Full text of "Portrait and biographical album of Livingston County, Ill. : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county : together with portraits and biographies of all the governors of Illinois, and of the presidents of the United States"

LIBRARY OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

IN MEMORY OF

STEWART S. HOWE

JOURNALISM CLASS OF 1928

STEWART S. HOWE FOUNDATION

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cop. 2

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are reasons for disciplinary action and may
result in dismissal from the University.
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

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ALBUHj

IYINGSTON COUNTY, ILL,,

CONTAINING

Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent
and Representative Citizens of the County,

TOGETHER WITH

PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES OF ALL THE GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS, AND
OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

CHICAGO:

CHAPMAN BEOTHEES.

1888.

E HAVE completed our labors in writing and compiling the PORTRAIT AND BIO-
GRAPHICAL ALBUM of this county, and wish, in presenting it to our patrons, to speak
briefly of the importance of local works of this nature. It is certainly the duty
of the present to commemorate the past, to perpetuatethe names of the pioneers,
to furnish a record of their early settlement, and to relate the story of their progress.
The civilization of our day, the enlightenment of the age, and this solemn duty which
men of the present time owe to their ancestors, to themselves and to their posterity.

demai-.d t'r.at a record of their lives and deeds should be made. In local history is found a power
to instruct man by precedent, to enliven the mental faculties, and to waft down the river of time a safe
vessel in which the names and actions of the people who contributed to raise this region from its,
primitive state may be preserved. Surely and rapidly the noble men, who in their vigor and prime
came early to the county and claimed the virgin soil as their heritage, are passing to their
graves. The number remaining who can relate the history of the first days of settlement is
becoming small indeed, so that an actual necessity exists for the collection and preservation of his-
torical matter without delay, before the settlers of the wilderness are cut down by time. Not only
is it of the greatest importance to render history of pioneer times full and accurate, but it is also essen-
tial that the history of the county, from its settlement to the present day, should be treated through its various
phases, so that a record, complete and impartial, may be handed down to the future. The present the age
of progress, is reviewed, standing out in bold relief over the quiet, unostentatious olden times; it is abriliiant
record, which is destined to live in the future; the good works of men, their magnificent enterprises, theii
lives, whether commercial or military, do not sink into oblivion, but, on the contrary, grow brighter with age,
and contribute to build up a record which carries with it precedents and principles that will be advanced and
observed when the acts of soulless men will be forgotten and their very names hidden in obscurity.

In the preparation of the personal sketches contained in this volume, unusual care and pains were
taken to have them accurate, even in the smallest detail. Indeed, nothing was passed lightly over or treated
indifferently ; and we flatter ourselves that it is one of the most accurate works of its nature ever published.
As one of the most interesting features of this work, we present the portraits of numerous represent-
ative citizens. It has been our aim to have the prominent men of to-day, as well as the pioneers, represented
in this department ; and we congratulate ourselves on the uniformly high character of the gentlemen whose
portraits we present. They are in the strictest sense representative men, and are selected from all the call-
ings and professions worthy to be given. There are others, it is true, who claim equal prominence with
those given; but of course it was impossible for us to give portraits of all the leading men and pioneers
of the county. We are under great obligation to many of the noble and generous people of this county
for kindly and material assistance in the preparation of this ALBUM.

CHICAGO, March, 1888.

CHAPMAN BROS,

OF THE

AND OF THE

OF THE

FIRST PRESIDENT.

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HE Father of our Country was
born in Westmorland Co., Va..,
Feb. 22, 1732. His parents
were Augustine and Mary
| (Ball) Washington. The family
to which he belonged has not
been satisfactorily traced in
England. His great-grand-
father, John Washington, em-
igrated to Virginia about 1657,
and became a prosperous
planter. He had two sons,
Lawrence and John. The
former married Mildred Warner
and had three children, John,
Augustine and Mildred. Augus-
tine, the father of George, first
married Jane Butler, who bore
him four children, two of whom,
Lawrence and Augustine, reached
maturity. Of six children by his
second marriage, George was the
eldest, the others being Betty,
Samuel, John Augustine, Charles
and Mildred.

Augustine Washington, the father of George, died
in 1743, leaving a large landed property. To his
eldest son, Lawrence, he bequeathed an estate on
the Patomac, afterwards known as Mount Vernon,
and to George he left the parental residence. George
received only such education as the neighborhood
schools afforded, save for a short time after he left
school, when he received private instruction in
mathematics. His spelling was rather defective.

Remarkable stories are told of his great physical
strength and development at an early age. He was
an acknowledged leader among his companions, and
was early noted for that nobleness of character, fair-
ness and veracity which characterized his whole life.

When George was 1 4 years old he had a desire to go to
sea, and a midshipman's warrant was secured for him,
but through the opposition of his mother the idea was
abandoned. Two years later he was appointed
surveyor to the immense estate of Lord Fairfax. In
this business he spent three years in a rough frontier
life, gaining experience which afterwards proved very
essential to him. In 175 r, though only 19 years of
age, he was appointed adjutant with the rank of
major in the Virginia militia, then being trained for
active service against the French and Indians. Soon
after this he sailed to the West Indies with his brother
Lawrence, who went there to restore his health. They
soon returned, and in the summer of 1752 Lawrence
died, leaving a large fortune to an infant daughter
who did not long survive him. On her demise the
estate of Mount Vernon was given to George.

Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddie, as Lieuten-
ant-Governor of Virginia, in 1752, the militia was
reorganized, and the province divided into four mili-
tary districts, of which the northern was assigned to
Washington as adjutant general. Shortly after this
a very perilous mission was assigned him and ac-
cepted, which others had refused. This was to pro-
ceed to the French post near Lake Erie in North-
western Pennsylvania. The distance to be traversed
was between 500 and 600 miles. Winter was at hand,
and the journey was to be made without military
escort, through a territory occupied by Indians. The

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

trip was a perilous one, and several limes he came near
losing his life, yet he returned in safety and furnished
u full and useful report of his expedition. A regiment
of 300 men was raised in Virginia and put in com-
mand of Col. Joshua Fry, and Major Washington was
commissioned lieutenant-colonel. Active war was
then begun against the French and Indians, in which
Washington took a most important part. In the
memorable event of July 9, 1755, known as Brad-
dock's defeat, Washington was almost the only officer
of distinction who escaped from the calamities of the
day with life and honor. The other aids of Braddock
were disabled early in the action, and Washington
alone was left in that capacity on the field. In a letter
to his brother he says : " I had four bullets through
my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet I escaped
unhurt, though death was levelin > my companions
on every side." An Indian sharpshooter said he was
not born to be killed by a bullet, for he had taken
direct aim at him seventeen times, and failed to hit
him.

After having been five years in the military service,
and vainly sought promotion in the royal army, he
took advantage of the fall of Fort Duquesne and the
expulsion of the French from the valley of the Ohio,
to resign his commission. Soon after he entered the
Legislature, where, although not a leader, he took an
active and important part. January 17, 1759, he
married Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Custis, the wealthy
widow of John Parke Custis.

When the British Parliament had closed the port
of Boston, the cry went up throughout the provinces
that "The cause of Boston is the cause of us all."
It was then, at the suggestion of Virginia, that a Con-
gress of all the colonies was called to meet at Phila-
delphia, Sept. 5, 1774, to secure their common liberties,
peaceably if possible. To this Congress Col. Wash-
ington was sent as a delegate. On May 10, 1775, the
Congress re-assembled, when the hostile intentions of
England were plainly apparent. The battles of Con-
cord and Lexington had been fought. Among the
first acts of this Congress was the election of a com-
mander-in-chief of the colonial forces. This high and
responsible office was conferred upon Washington,
who was still a member of the Congress. He accepted
it on June 19, but upon the express condition that he
receive no salary. He would keep an exact account
of expenses and expect Congress lo pay them and
nothing more. It is not the object of this sketch to
trace the military acts of Washington, to whom the
fortunes and liberties of the people of this country
were so long confided. The war was conducted by
him under ever)' possible disadvantage, and while his
forces often met with reverses, yet he overcame every
obstacle, and after seven years of heroic devotion
and matchless skill he gained liberty for the greatest
nation of earth. On Dec. 23, 1783, Washington, in
a parting address of surpassing beauty, resigned his

commission as conunander-in-chief of the army to
to the Continental Congress sitting at Annapolis. He
retired immediately to Mount Vernon and resumed
his occupation as a farmer and planter, shunning all
connection with public life.

In February, 1 789, Washington was unanimously
elected President. In his presidential career he was
subject to the peculiar trials incidental to a new
government ; trials from lack of confidence on the part
of other governments ; trials from want of harmony
between the different sections of our own country;
trials from the impoverished condition of the country,
owing to the war and want of credit; trials from the
beginnings of party strife. He was no partisan. His
clear judgment could discern the golden mean ; and
while perhaps this alone kept our government from
sinking at the very outset, it left him exposed to
attacks from both sides, which were often bitter and
very annoying.

At the expiration of his first term he was unani-
mously re-elected. At the end of this term many
were anxious that he be re-elected, but he absolutely
refused a third nomination. On the fourth of March,
1797, at the expiraton of his second term as Presi-
dent, he returned to his home, hoping to pass there
his few remaining years free from the annoyances of
public life. Later in the year, however, his repose
seemed likely to be interrupted by war with France.
At the prospect of such a war he was again urged to
take command of the armies. He chose his sub-
ordinate officers and left to them the charge of mat-
ters in the field, which he superintended from his
home. In accepting the command he made the
reservation that he was not to be in the field until
it wns necessary. In the midst of these preparations
his life was suddenly cut off". December 12, he took
a severe cold from a ride in the rain, which, settling
in Irs throat, produced inflammation, and terminated
fatally on the night of the fourteenth. On the eigh-
teenth his body was borne wi'h military honors to its
final resting place, and interred in the family vault at
Mount Vernon.

Of the character of Washington it is impossible to
speak but in terms of the highest respect and ad-
miration. The more we see of the operations of
our government, and the more deeply we feel the
difficulty of uniting all opinions in a common interest,
the more highly we must estimate the force of his tal-
ent and character, which have been able to challenge
the reverence of all parties, and principles, and na-
tions, and to win a fame as extended as the limits
of the globe, and which we cannot but believe will
be as lasting as the existence of man.

The person of Washington was unusally tan, erect
and well proportioned. His muscular strength was
great. His features were of a beautiful symmetry.
He commanded respect without any appearance of
haughtiness, and ever serious without being dull.

SECOND PRESIDENT.

^Aft-teaf

OHN ADAMS, the second
President and the first Vice-
President of the United States,
was born in Braintree ( now
Quincy),Mass., and about ten
miles from Boston, Oct. 19,
1735. His great-grandfather, Henry
Adams, emigrated from England
about 1 640, with a family of eight
, sons, and settled at Braintree. The
parents of John were John and
Susannah (Boylston) Adams. His
father was a farmer of limited
means, to which he added the bus-
iness of shoemaking. He gave his
eldest son, John, a classical educa-
tion at Harvard College. John
graduated in 1755, and at once took charge of the
school in Worcester, Mass. This he found but a
"school of affliction," from which he endeavored to
gain relief by devoting himself, in addition, to the
study of law. For this purpose he placed himself
under the tuition of the only lawyer in the town. He
had thought seriously of the clerical profession
but seems to have been turned from this by what he
termed " the frightful engines of ecclesiastical coun-
cils, of diabolical malice, and Calvanistic good nature,''
of the operations of which he had been a witness in
his native town. He was well fitted for the legal
profession, possessing a clear, sonorous voice, being
ready and fluent of speech, and having quick percep-
tive powers. He gradually gained practice, and in
1764 married Abigail Smith, a daughter of a minister,
and a lady of superior intelligence. Shortly after his
marriage, (1765), the attempt of Parliamentary taxa-
tion turned him from law to politics. He took initial
steps toward holding a town meeting, and the resolu-

tions he offered on the subject became very popular
throughout the Province, and were adopted word for
word by over forty different towns. He moved to Bos-
ton in 1768, and became one of the most courageous
and prominent advocates of the popular cause, and
was chosen a member of the General Court (the Leg-
lislature) in 1770.

Mr. Adams was chosen one of the first delegates
from Massachusetts to the first Continental Congress,
which met in 1774. Here he distinguished himself
by his capacity for business and for debate, and ad-
vocated the movement for independence against the
majority of the members. In May, 1776, he moved
and carried a resolution in Congress that the Colonies
should assume the duties of self-government. He
was a prominent member of the committee of five
appointed June n, to prepare a declaration of inde
pendence. This article was drawn by Jefferson, bu)
on Adams devolved the task of battling it througl
Congress in a three days debate.

On the day after the Declaration of Independence
was passed, while his soul was yet warm with the
glow of excited feeling, he wrote a letter to his wile,
which, as we read it now, seems to have been dictated
by the spirit of prophecy. "Yesterday," he says, "thf
greatest question was decided that ever was debated
in America; and greater, perhaps, never was or will
be decided among men. A resolution \vas passed
without one dissenting colony, ' that these United
States are, and of right ought to be, free and inde-
pendent states.' The day is passed. The fourth of
July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history
of America. I am apt to" believe it will be celebrated
by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary
festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of
deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty
God. It ought to be solemnized with pomp, showsj

JOHN ADAMS.

games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations
from one end of the continent to the other, from this
time forward for ever. You will think me transported
with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of
the toil, and blood and treasure, that it will cost to
maintain this declaration, and support and defend
these States; yet, through all the gloom, I can see the
rays of light and glory. I can see that the end is
worth more than all the means; and that posterity
will triumph, although you and I may rue, which I
hope we shall not."

In November, 1777, Mr. Adams was appointed a
delegate to France, and to co-operate with Bemjamin
Franklin and Arthur Lee, who were then in Paris, in
the endeavor to obtain assistance in arms and money
from the French Government. This was a severe trial
to his patriotism, as it separated him from his home,
compelled him to cross the ocean in winter, and ex-
posed him to great peril of capture by the British cruis-
ers, who were seeking him. He left France June 17,
1779. In September of the same year he was again
chosen to go to Paris, and there hold himself in readi-
ness to negotiate a treaty of peace and of commerce
with Great Britian, as soon as the British Cabinet
might be found willing to listen to such proposels. He
sailed for France in November, from there he went to
Holland, where he negotiated important loans and
formed important commercial treaties.

Finally a treaty of peace with England was signed
Jan. 21, 1783. The re-action from the excitement,
toil and anxiety through which Mr. Adams had passed
threw him into a fever. After suffering from a con-
tinued fever and becoming feeble and emaciated he
was advised to goto England to drink the waters of
Bath. While in England, still drooping and despond-
ing, he received dispatches from his own government
urging the necessity of his going to Amsterdam to
negotiate another loan. It was winter, his health was
delicate, yet he immediately set out, and through
storm, on sea, on horseback and foot,he made the trip.

February 24, 1785, Congress appointed Mr. Adams
envoy to the Court of St. James. Here he met face
to face the King of England, who had so long re-
garded him as a traitor. As England did not
condescend to appoint a minister to the United
States, and as Mr. Adams felt that he was accom-
plishing but little, he sought permission to return to
his own country, where he arrived in June, 1788.

When Washington was first chosen President, John
Adams, rendered illustiious by his signal services at
home and abroad, was chosen Vice President. Again
at the second election of Washington as President,
Adams was chosen Vice President. In 1796, Wash-
ington retired from public life, and Mr. Adams was
elected President,though not without much opposition.
Serving in this office four years,he was succeeded by
Mr. Jefferson, his opponent in politics.

While Mr. Adams was Vice President the great

French Revolution shook the continent of Europe,
and it was upon this point which he was at issue with
the majority of his countrymen led by Mr. Jefferson.
Mr. Adams felt no sympathy with the French people
in their struggle, for he had no confidence in their
power of self-government, and he utterly abhored the
class of atheist philosophers who he claimed caused it.
On the other hand Jefferson's sympathies were strongly
enlisted in behalf of the French people. Hence or-
iginated the alienation between these distinguished
men, and two powerful parties were thus soon organ-
ized, Adams at the head of the one whose sympathies
were with England and Jefferson led the other in
sympathy with France.

The world has seldom seen a spectacle of more
moral beauty and grandeur, than was presented by the
old age of Mr. Adams. The violence of party feeling
had died away, and he had begun to receive that just
appreciation which, to most men, is not accorded till
after death. No one could look upon his venerable
form, and think of what he had done and suffered,
and how he had given up all the prime and strength
of his life to the public good, without the deepest
emotion of gratitude and respect. It was his peculiar
good fortune to witness the complete success of the
institution which he had been so active in creating and
supporting. In 1824, his cup of happiness was filled
to the brim, by seeing his son elevated to the highest
station in the gift of the people.

The fourth of July, 1826, which completed the half
century since the signing of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, arrived, and there were but three of the
signers of that immortal instrument left upon the
earth to hail its morning light. And, as it is
well known, on that day two of these finished their
earthly pilgrimage, a coincidence so remarkable as
to seem miraculous. For a few days before Mr.
Adams had been rapidly failing, and on the morning
of the fourth he found himself too weak to rise from
his bed. On being requested to name a toast for the
customary celebration of the day, he exclaimed " IN-
DEPENDENCE FOREVER." When the day was ushered
in, by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons,
he was asked by one of his attendants if he knew
what day it was? He replied, "O yes; it is the glor-
ious fourth of July God bless it God bless you all."
In the course of the day he said, " It is a great and
glorious day." The last words he uttered were,
"Jefferson survives." But he had, at one o'clock, re-
signed his spirit into the hands of his God.

The personal appearance and manners of Mr.
Adams were not particularly prepossessing. His face,
as his portrait manifests.was intellectual ard expres-
sive, but his figure was low and ungraceful, and his
manners were frequently abrupt and uncourteous.
He had neither the lofty dignity of Washington, nor
the engaging elegance and gracefulness which marked
the manners and address of Jefferson.

THIRD PRESIDENT.

HOMAS JEFFERSON was
born April 2, 1743, at Shad-
well, Albermarle county, Va.

His parents were Peter and
Jane ( Randolph) Jefferson,
the former a native of Wales,
and the latter born in Lon-
don. To them were born six
daughters and two sons, of
whom Thomas was the elder.
When 14 years of age his
father died. He received a
most liberal education, hav-
ing been kept diligently at school
from the time he was five years of
age. In 1760 he entered William
and Mary College. Williamsburg was then the seat
of the Colonial Court, and it was the obode of fashion
and splendor. Young Jefferson, who was then 17
years old, lived somewhat expensively, keeping fine
horses, and much caressed by gay society, yet he
was earnestly devoted to his studies, and irreproacha-
able in his morals. It is strange, however, under
such influences, that he was not ruined. In the sec-
ond year of his college course, moved by some un-
explained inward impulse, he discarded his horses,
society, and even his favorite violin, to which he had
previously given much time. He often devoted fifteen
hours a day to hard study, allowing himself for ex-
ercise only a run in the evening twilight of a mile out
of the city and back again. He thus attained very
high intellectual culture, alike excellence in philoso-
phy and the languages. The most difficult Latin and
Greek authors he read with facility. A more finished
scholar has seldom gone forth from college halls ; and

there was not to be found, perhaps, in all Virginia, a
more pureminded, upright, gentlemanly young man.

Immediately upon leaving college he began the
study of law. For the short time he continued in the
practice of his profession he rose rapidly and distin-
guished himself by his energy and accuteness as a
lawyer. But the times called for greater action.
The policy of England had awakened the spirit of
resistance of the American Colonies, and the enlarged
views which Jefferson had ever entertained, soon led
him into active political life. In 1769 he was chosen
a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. In
1772 he married Mrs. Martha Skelton, a very beauti-
ful, wealthy and highly accomplished young widow.

Upon Mr. Jefferson's large estate at Shadwell, there
was a majestic swell of land, called Monticello, which
commanded a prospect of wonderful extent and
beauty. This spot Mr. Jefferson selected for his new
home; and here he reared a mansion of modest yet
elegant architecture, which, next to Mount Vernon,
became the most distinguished resort in our land.

In 1775 he was sent to the Colonial Congress,
where, though a silent member, his abilities as a
writer and a reasoner soon become known, and he
was placed upon a number of important committees,
and was chairman of the one appointed for the draw-
ing up of a declaration of independence. This com-
mittee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams,
Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R.
Livingston. Jefferson, as chairman, was appointed
to draw up the paper. Franklin and Adams suggested
a few verbal changes before it was submitted to Con-
gress. On June 28, a few slight changes were made
in it by Congress, and it was passed and signed July
4, 1776. What must have been the feelings of that

THOMAS JEFFERSON.

man what the emotions that swelled his breast
who was charged with the preparation of that Dec-
laration, which, while it made known the wrongs of
America, .vas also to publish her to the world, free,
soverign and independent. It is one of the most re-
markable papers ever written ; and did noother effort
uf the mind of its author exist, that alone would be
sufficient to stamp his name with immortality.

In 1779 Mr. Jefferson was elected successor to
Patrick Henry, as Governor of Virginia. At one time
the British officer, Tarleton, sent a secret expedition to
Monticello, to capture the Governor. Scarcely five
minutes elapsed after the hurried escape of Mr. Jef-
ferson and his family, ere his mansion was in posses-
sion of the British troops. His wife's health, never
very good, was much injured by this excitement, and
in the summer of 1782 she died.

Mr. Jefferson was elected to Congress in 1783.
Two yeirs later he was appointed Minister Plenipo-
tentiary to France. Returning to the United States
in September, 1789, he became Secretary of State
in Washington's cabinet. This position he resigned
Jan. r, 1794. In 1797, he was chosen Vice Presi-
dent, and four years later was elected President over
Mr. Adams, with Aaron Burr as Vice President. In
1804 he was re-elected with wonderful unanimity,
and George Clinton, Vice President.

The early part of Mr. Jefferson's second adminstra-
tion was disturbed by an event which threatened the
tranquilily and peace of the Union ; this was the con-
spiracy of Aaron Burr. Defeated in the late election
to the Vice Presidency, and led on by an unprincipled
ambition, this extraordinary man formed the plan of a
military expedition into the Spanish territories on our
southwestern frontier, for the purpose of forming there
a new republic. This has been generally supposed
was a mere pretext ; and although it has not been
generally known what his real plans were, there is no
doubt that they were of a far more dangerous
character.

In 1809, at the expiration of the second term for
which Mr. Jefferson had been elected, he determined
to retire from political life. For a period of nearly
forty years, he had been continually before the pub-
lic, and all that time had been employed in offices of
the greatest trust and responsibility. Having thus de-
voted the best part of his life to the service of his
country, he now felt desirous of that rest which his
declining years required, and upon the organization of
the new administration, in March, 1809, he bid fare-
well forever to public life, and retired to Monticello.

Mr. Jefferson was profuse in his hospitality. Whole
families came in their coaches with their hoises,
fathers and mothers, boys and girls, babies and
nurses, and remained three and even six months.
Life at Monticello, for years, resembled that at a
fashionable watering-place.

The fourth of July, 1826, being the fiftieth anniver-

sary of the Declaration of American Independence,
great preparations were made in every pait of tho
Union for its celebration, as the nation's jubilee, and
the citizens of Washington, to add to the solemnity
of the occasion, invited Mr. Jefferson, as the framer.
and one of the few surviving signers of the Declara-
tion, to participate in their festivities. But an ill-
ness, which had been of several weeks duration, and
had been continually increasing, compelled him to
decline the invitation.

On the second of July, the disease under which
he was laboring left him, but in such a reduced
state that his medical attendants, entertained no
hope of his recovery. From this time he was perfectly
sensible that his last hour was at hand. On the next
day, which was Monday, he asked of those around
him, the day of the month, and on being told it was
the third of July, he expressed the earnest wish that
he might be permitted to breathe the airof the fiftieth
anniversary. His prayer was heard that day, whose
dawn was hailed with such rapture through our land,
burst upon his eyes, and then they were closed for-
ever. And what a noble consummation of a noble
life ! To die on that day, the birthday of a nation,- -
the day which his own name and his own act had
rendered glorious; to die amidst the rejoicings and
festivities of a whole nation, who looked up to him,
as the author, under God, of their greatest blessings,
was all that was wanting to fill up the record his life.

Almost at the same hour of his death, the kin-
dred spirit of the venerable Adams, as if to bear
him company, left the scene of his earthly honors.
Hand in hand they had stood forth, the champions of
freedom; hand in hand, during the dark and desper-
ate struggle of the Revolution, they had cheered and
animated their desponding countrymen; for half a
century they had labored together for the good of
the country; and now hand in hand they depart.
In their lives they had been united in the same great
cause of liberty, and in their deaths they were not
divided.

In person Mr. Jefferson was tall and thin, rather
above six feet in height, but well formed; his eyes
were light, his hair originally red, in after life became
white and silvery; his complexion was fair, his fore-
head broad, and his whole countenance intelligent and
thoughtful. He possessed great fortitude of mind as
well as personal courage ; and his command of tem-
per was such that his oldest and most intimate friends
never recollected to have seen him in a passion.
His manners, though dignified, were simple and un-
affected, and his hospitality was so unbounded that
all found at his house a ready welcome. In conver-
sation he was fluent, eloquent and enthusiastic ; and
his language was remarkably pure and correct. He
was a finished classical scholar, and in his writings is
discernable the care with which he formed his style
upon the best models of antiquity.

FOURTH PRESIDENT.

III

AMES MADISON, "Father
of the Constitution," and fourth
President of the United States,
was born March 16, 1757, and
died at his home in Virginia,
June 28, 1836. The name of
James Madison is inseparably con-
nected with most of the important
events in that heroic period of our
country during which" the founda-
tions of this great republic were
laid. He was the last of the founders
of the Constitution of the United
States to be called to his eternal
reward.

The Madison family were among
the early emigrants to the New World,
landing upon the shores of the Chesa-
peake but 15 years after the settle-
ment of Jamestown. The father of
James Madison was an opulent
planter, residing upon a very fine es-
tate called "Montpelier," Orange Co.,
Va. The mansion was situated in
the midst of scenery highly pictur-
esque and romantic, on the west side
of South-west Mountain, at the foot of
Blue Ridge. It was but 25 miles from the home of
Jefferson at Monticello. The closest personal and
political attachment existed between these illustrious
men, from their early youth until death.

The early education of Mr. Madison was conducted
mostly at home under a private tutor. At the age of
1 8 he was sent to Princeton College, in New Jersey.
Here he applied himself to study with the most im-

prudent zeal; allowing himself, for months, but three
hours' sleep out of the 24. His health thus became so
seriously impaired that he never recovered any vigor
of constitution. He graduated in 1771, with a feeble
body, with a character of utmost purity, and with a
mind highly disciplined and richly stored with learning
which embellished and gave proficiency to his subsf
quent career.

Returning to Virginia, he commenced the study of
law and a course of extensive and systematic reading.
This educational course, the spirit of the times in
which he lived, and the society with which he asso-
ciated, all combined to inspire him with a strong
love of liberty, and to train him for his life-work of
a statesman. Being naturally of a religious turn of
mind, and his frail health leading him to think that
his life was not to be long, he directed especial atten-
tion to theological studies. Endowed with a mind
singularly free from passion and prejudice, and with
almost unequalled powers of reasoning, he weighed
all the arguments for and against revealed religion,
until his faith became so established as never to
be shaken.

In the spring of 1776, when 26 years of age, he
was elected a member of the Virginia Convention, to
frame the constitution of the State. The next year
(1777), he was a candidate for the General Assembly.
He refused to treat the whisky-lovir.g voters, and
consequently lost his election ; but those who had
witnessed the talent, energy and public spirit of the
modest young man, enlisted themselves in his behalf,
and he was appointed to the Executive Council.

Both Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson were
Governors of Virginia while Mr. Madison remained
member of the Council ; and their appreciation of his

JAMES MADISON.

intellectual, social and moral worth, contributed not
a little to his subsequent eminence. In the year
1780, he was elected a member of the Continental
Congress. Here he met the most illustrious men in
our land, and he was immediately assigned to one of
the most conspicuous positions among them.

For three years Mr. Madison continued in Con-
gress, one of its most active and influential members.
In the year 1784, his term having expired, he was
elected a member of the Virginia Legislature.

No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the
utter inefficiency of the old confederacy, with no na-
tional government, with no power to form treaties
which would be binding, or to enforce law. There
was not any State more prominent than Virginia in
the declaration, that an efficient national government
must be formed. In January, 1786, Mr. Madison
carried a resolution through the General Assembly of
Virginia, inviting the other States to appoint commis-
sioners to meet in convention at Annapolis to discuss
this subject. Five States only were represented. The
convention, however, issued another call, drawn up
by Mr. Madison, urging all the States to send their
delegates to Philadelphia, in May, 1787, to draft
a Constitution for the United States, to take the place
of that Confederate League. The delegates met at
the time appointed. Every State but Rhode Island
was represented. George Washington was chosen
president of the convention ; and the present Consti-
tution of the United States was then and there formed.
There was, perhaps, no mind and no pen more ac-
tive in framing this immortal document than the mind
and the pen of James Madison.

The Constitution, adopted by a vote 81 to 79, was
to be presented to the several States for acceptance.
But grave solicitude was felt. Should it be rejected
we should be left but a conglomeration of independent
States, with but little power at home and little respect
abroad. Mr. Madison was selected by the conven-
tion to draw up an address to the people of the United
States, expounding the principles of the Constitution,
and urging its adoption. There was great opposition
to it at first, but it at length triumphed over all, and
went into effect in 1789.

Mr. Madison was elected to the House of Repre-
sentatives in the first Congress, and soon became the
avowed leader of the Republican party. While in
New York attending Congress, he met Mrs. Todd, a
young widow of remarkable power of fascination,
whom he married. She was in person and character
queenly, and probably no lady has thus far occupied
so prominent a position in the very peculiar society
which has constituted our republican court as Mrs.
Madison.

Mr. Madison served as Secretary of State under
Jefferson, and at the close of his administration
was chosen President. At this time the encroach-
ments of England had brought us to the verge of war.

British orders in council destioyed our commerce, and
our flag was exposed to constant insult. Mr. Madison
was a man of peace. Scholarly in his taste, retiring
in his disposition, war had no charms for him. But the
meekest spirit can be roused. It makes one's blood
boil, even now, to think of an American ship brought
to, upon the ocean, by the guns of an English cruiser.
A young lieutenant steps on board and orders the
crew to be paraded before him. With great nonchal-
ance he selects any number whom he may please to
designate as British subjects ; orders them down the
ship's side into his boat; and places them on the gun-
deck of his man-of-war, to fight, by compulsion, the
battles of England. This right of search and im-
pressment, no efforts of our Government could induce
the British cabinet to relinquish.

On the 1 8th of June, 1812, President Madison gave
his approval to an act of Congress declaring war
against Great Britain. Notwithstanding the bitter
hostility of the Federal party to the war, the country
in general approved; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th
of March, igtS) w as re-elected by a large majority,
and entered upon his second term of office. This is
not the place to describe the various adventures of
this war on the land and on the water. Our infant
navy then laid the foundations of its renown in grap-
pling with the most formidable power which ever
swept the seas. The contest commenced in earnest
by the appearance of a British fleet, early in February,
1813, in Chesapeake Bay, declaring nearly the whole
coast of the United States under blockade.

The Emperor of Russia offered his services as me
dilator. America accepted ; England refused. A Brit-
ish force of five thousand men landed on the banks
of the Patuxet River, near its entrance into Chesa-
peake Bay, and marched rapidly, by way of Bladens-
burg, upon Washington.

The straggling little city of Washington was thrown
into consternation. The cannon of the brief conflict
at Bladensbnrg echoed through the streets of the
metropolis. The whole population fled from the city.
The President, leaving Mrs. Madison in the White
House, with her carriage drawn up at the door to
await his speedy return, hurried to meet the officers
in a council of war. He met our troops utterly routed,
and he could not go back without danger of being
captured. But few hours elapsed ere the Presidential
Mansion, the Capitol, and all the public buildings in
Washington were in flames.

The war closed after two years of fighting, and on
Feb. r3, 1815, the treaty of peace was signed at Ghent.

On the 4th of March, 1817, his second term of
office expired, and he resigned the Presidential chair
to his friend, James Monroe. He retired to his beau-
tiful home at Montpelier, and there passed the re-
mainder of his days. On June 28, 1836, then at the
age of 85 years, he fell asleep in death. Mrs. Madi-
son died July 12, 1849.

FIFTH PRESIDENT.

AMES MONROE, the fifth
Presidentof The United States,
was born in Westmoreland Co.,
Va., April 28, 1758. His early
life was passed at the place of
nativity. His ancestors had for
many years resided in the prov-
ince in which he was born. When,
at 17 years of age, in the process
of completing his education at
William and Mary College, the Co-
lonial Congress assembled at Phila-
delphia to deliberate upon the un-
just and manifold oppressions of
Great Britian, declared the separa-
tion of the Colonies, and promul-
gated the Declaration of Indepen-
dence. Had he been born ten years before it is highly
probable that he would have been one of the signers
of that celebrated instrument. At this time he left
school and enlisted among the patriots.

He joined the army when everything looked hope-
less and gloomy. The number of deserters increased
from day to day. The invading armies came pouring
in ; and the tories not only favored the cause of the
mother country, but disheartened the new recruits,
who were sufficiently terrified at the prospect of con-
tending with an enemy whom they had been taught
to deem invincible. To such brave spirits as James
Monroe, who went right onward, undismayed through
difficulty and danger, the United States owe their
political emancipation. The young cadet joined the
ranks, and espoused the cause of his injured country,
with a firm determination to live or die with her strife

for liberty. Firmly yet sadly he shared in the mel-
ancholy retreat from Harleam Heights and White
Plains, and accompanied the dispirited army as it fled
before its foes through New Jersey. In four months
after the Declaration of Independence, the patriots
had been beaten in seven battles. At the battle of
Trenton he led the vanguard, and, in the act of charg-
ing upon the enemy he received a wound in the left
shoulder.

As a reward for his bravery, Mr. Monroe was pro-
moted a captain of infantry; and, having recovered
from his wound, he rejoined the army. He, however,
receded from the line of promotion, by becoming an
officer in the staff of Lord Sterling. During the cam-
paigns of 1777 and 1778, in the actions of Brandy
wine, Germantown and Monmouth, he continued
aid-de-camp; but becoming desirous to regain his
position in the army, he exerted himself to collect a
regiment for the Virginia line. This scheme failed
owing to the exhausted condition of the State. Upon
this failure he entered the office of Mr. Jefferson, at
that period Governor, and pursued, with considerable
ardor, the study of common law. He did not, however,
entirely lay aside the knapsack for the green bag ;
but on the invasions of the enemy, served as a volun-
teer, during the two years of his legal pursuits.

In 1782, he was elected from King George county,
a member of the Leglislature of Virginia, and by that
body he was elevated to a seat in the Executive
Council. He was thus honored with the confidence
of his fellow citizens at 23 years of age ; and having
at this early period displayed some of that ability
and aptitude for legislation, which were afterwards
employed with unremitting energy for the public good,

JAMES MOivROE.

he was in the succeeding year chosen a member of
the Congress of the United States.

Deeplyas Mr. Monroe felt the imperfections of the old
^Confederacy, he was opposed to the new Constitution,
ihinking, with many others of the Republican party,
that it gave too much power to the Central Government,
and not enough to the individual States. Still he re-
tained the esteem of his friends who were its warm
supporters, and who, notwithstanding his opposition
secured its adoption. In 1789, he became a member
of the United States Senate ; which office he held for
four years. Every month the line of distinction be-
tween the two great parties which divided the nation,
the Federal and the Republican, was growing more
distinct. The two prominent ideas which now sep-
arated them were, that the Republican party was in
sympathy with France, and also in favor of such a
strict construction of the Constitution as to give the
Central Government as little power, and the State
Governments as much power, as the Constitution would
warrant. The Federalists sympathized with England,
and were in favor of a liberal construction of the Con-
stitution, which would give as much power to the
Central Government as that document could possibly
authorize.

The leading Federalists and Republicans were
alike noble men, consecrating all their energies to the
good of the nation. Two more honest men or more
pure patriots than John Adams the Federalist, and
James Monroe the Republican, never breathed. In
building up this majestic nation, which is destined
to eclipse all Grecian and Assyrian greatness, the com-
bination of their antagonism was needed to create the
light equilibrium. And yet each in his day was de-
nounced as almost a demon.

Washington was then President. England had es-
poused the cause of the Bourbons against the princi-
ples of the French Revolution. All Europe was drawn
into the conflict. We were feeble and far away.
Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality be-
tween these contending powers. France had helped
us in the struggle for our liberties. All the despotisms
of Europe were now combined to prevent the French
from escaping from a tyranny a thousand-fold worse
than that which we had endured Col. Monroe, more
magnanimous than prudent, was anxious that, at
whatever hazard, we should help our old allies in
their extremity. It was the impulse of a generous
and noble nature. He violently opposed the Pres-
ident's proclamation as ungrateful and wanting in
magnanimity.

Washington, who could appreciate such a character,
developed his calm, serene, almost divine greatness,
by appointing that very James Monroe, who was de-
nouncing the policy of the Government, as the minister
of that Government to the Republic of France. Mr.
Monroe was welcomed by the National Convention
in France with the most enthusiastic demonstrations.

Shortly after his return to this country, Mr. Mon-
roe was elected Governor of Virginia, and held the
office for three yeais. He was again sent to France to
co-operate with Chancellor Livingston in obtaining
the vast territory then known as the Province of
Louisiana, which France had but shortly before ob-
tained from Spain. Tlieir united efforts were suc-
cessful. For the comparatively small sum of fifteen
millions of dollars, the entire territory of Orleans and
district of Louisiana were added to the United States.
This was probably the largest transfer of real estate
which was ever made in all the history of the world.

From France Mr. Monroe went to England to ob-
tain from that country some recognition of out-
rights as neutrals, and to remonstrate against those
odious impressments of our seamen. But Eng-
land was unrelenting. He again returned to Eng-
land on the same mission, but could receive no
redress. He returned to his home and was again
chosen Governor of Virginia. This he soon resigned
to accept the position of Secretary of State under
Madison. While in this office war with England was
declared, the Secretary of War resigned, and during
these trying times, the duties of the War Department
were also put upon him. He was truly the armor-
bearer of President Madison, and the most efficient
business man in his cabinet. Upon the return oi
peace he resigned the Department of War, but con-
tinued in the office of Secretary of State until the ex-
piration of Mr. Madison's adminstration. At the elec-
tion held the previous autumn Mr. Monroe himself had
been chosen President with but little opposition, and
upon March 4, 1817, was inaugurated. Four years
later he was elected for a second term.

Among the important measures of his Presidency
were the cession of Florida to the United States; the
Missouri Compromise, and the " Monroe doctrine."'

This famous doctrine, since known as the " Monroe
doctrine," was enunciated by him in 1823. At that
time the United States had recognized the independ-
ence of the South American states, and did not \\ish
to have European powers longer attempting to sub-
due portions of the American Continent. The doctrine
is as follows : " That we should consider any attempt
on the part of European powers to extend their sys-
tem to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous
to our peace and safety," and "that we could not
view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing
or controlling American governments or provinces in
any other light than as a manifestation by European
powers of an unfriendly disposition toward the United
States." This doctrine immediately affected the course
of foreign governments, and has become the approved
sentiment of the United States.

At the end of his second term Mr. Monroe retired
to his home in Virginia, where he lived until 1830,
when he went to New York to live with his son-in-
law. In that city he died,on the 4th of July, 1831.

*l>

SIXTH PRESIDENT.

Qmi)0

OHN QUINCY ADAMS, the
sixth President of the United
States, was born in the rural
home of his honored father,
John Adams, in Quincy, Mass.,
on the i ith cf July, 1767. His
mother, a woman of exalted
worth, watched over his childhood
during the almost constant ab-
sence of his father. When but
eight years of age, he stood with
his mother on an eminence, listen-
ing to the booming of the great bat-
tle on Bunker's Hill, and gazing on
upon the smoke and flames billow-
ing up from the conflagration of
Charlestown.

When but eleven years oW he
took a tearful adieu of his mother,
to sail with his fattier for Europe,
through a fleet of hostile British cruisers. The bright,
animated boy spent a year and a half in Paris, where
his father was associated with Franklin and Lee as
minister plenipotentiary. His intelligence attracted
the notice of these distinguished men, and he received
from them flattering marks of attention.

Mr. John Adams had scarcely returned to this
country, in 1779, ere he was again sent abroad. Again
John Quincy accompanied his father. At Paris he
applied himself with great diligence, for six months,
to study; then accompained his father to Holland,
where he entered, first a school in Amsterdam, then
the University at Leyden. About a year from this
time, in 1781, when the manly Loy was but fourteen
years of age, he was selected by Mr. Dana, our min-
ister to the Russian court, as his private secretary.

Tn this school of incessant labor and of enobling
culture he spent fourteen months, and then returned
to Holland through Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg and
Bremen. This long journey he took alone, in the
winter, when in his sixteenth year. Again he resumed
his studies, under a private tutor, at Hague. Thence,

in the spring of 1782, he accompanied his father to
Paris, traveling leisurely, and forming acquaintance
with the most distinguished men on the Continent;
examining architectural remains, galleries of paintings,
and all renowned works of art. At Paris he again
became associated with the most illustrious men of
all lands in the contemplations of the loftiest temporal
themes which can engross the human mind. After
a short visit to England he returned to Paris, and
consecrated all his energies to study until May, 1785,
when he returned to America. To a brilliant young
man of eighteen, who had seen much of the world,
and who was familiar with the .etiquette of courts, a
residence with his father in London, under such cir-
cumstances, must have been extremely attractive;
but with judgment very rare in one of his age, he pre-
ferred to return to America to complete his education
in an American college. He wished then to study
law, that with an honorable profession, he might be
able to obtain an independent support.

Upon leaving Harvard College, at the age of twenty,
he studied law for three years. In June, 1794, be-
ing then but twenty-seven years of age, he was ap-
pointed by Washington, resident minister at the
Netherlands. Sailing from Boston in July, he reached
London in October, where he was immediately admit-
ted to the deliberations of Messrs. Jay and Pinckney,
assisting them in negotiating a commercial treaty with
Great Britian. After thus spending a fortnight in
London, he proceeded to the Hague.

In July, 1797, he left the Hague to go to Portugal as
minister plenipotentiary. On his way to Portugal,
upon arriving in London, he met with despatches
directing him to the court of Berlin, but requesting
him to remain in London until he should receive his
instructions. While waiting he was married to an
American lady to whom he had been previously en-
gaged, Miss Louisa Catherine Johnson, daughter
of Mr. Joshua Johnson, American consul in London ;
a lady endownd with that beauty and those accom-
plishment which eminently fitted her to move in the
elevated sphere for which she was destined.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

He reached Berlin with his wife in November, 1797 ;
where he remained until July, 1799, when, having ful-
filled all the purposes of his mission, he solicited his
recall. .

Soon after his return, in 1802, he was chosen to
Ihe Senate of Massachusetts, from Boston, and then
was elected Senator of the United States for six years,
from the 4th of March, 1804. His reputation, his
ability and his experience, placed him immediately
among the most prominent and influential members
of that body. Especially did he sustain the Govern-
ment in its measures of resistance to the encroach-
ments of England, destroying our commerce and in-
sulting our flag. There was no man in America more
familiar with the arrogance of the British court upon
these points, and no one more resolved to present
a firm resistance.

In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson in the Pres-
idential chair, and he immediately nominated John
Qiiincy Adams minister to St. Petersburg. Resign-
ing his professorship in Harvard College, he embarked
at Boston, in August, 1809.

While in Russia, Mr. Adams was an intense stu-
dent. He devoted his attention to the language and
history of Russia; to the Chinese trade; to the
European system of weights, measures, and coins ; to
the climate and astronomical observations ; while he
sept up a familiar acquaintance with the Greek and
Latin classics. In all the universities of Europe, a
more accomplished scholar could scarcely be found.
All through life the Bible constituted an important
part of his studies. It was his rule to read five
chapters every day.

On the 4th of March, 1817, Mr. Monroe took the
Presidential chair, and immediately appointed Mr.
Adams Secretary of State. Taking leave of his num-
erous friends in public and private life in Europe, he
sailed in June, 1819, for the United States. On the
1 8th of August, he again crossed the threshold of his
home in Quincy. During the eight years of Mr. Mon-
roe's administration, Mr. Adams continued Secretary
of State.

Some time before the close of Mr. Monroe's second
term of office, new candidates began to be presented
for the Presidency. The friends of Mr. Adams brought
forward his name. It was an exciting campaign.
Party spirit was never more bitter. Two hundred and
sixty electoral votes were cast. Andrew Jackson re-
ceived ninety-nine; John Quincy Adams, eighty-four;
William H. Crawford, forty -one ; Henry Clay, thirty-
seven. As there was no choice by the people, the
question went to the House of Representatives. Mr.
Clay gave the vote of Kentucky to Mr. Adams, and
he was elected.

The friends of all the disappointed candidates now
combined in a venomous and persistent assault upon
Mr. Adams. There is nothing more disgraceful in
the past history of our country than the abuse which

was poured in one uninterrupted stream, upon this
high-minded, upright, patriotic man. There never was
an administration more pure in principles, more con-
scientiously devoted to the best interests of the coun-
try, than that of John Quincy Adams; and never, per-
haps, was there an administration more unscrupu-
lously and outrageously assailed.

Mr. Adams was, to a very remarkable degree, ab-
stemious and temperate in his habits; always rising
early, and taking much exercise. When at his home in
Quincy, he has been known to walk, before breakfast,
seven miles to Boston. In Washington, it was said
that he was the first man up in the city, lighting his
own fire and applying himself to work in his library
often long before dawn.

On the 4th of March, 1829, Mr. Adams retired
from the Presidency, and was succeeded by Andrew
Jackson. John C. Calhoun was elected Vice Presi-
dent. The slavery question now began to assume
portentous magnitude. Mr. Adams returned to
Quincy and to his studies, which he pursued with un-
abated zeal. But he was not long permitted to re-
main in retirement. In November, 1830, he was
elected representative to Congress. For seventeen
years, until his death, he occupied the post as repre-
sentative, towering above all his peers, ever ready to
do brave battle* for freedom, and winning the title of
"the old man eloquent." Upon taking his seat in
the House, he announced that he should hold him-
self bound to no party. Probably there never was a
member more devoted to his duties. He was usually
the first in his place in the morning, and the last to
leave his seat in the evening. Not a measure could
be brought forward and escape his scrutiny. The
battle which Mr. Adams fought, almost singly, against
the proslavery party in the Government, was sublime
in its moral daring and heroism. For persisting in
presenting petitions for the abolition of slavery, he
was threatened with indictment by the grand jury,
with expulsion from the House, with assassination :
but no threats could intimidate him, and his final
triumph was complete.

It has been said of President Adams, that when his
body was bent and his hair silvered by the lapse of
fourscore years, yielding to the simple faith of a little
child, he was accustomed to repeat every night, before
he slept, the prayer which his mother taught him in
his infant years.

On the 2istof February, 1848, he rose on the floor
of Congress, with a paper in his hand, to address the
speaker. Suddenly he fell, again stricken by paraly-
sis, and was caught in the arms of those around him.
For a time he was senseless, as he was conveyed to
the sofa in the rotunda. With reviving conscious-
ness, he opened his eyes, looked calmly around and
said " This is the end of earth /'then after a moment's
pause he added, "7 am content." These were the
last words of the grand "Old Man Eloquent."

SEVENTH PRESIDENT.

. ,

NDREW JACKSON, the
seventh President of the
United States, was born in
Waxhaw settlement, N. C.,
March 15, 1767, a few days
after his father's death. His
parents were poor emigrants
from Ireland, and took up
their abode in Waxhaw set-
tlement, where they lived in
deepest poverty.
Andrew, or Andy, as he was
universally called, grew up a very
rough, rude, turbulent boy. His
features were coarse, his form un-
gainly; and there was but very
little in his character, made visible, which was at-
tractive.

When only thirteen years old he joined the volun-
teers of Carolina against the British invasion. In
1781, he and his brother Robert were captured and
imprisoned for a time at Camden. A British officer
ordered him to brush his mud-spattered boots. " I am
a prisoner of war, not your servant," was the reply of
the dauntless boy.

The brute drew his sword, and aimed a desperate
blow at the head of the helpless young prisoner.
Andrew raised his hand, and thus received two fear-
ful gashes, one on the hand and the other upon the
head. The officer then turned to his brother Robert
with the same demand. He also refused, and re-
ceived a blow from the keen-edged sabre, which quite
diiabled him, and which probably soon after caused
his death. They suffered much other ill-treatment, and
were finally stricken with the small-pox. Their
mother was successful in obtaining their exchange,

and took her sick boys home. After a long illness
Andrew recovered, and the death of his mother soon
left him entirely friendless.

Andrew supported himself in various ways, such as
working at the saddler's trade, teaching school and
clerking in a general store, until 1784, when he
entered a law office at Salisbury, N. C. He, however,
gave more attention to the wild amusements of the
times than to his studies. In 1788, he was appointed
solicitor for the western district of North Carolina, of
which Tennessee was then a part. This involved
many long and tedious journeys amid dangers of
every kind, but Andrew Jackson never knew fear,
and the Indians had no desire to repeat a skirmish
with the Sharp Knife.

In 1791, Mr. Jackson was married to a woman who
supposed herself divorced from her former husband.
Great was the surprise of both parties, two years later,
to find that the conditions of the divorce had just been
definitely settled by the first husband. The marriage
ceremony was performed a second time, but the occur-
rence was often used by his enemies to bring Mr.
Jackson into disfavor.

Daring these years he worked hard at his profes-
sion, and frequently had one or more duels on hand,
one of which, when he killed Dickenson, was espec-
ially disgraceful.

In January, 1796, the Territory of Tennessee then
containing nearly eighty thousand inhabitants, the
people met in convention at Knoxville to frame a con-
stitution. Five were sent from each of the eleven
counties. Andrew Jackson was one of the delegates.
The new State was entitled to but one member in
the National House of Representatives. Andrew Jack-
son was chosen that member. Mounting his horse he
rode to Philedelphia, where Congress then held its

ANDREW JACKSON.

sessions, a distance of about eight hundred miles.

Jackson was an earnest advocate of the Demo-
cratic party. Jefferson was his idol. He admired
Bonaparte, loved France and hated England. As Mr.
Jackson took his seat, Gen. Washington, whose
second term of office was then expiring, delivered his
last speech to Congress. A committee drew up a
complimentary address in reply. Andrew Jackson
did not approve of the address, and was one of the
twelve who voted against'it. He was not willing to
say that Gen. Washington's adminstration had been
!' wise, firm and patriotic."

Mr. Jackson was elected to the United States
Senate in 1797, but soon resigned and returned home.
Soon after he was chosen Judge of the Supreme Court
of his State, which position he held for six years.

When the war of 1812 with Great Britian com-
menced, Madison occupied the Presidential chair.
Aaron Burr sent word to the President that there was
ah unknown man in the West, Andrew Jackson, who
would do credit to a commission if one were con-
ferred upon him. Just at that time Gen. Jackson
offered his services and those of twenty-five hundred
volunteers. His offer was accepted, and the troops
were assembled at Nashville.

As the British were hourly expected to make an at-
tack upon New Orleans, where Gen Wilkinson was
in command, he was ordered to descend the river
with fifteen hundred troops to aid Wilkinson. The
expedition reached Natchez; and after a delay of sev-
eral weeks there, without accomplishing anything,
the men were ordered back to their homes. But the
energy Gen. Jackson had displayed, and his entire
devotion t'o the comrfort of his soldiers, won him
golden opinions; and he became the most popular
man in the State. It was in this expedition that his
toughness gave him the nickname of "Old Hickory."

Soon after this, while attempting to horsewhip Col.
Thomas H. Benton, for a remark that gentleman
made about his taking a part as second in a duel, in
which a younger brother of Benton's was engaged,
he received two severe pistol wounds. While he was
"lingering \i\xm a bed of suffering news came that the
Indians, who had combined under Tecumseh from
Florida to the Lakes, to exterminate the white set-
tlers, were committing the most awful ravages. De-
cisive action became necessary. Gen. Jackson, with
his fractured bone just beginning to heal, his arm in
a sling, and unable to mount his horse without assis-
tance, gave his amazing energies to the raising of an
army to rendezvous at Fayettesville, Alabama.

The Creek Indians had established a strong fort on
one of the bends of the Tallaooosa River, near the cen-
ter of Alabama, about fifty miles below Fort Strother.
With an army of two thousand men, Gen. Jackson
traversed the pathless wilderness in a march of eleven
days. He reached their fort, called Tohopeka or
Horse-shoe, on the 27th of March. 1814. The bend

of the river enclosed nearly one hundred acres of
tangled forest and wild ravine. Across the narrow
neck the Indians had constructed a formidable breast-
work of logs and brush. Here nine hundred warriors,
with an ample suplyof arms were assembled.

The fort was stormed. The fight was utterly des-
perate. Not an Indian would accept of quarter. When
bleeding and dying, they would fight those who en-
deavored to spare their lives. From ten in the morn-
ing until dark, the battle raged. The carnage was
awful and revolting. Some threw themselves into the
river; but the unerring bullet struck their heads as
they swam. Nearly everyone of the nine hundred war-
rios were killed A few probably, in the night, swam
the river and escaped. This ended the war. The
power of the Creeks was broken forever. This bold
plunge into the wilderness, with itsterriffic slaughter,
so appalled the savages, that the haggard remnants
of the bands came to the camp, begging for peace.

This closing of the Creek war enabled us to con-
centrate all our militia upon the British, who were the
allies of the Indians No man of less .resolute will
than Gen. Jackson could have conducted this Indian
campaign to so successful an issue Immediately he
was appointed major-general.

Late in August, with an army of two thousand
men, on a rushing march, Gen. Jackson came to
Mobile. A British fleet came from Pensacola, landed
a force upon the beach, anchored near the little fort,
and from both ship and shore commenced a furious
assault The battle was long and doubtful. At length
one of the ships was blown up and the rest retired.

Garrisoning Mobile, where he had taken his little
army, he moved his troops to New Orleans,
And the battle of New Orleans which soon ensued,
was in reality a very arduous campaign. This won
for Gen. Jackson an imperishable name. Here his
troops, which numbered about four thousand men,
won a signal victory over the British army of about
nine thousand. His loss was but thirteen, while the
loss of the British was two thousand six hundred.

The name of Gen. Jackson soon began to be men-
tioned in connection with the Presidency, but, in 1824,
he was defeated by Mr. Adams. He was, however,
successful in the election of 1828, and was re-elected
for a second term in 1832. In 1829, just before he
assumed the reins of the government, he met with
the most terrible affliction of his life in the death of
his wife, whom he had loved with a devotion which has
perhaps never been surpassed. From the shock of
her death he never recovered.

His administration was one of the most memorable
in the annals of our country; applauded by one party,
condemned by the other. No man had more bitter
enemies or warmer friends. At the expiration of his
two terms of office he retired to the Hermitage, where
he died June 8, 1845. The last years of Mr. Jack-
son's life were that of a devoted Christian man.

EIGHTH PRESIDENT.

ARTIN VAN BUREN, the

eighth President of the
United States, was bom at
Kinderhook, N. Y., Dec. 5,
1782. He died at the same
place, July 24, 1862. His
body rests in the cemetery
at Kinderhook. Above it is
a plain granite shaft fifteen feet
high, bearing a simple inscription
about half way up on one face.
The lot is unfenced, unbordered
or unbounded by shrub or flower.

There is but little in the life of Martin Van Buren
of romantic interest. He fought no battles, engaged
in no wild adventures. Though his life was stormy in
political and intellectual conflicts, and he gained many
signal victories, his days passed uneventful in those
incidents which give zest to biography. His an-
cestors, as his name indicates, were of Dutch origin,
and were among the earliest emigrants from Holland
to the banks of the Hudson. His father was a farmer,
residing in the old town of Kinderhook. His mother,
also of Dutch lineage, was a woman of superior intel-
ligence and exemplary piety.

He was decidedly a precocious boy, developing un-
usual activity, vigor and strength of mind. At the
age of fourteen, he had finished his academic studies
in his native village, and commenced the study of
law. As he had not a collegiate education, seven
years of study in a law-office were required of him
before he could be admitted to the bar. Inspired with
n lofty ambition, and conscious of his powers, he pur-
sued his studies with indefatigable industry. After
spending six years in an office in his native village,

he went to the city of New York, and prosecuted his
studies for the seventh year.

In 1803, Mr. Van Buren, then twenty-one years of
age, commenced the practice of law in his native vil-
lage. The great conflict between the Federal and
Republican party was then at its height. Mr. Van
Buren was from the beginning a politician. He had,
perhaps, imbibed that spirit while listening to the
many discussions which had been carried on in his
father's hotel. He was in cordial sympathy with
Jefferson, and earnestly and eloquently espoused the
cause of State Rights; though at that time the Fed-
eral party held the supremacy both in his town
and State.

His success and increasing ruputation led him
after six years of practice, to remove to Hudson, th<:
county seat of his county. Here he spent seven years
constantly gaining strength by contending in tin.
courts with some of the ablest men who have adorned
the bar of his State.

Just before leaving Kinderhook for Hudson, Mi.
Van Buren married a lady alike distinguished for
beauty and accomplishments. After twelve short
years she sank into the grave, the victim of consump-
tion, leaving her husband and four sons to weep over
her loss. For twenty-five years, Mr. Van Buren was
an earnest, successful, assiduous lawyer. The record
of those years is barren in items of public interest.
In 1812, when thirty years of age, he was chosen to
the State Senate, and cave his strenuous support to
Mr. Madison's adminstration. In 1815, he was ap-
pointed Attorney-General, and the next year moved
to Albany, the capital of the State.

While he was acknowledged as one of the most
prominent leaders of the Democratic party, he had

MARTIN VAN BUREN.

the moral courage to avow that true democracy did
not require that " universal suffrage" which admits
the vile, the degraded, the ignorant, to the right of
governing the State. In true consistency with his
democratic principles, he contended that, while the
path leading to the privilege of voting should be open
to every man without distinction, no one should be
invested with that sacred prerogative, unless he were
in some degree qualified for it by intelligence, virtue
and some property interests in the welfare of the
State.

In 1821 he was elected a member of the United
States Senate; and in the same year, he took a seat
in the convention to revise the constitution of his
native State. His course in this convention secured
the approval of men of all parties. No one could
doubt the singleness of his endeavors to promote the
interests of all classes in the community. In the
Senate of the United States, he rose at once to a
conspicuous position as an active and useful legislator.

In 1827, John Quincy Adams being then in the
Presidential chair, Mr. Van Buren was re-elected to
the Senate. He had been from the beginning a de-
termined opposer of the Administration, adopting the
" State Rights " view in opposition to what was
deemed the Federal proclivities of Mr. Adams.

Soon after this, in 1828, he was chosen Governorof
the State of New York, and accordingly resigned his
seat in the Senate. Probably no one in the United
States contributed so much towards ejecting John Q.
Adams from the Presidential chair, and placing in it
Andrew Jackson, as did Martin Van Buren. Whether
entitled to the reputation or not, he certainly was re-
garded throughout the United States as one of the
most skillful, sagacious and cunning of politicians.
It was supposed that no one knew so well as he how
to touch the secret spiings of action; how to pull all
the wires to put his machinery in motion; and how to
organize a political army which would, secretly and
stealthily accomplish the most gigantic results. By
these powers it is said that he outwitted Mr. Adams,
Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster, and secured results which
few thought then could be accomplished.

When Andrew Jackson was elected President he
appointed Mr. Van Buren Secretary of State. This
position he resigned in 1831, and was immediately
appointed Minister to England, where he went the
same autumn. The Senate, however, when it met,
reused to ratify the nomination, and he returned

home, apparently untroubled ; was nominated Vice
President in the place of Calhoun, at the re-election
of President Jackson ; and with smiles for all and
frowns for none, he took his place at the head of that
Senate which had refused to confirm his nomination
as ambassador.

His rejection by the Senate roused all the zeal of
President Jackson in behalf of his repudiated favor-
ite ; and this, probably more than any other cause,
secured his elevation to the chair of the Chief Execu-
tive. On the 2oth of May, 1836, Mr. Van Buren re-
ceived the Democratic nomination to succeed Gen.
Jackson as President of the United States. He was
elected by a handsome majority, to the delight of the
retiring President. " Leaving New York out of the
canvass," says Mr. Parton, "the election of Mr. Van
Buren to the Presidency was as much the act of Gen.
Jackson as though the Constitution had conferred
upon him the power to appoint a successor."

His administration was filled with exciting events.
The insurrection in Canada, which threatened to in
volve this country in war with England, the agitation
of the slavery question, and finally the great commer-
cial panic which spread over the country, all were
trials to his wisdom. The financial distress was at-
tributed to the management of the Democratic party,
and brought the President into such disfavor that he
failed of re-election.

With the exception of being nominated for the
Presidency by the " Free Soil " Democrats, in 1 848,
Mr. Van Buren lived quietly upon his estate until
his death.

He had ever been a prudent man, of frugal habits,
and living within his income, had now fortunately a
competence for his declining years. His unblemished
character, his commanding abilities, his unquestioned
patriotism, and the distinguished positions which he
had occupied in the government of our country, se-
cured to him not only the homage of his party, but
the respect ot the whole community. It was on the
4th of March, 1841, that Mr. Van Buren retired from
the presidency. From his fine estate at Lindenwald )
he still exerted a powerful influence upon the politics
of the country. From this time until his death, on
the 24th of July, 1862, at the age of eighty years, he
resided at Lindenwald, a gentleman of leisure, of
culture and of wealth; enjoying in a healthy old
age, probably far more happiness than he had before
experienced amid the stormy scenes of his active life.

NINTH PRESIDENT.

1 r

ILLIAM HENRY HARRI-
SON, the ninth President of
the United States, was born
at Berkeley, Va., Feb. 9, 1773.
His father, Benjamin Harri-
son, was in comparatively op-
ulent circumstances, and was
one of the most distinguished
men of his day. He was an
intimate friend of George
Washington, was early elected
a member of the Continental
Congress, and was conspicuous
among the patriots of Virginia in
resisting the encroachments of the
British crown. In the celebrated
Congress of 1775, Benjamin Har-
rison and John Hancock were
both candidates for the office of
speaker.

Mr Harrison was subsequently
chosen Governor of Virginia, and
was twice re-elected. His son,
I William Henry, of course enjoyed

in childhood all the advantages which wealth and
intellectual and cultivated society could give. Hav-
ing received a thorough common-school education, he
entered Hampden Sidney College, where he graduated
with honor soon after the death of his father. He
then repaired to Philadelphia to study medicine under
the instructions of Dr. Rush and the guardianship of
Robert Morris, both of whom were, with his father,
signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Upon the outbreak of the Indian troubles, and not-
withstanding the remonstrances of his friends, he
abandoned his medical studies and entered the army,
having obtained a commission of Ensign from Presi-

dent Washington. He was then but 19 years old.
From that time he passed gradually upward in rank
until he became aid to General Wayne, after whose
death he resigned his commission. He was then ap-
pointed Secretary of the North-western Territory. This
Territory was then entitled to but one member in
Congress and Capt. Harrison was chosen to fill that
position.

In the spring of 1800 the North-western Territory
was divided by Congress into two portions. The
eastern portion, comprising the region now embraced
in the State of Ohio, was called '' The Territory
north-west of the Ohio." The western portion, which
included what is now called Indiana, Illinois and
Wisconsin, was called the "Indiana Territory." Wil-
liam Henry Harrison, then 27 years of age, was ap-
pointed by John Adams, Governor of the Indiana
Territory, and immediately after, also Governor of
Upper Louisiana. He was thus ruler over almost as
extensive a realm as any sovereign upon the globe. He
was Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and was in-
vested with powers nearly dictatorial over the now
rapidly increasing white population. The ability and
fidelity with which he discharged these responsible
duties may be inferred from the fact that he was four
times appointed to this office first by John Adams,
twice by Thomas Jefferson and afterwards by Presi-
dent Madison.

When he began his adminstration there were but
three white settlementsin that almost boundless region,
now crowded with cities and resounding with all the
tumult of wealth and traffic. One of these settlements
was on the Ohio, nearly opposite Louisville; one at
Vincennes, on the Wabash, and the third a French
settlement.

The vast .wilderness over which Gov. Harrison
reigned was filled with many tribes of Indians. About

5 2

WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.

the year 1806, two extraordinary men, twin brothers,
of the Shawnese tribe, rose among them. One of
these was called Tecumseh, or " The Crouching
Panther;" the other, Olliwacheca, or " The Prophet."
Tecumseh was not only an Indian warrior, but a man
of great sagacity, far-reaching foresight and indomit-
able perseverance in any enterprise in which he might
engage. He was inspired with the highest enthusiasm,
and had long regarded with dread and with hatred
the encroachment of the whites upon the hunting-
grounds of his fathers. His brother, the Prophet, was
an orator, who could sway the feelings of the untutored
Indian as the gale tossed the tree-tops beneath which
they dwelt.

But the Prophet was not merely an orator : he was,
in the superstitious minds of the Indians, invested
with the superhuman dignity of a medicine-man or a
magician. With an enthusiasm unsurpassed by Peter
the Hermit rousing Europe to the crusades, he went
from tribe to tribe, assuming that he was specially sent
by the Great Spirit.

Gov. Harrison made many attempts to conciliate
the Indians, but at last the war came, and at Tippe-
canoe the Indians were routed with great slaughter.
October 28, 1812, his army began its march. When
near the Prophet's town three Indians of rank made
their appearance and inquired why Gov. Harrison was
approaching them in so hostile an attitude. - After a
short conference, arrangements were made for a meet-
ing the next day, to agree upon terms of peace.

But Gov. Harrison was too well acquainted with
the Indian character to be deceived by such protes-
tations. Selecting a favorable spot for his night's en-
campment, he took every precaution against surprise.
His troops were posted in a hollow square, and slept
upon their arms.

The troops threw themselves upon the ground for
rest; but every man had his accourtrements on, his
loaded musket by his side, and his bayonet fixed. The
wakeful Governor, between three and four o'clock in
the morning, had risen, and was sitting in conversa-
tion with his aids by the embers of a waning fire. It
was a chill, cloudy morning with a drizzling rain. In
the darkness, the Indians had crept as near as possi-
ble, and just then, with a savage yell, rushed, with all
the desperation which superstition and passion most
highly inflamed could give, upon the left flank of the
little army. The savages had been amply provided
with guns and ammunition by the English. Their
war-whoop was accompained by a shower of bullets.

The camp-fires were instantly extinguished, as the
light aided the Indians in their aim. With hide-
DUS yells, the Indian bands rushed on, not doubting a
speedy and an entire victory. But Gen. Harrison's
troops stood as immovable as the rocks around them
until day dawned : they then made a simultaneous
charge with the bayonet, and swept every thing be-
fore them, and completely routing the foe.

Gov. Harrison now had all his energies tasked
to the utmost. The British descending from the Can-
adas, were of themselves a very formidable force ; but
with their savage allies, rushing like wolves from the
forest, searching out every remote farm-house, burn-
ing, plundering, scalping, torturing, the wide frontier
was plunged into a state of consternation which even
the most vivid imagination can but faintly conceive.
The war-whoop was resounding everywhere in the
forest. The horizon was illuminated with the conflagra-
tion of the cabins of the settlers. Gen Hull had made
the ignominious surrender of his forces at Detroit.
Under these despairing circumstances, Gov. Harrison
was appointed by President Madison Commander-in-
chief of the North-western army, with orders to retake
Detroit, and to protect the frontiers.

It would be difficult to place a man in a situation
demanding more energy, sagacity and courage; but
General Harrison was found equal to the position,
and nobly and triumphantly did he meet all the re-
sponsibilities.

He won the love of his soldiers by always sharing
with them their fatigue. His whole baggage, while
pursuing the foe up the Thames, was carried in a
valise; and his bedding consisted of a single blanket
lashed over his saddle. Thirty-five British officers,
his prisoners of war, supped with him after the battle.
The only fare he could give them was beef roasted
before the fire, without bread or salt.

In 1816, Gen. Harrison was chosen a member of
the National House of Representatives, to represent
the District of Ohio. In Congress he proved an
active member; and whenever he spoke, it was with
force of reason and power of eloquence, which arrested
the attention of all the members.

In 1819, Harrison was elected to the Senate of
Ohio; and in 1824, as one of the presidential electors
of that State, he gave his vote for Henry Clay. The
same year he was chosen to the United States Senate.

In 1836, the friends of Gen. Harrison brought him
forward as a candidate for the Presidency against
Van Buren, but he was defeated. At the close of
Mr. Van Buren 's term, he was re-nominated by his
party, and Mr. Harrison was unanimously nominated
by the Whigs, with John Tyler forthe Vice Presidency.
The contest was very animated. Gen Jackson gave
all his influence to prevent Harrison's election ; but
his triumph was signal.

The cabinet which he formed, with Daniel Webster
at its head as Secretary of State, was one of the most
brilliant with which any President had ever been
surrounded. Never were the prospects of an admin-
istration more flattering, or the hopes of the country
more sanguine. In the midst of these bright and
joyous prospects, Gen. Harrison was seized by a
pleurisv-fever and after a few days of violent sick-
ness, died on the 4th of April ; just one month after
his inauguration as President of the United States.

TENTH PRESIDENT.

55 t \

OHN TYLER, the tenth
, Presidentof the United States.
He was born in Charles-city
Co., Va., March 29, 1790. He
was the favored child of af-
fluence and high social po-
sition. At the early age of
twelve, John entered William
and Mary College and grad-
uated with much honor when
but seventeen years old. After
graduating, he devoted him-
self with great assiduity to the
study of law, partly with his
father and partly with Edmund
Randolph, one of the most distin-
guished lawyers of Virginia.

At nineteen years of age, he
commenced the practice of law.
His success was rapid and aston-
ishing. It is said that three
months had not elapsed ere there
was scarcely a case on the dock-
I et of the court in which he was
not retained. When but twenty-one years of age, he
was almost unanimously elected to a seat in the State
Legislature. He connected himself with the Demo-
cratic party, and warmly advocated the measures of
Tefferson and Madison. For five successive years he
was elected to the Legislature, receiving nearly the
unanimous vote or his county.

When but twenty-six years of age, he was elected
a member of Congress. Here he acted earnestly and
ably with the Democratic party, opposing a national
bank, internal improvements by the General Govern-

ment, a protective tariff, and advocating a strict con-
struction of the Constitution, and the most careful
vigilance over State rights. His labors in Congress
were so arduous that before the close of his second
term he found it necessary to resign and retire to his
estate in Charles-city Co., to recruit his health. He,
however, soon after consented to take his seat in the
State Legislature, where his influence was powerful
in promoting public works of great utility. With a
reputation thus canstantly increasing, he was chosen
by a very large majority of votes, Governor of his
native State. His administration was signally a suc-
cessful one. His popularity secured his re-election.

John Randolph, a brilliant, erratic, half-crazed
man, then represented Virginia in the Senate of the
United States. A portion of the Democratic party
was displeased with Mr. Randolph's wayward course,
and brought forward John Tyler as his opponent,
considering him the only man in Virginia of sufficient
popularity to succeed against the renowned orator of
Roanoke. Mr. Tyler was the victor.

In accordance with his professions, upon taking his
seat in the Senate, he joined the ranks of the opposi-
tion. He opposed the tariff; he spoke against and
voted against the bank as unconstitutional ; he stren-
uously opposed all restrictions upon slavery, resist-
ing all projects of internal improvements by the Gen-
eral Government, and avowed his sympathy with Mr.
Calhoun's view of nullification ; he declared that Gen.
Jackson, by his opposition to the nullifiers, had
abandoned the principles of the Democratic party.
Such was Mr. Tyler's record in Congress, a record
in perfect accordance with the principles which he
had always avowed.

Returning to Virginia, he resumed the practice of
his profession. There was a split in the Democratic

JOHN TYLER.

party. His friends still regarded him as a true Jef-
fersonian, gave him a dinner, and showered compli-
ments upon him. He had now attained the age of
forty-six. His career had been very brilliant. In con-
sequence of his devotion to public business, his pri-
vate affairs had fallen into some disorder ; and it was
not without satisfaction that he resumed the practice
of law, and devoted himself to the culture of his plan-
tation. Soon after this he remov ed to Williamsburg,
for the better education of his children ; and he again
took his seat in the Legislature of Virginia.

By the Southern Whigs, he was sent to the national
convention at Harrisburg to nominate a President in
1839. The majority of votes were given to Gen. Har-
rison, a genuine Whig, much to the disappointment of
the South, who wished for Henry Clay. To concili-
ate the Southern Whigs and to secure their vote, the
convention then nominated John Tyler for Vice Pres-
ident. It was well known that he was not in sympa-
thy with the Whig party in the Noith : but the Vice
President has but very little power in the Govern-
ment, his main and almost only duty being to pre-
side over the meetings of the Senate. Thus it hap-
pened that a Whig President, and, in reality, a
Democratic Vice President were chosen.

In 1841, Mr. Tyler was inaugurated Vice Presi-
dent of the United States. In one short month from
that time, President Harrison died, and Mr. Tyler
thus found himself, to his own surprise and that of
the whole Nation, an occupant of the Presidential
chair. This was a new test of the stability of our
institutions, as it was the first time in the history of our
country that such an event had occured. Mr. Tyler
was at home in Williamsburg when he received the
unexpected tidings of the death of President Harri-
son. He hastened to Washington, and on the 6th of
April was inaugurated to the high and responsible
office. He was placed in a position of exceeding
delicacy and difficulty. All his long life he had been
opposed to the main principles of the party which had
brought him into power. He had ever been a con-
sistent, honest man, with an unblemished record.
Gen. Harrison had selected a Whig cabinet. Should
he retain them, and thus surround himself with coun-
sellors whose views were antagonistic to his own? or,
on the other hand, should he turn against the party
which had elected him and select a cabinet in har-
mony with himself, and which would oppose all those
views which the Whigs deemed essential to the pub-
lic welfare? This was his fearful dilemma. He in-
vited the cabinet which President Harrison had
selected to retain their seats. He reccomnnjiided a
day of fasting and prayer, that God would guide and
bless us.

The Whigs carried through Congress a bill for the
incorporation of a fiscal bank of the United States.
The President, after ten days' delay, returned it with
his veto. He suggested, however, that he would

approve of a bill drawn up upon such a plan as he
proposed. Such a bill was accordingly prepared, and
privately submitted to him. He gave it his approval.
It was passed without alteration, and he sent it back
with his veto. Here commenced the open rupture.
It is said that Mr. Tyler was provoked to this meas-
ure by a published letter from the Hon. John M.
Botts, a distinguished Virginia Whig, who severely
touched the pride of the President.

The opposition now exultingly received the Presi-
dent into their arms. The party which elected him
denounced him bitterly. All the members of his
cabinet, excepting Mr. Webster, resigned. The Whigs
of Congress, both the Senate and the House, held a
meeting and issued an address to the people of the
United States, proclaiming that all political alliance
between the Whigs and President Tyler were at
an end.

Still the President attempted to conciliate. He
appointed a new cabinet of distinguished Whigs and
Conservatives, carefully leaving out all strong party
men. Mr. Webster soon found it necessary to resign,
forced out by the pressure of his Whig friends. Thus
the four years of Mr. Tyler's unfortunate administra-
tion passed sadly away. No one was satisfied. The
land was filled with murmurs and vituperation. Whigs
and Democrats alike assailed him. More and more,
however, he brought himself into sympathy with his
old friends, the Democrats, until atthe close of his term,
he gave his whole influence to the support of Mr.
Polk, the Democratic candidate for his successor.

On the 4th of March, 1845, he retired from the
harassments of office, to the regret of neither party, and
probably to his own unspeakable relief. His first wife,
Miss Letitia Christian, died in Washington, in 1842;
and in June, 1844, President Tyler was again married,
at New York, to Miss Julia Gardiner, a young lady of
many personal and intellectual accomplishments.

The remainder of his days Mr. Tyler passed mainly
in retirement at his beautiful home, Sherwood For-
est, Charles -city Co., Va. A polished gentleman in
his manners, richly furnished with information from
books and experience in the world, and possessing
brilliant powers of conversation, his family circle was
the scene of unusual attractions. With sufficient
means for the exercise of a generous hospitality, he
might have enjoyed a serene old age with the few
friends who gathered around him, were it not for the
storms of civil war which his own principles and
policy had helped to introduce.

When the great Rebellion rose, which the State-
rights and nullifying doctrines of Mr. John C. Cal-
houn had inaugurated, President Tyler renounced his
allegiance to the United States, and joined the Confed-
erates. He was chosen a member of their Congress;
and while engaged in active measures to deslroy, by
force of arms, the Government over which he had
once presided, he was taken sick and soon died.

ELEVENTH PRESIDENT.

AMES K. POLK, the eleventh
President of the United States,
was born in Mecklenburg Co.,
N. C., Nov. 2, 1795. His par-
ents were Samuel and Jane
(Knox) Polk, the former a son

of Col. Thomas Polk, who located

at the above place, as one of the

first pioneers, in 1735.

In the year 1806, with his wife

and children, and soon after fol-

lowed by most of the members of
the Polk farnly, Samuel Polk emi-
grated some two or three hundred
miles farther west, to the rich valley
of the Duck River. Here in the
midst of the wilderness, in a region
which was subsequently called Mau-
ry Co., they reared their log huts,
and established their homes. In the
hard toil of a new farm in the wil-
derness, James K. Polk spent the
early years of his childhood and
youth. His father, adding the pur-
suit of a surveyor to that of a farmer,
gradually increased in wealth until
he became one of the leading men of the region. His
mother was a superior woman, of strong common
sense and earnest piety.

Very early in life, James developed a taste for
reading and expressed the strongest desire to obtain
a liberal education. His mother's training had made
him methodical in his habits, had taught him punct-
uality and industry, and had inspired him with lofty
principles of morality. His health was frail ; and his
father, fearing that he might not be able to endure a

sedentary life, got a situation for him behind the
counter, hoping to fit him for commercial pursuits.

This was to James a bitter disappointment. He
had no taste for these duties, and his daily tasks
were irksome in the extreme. He remained in this
uncongenial occupation but a few weeks, when at his
earnest solicitation his father removed him, and made
arrangements for him to prosecute his studies. Soon
after he sent him to Murfreesboro Academy. With
ardor which could scarcely be surpassed, he pressed
forward in his studies, and in less than two and a half
years, in the autumn of 1815, entered the sophomore
class in the University of North Carolina, at Chapel
Hill. Here he was one of the most exemplary of
scholars, punctual in every exercise, never allowing
himself to be absent from a recitation or a religious
service.

He graduated in 1818, with the highest honors, be-
ing deemed the best scholar of his class, both in
mathematics and the classics. He was then twenty-
three years of age. Mr. Folk's health was at this
time much impaired by the assiduity with which he
had prosecuted his studies. After a short season of
relaxation he went to Nashville, and entered the
office of Felix Grundy, to study law. Here Mr. Polk
renewed his acquaintance with Andrew Jackson, who
resided on his plantation, the Hermitage, but a few
miles from Nashville. They had probably been
slightly acquainted before.

Mr. Folk's father was a Jeffersonian Republican,
and James K. Polk ever adhered to the same politi-
cal faith. He was a popular public speaker, and was
constantly called upon to address the meetings of his
party friends. His skill as a speaker was such that
he was popularly called the Napoleon of the stump.
He was a man of unblemished morals, genial and

JAMES K. POLK.

courteous in his bearing, and with that sympathetic
nature in the joy s and griefs of others which ever gave
him troops of friends. In 1823, Mr. Polk was elected
to the Legislature of Tennessee. Here he gave his
strong influence towards the election of his friend,
Mr. Jackson, to the Presidency of the United States.

In January, 1824, Mr. Polk married Miss Sarah
Childress, of Rutherford Co., Tenn. His bride was
altogether worthy of him, a lady of beauty and cul-
ture. In the fall of 1825, Mr. Polk was chosen a
member of Congress. The satisfaction which he gave
to his constituents may be inferred from the fact, that
for fourteen successive years, until 1 839, he was con-
tinued in that office. He then voluntarily withdrew,
only that he might accept the Gubernatorial chair
of Tennessee. In Congress he was a laborious
member, a frequent and a popular speaker. He was
always in his seat, always courteous ; and whenever
he spoke it was always to the point, and without any
ambitious rhetorical display.

During five sessions of Congress, Mr. Polk was
Speaker of the House Strong passions were roused,
and stormy scenes were witnessed ; but Mr. Polk per-
formed his arduous duties to a very general satisfac-
tion, and a unanimous vote of thanks to him was
passed by the House as he withdrew on the 4th of
March, 1839.

In accordance with Southern usage, Mr. Polk, as a
candidate for Governor, canvassed the State. He was
elected by a large majority, and on the i4th of Octo-
ber, 1839, took the oath of office at Nashville. In 1841,
his term of office expired, and he was again the can-
didate of the Democratic party, but was defeated.

On the 4th of March, 1845, Mr. P^ was inaugur-
ated President of the United States. The verdict of
the country in favor of the annexation of Texas, exerted
its influence upon Congress ; and the last act of the
administration of President Tyler was to affix his sig-
nature to a joint resolution of Congress, passed on the
3d of March, approving of the annexation of Texas to
the American Union. As Mexico still claimed Texas
as one of her provinces, the Mexican minister,
Almonte, immediately demanded his passports and
left the country, declaring the act of the annexation
to be an act hostile to Mexico.

In his first message, President Polk urged that
Texas should immediately, by act of Congress, be re-
ceived into the Union on the same footing with the
other States. In the meantime, Gen. Taylor was sent

with an army into Texas to hold the country. He was
sent first to Nueces, which the Mexicans said was the
western boundary of Texas. Then he was sent nearly
two hundred miles further west, to the Rio Grande,
where he erected batteries which commanded the
Mexican city of Matamoras, which was situated on
the western banks.

The anticipated collision soon took place, and war
was declared against Mexico by President Polk. The
war was pushed forward by Mr. Polk's administration
with great vigor. Gen. Taylor, whose army was first
called one of "observation," then of "occupation,"
then of " invasion,"was sent forward to Monterey. The
feeble Mexicans, in every encounter, were hopelessly
and awfully slaughtered. The day of judgement
alone can reveal the misery which this war caused.
It was by the ingenuity of Mr. Polk's administration
that the war was brought on.

'To the victors belong the spoils." Mexico was
prostrate before us. Her capital was in our hands.
We now consented to peace upon the condition that
Mexico should surrender to us, in addition to Texas,
all of New Mexico, and all of Upper and Lower Cal-
ifornia. This new demand embraced, exclusive of
Texas, eight hundred thousand square miles. This
was an extent of territory equal to nine States of the
size of New York. Thus slavery was securing eighteen
majestic States to be added to the Union. There were
some Americans who thought it all right : there were
others who thought it all wrong. In the prosecution
of this war, we expended twenty thousand lives and
more than a hundred million of dollars. Of this
money fifteen millions were paid to Mexico.

On the 3d of March, 1849, Mr. Polk retired from
office, having served one term. The next day was
Sunday. On the 5th, Gen. Taylor was inaugurated
as his successor. Mr. Polk rode to the Capitol in the
same carriage with Gen. Taylor; and the same even-
ing, with Mrs. Polk, he commenced his return to
Tennessee. He was then but fifty-four years of age.
He had ever been strictly temperate in all his habits,
and his health was good. With an ample fortune,
a choice library, a cultivated mind, and domestic ties
of the dearest nature, it seemed as though long years
of tranquility and happiness were before him. But the
cholera that fearful scourge was then sweeping up
the Valley of the Mississippi. This he contracted,
and died on the 15th of June, 1849, in the fifty-fourth ^
year of his age, greatly mourned by his countrymen.

TWELFTH PRESIDENT,

ACHARY TAYLOR, twelfth
President of the United States,
was born on the 24th of Nov.,
1784, in Orange Co., Va. His
father, Colonel Taylor, was
a Virginian of note, and a dis-
tinguished patriot and soldier of
the Revolution. When Zachary
was an infant, his father with his
wife and two children, emigrated
to Kentucky, where he settled in
the pathless wilderness, a few
miles from Louisville. In this front-
ier home, away from civilization and
all its refinements, young Zachary
could enjoy but few social and educational advan-
tages. When six years of age he attended a common
school, and was then regarded as a bright, active boy,
rather remarkable for bluntness and decision of char-
acter He was strong, fearless and self-reliant, and
manifested a. strong desire to enter the army to fight
the Indians who were ravaging the frontiers. There
is little to be recorded of the uneventful years of his
childhood on his father's large but lonely plantation.
In 1808, his father succeeded in obtaining for him
the commission of lieutenant in the United States
army ; and he joined the troops which were stationed
at New Orleans under Gen. Wilkinson. Soon after
this he married Miss Margaret Smith, a young lady
from one of the first families of Maryland.

Immediately after the declaration of war with Eng-
land, in 1812, Capt. Taylor (for he had then been
promoted to that rank) was put in command of Fort
Harrison, on the Wabash, about fifty miles above
Vincennes. This fort had been built in the wilder-
ness by Gen. Harrison,on his march to Tippecanoe.
It was one of the first points of attack by the Indians,
led by Tecumseh. Its garrison consisted of a broken

company of infantry numbering fifty men, many of
whom were sick.

Early in the autumn of 1812, the Indians, stealthily,
and in large numbers, moved upon the fort. Their
approach was first indicated by the murder of two
soldiers just outside of the stockade. Capt. Taylor
made every possible preparation to meet the antici-
pated assault. On the 4th of September, a band of
forty painted and plumed savages came to the fort,
waving a white flag, and informed Capt. Taylor that
in the morning their chief would come to have a talk
with him. It was evident that their object was merely
to ascertain the state of things at the fort, and Capt.
Taylor, well versed in the wiles of the savages, kept
them at a distance.

The sun went down ; the savages disappeared, the
garrison slept upon their arms. One hour before
midnight the war whoop burst from a thousand lips
in the forest around, followed by the discharge of
musketry, and the rush of the foe. Every man, sick
and well, sprang to his post. Every man knew that
defeat was not merely death, but in the case of cap-
ture, death by the most agonizing and prolonged tor-
ture. No pen can describe, no immagination can
conceive the scenes which ensued. The savages suc-
ceeded in setting fire to one of the block-houses-
Until six o'clock in the morning, this awful conflict
continued. The savages then, baffled at every point,
and gnashing their teeth with rage, retired. Capt.
Taylor, for this gallant defence, was promoted to the
rank of major by brevet.

Until the close of the war, Major Taylor was placed
in such situations that he saw but little more of active
service. He was sent far away into the depths of the
wilderness, to Fort Crawford, on Fox River, which
empties into Green Bay. Here there was but little
to be done but to wear away the tedious hours as one
best could. There were no books, no society, no in-

ZACHARY TAYLOR.

tellectual stimulus. Thus with him the uneventful
years rolled on Gradually he rose to the rank of
colonel. In the Black-Hawk war, which resulted in
the capture of that renowned chieftain, Col Taylor
took a subordinate but a brave and efficient part.

For twenty -four years Col. Taylor was engaged in
the defence of the frontiers, in scenes so remote, and in
employments so obscure, that his name was unknown
beyond the limits of his own immediate acquaintance.
In the year 1836, he was sent to Florida to compel
the Seminole Indians to vacate that region and re-
tire beyond the Mississippi, as their chiefs by treaty,
had promised they should do. The services rendered
here secured for Col. Taylor the high appreciation of
the Government; and as a reward, he was elevated
to the rank of brigadier-general by brevet ; and soon
after, in May, 1838, was appointed to the chief com-
mand of the United States troops in Florida.

After two years of such wearisome employment
amidst the everglades of the peninsula, Gen. Taylor
obtained, at his own request, a change of command,
and was stationed over the Department of the South-
west. This field embraced Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama and Georgia. Establishing his headquarters
at Fort Jessup, in Louisiana, he removed his family
to a plantation which he purchased, near Baton Rogue.
Here he remained for five years, buried, as it were,
from the world, but faithfully discharging every duty
imposed upon him.

In 1846, Gen. Taylor was sent to guard the land
between the Nueces and Rio Grande, the latter river
being the boundary of Texas, which was then claimed
by the United States. Soon the war with Mexico
was brought on, and at Palo Alto and Resaca de la
Palma, Gen. Taylor won brilliant victories over the
Mexicans. The rank of major-general by brevet
was then conferred upon Gen. Taylor, and his name
was received with enthusiasm almost everywhere in
the Nation. Then came the battles of Monterey and
Buena Vista in which he won signal victories over
forces much larger than he commanded.

His careless habits of dress and his unaffected
simplicity, secured for Gen. Taylor among his troops,
the sobriquet of " Old Rough and Ready."

The tidings of the brilliant victory of Buena Vista
spread the wildest enthusiasm over the country. The
name of Gen. Taylor was on every one's lips. The
Whig party decided to take advantage of this wonder-
ful popularity in bringing forward the unpolished, un-
lettered, honest soldier as their candidate for the
Presidency. Gen. Taylor was astonished at the an-
nouncement, and for a time would not listen toil; de-
claring that he was not at all qualified for such an
office. So little interest had he taken in politics that,
for forty years, he had not cast a vote. It was not
without chagrin that several distinguished statesmen
who had been long years in the public service found
their claims set aside in behalf of one whose name

had never been heard of, save in connection with Palo
Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey and Buena
Vista. It Is said that Daniel Webster, in his haste re-
marked, " It is a nomination not fit to be made."

Gen. Taylor was not an eloquent speaker nor a fine
writer. His friends took possession of him, and pre-
pared such few communications as it was needful
should be presented to the public. The popularity of
the successful warrior swept the land. He was tri-
umphantly elected over two opposing candidates,
Gen. Cass and Ex-President Martin Van Buren.
Though he selected an excellent cabinet, the good
old man found himself in a very uncongenial position,
and was, at times, sorely perplexed and harassed.
His mental sufferings were very severe, and probably
tended to hasten his death. The pro-slavery party
was pushing its claims with tireless energy , expedi-
tions were fitting out to capture Cuba ; California was
pleading for admission to the Union, while slavery
stood at the door to bar her out. Gen. Taylor found
the political conflicts in Washington to be far more
trying to the nerves than battles with Mexicans or
Indians.

In the midst of all these troubles, Gen. Taylor,
after he had occupied the Presidential chair but little
over a year, took cold, and after a brief sickness of
but little over five days, died on the oth of July, 1850.
His last words were, " I am not afraid to die. I am
ready. I have endeavored to do my duty." He died
universally respected and beloved. An honest, un-
pretending man, he had been steadily growing in the
affections of the people ; and the Nation bitterly la-
mented his death.

Gen. Scott, who was thoroughly acquainted with
Gen. Taylor, gave the following graphic and truthful
description of his character: " With a good store of
common sense, Gen. Taylor's mind had not been en-
larged and refreshed by reading, or much converse
with the world. Rigidity of ideas was the conse-
quence. The frontiers and small military posts had
been his home. Hence he was quite ignorant for his
rank, and quite bigoted in his ignorance. His sim-
plicity was child-like, and with innumerable preju-
dices, amusing and incorrigible, well suited to the
tender age. Thus, if a man, however respectable,
chanced to wear a coat of an unusual color, or his hat
a little on one side of his head; or an officer to leave
a corner of his handkerchief dangling from an out-
side pocket, in any such case, this critic held the
offender to be a coxcomb (perhaps something worse),
whom he would not, to use his oft repeated phrase,
' touch with a pair of tongs.'

"Any allusion to literature beyond good old Dil-
worth's spelling-book, on the part of one wearing a
sword, was evidence, with the same judge, of utter
unfitness for heavy marchings and combats. In short,
few men have ever had a more comfortable, labor-
saving contempt for learning of every kind."

THIRTEENTH PRESIDENT.

FILLMOHE,

ILLARD FILLMORE, thir-
teenth President of the United
States, was born at Summer
Hill, Cayuga Co., N. Y ., on
the 7th of January, 1800. His
father was a farmer, and ow-
ing to misfortune, in humble cir-
cumstances. Of his mother, the
daughter of Dr. AbiatharMillard,
of Pittsfield, Mass., it has been
said that she possessed an intellect
of very high order, united with much
personal loveliness, sweetness of dis-
position, graceful manners and ex-
quisite sensibilities. She died in
1831 ; having lived to see her son a
young man of distinguished prom-
ise, though she was not permitted to witness the high
dignity which he finally attained.

In consequence of the secluded home and limited
means of his father, Millard enjoyed but slender ad-
vantages for education in his early years. The com-
mon schools, which he occasionally attended were
very imperfect institutions; and books were scarce
and expensive. There was nothing then in his char-
acter to indicate the brilliant career upon which he
was about to enter. He was a plain farmer's boy ;
intelligent, good-looking, kind-hearted. The sacred
influences of home had taught him to revere the Bible,
and had laid Ihe foundations of an upright character.
When fourteen years of age, his father sent him
some hundred miles from home, to the then wilds of
Livingston County, to learn the trade of a clothier.
Near the mill there was a small villiage, where some

enterprising man had commenced the collection of a
village library. This proved an inestimable blessing
to young Fillmore. His evenings were spent in read-
ing. Soon every leisure moment was occupied with
books. His thirst for knowledge became insatiate;
and the selections which he made were continually
more elevating and instructive. He read history,
biography, oratory, and thus gradually there was en-
kindled in his heart a desire to be something more
than a mere worker with his hands; and he was be-
coming, almost unknown to himself, a well-informed,
educated man.

The young clothier had now attained the age of
nineteen years, and was of fine personal appearance
and of gentlemanly demeanor. It so happened that
there was a gentleman in the neighborhood of ample
pecuniary means and of benevolence, Judge Walter
Wood, who was struck with the prepossessing ap-
pearance of young Fillmore. He made his acquaint-
ance, and was so much impressed with his ability and
attainments that he advised him to abandon his
trade and devote himself to the study of the law. The
young man replied, that he had no means of his own,
r.o friends to help him and that his previous educa-
tion had been very imperfect. But Judge Wood had
so much confidence in him that he kindly offered to
take him into his own office, and to loan him such
money as he needed. Most gratefully the generous
offer was accepted.

There is in many minds a strange delusion about
a collegiate education. A young man is supposed to
be liberally educated if he has graduated at some col-
lege. But many a boy loiters through university halls
ind then enters a law office, who is by no means as

MILLARD FILLMORE.

well prepared to prosecute his legal studies as was
Millard Fillmore when he graduated at the clothing-
mill at the end of four years of manual labor, during
which every leisure moment had been devoted to in-
tense mental culture.

In 1823, when twenty-three years of age, he was
admitted to the Court of Common Pleas. He then
went to the village of Aurora, and commenced the
practice of law. In this secluded, peaceful region,
his practice of course was limited, and there was no
opportunity for a sudden rise in fortune or in fame.
Here, in the year 1826, he married a lady of great
moral worth, and one capable of adorning any station
she might be called to fill, Miss Abigail Powers.

His elevation of character, his untiring industry,
his legal acquirements, and his skill as an advocate,
gradually attracted attention ; and he was invited to
enter into partnership under highly advantageous
circumstances, with an elder member of the bar in
Buffalo. Just before removing to Buffalo, in 1829,
he took his seat in the House of Assembly, of the
State of New York, as a representative from Erie
County. Though he had never taken a very active
part in politics, his vote and his sympathies were with
the Whig party. The State was then Democratic,
and he found himself in a helpless minority in the
Legislature , still the testimony comes from all parties,
that his courtesy, ability and integrity, won, to a very
unusual degree the respect of his associates.

In the autumn of 1832, he was elected to a seat in
the United States Congress He entered that troubled
arena in some of the most tumultuous hours of our
national history. The great conflict respecting the
national bank and the removal of the deposits, was
then raging.

His term of two years closed ; and he returned to
his profession, which he pursued with increasing rep-
utation and success. After a lapse of two years
he again became a candidate for Congress ; was re-
elected, and took his seat in 1837. His past expe-
rience as a representative gave him strength and
confidence. The first term of service in Congress to
any man can be but little more than an introduction.
He was now prepared for active duty. All his ener-
gies were brought to bear upon the public good. Every
measure received his impress.

Mr. Fillmore was now a man of wide repute, and
his popularity filled the State, and in the year 1847,
he wa5 elected Comptroller of the State.

Mr. Fillmore had attained the age of forty-seven
years. His labors at the bar, in the Legislature, in
Congress and as Comptroller, had given him very con-
siderable fame. The Whigs were casting about to
find suitable candidates for President and Vice-Presi-
dent at the approaching election. Far away, on the
waters of the Rio Grande, there was a rough old
soldier, who had fought one or two successful battles
with the Mexicans, which had caused his name to be
proclaimed in tiumpet-tones all over the land. But
it was necessary to associate with him on the same
ticket some man of re'putation as a statesman.

Under the influence of these considerations, the
names of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore became
the rallying-cry of the Whigs, as their candidates for
President and Vice-Peesident. The Whig ticket was
signally triumphant. On the 4th of March, 1849,
Gen. Taylor was inaugurated President, and Millard
Fillmore Vice-President, of the United States.

On the gth of July, 1850, President Taylor, but
about one year and four months after his inaugura-
tion, was suddenly taken sick and died. By the Con-
stitution, Vice-President Fillmore thus became Presi-
dent. He appointed a very able cabinet, of which
the illustrious Daniel Webster was Secretary of State.

Mr. Fillniore had very serious difficulties to contend
with, since the opposition had a majority in both
Houses. He did everything in his power to conciliate
the South ; but the pro-slavery party in the South felt
the inadequacy of all measures of transient conciliation.
The population of the free States was so rapidly in-
creasing over that of the slave States that it was in-
evitable that the power of the Government should
soon pass into the hands of the free States. The
famous compromise measures were adopted under Mr.
Fillmcre's adminstration, and the Japan Expedition
was sent out. On the 4th of March, 1853, Mr. Fill-
more, having served one term, retired.

In 1856, Mr. Fillmore was nominated for the Pres-
idency by the " Know Nothing " party, but was beaten
by Mr. Buchanan. After that Mr. Fillmore lived in
retirement. During the terrible conflict of civil war,
he was mostly silent. It was generally supposed that
his sympathies were rather with those who were en-
deavoring to overthrow our institutions. President
Fillmore kept aloof from the conflict, without any
cordial words of cheer to the one party or the other.
He was thus forgotten by both. He lived to a ripe
old age, and died in Buffalo. N. Y., March 8, 1874.

FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT.

-S=5- ^

**X*;p^|:*;psi:^

FIEHEE.^

RANKLIN PIERCE, the
fourteenth President of the
United States, was born in
Hillsborough, N. H., Nov.
23, 1804. His father was a
Revolutionary soldier, who,
with his own strong arm,
hewed out a home in the
wilderness. He was a man
of inflexible integrity; of
strong, though uncultivated
mind, and an uncompromis-
ing Democrat. The mother of
Franklin Pierce was all that a son
could desire, an intelligent, pru-
dent, affectionate, Christian wom-
an. Franklin was the sixth of eight children.

Franklin was a very bright and handsome boy, gen-
erous, warm-hearted and brave. He won alike the
love of old and young. The boys on the play ground
loved him. His teachers loved him. The neighbors
looked upon him with pride and affection. He was
by instinct a gentleman; always speaking kind words,
doing kind deeds, with a peculiar unstudied tact
which taught him what was agreeable. Without de-
veloping any precocity of genius, or any unnatural
devotion to books, he was a good scholar; in body,
in mind, in affections, a finely-developed boy.

When sixteen years of age, in the year 1820, he
entered Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Me He was
one of the most popular young men in the college.
The purity of his moral character, the unvarying
courtesy of his demeanor, his rank as a scholar, and

genial nature, rendered him a universal favorite.
There was something very peculiarly winning in his
address, and it was evidently not in the slightest de-
gree studied : it was the simple outgushing of his
own magnanimous and loving nature.

Upon graduating, in the year 1824, Franklin Pierce
commenced the study of law in the office of Judge
Woodbury, one of the most distinguished lawyers of
the State, and a man of great private worth. The
eminent social qualities of the young lawyer, his
father's prominence as a public man, and the brilliant
political career into which Judge Woodbury was en-
tering, all tended to entice Mr. Pierce into the faci-
nating yet perilous path of political life. With all
the ardor of his nature he espoused the cause of Gen.
Jackson for the Presidency. He commenced the
practice of law in Hillsborough, and was soon elected
to represent the town in the State Legislature. Here
he served for four yeais. The last two years he was
chosen speaker of the house by a very large vote.

In 1833, at the age of twenty-nine, he was elected
a member of Congress. Without taking an active
part in debates, he was faithful and laborious in duty,
and ever rising in the estimation of those with whom
he was associatad.

In 1837, being then but thirty-three years of age,
he was elected to the Senate of the United States;
taking his seat just as Mr. Van Buren commenced
his administration. He was the youngest member in
the Senate. In the year 1834, he married Miss Jane
Means Appleton, a lady of rare beauty and accom-
plishments, and one admirably fitted to adorn every
station with which her husband was honoied. Of the
*

FRANKLIN PIERCE.

three sons who were born to them, all now sleep with
their parents in the grave.

In the year 1838, Mr. Pierce, with growing fame
and increasing business as a lawyer, took up his
residence in Concord, the capital of New Hampshire.
President Polk, upon his accession to office, appointed
Mr. Pierce attorney-general of the United States; but
the offer was declined, in consequence of numerous
professional engagements at home, and the precariuos
state of Mrs. Pierce 's health. He also, about the
same time declined the nomination for governor by the
.Democratic party. The war with Mexico called Mr.
Pierce in the army. Receiving the appointment of
brigadier-general, he embarked, with a portion of his
troops, at Newport, R. I., on the 271)1 of May, 1847.
He took an important part in this war, proving him-
self a brave and true soldier.

When Gen. Pierce reached his home in his native
State, he was received enthusiastically by the advo-
cates of the Mexican war, and coldly by his oppo-
nents. He resumed the practice of his profession,
very frequently taking an active part in political ques-
tions, giving his cordial support to the pro-slavery
wing of the Democratic party. The compromise
measures met cordially with his approval; and he
strenuously advocated the enforcement of the infa-
mous fugitive-slave law, which so shocked the religious
sensibilities of the North. He thus became distin-
guished as a " Northern man with Southern principles.''
The strong partisans of slavery in the South conse-
quently regarded him as a man whom they could
safely trust in office to carry out their plans.

On the I2th of June, 1852, the Democratic conven-
tion met in Baltimore to nominate a candidate for the
Presidency. For four days they continued in session,
and in thirty-five ballotings no one had obtained a
two-thirds vote. Not a vote thus far had been thrown
for Gen. Pierce. Then the Virginia delegation
brought forward his name. There were fourteen
more ballotings, during which Gen. Pierce constantly
gained strength, until, at the forty-ninth ballot, he
received two hundred and eighty-two votes, and all
other candidates eleven. Gen. Winfield Scott was
the Whig candidate. Gen. Pierce was chosen with
great unanimity. Only four States Vermont, Mas-
sachusetts, Kentucky and Tennessee cast their
electoral votes against him Gen. Franklin Pierce
was therefore inaugurated President of the United
States on the 4th of March, 1853.

His administration proved one of the most stormy our
country had ever experienced. The controversy be-
tween slavery and freedom was then approaching its
culminating point. It became evident that there was
an " irrepressible conflict" between them, and that
this Nation could not long exist " half slave and half
free." President Pierce, during the whole of his ad-
ministration, did every thing he could to conciliate
the South ; but it was all in vain. The conflict every
year grew more violent, and threats of the dissolution
of the Union were borne to the North on every South-
ern breeze.

Such was the condition of affairs when President
Pierce approached the close of his four-years' term
of office. The North had become thoroughly alien-
ated from him. The anti-slavery sentiment, goaded
by great outrages, had been rapidly increasing; all
the intellectual ability and social worth of President
Pierce were forgotten in deep reprehension of his ad-
ministrative acts. The slaveholders of the South, also,
unmindful of the fidelity with which he had advo-
cated those measures of Government which they ap-
proved, and perhaps, also, feeling that he had
rendered himself so unpopular as no longer to be
able acceptably to serve them, ungratefully dropped
him, and nominated James Buchanan to succeed him.

On the 4th of March, 1857, President Pierce re-
tired to his home in Concord. Of three children, two
had died, and his only surviving child had been
killed before his eyes by a railroad accident ; and his
wife, one of the most estimable and accomplished of
ladies, was rapidly sinking in consumption. The
hour of dreadful gloom soon came, and he was left
alone in the world, without wife or child.

When the terrible Rebellion burst forth, which di-
vided our country into two parties, and two only, Mr.
Pierce remained steadfast in the principles which he
had always cherished, and gave his sympathies to
that pro-slavery party with which he had ever been
allied. He declined to do anything, either by voice
or pen, to strengthen the hand of the National Gov-
ernment. He continued to reside in Concord until
the time of his death, which occurred in October,
1869. He was one of the most genial and social of
men, an honored communicant of the Episcopal
Church, and one of the kindest of neighbors. Gen-
erous to a fault, he contributed liberally for the al-
leviation of suffering and want, and many of his towns-
people were often gladened by his material bounty.

fIFTEENTH PRESIDENT.

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AMES BUCHANAN, the fif-
teenth President of the United
States, was born in a small
frontier town, at the foot of the
eastern ridge of the Allegha-
nies, in Franklin Co., Penn.,on
the 23d of April, 1791. The place
where the humble cabin of his
father stood was called Stony
Batter. It was a wild and ro-
mantic spot in a gorge of the moun-
tains, with towering summits rising
grandly all around. His father
was a native of the north of Ireland ;
a poor man, who had emigrated in
1783, with little property save his
Five years afterwards he married
Elizabeth Spear, the daughter of a respectable farmer,
and, with his young bride, plunged into the wilder-
ness, staked his claim, reared his log-hut, opened a
clearing with his axe, and settled down there to per-
form his obscure part in the drama of life. In this se-
cluded home, where James was born, he remained
for eight years, enjoying but few social or intellectual
advantages. When James was eight yeaisof age, his
father removed to the village of Mercersburg, where
his son was placed at school, and commenced a
course of study in English, Latin and Greek. His
progress was rapid, and at the age of fourteen, he
entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle. Here he de-
veloped remarkable talent, and took his stand among
the first scholars in the institution. His application
to study was intense, and yet his native powers en-

own strong arms.

abled him to master the most abstruse subjects with
facility.

In the year 1809, he graduated with the highest
honors of his class. He was then eighteen years of
age; tall and graceful, vigorous in health, fond of
athletic sport, an unerring shot, and enlivened with
an exuberant flow of animal spirits. He immediately
commenced the study of law in the city of Lancaster,
and was admitted to the bar in 1812, when he was
but twenty-one years of age. Very rapidly he rose
in his profession, and at once took undisputed stand
with the ablest lawyers of the State. When but
twenty-six years of age, unaided by counsel, he suc-
cessfully defended before the State Senate ore of the
judges of the State, who was tried upon articles of
impeachment. At the age of thirty it was generally
admitted that he stood at the head of the bar; and
there was no lawyer in the State who had a more lu-
crative practice.

In 1820, he reluctantly consented to run as a
candidate for Congress. He was elected, and for
ten years he remained a member of the Lower House,
During the vacations of Congress, he occasionally
tried some important case. In 1831, he retired
altogether from the toils of his profession, having ac-
quired an ample fortune.

Gen. Jackson, upon his elevation to the Presidency,
appointed Mr. Buchanan minister to Russia. The
duties of his mission he performed with ability, which
gave satisfaction to all parties. Upon his return, in
1833, he was elected to a seat in the United States
Senate. He there met, as his associates, Webster,
Clay, Wright and Calhoun. He advocated the meas-
ures proposed by President Jackson, of making repri-

JAMES BUCHANAN.

sals against France, to enforce the payment of our
claims against that country ; and defended the course
of the President in his unprecedented and wholesale
removal from office of those who were not the sup-
porters of his administration. Upon this question he
was brought into direct collision with Henry Clay.
He also, with voice and vote, advocated expunging
from the journal of the Senate the vote of censure
against Gen. Jackson for removing the deposits.
Earnestly he opposed the abolition of slavery in the
District of Columbia, and urged the prohibition of the
circulation of anti-slavery documents by the United
States mails.

As to petitions on the subject of slavery, he advo-
cated that they should be respectfully received ; and
that the reply should be returned, that Congress had
no power to legislate upon the subject. " Congress,"
said he, " might as well undertake to interfere with
slavery under a foreign government as in any of the
States where it now exists."

Upon Mr. Folk's accession to the Presidency, Mr.
Buchanan became Secretary of State, and as such,
took his share of the responsibility in the conduct of
the Mexican War. Mr. Polk assumed that crossing
the Nueces by the American troops into the disputed
territory was not wrong, but for the Mexicans to cross
the Rio Grande into that territory was a declaration
of war. No candid man can read with pleasure the
account of the course our Government pursued in that
movement.

Mr. Buchanan identified himself thoroughly with
the party devoted to the pfirpetuation and extension
of slavery, and brought all the energies of his mind
to bear against the Wilmot Proviso. He gave his
cordial approval to the compromise measures of 1850,
which included the fugitive-slave law. Mr. Pierce,
upon his election to the Presidency, honored Mr.
Buchanan with the mission to England.

