wide influence for good throughout 
that region. For twenty-two years he con- 
ducted the academy in a very efficient 
manner, winning the high regard of the 
leading educators of that day. In 1859, 
when the Civilwar seemed imminent, and 
every enterprise in the land was threatened 
with dissolution, he closed his school and 
came to the north, where his sympathies 
naturally were centered. The old academy 
building is yet standing, but its work was 
finished long ago, and the one who made it 
famous has passed to his reward. For two 
years after leaving Kentucky, Mr. Hill en- 
gaged in teaching school in Champaign 
county, for educated men were in great 
demand in Illinois at that day, and it was 
not long ere he was called upon to act in 
local offices requiring more than ordinary 
ability. As justice of the peace he served 
for a number of years, and as police magis- 
trate for a year, besides being an active 
member of the town board for years. In 
early manhood he was a Democrat, but 
soon after the formation of the Republi- 
can party, he identified himself with it, as it 
more nearly voiced his opinions. Prior to 
his locating in this county, he made a tour 
of inspection through Illinois, and bought 
land in several counties, but concluded that 
he could find no more promising place for 
a home than the one he selected. His use- 
ful life, covering some four-score years, 
came to an end at his home in Tolono, 
March 12, 1887. His widow died Febru- 
ary 14, 1900. The mother of the subject 
of this article died when he was only three 
weeks old, and the father, thus left with six 
little children (five of whom have since 
died) married again, the lady of his choice 



being Mrs. Rebecca (Miller) Lytle, a widow. 
Six children were born to them, but only two 
survive, namely: Joseph E., who is em- 
ployed as a grain inspector in Chicago, is 
married, and has five children; and Thomas 
C. , principal of the schools of Kensing- 
ton, Illinois, married, and father of four 
children. 

Warren M. Hill was born in Shelbyville, 
Kentucky, September 17, 1845, an d re- 
ceived his elementary education in the acad- 
emy presided over by his father. He was 
only fourteen years of'age when he accom- 
.panied the family to this county, and six 
years later he enlisted in Company A, One 
Hundred and Fifty-fourth Illinois Volunteer 
Infantry, and served from February until 
September, 1865, his chief duties being 
those of patrol and guard, as the war had 
closed soon after his enlistment. Upon 
arriving home, he turned his attention to 
farming for a few years, and in 1872 came 
to Tolono, where he purchased an interest 
in a grocery business. The firm, known as 
Louks & Hill, later added a stock of dry 
goods and general merchandise, and made a 
success of the undertaking. At the end of 
three years, Mr. Hill sold out his interest, 
and entered the service of the government 
as a railway postal clerk, on the Wabash 
road. During almost the entire length of 
his service eighteen years, his run has been 
from Toledo to St. Louis, and it is safe to 
say that he is one of the most trusted and 
popular men on the line. His fidelity and 
ability are unquestioned, and his pleasant, 
courteous ways render him a general favorite 
with all who have dealings with him. He 
owns a block of ground in the eastern part 
of Tolono, and has made improvements 
thereon. For his family, he has built a 
convenient modern cottage, and has beauti- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



363 



fied the place, setting out shade trees and 
shrubbery. 

Mr. Hill and Annetta Chaffee, daughter 
of Dr. Heman Chaffee, were united in wed- 
lock, October 24, 1871. She was born in 
Troy, New York, November 2, 1847, arj d at 
an early day came to Illinois with her parents, 
who were pioneers here. Three children 
were born to our subject and wife. Annet- 
ta A., a graduate of the Tolono high school, 
is at home. Warren W. , is employed in 
the railway postal service, and Clarence C. 
died at the age of nine years, August 21, 
1891. 

Warren M. Hill is a member of the To- 
lono Grand Army Post, in which he has oc- 
cupied various offices, and at present is 
serving as commander. He also belongs to 
Tolono Camp, Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica, and is held in high regard in that order, 
also. With his wife and children, he is 
identified with the Baptist church, and en- 
deavors, by all means within his power, to 
promote righteous institutions and causes 
which have for their object the elevation of 
humanity. 



OANFORD HOUGH, a well-known con- 
O tractor and builder of Thomasboro, Illi- 
nois, has for a quarter of a century been 
prominently identified with the business in- 
terests of that village and has taken an ac- 
tive part in its development and progress. 
He is energetic, enterprising and thoroughly 
reliable, and enjoys an enviable reputation 
in business circles. 

