Full text of "The biographical record of Livingston County, Illinois"

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Biographical Record

Livingston County

ILLINOIS.

sTi^j>i.'rE:o.

A people that take no pride in llie noble aeliieveinents of remote aiieestors \eill never neliiei'e
anything— Morthy to be renieniberej icith pride by remote i^enerations." — M At Ai'r.i-n .

CHICAGO:

The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company.

1900.

W YORK

JBRARY

*H0

ri.'1'KTII »T,, LOi; 4 MifORT. I>!0.

PREFACE.

HE greatest of English historians, Macaulay, and one of the most
biilliant 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 bi- 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 tlie story of their life
struggles. No more interesting or iiistructixe 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
econoni)' have accimuilaletl wealth. It tells how others, with limited advantages for securing
an education, iiaye become learned men and women, with an intliience 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 usually
crowned their efl'oits. 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 liie," and bow through their efforts the Union was
restored and peace once more leigned in the land. In the life of e\ erv man and of every
woman is a lesson that should not be lost u[jon those wlio follow after.

Coming generations will appreciate this \olume and preserve it as a sacred treasure, from
the fact that it contains so much that would never lind its way into public records, and which
w<nild otheiwise be inaccessible. (jreat care has been taken in the compilation of the work,
and every opportunity possible given to those lepresented to insure correctness in what has
been written ; ami the publishers Halter tliemselves that thes' give to their readers a work with
few errors of consequence. In aildition to biographical sketches, portraits of a luimber of
representative citizens are given.

The faces of some, and biographical sketches of many, will be misseil in this volume.
l"or this the publishers are not to blame. i>Iot having a proper conception of the work, some
refused 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 sue!)
opposition the support of the interested one would be withheld. In a few instances men
never could be found, though repeated calls w^ere made at their residence or place of business.

October, 1900.

The S. T- Cl.^rkk PfBLi.sHiNc; Co,

"rsiO(|r(if)lui b the onlij hue hLstorg."— En^crson.

GEORGE W. PATTON.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

ox. GEORGE W.
PATTON. At the
present time it is sel-
dom that one wins
prominence in sev-
eral lines. It is the
tendency of the age
to devote one's en-
tire energies to a special line, continnally
workingupwardand concentrating his efforts
toward accomplishing a desired end ; yet in
the case of Judge Patton it is demonstrated
that an exalted position may be reached in
more than one line of action. • He is an emi-
nent jurist, an able judge and a leader in
political circles. For several years he was
successfully engaged in the practice of law in
I'ontiac, and is now serving as judge of the
eleventh judicial circuit.

The Judge is a native of Pennsylvania,
and during his infancy was brought to
Woodford county, Illinois, in 1851, by his
parents, Samuel R. and Jane (Haines) Pat-
ton, who were also natives of the Keystone
state. His paternal grandfather was Rev.
James Patton, and his great-grandfather,
Rev. John Patton. both of whom achieved
some local celebrity as Bai)tist ministers in

western Pennsvlvania.the latter having been
2

pastor of the church at Smithfield, Fay-
ette county, for thirty consecutive years, as
the inscription on his monument, erected by
his church, still attests. Judge Patton's ma-
ternal grandparents were John and Marga-
ret (Anderscin) Ilaines, farming" people of
western Pennsylvania. The latter was a
daughter of James Anderson, a native of
Ireland, who carried a mu.sket for six years
in General Washington's army during the
Revolutionary war. During their entire
residence in this state the parents of Judge
Patton made their home in Woodford coun-
ty, where the mother died in 1873, the father
in 1886. He was a Democrat in politics, a
successful farmer, a man of great industry,,
indomitable will and strong common sense,
while the mother was a woman of keen wit,
remarkable memory and forceful intellect.

Reared on the home farm in Woodford
county, Jutlge Patton attendctl the common
schools of the neighborhood until twenty
years of age, and then took a three years'
course at Xonnal, Illinois, completing the
same in 1871. During the following two
years he taught school in Secor and El Paso,
\\'oodford county, and with the monej' thus
earned he commenced the study of law with
Hav, Green & Littler at Springfield, Illinois,

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and was admitted to the bar in 1875. being
a member of tlie same class as W. J. Cal-
houn. ex-Senator T. C. Kerrick and Cleorge
Torrance. Subse<|uently lie again taught
school and engaged in other pursuits until
1881, following farming for three years
to regain his health. In 1881 he com-
menced tiie practice of law at Fairbury, this
county, and two years later located in Pon-
tiac, where he formed a partnershij) with C.
C. Strawn, which was dissolved in 1888. Af-
ter that time he was alone and succeeded in
building up a large and lucrative ])ractice.
On the 7th of June, 1897. he was elected one
of the judges of the eleventh judicial circuit,
composed of Livingston, Woodford, Ford,
McLean and Logan counties, and is now
most creditably tilling that office. His mind
is analytical, logical and inductive. With
a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of
the fundamental principles of law, he com-
bines a familiarity with statutory law and a
sober, clear judgment, which makes him
not only a formidable adversary in legal
combat, but has given him the distinction
of being one of the ablest jurists in this sec-
tion of the state.

Although reared in a Democratic at-
mosphere. Judge Patton has never voted
that ticket, but is a stanch Republican. He
was a member of the state central commit-
tee of his party from 1894 to 1896. He was
made a Mason at F^airbury, and is now a
member of Pontiac lodge. Xo. 294, 1". &
A.M.; Fairbury chapter. R. A. M.; Chenoa
council. R. & S. M.; and St. Paul com-
mandery, K. T., of F'airbury. He also be-
longs to the Odd Fellows lodge and en-
campment, and Ixith he and his wife are
members of the Pontiac Methodist Episco-
pal church, in which he is serving as an offi-
cer. The Judge was married, September

20. 1877. to Miss Flo Cook, daughter of
James and Lucinda Cook, of Fairbury. and
they now have two chiKlren. Marie and
1 'roctor.

HAMILTON R. STEWART.

Hamilton R. Stewart, who fur the last
hfteen years has successfully operated the
farm of B. M. Stodtlard on section 8. Avoca
township. Livingston county, was born in
cnunty Derry. Ireland. June 4. 1854. and is
the oldest child of William and Mary A.
(McLaughlin) Stewart, also natives of
county Derry. where the father successfully
engaged in farming from early manhood un-
til his death in 1868. Subsecjuently his
widow came to America with her family of
five sons and one daughter, namely: Ham-
ilton R., the subject of this sketch; Joseph,
a farmer, who died in Iowa ; Samuel, a resi-
dent of Avoca township; William, a laborer
of Ogden, Iowa; Tohn, deceased: and Han-
nah, wife of William Scott, who lives near
Kochelle. Ogle county. Illinois. On their
emigratit)n to .America the family located in
Lexington. Illinois, where they made their
I'.ome for four years, and in 1872 moved to
La Salle county, where the following two
years were passed, coming to Livingston
county at the end of that time. While in
I^xington the mother married Thcjmas
L'linton. by whom she had <!ne son. Thomas
I'., now a school teacher in Swygart. Illincjis.
Her second husband died in Livingston
county and she is now living with our sub-
ject at the age of sixty-seven years.

Hamilton R. Stewart commenced liis
education in the common schiM>ls of his na-
tive laiul. and after coming to .\merica, at
the age of fourteen years, attended school in

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Lexington, Illinois, for a short time. Be-
irsf the oldest of the faniilv he had to so to
work on a farm that he might aid in their
support, and lived at home until twenty-
two. While in La Salle county he worked
in a coal mine in Streator for two years. In
1876 he left home and was employed as a
farm hand ahout five years, at the end of
wiiicli time he rented land and emljarked in
tanning on his own account.

In 1883 Mr. Stewart married Miss Jane
I'dair. who was horn in Tazewell comity,
this state, in 1862. Her parents, \\'illiam
and Mary (Gillian) Blair, hoth natives of
Ireland, located in Tazewell county on their
emigration to the United States, and after
residing there for a few years moved to Mc-
Lean county, where they now make their
h.ome. The father is a successful farmer.
In the family were seven children, namely:
Thomas, a farmer of McLean county ; Jane,
wife of our suhject ; David, a prosperous
farmer of McLean county; Annie, wife of
li. .Gillian, of the same county; William.
also a resident of McLean county ; and L}-dia
and Addie, both at home. Of the nine chil-
dren horn to Mr. and Mrs. Stewart, one died
in infancy. The others are as follows;
William J. and Mabel M.. who passed the
central school examinations at the ages of
fifteen and thirteen years respectively, be-
in.g the youngest who ever passed from their
school, and standing high in rank in a classof
forty; Minnie P.. Litta G., Ira J.. Hamil-
ton G.. Geneveive and Morris M. The par-
ents are giving their children the best possi-
ble educational advantages.

After his marriage Mr. Stewart located
en a farm in McLean county, where he siic-
cessfuUy engaged in general farming for two
years, and in 1885 moved to the farm of two
hundred acres in Avoca township, Livings-

ton county, where he now resides. He is
a conscientious man. upright and honorable
ir. all his dealings, as is shown by his re-
maining on one farm so long. During his
residence here he has been prominently iden-
tified with local politics. He was justice of
the peace fi\c years, school trustee six years
and assessor two years, being re-elected for
a third term. an<l serving in each office to
the best of his ability anil for the interests
of the peoi)Ie he represents. He is a man
who does not draw party lines in local af-
fairs, but supports those whom he believes
best c|ualilied to fill the positions, regardless
of party affiliations. For the past twelve
years in national elections he has supjiorted
the nominees of the Prohibition party and at
present is township C(immitteeman of that
party. Socially he is a member of Fairbury
Camp. No. 6, M. W. A., and religiously is
a member and active worker in the Meth-
odist Episcojjal church and Sunday school,
serving as a member of the board of trustees
for the past fourteen years. He is a genial
gentleman, who is well liked 1)y a large circle
of friends and ac(|uaintances.

FREDERICK DUCKETT.

Success is determined by one's ability to
recognize opportunity, and to pursue this
with a resolute and unfiagging energy. It
results from continued labor and the man
who thus accomplishes his purpose usually
becomes an imjtortant factor in the business
circles of the community with which he is
connected and also jjrominent in public life.
Through such means Mr. Duckett has at-
tained a leading place among the representa-
tive men of Livingston cmuity, which he is
now serving as county clerk.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

A son of Benjamin and Jane (Redmond)
Dnckett. lie was born November lo, 1840,
iii Wechncire, Somersetshire. England, wliicli
place lias l)een tiie ancestral home of the
family for many generations. There the fa-
ther engaged in farming until his death,
\vhich occurred when our subject was a boy
of fi\e or six years. The mother was left
with si.x children, five sons and one daugh-
ter. She spent her entire life in her native
land and died in the faith of the Episcopal
church. Those of the family who came to
America were Francis, now a resident of Des
Moines, Iowa ; Daniel, a physician, who died
ill Forrest, this county, in 1890; Sarah, wife
of Jesse Arney, of Kent, Washington ; and
Frederick, our subject. The youngest son,
Gabriel, is a resident of Australia.

Frederick Duckett received a good prac-
tical education in the schools of his native
lr.nd. In 1854, at the age of thirteen years,
he came alone to the United States and spent
two years in Xew York state, where he found
emi)lo_\ment. In 1856 he came to Illinois
and first located in Henry, Marshall county,
working on a farm near there until fall, when
lie went to Peoria county and obtained a
position, where he worked for his board with
the ])rivilege of attending school. He re-
mained in that county until the Civil war
broke out and in the spring of 1862 enlisted
in Company K, Eleventli Illinois Cavalry.
Going immediately to the front, he joined
his regiment at Memphis, Tennessee, and
was first under fire at Lexington, that state.
He took part in the second battle of Corinth
and the siege of Vicksburg. antl remained
ji. active service until mustered out Septem-
ber 30. 1865, being never ofif duty a single
day. He was serving as second lieutenant
at the time of his discharge. Returning to
Peoria county he remained there until i8(j7>

when he removed to Forrest, Livingston
county, and entered in the drug business with
liis brother. Later he became sole proprietor
of the store, and though he began in a small
way he carried a large and well-selectetl
Slock and had built up an excellent trade at
the time of disposing of his business.

On the 19th of February, 1866, Mr.
Duckett married I\Iiss Mary E. Munhall.
of Peoria county, a daughter of Samuel
Munhall, and to them have been born six
children: Jeanette, now the wife of H. C.
Amsbury, of W'ellsville Xew York ; Arthur
F., who married Grace Stillwell and resides
in Forrest : Jesse, now serving as deputy
county clerk under his father; Nellie M. ;
Maliel M., wife of Everett Tate, of Pontiac;
and Aldine, at home.

Mr. Duckett attends and supports tb.e
Methodist Episcopal cluux'h. of which his
wife is a member. He is a very active and
prominent member of several civic societies,
was one of the organizers of Forrest Post,
G. A. R., and served as its first commander.
He has represented it in the state encamp-
ment several times and was a member of the
commander's staff one year. He was a
charter member of Forrest lodge. No. 614,
F. & A. M., of which he was master about
ten years, and is now a member of Pontiac
lodge, No. 294. F. & A. M., oi" which he has
been secretary, while at present he is high
priest of Pontiac chapter, R. A. M., and
past C(immander of St. Paul Commantler\-,
K. T.. of Fairbury. He also belongs to
Chenoa Council, R. & S. M., of F"orrest
ledge. K. P., of which he is past chancellor,
and the Modern Woodmen of America, of
which he is past venerable consul.

Since attaining his majority Mr. Duckett
lias been an active Republican. He served
as collector of his township several terms

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and was a member of tlie township lioard at
ditterent times. In 1894 he was elected
county clerk liy a .sfood majority and after
filling that office for four years was renom-
mated by acclamation in 1898 and elected
by an increasing- majority, which sj^eaks well
fur the estimation in which he is held 1)\- the
].eople of the county, who recognize his abil-
ity and fitness for the office. His present
term will not expire until Deceml)er. 1902.
.\s a citizen lie has always been found true
to every trust reposed in him, so that liis
loyalty is above question, being manifest in
tiays of peace as well as when he followed
the old flag to victory on sduthern battle
fields. Since he entered upon the duties of
his present office he has made his home in
Pontiac.

JAMES P. DAHL.

James P. Dahl, who is successfully en-
gaged in farming on section 3,Eppards Point
township, Livingston county. Illinois, two
miles from Pontiac, is a native of Denmark,
horn on the Baltic Sea March 24, 1839. and
i.- a son of Lars P. and Christina f Peter-
son) Dahl, who .spent their entire lives as
farming people in that country.

Our subject was reared on a farm and
educated in the common schools of his na-
tive land. His knowledge of the English
language has been acquired through his own
tinaided efforts. It was in i860 that he
crossed the broad Atlantic.' sailing from
Liverpool, England, to New ^'ork, and land-
ing in the latter city on the 25th of Mav,
that year. He came direct to La Salle coun-
ty, Illinois, where he had friends living,
and where he worked on a farm by the
month for some time. Later he was similarh'

employed in Putnam county for five vears,
and from there went to Peru, Illinois, where
he formed a partnership with his brother-in-
law. John Dixon, and engaged in fruit grow-
ing and the milk and dairy business for nine
years, .selling out on coming to this county.

On the ioth of .\pril. 1877. '" Peru. Mr.
Dahl married Miss Lydia Jensen, a native
of Coijenhagen, Denmark, and a daughter
of Paul and Louisa ( Otto) Jensen, who were
also born in that country. The father was
a business man of Copenhagen. Mrs. Dahl
\yas well educated in the schools of that city
and came to the new world in 1875. To our
subject and his wife have been Ijorn six chil-
dren, of whom four are living, namely:
.Anna is a well educated young lady, who is
now successfully engaged in teaching music
and also serves as organist of the McDowell
Methodist Episcopal church: William assists
his father in the operation of the farm: and
' Joseph and Clinton are also at home. Carrie
died at the age of ten years : Mary, at the
age of six months.

The day after their marriage Mr. and
I\]rs. Dahl came to Livingston county and he
purchased eight\--four acres of land on sec-
tion 3,' Eppards Point township, where he
now resides, and has since -bouglit forty
acres more, making a fine farm of one hun-
(h-ed and twentv-four acres, which he has
tiled and ])laced under a high state of cul-
tivation. He has remodeled the house,
l)!anted an orchard, erected outbuildings and
made many other useful and valuable im-
provements on the place which add greatly
to its attractive appearance. He is quite suc-
cessfully engaged in general farming and
stock raising. Originally he was a Repub-
lican in politics, but is now a Prohibitionist,
and at local elections votes for the men whom
he believes best qualified to fill the offices.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

regardless <>t party affiliations. He is now
an efficient member of the scIukjI board and
president of his district. Religiously Mr.
Dalil and bis family are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church of McDowell
and are highly respected and esteemed by
all who know them.

JAMES H. GAFF.

James H. Gaff, a prominent old resident
of Pontiac. Illinois, who is now serving as
justice of the peace and deputy sheriff of
Livingston county, was born in Xenia,
Greene county, Ohio. March 27,. 1827, a son
of David M. and Hannah (Mock) Gaff.
His jjaternal grandparents were John and
Martha (Scott) Gaff, natives of Pennsyl-
vania and Maryland respectively, the birth
place of the former being not far from Get-
tysburg and Hagerstown. They were of
Scotch- Irish descent and members of the old
Covenanter church. The maternal grand-
parents were John and Mary (Horney).
natives of North Carolina. In 1801 they
removed from that state to Xenia, Ohio, in
a one-horse wagon, resting always on the
Sabbath dav during the journey. Mr. Mock
helped build the first house ever erected in
Xenia and owned one hundred acres of heav-
ily timbered land about five miles south of
where that city now stands. This he cleared
and transformed into a gfxid farm. Leav-
ing bis family and several children at home,
lie enlisted in the war of 1812. and was sta-
tioned at Mcpherson's block bouse on the
line between Indiana and Ohio. He and
his wife spent their last days upon a farm
which he imjirovcd in Fayette d'unty. Ohio.
She was nf Ouaker descent and was a flaugh-

ter of James Horney. who had charge of the
train of seventeen wagons in which the Mock
familv moved to Ohio from North Carolina.
They became members of the Metliodist
Episcopal church and old Peter Cartwright
preached in their house.

David M. Gaff, the father of our subject,
was born in Maryland near the Pennsylvania
hue, and. was a young man when the family
moved to Xenia, Ohio, where he married
Hannah Mock, a native of Ohio. He fol-
lowed farming, but died at the early age of
twenty-seven years, being accidentally killed
March 2j. 18,^1, when our subject was only
four vears old, leaving his widow with three
small children to sup]Dort. This she tli<l In-
engaging in weaving. Later she married
John Calhoun and moved to Montgomery
county. Ohio, locating si.x miles south of
Dayton, wiiere the family lived until about
1857. when they came to Illinois and settled
near Decatur. Macon county. Mr. Calhoun
died in Decatur in 1866 and his wife died
near Bloomington. this state, in 1892. at the
age of eighty-five years. .\t an earlyday John
Gaff, our subject's paternal grandfather, who
was also a soldier of the war of 18 12, floated
down the Ohio river on a flat boat to Cin-
cinnati, and from there drove across the
oumtry to Xenia. where in the midst of the
forest he commenced to develop a farm,
which was to have been inherited by our
subject's father had he not been killed so
early in life.

Just before he attained his eighth year
James H. Ciaff. our subject, went to live with
an uncle, with whom he remained for four
years, and then made his home with his
grandfather Mock. L'ntil eighteen years old
In attended school not to exceed thirty days
a year, his first l>ooks being an elementary
speller and ttstameiu, which were later sup-

TIM". r.K^C.RAPlilCAL RECORD.

l;!eincnteil 1)_\- tlie American reader and
Smitli's aritlimetic. Tlie scliool house where
ho pursued Iiis studies was a ])riiuiti\e struc-
ture huilt of log's, witii punclicon floor and
seats and greased paper windows, and the
little room often had to accommodate forty
pupils.

After leavinjj school at the ag^e of eight-
een years Mr. Gaff learned the blacksmith's
trade in Teffersonville, serving a three-years
apprenticeship, and then working as a jour-
neyman at that ])lace for a time. \\'hile there
he was married. December 2I1. 1850, to Miss
Catherine Powell, a nati\e of Fayette coun-
ty, Ohio, and a daughter of Harper I'dwcll.
a farmer. They have one child, Ann E.,
now the wife of Charles Tanquary, of Chi-
cago, by whnm she has a daughter, Helen G.

On leaving Jeffersonville. Ohio, in the
fall of 1 85 1, Mr. Gaff moved to what is now
Cooksville. McLean county. Illinois, where
he bought eighty acres of land and com-
menced breaking prairie with an ox team.
In i8;4 he moved to Pleasant Hill and
opened a blacksmith shop, which he con-
ducted for fi\-e years and then sold. Coming
to Pontiac he was here engaged in general
blacksmithing until after the Civil war
broke 1 ut.

In the fall of 1862 Mr. Gaff enlisted in
Company G, One Hundred and Twenty-
rinth Illinois Volunteer Infantry and tirst
went to Louisville, Kentucky. He was at
the engagements at Bowling Green, Gallatin
and Xaslnille and later started on the Chat-
tanooga ami Atlanta cam])aign. his regi-
ment being one of the first to enter .\tlanta
after the evacuation. They were on the left
wing of the army in the march to the sea
and up through the Carolinas to Goldsboro
and Raleigh. The war having ended thev
continued their march through Richmond to

Washington, D. C, where they ])articipated
in the grand review. They were mustered
mn at Washington June 8, 1865, and dis-
charged at Chicago on the 21st of that
month. Mr. Gaff had four half-brothers and
one step-brother in the service, not one of
whom was ill or wounded while in the <urniy.
although their aggregate service amounted
tC' over nineteen years.

Returning to his home in Pontiac. Mr.
Gaff resumed blacksmithing, at which he
worked until the fall of 1866, when he was
elected sheriff of the county for a term of
two years, and the following two vear.s
served as deputy sheriff', ha\ing charge of
the office for his successor. After clerking
in a store for one year he again ojjened a
blacksmith simp and Iniilt up an extensive
business, furnishing em])lovment to four
men. During President Hayes' administra-
tion he was appointed postmaster, having
always lieen an active Republican and chair-
man of the central committee during the
Hayes campaign. He had previously filled
the office of assessor for a number of terms.
While serving as postmaster the jxtstage on
a letter was reduced from three to two cents,
which naturally affected the revenue of the
ofKce. He was reappointed by President
Arthur and for eight years devoted his time
exclusively to the tlutie s of his ])()sition.
Later he spent a year and a half in Kansas,
returning to Pontiac in 1890. He has served
as constable four years, justice of the jieace
three years and deputy sheriff since 1891,
h.aving charge of the circuit court. His
official duties have always Ijeen discharged
ill a prompt and able manner, which has
won the commendation of all concerned.

Mr. Gaff is one of the oldest members of
T. Tyle Dickey Po.^t. Xo. 105. G. .\. R.,
and has served as its commander. He

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

is one of tlie oldest Masor.s belonging' to
Pontiac lodge, Xo. ^94. F. & A. M..
and is a nicmher of Fairbury Ciiapter.
R. A. M. F'or forty years lie aiul his
wife have held memhersliip in the Meth-
odist Episcopal cluirch and during that
entire time he has ser\ed as steward or in
other official positions. He. has also been
class leader for some time and takes an acti\e
and prominent part in church work. Dur-
ing the long years of his residence in Liv-
ingston county he has been one of its most
influential and popular citizens — a man hon-
ored and respected wherexer known.

GEORGE TORRANXE.

Whatever else may be saitl of the legal
fraternity, it cannot be denied that mem-
bers of the bar have been more important
actors in public affairs than any other class
of the American people. This is liut the
natural result of causes which are manifest
and re(|uire no explanation. The ability
and training which qualify one to practice
law also qualify him in many respects for
duties which lie initside the strict path of
his profession and which touch the general
interests of society. The subject of this
record is a man who has brought his keen
discrimination and thorough wisdom to
bear not alone in professional paths, but also
for the benefit of his fellow citizens and the
community in which he lives. He is now
most efficiently and satisfactorily serving as
superintendent of the Illinois state reform-
atory at Pontiac.

Mr. Torrance was born in Lancaster,
Ohio, May 15, 1847, a son of David and
Sarah (Kerns) Torrance, both natives of

Pennsylvania, and the former of Scotch-
Irish and the latter of German descent. The
parents removed from their native state to
Lancaster, Ohio, and in 1863 came to Illi-
nois, locating in Danville, \'erniilion county,
where for some time the father engaged in
business as a contractor and builder, being a
carpenter by trade. He died in that city.
While a resident of Ohin he took (|uite an
interest in educational affairs, and always
attended and supported the Presbyterian
church, though not a member. His wife
still sur\i\es him and continues to make
her home in Pontiac.

During his boyhood George Torrance
attended the common schools of his birth-
place. He removed with the family to Dan-
ville, Illinois, and there enlisted, in 1864, in
Company E, One Hundred and Forty-ninth
Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was with
his command in Tennessee, Georgia and Ala-
bama. He remained in the service until
the close of the war, being musteretl out at
Dalton, Georgia, and discharged at Camp
Butler, Illinois. At the age of twenty
years Mr. Torrance began his business ca-
reer as clerk in a grocery store, and was
later in the United States express office and
a clothing .store of Danville. He came to
Chatsworth, this county, as a dry-goods
clerk, and held that position for some time,
after which he was employed as a commer-
cial traveler. He served as justice of the
peace and read law with the firm of Fosdick
^c Wallace, the latter being now Judge Wal-
lace, of Pontiac. Later he studied for a
time with A. M. Wynian, and was admitted
to practice by examination January 9, 1875.
He was engaged in practice at Chatsworth
until the .spring of 1881, when he came to
Pontiac. Here he began practice alone, but
later was in partnership with R. S. Mclll-

GEORGE TORRANCE.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

(luf, as a member of the firm of Mclllduf &
Torrance, and wlien tliat was dissolved he
was alone for some years. Subsequently
he was engaged in practice with his son un-
der the firm name of Torrance & Torrance.
He would never accept criminal cases, but
as a civil la\v\cr met with mi.)st excellent
success in his chosen profession.

On the 9th of June, 1869, Mr. Torrance
was united in marriage with Miss Eliza M.
Fenn, of Chatsworth, a daughter of Elam P.
Fenn, a farmer, from Connecticut, and to
them ha\'c been born two children : Herbert
E., now an attorney of Pontiac; and Grace
Tren. Tiie family attend the Presbyterian
church, of which Mrs. Torrance is a mem-
ber.

As a Republican Mr. Torrance has
taken an active and infiuential part in po-
htical affairs, and has been chairman of the
county committee. In the fall of 1880 he
was elected to the state senate and ser\-ed
two terms of four years each with credit to
himself and to the entire- satisfaction of his
■constituents. During this time he was one
of the one hundred and three who helped to
elect General Logan to the United States
senate.

Mr. Torrence was appointed superin-
tendent of the Illinois State Reformatory,
J\Iarch I, 1897. Realizing that if it was
to properly perform the work designed for
it many changes must be made in its build-
ings, schools, etc., he immediately began his
labors along that line. This in.stitution,
with the great outlay of mone\' necessary to
its building, and the wants of fifteen hun-
dred inmates to look after, including their
schooling and discipline, would be a tax
upcin the strength of any man. but with this
additional work has been a heavy burden,
which he has borne with wonderful forti-

tude. Though critised and condemned at
times, he has never faltered, but patiently
awaited the time which he felt sure must
come when his work would meet with pub-
lic approval. It has now arrived and the
discipline of the inmates, the success of its
trade and Cdnimon school work, and the
beauty of the grounds are generally com-
niended and the institution is recognized as
among the most successful of its kind in the
wiirld. Air. Torrance has been told that
he expected to leave the institution as a
monument to his work in this state, and if
given time would place it in such a position
that it could not be surpassed by any other
in tiie near future. That he has succeeded
is now conceded and his former critics are
l<Hid in his ])raise. and the donbting yet hope-
ful friends jubilant over his success.

The discipline is excellent, yet without
apparent se\erity. There seems to be a liope-
ful. c<.intented air permeating the whole in-
stitution, and he lias not elsewhere and prob-
ably never will have better friends than can
l)e foimd among the bovs in his custody.
They speak kindly of him, are very respect-
ful to him and obey his recpiests or com-
mands as cheerfully as if he was paying
them salaries. One by one the former modes
of punishment have been abolished until the
shackle, hand-cuff, ball line, solitary, etc.,
are relegated to the things that were. Pa-
rade and assembly grounds have been ar-
ranged, fine lawns, cement walks and llower
beds constructed, until the mner yard is a
beautiful park, the admiration of all that
see it. Great attention has been paid by
him to the training of inmates in both in-
strumental and \-ocal music until tiie insti-
tution has one of the best bands in tiie state.
.\ military organization has been perfected,
and it is unsurpassed anywhere, outside of

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

West Point. To insirucl the inmates he
has about twenty-two common and twenty-
five trade scliools. classes in etliics, Sunday
school, chapel services, lectures, concerts
and entertaimnents of \arious kinds.

\\ itli liiin the wurk is nut pertHrnieil tor
the salary alone: it has become a work into
which he throws his entire energy and
ability. .\ visit to the institution is very
instructive and interesting, and hundreds
inspect it every week, as many as fifteen hun-
dred being conducted through it in one
week last summer. In the handling of hun-
dreds of thousands of dollars, the making
and looking after many contracts with build-
ers, machinists and plumbers, not one word
t)f scandal has ever been heard, not a dif-
ference ever existed but has been adjusted
.without discord. The same is true in re-
gard to his officers; differences often e.xist,
but under his direction they are harmonized
or he takes hold with a firm hand and set-
tles them beyond further controversy. One
employe said : "I have worked at other
institutions and found much trouble among
the officers always existing. This one runs
without friction." .\s an organizer and di-
recttir, he is unsurpassed. He ]X)ssesses ex-
ecutive ability of a high order, has had great
experience in public matters, is an excellent
lawyer, an extensive reader and possesses a
brain that works rapidly. Probably no man
in the state is refpiired to promptly pass
upon so many matters embracing all the
lines of industry and education as he is, or
that could do so with less deliijeration.

For nearly six years Mr. Torrance has
been officially connected with the high school
of Pontiac, and was i)resi<lent of the board
almost five years, during which time the
school was ojjened and raised to its present
iiigh standing among similar institutions in

the state. Other official honors would have
been conferred uj^n him had he not de-
clined, refusing to allow his name to go far-
ther on the ]>arty ticket. Upright, reliable
and honorable, his strict adherence to prin-
ciple commands the respect of all, and as a
l)leasant, affable gentleman he makes many
friends.

JOHX K. OLESOX.

Jiiim K. Oleson, who resides on section
8, Pontiac township, is one of the success-
ful farmers of Livingston countv. He is
a native of Xorway and was born June 20,
1 83 1, just sixty-nine years from the daj- the
notes for this sketch were taken. He grew
to manhood on a farm in his native country
and until about thirteen years old attended
the parochial schools. He then had to begin
making his own living and engaged in farm
labor.

The life of a poor man in Xorway is
not one for envy, and the opportunity for
adxancement is not such as is afforded in
the United States. Realizing this fact, Mr.
Oleson determined to emigrate to this coun-
try, and accordingly, in 1858, he took pas-
sage in a sailing vessel, crossed the .\tl^it;c,
and landed in Quebec. From that city he
came west U> Chicago, and from there to
La Salle county, Illinois, where he com-
menced work on a farm by the month, and
continued to be thus employed for .several
years, saving as much of his wages as possi-
i)le.

W'liile yet living in La Salle county, Mr.
Oleson was united in marriage with Miss
Elsie Olson, by which union two children
were born. Ole R., the eldest is now mar-
ried and has one son. He is enaged in farm-

THE BIOGRAPHICAL -RECORD.

ing in Livine^ston county. Emma is the wife
of Ole Kniulson and tliey have four sons.

In 1870 Mr. Oleson came to Living;ston
county and purchased a farm of eiglity acres
and also rented a place on which was an old
log house. The place had formerly heen
worked, hut when he ohtained possession it
had mostly s''"^^'" i^'P to grass and weeds
and only ahout fifteen acres was fenced.
Life in Li\ingston county was commenced
tuidci- \ery discouraging circumstances, but
he had grit and determination, and the un-
sightly weeds soon disai)peared and the land
was placed under cultivation. A small house
was first erected, which in due time, gave
place to a larger and better one, and the
area of the farm was increased until the
farm now comjjrises two hundred and twenty
acres, all of which is under culti\ation and
the land tilled and well drained throughout.

Politically Mr. Oleson is a Republican,
\\ ith which ])art}' he has Ijeen identified since
coming to this country. On his arrival the
slavery question was being agitated and the
country was almost in the midst of the throes
of a revolution. Lincoln and Douglas were
holding their great debate, and the \oung
Norwegian naturallv took his place on the
side of those who were fighting for freedom.
His first presidential vote was cast in 1864
for Abraham Lincoln, while his last was
cast for \\'illiam McKinley. He was reared
in the Lutheran faith and is yet a memlicr of
that church, llis wife is also a member of
the same church.

Mr. Oleson was a poor man when he
came to the United States, and for several
years he had a hard struggle to obtain a
foothold, but he persevered, with the result
that he now has one of the best improved
farms in Pontiac township, within three
miles of the county seat, and he can calmly

look the future in the face, knowing that he
has sut'ticient to carry him through old age
in comfort, if not in luxury. His forty-two
years in this country have served to broaden
his views and to make him progressive and
thoroughly American in all things. .Ml who
know him ha\-e for him the utmost respect.

JOEL ALLEX. M. D.

Joel .Mien, ~S.l. D., a i)rominent and suc-
cessful ])hysician of Pontiac, Illinois, is a
native of this state, born on his father's farm
in Jefferson county. November 13. 1S27, and
is a son of Abel and Prudence ( W'ilkey)
Allen, naties of Kentucky and Georgia, re-
spectixely. His paternal grandfather. James
Allen was born in \^irginia, and when quite
young moved to Kentucky, where he en-
gaged in farming for some years, coming
to Illinois about 1S19, locating in Jefferson
county, where he spent the remainder of his
life, (lying about 1830. The Doctor's father,
who was a prosperous farmer, li\ed in his
native state until about thirty-five years of
age, when he came to Illinois and settled in
Jefferson county, where he continued to fol-
low his chosen occui)ation until his death,
which occiu'red at his home March 29. 1869,
at the aee of seventy-four years. His wife
sur\i\ed him about six years and died on
the old homestead in Jefferson county. June
3. 1875. h\ir a quarter of a century she
w as a great invalid and for the last ten years
of her life was also entirely helpless, requir-
ing much care and attention. The Doctor
has one brother in this coiuity. Christopher
Columbus .Mien, a farmer of Pontiac town-
ship.

Dr. Allen obtained his early education
in the district schools of Jefferson county.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and assisted liis fatlier witli tlie farm work
until twenty-two years of age. He had a
great fondness for the study of niechcine
and for some time read witli his uncle. Dr.
Carter \\'ilkey, with a view of fitting liimself
for tlie medical profession.

On the 14th of Xovember. 1S49. Dr.
Allen was united in marriage with Miss
Martha Trowbridge, a daughter of Philo
and Martha Trowbridge of Jefferson county,
Axhere her fatiier was successfully engaged
in farming until his death, about 1855. By
this union were four children, all of whom
are living, namely: Hardin A., born in Jef-
ferson county, wedded Mary Kinnehan. of
Livingston county, and is now a pavement
and concrete walk contractor of Streator,
Illinois: Lydia A. is the wife of A. C. Scott,
a prominent farmer of E])pard"s Point town-
ship, Livingston county; Laura is the wife of
T. C. Taylor, a dealer in hardware and ag-
ricultural im])lements of Pendleton Oregon;
and J. Brown married Lizzie Labourn and
is a street car conductor of Denver, Colo-
rado.

.■\fter his marriage Dr. .Vllen continued
farming for some years in Jefferson county
and then went to Lincoln. Logan county,
where he was engaged in the maiuifacture
of brick until the death of his wife, which
occurred January 15. 1858. He then came
to Livingston county and again tn^k uj)
farming, at the same time continuing his
medical studies, being thus emplo\ed until
the outbreak of tlie Civil war. He was again
married. December 6, i860, his second union
being with Emily Tromly. by. whom he had
two children: Gertrude. I)orn in La Salle
county. .August 2t,. 1861. resides at home,
and Jessie P.. born in this count)-, Julv 17.
1866, is the wife of R(jbert Harms, a farmer
of Rock Island, Illinois.

In August. 1862, Dr. .\llen enlisted at
Minonk. \\'o(^dforiI county, in Company H,
Seventy-seventh Illinois \'olunteer Infantry,
as hos])ital steward and remained in the serv-
ice three years, having charge of his regi-
ment as physician and surgeon the last two
years. He was serving as second assistant
surge(Mi at the time he was mustered out
with his regiment at Mobile, July 25, 1865.
They participated in sixteen battles, the first
being at Chickasaw Bluff, in the rear of
\'icksburg, and for forty days was in the
siege of X'icksburg. The following winter
was i)assed in Xew Orleans and in the spring
the command took Fort Gaines on Mobile
Bay. also Spanish Fort and Fort Blakeley.

After the close of tlie war Dr. Allen re-
turned to Livingston county. While in Xew
Orleans he took a course of medical lectures
and on his return, as a representative of the
Fxlectic School of Medicine, he commenced
practice in this county, and was not long
111 securing a liberal patronage. In the fall of
1882 he nio\-ed to (Iravniont, where he en-
gaged in practice an<l also conducted a drug
store initil coming to Pontiac, in October,
1888. He has his office at his handsome
residence. Xo. 307 East Xorth street, and
although well advanced in years continues
to engage in active practice.

For his third wife Dr. Allen married
Mrs. Mary Hallam, of Livingston county,
a daughter of James Carson, a farmer of this
county, now ileceased. She died in Pontiac,
December 3. 1888, leaving no children. On
the 1 2th of Xovember, 1889, in P'ontiac,
the Doctor married Mrs. Addie E. Pound,
oldest daughter of John S. and Eunice
(Packer) Lee. The father, a native of
Connecticut, and a lilacksmith by trade,
came to Illinois in 1857 and .settled at Pleas-
ant Ridge, near Lexington, where he fol-

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

lowed his trade for two years, and then
came to Pontiac. He now makes his home
with tlie Doctor and his wife, Mrs. Lee
having died at her home in Pontiac in 1896.
They had tlnxe children besides Mrs. Allen,
namely: Hattie, wife of Joseph Roggy, a
farmer of Nebraska; Frank P., who is em-
ployed in a pork packing establishment in
Chicago, and Charles, agent on the Ilinois
Central Railroad at Riverdale, Illinois.

Mrs. Allen was born in Connecticut, De-
cember 24, 1850, and was seven years of age
when she came to this state w-ith her par-
ents. She is a lady of rehnement, highly
educated, anil after the death of her first
husband she was, for a number of years,
successfully engaged in teaching in the dis-
trict schools of this county, and for a period
gf eight years in the public schools of Pon-
tiac. Her first husband was Joseph Pound,
a farmer living near McDowell, Livingston
county, by whom she had two children, Mary
and Alfred, both now deceased. The Doc-
tor and Mrs. Allen have one child, Wayne
Lee, who was born in Pontiac, May 10, 1892.
In his political views Dr. Allen is a Republi-
can, but has never sought or desired public
office, preferring to devote his entire time and
attention to his professional duties. He is
a member of the Methodist church of Pon-
tiac, and is honored and respected by all
who know him. Mrs. Allen is also a mem-
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church.

REV. E. F. WRIGHT.

Rev. E. F. Wright, who for six years
has been the beloved pastor of the Congre-
gational church at Dwight, Illinois, was
born July 21, 1842, in Shoreham, Vermont,

ailjoining Whiting, where Senator Sawyer
was born. His paternal grandfather was
Andrew Wright, a native of Connecticut,
and a soldier of the Revolutionary war. who
after that struggle migrated to Shoreham,
\ ermont, and took up a large tract of land.
He was married twice and reared a large
lamily. The youngest of his children by the
second marriage was Samuel Wright, our
subject's father, who in early life followed
the sea, sailing first on a whaling vessel and
later on a merchantman. After giving up
the sea he made his home in Vermont for
some time, but spent the last three years of
his life in Jackson county, Michigan, where
he died when our subject was only four
years old. He was twice married, but his
first wife died young, lea\iug no children.
His second wife was ilinerva Knowlton, a
native of Xew York state, by whom he had
three children, namely: E. F., our subject;
IHorence, wife of C. W. Piatt, of North
Adams, Massachusetts; and Charles T., a
resident of Crow Point, New York. The
mother survived her husband many years,
dying in Rutland, Vermont.

Our subject was reared by his father's
sister and her husband, Mr. and !Mrs. Lu-
cius Robison, and his early education was
acquired in the district schools of \'ermont,
which he attended during the winter months.
He w as eighteen years of age when the civil
war broke out and was one of the first from
his state to enlist, joining Company K, Sec-
ond Vermont Volunteer Infantry, May 17,
1 86 1. He was mustered into the United
States service at Burlington, and in June
went to the front, participating in his first
battle — that of Bull Run — on the nineteenth
anniversary of his birth, July 21, 1861. His
regiment was in the Peninsular campaign,
the siege of Yorktown, the battles of Lee's

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ilills and W'illianistftwn, and tlie se\en days'
battle in front of Richmond. He was ill
and off dnty from August, 1862. until Jan-
uary, 1863. and after rejoining his command
took part in the battle of Chancellorsville.
The regiment gained distinction the follow-
ing day by making a famous charge on St.
Mary's Height, antl later participated in the
battle of the Wilderness, where they lost
three hundred and thirty-six men. The
brigade of which Mr. Wright was a mem-
ber probably lost more than any other in
the service. He was mustered out June
29, 1864, and returned home.

Previous to leaving the army ^Ir. Wright
was converted, and soon after his return
home entered the academy at Barry, \'er-
mont, where he spent two years. The fol-
lowing year he was a student at Newbury,
Vermont, and in the summer of 1866 en-
tered Midillebury College, from which he
was graduated in 1870, with the degree of
A. B.. receiving the degree of A. M. three
years later. In the autumn of 1870 he com-
menced teaching in the academy, where he
remained two years, and in 1872 was called
to the pastorate of the Congregational
church at Danby. Vermont, where he was
ordained and installed in 1873.

On the nth of November, 1871, Mr.
Wright married Mrs. Ellen M. Marsh, of
Norwich, Vennont, who died July 4, 1874,
leaving one son, Robert Hoi)kins, who is
now married and in the employ (jf the Illi-
nois Central Railroad at Dubu(|ue, Iowa.
After the death of his wife, Mr. Wright en-
tered the Chicago Theological Seminary,
from which he was graduated in 1876. While
attending that institution he had .served as
])astor of the Congregational church at Des
i'laines, Illinois, and later was in charge of
the church at Seward, \Vinnebago county,

eight years; Rockton three years, and Crys-
tal Lake. Illinois, for a time. From the last
n.amed place he came to Dwight, where he
has now been for the past six years, during
which time he has Iniilt up the church and
has ministered faithfully to the spiritual
needs of his people. He is not only well
liked by his own congregation, but is hon-
ored and esleemetl by all who have wit-
nessed his de\otion to his noble calling.

Mr. Wright was again married, Septem-
ber 7, 1876, his second union being with
Miss M. S. Stone, of Pecatonica, Winne-
bago county, Illinois, by wdiom he has two
children, namely: Florence, who is now
bookkeeper and stenographer for the Dwight
Star and Herald; and Clarence. Both re-
side at home.

ARCHIE CRABB.

The earl}- Imme of this well-known and
honored citizen of Pike township was on
the other side of the Atlantic, and on com-
ir.g to the new world he was in limited cir-
cumstances, but so successful has he been
in his business undertakings that he is now
able to lay aside all labor and live a retired
life u])on his farm on section 4, Pike t<nvn-
ship, Livingston couiUy, about eight miles
from Chenoa.

Mr. Cral)b was born in .\rbroath, For-
farshire, Scotland, June 18, 1833, a son of
James and Cecelia (Monroe) Crabb, also
natives of that county, where the mother
died. The father. wIkj followed the sea in
early life, came to the I'nited States after
the death of his wife and spent his last years
with a daughter in Illinois. During his
boyhood and youth our subject had limited

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

schodl advantages, and is mostly self-edu-
cated. In 1854 he took passage on a sail
vessel l)ound for Montreal. Canada, and was
seven weeks in crossing the .Atlantic, dur-
ing which time the ship encountered some
severe storms. On their arri\fal in Quebec
they were (|uarantined for two weeks, there
being some twenty cases of smallpox on
board. Air. Crabb spent about six months
in the city of Montreal, where he wt)rked at
his trade, that of a l.)lacksmith.

In ICS54 he came to Illinois, and first lo-
cated in Tazewell county, where he worked
lor liis uncle, William Mnnroe. as a farm
hand, for about two years and a half, at
ten dollars per month. He ne.xt engaged
in farming for himself upon rented land in
the s;mie count}-, where he cimtinued to
make his home until icS66, and in the mean-
time purchased eighty acres of land in I 'ike
township. Livingston count}-, where he nci\\-
resides. He located here in 1866, and com-
menced immediately to break the virgin soil,
upon which he built a small house. Later
he purchased an adjoining eighty-acre tract,
and still later another eighty-acre tract, and
today has a fine farm of two hundred and
forty acres, which he has placed under a
high state of cultixation and improved with
good and substantial buildings, which stand
as monuments to his thrift and enterjjrise.
After years of faithful toil he can now well
afford to lay aside all business cares and en-
joy a well earned rest.

In Tazewell county. December 25. 1861.
Mr. Crabb married Miss Mary .\nn Dor-
ward, who was born and reared in the same
neighborhood in Scotland as her husband
and came to the new world in 1853. locat-
ing in Illinois. To them have been burn
six children, namely: Florence, now the
wife of William Snethen, of Pike township;

John Henry, who is married and engaged in
farming in the same township: Robert, also
an agriculturist of Pike township; Marga-
ret, wife of Lewis Brinkman, of Rooks
Creek township: Cecelia, wife of Louis Salz-
man. of the same township; and Agnes, wife
of C. B. Ki)llins. who operates the Crabb
farm.

Mr. Crabb \-oted for .\braham Lincoln
in i8()0, but since 1868 has been independent
in politics, giving his suport to the men and
measures that he believes will best advance
the interests of the public regardless of party
lines. He has taken (|uite an active part
in local jjolitics. and is now serving his si.xth
term as supervisor, and is now a member of
the conimittees on public buildings, county
house and farm, fees and salaries. He has
also served as township clerk, assessor and
treasurer, which office of treasurer he now
holds, and as township trustee eighteen
years. He and his wife are active members
of the Presbyterian church, and his public
and ])rivate life are alike abo\-e reproach, for
his career has ever been one characterized
by the utmost fidelity to duty. He and his
family receive and merit the high regard of
the entire communitv.

THE, LE.sr.lE E. KEELEY CO.

Time tests the merit of all things, and
the years with unerring accuracy set their
stamp of a])pro\al upon all that comes be-
fore the public notice, or cause to sink into
oblivion that which is not worthy of atten-
tion. Only truth is eternal, while "error
wounded, writhes in pain and dies among
her worshippers." There is no escape from
such results ; the ages have jmnen this, and
the law- will hold good throughout all time.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

In tlie face of the most bitter opposition
tliere was given to the world a wonderful
discovery by Dr. Leslie E. Keeley. of
Dwight, Illinois. Me early met the ridicule
and persecution of the medical fraternity, of
w hich he was a member, and the amused and
oftentimes abusive disbelief of the world, but
time proved tlie efficacy and vakie of his
discovery, and today he is known as one
of the greatest benefactors that America
produced in the nineteenth century.

Although the founder has passed away
his living record forms an epitaph time will
never efface, ami the work he created is con-
tinued under the corporate name of The
Leslie E. Keeley Company, the leading mem-
bers being Major Curtis J. Jutkl and John R.
Oughton, the latter the present mayor of
Dwight, while the former for several years
was a successful merchant and tilled posi-
tions in the executive de,partments of the
village. The history of the Keeley Insti-
tute forms the most important cuapter in
the history of Dwight, for prior to its es-
tablishment the little village was scarcely
heard of outside of a radius of a few miles,
and seemed to have little business or com-
mercial prosperity outside of the farming
industry before it. Today no city of etjual
size in the Union is as widely known.

In 1866 Dr. Leslie E. Keeley was grad-
uated fmm Rush Medical College, of Chi-
cago, aiifl in seeking a location, determined
iijKjn this little village in Livingston county,
Illinois. He soon won an enviable repu-
tation, and enjoyed a large practice whicii
came to him from miles around ; but while
lie successfully performed his daily duties
as a general practitioner, he became inter-
ested in the question of a possible cure for
inebriety. He gave careful thought, study
and investigation to the matter, prompted by

a love of scientific research, but more than
all by the great humanitarian principles
which ever formed a basic element in the
character oi Dr. Keeley. At length he be-
came convinced that drunkenness was a dis-
ease just as surely as a fever or any other
disease which comes under the care of the
physician. He became convinced that there
was nothing in the claim that heredity had
anything to do with either. He believed
that while a neurosis might be entailed upon
descendants, they were not from necessity
liquor or drug users. He defined drunken-
ness as "'a conditon wherein the ner\e cells
have become so accustomed to performing
their duties and functi(jns under the in-
lluence of alcohol that they are dependent on
it and will no longer perform those duties
and functions properly and painlessly ex-'
cept when under its inthience." This
theory has Knig Ijeen accepted by j)hysicians
throughout the country, and is taught in the
leading te.xt-books on physiology and hy-
giene in our public schools, but at the time
Dr. Keeley advanced it he met with the
greatest opposition from the medical frater-
nity. Hoping to perfect a cure for this con-
dition of the nerve cells, he wrote to several
well-known physicians to ascertain what
they knew about the effects of salts of gold.
A few responded and their information was
meager, but 1 )r. Keeley continued to investi-
gate and exi)erinient, and as a result, per-
fected not only the cure but the system of
treatment. '1 he storm of abuse and oppo-
sition wliich he bruught down upon him-
self can hardly be imagined. The president
of a prominent medical college, with whom
he took counsel, advised him thus: "Main-
tain the secret of your discovery if you
think it of use to humanity, but the pro-
fession will not leave a shred of vour me<lical

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

r(.'i)utali(in." Tliis was [jaintully true. l)ut
lie fous^ht his and liuniaiiily"s battle nohly,
until now thousands have been beneliteil by
bis treatment, the number rcacbinef more
than three hundred thousand.

It was in tSSo that Dr. Keeley abandoned
general i)ractice and began giving his en-
tire attention to the cure oi those who had
become slaves to alcohol, opium and other
\er_\- injurious drugs. He early associated
with him Major Judd and Mr. Oughton. and
the connection was maintained until the
Doctor's death. These gentleman were
prominent, popular and reliable business
men of Dwight, and their faith in Dr. Kee-
ley and his discoveries did much to gain for
him the confidence of his home c(.)nimunity.
Major Judd is now the secretary and treas-
urer of t!ie company, and Mr. Oughton is
president and chemist. S<,)on after the part-
nership was formed Mr. Oughton was given
the formulae and being an expert chemist
has compounded the Keeley remedies to the
present time.

With three such men as Dr. Keeley, Ma-
jor Judd and Mr. Oughton at the head of
the Institute its success was assured, al-
though it was almost a decade before it
gained the recognition and assistance of the
press. Gradually public opposition was
lessened, as those who came to the Institute
luider the curse of inebriety went away sober,
intelligent citizens, ready to take their places
again in the work of the world. Their tes-
timony and influence lead to the growth of
the work, the number of patients gradually
}'et constantly increased, and it is estimated
that twenty-five thousand t(jok the treatment
prior to 1S91, when Joseph Medill became
its cham])ion and a(l\ofaled the cause
through the columns of the Chicago Tribune.
Before so doing, however, he thoroughly in-

\estigated the cure. In an editorial in the
Chicago Tribune he said : "I tested this
cure; I selected a half-dozen of the toughest
products of alcoholism that the Chicago sa-
loons had been able to turn out, and the
(Ivunkard-making shojjs in no other city can
beat them in their line of workmanship. The
exi)erimental cases were sent down to
Dwight, one at a time, extending over a
period of scx'eral \veeks, and in due time
they were all returned to me, looking as if
a veritable miracle had been wrought upon
them. The change for the better was so
great that I scarcely recognized them. They'
went away sots and returned gentlemen. It
was amazing, and converted me to a belief
in the efficacy of the "Gold Cure' for alco-
holism and opium. Well, I did not stop
with the half-dozen specially selected cases,
but sent down to Dwight a number of ine-
briate acquaintances to take the treatment,
as I was anxious to reclaim those old friends
who had been respected and useful citizens
before the 'drink habit' had ruined their
lives. When 1 bad thus become full)' con-
\inced that drunkenness was a disease, the
result of imbil)ing poison, and that a medi-
cine had l)een discovered which released the
\ictim from the irrepressible thirst for alco-
hol, and that it restored the man to normal
health of body and mind, I felt it to be a
dutv which 1 owed to humanity to make
known the virtue of the Keeley Cure as fast
and as far as in my power, and I rejoice that
the control of a widely-read journal enabled
me to reach the minds of a multitude of in-
telligent people. I opened the columns of
mv paper freely to the rescued \'ictims of al-
cohol, who related their experience and tes-
tilied to what the Keeley Cure had done for
them." The Tribune's example was imme-
diately followed liy that of other leading

THE UIOGRAI'HILAL RECORD.

journals in Cliicagn. and then tlin.n>,di(>iu
tlie country, until the Keeley institute ot
Uwi.tjht l)eca:iie largely known throughout
the length and breadth of the Ian

It was soon found tiiat the accommoda-
tions at Dwight were totally inadei|uate, so
greatly did the number of patients increase.
Ur. Keeley. Major Judd and Mr. Oughton
held consultation and it was determined that
the congestion at Dwight sliould be relieved
at once by the openiing of branch institutes.
The first <me was e.staljlished at Des Moines.
Iowa, soon others were started in New \ ork
and Pennsylvania, and after this branches
sprang up in various places until at the pres-
ent time there are one or more in nearly eve>'v-
state and territory. The most notable work
perhaiis was accomplished at the Lea\cri-
wortli branch of the National Soldiers'
Home, where nearly fifteen hundreil \eter-
ans of the war of the Rebellion were treated
with the most gratifying results, and the re-
port of the Ixiard of managers to congrc,>>
and the secretary of war spoke of the .great
good accom])lished. The treatment was
also administered in tlie Soldiers' Home at
Milwaukee. Wisconsin, Hampt.m, \irgiuia.
Los Angeles, California, and others, with
excellent results. Many men and officers
of the regular army have also taken the
treatment, sixty Indians from tlie Cherokee
and O.sage reservations were sent to the
branch in Kansas Citv. and the results were
so favorable to the cure as to prompt the
writing of a letter l)y Chief Justice Connor,
of the Indian Territory, to Dr. Keeley. |)rais-
ing the treatment in the highest terms. Si.xty-
tive men in the work-house of Minneapolis
were sent by the mayor of that city to the
branch institute there, and a large m.ijority
of them. ;ilthou.gh they h;id liecu \ictiius of
inebriety, convicted from two ti> twentv-

nine times, were enabled to leave the work-
house, and were changed fmiu wards of the
state tL> self-supporting, self-resjjecting citi-
zens. To cite, either collectively or indi-
vidually, the wonderful cures elifected by
the system inaugurated by Dr. Keeley would
fill a lar.ge volume: suffice it to say that
more than three hundred thousand have
taken the cure, and the greater number have
remained sober, useful citizens.

The cure for drunkenness is usually ef-
fected in four weeks. There is no sickness
attendant upon the treatment, and the phys-
ical condition improves from the start. Men
are also freed from the opium, morphine,
laudaniun. cocaine and chloral habits. The
])atients are left absolutely free, there being
no restraining intluences other than those
of law-abiding citizenship. .\11 ])atients
arc treated alike and stand on the same
footing. It is interesting to note the many
exhibitions of kindness and good will of
the patients towards each other. A useful
lesson is taught by this democracy of the
Keeley Institute — a man of humble station
is lifted up and given a new trend, whereas
a man of bi.gh jxisition is convinced more
than e\er of the leveling qualities of drink
toward the lowest strata of society.

The Livingston Hotel of Dwight is
owned and conducted by the Leslie E. Kee-
ley Company, and is an excellently conducted
hostelry, with ])leasantly arranged rooms,
well lightctl and ventilated, and tastefully
furnished. The lalK)ratt)ry is one of the
finest and best e(|ui|)ped in the country, and
the offices are models of convenience.

Dwight certainly owes her prosjjcrity
in very large measure to the Leslie E. Kee-
ley Company. IVior to the establishment
of the institute it was an ordinary country
town, without electric lights, without water-

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

works anil without (lraina_^;e. Today it lias
all the accoiiiniodations and iniprovenients
of cities many times its size, this result being
largely obtained through the efforts of the
members of the Keeley Company. Jt is
safe to say that no |>ri\atL' insliliition in the
entire countr\- is so well known as the insti-
tute at Dwight, nor is there one whose in-
liuence and efforts have been so beneficial
and far reaching.