In the year 1856, a national Democratic conven-
tion nominated Mr. Buchanan for the Presidency. The
political conflict was one of the most severe in which
our country has ever engaged. All the friends of
slavery were on one side; all the advocates of its re-
striction and final abolition, on the other. Mr. Fre-
mont, the candidate of the enemies of slavery, re-
ceived 1 14 electoral votes. Mr. Buchanan received
174, and was elected. The popular vote stood
1,340,618, for Fremont, 1,224,750 for Buchanan. On
March 4th, 1857, Mr. Buchanan was inaugurated.

Mr. Buchanan was far advanced in life. Only four
years were wanting to fill up his threescore years and
ten. His own friends, those with whom he had been
allied in political principles and action for years, were
seeking the destruction of the Government, that they
might rear upon the ruins of our free institutions a
nation whose corner-stone should be human slavery.
In this emergency, Mr. Buchanan was hopelessly be-
wildered He could not, with his long-avowed prin-

ciples, consistently oppose the State-rights party in
their assumptions. As President of the United States,
bound by his oath faithfully to administer the laws,
he could not, without perjury of the grossest kind,
unite with those endeavoring to overthrow the repub-
lic. He therefore did nothing.

The opponents of Mr. Buchanan's administration
nominal ed Abraham Lincoln as their standard bearer
in the next Presidential canvass. The pro-slavery
party declared, that if he were elected, and the con-
trol of the Government were thus taken from their
hands, they would secede from the Union, taking
with them, as they retired, the National Capitol at
Washington, and the lion's share of the territory of
the United States.

Mr. Buchanan's sympathy with the pro-slaver)'
party was such, that he had been willing to offer them
far more than they had ventured to claim. All the
South had professed to ask of the North was non-
intervention upon the subject of slavery. Mr. Bu-
chanan had been ready to offer them the active co-
operation of the Government to defend and extend
the institution.

As the storm increased in violence, the slaveholders
claiming the right to secede, and Mr. Buchanan avow-
ing that Congress had no power to prevent it, one of
the most pitiable exhibitions of governmental im-
becility was exhibited the world has ever seen. He
declared that Congress had no power to enforce its
laws in any State which had withdrawn, or which
was attempting to withdraw from the Union. This
was not the doctrine of Andrew Jackson, when, with
his hand upon his sword-hilt, he exclaimed, "The
Union must and shall be preserved!"

South Carolina seceded in December, 1860; nearly
three months before the inauguration of President
Lincoln. Mr. Buchanan looked on in listless despair.
The rebel flag was raised in Charleston : Fort Sumpter
was besieged; our forts, navy-yards and arsenals
were seized ; our depots of military stores were plun-
dered ; and our custom-houses and post-offices were
appropriated by the rebels.

The energy of the rebels, and the imbecility of our
Executive, were alike marvelous. The Nation looked
on in agony, waiting for the slow weeks to glide away,
and close the administration, so terrible in its weak-
ness At length the long-looked-for hour of deliver-
ance came, when Abraham Lincoln was to receive the
scepter.

The administration of President Buchanan was
certainly the most calamitous our country has ex-
perienced. His best friends canr.ot recall it with
pleasure. And still more deplorable it is for his fame,
that in that dreadful conflict which rolled its billows
of flame and blood over our whole land, no word came
from his lips to indicate his wish that our country's
banner should triumph over the flag of the rebellion.
He died at his Wheatland retreat, June i, 1868.

SIXTEENTH PRESIDENT.

LINCOLN. > I

BRAHAM LINCOLN, the
sixteenth President of the
United States, was born in
Hardin Co., Ky., Feb. 12,
1809. About the year 1780, a
man by the name of Abraham
Lincoln left Virginia with his
s family and moved into the then
wilds of Kentucky. Only two yeaYs
after this emigration, still a young
man, while working one day in a
field, was stealthily approached by
an Indian and shot dead. His widow
was left in extreme poverty with five
little children, three boys and two
girls. Thomas, the youngest of the
boys, was four years of age at his
father's death. This Thomas was
the father of Abraham Lincoln, the
President of the United States
whose name must henceforth fo r ever be enrolled
with the most prominent in the annals of our world.
Of course no record has been kept of the life
of one so lowly as Thomas Lincoln. He was among
the poorest of the poor. His home was a wretched
log-cabin; his food the coarsest and the meanest.
Education he had none; he could never either read
or write. As soon as he was able to do anything for
himself, he was compelled to leave the cabin of his
starving mother, and push out into the world, a friend-
less, wandering boy, seeking work. He hired him-
self out, and thus spent the whole of his youth as a
laborer in the fields of others.

When twenty-eight years of age he built a log-
cabin of his own, and married Nancy Hanks, the
daughter of another family of poor Kentucky emi-
grants, who had also come from Virginia. Their
second child was Abraham Lincoln, the subject of
this sketch. The mother of Abraham was a noble
woman, gentle, loving, pensive, created to adorn
a palace, doomed to toil and pine, and die in a hovel.
" All that I am, or hope to be," exclaims the grate-
ful son " I owe to my angel-mother. "

When he was eight years of age, his father sold his

cabin and small farm, and moved to Indiana. Where
two years later his mother died.

Abraham soon became the scribe of the uneducated
community around him. He could not have had a
better school than this to teach him to put thoughts
into words. He also became an eager reader. The
books he could obtain were few ; but these he read
and re-read until they were almost committed to
memory.

As the years rolled on, the lot of this lowly family
was the usual lot of humanity. There were joys and
griefs, weddings and funerals. Abraham's sister
Sarah, to whom he was tenderly attached, was mar-
ried when a child of but fourteen years of age, and
soon died. The family was gradually scattered. Mr.
Thomas Lincoln sold out his squatter's claim in 1830,
and emigrated to Macon Co., 111.

Abraham Lincoln was then twenty-one years of age.
With vigorous hands he aided his father in rearing
another log-cabin. Abraham worked diligently at this
until he saw the family comfortably settled, and their
small lot of enclosed prairie planted with corn, when
he announced to his father his intention to leave
home, and to go out into the world and seek his for-
tune. Little did he or his friends imagine how bril-
liant that fortune was to be.' He saw the value of
education and was intensely earnest to improve his
mind to the utmost of his power. He saw the ruin
which ardent spirits were causing, and became
strictly temperate; refusing to allow a drop of intoxi-
cating liquor to pass his lips. And he had read in
God's word, "Thou shah r.ot take the name of the
Lord thy God in vain ;" and a profane expression he
was never heard to utter. Religion he revered. His
morals were pure, and he was uncontaminated by a
single vice.

Young Abraham worked for a time as a hired laborer
among the farmers. Then he went to Springfield,
where he was employed in building a large flat-boat.
In this he took a herd of swine, floated them down
the Sangamon to the Illinois, and thence by the Mis-
sissippi to New Orleans. Whatever Abraham Lin-
coln undertook, he performed so faithfully as to give
great satisfaction to his employers. In this adven- i

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

ture his employers were so well pleased, that upon
his return they placed a store and mill under his care.
' In 1832, at the outbreak of the Black Hawk war, he
enlisted and was chosen captain of a company. He
returned to Sangambn County, and although only 23
years of age, was a candidate for the Legislature, but
was defeated. He soon after received from Andrew
Jackson the appointment of Postmaster of New Salem,
His only post-office was his hat. All the letters he
received he carried there ready to deliver to those
he chanced to meet. He studied surveying, and soon
made this his business. In 1834 he again became a
candidate for the Legislature, and was elected. Mr.
ijtuart, of Springfield, advised him to study law. He
walked from New Salem to Springfield, borrowed of
Mr. Stuart a load of books, carried them back and
began his legal studies. When the Legislature as-
sembled he trudged on foot with his pack on his back
one hundred miles to Vandalia, then the capital. In
1836 he was re-elected to the Legislature. Here it
was he first met Stephen A. Douglas. In 1839 he re-
moved to Springfield and began the practice of law.
His success with the jury was so great that he was
soon engaged in almost every noted case in the circuit.

In 1854 the great discussion began between Mr.
Lincoln and Mr. Douglas, on the slavery question.
In the organization of the Republican party in Illinois,
in 1856, he took an active part, and at once became
one of the leaders in that party. Mr. Lincoln's
speeches in opposition to Senator Douglas in the con-
test in 1858 for a seat in the Senate, form a most
notable part of his history. The issue was on the
slavery question, and he took the broad ground of
;he Declaration of Independence, that all men are
created equal. Mr. Lincoln was defeated in this con-
test, but won a far higher prize.

The great Republican Convention met at Chicago
on the :6th of June, 1860. The delegates and
strangers who crowded the city amounted to twenty-
five thousand. An immense building called " The
Wigwam," was reared to accommodate the Conven-
tion. There were eleven candidates for whom votes
were thrown. William H. Seward, a man whose fame
as a statesman had long filled the land, was the most
urominent. It was generally supposed he would be
the nominee. Abraham Lincoln, however, received
the nomination on the third ballot. Little did he then
dream of the weary years of toil and care, and the
bloody death, to which that nomination doomed him :
and as little did he dream that he was to vender services
to his country, which would fix upon him the eyes of
the whole civilized world, and which would give him
a place in the affections of his countrymen, second
only, if second, to that of Washington.

Election day came and Mr. Lincoln received 180
electoral votes out of 203 cast, and was, therefore,
constitutionally elected President of the United States.
The tirade of abuse that was poured upon this good

and merciful man, especially by the slaveholders, was
greater than upon any other man ever elected to this
high position. In February, 1861, Mr. Lincoln started
for Washington, stopping in all the large cities on his
way making speeches. The whole journey was fraught
with much danger. Many of the Southern States had
already seceded, and several attempts at assassination
were afterwards brought to light. A gang in Balti-
more had arranged, upon his arrival to "get up a row,"
and in the confusion to make sure of his death with
revolvers and hand-grenades. A detective unravelled
the plot. A secret and special train was provided to
take him from Harrisburg, through Baltimore, at an
unexpected hour of the night. The train started at
half-past ten ; and to prevent any possible communi-
cation on the part ot the Secessionists with their Con-
federate gang in Baltimore, as soon as the train had
started the telegraph-wires were cut. Mr. Lincoln
reached Washington in safety and was inaugurated,
although great anxiety was felt by all loyal people.

In the selection of his cabinet Mr. Lincoln gave
to Mr. Seward the Department of State, and to other
prominent opponents before the convention he gave
important positions.

During no other administration have the duties
devolving upon the President been so manifold, and
the responsibilities so great, as those which fell to
the lot of President Lincoln. Knowing this, and
feeling his own weakness and inability to meet, and in
his own strength to cope with, the difficulties, he
learned early to seek Divine wisdom and guidance in
determining his plans, and Divine comfort in all his
trials, bo'h personal and national Contrary to his
own estimate of himself, Mr. Lincoln was one of the
most courageous of men. He went directly into the
rebel capital just as the retreating foe was leaving,
with no guard but a few sailors. From the time he
had left Springfield, in 1861, however, plans had been
made for his assassination, and he at last fell a victim
to one of them. April 14, 1865, he, with Gn. Grant,
was urgently invited to attend Fords' Theater. It
was announced that they would Le present. Gen.
Grant, however, left the city. President Lincoln, feel-
ing, with his characteristic kindliness of heart, that
it would be a disappointment if he should fail them,
very reluctantly consented to go. While listening to
the play an actor by the name of John Wilkes Booth
entered the box where the President and family were
seated, and fired a bullet into his brains. He died the
next morning at seven o'clock.

Never before, in the history of the world was a nation
plunged into such deep grief by the death of its ruler
Strong men met in the streets and wept in speechless
anguish. It is not too much to say that a nation was
in tears. His was a life which will fitly become a
model. His name as the savior of his country will
live with that of Washington's, its father; his country-
men being unable to decide which is the greater.

SEVENTEENTH PRESIDENT.

8.1

NDREW JOHNSON, seven-
teenth President of the United
States. The early life of
Andrew Johnson contains but
the record of poverty, destitu-
tion and friendlessness. He
was born December 29, 1808,
in Raleigh, N. C. His parents,
belonging to the class of the
"poor whites " of the South, were
in such circumstances, that they
could not confer even the slight-
est advantages of education upon
their child. When Andrew was five
years of age, his father accidentally
lost his life while herorically endeavoring to save a
friend from drowning. Until ten years of age, Andrew
was a ragged boy about the streets, supported by the
labor of his mother, who obtained her living with
her own hands.

He then, having never attended a school one day,
and being unable either to read or write, was ap-
prenticed to a tailor in his native town. A gentleman
was in the habit of going to the tailor's shop occasion-
ally, and reading to the boys at work there. He often
read from the speeches of distinguished British states-
men. Andrew, who was endowed with a mind of more
than ordinary native ability, became much interested
in these speeches ; his ambition was roused, and he
was inspired with a strong desire to learn to read.

He accordingly applied himself to the alphabet, and
with the assistance of some of his fellow-workmen,
learned his letters. He then called upon the gentle-
man to borrow the book of speeches. The owner,

pleased with his zeal, not only gave him the book,
but assisted him in learning to combine the letters
into words. Under such difficulties he pressed on-
ward laboriously, spending usually ten or twelve hours
at work in the shop, and then robbing himself of rest
and recreation to devote such time as he could to
reading.

He went to Tennessee in 1826, and located at
Greenville, where he married a young lady who pos-
sessed some education. Under her instructions he
learned to write and cipher. He became prominent
in the village debating society, and a favorite with
the students of Greenville College. In 1828, he or-
ganized a working man's party, which elected him
alderman, and in 1830 elected him mayor, which
position he held three years.

He now began to take a lively interest in political
affairs; identifying himself with the working-classes,
to which he belonged. In 1835, he was elected a
member of the House of Representatives of Tennes-
see. He was then just twenty-seven years of age.
He became a very active member of the legislature,
gave his adhesion to the Democratic party, and in
1840 "stumped the State," advocating Martin Van
Buren's claims to the Presidency, in opposition to those
of Gen. Harrison. In this campaign he acquired much
readiness as a speaker, and extended and increased
his reputation.

In 1841, he was elected State Senator; in 1843, he
was elected a member of Congress, and by successive
elections, held that important post for ten years. In
1853, he was elected Governor of Tennessee, and
was re-elected in 1855. In all these res]>onsible posi-
tions, he discharged his duties with distinguished abil-

ANDRE W JOHNSON.

ity, and proved himself the warm friend of the work-
ing classes. In 1857, Mr. Johnson was elected
United States Senator.

Years before, in 1845, he had warmly advocated
the annexation of Texas, stating however, as his
reason, that he thought this annexation would prob-
ably prove " to be the gateway out of which the sable
sons of Africa are to pass from bondage to freedom,
and become merged in a population congenial to
themselves." In 1850, he also supported the com-
promise measures, the two essential features of which
were, that the white people of the Territories should
be permitted to decide for themselves whether they
would enslave the colored people or not, and that
the free States of the North should return to the
South persons who attempted to escape from slavery.

Mr. Johnson was never ashamed of his lowly origin:
on the contrary, he often took pride in avowing that
he owed his distinction to his own exertions. "Sir,"
said he on the floor of the Senate, " I do not forget
that I am a mechanic ; neither do I forget that Adam
was a tailor and sewed fig-leaves, and that our Sav-
ior was the son of a carpenter."

In the Charleston-Baltimore convention of 1860, he
was the choice of the Tennessee Democrats for the
Presidency. In 1861, when the purpose of the South-
ern Democracy became apparent, he took a decided
stand in favor of the Union, and held that " slavery
must be held subordinate to the Union at whatever
cost." He returned to Tennessee, and repeatedly
imperiled his own life to protect the Unionists of
Tennesee. Tennessee having seceded from the
Union, President Lincoln, on March 4th, 1862, ap-
pointed him Military Governor of the State, and he
established the most stringent military rule. His
numerous proclamations attracted wide attention. In

1864, he was elected Vice-President of the United
States, and upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, April 15,

1865, became President. In a speech two days later
he said, " The American people must be taught, if
they do not already feel, that treason is a crime and
must be punished ; that the Government will not
always bear with its enemies ; that it is strong not
only to protect, but to punish. * * The people
must understand that it (treason) is the blackest of
crimes, and will surely be punished." Yet his whole
administration, the history of which is so well known,
was in utter inconsistency with, and the mpst violent

opposition to, the principles laid down in that speech.

In his loose policy of reconstruction and general
amnesty, he was opposed by Congress ; and he char-
acterized Congress as a new rebellion, and lawlessly
defied it, in everything possible, to the utmost. In
the beginning of 1868, on account of "high crimes
and misdemeanors," the principal of which was the
removal of Secretary Stanton, in violation of the Ten-
ure of Office Act, articles of impeachment were pre-
ferred against him, and the trial began March 23.

It was very tedious, continuing for nearly three
months. A test article of the impeachment was at
length submitted to the court for its action. It was
certain that as the court voted upon that article so
would it vote upon all. Thirty-four voices pronounced
the President guilty. As a two-thirds vote was neces-
sary to his condemnation, he was pronounced ac-
quitted, notwithstanding the great majority against
him. The change of one vote from the not guilty
side would have sustained the impeachment.

The President, for the remainder of his term, was
but little regarded. He continued, though impotently,
his conflict with Congress. His own party did not
think it expedient to renominate him for the Presi-
dency. The Nation rallied, with enthusiasm unpar-
alleled since the days of Washington, around the name
of Gen. Grant. Andrew Johnson was forgotten.
The bullet of the assassin introduced him to the
President's chair. Notwithstanding this, never was
there presented to a man a better opportunity to im-
mortalize his name, and to win the gratitude of a
nation. He failed utterly. He retired to his home
in Greenville, Tenn., taking no very active part in
politics until 1875. On Jan. 26, after an exciting
struggle, he was chosen by the Legislature of Ten-
nessee, United States Senator in the forty-fourth Con-
gress, and took his seat in that body, at the special
session convened by President Grant, on the 5th of
March. On the 27th of July, 1875, the ex-President
made a visit to his daughter's home, near Carter
Station, Tenn. When he started on his journey, he was
apparently in his usual vigorous health, but on reach-
ing the residence of his child the following day, was
stricken with paralysis, rendering him unconscious.
He rallied occasionally, but finally passed away at
2 A.M., July 31, aged sixty-seven years. His fun-
eral was attended at Geenville, on the 3d of August,
with every demonstration of respect.

EIGHTEENTH PRESIDENT.

LYSSES S. GRANT, the
eighteenth President of the
United States, was born on
the 29th of April, 1822, of
Christian parents, in a humble
home, at Point Pleasant, on the
banks of the Ohio. Shortly after
his father moved to George-
town, Brown Co., O. In this re-
mote frontier hamlet, Ulysses
received a common-school edu-
cation. At the age of seven-
teen, in the year 1839, he entered
the Military Academy at West
Point. Here he was regarded as a
solid, sensible young man of fair abilities, and of
sturdy, honest character. He took respectable rank
as a scholar. In June, 1843, h'e graduated, about the
middle in his class, and was sent as lieutenant of in-
fantry to one of the distant military posts in the Mis-
souri Territory. Two years he past in these dreary
solitudes, watching the vagabond and exasperating
Indians.

The war with Mexico came. Lieut. Grant was
sent with his regiment to Corpus Christi. His first
battle was at Palo Alto. There was no chance here
for the exhibition of either skill or heroism, nor at
Resaca de la Palma, his second battle. At the battle
of Monterey, his third engagement, it is said that
he performed a signal service of daring and skillful
horsemanship. His brigade had exhausted its am-
munition. A messenger must be sent for more, along
a route exposed to the bullets of the foe. Lieut.
Grant, adopting an expedient learned of the Indians,
grasped the mane of his horse, and hanging upon one
side of the anirofl.1, ran the gauntlet in entire safety.

From Monterey he was sent, with the fourth infantry,
to aid Gen. Scott, at the siege of Vera Cruz. In
preparation for the march to the city of Mexico, he
was appointed quartermaster of his regiment. At the
battle of Molino del Rey, he was promoted to a
first lieutenancy, and was brevetted captain at Cha-
pultepec.

At the close of the Mexican War, Capt. Grant re-
turned with his regiment to New York, and was again
sent to one of the military posts on the frontier. The
discovery of gold in California causing an immense
tide of emigration to flow to the Pacific shores, Capt.
Grant was sent with a battalion to Fort Dallas, in
Oregon, for the protection of the interests of the im-
migrants. Life was wearisome in those wilds. Capt.
Grant resigned his commission and returned to the
States ; and having married, entered upon the cultiva-
tion of a small farm near St. Louis, Mo. He had but
little skill as a farmer. Finding his toil not re-
munerative, he turned to mercantile life, entering into
the leather business, with a younger brother, at Ga-
lena, 111. This was in the year 1860. As the tidings
of the rebels firing on Fort Sumpter reached the ears
of Capt. Grant in his counting-room, he said,
"Uncle Sam has educated me for the army; though
I have served him through one war, I do not feel that
I have yet repaid the debt. I am still ready to discharge
my obligations. I shall therefore buckle on my sword
and see Uncle Sam through this war too."

He went into the streets, raised a company of vol-
unteers, and led them as their captain to Springfield,
the capital of the State, where their services were
offered to Gov. Yates. The Governor, impressed by
the zeal and straightforward executive ability of Capt.
Grant, gave him a desk in his office, to assist in the
volunteer organization that was being formed in the
State in behalf of the Government. On the 1 5th of

ULYSSES S. GRANT.

June, 1861, Capt. Grant received a commission as
Colonel of the Twenty-first Regiment of Illinois Vol-
unteers. His merits as a West Point graduate, who
had served for 15 years in the regular army, were such
that he was soon promoted to the rank of Brigadier-
General and was placed in command at Cairo. The
rebels raised their banner at Paducah, near the mouth
of the Tennessee River. Scarcely had its folds ap-
peared in the breeze ere Gen. Grant was there. The
rebels fled. Their banner fell, and the star and
stripes were unfurled in its stead.

He entered the service with great determination
and immediately began active duty. This was the be-
ginning, and until the surrender of Lee at Richmond
he was ever pushing the enemy with great vigor and
effectiveness. At Belmont, a few days later, he sur-
prised and routed the rebels, then at Fort Henry
won another victory. Then came the brilliant fight
at Fort Donelson. The nation was electrified by the
victory, and the brave leader of the boys in blue was
immediately made a Major-General, and the military
Jistrict of Tennessee was assigned to him.

Like all great captains, Gen. Grant knew well how
to secure the results of victory. He immediately
pushed on to the enemies' lines. Then came the
terrible battles of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, and the
siege of Vicksburg, where Gen. Pemberton made an
unconditional surrender of the city with over thirty
thousand men and one-hundred and seventy-two can-
non. The fall of Vicksburg was by far the most
severe blow which the rebels had thus far encountered,
and opened up the Mississippi from Cairo to the Gulf.

Gen. Grant was next ordered to co-operate with
Gen. Banks in a movement upon Texas, and pro-
ceeded to New Orleans, where he was thrown from
his horse, and received severe injuries, from which he
was laid up for months. He then rushed to the aid
of Gens. Rosecrans and Thomas at Chattanooga, and
by a wonderful series of strategic and technical meas-
ures put the Union Army in fighting condition. Then
followed the bloody battles at Chattanooga, Lookout
Mountain and Missionary Ridge, in which the rebels
were routed with great loss. This won for him un-
bounded praise in the North. On the 4th of Febru-
ary, 1864, Congress revived the grade of lieutenant-
general, and the rank was conferred'on Gen. Grant.
He repaired to Washington to receive his credentials
and enter upon the duties of his new office,

Gen. Grant decided as soon as he took charge of
the army to concentrate the widely-dispersed National
troops for an attack upon Richmond, the nominal
capital of the Rebellion, and endeavor there to de-
stroy the rebel armies which would be promptly as-
sembled from all quarters for its defence. The whole
continent seemed to tremble under the tramp of these
majestic armies, rushing to the decisive battle field.
Steamers were crowded with troops. Railway trains
were burdened with closely packed thousands. His
plans were comprehensive and involved a series of
campaigns, which were executed with remarkable en-
ergy and ability, and were consummated at the sur-
render of Lee, April 9, 1865.

The war was ended. The Union was saved. The
almost unanimous voice of the Nation declared Gen.
Grant to be the most prominent instrument in its sal-
vation. The eminent services he had thus rendered
the country brought him conspicuously forward as the
Republican candidate for the Presidential chair.

At the Republican Convention held at Chicago,
May 21, 1868, he was unanimously nominated for the
Presidency, and at the autumn election received a
majority of the popular vote, and 214 out of 294
electoral votes.

The National Convention of the Republican party
which met at Philadelphia on the 5th of June, 1872,
placed Gen. Grant in nomination for a second term
by a unanimous vote. The selection was emphati-
cally indorsed by the. people five months later, 292
electoral votes being cast for him.

Soon after the close of his second tenn, Gen. Grant
started upon his famous trip around the world. He
visited almost every country of the civilized world,
and was everywhere received with such ovations
and demonstrations of respect and honor, private
as well as public and official, as were never before
bestowed upon any citizen of the United States.

He was the most prominent candidate before the
Republican National Convention in 1880 for a re-
nomination for President. He went to New York and
embarked in the brokerage business under the firm
nameof Grant & Ward. The latter proved a villain,
wrecked Grant's fortune, and for larceny was sent to
the penitentiary. The General was attacked with
cancer in the throat, but suffered in his stoic-like
manner, never complaining. He was re-instated as
General of the Army and retired by Congress. The
cancer soon finished its deadly work, and July 23,
1885, the nation went in mourning over the death of ,
the illustrious General.

NINETEENTH PRESIDENT.

UTHERFORD B. HAYES,
the nineteenth President of
the United States, was born in
Delaware, O., Oct. 4, 1822, al-
most three months after the
death of his father, Rutherford
Hayes. His ancestry on both
the paternal and maternal sides,
was of the most honorable char-
acter. It can be traced, it is said,
as far back as 1280, when Hayes and
Rutherford were two Scottish chief-
tains, fighting side by side with
Baliol, William Wallace and Robert
Bruce. Both families belonged to the
nobility, owned extensive estates,
and had a large following. Misfor-
tune overtaking the family, George Hayes left Scot-
land in 1680, and settled in Windsor, Conn. His son
George was born in Windsor, and remained there
during his life. Daniel Hayes, son of the latter, mar-
ried Sarah Lee, and lived from the time of his mar-
riage until his death in Simsbury, Conn. Ezekiel,
son of Daniel, was born in 1724, and was a manufac-
turer of scythes at Bradford, Conn. Rutherford Hayes,
son of Ezekiel and grandfather of President Hayes, was
born inNewHaven, in August, 1756. He was a farmer,
blacksmith and tavern-keeper. He emigrated to
Vermont at an unknown date, settling in Brattleboro,
where he established a hotel. Here his son Ruth-
erford Hayes the father of President Hayes, was

born. He was married, in September, 1813, to Sophia
Birchard, of Wilmington, Vt., whose ancestors emi-
grated thither from Connecticut, they having been
among the wealthiest and best famlies of Norwich.
Her ancestry on the male side are traced back to
1635, to John Birchard, one of the principal founders
of Norwich. Both of her grandfathers were soldiers
in the Revolutionary War.

The father of President Hayes was an industrious,
frugal and opened-hearted man. He was of a me-
chanical turn, and could mend a plow, knit a stock-
ing, or do almost anything else that he choose to
undertake. He was a member of the Church, active
in all the benevolent enterprises of the town, and con-
ducted his business on Christian principles. After
the close of the war of 1812, for reasons inexplicable
to his neighbors, he resolved to emigrate to Ohio.

The journey from Vermont to Ohio in that day,
when there were no canals, steamers, nor railways,
was a very serious affair. A tour of inspection was
first made, occupying four months. Mr. Hayes deter-
mined to move to Delaware, where the family arrived
in 1817. He died July 22, 1822, a victim of malarial
fever, less than three months before the birth of the
son,of whom we now write. Mrs. Hayes, in her sore be-
reavement, found the support she so much needed in
her brother Sardis, who had been a member of the
household from the day of its departure from Ver-
mont, and in an orphan girl whom .she had adopted
some time before as an act of charity.

Mrs. Hayes at this period was very weak, and the

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES.

subject of this sketch was so feeble at birth that he
was not expected to live beyond a month or two at
most. As the months went by he grew weaker and
weaker, so that the neighbors were in the habit of in-
quiring from time to time " if Mrs. Hayes' baby died
last night." On one occasion a neighbor, who was on
familiar terms with the family, after alluding to the
boy's big head, and the mother's assiduous care of
him, said in a bantering way, " That's right ! Stick to
him. You have got him along so far, and I shouldn't
wonder if he would really come to something yet."

" You need not laugh," said Mrs. Hayes. " You
wait and se. You can't tell but I shall make him
President of the United States yet." The boy lived,
in spite of the universal predictions of his speedy
death; and when, in 1825, his older brother was
drowned, he became, if possible, still dearer to his
mother.

The boy was seven years old before he went to
school. His education, however, was not neglected.
He probably learned as much from his mother and
sister as he would have done at school. His sports
were almost wholly within doors, his playmates being
his sister and her associates. These circumstances
tended, no doubt, to foster that gentleness of dispo-
sition, and that delicate consideration for the feelings
of others, which are marked traits of his character.

His uncle Sardis Birchard took the deepest interest
in his education ; and as the boy's health had im-
proved, and he was making good progress in his
studies, he proposed to send him to college. His pre-
paration commenced with a tutor at home; but he
was afterwards sent for one year to a professor in the
Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Conn. He en-
tered Kenyon College in 1838,3! the age of sixteen,
and was graduated at the head of his class in 1842.

Immediately after his graduation he began the
study of law in the office of Thomas Sparrow, Esq.,
in Columbus. Finding his opportunities for study in
Columbus somewhat limited, he determined to enter
the Law School at Cambridge, Mass., where he re-
mained two years.

In 1 845 , after graduating at the Law School, he was
admitted to the bar at Marietta, Ohio, and shortly
afterward went into practice as an attorney-at-law
with Ralph P. Buckland, of Fremont. Here he re-
mained three years, acquiring but a limited practice,
and apparently unambitious of distinction in his pro-
fession.

In 1849 he moved to Cincinnati, where his ambi-
tion found a new stimulus. For several years, how-
ever, his progress was slow. Two events, occurring at
this period, had a powerful influence upon his subse-
quent life. One of these was his marrage with Miss
Lucy Ware Webb, daughter of Dr. James Webb, of
Chilicothe; the other was his introduction to the Cin-
cinnati Literary Club, a body embracing among its
members such men as^hief Justice Salmon P. Chase,

Gen. John Pope, Gov. Edward F. Noyes, and many
others hardly less distinguished in after life. The
marriage was a fortunate one in every respect, as
everybody knows. Not one of all the wives of our
Presidents was more universally admired, reverenced
and beloved than was Mrs. Hayes, and no one did
more than she to reflect honor upon American woman-
hood. The Literary Cluu brought Mr. Hayes into
constant association with young men of high char-
acter and noble aims, and lured him to display the
qualities so long hidden by his bashfulness and
modesty.

In 1856 he was nominated to the office of Judge of
the Court of Common Pleas; but he declined to ac-
cept the nomination. Two years later, the office of
city solicitor becoming vacant, the City Council
elected him for the unexpired term.

In 1861, when the Rebellion broke out, he was at
the zenith of his professional life. His rank at the
bar was among the the first. But the news of the
attack on Fort Sumpter found him eager to take up
arms for the defense of his country.

His military record was bright and illustrious. In
October, 1861, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel, and
in August, 1862, promoted Colonel of the 7gth Ohio
regiment, but he refused to leave his old comrades
and go among strangers. Subsequently, however, he
was made Colonel of his old regiment. At the battle
of South Mountain he received a wound, and while
faint and bleeding displayed courage and fortitude
that won admiration from all.

Col. Hayes was detached from his regiment, after
his recovery, to act as Brigadier-General, and placed
in command of the celebrated Kanawha division,
and for gallant and meritorious services in the battles
of Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek, he was
promoted Brigadier-General. He was also brevetted
Major-General, "for gallant and distinguished services
during the campaigns of 1864, in West Virginia." In
the course of his arduous services, four horses were
shot from under him, and he was wounded four times.

In 1864, Gen. Hayes was elected to Congress, from
the Second Ohio District, which had long been Dem-
ocratic. He was not present during the campaign,
and after his election was importuned to resign his
commission in the army ; but he finally declared, " I
shall never corne to Washington until I can come by
the way of Richmond." He was re-elected in 1866.

In 1867, Gen Hayes was elected Govern or of Ohio,
over Hon. Allen G. Thurman, a popular Democrat.
In 1869 was re-elected over George H. Pendleton.
He was elected Governor for the third term in 1875.

In 1876 he was the standard bearer of the Repub-
lican Party in the Presidential contest, and after a
hard long contest was chosen President, and was in
augurated Monday, March 5, 1875. He served his
full term, not, however, with satisfaction to his party,
but his administration was an average on

TWENTIETH PRESIDENT.

AMES A. GARKIELD, twen-
tieth President of the United
States, was born Nov. ig,
1831, in the woods of Orange,
Cuyahoga Co., O His par-
ents were Abram and Eliza
(Ballou) Garfield, both of New
England ancestry and from fami-
lies well known in the early his-
tory of that section of our coun-
try, but had moved to the Western
Reserve, in Ohio, early in its settle-
ment.

The house in which James A. was
born was not unlike the houses of
j poor Ohio farmers of that day. It
was about 20 x 30 feet, built of logs, with the spaces be-
tween the logs filled with clay. His father was a
hard working farmer, and he soon had his fields
cleared, an orchard planted, and a log barn built.
The household comprised the father and mother and
their four children Mehetabel, Thomas, Mary and
James. In May, 1823, the father, from a cold con-
tracted in helping to put out a forest fire, died. At
this time James was about eighteen months old, and
Thomas about ten years old. No one, perhaps, can
tell how much James was indebted to his brother's
toil and self-sacrifice during the twenty years suc-
ceeding his father's death, but undoubtedly very
much. He now lives in Michigan, and the two sis-
ters live in Solon, O., near their birthplace.

The early educational advantages young Garfield
enjoyed were very limited, yet he made the most of
them. He labored at farm work for others, did car-
penter work, chopped wood, or did anything that
would bring in a few dollars to aid his widowed
mother in he' struggles to keep the little family to-

gether. Nor was Gen. Garfield ever ashamed of his
origin, and he never forgot the friends of his strug-
gling childhood, youth and manhood, neither did they
ever forget him. When in the highest seats of honor,
the humblest fiiend of his boyhood was as kindly
greeted as ever. The poorest laborer was sure of the
sympathy of one who had known all the bitterness
of want and the sweetness of bread earned by the
sweat of the brow. He was ever the simple, plain,
modest gentleman.

The highest ambition of young Garfield until he
was about sixteen years old was to be a captain of
a vessel on Lake Erie. He was anxious to go aboard
a vessel, which his mother strongly opposed. She
finally consented to his going to Cleveland, with the
understanding, however, that he should try to obtain
some other kind of employment. He walked all the
way to Cleveland. This was his first visit to the city.
After making many applications for work, and trying
to get aboard a lake vessel, and not meeting with
success, he engaged as a driver for his cousin, Amos
Letcher, on the Ohio & Pennsylvania Canal. He re-
mained at this work but a short time when he went
home, and attended the seminary at Chester for
about three years, when he entered Hiram and the
Eclectic Institute, teaching a few terms of school in
the meantime, and doing other work. This school
was started by the Disciples of Christ in 1850, of
which church he was then a member. He became
janitor and bell-ringer in order to help pay his way.
He then became both teacher and pupil. He soon
" exhausted Hiram " and needed more ; hence, in the
fall of 1854, he entered Williams College, from which
he graduated in 1856, taking one of the highest hon-
ors of his class. He afterwards returned to Hiram
College as its President. As above stated, he early
united with the Christian or Diciples Church at
Hiram, and was ever after a devoted, zealous mem-
ber, often preaching in its pulpit and places where
he happened to be. Dr. Noah Porter, President of
Yale College, says of him in reference to his religion :

JAMES A. GARFIELD.

" President Garfield was more than a man of
strong moral and religious convictions. His whole
history, from boyhood to the last, shows that duty to
man and to God, and devotion to Christ and life and
faith and spiritual commission were controlling springs
of his being, and to a more than usual degree. In
my judgment there is no more interesting feature of
his character than his loyal allegiance to the body of
Christians in which he was trained, and the fervent
sympathy which he ever showed in their Christian
communion. Not many of the few 'wise and mighty
and noble who are called ' show a similar loyalty to
the less stately and cultured Christian communions
in which they have been reared. Too often it is true
that as they step upward in social and political sig-
nificance they step upward from one degree to
another in some of the many types of fashionable
Christianity. President Garfield adhered to the
church of his mother, the church in which he was
trained, and in which he served as a pillar and an
evangelist, and yet with the largest and most unsec-
tarian charity for all 'who love our Lord in sincerity.'"

Mr. Garfield was united in marriage with Miss
Lucretia Rudolph, Nov. 1 1, 1858, who proved herself
worthy as the wife of one whom all the world loved and
mourned. To them were born seven children, five of
whom are still living, four boys and one girl.

Mr. Garfield made his first political speeches in 1856,
in Hiram and the neighboring villages, and three
years later he began to speak at county mass-meet-
ings, and became the favorite speaker wherever he
was. During this year he was elected to the Ohio
Senate. He also began to study law at Cleveland,
and in 1861 was admitted to the bar. The great
Rebellion broke out in the early part of this year,
and Mr. Garfield at once resolved to fight as he had
talked, and enlisted to defend the old flag. He re-
ceived his commission as Lieut.-Colonel of the Forty-
second Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Aug.
14, 1861. He was immediately put into active ser-
vice, and before he had ever seen a gun fired in action,
was placed in command of four regiments of infantry
and eight companies of cavalry, charged with the
work of driving out of his native State the officer
(Humphrey Marshall) reputed to be the ablest of
those, not educated to war whom Kentucky had given
to the Rebellion. This work was bravely and speed-
ily accomplished, although against great odds. Pres-
ident Lincoln, on his success commissioned him
Brigadier-General, Jan. 10, 1862; and as "he had
been the youngest man in the Ohio Senate two years
before, so now he was the youngest General in the
army." He was with Gen. Buell's army at Shiloh,
in its operations around Corinth and its march through
Alabama. He was then detailed as a member of the
General Court-Martial for the trial of Gen. Fitz-John
Porter. He was then ordered to report to Gen. Rose-
crans, and was assigned to the "Chief of Staff."

The military history of Gen. Garfield closed with

his brilliant services at Chickamauga, where he won
the stars of the Major-General.

Without an effort on his part Gen. Garfield was
elected to Congress in the fall of 1862 from the
Nineteenth District of Ohio. This section of Ohio
had been represented in Congress for sixty years
mainly by two men Elisha Whittlesey and Joshua
R. Giddings. It was not without a struggle that he
resigned his place in the army. At the time he en-
tered Congress he was" the youngest member in that
body. There he remained by successive re-
elections until he was elected President in 1880.
Of his labors in Congress Senator Hoar says : " Since
the year 1864 you cannot think of a. question which
has been debated in Congress, or discussed before a
tribunel of the American people, in regard to which
you will not find, if you wish instruction, the argu-
ment on one side stated, in almost every instance
better than by anybody else, in some speech made in
the House of Representatives or on the hustings by
Mr. Garfield."

Upon Jan. 14, 1880, Gen. Garfield was elected to
the U. S. Senate, and on the eighth of June, of the
same year, was nominated as the candidate of his
party for President at the great Chicago Convention.
He was elected in the following November, and on
March 4, 1881, was inaugurated. Probably no ad-
ministration ever opened its existence under brighter
auspices than that of President Garfield, and every
day it grew in favor with the people, and by the first
of July he had completed all the initiatory and pre-
liminary work of his administration and was prepar-
ing to leave the city to meet his friends at Williams
College. While on his way and at the depot, in com-
pany with Secretary Elaine, a man stepped behind
him, drew a revolver, and fired directly at his back.
The President tottered and fell, and as he did so the
assassin fired a second shot, the bullet cutting the
left coat sleeve of his victim, but inflicting no further
injury. It has been very truthfully said that this was
" the shot that was heard round the world " Never
before in the history of the Nation had anything oc-
curred which so nearly froze the blood of the people
for the moment, as this awful deed. He was smit-
ten on the brightest, gladdest day of all his life, and
was at the summit of his power and hope. For eighty
days, all during the hot months of July and August,
he lingered and suffered. He, however, remained
master of himself till the last, and by his magnificent
bearing was teaching the country and the world the
noblest of human lessons how to live grandly in the
very clutch of death. Great in life, he was surpass-
ingly great in death. He passed serenely away Sept.
19, 1883, at Elheron, N. J., on the very bank of the
ocean, where he had been taken shortly previous. The
world wept at his death, as it never had done on the
death of any other man who had ever lived upon it.
The murderer was duly tried, found guilty and exe-
cuted, in one year after he committed the foul deed.

TWENTY-FIRST PRESIDENT.

HESTER A. ARTHUR,
twenty-first PresKLiu of the
United States, was born in
Franklin Cour ty, Vermont, on
the fifthofOdober, 1830, andis
the oldest of a family of two
sons and five daughters. His
father was the Rev. Dr. William
Arthur, aBaptistc''.rgyman,who
emigrated to tb.s country from
the county Antrim, Ireland, in
his i8th year, and died in 1875, in
Newtonville, neai Albany, after a
long and successful ministry.

Young Arthur was educated at
Union College, S< henectady, where
he excelled in all his studies. Af-
ter his graduation he taught school
in Vermont for two years, and at
the expiration of that time came to
New York, with $500 in his pocket,
and entered the office of ex- Judge
E. D. Culver as student. After
being admitted to the bar he formed
a partnership with his intimate friend and room-mate,
Henry D. Gardiner, with the intention of practicing
in the West, and for three months they roamed about
in the Western States in search of an eligible site,
but in the end returned to New York, where they
hung out their shingle, and entered upon a success-
ful career almost from the start. General Arthur
soon afterward marred the daughter .of Lieutenant

Herndon, of the United States Navy, who was lost at
sea. Congress voted a gold medal to his widow in
recognition of the bravery he displayed on that occa-
sion. Mrs. Arthur died shortly before Mr. Arthur's
nomination to the Vice Presidency, leaving two
children.

Gen. Arthur obtained considerable legal celebrity
in his first great case, the famous Lemmon suit,
brought to recover possession of eight slaves who had
been declared free by Judge Paine, of the Superior
Court of New York City. It was in 1852 that Jon,
athan Lemmon, of Virginia, went to New York with
his slaves, intending to ship them to Texas, when
they were discovered and freed. The Judge decided
that they could not be held by the owner under the
Fugitive Slave Law. A howl of rage went up from
the South, and the Virginia Legislature authorized the
Attorney General of that State to assist in an appeal.
Wm. M. Evarts and Chester A. Arthur were employed
to represent the People, and they won their case,
which then went to the Supreme Court of the United
States. Charles O'Conor here espoused the cause
of the slave-holders, but he too was beaten by Messrs.
Evarts and Arthur, and a long step was taken toward
the emancipation of the black race.

Another great service was rendered by General
Arthur in the same cause in 1856. Lizzie Jennings,
a respectable colored woman, was put off a Fourth
Avenue car with violence after she had paid her fare.
General Arthur sued on her behalf, and secured a
verdict of $500 damages. The next day the compa-
ny issued an order to admit colored persons to ride
on their cars, and the other car companies quickly

100

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

followed their example. Before that the Sixth Ave-
nue Company ran a few special cars for colored per-
sons and the other lines refused to let them ride at all.

General Arthur was a delegate to the Convention
at Saratoga that founded the Republican party.
Previous to the war he was Judge-Advocate of the
Second Brigade of the State of New York, and Gov-
ernor Morgan, of that State, appointed him Engineer-
in-Chief of his staff. In 1861, he was made Inspec-
tor General, and soon afterward became Quartermas-
ter-General. In each of these offices he rendered
great service to the Government during the war. At
the end of Governor Morgan's term he resumed the
practice of the law, forming a partnership with Mr.
Ransom, and then Mr. Phelps, the District Attorney
of New York, was added to the firm. The legal prac-
tice of this well-known firm was very large and lucra-
tive, each of the gentlemen composing it were able
lawyers, and possessed a splendid local reputation, if
not indeed one of national extent.

He always took a leading part in State and city
politics. He was appointed Collector of the Port of
New York by President Grant, Nov. 21 1872, to suc-
ceed Thomas Murphy, and held the office until July,
20, 1878, when he was succeeded by Collector Merritt.

Mr. Arthur was nominated on the Presidential
ticket, with Gen. James A. Garfield, at the famous
National Republican Convention held at Chicago in
June, 1880. This was perhaps the greatest political
convention that ever assembled on the continent. It
was composed of the leading politicians of the Re-
publican party, all able men, and each stood firm and
fought vigorously and with signal tenacity for their
respective candidates that were before the conven-
tion for the nomination. Finally Gen. Garfield re-
ceived the nomination for President and Gen. Arthur
for Vice-President. The campaign which followed
was one of the most animated known in the history of
our country. Gen. Hancock, the standard-bearer of
the Democratic party, was a popular man, and his
party made a valiant fight for his election.

Finally the election came and the country's choice
was Garfield and Arthur. They were inaugurated
March 4, 1881, as President and Vice-President.
A few months only had passed ere the newly chosen
President was the victim of the assassin's bullet. Then
came terrible weeks of suffering, those moments of
anxious suspense, wher. the hearts of all civilized na-

tions were throbbing in unison, longing for the re-
covery of the noble, the good President. The remark-
able patience that he manifested during those hours
and weeks, and even months, of the most terrible suf-
fering man has often been called upon to endure, was
seemingly more than human. It was certainly God-
like. During all this period of deepest anxiety Mr.
Arthur's every move was watched, and be it said to his
credit that his every action displayed only an earnest
desire that the suffering Garfield might recover, to
serve the remainder of the term he had so auspi-
ciously begun. Not a selfish feeling was manifested
in deed or look of this man, even though the most
honored position in the world was at any moment
likely to fall to him.

At last God in his mercy relieved President Gar-
field from further suffering, and the world, as never
before in its history over the death of any other
man, wept at his bier. Then it became the duty of
the Vice President to assume the responsibilities of
the high office, and he took the oath in New York,
Sept. 20, 1881. The position was an embarrassing
one to him, made doubly so from the facts that all
eyes were on him, anxious to know what he would do,
what policy he would pursue, and who he would se-
lect as advisers. The duties of the office had been
greatly neglected during the President's long illness,
and many important measures were to be immediately
decided by him ; and still farther to embarrass him he
did not fail to realize under what circumstances he
became President, and knew the feelings of many on
this point. Under these trying circumstances President
Arthur took the reins of the Government in his own
hands; and, as embarrassing as were the condition of
affairs, he happily surprised the nation, acting so
wisely that but few criticised his administration.
He served the nation well and faithfully, until the
close of his administration, March 4, 1885, and was
a popular candidate before his party for a second
term. His name was ably presented before the con-
vention at Chicago, and was received with great
favor, and doubtless but for the personal popularity
of one of the opposing candidates, he would have
been selected as the standard-bearer of his party
for another campaign. He retired to private life car-
rying with him the best wishes of the American peo-
ple, whom he had served in a manner satisfactory
to them and with credit to himself.

TWENTY-SECOND PRESIDENT.

103

TEPHEN GROVER CLEVE-
LAND,thetwenty-second Pres-
ident of the United States, was
born in 1837, in the obscure
town of Caldwell, Essex Co.,
N. J., and in a little two-and-a-
half-story white house which is still
standing, characteristically to mark
the humble birth-place of one of
America's great men in striking con-
trast with the Old World, where all
men high in office must be high in
origin and born in the cradle of
wealth. When the subject of this
sketch was three years of age, his
father, who was a Presbyterian min-
ister, with a large family and a small salary, moved,
by way of the Hudson River and Erie Canal, to
Fayetteville, in search of an increased income and a
larger field of work. Fayetteville was then the most
straggling of country villages, about five miles from
Pompey Hill, where Governor Seymour was born.

At the last mentioned place young Grover com-
menced going to school in the "good, old-fashioned
way," and presumably distinguished himself after the
manner of all village boys, in doing the things he
ought not to do. Such is the distinguishing trait of
all geniuses and independent thinkers. When he
arrived at the age of 14 years, he had outgrown the
capacity of the village school and expressed a most

emphatic desire to be sent to an academy. To this
his father decidedly objected. Academies in those
days cost money; besides, his father wanted him to
become self-supporting by the quickest possible
means, and this at that time in Fayetteville seemed
to be a position in a country store, where his father
and the large family on his hands had considerable
influence. Grover was to be paid $50 for his services
the first year, and if he proved trustworthy he was to
receive $100 the second year. Here the lad com-
menced his career as salesman, and in two years he
had earned so good a reputation for trustworthiness
that his employers desired to retain him for an in-
definite length of time. Otherwise he did not ex-
hibit as yet any particular " flashes of genius " or
eccentricities of talent. He was simply a good boy.
But instead of remaining with this firm in Fayette-
ville, he went with the family in their removal to
Clinton, where he had an opportunity of attending a
high school. Here he industriously pursued his
studies until the family removed with him to a point
on Black River known as the " Holland Patent," a
village of 500 or 600 people, 15 miles north of Utica,
N. Y. At this place his father died, after preaching
but three Sundays. This event broke up the family,
and Grover set out for New York City to accept, at a
small salary, the position of " under-teacher " in an
asylum for the blind. He taught faithfully for two
years, and although he obtained a good reputation in
this capacity, he concluded that teaching was not his

104

S. GROVER CLEVELAND.

calling for life, and, reversing the traditional order,
he left the city to seek his fortune, instead of going
to a city. He first thought of Cleveland, Ohio, as
there was some charm in that name for him; but
before proceeding to that place he went to Buffalo to
ask the advice of his uncle, Lewis F. Allan, a noted
stock-breeder of that place. The latter did not
speak enthusiastically. " What is it you want to do,
my boy?" he asked. "Well, sir, I want to study
law," was the reply. " Good gracious ! " remarked
the old gentleman ; " do you, indeed ? What ever put
that into your head? How much money have you
got?" "Well, sir, to tell the truth, I haven't got
any."

After a long consultation, his uncle offered him a
place temporarily as assistant herd-keeper, at $50 a
year, while lie could "look around." One day soon
afterward he boldly walked into the office of Rogers,
Bowen & Rogers, of Buffalo, and told them what he
wanted. A number of young men were already en-
gaged in the office, but Graver's persistency won, and
he was finally permitted to come as an office boy and
have the use of the law library, for the nominal sum
of $3 or $4 a week. Out of this he had to pay for
his board and washing. The walk to and from his
uncle's was a long and rugged one ; and, although
the first winter was a memorably severe one, his
shoes were out of repair and his overcoat he had
none yet he was nevertheless prompt and regular.
On the first day of his service here, his senior em-
ployer threw down a copy of Blackstone before him
with a bang that made the dust fly, saying " That's
where they all begin." A titter ran around the little
circle of clerks and students, as they thought that
was enough to scare young Grover out of his plans ;
but in due time he mastered that cumbersome volume.
Then, as ever afterward, however, Mr. Cleveland
exhibited a talent for executiveness rather than for
chasing principles through all their metaphysical
possibilities. " Let us quit talking and go and do
it," was practically his motto.

The first public office to which Mr. Cleveland was
elected was that of Sheriff of Erie Co., N. Y., in
which Buffalo is situated ; and in such capacity it fell
to his duty to inflict capital punishment upon two
criminals. In 1881 he was elected Mayor of the
City of Buffalo, on the Democratic ticket, with es-
pecial reference to the bringing about certain reforms

in the administration of the municipal affairs of that
city. In this office, as well as that of Sheriff, his
performance of duty has generally been considered
fair, with possibly a few exceptions which were fer-
reted out and magnified during the last Presidential
campaign. As a specimen of his plain language in
a veto message, we quote from one vetoing an iniqui-
tous street-cleaning contract: "This is a time for
plain speech, and my objection to your action shall
be plainly stated. I regard it as the culmination of
a mos bare-faced, impudent and shameless scheme
to betray the interests of the people and to worse
than squander the people's money." The New York
Sun afterward very highly commended Mr. Cleve-
land's administration as Mayor of Buffalo, and there-
upon recommended him for Governor of the Empire
State. To the latter office he was elected in 1882,
and his administration of the affairs of State was
generally satisfactory. The mistakes he made, if
any, were made very public throughout the nation
after he was nominated for President of the United
States. For this high office he was nominated July
ir, 1884, by the National Democratic Convention at
Chicago, when other competitors were Thomas F.
Bayard, Roswell P. Flower, Thomas A. Hendricks,
Benjamin F. Butler, Allen G. Thurman, etc.; and he
was elected by the people, by a majority of about a
thousand, over the brilliant and long-tried Repub-
lican statesman, James G. Elaine. President Cleve-
land resigned his office as Governor of New York in
January, 1885, in order to prepare for his duties as
the Chief Executive of the United States, in which
capacity his term commenced at noon on the 4th of
March, 1885. For his Cabinet officers he selected
the following gentlemen: For Secretary of State,
Thomas F. Bayard, of Delaware ; Secretary of the
Treasury, Daniel Manning, of New York ; Secretary
of War, William C. Endicott, of Massachusetts;
Secretary of the Navy, William C. Whitney, of New
York ; Secretary of the Interior, L. Q. C. Lamar, of
Mississippi; Postmaster-General, William F. Vilas,
of Wisconsin ; Attorney-General, A. H. Garland, of
Arkansas.

The silver question precipitated a controversy be-
tween those who were in favor of the continuance of
silver coinage and those who were opposed, Mr.
Cleveland answering for the latter, even before his
inauguration.

*--*

(?<9 VERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

HADRACH BOND, the first
Governor of Illinois after its
organization as a State, serving
from 1818 to 1822, was born in
Frederick County, Maryland,
in the year 1773, and was
raised a farmer on his father's
plantation, receiving only a plain
English education. He emigrated
to this State in 1794, when it was a
part of the "Northwest Territory,"
continuing in the vocation in which
he had been brought up in his native
State, in the " New Design," near
Eagle Creek, in what is now Monroe
County. He served several terms as
a member of the General Assembly
of Indiana Territory, after it was organized as such,
and in 1812-14 he was a Delegate to the Twelfth
and Thirteenth Congresses, taking his seat Dec. 3,
1812, and serving until Oct. 3, 1814. These were
the times, the reader will recollect, when this Gov-
ernment had its last struggle with Great Britain.
The year 1812 is also noted in the history of this
State as that in which the first Territorial Legislature
was held. It convened at Kaskaskia, Nov. 25, and
adjourned Dec. 26, following.

While serving as Delegate to Congress, Mr. Bond
was instrumental in procuring the right of pre-emp-
tion on the public domain. On the expiration of his
'term at Washington he was appointed Receiver of
Public Moneys at Kaskaskia, then the capital of the
Territory. In company with John G. Comyges,

Thomas H. Harris, Charles Slade, Michael Jones,
Warren Brown, Edward Humphries and Charles W.
Hunter, he became a proprietor of the site of the
initial city of Cairo, which they hoped, from its favor-
able location at the junction of the two great
rivers near the center of the Great West, would
rapidly develop into a metropolis. To aid the enter-
prise, they obtained a special charter from the Legis-
lature, incorporating both the City and the Bank of
Cairo.

In 1818 Mr. Bond was elected the first Governor
of the State of Illinois, being inaugurated Oct. 6,
that year, which was several weeks before Illinois
was actually admitted. The facts are these: In
January, 1818, the Territorial Legislature sent a peti-
tion to Congress for the admission of Illinois as a
State, Nathaniel Pope being then Delegate. The
petition was granted, fixing the northern line of the
State on the latitude of the southern extremity of
Lake Michigan ; but the bill was afterward so amend-
ed as to extend this line to its present latitude. In
July a convention was called at Kaskaskia to draft a
constitution, which, however, was not submitted to
the people. By its provisions, supreme judges, pros-
ecuting attorneys, county and circuit judges, record-
ers and justices of the peace were all to be appointed
by the Governor or elected by the Legislature. This
constitution was accepted by Congress Dec. 30. At
that time Illinois comprised but eleven counties,
namely, Randolph, Madison, Gallatin, Johnson,
Pope, Jackson, Crawford, Bond, Union, Washington
and Franklin, the northern portion of the State be-
ing mainly in Madison County. Thus it appears
that Mr, Bond was. honored by the naming of a

112

SHADRACH BOND.

county before he was elected Governor. The present
county of Bond is of small limitations, about 60 to 80
miles south of Springfield. For Lieutenant Governor
the people chose Pierre Menard, a prominent and
worthy Frenchman, after whom a county in this State
is named. In this election there were no opposition
candidates, as the popularity of these men had made
their promotion to the chief offices of the Slate, even
before the constitution was drafted, a foregone con-
clusion.

The principal points that excited the people in
reference to political issues at this period wjre local
or "internal improvements," as they were called,
State banks, location of the capital, slavery and the
personal characteristics of the proposed candidates.
Mr. Bond represented ths " Convention party," for
introducing slavery into the State, supported by Elias
Kent Kane, his Secretary of State, and John Mc-
Lean, while Nathaniel Pope and John P. Cook led
the anti-slavery element. The people, however, did
not become very much excited over this issue until
1820, when the f.ira >us Missouri Compromise was
adopted by Congress, limiting slavery to the south
of the parallel of 36 30' except in Missouri. While
this measure settled the great slavery controversy,
so far as the average public sentiment was tempor-
arily concerned, until 1854, when it was repealed
under the leadership of Stephen A. Douglas, the issue
as considered locally in this State was not decided
until i8"24, after a most furious campaign. (See
sketch of Gov. Coles.) The ticket of 1818 was a
compromise one, Bond representing (moderately) the
pro-slavery sentiment and Menard the anti-slavery.

An awkward element in the State government
under Gov. Bond's administration, was the imperfec-
tion of the State constitution. The Convention
wished to have Elijah C. Berry for the first Auditor
of Public Accounts, but, as it was believed that the
new Governor would not appoint him to the office,
the Convention declared in a schedule that " an
auditor of public accounts, an attorney general and
such other officers of the State as may be necessary,
may be appointed by the General Assembly." The
Constitution, as it stood, vested a very large appoint-
ing power in the Governor ; but for the purpose of
getting one man into office, a total change was made,
and the power vested in the Legislature. Of this
provision the Legislature took advantage, and de-

clared that State's attorneys, canal commissioners,
bank directors, etc., were all " officers of the State "
and must therefore be appointed by itself independ-
ently of the Governor.

During Gov. Bond's administration a general law
was passed for the incorporation of academies and
towns, and one authorizing lotteries. The session of
1822 authorized the Governor to appoint commis-
sioners, to act in conjunction with like commissioners
appointed by the State of Indiana, to report on the
practicability and expediency of improving the navi-
gation of the Wabash River; also inland navigation
generally. Many improvements were recommended,
some of which have been feebly worked at even till
the present day, those along the Wabash being of no
value. Also, during Gov. Bond's term of office, the
capital of the State was removed from Kaskaskia to
Vandalia. In 1820 a law was passed by Congress
authorizing this State to open a canal through the
public lands. The State appointed commissioners
lo explore the route and prepare the necessary sur-
veys and estimates, preparatory to its execution;
but, being unable out of its own resources to defray
the expenses of the undertaking, it was abandoned
until some time after Congress made the grant of
land for the purpose of its construction.

On the whole, Gov. Bond's administration was
fairly good, not being open to severe criticism from
any party. In 1824, two years after the expiration
of his term of office, he was brought out as a candi-
date for Congress against the formidable John P.
Cook, but received only 4,374 votes to 7,460 for the
latter. Gov. Bond was no orator, but had made
many fast friends by a judicious bestowment of his
gubernatorial patronage, and these worked zealously
for him in the campaign.

In 1827 ex-Gov. Bond was appointed by the Leg-
islalure, with Wm. P. McKee and Dr. Gershom
Jayne, as Commissioners to locate a site for a peni-
tentiary on the Mississippi at or near Alton.

Mr. Bond was of a benevolent and convivial dis-
position, a man of shrewd observation and clear ap-
preciation of events. His person was erect, stand-
ing six feet in height, and after middle life became
portly, weighing 200 pounds. His features were
strongly masculine, complexion dark, hair jet and
eyes hazel ; was a favorite with the ladies. He died
April 1 1, 1830, in peace and contentment.

GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

]>war& Coles.

DWARD COLES, second
Governor of Illinois, 1823-
6, was born Dec. 15, 1786,
in Albemarle Co., Va., on
the old family estate called
"Enniscorthy," on the
Green Mountain. His fath-
er, John Coles, was a Colonel in the
Revolutionary War. Having been fit-
ted for college by private tutors, he
was sent to Hampden Sidney, where
he remained until the autumn of 1805,
when he was removed to William and
Mary College, at Williamsburg, Va.
This college he left in the summer of
1807, a short time before the final and graduating
examination. Among his classmates were Lieut.
Gen. Scott, President John Tyler, Wm. S. Archer,
United States Senator from Virginia, and Justice
Baldwin, of the United States Supreme Court. The
President of the latter college, Bishop Madison, was
a cousin of President James Madison, and that cir-
cumstance was the occasion of Mr. Coles becoming
personally acquainted with the President and re-
ceiving a position as his private secretary, 1809-15.
The family of Coles was a prominent one in Vir-
ginia, and their mansion was the seat of the old-
fashioned Virginian hospitality. It was visited by
such notables as Patrick Henry, Jefferson, Madison,
Monroe, the Randolphs, Tazewell, Wirt, etc. At the
age of 23, young Coles found himself heir to a plant-
ation and a considerable number of slaves. Ever
since his earlier college days his attention had been
drawn to the question of slavery. He read every-

thing on the subject that came in his way, and
listened to lectures on the rights of man. The more
he reflected upon the subject, the more impossible
was it for him to reconcile the immortal declaration
"that all men are born free and equal " with the
practice of slave-holding. He resolved, therefore, to
free his slaves the first opportunity, and even remove
his residence to a free State. One reason which de-
termined him to accept the appointment as private
secretary to Mr. Madison was because he believed
that through the acquaintances ne could make at
Washington he could better determine in what part
of the non-slaveholding portion of the Union he would
prefer to settle.

The relations between Mr. Coles and President
Madison, as well as Jefferson and other distinguished
men, were of a very friendly character, arising from
the similarity of their views on the question of slavery
and their sympathy for each other in holding doc-
trines so much at variance with the prevailing senti-
ment in their own State.

In 1857, he resigned his secretaryship and spent a
portion of the following autumn in exploring the
Northwest Territory, for the purpose of finding a lo-
cation and purchasing lands on which to settle his
negroes. He traveled with a horse and buggy, with
an extra man and horse for emergencies, through
many parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri,
determining finally to settle in Illinois. At this time,
however, a misunderstanding arose between our
Government and Russia, and Mr. Coles was selected
to repair to St. Petersburg on a special mission, bear-
ing important papers concerning the matter at issue.
The result was a conviction of the Emperor (Alex-

EDWARD COLES.

ander) of the error committed by his minister at
Washington, and the consequent withdrawal of the
the latter from the post. On his return, Mr. Coles
visited oilier parts of Europe, especially Paris, where
he was introduced to Gen. Lafayette.

In the spring of 1819, he removed with all his
negroes from Virginia to Edwardsville, 111., with the
intention of giving them their liberty. He did not
make known to them his intention until one beautiful
morning in April, as they were descending the Ohio
River. He lashed all the boats together and called
all the negroes on deck and made them a short ad-
dress, concluding his remarks by so expressing him-
self that by a turn of a sentence lie proclaimed in
the shortest and fullest manner that they were no
longer slaves, but free as he was and were at liberty
to proceed with him or go ashore -at their pleas-
ure. A description of the effect upon the negroes is
best desciibed in his own language :

"The effect upon them was electrical. They stared
at me and then at each other, as if doubting the ac-
curacy or reality of what they heard. In breathless
silence they stood before me, unable to utter a word,
but with countenance.; beaming with expression which
no words could convey, and which no language
can describe. As they began to see the truth of
what they had heard, and realize their situation, there
came on a kind of hysterical, giggling laugh. After
a pause of intense and unutterable emotion, bathed
in tears, and with tremulous voices, they gave vent to
their gratitude and implored the blessing of God
on me."

Before landing he gave them a general certificate
of freedom, and afterward conformed more particu-
larly with the law of this State requiring that each
individual should have a certificate. This act of
Mr. Coles, all the more noble and heroic considering
the overwhelming pro-slavery influences surrounding
him, has challenged the admiration of every philan-
thropist of modern times.

Marcli 5, 1819, President Monroe ap|X>inted Mr.
Coles Registrar of the Land Office at Edwardsvil.a,
at that time one of the principal land offices in the
State. While acting in th's capacity and gaining
many friends by his politeness and general intelli-
gence, the greatest struggle that ever occurred in
Illinois on the slavery ques ion culminated in the
furious contest characterizing the campaigns and
elections of 1822-4. In the summer of 1823, when a
new Governor was to be elected to succeed Mr.
Uond, the pro-slavery element divided into factions,
pulling forward for the executive office Joseph
Phillips, Chief Justice of the State, Thomas C.
Browne and Gen. James B. Moore, of the State Mil-
ilia. The anti-slavery element united upon Mr.
Coles, and, after one of the most bitter campaigns,
succeeded in electing him as Governor. His plural-
ity over Judge Phillips was only 59 in a total vote of

over 8,000. The Lieutenant Governor was elected
by the slavery men. Mr. Coles' inauguration speech
w.is marked by calmness, deliberation and such a
wise expression of appropriate suggestions as to
elicit the sanction of all judicious politicians. But
he compromised not with evil. In his message to
the Legislature, the seat of Government being then
at Vandalia, he strongly urged the abrogation of the
modified form of slavery whhh then existed in this
State, contrary to the Ordinance of 1787. His posi-
tion on this subject seems the. more remarkable, when
it is considered that he was a minority Governor, the
population of Illinois being at that time almost ex-
clusively from slave-holding States and by a large
majority in favor of the perpetuation of that old relic
of barbarism. The Legislature itself was, of course,
a reflex of the popular sentiment, and a majority of
them were led on by fiery men in denunciations of
the conscientious Governor, and in curses loud and
deep upon him and all his friends. Some of the
public men, indeed, went so far as to head a sort of
mob, or " shiveree " party, who visited the residence
of the Governor and others at Vaudalia and yelled
and groaned and spat fire.

The Constitution, not establishing or permitting
slavery in this State, was thought therefore to be
defective by the slavery politicians, and they desired
a State Convention to be elected, to devise and sub-
mit a new Constitution ; and the dominant politics
of the day was "Convention" and "anti-Conven-
tion." Both parties issued addresses to the people,
Gov. Coles himself being the author of the address
published by the latter party. This address revealed
the schemes of the conspirators in a masierly man-
ner. It is difficult for us at this distant day to esti-
mate the critical and extremely delicate situation in
which the Governor was placed at that time.

Our hero maintained himself honorably and with
supreme dignity throughout his administration, and
in his honor a county in this State is named. He
was truly a great man, and those who lived in
this State during his sojourn here, like those who
live at the base of the mountain, were too near to see
and recognize the greatness that overshadowed them.

Mr. Coles was married Nov. 28, 1833, by Bishop
De Lancey, to Miss Sally Logan Roberts, a daughter
of Hugh Roberts, a descendant of Welsh ancestry,
who cam.: to this country with Win. Penn in 1682.

After the expiration of his term of service, Gov.
Coles continued his residen'-e in Edwardsville, sup-
erintending his farm in the vicinity. He was fond
of agriculture, and was the founder of the first agri-
cultural society in the State. On account of ill
health, however, and having no family to tie him
down, he spent much of his time in Eastern cities.
About 1832 he changed his residence to Philadel-
phia, where he died July 7, 1868, and is buried at
Woodland, near that city.

GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

fjf

INIAN EDWARDS, Governor
from 1827 to 1830, was a son
Y- of Benjamin Edwards, and
was born in Montgomery
County, Maryland, in March,
1775. His domestic train-
ing was well fitted to give
his mind strength, firmness and
honorable principles, and a good
foundation was laid for the elevated
character to which he afterwards
attained. His parents were Bap-
tists, and very strict in their moral
principles. His education in early
youth was in company with and
partly under the tuition of Hon. Wm.
Wirt, whom his father patronized j
and who was more than two years
older. An intimacy was thus
formed between them which was lasting for life. He
was further educated at Dickinson College, at Car
lisle, Pa. He next commenced the study of law, but
before completing his course he moved to Nelson
County, Ky., to open a farm for his father and to
purchase homes and locate lands for his brothers and
sisters. Here he fell in the company of dissolute
companions, and for several years led the life of a
spendthrift. He was, however, elected to the Legis-
lature of Kentucky as the Representative of Nelson
bounty before he was 2 1 years of age, and was re-
elected by an almost unanimous vote.

In 1798 he was licensed to practice law, and the
following year was admitted to the Courts of Tennes-
see. About this time he left Nelson County for
Russellville, in Logan County, broke away from his
dissolute companions, commenced a reformation and
devoted himself to severe and laborious study. He
then began to rise rapidly in his profession, and soon
became an eminent lawyer, and inside of four years
he filled in succession the offices of Presiding Judge
of the General Court, Circuit Judge, fourth Judge of
the Court of Appeals and Chief Justice of the State,
all before he was 32 years of age ! In addition, in
1802, he received a commission as Major of a battal-
ion of Kentucky militia, and in 1804 was chosen a
Presidential Elector, on the Jefferson and Clinton
ticket. In 1806 he was a candidate for Congress,
but withdrew on being promoted to the Court of
Appeals.

Illinois was organized as a separate Territory in
the spring of r8og, when Mr. Edwards, then Chief
Justice of the Court of Appeals in Kentucky, received
from President Madison the appointment as Gover-
nor of the new Territory, his commission bearing date
April 24, r8og. Edwards arrived at Kaskaskia in
June, and on the i ith of that month took the oath of
office. At the same time he was appointed Superin-
tendent of the United States Saline, this Government
interest then developing into considerable proportions
in Southern Illinois. Although during the first three
years of his administration he had the power to make
new counties and appoint all the officers, yet he always
allowed the people of each county, by an informal

120

NINIAN EDWARDS.

vote, to select their own officers, both civil and mili-
tary. The noted John J. Crittenden, afterward
United States Senator from Kentucky, was appointed
by Gev. Edwards to the office of Attorney General of
the Territory, which office was accepted for a short
time only.

The Indians in 1810 committing sundry depreda-
tions in the Territory, crossing the Mississippi from
the Territory of Louisiana, a long correspondence fol-
lowed between the respective Governors concerning
the remedies, which ended in a council with the sav-
ages at Peoria in 1812, and a fresh interpretation of
the treaties. Peoria was depopulated by these de-
predations, and was not re-settled for many years
afterward.

As Gov. Edwards' term of office expired by law in
1812, he was re-appointed for another term of three
years, and again in 1815 for a third term, serving
until the organization of the State in the fall of 1818
and the inauguration of Gov. Bond. At this time
ex-Gov. Edwards was sent to the United States
Senate, his colleague being Jesse B. Thomas. As
Senator, Mr. Edwards took a conspicuous part, and
acquitted himself honorably in all the measures that
came up in that body, being well posted, an able de-
bater and a conscientious statesman. He thought
seriously of resigning this situation in 1821, but was
persuaded by his old friend, Wm. Wirt, and others to
continue in office, which he did to the end of the
term.

He was then appointed Minister to Mexico by
President Monroe. About this time, it appears that
Mr. Edwards saw suspicious signs in the conduct of
Wm. H. Crawford, Secretary of the United States
Treasury, and an ambitious candidate for the Presi-
dency, and being implicated by the latter in some of
his statements, he resigned his Mexican mission in
order fully to investigate the charges. The result
was the exculpation of Mr. Edwards.

Pro-slavery regulations, often termed "Black Laws,"
disgraced the statute books of both the Territory and
the State of Illinois during the whole of his career in
this commonwealth, and Mr. Edwards always main-
tained the doctrines of freedom, and was an important
actor in the great struggle which ended in a victory
for his parfy in 1824.

In 1826-7 the Winnebago and other Indians com-
mitted some depredations in the northern part of the

State, and the white settlers, who desired the lands
and wished to exasperate the savages into an evacu-
ation of the country, magnified the misdemeanors of
the aborigines and thereby produced a hostility be-
tween the races so great as to precipitate a little war,
known in history as the " Winnebago War." A few
chases and skirmishes were had, when Gen. Atkinson
succeeded in capturing Red Bird, the Indian chief,
and putting him to death, thus ending the contest, at
least until the troubles commenced which ended in
the " Black Hawk War " of 1832. In the interpre-
tation of treaties and execution of their provisions
Gov. Edwards had much vexatious work to do. The
Indians kept themselves generally within the juris-
diction of Michigan Territory, and its Governor,
Lewis Cass, was at a point so remote that ready cor-
respondence with him was difficult or impossible.
Gov. Edwards' administration, however, in regard to
the protection of the Illinois frontier, seems to have
been very efficient and satisfactory.

For a considerable portion of his time after his re-
moval to Illinois, Gov. Edwards resided upon his
farm near Kaskaskia, which he had well stocked with
horses, cattle and sheep from Kentucky, also with
fruit-trees, grape-vines and shrubbery. He estab-
lished saw and grist-mills, and engaged extensively
in mercantile business, having no less than eight or ten
stores in this State and Missouri. Notwithstanding
the arduous duties of his office, he nearly always pur-
chased the goods himself with which to supply the
stores. Although not a regular practitioner of medi-
cine, he studied the healing art to a considerable ex-
tent, and took great pleasure in prescribing for, and
taking care of, the sick, generally without charge.
He was also liberal to the poor, several widows and
ministers of the gospel becoming indebted to him
even for their homes.

He married Miss Elvira Lane, of Maryland, in
1803, and they became the affectionate parents of
several children, one of whom, especially, is well
known to the people of the " Prairie State," namely,
Ninian Wirt Edwards, once the Superintendent of
Public Instruction and still a resident of Springfield.
Gov. Edwards resided at and in the vicinity of Kas-
kaskia from 1809 to 1818; in Edwardsville (named
after him) from that time to 1824; and from the lat-
ter date at Belleville, St. Clair County, until his
death, July 20, 1833, of Asiatic cholera. Edwards
County is also named in his honor.

GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

j:OHN REYNOLDS, Governor 1831-
4, was born in Montgomery Coun-
ty, Pennsylvania, Feb. 26, 1788.
His father, Robert Reynolds and
his mother, nee Margaret Moore,
were both natives of Ireland, from
which country they emigrated to
the United States in 1785, land-
ing at Philadelphia, The senior
Reynolds entertained an undying
hostility to the British Govern-
ment. When the subject of this
sketch was about six months old,
his parents emigrated with him to
Tennessee, where many of their
relatives had already located, at the base of the
Copper Ridge Mountain, about 14 miles northeast of
the present city of Knoxville. There they were ex-
posed to Indian depredations, and were much molest-
ed by them. In 1794 they moved into the interior
of the State. They were poor, and brought up their
children to habits of manual industry.

In 1 800 the family removed to Kaskaskia, 111., with
eight horses and two wagons, encountering many
hardships on the way. Here young Reynolds passed
the most of his childhood, while his character began

Ito develop, the most prominent traits of which were
ambition and energy. He also adopted the principle
and practice of total abstinence from intoxicating
liquors. In 1807 the family made another removal,

this time to the " Goshen Settlement," at the foot of
the Mississippi bluffs three or four miles southwest
of Edwardsville.

On arriving at his zoth year, Mr. Reynolds, seeing
that he must look about for his own livelihood and
not yet having determined what calling to pursue,
concluded first to attend college, and he accordingly
went to such an institution of learning, near Knox-
ville, Tenn., where he had relatives. Imagine his
diffidence, when, after passing the first 20 years of
his life without ever having seen a carpet, a papered
wall or a Windsor chair, and never having lived in a
shingle-roofed house, he suddenly ushered himself
into the society of the wealthy in the vicinity of
Knoxville! He attended college nearly two years,
going through the principal Latin authors; but it
seems that he, like the rest of the world in modern
times, had but very little use for his Latin in after
life. He always failed, indeed, to exhibit any good
degree of literary discipline. He commenced the
study of law in Knoxville, but a pulmonary trouble
came on and compelled him to change his mode
of life. Accordingly he returned home and re-
cuperated, and in 1812 resumed his college and
law studies at Knoxville. In the fall of 1812 he was
admitted to the Bar at Kaskaskia. About this time
he also learned the French language, which he
practiced with pleasure in conversation with his
family for many years. He regarded this language
as being superior to all others for social intercourse.

124

JOHN REYNOLDS.

From his services in the West, in the war of 181 2,
he obtained the sobriquet of the " Old Ranger." He
was Orderly Sergeant, then Judge Advocate.

Mr. Reynolds o|>ened his first law office in the
winter and spring of 1814, in the French village of
Cahokia, then the capital of St. Clair County.

In the fall of 1818 he was elected an Associate
Justice upon the Supreme Bench by the General
Assembly. In 1825 he entered more earnestly than
ever into the practice of law, and the very next year
was elected a member of the Legislature, where he
acted independently of all cliques and private inter-
ests. In 1828 the Whigs and Democrats were for
the first time distinctively organized as such in Illi-
nois, and the usual party bitterness grew up and
raged on all sides, while Mr. Reynolds preserved a
judicial calmness and moderation. The real animus
of the campaign was " Jackson " and " anti-Jackson,"
the former party carrying the State.

In August, 1830, Mr. Reynolds was elected Gov-
ernor, amid great excitement. Installed in office, he
did all within his power to advance the cause of edu-
cation, internal improvements, the Illinois & Mich-
igan Canal, the harbor at Chicago, settling the coun-
try, etc.; also reccmmended the winding up of the
State Bank, as its affairs had become dangerously
complicated. In his national politics, he was a
moderate supporter of General Jackson. But the
most celebrated event of his gubernatorial admin-
istration was the Black Hawk War, which occurred
in 1832. He called out the militia and prosecuted
the contest with commendable diligence, appearing
in person on the battle-grounds during the most
critical periods. He was recognized by the President
as Major-General, and authorized by him to make
treaties with the Indians. By the assistance of the
general Government the war was terminated without
much bloodshed, but after many serious fights. This
war, as well as everything else, was materially re-
tarded by the occurrence of Asiatic cholera in the
West. This was its first appearance here, and was
the next event in prominence during Gov. Reynolds'
term.

South Carolina nullification coming up at this time,
it was heartily condemned by both President Jackson
and Gov. Reynolds, who took precisely the same
grounds as the Unionists in the last war.

On the termination of his gubernatorial term in
1834, Gov. Reynolds was elected a Member of Con-
gress, still considering himself a backwoodsman, as
he had scarcely been outside of the State since he
became of age, and had spent nearly all his youthful
days in the wildest region of the frontier. His first
move in Congress was to adopt a resolution that in
all elections made by the House for officers the votes
should be given viva iwce, each member in his place
naming aloud the person for whom he votes. This
created considerable heated discussion, but was es-

sentially adopted, and remained the controlling prin-
ciple for many years. The ex Governor was scarcely
absent from his seat a single day, during eii^ht ses-
sions of Congress, covering a period of seven years,
and he never vacillated in a party vote; but he failed
to get the Democratic party to foster his " National
Road " scheme. He says, in " My Own Times " (a
large autobiography he published), that it was only
by rigid economy that he avoided insolvency while in
Washington. During his sojourn in that city he was
married, to a lady of the place.

In 1837, while out of Congress, and in company
with a few others, he built the first railroad in the
Mississippi Valley, namely, one about six miles long,
leading from his coal mine in the Mississippi bluff to
the bank of the river opposite St. Louis. Having not
the means to purchase a locomotive, they operated it
by horse-power. The next spring, however, the com-
pany sold out, at great sacrifice.

In 1839 the ex-Governor was appointed one of the
Canal Commissioners, and authorized to borrow
money to prosecute the enterprise. Accord 1 ngly, Jie
repaired to Philadelphia and succeeding in obtaining
a million dollars, which, however, was only a fourth
of what was wanted. The same year he and his
wife made at our of Europe. This year, also, Mr.
Reynolds had the rather awkward little responsibility
of introducing to President Van Buren the noted
Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith, as a " Latter-Day
Saint!"

In 1846 Gov. Reynolds was elected a member of
the Legislature from St. Clair County, more particu-
larly for the purpose of obtaining a feasible charter
for a macadamized road from Belleville to St. Louis,
a distance of nearly 14 miles. This was immediately
built, and was the first road of the kind in the State.
He was again elected tothe Legislature in 1852, when
he was chosen Speaker of the House. In 1860, aged
and infirm, he attended the National Democratic
Convention at Charleston, S. C., as an anti-Douglas
Delegate, where he received more attention from the
Southern Delegates than any other member. He
supported Breckenridge for the Presidency. After
the October elections foreshadowed the success of
Lincoln, he published an address urging the Demo-
crats to rally to the support of Douglas. Immedi-
ately preceding and during the late war, his corre-
spondence evinced a clear sympathy for the Southern
secession, and about the first of March, 1861, he
urged upon the Buchanan officials the seizure of the
treasure and arms in the custom-house and arsenal
at St. Louis. Mr. Reynolds was a rather talkative
man, and apt in all the Western phrases and catch-
words that ever gained currency, besides many cun-
ning and odd ones of his own manufacture.

He was married twice, but had no children. He
died in Belleville, in May, 1865, just after the close
of the war.

GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

I2 7

"fro

ILLIAM LEE D. EWING,
Governor of Illinois Nov. 3
to 17, 1834, was a native
of Kentucky, and probably
of Scotch ancestry. He had
a fine education, was a gentle-
man of polished manners and
refined sentiment. In 1830 John Rey-
nolds was elected Governor of the State,
and Zadok Casey Lieutenant Governor,
and for the principal events that followed,
and the characteristics of the times, see
sketch of Gov. Reynolds. The first we
see in history concerning Mr. Ewing, in-
forms us that he was a Receiver of Public
Moneys at Vandalia soon after the organization of
this State, and that the public moneys in his hands
were deposited in various banks, as they are usually
at the present day. In 1823 the State Bank was
robbed, by which disaster Mr. Ewing lost a thousand-
dollar deposit.

The subject of this sketch had a commission as
Colonel in the Black Hawk War, and in emergencies
he acted also as Major. In the summer of 1832,
when it was rumored among the whites that Black
Hawk and his men had encamped somewhere on
Rock River, Gen. Henry was sent on a tour of
reconnoisance, and with orders to drive the Indians
from the State. After some opposition from his
subordinate officers, Henry resolved to proceed up
Rock River in search of the enemy. On the igth of
July, early in the morning, five baggage wagons.

camp equipage and all heavy and cumbersome arti-
cles were piled up and left, so that the army might
make speedy and forced marches. For some miles
the travel was exceedingly bad, crossing swamps
and the worst thickets; but the large, fresh trail
gave life and animation to the Americans. Gen.
Dodge and Col. Ewing were both acting as Majors,
and composed the " spy corps " or vanguard of the
army. It is supposed the army marched nearly 50
miles this day, and the Indian trail they followed
became fresher, and was strewed with much property
and trinkets of the red-skins that they had lost or
thrown away to hasten their march. During the
following night there was a terrific thunder-storm, and
the soldiery, with all their appurtenances, were thor-
oughly drenched.

On approaching nearer the Indians the next day.
Gen. Dodge and Major Ewing, each commanding a
battalion of men, were placed in front to bring on the
battle, but the savages were not overtaken this day
Forced marches were continued until they reached.
Wisconsin River,_ where a veritable battle ensued,
resulting in the death of about 68 of Black Hawk's
men. The next day they continued the chase, and
as soon as he discovered the trail of the Indians
leading toward the Mississippi, Maj. Ewing formed
his battalion in order of battle and awaited the order
of Gen. Henry. The latter soon appeared on the
ground and ordered a charge, which directly resulted
in chasing the red warriors across the great river.
Maj. Ewing and his command proved particularly
efficient in war, as it seems they were the chief actors
in driving the main body of the Sacs and Foxes, in-

-h

I 128

WILLIAM L. D. EWING.

eluding Black Hawk himself, across the Mississippi,
while Gen. Atkinson, commander-in-chief of the ex-
pedition, with a body of the army, was hunting for
them in another direction.

In the above affair Maj. Ewing is often referred to
as a " General," which title he had derived from his
connection with the militia.

It was in the latter part of the same year (1832)
that Lieutenant Governor Casey was elected to Con-
gress and Gen. Ewing, who had been elected -to the
Senate, was chosen to preside over that body. At
the August election of 1834, Gov. Reynolds was also
elected to Congress, more than a year ahead of the
time at which he could actually take his seat, as was
then the law. His predecessor, Charles Slade, had
just died of Asiatic cholera, soon after the elec-
tion, and Gov. Reynolds was chosen to serve out his
unexpired term. Accordingly he set out for Wash-
ington in November of that year to take his seat in
Congress, and Gen. Ewing, by virtue of his office as
President of the Senate, became Governor of the
State of Illinois, his term covering only a period of
15 days, namely, from the 3d to the lyth days, in-
clusive, of November. On the ryth the Legislature
met, and Gov. Ewing transmitted to that body his
message, giving a statement of the condition of the
affairs of the State at that time, and urging a contin-
uance of the policy adopted by his predecessor ; and
on the same day Governor elect Joseph Duncan
was sworn into office, thus relieving Mr. Ewing from

the responsible situation. This is the only time that
such a juncture has happened in the history of Illi-
nois.

On the 29111 of December, 1835, Gen. Ewing was
elected a United States Senator to serve out the
unexpired term of Elias Ken: Kane, deceased. The
latter gentleman was a very prominent figure in the
early politics of Illinois, and a county in this State is
named in his honor. The election of Gen. Ewing to
the Senate was a protracted struggle. His competi-
tors were James Semple, who afterwards held several
important offices in this State, and Richard M.
Young, afterward a United States Senator and a
Supreme Judge and a man of vast influence. On
the first ballot Mr. Semple had 25 votes, Young 19
and Ewing 18. On the eighth ballot Young was
dropped ; the ninth and tenth stood a tie ; but on
the 1 2th Ewing received 40, to Semple 37, and was
accordingly declared elected. In 1837 Mr. Ewing
received some votes for a continuance of his term in
Congress, when Mr. Young, just referred to, was
elected. In 1842 Mr. Ewing was elected State
Audit?r on the ticket with Gov. Ford.

Gen. Ewing was a gentleman of culture, a lawyer
by profession, and was much in public life. In person
he was above medium height and of heavy build,
with auburn hair, blue eyes, large-sized head and
short face. He was genial, social, friendly and
affable, with fair talent, though of no high degree of
originality. He died March 25, 1846.

-I

GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

OSEPH DUNCAN, Governor
1834-8, was born at Paris,
Ky., Feb. 23, 1794. At the
tender age of 19 years he en-
listed in the war against Great
Britain, and as a soldier he
acquitted himself with credit. He
was an Ensign under the daunt-
less Croghan at Lower Sandusky,
or Fort Stephenson. In Illinois
he first appeared in a public capa-
city as Major-General of the Militia,
a position which his military fame
had procured him. Subsequently
he became a State Senator from
Jackson County, and is honorably
mentioned for introducing the first bill providing for
a free-school system. In r826, when the redoubt-
able John P. Cook, who had previously beaten such
men as John McLean, Elias Kent Kane and ex-
Gov. Bond, came up for the fourth time for Congress,
Mr. Duncan was brought forward against him by his
friends, greatly to the surprise of all the politicians.
As yet he was but little known in the State. He was
an original Jackson man at that time, being attached
to his political fortune in admiration of the glory of
his militaiy achievements. His chances of success
against Cook were generally regarded as hopeless,
but he entered upon the campaign undaunted. His
speeches, though short and devoid of ornament, were
full of good sense. He made a diligent canvass of
the State, Mr. Cook being hindered by the condition of
his health. The most that was expected of Mr.
Duncan, under the circumstances, was that he would

obtain a respectable vote, but without defeating Mr.
Cook. The result of the campaign, however, was a
source of surprise and amazement to both friends
and foes, as Mr. Duncan came out 641 votes ahead!
He received 6,321 votes, and Mr. Cook 5,680. Un-
til this denouement, the violence of party feeling
smoldering in the breasts of the people on account
of the defeat of Jackson, was not duly appreciated.
Aside from the great convention struggle of 1824, no
other than mere local and penonal considerations
had ever before controlled an election in Illinois.

From the above date Mr. Duncan retained his
seat in Congress until his election as Governor in
August, 1834. The first and bloodless year of the
Black Hawk War he was appointed by Gov. Rey-
nolds to the position of Brigadier-General of the
volunteers, and he conducted his brigade to Rock
Island. But he was absent from the State, in Wash-
ington, during the gubernatorial campaign, and did
not personally participate in it, but addressed circu-
lars to his constituents. His election was, indeed,
attributed to the circumstance of his absence, be-
cause his estrangement from Jackson, formerly his
political idol, and also from the Democracy, largely
in ascendency in the State, was complete ; but while
his defection was well known to his Whig friends,
and even to the leading Jackson men of this State,
the latter were unable to carry conviction of that fact
to the masses, as mail and newspaper facilities at
that day were far inferior to those of the present
time. Of course the Governor was much abused
afterward by the fossilized Jackson men who re-
garded party ties and affiliations as above all
other issues that could arise; but he was doubtless

132

JOSEPH DUNCAN.

sincere in his opposition to the old hero, as the latter
had vetoed several important western measures
which were dear to Mr. Duncan. In his inaugural
message he threw off the mask and took a bold stand
against the course of the President. The measures
he recommended in his message, however, were so
desirable that the Legislature, although by a large
majority consisting of Jackson men, could not refrain
from endorsing them. These measures related
mainly to banks and internal improvements.

It was while Mr. Duncan was Governor that the
people of Illinois w.ent whirling on with bank and in-
ternal improvement schemes that well nigh bank-
rupted the State. The hard times of 1837 came on,
and the disasters that attended the inauguration of
these plans and the operation of the banks were mu-
tually charged upon the two political parties. Had
any one man autocratic power to introduce and
carry on any one of these measures, he would proba-
bly have succeeded to the satisfaction of the public ;
but as many jealous men had hold of the same plow
handle, no success followed and each blamed the other
for the failure. In this great vortex Gov. Duncan
was carried along, suffering the like derogation of
character with his fellow citizens.

At the height of the excitement the Legislature
" provided for " railroads from Galena to Cairo, Alton
to Shawneetown, Alton to Mount Carmel, Alton to the
eastern boundary of the State in the direction of
Terre Haute, Quincy via Springfield to the Wabash,
Bloomington to Pekin, and Peoria to Warsaw, in all
about 1,300 miles of road. It also provided for the
improvement of the navigation of the Kaskaskia,
Illinois, Great and Little Wabash and Rock Rivers ;
also as a placebo, $200,000 in money were to be dis-
tributed to the various counties wherein no improve-
ments were ordered to be made as above. The
estimate for the expenses for all these projects was
placed at a little over $10,000,000, which was not
more than half enough ! That would now be equal to
saddling upon the State a debt of $225,000,000 ! It
was sufficient to bankrupt the State several times
over, even counting all the possible benefits.

One of the most exciting events that ever occurred
in this fair State was the murder of Elijah P. Love-
joy in the fall of 1837, at Alton, during Mr. Duncan's
term as Governor. Lovejoy was an " Abolitionist,"
editing the Observer at that place, and the pro-
slavery slums there formed themselves into a mob,

and after destroying successively three presses be-
longing to Mr. Lovejoy, surrounded the warehouse
where the fourth press was stored away, endeavoring
to destroy it, and where Lovejoy and his friends
were entrenching themselves, and shot and killed the
brave reformer!

About this time, also, the question of removing the
State capital again came up, as the 20 years' limit for
its existence at Vandalia was drawing to a close.
There was, of course, considerable excitement over
the matter, the two main points competing for it be-
ing Springfield and Peoria. The jealousy of the lat-
ter place is not even yet, 45 years afterward, fully
allayed.

Gov. Duncan's term expired in 1838. In 1842
he was again proposed as a candidate for the Execu-
tive chair, this time by the Whig party, against Adam
W. Snyder, of St. Clair County, the nominee of the
Democrats. Charles W. Hunter was a third candi-
date for the same position. Mr. Snyder, however, died
before the campaign had advanced very far, and his
party substituted Thomas Ford, who was elected,
receiving 46,901 votes, to 38,584 for Duncan, and
909 for Hunter. The cause of Democratic success
at this time is mainly attributed to the temporary
support of the Mormons which they enjoyed, and the
want of any knowledge, on the part of the masses,
that Mr. Ford was opposed to any given policy en-
tertained in the respective localities.

Gov. Duncan was a man of rather limited educa-
tion, but with naturally fine abilities he profited
greatly by his various public services, and gathered
a store of knowledge regarding public affairs which
served him a ready purpose. He possessed a clear
judgment, decision, confidence in himself and moral
courage to carry out his convictions of right. In his
deportment he was well adapted to gain the admira-
tion of the people. His intercourse with them was
both affable and dignified. His portrait at the Gov-
ernor's mansion, from which the accompanying was
made, represents him as having a swarthy complex-
ion, high cheek bones, broad forehead, piercing black
eyes and straight black hair.

He was a liberal patron of the Illinois College at
Jacksonville, a member of its Board of Trustees, and
died, after a short illness, Jan. 15, 1844, a devoted
member of the Presbyterian Church, leaving a wife
but no children. Two children, born to them, had
died in infancy.

GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

IHOMAS CARLIN, the sixth

Governor of the State of
Illinois, serving from 1838
to 1842, was also a Ken-
tuckian, being born near
Frankfort, that State, July
18, 1789, of Irish paternity.
The opportunities for an education
being very meager in his native
place, he, on approaching years of
judgment and maturity, applied
himself to those branches of learn-
ing that seemed most important,
and thus became a self-made man ;
and his taste for reading and
study remained with him through
life. In 1803 his father removed
to Missouri, then a part of " New Spain," where he
died in 1810.

In 1812 young Carlin came to Illinois and partici-
pated in all the "ranging" service incident to the
war of that period, proving himself a soldier of un-
daunted bravery. In 1814 he married Rebecca
Huitt, and lived for four years on the bank of the
Mississippi River, opposite the mouth of the Mis-
souri, where he followed fanning, and then removed
to Greene County. He located the town site of Car-
roxton, in that county, and in 1825 made a liberal
donation of land for county building purposes. He
was the first Sheriff of that county after its separate
organization, and afterward was twice elected, as a
Jackson Democrat, to the Illinois Senate. In the
Black Hawk War he commanded a spy battalion, a
post of considerable danger. In 1834 he was ap-
pointed by President Jackson to the position of
Receiver of Public Moneys, and to fulfill the office

more conveniently he removed to the city of Quincy.

While, in rSaS, the unwieldy internal improvement
system of the State was in full operation, with all its
expensive machinery, amidst bank suspensions
throughout the United States, a great stringency in
the money market everywhere, and Illinois bonds
forced to sale at a heavy discount, and the " hardest
times " existing that the people of the Prairie State
ever saw, the general election of State officers was
approaching. Discreet men who had cherished the
hope of a speedy subsidence of the public infatua-
tion, met with disappointment. A Governor and
Legislature were to be elected, and these were now
looked forward to for a repeal of the ruinous State
policy. But the grand schema had not yet lost its
dazzling influence upon the minds of the people.
Time and experience had not yet fully demonstrated
its utter absurdity. Hence the question of arresting
its career of profligate expenditures did not become
a leading one with the dominant party during the
campaign, and most of the old members of the Leg-
islature were returned at this election.

Under these circumstances the Democrats, in State
Convention assembled, nominated Mr. Carlin for the
office of Governor, and S. H. Anderson for Lieuten-
ant Governor, while the Whigs nominated Cyrus Ed-
wards, brother of Ninian Edwards, formerly Governor,
and W. H. Davidson. Edwards came out strongly
for a continuance of the State policy, while Carlin
remained non-committal. This was the first time
that the two main political parties in this State were
unembarrassed by any third party in the field. The
result of the els :tion was: Carlin, 35,573; Ander-
son, 30,335 ; Edwards, 29,629 ; and Davidson, 28,-

?i.S-

Upon the meeting of the subsequent Legislature

(1839), the retiring Governor CDuncan") in his mes-

THOMAS CARLIN.

sage spoke in emphatic terms of the impolicy of the
internal improvement system, presaging the evils
threatened, and uiged that body to do their utmost
to correct the great error ; yet, on the contrary, the
Legislature not only decided to continue the policy
but also added to its burden by voting more appro-
priations and ordering more improvements. Although
the money market was still stringent, a further loan
of $4,000,000 was ordered for the Illinois & Mich-
igan Canal alone. Chicago at that time began to
loom up and promise to be an important city, even
the great emporium of the West, as it has since in-
deed came to be. Ex-Gov. Reynolds, an incompe-
tent financier, was commissioned to effect the loan,
and accordingly hastened to the East on this respons-
ible errand, and negotiated the loans, at considera-
ble sacrifice to the State. Besides this embarrassment
to Carlin's administration, the Legislature also de-
clared that he had no authority to appoint a Secretary
of State until a vacancy existed, and A. P. Field, a
Whig, who had already held the post by appointment
through three administrations, was determined to
keep the place a while longer, in spite of Gov. Car-
lin's preferences. The course of the Legislature in
this regard, however, was finally sustained by the
Supreme Court, in a quo warranty case brought up
before it by John A. McClernand, whom the Gov-
ernor had nominated for the office. Thereupon that
dignified body was denounced as a "Whig Court!"
endeavoring to establish the principle of life-tenure
of office.

A new law was adopted re-organizing the Judici-
ary, and under it five additional Supreme Judges
were elected by the Legislature, namely, Thomas
Ford (afterward Governor), Sidney Breese, Walter B.
Scales, Samuel H. Treat and Stephen A. Douglas
all Democrats.

It was during Cov. Carlin's administration that the
noisy campaign of " Tippecanoe and Tyler too " oc-
curred, resulting in a Whig victory. This, however,
did not affect Illinois politics very seriously.

Another prominent event in the West during Gov.
Carlin's term of office was the excitement caused by
the Mormons and their removal from Independence,
Mo., to Nauvoo, 111., in 1840. At the same time
they began to figure somewhat in State politics. On
account of their believing as they thought, accord-
ing to the New Testament that they should have

" all things common," and that consequently " all
the earth " and all that is upon it were the" Lord's "
and therefore the property of his " saints," they
were suspected, and correctly, too, of committing
many of the deeds of larceny, robbery, etc., that
were so rife throughout this country in those days.
Hence a feeling of violence grew up between the
Mormons and "anti-Mormons." In the State of
Missouri the Mormons always supported the Dem-
ocracy until they were driven out by the Democratic
government, when they turned their support to the
Whigs. They were becoming numerous, and in the
Legislature of 1840-1, therefore, it became a matter
of great interest with both parties to conciliate these
people. Through the agency of one John C. Ben-
nett, a scamp, the Mormons succeeded in rushing
through the Legislature (both parties not daring to
oppose) a charter for the city of Nauvoo which vir-
tually erected a hierarchy co-ordinate with the Fed-
eral Government itself. In the fall of 1841 the
Governor of Missouri made a demand upon Gov.
Carlin for the body of Joe Smith, the Mormon leader,
as a fugitive from justice. Gov.> Carlin issued the
writ, but for some reason it was returned unserved.
It was again issued in 1842, and Smith was arrested,
but was either rescued by his followers or discharged
by the municipal court on a writ of habeas corpus.

In December, 1841, the Democratic Convention
nominated Adam W. Snyder, of Belleville, for Gov-
ernor. As he had been, as a member of the Legisla-
ture, rather friendly to the Mormons, the latter
naturally turned their support to the Democratic
party. The next spring the Whigs nominated Ex-
Gov. Duncan for the same office. In the meantime
the Mormons began to grow more odious to the
masses of the people, and the comparative prospects
of the respective parties for success became very
problematical. Mr. Snyder died in May, and
Thomas Ford, a Supreme Judge, was substituted as
a candidate, and was elected.

At the close of his gubernatorial term, Mr. Carlin
removed back to his old home at Carrollton, where
he spent the remainder of his life, as before his ele-
vation to office, in agricultural pursuits. In 1849
he served out the unexpired term of J. D. Fry in the
Illinois House of Representatives, and died Feb. 4,
1852, at his residence at Carrollton, leaving a wife
and seven children.

GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

139

$^t.4l&&4^W.tA*.-*-.^

HOMAS FOR13, Governor
from 1842 to 1846, and au-
thor of a very interesting
history of Illinois, was born
at Uniontown, Pa., in the
year 1 800. His mother, after
the death of her first hus-
band (Mr. Forquer), married Rob-
ert Ford, who was killed in 1802,
by the Indians in the mountains
of Pennsylvania. She was conse-
quently left in indigent circum-
stances, with a large family, mostly
girls. With a view to better her
condition, she, in 1804, removed to
Missouri, where it had been cus-
tomary by the Spanish Govern-
ment to give land to actual settlers; but upon her
arrival at St. Louis she found the country ceded to
the United States, and the liberal policy toward set-
tlers changed by the new ownership. After some
sickness to herself and family, she finally removed to
Illinois, and settled some three miles south of Water-
loo, but the following year moved nearer the Missis-
sippi bluffs. Here young Ford received his first

schooling, under the instructions of a Mr. Humphrey,
for which he had to walk three miles. His mother,
though lacking a thorough education, was a woman
of superior mental endowments, joined to energy
and determination of character. She inculcated in
her children those high-toned principles which dis-
tinguished her sons in public life. She exercised a
rigid economy to provide her children an education ;
but George Forquer, her oldest son (six years older
than Thomas Ford), at an early age had to quit
school to aid by his labor in the support of the family.
He afterward became an eminent man in Illinois
affairs, and but for his early death would probably
have been elected to the United States Senate.

Young Ford, with somewhat better opportunities,
received a better education, though limited to the
curriculum of the common school of those pioneer
times. His mind gave early promise of superior en-
dowments, with an inclination for mathematics. His
proficiency attracted the attention of Hon. Daniel P.
Cook, who became his efficient patron and friend.
The latter gentleman was an eminent Illinois states-
man who, as a Member of Congress, obtained a grant
of 300,000 acres of land to aid in completing the
Illinois & Michigan Canal, and after whom the
county of Cook was named. Through the advice of

ft I4

THOMAS FORD.

this gentleman, Mr. Ford turned his attention to the
study of law; but Forquer, then merchandising, re-
garding his education defective, sent him to Transyl-
vania University, where, however, he remained but
one term, o-ving to Forquer's failure in business. On
his return he alternated his law reading with teach-
ing school for support.

In 1829 Gov. Edwards appointed him Prosecuting
Attorney, and in 1831 he was re-appointed by Gov.
Reynolds, and after that he was four times elected a
Judge by the Legislature, without opposition, twice a
Circuit Judge, once a Judge of Chicago, and as As-
sociate Judge of the Supreme Court, when, in 1841,
the latter tribunal was re-organized by the addition
of five Judges, all Democrats. Ford was assigned to
the Ninth Judicial Circuit, and while in this capacity
he was holding Court in Ogle County he received a
notice of his nomination by the Democratic Conven-
tion for the office of Governor. He immediately re-
signed his place and entered upon the canvass. In
August, 1842, he was elected, and on the 8th of De-
cember following he was inaugurated.

All the offices which he had held were unsolicited
by him. He received them uprm the true Jefferson-
ian principle, Never to ask .uid never to refuse
office. Both as a lawyer and as a Judge he stood
deservedly high, but his cast of intellect fitted him
rather for a writer upon law than a practicing advo-
cate in the courts. In the latter capacity he was void
of the moving power of eloquence, so necessary to
success with juries. As a Judge his opinions were
"ound, lucid and able expositions of the law. In
practice, he was a stranger to the tact, skill and in-
sinuating address of the politician, but he saw through
the arts of demagogues as well as any man. He was
plain in his demeanor, so much so, indeed, that at
one time after the expiration of his term of office,
during a session of the Legislature, he was taken by
a stranger to be a seeker for the position of door-
keeper, and was waited upon at his hotel near mid-
night by a knot of small office-seekers with the view
of effecting a " combination ! "

Mr. Ford had not the "brass" of the ordinary
llitician, nor that impetuosity which characterizes a
political leader. He cared little for money, and
hardly enough for a decent support. In person he
was of small stature, slender, of dark complexion,
with black hair, sharp features, deep-set eyes, a
pointed, aquiline nose having a. decided twist to one
side, and a small mouth.

The three most important events in Gov. Ford's
administration were the establishment of the high
linancial credit of the State, the " Mormon War "and
the Mexican War.

In the first of these the Governor proved himself
to be eminently wise. .On coming into office he found
the State badly paralyzed by the ruinous effects of
the notorious "internal improvement" schemes of

the preceding decade, with scarcely anything to
show by way of "improvement." The enterprise
that seemed to be getting ahead more than all the
rest was the Illinois & Michigan Canal. As this
promised to be the most important thoroughfare,
feasible to the people, it was well under headway in
its construction. Therefore the State policy wa>
almost concentrated upon it, in order to rush it on to
completion. The bonded indebtedness of the State
was growing so large as to frighten the people, and
they were about ready to entertain a proposition for
repudiation. But the Governor had the foresight to
recommend such measures as would maintain the
public credit, for which every citizen to-day feels
thankful.

But perhaps the Governor is remembered more for
his connection with the Mormon troubles than for
anything else; for it was daring his term of office
that the " Latter-Day Saints " became so strong at
Nauvoo, built their temple there, increased their num-
bers throughout the country, committed misdemean-
ors, taught dangerous doctrines, suffered the loss of
their leader, Jo Smith, by a violent death, were driven
out of Nauvoo to the far West, etc. Having been a
Judge for so many years previously, Mr. Ford of
course was no.i-committal concerning Mormon affairs,
and was therefore claimed by both parties and also
accused by each of sympathizing too greatly with the
other side. Mormonism claiming to be a system of
religion, the Governor no doubt was "between two
fires," and felt compelled to touch the matter rather
" gingerly," and doubtless felt greatly relieved when
that pestilential people left the State. Such compli-
cated matters, especially when religion is mixed up
with them, expose every person participating in
them to criticism from all parties.

The Mexican War was begun in the spring of
1845, and was continued into the gubernatorial term
of Mr. Ford's successor. The Governor's connection
with this war, however, was not conspicuous, as it
was only administrative, commissioning officers, etc.

Ford's " History of Illinois " is a very readable and
entertaining work, of 450 small octavo pages, and is
destined to increase in value with the lapse of time.
It exhibits a natural flow of compact and forcible
thought, never failing to convey the nicest sense. In
tracing with his trenchant pen the devious operations
of the professional politician, in which he is inimit-
able, his account is open, perhaps, to the objection
that all his contemporaries are treated as mere place-
seekers, while many of them have since been judged
by the people to be worthy statesmen. His writings
seem slightly open to the criticism that they exhibit
a little splenetic partiality ngainst those of his con-
temporaries who were prominent during his term of
office as Governor.

Tlie death of Gov. Ford took place at Peoria, 111.,
Nov. 2, 1850.

GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

-*-*-

143

Augustus c. French.

AUGUSTUS C. FRENCH,
Governor of Illinois from
1846 to 1852, was born in
the 'town of Hill, in the
State of New Hampshire,
Aug. 2, 1808. He was a
descendant in the fourth
generation of Nathaniel
French, who emigrated from England
in 1687 and settled in Saybury, Mass.
In early life young French lost his
father, but continued to receive in-
struction from an exemplary and
Christian mother until he was 19 years
old, when she also died, confiding to
his care and trust four younger broth-
ers and one sister. He discharged his trust with
parental devotion. His education in early life was
such mainly as a common school afforded. For a
brief period he attended Dartmouth College, but
from pecuniary causes and the care of his brothers
and sister, he did not graduate. He subsequently
read law, and was admitted to the Bar in 1831, and
shortly afterward removed to Illinois, settling first at
Albion, Edwards County, where he established him-
self in the practice of law. The following year he
removed to Paris, Edgar County. Here he attained
eminence in his profession, and entered public life
by representing that county in the Legislature. A
strong attachment sprang up between him and Ste-
phen A. Douglas.

In 1839, Mr. French was appointed Receiver of
the United States Land Office at Palestine, Craw-
ford County, at which place he was a resident when

elevated to the gubernatorial chair. In 1844 he was
a Presidential ,Elector, and as such he voted for
James K. Polk.

The Democratic State Convention of 1846, meet-
ing at Springfield Feb. 10, nominated Mr. French
for Governor. Other Democratic candidates were
Lyman Trumbull, John Calhoun (subsequently of
Lecompton Constitution notoriety), Walter B. Scales,
Richard M. Young and A. W. Cavarly, an array of
very able and prominent names. Trumbull was per-
haps defeated in the Convention by the rumor that
he was opposed to the Illinois and Michigan Canal,
as he had been a year previously. For Lieutenant
Governor J. B. Wells was chosen, while other candi-
dates were Lewis Ross, Wm. McMurtry, Newton
Cloud, J. B. Hamilton and W. W. Thompson. The
resolutions declared strongly against the resuscita-
tion of the old State Banks.