A native of Illinois, Mr. Hough was 
born three miles north of Pullman, April 18, 
1850, but when two years old was taken to 
Valparaiso, Indiana, by his parents, Ellis 
and Emily (Hyde) Hough, natives of Penn- 



sylvania and New York, respectively. The 
father was a carpenter and wagonmaker by 
trade, but during the latter part of his life 
followed farming. He died in 1898, and 
the mother departed this life about twenty 
years ago. In their family were ten child- 
ren, of whom seven are now living, our 
subject being the oldest. 

Mr. Hough remained under the parental 
roof until seventeen years of age, attending 
school and assisting his father in business. 
In 1869 he went to northwestern Kan- 
sas, where he was employed several years 
herding cattle, and on leaving that state 
came to Champaign county, Illinois. For 
about two years he was engaged in farm- 
ing near Fisher, and in 1875 came to 
Thomasboro, where he has since success- 
fully carried on operations as a contractor 
and builder, erecting many of the residences 
in the village and vicinity. 

On the ist of January, 1875, Mr. Hough 
led to the marriage altar Miss Rachel 
Baker, a daughter of Orrin and Julia 
(Barker) Baker, of Harrison county, Illi- 
; nois. Her father died in Thomasboro, this 
county, about sixteen years ago, but the 
mother is still living at the age of seventy 
and makes her home with our subject in 
Thomasboro. They had a family of eight 
children, six of whom are now living. Mr. 
and Mrs. Hough have one son, William, 
who was born in Clay county, Illinois, Oc- 
tober 31, 1880, and has been educated in 
the public schools of Thomasboro, and at 
Valparaiso, Indiana. He taught in the dis- 
trict schools in the neighborhood of Thom- 
asboro for several terms, but is now clerk- 
ing in the general store of S. Kauffman & 
Company, in that village. He is a great 
lover of books and has a well-selected li- 
brary, to which he is constantly adding. 



364 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Hough has always been a hard- 
working man, straightforward and honor- 
able in all his dealings, and has the entire 
confidence and respect of his neighbors and 
fellow citizens. In politics he is an ardent 
Republican, and has never sought nor held 
public office. His estimable wife is an 
active and prominent member of the Free 
Methodist church, and is a constant attend- 
ant upon its services. She is a devoted 
wife and mother, and is seeking to give her 
only child every possible advantage. 



JONAH BENNETT, who is one of the 
U best known and highly respected citi- 
zens of Homer, has long been intimately 
associated with local educational matters 
and other enterprises here, and is deeply in- 
terested in the progress of Champaign 
county. 

He is a grandson of Jacob Bennett, who 
was engaged in farming in Pennsylvania, his 
native state, as long as he lived, and is a 
son of John and Anna (Langley) Bennett, 
likewise of the Keystone state. They re- 
moved to Highland county, Ohio, in 1830, 
where the father carried on a good farm 
until his death some twenty years later. 
The devoted wife and mother reared their 
six children to be useful citizens, and in 

1883 was called to her reward. She was a 
daughter of John Langley, of Fayette coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania, and was born and mar- 
ried on the old family homestead there. 
Both she and her husband were faithful 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and made great sacrifices for the sake of 
religion and the spreading of education and 

righteousness. 

Jonah Bennett, who was born in High- 



land county, Ohio, October 18, 1846, is the 
youngest of six brothers and sisters, and 
was a mere child when death deprived him 
of his father. His brothers, Jacob and Ca- 
leb L., were heroes of the Union army dur- 
ing the Civil war, belonging first to the Six- 
tieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and later to 
the Twenty-fourth Ohio Light Artillery.. 
They were with Fremont in the Virginia 
campaign. Caleb L. was an orderly ser- 
geant in the artillery company. Both broth- 
ers were captured at the battle of Harper's 
Ferry, and, upon being paroled, were sent 
to Chicago, where they guarded prisoners at 
Camp Douglas. Jacob died April 13, 1883, 
and Caleb L. departed this life March 27, 
1888. The sisters, Mary J., Sarah E. and 
Anna C. are married and reside in homes in 
Highland county, Ohio. 