The business of the Leslie E. Keeley
Conii)any is conducted upon a lilieral prin-
ciple and most appro\ed business methods.
'1 he system is the result of years of expe-
rience and intelligent work, and cannot be
imjiroved upon. Visitors to Dwight inva-
rialilv inspect the general offices as one of
the sights of the village. While it has been
a paying investment to its owners, it cer-
lainlv deserves to be ranked among the
greatest institutions for good that tiie nine-
teenth ccnturv has known.

M \TTHI.\S TOMB. XrC.H.

Matthias Tombaugh, decea.sed, was one
of the most jM-oniinent of the early educators
of this county, and served as county super-
intendent of schools for several years, dur-
ing which time there was a marked ini-
]irovement made in the educational sys-
tem then in vogue here, lie was born near
Washington, Washington county. I'ennsyl-
vania. June ii, 1835, and there grew to
manhood. His parents were Mathias ami
Rachel (Six)hn) Tombaugh, life-long resi-
dents of that county and of (iernian descent.
The mother survivetl her husband several
years, dying about 1890.

Our subject completed his literary edu-

cation at Mt. Union College, and then com-
menced teaching school in his nati\e county,
serving as superintendent of schools at
Monongahela City for a time. While there
he married Miss Elivira j. Letherman. who
was Ixirn [une 1 1. 1 S3S. a daughter of John
and Christina Letherman, of Washington
county, Pennsyhania, and of (iernian de-
scent. Her father was a soldier of the war
of 1 81 2, and a farmer by occupation. To
Mr. and Mrs. Tombaugh were born seven
children, five of whom are still li\ing. name-
ly : Charles R.. who is rei)resented on an-
other page of this xolume: .Mice I., wife of
E. F. Pound, of (ilen Elder, Kansas: Dr.
Frank M., medical examiner for the Chi-
cago, Burlington & Ouincy Railroad at
Burlington, Iowa: Nettie Z., wife of W. F.
Worthlev, of Odell, Illinois: and John L.,
a student in the Chicago Medical College.
Raymond R.. the third in order of birth,
died June 25, 1886, at the age of nineteen
years. Horace Reid, the fifth child died
in infancy.

In 1865 Mr. Tombaugh came to Living-
ston county, Illinois, and purchased land in
J^eading township, when this country was
((uite new and but slightly improved. Af-
ter making his home there for three years
he moved to Sunbury township and bought
another farm. While living there he .served
as princiiial of the schools of Odell for one
year, and in 18873 was elected county su-
perintendent of sch(/ols, which important
])osition he held until i8S_', the term at that
time being four years. While in ofiice a
change was made in the election laws and
he was elected b\- the Ixiard of supervisors
for one year. During his incumbency he
made many important changes in the schools
which have been of i)eniianent value, and it
is conceded that he was a very eft'ectiye

3°

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORU.

school officer. Selling' his farm in Sun-
bury township, in 1876. he bought property
in Odell townsliij). and successfully en-
gaged in farming there up to the time of
his death.

After 1882 Mr. Tombaugh served as su-
pervisor of his township and was also a
member of the Odell school board. He
was a Republican in politics and a member
of tlie Masonic fraternity. Both he and
his wife lield membership in tiie Methodist
Episcopal church, and took an active part
in its work. He served as superintenilent of
the Sunday schools twelve years ; was presi-
dent of the Count V Sunday School Associa-
tion; and was also steward, trustee and
church secretary, in fact was one of the i)il-
lars of his church. While one of a fishing-
party at Marseilles. Illinois, May 13, 1887,
lie was drowned while attempting to rescue
another member of tlie party who had fallen
in the river. He was highly respected and
esteemed by all who knew him on account
of his sterling worth and true nobility of
character, and liis death was widely and
deeijly mi,>urned. His estimable wife still
survives him and makes her home in Odell.

CHARLES R. TOMBAUGH.

Charles R. Tombaugh, the present county
superintendent of schools, was born near
Washington, Washington county, Pennsyl-
vania, October i. i86j, and is a son of Mat-
thias and Elvira J. (Letherman) Tom-
baugh, a sketch of whom appears on another
l)age of this work. He was about three
years old when brought by his parents to
Livingston county, Illinois. He began his
education in the schools of Sunburv town-

ship, later attended, the common chools of
Odell and then taught school for five win-
ters in this county, at the end of which time
he entered the Xorthwestern University at
Evanston, Illinois. After his return home
he resumed teaching and taught for six
years, during which time he was principal
of the East Side School at Dwight, and also
principal of the schools at Chebanse and
Odell. ^\'hile at Odell he was president of
the Li\ingston County Teachers" Associa-
tion for two years, and also an instructor
in the County Teachers' Institute. After
the death of his father, in 1887, he took
charge of the home farm and carried it on
until he assumed the duties of his present
position as county superintendent of schools.
He was elected on the Repul)lican ticket,
and in 1898 was renominated by acclama-
tion and again elected to tliat ofiice. The
educational meetings held during his term
have been most successful, and he has the
entire confidence and respect of the people.

On his election to his ])resent office Pro-
fessor Tombaugh moved to Ponliac, and
now has a i)leasant home at Xo. 3 1 1 South
\'ermilion street. On the 20th of January,
1892, he married Mrs. Anna L. Bradrick,
a daughter of Rev. Samuel Deach, of the
Central Illinois Methodist Episcopal con-
ference. Rev. and Mrs. Deach were in
Kansas for a time on account of iiis health,
and Mrs. Tombaugh was educateil in Sa-
lina, that state. By a former marriage she
has one cliild, Margaret L. Bradrick. an<l
she lias borne our subject three children:
Alice v.. Glen D. and Stella M.

Professor Tombaugh was made a Ma-
.son in Odell Lodge, No. 401, F. & .\. M.,
in which he served as warden, but has since
(leniitted to Pontiac lodge, Xo. J94. where
he is now sering his fourth year as mas-

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ter. Ijotli he anil his wife are active nienv
hers of tiie ^[etiiodist Episcopal churcii, and
he is now a member of the offical l)oard of
tlie cliurcli and ])resident nf the lJ\'in^stiin
Connty Snnday Scliool .Association. While
a resident of Dwight, Chebanse and Odell,
lie was superintendent of the Sunda}- schools
there, having like his father devoted much
time to Sunday school work. He has fol-
lowed closely in the footste])s of his father,
having held practically all of the local,
county and church olTices held by the latter.
As a citizen he ever stands ready to dis-
charge any duty de\'olving upon him, and
as an educator he stands (leser\e(llv high.

EMILE A. SIMMONS.

'i he man who achie\-es success in the le
gal profession is even more strictly the "ar-
chitect of his own fortunes" than is the
average self-made man, there being in the
keen competition of the lawyer's life, with
its constantl}- recurring mental duel be-
tween eager and determined antagonists, no
chance for the operation of influences which
may be called to the aid of the merchant, the
manufacturer nr the financier. Among the
men of Livingston coimty who have demon-
strated their abilites in this diCiicult field
Emile .\. Simmons holds a leading place.
being one of the ])romiiient attornevs of
Pontiac.

A native of Illinois, Mr. .Simmons was
born in Avon, October 19, 1865, and is a
son of (ieorge and Charlotte L. J. (Mail-
Hard ) Simmons. The father was born,
reared and educated in Hamilton. Madison
county, Xew York, and as a voung m;m
removed to Avon, Illinois, about iS^o. where

he followed tlie carpenter's trade, and also
engaged in farming, making his home there
until his death. He held different local
offices, including tho.se of justice of the
])eace, assessor and collector, and was a Re-
])ublican in politics, having been an abi^li-
tionist in New York, llis father was a
soldier of the war of iSij, and a life-long
resilient of Hamilton, Xew \drk, where he
followed the occupation of farming. The
mother of our subject was born in Flor-
ence, Italy, of I'rench parentage, and was
reared in France until twelve years of age,
when she came to America with her family
and settled in .Xxon. Illiiio's. Her father
was Ely Mailliard. She is still living, but
the father of our subject died in 1892.

During his boyhood and yotith Emile A.
Simmons attended the public schools of
A\-oii, and at the age of si.xtecn commenced
teaching. After following that profession
for six years, he liecame a student at the
Normal School in Normal, Illinois, and af-
ter leaving that institution again taught
school for two years, being principal of the
school at Vermont, Illinois. In December,
1889, he came to Pontiac and entered the
office of A. C. Ball, studying law with him
two years, and also teaching the latter year.
The following year he was in the oftice of
.Mcllduff & Torrance, and in May, 1892,
was appointed dei)uty circuit clerk. While
in that position seeing the practice of lead-
ing law vers was of great benefit to him. In
.\ugust, 1892, he was examined at Mt. \'er-
iion by the judges of the api)ellate court,
and a certificate issued at the ne.xt session of
the supreme court at that place the follow-
ing November. ]n December he left the
clerk's office and entered the office of Mr.
Mcllduff'. remaining with him until .Vugust,
1894. when he ojjened an offfce of his own.

Till". r.!()(;R.\I'lliC.\l. RECORD.

He i> iKiw successfully engagfed in practice
befiire all the cmirts nf the state.

On the 31st of December, 1894. Mr.
Simnmns was unite<l in marriage with Miss
Katherine M. Smith, of Avon, a daughter
of r. II. Smith, and to them has been horn
one child. Loui.se A. They lioltl nienil)er-
shij) in St. Mary"s Catholic church, of IVmi-
tiac. and fraternally r^lr. Simmons is a
member of Crescent Lodge, K. P., is clerk
of the Camp. M. \\ . A., of Pontiac, and is
president of the Pontiac Colony Pioneer Re-
serve Association. He is also director and
treasurer of associate*! charities of Pontiac.
Lor .some time he has been secretary of the
Pontiac Loan & Building Association — a
home loan building concern, whose assets
amount to one hunilred and twehe tliou-
sand dollars. He is also a mcmljer of the
company. By his ballot he supports the men
and measures of the Republican party, and
takes an acti\e and i)roniinent pait in local
ix'litics. He still retains an interest in edu-
cational affairs, and in April, 1900, was
elected to the I'ontiac township high school
)>oard. He is also serving his second term
as a member of the boanl of directors of the
J'ontiac public library, receiving his appoint-
ment from the mayor, and as a progressive
and ]>ublic-spirite<l citizen, he takes a deep
interest in every enteriirise calculated to ad-
vance the moral. s<icial and educational wel-
fare of his cmmunitv.

COLONEL FR.\.\K L. S.MITH.

Colonel I'Vank L. Smith, of Governor
Taiuiers staff, is one of the leaders of the
Republican jtarty in Livingston count v, his
large acipiaintance and unbounded ixiini-

larity .giving him an influential following,
while his shrewd judgment of men and af-
fairs make his coun.sel of value in all im-
portant movements. In business circles he
also takes a foremost rank, his success as a
real estate dealer being all the more notable
from the fact that it has been secured by liis
own judicious management.

This prominent citizen of Dwight. a
member of tlie well-known firm of Romber-
ger & Smith, was born in that citv Novem-
ber 24, 1867. and is a son of Jacob L and
Jane V.. (Ketciiam) Smith, natives of (ier-
many and Xew ^'ork, respectively. The
father. was only four years okl when brought
to America by his parents, who located in
Pennsylvania, but at the age of fifteen he
came to Dwight. Illinois, which continued
to be his home until 1891. when he removed
to Chicago, where he died in 1894. His
wife died nine years j^revious. In their
family were three children.

Colonel Smith received his early educa-
tion in the public schools of Dwight, and
at the age of seventeen taught school in
Round Grove township for about one year,
after which he accepted a position in the
freight department of the Chicago & .\lton
Railroad at Dwight, remaining with them in
a clerical ca])acity about four vears. In
1887 he went to Chicago and accepted n
similar ])osition with the Rock Islanil Rail-
road, being located at tlu- I'.nglewood sta-
tion two years. Subseipiently he served a.s
cashier with P. H. Bolton & Company, com-
mission merchants on South Water street.
Chicag<i, until 1890, when he returne<l to
Dwight and entered into partnershi]) with
W. I]. Ketcham in the real estate and loan
business. When that tirm was dissolved
-April I, 1895, Colonel Smith became con-
I'ccted in business with C. L. Roniberger un-

'['HE lUOGUAriilCAL RliLUKU.

(Icr tlie name of Runilierticr «S: Smiili. ilicir
s])ecialty being real estate and real estate
work, altiiDUgli tliey <lo a private hanking
business for tlie accommodation of friends
and ac(|uaintances. W'itiiout (|nestion the
Ih-m does one of the largest loan and real es-
tate l)usinesses in central Illinois, this fad
being conceded by all other hrnis in th^ir
line. At ])resent they are extensively inter-
e^teil in Mississippi and i.onisiana lands.
Their holdings in the latter state are tim-
ber lanils. which the tirm purchased with tlie
view of enhancing their \alue. and in Jan-
uary, 1900, tiiey sold one tract of twelve
thousand acres in Madison jjarish. This is
clesiral)le pro])ertv, being accessilile to steam-
boats and the X'icksburg, Shreve])ort t^ Pa-
cific Railroad. The Mississippi land is in
the Delta country, and is also covered with
liard wood timber, principally oak, pecan and
gum. When cleared this will become ex-
cellent cotton land, iiesides tiiis jiroperty,
the tirm has about fifteen hundred acres of
line farming land in Lee count\', Illinois,
which is well improved and under a high
state of cultivation, and also operate largel}'
in Iowa and Indiana lands.

(.)n the Sth of February, 189.V M''-
Smith was united in marriage with Miss
i'j'ininie Aliern. of Dwight. a daughter of
John and .Margaret .\hern. who are at pres-
ent living in Ogden. L'tah. .Mrs. .Smith is
a member of St. Patrick's Catholic church,
of Dwight. and the Colonel belongs to He-
l)ron lodge, Xo. j^. K. P.. and Dwight
Cam]). M. W. .\. Since attaining his ma-
jority he has affiliated with the Republican
l)arty. and has taken a very active and jiromi-
nent part in political affairs, alwavs attend-
ing the county conventions and serving as
a delegate to the state conventions three
times. In the spring of 1900 he was oft'ered

the nomination for state senaioi- on his party
ticket, but would not accept on account of
his business interests, though the nomina-
tion was e(|uivalent to an election in his dis-
trict, which is strongly Re])ublican. l*"arly
in his career he served as city clerk in
Dwight, 1nit since then he has ne\-er been
jirexaileil upon to accept (Office. In January,
1897. li^ ^^'i'' fil'l'*''"'^^'! colonel on (io\ernor
Tanner's staff, and in thai capacitv lias par-
ticipated in many important functions, being
present at the inauguration of I 'resident Mc-
Kinley at Washington. 1). C. in March,
iSgj; the unveiling of the (irant monument
at Xew York; the inneiiing of Logan's
nionunient at Chicago; the christening of the
battleshi]) Illinois at .Newport .\ews. \'ir-
ginia: and the dedication of the Illinois
monument at Chattanooga. Tennessee.

IIOX. XI'.I.SOX J. .MVER.

There arc in every communitv men
of great force of character and exceptional
ability, who by reason of their capacity for
kaflership become recognized as foremost
citizens, and take a very iniportar.t part in
])ublic affairs. Such a man is .Mr. Myer,
who is now so efficiently surving as superin-
tendent of the Livingston county farm in
P.ppards Point township.

He was born in that township. July 30,
1S51. and is a son of Judge i-iiii Myer. who
was born and reared in Maryland, and at
the age of eighteen years moved to Licking
county. Ohio, locating near Xewark. There
he married, and continued to make it his
home until after the birth of several 'if his
children. In 1^50 he came to Livingston
county. Illinois, and purchased a tract of
raw land in I^ppards Point township, to

THE BIOGRArHICAL RFXORD.

tlie cultivation and improvement of which
he at once turned his attention. Later he
l)onght more land and at one time owned
five linndred and sixty acres, which he
jilaced under a high state of cultivation and
improved witii a good set of farm buildings.
He was a man i>i good business aliility, and
was one of the most prominent and intUien-
tial citizens of his community, being called
upon to serve as associate judge, and town-
ship treasurer and clerk for some years each.
He died upon the old home place Decemlier
28, i8f>S. and his wife passed awa\- June 5,
1875.

Xclson J. !Myer grew to manhood upon
the farm and attended the local schols, but
the knowledge there acejuired has been
greatly supplemented by reading and study
in later years. For some time he and his
brother operated the old homestead together,
and in 1875 Mr. Moyer purchased eighty
acres in sections 21 and 16, on which he
lived and there made his home until 1895,
when he took charge of the Livingston
county farm. He has been very successful
in the management of this place, and has
gained an en\iable repiUation as one of its
most efficient superintendents. When he
took charge of the farm it had lifty-one in-
mates, but the number has since been in-
creased to eighty-four, which includes a
number of insane, old and decrepit persons.
]n the management of the i)hRe and the
care of the inmates, he has been greatly as-
sisted by his estimable wife.

In this county, December 17, 1871. Mr.
Myer married Miss Helen E. McElhiney,
who was born in Careen county, Wisconsin,
but was reared and educated in Stephenson
county, Illinois. Her father was James
McElhiney, To our subject and his wife
have been born two children: Xelson 1)..

who is attending the Pontiac High School,
and James ()., a student in the Imme school.
In his political affiliations Mr. .Myer is a
l)rt)nounced Repul>lican, and cast his first
presidential vote for (ieneral L'. S. Grant
in 1872. He has taken a very active and
])rominenl jiart in political affairs, and has
been elected to several offices, serving as
township collector .sexeral years, and was
justice of the i)eace for eight years from
1876. In i88i he was elected supervisor,
and filled that office continuously for ten
years, during which time he was chairman
of a number of important committees. He
was elected to the state legislature in 1888,
and so acceptably did he fill that office that
he was re-elected for another term, and
was a UK'niber of the committees on state
institutions, re\enue and others. In 1893
he was again elected sujjervisor, was re-
elected two years later and made chairman
of the county board. He resigned that
office to accept his present positi(jn as su-
perintendent of the county farm. His offi-
cial duties have always been di.scharged with
a fidelity and jjromptness worthy of the
highest commendation, and he is today one
of the best-known and most popular citizens
of the oiunty. Religiously both he and his
wife are members of the Center Methodist
Episcopal church.

CHKlSTOrilllR W. STERRV,

Christopher W. .Sterry, of Pontiac, was
Ijorn in Somerset county. Maine, .\ugust 12,
1826. His father, Samuel Sterry, also a
native of Maine, was born in 1782, married
Hannah Harding, in 1807, and serveU
through the war of 1812, dying at his home
in Somerset county in 1827, when Christo-

C. W. STERRY.

Till£ BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

plier was less tlian one year old. The pater-
nal grandfather, David Sterry. was one of
the heroes of the Revolutionary war. and
<.lied at his home in Maine at the advanced
age of citjhty-eight years and eig;ht months.
The m(.)ther, Hannah Marding Sterry,
was a devoted Christian woman. She was
born in 1788, and died in Maine in 1871,
when eightv-two years old. At the death
of her hnshand she was left with five sons,
the eldest less than eighteen years old and
the youngest, Christopher, not a year old,
to face the stern realities of life with hut
scant means of support. The tIe\'oted
mother, after a heroic struggle for several
years to keep her family of boys together,
found it necessary to find homes for them.
Thus the subject of this sketch, when but
eight years of age, was placed among
strangers, where he remained under harsh
treatment and hard \vork, and but few op-
portunities for school prix'ileges for four
years, when he could endure it no longer,
and ran away. When fifteen he worked
si.x months for twenty-five dollars, and at
eighteen he went into Massachusetts and
commenced work at tweKe dollars and a
half per month on a farm. Then he be-
came engaged in manufacturing business,
in which he continued imtil he came to Illi-
nois in 185 J, and located in Chicago, where
he remained four years, ha\ing charge of the
stone sawing works of A. S. Sherman &
Company. In 1856 lie was engaged as
bookkeeper of the Sheffield Mining & Trans-
portation Company, of Sheffield, Bureau
county. It was in this year, 1856, that Mr.
Sterry came into Livingston county and
settled in Esmen township, where he bought
a farm of one hundred and sixtv acres of
raw ])rairie land. se\'en miles north of Pon-
tiac. This he improved, erecting buildinos

and making of it a pleasant home, on which
he li\ed for many years, engaged in farm-
ing and stock-raising. During this time he
added one hundred and sex'enty acres to
the homestead, which he still retains in the
hi"-hest degree of cultixation. and became
possessed of large business interests and
property holdings in New Orleans, Louis-
iana. The latter required so much atten-
tion that he left his farm in 1884 and moved
into Pontiac. Securing one of the finest lo-
cations in the city on the north bank of i)ic-
turesc|ue X'ermillion, Mr. Sterry erected on
it one of the most elegant modern residences
in Pontiac. It is located on I-last Water
street, in the midst of spacious grounds ex-
tending back to the river, and is shaded by
grand old oaks and native forest trees. Here
he makes his home, though business as well
as comfort calls him south during the win-
ter months.

Soon after becoming a citizen of Pon-
tiac, Mr. Sterry became identified with the
business interests of the city, first by es-
tablishing the jewelry, drug, book and wall
paper firm of John S. Murphy & Company.
A. little later he was one of the principal or-
ganizers of the Pontiac Shoe Manufactur-
ing Compan\-, which was incorporated in
1889, taking one-third of the stock and fur-
nishing financial backing to a much greater
extent. He has been a director and presi-
dent of the company from its organization.
It is the chief industry of Pontiac, and is
considered a prime factor in itspros])erityand
growth. Starting up in October, 1889, it
has grown to a capacity of two thousand
pairs of shoes per day, and furnishes em-
l^lovment to three hundred men and women,
the maioritv of wlmm are skilled workmen.
The product of the factory is disposed of
throughout the territorv from Ohio to the

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Pacific coast on the west and tlie Gulf of
Mexico on the soutli.

In iS(;7 Mr. Stony purchased Riverside
I'ark. ailjoininj"^ the city on tlie east, and
ahuDSt encircled hy the Vermillion river,
shaded l)y stately native forest trees, thus
securin<!^ its use for the Pontiac Chautauqua
Association, which he assisted in organizing,
and in which he was the largest stockholder.
He is also largely interested in the Pontiac
State Bank, of which he has been director
and vice-president since its organization.
While he does not give special attention to
the details of this business, yet the mere
fact of his connection with its has served
to increase the confidence of the business
community in its conservative management.
He is also president and largest stockholder
of the Riverside Irrigation Company, of
Idaho, which controls some fifteen thousand
acres of arable land in that state. Aliout
thirty miles of canal have been constructed
and is in operation for irrigation purposes.
In 1899 he erected the four-story office
l)uilding on the southwest corner of Court
House S(|uare. It is known as the Sterry
block, and will (kjubtless be a landmark for
years to come as its equal has not appeared
in any city the size of Pontiac. It fronts
eighty feet on Washington street and one
hundred feet on South Mill street, and is
four stories above the basement. It con-
sists of two stores and the Pontiac State
Bank below, and of .sixty suites of offices
al)()ve. which are made accessible by an elec-
tric-])ower i)assenger elevator, heated by
steam and snp])lied with cit}' water and with
electric lighting.

.\s a citizen Mr. Sterry has ever been
ready to accept the resixmsibilities an<l jier-
form his diUy in the most conscientious way.
\\ bile as a matter of choice he would have

avoided the cares of public office, yet he hns
served many years in various official posi-
tions. In busmen township he served as
school director, trustee, school treasurer,
justice of the peace and supervisor. He was
a member of the Ixiard of supervisors of
Livingston county for .several terms, and
as such, aided in securing the location of
the State Reform School at Pontiac.

Having been a strong advocate of anti-
slavery i^rinciples even as an abolitionist, on
the organization of the new party, he be-
came a stanch Republican, antl during the
war of the Rebellon was an active member
of the Union League. He continued to
act with the party until the old issues were
settled, and he became convinced that the
new and greater issue of temperance could
expect no real sup])ort from the old party.
He then ga\e the Prohibition party his lib-
eral support an<l became an anient >uppi>nei"
of that party.

Realizing in his own life what he mi.ssed
through want of school privileges, he has
been an ardent supporter of the ])ublic school
system and also of higher education. He
has been a supporter especially of Xew Or-
leans University, of which he is a trustee, of
Wheaton College, ami of Illinois W'esleyan
University.

in 1847 ^''- Sterry was married to Miss
Elizabetli Day. who li\ed with him seven
years, bearing to him three children, all of
whom died in infancy, while her death oc-
curred March 25, 1S55.

In 1858 he married Miss .Xmanda Had-
ley. daughter of the late James P. Hadley. a
])rominent farmer of Sunbury township,
this county. One chiUl was born, and lived
but a short time, and the wife also was taken
away after a inn'on of a little more than one
vcar. In 1861 he was united in marriage

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

w illi ]\lrs. Mary C. Beelcr.a daughter df John
Ross, of Sangamon county, and she has
been sparetl to live with him until the pres-
ent time. To tliem ha\e been born six
cliildren : Lida, wife of Ur. C. H. Long, of
Pontiac. wliose sketcli appears elsewliere in
this volume; John L., the only son, a young
man of great promise who died at the age of
twenty years, in 1884, while attending the
Illinois Wesleyan University at Blooming-
ton, where he was preparing himself for the
ministry : Hattie and Josephine, who both
died in infancy; Mary E., wife of E. M.
Kirkpatrick, a i)rominent grain merchant of
Chenoa, Illinois; and Jessie, wife of Clar-
ence B. Hurtt, now a resident of Roswell,
Idaho, where he is serving as secretary of
the Riverside Irrigation Company. They
have also four grandchildren, Christopher
Sterry Long, Mary Catherine Long. John
Nelson Hurtt and Baby Hurti.

Mr. Sterry early identified himself with
the Methodist Episcopal church, and for
many years has served in official capacity as
steward, trustee and Sunday school super-
intendent. While in Esmen he was instru-
mental in securing the erection of the Es-
men CeiUer church. On moving to Pon-
tiac he was immediately chosen as a trustee
of the First Methodist Episcopal church,
and on the destruction of the old church i)v
fire in 1SS5. he aided in the Iniililing of the
present church edifice. He is president of
the board of trustees, having held that office
for a niunber of years.

For almost half a century Mr. .Sterrv
has been a resident of Livingston county.
On his arrival here the greater part of its
rich land was yet unbroken, its inhabitants
were few in numl)er: w idel\- scattered and
the improvements were not of the best. Pie
has certainly done well his part. Thor-

oughly honest and conscientious in all he
does, he has won tlie respect and confidence
of all with whom he has been brought in
contact, and his lifcwork is worthy of emu-
lation bv the generations to follow.

CAPTAIN SILAS MILTON WITT.

Captain Silas Milton Witt, an honored
veteran of the civil war and a prominent
resident tjf Pontiac, Illinois, who is now liv-
ing a retired life, was born in Lebanon.
Boone county, Indiana, February 1, 1842,
and is a son of Michael and Lohama (Wall )
Witt, the former a native of (niilford coun-
ty. North Carolina, of which state bis fa-
ther, a soldier of the Revolutionary war,
was an early settler. The maternal grand-
father. Elisha Wall, also fought for the in-
dependence of the colonies. He was a
relative of Daniel Boone, who was a fre-
(juent \isitor at his home, antl they often
huntetl and trapped together. Later Mr.
\\ all went with Boone and a numlier of
others t(j Kentucky, becoming i)ioneers of
that state.

Michael Witt, our sul)ject"s father, grew
to manhood on the home farm in his native
state, and from there entered the service of
his coimtry during the war of 181 2, serv-
ing as captain of a company. Later he
was commissioned colonel in the North
Carolina militia, and after his removal to
Indiana was an officer in the state mibtia
there. Our subject well remembers seeing
him on horseback on general training days,
which at that time were the important days
of the year. Soon after his marriage .Mi-
chael Witt and his wife removed to the ter-
ritory of Indiana, and she was the first white
woman to locate in Lebanon, the connt\'

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RIXOKD.

seat of Boone county. Tliere he engaged in
farming for a time, and after the town was
started opened out an old fashioned general
store, liauling liis goods first from Cincinnati
and later from Indianapolis and Lafayette.
He became one of the successful men of
that locality, owning large tracts of land,
and part of the town of Lebanon was Iniilt
on the first three iiundred and twenty acres
which lie purciiased. He heltl much of this
property until his death, the land later be-
coming very valuable. As a ^^ hig he took
(juite an active and prominent part in local
]X)litics, and held a number of offices, in-
cluding those of county judge and coroner.
He left the south on account of slavery,
and also because he believed that men of
moderate means could do better in the north.
Both he and his wife are <le\i>tU members
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his
home was always the stopping place for the
ministers. His first house in Lebanon was a
sort of hotel for travelers journeying be-
tween Lafayette and Cincinnati, and in those
<lays he was the man of tlie town. He died
there March 2. 1861, and was Iniried the
day President Linctjin was first inaugurated.
Our subject's mother died in Dwight, this
county, in 1874. They left a family of six-
teen children, of whom our subject is the
youngest. Both had been married before,
the mother's first husband being a Mr.
Blair, of Kentucky.

Ca])tain Witt received a good ]>ractical
education in tiie schools <jf Lebanon, and
aided his fatlier in the work of the farm
and store until the civil war broke out. On
the night of the surrender of Fort Sumter,
April i.^. 1861, he enlisted for three months
as a private in Company I. Tenth Indiana
\'olunteer Infantry, at the president's first
call for seventv-five thousand men. 'ihev

joined Ceneral McClelland in West Vir-
ginia, and with him participated in the bat-
tle of Rich Mountain, July ir. wliich was
fo]I()wed by the engagement at I'hiilippi
Tunnel Hill. When his term of enlistment
expired, (.'apiain Witt returned home and
was made recruiting officer at Lebanon,
where he helped recruit the Tenth, Fortieth,
Eighty-sixth and One Hundred and Six-
teenth Indiana Regiments, raising two com-
panies for the Eighty-sixth. In the .spring
of 1863 he enlisted as orderly sergeant in
Company G. One Hundred and Sixteenth
Indiana \'olunteer Infantry, and was first
ordered to Dearborn, Michigan, to guard the
arsenal there during the time of the V'allan-
dingham trouble. Crossing the lake to
Cleveland, he proceeded to Camp Xelson,
Kentucky, where he joined his brigade, and
later was through the east Tennessee and
Knoxville campaign, capturing Cumberland
Cap the last time. This was followed by the
siege of Knoxville and the engagement at
Walker's Ford and Tazewell, Tennessee,
where his regiment was on the extreme left
of Burnside's army. In March, 1864, he
was mustered out and appointed deputy
provost marshal with heafl{|uarters at La-
fayette, Indiana, where he helped the deputy
proxost marshal organize a regiment, then
went to Indianapiilis. where he securetl
arms and annnunition and started in pursuit
of Morgan. He spent sixty days on this
expedition, and assisted in capturing some
f)f Morgan's forces at Mt. \'ernon. When
the president called for troops to push the
.Atlanta campaign, he helped organize Com-
pany E, One Hundred and Thirtv-fifth In-
diana V'olunteer Infantry and was commis-
sioned second lieutenant. They were on
duty in Kentucky. .Maljama and Xorth Caro-
lin.i. and participated in the battle of Look-

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

out Mountain. Captain Witt was always
with his regiment witli the exception of
three clays when ill with fever after the hat-
tie of Tazewell, lint was never in the hos-
pital. After being mustered out in the fall
of 1864 he returned to Lebanon, Indiana.

At Lebanon Captain Witt was married,
No\-cml_)er 10, 1S64, to Miss Maria L. Lan-
don, a daughter of iNIyron and Martha
(Jeffers) Landon. Her father remo\-ed
from Ohio to Indiana at an early da\-, and
was one of the first teachers in his locality.
He was a prominent Mason. He died when
Mrs. Witt was only a year old and her
mother died two years later. Their eldest
son, Albert Landon, was a prominent mem-
ber of the Humane Society, of Chicago, and
was the publisher of the Humane Journal
initil his death, a period of o\er thirty years.
Airs. Witt spent her early life in Shelbyville,
Indianai)olis and Lebanon, Indiana. To
the captain and his wife were born three
children, namely: Hattie A., now the wife
of L. S. Baldwin, of Xoblesville, Indiana;
Jessie M., wife of Philip Piper, a dentist of
Pontiac ; and Albert M., at home, who has
l)een a memlier of the National Guard for
three years, and ser\ed as corporal in Com-
pany F, Third Illinois \'olunteer Infantry,
during the Spanish-American war.

On the 13th of November, 1864, Cap-
tain Witt removed to Dwight, Illinois,
where he engaged in the real estate business
one year, dealing first in farm and later in
\illage property. In 1866 he was appointed
marshal of that town, and held the office
thirteen years; was also deputy sheriff ten
years and constable nineteen years. For a
year and a half he engaged in the harness
business, but at length was forced to give it
up as his various official duties required his
entire time. At the same time he als;) held

other local offices, sucli as sciiool director,
street ccjmmissioner, and was fire marshal
fourteen years. As a Repulilican lie has
always taken an acti\e part in ])iilit;cal af-
fairs. In 1866 on the first organization of
the Grand Army Post at Dwight, under the
old dispensation Captain \\'itt became one
of the charter members, l>ut the organiza-
tion afterward went down. Since 1880 he
has been a member of T. Lyle Dickey Post,
of Pontiac, of which he is now past com-
mander, and which he has repre.sented in
the state encamiiment, and was also elected
to represent his district to the national en-
campment at Chicago in the fall of 1900.
He was a member of Dwight Lodge, I. O. O.
F., and admitted to Pontiac Lodge, No.
262, in which he has filled all the chairs. He
is also a member of the encampment, and
was the organizer and captain of the Canton
for three years. For many years he was
an active member of the Independent Order
of Good Templars, and was an officer in the
same until the lodge disl)anded.

For ten years Captain Witt was a mem-
ber of the Illinois National Guard, and rose
from second lieutenant to captain of his
company, thus gaining his title. During the
strike of 1877 he was in active service with
his company for three months, being sta-
tioned at Braidwood. After his election
to the office of sheriff he had to disband the
company as his men refused to elect another
captain, so well was he lo\ed b_\' them, and
he was given permission to disband tliem
by Governor Cullom.

It was in 1882 that Captain \\ ilt was
elected sheriff of Livingston county, which
office he filled for four years with credit to
himself and satisfaction to his constituents.
At one time he had lhirl_\--two prisoners in
the jail. Later he was ajjpointed an officer

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in the Illinois State Retorinatory under Dr.
Scoiiller, Init resigned after holding the po-
sition for two years and four montlis. and
returned to Dwiglit. wliere lie was engaged
in business for a year and a half. Suhse-
(juently he conducted a bakery in Pontiac.
but is now living retired, enjoying a well
earned rest. His beautiful home at Xo. 603
West Grove street, is pleasantly located on
the banks of the \'ermilion river in what is
now the best portion of the city, and the
lawn and garden surrounding it cover one
acre of ground. The Captain and his wife
are leading members of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, of Pontiac. and are highly re-
s])ected and esteemed by all who know
them, while their circle of friends through-
out tiie countv is extensive.

WILLI. \.\! KIMBER.

William Kiml)er. a thorough and skill-
ful farmer residing on section 10, Esmen
township, Livingston county, six m.les west
of Odell, was born near the city of London,
England, October 10. 1853, a son of Jesse
and Alice (Hacket) Kimber, natives of the
same country. In 1873 he crossed the
i)road .Atlantic with his parents, and on land-
ing in New York proceeded at once to La
Salle county, Illinois, where his brother
and sister had located four years pre\iously.
There the father rented land and engaged
in farming for several years, but finally
came to Livingston county and spent his last
days on a farm in Esnicn township with oiu"
subject, dying here May 11, 1883. The
wife and mother departed this life October
ig, 1883, antl both were laid to rest in Es-
nien tnwnsliip cemeterv. In their f;iniil\-

were three children : Mary, wife of Samuel
Mills, of Grundy county: Percival, a farmer
of Esmen township. Li\ingston county; and
William.

Our subject was given good educational
advantages in his native land. On the emi-
gration of the family to America, he assisted
his parents and worked as a farm hand by
the month for six years. He was married
in De Kalb onuity. January i. 1880, to Miss
Caroline Rose Tomlin, a native of Adams
township. La Salle ci>unty. Her father,
James Tomlin. was born in England, and
came to America in 1842 when a young man,
and located in Illinois. To Mr. and Mrs.
Kimber were born seven children, namely:
Bertha May, now the wife of Henry War-
ner, of La Salle county; Jesse Arthur. Ella
Alice, Edward James. Dora Ann, Caroline
Eliza and William Andrew, all at home.

For five years after his marriage Mr.
Kimber operated a rented farm adjoining
liis present place, and in 1884 bought eighty
acres where he now resides, but did not lo-
cate thereon until a year later, though he
had engaged in its cultivatitm for two years.
To the original purchase he has since added
a forty-acre tract, and now has a fine farm
of one hundred and twenty acres which he
has placed under a high state of cultivation
and improved with good and substantial
buildings. He is an industrious, enterpris-
ing and ])rogressive man. and to these char-
acteristics may be attributed his success,
for he received no outside aid.

I5v his ballot Mr. Kimber supports the
men and measures of the Prohibition party,
and he .served one term as a member of the
school lioard. but has never cared for ofti-.
cial honors. Religiously both he and his
wife are earnest and faithful members of
the Mcth<idi<t E])i-i(op.il ihunh ;it I".>men

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Center, of wliicli he is a trustee. In tlie
Sunday sclioo! he lias sersed se\eral years
as superintendent.

WILLIAM W. W.VSSO.M.

William W. \\'assom is one of Pontiac's
highly respected citizens, whose useful and
well-spent life has not only gained for him
the confidence of his fellow men, hut has
also secured for him a comfortahle compe-
tence wdiich enables him to lay aside all
business cares and live retired. A native of
Illinois, he was born in Spring" \'alle\'. Bu-
reau county, December i. 1848, and is a son
of Jacob and Jane ( Sc<5tt ) Wassom. The
father was born in Pennsyhania, but when
a small boy accompanied his parents on their
removal to Tennessee, where he was reared,
and as a young man came to this state, lo-
cating in Bureau county. There he was
married, and subsequently removed to Bur-
lington, Iowa, where he purchased a farm
and successfully engaged in general farm-
ing and stock-raising, where he remained
seven years. Then returning to Bureau
county he ])urchased a farm on the site of
the present \illage of Si)ring Valley. He
\\as a prominent man in his community and
took an actix'e interest in the early schools.
He tlied there August 25, 1879. The wife
and niiithcr died when our subject was unh-
four }ears cild. Both were earnest mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. She
was a native of N'irginia. and a daughter of
Robert Scott, of Scotch descent, who w;is
one of the earliest .settlers and nio.st pros-
])erous farmers of Bureau county. He
manufactured the brick of which bis house
was constructed, and iliat buildino- is still

standing. Me was ])ri>bai)l\- the first manu-
tacturer of l)rick m that countx.

\\ dliam W. Wassom was educated in the
schoo.s oi iiall townsiup, and renuuned
w itli li.s lather unul cum.ug to Ln-ingslnn
cuiuity m 16O8, wlien lie tcnk up Ins resi-
lience in Nevada township. \\ liilc living
there he was married, June 29, 1871, to
Miss Hannah Sharp, a native of Farm
Ridge, Illinois, aiul a daughter of George
and Catherine (Spence) Sharp. Her father
was born in Ireland of English parentage,
be.ng a son of .Nohle Sharp, who never emi-
grated to America. tieorge Sharp was
married in Ireland, and later crossed the .At-
lantic to Toronto, Canada, whence be re-
moved to Farm Kidge, Illinois. Suijse-
(|uently he took u]3 his residence in Dwight,
and later upon a tarin in Xevada township,
this count}-. He was highly respected and
was called upon to fill ditt'erent township
offices. Mr. and Mrs. Wassom have a fam-
ily of six children, .namel}' : Jacob, a resi-
dent of Marengo, Iowa ; Charles Bert, who
is living on the Blackstone farm, in Sun-
bury township; Fannie, who married Ev-
erett Ferguson, of Saunemin, this county,
ami has two chiklren, Laurine and Leia;
-Vda, who resides at home and is success-
fully engaged in teaching in the schools of
this count}-; Cieorge, who was graduated
from the Pmitiac High Sclmol in 1900; and
Catherine, who is still attendin.g the high

sClllKll.

On locating in this county. .Mr. Wassom
found considerable wikl game and much of
the land was still in its jjrimitive condition.
1 le purchased eighty acres of raw prairie
in Xexada tinvnship, which he at once com-
menced to break, fence and improve. Pros-
])ering in his new home, he purchased more
land until he owned five eighty acre tracts,

THE BIOGRArillCAL RECORD.

Vvliich lie tiled and pul in first class condi-
liiin. making one of the best improved
farms in the township. He also owned an-
other eighty-acre tract in Sunbnry town-
ship, and in ciMinection with the operation
of his land was engaged in stock raising.
He always kept a good grade and had con-
siderable registered stock on hand, being
ami mg the tirst to introduce it. In 1895 he
moved to Pontiac and bought a jjleasant
home at Xo. 608 North Mill street, where he
has since lived retired.

Politically Mr. Wassom has always been
identified with the Repul)lican party, Init
has never held ofhce, his home being in a
strong Democratic township where his party
could get nothing that the Democrats would
take. He was an efficient member of the
school board for some time, and helped to
erect the .school buildings in his township.
He and his wife are active members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and while liv-
ing in the country he served as superintend-
ent of the Sunday school one year and took
a leading ])art in church work, filling all of
the different official positions. He was a
member of the building committee when the
church was erected in Nevada in 1873, and
hauled the first load of stone for its founda-
tion. He is now connecte<l with the church
ir. Pontiac. Wherever known he is held in
high regard, and justly merits the confi-
dence and esteem of his fellow citizens.

J lux. rui;i;ri r. \\.\ll.\ce.

In the legal profession, which embraces
some of the finest minds in the nation, it is
difficult to win a name and jjlace of promi-
nence. In commercial life one may start

out on a more advanced plane than others;
he may enter into a business already estab-
lished and carry it further forward, but in
the legal profession one must commence at
the beginning and work his way upward by
al)ility, gaining his reputation and success by
merit. I'eople do not place their legal busi-
ness in unskilled hands, and those who to-day
stand at the head <jf their profession, must
merit their position. Among the most promi-
nent lawvers of Livingston countv is Robert
R. Wallace, of Pontiac, who served as coun-
ty judge for the long period of twenty-one
years.

i he Judge was born in Belmont count)',
Ohio, March 13, 1835, a son of David and
Prances (Rossj Wallace. tlis paternal
grandfather was David Wallace, who came
to this country from the north of Irclanil
and was a strong United Presbyterian in re-
ligious belief. The maternal grandfather,
Robert Ross, was of Scotch descent, and also
a stanch member of the United Presbyterian
church. The Judge's father was bt)rn in
western Pennsylvania, and reared there anil
in eastern Ohio, while the mother was born
near Chambersburg, in eastern Pennsylvania,
and when young removed to the western
part of that state. During his active life
David Wallace engaged in farming in Bel-
mont and Guernsey counties, Ohio, and in
1869 came to Illinois, locating near Biggs-
ville, tienderson county, where he continued
to engage in agricultural pursuits until his
death in 1875. ilis wife still survives him
and is now living w ith a daughter in Kansas
at the age of ninety-one years.

During his boyhood Judge Wallace at-
tended the common schools of his native
ci'unty and completed his education at Mon-
mouth, Illinois, where he received the de-
grees of .-\. B. and .\. M. and was graduated

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^JpT

^^^H

^^m f '^^' '^'

^^^^^^^^B

■ ' mrs

R. R. WALLACE.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

uitli the class of 1861. In l)ccfinl)cr oi
tliat vear lie responded to his country's call
for troops, enlisting in Company K, Seventy-
fourth Ohio \'olunteer Infantry. He was
first sent to Xenia, Ohio, and from there to
Camp Chase, Colunihus, where he was en-
gaged in guarding prisoners for a time, and
later with the Army of the Cumberland he
participated in all the battles from Nashville
to Atlanta, and after the fall of the latter
city took part in the defense of Nashville.
Later he was on post duty near there and
Memphis until the close of his term nf enlist-
ment. He had re-enlisted in the same regi-
ment and was promoted to captain during
the summer of 1864, remaining in the ser-
vice until 1866.

Judge Wallace had previously com-
menced the study of law, and after the war
continued his studies at Ottawa, Illinois,
being admitted to the Ijar in Ajjril. 1867.
In the fall of that year he located in Chats-
worth, Livingston county, where he was en-
gaged in general practice until his removal
lo Pontiac in the spring of 1874, having the
previous fall been elected county judge on
what was known as the anti-monopoly ticket.
He took the otifice in December, 1873, antl
held it fi\-e consecutive terms — a longer
period than other county officer has been
retained in one position. 1 his fact clearly
indicates his efficiency, popularity antl fidelity
to duty. During all this time he continued
to engage in active practice, and is to-day
one of the leading general practitioners of
the county. He is an honored member of
T. Lyle Dickey Post, G. A. R., and is past
commander of the same.

On the 3d of June, 1867, Judge Wal-
lace was united in marriage with Miss C.
Louise Strawn, a daughter of Isaiah and
Elizabeth (Chami)lain_) Strawn, of Ottawa,

Illinois, and to them were born four chil-
dren: Ross S., now chief engineer of the
People's Gas & Electric Company, of Peoria ;
Francis; Lucile, and Grace, a teacher in the
schools of Joliet. The family have a pleas-
ant home at No. 303 East Howard street,
and are prominent members of the Presby-
terian church of Pontiac.

MILLER HOTALIXG.

Aliller Hotaling, a successful farmer and
land owner on section 31, Avo'ca township,
and a resilient of Livingston county since
1876, was born in Greene county. New
York, July 30, 1850, and is a son of Rich-
ard and Helen (Miller) Hotaling, both na-
tives of that state and of German descent.
The father died in New York in 1882, where
he had followed farming since early man-
hood. His wife survives him and lives on
the old ]\liller homestead, which was occupi-
ed by her father for sixty years, never pass-
ing out of the family. She is now seventy-
three years of age, and has always been act-
ive. Our subject's paternal grandfather
ser\e(I as lieutenant through the war of 1812.
The family were formerly Whigs, and upon
the formation of the Rc]nil)lican i)arty joined
its ranks. To Richard Hotaling and wife
were born eight children, hve of whom are
still living, namely: Annie, wife of John
Jacobs, of Hazelton, Pennsylvania; Augusta,
wife of Harry Herr, of Athens, New York;
William, who lives with his mother on the
old ^vliller homestead; Van Allen, a pros-
perous farmer and land owner of Livingston
county, Illinois; and Miller, the subject of
this sketch. Jacob, the oldest son, was a
member of the Sex'enth New York Artillery

Tllli; I'.IOGRAI'HICAI. KI-XURD.

diiriiiCT tlie civil war. was taken prisniier and
sent to Andersonville. wliere lie was incar-
cerated twenty-two months before ex-
changed, and contracted disease from which
he died in iSh^, just as he was released.

Miller Hotalin,i( received a comm()n
school education in his native state and
^rew to manhood on his father's farm. On
leaving the i)arental roof at the age of seven-
teen years he came to Illinois and worked
as a farm hand for two years in Mcl-ean
county, at the end of whicli time he rented
a farm and carried im farming (|uite suc-
cessfully in that way for a number of years.
In 1885 he purchased fifty acres of ricli and
arable land on section 31. A\oca township,
Livingston county, and has since engaged
i" general farming here witii marked suc-
cess. He has added to the original pur-
chase another fifty-acre tract ; has made
many valual)le impro\ements on the place
and to-day has a most desirable farm. He
gives his entire time and attention to the
improvement and cultixation of his land.

In 1874 Mr. Hotaling was united in
marriage with Miss I-'iora I'ulsipher. a na-
tive of Oneida. Kno.\ county. Illinois, and
to them were born four children : Lewis,
who graduated at Eureka College and is
now a Christian minister at Kentland, In-
diana: I'hili]). who was .graduated at the
same institution, am! is now assisting his fa-
ther on the farm; Leah and Chloe, who
are both at liome. The wife and mother
died at their home in .\voca township in
1887, and in 1890 Mr. Hotaling married
Miss Martha \'an W'ormer. a native of
Brimfiekl, Peoria coimty. l)y whom he has
three cliildrcn. Edna. Millie and Leola. ?%lis.
Hotaling is a daughter of William and Mar-
tha ( .She])herfl ) Wan W'ormer, her father
being a veteran of theCivil war.and who for

years was engaged in farming. Loth he
and his wife are yet living, and are mem-
bers of the Methodist Ejiiscopal church.

As a Republican Mr. Hotaling has al-
ways been an active worker in the interests of
his party, and has held se\eral minor (jfifices
in the township, faithfully fulfilling every
trust reposed in him. in 1899 '^^ ^^'^^
elected supervisor. He has been a sch(K>l
director fifteen years, always taking a stand
for good schools and teachers. Re-
ligiously he is a member of the Christian
church, in which he is serving as eider, and
socially is a member of the Court of Honor
of Eairl)ury. He is a man of rather un-
jH-etentious nature, but is well liked by all
who know him. ^^Irs. Hotaling is also a
member of the Christian church.

HEXRY C. JOXES.

Henry C. Jones, a well-known citi;:en of
Lontiac, Illinois, was born in Cicero, Ham-
ilton county, Indiana, Eel>ruar\ 11, 1838, a
son of Henry Jones, who was born near
Cincinnati, Ohio, where during his y<juth
he learned the blacksmith's trade. When
a young man he removed t:) Cicero, Indiana,
and turned his attention to mercantile busi-
ness. Here he married Emily I)e Moss, a
daughter of James De Moss, a Erench Hu-
guenot and a carpenter by trade, w ho passed
his last days as a farnn- in Livingston
coimty, Illinois. The i)arents of our subject
came to this county in 1845. but after a
short time s])ent here they removed to the ter-
ritory of Iowa, locating at Beilevue. where
our subject began his education. In 1847
the family returned to this county, and after
following farming for a short time the fa-

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tliei". in 1849. went to California, wliere for
.'iCNeral years lie was engaged in mining and
mercantile pnrsnits. Re turning to I'ontiac
in 1855 he again engaged in mercantile busi-
ness here, and was, in 1857, elected county
judge. In 1859. resigning his office of coun-
ty judge here, he returned to the I'acilic
siiipe in company with our sul)ject and fif-
teen young men. He engaged in mercantile
business in Shasta, California, and became
one of the most ])rominent and pi"osperou.s
men of that place. He was elected a member
(if the board of supervisors, and was als(j
alcalde I or mayor) of Shasta. In connec-
tiiiii with bis other Inisiness he was (|uite
extensively engaged in gold mining. He
dill much to build up the town and was rec-
ognized as one of its most intUiential and
jirominent citizens. After the Civil war
he supporteil the Repulilican jiarty and took
a leading part in public affairs. He died in
Shasta in 1893. and the mother of our sub-
ject died in the same place in 1868, leaving
ti\e children, of whom Heiirv C. was third
in urder nf birth.

During his boyhood our suljject attended
the i)ublic schools of Pontiac, and when his
education was completed clerked in his fa-
ther's store until going to California in 1859.
They made the trip o\ei"laiid with horseless
vehicles (ox teams; and were si.x months
upon the way. They- jiassed througii St.
Joseph. Missouri, went up the Platte when
the Indians in that region were (juite hostile.
and passed through what is now Ogdeii,
L'tah, and through Nevada. Arriving at
Shasta. California, which was a good min-
ing town, father and son opened a store and
as merchants soon built up a good trade,
i'or some years they were interested in
placer and later in (|uartz niining. Our suli-
ject continued in business with bis father

until 1864, when he enlisted in the volun-
teer service and was elected lieutenant of his
Company, iiut when they were put in bar-
racks and the regulars sent U> the frniit. he
resigned. 1 hat be might see some active
ser\ice be went, t/k i'anama. to Xew York
with the intentiiin of enlisting there, but
the war ended befure be found the uppor-
tunity.

i\eturniiig to J-i\ingston count}'. Illinois,
-Mr. jiiiies entered the newspaper held, and
with Mr. Renoe estiiblished the Free Press
at Pontiac. Later he bought the Sentinel,
the i)ldest newspaper in the count}-, from
James Stout, and, consolidating the two,
j)ul)lished a paper known as the Sentinel and
l^ress. Mr. Renoe was a Democrat, while
he was a Republican, but .Mr. Renoe later
withdrew, leaving i\Ir. Jones as sole editor
and proprietor, and the paper resumed its
<ild name as Sentinel. Pie continued the
put)lication of the Sentinel for nine years,
during which time he built up a good cir-
culation and made it the leading Republi-
can paper in the count}'. Selling out in
1875. he went to Te.xas, and engaged
in the au.xiliar}- newspaper business in Dallas,
getting out patent insides. In this enter-
]>rise he was remarkably successful, having
a list of two hundred and sixt}-tw(j local
papers to supjil}'. He also published the
I'lanter and Farmer, and in that undertaking
was also successful, but (in account of the
ill health of his wife, he disposed of his in-
terests in Texas and removed to Santa Cruz,
California, where he owns a valuable prune
nuicli.

in iS(jj .Mr. Junes returned to Pontiac
and ac(|uire(l a three-fifths interest in the
electric light plant, having helped to develop
the enterprise. This company was incor-
porated as the Pontiac Light, Heat & Power

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Company, and has grown to large propor-
tions. Mr. Jones served as its jiresident for
seven years, tliougli lie recently sold his
interest in the same. He has heen a ta.\-
payer in Pontiac for over thirty years and
is recognized as one of her most progressive
citizens, giving his support to those objects
which he believes will j)rove of public bene-
fit. Socially he is a member of the Pontiac
Lodge, Xo. _'94, F. & A. :\I.

On the 25th of September, 1873, Mr.
Jones was united in marriage with Miss
Mary A. Bancroft, a native of New York,
and a daughter of Luther Bancroft, of Pon-
tiac. They have one daughter, Xellie A.,
who with her mother is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church of Pontiac.

LUTHER C. HAYS.

Luther C. Hays, a practical and enter-
prising agriculturist of Eppards Point town-
shij), owns and operates two hundred and
fifty acres of land on section 32, constitut-
ing a \aluable and highly improved farm,
pleasantly located nine miles south of Pon-
tiac and three and a half miles northeast
of Chemia. His p(jssessions have been ac-
quired througli his own efforts, and as the
result of his consecutive endeavor he lias
won a place among the substantial citizens of
his community.

Mr. Havs was born in Brown county,
Ohio. July 27. 1836, and is descended from
an old Connecticut family of Scotch-Irish
drigin. His great-grandfather, Celia Hays,
was a native of that state and a pioneer of
Pennsylvania. He was a soldier of the
Revolutionary war, while the grandfather,
Warren Hays, aided in the defense of his
country during the war of 181 2. The lat-

ter was born in Pennsylvania, and married
a Miss Stark, a cousin of Rev. Lorenzo Dow.
Abiel Hays, father of our subject, was born
in Xew ^'ork, in 181 3, and from that state
removed to Kentucky and later to Brown
county, Ohio, where in the midst of the for-
est he cleared and improved a farm. There
he wedded Mary Kennedy, a native of \ir-
ginia, and a daughter of James and Mar-
garet Kennedy. In 1855 he brought his
family to Illinois, dri\ing across the coun-
try with an ox team and locating first in
Woodford county, but a \ear later he re-
moved to Chenoa township, McLean county,
where he bought land and improved a farm,
making his home there for some years. He
helped organize that township, which was
previously only a voting precinct. His last
days were spent upon a farm in southern
Illinois, where he die<l in 1890, at the ripe
old age of seventy-seven years, and his wife
died in 1884, at the age of sixty-nine years.
Our subject is the oldest of their family of
seven children, two sons and five daugjiters,
all of whom reached years of maturity, the
others being as follows: Arminda J., de-
ceased wife of E. C. Hyde: Clarissa .\., who
married John G. Dodge and dietl in 1898;
Ellen, deceased wife of Elijah Cole: Minerva
E., wife of A. D. Polk, of Minneapolis, Min-
nesota ; Eva, who died when a young lady,
and Thomas J., a resident of San Diego,
California.

Luther C. Hays was a young man of
nineteen years on the removal of the family
to this state, and he aide<l his father in o|)en-
ing up and developing the farm in McLean
county, remaining with him until his mar-
riage. He was educated in common and se-
lect schools of his native state. With the
exception of the oldest, all his sisters engaged
in teaching school in McLean cfuinty.

THE BIOGRAl'HICAL RECORD.