The Whigs, who were in a hopeless minority, held
their convention June 8, at Peoria, and selected
Thomas M. Kilpatrick, of Scott County, for Governor,
and Gen. Nathaniel G. Wilcox, of Schuyler, for
Lieutenant Governor.

In the campaign the latter exposed Mr. French's
record and connection with the passage of the in-
ternal improvement system, urging it against his
election; but in the meantime the war with Mexico
broke out, regarding which the Whig record was un-
popular in this State. The war was the absorbing
and dominating question of the period, sweeping
every other political issue in its course. The elec-
tion in August gave Mr. French 58,700 votes, and
Kilpatrick only 36,775. Richard Eells, Abolitionist
candidate for the same office, received 5,152 vot-s,

144

AUGUSTUS C. FRENCH.

By the new Constitution of 1848, a new election for
State officers was ordered in Novembei of that year,
before Gov. French's term was half out, and he was
re-elected for the term of four years. He was there-
fore the incu.nbent for six consecutive years, the
only Governor of this State who has ever served in
that capacity so long at one time. As there was no
organized opposition to his election, he received 67,-
453 votes, to 5,639 for Pisrre Menard (son of the
first Lieutenant Governor), 4,748 for Charles V.
Dyer, 3,834 for W. L. D. Morrison, and 1,361 for
James I,. D. Morrison. But Win McMurtry, of
Knox County, was elected Lieutenant Governor, in
place of Joseph B. Wells, who was before elected
and did not run again.

Governor French was inaugurated into office dur-
ing the progress of the Mexican War, which closed
during the summer of 1847, although the treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo was not made until Feb. 2,
1848. The policy of Gov. French's party was com-
mitted to that war, but in connection with that affair
he was, of course, only an administrative officer.
During his term of office, Feb. 19, 1847, the Legisla-
ture, by special per.nissioti of Congress, declared that
all Government lands sold to settlers should be im-
mediately subject to State taxation; before this they
were exempt for five years after sale. By this ar-
rangement the revenue was materially" increased.
About the same lime, the distribution of Government
land warrants among the Mexican soldiers as bounty
threw upon the market a great quantity of good
lands, and this enhanced the settlement of the State.
The same Legislature authorized, with the recom-
mendation of the Governor, the sale of the Northern
Cross Railroad (from Springfield to Meredosia, the
first in the State and now a section of the Wabash,
St. Louis & Pacific) It sold for jjjjroo.ooo in bonds,
although it had cost the State not less than a million.
The salt wells and canal lands in the Saline reserve
in Gallatin County, granted by the general Govern-
ment to the State, were also authorized by the
Governor to be sold, to apply on the State debt. In
1850, for the first time since 1839, the accruing State
revenue, exclusive of specific appropriations, was
sufficient ta meet the current demands upon the
treasury. The aggregate taxable property of the
State at this time was over $100,000,000, and the
population 851,470.

In 1849 the Legislature adopted the township or-
ganization law, which, however, proved defective,
and was properly amended in 1851. At its session
in the latter year, the General Assembly also passed
a law to exempt homesteads from sale on executions
This beneficent measure had been repeatedly urged
upon that body by Gov. French.

In 1850 some business men in St. Louis com-
menced to build a dike opposite the lower part of
their city on the Illinois side, to keep the Mississippi
in its channel near St. Louis, instead of breaking
away from them as it sometimes threatened to do.
This they undertook without permission from the
Legislature or Executive authority of this State ; and
as many of the inhabitants there complained that
the scheme would inundate and ruin much valuable
land, there was a slight conflict of jurisdictions, re-
sulting in favor of the St. Louis project; and since
then a good site has existed there for a city (East St.
Louis), and now a score of railroads center there.

It was in September, 1850, that Congress granted
to this State nearly 3,000,000 acres of land in aid of
the completion of the Illinois Central Railroad,
which constituted the most important epoch in the
railroad we might say internal improvement his-
tory of the State. The road was rushed on to com-
pletion, which accelerated the settlement of the in-
terior of the State by a good class cf industrious citi-
zens, and by the charter a good income to the State
Treasury is paid in from the earnings of the road.

In 185 i the Legislature passed a law authorizing
free stock banks, which was the source of much leg-
islative discussion for a number of years.

But we have not space further to particularize
concerning legislation. Gov. French's administra-
tion was not marked by any feature to be criticised,
while the country was settling up as never before.

In stature, Gov. French was of medium height,
squarely built, light complexioned, with ruddy face
and pleasant countenance. In manners he was
plain and agreeable. By nature he was somewhat
diffident, but he was often very outspoken in his con-
victions of duty. In public speech he was not an
orator, but was chaste, earnest and persuasive. In
business he was accurate and methodical, and in his
administration he kept up the credit of the State.

He died in 1865, at his home in Lebanon, St
Clair Co., 111.

M7 \

GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

|OEL A. MATTESON, Governor
1853-6, was born Aug. 8, 1808,
in Jefferson County, New York,
to which place his father had re-
moved from Vermont three years
before. His father was a farmer
in fair circumstances, but a com-
mon English education was all
that his only son received. Young
Joel first tempted fortune as a
small tradesman in Prescott,
Canada, before he was of age.
He returned from that place to
his home, entered an academy,
taught school, visited the prin-
cipal Eastern cities, improved a farm his father had
given him, made a tour in the South, worked there
in building railroads, experienced a storm on the
Gulf of Mexico, visited the gold diggings of Northern
Georgia, and returned via Nashville to St. Louis and
through Illinois to his father's home, when he mar-
ried. In 1833, having sold his farm, he removed,
with his wife and one child, to Illinois, and entered
a claim on Government land near the head of Au
Sable River, in what is now Kendall County. At
that time there were not more than two neighbors
within a range of ten miles of his place, and only
three or four houses between him and Chicago. He
opened a large farm. His family -was boardv^ '"

miles away while he erected a house on his claim,
sleeping, during this time, under a rude pole shed.
Here his life was once placed in imminent peril by
a huge prairie rattlesnake sharing his bed.

In 1835 he bought largely at the Government land
sales. During the speculative real-estate mania which
broke out in Chicago in 1836 and spread over the State,
he sold his lands under the inflation of that period
and removed to Joliet. In 1838 he became a heavy
contractor on the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Upon
the completion of his job in i84r, when hard times
prevailed, business at a stand, contracts paid in State
scrip; when all the public works except the canal
were abandoned, the State offered for sale 700 tons
of railroad iron, which was purchased by Mr. Mat-
teson at a bargain. This he accepted, shipped and
sold at Detroit, realizing a very handsome profit,
enough to pay off all his canal debts and leave him a
surplus of several thousand dollars. His enterprise
next prompted him to start a woolen mill at Joliet,
in which he prospered, and which, after successive
enlargements, became an enormous establishment.

In 1842 he was first elected a State Senator, but,
by a bungling apportionment, John Pearson, a Senator
holding over, was found to be in the same district,
and decided to be entitled to represent it. Mat-
teson's seat was declared vacant. Pearson, however,
with a nobleness difficult to appreciate in this day of

148

JOEL A. MATTESON.

greed for office, unwilling lo represent his district
under the circumstances, immediately resigned his
unexpired term of two years. A bill was passed in a
few hours ordering a new election, and in ten days'
time Mr. Matteson was returned re-elected and took
his seat as Senator. From his well-known capacity
as a business man, he was made Chairman of the
Committee on Finance, a position he held during
this half and t.vo full succeeding Senatorial terms,
discharging its important daties with ability and faith-
fulness. Besides his extensive woolen-mill interest,
when work was resumed on the canal under the new
loan of $[,600,000 he again became a heavy con-
tractor, and also subsequently operated largely in
building railroads. Thus he showed himself a most
energetic and thorough business man.

He was nominated for Governor by the Demo-
cratic State Convention which met at Springfield
April 20, 1852. Other candidates before the Con-
vention were D. L. Gregg and F. O. Sherman, of
Cook ; John Dement, of Lee ; Thomas L. Harris, of
Menard; Lewis W. Ross, of Fulton; and D. P. Bush,
of Pike. Gustavus Koerner, of St. Clair, was nom-
inated for Lieutenant Governor. For the same offices
the Whigs nominated Edwin B. Webb and Dexter A.
Knowlton. Mr. Matteson received 80,645 votes at
the election, while Mr. Webb received 64,408. Mat-
teson's forte was not on the stump; he had not cul-
tivated the art of oily flattery, or the faculty of being
all things to all men. His intellectual qualities took
rather the direction of efficient executive ability. His
turn consisted not so much in the adroit manage-
ment of party, or the powerful advocacy of great gov-
ernmental principles, as in those more solid and
enduring operations which cause the physical devel-
opment and advancement of a State, of commerce
and business enterprise, into which he labored with
success to lead the people. As a politician he was
just and liberal in his views, and both in official and
private life he then stood untainted and free from
blemish. As a man, in active benevolence, social
rirtues and all the amiable qualities of neighbor or
citizen, he had few superiors. His messages present
a perspicuous array of facts as to the condition of the
State, and are often couched in forcible and elegant
diction.

The greatest excitement during his term of office
was the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, by Cpn-

gress, under the leadership of Stephen A. Douglas in
1854, when the bill was passed organizing the Terri-
tory of Kansas and Nebraska. A large portion of
the Whig party of the North, through their bitter op-
position to the Democratic party, naturally drifted
into the doctrine of anti-slavery, and thus led to what
was temporarily called the "Anti-Nebraska" party,
while the followers of Douglas were known as " Ne-
braska or Douglas Democrats." It was during this
embryo stage of the Republican party that Abraham
Lincoln was brought forward as the "Anti-Nebraska"
candidate for the United States Senatorship, while
Gen. James Shields, the incumbent, was re-nom-
inated by the Democrats. But after a fewballotings
in the Legislature (1855), these men were dropped,
and Lyman Trumbull, an Anti-Nebraska Democrat,
was brought up by the former, and Mr. Matteson,
then Governor, by the latter. On the nth ballot
Mr. Trumbull obtained one majority, and was ac-
cordingly declared elected. Before Gov. Matteson 's
term expired, the Republicans were fully organized
as a national party, and in 1856 put into the field a
full national and State ticket, carrying the State, but
not the nation.

The Legislature of 1855 passed two very import-
ant measures, the present free-school system and a
submission of the Maine liquor law to a vote of the
people. The latter was defeated by a small majority
of the popular vote.

During the four years of Gov. Matteson's admin-
istration the taxable wealth of the State was about
trebled, from $137,818.079 to $349,95 [,272; the pub-
lic debt \v:is reduced from $17,398,985 to $12,843,-
144; taxation was at the same time reduced, and the
State resumed paying interest on its debt in New
York as fast as it fell due; railroads were increased
in their mileage from something lei,s than 400 to
about 3,000 ; and the population of Chicago was
nearly doubled, and its commerce more than quad-
rupled.

Before closing this account, we regret that we have
to say that Mr. Matteson, in all other respects an
upright man and a good Governor, was implicated
in a false re-issue of redeemed canal scrip, amount-
ing to $224,182.66. By a suit in the Sangamon Cir-
cuit Court the State recovered the principal and all
the interest excepting $27,500.

He died in the winter of 1872-3, at Chicago.

GO VRRNORS OF ILLINOIS.

ILLIAM H. BISSELL, Gov-
ernor 1857-60, was born
April 25, 1811, in the
State of New York, near
Painted Post, Yates County.
His parents were obscure,
honest, God-fearing people,
who reared their children under the daily
example of industry and frugality, accord-
ing to the custom of that class of Eastern
society. Mr. Bissell received a respecta-
ble but not thorough academical education.
By assiduous application he acquired a
knowledge of medicine, and in his early
manhood came West and located in Mon-
roe County, this State, where he engaged in the
practice of that profession. But he was not enam-
ored of his calling: he was swayed by a broader
ambition, to such an extent that the mysteries of the
healing art and its arduous duties failed to yield him
further any charms. In a few years he discovered
his choice of a profession to be a mistake, and when
he approached the age of 30 he sought to begin
anew. Dr. Bissell, no doubt unexpectedly to him-
self, discovered a singular facility and charm of
speech, the exercise of which acquired for him a
ready local notoriety. It soon came lo be under-

stood that he desired to abandon his profession and
take up that of the law. During terms of Court he
would spend his time at the county seat among the
members of the Bar, who extended to him a ready
welcome.

It was not strange, therefore, that he should drift
into public life. In 1840 he was elected as a Dem-
ocrat to the Legislature from Monroe County, and
was an efficient member of that body. On his re-
turn home he qualified himself for admission to the
Bar and speedily rose to the front rank as an advo-
cate. His powers of oratory were captivating. With a
pure diction, charming and inimitable gestures,
clearness of statement, and a remarkable vein of sly
humor, his efforts before a jury told with irresistible
effect. He was chosen by the Legislature Prosecut-
ing Attorney for the Circuit in which he lived, and
in that position he fully discharged his duty to the
State, gained the esteem of the Bar, and seldom
failed lo convict the offender of the law.

In stature he was somewhat tall and slender, and
with a straight, military bearing, he presented a dis-
tinguished appearance. His complexion was dark,
his head well poised, though not large, his address
pleasant and manner winning. He was exemplary
in his habits, a devoted husband and kind parent.
He was twice married, the first time to Miss James,

WILLIAM H. BISSELL.

of Monroe County, by whom he had two children,
both daughters. She died soon after the year 1840,
and Mr. B. married for his second wife a daughter
of Elias K. Kane, previously a United States Senator
from this State. She survived him but a short time,
and died without issue.

When the war with Mexico was declared in 1846,
Mr. Bissell enlisted and was elected Colonel of his
regiment, over Hon. Don Morrison, by an almost
unanimous vote, 807 to 6. Considering the limited
opportunities he had had, he evinced a high order of
military talent. On the .bloody field of Buena Vista
he acquitted himself with intrepid and distinguished
ability, contributing with his regiment, the Second
Illinois, in no small degree toward saving the waver-
ing fortunes of our arms during that long and fiercely
contested battle.

After his return home, at the close of the war, he
was elected to Congress, his opponents being the
Hons. P. B. Fouke and Joseph Gillespie. He served
two terms in Congress. He was an ardent politician.
During the great contest of 1850 he voted in favor
of the adjustment measures; but in 1854 he opposed
the repeal of the Missouri Compromise act and
therefore the Kansas-Nebraska bill of Douglas, and
thus became identified with the nascent Republican
party.

During his first Congressional term, while the
Southern members were following their old practice
of intimidating the North by bullying language,
and claiming most of the credit for victories in the
Mexican War, and Jefferson Davis claiming for the
Mississippi troops all the credit for success at Buena
Vista, Mr. Bissell bravely defended the Northern
troops ; whereupon Davis challenged Bissell to a duel,
which was accepted. This matter was brought up
against Bissell when he was candidate for Governor
and during his term of office, as the Constitution of
this State forbade any duelist from holding a State
office.

In 1856, when the Republican party first put forth
a candidate, John C. Fremont, for President of the
United States, the same party nominated Mr. Bissell
for Governor of Illinois, and John Wood, of Quincy,
for Lieutenant Governor, while the Democrats nomi-
nated Hon. W. A. Richardson, of Adams County,
for Governor, and Col. R. J. Hamilton, of Cook
r County, for Lieutenant Governor. The result of the

election was a plurality of 4,729 votes over Richard-
son. The American, or Know-Nothing, party had a
ticket in the field. The Legislature was nearly bal-
anced, but was politically opposed to the Governor.
His message to the Legislature was short and rather
ordinary, and was criticised for expressing the sup-
posed obligations of the people to the incorporators
of the Illinois Central Railroad Company and for re-
opening the slavery question by allusions to the
Kansas troubles. Late in the session an apportion-
ment bill, based upon the State census of 1855, was
passed, amid much partisan strife. The Governor
at first signed the bill and then vetoed it. A furious
debate followed, and the question whether the Gov-
ernor had the authority to recall a signature was
referred to the Courts, that of last resort deciding in
favor of the Governor. Two years afterward another
outrageous attempt was made for a re-apportionment
and to gerrymander the State, but the Legislature
failed to pass the bill over the veto of the Governor.

It was during Gov. Bissell 's administration that
the notorious canal scrip fraud was brought to light,
implicating ex-Gov. Matteson and other prominent
State officials. The principal and interest, aggregat-
ing $255,500, was all recovered by the State except-
ing $27,500. (See sketch of Gov. Matteson.)

In 1859 an attempt was discovered to fraudu-
lently refund the Macalister and Stebbins bonds and
thus rob the State Treasury of nearly a quarter of a
million dollars. The State Government was impli-
cated in this affair, and to this day remains unex-
plained or unatoned for. For the above, and other
matters previously mentioned, Gov. Bissell has been
severely criticised, and he has also been most shame-
fully libelled and slandered.

On account of exposure in the army, the remote
cause of a nervous form of disease gained entrance
into his system and eventually developed paraplegia,
affecting his lower extremities, which, while it left
his body in comparative health, deprived him of loco-
motion except by the aid of crutches. While he was
generally hopeful of ultimate recovery, this myste-
rious disease pursued him, without once relaxing its
stealthy hold, to the close of his life, March 18,
1860, over nine months before the expiration of his
gubernatorial term, at the early age of 48 years. He
died in the faith of the Roman Catholic Church, of
which he harl been a member since 1854.

GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

j:OHN WOOD, Governor 1860-1, and
the first settler of Quincy, 111.,
was born in the town of Sempro-
nius (now Moravia), Cayuga Co.,
N. Y., Dec. 20, 1798. He was
the second child and only son of
Dr. Daniel Wood. His mother,
nee Catherine Crause, was of
German parentage, and died
while he was an infant. Dr.
Wood was a learned and skillful
physician, of classical attain-
ments and proficient in several
modern languages, who, after
serving throughout the Revolu-
tionary War as a Surgeon, settled on the land granted
him by the Government, and resided there a re-
spected and leading influence in his section until his
death, at the ripe age of 92 years.

The subject of this sketch, impelled by the spirit
of Western adventure then pervading everywhere,
left his home, Nov. 2, 1818, and passed the succeed-
ing winter in Cincinnati, Ohio. The following sum-
mer he pushed on to Illinois, landing at Shawneetown,
and spent the fall and following winter in Calhoun
County. In 1820, in company with Willard Keyes,
he settled in Pike County, about 30 miles southeast
of Quincy, where for the next two years he pursued
farming. In 1821 he visited "the Bluffs" (as the
present site of Quincy was called, then uninhabited)
and, pleased with its prospects, soon after purchased
a quarter-section of land near by, and in the follow-
ing fall (1822) erected near the river a small cabin,

18 x 20 feet, the first building in Quincy, of which
he then became the first and for some months the
only occupant.

About this time he visited his old friends in Pike
County, chief of whom was William Ross, the lead-
ing man in building up the village of Atlas, of that
county, which was thought then to be the possible
commencement of a city. One day they and others
were traveling together over the country between the
two points named, making observations on the com-
parative merits of the respective localities. On ap-
proaching the Mississippi near Mr. Wood's place,
the latter told hjs companions to follow him and he
would show them where he was going to build a city.
They went about a mile off the main trail, to a high
point, from which the view in every direction was
most magnificent, as it had been for ages and as yet
untouched by the hand of man. Before them swept
by the majestic Father of Waters, yet unburdened by
navigation. After Mr. Wood had expatiated at
length on the advantages of the situation, Mr. Ross
replied, " But it's too near Atlas ever to amount to
anything!"

Atlas is still a cultivated farm, and Quincy is a
city of over 30,000 population.

In 1824 Mr. Wood gave a newspaper notice,
as the law then prescribed, of his intention to apply
to the General Assembly for the formation of a new
county. This was done the following winter, result-
ing in the establishment of the present Adams
County. During the next summer Quincy was se-
lected as the county seat, it and the vicinity then "
containing but four adult male residents and half

JOHN WOOD.

that number of females. Since that period Mr.
Wood resided at the place of his early adoption un-
til his death, and far more than any other man was
he identified with every measure of its progress and
history, and almost continuously kept in public posi-
tions.

He was one of the early town Trustees, and after
the place became a city he was often a member of
the City Council, many times elected Mayor, in the
face of a constant large opposition political majority.
In 1850 he was elected to the State Senate. In 1856,
on the organization of the Republican party, he was
chosen Lieutenant Governor of the State, on the
ticket with Wm. H. Bissell for Governor, and on the
death of the latter, March 18, 1860, he succeeded to
the Chief Executive chair, which he occupied until
Gov. Yates was inaugurated nearly ten months after-
ward.

Nothing very marked characterized the adminis-
tration of Gov. Wood. The great anti-slavery cam-
paign of 1860, resulting in the election of the honest
Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the Presidency of the
United States, occurred during the short period
while Mr. Wood was Governor, and the excitement
and issues of that struggle dominated over every
other consideration, indeed, supplanted them in a
great measure. The people of Illinois, during all
that time, were passing the comparatively petty strifes
under Bissell's administration to the overwhelming
issue of preserving the whole nation from destruction.

In 186 r ex-Gov. Wood was one of the five Dele-
gates from Illinois to the " Peace Convention " at
Washington, and in April of the san.e year, on the
breaking out of the Rebellion, he was appointed

Quartermaster-General of the State, which position
he held throughout the war. In 1864 he took com-
mand as Colonel of the i37th 111. Vol. Inf., with
whom he served until the period of enlistment ex-
pired.

Politically, Gov. Wood was always actively identi-
fied with the Whig and Republican parties. Few
men have in personal experience comprehended so
many surprising and advancing local changes as
vested in the more than half century recollections of
Gov. Wood. Sixty-four years ago a solitary settler
on the "Bluffs," with no family, and no neighbor
within a score of miles, the world of civilization away
behind him, and the strolling red-man almost his
only visitant, he lived to see growing around him,
and under his auspices and aid, overspreading the
wild hills and scraggy forest a teaming city, second
only in size in the State, and surpassed nowhere in
beauty, prosperity and promise ; whose people recog-
nize as with a single voice the proverbial honor and
liberality that attach to the name and lengthened
life of their pioneer settler, "the old Governor."

Gov. Wood was twice married, first in January,
1826, to Ann M. Streeter, daughter of Joshua Streeter,
formerly of Salem, Washington Co., N. Y. They had
eight children. Mrs. W. died Oct. 8, 1863, and in
June, 1865, Gov. Wood married Mrs. Mary A., widow
of Rev. Joseph T. Holmes. Gov. Wood died June 4,
1880, at his residence in Quincy. Four of his eight
children are now living, namely: Ann E., wife of
Gen. John Tillson; Daniel C., who married Mary J.
Abernethy ; John, Jr., who married Josephine Skinner,
and Joshua S., who married Annie Bradley. The
last mentioned now resides at Atchison, Kansas, and
all the rest are still at Quincy.

GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

'59

ICHARD YATES, the "War
Governor," 1861-4, was born
Jan. 1 8, 1818, on the banks of
the Ohio River, at Warsaw,
Gallatin Co., Ky. His father
moved in 1831 to Illinois, and (
after stopping for a time in
Springfield, settled at Island
Grove, Sangamon County. Here,
after attending school, Richard joined
the family. Subsequently he entered
Illinois College at Jacksonville,
where, in 1837, he graduated with
first honors. He chose for his pro-
fession the law, the Hon. J. J. Har-
din being his instructor. After ad-
mission to the Bar he soon rose to distinction as an
advocate.

Gifted with a fluent and ready oratory, he soon
appeared in the political hustings, andj being a
passionate admirer of the great Whig leader of the
West, Henry Clay, he joined his political fortunes to
the party of his idol. In 1840 he engaged with great
ardor in the exciting " hard cider " campaign for
Harrison. Two years later he was elected to the
Legislature from Morgan County, a Democratic
stronghold. He served three or four terms in the
Legislature, and such was the fascination of his ora-
tory that by 1850 his large Congressional District,
extending from Morgan and Sangamon Counties
north to include LaSalle, unanimously tendered him
the Whig nomination for Congress. His Democratic
opponent was Maj. Thomas L. Harris, a very pop-
ular man who had won distinction at the battle of
Cerro Gordo, in the Mexican War, and who had
beaten Hon. Stephen T. Logan for the same position,

two years before, by a large majority. Yates was
elected. Two years later he was re-elected, over
John Calhoun.

It was during Yates' second term in Congress that
the great question of the repeal of the Missouri Com-
promise was agitated, and the bars laid down for re-
opening the dreaded anti-slavery question. He took
strong grounds against the repeal, and thus became
identified with the rising Republican party. Conse-
quently he fell into the minority in his district, which
was pro-slavery. Even then, in a third contest, he
fell behind Major Harris only 200 votes, after the
district had two years before given Pierce 2,000
majority for President.

The Republican State Convention of 1860 met at
Decatur May 9, and nominated for the office of Gov-
ernor Mr. Yates, in preference to Hon. Norman B.
Judd, of Chicago, and Leonard Swett, of Blooming-
ton, two of the ablest men of the State, who were
also candidates before the Convention. Francis A.
Hoffman, of DuPage County, was nominated for
Lieutenant Governor. This was the year when Mr.
Lincoln was a candidate for President, a period re-
membered as characterized by the great whirlpool
which precipitated the bloody War of the Rebellion.
The Douglas Democrats nominated J. C. Allen of
Crawford County, for Governor, and Lewis W. Ro:=s,
of Fulton County, for Lieutenant Governor. The
Breckenridge Democrats and the Bell-Everett party
had also full tickets in the field. After a most fear-
ful campaign, the result of the election gave Mr.
Yates 172,196 votes, and Mr. Allen 159,253. Mr.
Yates received over a thousand more votes than did
Mr. Lincoln himself.

Gov. Yates occupied the chair of State during the

1 60

most critical period of our country's history. In the
fate of the nation was involved that of each State.
The life struggle of the former derived its sustenance
from the loyalty of the latter; and Gov. Yates
seemed to realize the situation, and proved himself
both loyal and wise in upholding the Government.
He had a deep hold upon the affections of the
people, won by his moving eloquence and genial
manners. Erect and symmetrical in person, of pre-
possessing appearance, with a winning address and a
magnetic power, few men possessed more of the ele-
ments of popularity. His oratory was scholarly and
captivating, his hearers hardly knowing why they
were transported. He was social and convivial. In
the latter respect he was ultimately carried too far.

The very creditable military efforts of this State
during the War of the Rebellion, in putting into the
field the enormous number of about 200,000 soldiers,
were ever promptly and ably seconded by his excel-
lency ; and the was ambitious to deserve the title of
"the soldier's friend." Immediately after the battle of
Shiloh he repaired to the field of carnage to look
after the wounded, and his appeals for aid were
promptly responded to by the people. His procla-
mations calling for volunteers were impassionate
appeals, urging upon the people the duties and re-
quirements of patriotism ; and his special message
in 1863 to the Democratic Legislature of this State
pleading for material aid for the sick and wounded
soldiers of Illinois regiments, breathes a deep fervor
of noble sentiment and feeling rarely equaled in
beauty or felicity of expression. Generally his mes-
sages on political and civil affairs were able and com-
prehensive. During his administration, however,
there were no civil events of an engrossing character,
although two years of his time were replete with
partisan quarrels of great bitterness. Military ar-
rests, Knights of the Golden Circle, riot in Fulton
County, attempted suppression of the Chicago Times
and the usurping State Constitutional Convention of
1862, were the chief local topics that were exciting
during the Governor's term. This Convention assem-
bled Jan. 7, and at once took the high position that
the law calling it was no longer binding, and that it
had supreme power; that it represented a virtual
assemblage of the whole people of the State, and was
sovereign in the exercise of all power necessary to
\ p effect a peaceable revolution of the State Government

RICHARD YATES.

and to the re-establishment of one for the " happiness,
prosperity and freedom of the citizens," limited only
by the Federal Constitution. Notwithstanding the
law calling the Convention required its members to
take an oath to support the Constitution of the State
as well as that of the general Government, they
utterly refused to take such oath. They also as-
sumed legislative powers and passed several import-
ant " laws ! " Interfering with the (then) present
executive duties, Gov. Yates was provoked to tell
them plainly that " he did not acknowledge the right
of the Convention to instruct him in the performance
of his duty."

In 1863 the Governor astonished the Democrats
by " proroguing " their Legislature. This body, after
a recess, met June 2, that year, and soon began to
waste time upon various partisan resolutions ; and,
while the two houses were disagreeing upon the
question of adjourning sine die, the Governor, having
the authority in such cases, surprised them all by
adjourning them " to the Saturday next preceding the
first Monday in January, 1865 ! " This led to great
excitement and confusion, and to a reference of the
Governor's act to the Supreme Court, who decided in
his favor. Then it was the Court's turn to receive
abuse for weeks and months afterward.

During the autumn of 1864 a conspiracy was de-
tected at Chicago which had for its object the liber-
ation of the prisoners of war at Camp Douglas, the
burning of the city and the inauguration of rebellion
in the North. Gen. Sweet, who had charge of the
camp at the time, first had his suspicions of danger
aroused by a number of enigmatically worded letters
which passed through the Camp postoffice. A de-
tective afterward discovered that the rebel Gen.
Marmaduke was in the city, under an assumed
name, and he, with other rebel officers Grenfell,
Morgan, Cantrell, Buckner Morris, and Charles
Walsh was arrested, most of whom were convicted
by a court-martial at Cincinnati and sentenced to
imprisonment, Grenfell to be hung. The sentence
of the latter was afterward commuted to imprison-
ment for life, and all the others, after nine months'
imprisonment, were pardoned.

In March, 1873, Gov. Yates was appointed a Gov-
ernment Director of the Union Pacific Railroad, in
which office he continued until his decease, at St.
Louis, Mo., on the 27th of November following.

G<9 VERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

Richard JT. Ogles

ICHARD J. OGLESBY, Gov-
ernor 1865-8, and re-elected
in 1872 and 1884, was born
July 25, 1824, in Oldham Co.,
Ky., the State which might
be considered the " mother of
Illinois Governors." Bereft of
his parents at the tender age
of eight years, his early education
was neglected. When 12 years of
age, and after he had worked a year
and a half at the carpenter's trade,
he removed with an uncle, Willis
Oglesby, into whose care he had
been committed, to Decatur, this
State, where he continued his ap-
prenticeship as a mechanic, working six months for
Hon. E. O. Smith.

In 1844 he commenced studying law at Spring-
field, with Judge Silas Robbins, and read with him
one year. He was admitted to the Bar in 1845, and
commenced the practice of his chosen profession at
Sullivan, the county seat of Moultrie County.

The next year the war with Mexico was com-
menced, and in June, 1846, Mr. Oglesby volunteered,
was elected First Lieutenant of Co. C, Fourth Illinois
Regiment of Volunteers, and participated in the bat-
tles of Vera Cruz and Cerro Gordo.

On his return he sought to perfect his law studies
by attending a course of lectures at Louisville, but
on the breaking out of the California "gold fever " in
1849, he crossed the plains and mountains to the
new Eldorado, driving a six-mule team, with a com-

pany of eight men, Henry Prather being the leader.

In 1852 he returned home to Macon County, and
was placed that year by the Whig party on the ticket
of Presidential Electors. In 1856 he visited Europe,
Asia and Africa, being absent 20 months. On his
return home he resumed the practice of law, as a
member of the firm of Gallagher, Wait & Oglesby.
In 1858 he was the Republican nominee for the
Lower House of Congress, but was defeated by the
Hon. James C. Robinson, Democrat. In 1860 he
was elected to the Illinois State Senate ; and on the
evening the returns of this election were coming in,
Mr. Oglesby had a fisticuff encounter with " Cerro
Gordo Williams," in which he came out victorious,
and which was regarded as " the first fight of the
Rebellion." The following spring, when the war
had commenced in earnest, his ardent nature
quickly responded to the demands of patriotism and
he enlisted. The extra session of the Legislature
elected him Colonel of the Eighth Illinois Infantry,
the second one in the State raised to suppress the
great Rebellion.

He was shortly entrusted with important com-
mands. For a time he was stationed at Bird's Point
and Cairo ; in April he was promoted Brigadier Gen-
eral ; at Fort Donelson his brigade was in the van,
being stationed on the right of General Grant's army
and the first brigade to be attacked. He lost 500
men before re-inforcements arrived. Many of these
men were from Macon County. He was engaged in
the battle of Corinth, and, in a brave charge at this
place, was shot in the left lung with an ounce ball,
and was carried from the field in expectation of im-

^ '

164

RICHARD J. OGLESB V.

mediate death. That rebel ball he carries to this
day. On his partial recovery he was promoted as
Major General, for g illantry, his commission to rank
from November, 1862. In the spring of 1863 he
was assigned to the command of the i6th Army
Corps, but, owing to inability fro.n the effects of his
wound, he relinquished this command in July, that
year. Gen. Grant, however, refused to accept his
resignation, and he was detailed, in December follow-
ing, to court-martial and try the Surgeon General of
the Army at Washington, where he remained until
May, 1864, when he returned home.

The Republican, or U lion, State Convention of
1864 was held at Springfield, May 25, when Mr.
Oglesby was nominated for the office of Governor,
while other candidates before the Convention were
Allen C. Fuller, of Boone, Jesse K. Dubois.of Sanga-
mon, and John M. Palmer, of Macoupin. Wm.
Bross, of Chicago, was nominated for Lieutenant
Governor. On the Democratic State ticket were
James C. Robinson, of ("lark, for Governor, and S.
Corning Judd, of Fulton, for Lieutenant Governor.
The general election gave Gen. Oglesby a majority
of about 31,000 votes. The Republicans had also a
majority in both thi Legislature and in the repre-
sentation in Congress.

Gov. Oglesby was duly inaugurated Jan. 17, 1865.
The day before the first time set for his installation
death visited his home at Decatur, and took from it
his only son, an intelligent and sprightly lad of six
years, a great favorite of the bereaved parents. This
caused the inauguration to be postponed a week.

The political events of the Legislative session of
r86s were the election of ex-Gov. Yates to the
United States Senate, and the ratification of the 131(1
amendment to the Constitution of the United States,
abolishing slavery. This session also signalized
itself by repealing the notorious " black laws," part
of which, although a dead letter, had held their place
upon the statute books since 1819. Also, laws re-
quiring the registration of voters, and establishing a
State Board of Equalization, were passed by this Leg-
islature. But the same body evinced that it was cor-
ruptly influenced by a mercenary lobby, as it adopted
some bad legislation, over the Governor's veto, nota-
bly an amendment to a charter for a Chicago horse
railway, granted in 1859 for 25 years, and now
sought to be extended 99 years. As this measure
was promptly passed over his veto by both branches
of the Legislature, he deemed it useless further to
attempt to check their headlong career. At this
session no law of a general useful character or public
interest was perfected, unless we count such the
turning over of the canal to Chicago to be deepened.
The session of 1867 was still more productive of
private and special acts. Many omnibus bills were
proposed, and some passed. The contests over the
location of the Industrial College, the Capital, the

Southern Penitentiary, and the canal enlargement
and Illinois River improvement, dominated every-
thing else.

During the year 1872, it became evident that if
the Republicans could re-elect Mr. Oglesby to the
office of Governor, they could also elect him to the
United States Senate, which they desired to do.
Accordingly they re-nominated him for the Execu-
tive chair, and placed upon the ticket with him for
Lieutenant Governor, John L. Beveridge, of Cook
County. On the other side the Democrats put into
the field Gastavus Koerner for Governor and John
C. Black for Lieutenant Governor. The election
gave the Republican ticket majorities ranging from
35,334 to 56,174, the Democratic defection being
caused mainly by their having an old-time Whig and
Abolitionist, Horace Greeley, on the national ticket
for President. According to the general understand-
ing had beforehand, as soon as the Legislature met
it elected Gov. Oglesby to the United States Senate,
whereupon Mr. Beveridge became Governor. Sena-
tor Oglesby 's term expired March 4, 1879, having
served his party faithfully and exhibited an order of
statesmanship beyond criticism.

During the campaign of 1884 Mr. Oglesby was
nominated for a "third term" as Executive of the
State of Illinois, against Carter H. Harrison, Mayor
of Chicago, nominated by the Democrats. Both
gentlemen " stumped " the State, and while the peo-
ple elected a Legislature which was a tie on a joint
ballot, as between the two parties, they gave the
jovial " Dick" Oglesby a majority of 15,018 for Gov-
ernor, and he was inaugurated Jan. 30, 1885. The
Legislature did not fully organize until this date, on
account of its equal division between the two main
parties and the consequent desperate tactics of each
party to checkmate the latter in the organization of
the House.

Gov. Oglesby is a fine-appearing, affable man, with
regular, well defined features and rotund face. In
stature he is a little above medium height, of a large
frame and somewhat fleshy. His physical appear-
ance is striking and prepossessing, while his straight-
out, not to say bluff, manner and speech are well
calculated favorably to impress the average masses.
Ardent in feeling and strongly committed to the pol-
icies of his party, he intensifies Republicanism
among Republicans, while at the same time his jovial
and liberal manner prevents those of the opposite
party from hating him.

He is quite an effective stump orator. With vehe-
ment, passionate and scornful tone and gesture ,
tremendous physical power, which in speaking he
exercises to the utmost; with frequent descents to
the grotesque; and with abundant homely compari-
sons or frontier figures, expressed in the broadest
vernacular and enforced with stentorian emphasN
he delights a promiscuous audience beyond measure!

GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

JOHN M. PALMER

jjOHN Me A.ULEY PALMER, Gov-
ernor 1869-72, \va.s born on
Eagle Creek, Scott Co., Ky.,
Sept. 13, 1817. During his in-
fancy, his father, who had been
a soldier in the war of 1812, re-
moved to Christian Co., Ky.,
where lands were cheap. Here
the future Governor of the great
Prairie State spent his childhood
and received such meager school-
ing as the new and sparsely set-
tled country afforded. To this
he added materially by diligent
reading, for which he evinced an
eaily aptitude. His father, an ardent Jackson man,
was also noted for his anti-slavery sentiments, which
he thoroughly impressed upon his children. In 1831
he emigrated to Illinois, settling in Madison County.
Here the labor of improving a farm was pursued for
about two years, when the death of Mr. Palmer's
mother broke up the family. About this time Alton
College was opened, on the "manual labor " system,
and in the spring of 1834 young Palmer, with his
elder brother, Elihu, entered this school and remained
1 8 months. Next, for over three years, he tried
variously coopering, peddling and school-teaching.

During the summer of 1838 he formed the ac-
quaintance of Stephen A. Douglas, then making his

first canvass for Congress. Young, eloquent and in
political accord with Mr. Palmer, he won his confi-
dence, fired his ambition and fixed his purpose. The
following winter, while teaching near Canton, he be-
gan to devote his spare time to a desultory reading
of law, and in the spring entered a law office at Car-
linville, making his home with his elder brother,
Elihu. (The latter was a learned clergyman, of con-
siderable orginality of thought and doctrine.) On
the next meeting of the Supreme Court he was ad-
mitted to the Bar, Douglas being one of his examiners.
He was not immediately successful in his profession,
and would have located elsewhere than Carlinville
had he the requisite means. Thus his early poverty
was a blessing in disguise, for to it he now attributes
the success of his life.

From 1839 on, while he diligently pursued his
profession, he participated more or less in local
politics. In 1843 he became Probate Judge. In
1847 he was elected to the State Constitutional Con-
vention, where he took a leading part. In 1852 he
was elected to the State Senate, and at the special
session of February, 1854, true to the anti-slavery
sentiments bred in him, he took a firm stand in op-
position to the repeal of the Missouri Compromise;
and when the Nebraska question became a party
issue he refused to receive a re-nomination for the
Senatorship at the hands of the Democracy, issuing
a circular to that effect. A few weeks afterward,

JOHN MC AULEY PALMER.

however, hesitating to break with his party, he par-
ticipated in a Congressional Convention which nomi-
T. L. Harris against Richard Yates, and which
unqualifiedly approved the principles of the Kansas-
Nebraska act. But later in the campaign he made
the plunge, ran for the Senate as an Anti-Nebraska
Democrat, and was elected. The following winter
he put in nomination for the _United States Senate
Mr. Trumbull, and was one of the five steadfast men
who voted for him until all the Whigs came to their
support and elected their man.

In 1856 he was Chairman of the Republican State
Convention at Bloomington. He ran for Congress in
1859, but was defeated. In 1860 he was Republican
Presidential Elector for the State at large. In 1861
he was appointed one of the five Delegates (all Re-
publicans) sent by Illinois to the peace congress at
Washington.

When the civil conflict broke out, he offered his
services to his country, and was elected Colonel of the
I4th 111. Vol. Inf., and participated in the engagements
at Island No. 10; at Farmington, where he skillfully
extricated his command from a dangerous position ;
at Stone River, where his division for several hours,
Dec. 31, 1862, held the advance and stood like a
rock, and for his gallantry there he was made Major
General; at Chickamauga, where his and Van Cleve's
divisions for two hours maintained their position
when they were cut off by overpowering numbers.
Under Gen. Sherman, he was assigned to the i/jlh
Army Corps and participated in the Atlanta campaign.
At Peach-Tree Creek his prudence did much to avert
disaster. In February, 1865, Gen. Palmer was as-
signed to the military administration of Kentucky,
which was a delicate post. That State was about
half rebel and half Union, and those of the latter
element were daily fretted by the loss of their slaves.
He, who had been bred to the rules of common law,
trembled at the contemplation of his extraordinary
power over the persons and property of his fellow
men, with which he was vested in his capacity as
military Governor ; and he exhibited great caution in
the execution of the duties of his post.

Gen. Palmer was nominated for Governor of Illi-
nois by the Republican State Convention which met
at Peori.i May 6, 1868, and his nomination would
probably have been made by acclamation had he not
persistently declared that he could not accept a can-

didature for the office. The result of the ensuing
election gave Mr. Palmer a majority of 44,707 over
John R. Eden, the Democratic nominee.

O.i the meeting of the Legislature in January,
1869, the first thing to arrest public attention was
that portion of the Governor's message which took
broad Slate's rights ground. This and some minor
points, which were more in keeping with the Demo-
cratic sentiment, constituted the entering wedge fir
the criticisms and reproofs he afterward received
from the Republican party, and ultimately resulted
in his entire aleniation from the Litter element. The
Legislature just referred to was noted for the intro-
duction of numerous bills in the interest of private
parties, which were embarrassing to the Governor.
Among the public acts passed was that which limited
railroad charges for passenger travel to a maximum
.of three cents per mile; and it was passed over the
Governor's veto. Also, they passed, over his veto,
the "tax-grabbing law" to pay railroad subscriptions,
the Chicago Lake Front bill, etc. The new State
Constitution of 1870, far superior to the old, was a
peaceful " revolution " which took place during Gov.
Palmer's term of office. The suffering caused by the
great Chicago Fire of October, 1871, was greatly
alleviated by the prompt responses of his excellency.

Since the expiration of Gov. Palmers 's term, he has
been somewhat prominent in Illinois politics, and
has been talked of by many, especially in the Dem-
ocratic party, as the best man in the State for a
United States Senator. His business during life has
been that of the law. Few excel him in an accurate
appreciation of the depth and scope of its principles-
The great number of his able veto messages abun-
dantly testify not only this but also a rare capacity to
point them out. He is a logical and cogent reasoner
and an interesting, forcible and convincing speaker,
though not fluent or ornate. Without brilliancy, his
dealings are rather with facts and ideas than with
appeals to passions and prejudices. He is a patriot
and a statesman of very high order. Physically he is
above the medium height, of robust frame, ruddy
complexion and sanguine-nervous temperament. He
has a large cranial development, is vivacious, social
in disposition, easy of approach, unostentatious in his
habits of life, democratic in his habits and manners
and is a true American in his fundamental principles
of statesmanshiD.

GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

171

' ; V ; ' :v; ::. '.>'t '. s . '. ; 'iVi '.'.-. ' '. v. ' ( . v. v. T'.n v

OHN LOWRiE BEVER-
IDGE, Governor 1873-6, was
born in the town of Green-
wich, Washington Co., N. Y.,
July 6, 1824. His parents
were George and Ann Bever-
idge. His father's parents, An-
drew and Isabel Bcveridge, be-
fore their marriage emigrated
from Scotland just before the
Revolutionary War, settling in
Washington County. His father
was the eldest of eight brothers, the
youngest of whom was 60 years of
age when the first one of the num-
ber died. His mother's parents,
James and Agnes Hoy, emigrated
from Scotland at the close of the
Revolutionary War, settling also in
1 Washington Co., N. Y., with their
first-born, whose " native land "was
the wild ocean. His parents and
grandparents lived beyond the time
allotted to man, their average age
being over 80 years. They belonged to the "Asso-
ciate Church," a seceding Presbyterian body of

America from the old Scotch school ; and so rigid
was the training of young Beveridge that he never
heard a sermon from any other minister except that
of his own denomination until he was in his igth
year. Later in life he became a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, which relation he still
holds.

Mr. Beveridge received a good common-school ed-
ucation, but his parents, who could obtain a livelihood
only by rigid economy and industry, could not send
him away to college. He was raised upon a farm,
and was in his i8th year when the family removed
to De Kalb County, this State, when that section was
very sparsely settled. Chicago had less than 7,000
inhabitants. In this wild West he continued as a
farm laborer, teaching school during the winter
months to supply the means of an education. In the
fall of 1842 he attended one term at the academy at
Granville, Putnam Co., 111., and subsequently several
terms at the Rock River Seminary at Mount Morris,
Ogle Co., 111., completing the academic course. At
this time, the fall of 1845, his parents and brothers
were anxious to have him go to college, even though
he had not money sufficient; but, njt willing to bur-
den the family, he packed his trunk and with only
$40 in money started South to seek his fortune.

f, ,

JOHN L. BEVERIDGE.

Poor, alone, without friends and influence, he thus
entered upon the battle of life.

First, he taught school in Wilson, Overton and
Jackson Cos., Tenn., in which experience he under-
went considerable mental drill, both in book studies
and in the ways of the world. He read law and was
admitted to the Bar, in the South, but did not learn
to love the institution of slavery, although he ad-
mired many features of Southern character. In De-
cember, 1847, he returned North, and Jan. 20, 1848,
he married Miss Helen M. Judson, in the old Clark-
Street M. E. church in Chicago, her father at that
time being Pastor of the society there. In the spring
of 1848 he returned with his wife to Tennessee,
where his two children, Alia May and Philo Judson,
were born.

In the fall of 1849, through the mismanagement
of an associate, he lost what little he had accumu-
lated and was left in debt. He soon managed to
earn means to pay his debts, returned to De Kalb
Co., 111., and entered upon the practice of his pro-
fession at Sycamore, the county seat. On arrival
from the South he had but one-quarter of a dollar in
money, and scanty clothing and bedding for himself
and family. He borrowed a little money, practiced
law, worked in public offices, kept books for some of
the business men of the town, and some railroad en-
gineering, till the spring of 1854, when he removed
to Evanston, 1 2 miles north of Chicago, a place then
but recently laid out, under the supervision of the
Northwestern University, a Methodist institution.
Of the latter his father-in-law was then financial
agent and business manager. Here Mr. Beveridge
prospered, and the next year (1855) opened a law
office in Chicago, where he found the battle some-
what hard; but he persevered with encouragement
and increasing success.

Aug. 12, 1861, his law partner, Gen. John F.
Farnsworth, secured authority to raise a regiment of
cavalry, and authorized Mr. Beveridge to raise a
company for it. He succeeded in a few days in rais-
ing the company, of course enlisting himself along
with it. The regiment rendezvoused at St. Charles,
111., was mustered in Sept. 18, and on its organiza-
tion Mr. B. was elected Second Major. It was at-
tached, Oct. n, to the Eighth Cavalry and to the
Army of the Potomac. He served with the regiment
until November, 1863, participating in some 40 bat-

ties and skirmishes : was at Fair Oaks, the seven days'
fight around Richmond, Fredericksburg, Chancellors-
vine and Gettysburg. He commanded the regiment
the greater part of the summer of 1863, and it was while
lying in camp this year that he originated the policy
of encouraging recruits as well as the fighting capac-
ity of the soldiery, by the wholesale furlough system.
It worked so well that many other officers adopted
it. In the fall of this year he recruited another com-
pany, against heavy odds, in January, 1864, was
commissioned Colonel of the ijth 111. Cav., and
skirmished around in Missouri, concluding with the
reception of the surrender of Gen. Kirby Smith's
army in Arkansas. In 1865 he commanded various
sub-districts in the Southwest. He was mustered
out Feb. 6, 1866, safe from the casualties of war and
a stouter man than when he first enlisted. His men
idolized him.

He then returned to Chicago, to practice law, with
no library and no clientage, and no political experi-
ence except to help others into office. In the fall of
1866 he was elected Sheriff of Cook County, serving
one term; next, until November, 1870, he practiced
law and closed up the unfinished business of his
office. He was then elected State Senator; in No-
vember, 1871, he was elected Congressman at large;
in November, 1872, he was elected Lieutenant Gov-
ernor on the ticket with Gov. Oglesby ; the latter be-
ing elected to the U. S. Senate, Mr. Beveridge became
Governor, Jan. 21, 1873. Thus, inside of a few
weeks, he was Congressman at large, Lieutenant
Governor and Governor. The principal events oc-
curring during Gov. Beveridge 's administration were:
The completion of the revision of the statutes, begun
in 1869; the partial success of the "farmers' move-
ment;" " Haines' Legislature " and Illinois' exhibit at
the Centennial.

Since the close of his gubernatorial term ex-Gov.
Beveridge has been a member of the firm of Bever-
idge & Dewey, bankers and dealers in commercial
paper at fi Dearborn Street (McCormick Block),
Chicago, and since November, 1 88 1, he has also been
Assistant United States Treasurer : office in the
Government Building. His residence is still at Ev-
anston.

He has a brother and two sisters yet residing in
De Kalb County James H. Beveridge, Mrs. Jennet
Henry and Mrs. Isabel French.

GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

HELBY M. CULLOM, Gover-
nor 1877-83,13 the sixth child
of the late Richard N. Cullom,
and was born Nov. 22, 1829,111
Wayne Co., Ky., where his fa-
ther then resided, and whence
both the Illinois and Tennessee
branches of the family originated. In
the following year the family emi-
grated to the vicinity of Washington,
Tazewell Co., 111., when that section
was very sparsely settled. They lo-
cated on Deer Creek, in a grove at
the time occupied by a party of In-
dians, attracted there by the superior
hunting and fishing afforded in that
vicinity. The following winter was
known as the " hard winter," the snow being very
deep and lasting and the weather severely cold; and
the family had to subsist mainly on boiled corn or
hominy, and some wild game, for several weeks. In
the course of time Mr. R. N. Cullom became a prom-
inent citizen and was several times elected to the
Legislature, both before and after the removal of the
capital from Vandalia to Springfield. He died about

Until about 19 years of age young Cullom grew up
to agricultural pursuits, attending school as he had
opportunity during the winter. Within this time,
however, he spent several months teaching school,

and in the following summer he "broke prairie "with
an ox team for the neighbors. With the money ob-
tained by these various ventures, he undertook a
course of study at the Rock River Seminary, a
Methodist institution at Mt. Morris, Ogle County;
but the sudden change to the in-door life of a stu-
dent told severely upon his health, and he was taken
home, being considered in a hopeless condition. While
at Mt. Morris he heard Hon. E. B. Washburne make
his first speech.

On recovering health, Mr. Cullom concluded to
study law, under the instruction of Abraham Lincoln,
at Springfield, who had by this time attained some
notoriety as an able lawyer; but the latter, being ab-
sent from his office most of the time, advised Mr.
Cullom to enter the office of Stuart & Edwards.
After about a year of study there, however, his health
failed again, and he was obliged to return once more
to out-door life. Accordingly he bought hogs foi
packing, for A. G. Tyng, in 1'eoria, and while he re-
gained his health he gained in purse, netting $400 in
a few weeks. Having been admitted to the Bar, he
went to Springfield, where he was soon elected City
Attorney, on the Anti-Nebraska ticket.

In 1856 he ran on the Fillmore ticket as a Presi-
dential Elector, and, although failing to be elected as
such, he was at the same time elected a Representa-
tive in the Legislature from Sangamon County, by a
local coalition of the American and Republican par-
ties. On the organization of the House, he received
the vote of the Fillmore men for Speaker. Practicing

, k 176

SHELB Y M. CULLOM.

law until 1860, he was again elected to the Legisla-
ture, as a Republican, while the county went Demo-
cratic on the Presidential ticket. In January follow-
ing he was elected Speaker, probably the youngest
man who had ever presided over an Illinois Legis-
lature. After the session of 1861, he was a candidate
for the State Constitutional Convention called for
that year, but was defeated, and thus escaped the
disgrace of being connected with that abortive party
scheme to revolutionize the State Government. In
1862 he was a candidate for the State Senate, but
was defeated. The same year, however, he was ap-
pointed by President Lincoln on a Government
Commission, in company with Gov. Boutwell of
Massachusetts and Cnarles A. Dana, since of the
New York Sun, to investigate the affairs of the
Quartermaster's and Commissary Departments at
Cairo. He devoted several months to this duty.

In 1864 he enteied upon a larger political field,
being nominated as the Republican candidate for
Congress from the Eighth (Springfield) District, in
opposition to the incumbent, JohnT. Stuart, who had
been elected in 1862 by about 1,500 majority over
Leonard Swett, then of Bloomington, now of Chicago.
The result was the election of Mr. Cullom in Novem-
ber following by a majority of 1,785. In 1866 he
was re-elected to Congress, over Dr. E. S. Fowler, by
the magnificent majority of 4,103! In 1868 he was
again a candidate, defeating the Hon. B. S. Edwards,
another of his old preceptors, by 2,884 votes.

During his first term in Congress he served on the
Committee on Foreign Affairs and Expenditures in
the Treasury Department; in his second term, on
the Committees on Foreign Affairs and on Territories ;
and in his third term he succeeded Mr. Ashley, of
Ohio, to the Chairm.mship of the latter. He intro-
duced a bill in the House, to aid in the execution of
law in Utah, which caused more consternation among
the Mormons than any measure had previously, but
which, though it passed the House, failed to pass the
Senate.

The Republican Convention which met May 25,
1876, nominated Mr. Cullom for Governor, while the
other contestant was Gov. Beveridge. For Lieuten-
ant-Governor they nominated Andrew Shuman, editor
of the Chicago Journal. For the same offices the
Democrats, combining with the Anti-Monopolists,
placed in nomination Lewis Steward, a wealthy

farmer and manufacturer, and A. A. Glenn. The
result of the election was rather close, Mr. Cullom
obtaining only 6,800 majority. He was inaugurated
Jan. 8, 1877.

Great depression prevailed in financial circles at
this time, as a consequence of the heavy failures of
1873 and afterward, the effect of which had seemed
to gather force from that time to the end of Gov.
Cullom's first administration. This unspeculative
period was not calculated to call forth any new
issues, but the Governor's energies were at one time
put to task to quell a spirit of insubordination that
had been begun in Pittsburg, Pa., among the laboring
classes, and transferred to Illinois at Chicago, East
St. Louis and Braidwood, at which places laboring
men for a short time refused to work or allow others
to work. These disturbances were soon quelled and
the wheels of industry again set in motion.

In May, 1880, Gov. Cullom was re-nominated by
the Republicans, against Lyman Trumbull, by the
Democrats; and although the former party was some-
what handicapped in the campaign by a zealous
faction opposed to Grant for President and to Grant
men for office generally, Mr. Cullom was re-elected
by about 314,565, to 277,532 forthe Democratic State
ticket. The Greenback vote at the same time was
about 27,000. Both Houses of the Legislature again
became Republican, and no representative of the
Greenback or Socialist parties were elected. Gov.
Cullom was inaugurated Jan. 10, 1881. In his mes-
sage he announced that the last dollar of the State
debt had been provided for.

March 4, 1883, the term of David Davis as United
States Senator from Illinois expired, and Gov. Cul-
lom was chosen to succeed him. This promoted
Lteutenant-Governor John M. Hamilton to the Gov-
ernorship. Senator Cullom's term in the United
States Senate will empire March 4, 1889.

As a practitioner of law Mr. C. has been a member
of the firm of Cullom, Scholes & Mather, at Spring-
field ; and he has also been President of the State
National Bank.

He has been married twice, the first time Dec.
12, 1855, to Miss Hannah Fisher, by whom he had
two daughters; and the second time May 5, 1863,
to Julia Fisher. Mrs. C is a member of the Method-
ist Episcopal Church, with which religious body Mr.
C. is also in sympathy.

{

GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS.

179

OHN MARSHALL HAMIL-
TON, Governor 1883-5, was
born May 28, 1847, in a log
house upon a farm about two
miles from Richwood, Union
County, Ohio. His father was
Samuel Hamilton, the eldest son
of Rev. Wm. Hamilton, who, to-
gether with his brother, the Rev.
Samuel Hamilton, was among the
early pioneer Methodist preachers in
Ohio. The mother of the subject of
this sketch was, before her marriage,
Mrs. Nancy McMorris, who was
born and raised in Fauquier or Lou-
doun County, Va., and related to the
two large families of Youngs and Marshalls, well
known in that commonwealth; and from the latter
family name was derived the middle name of Gov.
Hamilton.

In March, 1854, Mr. Hamilton's father sold out
his little pioneer forest home in Union County, O.,
and, loading his few household effects and family
(of six children) into two emigrant covered wagons,
moved to Roberts Township, Marshall Co., 111., being
2 1 days on the route. Swamps, unbridged streams
and innumerable hardships and privations met them
on their way. Their new home had been previously
selected by the father. Here, after many long years
of toil, they succeeded in paying for the land and
making a comfortable home. John was, of course,

brought up to hard manual labor, with no schooling
except three or four months in the year at a common
country school. However, he evinced a capacity
and taste for a high order of self-education, by
studying or reading what books he could borrow, as
the family had but very few in the house. Much of
his study he prosecuted by the light of a log fire in
the old-fashioned chimney place. The financial
panic of 1857 caused the family to come near losing
their home, to pay debts ; but the father and two
sons, William and John, "buckled to" and perse-
vered in hard labor and economy until they redeemed
their place from the mortgage.

When the tremendous excitement of the political
campaign of 1860 reached the neighborhood of Rob-
erts Township, young Hamilton, who had been
brought up in the doctrine of anti-slavery, took a zeal-
ous part in favor of Lincoln's election. Making special
efforts to procure a little money to buy a uniform, he
joined a company of Lincoln Wide- Awakes at Mag-
nolia, a village not far away. Directly after the
ensuing election it became evident that trouble
would ensue with the South, and this Wide-Awake
company, like many others throughout the country,
kept up its organization and transformed itself into a
military company. During the ensuing summer they
met often for drill and became proficient ; but when
they offered themselves for the v/ar, young Hamilton
was rejected on account of his youth, he being then
but 14 years of age. During the winter of 1863-4 he
attended an academy at Henry, Marshall County.

1 80

JOHN MARSHALL HAMILTON.

and in the following May he again enlisted, for the
fourth time, when he was placed in the 14151 111.
Vol. Inf., a regiment then being raised at Elgin, 111.,
for the loo-day service. He took with him 13 other
lads from his neighborhood, for enlistment in the
service. This regiment operated in Southwestern
Kentucky, for about five months, under Gen. Paine.

The following winter, 1864-5, Mr. Hamilton taught
school, and during the two college years 1865-7, ne
went through three years of the curriculum of the
Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio. The
third year he graduated, the fourth in a class of 46,
in the classical department. In due time he received
the degree of M. A. For a few months he was the
Principal of Marshall " College " at Henry, an acad-
emy under the auspices of the M. E. Church. By
this lime he had commenced the study of law, and
after earning some money as a temporary Professor
of Latin at the Illinois Wesleyan University at
Bloomington, he entered the law office of Weldon,
Tipton & Benjamin, of that city. Each member of
this firm has since been distinguished as a Judge.
Admitted to the Bar in May, 1870, Mr. Hamilton
was given an interest in the same firm, Tipton hav-
ing been elected Judge. In October following he
formed a partnership with J. H. Rowell, at that time
Prosecuting Attorney. Their business was then
small, but they increased it to very large proportions,
practicing in all grades of courts, including even the
U. S. Supreme Court, and this partnership continued
unbroken until Pel). 6, 1883, when Mr. Hamilton
was sworn in as Executive of Illinois. On the 4th
of March following Mr. Rowell took his seat in Con-
gress.

In July, 1871. Mr. Hamilton married Miss Helen
M. Williams, the daughter of Prof. Win. G. Williams,
Professor of Greek in the Ohio Wesley an University.
Mr. and Mrs. H. have two daughters and one son.

In 1876 Mr. Hamilton was nominated by the Re-
publicans for the State Senate, over other and older
competitors. He took an active part " on the stump "
in the campaign, for the success of his party, and was
elected by a majority of 1,640 over his Democratic-
Greenback opponent. In the Senate he served on
the Committees on Judiciary, Revenue, State Insti-
tutions, Appropriations, Education, and on Miscel-
lany ; and during the contest for the election of a
' U. S. Senator, the Republicans endeavoring to re-

elect John A. Logan, he voted for the war chief on
every ballot, even alone when all the other Republi-
cans had gone over to the Hon. E. B. Lawrence and
the Democrats and Independents elected Judge
David Davis. At this session, also, was passed the
first Board of Health and Medical Practice act, of
which Mr. Hamilton was a champion, agair:t r;
much opposition that the bill was several times
"laid on the table." Also, this session authorized
the location and establishment of a southern peni-
tentiary, which was fixed at Chester. In the session
of 1879 Mr. Hamilton was elected President pro tern.
of the Senate, and was a zealous supporter of John
A. Logan for the U. S. Senate, who wa<s this time
elected without any trouble.

In May, 1880, Mr. Hamilton was nominated on
the Republican ticket for Lieutenant Governor, his
principal competitors before the Convention being
Hon. Wm. A. James, ex-Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Judge Robert Bell, of Wabash
County, Hon. T. T. Fountain, of Perry County, and
Hon. M. M. Saddler, of Marion County. He engaged
actively in the campaign, and his ticket was elected
by a majority of 41,200. As Lieutenant Governor,
he presided almost continuously over the Senate in
the 3zd General Assembly and during the early days
of the 33d, until he succeeded to the Governorship.
When the Legislature of 1883 elected Gov. Cullom
to the United States Senate, Lieut. Gov. Hamilton
succeeded him, under the Constitution, taking the
oath of office Feb. 6, 1883. He bravely met all the
annoyances and embarrassments incidental upon
taking up another's administration. The principal
events with which Gov. Hamilton was connected as
the Chief Executive of the State were, the mine dis-
aster at Braidwood, the riots in St. Clairand Madison
Counties in May, 1883, the appropriations for the
State militia, the adoption of the Harper high-license
liquor law, the veto of a dangerous railroad bill, etc.

The Governor was a Delegate at large to the
National Republican Convention at Chicago in June,

1884, where his first choice for President was John
A. Logan, and second choice Chester A. Arthur; but
he afterward zealously worked for the election of Mr.
Blaine, true to his party.

Mr. Hamilton's term as Governor expired Jan. 30,

1885, when the great favorite "Dick" Oglesby was
inaugurated.

umois.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

INTRODUCTORY.

OME of the fairest and most
productive counties of the
great Prairie State are to be
found in what is known as
Central Illinois, and the chief-
est among these is Livingston
County. Though settlers came into
this county as early as 1829, yet the
commencement of its rapid growth
was not until many years later. It
was the railroad that did so much
toward the encouragement of sturdy
tillers of the soil to come to the
fair and fertile prairies. Since then
the county has enjoyed steady
growth, until to-day it stands among the foremost
counties of the great Northwest. In the growth
and development of her vast resources, in her agri-
culture and stock-raising, in all the departments of
labor in which busy man is engaged ; in her churches
and schools, in civilization and culture, Livingston
County has taken a front rank. Well may her
people be proud of their product; well may her
pioneers turn with pride to their achievements.
Within half a century a wilderness lias been sub-
dued and converted into beautiful farms and
thriving, populous cities, and a community estab-
lished commanding the admiration of the country.

Transportation Facilities.

ER1IAPS th^ most important factor in the
business development and prosperity of a
city or county is its railroad communica-
tions. At least it is safe to assert that
such has become a demonstrated fact with regard

to Livingston County. A retrospection of her
history since the advent of railroad facilities will
convince the careful observer of the immense ben-
efit resulting from the introduction of this essential
adjunct of commercial enterprise, hence we give
brief sketches of the railroads traversing this
county.

Wabash Railroad.

>1IE Wabash Railroad Company, now under
the able management of John McNulta, Re-
ceiver, has two lines traversing this county
the Chicago Line and the Streator Branch. The
former extends through the eastern part of the
county from north to south, and has in this county,
including side tracks, about forty miles of road.
At Streator Junction connections are had with the
Blooinington Branch of the Illinois Central, at
Forest, the most important station on the road in
this county, with the Toledo. Peoria & Western,
and at Scovel with the Minonk Branch of the Illinois
Central. The Streator Branch traverses the county
diagonally from the southeast to the northwest cor-
ner, making connection at Streator with the main
roads which center there. At Pontiac, the county
seat of Livingston County, it crosses the lines of
the Chicago & Alton and the Minonk Branch of
the Illinois Central, and at Fairbury, the second
town of importance in the county, with the Toledo,
Peoria & Western.

The W abash has more miles of railroad in this
county than any other company, and owing to its
splendid facilities and connections with the sea-
board traffic and the principal Southern and West-
ern cities, is destined to do more toward the de-

1X4

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

velopment of the agricultural and material resources
of the county than any other road. The principal
lines of this road, including the Chicago Branch,
have steel-rail track, well-ballasted road beds, and
altogether constitute one of the greatest railroad
systems in the West. It is one of the most enter-
prising roads in the country, and the finest passen-
ger coaches on the continent are run on its linos
and every effort put forth for the comfort and
safety of its patrons. The number of miles now
operated by the Receiver is 956, all of which, with
the exception of that extending from the State
line to Toledo, is in Illinois.

Illinois Central .Railroad Company.

>>HE Illinois Central Railroad Company has
two branches which pass through this county,
one known as the Chicago, Pontiac & Chats-
worth Division, and the other as the Bloomington
Division. There are something over sixty-six
miles of track in this county. The line extending
from Kempton to Minonk passes through the cen-
ter of the county, crossing the line of the Chicago
Branch of the Wabash at Scovel, and the Chicago
& Alton and the Streator Branch of the Wabash at
Pontiac. At Minonk the connections are made
with the main line. The Bloomington Branch
crosses the Toledo, Peoria & Western at Chats-
worth ; the connections of these lines with the main
line and the Chicago Divison makes this road one
of the best for transportation in the count}'.

In September, 1850, Congress granted an aggre-
gate 2,595,053 acres to aid in building this road.
The act granted the right of way and gave alter-
nate sections of land for six miles on cither side of
the road to the company. The grant was made
directly to the State, and Feb. 10, 1851, the Illi-
nois Legislature gave a charter to an Eastern com-
pany, represented by Rantoul and others, to build
the road. In granting the charter and transferring
to the corporation the land, the Legislature stipu-
lated that seven per cent of the gross earnings
of the road should be paid semi-annually into the
State Treasury forever. This wise provision in
lieu of the liberal grant yields a handsome annual
income to the State.

The Illinois Central is one of the great trunk

lines of the Mississippi Valley, connecting Chicago
with Sioux City and New Orleans, and toward de-
veloping the material resources of Illinois, stands
first in importance. Strict attention to local busi-
ness has always been a marked characteristic' of its
management, hence their land has been eagerly
sought after, and its officials have the satisfaction
of knowing that the value of the road is not en-
tirely dependent upon its identification with the
through business of the country, but on the con-
tribution of local traffic, which shows a permanent
and certain increase. The total mileage of this road
in Illinois alone is over 1,100 miles.

Other Roads.

illE Chicago & Alton is an important road
and has about fifty -seven miles of track in
Sir this count}'. The main line enters the
county near Dwightfrom the north. Here connec-
tions are had with the Streator Branch of the Chi-
cago & Alton and Indiana, Illinois & Iowa Railroad.
The next important station is Pontiac, the county
seat, where the road crosses the Wabash and the
Illinois Central The Alton is the pioneer road in
this county, and one of the best in the country.
The rolling stock is excellent and the road bed one
of the best in the State. This road has contributed
largely to the development of the county.

The Indiana, Illinois & Iowa has thirty -two miles
of track in this county, passing through the north
tier of townships, viz.: Round Grove, D wight,
Nevada, Sunbury and Newtown, having its western
terminus at Streator.

The Toledo, Peoria Ar Western is a line extend-
ing from east to west, in the southern part of the
county, through the townships of Chatsworth, For-
est and Indian Grove. The most important sta-
tion in the county is Fairbiiry, and at Forest con-
nection is had with the Wabash system, and at
Chatsworth with the Bloomington Branch of the
Illinois Central. Its mileage, including side tracks,
is twenty-two.

The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe has recently
constructed a line through the northwestern corner
of the county, traversing a portion of Reading Tp.

The Chicago & St. Louis is a short line in the
northwestern part of the county, passing through
the west corner of Newtown Township, through
the center of Reading and the northwest corner of
Long Point. The length of road in this county
is about eleven miles, and the principal stations are
Reading and Aneona.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

187

HE portrait on tlie opposite
page is that of David Mc-
Williams, who was the first
merchant of Dwight, and
who followed mercantile life
there for many years, and with
the growth of the place grad-
ually drifted into his present
business, that of banking ; he
settled in Dwight in April, 1855.
Of his ancestors we gather the
following: His great-grandfather,
Alexander Me Williams, emigrated
in company with a small colony
from Scotland in 177G. While on
the ocean passage his grandfather, Alexander, Jr.,
was born. The colony had selected a place not
far from Pittsburgh, Pa., which afterward became
known as Pease's Iron Mills, where Alexander, Jr.,
was reared, and about the time of his becoming of
age he, in company with a number of young men
of the colony, located in Belmont County, Ohio,
and the place is still known as the Scotch Ridge
Settlement. It is about six miles from the cit\- of
Wheeling, Va., on the Ohio side. James McWill-
iams, the father of the subject of this sketch,
was born there March 2, 1802, and upon ar-
riving at manhood purchased a small portion of
his father's farm, and was married to Margaret
Lattimer, the daughter of a well-known Scotch

family of the same settlement, who had come
direct from Scotland to this colon}' only a short
time previous. He occupied his farm until 1834,
when he sold out and migrated to Griggsville,
Pike Co., 111. His familj- then consisted of five
children, named in order of their ages Alexander,
Elizabeth Jane, Rachel, John and David. Mary
was born afterward in Illinois. Rachel died soon
after their arrival, and Alexander died in 1842. at
the age of seventeen, and all the rest are now living.
Mrs. McWilliams, the mother, died in Pike County,
in December,! 839, and Mr. McWilliams was married
again, to Miss Lucretia Prescott, of Concord, Mass.,
who was at the time the Principal of the Griggs-
ville Female Acadeniy. She was a highly culti-
vated lady, and they passed forty years of wedded
life together. She died in 1880, and Mr. James
McWilliams in 1883, having spent nearly fifty
years in and about Griggsville. having served his
community in almost all positions of honor and
trust.

David McWilliams was born in Belmont County,
Ohio, Jan. 14, 1834, and was eight months old
when his parents moved to Illinois. He was en-
gaged in farm work, attending the district school
during the winters until he was fourteen years of
age. At that time an offer was made by Z. N.
Garbutt, the editor and proprietor of the Free
Press, of Pittsfield, Pike Co., 111., to enter his
printing-olh'M. This he accepted, and remained

4 s

, 188

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

there for some time, gaining a knowledge of print-
ing 'and becoming familiar with the general methods
of newspaper work. During his residence at tin:
count}' seat he had the opportunity of seeing the
great lawyers of those days, among whom were Lin-
coln, Douglass, Col. E. D. Baker, O. H. Browning,
C. A. Warren, Archibald Williams, O. C. Skinner,
William A. Richardson, John J. I lard in, and ofthe
younger lawyers. Milton Ha} 1 and Jackson Grim-
shaw. Judge Lockwood at that time was on the
bench, and he well recollects the Presidential cam-
paign of that year, when Zachary Taylor ran for
the Presidency on the Whig ticket and was elected.
He also recollects, during that campaign, of hearing
Col. E. D. Baker, who was called the Silver Tongued
Orator of Illinois in those days, make one of his
great speeches at the court-house in Pittsfield, and
such was the enthusiasm at the meeting that at its
close Col. Baker was carried on the shoulders of
his friends to his hotel. In the year 1849, his
father, upon the opening of the Illinois & Michi-
gan Canal, embarked in the pine lumber trade, and
he returned home and in a short time the entire
charge of the yard developed upon him. The
business grew in proportions rapidly, and proved
to bo quite lucrative, and at this he continued un-
til the spring of 1855, when he settled in D wight,
erected the first store building, which was in size
20x32 feet, and two stories high, and his first
stock of goods cost less than $2,000. The railroad
had been completed through Dwight only a few
months before, and but few families were in or
about that place on his arrival there. The country
settled up quite rapidly and his first year's business
amounted to about $20,000. He gave his personal
attention to his mercantile business for eighteen
years, and was also interested in the same for
seven years longer.

While engaged in the mercantile business our
subject had been doing more or less of a banking
business, receiving deposits -from the farmers and
selling New York and Chicago exchange, and has
ever since been doing a regular banking business,
and enjoys the confidence and credit of the
moneyed interests of hi.- portion of the State. His
career has been quite successful, having pa>-e<l
through all the financial panics miscarred, and has

never been compelled to dishonor a draft or ask
for an extension of credit. As he accumulated
means he invested in farm lands and has done so
ever since, and is now one of the largest land-own-
ers of Livingston County.

Coining, as wo have before stated, of Scotch
origin, Mr. McWilliams' family wore all Presby-
terians, but at the age of eighteen years he identi-
fied himself with the Methodist Episcopal Church,
at Griggsville, 111., and was one of the six members
who organized the Methodist Church of Dwight,
in 1855, and has been connected with it over since.
He was quite active in the erection of the present
church edifice of Dwight, which was built in 1867,
and contributed liberally to its erection. He has
served the church in about all the positions that
laymen arc eligible to, and was honored by an
election to a seat in the first General Conference
to which laymen were admitted, which was held in
Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1X72, and also served again in
Baltimore, in May, 187G, and at Cincinnati in 1880.
He was also a delegate to the Ecumenical council
of all the Methodist bodies of the world, held in
London, England, in September, 1^81, and also to
a similar council of the Methodist bodies of the
United States, held at Baltimore in December,
1885. He has been quite liberal to the various
benevolence objects of the church, and in 1870
made the first donation of 110,000 to the Loan
Fund of the Methodist Church Society, which fund
he has lived to see increased to over 000,000.
The Onarga Seminar}', the Wesleyan University, at
Bloomington, the Garrett Biblical Institute, and
I ho Northwestern University at Evanston have
realized great benefits from his generosity, . and
ho has served the Northwestern University for ten
years past.

Politically, Mr. McWilliams has always been a
stanch Republican, his first vote being cast for
John C. Fremont. He was present at the first
State Republican Convention which was held in
Bloomington, in 185II, and there for the lir.-l time
.-aw and heard Owen Lovejoy. There wore also
present Abraham Lincoln, John M. Palmer, N.
I!. Jndd, B. C. Cook, and many others of like polit-
ical faith. In 1884 he was the elector for the Ninth
Congressional District, and was permitted to cast

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

18!)

his vote at Springfield for James G. Blaine for
President. He has alwa}'s been active in temper-
ance work in his own town and takes pleasure in
pointing to the fact that Dwight has had no saloons
for ten years past.

In December, 185(5, Mr. McWilliams returned to
Griggsville, and was married to Miss Louisa M.
Weaglcy. They commenced life together at Dwight
in a modest home, and thirty-two years later they
still occupy the same homestead. There have been
born to them four sons and two daughters, namely :
Edward, the eldest, succeeds his father in the mer-
cantile business in Dwight: James is engaged
in the mercantile business in Odell ; Nellie remains
at home with her parents; John manages the landed
interests of his father, and otherwise assists in his
business affairs; Louise is completing her studies at
Mt. Yernon Institute, Washington, I). C., and
Charles, the youngest, is attending the High School
at Dwight.

In 1881 Mr. and Mrs. McWilliain> crossed the
Atlantic, and made quite a tour of Europe, travel-
ing through Ireland, Scotland, England, Holland,
Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France,
visiting the cities of Naples, Rome, Florence, Yen-
ice, Milan, Geneva, Paris and London. In 1887
they were again abroad, revisiting England, and
spent three weeks in London during the Jubilee,
from there going to Norway, and visiting the
land of the midnight sun, also visiting the cities of
Christiana, Stockholm, the capital of Sweden,
Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, and from
there to Berlin, the capital of the German Empire;
Dresden, the capital of Saxony, Prague, the capital
of Bohemia, and as far east as Vienna, the capital
of Austria: They returned across Southern Ger-
many to Switzerland, where they spent some time
at Lucerne and Geneva, thence going to Paris and
London, and home by the way of Liverpool.

Mr. McWilliams has always encouraged the en-
terprises best calculated for the good of the people
around him, rightly judging that whatever affects
the community in general also has due influence
upon the interests of the individuals which compose
it. The institutions which he has assisted in build-
ing up and the large property interests with which
ho is connected will remain as a monument to his

enterprise and worth long after, in accordance with
the common lot of man, he shall have been gath-
ered to his fathers, and the accompanying portrait
will show to succeeding generations the features
of the man thus useful and honored.

AVID HUNTLEY resides on section 24,
Broughton Township, and is engaged in
farming and stock-raising. He is the son
of Hezekiah and Priscilla (Smith) Hunt-
ley. and was born in the town of Sand Lake, Rens-
selaer Co., N. Y., Aug. 22, 1885. His father was a
farmer, and when our subject was twelve years old
the family moved to Ohio, locating in Lucas County.
Here the son, David, received the common-school
education picked up in the way common to those
times, that is, attending school during the few
months of the winter season.

When our subject was twenty-one years old, in
the spring of 1857, he came west to LaSalle Count}',
111., where he worked by the month for Benjamin
French during the following summer. This limited
experience in Illinois gave him a good impression
of the State and its great possibilities, and he re-
solved to make it his future home. The first im-
portant step in that direction was to get a wife,
and in the fall of that year he returned to
Ohio, and was united in marriage with Miss Eliza-
beth Cooper, whom he had previously selected as the
girl of his choice. She was the daughter of Reming-
ton and Anna (Fogle) Cooper. Their marriage oc-
curred Nov. 26, 1857. In the winter of 1858-59,
his father sold his small home place of forty acres
in Ohio for $350, and by the persuasion of his son
was induced to migrate to LaSalle County, 111.,
whither our subject followed him, with his young
wife, in the spring of 1859.

During the following summer David Huntley ran
a mole-ditcher for C. II. Horine & Co., then of
Mendota, 111., but since of the Chicago stockyards.
The next summer he farmed for himself, paying
cash rent, and doing extra work wherever he could
find employment. In February, 1 8(11 . he removed to
Livingston County, where he settled on land on
section 30, belonging to the canal, which he finally

A , 190

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Nought. In the spring of 18fi2 our subject caught
the Western fever, and started in April for Idaho,
leaving his family in Livingston County. His work
then; was divided between the gold mines and a
stock ranch, and he received $200 per month for his
labor. lie returned from Idaho in about a year,
and soon afterward sold his farm and bought the
one where he now lives, to which he moved in 1867.
It is a fine body of land, well cultivated, splendidly
watered, and has good improvements. A more
convenient and well located farm can scarcely be
found in Livingston County, it being just near
enough to both Caberyand Keuipton to be pleasant.

Mr. and Mrs. Huntley have six children, of whom
the record is as follows : Altie E. was born in Lucas
County, Ohio, Sept. lf>, 1858, married John Slimpin,
Sept. 15, 1878, and lives in McHeury County. 111.;
they have four children. Albert E. was born May 1 2,
1861, married Sarah H. Canliam, Oct. 2, 1882; they
have three children, and live at Rogers, Ford
County, 111. Alice E. was born Feb. 28, 1863, mar-
ried George Schumacher, Nov. 9, 1887, and lives in
Rogers Township, Ford County ; Alcie E. was born
Sept. 20, 1865, and lives at home, as does Alfred E.,
born Nov. 17, 1867; Andrew E. was born Nov. 22,
1873.

Our subject is the eldest in a family of three chil-
dren. His brother Asil was a soldier in the 129th
Illinois Infantry, serving under Gen. Grant, and
was four years in the army. He was wounded once,
had typhoid fever, and saw nearly all the fighting
in which the famous 1 29th Regiment was engaged :
he has five children, and lives in Ford Count}'.
His sister, Mary S., married George Rogers, lives in
Chetopa, Labette Co., Kan., and has three chil-
dren. Our subject's father was born Oct. 8, 1807,
in Rensselaer County, N. Y., where the birth of his
mother also took place June 3, 1808; they were mar-
ried Oct. 25. 1829. The father died Oct. 25, 1887,
and the mother Fob. 27, 1853; they were descend,
ants of the early settlers of New England. The
grandfather of our subject, Obediah Little, was a
soldier in the Revolution and in the War of 1812.

Mrs. Huntley's father was born July 8, 17111, :it
Providence, R. I. Her grandfather, William Cooper,
was cousin of Peter Cooper, of Greenback fame,
and was born in Vermont. Her mother was born i

in Toronto, Canada, March 20, 1800. She was
married March 20, 1815, on her fifteenth birthday.
Mrs. Huntley, the wife of our subject. \\;i- born
April 1, 1833, and was the seventh child in a family
of ten, all of whom givw to maturity, and five of
whom, including Mrs. II., are still living, as follows:
William married Maria Wilcox, and dying, left four
children; Julia married Isaac Rogers, and is de-
ceased, leaving six children, who live in Michigan:
Laura married Richard Kimball, lives in Cabery,
111., and has four children; Phu-be married John
Komiskey, and died living no children; Philip
married Sarah Hendrickson, lives in Lucas County,
Ohio, and has one daughter; Mary married John
Parker, who resides in Adrian, Midi., and has t\v<>
sons; Elizabeth; Horace married Mary Kimball,
and was killed in the battle of Shiloh; his widow
and son live in Ohio. Harriet lives in Ohio, and is
unmarried; A I mini married Wallace Mushreau;
she is deceased and left no children.

GLASS, of Dwight Township, is
comfortably located and in possession of a
good farm on section 34. His course in
life has been marked by the persistence and indns-
try which he inherited from his substantial Ger-
man ancestry, and which has distinguished the
Glass family as far back as it can be traced. The
later descendants have been familiarly known
throughout Central Pennsylvania, where Thomas
Glass, the father of our subject, was born, and was
one of the first of that name to take up his residence
in another State.

Thomas Glass, ST., upon leaving his native
county, located in Ohio, where he married Miss Re-
becca Storrer, who was born in Maryland and went
with her parents to the Buckeye State when but a
child. At the time of their courtship the story
goes that Mr. Glass, who lived on one side of the
Ohio River while his sweetheart lived on the other,
in the absence of a ferry, was obliged to swim the
river to meet her. Love in this case, as in nearly all
others, laughed as much at water as at locksmiths,
and ever since the world began there has been
found a way out of these peculiar difficulties. The

: -^

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

191 '

3'oung people were happily married, as they de-
served, and in due time the household circle in-
cluded eight children. These were named respect-
ively: James, Robert, Elizabeth, Isaac, Jackson,
Thomas, Seambns and George.

The parents of our subject continued in Ohio
and became possessors of a good farm in Guernsey
County, where all their children were born. In
1852 Thomas Glass, Sr., migrated to this State with
his family and located near Gardner, Grundy County,
during the early settlement of that region. He
was at once recognized as n valuable addition to
the community, and became the owner of a hand-
some property. Politically, he was a Democrat,
and with his estimable wife, a devout member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was foremost
in those enterprises calculated for the good of the
growing township, and exerted himself particularly
to encourage the immigration of an intelligent and
thrifty class of people. He provided generously
for his children, assisting each of them in securing
a quarter section of land. He was a man of ro-
bust frame, six feet in -height, and weighing 260
pounds, while he possessed a dignified and com-
manding figure which attracted attention wher-
ever he went. During the war troubles of 1812
he served as a soldier under Gen. Harrison, his du-
ties lying in the country around Ft. Meigs. The
mother of our subject departed this life at her home
in Illinois at the age of sixty-one years. She pos-
sessed all the womanly qualities so admirable in
the wife, mother and friend, and was in all respects
the suitable companion and helpmeet of her hus-
band.

Our subject was born on the old homestead in
Guernsey County. Ohio, .July 10, 1832. He ac-
quired a common-school education, and was of that
temperament which naturally inclined to the free
and independent life of a farmer. He therefore
cheerfully assisted in the duties around the home-
stead, and upon coming to Illinois when twenty years
of age, soon began to lay his plans for the establish-
ment of a home of his own. In 1854 he was united
in marriage with_Miss Mary, daughter of Francis and
Mary (Pyatt) Evans, of Kendall County, 111. The
father of Mrs. Glass was a native of Pennsylvania,
and descended from Welsh ancestry. The parents

spent their last years in Illinois, the mother passing
away in 1883, and the father in 1877.

After marriage the 3'oung couple went to live on
their own farm, which Mr. Glass had inherited
from his father. A year later, however, they re-
moved to Kendall County, where they resided fif-
teen years, and where, with the exception of the
youngest, all their children were born. These were
named respectively : Nellie A.. Mary J., George
G., Elizabeth A., Thomas W., Edward B. and De-
los H.

In 1871 Mr. (Mass came to this county and pur-
chased his present farm, to which he soon after-
ward removed his family, and where he has since
remained. He is widely and favorably known for
his straightforward methods of doing business, and
his skill and industry as an enterprising agricult-
urist. His children are receiving the advantages
of a good education, the younger members of
whom are still pursuing their studies and remain
at home with their parents. The eldest daughter,
Nellie, was married, in 1885, to Mr. L. B. Kale,
of Sand Brook, N. J., but they now reside on a
farm near the homestead of our subject.

r J/-RANCIS M. DAVIS, although not an old
y resident of Dwight Township, is numbered
among its most substantial and reliable citi-
zens, and has been doing business in Livingston
County for probably thirty years or more. He is
of Welsh ancestry, and bears the reputation of an
industrious and upright man of unimpeachable
moral character and correct business methods. He
became familiar with farm life in his youth, but has
had experience in other branches of business. He
has concluded, however, that there is nothing more
satisfactory than the independence and quiet of the
country, and proposes to spend his declining 3'ears
amid its scenes and occupations.

Mr. Davis when but a lad was deprived of the
protecting care of his parents, and of the disinter-
e>tcd counsels which a father and mother naturally
give to their offspring. He was fortunate, how-
ever, in having preserved a good part of the family
history, from which we find that his paternal grand-

4 s

< , 192

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

father, a native of Wales, located in West Virginia
sometime in the latter part of the last century. He
married a lady of excellent birth, and they reared a
family of children, among the sons being James,
who became the father of our subject.

James Davis was born in West Virginia about
1808, where he developed into manhood, and mar-
ried a lady of his own count}', Miss Jane Taylor.
He followed farming extensively, and secured pos-
session of quite a large tract of land. The house-
hold circle was completed b} 1 the birth of eleven
children, and the father departed this life amid the
comforts of the home which he had built up in
Greene County, Pa., at the age of sixty-five years;
the mother had died some time before. Most of the
children attained to mature years, and are named
as follows: William II., Samuel. Jackson, James,
Francis, Harriet, Betsey, Clarinsy, Annie and Jane.

Our subject was born in Marshall County, W.
\'a.. in May, 1842, and after the death of his mother
was taken into the home of Mrs. Bradford, of
Greene County, where he remained until twelve
years of age, when he came to this county with Eli
Bradford. Although this section was rapidly com-
ing into notice as a desirable place of residence and
for carrying on agriculture, no regular school sys-
tem was yet established, and consequently young
Davis received but a limited education. He learned
the art of farming, however, most thoroughly, and
kept himself well posted upon matters of general in-
terest by the perusal of instructive books and all
the papers which he could obtain. He had watched
with interest the aspect of political affairs, and es-
pecially the career of the newly elected President,
Abraham Lincoln, and when the call came for
300,000 troops, to put down the Rebellion, young
Davis, although but nineteen years old, was one of
those who promptly responded, and enlisted as a
private in Company C, 44th Illinois Infantry. He
was mustered in in July, 1861, and for three years
following suffered all the hardships and privations
of a life in the army, lie served under Siegel.
Buell and Rosccrans, and participated in the battles
of Pea Ridge. Shiloh, Perry ville, Ky., and Stone
River, and although experiencing many hairbreadth
escapes, fortunately was neither wounded nor cap-
tured. After two years of service, however, he had

a severe attack of rheumatism which confined him
to the field hospital for three months. As soon a>
sufficiently recovered, he was transferred to tiie 15th
Veteran Reserves, and went with his regiment to
Buffalo, N. Y., to enforce the draft, in the fall of
18G3. From Buffalo the loth Regiment was de-
tailed to Rock Island to guard the prisoners at that
point, and there his services as a soldier terminated.
Mr. Davis received his honorable discharge on
the 12th of September, 1864, and returning to this
county, prepared to enter upon the further business
of life. His constitution had been considerably
shattered, and purchasing a stock of goods, he em-
barked in trade at Coalville, Livingston County,
where he continued with fair success until the
spring of 1 869, when he sold out, and removed to
a farm in Newtown Township. The results of this
venture, however, not proving so satisfactory as he
desired, he transferred his interests to the town of
Newtown, and assumed charge of a hotel, where he
officiated as "mine host" afterward for a period of
fourteen years. He conducted this with excellent
tact and good management, and the house was
known for miles around as one of the most desir-
able places for the transient traveler in that sec-

! tion. Mr. Davis thus became widely and favor-
ably known, and retains the friendship and esteem

; of a large circle of acquaintances. In 188") he
abandoned his hotel interests, and invested a part
of his capital in a snug farm near the town limits of
Dwight. where he now resides, taking life in an
easy and sensible manner.

One of the most interesting and important events
in the life of our subject was his marriage with the
amiable and excellent lady who has presided over
his domestic affairs for more than twenty years.
She was in her girlhood Miss Anna Horford. and
their wedding took place at the home of the bride
near Manville, Jan. 24, 1866. Mrs. Davis was born
Sept. 28, 1844, and is the daughter of Thomas and
Jemima (Leonard) Horford. natives of Pennsyl-
vania, who came to this county about 1801, and are
now living in the village of Dwight.

To Mr. and Mrs. Davis there were born three
children Lyda ('.. William T. and Jessie M. Lyda
C., an intelligent and accomplished young lady, was

i married, Sept. 28, 1887. tol-'inleyj. Hohensliell, of

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

193

this county, and they are now living in LaSallc
County, where Mr. H. is carrying on fanning; Will-
iam T. and Jessie M. continue at home with their
parents. The entire family are held in the highest
respect, and their homo is the frequent resort of the
best residents of the conntv, where, in the social in-
terchange of sentiment and the comparison of the
past with the present, there is often recalled the un-
written history of other days.

HARLES W. SHELDON, residing on sec-
tion 33, is one of the prominent farmers of
Round Grove Township, and the founder of
the village of Campus, 111. He was born in Otsego
County, N. Y., July 31, 1831), and was reared to
manhood upon the farm. His parents moved to
Ohio and settled in the Western Reserve when he
was eighteen months old, and at the age of twelve
he returned to New York where he attended school
four years, and thence to Butler County, Ohio. At
the age of twenty j'ears he worked for himself and
with the money he thus obtained he was enabled to
enter Miami University, in Butler County. Ohio,
where he attended for two years, and was then
obliged to abandon his course of study, on account
of his eyes. He then turned his attention to farm-
ing, and in 1X62 he came with his father's family
to Iroquois County, 111.

In the spring of 1X63 our subject enlisted in
Battery B, 1st Illinois Artillery, in which he served
until the close of the war. In the battle of Chicka-
manga, on the I'.tth of September, 1803, he was
wounded in the left hip and injured in the spine so
severely that he had to be left on the field and was
taken prisoner, and paroled eleven days later. He
lay on the battle-field of Chickamauga for eleven
days without any attention given him whatever,
and received no care until he was taken from the
field to Chattanooga, the eleventh day after the bat-
tle. He suffered untold pain from his wound, which
was caused by the explosion of a shell that struck
the wheel of his gun carriage. Every man except
two on the piece was either killed or wounded. It
war- fortunate for Mr. Sheldon that he was so

wounded that he could not be transported farther
south, for had he been he would have been consigned
to Andersouvillc prison pen. During the winter of
1X63 he spent four months in the parol camp at
Camp Chase, Ohio. In the spring of 1X(>4 he was
exchanged and returned to his battery, and took an
active part in all the engagements, with one excep-
tion, in the Atlanta campaign. After the fall of
Atlanta he was in Gen. Thomas' corps, with which
he went back to Nashville, and was in the battles
of Spring Hill, Franklin and Nashville. He was
mustered out of the service at Chicago in Sep-
tember, 1865, and then returned to Iroquois Comity,
111., where he remained until he came to Living-
ston County. For two years he, in company with
two brothers, was engaged in merchandising at
Clifton, Iroquois County. In the spring of 18611 he
came to Livingston Comity, and bought 640 acres
of land on section 33, Round Grove Township,
where he settled and has since lived. Upon this
farm he erected good buildings and made other first-
class improvements.

In April, 1880, Mr. Sheldon laid out and platted
the village of Campus, which is on the line of the
Wabasli Railwa}'. It has a population of about l.'ii)
inhabitants, and is rapidly assuming the proportions
of a prosperous town. Mr. Sheldon is actively
engaged in farming, and has laid on his place over
thirty-two miles of tile drain, the larger portion of
which was made at his own factory on his farm.
He was the first man who began laying tile in this
part of the country, and is the senior partner of the
firm of Sheldon it Straight, tile manufacturers, at
Campus. In company with his brother, C. II. Shel-
don, he owns and operates a cattle ranch in Western
Nebraska, and owns 200 head of cattle. In Bos-
ton, Mass., on the 2;>th of May, 1X6!), Mr. Sheldon
was married to Miss Mary Fisher, who was born
in Butler County, Ohio, on the Ifith of Decem-
ber, 1X42. Her parents were James and Eliza
(Tucker) Fisher, who were natives of New England.
In 1X71 they came to Livingston County, and
resided with their daughter. Mrs. Sheldon, for three
years, and then returned to Boston, Mass. Jabez
Fisher, a brother of Mrs. Sheldon's father, is the
oldest living pork packer in this country. He is
now living in Washington, N. H., in his ninety-

' > 194

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

seventh year. James Fisher had a family of eight
children, of whom Mrs. Sheldon was the second.
There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon four
children, who bear the following names: Eliza S.,
Sarah G., James M. and Mary Ellen.

Mr. Sheldon's parents were John B. and Sarah A.
(Seeley) Sheldon. The father was a native of
Rhode Island and the mother was a Vermonter by
birth. They were the parents of eleven'children, of
whom our subject was the seventh: they both died
in Iroqnois County, 111. Mr. aud Mrs. Sheldon are
member:- of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr.
Sheldon is a Republican in politics and has held the
office of Supervisor for Round Grove Township two
year>, and was a member of the board during the
erection of the new court-house at Pontiac. Dur-
ing hi? residence in Livingston County he has taken
an active part in public affairs, -and being a large
tax-payer has done what he could to inculcate a
spirit of economy and judicious expenditure of the
public funds.

HARLES A. F1NEFIELD, senior member
of the hardware firm of Finefield & Larson,
at Odell. has been a resident of this county
since 1860. He is regarded as a man upright in
his business transactions, public-spirited and liberal,
and is in all respects one of the important factors
of an enterprising and progressive city. He has
done much in building up its interests, and nothing
pleases him better than to note the progress of the
people both morally and intellectually. He takes
some interet in politics, enough to cast hi* decided
vote with the Republican party, and is a member
in high standing of the Masonic fraternity. He
has been connected with '.he Village Board for a
period of fourteen years, and i> naturally looked to
for aid in those enterprises which are calculated to
advance the general interests of the town.

Our subject was born in St. James, forty mile:-
from Montreal. Canada. Sept. 23, 1830, and is the
youngest child of Charles and Magdalena (Pellerin)
Finefield, also natives of the Dominion, where the
father followed carpentering and was a quiet, in-
offeiisi\e citizen, neither identified with polities nor

war. In his younger years he had engaged in lum-
bering in Upper Canada and with his wife spent
his entire life in his native Province. Charles
Finefield was placed in school at. a suitable age and
became familiar, with both the French and English
languages. Much of his time until he was fourteen
years of age was spent in the carpenter-shop with
his father, and then the death of that parent neces-
sitated a decided change in his life. Not long after-
ward lie came to the States, locating first at Bur-
lington, Vt, where he engaged at carpentering one
3'ear aud then took up the trade of a blacksmith,
which he followed two years in New England, and
in 1847 migrated westward to Chicago. Not being
fortunate in finding work there he went to Peoria
and fron; there to Oswego, of which he was after-
ward a resident eight years and engaged in black-
smithing.

From Oswego Mr. Finefield came to Odell and
continued in the blacksmith-shop >ix years. Then
deciding upon a change of occupation he purchased
160 acres of wild land in Union Township, and with
his family established himself in a small frame
dwelling which had been erected upon it. Two
years later, however, he returned to town, took up
his trade, and afterward became associated in part-
nership with ex-Sheriff J. A. Hunter. They oper-
ated together five years, the firm being dissolved
by mutual consent. Mr. Finefield carried on the
business three years by himself, and then cro>sing
the Mississippi purchased 300 acre> of Kansas land
with a view of improving a farm. He, however,
met with a good opportunity to sell and conse-
quently returned to Odell. His sons in the mean-
time who had learned blacks mi thing of their father
were carrying on that business, and Mr. Finefield
invested a part of his capital in a stock of hardware
He operated alone from 1882 until 1885, and then
his ^resent partner wa> admitted to the business.
They carry a well-as>orted stock of the articles
mainly required in the country hoii;-ehold and the
lighter implement* of the farm. Both men are en-
terprising and honest in their transaction.-, and the
firm is ranked among the stronger of this section.

Mr. Finefield chose for his life companion a lady
of his own country, namely. .Mi Julia St. Dennis,
who became his wife on the -'oth of July. l?v><>.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Mrs. Fiiieficld was born at St. John, Canada. June
."), 1826, and is tlie daughter of Louis and Aggate
Si. Dennis, natives of the Dominion, whence they
removed at an earl_y day to Oswego, Kendall
Comity, during its first settlement. They after-
ward, however, returned to Canada, where the
father died about 1856, the mother having pre-
ceded him to the better land in about 1837.

Of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Finc-
field two are now deceased : Mary Jane who died
in 1853, at the age of eleven months, and Ephraini
at the age of eleven years, in 1866. The record of
the others is as follows: Ellen is the wife of Leroy
McAllen, a carpenter; Frank married Miss Helen
Woodbury; Charles remains with his father; Fred
married Miss Carrie Erschens; these are all living
at Odell. Willie, the youngest, is unmarried and
engaged in buying grain in Dakota. Mrs. Finefield
departed this life at her home in Odell. March 11,
1887. She was reared in the faith of the Catholic
Church to which she adhered to the end of life. As
a wife and mother she was faithful in all respects
and fulfilled nobly the responsibilities committed to
her. She presented in her daily life all those amia-
ble and estimable qualities which made her home,
to her husband and children, the most .attractive
spot on earth, while in the community which had
known her so long and well she was held in univer-
sal esteem.

jpALTER S. HUNT, a prominent and well-to-
do farmer of Broughton Township, owns
240 acres of good land on section 28, and
a quarter section in Iowa, which he has acquired by
his own unaided industry, except eighty acres which
came from the estate of the father of Mrs. Hunt. He
commenced in life for himself on H cash capital of
$3, and it is hardly necessary to say that his career
has been marked by tireless perseverance and re-
markably good judgment. The term self-made will
apply most properly to this gentleman, who is
widely and favorably known throughout this com-
munity as one of its representative men. For many
years he engaged in general fanning, and later
made a specialty of stock-raising, in which he has

met with unquestioned success^ ..'Politically lie nllil-
iates with the Republican party, and although
steadily declining to become an office-holder IIMS
exerted much influence in township affairs.

Our subject, a native of Chenango County, N.
Y., was burn Aug. 13, 1839. His parents. Edwin
and Emeline (Ladd) Hunt, were also natives of the
Empire State, where they owned a modest property,
and whence they migrated in the spring of 1843
to Kendall County, 111., during its early settlement.
The father of our subject, with his patient and
courageous wife, endured all the hardships and pri-
vations incident to pioneer life, and were numbered
among the most highly respected residents of that
section of country. They spent the remainder of
their days in Kendall County, the father passing
away Jan. 11), 1864, and the mother on the 9th of
March, 1879. The elder Hunt had transformed a
portion of the uncultivated prairie into a good
homestead, which later passed into the hands of
his son J. B.

The subject of this history was the eldest child of
his parents, and spent his childhood and youth on
the farm in Kendall County. His first lessons were
conducted in the subscription schools, which were
carried on only a few weeks in winter. The re-
mainder of the time his services were utilized on
the farm, and he early in life acquired those habits
of industry and economy which later paved his
way to success. He continued with his parents
until the outbreak of the Civil War, and in May,
1861, soon after the call for troops, enlisted in
Company H, 13th Illinois Infantry, and was with
the commands of Gens. Grant and Sherman during
his entire service. As may be supposed he par-
ticipated in the most important battles of that
period, including the fight of Arkansas Post, the
siege and capture of Vicksburg, the second battle
of Jackson, the engagements at Lookout Mountain
and Mission Ridge, besides meeting the enemy at
various other points, and engaging in numberless
skirmishes. At Chickasaw Bayou young Hunt was
wounded three times, once in each arm, and once
in the left leg. He was in the volunteer service
until receiving his honorable discharge on the 18th
of June, 1864; in the meantime he was promoted
to Second Sergeant, and received many evidences

P.M;

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

of the approval of his superior officers. His life as
a soldier was similar to that of thousands of others,
and like most of the brave boys he seldom refer-
to that dark period in the nation's history which in-
volved so much affliction, bereavement and distress.

Upon his retirement from the army Mr. Hunt re-
turned to Kendall County, where he continued the
pursuit of farming, and on the tith of February,
1 868, was married to Miss Sallie A. E. Wagner, then
a resident of that county. Mrs. Hunt was born in
Highland County, Ohio, Jan. 31, 1842, and is the
daughter of William and Delilah A. (Golladay)
Wagner, natives of Virginia. Upon leaving the Old
Dominion they lived in Ohio until the fall of 18~>2,
and thence removed to Kendall County, where they
were among the earliest settlers. Mr. Wagner car-
ried on farming successfully, and departed this life
on the 28th of March, 1884; the mother had de-
parted this life Aug. 31, 1873. Their family in-
cluded eight children, of whom five are living,
namely: Silas F., a resident of Nebraska; Mary J..
the wife of H. A. MeKinzie, of Kansas; Pauline R..
Mrs. David Hall, of Kendall County; Sallie A. E.,
and Samuel S., who is farming in Pottawattamie
County, Iowa.

The children of Edwin and Emeline Hunt besides
Walter are as follows: John B. is living in Oswego,
111.; Sarah A. is the wife of Zopher Ketchum, of
Kane County; Mary A. is living in Aurora, 111. ;
Ellen L., Mrs. Edson Wheeler, is in Dakota; Charles
E. is engaged in the carshops at Aurora, 111. Our
subject and his wife have three children : Edwin W.,
who was born June 4, 1870; Walter S., Sept. 11,
1876, and Celia, Dec. 17, 1877; one child, Lnla A.,
died April 19, 1874, aged four years. They have
been resident* of Broughton Township nearly four-
teen years, having located on their present farm in
the spring of 1874.

AMUEL HOKE, after a long and industri-
ous life, is now a retired farmer living
in the city of Odell. He was born in Mc-
C'onnellsburg, Pa., on the 24th of April,
1827, and was the youngest of six boys, and the
eighth in a family of ten children born to Jacob
and Margaret (Lohr) lloke, who were natives of j

Pennsylvania. The father w,-is born in Hanover,
Oct. 10, 1783, and the mother in Gettysburg, April
22, 1793. The father was a mechanic, and moved
tn McConnellsbiirg about 180H, where he spent his
declining .years, dying on the 28th of November,
1867. His excellent wife survived him, and died
in Epworth, Iowa, Oct. 10, 1872, while she was
visiting her daughter who resided there. Jacob
Hoke was a soldier in the War of 181 2, serving
until its close, and was present when the British
invaded Baltimore. The paternal grandfather was
Henry Hoke. Our subject's maternal grandparents
were Jacob and Margaret (Zeigler) Lohr, who were
natives of Pennsylvania. Both grandfathers par-
ticipated in tho Revolutionary War.

Samuel Hoke was reared in town, and his educa-
tion was almost entirely neglected. At the age of
seventeen he went to Chambersburg to learn the
trade of a painter, where he was apprenticed and
served four years. At that time the customary
rule was to board the apprentice and pay him $2
per month in cash, and while thus engaged Mr.
Hoke formed his habits of prudence and economy.
At the age of twenty-one years he began work for
himself, and engaged one year in Chambersburg,
after which he went to Gettysburg, where he re-
mained one year. From there he went to Williams-
burg, and opened a paint and cabinet-making shop,
and while living at that place, met the lady who
became his wife.

On the 18th of April, 1850, Mr. Hoke was mar-
ried to Miss Laura M. Kenney, who was born in
Martinsburg, Bedford Co., Pa., on the 22d of No-
vember, 1831. She was the youngest child in a
family of five, born to Alexander W. and Hannah
E. (Harvey) Kenney, natives of Pennsylvania.
Her father was born June 6, 1797, in Lewistown,
Mint in Co.. Pa., and was a saddler by trade, but he
went into business as a merchant and grain-buyer
in his later years. He died April 13, 1858, in Hol-
lidaysbnrg, Pa. His wife, Hannah E., daughter of
Samuel and Elizabeth Harvey, was born June 13,
1792, in Chester County, and died in Martinsburg,
June 31, 1837. A. W. Kenney was the son of
Robert and Margaret Kenney, both of Pennsyl-
vania.

Mr. Hoke and his wife settled in life at Williams-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

197

burg, where he was engaged in business and re-
mained there nine years. In 1 859 lie sold his pos-
sessions there and moved to Dwight, Living.-tim
County, where he opened the first furniture store
started in the town, and also pursued his vocation
as a painter. He soon sold out his business and
purchased a farm of eighty acres, on which he built
a house, and in the fall of the same year he removed
to this farm, which was located in Union Town-
ship. Here Mrs. Hoke taught the second school in
that township, with an enrollment of but five pu-
pils, three of whom were her own children. Mr.
Hoke was one of the first to advocate a division of
the township into districts, and being one of the
Trustees, he eventually accomplished his object.
In 1860 the township was laid off by Samuel Hoke.
William Thompson and Arthur Marshall, into four
sectional districts, which remain to-day as they
were designated then. The first school-house iu
the district in which Mr. Hoke resided was located
on his land. Mr. Hoke continued to live on this
farm until 1880, through thrift and enterprise in-
creasing it to 400 acres of fine arable laud, which
he put under a fine state of cultivation, and man-
aged with great success until he retired from act-
ual business life. In 1864 he was drafted as a sol-
dier in the army, but sickness prevented his re-
sponding to the call, and he provided a substitute.
During his residence there he served as Assessor
five years, and during nearly the entire time he was
School Director. He and his wife have given up
active life, and are now living comparatively at
their ease, enjoying the fruits of their early labors.
Mr. and Mrs. Hoke are the parents of seven chil-
dren, six of whom are living: Alexander Rees was
born Sept. 16, 1851 ; Hannah Margaret, Jan. 8,
1854; William Elias,Oct. 2, 1850; Charles Harvey,
June 28, 1860; George Kenney, Dec. 17, 1862;
Samuel Lewis, July 8, 1867, and Frank Lincoln,
Nov. 11, 1871. Lewis died Jan. 19, 1887. He
was a member of the Congregational Church, which
he joined at the age of sixteen, and was active in
the Sunday-school and meetings of that denomina-
tion; he always evinced a readiness to come for-
ward and identify himself with the cause of Chris-
tianity. He was a teacher, and while engaged in
that profession was taken sick at Belle Prairie, this

county, and remained at his post in the school- room
until within five days of his death. He was grad-
uated at the Odell High School, and afterward at-
tended Dixon College. He had taken a high course
in mathematics, and prepared himself for the work
of a civil engineer, but all the events of his life
tended toward the ministry, which would eventu-
ally have become his work had he lived. During
his last school term he lived at the residence of
Mr. and Mrs. I). Spence.

Mr. and Mrs. Iloke are members of the Presby-
terian Church, and are active and earnest in all
their Christian labors, to which they devote much
of their time.