After completing his education in the 
country schools, our subject continued to 
follow farming as a means of livelihood until 
1869, when he came to Illinois, and taught 
schools in Vermilion county most of the time 
from 1869 to 1895. From 1887 to 1895 he 
carried on a farm in this township, and has 
also been bookkeeper for Milmine, Bodman 
& Company, grain dealers of this place. 
From the autumn of 1881 until 1895 he was 
engaged in teaching in the grammar schools 
of Homer, and met with gratifying success. 
Politically he is a Republican, and in 1896 
was elected supervisor of Homer township, 
an office to which he was re-elected in 1898 
and also in 1900. He served as chairman 
of the board in the year 1898, and has been 
a member of various important committees 
on education, ways and means, salaries, 
and at present is acting on the one having 
in charge the repairing of the court house. 
For some four years he held the position of 
assessor of Homer township, and in 1898- 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



365 



was president of the town board of Homer. 
Fraternally he is a member of the Knights 
of the Globe, and Ben Hur, a beneficiary 
order. 

The marriage of Mr. Bennett and Mar- 
garet S. Salladay occurred April 25, 1872. 
She was born in Noble county, Ohio, a 
daughter of George and Rachel Salladay, 
who came to Illinois in 1864. They carried 
on a farm in Vermilion county for about 
eleven years, and then located in Homer. 
Here the father died in September, 1880, 
and eight years later the mother died at the 
home of our subject and wife. Of their ten 
children eight lived to maturity, but only 
four survive. Mrs. Eliza J. McWilliams, 
resides in Stafford county, Kansas; M. M. 
is carrying on the old Vermilion county 
homestead, and D. W. resides in Sidell 
township. By a former marriage, Mrs. 
Bennett's father had one son, John C. , 
whose home is in Vermilion county, near 
the Champaign county line. George and 
Rachel Salladay were members of the Cum- 
berland Presbyterian church, and our sub- 
ject and wife are earnest workers in the 
same denomination. 



JOHN R. WATKINS is numbered among 
the enterprising journalists of Cham- 
paign county, and, though not more than a 
decade has passed since he concluded to de- 
vote his time and energy to this line of busi- 
ness, he possesses wide experience and ex- 
cellent judgment in the management of a 
paper. From time to time he has been 
honored with various positions of responsi- 
bility and trust, and never has failed to give 
the public perfect satisfaction. With all 
who know him he is justly popular and his 



future is full of promise of even greater 
things than those already accomplished by 
him. 

The father of our subject, Abraham Wat- 
kins, was born in Tennessee about 1820, 
and when he attained his majority he went 
to Green county, Indiana, and there engaged 
in teaching for a few years. Later he set- 
tled upon a farm and continued to improve 
and cultivate it until he was well along in 
years. He was a high type of the rugged 
pioneer and his early years in the Hoosier 
state were years of unremitting toil, as the 
heavy forests yielded to his axe and the land 
was made ready for cultivation. In princi- 
ple he was a strong Abolitionist prior to the 
war, and when the Republican party was 
organized he became one of its strong ad- 
vocates, and as a citizen his career was ex- 
emplary and in all the relations of life he 
was sincere, kind and upright. Both him- 
self and wife were members of the Christian 
church, and all who knew them loved them 
for their sterling qualities. The father died 
at the old homestead in Green county, Feb- 
ruary 8, 1888, and is survived by his widow, 
who is still living in the house which has 
sheltered her for about half a century. In 
her maidenhood she bore the name of Eliz- 
abeth Crockett, and her father was a near 
relative of the famous "Davy" Crockett. 

In a family which included ten brothers 
and sisters, John R. Watkins is the seventh 
in order of birth. The others are named 
as follows: Hannah, wife of James Baker, 
of Green county, Indiana; Nancy, wife of 
James Crow, of Brazil, Indiana; Willie, who 
died at the age of two years; Benjamin 
Franklin, of McVille, Indiana; George G., 
now superintendent of the schools of San- 
born county, South Dakota; Ellen, who 
was a successful teacher in the schools of 



366 



THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Indiana and South Dakota, and died at Kin- 
ney, Illinois, April 3, 1888; Marshall B., 
a teacher in Washington; and E. W. and 
Cora f). are twins. The former is employed 
as a bookkeeper in the freight department 
of the Vandalia railroad at Terre Haute, In- 
diana; and Cora is the wife of Fred John- 
son, of Letcher, South Dakota. 