In Cliicagci. Illinois, September 26, i860.
Mr. Hays married Miss Matilda Eraser, a
nati\'e of Canada and a dang;hter of Eonis
and Mary I*'raser. who were born in that
country of Erench ancestry, and removed
to Chicago during the childhood of Mrs.
Hays. They began their domestic life upon
a farm of forty acres in McLean count}-, to
which our subject added until he bad one
liundred and twenty acres, ble contiiuied
to operate that farm until 1888, when be
purchased the two-bundred-and-fift}-acre
tract of land in Eppards Point townsbii),
Livingston county, where he now resides.
It was known as the ".^cjuire Pa^'ue farm,
being entered by bim in 185.3. Since tak-
ing possession of this place, Mr. Hays has
remodeled the residence, built a good barn,
set out fruit and ornamental trees, and made
many other improvements whicii add greatly
to its \alue and attracti\e appearance.

Mr. Hays' first wife died in McLean
county, in 1872, leaving four children,
iianiel}- : Samuel L., who is married and en-
gaged in farming in Oregon ; Mary Erances,
wife of (i. L. Howard, of Byron, Nebraska ;
Jessie, wife of Andrew X'ercler, of Salem,
Oregon, and W. C, who is married and fol-
lows farming in this county. Mr. Hays
was again married, in Lix'ingston county,
in 1874, to Mrs. Frances .A. Clark, a daugh-
ter of Almon Rhodes, an early settler, first
of La Salle county and later of Livingston
county. She was first married in the former
count}- to Wilson M. Clark, a veteran of the
Civil war, who died in 1870, lea\'ing two
daughters: Alda, a teacher of Black Hawk
county, Iowa, and Laura i'.. wife of J. C.
Rainbow, of Pottawattamie county, Iowa.
By his second union our subject has six cbil-
<lren, namely : (leorge M., who assists in the
operation of the honic farm: .\ellic. Pearl

M.. E.va E., John S. and Lottie L.. all at
home.

i'olitically Mr. llays was idenlilied with
the Republican i)art\- initil i8y6, when he
^■oted for W. J. P)r}-an and free siher. He
cast his lirst presidential l)alk)t for Abraham
Lincoln in i860. He has been a delegate
to numerous conxeutions : ser\ed as com-
missioner of highways in McLean C(junty
for six years, and as a member of the school
board for over thirty years, having always
taken an active interest in educational af-
fairs. Mrs. Hays and her daughter are
memliers of the Baptist church and the fam-
ily is one of prominence in the comnnuiity
where tbe\- reside.

CAPTAIN HENRY B. REED.

Captain Henry B. Reed, an honored cit-
izen of Pontiac, now- li\-ing a retired life at
No. 504 South Mill street, is a veteran of
the Civil war and bears an honorable record
for brave service in the cause of freedom
and tuii<iu, and in the paths of peace has won
an enviable reputation through the sterling
<|ualities which go to the making of a good
citizen.

The Captain was born near Pottsville,
Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, January
29, 1833, a son of Thomas and Elizaljeth
(Barley) Reed. The father was also a na-
tive of Pennsylvania and a son of Thomas
Reed, who was born in the North of Ire-
land and came to this country six years prior
to the Revolutionary vvar, in which be took
part. He tirst settled near Philadeli)hia, and
throughout life followed farming, dying at
aI)ont the age of eighty years. Our sub-
ject's father was a life-loni; resident of I'enn-

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

sylvania and a carpenter hy trade, Imt at the
time (if liis deatli was tallowing farming in
Scluiylkill county. He died in Febrnary.
1833, when tiiir subject was only three weeks
old. and the motlier, who long survived him,
dejiarted this life in 1873. They had eleven
children, of whom the Captain is the young-
est. Only three are now living. Elijah,
now seventy-six years of age, is living re-
tired in Schylkill Haven. Pennsylvania,
after having serxed for twenty-two years as
sui)erinten(lent of the car shops at that place.
His wife died leaving fue children that are
still living. Rebecca is the wife of Jacob
Zimmerman, who also worked in the car
shops at that place for a great many years,
but is now living retired at the age of sev-
enty-five years, while his wife is si.xty-nine
years of age. They have a family of three
sons and three daughters.

Ca])tain Reed remained with his mother
jn his native ci;)unty until nine years of age.
and then lived with a married brother on
his farm in the same county until twelve
years of age. when he commenced learning
the shoemaker's trade in Schuylkill Haven,
serving a three-years apprent'ceship. The
following year he was foreman in the shoe
factory of Frederick Millett, at Tamacjua,
I'ennsylvania. and then started in business
for himself at that place, remaining there
until 1852 and building up a large business
for those times. Receiving a good offer
from the firm of Packer & Olewine. shoe
manufacturers of Mauch Chunk. Pennsvl-
vania. he accejjted the position as foreman
for that company, and was in their employ
a year and a half, after which he returned
to Tama(|ua. He was elected constable and
held that ottice until coming to Illinois in
1855. He first located in Du Page countv,
where he worked at his trade for a time.

and later \vas foreman for John Wallace,
at Joliet. for about a year and a half, at the
end of which time he removed to BloiMiiing-
ton. During the Lincoln campaign of i860,
he was captain of the \\'ide-.\wakes. and
came to this county with that political or-
ganization. Being pleased with this locality
he decided to remain and was engaged in
the shoe business in Pontiac until the Civil
war broke out.

At the i 'resident's fir.st call for troops,
Captain Reed responded, being the first to
enlist in Pontiac. and he helped organize
the first company from that city, which was
mustered in as Company D, Twentieth Illi-
nois Volunteer Infantry. He went to the
front as second sergeant, but after the liattle
of Fort Donelson was promoted to second
lieutenant, his commission citing that his
promotion was for meritorious conduct on
February 14. 15 and 16, 1862, at Fort Don-
elson. Returning home June 30. 1862, he
organized a company under the large call of
that year, and again entered the service as
captain of Company G. One Hundred and
Twenty-ninth \'olunteer Infantrv. which
was inidcr Ceneral Sherman's command
on the march to the sea. and from there
marched on to Washington. D. C. Our sub-
ject was mustered out ;it Chicago, in June.
1865, as ca]Jtain.

After the war Ca])tain Reed returned
tc his family in Pontiac, and was here en-
gaged in the boot and shoe business for a
number of years, but finally retired on ac-
count of ill health. He was appointed by
(iovernor Oglesby as custodian of memorial
hall at Springfield, and was re-ap])ointed by
Governor I'ifer. Since 1894 he has led a
quiet, retired life at his home in I'ontiac.
By his ballot he supports the men and meas-
ures of the Republican party, but has never

THE BIOGRAPlllCAI. Rl-XOKD.

snuijlit |)(>litical IiDiiors. Rc1ig'i(nisly lie is a
iiicmliei" of tlie Mctlmdist church, and so-
cially belongs to Pontiac Lodge. Xo. 294,
F. & A. M., and T. I.vle Dickey I'ost. Xo.
105. (i. A. 1\.. iif I'diitiac. ot' wliich he is
jiast commander. His lnyaUy as a citizen
and his dcviilinn tn liis connlrv 's interests
liave ever been among his marked cliarac-
teristics, and the community is fortunate
that numliers iiim among its citizens.

On the j(Kh of Septeml)er, 1850. in
Tamaiiua, Pennsylvania. Captain Reed was
imited in marriage with Miss Esther Beck,
a (laughter of (leorge and Mary ( Barhary )
lieck. of Carhnn cmnUw whi) were farming
lieoplc and life-long residents of that state.
'I he father died on his farm in Carbon cmin-
t\' at the a.ge of eighty-five \ears, his wife
at eighty-si.x. Mrs. Reed's paternal grand-
father was a native of Germany and came to
this coiintrv at an early date. To the Cap-
tain and his wife were born nine children.
si.x (if whom are now lixing. namely: (ieorge
O., born in Tama(|ua. Pennsylvania, is now
engaged in the l)oot ;ind shoe business in
Pontiac; Katie L., born in Du Page county,
Illinois, is the wife of Tiiomas Ka}'. a dry-
goods merchant of Pontiac; l^dward ( )..
horn in Bloomington, in i(S()0. is now scr\--
ing as comity treasurer of this county, and
is a iiroinineiit citizen of J'ontiac; Harry B..
born in Pontiac, March 17. ]8f>2, has been
mail clerk on the Chicago & .\ltou Railroad
for fourteen years, running between Chica-
go and St. Louis, and makes his home in his
birth])lace; Jose])h .S., born in Pontiac. in
1864, is now a grocerymau of that city and
has served as alderman from the second
ward: Cora E. is the widow of Frederick
O. Scrivens, late of Pontiac, and is assist-
ant county treasurer at the ])resent time.
The other children died at an earlx' age.

i'Ri-:nh:RicK schoI'.xbp.ck.

Frederick Schoeiibeck is one of the
worthy citizens that (lermaiiv has furnished
to Li\-ingston county, and is to-day one oi
her most prosperous and successful farmers.
Me resides on section 15. I'ike townshi]),
where he has a tine farm of one hundred
and sixty acres, and besides this property
he owns two other farms of similar size on
sections 10 and 20. respectively.

Mr. Sciioenbeck was born in the king-
dom of Prussia. Ciermaiu', l-'ebruarv 26,
1S30, and attended the sclioi Is of his native
land lor eight yeai's. Ilis knowledge of
Juiglish has mainly been ac(|uired through
his own unaided efforts. In iSC)7, at the
age of seventeen years, he crossed the ocean'
with his mother, brother and sister and
joined an uncle in Peoria, where the mother
subse(|ueiitly married John Rutz, who later
came to Lix'ingston county and settle<l on a
farm in Pike townslii|). Our subject worked
for an uncle in Woodford county, and then
spent a year in Peoria count}-. In icSji he
came to Li\iiigston county, and after work-
ing for others two years lie rented a farm,
wh'ch he ojierated for the same length of
t'nic. .\t the end of that period he pur-
chaseil eiglit\' acres in sectimi 15. Pike town-
shi]). where he now resides. JMie improve-
ments u])on the place at that time were of
a \'er\' inferior order, but he has since erected
a pleasant residence, good barns and out-
buildings, has buiU fences, jjlanted fruiit
and ornamental trees and to-day has one of
the best im])ro\ed farms in the township.
J le has e.xtended its boundaries until it now
contains one Inni(h-ed and sixty acres, and Ills
other farms are Ix th valuable places of one
hnndreil and sixty acres each.

( )n the _'5th of .March. 1X75. .Mr. Sclioen-

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

beck was marricil, in Penria. Illinois. ti>
Miss Frederica Wenke. a native of OUlen-
burg, Germany, and a daughter of Jobn F.
^^'enke. who, on his emigration to America,
settled in Peoria and purchased a farm atl-
joining the city, where he spent the re-
mainder nf his life. (l_\-ing there in 1875.
Mr. and Mrs. ScliDenbeck ha\e four chil-
dren, namely: I'rederick. Jr., at hcnne:
Katie, wife of John 1). Klein, a son of John
Klein, who is represented on another page
of this volume; Anna and William, both at
home.

Mr. Schoenbeck cast his fust presidential
ballot for Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876. and
has never wavered in his allegiance to the
Republican party since that time, but he has
nex'er cared fur political preferment. His
life has been one of industry and persever-
ance, and to these characteristics as well
as his good business al)ilit\- ina_\- be attributed
his success, for he has received no outside
aid. Both lie and his wife were reared in
the Lutheran faith and .are highly respected
aiKl esteemed b\- all who know them.

D.Win S. MYERS.

David .S. Myers, of Pontiac. president of
the I'ontiac State Bank, is ranked generally
as one of the safest financiers and most sa-
gacious business men in central Illinois. If
success is to be measured by results he must
be regarded as an eminently successful man,
for not only his individual affairs, but all
the enterjjrises he has organized and pro-
moted in Pontiac and elsewiiere ha\e pros-
jjered even beyond his predictions and the
exi)ectations of those he enlisted in these
\ariiius undertakings. His acti\e connec-

tion with .so many jirojects, both of a public
and private nature, most of which contrib-
uting to the material advancement of his
county anil city, marks Mr. Myers as one
of the useful and prominent citizens of Liv-
ingston county.

David S. Myers was born I-"ebruarv lO,
1S58. on a farm near Kussellville, Ohio,
and is now, July, 1900, only in the earlv
maturity of intellectual and physical man-
hood. He inherited much of the vigor of
his constitution and force of character from
liis ancestors, who were ])eo])le (jf reputation
and intelligence, conspicuous in the pioneer
historv of Ohio. He is the son of William
and Margaret Myers, both natives of Ohio,
the former being 1)orn March 22, 1814, at
Kussellville. and the latter in iSj_^ at George-
town. This ladv, wIkj was a woman of
practical merit and mental attainments,
was the daughter of Ebenezer Moore, a sub-
stantial and influential citizen of I'rown
count}'. Ohio, where he resided all his life
as a prosperous farmer and usefid memljer
of the comnuniity. I lis first political affilia-
tions were with the Whigs, but later the
progressive principles of the Republican
party appealed to his sympathies and won
his ardent sup])ort. .\s a girl Margaret had
what she afterward considered the rare dis-
tinction of being the schoolmate and study-
ing the same lessons with an un])retentious
lad who was destined to become the most
famous soldier of his time, (ieueral L'. S.
(irant. the Grant and Moore families being
neighbors.

Francis Myers, grandfather of D, S.
Myers, was among the earliest settlers of
southern Ohio, actively assisting in the de-
\elopment of the countx. and. together with
his family, resolutely undergoing all the toil
and privations that were assume<l by those

D. S. MYERS.

THE
11 New Yonu- W

Til

niOCRArillCAL RECORD.

<levoted pioneers \\\v> I)Iazed the way and
smoothed tlie patli fur the cominii' srenera-
tions.

William Myers, father nf D. S. Myers,
was in many respects a remarkahle man.
He passed the largest pijrlion of his life in
Ohio, liis native state, where he achieved
the noteworthy record of having taught
school nninterruptedl}- f<M- forty years. The
entire, course of his life was regulated and
directed by his lo\-e of humanity, his sense of
justice and his s\nii)athy with the oppressed,
and he was one of those dauntless spirits,
who, known as Abolitionists, were the
vanguard of that grand movement which
resulted in the extinction of slavery within
the borders of the United States. His home
was one of the stations on the "Underground
Kailwav." which was the significant name
of a secret byway over which fugitive slaves
Were assisted and hurried from the yoke of
bondage to the blessings of liberty. He was
suspected and his life often endangered,
but no intiiiiidation could swerve him from
his convictions of right. William Myers
had been a Whig, hut the noble mission of
the abolition of skuery proclaimed by the
Republican party induced him to pledge his
voice and \ote to that organization. For
a time but two Rei)uhlican votes were re-
corded in his township, one of which was his
own. He enjoyed the distinction that few
could claim of having cast his lirst presi-
dential vote for William I lcnr\- Harrison
and his last for that i)resident's grandson,
Benjamin Herrison. William Myers was a
man of culture in hook knowledge as well
as of practical intelligence in the affairs of
life, being a close observer anil a clear
thinker, with distinct though liberal views
on ail the political and social problems of
the time. He was e\ervwhere honored for

his excellent qualities of head and heart and
universally respected for his unyielding
tidelity to principle. He residetl on his farm
until iXNS, when his son induced his father
antl mother to come to Pontiac and make
their home with him, and he contributed to
their comfort and the serenity of their de-
clining years until death closed their eyes
in eternal slumber. After a life seldom
e(|ualled in its steadfast purpose of uplift-
ing his race, William Myers died in March,
1896. and was followed a year later by his
worthy heli)mate, a loyal wife, devoted
mother and sympathetic friend. I'.oth lived
as e.xemjjlary Christians, being until death
memljers of the Presbyterian church.

The boyhood and early manhood of
David S. Myers was passed upon his father's
farm, where he formed habits of industry,
a fixed purpose in life and stability of char-
acter, and in the district schools where he
acquired the elementary principles of edu-
cation, anil under llie \igilant eye of his fa-
ther, the most eftecti\'e training that any boy
could receive. To prejiare himself for the
])rofession of teaching he attended dififerent
normal schools in southern Ohio and so im-
proved his advantages that he soon qualified
and was called to take charge of schools,
first in Kentucky and then in Ohio. In 1883
he came to Livingston coinUy. Illinois, a
movement upon which all his later successes
appear to hinge. Here he engaged in teach-
ing for nearly two years in Owego and
Saunemin townships, with the most satis-
factory results. Going to Chicago he en-
tereil a real estate otlfice, where he diligently
applied his time for a year, familiarizing
himself with the details and accpiiring much
\aluable knowledge of real estate transactions.
Returning to Livingston county he, with X.
y. Tanquary. opened the real estate otilice

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of Taii(|uarv S; Myers in Pdntiac. an ar-
rangement wliich ointinned in force until
1889. wlien Mr. 'I'antiiiary's w itlidrawal dis-
solved the tirni. since which time Mr. Myers
has conchicted an extensive real estate husi-
ness independenllv. al\\a\s beneficially to his
patrons and satisfactory to himself. During-
the years following 1888 several additions
to the city of i'ontiac. owned by Mr. Myers,
were platted and ojiencd to market. By
inviting buyers who improved tiie property
and l)ecame actual residents, lie has promoted
the growth of the city in wealth and popu-
lation and therebv enhanced the \"alue of
all real estate, stimulated business and in-
creased the general prosperity. The first
project of this kind in which he was inter-
ested, known as Cam])"s addition, comprised
si.xteen acres of eligible lots and is now the
most desirable residence ])ortion of the city.
A second addition to this tract has since been
t)pened. Myers' first, second, third, fourth
and fifth additions have also been platted,
all of which ha\e their attractions and in all
of which lots are being rapidl\- disposed of
to home builders, many of whom he has
assisted in their impro\ements. .\t this
time. July. J900. there are but two other
additions on the market, and in one of these,
the Riverside addition, near the shoe factory.
he holds an interest. In 1899 Myers sold
thirty thousand dolhuvs worth of \acant lots,
in his \arious additions to I'ontiac, which not
onl_\- attests his ability as a real estate dealer,
I)Ut is substantial evidence of the remark-
able growth and improvement of the city.
I' or the ))ast ten years Mr. Myers has been
interested in drainage and reclaiming e.x-
tensive tracts of swamp lands in Livingston.
Lee. Henry and I>ureau counties, in Illinois,
and La I'orte county. Indiana, and is the
owner of a large amount of verv valualtle

and highly producti\e land in each of these
counties.

Mr. Myers does not belicxc thai a city
can become ])ermanentl\' prosperous without
productive industries employing skilled labor.
Hence he has encouraged such enterurises
in I'ontiac. and was one of the founders, as
well as the first stockholder, and is still a
director, in the I'ontiac Shoe Manufacturing
Comiianx'. one of the most extensixe and
])rosperous ])lants of this kind in the L'nited
States, affording employment to more than
three hundred persons, disbursing for its
pay roll more than one hundred and twenty-
fi\e thousand dollars annually and an aiuuial
])roduct valued at nearly one million dollars.
In 1899 Mr. Myers became interested in the
Allen Cand\- Company, which was incor-
porated with a ca])ital stock of twenty-five
thousand dollars. He was chosen as one of
the directors and the company is ni>w in suc-
cessful oijeration. Mr. Myers was the chief
promoter of the organization of the I'ontiac
State Bank, which was incorporated and
opened for business in h'cbruary. 1899. lie
was the larest stockholder and was elected
president, which ])osition he still fills ac-
cejitably to ])atrons and to the liest interests
of the bank. L'nder his able management,
assisted bv an efficient board of directors,
comprising some of the most cai)able business
^men of Pontiac. the Pontiac State Bank was
a success from its incei)tion. and is recog-
nized as one of the solid tin;uicial institu-
tions of central Illinois. The b.ank occupies
clegantlv ai)pointed rooms in the corner of
the new Sterry block, which were especially
designed for that i)iu'pose.

The Pontiac Chautau(|na .\ssociati<Mi is
the ])ride and boast of e\ery citizen, and has
l)een ijojjular as well as prosperous from its
first ;issemblv. Mr. Mver>; aclivelv pro-

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

muted its orij;anizalion and lias since 1jeen
one of its directors. In 1899 its earnings
were fifty-five per cent, on its stock. He
rendered valuable aid in founding' the public
library, and purchased, at a liberal jirice. land
donated I)y Mr. Bal)Cock. besides contribut-
ing generouslv to the lil)rarv fund. The
tiiwnship high schiml was annihcr (ibject uf
his generous ]nil)lic spirit, donating the
grounds in the center of which stands the im-
posing school building.

Mr. Ahers has always been an interested
student of state and national affairs, and is
well informed on all the public questions of
the day. Politically, he is an avowed Re-
]niblican of the most ])r(ini)unced type. His
first presidential \ote was given to General
(iartield in 1880. He has ])artici])ated act-
ix'ely in county and citv politics and rendered
valuable assistance to his party. In 1892
he was selected as councilman from the first
ward, and while acting in that capacity ad-
vocated the system of sewerage and ado])tiou
of water works which marked the beginning
of an era of city improvements. In 1897
he was elected mayor of the city, his ad-
ministration being one of the most iiu])ort-
ant and successful in its benefits to the city
in the ni'toiy of Pcntiac. including the removal
of the unsightly raised sidewalks and liring-
ing the streets and sidewalks to a unifonu
grade. From June. 1898, to June, 1900, he
served as chairman of the Republican county
central comiuittee and brought to that posi-
tion the same energ}- and sagacity that he
exercised so effectivelv in other affairs. .\s
a ])rominent and actixe l\c]>ublican Mr.
Mvers is well known to the Icailcrs tln-ough-
out the state.

Mr. Myers is a man of keen ])erce])tions.
almost unerring in his judgment of men
and affairs and of the verv first order of

e.xecutive ability. In his methods of
thought and action he is \ery deliber-
ative, weighing every word before it is ut-
tered and measuring everv step before it is
taken. He is (piiet and self-possessed, and
he turns oft' transactions involving tens of
thiiusands of dollars with less palaver than
many men wnuld re(|uii'e to consummate the
most trifling transaction. The elements
that contribute to his unexampled successes
are undoubtedly his self-evident honesty and
sincerity, which inxite confidence, the clear
manner in which he ])resents a ])roposition,
his excellent judgment in making invest-
ments and his exceptional ability in organiz-
ing and maturing extensive enterjjrises. He
is unselfish in his success, for every step in
his prosperity has been marked by some ad-
^•antage to his city and county. As an ex-
ample of what luay be accomplished by a
well-balanced, energetic and ambitious young
n-.an, de])endent absolutely u])on his own ef-
forts, the career of Mr. M_\-ers is in\-aluab!e.
Although an intensely busy man, and
while engaged in business oblivious to every
distraction. Mr. Myers, recognizing all the
obligations of citi/enship and society, has
a very agreeable social side to his nature.
He has a refined home, one f)f the most ele-
gant residences in ].i\ingston county, which
is located on (iro\'e street, ovei'looking the
Vermillion ri\er, and has a cultured family.
On February 9, 1887, David S. Myers and
Miss Louise Catherine Slyder were united
in marriage. Mrs. Myers is a lady of
acknowledged refinement, suppleiuented by
a [jractical, womanlv (lis])osition and a cheer-
ful nature. She was born in Lixingston
county, one of ten children, her father being-
Simon F. Slyder, a prominent citizen of the
same county. Four children came to bless
this union, two of whom are lixing. Diller

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Slycler ami Aiiiui l.Duise. The famih' are
regular attendants of and liberal contributors
to tbe maintenance of the Metbo(Hst Epis-
copal church of Pontiac. The passing years
lia\e justified tlie wisdom of Mr. Myers in
tlie choice of a bride, for tlieir domestic re-
lations are very liappy and their home Hfe
^\hat mav be trulv termed ideal.

CHARLES L. RO.MHERCiER.

Prominent among the enterprising, pro-
gressive and successful men of Dwight is the
sui)ject of this sketch, who as a lawyer and
l)usiness man has been proniinentlv identified
with its interests for several years. His life
liistory most happily illustrates what may be
attained by faithful and continued effort in
carrying out an lionest purpose. Acti\ ity and
energy iia\e been the crowning points of his
.success, and his connection with \arious en-
terprises liave been of decided advantage to
bis community, promoting its material wel-
fare in no uncertain manner.

Mr. Romberger was burn in a lug cabin
in \\ yanet. Bureau county, lUindis. lune 12,
1H62. His father. L. 1). Romberger. was
born in Peimsylvania, April 2^, 1831, of
Clerman ancestry, and was left an orphan
when only a year old. .\i the age of eight he
started out in life for himself and served an
<ipprenticeship to the tinner's trade. He was
about twenty-three years of age when he re-
moved in W'yanct. Illinois, where he was
married, March i, iJ<6o, to Francisca L.
Weaver, who was also l)orn in l'cnnsy]\ania,
lebruary 20, 1839, ;iiul had cumc west with
her ])arents, who were engaged in the hotel
business. Mr. Romberger was engaged in
merchandising in W'yanet for a few years

and later follnweil farming for two years,
after which he moved to Princeton, Illinois,
where he was engaged in the mercantile
business until his health failed, in 1880,
when he sr>l(l (jut and has since devoted his
attenti<jn to bee culture, having one of the
largest apiaries in the L'nited States. He
lias always been a stanch Republican in poli-
tics, but never an aspirant for office, though
he is now ser\ ing ;is justice of the peace.
Of his three children, one died in infancy;
Emma L. is now the wife of Frank H. Hott-
man. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and
Charles L. completes the familv.

The primary education of our subject
was obtained in the public schools of Prince-
ton, and he was graduated from the high
school of that city at the age of seventeen
years. He then entered the law department
of the University of Michigan at .\nn .\rbor,
where lie was graduated at the age of nine-
teen and received the degree of LL. B.,
March 20, 1882. He was not permitted to
practice, however, until he attained his ma-
jority, when the state of Michigan forwarded
his certificate, and he was admitteil to prac-
tice at the bar of Illinois, September 24,
1883. .\fter his graduation he located at
Ottawa, Illinois, and entered the office of
Mayo & Widnier, prominent attorneys of
that i^lace, with whom he remained for fif-
teen months.

In 1884, at the suggestion of Hon. W'al-
ter Reeves, now member of congress from
this district, Mr. Romberger came to Dwight
and opened a law office over the People's
I'ank, Ijeing alone in business until 1887,
when he formed a partnership with John
C. Hetzel, a real estate and insurance agent,
under the firm name of Hetzel & Romberger.
In 1 891 he bought out his partner and con-
tinued alone until Xovember, 1895, when he

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

sold a lialf interest in the business to Frank
L. Sniitli.the firm l^eing known as Roniberger
& Smith. '1 lieir speciahy is real estate and real
estate work. allliou,<;h they dn a private hank-
ing business for accommodation of friends
and acquaintances. Without question the
firm does one of the largest loan and real es-
tate businesses in centrid Illinois, this fact
being conceded b\- all other firms in their
line. At present they are extensively inter-
ested in Mississippi and Louisiana lands.
Their holdings in the latter state are timber
lands, which the firm purchased with the
view of enhancing tlieir \aiue. and in Jan-
ar\', n;oo^ the\' sold one tract of twch'e
thousand acres in Madison parish, d his is
desirable propertx', being accessil)le to steam-
boats and the N'icksburg. Shreve])ort & Pa-
cific Railroad. The Mississippi land is in
the Delta country and is also coxered with
hardwood lumber, principally oak, pecan
and gum. When cleared this will be-
come e.Kcellent cotton land. Besides this
property the firm has al)out fifteen lunulred
acres of fine farming kuul in Lee coimty,
Illinois, which is well improved and under
a high state of cultivation, and also oper-
ates largely in Iowa and Indiana lands.
Since coming to Dwight Mr. Romberger
has had complete charge of the Keeley Com-
pany's legal business, and is attorney for
the estate of Dr. Leslie E. Keeley. He is
also local attorney for the Chicago & .\lton
Railroad. He does very little court work,
however, his entire legal business being con-
fined to office practice. He is interested in
the Keeley Institute, located at Xo. 2803
Locust street, St. Louis, Missouri, being a
partner of Dr. J. E. Blaine, who for eight
years was chief of the medical staff of the
Leslie E. Keeley Company of DwiglTt.

On the 7th of Octolier. 1884. Mr. Rom-

berger married ]\Iiss Nellie M. Ensign, a
native of Connecticut, and a daughter of
Edward H. and ^lartha S. Ensign. Bv
this iniion three children were horn, the old-
est, a daughter, died in infancy. Louise E.
died very suddenly of tonsilitis, November
2, 1899, at the age of twelve vears. Emma
T., aged eleven }ears, is attending school in
Dwight.

pjoth Mr. and Mrs. J\omherger are mem-
bers of the Congregational church, and he is
also a prominent member of the Masonic
fraternitv. In 1884 he was made a Master
Mason in IJvingston Lodge, No. 371, A.
b". & A. M., of Dwight, of which he is now-
past master, and received the higher degrees
in Orient Chapter, No. 31, R. A. M., and
Blaney Commandery, N0.5, K. T., of Morris,
Illinois; J)wiglit Chapter, No. 166, O. E.
S., of which he is past worth}- patron ; is a
member of the Oriental Consistory and Me-
dinah Temple of the Mystic Shrine, both of
Chicago. He is now- a niemljer of Wil-
mington Cha^jter, No. 142, R. A. M., of
which he is past high priest, and Joliet Com-
mandery, No. 4, K. T., of \\-hich he is senior
warden. Since old enough to vote Mr.
Romberger has affiliated with the Republi-
can party, and in 1892 was elected president
of the board of trustees of the \'illage of
Dw ight on the ticket advocating public ini-
l)rovements. He has always taken the lead
in anything tending to advance the inter-
ests of his town and worked hard to get the
sewerage system, electric light and water
works adopted and cement sidewalks laid.
Therefore during his administration there
were more improvements made than at any
other time, and he is justly numbered among
Dwight's most jjrogressive and public-spir-
ited citizens. He is emphatically a man of
enterprise, positive character, indomitable

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

energy, strict integrity and liberal views,
and is thoronghiy identified in feeling with
the growth antl prosperity of his city.

X.VTHAX S. GRAXDY.

Xathan S. (irandy. deceased, was nuni-
hered among the honored pioneers of Liv-
ingston connty, wiiere lie located when tliis
region was wild and nnimproved. In tiie
work of development he took an active part
in the early days and aided in ojjening u])
the conntry to civilization. As the years
passed his faithfully performed duties of citi-
zenship and his interest in the welfare and
progress of the community never abated.
Becoming widely ;ni(l favorably known he
made many friends, and his death was a loss
to the entire community.

Mr. (irandy was born October 6. 1816.
in Phantom township. Addison county, \'er-
niont, where he grew to manhood, and there
worked at the car])enter's trade, as a manu-
facturer of sash, doors and blinds. He first
married a Miss Kent, who died in Illinois a
few vears after soming here. After his
marriage he came to Illinois, arriving in Chi-
cago about tlic 1st of May, 1850. when only
thirty miles of railroad extended from that
citv toward (ialena, and a few miles had been
Iniilt in this direction, there being not more
than one hundred nnles in the state. From
Chicago Mr. (jrandy went to .\lton. a part
of the journey being made by way of the Illi-
nois river, and the whole trip occu])ying over
a week. He first located in Kane, Greene
County. Illinois, where he had a brother liv-
ing, and there he engaged in farming for a
time.

While a resident of Greene countv. Mr.

Grandy was married. February 12, 1854, to
Miss Harriet E. Christy, a native of Law-
rence county. Illinois, and a daughter of
John and Elizabeth ( Dannison ) Christy, pio-
neers of that county, where their marriage
was celebrated. The father, who was a na-
tive of Ohio and a farmer by occupation, re-
moved to Greene county soon after the birth
of Mrs. (jrandy and bought a tract of land
in Kane, where he spent the remainder of
liis life. In religious ])elief he was a Baptist.

To Mr. and Mrs. Grandy were born eight
children, namely : T. E., a real estate ilealer
of Pf)ntiac. married Elizabeth L. Mason;
Harriet .\.. at home with her mother: Clara
is the wife of Albert G. Mason, of Pontiac,
and they have four children living, OUie.
I-eonard L., Alice and Cress; Charles E.,
who li\es on a farm three miles and a halT
east of Pontiac, married Susan Foster, of
Owego township, and they have two chil-
dren. Mabel E. and X'ictor J.; George \\'.,
a resident of St. John's, Kansas, married
Jennie Dudley, of Missouri, and they have
one child. Pearl: William .\.. a lumberman
of Mason Cit\'. Illinois, married l-jnma .An-
trim, and they ha\e one child, Marger\-;
Henry lives on the home farm and married
-Miss Tillie Hill: Mary J. is the wife of \V.
C. ^'oung, a farmer li\ing three miles east
of Pontiac, and they have three children,
Edith, Marshall and Lewis.

Ill 1856 Mr. and Mrs. (irandy came to
Livingston county and took up their resi-
dence in Owego townshi]), where he pur-
chased a farm of eighty acres, on wliich
was standing a small cabin. I4.\i8 feet. ma<le
of rough slabs from the sawmill set up on
end and the cracks filled with clay. The
floor was <if ash and oak boards about ten
inches wide hewed down, while the roof was
maile of real old-fashioned clapboards split

THE UlOGRAi'lilLAL Rl'XXJRU.

fnnii nak limlier. In tliis rude dwcllini;- the
faiiiilv lived tor over a year. W ith the ex-
ception of a few acres tlie farm was un-
broken. On taking- up liis residence here
Mr. (jrandy at once turncfl iiis attention
to the inii)rovenient and cultivation of his
farm. 'Die first winter lie constructed a
stable In- ])iitting" forked ])cilcs intu the
gnuind, laving other poles across these and
covering- them with brush and then with hay,
while the sides were also banketl up with
bay. This con-ifortably sheltered his stock
until a better l)arn cmdd he built, lie fenced
his land and placed acre after acre under the
plow until all was hig-hl\- culti\-ated. In
1861 a more substantial and ci mifortable
residen.ce was built, mucli > if tlie timber being
taken from bis nwn wdud lot. two miles
from bis home. Men were making the sills
for the new bnuse when the news came nf
the firing u])on l-'ort Simiter. The house
was completed that summer and is stiiU
standing. A large jiart of the finished lum-
ber used in its construction was bought at
sixty dollars per thousand and paid for with
corn at ten cents ])er bushel. This had to be
shelled, sacked and hauled to Pontiac. j\Ir.
(irandy used a small twd-lmle corn sheller.
run by horse ])ow-er.

When he U)cated in this coinit_\- he cnnld
travel in a northeasterly direction from his
home and hnd not a house nor a fence initil
within twii miles of Kankakee, while his
nearest trading places were l^ontiac and
Fairbury. Coal was alniost unknuwn an<l
was very high when obtainable. Several
times dining the first four years spent here,
the Cirandy home came \erv nearh- beiiig
destroyed b\- the prairie lires. Mrs. (irandy
once saved the house with a ])ail of water and
her mop. They added to the farm by addi-
tional purchase as their financial resources

increased, but in iSjj scild it and bought two
hundred and fi ur acres in I'ontiac townshi]).
one mile from the court house, which Mrs.
(irandy stdl owns, and on which the family
nin\ed that _\-ear. Our subject made all of
the improvements upon the place, including
the erection of a fine house, a good barn and
substantial outbuildings. He was acti\'ely
engaged in agricultm-al piu-suits tuitil 1877,
when he was injured by a saw, after which
be practically lived retired until his death,
being blind the last tw-o years of his life.

Mr. (irandy was a Democrat in politics
rmd took an acti\e and jjrominent ])art in the
pulilic affairs of his time. While a resident
of (Dwego township be served as school treas-
urer, assessor and justice of the peace, and
was known throughout the comity as Scjuire
(irandy. In I'oiitiac townshi]) he served as
mad ccimmissioner some years and took an
active part in building the bridges and iin-
pro\ing the roads of bis locality, assisting in
the construction of the fine iron l)ridge three
miles west nf I'untiac. In i8()8 he was aj)-
])oiiited county commissioner by the l)oar(l
of super\isors to go over the county and re-
appraise the swamp lands, to which business
be de\otefl one whole summer, spending
nearly all the time (lri\-ing o\er the county.
] ie was one of the early members of the Bap-
tist church and later attended services at
Avoca. where a church was built tor the use
of anv denomination, this being much nearer
his home. After his removal to l\)ntiac be
united with the Baptist church in that city.
He died on bis farm, one mile east of Ponti-
ac. June 26, ]8yo. honored and respected
by all who knew iiim. Throughout his career
of continued and far-reaching usefulness bis
duties were i)erformed with the greatest care,
and his pers(jnal honor and integrity were
without blemish.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Mrs. Grandy still survi\es lier husband
and now makes her home in Pontiac, where
she has a lovely lumie at NO. 317 East How-
ard street. She lias only lived here a year,
though owning tlie place for some time. She
was always a true helpmeet to lier husband,
aiding him in every possible way, and is a
most estimable lady, beloved and respected by
all who know her on account of her sterling
worth and manv excellencies of character.

JOIIX W. HOO\'ER.

John W. Hoover, whose liLmie is at Xo.
215 East Livingston street, Pontiac, is one
of the most public-spirited and enterprising
citizens of that place. He is a native of Illi-
nois, born in Putnam county, March 9, 1840,
and is a son of Henry Mann and Sarah
(Hunt) Hoover. The father was l)orn in
Pennsylvania, June 10, 1808, and in 1838
came to Illinois, locating in Pureau county,
where he engaged in farming until 1848
and then went to California, crossing the
plains with an ox team. The following four
years were passed in prospecting and min-
ing, during which time be accumulated con-
siderable i)roperty, but when just ready to
return to his family in Illinois he met with
a violent death and his hard-earned treasure
was taken from him. His widow is still liv-
ing at the age of eighty-eight years, and
resides with her daughter in r^Iinonk, Wood-
ford county, Illinois. Only three of her ten
children survive. Two sons, George H. and
Julius G., were soldiers of the Civil war, and
died in Tennessee during their service.

Our subject remained with bis mother
on the home farm in I'ureau county until
1857, when they remo\ed »■• T.i\ingston

county and located in Nebraska township,
where he engaged in agricultural pursuits
until the breaking out of the Civil war, in
1861, when he enlisted in the Third Illinois
Cavalry, Comi^any K, for three years. He
participated in a number of battles in ]\Iis-
souri and Arkansas, including the engage-
ment at Pea Ridge, where he was wounded.
He went u> the gulf, was stationed at Xew
Orleans for a time, and was in the sieges of
I'ort Hudson and N'icksburg. He was at
the latter place at the time of the first re-
pulse of Sherman, and remained there until
the surrender to Grant, lie was mustered
out at Springfield, Illinois, as commissary
sergeant, ha\ ing held that position two years.
After his discharge Mr. Hoover returned
to Livingston county and again engaged in
farming in Nebraska township, 'i he sud-
den death of his father had left the family
in \ery straightened circumstances and
placed a very heavy burden on the siioulders
of our subject, but he early displayed that
determination and grit which have carried
him forward to a successful life. ' He was
devoted to his mother and toiled early and
late that she might have the comforts of life
that she had been accustomed to before the
death of her husband. He continued to en-
gage in farming until the fall of 1870, when
he was elected sheriff of Livingston county
on the Democratic ticket and moved to Pon-
tiac. He filled that office for one term with
credit to himself and to the general satis-
(action of the iiublic, and at its close em-
barked in general merchandising, which he
carried on until his store and its contents
were destroyed by fire, July 4, 1874. Al-
though he lost almost everything he pos-
.sessed, he was not cast di>\\ii nr crushed by
the misfortune, but with characteristic en-
ergy he immediately purchased another stock

J. W. HOOVER.

MRS. JOHN W. HOOVER.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of goods and continued business until i^9/,
lieingassociateil with \\ ilson Pittenger some
\ears, and afterwartl with W. S. Sims for
about five years, the firm name lieing Hoover
& Sims. He was then aii.>ne in liusiness until
selling out. in 1897.

Mr. Hoover was married, December 31,
i8(i8, ti) Miss Mary E. Van Doren, of this
county, a daughter of Hilyanl and Eliza
(Thompson) Van Doren. Her father was
born in Xew Jersey, in 1808, and was six
years old when he removed to Ohio with his
parents. His father, John \'an Doren, also
a native of Xew Jersey, conducted a hotel
near Clarksville, Clinton county, Ohio, for
many years. Throughout the greater part
of his life Mrs. Hoover's father followed
the carpenter's trade, but after coming to
Li\-ingston county, Illinois, engaged in farm-
ing and stock raising in Nebraska township.
He was school trustee for many years and
also filled the ofiice of collector and super-
visor for some years. He helped build the
first school house in his tdwnship, advanc-
ing money for the -work until the district
could reimburse him, and lie organized the
first Sunday school within its borders, serv-
ices being held at his home until the school
house and church were built. In 1885 he
retired from active life and moved to Pon-
tiac, where he died September i, 1898. His
wife had departed this life February 14,
189J. Mrs. Hoover is the youngest of their
seven children. William T., the oldest, mar-
ried Julia Smith in 1855, and is a j^rominent
contractor and builder of Pontiac. Frank
M. and Luther were both members of Com-
]iany A, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth
Illinois \'olunteer Infantry, during the Civil
war, and the latter was drowned in the Cum-
berland river in Tennessee after serving one
vear. I'^rank M. married Xettie X'ickerson

and resides on the okl home farm in X'e-
braska township, yiv. and Mrs. Hoover
ha\e a family of four chiklren, namely:
Ella I., born in Pontiac, was married. May
10. 1898, to Halbert Opperman, a grocer
of Pontiac; Helen P. has for the past three
years been head bookkeeper at the Pontiac
Shoe manufactury; Edna R. is at home,
and Maude W. is a student in the high school
of Pontiac.

In 1898 Mr. Hoover was elected super-,
visor of Pontiac township, and his services
gave such universal satisfaction that in the
spring of 1900 he was re-elected, Ijeing the
only Democrat elected on the township ticket,
which speaks well for his personal popularity
and the confidence and trust reposed in him
by his fellow citizens. He has been fire
marshal of the city for the past twenty-five
vears, and was a member of the department
for some years before. It has been his con-
stant study to improve the department and
the time he has devoted to that work has been
well spent, for his efforts have been crowned
with success. At present a new city hall and
engine house is being erected. Mr. Hoover
is an honored meml)er of T. Lyle Dickey
post, G. ^\. R., and attends and supports
the Methodist b'piscopal cluu-ch.

GEORGE Z. FLAGLER.

Prominent among the citizens of Dwight
who ha\e witnessed the marvelous develop-
ment of Livingston county in the last half-
century, and who have, by honest toil and in-
dustry, succeeded in acquiring a competence
and arc now spending the sunset of life in
quiet and retirement, is the gcnilmi.in whose
name introduces this sketch.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Mr. l-"lagler was born in Herkimer. New
York. June 4. 1828. and was reared tliere
until ten years of age. wlien lie removed to
Oliio with liis parents. I'hili]) and X:incv
( Dygert ) I'lagler. also natives of New York.
His paternal grandfather. Zachariah Flagler.
was born in France, and on his emigration
to America settled in Dutchess county. Xew
"^'ork. where, in the midst of the wilderness.
he develoi)ed a farm and spent the remainder
of his life. He reared a family of eleven ch!l-
<lren. ten sons and one daughter, of whom
I'hilip was fifth in order of birth.

On reaching manhood Philip Flagler re-
moved to Herkimer couniw Xew \'ork. be-
coming one of its early settlers, and there he
married Xancy Dygert. a daughter of \\'ill-
iam Dygert. who emigrated from German}-
to the L'nited States at an early day. After
his marriajre Mr. Flagler conducted a meat
market in F'rankfort. Herkimer county, until
our subject was ten years of age. and then
moved to Middlebury. Portage county. Ohio,
going by way of the Erie canal to Buffalo.
l)y lake to Cle\eland. by canal to Akron.
Ohio, and ivm tlierc across the country by
vagon to Middlebury, where he worked at
the shoemaker's, trade five years. He then
returned to Xew York by the same route,
this time locating in Dutchess county, where
he follf^wed farming until a few years prior
to his death, when he sold his farm and
moved to Rochester. Xew York. There he
lived retired until called to his final rest.
at the age of seventy years. The mother
of (jur subject had dieil many years previous,
leaving six children, who reached man and
womanhood, namely : (jeorge Z., Catherine.
Walter. Albert, William and Oscar, all still
living with the exception of Walter. Cath-
erine is the wife of I'hilip Miller, of Dwight.
Illinois. I'or his second wife the father mar-

ried Katlierine W'right. by whom he had one
(laughter. Annie.

(ieorge Z. I'lagler received his education
in the schools of Portage county. ( )liio. and
Dutchess county. Xew York, and remained
at home with his father until after his mar-
riage. On the 27th of September. 1848.
when twenty-one years of age. he married
Phebe Jane Clarkson. then sixteen. They
met at the village .school in Stormville, Xew
York, and the friendship there formed soon
ripened into a love that has never died out,
for they are still lovers, the same as in the
days long gone by. Mrs. Flagler was born
in Dutchess county, of which her parents,
Egliert and Maria ( Jacox ) Clarkson. were
also nati\es. while her ])aternal grandfather,
Charles Clarkson. was a native of England,
having emigrated to this country at an early
day. For many years her father followed
farming in Dutchess county, but in the fall
of 185'') he came to Li\ingston county. Illi-
nois, where he lived retired until his death,
at the age of sixty-three years. His wife
died at the age of seventy-three. In their
family were four children, William. Hamil-
ton. Phebe Jane and Mary Elizabeth.but Mrs.
]-"lagler is the only one now living. To our
subject and his wife were born three chil-
dren, namely: ( 1 ) Eugene, a resident of
Dwight. married 1-etty Potter, and they have
two ciiildren : .Stella, wife of I'.berett Lewis,
a jeweler of Dwight. by whom she has one
child. Harland: and Louise. {2) John W.,
an invalid residing in Dwight. married
Laura Lee. and they have one child. Helen.
(3) George X.. who has succeeded his fa-
ther in the lumber business, married Letty
Saltmarsh. and they have two children. Ed-
die and Mattie.

After his marriage Mr. F'lagler remained
with \u< father a year, but determining to

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

engage in business for liiniself, he rented a
farm of one liundred and se\en acres in
I )utcliess county, Xew ^'<lrk, which lie suc-
cessfully operated for three )ears. Selling
out in the east he came to Illinois in 1855,
and after spending ten days at Joliet pro-
ceeded til Dwight. Livingston cminty. where
he hired nut to a Mr. Spencer, whose farm
included the ])resent home of our subject.
After w I irking fur him one year he was va-
riously employed for a time, and then turned
his attention to the carpenter's trade. One of
the first JKJUses which he built is the one he
i> niiw living in, it being situated on a part
of the old Spencer farm and is one of the
most beautiful places in Dwight, surrounded
hv fnur acres of well-kept grounds. Here
.Mr. l-'lagler located in 1899. The first house
that he owned in Dwight is still standing.
He continued to follow the carpenter's trade
for several years, ami in 1874 became inter-
ested in the lumber business, which he car-
ried on alone for three years, when he
formed a partnershi]) with Thomas Sims,
under the name of Flagler & Sims. Three
years later this was dissolved and Zed John-
son purchased an interest in the business,
which was conducted under the lirm name of
Flagler & Johnson for three years and a
half. I'rom that time on he was alone in
business until 1897, when he was succeeded
by his son, George X., who still carries it on,
while our subject is practicall}' li\-ing retired,
though he still continues to look after his
proj)erty interests in Dwight, which include
a number r)f houses.

Mr. Flagler has been prominently identi-
fied with almost the entire growth and de-
velopment of Dwight, as when he located
there there were only six houses in the ])lace.
During the first year of his residence here
he and his wife, with another familv, oc-

cupied a little shanty, i6.\24 feet. In 1856
he and William Clarkson each built a house,
the tirst that were erected that year. One
-Sunday the two men went out about three
miles in the country and got some young
basswood trees, which they brought to town
on their backs and i)lanted, these being the
first trees set out in Dwight. as the ])!ace at
that time was flat prairie land, unadorned
bv trees or shrubs. Mr. I'lagler helped or-
ganize the village and has aided materially
in its growth and building, assisting in the
erection of most of the older dwellings of
the place. He helped build the Presbyterian
church, which was the first house of worship
erected in Dwight, and later, as a contractor,
built the Methodist E]jiscopal church. He
was one of the first trustees of the village,
being elected on a temperance ticket, and
was a member of the \-illage board four
terms. l?y his ballot he has always sup-
])orted the men and measures of the Dem-
ocratic party at national elections, but in
local affairs, when no issue is involved, votes
for the man whom he believes best qualified
to fill the office. Socially he is a member of
Livingston lodge. Xo. 371, F. & A. M.. and
Wilmington Chapter. Xo. 142, R. .\. M.
During their long residence in Dwight Mr.
and Mrs. Flagler have made a host of warm
friends, have gained the confidence and re-
spect of all who know them, and as honored
pioneers and repre.sentative citizens are cer-
tainly deserving of prominent mention in a
work of this kind.

STFPHI-:X .\. GOODMAX.

Stephen A. Goodman, the efficient en-
gineer of the Dwight Electric Light Com-
I)anv and a highly respected citizen of

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Dwight. Illinois, was ))orn in Huntingdon
county, Pennsylvania. December j6, 1851,
and is a son of James J. and Catherine (Xu-
men) Goodman, also natives of Pennsyl-
vania. By trade the father was a wagon-
maker and bridge carpenter, and during hi.s
residence in the Keystone state followed
bridge building on railroads and canals. In
1867 he Ijrought his family to Illinois and lo-
cated on a farm in Dwight township, two
miles southwest of the town of Dwight. mak-
ing his home there fur two years, at the end
of which time he took v.\> his residence in
town, where his death occurred, in 1884, and
wliere his wife is still living. In their fam-
ily were ten children, namely: Anna, wife
of W. H. Watson, a con(hictor on the Penn-
sylvania Railroad and a resident of Altoona,
Penn.sylvania; Mattie, widow of G. W.
Stewart and a resident of Union Furnace,
Pennsylvania: Stephen A., our subject;
Emma, wife of George Taylor, a farmer and
dairyman of Dwight township: Alfred, a
farmer of {}rundy county, Illinois; James,
a conductor on the Chicago & Alton Rail-
road ; George, who is employed in the round
house at Dwight ; Mary, twin of George and
deceased wife of John Camerorn, of Ono,
Willow county, Nebraska; Nora, wife of
Frank Phole, of Dwight ; and Bruce, an en-
gineer on the Chicago & Alton Railroad.

The boyhood and youth of Stephen A.
Goodman were mainly passed in Pennsyl-
vania, and at the age of fifleen he entered
the Mill Creek furnace shops to learn the
blacksmith and machinist's trades, his father
being then engaged in the hotel business at
^lill Creek. He was si.xteen years of age
when the family came to Illinois, and for a
time he worked at his trade in Dwight. Sub-
sef|uently he accepted a position as engineer
and general assistant with the firm of Hef-

fenbaugh & Rutan. but his first permanent
position as engineer was in the old sti>ne m!ll
of Hahn & Siegert, where he was emi)loyed
two years. He ne.xt entered the service of
the Chicago & Alton Railroad in the round
house at Dwight, and later was fireman on
the Streator branch of that road ajvl served
the company until 1893. He spent two years
as fireman on the Pennsylvania Railroad,
running between Altoona and Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania. In November, i8g6, he ac-
cepted his present position with the Dwight
Electric Light Company, and has since filled
it in a most capable and satisfactory manner.

On the 22d of September, 1877, at
Dwight, was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Goodman and ]\Iiss Belle Cioodspeed. a na-
tive of Grund}' county, Illinois, and a daugh-
ter of George R. and Emily ( Starkev)
Goodspeed. Her father gave up his life for
his country as a soldier of the Civil war.
During tiie last ten years of her life Mrs.
Goodspeed made her liome with our sub-
ject and there died March 31. 1897. Mrs.
Goodman died January 12, 1893, and of the
three children born of that union, Emma
died at the age of four years and Hattie
at the age of eleven. Charles is still living
and is with his father. Mr. Goodman was
again married, in Peoria, Illinois, April 20,
1897, 'I'S second union being with Miss
Agnes McCloskey, a native of Blair county,
Pennsylvania. They have a pleasant home
in Dwight, erected by him in 1882.

In political afTairs Mr. Goodman sup-
ports the Democratic party. While a resi-
dent of .Altoona, Pennsylvania, he joined the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and now
affiliates with Dwight Lodge. No. 513, of
which he is past noble grand. He is also a
member of Pacific Encampment. No. 126,
and was elected and installed chief patriarch.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

but resigned on accmmt ot liis niglit work,
which occupies his time to tlie exckision of
everything else. He is a thorough and
skilled machinist and is a highly respected
and honored citizen of Dwigiu. He was for
live years a member of the Illinois slate
guards and was honorabl_\- discharged.

X. M. A.\-|> TkU.MAX M. KELLOGG.

These Ijmthers, who are numbered among
the representative citizens of Pontiac town-
ship. Livingston county, own and operate
a fine farm of three hundred and twenty
acres on section 8. pleasantly located on
\\'o\\ creek, within three miles of the
city of Pontiac. They are nati\'es of
Oneida county. New York, the former
li'irn near L'tica June 29. 1829. the lat-
ter Octolier 7. 1835. and belong to an old
colonial famil\- of English origin, which was
founded in this countrv by tWD limthers.
who were among the pioneers of Connecti-
cut. Our subjects' paternal grandfather.
Truman Kellogg, was a native cf that state
and a pioneer of Oneida county. Xew York.
where he located in 1790. There he cleared
and improved a farm in the midst of the
wilderness, making it his home throughout
the remainder of his life. The father, who
also bore the name of Truman, was born in
that county, in 1795, and on reaching man-
hood married Malinda Marsh, also a native
of Oneida county. He was a farmer by oc-
cupation and lived on the old Kellogg home-
stead throughout life, dying there Ma\' 17.
1867. He survived his wife only a few
weeks, as she died March 3. 1867. In their
family were four children, two sons and two
daughters, but only the former are now liv-
ing.

Jn the count}' of their nativity the broth-
ers ijassed their boyhood and youth, being
provided with good educational advantages
in both common and select schools. In 1852
Truman M. went to Chicago, where he en-
tered the em])loy of the Illinois Central Rail-
road Company, in the engineer department,
as a rodman, and for twenty years was em-
ployed in the general office of the civil en-
gineer for the Illinois Central Railroad Com-
pany at that cit\-. being i^romoted for suc-
cessful service from rodman to dixision en-
gineer, and as such he superintended the con-
struction of the Lake Shore harbor. X. M.
Kellogg remained at home with his parents
until their deaths, having charge of the
farm. In 1868 he came to Livingston coun-
ty, Illinois, and purchased the farm in Pon-
tiac township where the brothers now re-
side. Thev located thereon in 1871. and
ha\'e since de\'oted their time and energies
to the further improvement and cultivation
of the place, converting it into one of the
most desirable farms of its size in the coun-
ty. They follow sfencral farming and have
engaged extensi\ely in feeding and shipping
stock, fattening from six to ten car-loads of
cattle and hogs annually. To this branch of
their business they have ilevoted considerable
attention for the past fifteen years, and re-
cently have made a specialty of the breeding
and raising of good roadster horses of the
Hamiltonian and other standard bred stock.
Success has attended their well-directed ef-
forts and they are now numbered among the
most substantial men of the community in
which they live.

Politically the Kellogg brothers have
been life-long Democrats, and X. M. has
served as highway commissioner for fifteen
years, but neither ha\e cared for official hon-
ors, preferring to give their undiviiled atten-

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tii>n to their exteiisi\e l)usiness interests.
Tliey are men of keen perception and soimd
jucignieni and tlicir success in life is due to
tlieir own well-directed efforts, so that they
<ieser\e to be prominently mentioned among
the leading and representative business men
of this county. Fraternally, Truman M. is
a member of the Masonic lodge of Pontiac.
ha\ing been made a Master Mason some
years ago.

CHARLES H. LONG, M. D.

The workl has little use for the misan-
thrope. The universal truth of brotherhood
is widely recognized, also that he serves God
best who serves his fellow men. There is no
profession or line of business that calls for
greater self sacrifice or more devoted atten-
tion than the medical profession, and the suc-
cessful physician is he, who through love of
his fellow men gives his time and attention to
the relief of human suffering. Dr. Long is
one of the ablest representatives of this noble
calling successfully engaged in nractice in
Pontiac, Illinois.