>HOMAS J. JOHNSON, who is now a retired
farmer residing in Dwight, is a native of the
State of Connecticut, being bom in Sterling.
Windliam County, March 1, 1827. He is of Pro-
testant-Irish stock, and his remote ancestors settled
at a very early day in Connecticut. John L. John-
son, the father of our subject, was born in Rhode
Island, and was a farmer by occupation. He after-
ward went to Connecticut, where he worked for
James Bailey, Sr., whose daughter, Miss Eunice
Bailey, he eventually married ; her mother's name
was also Eunice. The Baileys were of Protest-
ant-Welsh origin, who settled at an early day in
New England.

The parental family of our subject included eight
children Nancy, Thomas J., Henry D., Mary A.,
John F., Gilbert C., Jane and Alexander. After
marriage, Mr. Johnson went to Oneco, Conn., where
he had the management of several farms for Mr.
Valentine, who was the proprietor of the extensive
manufacturing establishment located there. Mr.
Johnson bought out the heirs of the Bailey estate,
and lived upon that homestead for many j-ears, and
died there at the age of sixty-seven. He was a
well-disposed man, and of religious principles, but
was never a mem her of any religious organization.
He was a representative New England farmer, mod-
est and retiring in his disposition, and always de-
clined to accept office.

Thomas J. Johnson was born on the farm named

199

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

above, and received a good common-school educa-
tion. When young he had an ambition to obtain
a more liberal education than the common school.-
of Connecticut afforded, and he worked and strug-
gled by teaching school and canvassing for books
in the West, to earn the money needed to gratify
this worthy ambition. With the money thus pro-
cured he managed to attend the Smithville Semi-
nary, Rhode Island, and Phillips Academy at And-
over, Mass. He was obliged to abandon his inten-
tion of obtaining a university education, on ac-
count of his delicate constitution, but having natural
ability as a conversationalist, he engaged with Hon.
Henry Bill, a prominent and well-known publisher
of Norwich, Conn., to canvass for his publications.
Mr. Johnson traveled extensively in Ohio, Illinois,
Missouri and Iowa, and besides canvassing himself,
employed others to work for him. He was in the
book trade from 1850 until IXliS, and was very
successful. The professional book men of the
United States are a class by themselves, and have
distributed among the masses of the people a vast
amount of useful information. They, next to the
common school, the press and the pulpit, have been
one of the greatest causes for the advancement of
the people. Numberless valuable books have been
circulated in the highways and byways, where oth-
erwise few or no books would have found their
way. Often situated many miles from an}' book-
store, the people would seldom see a valuable book
but for the energetic agent, who allows no obstacle
to prevent his sales. The professional agents are
usually men of fair education, unusual energy and
intelligence, and possess perseverance and industry
to a remarkable degree. After following this busi-
ness for fifteen years, and having saved a consider-
able amount of money, Mr. Johnson concluded to
take to himself a life partner.

On the 31st of January, 1870, Mr. Johnson was
married to Miss Jennie E., daughter of Albert and
Deborah (Kittle) Field, of Rhode Island. Her
parents were people of English descent, who came
to New England at an early clay. Immediately
after marriage Mr. and Mrs. Johnson moved upon
a farm in Broughton Township, Livingston Co., 111.,
which he had previously purchased. They have
become the parents of six children, who were named

Byron L.. Irving E., Bertie, Byron (2d), Roscoe
and Florence. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have been
sadly afflicted in the death of all their children ex-
cepting Florence. Byron L. died at the age of
three and one-half years, and in December, 1882,
the four boys, Irving, Bertie, Byron (2d) and Ros-
coe, died of scarlet fever within two weeks of each
other, in Dwight, 111. This severe blow has been
endured with great patience and resignation. Flor-
ence is now attending school at Dwight, where Mr.
Johnson resides, having retired from active life.

Our subject possesses a substantial property con-
sisting of two farms, together containing 375 acres
of land, a good residence and thirty-two town lots
in Dwight. In politics Mr. Johnson is a Democrat,
but does not take an active interest in political
affairs. He is a self-made man, who by intelligence
and perseverance has accumulated his large prop-
erty. Wide-awake and well informed on most sub-
jects, he stands well in the community in which he
lives.

PHRAIM S. CLARK, the owner of 480 acres
land located on sections 32 and 33. Read-
Township, after a busy and successful
life as a farmer, has retired from active work. He
was born in Meigs County, Ohio, on the 27th of
February, 1819, and is the son of Samuel and
Pirn-be (Sayre) Clark. The father was the son of
Samuel Clark, a native of New Jersey, and the
mother was the daughter of Ephraim and Lydia
(Fosett) Sayre, who were of English descent.

Samuel Clark, .the father of our subject, was a
volunteer soldier in the War of 1812, and also in
the Black Hawk War. He was born on the 8th of
March, 1792, and died on the 2d of June, 1*40.
Phoebe, the mother of our subject, was born Feb.
4, 1797, and died Aug. 5, 1845. To Samuel and
Phu'be Clark were born fourteen children, named
as follows: Mary, Lydia, Ephraim S., Hannah,
Sarah, Caroline, Amos, Esther, Robert, Rosetta,
Charles Wesley, Malvina, John Nelson and Eliza
Ann. Mary, born Aug. 27, 1815, died Aug. 30,
1823; Lydia, born Oct. 4, 1817, married Philip
Shull, and died leaving five children; Hannah, born
Oct. G, 1820, married Abram Hoffman, a farmer,

<^p^ PHRA

tof lan
ing T

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

201

has six children, and lives in Indiana; Sarah, born
May 10, 1822, married Isaac F. Cashman, of Bu-
reau County, 111., has five children, and resides in
Iowa County, Iowa; Caroline, born March 16, 182 1.
died April 18, 1824; Amos, born March 27, 1825,
married Lucy Reither, and they have one child ;
Amos is a shoemaker by trade, but he is now a
traveling salesman. Esther, born Nov. 2(>, 1826,
was married to George Washington Grant, a far-
mer, has four children, and resides in Missouri:
Robert, born April 1, 1831, married Hannah Ostran-
der; they have two children, and reside in Boone
County, Iowa. Rosetta, born Oct. 18, 1832, mar-
ried George Hoffman; they have three children,
and are residents of Holt County, Neb. Charles W.,
born Feb. 23, 1834, married Catherine McManus,
and they have a family of four children, and reside
in Southern Missouri; his occupation is that of a
farmer, and he served three years during the late
war in Company 1), 20th Illinois Infantry. Mal-
vina, born Oct 14, 18:55, married Calvin Roberts, a
carpenter by trade; they have six children, and re-
side in Barton County, Mo. John N., born Dec.
18, 1837, enlisted in Company D, 20th Illinois In-
fantry, and received a wound at Ft. Donelson,
from which he died ; his remains were brought
home and buried in Ancona Cemetery, where his
grave is marked by a fine marble monument. Eliza
A., bom July 2-2, 1839, married Henry Sultzbaugh;
they have four children, and reside in Webster
County, Iowa, where the husband is engaged in
mining coal.

On the 10th of April, 1845, Mr. Clark was mar-
ried to Mildred Ann Jones, a native of Kentucky,
who was born on the 6th of November, 1822. She
is the daughter of Lewis and Catherine Jones, to j
whom, besides the wife of our subject, were born
the following-named children : Edward. Sarah Ann, ,
Winnie Ann, Silas, Lucetta and Nancy Eleanor.
Edward married Mary Goodrich, and died, leaving
a large family ; Sarah Ann married James McManus,
and they both died, leaving one child*; Winnie Ann
married Jacob Doll, a tailor by trade; they have
three children, and reside in Terre Haute, Ind.
Silas died when a young man in Ancona; Lucetta
married James Mclntyre, a fanner and stock- raiser,
who died at Ransom, 111., leaving two children;

Nancy Eleanor married Daniel Foster, who died in
Iowa, leaving five children; after the death of her
first husband she was married to William McGee, a
farmer, and they reside in LaSalle County, 111.

In the winter of 1828-29, our subject accom-
panied his parents when they removed from Ohio
to Indiana, making the trip by water in a boat built
for the occasion. When they arrived at the mouth
of the White River, a considerable delay was occa-
sioned on account of the water being low, and they
had to remain at this point until the river arose
sufficiently to permit them to continue their jour-
ney to Terre Haute, their destination. At the age
of ten years our subject, with his sister, began at-
tending school at Mt. Carmel, 111., in 1829, and
remaining at school about three months, returned
to his home in Indiana. In the fall of 1845 our
subject, with his young wife, removed to Bureau
County, 111., where he remained for about five
years, and in December, 1850, he came to Living-
ston County, and at once erected a log house, cut-
ting and hauling the logs and completing his house
in two days.

To Mr. and Mrs. Clark have been born the fol-
lowing-named children: William Talbot, Tarsina,
Annice, Frank, Lycurgus, John Ephraim and Win-
field Scott. William T., born March 4, 1848, mar-
ried Amy Coe, who has borne him six children,
five of whom are living; he is a farmer and stock-
raiser by occupation, and resides in Livingston
County. Tarsina, born Oct. 12, 1851, married Al-
bert Coe, a farmer; they have five children, and live
in Woodson County, Kan. Annice, born March :!,
1854, married William Boatman, a farmer by occu-
pation, has two children, and resides in Woodson
County, Kan.; Frank, born Jan. 8, 1856, married
Kate Willoughby, who is now deceased ; he resides
in Livingston County, and is a prominent teacher
and farmer. Lycurgus, born Dec. 22, 1857, died
Jan. 19. 1859; John E., born Oct. 28, 1859, died
Sept. 18, 1871 ; he met his death by being kicked
by a horse. Winfield S., born Oct. 1 7, 1 862, was
educated in the common schools and at the Normal
School at Valparaiso. Ind., and now resides at home.

Mr. Clark purchased land in Livingston County
in the fall of 1852, paying for it with a land war-
rant procured from a neighbor, which was issued

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

for services rendered as a ranger during the Black
Hawk War. He first settled in Reading Township,
on section 27, where the village of Ancoua now
stands, and from which place he hauled his grain
and pork to Ottawa, and his milling to Dayton,
four miles northeast of Ottawa. Mr. Clark now
owns 480 acres of excellent land, which has been
well improved, and contains, besides the homestead,
two tenant houses. A double-page view of his
estate may be found in the pictorial department of
this volume.

Mr. Clark was formerly a member of the Demo- ,
cratic part}', with which he remained up to 185C.
In 1860, however, he voted for Stephen A. Doug-
las, and since that time has acted independently.
Ke is a strong advocate of the principles of tem-
perance, and never neglects an opportunity to ad-
vance that cause. He has served twenty-six years
as School Director, and six as Town Trustee, and has
also served as Assessor and Justice of the Peace.
He is one of Reading Township's foremost citizens,
and has always espoused everything that tended
toward the general welfare of the people. He is j
widely known for his benevolence and kindness as
a neighbor, and indulgence as a husband and father,
and enjoys the confidence of all the people of that
section of Livingston County. None of those rep-
resented in the portrait department of this ALBUM
are more worthy of a place there than Mr. Clark.
As a fitting accompaniment of his portrait we give
that of his estimable wife.

J^ESSE UIFFENBAUGH is a prominent grain
dealer of Dwight, whose transactions are so
extensive as to embrace nearly all the farm
' products of the section of country adjacent.
He was born on the 21st of August, 1830, near
Westminster, Md. The Diffenbaughs are of an
old pioneer family of that State, of sturdy origin,
who came to Maryland in the old Colonial times.
On the maternal side Mr. Diffenbaugh is of English
descent, from one of the old Baltimore families.

John Henry Diffenbaugh was the first of the name
of whom we have any record, and IIP was brought
to this country when a small boy by his father, who
4*

was the original pioneer, and brought with him
three sons. In those- early days it was a long dis-
tance to mill, ns they were located along the creek
and were far apart. One of the brothers started to
mill to be absent two or three days, but never re-
turned. It is supposed he was taken and carried
into captivity by some wandering band of Indians.
Mr. Diffenbaugh settled on a farm near Westmins-
ter, Md., and was drafted as a soldier in the War
of 1812, but being in ill-health he was permitted to
secure a substitute. The maiden name of his wife
was Bumgardner, and they were the parents of four
daughters and one son Elizabeth, Catherine,
Lydia, Susan and John H. They are all now living
except Lydia, who'was thrown from a buggy and
killed. Elizabeth is eighty-eight years of age,
Catherine eighty-four, John H. eighty-one, and
Susan seventy-seven, the combined ages of the four
being three hundred and thirty years. The father
of this family died in 1813.

John Henry, the father of our subject, was born
in 1806, and followed the occupation of a farmer.
He received a common-school education, and has
for many years been a member of the Christian
Church. In political opinions he was a Democrat
up to the breaking out of the war, and after that he
became a Republican. In 1826 he was married to
Miss Elizabeth Powell, daughter of John and Eliza-
beth Powell, who lived on a neighboring farm. Mr.
Powell came from England when a young man, in
company with his mother, one sister and two broth-
ers. Mrs. Powell was a Stewart, whose mother mar-
ried a Towson, who belonged to a celebrated Balti-
more family during the War of 1812, in which
Capt. William Towson wa> an ollicer. Mrs. Powell
wai a woman of superior intelligence, and is well
remembered by her grandchildren as a woman pos-
sessing great force of character. She was a very
skillful nurse and of great service to the sick, who
at that day did not have the best medical atten-
dance. Mr. Diffenbaugh by his union with Miss
Powell became the father of fourteen children
John T.. Angelina, Jesse, Margaret, Catherine.
Emily J., Lucinda, Adam II., Louisa, Mary, Mar-
tha, and three who died in infancy. Martha mar-
ried David Burns, of Maryland, and died in 187H,
leaving two children, Harvey and Ernest. The

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

203

remainder of the family are all in Maryland, ex-
cepting Jesse, and Louisa, who married Isaac Perry,
and is at present a resident of Dwight. Mr. Diffen-
baugh was a man of sterling character and brought
up his large family to principles of the strictest
integrity. Mrs. Diffenbaugh died in 1868, at the
age of sixty-one years.

The subject of this sketch received a common-
school education during his boyhood days and early
learned the trade of a shoemaker. Leaving home
in 1852, at the age of twenty-two, he went to Mill
Creek, Pa., where he engaged as a clerk in a store
for eight years. He afterward opened a store of
his own, and operated a sawmill, engaging in a gen-
eral lumber business. In 1860 Mr. Diffenbaugh
was married to Miss Sarah Goodman, daughter of
John Goodman, a farmer of Mill Creek. They have
had two children, Harry J. and Nora E., of whom
the latter died when about eleven years of age. In
1868 Mr. Diffenbaugh sold out his business and
moved to Dwight, 111., where he began farming on
land which he had previously bought about two
miles south of Dwight. In 1870 he engaged in the
grain business, which he has prosecuted with suc-
cess up to the present time.

In political matters Mr. Diffenbaugh acts with
the Democratic party, and has been Assessor of the
township for three years, and a member of the
School Board. He is a prominent member of the
Masonic fraternity, and takes an active interest in
lodge matters. A life of perseverance and indus-
try has earned for Mr. Diffenbaugh an excellent
reputation as a business man, and he stands de-
servedly high in commercial circles. In his social
relations with the people he has popularized him-
self with all classes, by whom he is held in the high-
est esteem.

EWIS HOLLOWAY, dealer in dry-goods,
groceries, tin and glassware in the village
i 'v of Wing, Pleasant Ridge Township, was
born in Hamilton Count}', Ohio, in 1838. He is
the son of John and Mary (Massey) Holloway, the
former of whom was born in 1809 and died in 1849
in Ohio. He was a cabinet-maker b}' trade, and

was skillful in his calling. The father's death oc-
curred one day after that of the mother, the death
of both being caused by cholera. They were the
parents of seven children, whose names are as fol-
lows: John, Ann, Lewis, William, Sarah, Edward
and Emily.

Mr. Holloway came to Illinois in 1855, and lo-
cated in LaSalle County, where he learned the
trades of bricklaying and plastering, at which he
worked for four years and then engaged in farm-
ing. On the 8th of January, 1862, he enlisted in
the army, and was mustered in as a private in an
independent company attached to the 53d Illinois In-
fantry as Company A Cavalry, and known as Will-
iam Ford's Cavalry, afterward Gen. Halleck's es-
cort, and later Gen. Grant's escort, and later as
Company L, 15th Illinois Cavalry, and soon after-
ward it participated in the siege at Corinth, where
it remained for about one month. Thence it went
to Shewalla, where it remained until the second
siege of Corinth, in which it was engaged. The
first general engagement in which this company
participated was at Hatchie River on the 25th of
September, 1862. The company afterward went
to Glendale, where it remained until the spring of
1863. In the engagement at Hatchie River Mr.
Holloway had received injuries which rendered him
unfit for any service, and he was discharged for
permanent disability. His discharge bears date Feb.
25, 1863. Immediately upon his discharge he re-
turned home, and after recruiting his health about
one year he engaged in farming. His first purchase
of land was forty acres, to which he has from time
to time added until he now owns 140 acres of good
land on section 13, this township, and all under
cultivation.

On the 24th of July, 1858, Mr. Holloway was
married to Miss Mary A. Brundage, a native of
Pennsylvania, who was born on the 10th of Septem-
ber, 1842. Mr. and Mrs. Holloway have had ten
children, eight of whom are now living: Oscar,
Clarence, Alice, Ida J., Harry, Clifford, George and
Alma. Mr. Holloway began his present business in
May, 1880, but afterward disposed of it and went to
the farm, where he staid two years. He then returned
to Wing and erected another store building, which
he supplied with a large and varied stock of goods,

204

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

consisting principally of flour, boots and shoes, dry-
goods, groceries, tin and glassware. lie has built
up an extensive trade with the people of that sec-
tion of the country, and is meeting with marked
success.

In politics Mr. llolloway acts with the Repub-
lican party, and has been selected by the people to
discharge the duties of various offices. He has
filled the office of Road Commissioner nine years
and has been Justice of the Peace eleven years,
and during that time none of his decisions have
been reversed upon an appeal to a higher court.
He has jurisdiction in certain criminal cases, and
the decisions he has rendered in those cases have
been approved whenever an appeal has been
taken. Mr. llolloway does not belong to any church
organization, but is a strong believer in religion as
taught by Christ, and is a Second Adventist in
belief, but his children are active members of
the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a Comrade
of Post No. 114, G. A. R., at Forest, and is quite
regular in his attendance. As a citizen Mr. Hollo-
way is highly esteemed, and as a prompt and cor-
rect business man has earned an enviable reputa-
tion.

(AMES TANNER. This gentleman is one
of the oldest living citizens of Avoca Town-
ship, and has made his impress in the his-
_ ' tory of both the county and township. He
was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, on the
27th of September, 1815, and is the son of Rob-
ert and Jane Tanner, the former a native of Ken-
tucky, and the latter of Pennsylvania. His pater-
nal ancestors were of English and the maternal an-
cestors of Irish descent. His parents settled in
Montgomery County, Ohio, about the j'ear 1812,
and were among the very earliest pioneers of that
region of country. His father has been twice mar-
ried, and of a large family of children there are but
three survivors James, John A. and Ann M., the
last the wife of Samuel Parrott, of Kansas.

The subject of this sketch, when about twelve
years of age, accompanied his parents when they
removed to and settled in Fountain County, Ind.,
where lie was reared to manhood and received a

rudimentary education in the early subscription
schools, which were the only kind they had before
the inauguration of the present free school system
in Indiana. His early days were spent upon the
farm, where he gained that practical experience
which has been so' valuable to him in active life.
lie was first married in Indiana, on the 24th of
December, 1840, to Ann, a daughter of Robert
Buchanan, and a native of Pennsylvania. She died
on the 5th of March, 1852. Mr. Tanner's second
marriage occurred in Illinois on the 1 4th of Decem-
ber, 1853, when he was united with Ulala Tucker,
who was born on the 14th of December, 1823, in
Butler County, Ohio. She was a daughter of Joel
and Sarah Tucker, who were natives of Kentucky
and Pennsylvania respectively. When seven years
of age she accompanied her parents when they re-
moved to Tippecanoe County, Ind., where she was
reared to maturity. In 1851 with her parents she
came to Livingston County, where they settled on
the Vermilion River in Avoca Township, and were
among the pioneer settlers of that section. The}'
both died in this place.

In the spring of 1850 Mr. Tanner came from
Indiana to Livingston County, and bought eighty
acres of land on section 17, in Avoca Township, to
which he has added by subsequent purchases until
he now owns 154 acres, most of which is under cul-
tivation, lie has resided continuously on section
17 since he became a citizen of Livingston County.
At the time he settled here the market for his farm
products and the base of supplies was Ottawa, to
which point he hauled all his grain. He endured
all the usual hardships that befall the pioneer in a
new country, but he has been successful in life,
overcoming all obstacles, and has now one of the
most pleasant homes and best improved farms in
the county.

Mr. and Mrs. Tanner arc members of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, and for years he has served
as Class-Leader, Steward and Superintendent of
the Sunday-school. To the church he is a liberal
contributor, and as ;i member his example is wor-
thy of emulation. To encourage those actively
engaged in the battle of life, a few words of his
Christian experience from his own pen are quite
appropriate in this connection. "I was born of

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Christian parents, who in early youth taught me
the fear of the Lord, and to read His holy word.
I \VM.S eon verted and gave my heart to God in my
sixteenth year, finding great peace in believing in
the Lord Jesus Christ. In this Christian faith and
hope I have lived for fifty-six years. A large ma-
jority of my friends and neighbors have passed on
before, and I hope to -meet many of them in the
land where sickness and death will never come."
He has served as Road Commissioner of the town-
ship one term, for several years of said board as
Treasurer, and as Justice of the Peace five years,
and all these positions he has filled with credit to
himself and to the satisfaction of the people. Mr.
Tanner was appointed Postmaster of Lodemia, Oct.
24. 1878, and has held the office up to the present
time. He is a Republican in politics, and is thor-
oughly imbued with the doctrines and modern
ideas of that party. He has a tendency toward the
doctrines of the Prohibition party, and looks upon
the evil of intemperance as one of the greatest
curses of the land. He and his wife are now in
their declining years, but are enjoying the fruits of
a life spent in usefulness and well-doing. They
are both highly esteemed b'y their neighbors and
acquaintances.

A. HUNTER. One of the most
jH] prominent young business men in the city
of Odell, and one who deserves special men-
tion for the energy with which he conducts his
business, is the subject of this sketch, who is a
dealer in drugs and medicines. He was born in
Lawrence Count}-, Pa., on the 5th of November,
1857. and in order of birth was third in a family
of four children born to James A. and Jane
(Struthers) Hunter, whose biographies appear in
this Ai.ncM.

Mr. Hunter was reared to city life and educated
in the schools of Odell, where his parents located
when he was eight years of age. From that time
until he was sixteen years of age he constantly at-
tended school, and was then granted a teacher's
certificate, and engaged to teach school in the
country, but an eminent physician. Dr. \Valdon, at

this time bought a half interest in the Odell City
Drug .Store with J. P. Kidder, with the understand-
ing that young Hunter should take charge of his
interest there. At the end of the first week in the
school-room he turned over to a successor his
school work and entered the store, in 1874. It
being the home of his youth, his acquaintance ex-
tended throughout the entire city and many miles
in the surrounding country, and his natural genial
disposition and upright life, which was an open
book to all, brought to him the patronage of the
best people of the community, llis business ca-
reer proved him to be, as a man, what his' conduct
as a boy indicated. After being engaged as a
clerk four years, and Dr. Waldon desiring to with-
draw from the business in Odell, for the purpose
of going West, Mr. Hunter arranged to buy his in-
terest in the store. Negotiations were soon com-
pleted and at the age of twenty-one years he was
in full possession of a half interest in the best pay-
ing store in the city.

On the 17th of November, 1881, Mr. II. was mar-
ried to Florence M. Shaw, who was born in Lawrence
County, Pa., on the Kith of February, 1 80!) , and
was the second child of eight born to Stephen and
Harriet (Ramsey) Shaw, who were natives of Penn-
sylvania. Her father was a stanch Abolitionist
during the exciting days of the discussion of the
slavery question, and during the war was one of
the most active aiders and abettors of anti-slavery
doctrines. An early acquaintance between Mr. Hun-
ter and his wife during their childhood led up to
their marriage. The}' are the parents of two chil-
dren: James A. was born on the 29th of Septem-
ber, 1882, and Harriet J., on the 4th of March,
1887. Mr. Hunter has been remarkably successful
in his business affairs, and makes safe investments
of his surplus cash. The cottage home which he
purchased some four years ago was the beginning
of his investment in real estate. In addition to
this he also wwns a half interest in the store build-
ing where his business is carried on, and a quarter
section of fine farming land in Dakota.

Mr. Hunter is quite active in political matters,
displaying the same energy as he does in his busi-
ness, and all his political efforts are directed for the
benefit of the Republican party. There i> no self-

20G

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

ish motive to any part he may take in politics, for
he does not desire public office, preferring to de-
vote his time to his private business. He is a
member in high standing of the Masonic fraternity,
and both lie and his wife are members of the Con-
gregational Church, in which he serves as Trustee,
and is an active Sunday-school worker.

<jw?AMES E. MORRIS, one of the oldest settlers
of Broughton Township, is a native of En-
gland, having been born in Wiltshire, June
21, 1815, and is the son of Prince and Sarah
Morris, both of whom were natives of England.
When the subject of this sketch was fifteen years
old his parents decided to emigrate to America,
taking passage at Bristol on the sailing-vessel "Mary
Jane," which left her port May 4, 1831. They
came via Quebec to Hamilton, Ontario, where they
landed June 21 following. His parents located on
what was then known as the "Huron Tract," near
Goderick, which was a wild country in those days,
and the family remained there until 1851, when
the father came to LaSalle County, 111., our subject
following the year after.

Mr. Morris received but a limited education,
even for his day, and learned the trade of a car-
penter, which he followed for thirty years, part of
the time in connection with farming. He was first
married in 1843, to Mis's Charlotte Carey, by whom
he had four children, only one of whom survives,
Susan, wife of Martin Seabert, of Round Grove
Township, this county. Mr. Morris was married a
second time, Oct. 1 3, 1853, to Miss Mary A. Carey,
and this marriage resulted in the birth of eleven
children, of whom eight are now living, namely :
Emma J., the wife of Frank Foltz, and Lydia, the
wife of Edward Lakin, both of whom reside in
Campus, 111. ; James C., a hardware merchant of
Emington, 111. ; Seth E., John E., Sarah A., Han-
nah E. and Benjamin C.

The subject of this sketch came to Livingston
County in December, 1858, settling in Broughton
Township, on the place where he now resides. His
farm was then in a primitive condition, and it
was only by much hard and unremitting labor thai

he transformed it into its present finely improved
condition. He experienced the usual hardship> <>f
pioneer life, such as distant markets and small
prices for the products of his labor. An uncon-
querable will, however, overcame all obstacles, and
he now owns 161 acres of good land, all of which
has been the result of his own efforts. Mr. Morris
is a member of the Baptist Church, in which he
has officiated as Deacon for several years. He was
among the first to preach the Gospel in his
neighborhood, which he did in the capacity of a
local preacher for many years. In recent years,
however, owing to increasing age and infirmities,
he has not engaged actively in ministerial labor,
but is still an active worker in the Lord's vine-
yard, and is an earnest promoter of every move-
ment tending to improve society. While not an
active politician he has filled several of the local
offices, having served as Assessor and School Di-
rector. In politics he is a Republican, and as a
man his unsullied reputation has won for him the
esteem and confidence of all who know him.

OHN GEIS, cigar manufacturer of D wight, is
regarded among the substantial German citi-
zens of the town, and is a fine representative
of the industry and persistence which are so
essential in the building up of communities, both
agricultural and industrial. He is the descendant
of a long line of pure German ancestry, and was
born and reared near the town of Villmar, in the
Province of Hesse-Nassau, of which his father was
one of the most prosperous farmers. The latter,
who owned a large extent of land, and accumulated
a good property, is now retired from active life,
spending his declining years in ease and comfort.
Only two of the family came to the United States,
our subject and his brother Joseph, the latter being
now a resident of Nebraska.

Mr. Geis was born in 184'J, and spent his boy-
hood years not far from the beautiful valley of the
IMiine, which is so renowned for its fertility and
richness in quarries of marble and iron ore. In
common with the youth of his country, he was thor-
oughly educated in the schools of his native Prov-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

207

ince, iincl remained there until eighteen years of age.
In the spring of 1807 he embarked on a steamer
from Bremen, and after a fair passage set foot on
American soil, and proceeded directly to the city of
Chicago. Thence, -not long afterward, he migrated
to Milwaukee, Wis., where he learned the shoe-
maker's trade, and remained four years. Then re-
turning to Chicago he took up cigar-making, re-
maining there four years also, and in 1 N75 was
married to Miss Mary A. Schmidt of that city.
They are now the proud parents of four boys
John, William, Joseph and Edward.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Geis were all born
at Dwight after their removal here, March 30, 1875,
where during a residence of twelve years, they have
fairly established themselves in the esteem and con-
fidence of the community. The career of Mr. G.
has been steadily onward, and he has built up a suc-
cessful patronage, both as a wholesale and retail
dealer, he owning his residence and his store. He
is declared to be one of the most straightforward
and honorable business men of Dwight. He is
Democratic, politically, and socially, belongs to the
I.O. O. F. and the K. of P.

11. CHISAM. It being generally believed
that heredity has much to do with the forma-
tion of character, and that our lives are
stimulated by the indirect as well as the immediate
influences of our ancestors, a short resume of the
lives of Mr. Chisam's parents may serve as the in-
dex to the liberal and humane impulses which mark
his daily life, and which have won for him the
esteem of those who know him.

The subject of this sketch, a dealer in grain and
hay at Odell, was born in Rome, N. Y., on the I'.Hh
of July, 1849, and is the eldest child born to James
and Margaret (Hayden) Chisam, natives of New
York. The paternal grandparents were James and
Mary (Cook) Chisam, of North of Ireland descent
and of the Protestant faith. They came to America
about 182(1, where James Chisam was engaged in
farming, and spent his declining years. The ma-
ternal grandparents were Dr. Ansonand Kate (Ilill-
iard) Ilayden. natives of New York, where he was

a practicing physician when the wolves chased night
travelers across the country to their doorj'ards.
The grandparents all lived to be more than ninety
years of age.

The father of the subject of this sketch was a
carriage-maker by trade, and for many years car-
ried on the business in Taberg, N. Y. After the
death of his wife he came West, and spent his declin-
ing years in Springlield, 111., with his son Charles,
freight agent of the Chicago & Alton Railroad. He
was a quiet, conservative citizen, taking but little
part in politics, though he espoused the principles
of the Republican party. At the age of sixty-two
years he died in Springfield.

C. II. Chisam was reared to city life, and was
educated in the common schools until thirteen
years of age, when he entered a general store at
Taberg, as clerk, where his parents resided at that
time. In that line he remained five years and then
came West to see what this section of country had
in store for him. lie came by the way of Chicago,
and down to Lincoln, where he had friends, and en-
gaged iii a general merchandise store for two years.
At the end of that time he went to Springfield, '111.,
where he served in the capacity of railroad agent
for the Chicago & Alton Railroad Company, for
about eight years.

While residing at Springfield, Mr. Chisam was
married, on the 1 2th of Ma_y, 1875, to Clara Arming-
ton, of Atlanta, 111., who was born Oct. 1!), 1850,
and was the third in a family of four children born
to Hezekiah and Frances (Verry) Armington, who
were natives of the State of Vermont, but were early
settlers at Armington, Tazewell County, where their
daughter was born. After marriage Mr. and Mrs.
Chisam settled at Springfield, where he was em-
ployed, and thence removed to Atlanta, when Mr.
Chisam accepted an engagement as a traveling sales-
man in Illinois. Five years later he left the road,
and coming to Odell, engaged in the grain business,
leavinghis wife and family at Atlanta. They were
the parents of three children, all of whom are liv-
ing. Mr. Chisam had been in business only a short
time, spending his Sundays at home, when his wife
died on the 22dof March, 1H85, having been a suf-
ferer from consumption.

Mrs. Chisam was a lad}' of high womanly virtue

208

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

and inanj- accomplishments, a graduate of the High
Scliool in Atlanta, and identified with the best in-
t crusts of the young people of that city. She was
a bright, vivacious, open-hearted young woman.
whom all her associates respected and loved. She
had always been a promising flower, and was a faith-
ful wife and loving mother; her bright, happy man-
ner, mid many excellent traits of character making
her the friend of all who knew her. The little boys
are with their father in Odell, which he contem-
plates making their permanent home. Mr. Chisam
is a Republican in politics, but does not take an act-
ive part; he is a member of the City School Board.

II. HINKEY, a prominent farmer, stock
^ii - _ dealer and breeder of full-blood Percheron

and Norman horses, on section 31, Dwight
Township, is of German origin. Herman Hinkey,
the founder of the family in America, came to this
country from Germany in 1853, and settled in La-
Salle County, 111. His father bought a farm in
Wallace Township, LaSalle County, and this home-
stead is still in the hands of his son, John H. Hinkey.
lie was the father of ten children, and lived on this
farm until his death, which occurred in 1881, at
the age of sixty-four years. He was a hard-work-
ing and industrious man, reliable in all his transac-
tions.

The subject of our sketch was born on the 15th of
February, 18411, and came to this country with his
parents when he was but four years of age. While
yet a boy he received a good common-school educa-
tion and took his first lessons in the details of farm-
ing. Early developing a great interest in stock of
various kinds, and especially in horses, he has been
given opportunities in after life of fully gratifying
his inclinations. When but twenty-two years of
age, young Hinkey went to Humboldt County,
Nev., .in 1871, and worked three years by the
month for his brother. Saving his money he rented
his brother's ranch of 640 acres of land, and raised
15,000 bushels of barley and wheat, which he sold
for ninety cents per bushel, and cleared $5,000.
At this time Mr. Hickey was prostrated by a very
serious illness, and was confined to his room for

three months, but ultimately regained his health.
In 1873 he bought a half interest in a hotel in
Winneniucca, Nev., and was successful in the con-
duct of the business.

In 187") Mr. Hinkey returned to LaSalle County,
and on the 20th of April, he was married to
Miss Mary McGinnis, daughter of Philip and Ellen
(Lynch) MeGinnis, of LaSalle County, 111. To
them have been born six children, namely : Maggie,
Philip, Ella, Agnes, Belle and Mary. Mr. Hinkey
took his young bride to his hotel in Nevada, where
they remained until the fall of 187~>, when he sold
the hotel and purchased a ranch, which he stocked
with cattle. He continued in this business until
1884, and was very prosperous.

In 1884 Mr. Hinkey returned with his family to
Illinois, and purchased 320 acres of land in Dwight
Township, which is situated on a gently rolling
prairie. On this land he began farming and rais-
ing blooded Norman horses. He now has two im-
ported stallions, "Taducah" and "Superb," full-
blooded Percheron Normans, which were purchased
from the importer, J. J. Kemp, of Lexington, III.,
at 12,000 each. Mr. Hinkey has also four full-
blooded mares, imported by Mr. Kemp. The}' are
all first-class animals, and were purchased at a cost
of $2,000, which makes a total investment in Nor-
mans, of $6,000. In point of superior beauty, power
of draft and weight, these horses are unequaled.
Mr. Hinkey is also a large feeder and dealer in
steers, and as he is a man of large and varied ex-
perience in this line of business, his work is all
conducted upon an intelligent basis. His stock has
achieved a reputation throughout the West equaled
by few and surpassed by none.

ANIEL REED is familiarly known through-
out Reading Township as the leading
dealer in full-blooded Jersey cattle and
high-grade Durhams, in which business lie
has had several years' experience, and has operated
with success. His headquarters are at a pleasantly
located farm on section 2',), where he also lia> a
blacksmith-shop, in which he employs his leisure

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

211

lime, and which proves a great convenience in the
general business of the farm, enabling him to re-
pair the machinery and at once save time and labor.

Mr Reed carae to this State from Ohio in 1850,
and early in life had been made acquainted with
hard labor and economy, and his early education
was extremely limited. When quite young he la-
bored to assist in the support of his father's family.
Notwithstanding this disadvantage, the experience
he acquired was of such value that on starting out
for himself he was found well fitted for the strug-
gle of life, and only sought the reward of his hon-
est efforts. This in a measure he now enjoys, as he
lias a good farm of 160 acres under a high state of
cultivation. Upon this farm was laid the first tile
for agricultural purposes in Reading Township, and
Mr. Reed has in other respects been one of the
most progressive men in this part of the county,
availing himself of approved methods and modern
machinery.

Mr. Reed was born in Clermont County, Ohio,
Dec. 2'J, 1*26, and is the son of Conrad and Cath-
erine (Weaver) Reed, natives respectively of Penn-
sylvania and Maryland. Conrad Reed was born in
Washington County, Pa., in 1796, and was the son
of John Reed, one of the pioneer settlers of the
Keystone State, whence he removed later to Ohio,
and was also a pioneer there. The mother of our
subject was born in 1805, and is still living, in
Streator, 111. ; she has now been a widow twelve
years, her husband having died in 1875, at the ripe
old age of seventy-nine years. Their children
were named Elizabeth, Mary, Daniel, Amanda,
William, Nancy, Catherine, Conrad, Matilda, Jane
and Jacob. Elizabeth became the wife of David
Tullis; Mary married Thomas Osborne, and is now
a widow; Amanda was the second wife of David
Tullis, who served three years in the arm}' and en-
dured great exposure and hardship, which finally
resulted in his death at home; William receives no-
tice elsewhere in this volume; Nancy is the wife of
A. D. Thomas, a practicing physician of Missouri;
Catherine married Charles .Werner, and is now de-
ceased; Matilda is the wife of Leonard Wet/., a
fanner of Long Point Township; Jane is the wife
of John Wetz, brother of the above Conrad; the
twin brother of Catherine died when quite young

in Ohio, and Jacob died there when nine years of
age; one infant died unnamed.

Mr. Reed learned the trade of a blacksmith in
Butlei ville, Warren Co., Ohio, and remained a res-
ident of his native county until thirty years of age.
Before coining to the West he was united in mar-
riage with Miss Eliza G. Merrill, the wedding tak-
ing place at the home of. the bride, in Clermont
County, Ohio, March 8, 1849. Mrs. Reed is the
daughter of William and Mary Ann (Woliver)
Merrill, natives of New Jersey. Mr. Merrill, who
was a wagon-maker by occupation, boarded a ship
bound for Australia which is supposed to have
been lost with all on board, as she was never after-
ward heard from. His wife died in Clermont
Count}', Ohio, in 1833, when her daughter Eliza
was but seven years of age. The parental house-
hold included the following-named children : Maria,
Eliza, Margaret, Hannah, Emma and Mary Jane.
Maria became the wife of Hugh Lemmons. and
the mother of one child ; she died of cholera at
Pickaway, Ohio, in. 1840. Eliza was born Feb.

6, 1829, in the State of New Jersey. Margaret
died in Michigan when ten years of age, while
Hannah came to her death by being scalded when
about five years of age; Emma married David
Brown in Hamilton County, Ohio, and they are
now residents of Reading Township; Mary Jane
died when three months old, and the youngi-st died
unnamed in infancy.

Mr. and Mrs. Reed commenced life together in
Clermont County, Ohio, whence they removed to
their present farm in 1856. In due time the house-
hold was increased by the birth of the following-
named children : Catherine, Amanda, Lucy Jane,
Conrad and Daniel M. Catherine was born March
14, 1850, and married Samuel Yerty, who is Con-
stable of Ancona; they have two children. Amanda
was born July 10, 1851, and died March 5, 1853;
Lucy Jane was born March 5, 1853, and died Sept.

7, 1858; Conrad was born Dec. 7, 1855, and died
Oct. 20, 1857; Daniel M. was born May 28, 1860,
and is now in LaSalle. 111.

Mr. Reed, politically, is untrammeled by party,
and in religious views he and his estimable lady are
independent. Their children were given the ad-
vantages of a good education, and have taken their

212

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

places in society as the honored representatives of
wise and judicious parents and good citizens. The
Reed homestead is one of the most attractive in
Livingston County, the result of the labors of a
self-made man, who commenced in life without
means and has proved an admirable example of
what may be accomplished by persevering industry.
No man is more highly respected among his neigh-
bors, and few have contributed more toward em-
bellishing the county and assisting to develop its
resources than he has.

As illustrative of the prosperity of this section
of country, and especially so of the gentleman
whose life is here briefly sketched, we present on
an ad joining page of this ALBUM a view of his resi-
dence, with its environments.

GORGE ORB, Postmaster at Round Grove,
and an extensive grain dealer, is senior
member of the firm of George Orr & Co.,
which was established in 1882, and is evidently
taking the lead in this business in the northeastern
part of Livingston County. They are young and
enterprising men, keeping pace with the progress
of the times, and to whom the community look for
assistance in those enterprises best calculated for
its advancement, socially and financially.

Mr. Orr, a native of Pennsylvania, was born in
Allegheny Comity, April 11, 1847, and is the young-
est of seven sons and seven daughters, the offspring
of John R. and Nanc3' (Thompson) Orr, natives of
Ireland. They came to America early in life,
locating first in Pennsylvania, where the father
died in Allegheny County, in 1852. The mother
came with her children to the \Vest when (ieorge
was :i lad nine years of age, and settled first in Do
Kalb County, 111., where the\- lived five years, then
took up their residence for a like period in Kendall
County, and in 18(17 came to Livingston, of which
our subject ha. since been a resident. The mother
is still living and a resident of Round Grove Town-
>hip.

Mr. Orr was bred to farm pursuits, in which lie
engaged until the spring of 1882. Besides his in-
terest in the grain business, in which the firm

handles from 80,000 to 100,000 bushels annually.
he owns a fine farm of over 400 acres, upon which
are first-class buildings and all other modern im-
provements. There is the usual quantity of ma-
chinery and farm stock which the agriculturist of
to-day requires for his convenience and profit, and
the estate in all its appointments forms a complete
country home.

Mr. Orr, while a resident of Kendall County, w.-i>
united in marriage, in March, 1877, with Miss Jane
Ilaverhill, who was a native of that county, and
born in June, 18">2. Mrs. Orr is the daughter of
Oliver and Juliett Haverhill, natives of New York.
and now of Kendall County, 111. She received a
fair education and was carefully trained to those
household duties and accomplishments which aid so
much in the happiness and contentment of a home.
Of her union with our subject there are three chil-
dren : Burton L., who was born Feb. 11, 1 877 ; Amy
E.,Jan. 9, 1880, and James, Jan. 1,188(5. Mr. O. was
appointed Postmaster in 1882, and the fact that he
holds his office under a Democratic administration,
being himself a stanch Republican, is sufficient
proof of the estimation in which he is held b}' the
people of his community. He takes a genuine in-
terest in local affairs and has served as Constable
and School Director.

pBUSTIN HOWARD in the winter of 1*80
came with his family to this county, and
shortly afterward secured possession of 160
acres of good land on section 2!i, in
Broughton Township. This he has since occupied,
bringing about many improvements, and proving
himself to be a thorough and skillful agriculturist,
a good business man, and a valued addition to the
community. lie makes a specialty of stock-raising,
and lias all the conveniences for carrying on the
various pursuits of the farm after the most ap-
proved methods.

Mr. Howard is comparatively a young man, hav-
ing been born July 20, 1843, and is a native of
Kane County, this State. His parents, Philo and
Annie (Colvin) Howard, were born in New York
State, and are the descendants of prominent fami-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

213

lies, well known throughout the East, where they
are largely represented. They left New York State
in 1841, and the father, after reaching Illinois, pur-
chased eighty acres of Government laud .soon after
the organization of Kane County, of which he was
one of the earliest pioneers. The mother died soon
after Ihe removal, and the father followed his de-
voted wife in January, 1869. The latter, after the
death of his first wife, was married the second time,
and was the father of ten children, of whom the
following survive, namely: Melvin, of DeKalb
County, this State ; Oriu, of Broughton Township,
this county; Jane, the wife of Mahlon Snj'der, of
Cook County; Emerson A., and Zada, of Kane
County, and Austin, our subject.

Mr. Howard was the third son of his father's
family, with whom he remained in Kane County
until reaching manhood. He received a common-
school education, and with the exception of four
years spent in selling agricultural implements and
four years dealing in horses has been engaged in
farming. He was married after reaching his twenty-
fifth birthday to Miss Ella Bidden-, the wedding
taking place at the home of the bride in Kendall
County, Dec. 81, 1868. Mrs. Howard was born in
Quebec, Canada, Nov. 18. 1849, and is the daugh-
ter of Jeremiah and Nancy (Brown) Biddore, the
father a native of France, and the mother of Lower
Canada. Her father died in Quebec about 1850,
and the mother, when her daughter Ella was about
fifteen years of age, came to the United States, and
located in LaSalle County, 111.; she died in 1X69.

Mr. and Mrs. Howard continued in Kendall
County until 1880, and became the parents of eight
children La June, Zenas H., Philo E., Auson L.,
John A., Edward J., Everet B. and Ray C. La June
was born Nov. 26, 1869, and is attending the High
School at Pontiac: Zenas H. was born Oct. 23, 1X71,
and with the younger children is at home with his
parents ; Philo E. was born Dec. 4, 1*73; Anson L.,
April 1 1, 1876; John A., Sept. 8, 1879; Edward J.,
Aug. 23, 1X81; Everet B., Nov. 4, 1884, and Ray
C'., Jan. 20, 1X87. Mr. Howard has always been a
Republican and is serving his third term as High-
way Commissioner, the duties of which office he is
discharging with great credit to himself and satis-
faction to the people of his district. Botli he and

his estimable lady belong to the church of the Lat-
ter-Day Saints. He is public-spirited and liberal,
and in all respects a valued member of society.

The mother of Mrs. Howard was twice married.
By her first union, with John Perrin, she had five
children, namely : Mary, Mrs. Joseph Sear, of Ken-
dall County, 111., William P. and Stephen, of Can-
ada ; Rachel, of DeKalb County, 111., and Nancy, wife
of A. Bowers, of Kendall County. By her second
union, with Jeremiah Beddore, two children, Ellen
and Mrs. Howard of this notice, were born.

DWIN DILLON. The little burnt clay
-j tubes used in draining land have revolu-
tionized fanning during the last few decades,
and the Illinois farmer who puts 600 rods of
tile under 160 acres of land full}- understands
their efficacy, and receives his reward in the in-
creased production of corn and wheat. Mr. Dillon
believes in the tile, and as an evidence of the
practical application of that faith he has one of the
finest and most productive farms in Livingston
County, located on secticn 35, in Eppard's Point
Township, where he is engaged in farming and
stock-raising. This farm is located on the south
line of the township, one mile from the town of
Weston, in McLean County, and is under a most
excellent state of cultivation.

Mr. Dillon was born on the l'.)th of October,
1839, in Tazewcll County, 111., and is the son of
Daniel and Ruth (Hoskins) Dillon. The former was
a native of North Carolina, where he was born in
1 802, and was brought to Ohio by his parents when
two years of age. In 1816 several families moved
from Ohio to Illinois, and settled in Tazewell
County, and in 1826 Mr. Dillon's father settled in
the same county, where he lived until IcS.'io, and
then moved to Delavan Prairie in Mason County,
where he lived until his death, which occurred in
March, 1 8X5. He was the father < >f eleven children
Jane, Cyrus, Emily, Caroline, Catherine, Mary,
Edwin, Daniel, Lorenzo, Annie L. and George.
Jane died in childhood; Cyrus is married, has three
children, and is a farmer in Tazewcll County;
Emily is the wife of Z. B. Kidder, who is engaged

' > 214

LIVINGSTON COUNTY,

in milling in Russell County, Kan.; Caroline and
Catherine arc twins; the former is the wife of Ed.
Lyons, lives in Mason County, and has three chil-
dren. Catherine is the wife of R. B. Summers,
and lives in Kansas. Mary married Abner Summers,
and died in Sullivan County, Mo., in 1882, leaving
four children; Daniel has a wife and four children,
and follows the trade of a carpenter in Peoria;
Lorenzo has a wife and four children, and re-
sides in San Jose, Mason Co., 111. ; Annie L. mar-
ried William Kent, and lives in Florence, Kan. ;
George died in 1857, when ten years old, in Mason
County, 111. Mr. Dillon's mother died in Mason
County, 111., in 1857. Both the parents were mem-
bers of the Society of Friends, in which the father
was a preacher and leader.

Mr. Dillon was educated in the common schools
and lived at home until twenty-one years of age.
when he began farming for himself, and continued
until the year 1862. He then enlisted in the
108th Illinois Infantry, and was assigned to mem-
bership in Company H, in which command he re-
mained until he was honorably discharged on the
7th of July, 1865, at Camp Butler, Springfield, 111.
During the time he was in the service he partici-
pated in the second attack on Vicksburg, which was
unsuccessful; the battle of Arkansas Post, where
7,(H)() prisoners were captured; the siege of Vicks-
burg; the Union defeat of Guntown, where 2,500
Union prisoners were taken, and nearly all of
their provisions. By this defeat this army was
made almost destitute, and during the subsequent
march of nearly 140 miles there was but one pound
of provisions to issue to each man. During the
time he was in the service Mr. Dillon contracted a
disease which became chronic, and was also afflicted
with inflammation of the eyes, which destroyed the
sight of one of them. In 1H64 he was sent to the
hospital in the field, and after remaining there
sonic time was sent to the hospital at Springfield,
111., where he remained until lie was discharged.
After his discharge he went to Mason County, III.,
and engaged in farming.

At the age of twenty-one Mr. Dillon married
Elizabeth \Vakelield. who is a native of Pennsyl-
vania, and daughter of Robert and Martha \Vake-
lield. She wa.- reared to womanhood in her native

State, and then accompanied her parents to Illinois,
where she had two brothers, who lived in Mason
County for many years. To Mr. and Mrs. Dillon
have been born five children Clark, Edwin. Alida,
Oscar and Edith. Clark and Edwin died in infancy;
Alicia was born July 11, 1865; Oscar, Oct. 27,
18(57; and Edith, June 11, 186!l. In addition to
their own children they have an adopted child,
whose name is Mabel J. Fultz, and was born March
3, 1884. Mr. Dillon first came to Livingston
County in 1867, but had purchased a farm the year
before. He has expended much labor and money
upon this farm, but in return has the satisfaction of
knowing that it is one of the most productive and
valuable pieces of farm property in Livingston
County. For his family he has provided a com-
fortable and convenient residence, and for the pro-
tection of his products and the shelter of stock has
made ample provision. He and his wife are mem-
bers of the Christian Church, and attend services
at Fairbury.

RS. ELECTA JEFFERS is the widow of
the late Nelson Jeffers, of Round Grove
Township. Soon after the death of her
husband she took up her residence with
her daughter in Broughton Township, of which she
has since been a resident, and where she is held in
universal respect as a lady possessing many amiable
qualities, and excellent business capacities.

Mrs. Jeffers was born in New London, Huron
Co., Ohio, Sept. 13. 1823, where she was reared at
the country home of her parents, receiving a good
education in the common schools. She was also
trained by her careful mother to those housewifely
duties which have such a great influence in the
happiness and comfort of the domestic circle.
In those days learning to spin and weave was
an essential element in the training of young girls,
and Mrs. J. became expert in these arts before
reaching the fifteenth year of her age. At this
early age she commenced teaching school, which
profession she followed until the time of her first
marriage, July 4, IH44. to Mr. John B. Conway, a
native of her own State, and one of the associate-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

215

of her youthful days. Two years before her mar-
riage she had created quite a sensation in herneigh-
liorhood by spinning 100 knots of yarn between
sunrise and sunset, an amount of labor which was
considered really wonderful, as it usually consumed
two and one-half days.

The year following their marriage John B. Con-
way and his young wife, accompanied by the family
of his father, James B. Con way, left the Buckeye
State and migrated to Green County, Wis. The
young people upon their arrival had but fifty cents in
money, besides two cows and a team of horses, but
their stout hearts and willing hands comprised a
capital which at that time and in that section of
country proved, perhaps, full}' as available as
money. The following spring the younger Con-
way purchased eighty acres of land of his father,
upon which he operated about two years, when, on
account of poor health, he decided to leave Wis-
consin and try the climate of Illinois. His parents
spent the remainder of their days in Wisconsin.
Soon after his arrival in Kendall County Mr. Con-
way purchased eighty acres of land, upon which he
farmed about two years, and then sold out and pur-
chased 160 acres in Grundy County. This also he
sold two years later, and in 1854 came to Living-
ston County, purchasing ICO acres in Broughton
Township, which comprises the farm still occupied
by Mrs. Jeffers. There was then but one family
besides themselves within the limits of the town-
ship, and their first winter was one of unusual
hardship, even at that day, and at a time when who-
ever ventured into that section of country expected
little else. They located on prairie land, and were
obliged to go a long distance for fuel, the labor of
gathering a load of wood employing three days'
time. The nearest mill was at Wilmington, a
journey which involved the same length of time.
The little household had been increased in numbers
by the birth of one child, and Mrs. Comvay dur-
ing the forced excursions of her husband from
home was obliged to remain alone with her little
ones and the house unfinished. Upon one occasion
a fearful storm came on, and in the absence of a
door and window sash the rain blew through the
house so that both mother and children almost per-
ished from fright and cold. The experiences of

those years of hardship would make a long and in-
teresting tale, and fully prove the correctness of
the adage that truth is stranger than fiction.

Mr. and Mrs. C'onway continued at the place
where they so bravely endeavored to establish a
home until the winter of 1861-02; in the meantime
they had surrounded themselves with many com-
forts, and the settling up of the country had made
.life quite endurable. The outbreak of the Re-
bellion now interrupted their plans for the future,
as Mr. Conway decided to enlist as a Union soldier,
and assist in fighting the battles of his country. He
joined Company D, 58th Illinois Infantry, and par-
ticipated in many of the principal battles of the
first important campaign, being present at the sieges
of Ft. Donelson and Vicksburg, and the battles
of Corinth, Shiloh and Red River, besides many
minor engagements and skirmishes. The sufferings
and hardships incident to army life brought on an
incurable disease, and Mr. Conway, after being
confined in the hospital at Joe Holt, Intl., died on
the 17th of January, 1865. His remains were laid
to rest in the cemetery in Broughton Township.

Mr. and Mrs. C'onway became the parents of
four children, of whom but one survives. The
eldest, Olive E., was born March 28, 1846, and
died on the 8th of October, 1855, from the effects
of a fall; James J. was born Sept. 18, 1849, and
died Jan. 22, 1850; Ezra B., born June 7, 1855,
died in infancy; Emily C. was born April 4, 1857,
and first married, Sept. 8, 1874, to Charles H. Glass,
and became the mother of one child, Frederick E.
Glass, born Aug. 8, 1875. She was divorced from
Mr. G., and on the 1st of October, 1879, became
the wife of Charles H. George, of this township.
Of this marriage there were born four children,
two living, namely : John Newell, who was born
July 8, 1880, and Frank Irvin, Feb. 5, 1883. Mrs.
George is a lady of good education, and much in-
telligence, and makes a pleasant home for the
mother who is now passing down the hill of life,
being in the sixty-fifth year of her age.

Mrs. Electa Conway, on the 25th of March, 1866,
was united in marriage with Nelson Jeffers, of
Round Grove Township, where the}' settled upon
a farm which Mr. Jeffers operated successfully un-
til compelled by his last illness to abandon his

21 (I

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

labors His death took place on theCthof August,
1878, in tlu' fifty-sixth year of his age. After the
death of her husband Mrs. J. took up her abode
with her daughter in Broughton Township, where
she has since resided.

The father of Mrs. Jeffers was Isaiah Day, who
was first married to Mrs. Annie (Durphy) Tripp,
and the}' became the parents of three daughters
and one son, Electa being the second child. The
mother died at her home in Ohio about 1827. Mr.
Day was a second time married to a widow, and
reversing the order of children, became the father
of three sons and one daughter by this marriage.

JOSEPH R. KING. The subject of this
sketch has recently become one of the land-
owners of Waldo Township, but has nearly
all his life been identified with the agricult-
ural interests of Livingston County. He has al-
ways been a resident of the State, and is thoroughly
enlisted in the work of making Illinois stand at the
head of the great agricultural States of the Union.
He is full of energy and enterprise, and the work
he has in hand is prosecuted with that vigor char-
acteristic of the man. He is engaged in fanning
and stock-raising on section 24, Waldo Township.
Mr. King was born in McLean County, III., on
the 25th of May, 1854, and is the son of Christian
R. and Mary (Beckler) King. He is the second
child in a family of twelve, and was about twelve
years of age when his father moved to Livingston
County, and bought 1GO acres of land, to which he
has added until he now owns 640 acres. Mr. King
was reared on his father's farm, but the educational
advantages during his boyhood days were so mea-
ger that he reached manhood without obtaining
more than a partial education. At the age of
twenty-one years he began farming operations for
himself on his father's farm, and after harvesting
one crop concluded that it would be better if there
were two instead of one to occupy a farm.

On the 7th of November, 1875, Mr. King was
married to Miss Mary, daughter of Christian and
Salome (Summers) Slagell. After Mr. King's mar-
riage he continued to farm on land owned by his
father until 18s:i, when he moved to the farm

which he at present occupies, which is well im-
proved and under a high state of cultivation. Mr.
and Mrs. King are the parents of the following-
named children : Elias, who was born Sept. 25,
1 87'! ; Christian, April 23, 1878; Benjamin, June 4,
1881; Joseph, Oct. 30, 1883, and Ada, June 2,
1 885.

Mrs. King was born on the 18th of June, 1851),
near Pekin, 111. Her girlhood was spent with her
parents upon the farm, and she attended the com-
mon schools, in which she received a good educa-
tion. Her parents were natives of France, where
the father was born in February, 1819, and the
mother on the 17th of June of the same year.
They were united in marriage in the city of Cin-
cinnati, and came to Livingston County when
Mary was five years of age. The father died on
the 26th of November, 1884, and tin mother is
still living in Waldo Township.

Mr. and Mrs. King have made an excellent start
in life and their prospects for the future are bright.
They both participate actively in all matters that
concern the welfare of the community in which
they reside. In the management of their own af-
fairs they are prudent and economical, yet liberal
when and where liberality will accomplish the most
good. Mr. King is thoroughly interested in the
growth and improvement of Livingston County,
and particularly of Waldo Township, where his in-
terests lie. The family enjoy the respect and es-
teem of all those with whom they associate.

As indicative of the progress made in this sec-
tion of country we present on another page of this
AI.IU-M a view of Mr. King's residence.

3 A. GARRELS is the proprietor of a
comfortable homestead on section 16, Ne-
braska Township, which invariably attracts
the eye of the passer-by from its neat and well-kept
appearance, the convenient and substantial build-
ings, the goodly array of well-fed stock, and all the
other appurtenances of a modern farm. A view of
this pleasant and valuable homestead is given in
this volume. Our subject, a highly respected Ger-
man citizen, crossed the Atlantic in his youth, and
commenced at the foot of the ladder to work his

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

217

way up in the world. He should bo reasonably
well satisfied with the position which he has attained
as a citizen and a property owner. His accumula-
tions are the result of his own industry, and lie has
pursued that steady and straightforward course
which forms the basis upon which men establish
themselves in the esteem and confidence of those
with whom they have to deal.

Our subject was born in the Province of Han-
over, Germany, Dec. 22, 1841, and is the son of
Abjet and Franke (Kaiser) Garrels, who were also
of German birth and parentage. They immigrated
to America when George A. was about fifteen years
of age, landing in the city of New Orleans, Nov. 2,
1857. Thence they proceeded up the Mississippi
River to Quincy and located in Adams County,
this State, where the father purchased fifty acres of
land, upon which they lived for the following seven
years. Then selling out they came to this county
and purchased the land which constitutes the pres-
ent homestead of our subject.

There is one law of" the German Empire which
might well be imitated by countries all over the
face of the earth, and that is compulsory education.
In compliance with this law, oursubject was placed
in school at an earlj' age, and pursued his studies,
which he completed at fourteen years old. He re-
mained with his parents until the breaking out of
the Civil War, and then enlisted in the 100th Illi-
nois Infantry. His first engagement was at Dyer's
Station, where he and a number of his comrades
were captured by Forrest's Cavalry. Upon being
paroled they were sent to Benton Barracks, St.
Louis, and there remained about nine months.
After being exchanged, in October, 1863, they
were sent to Memphis, Tenn., where they remained
during the winter following, and then, after partici-
pating in the siege and capture of Vicksburg, joined
the army of Gen. Sherman and assisted in destroy-
ing the railroad line from Vicksburg to Meridian,
Miss. Subsequently they met the rebels in battle
at Pleasant View on Black River, and after a skir-
mish at Meridian returned to Vicksburg, and from
there set out on the Red River expedition. Mr.
Garrels while at Shreveport, La., was taken ill and
put upon a boat bound for Vicksburg. It was at-
tacked by the rebels but finally succeeded in mak-

ing the passage in safety. In the meantime the
Red River was so low that vessels could not pass,
and a dam was built in order that the boats might
be taken over the rapids. Oursubject after recov-
ering, was finally sent to Jefferson Barracks, St.
Louis, to defend the city against the rebel General,
Price. When the danger was passed, they repaired
to Nashville and engaged in a two clays' fight, al-
most completely annihilating Hood's army, there
being of 45,000 troops only about 7,000 able-
bodied men remaining after the battle. They
pressed him on to Eastport, where they put up for
the winter, and in the spring moved upon Mobile,
and the capture of Ft. Blakesley followed soon after
in April, 1865. The war had now practically
closed, and Mr. Garrels, with his companions, was
honorably discharged at Mobile on the 26th of
August following.

Mr. Garrels upon retiring from army life, re-
turned to his old haunts in Livingston County,
where he operated on rented land a year, and then
assumed the management of his father's homestead,
where he continued until his marriage. This in-
teresting event took place at the home of the bride,
Miss Sophia Obert, on the 6th of August, 1870.
Mrs. Garrels is the daughter of Vincent and The-
resa (Schwenderman) Obert, and ivas born in Bos-
ton, Mass., March 1, 1852. She came to Illinois
with her parents when a mere child, and has the
most of her life been a resident of Livingston
County. Mr. and Mrs. G. became the parents of
eight children, namely : Elizabeth, who was born
.June 3, 1871; Ida M., Jan. 19, 1873; Martin J.,
Nov. 23, 1875; Hermann H., Jan. 25,1878; Henry
\V., Dec. 1), 1879; John J., July 14, 1883; Will-
iam H. and Mary L. (twins) Sept. 2<s, 1887. Mr.
G. is Republican in politics, but has never been an
olfice-seeker, and gives his attention wholly to his
farm pursuits. He was reared in the Lutheran
Church, of which he is now a Deacon and Trustee.

The father of our subject was born in 1815, and
departed this life at his home in Nebraska Town-
ship, in February, 18(!7. His remains were laid to
rest in Central Cemeteiy. The mother was born
Nov. 23, LSI 2, and surviving her husband twenty
years, passed away April 1 1, 1887. She was buried
in the Lutheran Cemetery in Nebraska Township.

218

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

A sister of Mr. Garrets, Elske by name, \vns lioni
in Hanover, Feb. 22, 1845, and is now the wife of
Herbert Duis, who is carrying on fanning near
Milfortl, Iroquois County, this State; they have
nine children. Two half-brothers, Alex J. and
John II. Park, are residents of Nebraska Township,
this county.

ATTHEW R. MAXSON, sou of one of the
early pioneers of the Prairie State, came to
Illinois with his parents when a lad ten years
of age, locating first in Tazewell County.
Thence the family removed to Peoria County, and
from there our subject, in 1880, came to Livingston
and located upon his present farm in Saunemin
Township. He is comparatively a young man and
is one of those of whom much is expected in the
future, being wide-awake, enterprising and indus-
trious, and taking a lively interest in the enterprises
calculated to advance the morality and education
of the people, rightly judging thai, whatever affects
the whole will, in a like degree, affect each member
singly. A. well-regulated farm increases the value
of the property adjacent, just as a fine building in
the city enhances the value of property around it.
Our subject was born in Rensselaer County, N.
Y., April 2, 1X44, and is the son of Randall and
Deborah (Kenyon) Maxson, also natives of the Em-
pire State. His paternal ancestors were of Scotch
descent, and Mr. Maxson is one of a family of
eleven children : Mary, the eldest, is the wife of
William Judson, of Nebraska; Potter is engaged in
the nursery business at Benton Harbor, Mich.:
Norman is farming in Jefferson County, Kan. ;
Elizabeth is the wife of Clinton W. Card, of Morris,
111.; Orson lives in Nebraska; William in Ford
County, 111.; Matthew R.; Add ie is the wife of San-
ford .Stillman, of Jefferson County, Kan. ; Ellen L.,
Mrs. Lewis Johnson, lives in Fayette Count}', this
State; Jane, wife of William Cole, of Nebraska, died
Julv 22, 1887; Delia is the wife of Anson Stillman.
of Jefferson County, Kan. The parents passed their
last years in Peoria County, where the father died
in March, 1XG7, and the mother, surviving twelve
year-, passed away in .May, 1879. They were most

excellent and worthy people, fulfilling their whole
duty as parents and neighbors, and are kindly re-
membered by a large circle of friends and acquaint-
ances.

Young Maxson during his youth became familiar
with the various employments of farm life and re-
ceived a fair education in the district schools, pur-
suing his studies mostly in the winter. He was
naturally inclined to be industrious and economical,
and was extremely prudent about taking upon him-
self the responsibilities of a family until he could
suitably provide for them. After reaching his
thirty-fourth 3 7 ear, he was married, Nov. 27, 1878,
to Miss Alice E. Miller, who was born in Peoria
County, 111., July 26, 1 8;">6, and was consequently
twenty-two 3'ears of age at the time of their marriage.
The wedding took place at the home of the bride,
and Mr. and Mrs. M. at once settled in Peoria
County, where they remained until removing to their
present farm.

The wife of our subject was the daughter of John
E. and Eliza A. (Hare) Miller, who were pioneer
settlers of Peoria County, locating there in 1841*.
Mr. Miller was born in Reusselaer County, N. Y.,
and his wife was a native of Kentucky; she died
Nov. 7, 1 887. Their family included four children :
George; Flora, the wife of Edgar Davis, Harry
L. and Alice. All but Mrs. Maxson are residents
of Peoria County. Mr. and Mrs. M. have two chil-
dren: Fred R., who was born Sept. 24, 1X81, and
Alice E., Aug. 19, 1884. The homestead includes
eighty acres of good land, a comfortable farm resi-
dence, a fair-sized barn and all the other buildings
required for the shelter of stock and the storing of
grain. They do not pretend to live elegantly, but
are simply surrounded by all the comforts of life,
and probably are far more contented than those who
shine in the fashionable world. Mr. Maxson takes
an interest in school matters and for the past five
years has served as School Director.

During the late war Mr. Maxson served in the
Army of the Cumberland several months, being a
member of Company C, 8(>th Illinois Infantry. He
participated in the battle at Peri^-ville, Ky., and
was engaged in numerous other skirmishes with the
enemy. lie is an ardent Republican, politically, and
a member of the G. A. R. Post at Saunemin.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

223

)ENNET HUMISTON, deceased, was a pio-
neer settler of Livingston County, in Esmen
Township, becoming a resident in October,
1852. He became well and widely known,
as one of the most enterprising farmers and stock-
breeders of the county, and during all the years of
his residence here was recognized as a business
man of the utmost probity of character, one whose
word was considered as good as his bond. Born in
the good old State of Connecticut, and descended
from a long line of Puritan ancestry, who were
noted for their sterling qualities of man and woman-
hood, it could not be otherwise but that he would
inherit in a large measure the pure principles which
are characteristic of those people.

Bennet Humiston was born Sept. 6, 1830, in the
town of Thomaston (then known as Plymouth),
Conn., and was the son of Bennet and Emily (War-
ner) Humiston. His parents were natives of Ply-
mouth, Conn., and his father was extensively en-
gaged in farming and stock-raising. His father,
Jesse, the grandfather of our subject, was also a na-
tive of Thomaston, and was likewise a farmer.
The grandparents of Bennet on the mother's side,
were Aaron and Mary (Camp) Warner, who were
farmers, and descended from a long line of English
ancestry.

Our subject was liberally educated in the district
schools and the academy in his native town, after
which he spent a year in assisting his father on the
farm, then came West as above stated, with Mr.
Camp, and they entered into partnership in the
stock business, and were so engaged most of the
time until 1876, the date of Mr. Humiston's re-
moval to Pontiac. While still a single man, he
came with Mr. Apollos Camp to this county in
October, 1852, and purchased a tract of land and
settled in Esmen Township; he subsequently be-
came an extensive breeder of imported horses, and
was also a large stock-raiser of the higher grades.

Mr. Humiston was married, May 22, 185G, to
Harriet, the only living child of Apollos and Nancy
(Thomas) Camp, whose biography and portraits
are shown on another page. Mr. and Mrs. Humis-
ton continued to live in Esmen Township until
1876, when they removed to Pontiac, and there re-
sided until his death, which took place Nov. 14,

1883. He had accumulated a handsome com-
petency before his death, and was known and loved
in the community where he had resided for over
thirty years. In politics he was a stanch Democrat.
When a child he was baptized in the Episcopal
Church. He was a liberal contributor toward the
erection of the beautiful church of that denomina-
tion in Pontiac. He left to his widow a large landed
estate besides other property.

The portrait of Mr. Humiston, which is shown
in this connection, will be looked upon with pleas-
ure by all who knew him, as being the likeness of
one who at all times used his influence on the side
! of right. As a fitting accompanying picture, that
of his wife is also given.

ILLIAM CAPES. The connecting link be-
tween an American and an Englishman is
so close that it is difficult to tell when one
ceases to be an Englishman, and begins to be an
American. The Americans sprung from the En-
glishmen at a time when tyranny drove Englishmen
to the New World, and made Americans of them.
Ever since then has the work of making Americans
out of Englishmen been going on. Through proc-
esses which are largely pleasant, the subject of
this sketch, who is a representative farmer on sec-
tion 33, Pontiac Township, became an American
citizen. Mr. Capes was born on the 23d of July,
1851, in Lincolnshire, England, arid during that
year his parents emigrated to America. He is the
son of Willoughby and Elizabeth (Milner) Capes,
both natives of England. Upon their arrival in
America in 1851, they came direct to Tazewell
County, and there resided for twelve years, when
they moved to Livingston County, and settled in
Pike Township, where they still reside. There was
born to them a large family of children, nine of
whom survive : Charles ; Hannah, Mrs. John Crabb ;
William, George; Jennie, Mrs. A. Mott; John;
Sarah A., Mrs. Herman Baxter; David; and Mary
L., Mrs. George Crow. The parents are ardent
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
are widely and favorably known throughout their
locality, enjoying the respect and confidence of

224

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

their neighbors and friends. The father is a Re-
publican in politics, and takes an active interest in
political affairs.

When a boy, the subject of this sketch came to
Livingston County with his parents, where he has
ever since resided, and the very liberal education
he enjoys was obtained in the district schools of
this county. He was married on the 21st of August,
1874, to Miss Mary Kirkpatrick, daughter of G. L.
Kirkpatrick, formerly a citizen of this county, but
now residing in Kansas. They have two children:
Mary E., born on the 3d of June, 1875, and Delia
M., on the 2d of October, 1880. Mr. Capes be-
came a citizen of Pontiac Township in 1880, where
he has since resided. His admirable farm consists
of seventy acres of most excellent land, finely un-
derdrained, and well cultivated. He has erected
good and substantial buildings, and employs the
most improved machinery in the cultivation of his
farm. He acts with the Republican party, and has
been four years Overseer of Highways in his road
district.

Mr. Capes and his wife are identified with the
Methodist Episcopal Church, which they regularly
attend. They are highly respected members of the
community in which they live, and engage in all
social and moral undertakings that are calculated
for the improvement of themselves and neighbors.
In their own affairs they have been signally suc-
cessful, and not yet having reached the meridian
of life, the future before them looks bright. They
have learned that "where there is a will there is a
way," and they have the will to yet accomplish
much.

J~ ACOB YOUNG. Some of the most stable
and substantial citizens of this country have
been contributed by Germany, and this is es-
' pecially true of that portion of our country
known as the boundless West, where magnificent
farms have taken the place of the wilderness, and
the wild prairies "blossom as the rose." The sub-
ject of this sketch, a native of Bavaria, has done
his part in this world of transformation, so far as
one of the most beautiful portions of Illinois is

concerned. He is a farmer and stock-raiser on sec-
tion 33, Rook's Creek Township, and was born on
the 29th of November, 1844, in Bavaria, the son of
Henry and Margaret (VVirth) Young.

Mr. Young arrived in this country on the llth
of May, 1866, making the voyage across the ocean
in the steamer "Pennsylvania," which required
about fourteen days. He remained in New York
while awaiting information concerning his relatives
who had come to this country before him. Leav-
ing New York, he went to La Salle County, 111.,
where he remained nearly seven years, six of which
he spent as a hired man, and the seventh he worked
for himself on a rented farm. On the 1st of Jan-
uary, 1873, he left La Salle County and rented
land near Pontiac, on which he remained five years,
and then came to Rook's Creek Township, where
he purchased 160 acres of land on section 33, and
subsequently eighty more on section 34. On the
9th of January, 1872, he was married to Mary
Hensel, daughter of Christian and Annie (Hensel)
Hensel, of La Salle County, who were natives of
Wurtemberg, and came to this country in May,
1867. Thej' are still living in La Salle County.
Mr. and Mrs. Young are the parents of seven chil-
dren, all living with their parents: Annie, born
Oct. 28, 1872; Charles, born March 31, 1874; Ja-
cob, born June 4, 1876; Christian, born July 12,
1878; William, born Dec. 13, 1880; Mary, born
Jan. 6, 1883; Henry, born Aug. 10, 1885.

The father of Mr. Young was born in the year
1819, the mother in 1816, and they were married,
as nearly as Mr. Young can remember, about 1838.
The state of the father's health disqualified him
for military service, and he met his death by being
struck by lightning while seeking shelter under a
tree during a storm. Our subject was the youngest
in a family of three children, the other two of
whom are still living in Bavaria. The brother
Henry was born in 1842, and has four children.
His sister Catharina, born in 1839, married Peter
Wirth, and has two children. The name of Mr.
Young's grandfather was Michael Young, born
about 1790, and was old enough to be a soldier in
the French army under Napoleon. He avoided
service in Russia by employing a substitute, which
consumed all of his portion of his father's estate. '

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

225

He was a very rugged man physically, and lived to
be eighty-six years of age, accumulating consider-
able property. Mr. Young remembers seeing his
great-grandfather, and of hearing him relate the
details of procuring the release of his son from the
army. The father-in-law of Mr. Young's grand-
father, also named Young, was a wagon-maker by
occupation, and a great hunter, fifty years of his life
being devoted to the latter pastime as a business.
He was born about 1760, and lived to be ninety-six
years of age.

Mrs. Jacob Young had five brothers and one sis-
ter, their names being as follows: Christian, born
in 1849; Fred, born in 1853; Christina, born in
1857; Mary Gottlieb Walker; John, born in 1862;
Gottlieb, born in 1865, and August, born in 1869.
Her grandfather's name was Michael Hensel, who
was born in 1791 and died in 1853, being sixty-
two years of age.

Mr. Young is not a party man. but in elections
votes for the men he considers the most compe-
tent to discharge the duties of the office. He is a
member of the Lutheran Church.

SEORGE ANDREWS, who is largely engaged
in farming and stock-raising on section 29,
Waldo Township, is a native of Lincoln-
shire, England, which is one of the best known of
the counties of that country. It excells in its agri-
cultural products; its cattle, which are mostly
Short-horn and attain a great weight; its sheep,
which are famous for size and long wool; its fine
horses, flue soil, and number and beauty of its
ancient parish churches. Our subject was born on
the 31st of May, 1848, his parents being James
and Elizabeth (Plowright) Andrews. They came
to this country when he was about seven years of
age, landing in New York, and going at once to
La Salle County, 111., where the father rented laud
and lived for about two years. He then lived in
Knox County for a time, then returned to La Salle
County, and then went to Putnam County, where
he remained two years. He then came to Livings-
ton County in 1861, and purchased 160 acres of
land, to which he after ward added 160 acres.

At that time the chances for obtaining an educa-
tion in Livingston County were very limited, and
in the township in which our subject lived there
were but two school-houses, and they were so far
distant that a greater portion of the day was con-
sumed in going to and fro. Besides, it was neces-
sary to devote the greater portion of his time to
work upon the farm. He managed, however, by
close application to his studies during the time he
was permitted to attend school, and at odd times,
to secure a fair common-school education. At the
age of twenty-one years he began doing for him-
self, and engaged in working by the month for
about one year, then rented ground of his father,
which he began farming. This arrangement was
continued with profit to himself until he was twen-
ty-*ix years of age, when he purchased eighty acres
of land, which he owned and farmed until 1883.
In 1880 he bought another eighty acres, which he
also sold in 1883, and purchased 200 acres, upon a
portion of which bis house now stands, and the
other portion is on section 32.

On the 14th of December, 1876, Mr. Andrews
was married to Mary J. Kingdon, daughter of
Henry and Mary Ann (Hodge) Kingdon. To them
have been born three children : Mary Elizabeth,
born Oct. 31, 1878, died November 4 of the same
year; Lillie Mabel, born May 19, 1880, .and Percy
Henry, April 15, 1887. Mrs. Andrews was born
on the 20th of August, 1856, in Peoria County,
111. The father of Mr. Andrews was born in En-
gland on the 5th of April, 1820, and died on the
5th of August, 1883. He was a Republican in
politics, and after becoming a citizen of this country
took an active interest in political affairs. The
mother of our subject was born in England in
1825, and is still living in Gridley, 111. Our sub-
ject is the third child in a family of fourteen, nine
of whom are still living. Unlike his father, in
political matters he is a Democrat. In the way of
official positions he has held the office of Township
Collector three years in succession, and was elected
and re-elected as Road Commissioner. He is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at
Gridley, in which he is a Steward.

Mr. and Mrs. Andrews have surrounded them-
selves with very many of the comforts of life, and

226

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

the home which they occupy is one of the pleasant-
est in Waldo Township. The farm is well im-
proved, being under-drained, and thorough!}'
fenced. In their social relations with the people
among whom they live they stand well, and enjoy
the respect and esteem of all who know them.

ERBERT F. ADAMS, one of the enterpris-
ing and promising young business men of
Livingston County, is a member of the firm
of R. C. Adams & Son, general merchants,
dealers in lumber, and proprietors of the Black-
stone Creamer}'. He is a native of Livingston
County, being born in Nevada Township Feb. 28,
1861, and is the second son of R. C. Adams, whose
biographical sketch appears on another page of this
ALBUM. Our subject received a good education
in the public schools in the town of Dwight, which
he attended until eighteen years of age. At that
time he began clerking in the banking house of
D. McWilliams, of Dwight, and remained in that
institution for about four years. After this he oc-
cupied a trusted and confidential position in the
bank of J. C. Hetzel, and at the end of one year,
with another party he purchased this bank, and
they conducted it one and one-half years, when he
sold his interest to his partner and came to Black-
stone, purchasing an interest in his present busi-
ness in connection with his brother, Edwin F. They
were associated together until the latter's death,
which occurred in the terrible Chatsworth railroad
disaster, on the morning of the 10th of August,
1887. In 1886 they established the creamery
business in Blackstone, which proved to be a very
profitable adjunct to their other business.

On May 27, 1885, Mr. Adams was married to
Miss Mamie Bradford, who was born in Will
County, 111., on the 29th of February, 1864. Her
father was Chauncy Bradford, who was a native of
Vermont and the lineal descendant of Gen. Will-
iam Bradford, who came to America as a member
of the Plymouth Colony, and was its second Gov-
ernor. To Mr. and Mrs. Adams have been born
two children, upon whom they have conferred the
names of Jennie Olga and Catherine.

The firm of R. C. Adams & Son is one of the
best known in Livingston County, not only for the
magnitude of its business, but for its business
methods. It is prompt, reliable and enterprising
in all its dealings with the people, and has estab-
lished itself in their confidence. While the busi-
iness in which they are engaged is remunerative to
them, R. C. Adams & Son may be looked upon as
public benefactors, in that 'they furnish a good,
ready and cash market for the products of that
section of the country.

kUCAS H. BROWN is the proprietor of eighty
acres of good land on section 35, in Rook's
Creek Township, where he carries on farm-
ing and stock-raising, and is known as a peaceable
and law-abiding citizen. He is a native of this
State, and the son of Henry O. and Margaret M.
(Schonbeck) Brown, who were of German birth
and parentage. Henry O. Brown was born in 1807,
and the mother in 1816. They were married in
1844, and came to this country in May, 1857, where
the father died of lung fever. The mother married
again, and of this union there was born one son,
who is married and farming in this township.

On their arrival in this country in 1857, the fam-
ily of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Brown consisted of
three children, and was increased in September of
the same year by the birth of our subject. The
eldest son, Henry, enlisted as a soldier in the Union
army during the late war, and since the close of
that struggle has never been heard from ; Frederick
C. was twice married, is a painter by trade, and is
now a resident of St. Louis; Anna H., the wife of
G. Westermann, is the mother of six children, and
a resident of Woodford County.

Mr. Brown was educated in both English and
German in the common schools, and with the ex-
ception of a brief season spent at wagon-making,
has followed agriculture all his life. When twenty-
three years of age he purchased his present farm,
which was then a tract of partially cultivated land,
and he has made good improvements. Two years
later, Sept. 24, 1882, he was united in marriage
with Miss Lottie Frobish, at the residence of the

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

bride's mother, in Rook's Creek Township. This
union has resulted in the birth of two children,
namely, Daisy, born Oct. 31, 1884, and Elbert C.,
Oct. 21, 1880. The parents of Mrs. Brown are J.
Michael and Elizabeth (Konner) Frobish, the
former a native of Germany, and the latter of
Switzerland. They were married in Ohio.

EDWIN F. ADAMS, deceased, formerly a mer-
chant at Blackstone, was born in Nevada
Township May 1 1, 1859, and was the oldest
son of R. C. Adams (see sketch.) He received
his early education in the public schools at Dwight,
after which he advanced in his studies by attend-
ance at the State University at Champaign. After
completing his education at that institution he en-
gaged as clerk in a drug-store in 1880, where he
continued for three years. He then formed a part-
nership with B. B. Dow, and rented a building at
Blackstone, in which they began the business of
general merchants. This firm continued in exist-
ence until 1884, when he bought his partner's in-
terest and conducted the business alone until 1885.
He then sold an interest to his brother, H. F.
Adams, with whom he was associated at the time
of his death. On the morning of the 10th of
August, 1887, he joined an excursion which was to
run over the Toledo, Peoria & Western Road, from
Peoria to Niagara Falls. Within a short time after
boarding this train, and while running at the rate
of forty miles an hour, it ran upon a bridge which
had been partially destroyed by fire, and many of
the cars were precipitated into the chasm be-
low. The train being very much crowded at the
time, many persons were either instantly killed or
burned to death. Among those who lost their
lives in this terrible disaster was the subject of this
sketch. The Chatsworth railroad disaster has gone
into history as one of the most destructive of
human lives that has occurred in the annals
of railroading.

On the 7th of December, 1881, Mr. Adams was
married to Miss Elizabeth Baker, who was born in
Lebanon, Ind., in October, 1858. She is the daugh-
ter of Nathan and Margaret Baker, of Dwight, 111.

To Mr. and Mrs. Adams were born two children
Ethel and Harry. The widow is now living in
Dwight. At the time of his death the subject of
this sketch was one of the most promising young
business men of Livingston County. He was thor-
oughly fitted by education for business affairs, and
his natural inclination led in that direction. His
death, and the manner of it, was a terrible shock
to his family and all who knew him. He had en-
deared himself to the people among whom he lived,
and will live long in their memories. The wife
and orphaned children were the recipients of the
tenderest and most heartfelt sympathy of relatives
and friends.

ATTIG, an industrious young farmer
of Rook's Creek Township, occupies a snug
homestead on section 34, comprising eighty
acres of land, with a neat farm residence
and the necessary out-buildings. He has spent his
life thus far in the Prairie State, being a native of
Woodford County, where his birth took place Nov.
19, 1859. He has started out fairly for a young
man, and is making good progress toward the es-
tablishment of a permanent home and the accumu-
lation of that which greatly assists in smoothing
the rugged path of life.

Mr. Attig is the son of German parents, who passed
their youth in their native land, and emigrated to
America after their marriage. Upon their arri-
val in New York City they staid a few weeks,
when they came West and remained residents of
Woodford County until 1878. The father then
removed to Rook's Creek Township, this county,
and afterward to McLean County, where he still
resides, near Chenoa. The parental household in-
cluded eight children, of whom the record is as
follows: Catherine, the eldest daughter, became
the wife of John Snyder and is a resident of Mar-
shall County ; Frederick married Miss Mary Trucke-
miller, has two children, and is farming in Pontiac
Township; John, our subject, is the third child; Sa-
rah, Mrs. Frank Laschen, is the mother of two
children and lives in Woodford County; William
is unmarried and engaged in farming in Pontiac

228

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Township; George, Maggie and Christopher re-
main under the home roof.

The subject of our notice was united in marriage
with Miss Dorothea Salzman, March 4, 1886, the
wedding taking place in Rook's Creek Township at
the home of the bride's parents, Christopher and
Mary Salzman, of whom a sketch will be found
elsewhere in this ALBUM. The young people com-
menced housekeeping at their present homestead,
and have many friends in the community around
them.

THOMAS M. SPENCE. This gentleman
ranks among the representative farmers
and stock-growers of Rook's Creek Town-
ship. He has been a resident of the western
country about thirtj r years, and is of the opinion
that it is about the finest locality in the world. He
commenced life in Warren County, Ohio, Nov. 26,
1846, aijd is the son of James and Lucinda (Shields)
Spence, who emigrated from the Buckeye State to
Illinois in 1855. They lived near Pontiac about
two years, when they returned to Ohio and resided
there until 1870. In the meantime occurred the out-
break of the Rebellion and our subject, yet but a
boy, ran away from home with a companion, Caleb
Whittaker, and enlisted in an Ohio regiment, re-
ceiving a bounty of about $600. He was as-
signed to the 13th regiment of cavalry, and with
his comrades marched to the front, meeting the
enemy first at Petersburg, but not engaging in any
serious conflict, as the war was nearing its close.
He received an honorable discharge July 4, 1865,
and returned to his home in Ohio, where he con-
tinued until the death of his father, which occurred
March 13, 1867. The following year he left home
and engaged to work on a farm in Allen County
six or seven months, at the expiration of which
time, after a brief visit to his mother, he started
for Illinois. He worked by the month in Shelby
County about one year, when he came to Living-
ston, where he concluded to remain. A year later
he returned to Ohio for his mother, and they sub-
sequently located a tract of land from a warrant
which had been held by the maternal grandmother
on account of the services of her husband in the

War of 1812. This land is now included in the
present home of Mr. Spence.

Our subject, in 1873, returned to his native
State, and was there married to one of the compan-
ions of his childhood, Miss Hannah, daughter of
James and Isabella (Martin) Walker, Sept. 10,
1873. Of this union there has been one child
only, a son, Franklin M., born Nov. 3, 1875.

The subject of this sketch comes from excellent
Pennsylvania stock, who afterward became resi-
dents of Kentucky, where his father was born Feb.
4, 1803. The maternal ancestors were also from
the Keystone State, and the mother, Mrs. Lucinda
Spence, was born in Ohio July 2, 1812. She was
married to the father of our subject, Sept. 28,
1841, and Thomas M. was the third child in a
family of six sons all living, whose record is as fol-
lows: William Preston, born Aug. 25, 1842,
served in the Union army one year, married, and
became the father of three children now living
with him near Ft. Scott, Kan; his wife is dead.
Robert Franklin was born April 7, 1844, and en-
listed in the 4th Indiana Cavalry, serving two
years and participating in several important bat-
tles. He is married, has one child, and lives at
Hazen, Ark.; Thomas M. is our subject; Calvin
B., born Dec. 15, 1848, is married, has three chil-
dren, and is a resident of Ft. Scott; James C., born
March 2, 1851, is a resident of Kansas, and lives
with his brother William near Ft. Scott; John L.,
born April 19, 1854, is unmarried, and continues
on the old homestead in Rook's Creek Township.

The paternal grandfather of Mr. Spence was
born about 1756, and lived to be eighty-three
years of age. He served three months in the War
of 1812, and received from the Government a land
warrant which his widow afterward sold. The lat-
ter was born in 1771, and also lived to be eighty-
three years old. Grandfather Shields was born in
1776, and died in 1846, being seventy years of age.
His wife survived him eighteen years, her death
taking place in 1864, when she was eighty -six years
of age.

.Mrs. Spence was the third child in a family of
six, and was born in Ohio, June 1, 1841. Her
brothers and sisters, the most of whom are in
Warren County, Ohio, were named respect! vely,

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

229

Mary, Sarah. Jane M., Samuel B. and Martin, and
a half-brother, Scott Walker. Her father, James
Walker, was born March 8, 1809, of Pennsylvania
parents and ancestry; he died in July, 1879. The
mother was horn April 16, 1810, and went with her
parents to Ohio when a child eight years of age.
They were married Dec. 25, 1834, and the mother
passed away at her home in Warren County, Ohio,
in 1857.

J""j OSEPH A. BROWN, attorney-at-law, is one
I of the rising young members of the legal
profession at Pontiac, where he commenced
' practice July 22, 1884. He has been suc-
cessful thus far and bids fair to become prominent
as an attorney and counselor. Mr. Brown was
born in Warren County, Ind., Oct. 14, 1851, and
is the son of Joseph A. and Mary J. (Myers)
Brown, natives respectively of Indiana and Ohio.
His father was a merchant of many years' standing,
and departed this life at his home in Indianapolis
in 1856, leaving a wife and two children, Henry
F., now a resident of Arizona, where he is engaged
in mining, and the subject of our sketch. The
maternal grandparents of our subject were Will-
iam and Annie (Buckels) Myers, natives of Ohio.
After their marriage the}' emigrated to Indiana
during the pioneer days of Warren County, where
the father opened up a home in the wilderness and
became a prominent citizen. The father of Annie
Buckels was Abram Buckels, who served as a
soldier in the War of 1812, and spent his last years
in Warren County.

The subject of this history was reared on a farm
in Warren and Benton Counties, Ind., and con-
tinued with his mother until twenty years of age,
receiving a practical education in the common
schools. He afterward taught school in his native
county five months, and the next year operated a
farm on shares. The following winter was again
spent in teaching, and in the spring of 1873 he en-
tered upon a classical course of studies in Wabash
College, in Montgomery County, Ind., where he re-
mained for five years, then pursuing the same course
of studies for one year longer in Butler University

at Indianapolis, Ind., from which institution he was
graduated in the classical course in June, 1879;
then taught school the next three years in Indiana.
The total expenses of his six years' college course
were defrayed by our subject with money earned
by him before commencing the course and during
college vacations. He came to Illinois in the fall
of 1882, and was appointed Superintendent of
Fairbury schools in this county, and acted as such
for one year. In July, 1883, he crossed the Missis-
sippi. He had heretofore employed his leisure
time in reading law, and now entered the law
school at Iowa City, where he was graduated after
a year's studj', and thence returned to this county
and commenced the practice of his profession
July 22, 1884. Politically he is a decided Repub-
lican, and took an active part in the Presidential
campaign of 1884, by stumping nearly every
township in Livingston County.

Mr. Brown was united in marriage with Miss
Laura E. St. John, of this county, Dec. 29, 1881,
at the home of the bride in Eppard's Point Town-
ship. Mrs. Brown was born July 18, 1859, and is
the daughter of John and Emma St. John, natives
of Ohio, and residents of Illinois since 1851 or
1852. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have one child, a son,
St. John Loyd, born Dee. 9, 1883, at Iowa City,
Iowa.

ERNEST F. PIERCE. In a town the size of
Graymont, the man who occupies the posi-
tions of Postmaster, Freight, Ticket and
Express Agent, and telegraph operator, comes
very nearly having business transactions with every
man, woman and child in the territory adjacent to
the place. This is the case with the subject of this
sketch, who is now serving in all the capacities
named. He is the son of James H. and Rachel
(Reed) Pierce, and was born in LaSalle County, 111.
At the age of ten years he accompanied his father
when he moved to Clifton, and engaged in the
hardware and tinware business, being a tinner by
trade. While living in Clifton, oar subject learned
telegraphy in the railroad office at that place, and
commenced working in the office at the age of
nineteen. In 1879 and 1880 he was employed in

230

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

the switching yard at Oilman, when in the fall of
1880 he took charge of the office at Graymont,
where he has since remained, and was also ap-
pointed Postmaster in the spring of 1882.

Mr. Pierce was married, on the 27th of April,
1882, to Miss Sarah Beardslee, daughter of Smilie
R. and Ruth (Hebron) Beardslee, of Clifton. 111.,
the ceremony being performed by George F.
Weekes. To them was born a daughter on the 2d
of January, 1887, upon whom ]they conferred the !
name of Ruth. Mr. Pierce is the oldest child in a
family of six, the others being: Clara, Mrs. Bluford
L. Starkey, living in Piano, Tulare Co., Cal. ; Harvey
C. married Mary Brault, has two children, and
lives in Alleyton, Mich. ; Albert II., unmarried,
and lives with his father in Saugatuck, Mich. ;
Flora and Archie R., unmarried, live at home. Mr.
Pierce's father was born in Massachusetts on the
18th of March, 1825; his mother was born near
Harper's Ferry, but whether in Maryland or Vir-
ginia, Mr. Pierce does not know, as she lived in
both those States when a child. She came to Illi-
nois with her parents when about fifteen years of
age, and in La Salle County Mr. Pierce's father
became, acquainted with her, and there they were
married. The paternal ancestors came over in the
Mayflower; the maternal ancestors were of German
descent. Mr. Pierce's wife is the second child in a
family of eight, the others being: Laura E., Mrs.
Selva Beebe. has five children and lives in Ells-
worth County, Kan.; Emma J., Mrs. Edmund A.
Gardner, lives near Clifton, 111., having one child,
a boy; Alice C., Mrs. Byron Osborne, has two
children, and lives in Linn County, Kan.; William
R., unmarried, lives in Clifton, 111.; Frank S., un-
married, lives with his parents; Arthur S. married
Rachel Hall, and lives at Ashkum, 111; George M.,
unmarried, lives at home.

The father of Mrs. Pierce was born in New York
on the 4th of November, 1824, and accompanied
his parents when they moved to Michigan when he
was ten or twelve years of age. Her mother was
born in England on the 1st of April, 1829, and
came with her parents to America when she was
two years of age. They located in Michigan,
where in childhood she became acquainted and
went to school with the boy who afterward became

her husband, on the 25th of December, 1849. Her
maternal grandfather, William Hebron, lived to
be quite old, and died in 1857.

Mr. and Mrs. Pierce are both members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, to "which they each
attached themselves at the age of sixteen. Mr.
Pierce is a Republican in politics, casting his first
vote for Rutherford B. Hayes in 187G. He was
appointed to the office of Postmaster under a
Republican administration, and has conducted the
office with such complete satisfaction to the people
that no disposition has been manifested to displace
him since the advent of a Democratic administra-
tion.

lENJAMIN F. COLEHOWER, dealer in gen-
eral merchandise at Long Point, is one of
the most promising young business men of
the place, and already the possessor of a
good property. This includes his store building
and the two lots on which it is located, besides
three lots elsewhere, and a two-fifths interest in the
Masonic Hall. He is wide-awake and energetic,
one of those men who believe that the building up
of his town is as much a credit to the citizens there-
of as the building up of their own personal inter-
ests. He is accordingly interested in whatever per-
tains to the prosperity of Long Point, and is re-
garded as one of its most valued citizens.

Mr. Colehower is a native of this State, being
born in Peoria County, Sept. 22, 1854. Of his
parents,"John and Elizabeth Colehower, a sketch
will be found elsewhere in this Ai.nr.v. Benjamin
F. received a good education, and at an early age
gained a good insight into business methods, and
began to lay his plans for the future. He wa> first
employed at Long Point, and established his present
business in 1882. He began in a modest manner,
and increased his stock by degrees as he became
known, and there sprang up around him a good
patronage from the best residents of this section.
When the time came that he felt justified in taking
upon himself the responsibilities of a family, he was
united in marriage with the lady of his choice, Mi--
Jennie Phillips, who was born in Marshall Count}',
111., Feb. 24, 1858, and is the daughter of James B.

RESIDENCE or G.W. BLACKWELL.SEC.SS.CHARLOTTEIOWNSHIP.

RESIDENCE OTTHE LATE BENNET. HUMISTON,PONTIAC.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

233

and Sarah (Clifford) Phillips, natives of Ohio, and
now residents of Nebraska. The little household
has been brightened by the birth of one child, Leah
Blanche, born Jan. 30, 1877. They occupy a neat
residence on Fourth street, and enjoy the society
and friendship of a large circle of acquaintances.

^Jl OHN R. CAPES. This country is just now
passing through a period of transformation.
The generation of ante-bellum days is pass-
ing away, and is being replaced by a gener-
ation of men and women who date their birth dur-
ing and since the War period. This new'generation
is one from which much can be expected, for it
partakes of the new life which received its birth
and impetus when the nation started on its new era
of prosperity at the death of slavery. The man
who was born early in the sixties, and has become
anchored in the affairs of life is amply able to fill
the place in the stirring world of to-day left vacant
by any one of the old generation. Among those
who have come upon the stage of action with the
incoming of the new era is the subject of this
sketch, who is a representative young farmer and
stock-raiser on section 32 of Pontiac Township,
and a native of Tazewell County, 111., where he was
born on the 30th of August, I860, the son of Wil-
loughby and Elizabeth (Milner) Capes, of Pike
Township,] Livingston County. His parents are
natives of England, who came to Livingston
County in 1863 and settled in Pike Township,
where they still reside. A large family of children
was born to them, of whom the following are sur-
vivors: Charles, of Pontiac; Hannah, Mrs. John
Crabb, of Pike Township; George, of Livingston
County ; Jennie, Mrs. J. Mott, of McLean County ;
David; Louie, Mrs. George Crow, of Pike Town-
ship; Sarah, Mrs. Herman Baxter, of Pontiac
Township, and John R. and William, also of Pon-
tiac. The parents were members of the Methodist
Episcopal Church and widely known as devoutly
religious people.

John R. Capes has lived on a farm all his life,
and in his youth received a rudimentary education
in the district schools. For the past ten years, in

addition to his occupation as a farmer, he has en-
gaged in threshing, in which business he has been
quite successful. He was married Nov. 4, 1879,
to Miss Annie Kirkpa trick, daughter of G. L. Kirk-
patrick, of Kansas, and they have had three chil-
dren: George E. ; Olive F., deceased, and Elsie M.
Mr. Capes owns eighty acres of land, which he suc-
cessfully cultivates. He takes a lively interest in
political affairs, and in all such contests casts his
influence and vote with the Republican party. He
and his wife are members of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church, and take a warm interest, not only in
church affairs, but in all matters which tend to the
elevation of the people.

x^g\\ YRUS G. BARR, grain dealer and farmer, of
if! Nevada Township, was born in Bethel, Clarke
^^ Co., Ohio, Sept. 11, 1838. His father,
Jacob Barr, was born in Lancaster County, Pa., and
his grandfather, also named Jacob Barr, was a na-
tive of Germany, who came to America and settled
in Lancaster County, where he died. The father
was reared and married in Lancaster County, and
after marriage went to Clarke County, Ohio, pur-
chasing a farm in Bethel Township, where he re-
sided all the last years of his life, and died in 1847.
The maiden name of his wife, the mother of our
subject, was Christiana Barr, but no relation of her
husband, although bearing the same name. She
died before her husband, on the old homestead.
To them were born ten children, eight of whom
grew to man and womanhood.

The subject of our sketch was the seventh child
of his parents' family, and was but six years old
when his mother died, and his father's death took
place three years later. He then went to live with
James Lamb, in Clarke County, Ohio, with whom
he remained until he was fourteen years of age, and
then engaged in farm work in the same county at
$6.25 per month. In 1856 he came to Illinois, and
on the 1st of April of that year he purchased the
place where he now resides, paying for the land the
sum of $7.25 per acre. It was a tract of wild, un-
broken prairie, over which deer and other wild ani-
mals and game roamed at will. After buying this

234

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

land he went to Ohio, where he spent the winter,
and in the spring of 1857 returned to Illinois and be-
gan the improvement of his farm. He first erected
a house, 12x12 feet, which he occupied, perform-
ing his own housework up to the date of his mar-
riage. He devoted his entire time to the improve-
ment of the farm until 1881, when he went to
Mansfield and engaged in the grain business one
year; lie then resumed farming until 1885, in
which year he returned to Mansfield, and has since
been engaged in the grain business, leaving the act-
ive management of the farm to his sons.

On the llth of September, 18G1, Mr. Barr was
married to Keziah Morrison, who was born in Phil-
lips, Me., Jan. 4, 1844. Her father, Stephen Morri-
son, was a native of the same State, where he was
reared on a farm, and when a young man went to
Lowell, Mass., and married there; afterward he re-
turned to Maine, where he resided for three or four
years, and then went back to Lowell. In 1848 he
went to East Livermore, Me., and bought a farm,
upon which he lived until 185C, in which year he
moved to Illinois, and settled in DeKalb County,
where he remained until the spring of 1857, at
which time he moved to Livingston County, and
settled in what is now Nevada Township. He pur-
chased land on section 10, where he resided for a
number of years, and then moved to Dwight, where
he lived in retirement from active business during
the last years of his life. He died in Dwiglit in
July, 1876. The maiden name of his wife was
Lydia Hanson, who was born about 1818, and grew
to womanhood in Vermont. She is still living, and
resides in Dwight.

To Mr. and Mrs. Barr have been born six chil-
dren, whose names are as follows: David E.,
Charles W., Josiah II., Susan A.. Minnie E. and
Lj'dia E. Mr. and Mrs. Barr are both active mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in its
affairs take much interest. To the necessities of
the church they are liberal givers, and in all good
works which may result in the benefit of the pub-
lic, they participate active^'. In politics Mr. Barr
is a Republican, and casts his vote and uses his in-
fluence for pure nominations and a higher standard
of morals in the contest for preferment. He has
filled various offices of trust and honor in his town-

ship, and always to the satisfaction of the people,
and credit to himself. He is a gentleman of pleas-
ant and affable manner, and makes friends readily
wherever he goes He is one of those persons
whom it is a pleasure to meet upon any and all oc-
casions.

TEPHEN D. EWING. The "middle man"
sustains an important position between the
producer and the market, and in the in-
stance of the subject of this sketch, he bears
that relation in a dual capacity, buying the prod-
ucts of the farm, and forwarding them to the
market, and on the other hand, handling the prod-
ucts of the manufacturer, and finding a market
for them among the producers of grain. He is a
grain buj'er and shipper, and dealer in agricultural
implements, coal and tile, at Graymont, 111. He is
the son of John and Elizabeth (Bowers) Ewing, and
was born on the 22d of September, 1862, on section
9, Pike Township, Livingston County. The days
of his boyhood were spent upon a farm, and such
education as he obtained was in the common schools.
He remained on the farm with his parents until he
was about twenty-two years of age.

On the 3d of July, 1 884, Mr. Ewing was married
to Nettie L. Crow, daughter of William and Mary
(Plummer) Crow, whose sketch is given in another
part of this Ai.Bor. They have one child, born on
the 2d of June, 1886, upon whom has been con-
ferred the name of Lester C. Soon after marriage
Mr. Ewing moved to Graymont, where he engaged
in buying grain for his father-in-law, William Crow,
in whose employ he remained about two years,
when Mr. Crow's lease of the elevator expired, and
it was leased to Hamlin. Congdon & Co., who re-
tained Mr. Ewing in their employ, and entrusted
to him the management of their affairs. On the
1st of August, 1887, the firm style was changed to
Middle Division Elevator Company, and he was
still continued in the employ of that company.

Mr. Ewing is the seventh in a family of eight
children, whose names are as follows: Mary E.,
who was born Sept. 17, 1844, married Richard Mc-
Millan, and they live in Esmen Township; Rosella,
born Nov. 9, 1847, married Robert Ralston, has

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

235 , ,)

five children, and lives in Thayer County, Neb.;
Aurelius McCurdy, who was born Dec. 13, 1850.
married Frances Tracy ; they have five children,
and live in Chicago. James Loren, born July 2,
1853, married Mary H. Tracy, has three children,
and lives in Pike Township; George W., born Oct.
23, 1856, died March 3, 1874, and is buried in
Pike Township graveyard; Laura Matilda, born
March 11, 1859; Stephen, our subject; and Will-
iam C., born Feb. 12\ 1865. The parents of Mr.
Ewing were born in Ohio, the father on the 29th of
September, 1820, and the mother on the 25th of
April, 1824. They were married on the 1st of
December, 1842, and came to Illinois in 1862, ar-
riving on the 1st of March, and locating on section
9, where they remained until 1863, when they re-
moved to their present home on section 4, consist-
ing of a half section, and 240 acres on section 5.

1SAAC RAMY JOHNSTON. The people who
have more to do with shaping the destiny of
the country than any other class are the edu-
cators of the children. It is they who first mold
into shape the thoughts of the child when the book
of life is first opened to it. On these educators
depends largely the status of the rising generation,
and great responsibilities rest upon them. No
matter how humble the teacher may be, nor how
obscure his locality, wherever it is he is the great
factor in shaping the new generation for its duties
in life. To the grand army of educators belongs
the subject of this sketch. He is the teacher of the
school at Graymont, 111.

Mr. Johnston is the son of Adam Mitchell and
Lydia C. (Teachenor) Johnston, and was born in
Adams County, Ohio, on the 9th of January, 1851.
His father was a cooper by occupation, and lived
in Manchester, Ohio. At a time when Mr. John-
ston was about ten years of age he came with his
father to a little village called Fairview. Although
his educational opportunities were very limited his
diligence secured him a good common-school edu-
cation, and at twelve years of age he entered
his father's shop for the purpose of learning the
trade of a cooper, at which he worked for about

four years. His father then moved to Missouri,
where he engaged in school teaching, and Mr.
Johnston was enabled to attend school for one
year, after which he labored on a farm for one
year in the employ of his father, and for about two
years he worked by the month, giving to his father
the money he thus earned. Shortly after he was
twenty-one years of age he accumulated money
with which to purchase a horse and wagon, and
renting a farm commenced business for himself.

On the 10th of February, 1875, Mr. Johnston
was married, by Rev. J. H. Polandor, to Miss Laura
Frances Stretch, daughter of William and Eliza-
beth (Lupton) Stretch, of Lewis County, Mo.,
formerly of Clinton County, Ohio. After his mar-
riage Mr. Johnston remained one year in Missouri,
and then moved to Livingston County by wagon,
where he arrived in January, 1876, and rented a
farm south of Pontiac. On account of the exces-
sive rains of that year his crop was an entire fail-
ure, but he tried farming one year more and was
reasonably successful. In the month of Septem-
ber, that year, he began school teaching, in which
profession he has been more or less engaged ever
since. In 1882 he was appointed Treasurer of the
School Fund, a position which he has held ever
since. In 1879 he was appointed Town Clerk, to
fill a vacancy, and was afterward elected five
times in succession. In 1885 and 1887 he was
elected Assessor. Mr. Johnston is a Republican,
and cast his first vote for Gen. U. S. Grant. When
eleven years of age he became a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, but his actual con-
version did not occur until his sixteenth year. He
lived a consistent Christian life for several years,
but finally became indifferent and lukewarm, and
was not re-awakened to his condition until 1885,
at a meeting held by the Free Holiness Evangelists,
since which time he has been a believer in the
doctrines taught by that church.

Mr. Johnston's parents were born in Ohio. His
father is of Irish descent, and his mother is of
Scotch origin. They were married in 1 848, and
now reside in Wilson County, Kan. They had
a family of seven children, as follows : Sarah
Ann married William Emerson ; they have three
children, and live in Red Willow County, Neb.

236

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Isaac R., the subject of this sketch; Frances E., un-
married; John Mitchell, unmarried; Mary Agnes
married Charles Newton, and has one child; George
Wilbur, unmarried, and Wiley II., all live in Wil-
son County, Kan. There is an adopted sister named
Maud, who lives with his parents.

Mrs. Johnston is the second child in a family of
nine, one of whom died in infancy, and seven are
still living: Mary Ann married Zacharias Clifton,
and died in 1877; Laura Frances, Lewis Albert;
Mary has three children, and lives in Shelby Countj^,
Mo.; Marion Alonzo, married, is an evangelist and
sings at the Holiness meetings; Alice Catherine
married Brice Holbart, has three children, and lives
in Lewis County, Mo. ; John William, unmar-
ried, and lives in Kansas; Cora May, unmarried,
and lives in Lewis County, Mo.; Mary Emma, un-
married, and lives in Lewis County, Mo. Mrs.
Johnston's father was of German descent, and the
ancestors of her mother were Irish. Mr. and Mrs.
Johnston have had four children, as follows: Mary
Emily, born Dec. 6, 1876; Rainy, born March 8,
1881, and died in infancy; Marion Reno, born
June 30, 1884; Clarence Wilbur, May 27, 1886.