The birth of J. K. Watkins took place 
October 20, 1867, upon his father's farm, 
near Newark, Indiana. He obtained a good 
education in the grammar and high schools 
of Newark and vicinity, being graduated 
when fifteen years of age. As agriculture 
was not to his liking, he went to South Da- 
kota, where not finding any other occupa- 
tion open to him at once, he worked for 
farmers two seasons. At the end of that 
time he obtained a position as a clerk in a 
mercantile establishment at Artesian City, 
and continued in that place for two years. 
Returning then to his native county in time 
to cast his first presidential ballot for Har- 
rison, he spent that winter with his parents. 
In the following spring he came to Mansfield 
and opened a general store under the firm 
name of Forney & Watkins, his partner in 
the enterprise being William Forney. 

In 1890, Mr. Watkins embarked in the 
field of journalism, and for four years was 
connected with the Mansfield Express in the 
capacity of foreman of the printing depart- 
ment. He became thoroughly conversant 
with every feature of the business, and in 
1894 he came to Ogden and commenced the 
publication of the Courier. This paper has 
grown wonderfully in popularity during its 
comparatively short existence, and, as it is 
strictly non-partisan, it meets' with the ap- 
proval of a large class of readers of varying 
political faiths. It especially aims to give 
the news of the day, and is devoted to the 



upbuilding of this community. Recently, 
the Courier office has been equipped with 
modern appliances and presses, and particu- 
lar attention is paid to all kinds of job print- 
ing and press work. 

The marriage of Mr. Watkins and Clyde 
Hilligoss was solemnized April 17, 1890, in 
Mansfield. The bride's parents, John and 
Hester (House) Hilligoss, are respected citi- 
zens of that place, and the father was prin- 
cipal of the public schools there for several 
years. He was the founder of the Mansfield 
Express, and is still conducting that paper. 
Our subject and wife are very popular in 
Ogden society, and their attractive modern 
residence here was erected in 1899. They 
hold membership with the Christian church 
of this place. 

During the years of his residence in 
Mansfield, Mr. Watkins was elected and 
served as township and village clerk, and 
since coming to Ogden he has acted in the 
same offices. On the ist of November, 
1897, he was appointed post-master of 
Ogden, and is still serving the people in this 
responsible position. In politics, he is a 
stalwart Republican, and frequently has 
been sent as a delagate to county and con- 
gressional conventions of his party, besides 
serving on the township and county central 
committees. Fraternally, he is an Odd Fel- 
low, holding the rank of past noble grand, 
and belonging to the Encampment. He 
also is identified with the Knights of Pythias 
and the Modern Woodmen of America. 



WALTER H. TOWNE. No citizen of 
Broadlands is more widely or favor- 
ably known in business and political circles 
in this section of the county than the gen- 



THE BIOGRAHPICAL RECORD. 



367 



tleman whose name introduces this sketch. 
He resides on a farm within a mile of the 
village, but for many years has been identi- 
fied with the business interests of the place, 
and is now a member of the firm of Towne 
& Ktnney, dealers in lumber, lime, cement 
and building material, also bituminous and 
anthracite coal. 

Mr. Towne was born in Danvers, Mas- 
sachusetts, April 13, 1853, of good Puritan 
stock. His paternal grandfather, Daniel 
Towne. was also a native of the old Bay 
state, and was a soldier of the Revolution. 
His death occurred in 1812. The father, 
Daniel Towne, was born in Essex county, 
Massachusetts, in 1806, and died in that 
state in 1871. There he engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits throughout life, and was a 
highly respected citizen of his native coun- 
ty, not taking an active part in local affairs, 
save in educational matters, serving on the 
school board for many years. He also did 
considerable work in the construction and 
repair of public roads, being commissioner 
of highways for a great many years. In 
his political views he was first a Whig and 
later a Republican. He married Paulina 
Ferguson, who was born in Maine, in 1809, 
and died in 1858. 

In the family of this worthy couple were 
eight children: Daphne married W. P. 
Hutchinson, and remained near the old 
homestead in Danvers. Massachusetts; Sarah 
is now the wido