The Doctor was born in Dinimick town-
ship. La Salle county, this state. May 14,
1S50. a son of -Archibald and .\deline
(Leigh) Long. The father was born in Gal-
lipolis, Gallia county, Ohio, in October.
1825. a son of Archibald and Catherine
(Keller) Long. Tiie grandfather was born
near Wheeling, West X'irginia, September
24, 1 79 1, and was one of a large family of
children left orphans at an early age, and
who were thrown upon the world to make
their own way with little educational ad-
vantages. He managed, however, to acquire
much varied information, which, with untir-
ing energy, he ever jnu ti> use fi«r the uplift-

ing of his fellow men. After drifting al)out
through Tennessee, Georgia and Xorth Car-
olina during his boyhood he was finally mar-
ried, in October, 1813, and settled in Gal-
lipolis, Ohio, where most of his family were
born and where he accpiired some property.
He also secured the maintenance of select
schools in the county, and early became a
leader and exhorter in the Methodist Episco-
pal church, and afterward a licensed
preacher. He spent a few years in Indiana,
and then, in order to secure homes for his
children, now grown, he came to Illinois,
locating first in the military tract, near Knox-
ville, Knox county, in 1834. He built the
first mill in that section and opened his house
for church and school purposes, there being
neither in his locality. He regularly filled
appointments to preach for miles around,
and our subject now has in his possession the
parchment certificate given by liisho]) Mor-
ris, in 1839, at his ordination as deacon.
He soon secured the building of a church
at Hermon. the exi^ense of which was largly
borne by himself. At camp meetings and
revivals he was recongized as powerful in ex-
liortation and prayer. It was at a meeting
in his house that his sun. Archibald. Jr.. and
Rev. M. L. Haney were couNcrted. In 1849
he removed to La Salle county, and early
the fnllowing year secured the organization
oi a church at La Salle, there having been
no religious society there prior to that time.
He resolved to build a house of worship and
went about with his usual energy t<> accnm-
])lish this, hauling lumber, raising money and
working on the building. While thus en-
gaged he was exposed to the inclemency of
the weather and contracted a disea.se that
affected his lungs and eventually caused his
death. His home was always the sto|)ping
place for all ministers, and he labored un-

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tiringly ii<v liis church. He lield nmst all
the local offices, inchuliug' those of school di-
rector and justice of the peace, and in his
death the comnuuiit}' realized that it had
lost one of its most \alucd and useful citi-
zens.

Archiliald I-ons^'. Jr.. the father of our
suhject, was reared on his father's farm near
Knoxville, and recei\ed a good practical ed-
ucation in the select school conducted in his
father's home. This was largel\' supple-
mented in later years h\' e.\tensi\'e reading'
and obser\ation. lie huilt the iirst saw-
mill at Kno.willc ami engaged in milling
lor some time, in earl\' davs before the
grist-mill was huilt. the famil\- hauled their
grain to Chicago, a distance of two Inin-
th"ed miles. The early pioneers ground their
cornnieal on stones. After Iniilding the mill
the Long family sometimes rafted flour
down the Mississippi ri\er to St. Louis.
In Kno.x county, Archibald Long, Jr., was
married, in 1847, to Miss Adeline Leigh, a
daughter of Robert Leigh, a veteran of the
war of 1812, and an early settler of that
county, where he followed farming until his
death. Her paternal great-grandfather,
Leigh, was private secretary to Ciei>rge
III, of J'jigland, and for political reasons
lied to the L'nited States. He was the pos-
sessor of a large fortune, which the family
never recei\'ed. After his marriage, the
Doctor's father engaged in farming in Dim-
mick township. La Salle county, and was
one of the large land owners of his localitv.
Although he gave .strict attention to his
business afifairs he never neglected his duties
to his fellow men, and took a \erv active
l)art in education and church work, ahly
seconding his father in the sui)i)ort of the
feeble little church at La Salle. He was a
member of the official hoard throughout life

and after his father's death was its strong-
est mainstay for forty years. He was hon-
ored with all the township offices. He died
in La .Salle county, December _^i. 1892, and
the mother of our suliject departed this life
in 1856, leaving two children, the younger
being Robert, now a resident of Koszta,
Iowa.

Dr. Long began his education in the dis-
trict schools near his bo\diood home, and at
the age of lifteen years entered the acailemic
department of Wheaton College at W'heaton,
Illinois, where he was a student for two
years. in i8t)6 he entered the Illinois W'es-
leyan L'niversity at Lloomington. where he
was graduated with the degree of P.. S., in
1^7;^. being president of the class organi-
zation during his senior year. In the mean-
time he had engaged in teaching schools,
and after leaving college followed that pro-
fession for three years as princijial at Mack-
inaw, Stanfonl anil Homer, Illinois.

Having decided to make the practice of
medicine his life work, Dr. Long matricu-
lated at Hahnemann Medical College, Ciii-
.cago, in 1875, and was graduated with the
degree of M. 1).. at the Chicago Homeo-
])athic Medical College in 1878. He is n(jw
the leading hi}meopathic physician of Pon-
liac, and enjoys a large general practice.
1 le served as Cnited States pension examiner
under Presidents Hayes and .\rthur. doing
all the work in that line for the county, there
being no pension ho.ard at the time. In 1880
he was elected coroner of Livingston county
and ser\ed by re-election eight years, dur-
ing which time lie held the inquests made
necessary by the terrible Chatsworlh wreck
when seventy-four Niagara excursionists
lost their li\es. He is an honored member of
the Illinois Hoineoi)athic Medical Associa-
tion!, of which he was ])ro\isional secretary

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

two terms, endinsj in May, 1899, and is also
ail active member of tlie Central Illinois
Homeopathic .Xssociatinn. lie is medical
examiner for the Modern Wnodmeii of
America at Pontiac.

Dr. Long has been twice married, his
first wife being Miss jMartha \'eimont. who
died March 20. 1884, leaving two children,
who are still living, namely: Eva Mary,
now attending the Northwestern University
at Exanstrm. Illinois, and Archibald \'., at
home. For his second wife he married Lida
Sterry. daughter of C. W. Sterry, of Pon-
tiac. and to them ha\e l)een born two chil-
dren : Christopher Sterry and Katherine.
The family have a beautiful home at Xo.
304 East W'ater street, Pontiac.

From the start Dr. Long has ser\ed as
secretary of the Pontiac Riverview Chau-
tauqua Association, \\hich is to-day one of
the most successful organizations of the kind
in the west, financially and otherwise, and
he is also a trustee of the Illinois Wesleyan
L"niversity at Bloomington, and also trustee
of tJie brjard of finance for the same institu-
tifMi. ^\'ith such ancestry it is not strange
that the Doctor takes a very active and
prominent ]jart in church work and has al-
ways been willing lo cimlribute his share to
any enter])rise for the ])ul)lic good, lie is
one of the leading and influential members
of tlie Methodist Episcopal church of Ponti-
ac, and is now the oldest member of its ofifi-
cial board in point of continuous service,
having held some office for the past twenty-
two years. After serving eight years as su-
j)erintendent of the Sunday school, he re-
signed that position to become superintend-
ent of the primary de])artment, which has de-
veloped ra])i(lly during the seven vears he
has been in charge, the enrollment at pres-
ent being two hnndrt'il and fiftv. He was

also secretary of the Livingston county
Sunday School Association seven years;
was chairman nf the executive committee
a num])er of }ears: \ice-president of the
lliird Illinois district, and has been chairman
of the finance committee a number of years.
At the age of thirteen he was elected sec-
retary of the Sunday school, which he at-
tended, and has since been officially con-
nected with Suiula\' schonl work, lie was
a lay delegate to the general conference of
the MetlKxIist Episcopal church, at Cleve-
land, in 1896. and at Chicago, in May, 1900,
and for fnur years was president of the Lay
As.sociatiini of the central Illinois conference.
He is also editor of the Pontiac Methodist,
with which he has been connected from its
bcginnnig. in 1896. .-\s a physician he
ranks among the ablest, and as a citizen he
stands deservedly high in public esteem, be-
ing honored -and respected by all who know
him.

ACSTIX GIBBONS.

Austin (lihliiiiis. nf Dwighl. was Imni in
ci unty Mayn. IroJaiici. Jamiar\- 3. 1S46. a
^on iif I'liih]) .lud iiriilget (McDonald)
(iil)bons. also natives of that countv'. The
father was born December 10, 1819, and
continued to make his home in county Mayo
until his emigration to .\merica in March,
1851. I'cir three years the family made their
hnme in New \'ork state and in 1854 came
ti' lllinnis. locating first in Kendall county
and removing to Livingston county in 1865.
Here the father purchased a half-section of
lr;nd in Nevada township, which he operated
eighteen years, and tiien moved to Chicago,
where he has since made his home. He is
highly respected and esteemed and is a de-

THE UIUGRAI'HICAL RECORD.

vout member of the Catliolic church, to
\vhich his wife also belonged. Slie (bed in
the fall of i8q9, at the age of eighty years.
In their family were nine children, all of
whom are still li\-ing, namely: Mary, a
resident of Chicago; Austin, our subject:
Margaret, widow of Denslow Marsh and a
resident of Pittsburg, Kansas; Ellen, of
Chicago; John, of Barton county, Missouri;
I'hilip, Jane, Sarah and Thnmas, all of Chi-
cago.

Our subject was only four years old
when brought to this country by his parents
and his education was begun in Xew York
state, though the greater jxirt of it was ob-
tained in the schools of Kemhill county, Il-
linois. At the age of twenty-two lie started
out in life for himself by learning the trade
of bridge builder antl carpenter, which he
followetl twehe years. During this time he
made his home in Ne\ada township, Li\-
ingston county, and on retiring from that
business, in 1877. he engaged in farming on
section J. that townshi]). where he purchased
eighty acres of land. To this he added one
Innulred and sixtv acres in 1896, making a
tine farm of two hundred and forty acres,
which he placed under a high state of cul-
tivation. In connection with general farm-
ing he always gave considerable attention to
stock raising, his specialty being Xornian
liorses.

In i8gT Mr. (jibbt)ns commenced buying
grain for Edmund Mezger. of Dwight, and
continued in his employ until that gentleman
failed in business in March. 1898. when he
entered the employ of William Rope, who
then took the elevator, remaining witii him
until the fall of 1899. when Mr. Tope sold
out to Merritt Brothers, of Dwight. by whom
Mr. (iibbons has been retained as manager
of the ele\ator. That fall he built a pleas-

ant residence at the corner of W'aupansie
and North Clinton streets, Dwight, and in
the spring of 1900 t(X)k un his residence
there, having remained on his farm up to
that time.

On the 6th of January, 1878, Mr. Gib-
bons married Miss Margaret Kane, a native
of Wisconsin and a daughter of Robert and
Ann Kane, of that state, where her father
died a number of years ago. Her mother
met her de:ith in the tornado at St. Paul,
Minnesota, in 1893. Mrs. Gibbons was their
only child. Our subject and his wife have
a family of fi\'e children : Nellie, now the
wife of William Neville, a farmer of Good
barm townshii), ( lrund\- county. Illinois, by
whom she has one child. Frank; bVank. son
of our subject and his father's assistant in
the grain business in Dwight ; and Annie,
I'bili]) and Sar;di. students in the public
schools of Dwight.

Religiously both Mr. and Mrs. (iilibons
are members of the Catholic church of
Dwight. He has always been a stanch sup-
porter of the men and measures of the Dem-
ocratic party and taken an active and promi-
nent ])art in local politics for a number of
Acars. He was assessor of Nevada town-
shi]) in 1 87 1 and 1872 and served as super-
visor of that townshi]) for more than twenty
vears. which oHice he tilled continuously un-
til the s])ring of 1900. when, owing to his
removal to Dwight, the township was forced
to seek another rejjresentative. His long
retention in office plainly indicates his effi-
cient service and the c<inhdence and trust
rejiosed in him by his fellow citizens. He
was ch;iirm;m of the board in 1897 and 1898
and was one of the s]>ecial committee to
oversee the building of the county house,
which was built during his term at a cost
of se\entv five thousantl dollars. He was

THK BIOCRAPHTCAL RECORD.

cliairman of the l)i>anl of e<|ualizati()n for
sixteen consecutixe years and served on
most of the committees, especially the more
important ones. He was school treasurer
for ten years ])rior to his removal to Dwig^ht
and the cause of education always found in,
him a taitlitul friend. In iSi)_' he was the
Democratic candidate from his district for
nieml>er of the state board of ec|ualizatii)n
and althoueii he failed of election he suc-
ceeded in reducinj^ tiie usual Republican ma-
jority from t\\enty-fi\e hundred to five hun-
dred, a fact which testifies strinigly as to
liis ])ersonal jxvpularity. .\t jiresent writ-
ing he is the Jioniinee of his party from the
twentieth district as a member of the legis-
lature. No man in iiis conimuiu'ty is luore
highl}' respected or esteemed, and he has
been called upon to settle a number of es-
tates in Livingston. Will and (irundy coun-
ties, and is now in charge of three estates
as executor and administrator.

S. 11, rcJTTER. 1). I). S.

S. H. Potter. 1). D. S., a i)rominent and
successful dentist of Dwight. Illinois, was
born on the 7th of July. 1S74. in Sheldon.
Iro(|uois county, this state, and is a son of
M. G. and Maliala (Griswold) Potter, na-
tives of New \'ork state and ])ioneers of Iro-
(|Uois countx'. Illinois. In earlv life the fa-
ther engaged in farming and as a progressive
and cnter))rising agriculturist he met with
marked success, becoming owner of some
li\c hundred acres of valuable land in that
ci>unty. Having secured a handsome prop-
erty he move<l to Sheldon, in 1881. and has
since lived a retire<l life, enjoying the fruits
of former toil. In his family were ten chil-
dren, nine of whoiu are still living.

Of this family Dr. Potter is ninth in
order of birth. He received his literary ed-
ucation in the public schools of Sheldon and
was graduated from the high school of that
lilace. In 1893 he entered the Northwestern
Dental College, of Chicago, where be pur-
sued the re.gular course and was graduated
in April. 1896, with the degree of D. D. S.
That .same month he came to Dwight and
opened an otitice. Although he met with
strong opposition from his competitors, he
was not discouraged, and. as his skill and
ability were soon widely recognized, he was
not k)ng in building up the excellent practice
w hich he now^ enjoys. He is especially pro-
ficient in bridge and crown work aufl has met
with remarkable success. His younger
brother. lulgar C, was graduated at the
Northwestern Dental College, May i, 1900,
and is now engaged in practice with our sub-
ject, under the firm name of Potter Brothers.
Politically, the Doctor is identified with
the Republican party, and socially, affiliated
with Hebron Lodge, No. 176, K. P., of
Dwight.

JOHN (J. JOIIXSOX.

John Q. Johnson, whose home is on sec-
tion jg, Ksmen township, has been identified
with the agricultural interests of Livingston
comity since Jul}'. 1857, and has borne an
acli\e part in its development and progress.
He comes from across the sea, for be was
born in Norway, November i, 1835, and is
a son of John and Martha (Iverson) John-
son, who spent their entire li\cs as farming
))eoi)le in that countr\-. The father was four
times married, and our subject is the young-
est of the five children, two sons and three
daughters, born of the second union. He

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and a sister are now tlie only survivors. He
was reared on a farm antl had fair common
sciiool advantages. His I<no\vledge of tlie
English language has all lieen ohtaincd
through his own etYorts since his emigra-
tion to America.

Before leaving Norway, Mr. Johnson
was married, in A]iril, 1856. to Miss Caro-
line Mitchell, also a native of that country,
and the following year they came to tiie new-
world, taking passage on a sailing vessel at
Stovanger and reaching Quehec, Canad.i.
after a voyage of six weeks. They crossed
the lakes to Chicago and proceeded at once
to La Salle county, this state, where friends
from Xorwa\- had previously located. Soon
afterward they came to Livingston county
and located in the town of Amity, where they
made their home while Mr. Johnson worked
by the day or month as a farm hand four or
five years. He next rented land, and in 1864
bought eighty acres of the farm in Esmen
township, where he now resides. At that
time it was wild prairie with no improx-e-
ments, but he built thereon a small house
and soon placed the land under excellent cul-
tivation, lie has since purchased an ad-
joining eighty-acre tract, and the whole has
been con\erted into a well-improved farm.
He has tiled and fenced the land, has erected
a good residence and substantial outbuild-
ings, and has set out fruit and shade trees.
In 1893 he bought another i)lace of forty
acres on section 29, Esmen townshi]). where
he now li\es, and he has since made m.iny
improvements upon that farm.

To Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have been born
seven children, namely : Isaliel and Martha,
twins, the former of whom died at the age
of seven years, the latter now the wife of
James Street, of Hamilton county, Iowa;
Mitchell, who is married and engaged in

farming in Minnesota; John, who is married
anil assists in the o]3eration of his father's
farms; Dora, wife of Olixer Ilenderocker,
of Hamilton coimtv, Iowa; Isabel, wife of
James Jacobson, a farmer of South Dakota,
and Theodore, who died at the age of three
years.

.Since casting his first presidential vote
for .\braham Lincoln, in 1864, Mr. John-
son has been an ardent Repul)Iican in politics,
anil has eiven his support to every enter-
])rise which he belie\ed would i)ro\e of pub-
lic benefit. I le served one year as road com-
missioner and was a member of the school
board three vears. but has never sought
official honors. Religiously, both he and his
wife are members of the Lutlieran church
and are highly respected and esteemed by
all who know them.

GEORGE SKIXXER.

The deserved reward of a well-spent life
is an honored retirement from business in
which to enjoy tlie fruits of former toil.
To-dav. after a useful and beneficial career,
?\lr. Skinner is (|uiotly li\ing at his be:uuifnl
home in I'ontiac, surrounded by the comfort
that earnest labor has brought him.

Mr. Skinner was born in Troy. Ohio.
December 5, 1822, a son of Jose])h .M. and
Lydia (Stillwell) Skinner. His paternal
grandfather was George Skinner, a Revolu-
tionary soldier, who was born in b'ranklin
countv. I'ennsylvani.i. in May, 1761, and
there was married, .Se])tember 2^. 1789, to
.Susanna I'reeman. wli<i was I)orn in A])ril,
17:^9. At an earl\- dav they tloated down
the Ohio river to Cincinnati, and located

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

1)11 a farm of one liundred and sixty acres
near Milford. Ohio, one mile from Camp
Dennisiin. which ])lace is still in possession
of tlie family. There the grandfather died
in 1853, his wife in 1849.

Joseph M. Skinner, father of uur sul)-
ject. was horn in Franklin county. Pennsyl-
vania. January 25. 1795, and accompanied
his i)arents on their removal to Ohio, where
he grew to manhood, remaining at home
until he attained his majority. On the 27th
of September, 1820, he married Lydia Still-
well, who was born in Xew Jersey, January
24, 1792. As a young man he built many
mills in the unbroken forests of Ohio. On
leaving the parental roof, he went to Troy,
that state, and entered a general mercantile
store, later becoming a leading merchant and
])ri 'niinent business man of that section. He
engaged in jjork jjacking through the winter
months and also shipped produce quite ex-
tensively down the Miami. Ohio and ^lis-
sissii)])i rivers to New Orleans. At that
time it re(|uired three months to go to New
^Lirk. buy goods and convey them to his
store, as the trip had to be made with horses.
\'ahie of money was unstable and postage
on a letter amounted to twentv-five cents.
Mr. Skinner (jwned the first freight boat at
Tmy. which ])ripved of great benefit to the
township, and he was extensively engaged
in the freighting business for some years.
Later he owned and conducted a l)ranch store
at Covington, Ohio, and when the canal was
completed engaged in the commission and
shi])]>ing Inisiness. owning and running Ijoats
on the canal, while he left his ])artner in
charge of the store at Troy. General Har-
rison was present at the opening of the canal,
and our subject well remembers that import-
ant occasion. The father had served in the
war <if 1812 under that general, was a strong

\\'hig and anti-slavery man, but never an
office seeker. For many years he was an
elder in the Presbyterian church and also a
Mason, but during the Morgan trouble, he
was forced, bv iniblic o])inion of the church,
to withdraw from the order. He died Sep-
teniber 12, 1869, and his wife passed away
December 19, i860.

Our subject was educated in a subscrip-
tion school at Troy, and during his youth
assisted in his father's store. Later he com-
menced to learn the tanner's trade at Cov-
ington, Ohio, where he remained one year.
Later, Mr. McCorkle, the leading tanner of
Troy, dying, he took charge of the business,
his father being administrator of the estate.
In 1 85 1 he went to Louisville, Kentucky,
where he was engaged in the ice business,
Ijeing the first man to bring northern ice into
that citv. This he .shipped down the Ohio
river. He was living there during the great
American, or "Knownothing" mob, of 1856,
but that summer he was forced to give up his
business on account of failing health, and
came to Livingstf)n county, Illinois. He
purchased two hundred and ten acres of
land in Odell township, near the station of
Cayuga, and in the spring of 1857 brought
his family to their new home. They often
traveled ten or fifteen miles without seeing
a single habitation of any sort, and wolves
were still (|uite numerous in this region.
Mr. Skinner's land was still in its primitive
condition when he located thereon, but he
soon bnike and tiled it, and erected good
and substantial buildings, making it one of
the most desirable farms of its size in the
county. Though he still owns the i)lace, he
has made his home in Pontiac for the past
twelve years, and has a fine brick residence
here, which is sup])licil with many comforts
and luxuries. In connection with general

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

farming lie always engaged in stock raising,
and while living in the country served as
school director, but would ne\-er accept po-
litical positions.

In the fall of 1862 ]\[r. Skinner returncvl
to his old home in Trov, Ohio, where he re-
mained two years. As a young man he
iiad lieen a menil)er of the La Fayette Blues
of that place, an infantry company that
drilled all over the state, and in May, 1864,
lie joined the Home (iuards as a member of
Company K, One llundred and Forty-sex-
enth Ohio Infantry. They first went to
Camp Dennison, Ohio, and from there to
l'"ort Morrisy, Washington, D. C, where
they were stationed at the attack oi General
Ewell, the last attempt of the rebels to cap-
ture the capital. Mr. Skinner remained
there until the close of his term of eunlist-
nient and was mustered out at Camp Denni-
son.

On the iJth of April, 1849, Mr. Skin-
ner was united in marriage with Miss Eliza-
eth Shafer, who was born November 15,
1829, a daughter of Eckert and Rachel
(Smith) Shafer. Her father was born in
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, December
29, 1804, a son of George and Barbara
Shafer, and was reared in Earl towaiship,
Lancaster county, between that city and
Philadelphia. His father was of German
descent and a soldier of the Revolutionary
war. Mrs. Skinner's mother was born at
New Holland, Pennsylvania, March 25,
1809, a daughter of Edward Smith. After
following farming in his native state for sev-
eral years Eckert Shafer left there in the
spring of 1847, accompanied by his wife
and six children, and moved to Troy, Ohio,
by way of the canal and Ohio river. He
bought a farm two miles from Troy, where
his wife died March 7, 1854. Later he came

to Livingston county, Illinois, and purchased
land in Ivsmen township, to the iniprovemtn
and cultivation of which he devoted his en-
ergies until after his children were all mar-
ried, lie then made his home with his eld-
est child, Mrs. Skinner, dying there Decem-
ber 13, 1882.

]\Ir. and Mrs. Skinner have a family of
nine children, namely: Loretta, wife of John
J. Pfau, of Odell; Clara L., wife of Joseph
French, of Indiana, by whom she has one
daughter, lulna May; Elias Freeman, now
a resident of Missouri; Rachel L., who mar-
ried James Jones, of Streator, Illinois, and
they have three children; ]\Iartha L., who
married J. W. Adams, traveling passenger
agent for the Vanderbilt lines, and a resi-
dent of San Francisco, and they have four
children, Nona L., Nina L., George J. and
Harry \'. ; Eckert, aLso a resident of Cali-
fornia; Joseph Morris, who married Minnie
Streator, has one child, Irma, and operates
the home farm near Cayuga; Luella and
Emma L., at home.

Both our subject and his wife are active
members of the Presbyterian church. He
assisted in organizing the church at Cayuga,
and was one of the leading contributors to
the erection of the house of worship there.
He also served as elder of the church at
Louisxille, Kentucky, and has lilled that of-
fice e\er since in different societies with
which he has been connected. He was most
of the time superintendent of the Sunday
school during his residence at Cayuga, and
has never missed in his attendance at Sun-
day school or church since coming to Pon-
tiac. His life has been exemplary in all re-
spects, and it is safe to say that no man in
his community is held in higher regard or is
more deserving the respect and esteem of his
fellow men than George Skinner. He has

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

liecn an active worker iDr tlie Reiniljlican
])arty and its ])rinciples. Imt has ne\er Ijeen
an aspirant {'<v ofilice.

]()HX Kl'LL

It is astdnisliing to witness tlie success
of men wlio liavc emigrated to America
witliout capital and from a position of com-
l)arative ohscnrit\' li;i\ e worked their way uji-
ward to a position of prominence. The read-
iness witli which they adapt tliemselves to
circumstances and take advantage of op-
portunities offered l)rings to them success
and wins them a place among the leading
husiness men of the comnumity in which
they reside. \o better illuslratinn of this
can he found than in the life of John KuU.
the well known pro])rietor of the Pontiac
Steam Mill and manager of a meal and feed
store on the .\lton Kailmad and Water
street. Pontiac, of which place he has been a
resident since October i i, 1894.

Mr. Kull was born in Xiederlenz. Canton
Argau. northeastern Switzerland. October 5.
1834, a son of John Kull, a baker by trade,
who sijent his entire life there. Our subject
attended school there, but the times being
hard he commenced work at the early age of
nine years with the ho])e of being of some as-
sistance to his ])arents. lie entered the s])in-
ning room of a cotton factory, where he
worked from si.x in the morning until nine
at night, with only an hour each day for
dinner, and received only the eipiivalent to
(sne dollar per month in our money. W'iieu
all tired out with the day's work he had to
walk a distance of three miles to his home
before getting liis supper. In the winter
he jnit in six hours of school work each day

iluring the si.\ years sjjent in the cotton fac-
tory. .\t the end of that time he began serv-
ing a three-years apjirenticeship to the mil-
ler's trade with his uncle, and while thus
employed received only his board and clothes
in com]iensation for his labor, but he thor-
ough! v learned the business and at the age of
eighteen had a good trade, having pas.sed the
examination and received his papers.

\\'ishing to see more of the country Mr.
Kull tniveled over Switzerland and Ger-
many, working in mills in all of the import-
ant cities of tiiose countries. He also spent
some time in F"rance and learned to handle
and put together the French burrs, this be-
ing an imi)ortant ])arl of his trade. By
working in so many ditTerent mills he gained
a varied knowledge of the methods in use
and became an ex])ert miller. Kclurning to
Basal. Switzerland, one of the largest cities
of his native land, he served as head miller
in its largest mill for three years to the en-
lire satisfaction of the owners.

In April. iSf)/. Mr. Kull came to the
L'nited Slates, landing in Xew "\'ork after
a fifteen-days voyage in a steamer with an
excellent knowledge of a good trade, but
unable to s])eak a word of luiglish. Coming
directly to Highland. Illinois, he served as
miller there for a time, and then went to
Pocahontas, Illinois, where he was similarly
ein])loye<l for three years. He then removed
to Greenville, Pmone county, Illinois, and
took charge of a mill for J. 1^. Walls, an
I'jiglish gentleman, who wanted ii first-
class, practical miller. All of the employees
of the mill being .\mericans but liimself. he
le.irneil the I'.nglish language more readily
than had ever before been necessary, and
this has since been of great advantage to
him. I'rom Cireenville he went to Litch-
lield. lllini'is. ami other places throughout

THE JJIUGRAI'HICAL RECORD.

tliis state, and also \ari(nis ])laccs in eastern,
sciutlnvestern and nnrtlnvestern Missouri.
Suhse(|uentl\- lie liad charofc of some of the
best mills in Kansas. On the 1 st of Octo-
her. 1N94. lie came to I'ontiac, Illinois, to
take charg-e of the Pontiac Steam Mill fur 1-".
E. Wuerjiel & Com])any. of St. I.onis. and
in March, i^<.)~. purchased the mill, which
he h.'is since successfully conducted un his
own account, having- l)uilt up a .good husi-
ness. He has the leading custom trade of
the city, receiving the patronage of all the
extensive farmers of this section of the comi-
ty who ha\e grain to grind. He is also gen-
eral agent for the Jersey Lily fluur. m;ide hv
Jenni.sou lirothers & dimpany, of janesxille,
Minnesota, and has huilt up a line whole-
sale and retail trade, as the llcjur is of a su-
perior t|uality and gives excellent satisfac-
tion. As a wholesale dealer he sells in car-
load lots. In the spring of 1900 he equipped
his mill with electric motors aufl now very
successfully uses electricty for his motive
power. He w;is the first nuller in this part of
the county to adopt it ;nid this sliows the
characteristic enterpri.se of the man. While
by nature conservative, he is yet readv to
ado])t new ideas in his business and kee]) in
the front.

On the iSth of June, 1867, in Pocahon-
tas, Illinois, Mr. Kull married Miss Karo-
line Bornhauser, who was born in Wein-
feldeu. Canton Thurgau, Switzerland, and
who came to this country on the same ves-
sel with him, joining her father, Jacob
Bornhauser, a cabinetmaker by tr.nde, who
crossed the .\tlantic in [H<>6. By this union
has l)eeu born one daughter. Carrie. Mr.
Kull and his wife are both earnest members
vi the Presbyterian church and he is a
Democrat in politics. He is enterprising
and progressive and gives his support to any

object he believes will prove of jniltlic bene-
fit. He was one of the men who felt the-
need of a britlge at N'enuillion street. lie
got up the ])etition and secured a subscrip-
tion of nine hundred dollars from citizens
;nid also a good one from the Chicago &
.\lton Railroad Company. With such a
backing the council passed the ordinance and
appropriated twenty-li\e hundreil dollars to
the enteri)rise, while the board of super\-isors
gave one thousand dollars. So Mr. Kull
was realley the founder of the bridge, which
is a great imiiro\-ement to the western part
of the city. Its need was long felt, hut it
re(|uired an active and energetic man like
.Mr. Knll to carry the enterprise through
successfulh'.

W II.Hi;i..M BISCHOFF.

\\ ilhelm BischolT, an industrious and en-
terprising agriculturist residing on section
14, .\\'oca township, Li\'ingston count\', is a
nati\e of Illinois, his birth having occurred
in Towanda townshi]). McLean county. I'eb-
ruary 5, 1862. I lis parents, Ludwig and
Mary ( .Mlendortl) BischofF, were both na-
ti\ es of ( iermany and came to .\merica when
voung, about 1850. Their marriage was
celebrated in lilooiuington, Illinois, and in
the \icinity of Towanda, McLean county,
thev began their domestic life up(»n a farm
which Mr. Bi.schott had rented. They re-
mained residents of that count}' utUil coming
to Livingston count\- in 1870, when they
hicated on the farm now occujjied by our
subject. The father ))urcliased the property
and at once began to clear away the timber
and break the land, having ])reviously erected
a small house suitable for a home for the
family. He died in 1893, having- survived

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

his wife several years, her death occurring in
1894. Both were consistent members of
the Lutheran cliurch, and lie was a Repub-
lican in politics and an artlent worker for
the party. In their family were five chil-
dren, two sons and three daughters, but two
tlied in childhood, ^^'ilhelm, our subject,
is the oldest of those who reached maturity ;
Matilda is now the wife of Richard Mor-
ton, who lives south of Fairbury ; and Al-
vena married F. Burley. of Pleasant Ridge
township, and died in 1889.

W'ilhelm Bischoff came with the family
to Livingston county and upon the home
farm he grew to manhood, his education be-
ing acquired in the district schools of Avoca
township. He early became familiar with
the duties which fall to the lot of the agri-
culturist and has never left the homestead,
but carried on farming successfully with his
father imtil the latter's death, since which
time he has had entire charge of the place,
consisting of one hundred and twenty acres
of good land, nearly forty of wliich are
covered with timber, while the remainder is
under a high state of cultivation. He has
added, by purchase, an eighty-acre tract,
giving him a farm of two hundred acres.
He is a thrifty and energetic farmer, and by
these means has made a success of his labors.
He raises hops for the Chicago market and
in all his undertakings has steadily pros-
j)ered.

In 1891) Mr. Bischoff was united in
marriage with Miss Mary ]•'. Funk, who was
burn August 22, 1869. in .Morton, Illinois,
and daughter of John and Christian Funk.
Her parents, dying when she was an infant,
left her in care nf relatives, with whom
slie made her home until reaching woman-
hofxl. She has a sister. Mrs. Christina Lu-
cas, who resides in Stonington, Illinois. !Mr.

and Mrs. Bischoff have four children: Clar-
ence L., Ethel Mae, Lester E. and Irving F.,
all attending the district school with ex-
ception of the youngest. The parents are
active members and liberal supporters of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Bis-
choff is also a member of the Modern Wood-
men Camp of Fairbury and the Court of
Honor, in which later his wife is a meml)er.
He has always been a stanch supporter of the
Republican party, but would never accept
office or hold any public position, preferring
that they should be given to men whom he
considers more worthy of them. He is,
however, public spirited and progressive and
gives his support to those measures which he
believes will prove of public benefit.

JAMES A. CALDWELL.

I'rominent aniong the enterprising, ener-
getic and progressive business men of Ponti-
ac, Illinois, is the subject of this sketch, who
is now devoting his time and attention to
the real estate, insurance and abstract busi-
ness. He was born in Charleston, West
Virginia, March 22, 1831, a son of Joseph
and ]Mary Ann (.Adams) Caldwell.

Joseph Caldwell, the progenitor of the
family in the United States, emigrated
with his family from Derry, Ireland, m
1769, and settled in Sherman's Valley.
Perry county, Pennsylvania. He was of
Scotch descent. About 1780 lie moved
farther west, locating on Sewickley creek,
Pennsyhania. He had five children, of
whom Joseph, the eldest, was the great-
grandfather of our subject. The grandfa-
ther was James Caldwell, who was born in
Ireland. February 21, 1759, and was about

J. A. CALDWELL

THE BIOGRArHICAL RECORD.

ten years of age when brouglit to America.
He married Sarah Byram, who was born
1 ebruary 13, 1763, and was the eldest cliild
of Edward Byrani. At an early day her
father moved with his familv to the neigh-
borhood of Fort Pitt, now Pittsburg, Penn-
sylvania, and on the 7th of .\pril, 1779, dur-
ing the Revolutionary wai% he and one
daughter were captured b}' the Indians and
taken to Canada, where they remained in
captivity for a year. The child was allowed
to ride with the Indians cui horseback a
part of the way, but Mr. Byram was com-
pelled to walk. In 1780 they were taken to
Montreal and later to Quebec, being in prison
a'- both places, and finally, in the spring of
1 78 1, were transferred by boat with other
English prisoners throug'h Pake Cham-
plain and Lake George, then down the Hud-
sr n river and on to Morristown, Xew Jersey,
— their old Iiome.

The Byram family is traced back to
Nicholas Byram. son of a gentleman of
prominence in Kent county. England. He
was borir in 1610, and as a Ixjy was sent
ir. charge of an agent to a remote school,
but the agent took his gold and placed the
boy on board a ship to the West Indies,
where he was sold to pay his passage. Se-
creted in his clothes was some gold given
him by his mother and with this he came
to Massachusetts Bay in 1633 or 1634. He
settled in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Ed-
ward B}ram, previously mentioned, was
descended from John and Priscilla Alden
in the fifth generation. For a more extended
history of this family see the book entitled
"Abby Byram and her Father, the Indian
Captives," published at Ottumwa. Iowa, in
1898.

After his marriage James Caldwell, our
subject's grandfather, became a farmer of

Westmoreland count}', Pennsylvania, where
he spent his life, dying there Jul}' 11, 1847.
His wife passed away prior to 1833, He
was a zealous Christian, strong and positive
in his belief, and served as elder of the Se-
■\\ickley Presbyterian church for some years.
I\Iost of his sons adhered to that faith and
the father of our subject was educated for
the Presbyterian ministry. He was born
in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in
1786, and was a student at the college in
Cannonsburg, that state, — the oldest college
west of the mountains. In early manhood
Ik removed to Charleston, West Virginia,
where he embarked in merchandising, and
became one of the most prominent and suc-
cessful business men of the jjlace. He mar-
ried ;Miss Mary Ann Adams, who was teach-
ing school in Tennessee at that time. She was
a nati\'e of Weston, Massachusetts, and a
granddaughter of Ali)heus Bigelow, who as
a Re\olutionary soldier particii)ated in the
battle of Concord. On both sides she was
descended from okl Xew England families.
She was born in 181 1 and died in 1890, hav-
ing long survived her husband, who died at
Charleston in 1848. Of their eig'ht children
who reached years of maturity our suljject
i."- the oldest.

James A. Caldwell was about eighteen
years of age at the time of his father's death ;
he received a good academic educatidU in his
native city and began his business career as
clerk in a drug store at Charleston, West
\'irginia. where he continued to make his
h.ome until 1865, covering the period of the
Civil war. There he engaged in business for
liimself for a time. He lirst married, in
i860. Miss Jennie Harvey, of Springfield,
Ohio, a daughter of Captain John Harvey,
but she died in 1873, leaviup- two children,
one of whom, Jennie, is stillliving.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

In July. iSf)5. Mr. Caldwell came t'
l\»ntiac. Illinois, and enibarkeil in the drug
busincs,-; on W'e.'^t Madison street in part-
nership with John A. Fellows, under the
tirni name of Fellows & Caldwell. They
continued in business tog-ether tor some
years and were finally succeeded by the firm
ol Caldwell & Mctiregor. who for twenty-
five years carried on a most successful busi-
ness, theirs being by far the oldest drug store
or business firm in the city. To their stock
of drugs and books they later added jewelry
and built up a good trade in that line. They
built the block on the northeast corner oi
Mill and Madison streets, then the finest
Inisiness block in the city, and also bought
the oj)|)osite corner, and after selling the
front i)art improved the remainder of the
property. In 1895 the partnership was dis-
solved and Mr. Caldwell retired from the
drug trade. For about eigliteen months he
conducted a grocery store, and since dis-
posing of that has successfully engaged in
the insurance and real estate business, hand-
ling property for others as well as himself.
After the dissolution of the firm of Fellows
& Caldwell he bought lots 4 and 5 at the
corner of Madison and Plum streets, which
he subdivided into three business lots and
sold to different parties. Ab(5ut 1880. in
partnership with Mr. McGregor, be bought
twentv feet front on the corner where the
Sterry l>lock now stands and sold it after-
ward to C. \V. Sterry. At the time of pur-
chase it was covered with a two-storv busi-
ness house. Mr. Caldwell still owns six resi-
dences in the citv and has a nice home at
the corner of Mill and Grove streets.

In September. 1874. Mr. Caldwell was
again married, his second union being with
i^Irs. Lovina Hill, of Ponfiac. a daughter of
G. E. Tibbets, who caiue here in 1866 from

Maine, which was the birthplace of Mrs.
Caldwell. They are active members of the
Presbyterian church, in which our subject
is now serving as elder. He has been a
member of the official board many years and
was superintendent of the Sunday school
si:me time. He always supported the Dem-
ocratic party until the campaign of i8g6,
but could not endorse the principles advo-
cateil by the Chicago platform. He has made
an untarnished record and unspotted reputa-
tion as a business man. In all places and
under all circumstances he is loyal to truth,
Inmor and right, justly valuing his own
self-res])ect as infinitely more jireferable than
wealth, fame and position. His success has
been the result of honest. ])ersistent effort
ir the line of honorable and manly dealing.

GEORGE \\'. WOMELDORFF.

George W. W'omeldorfT. one of the high-
ly respected citizens and successful farmers
of Ep])ar(ls Point township, residing on sec-
tion 33. is a native of Illinois, born near
Trcmont, Tazewell county, February 22,
1846. His father, Daniel ^\'omeldorff, was
born in Gallia county. Ohio, in 1804, and
there married Miss Harriet X. Kerr, a na-
tive of the same county and a daughter of
Major John M. Kerr, an officer of the war
of 181J. .\fter his marriage Mr. W'omel-
dorff f(jllowed farming in Ohio until 1844,
when he came to Illinois and settled in Taze-
well county. For about four years he was
engaged in flat-boating down the Mississippi
to Xew (.)rleans, and then turned bis atten-
tion to agricultural pursuits, having pur-
chased a claim in Tazewell c unty. Upon
that ])lace he died in 185 J. Subsequently

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Iiis widow took Iier family l)ack to Ohio,
locating in the old neig-lihorhood in (lalha
county.

There our subject grew to nianhootl antl
attended the common schooLs. On the 2!;th
of March. 1863, at the age of seventeen
years, he joined the boys in l)lue of the Civil
war, enlisting as a jjrivate in Company L,
Seventh Ohio Cavalry, which was assigned
to the Arm\- of the Tennessee, under com-
mand of (iencral Sherman. He particijjated
in the battle of Stone River, the eneaee-
ments of the Atlanta campaign, and then
with his command went to the relief of Gen-
eral Thomas at Xashvillc. Tliev were in
the battle of Franklin and followed Hood
to the Tennessee river. .\t (iravely Springs,
Alabama. .Mr. Womeldorff was severely
wounded, being shdt in the left fore-arm and
left side and receiving a saber thrust in tlie
right leg and a scratch on the right shoulder.
He was sent to a hospital boat at Waterloo
<in the Tennessee river, and fourteen davs
later was taken to Jeffcrsonville, Indiana,
where he remained in the hos])itaI until June
5. 1865, when honorably discharged from the
service, though his wounds did not heal for
nearly a year after his return home.

Mr. \\dmeldorff then attended a select
school for nine nn mths and engaged in farm-
ing in Ohio for a year, but in the fall of 1867
he returned to Tazewell county, Illinois, in
company with his mother, youngest brother
and sister. They dro\e tlie entire distance
and located in Treniont. For eighteen
months our .subject was employed as over-
seer of a farm and in 1869 came to Livings-
ton county, oijerating a rented farm in I'iko
township for three years, while his mother
and sister kept house for him.

In that township Mr. Womeldorff was
married, March 18, 1873, t" ^^'ss Maria C.

Beeks, a native of Pennsylvania and a daugh-
ter of James H. Beeks, who moved to Mar-
shall county, Illinois, in 1853, and later to
Livingston county, but is n.ow a resident of
Arkan.sas City, Kansas. Of the twelve chil-
dren born to Air. and Mj-s. Womeldorff five
died in infancy. Tho.se living are Eula,
wife of John \\'. Farley, of Eppards Point
township: luigene, at home: Delia, wife of
Albert D. Hewitt, of Pontiac: Gilbert, Min-
nie, Ethel and Bertcl, all at home. Mr.
Womeldorff's mother died at his home De-
cember 28, 1898, at the advanced age of
eighty-four years.

JMir two years after his marriage our
suljject continued to engage in farming upon
rented land in Pike townshi]x where he sub-
sequently jnirchased a tract of eighty acres.
This be sold six years later and bought one
liundred acres in the same township, upon
which he also resided six years. On dis-
posing of that property, in 1887, he bought
his present farm of two hundred acres on
section 33, Eppards Point township, to which
he has subsec|uently added a forty-acre tract.
He has made many useful and valuable im-
provements upon the place, and now has one
of the most desirable farms of its size in the
townshi]). Starting out in life for himself
emiity-handed, his career illustrates what can
be accomplished through industry, perse-
\erance, good management and a deternn'na- '
tion to succeed.

While with the army at .\tlanta. Georgia,
ir. 1864, Mr. Womeldorff cast his first pres-
itlential vote for Lincoln and has since been
a stanch supporter of the Republican party.
He has serx'ed bis fellow citizens as supcr-
\isor and is now filling the office of town-
ship trustee. He has al.so been school di-
rector for thirteen years and president of his
district in both Pike and Eppards Point town-

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ships. Religiously he ami all his family,
with the exception of the youngest son, are
niemhers of tiie Methodist Episcopal church
at Weston. McLean county, and take an ac-
tive part in church and Sunday school work.
He is a prominent member of the Grand
Army Post at Chenoa, in which he has
served as commander and is now vice-com-
mander. In times of peace as well as in war
he is recognized Jis a most patriotic and
useful citizen, and is held in high regard by
all with whom he comes in contact, either in
business or social life.

LESTER EDWIX KENT.

Lester Edwin Kent, a retired grain deal-
er and a prominent early settler of Pontiac,
was born in Suffield. Hartford county, Con-
necticut, .\ugust 1 8, 1834. a son of Edwin
and Huldah ( lewettj Kent, also natives of
that state, his ancestors being among its
pioneers. The father was of English ex-
traction and of good Revolutionary stock.
He was a farmer of Suffield and a man of
considerable prominence in his community,
serving as selectman and road commissioner.
There bf)th he and his wife died. She was
a consistent memlier of the Baptist church.

Our subject was educated in the common
schools and academy of his native town and
remained at home until he attained his ma-
jority. In 1855 he came west to Chicago,
Illinois, but first located in Kane county,
having a cousin living at Kaneville. where
he spent one year. In the fall of 1856 he
came to Pontiac and entered the employ of
Sidney A. Kent, a grain dealer anfl a very
prominent man, who recently died in Chi-
cago. While with him our subject became

thorougiily familiar with the grain busi-
ness in all its details, and in 1858 jnirchased
the elevator in Pontiac and embarked in the
business on his own account. The elevator
was located on the Chicago & Alton Rail-
road. \\liich was then run bv Go\'ernor Mat-
teson.

At that time grain was brought into Pon-
tiac from distances of twenty or twenty-five
miles, and as the wagons of the farmers
would not hold shelled corn Mr. Kent fur-
nislied them with sacks. The elevators were
often more than full and sacks would be
])iled up elsewhere like cord wood. It was
sometimes impossible to get box cars to ship
the grain and it had to be loaded on flat
cars. Mr. Kent soon became interested in
the grain business in other towns. He en-
larged the elevator at Fairbury, when that
place contained but one small house and
store and before the railroad was liuilt. He
would drive over in the morning and back
again at night. He built the first elevator
at Odell. wlicn it liad but one store, and was
instrumental in building up the town, as
farmers bringing their grain to the elevator
wished to do their trading there. At Odell
the grain was shoveled into the cars at first.
Mr. Kent also built the first elevators at Cay-
uga and Blackstone, this county, where he
also engaged in the lumber business, and
for two years shipped grain from Nevada,
but did not build there. In those days he
was the largest shipper on the Alton road,
and would load full trains at both Pontiac
and Blackstone; the road being short of cars
they would run a train in for him to load
immediately. He kept one man at Ocoya
anil furnished employment to a number of
others mo.st of the time. ^b>st of his grain
was shipped to Chicago. For over twenty-
five vears he continued to be at the head of

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tlie grain ti-adc in this connty and i^MNC liis
attention entirely ti> that husiness. He ad-
vanced money Hlierally to farmers in need
of assistance wlien starting out, and was of
great help to Pontiac in Ijringing trade liere,
as well as to the other towns where he had
ele\'ators.

Mr. Kent was alsf) one of the orij^inal
stockliolders of the I'ontiac National IJank
and served as its vice-president for a nuniher
of years. At one time he owned and i_^>
erated a distillery and was engaged in cat-
tle feeding. He went into the former busi-
ness to assist a man in difficulty, knowing-
nothing of the business, and got into trouble
with the government, as the taxes were not
jjaid, but owing to liis influence and it being
ascertainetl that the delin(|uency was prior
to his taking possession he was soon cleared.
He closed the distillery, but fed cattle for
some years, doing a big business in that line,
ship])ing in cattle from Chicago.

-Mr. Kent married ]\Iiss Antoinette
Graves, of Joliet. and they have one daugh- "
ter, Mary L., wife of Victor Pearre, of Pon-
tiac, by whom she has two children, William
Pay.son and Kent Alden. He attends and
supports the E])iscopal church, of which his
family ai;e members. .About 1865 he pur-
chased a half-block at Xo. 206 Xorth Court,
opposite the park, which propert\- he still
owns and occupies, it ha\ing been impni\ed
by him. In 1894 he retired from active busi-
ness and is now enjoying a well earned rest.

Socially Mr. Kent is a member of Pon-
tiac lodge, No. 294, 1'. iV A. M.. and be-
longs to the chapter, council and St. Paul's
Commandery. all of Fairbury. He has al-
ways affiliated with the l\e])u1)licau jiarty,
casting bis first presidential vote for Fre-
mont in 1856. He served as alderman from
the second ward for four years and was in-

strument.il in getting se\enty-t"i\e car-loads
of stone put into the street from the court
house to the depot and also a sidewalk
around the court house square. Having
shipped so much o\er the Chicago & .Mton
road he got Mr. Chappel to ship the stone
free of freight charges. This stone made an
excellent foinidation for the city streets. He
has taken an active interest in promoting
the welfare of the town and county, en-
couraging and aiding all enterprises tending
to henetit the ]ju])lic. and enjoys in a high
degree the contidence and esteeiu of his fel-
low men.

LEOX.\Rl) Wl'.BFk.

Leonard Weber, a representative agri-
culturist of Pike township, residing on sec-
tion 10, has made his home in Livingston
county since 1869 and has taken an active
part in its de\'elopnient. He was born in
Xew York February 2. 1850. and is a son
of George Weber, who was born in \\'urtem-
burg, Germany, about 1822, and emigrated
to the United States when a young man,
locating near Utica, Xew York, where be
married Sophia Horner, also a native of
W'urtemburg. Her father died in Germany
and she came to America at the same time
as her future husband. In this country Mr.
Weber worked for others and also engaged
in teaming in Xew York for some years,
three of his children having been Iwrn in
that state, but in 1856 he came to Illinois
and first settled in Woodford county, where
he engaged in farming on rented land for
several years. At length he was able to pur-
chase a small place in the southern part of
the county, and on disposing of the same,
in i86y, he bought a farm of one hundred

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and sixty acres in Pike township, Livings-
ton county, whicli at that time was hut sliglit-
ly improved. After operating it for several
years he sold and hough.t another place in
Pike towr.ship. \\liicli he suhsequently dis-
posed of, and now makes his home in Poii-
tiac township, where he owns a valuahle
farm of three hundred and twenty acres.

The suhject of this sketch was a lad of
six years when he came to this state, and in
W'oodfurd and Li\ingston counties he grew
to manhood, his education being acquired in
the inililic schools near his home. He re-
mained with his father until he attained his
majority, and then rented a farm on section
3. Pike township, where he engaged in farm-
ing for about six years. Mr. \\'el>er was
married in this county, April 2, 1878, to
Miss Barbara Fischer, a native of W^oodford
county. Illimiis, and a daughter of Joseph
Fischer, a sulxstantial farmer of Pike town-
ship, Livingston county, who was formerly
a resident of Woodford county and was born
in Germany. Mrs. Weber was reared and
educated in this county. Our subject and
his wife have a family of three children:
Barbara S., Joseph G. and Leonard F., all
a': home.

After his marriage Mr. Weber contin-
ued to engage in farming upon rented land
for about five years. He rented his present
farm of one hundred and sixty acres on sec-
tion 10, Pike townshi]), for two years and
then purchased the place, to the further im-
provement and cultivation of which he bus
since flevf^ted his energies. In his farming
operations he is meeting with marked suc-
cess and the prosperity that has come to him
is certainly justly merited, for it is due en-
tirely to his own unaided efforts and good
management. Politically Mr. Weber is
identified with the Democratic party on na-

tional issues, but at local elections votes for
the men whom he believes best f|ualified to
fill the offices regardless of party lines. For
three years he served as school director, but
has never cared for jxilitical honors. Re-
ligiously both he and his wife are members
of the Evangelical ihunb of Eppards Point.

ED\\ ARD O. REED.

Edward O. Reed, who for several years
has been prominently identified with the
public affairs of Livingston county, and is
now most acceptably serving as county treas-
urer, was born in Bloomington. Illinois, June
12. i860, a son of Captain Henry B. and
Esther (Beck) Reed. The father is a native
of Pennsylvania, born near Pottsville.
Schuylkill county, January 29. 1833, anrl
there grew to manhood and married. In
early life he learned the shoemaker's trade,
which he followed prior to the Civil war.
On coming to Illinois, he settled in Xaper-
ville, later spent a short time in Joliet. and
then moved to Bloomington. In the fall
of i860 he came to Pontiac, where he was
engaged in the shoe business until the follow-
ing spring, when he enlisted in Comjjany D,
Twentieth Illinois \'olunteer Infantry, with
which he served until after the battle of
Shiloh. On the field at Fort Donelson, he
was ])romoted for gallant service to the rank
of second lieutenant, and onr subject now
has in his ])ossession a reward of merit is-
sued by Governor '^'ates. His term of en-
listment having ex])ired. Lieutenant Reed
returned home. While being paid off at St,
Louis, the i)aymaster told the government
needed such men as he and suggested that
he see Governor Yates. This he failed to

THE BIOGRAl'llICAL RECORD.

do. lint tlie (idxenuu" sent fur him and askeil
him ti> help recruit tliree companies in tliis
part of the state. He hcii)e(l recruit five,
and again went to the front as cajitain of
Comj)any G, One Hundred and Twentx-
nintli Illinois \'oiunteer Infantrx'. lie was
with Sliernian on the inarch to tlie sea and
remained in the service until the close of the
war. participatins.;' in the grand review at
A\'ashington. District of Columbia. Re-
turning to his liome in I'ontiac. he resumed
the shoe business, which he carried on un-
til ai)])ointed b\- ( io\eruor Oglesby as custo-
dian of memorial hall in the state iiouse at
Si)ringlield. and ser\-ed four years at that
time. Iieing the first in the new hall and at-
tending to t!ie arranging of all the llags,
etc. He pro\ed a most cajialjle oflicial and
was re-ap]joinled by ("i!)\ern(jr {'"ifer. He
is an honored member and commander of T.
Lytle I^ickey Post, (i. A. R., also belongs to
Pontiac Lodge. Xo. 294, F. & A. ]\I., and
both he and his wife are members of the
^Methodist Episco])al church. He is now liv-
ing a retired life in I'ontiac. .\ more ex-
tended mention of this worthy gentleman
may be found on another page of this vol-
ume.

Our subject was educated in the public
schools of I'ontiac, and during his yoiuh
served an api^renticeship to the cigarmaker's
trade, at which he worked until twenty-seven
years of age. when he formed a ])artnershi])
with John C. Riess. luider the firm name of
Reed iJt Riess, ruid started a manufactory of
their own, which they still conduct. They
liave met with marked success in the under-
taking and furnish employment to six or
eight men. Mr. Reed built up the trade as
a traveling man. but the firm now sells their
goods mainly to home consumers, in this
county. He owns a good store building and

a fine residence on South Mill street, where
he makes his home. He was married, De-
cemlier 15. 1897. to Miss Eunice Stott, a
(laughter of John Martin Stott, of Chicago,
and thc\- have one daughter, Esther.

Since attaining his majority Mr. Reed
has been an ardent Republican in jjolitics
and has taken a i)rominent and inlluential
]!art in i)ublic afi^airs. He was serving as
alderman from the third ward when the
water works were put in and the sewer sys-
tem adopted, the city being bonded to jjiit in
the sewers. Before his term expired he was
elected assistant supervisor and was a niem-
l)er of the finance committee that found the
ways and means by which the county could
liuild the new court house, the contract being
let to a contractor pro\iding he would take
the county warrants. It was built at a cost
of sixt}' thousand ilollars ;md is one of the
finest in this section of the state. In the
fall of 1894. before his time as assistant
supervisor expired. Mr. Reed was elected
couiity sherift' and entered upon the duties
of the ofiice in December, that year. That
he filled the position in a most creilital)le and
satisfactory maiuier is shown by bis being
elected county treasurer prior to the exjjira-
tion of his term as sheriti'. taking the ofiice
oi treasurer the ilay he left the odier office.
When the auditing committee of the county
checked u]) his four years as sheriff they
found that the county was sixty dollars in
his debt insteatl of their being deticiencv.
He was a member of the Sheriff's Associa-
tion of the state. He is now supervisor of
assessment of the county, which makes his
position a very large and respoiisible one.
and he handles o\er one hundred and lifly
thousand dollars a year. His official duties
have always been discharged with a fidelity
and promptness worthy of the highest com-

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

niendation, and he lias proved a most popular
and efficient officer. Mr. Reed is now, in
1900, cliairman of the Repuhlican central
committee of Livingston county, and the
party organization will, inuler his adminis-
tration, lie kejjt intact, and the lull vote of
the party he polled. Fraternally he is a
member of Pontiac Lodge, Xo. 294. F. & A.
jSI. ; Fairbury Chapter, R. A. M. ; the Council
R. & S. M.' of Gibson City: and St. Paul
Commandery, Xo. 34, K. T., of Fairbury.
He also belongs to a number ni nuitual or-
ders, including the ^lodern Wixxlmen of
America.

MRS. :\IARIA OWEX.

Mrs. Maria Owen, who now lias the dis-
tinction of having been a resident of I'onti-
a-: longer than any other of its citizens, came
here with her husband in 1842. She has
witnessed almost the entire development of
the county, has seen its wild lands trans-
formed into beautiful homes and farms, its
hamlets grow into villages and thriving
towns and all of the interests and evidences
of an advanced civilization introduced.