In educational matters Mr. Johnston is an en-
thusiast, and he and his wife both take a very
ardent interest in everything pertaining to the
profession. As a teacher he is popular, both with
pupils and parents, and his school is a model for
its discipline and perfect system of conduct.

eHRISTOPH SALZMAN, a thrifty German
farmer of Rook's Creek Township, owns
eighty acres of good land which he has cul-
tivated successfully for the last eighteen years, and
upon which he has erected a substantial and com-
fortable residence, a good barn and all the build-
ings required by the intelligent agriculturist. He
is held in respect as a useful member of the com-
munity, and for the last ten years has served as
School Director, although he would prefer to attend
strictly to his farming affairs without being the in-
cumbent of any office. He is a native of the
Fatherland, and after becoming a naturalized citi-
zen cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham

Lincoln, whom he saw and heard speak at Havana
at the time he was candidate for Senator.

Our subject was born in the Province of Saxe
Weimar, Germany, Jan. 23, 1835, and is the son of
Christopher and Dorothea (Schwinger) Salzman,
also of German birth and parentage, who spent their
entire lives in their native land. The mother died
while a young woman, when our subject was but
three or four weeks old. He was then taken by
his maternal grandparents, Johannes and Anna
Elizabeth (Tuchscha) Schwinger, and when a
young man accompanied them to the United States.
His grandfather died at Cape Girardeau while en
route for St. Louis, while the steamer was blockaded
by ice. Grandmother Schwinger survived her hus-
band several years, and came to Mason County,
111., where her death took place in the spring of
1856. The father of our subject married a second
time and reared quite a large family, all of whom
remained in Germany.

Mr. Salzman, upon coming to this country in
1 853, landed in the city of New Orleans, whence
he at once proceeded to Havana, 111., where he
worked on a farm about three years, and was after-
ward employed in the store of Walker & Hancock
four years. He was married, March 13, 1862, to
Miss Mary Schmale, and soon afterward rented a
tract of land in Mason County, where he carried
on farming four years. Then going to Havana he
took a clerkship under J. W. Jones, which he held
two years, when he decided to return to rural pur-
suits, and in 1869 located upon his present farm.
To Mr. and Mrs. Salzman there have been born
nine children, as follows: The eldest son, William
Henr}', born Dec. 28, 1862, remains at home with
his parents; Dorothea, born Dec. 18, 1864, is the
wife of John Attig, a fanner of Rook's Creek Town-
ship, and the mother of one child; Frederick, born
Oct. 19, 1866, remains at home with his (parents;
George Louis, born April 30, 1869; Maria Louisa,
Jan. 9, 1872; Sophia E., Oct. 20, 1874; Albert,
April 2, 1877; Anna C., Jan. 15, 1880, and Emma
L., March 20, 1882.

Mrs. Salzman is the daughter of William and
Sophia (Bulks) Schmale. Her father was born
about 1807 and died Aug. 28, 1855. The mother
was born May 4, 1805, and died Aug. 28, 1877.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

237

They were married about 1835-36. Mrs. S. was
the second child of four children who all lived to
years of maturity. Her sister Catherine died when
twenty-one years old. Henry married Mrs. Nancy
(Schwartz) Bohlander, has two children, and is
farming in Rook's Creek Township. Louisa, Mrs.
Louis Zelle, is the mother of eight children, and
lives in Havana, where her husband is engaged in
the grocery trade. Mrs. S. has a faint recollection of
her paternal grandmother, who lived to be quite
aged.

Mr. Salzman is a member in good standing of
the German Lutheran Church, and has inherited
the praiseworthy qualities of a long line of substan-
tial German ancestry.

H.K NTON G. JACOBS, a prosperous German
Ol farmer of Rook's Creek Township, owns

nearly 300 acres of valuable land on sec-
tion 34, which is thoroughly drained with
tile and provided with a substantial residence, a
good barn, ample corn cribs, and a fine assortment
of live-stock, including cattle, horses and swine.
Mr. J. has been largely dependent upon his own
resources since starting out in life, and his posses-
sions are mainly the result of his own industry.
His time has been principally employed in attend-
ing to his own concerns, and the result has been
very satisfactory. He is independent in politics,
has never been an office-seeker, and is a member
in good standing of the Lutheran Church.

Mr. Jacobs was born in the Province of Hanover,
Germany, Jan. 10, 1845, and is the son of Anton
G. and Mary (Rebelf) Jacobs, natives of the same
country. They emigrated to America in 1855,
and proceeding directly westward, took up their
residence first in Peoria, on the 28th of June,
whence they removed the following month to
Woodford County, where the father purchased the
farm on which he still resides. He is a gentleman
who appreciates the advantages of education, and
left his native land for the sake of his children,
who he considered would have better advantages,
both socially and financially, in the New World.

He had himself been fairly educated in his native
tongue, and pursued his studies after coming to
this country.

The paternal grandfather of our subject, Jacob
Harmon Jacobs, died in the Fatherland about 1851.
The grandmother, who was born about 1783, sur-
vived her husband several years, and died in her
native Province when about ninety-four years old.
Her family is of German ancestry, as far back as
our subject has any record. Mr. Jacobs was the
fifth cliild in fi family of seven, who lived to mature
years: Henrietta was married, and died childless;
Lamert, married and the father of three girls, lives
in Woodford County ; Mary, Mrs. Fritz Zachgo, is
the mother of nine or ten children, and a resident
of McLean County ; Margaret married John Will-
iams, of Woodford County, and has five children ;
Catherine, the wife of Christian Reiner, has four
children and lives in Ohio.

Mr. Jacobs remained on his father's homestead
until twenty-three years of age, when he was mar-
ried, Jan. 7, 1868, to Miss Mary, daughter of Al-
bert E. and Mary W. (Eadler) Sathoff, natives of
Germany, who emigrated to the United States in
1857, when their daughter Mary was seven years
of age. Mrs. Jacobs was born Jan. 4, 1850, and
was the seventh in a family of eight children.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs settled
down on a farm in Woodruff County, where they
remained seven years, when they removed to Ben-
son, and in 1881 took possession of a part of their
present homestead. Mr. J. first purchased 160
acres, to which he afterward added 126 more.
Upon this he has effected fine improvements, build-
ing up a country home which is the admiration of
all who pass by it. The household circle includes
nine children, all at home with their parents. The
eldest son, Jacob Harmon, named after his pater-
nal great-grandfather, was born Nov. 7, 1868;
Mary, Oct. 31, 1870; Albert E., Aug. 16, 1872;
Anton E., May 12, 1874; Henrietta C., Aug. 18.
1876; Gesena, Dec. 1, 1878; John M., Nov. 10,
1880; Hajo E., June 8, 1882; Bennett L., July 13.
1886.

The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Jacobs are re-
corded as follows : Bena was married in early man-
hood, and followed the sea, being Captain of a sail-

238

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

ing-vessel; their home was in Germany, where his
wife died in 1885, leaving four children. John is
married, has three children, and lives in Kansas;
Jesina, Mrs. Eddie Woltzen, has four children and
lives in Woodford County; Bernardino, Mrs. Al-
bert Woltzen, has thirteen children, and is also a
resident of Woodford County; Hajo married Miss
Phebe Franks, has seven children, and lives in Mc-
Lean County ; Albert E., married, and. the father
of six children, lives in Woodford County.

UDOLPH EISELE. Lying on section 17,
Rook's Creek Township, is one of the most
valuable farms of that locality, the cultiva-
tion of which has been in the skillful hands
of the subject of our sketch. He comes of excel-
lent German stock, and is a typical representative
of that reliable element to which the West is so
largely indebted for its development and progress.
The fair prairies of Illinois are dotted all over with !
the substantial homesteads of the men who left their
native land to seek their fortunes in the New World, '
the great advantages of which they had heard in
their homes across the water.

The subject of our sketch was born in Germany
on the 17th of April, 1828, his parents being Jasper
Eisele and Catherine (Rosebaum) Eisele, who came !
to this country in 1852, landing in New York, i
where they remained three years, and then removed '
to Virginia, residing there for three years. He at-
tended school for eight years in Germany, as is re-
quired by the compulsory education law of that
country. Being of a studious nature, he made rapid
progress in his studies, in which he became quite
proficient. From Virginia Mr. Eisele came West,
locating at Peoria, where he spent a portion of his
time on a farm, after which he came to Livingston
County, where he purchased 160 acres of land.
Mr. Eisele was married in New York, in 1856, to
Elizabeth Keck, and to them have been born seven
children: Elizabeth died in infantry; Minnie, Mrs.
Joseph Webber, lives in Livingston County; John
married Miss H. S. Fugar, and lives in Rook's Creek
Township; Elizabeth resides with her parents; Ru-

dolph and David are twins, born in 1868, and live
at home; Mary Ann, the youngest, lives at home
also. During the war of the Rebellion he served
for six months in the Union army. On account of
disability incurred in the service, he has asked the
Government to grant him a pension, but his applica-
tion has not yet been finally passed upon.

Mr. Eisele is an enterprising and energetic far-
mer, and takes considerable pride in the amount and
quality of live stock that he raises. His farm is
under a high state of cultivation, and he has erected
suitable buildings for the care of his crops, and the
shelter of his domestic animals. He has a comfort-
able home, with pleasant and agreeable surround-
ings, and enjoys the esteem and respect of all his
neighbors.

EORGE K. HOKE, one of the youngest men
engaged in business upon his own account
in Union Township, is successfully farming
and raising stock on section 17. He is a native of
Livingston County, and Union Township, and was
born in the house he now lives in on the 17th of
December, 1862, and was the fifth in a family of
seven children born to Samuel and Laura (Kenney)
Hoke, who were natives of Pennsylvania, and a
history of whom appears in another place in this
ALBUM.

The subject of this sketch was reared wholly to
farm life, for which he developed considerable apt-
ness early in youth. The winters of his boyhood
were devoted to attending the common schools,
and he received a very fair education. At the age
of twenty-two years he concluded to try his fort-
unes in the West, and proceeded to Lincoln, Neb.,
where he engaged on a ranch with the famous Buf-
falo Bill. He was not well pleased with that coun-
try, however, and soon returned to Illinois, where
he concluded to remain permanently. He began
farming for himself on the home place, where he
has continued until the present time.

February 10, 1887, Mr. lloke was married to
Emma J. Tanquarry, second child in a family of
seven born to Levi and Sarah R. (Mead) Tanquarry,
natives of Ohio and Illinois respectively. Mrs.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

239

Hoke's grandparents were William and Elizabeth
(Shackleford) Tanquarry, .natives of Ohio, and her
maternal grandparents were George W. and Lydia
(Perkins) Mead, natives of Ohio. The parents of
Mrs. Hoke came to Livingston County in 1867,
and settled on a farm about ten miles west of Pon-
tiac, where they resided until the death of the
father, which occurred June 12, 1874. The mother
still survives, and lives at Pontiac. Levi Tan-
quarry, the father of Mrs. Hoke, served in the
Union army for a time, but his health became so
badly impaired that he was compelled to accept a
discharge and return home. He was a member of
the Methodist Church during his whole life, and
was a Christian in every sense of the word. He
was largely identified with all the progressive strides
made by Livingston County. For very many
years he was a prominent member of the Masonic
fraternity, and religiously carried out its principles.
Mr. and Mrs. Hoke have settled on the farm lo-
cated on section 17, where they expect to make
their permanent home, and will expend their best
energies in surrounding themselves with all the
comforts and conveniences obtainable. Mr. Hoke
is not much interested in political matters, and pro-
poses to leave politics to the care of politicians,
while he will devote his entire time to the affairs of
his farm. Mrs. Hoke is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, in which she takes an active
part, and they are both earnest workers in the
cause of temperance.

iHOMAS C. KIDDER. This gentleman's
farm, pleasantly located on section 25 in
Rook's Creek Township, comprises a valua-
ble tract of eighty acres of land, provided with a
good residence and all suitable buildings. This to
him is all the more valuable because it was the
homestead of his father, who settled here upon his
arrival in this county about 1856. Mr. K., in ad-
dition to general farming has given much attention
of late years to stock-raising, in which he has met
with success.

Mr. Kidder is a native of the Prairie State, hav-
ing been born in La Salle County, Feb. 9, 1850.

His parents, Abel C. and Nancy (Chamberlain)
Kidder, were natives respectively of Vermont and
Massachusetts, the father born in 1800 and the
mother in 1814. They subsequently became resi-
dents of Ohio, whence they removed to this State
at an earl}' day and shared with the pioneers of
that time the hardships and dangers incident to life
in a new settlement. Abel Kidder departed this
life at his home in Rook's Creek Township, in 18G8,
and the mother Jan. 27, 1882.

Our subject after the death of his father took
charge of the homestead, upon which he has since
remained, effecting many improvements as the
years have passed by. To this home he brought a
bride in 1871, namely Miss Alice B. Cook, whom
he married November 30 of that year. They have
no children. Mrs. Kidder is-the daughter of Mic.ijah
and Elizabeth (Lewis) Cook, and the twelfth in a
family of thirteen children, eight of whom are liv-
ing. She was born March 4, 1850. Micajah Cook
was born in Virginia, Feb. 27, 1808, and his wife,
Elizabeth, in Kentucky, Feb. 16, 1809. They were
married Nov. 3, 1829, and made their home in
Fayette County, Ky., until their removal to Illi-
nois. They located upon a farm in Livingston,
Pike Township, where the mother departed this
life April 22, 1871.

Mr. Cook is still living, and makes his home with
his daughter Alice. Francis N. Cook, a brother of
Mrs. Kidder, served as a soldier in the Union army,
belonging to the 77th Illinois Infantry. He took
part in two or three important battles, and after-
ward contracted a disease from which he died the
day after his arrival home, in 1862.

The parental family of our subject included five
children. His sister is now the wife of Wilson
Breckenridge, of Kansas, and the mother of four
children. William P. Kidder, the eldest son, was
born in La Salle County about 1842. Upon the
outbreak of the Rebellion he enlisted in the 20th
Illinois Infantry, and after participating in the bat-
tle at Ft. Donelson was killed in the engagement at
Shiloh while lighting in the front ranks. Mr. Kid-
der cast his first Presidential vote for Gen. Grant
in 1872, and since that time has been a stanch sup-
porter of the Republican party. Although never
an oflice-seeker he has maintained a warm interest

240

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

in the general welfare of his fellow-citizens, and
has served as School Director six years. He i
ranked among the representative men of his com-
munity, where he is held in universal esteem.

REMINGTON, retired merchant
and grain dealer, is the owner of a pleasant
home in Fairbury, where he is spending his
declining years in the ease and quiet justly
earned by the labors of his earlier manhood. He
is a native of Suflield, Hartford Co., Conn., where
lie began life Dec. }4, 1820. His early education
was conducted in the common schools, and when
fifteen years of age he pursued the higher brandies
in an academy five years. The most of his time
he lived upon his father's farm, and early in life,
after completing his studies, embarked in business
as a grain dealer, locating first at Camden, N. C.
He was a resident of that town two years, and be-
sides his grain operations engaged in general mer-
chandising. The two years following he spent in
Mississippi and Louisiana, and migrated from the
latter State to Illinois in 1847.

While a resident of East Granby, Conn., Mr.
Remington was married, in 1846, to Miss Cliloe H.
Alderman, the wedding taking place at the home
of the bride' on the 31st of May. Mrs. R. was bom
in Chester, Mass., April 13, 1822, and is the daugh-
ter of Harvey and Sarah (Holcomb) Alderman.
She came to Illinois with her husband, and they
first located at Kaneville, Kane County, where they
resided four years. Mr. Remington engaged in
farming, and afterward purchased a stock of gen-
eral merchandise, and continued in trade about
seven years. He sold out in the fall of 1859, and
coming to Fairbury established his present business,
which has been marked with success from the be-
ginning. Mr. and Mrs. R. have one child only, a
son, Albert II., who was born Feb. ;">, 1850, and
after reaching manhood married Miss Elizabeth
No3 7 ce. He is now engaged in real estate and as
a grain dealer at Fairbury.

Besides his village property, which consists of a
fine dwelling witli ample grounds, Mr. Remington
owns ten acres of valuable land adjacent, upon

which he keeps ten fine Jersey cows. He has al-
ways taken a warm interest in the welfare of his
adopted town, and is the encourager of those en-
terprises tending to its advancement. He cast his
first Presidential vote for Henry Cla.y, and has
always been a stanch Republican. Socially he is a
Knight Templar in the Masonic fraternity; he
became identified with Masonry in 1854, while a
resident of Kane County. He was reared in the
doctrines of the Baptist Church. Mrs. Remington
is a Presbyterian.

The parents of our subject, Isaac and Abigail
(Gillette) Remington, were natives of Connecticut,
and of English ancestry. Their family included
three children Chauncy. Daniel, and Henry, our
subject; the latter is the only immediate represent-
ative living, his brothers and his parents being
deceased.

H. GUPPY is one of the successful farmers
of Pontiac Township, who at the age of
forty years was the owner of an excellent
farm of 1 60 acres, which he has been able to
purchase as the result of hard work. Mr. Guppy
is a native of Toronto, Canada, where he was born
on the 21st of July, 1846, his father being Emanuel
Guppy, a native of England, who emigrated to
Canada in 1840. The subject of this sketch spent
his first eight years in Canada, when he removed
with his father to Waukegan, Lake Co., 111., where
he remained until the breaking out of the late
Civil AVar. He was deprived of the care and
affectionate training of a mother, she having died
when he was but seven years of age. Being left
almost entirely upon his own resources, and having
to shift for himself, he did not have much oppor-
tunity for securing an education.

In April, 1862, Mr. Guppy enlisted in Company
E, 134th Illinois Infantry, which was one of the
100 days' regiments, and served with the regiment
until the expiration of his term of enlistment. In
the following spring he re-enlisted in Company C,
155th Illinois Infantry, thus participating in army
service, principally guard duty, for about seven
months, and was honorably discharged in 1863.
He came to Livingston County in the spring of

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

245

1864. Since his return from the army he has re-
sided in this county.

On the 31st of December, 1874, our subject was
married to Elizabeth Luke, born Aug. 31, 1851,
on Staten Island, N. Y., and a daughter of John
and Esther Luke. Her parents came to Livingston
about 1862. Mr. Guppy lived in Odell Township
until 1883, when he purchased a farm of 160 acres
on section 14, Pontiac Township, where he now
resides. As was said at the opening of this sketch,
he is a self-made man. and has obtained the owner-
ship of a good farm under the most adverse cir-
cumstances and greatest discouragements.

Mr. and Mrs. Guppy are the parents of three
children: William J.. bora Jan. 28, 1876 ; Mary E.,
Sept. 27, 1879, and Harvey J., Dec. 9, 1884. Hav-
ing overcome all the difficulties which surrounded
them at the beginning of their married life, Mr.
and Mrs. Guppy are now living in contentment,
and are very hopeful for the future. While not
taking a very active part in political matters Mr.
Guppy patriotically prides himself on being a mem-
ber of the Republican party, and freely does what
he can for the success of that political organization.

J"?OHN W. MILLS, Supervisor of Reading
Township, has a fine farm of 320 acres on
| sections 16 and 21, and is largely engaged
' in the breeding of Short-horn cattle. He
has been a resident of the Prairie State since 1854,
and is numbered among the most enterprising and
wide-awake men of Livingston County. The farm
is finely located and embellished with a handsome
set of frame buildings, including a tasteful dwelling,
a good barn, and the other structures required by
the modern agriculturist for the successful prosecu-
tion of his calling. A view of the place is shown
on another page of this work. Mr. Mills has built
up one of the finest homesteads in this section of
country, and deserves great credit for the manner
in which he has contributed to the wealth and pros-
perity of Reading Township.

Our subject was born near the town of Sabina,

Clinton Co., Ohio, on the 4th of June, 1835, and is
the son of Daniel and Mary (Bennett) Mills, na-
tives respectively of Virginia and Kentucky. Dan-
iel Mills was born April 17, 1781, and departed this
life at his home in Reading Township, Feb. 6, 1868.
His wife, Mary, was born April 16, 1793, and died
also in this township Nov. 2, 1877. They were
married in Ohio, Feb. 9, 1815, and became parents
of the children bearing the following names:
Thomas, Elizabeth, Louisa, James, Joshua C., Mar-
tha, Elma, Maria, Mary, Margaret, Melissa, Letitia,
Elvira and John W. (twins), and Louis Clark.

Mr. Mills was reared to manhood in the Buckeye
State, and early in life began to lay his plans for
the future. When about the age of nineteen he
started for the West, and finding no place which
suited him better than this county, located here
and has since remained, being now a resident for a
period of thirty-three years. He first took up his
residence in Reading Township, and in due time
made the acquaintance of Miss Lucy E. Coe, who
became his wife March 31, 1864. Mrs. Mills is the
daughter of John and Nancy (Wilkinson) Coe, na-
tives respectively of Connecticut and Vermont, and
was born Feb. 5, 1842, in Geauga County, Ohio.
John Coe was born Feb. 20, 1811, and departed
this life Oct. 5. 1862. His wife, Nancy, was born
Aug. 13, 1813, and passed away at her home Feb.
16, 1874.

The children of the parental household of Mrs.
Mills were, Daniel T., now a resident of Sheridan,
LaSalle Co., 111. ; Clara E., the wife of A. B. Whit-
ney, of Peoria, traveling correspondent of the
Transcript; Lucy E., the wife of our subject; Al-
bert, who resides in Kansas; Arthur, who died
when fourteen months old; Amie L., the wife of
W. T. Clark, a farmer and stock-raiser of Reading
Township. The parents were devoted members of
the Methodist Episcopal Church. The father served
one year in the Union army, being assigned to duty
at Johnston's Island, near Sandusky, Ohio, where
he contracted a fever which resulted in his death.
He died at Columbus, Ohio, and his remains were
taken to his home in Geauga County, Ohio, for
burial.

The four children of Mr. and Mrs. Mills are all
at home with their parents. The eldest son, Fred-

246

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

die E., was born July 10, 1868, and after complet-
ing his studies in the common schools, entered the
business college at Peoria, 111. He, together with
his sister, Clara E., has developed uncommon musi-
cal talent, which is often utilized in the social as-
semblies of their neighborhood and church. Clara
Eveline was born Aug. 13, 1872; Charles Franklin,
April 13, 1877, and Albert Roy, April 23, 1881.

Mr. Mills was first elected Supervisor in 1876.
He has been quite prominent in the councils of his
fellow-townsmen, and served as Assessor four years,
besides being Commissioner, School Treasurer and
School Trustee. With his estimable wife he is an
active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
and politically, affiliates with the Republican party.

We give in connection with this brief sketch of
one [of Livingston County's representative citi-
zens, the portrait of the man of whom we write,
and as an appropriate companion picture, that of
his estimable wife.

J~~| OHN LOAR. "Like father like son" is an
I old saying, and it is a pretty trite one. The
man who commences the struggle of life
without anything but willing hands and a
brave heart, and fights successfully through until the
end, generally transmits to his children an indom-
itable will, and a courage which makes them suc-
cessful in life. Such can be said of the subject of
this sketch, who is a farmer and stock-grower on
section 18, Belle Prairie Township. He was born
in Greene County, Pa., on the 21st of April, 1826,
and is the son of John and Hester (Stephens)
Loar, natives of Mainland and Pennsylvania re-
spectively. The father was born on the 28th of
November, 1789, and died on the 5th of May,
1873, in Pennsylvania. He was all his life a
farmer by occupation, commencing his career as
such without a cent of capital, and long before his
death he had accumulated a competency. He and
his wife were members of the Protestant Meth-
odist Church, and in early times the meetings of
that denomination were held at their residence.
The mother was born in June, 1794, and died in

December, 1881, both dying on the same farm in
Pennsylvania. They were the parents of fourteen
children, eleven of whom they reared to man and
womanhood : Sarah ; Jacob, who held the office of
Justice of the Peace fifteen years; George, who is a
minister; Appollos, a physician and Christian minis-
ter in Richmond, Ind.; Adam died in childhood;
Martha; John ; Henry died at the age of eight years;
Dr. James Loar, of Bloomington, 111.; Nancy died
at the age of four years; Levi. Hester J., Lany A.
and Elizabeth.

John Loar was married to Miss Maria White on
the 22d of April, 1847, the Rev. Foredyce, of the
Protestant Methodist Church, officiating. She was
born on the 24th of April, 1826, and is the daugh-
ter of Rev. David and Leah (Straschneider)
White, who were natives of Pennsylvania. The
father was born in 1795, and is still living, a hale
and hearty old man of ninety-two years. On the
day after his ninetieth birthday he delivered a very
fine discourse in the same school-house where he
studied eighty years before, this house standing on
the same farm where he was born and reared. He
displays considerable agility, and can run and
jump with nearly as much ease as he could sixty
years ago. He indulges considerably in horseback
riding, and in 1856 he rode from his home in Penn-
sylvania to Missouri in the month of December.
He has been preaching since 1820. The mother
was born in 1801, and died in April, 1865. She
was also a member of the Christian Church, and
her husband is credited with being the oldest liv-
ing minister of that denomination. They were
the parents of eight children Elizabeth, Israel,
Sarah, Mariah, Eliza J., Reason, Mary A., and
Christina, deceased.

Mr. and Mrs. Loar have had ten children :
Thomas J., now teaching school in Kansas; Martha
J., David W., Elizabeth S. ; George, druggist and
Postmaster in Cropsey, McLean Co., 111.; Emma
F., a school teacher; James L., a lawyer, and
graduate of Ann Arbor. Mich.; Fafayette died
at the age of fifteen months in the year 1868;
Ida B. and Artie M. Mr. Loar came to Illi-
nois in 1868 and located on a farm of 160 acres on
section 18, on which he has continuously resided
since. In the management of his farm and the T ,

E -

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

247

raising of graded stock, he displays unusual enter-
prise, and encourages all organizations that are in-
tended to further the interests of the agricultur-
ists and stock-raisers. He is a stockholder in the
Livingston County Fair Association, and also in
the Belle Prairie Farmers' Mutual Insurance Com-
pany, chartered Jan. 14, 1874, fora term of twenty
years. As a sample of the productiveness of his
farm it may be stated that in 1871 he cut twenty-
four tons of hay on ten acres of land, and sold
$600 worth of apples that were raised on the same
ten acres, and in 1881 the product of the orchard
was $550 worth of apples. There are 600 rods of
tile drain on the farm.

The family of Mr. Loar are members of the
Christian Church, in which he has held the office
of Elder for many years. He is a stanch Demo-
crat, and upon all proper occasions gives evidence
of the political faith that is in him.

AMUEL EARP, one of the pioneer farmers
and stock-raisers of Livingston County,
resides on section 4 of Rook's Creek Town-
ship. He is the son of William Earp, and
was born on the 31st of May, 1829, at New Gar-
den, Columbiana Co., Ohio. In 1856 he removed
to Wisconsin, where he staid one summer, and then
to Livingston County, 111., and settled in the
neighborhood where he now resides.

The father of the subject of this sketch was born
in England about the year 1803, and came to the
United States when fourteen years of age, landing
at Philadelphia on his fourteenth birthday. His
memory serves him so well that he remembers the
return of soldiers to England after the defeat of
Napoleon at Waterloo. He witnessed the review
of the American soldiers by Gen. La Fayette at
Philadelphia, in 1824. He had traveled over En-
gland quite extensively in his boyhood days in
company with an older brother, who was engaged
in selling pottery, and was present when he sold a
set of chinaware to Queen Victoria, before she was
crowned ; while in Philadelphia he learned the trade
of making boots and shoes. He was married in

Pittsburgh about 1827, and some time after this
moved to Ohio and engaged in farming. He was
the father of four sons: Samuel; James, who is
single and lives in Livingston County ; Charles W.
died Dec. 15, 1868; George died in infancy.

Samuel Earp received more than an ordinary
education in the common schools, and attended
the High School in Richmond, Jefferson Co., Ohio.
He cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham
Lincoln in 1860, and has been a constant and firm
supporter of the principles of the Republican party
ever since. He has filled nearly all the various
township offices, having served as Commissioner of
Highways a number of terms, and been three times
elected as Supervisor, and each of these places of
trust he has filled with such honesty and ability
that great satisfaction was given the people. Mr.
Earp is a man of very generous impulses, and has
made it a practice throughout life to assist all
worthy persons who applied to him for aid. Being
a firm believer in pure Christianity and apostolic
simplicity, his inclinations are toward the Christian
Church. Charles Earp, a brother of Samuel, was
in the Union army during the war, and served
under Gen. Sherman, taking part in that memora-
ble march from Atlanta to the sea. In that cam-
paign he contracted consumption, from which he
never recovered, and died soon after 'returning
from the army.

On the 13th of May, 1858, Mr. Earp was mar-
ried to Caroline Earp, daughter of Charles Earp,
of Livingston County. She is a cousin, and was
born on the 18th of February, 1834, in Norwalk,
Ohio. Her mother was born on the 26th of Feb-
ruary, 1811, in England, and during the first five
years of her life lived in Derbyshire, and at that
age accompanied her father to the United States,
landing in Baltimore, and going directly to Co-
lurnbiana County, Ohio, by wagon. Her mother
had died shortly before. John Morledge, the
grandfather of Mrs. Earp, was born in England
about 1774, and was a blacksmith by trade, but
after he removed to the United States and settled
in Ohio he became a farmer, and bought a half-
section of land, which he cleared and improved,
and which is now owned by John Morledge, a son
by his second wife. John Morledge was a member

248

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

of the Church of England, but his daughter Esther
has never been a member of any church, but be-
lieves that pure and simple religion consists in vis-
iting the widow and fatherless in their affliction,
and keeping unspotted from the world. Mrs. Earp
is a member of the Episcopal Church.

J^ AMES W. EISENHOWER, farmer and mer-
chant clerk, is splendidly situated on sec-
I tion 20, Rook's Creek Township. He is the
' eldest son of John F. and Catherine J. (Mil-
ler) Eisenhower, and was born on the 8th of No-
vember, 1835. in the State of Pennsylvania. He
made the most of what common-school advantages
there were in Newburg, Cumberland County, and
remained with his father, who was at that time a
merchant, until he was about twenty years of age,
when he was married to Caroline Harlin, on the
13th of December, 1855. For two years after his
marriage he was engaged as a clerk in his father's
store. A son was born to him and his wife on the
29th of October, 1856, and was named Theodore
B. In February, 1859, his wife died, and he
moved to McLean County, 111., leaving the child
in the care of his parents. After locating in Mc-
Lean County, he rented a farm for one year, at the
end of which time he sold what property he pos-
sessed, and engaged to work by the month for nine
months, but before the contract expired he enlisted
in August, 1862, in the 1st Marine Artillery of
New York.

During its service the regiment was mostly em-
ployed in the coast defenses, and Mr. Eisenhower
was actively engaged in three battles; the first at
Kingston, on the Neuso River, near Newbern, N.
C., in which the Union side was successful in capt-
uring 600 prisoners. Mr. Eisenhower thinks one
incident of the battle is worthy of mention. When
part of the men who were doing patrol duty began
to see shot and shell coming near they concluded
they had better be getting out of there, and so ex-
pressed themselves. Capt. Smith, of the 17th Mas-
sachusetts, reassuringly said, "Oh, no; those are
from our cannon, and they won't hurt us;" but
when the next one came near, pressing his head

against the side of a house which stood near, he
remarked that "we had better be getting out of
here." The second battle was what is known as
Dudley Halls, in which the Union forces were suc-
cessful. Soon after they were in the battle of
Goldsboro, where they burned a bridge on the
road leading from Weldon to Richmond, and de-
stroyed a portion of the track in order to shut
supplies out of Richmond. Mr. Eisenhower went
through the service without receiving a scratch,
and was honorably discharged in April, 1863.

Upon his discharge from the army, Mr. Eisen-
hower returned to his home in Pennsylvania, where
he again married, taking for his wife Miss Susan
Gunkel (now spelled with a K instead of a G), on
the 17th of September, 1863. He then came back
to Illinois and farmed in McLean Count}' until the
fall of 1865, when he moved to Marshall County,
where he carried on farming until the fall of 1867.
In that year they moved to AVoodford County,
where he purchased eighty acres of land and re-
mained there two years, sold out, and moved back
to Marshall County, and from there to Livingston
County, in the fall of 1 869, where he farmed for
two and one-half years on land belonging to his
wife's brother. He then purchased a farm of 120
acres, which he now owns. His land was unim-
proved when it came into his possession, but he
worked upon it industriously, and soon brought it
to a fine state of cultivation. It is honeycombed
with tiled ditches, and where trees never grew be-
fore he has planted them, and they now afford an
abundance of shade. He has an excellent set of
farm buildings, and all necessary implements and
machinery required for the carrying on of agricult-

ure in a first-class manner. The homestead pre-
i seuts one of the attractive points in the landscape

of Rook's Creek Township.

Mr. Eisenhower's eldest son, Theodore B., is
married, and lives in Albion, Boone Co., Neb., and
is a traveling express messenger on a branch of the
Union Pacific Railway. By the second marriage
there have been born the following children :
George A., born Aug. 1, 1864, married Lucy Ben-
son, and lives in Rook's Creek Township; William
A., born Aug. 27, 1865, lives in the same township;
Edwin K., born Nov. 1, 1867, is single and lives at

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

249

home. Mr. Eisenhower's sous are now conducting
the farming operations, and he devotes his time to
the management of Dr. J. Allen's general store in
Graymont, of which he has complete control.

Mrs. Eisenhower was born on the 15th of Febru-
ary, 1839, and is the daughter of George and Bar-
bara (Houser) Kunkel. Her parents were natives
of Lancaster County, Pa. Her brothers and sis-
ters were as follows : The eldest, Martin, died in
infancy; John, William, Elizabeth, Edwin, George,
Israel, Catherine and Martin.

yiLLIAM F. COOK. One of the younger
men and farmers who is destined to make
his impress upon the history of Livingston
County is the subject of this sketch, who has a
farm of 100 acres on section 28, in Pontiac Town-
ship. He is a native of Butler County, Ohio,
where his birth took place on the 4th of July,
1853, and consequently has the rare privilege
each year of celebrating the anniversary of his
birth and the birth of the Nation simultaneously.
He is the son of Eli and Almeda Cook, who were
both natives of the State of Ohio, and were pio-
neers of Butler County. The father, during most
of his life in Butler County, was a grain dealer,
and from him his son inherited considerable busi-
ness tact. They had a family of four children
William F., Charles F., George C. and Frank J.
The father died in Ohio on the 22d of June, 1885,
and after his death the mother came to Livingston
County and resided with her sons un'til the summer
of 1887, when she went to Pueblo County, Col.,
and there resides. They both were members of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and were very
much devoted to the welfare of that organization.
So far as political matters went the father was an
ardent supporter of the Republican party, and as
such was widely and favorably known throughout
Butler County, while the opposition in that Demo-
cratic stronghold have cause to remember the blows
he struck in defense of his party.

The years intervening between the birth and
manhood of Mr. Cook of our notice were spent in
Butler County, where he attended the common

schools regularly and pursued his studies so assidu-
ously that he received more than an average edu-
cation. Having an inclination for the business
affairs of life he took a thorough course in book-
keeping at the Hamilton Business College, of
Hamilton, Ohio, in the year 1 870, and was graduated
from that institution with great credit to himself.
For several years afterward he was associated with
his father in the grain trade, and had entire charge
of the books of the firm, while he became an ex-
pert grain buyer. In the fall of 1873 he came to
Livingston County, where for the first year of his
residence he engaged in work on a farm in the em-
ploy of John A. Knapp, of Pontiac. For the next
three years he rented farms which he managed suc-
cessfull.y. In 1882 he purchased the farm on which
he now lives, on section 28, Pontiac Township,
and his 100 acres are as fertile and productive as
any similar body of land in Livingston County.

On the 21st of March, 1878, Mr. Cook was mar-
ried to Rosalind Knapp, daughter of John A.
Knapp, the gentleman for whom he worked during
the first year of his residence in Livingston County.
They have two children: Emma A., born Dec.
22, 1879, and Edna B., born May 3, 1881. Mr.
Cook has made a success in his farming operations
unusual with men who are not bred to farm life.
Ever since he became a voter he has cast his ballot
with the Republican party. He and his wife are
respected members of society, and are active in all
things intended to benefit the community.

UGH D. MACK. This gentleman, who lo-
cated in Avoca Township eleven years ago,
purchased a quarter of section 30, where he
has since been engaged in farming and stock-
raising, and is accounted one of its most enterpris-
ing citizens. He has been a resident of the Prairie
State for a period of thirty-four years, having
located in McLean County, near Bloomingtou, in
1853, whence he removed to this county in 1876,
taking possession of his present farm.

Mr. Mack is a native of the Buckeye State, and
was born in Harrison County, June 7, 1827. His
parents, Samuel and Margaret (Carnes) Mack, were

1 250

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

natives of Ireland, who emigrated to the United
States early in life. Their household included
eleven children, of whom the following are living:
Isabella, Hugh D., John, David, Ellen, Lizzie,
William, George and Robert. Some of these are
located in Kansas, others in Ohio, where the parents i
are now living.

Our subject remained a member of his father's
household until considerably past his majority, and
after passing his thirty-fifth year, was united in
marriage, on the 10th of May, 1863, to Miss Sarah
A. Fosset, a native of his own State, who came to
Illinois in 1853. They have three children Edith,
Robert and Edna. The youngest is now six years
of age. Mr. Mack, struggling through the disad-
vantages of a limited education, has by his own ef-
forts acquired sufficient knowledge of business mat-
ters to invest his money in a judicious manner, and
has attained to a good position, both socially and
financially. He and his estimable lady are mem-
bers in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, and are valued in the community. His
land has been brought to a good state of cultivation,
and the farm buildings, neat and substantial, are
kept in good order, while everything about the
place wears the air of comfort and plenty.

~~ AMES L. ROBERTS, the well-known and en-
terprising dealer in merchandise, and grain
buyer and shipper, of the town of Graymont,
Livingston Co., 111., is the son of John and
Katherine (Henkins) Roberts, and was born in
Greene County, Pa., on the 31st of August, 1847.
In 1851 he accompanied his parents to Bureau
County, 111., where they rented ground and farmed
four years. In 1855 they moved to a farm in
Putnam County, where the father bought ten acres
of land, which he sold in 1858, and then moved to
Davis County, Mo., where they farmed, rented
ground until the fall of 1861, when they returned
to Illinois and located in De Witt County. After
remaining in this county until 1869 they came to
Livingston County, where the father bought forty
acres on section 28, Rook's Creek Township, one
mile south of where the town of Graymont now

stands. In 1869 the subject of this sketch bought
forty acres of land, and in 1874 still another forty
adjoining on section 28. He continued to make
his home at his father's and assisted on the farm
until 1 880. During this period he was elected Com-
missioner of Highways.

On the 6th of September, 1880, Mr. Roberts was
married to Miss Rachel Jane Lillie, daughter of
John and Mary (Smith) Lillie, at the residence of
W. F. Brydia, in Saunemin Township, Livingston
County, Rev. G. W. Gue officiating. On the 23d
of October, in partnership with Henry Pample &
Co., he opened a stock of general merchandise un-
der the firm name of Roberts, Pample & Co., in
Graymont. This was among the first establish-
ments for the sale of general merchandise opened
in that town. This partnership continued until
June, 1882, when Pample sold out to B. S. Lillie,
a brother-in-law of Mr. Roberts. The firm then
became Roberts & Lillie, who continued the busi-
ness until February, 1884, when Mr. Roberts
bought out Mr. Lillie's interest, and has since con-
tinued the business by himself. In the fall of 1885
he added the buying and shipping of grain to his
regular business, and was the prime mover in secur-
ing the location of Graymont at its present site,
assisting also very materially in obtaining the right
of way for the Kankakee Line of the Middle Divis-
ion of the Illinois Central Railroad. Mr. Roberts re-
ceived a very fair common-school education, and
in addition to that he has further qualified himself
for business affairs by learning book-keeping and
mastering its various complications. He has al-
ways been a man of public spirit, assisting in the
building of churches throughout the surrounding
country.

Mr. Roberts' parents were born in Pennsylvania,
on or near the line of Greene Township, the father
Nov. 27, 1811, and the mother on the 13th of July,
1820. They were married in Pennsylvania about
the year 1838. The subject of this sketch is the
fourth in a family of six children: the oldest, Eliza
May, died in infancy; Lucretia was born July 4,
1842, is unmarried, and lives with her parents in
Milford, Montgomery Co., Iowa; Elijah Peter was
born on the 14th of July, 1844; he enlisted in
August, 1862, in Company G. 107th Illinois In-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

251

fantry, and was wounded in a skirmish, dying
soon after in a hospital at Baltimore, where he was
buried. James L. ; Margaret Susannah, born Aug.
20, 1863, and Marion Morris, born April 23, 1859,
are unmarried and live with their parents.

Mr. ^Roberts' paternal grandfather, James Rob-
erts, was born in Pennsylvania on the 30th of July,
1787, and his grandmother, Lucretia Morris, on the
30th of April of the same year. They were mar-
ried on the 15th of May, 1807, and moved to Han-
cock County, 111., where they died. The great-
grandfather was born in New Jersey and moved to
Pennsylvania when a young man ; his father was a
native of Wales. The maternal grandparents were
born in or near Greene County, Pa., the grand-
father, Elijah Henkins, on the 22d of May, 1791,
and the grandmother, Elizabeth (Brown) Henkins,
July 1, 1787. They were married about 1814.
The "grandmother died on the 12th of August,
1875, and was buried in the Lone Tree Graveyard,
Bureau County, 111. The grandfather served as a
soldier in the War of 1812, and died Aug. 6, 1887.
Mr. Roberts remembers seeing his maternal great-
grandmother, and says she lived two or three years
at their home in Illinois, where she died and is
buried in the Lone Tree Graveyard. He thinks
her name was Lucretia Brown, and he says he car-
ries scars which he received by falling on her iron
kettle.

The wife of James L. Roberts was born at
Noblesville, Ind., on the 6th of September, 1851,
and moved with her parents to Bloomington, 111.,
when about five years of age. They remained
there but one year when they removed to Living-
ston County, where the father bought 1 20 acres of
land on section 22. She attended the district school
during her girlhood, and received a very fair edu-
cation. She is the seventh in a family of twelve
children, all of whom are still living; their names
are: Margaret, born on the 7th of November,
1839, married to William T. Brydia Dec. 7, 1863,
lias two children, and lives in Livingston County;
Letitia, born Nov. 29, 1841, married R. M. Hop-
kins, has five children, and lives in McLean County,
111. ; Joseph, born July 2, 1843, married and has
three children, lives in Stephenson County, 111.;
Eliza B., born April 25, 1845, married Robert Shields

Nov. 4, 1883, has five children, and lives in Liv-
ingston County; James W., born March 4, 1847,
has one child and lives in Nebraska; Benjamin S.,
born March 25, 1849, married Sept. 14, 1886, has
one child and lives in Broken Bow, Neb. ; Rachel
Jane ; Leonidas L. H., born Oct. 5, 1854, is unmarried
and lives in Williamsport, Dak.; Elvira, born April
1, 1857, married Oscar Pickering March 17, 1886,
and lives in McLean County ; Effle K., born July 23.
1861, married Charles Hopkins Aug. 6, 1879, has
three children, and lives in McLean County; Mary
Eudena, born June 15, 1865, is unmarried and lives
at Lexington, 111., with her sister; Williamette,
born May 13, 1869, is unmarried and makes her
home with her sister in Graymont.

The father of Mrs. Roberts came from Delaware,
where he was born on the 30th of May, 1815; the
mother was born in Ohio on the 22d of February,
1821. They were married Dec. 9, 1838. The
father died April 2, 1883, and the mother Feb. 16,
1885; they are both buried at Pleasant Hill Ceme-
tery, McLean County, 111. Her maternal grand-
father, Benjamin Smith, was born Feb. 3, 1782,
and the grandmother, Rachel Smith, was born in
1786.

COLLINS, an old and respected
citizen who, besides displaying much enter-
prise in his business affairs, has been largely
instrumental in building up the schools and ad-
vancing educational interests where he has lived, is
a farmer and stock-raiser on sections 17, 29 and 7,
Union Township. He was born in County Ros-
common, Ireland, on the 19th of February, 1819,
and was the sixth child in a family of seven chil-
dren born to Patrick and Delia (Eagan) Collins,
natives of Ireland. The paternal grandparents
were Mark and Ellen (Dowd) Collins, the former a
prominent politician connected with the Rebellion.
The maternal grandparents were Patrick and Julia
(Regan) Eagan. Mr. Eagan was a soldier in the
war at the time the French invaded Ireland. The
father of Mr. Collins was a farmer by occupation,
and died in Ireland.

The subject of this sketch was reared a farmer
lad and was educated in the public schools, where

252

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

such fair opportunities were afforded that he ob-
tained a good education. At the age of nineteen
his school life ended, and at the age of twenty-five .
he was married, on the 30th of June, 1844. to Em-
ma W. Burke, who was born in County Galway,
Ireland, in 1825, and was the sixth child in a family
of eleven born to James and Delia (Barlow) Burke,
nativeslof Ireland. As soon as they were married,
Mr. Collins and his wife prepared to come to
America, and in August of that year sailed from
Liverpool in the "New Hampshire," an American
sailing-vessel, when after a stormy voyage of nine
weeks and three days they landed at New York on
the 13th of November. They lived in New York
the first six months after their arrival, where Mr.
C. was engaged as assistant book-keeper. They
then moved to Orange County, N. Y., where he
engaged in farming, and remained for nine years.
At the end of that time they started for the West,
where they first located in Kendall County, 111.,
and engaged in farming on rented land for twelve
years. In 1865 they moved to Livingston County,
where they had purchased 160 acres of partly im-
proved land the year before, and they began to
make for themselves a home. The township was
not yet divided into districts, and Mr. Collins was
largely instrumental in the advancement of the
schools, in which work he entered with enthusiasm.
During the time which has elapsed since Mr. Col-
lins' settlement in Union Township he has added
forty acres to his original purchase, besides im-
proving the older portion of the farm, and now
has 200 acres of as fine land as can be found in the
county, which he has stocked with fine Durham
cattle and Norman horses. He has a thoroughbred
Durham registered as Hibernia, and a large stock
of well-bred Poland-China hogs. Mr. Collins al-
ways takes an interest in politics and is now
identified with the Democratic party, although he
was formerly a Republican. It lias devolved upon
him to assess the township for seventeen years ; he
has been Commissioner of Highways for nine years,
Collector for one year, and School Director for
eighteen years.

Mr. and Mrs. Collins are the parents of eight
children, all of whom are living Patrick B., Ellen,
Mary A., Margaret, James E., Edward R., Sarah

J. and John C. Ellen is the widow of George
W. Bradley, and lives in Emington, this county;
Patrick married Emma Decker, and lives on a
farm in Odell Township; Mary, Mrs. John Kemp,
lives in Kempton, this county; James is unmarried,
and farming in Odell Township; Sarah is teach-
ing school in Emington; Mary was also a teacher;
Edward and John are unmarried and live at home.
The family are members of the Catholic Church in
Odell, and are regular worshipers with the congre-
gation there.

^*"**~ a, A

HOMAS TALBOTT, a worthy English far-
mer of Belle Prairie Township, owns a quar-
ter of section 1, which constitutes one of
the finest bodies of land in the county, prolific of
the best crops of the Prairie. State, and brought to
a high state of cultivation. He has been promi-
nent in township and county affairs, is a Deacon in
the Christian Church, and a Republican who has
exercised no small influence in his party in this
section. His industry and energy are proverbial,
and of which a forcible illustration is presented in
the handsome home which he has built for himself
and his family. The residence, with its surround-
ings, invariably attracts the admiring observation
of the passing traveler, and the farm with its beauti-
ful fields and well-kept stock is creditable alike to
the proprietor and the township which he has
chosen for his abiding-place.

Our subject was born in Somersetshire, England,
April 12, 1836, and is the son of Henry and Ann
(Stuckey) Talbott, also of English birth and par-
entage. They emigrated to America with their
family in 1857, and coming to this State located in
Cook County, where the father engaged in farming,
and where the mother died in 1880; the former is
now living in Newton County, Ind. Their four
children are all living, and Thomas was the eldest
of the family. The others were James, Caroline
and Christopher. Thomas remained with his par-
ents until twenty-one years of age, then rented a
tract of land in Cook County, upon which he
operated five years. He was married in 1865. and
then coming to Livingston County, purchased

RESIDENCE or Gco.W.

*:/* it tt

~S'

RESIDENCE, STORE AND MILL or DAVID HOOBLER.MANVILLE.ILL.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

255

eighty acres of uncultivated prairie land which is
now included in his present farm. This amount he
afterward doubled, and has since devoted his entire
attention to its cultivation and improvement. He
received no assistance whatever from his father
or anyone else, and has the satisfaction of knowing
that his possessions are the result of his own in-
dustry.

The wife of our subject, to whom he was mar-
ried Feb. 7, 1865, was formerly Miss Mary Stuckey,
a native of Somersetshire County, England, and
was born March 18, 1840. She came to America
with her parents when seventeen years of age, in
1857, the same year that her husband came, and
formed his acquaintance in Cook County, where her
people had settled. Of this union there have been
born six children Hattie, Nettie, Burt, Edward,
and two who died in infancy.

IPENETUS DIXON is quite an extensive
stock farmer on section 5, Newtowu Town-
ship, where he owns 200 acres under a good
state of cultivation, and raises stock- in sufficient
quantities to consume the entire grain product of
the farm. Mr. Dixon was born in Marshall County,
111., Feb. il, 1845. He is the son of Charles and
Sarah (Hodges) Dixon, natives of England. The
father was born in 1800 and lived in England,
where he followed the business of brick-making
until after marriage. The maiden name of the
mother was Ann Whitaker, and she was born in
England, and came to America soon after her son
Charles emigrated, her husband having died in En-
gland. Of their children one is buried in England,
one in Marshall County, 111., James lives in Kansas,
and Charles, the father of our subject. The mother
lived to be about ninety years of age, and is buried
in Phillips Cemetery in Newtown Township.

Charles Dixon and wife came to America in
1835, arriving at New Orleans, from which place
they ascended the Mississippi River to St. Louis,
and then settled at Magnolia, Marshall Co., 111.,
where they lived until about October, 1847, and

during the time were engaged in farming. In that
year they moved to Livingston County, and pur-
chased land on section 5, in Newtown Township,
which is a part of the land the subject of this sketch
now owns. The father died on the 21st of April,
1879, and is buried by the side of his mother. His
wife, Sarah, died on the 21st of September, 1871,
and is buried in the same place. To them were
born the following-named children : George, born
in May, 1840, died in 18G8, and is buried in the
same cemetery as his parents; Richard was still-
born; Joseph, born on the 14th of September,
1843, is engaged in farming in Iowa; Epenetus is
the subject of this sketch; Wilbur, born about
1847, died when eight years old; William, born on
the 16th of November, 1850, is a Presbyterian
minister, and lives in Illinois; Albert, born on the
18th of May, 1852, is now the owner of the home-
stead of his father in Newtown Township; Sarah
Ann, born on the 29th of August, 1860, died in
January, 1881 ; she was the wife Of William A.
Mason, who is now living in Nebraska.

The father and mother of the above-named chil-
dren were members of the United Brethren Church,
and during their connection with that denomina-
tion were active in the duties of membership.
Epenetus Dixon lived at home until twenty-three
years of age, and attended the district schools of
his township. He has been a resident of Newtown
Township ever since he was two years of age, ex-
cepting the year 1870, which would give him a resi-
dence of thirty-nine years in the township.

Mr. Dixon was married on the 3d of February,
1870, to Mary M. McCandlish, who was a native
of Ohio, and was born May 1, 1848; she was the
daughter of George P. and Catherine McCandlish.
Robert McCandlish, the grandfather, was born in
Scotland, and immigrated to America, where he
spent his last days. His wife, Mary Black, was
born in Pennsylvania, and died in Ohio in the year
1855. They were the parents of eleven children,
three of whom survive : Nancy Sammis was born
on the 10th of November, 1817, and lives in Wes-
terville, Ohio; Jane McCandlish, born April 24,
1814; Sarah Pyle, born Aug. 20, 1830, resides in
Nevada, Vernon Co., Mo. The names of the de-
ceased children are as follows: Martha Sammis,

4=.

256

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

horn May 1, 1828; Elizabeth Emrich, Sept. 5,
1823; Mary Ann Lamb, Nov. 20, 1819; Emily,
born Dec. 9, 1834, died at the age of nineteen
years; Margaret, born Sept. 25, 1825, died when
twelve years old; Anthony S., born Aug. 25, 181,
died in 1860; William, born Oct. 4, 1812, died
June 4, 1865; George P. was born Jan. 1, 1816,
and died Aug. 13, 1875, in La Salle County, 111.

Catherine Deenis, the mother of Mrs. Dixon, was
the daughter of Henry and Margaret (Rodehafer)
Deenis, natives of Virginia. To them were born
seven children, of whom the living are Catherine,
the mother of Mrs. Dixon; Nancy McGee, in Os-
borne County, Kan., and Mary A. Heart, in Ge-
neva, Neb. Catherine, the mother of Mrs. Dixon,
makes her home with the latter, and is sixty-one
years of age. The father was born Jan. 11, 1816,
and died Aug. 13. 1875. George P. and Catherine
McCandlish were married on the 17th of June,
1847, in Fairtield County, Ohio, came to Illinois in
the fall of 1856 and settled in La Salle County. To
them were born four children: Mary M., the wife
of our subject; Sarah J., born April 28, 1850, is
the wife of James II. Mason, and lives near Man-
ville; Robert II., still-born Aug. 4, 1853; Emily
Frances, born Oct. 15, 1855, died April 9, 1863.
Mrs. Dixon's father enlisted in the army Aug. 14,
1862, in Company F, 104th Illinois Infantry, in
which he served two years and eleven months. He
was in the battle of Hartsville, Tenn., Dec. 7, 1862.
During the latter part of the war he was in charge
of a boat on the Mississippi River and the Gulf
coast. Since his death his wife Catherine draws
a pension of $12 per month from the Government.
To Mr. and Mrs. Dixon have been born the follow-
ing-named children: Sarah Catherine, born Nov. 2,
1872, died March 2, 1874; Nora Louise, born June
26, 1875; Georgia Idella, born June 3, 1877, died
May 29, 1879; Nellie Mabel, born Sept. 26, 1880.

Grandmother Black, the mother of Mary Black,
was one hundred and four years old when she died
at the home of Nancy and Smith McCandlish, near
Rushville, Ohio. She left Ireland during the time
of the trouble between the Catholics and Orange-
men, and on leaving entrusted the care of her babe
to her sister, expecting to return soon. The name
of this child was William Black, and he grew to

manhood and was married before coining to this
country. He located in Ohio, where he died in
1870.

Mrs. Dixon is a member of the United Brethren
Church. When the Dixon family first came to
Illinois, Livingston County was a wilderness, and
to show what straits people were put to we have
only to mention that buckwheat was ground in a
coffee-mill with which to make flour for bread, and
at one time corn was taken to a feed grinder, in
which it was cracked and then used as food.

fACOB COX, who is a representative farmer
and stock-raiser, located on section 19,
Pontiac Township, is a typical Ohio man, be-
ing a native of Adams County, that State,
where he was born on the 9th of May, 1838. He
is the son of James and Nancy (Summers) Cox, the
former being a native of Ohio, and the latter of
Virginia. His paternal ancestors were of Scotch
descent. The grandfather, Jacob Cox, was a Vir-
ginian by birth, who settled in the State of Penn-
sylvania at an early date in its history, and subse-
quently in Adams County, Ohio, where the father
of our subject was born and reared. His parents
had nine children, of whom four survive Jacob;
James G., Andrew D. and Mary C., of Ft. Scott,
Kan. Two of Mr. Cox's brothers, John S. and
Henry C., were soldiers in the Union army, and
gave their lives that the nation might live. In
1853, with his parents Mr. Cox came from Ohio to
Livingston County, and settled in Pontiac Town-
ship. At that time Livingston County was very
sparsely settled, and this family was one of the
first to make their home there. They remained in
Livingston County until 1869, when the parents
moved to Ft. Scott, Kan., where the father died on
the 22d of December, 1884; the mother still sur-
vives, and resides at Ft. Scott, in the seventy-fifth
year of her age.

During almost all his entire life Mr. Cox has
been accustomed to living on a farm, and during
bis boyhood he received a very fair English edu-
cation in the public schools; for a short time he

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

257

attended Eureka College at Eureka, 111. During
twenty years of his life he devoted the winter
months to teaching school, being employed both in
district and graded schools. When the war broke
out in 1861 he enlisted in the three months' serv-
ice in Company D, 20th Illinois Infantry, and
was with that regiment during the preliminary
skirmishes and incidents at the beginning of the war.
On the 14th of February, 1868, Mi-. Cox was mar-
ried to Clara A. Syphers, a native of Pennsylva-
nia, and daughter of Prof. J. and Sarah (Kent)
Syphers, of Greene County, that State. By this
union there are four children Clara N., Beatrice
C., Clemeth J. and Clifford E. Mr. Cox is now
the owner of eighty acres of excellent land, to the
cultivation of which he devotes his entire time,
displaying unusual ability in farm management and
the raising of stock. Politically he is a Repub-
lican. He alone is entitled to all the credit that at-
taches to his success in life, as what fortune he has
was carved by his own hands. He is in the fullest
sense of the word a self-made man. Everything
which pertains to the good of the community re-
ceives his liberal and hearty support, and in all
these things he is cheerfully seconded by his esti-
mable wife.

ft -..

J~ OHN M. WINCE, of Owego Township, is
one of the pioneers of the county, and dur-
ing his long residence here has secured for
himself the profoundest respect of his fellow-
citizens. He is a native of Loudoun County, Va.,
and was born on the 15th of March, 1828, being
the son of Philip and Catherine Wince, the former
a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Vir-
ginia. The paternal ancestors were of German de-
scent, some of whom are supposed to have been
soldiers in the Revolutionary AVar, as they lived in
America at that time, and a vein of patriotism has
run through the family since its earliest existence.
To his parents were born seven children, of whom
the following are the survivors: Sarah, Catherine,
Lut-inda, Eliza A., Henry L. and John.

Mr. Wince grew to manhood in Loudoun County,
which is located in the northern part of Virginia,

bordering on Maryland, which in 1870 produced
more wheat and corn than any other county in the
State, but which during the boyhood days of our
subject was neither highly cultivated nor far ad-
vanced in educational facilities. Under these cir-
cumstances Mr. Wince received but a limited edu-
cation, the greater part of his studies being prose-
cuted by the light of pine knots after night, but
having obtained the rudiments of an education, he
has been a constant and diversified reader all his
life, and keeps posted upon all the general topics of
the day.

In 1856 Mr. Wince left Virginia and emigrated
to Livingston County, where he devoted the next
ten years of his life to work upon the farm for
monthly wages. In this manner he succeeded in
accumulating sufficient money to start him in busi-
ness, and located on his present farm on section 34
in Owego Township, in the year 1864, where he has
resided ever since. This farm consists of eighty
acres, which was composed entirely of raw prairie
at the time of his purchase, but by hard work and
good management he has reduced it to such a state
of cultivation that it is now considered one of the
best in the township. Mr. Wince can look back
upon his past efforts with great satisfaction, for
when he reached Illinois he was without money
and among strangers; he now has a good farm, is
comfortably surrounded, and enjoys the esteem and
respect of the people among whom he lives.

On the 13th of December, 1868, our subject was
married to Mary Keith, a native of Maine, daugh-
ter of Howard C. Keith, who at the time of the
marriage resided in the northern part of Living-
ston County, of which he was one of the original
settlers. Mr. and Mrs. Wince have had two chil-
dren : Ida M., born June 9, 1873, and Lillie D.,
Nov. 7, 1875. While Mr. Wince has never identi-
fied himself with any particular religious denomi-
nation, he takes an active interest in church matters,
and was largely instrumental in organizing the first
church and Sunday-school located in the southern
part of Owego Township. His political proclivi-
ties are Democratic, and he is a strong advocate of
temperance principles. His office-holding experi-
ence has been somewhat limited, having held the
office of Justice of the Peace one term, the duties

- . 258

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

of which he discharged with credit to himself and
satisfaction to his constituents. On account of the
warm interest which betakes in educational matters
he was appointed to the position of School Director
in his district, which position he held four years,
and that of School Trustee two years.

i AMES D. SIDLE, hotel-keeper and assistant
grain buyer at the Graymont Elevator, is the
son of Daniel and Catherine (Zorn) Sidle
(formerly spelled Seidle), and was born on the
3d of May, 1 850, in Somerset County, Pa. When
he was about five years of age his parents came to
Illinois, locating in Stephenson County, where his
father bought a farm in 1857, procuring the money
to make the first payment from Benjamin Snyder,
and with the help of his son carried on farming and
blacksmithing, having learned the latter trade in
Pennsylvania.

On the 24th of March, 1864, Mr. Sidle, at four-
teen years of age, ran away from home, and after
making seven efforts, at length was sworn into the
service as drummer to the 93d Illinois Regiment.
He soon threw away his drum and took a gun.
The regiment to which he was attached was as-
signed to duty at Camp Fry, Chicago, guarding
prisoners, and at about the end of four months it
was sent to Camp Butler, Springfield, 111., where it
remained in the same duty. About the 18th of
February, 1865, the regiment was sent to Memphis,
Tenn., but it was not needed there and returned to
Springfield. Mr. Sidle received an honorable dis-
charge, being mustered out on the 26th of March,
1865. After his return from the army he once
more joined his father and assisted him in farming
until he was eighteen years of age, when he worked
by the month in Livingston County until he was
twenty -one years of age, at which time he had ac-
cumulated enough money to buy a team of horses,
harness and wagon.

It was in Livingston County that Mr. Sidle be-
came acquainted with Mary J., daughter of John
Crow (who is mentioned in the biography of
William Crow), whom he married on the 6th of
August, 1871. In the fall of that year they moved

to Stephenson Count}', and farmed for one year,
during which time the oldest child, John Henry,
was born on the 18th of September, 1872. In Feb-
ruary, 1873, they started for Nebraska, making it
convenient to visit some friends on the way, and
arrived at Palmyra, Otoe County, the latter part
of March. Here he devoted the first summer to
farming and raised a fine crop, of which, however,
100 bushels of wheat were stolen. In February of
the following year he suffered a paralytic stroke
which disabled him from work for four years.
They returned to Stephenson County, where his
father started him with a small stock of confection-
ery, which business he carried on until he became
so disabled that he was not in a condition either
physically or mentally to attend to it, and his
father closed up the business for him. During this
time the second child, George Burtin, was born,
June 9, 1874. In 1875 Mr. Sidle removed his
family to Livingston County, where they resided
with his wife's father, John Crow, until April, 1876,
when they moved into a little log hut on section
21, where he undertook to earn something by cob-
bling. The neighbors gave him their work to do,
and they remained there about one year, when they
moved to section 32. The people elected him to the
following offices : Constable, Town Clerk, Collector,
Pathmaster and Township Treasurer. During this
time his third child, Harry Watson, was born, on
the 15th of November, 1878.

While here a very important incident in the life
of Mr. Sidle occurred, which was that in answer to
prayer he was instantaneously cured of his afllic-
tion, so that he was immediately able to go to
work. They remained on section 32 until the spring
of 1880, when they moved to Pontiac, where he
worked on the railroad about five months, and then
went to cobbling through the winter, as he was not
yet able to bear exposure to the inclement weather.
While in Pontiac his wife look in boarders in order
to assist in the support of the family. After re-
maining in Pontiac about one year he returned to
section 32, where he engaged in farming for about
two years. At the end of that time he moved to
Graymont, where he has since resided. In 1885
he was again elected Township Collector. In po-
litical matters he always acted with the Republican

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

259

party until two years ago, when he became an ad-
vocate of prohibition. In 1875 Mr. Sidle was con-
verted to religion and joined the United Brethren
Church. While a member of that church he was
granted a license to preach, and in that capacity he
served the Master for four years. About this time
his attention was called to sanctification by the
preaching of B. F. Goodwin, and under the teach-
ings of J. S. Allison he accepted that doctrine and
has since held no membership with any sect. The
fourth child, Jesse Daniel, was born on the 14th of
July, 1883.

Mr. Sidle was the yonngest child in a family of
nine children, all of whom grew to maturity: Erne-
line first married Mr. Berkebill, by whom she had
one son, and is now the wife of William Bon-
acker, by whom she has six children; Sarah mar-
ried first Solomon Lohr, by whom she had thirteen
children, and is now the wife of Joseph Lilly; they
have three children. Julia Ann married Benjamin
Snyder; they have four children and live in Ste-
phenson County. Henry is married and lives in
Arizona; F. A. is married, has three children, and
lives in a Otoe County, Neb. ; Charles married, has
eight children, and also lives in Otoe County ; Mary
married Jacob Andrew, has four children, and lives
in Stephenson County; James D. is the subject of
this sketch, in which the details and events of his
life are chronicled.

1LLIAM JONES, who stands as one of the
leading and representative farmers and
stock- raisers of Owego Township, located
on section 14, is a native of Worcestershire, En-
gland, where he was born on the 21st of February,
1826. He is the son of Benjamin and Sarah (Bil-
lingsley) Jones, both of whom were natives of En-
gland. To his parents were born seven children, as
follows: William; Benjamin, of England ; John, of
Saunemin Township, Livingston County; Eliza-
beth, Mrs. Robert Bolton, of Peoria; Sarah, Mrs.
Thomas Murphy, of the Island of New Zealand ;
Esther, Mrs. George Vincent, of San Francisco,
Cal. ; Frederick, of New Zealand. Mr. Jones re-
ceived an English education in his native country,

where he remained until he grew to manhood,
learning also the boot and shoe business, in which
his father was then engaged.

Mr. Jones was married in England, on the 29th
of July, 1851, to Miss Mary A. Cox, daughter of
Samuel Cox, of Shropshire, an inland county of
I England, bounded on the north by Wales, and
through which the Severn flows. Mr. and Mrs.
Jones have seven children, six of whom are living:
Nellie, Mrs. James Roberts, of New Zealand; Orin
W., a farmer of Owego Township; Benjamin F.,
grain dealer and buyer of Eylar, Livingston
County; Albert, a grain-buyer of Cullon, this
county; Edward G., a real-estate dealer in Kansas
City, Mo.; Laura, at present attending Lincoln
University, at Lincoln, 111.

Mr. Jones emigrated to America in 1852, taking
passage at Liverpool, and landing in New York.
He spent about three and one-half years in Leroy,
N. Y., coming to Illinois in 1856. His first ten
years' residence in this State was in Peoria County,
when, in 1866, he came to Livingston County, and
settled on a farm in Owego Township, where he
now resides. When he acquired this land by pur-
chase, it was composed of what is known as raw
prairie, and not a foot of it had ever been culti-
vated. But nothing daunted he went to work upon
it with a will, enduring all the hardships incident
to pioneer life, and in the course of a few years
had transformed it into a finely cultivated farm.
As the years went by his successes were most pro-
nounced, and he has been able to afford all his chil-
dren ample facilities for procuring a good educa-
tion. One of his daughters, Nellie, now living in
New Zealand, was a public school teacher for many
years. Although he bas frequently been solicited
to become a candidate for public office, he has in-
variably declined, excepting in the case of the of-
fice of School Director, which he has filled for a
number of years, and which he consented to accept
simply because it would enable him to labor more
effectively for the advancement of education, of
which all his life he has been a friend and promoter.
As a political thinker, he does not confine himself
to the narrow rut in which machine politicians run,
but takes a broad and liberal view upon all ques-
tions of public policy, and votes for the men who

260

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

suit him best regardless of their party affiliations.
He is to all intents and purposes, a self-made man,
so far as his career in this country is concerned,
and is now enjoying the fruits of his labor, both in
the substantial comforts of life, and the satisfaction
of having contributed to society respected and
honorable members in the persons of his children.

eHARLES W. ROLLINS. One of the most
substantial homesteads in Owego Township,
lying on section 19, is occupied by the sub-
ject of this sketch, who is a farmer and stock-raiser.
The family residence, which is splendidly located,
is one of the neatest and most tasteful in that lo-
cality, and the barn and other necessary farm
buildings are handsome and substantial structures
calculated alike for beauty and utility. The fences
and farm machinery are kept in good repair, and
the stock and other accessories of the estate testify
in a silent and forcible manner to the intelligence,
industry and enterprise of the proprietor. Mr.
Rollins is a native of Livingston County, and was
born on the 23d of January, 1840. He is a son of
Philip and Martha Rollins, who were among the
very first settlers of Livingston County, and a
sketch of whom appears in another portion of this
work. His early days were spent upon the farm
assisting in the work, and during the school term
attending school.

On the 15th of June, 1862, Mr. Rollins was mar-
ried to Maria Stiuson, also a native of Livingston
County, born on the 21st of February, 1844. She
is a daughter of James L. and Mary Stinson, na-
tives of Ohio. The parents came to Livingston
County about 1839, and settled upon the farm
which is at present occupied by the subject of this
sketch. James L. Stinson, in connection with a
brother, pre-empted 200 acres of land, which was
composed entirely of raw prairie, not a furrow hav-
ing been turned in it at the time they became pos-
sessed of it. He resided on this land until his de-
cease in 1845; his wife survived him, and died in
1853. They were the parents of four children,
three of whom are living: Letitia, widow of the
late Willard Foster, of Livingston County; Mar-

tha, the wife of G. W. Ferris, of Pontiac, and
Maria, now Mrs. Rollins. To Mr. and Mrs. Rol-
lins but one child has been born, a son, Charles A.,
whose birth took place on the 2d of February,
1869.

Mr. and Mrs. Rollins are members of the Method-
ist Episcopal Church, in which he has served as
Steward and Trustee. He is exceedingly inde-
pendent in his political belief, and does not attach
his faith to either of the old parties, but makes it a
point to vote for the men whom he believes will
best discharge the duties of the offices to which
they are elected. For five years he has served as
Supervisor of Owego Township, and for a term of
one year as Road Commissioner. Mr. Rollins has
been exceptionally successful in his business enter-
prises, and now owns 250 acres of as good land as
is contained within the borders of Livingston
County.

ARTIN M. SPENCE. Illinois is a State
of largely diversified opportunities for the
industrious and enterprising citizen. In
an agricultural sense it is one of the best
in the Union, and its vast prairies, which produce
wonderful crops of corn and excel in the raising of
hay, make the industry of stock-raising one of the
most important and profitable in which the people
engage. Very many of the farmers of Livingston
County engage more or less in stock-raising, and
instead of depending on uncertain markets for their
grain, feed their entire crop to horses, cattle and
hogs, which always find a ready market at any time
of the year, and they thus have a sure thing in dis-
posing of the products of the farm. One of the
men who thus combines farming and stock-raising
is the subject of this sketch, whose fine stock farm
is on section 4, Belle Prairie Township. This gen-
tleman is a native of Livingston County, where he
was born on the 22d of August, 1844, his parents
being William and Mary (Darnell) Spence, who
were natives of Kentucky. When Mr. Spence was
a boy, he worked on a farm in summer and attended
the district school in the fall and winter, in which
he made such progress in his studies, thtit without

=4-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

261

difficulty he was admitted to Eureka College, and
afterward attended college at Monmouth, Warren
Co., 111. After passing through these educational
institutions with great credit to himself, he returned
home and engaged in work upon the farm.

September 19, 1881, Mr. Spence was married to
Miss Jennie Darnell, who was born in Johnson
County, Mo., on the 26th of July, 1857, and is the
daughter of William and Eliza (Coffman) Darnell.
Of this union there are two children, William and
Hazel May, who are exceptionally bright for their
age. Mr. Spence is the owner of 300 acres of as
flue land as the sun shines on, which he has placed
under a high state of cultivation, and which yields
crops ample to feed a large number of domestic
animals. Mr. Spence's stock operations are princi-
pally confined to horses, and he makes a specialty
of breeding heavy and light draft, and saddle
horses. This business he conducts in such an in-
telligent manner that his profits are certain and
satisfactory.

Mr. Spence is an ardent member of the Masonic
fraternity, and a member in good standing of Tar-
bolton Lodge No. 357, and also a member of the
Chapter. In politics he is an advocate of the prin-
ciples and measures of the Greenback party, and
while that party is not numerically strong, he ad-
heres to its doctrines regardless of the fact of its
being in the minority. Mr. Spence has been very
successful in his occupations, and has shown rare
judgment and good management in his business,
farm and stock operations. In the various rela-
tions of life, he sustains the character of an estima-
ble citizen, neighbor and friend, and enjoys the
full confidence and regard of those who know him.
His excellent wife is a member of the Christian
Church, and takes great interest in the affairs of
that organization.

LBERT J. MORRISON is one of the young
men engaged in agricultural pursuits, who
can claim Livingston County MS the place
of his birth, and who has been a witness of
the wonderful improvements which have been made
and developments that have taken place during the

past thirty years. He comes upon the stage of ac-
tion at a time in the history of the county when the
work of opening and bringing it to a state of culti-
vation has all been performed, and the benefits of
the work of the pioneers are to be gained. He is
truly one of the representative farmers of Avoca
Township, and is pleasantly situated on section 9.

Mr. Morrison was born in Livingston County
on the 6th of August, 1854, and is the son of Joseph
C. and Naomi Morrison, the latter of whom is de-
ceased. His father is a native of the State of New
York, and his mother was born in Ohio. Joseph
C. Morrison, the father, is the gentleman who has
gained such a large reputation as an importer and
dealer in Norman horses at Pontiac, 111. His im-
portations of fine horses average about thirty
animals every trip he makes to Europe, and his
visits are made several times a year. He hails from
the State of New York, and came to Illinois about
the year 1840, settling in Avoca Township when
the prairie was yet unbroken and no signs of cul-
tivation were visible. He is one of the early pio-
neers to whose energy and enterprise can be credited
the work of developing the county. He had prac-
tically no means when he arrived here, and his
splendid stock farm, elegant residence and commo-
dious farm buildings, are evidences of his industry,
good management, and close attention to business
all through an active life. Besides being one of
the heaviest farmers and largest dealers in expen-
sive stock, he is a leading citizen in all the affairs
of the town and county. In political matters he
acts with the Republican party, and his influence is
a power in that section of the county. Mr. Morri-
son is the father of nine children, eight of whom
are living, as follows: Jasper N., Lotta, Samuel L.,
Addie; Delia, the wife of Ns. T. Green, of Pontiac
Township; Alta I.; John W. and Albert J., the lat-
ter the subject of this sketch.

Albert J. Morrison has been a citizen of Living-
ston County all his life, and during his boyhood
days was afforded all the advantages for obtaining
a good education, of which he availed himself. On
the 27th of November. 1879, our subject was mar-
ried to Violetta Augustine, daughter of John Au-
gustine, of Owego Township, of whom a sketch
appears in this ALBUM. Mr. and Mrs. Morrison have

262

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

three children: Roy A., born Jan. 14, 1881 ; Stan-
ley A., Nov. 4, 1882, and Feme I., Aug. 12, 1887.
The farm of Mr. Morrison consists of 120 acres of
as good land as can be found in Livingston County,
and it is all well drained and fenced. The residence
he and his family occupy is one of the snuggest and
best appointed in the township. Like his father,
Mr. Morrison is an enthusiastic Republican, and he
and his wife are members of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church; he is one of the Trustees of the church
at McDowell.

At the time this sketch is written, Mr. and Mrs.
Morrison are virtually in the first stages of their
life's work, but their beginning is under the most
favorable auspices, and the future undoubtedly has
in store for them great and grand successes. Their
little family is one of which they may well be proud.
They take an active interest in all matters for the
weal and welfare of the society in which they move,
and to all good works they are liberal contributors,
both of time and money.

J~~) OSEPH HARRISON MORRIS, widely and
I favorably known as one of the most success-
ful farmers and stock-raisers of Rook's
Creek Township, arrived in Illinois on his
eighteenth birthday, having journeyed from Wash-
ington County, Pa., where he was born March 16,
1848. He consequently became a resident of the
Prairie State in the spring of 1866, and since that
time has dwelt within its borders. He had at that
time no possessions except his resolute will and
strong hands, and with this excellent capital cour-
ageously commenced life for himself, determined
to secure a good home and a good position among
his fellow-citizens. He began first as a farm la-
borer, and has gradually climbed up until now he
is the owner of a good property, and is a man of
no small importance in his community.

The parents of our subject, Samuel and Nancy
Elizabeth (Swagler) Morris, were natives respect-
ively of New York ancTOhio. Samuel Morris was
born in 1800, and departed this life in Washington
County, Pa., Sept. 2, 1857. The mother who was

born in 1812, is still living upon the old homestead
in Pennsylvania. Their family included eleven
children, of whom our subject was the seventh in
order of birth, and seven are still living, as follows:
John M., a resident of Washington Count}', Pa.,
married, and the father of several children; Jona-
than, Sarah M., Mary, Cyrus and Isaac N. Those
deceased are James L., Samuel, Susan and Nancy E.

J. H. Morris received a fair education in the
common schools of his native State, and after he
found that his prospects would justify him in the
undertaking, was married, in Pontiac Township,
Feb. 21, 1878, to Miss Mary A., daughter of Reason
and Mary (McMillan) Brown. The young people
located on section 28, where Mr. Morris had pur-
chased eighty acres of land, and commenced house-
keeping in unpretending style, suitable to their
means and station. Four and one-half years later
Mr. M. sold this property and purchased eighty
acres on section 12, where he now resides.

Mrs. Morris was born in Rook's Creek Township,
March 16, 1860, and is the eldest of five children
who comprised the parental household. Her
brother, William Allen, and her sister, Nancy E.,
the wife of John E. Blake, are also residents of
Rook's Creek Township; Sarah E., Mrs. Brown,
lives on her father's homestead in Pontiac Town-
ship, with her brother, Jesse S. Reason Brown,
her father, was born in Scioto County, Ohio, Sept.
4, 1838, and the mother in Pontiac Township, this
county, Dec. 25, 1841; they were married in June,
1859. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. M. was
Andrew S. McMillan, who married Miss Maria
Springer, of Illinois.

C. BALL. The law has always been con-
sidered as one of the highest of the profes-
w sions. The honest and conscientious law-
yer is one of the necessities of the age, and
the best friend of the people in the matter of se-
curing their rights under the law. A. C. Ball, one
of the leading younger attorneys of the Livingston
County bar, is a native of Bureau County, where
he was born on the 24th of June, 1858, and is a
son of James M. and Hannah M. (Frink) Ball, who

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

265 . >

were natives of New York. The father of James
M. was John M., a native of New York, who was
engaged in farming and went to Michigan in the
early settlement of that State, where he settled at
Parma, and where he is now living. His family
consisted of nine children, seven of whom are liv-
ing. Hannah M. Frink's parents were Hiram and
Malinda (Ogden) Frink, who were natives of New
York.

The father of A. C. Ball was reared on a farm
until he was eighteen years of age, and during that
time attended the common schools, and then learned
the trade of a carpenter in Illinois, where he had
come in 1855. He followed contracting and build-
ing until he was about thirty years of age, and then
for a number of years was a traveling man, and
about the year 1855 engaged in mercantile busi-
ness in Bureau County, 111. In 1881 he moved to
Normal, McLean County, where he engaged in the
business of publishing. His family consisted of
three children: A. C. ; Ella M., Mrs. Burt, of Nor-
mal, McLean County, and Minnie H., Mrs. Taylor,
of McLean County.

Our subject attended and taught school until he
was twenty-six years of age. He is a graduate of
a Normal School, and also of the Bloomington Law
School, class of 1885. After graduating from the
law school he came to Pontiac, and began the prac-
tice of law, in which business he has been success-
ful, and his practice is continually increasing. He
is independent in political matters, not having
identified himself closely with either of the old
parties, although heretofore acting with the Repub-
licans. He is more of a lawyer than a politician,
and will doubtless devote his life to the profession,
allowing politicians to take care of the offices. He
has one child, a son, named John D.

AJOR MARTIN DARNALL, whose por-
trait is shown on the opposite page, has
the distinction of being the earliest settler
of Livingston County, and a full and de-
tailed history of his life could not be written with-
out writing that of the county, for one is almost

identical with the other. He now resides on sec-
tion 4, in Belle Prairie Township. He was born in
March, 1798, in Old Virginia, and is the son of
James and Massey (Martin) Darnall, natives of the
same State, and both of whom died some years ago.
Major Darnall was reared on a farm, where he be-
came accustomed to hard work, and was educated
in the common schools of those days, which af-
forded very limited facilities for obtaining an edu-
cation. He arrived in Illinois on the 27th of Oc-
tober, 1830, making the journey overland in a
wagon with the old-fashioned scooped bed, which
had a wonderful capacity for carrying household
goods. This wagon was drawn by four horses,
which were frequently almost inadequate to haul
it through the deep mud caused by the rains at
that season of the year. His first year's residence
in Illinois was in a log cabin which he built him-
self, the only tool used being an ax, for he had no
saw. This house was raised on the 1st of Novem-
ber, 1830, and he occupied it that same winter.
In 1832, on account of the breaking out of the Black
Hawk War, he found it necessary to remove his
family to Mackinaw, McLean County, for safety.
After peace was declared, he returned to the house
he had built, where he resumed his residence. A
tract of 160 acres of Government land which he
entered at that time, is still in his possession, and
the title which was vested in him by the Govern-
ment remains just as it was written at that time.

Major Darnall has been married twice, the first
time in 1817, when he took Miss Rachel Steers for
his wife: She was born in Indiana, in 1793. Her
parents moved to Kentucky when she was but a
child, and early in their residence in that State, the
father was captured by the Indians, and was held
in captivity for seven years, during which time he
suffered almost untold hardships, and twice came
very nearly being killed. Upon three separate oc-
casions he was compelled to run the gauntlet, and
upon one occasion was blackened and condemned
to be burned, but while pinioned, a few moments
before the fire should have been lighted, there
stepped forward a man who offered a price for his
life, and he was released from the stake. He died
a natural death in Boone County, Ky., in 1848.
By his first marriage, Major Darnall had six chil-

266

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

dren Jonathan, Mary, Alvira M. ; Malvina F., de-
ceased ; Nancy Ann and Minerva A. Major Dar-
nall's second marriage occurred in 1 880, the name
of his wife being Mrs. Francis Cummings, a native
of Kentucky, who died at Hutchinson, Kan., while
on a visit, on the 29th of May, 1883.

Alvira M., one of the children by the first mar-
riage, married Benjamin Hieronymus, in 1839, who
was born in 1818, and died in Illinois on the 31st
of December, 1885. He was a native of Boone
County, Ky., emigrated to Illinois in 1829, and
settled in Tazewell County. He was a farmer by
occupation, and a cooper by trade. He was a very
hard-working man, and at the time of his death,
which occurred in Livingston County, he owned
500 acres of land. He and his wife were the par-
ents of eight children, three of whom, William,
Jasper and Elizabeth, are living, and two, Martin
and Emma, died after they grew to maturity; three
died in infancy.

Major Darnall was the first Township Supervisor,
in which capacity he served two terms, and in
early times was a juror for many years; on account
of there being no jury room in which to meet, the
jury were obliged to sit on logs in the open air.
All the early settlers of Livingston County remem-
ber the deep snow of 1830-31, when the snow fell
continuously for three daj r s, and became so deep
that it was impossible to travel, even on horseback.
The day before this snowfall commenced, Major
Darnall went to Mackinaw to procure a supply of
meat for his family, going in a wagon, and although
the town was but eight miles from his residence,
on account of this extraordinary snowfall he was
prevented from returning home for nearly a week,
and then he did so on horseback. Although ninety
years of age, Major Darnall is a fine specimen of
manhood, being five feet ten inches in height, and
weighing 180 pounds, with health much better than
could be expected. His first Presidential vote was
cast for Gen. Jackson, and he has remained a Hick-
ory Democrat all through his life. Being a man
of large intelligence, and a close observer of the
events which have transpired since the first white
man settled in Livingston County, it is well worth
any man's time to listen to his reminiscences of the
settlement and growth of the count}-.

PR AN CIS D. JOHNSON, of Indian Grove
Township, is one of the most energetic
farmers of Livingston County. He has,
without doubt, done as much, if not more, hard
work than any other man of his age in the county,
and being in the prime of manhood, has a bright
future before him. Mr. Johnson is the son of
PYanklin I. and Mary A. (Wightmau) Johnson,
whose biographies may be found in another place
in this work.

The subject of our sketch was born in Hastings,
N. Y., May 2, 1854. When two years of age his
parents moved to Vermont, Fulton Co., 111., where
they lived until 1861, when they moved to Peoria,
and there young Frank received his first schooling,
working also in his father's stoneware pottery in that
city. When the family came to this county and
located on their 160-acre farm, south of Fairbury,
our subject was of sufficient age to take a full-hand
share in the work. He took hold with his father
and brother, and together they worked early and
late to improve the place and to replenish the pa-
ternal exchequer. During this time he improved
what opportunities presented of attending the dis-
trict school, and remained with his parents until
after he had reached his majority, giving to their
service his best energies.

On Dec. 24, 1874, Mr. Johnson was married to
Lucena M. Odell, who was born in the State of
New York on the 26th of August, 1853, and is the
daughter of James H. and Mary (Straight) Odell.
To Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have been born five chil-
dren, whose names are as follows: Birdie R., born
Feb. 15, 1876, died in infancy Oct. 4, 1876; Carrie
M., born Aug. 2, 1877; Addie M., born Aug. 2,
1879; Lottie M., born Aug. 2, 1882, and Vinnie
L., born March 17, 1884. In the year 1876 Mr.
Johnson moved upon the farm on which he at '
present resides, consisting of 120 acres, and began
the work of improvement, which he has carried
forward so energetically and systematical^' that he
now has one of the best conditioned farms in the
county. The soil is of a fine quality, and the drain-
age is perfect, so that productiveness is much en-
hanced. During most of the time he has resided
upon this farm Mr. Johnson has made a specialty
of raising fine horses, meeting with excellent suc-

fr-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

267

cess. During the year 1886 he was so unfortu-
nate as to lose seventy-three head of fine Chester-
White hogs. Although it was quite a severe finan- ,
cial loss, his courage was not diminished in the
least, but he immediately began, with renewed en-
ergy, to maintain his business up to the standard,
and at the same time to regain what had been lost.
Politically, Mr. Johnson is an advocate of the
principles of the Democratic party, and has been
called upon to discharge the duties of many of the
various township offices. He is a member of the
lodge of Knights of Pythias, in which he has held
the various offices, and filled them with credit to
himself and satisfaction to the fraternity of that
lodge.

ILTON KELLEY, an intelligent and well-
educated young bachelor of Indian Grove
Township, is operating the farm of his
father, on section 27, and engaged in the
breeding of fine stock, including Norman horses
and Chester-White swine. The estate is one of
the most valuable in the southern portion of Liv-
ingston County, the farm having been opened up
mainly by the father of our subject, who migrated
to Illinois from Pennsylvania in 1864.

Our subject was born in Greene County, Pa.,
May 23, 1854, and was consequently a lad ten
years of age when he came to this State with his
parents. The latter were Jacob C. and Martha
(Gosline) Kelley, the former a native of Virginia
and the latter of the Keystone State. Jacob Kel-
ley was born June 20, 1815, and died at his home
in Indian Grove Township on the 23d of June,
1881. He located in this township March 10,
1864, and became one of its most prominent and
well-beloved citizens. A thorough and progressive
fanner, he was a man prompt to meet his obliga-
tions, and took a genuine interest in the welfare of
the people around him, encouraging and sustaining
those enterprises calculated for their well-beingand
improvement. Although never identifying himself
with any religious organization, he illustrated in
his life and character the principles of true Chris-
tianity, and no man enjoyed in a warmer degree

the confidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens.
Upon coming here, he at once purchased the land
upon which our subject now operates, where he
built up a fine home and reared his children to
habits of industry and principles of honor.

Mrs. Martha Kelley, who was born in 1821, was
a lady in every respect the suitable companion of
her husband, and the possessor of all womanly vir-
tues. She looked well to the ways of her house-
hold, and is yet affectionately regarded as a tender
.friend and counselor, kindly and charitable, ever
lending a ready ear to the tale of distress and her
aid to the unfortunate. She resides with her son
on the old homestead. The three children of the
parental household were: Milton, our subject;
James, who died in February, 1881, aged twenty-
six years ; and Mary, who resides with her mother
and brother. The daughter is finely educated, and
possesses more than ordinary intelligence and re-
finement, and is in all respects an ornament to the
home circle.

Mr. Kelley cast his_ first Presidential vote for
Peter Cooper, and has always been a stanch sup-
porter of the Republican party. He identified him-
self with the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1883,
and is one of its most valued members.

x AVID G. LEWIS, a representative young
farmer and stock-raiser of Owego Town-
ship, occupying 117 acres on section 10,
has spent his entire life in the Prairie
State, having been born in Fulton County April
25, 1851. He came to this county soon after his
marriage, which took place in 1874, and located on
his present farm in 1887. He has been remarkably
successful thus far 'in his agricultural operations,
and is keeping pace with the methods of modern
and progressive farming.

The parents of our subject were George W. and
Abigail Lewis, who were of New England birth
and parentage, and settled in Illinois during the
pioneer days, more than thirty years ago. George
Lewis for many years conducted an hotel at
Fail-view, where his death took place March 16,
1886. The mother passed to her rest in 1865.

^208

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

There had been born to them seven children, four
of whom are now living, namely, Andrew V.,
John G., Frank, and David G., our subject. The
parents were widely and favorably known through-
out Fulton County as representing its most sub-
stantial and reliable elements. Their children re-
ceived careful home training and a good common-
school education, and imbibed those principles of
morality and sentiments of honor which have ren-
dered them worthy to bear the name and mantle
of the authors of their being.

David G. Lewis was reared and educated in his
native county, where also he took unto himself a
wife and helpmeet in the person of Miss Mary
Vanostrand, of Fulton County. Mrs. L. is the
daughter of Jacob W. and Phoebe M. Vanostrand,
and was born in B^ulton County, 111., in 1856. Of
this union there are two children: George, born
Aug. 15, 1875, and Carrie, Feb. 13, 1886. The
family residence is a neat and comfortable structure,
and the barn and out-buildings are in keeping with
the general air of thrift and comfort which pre-
vades the premises. Mr. Lewis is a steady and
persistent worker, and his labors in due time will
bring him his just reward.

~1OHN WHALEN, who has a stock farm on

Ind. ; Mary and Fannie both attended St. Mary's
Academy at^Morris, 111., where the former still re-
mains; the latter has returned home. James died
May 1, 1877, in Livingston County, at the age of
seventeen years.

John Whalen, our subject, was educated in the
High School in Pontiac, and afterward attended
the Jacksonville Business College, where he took a
thorough practical course. Although he is a farm-
owner and stock-raiser, he devotes most of his
time to teaching, in which profession he has been
eminently successful.

section 30, Amity Township, devotes a

^_ N ^ I large proportion of his time to school teach-
(Wgj^/ ing, for which profession he is peculiarly fit-
ted, not only by education, but by natural inclina-
tion. Mr. Whalen is a native of Livingston
County, and was born Feb. 15, 1847. He is the
son of Patrick and Mary (Foley) Whalen, who
were natives of Ireland, and emigrated to America
when they were about twenty years of age. His
father was the son of Michael and Mary (Doran)
Whalen. To Patrick Whalen and wife a family
of five children were born, namely, Jerome M.,
John, James, Mary and Fannie. John Whalen
now owns 160 acres of fine farm land, all under a
good state of cultivation, which is ditched and well
drained; Jerome Whalen was educated in the col-
lege at Valparaiso, Ind., and at Notre Dame Uni-
versity, located near South Bend, St. Joseph Co.,

i>ILLIAM W. SKINNER, whose early life
was characterized by energetic and indus-
trious farm employments, in which he was
remarkably successful as an agriculturist and stock-
dealer, has now wisely retired, and is spending his
declining years in the ease and comfort of a hand-
some home in Fairbury. He is a native of Devon-
shire, England, and was born May 5, 1828. His
parents, William and Grace (Leeworthy) Skinner,
were of pure English blood, and emigrated to
America in 1834, when their son William was but
a child six years of age. After landing in New
York City they proceeded to Sangerfleld, Oneida
County, which remained their residence twelve
years thereafter, and during which time the father
was engaged in farming. In 1846 they all came
to Illinois, and the father purchased land in Ken-
dall County, where he built up a fine homestead,
and cultivated the soil until departing from the
scenes of his earthly labors. He was .born in 1803,
and died in 1855. The mother, born in 1799,
passed away three years before her husband, in
1852. The household included nine children,
namely : Mary and Jane, now deceased; William,
our subject; Henry; Elizabeth, deceased; John,
Eliza, Morgan and Martha.

Mr. Skinner was educated in the common schools,
and remained under the parental roof until after
reaching his majority. lie then purchased eighty
acres of land in Kendall Count}', and began the ca-
reer which subsequently proved so prosperous.
His property includes 480 acres of some of the
finest land in Forest Township, a handsome and

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

269 , ,1

substantial farm dwelling, with its necessary adja-
cent buildings, and an acre of land within the limits
of Fairbury. After reaching his thirty-second year
he was united in marriage with Miss Hannah F.
Alford, the wedding taking place at the home of
the bride, in November, 1860. Mrs. S. was born
in Clinton County, N. Y., Sept. 9, 1844, and is the
daughter of Wesley J. and Cornelia B. (Randall)
Alford, also natives of the Empire State. Her fa-
ther was born Aug. 17, 1820, and her mother in
1823. They are both living, and residents of Belle
Prairie Township, this county, where for many
years Mr. A. followed farming. The parents were
married in 1839. and the familj' circle was com-
pleted by the birth of nine children, namely, Lu-
cina R., Hannah F., Seth 11., Emeline, Lorenzo
W., Louisa, George, Allie and Warren L.

Mr. and Mrs. Skinner have two sons only : Rod-
ney C. was born May 12, 1863, and married Miss
Ella Evans, of Chenoa; he is farming in Forest
Township. William was born Sept. 1, 1870, and
is reading medicine in the office of Dr. C. G. Lewis,
of Fairbtiry. Mr. Skinner, politically, uniformly
votes the Republican ticket, and is greatly inter-
ested in the success of the temperance movement.
Mrs. S. is a worthy member of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church.

E B. FOSTER, one of the oldest living
pioneers of Livingston County, was born
in Tioga County, N. Y., Aug. 17, 1825, the
son of John and Susan (Shephard) Foster, the for-
mer a native of Vermont, and the latter, who it is
known was of New England birth, was probably
reared not far from the birthplace of her husband.
The Foster family is of English ancestry, and was
first represented in this country in the Colonial days.
The mother of our subject was of Scotch descent,
and her great-grandfather settled in New England
probably before the commencement of the Revo-
lutionary War. The Fosters were largely repre-
sented in New England, and the father of our
subject was one of a numerous family whose father
had been married several times. The children now
living are: Edward, of Denver, Col.; Robert, of

Kansas ; James, of Kansas City, Mo. ; Frank, Charles,
and George B. of our sketch.

In 1837 John Foster, with sixteen others of the
same patronymic, including the family of the
maternal grandfather, started West, making their
way to Cleveland. Ohio, by lake and rail, then
engaged teams and proceeded overland, locating
first at Dayton, Ohio, on account of the cold
weather, which interfered with their comfort while
camping out at night. They remained there three
months, when they continued their journey, finallj'
settling in Pontiac. Here our subject was reared
to manhood and trained especially to habits of in-
dustry and economy while receiving a limited edu-
cation in the pioneer school. He took kindly to
labor, and at an early age became initiated into the
secrets of successful farming, which he naturally
chose as his future vocation. He was married, Dec.
21, 1852, after reaching his twenty -seventh year, to
Miss Martha Jones, who was born in Indiana, Feb.
25, 1834. Mrs. F. was the daughter of Henry and
Emily (De Moss) Jones, natives of Kentuck} 7 , who
emigrated to Illinois about 1846, and settled in
Owego Township. They afterward removed to
California, where the mother died about 1863, and
where Mr. Jones is still living. Mr. and Mrs.
Foster became the parents of six children, of whom
the record is as follows: Agnes, the first born, died
when one year old; Henry obtained a fine educa-
tion and is now Principal of the Pontiac High
School, and numbered among the efficient popular
educators of the county; Emily is the wife of
William Decker, a prosperous merchant of Owego
Township; Susan married Charles Grandy, who is
farming in Pontiac Township, where Nathan also
pursues the same calling; Clarence is a resident of
Owego Township.

In 1852 Mr. Foster purchased the land compris-
ing his present farm, which was then an unculti-
vated tract of prairie, distant from markets and
even from the traveled highway. Scarcely a fur-
row had been turned, while deer and other wild
game were plentiful in that vicinity. Mr. Foster,
being quite a marksman, kept his family supplied
with the finest of wild meats, and if at times they
lacked flour they were seldom without the impor-
tant article of meat. He commenced farming with

270

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

an ox-team and a few rude implements which would
be regarded with ridicule at the present day. He
set out, however, with the resolution of making the
best of circumstances, gaining a little each year
until he had turned the sod upon the greater part
of his possessions and brought the soil to a good
state of cultivation. It is now considered one of the
finest farms of its size in Owego Township, and
although consisting of but eighty acres is more
valuable than many occupying a larger area.

Mr. Foster, while having an abundance of labor
on hand in connection with his own interests, has
deported himself unselfish!}' and given whatever of I
his time and attention that was needful in subserv-
ing the welfare of his community. He has been
School Director for many years, and sought by
his influence, and more substantial methods when
necessary, to encourage those enterprises tending to
the welfare of the people. He uniformly votes the
Democratic ticket, and with his estimable lady is
numbered among the valued residents of Living-
ston County, who have assisted in the development
of its resources, rejoiced in its prosperity, and con-
tributed their quota toward its moral welfare.

/NDREW J. BROOKS, of Rook's Creek
Township, owns a fine farm of 160 acres
on section 26, of which he has been in pos-
session since the spring of 1 874. This he
has brought to a high state of cultivation, using
considerable tiling, and purposes draining the land
still further in this manner. His farming opera-
tions have been conducted with industry and good
judgment, and he has in all respects performed his
part as a useful citizen and a skillful agriculturist.
He has attended principally to his own concerns,
but has kept himself posted upon current events,
and is always pleased to note the progress and ad-
vancement, both morally and financially, of the
people around him.

As far back as he has any record, the ancestors
of Mr. Brooks were of American birth and parent-
age, and mostly residents of New York State.
His paternal grandfather, John Brooks, served in
the Revolutionary War. and spent his last days in

New York State. The parents, Martin and Han-
nah (Appleby) Brooks, were natives of the Em-
pire State; the former was born in Greene County.
In 1853 they came to Illinois and located in La
Salle County, where they spent the remainder of
their days. Their household included twelve chil-
dren, ten of whom lived to become men and
women. Andrew J., our subject, was the youngest,
and was born in Greene County, N. Y., March 12,
1850. He received a common-school education,
and when twenty years of age commenced farming
for himself. A year later he was married to Miss
Sarah E. Hornbeck, the wedding taking place at
the home of the bride, Dec. 1, 1870. The young
people commenced life together on a farm in La
Salle County, whence they removed three years
later to Streator, 111., renting land, which they tilled
one year, when he purchased eighty acres of his
present farm. He was prospered in his labors, and
invested his surplus capital in another eighty acres
on section 35, all of which he has brought to a good
state of cultivation.

Mr. and Mrs. Brooks became the parents of six
children, all living, with one exception, and at
home with their parents. Viola, who was born
Jan. 3, 1872, died June 12, 1884, when an inter-
esting child of twelve years; Howard was born
May 10, 1874; Bertie, Sept. 26, 1876; Henry, Jan.
1, 1879; Ina, April 21, 1881, and Ralph, May 16,
1883. They form a bright family group, <>f which
the parents have reason to be proud.

Mrs. Brooks is the daughter of Henry and Deb-
orah (Kimball) Hornbeck, natives of New York,
who came to Illinois and located in La Salle
County in 1855. The household included seven
children, of whom Mrs. B. was the third. Four
are now living, namely: Newton J. is married, a
resident of Kansas, and the father of six children;
Sarah, wife of our subject; Clara married Albert
Davis, and became the mother of two children ; she
is now a widow and lives in Streator. Ida H. is
the wife of Dr. William Sheppard, of Chicago, and
is the mother of one child. A. Lincoln died
June 8, 1886, unmarried, when about twenty-six
years of age. The parents of these children were
married June 14, 1843. The father was born July
10, 1822, and the mother July 20, 1817.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

271

The brothers and sisters of Mr. Brooks are as
follows: Lawrence is married and a resident of
Ford County; he has no children. Harriett is
married to her third husband, Jackson Whittaker,
and is the mother of two children by her first mar-
riage ; her first husband was Peter Alson, and her
second, John Hogaboom. Burgess, married, is a
resident of Nebraska, and has five children; Sa-
rah, Mrs. Peter VanValkenburg, is the mother of
live children, and a resident of New York State;
Edwin is married, and has seven children ; he is a
resident of Adair County, Iowa. Andrew J., of
our sketch, was the youngest.

FORDYCE, one of the most exten-
sive farmers, stock-raisers, and breeders of
Short-horn cattle and Hambletonian horses,
as well as general dealer in stock, in Reading Town-
ship, where he lives on section 21, is a native of
Pennsylvania, where he was born on the 5th of
December, 1834. He is the son of Corbley and
Jane (Bailey) Fordyce, also natives of Pennsylva-
nia. The father was born June 7, 1807, and died
Nov. 13, 1862, at the age of fifty-five years-
The mother was born June 16, 1811, and is now
seventy-six years of age and residing in Pennsyl-
vania, in the county in which she was born.

The father of our subject was a farmer, stock-
raiser and feeder, and in this business met witli
good success. His political affiliations were with
the Whig and Republican parties, and he, as well as
his wife, was a member of the Methodist Protest-
ant Church. To them were born the following-
named children: Kliza Ann, born Feb. 15, 1830,
and married John Smith, a fanner and merchant;
they have had a family of seven children, one de-
ceased, and now reside in Greene County, Pa.
Elizabeth, born Feb. 28, 1832, married John
Church, has had three children, one deceased: they
reside in Greene County, Pa., where the husband is
engaged as a farmer and stock-breeder. Girard is
our subject: Mary, born Jan. 17, 1836, married
Thomas B. Smith, a farmer by occupation, and a
local minister in the Methodist Protestant Church;

they have seven children and reside in Ohio. Joab
B., born March 27, 1838, married Eliza Garrison,
and has had three children, of whom two are de-
ceased ; the family reside in Greene County, Pa.,
where Joab is a farmer and stock-dealer. John G.,
born Feb. 14, 1841, is a farmer in Greene County,
Pa. ; he first married Jennie Huffman, who died after
the birth of two children, and he afterward married
Mary Phillips, by whom he has had one child.
Corbley, born Aug. 30, 1843, died July 10, 1845.
Hattie, born March 3, 1846, married Joshua Rice,
a farmer, and has had six children, one of whom is
dead; Ellen, born Oct. 20, 1850, died in infancy;
Jennie, born April 9, 1848, married Peter Huffman,
a farmer, and resides in Greene County, Pa.; Jo-
seph B., born Feb. 9, 1852, died May 3, 1857;
Homer C., born July 3, 1855, married Elizabeth
Huffman, has three children, and resides in Greene
County, Pa., where he is engaged in farming.

On the 18th of July, 1853, Mr. Fordyce was
married to Joanna Coe, a native of Pennsylvania,
born on the 26th of March, 1839, and the daughter
of Silas and Ruth (Church) Coe. The marriage
occurred at the residence of the bride's father, at
Waynesburg, Pa., the Rev. William C. Leonard
officiating. To her parents were born the follow-
ing-named children: William, born Jan. 28, 1837,
and died Oct. 4, 1864, in Pennsylvania; Joanna, the
wife of our subject: John, born June 12, 1842, mar-
ried Jennie Knight, now deceased, and afterward he
married Annie Keith; they have had six children,
two of whom are deceased. John is a farmer by
occupation and resides in Ancona; Henry, born
Feb. 14, 1845, married Maria Fry on the 13th of
September, 1864, and died Feb. 7, 1865, in Greene
County, Pa.; Joseph, born Dec. 25, 1847, married
Prude Barackman, and resides on a farm in Read-
ing Township. (At the time of the writing of this
sketch Joseph and his wife are sojourning in Cali-
fornia with the hope of restoring the health of the
latter.) Sarah, born Nov. 2, 1850, and married
George W. Mathis, a merchant and publisher of
Ancona, whose biography will be found in another
part of this book; Cephas, born Nov. 14, 1853
married Carrie Barackman, and has three children
living; he is a farmer and resides in Reading Town-
ship. Lile Ann, born Feb. 31, 1857, married James , ,

t . 272

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

P. Mathis, and has had three children, one of whom
is dead ; her husband is a merchant, and stock and
grain dealer at Rutland. Robert G. resides in
California, where he is engaged as a clerk in a
bank.

To Mr. and Mrs. Girard Fordyce eight children
have been born: Mary L., in Pennsylvania, on the
25th of May, 1865; she is now a student in Eureka
College. Joseph C., born Feb. 1, 1867, died April
1, 1868; Franklin, born June 23, 1869; Charles J.,
March 21, 1872; John G., July 19, 1874; Harry S.,
Ojt. 16, 1876; Nellie R., Dec. 28, 1880, and C.
Roy, Jan. 27, 1885. Mr. Fordyce now owns 207
acres of land, located on sections 21, 28 and 33, seven
and one-half of which are covered with timber,
while all the remainder is susceptible of high culti-
vation. A good class of improvements, including
suitable buildings, has been made by Mr. Fordyce.

In his youth Mr. Fordyce received an excellent
common-school education, and afterward graduated
from the Waynesburg College, located in Greene
County, Pa., after which he attended medical lec-
tures in Cleveland, Ohio, and then practiced medi-
cine for two years. In 1863 he responded to his
country's call by enlisting and recruiting a com-
pany of which he was appointed Lieutenant. After
going into camp he was notified by telegraph that
his father was fatally ill and could not live long,
and upon his arrival at home he found the truth of
the summons verified. His father exacted a prom-
ise from him to resign his commission in the army
and return home for the purpose of settling up the
estate he might leave. He considered that his ob-
ligations to his father and his family preceded his
duty to his country, and heeded the call made upon
him by his father.

Mr. Fordyce is a member of the Republican
party, in which he takes an active interest. He
has been School Director for four terms, 1 and has
also served to the satisfaction of the people in the
office of Justice of the Peace. He is a member in
good standing of the Masonic Lodge at Long
Point, and cheerfully engages in such works of
benevolence as the conditions of the case. may war-
rant. He is a business man of rare ability, and of
pleasant social address, progressive in his ideas and
energetic in whatever he undertakes.

ICHAEL D. PETERS is farming on section
1, Newtown Tp.. and coal mining in Shaft
No. 3, of the Vermillion Coal Company,
and has been a resident of this locality for
sixteen years, during which time, for about four
years, he operated a small shaft of his own on his
farm. Mr. Peters is one of the oldest employes in
the shaft, and has always been constant and faith-
ful in his work. When not engaged at the shaft,
he devotes his time to his farm.

Mr. Peters was born in Ireland in the year 1841,
and is the son of Patrick and Mary Peters, natives
of Ireland, who came to America in 1849, at which
time they had six children. They left Waterford
in April, and landed at New York City on the 9th
of June, after a long and tempestuous voyage.
From New York City they went to Troy, N. Y.,
where they remained about two months, and then
moved to Blossburg, Pa., where they remained,
the boys engaging at work in the coal mines at that
place. The father was then too old to work, but
remained there until his death, which occurred in
1866. Our subject's mother died in 1851, soon af-
ter settling in Pennsylvania. To the parents were
born eight children James, Patrick, Dennis, John,
Michael, Mary, Sarah and Bridget. Of these, three
are now living: John, married, has three children,
and is engaged in the coal mines at Houtzdale, Pa. ;
Bridget, the wife of Michael Eagan, who has been
engaged as watchman for the New York & Erie Rail-
road at Corning, N. Y., for twenty-five years. Of
the others, two died in Ireland, two died in Penn-
sylvania, and Sarah, Mrs. James Lacey, died in Mor-
ris, Grundy Co., 111. Michael, our subject, lived at
home until sixteen or seventeen years of age, when
he devoted several years to traveling from one
place to another, nearly all over the United States,
and has been in most of the principal cities of the
North and South. He was near Chattanooga at
the time of the breaking out of the war, and en-
listed in the 6th Alabama Regiment for one year.
About the expiration of his term of service he ran
away and crossed tbe line into McCIelland's camp,
where he surrendered himself and then returned to
Pennsylvania.

On the 15th day of January, 1867, Mr. Peters
was married to Ann Lonergon, of Bellefonte, Pa.,

STORE AND FARM PROPERTY OF HENRY RINGLER,STRAWN, ILL.

^.^^^'^fl^^^V'^'^i^'^^^^^^-^^^^^W'

v '^-.fcMi%N&*^0^

RESIDENCE OF D. F SMITH, SEC. 3. INDIAN GROYETOWNSHI p.