?klrs. Owen was born January 16, 1812,
in X'ew York, fourteen miles from Lake
Ontario, and is a daughter of Starks and
Esther (Gilbert) Tracy. The father was
a native of Sharon, Xew "^'ork, born .\pril
3, 1778, and an early settler of Oswego cmni-
tv, where lie bought land ])riiir to his mar-
riage and there continued to make his home
througliout life. He was a farmer by oc-
cupatif)n and one of the highly respected
men of his community. His estimable wife
was a member of the Congregational church.
Loth died in Oswego county, Xew ^'ork.
Mrs. Owen's maternal grandfather was

Allen Gilbert, a soldier of the Revolutionary
Wi.r, wlio was severely wounded in the heail
and left for dead on the battle-field, but was
found and cared for until he recovered. At
an early day lie remoxed from Sclioliarie
county, Xew ^'ork, to Oswego county, where
his daugiiter, Mrs. Tracy, was liorn August
-3- '793- He. too, was a farmer and a
jirominent man in his community.

In 1840 Mrs. Owen married Augustins
I*"eHows,who,witii his brother, owned a large
farm in Oswego county, Xew ^'ork, but in
1842 he sf)ld his interest in the same and
])urchased property in Pontiac, Illinois,
whither the family removed in the fall of
that year. 'J"hc tri]) was made bv way of
the great lakes and W'elland canal in a small
])roi)eHer to Chicago, and they lirought with
them all their household effects, which were
comexed from that city to Ottawa, Illinois,
l)y teamsters who were returning to the
latter place, where Mr. Fellows had a sister
living. There teams were hired to convey
the family and their effects to their new home
in Pontiac. A farm of two hundred acres
and a number of town lots belonged to the
estate they had traded for before coming
west, so that they practically owned all of the
jiresent city at that time. There were only
three families living there, and the build-
ings of tiic town consisted of a small frame
house and the coiu't house. Upon the farm,
which adioined the village on the east was
a good two-room log house, with large fire
places in both ro<jms, making it perfectly
comfortable.

Selling his town lots. Mr. Fellows turned
his attention to the improvement and culti-
vation of his farm and met with success in
its operation. On the lot now occupied by
Squire W'oodrow's residence he built the
first large lu'tel in Pontiac in i8_i7. and also

ELIJAH B. OWEN.

^^^r^l

^^^^^B '^Hf^'-N

IS^

.4 fl|H0||^BflBlfl

^^ ^^k^^B- *

MRS. MARIA OWEN.

H)!

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

lOI

a large hani. In 1848 they rented the hotel
jiiul that siuiinier returned east on a \-isit,
but in 184Q t<iiik cliarg-e of the i)roperty.
While thus employed Mr. I'ellows ilied of
cholera in the summer of 1849, and two of
their children, aged seven and two years,
respectively, died of the same dread disease.
Having lost their three nther children prinr
to this time, JNIrs. l-'ellows was thus left
alone. For o\-er a year she carried on the
hotel and f;inn. hul found it a \-ery dilficult
task.

In the fall of 1850 she married Nelson
Buck, a surveyor and nurseryman of Bloom-
ington, where he was engaged in business
for some years. For several years they
conducted the hotel and also the farm, and
their place became the leading hostelry in
this section. In those early davs before the
railroad was built dro\-ers often stopped at
their house in large numbers. One man
would come in an hour in ad\'ance of the rest,
saying that tweU'e or fourteen men would
be there for suj^per. Tiiey also had a large
barn for the teams of the manv movers pass-
ing through this part of the state at tliat
time. In the spring of 1854, when the Chi-
cago & Alton Railroad was built, the\'
l:oarded the construction hands and did an
extensive business. .Mrs. Owen has enter-
tained Abraham Lincoln. Judge David
Davis and other illustrious men. Her hus-
band received api)uintment to conduct the
government survey between Kansas and Xe-
l raska. and while thus engaged he and his
party were killed by the Indians in Julv.
1869. Thus she was again left alone with a
hrge pro])ertv to care for, including the
farm, hotel and city lots. Mr. Buck had
th.ree children by his hrst marriage, namelv :
W'illard, a soldier of the Civil war. who is
now living in Wisconsin : Clarissa, deceaseil ;

and Cordelia, widow of William Watson
and a resident of Pontiac.

At intervals Mrs. Owen continued to
conduct her hotel for many years, it being
rente<l in the meantime. She made her
biOme on Water street until 1899, when her
])resent elegant home on North Main street
was built. It is sup])lied with .'ill modern
C(in\-eniences and accessories, including elec-
tric light, hot water, etc., and here, sur-
rounded bv ever\' comfort, she is spending
her declining days, loxed and respected by
all who know' her. Her youngest sister,
.Mar\- (i., was also one of the pioneers of the
countv, locating here alxnit the same time as
Mrs. Owen, and her home was two miles
up the river. Her tirst hu.sband was Mr.
I'.urgelt. her second Mr. I'ricks and her third
]Mr. Winslow. .\fter her last marriage she
lived on a farm two miles from Pontiac, but
spent her last days in the city, dying at the
borne of Mrs. Owen February 16, 1900.

I'or lier third husband our subject mar-
ried l-llijab Owen, who came from near El-
mira, Chemung county. New York, and dur-
ing his active business career engaged in
farming but later lived retired in Pontiac.
rvlr. Buck laid off two additions from her
original farm and Mr. Owen laid off the re-
mainder, the additions being known as
liuck's first and second additions and Owen's
afldition. Her name appears on many of
the deeds of this place. She was one of
the original stockholders of both of the na-
tional banks of Pontiac and has dis|)layed
lemarkable business and executive ability in
the management of her business affairs.
She united with the Presbyterian church in
Pontiac on its organization, and has since
been one of its active and prominent mem-
bers. \\'hen she lirst located here the only
religious services were prayer meetings held

374

C» t ^

I02

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in tlie C(Hirt liouse on Sundays, but as soon
as ilic railroad was built churciies were
erected, and to their erection and support
she has always contributed liberally. She
is a most estimable lady of many sterling-
qualities, and has a large circle of friends in
the citv which has so lone been her In mie.

LOUIS A. XAFFZIGER.

Louis A. Xaft'ziger. the popular cashier
of the Bank of Dwight, has won the envialjle
reputation as a most capable financier and
occupies a position of no little prominence
in connection with the public affairs of the
town. His life demonstrates what may be
accomplished through energy, careful man-
agement, keen foresight, and the utilization
of the powers with which nature has en-
dowed one, and the opportunities with which
the times surround him.

Mr. Xafifziger is proud to claim Illinois
as his native state, his birth occurring in
McLean county, March 31, i860. His fa-
ther. Peter Xafifziger, was born in Darm-
stadt. Germany, March 4. 1831, and there
he remained until reaching his majority,
when he came to America and located first
i:. McLean county on a farm, later went to
Butler county, Ohio, where he worked on a
farm, the ne.xt year removing to Chicago,
where he worked at his trade of baker for a
time. When his parents came to America
he removed with them to Putnam crmnty,
h.tcr removing to McLean county. At the
age of twenty-eight he was married in Mc-
Lean county, llinois. to Miss Catherine
Stuckey, who was born in Hamilton county,
Ohio, August 30, 1840. Her father, Peter

Stuckey, was born in .Switzerland in August,
1799, and died February 2^. i860. In 1824.
he married Elizabetli Sommers, who was
born o\ember 24, 1801, in Alsace-Loraine.
.-Mid in 1830 tliey emigrated to the L'nited
States and located in Butler county, Ohio,
\vhere they resided twenty years. In Octo-
ber, 1850, they removed to McLean county,
Illinois, and took up their residence in Dan-
vers township. Mrs. Stuckey died in 1885
in Pike township, Livingston county.

After his marriage Peter Xafifziger en-
gaged in farming in McLean count\- until
1869, when he came to \\'aldo township,
Livingston county, and purchased a tract
of raw land, which he commenced imme-
diately to improve and cultivate, converting
it into a fine farm, on which he lived for
many years. In 1876 he moved to Wash-
ington, Illinois, where he was engaged in
mercantile business for a few years, and
later followed the same pursuit in Stanford,
Illinois, until 1896, when he went to Slaugh-
ter. East Felician Parish, Louisiana, where
he is now engaged in cotton planting. Of his
four children, Louis A., our subject, is the
oldest; Emile died at the age of nine years,
the result of an accident ; Bertha is the wife
of George L. Riggs.a farmer and stock raiser
of Botna, Iowa, and one son died in infancy.

Christian Xaffziger, the paternal grand-
father of our subject, was born in Darm-
stadt, Germany, January 17, 1803, and came
to this country, locating in Putnam county,
later mf)ving to McLean county, Illinois,
dying there March 8. 1893. His wife, who
bore the maiden name of Barbara Staley,
was born January 22. 1805, and died Feb-
ruary 19, 1898.

Louis A. Xaft'?igcr, our subject, re-
received his ])rimary education in the public
schools of McLean count\', and later at-

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

I05

toiiiled tlie liigli scliool of Washington, Illi-
nois, at tiie same time clerking in a cloth-
ing store mornings and evenings, and stead-
ily through the summer months. Leaving
school at the age of sixteen, he continued
to clerk in the clothing store of John Burkey
for one year, and then entered the dry goods
estahlishment of E. E. Hornish as clerk and
bookkeeper, remaining with him in that ca-
pacity for three years. In the spring of
1880 A. G. Dan forth, of the banking tirm
of A. G. Dan forth & Company, of Wash-
ington, Illinois, made Mr. Xaffziger a prop-
osition to enter the bank as bookkeeper and
assistant cashier, which he accepted, remain-
ing with him three years. At the entl of
that time, March 15, 1883, he accepted a po-
sition with David McWilliams of the Bank
of Dwight as bookkeeper and assistant cash-
ier, and in the fall of that _\car. when the
cashier, J. W. Watkins, resigned, he was
appointed to that position, which he has
since so efticiently tilled. In September,
1891, he built his present pleasant home on
the corner of Seminole and Clinton streets,
and besides this property he owns a well
improx'ed farm of one hundreil and sixt_\'
acres in section 2, Broughton township, Liv-
ingston county, and also some western lands.
On the 1st of June, 1882, Mr. XatYziger
was united in marriage with }kliss M. Car-
rie Hukill, of Washington, Tazewell county,
Illinois, wiio was born in McLean county,
a daughter of Jackson and Maria (Kern)
Hukill. Her father was born in I'ayette
ciiunty, Ohio, October 12, 1823. and for a
number of years was a traveling salesman,
representing a school furniture company of
\\'abash, Indiana. In early days he also en-
gaged in mercantile business in Lincoln,
Illinois. He died July 2";. 1893. but his

wife, who was born in Mnunt Pleasant.
Pennsylvania, December 28, 1829, is still
living and continues to make her home in
Washington, Illinois. Their children were
James H., M. Carrie, Ida Belie and Grace.
The last named is deceased. Mr. and Mrs.
Xaffziger ha\e two children : Clara, born
June II, 1883, and Oliver Hukill, born Oc-
tober 29, 1887. The former is attending
the high school, the latter the grammar
schools of Dwight.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Xaffziger are active
members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
of which he has been an official member for
ten years, serving as superintendent of the
Sunday school two years; one of the board
of stewards at the present time, and chair-
man of the finance committee of the church.
As a Republican, he has taken an active
and prduiinent jiart in local politics since
attaining his maority, and was secretary of
the Repulilican club of Dwight during th.e
McKinley campaign of 1896. His tirst of-
lice \\as that of village clerk, and he was
afterward appointed \illage treasurer, v.Iiich
l)osition he filled two years. During the
boom of the town a sewerage s}steni, ccist-
ing over twenty-eight thousand dollars, was
put in, and Mr. Xaftziger was ajjpointed C(j1-
lector of special assessment by tl'.o president
of the village board. He was electei.1 trus-
tee of the village aiid served m that capacitv
t\\ o years ; was appointed township treasurer
and held that office six years. In all the re-
lations of life he has been f<iund true to
every trust rei)osed in him. whether public or
jjrivate, and is numbered among the xaluei'
and useful citizens of Dwight. for lie is pre-
eminently public spirited and progressive,
and takes an active interest in the enterprises
tending to public development.

I04

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

AUGUSTUS \\'. COWAX.

Augustus W. Cowan, wiio is now suc-
cessfully engaged in the abstract business
in Pontiac. with office at Xo. io8 \\'est
Washington street, was born near \\"ater-
town, X'ew York. October 14, 1837, a son
of \\'illiani and Emeline (CofYeen) Cowan,
also natives of the Empire state. For some
years the fatlier was engaged in business
as a tinsmith and hardware mercliant, in
W'atertown, l)ut died in Xaples, Xew York,
in 185 1, at about the age of forty-eight
years, our subjects maternal grandparents
were Henry Dale and Delight (Whitney)
Coffeen. Throughout life the former en-
gaged in farming near \\'atertown, in
Jefferson county, X"ew York, and was a
term as sheriff of that county. The
paternal grandparents of our subject
were Andrew and Eupliemia (Kelly)
Cowan, natives of Scotland, who came to
the United States in 1797. and .settled in
Schenectady, Xew York, where they made
their home throughout the remainder of their
lives. On leaving their native land the fol-
lowing testimonials were given them :

"Wegtowx. 25th March, 1797.
"Tliat Andrew Cowan and his wife Eu-
jfliemia Kelly are members of the .\ssociate
Congregation here and now remove from
this country to Xorth America with un-
blemi^licd cliaracters is attested by

TiiEO. Ogil\ie, Minister.

"We. the magistrates of the borough of
Wegtown. Xorth Britain, hereliy certif\' and
declare that the bearer Mr. .\ndrew Cowan
has resided in this borough since his infancy
and has always maintained an unexception-
able character for honesty and .sobriety, and
being about to de])art for Xorth .\merica
with his wife and children, also of gond

character, ought to meet with no molestation
or hindrance, he continuing to behave as
beci>meth.

"Given under oiu- hand and the common
seal of the borough this 25th day of March,
1797 year.

JOIIX X.VTHOM,

(Seal) l.vMES Hemm.\g.

.\lipended by

W'm. \\'. COXXELS,

Town Clerk.
The subject of this .sketch remained in
\\'atertown until eighteen years of age, and
was educated at the Jefferson County Insti-
tute. He came west in 1854 and the follow-
ing year took u]) his residence in Pontiac,
where he clerked in a general store for some
years. He then formed a partnership with
Judge Jonatlian Duff in the banking and
real-estate business, conducting it with such
success that in a few years the firm had
gathered together a considerable fortune. i!>
\ested mainl}- in lands in this section. In
1870 tlie partnership was dissolved. .\1-
though the business relations were discontin-
ued there still remaineil such warm personal
feeling as exists between brothers and the
closest friends, until the Judge's death in

1881. Bound together by ties not only of
personal friendship but that of political affin-
ity and the brotherhood of secret societies,
the two members of the firm were regarded
as almost members of one family, and it
was natural that the living member of the
firm should be deeply affected at the depart-
ure of one he loved so well. Mr. Cowan
continued in the real-estate business until

1882. when he was elected county treasurer
and for four years held tliat office, discharg-
ing its duties in a commendable and satis-
factory manner. Since 1889 he has been
owner of the Livingston couiUy title ab-

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

105

stracts and lias devoteil iiis time and attcn-
tiiiu til that luisiness, meeting' with gen id
success.

At Rome, New York, August ji, 1867.
\vas celebrated the marriage of Mr. Cowan
and Miss Mary H. P. Christian, a daughter
of Luther and Margaret (George) Christian,
natives of that state. The mother died in
Rome, in 1868, after which the father lived
Viith our suljject for some time, hut died at
the home of his son in Port Erie, Canada,
in 1871. Throughout his actix'e business
life he engaged in blacksmithing. ]\lr. anil
Mrs. Cowan have one child, Emeline, who
was Ixjrn in Pontiac, in 187.2, and is at home.
The family all attend the Episcopal church,
and Ah". Cowan is connected with Pontiac
Lodge, Xo. 294, F. & A. AI., and the higher
orders of Masonry, belonging to the Com-
mandery at Bloomington. Until 1896 he
always affiliated with the Democratic jjarty,
and besides serving' as county treasurer he
has been called upon to fill several niinor
offices in his township and cit\'. 1 le has
always taken a deep interest in public affairs,
as every true American citizen should, and
gives a heart}- support to those enterprises
which he believes will prove of puljlic benefit.

JOB FARLEY.

Job Farley, deceased, \\as for many
years one of the leading agriculturists of
Eppards Point township, a man honored
and respected wherever known. He was
born in Wiltshire, England, September 16,
1829, and a son of Nias and Mary (Sell-
wood) Farley, both natives of the southern
part of England. They lived as farming

p/cople in that country throughout their en-
tire lives, both dying at about the age of
sixty-five years.

Our cubject was reared and educated at
the place of his birth, and before coming to
.America he was a meinlier of the London
police force two years, and the force at
Shaft.sbury one year. It was in 1859 that he
crossed the board .Atlantic and came at once
to Illinois, settling first near Oneida, Knox
county, where he commenced farming, an
occupation lie continued to follow until life's
labors were ended. After seven years spent
in Knox county, he removed to Henry coun-
ty, where fifteen years were passed, and in
1883 came to Livingston county, locating 011
section 28, Eppards Point township. In
1875 he purchased one Imndred and sixty
acres on this section, and in 1882 eightv
acres more, to which he added from time to
time until at his death he was the owner of
five eighty-acre tracts, with the exception
of one acre used ior school purposes, all un-
der a high state of cultivation and a com-
fortable house on each farm. These were
jnirchased and improved with the \'iew of
providing homes for his children.

On the I4tli of April, 1863, in Knox-
ville, Knox county, Illinois, Air. Farley mar-
ried Aliss Elizabeth Walker, a daughter of
James and Alary (Smith) \\'alker, also na-
tives of Leeds, Yorkshire, England, where
lier father, a machinist by trade, died at the
age of thirty-six years when Mrs. Farley was
only eleven years old. Her mother had
died eight years previous. She came to the
L'nited States in 1855, when nineteen years
old, and lived with her uncle and aunt, John
and Alary Else, in Truro township, Knox
county, Illinois, until her marriage. Air.
Else, who was a farmer by occupation, died
in Peoria in 1882, after which his wife maile

io6

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

her home witli Mr. and Mrs. Farley, where
she (lied Fehruary ii, 1900.

(){ ihe seven children horn to our sul)-
jcct and his wife five are still living, namely :
( 1 ) Ida, horn in Knok county, March 27,
1864, is the wife of Edward Folsom, a far-
mer of Eppards Point, and they have one
child, Edith. (2) Onias \V., horn in Kno.x
county, July 3, 1865, married Lizzie
-\rendts, and until recently was engaged in
farming, but is now living in Pontiac.
( 3 ) Mary, horn in Knox county, August 12,
1867, is the wife of Charles Moffett, a far-
mer of Eppards Point township, and they
h.ave three children, Lela Heath, ]\lerton J-
and Harold. (4) Anna S., horn in Henry
county, Maj' 28, 1869, is the wife of Sher-
man Myer, also a farmer of Eppards Point
township, and to them were horn five chil-
dren, three of whom are ncjw living, Maud
M., Glenn and Lee C. (5) John J., born in
Henry county. May 11, 1872, died January
26. 1874. (6) Arthur J., born January 7,
1S74, married Anna Earhardt, and follows
farming in Eppards Point. (7) The young-
est child died in infancy unnamed.

!Mr. Farley died at his home in Jippards
I'oint township, January 9, 1895, ^tter an
illness of about si.x months, though he had
been a sufferer from dropsy for twenty
years and was often in great pain. The fu-
neral was held at his home and the services
were conducted by Rev. Hussey, assisted
liy Rev. H(jbbs. The remains were interrea
in Payne's cemetery. In his religious belief
Mr. I'arley was an Episcopalian, and in po-
litical sentiment was a Democrat. Though
he never sought office, lie was called u]jon to
serve as township commissioner in Henry
county for nine years and also as school di-
rector. He was a hard working and indus-
trious man, strictly ullri^du and ]ionor;d)le

in all his dealings and one who made many
friends and no enemies. He was a devoted
husband and father and took great delight
in his home and children. He accumulated
considerable wealth and was able to leave
his family in comfortable circumstances.
Snice her husband's death Mrs. Farley has
moved to Pontiac and purchased a pleasant
home at Xo. 506 South Vermilion street,
where she now resides. She is a most esti-
n;al)le lady, highly respected by all who
know her.

ANDREW J. HOOBLER.

Andrew J. lloobler, who is now living
a retired life in Streator, Illinois, was
for many years actively identified with the
business interests of Livingstcn couiUy. and
was one <.)f its honored and representative
citizens. He is a native of Indiana, bjrn
in \'ermillion county, in October, i8j7, and
there grew to manhood. His father, John
Hoobler, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1801,
of old Pennsyhania Dutch stock, and was
one of the pioneer farmers of \'ermillion
county, Indiana. In 1853 he came to Liv-
ingston county, Illinois, and entered about
fourteen hundred acres of land in Xewton
township, becoming one of the large land
owners of the county in his day. Here he
continued to make his home throughout the
remainder of his life, dying in 1885. He
was elected a rei)resentative to the legisla-
ture on the \\ big ticket and filled that posi-
tion one term. He was one of the pioneer
United Brethren circuit riders and rode the
slate over at one time. He established the
church of that denomination in his township,
and spent most of his means in founding
churches throughout Illinois, lieing i)rac-
ticallv the lather of them all.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

107

Upon tlie liunie farm Aiulrew J. Iloohler
grew to manhood, receiving the usual etki-
cational advantages of the day. He married
Miss Sarali Leonard, a daughter of Dexter
and Eiizaheth Leonard, natives of Massa-
chusetts and early settlers of tliis county.
Three chiklren were horn of this union,
namely: Mrs. Fanny Syphers of Cornell,
Illinois; Wilder, of J^Ianville, this county,
ami l^rastus, the ])resent popular circuit
clerk, whose sketch appears on another i)age
of this volume.

Mr. Hoohler purchased a farm in Xew-
town township, hut after operating it for a
lew years he turned his attention to mer-
cantile husiness. conducting a store in what
is now Manxille (^then the \illage of New-
town) for some seventeen or eighteen years.
He met with marked success in the enter-
prise, and finally retired from husiness, turn-
ing it o\er to his sons. Moving to Streator
ht has since lived retired. He is well known
throughout Livingston county, and has the
confidence and respect of all with whom he
has come in contact either in husiness or so-
cial life.

JOHN M. ITXLEV.

John M. I'inley, a successful farmer
and honored citizen of I'ontiac township,
owns and operates a well-improved and
valuahle farm of two hundred and forty
acres on sections 3 and 4, three and tliree-
quarters miles north of the city of Pontiac.
He is a native of Ohio, bora in Delav>rue
county, November 25, 1831, and is a son of
Robert Finley, who was born in Virginia in
1801. The family is of Irish origin ^nd
was founded in the Old Dominion at an early
day. Our subject's paternal grandfather was

John l-'inley. a soldier of the Revolutionary
war. who remoNcd from \ irginia to Ohio
antl opened up a farm in Delaware couni\-.
There Robert Finley grew to manhood and
married Elizabeth Riley, who was born in
I'ennsvKania of (ierman ancestry. Her
father, Joseph Riley, was a native of Ger-
many, and when a child came to America.
The \'essel on whic he .sailed was wreckeil
and his parents were drowned. He was then
taken to the home of strangers and readed
by them, at the same time adopting their
n;nne. For a few years after his marriage
Robert Finley engaged in farming in Ohio,
and in 1837 came to Illinois, locating on
the Fox river, near St. Charles, Kane conty,
where he opened u[> a farm and spent his re-
maining years, dying there in 1886, at the
ripe old age of .seventy-five years. His wife
had passed away two years previously at the
age of sixty-nine years.

Our subject was about six years of age
when brought by his parents to this state,
and in Kane count}' he grew to manhood.
He attended the common schools, but is
mostly self-educated, haing always been a
great reader, and is to-day a well-informed
man. On leaving home in 1854 he came to
Livingston county, where he and his brother
Josei)h had purchased land in 1852 and
1833, and after locating thereon they oper-
ated it together until i8f)i.

On the 2ist of November, 1861, in this
county, Mr. Finley married .Miss Frances
E. McDougall, a native of New York, and
a daughter of Robert and Christiana Mc-
Dougall, who came from that stale to Illi-
nois about 1850 and settled in La Salle coun-
ty, where her father died in 1857. Her
mother is still living in California at tlie age
of eighty-two. ]\Irs. Finley was pricipally
reared in that county. To our subject and

io8

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

his wife were born two children: Marian
E., who was educated at llie lontiac lii??h
school and Dixon College, and hai. success-
fully engaged in teaching in this county,
but is now at home with her parents, and
Orilla Eloise, wife of Warren Collins, who
operates a part of the Finley homestead.

Mr. and Mrs. Finley began their do-
mestic life upon his present farm. He has
since erected a neat and substantial resi-
dence, good barns and other outbuildings,
has tilled the place and set out fruit and
ornamental trees, so that it is now one of
the best improved farms in the locality, r.i
connection with general farming he has en-
gaged in raising and feeding stock of a go \l
grade, and in all his undertakings he has
met with excellent success, becoming C|uitc
well to do. lie and his brother had little
means on locating here, but being indus-
trious, persevering and ambitious, his labors
were soon crowned with success. As a pub-
lic spirited citizen he takes a deep and com-
mendable interest in public affairs and gives
his support to those enterprises wl-.ich he be-
lieves will advance the general v.elfare.
Originally, he was a staunch Rcpuljlican in
politics and cast his firot presidential vote
for John C. Fremont in iS;V'), continuing
to affiliate with that party unci! 1896, when
he voted for W. J. Bryan and free silver,
lie has been a delegate to luinicrous con-
ventions, and for a quarter of a century has
been an efficient member of ihe school Ixnird,
but cares nothing for iwlitical preferment.

APOLLOS CAMP.

Apollos Camp, deceased, was for over
forty years jjroniinently identified with the
agricultural and business interests of Liv-

ingston county, and was justly numbered
among her honored jiioneers and leading
citizens, having located here in the spring of
1 85 1. He was horn in Thomaston (then
Plymouth Hollow j, Connecticut, March 19,
1806, and was a son of Ephraim Camp, a
Re\olutionary hero, who was born in 1750
and spent his entire life in Connecticut,
where he owned and operated a mill. Our
subject grew to manhood in his native place
and there learned the stone mason's trade in
early life.

There Mr. Camp married Miss Xancy
Thomas, a niece of Seth Thomas, the noted
clockmaker, by whom our subject was em-
ployed as superintendent of his outdoor
work for some time, and lived upon Mr.
Thomas" large farm for eighteen years. His
health failing, Mr. Camp purchased a farm
near by and for three years devoted his at-
tention to agricultural pursuits.

In the spring of 1851 Mr. Camp caiue to
Livingston county, Illinois, and located land
in Sunbur}' township, but the family did
not come until one year later, when the trip
to this state was made by water. In the fall
of 1852 he moved to Esmen township, his
first hnme in Illinois, where he took up a sec-
tion of land, though he still continued to
own a three-hundred-and-twenty-acre tract
ii'. Sunbury township. Pie built the best
house in Esmen township at that time. His
nearest neighbor was then three miles away,
and if he required anything such as black-
smithing or a sui)ply of groceries he had to
go to Ottawa, fordiup^ all the streams and
taking two days to make the trip, so sparsely
was the country settled at that time, so few
nnprovements having been made and so few
tmvns established. Mr. Camp continued to
reside upon his farm until 1876, when he
removed to Pontiac, but went day after day

APOLLOS CAMP.

THE UiOGRAPlliCAL RECORD.

1 1 1

to his farm until past eiglity years of age.
]le added to his landed possessions from
time to time until he and his son-in-law.
Air. Hnmiston, totjcthcr owned two thou-
sand acres of vahiahle land, most of which
was improved and uniler a high state of cul-
tivation. Of excellent husiness aliility and
Iiroad resources, he attained a ])rominent
place among the wealthy and snhslanlial citi-
zens of the county. ( )n locating here he
Iiad six thousand dollars in gold, and heing
a wide-awake lousiness man of keen discrim-
ination and sound judgment his accumula-
tions rapidly increased. He and his son-in-
law engaged in husiness together until the
hitter's death. They were among the orig-
inal stockholders of the National Bank of
I'ontiac, of which he was one of the early
directors. His career was such as to warrant
the trust and conlidence of the husiness
world, for he conducted all transactions on
the strictest principles of honor and integ-
rity, and he was highlv res])ected and es-
teemed hy all who knew him.

Mr. Camp died May 2, i8yj, and his
wife departed this life January 23, 1864.
She was a memljer of the Presbyterian
church for some years. To them were born
two children, but Edward Thomas died Sep-
tember I ^, 1861, before he attained his twen-
ty-first year. The only representative of the
family now living is Harriet, widow of Ben-
net Humiston, whose sketch appears on an-
other page of this volume.

JOHX H. SMITH.

This gentleman is entitled to distinction
as one of the most progressive and enter-
prising men of Pontiac, witli who.se business
7

interests he has lieen prominently identified
for many years. 1^'pon the commercial ac-
tixity nf a community depends its prosperity
and the men who are now recognized as
leading citizens are those who arc at the
head of important business enterprises. He
is a man of broad capabilities who carries
forward to successful completion whatever
he undertakes.

Mr. Smith was born in Half Moon \'al-
ley, Centre county, Pennsylvania, August
12, 1839, a son of Jacob and Lydia Ann
(Henderson) Smith. The father was born
in Union count}-, that state, of old Pennsyl-
vania Dutch stock, and being left fatherless
at the age of nine years was bound out to
strangers. There were only two children
ir; the family and his sister was taken to
another place. In Centre county, he mar-
ried Lydia .\nn. daughter of Da\id I lender-
son, who li\ed near Tyrone, Centre county.
Later he located near Pine Grove, Pennsyl-
sylvania. where he engaged in farming and
on stormy days worked at the gunsmith's
trade which he had learned during his youth.
Later he liveil in Huntingdon county, the
same state, but was with our subject in Pon-
tiac, Illinois, a short time prior to his death.
Both he and his wife were consistent and
faithful members of the Methodist Episco-
pal church.

In the county of his nativity, John H.
Smith was reared and obtained a gotxl prac-
tical education in its common schools. At
the age of eighteen he was bound as an ap-
prentice to a carpenter, working for his
board and clothes and the privilege of at-
tending school four months during the win-
terter. For three years and four months he
was thus em])loyed. during which time he
thoroughly mastered the trade, including the
making of doors, sash, etc.

1 1:

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

On the 30th of December. 1863. Mr. Smith
married Miss Mary J. Duff, who was born
December 8, 1840. Her paternal great-grand-
father come to this country from Scotland.
The grandfather. Jnhn Duff, was horn in
Philadelphia, and at an early day removed
to Huntingdon county. IVnnsylvania, where
he spent the remainder of his life as a farmer.
He married Winifred Couch, of Philadel-
phia, a daugliter of William Couch, who
was from Great Britain. Mrs. Smitli's
father, Charles Duff', was burn May 24.
1816. in Huntingdon county. Penn.sylvania,
where he grew to manhood and engaged in
farming for many years. There he was
married, August 31, 183S, to Eliza Cun-
ningham, who was l)orn October 2, 18 19, a
daughter of Robinson and ]\Iary J. (Lane)
Cunningham, of the same count}'. Her fa-
ther, a farmer of Huntingdon county, was
born in that state, lint his father was a na-
tive of England. Charles Duff continued to
reside on the old home farm in Pennsylvan a
until 1865, when he came to Pontiac. Illi-
nois, and purchased one huntlred and sixt\'
acres of land east of the corporation, which
he improved and which continued to be his
home throughout life. He also owned two
hundred and forty acres of land north of
Pontiac, and in all had about six hundred
acres. He was one of the prominent and
wealthy men of his community and was
liighly respected b}- all who knew him. He
died September 9, 1873. 'i"'' '^'^ ^^'^^ passed
away July 11, 1887. Both were earnest
memljers of the Methodist Episcopal church.
After learning his trade. Mr. Smith be-
gan taking contracts and erected many build-
ings in Huntingdon. Centre and Clearfield
counties, Pennsylvania. He met with ex-
cellent success, and altlnnigh a young man
he often employed eight hands. \\'liilc

erecting. a large church in Kerwinsvilie,
Cleartield cnunty. he cast his first x'ote for
.\braham Linculn. and when the war broke
out the Work was dropped as most of his
workmen entered the service. Returning
t( Tyrone, he aided in the construction of
tlie one-mile trestle of the Tyrone and
Clearfield Railroad at that place, remaining
there until going to Oil City, Venango coun-
ty, during the excitement of 1S64. There
he put down many wells, one of which was
fourteen hundred feet deep and the average
depth (»f the seventeen he drilled was six
hundred and fifty feet. For this work he
received one dollar per foot and an eighth
interest in the well, which ])rn\ed (|uite
quite profitable, as the one dollar per foot
paid all expenses, and he sold his eighth in-
terest from eight hundred to two thousand
dollars a well. On first going into the oil
region he was engaged by the New York
Oil Company, of which Mr. Hamilton, of
New York, was president, in the erection of
derricks. Mr. Hamilton noticing the rapid-
ity with which he worked asked him how
much a foot he would ask to drill the wells,
and later asked him to name a sum per
year as superintendent of all their wells. Not
caring particularly to engage in that work,
he named two thousand dollars per year,
believing the sum greater than the com-
pany would be willing to pay. His terms,
htnvever. were accepted, and he remained
with the firm one year, and then refused an
oft'er of two thousand five hundred dollars
a year to continue. Leaving the cmi)loy of
the oil company he commenced drilling wells
for himself, and his first well, which took
him twenty-si.x days to drill, he sold for
eighteen hundred dollars. During the time
tie sjient there he made enough to purchase
his father's farm of one liundred and sixty

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

i'3

acres for eight thousand dollars, and he
operated the place one year.

.\t the end of that time Mr. Sniitli sold
out and came to Pontiac. Illinois, and pur-
chased a farm three-<|uarters of a mile east
of the city, for which he paid fifty dollars
|ier acre although it was poorly improved
land. He huilt one of the largest and best
barns in this section at that time. He fenced
and tiled the land, bringing the first carload
of tile into the county. This he bought in
Joliet. paying thirty-seven dollars and a half
per thousand for three inch tile. Pre\'ious
to this he had put in some clapboard tile
and finding that it benefited the land, he re-
solved to thoroughly tile it. Some of it is
still in working order although in use for
over thirty years. Mr. Smith's next pur-
chase consisted of a (|uartcr-section of land
owned by .Charles Dviff, which adjoins the
city, and he also bought one hundred acres
of Mr. Duff north of his first home, making
four hundred and twenty acres adjoining
the town. All of this he has thoroughly
tiled and imjjroved, and being well located,
it is now among the best and most valuable
land of the county. At present he rents
his farm property.

For two years IVfr. Smith rented and
o])erated a tile factory near town erected
hy H. C. Bruner, and met with success in
that enterprise. In 1890 he erected a fine
brick residence on the corner of Walnut
and Washington streets, one of the first and
best brick houses in the city at that time.
It is heated by steam, lightetl by electricity
and supplied with all modern conveniences,
while the lawn about the house is a quarter
of a block in e.xtent. Mr. Smith also
erected a store building on Madison street
opposite the court house and still owns that
property. In 1893 he bought the coal shaft

at Pontiac, A\hich he operated a year, and
sank a shaft within twenty-eight feet of the
thiril vein of coal, afterward selling the
same at a i)rofit. being the only one to make
any money in that venture. I"or the past
two years he has again given his attention
to the tile business anil furnishes employment
to seventeen men in manufacturing both
brick ;uid tile.

Mr. Smith began life for himself with-
out a dollar, and in fact was sixty-two dol-
lars and fifty cents in debt. As already
stated he was apprenticed to learn the car-
])enter's trade. For the first year he was
to receive thirty dollars: the second year
fort)--ti\-c dollars: anil the third year sixty
dollars. Board was included and in ad-
dition be was to have four months schooling
each year. The first year he was i^ermitted
to go to school, according to contract, but
during the succeeding years on one pretext
or another he was kept at work. On the
advice of his mother he permitted his last
year's wages to remain with his emjjloyer
until the end of the year in order that he
might have a means to purchase a set of
carpenter's tools. His employer failed
about the end of his third year, and he never
received a cent. A local merchant kindly
agreed to furnish him the set of tools needed
and which amounted to sixty-two dollars and
fifty cents, and wait his convenience in pay-
ing. Securing the outfit he went to work
as a journeyman carpenter, and in due time
paid for his tools and felt like a free man.
On coming to Illinois, his father loaned him
five hundred dollars, but the wealth he has
since accjuired has been secured through
his own enterprise, good business ability
and sound judgment.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith have three children,
namelv: Elizabeth is the wife of Carv W.

114

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Hill, of Pontiac. and ihcy have one son,
Harold Smitli : Cliarles is engaged in busi-
ness witli his fatlier and now manages the
tile works; and Winifred, twin sister of
Charles, is the wife of LVanklin Laver, who
operates the home farm and they have one
child. Alfred Veron.

During the Civil war, Mr. Smith was a
member of the Pennsylvania militia, which
was not supposed to leave the state, but the}'
went to Hagerstown, Maryland, and par-
ticipated in the battle of Antietam. At his
liome he could hear the cannonading at Get-
tysburg and also during the Morgan raid.
He has served as school director, but has
never cared for political honors, preferring
to devote his entire time and attention to
his business interests. Both he and his
wife are members of the Methodist Episco-
pal church and are highly respected and
esteemed bv all who know them.

ERASTUS HOOBLER.

Erastus Hoobler, the present well-
known circuit clerk, is one of the most
prominent \'oung men of Livingston county,
a leader in political and business circles,
and whether in public or private life he
is always a courteous genial gentleman, well
deserving the high regardd in which he is
held.

A native of this county, Mr. Hoobler
was born in Xewtown township, December
II, 1867, and is a son of Andrew J. and
Sarah (Leonard) Hoobler, a sketch of
whom a])pears elsewhere in this work. He
was educated in the public schools, which
he attended constantly until eighteen years
«)i age, and then began !n's l>U!>iness career

as a merchant of Melville, he and his
brother Wilder purchasi-ig the store for-
mery owned by their father an>l conducting
it under the firm name of Hoolik-r Brothers.
They did a large and successful business for
some seven or eight years, being energetic
and progressive young men of good busi-
ness ability and industrial habits.

On the 9th of June, 1888, Mr. Hoobler
was united in marriage with Miss Jodie
Beach, a daughter of Anson and Plv.ebe
Beach, formerly of La Salle county, and to
them have been born one child, Ernest E.
The parents both hold membershi]) in the
Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Hoob-
ler is now serving as one of the stewards
of the church in Pontiac. Fraternally, he
is a member of the Modern Woodmen of
America and of Beacon Lodge, \'o. 618, I.
O. O. F., of Cornell.

Since reaching man's estate Mr. Hoob-
ler has always been active in Republican
politics, doing all within his power for the
success of his party. In the spring of 1S94
he sold his store, and two years later was
nominated as circuit clerk for Livingston
county, to which office he was elected that
fall by a handsome majority. He has since
efficinetly discharged the duties of that po-
sition, and in 1900 was renominated by ac-
clamation.

TAMES XICOL.

James Xichol is the proprietor of an
excellent farm of two hundred and forty
acres on sections 1 1 and 3, Pike township,
Livingston county. The well-tilled fields
and neat and thrifty appearance of the place
testify to careful supervision of a painstak-
ing owner — one who is a thorough frunier

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

1 1 '

and successful business man. He was born
in Arbmalli, I'orfarsliire, Scotland. June (>.
1849, a son of William and Jane (^Simpson)
Nicol, also natives of that country, where
the mother spent her entire life. After her
tieath the father married again. He was
born in Forfarshire in 1813, a son of James
Xicol, and in his native land was employed
as a pattern or model maker. In 1865 he
emigrated to the new world and came direct
In Livingston county, Illinois, where he had
previously purchased eighty acres of land on
section 3, Like townshij), where onr subject
now resides. At that time the tract was
wild prairie land, but he at once commenced
t(j fence, break and improve it. Later he
built a good house and made man}' other
permanent improvements. In connection
with farming he also worked at the car-
penter's and joiner's trade and built many
of the residences in his \rdvt of the county.
As one of the prominent and honored citi-
zens of his community, he was called upon
tc fill the offices of supervisor, justice of
the peace, school director and clerk of the
district some years. He was a man of sterl-
ing worth and strict integrity and was pre-
eminently public spirited and progressive.

Reared in his nati\e land, James Nicol
received the advantages of a good common
school education, and served a five-years'
apprenticeship to the cabinetmaker's trade
after which he worked as a journeyman for
two years. In 1868 he decided to join his
father in America and sailed from Glasgow
to New York, landing in the latter city in
September of that year. He proceeded at
once to his father's home in this county, and
for the first six months of his residence here
he worked at the carpenter's trade. The fol-
lowing two years he engaged in farming and
then went to Chicago, where he was em-

l>li)ved at his trade for six months, returniu!:^
lo ijiis county at the end nf that time. He-
has since devoted his time to agricultural
l)ursuits, and now owns the old homestead,
which he has greatly imroved, and to which
he has added one hundred and sixty acres,
making a fine farm of two hundred and
forty acres.

In Livingston county, November 24,
18873, Mr. Nicol was united in marriage
with Miss Elizabeth Petrie, who was b'jrn,
reared and educated in the same town as
her Inisband. and is a daughter of William
Petrie, who is still living in Scotlaufl at the
advanced age of seventy-nine years, liy
this union have been born seven children,
namclv:' William P. and James, both fann-
ers of this county; I\label May, Alfred, Ed-
ward Arthur, D. Harry and Annie Edith,
all at home.

In his political affiliations Mr. Nicol is an
ardent Republican and cast his first presiden-
tial vote for Rutherford B. Hajes. He
has been a delegate to county conventions,
served as township clerk about seven years
;ind was a member of the school board and
clerk of the district twelve years. Socially,
he is a member of the Modern Woodmen
camp of Chenoa, and religiously is a member
of the Presbyterian church, to which his
wife also belongs. In all life's relations he
has been true to every trust reposed in him,
and is justly numbered among the valued
and useful citizens of his community.

JOHN GUTHRIE.

John Guthrie, who for over a third
of a century has been identified with the
agricultural interests of Livingston county,
and now makes his home on section 10, Pike

ii6

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

townsliip. was born in the city of Glasgow,
Scotland. December 26, 1827, a son of
James and Jane ( McMurtrie) Guthrie, who
spent their entire li\es in Scotland, mostly
in Glasgow, locating there soon after their
marriage. There all of their children were
born in that city and both parents died. By
trade the father was a stonecutter.

Our subject grew to manhood in his na-
tive land and obtained a good education in
an Ayrshire village school. He served a
four years" apprenticeship to the weaver's
trade with his uncle. David McMurtrie, and
then returned to Cilasgow, where he worked
in a factory, having charge of one depart-
ment four years. Later he was employed in
a wholesale store for three years, and then
emigrated to America, in 1850, takmg pass-
sage on a sailing vessel at Greenock on the
Clyde for Montreal, antl arriving in the lat-
ter city after a stormy voyage of eight
weeks. \\'hile in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
the masts were liroken and they were delayed
two weeks at Sidney. Cape Breton, while
new masts were set up. Mr. (nithrie and
two other men worked all one night at the
];umps in order to save the vessel from de-
struction. It was twelve weeks fmni the
time he left home until he reached his desti-
nation in Kendall county. Illinois, in Sep-
tember, 1850. There he had an uncle liv-
ing, while another uncle made the voyage
with him. The folldwing year he com-
menced work in Kendall county gathering
corn fur ten dnllars ))er month, and. being
unused to such work, the skin was worn
from his fingers in a .short time.

In 1852 Mr. Guthrie went to Madison
county, Iowa, where he spent one j'ear, and
on his return to Illinois settled in Wood-
ford county, wiiere he workctl l)y the month
until I.S64. During that year he purchased

the farm in I'ike township. Li\ingston coun-
ty, where he now resides, but engaged in
farming upon rented land in Tazewell
county for two years, at the end of which
time he located upon his own land, hav-
irig since February, 1861, made it his home.
He has ])lanled an orchard and considerable
small fruit, has divided his land into fields
of convenient size by good fences, has erect-
ed a pleasant residence and substantial out-
buildings and now has a well-improved and
desirable farm of eighty acres.

In Tazewell county Mr. (iuthrie was
married, in 1864. to Aliss Betsy Xicol, who
was born and reared in Arbroath, Scotlantl,
and came to the new world with her mother
in 1853. She died, leaving no children, and
for his second wife Mr. (nithrie married
]\Irs. Eliza (McCracken) McXeil, who was
l)orn and reared in Ireland. By her first
married she has three children : Martha,
wife of Henry Crabb, of Livingston county;
Lizzie, wife of Charles Richardson, of Pike
township, antl James, a resident of Chicago.
Mr. Guthrie has two children by his second
marriage : David M. and Maggie May,
both at home.

Since casting his first presidential ballot
for General U. S. Grant, in 1868. Mr. Guth-
rie has lieen a stanch Republican, but has
never cared for political h()nors. Both he
and his wife are active members of the
Presbyterian church of Chenoa, and are peo-
ple of sterling worth and strict integrity.

JOII.X H. CRUMBAKER.

Jojin 11. ("rumbaker, a well-known and
highly respected citizen of Avoca t<iwnshi]),
Livingston county, Illinois, was born in
Muskingum county, Ohio, August 11, 1845,

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ii;

and is a son df William A. and Margaret
(Piper) Crumhakcr, nati\es of \'iri;inia
ami P'eniisyhania, rcspcctixely. As chil-
dren 'thc_\- went to Ohio, and after that cim-
tinued to reside in that state tor many years,
the father being engaged in farming. Jn
1864 they came to Illinois and settled near
Lexington, ^\•here they still reside on a farm
of forty acres. ]^>oth are consistent mem-
bers of the Metliodist church, and in ])olitics
the father was formerly a Whig and is now
a Repul)lican. To them were horn twche
children, two of whom died in inlaiicy, while
those who reached years of maturity are
John H., our subject; Marion V., a Meth-
odist Episcopal minister of Kankakee; Sarah
C, wife of S. S. Smith, of Nebraska; Maria
E.. wife of William Stickler, postmaster of
Lexington; Oliver M., a resident of Cropsey
township, .McPean county; Samuel, a resi-
dent of the state of Washington; Joanna,
wife of J. C. Finley, of Nebraska; Jonas A.,
of Washington; Margaret, wife of H. Wil-
son, Nvlio lives near Lexington, Illinois; and
Alice E.. wife of Ralph Wilson, of Ne-
braska.

The early education of John II. Crum-
baker was obtained in the common schools
of Ohio, and after coming to Illinois with
the family, at the age of eighteen years, he
took an elective course at the \\'csle_\an Uni-
versity in Bhjomington and also attended
school in Onarga for a short tiiue. Subse-
c[uently he taught school in different parts
of McLean county during the winter months
lor sixteen years, while through the sum-
mer season he engaged in farming. In 1885
lie came to Livingston county and first rent-
ed a farm near Wing. Since then he has
lived in Avoca township antl has made his
home upon the J. L. McDowell farm of
three hundred and ten acres since 1894.

Two hundred acres of this tract are under
culti\ation and he de\'otcs the same to the
raising of grain.

On the _'5th of March, iSf^j, Mr. Crum-
li.akcr married Miss Elizabeth Jane Wilson,
who was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, in
1850, and they have become the parents of
eight children, two of whom died in child-
hootl. Those li\ing arc \ ictor .\.. who is
preparing for the ministry at Du Pauw
University of Indiana; William, who lives
near Chalmers, Indiana, is married, and has
two children, Bessie and an inf;uU;l). Theo-
dore, who is engaged in farming near Fair-
bury, and resides at home;Jonas K., George
R. and John P., who are all at home assist-
ing their father on the farm.

By iiis ballot Mr. Cruml)aker supports
the men and measures of the Repulilican
party,' has ser\'ed as collector of his town-
shii) two terms, town clerk two years and
sciiool director three years. Religiously, he
is an active member and sujiporter of the
Methodist I'.piscopal clnu'ch, and has the
confidence and resjject of all who know him
on account of his sterling worth ancl strict
integrity.

SOLON C. DUX 11 AM.

Solon C. I^unham, a wellkninvn agricult-
urist of Eppards Point township, who owns
and operates a fine farm of one hundred
and seventy-two acres on section 31, is a
native of Illinois, his birth having occurred
in Morgan county, October 18, 1848. His
father, Ebenezer Dunham, was born in New
Hampshire, in iSio. and was a son of Will-
iam Dunham, also a native of the old Granite
state. About i8_y Ebenezer Dunham came
west and located in Morgan countv, where he

ii8

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

married Catherine Sweet, a native of this
state and a daugliter of Peleg Sweet, one of
the earhest settlers of that county. There
Mr. Dunliani followed -farming some years,
later spent' about eighteen years in W'aslv
burn, ^larshall county, and in 1865 came to
Livingston county and purciiased the farm
on which our subject now resides. At that
time it was a tract of wild prairie land, and
tc its improvement and cultivation he tie-
voted his energies throughout the remainder
of his life. There he died in 1884. hon-
ored and respected by all who knew him,
and is still survived by his wife, who resides
on the old homestead with her son.

During his boyhood and youth Solon
C. Dunham attended the local schools and
assisted his father in the labors of the farm,
and after reaching man's estate took charge
of the farm and business, which he has since
carried on with marked success. He has
erected a large, neat and substantial resi-
dence, built a commodious barn, and has
made many other improvements, which add
to the beauty and value of the place.

In this county, ^Ir. Dunham was married,
in 1880, to Miss Anna Stuckey, who was
born in England, l)Ut was reared in McLean
and Livingston counties, Illinois. By this
union have been born four children, namely:
Ralph, Roscoe P... Karl and Inez, all at
home. Mrs. Dunham and Mrs. Dunham's
mother are members of the Ba])tist church
and the family is widely and faxorably
known. In his political views Mr. Dunham
is a stanch Republican, and cast his first
presidential vote for General U. S. Grant,
in 1872, but he has never cared for the honors
or emoluments of public office. He is. how-
ever, a staunch friend of education, and has
been an -etilicient meml)er of the school board
for some years.

]•:. \V. PEARSON.

Among the pleasantcst rural homes of
I'ismen townshi]), Livingston county, is the
one belonging to this gentleman on section
26, and his farm is one of the model ]jlaces
of that locality, being supplied with all
modern conveniences and accessories needed
by the progressixe agriculturist of the pres-
ent day.

Mr. Pearson was born in Miami county,
Ohio, .\ugust II, 1836. and belongs to a
family which was founded in that state by
his grandfather, Enos Pearson, a native of
\'irginia. His ancestry can be traced back
to two peers of England, in which country
the family was quite noted. Aaron Pear-
son, father of our subject, grew to manhood
in Miami cnnntv, Ohio, anil there married
Rachel Moore, who was born in that state of
German parentage. In early life the father
followed farming and later engaged in the
manufacture of lumber. He died in Ohio
when our subject was about seven years old,
his wife three years later. In their family
were five children, four sons and one daugh-
ter, but onlv E. W'., I'ur subject, and John, a
resident of Marion county. Ohio, are now
living.

Our subject's school ])rivileges during his
boyhood were limited, and he is almost
wholly self-educated. Being left an orphan,
he was thrown upon his own resources when
a lad of se\en \ears. He grew to manhood
u]K)n a farm and remained in his native
county until October, 1855, when he came
to Illinois, joining his guardian in Bloom-
ington. He came to this state by himself,
driving across the country with a team of
horses. In Xovember of the same year he
located in Livingston county and bought
e!ght\' acres of land in Odell township, to

E. W. PEARSON.

•^ Pi .'<" .

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

121

the improNenient ami culti\atinn nf wliich
lie devoted his attention until 18(^)5. when
lie soil! that place and honght one hundred
and sixty acres of wild ])rairie land in I'.s-
men township, where he now resides, lie
has since added to it an eitihly-acre tract,
making a fine farm of two hundred and forty
acres, which he has placed under a high state
o( cnltixaticin. lie h.'is erected a modern
and commodious residence some distance
from the road, and leading up to it is a nice
<lri\e\\ay through grounds shaded h\' Invelv
ex'ergreen ;nid other shade trees. The land
is well tiled, there are two good orchards
upon the place and ;i (lowing well, which.
operated hy a windpunip, sujjplies the water
hoth for house and stock. Besides this valu-
able property Mr. Pearson owns two well-
improved farms near Hartley, O'Brien
ciiunty, Iowa, one of two hundred and fiirt\',
the other of eighty acres, and has two farms
of one hundred and sixty acres each in Col-
orado and one of three hundred and lwent\-
acres in Kansas, used as cattle ranches. In
connection with farming he has heen en-
gaged in buying and selling real estate. Ik-
is an energetic and progressive liusiness man
who carries forward to successful completion
whate\'er he undertakes, and his prosperit\-
is due entirely to his own well-directed and
energetic ef'fni-ts. lie was one of the orig-
inators and charter members of the Pontiac
JNIntnal h'ire Insurance Coni|)any, organized
in 1S9J. and was elected its first president,
which ])nsition he has filled most satisfac-
torily since that time.

Returning to his old home in .Miami
county, Ohio, Mr. Pearson was married
there. October 28, 185S, m Miss Rachel
Sheafer. who was born in Pennsylvania, but
was reared in that cmnity, and is a daughter
of lu'kert Sheafer. I'.v this unimi were l)orn

six children, namely: Rachel, at hniue ;
.\br;diain I... who is married and engaged in
1armin>- ;uid fruit raising in California;
.\rthur, who is married and follows farming
in Esmen t,iiwnshi]), Livingston county, Illi-
nois; Emma, wife of R. E. Knapp, of Ponti-
ac; .\nna, wife of Robert Brunskill. a farm-
er of 1-lsmen lownshi]); and Ida M.. who
was graduated at the .State Xormal .School
and has successfullv engaged in teaching for
some years, beins^ first assistant ])rincii)al
of the Jefferson Park high school at El Paso
at the jiresent time.

Politically ]\Ir. Pearson was formerly
identified with the Republican party and cast
l.is first ])residental vote for John C. Ere-
n:ont in iS^T), hut of late years has been in-
oepentlent in ])olitics. He is a stanch friend
of education, was elected a member of the
school bo.aril of Odell when nineteen vears
of age and filled that |)osition almost con-
tinually until mo\ing to Esmen townshi]).
1 le has served as township treasiu'er since
1S70 and at interv.nls has been a member of
the county board of su])ervisors for about
I; I teen years, during which time he was a
member of \arious committees and chairiuan
of the building committee in charge of build-
ing the poor house after the death of Mr.
.Morrow. lie has been a delegate to nu-
UH-rous County, congressional antl state con-
\entious of his ])arty and to two national
conventions, helping to nominate J. B. Weav-
er at the first Populist convention, and at the
St. Louis coiiventiou, in iN(;(), helping to
nominate liryan and Watson. He is always
to be foimd on the Populist county commit-
tee, having served as its chairman, and is
pojiularily known .is the father of the party
in this County, and he has alwavs taken an
active and commendable interest in public
affairs. He is pre-eminently public-spirited

122

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and progressive, and as a citizen iias always
been found true to every trust reposed in
I'lini.

tho:mas joiixsTOX

Thomas Jolmston. the weU-known super-
intendent of tlie I'dutiac Diamond Co-opera-
tive Coal Company of I'ontiac Illinois, is a
native of England, born in Staffordshire.
.\pril 20. 1884. and is a son of Thomas and
IMary Ann (Brown) Johnston. The father
was l)orn in Ireland, but when quite young
\\ent to England, where he continued to
make his home throughout life, dying
IMarch 12, 1878. at the age of sixty-seven
years. The mother died on the 21st of the
same nxonth He was always a hard work-
ing man and for many years was foreman of
an iron works in Staffordshire.

Oor subject is the sixtii in order of birth
in a family of eleven children, nine of whom
are .still living, but he is the only one in this
country. He obtained his education in the
common schools of Staffordshire and
learned the trade of an engineer in the em-
ploy of the Apedale Coal & Iron Company
of that ijlace, remaining with them five years.
In the fall of 1880 he came to the United
States, and first located in Streator, Illinois,
V. here he engaged in coal mining, and after-
ward became engineer for the Chicago,
\ ermilion & Wilmington Coal Company at
that place, but only remained with them a
year or two. He was next employed as en-
gineer with the Star Coal Company of
Streator for three or four years, and for
eleven years was with the Richard Evans
Coal Company of the same jjlace. In De-
cember, 1895, he came to Pontiac to take
charge of a shaft at this place as engineer,

and was thus employed until 1897, when the
shaft was leased by the present co-operative
company, of which Mr. Johnston is manager,
being associated with li\e others: Tlmmas
\'cl\in. president: Charles F. Acklin. treas-
urer; Walter Hogan. mine manager, and
Mathew Dickman and William Schress, di-
rectors, all of whom reside in Pontiac. The
shaft was leased for a period of fifteen years
from October. 1899, and the entire man-
agement is with the six men mentioned. Ac-
cording to the present law only six men can
work in one shaft, but the company has now
sunk another escape shaft and can put more
men to work so that they will 1:e able to take
out from two hundred and fifty to three
liundred tons of coal per day.