RESIDENCE or HENRY U LBRIGHT, 5EC.9. FOREST TOWNSHIP.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

275

where she grew to womanhood. She was the daugh-
ter of Thomas and Mary (Murphy) Lonergon, na-
tives of Ireland, who came to this country at an
early day, and were married in Pennsylvania.
They reared a large family of children, of whom
our subject's wife was the third. Soon after mar-
riage, Mr. Peters came to Pontiac, and engaged in
coal mining in the Pontiac mines, where he re-
mained for about one year, and then mined coal in
La Salle for about the same length of time. From
La Salle he went to Streator, remaining one year,
and then to his present location. Ten children have
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Peters, four of whom
died in infancy: Sadie was born Jan. 15, 1875;
Annie, Feb. 8, 1878; Michael and Katie, twins, Jan.
6, 1881. These four are all living at home, the |
rest are dead. Mr. Peters and his family are de-
vout members of the Catholic Church, and attend
services at Streator.

-#-

j)ILLIAM A. LATHAM, a representative
farmer and stock-raiser of Owego Town-
ship, is a native of New Hampshire, and
was born on the 12th of December. 1837, and is
the son of William H. and Eliza Latham, both New
Englanders by birth. When an infant he was
taken by his parents to Fayette County, Ohio,
where he was reared. He received a fair English
education, and after having reached years of ma-
turity came to Illinois and resided in McLean
County a number of years. He removed from
Kankakee to Livingston County in 1885, and has
resided here ever since. He owns 400 acres of land
in Livingston County, and also an interest in a
large stock ranch in Colorado.

In Blooinington, 111., on the 5th of February,
1874, his marriage was celebrated, at which time
Miss Frances J. Wej'and, an accomplished lady of
Bloomington, 111., became his wife. She is a daugh-
ter of William and Catherine Weyand, they having
been among the worthy and esteemed pioneers of
McLean County, who settled in Bloomington at an
early day. The mother is deceased. The union
of Mr. and Mrs. Latham has been blessed with
seven children, four of whom are living Florence,

Arthur W., Mary C. and John H. Mrs. L. is a
member of the Christian Church, and an active and
influential member of society.

The subject of this sketch has been successful in
business affairs, and is a public-spirited man, being
in favor of all things which tend to elevate society
and improve the community. He is a Republican
in politics and a leading citizen in all public affairs.
None are more worthy of a place in this ALBUM
than Mr. and Mrs. Latham, who enjoy the esteem
and confidence of the entire community in which
they live.

[} OSEPH R. PLOWMAN. Whatever a man
may own of this world's goods, it is some
satisfaction to himself, and certainly a credit
readily conceded to him, when they are ob-
tained through his own efforts, as the reward that
comes of industry and prudence. The greatest ac-
complishments are those made by men who are
thrown entirely upon their own resources, and carve
out the fortunes of which they become possessors,
and when these men succeed in their efforts, they
seldom fritter away their holdings, for they know
under what difficulty they were obtained. The sub-
ject of this sketch is a self-made man, and his ex-
cellent farm in Pontiac Township, with all its be-
longings, stands as the evidence of hard work
through life.

Mr. Plowman was born in Huntingdon County,
Pa., on the 4th of July, 1838, and is the son of
Edward L. and Sarah L. Plowman, the father a na-
tive of Maryland, and the mother of Mifflin County,
Pa. His paternal ancestors are of German descent,
and the maternal of English descent. His fore-
fathers were among the pioneers of Huntingdon
County, Pa. His parents settled in La Salle County,
111., in the year 1854, and were among the pioneers
of that county, where they spent the remainder of
their lives, the father dying on the 29th of March,
1884, and the mother on the llth of September,
1876; they had two children, named Joseph R. and
Apollos F.

Mr. Plowman married on the 3d of April, 1868,
Martha E. Cays, daughter of Conrad Cays, of La
Salle County, 111. They have four children : Dora,

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

wife of H. F. Davis, of this count}'; Arthur, Elmer
and Minnie. Mr. Plowman removed to Living-
ston County in the fall of 1880, and thence upon
his present farm in the spring of 1887. He owns
120 acres of land, which is known for its fertility
and fine location. On the 1 4th of August, 1 862,
he enlisted in Company D, 104th Illinois Infantry,
under Capt. W. II. Collins, and was attached to the
14th Army Corps, Arm}' of the Cumberland, and
participated in many engagements and skirmishes
in Kentucky and Tennessee, the principal field of
operation of that army corps. After serving nearly
three years, he was honorably discharged on the
5th of July, 1 865, when he returned to peaceful pur-
suits in Illinois.

Mr. Plowman is a Republican in politics, a mem-
ber of the Masonic fraternity, and a comrade of
the G. A. R. In each of these organizations he
takes an active interest, and occupies a prominent
position. While a citizen of La Salle County, he
served as Collector and Assessor of Reading Town-
ship. Although comparatively a new citizen of
Livingston County, he has already formed very
pleasant social relations with the older citizens, and
it is very probable that his conditions and sur-
roundings will prove very pleasant and profitable
in the future.

AMUEL M. PRICER, Supervisor of Avoca
Township, and the representative of a fine
old Pennsylvania family, is one of the most
prosperous farmers and stock-raisers of this
township, to which he came in 1873 and settled on
his present farm, which embraces 460 acres on sec-
tion 1, and to the management of which he gives
his attention. The land was then in an unculti-
vated state, but by the exerci>e of continuous in-
dustry and good judgment, has become one of the
most tiucly cultivated and fertile tracts in the south-
ern part of Living.-ton County. Mr. Pricer. of late
years, has taken life easier, but still extends the
r-anie supervision as of old over hi- farm operation-,
which are conducted after the most modern and ap-
proved method^

Our Mib.ect wa> born in Ross County. Ohio, Feb.
16, 1824, and is the >on of Jacob and Elizabeth

(Benner) Pricer. whose birth took place near the
city of Philadelphia. Pa. I'pon both sides the par-
ents were of German ancestry, and their lioii-eliold
included seven children, of whom the following sur-
vive: Elizabeth. Mrs. Alexander Brown; Louisa.
Mrs. David Brown: Frances L.. the wife of John
M. Dwire: and Samuel M., our subject. With the
exception of the last they are all iv-iilents of Ross
County. Ohio. The parents located in that county
during the pioneer days, where the father carried on
farming successfully., and where his death took place
in the spring of 1852. The mother is still a resi-
dent there, continuing on the old homestead, near
the town of Comstock, and has now passed her
eightieth birthday.

Mr. Pricer spent his boyhood and youth among
his native hills, 'receiving a good education in a
State renowned for its school facilities, even in the
country districts. He was fond of his books, mak-
ing good use of his time, and after leaving school
was engaged for a time as a teacher. Subsequently,
when but a youth of eighteen, he engaged as clerk
and book-keeper in the mercantile establishment of
Elijah Rockhold, with whom he continued four
years. At the expiration of this time he had ac-
cumulated sufficient capital to go into business for
himself, and established a store of general merchan-
dise in company with Jacob Benner, with whom he
continued five years. He then purchased the in-
terest of his partner, and continued there in busi-
ness several years longer, after which he came to
this State.

Mr. Pricer, upon his arrival in Illinois, in 1862,
established himself in the hotel business at Salem,
Marion County, and thence removed to East St.
Louis. After a year's residence at that point, he
established himself as a general merchant at Qaincy t
111., where he was thus occupied three years, and
then engaged as a traveling salesman for a St. Louis
house. In 1873 he came to this county, settled
down upon a farm, and has since continued a resi-
dent of the rural districts. To this latter life he
seems more especially adapted, and nothing could
suit him better than its employments and pleasures.
He has been blessed with good health, the result of
good habits, and besides his farm duties has found
time to interest himself in the welfare of his com-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

277

munity. He first served as Commissioner of High-
ways three years, and in the spring of 1 886 was
elected to his present office of Supervisor, the du-
ties of which he is discharging with credit to him-
self and satisfaction to all concerned. He takes a
keen interest in the success of Sunday-school work,
as well as in that of the temperance movement,
and is Chairman of the Blue Eibbon Society of
Owego Township, the meetings of which are held
regularly in the Methodist EpiscopaljClmrch.

The marriage of Samuel M. Pricer and Miss
Mary E. Latham was celebrated at the home of the
bride, in Washington, Fayettc Co., Ohio, in May,
1856. Mrs. Pricer was born in Grafton County,
N. II., in 1835, and is the daughter of Will-
iam H. and Eliza (Comers) Latham, the latter
now deceased. Her father is living, and a resident
of Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. P. have no children.

RANK RAISBECK, one of the enterprising
young farmers of Esmen Township, is lo-
cated near the homestead of his father-in-
law, Amariah Bemis, on section 2, where in addi-
tion to general agriculture he is engaged in the
raising of fine stock, including horses, cattle and
hogs. He is a native of a far county, having been
born near Laxey Beach, on the Isle of Man in the
Irish Sea, July 4, 1852. He was the eldest in a
family of seven children, the offspring of Robert
and Jane (Gelling) Raisbeck, the former a native
of England, and the latter of the original Manx
blood, and born on the Island where her son was
given birth. The paternal grandparents of our
subject, Frank and Betsey Raisbeck, natives of
Yorkshire, England, emigrated to the Isle of Man
about 1839. The mother's parents were John and
Jane Gelling, natives of the Isle of Man.

Robert Raisbeck, the father of our subject, was
a silver miner in his native land and emigrated to
America about 1856, going directly westward
to Benton, La Fayette Co., Wis., where he en-
gaged in farming and lead mining. About 1861,
leaving his family in Benton. he went to Pike's Peak
and thence, after a short stay, to Idaho, returning
in 1865. He then removed his family to Grundy

County, 111., where he engaged in coal mining, at
which he still employs himself, though now a resi-
dent of Braceville.

Our subject was reared partly on a farm, but
spent much of his time in the mines where his father
was employed. He remained a member of the par-
ental household until reaching his majority, and
then coming to this count)' engaged as clerk in a
general store at Odell. He remained with his first
employer four years, and then desiring a change
to outdoor life he went up into the lumber regions
of Michigan, where he spent one year. He was
married, March 23, 1876, to Miss Sarah A., daugh-
ter of Amariah N. and Lucinda (Backus) Bemis
(a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work).
The young people located at Odell, where they lived
six months, when Mr. Raisbeck made his trip to
Michigan. Upon his return he took possession of
a farm, but soon after resumed clerking in Odell.
A year later he returned to farm life, and in 1881
purchased a tract of land near the limits of Odell,
where he combined the occupations of clerk and
farmer. In 1883 he sold this property, and with
his family took up his residence on the Bemis
homestead, where he has since resided. The chil-
dren of Mr. and Mrs. Raisbeck, six in number,
are named respectively, Edith May; Maxwell,
deceased ; Robert Bemis, Nellie Viola, Lila and
Bessie.

/p^EORGE GOSHORN, proprietor of 100 acres
(If <=? of fine farming land on section 21, Indian
^^4! Grove Township, is regarded as one of the
successful stock-growers of the southern part of
Livingston County, to which he came in February,
1866. He is an Ohio man, and was born in Butler
County, Sept. 25, 1835, remaining a resident of his
native State until the outbreak of the late war,
when he proffered his services to assist in the pres-
ervation of the Union.

The parents of our subject, Leonard and Ellen
(Dorman) Goshorn, were natives respectively of
Pennsylvania and Maryland, and neither lived to
be aged, the mother dying in 1849. and the father
two years later. They spent their last years in
Ohio, where the father followed blacksmithing.

' '

. , 278

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

1 '

The household circle included the following chil-
dren: Mathew, John, Sarah J., George, William
and Smith. They received a common-school edu-
cation and careful home training. George remained
on a farm until the outbreak of the Rebellion called
for Union troops, and then laid aside his personal
interests and enlisted in Company I, 39th Ohio In-
fantry, as a private. In 1863 lie was promoted
Corporal, and served in the army four years, partic-
ipating in some of the most important battles of
the war. He first met the enemy at New Madrid,
after having been detailed to the northern portion
of Missouri, and was afterward at the siege of Cor-
inth and the battle of luka, Miss. In October,
after a second engagement at Corinth, his regiment
was assigned to quarters near Memphis, Tenn., and
subsequently went to Chattanooga and joined Sher-
man's army in its march from Atlanta to the sea.

While at Atlanta our subject, on the 22d of July,
1864, received a bad flesh wound in the right arm,
and was confined in the hospital forty days. lie
was granted a short furlough, upon which he re-
turned home to Ohio, but rejoined his regiment at
Atlanta, whence they went to Savannah and took
steamer for Buford, S. C. Thence they marched
across the State, and afterward engaged in the
hard-fought battle at Bcntonville, N. C. About
this time the war practically ended by the sur-
render of Gen. Lee at Appomattox. Our subject and
his comrades not long afterward entered the Na-
tional capital for the grand review, and were mus-
tered out at Louisville, Ky. Mr. G. received his
final and honorable discharge at Camp Dennison,
Ohio, about the 25th of July, 1865. Concerning
the hardships, privations and fatigues which were
the common lot of all who participated in that
memorable struggle, those who were the most in-
terested have remained for the most part admira-
bly silent. Mr. Goshorn, likewise, bore with
fortitude the difficulties and dangers which he en-
countered, and is entitled to equal consideration.

After retiring from army life Mr. Goshorn spent
a brief time in his native State, and then set out
for the West. After selecting his future abiding-
place he was united in marriage with Miss Rebecca
J. Crouch, the wedding taking place at the home
of the bride in Indian Grove Township on New

Year's Day, 1867. The young people commenced
life together in a modest dwelling, and in due time
became the parents of one child, a daughter, Nellie,
born Nov. 15, 1872. She is now an interesting
young lady of fifteen years. Mis. Goshorn is the
daughter of Richard G. Crouch, and was born in
New Hampshire, of which State her parents were
also natives. Her mother is deceased.

Both our subject and wife are members in good
standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
politically Mr. Goshorn is a decided Republican.
Socially he belongs to the Masonic fraternity.

IMON F. SLYDER, an aged and highly re-
spected citizen of Owego Township, has
been identified with its farming interests
for over twenty years, being one of the
earliest settlers of this section, and coming here
when but a small portion of the Prairie soil had
been turned upward to the sun. He was born and
reared in the Keystone State, imbibing with his na-
tive air those substantial qualities of character
which were so much needed in the West at that
period, and came here in the prime of life. With
his strong hands and resolute will, he set himself to
work to establish a permanent home, and has built
up a record of which his descendants should be
proud. He was then the possessor of but modest
means, and the fact that he now owns 400 broad
acres of the most valuable land in Central Illinois, is
sufficient indication of the success which has
crowned his efforts. The main points in a history
of more than ordinary interest are substantially as
follows:

Mr. Slyder was born in Cumberland County, Pa.,
Nov. 27, 1816. His parents, Jacob and Elizabeth
(Borah) Slyder, were natives of the same State,
and possessed all the substantial elements of their
excellent German ancestry, the first representatives
of whom in this country, crossed the water prior to
the Revolutionary War. Several of them served as
soldiers on the side of the Colonists during their
struggle for liberty, and afterward located in Penn-
sylvania, where the family has been largely repre-
sented for the last century.

The parental family of our subject included seven

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

279

children, of whom but two are now living, namely,
Lyclia, the wife of Joseph L. Near, of Warren
County, this State, and Simon, our subject. The
latter was reared to manhood near the place of his
birth, receiving a good common-school education,
and becoming familiar with all the employments of
farm life. He remained under the home roof until
his thirty -fifth year, when in April, 1851, he was
united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Beam, a na-
tive of Franklin County, Pa., and born Aug. 7,
1833. Mrs. Slyder, who is several years younger
than her husband, was a daughter of A bra in and
Margaret (Bowermaster) Beam, natives of Penn-
sylvania, and of German descent. They located in
Franklin County soon after their marriage, and
during its early settlement, where they remained
until 1855, when they came to Illinois and located
in Fulton, where they were finally laid to their long
rest.

Mr. and Mrs. Slyder commenced housekeeping
in a modest dwelling at Clay Lick Hall, Pa., where
they remained until after the birth of one child,
and then, not quite satisfied with the results of their
labors, decided to emigrate to the then far West.
They came to this State in the fall of 1854, locating
first in Fulton County, whence, in 1869, they re-
moved to this county with the results which we
have already indicated. In the meantime the
household circle had been gradually enlarged until
it included ten children. These were named re-
spectively, William 1C. : Elizabeth M., Mrs. Charles
Schnurr, of Owego Township; Simon F., Samuel
D., Luther B. ; Louisa C., Mrs. D. S. Myers; Annie
M., Jesse C., Susie A. and Delia L. All the chil-
dren are still living, and are located in different
parts of Illinois and Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Sly-
der are members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, in which the former has served as Deacon
for many years, and was one of the number who
first assisted in the organization of the society in
Owego Township. He also contributed liberally
to the building of their edifice, which is located on
section 2. He has labored fifteen years as teacher
and Superintendent of the Sunday-school, and no
man takes more interest in the intellectual and re-
ligious education of the people.

Mr. Slyder has watched with unabated interest

the growth and development of Livingston County,
and has at all times done what he could toward sus-
taining its reputation as one of the most desirable
localities for the residence of an intelligent people.
Politically, he was identified with the Whig party,
casting his first Presidential vote for W. H. Harri-
son, and upon the abandonment of that platform,
he associated himself with the Democratic party,
with which he still affiliates. He has held the
various township offices, serving as Assessor and a
member of the Board of Supervisors, and for the
last nine years has officiated as Justice of the Peace.
He is the favorite of young and old in his com-
munity, and is held up by the elder members as a
worthy example for imitation by the younger
ones.

eHARLES F. H. CARRITHERS, State's At-
torney for the county of Livingston, has
been a resident of Fairbury since 1 883, tak-
ing up his residence here soon after being gradu-
ated from the law department of the Iowa State
University. He has already become one of the
prominent young members of the legal profession
in this county, and possesses in a large measure
those elements of character which insure success. .
Mr. Carrithers was born in Marshall County, 111.,
Dec. 6, 1854, and is the son of William P. and
Marj r E. (Barnes) Carrithers, natives respectively
of Indiana and Ohio. The father of our subject
was born June 6, 1829, and during a period of
twenty years, has officiated as a minister of the
Christian Church. His labors have been eminently
successful, and he has particularly distinguished
himself in the organization of churches, and by his
zeal in upholding the cause of Christ. He now
preaches at Anchor, McLean County, and Kemp-
ton, Ford County, this State, and resides with his
family at Saunemin, 111. The mother was born in
Januarv, 1832. Her parents were Henry B. and
Esther (Dickinson) Barnes. They went to Mar-
shall County at an early day, and the father served
as a Captain in the Black Hawk War. On his jour-
ney to Illinois he was accompanied by his brothers
and sisters, Robert, William, Nancy and Mary, who

*=K-

' ' 280

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

are all married and living in this State, having ar-
rived at a good old age.

Our subject was the eldest of ten children born
to his parents, namely, Charles; Jennie died in
childhood; Fred, in the insurance business at Fair-
bury; William died when a youth of eighteen
years; Belle, Mrs. John AVatkins; Edmund, a far-
mer of Saunemin Township; Barnes, Lizzie, Nellie
and Eugene. Charles F. was reared on the farm
with his brothers and sisters, and attended the com-
mon school until seventeen years old. He then
entered upon a higher course of study at Eureka
College, Eureka, 111., and three years later com-
menced teaching, which he followed in this and
Marshall Counties for a period of nine years, and
in the meantime employed his leisure hours in
reading law. He prepared himself for the univer-
sity course, and upon the completion of this, lo-
cated at Fairbury and formed a partnership with
G. W. Patton, now of Pontiac. He was afterward
re-examined and admitted to the bar of this State,
in June, 1884. The following August he was
elected to the office of State's Attorney on the Re-
publican ticket, and is discharging his responsible
duties in a praiseworthy manner. While in school
he distinguished himself by his close application to
his studies, and for a long period he was President
of his class. He has a good practice outside of his
office, in the courts of this mid other counties of
the State. Socially, he belongs to the Masonic
fraternity, has attained to the Commandery degree,
and served as Master of his lodge two years.

Mr. Carrithers, while a resident of Saunetnin, 111.,
was united in marriage with Miss Lucy M. Brydia,
on the 1st of October, 1879. Mrs. C. was born in
Kane, 111., Aug. 23, 1855, and is the daughter of
Truman W. and Laura (Day) Brydia, natives of
Vermont, who came to the West in 1854, settling
in Saunemin Township, where with his estimable
wife, he spent the remainder of his days. The
mother departed this life in 1871, and the father
surviving her sixteen years, passed away on the
15th of February, 1887. Mr. Brydia followed
farming all his life, and was a prominent and use-
ful member of his community, where he held the
various township offices, and represented the peo-
ple in the County Board of Supervisors for many

years. He uniformly voted the straight Demo-
cratic ticket, and by his industry and good judg-
ment, accumulated a fair competency.

Mr. and Mrs. Carrithers have three children:
Truman, born July 28, 1882; Mary, Oct. 9, 1884,
and Fred, May 30, 1887. They occupy one of the
best homes on Oak street, and enjoy the friendship
of the cultivated and refined people around them.

J. HANDLEY is a retired farmer of Pon-
tiac. If there is any man who is entitled
to ease, quiet and comfort in the twilight
of life, it is he who sought a home in a
new country and became a pioneer in its develop-
ment and in the opening up of its resources. To
this class of men belongs the subject of this sketch.
who was born on the 7th of February, 1826, in
Loudoun County, Va. He is the son of John and
Hannah (Cravin) Handley, natives of Virginia.
The father was engaged in fanning for a short time
in Virginia, and about 1831 removed to Ohio, and
settled in Licking County, where he purchased a
farm of 270 acres, and subsequently another 270
acres, which latter tract he afterward sold and di-
vided the monej' among his children. He held
several of the local offices of the township in which
he lived, and with his wife was a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church for many years, most
of which time he was a Trustee. He belonged to
the Democratic part}' until during the administra-
tion of Martin Van Buren, when he joined the
Know-Nothing party, which was but a step of tran-
sition to the Republican party later. He had a
family of ten children, eight of whom are now liv-
ing: D. J., Lydia A., James W., Amos C., John S.,
Sarah E., George W. and Esther J. John Handley
died in 1870, and his wife in 1882.

D. J. Handley was brought up on a farm, avail-
ing himself of such facilities for education as were
presented by the common schools of those days,
and lived at home with his parents until he was
twenty-five years of age. For three years he en-
gaged in sheep-raising in his native county, and
then went to Adams County, Ohio, where he con-
tinued the same business, having at one time a fold

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

281

of sheep numbering as high as 300. In 1855
he removed to Macon County, 111., where he re-
mained one year, and in the fall of 1856 came to
Livingston County, and settled in Eppard's Point
Township, on Rook's Creek, where he purchased
110 acres of land. He lived on this farm until
1884, when he moved to Pontiac. When he pur-
chased this land not a foot of it was under cultiva-
tion. He has transformed it into a model farm,
and has erected thereon an excellent house, as well
as barns and stables, while the greater portion of
it is enclosed by a hedge feiiQe. When he first
settled here there was an abundance of wild game,
including deer, wolves and prairie chickens. He
found a market for his products at Pontiac.

Mr. H. married, Sept. 11, 1851, Miss Rebecca M.
Griffith, a native of Licking County, Ohio, and the
daughter of George and Margaret (Woodard) Grif-
fith, also natives of Licking County. They have a
family of five children Charles B., Arabelle R.,
Mattie E., George C. and Elma. Charles B. mar-
ried Sarah E. Leedon ; they have two children,
named Albert W. and Joanna, and are engaged in
farming in Nebraska. Arabelle R. married John
Leedon, a farmer, and resides in Nebraska; they
have one child named Nettie. George C. married
Ella Brown, and they reside at Pontiac; they have
one child named Lulu M.

Mr. Handley is a Republican, and takes consider-
able interest in the welfare of that organization.
He has held the offices of Assessor, School Director,
Collector, and for four years the office of Town-
ship Clerk. He takes great pride in fine stock, and
at the present time is the owner of two imported
Cleveland Bays, magnificent horses of the English
coach breed, and adapted for all purposes.

W. APPLEGATE, an intelligent
and enterprising farmer and stock-raiser,
located on section 24 in Newtown Town-
ship, was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, on the
llth of January, 1832, but grew to manhood in
Miami Count}'. He is the son of George M. and
Margaret (La Rue) Applegate. The father was
born in Warren County, Ky., and the grandfather,

whose name was George Miller Applegate, was
born and reared in the same State, where he lived
until he was a very old man. He moved to Ohio,
and died in that State at the age of one hundred
years. He had been married twice, his first wife
dying in Kentucky, and by his second marriage
there were no children. He was the owner of a
plantation, a steamboat and about 200 slaves.

George M. Applegate, the father of our subject,
was born in Kentucky Feb. 16, 1797, where he
lived until he grew to manhood, and then moved
to Ohio. On the 28th of February, 1820, he was
married, and resided in Ohio until 1851, in which
year he came to Illinois and settled on section 14,
Newtown Township. He lived on this homestead
for twenty years, and then removed to Blackstone,
remaining there until his death, which occurred
May 21, 1876. He was a fanner and blacksmith
by occupation, following blacksmithing in the ear-
lier days of his life, and farming until his removal
to Blackstone, when he retired from active labor.
During his life he was a very active man, and of
good business habits. He was a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he was al-
ways a leader. Margaret A. La Rue, his wife and
the mother of our subject, was born in Clay County,
N. J., Sept. 15, 1800, and died Sept. 8, 1881. She
was a daughter of Amos La Rue, a native of New
Jersey, who, with some of his sons, participated in
the earlier wars. In his later life he came to Ohio
and followed farming in Hamilton County, al-
though he was a weaver by trade. He was the
father of five children, whose names were Moses,
Samuel, Frank, Margaret and Lydia. Moses was
wounded in the French and Indian War, and died
soon after he came home; the others settled in
Ohio, where they reared families and died.

To George M. and Margaret Applegate were
born the following children : Eliza Jane, born Feb.
17, 1822, was the wife of Henry Morter, and died
Dec. 16, 1844; she was the mother of one child,
named Mary J. James, born Nov. 28, 1823, is
now a retired farmer living in Blackstone; he has
been married twice, and by his first wife had one
child, Albert A., and by his second the following:
Theodore, Mary, John, Amos, Jane, Anna, Susie
and Carrie. William, born Dec. 24, 1825, is a re-

282

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

tired farmer, and lives in Streator; he became the
father of six children, named Flora A., George T.,
Lewis (deceased), Milton, Lizzie and AVilliam.
Mary A., born Dec. 27, 1827, has been married
three times, and is now the widow of AVilliam
Pence; by her first marriage she had five children
Lewis, Hannah, Jane, George, and Ellie (de-
ceased) and by her last husband one child, Emma ;
she now resides in Indianapolis, Ind. Lydia, born
Jan. 11, 1830, is the wife of James Swartz, and
lives in Streator; she has three children living,
named Jane, Ettie and Nora. Margaret, born May
10, 1836, married James Swartz, became the
mother of one child, and died May 7, 1855. Amos,
born May 28, 1840, is married, and lives in Esmen
Township, and has four boys, named Irving, El-
mer, Frank and Earnest. Amanda, born June 17,
1843, died in February, 1869.

George W. Applegate, our subject, lived at home
until he was twenty-five years of age, and then be-,
gan work for himself. On the 27th of October
1857, he was married to Nancy C. Yale, who was
born at Saratoga Springs, N. Y., on the 5th of Jan-
uary, 1841. She is the daughter of Reuben and
Elizabeth (Gleen) Yale, who were natives of En-
gland and France respectively. The grandfather
was Reuben Yale, who was born in England, and
came to America at an early day. To the parents
of Mrs. Applegate were born the following-named
children: Nancy A., the wife of our subject;
Amos died in childhood; Sarah, born in 1844, now
lives in Washington Territory, and is the widow of
Samuel Olmstead, to whom she was married near
Ottawa, this State; she has three children living,
named Sheridan, Clara and Jackson. Eliza, born
in 1846, died in 1866 in Streator; Laura, born in
1851, is the wife of Alonzo Applegate, and lives in
Blackstone; they have two children living, Charles
ind Ira, and three dead, May and two who died in
infancy Mrs. Applegate's father died March 31,
1857, and her mother April 14, 1887; the latter
was a member of the Baptist Church in early life,
but her later years were spent as a member of the
Methodist Church.

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Applegate has been
, blessed with four children: Addie, born Aug. 13,
1860, is the wife of Merrit R. Swarner, and lives in

Newtown Township; they were married on the 21st
of Januar}', 1880, by Rev. O. M. Dunlevey, of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, and have one child,
named Elma, born April 11, 1883. Minnie, born
Dec. 26, 1867, lola, Aug. 29, 1872, and Deamie,
Sept. 4, 1883, live at home with their parents. Mr.
and Mrs. Applegate are members of the Methodist
Episcopal Church at Blackstone, with which they
have been connected for more than thirty years.
He is one of the Stewai'ds and Trustees of the
church. In politics, he acts with the Democratic
party, to which he has always been loyal. Mr.
Applegate is an excellent citizen, and one who
takes an active interest in everything that is calcu-
lated to advance his township and benefit the
people.

ENRY G. GREENEBAUM, deceased, was a
prominent merchant and banker of Pontiac,
who died on the 24th of April, 1887. He was
a native of Gelnhausen, Germany, born on
the 6th of May, 1837, and was the son of Moses
Greenebauni, also a native of Germany. Henry G.
(ireenebaum came to America when fifteen years
of age, and first settled in Lexington, McLean
Co., 111., where he engaged in the clothing business.
He removed to Pontiac in 1856, and with his
brother, J. M. Greenebaum, engaged in the same
business under the firm style of Greenebauni Broth-
ers, which they continued until 1874. Inl871 they
established the Livingston County National Bank,
of which J. M. (Jreenebaum was President. Henry
('.. was Cashier, in which capacity he continued un-
til his death. In 1882 he built a magnificent resi-
dence east of the court-house, where "his widow and
children now reside.

On the 14th of August, 1864, Mr. G. was married I"
Miss Carrie Hart, of Chicago. She was the daugh-
ter of Jacob and Minnie (Straus) Hart, who were
natives of Germany, and came from near the River
Rhine. Jacob Hart came to America in 1858. and
with liis family settled in Chicago, where he and his
sons engaged in the clothing biisincs- and continued
until his death in 1881. His wife died in 1887.
They were the parents of the following-named chil-
dren: Mary, Mrs,. Schoenberg, who died in New

...

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

285

Orleans, in 1870; she was the matron of the Jew-
ish orphan asylum. Henrietta, Mrs. Abt, of Chi-
cago: Carrie.-, widow of our subject; Rose, Mrs.
Frank, of Chicago'; Harry, of Chicago; Janie,
Mrs. Marx, of Chicago; Max, Lehart and Jacob, of
Chicago; Sarah, Mrs. Meyer, of New York City.

Henry Greenebaum left a wife and six children :
Moses H., who is clerking in the bank; Harry, Rosa,
Mary, Jacob and Willie. Mr. Greenebaum was a
stockholder in the Metropolitan, and the American
Exchange Bank, of Chicago, also in the Pontiac
Coal Company. He was a self-made man, the archi-
tect of his own fortune, which was quite considera-
ble at the time of his death. He had the reputation
of being one of the best business men of Living-
ston County.

IIILIP ROLLINS, the oldest living pio-
neer in or about Pontiac Township, was
born in Coshocton County, Ohio, Sept. 24,
1813, and lias consequently'" passed more
than the allotted threescore years and ten. His life
has been marked by honest}" and uprightness, and
he consequently enjoys the friendship and respect of
a large circle of acquaintances, some of whom, like
himself, came to this section at an early day, and
shared in the hardships and vicissitudes common to
life in a new settlement.

Our subject is the son of William K. and Su-an
Rollins, natives of Virginia, and of French and Ger-
man ancestry respectively. Mr. Rollins served in
the War of 1812. In their youth they removed
from their native State to Coshocton County. Ohio,
and became the parents of six children, of whom
only three survive, namely: Nancy, Mrs. John Stur-
ni.-m. of Wood ford County, 111.; Hannah, wife of
William Xeal. a prominent attorney of Hamilton
County, lud., and Philip, of our sketch. Philip
was reared to manhood in his native State, receiv-
ing a rudimentary education in the log-cabin r-chool-
honse. and spent most of his youth in farming pur-
suits, employing his leisure time at carpenter work.
In the latter he became e.-pecially skillful, and dur-
ing the present year (1887) he has superintended
the erection of the residence of his son, William II.,

located on the old homestead. In addition to farm-
ing and carpentering, he also developed talent as a
natural machinist, and without effort became fully
acquainted with the duties of a millwright, in which
he became an expert. His energy and industry met
with ample reward, and he was at one time the
owner of nearly 500 acres of land, which he divided
among his children. He has always taken a lively
interest in the welfare of his community, being an
active supporter of those measures that tend to ben-
efit society at large. He has served as Justice of
the Peace eight years, represented Pontiac Town-
ship in the County Board of Supervisors several
terms, and was School Director in his district a num-
ber of years. Politically, he votes the straight
Democratic ticket.

Mr. Rollins was married in Indiana, March 8,
1 839, the lady of his choice being Miss Martha De-
Moss, a native of his own State, and born in Hamil-
ton County Jan. 23, 1812. Her parents, James and
Nancy DeMoss, were natives respectively of Vir-
ginia and Kentucky. In 1841 they removed from
Indiana to Livingston County, and settled in Avoca
Township, where they spent their last years. The
father had served as a soldier in the War of 1812,
and upon coming to Illinois they endured, in com-
mon with the settlers of that period, the hardships
and privations which were the distinctive features
of pioneer life.

Mr. and Mrs. Rollins became the parents of eight
children, six of whom are now living, namely : Pe-
ter, Charles, William II. ; Nancy, widow of the late
George Hamstreet, who was killed in the late Civil
War; Matilda, Mrs. Reuben Liddel, and Emeline,
widow of Harry Hill, late of this county. In mak-
ing the journey from Indiana to this county Mr. R.,
with his family, spent one week upon the road,
sometimes sleeping at night in the open air. Upon
arriving here he had the sum of $1.25 in his pocket,
besides his team and household goods. He took up
a tract of 160 acres in Pontiac Township, for which
lie contracted to pay $3 per acre, and after liquidat-
ing this indebtedness he pre-empted forty addi-
tional acres. The first dwelling of the family was
a rude log cabin, which they occupied a few years
until it could be replaced In' a more convenient and
commodious dwelling. Deer and wolves wereplen-

286

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

tiful, and Mr. Rollins has killed as many as seven
deer in one day. He prided himself upon his
marksmanship, and seldom failed to bring down his
game. The change from that time to the present
IIMS been remarkable, and Mr. Rollins lias watched
the growth and development of his adopted State
with more than ordinary interest. He has also con-
tributed his full share toward its prosperity, having
characterized himself as a valuable citizen, liberal-
minded and generous, and the encourager of tho-e
enterprises that tend to the best welfare of the com-
munity. He and his good wife an- regarded with
that reverence and respect accorded those who
braved the dangers and difficulties of the early
times, and the publishers have much pleasure in be-
ing enabled to place their portraits on another page
of this ALBUM.

J~j OHN H. COLEHOWER, favorably known
throughout Long Point Township, owns
I forty acres of land on section 27, and the
' same amount on section 34, the whole of
which has been carefully cultivated, and yields
each year to the hand of industry an abundance of
the best products of Central Illinois. Aside from
his importance as a skillful fanner, Mr. C. has been
School Director in his district, Commissioner of
Highways, and has occupied other positions of trust
among his fellow-townsmen. He is a stanch Dem-
ocrat, and a member in good standing of the
I. O. O. F.

Like many of the early settlers in Livingston
County Mr. Colehower was born in Pennsylvania,
June 22, 1830, and is of German descent. His
parents were Conrad and Rachel (Garner) Cole-
hower, the former of whom was born in Germany
and emigrated to this country while a young man.
His death was the result of an accident, which oc-
curred at the corner of Third and Chestnut streets
in the city of Philadelphia, where in alighting from
a street-car upon the icy ground, he slipped and
fell under the car, which ran over him, producing
instant death. The mother continued with her
young family in Pennsylvania, where she died in
the city of Harrisburg, Oct. 23. 1887, at eighty

years of age. The parents joined the Presbyterian
Church in their youth, and the father, politically,
was decidedly Democratic. He possessed more
than ordinary ability, and had he lived would have
become prominent in the affairs of his township,
where he had already held the position of Super-
visor and was held in universal esteem.

Our subject remained with his mothef in Penn-
sylvania until twenty-two years of age and then
started for the West, which at that time was at-
tracting so many young and enterprising men
within its borders. He located first in Peoria
County, where he resided for a period of thirteen
years, and then took up his abode in Livingston.
He was married, Dec. 1, 1853, to Miss Elizabeth
A. Ramsey, who was born Oct. 15, 1831, and who
by her union with our subject became the mother
of six children, of whom the record is as follows :
Benjamin F., born Sept. 23, 1854, developed into
a promising young business man, and is now carry-
ing on merchandising in Long Point; his biography
appears elsewhere in this volume. Martha R., born
Aug. 4, 1858, became the wife of J. H. Reed,
whose biography will be found elsewhere; Thomas
C., born Feb. 5, 1863, officiates as clerk for his
brother in a store at Long Point; Henry R. was
born Feb. 28, 1865, and died Feb. 16, 1870, when
a bright little lad less than five years old ; Lydia F.
was born May 9, 1867, and died Feb. 8, 1870;
Emma was born Nov. 26, 1869, and lives at home,
pursuing her studies in the district school.

The parental family of our subject included
twelve children, namely, Henry, Mary Ann, John
H. (our subject), Washington, Harris, Conrad,
Martha, Rebecca, Samuel, Hannah, besides two
who died unnamed in infancy. Henry was killed
by being run over by a railroad train, and left a
wife and four children ; Mary Ann is the wife of
Joseph Free, of Philadelphia, and is the mother of
three children; Washington died in Philadelphia,
leaving a wife but no children; Harris, also a resi-
dent of the (Quaker City, is married and has three
children: Conrad, who resides in Marshall County,
this State, is married and has four children ; Martha
died when about four years of age; Rebecca is
married, a resident of Harrisburg, Pa., and the
mother of four children; William died of consump-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

287

tiou about 1877, leaving a wife and one child;
Samuel was married, but his wife died leaving one
child ; Hannah is married and has four children.
These three last were residents of Philadelphia,
where the two living now reside.

The parents of Mrs. Colehower, Thomas B. and
Rebecca (Carnog) Ramsey, were natives of Penn-
sylvania, and their household included nine chil-
dren. The mother died in June, 1884. The father
is living and is a resident of Long Point Township.
Her brothers and sisters were John, Walter S., Sa-
rah B., all deceased ; Isaac T., who has a family and
lives in this county, is one of its prosperous farmers
and stock-raisers; William B., deceased; Charles A.,
who is farming in Missouri, and has a wife and six
children ; Mary J., the wife of F. L. Saxton and
the mother of five children, and Walter S., Post-
master of Long Point, where he is also carrying on
a hardware store; he has a wife and three children.

TEPHEN JOHNSON. There is something
about the place of one's birth which acts
like a mag-net during life, and it is as nat-
ural to be drawn back to the old home-
stead after years of absence as it is for the needle
to seek the pole. The bard sang, "Be it ever so
humble there is no place like home," and around
the parental hearth cling a multitude of pleasant
associations.

The subject of this sketch is a native of Living-
ston County, a man to the manor born, who after
years of residence in other localities made up his
mind that there was no place like Livingston
County, and no other township that possessed so
many endearing memories as Rook's Creek. Mr.
Johnson is a farmer and stock-raiser on section 10,
Rook's Creek Township, the son of John and Nancy
(Bloyd) Johnson, and was born on the home farm
on the 14th of September, 1843. His father was
born in New York on the 14th of February, 1804,
and died on the 9th of April, 1887. The mother was
a native of Maryland. The paternal grandparents
came from Ireland shortly after the great Irish
Patriots' war, in which the great-great-grandfather

lost his life. The grandfather, who was the only
representative of the family, settled in New York,
and about 1821 moved to Sangamon County, 111.,
where he purchased a farm on which he lived and
died. He was born Sept. 16, 1774, and his wife,
Miss Betsy Sacket, was born May 19, 1777. They
were married on the 17th of June, 1796, and to
them were born nine children, as follows: Eliza-
beth, born April 28, 1797; Maria, Feb. 24, 1799;
Lydia, Oct. 13, 1801; John, Feb. 14, 1804; Na-
thaniel P., July 30, 1806; Royal S., Oct. 28, 1808;
Oliver P., Oct. 21, 1813; Lucretia, Oct. 11, 1816;
Melvine A., April 30, 1820. Oliver Johnson, the
grandfather, died on the 6th of August, 1835.

Mr. Johnson's father came to Livingston County
about 1823, and was the second man to settle in
Rook's Creek Township. He at first bought 160
acres of land, and afterward added to it until he
had 240 acres. He was married, on the 17th of
March, 1825, to Nancy Bloyd, born Oct. 25, 1806.
They were the parents of ten children, all of whom
grew to maturity except two: William, born Jan.
2, 1826; John, born Sept. 1, 1827, died Jan. 30,
1855; Lydia, born Oct. 6, 1829; Elizabeth, Dec.
19, 1831 ; Henry, Jan. 5, 1834; Eleanor, born Sept.

9, 1836, died Nov. 14, 1837; Oliver, born Aug. 30,
1838; Amanda, April 5, 1841; Stephen, our sub-
ject; Lucinda, born March 4, 1846, died Aug. 25,
1848.

Stephen Johnson was married, on the 17th of
June, 1866, to Miss India Ann Sellman, and they
are the parents of the following-named children :
Oliver E., born Feb. 9, 1868, on the Little Sioux
River, Cherokee Co., Iowa; John Henry, born Oct.

10, 1869, in Cherokee County, Iowa; Stephen, born
Nov. 15, 1871, in Lawrence, Kan.; Sherman, born
Nov. 2, 1875, in Rook's Creek Township; Sharon
Perry, born June 8, 1885, in Esmen Township. Mr.
Johnson lived on the home farm while a bo3 - , and
divided his time between work on the farm and
learning the trade of a carpenter from his father.
Shortly after his marriage he moved to Cherokee
County, Iowa, where he followed both farming and
carpentering. He lived in that State for three
years, when he moved to Lawrence, Kan., where he
worked on the Kansas Pacific Railroad as a bridge
carpenter, and served two years as foreman. He

288

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

then returned to Livingston County, and now lives
on the old homestead where he was born, and where
his father died.

UKE JORDAN. There 'are no people on
earth who have a greater love and af-
fection for their native land than the Irish.
No matter what their condition is or may have
been in the land of their nativity, they look upon
it as the most favored spt on earth, and the
oppressions and abuses which have been heaped
upon them by English landlords have only served
to intensify their love for the old sod. This
oppression and proscription in years became so in-
tolerable that thousands upon thousands have emi-
grated to other countries, the largest proportion of
whom have sought homes in this country, where
they have become useful and prosperous citizens.
The laws and customs of this country permit the
largest liberty and freedom, which is especially en-
joyed by a people who have been trampled upon
for centuries.

Among those who came to this country at an
early date is the subject of this sketch, a represent-
ative farmer and stock-raiser in Pontiac Town-
ship, who was born in Ireland in the year 1823, be-
ing the son of James and Catherine Jordan, also
natives of Ireland. They were the parents of seven
children, four of whom are now living; Michael,
James, Luke and Catherine. Luke spent the days
of his boyhood in his native country, securing a
very fair education in spite of the fact that at that
time the schools were of very inferior quality and
widely separated, and in order to obtain an educa-
tion at all it was necessary for him to walk miles
each day to and from the nearest school. In the
year 1851 he made up his mind that he would emi-
grate to that country of which he had heard so
much, and took passage on a ship at Liverpool,
when after spending seven weeks upon the Atlan-
tic Ocean, he landed in the city of New York.
where he remained for about four years, and then
came to Livingston County, where he resided at
Pontiac for two years.

Mr. Jordan was married to Miss A. Nevalle,

with whom he lived happily until her death on the
18th of September, 1872. She was a woman of many
estimable qualities, and her death caused a gloom
not only within the household but throughout
her entire circle of acquaintances. She was the
mother of six children, four of whom are now liv-
ing Thomas, John, James and Anna. Mr. Jor-
dan's farm is located on section 1 8, Pontiac Town-
ship, and contains 232 acres of well-drained land,
which under the intelligent manipulation of Mr.
Jordan produces excellent crops. He is consider-
ably interested in the raising of stock, and in this
line of business has been very successful. He
deserves a very large measure of credit for his
success in life, as he began without means and has
succeeded in accumulating property sufficient to
make him independent, and have no fear of want
during the remainder of his days. Having been
one of the early settlers of this county, he has
long since established himself in the affection and
esteem of his fellow-citizens, whose confidence he
enjoys to a large degree.

ILLIAM RUTZ bears the reputation of be-
ing one of the most thorough and skillful
farmers of Eppard's Point Township. He
deals largely in live stock, fattening each year from
fifty to 100 head of cattle, and fully the same num-
ber of swine. He owns 400 acres of finely culti-
vated land, and for the last six years has bent his
energies to the establishment of a good home, while
at the same time keeping in view those matters per-
taining to the general welfare of the community, in
whose advancement he takes a lively interest.

The early years of Mr. Rutz were spent in the
Empire of Germany, where his birth took place
March 31, 185C. His parents, John and Minnie
(Bung) Rutz, were natives of the same Province, of
pure German ancestry, the father born in 1836, and
the mother a year later. They emigrated to the
United States after their marriage, and subsequent
to the close of the late war, in 1865, and after set-
ting foot upon American soil, proceeded directly
to the West, locating in Peoria County, 111. Three
or four years later they came to this county, and

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

the father purchased a tract of land in Pike Town-
ship, where he engaged in farming, and now re-
sides. He has been a hard- working and industrious
man, commencing here with little means, but is now
the owner of a comfortable home. The parental
household included three sons only, namely, Charles,
who was born in Germany and died about 1876, in
this county; John, a resident of York Count}', Neb.,
and William of our sketch.

Mr. Rutz continued with his parents until reach-
ing manhood. He was but a lad of eleven years
when he crossed the ocean, and remembers that the
voyage consumed nine weeks and three days, be-
sides being stormy and dangerous. They set out
on the 26th of November, 1865, and landed in New
York City on the 1st of January following. In the
meantime the father had been taken ill with small-
pox on shipboard, and was confined in the hospital
in New York City six weeks after landing. The
mother was afterward stricken with the same terri-
ble disease, and died on the farm in Peoria County.
The memory of that time still brings to Mr. Rutz
the shadow of the affliction with which he was then
visited. The father subsequently married Mrs.
Rynsta Chanabeck, a native of his own country.
She came to America in 1867, and by her first mar-
riage had become the mother of two sons and a
daughter.

William Rutz continued with his father and step-
mother until twenty years of age, and then started
out for himself. He had little capital to commence
with, but by living economically, and saving his
earnings, found himself in due time enabled to pur-
chase eighty acres of land north of Chenoa, in the
cultivation of which he was engaged fora time, but
which he afterward sold in order to remove to
Wood ford County. After a residence there of one
year, during which time he was married, he came
to this county and first purchased a quarter section
in Eppard's Point Township. His industry and
perseverance met with their legitimate reward, and
he wisely invested his surplus capital in additional
land. He is now the proprietor of 400 acres, finety
stocked with excellent grades of cattle and swine,
and supplied with good buildings.

The wife of our subject was formerly Miss Katie
J. Altaian, of Woodford County at the time of

their marriage, but who was born in Tazewell
County, July 21, 1862, and became the wife of our
subject Dec.. 29, 1881. They have two children:
I Minnie, born Nov. 18, 1882, and Freddie, March 4,
1884. Mr. Rutz meddles very little with political
affairs, but performs his duties as a good citizen at
times of general elections, and votes the straight
Republican ticket. He and his estimable lady are
members in good standing of the Brethren Church
at Ocoya.

MANUEL SWYGERT, who is numbered
among the representative farmers of Owego
Township, is pleasantly located on section
9, where he owns 156 acres of improved laud, of
which he took possession iu 1869. During his resi-
dence here of nearly twenty years he has fully
established himself as a reliable and valued citizen,
and has attended strictly to the farming pursuits which
he commenced in his boyhood. He was c< miparati very
without means when he started out for himself in
life, but is now enjoying the ample rewards of in-
dustry and frugality. He is public-spirited and
liberal, and nothing pleases him better than to note
the prosperity and advancement of the people
a i ( mud him, both morally and financially. He is now,
with his aged and estimable wife, passing quietly
down the sunset hill of life, comforted with a good
conscience and the satisfaction of feeling that they
have done what they could in exerting a good in-
fluence around them, and setting an example worthy
of imitation by the rising generation.

Mr. Swygert forms an important member of the
colony which, in the early days, emigrated in small
detachments from Penns3 T lvauia, he having been a
native of that State, and born in Franklin County,
Jul}- 14, 1814. His parents were John and Susan
Swygert, natives of the same State, where his pater-
nal grandfather. George Swygert, had located at an
early day. after serving as a soldier in the Revolu-
tionary War. When the struggle ended he took up
bi- abode in Franklin County, where he was married,
and reared his family, whose descendants are largely
represented in that section of country. His SOU
John, the father of our subject, was there reared to
farming pursuits, which he followed all his life, and

290

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

when 1 ho was married and became the father of
seven children. Of these four survive, namely,
William. Henry, John and Emannel. In middle life
John Swygert came to the West with his family, lo-
cating in Fulton County. 111., aliont 1842. where In-
resided with his estimable wife until called from the
scenes of earth.

Our subject spent several years in Fulton County
with his parents, and was there married, in 1844, to
Miss Catherine Hawker, who has remained his elo>i-
friend and companion for over forty years. Mrs.
S. is a native of the same State as her husband, and
they became the parents of two children : Charles,
now deceased, and Matilda, the wife of James Lowe, a
prosperous farmer of Owego Township. They re-
moved from Fulton to Livingston County in 1869,
where Mr. S. had purchased the land which he has since
transformed into a valuable farm. It had then but a
small frame dwelling upon it, with a poor excuse for
a barn, which the family took pos>cion of until
they could afford something better. In due time
the first humble residence was replaced by a more
modern and convenient structure, and a good barn
stands in the rear. Adjacent is a fine orchard of
apple and other choice fruit trees, and the live stock
and farm machinery combine to give the premises
a substantial and homelike appearance which is
pleasant to the eye. Mr. and Mi's. Swygert number
their friends by the score in Livingston County, and
enjoy the distinction of lie ing numbered not only
among its first, but among its best residents.

J~j OSEPH BRADSHA W. When one has per-
formed all the duties devolving upon him
I in rearing a family of children to manhood
' and womanhood, he deserves the ecomium,
"Well done, thou good and faithful," and is enti-
tled to pass the sunset days of his life in rest and
quiet. The subject of this sketch, now a retired
farmer living in Fairbury, was born in Washington
County, Pa., on the 9th of July, 1821, and is the
son of Edward and Nancy (Patterson) Bradshaw,
natives of County Tyrone, Ireland, where they
were married. [Before emigrating to this country
they had one child, Anna, now Mrs. William Brock.

They came to America in the year 1811, landing
at New York, and proceeded at once to Washing-
ton County, Pa., where he followed the occupation
of a weaver, a trade which he had learned in his
native country, and in which he had become very
proficient. From Pennsylvania he removed into
Ohio, where he died on the 31st of December, 1875,
aged eighty-three years; his wife died on the 22d
of November, 1803. They were the parents of ten
children Ann, Sarah, David, Mary, Joseph, John
W., Margaret, William, George and Catherine.

At the age of sixteen years, the subject of this
notice was apprenticed to a millwright, which trade
he learned and followed for about fifteen years,
when he concluded to engage in the occupation of
a farmer. In 1859 he moved to Buchanan County,
Mo., but not being favorably impressed with the
country there, he remained but five months, when
he went to Pike County, 111., and rented a farm on
which he lived for six years. At the end of that
time he came to Livingston County and purchased
eight}' acres of land, which he successfully managed
until 188b, when he discontinued farming, and re-
moved to Fairbury, where he will reside in the
future, enjoying the fruits of a long life of success-
ful labor.

On the 23d of December, 1842, Mr. Bradshaw
was married to Miss Dorcas Arnold, a native of
Jefferson County, Ohio, who was born Sept. 13,
1823, and was the daughter of Solomon and Bar-
bara (Stonebrook) Arnold. The father was born
in Pennsylvania, in 1791, and died on the 15th of
May, 1846. He was a farmer by occupation, and
by trade a cabinet-maker. The mother was a na-
tive of North Carolina. To them eleven children
were born Hickman, Dorcas, Rebecca. Prue, Bar-
bara E., Mary A., Sarah Jane, David, Eli, Drusilla
and Jacob S.

Mr. and Mrs. Bradshaw have had seven children:
Barbara, now Mrs. William Rutledge, living in
Linn County, Kan.; Edward IL, born Oct. 22,
1846, died Dec. 31, 1875; Nancy J., now Mrs.
Michael Morris, living in this county; Mary, Mrs.
Darius Vail, living in Joplin, Mo.; William T. niar-
I ried Miss Sarah E. Cox: David W. died in infancy;
Harriet E., Mrs. Barklcy Connor, living in Wichita,
Kan. Mr. and Mrs. Bradshaw are active and inllu-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

291

ential members of the Christian Church, of which
lie lias been an Elder for the past seven years, and
a member for nine years. The wife has been a
member of that church for over fifty years; they
are botli much devoted to their chinch. Mr. Brad-
shavv has been a great observer of political events
all his life, and very early in the career of the Re-
publican party became one of its enthusiastic adher-
ents, remaining so up to the present time.

fifi OSIAH M. FETZER. Many of the earlier
settlers of Virginia came from Germany,
and they were among the most thrifty far-
mer.s and tradesmen of the Old Dominion,
although for a great length of time they labored
under many disadvantages unless they were well
enough off to own slaves, which few of them de-
sired to, even had they been able. Many Virgin-
ians of German ancestry are now scattered
throughout the West, and among her best citizens
Illinois can claim a multitude of them. In Liv-
ingston County there are quite a number of fami-
lies who are natives of Virginia, and they are all
thrifty and prosperous people. The subject of
this sketch, who is a representative farmer and
stock-raiser on section 28, Avoca Township, is a
native of Shenandoah County, Va., and was born
on the 17th of January, 1848.

Mr. Fetzer is the son of George and Catherine
Fetzer, the latter deceased, who were Virginians by
birth, and the father was of German descent. To
them were born eight children, five of whom are
living: John W. ; Eliza, wife of L. T. Courtney;
James B., George and Josiah M. When our sub-
ject was about four years of age his parents emi-
grated to Illinois and settled in Vermilion Town-
ship, Ln Salle County, where the mother died in
the month of June, 1881. The father, who is
nearly seventy years of age, resides in that county,
an honored and respected citizen. He has always
been identified with moral reforms and movements
for the betterment of the people. For a consid-
erable time he served as School Director in La
Salle County, and during his administration the

affairs of the schools were well and judiciously
managed.

Mr. Fetzer was reared to manhood on a farm in
La Salle County, where he received a good educa-
tion in the district schools. On the 18th of March,
1874, he was married to Mary F. Scott, a native of
La Salle County, and a daughter of John Scott, a
pioneer of that county. Of this union there are
three children : Cora E., born on the 2d of May,
1875; Charles R., May 4, 1879; Pearl, Sept. 30,
1884. Mr. Fetzer came to Livingston County in
the year 1886, and settled upon the farm which he
now occupies in Avoca Township. This farm con-
sists of 100 acres of well-improved land, which has
been thoroughly drained and made exceedingly
productive. lu connection with his farming oper-
ations he devotes considerable attention to the
raising of stock of all kinds, and in this has been
quite successful. He is a Democrat in his political
affiliations, but does not engage in politics for the
purpose of securing office. He has served for
several years as School Director, to the duties of
which position he has given close and careful at-
tention. He is a'friend of education and pro-
gressive in his ideas of the management of schools.
He and his wife occupy an enviable position in the
society of Avoca Township, and are highly re-
spected and esteemed for their many good qualities.

ERMAN GIRARD, one of Long Point's
thorough-going and progressive farmers and
stock- raisers, located on section 13, was
born in Prussia, Germany, Dec. 23, 1836.
He is the son of Frederick and Dorothea Girard,
who are natives of the same country, and came to
America in July, 1856, landing at Castle Garden,
N. Y. From New York they proceeded to Chi-
cago, where they remained two weeks; thence they
went to Ottawa, and from there to Livingston
County, where Frederick purchased ninety acres of
land, twenty of which were heavily timbered.

On the 16th of February, 1868, Herman Girard
was married to Mary Zeilman, daughter of Corne-
lius and Betsy (Hall) Zeilman. To Mr. and Mrs.
Girard have been born eight children, seven of i

292

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

whom are now living. Olive was born Dec. C,
1868; Dorothea, Sept. 4, 1870; Adolph, Nov. 25,
1872 ; Philo Wesley, Nov. 5, 1874 ; Marian Blanche,
born Feb. 20, 1877, died July G> 1880; Mabel Lu-
cinda, born Jan. 11, 1880; Mamie Bell, April 5,
1882, and Hilda Melvina, Dec. 31, 1884.

Mr. Girard enlisted in Company C, 39th Illinois
Infantry, which was organized at Poutiac, but his
enlistment was at Chicago in August, 18(51. The
regiment went to St. Louis and from there to Will-
iamsburg, Md., arriving there Nov. 2, 1861, at
which time and place they received their first guns.
Mr. Girard received a flesh wound on the knee at
Morris Island, S. C., on the 9th of October, 1863,
while he was on duty rebuilding the old fort. He
was discharged from the hospital Jan. 1, 1864, and
was afterward wounded at Drewry's Bluff, Va.,
May 1 6 of that year. At the battle of Petersburg,
Va., he was again wounded in the left leg in the
charge on Craig, April 2, 1865. He is now receiv-
ing a pension of $10 per month on account of these
last two wounds. Mr. Girard was promoted Cor-
poral, and Sept. 1, 1863, was promoted to the rank
of Sergeant. He was in the battle of Petersburg,
and on the 20th of March, 1862, was in the engage-
ment at Winchester, and afterward was continu-
ously under fire while on guard duty along the
river. At Ft. Waggoner he helped to dig up to
the fort, and the night the fort was taken he was
one of the twenty men who first entered it as vol-
unteers. After the Union troops had taken pos-
session the Johnnies tried to blow it up by setting
fire to a fuse leading to the magazine; this was first
noticed by Mr. Girard. He was in the engagement
at Folly Island, after which he was engaged in
scouting and skirmishing until his discharge from
the army.

After his return from the army Mr. Girard en-
gaged in agricultural pursuits, although lie was a
cooper by trade. He now owns 120 acres of fine
farming land under a high state of cultivation,
which is well improved, fenced, and drained by 400
rods of tiling. Politically, Mr. Girard is a Repub-
lican, having grown up in that faith. His service
in the army strengthened it, and his mature judg-
ment, formed by close observation of men, and the
course of political parties, has given a still more

stalwart character to his political belief. He does
not, of course, carry his politics into his business,
nor, on the other hand, does he allow his business
to enter into his politics. He is a Comrade of Post
No. 223, G. A. R., at Cornell, in which he takes a
leading and active part. He was brought up in
the faith of the Lutheran. Church. He is one of
Long Point's most progressive citizens, and enjoys
the confidence anil esteem of all who know him.
His family occupies an enviable position in that
section of the county, and deservedly so.

J~ OHN HARRIS. Some of the best citizens
now residents of the United States were con-
tributed by England, not only in Colonial
days but in later years. They arc nearly all
men of intelligence, because of the advanced jxisi-
tion of Kngland in educational advantages and also
of the innate aptness of the English ]>eoplc for getting
on in the world. A large j>er cent of the English-
men now in the United States are skilled mechanics,
and they have been indispensable aids in assisting
American manufacturers to occupy the leading posi-
tion they do in the markets of the world. The En-
glish farmer displays as much tact and aptness in his
special calling as does his brother in the manufact-
uring world. The subject of this sketch, who is
one of the wealthy and respected fanners of Living-
ston County, residing in Belle Prairie Town>hip.
\\.-i~ horn in North Devonshire, England, on the 30th
of March, 1832, and is the son of William and Mary
(Bennett) Harris, both of whom are of pure Engli.-h
blood. The father was by occupation a gentlemanV
footman. His death occurred in 1881. and the
mother's in 1848. They were the parents of seven
children Jeremiah. William. Elizabeth, John, Sn>an.
Thomas and Mary J.

John Harris came to America in 1855, landing at
(Juebee, Canada, from which place he proceeded to
Genesee County, >". Y. There he remained for
live years engaged at work by the month. He then
came to Illinois and located at Shirley, a place
south of Bloomiiigton. where he worked by the
month for the same man. a Mr. Uaird. for the next five
years. At the end of that time he purchased a piece

Vs*iiS.

RESIDENCE OF JOHN H ARRIS ,SEC.18. BELLE PRMRIETOWNSHIP.

SEC.S.FONTIACTOWNSHIF.

SEC. 3 PONTI AC TOWNSHIP. ^

RESIDENCE AND FARM PROPERTY OF J.S.FINLEY ,

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

295

of laud hi Forest Township, Livingston County,
where he remained onefyear, and sohHhis and rented
land for two, years Jof Dr. Bartlett. He then came
to Belle Prairie Township and purchased 130 acres
of unimproved prairie land, which he immediately
set to work to transform into a productive farm,
in which enterprise he succeeded so well that he now
owns 380 acres of as good land as can be found
anywhere. During hisj-esidence in this township lie
has devoted considerable attention to the raising of
hogs, and_also in this particular branch has been
eminently successful, and now is looked upon as one
of the wealthiest men of the township.

In May, 1852, Mr. Harris^ was married to Miss
Mary Cooper, who was born in Devonshire. En-
gland, 011 the 27th of October, 1830, and to them
have been born eight children : John C., who mar-
ried Miss Mary A. Weeks, Nov. 9, 1881, and they
have two children, Blanche and Mabel; Frank ,1.,
who married Hattie K. Knight, and they have one
child named Roy;-, Walter W., William, Emanuel,
Mary J., Lydia A.\and James A. Mr. Harris is a
leading and prominent member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, to which he contributes liberally
of both time and money. He is a straight Repub-
lican in politics, and takes an active part in the cam-
paigns of his party. In business affairs he is prompt
and reliable, and faithfully keeps all his obligations.

Among the numerous farm homesteads shown in
this volume as specimens of what Livingston County
affords may be found Mr. Harris' place.

JOSEPH S. FINLEY, an^extensjve farmer
and stock-dealer of Esmen Township, is the
owner of 600 acres of land on section 34,
which comprises one of the finest estates in
Livingston County. His land is under good cul-
tivation, and the farm buildings are of a handsome
and substantial style of architecture, and admira-
bly adapted to the purposes for which they were
intended. The live stock includes some fine spec-
imens of Norman and Cleveland Bay horses,
Short-horn cattle and Poland-China hogs. Mr.
Finley has attained a fine reputation as a breeder,
and in his business has been remarkably successful,

and exhibits some of the finest animals in this part
of the State.

Our subject was born in Delaware County, Ohio,
Oct. 1C, 1830, and was the eldest of a family of
nine children, the offspring of Robert and Eliza-
beth (Riley) Finley, natives respectively of Vir-
ginia and Pennsylvania. The paternal grand-
parents were John and Nancy (Moore) Finley, of
the same States. Grandfather Finley was a farmer
by occupation, and served as a soldier in the Rev-
olutionary War. He possessed a fine constitution
and was of excellent habits, and rounded up the
good old age of ninet}' years before he was gath-
ered to his fathers. The parents of the mother of
[ our subject were Joseph and Mary (Smith) Riley,
of Pennsylvania, where Joseph Riley followed farm-
ing all his life. His father was a native of Ger-
many, and emigrated to America at an early period
in its history, starting with his parents from his na-
tive land. They, however, did not- live to behold
the shores of the New World, as both died on the
voyage and received an ocean burial. Their son
Joseph was then a mere babe, and was adopted by
an Irish gentleman named Riley. He was too
young to tell his own name, and consequently never
knew it, and was never able to communicate with
friends or relatives of his parents.

Robert Finley, the father of our subject, was
reared in Delaware County, Ohio, and followed
farming there until 1839. He then sold out and,
migrating westward, purchased a tract of land in
Kane County, this State, where he established a
comfortable home and spent the remainder of his
days. He was a man of more than ordinary intelli-
gence, became active in political affairs, and during
the time of the slavery agitation was one of the
most active Abolitionists of the country. All the
strength of his manhood was thrown into the bal-
ance on the side of freedom and humanity. His
name is familiarly known throughout the central
part of this State, and he was a strong foe of his op-
ponents, the most of whom were his inferiors in in-
telligence and general information. lie is remem-
bered as a gentleman of kind impulses, and was an
active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
After a useful life, during which lie had endeavored
to build up a worth}' record for his children to re-

, > 296

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

fleet upon in after years, he folded his hands for his
finnl rest in 1877. The mother departed this life in
1875, at the homestead in Kane County.

Our subject was edueated in the snl)seri])tion
schools of Central Illinois, and trained exclusively
to fanning pursuits. After reaching his majority
he commenced cultivating a tract of land on his
own account, and on the 18th of April, 1855. took
to himself a wife and helpmeet in the person of Miss
Mary J. Campbell, who was the second child of
James and Sarah (Graham) Campbell, native.- of
Ireland and of Scotch-Irish descent. They emi-
grated to America early in life, and eventually
drifted west to Marion County. Ohio, where their
daughter Mary was born Oct. 16, 1833. That same
year the family came to this county, locating in
Esmeii Township, where there were at the time
but three or four families. Mr. Campbell. h<>\ve\ er.
only lived a short time thereafter, but many of his
descendants are still residents of this section.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Finley came to
this county and located u]K>n the land which is now
included in their present homestead, taking po.-.-es-
sion on the l()th of May, 1853. His tirst purchase
was a quarter section, and the dwelling which he
afterward erected was the first frame house built
along the creek in this part of Livingston County.
That structure, in 18G4. was replaced by the hand-
some and commodious dwelling which they now oc-
cupy, and which, with its adjacent buildings and
surroundings, forms one of the most attractive fea-
tures of the landseai>e in Ksmen Township. They
have labored hard, hand [in hand, to build up a
home, and it needs but a glance at this pro]>crty to
convince the beholder that they have succeeded in
an admirable manner, and it is with pleasure that We
present in connection with this sketch a view of the
homestead.

Mr. Finley. in the fall of 1864. was drafted for
the Union service and taken to Springfield for ex-
amination, lie was rejected on account of physical
disability, and consequently was not permitted to
see any service. His influence, however, like that
of his father, was exerted in favor of the honorable
prosecution of the war and the preservation of the
Union.

The six children of Mr. and Mrs. Finley were

named res[K'ctiveIy. Robert V. : George R.. now de-
c-eased; Sarah H. : Mary ('.. deceased : Jennie 1'.. and
Alice, deceased. Sarah became the wife of Ed-
ward Whalen. and lives at home with her parent-.
her husband assisting in the management of the
farm: they have had three children Roy. who is
deceased. Lulu B. and Frank F. Robert and Jen-
nie make their home with their parents. The latter
has been pursuing her studies in the 1'ontiac schools
and expects to be graduated soon. Mr. Finley has
served a> School Director in his district most of the
time since lie first settled here, and has been School
Trustee for the last seven or eight years, lie has
also served as Road Commissioner. He meddles
little with jiolitics otherwise than casting a straight
Republican vote upon occasions of important elec-
tions.

J"?OHN BUFFHAM, who after many struggles
| and much contending with adversity, is now
I one of the leading farmers of Nevada Town-
' ship, where he owns 1 60 acres on section 1 1 ,
was born in Lincolnshire, England, on the 21st of
January, 1842. He is the son of John Buffham,
also a native of P^ngland, who was engaged in farm-
ing all his life, and died in England in 1850. The
maiden name of the mother of our subject was
Mary A. Green, who was born in Lincolnshire, and
lived there until 1856. In that year she was mar-
ried to George Essington, and shortly afterward
with him, accompanied by her three children and
his eight by a former marriage, came to America.
They settled in Plainfield, Will County, where they
have since resided. Mr. Buffham has a brother and
sister living: Joseph lives in C'alhoun County,
Iowa, and Mary married John Stafford, who died
at Pontiac , where his widow now lives.

Mr. Buffham was eight years old when his father
died, and before that occurrence he attended school
for a short time ; afterward he had to work in order
to procure his own living. He worked for three
years for his board and clothes, and after that for
eightpence per day, and boarded himself. He
came to America with his mother and found em-
ployment by the month during the first two years

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

297 ,

of his residence in this country in Will County.
He then went to Kendall County, and worked by
the month until soon after the breaking- out of the
War. On the 16th of August, 1862, he enlisted in
Company H, 89th Illinois Infantry, in which he
served until the close of the war. On the llth of
September, 1864, he was taken prisoner at Atlanta,
after which he was confined in the prisons at Ma-
con, Ga., Milan, and Savannah, Ga., and from the
latter place was taken several miles into the for-
ests, where he and his fellow-prisoners were under
guard for two weeks. On the 24th of December,
1864, he was taken to Andersonville, where he was
confined until the close of the war, after which he
was taken to Baldwin, Fla., and liberated, and with
others made his way to the Federal lines at Jack-
sonville, where he arrived more dead than alive.
During his confinement at Andersonville he suf-
fered all its tortures and horrors, and has never re-
covered from the effects of the starvation and
brutal and inhuman treatment there received. He
was mustered out of the service at Springfield, 111.,
on the 29th of June, 1865, and then returned to Will
County, where he remained until the spring of
1866, when he went to Kendall County and bought
eighty acres of land, which he engaged in farming
until 1875. In that year he sold out and came to
Livingston County, and purchased the farm which he
now owns and occupies. This farm consists of 160
acres, all of which are improved, and contains good
pasture laud.

On the 12th of September, 1865, Mr. Buffham
was married to Sarah Ann Kirton, who was born in
Lincolnshire. England, on the 16th of May, 1843.
Her father, Thomas Kirton, was born in the same
shire, where he was reared and lived until 1853,
when he came to America with his wife and two
children, and located in Cleveland, Ohio. They
resided in that city for three years, and the mother
of Mrs. Buffham died there. In 1855 her father
moved to Illinois, and lived in Mt. Carroll until
1856, then moved to Will County. He died at the
residence of Mrs. Buffham in 1 879. Mrs. Buffham
had one brother named William, who was a soldier
in the 17th Illinois Cavalry. He died in the serv-
ice at Glasgow, Mo.

Mr. and Mrs. Buffham are the parents of five

children living Joseph K., Mary E., John T.,
Willie and Fred S. They had two children who
died in infancy, Eddie and Sadie. Our subject
and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, of which they are regular attendants and
to which they contribute liberally of their means.
Mr. Buffham is in every sense of the word a self-
made man. Through all trials and adversities he
has bravely contended, and with his own hands,
assisted by his excellent wife, has carved out a
comfortable competency, at the same time making
and maintaining for himself a name for strict honor
and integrity, which after all is the best heritage to
leave to posterity. In politics Mr. Buffham has
always been a Republican, and though not a politi-
cian he can invariably be relied upon to further
the best interests of the party. As a citizen he
stands well with all the people, and discharges faith-
fully every obligation imposed by the law and the
customs of his neighborhood.

ACOB SPILLMAN, Postmaster at Swygert,
where he is engaged in general merchandis-
ing, is widely and favorablj' known through-
out Owego Township as having been one of
its most successful farmers, and who was fortunate
in accumulating a fine property. He retired from
active labor in 1886, and investing a portion of his
capital in general merchandise, established himself
in trade at Swygert, where lie takes life compara-
tively easy, and is numbered among its most sub-
stantial residents. He carries a good stock of
everything required in a village or country house-
hold, including the smaller implements of the farm.
His straightforward business methods have com-
mended him to the people of his community, and he
enjoys a large patronage among its best residents.
The early home of Mr. Spillman was in Switzer-
land, where he was born March 15, 1825. His
parents, John and Phrona Spillman, were also of
Swiss parentage, and spent their entire lives on
their native soil. Young Jacob was placed in
school at an early age, where he pursued his studies
from the time he was six until he was fourteen
years old, and was afterward engaged at general

*=*

1 298

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

work, making his home with his father. He had
been an ambitious boy, and was desirous of some-
thing better than the prospect held out to him in
the Fatherland. He remained under the parental
roof until after reaching his majority, and in the
spring of 1848 made his preparations for a voyage
to the New World. Taking passage on a sailing-
vessel at Havre he bade adieu to the friends and
associates of his childhood, and after a voyage of
twelve weeks, set foot upon American soil, landing
first in the city of New Orleans, lie remained in
the Crescent City but a short time, and thence pro-
ceeded up the Mississippi to this State, not long
afterward locating in this county, where he began
the career which has since been marked with such
success.

The first marriage of our subject took place in
Bureau County, 111., in 1853, the maiden of his
choice being Miss Fredricka Dietz. They passed
the first years of their wedded life in Bureau County,
and became the parents of two children Albert
and Barbara. The mother of these passed away in
1880. The present wife of our subject, to whom
he was married in 1882, was formerly Mrs. Rosa
Johnson, and they began life together in a modest
dwelling in Owego Township. Of this union there
were born two sons and one daughter Julius, Ag-
gie, and a babe unnamed.

Mr. Spillman is Democratic in politics, and a
prominent member of the Presbyterian Church.
He has made good use of his opportunities since
becoming a naturalized citizen, and the occasion of
his seeking a permanent home in the New World
has proved fortunate to himself as well as to the
people with whom he has been associated.

pILLIAM TAVENER is a prominent farmer
and stock-raiser on section 17, Avoca
Township, who has been a resident of this
country for fifteen years. He was born July 14,
1848, in Somersetshire, a county of England, lying
south of the Bristol Channel. The coast line and
surface of this county are very much diversified,
and hi ghl}' picturesque. It is watered by the Parrot,
Axe, Avon, and Yeo Rivers, all of which flow into

the Bristol Channel. Along the rivers are many
marshes and tracts of high fertility, but in other
parts are extensive wastes, as Exmoor at the west-
ern extremity. Cheddar and other cheeses, wool
and cider are the principal products. Coal, stone,
calamine and fuller's earth are obtained. Woolen
goods, silks, gloves, linens, stockings, paper, glass,
ironwares, woolcards, shoes, leather and malt are
manufactured. The county contains the cities of
Bath, Wells and a part of Bristol. Antiquities of
almost every period of British history are met
with in this county. This is the county from which
Mr. Tavener hails, and where he was born, the son
of Thomas and Elizabeth Taveuer, the former de-
ceased, and the latter still residing in England. He
was reared to manhood in his native country, where
he received an excellent English education. He
has all his life been engaged in the occupation of
farming.

Mr. Tavener was married on the 9lh of May,
1872, iu England, to Miss Sarah Ann Masters,
daughter of William and Fanny (White) Masters,
of Somersetshire, England. Her parents are both
dead. Directly after his marriage, Mr. Tavener
and his wife emigrated to America, and soon after
their arrival at New York proceeded to Livingston
County, where for nine years he engaged in farm-
ing upon a rented farm. In the spring of 1 882 he
settled upon the farm which he now occupies in
Avoca Township, where he has 175 acres of excel-
lent land, as a reward for his industry, economy
and good management since becoming a citizen of
this country. His surroundings attest truthfully
the measure of success he has attained, and he is
now considered one of the most prosperous farmers
of Avoca Township. He and his wife are both mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and their
devotion to the church is manifested in many
ways.

Mrs. Tavener was born on the 4th of November,
184C, and is the mother of seven children: Min-
nie L., born June 20, 1875; Fannie E., Aug. 10,
1877; Walter S., Dec. 25, 1879; Albert E., Dec.
25, 1881; Charles E., Jan. 13, 1885; Jessie M..
March 13, 1880, and Nellie M., May 13, 1887.
These children are all strong and healthy, and bid
fair to grow to man and womanhood in vigorous

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

299

health. Mr. and Mrs. Tavener have become
thoroughly identified with American life and cus-
toms, and have no cause of regret for having left
the land of their nativity to make their homes and
fortunes in the New World, where every man is a
peer, and there is no caste caused by landed estates
or immense wealth, which precludes the humblest
man in the country from becoming its chief ruler.

>ILLIAM SMITH, who has been a resident
farmer of Livingston County since 1859,
and now resides on section 32, Avoca
Township, was born in Berkshire, which is an in-
land county in the southern part of England, on
the 3d of November, 1834. He is the son of
Henry and Mary Smith, botli ofjwhom were natives
of England, and is the sixth child of the family.
He grew to manhood in his native country, where
he received a good English education and learned
the rudiments of farming. He emigrated to Amer-
ica in 1859, taking passage at Liverpool in a
steamer, and after an ocean voyage of fifteen days*
in which the usual dangers of storm and wave were
encountered, landed in New York City. He did
not tarry there, but came direct to Livingston
County, and after arriving here, for five months
he worked by the month at $13, and afterward
farmed as a renter for five years, and in this time
he not only acquainted himself with all matters
pertaining to American fanning, but by industry
and economy accumulated enough to purchase a
farm. He settled on his present farm in 1873, and
has resided there since. It consists of 160 acres of
good land, which he has improved both with good
buildings and under-draining until it is one of the
best in the county. ' In draining the farm he
has consumed about 15,000 feet of various sized
tile. All the money he has expended in draining
is being returned to him now with tenfold profit in
the way of increased crops. He generally keeps
about twenty-five or thirty head of cattle of vari-
ous kinds, and has from five to six horses available
for any kind of work. When he made his start as
an Illinois farmer he had a yoke of cattle, which he
traded for a horse, and with which he tended thirty

acres of corn. This corn when marketed only
brought him fourteen cents per bushel, which left
him a very small margin after deducting the cost
of producing it, without considering his time at all.
Mr. Smith was married, on the 1st .of March,
1805, to Annie Rumbold, a native of Hampshire,
England. They commenced life together on the
east eighty of Mr. Smith's present farm, and they
have had eight children, six of whom are living
Mary E., Henry J., Thomas C., William E., Martha
S. and Alfred E. Mr. Smith is a Republican in
politics, and while he is not a politician he is loyal
to that party to the extent of voting its tickets at
all elections. His sympathies are with the Episco-
pal Church, and his wife's with the Presbyterian
Church. He has served as School Trustee for one
term, and the people of Avoca Township remem-
ber that the administration of school affairs during
that term was such as to give almost universal sat-
isfaction. Mr. Smith enjoys the esteem and confi-
dence of his friends and neighbors, and he and his
wife arc both active and influential members of the
society of which they are a part.

ENJAMIN E. HADLEY. Among the ac-
cessions to the ranks of its citizens during
the last eight years none have been more
welcomed to Livingston County than the
subject of this sketch, who is engaged in farming
and stock-raising on section 21, Sunbury Town-
ship. He is a native of the State of Ohio, where
he was born in Clermont County, thirty miles east
of Cincinnati, on the 6th of May, 1824. He is the
youngest child in a family of nine born to Ebene-
zer and Elizabeth (Patton) Hadley. Mr. Hadley
was reared upon the farm and obtained a fair com-
mon-school education under disadvantageous cir-
cumstances. At the age of nineteen he began life
for himself as a farmer, and followed that occupa-
tion in Ohio until twenty-four years of age. when
he accompanied his father to Kane County, 111.
On the 8th of February, 184C, before coming to
Illinois he was married to Barbara Whitmore, who
was the fourth in a famity of eight children born
to Conrad and Mary (Hensel) Whitmore, natives

300

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

of Kentucky. Her father was a farmer and came
to Illinois in 1868, where he died in the fall of
that year at the residence of Mr. Hadley. In 1851
our subject went to La Salle County, and purchased
eighty acres of wild land, upon which he lived un-
til 1880. At that time land in La Salle County
was very valuable, and Mr. Hadley sold his farm,
and with the proceeds of the sale came to Liv-
ingston County, and purchased 150 acres of im-
proved land, which he moved upon and has since
been successfully cultivating. Besides his agricult-
ural business he is largely engaged in raising stock
of excellent quality. .

Mr. and Mrs. Hadley are the parents of eight
children, six of whom are living, as follows: t Han-
nah M., Ezra L., John W., Amanda M., Charles
W. and Jennie E. Two died in infancy. Han-
nah, Mrs. William Greenlees, lives eight miles
north of Ottawa; Ezra L. married Clara Totnpkins,
and lives on a farm in Sunbury Township; John
married Ella Davis, and lives on a farm in Iroquois
County; Amanda, Mrs. B. F. Piester, lives in
Nebraska; Charles married Flora Cornell, and lives
near Cornell in this county ; Jennie married
Henry L. Davis, and lives with his parents on the
home farm, which he assists in conducting. Dur-
ing the time Mr. Hadley has owned this farm he
has materially improved it in every respect. It is
completely under-drained, and well fenced, while
the farm buildings are models of their kind. In
his business affairs Mr. Hadley is energetic and
enterprising.

Ever since the dissolution of the Whig party
Mr. Iladley has been a Republican, and has all his
life taken an active part in political matters, though
he has never had any selfish motive in doing so,
for he has never sought office, and the only ones
he ever accepted at the hands of the people were
those of Constable aivl Justice of the Peace seven
years. He has been a Notary Public by appoint-
ment of the Governor. He is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, a very ardent Sunday-
school worker, and is at the present time Superin-
tendent of the Sunday-school, and President of the
Township Sunday-School Organization. Mr. Had-
ley is a great lover of good literature, and devotes
considerable time to reading. His library is large

and varied, including works upon almost all topics.
He is a great reader of current literature and a
large patron of the publications of the day.

MARIAH N. BEMIS, formerly a leading
farmer and stock -raiser of Esmen Town-
ship, has retired from the labors and cares
Q-JJ incident to the supervision of a large area
of land and now occupies an elegant and comforta-
ble home, surrounded by the friends whom he has
made in by-gone years and enjoying the comforts
which he has justly earned. He is of New England
parentage, and was born in the town of Stafford,
Tolland Co., Conn., March 16, 1814. His parents,
Amariahand Sally (Shurnway) Bemis, were natives
of Massachusetts, and settled in Connecticut about
1812, soon after their marriage. They became the
parents of eight children, namely, Clarissa, Mi-
randa, Araariah N., Mary, Charles, Isaac, Judis and
Abijah.

The paternal grandparents of our subject were
Abijah and Mary Bemis, also natives of the Bay
State. His mother was the daughter of Ebenezer
and Comfort (White) Shumway, natives of Massa-
chusetts, and of French descent. The grandmothers
both lived to be more than ninety years of age,
and Grandmother Shumway died at the age of
ninety-five. The Bemis family was originally from
England, the first representatives in this country
being two brothers, the great-grandfather and the
great-uncle of our subject. The uncle never mar-
ried, and consequently the later descendants sprang
from one brother. The latter was the father of
thirteen children, as follows: Alpheus, Amariah,
Aaron, Amos, Abigail, Alice, Amos (2d), Lydia,
Willard, Abijah, Hephzibah, Tylor and Mary. The
second son, Amariah, married, and became the
father of eight children, namety, Clarissa, Miranda,
Amariah N., Mary, Charles S., Judith, Isaac and
Abijah. The third child of this family was the
subject of our sketch.

Young Bemis was reared to farm pursuits and in
the meantime was employed considerably in a
sawmill. lie received a limited education in the
common schools, and after reaching his majority

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

301 ' .

left the parental roof to seek his fortune in the
West, which was then beckoning eagerly to young
and enterprising men. On the way, however, Mr.
Bemis stopped for a time at Oxford, in Chenango
County, N. Y., where he followed painting, which
he had learned in his youth. He remained in this
locality a number of years, and in the meantime,
on the 9th of September, 1839, was united in mar-
ringc with Miss Lucinda Backus, who was born in
Oxford, N. Y., June 18, 1818. Her parents, Capt.
John and Lucinda (Johnson) Backus, were natives
respectively of Norwich and Canterbury, Conn.
Her paternal grandparents were Ezra and Rhoda
(Dodge) Backus, of Norwich, and her mother was
the daughter of Obediah, Jr., and Lucinda (Dodge)
Johnson, also of Connecticut. Col. Obediah John-
son and his wife, Lucy, were the parents of Dr.
Rufus, Obediah, Jr., mentioned above, Ebenezer,
Nathan, John and Olive. Capt. John Backus was
the father of four children by his first wife and five
by his second. The first four were named respect-
ively, Lucinda and Ezra, both now deceased; Will-
iam and Lucinda (2d). His second wife, Abigail,
was the daughter of Nathan and Desire (Crary)
Glover. She became the mother of Henry, now in
Massachusetts; John and Harriet, deceased ; Nathan
in Dakota; and Guerdon.

After his marriage Mr. Bemis remained a resi-
dent of Oxford for a period of thirty-five years, the
first fifteen of which he was employed as a me-
chanic. A serious spell of sickness, however,
weakened him so that he was obliged to give up
his trade, and he then engaged in lumbering and
freighting, carrying this on quite extensively for
twenty years. In 1868 he came to Illinois, and
purchased 160 acres of land on section 2, in Esrnen
Township, which he placed in charge of his son. He
also purchased the adjoining quarter of the same
section which his son now lives on; he took posses-
sion of it with his family in 1870, and built the resi-
dence which he now occupies. He has superin-
tended the cultivation of the land until now, with
the aid of his son; it is all in fine condition and pro-
ductive of the choicest crops. The residence and
other buildings are among the best in the township,
and the whole premises indicates the supervision of
the thrifty and progressive modern agriculturist.

Mr. and Mrs. Bemis, since coming West, have
twice returned to their old home in New York to
visit among the friends whom they had made dur-
ing their long residence there. Two of their chil-
dren are settled in the East, one in Connecticut and
one in New York. They became the parents of
five, of whom John died in 1848. when two and
a half years old. The others are, Nelson Amariah,
Mary Eliza, Harriet and Sarah. Nelson married
Miss Sarah L. Shelden, and lives on a farm adjoin-
ing that of his father; Maiy is the wife of Albert
C. Green, and lives in Canterbury, Conn.: Harriet,
Mrs. DeWitt A. Gleason, is a resident of Oxford,
N. Y. Mr. Beniis has been uniformly successful
in the cultivation of Illinois soil and is ranked
among the representative men of this section of
country. He votes the straight Republican ticket,
| and has served twice as Assessor of his township.
He is a prominent member of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, and was instrumental in the erection
of their building, which is located not far from his
home. Mrs. Bemis is connected with the Congre-
gational Church in Odell.

<jw)OHN D. REESE is an important factor in
| the mining interests of Newtown Township,
where he is engaged at Shaft No. 3, of the
Vermilion Coal Company. He occupies
the official position of Constable for this township,
and is also a Deputy of the County Sheriff. He
located in this township in 1878, and was appointed
Mining Inspector by the Board of Supervisors of
Livingston County. He devotes his time to min-
ing in Shaft No. 3, except when discharging his
official duties in one of the three capacities named.
He is a property owner, and one of the leading and
influential men among the miners of this section.
He is of very industrious habits and possesses all
the qualities of a good citizen.

Mr. Reese was born in Pottsville, Pa., on the
22d of February, 1837, and is the son of Daniel
and Mary (Thomas) Reese, both of whom were
born in Wales, the father in the year 1 804. The
latter came to this country when a young man, but
remained here but a few years, and then returned

302

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

to his native country ^ where he married. He then
remained in Wales until 1830, during which time
several children were born, and then he returned
to America. Of the twelve children born to them,
four are now living: Mary is the wife of Henry
Meadows, and they live at Streator, 111., engaged in
the hotel business; John D. is our subject: David
D. was engaged in the railroad business in Denver,
Col ; Sarah married John T. Jones, who is a paper
manufacturer in Lucas, Iowa. The mother of
these children died in Peru, 111., on the 15th of
March, 1880. The father is now living a retired
life in Streator.

Both parents were members of the Congregational
Church, and the father was a local preacher and
very active in church work. Many of his earlier
sermons were preached in the Welsh language. In
his early life he was a miner in Pennsylvania, in
which State ^they settled when they came to this
country. He acted in the capacity of Superintend-
ent of Mines until he came West. After he be-
came a citizen of Illinois he engaged in farming.
Politically he is a stanch Republican, and was one
of the earliest supporters of the Whig party during
its existence; he has always been enthusiastic on
the subject of politics, and his extensive reading of
political literature has caused him to be one of the
best posted men in Livingston County on political
matters. He is now enjoying good health in all
respects, excepting that impairment of eyesight
consequent upon old age.

John D. Reese was married in Swatara, Pa., on
the 28th of March, 1861, to Mary Anderson, who
was born in 1845, in Llewellyn, Pa. Her parents
were natives of England, and came to this country
in 1830. Both are now deceased, the father's
death taking place in Peru, 111., in September, 1861.
To them were born seven children, one in England
and six in this country; of the five now living, all
reside in Kansas, excepting the wife of our subject.
To Mr. and Mrs. Reese have been born the follow-
ing children: Lemuel, born June 5, 1862, resides
at home, and is employed in Shaft No. 3; Sarah,
born Sept. 3, 1864, married Thomas Pritchard, who
died Jan. 9, 1887, and she and her two children
reside witli her parents: Thomas, born Feb. 13,
1866; John L., Aug. 29, 1867; Daniel B.. May 18,

1868; Joseph, Aug. 21, 1869; Charles and Alexan-
der, Nov. 3, 1870; the last five named all work in
Shaft No. 3; Charles (2d). born Jan. 28, 1874;
Mary E., April 26, 1878; Carrie, Feb. 15, 1880, all
reside at home. During his residence five miles
north of Peru, Mr. Reese's house was destroyed by
fire and all his personal and household property
was lost. At the time of the conflagration his wife
was lying sick and helpless in bed, and within a
moment or two after she was removed the walls
fell in. Since that time Mr. Reese has thoroughly
recovered from his loss, and is now very comfort-
ably situated.

J" 1 OHN W. SCHULZ, a properous German far-
mer of Owego Township, became a resident
here in 1867, locating on section 23, where
he has since carried on general farming and
built up a comfortable homestead. This is mainly
the property of his estimable wife, and under his
excellent management has become quite valuable.
The farm buildings are substantial and comfortable
and in every respect adapted to the requirements
of country life.

Mr. Schulz was born in the Province of Kur-
Hessen, Germany, March 22, 1833, and is the .son
of Adam and Annie P. Schulz, who were also of
German birth and parentage, and spent their entire
lives in their native laud. Our subject was there
reared to manhood and received a good education,
and after passing his twenty-second birthday was
married, Dec. 25, 1856, to Miss Anna Elizabeth
Holsower, a native of his own country, and born
May 1, 1830. Mrs. S. is the daughter of Daniel
and Ann M. Holsower, and by her union with our
subject became the mother of eight children, seven
living, namely, George, Katharine, William, Eliza-
beth, Annie, Minnie and Michael. These are mar-
ried and settled in comfortable homes of their own,
most of them being residents of this county and
vicinity.

Mr. and Mrs. Schulz continued in their native
Germany for ten years after their marriage and
then decided to emigrate to the New World. Bid-
ding adieu to their friends and the associates of

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

305

their childhood they took passage on a steamer at
Bremen, and after a voyage of seventeen days,
landed in New York City with their three children.
Thence they proceeded directly westward, and it
was not long before Mr. Schnlz decided to take up
his abode in this county. He has proved a valued
addition to the community, both socially and
financially, and with his wife is a member in good
standing of the German Evangelical Association.
Politically he votes the Democratic ticket.

AMUEL HERBERT. During the last few
years there has been remarkable improve-
ment in the manner of gathering and hous-
ing the winter's crop of ice, and the sys-
tem is now so perfect that the percentage of loss by
shrinkage is largely reduced. One of the most
enterprising ice-packers and dealers is Mr. Herbert,
a citizen of Pontiac, who began that business in
1874.

Mr. Herbert is a native of Rockland County,
N. Y., where he was born on the 19th of March,
1824. He is the son of Jacob and Frances (Keas-
lor) Herbert, natives of the same county, who were
engaged in the lumber business. The grandfather
was Robert Herbert, a native of Nova Scotia, who
during his life was engaged in the manufacture of
wagons and carriages. Jacob had a family of ten
children, eight of whom are now living, as follows :
Samuel, Hannah J., Charles, Elizabeth, Phoebe, Cath-
arine, Adelia and Theodore. Daniel died in 1854.

Samuel Herbert was reared on a farm until he was
fourteen years of age, and then for seven years as
engaged in boating on the Hudson River. He after-
ward worked in a gristmill in Dutches* County, N.
Y., for six years, when in 1857 he concluded to try
his fortunes in the West. In that year he arrived in
Pontiac, and engaged in the business of plastering
until 1875. In 1859 he built his first home, which
gave place in 1872 to the fine residence which he at
present occupies. His house, with the land on
which it stands and other improvements, cost him
18,000. Mr. Herbert engaged in his present business
in 1 874, building his first ice-house on. the south
side and near to the Vermilion River, and in 1884

he bought his second ice-house in the eastern part of
the city, which gives him a total capacity for 6,000
tons. For the delivery of his crop, during the season
he hires two wagons and four men besides himself.

In 1848, Mr. Herbert was married to Miss Ann
J. Lewis, of Dutchess County, N. Y. She was the
daughter of John and Esther (Hudson) Lewis, na-
tives of England. Her father came to America with
his family in 1831, and settled in the city of New
York, where he engaged in the manufacture of boots
and shoes, afterward removing to Poughkeepsie,
Dutchess County, and engaging in the same business,
which [occupation he followed until he died. The
wife died in 1881. They had a family of three
children : Sarah, Mrs. Ward, of Pontiac, and Ann J.,
Mrs. Herbert. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Her-
bert are recorded as follows : Daniel married Mary
Hart, of Pontiac, and has three sons Harry, Ward
and Hart ; Esther, Mrs. E. Wiggins, of Chicago, who
is the mother of two children Charles and Harry ;
Sarah J., Mrs. H. R. Davis, of Pontiac, who is the
mother of five children William, Mary, Henry,
Mearl and Pearl; John J. and Eunice A., at home.
Mr. Herbert is a member of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows. He gives his political adhesion to
the Democratic party. He has in times past been a
member of the City Board.

We are pleased to present the portrait of Mr.
Herbert on the accompanying page, together with
that of his estimable wife.

eLAYTON HOSKINS. One of the most
beautiful homes in Rook's Creek Township
belongs to the subject of this sketch, and is
located on section 19. It comprises eighty acres
of good land, which yields abuadantly the choice
products of the Prairie State, with a handsome
dwelling, a good barn, and all other out-buildings
required by the modern farmer and stock-raiser.
His family includes his wife and five children, the
latter born as follows: Wesley D., May 22, 1874;
Henry F., Nov. 1, 1875; Clarence L., March 22,
1878; Peter N., March 22, 1881; Flora May, Oct.
21, 1882. The head of this interesting family is
about forty years of age, having been born Feb. 29,

306

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

1848. His birthplace and early home was in Mar-
shall County, where he was reared on a farm and
remained until manhood with his parents, Henry
and Mary Ann (Bonhain) Hoskins, natives of Pick-
away County, Ohio, the former born May 12, 1822,
and the latter about 1825.

The father of our subject came to Illinois when
a young man about twenty-one years of age, in
1843, and the mother came with her parents when
a child. The grandparents on both sides of the
house, it is supposed, were natives of Virginia.
Grandfather Hoskins was born about 1793, and
spent his last years in Marshall County, 111. To
the parents of our subject there were born seven
children besides Clayton, all living and located
as follows; Eveline 0., born in September, 1850,
remains at home with her parents; Clarissa is the
wife of Henry Tarbell, of Greene County, Iowa,
and the mother of five children; Eliza, Mrs. Clar-
ence Jarrnin, has two children, and is a resident of
Marshall County, 111. ; William married Miss Ida
May Tanquarry, and is farming in Rook's Creek
Township; they have three children. Lois is the
wife of William Connor, a resident of Clay County,
Neb. ; Thomas and Elmer, the youngest [sons, re-
main at home with their father.

Mr. Hoskins, when twenty-one years of age re-
ceived from his father a team of horses and a por-
tion of land, for which he was to pay a moderate
annual rental. Upon this he remained until past
twenty-four years of age, and in the meantime was
married, Feb. 25, 1872, to Miss Amanda F. Ni.yhs-
wonger. He afterward continued one year on the
home place, and purchased forty acres of his pres-
ent homestead. He put up his house in 1871, and
added eighty acres to his first purchase, so that he
now has a fine tract of 120 acres, which makes a
good start in life, and holds out a fair prospect for
the future. He is held in high esteem as a promis-
ing young citizen, and is serving his first term as
School Director in his district. Politically he is a
stanch supporter of the Democratic party, and is a
member in good standing of the Christian Church
at Flanagan. The parents of Mrs. Hoskins, Peter
and Nancy (Baringer) Nighswonger, were natives
respectively of Virginia and Ohio. Her father
came to Illinois with his parents when a child two

years of age, and the mother came with a married
sister, when a young lady, their mother having died
some years before. The parents were married in
Pike County, 111., and removed to Marshall County
in 1856, where they reared their family, and
whence, in 1876, they removed to Missouri, where
they now reside. Charles R. Nighswonger, the
paternal grandfather of Mrs. H., died in Pike
County, at an advanced age. Her brothers and
sisters, of whom there are seven, are living mostly
in Davis County, Mo. Her sister Angeline is a
resident of Northern Nebraska.

ORENZO F. PRATT, a gentleman on the
sunny side of fifty, is industriously en-
gaged in farming and stock-raising on sec-
tion 9, Belle Prairie Township, on the southern
line of this county. He is a New Englander by
birth, having first opened his eyes to the light in
Franklin County, Vt., Dec. 19, 1840. His child-
hood and j'outh were spent in his native Stats.
During the late Civil War he enlisted in Company
I, 1st Vermont Infantry, but after serving four
months contracted a disease which compelled him
to abandon army life, receiving an honorable dis-
charge. He remained in the Green Mountain
State a short time afterward, and in 1864 set out
for Illinois, in which State he has since resided.

The parents of our subject were Allen and Ase-
nath (Wait) Pratt, natives also of Vermont, where
they spent their entire lives, the father passing
away in 1854, and the mother, who survived her
husband twenty -eight years, in 1882. They were
most excellent people, highly respected in their
community, and the mother a devoted member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church. Allen Pratt was
a skilled mechanic, and also engaged in lumbering
and farming. Although never becoming wealthy,
he always provided suitably and generously for his
family, which included twelve children, some of
whom died in infancy. They were named as fol-
lows: Curtis P., Lorenzo F., Sophia E., Ira A.,
Lucina W., Betsey M., Ira C. (2d), Charles J., Lu-
cina W. (2d), Mary- J., Lorenzo F. (2d) and
George R. Those who survived were reared on the

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

307 t ,

farm, and most of them remained in New England.
The subject of this biography received but lim-
ited school advantages during his childhood and
youth, but by the kindly assistance of his wife since
their marriage, has become quite well informed,
and by a course of general reading keeps pace with
the events of the day. He is regarded as a gentle-
man of considerable ability in his township, where
he has served as Clerk, Road Commissioner and
School Director. Upon coming to 'Illinois he lo-
cated in Tazewell County, where he was employed
as a laborer four years, near the town of Morton.
He then went into the country and engaged on a
farm two years, in the meantime living economic-
ally and saving what he could of his earnings. In
1874 he invested the little sum thus accumu-
lated in 120 acres of land, which constitutes his
present homestead, and which he has carefully cul-
tivated and supplied with all necessary buildings
and improvements, so that it is considered an es-
tate quite valuable. For the last two years, in ad-
dition to farming, he has been engaged in the man-
ufacture of tile in company with a partner, the firm
being Cook & Pratt Bros. He is also engaged in
the manufacture of sorghum syrup and cider, for
which he has some extra fine machinery, and turns
out large quantities each year, realizing there-
from a handsome sum of money. His cider press
has been constructed mainly from his own plans,
and is quite different from those in common use.
In the fall of 1886 he turned out from this 3,500
gallons, which commanded a ready sale in his own
locality. Besides his other talents Mr. Pratt is a
natural mechanic, closely superintending the erec-
tion of all his farm buildings, and doing much of
the work with his own hands. While all these are
models of convenience, the corn-crib, from its pe-
culiar arrangement, attracts the especial attention
of the farmers of that vicinity on account of its
system of ventilation, which prevents the corn
from heating.

The wife of our subject, who has proved to him
such a valued companion and helpmeet, was for-
merly Miss Caroline Lambkin, born in the Province
of Quebec, Canada, Sept. 24, 1838. They were
married Jan. 5, 1869, at the home of the bride in
Stanbridge, Quebec. Her parents, like those of

Mr. Pratt, were natives of Vermont. The father
still lives in Quebec ; the mother passed from earth
in 1 843. The result of this union was the birth of
four bright children, namely, Clarissa, Flora,
Charles and Howard. The children are being
carefully trained and educated, Mr. Pratt deter-
mining that they shall not labor under the disad-
vantages which harassed him in his younger j r ears.
Our subject cast his first Presidential vote for
Abraham Lincoln, and since that time has been a
cordial supporter of Republican principles.

-*-

ETER JASPERSON, one of the most peace-
able and law-abiding citizens of Rook's
Creek Township, owns a snug little farm of
sixty-three acres, supplied with comfort-
able buildings, which property he has acquired by
his own industry. His early years were spent on
the other side of the Atlantic, on the Island of
Bornholin, Denmark, where his birth took place
May 29, 1837. In 1859, when twenty-two years of
age, he came to this country, and worked by the
month for farmers in Putnam and La Salle Coun-
ties, this State, about five years. During this time
he saved what he could of his earnings, and at
length was enabled to purchase forty acres of
land located in this county. After some little
time he sold out and purchased eighty acres in
Rook's Creek Township, which he afterward dis-
posed of, and in 1883 purchased his present home-
stead.

The parents of our subject were Morris Coffod
and Christenia (Jansen) Jasperson, also natives of
the Island of Bornholm, where the father was born
May 29, 1818. Their family included five chil-
dren, namely, Hans (or John) ; Peter, our subject;
Christian, Jans (or James) and Larse. Only two
of these came to the United States, Peter and Chris-
tian. The latter, during the late war, enlisted in
the 85th Illinois Infantry. He was taken ill and
died in the hospital at Nashville, Tenn. Peter re-
ceived a good education in his native tongue, and
after becoming a naturalized American citizen,
identified himself with the Republican party. He
has carefully avoided politics, however, preferring

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

to give his time and attention to his own concerns.
He is a member in good standing of the Baptist
Church, and has officiated as Deacon six years.

The marriage of Peter Jasperson and Miss Jo-
hanna S. Hendrickson took place Feb. 14, 1865, at
the home of the bride in La Salle County.- The
young people commenced life together on the farm
which Mr. J. first purchased, nine miles east of
Pontiac. They remained there until the spring of
1869, and their subsequent changes we have already
indicated. The household circle includes three
bright children, namely : Hannah L., born May 5.
1868; Henrietta, Aug. 30, 1869, and Henry, Dec.
15, 1870.

Mrs. Jasperson was the fifth in a family of
seven children born to Marse and Signe (Kellar)
Hendrickson, and her brothers and sisters are re-
corded as follows: Charlotte is a resident of La
Salle County, this State; Henrietta died in infancy;
Christina lives in La Salle County; Christian fol-
lowed the sea, and was drowned when about forty-
nine 3'ears of age ; Henrietta (2d) is deceased. The
parents of Mrs. Jasperson spent their entire lives in
their native county, and died some years ago. The
paternal grandfather of our subject, Hans Jasper-
son by name, lived to be an old man, and died on
his native island.

( Sf% v ETER JACOBSON, a prominent farmer
and stock-raiser of Rook's Creek Town-
ship, has a fine farm on section 13, where
he is largely engaged in stock-raising, and
has been one of the important factors in the agri-
cultural interests of Livingston County. His
early childhood was spent on the other side of the
Atlantic, where his birth took place in Denmark,
Feb. 22, 1836. He came with his parents, Jacob
and Cathrena Jacobson, to this country in 1848,
and after a brief stay in New York City, pro-
ceeded directly westward to La Salic County, this
State.

Early in life our subject left tin- parental roof, be-
ing engaged soon lifter coining to this State by a
farmer, one William Harper, south of Peru, with
whom he remained l\\<> years, receiving $10 pur month

the lirst yc:iraiid$15 the second. He continued as a
laborer another year, and then rented a tract of land
upon which he farmed two years for himself. The
outbreak of the Rebellion then furnished employ-
ment for many idle hands. Our subject, however.
me by no means of this class, but he laid aside his
personal interests to assist in the preservation of the
Union, and in perpetuating the institutions of his
adopted country. lie enlisted in the 104th Illinois
Infantry, and marched with his regiment afterward
to Tennessee, where he was taken prisoner by Mor-
gan, and with his comrades was marched 100 miles
in three days without food. They were then re-
leased on parole, when, as a natural consequence of
this terrible experience, our subject was taken ill,
and for three months was an inmate of the hospital
at Cincinnati. His constitution now being under-
mined he was discharged on account of disability.
and returned to La Salle County. A few months
later he purchased eighty acres of land in Sauneniin
Township, and set himself industriously about its
cultivation. Not long afterward he was united in
marriage with Miss Annie Catherina llolman. the
wedding taking place at the home of the bride in
La Salle County, 111., in 18(53. Subsequently he re-
moved to Rook's Creek Township, where he has
since resided and built up one of the finest country
homes in the western part of Livingston County.
He has labored industriously when able, and has
superintended his farm operations with excellent
judgment, and invested his capital in a judicious
manner. In common with otheis he has had much
to contend with. Upon coming to this county after
the war he possessed a cash capital of $5. He has
now a quarter section of valuable land, underlaid
with 30,000 feet of tile, and the buildings are at
once elegant and substantial, the admiration of the
country around.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Jacobson arc as
follows: Ktheline, Mrs. Chapman, is a resident of
Pontiac, III., and has two children: Henry, unmar-
ried, is at home with his parents, as are also Lewis.
William. Nannie. Emeline. ( 'ora, Annie. Bertie and
Willie, the latter, twins, born March 3, 1880. Mr.
Jacobson after becoming a Voter espoused the cause
of the Republican party. lie identified himself
with the Baptist Church in which he has olliciated

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

309

as Trustee, and been one of its chief pillars. Mr.
Jacobson was the fifth in a family of six children
born to his parents. Five of these are .still living;,
including our subject, and the other four having
their home in Denmark. The mother died when
Peter was a lad fourteen years of age. The father
lived to be eight}' years old.

J~ OHN W. A. LILLY has been a resident of
the village of Cornell since the spring of
1875, and is serving his second term as Jus-
' tice of the Peace. He was born at Fair-
mont, W. Va., May 25, 1834, and is the seventh
son of John W. and Irene C. (Patterson) Lilly, na-
tives respectively of West Virginia and Connecti-
cut. In 1845, John W. Lilly, Sr., removed with
his family from his native State to Sharon, Beaver
Co., Pa., where, in March of the year following, he
was stricken down with smallpox, and died at the
age of fifty-seven years. Mrs. Irene C. Lilly was
the daughter of Thomas Patterson, of Connecticut,
and by her union with the father of our subject be-
came the mother of nine children, seven sons and
two daughters. She survived her husband many
years, and died at the ripe old age of ninety-four,
in Grafton, W. Va.

Our subject remained with his mother until reach-
ing manhood, and in the meantime served a thor-
ough apprenticeship at the boot and shoe business,
which he followed until the breaking out of the war.
In the meantime he was united in marriage with
Miss Rebecca A. McVay, of Greene County, Pa.,
on the 1st of January, 1859. Upon the first call
for 75,000 troops, Mr. Lilly was among those who
yielded a ready and cheerful response, and after
serving three months, re-enlisted for three years, or
until the close of the war. His company was a part
of the 2d West Virginia Infantry, which afterward
became the 5th Cavalry, and he served with it un-
til being mustered out June 1C, 1864. He con-
tinued, however, in the army, being thereafter in the
recruiting service, until the surrender of Lee prac-
tically ended the conflict.

Upon retiring from the army, Mr. Lilly rejoined
Ins family in West Virginia, where he engaged in

merchandising until February, 1872, then started
for the West. He tarried a few days at Cornell,
this county, but subsequently took up his abode in
Elm wood, returning, however, to the former place
in 1875, of which he has since remained a resident.
Here he is quite a prominent citizen. While in
West Virginia he filled the office of Alderman in
the little city of Cameron, and was afterward elec-
ted Mayor.

Mr. Lilly cast his first Presidential vote for John
C. Fremont, in 1856, and has since clung with un-
abated fidelity to the Republican party. There is
no doubt but that he will continue to share its
triumphs, likewise its reverses, as he is a gentleman
of decided opinions, and it will be a remarkable
event that will cause him to forsake his early love.