Before leaving England Mr. Johnston
was married, July 8, 1878, to ]^Iiss Mary
Ann Pickerill, of Staffordshire, a daughter
of Robert and Sarah (Eccles) Pickerill The
father was a shoe manufacturer and fol-
lowed that occupation throughout his active
business life. Init is now living a retired hfe
in Staffordshire, at the age of seventy-seven
years. The mother died in 1893, at the age
of sixty-six. Only two of their family came
to America: Mrs. Johnston and .\nna. wife
of Benjamin Copeland.a conl miner of Strea-
or, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Johnston have a
family of four children, namely: Thomas
Bowyer, born in Staffordshire, England, De-
cember 29, 1878, was educated in Streator,
and is now living in Wenona. Illinois, where
he is a hoisting engineer for the \\'enona
Coal Company. Sarah Ann, born in Staf-
fordshire, June 9, 1880, is at home: Fan-
nie, b(jrn in Livingston county, Illinois,
June 19. 1883, graduate<l from the public
schools of Pontiac in 1900, and Pearl, born
in Fulttm county, Illinois, January 3, 1890,
is attending school.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

123

By liis ballot ^^^. Jdhiiston has always
supported the men ami measures of the Dem-
ocratic party, hut has never sought nor de-
sired public office, though often urged by
iiis friends to become a candidate. He is a
jjrominent member and financial secretary
of the Episcopal ciiurch of Pontiac, which his
family also attend. He is also a member of
Court Pride, Foresters of America, of Pon-
tiac, of which he has served as trustee one
term ; is a member of the Court of Honor,
Xo. i8t, of Pontiac, and the National
Brotherhood Association of Coal Hoisting
Engineers. As a business man he is thor-
oughly reliable and the success that he has
achieved in life is justly merited, for it is
due entirely to his own industry, enterprise
and good management. He has a good
home. 411 East Prairie street, which he
bought in 189S.

WlLLlAAi WOODIXG.

William Wooding, a retired farmer
of Pontiac, who came to this country in
the spring of 1869, is a typical self-made
man, and in the following record of his ca-
reer there is much to arouse respect and es-
teem. He has placcil his reliance upon in-
dustry and perseverance, and by making the
most of circumstances, Iiowever discourag-
ing, has made his way to substantial suc-
cess, his fine farm in Pike township being a
tangible evidence of prosperity.

Mr. Wooding is a native (,>f Englaml,
born in Yarley Hastings, Xorthamptonshire.
November 17, 1831, and is a son of Jesse
and Ann (Rainbow) Wooding, who were
married September 13, 1828. The father
was born ni the same place in 1805, and

there made his home until coming to this
country two years after our subject crossed
the Atlantic, but died the ninth day after
landing at the home of our subject in New
Jersey. The mother came to America with
her husband and died here in 187 1.

William Wooding acquired his educa-
tion in the iniblic schools of his native land.
As a young man of nineteen years he emi-
grated to the L'nited States and located first
in Salem county, New Jersey, \vhere he
worked on a farm and also in a tile factory,
which was probably the first started in the
United States, the proprietor having sent
to England for the machinery. Our sub-
ject and his brother worked for him five
years and then came to Illinois, in 856,
with the intention of starting a factory of
their own, but finding land so cheap they re-
soh'ed to engage in agricultural pursuits.
After looking over the field Mr. Wooding
located near Farmington, Fulton county,
\vhere he engaged in farming for nine years.

In the spring of 1869 he came to Living-
ston county and in partnership with his
brother purchased a farm of two hundred
and si.xty acres in Pike township, which they
improved and o])erated together for a time,
Init finally dixided the property. Our subje ct
still owns an excellent farm of one hundred
and eighty-one acres in that and Eppards
]\>int township, which he has thoroughly
tiled and transformed into one of the most
Irighly cultivated and productive tracts in
the locality. It is hedged and cross hedged
and improved with good and substantial
Iniildings, which stand as a monument to his
thrift and enterjjrise. In connection with
geiueral farming he engaged in stock raising
(|uite extensively, and usually hatl a carload
of hogs for shipment each fall. Besides his
farm in this county, he owns land in Indiana,

124

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Avhich he is now im])roviiig; he Iniilt a good
home at Xo. 303 West Moulton street, at
the corner of Plum street, Pontiac, where he
has resided since the spring of 1896, having
retired from active la)x)r to enjoy a well
earned rest.

Mr. Wooding has l)een twice married,
liis first wife being Amanda Humphry, a
native of Wasliington county, Indiana. He
tootook her to Kearney. Nebraska, in 1885,
with the hope of benefiting herhealth, l)nt
she died there the same fall, leaving three
children, namely: 3tlary, now the wife of
Perry Morton, of Pontiac, by whom she has
two children, Mabel and Leonora; Lucy,
wife of ^\'esley Porter, of Owego township,
by whom she has two sons, Harry and
Charles; and William, who married Leona
Perry, and has two children, Orville and
Hazel Lorena. He lives on the home farm
in Pike township.

Returning to England in 1887, Mr.
Wooding there married Miss Mary Berrill,
of Yardley Hastings, a daughter of John and
Elizabeth (Morris) Berrill, and by this
union has been born a daughter, V mifred.
For twenty-five years Mrs. Wooding's sis-
ter, Sarah Berrill, has lield the position of
maid with Lady Southampton, who is a lady
in waiting on Queen Victoria, and as sucii
makes all the trips with tiie Queen's escort.
Her father, John Berrill, was a native of
Xortham]>l(in, where his ancestcjrs have re-
sided for at least three or four generations,
and on the maternal side Mrs. Wooding is
of an old and respected family tliat for many
generations have been lK)rn on the Marqnis
of Xortliamjjton's estate. Her grand father
Morris was a shepherd by occupation. The
records of the family arc to be found in the
parish church. In tracing iiis ancestry back
five or si.x generations, Mr. Wooding finds

that he springs from the same family as his
wife. His mother, Elizabeth Rainbow, was
a daughter of James and Elizabeth Ratley,
and the latter was a daughter of John and
.\nn Berrill, who were the great-grandpar-
ents of Mrs. Wooding. Her grandfather
was Richard, who in turn was a son of John
and .\nn Berrill, previously mentioned. All
were residents of Yardley Hastings.

Mr. and Mrs. \\'ooding have traveled
quite extensively, and visited their native
land again in 1890. He has ever taken an
active interest in educational afifairs and
most efiiciently served as school director of
his township while residing in the country.
He is a consistent and faithful member of
the Baptist church, and one of the highly re-
spected and honored citizens of the com-
nninitx'.

JAMES MURPHY.

James Murphy, the well-known engineer
of the water works in Pontiac, Illinois, was
burn in Campbellford, Xorthumberland
county, Ontario, Canada. August 7. 1854,
and is a son of Peter and Ann (Spence)
Muri)hy. The father was born in Xewray,
County Down, Ireland. a1x)ut 1822. and
there gained a thorough knowledge of the
shoemaker's trade. When a young man
he emigrated to Canada, where he married
.Ann Spence. a native of Xottingham. Eng-
land, who had moved to Canada with an
aunt after the death of her prents. In i€S64
they came to I'ontiac and were among the
early property owners of the city, building
their own house on west Water street.
Throughout the greater part of his life the
father engaged in mining. He died in

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

125

April, i8()5, tlie niotlier April 16, 1899.
iJotli were deNout members of St. Mary's
Catliolic cluirch, and were liighly respected
by all will) knew them.

This worthy couple left a faniil_\- of eight
cliildren, of whom our subject is the second
in order of birth. He began his education
in Canada and after the removal (^f the fam-
ily to Pontiac attended the ])ublic schools
here for a time. After the completion of
his education he was variously employed
for a time, but for the past twenty-five years
he has been principall_\- eng^aged in running;-
stationary engines, operating some of the
first ever brought to Pontiac. In 1884 he
purchased one hundred and sixty acres of
wild land in York county, Nebraska, which
he con\erted into a well improvetl farm,
and there he successfully engaged in mixed
farming for some time, during which period
the country was well settled up and became
a thriving agricultural district. He was one
of the school directors in his township for
four years, during w hicb time a school house
was built in his district. Renting his farm
he returned to Pontiac in 1896 and was
appointetl engineer of the water works,
which position lie has since filled in a most
efficient and satisfactory' manner, having
charge of two Gordon pumps with a capac-
ity of one million and five hundred thousand
gallons daily, which are fully taxed most nf
the time. These are kept running day and
night, his son serving as night engineer.
Fraternally he is a member of the Modern
Woodmen of America.

On the 14th of September, 1881, ^Ir.
Murphy was united in marriage with Miss
Bridget Sullivan, and to them have been
born four children, namely : James, who
is an engineer with his father; Katie, Tose]ih
and Marv. Michael Sullivan, Mrs. Mur-

phy's lather, was born in Limerick, Ire-
k'.nd, and as ayoiuig man came to .\merica.
After some time spent in New "^'ork state
he came to Chicago, and entered the emplny
of the Chicago & Alton Railroad, aiding in
its construction frmn Dwight to Blooming-
ton. Being ])leased with this locality he
located in Pontiac when it was a very small
villagej, being among its early residents,
Ijuilding a home on North Vermillion street.
At Lake Station he had previously married
Catherine Arman, of Chicago, who was
born in Waterford, C(iunt\' Cnrk, Ireland,
and prior to her marriage worked in New
^'ork and latter in Chicago. They were
meml)ers of the Catholic church, and before
a cluirch was cslablisbcd in Pontiac mass
was said at the homes of the different mem-
bers. In 1880 they, too, removed to York
county, Nebraska, and purchased a tract of
die hundred and sixty acres adjoining our
suliject's farm, and upon that place Mr. Sulli-
van died June 2, 1885, his wife, February
21, 1896. In their family were only two
children, William, a resident of Nebraska;
and Bridget, wife of our subject.

LARS ENGELSEN.

Lars Engelsen, a well-known agricult-
urist residing on section 10, Esman town-
ship, Livingston county, was born in Nor-
way, July 12, 1845, and is the only child of
Engel and Ella (Mickleson) Engelsen, also
natives of that country, where the father
followed farming until his death in 1852.
Five years later the wife and son came to
America on a sailing vessel, and were al)Out
three weks in crossing the Atlantic from Ber-
gen to Quebec. They proceeded at once to

126

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Morris, ("iruiuly cnunty. llliiKiis. and in tlie '
tall of tiie same year moved to La Salle
connty. where Mrs. Eiigelsen was married,
in 1839. to Torris Jolin.son. also a Norwe-
gian hv birth and a cooper by trade, follow-
ing that ccupation in Dayton. Illinois, for
many years. Later they moved to Indian
Creek, the same county, where Mrs. John-
sen died.

Lars Engelsen lived with his mother and
step-father until grown, and received a fair
education in the schools of^La Salle county.
He besfan life for himself as a farm hand
and was thus employed for several years
before and after his marriage. He subse-
quently rented land. In 186S he came to
Livingston county and located upon his
present farm in 1880, it being a part of the
large tract of land owned by Apollos Camp
of Pontiac, for whom our subject worked
about seven years and who virtually gave
him the place. Mr. Engelseu has erected
thereon a large and sul)stantial residence,
a good barn and other outbuildings, and
has made many other improvements upon
the farm. In connection with its opera-
tions he also cultivates about one hundred
acres more, and has been quite successful
in his farm business.

On the 14th of February, 1865, Mr.
Engelsen was married in La Salle county,
to ^liss Aima Dora Engelsen, who was
born and reared in Xorway, and when a
young lady came to .\merica, where she
attended the English schools for a short
time. By this union were born si.x chil-
dren who are still living, namely : Engle
B., a resident of Iowa; Elmer T., of North
Dakota; Joseph E., who is in this county;
Milton L., Bertha E. and Ellen M., all at
home. Those deceased were James M.. who
died at the age of seventeen years; Lilly .\.,

who died at the age of eighteen ; Bertha and
.\ngeline. who died of scarlet fever at the
age of four and two years, respectively,
and one who died in infancy.

Mr. Englesen has been a stanch Reinib-
hcan since casting his first vote for General
U. S. Grant in 1868. Init he has never cared
for political preferment. In the spring of.
1900 he was elected township assessor, and
for some years was a member of the school
board in Pontiac township. Religiously, he
and his wife and daughters are members of
the Lutheran church, while some of his sons
hold membership in the Methodist Episco-
pal church. His life has been one of indus-
try and ])erse\erance and he is deserving of
the high regard in whicli he is held.

PATRICK H. KANE.

Patrick H. Kane, the genial and popular
proprietor of the Transient House of Pon-
tiac. which is conveniently located near the
Chicago & Alton Railroad depot, was Ixirn
in Holy(5ke, Massachusetts, March 14, i860,
a son of John and Mary (Lannan) Kane.
The father was a native of Ireland and as a
young man came to America, locating first
in ^lassachusetts. where he worked in the
woolen mills for many years, being night
foreman for some time. On leaving that
state in 1863 he came to Illinois and set-
tled five miles southwest of Ottawa, La
Salle county, where he engaged in farming,
later following the same pursuit in .\llen
ttiwnship, the same county. Selling out he
came to Livingston county and took up his
residence in Nevada township, but his last
days were spent as a farmer in Sullivan
township, where he held different township

THE DlOGRArHICAL RECORD.

127

offices. He was a Democrat in politics and
one of the early members of the Catholic
church of Dwight. Me died in July. 1895.
and his wife passed away in the fall of iSXi.

During" his hc:yhi)iid our subject attended
the public schools of La Salle and Livings-
ton counties, and at the age of eighteen years
began life for himself by working as a farm
hand. ha\ing become thoroughly familiar
with that occujjation on his father's farm.
Subsec|uently he went to Nebraska and en-
tered the employ of the L'nion Pacific Rail-
road as brakeman on the line running from
Lincoln to \'al]3araiso and later to Straw ns-
burg on the main line, remaining with the
compan}- four years and four months, after
which lie returned to Illinois.

Mr. Kane was married, July 2, 1881,
the day President Garfield was shot, to I\liss
Rosa Young, a native of Lincoln. Illinois,
and a daughter of Joseph Young, one of the
early farmers of Saunders county. Nebraska.
They lived in \'alparaiso, Nebraska, early
in 1883, before returning to Pontiac, where
Mr. Kane worked for H. C. Bruner as fore-
man and burner at his tile and brick works,
doing all tile Inirning until he severed his
connection with that gentleman in June,
1896. For two years he had entire charge of
the plant and burned eighteen or nineteen
kilns a week. Later he was with John II.
hmith. when he run the factory, and had the
entire confidence and respect of both gentle-
men. Before leaving their employ he built a
house in Ri\er \'iew addition to Pontiac,
which he traded in 1895 for a hotel in Clav
City, Illinois, but after conducting the latter
fi>r a year he returned to Pontiac, where he
engaged in the restaurant, bakery and con-
itctioiiery business until May 24, 1899, when
he bought the Transient House and has since
successfully engaged in the hotel business.

It is a nice two-story frame building, and
in connection with this Mr. Kane owns a
large lot. He also lias a good house and
lot on Madison street and has successfully
engaged in the real estate business for him-
self, ha\'ing owned a number of different
])laces. -Tie is a good, reliable business
n.an. and the prosperity that has attended
his efforts is certainly justly merited.

Mr. Kane"s first wife died while on a
visit to her old home, in 1888, leaving two
children. Elvira aiul Sadie, who are now
being educated in a convent. In 1894 he
married Mrs. Nancy .\dams, of Pontiac,
a daughter of Samuel (jarner, who was one
of the pioneer residents of this city and at
one time a prominent property owner.

As a Democrat Mr. Kane has e\er taken
an acti\'e part in local politics, but has never
been an aspirant for ofiice, though he took a
leading part in the political aft'airs of the first
ward, and is to-dav one of the most promi-
nent Democrats in the wartl where he is

SAMUEL H. BOYER.

Samuel H. Boyer, a well-known li\ery-
man and highly res])ecte(l citizen of Dwight,
Illinois, was born in lllair county, Penn-
syhania, July J5. 1858, a son of George
W. and Mary .\nn (Turnbaugh) Boyer.
The Boyer family is of German origin and
was founded in this country in early colonial
days. His great-grandfather, John Boyer,
was born in America, and throughout life
engaged in farming in Lancaster county,
I'ennsylva'nia. The grandfather, George
Boyer, was born in that county, in 1800,
and married Lydia Rupj), daughter of Jacob
Rupp, who lived near Reading, and belonged

128

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

to a family of German origin, wliicli was
fonnded in Cuml)erland connty. Pennsyl-
vania, soon after the landing of \\'illiam
Penn. To (korge and Lydia (Rupp) Bdver
were born six children : Jacob, John, George
W., William. Samnel and Sarah. The father
of this family died in Pennsylvania, at the
age of sixty-eight years. He was a Lu-
theran in religious belief and a Republican
in politics.

George W. Boyer, father of our suli-
ject. was born in Lancaster county, Pennsyl-
vania, February 20. 182 j, and accompanied
his parents on their removal to Blair county,
that state, where he engaged in farming sev-
eral years. He was reared oi: a farm and
received a common-school education. On
the 24th of May, 1849, h^ married Mary
Ann, daughter of Henry and Catherine
(Cherry) Turnbaugh, who were of German
ancestry and lived near Altoona, Blair coun-
ty. By this union were born seven children,
namely : Henry, who married Xellie Mor-
ris : .\nnetta, who married James B. Austin ;
Samuel H., our subject; Sarah C, wife of
Dwight P. Mills; Climenia E., now Mrs.
Muro Bertholic: Alfred A., of Dwight; and
George \\'.. who died at the age nf twelve
years. The father was a member of Company
E, One Hundred and Fourth Pennsylvania
\^olunteer Infantry, during the latter part
of the Civil war. and was honorably dis-
charged at Philadelphia, after which he re-
turned to his home in Blair county. In 1S67
he came to Livingston county, Illinois, and
l)urchased a farm on section 20, Dwight
township, where he resided until a few years
ago. when he retire<l to Dwight. He has
always affiliated witli the Re]niblican party
and has Iield several township offices, in-
cluding those of school director and road
commissioner. Both he and his wife are

members of the Lutheran church and are
highly respected and esteemed by all who
know them.

Samuel H. Boyer was only nine years
of age on the removal of the family to this
county, and in the schools of Dwight town-
ship he acquired his education. Pie remained
at home until twenty-five years of age. On
the 30th of January, 1884, Mr. Boyer was
united in marriage with Miss Jennie Lower,
also a native of Blair county, Pennsylvania,
and a daughter of Samuel and Mary E.
(Downs) Lower, who were born in the
same state. In early life her father learned
the blacksmith's trade, which he continued
to follow until his retirement recently from
active labor. He brought his family to Illi-
nois in i86t and first located in Lanark, but
a few years later came to Dwight, where
he has since made his home, with the excep-
tion of a short time spent in farming in
Broughton township, this county. In 1891
he built a hotel in Dwight, to which he gave
the name of Pennsyhania House, and which
he conducted for seven years, and where he
still resides. In his family were ten chil-
dren, of wliom seven are now living, Mrs.
Bover being the second in order of birth.
Her mother died in February, 1898. To our
subject and his wife have been born five
children, namely: Harvey, Elwood, Clar-
ence. Ira and Ralph. •

After his marriage Mr. Boyer engaged in
farming upon rented land for a time and
then operated Mr. Lower's farm in Brough-
ton township for six years. In the fall of
1 891 he built a large livery stable in Dwight
and to that place he removed in Jaiuiary of
the following year, and has since devoted
his time and attention to the livery business
with good success.

In politics Mr. Boyer is a Republican, but

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

129

lias never been an aspirant fur oriicc. lie
attends the Nletliodist Episcopal church and
al'Hhates with Dwight Camp, No. 270, S.
of \'., (if w hicli he is captain ; Ifehron Li>dge,
No. 5i;v I. O. O. F., and Dwiglit Court of
Honor, Xo. 508.

JOFiX CRABB.

John Crabl), who is inthistriously en-
gaged in agricultural pursuits upon a good
farm of one hundred and twenty acres on
section (), Pike township, Lixingston coun-
ty, Illinois, was born in l'"orfarshire, Scot-
land. July I, 1839, a son of James and Ce-
celia I Monroe) Crabb, also natives of that
countr}', where the mother died. The fa-
ther was i.if English descent.

( )ur subject was rearetl and educated in
his native land and for three years prior
to his emigration to America he worked in
a foundrv. At the age of eighteen he de-
cided to try his fortune on this side of the
Atlantic and took passage on a sailing ves-
sel at Montrose. The voyage lasted six
weeks, during which time they encountered
two severe storms, but finally landed at One-
bee in safety in August. 1857, and proceeded
at once to Tazewell county, Illinois, where
his brothers. Henry and Archie, had pre-
\'iously Icjcated. They were joined by their
father two or three years later and he made
his home in this country throughout the re-
mainder of his life, dying in 1875 at the ripe
old age of eighty-one years.

At first John Crabb worked on a farm by
the month and later he and his brother,
.\rcliie. rented land and engaged in farm-
ing together for seven years. .\t the end
of that period the property was divided and
our subject came to Livingston county ;uid

])urciiasc(l a tr;ict of raw prairie land in
Pike townshi]), to the improvement and
culti\ation of w hich he devoted his energies
until 1889, when he sold that place and
bought his present farm of one hundred and
twenty acres of land on section 9, the same
townshi]). .\t that time it was only slightly
improved, but he has remodeled the resi-
dence, tiled the land, erected good outbuild-
ings and made many other improvements,
transforming it into a most desirable farm.

On the 25th of December, 1865, in Liv-
ingston covuity, Mr. C'rabb was united in
marriage with Miss Hannah K. Capes, a
sister of David D. Capes, whose sketch ap-
pears on another page of this volume. She
was born in i.incolnshire, England, Init was
only three years old when brought to this
country by her father, \\'illoughl)y Capes,
who lirst settled in Tazewell county, Illi-
nois, but later came to Li\'ingston county.
Mr. and Mrs. Crabb have a family of seven
children, namely: Charles, who is married
and engaged in farming in this county; Wal-
ter, at home;. Ada, wife of Henry Beeks,
a farmer of Benton county, Indiana ; Eliza-
beth, wife of Lucius Phillips, a farmer of
Pike township, this county; Dora, Ethel and
Zephyr, all at home.

Politically, Mr. Crabb was originally a
Republican, but of late years has supported
the Democratic party, and being a friend of
temperance he takes an interest in the Pro-
liibition movement. He was an efficient
member of the school board for some years
and gives his support to every enterprise
which he believes calculated to advance the
moral, educational or social welfare of the
community in which he lives. Religiously,
both he and his estimable wife are earnest
and consistent members of the Betliel Metli-
cidisl h'".[)iscopal church.

'30

HE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

CM.\RI.i:S A. Mc(ikl-.(i()R.

I'ew men arc more [jromiiieiit or more
widely known in tlie enter])rising; city of
Pontine than the i;entlenian wliose name
intro(hice> this sketch. He was l)orn in \\ il-
mington. Clinton comity, (^liio. March 14.
1843. ''"^' '* '^ ^"" "'^ John 11. Mc(iregor.
wlio was born in Orange county, Xorlli
Carolina, August 30, 1814. The grandfa-
ther. John Alcdregor, a native of the high-
lands of Scotland, settled in Xorth Caro-
lina on his emigration to this counry, and
there he was a professor in an educaticnial
institution and also a land owner. When his
son. John H., was three years old he re-
moved with his family to Creen River. Ken-
tucky, where he purchased a large amount
of land, but seven years later disposed of bis
property there and moved to Clinton coun-
ty, Ohio, where be b(jugbt more land, mak-
ing bis home there throughout the remainder
of bis life.

John H. McCregor, father of our sub-
ject, was educated in Louisville, Kentucky,
and was admitted to the bar in Clinton coun-
ty, Ohio. Jn \\'ilmingtt)n, Ohio, be was
married, October 3, 1838. by Rev. Joseph L.
Irvin, to Miss Mary J. Buxton, who was
born in Warren county, that state, March
2y, 1821. a daughter of Charles and Eliza
(Vandoren) Buxton. Her father, who was
of English birth, died when she was only
four years old. At an early day the father
of our subject removed to the territory of
Iowa and located in Davenport, owning the
original claim on which that city was
founded in jiartnersbip with his brother and
another gentleman. In 1850 be removed to
Ottawa, Illinois, where be engaged in the
practice of law, having his office with Dr.
Stout, the noted abolitionist, and in Octo-

ber. 185-'. before the railroad was built,
came to I'ontiac. where he was hrst engaged
ii: ])ractice with Mr. DeW'itt, the earliest at-
torney of the jilace, but later was a meml)er
of the lirm of Mc(iregor & Dart. He
erected one of the first buildings of anv
size in the town, the lumber being haided
from Ottawa, a distance of forty miles, and
was one of the most prominent citizens of
1 ontiac in that day, as well as one of the
leading lawyers of this section of the state,
being engaged in practice with Lincoln.
C aton and other illustrious men. He died
January 5, 185^), honored and respected by
ail who knew him. His wife is still living
and is one of the two surviving charter mem-
bers of the Presbyterian church of Pontiac.
He left fi\e children, namely: Elizabeth,
who married A. J. Laws, but is now de-
ceased ; Emma, Charles .\., .\lonzo H. and
II. I'urton. all residents of Pontiac.

The early education of Charles A. Mc-
(iregor, ac(iuired in the i)ublic schools, was
supplemented by a course at Dickinson Col-
lege, Carlisle. Pennsylvania. He left col-
lege to return home and enlisted in the spring
of 1863. joining Company C, Thirty-ninth
Illinois X'olunteer Infantry, which was then
stationed in front of Richmond. Erom that
time on be was in all the engagements in
which his regiment took part, including the
battles around Ricbmontl and Petersburg,
and after Lee's surrender did i)rovost duty,
remaining in the service until December,
1865, when be was honorably discharged.

Returning to Pontiac Mr. McGregor was
interested in a grocery store one vear. He
bad been practically brought up in the drug
business, as from the age of thirteen years
he had worked in a drug store when not in
school until he entered the army, and so
had acquired a very good knowledge of that

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

131

Imsiiicss. As a clerk lie had charjje of the
j^Tocei'v store of Mr. Turner. Init also re-
cei\e(i a ])ercentage of the ])rotits. and so
was reallv interested in the husiness. In
18^)7. in partnership with ). A. Caldwell,
under the tirni name of C;ildwell & McGreg-
or, he eniharked in the drui;' husiness on his
own account on Mill street, where husiness
was carried on for a number of years, hut
in uS7_' they l)uilt a fine block on the corner
of Mill and Madison streets, wliich at that
time was the l:iest husiness house in the city.
it heing" joxiio feet in dimensions and two
stories in height. Here .Mr. McGregor is
still engaged in business, occupying all of
the main floor, part of the second and most
of the basement. The firm built up the
largest drug trade in this section of the state
and about twcnt_\' years added to their stock
a line line of jewelry and silxerware, which
])ro\ed <|nite pr<ilitable. They also dealt in
books, stationery, wall ])aper. etc. They
erected the Ijuilding adjoining their store and
also owned another where the Sterry block
now stands. In I'ebruary. 1895, Mr. Mc-
(iregor purchased his partner's interest and
lias since ])een alone in business. He has
erected a number of business blocks, owning
live buildings on the main business streets
of the city besides the one he occupies, and
also has considerable residence property and.
with his children, owns se\-eral farms, lie
was one of the early stockholders of tho
Livingston County National 13ank and an
original stockholder of the Pontiac Nationii
IJank. as well as a director of Ixjth. In
business affairs he is energetic, prompt :\\u\
notably reliable and carries forward to suc-
cessful completion whatever he undertakes.
On the 23d of November, 1871. Mr.
McGregor married Miss Eunice J. Johnson,
a native of Johnson's Cross Roads, Green-

brier county, \'irginia, and a daughter of
Morris b)hnson, who came to i'ontiac about
i8()(j and was here engaged in general mer-
chandising and the stock business for many
vears. \'>v this union were born five chil-
dren, of whom three still live: llernice E. ;
I'.llis j., now ;i student in the law de])art-
ment of the L'ni\-ersity of Michigan; and
Lewis C, at home. The wife ;ui(] mother,
who was a consistent member of the Meth-
odist I'-jiiscopal church anrl a most estimable
Nvoman, died in J;uiuary, 1888. Mr. Mc-
(iregor holds membership in the I^'esliy-
terian church and for many years has been a
trustee of the s;nne. He also took an active
pan in Simday ychool work for some years.
He has ne\'er h;id time nor inclination for
l)olitical affairs, though he has .served as
alderman from his ward and e\'er stands
readv to discharge any dut_\' devt)lving upon
him.

ll().\. L.\l'..\.\ M. STROUD.

Hon. J.ab:m M. Stroud, who is now
living a retired life on his farm near Pon-
tiac, b.'is lieen a resident of the state since
1830. He is a native of Tennessee, born
near the city of Nashville, Dixon county,
Se])temher Jj. i8j2, and is the son of
Tliomas and Sally (Thompson) Strmid. the
former a native of North Carolina, born in
ij()i. and the latter a native of \'irginia
and daughter of Neal Thomp.son, who lo-
cated in Tennessee in 1789, and there be-
came a large and wealthy planter and where
the remainder of his life was passed. Thomas
.'^troud was a son of Jesse and grandson of
Icter Stroud, both of whom were natives
of North Carolina, but of English and Irish
ancestrv. Jesse Stroud moved from North

132

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Carolina to Tennessee ami located in Obiim
count}-, wliere he owned a large i)lanta{ion
and a number of slaves.

Thomas Stroud grew to manhood in
Tennessee and in jXij married Sally
Thompson, by whom he had a family of
two sons and seven daughters, two only of
the number now living, our subject and his
sister, Mrs. Artimissa Higgs, now living
with our subject. The other members of
the family were Cassa R.. Fanetta. Sinia
Sabury, h^llen, 01)edience Lee. Mourning
Tilford. Julian and Milton P.

Thomas Stroud was a soldier in the
war of 1 812 and served under General Jack-
son. He was a ])lanter in Tennessee for
some years after his marriage, but. with the
desire to better provide for his family, he
came to Illinois in 1830, first stopping in
Sangamon county, where he spent one sea-
son, and then moved to that portion of Taze-
well county which was later detached and
now forms the county of Logan. On settling
in the latter county he took up a claim of one
hundred and si.xty acres, a part of w hich was
government land, which he improved and on
which he continued to live until his death,
March 7, 1858. His wife passed away in
1857.

The subject of this sketch was eight
years of age when he came with his parents
to Illinois. His educational advantages
were limited, but his advantages for work
were not. The farm was to be improved,
crops were to be planted and harvested, and
he must do his share of the work. In his .
youth, however, he learned the carpenter's
trade with his uncle, Colonel S. M. Thomp-
son, but he continued to make his home with
his parents until some years after attaining
his majority.

On the 7th of .\pril, 1S47, ^I""- Stroud

was united in marriage with Miss El\y
Adams, who was Ixirn in Uedford cnunty,
Tennessee, January 9. 1826, and daughter
of Cajjtain John Cr. .Xdams. a native of one
of the Carolinas, but who came to Illinois
and located in Tazewell county in 1828,
when his daughter was but two years old.
He was in command of a ca\alry company
ill the Black Hawk war and was killed by
the Indians. His wife was so shocked by the
death of her hu.sband that she lost her mind
and never recovered, though she li\ed many
yeard afterward., dying when seventy-five
years old. The family were of Scotch an-
cestry and were early settlers of North Caro-
lina, from which state they moved to Ten-
nessee and later to Illinois.

After his marriage Mr. Stroud bought
one hundred and sixty acres of luiimproved
land, which he improved and on which he
continued to H\'e until Ji^J^). in the mean-
time adding to its area until it comprised a
well improved farm of four hundred and
twenty-five acres. Renting his place he
moved to Minier, where he bought residence
property and where he made his home for
ten years. He then came to Livingston
county and took up his residence on his
farm adjoining the city of Pontiac, which he
purchased at that time, comprising one hun-
dred and sixty-three acres, all of which is
under improvement. He had previously, in
1885, purchased a farm of four hundred
acres lying northeast of the city of Pontiac.
To Mr. and Mrs. Stroud seven children
were born. Louisa is the wife of H. H.
Darnell, of Tazewell county. Illinois. Mar-
tha is the wife of William Neal Mouutjoy,
of Logan county, Illinois. Thomas Frank
resides in Omaha, Nebraska. Mrs. Sarah
Jane Livesay is a resident of Livingston
countv. Parmclia Amiie resides at home.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

133

Jolui ( i. is married ami is cii^'agetl in fann-
ing in Li\inostoii ctmnty. Warren ^^. is
carrying on the lioine farm. .Vfler fifty-twn
years of a happy wedded Hfe Mr.s. Stroud
passed to her reward December 5. 1899,
while on a visit to the old neighliorhood in
Logan county, where so many years of her
life were spent. Her remains were laid to
rest in the .Xihiack cemeter}-. there to wait
the resurrection day. She was a faithful
hel])meet to lier husband, tn whom she was
greatly attached, and was a most loving
mother. The famil\- ;uid all who knew her
in this life \\ill always hold her in gi"ateful
remembrance.

Politically Mr. Stroud is a Jackson Dem-
ocrat and he h;is been an earnest advocate
of the princi])les of his jjarty throughout
life. His tirst jiresidential vote was cast for
James K. i'olk in 1844. and from that time
to tile present the nominee of his party has
always received his ballot. By his fellow
citizens he has been honored with various
local offices, serving for many years as a
member of the county board of supervisors.
In 1872 he was elected by his jjarty a mem-
ber of the General. Assembly, the flistrict com-
prising the Counties of Tazewell and Logan,
and served t\v(3 years, during which time he
served on several inijirotant committees and
was known as a working member. Believ-
ing th;it others shoidd ser\-e. he declined
further jjolitical honors. Since he was eigh-
teen of age Mr. Stroud has been a member
of the Christian church and has e\er t.akcn
an interest in the work of the church and in
the evangelization of the world. His good
wife was also a member of the same church.
.At the present time his membership is with
the church in Pontiac.

Like thousands of the well-to-do men of
this country, Mr. Stroud began life with but

little mc'ins. but he had health, a good con-
stitution, a stout heart and willing hands.
Jle was not afraid of work, antl with tem-
jierate habits and an earnest desire to do
right with his fellow men, he has labored on
until to-da_\- he is the owner of six well im-
proved farms, comprising about two thou-
sand acres, and is well content to live a (|uict
life, enjoying the fruits of his labor in the
])ast. while others shall take up the more
active duties. ^Vell known and universally
res]3ected, lie can (|uietly review the past with
the satisfaction of ojie who has not li\-ed in
\ain. while those that know him can feel
that the world is better for the life that he
has li\'ed.

WILLI.VM T. CR.\\\'FOKD.

William T. Crawford, a prominent horse
dealer, who has since 1875 heen an active
factor in the business life of P<ntiac, Illi-
nois, was born in New York Citv October
13. 183J, atid is a son of Andrew and Eliz-
abeth (Turner) Crawford, the former a
native of Ireland, the latter of New A'ork,
where their mjini.age was celebrated, the
father having come to this country when a
young man. Meeting with business reverses
in the metroplis, he removed to Harrison
couiUw ( )hio. where he took up Land .and
commenced life anew in \ery limited cir-
cumstances. Though the country where he
settled w;is hilly and stony and covered with
a heavy growth of timber, he steadily ])ros-
])ered, and by hanl work, good management
and close economy he became possessed of
consider.able land, being (|uite well off at
the time of his death, which occurred in
Xoxember, 1889. The mother dieil on the
old home farm in 1897. Both were faithful

134

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

memliers of the Metliodist Ejiiscupal (.liurcli
and were iiig-lily esteemed in tlie (.'•ninuinity
where the}' made their home.

Tlie siihject of this sketcli heyan liis edu-
cation in the schools of Xew \'oi-k *."it\-,
but was only eiglit years old when tlie family
removed to Ohio. The school house nearest
his father's home was two miles distance
and the jiath la\- through the wouds. His
mother went with him the first day. carry-
ing a hatchet, with which she marked the
trees that he might find his way home again
at night. The school ])ro\ed quite different
from the one he had attended in the city,
but he managed to acquire a good i)ractica1
education. On leaving home, in 1N34. at the
age of twenty-one years, he went to Scott
county. Iowa, and s])ent one year on a farm
some twenty miles west of Da\en])ort.

Mr. Crawford then returned hume and
was married, I'^ebruary 14. 185^. to Miss
Sarah Johnston, daughter of .Vndrew John-
ston, who was of Scotch- Irish ancestrv. and
to them ha\e l)een born si.\ children, namely :
Elizabeth, now the wife of Charles Strevelle.
of Salt Lake City, Utah: (ieorge A., who is
in business with bis father and has served
as alderman in I'ontiac: .\da. wife i>f Albert
Dolde: Elmer, a resident of .Montana: Will-
iam, who has been connected with the Xa-
tional Bank of I'ontiac for some years: and
Maude, at home.

In the spring of 183^). a short time after
his marriage. .Mr. Crawford mii\ed to
Blf>omington. Illinois, where he lulluwed
farming for three years, and then bouglit a
farm in Tazewell county, which he operated
six years. His next home was a farm north-
west of Blooinington, on which was laid out
tile town of ^'nton, and on .selling that i)lace
be mo\ed to IMoomington. where he was en-
gaged in the horse and cattle business for a

number of years, becoming a very extensive
shipjjer of cattle and hogs, lie was among"
the first from that city to send cattle to the
L'nion stockyards, Chicago, to be sold on
commission, and was the first to ship horses
there for that purpose. He owned the first
car-load of horses ever put in the old brick
barn known as the Cooi)er barn, and has
handled those animals on quite an extensive
scale ever since. He buys mainly in Iowa
and Montana, and sells from three to five
lunidred western horses every year, dealing
in draft horses and fine drivers. Xo one in
this .section handles as many as the Craw-
ford.s — father and son — and they have met
with most excellent success, .\ltbough he
has traveled so extensivelv in the interests
of his business and been brought in contact
w ith all cl.'isses of peo])le. Mr. Crawford has
ne\er tasted intoxicating drinks, and has
led a most e.xem|)larv life, commanding the
respect and confidence of all who know him.
He has never taken an active part in i)oli-
tics, preferring to give his imdivided atten-
tion to his business interests.

JOIIX ])1':XEHE.

It is said that biogra])hy yields to no
nther subject in ixmit of interest anfl profit
and is is especially interesting to note the
])rogress that has been made along various
lines of business by those of foreign birth,
who have sought homes in America — the
readiness with which they adapt themselves
to the different methods and customs of
.America, recognize the adxantages offered
and utilize the op])ortiuiities which the new
W(:)rld afi'ords. We find a worthy repre-
sentative of this class in fohn Denebe, the

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

'35

])reseiit foreman of the locomoti\e and car
(lepartnient at the rmiiul hmise in Dwiglit.
wliicii is the end nf tlie I'eoria ihvision of
the Cliicago iK; Alton Railroad.

Mr. Denelie was liorn in county \\ ater-
ford. Ireland, Deccinher j^. 1846. a son of
l^dward and .Margaret Dcnehe. farming' jieo-
])le, who spent their entire lives in that coun-
try. Our suhect grew to manhood on the
liome farm witli very limited educational ad-
vantages. At the age of twenty years ho
crossed the ocean alone and landed '<n .\mer-
ican soil, a stranger in a strange land. Ik-
stopped first in Xew N'ork. and remained
ahout tiiree years in that city and vicinity.
where he was emi)loyed as a gardener and
farm laborer.

At [•"lathush, .\ew \'ork, Mr. Denehe was
married, .\ugust J. 1868. to Miss Bridget
Taylor, a native of county West Meath, Ire-
land, who came to this country ahoirt the
same time as her hushanil. They have three
sons: Thomas E.. inspector and repairer ol
cars at Dwight: William, who married
Emma Smith, of Dwight, and is now a hre-
man on the Cliicago & Alton Railroad, and
John v.. at home.

After his marriage Mr. Denehe mo\ed
to Valparaiso, Indiana, where he worketl in
a saw-iiiill one season, and then went to Le-
nient, Jllinois, where he was emplo\ed on
the constructicin of the canal two years. In
1871 he took up his residence in Blooming-
ti>n and entered tlie slioi)s of the Chicago &
Alton Railroad, where he wDrked as car
truck imilder until the fall of iSjj. Xeed-
irig a re!ial)le man at Dwight. the company
sent Mr. Deneiie there in Septemljer of that
year to take charge of the car department.
He held that position until 1885, when he
was promoted to foreman, in which capacity
he has since served the road to their entire

satisfaction, lie has under him four men
in the car de])arimenl and seven in the lo-
ot imoti\e department, besides seven regular
train crews, lie also has charge of their
shop at Washington. Jllinois, and for some
time had charge of those at Lacon and
.Streator. He caiue to the new world with
the hope of making his fortune and his
dreams ha\e been more than realized, and
lie is to-day a \\ell-to-do man. Besides his
pleasant residence in Dwight. erecteil by
him in 1874, he has a fine farm of six luui-
(irod and twenty acres in Trego countv, Kan-
sas. He is intelligent and well informed
and that ho has prox'od an elticiont and valued
omi)loyee is ])roved bv his long' retention
with one company, for he has now been with
the Chicago & .\lton Railroad Company for
twenty-eight years. J lis success in life is
due entirely to his own well-directed and
energetic efforts, for he came to this coun-
try empty-handed and has had to make his
own way in the world luiaidod. lie ;ind his
family are communicants of the Catholic
ohurch, and he is i<lontihed with the Rei)ul)li-
can part}'. He takes an active interest in
public affairs and has efliciently served as
school tritstee. Eratenially. he is a mem-
ber of the Ancient Order of Hibernians,
and was one of tlio charter members of the
lodge in Dwight. He has held all the offices
in the lodge, being active in the order as
well as in public affairs.

111-:R.\I W l.( )MM AlSlll.

Many of the most ontorpriMug and pro-
gressive farmers of Eivingslon comity have
come from the lanil beyond the sea. and al-
though thov hail nil cntital when thev lo-

I3f^

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

cated here they are now ])rosperous and siic-
cessfnl. Among tlie most prominent of these
is Herman Lonimatscli, wlio owns and oc-
cupies on excellent farm of three hundred
and twenty acres on sections 23 and 24. Pike
township, and also has jiroperty elsewhere
ill the county.

He was horn in Saxony, Germany. Oc-
tober, 27, 1835, and was reared on a farm
in his native land, at the same time attend-
ing school for eight years. In 1X34, at tiie
age of nineteen, lie came to America with
his father, William Lommatsch. taking pas-
sage on a sailing vessel at Bremen and ar-
riving in Xew York after a voyage of si.x
weeks. They proceeded at once to Cincin-
nati, and from there went to Ripley county,
Indiana, where for five years our subject as-
sisted his father in opening up a farm.

There Mr. Lommatsch was married, in
June, 18^9. to Augusta Fellwock. also a
native of Saxony, who came to the new
world when a girl of twelve years and grew
to womanhood in Indiana. By this union
have been born nine children, namely :Emma.
wife of Jonathan Chicodanse, a farmer of
Pike townshi]). Livingston county ; Laura,
wife of Fred .Altman. of the same county;
Theodore, who is married and lives on the
farm in Pike township, where Mr. Lom-
matsch first settled ; Louis, who is married
and follows farming in the same townshii);
Ciiarles, who is married and engaged in
business in Chenoa; Herman L.. a farmer
of Ep])ards J'oint township; Melan. a
farmer, at home; Lena and Nettie. Ixith at
hi>me.

.\lter his marriage Mr. Lommatsch con-
tinnerl to engage in farming u])on his fa-
ther's place in Ripley county, Indiana, fur
two years. In 1861 he came to Livingston
county, Illinois, and purchased eighty acres

of land in Pike townshi]). but for two years
he operated a rented farm in Eppards Point
townshi]), and then located u])on his own
])lace, whicli he improved by the erection
of a comfortable residence. That farm was
his home for several years, during whicli
lime he added to it a tract of one hundred
and forty acres adjoining, so that he had
two hundred and twenty acres in all. Sub-
sequently he jjurchased eighty acres where
lie now resides, and located thereon in 1878.
He has extended the boundaries of his ])lace
until they now jnclude three hundred and
twenty acres, and to its improvement and
cultivation he has devoted his energies with
excellent results. He has erected a large,
neat residence, a commodious Ijarn, cribs and
sheds, has tiled the land, set out shade and
fruit trees, and has convertecl it into one
of the most desirable farms in the township.
Besides his valuable projjerty he has an-
other farm of one hundred and sixty-seven
acres in I'2])i)ards Point townshij). His suc-
cess is due to his industry, energy and per-
severance, and comes as a fitting reward for
honest toil. Politically. Mr. Lommatsch is
a stanch Re])ublican. and religiously he and
I'.is family are members of the Evangelical
church.

JOSI.MI X. B.VRR.

For forty-five years this gentleman has
been identified with the agricultural interests
of Livingston county, and now owns and
o])erates a well-imi)roved farm of one hun-
dred and eighty acres on section 17. Esmen
townshi]). He was born in Lancaster coun-
ty. Pennsylvania, July 6, 1833, and is a son
of Jacob and Su.san (Barr) Barr. also na-
tives of Pennsvlvania and of German de-

J. N. BARR.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

139

scent. Our sul)ject's paternal grandfather,
Jaciil) llarr, Sr.. was one of tlie pioneers of
Lancaster county, wliere the faniil_\- con-
tinued to make tiieir home until 1836, when
tlie parents of our subject moved to Clark
county, Ohio, and there the father cleared
and im])roved a farm. In that county they
spent the remainder of their lives, the mother
dying January, 1846, and the father in 1848.
At the death of the mother there were seven
ciiildren living, of whom five yet survive:
Jacob, ()f Lawrence county. Illinois; Josiali
X., our subject; Cyrus, of Dwight, Illinois;
Susan, now Mrs. Kemp, of Iowa, and Laura
B., now Mrs. Foy, a widow living in \\'ash-
ington county, Nebraska. The oldest daugh-
ter, Elizabeth, died in November, 1846.

Josiah N. Barr was fifteen years old
at the time of his father's death. He then
went to work for various farmers, and con-
tiiuied to be thus employed in that vicinity
until he was twenty-one years old, in the
meantime securing a fair common school ed-
ucation, ;ind then came to lUinnis, in 1854,
locating first in Kane amnly, where he
■worked by the month as a farm band for one
year. .\t the end of that time he purcha.sed
one hundred and sixty acres of land on sec-
tion 17, Esmen township, Livingston county,
where he now resides, t<j its improvement
<md cultivation he has since devoted his en-
ergies with the exception of the time spent
in his country's service during the Civil war.
He broke about half of this tract before en-
tering the army. It is now a well improved
place, being tiled, fenced and under a high
state of cultivation. The buildings are neat
and substantial, and the whole farm indicates
the thrift and enterprise of the owner.

On the 30th of August. 1862, Mr. Barr
■enlisted in Company M, First Illinois Ar-
lillery, which was organized at Camp Doug-

las and .sent from there to Louisville, spend-
ing the time from October until the follow-
ing February in Kentucky in jiursuit of
Morgan. They next went down the Ohio
and up the Cumberland rivers, joining Rose-
crans at l-'ort Donelson, where they were
held in reserve for a time, afterward going
to Nashville and Franklin. As a reserve
corps they . proceeded to Chickamauga, in
which engagement they took part, it being
their first important battle. Later they
were in the battle of Missionary Ridge, and
were sent w ith .Sherman to relieve the forces
at Knoxville. On the 2d day of May. 1864,
they started on the Atlanta campaign, and for
ninety days were under fire almost constant-
ly. They participated in the liattle oi Kene-
saw Mountain and assisted in the capture
of .\tlanta, after which the artillery was sent
back to Chattanooga, where they were on
duty until the following spring, and then
proceeded to Cle\'eland, Tennessee, remain-
ing there until the close of the war. Mr.
I'larr was honorably discharged at Camp
Douglas July 25, 1865. He had lost but
little time on account of sickness, and, al-
though disabled for duty a short time, he was
never in the hosi)ital.

Mr. Barr was married, in Livingston
county. December 24, 1872, to Miss Tinnie
.\nnis, a nati\e of Lond(3n, England, and a
daughter of Mr. Chalmers. As her father
died \vhen she was (|uite small, she was
adopted by a Mrs. Annis, with whom she
came to America during childhood. They
located first in \'ermont. but when she was
about nine \-ears of age mo\ed to Nebraska,
where she grew to womanhood. She died
Sejjtember 22, 1895, and was laid to rest
in the l^smen cemetery. By this union were
born four children, namely: Lutie, who is
now keeping house for her father; Lorenzo

I40

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

N., a pharmacist, wlio is n<>\v engaj^ed in the
<lriig business in Idalio. and Thc(hi M. and
Loren C. botii at lidme.

Mr. Barr cast his first i)residcniial vote
for Jolin C. Fremont, in }<<-,(•>. and as a Re-
])ublican he lias since taken an active and
prominent i)art in local politics. He helped
organize his township and was elected first
collector, in which capacity he served for
two years. He was township trustee six
years, and at intervals has filled the otVice of
sui)er\isor ft>r twelve years, during which
time he served on various important commit-
tees. He has also been a delegate to nu-
merous Count V con\entions of his partv, and
whatever position he has been called upon
to till, it duties he has always faithfully and
satisfactorily ])erformed. He was a meml)er
of the Wesleyan Methodist church until it
was disbanded, and now attends the Method-
ist Episcopal cluu"ch. to which he coiuributes
liberally. He takes quite an active and
l)rominent ])art in church and Sabbath school
work, and is now serving as superintendent
of the Sabbath school. He has witnessed
the wonderful clevclopnient and progress
made in this region in the last half-century,
has seen Pontiac grow from a cross roads
town of two stores to be one of the important
cities in this .section of the state, and in the
vork of ad\ancement he has ever borne an
active ])art and is numbered among the most
ii.^eful and valued citizens of his communitv.

XELSOX COUXTRY.M \.\.

Xelson Countryman, decea.sed, was for
several vears jjrominently identified with the
business interests of I'ontiac. where he lo-
cated in 1S59, and b<.>re an active part in the

early dexelopmeiu of the city. 1 ic was born
in St. Johnsville. Xew York. July 11, 183J,
a son of Jacob Countryman. The father,
who belonged to an olil Xew \'ork familv,
was a shipbuilder by trade, and also engaged
in the practice of law in that state, b'or a
time he made his home in Syracuse and
later in Buft'alo, and built many of the early
lake boats. On coming west he soon located
in Ottawa. Illinois, where he purchased land
and engaged in farming until 1839. which
year witnessed his arrival in Pontiac, where,
as a well-to-do man he lived retired until his
death, which occurred ten or lifteen \ears
later. He erected one of the first brick
stores on the S(|uare. Religi<iusl\'. he was a
member of the .Methodist Episcopal church.

Xelson Countr_\inan was educated in tiie
schools of Syracuse and Buffalo. Xew York,
and later accompanied his |)arents on their
removal to Ottawa. Illinois. .\s ])reviously
stated the family came to this county in
1859. and our sui)ject bought and opened up
the first stone tpiarry near Pontiac. it being
three-(piarters of a mile northeast of the
court house, and for this land he ga\e two
hundretl dollars per acre. I'rom his (|uarry
nearly the stone for the foundations of
buildings in the city were obtained. He did
a large and ])rosperous business, furnishing
employment to many men. and had the name
of being one of the best workmen in bis line
in this seceion of the state. He contracted
to put in foundations and also shipped rock
and sand.

On the 3d ol October. 1854. Mr. Idun-
tryman married Miss Pask.ilenia Reynolds,
and to them were born two children, n.'uuely :
Mary E.. wife of D. B. Shiland. oi" i'ontiac.
and Minnie, wife of Frank Sinclair, al.so of
I'ontiac. I'enjamin I?. Reynolds. .Mrs.
Coimtrviuan's father, was born in Lewistoii^

THK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

141

MilTlin onuity. Pennsylvania. June 10. 1810,
anil there married l''.leaniir Seofieid. who was
born in Cleartield, Clearfield eountw renn
sylvania. .\ugust 14. iSij. lie was en-
gaged in the hardware Imsiness in Lew iston
until i<*^33. when, with his wife and two chil-
dren, he reniovetl to ()tia\\a. Illinois, heing
one of its first settlers, lie had lost a fort-
une of nearly fifty thousand dollars by the
failure of the state to pay for an ac(|ueducl.
In La Salle count\'. he purchased six hun-
dred and forty acres of land six miles from
Ottawa, where he made his home until 1877,
and then went to Indiana, hut his last days
were jjassed in Te.xas. His brother. Dr.
John P. Reynolds, was killed at the .\lanio,
and his property, consisting of four thou-
sand and forty-seven acres of land and twD
thousand dollars fell to Mrs. (.'ounlryman"s
father and his si.ster in Indiana. The fa-
ther went south to take possession of the land
and located every acre. The property also
included thirteen houses and lots in W ells
Point, Texas. He died in that state Febru-
ary J, i88j, leaving eight children, his wife
])assed away February 1 (>. 1 874. Both were
active members of the Methodist Ei)iscopal
church, and were people of prominence in
the community where they resided.

Mrs. Countryman was reared on a farm
near Ottawa anti was mostly educated by her
father, who had been a profes.sor of scliools
for thirtv vears. He also serveil as super-
visor of his township for over forty years,
and was considered the leading man of the
community, his fellow citizens always giv-
ing him their political sup])ort regardless of
])arty lines. He also took an active interest
in state affairs, and w as well ac(|uainted with
Lincoln and other ]irominenl politicians of
his day.

Mr. and Mrs. Countrvman resided for

a short time in \\"isconsin, and then returned
to Pontiac, where she has since made her
home at .\"o. _^ 1 _^ ICast Livingston street.
Here he died February 23, i88f). Through
his own well-directed effcirts he ac(|uired a
comfortable com])etence, and also won by an
honorable, upright life, an untarnished name,
and the record which he left behind is one
well worthv of emulation. Since her hus-
band's death Mrs. COuntrxnian has carried
on the business and cpiarry interests antl has
met with marked success, having more or-
ders than she can fill, although she knew
nothing of the business when it came utnler
her manageiuent. She gives employment
to ten men, and shi])s stone quite extensively,
having the only (piarry in this neighborhood.
It is a \erv \alual)le i)iece ot property, co\-
ering two acres of the eighteen and a half
tract which she owns. She is a member of
the P>a])tist church, and is honored, not alone
for her business abilit}', but for her straight-
forward, womanly course and true nobiKty
of character. Her circle of friends and ac-
(luaintances is extensive.

W Al.TF.R H.\Rr.

Walter Hart, a successful florist now en-
gagetl in business at .\'o. 507 Xorth Ladd
street, Pontiac, Illinois, was born near .\or-
age. England, February 27, 18.^3, and when
eighteen vears of age emigrated to .\mer-
ica with his jiarents, George and Mary .\nn
(Locke) Hart, also natives of ICngland.
where the father earned a liveliiiood as
a fisherman. The family settled near
.\mora. in Kane county. Illinois, where
the father engaged in fariuiug until a
few \ear< before bis death, when he came

142

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

to Pontiac. w liere lie passed away September
15. 1884. at the age of seventy-three years.
After liis cleatli the niotlier lived with our
subject and at his lK)me she died December
9, 1884. at the age of nearly eighty-four.
They had a family of nine children, all born
in England, but only tiiree are now living,
namely : Dennis, a farmer of Sac county,
Iowa; George, a machinist of Des Moines,
Iowa, and Walter, our subject. The others
all died in England, with the exception of
Mrs. Mehalah Huggins, who died in Dwight,
Illinois.

Walter Hart never left the home of his
parents until his father's death. He ob-
tained the greater part of his literary educa-
tion in the evening schools of Xorage, Eng-
land, and for a brief time after coming to
this country- attended school in Bristol, Ken-
dall county, Illinois, where his father was
engaged in farming. In November, 1875,
he came to Pontiac with his parents and
entered the employ of the Illin(;is State Re-
formatory as gardener, remaining in their
employ for two years, after which he leased
a greenhouse on Mai)lewood avenue, and en-
gaged in business there as a Horist for five
}ears. The following eight years he carried
on business in the northern part of the city,
and then purchased his present place at No.
507 North Ladd street. Here he constructed
n greenhouse, but his business has increased
so rapiiily that it is fast outgrDwing his pres-
ent (|uartcrs. .\ man of artistic tastes and
good 1)usiness ability, he has met with suc-
cess in his chosen calling. He has been a
life-long member of the Methodist church,
and his career has ever been such as to com-
mend him to the confidence and high regard
of all with whom he has come in contact,
either in business or social life. In his po-
litical views he is a Republican.

In i860, in Kendall county, Illinois, was
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Hart and
Miss Sarah Springer, of that county, the
sixth child of James and Katherine Springer.
.She was born in Indiana and came to this
state with her parents when quite young.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hart were born seven chil-
dren, namely: Anna C, who died at the age
of one year and eleven months ; Sebina, who
died in Pontiac at the age of five months;
one who died in infancy unnamed; James
\\ .. who marrietl Laura McKinsey. of Mc-
Dowell. Illinois, and is an electrician in the
employ of the Electric Light Company of
Pontiac; Marv Ann, wife of Pearl Carrier,
a farmer of Chenoa; Illinois: Adeline, wife
of Charles Page, a painter and paper hanger
of Pontiac, and George R., who is employed
']•.[ a sh<ie factor\- in Pontiac.

JOHN HANCOCK.

John Hancock, whose home is on section
25, Pike township, Livingston county, is one
of the most prominent and influential citi-
zens of his coinmunit}'. He takes an active
and commendable interest in public affairs,
and gives his support to all enterprises which
he believes will prove of jjublic benefit or
will in any way advance the interests of his
adopted county.

Mr. Hancock was born in Franklin coun-
ty. I'ennsyjxania, January 13, 1839, a son of
John and Catherine ( .Mooney) Hancock, na-
tives of Maryland and Pennsylvania, re-
spectively. Throughout the greater ])or-
tion of his life the father made liis home in
Franklin county. Pennsylvania, his time and
attention being devoted to agricultural pur-
suits, and he died there in 1875. ^^'^ wife,

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

143

\\lio still survives him, a hale and hearty old
lady of seventy-five years, continues to re-
side on the old homestead with her young-
est son, Solomon Hancock.

During^ his boyhood our subject attended
the common schools and remained in his na-
ti\e countv until eighteen years of age, when
he came to Illinois, locating in McLean
county, March i, 1857. There he worked
by the month for two years, and then came
to Livingston county, operating rented land
in Pike township until the t)utbreak of the
Civil war. On the 14th uf June, iS6r, he
enlisted for three years, in Company A,
First Illinois Cavalry, which was assigned
to the western army, and his first engagement
was at Lexington, Missouri, lie partici-
pated in numerous skirmishes in that state
and -Arkansas, and was in active service two
years, being mustered out and honorably
discharged at Benton Barracks, St. Louis,
in 1863. After his return from the war Mr.
Hancock continued to engage in farming
upon rented for several years, after which
he speculated in farm property quite exten-
sively, buying and selling several places. In
1878 he purchased his present farm of one
hundred and sixty acres, on section 25, Pike
township, and has since successfully engaged
in its operation. He has erected thereon
good and substantial buildings, and has made
many other improvements, which add greatly
to the value and attractive appearance of the
place, making it one of the best farms of its
size in the township. By untiring industry
and sound judgment he has won a merited
success in his undertakings, and is in all re-
spects worthy the high regard in which he
is held by his fellow citizens.

On the 2d of June, 1863, in Livingston
county, while home on a furlough, Mr. Han-
cock was united in marriage with Miss

Rachel Campbell, who was born and reared
in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and
is a daughter of Archibald Cam])bell, a
teacher by profession, and a life-long resi-
dent of the Keystone state. To Mr. and
Mrs. Hancock were born five children,
namely: Ida, wife of Harry Reed, of Pon-
tiac; Lettie, Charles, Josephine and Bessie,
all at hnme. Jo.sephine was educated at the
Pontiac high school and is now one of the
successful teachers of the county, and Bessie
is now a student at the Chenoa high school.
Formerly Mr. Hancock was identified
with the Republican party and cast his first
presidential ballot for .Vbraham Lincoln, in
i860, but is now a stanch Democrat, and
takes quite an active and prominent part in
local politics and public aft'airs, having served
his fellow citizens as township collector, com-
missioner uf highways and a member of the
school board. He has filled the last position
for some years and is now president of the
board. As a citizen he ever stands ready
to discharge any duty devolving upon him,
and has taken an active interest in promot-
ing the welfare of his township and county,
his patriotism being manifest in days of peace
as well as when he followed the old flag
to victory on southern battle fields. He is
an honored member of the Grand Army Post
of Chenoa, and both he and his wife hold
membership in the Presbyterian church of
that place, with which he has been connected
since 1858.

JOHN STEWART.

John Stewart is a well known jepre-
sentative of the business interests of Dwight,
Illinois, where he is e.xtensivel)- engaged in
contracting and building, and also deals in

144

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

lumber ami coal. Of excelleiU husines.-; abil-
ity and broad resmirces. he has become one
of the well-to-do citizens of the place. He
has won .success by his well-directed, ener-
getic efforts, and the prosperity that has
ci ine to him is certainly well deserved.

Mr. Stewart was born in the north of
Ireland June 1 1. 1846, and is a son of John
and .Mary .V. (McKelvey) Stewart, also
natives of Ireland, but of Scotch parentage.
There the father learned the weaxer's trade,
which he followed until iiis emigration to
.\merica in 1S30. bringing with him his
family, consisting of wife and eight children,
lie located in Warrensburg. Warren coun-
ty. .\e\\ ^ drk, and accejited a jiosition as
tinisher in a tannery, but he was not long
])ermitted to enjoy his new home, for he
died li\e years after his arrival, at the age
cf sixty-three. He had ten children: Jane.
NN'illiam. Mary .\.. Robert. Thomas, Eliza-
heth, Ellen, Margaret, John and Rosa, all
.still living, but none residing in this county
with the e.NCeption of our subject. He has
one brother and three sisters in .\urora,
Kane county; one sister in Kendall countv,
Illinois; a brother in Missouri, and the
others are in New ^drk state.

Our subject was only four years old when
hroiight by his parents to this country, and
he received his education in the common
schools and seminary of Warrensburg. New
York. After leaving .school he worked m
lumber mills for four years, and on the 13th
of March. i<%5, came to Aurora, Illinois,
working one year on a farm in Sugar (Irove
township, Kane county. He then entered
the car shops of the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy Railroad, where he followed the
trade of a carbuilder four years, but on the
advice of his ])hysician he again turned his
attention to agricultural pursuits. Going to

Grundy county. Illinois, he rented a farm for
a year and a half, and then came to Livings-
ton countN'. purchasing a farm of eighty acres
of im])ro\ed land in Nevada township, to
the cultixation of which he at once turned
his attention. .Miout six years later he
bought another eighty-acre tract, making in
all a fine farm of one hundred and sixty
acres on .section i _». .Nevada townshi]). which
he thoroughly tiled and placed under a high
state of cultivation. He gave the greater
part of his time and attention to the raising
of stock, feeding from two to three car-
loads of cattle ])er year and one of hogs. In
this way he more than used all of the grain
raised upon his own land. After fourteen
years devoted to agricultural pursuits, Mr.
Stewart moved to Dwight in the spring of
iSyo and commenced working at the cari)en-
ter's trade. Since the fall of 1891 he has en-
gaged in contracting and building on his
own account and has erected many of the
fine residences in the place. In 1900 he
purchased the coal business of F. B. Chester,
known as the Dwight Coal Com])any. and
now carries it on in connection with his
other Inisiness.

On the I4tli of September, 1870, Mr.
Stewart was unitcil in marriage with Miss
.Mary E. \'eale. a natixe of (irundy county,
Illinois, and a daughter of Charles and Mary
\'eale, who were born in England and came
to this country in early life, settling in Grun-
dy comity, where both died when Mrs. Stew-
art was a child of fmu' years. She then
made her home with her uncle, John \'ick-
cr}-. They were among the first settlers
of Cnmdy county and while imjiroving his
l;;nd Mr. N'ealc lixed in a wagon. To Mr.
and Mrs. Stewart were born three children,
namely: Ernest P., who died on his thir-
teenth birthdav and the anniversarv of his

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORO.

<45

])arents' marriag-e : Nellie O.. who was grad
iiated tnnii the Dw i.qlit h'ii\-i st-imol in the
spriiig- of 1S99 and is at ImiiK-: and l\<il)ert
Earl, aged ten years, is still in scIidoI,

Mr. Stewart is an earnest nu-inhei- id
the .Metluidist I'Lpiscupal clun-cli. has always
lived np to his professions and taken an ac-
tive part in church work. He has been an
official member for the i)ast sixteen years
and is now trustee of the church and sujjer-
intendent of the Sunday school. Fraternally
he is a member of Dwifjht Eodj>e. Xo. 513.
i. O. (). E.. of which he is deputy, and jjo-
liticallv is a Prohibitionist and served as
a deleg'ate to the county conxcntions ol his
])artv and as chairman of the township I'ro-
hibition committee. When there is no I'm
jiibition ticket in the field he suijporls the
Ke])ublican party. For the last four years
he has been an active and efficient mem-
ber of the \illatie board of trustees and has
been chairman of the water works committee
for the past three years, duriuij- which time
the system has been improved and a stand-
]jipe jilaced. He has the entire confidence
and res])ect of his fellow citizens and is held
in hiijh reLfard b\' all with whom he comes in
contact, either in business or social life.

S.\.ML'EL (iOODWlLi. MoKKlSO.V.

Samuel G.oodwill Morrison, a jirnmi-
nent farmer of Avoca township and a worth}'
representative of one of its old and honored
taniilies. was born in the house he now oc-
cu|)ies October 20. 1857, a son of Samuel
and Mary A. (Rtxkwood) Morrison, both
i)f whom were born near Buffalo, New
^'ork. and with their respective parents came
to Illinois when children, beinjj married in
this state. Our subject's paternal grand-

tather only lived a few years after settlinf^
in 1 .i\in<;sii n county, and his wife did not
lon|:;' survive him. They were pioneers of
the counlN' and made their home near where
our subject now resides. The i\ockwoo(l
lamil\- were also amons; the early settlers,
who, by persistent labors, subdued the wild
prairie lands and made homes for their de-
scendants. The grandparents both died in
Livingston county. The father was one of
the most successful farmers of Avoca town-
ship, where at one tiiue he owned five hun-
dred acres of laml. but later sold all but two
hundred and forty- four acres. \\ h ch he re
tained as a home ])lace. This was school
land when he purchased it and abounded
with ])rairie grass and rattle snakes, but he
imi)r(i\e(l ;nid converted the same into one
of the most fruit fid and valuable farms of
his localitv. In ])olit cs he was a Republican
and held minor ofTices in the township, which
were thrust upon him, as he never sought
])olitical honoi-s. His first wife died in 1866.
.^i.\ children were born to them, four son.s
and two daughters, nrunely: liets)-. who
died in infancx': Susan .\., wife of C. J).
Ilering. of Indiana; John O., an employee
of H. O. Ilabcock, of I'ontiac; (jeorge D.,
a successful farmer of A\'oca townshii);
James J., a resident of Spear. Nebraska;
and Samuel (•.. our subject. F"or his second
wife the father married Maria Phillips, of
Livingston county, by whom he had seven
children: Nellie, wife of Joel W. Banker,
of I'ontiac ; Joseph C. of Page county, Iowa ;
Lenora. wife of Charles FViant. of .Xvoca
townshi]); Will-am R., of Owego township;
Harry L., of Lodemia ; Mary, who lives
with our subject; and Charles, a farmer of
Avoca township, .\fter a successful and
honorable career tlie father died at home
May I. 18S4. at the age of .si.\ty-five years.

146

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

During his Ijoyliond Samuel C Morri-
son pursued his studies in liic district schtxil
near his home and when liis education was
completed he worked with his father on the
farm until the latter's death, when he was
appointed administrator of the estate. He
purchased the interests of the other heirs
in the home farm and now has one hundred
and eighty acres, on which he is successfully
engaged in general farming and raising stock
for market.

On the 1 8th of February, 1892, ]\[r.
Morrison was united in marriage with Miss
Rose Gregg, who was born in Osceola coun-
ty, Iowa, in 1868, and he brought his bride
to the farm which has since been their home.
Two children bless their union: Ivan (i.
and Samuel \\'., both bright boys. Mrs.
Morrison is a member of the Methodist Epis-
copal church and her husband is a supporter
of the same. He Imlds membership in the
Modern Woodmen Camp, Xo. 6, of Fair-
bur}-, and n politics always affiliates with
the Republican party, though he would never
accept public office other than school di-
restor, a position he acceptably filled for
twelve years. He has led a (piiet. uneventful
life in the same neighborhood where there
are many who were his boyhood friends, and
those who know him best hold him in the
highest regard. His genial, pleasant man-
ner makes him (|uite ])opular. and he is rec-
ognized as a valued citizen of the com-
munity.

DAVID E. CAPES.

David E. Capes, a successful ice dealer
of Pontiac, is a native of Illinois, his birth
occurring June 16, 1862, six miles south
of W^ashington, in Tazewell county. His

]);'renls. \\illoughby and Elizabeth (Milner)
Capes, were born, reared and married in
Lincolnshire, luigland, where they continued
to make their home until after the birth of
three of their children. Then the family, in
1852, came to the new world and settled in
Washington, Illinois, where for two years the
lather supported his wife and children by
workingas a day laborer at fifty cents per day.
The second year he was able to purchase a
horse, and the following year bought another,
after which he engaged in farming on his
own account, operating rented land for
eleven years. At the end of that period he
j)urchased one hundred and sixty acres of
raw prairie land on section 9, Pike township,
I^ivingston county, for which he paid seven
dollars and a quarter per acre. He located
thereon in the spring of 1864, and at once
turned his attention to the improvement and
cultivation of his place, soon converting it
into a most desirable farm. In connection
with general farming he was also engaged
in stock raising, and each fall shipped a car-
lod of hogs to market. He built a fine house
upon his place and made many other im-
provements, costing as much as two sections
of land would have cost when he purchased
his property. As an agriculturist he met
with marked success and was able to assist
his sons in getting a start in life. He was
one of the early members of the Bethel
Methodist Episcopal church at Greymont,
which he helped to establish, and was one
of the main standbys in the erection of the
house of worship. From the first he served
as steward of the church, and was recognized
as one of the most honest, honored and
highly respected men of his community.
He was never an aspirant for office, but was
always a consistent and earnest Republican,
and never failed in his duties of citizenship.

WiLLOUGHBY CAPES.

D. E. CAPES.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

151

He was born at Mar's Cliapc!, near (iniusey,
Liiicolnsliire. luifjiand, October iK, 1819.
and died October 4, 1899. He was united
in marriage witb Elizabeth Mihier, in 1844,
and they became tlie parents of thirteen cliil-
dren. She was born in Yorkshire, England,
Marcli 13, 1827. In her seventeenth year
she was converted and jnined the Methodist
Episcopal chnrch, and her life was freely
given to the labors of the church, and her in-
fluence upon Bethel community will be felt
in the years to come. After a long illness
she fell asleep Se|>tember 4, 1898.

Our subject was the eighth in order of
birth in the family born to this worthy
couple. During his boyhood he attended the
public schools of Pike township, and aided
his father in the work of the home farm until
he attained his majority. On the j8th of
December, 1882, he was united in marriage
with Miss Alice A. Piper, of Rock Creek,
Illinois, and they now have two children :
Delbert R., born January 8, 1884, and Cora
Belle, born l-'ebruary i, 1886. Both are now
attending the high school of Pontiac.

After his marriage Mr. Capes remained
at home until the fall of 1883, when he pur-
chased eighty acres of raw prairie land only
three miles from Pontiac — a rare thing for
that late date. He had no money and it was
only with the help of his father as security
for the first payment that he was able to piu'-
cliase it. That fall he built a house and com-
menced breaking the land. He tiled it tlie
next spring and continued the work of im-
provement and cultivation until he had one
of the best farms of its size in the locality,
raising as much on it, by working it thor-
oughly, as many did who owjied twice the
number of acres. At the age of si.xteen he
commenced running a threshing machine,
which he operated thirteen years, and this

helped him out considerably in paying for
his land, which was soon free from debt.
I le was one of the youngest threshers in the
county and made a success of the business.
He continued to carry on his farm until
1^93. when he sold it for ninety-five dollars
per acre, having paid forty dollars for it.
Mr. Capes then moved to Pontiac, where
he was engaged in difYerent lines of trade
for a time, including the implement and milk
business. In July, 1895, he turned his
attention to the ice business. At that
time there were two firms of the kind
in the city; one of these he got his
brother to buy, while he purchased the
other and then, buying his brother's business,
he had entire control of the ice trade. His
ice houses were located on the Vermilion
ri\er near the Wabash Railroad, where he
owns two acres of land, on which are six
houses, with a storage capacity of eight
thousand tons. He puts up a full supply
and gives employment to many men in cut-
ting the ice. During the summer he runs
four teams and employs nine men in its dis-
tribution to his customers, and for the past
three years has controlled the ice trade of
tlie city and done a good business. He has
a line property on the south side of the river,
opposite the Chautauqua grounds and ex-
tending to the river. Here he has a nice
home where he can enjoy the results of his
labor. He belongs to that class of men
whom the world terms self-made, for, com-
mencing life empty handed, he has con-
quered the obstacles in the path to success,
and has not only secured a comfortable com-
petence, but by his eflforts has materially
advanced the interests of the community
with which he is associated. Politically, he
is identified with the Republican party and
fraternally affiliated with the Knights of

152

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Pythias. Modern \\'ooclmeii of America,
Royal Xeighbors and Toilers Fraternity. He
attends and aids in the support of the
Methodist Episco])al church, of which his
wife is a member.

SAMUEL J. FRISK.

Samuel J. Prisk. a well-known nursery
man and highly respected citizen of Pontiac.
who has made his home in this county for
the past eighteen years, was born in Corn
wall. England, December 20. 1836, a son i)f
Samuel and (irace (Williams) Prisk, na-
tives of the same place, where the father
engaged in mining until his emigration to
America in 1840. The grandfather. Joseph
Prisk. had ])re\inusly crossed the Atlantic
and located on a branch of the liast h'ork
river, four miles soiUheast of Galena, erect-
ing one of the i)ioneer homes of that lo-
cality. With his two sons. Willam and
Paul, he built the first Methodist Episco])al
church east of (ialena. a log structure, also
laid out a cemetery and a mound there, which
is still known as Joseph Prisk mound. He
owned and operated a farm of forty acres
and also engaged in mining. He was a
very active member of the Methodist Epis-
copal church and his home became the sto])-
ping place for all the ministers. The fa-
ther of our subject bought a farm of eighty
acres between Scales Mound and Council
Hill, Jo Daviess county, and built the first
stone house in that i)art of the ci^untry. it
being also the first good liouse. During the
construction of the Illinois Central Kail-
road through that locality he boarded the
hands, and throughout his active business
life engaged in farming and mining. He

finally sold his farm and bought a two-hun-
dred-and-twenty-acre farm on Rush creek in
Woodbine township, living on it unt 1 his
death, which occurred in July. 1861. His
wife died June 14, 1892, at the ripe old age
of seventy-se\en years. Both were earnest
and consistent members of the Methodist
Episcopal church.

.\t a very early age our subject began
wDrk. and all the education he acc|uired was
obtained at Sunday schotil, which he at-
tended about three hours every Suntlay, but
by reading and observation in later years
he has become a man of broad practical
knowledge. He worked with his father in
the lead mines from the age of eight years
until he attained his majority, when he
started out in life for himself. Going to La
Salle, he found employment in the coal
mines, w iiere he worked fifteen years.

There Mr. Prisk was married. December
31, 1859, to Miss Mary .\nn Case, who was
born in Preble county. Ohio, in 1843. ^^^^
father, Conrad Case, was a native of Penn-
sylvania and went to Preble county, Ohio,
when a ynung man, locating eighteen miles
from Dayton, where he married Sarah Ann
Combs. He engaged in farming there until
1854, when he came to Illinois and settled at
Jericho, near .Aurora, where he followed
the same occupation two or three years. His
next home was four miles from De Witt,
Iowa, where he located when the country
was all wild and unimproved, but he bought
land, built a house and engaged in the cul-
tivation of his farm for three years, at the
end of which time he sold out and returned
to Illinois, this time locating in La Salle,
but his last days were spent in Ohio, where
he died in 1863. His wife had died in Jeri-
cho, Illinois. Both were members of the
Lutheran church. He was a cooper by trade.

THE . BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

'53

Mr. and Mrs. Prisk liave eight children
hving, while Mary Jane, wife of .\lhert Rer-
nell, of Streator, died at the age of twenty-
four years, .-\llen, a resident of Pontiac,
married Maggie Lanipkin and has four chil-
dren, Rohert, Marguerite, .Mien and Le\i.
William J. is now living in Si)ringlield.
Samuel, a resident nf Pontiac. married Ida
Block', and has four children. May, LIdviI
Lincoln, Lillian and Dewey. Lillie is at
home. Mrs. Esttlla McGill has one child.
Pearl, and lives with her parents. \\'esley
married I-lnima Laycock, now deceased, and
i;i ser\ing as corporal of Company H, Thir-
ty-ninth United States Volunteer Infantry,
in the Phili])pines. Clara and May are both
at home.

.After President Lincoln's first call for
seventy-five thousand men at the t)pening
of the Civil war. Mr. Prisk was the eight-
eenth to enroll his name among the volu
teers at La Salle, and was a member of the
first company to leave that place, it being
Compan\- K, I''le\enth Illinois \'olunteer In-
fantry. They went to Springfield, Illinois,
.April 20, 1 86 1, and from there proceeded
to Villa Ridge, near Cairo, where they were
detailed to guard a bridge. The)- were ne.xt
ordered to Bridge Point, Missouri, and when
their term of enlistment expired were honor-
ably discharged.

Returning to La Salle, Mr. Prisk en-
t-aged in mining and farming there for sonic
time and then devoted four years to the latter
])ursuit at Rush creek, Jo Daviess county,
after which he returned to La Salle, where
he again followed farming. Sul)se(|uently
he engaged in mining at Streator until com-
ing to Livingston county in i88j, when he
located northwest of Pontiac and engaged
in agricultural pursuits until 1889, in the
meantime serving as roadmaster two years.

1 le then came to Pontiac and has since de-
voted his attention to the nursery business,
becoming one of the best known and most
successful luirsery men of this section. In
1895 '1^ ''^"'t ^ f^'ic home at No. 117 Park
street, facing River \'iew Park. He was
the first to build on that street and the peo-
ple laughed at him for going so far out. but
it is now well built u]) and is one of the most
l^leasant parts of the city, being advan-
tageously located near the park and river.
Mr. Prisk has charge of the park, in which
the Chautau(iua .Association is held. lit-
is a member of T. Lyle Dickey Post. .\o.
105, (j. .\. R., of which he is now officer
of the guard, and both he and his wife are
active and faithful members of the Methodist
l-.pisco|);d church, in which he has served as
stewaril. class leader and superintendent of
the Sunday school.

JOHN C. T.KYLOR.

John C. Taylor, wIkj resides on section
36, Pontiac township, Livingston county, is
the owner of a fine farm of two hundred
and thirty-six acres, within three and a half
miles of the city of Pontiac. He is a na-
tive of Saratoga county. New York, liorn
near the great Saratoga springs October 5.
i84_^, and is a son of George C. Taylor, a
native of the West Indies, born on the island
of St. Bartholomew January 30. 1817. The
grandfather, George W. Taylor, was a pro-
fessional sailor and followed the sea for
many years, but later settled in Saratoga
county. New York, where his last days were
spent. George C. Taylor was reared in Sar-
atoga county and there married Miss L'retta
Bentley, a native of Saratoga county and

'54

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

a daugliter of Otis Rentley. one of the pio-
neers of Saratoga county, who lived to the
remarkahle old age of ninety-nine years and
six months, and wiiose faculties were pre-
ser\-ed tn the last. He continued to vote
at every election initil within one mbnth of
liis death, voting at an election in March and
dying the next April. He never wore glasses
and could see to read until near the last.

In Saratoga county George C. Taylor
engaged in agricultural pursuits until his
removal to Livingston county in 1858. Here
he pui"chased an un<li\'i(le(l half of a half-
section of land which had heen entered hy his
lirother, John J. Taylor, and which had been
partially improved. In partnership with his
brother he commenced the further improve-
ment of the place and in due time had one of
the best farms in the township. He later
purchased the interest of his brother in the
half-section and continued to live on that
homestead until his death, December 9, 1893,
at the age of seventy-six years. He was
twice married, his first wife dying March
8, 1877. 1'l^c seconti wife is yet living. By
the first wife three sons were born. Otis B.
was a soldier in the Civil war and died in
1862, at Buck's Lodge, Tennessee, while in
the service. John C. of this review, was the
second in order of birth. George W. died
at the age of twenty-one years. He died
in Saratoga county and at his death was
just the same age as his brother when he
died.

John C. Taylor came to Livingston coun-
ty in his fifteenth year. His education,
which was begun in the common schools of
his native state, was completed in the com-
mon schools of Living.ston county. While
he gave the greater portion of his time in
assisting his father with the farm work,
lie spent a short time in teaching in the dis-

trict schools,' in which line he met with a
reasonable degree of success. He was first
married, April 22, 1866, to Miss Cecelia
Zeph. a native of W'urtemberg. (Germany,
but who came to this country in early life
and was reared to womanhood in Livingston
county. By this union were three children,
as follows: Hattie, now the wife of Grant
McCormack, of Livingston county: Zephyr,
wife of Lincoln Tuttle, of (iraymont. Illi-
ncjis: and William, who. married Daisy
Pearre, and now resides in .\rkansas. where
he is engaged in farming.

After his marriage Mr. Taylor continued
U- operate the home farm, on which he made
man}- improvements, including the erection
of a large barn. For some years he engaged
quite extensi\-ely in the stock business, in
which he met with good success. His wife
died in 1872 and October i. 1873, '^^ uiar-
ried Miss Eliza McManis, a native of Ohio
and daughter of Joseph McManis, who was
horn in Pennsylvania, but who removed to
Ohio and later to Illinois. He was married
three times and was the father of nineteen
children, sixteen of whom grew to mature
years. Mrs. Taylor was mostly reared in
Li\ingston county.

Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have fi\'e children:
George, who is assisting in the cultivation
of the home farm: John, a teacher in St.
Alban Academy, Knoxville, Illinois; y\r-
tbur G., a student at Zion College, Chicago;
Alice, a student in the Pontiac high school;
and Harry, in tiie home school.

politically Mr. Taylor was originally a
Republican and supporte<l the menand meas-
ures of that party for many years. Of late
he has given his support to the Prohibition
])arty. He never sought or desired pul)lic
cftice and declined several that were offered
him ; however, he served for a time as a

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

■55

memlier of the scliool hoard and as ])resident
of liis school district. Reared a liaptist, he
has since undergone a change of taitli and is
now a nienilier of tlie Christian Cathohc
cluircli in Zion. of wliich hody his wife is
also a meniher. .\s a citizen he has always
enjoyed the respect and confidence of those
l.v whom he is surrounded and h\- those who
know him hest.

WILLI.VM II. BRACE.

William 11. iirace. who is now success-
fully engaged in the milk husiness in I'onti-
ac, IIlin<iis. was horn in I'aldwinsville. Xew
"^'ork. Fehruar\- _> i . 1S43, a son of Moses
and h'rances (Sihhelds) I5race, also natives
of the Em])ire state. His paternal grand-
father, Benjamin Brace, was born in luig-
land and on his emigration to this country
settled in Baldw iusxille. When our suhject
was eight years old his father removed to
Chicago and shortly afterward Ujcated in
Will county, Illinois, where he engaged in
farming throughout the remainder of his
life.

William 11, Brace was reared on the
home farm in Manhattan township. Will
county, and was educated in the local scIkjoIs.
In .\ugust, i86j, he enlisted in Company
E, One Hundredth Illinois \'olunteer Infan-
try, being one of the youngest to serve for
three years as a regular soldier. His regi-
ment, which was assigned to the Army of
the Cumberland, went first to Louisville and
spent some time in Kentucky following
P>ragg's army. Mr. Brace's first battle was
that of I'erryville, followed l)y the engage-
ments at Stone River, Nashville and Chick-
amauga. He participated in the siege of
Atlanta ancl went with Sherman on the

march to the sea. He was mustered out at
Chicago in .August. 1865. At Chickamauga
he received two llesh wounds, but was never
seriously injured.

While home on a furlough, in 1864, Mr.
Brace married Miss Adeline Mossow, of
Manhattan, Illinois, who came here from
Xew ^'ork. After the war our subject en-
gaged in farming in Will county on his own
accoiuit for two years, and then went to
Chicago, where he had charge of the team-
ing business of .\. II. .\ndrews & Company
for eight years. On leaving there he came
to Chatsworth, Livingston county, where he
followed farrming one year, and engaged in
the same ])ursuit in l^ppards Point township,
successfull}- operating a farm of one hundred
and si.xty accres for eight years. On sell-
ing out, he moved to Pontiac and bought
thirteen lots on West Washington street,
where he has a nice home surrounded by a
beautiful law n. He also has a house and lot
elsewliere. I'or four years, under Dr.
ScouUer, he held the position of night of-
ficer at the reform school, having charge of
a dormitory, but on account of ill health he
was obliged to resign, and after a six-months'
rest he became night police in Pontiac, serv-
ing as such for ten years with credit to him-
self and satisfaction of all concerned, being
one of the best-known and most highly-re-
spected officials the city has ever had. He
resigned that position in 1898 and embarked
in the dairy business, keeping cows and sell-
ing his own milk, but on account of his wife's
health he sold his dairy, though he still re-
tains his milk route, which is the largest in
the city. He is a good business man, being
energetic and nrogressive, and has met with
success in this undertaking.

Mr. Brace lost his first wife May 30,
1894, and on the 7th of October, 1896, he

156

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

married Miss Lizzie Kreil, of Pontiac, a
daughter of John Krell. of Havana. Illinois.
In his ])()]itical views he is a stanch Repub-
lican, and while living in the county served
as deputy under three different sheriffs.
Fraternallv he is a member of T. Lyle
Dickey Post, G. A. R. A pleasant, genial
gentleman, he makes friends and is held in
high regard by all who know liim.

PETER BAUMAX.

Peter Baunian, one of the representative
German-American citizens of Livingston
county and a prosperous farmer, residing on
section 26, Pike township, two miles from
Chenoa. was born in Luxemburg, (iermany,
April 30. 1834. and there grew to manhood.
He had good educational advantages, at-
tending school eight years, becoming familiar
with the (jerman language, but his knowl-
edge of English has been acquired through
his own unaided efforts since coming to the
new world. In 1854 he was one of the pas-
sengers on a sailing vessel, which left the
harbor of Havre. France, and arri\ed in
Kew Yorkafter twenty-eight dayss])ent upon
the water, which was considered a cjuick
trip at that time. He proceeded at once to
Chicago, joining his bnnlKT. Michael Bau-
man, who had located in Illinois in 1849.

Our subject found cmijloment on a farm
in Woodford county, working by the month
several years there and in Marshall county.
His first purchase of land was a partially im-
proved farm of one iiundred acres in tlie lat-
ter county, on which was standing a small
house, and there he made his home for sev-
eral years. In 1888 he bought the farm of
one hundred and sixty acres on section 26,

Vxke township. Livingston county, where he
now resides, and to its further improvement
and development he has since devoted his
time and attention, success attending his well-
directed efforts.

While a resident of Woodford county,
Mr. Bauman was married, in January, 1861.
u> Miss Helen Balbach. who was born and
reared in Bavaria, (iermany, and is a daugh-
ter of August and .Anna Elizabeth ( Keeler)
Balbach. The mother died in that country,
and in 1854. the father, with his three daugh-
ters and one son, came to America, joining
his older son. Jacob Balback, who had lieen
a resident of W'ootlford county, Illinois, since
1852, and who is now a merchant of Chenoa,
The other son. Paul Balbach, is a farmer of
I'ike township, Livingston county. The fa-
ther died in Woodford county, in 1856. Mr
and Mrs. Bauman have a family of eight
children, namely: Mary, wife of Chris
Pfeffinger. of Waldo township. Livingston
county; Lizzie, at home: Eftie. widow of
Alaxander Black, and a resident of Wood-
ford county: Peter, who is married and lives
in Pekin, Illinois ; Lena, Anna and Clara, all
at home. The last named was educated at
Chenoa and the normal cijllege at \'alpar-
aiso, Indiana, and is now one of the success-
ful teachers of Livingston county.

Politically Mr. Bauman is a stanch Dem-
ocrat, and cast his first presidential ballot
for Stephen A. Douglas, in i860. He has
never cared for jjublic office. !)ut has pre-
ferred to devote his undi\ided time and at-
tention to his business interests. His life
has been one of industry and due success has
not been denied him. His honorable, upright
course commends him t) the confidence and
respect of all, and he is well worthy of rej)-
resentation in the history nf his adapted
countv.

THE BJOGKAl'lllCAL RECORD.

•57

W ILLIAM 1. St. JOHX.

William I. St. Joliii, an hoimred veteran
of the Civil war, who is now living a retired
lite in Pontiac. was horn in Warren county.
Indiana. July jo. 1S44, a son oi Samuel and
Marjjarct ( Coldren ) St. John, both of whom
were horn in (^hio. the latter near Zanesville,
luit were married in Indiana, where the fa-
ther located when a young man. and where
he engaged in farming until coming to Liv-
ingston county, Illinois, aliout 1853. He
settled near Ocoya, in Eppards Point town-
shi]), where he jjurchased one hundred and
sixty acres of unimproved land. That lo-
cality was then all wild, there hcing hut li>in"
houses scattered through the timber, and his
nearest neighlxir was some distance away.
He devoted his time and attention to the im-
])rovenient and cultivation of that farm until
iSr/). when he rented it and moved to
Chenoa, where he wtjrkecl at wagonmaking
until called to his final rest. He was one
of the early members of the .Methodist Epis-
copal church in this county, and was a Re-
])nblican in jjolitics.

P)efore leaving Indiana. William 1. St.
Ji^hn attended .school a term or two. but there
was no school house in his district when the
family came to Illinois, and he was well
grown before a school which he could at-
tend was built. His educational advantages
were therefore limited, but he has become
a well informed man bv reading and ob-
servation in later years. He remainetl on
the iiome farm until after the Civil war broke
out, when be enlisted, .\ugust 6, 1862, in
Company (1. One Hundred and Twenty-
ninth Illinois \'olunteer Infantry. The regi-
ment spent much time in Louisville, but par-
ticipated in the engagements at Erankfort,
Crab Orchard and Bowling Green, and did

garrison duty at Mitchellville. Tunnel Hill
and Clallatin, Tennessee. Erom there they
went to Xashville and ])articipated in the bat-
ties of Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge,
being on the inarch most of the time during
that campaign. They were also with Sher-
man on his celebrated march to the sea, and
at Peach Tree Creek, in front of Atlanta,
Mr. St. John was wounded He was sent to
the hospital at Chattanooga, was later trans-
ferred to Xashville, and from there was sent
home. At the end of three months he was
able to rejoin his regiment in time to take
part in the Carolina campaign. He was in
the battle of (ioldsboro, and was at Raleigh
when lohnston sm"rendered. He then
marched to Washington, I). C, and partici-
])ated in the erantl review, after which he was
mustered out at that place and discharged at
Chicago, after almost three years of faithful
service on southern battle fields.

Returning to his lu)me, Mr. St. John
engaged in farm work one year, and then
went to Chenoa. where he worked at the
cari^enter's trade four years. On the 6th of
September, iH^C), he was united in marriage
with Miss .Amelia Stone, a daughter of Will-
iam Stone, a farmer of Ohio. By this union
were born two children: William Seth, who
now o])erates his father's farm, married
.Minnie Talliot and has four children : Mabel,
Roy, Bert and an infant. Burton (i. is a
resident of Pontiac.

On leaving Chenoa Mr. St. John pur-
chased a farm of forty acres in Eppards
Point township, which he sold three years
later and bougbtti liftv acres of land in .\mity
township, but this he disixised of a year later
and bought an eighty-acre tract in the same
townshi)). where he successfully engaged
in farming for twelve years. At the end of
tha ttime be traded it for a farm ni two bun-

158

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

dred and tliirty-five acres in Amity town-
ship, whicli he has greatly improved and
still owns. In 1880 he moved to Pontiac
and bought property at No. 211 South Ver-
milion street, where he has a large and nicely
kept place. Here he worked at the carpen-
ter's trade for a time, but is now living re-
tired, enjoying a well-earned rest, free from
the cares and responsibilities of business life.
Religiously both he and his wife are members
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he
also belongs to T. L}le Dickey Post, G. A.
R., of which he is junior vice commander.
He has always been a stanch supporter of the
Republican party and its principles, and he
has ever been a loyal citizen, ct>-operating
ill all that is calculated to promote the inter-
ests of his state or nation, his patriotism
being manifest in times of peace as well as
in war.

BEXXET IILMISTOX.

Bennet Humiston. deceased, was one of
the leading business men of Pontiac, Illi-
nois, who in his successful career showed
that he had the ability to plan wisely and
execute with energy, a combination which,
when ])ossessed by men in any walk of life,
ne\er fails to effect nnt.iblc results.

Mr. Humiston was born in Plymouth
Hollow, Connecticut, September (>. 1830, a
son of Bennet and Emily ( Warner) Humis-
ton, representatives of old and honored fam-
ilies of that state. On attaining to man's
estate the father started out in life for him-
self as a peddlec. traveli:ig tjirough the
south for many years, iiut after his marriage
he settled on a farm in Plymouth and de-
voted the remainder of iiis life to agricult-
ural pursuits.

Our subject grew to manhood on the
home farm and was provided with better
educational ])rivileges than most farmer
l)oys, attending school at Warren, Litchfield
county, Connecticut, for two years. He then
followed farming in his native state until
the fall of 1852, when he came west with
A])ollos Cam|), and together they took up
a section of land in Esmen township. Liv-
ingston county. Illinois. May 22. 1856. he
married his partner's daughter. Miss Harriet
Camp, .md they made their home on his lialf-
sectit)!! of land until 1876. In the mean-
time he erected good and substantial build-
ings thereon and placed the land under a
high state of cultivation. He introduceil
some of the first fine horses into the count v
and at the time of his death, which occurred
November 15, 1883, he had one hundred
head, lie and Mr. t'.'unp were alwavs in
business together and owneil in the neigh-
borhood of two thou.sand acres of valuable
h'.nd. They expended laree amounts in til-
ing and con\erting their land into highh"
])roducti\e tracts. They were among the
original stockholders of the Pontiac Na-
tional Bank, of Pontiac, of which Mr. Camp
was also a director. In his political views
Mr. Humiston was a Democrat. He was a
member of the Masonic fraternity and a
n,an of hii^h standing in the coniniunitx'.
Of keen |)erception, of unbounded enterprise,
his success in life was due to his own well-tli-
rected efforts, and he deserves prominent
mention among the leading and representa-
tive business men of the couiUv.

Since her husband's death Mrs. Humis-
ti iu has successfully carried on the vast es-
tate, and has displayerl most excellent busi-
ness anil executive ability in its management.
She was one of the heavy original stock-
holders of the Pontiac State Bank, and from

BENNET HUMISTON.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

i6i

its organizalinii has l)ccn a directnr. She
owns a good deal nt' pmperly in rniitiac.
also in Odell, Illinois, and I^klorado. Mis-
souri, where she has a husiness hlock. She
has heen a liheral donator to the public li-
hrarv of Pontiac and dlhcr i.-liarita1)le insti-
tutions, and never withholds her liberal sup-
port from any enterjjrise which she believes
will prove of benefit to the conuuunily. In
1876 Mr. lluniistiMi built a beautiful resi-
dence on Xorth Main street, Pontiac. which
is still owned and occupieil by his widow.
I: occupies a whole bluck on the hill and i^
one of the most attractive places in the cit\-.
Over this liome Mrs. Humiston presides
witii gracious dignitx- and its hospitable
doors are ever o])en tor the rece])tion of her
man\' friends.

JOHN r. .\RMSTROXG.

'1 he subject of this i)ersonal narrative is
one of the most successful ami prosperous
farmers of Eppards Point township, his home
being on section 16, five miles south of Pon-
tiac. He has made iiis special field of in-
dustry an eminent success, and is liighly re-
spected and esteemed by those who know
liim.

Mr. Armstrong was born in .Madison,
Ohio, April 28, 1839, and tiiere grew to man-
hood, receiving a common-school education.
In April, 1864, during the dark days of the
Civil war, he enlisted in the one-lnuidi\'d-day
.service, as a private in Company C, One
Hundred and Forty-fourth Ohio National
Guards. The regiment went to Virginia and
took part in the battle of Xew Creek and
several skirmishes, but only one luan died
in the service, his tleath occurring in a lios-
pital. On the expiration of his term of en-

. listment, Mr. .\rmstroug was honorably dis-
charged at Camp Denni.son, in August, 1864,
and returned to his Ohio home.

In the spring of 1865 he came to Liv-
ingston county, Illinois, and located upon his
present farm in I'"])pards Point township,
])urcbasing ft)ur hundred acres, about half
of which had been broken and a small house
erected thereon. He has since purchased
more land, and to the further improvement
and cultivaticjn of his place he has deyoted
his energies with most gratifying results, so
that he now has one of the best farms in the
township. Jn comiection with general farm-
ing he is engaged in feeding and dealing in
stock, and in this branch of his business he
has also jircjspered.

Returning to his old hoiue in Madi.son
county, Ohio, in March, 18O9, Mr. .\rm-
trong married L_\-dia Cousins, who was
born in Pickaway, that state, but was reared
in the same neighborhood as her husband
and educated in the same school. They
became the ])arents of six children, but only
three are now li\ing:.\rchie E., a pharmacist
of Dwight; Lida W. and Grant C, both at
home. Bernard C. and John both died in
childhood, and Sarah L., wife of O. I. Ellis,
died in Ancona, Illinois, at the age of twenty-
two years, leaving two children, O. I. and
Sadie Ellis.

.Mr. .\rmstrong cast his first ])residential
vote for .\braham Lincoln, in i860, and has
since been an ardent Republican. Although
be has never .sought political preferment, he
was elected and served three years as high-
way commissioner and was a member of the
school board for a number of years, during
which time he di<l all in his power to secure
competent teachers and advance the educa-
tional interests of his community. Relig-
iously, both he and his wife are active mem-

1 62

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

l)ers of tlie Centre Metliodist Episcopal
clnirch and tliey give their support to every
worthy enterjjrise which they l^elieve calcu-
lated to advance the moral, social or material
welfare of the township and county in which
thev live.

JARXIS C. SU.MXER.

Jarvis C. Sumner, one of the hest known
citizens of Pt)ntiac. was born in Elkhart. In-
diana. November 7. 1843. ^ ='"" "f John .M.
and Ann (Strong) Sumner. The father
was born in Xew York, March 3, 18 u. and
was a son of Harvey and Sally ( Sherwin )
Sumner, who were Imrn. reared and married
in \'ermont. The latter was a daughter of
Ahamaz Sherwin, a drum major from \'er-
mont in the Revolutionary war. At an early
day Har\ey Sumner and wife moved to
W'estport township. Essex county. Xew
York, and in 181S went to Ohio, .sailing out
of Bufifalo on the first steamer that ever navi-
gated the great lakes. They located four
miles east of Cleveland, where Mr. Sumner
followed farming for some time, but spent
his last days in Elkhart, Indiana. His wife
died in Cleveland about 1825.

John M. Sumner, father of our subject,
accompanied his i)arents on their removal to
(Jhio. and later went with his fatiier to Elk-
hart. Indiana, in the fall of 1834, when that
place contained but few inhabitants. On his
arrival there he had but six and one-fourth
cents, but be soon found employment and
the next summer was able to purchase forty
acres of land. There he married .\nn Strong,
a daughter of Walter Strong, who went to
Indiana from Ohio, but was born in Con-
necticut. He gave his daughter forty acres
of land, and upon that place Mr. and Mrs.

Sumner lived until 1850. when they moved
to Wisconsin, but a year later returned to
Indiana. He followed farming throughout
the greater part of his active business life,
but is now living retired with our subject.
The wife and mother, who was a member
of the Uni\ersalist church, dieil Xoxemhcr
.>4. 1886.

Our subject acquired his education in the
common and high schools of Elkhart, and
assisted his father in the operation of the
home farm until twenty-one years of age.
He manifested his jiatriotism 1)\' enlisting in
the Civil war. but was discharged on account
of illness and .sent home before leavinv the
state. He was a member of the Chandler
Horse Guards of Coldwater.

In 1864 Mr. Sumner moved to Eureka,
Illinois, where he engaged in farming on his
own account. Prior to his removal, he was
married, in Cass county, Michigan, to Miss
Sarah Martin, who was borr, in Elkhart
county. Indiana, Eebruary 6. 1846. a daugh-
ter of William and Mary A. ( Clinger)
Martin, natives of Ohio, whose home was
five miles east of Middlebury. in La Grange
county. Indiana. The mother died when
Mrs. Sumner was only two years old. and the
father dejiarted this life at Benton Harbor,
-Michigan. September 27, 187J. .Mr. and
Mrs. Sumner have three children, namely:
Charles M., .May Belle and William R..y.
The last named was a nieiubcr of the state
militia, but was not accepted inti> the Cnitcd
States service during our recent war with
Spain.

While at luireka. Mr. Sumner ser\e(l as
constable and deputy sheriff under Frank
Roman and Garman Gish for eight years.
He attended to all the sheriff's business in
his part of the county and served all the pa-
])ers in the Workman murder case. He also

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

163

carried on the largest and most iiii]M)rtaiit
livery business in the town. He finally sold
out and moved to Livingston county, in
the spring of 18S1. For two years he was
engaged in farming in P'ontiac townshi]).
and then moved to the city of I'ontiac that
he might provide his children with better
educational advantages, but was mostly en-
gaged in farming and teaming until ap-
pointed deputy l)y Sheriff Keed. He was re-
appointed by Sheriff Talbot and most cred-
itably and satisfactorily filled that position
for seven years. He did a good deal of work
in connection \vith the bank robbery case
of Cornell and the Kightsel nnirder case of
Fairbury. besides a large amount of civil
business and collecting. In Xoxember,
1896, he was elected constable, an<l is still
filling that office in a most cajiable manner.
He also has considerable property in his
Jiands to rent, and does a good life insurance
business. He owns a lovely home situated
on a large lot at the corner of Plum and
Cleary streets, surrounded by beautiful trees
and shrubs and is one of the best kept
j)iaces of the city. Since attaining his ma-
jority Mr. Sumner has aftiliated with the
Keiniblican party, and both he and his wife
are members of the Presbvterian church.

WILLI A.M II. KI;TC1I.\.M.

One of the busiest, most energetic and
most enter[)rising luen of Dwight. Illinois,
io the subject of this sketch, who is success-
fully engaged in the real estate and loan busi-
ness, as well as the practice of law. I le was
born in that place, February 9, 1861, and
there the greater part of his life has been

s])ent — an important factor in business and
public affairs.

William H. Kctcbam. .Sr.. father of our
subject, was born in I'ishkill. Dutchess comi-
ty. .\'ew ^'ork. Xo\eml)er jS. i.Sji. He re-
ceived a good English education and re-
mained at home until 1852, when he set sail
for California, leaving New York, February
4, and arriving in San Francisco Aoril 1.
He was shipwrecked off the coast of Mexico
and delayed five weeks. He was success-
fully engaged in mining about three years
and a half near Marysville, and then returned
to his native state by way of the Isthmus of
I'anama. In Dutchess count}', he was mar-
ried, November 30. 1840, to Miss Mary E.
Losee, \\ ho was born there May 23, 1822,
and was a daughter of John Lnsce. whose
ancestry can be traced back to Wilbur W'eber,
King of Holland and a son of the Prince of
Orange. His daughter. Anna Kanjanse
Weber, married liveretus Bogardus, the first
preacher who came to Xew ^'ork City. Mrs.
Ketcham was the seventh generation from
this king, who left ;in immense fortune, now
amounting to about five million dollars, and.
which is in litigation at jiresent. In the fall
of 1855, shortly after his return to Xew
\'ork from California, .Mr. Ketcham mi-
grated to Dwight. Illinois, which |)lace then
contained only eight fanulies. Here he at
first worked at anything he could tind to do.
and for a time engaged in farming anil op-
erated a corn sheller a number of years. He
was a publ:c-s])irited man and did much to
ad\ance the interests of his ado])ted town,
taking (|uite an active part in public .affairs,
and serving as justice of the peace fourteen
>ears, school director a number of years,
and also village trustee some time, and de])-
uty sheriff of the county in early tiays. In
1874 he joined Dwight Lodge, Xo. 513,

164

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

I. O. O. F.. and later became a member of
Pacific luicami)ment, Xo. 126. He died,
April 19, 1 88 J.

The subject of this sketch is the young-
est in a family of seven children, the otiiers
being- as follows: Berwin L., the eldest, died
in infancy. John L.. a memlier of the One
Hundred and Twenty-ninth Infantry, was
wounded in tlie battle of Kenesaw Mountain,
and died in the liospital at Chattanooga, June
25. 1864. Jane E. married J. J. Smith and
both are now deceased. Frank is the wife
of Hugh Thomp.son, of Pt)ntiac. Mary H. is
the wife of George Hoover, of Chicago.
Emma \'. is the widow of \\'. .-\. Chamberl-
lain and resides with lier children. Marietta
and Frank William, who li\e in Chicago.

William H. Ketcham, Jr., was reared and
educated in Dwight, and began his business
career as bookkeeper in the grain elevator
of Hugh Thompson, of that place, remain-
ng with him one year. He then became in-
terested in the stock business, which he car-
ried on alone for one year, Iniying cattle in
Livingston and Grundy counties. At the
end of that time lie formed a partnership
with John Thompsim in tiic same business,
shipi)ing stuck {<< the C hicagu market. This
connectii)n lasted two years, and Mr. Ketch-
am next purchased the real estate business
of Alexander McKay, which he conducted
from December. \XH(>. until .\pril. uSSj,
when he suld nut to llelzei & Rombergcr.

After disposing of his real estate busi-
ness, Mr. Ketcham mo\ed tn Marion county,
Kansas, where lie was interested in the same
pursuit until the fall of 1887, when he en-
tered tile law ofifice of Kellar & Dean, study-
ing under their instruction and at the same
time doing office work. Before his admis-
sion to the bar lie drew up the papers for
twenty-one forclosures in one week. He

v,as admitted to practice by examination be-
fore Judge Doster, the present chief justice
of the state of Kansas, August 20, 1888,
and before the supreme court at Topeka,
June 2, 1 89 1. He was associated in prac-
tice with W. H. Carpenter, of Marion, Kan-
sas, from 1889 to July, 1891, when he re-
turned to Dwight and resumed business as
a real estate dealer, in ])artnership with b'rank
1. Smith, under the firm name of Ketcham
& Smith. On the 23d of March, 1892, he
\\as admitted to practice in Illinois, and later
in the state of Indiana. By mutual agree-
ment the i)artnership between Mr. Ketcham
and Mr. Smith was dissolved in October,
1895, since which time our subject has been
alone in business. He gi\es the greater i)art
of his attention to real estate, but is also en-
gaged in the |)ractice of law in the courts of
this state and Indiana. He carried the
Clauson case through the supreme court of
Illinois.

On the i<)th of .Vpril. 1893, Mr. Ketcham
was united in marriage with Miss Nora A.
'J'aylor, a native of Grundy county. Illinois,
and one of a family of four daughters, all
living. Her father, G. L. Taylor, was one
of the lirst settlers of Grundv county, but
is now a resident of Dwight township, Liv-
ingston county. Mr. and Mrs. Ketcham
have three children, namel\' : Mary Emma,
Gcrtruile Xora and Xellie Maurine.

l''raternally, Mr. Ketcham is a member
of Dwight Lodge, .Xo. 513, and I'acitic En-
campment, Xo. 313. I. O. O. v., and Liv-
ingston Lodge, No. 371, F. & A. M. Since
reaching his majority he has always alYil-
iated with the Democratic party and taken
an active interest in politics. He is now an
advocate of the free coinage of silver, and in
1896 took the stump, speaking in Chicago
and other parts of the state. While engaged

TilE BIOGRAPHICAL RliCURD.

165

ill the practice of law in i\ansas lie assisted
tlie county attorne\' and during liis residence
in Dwiglit has taken an active part in pubhc
affairs. lie was elected mayor in i8(/) and
efficiently tilled the office one term, durinj;
whicli time the park ordinance was jjassed
and notable improvements made. He was
once a candidate before tlie Democratic con-
vention, for judge on the Democratic ticket,
but was defeated. In 1886 he was elected
village treasurer and was tilling that office
when he mo\ed to Kansas, and in Ai)ril,
1900, was elected village trustee, in which
capacity lie is now serving in a most credit-
able and satisfactory manner. A man of
keen perception, of unboimded enterprise, his
success in life is due to iiis own efforts, and
lie deserves prominent mention among the
leading representative business men of the
county. His genial, pleasing maimer makes
him quite popular in both business aiul social
circles, ami as a public-si)irited, enterpris-
ing man he is recognized as a \aliied citizen
of the communitv.

JOIJX R. OUGHTON.

To the ])resent mayor of D wight, Hon.
John R. Oughton, the city owes a deep
debt of gratitude, for through many years
he has been an important factor in its prog-
ress and advancement along social, educa-
tional, material and moral lines. His active
co-operation has been given to every move-
ment for the public good, and his support has
l)een withheld from no movement calculated
to advance the general welfare. His aid,
too, has been of a practical nature and the
substantial growth of the city is the out-
come of his well-directed and discriminat-
ing effort.

It is not an eas)' task to describe ade-
quately a man who has lead an eminently act-
ive and busy life and who has attained to a
])osition oi high relative distinction in the
mure important and exacting fields of liunian
endeavor. But biography fintls its most
perfect justification, nevertheless, in the
tracing and recording of such a life history.
It is, then, with a full apiireciatioii of all
that is demanded, and of the painstaking-
scrutiny that must be accorded each state-
ment, and )et \vith a feeling of significant
satisfaction, that the writer essays the task
of touchinbg briefly upon the details of such
a record as has ben the vijice of the char-
acter of the iKinored subject whose life now
comes uiuler review.

John R. Oughton was born in County
Tipperary, Ireland, in 1857, and resided in
his native land until sixteen years of age,
when he crossed the .Vtlantic to America, lo-
cating in Chicago, Illinois. He accjuired his
preliminary education in the schools of Ire-
land and there took uj) the study of chemis-
try. After reaching Chicago he resumed
his studies along that line in the Chicago
College of Pharmacy and later in the Rush
^ledical College. Previous to entering col-
lege, however, he engaged as a clerk in the
drug store of his cousin, Mr. Lee, who was
doing business on the west side of the city.
After completing his collegiate course he
came to Dwight ami soon afterward formed
an association with Dr. Keeley in the work
which has since made them and the city of
their residence famous throughout the land.
For many years Mr. Oughton was vice-
president and chemist of the Leslie E.
Keeley Company, but after the death of Dr.
Keeley he was elected president and has since
served in that capacity. The history of the
institution is too well known to need further

1 66

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ciiinnient liere. Its sjjkMidid work is slunvn
li\ tliousaiids of reformed men to whom
manhood has been restored and who now oc-
cupy honored positions in society and in
business Hfe. The volume of tlieir business
lias constantly increased and has assumed gi-
gantic i)roportions. Their extensive insti-
tution is fitted up with one of the most com-
])lete laboratories of the country, and the
work is progressing with undiminished
strength, its beneficent ])in"pose resulting in
good immeasurable.

Mr. Oughton has two children, sons,
James H. and Jcjhn R. Socially he is a Ma-
son and has taken the degrees of the blue
lodge, chapter commandery, c<jnsistory and
the Mystic shrine. He belongs to the Epis-
copal church, and in his political affiliations
is a Republican, ardent and earnest in his ad-
vocacy of the principles of the party. He
has served as a member of the school board,
has held a number other city ofifices, and in
the spring of 189C) was electeil mayor of
Dwight, to which position he has been re-
elected each succeeding spring. In 1898
]\Ir. Oughton, Major Judd and Dr. Leslie E.
Keeley erected and gave to the city of
Dwight the present stand])ipe and water-
works, built at a cost of twenty thousand
dollars and unequalled by any system in the
state in a town approaching the size of
Dwight. The cement sidewalks of the city
have been constructed during the mayoralty
of Mr. Oughton and the town now has bet-
ter sidewalks in proportion to its size than
any other in the state. Many other im-
pro\ements have received his co-operation
and Dwight owes much to his prt)gressive
spirit.

In 1895 Mr. Oughton erected his pala-
tial residence at a cost of about one hundred
tlKJUsand dollars — one of the finest homes in

Illinois and the best in this section of the
state. He is the owner of a very fine ken-
nel, ha\ing some very fine dogs, including
the famous prize winner, "Heather Lad,"
\alued at six thousand dollars. This fine an-
imal has taken prizes at all of the bench
shows, and in 1893 and 1894 carried off first
jirize at everv bench show in the United
States. Mr. Oughton alscj has a deer park
upon his place, containing some fifteen or
twenty head of fine deer. His saddle horses
are notetl throughout this section of the state
and for a numl)er of years Mr. Oughton
was extensively engaged in breeding fine
Kentucky stock. He owns over four thou-
sand acres of land in Livingston and Grundy
comities, and with the exception of eight hun-
dred acres, all is in Dwight township and is
under a high state of cultivation. While
intensely devoted to business and a man of
very decided views and strong convictions,
he is, by nature, of a very gentle and affec-
tionate disposition. His moral standing is
high and he lives up to it. His genial com-
panionship, his tenacious regard for the sim-
ple truth, his imostentatious generosity and
his large-hearted Christian benevolence are
among the ijualities which ha\e greatly en-
deared him to his fellow men. His wealth
has made no difference in his friendships and
the humblest can obtain from him an
audience.