AMUEL ALGEO, a self-made man, is to-
day a prosperous and highly respected
farmer and stock-raiser on section 8, Rook's
Creek Township. He came to Illinois
with his parents, poor in pocket and without in-
fluential friends, but by the exercise of his native
energy and resolution he has secured for himself a
comfortable home and a competency, and has es-
tablished himself in the esteem of his fellow-citi-
zens. Mr. Algeo is the son of Robert and Martha
(Hughes) Algeo, and was born in May, 1836, near
Dooballa, Donegal County, Ireland. He has no
recollection of his paternal grandparents, but can
remember his maternal grandfather, who lived to
be an old man.

Mr. Algeo is the youngest of eight children, as
follows: Eliza married Francis McDeavitt in
Ireland, and moved to Illinois in April, 1886; they
have seven children. John, married, and living in
Marshall County, 111., has two children ; William,
born in Ireland, married in the United States, lived
in Livingston County over thirty years, when he
moved to Iowa in 1886; he has six children. Alex-
ander, born in Ireland, came to Illinois where he
married and has ten children ; James, married in
Ireland, came to Illinois thirty years ago, and has
eight children living; Robert, unmarried, lives in

310

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Livingston County; Joseph, married and living in
Ireland on the old homestead as a tenant under
Sir Samuel Hayes, has six children^and Samuel is
the subject of this sketch.

The subject of this biography was married to
Miss Fannie Margaret Algeo on the 5th of June,
1865, and on the 16th of July of that year they
came from Ireland to the United States, making the
voyage on the steamer Iowa, which required two
weeks, and landing at New York, where they staid
about three weeks. From New York they went to
Oswego, where they remained till spring with an
elder brother, when they came to Rook's Creek
Township, Livingston County, where they bought
eighty acres of land on section 14, and have since
purchased 120 acres on section 8, on which farm
they now live. The parents of Mr. and Mrs.
Algeo were second cousins. There have been born
to Mr. and Mrs. Algeo six children, whose names
are as follows: Alexander, born on the 24th of
March, 1866; Robert, born Dec. 3, 1868;Cassie,
born Nov. 4, 1870; John James, born Feb.
27, 1872; Fannie May, born Nov. 1, 1875;
Sarah M., born July 13. 1879. The parents of
Mrs. Algeo were Alexander and Fannie (Ralston)
Algeo, both born in the year 1797 in Ireland, and
married on the 1st of January, 1818. They were
the parents of the following named children :
James, born in November, 1818, married, and died
April 24, 1887, leaving three children; John, born in
1820, is unmarried ; William, born in 1822, married,
and lives on the homestead in Ireland ; Alexander,
born in 1824, married, and has two children, and
lives in New York; Samuel, born in 1826, married,
and has four children, and lives in Indianapolis;
Robert, born in 1828, died and left four children
who live in New York ; Thomas, born in 1833,
married, has four children, and lives in Pennsyl-
vania; Fannie Margaret was born June 25, 1836;
Catherine, Mrs. William Ray, lives in Battle Creek,
Mich, and has five children.

Mr. Algeo is an intelligent member of the Pres-
byterian Church, and has very decided opinions
upon matters both religious and political, while he
is especially well informed on the Home Rule and
other questions which are agitating England and
Ireland. He is independent in politics and is very

decided in his opposition to the question of
Woman Suffrage. Mrs. Algeo received a very
fair common-school education in Ireland, and both
she and her husband are very extensive readers.
keeping thoroughly posted on all the current topics
of the day.

^ LIVER JOLLY, whose forty-acre stock farm
is located on section 32, Waldo Township,
was born Aug. 7, 183"), near Martinsburg,
Knox Co., Ohio. He is the fourth in a family of
eight children, whose names are, Sarah Jane, Mrs.
Hiram Cawl, who died leaving one child, Sarah,
since married; John, born Aug. 27, 1830, married,
has one child, and lives in California; Daniel, born
Feb. 28, 1832, lives in Nebraska Township; Oliver,
our "subject; Mary Ann, born Oct. 15, 1837, mar-
ried Elijah Wade, has four children, and lives in
Ohio; Emma Eliza, born in 1840, married Charles
Walker, and died leaving six children; Robert,
born Aug. 15, 1842, is married, has several chil-
dren, and lives in Ohio; Eliza E., born in October,
1845, married James McMann, has six children and
lives in Ohio. Our subject's parents were natives
of Pennsylvania; the mother departed this life
March 18, 1886; the father was born in March,
1809, and still resides in Ohio. Daniel, a brother
of our subject, was a soldier in the Union army in
the war of the Rebellion, where he served for three
years. His brother was also a soldier in the Union
army.

Mr. Jolly remained with his parents on a farm,
and as opportunities presented, attended the com-
mon schools until he was twenty-one 3 r ears of age,
when he began to do for himself. When about
twenty-two years old, he came to Illinois and lo-
cated at Farm Ridge, where he worked by the
month for several years, when he rented ground
and began farming on his own account, and in
about two years, in 18G7, he purchased his present
farm of forty acres in Waldo Township.

On the 2d of September, 1869, the subject of
this sketch was married to Miss Susan Yaryes,
daughter of Paul and Melinda Yaryes, natives of
Pennsylvania. To Mr. and Mrs. Jolly have been

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

born two children, as follows: Estella, on the
26th of August, 1872, and Matilda, April 18, 1875.
Mr. Jolly has always been a Democrat, and cast his
first Presidential vote for James Buchanan. He is
a member of the Christian Church, holding mem-
bership at Gridley. While Mr. Jolly's farm does
not comprise so many acres as some other farms in
the township, it is equally as well cultivated. The
improvements about the place are good and ample,
and the buildings are both substantial and com-
fortable. His family identify themselves with all
matters which are calculated to benefit the com-
munity in which they live.

/p^EORGE H. SHERMAN. In order that a
jl| -, community may prosper, there must be men

<^4l competent as leaders, enterprising as citi-
zens, and industrious as workers. \Vhile the lower
strata are as useful in their place as the upper, just
as the mortar is as essential as the bricks in rearing
a building, still there must be master minds to su-
perintend and bring each division to its proper
place. The subject of our sketch in his community
has acted largely as a leader, has been judicious in
his investments, and has added greatly to the gen-
eral prosperity of this section. Although in
younger days he was something of a mechanic, and
possessed naturally considerable skill in this line,
he later determined to enter upon the more con-
genial pursuits of farm life. The consequence is
that he has now one of the finest country estates in
Union Township, where of late years he has largely
engaged in stock-raising, and has been uniformly
prosperous.

The interesting points in the life history of Mr.
Sherman are substantially as follows: He is the
eighth in a family of fourteen children born to
Samuel and Azubah (Greene) Sherman, natives re-
spectively of New York and Vermont. The
youngest of the family died in infancy, but the re-
maining thirteen lived to mature years, married,

and had families of their own, before a death oc-
curred among them. Eight of these are now liv-
ing, making their homes principally in Illinois.
The maternal grandparents of our subject, Alpheus
and Rhoda (Pratt,) Greene, were natives of Ver-
mont, in which State they spent most of their lives.
Mr. Greene died in Illinois in 1861. Mrs. Greene
died in New York State.

Samuel Sherman was a cooper by trade, but was
fond of country life, and purchased a farm where
he passed his last years. Although but a youth, he
served as a soldier during the War of 1812, and
took part in the memorable battle of Plattsburg.
ID early manhood he had identified himself with
the Whig party, but after its abandonment cor-
dially endorsed Republican principles, and later
was quite active in public affairs. He came into
the West in about 1850, locating in Knox County,
and spent his last years at Galesburg, where his
death took place in 1875. The mother, whose
name is held in the most affectionate remembrance
by her children, survived her husband until 1886,
and then passed to her final rest. Both parents
were universally esteemed in their community, as
those whose places when they passed away it would
be most difficult to fill.

Our subject passed his early years after the man-
ner of most farmers' boys, assisting in the sowing
and reaping, and during the winter season gaining
a knowledge of the common English branches in
the district school. At the age of eighteen, after
the family came to Illinois, he left home and en-
gaged in farming at various places in Knox County,
finally renting a tract of land and carrying on ag-
riculture for himself. A few weeks before reach-
ing his twenty-third year, there happened one of
the most important events of his life, namely, his
marriage, which occurred Nov. 27, 1855. His
bride was Miss Charlotte M. Sherwood, who was
born July 9, 1831, in Coeymans, Albany Co., N.
Y., and was the second child of Stephen and Phebe
(Ostrom) Sherwood. Her parents were also na-
tives of the Empire State, and of Dutch and En-
glish descent. Their family included six children.
They came to Illinois in about 1853, settling first
in Knox County, aad afterward became inmates of
the home of Mr. Sherman for a period of fourteen

312

LIVINGSTON COUNTY

years. Subsequently they removed to Chicago,
where they both passed away in 1884.

Mr. and Mrs. Sherman commenced housekeeping
on a farm in Knox ^County, where they resided
nine years. Mr. S. had in the meantime purchased
a tract of land in Clover Township, which he after-
ward sold, however, and in the spring of 1866,
started out to hunt for a permanent location, think-
ing probably he would go beyond the Mississippi.
Upon his arrival in Livingston County, however,
he found he could purchase good land at a reason-
able price, and consequently, in company with his
brother-in-law, secured a section in Union Town-
ship. It was totally uncultivated, but he put up a
small house and began the improvement of his pur-
chase. He was prospered in his operations, and
each year grew more attached to the place, so that
it has become a permanent home, and has been his
residence now for the last twenty-two years. The
change which has been effected in this tract of land
as well as the country around it, is ample evidence
thai master hands have been at work. Mr. Sher-
man has bent his energies to the building up of a
homestead which is creditable to him as a farmer
and a citizen, and its appearance to-day indicates
how well he has succeeded. The soil is the most
productive in the township, and the farm buildings
are of the best description. The fields each year
produce the finest corn and wheat, and his live-
stock includes the best specimens of thoroughbred
Short-horn cattle and Norman horses. He also
raises a goodly number of Poland-China swine,
and the income from these sources nets him a hand-
some sum annually.

Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Sher-
man, but three survive : Sarah, the eldest, is the
wife of Adolph Peterson, agent of the Milwaukee
& St. Paul Railroad Co., at Adeline, Ogle County;
Cora, who possesses more than ordinary ability and
is fond of study, is attending school at Greencastle,
Ind.; Mary remains at home with her parents.
Mr. Sherman votes the straight Republican ticket,
and although no office seeker, has served as Justice
of the Peace three terms. He is one of the most
active workers in the Methodist Episcopal Church,
with which he has been connected many years, and
served as. Steward and Trustee. It will thus be

seen that he has had little time for idleness, and
looking back over a life which is yet in its prime,
he may feel satisfied with the results attained, and
hope for still better things in the future.

AVID L. MURDOCK, attorney-at-law,
Fairbury, 111., is among the prominent cit-
izens of Livingston County. People al-
ways delight to honor a self-made man,
not alone for his success in life, but because he is
generally a man of unselfish disposition. Lincoln,
perhaps, is the most lofty example of the reverence
of the people for those who have been the archi-
tects of their own fortunes. Nearly every com-
munity affords an example of what a humble in-
dividual may accomplish by properly directed en-
ergy. In the subject of this sketch an instance is
furnished where a man began without a dollar,
and while yet young in years has gained a compe-
tency which will serve him through life.

Mr. Mnrdock was born in Butler County, Ohio,
on the 19th of November, 1836, and is the son of
Ezekiel P. and Rachel (Taylor) Murdock, natives
of Pennsylvania and Tennessee respectively. His
father was born on the 10th of March, 1809, and
is still living at his home in Chicago. The mother
was born on the 29th of January, 1814, daughter
of Isaac and Elizabeth (Cross) Taylor, and died in
August, 1885. They were married in Indiana on
the 29th of June, 1835. Mr. Murdock was mar-
ried, on the 22d of November, 1860, to Miss Mary
E. Pillsbury, a sister of Judge Pillsbury, of Pontiac.
She was born on the 20th of September, 1839, in
the town of Shapleigh, York Co., Me., and came
to Illinois in 1855. Mr. Murdock came to Illi-
nois in 1854 and located in Hennepin, Putnam
County, where he engaged in farming and school
teaching. In 1859 he came to Livingston County,
where he farmed until Aug. 9, 1862, when he en-
listed in the 77th Illinois Infantry and became a
private in Company II, and was subsequently pro-
moted to the rank of Sergeant. The service of
the 77th Regiment was principally in the 13th
Army Corps and the Army of the Tennessee.

COTTAGE HOUSE\W^.COWLING,PROPR. CHATSWORTH.ILL.

RESIQENCEOFIHEODORE WIENAND .SEC. 35. CHARLOTTEIOWNSHIP.

RESIDENCE OF Louis M ETTE , CMATSWORTH, lu,

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

315

Among the most prominent engagements he par-
ticipated in were the siege of Vicksburg and the
battles preceding the investment of the city, the
siege of Mobile and the capture of Spanish Fort,
and the siege and capture of Jackson, Miss. He
served full three years, and was mustered out of
the service on the 10th of July, 1865, at Mobile,
Ala. After his return home he went to Pontiac
and engaged in mercantile business with Mr. Pills-
bury, in which he continued until 1869, when he
began to read law under the instructions of Judge
Pillsbury, of that place, and was admitted to the
bar in 1870. At that time he took up permanent
residence in Fairbury, and has since assiduously
devoted his time to the practice of law and the
prosecution of the insurance and real-estate busi-
ness, in all of which he has been successful, and
now owns 300 acres of good farm land, several
pieces of town property, and his beautiful resi-
dence, which cost $5,000.

In 1876 Mr. Murdock was elected to the office
of State's Attorney, in which position he served
four years with much credit to himself and honor
to the State. He was a member of the State Board
of Agriculture for two years. The children who
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Murdock are : Ste-
phen D., who married Miss EmmaSpence; Clarence
J. and Charles B., twins, the latter dying in in-
fancy; Rachel I. and Nellie E. Mr. Murdock is a
member of the order of Odd Fellows, and is Grand
Patriarch in the State organization; he is also a
member of the G. A. R., and was the first Com-
mander of Post No. 75, at Fairbury. He is one of the
stanch and reliable Republicans of Livingston
County, and has frequently served as a delegate to
State conventions. He can always be depended
upon for active and energetic work in behalf of his
party.

L. FRISBIE, of Pontiac, is the Division
Superintendent of the Illinois Central Rail-
road. He is a native of Branford, Conn.,
where he was born on the 1st of September,
1835, and is the son of Hervey and Betsy (Shel-
don) Frisbie, who were also natives of Branford.
His father was in early days a sailor, and later in

life a ship-builder. He became a citizen of Illinois
in 1857, and settled in Onarga, Iroqnois County,
where he engaged in contracting' and building, and
in which place he yet retains his residence. The
grandfather was Noah Frisbie, also a native of Con-
necticut, who was a fisherman, and was drowned in
18*35. The Frisbies were of English descent.

The parents of Betsy Sheldon were Jere and Katy
(Lamphere) Sheldon, natives of Connecticut. The
father was of English descent, and engaged during
his life in farming. The grandparents lived and
died in the State of Connecticut. The father of
the subject of this sketch had a family of five chil-
dren, three of whom are yet living: H. L., our sub-
ject; Carrie, Mrs. J. M. Bates, of Gardner, Me.;
Sara, Mrs. John Frith, wife of the Circuit Court
Clerk, of Iroqnois County, 111. The father is a very
ardent Republican. His sou John R. enlisted as a
soldier in the 25th Illinois Infantry, a member of
Company F, in 1861, and at Missionary Ridge re-
ceived a severe wound from which he died one year
later at his home.

Mr. H. L. Frisbie attended the schools of Bran-
ford, New Haven Co., Conn., until he w r as twelve
years of age, when from that time until he was
twenty-one he was engaged with his father in ship-
building. He then followed the sea for two years,
and in 1858 came to Illinois and settled in Iroquois
County, where he engaged with his father in contract-
ing and building until January, 1860. He engaged
for two years as a brakeman on the Illinois Central
Railroad, when he enlisted in Company D, 113th Illi-
nois Infantry, and remained in the service about
three years. He was appointed Second Lieutenant,
and was, for the most of that time, on detached
duty, as Adjutant Quartermaster, and Acting Assist-
ant Adjutant General, and participated in the bat-
tles of Chickasaw Bluff, Arkansas Post, Vicksburg,
and numerous skirmishes. After the war he re-
turned to Onarga, Iroquois County, and engaged in
business, dealing in lumber and coal, which he fol-
lowed for five years, when in 1870 he resumed
brc.-iking on the Illinois Central, following that oc-
cupation one year. In 1878 he again engaged as
freight and passenger conductor. He afterward
went to Kankakee, and had charge of the trans-
portation connected with the building of the Middle

316

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Division, or the Kankakee <fe Southwestern Branch
of the Illinois Central. Upon the completion of
the road, he took charge of the traffic and ran :i
train, which he exchanged in April, 1880, for a pas-
-enger train, and held the po.-ition for one year.
lie then went to Clinton. 111., where he was Train-
master until the 22d of June, 1881, when he ac-
cepted the position of Division Superintendent,
which position he holds at the time this sketch is
written.

Mr. Frisliie was married in 1805 to Miss Sarah
F. Hart, daughter of Nelson Hart, of West Cornell,
Conn., and three children were horn to them: Ida-
lene M., Bessie C. and Amelia T. Mrs. Frisl>ie
died in 1870. In 1871 he married for his second
wife Miss Charlotte M. Hart, the sister of his first
wife. They have had three children : Charlotte F.,
Carrie L., and Lynde II., born in 1870 and died in
1877. Mr. Frisbie is much interested in literature,
and during his life has written a great deal, includ-
ing many Christmas and war songs. Among these
are "Oh, Bury the Brave Where They Fall," which is
appropriately sung on Decoration Day; ''The Songs
We Sang on the Old Camp Ground," "Out Wot."
and many others. He has been a contributor to the
Railway Gazelle and the Railroader. He occupies
an elegant residence on Main street, and lias sin--
rounded himself and family with all the comforts of
life. He and his family are attendants of the Pres-
byterian Church. lie [occupies a prominent posi-
tion among the citizens of Livingston County, and
is considered by railroad men as one of the nnt
ellicient Superintendents in the West. He has by
his own efforts and attention to business succeeded
in attaining a position in railroad affairs which is the
envy of all his as.-oeiates.

J "JOHN POWELL, of Pontiac Township, and
who is now pa-sing down the sunset hill of
I earthly existence, has had little to complain
1 of in the distribution of this world'- g 1-.

as he has been quite successful in life and is now in
the enjoyment of its creature comforts. The prop-
erty which he has accumulated i- the result of his
own industry and intelligent efforts put forth in

earlier years. He has battled bravely witli what-
ever hardships he has had to contend, and has built
up for himself a good record as a man and a citizen.

Mr. Powell was born in Fayette County. Ohio.
Feb. 21, 1814, and is the son of Philip and Isabelle
Powell, natives of Kentucky. The Powells are of
Knglish descent, but the mother of onr subject was
of French-Irish ancestry. Her parents emigrated
from Virginia to Kentucky, settling at Boone's Sta-
tion in the pioneer days while the Indians were still
troublesome and aggressive. Andrew Kelso, a ma-
ternal uncle of our subject, was one of the brave
characters Of those days, and distinguished himself
by shooting down many a treacherous savage in am-
bush and during the skirmishes which continued to
prevail between the settlers and their natural enemies.
He was a cotcmporary of Daniel Boonc and possessed
much of the bnwery which distinguished that
famous old Kentuckian. About 1808. the parents
of our subject removed to Fayette County. Ohio,
and were also among the earliest pioneers of that
region. They remained in the Buckeye State until
1835, then made one more removal, to Randolph
County. Ind., where they spent the remainder of
their days, the mother dying five years later, in
1840, and the father in 1859. Of their children,
eleven in number, .only two survive. These are
John, our subject, and Harper, of McLean County.

John Powell was reared principally to farm life
and pursued his early studies in the pioneer log
cabin of sixty years ago. He was united in mar-
riage, on the 25th of December, 1848. with Mi
Mary Miller, who was born in Montgomery County.
Ohio, April 25, 1814. and was the daughter of
Christian and Susannah Miller, natives of Pennsyl-
vania and of German descent. Of this union there
were born .-even children, six now living and located
as follows: Franklin A. is a resident of Thayer
County. Neb.; Newman J., of Pontiac; John K., of
( >regon : Sarah J., the wife of Samuel B. Tnrman, of
Colorado, an engineer on the Kan-as Pacific Rail-
road: Lamvnc is Mrs. J. D. Honeywell, of Monroe
Conntv. Wis.. and Susannah I,., the wife of Uriah
Springer, of Pontiac Town-hip, this county. Mr.
Powell became a resident of Livingston County in
1851. locating first two and one-half miles northeast
of Cheiioa. In the spring of 1855 he removed to

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Pontiac Village, where lie resided eight years, and
then took possession of the farm which he now oc-
cupies on section 24. This comprises eighty acres
of valuable land, and he also owns a half interest in
a brickyard located thereon. The residence and
adjacent buildings are models of convenience and
comfort, and the resort of the many friends whom
Mr. and Mrs. Powell have gathered about them dur-
ing a residence here of more than thirty years.

Mr. Powell, politically, is a stanch Prohibitionist,
and with his estimable lady, a member in good
standing of the Christian Church. Me has served
several years as School Director in his district and
was formerly a member of the Town Council of
Pontiac. In early manhood, while a resident of
Ohio, he served as Mayor of Ilollansburg, Darkc
County, and has always kept himself well posted
upon current events.

jfelLLIAM ASKEW, who is a prominent far-
mer living on section 34, Owego Township.
is a native of Northamptonshire, one of the
central counties of England, which is largely de-
voted to agriculture and the propagation of heavy
black horses, Short-horn cattle and sheep. He was
born ou the 28th of October, 1828, and is the son
of John and Charlotte Askew, who were natives of
England. Eleven children were born to his parents :
Fannie, wife of Thomas Southworth. of Noble
County, Ind. : Thomas, of Oregon; John, of England;
William: Samuel, deceased; Ketnrah. widow of
Thomas Knight, of England ; Ann. of England ; Jona-
than, of Livingston County; Robert, of Noble
County, Ind. ; Ezra, of Livingston County ; Charlotte,
wife of Mr. Wilson, in England.

Mr. Askew remained in England until he reached
manhood, where he received a fair education. He
emigrated to America in 1856, taking passage at
Liverpool on a >ailing-\cssel, and after an ocean
voyage of thirty days landed at New York City,
from whence he went direct to Noble County, Ind.,
where he resided for about eleven years. During
the first eight months of his residence in Indiana he
engaged as a farm hand at f 12 per month, and sub-
.-cqucnUy for two years, accepted employment for

$136 per year, at the end of which time he began
fanning for himself in Indiana, in which he engaged
until the spring of 1867. when he came to Illinois,
where he remained in McLean County until 1868,
in which year he came to Livingston County, and
resided in Rook's Creek Township until the spring
of 1886. In that year he settled on his present
farm.

On the 4th of February, 1864, while residing in
Indiana, Mr. Askew was married to Miss Lucy
Perks, who was horn in England in June, 1829.
She is a daughter of George and Maria Perks, and
in, 1861 emigrated to America with a party of
friends and landed at Portland, Me., from which
place she went directly to Canada, and there re-
mained two years. To Mr. and Mrs. Askew have
been born three children: Emma E., the wife of
John M. Miller, of Owego Township; William P.
and Leason M. Mr. and Mrs. Askew both hold act-
ive relations with the Methodist Episcopal Church,
in which he has served as Steward and Trustee. By
assiduously attending to business, good management
and close economy, Mr. Askew has become the
owner of an excellent farm of 120 acres, which
each succeeding year he makes better than it was
the year before. So far as public position is con-
cerned he has served as Justice of the Peace eight
years in Rook's Creek Township, two terms in the
same township as School Trustee, and also as School
Director for many years. He is a public-spirited
man and encourages all enterprises having for their
object the improvement of the condition of the peo-
ple among whom he lives. Among his neighbors
his word is considered as good as his bond. In
business matters he adheres strictly to the Golden
Kule.

L. STRATTON is the possessor of one-half
of a section in Long Point Township, lo-
cated on sections 5 and 8, which, from little
better than its primitive condition, he has trans-
formed into a valuable and well-regulated home-
stead. The fine residence is pleasantly located and
surrounded with handsome grounds, while the barn
and other oat-buildings, neat and substantial struct-
ures, are highly creditable to the taste and industry

318

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

of the proprietor. Many of the fields are laid off
with beautiful hedge, which assists greatly in em-
bellishing the landscape of that section, and re-
ceives due admiration from the passing traveler.
The owner of this property is at once recognized
as a inan of good education, agreeable and well-
bred, and eminently fitted to move among the in-
telligent and enterprising people who have given to
Central Illinois its enviable reputation.

Mr. Stratton was born near the northern bound-
ary of Pennsylvania, in Tioga County, Jan. 12,
1826, and is the son of Seymour and Susan (Lowns-
berry) Stratton, the former a native of Connecticut
and the latter of New York. Seymour Stratton
was born in 1794, and departed this life at his home
in Pennsylvania in 1873, after having reached the
advanced age of seventy-nine years. The mother
was born in 1803, and passed away several years
previous to the death of her husband, in 1865.
Their eleven children were named respectively,
Lydia, Lafayette, E. L., Harriet, Dithton, Martin,
Julia, Ruth, Josephine, Amelia and William. Six
are living, and located in Pennsylvania, Iowa, Illi-
nois and California.

Our subject first pursued his studies in the com-
mon schools of Tioga County, Pa., and subsequently
attended the academy at Wellsboro nine months,
lie was afterward for several years employed in con-
nection with a sawmill, and gained a good insight
into the lumber business. In May, 1849, after pass-
ing his twenty-third birthday, he migrated westward
into La Salic County, this State, and later came to
Livingston County, where he began setting about
the establishment of a future home. One of the
first important steps in connection with this was his
marriage with Miss Sarah A. Miller, which took
place Jan. 17, 1856. Mrs. S. was born in Bradford,
Pa., Aug. 1, 1836, and is the daughter of John
Wesley and Eliza (Kingsley) Miller, the latter of
whom died when a young woman at her home in
Pennsylvania. The father subsequently married
Miss Jane Clark, of Bradford County, Pa., and they
became residents of Illinois, where he died about
1865.

Mr. and Mrs. Stratton became the parents of the
( i children whose record is as follows: Lauretta was
born Oct. 7, 1858, and died Oct. 5, 1860; Ilattie

was born April '1, 1862, and remains at home with
her parents; John, born April 29, 1864, died Nov.
15, 1877; Burt, born May 31, 1868, with the
younger children remains at home with his parents;
Carl was born June 10, 1872, and Kay June 24,
1874. Mr. Stratton in politics votes independently,
and is a Senior Warden in the Masonic fraternity,
belonging to Chapter No. 112, and Lodge No. 552,
at Rutland, while also being connected with the fra-
ternity at Long Point.

AMUEL SIMPSON, one of the old war
veterans, and now engaged in Nebraska
Township, on section 2, in farming and
stock-raising, is a native of Muskingum
County, Ohio, where his birth took place March
29, 1824. His parents were Philip Alex and Polly
(Inmer) Simpson, natives of Virginia, whence they
removed to Ohio during their youth, and were mar-
ried in the Buckeye State. Philip Simpson was a
farmer by occupation, and continued tilling the
soil in Mnskingum County, Ohio, until called from
his earthly labors about 1863.

The mother of our subject passed to her long
home while the latter was a mere child and the
father was married a second time. Samuel con-
tinued in his native State until about twenty-three
years of age, then came to Illinois with his brother,
and locating in Tazewell County, was there em-
ployed as a farm laborer three years. He then
changed his residence to McLean County, where
he worked seven years and until after the outbreak
of the late war. In August, 1861, he enlisted in
the 88th Illinois Infantry, and took part in the bat-
tles of Missionary Ridge, Chickamauga, Dalton
and Resaca. In the last named engagement he was
wounded in the left side by a piece of shell. He
was rendered insensible for a time, but after re-
gaining consciousness, got upon his feet and with
difficulty made his way to the hospital. He re-
mained there about two months and although only
partially recovered, rejoined his regiment in time
to participate in the battles of Stone River, Nash-
ville, and several other important engagements. He

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

319

fortunately escaped further injury, and continued
with the army until after the surrender of Lee at
Appomattox. He received his honorable discharge
in May, 1865, and returning to his old haunts in
McLean County, entered the employ of the same
man for whom he had worked the seven years be-
fore. Here he remained two years, when he re-
moved to his present home.

On the 8th of August, 1867, Mr. Simpson took
one of the most important steps toward the estab-
lishment of a home of his own, this being bis mar-
riage with the lady of his choice, Miss Almedia,
daughter of Joseph and Lydia (Reese) Butler. Not
long afterward he purchased the forty acres of land
which he has now brought to a good state of cultiva-
tion and upon which stands a neat farm dwelling, a
good barn, and the various other buildings required
for the successful prosecution of his labors. Mr. and
Mrs. Simpson have one child only, a son, George
Wesley, who was born Dec. 25, 1871. Mr. S. as
part compensation for the injuries received in the
army receives monthly a small pension.

^ATHAN TALBOT, a highly respected far-
mer of Rook's Creek Township, is a fine
illustration of the self-made man. He was
thrown upon his own resources very early in life,
and has attained to his present position socially
and financially solely through his own industry and
good judgment. He is the proprietor of a com-
fortable homestead on section 5, and has been a
resident of this county since a boy nine years of
age, receiving a fair education at the common
school, and is quite an extensive reader, keeping
himself well posted upon current events.

Mr. Talbot was born in Woodford County, 111.,
April 15, 1858. After coming to this county with
the family of his father, the latter was removed by
death in 1871, and thereafter Nathan, as far as pos-
sible, took his place in supporting his mother and
the younger children. The family included nine
children, and our subject worked by the month for
a period of ten years, discharging his filial duties
in a manner reflecting great credit upon himself as
a son and brother. In due time his labors were

rewarded, and he found himself gaining a foothold,
and is now canning on farming with his two
younger brothers.

The father of our subject was of English birth
and parentage, and emigrated to America with his
parents when a child four years of age. They
lived for a number of years in Baltimore, Md., and
then emigrated to 'Illinois, locating in Woodford
County, as we have stated. The mother was a
native of Ohio, and carne to Illinois with her par-
ents when a child eight years of age. They located
in Marshall County, where she became acquainted
with Nathan Talbot, and they were married in
1 849. They resided in Marshall County nine years
and then removed to Woodford County, where
they located at Scattering Point. The father died
in Woodford County.

J'lEREMIAH TRAVIS. The ranks of the
I men who settled in Illinois in the thirties
1 are becoming perceptibly thinned, and like
' the Old Guard of Napoleon it will not be
many years before they will have passed to the
unknown beyond. They will be gone but not for-
gotten, for the deeds they have done in the body
will live after them, and perpetuate their memories
without the necessity of " storied urn or animated
bust." In the sisterhood of States, Illinois stands
peerless, and her position could not have been at-
tained had not willing hands and stout hearts per-
formed their duties when she was in her infancy,
No grander duty can be performed by the histor-
ian and biographer than to put into imperishable
print the deeds of the pioneers who have devoted
their lives to the development and upbuilding of
these grand Western States. No matter how hum-
ble the factor in these accomplishments may be he
is entitled to a niche, and it is with such feelings
that we record the events in the life of a pioneer,
the subject of this sketch, who is one of the repre-
sentative farmers of section 5, Belle Prairie Town-
ship.

Mr. Travis was born in Middle Tennessee on the
24th of August, 1821, and is the son of Jeremiah
and Margaret (Peak) Travis, who were both na-

320

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

tives of Old Virginia, and have long since passed
to their reward. Mr. Travis came to Illinois in
the year 1834, with his parents, who located in
Belle Prairie Township. He is the owner of 245
acres of No. 1 land, which he entered, securing his
title direct from the Government. In his farm-
ing operations he has displayed great enterprise
and has erected a splendid residence and commo-
dious barns and out-buildings. For very many
years he has made a specialty of fine cattle, horses
and hogs. In 1882 he established a drain tile fac-
tory, which has been operated with much success,
there being a great demand for the tile of his
manufacture.

In 1847 Mr. Travis was married to Miss Eunice
Moore, who was born in 1826. They have had ten
children: Mary M. died at the age of four years;
Jonathan died at the age of nineteen years ; Mary M.,
the second child of that name, is married to Mark
Widowfield ; Nicholas married Miss Eliza Deford ;
Joan, deceased, was married to Robert Widowfield ;
Melinda, deceased, was married to John Master-
son; Lemuel L. married Miss Emma Hanks;
Richard lives at home, and two children died
in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Travis are members of
the Christian Church, she having united with that
body twelve years ago. Mr. Travis is a believer
in the Greenback doctrine, and on the subject of
finance is diametrically opposed to the doctrines
taught by the two old parties.

Mr. Travis' early career in Illinois was begun
under many difficulties. In 1847 he drove hogs to
Chicago, requiring eighteen dnys to make the trip,
most of the distance being in slush and mud up to
the top of his boots. On these trips he frequently
had to cut brush and lay it down for a foundation
for a bed to keep him out of the water and mud.
On this pile he would place his blankets, and despite
rain and storm, slept soundly. On reaching his
destination the hogs were slaughtered, and after
hanging for twenty-four hours they were weighed
and he was paid the sum of 81.50 per hundred-
weight. In early times he also engaged in driving
cattle and hauling wheat and oats to the Chicago
markets, and the prices received for these products
were in about the same proportion as that obtained
for his hogs. Mr. Travis has lived to see a complete

transformation of the condition of things. The
distance which required eighteen days to traverse
then with a drove of hogs can be made now in
four or five hours by rail, and the city which fur-
nished so scant a market in 1847 now virtually
controls the markets of the world.

UGUST _FREUDE, who owns a 160-acre
farm on section 20, Pontiac Township, is
a native of Prussia, Germany, where he
was born on the 1st of April, 1854. He is
the son of George and Mary M. Freude, both of
whom "were born in Germany, but emigrated to
America in the year 1859, taking passage on the
steamer at Hamburg, and after an ocean voyage of
two weeks landed in New York City. Hearing of
the great advantages possessed by Livingston
Count}' they bade good-bye to New York and came
direct to and settled in Pontiac Township, where
the family has since resided. The parents had two
children, August, the subject of this sketch, and
Otto. The father died on the 23d of September,
1881. He was a devout member of the Lutheran
Church, as was also the mother, and during his
life gave that church and its ministry a hearty sup-
port. The mother still survives, and takes great
interest in church affairs. She resides on the home
farm with her son. The father was a man who was
much respected by all who knew him and lived an
honorable and upright life, conscientious in all his
transactions.

The subject of this sketch received a liberal edu-
cation in his native language, and since coming to
this country and learning to speak English fluently
has been a constant reader of publications in the
English language. He was married, on the 1 4th of
February, 1880, to Augusta Oelke, also born in
Germany, and the daughter of Julius and Minnie
Oelke. "Her father is a resident of Nebraska Town-
ship. Livingston County. To Mr. and Mrs. Freude
one child has been born, a bright little girl named
Emma, whose birth occurred on the 31st of Janu-
ary, 1881.

In connection with farming Mr. Freude also en-
gages in threshing grain for the neighboring far-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

321

rners. He is a Democrat in politics, although not
excessively active in political matters. He and
Ids family are much attached to the Lutheran
Church. Mr. Freude's fine farm is in a high state
of cultivation, and under his intelligent manipula-
tion, produces excellent crops. Both in his farm-
ing operations and the business of grain threshing
he is meeting with the success he so much deserves.

J"l OHN R. PORTER. There is a class of men
and women who sustain a peculiar as well as
important relation to society, and have much
' to do in molding the destiny of future gen-
erations. These are the men and women who teach
in the schools of the city and country. They follow
a profession peculiar in its requirements. To become
a successful teacher, it is not only essential to have
:i good education, but a teacher should be charac-
terized by a fine sense of distinction hot ween right
and wrong, a good judgment of human nature, and
a large amount of tact and an evenly balanced tem-
perament. The subject of this sketch, although now-
engaged in agricultural pursuits, has devoted a large
share of his time and attention to the school-room,
and it has come to the knowledge of the writer that
in the capacity of a teacher he has displayed all the
vital requirements of a successful and popular in-
structor, gaining the highest esteem of both pupils
and parents.

Mr. Porter is now a representative fanner of
Avoca Township, and resides on section 6. He is a
native of Ohio, and was born on the 3d of Julv,
1834. He is the son of David and Elizabeth
Porter, and was practically reared to manhood in the
State of Ohio, where, by hard study, he received a
good education and qualified himself for the profes-
sion of school teaching. For many years he taught
school iii Ohio and Illinois, and in that profession
was eminently successful. His first settlement in
Livingston County, 111., was in the year 1863, and
he first occupied the farm on which he now resides
in 1883. This farm consists of 107 acres of good
land, which under the intelligent manipulation of
Mr. Porter is made to yield very remunerative crops.

Mr. Porter was married in Livingston County, on

the 27th of June, 1869. to Rachel S. Scott, who was
born on the 26th of July. 1849. She is the daugh-
ter of John II. Scott, formerly of Muskinguni
County, Ohio, and of whom a sketch appears in this
ALBUM. To Mr. and Mrs. Porter have been born
seven children, five of whom are living: Cora A.,
born July 2, 1870; Lillian M., born March 1, 1877;
Iva M.. liorn Feb. 17, 1880; Claudy R., born May
14, 1882; Estella M., born Oct. 8, 1884. The
names of the deceased children are: Otto R., born
April 16, 1872, and died Aug. 1, 1873; and Ar-
thur J., bom Sept. 7, 1874, and died March 18,
1879. Mrs. Porter had four brothers in the Union
army, as follows : Winfield, Walter M., Wesley and
Mahlon.

Mr. Porter is a member of the Democratic party,
but he is not an active politician, preferring to de-
vote the time which politics would require to such
matters as would better the condition of the com-
munity in which he lives. Mrs. Porter is a member
of the Methodist Church, as is also the daughter,
Cora A. The family are the center of a large circle
of warm friends and acquaintances, and they all
take an active interest in whatever may effect the
society which surrounds them. Mr. Porter has de-
voted his life to the profession of teaching, and farm-
ing, and will probably in the future confine himself
to the latter occupation.

ANIEL BLAKE. One of the men who
have given Livingston County its great
reputation as a stock-raising county, and as
a community of the best farmers of Illinois,
is the subject of this sketch, whose stock farm lies
on section 1. Rook's Creek Township. Mr. Blake
is the son of Joseph and Drusilla (Carpenter)
Blake, and was born in Monroe County, Ohio, on
the 16th of December, 1838. He received a com-
mon-school education in the States of Ohioand Illi-
nois. In company with his parents Mr. Blake left
Ohio at the age of fourteen, and located in Ottawa,
La Salle Co., 111., where he assisted his father in car-
rying on the farm until about his twenty-fourth
year, at which age he was married to Desaline Earp,
of Amity Township, Livingston County, on the

322

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

28th of May, 1862. He had purchased eighty acres
of land, the west half of the southeast quarter of
section 34 in Amity Township, in 1862, locating on it
immediately after his marriage. During the next
eleven years he sold the first eighty, and bought
245 acres on sections 1 and 12, Rook's Creek Town-
ship, to which he has since added until his present
possessions comprise 315 acres. His land is all
well drained with tile, and the farm buildings are
creditable and pleasantly situated.

To Mr. and Mrs. Blake have been born thirteen
children, eight of whom are living, as follows:
Charles W., born Jan. 18, 1863; John Ellsworth, born
Sept. 23, 1864, married Nancy E. Brown, of Pon-
tiac Township; Francis G., born Oct. 25, 1869;
Theron, March 31, 1871 ; Sarah E., March 18, 1873;
Ida Pearl, Jan. 6, 1877; Isis F., Dec. 16, 1878;
Carrie B., Aug. 12, 1881. The father of Mr. Blake
was born in Maine in 1811, and moved to Ohio
when a mere lad with his parents, who were natives
of Maine, but with their large family moved from
that State to Monroe County, Ohio, in covered
wagons in 1816. They began the making of a farm
in the wilderness, constructing their house of hewn
logs. The shoes worn by the family were made by
the father, while the spinning and weaving of the
goods, and the cutting and making of the garments
were the work of the mother's hands. Mr. Blake's
grandfather was Daniel Blake, who died in 1842, at
the age of ninety years. The maternal grandfather
was Robert Carpenter, who settled in Monroe
County at a time when the Indians were very nu-
merous. On one occasion at least, he was taken
prisoner and wounded by these inhuman savages.

The parents of Mr. Blake had ten children : Rob-
ert married, and lives in Kansas ; the second brother
died at the age of twenty-eight; Daniel married,
and lives in Rook's Creek Township; Mary Jane,
Mrs. Homer Earp, has two children, and lives at
Lawrence, Kan. ; Margaret A. is Mrs. D. C. Mc-
Clelland, has one child, and resides in Labette
County, Kan.; Elizabeth A., Mrs. Samuel Wertz,
has five children, and lives in Amity Township;
AV infield S. married, and lives in Pontiac; James
E. has three children, and lives in Amit3 r Town-
ship; John C. married, has three children, and lives
in Amity Township; Caroline J. married Samuel

Reynolds and moved to Missouri, where her hus-
band was murdered, after which she returned to
Livingston County, and died in 1887, leaving two
children.

Mr. Blake was reared a Republican, casting his
first vote for Abraham Lincoln, and voting with
that party until 1872, when he began to advocate
the principles of the Greenback party, to which he
has since adhered. He has been a settler of this
township, and has also held the office of School
Director for eleven years, which position he occu-
pied when this sketch was written. He is not a
member of any church, but believes that every man
should try to do right, living up to the Golden Rule.
He is a man of libei'al impulses, and has donated
lands on which to erect a school-house and a
church, contributing freely to the support of the
minister and for all charitable purposes.

ATHER II. W. FINCH, the regular Catholic
clergyman of Pontiac, is a native of New
Orleans, where he was born on the 21st of
November, 1853. He is the son of Michael and
Mary (Phelan) Finch, natives of Queens County,
Ireland, who came to America in 1831, and settled
in New Orleans, where they remained until their
death in 1879 and 1877. They had a family of
twelve children. Rev. Father Finch was educated at
the University of Louisiana, and studied theology in
Cape Girardean, Mo., and Milwaukee. AVis. He
was ordained on the 14th of July, 1876, by Bishop
Foley, and served in the capacity of priest in St.
Mary's Church, at the corner of Eldridge court and
Wabash avenue, Chicago. He afterward went to
( li.-inipaign, where he remained eleven months and
then came to Pontiac. His ministrations here have
been pleasant and exceedingly successful. Since
August, 1883, he has constructed a large brick
church that cost $12,000, and has also bought the
parochial residence, and paid for it since 1877. lie
i- the fir-t Catholic priest to reside permanently in
Pontiac. His Congregation now numbers between
400 and 500 members, and besides his regular serv-
ice in tills church lie preaches every two weeks at
St. Joseph's Church, at Flanagan, 111., which has

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

323

about 300 members. This church was first built
two and one-half miles in tlie country, but he has
had it moved into the village of Flanagan. In ad-
dition to all these labors he also preaches to the
Cornell Church every four or six weeks. This
church lias a membership of from fifty to seventy-
five. Occasionally he delivers a sermon at the Re-
form School.

Father Finch is a man of great enterprise and fine
executive ability, and is building up a large mem-
bership in Pontiac and vicinity. He is thoroughly
devoted to his work, and greatly beloved by his
parishioners. His influence is felt very largely
throughout the community. He stands high in the
t 'Mi-em of his superiors, and will no doubt reach
great eminence in the church.

Z^ENAS R. JONES, Postmaster, Station Agent,
Justice of the Peace, and a large grain dealer
at Smithdale, is one of the self-made men of
Livingston County, who from a humble beginning
in life have fought their way up to an enviable
position, socially and financially. Besides his trade
transactions which yield him a handsome income,
he is the owner of 108 acres of good land, twenty-
eight of which form a part of his homestead, while
the remainder is farmed by his son.

The town in which our subject resides received
its name from John Smith, a farmer of large means
who came here in the pioneer days. Mr. Jones
located here in April, 1870, in which year he was
appointed Postmaster and Station Agent. He was
born in Champaign County, Ohio, in 1831, and was
brought by his parents that same year to Marshall
County, this State. They made the journey over-
land with teams, camping and cooking hy the way-
side, and after their settlement in Illinois experi-
enced the hardships and privations incident to
pioneer life. Zenas R. received a limited educa-
tion, and at an early age was made acquainted with
the various employments connected with farm life,
and continued with his parents until they passed
away. In the meantime he had been married in
Marshall County, and carried on farming on the
homestead until after the division of the estate.

The father of our subject, Justice Jones, was a
very prominent man in his day, and the son of
Daniel Jones, who owned a fine property in the
Buckeye State, but died when his son was a small
child. The latter upon coming to the West served
as the first magistrate of Evans Township, in Mar-
shall County, which position he occupied twelve
years, and was very popular, both in business and
social circles. He had come to Marshall County
before township organization was effected, and
aided greatly in its settlement by an enterprising
and intelligent class of people. He assisted in the
establishment of schools and churches and was the
first Methodist Class-Leader in Evans Township,
which office he held until his death. He departed
this life at his home in Marshall County, at the age
of fifty-one years.

The mother of our subject was in her girlhood
Miss Sarah Warner, a native of Virginia, whence
her parents removed in her childhood to Madison
County, Ohio, locating near Mt. Vernon. Her father,
Joseph Warner, was a soldier of the Revolutionary
War, and lived to the age of one hundred and four
years. He spent his last days with his daughter
Sarah, in Marshall County, retaining in a remarka-
ble degree his health and activity. A short time
before his death he walked twelve miles across the
prairie to Long Point, and when the final summons
came, passed away in a short time, apparently with-
out pain. To Justice and Sarah (Warner) Jones
there were born eight children, namely : Daniel W.,
Epinetus; Zenas R., our subject; Louisa, Mrs. Wal-
ter Cornell, of Amity Township; Matilda, Mrs. J.
A. Blondin, of Sedalia, Mo., and Drusilla M. The
mother was a true Christian woman of many excel-
lent qualities, and spent her last days at the old
homestead.

Our subject continued under the parental roof
until his marriage, which took place in July, 1854,
his chosen bride being Miss Julia E., daughter of
Andrew and Rhoda A. Stitt, natives of New York,
who afterward removed to Michigan, where their
daughter, Mrs. J., was born in 1828. Upon reach-
ing womanhood she came to this county to visit a
friend, and formed the acquaintance of her future
husband. Their union has resulted in the birth of
six children: John, after reaching manhood, was

324

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

married, and continued on the farm with his father
until his death, which occurred Sept. 8,1886; he
left a wife and one child. Ira and Dove died in
infancy; Frances M. obtained a good education
and for some years has been employed as a teacher,
in which profession she is highly successful and
popular; Edwin B. is at home, as is also Lewis L.

Mr. Jones has been an ordained minister of the
Methodist Episcopal Church for a period of twenty-
five years, and was connected with the Illinois Con-
ference six years, four years of this time being en-
tirely devoted to ministerial labors. After the
outbreak of the late war he enlisted in the 104th
Illinois Infantry, in August, 1862, and met the
enemy in many of the important battles which en-
sued. At Hartsville, Tenn., he was captured by
the rebels and taken to Murfreesboro, but was soon
afterward paroled and rejoined his regiment. The
hardships to which he was subjected, and the
wretched fare a large part of the time, brought
upon him a disease from which he suffered seven
years thereafter and was unable to do any manual
labor. He has not yet recovered from the effects,
and hardly expects to.

Mr. Jones, after his return from the army, en-
gaged in general merchandising at Wenona two
years, then selling out purchased his present home.
In his grain transactions he handles from 25,000 to
40,000 bushels per year. He is a man greatly re-
spected by his neighbors, and with his family still
remains connected with the Methodist Episcopal
Church, of which he is now Deacon and Class-
Leader at Manville.

J~~] O1IN C. ANTRIM, a prominent and influen-
I tial farmer and stock-raiser, who is well and
favorably known as a worthy resident on
1 section 30, Owego Township, is a native
of Clinton County, Ohio, where he was born on
the 14th of October, 1836. He is the son of
Thomas and Elizabeth Antrim, the former a native
of Ohio and the latter of Pennsylvania. The
mother at present resides in Nebraska; the father is
deceased. The parents were among the earl}- set-
tlers of Clinton County, Ohio, where they under-

went all the trials and hardships of pioneer life.
There were born to them ten children, five of
whom are living: John C., William, Philip II.,
George; Catherine, who is the wife of Edward Cook,
of Nebraska.

Mr. Antrim was reared to manhood in his native
State, where he engaged in work upon the farm,
cutting and clearing timber and preparing the soil
for the growing of crops until he reached his ma-
jority. On the 22d of February, 1857, while yet
residing in Ohio, he was married to Annie Hallam.
daughter of John and Jane Hallam, of Clinton
County, Ohio. They have had born to them nine
children, whose names are as follows: Mary E.,
Mrs. T. H. Wheeler, of Chicago; Rachel A., Mrs.
M. T. Hyer, of Fayette County, Ohio: William J.
married Miss Sue Carroll, of Oskaloosa, Iowa ; Rox-
ana K., John L., Harriet E., Edward M., Carrie A.
and Imo. In 1863 Mr. Antrim, with his family,
removed from Ohio to Livingston County, and re-
sided in Amity Township until 1886, in which year
he settled on his present farm on section 30, Owego
Township, where he owns 123 acres of well-im-
proved land, in the cultivation of which he is meet-
ing with excellent success.

In the fall of 1864 Mr. Antrim enlisted in the
Union army from Livingston County and attached
himself to Company H, 44th Illinois Infantry, which
regiment was a part of the Army of the Cumber-
land. During the time of his service in the army
Mr. Antrim participated in the battles of Spring
Hill, Franklin, Nashville, and numerous lesser en-
gagements. After about a year of faithful and
conscientious service he was honorably discharged
from the army on the 16th of June, 1865. Upon
his discharge he returned to Livingston County,
where he resumed his agricultural pursuits, which
he has since industriously followed, and by work-
ing early .and late and husbanding his resources he
has succeeded to such an extent that he owns 240
acres of excellent land in Amity Township, besides
his farm in Owego Township. Both of these farms
are very valuable, and under the intelligent man-
agement of Mr. Antrim are very productive. He
takes considerable interest in all matters relating
to Jive-stock, and in this line of his business has
accomplished much.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Our subject devotes but little attention to po-
litical matters, 'so far as the stereotyped doctrines
of the old parties are concerned, and is independ-
ent enough to cast his ballot for the men who will
faithfully discharge the duties of the office con-
ferred upon them regardless of the name of the
party to which they belong. He is upright in his
business transactions, meriting and receiving the
esteem of his neighbors.

(!fpS>HOMAS McCASHLAND, a worthy agricult-
urist of Livingston County, which calling
he has followed the most of his life, may be
found on section 7, Avoca Township, where he is
pleasantly situated. He belongs to that class of
men who have devoted their lives to beautifying
and turning to the use of man what Nature has so
bountifully provided. In all respects he is a rep-
resentative citizen, and a model of that class of
enterprising farmers who have accomplished so
much for Livingston County. Mr. McCashland is
a native of Montgomery County, Va., where he was
born Nov. 30, 1827. He is the son of Benjamin
and Elizabeth McCashland, the father a native of
Ireland, while the mother was born in Virginia.
At about three years of age he accompanied his
parents when they left his native State and emi-
grated to the West, settling in Wayne County,
Ind., where they were early pioneers in the White-
water Valley. The father has been married twice,
and of the children born, twelve in number, five
are still living, whose names are as follows : Benja-
min, Henry ; Mary A., Mrs. Robert Pilcher; Namon
and Thomas.

Thomas McCashland, the subject of our sketch,
was reared to manhood in Wayne County, Ind.,
where he received a limited education, and was
united in marriage, on the 30th of January, 1850,
with Miss Rachel Thomas, who was born in Union
County, Ind., on the 29th of August, 1827. She
is the daughter of John and Margaret Thomas.
natives of Kentucky and Indiana respectively.
They were early settlers in Union County, where
they lived many years. Mr. and Mrs. McCashland
are the parents of five living children, as follows:

Henry M. ; Mary A., Mrs. John Morrison, of Pon-
tiac ; Cora A., Mrs. George Tate, of Avoca Town-
ship, and Lillie, who is now attending the High
School at Pontiac, where she will graduate next
June, and is an accomplished teacher of music. The
names of the deceased children were: Roxy R.,
Florence R., Delia O. and Etta I.

In I860 Mr. McCashland, with his family, moved
from Indiana to Livingston County, and for a short
time resided about four miles northwest of Pon-
tiac. Thence he removed to Avoca Township in
1875, and settled on the farm which he at present
occupies. This farm consists of forty acres of
well-improved land, on which he has erected suita-
ble and substantial buildings. Mr. McCashland is
in the fullest sense of the term a self-made man,
what he has being earned by hard and persistent
work, and retained unincumbered through economy
and good management. In his political affiliations he
votes with the Democratic party, although he is
not an active politician. In consequence of the
interest he takes in matters pertaining to educa-
tion he has been chosen to fill the responsible posi-
tion of School Director during the^last fifteen years.
Mrs. McCashland is an ardent member of the Lode-
rnia Methodist Episcopal Church, and in the affairs
of the congregation performs her part well. The
family occupy an enviable position in the society
of Avoca Township, and are active participants in
its affairs.

C. STUDLEY, who is engaged as a merchant
and real-estate and collecting agent at the
village of Flanagan, in Nebraska Township,
is the son of William and Eunice (Timberman)
Studley, and was born in Neponset Township, Bu-
reau Co., 111., on the 19th of December, 1855.
His father died when he was but eight years of age,
leaving a family of several children, who earl}' had
to assist their mother in making a living.

Our subject was reared on a farm until the age of
thirteen, when he engaged with Austin Barnum, a
cousin of P. T. Barnum, the great showman, in a
liver}' stable, on the condition that his work should
pay for his board while he attended school. This
arrangement continued through three winters, and

' ' 326

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

during that time he worked one summer in a brick-
yard, and two on Ins. uncle's farm. At the age of
seventeen he began attending the graded school,
where he remained for about two years, in the mean-
time taking private instructions in order to fit him-
self for entering college. When he was eighteen
years of age upon a first examination he obtained a
first grade certificate, and taught school one year.
He then entered the University of Illinois at Cham-
paign, where he remained one year, and then en-
gaged in school teaching another year in order to
provide himself with means for the purchase of the
necessary books and clothing to continue his col-
lege studies. After one more year in college, he
again taught school one year in Livingston County,
and the following summer began the study of
law. In the fall of that year he went to Ann Arbor,
Mich., and entered the law department, where he
remained about one year, when, on account of ill-
health, lie was compelled to retire from school. He
then began studying law in the office of S. S.
Lawrence, but his health continuing poor he was
obliged to abandon the study.

On the 7th of October. 1879, our subject was mar-
ried at Bloomington, III., to Cora A. Herold, daugh-
ter of Amos (Jobs) Herold. During the following
winter he taught school, and in the spring went to
Iowa, where he and his brother, C. M. Studley, pur-
chased 160 acres of wild laud and made some im-
provements on it. In the following fall he sold out
to his brother, and went to Wright County, Iowa,
where he purchased eighty acres of land, and taught
school that winter. In the meantime his wife had
returned to Illinois on account of ill-health to re-
main during the winter. In the spring of 1881 Mr.
Studley returned to Illinois, where he taught school
three months. In August, 1881, he moved into
Flanagan, where he taught the village school five
days in the week, worked in the lumber-yard on
Saturdays, and kept books during the evenings.
In the following spring he worked at carpentering,
but soon discontinued business and began clerk-
ing for Murphy Brothers, driving their wagon a
portion of the time. At the end of the year the
Murphy Brothers closed out their business, and
Mr. Studley was temporarily thrown out of employ-
ment. At the suggestion of a friend he invested in

a stock of flour and feed, and from this start he has
gradually worked up a good trade. In politics Mr.
Studley is a Democrat. He has held the offices of
Village Trustee and School Director. When he
was elected to the latter office, the school-house
stood about one mile from the village, and two
Directors were opposed to removing it, but within
six months the location was changed, and before his
term expired, the new house, costing about $3,000,
was paid for. In 1885 he was elected Justice of
the Peace with only seven opposing votes out of
167 cast. He has been Treasurer of the village for
two years, and holds that place at the time this
sketch is written.

Mr. Studley is the fourth in a family of six chil-
dren: Clarence M. is married, is a farmer at Web-
ster City, Iowa, and has four children ; George M.,
married, is a farmer at Webster City, Iowa, and has
one child ; Charles M. is an Iowa farmer, and has
no children; Maria, Mrs. Hiram Thompson, has five
children, and lives in Iowa; William T. is unmar-
ried and lives with his mother in Iowa.

William Studley, Sr., the father of our subject,
was born in Yorkshire, England, in the month of
October, 1824, and came to America with his
parents, William, Sr., and Ann (Chapman) Stud-
ley, when he was about seven years of age. The
father located near Jacksonville, III., where he
followed farming, and at which place he enjoyed an
intimate acquaintance with Abraham Lincoln.
Leaving Jacksonville they moved to Stark Count}',
which was then a wilderness, and "squatted" in
Osceola Grove at about the close of the Black Hawk
War. In about one year they sold their property,
and moved into Bureau County, and were the first
settlers in the township, their nearest neighbors be-
ing eight or ten miles distant. The farm on which
they M'tiled in Bureau County is still owned in the
Studley family. The father of our subject was
married in 1848. In August, 1862, he enlisted in
Company H, 93d Illinois Infantry, and was under
(Irani at Vieksburg, where he contracted a disease,
and after returning home, was discharged and died
on the 2d of May, 1864. Our subject's paternal
grandfather, William Studley, Sr., was born in York-
shire, England, Dec. 1, 1788. He was in the Brit-
ish service fourteen years, and was a member of the

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

327 ' !

Home Guards at the time of the war with Napo-
leon. He was married about 1820, came to this
country in 1831, and died in October, 1878. Our
subject's great-grandfather, George Studley, mar-
ried a Miss Coultis, during the war of the Revo-
lution.

To Mr. and Mrs. Studley have been born two
children : Leora Ethel, at Webster City, Iowa, Aug.
17, 1880; and Claude Melville, in Flanagan, Aug.
2, 1883. So far as home surroundings are con-
cerned, Mr. and Mrs. Studley are very pleasantly
situated. His business affairs are in such a pros-
perous condition that the}' are enabled to live com-
fortably, and provide liberally for those dependent
upon them. Besides merchandising, Mr. Studley is
largely engaged in buying and selling real estate,
and acting as collecting agent, in all which lines of
business he has been successful.

H. JENKINS, Supervisor of Pontiac Town-
ship, Deputy County Clerk, Notary Pub-
lic, and Insurance Agent, it will readily be
surmised is one of the wide-awake and enterprising
citizens to whom Livingston County is indebted for
its present status in one of the most prosperous
commonwealths of the West. He is a native of
Ohio, and came to Illinois in 1859. He was born
in Miami County, Ohio, Jan. 11, 1846, and is the
son of Samuel R. and Mary (Frederick) Jenkins,
also natives of the Buckeye State, where they
ranked among the most desirable members of the
farming community. The father of our subject, in
September, 1859, left his native State and migrat-
ing westward settled in Esmen Township, this
county, where he purchased eighty acres of land,
and remained upon it until 1869. He then re-
moved to Iroquois County, where he still resides.

The Jenkins family is of Welsh ancestry, and
came with William Penn to America, settling- in
Pennsylvania. On the mother's side the Fredericks
were of German descent. The paternal grandfather
of our subject, David Jenkins, was born in South
Carolina, whence he removed to Ohio at an early
day, where he became a prominent citizen, and be-
sides the duties of looking after an extensive farm,

also officiated as Justice of the Peace for many

years. He died in Miami County about 1856. His

son Samuel, already mentioned as the father of our

- subject, in middle life identified himself with the

Republican party, and belonged, with his estimable

wife, to the Methodist Episcopal Church. The

household circle embraced eleven children, seven

I now living, namely, Rebecca A., Isaac R., William

i H., Nancy E., Olive A., Samuel K. and Daniel W.

They are considerably scattered, two living in St.

Paul, Minn., one in Dakota and the others in this

State.

Our subject was reared on his father's homestead
among the Ohio hills, and after the manner of
most farmers' boys attended school in winter, and
assisted on the farm in summer. He thus ap-
proached manhood, and in the meantime occurred
the outbreak of the late Rebellion. He came with
his father to Illinois, and on the 30th of December,
1863, enlisted in Company C, 39th Illinois In-
fantry, and for eighteen months experienced the
vicissitudes of a soldier's life. He met the enemy in
many important engagements, namely, Drewry's
Bluff, Strawberry Plains, Darby Town Cross Roads,
and in various minor engagements and skir-
mishes. At the first mentioned place he was shot
through the neck and shoulder, and after two
months' confinement in the hospital received a thirty
days' furlough. Oct. 13, 1864, at Darby Town
Cross Roads he was shot through the leg above the
knee. He received his honorable discharge May
18, 1865, and after spending a season on the farm,
repaired to Chicago and took a six months' course
in Bryant & Stratton's Business College. His leg
by reason of the wound had continued troublesome,
although he hoped to save it. He suffered with it
until the 18th of May, 1868, when he gave up all
hope of recovering from the wound, and ampu-
tation was accordingly performed by Dr. Charles
M. Clark, of the Soldier's Home, in Chicago.

In December following, Mr. Jenkins was ap-
pointed Deputy County Clerk, and remained in the
discharge of his duties at Pontiac until 1874. For
two years afterward he was engaged in keeping
hotel, and then in T876 was elected Circuit Clerk,
which position he held four years, and was then
appointed Deputy Circuit Clerk, serving until Jan.

328

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

1, 1885, when he was appointed Deputy County
Clerk, and the following year elected Supervisor of
Pontiac Township. He received his commission
as Notary Public from Gov. Oglesby in 1883.

The wife of our subject was formerly Miss Bessie
Van Scoy, and their wedding took place at the home
of the bride's parents, Dec. 21, 1880. Mrs. Jen-
kins is a native of Ohio, and the daughter of James
W. and Margaret (Wiles) Van Scoy, natives re-
spectively of Ohio and Virginia. They came to
Illinois in 1868, and are now residents of Pontiac.
Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins have one child only, a son,
Charles L. They occupy a comfortable and taste-
ful residence at the intersection of Mill and Liv-
ingston streets, and number their friends among the
most cultivated people of the city.

ED DEN M. JOHNSON is a member of the
firm of Johnson & Renoe, publishers and
proprietors of the Free Trader- and Observer,
at Pontiac. Our subject was born in Monroe
County, W. Va., May 11, 1845, and is the son of
Morris and Minerva (Ellis) Johnson, natives of the
same county, where the father, during his early
manhood, was engaged in mercantile pursuits. In
1856 he disposed of his property in the Old
Dominion, and coming to Pontiac followed mer-
chandising, and also engaged as. a farmer and stock
dealer. He was successful in business, and retired
upon a competency. His death occurred May 7,
1886.

The father of our subject was largely connected
with the business interests of Northern and Central
Illinois, and a prominent stockholder in the bank
at Bloomington, 111. He put up two store build-
ings in Pontiac and a fine residence on the south
side of the Vermilion River. He watched with
unalloyed interest the growth and prosperity of his
adopted State, and did much toward encouraging
the various worthy enterprises which at that time
were being instituted in connection with the build-
ing up of Pontiac. He was Democratic politically,
and socially w:i> a member of the Masonic frater-
nity. The parental family included two children
only, our subject and his sister, Eunice J. The

latter married E. A. McGregor, of Pontiac, and
died in 1886, leaving three children Bernice, Ellis
and Lewis.

The paternal grandfather of our subject, Jacob
Johnson by name, was. like his son and grandson, a
native of Monroe County, W. Va.. whence he re-
moved to McLean County, 111., with his family in
1856. He continued farming, and died in McLean
County in 1873. The maternal grandfather, Will-
iam Ellis, was also a native of Monroe County, W.
Ya., and a farmer by occupation. He spent his
entire life in his native State, his death taking place
about 1875.

Our subject pursued his early studies in the
schools of Pontiac after the removal of his parents
to this State, and when eighteen years old entered
Wesleyan University at Bloomington, from which
he was graduated in 1867. Afterward he repaired
to Ann Arbor, and entered the law department of
Michigan University, where he took a full course
and was admitted to the bar in 1869. He, how-
ever, had had his attention called to newspaper work,
and as it seemed to coincide with his tastes and
inclinations, he purchased the Free Trader, and has
since conducted it in a manner creditable to him-
self and satisfactory to all concerned. He is of a
practical turn of mind, and usually succeeds in
whatever undertaking his judgment approves.

Mr. Johnson has wisely invested his capital in
real estate, which embraces farms in this county
and property in the town, besides his office material.
His land is cultivated by lessees. He was instru-
mental in the organization of the Pontiac Union
Coal Company, of which he became President, and
which gives employment usually to sixty or eighty
men. He is a stockholder in the National Bank,
and has been identified with many important move-
ments contributing to the best interests of the city.
He was twice elected Mayor, has served as Super-
visor of Pontiac Township, and was a member of
the Board of Education. Politically he affiliates
with the Democratic party, and socially is a member
of the Masonic fraternity.

Mr. Johnson was married, Dec. 8, 1809, to Miss
Carrie M. Saxton. Mrs. Johnson was born in
Huntingdon, Pa., Oct. 9, 1847, and is the daughter
of James and Elizabeth Saxton, natives of Penn-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

329

sylvania. Of her union with our subject there
have been born two children Mary E. and Beulah
J. Their home, located on the South Side, is the
resort of the intelligent people of the city, and its
inmates are surrounded by all the comforts and
many of the luxuries of life.

UDOLPII WARNER. It is said that life
is a lottery, and that all cannot draw prizes.
Be that as it may, the man who was born
in a foreign land and crosses the ocean
to this country in his youth, knowing nothing of
the language or customs of the people of America,
casts his lot as he would invest in a lottery ticket,
with the odds against him. And yet it is a notable
fact that those sturdy people who emigrate from
Germany to this country nearly always succeed in
their undertakings. If they engage in trade and
traffic they prosper, and if they till the soil they
make it produce and blossom as the rose. Of this
class of men is the subject of our sketch, a farmer
and stock-raiser on section 3G, Rook's Creek Town-
ship, who was born in Germany on the 18th of No-
vember, 1844, and is the son of John and Minnie
(Peters) Warner, who came to this country in
1853, first locating in New York, where they re-
mained about five years, and then moved to Chi-
cago. From Chicago they moved to Will County,
where they remained until 1848, and then settled
in Rook's Creek Township.

The subject of this notice was the sixth in a fam-
ily of thirteen children, five of whom are now liv-
ing: William, the eldest, is living in Germany;
Rudolph; Albert, married, has one child, and lives
in Livingston County; Lecetta, Mrs. George Howe,
has two children, and lives in Livingston County;
Emma is unmarried. The father of Mr. Warner was
born on the 14th of March, 1811, and his mother
\va> born on the 25th of December, 1813. They
were married in 1836, and he died on the 28th of
March, 1879. The early education of Mr. Warner
was rather limited, on account of the lack of edu-
cational facilities during his boyhood. His first
Presidential vote was cast for Gen. U. S. Grant in
2, and he has continued to support the Repub-

lican ticket since. He is a member of the United
Brethren Church, having been a leader in the class
meetings of that denomination, and has held the
-office of School Trustee for six years, and School
Director for several years.

Mr. Warner was married to Miss Caroline Fugar,
on the 19th of February, 1874, and they are the
parents of two children: Henry, born on the 15th
of May, 1878, and George, born on the 16th of
February, 1880. Mrs. Warner was born in New
Jersey Sept. 26, 1857, and was brought to Will
County by her parents in 1858. Her father was a
native of Germany, born on the 18th of February,
1829, and came to this country with his mother in
1852, his father having died in Germany in 1832.
The mother, Margaret Zibbet. was a native of New
Jersey.

Mr. Warner has been successful as a farmer and
stock-raiser, and besides bringing his farm up to a
high state of cultivation, has been able to construct
commodious buildings for the accommodation and
comfort of his family. His barns and out-build-
ings are ample for the shelter and protection of his
live stock.

S DWIN V. JOHNSON, one of the pioneers
of thirty years ago, is now the owner of
/JL^ one-quarter of section 20, in Owego Town-
ship, upon which he settled in 1883, having for-
merly resided on section 16. He may properly be
classed among the self-made men of Livingston
County, as he commenced in life comparatively
without means, and has by his own energy and per-
severance, become the owner of a good property.
He also struggled with the disadvantages of a lim-
ited education, but he availed himself of such op-
portunities as were afforded, to keep himself in-
formed upon matters of general interest, and is
numbered among those who encouraged the estab-
lishment of schools and the other enterprises cal-
culated for the advancement and welfare of the
people. He was Director in his district for many
years, and served as Road Commissioner, besides
occupying other local offices.

Our subject was born in Herkimer County. N.
Y., July 28, 1824, and is the son of Dorastus and

\ '

330

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Bethsheba Johnson, who were of New England
birth and parentage, and reared a large family of
children, of whom only the following now survive,
viz., William, Edwin V., Dorus, Samuel and Ce-
linn. This branch of the Johnson family is of
Scotch ancestry, the first representatives of whom
in this country settled in New England during the
Colonial days. Dorastus Johnson, in 1834, re-
moved from Herkimer to Cattaraugus County, and
thence six 3'ears later to Warren County, Pa. Here
our subject reached his majority, but he subse-
quently returned to his native State and was mar-
ried in Chautauqua County, in 1852, to Miss Susan
Holtnan. Of this union there were born seven
children, namely, Laura, Mrs. Burt Nichols, of
Minnesota; Emma, Mrs. John Derry; Huldah,
Mrs. John Brown, and Mary, Mrs. Kenry Finhold,
all of this county; George E. married Miss Laura
Phillips; Calvin and Effie are at home with their
parents.

Mr. Johnson came to this county in 1857, and
since that time has been a resident of Owego
Township. Considering the fact that he com-
menced at the foot of the ladder, dependent upon
his own resources alone, and that he is now the
owner of valuable property, it is hardly necessary
to say that he labored persistently for many years,
and always made it a rule to live within his income.
He possessed those qualities which at once com-
mended him to the people around him, whose es-
teem and confidence he has enjoyed since the time
of his arrival on prairie soil. His children have
been carefully reared and well educated. Those
married are settled in comfortable homes, and the
younger ones remaining with the parents are being
carefully trained for their future position as mem-
bers of an unusually intelligent community. Mr.
Johnson generally votes the straight Republican
ticket, but when there is a Greenback candidate in
the field, he gives to the latter his preference.
Socially, he belongs to the I. O. O. F., being a
member of the Poutiac Lodge.

George E. Johnson, the eldest son of our sub-
ject, occupies the old homestead on section 16,
which comprises ninety acres of fertile land, and
upon which his father first settled on coming to
Livingston County. He was born Sept. 28, 1802,

and was reared after the manner of most farmers'
sons, becoming useful upon the farm at an early
age, and during the winter seasons pursuing his
studies at the district school. Not long after pass-
ing his twenty-first birthday, he was united in mar-
riage with Miss Laura Phillips, who is the daugh-
ter of William R. Phillip*, a pioneer of Livingston
County. Her mother was formerly Miss Mary
Rusk; both are now deceased. George Johnson
bids fair to follow in the footsteps of his father,
possessing the same qualities of thrift and industry,
and is carrying on his agricultural operations after
the most approved modern methods. He has al-
ready attracted considerable notice as one of the
most promising young men of his community.
He affiliates with the Republican party, and is
School Director in his district.

eHARLES YOUNGER. Among the younger
farmers and newer citizens of Livingston
County, none have made a fairer start than
the subject of this sketch, and his prospects for the
future are bright indeed. An eighty-acre farm,
well managed, and cultivated with method and sys-
tem, is as profitable as one of double that size that
is conducted in a haphazard manner, and it is need-
less to say that Mr. Younger's farm is one of the
most productive in the county. Everything about
the place denotes system and regulation, there be-
ing a place for everything, and everything in its
place. Since his advent in the county the subject
of this sketch has popularized himself with its citi-
zens, and is rated among the enterprising men of
the county. His farm is located on section 33 of
Avoca Township.

Mr. Younger is a native of Woodford County,
111., and was born on the 8th of February, 1848.
He is the sou of Benjamin and Lodemia Younger,
the latter of whom is deceased. His father was a
native of Pennsylvania, and when ten years of age
accompanied his parents when they moved to Ohio
and settled near Salina, where they remained until
he grew to manhood. They then came to Illinois
and settled near Washington, Tazewell County, and
after remaining there for several years removed to

RESIDENCE OF P. F. REMSBURG.CHATSWORTH.ILL.

RESiDENCEor EMMET R.SUTTON^SEC. 34. PLEASANT RIDGETP.

ELEVATOR OF SEARING AND MESSLER,CHATSWORTH,!LL.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

333

Woodfonl County, and there lived for about thirty
years. The father now resides with his sons, in
Belle Prairie Township. He has been married
twice, and became the father of seven children, four
of whom survive William, John, Franklin, and
Charles, the subject of this sketch. The latter was
reared to man's estate in his native county, where
he received a fair common-school education, and
learned the rudiments of farming, which occupation
he has followed all his life with the exception of
about five years, when he conducted a meat-market
in Ainsworth, Iowa. In the fall of 1882 he came
to Livingston Count}', purchasing eighty acres of
land on section 33, Avoca Township.

On the 1st of January, 1873, Mr. Younger was
married to Phoebe Combes, a native of Woodford
County, 111., and daughter of 'Alfred and Betsey
Combes, of that county. To them have been born
four children Alfred, Cora (deceased), Benjamin
and Herbert. Early in life Mr. Younger took no-
tice of the political events which were occurring
throughout the country, and when he arrived at
his majority cast his lot with the Republican party,
with which he has affiliated ever since. He has
never been a seeker after office, and the only one
which he would consent to accept was that of
School Director, for which he is peculiarly fitted on
account of the interest he takes in educational mat-
ters. Mrs. Younger is an active member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, and both identify
themselves with all social and moral matters.

RS. FRANCES McDOWELL, Fairbury.
This lady is the widow of the late James
McDowell, a well-known business man of
Livingston County, who was the possessor
of a fine propert}', which he accumulated partially
in mercantile pursuits, and for maiy years was occu-
pied as an extensive farmer and stock-raiser. The
valuable estate left to his family embraces 1,700
acres of land, embellished with fine buildings, besides
the residence which Mrs. McDowell occupies in the
village of Fairbury.

Mr. McDowell was a native of Wayne County,
lncl., and was born Jan. 28, 1824. He was reared

to farm life, and pursued his early studies in the
district schools. lie came to Illinois with his fa-
ther's family in 1832, and his home for several years
afterward was in Avoca Township, this county.
His marriage to Miss Frances Wilson took place
Dec. 11, 1845. Mr. and Mrs. McDowell lived in
Avoca Township until June, 1873, during which
time he held the position of Postmaster nine years.
After locating in Fairbury he officiated as School
Treasurer many years, and represented Indian
Grove Township on the County Board of Super-
visors. He had identified himself with the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church during his early manhood,
and was prominent in its councils for thirty-five
years. He officiated as Steward most of this time,
and contributed largely to the maintenance and
advancement of the society. Politically, he was
strongly Republican. In his family he was kind,
generous and indulgent, and in the community no
man was held in higher esteem.

The death of Mr. McDowell occurred under very
painful circumstances. In December, 1879, he was
greatly injured by a runaway team, and suffered a
fracture of one of his limbs, which resulted in his
death five weeks later, Jan. 12, 1880. The be-
raved family included his widow and five children.
Of the latter the eldest son, Jason L., married Miss
Florence Wilson, and is a resident of Kansas; John
W. married Miss Luella Tanner; Sarah J. is the
wife of Hiel Ramsey ; Grant Yates and Lillie E. are
unmarried and at home with their mother.

Mrs. McDowell's parents, John and Mary (Will-
iams) Wilson, were natives of North Carolina, the
father of English and the mother of German ances-
try. John Wilson followed farming all his life, and
died in Carroll County, Ind., in 1843, aged fifty-
two years. The mother had died in 1829, leaving
seven children, namely, Isaac, Sarah, Rachel,
Thomas, Jacob, Frances and William. After the
death of Mr. McDowell, his sou assisted in the ad-
justment of the estate and the carrying on of the
farm; this included a tile manufactory, from
which each year is derived a fine revenue. The
hind is mostly devoted to pasture, and the raising
of grain and hay for the consumption of the flne
stock which is raised upon it. This includes En-
glish and Norman horses, which are held for sale at

i '

334

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Avoca. Grant McDowell has inherited largely the
business capacities of his father, and will keep up
the reputation of the estate in the same admirable
manner as he who projected and established it. He
is a strong Republican, politically, and bids fail-
to become prominent in the local affairs of his
township.

ENRY' J. DEMOSS, who ranks among the

pioneers of Avoca Township, began life
among the hills of Highland County, Ohio,
on the 28th of June, 1830. His parents,
James and Margaret (Nace) DeMoss, were also na-
tives of tho Buckeye State, the father of French
ancestry and the mother of German. His paternal
grandfather, James DeMoss, Jr., was born in France,
and when a child two years of age was brought by
his parents to the United States, where they settled
near the town of Cicero, Ind. Ten years later
they came to this county, arriving in the spring of
1840. They located about six miles southeast of
Pontiac, and from there, a few 3 r ears later, removed
to a point one mile north of the old town site of
Avoca, where the father of our subject passed his
last years on the farm now owned by Daniel Street.
The death of James DeMoss took place in the
spring of 1852, and that of his wife eleven year>
later. Their household included eleven children,
of whom the. following survive, namety. Henry J.,
of our sketch; John, a resident of Highland
County, Ohio; Alexander, who is farming in In-
dian Grove Township, this county; Eleander, of
Sunnier County, Kan.; Maria, the wife of Daniel
Street, of Avoca Township, and Emma, Mrs. Wile3 r
Sparks, also of Avoca Township.

The father of our subject was a millwright, a
trade which he followed all his life, allowing his
boys to do most of the farming. He put up the
machine^ 7 in the first mill built at Pontiac, and
built the seats^of the first court-house there. He
possessed great energy, and was a man of integrity
and one in whom the people had entire confidence.
In his death Livingston County lost one of her
most worthy pioneers and public-spirited citizens.

The subject of our sketch was reared to man-
hood in this county, receiving the meager advan-

tages of its common schools. He remained under
the parental roof until his marriage, which took
place in the spring of 1851, his bride being Miss
Mary J. Popejoy, who was born in Tippecanoe
County, Ind., Sept. 27, 1832. Mrs. DeMoss is the
daughter of Nathan and Mary (Gregory) Popejoy,
natives respectively of Kentucky and Ohio. When
six weeks old she was brought by her parents
to this county during its early settlement. They
resided for two years on the farm now owned by
Philip Rollins east of Pontiac, and thence removed
to section 25, in Avoca Township, where the
mother died in 1846, and the father the year fol-
lowing.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. DeMoss, six in
number, were named respectively, Levi L., Theo-
dore M., Edward W.. Henry B. ; Margaret M., the
wife of Lewis Carter, of Pleasant Ridge Township,
and Isadora, Mrs. Edward Skinner, of the same
township. Mrs. DeMoss was the fourth of ten
children, of whom four are living, namely, John
W., Theodore M., Hiram G. and Mary J.

The property of our subject includes 106 acres
of good land with a comfortable residence and all
other suitable farm buildings. He has been prin-
cipally employed in attending to his own concerns,
and has, therefore, uniformly met with success in
his farming and business affairs. He supports the
principles of the Democratic party, and has served
us School Director in his district several years.
He also occupied the same position while in Pleas-
ant Ridge Township.

BRAHAM H. STATES, a resident of this
county for the past nine years, is carrying
on the manufacture of tile at Long Point,
where he has all the buildings and machinery
necessary for the successful prosecution of this in-
dustry. He probably operates on a larger scale
than any other gentleman in this section, and turns
out an excellent product which obtains ready sale
throughout the county and elsewhere. His factory
buildings and his residence, with its surroundings,
occupy nearly six acres of ground. The dwelling
is a neat and substantial structure, and with its out-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

335 , ,

buildings forms a complete home, which in all its
appointments suggests the outlay of ample means
and the exercise of refined tastes.

Our subject, who is the son of Daniel and Ann
(Krews) States, was horn in Bucks County, Pa.,
Jan. 19, 1833. His parents were also natives of
the Keystone State. The father was a farmer by
occupation; the mother died early in life, in 1839,
when our subject was a lad but six years of age.
He was afterward taken to Maryland to live with
an uncle, with whom he made his home five years,
and then, on account of ill-usage, ran away and
went to sea. He was a sailor for twelve years
thereafter; has twice crossed the ocean, and been
the witness of strange sights and strange peoples,
thereby gaining a rich experience and a close in-
sight into the manners and customs of people in
various portions of the globe.

After Mr. States had resolved to settle down on
terra firma, he first located in Ohio, where, in 1856,
he became a resident of Clinton County. He there
made the acquaintance of Miss Louisa Johnston,
the result of which was his marriage, Oct. 27,
1857. Mrs. States is the daughter of Stephen
and Jemima Johnston, and was born in January,
1838. The young people began life together in
Libert}', where they remained until the outbreak of
the late war. Soon after the first call for volun-
teer troops, our subject enlisted in Company B,
149th Ohio National Guards, being stationed for a
time at Ft.^McHenry, Baltimore, and thereafter go-
ing to the front. He was at the battle of Fred-
erick, Md., and at Charleston, and in the engage-
ment at Frederick, Aug. 17, 1864, was captured by
the rebels. Four days later, ^owever, he made
his escape by crawling into a ditch, and secreting
himself until they took their departure from that
region. He was ten da}'s in reaching his regiment
which was quartered at Snickers' Gap, and in the
meantime was kept alive by the kindness of negroes
who supplied him with food. The leaden bullets
afterward whizzed by his ears at Strasburg, Va.,
but he escaped unharmed and received his honor-
able discharge at the close of the war.

Upon his return from the army Mr. States lo-
cated in Clinton County, Ohio, and engaged for a
time in the manufacture of tile and brick, when

he came to this county in 1878. To himself and
his estimable lady have been born the following-
named children: Stephen E., a stenographer and
type- writer in the office of the S. F. 11. R. at Strea-
tor; Amie L., wife of Daniel Mills, formerly of
Long Point, and the mother of two children Roy
and Glenn; they are now residents of Barton
County, Mo. Louis A., an engineer and machinist,
makes his home with his parents. The younger ones
are Mary A., George E., Maude S. and Aerl H.

Mr. States with his wife and their two eldest
daughters and one son, are members in good
standing of the Christian Church at Long Point.
Mr. S., politically, is one of the most reliable mem-
bers of the Republican party, and greatly inter-
ested in the success of the prohibition movement.
He possesses all the elements of good citizenship,
and has contributed no little toward building up
the business interests of his community.

AMUEL SCHLOSSER. Illinois is indebted
for her grand and rapid development very
much to natives of Pennsylvania, who had
the courage to settle here while it was a
wilderness inhabited by Indians. Wherever a nu-
cleus of Pennsylvanians were gathered the country
has been made to approach very near to perfection,
so far as improvement of the land and its cultivation
is concerned.

Although the subject of this sketch did not be-
come a citizen of Illinois while yet the Indians
held possession of a large part of the State, he be-
came a citizen early enough to be a pioneer in
every sense of the word. He was born on the 6th
of September, 1820, in Adams Count}', Pa., and
is the son of John and Mary Schlosser, also na-
tives of that State. The grandfather, Conrad
Schlosser, was a soldier in the American Revolu-
tionary army and fought under Gen. Washington.
The grandfather was the progenitor of the Schlos-
ser family in America, and after the close of the
Revolutionary War he settled in Adams County,
Pa., and afterward in his declining years removed
to Preble County, Ohio, where he died. There
were born to John and Mary Schlosser seven chil-

< *

336

LIVINGSTON Cor NT Y

dren, four of whom are living Moses, Jonas, Sam-
uel and John. The parents were pioneers of Preble
County, Ohio, where they both died.

Mr. Schlosser spent his boyhood days in Preble
County, attending the district schools as opportu-
nity permitted, and succeeded in securing an
average education. lie was married, on the 16th
of May, 1839, to Eliza Ebersult, who was a native
of Ohio. To them eight children have been born,
five of whom are living, as follows: Elijah; Sarah,
wife of James McCoy; Thomas; Mary, Mrs. Eben-
eztT Colkins, and Emeline, Mrs. Wilber Tallman.

Mr. Schlosser came to Livingston County in
1854 and settled in Pontiac Township, where lie
still resides on section 6. His excellent farm con-
sists of 126 acres, and is cultivated in such a man-
ner as to produce very remunerative crops. What-
ever Mr. Schlosser can call his own has been
secured through his own unaided efforts. His polit-
ical proclivities are Republican, and he gives the
men and measures of that party a cordial support.
He is liberal in his views on all questions of local
concern, and takes an active interest in everything
that will benefit and elevate the members of the
community.

ber.

RS. ELIZABETH (KOMER) FROBISCH,
who resides on a farm on section 31,
Rook's Creek Township, was born near
Bern, Switzerland, on the 14th of Novem-
1824. The canton of Bern, in which she
was born, is the most populous in the Confedera-
tion, and the city of Bern, near which her birth-
place lies, is the finest in all Switzerland, and one
of the most handsome cities in Europe. It is built
entirely of freestone, and is remarkable for the ar-
cades formed by the houses in all its principal
streets, and for its numerous fountains, many of
which are ornamented with curious sculpture. !t
has a Gothic cathedral, a university, an observa-
tory, a public library, a musfiim, an arsenal and a
mint. In all its aspects it is one of the most inter-
esting of European cities.

Mrs. Frobisch is the daughter of John Koim-r
and Elizabeth (Matthias) Komer, the youngest

of their five children; her sisters and brothers
are Barbara, John, Farina (now called Fannie) and
Mary. Barbara was married twice, her first hus-
band being George Cook, and her second John G.
Frobisch; she lives in Monroe County, Ohio. John
married Susan (Josser, and lives in Belmont County,
Ohio; they are the parents of four children. Fan-
nie married Jacob Steiner, and lives in Butler
County, Pa. ; she has nine children. Mary married
John G. Frobisch, and had one child, William,
who has been twice married and lives in Monroe
County, Ohio; she died in Ohio in 1862.

Mrs. Elizabeth Frobisch carneto this country with
her parents in 1831, and settled in Belmont County,
Ohio. She was married, at Steubenville, Ohio, to
John M. Frobisch on the 1st of February, 1849, the
Rev. Dr. Holmes, officiating. There they farmed
until 1863, when they moved to Marshall County,
111., where they lived about five years and then
moved to Livingston County, and bought a half
section of land on which she now lives, with
those of her children who are not married. Her
father was born in 1776; her mother in 1786. Both
died in 1861. John M. Frobisch, the husband of
our subject, was born in November, 1823, and died
Oct. 24, 1869. He was born in Saxony, and
came to the United States when he was about
twenty-one years of age. His father was John G.
Frobisch, who made two visits to this country, but
died in Saxony.

Mrs. Frobisch is the mother of a large family, as
follows: Mary R., born Nov. 5, 1849, in Monroe
County, Ohio, is unmarried and lives with her
mother; James, born Jan. 16, 1851, in Monroe
County, Ohio, was united in marriage with Caro-
line Pampel, April 1, 1874, lives in Livingston
County, and has six children living: George,
born Aug. 8, 1853, in Monroe County, Ohio, is
unmarried and lives in Colorado: Michael, born on
the 5th of April, 185"), died on the 20lh of Novem-
ber, 1881, in Adair County, Iowa; Fannie, born
Feb. 4, 1857, married George W. Anderson, Feb.
10, 1878, lives in Pike Township, Livingston
County, and has three children; Louis, born March
25, 1859, is single and lives at home; Charlotte,
born April 2, I860, married Lucas H. Brown on
the 29th of September, 1882, lives in Rook's Creek

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

337

Township, and has two children ; Jacob, born Feb.
10,1862; John, born March 10, 1864, in Marshall
County. 111.; Edward, born Oct. 24, 1866, in Mar-
shall County, 111. The last three mentioned arc
living at home.

The religious belief of the ancestors of Mrs.
Frobisch was according to' the doctrines of the
Lutheran Church, but in later life her brother was a
Presbyterian and her mother became a Methodist.
The children differ in their religious belief, and all
the political parties are represented among the
boys.

^^. EORGE B. KOONTZ, a most thorough and
skillful young farmer of Reading Township,
owns one of the best conducted farms in
that locality, consisting of eighty acres on section 7.
This he has brought to a high state of cultivation,
and has a beautiful residence, flanked by a good
barn and other convenient out-buildings. He keeps
a choice assortment of live stock, and his farm
machinery comprises implements of the latest im-
proved pattern. In connection with his farming
operations he runs a threshing-machine, and is a
wide-awake business man, always willing to add to
his income either by downright hard labor or any
other honest means. He is unmarried.

Mr. Koontz is a native of Westmoreland County,
Pa., and was born March 3, 1862; he is the son of J.
C. and Martha (Weaver) Koontz, who were also na-
tives of the Keystone State. The father was born
in 1830, and came to the West in 1866. His death
took place in La Salle County in 1881, in a most
distressing manner, he being run over by a train
of cars. The mother of our subject is the daugh-
ter of David and Mary Jane (Dougherty) Weaver,
and became the wife of J. C. Koontz June 23,
1857.

The parental household included the following
children: Margaret, now the wife of A. Cossel, is
the mother of nine children, and now a resident of
Reading Township ? Susan, who has been twice
married, is now the wife of William McGraw,
of Pennsylvania, who is a machinist and foreman
in a car manufactory; Martha is the mother of our
subject; Sarah married Jacob Chain, a stock dealer

of Collinsville, Pa., who is now deceased; Albert
died in Ottawa, La Salle Co., 111., Nov. 18, 1866,
when a young man twenty-three years of age;
Nicholas, a resident of Cloud County, Kan., is mar-
ried and the father of five children ; Rebecca, the
twin sister of Nicholas, lives in Pennsylvania. Mrs.
Mary Jane Weaver died in 1852, and Mr. W. was
married again and became the father of two more
children. To J. C. and Martha Koontz there
were born seven children: William, born July 24,
1859, died in this county Nov. 7, 1875; George B.
is our subject: A. Weaver, born Aug. 30, 1866, is
farming in Buena Vista County, Iowa; Charles was
born Nov. 10, 1868; Lura, Sept. 6, 1871; Harry,
Dec. 20, 1874, and Grace, June 23, 1880. These
remain at horiie with their mother.

Our subject, although a public-spirited citizen,
takes very little part in politics, further than to at-
tend the general elections and cast his vote in sup-
port of Democratic principles.

ERRITT R. SWARNER, an energetic and
enterprising stock farmer, who operates
eighty acres of land on section 25, New-
town Township, is a native of Indiana,
and was born in Warren County on the llth of
December, 1855. He is the son of William and
Rebecca (Spinning) Swarner, the former of whom
was born in Perry County, Pa., Oct. 13, 1826, and
went to Indiana in 1847. He is the son of Henry
Swarner, who was born in the year 1793. The
mother of our subject is the daughter of Isaac and
Elizabeth Spinning, and was born in Fountain
County, Ind., on the 7th of October, 1827. They
were married in the latter-named State on the Gth
of December, 1849. In 1851 the father took a
trip to California, and was gone about one year.
He went by the overland route across the plains,
and returned on a vessel by the way of New York
City.

To William and Rebecca Swarner were born nine
children : Mary E., born Aug. 30, 1850, married
E. C. Campbell, and lives in Iowa; Charles H..
born April 15, 1853, lives in Holt County, Neb. ;
Bfcines, born Jan. 20, 1854, died in infancy; Mer-

338

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

ritt R. i* the subject of our sketch; Sarah A., born
Sept. 1, 1857, is the wife of Virgil Waldron, and
lives in Blackstone, this county; William E., born
Sept. 18, 1859, resides in Colorado; Milton F..
born Oct. 20, 1861, lives in Livingston County;
John L., born Nov. 29, 1863, lives in Nebraska;
Frank, born May 18, 1866, died in infancy. The
father and mother now reside on the home place
with our subject; both belong to the Christian
Church, and are sincere and earnest in their re-
ligious professions. The father came to Illinois
from Indiana in 1868, and located in this township,
where the subject of this sketch has resided all his
life and where he received his education.

On the 2d of January, 1881, Merritt R. Swarner
was married to Miss Addie Applegate, the cere-
mony being performed by Rev. R. Dunlevey.
They have had one child, named Elma M., who
was born April 11, 1883. Although Mr. Swarner
is yet a young man he has made excellent progress
in his business, and stands to-day as one of the
most enterprising farmers and stock-raisers of
Newtown Township. The farm is under a good
state of cultivation, is well fenced and drained,
and is above the average in productiveness.

E WITT C. STOCKHAM. "Peace hath its
victories no less renowned than war,"
and the subject of this sketch has achieved
victories both as a private citizen in peace
and as the valiant soldier in war. One of the por-
tions of this sketch of which our subject can justly
feel proud, is that which records the part he took
in the war for the preservation of the Union, and
which resulted, not only in maintaining the Union
intact, but in destroying the curse of human slav-
ery in this Republic.

The subject of this sketch, a model farmer and
stock- raiser on section 30, Avoca Township, is a
native of LaSalle County, 111., and was born on the
5th of June, 1842, and is a son of Joseph Stock-
ham, a native of Lake County, Ohio. His mother
died when he was but eighteen months old. Ills
great-grandfather was of Welsh descent, and lived
to the extraordinary age of one hundred and six

years. The father of our subject settled in LaSalle
County in 1826, being one of the early pioneers of
that county, and there resided until 1861, when he
removed to Nebraska, and soon after died.

DeWitt C. Stockham spent the days of his bo3'-'
hood in LaSalle County, and in the common schools
obtained what education he could. When about
twenty years of age the war between the States of
the Union was inaugurated by the secession of
nearly all the Southern States. On the 29th of
August, 1861, when the people began to realize
that the war would be a long one, and the struggle
between the North and the South a desperate one,
young Stockham saw that his duty lay in the
direction of the army. He enlisted in Company
K, 8th Illinois Cavalry, and served faithfully and
honorably until every soldier of the Confederate
army was either killed or surrendered as a prisoner
of war. During his term of service he was mostly
in the Army of the Potomac, and participated in
all those campaigns which have become as world
famous as the campaigns of Napoleon. The list of
engagements in which his regiment participated
shows at once the proud position it occupies in the
history of the grand Army of the Potomac. The
list is as follows: Malvern Hill, Gettysburg (which
battle was opened by his regiment, the subject of
this sketch being one of the front line of skirmish-
ers in the beginning of the battle), Antietam,
Sharpsburg, the noted cavalry fight at Fredericks-
burg, and many others of equal magnitude in the
number of men engaged and lives lost. He was
honorably discharged July 18, 1865, and imme-
diately after returned to Illinois, when in the win-
ter following he came to Livingston County, and
settled in Avoca Township shortly after. He now
owns a good farm of 120 acres of well-improved
land.

Mr. Stockham was married in Fairbury, on the
12th of March, 1868, to Sarah J. Zook, a native of
Montgomery County, Ind., born May 28, 1840.
She is the daughter of Solomon and Clarissa
Xook, natives of Pennsylvania and New Jersey re-
spectively, both of whom are dead. They have
two children: Thomas E., born Dec. 31, 1S72. and
Edward. Dec. 21, 1877. Mr. Stockham is a Re-
publican in politics, and through the respect of his

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

339

fellow members of that party, and the citizens
generally, he was elected for a term of two years
as Road Supervisor of his district, and is now
serving his second term as School Director, for
which position he is peculiarly fitted, on account
of his interest in the welfare of the schools. He
is a self-made man, and whatever he possesses of
this world's goods has come to him as the result
of industry, perseverance and good management.
He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church
and engages actively in church work, having
served as Sunday-school Superintendent and Class-
Leader for a considerable time. Whatever has
a tendency to better the condition of the com-
munity or forward the progress of the county and
township, meets with his warmest approval and
support.

\ERNHARD STROBEL. Among the many
citizens of Livingston County who have
been contributed by Germany, none stands
fairer in reputation, nor has been more suc-
cessful for the opportunities enjoyed than the sub-
ject of this sketch, who is a farmer on section 19,
in Avoca Township. He is a native of Wurtem-
berg, Germany, born on the 20th of August, 1820,
and is the son of Jacob and Laura Strobel, who
were also natives of Germany. Of the five chil-
dren born to his parents the following named are
now living: George, in Germany; Clara and Bern-
hard. The last was reared to manhood in his na-
tive country, and received, as do most of the chil-
dren of that country, a good education in his na-
tive language. In 1850, at the age of thirty, he
concluded to emigrate to America, and after land-
ing in New York, proceeded to the State of Penn-
sylvania, where, for nearly eight years, he was em-
ployed in the iron-ore mines, in which occupation
he earned the money' which gave him his start in
this country.

On the 10th of April, 1855, our subject was
married to Theresa Miller, who was born in Ger-
many on the 25th of February, 1825. She was the
daughter of Sebastian and Victoria Miller, both of
whom were German by birth. Her parents hud

seven children, six of whom are living: Anthony,
in Baltimore, Md.; Theresa; Pauline, a teacher
in the public schools of Livingston County; Min-
nie, wife of W. W. Wagner, of Eppard's Point
Township, also a teacher; Maggie, a public-school
teacher; Emma, at present attending the Normal
School at Valparaiso, Ind.

In the spring of 1857, with his family, Mr. Stro-
bel came to Livingston County and settled on his
present farm, which consists of ninety acres, eighty
of which are under a high state of cultivation, and
on which he has erected appropriate buildings for
the comfort of his family, the protection of the
products of the farm and shelter of domestic ani-
mals. He is eminently a self-made man, as what-
ever he has accumulated has been through his own
industry, perseverance and economy. He is a Re-
publican in politics, and does what he can in a
humble way to further the interests of his party.
For the past fifteen years he has served in the ca-
pacity of Director of Schools, and in that position
has done much to elevate the educational standard
of his district. He has always been a friend of
educational interests, and believes in the most lib-
eral management of the schools. He and his wife
are both members of the Catholic Church, and are
constant in their devotion. They are honored
members of society, and enjoy the confidence and
esteem of the entire community in which they re-
side.

CR FOTHERINGHAM. This enter-
terprising young farmer of Union Town-
ship is starting out in life under the most
favorable auspices. He is the only son
of a prosperous citizen, and the owner of a fine
tract of land given him by his father. This is
located on section 14, and is embellished with a
neat residence, a good barn and other out-build-
ings. Mr. F. was reared to habits of industry,
and is looked upon as one of the future agricultur-
ists of this section, who is bound to make his mark.
Our subject was born in LaSalle County, this
State, Dec. 6, 1857, and is the eldest of two
children, the offspring of David and Alice (Scott)
Fotheringham, natives of Scotland. They emi-

340

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

grated to America in 1851, settling at once on a
tract of land in La Salle County, where the father
opened up a good farm, and where they still re-
side. The paternal grandparents of our subject
were Peter and Marion (Anderson) Fotheringham,
also of Scotch birth and parentage, who spent .their
entire lives upon their native soil. On the
mother's sfde his grandparents were James and
Mary (Atchison) Scott, of the same country, where
they lived and died, and the male members of
which family were for generations back tillers of
the soil. David Fotheringham is largely engaged
in farming and stock-raising, and possesses all the
substantial and reliable traits of his ancestors.

Our subject spent his boyhood and youth after
the manner of most farmers' sons, becoming famil-
iar with the various employments of rural life and
receiving his education in the district school. He
continued under the home roof until twenty-seven
years of age, and then, as a first step toward the
establishment of a home of liis own, was united in
marriage with Miss Jane Wyllie, the wedding tak-
ing place at the home of the bride in Union
Township, March 7, 1884.

Mrs. Fotheringham was born in La Salle County,
Sept. 3, 1864, and is the fourth in a family of
six children belonging to John and Margaret
(Hamilton) Wyllie. Her parents were also natives of
Scotland, and are numbered among the well-to-do
and reliable citizens of this county. Their names
will be found as subjects of a biography pre-
sented elsewhere in this ALIII M.

Our subject and wife began life together upon
the farm where they now live, and in addition to
the quarter section here, Mr. Fotheringham oper-
ates eighty acres belonging to his wife. Their
union has been blessed by the birth of one child,
a son, David H., who came to the household Sept. 1 8,
1887. Mr. F. votes with the Republican party
although not particularly interested in political
matters. He is willing, however, to give his at-
tention to important matters respecting the welfare
of his community, and lias consented to serve as
School Trustee in his district. He takes pride in
his farm and stock, and his homestead forms one
of the most attractive spots in the landscape of
Union Township.

JnOHN N. WOLF. Following is given a
j brief sketch of a representative of a class of
i foreign-born citizens who brought the thrift
1 and energy, which were their only heritage
in their native land, to this country of great possi-
bilities, and have accomplished so much under the
influence of the institutions of America. This
gentleman, besides coming to a country where the
language and customs were wholly different from
those of his native land, was deprived of the ten-
der attentions and care of parents in his youth.
Thus early left dependent upon his own resources,
he has made a gallant struggle, and it is a pleasure
to record in this ALBUM, which contains the biog-
raphies of so many of the good people of Living-
ston County, the events which have led up to his
success.

Mr. Wolf is a farmer and stock-raiser on section
16, Owego Township, and is a native of Germany,
where he was born on the 28th of March, 1829.
When eight years of age he became an orphan, and
was early thrown upon his own resources. His ed-
ucation was obtained in his native country, and in
his native language, and included all the ordinary
branches taught. In his younger days he followed
the occupation of a cooper for a time. At the
age of twenty-seven, in the year 1856, he emi-
grated to America, taking passage at Bremen in a
sailing-vessel, and after an exceedingly rough voy-
age of forty-two days, landed in New York City.
He did not linger there, but proceeded at once to
the West and located near Peru, La Salle Co.,
111., where he engaged in farming until 1864, in
which year he settled in Livingston County, locat-
ing on the farm he at present occupies on section
16, Owego Township. He first bought eighty
acres of land, which he improved, and which is now
one of the model farms of the township.

In October, 1856, Mr. Wolf was married to Mar-
garet Apel. a native of Germany, who was born on
the 20th of January, 1839, and is the daughter of
Henry and Christina Apel, with whom she came to
America in 1857. To them have been born eleven
children, ten of whom are living: Henry; William;
Charlotte, Mrs. W. Ellis; Minnie, Mrs. Robert Al-
geo; John; Gustena; Christopher; Mar}' ; Eliza-
beth and Clara. The name of the deceased child

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

343

was Michael. Mr. and Mrs. Wolf are both mem-
bers of the Lutheran Church, in which he has served
as an Elder. They both take an active interest in
church matters, and are generous in their contri-
butions to aid and encourage all moral and relig-
ious agencies. Mr. Wolf acts with the Democratic
party, but is not an active politician. For several
years he served as a School Director, and whether
as an officer or a citizen, takes great interest in ed-
ucational matters. He is a progressive man in his
ideas, and a citizen of which any township may
well be proud.

EORGE W. PATTON, attorney at law, of
the firm of Strawn it Patton. located at Pon-
tiac, in 1883 moved from Fail-bury to Pon-
tiac, and at once became associated with his pres-
ent partner. The partnership has proved a MTV sat-
isfactory one. and almost inimediati'ly the firm took
a front rank in the profession, us represented in this
rounty. Mr. Patton possesses those qualities of
mind which eminently fit him for the business he has
so aptly chosen for a life calling, and within the
comparatively short time since he was admitted to
the bar has secured for clients some of the most
prominent citizens of this county, and largest corpo-
rations of the State. He is a close student, care-
fully looks up his cases, and works conscientiously
and with all his ability in the interest of his client.
Being an excellent judge of human nature he is sel-
dom placed at a disadvantage in any legal couU->t in
this essential particular. He is likewise an enter-
prising and valued citizen of Poutiac, and has the
interest of the public at heart. Such men are in-
valuable to any community.

Our subject is a native of Greene Count}'. Pa..
and is a sou of Samuel R. and Jane Patton, nee
Haines, also natives of the Keystone state. Samuel

R. located in Green Township. W Iford Co.,

111., in 1S/S4. where he carried on farming success-
fully for many years and then retired from active
labor. The paternal grandfather of our subject,
Rev. James Patton. was a native of Maryland and
the son of Rev. John Patton of the xnne State, a
dived descendant of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Mr.

Patton's great-grandparents on the maternal side
were from the Emerald Isle, and settled in Pennsyl-
vania in the Colonial days, the great-grandfather
serving six years as a soldier under Gen. Washing-
ton.

The subject of this sketch has five sisters living
Elizabeth Moms, Lueinda Cams, Margaret Edwards,
Catharine Barnard and Martha E. Taylor and one
brother, John L., a successful farmer and stockman
residing on the old homestead in Woodford County.
Mr. Patton was reared on the farm until he attained
to his majority, receiving a good common-school
education, and subsequently attending the State
Normal University at Bloomington for three years.
Afterward he engaged in teaching school at Secor
and El Paso. 111. He read law with Hay. Greene &
Littler, at Springfield, 111., and was there admitted to
the bar b_y the Supreme Court.

Mr. Patton was married, Sept. 20, 1877, to Miss
Flora E. Cook, a native of Wayne County, Ind., and
a daughter of James and Lueinda Cook. They
have one child, Marie Patton, born July 7, 1883.
Mr. Patton is a strong Republican in politics, and
belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he is a
Knight Templar. He is attorney for the C. & A.,
the I. C., and the C., S. F. & C. R. Rds., the Pontiac
Union Coal Company, and also for the Board of
Supervisors of Livingston County. Among his rel-
atives now living and bearing his patronymic, there
are three ministers, two physicians and three lawyers,
one of the latter being now a Republican Member
of Congress from Pennsylvania.

It is with pleasure we present the portrait of Mr.
Patton in this work, knowing that it will be highly
appreciated by his many friends.

Q- TANQUARY, attorney-at-law, Pontiac.
In Mr. Tanquary we find an excellent ex-
ample for young men just embarking in the
field of active life, of what may be accomplished by
energy, prudence and industry. He relied almost
entirely upon his own efforts for an education, and
up to his seventeenth year had only such ad-
vantages as were offered by the common schools of
the neighborhood in which he lived. He com-
menced teaching when eighteen years of age, tcaeh-

344

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

ing in the winter terms, and attending school and
working on the farm the remainder of the year.

The subject of our sketch is a native of Mar-
shall County, 111., and the only child of James and
Lucinda C. (Watkins) Tanquary, natives of Ohio,
who were married in Marshall County in 1853,
where N. CJ. was born in 1854. He has two half-
brothers, William R., and David R., children of his
mother by a former marriage. James' parents were
William and Elizabeth (Shackeford) Tanquaiy, na-
tives of Ohio. The Tanquarys are of French de-
scent; his great-grandfather came from France in
the early settlement of Maryland and took a grant
of land, partially surrounded by the Chesapeake
Bay. This land is still known as Tanquary's Neck.
The father of Lucinda C. Watkins was David, a
native of Ohio, and of Scotch-Irish descent, who was
engaged in farming. James came to Illinois in 1853,
settling near Lacon, Marshall County, and is one of
the extensive farmers and substantial men of the
county. He and his wife are members of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, and he has been a Class-
Leader for many years. In politics Mr. Tanquary
has always affiliated with the Republican party.

The subject of this sketch lived upon the farm
with his parents until he was twenty-three years of
age, attending the common schools in his early
youth when not engaged in working on the farm.
He commenced teaching at a very early age, at the
same time studying law, beginning when in his
eighteenth year. In 1881 he took one year's course
in the law school of Iowa City, and was graduated
in the spring of 1882. In the fall of the following
year he located at Pontiac, Livingston County, and
has since been engaged in the practice of law. Like
his father he is a Republican, and in 1885 he was
elected City Attorney, and is now serving his sec-
ond term, the last time being elected on the Tem-
perance ticket.

Mr. Tanquary was married in 1878 to Miss Lil-
lian Neal, daughter of Samuel and Asenith (Malh-
ews) Neal, natives of New Hampshire. Her an-
cestors were Scotch and came from the mother
country early in the settlement of New Hampshire,
bringing with them a grant to land, on which land
they settled. Her great-grandfather was born on
the ocean while his parents were en route for

America, and was called Moses. Moses Neal gave
his attention to the study and practice of the law
and took an active part in politics; he was for
thirty years Speaker of the House in the State of
New Hampshire. The parents of Mrs. Tanquary
settled in Peoria County in 1830.

Mr. Tanquary has three children Gracie, Ru-
berta and Neal. He and his wife are members of
the Methodist Episcopal Church. Aside from be-
ing one of the most successful attorneys of the
Livingston County bar, our subject has accumu-
lated considerable property, being mostly real estate
located in Livingston and Marshall Counties.

Jl ACOB DOWHOWER, who occupies a prom-
| inent position among the agriculturists of
j Livingston County, is comfortably located
I on section 24, in Owego Township, where he
took up his abode in the spring of 1884. Here he
has eighty acres of good land, and is numbered
among the skillful and progressive farmers of Cen-
tral Illinois.