1-K.\.\C1S FKEMOXT FRAKES

I'rancis Fremont Frakes, a well-known
carpenter of Pontiac, Illinois, was born in
Avoca townshi]), September 12, 1856, a .son
of Labin and Mary .\. (Tracy) Frakes.
The mother was born at Sandy Creek, New
\ ork, not far from Syracuse, a daughter of

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

167

A. \i. Tracv. ami came here alxmt tlic same
time as her sister. Mrs. .Maria ()\\ens, a
pioneer of Pontiac, whose sketch ai)|)ears on
another page of this vohinie.

Labin Frakes, fatlier of our subject, was
born in the soutliern part of this state, near
the Missouri line, and as a yonnj^- man came
to Pontiac. where he ])urchasetl property. Me
was a tailor by trade, but liere he engaged
ii\ the real estate business and also con-
tlucted a livery stable and stage jmd transfer
line between Pontiac and Blooniington. lie
was married here and later moved to Ne-
\ada City. Missouri, where he owned proper-
ty, lie also built a large livery stable at that
])Iacc and ran a stage between Sadlia to b'ort
Scott. After the railroad was built he re-
moved to Sullivan county, Indiana, and
while there the Civil wr broke out and he
enlisted. He participated in the first and
secontl battles of Bull Run, and was wounded
in the latter engagement, being taken to
Beverly, West Virginia, where he died from
the effects of his wounds. His wife then
returned to Pontiac, where she spent the re-
mainder of her life.

After the death of his father Francis !•",
Frakes lived with his aunt, Mrs. Maria
Owens, in Pontiac, for seven years, and at-
tended school. The only scIkjoI house then
in the place stood on the banks of the river
near the jail. He served a two years' ap-
prenticeship to the carpenter's trade with
Andrew Pierce, and later was with William
Holmes, during which time he helped erect
many of the early buildings of Pontiac. As
a journeman he worked in most of the build-
ings erected at that time, and also those built
in later years, including the Sterry block.
He is now one of the oldest carpenters of the
city in years of continuous service, and is
an expert and skillful workman.

On the 24th of .March. 1S7S. .Mr. I'rakes
was united in marriage with Miss Orilla
Fngland. a nati\e of Pontiac and a daugii-
tcr of Rue I'jighuid. who came here from
( )hio in pioneer days. ISy this union were
born si.\ children, namely: Orville Leon
and Rudy Rue, who are both employed in
the shoe factory in Pontiac: Coral, who was
graduated from the ])ublic schools in 1900;
Lorene, b'remont and luiima Susan, who are
all attending school. Mrs. l'"rakes and the
children are members of the Episcopal
church, while our subject leans toward the
Methodist L])isco]jal church in religions be-
lief. The family is (|uite well known and
highly respected. Mr. Frakes purchased
over a half-acre of ground at 1003 West
Madison street, and has erected thereon a
nice residence which has ncnv been his home
for se\en years, though he is one of the
oldest pro])crtv holders of the city.

J FAX P. .\. \1.\CEXT.

Jean P. A. Vincent, decea.sed, for many
}ears one of the honored and highly-re-
sjiected citizens of Pontiac, was born in De-
troit, Michigan, January 9, 1827, a son of
.Xarcisse and Clotilda ( Prevolsel) Vincent,
both of French descent. He dietl the same
year at Detroit when our subject was about
ele\en years of age, and he was then a]>-
]irenticcd to Charles Buhl, a hat manufac-
turer of that city, with whom he remained
until attaining his majority. There he re-
ceived his education in the public schools.

.\l the age of twenty-one, Mr. Vincent
was sent by the firm of Buhl Brothers to their
Chicago store, where he clerked for one year,
and then was employed on a railroad survey

1 68

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

through Bureau county. Ilhnois. In 1859
he entered the service of the government
to go to the northwest witli a party to take
meteorological ohservations, receiving his ap-
pointment to this position through the influ-
ence of General Lewis Cass, of Michigan,
who always took a warm personal interest in
our subject and befriended him in many
ways. Remaining with this expedition
over a year aiul a half, Mr. \'incent returned
to Illinois in the fall of i860, and went to
Cairo and also to X'icksburg, where he was
in government employ. ^Vhile at the lat-
ter place he was drafted, and served in Com-
pany C, Fifty-ninth Illinois Volunteer In-
fantrv, until the close of the Civil war, when
he returned to Illinois and passed the winter
in \^'enona. In the following spring he
moved to Pontiac, ^\•here he w-as engaged in
the sale of pumps, etc., for about five years,
when, on account of failing health, he re-
tired from active business.

In Lacon, Illinois, August 17, 1861, Mr.
Vincent was united in marriage with Miss
Emma Stevens, a daughter of Nathaniel W.
and Mary (Mix) Stevens. In early life her
father was a resident of Lowell, Massa-
chusetts, but shortly after his marriage re-
moved to Lacon, Illinois, where his death oc-
curred. His wife died at Spring \'alley,
this state, in 1888, at the age of seventy-
four years.

Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
\"incent. Lewis Cass, the elder, died in
Henry, Illinois, at the age of fifteen months.
He w-as named for General Lewis Cass, of
Detroit, previously mentioned as a friend of
Mr. Vincent. Nathaniel N., born in Stark
county, Illinois, April 8, 1864, is now a resi-
dent of Spring Valley, where he is engaged
ill the manufacture of cigars. He mar-
ried Lucy O'Keef, by whom he had two chil-

dren. Pauline and Gwendoline, who, since
the death of their mother, have made their
home with Mr. Mncent in Pontiac. For his
second wife Nathaniel married Agnes Weir.
The only child born of this union died in
infancy.

Mr. \'incent died at his home in Pontiac
from a stroke of paralysis January 16, 1898,
at the age of seventy-one years. He had
drawn a pension since the close of the war.
He was always a stanch supporter of the
Republican party and its principles, and w-as
an honored member of the Grand Army of
the Republic and the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, belonging to the latter fra-
ternity in Chicago. An honest, upright man,
he was highly respected by all who knew
him, and was a faithful and consistent mem-
ber of the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Vin-
cent, who is a most estimable lady, resides
in a pleasant home on North Hazel street,
Pontiac.

JOEL D. FOSDICK.

Joel D. Fosdick. familiarly known as
Squire Fosdick. owns and operates a valu-
able farm of four hundred acres on sec-
tion 20, Pike township, whose neat and
thrifty appearance well indicates his care-
ful supervision. Sulistantial improvements
are surrounded by well tilled fields and all
the accessories and conveniences of a model
farm are there found.

Mr. Fosdick was born in Allegany coun-
ty, New York, October 4, 1832, a son of
Aaron C. and Olive (Moon) Fosdick, also
natives of that state. The father, who was
born in 1808, was a carpenter by trade and
was also engaged in the manufacture of lum-
ber for a quarter of a century. In 1844 he

^\>

1^^^ i.

^ ' 'Vm^^B.i^

J. D. FOSDICK.

MRS. J. D. FOSDICK.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

«73

came to Illinois, niakiufj tlie trip with a team
ill twenty-two days, and locating^ in Alar-
sliall county, \\liere he houglit one lumched
and sixty acres of land and o])ened uj) a
farm. He subsecjuently purchased two hun-
dred acres, and was engaged in the manu-
facture of lumber in Peoria county for about
six years, after which be returned to bis
farm in Marshall county, but spent bis last
years with a daughter in W'estun. where be
died April 5, 1885.

( )ur subject was a lad of twelve years
when be came with the family to Illinois,
and in M;n"sliall cciuntv be ■■rew to manhood,
ins education l)eing olitained in the common
schools. He remained at home assisting in
the oi)eration of the farm until twenty-five
years of age, and was then married, in
IJoyd's Cirove church, Iiureau county, Alay
24, 1857, to Miss Caroline C (iriswold, a
native of that county and a daughter of
Henry Griswold. one of its early settlers.
Of the five children born of this luiion three
are living, namely: Olive, wife of John
ircanlan; and Charles and Albert, who are
both married and live on the home farm.
iJelphi E. died at the age of eighteen years,
and Joel C. died at the age of eleven.

After liis marriage 'Mv. Fosdick pur-
chased a farm of eight v acres in Saratoga
tnwnsbip, Marshall county, but operated one
liUndred and sixty acres, and on disposing
of that place bought eigiity acres adjoining
his father's jjlace and thirty acres along the
creek. This he broke, fenced and improved,
and continued its cultivation until 1875,
when he traded it for three hundred and
twenty acres of his present farm in Pike
township, Livingston county, to which he
lias since added an eighty-acre tract, making
a valuble place of four hundred acres. He

also owns eighty acres in Odell township.
10

He commenced life for himself in limited
circumstances, but being industrious, enter-
])rising and of good business ability and
sound judgment he has steadily prospered,
and is to-day one of the most substantial and
prosperous men of his community, as well
as one of its biglily honored and respected
citizens. In connection with farming he
operated a threshing machine during season
for forty years, and in that undertaking was
also successful.

Since casting his first presidential ballot
for .Abraham Lincoln in i860 Mr. Fosdick
has been a stanch Republican, but has never
sought nor desired public ofiice. He has,
however, taken an active interest in educa-
tional afYairs and has been an efficient mem-
ber of the school board for twenty-five
years. \\'ithout his knowledge he was
elected justice of the peace and filled that
office to the .satisfaction of all.

EPHRAIM HOUDER.

Ephraim Ilouder, an industrious and
skillful fanner who is now practically liv-
ing a retired life on section 13, Eppards
I'oint township, Livingston county, was born
in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, Decem-
ber 24, 1822, and is a son of Jacob and Bar-
bara (Kurtz) Houdcr, the former also a na-
tive of that county, the latter of Germany.
Our subject'^ pateri^al grandfather, David
Houder, was of German descent. In 1831
the fatlicr, with his family, moved to Mont-
gomery county, Ohio, where he cleared and
improved a farm, making it his home until
his emigration to Ilinois in 1856, when he lo-
cated in Livingston county, buying a farm
three miles sjutheast of Pontiac, upon which

174

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

he spent the remainder of his lite. He died
in 1862, his wife tiie year fdHow ing'. In
their family were six children, three sons and
three daugiiters. of whom Ephraim is the
oldest ; David is a resident of Pontiac ; Eliz-
abeth and Mary Ijuth died unmarried; Henry
was killed in the Civil war; Martha is the
wife of Joseph Thomas, of Pontiac ; and
Nancy is the wife of Daniel Shafer, of Mont-
gomery connty, Ohio.

Our subject received a fair common-
school education in ^lontgomery county,
Ohio, and there grew to manhood. He
came with the family to this state in 1856,
and in October, 18O1, enlisted in Company
C, Thirty-ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry,
which was assigned to the Army of the Po-
tomac and was first under the command of
General Butler. They participated in the
battles of Hancock, Virginia, Winchester,
Chapins farm and Weirbottom Church,
where Mr. Houder received a gun shot
wound through the ankle and was disabled
for a time. His next engagement was at
Fort Wagner, followed by the battle of
Drury Bluff, and many others. He enteretl
the service as a private, but was promoted
to corporal; and as such was honorably dis-
charged December 6, 1865. After his re-
turn home he helped carry on the farm for a
few years.

In Joliet, Illinois, May 15, 1867, Mr.
Houder was united in marriage with Miss
Hannah F. Harder, who was born near Port
Byron, Wayne county. New York, where
she was reared and educated, and when a
young lady came to llinois. Her father,
John I. Harder, was a native of Hudson,
New York, and from that place to Wayne
county, where he espent the remainder of his
life. I\Ir. and Mrs. Houder began their do-
mestic life upon his father's farm near Pon-

tiac, where they remained several years, and
then moved to a farm in Eppards Point
township, which was their home three years.
The following year was spent in McLean
county, and at the end of that time our sub-
ject pm"chased his present farm of eighty
acres on section 13, Eppards Point township,
Livingston county, which at that time was
only partially improved. He has tiled the
place, built a barn and luade other substan-
tial inii)rovements, but is trow living retired,
\\hile his only' son, Leroy G. Houder, oper-
ates the farm. Besides this property he
owns another farm of eighty acres in Owego
township.

In 1852 Mr. Houder suppportetl I'rank-
hn Pierce for the presidency, but since the
organization of the Republican party four
years later he has been one of its stalwart
supporters and earnest advocates of its prin-
ciples. He was formerly a member of the
school board, but has never sought nor de-
sired public office. At one time he and his
family were members of the Christian church
at Pontiac, but since it broke up they attend
the Baptist church. They are well and
tavorably known throughout the community
in which they reside and justly deserve the
high regard in which they are held.

ORLIX CONVERSE.

Orlin Converse, a worthy representative
of the agricultural interests of Livingston
county, owns and occupies a fine fariu of two
hundred acres of well-improved and valuable
land on section 33, Owego township, and
also has an eighty-acre tract two miles from
his home. A native of Addison county,
Vermont, he was born on Lake Champlain,

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

175

umler tlie sliaclows of tlie Green mountains,
Xoeniber i, 1834, and is a son of Heman
Converse, who was born in the same state in
1799, his ancestors being among the pioneers
of X'ermont. There his grandfather, Pain
Converse, spent his entire hfe. He was a
soldier of the war of 18 12. The fatlier grew
to manliood in his native county, and married
Hannah Crampton, who was born in the
same house wliere our subject's birth occur-
red, antl where both parents died, tlie father
in 1S70, at the age of seventy-one years, the
mother in 1888.

Orlin Converse passed his boyhood and
youth on the home farm, aiding in its opera-
tion and attending the common schools of the
neighborhood. He came west in 1855, join-
ing his sister Emily, wife of Robert Smith,
who had located in Livingston county, Illi-
nois, a year or two previously. He en-
gaged in farming in partnership with his
brother-in-law until August, 1862, when he
enlisted for three years or during the war in
Company G, One Hundred and Twenty-
ninth X'olunteer Infantry, which was as-
signed to the .\rmy of the Cumberland. He
l)articipated in the battles of Resaca and
Kenesaw, and all the engagements of the
Atlanta campaign, being under fire every
day for a month. After the capture of the
city the regiment went with Sherman on the
inarch to the sea, and was in the Carolina
campaign, taking part in the last battle of the
war — that of Bentonville, North Carolina.
Marching through Richmond, they proceed-
ed to Washington, D. C, and participated in
the grand review in that city. Hostilities
having ceased, Mr. Converse w as honorably
discharged and returned to his home in Illi-
nois. He had lost no time from illness or
other causes, with exception of the twenty
days" furlough he was given in 1864.

Before entering the service Mr. Con-
verse was married, in this county, January
7, 1862, to Miss Rebecca Rockwood, who
was burn here. Her father, Daniel Rock-
wood, was a native of Massachusetts and one
of the pioneers of Livingston county, hav-
ing located here in 1834. Pie helped to lay
out the county seat and organize Owego
township, where he took up a claim and en-
tered land, making it his home until his
death. Two children were born to Mr. and
Mrs. Converse, but RoUin P. enlisted in the
Third United States Infantry during the
Spanish-American war, and was taken ill
and died at Atlanta, Georgia, September 23,
1898. His remains were brought back and
interred in Patty cemetery. Jessie, the only
daughter, died in 1870, at the age of nearly
three years.

Mr. Converse's first purchase of land
consisted of forty acres in Owego township
where he now resides, and as his financial
resources increased he added to it from time
to time until he now has over two hundred
and eighty acres of fine farming land, which
he has placed under a high state of cultiva-
tii)n and improved with good and substantial
buildings. Pie commenced life here in lim-
ited circumstances, and the success that he
has achieved is due entirely to his own well-
directed and energetic efforts. After resid-
ing here for five years he returned east in
1861 to visit his mother, friends and scenes
of his youth. By this time he had accu-
mulated three hundred and fifty dollars in
the old George Smith money of Atlanta,
Georgia, but one week after his return home
it was worth only fifty cents on the dollar,
and at the end of another the entire amount
was not worth a dollar. He was thus forced
to walk back and was six weeks in reaching
this county.

176

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Since casting his first presidential vote
for John C. Fremont in 1856, Mr. Converse
has been a stanch supporter of the RepubH-
can party, and he most acceptably served as
supervisor of his township two terms, iluring
which time he was a member of some import-
ant committees. He has ever taken an
active and commendable interest in educa-
tional affairs, has been a member of the
school board twenty years, and clerk of the
district during that entire time. He has
watched with interest the wonderful devel-
opment of this region during his residence
here and has always borne his part in its up-
building and advancement.

JUDGE NATHANIEL J. PILLSBURY.

During the last half century the lawyer
has been a pre-eminent factor in all affairs of
pri\ate concern and national importance. He
has been depended upon to conserxe the best
and permanent interests of the whole peo-
ple and is a recognized power in all the ave-
nues of life. He stands as the protector of
the rights and liberties of his fellow^ men,
and is the representative of a profession
whose followers, if they would gain honor,
fame and success, must be men of merit and
ability. Such a one is Judge Pillsbury,
who served three terms as circuit judge and
is to-day a prominent citizen of Pontiac.

He was born in Shapleigh, York county,
Maine, October 21, 1834, a son of Stephen
N. and Susan (Averiil) Pillsbury, also na-
tives of that county and representatives of
good old New England families. He is of
the ninth generation in direct descent from
William Pillsbury, who came to the new-
world in 1640 and settled in Dorchester,

Massachusetts, where he lived until 1851,
and then moved to Newburyport, the same
state, where he purchased land that is still in
]jossession of his lineal descendants. From
him all the Pillsburys in this country are
descended. The father of our subject, who
was a farmer and machinist by occupation,
continued his residence in York county,
Maine, until after the birth of all oi his six
children, and held different local offices
there, including those of selectman and
school agent. In the fall of 1855 he re-
moved to Bureau county, Illinois, wdiere our
subject had located the previous spring, and
engaged in farming near Princeton for three
years. In 1857 both father and son pur-
chased raw land in Nebraska township, Liv-
ingston county, where the former made a
good home, living there until 1884, when he
moved to Pontiac and built a residence. This
continued to be his home throughout the re-
mainder of his life, though he died in Iowa.
In politics he was first a \\ hig and later a
Republican, and he held dofferent township
ofiices here. He was born July 12, 1812,
and died in November, 1890, while his wife
was born in August, 1812, and also died in
Iowa, in the fall of 1885. She was a daugh-
ter of Joseph Averiil.

Judge Pillsbury received a good common
school education and also attended an acad-
emy in his native county for one term. He
remained on the home farm with his parents
until 1 85 1, after which he engaged in teach-
ing school for tw'o years. He accompanied
the family on their removal to Saco, Maine,
where he was in the employ of the York
Manufacturing Company for a time and also
taught school until 1855. On the ist of Jan-
uary, that year, he married Miss Eliza J.
Cole, and the same spring, being threatened
with consumption, he came to Illinois.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

177

I'hough the jouniev was made l)y rail it
proved a Innt;' and tcdinus one. taking- six
days to reach Chicago.

As previously stated the Judge first lo-
cated in ]?ureau county, and in 1857 hought
a farm in Nebraska towiishi]). this county,
\\hich he operated until the .spring of 1863.
Moving to Pontiac he entered the ot^ce of
Samuel Fleming, and after studying law for
some time was admitted to the har hy exami-
nation, lie then formed a ])artncrsliip with
Mr. Fleming and in a short time had ac-
c;uired a lucrati\e jjractice and excellent rep-
utation as a sound and honest lawyer. In
1869 he was elected a member of the consti-
tutional convention which met the following
year, and in 1873 was elected judge of the
thirteentli judicial circuit, then composed of
Livineston, Kankakee and Irotpiois counties.
Four years later the circuit was enlarged l>\'
adding McLean and I'^inl counties and be-
came the ele\enth. He was re-elected in
1879 and again in 1885, serving in all eight-
een years to the entire satisfaction of all con-
cerned. He was also one of the first judges
of tlie api^ellate comt. being on that bench
ten and a half _\-ears from 1877, and an un-
deniable proof of his popularity is foimd in
his re-elections He wrote many ojjinions
that are to be found in the first sixteen vol-
umes of tlie appellate court reports of the
slate of Illinois

In 1 89 1 Judge Pillsbury was urged to
become a candidate for a fourth term by the
bi.r and iwople generally, but on account of
injuries received during his second term be
did not feel physically able to undertake the
work. On the ist of June, i88j. while re-
turning to Iiis home from Chicago the train
on which he was a passenger was besieged
by a mob of union strikers who desired to
capture and beat certain n(.)n-union laborers

who were being carried to their homes by
the railroad comi)any. The rioters began
firing in and about the cars and the Judge
received a painful wound from which he has
never recovered. He held the railroad com-
]iany liable and brought suit to recox'er dam-
ages. .\fter a long and tedious litigation
he carried it to a successful conclusion, al-
thoufh the great majority of the bar of the
state, who knew of the circumstances, were
;igainst his views. The case is reported in
\(ilunie 123, reports of the supreme court,
being written liy Judge John M. Scott, of
r.loomington.

For some time after his retirement from
tlie bench Judge I'illsbury attended to some
.selected cases, but was not able to do a
heavy general practice. He owns consider-
hea\\- general ])ractice. He owns consider-
■ible real estate in Pontiac and built the first
iwti-story double Hat building e\'er erectect
ii the city, it being planned by himself. At
one time he had a valuable farm of four
hundred and fifty acres south of the city,
and at different tiiues has owned consider-
able real estate in Nebraska, Kansas and
C alifornia. He still has a fine ranch in .south-
ern California, devoted to oranges and
lemons, and has spent a number of winters
on the Pacific coast on account of bis health,
lie has traveled (|uite extensively and
crossed the continent a dozen times.

The Judge and his wife have a family
of three children, namely: Clara A. is the
wife of S. E. Sims, of Pontiac, and they
ba\-e one child, Gladys; C. .-\vis is the wife
of E. J. Walker, of Sheridan. Indiana, and
tl.ey have one son, Ernest P.; and Dale E.,
ac home, is engaged in the real estate and
loan business. Mrs. Pillsbury is a member
of the Presbyterian church.

In bis political affiliations Judge Pills-

178

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

bury is a Republican and has been a delegate
to different state, county and judicial con-
ventions. Socially he is a Knight Templar
Mason, a member of Pontiac LcKlge, No.
344, F. & A. M. ; Fairbury Chapter. R. A.
M ; and St. Paul Commandery, No. 34, K.
T. He is also a member of the Odd Fel-
lows lodge and encampment, in which he
has held all the offices and has been a mem-
ber of the grand lodge and grand encamp-
ment since 1868. He was chairman of the
building committee and of the trustees th;it
erected the Odd Fellows block, but gave up
his official iX)sition when elected to the bench.
He is a man of high intellectuality, broad
human sympathies and tolerance, and is im-
bued with fine sensibilities and clearly de-
fined principles. Honor and integrity are
synonymous with his name and he enjoys
the respect, confidence and high regard of
the people of this section of the state.

NELSON D. LAWRENCE.

Nelson D. Lawrence, one of Livingston
county's thrifty and prosperous farmers re-
siding on section 26, Pontiac township, with-
in a mile of the city of Pontiac. was born in
Warren county, Indiana, June 26, 1850, and
is a son of Richard Lawrence, whose birth
occurred in Ohio March 8, 1826. His grand-
father, Wilham Lawrence, a native of Del-
aware, was one of the early settlers of Ohio
and also of Warren county, Indiana. In
the latter state Richard Lawrence grew to
manhood and in X'crmilHon countv, Indiana.
he married Amanda Deyo, a native of that
county. In 1854 they came to Livingston
county, Illinois, and settled on a tract of one
hundred and sixtv acres of wild land near

Pontiac, which Mr. Lawrence transformed
into a good farm. While a resident of Indi-
ana he conducted a wagon shop, but he soon
became a thorough farmer antl acquired a
comfortable competence. He was a man of
fair education and sound judgment and
^\■as well and favorably known. He s])ent
his last years in this county, but died wiiile
at Kirksville, Missouri, March 16, 1894. His
first wife had passed away many years be-
fore, dying October 24, 1858. She was
born February 6, 1830.

On the home farm Nelson D. Lawrence
grew to manhood, assisting in the operation
of the same and attending the local schools.
He remained with his father until grown
and then worked by the month as a farm
liand for seven or eight years, after \\hich
he rented land and engaged in farming on
his own account. In 1880 he purchased his
present farm and since his marriage, in
1885, he has resided thereon, having im-
proved the place with a good resilience antl
substantial outluhldings. He has broken
thirty acres of virgin soil, has laid many r(xls
of tiling and converted the farm into one
of the most \-aluable of its size in this .sec-
tion of the count}'.

Mr. Lawrence was married, April 9,
1885, to Miss Caroline M. McKee, a daugh-
ter of James and Nancy (Sterrett) AIcKee,
nati\es of Ohio. Her father was born in
Urown county, that state. June 19, 1813,
and l)rought his family to Illinois in 1856,
locating in Livingston county, where he ''•
chased land and successfully engaged in
farming for some years, but for the past
five years has li\'ed retired with Mr. and
Mrs. Lawrence. His first wife, who was
the mother of Airs. Lawrence, died Sep-
tember 5, 1868. She was born July 14,
1822, and married ]\Ir. McKee March 17,

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

179

184J. Ten children were born of that union,
tive sons and five daup:lUers. of whom nine
readied mature vears. and live sons and two
daugnters are still li\inj^'. Mr. McKee was
postmaster of Rook's Creek postoffice for
manv vears. Mrs. Lawrence was reared and
educated in this county and hy her marriage
to our subject has become the mother of
four children, one of whom died in infancy.
Octa I), and James are students in the home
school, .\lethea ^[. died June 29, 1900.

In jxilitics Mr. Lawrence is indeijendent,
voting for the men he believes best (lualilied
to iill the offices, regardless of jiarly lines.
He takes an acti\-e interest in cilucational
aflfairs and for fifteen years lias lieen a most
efficient member of the school Ixxird, ser\ing
as clerk of the board ti\e or six years. His
estimable wife is a memlier of the Presby-
terian church and both are held in high re-
gard b vail who lia\e the jileasure of their
acquaintance.

CIIARI.F.S K. TRUITT. |.

Ciiarles R. Truitl, the well-known and
popular editor and ])ro])rietor of the !>entinel
of Pontiac. was born near Hillsboro, Mont-
gomery county. Illinois. July 22, 1858, a
son of Samuel and Cynthia -\nn (Carr)
Truitt. The father was born about 18 18.
not far from Louis\ille. Kcntnck)-. where
he grew to manhood and married. On com-
ing to Illinois he first located in Greene coun-
ty, where he spent a few years, and then
made an overland trip to California during
the early days of the gold excitement, re-
maining there three years and meeting with
fair success. He thus obtained a goo<l start
in life, and on his return to this state pur-
chased land in Montgomery county, becom-

ing one of its early settlers and extensive
farmers, owning and operating some five
hundred acres of land. There he si)ent the
remainder of his life, d\ing in February,
1863. He took quite an active interest in
educational affairs, but was never an as-
])irant for political honors. His wife sur-
\i\e(l him for many years, dying in the sum-
mer of 1894. Se was a faithful member of
the Christian church and a. most estimable
woman.

In the county of his nati\ity Charles R.
Truitt was reared, ac<|uiring his early edu-
cation in its common schools. He is a grad-
uate of the W illiston Seminary, a prepar-
atory schcxjl of East Hampton, Massachuy
setts. and for three years attended La Fayette
College at I'laston, Pennsyhania. Later he
successfully engaged in teaching for some
years, being assistant principal of the public
schools at Hillsboro. He next became in-
terested in newspaper work in the office of
the Hillsboro Journal and later purchased
the pa])er, which he conducted about four-
teen years with good success. While there
he took an active jiart in Republican politics,
was a member of the county and township
central committees and .served as a delegate
to the state convention of his party. I'nder
1 resident Harrison he ser\ed as deputy col-
lector of internal revenue in the eight of
Springfield district for two years.

After selling the Hillsboro Journal, in
1895. Mr. Truitt was out of business one
year and then went to Belvidere, Illinois,
and purchased a half interest in the Iklvi-
dere Xorthwestern, which he sold in the
spring of 1897. In July of that year he came
to Pontiac and bought the SeTltinel. wliicli is
the oldest paper in the county, being estab-
lished in 1857, ami which has always beeij
the oflicial l\epublican paper of the county.

i8o

THE BIOGRAPHICAL REC'ORD.

It is an eig'ht-page weeklv jiuirnal witli a
large circulation, w'hich extends all over tlie
county, and is in a flourishing- condition
under the able management of our subject,
who has entire charge of its publication.
Socially he is a member of the Modern
Woodmen of America and the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, and is past grand in
the latter lodge at both Hillsboro and Belvi-
dere. He attends and supports the Presby-
terian church, of which his wife is a mem-
ber.

On the ist of October. 1882. Mr. Truitt
n arried Miss Libbie E. Webber, who was
born near Collinsville. Madison county, Illi-
nois, a daughter of Nicholas A\'ebber, and
they have become the parents of three chil-
dren : Ora, Albert and Beulaih.

JEREMIAH COLLINS.

Jeremiah Collins is one of the representa-
tive agriculturists of Esmen township, his
fine farm of two hundred and forty acres be-
ii'g convenientlv located on sections 23 and
2S, within two miles and a half of Cayuga.
Lie was born in Miami county. Ohio. Jan-
uary 22, 1 83 1, and is a son of Daniel Col-
1ms, a native of Darke count\'. the same
state. His grandfather, Cajjtain Jeremiah
Collins, was born and reared in France and
came to the United States with La Fayette
to fight for .\merican independence. He
held a captain's commission in the Revolu-
tionary war. His last days were spent in
Darke county, Ohio, where he opened a
farm. There Daniel Collins grew to man-
h.ood and married Nancy Penney, a native
of Kentucky and a daughter of James Pen-
ney, who was born in Virginia and was later

one of the pioneers of Kentucky. In early
life the father of our subject followed black-
smithing in his native state until 1835, \vhen
he moved to Michigaii and settled at St.
Joseph, but three vears later he crossed the
lake and came to La Salle count}-. Illinois,
becoming one of the first blacksmiths of Ot-
tawa, where he arrived Julv 16, 1838. and
where he made his home for some years. Li
1844 he located on a farm in Rutland t(nvn-
ship and resided there luitil crossing the
])lains to California in 1850. After two
years spent in the mines he returned east
by way of the Panama route and New York.
He continued to live on his farm for many
years, but died at the home of a daughter
ir Seneca about 1890. His wife had passed
away some years previously. Of their thir-
teen children, six reached years of maturity,
but onlv Jereniiah and ^laria. wife of
Creorge Poi)e. of Seneca. Illinois, are now
living.

Our subject grew to manhood in La
Salle county and obtained a rather limited
education in the district schools. In 1852
he, too, crossed the plains to the Pacific slo])e,
being si.x months upon the road, and arri\--
ing in Volcano, California, September 16,
that year. He spent three years in that state,
but only engaged in mining for a short time.
He raised a crop of fall Nxlieal. worked in
the lumber woods over two years and in the
fall of 185; operated a threshing machine.
B\- way of the Panama route he returned
home and saw- the first railroad train he ever
saw on the isthmus. I'Vom New York he
proceefled to Chicago and arrived home in
October, T855. ^^ purchased a fanu in
La Salle county, which he operated until
1872 and then sold, coming to Lixingston
county. He bought one hundred and sixty
acres of land where he now resides; not a

JEREMIAH COLLINS.

MRS. JEREMIAH COLLINS.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

185

tree or shrul) adorned tlie jilace, witli the
exception of a wild rose, and tlie liouse was
small, but to its improvement and cultiva-
tion he has since devoted his energies and
now has one of tiie most desirable farms of
its size in the townshi]). lie has erected
thereon a i)leasant residence, two good barns
and other outbuildings, has tiled the land
and placed it under a high state of cultiva-
tiiiu and has set out both fruit and shade
trees, which add not a little to the attractive
appearance of the ])lace. He has also added
an eightv-acre tract to his first jjurciiase.

in La Salle county. November 19. 1865.
Mr. Collins married Miss Eliza J. Turner,
a native of England and a daughter of
George Turner, who came to the United
.'•'tates in 1844 'i"'' started as operator in
the first woolen mills at Dayton, Illinois.
Mrs. Collins died in La Salle county Febru-
ary 6, 1872. leaving five children: George;
\\'illiam; Martha J., wife of Simon Slyder,
of (3wego township. Livingston county;
Charles; and \\arren. Mrs. Slyder is the
owner of a can of cherries put up by her
mother in July. 1859. and they are still in
a perfect state of preservation and which
are claimed to be the oldest in the state. All
of the .sons are married and live in Esmen
township with exception of Warren, who
makes his liome in Pontiac township. Mr.
Collins was again married, in Li\ingston
county, ()ct<jber 20, 1872. his second union
being with Miss Rachel Wilkerson, who was
born and reared in Boonesboro, Kentucky,
and came to McLean county, Illinois, with
her parents. John and Mary Wilkerson. By
this marriage four children were born,
namely: Mary, wife of Samuel S])ears. a
farmer of Pontiac township; Cirace. wife of
Arthur Donahue, a farmer of Minnesota;
John E. and Sadie, both at home.

l^oliticall}- Mr. Collins and all his sons
are stanch supporters of the Republican
])arty. He was originally a Democrat and
cast his first presidential vote for Franklin
Pierce in 1852. On the 5th of August, 1862,
he enlisted in Company C, Eighty-eighth
Illinois ^'olunteer Infantry, and i)artici])ated
i:i the battle of Perryville. Kentucky, but
was soon discharged for disability, after
being confined in I he hospital ;it Xasluillc
for some time. He is now a member (if the
T. Lyle Dickey Post. Xo. 103, G. .\. R.. at
J'ontiac. Always a friend of education and
our public schools, he was for some years
an active member of the school board both
ir La Salle and Lixingston counties. He
has been a resident of this state for sixty-
two years and has therefore witnessed al-
most its entire develoi)ment, at the same time
aiding in its advancement and progress.

ALBERT L. Y.\rES.

.'Mliert L. Yates, a successful veterinary
surgeon of Dwight, Illinois, was born in
this county .Xoveniber 27. 1868. a son of Dr.
Christopher and .Almira (Heal) "^'ates. both
natives of Xew A'ork. the former born in
^blntgomerv count \- December 2~,. 1837, the
latter in ^ ates county December J^. 1842.
The father, who was also a ])rominent
veterinary surgeon, enlisted in the govern-
ment service in that cajiacity during the
Civil war and ser\ed o\-er three years.
.\,fter the w;i/r he located in Livingston
county. Illinois, and engaged in farming on
the .Smith f.arm in Dwight township for
some time, then removerl to Kankakee coun-
tv and from there to Irofpiois county, but
iii 1880 he returned to this county and again

1 86

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

took lip liis residence on a farm in Dwiglit
township. His sons tlien being old enongh
to carry on the farm work, lie devoted his
time to the practice of veterinary snrgery.
In 1885 he moved to the village of Dwight
and from that time until his death he gave
his entire attention to practice. Politically
he was an active worker for the Republican
]Mrtv and held a number of local offices ni
Livingston count v. He was a man of fine
physique, being over six feet in height, was
well informed, intelligent and generous to
a fault, and possessed a kindly dis|)osition.
Fraternally he was a meml)er of the Masonic
order and Grand Army of the Republic. His
wife died in Dwight township October 27.
1881. and his death occurred in the village
November 17. 1892.

After the death of the mother the eldest
daughter took her place as far as i)()ssible,
and the family remained together on the
farm, which the hoys operated. There were
eight children, namely: George C. and
William E., \\hii are miw farmers nf .South
Dakota: Albert L.. our sul)ject: Nellie M.,
wife of John Perkins, of Montgomery, Kane
county. Illinois; Bert, a farmer and school
teacher of South Dakota: Plarry, who was
born July 2. 1877, and died December 21,
1880; .\lice, wife of \\'illiam Neel. of Kane
county; and Lefa ]\l., wife of Fred Neel, a
brother of William.

The boyhood and youth of our subject
were passed upon the home farm and as he
grew u]) he received excellent practical train-
ing and experience in veterinary work from
association with his father. He assisted
him in his work and also pursued a course
of stud}- under his direction, i le then ])assed
a creditable examination and was granted
a license by the state board. After his fa-
ther's death he succeeded to his practice and

was alone until 1895, when he formed a
partnership with M. L. Livingston, a grad-
uate of the Ontario Veterinary College, but
after being associated with him in practice
for two years he purchased his interest and
has since been alone. Possessed of excellent
ability and skill in his chosen profession he
has built u\) a large practice, and by his
straightforward course has won the esteem
of the comnnmity in which he li\-es. P(^-
litically the Doctor is a stanch Republican,
and fraternally is a member of the Inde^
pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Sons
of \'eterans.

Mr. Yates was married. May 29, 1900.
to Miss Agnes Chalmers, of Dwight. which
was her home from childhood. She is a
member of the Congregational church of
Dwight.

SAMUEL H. NICHOLS.

Samuel H. Nichols, a dealer in paints,
wall i)aper. etc., at No. 1 13-1 15 West Water
street, Pontiac. and one of its leading busi-
ness men, was born in that city January i,
1863, a son of Samuel V>. and Lucrctia
(Fox) Nichols. The father was a native
of Norwich, England, where he was reared
and educated. At the age of twenty years
he crossed the broad .\tlantic and settled
in Hamilton, Canada, where he was engaged
as a sailor on the great lakes and followed
that life for some years. He came to ]\)n-
tiac. Illinois, on the 4th of July, 1853, ar-
riving in this city on the first train that came
over the Chicago & .Alton l^ailroad. He
had been ])re\iously married, at Cincinnati,
Ohio, to Miss Lucretia Fox, a native of
Keene, New Hatnpshire, and a daughter of
Samuel and Dorothy Fox, and bv this union

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

187

were Ixini two children: Mrs. L. G.
Sclnvartz, of Cliicag<i. and Samuel H., our
subject. After coming to I'ontiac the fa-
ther enoaged in the restaurant business,
which he continued until his death, which oc-
curred Septeniher 30, 1865, He was a sol-
tlier of the Mexican war and a man highly
respected and esteemed l>y all who knew
him. His wife survixed him many years,
ii\ing at Pontiac, in 1887. at the age of si.x-
ty-three years.

The subject of this sketcii is indebted
to the public scliools of Pontiac for his edu-
cational advantages. During his \outh he
learned the ])ainter's and ]5aper hanger's
trade and worked as a journeyman until
1884. when he embarked in the same busi-
ness on his own account, and has succeeded
in building up a large and lucrative trade,
lie has the only exclusi\e wall paper and
paint store in the city or in fact in the coun-
ty, and occupies two large sales rooms, No.
I 13 and 1 15 West Water street, keeping on
hand a large stock of paints, oils, brushes,
wall paper, room moulding, etc. Mr. Xich-
ols devotes his entire time to the store, tak-
ing Contracts for large jobs of jjainting and
paper hanging, and furnishes employment
to a large force of skilletl workmen.

On the 8th of Septeml)er, 1888, in Pon-
tiac. Mr. Nichols married Miss Mollie Har-
iMson, of Carthage, Missouri, a daughter of
John \\'. and Mary Ann Harrison, of that
city, where her father is engaged in business
as a dealer in staple and fancy groceries at
73 1 West Chestnut street. At present Mr.
Nichols is living at 705 West Hc^ward
street, IVmtiac, in a modern two-story frame
dwelling erected b\- him in 1898.

He is an active and prominent member
of Pontiac Camp, No. 5, M. \\'. .\., of which
lie is at present banker, and a member of

tlie Pioneer Reserve Association, in which
order he is serving as local deputy. Re-
ligiously he is a member of the Presbyterian
church. By his ballot he supports the men
and measures of the Republican party, antl
in the spring of 1900 was its candidate for
alderman from the second ward, where he
iA so well and favoral)ly known, it having
always been his home. .\s a business man
lu ranks among the ablest in the city, l)eing
enterprising, energetic and intlustrious. and
the success that he has achieved in life is due
to his own well-directed efforts, for in start-
ing out in life for himself he was without
capital or inlluential friends to aid him. but
to-day is a prosperous and successful busi-
ness man.

JOHX MUXSON.

John Munson, one of the honored vet-
erans of the Civil war and a well known
farmer residing on section 20, Owego town-
ship, four miles from Pontiac. was liorn
November 28, 1842, in Denmark, where he
\\as reared and educated. He worked on a
farm and learned the car])enter's trade be-
fore his emigration to .\merica in i860.
On landing in this country he proceeded to
La Salle county, Illinois, where he found
employment as a farm hand for one year.
In 1862 he enlisted in Company B. One
Ilundred and Fourth Illinois \'olunteer In-
fantry, w hich formed a part of the Army of
the Tennessee, and he iiarticipated in the
battle of Hartsville, Tcimessee. where he
was taken i)risoner with his regiment. He
was held a caplise at Murfreeshoro until
l)aroled and sent to Camp Chase, Ohio, and
later to Camp Douglas, Chicago, where he
was exchanged at the end of six weeks. In

1 88

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tlie meantime lie contracted inflammatory
rheumatism and was sent to the hospital.
^^'he^ he had sufficiently recovered his
health to be about he was placed on hospital
duty and servetl in that capacity until hon-
orably discharged at the close of the war, in
1865. He has never yet fully recovered
from the effects of his army service.

On receiving his discharge ^Ir. INIunsnn
joined a brother in Livingston county, but
later returned to La Salle county, where he
spent one year. At the end of that time he
located permanently in this county, where he
and his brother operated a rented farm for
two or three years, and for three years he
clei-ked in a store in Pontiac. Subsequenth-
he engaged in the clothin<r and gents fur-
nishing business in that city for five years.
and at the end of that time traded his stock
of goods for a fanu west of Pontiac, but
sold that place at the end of a year and
lx)ught the farm in Owego township where
he now resides. .\t that time it was but
slightly improved. Init he has planted an
orchard, erected a neat and stibstantial resi-
dence and a good barn, and to-day has a
well-improved and valuable farm of eighty
acres. He also has another eighty acres on
.section 18, the same township. This prop-
erty has all been acquired by industry, per-
severance and good management, for he
came to thi-^ coiuitv em]itv-handed and has
had to make his own wav in the world un-
aided.

On the 30th of December. 1874, Mr.
Munson was united in marriage with Miss
Elizabeth Duff, a native of Huntingdon
county. Pennsylvania, who came to Illinois
with her father. Charles Duff, in 1866, at
the age of about fifteen years, locating on a
farm in Pontiac townshij). this county. By
this union were lx)rn two children. Eva, the

elder, is now the wife of Benjamin I\Iiller,
a farmer of Owego township, and they have
two children. Wilbur John and Frances Eliz-
abeth. Louis D.. the only son of our sub-
ject, assists in the operation of the home
farm. Mr. and Mrs. ]Munson have given
a home to a little girl, Toleto Hansen, whom
they are now rearing.

Politically Mr. Munson is a stanch sup-
]iorter of the Republican party, having cast
liis first presidential vote for L'. S. Grant in
1868. and for e\er}- nominee of the party
since that time. Socially he is a Master
Zslason. and religiously both he and his wife
are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church of Pontiac. They are widely and
favorably known and have a host of warm
friends in the community where they re-
side.

HORATIO X. ^'AUGHAX.

Horatio X. \'aughan, whose home
is at Xo. 522 Xorth Chicago street. Pontiac,
Illinois, is one of the prominent citizens of
that place, a leader in musical circles. He
is a native of Springfield, Sullivan county,
Xew Hampshire, and a son of John
and Mary (Moran) Vaughan. Her paternal
grandparents were Samuel and Elizabeth
( Rider) Vaughan, natives of Halifax, Xova
Scotia, who moved from there to St. Mar-
tin's, Xew Brunswick, where the grandfa-
ther died at an advanced age. He followed
the ship carpenter's trade throughout life,
but also devoted a great deal of time to the
study of music and was a proficient ])layer
on several instruments, his favorite being
the violin. He was a member of an orches-
tra and band in St. Johns, Xew Bruns-
wick.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

189

Jolm \'auglian, the father of our subject,
was also Imrn in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and
was married at St. Martin's, New Bruns-
wick, but soon afterwartl he left Canada and
removed to Sullivan county, New Hamp-
shire, where all of his ten children were
born, our subject being the youngest. There
he engaged in farming on quite an extensive
scale, though, during his early life in Nova
Scotia, he had followed the ship carpenter's
trade. In 1837 he came to Illinois and was
one of the first settlers of Princeton, where
he conducted a hotel for ten years and then
lived retired until his death, which occurred
in 1877, when he was eighty-seven years
of age. Only two of his famil)' are now
living, our subject and his brother, John, a
retired merchant of Seattle, Washington.

Until he attained his majority, Horatio
N.Vaughanreni;unetl under the parental roof
and was educated in Illinois by private
tutors. At the age of twelve years he com-
menced the study of music and received in-
struction on the violin from some of the
best local teachers of that day. He contin-
ued his studies for a number of years and
he has since given his time and attention to
that art as a profession. About 1862 he
became connected with the band and orches-
tra of a theatrical company, and, as leader
of the orchestra, traveled with some of the
leading theatrical and show companies as
the Van Amberg, and others, at that time.
Leaving the road in 1872, he taught music
as a band instructor in various cities of Illi-
nois and Wisconsin until locating in Ponti-
ac in December, 1877. Here he formed a
class on the violin, and with the exception
of a few years spent in Seattle, Washington,
he has since taught music at this place.
About nine years ago he organized and be-
came leader of the "Vaughan orchestra of

]'nntiac, consisting of fourteen pieces, which
still exists and is the leading musical organi-
zation of the city, its services being in great
demand. Most of the players were former
l)upils of Mr. Vaughan.

In i\Iay, 1880, at Pontiac, Mr. \'aughan
married Miss ^largaret A. Stites, a daugh-
ter of Dr. J. J. Stites, one of the prominent
physicians of this city. She is a highly ed-
ucated lady and also an accomplished mu-
sician, receiving her musical education at the
College of Music in Cincinnati, under the
managenienl of Theotlore Thomas, one of
the most noted musicians this country has
produced. She plays lirst violin in her hus-
band's orchestra, and as teacher of the piano
forte has a large private class. She is also
supervisor of music in the public schools of
I'ontiac, a position she has most creditably
filled for a number of years, and which re-
quires much of her time and attention every
day. As will be seen Mr. and Mrs. Vaughan
are among the most prominent musicians of
the city and are entirely devoted to their
art.

OWEN FEEHAN.

Owen I'eehan, one of the most popular
and influential citizens of Nevada township,
Livingston county, whose home is on sec-
tion 20, was born in Grundy county, Illi-
nois, June 15, 1861, and is a son of Owen
and Maria (Killian) Feehan, natives of
Kings county, Ireland, where the father
followed the occupation of farming. Soon
after their marriage they emigrated to the
United States and took up their residence
in Grundy county, Illinois, where he pur-
chased land, making their home there until
1869, when they removed to Nevada town-

igo

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

sliip. Li\ingston county. Here he had pre-
viously purchased the south half of section
20, which at that time was unimproved land,
but \\'as soon transformed bv him into one
of the most desirable farms in the locality.
He continued to reside there until the spring
of 1892, when he moved to Odell and has
since lived in retirement from active labor,
enjoying a well-earned rest. He and his
wife are members of the Catholic church of
that place, and are highly respected and es-
teemed by all ^\•ho know them. To this
worthy couple were born ten children, eight
of whom reached man and womanhood,
namely : Patrick, a resident of Nevada town-
ship; John, of Seward county, Nebraska;
Lawrence, of Nevada township, this county;
Ellen, wife of J. C. Lennan, a merchant
of Odell; Charles, a molder by trade and a
resident of Morris, Illinois; Lizzie, wife of
John Carey, a farmer living near Kinsman,
Grundy countv; Owen, our subject, and Ed-
ward, who was accidentally killed by the
train at a crossinp- at Kinsman.

The subject of this review began his ed-
ucation in the schools of Grundy county,
and after coming to this county, at the age
of eight years, continued his studies in the
schools of Nevada township. When he first
located here the nearest school was three
miles from his home. He continued to at-
tend school at intervals until he attained his
majority, and acquired a good, practical ed-
ucation.

On the 1st of June, 1887, Mr. Feehan
married Miss Julia A. Feehan, who was born
in Grundy coimty, June 18, 1861, and suc-
cessfully engaged in teaching for seven years
prior to her marriage, having charge of the
school in district No. 4, where she now re-
sides, besides six years in other counties.
She was educated in U^tica, La Salle county.

Illinois. Her father, John Feehan. was a
native of Ireland and came to the new world
in early youth. He resided in La Salle
ciiunty for many years, but his last days
were spent in Grundy county, where he died
in 1 89 1. He had a family of seven chil-
dren, six of whom grew to maturity, and in
order of birth these are as follows : Sarah,
wife of ]\I. J. Dempsey, who is engaged in
the shoe business in Chicago; Kate, widow
of J. M. Dempsey, who was engaged in the
grocery and meat business in that city, where
she still resides; John, a detective and ser-
geant on the Chicago police force; Thomas
F., who conducts a grocery and meat mar-
ket in the same city; Julia A., wife of our
subject, and \'incent, who is in the employ of
the Cuhady Meat Company, pi Chicago.
To i\Ir. and Mrs. Feehan were born five chil-
dren, namely : Edith Balbina, who died at
the age of eleven months; Mary Alice, Grace
Agnes and Julia K., all in school, and Eliza-
beth \'eronica, a bright baby of two and a
half years.

After his marriage, Mr. Feehan moved
to Chicago, where he was engaged in busi-
ness for two years, but at the end of that
time he returned to Livingston county. He
operated rented land for a time, and then lo-
cated on the old homestead, where he is op-
erating one hundred and sixty acres of well
improved and highly cul'tivated land, and is
meeting with good success.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Feehan are members
of the Catholic church of Odell, of which
Father Griffey is pastor, and he also belongs
to St. Paul's Court, No. 618, Catholic Order
of Foresters, of the same place, of which he
is one of the trustees, and is a member of
Nevada Camp, No. 4070, Modern Woodmen
of America, of which he is advisor. As a
Democrat he has always taken an active part

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

191

in politics; has been a delegate to county
conventions a number of times, and is now a
member of the townshii) central committee
of his party. On attaining his majority, he
was elected school director, which office he
held lor six years, and for one year he
served as collector. Pie was road commis-
sioner the same length of time, and assessor
six years. In the spring of 1900 he was
elected supervisor of his township and re-
signed the office of assessor.

His public service has been most exem-
pkuy and his private life has been marked
by the utmost fidelity to duty. He has
given his support to all measures for the pub-
lic good, and is justly numbered among the
valued and useful citizens of his community.

\\ILLIAM F. C. LEHMANN.

Germany has furnished to the new world
many of its most enterprising and jjrogres-
sive citizens — men who have taken an active
part in tiie development of the locality in
which they make their home, and have ex-
erted a great inHuence for good in the com-
munity. Mr. Lehmann is a worthy repre-
sentative of this class. He has met with
well deserved success in his adopted country,
and is now the owner of a valuable farm of
four hundred acres on section 29, Owego
township, Livingston county, Illinois, four
miles and a half east of Pontiac.

Mr. Lehmann was born in Mecklenburg,
Germany, May i, 1853, and attended the
schools of his native land, but is wholly
self-educated in English. In 1871, at the
age of eighteen years he emigrated to the
United States and first located in Peoria
county, Illinois, where some friends from

the fatherland were li\ing. He obtained
work on the farm of W illiam Spicer, a sub-
stantial farmer of that county, who proved
a good friend to the German lati, and he re-
mained in his employ four years. In 1876
he came to near Chenoa, in Livingston coun-
ty, where he commenced life for himself
upon a rented farm of one hundred and sixty
acres, which he successfully operated for
seven years. At length, in 1882, he was
able to purchase one hundred and twenty
acres of land in Owego township, where he
now resides. At that time it was only par-
tially improved, and the house standing
thereon was quite small, but it has since been
replaced by a more commodious and sub-
stantial residence, the land has been tiled,
fences built, also a good barn, and water
works and stock scales added, making it one
of the best equipped farms in the locality.
He has also extended the boundaries of his
farm until they now include four hundred
acres of rich and fertile land. This prop-
erty has all been acquired through his own
well-directed efforts, and he is to-day one
of the substantial men of Owego township.
In this county, Mr. Lehmaim was mar-
ried, January 22, 1877, to Miss Augusta,
Louise Leduc, who was born in New York
City. Her father, General Louis Leduc,
\\as a native of France and a highly edu-
cated gentleman, speaking eight different
languages. He was an officer in the French
arni\- and took part in several wars. Later
he came to America and was married in New
\ ork city, where he made his home for some
time, but subsequently came to Livingston
county, Illinois. Here Mrs. Lehmann was
reared and educated Ijv her father. Of the
ten children born to our subject and his wife,
two died in infanc}'. Those living are : Lena,
now the wife of George Rights, a farmer of

192

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Owego township, liv wiioni she had a son,
William; Alhert, who assists his father in
the operation of the farm; Emma, William,
Alattie, Julius, Rudolph and Willis Ellis, all
at home.

By his ballot Mr. Lehmann supports the
men and measures of the Republican party,
but has never cared for official honors. He
is now serving as Caiiada thistle commis-
sioner and as school director, having been
president of the district board for fourteen
years. He and his wife are prominent and
influential members of the German Baptist
church,and he takes a very active part in Sun-
day school work, serving as president of the
township Sunday school society seven years.
For some years he was superintendent of the
Methodist Episcopal Sunday school, and
now holds the same position in tJie Swigart
Sunday school. For a few years he was su-
perintendent of both Sunday schools at
the same time. In all the relations of life
he has been found true to every trust reposed
in him, whether public or private, and justly
deserves in the high regard in which he is
uniformly held.

JOHN KLEIN.

John Klein, one of Pike township's most
progressive and public-spirited citizens,
owns and operates a well-improved and val-
uable farm of two hundred and forty acres
on section 22. He is a native of Germany,
born in Rheinpfalz, Bavaria, August 24,
1833, ^"<i '^ '^ s°'^ o^ Jacob and Margaret
(Weiser) Klein, also natives of that coun-
try, where the father followed the weaver's
trade. In 1855, accompanied by his family,
he emigrated to America and located in

I'azewell county, where some of his friends
from Germany had previously settled and
where he rented a little house. At that time
he had four sons and one daughter, all of
whom worked and it took their wages for
one year to pay their passage across the At-
lantic and the expenses of their trip to this
state. The second year the father rented a
farm in Deer Creek township, Tazewell
county, for one-half the crop raised, and in
1864 purchased a farm in Pike township,
Li\ingston county, upon which ne spent the
remainder of his life, dying there in Decem-
ber, 1878, his wife in 1874. In their family
were seven children, of whom four sons and
one daughter are still living.

Our subject acquired a good practical
education in the common schools of his na-
tive land, which he attended for eight years,
but his knowledge of the English language
has been self-acquired. At the age of four-
teen he commenced earning his own liveli-
liood, working out while in Germany, and
for four years after coming to this country
he worked for and assisted his father in get-
ting a start. He then began life for him-
self as a farmer upon rented land.

In Tazewell county Mr. Klein was mar-
ried, January 25, 1864, to Miss Margaret
Moschel, also a native of Bavaria and a
daughter of Christian and Margaret
Moschel. Her father, who was a cabinet-
maker by trade, died in Germany, and sub-
secjuently she and her mother and seven
children came to the new world in 1862, lo-
cating in Tazewell county, Illinois, where
she lived for several years and then came to
Pike township, Livingston county, where
she purchased a farm and there died Octo-
ber 4, 1886. Mr. and Mrs. Klein are the
parents of seven children, namely : Katie,
wife of Theodore Lommatsch, of Pike town-

JOHN KLEIN.

W^Mm-

w §

MRS. JOHN KLEIN.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

197

slii]). lias two cliildien. Clara and Ralph:
Lena, wife of Lonis Lommatscii. of the
same townshi]!. has one son. i-'lnier :
.\niia. at Imnie; John inarrieil Miss Katie
Schoenheck, and they have one daughter,
Mahet, and he ojierates a part of his father's
tarni; Matilda, August and I'jiielia. at
lionie: one. the oldest of the family, died in
infanc\-.

l'"or four years after iiis niaiM'iage Mr.
Klein continued to rent land in Tazewell
0)unty. and in iSOi) came to Li\ingston
county, locating u])on a ])artially ini|)ro\ed
tarm of forty acres in Pike township, which
he had ])urchased a \ear nr Iwi> hefore. .\s
his financial resuiu'ces have increased he has
adiled to his landed jiossessions from time
to time until he now has two hundred and
lorty acres of rich an<l arahle land, which
he has placed luider excellent cultixation and
imjiroved with a good set of farm Iniildings.
His success in life is due to his industry,
enterprise and good management. He is
a man of good husiness