Our subject was born in Sandusky County, Ohio,
May 8, 1838, and is the son of Jacob and Mary
(Shire) Dowhower, natives of Pennsylvania. The
paternal ancestors were of German descent. To
the parents of our subject there was born a large
family of children, of whom but two are now liv-
ing, namely, Jacob and David. Jacob was a youth
of sixteen years when his parents removed from the
Buckeye State to Wisconsin, where they resided
until about six years ago, when they returned to
Ohio, where the mother departed this life in 1880 (
and the father in 1881. Our subject upon coming
to Illinois located first in Bureau County, where he
resided until 1867. Thence he removed to a point
near D wight in this county, where he engaged in
farming a year, and after a short sojourn in Saune-
min Township, where he owned eighty acres, came
to Owego, which he purposes making his permanent
home.

Mr. Dowhower, while a resident of Bureau
County, was united in marriage with Miss Eliza
Rider, their wedding taking place at the home of
the bride, in September, 1861. Mrs. Dowhower was

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

345'

born in New York State, July 3, 1844, and is the
daughter of John and Kate Rider, who came to
Bureau County, this State, when their daughter
Eliza was a child eight years of age. They were
among the earliest settlers of that region and ex-
perienced all the vicissitudes of pioneer life ; they
are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Dowhower are
the parents of one child only, a daughter, Hattie,
who was born Feb. 17, 1877. Our subject is Re-
publican in politics and has served as Director
in School District No. 6 for a period of three
years. Socially he belongs to the I. O. O. F.
Although receiving but a limited education himself,
he stoutly maintains that the establishment of schools
is a matter which should receive the first attention
of any community. To this end he has been will-
ing to give his time and attention, and has in other
directions indicated the bent of his mind in regard
to the general welfare of society. He and his estim-
able lady number their friends by the score in
Owego Township, of which he is destined to become
one of the leading men. Mr. Dowhower since com-
ing to Livingston has been very successful in all
his undertakings, and promises to be one of Living-
ston County's solid men in the near future. In
religion he is liberal in his views, attending and as-
sisting all the -Evangelical Churches.

(7 INCOLN HAMLIN TUTTLE, farmer and
I (fjt school teacher of Rook's Creek Township,

jiLW.

owns and occupies a good farm on section
20, and is numbered among the wide-awake and
representative men of that locality. He is a native
of this State, having been born in Sparland, Mar-
shall County, Sept. 6, I860. Seven years later his
parents removed from town to the farm but he
pursued his education in the Sparland High School,
lacking one year of finishing the full course.

Mr. Tuttle when fourteen years of age removed
to Livingston County with his parents, who lo-
cated on a farm in Rook's Creek Township, where
he was employed in rural pursuits until 1878. He
then entered the State Normal University, spending
several terms in study, and upon returning home
prepared to follow the profession of a teacher. His

first experience was in Pike Township, District No.
3, and he was thus occupied until 1883, in different
places in this county. He then took up the study
of law in the office of H. H. McDowell, and in due
time was fully qualified for admission to the bar.
His inclinations, however, lay in other channels, and
he consequently did not apply for permission to
practice as an attorney. Mr. Tuttle when a boy
nine years of age met with an accident which nearly
proved fatal. While riding on horseback he was
practicing on a peculiar halter knot which his father
had taught him, and had fastened the strap about
his leg. The horse became frightened and starting
suddenly threw him, and dragged him through the
timber until the strap was broken by the horse go-
ing on one side of the tree and throwing the boy the
other side. He was considered beyond recovery
when picked up, but under good care he survived.
Subsequently, on the 21st of June, 1887, while
endeavoring to board a moving train,, he fell and
his right femur bone was broken in two places.
From this he has recovered very slowly.

. Our subject is the eldest of a family of four
children. The names of the other three are : Lois
S., born Feb. 2, 1868; William A., Aug. 5, 1872;
Carrie E., Aug. 20, 1875; the three eldest were
born in Sparland and the youngest in this county.
The father. Samuel B. Tuttle, a native of Steuben
County, N. Y., was born Feb. 25, 1832, and was
the youngest of his parents' family. When he was
a mere child they left the Empire State and located
on a farm in Monroe County, Mich. He received
a good education, completing his studies in Hills-
dale College, and for ten years thereafter followed
the profession of a teacher in Michigan, Ohio, Indi-
ana and Illinois. In 1856 he went to Kansas, and
was associated with John Brown in the troubles
brought on by the agitation of the slavery ques-
tion. This over, he returned to Illinois, locating
first in Peoria, whence he removed to Sparland,
Marshall County. In the latter place he was united
in marriage with Miss Emma Swift, Dec. 25, 1859.
Mrs. Tuttle was born Jan. 20, 1839, and like her
husband was also a native of New York State. Her
father, Philander Smith, was born Feb. 7, 1800, and
married Miss Arzilla Agbert, born July 11, 1802.
They emigrated from New York to Illinois in 1844,

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

and located in Marshall County, where they spent
the remainder of their lives.

The paternal grandfather of our subject, John
Martin Tuttle, was born near New Haven, Conn.,
in 1788, and when quite young removed with his
parents to New York State, where he afterward en-
gaged in Itiraberipg, and participated in the War
of 1812. He was first assigned as a scout to the
Middle Division, and was afterward transferred to
the Western Division which was under the com-
mand of Gen. Harrison. At the battle of the
Thames he was appointed messenger to carry
orders from Gen. Harrison to Col. Johnson, or-
dering the charge upon Tecumseh. Grandfather
Tuttle was present at the charge and witnessed the
death of the great chieftain. He married Miss
Rhoda Palmer, daughter of Gideon Palmer, of
Greene County, N. Y., whose family was largely
represented in that part of the State. John Tuttle
subsequently removed West to Michigan and served
as Sheriff of Monroe County two terms. Our sub-
ject took possession of his present homestead in
1875.

SULLIVAN, since the spring of 1876,
has been a resident of Cornell, where he
owns a snug home and an acre of land. He
is spoken of as an honest, energetic, hard-
working and highly respected citizen, and ranks
among the representative business men of the
town. He possesses inventive genius, and has a
patent on a novel wagon-box catch, for which he
has refused the sum of $7,000 from an Eastern
capitalist. Aside- from perfecting his invention he
has been principally engaged in blacksinithing.

Our subject was -born in Lucas County. Ohio, in
1839, and is the son of Daniel and Mary (Dugan)
Sullivan, who were natives of Ireland. When
he was quite a boy, John came to Michigan with
his parents, and served a thorough apprenticeship
at blacksmithing. He is an expert workman and a
natural mechanic, and has. worked at his trade in
Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and New York. The wife
of our subject was formerly Miss Phebe, daughter
of Dennis and Wilis Heath. She was born Oct.
14, 1844. They were married in Oil City, Pa.,

July 2, 1865. After marriage they located in
Venango County, Pa., where Mr. Sullivan followed
his trade until becoming a resident of Cornell.

Our subject and his wife have become the parents
of five children living, named respectively, Burton
C.. Winnifred C., Kate, Franc and Edward. Two
little ones were laid away in early graves, namely,
Mary Alberta, who was born Sept. 26, 1867, and
died April '.), 1868, and Nellie, who died when two
years and eleven months old.

-><>C^ iiS~ *-

I AMES P. MORGAN, one of the most hon-
ored pioneers of Livingston County, came
to Illinois in the spring of 1854, and for a
period of more than thirty years has tilled
the soil and watched with intense satisfaction the
development of Central Illinois. He comes from a
race of people renowned for their courage and en-
terprise, being the son of James and Elizabeth (Rob-
erts) Morgan, natives of Carlisle, Pa., the former
the first white settler who crossed the Allegheny
Mountains to the West. He located at a point not
far from where now stands Morgan town, in Virginia,
and which was named after the family. James
Morgan first purchased a tract of land near Olli-
pliant's Iron Works, where he resided for a time,
then removed to Greene County, Pa., of which
he was a resident many years. He subsequently
settled across the line in Virginia, six miles below
Wheeling, where the death of both parents took
place, the mother passing away in December, 1856.
James Morgan survived his wife nearly thirty years,
and died in 1885. . The father of our subject was
one of a family of six children, three boys and three
girls, who were named respectively, Nathan, James,
William, Polly, Ruth and Sarah. He became fa-
miliar with farm pursuits early in life, which he was
content to follow until its close.

The parental family of our subject included eight
children, only three of whom are now living.
James P. was born in Fayctte County, Pa., Sept.
30, 1802. He spent his early life amid the quiet
scenes of farm life in Pennsylvania. Branching out
somewhat from the regular routine, and having a
taste for books and newspapers, he in 1827 became

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

347

connected with the printing business at Waynes-
burg, Pa, and continued a printer thereafter for
a period of about twenty years. He understands the
business of conducting' a first-class country newspa-
per, having officiated as both compositor and editor,
and still retains his interest in the "'art preserva-
tive." He cast his first Presidential vote for Gen.
Jackson, and voted for the old hero for President
three times afterward. When Mr. Morgan came to
this section of country in 1854 wild game of all
kinds was plentiful, and he has seen as many as 100
deer in a herd. The pioneers usually set aside
Saturday as a general hunting daj r , when they went
out and secured their game for the week. These
occasions were the source of considerable hilarity,
and the hunters uniformly met with success and
kept their families supplied with the finest of wild
meats.

.lames P. Morgan was married in 1834 to Miss
Nancy Bradley, daughter of William and Mary
(Gorman) Bradley, natives of Ireland. Of this
union there were the following children: William
was born July 5, 1835; Elizabeth, Sept. 80, 1837;
James P., Jr., Oct. 30, 1838; Ann Eliza, Nov. 28,
1840: Charles, Jan. 5, 1843; Thomas, Sept. 21, 1844;
Nathan, July 26, 1846; Margaret, Oct. 19, 1847;
Rebecca, Dec. 27, 1848, and John, Nov. 10, 1850.
William is married and has a family of twelve
children; he is farming in Cowley County, Kan.
Elizabeth died when young; James P. is married,
and a resident of Crawford County, Kan., where
he is engaged in mercantile business; Ann Eliza is
the wife of Charles Lonsberry, of Long Point Town-
ship; Charles resides in Independence, Montgom-
ery Co., Kan., is Marshal of the city, and one of the
respected business men of the place; he is married
and has three children. Thomas died when about
four years old. Nathan located in Stonewall, Col.,
where he engaged as a merchant, and was shot
on the 2('ith of December, 188(!. The assassin was
a young man who went into the store where he
was and ordered him to hold up his hands. Al-
though the destined victim had a revolver, the
young man fired before he could use it. The thief
and murderer was afterward captured, but had re-
ceived a fatal wound and died in a short time.
Nathan Morgan left a widow and two children to

mourn their loss. Margaret became the wife of
Jerome Blair, of Michigan, and they located in
Cowley County, Kan, where they are farming, and
are the parents of two children; Rebecca died
when an infant; John is farming in Long Point
Township; he married a Miss Wheeler, of Long
Point Township.

James P. Morgan, our subject, is the owner of
eighty-two acres of fine farming land, besides town
property at Long Point, which includes thirteen
lots, in the midst of which he resides in a handsome
and comfortable home. The residence is not far
from the Chicago, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad
depot. It is supplied with all the modern conven-
iences, and both within and without gives evidence
of cultivated tastes and an ample supply of this
world's goods. Mr. Morgan has been quite promi-
nent in local affairs, and was one of the first County
Supervisors, which position he occupied six years.
He was County Judge from 1857 to and including
1858, and has been Justice of the Peace for twenty
years or more. In early life lie identified himself
with the Democratic party and has stoutly main-
tained its principles since that time. Socially he
belongs to the Masonic fraternity. As a citizen he
has contributed his full quota toward the building
ui> of Long Point Township. He is held in the
highest regard, and is particularly noted for his
kindly disposition, while his ample fund of inform-
ation constitutes him a most intelligent gentleman
with whom to converse.

i ICHARD STBATTON has been a resident
of Avoca Township for the past twelve
years. He is in possession of 179 acres of
Jland on section 29, and besides general
farming, is largely engaged in stock-raising, in
which he has met with more than ordinary success.
He has been a resident of the Prairie State for nearly
a half century, having been brought here by his
parents when a child three years of age.

Our subject was born in New York City, Dec.
30, 1835, and is the son of William and Sarah (Clay-
ton) Stratton. natives respectively of Ireland and

'348

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

New Jersey. The mother was of excellent German
ancestry, her grandparents who emigrated to the
United States, being among the prominent and
substantial settlers of New England. William
Stratton departed this life at his home in Peoria
County about 1877. The mother is still living on
the old homestead there.

Richard Stratton was the third son of his parents,
whose household included eleven children. lie was
reared to manhood on the farm in Peoria County,
and received his education in its pioneer schools.
Upon coming to this county in 1870, he resided
about five years in Eppard's Point Township, and
thence removed to his present farm. The improve-
ments which we see around him to-day, the finely
cultivated fields and substantial buildings, are the
result of his own industry and perseverance. He
has labored early and late in the effort to construct
a desirable homestead, and the passer-by will con-
cede that he has succeeded in a manner which should
be entirely satisfactory to all interested. He was
thrown upon his own resources early in life, and
may consequently be termed a self-made man,
while he is certainly a member of his community
of whom his fellow-townsmen have the best opinion.

The lady who has been the close companion of
our subject for a period of fifteen years, was for-
merly Mrs. Mary Wagenseller, of Juniata County,
Pa., whom he married Feb. 7, 1873. They have
no children. By her first husband Mrs. Stratton be-
came the mother of two children Harry W. and
Juniata W. Our subject, politically, is a reliable
Democrat, and in the pleasant home which he and
his wife have together labored to build up, they dis-
pense a generous hospitality to a large number of
friends.

ORGAN THOMAS owns 160 acres of land
on section 17, Newtown Township, but, af-
ter a long and busy life, he has retired from
active work, and is now enjoying the fruits
of his labor. He was born in Wales Sept. 13,
1812, and is the son of Jenkins and Mary (Williams)
Thomas, also natives of Wales. The father lived
until he was eighty-four years of age, and the

mother died when she was eighty-seven. They
were the parents of four children, whose names are
as follows : Thomas, Eleanor, Rees and Morgan.

Morgan Thomas lived in Wales with his parents
until 1840, receiving such education as the ordinary
schools of that country afforded, and also learning
the rudiments of farming, and the practical details
of coal mining. In the year 1840 he came to
America, landing at New York City, -from which
lie proceeded to Pennsylvania, where he engaged
in sinking and superintending coal shafts. He
remained in Pennsylvania engaged in that busi-
ness, excepting while on a trip to St. Louis, Mo.,
and to Leavenworth, Kan., for about ten years.
Upon his return from the West, he remained but a
short time in Pennsylvania, and then came to Illi-
nois, where he settled in La Salle County, near the
town of Streator. Removing thence in 1868, he
came to Livingston County, and settled upon the
160-acre farm which he now owns. In March,
1850, Mr. Thomas returned to Pennsylvania, where
he was married to Mrs. Margaret Cozad, formerly
Miss Margaret Moore. She was the daughter of
James and Jane (Johnson) Moore, natives of Scot-
land and England respectively, who came to Amer-
ica after their marriage, and were early settlers in
Pennsylvania. They were the parents of five chil-
dren, named Hugh, Margaret, James, Sarah and
Matilda; they are all living. James is residing in
West Virginia, and the others in Pennsylvania, ex-
cepting Margaret, the wife of our subject. Margaret
first was married to Jacob Cozad, and by this union
were born three children Mary Ann, Thomas and
Leonard. Mary Ann lives in Minnesota, Leonard
in West Virginia, and Thomas in Streator, 111. Af-
ter the death of Mr. Cozad, Margaret became the
wife of our subject. Of the marriage of Mr.
Thomas and Mrs. Cozad have been born two chil-
dren Ellen and Elmer. Ellen is the wife of Sam-
uel Tidabeck, a native of New York State; they
have four children John, William, Margaret and a
baby unnamed. Elmer resides at home with his
parents, and is crippled in one knee, caused by a
cut with an ax when he was a child.

Mr. Thomas has retired from active life, and his
! :i nn is managed by his son-in-law and son. Dur-
ing his entire life Mr. T. has been an active man,

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

319 , J

and has been measurably successful in all his un-
dertakings. He has been a citizen of Livingston
County for about twenty years, and during that
time has firmly established himself in the confidence
and esteem of his fellow-citizens.

REX. Ten years is a tender age at
which to commence buffeting one's way
through life, and where one succeeds who be-
gins at that nge hundreds fail and fall by the
wavside. The boy who is then thrown upon his
own resources and reaches anything like independ-
ence bv the time he arrives at the prime of man-
hood, is deserving of much commendation for his
pluck and perseverance. While the writer does not.
desire to be fulsome in any sense he can commend
to boys and young men the career of the subject of
this sketch, who was left an orphan at the age of ten
years.

Mr. Rex, who was a farmer for many years, but
now a resident of Fairbury, was born on the 6th of
April, 1844, in Greene County, Pa., and is the son
of Charles and Mary (Hickman) Rex, natives of
Pennsylvania. The father was a farmer by occu-
pation, a member of the Presbyterian Church, and
an old-line Whig. During his life he accumulated
considerable property, which included about 600
acres of land. He was "born in Pennsylvania in the
year 1800. and died in that State in 1854. There is
a remarkable coincidence of dates in the birth, life
and death of the parents of Mr. Rex. The mother
was born in the same year as the father, and they
both died in the same minute and hour, of the same
disease, and are botli buried in the same grave. At
their death they left five children Margaret, Eliza-
beth, Peria, George, and John, who was the young-
est of the family.

Mr. Rex was married on the 31st of December,
1865, to Miss Mary A. McMinn. the daughter of
Thomas R. and Elizabeth (Pollock) McMinn, who
were natives of Pennsylvania. The father died in
1886, and during his life was a saddler by trade;
the mother is Still living. Mr. Rex received a tol-
erably fair education in the common schools, but at

the age of ten years began to support himself, and
for a considerable time earned what money he could
at working by the month on the farm. In 1862,
when eighteen years old, he enlisted in the loth
Pennsylvania Cavalry, in which he was assigned as
a private to Company C, and with which he served
for three years, participating in the battles of An-
tietam, Md., Stone River, Tenn., on the march from
Nashville to Atlanta, was with Gen. Stoneman in
his raid through Virginia, Tennessee and North
Carolina, and marched through Alabama to Nash-
ville. His discharge from the army bears date July
3, 1865. Upon his discharge from the army Mr.
Rex returned to Pennsylvania on a visit. In 1880 he
came to Livingston County, and moved upon the
farm which he now owns, consisting of 1GO acres on
section 17.

Mr. and Mrs. Rex have five children Lizzie M.,
Willie M., Annie M., Maggie and Tressa. In 1886
Mr. Rex moved to the town of Fairbury, where he
has been engaged in the dairy and creamery busi-
ness in connection with his farm operations. He is
a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
the only interest he takes in politics is in the cause
of prohibition, of which he is an earnest and ener-
getic advocate. In his business affairs he has been
eminently successful, and in his later venture, in
Fairbury, especially so. There have been wonder-
ful improvements in the dairy and creamery busi-
ness within the' past few years, and Mr. Rex has
kept abreast of the times in all of them. His farm
furnishes him ample facilities for feeding and car-
ing for cattle, and the products of his dairy can be
relied upon as coming from healthful sources.

[?AMES TAPPER, a thrifty English farmer
of Owego Township, owns a fine property
on section 22, including 280 acres of valu-
able land, a substantial residence with a
good barn and other suitable out-buildings, a goodly
assortment of live stock, and the extensive mod-
ern machinery required by the progressive agri-
culturist of this day and age. Mr. T. has willingly
availed himself of whatever would tend to beau-
tify and increase the value of his country home.

350

LIVINGSTON COUNTY

which has now become one of the most attractive
spots in the landscape of Livingston County.

Our subject, a native of Devonshire, England,
was born March 10, 1835, and is the son of John
and Sarah (Casey) Tapper, also of English birth
and parentage. He had three elder brothers, and
was reared with them in his native country until
nineteen years of age, when he set out alone on a
voyage to the New World, where he hoped to bet-
ter his condition in life. After landing in New
York City he made his way to Albany, where he
was employed as a laborer one year, then came to
Illinois, and for two years afterward was a resident
of Grundy County. His next abode was in Peoria
County, where he resided several years and thence,
in 1867, migrated to Livingston, which has been his
home now for a period of twenty years. He had,
during these years, lived economically, and landed
here with a snug little sum of money which he in-
vested in a quarter section of uncultivated land,
from which he at once proceeded to build up a
permanent homestead. The dwelling which first
constituted a shelter for his family was a small
frame structure, which they occupied for a few
years, and which then gave place to their present
more modern residence. He afterward added 120
acres of land to his first purchase, which he has
brought to a fine state of cultivation, and which
produces in abundance the choicest crops of the
Prairie State. He can look around upon his pos-
sessions with the satisfaction that he owes no man
anything, and that he has received few favors and
no assistance financially.

Mr. Tapper's early education was extremely lim-
ited, but he has kept himself well posted upon mat-
ters of general interest, and is in all respects an in-
teresting man to converse with. He believes in
the establishment and maintenance of schools, and
all the institutions which will give to the young
those advantages which will enable them to become
useful and intelligent members of the community.
Upon becoming a voter he identified himself with
the Republican party, whose principles he has uni-
formly sustained since that time. He is a member
of the Presbyterian Church and recognizes the im-
portant influence of Christianity upon a people
and a community.

Mr. Tapper, after reaching his twenty-fifth birth-
day was united in marriage with Miss Jane Ander-
son, in 1860, at the home of the bride in Akron,
111. Mrs. T. is a native of this State, and the
daughter of William and Jane (Hull) Anderson,
the latter of whom is deceased, and the former re-
sides in Peoria County, 111. Of this union there
have been born four children, three living, namely,
Sarah, who married Byron Ocean, and resides in
Owego Township; Charlotte and Susan, who re-
main at home with their parents.

LBERT FRANCIS, a highly respected
member of the farming community of
Forest Township, and located on section
10, has been a resident of Livingston
County since a boy twelve years of age. He is
now a gentleman in the prime of life, of excellent
habits and good business education, and is the
owner of a good homestead comprising 1 47 acres
of land, with neat, suitable and convenient build-
ings. He keeps good horses and cattle, and avails
himself of all the modern methods of agriculture,
in order to preserve his record as an enterprising
and valued factor in a community of more tliau
ordinary progress and intelligence.

Our subject is the youngest son of John and
Margaret (Ross) Francis, natives of Ireland and
Ohio respectively, who located after their marriage
in Brown County, Ohio, where Albert, 'our sub-
ject, was born Aug. 1, 1848. The elder Francis
operated a farm in that county until 18<>0, when he
determined to try his fortunes in the West. He
came directly to this county and took up a tract
of land on section 10 in Forest Township, where
he built up a comfortable home. Young Francis
continued with his parents, becoming thoroughly
familiar with the intricacies of farming, which he
chose for his vocation in life.

After passing his thirtieth year, July 11,1 883, Mr.
Francis was united in marriage with Miss Cynthia,
daughter of James F. and Eda (Moore) Earnheart.
Mrs. F. was born in Avoca, this county. Dec. 25,
1 sf)U. Her parents, who were respectively natives of

RESIDENCE OF ALBERT FRANCIS, SEC. 10. FOREST TOWNSHIP.

KELLOGG BRO'S STOCK FA RM.SEC.fi. PON TI AC TOWNS HI P.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Ohio and Tennessee, came to Illinois in the pioneer
days, and located in Indian Grove Township, where
they were married and lived a number of years;
they are now living in retirement in Fairbury, 111.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Francis re-
paired to their present home, where they have since
remained, and where their two children, Irma
Mildred and Howard Milton, were born. They are
members in good standing of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church at Forest, with which they have
been connected for several years, and are among
its most liberal and cheerful supporters. Mr. Fran-
cis is a strong Republican, and has held the local
offices of his township. His wife is a most esti-
mable and amiable lady, highly intelligent and
well educated. She taught school for a period of
eight years in Fairbury, and one year at Forest.

Mr. Francis, in partnership with his brother
Joseph, from 1876 to 1886, engaged quite exten-
sively in the manufacture of brick and tile, their
factory being the first of its kind established in
Livingston County, Much of the land in this sec-
tion having now been drained and fitted for the
raising of crops, the demand for this product has
decreased in a proportionate degree, and they
have, during the past year, done but little in this
direction. A handsome lithographic view of Mr.
Francis' residence is shown on another page of this
work.

tRUMAN M. KELLOGG, of the firm of Kel-
logg Bros., prominent stock-traders of Pon-
tiac Township, who have a fine tract of land
on section 8, where he has been operating suc-
cessfully for about nineteen years, is recognized at
once as a gentleman of good business capacities
and excellent education, and with his brother, is
the proprietor of 320 acres of land, well stocked
with good grades of cattle, horses and hogs, prin-
cipally, however, of the former.

Our subject is a native of Oneida County, N. Y.,
and was born Oct. 7, 1835. His parents, Truman
and Melinda (Marsh) Kellogg, were natives of the
same county, of which his paternal grandfather, Tru-
man Kellogg, was a pioneer settler. The family is

of English origin, the first representatives in this
country being three brothers who crossed the ocean
about 200 years ago, and located in New England.
Their descendants have mostly lived there, a few of
them, however, going into the Middle States and to
the South. Truman, our subject, was the fourth in
a famil3' of four children, three of whom survive,
namely, himself, his brother, Nathan N., and a sis-
ter, Cornelia, the wife of D. C. Mason, of Joliet,
111.

Mr. Kellogg was reared in his native county,
where he remained until a youth of seventeen years,
in the meantime receiving his education under care-
ful instructors. Upon leaving the parental roof,
he migrated to Chicago, 111., and was a resident of
that city for about twenty years, following the pro-
fession of a civil engineer. He was assistant civil
engineer of the Illinois Central Railroad Company,
located at Chicago as division engineer, and super-
intended the construction of the Lake Shore Harbor,
which is connected with the road, and was one of
the important enterprises of that day. In the spring
of 1872, determined upon a change of location and
occupation, he came to this county, and invested a
part of his capital in a stock farm in Pontiac Town-
ship, which he and his brother Nathan have man-
aged very successfully for the last fifteen years.
Their stables include Hambletonian and Kentucky
horses, and some of the finest specimens of the kind
sold in this county have passed from their hands to
purchasers from all points of the compass.

Nathan M. Kellogg, a brother of our subject, was
also born in Oneida County, N. Y'., June 24, 1829.
He was there reared to manhood, and received a
good education. From his early boyhood he
seemed content with the employments of the farm,
lie came West in 1868, and in 1871 settled per-
manently on the farm which is now the property of
Kellogg Brothers. He has for many years been an
excellent judge of live stock. He has been quite
prominent in local affairs, serving as Commissioner
of Highways, and voting the straight Democratic
ticket at general elections. The farm is supplied
with a comfortable residence and other good build-
ings, and the brothers dwell together, their house-
keeping being done by hired help.

We have pleasure in presenting on another page

' 354

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

of this ALBUM, a view of their residence, as repre-
sentative of the buildings of this section of the
country.

AMUEL L. MORRISON. The subject of
this sketch is an illustration of the wide
difference between the beginning in the
lives of the fathers who were the pioneers
in the early settlement of Illinois, and that of the
sons who are now taking their places. The father
of Mr. Morrison came to Illinois ata time when the
wild prairie grass grew everywhere, and when the
rude cabins of the inhabitants were few and far be-
tween. With his own hand he helped to break the
prairie and make corn grow where grass had held
sway for centuries. In this work he persevered, ss
did others, until Illinois has become a great agri-
cultural State. His sons, who are now all settled in
life, know nothing by actual experience of the hard-
ships of the pioneers, but they have inherited the
energy and enterprise of the pioneer fathers, which
they display in the prosecution of their farming
operations. Although the young farmers find farms
already improved for them, they do not relinquish
their efforts to further improve and utilize the re-
sources so bountifully bestowed by nature. Fol-
lowing in the footsteps of a father who became
famous in the same vocation, the subject of this
sketch is a progressive farmer and stock-raiser of
Avoca Township.

Mr. Morrison is a native of Livingston County,
where he was boru on the 1 8th of December, 1 860,
and is the son of Joseph C. and Naomi Morrison.
Further mention of the father is made in the biog-
raphy of Albert J. Morrison, of Avoca ^.Township,
and the mother is deceased. The subject of this
sketch has always lived in Avoca Township, where
he attended the schools until he became of age, and
received a good education. With the exception of
being engaged with his father in importing and
dealing in Norman horses at Pontiac, he has always
been occupied in agricultural pursuits, in which he
has displayed considerable enterprise, and avails
himself of modern and progressive methods. His
farm consists of eight}' acres of well-improved land,

on section 5. Avoca Township, on which he has
erected an excellent class of buildings.

On the 4th of September, 1884, Mr. Morrison was
married to Miss Jessie E. Ferris, daughter of Prof.
G. W. Ferris, the present efficient Superintendent of
Public Schools of Livingston County, a sketch of
whom appears in this Auiru. Mr. and Mrs. Mor-
rison have been blessed with one child, a bright-
eyed baby named Claude H., born July 10, 1887.
Mrs. Morrison is a lady of excellent education, and
much culture and refinement. During a consider-
able time she attended the Normal School located at
Morris, 111., and for six years was engaged in teach-

Mr. Morrison is an enthusiastic 3 - oung Repub-
lican, to which party he contributes both of his time
and means, when they are necessary to secure its
success. He is a member of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church, and he and his wife are active members
of society, in which they are general favorites. Mr.
Morrison identifies himself with the material affairs
of his township, and encourages and supports every
measure calculated to advance its prosperity.

E KERR, a prominent and influential
member of the farming community of Pon-
tiac Township, has in a great measure re-
tired from active labor, and is enjoying the compe-
tency which he has accumulated and the comforts
of a beautiful homestead on section 2. His prop-
erty includes 330 acres of good land, with suitable
farm buildings, a choice assortment of live stock,
and all the necessary implements for the successful
prosecution of agriculture.

Mr. Kerr was born in Miami County, Ohio, Dec.
2,0, 1824, and is the son of James and Sarah
(Thompson) Kerr, natives respectively of Virginia
and Pennsylvania. The Kerr family is of Scotch
ancestry, and on the mother's side our subject is of
English descent. His grandfather, George Kerr,
fought during the early troubles with the Indians,
and James, the father, participated in the struggle
of 1812, and was one of those who were surren-
dered under Gen. Hull at Detroit, Mich. The par-
ental household included twelve children, five now

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

355

surviving, namely: Hanford N., of Wyandotte,
Kan.; George, our subject; Rebecca A., the wife
of Harry Houston ; John and Perry ; the latter
three are residents of Miami County. The parents
of our subject were early pioneers of this region,
where they spent the remainder of their lives. They
built up a home in the wilderness, and endured all
tin- hardships and privations incident to settlement
in a new country.

Our subject was reared to manhood in his native
county, and received a limited education, but being
fond of his books he pursued his studies during his
leisure hours after leaving school, and has always
kept himself posted upon all matters of general in-
terest. He is one of the best natural mathematic-
ians to be found, which talent has been of great
service to him in his busy career, and in which he
has been obliged to depend upon his own sound
sense and good judgment.

Mr. Kerr was married in Miami County, Ohio,
Nov. 26, 1844, the lady of his choice being Miss
Susanna Kessler, who was also a native of that
county, and born March 1, 1825. Her parents
were John B. and Susanna (Fiece) Kessler, the for-
mer a native of Virginia, and the latter of Pennsyl-
vania. Her maternal grandfather was of Holland
descent, and after emigrating to this country,
served as a soldier in the War of 1812, being under
tin- command of Gen. Jackson. Mr. and Mrs.
Kessler settled in Miami County at an early period
in its history, and there became the parents of
twelve children.

Our subject and his wife became the parents of
eight children, three now living, namety: Eliza-
beth, the wife of C. D. Withrow, of Kansas City,
Mo.; Heni'3' M. and John B., who are located on
the homestead. Mr. Kerr came to this county in
the spring of 1856, but eight months later returned
to Ohio and remained six years. In the mean-
time, however, lie had not abandoned his original
intention of locating in Illinois, and now came back
and secured possession of his present farm, where
he has resided the greater portion of the time since.
In the meantime his children surviving him have
grown up around him, and he has given each a
good education and a fair start in life. He has
always been a hard worker, and owes his present

position, socially and financially, to his own efforts.
Politically, he votes the Democratic ticket, and has
always been the encourager and supporter of those
measures calculated for the advancement of his
fellow-citizens.

Both Mr. and Mrs. K. are members of the Pres-
byterian Church, in which our subject has officiated
as Elder for more than thirty-five years. He has
been frequently solicited to accept official positions,
but has invariably declined, preferring to confine
his attention to his family and farm.

RIN W. JONES. If the character of the
country which has attained so high a standard
during the past few decades is to be main-
tained, a great responsibility devolves upon the
young men who must take the place of those whose
hands have shaped and molded affairs. Owing to
the intelligent and advanced education of the par-
ents of to-day, a generation of worthy successors
to them has been raised up and is ready to take
their places. In the hands of the young men of to-
day the future of the country will be safe, and par-
ticularly will this be so because of those who are
natives and to the manor born, for they are more
intimately acquainted with the requirements of the
times. When the exercise of citizenship is coupled
with intelligence, there is no mistake' in predicting
that the future of the country's welfare is assured.

One of the young men on whose shoulders is be-
ginning to rest the responsibility of the present is
the subject of this sketch, a farmer and stock-raiser
on section 14, Owego Township, and who is a native
of Le Roy, State of New York, where he was born on
the 29th of March, 1855. lie is the son of William
and Mary Jones (of whom a sketch appears in this
work), who were early settlers of Owego Township.
When quite young he accompanied his parents when
they came to Illinois, and thi> State has been his
home ever since, where his younger days were spent
in work upon the farm, during the fanning seasons,
and attending school during the winter months, in
which he obtained a good education.

On the 5th of March, 1884, Mr. Jones was mar-
ried to Miss Jennie Kerr, of Bloomington, 111.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY".

is a native of Scotland, and daughter of James II.
and Sarah J. Kerr, of Hoomington, 111., who were
also natives of Scotland. Mrs. Jones and lier mother
eanic to America in 1872. Mr. Kerr having preceded
them several years. This young couple have made
an excellent start in life, Mr. Jones having purchased
eight}' acres of land with the proceeds of his labor
and good management, a considerable portion of
which was accumulated before marriage. He and
his wife are intelligent and educated people, and for
years he has taken an active interest in associations
for the advancement of good literature and the cul-
tivation of literary tastes. lie is not a political par-
tisan, and indeed politics have never interested him
to the extent of causing him to become attached to
either of the old parties.

ANIKL STRKKT. If one could obtain a
bird's eye view of Illinois before it was in-
habited by white people and then suddenly
look upona picture of the State, showing its
present magnificent improvement, dotted all over
with cities and towns, crossed and recrossed by rail-
roads. all the land intervening between the towns
covered with farm houses and barns, lie would real-
ize a change in scene before which would pale into
insignificance any transformation ever witnessed. The
subject of this sketch has been a witness of such a
transformation in that section of the county in which
lie has lived, lie has seen improvements grow up
where wild wastes of prairie existed, and spjendid
farms made of land which from the beginning of
time had been given over to the rank growth of
nature, and within his experience the whole State
has attained its splendid state of perfection.

Mr. Street is a farmer of Avoca Township, and
resides on section 10. He is a native of Mnskin-
gum Comity. Ohio, where lie was born on the 13th
of March. 1831, and is the .-on of Jacob and Tacey
Street, both of whom are natives of Pennsylvania.
Hi- paternal ancestors were of English, and his ma-
ternal ance-tors of (ieniian descent. In his twenti-
eth year he accompanied his parents when Ihey re-
moved to Putnam County, 111., and resided there

about two years. Hoth of his parents died in Mar-
shall County. 111. To them were born eight chil-
dren, live of whom are living: Daniel: Robert M..
in Iowa: Ann. Mix Aaron Axline. of Wenona, 111.;
Ile.-ter. Mrs. Chauncy Claylord. of Missouri County.
Kan.: Amanda. Mrs. (leorge Dean, of Maryland.
When a boy Mr. Street learned the trade of a potter.
which occupation he followed for about live years,
and has devoted the remainder of his time to farm-
ing. He came to Livingston County in the spring
of 1857, where he has resided ever since. lie owns
a farm of fifty acres, which was in its primitive con-
dition when he became possessed of it, but within a
few years afterward he had reduced it to a condition
of splendid cultivation.

On the 23d of December, 1860, Mr. Street was
married to Maria DeMoss, daughter of James and
Margaret DeMoss, who were pioneer settlers of
Livingston County. They have had but one child,
a daughter named Luella, who was born on the 3d
of August, 1863. Mr. Street has always acted with
the Republican party, from a sense of conscious-
ness of duty, without the expectation of ollice or
other reward. In an otlicial capacity he has served
the people for three years as School Director, and

his administration gave g 1 satisfaction. He

heartily seconds and endorses all movements for the
betterment of society, and in such matters has been
generally a leader.

ARTIN M. TRAVIS. Some men there are
whose lives cannot be written without in-
terweaving into the storj- of their incom-
ings and their outgoings the history of
another life that of the wife. This is peculiarly
and beautifully so in the instance under considera-
tion. Here is a man nearly seventy-seven years of age
who has been married to the woman of his choice
nearly half a century half a century within itself
an average lifetime. What he has accomplished
within that time has been with and by the aid of
her who has been the sharer of his joys and sor-

When men and women married fifty years ago ,
the surroundings were entirely different from the

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

357

weddings of to-day. There were no railroads nor
any of the inventions that have revolutionized
commercial as well as social affairs. Marriage
meant hardships, denials, troubles, slow progress in
the accumulation of wealth in an undeveloped
country where luxury and many of the ordinary
comforts of life were unknown. To the wife
it meant much labor, great sacrifice of personal
comfort, the exercise of unshrinking courage, and
in addition it devolved upon her in the adjustment
of the laws of nature to be a staff of inspiration on
which the husband might lean when the clouds of
adversity hovered over him the darkest. Mr. and
Mrs. Travis, in the battle of life, stood shoulder to
shoulder, and ever clasped hands in the mutual en-
deavor to improve and elevate their condition. Mr.
Travis met with a great bereavement in the death
nf liis beloved wife, who passed to her reward Oct.
27, 1887, after an illness of about four weeks.

Mr. Travis is a pioneer of Livingston County,
whose farm is located on section 5, Belle Prairie
Township. He was born on the 4th of July, 1811,
in Overtoil County. Tenn., and his parents were
Jeremiah and Margaret (Peek) Travis, natives of
Georgia and Virginia respectively. The father
was born in 1788, married in 1807, came to Illinois
in 1834, and died in 1871. The mother was two
years his senior and died in 1872. The father was a
chair and spinning-wheel maker by trade, but de-
voted considerable of his life to the occupation of
a farmer. When they removed to Illinois their
mode of transportation was by a wagon drawn by
oxen, which made their travel necessarily slow.
They were the parents of eight children Susanna,
Annie, Martin, John, Pollie, David, Jeremiah and
Nancy. Four of these are now living.

The subject of this sketch was married, on the
14th of December, 1837, to Miss Eliza Thompson,
who was born on the 31st of March, 1814, and was
the daughter of John B. and Mary (Steers) Thomp-
son, natives of Kentucky. The father was boni in
1788, and died in 1882; the mother was born
about the same date and died in 1873. They came
to Illinois and located in McLean County in the
year 1829, where they remained until the occurrence
of his death. They were the parents of ten chil-
dren Eli/.a, Johnson, William, Simpson E., James,

Lilliard, Serena, Elizabeth, Washington and Mary.

Mr. Travis came to Illinois in 134, accompany-
ing his parents. His boyhood days and early man-
hood were so thoroughly devoted to the service of
his parents on the farm that he never had an op-
portunity to attend school for even a single day.
At the age of twenty-three he began the struggle
of life for himself, and entered forty acres of tim-
ber land, subsequently purchasing forty acres and
then 160 more. His farm now consists of 195
acres of well-improved land, on which is a com-
fortable and commodious residence. Although he
is now in his seventy-seventh year, the latest
demonstration of his astonishing vitality was re-
covering his two-story house with shingles, entirely
unaided. Beginning life without any means what-
ever, through his own industry and the unflag-
ging aid and devotion of his wife, he accumulated
lands and means enough to make him thoroughly
independent during the balance of his days.
Mr. and Mrs. T. had born to them the following
children : Mary A., Rachel, John D., Adeline and
Francis; besides three deceased, viz: Elizabeth, at
the age of eighteen ; Serena, at twelve, and Minerva,
at thirty-three.

Mrs. Travis for very many years was a de-
voted and consistent member of the Baptist Church.
Our subject has twenty-five grandchildren, and
two great-grandchildren. Mr. Travis has been a
life-long Democrat and refers with great satis-
faction to the fact that he cast his first Presi-
dential vote for Gen. Andrew Jackson.

r *OSEPH J. TRULLINGER. The histories
of Indiana and Illinois so far as they relate
to the hardships'and privations of the early
pioneers are so nearly identical, that a man
born in Indiana at the beginninguf the thirties, ex-
perienced as bard a beginning as the man who was
born or first settled in Illinois at that time. In
both States the conditions fifty or sixty years ago
were such as to test the mettle and make-up of the
men and women who cast their lot either by birth or
settlement in either State. At that time transporta-
tion was by wagons drawn by horses or oxen over

358

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

roads which ran through a wilderness or vast ex-
panse of prairie, and for half the year were utterly
impassable. Steam had not yet been utilized to
facilitate overland travel, and the mails were few
and far between in their arrivals and departures.
Compared with the present era those were truly slow
coach days, but the people were perhaps as content
and as happy as they are to-day.

The subject of this sketch is a representative pio-
neer of Avoca Township, and a native of Fountain
County, Ind. He was born on the 19th of October,
1831, and is the son of Jacob and Mary Trullinger.
The father was a native of Pennsylvania, and the
mother was born in the State of Maryland. He re-
ceived a rudimentary education in the early schools
of Fountain County, which at that time afforded
very limited advantages. Mr. Trullinger was first
married, on the 5th of, December, 1852, to Mary-
Foster, a native of Ohio, who shared the joys and
sorrows of her husband until the 4th of August,
1886, when she passed to her reward. On the 17th
. of March, 1887, Mr. Trullinger was united in mar-
riage to Mrs. Sarah C. Spencer, a native of Ten-
nessee.

Mr. Trullinger has always been engaged in the
vocation of a farmer, and largely depended upon
his own resources. His father died when he was an
infant, and his mother in 1872. In 1856 he came
from Indiana to Livingston County, and purchased
forty acres of land, to which he has added forty
acres more, making an excellent eighty-acre farm,
which is well improved. On one of the forty-acre
tracts there are 747 rods of tile, and the entire farm
is enclosed with a good hedge fence. When Mr.
Trullinger came to this county, he practically had
nothing to begin on, and his success, which has
been measurably good, is wholly' attributable to his
industry and good management.

Being Republican in politics, and one who takes
an active part in local political affairs, Mr. Trullin-
ger has been chosen as School Trustee of the town-
ship for three years, and also served as School
Director for several years. lie takes great interest
in the affairs of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in
which he has for eight years been Recording Steward
and for a considerable time a Class-Leader. Sun-
day-school Superintendent and Church Trustee.

He was one of the first to inaugurate the movement
which culminated in building the Lodcnia Method-
ist Church and parsonage, and to that enterprise
his contribution was quite liberal. His course in
this matter fully illustrates his public spirit and
liberal mind. He is a representative citizen of the
township, and enjoys the esteem and respect of the
citizens thereof. His life has been a busy one, and
its results are such as to be satisfactory to him in
his declining years.

eilRISTOPHER C. LEONARD is largely en-
gaged in farming and stock-raising on sec-
tion 34 in Newtown Township, where he owns
100 acres of good and well-improved land, besides
forty acres in Amity Township. He was born in
Bradford County, Pa., on the 26th of April, 1836,
and is the son of Edmund D. and Elizabeth (Rem-
ington) Leonard. lie lived in Pennsylvania with
his parents until about eleven years of age, at which
time they moved to Du Page County, 111., going
by water to Chicago, and thence by teams. Mr.
Leonard began to attend subscription schools at the
age of three years, and continued until his parents
moved to Illinois, after which he only attended dur-
ing the winter months. The parents remained in
Du Page County about seven years, and then came
to Livingston County, transporting their effects in
wagons drawn by oxen. They located on section
33, Newtown Township, where the father entered
land from the Government, and resided until his
death (see sketch of Mrs. Leonard). After coming
to this county the subject of our sketch attended
school for three winters, when he left home at
twenty-one years of age and lived in Amity Town-
ship for a time, working on the land where the vil-
lage of Cornell now stands. After living in the
various portions of the county he permanently lo-
cated in Newtown, in 1873.

Mr. Leonard was married, Feb. 4, 1858, to Mary
Mason, daughter of Enoch and Kli/.alieth (Shinn)
Mason, native's of New Jersey. The great-grand-
father Mason was of Irish de-cent, and Elizabeth
Shinn's parents were German. Enoch was born in
Galloway Township, Gloucester Co., N. J.. July 25,

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

359

1*04, mid was there man-led, Aug. 28, 1825, to
Elizabeth Shinn, who \v.-is born June 18, 1805. To
thi'in were born eight children, three of whom are
living: Mary, the wife of our subject; Martha and
George. .Martha was born March 7, 1847, and was
married, Sept. 20, 1866, to Orlando E. Hart; he
died in 1869, and she was married to William S.
Brown in June, 1871, and they live in Nebraska.
George W. was born July 11, 1845, and resides in
Western Iowa. The deceased members of the fam-
ily are: Hannah, bom June 29, 1829, died Sept. 4,
1832; Naomi, born June 10, 1831, died Aug. 14,
1832; Henry, born June 6, 1833, died Sept. 6,
1838; Elizabeth, born Oct. 10, 1836, died Aug. 26,
1858; Charles W., born April 5, 1843, died July

20, 1873; he was married to Emily M. Wilbur
March 7, 1869, and enlisted in Company A, 129th
Illinois Infantry, Aug. 2, 1862. His health becom-
ing impaired he was discharged at the end of the
first year, and lived at home one year, when he was
drafted and taken to New Orleans, where he served
until the close of the war. After his return home
he was married and became the father of two chil-
dren, named Idele May, born Dec. 16, 1869. and
Chester Allen, May 13, 1872. lie died suddenly
at his home while walking from the pump in the
dooryard to the house. Emily, his widow, was
again married, Nov. 5, 1885, to Joshua A. Mus-
grove, and lives in Kansas. The mother of these
childreirdied Jan. 4, 1868, and Enoch Mason was
again married Feb. 21, 1869, the woman of his
choice being Sophia Wilbur. She died June 30
1873, and her husband followed her Sept. 12, 1874.
Mary, the wife of our subject, was born Aug. 6,
1838, in Monroe Count}', Mich., and her parents
came to Illinois in 1850, and located in Newtown
Township, where they resided at the time of their
death. Mr. and Mrs. Leonard were married in the
house in which they now live, and are the parents of
the following-named children: Olivia, born Oct. 22,
1858: Lawrence, born Nov. 20, 1859, died Aug.

21, 18(30; Emily A., born May 31, 1861, married
John Weideman, of Newtown Township, and has
three children ; Edwin, born June 18, 1866; Clora
A., Feb. 26, 1868: Ira G., Nov. 16, 1869; Andrew,
Jan. :, 1872: Franklin ('., Oct. 18, 187:!, and Fred-
erick G., Dec. 12, 1875.

Christopher C. Leonard enlisted in Company A,
12'.lth Illinois Infantry, Aug. 2, 1862, under C'apt.
John A. Hoskins, at Pontiac, and during his term
of service participated in several of the larger en-
gagements, receiving his baptism of fire at the bat-
tle of Buzzard's Roost, in Georgia. At the battle of
Peach tree Creek he received a slight injury, from
which he soon recovered. He was with Sherman
during his Atlanta campaign ami in the march to
the sea, participating in the capture of Savannah,
and the battle of Bentonville. He was mustered
out in Washington City June 8, 1865, and received
his discharge papers in Chicago June 1 7 of that
year. He immediately returned to his home in this
county, and resumed the occupation of farm work.

Mr. and Mrs. Leonard are honored members of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and devote con-
siderable of their time to matters intended to ad-
vance the best interests of the congregation. In
politics Mr. Leonard is a stanch Republican, and
can always be depended upon to watch over and
care for the interests of that party.

LE PETERSON, of Sunbury Township, is
one of the most enterprising representatives
of his nationality in Livingston County.
He bears the reputation of a praiseworthy and in-
dustrious citizen, one who attends strictly to his
own concerns, and has thereby made a success both
as a farmer and business man. He has been a res-
ident of Illinois for over twenty years, and located
upon a tract of land which had only been partially
cultivated, and which he has transformed into one
of the finest homesteads in Sunbury Township.

Mr. Peterson was born in Stavanger, Norway,
July 4, 1830, and is the son of Peter and Anna
Peterson, natives of the same country, who there
spent their entire lives. He attended school dur-
ing his childhood until fourteen years old, and at
the same time assisted his father on the farm. The
agricultural operations of the Norwegian farmer in
his own country are very different from those of
the present agriculturists of the Prairie State. The
implements are of rude construction, and the tiller
of the soil in a country not exceedingly fertile has

360

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

to contend with many disadvantages. The parents
of our subject were people of modest means, and
Ole, when a youth of sixteen, left the parental roof
and started out in life for himself. He received,
for hard work, rather poor fare, the munificent sal-
ary of $10 per year, and a piece of cloth for a suit
of clothes.

Young Peterson had always been a serious and
reflective youth, and not being satisfied with his
prospects and condition in his own country, de-
termined to set sail for the New World, stories of
which frequently reached him from across the wa-
ter. Accordingly, on the loth of May, 1860, he
set sail from the port of Stavanger accompanied by
his wife and child, he having been married in 1859.
After a voyage of six weeks they landed in the
city of Quebec, Canada, whence they came directly
to the States and at once set out for Illinois. Mr.
Peterson landed in Ottawa with $15 in his pocket,
but soon found employment upon a farm at $18 a
month a vast improvement upon the sum he re-
ceived for the same labor on his native soil. He
lived economically, and with the help of his excel-
lent wife, in the course of two years bought a little
herd of cattle, and hiring a cheap man to look after
them, continued working as before until enabled
to secure a tract of land.

Mr. Peterson decided to locate in the northern
part of Livingston County, which at that time was
mostly open prairie, especially the districts including
the townships of Nevada and Sunbury. This
made a good range for stock, and Mr. P., bringing
his cattle hither, still continued hiring them herded,
and rented a tract of land upon which to raise corn
and wheat. He operated upon rented land three
years with excellent results, and then purchased
eighty acres, which forms a part of his present
homestead. For this he was to pay $1,280. He
paid $320 cash, and gave his notes for the balance.
One of his first duties was to put up a shelter for
his family, and upon the completion of tin* he en-
tered at once upon the cultivation of the land.
He was successful from the beginning, the seasons
proving favorable and the soil yielding plentifully
to his worthy efforts. He invested his surplus cap-
ital in additional land, buying eighty acres adjoin-
ing, so that he now has a quarter section, and all

in a fine state of cultivation. It is enclosed with
neat and substantial fences, and the farm buildings
will bear comparison with anything of the kind in
this part of the county. In 1803 Mr. P. pur-
chased a pair of colts which he has worked upon
his farm ever since, and now, although twenty-
seven years old, they retain many of the skittish
ways of their 3'outh, giving evidence of the care
and kindness with which they have been treated
since coming into the possession of their present
owner. It is hardly necessary to say that Mr. Pe-
terson will never part with these old friends who
have served him so long and so faithfulty.

The wife of our subject was, in her girlhood,
Miss Bertha Johnson, and became the mother of
six children : Annie was born in 1861 ; Tillie, in 1863;
Peter, in 1 865 ; Bertha, in 1 868 ; Lena, in 1 87 1 ; John,
in 1879. The mother, after remaining the faithful
and affectionate companion of her husband for a
period of over twenty years, departed this life at
her home in Sunbury Township in September,
1881, and her remains were laid to rest in Sunbury
Cemetery. Mr. Peterson was subsequently mar-
ried to Miss Inger Rasmusson, of Esmen Township,
their wedding taking place at the home of the
bride. The present wife of our subject was born
in August, 1835.

Mr. Peterson was reared in the doctrines of the
Lutheran Church, to which he still loyally adheres,
and although interesting himself comparatively
little in politics, uniformly supports Republican
principles, and votes upon occasions of general
elections.

EMERY WESTEHVKLT, accountant, and at
present book-keeper and assistant cashier for
j, - Beach <fe Dominy. bankers at Fairbury, is a

native of Franklin County, Ohio, having been born
twelve miles northeast of the city of Columbus,
Oct. 7, 1824. He is a gentleman of more than or-
dinary intelligence, and forms one of the important
f. -ic tors of a cultivated community. lie was reared
to farming purdtiits, in which he engaged success-
fully for a number of 3'ears. afterward obtaining
a collegiate education, and was for two years Pro-
fessor in Otterbein I'niversity, at AVesterville, Ohio.

RESIDENCE OF SAMUEL MILLS.SEC.S.ESMEN TOWNSHIP

F?ESID'ENCE or CHARLES FAUST.SEC.SS, SULLIVAN TOWNSHIP.

RESIDENCE OFJOHN HARRIS, SECJS^AUNEMINTOWNSHIP.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

361

The parents of our subject, Mathew and Abiah
(Leonard) Westervelt, were natives respectively of
Dutchess County, N. Y., and Springfield, Mass.
Matlicvv Westervelt was born June 15, 1788, and
departed this life in Columbus, Ohio, Jan. 4, 1865.
He followed farming his entire life, and with his ex-
cellent wife, was a devoted member of the Method-
ist Episcopal Church. The mother of our subject
was born Aug. 24, 1792, and survived her husband
twenty-two years, her deatli taking place Jan. 14.
1887, at the advanced age of ninety-four years.
The family included ten children.

Our subject spent his boyhood on the parental
homestead, pursuing his early studies at the district
school, and after his connection with the university
had ended, engaged in farming fivej'ears. He was
subsequently married, April 24, 1850, to Miss Caro-
line R. Connelly, and a few months later removed
to Columbus, Ohio, and thence to Pittsburgh, Pa.,
where he became Superintendent of Duff's famous
commercial college, and was thus engaged for two
years. Afterward he was associated with the Colum-
bia Oil Company, a wealthy and highly successful
corporation in that city, with a capital of $2,500,-
000, as Secretary and Treasurer, which positions he
retained until 1868. Then, on account of failing
health he removed, first to Philadelphia, and thence
to New York City, finally journeying West with
the Greeley Colony to Colorado. UIKJII his return
eastward in 1870, he resided in Fairbury, this
county, four months, when he returned to Pitts-
burgh, Pa., and took a position with the firm of A.
French & Co., extensive manufacturers of railway
car and locomotive springs. He remained with
this firm three years, and in 1875 returned to Fair-
bury, where he has since resided. Besides his duties
in the bank, he is Secretary of the Fairbury Build-
ing and Loan Association, and is rated among the
representative businessmen of the town.

Mrs. Westervelt was born near Lancaster, Pa.,
Jan. 7, 1829, and is the daughter of Edward and
Mary (Grnham) Connelly, natives respectively of
Ireland and Scotland. They resided in Franklin
County, Ohio, at the time of their death, which oc-
curred many years ago. The household circle of
our subject and his wife includes three interesting
children, named Emery E., Carrie and George P.

They occupy a snug home on Elm and Webster
streets, and enjoy the esteem and confidence of a
large circle of acquaintances. Mr. Westervelt,
politically, is a decided Republican.

<fl fifclLLIAM L. TATE, widely known through-
\j\/// out Pontiac Township as one of its repre-
J/xy sentative farmers and stock-growers, owns a
good property of 240 acres on section 35, where
for the last twenty years he has been engaged suc-
cessfully in the tilling of the soil, and making a
specialty of raising grain and hay with which to
feed the stock, large numbers of which pass
through his hands annually. His course has been
"marked by- industry and good judgment, and more
than ordinary success. He has distinguished him-
self as a liberal-minded and public-spirited citi-
zen, wide-awake to those measures tending to the
welfare of the community and the elevation of
society.

Mr. Tate, a native of Yorkshire, England, was
born June 6, 1837, and is the son of Henry and
Elizabeth Tate, the former deceased and the latter
a resident of Lee County, this State. Our sub-
ject when a child three years of age crossed the
ocean with his parents to America. After a brief
stay in New York City they proceeded to Franklin,
Mass., where they located, and where the father
followed his trade as a shoemaker. In the spring
of 1853 they started for the West, and located in
Peru, 111., where the father died the following year.
The family included nine children, all living, and
as follows: William L., our subject, was the eldest;
Hannah H. is the wife of F. M. Tilden, of Boston,
Mass.; Samuel L.. a graduate of Ann Arbor Uni-
versity, and who for some time officiated as a
Judge of the Circuit Court at Grand Haven, Mich.,
is now a resident of Sioux Falls, Dak. ; Martha A.
is the wife of Tracey F. Marshall, of Marshall
Count}', Iowa; Eliza married Charles Gratz, of
Winteriiet, Iowa; Sarah E., Mrs. E. M. Lewis, is re-
siding in Lee Coiint3% this State; Henry W., a
graduate of Shurtleff College, and of the Newton
(Mass.) Theological Seminary, is now a minister
of the Baptist Church, and located in Tiverton, R.

362

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

1. ; John F. is a resident of Winterset, Iowa, and
Eva is the wife of T. G. Smith, of Lincoln, Kan.

Mr. Tate was reared to farming pursuits from
his boyhood, and after passing his twenty-seventh
birthday was united in marriage with Miss Eliza-
beth Cade, the wedding taking place at the home
of the bride, Nov. 21, 1864. Mrs. Tate is a na-
tive of the same country as her husband, and was
born April 5, 1840. Her parents, Lewis and Jane
Cade, emigrated to America when she was a young
girl fifteen j'ears of age, and settled first near
Philadelphia, Pa. A few years later the father died,
and the mother with her children came to Lee
County, this State, where her death took place in
1867. The household included nine children, three
living, namely, George C.; Jane, the wife of Isaac
Mclver, a resident of Reno County, Kan. ; and
Elizabeth, who is the wife of our subject. Mr. and
Mrs. Tate became the parents of six children,
namely, Alfred L., Henry A., Samuel W., Nettie
E., William G. and Everette L.

As stated above, the farm of Mr. Tate embraces
240 acres of finely .[cultivated land with substan-
tial and convenient buildings. His accumulations
have been solely the result of his own industry, as
he commenced at the foot of the ladder and has
been dependent upon his own resources. He has
been quite prominent in local affairs, serving as Road
Commissioner and School Trustee, which latter po-
sition he now holds. He has been distinguished
principally by his strict attention to his own af-
fairs, and by assisting his neighbors and fellow-
townsmen whenever there was need. In politics
he is an uncompromising Republican. Mr. and
Mrs. Tate are members of the Baptist Church at
Pontiac.

w. STOKER. Among the weii-u>-

do and successful farmers of Waldo Town-
ship, and a gentleman who has attained suc-
cess in life through industry and economy, is the
subject of this sketch. He is at present engaged in
the calling which he has followed the greater por-
tion of his life, and in addition to the cultivation
of the cereals is devoting considerable time to

stock-raising on his farm, which is located on sec-
tion 32. He is the son of Jehu C. and Anna
(Nibbs) Stoker, and was born in Mason County,
Ky., on the llth of March, 1827. His parents
were natives of Kentucky, and of good English de-
scent. They had six children, of whom our sub-
ject was the second: Mary, born Jan. 26, 1824,
married Eli Stephenson,and died leaving one child ;
Martha E., born April 13, 1830, married Eli Ste-
phenson, the husband of her deceased sister; they
live in Kentucky and have several children. Cyn-
thia A., born Feb. 19, 1833, married James M.
Mitchel, has seven children, and lives in Gridley;
Sarah B., born Jan. 3, 1836, married Rev. J. A.
Windsor, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
has two children; John P., born Feb. 28, 1840, en-
listed in the army in 1861, and lived but a few
months, dying of measles in Bowling Green, Ky.

Mr. Stoker was reared on a farm, during which
time he received a fair common-school education.
He remained under the parental roof, assisting his
father in the management of the farm until he was
twenty-five years of age, when he concluded to try
his fortunes in California, and made the journey to
that State by way of the Isthmus of Darien, which
required about one month's time. While he was
on board the vessel, he had an attack of measles,
from which he recovered very slowly, and which
left him in impaired health for about one year.
He remained in California for about three years,
and during that time was engaged in mining. Al-
though he did not amass a fortune in his mining
operations, he accumulated more-money there then
he could have done by labor in the same length of
time in Kentucky. In 1856 he returned to the
latter-named State, where he remained until the
spring of 1857, when he came to Illinois and set-
tled in Livingston County, where he purchased 160
acres of land, on which he lived for about three
years.

On the 2d of May, 1860, our subject was mar-
ried to Miss Mary E. Jewett, daughter of Parker
and Mary (Cochran) Jewett, of Livingston County.
In 18U1 he sold his farm to the man of whom he
formerly purchased it, and lived upon a rented
farm for one year. The following year he pur-
chased eighty acres upon which his present home

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

363

stands, and since then has purchased forty acres
upon section 33. Mr. and Mrs. Stoker became the
parents of two children George P., born Aug. 21,
1861, and May B., May 1, 1863; both live at
home. Mrs. Stoker was born near Belfast, Me., on
the llth of November, 1832, and died on the 17th
of May, 1887. The father of Mrs. Stoker was born
at Thetford, Yt., May 28, 1807, and the mother
June 16, 1805, in Belfast, Me.; they were both of
English descent. Their marriage occurred on the
27th of December, 1831, at Belfast, at which Rev.
Ferris Fitch was the officiating clergyman.

Mr. Stoker cast his first political vote for Frank-
lin Pierce for President, but since the war of the
Rebellion he has constantly voted the Republican
ticket. Since 1863, which is now nearly a quarter
of a century, he has been custodian of the school
fund, and it is worthy of mention that there has
never been a dollar of the funds gone astray. He
is a member of the Congregational Church in Grid-
ley, and has for man}' years served as its Trustee.
He is a man about six feet in height, weighs about
180 pounds, has grey eyes, and his hair was auburn
before it turned grey. He is a man of generous
and social disposition, and readily makes friends
who never desert him.

ffiOHN A. CAVANAUGH, Nevada's merchant
prince, belongs to the nationality which has
contributed largely to the advancement of
the business interests of this section. He
was born in County Galway, Ireland, Sept. 25, 1845,
and is the son of Patrick Cavanaugh, a native of
the same county. His paternal grandfather, John
Cavanaugh, was born in County Wexford, whence
he moved to Galway early in life, taking up his
abode at his beautiful rural home, afterward known
as Knava, near the village of Eyrcourt, where his
death took place in 1850.

Patrick Cavanaugh grew to manhood in his na-
tive count} r , and in 1844 married Miss Mary, daugh-
ter of John C'oyle, a fanner and magistrate for-
merly of County Clare. The latter died in 1848
at the age of sixty-eight years. In the spring of
1852, when our subject was but a lad of seven

years, his parents decided to seek their fortunes on
this side of the Atlantic. They embarked on a
sailing-vessel at Liverpool, and after a voyage of
five weeks landed in the city of New Orleans.
Eighteen months later they removed to this State,
and located in LaSalle County. The father pur-
chased a tract of wild prairie land in Eagle Town-
ship, put up a dwelling, and entered industriously
upon the improvement and cultivation of his pur-
chase. As the result of industry and perseverance,
he in due time found himself the owner of a beautiful
farm of 400 acres, with all the appurtenances of a
first-class country home. This he sold in 1874,
and retiring from active labor, took up his residence
with his son, our subject, in Nevada, where, with
his estimable wife, he is spending his declining
years in the ease and comfort to which he is justly
entitled.

Our subject, being the elder child, and only son
of his parents, the family consisting of but two
children, himself and one sister, now the wife of
Thomas Scaulan, Esq., a real-estate agent and loan-
broker of Rock Valley, Iowa, his duties in the
building up of a new home were necessarily press-
ing and laborious ; and hence it was that at the age
of eighteen his education consistd of but a moder-
ate knowledge of the rudiments acquired at the dis-
trict schools of Eagle Township. Circumstances
being now favorable to his aspirations, he was per-
mitted to attend the Christian Brothers' School at
LaSalle during a portion of the years 1864-65, still
continuing to assist his father in the cultivation of
the farm. In the fall of 1868, he resolved to
abandon farming and become a merchant, and pre-
paratory to doing so, he repaired to Chicago and
entered Bryant & Stratton's Business College, for
a business training, from which he was graduated
in the spring of 1869. For nearly a year thereafter
he was engaged in book-keeping for a wholesale
grocery house. He then returned to the farm.

On the 4th of October, 1870, Mr. Cavanaugh
married Miss Kate O'Leary, the youngest daughter
of a wealthy and respected farmer of Grundy
County. With his bride he staid on the old home-
stead until the fall of 1872, when he came to Ne-
vada and engaged in the grain business, building a
large and substantial elevator, and a handsome and

364

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

commodious ofBce. Two years later he purchased
a general stock of merchandise, to which he has
been adding until he has now an immense and well-
selected stock, that would do credit to any town in
the county. Mr. and Mrs. Cavanaugh are the par-
ents of nine children, namely, Clarence Emmet, Ed-
mund S., Clement J., Constance L., John A., Flor-
ence Emily, Celesta A., Irene M. and Gertrude A.
Clarence, though but sixteen years of age, is Prin-
cipal of the town school, while the others, except
the two youngest, are among his pupils.

That Mr. C. is a man of but ordinary calibre,
must not be inferred from the fact that Nevada is
b;;t a small village, on the contrary, he is possessed
of superior abilities, such as befit a man for the
front rank in any community. He is considered
an authority in educational matters, having written
many able articles on the subject of education.

J" OHN AUGUSTINE, Justice of the Peace,
farmer and stock-raiser, located on section
17, Owego Township, is the owner of eighty
acres of finely improved and cultivated land,
provided with a substantial residence, from which
may be obtained a fine view of the surrounding
country. Our subject is one of the enterprising
and progressive farmers of Livingston County, who
has made the most of his opportunities, and taken
advantage of modern progress. His barn and out-
buildings are of good description, and finely Mr-
ranged for the shelter of stock and storing of grain.
He has a fine lot of high-grade cattle and horses,
and everything about the premises indicates the
supervision of an enterprising and intelligent man.
Mr. Augustine is a native of Lancaster County,
Pa., the date of his birth being Jan. 27, 1833, and
he is a son of John A. and Ann (Miller) Augustine,
natives of Germany and Pennsylvania respectively.
The father emigrated to America when he was fif-
teen 'years old, and settled in Pennsylvania, where
he married and reared a family. lie was the father
of twelve children, nine of whom are living at the
time this sketch is written : Martin, Andrew, Sam-
uel, John, Henry. Susan : Mary, the wife of John
Carson: Christie A., the wife of B. W. Benedict,

and Mattie. Those deceased are Elizabeth, Jacob
and Michael, the two latter having lost their lives
in the late C'ivil War, in which they were engaged
as I'nion soldiers. Jacob enlisted in Fulton County,
111., went out as a C-aplain, and was killed at Ken-
nesaw Mountain while acting in the capacity of
Colonel, not having at that time received a com-
mission for that rank, which had been issued by the
Governor. The other son, Michael, also enlisted
in Fulton County, and was killed at Mission Ridge.
Another son, Henry Augustine, of Normal, 111.,
also enlisted in Fulton County as a private, rose to
the rank of Captain, and served four years, contin-
uing in the service until the close of the war.

The subject of this sketch was reared to man-
hood in his native county, and was given a liberal
education, reaping the benefit of the advantages
afforded in the admirable schools of Lancaster
County. When nineteen years of age he began the
trade of a blacksmith, which occupation he followed
about eleven years. On the 14th of August, 1856,
in Pennsylvania, he was married to Susan Duke,
who was born in Lancaster County, that State, on
the 19th of October, 1837; she is a daughter of
Adam and Catherine Duke. The former is de-
ceased; he was a soldier in the War of 1812; her
mother at present resides in Missouri. The pater-
nal grandfather, John Duke, was an Englishman by
birth, and settled in Pennsylvania. To Mr. and
Mrs. Augustine six children have been born:
Charles F., deceased; Violetta, the wife of Albert
Morrison ; Emma L. ; Lewis E., deceased ; Alvaretta
and John A.

In 1856 Mr. Augustine emigrated to Illinois,
where he resided in Fulton County until he came
to Livingston County in the spring of 1869, and
located on section 18, Owego Township, where he
remained until 1875, in which year he settled on
section 17, where he now resides: his farm consists
of eighty acres of land, upon which lie has intro-
duced all modern conveniences. At present he is
Assessor of Owego Township, in which capacity he
has served for thirteen consecutive years. In 1880
he was the Census Enumerator for the township.
For many years he has been serving as Justice
of the Peace in that township. In political matters
I he acts with the Republican party, and is also a

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

365

strong advocate of temperance, which he enthusi-
astically advocates. In religious matters he knows
no creed, nor does he belong to any church ; he is a
Free-thinker in all that the title implies, but en-
deavors to act up to the precepts of the Golden
Rule, lie and his family enjoy the respect and con-
fidence of all by whom they are surrounded, and
their friends number all who know them.

TSSELL BROS. "Behold how pleasant it is
for brethren to dwell together in unity." It
is both pleasant and beautiful to see broth-
ers dwelling together in unity, not only in
social but business matters. The Russell brothers,
Fra nk T. and George W., finely illustrate the amicable
way in which brothers should stand together in the
affairs of life when they have opportunity.

George W. Russell, the younger brother, and a
farmer of Pontiac Township, is a native of Greene
County, Ohio, and was born on the 26th of Septem-
ber, 1847. He is a son of William R. and Harriet
Russell, both of whom are natives of Virginia.
Adam Russell, a grandfather of George, was a sol-
dier in the War of 1812. The Russell family is of
Scotch descent; their grandfather settled in Greene
County in 1810. George Russell came with his
parents to Livingston County in 1869, and settled
in Pontiac Township on >ection 30, on which the
parents lived until the father's death, which took
place in 1871, and the mother's in 1875. They had
seven children: Jane is the wife of Harvey Strain.
of Greene County, Ohio; Mary : Adam, of Shelby
County, Ohio; Frank T., George W., William E..
of Shelby County, Ohio, and Ada. The father was
an Elder in the Presbyterian Church for forty years.
always taking an active part in the affairs of that
church. He was Republican in politics, and a man
who wa> universally respected.

George W. Russell, one of the linn of Russell
Bros., who are now owner> and managers of a farm
of eighty aero in Pontiac Township, was reared to
manhood in Greene County, Ohio, where he re-
ceived a common-school education, and then came
to Livingston County in 186. On the llth of
October. 1877, he was married to Jennie Living-

ston, daughter of Isaac Livingston, of McLean
County. They have had one child. William R.,
born July 8, 1878, and on the 17th of July, the
same year, his wife died. Frank T. Russell, the
older brother of the firm of Russell Bros., is also
a native of Greene County, Ohio, and was born on
the 7th of October, 1844. He has followed the oc-
cupation of a farmer all his life, in which he has
been engaged in Livingston County since 1868.
Both of the brothers are Republican, and vie with
each other in their devotion to that party. They
are both public-spirited, and in favor of everything
that will improve the county and elevate society.

rr^5)DWARD WHALEN, successfully engaged in
farming and stock-raising on section 7, in
Rook's Creek Township, has been a resident

of this county since a child not two years of age.
He is a native of Ireland, born in County Carlo w,
Oct. 12, 1847, and two years later his parents emi-
grated to the United States, locating first in Ottawa,
LaSalle County, where they remained until the boy
was nine years old. In 1854, during the Know-
Nothing excitement, when he was about seven years
of age, some of his schoolmates who had heard
their parents talk about the "hateful foreigners"
took a rope and hung him to a stake-ancl-rider
fence, and but for the timely interference of an
elder brother the result would have been fatal.

Young Whalen pursued his studies in the com-
mon school, and after reaching his majority crossed
the Mississippi to view the country, but staid only
two months. In 1872 he went to Minnesota on ac-
count of his health, remaining in the North six
months and being greatly benefited. After his re-
turn to Illinois he was married, April 11, 1875, to
Miss Ellen, daughter of Felix and Ellen (Hughes)
Sherry, the mother a distant relative of Bishop
Hughes, of New York. The wedding took place at
the home of the bride in Nebraska Township, the
Rev. Mr. Handley officiating. Of this union there
have been born three children, namely, Felix E.,
April 24, 1876; Edward J., Oct. 27, 1877, and Mary
E.. Jan. 30, 1870. Mr. Whalen has served as
School Director six years, and usually votes the

366

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

straight Democratic ticket, although he reserves the
right of a free American citizen to vote otherwise
if he considers it best. He is an active member of
the Catholic Church, and in all respects a highly
respected citizen.

Mrs. Whalen was the sixth in a family of nine
children born to her parents. The latter are both
dead; the mother died Nov. 2, 1867, the father
Nov. 18, 1859. Her eldest sister, Mary, was first
married to Peter Conly, and became the mother of
one child, a son, James, now a resident of Flana-
gan. After the death of Mr. Conly she married
John Flanagan, and of this union there were born
four children. The mother died in 1872, and is
buried at El Paso. Arthur Sherry is married and
has six children : James is single and a resident of
Livingston County; John remains in his native Ire-
land, and is the father of a family; Patrick is un-
married and a resident of this county ; and Annie,
also unmarried, is housekeeper for her brother
James in Nebraska Township.

OHN J. TAYLOR, who is largely engaged
in the real-estate, banking and milling busi-
ness in Fairbury, was born on the 1 7th of
July, 1818, in Melton, Saratoga Co.. N. Y.,
and comes of Scotch stock, his grandfather being-
John Taylor, who emigrated from near Edinburgh,
Scotland, to this country in 1785. His first loca-
tion was at Boston. He was a ship captain and
followed the sea for many years, eventually losing
his life on the ocean. His widow settled near Sara-
toga Springs, N. Y.

The name of the father of our subject was George
AV. Taylor, who was born in Boston, Mass., and
was the third son of the family. He obtained an
excellent education in his youth, and became so
proficient in mathematics and nautical studies that
he was able to command a vessel, and followed the
ocean for fifteen years, but gave up that vocation
at the earnest request of his wife, Harriet L. Du-
persoy, and adopted farming as his occupation,
which he made a success. He resided in the State
of New York during his life, and died in 1881.
Having been economical he succeeded in accumu-

lating about $20,000. His wife was of French-
English descent, and was born in 1795, and died in
1837. She was the mother of three children:
George C., who married Uretta Bentley ; John J.,
our subject, and Mary L., who married O. II. P.
Nash.

After obtaining a liberal education in the com-
mon schools of his native town Mr. Taylor came to
Illinois in 1851, and entered Lennox Academy,
where he remained two and one-half years. He is
a pioneer in the real-estate business, and during his
early residence in Illinois entered about 11,000
acres of land, and ultimately disposed of it at ft
good profit. He has pursued this business to a
greater or less extent ever since. In 1866 he en-
gaged in the banking business by opening a private
banking institution. In 1871-72 he assisted in
establishing the First National Bank in Fairbury,
and became one of its Directors. The capital of
this bank is $50,000, and it has the entire confi-
dence of the community. At the time this sketch
is written Mr. Taylor is the possessor of 800 acres
of the best land, which is divided into five differ-
ent farms of 1 60 acres each, and every one is being
placed under a high state of cultivation. Mr. Tay-
lor has twelve acres of land in Fairbury, on which he
has erected one of the finest dwelling-houses in the
town. He is what might be called well-to-do, as
his assets of real and personal property probably
foot up to $200,000. He is very largely interested
in the milling business at Quincy. His mills were
destroyed by fire, but he has rebuilt them at a cost
of about $100,000; they contain all the modern
roller improvements, and have a c.-ipacity of 1,200
barrels per day.

John J. Taylor was married, on the 15th of Feb-
ruary, 1855, to Hannah E. Cary,a native of Bruns-
wick, Me., who was born Jan. 19, 1828, and is
the daughter of James and Mary (Oakman) Gary.
lies father was a manufacturer of clocks and was a
very tine mechanic. A Mr. Dennison, an appren-
tice of his, was the first man to make a watch by
machinery, and during their lives they were fast
friends. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are the parents of
three children: Mary L. married Lester H. Strong,
and lives in Ottawa, 111.; Alice E. and James C.

Our subject and wife attend the Presbyterian

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

3(i7

Church. He is a thorough-going Republican, and
puts forth his best efforts in political matters for
the success of that party, although he never neg-
lects his business affairs for polities. Mr. Taylor
is handling his affairs successfully and profitably.
In his business relations he is always found to be a
man of strict integrity, honorable and fair in all
his dealings, doing unto others as he would they
should do unto him, and thus merits and receives
the approval of his friends and acquaintances.

I NICHOLAS WEIHKRMILLER. A large
)// proportion of Avoca Township is under
Z&) cultivation by the thrifty and industrious
German fanner. This nationality has had much to
do with the building up of the great West, and the
subject of this sketch is performing his part as an
enterprising citizen on a snng farm on section 25
of the township mentioned. The early part of
his life was spent in the Province of Bavaria,
Germany, where he was born May 4. 1856, and
from which he emigrated to the United States in
the spring of 1872.

The parents of our subject, George and Maggie
(Heinline) Weihermiller, were natives of the same
Province as their son, and of German ancestry for
generations back. Nicholas was the fourth of the
family, and commenced his education when a little
lad six years of age. At the age of fourteen he
had completed his studies, and two years later with
the enterprise for which he has always been dis-
tinguished, started out by himself to seek his fort-
unes on another continent. He embarked in a
sailing-vessel at Bremen, and after a voyage of
two weeks, set foot on American soil, proceeding
at once from New York City directly for the West.
For several years thereafter he was a resident of
LaSalle County, this State, whence he came to
Livingston County in 1877.

Mr.' Weihermiller commenced life in this county
as a farm laborer, working two years in Pleasant
Ridge Township, after which he farmed there on
rented land two years longer. lie took up his resi-
dence in Avoca Township about 1880, locating on
his present farm where he has since resided. His

property includes eighty acres of good land, and
the improvements which the passing traveler be-
holds are the result of the industry and enterprise
of the proprietor. Besides his home farm he owns
eighty acres in Iroquois County, which is operated
by a tenant. This also has good buildings, and
upon his homestead is a creditable assortment of
live stock, and all the necessary machinery for
lessening labor in producing and garnering the
chojcest crops of the Prairie State. Considering
the fact that Mr. Weihermiller came to Illinois
with a cash capital of sixty-three cents in his
pocket, the progress which he made should be en-
tirely satisfactory to himself and those interested.

The lady who presides over the domestic affairs
of our subject, and takes the warmest interest in
his success, was in her girlhood Miss Louisa Metz,
and she became his wife on the 2d of January,
1878. Mrs. W. was born in Woodforrl County,
Aug. 28, 1858, and is the daughter of Frederick
Metz, one of the most thorough farmers and highly
resp?ct<jd citizens of Pleasant Ridge Township.
To our subject and his wife there were born five
children, namely, Ida, born March 24, 1879;
George F., Oct. 3, 1881 ; Matilda, March 14, 1883;
Bertha, Jan. 17, 1885, and Delia, Oct. 30, 1886.
The parents of Mrs. Weihermiller, Frederick and
Barbara (Somer) Metz, are natives of Germany,
whence they emigrated to the United States, and
located in this county about twenty years ago. Of
the large family of children born to them, the fol-
lowing survive, namely, Frederick; Barbara, the
wife of William Voelpel, of Tazewell County; John,
Mary, Louisa, Samuel, Lewis, Lena, William and
Amos.

Mr. Weihermiller is an intelligent citizen who
keeps himself informed upon matters of general in-
terest, and politically, votes the straight Democratic
ticket.

LHANAN MORRIS, a wealthy and influen-
tial farmer of Belle Prairie Township, is
finely located on section 3, where he has
eighty acres of valuable land, upon which he has ef-
fected some of the finest improvements in the
county. The residence is a model of beauty ami

368

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

convenience, and is flanked by a neat and substantial
barn, with all other necessary out-buildings. The
fields are mainly devoted to grain and pasture, and
the land has been thoroughly drained with about
800 rods 01 tile. Everything is kept -'shipshape,"
and Mr. Morris is held in the highest respect, both
as a skillful farmer and desirable member of the
community. He has never been afraid of industri-
ous toil and has honestly earned every dollar of his
possessions. Of late years he has partially retired
from active labor and is wisely spending his declin-
ing days in the ease and comfort to which he is
justly entitled.

Like many of the early settlers of Illinois, Mr.
Morris is a native of Pennsylvania, and was born in
Greene County, Nov. 1, 1824. His parents, Abner
and Rachel (Bowers) Morris, were born and reared
in the same county. They spent their entire lives
in the Keystone State, where Abner Morris became
a man of wealth and prominence, and where his
death took place in the spring of 1869, when he was
sixty-nine years of age. The mother had passed
away many years previous to the death of her hus-
band. Both were devoted members of the Baptist
Church and numbered among its most liberal and
cheerful supporters. Their family included three
sons and five daughters, of whom Elhanan, our sub-
ject, was the eldest. The others were named re-
si>ectively, Ira, Margaret, Rachel, Mary, Joseph,
Rebecca and Caroline. Of these Mary is deceased,
and the others reside in Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio and
Pennsylvania.

Our subject remained under the home roof until
after reaching his twenty-fourth year, and was then
married in his native county to Miss Elizabeth Pat-
ton, in December, 1848. The year following they
came to Illinois, locating first in Bureau County,
where Mr. Morris worked splitting rails, at $11 per
month. He shortly, however, embarked in the
same business on his own hook, continuing in Bureau
County until the fall of the year, when he removed
to Wood ford and farmed upon rented land for ten
years. lie saved what he could of his income, and
in 1*60 came to Livingston County and purchased
eighty acres of wild land, which he in due time
transformed into his present beautiful and valuable
farm. It i.- in all respects a forcible illustration of

what may be accomplished by industry and perse-
verance. and the people around him who have
known him long and well, all agree that he has no
more than he deserves.

Mrs. Morris, like her husband, is a native of
Pennsylvania and was born Oet. 16. 1*30. Her
parents were Samuel and Jane (Ilaynes) Patton,
also natives of the Keystone State, whence they
removed to Illinois in 1851. The mother departed
this life some years ago in Woodford County; the
father is living and resides there upon the old home-
stead. Our subject is a valued member of the New-
School Baptist Church, and politically is a Jack-
son ian Democrat.

LBERT HOFFMANN, who has traveled ex-
tensively in this country and Europe,
has chosen farming and stock-raising for
his occupation, and is now located on a
160-acre farm on section 33, Pleasant Ridge Town-
ship. He was born in Thuringia, Germany, May
26, 1834. When a boy he learned the trade of a
weaver, at which he worked for a short time in the
old country. lu 1853 he emigrated to America
and found employment by the month on a farm in
New Jersey. For three years he continued at this
employment at $5 per month, and at the end of
that time he came to Illinois and located in Bureau
County, where he worked by the month for ten
years. In 1867 Mr. Hoffmann came to Livingston
County, and purchased eighty acres of laud in
Pleasant Ridge Township, for which lie paid 115
per acre, and to which he has since added eighty
acres more. When he purchased this land it was
in an unbroken state, but by diligent work he has
put it in a condition of excellent cultivation. His
farm buildings are of first-class quality, the barn
being 40x60 feet in dimensions. Like very many
of the fanners of Livingston County, Mr. Hoffmann
is largely engaged in raising stock, and at the time
this sketch is written has twenty-two fine horses
and a large herd of Durham cattle on his farm.
He takes great pride in the stock department, and
has earned a reputation co-extensive with the
county as a model stock-raiser.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

371

On the 6th of March, 1864, Mr. Hoffmann
was married to Miss Helen Stahly, who was a na-
tive of Germany, born Oct. 22, 1844. She is the
daughter of Peter and Kate (Gingerick) Stahly,
natives of Germany, the former born in 1813, and
died in 1889; the mother was born in the. same
year, and is still living. They were the parents of
three children Eli/a, William and Helen. To
Mr. and Mrs. Hoffmann have been born six children,
whose names are as follows: Arthur, Johanna,
Ernest, Bertha, Edgar and Katie.

Mr. Hoffmann is a member of the Republican
party, which he joined upon his advent into this
country. . He is a man who takes great interest in
all matters relating to education, and for that
reason has been selected as School Director for his
district. In 1878 he made a return visit to
Europe, taking an extensive trip through the
greater portion of that country. He traveled ex-
tensively in Russia, being on the road from May
till September, and visited all places of interest, in-
cluding the spot where Alexander the Second was
killed in St. Petersburg, Russia. He made a trip
up and down the River Rhine, and in the month of
September returned to his home in Illinois, feeling
that he had been much profited by his visit abroad.
He is a man of extensive reading, which, coupled
with his wide experience as a traveler, makes him
a very entertaining man in conversation. He and
his family occupy a prominent position in the so-
ciety of Pleasant Ridge Township, and a visit to
their home is always agreeable.

We present on an accompanying page of this
work a view of Mr. Hoffmann's residence.

yiLLIAM F. EIKLOR, who is accredited
with the ownership of one of the finest farms
in Belle Prairie Township, makes a specialty
of dealing in cattle, purchasing and shipping to the
Eastern markets. He also breeds considerably, and
altogether handles large numbers annually. His
property includes 150 acres of valuable land, which
he has brought to a high state of cultivation, pro-
viding it with handsome and substantial buildings
and all the accessories required by the intelligent

farmer of the nineteenth century. As a citizen and
member of his community he is considered one of
the most reliable men of his township, prompt to
meet his obligations, and possessing all the quali-
ties which commend him to an appreciative and in-
telligent class of people.

Our subject was born in Erie County, Ohio, Aug.
2, 1838, and is the son of William F. and Jeanette
(Cane) Eiklor, natives of New York State, and the
former of German ancestry. The father was born
in 1815, and died in McLean County, this State, in
January, 18GC. He spent his childhood and youth
in his native county, whence he emigrated to Ohio
and there learned the trade of a blacksmith and ma-
chinist, which he followed through life, preparing
principally the iron work for vessels, including
schooners and steamboats. He established in busi-

| ness for himself at Huron, and employed a goodly
number of workmen during the busy seasons. He
was a skilled mechanic, and although receiving but
a common-school education, became a man whose
influence was sensibly felt in his community, of
which he was a highly respected member. The
mother was born in 1818, and was married in the
spring of 1836; she is still living, and makes her
home with her children. Although quite aged she
is a healthy and vigorous lady, possessing the ad-
mirable constitution of her Irish ancestors. Both
parents were members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church for many years. They came to Illinois in
1847, and Mr. E. took up a tract of land in Cropsey
Township, McLean County, which remained in his
possession until his decease. The home circle in-
cluded a large family of children, of whom Will-
iam F., our subject, was the eldest. The others
were named respectively, James, Alonzo, Joseph
B., Rebecca J., Louisa, Frederick B., Cecelia, John,
Edward II., Jay and Jeanette.

Our subject was a lad nine years of age when
his parents came to Illinois. He remained under
the home roof until after reaching his twenty-first

! j'ear, when he was united in marriage with Miss So-
phronia Olmsted, the wedding taking place at the
home of the bride Jan. 18, 1858, Rev. John Elliott,

' of the Presbyterian Church, officiating. Mrs. Eik-
lor was born in Chautauqua County, N. Y., Feb. 27,
1830, and is the daughter of Caleb and Samantha

372

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

(Wagner) Olmsted, also natives of the Empire State.
Her father was born in 1812, and came with his
family to Illinois in 1846, locating in DeKalb
County, where he engaged in fanning and became
quite wealthy. His death took place at the home-
stead there in July, 188C. The mother was born in
1814, and survived her husband less than a year,
her death taking place in February, 1887, at Genoa,
DeKalb County. She is affectionately remembered
by her children as a lady possessing nil the desirable
qualities of a wife and mother, and was a devoted
Christian and a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church for many years. The parental family in-
cluded eleven children, namely: Andrew, Alfred,
Chester, Lester, Henry, Sophronia, Caroline, Helen,
Emeline, Ella and Emma.

The two children of Mr. and Mrs. Eiklor are Will-
iam A., who was born Feb. 25, 1859. married Miss
Susan Blnndy, and is now occupied in farming in
Cropsey Township, McLean County; and Eunice
S., who was born Feb. 16, 1865, and died when an
interesting child of seven 3'ears, Sept. 12, 1872.
Our subject and his wife are members in good stand-
ing of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Cropsey,
and politically, Mr. E. uniformly votes the Repub-
lican ticket.

As representative of this section of country we
refer to the view of Mr. Eiklor's residence on an ad-
joining page of this ALHUM.

IONATHAN G. MOORE, the well-known
farmer and stock-raiser, whose farm is lo-
cated on section 33, Indian Grove Town-
ship, has been boy and man a resident of
Illinois, and in fact of this township, where tie
was born and where he has lived for over half a
century. In that time he has seen the State grow
from wildness to sparsely settled neighborhoods,
which have grown to a thickly peopled common-
wealth dotted over with populous cities, and rami-
fied in all directions by railroads. The rise and
progress of Illinois during the last half century has
been one of the marvels of the West, and affords a
gratifying comparison with the advancement of all
other portions of the New World. No class of men

have had more to do with this remarkable progress
than those who transformed the vast expanse of
raw prairie into farms many of which are beautiful
and fertile as gardens. It happens in this instance
that both father and son share in the honors that
crown the pioneers, who have lived to see, on every
side, the happy results of their handiwork.

Richard Moore, the father of the subject of this
sketch, residing on his farm on section 2'J, Indian
Grove Township, is one of the original settlers of
this State. He was born in Buford County, N. C.,
on the 31st of May. 1810, and accompanied his
parents when they moved to Tennessee in the fall
of the year 1818. His removal to Illinois occurred
in 1830, and his settlement in Indian Grove Town-
ship dates from 1832. In the year following he
visited Chicago when the stores of that city con-
sisted of six log structures. On the 12th of Octo-
ber, 1828, Richard Moore was married to Perlina
Phillips, a native of Alabama, where she was born
on the 25th of April, 1810, but was reared to
womanhood in the State of Tennessee. They :ire
the parents of a large famity, as follows: Elizabeth,
Sarepta J., Jonathan G., Sarah A., Nancy, Melinda,
Martha, Hannah, James R., John M. He is of Ger-
man and Welsh descent, while Mrs. M.'s ancestors
were Irish. His father was born in North Carolina,
and died in 1842. Mr. and Mrs. Moore are mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for
many years have taken an active interest in the
congregation to which they belong. The farm on
which they have lived so long consists of 160 acres,
and it has been cultivated to the best advantage,
lie gives his political adhesion to the Democratic
party, and for years has been constant in his fealty.

Jonathan G. Moore, the subject of this sketch,
was born in Indian Grove Township on the 2bd of
November, 1835, and grew to manhood on his
father's farm, sharing the hardships and privations
incident to the primitive life of those days. He
took advantage of such school facilities as were
then afforded and succeeded in obtaining a fair
education. As soon as lie was capable he took
charge of the home farm, the father being in ill-
health and of defective hearing, and managed the
place so that it proved remunerative. Mr. Moore
was married, Dec. 24, 1862, to Miss Rosann Ilight,

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

373

a native of Pennsylvania. She was born in 1838,
and is the daughter of David and Catherine Hight,
who were Germans by birth. One child lias been
born to them, a bright-eyed girl on whom they have
conferred the name of Laura E. Mrs. Moore is a
member of the Presbyterian Church, and takes a
deep interest in its affairs. Mr. Moore is independ-
ent in his political opinions, and does not yield
any allegiance to either of the old political organi-
zations. He owns a farm of ninety -six acres, fifty-
six of which are under excellent cultivation, while
the remainder is used for pasture.

J"?OHN M. ZOOK. Natives of Pennsylvania
[ are numerous in Livingston County, and
i wherever a Pennsylvania!! is found a thrifty
' farmer can be named. The original set-
tlers of Pennsylvania were a hardy class of men
and women, who were not only noted for their
thrift and excellent ability as managers, but for
their intelligence. When one can trace his an-
cestry back to a generation or two of Pennsylva-
nians he can establish beyond dispute the pedigree
of good stock. The subject of this sketch is a
Pennsylvania!}, as was his father, which largely
accounts for his success in life, having grown from
a very unpromising beginning. When a man be-
gins on nothing and attains to that point which
makes him independent, he is deserving of credit,
and is generally awarded it. Mr. Zook has de-
voted himself assiduously all his life to the work
of making a home, which should be a comfort to
him and all those dependent upon him, and he has
succeeded. He is now a prominent farmer and
stock-raiser of Avoca Township, where he is lo-
cated on section 33. He is a native of Greene
County, P,a., and was born Aug. 17, IHijij. and
is the son of Solomon and Clarissa Zook, natives of
Pennsylvania and New Jersey respectively. His
paternal ancestors were of German descent, and on
the mother's side of German and Yankee origin.
His maternal grandfather, John M. S perry, was a
soldier in the War of 1812.

When three years of age Mr. Zook's parents re-
vcd from Ohio to Montgomery County, Ind.,

where the father engaged in farming, and died
about the year 1849. Our subject was reared to
manhood in Montgomery County, Ind., on a farm,
where he received but a limited education, on ac-
count of the inability of his parents to pay for
tuition, and the necessity of his performing much
work upon the farm. He came to Livingston
County, 111., in 1854, and for a number of years
farmed as a renter. At the time he arrived in this
county his cash capital amounted to $1.25, and vvitli
that small beginning he began life. He has been
successful in his business affairs, and now owns a
very excellent farm, the products of which yield
him commensurate returns for the labor bestowed
and the money invested.

Mr. Zook was married, on the 2d of March, 1865,
to Sarah F. McDowell, daughter of Thomas Mc-
Dowell, of Fairbury, 111. To them have been
born five children, four of whom are living Jes-
sie, Edward, Harry and Roy. The name of the
deceased was Thomas. Mr. Zook is independent
in political matters, voting for the best man for
the office, regardless of party. For several years
he satisfactorily discharged the important duties of
School Director, and in that capacity showed con-
siderable ability. He and his excellent family
stand well in the estimation of all their neighbors,
and whenever occasion requires respond cheer-
fully and promptl}' to all calls which appeal to their
generosity. As a farmer Mr. Zook is modern in
his methods and enterprising in his undertakings.
His success testifies to his energy and good man-
agement.

ARON WEIDER, So far as relates to resi-
dence, the man who was born in Ohio and
re-ided there until nearing his majority,
then became a citizen of Indiana until his
marriage, and afterward a resident of Illinois, can
boast of citizenship in three of the greatest Western
States. Ohio people are good people wherever you
find them. The adopted Indianian is distinguished
the world over as a rugged, honest man, while he
who has lived long enough in the Prairie State to
lie an Illinoisan.'in fact ha.- acquired about the best
citizenship that one can boast of. In these declara-

374

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

tions we have outlined the men among whom Mr.
Weider can be classed, as the facts of his liirth and
life as revealed in the following sketch will show.

Mr. Weider is a native of Ross County, Ohio,
where he was born on the 9th of October, 1822.
lie is the son of George and Patience (Ford) Wei-
dcr, who were natives respectively of Pennsylva-
nia and New Jersey, and were both of German ori-
gin. The paternal grandfather was a soldier in the
Revolutionary War, and the father served in a like
capacity in the War of 1812. He was the fourth
son in his father's family, and was reared in Ohio
until his eighteenth year, when he accompanied his
parents when they removed to Tippecanoe Count}',
Ind.

On the 2d of May, 1854, Mr. Welder was mar-
ried to Matilda Tanner, a native of Montgomery
County, Ohio. They have had seven children, of
whom five are living: Blanche, Mrs. A. M. Bentley,
of Owego Township; Clara; Jessie F., Mrs. D. M.
Phillips, of Nebraska: Metta and Alfred G. In
1856 Mr. Weider came to Livingston Count}- with
his -vife and one child, and after residing in various
parts of the county finally settled on the farm which
he is now occupying, on section 1G, Avoca Town-
ship, in the year 1877. This farm consists of 120
acres, every foot of which is available for cultiva-
tion.

The subject of our sketch is an enthusiastic mem-
ber of the Republican party, which upon several
occasions has chosen him to serve the people in
some official capacity. For one year lie was Col-
lector of Avoca Township, and is at present As.-o-
sor. He served for many years as District School
Director, and for four years in the responsible posi-
tion of Treasurer of Livingston Count}', in all of
which various positions he has discharged the du-
ties which devolved upon him to the satisfaction
of all the people. He is a member of Fairbury
Lodge, A. F. <fc A. M., and takes an interest in all
things connoted with that fraternity. He and his
wife are highly esteemed members of society, and
popular with all their neighbors.

Mr. Weider has a war record of which any man
might be proud. On the 24th of July, 1861, he
enlisted in Company K, 3d Illinois Cavalry, and
served until the 5th of December, 1864, during

which time he participated in many serious engage-
ments, and marched many hundreds of miles. He
was in the battles of Pea Ridge, Chiekasaw Bluffs,
Black River, Edwards Station, and the siege of
Vicksburg. He had two ribs broken by a fall from
a horse while participating in a cavalry charge in
the skirmish on Red River in Louisiana. He took
part in numerous engagements and skirmishes,
and was honorably discharged at Springfield, 111.,
at the close of his term of service. He entered the
army as a private soldier, and was soon afterward
chosen First Lieutenant of the company, and for
nearly two years, while holding that rank, com-
manded the company, the Captain being absent on
detached service nearly all that time.

ON. GEORGE TORRANCE, attorney -at-
law and State Senator, a resident of Pon-
tiac, is a native of Fail-field County, Ohio,
and was born on the 15th of May. 1847.
He is the son of David and Sarah J. (Kerns) Tor-
ranee, who were natives of Pennsylvania. They
came to Illinois in 1863. locating in Danville, Ver-
milon County, where the father was engaged in con-
tracting and building, and where he still resides.
He is a member of the Republican party, and has
always taken great interest in the success of that
organization. The family consists of six children
living George, John, Elizabeth, Annie, Ellen and
William. The ancestry on the father's side was
Irish, and on the mother's German.

During his residence in Ohio George Torrance
attended the public schools until he was sixteen
years of age, at which time he went to Danville,
Vermilion County, with his father's family, and
was there variously engaged as clerk in a dry-
goods store, clothing store, and assistant agent for
the United States Express Company. In January,
1 si;.'), he enlisted in Company E, 149th Illinois
Regiment, and remained in the service one year,
the full term of his enlistment. He was on guard
duty most of the time, and was captured at Charles-
ton, Tenn., between Knox ,-ille and Chattanooga, but
bis imprisonment was of short duration, as his cap-
tors were driven away by the Union troops with-

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

375

out being able to take their prisoners with them.
After his discharge from the army our subject re-
turned to Danville, and obtained employment as a
clerk in a clothing store, where he remained until
1869, when he came to Livingston County and
settled at Chats worth. At that place he clerked in
a dry -goods house, and then became an agent for a
Chicago business house until 1873, when he pur-
chased the Chatsworth Palladium. He edited this
paper and did most of the work on it for sixteen
months, when he began the study of law with
Fosdick <fe Wallace, in Chatsworth.

Mr. Tprrauce was elected Justice of the Peace
in 1873, and served until admitted to the bar
in 1875, when he resigned. He then commenced
the practice of law in Chatsworth, and continued
until 1881, when he came to Poutiac, where he
continued the practice of law, and in 1884 formed
a partnership with R. S. Mcllduff, the firm now be-
ing Mcllduff & Torrance. In 1880 he received
the Republican nomination for State Senator, and
was triumphantly elected. After serving four
years in that capacity, the people were so well sat-
isfied that they re-elected him in 1884. He has
always affiliated with the Republican party, in
which he has taken an active part. He is a com-
rade of the G. A. R.

Mr. Torrance was married in 1869 to Miss Eliza
M. Fenn, the daughter of E. P. and Louis (Afred)
Fenn, who were natives of Connecticut. Of this
union there are two children Herbert E. and
Grace T. The family reside in a very cosy and
comfortably appointed residence on Howard street.

\ H0ILLIAM II. ARNOLD came to this county
\\\ - /// ,,ver thirty-four years ago, locating in Read-

ing Township, where hi- now lives. He
shared in common the toils and anxieties of the pio-
neer settlers, and with them labored long and late
in the effort to maintain himself and his family com-
fortably, and build up a homestead to shelter him
in his declining years. His efforts have not been
unrewarded, as he is now the owner of eighty acres
of choice land, which is pleasantly located on sec-
tion 14, east of the town of Rending, and under a

good state of cultivation. In order to add to the
fertility and value of this soil he laid about 800
rods of tiling, and is now able to produce in fair
quantities some of the best crops of the Prairie State.
He has a choice assortment of live stock, and the
necessary farm implements for the successful prose-
cution of his calling.

Mr. Arnold is an Ohio man by birth, first opening
his eyes to the light in Fayette County, May 7,
1844. His parents, John and Louisa (Mills) Ar-
nold, were natives of Clinton County, Ohio. The
former was born Dec. 10, 1816, and rested from
his earthly labors Oct. 19, 1886, passing away at his
home in Reading, 111. His wife, Louisa, was born
Sept. 14, 1818. They were married in Snbina Feb.
9, 1840, and became the parents of a large family of
children, most of whom were born in Ohio. Daniel
M. died when twenty years of age in Livingston
County, 111.; William II., of our sketch, was the
second child; Martha Emily, Mrs. Daniel Coe, is
the mother of two children; Levi Nelson, born
Sept. 30. 1848, and died, unmarried, April 8, I860,
in Reading, 111., was for many years engaged in the
mercantile business, having a store in Reading at the
time of his death. Sarah E. married William Arm-
strong, a farmer of Reading, in April, 1 873, and they
have one child; Franklin W. is a prosperous grain
dealer of Peoria, 111. ; Mary Melissa was married in
June, 1873, to James A. Ilarley, a railroad engineer,
who is now deceased; they had two children, one
now deceased, and the other residing with his grand-
mother in Reading. Anna Maria is the wife of
John Kern, a farmer, of Reading, and is the mother
of three children ; Luella L. married M. M. Kern,
a teacher of Streator, and they had two children,
the younger now dead.

Mr. Arnold, when a youth of nineteen years, com-
menced business on his own account, although re-
maining under the parental roof until forty years
of age. On the 23d of February, 1886. he mar-
ried Mrs. Phcube (Laughlin) Arnold, the daughter
of James and Phu-be Laughlin, natives of County
Deny. Ireland, who crossed the Atlantic early in
life and located in Hamilton County. Ohio, where
they spent the remainder of their days. Mrs. Ar-
nold was born June 2, 1860. After marriage our
subject and his wife took up their abode at their

376

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

f:mn ni>;ir Reading, and on the 18th of December.
1886, became the parents of a son whom they named
Edward Nelson, and who is now a bright child one
year old.

About 1878 Mr. Arnold identified himself with
the Masonic fraternity, and politically Drives his sup-
port to the Republican party. He has served as
School Director in his district for several terms, and
is numbered among the quiet, steady -going citi-
zens, with whom the interests of the community are
always safe, and who have contributed their full
quota toward its welfare and progress.

RS. EMELINE QUEST. In all countries
where men possess gallantry women play
an important part in affairs, and in this
country, to the honor of the laws and the
customs be it said, women are the equal of men in
all rights and privileges, excepting- the rights to
vote and hold office, and it is possible that these
rights woidd be conferred if it could be made ap-
parent that the majority of the women so desired
it. As it is. the influence of women as wives,
mothers and sisters, is all potent, and wherever
they have assayed to fill positions requiring tact
and ability they have been successful, whether in
professions or in the callings requiring talent of an
executive order. Among the many biographical
sketches found in this ALBUM space is given to
none more cheerfully than to the subject of this
sketch, who is an old settler of Livingston County,
and resides on section 30, Avoca Township. She
is a native of Vermillion County, Ind., and was
born on the 21st of October, 1838. She is a
daughter of Minor and Elizabeth (Lawrence)
Rogers. Her father was born in New England
and her mother was a native of Ohio. When Mrs.
Quest was about ten years of age her parents emi-
grated from Indiana to Livingston County, and
were among the very early settlers of Avoca Town-
ship. Her father died in July, 1886, and the
mother still resides in Avoea Township, with Mrs.
Armilda Carson, her youngest daughter. She has
passed threescore years, and much of her life has
been spent as a pioneer, enduring all the privations

and hardships of an earl}' residence in Indiana and
Illinois. Mrs. Quest's father was one of the repre-
sentative pioneers of Avoca Township, and \v:is a
man of large acquaintance. He was universally
esteemed and respected for his many good qualities,
and when he died his loss to the county was severely
felt.

Mrs. Quest was reared to maturity in Livingston
County, and availed herself of such opportunities
and advantages as were afforded for obtaining a
common-school education. Her first marriage oc-
curred on the 1st of May, 1861, her husband being
Matthew Clark, a native of Ireland, and this union
resulted in the birth of four children, as follows:
Lizzie, formerly a successful school teacher, and
now the wife of Robert Main, of Avoca Township;
Annie, John and Fannie. Mr. Clark was a Repub-
lican in politics, and a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and in both of these organiza-
tions he took a deep interest and played an active
part. He died on the 5th of December, 1878. On
the llth of January, 1885, Mrs. Clark was married
to her present husband, Charles Quest, a native
of England. She is the owner of an excellent
eighty-acre farm, which is highly improved, well
drained and fenced, and contains good buildings.
She is a highly respected member of society, and is
prominent in all good works which are projected
in her neighborhood. She stands deservedly high
as a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
and enjoys the respect and esteem of all who kin >\\
her.

HARLES M. JOHNSON, one of the steady,
reliable men of Indian Grove Township, has.
by a conservative business course and econ-
omy, surrounded himself and family with the com-
forts of the world. He belongs to that sturdy class
of men who accomplish their aims by substantial
progress, always making sore of a foothold before
taking the next step. Such men are always gain-
ing headway, slow though it be sometimes, but
never moving backward. Mr. Johnson has the
care and management of a splendid 120-aere farm

LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

377

on section 17, Indian Grove Township, where, in
addition to general farming, he engages to a con-
siderable extent in raising live stock.

Charles M. Johnson was born in Oswego County,
N. Y., on the 13th of August, 1848. He is a son
of Franklin I. and Mary A. (Wightman) Johnson.
The father was born on the 2d of December, 1 820,
in New Lebanon, Columbia Co., N. Y., his parents
being Franklin and Hopey (King) Johnson. Our
subject's mother was born in Oswego County, N.
Y., Oct. 24, 1821, and was the'daughter of William
and Hannah Wightman. To Franklin I. Johnson
and wife were born four children: George, who
died in infancy; Charles, the subject of this sketch;
Frank D. and Addie, the latter dying at the age of
thirteen years. The father now resides at Fair-
bury, where he is enjoying his later years in the
midst of comfort and plenty. The mother, who
was a woman of many very excellent traits of char-
acter, and one who led a consistent Christian life
as a member of the Baptist Church, died on the
21st of November, 1884.

The subject of this history lived in his native
State but a short time, his parents emigrating to
Fulton County, 111., when he was quite young. In
1861 they removed to Peoria, and there Charles
M. attended the city schools and acquired a good
education. Later he employed himself in his fa-
ther's pottery, and continued to reside in Peoria
until the family came to this county, when he ac-
companied them. Locating with his father on the
IGO-acre farm three miles south of Fairbury, he
there lived, and labored early and late for the good
of the household. Subsequently this farm was
sold and 240 acres purchased. This was divided
into equal parts, and our subject is now living upon
one, and his brother Frank upon the other. Both
farms are supplied with fine residences, and our
subject is meeting with success in the prosecution
of his chosen calling.

On the 12th of February, 1878, was celebrated
the marriage of Charles M. Johnson and Miss Dora
Kenney. Mrs. J. was born on the 25th of October.
1851, in the State of Maine, and is the daughter of
Edwin and Phidclia (Baker) Kenney, natives of
the same State, and both now living. Mr. and
Mrs. Johnson have no children. They are - 1111-111-

bers in good standing of the Baptist Church at
Fairbury, and Mr. J. has held the office of Treas-
urer in the Sunday-school for several years. He is
highly respected in his community, and numbered
among its reputable and worthy citizens.

OHN II. SMITH, farmer, stock-grower and
grain-dealer, also engaged in the manufact-
ure of tile, is one of the wide-awake and en-
terprising men of Pontiac Township, and the
owner of a good property on section 24. His farm
operations have been successfully conducted since
he took possession of the valuable land now in-
cluded in his homestead, and in the manufacture of
tile he is the leader in this section of the country.
The works are located near the city limits, and in
the busy season furnish employment to eighteen
men. He not only controls the local trade, but
ships to various points outside.

The boyhood and y